Maybe You Had To Go, But It Means The World

[AGUST]

[One Day Ago]

"Why are you here, Jung Hyuk?" So Hee asked once Agust had left. 

The mad king may not have been bothered by this man's presence but So Hee was bothered. She knew what had happened between Agust and the man here and it wasn't something she would let go easily. 

Jung Hyuk was dangerous to the new bond that was forged between Jiminie and Agust, and if he got into Agust's head then there was never going to be peace on any side of the realm. 

He was everything chaotic and So Hee was right to be apprehensive of him, given she had seen what had happened for herself.

"You heard me tell it to Ming Xiao. Anyway, you're going to go to that little wolf and keep him away from my Xiao, and I'm going to stay here with the man I love. It is that simple. If you don't want to do it, then I have a little reminder for you;

"... one from the past nine hundred years. I doubt that you would want Ming Xiao to know what you did, right?" Jung Hyuk said his tone was unlike the happy one he had been using when Agust was around. 

He sounded like he didn't give a shit about anything other than Agust and he would burn Helia too if that's what he needed to do. He was a psycho and So Hee knew it too well.

"You wouldn't dare," So Hee said and Jung Hyuk smirked at her as he flexed his long-tattooed arm. There is something behind the tattoos, something that reminded So Hee of a past she never wanted to go back to. 

It was a past that had haunted her for years on end and when she finally managed to snap out of it, she had managed to ruin more than just one life. The bastard right here was the one who knew the truth and he was not ashamed of using it against her. 

It was a truth that would see to it that Agust did not just kill her, but everyone she had ever met and interacted with. 

Oh, but Jung Hyuk was a bastard.

"The interesting part of all this is that you have no choice but to leave, So Hee-ah… Or I will tell Ming Xiao of that little truth. I didn't come here to threaten you, but to make a deal. 

"My silence for your disappearance, and while you do that, make sure to keep that little wolf away from the Helia palace, because otherwise, he will be collateral damage. I don't care who I have to step on just to get Ming Xiao back. 

"You more than anyone should know it, unless you want me to slip up when I tell Ming Xiao of my tattoos, yeah?" Jung Hyuk added calmly.

So Hee knew that this was a threat. 

She wanted to call the bluff, but she had seen firsthand how Jung Hyuk was obsessed with Agust. It had taken a lot of time for her to get him out of Agust's reach and now that he was back, So Hee knew that Jiminie was in danger too. 

She couldn't let Helia lose Jiminie no matter what, because at the end of the day, he was the only one who bore Agust's mark and Agust, his. That should've been reassuring or made her have faith in the present, and the horrors of the past, but it wasn't enough. 

…Not with Jung Hyuk back in the palace. 

She truly had to leave, but it wasn't because she was scared that Jiminie didn't have a way to defend himself, but because she couldn't put it past Jung Hyuk to be the one to have summoned Ming Chang Zhu, Agust's evil twin to this side of the realm. 

Jung Hyuk loved playing Agust's hero so badly.

So much history stood between them and it was horrifying. It wasn't even something to be proud of and yet the man standing there with a sinister smile on his face, bunny ears, and a man bun knew just where to strike. 

It was what hell should have looked like, only that this here was what hell wasn't meant to be like. 

Jiminie was in danger and So Hee had to agree.

"You're a bastard, you know that right?" So Hee said and Jung Hyuk just smiled.

"Oh yeah? You should come by Ming Xiao's chambers later. I hear his little mate hasn't been letting him fuck him. Maybe if you hear how I moan under Ming Xiao, you will be certain to know that I am not leaving. 

"I don't care about the kingdom and the power. Ming Xiao could be homeless for all I care, as long as I have him as mine. I will make everything else work. So careful, So Hee. I won't be nice the next time," Jung Hyuk said, angering the Lycan enforcer even more.

The smug look on Jung Hyuk's face was the cruelest reminder that now more than ever she needed to keep Jiminie safe. It wasn't the best of things but it was way better than leaving Jiminie to the mercy of Jung Hyuk and Ming Chang Zhu. 

It was a horror that somehow Agust himself wouldn't be able to find a way around without causing Jiminie even more pain. Perhaps this was it for them, no? Oh, but it was a hard call.

"You realize he marked Jiminie, right?" So Hee said angrily, and Jung Hyuk's face contorted into that of disgust. It was like he could imagine the great king being mated to a mere wolf, one of the very creatures that the king had sworn to eliminate.

"You're joking," Jung Hyuk said and So Hee just laughed at the uncertainty on the man's face. She went down so well that this would trigger Jung Hyuk and she was hoping that it would make the man leave. 

However, a part of So Hee also understood Jung Hyuk enough to know that this man would take that as a challenge. It didn't matter truly, because, at the end of the day, the choice had to be Agust's. 

Oh, but So Hee was tempted to tell Jung Hyuk that the king also bore the mark of the wolf, but she couldn't do that. That would be too much information and she wouldn't be giving Jung Hyuk that much power. 

So, she just smiled sheepishly at the man, knowing so well that King Agust may have been the devil, but the man loved Jiminie more than he loved his rage for his own father and twin.

"Whatever makes you sleep. Anyway, you and I both know that that doesn't mean shit to you. Besides, if you're confident that Agust will have you back, then you don't have to worry about his mark on Jiminie. 

"You can mark him if you are brave enough and so sure of your love. Let the Lycans know that the big bad Lycan king wears your mark so proudly, yeah?" So Hee said before she moved to walk out. 

She couldn't stand being in the same room as Jung Hyuk. This man gave her anger issues worse than Agust and she didn't even have the power to expel him from the palace. 

This was the one predicament that the mad king would have to deal with himself. All that So Hee could do was hope that Jiminie did get wind of what was happening here or even the fact that Jung Hyuk was one obsessed freak when it came to the Lycan king.

"I will make him this time. But before that, I will have to remind him of his hatred for wolves. I will remind him of the horrors he had gone through because of the female wolf alpha, and that will bring back his rage, So Hee. 

"You challenged me... So, it is my turn... If you think that Jiminie is as good a mate for my Ming Xiao, then you can try to get him to the side of the palace. Let's see if he is as good as you say or if he is just another wolf, and food for my precious Ming Xiao, yeah?" Jung Hyuk said smugly.

So Hee punched the palace walls, not bothering to stay in the palace anymore. 

"Be the king we need, Agust. I will be in Kiyoto with Jiminie. Don't you dare step down, and keep your fucking promise," So Hee said to Agust in the mind link before she left Helia for Kiyoto. 

"I will… and So Hee-ah… Thank you," Agust said earnestly.