The camp no longer felt like the place Yunxi loved.
It began with whispers—barely noticeable at first. Jo Han Ji stopped calling for him during hunts. Stopped waiting for him at meals. And when Yunxi approached, the prince's gaze would slide past him… to her.
Lady Meiyin.
She arrived mid-week, sent by a distant noble house to "assist in camp organization." But everyone knew she was here for one reason: to catch the Crown Prince's eye.
She was flawless—ivory skin, ink-black hair, a smile like moonlight. She laughed easily, clung lightly to Han Ji's arm, and always seemed to appear when Yunxi was near.
One afternoon, Yunxi walked into the training grounds just as she leaned close to whisper something in the prince's ear. Han Ji chuckled, soft and low—the way he used to laugh with Yunxi.
Something twisted painfully in his chest.
"Your Highness," Yunxi greeted stiffly.
Han Ji glanced at him, expression unreadable. "Yunxi." He nodded once… then turned back to Meiyin.
The girl's eyes flicked to Yunxi, a subtle, triumphant gleam in them before she continued speaking to the prince as if Yunxi didn't exist.
---
The days passed in the same cold rhythm. When camp ended, Han Ji rode away with Meiyin seated proudly behind him.
Yunxi stood in the dust of his departure, staring at the fading silhouette, unable to understand why everything had changed.
---
Back home, silence became his companion. He replayed every moment in his mind, searching for his mistake. He had done nothing. And yet… Han Ji's warmth was gone.
When rumors reached him in the marketplace—that the Crown Prince was leaving the kingdom—he didn't hesitate. He stormed to the palace.
---
The grand hall smelled of incense and tension. Officials bowed out at Han Ji's command when Yunxi entered.
"What is this I hear? You're leaving?" Yunxi demanded.
Han Ji didn't look at him. "Does my departure concern you so deeply?"
"You didn't tell me," Yunxi said, voice cracking.
"Do I require your permission to live my life?"
Yunxi flinched at the venom in his tone. "Why are you acting like this? What did I do—"
"Ask your father what you did," another voice cut in, smooth and honeyed.
Lady Meiyin emerged from behind a pillar, her eyes alight with false pity. "It's only natural, isn't it, Your Highness? To distance yourself from the son of the man who… tarnished your royal bloodline?"
Yunxi's breath caught. "What?"
Han Ji's face darkened. "You didn't know? Okay."
"That has nothing to do with us—"
"It has everything!" Han Ji roared, finally facing him. In three strides he was in front of Yunxi, fist gripping his collar. He slammed him against the marble wall, eyes blazing. "Do you think I can walk beside you now? Do you think I can look at you....?"
"Han Ji—"
"I am the Crown Prince!" he shouted, voice echoing through the hall. "And you… are nothing! Soon you will be nothing"
The words sliced through Yunxi like a blade.
"Fine," he whispered, trembling. "Go. But if you leave… this is the end of us."
Han Ji's grip faltered for a fraction of a second—then hardened again. "Guards. Throw him out."
Two guards seized him. As they dragged him toward the gates, Meiyin's gaze followed, cool and satisfied.
---
That night, the palace drowned in blood and fear.
Han Ji's temper became unhinged. Servants whispered that Lady Meiyin often visited his chambers at night—not for love, but to pour venom into his ears.
"Yunxi betrayed you," she would murmur. "He'll drag you down if you let him close."
And Han Ji believed her—because believing otherwise hurt too much.
One evening, he overheard two maids murmuring about Yunxi's final words.
"Such devotion," one said softly. "To defy a prince for friendship…"
Han Ji's vision went red.
With a single motion, he unsheathed his sword.
"Since your lips adore gossip," he hissed, "keep them forever parted."
His blade swept once, and two crimson smiles bloomed across their faces. They collapsed, screaming, blood staining the marble.
"Continue," he told them coldly. "Gossip now."
From that day, the palace fell silent as a tomb.
---
A week later, the royal palanquins stood ready at dawn—gold and scarlet, pulled by six white horses. Lady Meiyin waited beside the main carriage, smug in her victory.
Han Ji stepped inside without a word.
---
Far beyond the gates, Yunxi ran. He had heard of the departure only minutes before. Barefoot, hair disheveled, he tore through the forest paths, lungs screaming for air.
When he reached the last hill overlooking the road, the carriage was already a vanishing speck.
He stumbled, fell to his knees, and stared at the horizon until it blurred.
He knew Han Ji was gone now, there was no turning back.
Maybe you were right, Han Ji, he thought, chest hollow. Maybe our worlds are too far apart. Maybe I was a fool to think we could stay side by side, I thought we were...friends.
The wind tore at his hair as he lifted his face to the bleak sky.
There is no longer "us." Only me. And this emptiness where you used to be.
His fingers dug into the dirt, trembling.
I will not run after you again. If love is chains, let me learn to break them. If you cannot see my worth… then I will carve it into the world myself.
For the first time, his tears stopped. And in their absence, a quiet, dangerous resolve began to bloom. He was going to let him__'Jo Han Ji' go
---