004. Misconception

As for Lee Min-Su, his eyes were now adjusting well to the outside light. The first emotion that crept within him was that of relief.

He smiled, quite happy to see the bright sunlight. He continued smiling as he looked up at the sky, oblivious to the onlookers whose breaths hitched in their throats as they saw his beautiful smiles.

Cough. Cough.

The chief superintendent tried to get back the attention of his men who were ogling the young beauty.

"Alright then. You and your husband are to come with us as well."

Both Okeon's and Minsoo's mothers' hands were not tied together like it had happened with the father.

Minsoo was distracted from his sun-gazing when one officer took his hands and held them in front of him while another tied them up.

Minseo looked very confused. It was then that he looked at his surroundings and saw that his father's hands had also been tied in a similar fashion, so he assumed that perhaps that is something normal. He couldn't pick up the tense atmosphere.

Minsoo felt excitement creeping up in him as the guards opened their house gates.

Minsoo thought in his head as they were being led outside.

'Am I finally being allowed to go outside the house? Will I see some of the wonderful things that Okeon has been telling me about? Oh goodness. I can't wait!'

The guards were confused as to why this boy seemed rather excited about the gloomy fate that awaits him.

Usually, criminals are made to walk, but due to the high status of the prime minister, the officials couldn't treat his brother as that of a lower class, so they mounted each of them on a horse.

Due to his young and naive nature, one of the new officers was made to sit behind Minsoo. A lady's hair wrap was used to cover his hair so that Minsoo's uncommon visuals would not attract the attention of the busy civilians.

The horse ride made Minsoo overjoyed. Okeon has told him that only special people are allowed to ride horses.

'So this is what sitting on a horse feels like. Hmm.' He thought excitedly.

He wanted to feel the horse with his hands, but he couldn't, so he tried with his feet, which caused him to lose his balance and fall onto the guard behind him that was steering the animal.

Minsoo tried and turned a bit to the side as he flashed him a disarming smile with an apologetic look.

The young officer tried to act like he wasn't affected by that, but he couldn't, so he smiled back at Minsoo.

He signalled the boy to look forward so he too can concentrate on his job. As a newbie officer trainee, he didn't want to be chastised for being unserious, especially on his first day of work!

Minsoo was so fascinated by almost everything he saw as they went, especially when they passed by the market, which had many different things on display and a lot of crowds.

But Minsoo felt very jealous, though, whenever his eyes fell on children playing together. He has never had that experience before.

There were many things that he wanted to ask questions about, but he found it very difficult to communicate his thoughts.

But overall, he was very happy for this excursion.

Minsoo's father's tied hands were covered with a piece of cloth so the onlookers couldn't tell that he and his family were being arrested.

The worst assumptions people had were that they might have been summoned by the king or perhaps they were just witnesses to some high-profile case.

Despite the serious stares and the curious looks that some people gave them as they marched through the market crowd, Minsoo still hasn't been able to decipher that he is being arrested yet, nor has it registered to him that he and his whole family are in deep trouble.

To him, today is the happiest day in his life, as he has finally gotten the opportunity to see the outside world.

This is all what he has been wishing for all his life. And that is to be part of the world that Okeon always tells him about.

His naivety was very obvious, making some of the officials doubt that such a boy can actually do what his sister was accusing him of doing.

Minseo was in good spirits as they moved through the crowds in the city all the way to wherever they were going, still oblivious to whatever it was that was going on.

Well, that was so, until they got to the Hayang Royal Tribunal Centre.

Both the chief-in-command at the tribunal and the chief superintendent of the police, who were frantically waiting for their men, quickly ran over to meet the group once they arrived.

"Take them to the department and tell those bringing the other girl's parents to do the same. The chief in command and I have to go and inform his Majesty about their arrival. Have some men set up this place for his Majesty and the ministers.

And prepare the compound for interrogation and punishment, just in case." The chief instructed his next in command, who had brought Minsoo and his parents.

"Yes, sir." The officer-in-charge responded and got to it right away as his superiors leave to see the King.

Not long after, the other team also arrived with Youngmi's parents and her personal servant.

*

"Why are you back here empty-handed? Where is the said dongsaeng? Or is it not true that indeed she has a brother? And what about the parents? You didn't arrest them too?" The King inquired impatiently as soon the chief superintendent and the royal guards returned to the assembly court.

He and all the ministers were still waiting for them.

"No, Jeon-ha (Your Majesty). What the girl said is true; she indeed does have a dongsaeng. We have both him and his parents in custody. They are being kept in different interrogation rooms, waiting for your command, please." The supt. explained.

"Lead the way." The king ordered, and together, he and the ministers with him followed the royal guards.

*

Minsoo's excitement and hopefulness came to a halt once they arrived here. His hair was still tightly hidden under the headscarf that he is wearing.

They had thrown him up in some dark room with some scary-looking tools all over the room. Minsoo was so scared all alone as he couldn't make sense of the sudden shift.

How can this perfect day of his turn from the best one to this all of a sudden?

What a misconception! For him to think that this was anything but bad.

Now he wishes that he would be back home and get locked in his room instead. At least he is used to that place.

"Move faster. Are you a tortoise?" One guard nudges him on the shoulder, but that causes Minsu to stop walking and remain still instead.

The guard's shouting rather triggered him.

Unlike the kind-looking officer that was with him on the ride, the others looked rather scary.

They were not gentle at all as they shouted at him to do something, but he didn't seem to understand them very well because of the rush of it.

He wasn't used to socialising with people, so he was a bit on the dumb side. One has to be very slow and patient if they want him to get what their trying to tell him.

Shouting at him causes him to be scared and lose focus on whatever is happening around him, as that is a trigger from the trauma caused by his own family.

"I said move. What are you still standing there for?" The guard said, quite annoyed.

He thought that Minsu was rather trying to be difficult, and so he pushed him to make him move, but that only caused Minsu to lose his balance and fall hard on the floor.

Minsu remained on the floor in a foetal position while whimpering in silence, just like he had done earlier when his servant-friend tried to warn him to run away.

"What? Hey? What are you doing? Do you want to cause trouble for me?" The guard said as he tried to make him get off the floor, but Minsoo continued to whimper and stayed in his foetal position.

"I'm going to carry you to the interrogation grounds by myself then; otherwise, we'll never reach there." The guard said and begrudgingly bent down to pick the teenager up.

"You're very lucky that per your status I cannot touch you without permission, like I would've beaten you to death by now. Pew! Annoying noble bastard!" He said as he put Misoo on his shoulder like a sack of rice.

*

"Jeon-ha. Please, have a seat first. Our men are going to bring them out here, please. They're being brought out, please." The chief-in-command gestured with his hand for the king to sit at the setup on a raised platform arranged for him and his ministers.

On the dusty lower ground space in front of them are about eight empty wooden chairs. Beside the chairs were some muscular police guards with ropes and whips.

The chief-in-command at the tribunal courts leaned into the ear of one of his men and instructed. "Bring them out."

"They're already being brought here. I instructed them once I saw you and the king arrived." The officer nodded and said.

He then left with some other officers to go and meet those bringing the prisoners from the prison and interrogation rooms.