Catch Me if You Dare

Young-Sik took Jin-Ri and transferred her onto his horse, a soldier mounted the horse that Jin-Ri vacated. "Captain Gi, we need to separate, your priority is the court maidens, protect them and get them all back to the palace!"

"But Your Highness, what about you?" Kwan asked in protest of the task handed to him

"They're probably here for me and Jin-Ri... we must lead them away. Bring all the soldiers for protection; we can't allow them to target your group as well." Kwan and the soldiers expressed their discontent at the thought of leaving the Prince and Jin-Ri unprotected. "WE HAVE NO TIME FOR DISCUSSION! DO AS I SAY, THAT'S AN ORDER!" Young-Sik shouted, his voice cutting through the tension.

Jin-Ri placed her hand on his chest, trying to ease his agitation. "What the prince is saying is that they're after us, and we don't want anyone else to suffer. So please, Captain Gi, listen to the prince; he's only thinking of your safety," she said with a gentle tone.

Kwan and the soldiers exchanged urgent glances, their brows furrowed as they bowed to the prince. "Your Highness, please tread carefully," they cautioned, their concern unmistakable. After a respectful bow to Jin-Ri, they took off, galloping swiftly after the carriages.

Young-Sik's hand clutched the reins with fierce determination, while his other arm wrapped protectively around Jin-Ri. They remained stationary, the horse shifting uneasily beneath them. "Yong, why are we still here?" Jin-Ri's voice quivered, fear creeping into her tone.

"Do you trust me?" he asked her. Jin-Ri immediately nodded, wanting to assure her beloved that she had faith in him. "They need to see me before we can go; this is to make sure that they follow us and not the others." He looked into her eyes, "I'm sorry that you have to be with me in such a dangerous situation."

Jin-Ri placed her hand over his lips "Shhh! You don't need to explain anything to me, you made the right choice" She then kissed the prince tenderly on the lips.

After they broke away from their intimate moment, they both shifted their gaze to the approaching danger. "I wish that kiss was longer," he said, expressing disappointment

"When you get us out of this mess, you will get that long kiss," Jin-Ri replied, her voice a whisper of hope amidst the tension

Young-Sik's eyes narrowed the moment their pursuers came into view. "They've seen us." He whipped his horse, which galloped away at full speed, and the Guiong soldiers turned their horses to give chase.

Jin-Ri glanced back at the Guiong soldiers chasing them. "They're right behind us! Now what?" she asked the prince; she wanted to know if the prince had a plan to get them out of this predicament

Looking back at their pursuers, the prince replied, "We must lure them away from the caravan. We will head towards those mountain ranges. Hopefully, we will lose them there!" He whipped the reins on his horse again, making the horse go faster.

After playing cat and mouse for some time, Young-Sik and Jin-Ri reached the mountain. Young-Sik directed the horse to climb up, but it could only climb up so far because it carried two of them. They dismounted and continued on foot.

Jin-Ri and Young-Sik were already a way up when the Guiong soldiers arrived at the foot of the mountain. They abandoned their horses and climbed on foot, hot on the couple's trail. Their enemies hounded them relentlessly, chasing them with deadly intent.

As they kept climbing for what felt like an eternity, Jin-Ri felt her strength waning, her movements sluggish. "Yong... my legs hurt so much. I can't keep going... You should just leave me and save yourself," she said to the prince, her voice heavy with fatigue.

Young-Sik stopped and looked back, he then scanned the area for any of their enemies. When he found none, he quickly lifted Jin-Ri with both hands and continued to climb. "Yong, put me down, you will exhaust yourself carrying me!" she pleaded to the prince, to just leave her.

"Leaving you is something I will never do," Young-Sik replied. He looked up and saw a plateau less than a hundred meters away. Determined to save the woman he loves and himself, he pushed his body to its limits, trying to carry the two of them to reach the plateau. Upon reaching their target, Young-Sik placed Jin-Ri down. "Go hide behind those trees!" He instructed the court maiden

"No, I know what you're planning. I will fight with you," Jin-Ri said in protest

"No time to argue, just hide!" The prince said, reiterating his instructions. Having no choice, Jin-Ri did as she was told, and no sooner than she hid than the Guiong soldiers arrived, swords drawn, ready to carry out their orders. "* Pity, you are governed by an emperor who is not a man of his word*" Young-Sik declared as he pulled out his sword.

"*Shut up, Chiong dog, we are the emperor's assassins and we are here to bring you and that whore back to Guiong, dead or alive! *" The leader retorted, as he and his men menacingly approached the prince.

"*You can hurl insults at me all day, but dare to speak that way about my woman, and you'll pay with your lives!*" Young-Sik growled, his voice dripping with menace.

The assassins surged forward, two of them lunging at him. Like a bolt of lightning, the prince met their charge, his sword slicing through the air in a deadly arc, nearly cleaving the attackers in two. Just then, another assassin came at him from behind, swinging his blade down. Young-Sik deftly sidestepped, his sword finding its mark in the man's throat, ending his life in an instant.

With a swift motion, Young-Sik sheaths his blade and, like a fierce winter gale, he charges at the three foes to his right. They barely had time to react, he unsheathed his sword into a deadly arc, which severed their heads from their bodies. But the onslaught didn't stop; four more men rushed him simultaneously. With unmatched skill, Young-Sik parried their blows, deflecting each attack easily. Jin-Ri stood transfixed, watching her prince eliminate foes two or three at a time. Against his desire to protect her, none could hope to survive.

Young-Sik clamped down on an attacker's wrist, wrenching it violently until the enemy was forced to kneel in submission. A reckless assailant charged at the prince, but Young-Sik simply sidestepped the blow. With a fluid motion, he swung his sword in a deadly arc, disarming the man before driving the blade straight into his heart, ending his existence in a heartbeat. Then, with brutal efficiency, Young-Sik twisted the captured arm further, causing the shoulder to dislocate with a brutal snap.

The Guiong assassin screamed in agony, while three more attackers rushed the prince. Young-Sik let go of his captive and pounced on the trio of foolish assassins. He launched his sword, the blade driving deep into one enemy's chest, killing him on the spot. The second assassin swung his weapon at the prince, but Young-Sik dodged effortlessly, positioning himself behind the fool, and with a brutal twist, he snapped the man's neck like a dry branch.

The third one charged at the prince without a hint of fear. Young-Sik surged forward too, and in an instant, the prince leaped onto his opponent's knee, propelling himself upward. With a fierce elbow raised high, he brought it crashing down onto the assassin's head. The impact was bone-shattering, the cervical vertebrae giving way under the force of the blow. The assassin collapsed, initially gasping for breath, but soon his breaths turned into desperate wheezes before fading into silence.

Young-Sik looked around him, no more of their pursuers were standing, he quickly went to where Jin-Ri was hiding to collect her. As soon as the court maiden emerged from her hiding place, eight more assassins came out of nowhere. "Damn it!" The prince blurted out, holding tightly to Jin-Ri he led her away from the area.

The couple was once again on the run, cutting through tall grasses and shrubs, desperately trying to lose their enemies without any confrontation. "What are we going to do, Yong? There are more of them," Jin-Ri cried out.

Looking back behind them and scanning the area, all the prince could say was "We run and try to avoid and lose them, we can't afford another confrontation," he suggested.