The Brothers Kim

Chapter 25- Your Irrational Fear

The flame on the candle flickered as General Lee Minho shuffled the documents on his desk. With his forefinger and thumb, he tugged at his bottom lip as he examined them closely, his beady, black eyes narrowed and hooded by his long, straight lashes.

"Master Minho?"

Minho tore his eyes away from his documents momentarily as he looked up. "Come in" he replied, beckoning the messenger behind his door to enter. In a few moments, he was joined by one of his staff.

"I have a letter for you, sir" the young servant boy disclosed as he approached Minho's desk with his hand outstretched.

Without batting an eye, Minho gestured for the boy to leave the letter on his desk as he resumed his reading. Once the servant boy had left, Minho dropped his pretence and tore the letter open immediately.

His eyes scanned the contents of the page with eager speed. Once he had finished, he grunted. "So, the Kims think it was us?" he said aloud. "Bumbling buffoons." With a displeased expression, he dangled the piece of paper atop the flame of the candle and watched as it caught alight. "How dare they suspect us for the assassination attempt!" he sneered contemptuously. With narrowed eyes, he observed how the last of the letter burned away into cinders, the spirally handwriting of his informant incinerated into ash.

Minho mumbled under his breath, "It is a good thing that I have planted a pair of eyes in that despicable household..." He furrowed his brows as he cast his gaze towards the pale moonlight seeping through the drawn curtains. "As I suspected, the Kims are not to be trusted." He spoke solemnly, "No one is to be trusted..."

~*~

Minseok stretched his legs as he jumped off his horse with ease. It had been a while since he had been back at the Kim household, mainly because he had been occupied with his new role as the emperor's advisor. With a wary stride, Minseok approached the main house swiftly, subtly noticing the increased number of green guards that were surveying the interior.

Father must have increased security since that night, he thought internally.

With every step he took, he heard the gravel crunching beneath his feet, the sound somewhat triggering his memories of that night when he heard the thundering of panicked footsteps and the crashing of lifeless bodies.

Minseok inadvertently shuddered.

I am fortunate that I escaped with my life, he said inwardly. But who or what could those assassins have wanted?

While Minseok contemplated this, he suddenly heard strained grunting coming from the left. Curiously, Minseok tip-toed over to the shade, where he spotted Taehyung trying to press himself up from the ground. Minseok stopped on his tracks as he curiously watched Taehyung midway completing a push-up.

"...Ten."

"What are you doing?"

Taehyung glanced up from the ground and hurriedly got up. With a flustered expression, he dusted his front as he fumbled to explain, "B-Brother Minseok!" He glanced around and tried to disguise the embarrassment in his cheeks. "I-I was just, erm, I was just trying to do some, erm, exercise."

"I see" Minseok replied with amusement. Since when was Taehyung interested in maintaining his physique?

"W-what are you doing back?" Taehyung asked.

"I was going to see father" he replied. He arched his brow. "What about you? What are you doing?"

Again, Taehyung fumbled awkwardly. "Just, erm, just exercise!"