Disclaimer: I don't own Akatsuki no Yona.
In the new town Yona and the others were in, there were extravagant-looking kimonos and headdresses being sold in almost every stand they passed by; along with large and expertly smithed swords, spears, and maces. Cooking equipment was sold as well in the more miscellaneous stands. The group was forced to stop twice by Yoon, who was eyeing every single pot, pan, and many other cooking items he's never even seen before. His excuse was that they could use it for their fancier meals - which, Hak and Jae-ha stifled a laugh at. The fanciest meals they ever had were stews. Then again, with new equipment, maybe Yoon could make better meals: at least, that's what Yona and Yoon ultimately decided.
Yoon packed the cooking equipment in both Hak's and Jae-ha's arms. They eyed the pretty boy with confused glances.
"Why are we carrying these?" Hak asked, but the fact that he got carry-duty wasn't that much of a surprise, which was why he was mostly indifferent to this forced task.
"You're the strong ones, and... I'm a pretty boy, not a hauler." Yoon simply replied, and continued walking.
Kija was furious at the indirect insult. Hak and Jae-ha were the strong ones? What about him? He was just as strong as them! He stomped over to the 'haulers' and placed his hands on his sides, his lips perfectly set in a pout face. Hak was used to Kija's odd and almost bipolar behavior, so he completely ignored him while Jae-ha stood there, intrigued by whatever potentially interesting outrage Kija had in store for him.
"Hak, don't walk away from me!" Kija demanded, stomping his foot.
"What's wrong?" Hak asked in-between a sigh.
Kija noticed the uninterested face Hak was expressing, but chose to ignore it for the time being and focus on his prior gripe. "Why are you carrying the cooking equipment? I can carry those just as well as you can!"
Hak and Jae-ha exchanged looks, grinned, and tossed the cooking equipment to Kija, who somehow managed to catch all the flying objects. He huffed from the physical exertion, and looked up to see Hak's and Jae-ha's smug grins. Realization came in the form of a firm face-palm.
"You're right! You're the one who should be doing the heavy-duty work," Hak agreed, still grinning as he walked a little ways from Kija, "have fun."
Jae-ha waved at Kija with a sly smile before he joined Hak and the others. Kija huffed, irritated that he was awarded the new title of 'hauler'. There was nothing more he could do other than take it like a man and trail behind the others as they shopped and forced the new merchandise in his arms.
After more browsing, Yona's eyes lingered on a particular kimono. It was a pure white kimono that was made with what felt and shined like silk. A rose pink obi was wrapped tightly around the middle of the kimono's torso; other than the eye-grabbing pink obi, pink roses adorned the entire kimono, pleasing even the most critical eyes. Yona shook her head, looking solemn as she walked away from the kimono. She truly loved the beautiful kimono, but fancy things such as that were too high-end for her right now. As much as it pained her, she was used to looking far away from anything beautiful or feminine. Unfortunately for Yona, Hak watched her while she stared at the kimono, knowing full well that she wanted it- no, maybe even desired it. Countless times he has seen Yona pass by feminine items of all sorts, forcing herself to not even give it a little glimpse, and now, she stared for almost ten seconds before she walked away. It was obvious. She ignored it because of the price tag, and possibly because she felt it was unneeded in a long, tiring journey.
"Princess," Hak called, gaining Yona's attention almost immediately, "weren't you just staring at that kimono a moment ago?" Yona's eyes widened a fraction, realizing she was caught in the act.
The others overheard Hak, and walked back to see the kimono Hak was pointing at. All of them looked in awe, finding it stunningly beautiful and well-made.
"Ehh, Yona dear, it would look wonderful on you." Jae-ha added seductively with a fox-like grin. Hak gave Jae-ha a quick punch on the head.
"Missy, that's super pretty, you should get it!" Zeno recommended quite enthusiastically, smiling wildly.
Yoon cut in, "I got some cooking stuff, you should get yourself something too, Yona."
Kija, Shin-ah, and Ao nodded in agreement.
Blushing, Yona looked down at the dirt road, seeking advice from the scattered rocks. She inhaled slowly and quickly exhaled. Now looking at her friends, she faked a smile and clasped her hands close to her stomach.
"It is very pretty, but, I truly don't want it. I'd prefer arrows or maybe a new cloak." Yona replied to them, her heart constricting at every word she forced out.
"Oh," Yoon mumbled, not quite believing her, "I see."
Jae-ha, Kija, Shin-ah, Yoon, Zeno, and Ao sensed something may be wrong, but Hak gave them all a look that said it all, 'I will take care of it.' and they left it at that, expecting Hak to work his persuasiveness into the princess. Even though the others guessed something was off with Yona, Hak was the only one who completely saw through the princess's performance. It was obvious, at least to him, that she was lying so they wouldn't have to spend any money on her. Luckily, Hak's companions trusted him to take care of Yona in his own way.
As the group steered towards an uncanny stand full of odd knickknacks, Hak pulled Yona's sleeve, forcing her through the street. The others watched the kidnapping with knowing smiles and slight shrugs, knowing that Hak would take care of everything.
"Hak, what are you doing?" Yona asked, panicked as to why he was dragging her in a oddly planned path.
Hak didn't answer - instead, he let go of her sleeve once they reached the stand with the shining white kimono. She looked at it for just a second, and resorted looking down at the dirt.
"You want that kimono, don't you?" Hak asked straightforwardly, looking down at her lowered mop of red hair.
Always... Hak always saw through her. Even the small things, like when she wanted white bread instead of wheat, but the white bread was more expensive so she said she wanted wheat bread. Something so insignificant... and yet, Hak knew right away she was lying. Most likely he knew because she would rant about how amazing white bread was in comparison to wheat bread while she was still a sheltered princess. The Yona she was right now, she wouldn't even be thinking about bread; she would be thinking about the surrounding towns in poverty and the ongoing wars in the different countries.
Yona sighed. Just like the bread, her wanting the kimono was transparent. Even if she denied it wholeheartedly, Hak would either buy it anyway or continue pestering her until she broke down and admitted she wanted it. There was no choice other than the truth.
Finally looking eye-to-eye with Hak, Yona gave in, "I do... I really do want the kimono.." she said it in a whisper, but Hak managed to hear it.
Hak wasted no time. He waved at the stand-keeper, and pointed at the kimono. The woman clapped her hands together, smiling sweetly as she glanced at Yona, assuming that she was the one that wanted the kimono.
"My my, you will look absolutely wonderful in that~!" The young lady cooed, resting her head on her clasped hands. Yona blushed, beaming at the kind compliment. The lady glanced at Hak and back at Yona, interested, "Are you two... Together?"
Hak blushed a tad, not allowing too much of a happy expression just in case Yona would notice. Yona missed the meaning behind the lady's words, and thought that she meant they were traveling together.
"Yes," Yona replied, shocking Hak to the ground, "I'm travelling with others as well. They're over there." Yona pointed to her friends who were at an odd-looking stand.
Hak's face scrunched up. He mentally cursed himself for not guessing that Yona may construe what the lady said. In return for her helpless innocence , Hak racked through his brain for a perfect tease. He grinned. Perfect.
"Let's just get to the point... This lady here wants that kimono..." Hak trailed off, grinning wider, "... in the largest size you have. Although, it may not be big enough..."
"Hak!" Yona almost yelled, blushing in embarrassment. She gave his arm a firm punch.
Hak motioned for the lady to come closer, and whispered just loudly enough for Yona to hear, "She's sensitive about her weight.."
"Hak!" Yona yelled this time, blushing even more.
For the first time in a while, Yona had shown a little piece of her 'sheltered princess' self. Not that Hak hated the Yona she was now, it just felt nostalgic to see her hit him for his teases. Before, she would throw random, close-by items at him, and he would easily dodge them; just the thought made Hak smile wistfully.
Yona stopped herself from hitting Hak the second time. The same memory that Hak was reliving was invading Yona's mind. The thrown objects on the floor and the mischievous smile on Hak filled her mind to the brim. It was a heart-warming recollection, but a small memory of Soo-won squeezed in, forcing her to brush away all the memories in a whole. When she remembered her past, Soo-won always managed to slip in, which was why Yona would only think of the future.
"Ahh, how lovely. A youthful romance." The lady beamed, her eyes softening. Seeing the two interact tugged at her heartstrings and reminded her of her own love-life, which was basically a maze of cobwebs.
Hak stopped his tirade of teases for a more pressing matter, "How much for the kimono?" he half-squinted his eyes in preparation for the outrageous price that was sure to come.
The lady smiled warmly, "How much do you have?" she picked the kimono off the clothing rack and laid it on the stand's counter.
"Ahh.. 524 rin." Hak answered, almost embarrassed by how little he had for the kimono: obviously, it was more expensive than that.
"Perfect," The lady said with a thumbs-up, "The kimono is 450 rin."
"Eh?" Yona and Hak noised in unison, befuddled that the kimono that shined so majestically and forced you to look in awe was only 450 rin.
Hak stared at the lady with skeptical eyes, searching for an answer to this oddity. It couldn't be that a kimono like that could be so cheap, which was why Hak was staring her down, hoping to find the reason as to why she was being so generous. The lady found out what Hak was doing right away, and pulled the kimono toward her, picking out a price tag to place over the other one without letting them see her do it. To avoid suspicion, she pretended that she was looking for the price tag and turned it toward them, pulling up the price tag to show them that the price was indeed 450 rin.
After giving it a few looks and giving the lady a few looks, Hak resigned, handing the lady the money she asked for. Hak expected she was lying, but decided to allow her generosity. The fact that a stranger would be so kind, shocked Hak, especially because he couldn't understand the reason why she was doing that for them. But, when given the opportunity, one might as well take it.
Yona expected the lady was lying as well, and rather than ignore that she knew the lady was lying, she bowed completely on the dirty ground, surprising both Hak and the lady.
"Thank you very much!" Yona exasperated, then, with sparkling eyes, looking right at the lady. "I will never forget your kindness!"
People around her stared, confused, while some of them stifled a laugh. Hak and Yona chose to ignore them.
Smiling slightly, Hak gazed at Yona, remembering her as the 'sheltered princess'. The Yona he knew before wouldn't do that: passionately thank someone of lower status. He smiled a little more. People really can change.
"To show my thankfulness, I will wear it everyday!" Yona declared, startling the lady.
The lady laughed heartily, "You don't need to do that... but, I'm glad you love it so much." she handed the kimono to the now standing Yona.
"I do." Yona confessed, hugging the kimono tightly to her chest. "Again, thank you."
"It's nothing." The lady assured, smiling warmly.
After a long day of shopping, Yona and the others camped right outside the town. Because of the darkness setting in, Zeno, Shin-ah, and Ao searched for firewood, and proudly placed the large pile of sticks and twigs on the ground next to the 'fire makers', the 'fire makers' being Jae-ha and Hak. Yona and Kija assigned themselves to setting up the tent, but Kija did most of the work of his own accord: he wouldn't let Yona strain herself too much. Of course, Yona professed that she was more than qualified to handle a simple tent, but Kija continued assuring her that he could do it himself. Despite Kija's assurance, Yona managed to force her way into helping.
Glancing at the darkening sky, Hak quickly reverted his gaze to Yona who had just finished helping setting up the tent.
"Princess, when are you going to wear the kimono?" Hak asked, curious.
The others noticed before that Yona was carrying a white kimono, but they weren't sure that it was the one Yona was looking at before. Obviously, they wouldn't ask if it was the kimono that she wanted before; there was a possibility that it wasn't it, and if it really wasn't, they felt they may remind her of the kimono she had to walk away from. But now, they all looked curiously at Yona, hoping to see that kimono she seemed to be so in awe of.
Yona blushed a little, feeling as though a million eyes were looking right at her and watching her every move.
"I'll wear it now." Yona replied, slowly stood up, and walked over to the tent to change.
Everyone outside the tent stared at Hak, some of them grinning. They guessed that Hak somehow persuaded her to get that flashy kimono, but instead of asking, they waited for him to speak first. Everyone except for Jae-ha.
"I guess you really wanted to see Yona in that kimono?" Jae-ha asked suggestively, stifling a snicker with his hand.
Hak lowered his eyes, used to Jae-ha's perverted behavior, "Fortunately, I'm not a pervert like you."
"Ow! My heart... It hurts!" Jae-ha jested, clutching onto his chest.
Everyone glared at him, unimpressed by his flamboyant display of idiocy. Yoon assumed that Hak wouldn't be the one to bring up the 'kimono matter', so he decided to add into the conversation.
"What did you do to convince her?" Yoon asked, genuinely curious.
Everyone was now staring at Hak, hoping for an answer, but not really expecting one. After all, Hak was a perplexing guy that decided when and what he would say depending on his mood and who it was.
"Did you..." Jae-ha started, glancing up at Hak's irritated face, "seduce her?"
Hak karate-chopped Jae-ha on the head once, and that one time was heavy and calculated enough to force him to the ground for a moment. Unfortunately, he propped right back up, prepared to tease Hak some more. But any thoughts of anything else faded away in an instant once they caught a glimpse of Yona walking out of the tent in her new kimono.
The kimono fit perfectly around her body. The sleeves of the kimono draped down to her upper thighs, making one wonder what was hidden beneath - a perfectly manicured hand that was soft to the touch? Maybe... Other than the eye-grabbing designs on the kimono, the collar hugged Yona's neck and drooped down just below her collarbone, exposing a little flesh. The obi that wrapped around the kimono seemed even tighter on Yona, and showed off her lower curves. It was a beautiful kimono, but the person in it made the kimono even more beautiful.
"Well?" Yona asked shyly, placing her hands at her sides as she waited for her friend's responses.
"It's beautiful!" Kija spouted, blushing as he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her.
"Super beautiful!" Zeno chimed in, pumping his fist in the air.
"Very sexy." Jae-ha added, earning a firm punch from Hak.
"It's very nice." Shin-ah said, smiling. Ao nodded his head in agreement.
"I guess it's quite pretty..." Yoon muttered, looking away as his cheeks flushed a light pink.
Yona smiled, relaxed by her friends's shower of compliments. But Hak still had not uttered a single word, and the only thing he did was knock out Jae-ha for a moment. She reluctantly looked at him, then looked away, feeling embarrassed for expecting anything.
"Beautiful." Hak said, shocking Yona into turning around to face him.
He stood up and looked right into her eyes, "You look beautiful."
Yona's eyes widened, her heart raced, and her hands clutched at each other, hoping to focus her mind on them instead. It was futile. She could only look at Hak, and could only think of Hak at this point. She refused to believe it was love that she was feeling, and remained in her stubborn ways, but despite that, she walked toward him and looked up at his face with a soft smile.
"Thank you."
A/N: Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story! It took so much time to write, but I managed to finish it. :) Also, on a side-note, 'rin' is the money they use in Akatsuki no Yona. Again, thank you for reading!