The tower he so carefully built collapses under the force of his own foolishness.

As if her touch could make him invincible, he believed. Believed in a better version of himself, one that wasn't rejected, shunned or beaten by words and stones. However, it couldn't really change anything in the end. He couldn't unite his brothers, couldn't change his mother's heart. He was no more invincible than yesterday, less, even, for his hope had been their weapon. Ji Mong spoke so much about the future in the stars, sometimes he wished he could see, too. He wished he could believe it. He wished he could foresee their next move so he would be prepared, so he wouldn't be caught off guard like their prey. It was so easy to be his father's piece, to be Mu's shield, but he couldn't bear to think about being the sword that pierced through Mu's heart. His mother never ceased to mock him, to soil him with blood. She acted like she knew him, spoke of him as a boy as if it could bring them back in time, but no one could turn back time.

You threw me away, mother.

I will not leave.

He wants to take away her object of desire. What would she do then? If he took her precious throne from her? If he ascended? How would she look then? With what eyes would she look upon him?

He remembers the people who no longer ran way when he passed by. Who didn't hide, who didn't hate. Remembers the sky pouring down on him, a grace, almost making him believe that the heavens really had a will. But if heavens had a will, wouldn't they be kinder? Why give one moment of comfort then take it away? It was never the heaven's will, the good, the bad. It was people. The expectations they built. The expectation he built. So easy to break like the stones he once thrashed. How was he to live, in the end? For his own disappointment or for his mother's spite?

I wasn't born because I wanted to be. I'm the one who determines how I'll live.

Or perhaps...

His feet take him to the Damiwon Palace at his heart's behest. She had taken the scar away from him, wiped the pity away from his fears with as much ease as the stroke of her brush, replacing it with an understanding of unknown origin, almost as if she had known the pain of giving up on the world and had risen above it. She was too young, too inexperienced, but he could see it when she looked away, the pain beneath the surface of her bravado, the fragments of a story that made her wise. Naïve. Bright. The bearer of all his trust

But he doesn't have the courage to call for her, not when she was trying so hard to fit in, to ease the fire inside of her. He misses it, so dearly, the retorts and scoffs and complaining, but if it means she can live better, she can live with him in the palace, then he accepts it. She has been awkward and distant lately but he, too, wasn't the same person he used to be. No one was, under the strict gaze of the palace walls. So he lets himself walk away, heart yearning for her, her words still repeating in his mind like a lullaby.

When he sees her, it's unexpected and a weight off his chest. He remembers how she touched his face without holding back and he throws caution to the night, reaching out, embracing her. She's scared but he attributes it to her new reservation, to her new status, and he cares for neither.

"Just for a moment, stay with me. I need to rest." He pleads, he prays.

Nothing gave him peace like her, the one he couldn't avoid even when he wanted to. He would fight his mother in her name, he would fight anyone in her name, and in her presence, he would rest. He knew no other way for his heart to calm. He dreamed about her smile in the rain. The smile meant for him. The shared happiness, just like the shared sadness, the shared pain. There'll never be anyone like you, Hae Soo. You're the only one. There's no one else for me.

She breaks from his embrace and pushes him away. There's something he has never seen in her eyes, and when she speaks, he falters. They share something else then. They share fear.

"You'll ruin everyone in the end! Go, you're better off far away!"

No.

Not when he was starting to feel like a man, not when he was starting to belong. The pieces had fallen in place, so why were they suddenly scattered, as if his mother had found in her fancy to play with them, to destroy them, to set them on fire. It was fire in his chest, when he spoke to her. Don't push me away. Don't leave me. Don't tell me that I bring misfortune and that I'm an animal. She's the one who understands, who lectures him about eating well and keeping his anger at bay, who said he wouldn't be hurt anymore and that he'd be treasured. The one who cares. The one who chased the bad dreams away.

There's no one else for me.

You cannot die. You cannot leave.

"You are completely my person."

I will not leave.

He wants to show her his unfaltering heart. Wants to take the poison away from her lips, however it had gotten in. Wants to give her all that she gave to him, give back, give more. They had promised trust and he had promised not to let her go. She should have understood. She always understands.

But she's trembling and crying and pushing him away and he feels that he has failed.

There is no shared love.

Don't tell me that I bring misfortune and that I'm an animal.

There is no rest for him that night, and he won't rest until her heart is back in place, until her worries melt away and bring her back to him. He spirits her away, like he had wanted before, like he so intimately desired before. She's a bit more like herself then, when her eyes shine with the sea. She speaks of his heart, speaks of his happiness and he makes his decision. He gives it to her, a heart that was stronger because of her, and he has no regrets. There are already so many things he regrets, but not love.

Perhaps I can live for our happiness.

"You can throw it away if you want to."

It made him invincible.