Sneaking Out

Right before Haneul fired his attack, Yujin and Xiaohui appeared in between them. Yujin grabbed Haneul’s finger, while Xiaohui posed a defensive stance to defend the Lord Commander. The two of them stopped Haneul before he went any further.

“That’s enough, Haneul,” Yujin said, preventing him from attacking.

Haneul snapped and returned to his senses. He just realised that he was too consumed by his frustration and let it out irresponsibly.

Haneul’s eyes stopped glowing and turned normal. The Lord Commander could move once again.

“Pardon me, Lord Commander.....”

The Lord Commander got back up and stood on his feet. He then pated Haneul on his head.

“Don’t worry about it. It was a fight, after all.”

The Lord Commander forgave him so easily. He just thought that it was merely a spur of the moment, so he did not think too much into it.

“Next time, we will learn how to master that skill, alright?”

“Understood, Lord Commander.”

The skill that Haneul used was a special skill reserved solely for the Premier(e). It allowed him to hypnotise someone and make them obey his suggestion.

The Lord Commander wrapped up the training for today and dismissed them to have dinner.

Seeing that Haneul’s mind was bothered by something, Yujin and Xiaohui suggested the three of them to go to a nearby bar after dinner.

“Are you mad? You know they don’t allow me to go outside the Temple after the incident two days ago, don’t you?” Haneul replied.

“Well, we can try sneaking out,” Xiaohui said.

The two of them were surprised. That was rare coming from Xiaohui. He was usually the one who stuck to the rules and didsn’t like to take risks and stuff, so they were surprised by what they just heard.

“What about people seeing me? Won’t that cause some ruckus?” Haneul asked.

“Let’s disguise ourselves. I still have the equipment from back when we were in the academy,” Yujin suggested.

Back then, the three of them sneaked out a lot to have fun during the night, most of the time forced by Yujin. Knowing that their faces were recognized everywhere, Yujin bought some supplies for disguise purposes.

“You still have that? Why?” Xiaohui asked, bewildered.

“Well....I get trapped a lot in the palace too, so....”

Yujin was implying that he still snuck out until now. Out of the three of them, he was undoubtedly the wildest and most adventurous.

Haneul was seriously considering it. He just had a really stressful day, so it would be nice to release some stress by going out together. However, he was really worried that someone was gonna see him and the Temple members were gonna scold him, which he didsn’t want.

“Come on, it’s been a long time since we go out together as the Yuxiha trio,” Yujin begged him.

“Yeah. Besides, I know all the spots for us to sneak out of here. I patrol the area all the time,” Xiaohui added.

Being a Sacred Knight, Xiaohui guarded the Temple as his main job. He had acquaintances all over the Temple and knew every nook and cranny of the area.

After giving it a careful thought, Haneul agreed to go. The two of them cheered joyfully, thrilled for tonight’s agenda.

“However, I have one condition. We have to be back before midnight, otherwise they will realise I’m gone.”

Yujin and Xiaohui nodded, agree with the terms. The Yuxiha trio then executed their plan.

“So, what’s the plan?” Haneul asked the two of them.

The trio was currently in Haneul’s bedroom, scheming for a plan. It was currently 7:15 in the evening, just fifteen minutes after dinner.

The most important thing in this plan was for the Premier not to get caught. That meant, no staff nor guards could see him on his way to sneak outside. First step, they were gonna disguise themselves with fake moustache and glasses to change their appearance. Second, Haneul was gonna wear one of Xiaohui’s spare uniform, to disguise himself as a Sacred Guard. Alongside that, they brought some clothes in a bag to change into after they managed to get outside, carried by Yujin.

Next, in order to make an alibi, Haneul was gonna pretend that he was gonna sleep early and told all the staff not to come to his room because he was exhausted from the training. By doing this, it would decrease the chance that anyone was gonna come into the room to check up on him.

While Yujin and Xiaohui could get out of the palace just as usual, since Haneul could turn intangible, he was gonna use his Transflage state to slip through the ventilation of his room. Yujin and Xiaohui were at the other side of the wall, waiting for him.

After the three of them met up, they proceeded with their plan. They were gonna go through the back gate, where trucks who carried supplies go in and out. It was less guarded than the front gate and only authorized personnel could access it. Haneul was gonna pretend to be a Sacred Guard along with Xiaohui, acting like they were escorting Yujin together.

Once they arrived at the back gate, some guards came to question them.

“I’ll speak. You two, stay quiet,” Xiaohui whispered to them, telling them to act normal.

“May I know where you’re going?” the guard at the back gate asked.

“The Prince is getting picked up by his chauffeur. We’re escorting him there.”

“Why not go through the front gate?”

“It’s urgent and they arrived at the closest gate possible. Please, let us pass.”

Yujin and Haneul were surprised by Xiaohui’s improv skills. He was not as rigid and awkward as they used to remember him as.

“Oh, I apologize. This way, please.”

The guard let them go after a few questions. The trio was relieved that they were just a step ahead from exiting the Temple.

“Hold up.”

Suddenly, another guard came and stopped them.

“What’s in the bag?”

The guard asked them. Xiaohui ran out of ideas. He was anxious that the guard was gonna check inside the bag, which filled with clothes for them to change into.

“Let me check that first––”

Right when the guard was about to open the zipper, Yujin thought of something.

“No, you can’t do that. I’m bringing some confidential documents for the Royal Family.”

Yujin pulled his backpack away from the guard, guarding it.

“Oh, my apologies, Your Grace.”

The guard backed up and did not open the bag. They were saved.

“Safe travel, Your Grace.”

The trio succeeded in exiting the Temple.

Once they were outside, they went to a nearby convenience store to get changed. The three of them wore a hoodie to hide their appearance, with different colours. Yujin wore a sangria colour, Xiaohui wore a basil colour, while Haneul wore a dijon coloured hoodie. They wore their respective signature colours.

After they were finished changing, they went to the nearest bar to get some drinks and to dance the night away.

“Well, this is certainly more crowded than I expected....”

Haneul was overwhelmed by the amount of people in the bar. It’d been so long since he went to a small space with such a lot of people, not counting the Lantern Festival since it was outdoor.

Because they didn’t reserve a table, the staff asked them if they wanted to stand up or sit at the bar’s table. None of them expected that tonight–– on a weekend's night–– it was this crowded. They couldn't be standing up or sit at the bar's table, since that would increase their chance of being recognised by the masses. Haneul and Xiaohui were thinking to come up with a solution.

While the two of them were coming up with a solution, Yujin moved forward to handle the staff.

“I got this.”

Yujin then walked to the staff to have a talk with them as Xiaohui and Haneul watched over him from behind.