Chapter Text
— » — « —
Aaron sighed, breaking the silence in the library for the fifth time that morning. Earlier hunched over his desk, the prince was now slumped in his chair looking like the last of his spirit has left him.
“Aaron-ah, whatever is the matter?” Queen Jisung finally spoke up from the chess table, interrupting his game against Sungwoon, who was also looking at his fellow prince with concern.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I did not realize—,” Aaron started and sat up, but his apology faded into a murmur as Jisung waved it off good-naturedly.
“Come now, hyung, let us be of help,” Sungwoon encouraged, moving over to join Aaron with Jisung in tow. “Is it about the wedding?”
Aaron chuckled, somewhat shrilly and hinting at panic. “It is,” he nodded, “and I don’t know what to do about it. Will there even be one?”
Jisung and Sungwoon shared confused looks as they sat down. “Pray, continue,” the queen encouraged, settling himself primly across Aaron.
“Last night had the strangest—in the sense that it’s nearly indistinguishable—marriage proposal I’ve ever heard,” Aaron continued. “Even so, no matter how cryptic Jonghyunnie’s actual words had been, that he meant to propose marriage was also the most obvious conclusion, was it not?”
“Indeed,” Jisung and Sungwoon chorused. “I wasn’t too sure if he had realized how he just did it in front of everyone,” Sungwoon added.
“See, while I did somewhat tell you to stop him,” Jisung said, “I now doubt anyone would have wanted to. I think we all have just been waiting for it to happen.”
Aaron looked very appreciative of the fact that they were all on the same page. “Well, now every person in this castle is half-expecting a wedding and coronation to take place within the fortnight or so... The biggest question now is ‘when’, is it not?”
“I don’t see why you cannot just ask Jonghyun and Minhyun,” Jisung pitched carefully, watching Aaron stand up and pace slowly from his chair to the window and back.
“I can,” Aaron acknowledged, “but I don’t have the heart to sit both of them down and discuss their wedding like some sort of war council. Jonghyun, he—,” and he sighed, though there was a fond smile turning up the corner of his mouth, “he’ll just want to be with Minhyun all the time.” But as soon as he said it, the prince grimaced and added, “How dreadful.”
Sungwoon chuckled. “Dreadful? Whatever do you mean?”
Aaron gestured towards the window in front of which he had stopped pacing. Jisung and Sungwoon stood up as well, joining him and looking out.
The window overlooked a portion of the castle grounds leading towards the king’s turtle pond and potato garden. Jonghyun was stalking away, and Minhyun was right behind him. The prince had run up to the king, placing an arm around his shoulder as if to appease him. Jonghyun would shrug Minhyun off and walk away faster, but the latter would catch up to the former, and they would repeat the mysterious process.
“Are they fighting already?” Sungwoon asked, mildly concerned.
“Not quite,” Aaron answered.
The trio in the library watched as Minhyun’s efforts were rewarded with Jonghyun staggering sideways in an attempt to contain what looked like his laughter. They could not hear, but all three could tell that Jonghyun was laughing in that quite adorable staccato way of his.
“They’re being cute together, I see,” Jisung concluded, stepping away from the window and going back to his seat. The other two did the same.
“Dreadfully cute, in fact,” Aaron could not help but add. “See what I mean?”
They laughed.
“I wouldn’t have the heart to sit them down either,” Sungwoon confirmed, “or even the guts to go anywhere near those two.”
“It seems that I have no choice but to wait,” Aaron muttered, “whether it is for my king to give the command or something else to get things moving. I just cannot help but feel like I have to do something in the meantime. What it is, I’ve no idea, and it’s driving me mad.”
“You want them to be happy, that’s all,” Jisung stated for him, to which Aaron nodded. “If there’s something more you could do for them to even feel just the slightest bit happier, you would.”
“They’re the only family I’ve got left.” Aaron’s tone was wistful, but for the sake of his guests, he cleared his throat and quipped, “Thus I will not stand for a shoddy royal wedding.”
They laughed again.
“All this talk of a wedding makes me want to go home and marry Taewoong as soon as possible,” Jisung mused. He clapped his hands together. “In fact, I might just go and do that after we’re done here.”
Sungwoon cackled. “Does Taewoong-ssi even know?”
“Oh, I’m sure he won’t object,” Jisung replied airily. “How about this, Aaron-ah, why don’t you give the lovebirds roughly a year of engagement first?”
“You just don’t want Minhyun to get married before you do,” Sungwoon gasped in mock outrage. “I cannot believe you could be this petty, hyung.”
“Hush, Sungwoon-ah, I am negotiating.”
Between the mock suspicion on Jisung’s intent and the wisdom of his advice, Aaron considered. Perhaps he really was the only one getting worked up over both the wedding and coronation. On the one hand, if his king managed to wait for a year and a half before proposing, certainly he could wait a little more before being wed, couldn’t he?
On the other hand, Aaron did not at all expect the proposal to be on the same day as Minhyun’s return; it was one of those instances that Jonghyun managed to catch him off-guard with his supposedly non-existent impulsiveness. Jonghyun as their country’s king had this remarkable balance between passion and self-control. This has been demonstrated countless times; Aaron had little to no doubt of this Jonghyun that he knew.
The Jonghyun who wanted Minhyun to be his queen, however, was relatively unknown to Aaron. It was only because of the way he knew Jonghyun for almost all his life that Aaron was ready to trust everything about him regardless.
“Six months, hyung,” was Aaron’s answer.
Six months was long enough for Aaron to obtain further advice and get ready for arrangements. Six months was also a reasonable extension of Jonghyun’s waiting period. Besides, with the turtle-like progress of both king and queen-to-be in putting their feelings into action, Aaron could even expect said six months to get stretched out.
“Six months, huh...”
“Unless, of course, Jonghyun commands otherwise, which I don’t think he will, especially if I give a mention of your own plans. I shall definitely inform you if that ever happens.”
Jisung considered, laughing at how their conversation had turned out. “If that is also a challenge, then, very well, I accept.”
Sungwoon shook his head; Jisung and Aaron shook hands as if they have both just signed a treaty. “I’m just saying...Taewoong-ssi really ought to be informed first.”
— » — « —
The search party had finally set up camp within the Dark Forest, in a clearing that looked far from the darkness that the forest’s name implied. Dongho and Minki’s attendants had successfully assembled a tent that accommodated a total of seven princes and princesses, and soon enough the party has settled into a lovely breakfast which included tea, kimbap, and honey buttered potatoes, while Dongho made slight adjustments to their plan.
“Now that there are five of you, I’m thinking of divvying you up between Minki and myself,” Dongho announced, “I’ll be going on with the search, while Minki can lead a pheasant hunt. Does anyone have a preference?”
“I’ll go with you, hyung,” Daehwi and Guanlin said in unison, their hands similarly raised up.
“Figures,” Minki chuckled. “Who’s with me then?”
A hand shot up each for Jihoon and Jinyoung, and then everyone turned to Woojin, who was visibly conflicted.
“Should we flip a coin?” Jihoon offered.
“No, uh, I have to go with our princess,” Woojin answered lamely. “There’s the bear, too.”
Jinyoung tilted his head in speculation. “You’re more interested in the pheasants than the tiara.”
Woojin shrugged. “Still, I have to take the bear into consideration.”
Dongho’s laughter filled the tent. “You’re a good kid,” he approved, clasping Woojin on the shoulder. “We’ll just go on another pheasant hunt before you leave.”
Woojin’s snaggletooth caught a bit of light and twinkled like the way his face brightened at the prospect of a pheasant hunt. “Thanks, hyung.”
“No problem.”
They finished the meal, with Jihoon having eaten more honey buttered potatoes than he had intended. Minki had to assure him that it was perfectly all right; the trek back towards the hunting grounds will take up a lot more energy than the actual hunt.
“I have to say, Minki-yah, we’re right within the Dark Forest and yet you’re taking this trip a lot calmer than yesterday,” Dongho said in an undertone, hardly restraining his grin. “Are the kids making you braver than usual?”
Minki rolled his eyes, “Oh, please, I can perfectly handle myself.”
“Is that so? We won’t be going home with you clinging to me the whole time?”
“Obviously we won’t.”
“Hmm... That’s too bad then.”
Minki shot Dongho a quizzical look, wondering what he meant by it. Before he could ask anything, however, his curiosity had dissolved into terror when he saw a bear—the bear—standing on its hind legs and groaning right by the entrance of their tent. Soon, Minki was screaming not unlike the way he did the day before, although Daehwi’s shrieks added variety to the sound.
“Everyone, get out!” Minki screeched as he scrambled to arm himself and safeguard their younger companions. “Jihoon-ah, all of you get out the other way!”
Dongho was quicker despite the hunting train he’s yet again had no time to remove. Not that it mattered; he was a princess used to wearing layers of garments even in battles. He had grabbed his shield and was about to unsheathe his sword when he paused.
“Nobody shoot!” he suddenly ordered, catching a glimpse of how Woojin and Guanlin were already aiming. Both lowered their crossbows, confused.
“Nobody shoot,” Dongho repeated, quieter this time, yet there was still that sense of urgency in his tone. He slowly put his sword down the floor.
“Dongho-yah, what on earth...?” Minki paused from herding the younger ones out the other way.
“Meet us out at the front,” Dongho answered, giving him a little wink before lunging at the bear with his shield. The bear groaned again and backed up and out of the tent, with the princess following closely.
Minki, Woojin, and Guanlin found the other three outside, guarded and alert. Jihoon’s crossbow was also armed and aimed at the tent, and Guanlin rushed to place a hand to push it down. “Dongho-hyung says we are not to shoot at the bear,” he explained, and Jihoon mirrored his puzzled expression. Minki had also finished relaying Dongho’s command to their attendants just as the bear had padded out of the tent.
Dongho emerged presently, throwing his shield aside. Armed with nothing but a pair of gauntlets, the princess coolly observed his opponent.
“What is he waiting for?” Minki muttered anxiously, almost like a whisper.
Later on, Daehwi would wryly note to himself that it was yet another moment in which he felt equally terrified of and awestruck with the princess that was Dongho. At that same moment, however, he had quickly grasped the other’s purpose behind his puzzling actions.
“Oh!” Daehwi gasped, involuntarily grabbing onto Jinyoung. “I see... Oh, the poor thing...”
“What?” Jinyoung inquired absently, unable to take his eyes off the scene before him. Regardless, Jinyoung never quite saw clearly how Dongho had done it; in what seemed like a split second, the princess had rushed towards the bear, climbed on its back, and restrained it in a chokehold.
“Found my tiara!” Dongho shouted over the bear’s moans. Weakly, it dropped to a sitting position with arms hanging limply on either side. “Oh, did I hurt you?” he asked the bear as he loosened his grip. In response, it gave a long moan and dropped further to lie down on one side. Dongho uncoiled his legs (and skirts) from the bear’s torso and hopped off before it crushed him.
The princess knelt beside the creature, pulling one of his gauntlets off. His fingers carefully traced the outline of his tiara stuck on the bear’s muzzle. It has not yet cut into the skin, although with the bear’s every attempt at moving its snout, the metal band would dig deeper.
“Well, now, don’t move,” Dongho said comfortingly, signalling for his attendants to come forward, albeit as slow and non-threatening as possible. Even his commands were softly spoken. “Will somebody get it off, please? She’s weak but terrified, and I think she was lured here by the smell of food...”
Minutes later, the tiara was handed over to Dongho and the bear was released into the forest. Inspecting the circlet of black onyx and pink sapphire, he was pleased to see that there were no substantial damages to it, nothing that their court jeweller would not be able to fix.
“Daehwi-yah,” Dongho beckoned, and Daehwi looked thrilled when the tiara was handed to him. “Pretty, isn’t it?” the older princess asked, and the younger nodded, saying, “Let me put this on you, hyung, please, I’d really love to see!”
Dongho laughed, dipping to let the younger princess place the tiara on his head. Amidst the enthusiastic praises from both his candid admirers—Guanlin was all gummy smiles and seal-clapping—Dongho found himself looking over to where Minki had slumped on the ground, leaning against a tree and being fanned by a very concerned Jihoon.
“Minki-yah, are you all right?” he called out as he approached.
“You…!” Minki yelled, struggling to get back on his feet. His anger had apparently fuelled him with enough strength to march and meet Dongho with a solid punch on the arm. “You’re crazy!”
“Hey—ouch!” Dongho whined, rubbing at the spot where he just got hit and resisting the urge to punch the prince back. “No, you are! What was that for?”
“Just—are you trying to kill me?” was the dramatic response. “This is the second time in two days that I’ve had to be so frightened about whether or not I’m going to have to watch you die, you hear? It’s not good for the heart! I—”
Whatever else Minki was going to say was cut off by Dongho’s cackling as he pulled Minki into his arms. For a moment, they struggled against each other, but he held Minki fast until the prince went limp against him. “There, there, there...” Dongho hushed him. Traces of mirth were still evident in his tone but his patting of Minki’s head was the gentlest.
“So,” Woojin then said, having cleared his throat after Minki was done embarrassing himself, “are we still going on that pheasant hunt or...?”
Jihoon clapped his hands. “I think that’s a great idea! Hyung?” he turned to Minki and Dongho with beseeching eyes. “Please?”
“I didn’t realize Jihoon-hyung liked hunting pheasants so much,” Guanlin murmured.
“It’s actually the honey buttered potatoes,” Jinyoung corrected him in an undertone. Seeing Guanlin’s confused frown, he added, “He thinks he ate too much and wants to burn it off...?”
“Oh... That makes sense.”
— » — « —
“Do you both suppose we should have gone with them to the Dark Forest?” Daniel posed, absently scratching one of Jonghyun’s cats sitting beside him. He, Seongwoo, and Jaehwan were enjoying a peaceful breakfast picnic out by the turtle pond at Aaron’s recommendation.
Daniel had been fascinated by the actual turtles living in the pond and had been patiently following their movements so as to provide a running commentary to no one in particular. When a cat invited itself to their party and demanded Daniel’s attention, the prince had been more than happy to oblige and leave the turtles alone.
“And miss this wonderfully peaceful little picnic?” Seongwoo answered languidly, stretching his legs and leaning further into the cushions. “I don’t know about you two but I’m abstaining from adventures for now.”
“Oho,” Jaehwan drawled, strumming the lute to accompany his next words. “Oh, Seongwoo-hyung, you sound like you’re retiring... Is the life of a prince really that tiring...?” he sang.
Daniel giggled and added in the same singsong way. “You’re a prince, too, Jaehwan-ah... why are you even asking...?”
“Oho, that’s a good one,” Jaehwan praised, strumming congratulatory tunes.
“I would retire anytime if it means spending... with my darling idiots, this lovely, lazy morning...” Seongwoo sang with feeling. As he did so, he held out grapes to feed both Daniel and Jaehwan with artistic flair and effectively shutting them up while they chewed on it. The sound of the lute went on, however, gentle and relaxing.
Their quiet morning was slightly interrupted by a pair of familiar voices on the other side of the tall hedges that fenced the turtle pond. The music stopped and all three princes perked up; it was the king’s and Minhyun’s voices, deep in conversation and laughter.
“...so Seungcheol can’t stay because he’s left Soonyoung in charge of Caratteul?” Minhyun was asking, amusement evident in his voice.
“I suppose it’s really Jihoonie who makes the decisions whenever Seungcheol needs to be away, but it probably gets difficult to temper Soonyoung’s fiery enthusiasm,” Jonghyun answered with a fond chuckle. The pair went on, passing by the turtle pond unaware of their guests.
Seongwoo and Jaehwan shared a significant look, grinned at each other, and scrambled to get up with as little noise as possible. Sensing Daniel’s confusion, Seongwoo quickly signalled for him to say nothing and just follow them.
“What are we doing?” Daniel could not help but whisper as he picked up Jonghyun’s cat, cradling it to his chest. “We’re not spying on them, are we?”
“Of course not,” Seongwoo answered while his cheeky grin and Jaehwan’s muffled laughter spoke otherwise. Pretty soon, with nimble and silent footwork, they were on Jonghyun and Minhyun’s trail, with Daniel’s good-natured protests dying on his lips in favour of satiating his curiosity.
Minhyun’s voice floated from up ahead. “Is this really a good time to be unearthing potatoes?”
“Just the one,” Jonghyun answered mysteriously, leading Minhyun into the potato garden.
Seongwoo found a tree which allowed them to peek over the hedges inconspicuously. The cat had jumped off from Daniel’s arms and followed its royal human in the garden, and the trio of princes could hear Jonghyun greet his cat affectionately while they took turns climbing up the tree, each claiming a branch.
The king’s potato garden was not exclusively a garden of potatoes. It was an extension of the turtle pond, thus the proximity and similarity in the flora. While it was likewise fenced by hedging plants and decorated by flowering shrubs within, the garden was named after potatoes that were seasonally grown in large ornate plant pots. When in full bloom, they looked much like any flowering plant and gave the garden an occasional highlight. Otherwise, the garden itself was more of Jonghyun’s personal workspace where he would care for the potatoes like they were his children.
Viewed from where the princes were perched, one could see the group of pots that were set above the rest, and it was towards this area that Jonghyun led Minhyun.
“Our pots are empty,” They heard Minhyun remark.
“Eonibugi isn’t.”
“Eonibugi...?” Daniel echoed under his breath.
“Oho, I’ve heard about this from hyung,” Jaehwan, pertaining to Minhyun, mumbled to the other two. “Those pots are for each of His Majesty and Their Royal Highnesses. Jonghyun-hyung would dedicate growing potatoes for all of them from time to time. If I recall correctly, Minhyun-hyung’s pot is called Nainteil and Jonghyun-hyung’s is Eonibugi.”
Jonghyun picked up the Eonibugi pot and set it down before Minhyun. “This is my ‘welcome home’ gift for you,” he said, a smile pulling up at the corner of his mouth.
“An Eonibugi potato,” Minhyun noted, chuckling. He poked gently at the blue blossoms, “And the flowers, too?”
“All of it. Eonibugi is yours now, Minhyun.”
For the second time that day, Minhyun had to struggle with the pounding of his heart, uncharacteristically conscious of the possibility that Jonghyun might actually hear it. Eonibugi was not just a pot of soil to plant potatoes in; it was something synonymous to Jonghyun himself that for Minhyun to receive it meant he was getting more than just another gift.
The prince had ducked his head in embarrassment over his speechlessness, consequently noticing a metal ring surrounding the base of the potato plant. He found himself lightly digging in the dirt to unearth the metal hoop. Linked to it was a slim chain which disappeared deeper into the soil. He looked curiously at Jonghyun, who simply made a pulling gesture with his hands.
Minhyun obeyed, tentatively pulling at the chain. As the soil was properly loose, it gave way quite easily, causing no damage to the plant while out popped something. Minhyun slightly staggered backwards in surprise, and Jonghyun grabbed his free hand to steady him. The other hand reached out for the end of the chain, clutching at whatever was attached to it. By the time Minhyun had regained his balance, Jonghyun had let go of his hand and was down on one knee at his feet.
The king fumbled with the thing for a moment before finally looking up at Minhyun and presenting him a box. Embedded in the box was a ring, and embedded on the ring were minute gems which, Minhyun recognized, matched those of another ring he knew Jonghyun would eventually have to wear. Jonghyun was, in fact, wearing it already—when had he slipped it on? The gems on the band around the king’s left ring finger gleamed, quiet and steady. Minhyun had once hoped, but never quite imagined, that he would be the recipient of the other.
Jonghyun cleared his throat and spoke, an impish grin on his face:
“There once was a turtle, who also was king.
He loved a fox prince whom he had been missing.
When he welcomed him home,
he had written a poem,
then gave heart and potato, and proposed with a ring.”
“Oh, Jju-yah,” Minhyun gasped, falling down on his knees, weak with laughter and affection for both the ridiculous—it was scarcely witty—limerick and its equally ridiculous author. He threw himself into Jonghyun’s arms and told him what he had been wishing he could tell him since that morning.
“You are more beautiful, and I love you, too.”
Jonghyun’s chuckles in his ear were deep and contented.
“Minhyun, will you marry me?”
“Yes, Jonghyun, I will marry you.”
Up in the tree, Daniel turned to Seongwoo and Jaehwan, still in awe. “I know we ought not to even be here but what a shame Hyunbinnie didn’t get to witness this.”
“Last night, a toast; this morning, a limerick... I thought I’ve been hearing things but, apparently...,” Seongwoo’s words trailed off, and he shook with silent laughter.
“Moreover, they’re still not kissing,” Jaehwan complained. “Why are they not kissing?”
“Come now.” Daniel started climbing down, urging his companions to do the same. “I heard there’s a market fair being set up in town. Shall we ask Jisung-hyung for permission to go?”
“Good idea.”
Jonghyun’s cat meowed and sprinted out of the garden, and the couple pulled apart. “Have they gone away?” Minhyun whispered.
Jonghyun stood up and paused to listen to their surroundings for the three princes, nodding upon hearing nothing. He relayed this confirmation to Minhyun as he held out a hand to help him up. Instead of pulling himself up to stand, Minhyun sat on the grass, tugged at Jonghyun’s hand, and playfully wiggled his fingers at him.
“Of course,” Jonghyun chuckled, joining the prince on the ground and sitting cross-legged beside him. He pulled the ring out of the box, took a deep breath, and slipped it on Minhyun’s left ring finger. The king sighed with relief. “It fits, thank goodness,” he said, and Minhyun was laughing again.
Jonghyun watched him fondly for a moment before leaning in and cutting him off, capturing his lips with his own. As the gesture was very much welcome, it was promptly and eagerly returned, and among the potato pots, the two shared kisses and exchanged promises in between.
“—but a limerick... really?”
A throaty chuckle—“No, not that one.”
“Is it a sonnet, then?”
“Yes, it is.”
— » the end « —