Chapter Text
Junhee shifted from one feet to the other, running a hand through his hair and like that ruining it for the third time this evening. Sehyoon suppressed a sigh and quickly grabbed his husband’s hand, when he lifted it yet again to further increase his hair’s messy state.
“Jun-ah…”
“Huh?” Junhee looked at him, his eyes looking weirdly distant, before he caught his own reflection in the mirror. “Oh…” He tried to organize the mess on his head, but Sehyoon stopped him from doing so by also grabbing his other hand.
“Stop...You’ll only make it worse,” he said, rubbing his thumbs over his husband’s knuckles. “Let me do it.” He let go of Junhee again and began rearranging his hair with confident, skilled movements. Sehyoon had done this often enough, whenever they were traveling in the name of the crown. By now he could probably start working as a stylist.
Once he was done, Sehyoon stepped back and observed the prince with a fond smile. “You look beautiful.”
Junhee tried to return his smile but it looked forced. He didn’t need to tell him for Sehyoon to know how nervous his husband was right now. “Hey… No matter what happens, we’ll get through it together, remember?” He whispered, before pulling Junhee into his arms who held onto him with shaking limbs, while he nodded.
“Yes… together…,” he repeated weakly and Sehyoon gave him a concerned look.
“If you changed your mind, we can still think of a different solution… There is always another way.”
“No! I’m… I’m sure. I want this,” Junhee said, his voice now sounding more confident again. “Tomorrow, all of this will be over and we’ll start a new life. Together.”
Sehyoon smiled and nodded. “Together,” he agreed, before pressing a kiss to his husband’s forehead.
Eun-ah greeted them both with a bright smile, her gorgeous ball gown taking up most of the space in the hallway, once she stepped out of her room. If she had looked beautiful the first time, Sehyoon had seen her, that was nothing in comparison to now. She really did look like the perfect candidate for a princess and once again, Sehyoon felt tiny doubts flare up inside of him but he quickly brushed them away. He knew better.
“You look amazing,” Junhee said, his usual charming smile on his face and Eun-ah’s own smile grew even wider, before she took his offered arm.
“I can only say the same about you. You both look gorgeous together.” Sehyoon felt himself slightly blush at that. Junhee was usually the only one who called him beautiful or gorgeous and knowing that Eun-ah thought they looked amazing together was even better.
They hadn’t secretly chosen matching suits for nothing. Dark turquoise velvet that glistened in the light just like the ocean. Sehyoon had never worn a suit with such an usual color before but he had to admit that he really liked it. Especially the way it looked on Junhee. Sehyoon’s heart seemed to jump unhealthily, whenever his eyes fell on his husband but maybe that was just because of his anxiety.
“My mom is not gonna be too happy about it,” Junhee stated, sounding casual and not as if he was about to get screamed at for hours. “She wanted me to wear something red so it would match well with your dress. It’s really beautiful, by the way.” Sehyoon nodded in agreement while Eun-ah smiled.
“Thanks guys. I like it too but I also can’t wait to take it off again… It’s a bit tight around my chest.”
Chatting among themselves like this, they made their way down to the ballroom. Telling from the loud noises and classical music echoing through the palace, the ball had already started without them. Not that Sehyoon minded. He had never enjoyed any large events like this. They were too tiring.
With every step, the distance between them and the door got smaller and Sehyoon noticed how his heart started beating faster and his hands turned disgustingly sweaty. Junhee in front of him looked more and more tense, too, and when they had nearly reached the ballroom, Sehyoon couldn’t help but raise his hand and encouragingly squeeze his husband’s shoulder.
“It’s gonna be alright,” he mumbled and Junhee nodded.
“Yes… I hope so.”
“You can hold onto me if you want,” Eun-ah offered and the smile returned to Junhee’s pale face.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
For a few seconds, they allowed themselves to stand in front of the door and just listen. Then Junhee took a deep breath and together, they entered the ballroom.
Sehyoon didn’t really know what he had expected. When he had been younger and secretly really invested in fairy tale and romance movies, he had always dreamed of crashing a ball or just any fancy party, really. Looking amazing so that the music would stop and everybody stared at him with open mouths, just like Cinderella.
Today, however, Sehyoon had to realize that the reality of such a moment was much more uncomfortable and nerve wrecking than he had always imagined. He had expected people to look, of course. After all, he was in company of the crown prince and his alleged fiancée, not to forget that said crown prince and him were wearing matching suits. But still, the fact that the music really did stop and everybody in the grand hall turned their heads towards them, caught him off guard.
“Shit,” Junhee quietly whispered in front of him, too, and they stopped, awkwardly standing by the door without really knowing what to do next. “Why is it that nobody in this damn country can just mind their own business for once?”
At that moment, the prince’s mother appeared in the crowd and Sehyoon felt his heart drop. That was it. There was no going back now.
“Son! Junhee!” She hurried towards them with an extremely stressed looking face, only to turn towards the musicians, once she had nearly reached them. One of her glances was enough to immediately make them pick up their instruments again. Soon, music drowned out the whispers that had risen and most of the guests got the decency to at least pretend to return to whatever they had been doing before Sehyoon and the other two had crashed the ball.
“What the hell are you doing?” Finally, the prince’s mother was standing in front of them and she couldn’t look further from happiness. Her eyes were practically burning holes into their skins.
“Attending the ball… Just as you wanted me to,” Junhee answered and Sehyoon was amazed by how calm and steady his voice sounded. Wouldn’t it be for his hands that were clenched to fists, he would have thought his husband wasn’t afraid of his mother at all.
“I told you to wear red! What is this ugly blue suit? I thought we were done with your immature behavior! This is a serious matter. Go and change! Now! ” It wasn’t even the angriest Sehyoon had ever seen the woman and apparently Junhee thought so too, because he seemed to relax, though only a tiny bit.
“No. Isn’t there an important announcement scheduled? I wouldn’t want to delay the dinner any further.”
“Junhee…” It was clearly a warning but the prince only nodded at his mother and then walked past her and towards the small stage, where the musicians were still playing, entirely oblivious to what was about to happen. Eun-ah bowed and hastily followed him but before Sehyoon was able to do the same, the queen’s hand shot forward and closed itself around his wrist. Surprised, Sehyoon stared at her and the anger with which she was looking at him made goosebumps crawl up his skin.
“You…,” she said. “This is all your fault! He has become like this after he met you! What are you? A spy? Is it your goal to end the royal bloodline?” Sehyoon huffed in disbelief, directly looking into her eyes for the very first time, before he slowly shook his head.
“No… Junhee has always been like this. You just never actually paid any attention to what he is really like. All I did was listen to him.” With these words, he freed his wrist out of her grip and followed his husband who was already in the process of climbing the steps to the stage.
Once, the musicians noticed him, they immediately stopped playing and slowly the guests shifted their attention towards the prince while a confused whispering emerged in the room. Meanwhile, Junhee grabbed a microphone and then glanced at Sehyoon who gave him an encouraging nod. His husband smiled and turned back to the crowd that was curiously watching him.
“Good evening and welcome to our beautiful palace.” He stopped, waiting for even the last person to go quiet and listen to him, before he continued, “Most of you probably came, because you got told I’d make an important announcement tonight.” Junhee chuckled dryly. “Well, you are in luck, because that is indeed true and the best part of it is that I won’t even make you listen to an hour long speech beforehand, because, to be honest, I really hate those.” Again there was a whisper going through the audience and Sehyoon noticed his heartbeat fasten. This was really it… He silently sent all his love and courage to his husband, hoping the latter would somehow be able to sense it like a hero in a fantasy novel. Even if Junhee did, he didn’t let it show. Instead he stayed entirely focused on his audience in front of him, the charismatic smile on his lips like always.
“Yeah so I hope I made you even more curious now and yes, tonight, I will answer all the burning questions you’ve always been too afraid to ask.” The smile on his face deepened but Sehyoon still noticed the way he shifted nervously. Junhee seemed calm but on the inside, his heart was probably beating similarly fast as Sehyoon’s.
“You might have heard the rumors that I will get married very soon. Those rumors are wrong. However, you might also have heard of the rumors saying that I am gay. Other than the first rumors, those are not so wrong.” This time the crowd did not only whisper but there were gasps echoing through the hall and Sehyoon huffed. They sounded as if Junhee had just announced he was secretly part of a cult and sacrificing first borns to some kind of god. It was ridiculous, really, but Junhee didn’t let himself get fazed by that.
“Yeah it’s amazing isn’t it? But it gets even better… because now we are coming back to the marriage rumors. Of course, there is a reason why I’m not getting married and it’s simple, really.” The prince stopped for a dramatic pause, knowing very well that every person in the entire room was hanging to his lips. Even his mother had stopped waving around like a maniac and instead was staring at her son with wide eyes now, too.
She knows … It flashed through Sehyoon’s mind. Not that it mattered any longer and he turned his attention back to Junhee.
“I won’t get married, because I’ve actually been a married man for a couple of weeks now. So far it’s been great so I’m not planning on remarrying any time soon.” Again there were gasps that the prince simply ignored. “Let me introduce you to my beautiful husband. Sehyoon, come up here.” Suddenly all eyes were on him and Sehyoon froze. He didn’t like all the attention but he knew that he couldn’t leave his husband hanging and so he bravely walked up the stairs on shaking legs, instead of running out of the hall like he wanted to. However, as soon as he got met by Junhee’s warm smile and his hand that wrapped itself around his waist, the nervousness disappeared. He didn’t care about these people and their opinions. The only person he cared about was Junhee and the fact that he was finally able to show the world that this breathtaking man was his husband made happiness rush through his veins. Free… Very soon they would finally be free.
“Junhee! Stop this now!” The prince’s mother had apparently overcome her shock, because she was running towards them with a face that made it clear that they were in deep trouble. There wasn’t much time left but Junhee’s voice stayed calm and steady,
“The last announcement I want to make is that I’m returning to University to study classical arts, next semester, since I’m interested in pursuing a career in that field. I’m therefore also resigning from my position as the crown prince and heir to the throne, but don’t worry; after a longer discussion we decided that my very capable and beloved sister will take my place instead. She’ll be a much better lead for this country than I could ever be so this is a win for you, honestly.” Sehyoon spotted Da-eun who was standing next to her husband and blinked at them with an open hanging mouth. It was probably easy to figure out that nobody had included her in that discussion. But she wasn’t alone with that. Junhee’s mother hadn’t been part of it either and she looked like she was close to fainting, as did some other elderly guests, while chaos erupted around them.
“I know she has always dreamed of becoming queen and it’s the twenty-first century; you’ll get over it. Okay that’s it! Thank you so much for your attention and dinner is ready by the way. Enjoy your meal!” With these words Junhee grabbed Sehyoon’s hand and pulled him down the stairs, where they got met by a brightly grinning Eun-ah.
“Amazing!” She exclaimed, pulling both of them into a hug, before pointing towards the door. “Now go. They’ll all need a while to come around.”
“Thanks!” Sehyoon said but Eun-ah only shook her head.
“There is nothing to thank me for. You two still better invite me over for tea at some point, though!”
“Will do!” Junhee exclaimed, already heading towards the exit while pulling Sehyoon along. It was obvious that the prince couldn’t wait to finally leave the palace behind. However, they had barely set foot into the mild evening, when a familiar voice made them stop in their tracks,
“Junhee! Stop! Please!”
The grip around Sehyoon’s hand tightened and his husband took a deep breath, before he slowly turned around.
“I won’t go back, mother,” he said, his eyes looking distant.
“But why?” She looked desperate and for a split second, Sehyoon felt bad for her. It must be a shock when one’s world suddenly takes such a drastic change. But Junhee could sing her a song about that and that thought took away all his sympathy.
“Because I’m tired! I’m tired and I hate all of this. Being a prince, having no freedom or a saying in literally anything in my life. I hate hiding and I want to finally live as myself!” Junhee exclaimed and with these words, he turned around again and pulled Sehyoon along who had no choice but stumble after him. He did not know how Junhee’s mother reacted to her son’s explanation, but she also did not try to stop them again, while they headed down the path.
A couple of minutes later, they reached Sehyoon’s car which was already filled with most of their stuff and after glancing at the light up palace one last time, Sehyoon got in on the driver’s side. He started the engine, not really knowing what to say or how to feel, while Junhee scrambled in, too, and they drove down the road.
They ended up sitting in silence, Junhee staring out of the window, until they eventually passed the palace gates and his husband’s body visibly relaxed. He finally looked over at Sehyoon and despite the darkness, the latter could make out the wide smile growing on Junhee’s face before a laugher escaped his lips and then another one. Sehyoon stared at him positively surprised and eventually, he couldn’t help but join in.
“You know… I thought I’d feel scared driving away from everything I know, but I’ve never felt more relieved in my entire life.” There was genuine happiness glowing on Junhee’s face and at that moment, Sehyoon was sure that everything would be alright.