Chapter Text
“Run away with me.”
Yeonjun had to blink once and then twice to make sure he wasn’t hearing things. He looked for any signs of humor on Soobin’s face, but the latter’s demeanor remained serious. “What? We can’t!” He shakes his head frantically, aware of the risk. “There is no way we would be able to escape without getting caught! I- I can’t put you in danger.”
Despite Yeonjun panicking, Soobin remains calm as he caresses the back of Yeonjun’s hand with his thumb. “Junie my everything. Look at me,” He gently cups Yeonjun’s face, compelling him to look up. “I have a plan. And I am not afraid to put myself at risk for you. I’ll protect you, okay?”
“But–” Yeonjun hesitates but is cut off by Soobin.
“Shh. I told you already that my life is pointless if you are not in it. So please let me be with you.” He says softly and Yeonjun sighs, a million thoughts running in his head but at this point all he could see was Choi Soobin in front of him. He wants to be selfish for once in his life and choose his happiness without overthinking about the future.
So he gazes into Soobin’s beautiful eyes and confidently nods. “Yes. Okay. I want to go with you.” And the way Soobin’s eyes crinkle when he smiles is enough for Yeonjun to know that he made the right decision. He doesn’t want to live a life that doesn’t have Soobin in it either.
Soobin finally lets go of Yeonjun and glances back to make sure there’s no one around. “First we must get you out of there.” He clutches the steel lock that is very securely latched to prevent the prisoner from escaping and groans. He tries to figure out a way to open the latch but nothing comes to his mind.
“How are you going to open that?” Yeonjun whispers, trying to think of a way as well. Soobin stares at the lock for a few moments before his gaze falls on the huge stone lying on the ground and an idea pops in his mind. “Yeonjun, move away from the door.”
“What? What are you going to do?” Yeonjun hisses frantically, hoping it’s not what he thinks.
“I said move away.” Soobin repeats once again and crouches down to pick up the rock. There is no guarantee whether this would work or not, even with a risk of Soobin injuring himself or someone hearing them. But it’s not like they had any better options.
Yeonjun listens and reluctantly moves away, his gaze following Soobin’s every move. “Don’t hurt yourself Soob.”
Soobin smiles as reassuringly as he could and nods, before striking the heavy rock on the lock, the voice echoing. Yeonjun flinches and he watches his muscles flex as he repeatedly continues to hit the lock. A bead of sweat rolls down Soobin’s temple as he breathes raggedly, his eyes widening when the latch moves away slightly.
“It’s working!” Soobin exclaims, using more force. Just after a few minutes, the lock falls on the ground with a resounding clang and Soobin drops the heavy stone, panting heavily. Nobody could hear all this chaos, thanks to the dungeons being located on the more isolated part of the palace.
Soobin scrambles inside to get Yeonjun outside safely and immediately pulls the older in a comforting embrace, breathing in relief. Yeonjun buries his head in Soobin’s chest, shutting his eyes for a brief moment of tranquility.
He pulls back and gently holds Soobin’s bruised hands, giving them soft kisses. The way Soobin gazes at him so intensely and fondly makes Yeonjun feel so warm that he’s unable to break eye contact even as he notices Soobin’s eyes dart to his lips.
Soobin leans closer towards him, the distance between them nearly non-existent, and traces his thumb over his bottom lip gently. “May I?” He whispers carefully and Yeonjun nods shyly with his cheeks tinted pink.
Soobin almost immediately presses his soft lips to Yeonjun, and Yeonjun kisses back with the same eagerness. They kiss softly and slowly as if savouring the moment because they don’t know what their future holds. They try to convey all the hidden emotions and unsaid words through this kiss.
Soobin unwillingly pulls away due to the lack of air as the two of them breath heavily. He gives Yeonjun one last peck before intertwining their fingers. “Let’s go.”
Soobin takes a quick peek out to make sure the coast is clear before taking a cautious step out without letting go of Yeonjun’s hand. Yeonjun had no idea what Soobin’s plan was since they had no time to discuss it but he trusted him enough to not question it. Soobin abruptly stops under a huge tree where a horse was tied and turns around, removing the silk garment he was wearing.
“What are you doing?”
“Put this on. It’s to keep you hidden.” Soobin says and Yeonjun wears it as quickly as he can. Soobin pulls the cape over Yeonjun’s head and nods to himself. He sneakily walks towards the horse, which Yeonjun recognizes as Soobin’s, and unties him, slowly taking him closer to Yeonjun.
Soobin helps Yeonjun sit on the saddle and then climbs the horse as well, pulling Yeonjun close to him.
“Are you ready?” He inquires and Yeonjun takes a deep breath before humming in response. “Never been more ready in my life.”
Soobin takes that as a green signal and begins galloping away as quickly and quietly he could through the secret isolated route he always used to sneak out at night to meet Yeonjun.
<>
Beomgyu tries not to yawn as the two families continue to talk about something that he doesn’t care about. After helping Soobin to meet Hueningkai, he immediately returned back to the throne room to make sure everything is fine and handle the situation in case something goes wrong.
His eyes almost droop when he’s jolted back to his senses by the gate of the throne room opening loudly. He tries not to wince at the loud sound, watching as three guards hurry inside along with a maid that bows and leaves.
“How can we help you, Your Majesty?” The shortest among the trio says and the King raises a brow. “You abruptly interrupt our meeting and ask this!? What are you saying?”
The three guards exchange sheepish glances, with the middle one cocking his head slightly. “Um. You didn’t call us?”
The King sighs and nods. “I didn’t.”
“W-we… We are sorry!” Beomgyu watches with a bored expression as the guards apologize and scurry out of the royal room. What even goes on in the palace?
The two families ignore whatever happened and continue to chat about whatever grand wedding plans they were discussing as Beomgyu tries to hold back another yawn. Taehyun immediately takes notice of Beomgyu’s boredom and smiles fondly at him.
Beomgyu is snapped out of his drowsiness when Taehyun suddenly grabs his wrist and stands up. “Your Majesty, if you don’t mind, we would like to take a leave and continue with our work to give you some privacy.”
Beomgyu notes how instead of getting upset by the sudden interruption like he did before with the guards, the King grins widely and nods. “Yangban Taehyun never fails to amaze me by how wise he is! You certainly can.”
Yangban Taehyun is simply bored. Beomgyu thinks and tries not to snicker out loud as Taehyun tugs him outside.
Beomgyu takes a breath of fresh air as they reach the balcony directly above the throne room and a fresh, earthy aroma fills his nose. He peeks outside just to be met with a gray and gloomy sky covered with dark clouds gathering up, threatening rain.
The weather felt dark and ominous and the howling of the wind was terrifying as if this dreary weather was a sign that something bad was to come.
“Are you okay?” Taehyun questions, noticing Beomgyu deep in his thoughts. Beomgyu shakes his thoughts off and hums, shifting his gaze to Taehyun. “It’s just the weather. It’s very gloomy.”
“It is.” Taehyun replies, standing close beside Beomgyu.
“Yeonjun hyung and Soobin hyung are self-aware now.” Beomgyu suddenly says and Taehyun looks at him with raised brows. “Oh.” A brief moment of silence takes over them before Taehyun turns his entire body to Beomgyu, slightly leaning towards him. “Can we talk about something else?”
Beomgyu blinks, a little taken aback by their close proximity. “W-what.. What do you want to talk about?”
“Us.”
Taehyun smirks as he watches Beomgyu’s eyes widen and his cheeks heat up, getting flustered. Cute.
“What… what about us?”
“Hmm…” Taehyun pretends to think deeply as he moves to stand in front of Beomgyu, leaning in close. “I gave you a present but you didn’t give me anything back?” He teases and cages Beomgyu against the balcony railing with his hand on the handrail beside his waist.
Beomgyu’s eyes widen in panic as he starts rambling. “I’m sorry! Oh I really… I feel so bad! Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you, I promise!”
“Anything? Are you sure?” Taehyun inquires, tilting his head.
“I’m sure.” Beomgyu nods confidently and a smug grin makes its way on Taehyun’s face. Beomgyu squints his eyes suspiciously, observing Taehyun who leans towards his ear, making his eyes shut instinctively.
“I want a kiss,” He whispers and Beomgyu tries not to choke on air. “Only if you want to obviously. No forcing here!” He adds to make sure that Beomgyu knows that.
Beomgyu’s gaze wanders across the room, looking everywhere except for Taehyun and his heart beats so loudly that he’s certain the latter can hear it at this point. He takes a deep breath and tries to ignore his racing heart, attempting to be as confident as he can as he cups Taehyun’s jaw and pulls his face a little away so that he can stare into his eyes intensely.
Beomgyu absolutely loves the way Taehyun’s grin slowly fades away and the tip of his ears turn red. It’s Beomgyu’s turn to grin now as he starts to lean in close and watches Taehyun’s eyes flutter shut. He tries not to chuckle before giving Taehyun a chaste peck and rushing past him, leaving Taehyun alone to process whatever just happened.
What just happened.
He touches the spot where the tingle from Beomgyu’s lips was still there which snapped him back to reality. He turns around, chasing Beomgyu downstairs with a whine. “This is not fair! I want more. Give me more kisses–” He abruptly purses his lips when he sees who is standing behind Beomgyu who has no idea and is chuckling at him. “Why are you looking like you saw a ghost?” He giggles.
“Am I interrupting something?” Hueningkai’s teasing voice makes Beomgyu’s smile drop as he turns around, embarrassed. “K-kai! Haha… What are you doing here?”
Kai shakes his head, pointing towards the entrance of the throne room. “I was here to deliver the meal for the guests personally.”
“Ah.”
“And I need to tell you something,” He adds and Beomgyu raises a brow in question, gesturing him to continue.
“I think it’s near.” He vaguely says and Taehyun takes a step forward to stand beside Beomgyu.
“What is?”
“The end.”
“What!?” Beomgyu yells way too loudly and places a hand on his mouth after realization. “What makes you say that?” He hisses frantically. He doesn’t know if he should be happy that the book is finally coming to an end or anxious about the ending.
“There aren’t many pages left in the book,” he says, looking down as though debating whether or not to say more. “I’m mainly here for you Beomgyu. I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt this time. You’re a precious friend to me and I can’t bear the pain of losing you infront of my eyes once again.”
Beomgyu sighs and fumbles with his fingers before shaking his head. “I already told you that isn’t necessary. I’ll be fine so don’t worry–”
“No,” Surprisingly, he gets interrupted by Taehyun who holds his hand gently and intertwines their fingers together. “Let him stay with us. I know I’d rather die than hurt or let someone hurt you but it’s better to have him since he knows more about the book world.”
Taehyun smiles at Kai gratefully who returns the smile with a nod. “Thank you for… everything.”
Just as Kai is about to open his mouth to respond, a loud shrill voice interrupts them. “Why is this palace so huge!? It’s like a maze!!!” Kai turns around with wide eyes, blinking at the girl in front of them. “Isn’t she the… future Crown princess?” He murmurs to them as she stomps inside the throne room, her strides not so graceful anymore, and Beomgyu’s stomach drops in fear.
He knows that Hwayoung is about to tell everyone how Soobin ran away and left her behind, which will further complicate matters, especially because he has no idea where Soobin is right now. He takes a step forward to follow her inside when a hand on his wrist stops him. “Where are you going?” Taehyun asks, looking at him in worry.
“It’s… Soobin hyung left her alone and she’ll tell them. Everything will be chaos if she tells them the Crown prince just ran away from her!”
“I’ll come with you.” Taehyun replies and tugs him forward, motioning Hueningkai to follow them too.
The throne room is already in a state of commotion as they enter, with Lord Junho and his wife listening to their daughter rant angrily. “His Royal Highness simply abandoned me with no explanation! He wouldn’t even look at me as if I was a ghost!”
Beomgyu’s gaze falls on the King who appears enraged and he chews on his bottom lip in worry.
“Sorry to interrupt you but he didn’t flee because of that. He just gets shy around new people and you are someone he’s getting married to. Obviously he’d get nervous. He’s just taking a breather to calm down and will be right back.” Everyone’s attention is drawn to Taehyun as he calmly cuts everyone off.
Beomgyu tries not to sigh out loud in relief as he gazes at Taehyun gratefully. As always, Taehyun comes to his rescue. Taehyun squeezes his hand and Beomgyu looks down at it. He did not even realize that they still had their fingers intertwined. And that too infront of everyone!
Choi Beomgyu, now’s not the time! He mentally scolds himself.
Hwayoung furrows her brow in suspicion at Taehyun. “Really? Cause he definitely wasn’t looking at me in nervousness. He looked at me as if he was scared!”
When she raises her voice slightly, Hwayoung’s mother pulls her back and glares at her. “Calm down. You’re the future Crown princess, behave like one. Where have all the manners that I taught you vanished!?” She whispers to her but it is loud enough for everyone to hear as Hwayoung sighs in defeat and nods.
“Please accept my apologies, Your Majesty. I acted irrationally and created a ruckus. I truly apologize.” She apologizes and bows to the King and Queen, who waves it off.
“It’s fine. It was just a misunderstanding.” The Queen replies with a smile that looks forced.
Hueningkai and Beomgyu exchange a relieved glance but before they could even relax a little the doors of the throne room burst open once again. Everyone’s gaze falls on the same three guards that had come earlier and Beomgyu notices the panic on their face that they are trying very hard to hide.
Why is there never a moment of peace in this palace? He tries not to groan out loud.
“You three again?” The King sighs, shaking his head.
“Y-your majesty… We need to talk to you in person. It has to do with… some personal matters.” The shortest one speaks again, a slight tremble in his voice that makes Beomgyu a little worried.
“I’ll be right back then,” He announces to the guests and strides outside, glaring at the guards. “It better be something important, considering how you made me leave an important meeting.”
Taehyun, Beomgyu and Hueningkai immediately follow them outside to hear what’s going on.
Snap.
Why are we suddenly on stage!? Beomgyu anxiously wonders and exchanges concerned glances with Taehyun and Hueningkai, knowing full well that they are thinking the same thing.
As soon as they reach the courtyard under a shelter to protect them from the slow rain drops that have begun to fall on the ground, creating a soft, rhythmic tapping sound, the guards don’t waste a minute before coming right to the point without beating around the bush.
“Choi Yeonjun has escaped!”
“What!?” The King exclaims loudly and Beomgyu blinks to make sure he heard correctly. He lets out a shaky breath, unable to move.
“And we can’t find His Royal Highness anywhere too…” They continued, and if Beomgyu hadn’t been on stage right now, he would have gasped out loud. He looked at Taehyun with wide eyes as the realisation sets in. They are running away.
“They ran away!? That idiot... And how careless are you all, what do I have you all for?” The King growls, running his fingers through his hair, but Beomgyu felt his voice fade away in the background as a million thoughts raced in his head. “Bring them back right now! Don’t let them escape!”
“I’ll bring them,” Taehyun’s voice snaps Beomgyu back to reality as he clenches his fists in worry. Taehyun’s face is completely blank but Beomgyu knows he’s currently panicking on the inside as well. He didn’t mean to say it. They are completely out of control. “I’ll make sure they don’t escape so you should go back and send the guests off, Your Majesty. I promise to bring them back alive to you right here.”
The King nods and gives Taehyun and Beomgyu a pat on their shoulders. “Okay.” He simply says and walks away, completely trusting them with this.
Red alarms blare in Beomgyu’s head as he pleads with the author in his mind to stop whatever is going on. He needs to regain control and put a stop to this.
“Let’s go.” Taehyun says as the three guards bring the horses. When did Taehyun even ask them to bring the horses? Either that part wasn’t written or Beomgyu was too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice his surroundings.
Beomgyu meets Hueningkai’s eyes and receives a comforting nod. He sees it in his eyes that even Kai, who always had answers to all of his questions, has no idea what to do anymore. Yet, as Beomgyu steps out in the rain, unable to control his steps, he attempts to reassure him nonverbally as much as he can with his gaze.
He looks up in confusion when not a single drop of rain falls on him just to see Taehyun standing beside him, holding a garment over his head, with droplets of water falling on him, not enough to entirely drench him but enough to damp him.
Even though the author has complete control over his entire body, he still has control over his heart, which beats abnormally fast in response to Taehyun’s little but sweet gesture. And he knows Taehyun would have done it regardless of whether they were on stage or in shadow.
“Let’s go on the same horse. We don’t know where we might have to go and staying together and then tracking each other with two horses would be difficult.” He says and Beomgyu feels himself nod.
Since both of his hands were occupied holding the cloth over his head, Taehyun leans down slightly to allow Beomgyu to easily climb on the horse using his shoulder.
“Thanks.” Beomgyu murmurs as Taehyun mounts after ensuring that Beomgyu is settled properly and that not a single drop of water touches him.
“It’s alright,” Taehyun replies as he wraps his arms around Beomgyu’s waist and grabs the reins. “Follow me!” He yells loudly to the guards and the horse starts galloping.
Beomgyu feels the cool wind caress his skin as the pitter patter of the rain grows louder, accompanied by thunder that makes him flinch. He turns slightly to glance at Taehyun, who was now completely drenched and had his brows scrunched in concentration, attempting to find anything that could help them search where Soobin and Yeonjun had fled.
“I see a trail here,” He announces, slowing the horse down a little to allow the three guards following them to catch up and listen to him. “I think they are escaping from the hillside, most likely to a faraway kingdom where no one would recognize them.”
Can’t we just leave them alone and lie to the King? He wonders but deep down he knows it’s not possible, especially as long as they don’t get back in shadow. Taehyun gazes down at him for a brief moment and Beomgyu could see the hint of guilt and concern in his eyes. All they could do now was hope to get back into control as the horse began to climb onto a hilly area.
Beomgyu isn’t sure how long it’s been since they’ve been moving through the mountains incessantly, majorly since they are on stage right now. They were moving through the narrow trees when a guard’s loud voice made his heart drop to his stomach. “His Royal Highness! He’s there!” His eyes widen when he sees where the guard was pointing and indeed at a faraway distance he could see Soobin looking back at them in pure horror.
“Make sure they don’t get away!” Taehyun orders and begins moving the horse as quickly as he can.
“Shit. How did they find us!?” Soobin mutters in panic and starts to move his horse too, which trots slowly.
“It’s Beomgyu and Taehyun. They are not in control right now.” Yeonjun mumbles worriedly, looking back.
Adrenaline surges through Soobin’s body as he pulls Yeonjun closer to him and spurs the horse to gallop faster yet the animal’s speed appears to be decreasing. There is definitely something wrong but Soobin doesn’t have the time to check when they could be caught any moment.
“S-soobin…” Yeonjun’s shaky voice startles him out of his thoughts as he hums in response, trying to concentrate on escaping. “The… The horseshoe…” That catches Soobin’s attention as he finally looks at Yeonjun who’s entire face has turned pale and is pointing at the horse’s now bare hooves. His eyes widen in terror at the realization that the horse won’t be able to continue much longer and the rain getting in his eyes as well as the darkness despite the fact it wasn’t that late is exacerbating the situation.
“Shit!” He curses once again and glances back just to see Taehyun catching up to them. Soobin knows they have no other option now as he somehow manages to flee to a little open area and reins in the horse, which slows down. He dismounts the horse and helps Yeonjun get off, who stares at him in concern.
“Stay behind me, okay?” Soobin says as he stands in front of Yeonjun protectively, and draws his sword.
“No no no no,” Yeonjun mumbles in worry and Soobin notices his hands shaking. “They… What if they hurt you? No, I can’t let that happen.” He shakes his head as Soobin intertwines their fingers, kissing him on his forehead.
“Shh Angel. Baby. Listen to me,” He gently says, wiping the stray raindrop rolling down Yeonjun’s cheek. “I’m the Crown Prince. They can’t hurt me. So don’t worry, okay?”
Yeonjun hesitantly nods, squeezing their intertwined hands and Soobin smiles softly at him. He knows he’ll do anything for this boy. And Yeonjun would do the same too.
The sound of horses galloping gets louder and closer and Soobin gets ready with his sword as Taehyun and the three guards stop their horses just a few steps away from them. Soobin points his sword forward with his arm extended when Taehyun and Beomgyu dismount the horse.
“Try taking one step forward and I won’t hesitate to pierce your skin with this sword.” A shiver runs down Yeonjun’s body as his ever so sweet, kind and gentle Soobin yells angrily, his voice bold and unwavering.
Taehyun remains unaffected as he doesn’t even bother to pull out his sword. “It’s simple. Just give us him and Your Majesty will let you go as well.”
“Do you honestly believe I would let you take him?” Soobin scoffs, his body completely engulfing Yeonjun. “Over my dead body!”
“Alright then,” Taehyun nods, drawing his sword as well and Soobin steps back with Yeonjun, ready to battle. “It’s the two of you then.” He charges forward, swinging his sword at Soobin, who deftly dodges it and counters with a quick jab. Taehyun parries the blow by holding his sword vertically and the sound of metal clanging makes them cringe internally.
Soobin flinches as a sudden flash of lightning lights up the sky and thunder rumbles ferociously, and Taehyun takes advantage of that split second of weakness by throwing his sword on the ground and pushing him down.
“Soobin-ah!”
Soobin falls on the ground with a grunt and Yeonjun’s eyes widen in panic as he runs forward, grabbing Soobin’s fallen sword instantly and lunging at Taehyun in rage. However, his attack is blocked when Beomgyu leaps up on him, causing them both to fall to the wet and muddy ground.
I’m sorry hyung. Beomgyu tries to convey through his eyes as he makes eye contact with the older underneath him.
It's okay, it’s not your fault. Yeonjun nods and slightly lifts his brows, hoping that the other has received his message.
“Guards, get them!” He hears Taehyun order as he helps Beomgyu stand up.
“His Royal Highness as well?” One of them hesitantly inquires, glancing at Soobin.
“Yes. His Royal Highness as well.”
Yeonjun’s heart drops to his stomach as the gravity of the situation now sinks in. They got caught. What’s going to happen to them now?
<>
The rain pelts them as they stand in the middle of the palace courtyard, surrounded by the King and Queen, who were not too far away, at the entrance to the throne room, under the roof, and Taehyun and Beomgyu, who were together under a shelter, as well as a few guards who stood at a safe distance in case they attempted to flee again. He’s unable to see Kai though, who was secretly watching them from a corner.
Soobin continues to stand guardianly in front of Yeonjun, his sword extended towards no one in particular.
“Choi Soobin,” The King finally breaks the silence, his voice reverberating around the courtyard. “You were a great Crown Prince, always calm and poised, never making stupid mistakes. So what made you so foolish this time?”
Soobin chooses to remain quiet, instead glaring at his father silently.
“I can’t believe you have got this foolish for this boy! A boy who can’t even match our standards. You are the Crown Prince and he… Who is he? He’s a nobody!”
The harsh remarks make Yeonjun wince, and he lowers his gaze to the ground. It’s the truth, he’s right. He really is a nobody.
Hearing that enrages Soobin even more and he finally loses his temper. “Don’t talk about him like that! He’s not a nobody. He is everything to me.” Yeonjun bites his trembling lower lip, fighting back tears. Why must Soobin make him feel so... loved?
“I can’t believe you thought you could run away, escape from the palace and live a happy life with this lowlife,” The King mocks, shaking his head disappointedly. “Anyway, I don’t want to waste time arguing with you over this, so I’ll offer you two options.”
At that, Yeonjun finally raises his gaze and glances at Soobin first who has his brows furrowed in anger and confusion and then at the King. His heart drops. There is no way it could be anything good, judging from the smug grin on his face.
“Either I kill you both for breaking the rules and attempting to flee,” The King continues nonchalantly, the smirk on his face unwavering. “Or you can just kill Choi Yeonjun and we’ll let you come back as if nothing ever happened. The choice is yours.”
Soobin’s heart sinks. The voices around him suddenly become muffled and he feels dizzy, unable to comprehend anything. This is a dream, this has to be a dream right?
“Soobin-ah…”
But Yeonjun’s shaky voice reminds him that this isn’t a dream and he lowers his sword while shaking his head frantically. “No no no no. Please. Please don’t do this to me, Father.”
He gets down on his knees and leaves Yeonjun’s hand to join his hands in a pleading gesture. “I’m begging you, please don’t do this. Just take me and let him go. Take my life and let him go, he didn’t do anything it was my plan!”
“Soobin!” Yeonjun exclaims as he grabs Soobin’s hands again and helps him stand up, turning him around so that he can face him. Even the rain wasn’t enough to hide the tears streaming down their cheeks. “What are you saying? Stop saying nonsense!” He sobs, his hands shivering as he tries to wipe Soobin’s tears.
“No. Did you hear what they said?”
“I did,” Yeonjun nods. “Please choose the second option.”
“What?” Soobin exclaims, taking a step away from Yeonjun. “No no no. No way! I’m not doing that to you. I’m not going to let them hurt you.” He cries so desperately that a sob escapes Yeonjun’s lips.
“Soobin. You must live. They’ll kill us both if you don’t let me go. You need to become that amazing Crown Prince and King that you have been working so hard for. I’m so proud of you and it’ll make me so happy to see you become an amazing King. You’ll do that much for me right?” Yeonjun asks with a sniffle, his voice cracking at the end.
Soobin remains quiet, slowly shaking his head and not meeting Yeonjun’s tearful eyes.
“Please stay alive,” He whispers. “Because I can’t.”
Soobin’s head snaps up at that. “No! We’ll both stay alive together. We’ll figure something out there has to be a way–”
“I love you Soobin.”
Soobin stops talking and freezes, fresh tears welling up in his eyes as Yeonjun approaches him and leans in close, pressing his lips against his.
Soobin kisses back passionately in a fraction of a second, but the way his fingers curled around Yeonjun’s showed true emotion. Yeonjun threw his arms around Soobin’s shoulder, reveling in the warmth for one final time. The kiss was slow, full of longing and desperation.
Soobin unwillingly pulls away due to the lack of air and joins their foreheads together. “I love you so much,” He replies back, gazing at Yeonjun with so much love. “I love you so so much Choi Yeonjun.” He repeats as he gently kisses Yeonjun’s eyes, nose, cheeks and lastly a soft peck on his lips.
“So please let me go.” Yeonjun says and Soobin shakes his head again, holding Yeonjun in his arms tighter as if he was afraid he would disappear.
“Do you remember that day when we made wishes to the shooting stars and I told you I’ll tell you what my wish was someday?” Yeonjun inquires when Soobin doesn’t say anything.
“Ofcourse. How could I ever forget that night?” The way Soobin smiles so wistfully absolutely breaks Yeonjun’s heart and he feels his own heart aching as well.
“I wished to be with you. And I wished I could be like this with you in front of others without having to hide and look, my wish has just come true. I was able to kiss you, hold you and tell you how much I love you without having to hide in the darkness of the night. I’m really happy right now Soobin.” Despite the tears streaming down his cheeks, he smiles.
“Why are you talking like that? Why are you acting as if you’re going to leave me?” Soobin whimpers, breathing shakingly at the thought of losing him.
“Please kill me.”
Soobin doesn’t even have time to respond as Yeonjun pulls the sword that was loosely in Soobin’s hand directly towards him and pulls Soobin closer to wrap his arms around him and hug him for one last time, causing the sword to pierce right through Yeonjun’s skin, blood gushing out.
Soobin stares in horror as the bloody sword falls to the ground and a pained whimper escapes Yeonjun’s lips as he stumbles and falls limp in his arms and he catches him immediately. “No no no no no. Yeonjun-ah what did you do?” He cries as he collapses to the ground with Yeonjun’s bleeding body on his lap.
“Stay with me please. Stay with me oh my god,” He sobs, his wobbly hands slowly drawing out the blade, causing Yeonjun to let out a sharp inhaling hiss. “Baby please focus on me. Keep your eyes open, stay with me!” He cries desperately, his hand still on Yeonjun’s wound as it becomes stained with his blood.
“Will someone please help me!?” Soobin screams, his eyes darting across the room as they all look at him, expressionless. He watches his parents turn around and leave. He is almost ready to pick Yeonjun up and run for help by himself when a hand on his shoulder stops him.
“Soobinnie…” Yeonjun’s voice is strained as he fights to keep his eyes open. The shock of getting stabbed had finally settled in and the pain he felt was unbearable. He felt the stickiness of the blood all over his body and he could still feel the puncturing sensation of the hot blade.
“Yes baby yes? Stay with me okay? Keep your eyes open. Keep talking to me.” Soobin begs as Yeonjun cups his face tenderly, the blood on his hand staining Soobin’s cheek.
“I… I love you,” He deeply inhales, trying to hold on for longer. Just a moment longer. He could feel his pulse rate drop.
“I love you. I love you more. I love you so please don’t leave me.” Soobin sobs and the pain in his heart is even more than the wound.
“I’m sorry. I’ll always be watching you from above, okay?”
“No! I want you to stand beside me and watch me. Junie please…”
Yeonjun’s chest flutters up and down rapidly, making even breathing difficult. He’s in so much pain that he can barely see Soobin through the darkness that’s threatening to engulf him.
“We’ll meet again. I promise.” He whispers and his eyes flutter shut.
“No no no no no. Please no! Yeonjun! My love...” Soobin shouts hysterically, holding Yeonjun’s lifeless body closer to him and sobbing uncontrollably.
Flip.
Beomgyu stumbles as they finally return to shadow, which was way too late, and his numb expression contorts into a painful one. “Yeonjun hyung!” He screams painfully as he tries to run out in the rain towards his hyung who was laying lifeless in Soobin’s arms.
Taehyun catches him immediately, a worried expression on his face as he moves in front of him and blocks his view. “Let me go!” Beomgyu cries, attempting to free himself from Taehyun’s hold, the tears he had been holding back now falling.
“I’m sorry,” Taehyun whispers, allowing Beomgyu to bury his face in his chest and cry his heart out. His heart was in so much pain seeing his love cry like that and the fact he couldn’t do anything breaks his heart. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything.”
“Hyung is gone…” Beomgyu’s voice painfully cracks as the image of Yeonjun’s lifeless body appears in his mind again. “I lost him right in front of my eyes and I couldn’t do anything about it. This is all my fault.”
Taehyun cups Beomgyu’s face and makes him look at him, wiping the tears that were falling from his eyes quickly. “No it’s not your fault Gyu. You had no control over the situation and couldn’t do anything about it. So please stop blaming yourself.”
“But if I weren’t so selfish, then maybe…”
“No, regardless of whether you became an antagonist or not, their fate was in the hands of the author.”
“What am I going to do now…?”
“This is the beginning of our story Gyu and I promise to always be here for you.” Taehyun softly kisses Beomgyu’s forehead, hoping that he knows that he truly means what he says. Beomgyu looks at him gratefully and nods. The thought of losing him as well scared him.
“I love you, Taehyun-ah.” They could talk about it later but he felt compelled to at least tell him this now before it was too late.
“And I love you even more.” Taehyun responds, reassuringly rubbing his back.
“I want to see hyung.” Beomgyu sniffles, trying to move Taehyun from his way who wouldn’t budge.
“I’ll come with you.” Taehyun says, intertwining their hands together and stepping out in the rain that had slowed down. Honestly, he was afraid. Beomgyu had already seen everything else but he was scared that the image of his hyung might haunt him for the rest of his life.
Beomgyu collapses to the ground in front of Soobin holding Yeonjun and sobs, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. He couldn’t see his hyung in that state. “Why are you not smiling at me fondly like you always do?”
Taehyun crouches next to him and wraps his arm around Beomgyu’s shoulder, allowing him to lean on his shoulder and cry. Right here at this moment, Taehyun makes a promise to himself to always protect Beomgyu, be by his side and love him lots.
Soobin lets out a shaky breath and sees the jade ring that he had given to Yeonjun on his pale ring finger, covered in his blood. He intertwines their fingers together, forming a complete sun and moon and cries out louder when he doesn’t feel the same warmth that Yeonjun always gave him. He doesn’t feel complete without Yeonjun.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be here for you. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you like I promised I would.” He sobs and pulls Yeonjun closer to him for one final embrace before he has to let go of him forever.
The rain had almost completely stopped and a reddish hue had taken over the sky as the sun had began to set, contrasting to the dull gray clouds. The ground had seemed to be matching with the sky as it was covered in a deep crimson color, staining the ground with Yeonjun’s blood.
As the sun began to sink below the horizon, Soobin was in the middle of it, cradling his lifeless lover’s body and covered in his blood.
With teary eyes, Beomgyu looks at the departing sun.
Some evenings along with the sun, our heart descends as well. The only difference is that the sun rises again the next day but our heart never does.
I’ll wait to meet you again Yeonjun-ah. I promise.