Chapter Text
Screams and sounds of blade colliding with flesh echoed through the moonlit palace grounds.
“This is mutiny!” someone wailed from outside.
“Your Majesty! Make for the back room,” His attendant rushed him, pushing him through the paper-walled corridors, “I’ll try to hold them here for as long as I can, but you must run.”
Lee Guk stared at his head eunuch’s face, unmoving and still shocked from the sudden commotion.
“J-jin.” His voice was shaking when he found it, “No I can’t leave you here, I can’t possibly-“
The servant sighed, exasperated, but remained fairly calm for his king’s sake. He knew this was going to happen. His king was a wonderful king, a kind one, but that is also his downfall. He couldn’t count the number of people who’d taken advantage from the king’s generosity, but that wouldn’t stop him from preventing the worst from taking place. No one was to harm his majesty; not under his watch.
“Here, sire, take this and don’t worry for me,” he handed the king a talisman he’d carried with him ever since he’d entered the palace- ever since his life was in constant threat of danger. “There is not much time, so go.”
But the King was still adamant. He saw Jin as someone more than a servant. He was the only friend he ever had.
“No,” Lee Guk shook his head, “I’m staying with you, Jin.”
The servant glared at him, “Your Highne- Guk. Please, Guk.” He sobbed, tears fiercely falling down his chin, “Please live.”
The use of his name awakened something inside of him. It made it all feel too real- it made it possible that this could be the first and the last time Jin would call him by his name. This could be the last time he would ever see his friend alive again.
So with trembling hands clutched into a fist, the king gave his friend a last look of understanding before turning on his heels and ran. He held onto the eunuch’s cream coloured talisman and dashed off to find his sword he left in his chambers.
He opened the sliding door to his chamber and tripped over the wooden panelling of the room. Having a limited amount of light, the king scrambled for several moments in the dark before he could grab a hold of his weapon.
If Jin thought he was leaving him to die, he was a terrible friend.
The king, still dressed in his night gown, rushed back to where he left his friend and panted as he stopped. He stood back up to see Jin being held down by one of the rebels who were attacking the palace.
“Jin!” he screamed through gritted teeth, angered by the litter of bruises he could see on his best friend’s face. This attracted the rebel’s attention to him and he pulled his sword out in a swing before steadying himself in an offence position.
“Y-your Majesty!” Jin coughed up blood, spitting it to the side as he spoke, “What do you think you’re doing!”
Ignoring his friend’s protests, Guk gripped the hilt of his sword before attacking his masked opponent.
The other man moved out of the way a bit too late and the king managed to graze the side of his left thigh, running a deep scar and eliciting a violent hiss from the rebel.
Jin was losing his mind over the stupid blue blood he calls his friend.
“Guk, I beg you. Go away!”
The king stayed focused on his opponent and saw the twitch in his left arm. He shifted his ankle and darted right just as the rebel swung his sword. When the man missed his aim, Guk advanced forward and aimed his blade at the man’s open neck area. The blade cut through cleanly, leaving no pain as the rebel dropped to a dead thump on the ground.
Jin, horrified and slightly proud, gaped at his king. He pushed himself up before taking the latter’s elbow and running together through the halls.
“I could kill you!” Jin yelled in disbelief, “Why would you be so stupid to risk your life for a nameless eunuch!”
“Threatening your king is an act of rebellion, Jin.” He replied, making his servant roll his eyes at the untimely joke.
The eunuch turned around to face his king once they’ve exited through the back entrance. “Your Majesty, may I remind you that we are under a revolt! Everyone here is conducting an act of rebellion!”
A flash of sadness and pain went through the king’s expression. He sighed, “They are, aren’t they.”
Jin bit his bottom lips, thinking of all the reasons why his king should not have deserved to go through all of the horrible things he did.
“Your Majesty,” he said in a more tender tone, “All we wish is for you to get through this unharmed. Your safety is currently of our utmost importance. Please promise this loyal servant that you wouldn’t commit such reckless acts again.”
The King looked utterly broken, smaller than his large title and more befitting his 19 years of age.
“I’ll only promise you that as a friend,” he relented, “You have my word.”
Jin gave him a wry but sincere smile and they continued running discreetly down the palace gardens. They hid behind a wall when two blood-curdling screams were heard from the other side of the wall.
The head eunuch motioned for his king to stay back and shifted on his toes to peek through the cracks of the stone walls. He saw some of the palace soldiers fighting other palace soldiers who are wearing masks, while some others are holding down the palace maids into surrender. Jin’s eyes widened in shock.
“P-palace soldiers...” Jin whispered under his breath, “This was an inside job.”
The King shifted into an alert position next to him, “Whoever it is must have control over the government military force, or at least allied connections to one of the generals.”
Agreeing with his king, Jin proceeded to look outside in search of any blind spots they could squeeze into and escape.
Lee Guk was still mumbling next to him, listing alternatives, “We could go to General Hae. He’s proven his loyalty to my family for the past 30 years. He surely would defend the palace when he knows that it’s under attack. But if we can’t go, then perhaps we could send a message through a servant-“
“I could deliver it, Your Highness.” Jin immediately responded, already fixing his shoes and covering his face in dirt to conceal himself into the dark. “I’ll go.”
Guk’s objection was expected, “No. I will deliver someone else. Someone-“
“Nobody else is available, sire,” His eunuch said solemnly, “Put your personal worries aside and leave this to me. Your and the palace’s safety is my main focus now. You must understand that I’m worried-“
“And you think I’m not?!” the young king almost lost control of his hushed volume. “My only friend is risking his life to save my pity one and you don’t think it affects me? How about my worries Jin?” he choked on unshed tears, “I don’t want to lose anyone anymore!”
Jin’s own tears pooled on the bottom of his irises. “Guk-ah, you’re my friend too. I really don’t want you to die in a revolt because you are a good king to your people and you deserve more-“
“-but I don’t want to be a king…” Guk’s tears are now a mix with snot as his nose ran. “I just want to live with you, and Head Kitchen Seunghee,” he wiped a sleeve across his nose to muffle the hiccupping sounds he was making, “I already lost Lee Yoon not long ago- and I don’t think I can take much more of this. They said I killed him- can you believe it? How could they possibly think I’d want to eliminate my own kin- my own brother just because he was first in line to the throne?”
Jin sighed and held the crying boy close to his side, patting down the sorrowful sobs.
“I know you didn’t do it, Guk.” He said gently. “You’d never.”
The king nodded weakly in his warmth, an act to convince himself he was innocent. Sometimes he wasn’t even sure if he was really not the culprit to his older brother’s death. Everyone seemed to gossip about the same thing, everyone seemed to only point fingers at him- and it was hard to believe you’re innocent when no one else shared the same sentiment.
“Guk-ah.” Jin pried the shaking boy to look at him, “Hyung needs to go now, okay? I need to warn General Hae and maybe Commander Jeo about the attack. I promise I’ll be back.”
The king nodded in defeat, seeing there is no other way to convince his friend to stay. He held the cream talisman from earlier to his chest, hugging it for reassurance.
The eunuch gave him one last hug before he vanished off the corner, already leaving to warn their allies.
Guk only crouched down in prayer, holding his sword in one hand and Jin’s talisman in his other hand.
God, if you’re listeni-
“Please! No! Stop it-” A woman’s terrified scream caught his attention. He sat up in haste and peeked through the wall cracks to see a masked soldier cornering a palace maid to a wall. He was man-handling her, lifting up the skirt of her hanbok up her covered legs roughly.
Guk saw her expression slowly morphing into crazed horror and heard her scream louder, “Don’t touch me! I am of the king’s! Stop- Ah!”
Not being able to bear any of this nuisance for longer, Guk pocketed the talisman and unsheathed his sword before walking outside of the garden’s wall separating them.
He could just hear Jin’s mortified complaint from wherever he was.
“Unhand her this instant.” He spoke loudly, tone taking on a higher level of authority and confidence- a king’s.
The rebel was stopped before any articles of clothing was shed and the palace maiden scrambled out of his hold to run over behind the king’s in a moment of distraction.
Lee Guk looked behind him to make sure the maiden was unharmed and sighed in relief to see she was only shaken up. He gave her a nod to send her away and she gratefully bowed to him before running off further out of the palace.
This is such a mess, he groaned.
He was now facing the rebel, and he could see clear as day that the other was pissed off. “Seeking opportunity in the midst of tribulation? How cowardly.” He spoke spitefully, the corner of his mouth lifting up in a condescending smirk.
The rebel growled at his insult, charging forwards out of rage- and way out of coordination.
This gives the king an upper hand and he dodged the attack easily, swooping down and striking his blade at the rebel’s dominant leg. When the rebel tumbled over, he quickly maneuvered his weapon down the other’s abdomen, delivering another painless death.
When the man stopped flinching altogether, Guk took in a deep, shuddering breath. He could never get over killing men. It wasn’t a normal custom and it never will be. No matter how morally right you justify your actions.
He swiftly wiped the blood on his sword with a cloth lying around on the ground- must’ve been the previous maid’s sock.
When a sharp swoosh sound went round his back, the king was already well out of the opposing blade’s way. He could hear them approaching earlier, and they thought he hadn’t noticed.
He turned around to face his attackers and there are more than five people gathered around him, eight at most. He felt a surge of panic but calmed himself down and remembering all of his combat training he’d done throughout his life.
He can make do with his agility, since most of the rebels around him are fully-grown men with developed muscles. He held his sword in front of him in a defence mode and crouched low to maintain his balance.
He could at least tire them out and run away.
“Why are you rebelling against the throne?” Guk asked, stalling for more time as the thought up of more alternative escape plans. “Who planned this revolt?”
The rebels looked at each other and grunted, swords poised in attack position. A rebel spoke through his mask, “We’re not under anyone’s command. This is for justice.”
Guk frowned in hesitance, “What part of rebelling is justice?”
Another rebel scoffed, “The one to kill the culprit of Crown Prince Lee Yoon’s murder.”
“And,” Guk paused to swallow the bile in his throat, “What made you all think I was responsible?”
I need to get out, his eyes darted through the gaps of his attacker’s bodies. I have to get out now.
“It’s too much of a coincidence that His Highness Lee Yoon was murdered just a day from his coronation ceremony.” The rebel spat out, “Just because of your jealousy and greed- now he’s…”
“It was not me.” Guk snapped through gritted teeth, his knuckles turning white from his grip on the sword.
“Lies.” At least three of them spat in symphony, “You’re next in line- who else would-“
The king saw one of the soldiers drop his arms at his sides in rage as they protested and he charged forward at the unsuspecting soldier to barrel through. He knocked the man and ran over him in his fastest speed to head to General Hae’s house, hoping for Jin to be there safely waiting for him.
Guk faced two soldiers with masks as he rushed past and ducked into narrow alleys and sharp corners to outrun both men. They were larger and heavier than he is and were sure to be one step behind.
The young king ignored the accumulating acid in his muscles and continued to struggle as he ran past the familiar houses leading to his only hope.
When he arrived in front of General Hae’s Gates, he was greeted by the older man’s daughter, Lady Junhwa. “Y-your Majesty! Why have you come this late at night?”
Guk bent forward and crouched to catch his breath.
Lady Junhwa kept on yapping over his exhaustion, apparently flustered from his arrival.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to be seen with another man at night- not that you’re just any other man, Your Grace. You’re the king and, of course, with all due respect I appreciate you coming here by yourself… alone… unaccompanied…” she trailed off, “weak.”
It was a piercing stab to his back, Guk felt as he crouched lower to the ground. He lifted his eyes at his attacker, a girl he’d known since birth. “W-what…” his voice is cut off into another cry of pain as Junhwa pulled the knife out and plunged it deeper into his rib.
“Father told me you’d be coming sooner or later when your pathetic eunuch came crawling in here for help,” her sweet voice said detachedly as she twisted the knife, crushing his lung. “He was right.”
“B-but… why…” Guk choked, gasping for air.
Junhwa stared down at him coldly, “I was betrothed to the Lee Yoon you murdered. Maybe think about the consequences before selfishly killing off your own blood… but I don’t think there’d be a next time. At least not in this lifetime.”
Guk felt the cool dirt under his cheek, the spiky rocks under his body getting covered in blood. He moved his trembling hand to reach into his pocket and pulled out the talisman Jin gave him.
The king felt tears prick the inner corners of his eyes as he looked at the intricate stitching decorating the surface of the charm and realised that it was an embroidery of orange blossoms and a caterpillar sitting on one of the white petals.
The last thing he remembered before blanking out of consciousness and life was the twitch the little green caterpillar did on the flower.
Guk was seeing darkness, unending darkness. He crouched his body into a tiny ball and felt dread all over his being.
It was all over so soon.
“I didn’t even see Jin.” He whispered to himself, crying. “I didn’t say good bye.”
The young king spent a long time pondering on those two things as he wept. Once his tears had dried and his eyes felt numb, he started thinking of other things.
How he’d lived solely in the palace, how he’d trusted no one but Jin because everyone was out to get him, how soon he’d ended his pathetic life.
He understood why Junhwa hated him so. She and his brother had been in love, despite being betrothed from their birth. And she thought he killed Lee Yoon.
Guk then wondered about a love like Junhwa’s. About how being in love lets you do the filthiest crimes and not feel any guilt from it. It doesn’t seem too appealing as an idea, but the young king had always been curious of it.
Of falling stupidly in love.
He remembered his brother waxing terrible poetry he intended to send as love letters to the said Lady. Guk had never once sympathised with the feeling of caring for someone so much that you look like a fool.
He suddenly regretted dying so early.
He felt himself fall asleep, thinking about what it would be like if he had fallen in love, about how falli-
Then he realised he had the sensation of falling- as if he was jumping off a steep cliff.
Guk was screaming, screaming and screaming so hard he felt his throat go sore, but the falling did not cease, he was still endlessly falling through empty space.
And that was when it hit him. The ground.
“Ah!” he screamed, feeling his back bruising from the fall, his eyes still tightly shut in fear.
A foreign object nudged his ribs, which are strangely not hurting anymore, and he blinked his eyes open.
“Hey- Watch where you’re going, man!” a high-pitched voice screamed at him and he squinted his eyes with effort to adjust to the light he was suddenly exposed to.
“Wait- what…” he mumbled incoherently and rubbed his eyes, blinking them once and twice to take on his new surroundings. Is this the after-life?
Lee Guk had always imagined the after-life to be filled with deities and gods and music, not… a large room full of strangely dressed people talking animatedly over each other.
He gawked at their appearance. They had all sorts of colour on their hair, either it be blue, green, red, yellow, and others he wasn’t familiar with. Some of the men bore swords as big as the size of a little boy and others do not bear anything but a stretchy piece of clothing covering distinct area of their bodies.
The women made Guk balk in surprise. They had bright coloured hair; some girls even have hair so long that it touched the ground. They wore very minimal articles of clothing and all of them had painted faces. He felt his cheeks heat up at the excessive skin everyone was showing and averted his eyes away.
Some of the people looked too much like demons that king Lee Guk didn’t know whether he’d been sent to hell or if this was some twisted version of paradise.
“THE ATTACK ON TITAN SEASON TWO TRAILER IS BEING RELEASED!” A female voice echoed through the room, scaring Guk as he stayed seated on the ground. “EVERYONE GATHER INFRONT OF THE SCREEN TO WATCH AND PLEASE DO NOT PUSH EACH OTHER TO GET TO THE FRONT. THE SCREEN IS LARGE ENOUGH TO BE VIEWED FROM THE BACK. WE ARE NOW SHOWING THE PREMIERE OF THE LONG AWAITED-“
Suddenly, everyone came towards his direction, the crowd stampeding over in discord. The king swallowed with a sense of panic and reached out to grab the sword on his belt. He barely reached the hilt when he was run over by a herd of legs, each with weird shoes that stomped on his poor, unaware hands.
He yelped and curled into a little ball in an act of self-defence.
Shaking and undergoing trauma, Guk sucked in deep breaths to stop himself from getting a panic attack. He’d never been good with staying in cramped spaces for too long.
“J-jin…” he muttered, holding the talisman to his chest, creating a calming mantra by repeating his friend’s name over and over again.
When the crowd ceased running, he was left alone on the… weird slippery flooring(?) alone and still clutching the little charm. He looked down at it and frowned upon looking at the embroidery.
He could swear that when he last saw it, it was a caterpillar sitting on the orange blossom’s petals. Now it was not the green bug anymore. It was a cocoon hanging off of the orange blossom’s branches.
Deciding that it wasn’t the time to be worrying over his eyesight, Guk slowly collected himself as he stood up, his limbs still feeling wobbly.
He took even breaths and went to sit down on a surface nearby, hoping that he would be able to understand his situation better. His teachers always said he was a fast learner- a genius. If only they could see him cowering from the demons inhabiting this place, not knowing what language they were singing in and the strange pictures that moved on the large white box.
Guk felt like a new-born fawn seeing the world for the first time.
The young king sighed and stared at the strange moving pictures, not understanding why the weird people were cheering for it.
Meanwhile, from the other end of the room, two cosplaying millenials are losing their voices screaming at the AOT trailers out of built-up hype. They had been waiting three damn years for this and they are ready.
“OH MY GOD LEVI HEICHOU I AM NOT READY!” Jimin screamed dramatically as he pawed at his cheeks, smudging the Naruto whiskers he drew with makeup earlier.
“YES, YES.” Taehyung’s mouth widen into a boxy Cheshire grin as he saw Hanji glide across the screen with a 3D-Maneuver Gear. “THAT’S MY NON-GENDER SPECIFIC BAE. GO GET EM BABY.”
Both of them screamed with the crowd once the date for the first episode- or rather, the 26th episode, is released on the screen. Everyone cheered and rejoiced, feeling the end of their almost hopeless suffering.
“I knew the waiting had to be worth something.” Taehyung gushed after the premiere was done. “I even re-read the entire manga last week because I heard it was coming out today.”
Jimin scoffed, “I re-watched the first season so that I could regain my flow. I’m never reading the manga. Why would I wanna spoil myself a good show?”
“Hmm, then do you really not care about what’s gonna happen to Armin later?” His bestfriend wiggled his eyebrows deviously, “Don’t you want to understand what the burnt cinnamon roll memes on Tumblr are about?”
The shorter man gasped and shut his ears with his palms, “I can’t believe you! This is like Game of Thrones all over again! Don’t you dare spoil me anything, you heathen. LALALALA.”
Taehyung cackled evilly as he saw his best friend stalk away from him. Grumpy Jimin was always adorable, but he wouldn’t actually dare to cross that line. An angry Jimin was a reflection of Lucifer himself.
He followed Jimin through the crowd and bumped against his back when his friend suddenly stopped moving. Taehyung exclaimed a protest as he rubbed his nose, “Jimin! Why’d you suddenly-“
His friend paid him no attention and kept on staring at something across the room. “He looks familiar…” he said under his breath.
Taehyung followed his gaze and his eyes settled on a small figure sitting in a corner of the Anime Convention Hall. It looked like a little boy, shaking and twitching in… fear?
“Is he okay?” Taehyung asked, concerned.
Just as Jimin was about to reply, the boy stood up and wow, Taehyung was blown away by how well-built the guy is, not that he was checking the potentially traumatised boy out.
The subject of Taehyung’s interest is wearing an olden day costume- something historical, but very obviously Korean. White and cream silk is layered on his formed figure and if he squinted, Taehyung could point out the very fine and detailed embroidery of the royal symbol. The boy’s face complemented the costume well and Taehyung had to stop himself from staring too hard at the boy’s sharp jaw and handsome features.
“Do you think he’s cosplaying an anime, or manhwa?” Jimin asked, voice in a trance.
Taehyung understood his confusion because it wasn’t every day you see a person dressed as fine as the king of Joseon himself stumbling through a crowd and knocking over some Sailor Mercury’s wand.
“Hmm, maybe he’s going for someone from Yona of The Dawn?”
Jimin scoffed, “Yeah right, more like my 9th grade history text book.”
“Should we go talk to him?” Taehyung suggested, looking ecstatic at the idea. His friend groaned. The other always had terrible ideas.
So with little struggle, they followed the Joseon King cosplayer until they caught up to him. He looked lost and a teensy bit scared. Jimin hoped Taehyung’s enthusiasm wouldn’t send the poor kid running off the other direction peeing his pants off.
“Let me,” Jimin blocked Taehyung, attempting to settle things civilly and peacefully rather than frighten the boy. His best friend pouted next to him, but stayed relatively silent.
“Hi there,” Jimin flashed his eye smile he knew everyone thought was cute, Taehyung rolled his eyes discreetly on the side, “Cool outfit you got there, did you make it?”
The boy’s eyes widened and he looked like a deer caught in headlights. Jimin immediately tried softening his tone and volume, “Oh, uh, sorry. Got a bit excited there. D’you wanna go talk for a bit? I’d really be interested to know how you put this look together.”
The other boy shook his head as soon as he heard the question, “N-no. Thank you.”
Sighing, Jimin looked to Taehyung and accepted defeat. If he wasn’t gentle enough on the kid, Taehyung might as well look like a big, jumpy lion.
The other boy’s face lit up when he was allowed to interact with the weird little cutie. He stumbled a little hastily to Jimin’s side, finally looking the boy in the eye.
“Hey cutie, I’m Taehyung and that was Jimin,” he smiled his signature boxy one and held his bestfriend close by the neck. “We think you look really amazing and I’m assuming you’re new around here- you look a wee bit lost.” He giggled, remembering the boy’s scared face when he bumped into an oversized Totoro figurine. “If you want, we could be of help.”
The boy stared at him for a moment, his pert little lips parted in shock. Taehyung began comparing him to a guppy fish from how he opens and closes his mouth in confusion.
He thought the boy would never reply when, “Yes. Uh- I would appreciate some assistance.” The boy stopped stuttering as he looked away, his cheeks turning pink. “I… actually don’t know where I am.”
Jimin was appalled at the obviously biased attitude the boy had towards Taehyung. “Whipped,” he grumbled.
Taehyung elbowed Jimin briefly and smiled back at the cute stranger. “Well, why don’t we start with your name first, hmm?”
The boy’s neck turned scarlet as he realised his minor error. He never thought he’d have to introduce himself to another person before, “Oh, right. Of course. My name is Lee Guk.”
Taehyung beamed at the reaction he pulled and shouted “Gukkie!” really happily.
Jimin sighed and apologized for his friend’s brashness. Guk only responded with a shake of his head saying that it’s ‘quite alright’, a little hint of a smile ghosting his lips.
“But what are you doing cosplaying in an Anime Convention if you don’t know where this is?” Taehyung frowned in curiosity. “Are you supposed to be elsewhere? Like, a history exhibition or something?”
“Ek-shi-bi-syon?” Guk murmured to himself, not understanding the word.
Taehyung squealed and almost strangled Jimin yelling out “How is he real, Chim?!” in his poor best friend’s ear.
At that point, Jimin has had enough and glared at Taehyung, telling him to behave and stand quietly as they help Guk with whatever he’s confused with.
Meanwhile, the inner raging turmoil of King Lee Guk is threatening to explode out of his ears. He’d been feeling too much over his brief stay in this place, much more than he’d ever felt for the past 19 years of his life.
The pent up fear, anxiety, confusion and… embarrassment? He didn’t know what he was feeling. It was all adding up to one giant, overwhelming scream and the only thing stopping him from doing so was the beautiful boy who called him ‘Gukkie’. He wouldn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of him (although he is quite certain he already did).
The young king stared at the two- he assumed they were- friends bicker with one another about things he couldn’t comprehend.
The boy, Taehyung, has a really nice smile. Guk thought. Not that he didn’t like Jimin’s smile, because he too has a fairly friendly smile, but something about Taehyung’s made everything feel right. Even in this upside-down world.
“We could call Joonie hyung to ask if there are any historical exhibitions going around town.” Taehyung said to his friend, unaware of Guk’s hesitant staring. “He’s way into boring things like that.”
Jimin sighed tiredly, “Taetae, you can’t just assume he’s looking for a history exhibition just because he’s dressed like… well… like our dead monarchs!”
Taehyung raised an eyebrow ironically at that statement and dialled a number on his phone. Jimin sighed and turned to Guk, wincing when he caught the boy staring at his bestfriend.
“I’m a weirdo magnet, I swear I am.” He deadpanned when he weighed his situation.
Guk almost found amusement in Jimin’s crestfallen expression. He wondered if he was really tired or if he was being overly dramatic again. Jimin caught his little slip and sent him a glare, “I don’t like you, by the way.”
The king blinked blankly and shifted his gaze to the floor, feeling embarrassed.
“Aw, don’t be mean, Chim.” Taehyung chided him as he waited for the call to connect, “Don’t you think he’s kinda cute?”
Jimin gave him an unamused glance, “I think you think he’s cute.”
Taehyung giggled again, sending shocking warmth down the king’s spine. “Yeah, that’s true.”
Guk’s mouth is now permanently open.
After the statement, Taehyung flippantly answers the call and talked rapidly to whoever was listening. The king looked at the boy in confusion and turned to Jimin with a question, “Why is he talking to the box?”
Jimin blinked slowly at him, “… What.”
Guk flushed a bright colour and repeated his question. “… You know, the thing he’s holding… The box.”
The boy looked at him incredulously, “You mean his phone?”
“Pho-neu,” The young king repeated like a parrot. “His phone can talk?”
As Jimin stared at the miracle boy in front of him like he’d grown two heads, Taehyung ended the call and re-joined their circle, saying that Namjoon hyung is nearby and could meet up with them now.
Jimin didn’t say anything, only sharing suspicious glares at Guk when Taehyung isn’t looking. The trio moved to a place Taehyung dragged them all to and the king stared at a big human-sized box with little colourful shapes inside. He looked at the shapes and guesses they contained liquid inside.
Taehyung produced a bunch of coins- Guk was thankful that money is still an item of trade in this place- and pushed them into a little slip on the giant box.
Horrified, Guk whispered, “Why would you throw away your money?”
Jimin’s mouth opened wider in apprehension, but Taehyung only laughed as his fingers pushed a couple of buttons on the vending machine. “Gukkie, you’re so silly.”
It surprised the king to no end when three of the liquid-storing items from inside the giant box tumble out. Taehyung grinned and handed both him and Jimin one of each. “It’s not a waste of money when you get Coca-Cola in return. Anyways I’m parched.”
Guk stared at his drink in bewilderment. “The colour of this tea is too dark. And it’s cold.”
And thus Jimin suffered through the entire ordeal thinking he should’ve called for an asylum while Taehyung humours Guk with whatever nonsense that came out of his mouth.
No longer than ten minutes later (much to our Jimin’s relief), Taehyung spotted someone within the throng of cosplayers wearing normal (hipster) clothes and called out to them.
“Namjoon hyung!” He waved his hand, “Come over- oh! I see you’ve brought mom again.”
The said man sighed in resignation, “Why do you insist on calling my boyfriend th-“
“Oh, don’t be a stick in the mud, Joonie. I think it’s cute.” A calm voice intervened, sounding way too amused.
Guk choked on his bubbly, fizzy tea. Was that… Could it… But how would he end up here?
“J-jin?” he called out softly, hesitance colouring his words. He looked up to the man and saw the same eyes that left him to save his life, his country. Guk felt his throat close up and tears began dotting the corners of his eyes. “Oh, Gods, Jin. Is that… are you really…”
The other man looked at him and gave him a surprised, but pleased smile. Everything was so familiar the young king felt like he was back to his old life… to when he was alive.
“Oh, hi Guk,” the man resembling Jin said, “My name’s Seokjin here, but you could still call me Jin if you’d like.”
Jimin straight up balked, “Wait- you two know each other?”
Seokjin laughed freely, “Yeah, can you believe it? Guk and I go way back, isn’t that right, Guk-ah?” he winked at the boy with a secretive glint in his eyes.
“I… I don’t understand.” The king stuttered, “Does this mean you’re dead too?”
The conversation died instantly at the younger boy’s strange words. Jimin looked scared, Taehyung was intrigued, Namjoon was concerned, and Seokjin laughed his wind-wipe laugh.
“Oh, my sweet, innocent Guk.” Seokjin wheezed, “I’ll explain to you later.”
Namjoon eyed his boyfriend worriedly, “Babe, are you sure this kid is uh, okay?”
The latter waved a dismissive hand and smiled as he gave Namjoon a reassuring kiss on the cheek. The other mellowed into a grin and nodded.
Seeing this new side of his friend, Guk could only stare in trepidation. When did Jin… or Seokjin… have the time to have such relationships? He wondered. They’d never talked about it before at the palace.
Guk’s eyebrows knitted in confusion. And on top of that, isn’t… wasn’t Jin a eunuch?
The realisation topped off the overwhelming confusion Guk had been suppressing and he felt himself slowly fading away, a force pulling him to sleep as his vision darkened once more.
“Uh, babe?” Namjoon called out in urgency, “I think your friend collapsed.”
Jimin stared at Taehyung’s shocked expression. “This is all your fault.”