Chapter Text
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A small party has just passed the castle gates when King Jonghyun looked out of his bedchamber window; his hair and bed robes dishevelled, his eyes still heavy with sleep. He squinted and racked his brains as to who might have gone out so early in the morning right after a banquet night. From afar he could make out banners with Dongho’s and Minki’s sigils, but there was another one he was sure he has seen before but could not quite place. Jihoon’s...? Definitely one of their guests, perhaps—
“Daehwi was excited last night about going on a search party with Dongho and Minki,” Minhyun disclosed, having stepped back from the window to let Jonghyun take a better look. Or a harder squint, whichever was more appropriate.
“Ah, the tiara,” Jonghyun rasped, then yawning and shuffling back towards the bed. He stopped midway, realizing that he has not yet given his orders despite having made the promise the day before. He then pulled himself together and went for the divan instead—at least until he could shake off the lingering lethargy without forcing himself to remain on his feet.
“You need not worry too much,” Minhyun said as if he read Jonghyun’s mind. The king smiled to himself, finding it rather amusing that the prince was still as sharp as ever when it came to reading him. It was as if they had not spent a year and a half apart. He kept a sigh in check; Minhyun was correct about his being worried.
As much as he would like to go back to bed and sleep in, Jonghyun would have none of it. He wanted to head downstairs soon and make sure that the search party had been well equipped before they ventured off. Dongho is their only princess and it has always been in Jonghyun’s nature to want to look after him even if he hardly needed looking after.
He nodded after a while, acknowledging the unspoken reassurance. Indeed, Minhyun and Aaron would have seen to it that Jonghyun would have nothing to worry about letting his two other charges—and an important guest, too—go out on a simple hunt just like the day before.
Minhyun remained standing by the window, studying Jonghyun curiously. He did obey when the king beckoned that he join him on the divan, but he remained quiet and pensive. Jonghyun said nothing either, only meeting his gaze and waiting for him to speak whatever was on his mind. Sometimes, as much as he loved it, Minhyun also hated Jonghyun’s seemingly endless patience.
“You drank too much last night,” he finally deduced, breaking the silence.
“I did,” Jonghyun concurred.
“Why?”
Jonghyun thought for a moment. “I wanted to get drunk.”
“Why?”
“I was...uncertain of whether or not it was right for me to want to spend the night with you so soon,” he admitted, grimacing as he did so. Jonghyun sighed, running his fingers through his hair and messing it up further. “I wanted to get drunk quickly and retire to bed quickly, all without having to be near you long enough to ask you if you would like to share my bed.”
“We grew up together and shared beds before.”
“Indeed, we have.”
“How would last night have been any different?”
“I have never asked you to be my queen until last night.”
Minhyun did think it odd that, after Jonghyun’s confession, he hardly spoke to him the rest of the evening. There was an abundance of the warm and meaningful glances exchanged between them during the banquet to convince Minhyun that Jonghyun meant what he said, but the prince grew up with the king long enough to ascertain that the latter had been...distancing himself, in a way. For what reason, Minhyun only found out now—and he fought back a pleased smile and willed his heart to calm down from its erratic pounding.
“I see. You do want me,” he concluded.
“I do.”
“And last night you did your best to keep such want in check.”
“I did.”
“You’ve done well, Your Majesty,” Minhyun commended, giving him a small smile.
“Thank you, good sir, I’m honoured.”
They stared at each other until Jonghyun chuckled, and they dissolved into laughter moments later. It relieved Minhyun from the obligation—or what he felt he owed to his king—of responding whether or not he would have said yes to it. At least, he knew that Jonghyun was not really waiting for an answer.
“Is that all you woke me up for?” Jonghyun asked now that he was truly awake, rising to his feet in order to get dressed and get to work. Minhyun, already in his fine princely clothes, laughed again.
“Not quite. I was also supposed to tell you that we had some guests come in a couple of hours before daybreak and that they have been properly accommodated.”
“Is ‘before daybreak’ supposed to be on time, too early, or too late for their arrival?”
“Too late,” Minhyun answered, smiling a little too fondly for late guests, “They were supposed to join the banquet last night.”
Jonghyun frowned. Try as he might fathom just who those guests could be, his mind seemed a tad too slow this morning. His fault, of course; he shouldn’t have tried getting drunk the night before.
“Should I be asking who they are?”
Minhyun smiled kindly. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” He stood up as well but headed for the door instead.
“I’ll see you downstairs, Jonghyun-ah. Aaron-hyung has expressly instructed me to remind you not to forget your crown.” Despite hearing Jonghyun’s chuckle as Minhyun went out of the king’s chambers, he would not be surprised if said king went to the great hall without his crown anyway.
“By the way, Minhyun-ah, did you know?”
He turned around, eyebrows raised out of curiosity. Jonghyun stood in the hallway, with one hand still clinging to the doorpost of his chambers and everything about him tousled—except for his smile.
“You are beautiful, and I love you.”
He heard the door shut just as he remembered to breathe. Minhyun then blinked, going on his way. His cheeks were burning and he struggled to rearrange his features so as not to be grinning like a complete fool.
Sometimes, as much as he loved him, too...
— » — « —
Daehwi was sure that he has always found his Dongho-hyung very admirable. Dongho was a very accomplished and talented princess, and he was strong and independent, too. He just was not sure if he could get over how alarming Dongho could also be, and for Daehwi, sometimes first impressions last quite a while. Nevertheless, nothing stopped the younger princess from joining the search party that Minki organised. After all, it was for the sake of finding a precious tiara, one that Minhyun had given Dongho years ago.
“Daehwi-yah,” he heard Minki call, breaking his current chain of thought, “everything all right?” The prince had held his horse back and was then keeping pace with Daehwi. Dongho and his attendants remained in front. The whole company had galloped for about an hour across the country, and upon approaching the edge of the Dark Forest, they had all slowed down to a trot. Dongho was being careful in retracing their route of the previous day. Minki, who was only too happy to let Dongho do all the ranger work, was left to play the part of a proper host to Daehwi.
“You have a very lovely country, hyung,” the latter answered cheerfully, having absorbed the scenery along the way. “What were they growing on the fields that we first passed through?”
“Potatoes,” Minki replied with a laugh. “You see, Jonghyunnie has always loved potatoes so much that when he was crowned king, a whole village in the town of Kyuuiss dedicated their farmlands to growing them.”
“They did?”
“They did. Since their town was quite near the castle, Jonghyun would be able to see the potatoes growing. And then, during harvest, he would make it a point to visit as they hold a Potato Festival in his name. He’s never failed to be a panellist judge on the Best Potato contest and awards the prize from his own treasury.”
“Has His Majesty always been this adorable?” Daehwi blurted out, wishing he had something soft and squishy to hold onto. “I have never heard of any relationship between monarch and townsfolk more endearing than this.”
Minki laughed so hard, he almost fell off his horse. “I was half expecting you’d say it was weird.” His mirth subsided into a fond smile. “I’m glad you found it anything but.”
“Is this also why Minhyun-hyung...?” Daehwi’s question trailed off his lips, wondering if continuing would be impertinent.
“Is hopelessly in love with the king?” Minki finished for him, hardly missing a beat. “It probably is, I mean, I’ve never been absolutely sure with those two.”
Before Daehwi could ask Minki to elaborate, Dongho had rushed past them and towards the back of their party, eyes squinting at the horizon. “Someone’s coming,” he said with a frown, back tensed as he tugged at the reins of his horse. Minki acknowledged this as Dongho sensing danger, so he followed the princess to prepare for a possible combat as well as to shield Daehwi.
“Who is it?” Minki muttered, trying to make out the banners, but Daehwi’s voice cut through his focus.
“Woojin-hyung!” Daehwi called out and waved, recognizing his own banners.
“Jisoo-yah...?” Minki said in disbelief, recognizing another rather unexpected banner.
Indeed, Prince Jisoo, from the neighbouring country of Caratteul, was leading a group of royals on horseback. Their guest princes; Woojin, Jihoon, Jinyoung, and Guanlin, were approaching the search party.
“When did you get here?” Dongho inquired of Jisoo as soon as they have caught up.
“Just a couple of hours before dawn,” Jisoo answered. “We tried to get here last night but were inevitably delayed.”
“‘We’...?”
“Cheol and Han; they’re still sleeping in.”
“But you should’ve rested with them!” Minki scolded him.
Jisoo chuckled, eyes crinkling with amusement. “Well, I wanted breakfast. I found these children afterwards and couldn’t resist meddling quite a bit. It turns out they were looking for their princess, and they weren’t sure where you were headed. They needed a guide so I offered to bring them.”
Said children were having an intense discussion amongst themselves.
“I wasn’t trying to keep Dongho-hyung for myself!” Daehwi was indignant, glaring at Guanlin’s accusing stare which dissolved into a mere frown when Jihoon nudged his horse between theirs.
“There now,” Jihoon said commandingly, “You kids are barely nineteen; no fighting.”
Daehwi huffed but relented soon after, offering an explanation. “I just didn’t think anyone of you would be interested in looking for a tiara so I didn’t tell.”
“Well, you should have told me, at the very least. You forget Youngmin-hyung and Donghyun-hyung will both have my head if anything happens to you,” Woojin reminded him.
“You should have seen him panic when he got a letter from them this morning and you were nowhere to be found,” Jinyoung added.
The princess gasped, turning back to Woojin. “I’m sorry, hyung. I shall be mindful next time.” He then faced Guanlin and added, “I’m sorry I raised my voice, Guanlin-ah.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Guanlin responded. “I didn’t mean to make you think I was calling you selfish.”
“Good! Very good,” Minki then interjected, obviously holding back his laughter. “Now that we’ve all made up, are we ready to thank Jisoo-hyung for his help today?”
A chorus of ‘Thank you, Jisoo-hyung’ from the bunch of blushing young royals—as they have quite embarrassed themselves—had Jisoo laughing good-naturedly. “You’re very much welcome. I shall see you all back at the castle then.” The prince waved goodbye, turning his horse around.
“Take care, Jisoo!” Dongho called.
“He’s very pretty,” Jinyoung said offhandedly, and Jihoon nodded in silent agreement.
“So,” Woojin then said, after the party had regrouped and started moving forward again. He was looking at Dongho and Daehwi. “Are you really on a search for a tiara?”
Dongho laughed, while Daehwi was just a tad defensive when he responded, “It’s not just any tiara, hyung. It’s a tiara from Minhyun-hyung. And Minhyun-hyung shall soon be Queen, so Dongho-hyung needs to have it ready to wear for the wedding and coronation.”
“We don’t even know yet when that will be,” Jihoon chimed in. “Why such haste...?”
“There’s a certain bear in the Dark Forest that could have gotten its claws on it already,” Minki supplied helpfully. “We’re trying to prevent that from happening.”
“A bear, eh,” Woojin mused, nodding afterwards. “It certainly does explain things.”
— » — « —
The dining hall—the regular one that Rabudeul Castle inhabitants use when there are no banquets held—was no longer empty when Jisoo returned. A pair of royals sat together to the right side of the king’s unoccupied seat, one of whom lifted a graceful hand and hailed Jisoo to join them.
“His Majesty Seungcheol was panicking when you weren’t in your chambers,” Queen Jeonghan said with a grin, patting the king’s head that was resting on his shoulder.
“And nowhere to be found,” King Seungcheol added, a tad defensive. He lifted his head to address Jisoo who had taken the seat next to Jeonghan’s other side. “I passed out too quickly and couldn’t make sure you were settled in all right. And then we woke up and you were gone so what was I supposed to think?”
“I keep telling you I made sure Soo had been properly tucked in bed,” Jeonghan insisted, piling food onto Jisoo’s plate.
“I woke up to have breakfast, Dad,” Jisoo explained with angelic patience, although he was grinning like Jeonghan. “And then I went out to help some new friends, met with Dongho and Minki and told them we were here, and then came right back. That is all there is, and Minhyun even saw us off.”
Jeonghan looked pointedly at Seungcheol. “See, if we had asked around instead of panicking, surely someone was bound to tell us Jisoo is alive.”
“Fine,” Seungcheol acquiesced, “but no more solo adventures for now, all right?”
“Have you just grounded Jisoo in my castle?”
Jonghyun stepped in with a bemused expression and took his seat on the table. It was a testament to how familiar the kings were with one another that neither of them paid any attention to royal decorum nor demanded it of the other. The same goes for Seungcheol’s queen and prince, although Jisoo was too much of a gentleman that he still stood up when Jonghyun entered the room.
“I never get any solo adventures,” Jisoo muttered in response, continuing their conversation after sitting down.
“You got here once on your own for Minhyun’s birthday,” Jeonghan countered.
“That was one time and many years ago, if I may remind His Majesty.”
“It doesn’t matter now, we won’t be here for long,” Seungcheol replied dismissively.
Jonghyun paused from piling food onto his own plate. “You won’t stay?” he asked.
“Forgive me, Jonghyun-ah, but we can’t. Kingdom to run, charges to take care of, as I’m sure you know,” the other king answered with apparent regret.
“Not even for a week?”
“Three days?”
Jeonghan sputtered and laughed, shaking his head when the other three turned to look at him. “Your Majesties are both so silly, wearing your identical puppy faces while negotiating.”
“I do no—,”
“Yes, you do,” Jeonghan cut Seungcheol off. He then turned to Jonghyun and said, “How about this? We let Jisoo stay for as long as you would have him, and Cheol and I go back after three days.”
“How can you just dispose of him like that?” Seungcheol cried in disbelief.
“I’m not; listen, you drama king,” and Jeonghan pulled Seungcheol towards him, cupping a hand over his own mouth as he whispered fiercely in the king’s ear. “Do you understand now?”
Seungcheol, after giving his spouse an approving glance, turned back to Jonghyun with a deferential bow. “Please take care of our dearest Jisoo.”
“I suppose I really am getting disposed of,” Jisoo nodded to himself, quite satisfied.
“You’re all being dodgy, do you know that?” Jonghyun grumbled. “What the three of you came here for, I now wonder,” he went on, his brows narrowing suspiciously as he stabbed half a hard-boiled egg with his fork. He was always happy to have Seungcheol and all of his family for company, of course, but their open secrecy around him was slightly off-putting.
“Well, we came here to welcome Minhyun back, that’s one,” Jisoo offered unhelpfully.
“The only reason we came here,” Jeonghan stressed. “You have no idea how awfully devastated I am over missing the banquet; I just want you to know that. Where’s Minhyun, by the way?”
“Just finishing up some paperwork from this morning,” Jonghyun answered, and to Seungcheol—“what?”
“We heard you’ve asked him...” Seungcheol’s smile was infectious, as both Jeonghan and Jisoo mirrored it a moment later.
“Yes, I did.”
“...in front of everyone.”
“I—well, yes, I suppose I did.” The tips of his ears turning pink upon being reminded of his—now that he had quite some time to think about it—embarrassing public confession, Jonghyun briefly wondered if there would ever be anyone who would let him live it down.
“Did Minhyun accept?” Jisoo prodded, albeit gentle as ever.
“Yes, I did.”
Minhyun and several cats entered the room, most of which went straight for Jonghyun. Minhyun looked a bit flushed as well, but he was smiling as he added, “In front of everyone.”
“Thank heavens, finally, a queen,” Jeonghan sighed with contentment, watching Minhyun take the seat next to Jonghyun.
“Although I would never have thought it would be you,” Seungcheol admitted ruefully.
“Likewise, as I’ve always thought it would be Minki,” Minhyun responded with a graceful laugh.
“What was that now?” Jonghyun, who had been momentarily distracted by the arrival of his cats, has then drifted back into the conversation just to be confused by it.
“Nothing,” Minhyun answered glibly, smiling at Jonghyun as he held out a cherry tomato towards his mouth, eyes shining with mischief.
To everyone’s horror, Jonghyun accepted the tomato without question, at least, until he bit into it and realized what just happened.
“Jju-yah, I am so sorry!” Minhyun gasped, scrambling to hold out a napkin for Jonghyun to spit on, his gaze full of remorse as the king’s face crumpled with disgust. However, while his mouth did move, out came nothing and only an audible gulp broke the silence.
“Did you just...?”
Jonghyun visibly shuddered, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. There were tears in the corners of his eyes, which Minhyun itched to wipe but could not. The moment Jonghyun opened his eyes again, he could not do anything. The king’s intense stare, which was levelled at him and plainly stated I’m going to kill you, sent a shiver down Minhyun’s spine and robbed him of further movement.
“I’m fine,” Jonghyun said in a low voice. Minhyun could not help but laugh, his eyes narrowing into those familiar crescents. He’s going to kill me.
Seungcheol whistled. “Cherry tomato and ‘Jju-yah’ in public all in one go. You must truly love Minhyun.”
“Well, do excuse me while I kill the one I truly love,” Jonghyun said grimly, standing up and unceremoniously dragging a half-apologetic, half-laughing Minhyun out of the dining hall. At least, Minhyun thought to himself happily, Jonghyun was holding his hand again.
— » to be continued « —