Work Text:
"This entire house better be cleaned before we get back," Taeyong said as he passed by Jaemin on his way to the front door. Without even having to look up, Jaemin knew he was wearing his best clothes. Jaemin figured for the ball the Royal family would be having tonight, which, of course, he wasn't allowed to go. Not that he really wanted to go, anyway. He paused in his footsteps, staring dead straight at the youngest boy with pursed lips. "Did you hear me, Jaemin?"
Jaemin glanced up from his textbooks, slowly nodding, "Yes, I heard you. The entire house should be cleaned before you get back. When are you guys getting back?"
Taeyong smiled shortly, "Don't know, which means you should get started immediately. Right now."
Jaemin inhaled almost silent, careful to not let Taeyong see, "I have homework-"
"Better be quick then," Taeyong snapped, cutting him off before smiling again. "Your brothers and I will be back soon. I mean it, Jaemin."
Jaemin watched as Taeyong and his two sons, Jaehyun and Jungwoo, left the house, getting into the car and driving out the driveway. He rolled his eyes as soon as they drove off, "Not my brothers." He sighed before pushing away his textbook, knowing he'd get in more trouble with Taeyong than he'd get in trouble with his teacher.
As he was mopping the floors, he began to think about how it all went wrong. When he was nine, his father, Ten, married Taeyong after Jaemin's mother passed away. It had only been a few months after her death, but his father seemed happy, so he let it go despite never truly being happy about it himself. He played the part of the perfect son, being kind to Taeyong and Taeyong's sons. The three were all nice to him as well, never showing him anything other than kindness. Up until Ten got sick, and died shortly after.
Even to this day, Jaemin has no idea what truly happened to his father and how he died so quickly, but he does have his suspicions- like his step-father poisoning his morning coffee.
After his father died, all three of them didn't continue to hold back. Taeyong forced Jaemin to do everything for them- to be their maid. Jaehyun and Jungwoo were never shy in insulting Jaemin, making fun of anything he did wrong or anything that they deemed wrong in their eyes. He wondered how miserable did you have to be to make someone ten years younger than you do all your work for you and then proceed to insult him over anything.
Jaemin sighed, shaking his head to himself. He was already eighteen, close to being nineteen in a couple of months but since he was still in high school, he couldn't leave just yet. He had already been doing a part-time job and disguising it as teachers wanting his help after school because he knew Taeyong would make him quit and say 'The only person you need to work for is me.' Jaemin needed the money for the future, saving up for an apartment far, far away from the Wicked Witch of the West.
Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't realized he was too close to the bucket on the floor and backed his foot into it, making the bucket and all the water in it fall. His stomach sank and he groaned, "Oh, my God." Honestly, how much worse could his life get? His mother died when he was nine, his father died when he was eleven, he was stuck in a house with a bunch of men that made him want to tear his hair out. Sighing in frustration, he went to go clean it up with the mop when an unfamiliar voice spoke up, making his body freeze and tense.
"Aw, you really do have a pathetic life, huh?" They snorted and Jaemin quickly flipped the mop around, holding the other end of the mop towards the stranger as he turned. Jaemin wasn't expecting someone around his age to be standing in front of them, perfectly calm with eyebrows raised in surprise at the mop. "Seriously? What the hell is a mop gonna do?"
Jaemin looked at the mop, thinking before saying, "It could kill you."
The boy snorted, "Yeah, OK. Put the damn thing down, I'm not here to hurt you, I want to help you." He seemed to cringe at the last few words, "God ... Why are they making me do this?"
"Who are you?" Jaemin asked, body tense as he still held the mop towards him. "How did you get in? There are cameras everywhere, I would've seen you on the-" Jaemin cut himself off, looking up at where the television for the cameras was, finding them all turned off. "What the hell? What did you do? They're gonna kill me!"
"I can put them back on easily," the boy waved his hand carelessly, "They're not gonna lay a finger on you. Anyways, my name's Haechan, and I'm here to make your life ... less pathetic and miserable!" He clapped his hands twice, smiling, "So, what you're gonna do is go put on your best clothes and go to the Royal Ball, your Prince Charming is waiting for you."
Jaemin put down the mop, deadpanning at 'Haechan', "You're kidding, right? I know my life is just like Cinderella's but I'm not looking for a relationship right now."
"I didn't mean--" Haechan cut himself off, sighing in frustration. "Goddamnit, just go put the clothes on and I'll clean up for you."
"But-"
"No buts! Go before I get fired for killing you, damn."
Jaemin still didn't move, raising an eyebrow at the boy and crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'll do your work for you, too," Haechan tried, looking around. "Maybe kill your step-family, too? If you want."
What did he just say?
Jaemin blinked, arms dropping to his side as he stared at the boy in shock, "I don't want anyone dying!"
"Your lost," Haechan shrugged. "Are you going to get dressed or what?"
"For all I know, you could be kidnapping me," Jaemin said.
"If I kidnapped you, your life would be way better," Haechan stated blankly and Jaemin stared at him before shrugging, nodding in agreement. "But I'm not, I'm being serious. Look, I'll show you." He snapped his fingers but nothing happened, making him look around, "Seriously? Come on!" He snapped his fingers again and smiled in accomplishment, "Look behind you."
Jaemin stared at him warily before turning his head, gasping in shock when he found the water from the bucket that spilled floating back into the bucket, the bucket making itself upright and the mop starting to work by itself- like magic. It seemed as if someone invisible was mopping the floors, and then Jaemin heard the sink water turning on and the clanking of dishes. He stepped out of the way, walking to the kitchen to find the few dishes being cleaned by themselves. A rag was wiping down the counter, a broom cleaning up the floor.
"What the hell?" Jaemin blinked, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes furiously. He had to be dreaming. He looked down at his hands and counted all ten fingers. What the hell? "What's happening? How?"
"Magic," Haechan whispered in his ear, making him jerk away from him. Haechan laughed, "Now do you believe me? Look, it's even doing your work for you, too? And it's all correct."
Jaemin stared at him before walking back into the living room where his school work was, staring at the pencil moving by itself against his paper. From what he could get a glimpse at, all of it seemed to be correct.
"OK," he breathed, eyes still wide, "I believe you."
"Good, now go get dressed," Haechan waved him upstairs, "I'll be down here waiting."
Jaemin paused at the first step, turning back, "I don't have any good enough clothes for a ball."
"Really?" Haechan stared at him in surprise, "Not even a suit?"
Jaemin hesitated before shaking his head, "I've never been to a formal event like that recently, the last formal thing I went to was my father's wedding."
"Oh, boy," Haechan sighed, looking around before snapping his fingers again. A white and black suit appeared, floating beside Hechan, "Cute? Hot? Sexy ..."
"I-it's good," Jaemin stuttered, staring at the clothes, "Um ... I'll go put it on, I guess." Haechan nodded, watching the younger take the clothes and go upstairs.
"Am I really doing this?" Jaemin muttered to himself, going over the events after Haechan appeared, "I'm really just believing some stranger ..." Haechan was right earlier, though, he really didn't have anything to lose. Anywhere was better than in Taeyong's clutches, even if he was being kidnapped. He sighed, thoughtlessly changing clothes and not even pausing to see how it looked on him until it was all on.
Jaemin looked into the mirror in his room, smoothing down the white shirt on him, grimacing as he noticed it had a plunging neckline and sighing, grabbing the white jacket and putting his arms through it. The pants were black and so were his dress shoes, but he thought it looked good together.
"The neckline, really?" He called throughout the house, hearing Haechan laugh as he went down the stairs.
"Ugh, let me do your hair, dumb-" Haechan cut himself off, shaking his head as he walked to Jaemin, running his hands through his hair to fix it. As he did that, Jaemin looked around, noticing everything was spotless.
"Woah, so it was that quick?" Jaemin asked, gesturing around them and Haechan nodded, sticking his tongue out as he stood on his toes to reach Jaemin's hair. Jaemin lowered his head to help.
"Yup, power of magic," Haechan muttered before leaning back and making Jaemin stand up straight, "OK, good. Now, it's time for you to leave. There's a car waiting for you outside."
"OK, but, what am I supposed to do at the ball?" Jaemin asked as he was being pushed out by Haechan, making sure to grab his phone from the charger on the way. "They're gonna be there, too."
"Just make sure they won't see you," Haechan dismisses, "There's going to be a lot of people there, so it'll be easy. Also, for your Prince Charming," Jaemin rolled his eyes, "You'll know when you see him, or at least, talk to him. Also, don't think. Just do it. You want to leave here, right?"
"I still don't want a relationship," Jaemin stated, ignoring the last part and Haechan rolled his eyes.
"Shut up, and leave!"
The driver was nice, he said his name was Taeil, and let Jaemin pick the music. As they drove there, Jaemin became fidgety. What was he thinking, following a stranger like this? God, he must really be out his mind. "Don't worry," Taeil said, clearly catching his expressions, "Everything will be fine."
"Yeah," Jaemin nodded slowly as the car slowly pulled up in front of a gate, "So I just ... walk in?"
"Yup," Taeil nodded, "It's an open ball, so. Have fun and stay safe. I'll be here at midnight to take you home, alright? Make sure to keep a mind of the time."
"OK," Jaemin breathed, sending him a thankful smile, "Thanks, Taeil." He got out of the car, shutting the door softly behind him, and began walking up the stairs to get to the entrance. "I'm really doing this, huh?"
Jaemin nodded towards the knights in greeting and they nodded back, letting him pass through. He sighed in relief, walking up more stairs and passing more knights to get into the mansion-like house. He felt stares on him but when looking around, no one was staring at him. His nerves grew, was it Taeyong? Jaehyun and Jungwoo? When he looked around more, he found the three men, and none of their eyes were on him. They were talking to what Jaemin could recognize as the King and Queen, seeing them enough on TV and billboards to recognize them within moments.
Jaemin breathed a sigh of relief, backing away slightly before turning and walking the other way, further from them. Instead of joining the dancing crowd, he decided to go to where there were long tables with different kinds of food placed on them.
"It looks delicious, doesn't it?" A voice said in his ear and he jumped, making the man chuckle, "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Turning, he recognized the man and inhaled abruptly, recognizing the sharp looks of Jung Sungchan, the Prince.
Jaemin breathed out a laugh, nodding slowly in acceptance as he grabbed the spoon to put some of the dish on his plate, "Prince Sungchan, is there something you need?"
"No," the Prince shook his head, smiling at him, "Just wanted to make small talk."
"Right," Jaemin breathed, remembering Haechan's words from earlier- 'You'll know who it is when you see or talk to him.' He couldn't believe he was actually thinking of this, but Sungchan wasn't him. "Um, I have to go, but it was nice talking to you, Prince Sungchan." He bowed as much as he could with a plate full of food in his hands before darting off, going to a corner to eat his food.
As he was eating his food, he heard a very familiar voice, very close to him, and his eyes widened. He swallowed nervously, quickly dropping the rest of his plate in the trash and looking around for somewhere to go. He spotted another entrance, or maybe exit, and ran towards it, narrowly missing Jungwoo who was talking to a girl. "Sorry," he muttered to the people he accidentally pushed, breathing a sigh of relief when he got outside, noticing there were hardly any people out.
It was an exit, and the Royal family had a garden and a small pond. He briefly wondered if anyone drunk would fall and drown, but deduced that there were guards out here, and they'd see them fall- not to mention it was a very small pond, so unless a child fell in, no one would drown.
Walking alongside the garden, he found a bench and sat down right in front of the pond, watching the small fish swim inside it. Jaemin wasn't so sure he wanted to go back inside, not feeling up to having to run from his step-brothers and step-father every ten minutes. "Sorry, Haechan," he muttered to himself, shaking his head as he pulled out his phone to check the time. Sighing, he realized it was only ten forty.
"Who's Haechan?" A voice asked and he jumped.
"God, what is it with people scaring me today?" Jaemin spoke a little too loudly, eyes wide as he turned to find a rather handsome dark-haired man in a similar suit to the knights in the front. He was breathtaking, but like Jaemin said, he wasn't looking for a relationship. "Aren't you supposed to be ... being a knight instead of bothering poor, defenseless boys?"
The man shrugged, taking a seat next to Jaemin without asking, and Jaemin sighed as he answered, "I'm on break."
"So you decide to spend your break bothering me?" Jaemin huffed, knowing he wasn't exactly being nice right now but he was tired and wanted to be left alone.
"You're pretty," the man said bluntly and Jaemin almost choked on nothing, making the man pat his back harshly. "Sorry, am I being too outright? My friends tell me I need to stop."
"Do you normally go up to randoms and call them pretty?" Jaemin asked.
"Only the really pretty ones," he grinned. "I'm Jeno, and you are ...?"
Jaemin was about to tell him a fake name when he paused, finally feeling the burning in his chest as he stared at Jeno. Haechan's words came back to him. Was this it? "I'm ... I'm Jaemin."
"Jaemin," Jeno repeated, grin turning into a smile that made his eyes curl up. "Pretty."
"When do you go back to work?" Jaemin asked.
Jeno looked surprised for a moment before smiling again, "Actually, I'm not even on break right now. I just lied."
Jaemin laughed in surprise, "You're kidding."
"No," Jeno smirked before looking around. "When do you leave, Jaemin?"
"Midnight," Jaemin answered, eyeing him.
"I want to show you something," Jeno stood up, holding out his hand for Jaemin to take.
"What about--"
"They have more than enough knights," Jeno shrugged, "So, are you going to take my hand?"
"Will you have me back by midnight?" Jaemin asked instead, raising his eyebrows.
Jeno smiled, "I don't know. Guess it'll just depend on how much I like you and want to keep you."
Jaemin laughed, unable to believe that he really was considering going with him- but since he agreed to go to the ball, what was one more thing? Something really was wrong with him, he decided, as he stood up, taking his hand.
"Where are we going?" Jaemin asked, letting Jeno pull him past the garden. "You're not going to kill me, are you?"
"No," Jeno grinned, looking over his shoulder. "If I did, I would've done it earlier. No one could see you from where you were sitting, by the way. Anyways, Haechan threatened me that if I ran you off, he'd kill me."
Jaemin's eyes widened, pausing in his steps, "You know Haechan?"
Jeno stopped, too, looking back at him with that stupid grin on his face, "Kind of. You still want to go with me?"
Also, don't think. Just do it. You want to leave here, right?
Yes, Jaemin decided. He wanted to leave, even for just one (k)night.
"Can we get food on the way? I didn't finish all my food earlier."
Jeno laughed, "Anything you want."