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Chapter Text

Mingyu is not having a good day. Scratch that, he's not having a good month. The royal parliament hasn't left him alone since the passing of the king and he was getting closer and closer to throwing himself out of the window.

"My head hurts." he complained, sprawling across the table.

"Did you at least find something?" Hyung Ho asked, walking over.

Mingyu didn't have the strength to question how he got inside anymore. He just grabbed a piece of paper from the table and blindly handed it behind himself. The second Hyung Ho took it, he let his arm fall limply to his side "Bae Min-ah, the woman we're looking for, lives in a different, freaking, country."

"Are you sure this is the right one?" the bodyguard asked.

Mingyu lifted his head "Have I ever been wrong?"

"I have a list somewhere." Mingyu pouted, straightening up and turning to his friend "I'm just saying, they mentioned a son."

The young advisor shrugged "Okay? And? We have one right there."

From the look Hyung Ho gave him, one would think he's either stupid or completely crazy. Probably both considering he actually thought this job was for him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he whined. Hyung Ho pointed at the paper "There are two sons. You should really consider glasses."

Mingyu shrugged "So what? Maybe she remarried."

Hyung Ho moved his finger "Unmarried. Not dating."

The advisor looked at the paper. Then to his friend. At the paper again. And slammed his head on the table, a loud BANG! echoing through the room "Ah! This is driving me crazy!"

"Didn't the king leave a will?"

"What do you think I'm going off of?" he took another paper, shoving it into Hyung Ho's face "I'm going off the information he left. Which is the woman's name and one blurry picture from 16 years ago. And nothing. Nada. Zero."

Hyung Ho pushed his hand back, his nose wrinkled in annoyance "Ya, have a little respect. You may be higher than me but I'm still older."

He took the papers, sitting on Mingyu's bed and comparing them.

"If I don't figure it out, the parliament will murder me."

"They won't."

"In cold blood."

"Mingyu."

"Maybe a nice public execution, that hasn't been here in a good hundred years."

"Mingyu."

"Might as well write my will."

"MINGYU!"

He turned around in surprise. Hyung Ho was looking at him with a raised eyebrow "Are you finished?"

The younger man shrugged "Sorry."

"I think we should check it out." Mingyu blinked in surprise "You're right, she's probably the only one that somehow fits the description."

Mingyu grinned cheekily "I thought the other son ruled her out?"

Hyung Ho glared at him "You do know I don't have to drive you, right?"

Mingyu stood up with a shrug, grabbing his wallet "Okay." he aimed for the door "I can drive myself."

"Excuse me?" before Hyungho could properly understand what was going on Mingyu was out of the door.

"Where do you leave the keys?"

And Hyung Ho pelted after him "YOU ARE NOT DRIVING MY CAR!"

Chapter Text

Today was not Doohoon's day. At all. First, in the morning he overslept, then his brother forgot half of his books at home which meant he had to run back to get them and then, freaking then, when he thought it couldn't get any worse, he found out he completely flunked the maths exam which he pulled three all nighters for. So no, today was not his day.

He almost jumped out of his skin when a car rushed past him, honking.

"Look where you're going!" yelled the driver back at him.

To be fair, he didn't really notice he was crossing the road in the first place. He sighed, shaking his head and speeding up a little. At least he got to work on time.

Small victories.

Woorim wasn't a fan of unexpected visits. So when his mom sent him to open the door while she was cooking, he was half tempted to pretend they weren't home. But when he looked through the peephole to see two men, dressed in way too expensive suits to be wandering this part of the city, he didn't really want to risk it.

"How can I help you?" he asked when he opened the door.

Mingyu didn't expect either of the sons to be this young. He exchanged a glance with Hyung Ho before smiling at the teen unsurely "Yes, hi, I'm Cho Mingyu, this is Kang Hyung Ho, we're looking for Bae Min-ah?"

The teen looked them over before turning back to the house "Mom! It's for you!"

A woman in her mid forties rushed to the door "I paid the bills alrea…" she froze when she took the two of them in "…dy. Woorim, go to your room."

"But mom-"

"Just go."

The teen huffed, looked at the two of them again and left. Min-ah looked around before ushering the two of them inside quickly.

"How much farther do I have to move?" she asked as she shut the door "I thought you wouldn't bother me here."

"Miss Bae, we are really sorry to bother you." Mingyu said. And really, he meant it. He couldn't imagine how he would feel if he was in her place.

"Yes, obviously." she had to fight back a scoff "What do you want?"

The two of them exchanged a glance. Hyung Ho took a step forward "Miss Bae, I think you should sit down for this."

She frowned, but still led them to the living room and sat down in one of the armchairs. Well, time to break the news.

"As you may have heard the king has passed away." Mingyu started unsurely.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Well, you see, as of now your son is the only surviving member of the royal family so we-"

"You want him to take the crown." she pursed her lips, obviously not happy about that.

Mingyu nodded "There's not really much else we can do-"

"My son hasn't been in the royal circles for over a decade and you expect he'll want the crown?"

Mingyu sighed. This was going to be harder than he expected.

Doohoon couldn't wait to get home and change. The fast food uniform looked, frankly, ridiculous and he smelled like he bathed in the fryer oil. At this point all he wanted to do was sleep.

He frowned when he noticed the black limousine on their street, the neighbourhood kids standing around it and staring in wonder.

That was strange. He tried to sneak a peek as he walked to his house.

"I'm home!" he called as he closed the door, kicking off his shoes "There's this really expensive car outside, it looks like men in black are…" he froze when he entered the living room.

There was a man he didn't recognise sitting opposite of his mom. Another one standing by the window. And they were all looking at him.

"… here. Hello." he bowed unsurely, looking at his mom in confusion and slight fear "What's going on?"

His mom exchanged a glance with the man opposite of her before they both stood up.

"Doohoon, this is Cho Mingyu. He…" she stopped, suddenly unsure on how to continue. She didn't have to. Because Doohoon noticed the expensive brooch on the man's suit.

"The Stella Kingdom." he said.

The man, Cho Mingyu, nodded grimly "That's right. We're here because your father-"

"He's not my father, let's start with that." Doohoon stopped him, walking over to his mom's side while keeping an eye on the two strangers "He didn't bother to contact me for the past 15 years. That man is not my father." he felt his mom put a hand on his elbow, as if telling him to behave.

Mingyu couldn't say he was surprised at the attitude. It's not like he was excited when his parents remembered he existed once every two years either.

"What does he need, oh, so urgently?" Doohoon asked. And damn, Mingyu really wanted to leave "I'm sorry, your f-the king has died."

"Oh." Oh. Well, there went all the hopes of ever fixing this mess. Doohoon cleared his throat, trying to not show his surprise "What does that have to do with me?"

Hyung Ho came forwards at that "You are the only one who can legally claim the throne."

Doohoon blinked at him. He stared like the man opposite of him just told him fairies and unicorns exist.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"We came to ask you to come back with us." Mingyu said "Since you're the rightful heir and-"

"No." Mingyu stopped "I'm not doing that. I don't want to be a king."

"But-"

"Isn't there someone else to take it?" 

"Uh well…" Hyung Ho turned to Mingyu who shrugged "You do have a cousin, twice removed…"

"Then ask him!"

"But he's four."

"Oh…"

"We wouldn't be asking if we had any other choice." if this didn't work, Mingyu didn't know what he'd do "Your country needs you-"

"It's not MY country. The royal family hasn't expressed any sort of want or need for me to be a part of it. So why should I care?"

"Please just-"

"And really, me? A king? Have you actually looked at me?" he motioned to himself, in the part timer uniform with oil and ketchup stains all over it "I don't think that'd fly very well."

"If you could just hear us out." Mingyu said, maybe a little louder than the situation warranted.

Min-ah pushed her son back. She looked ready to slap Mingyu into the next Monday "Do not yell at my son!"

"Okay, this is getting out of hand." Hyung Ho said, pulling Mingyu closer "We are not here to cause trouble."

"Really? Because that seems to be the only thing you're doing at the moment."

"Not to mention, what would we tell Woorim?" Doohoon asked.

"He doesn't know?" Mingyu frowned.

Doohoon laughed humorlessly "You think we told him? What do you imagine we said? 'Oh, by the way, we're not fully brothers because my dad is actually a king! Sorry to tell you kid, goodnight!'" sarcasm was dripping from his tone.

"WHAT?!"

They all turned around in shock to find Woorim standing on the stairs. The teen was staring at his brother and mom with tears in his eyes. Min-ah covered her mouth in shock.

"Woorim." Doohoon's voice suddenly got soft, a stark contrast to the yelling just a second before. He took a step forward. But Woorim just booked it back upstairs.

"Woorim!" Doohoon and Min-ah went after him, only to stop on the stairs when they heard the door being slammed shut.

Mingyu and Hyung Ho flinched back when Doohoon turned to face them, the fury of gods in his eyes. He stalked over to them, his hands clenched at his sides "Get out."

Mingyu put his hands up, eyes wide "I-I didn't-"

"I said get out!" they could see tears gathering in his eyes as he glared at them, trying to blink them back "Get out and leave my family alone."

Chapter Text

Mingyu will admit he did not think this one through. He sat in the car, looking shell shocked as Hyung Ho started the engine to drive them back to the embassy.

"I think that went well." the older man commented.

Mingyu glared at him from the corner of his eyes "Are you serious?"

Hyungho shrugged, starting the car "At least you got a word in. They might've as well shut the door in your face."

"I think that'd have been better." he groaned, rubbing his face "What are we going to do, hyung?"

"We'll figure something out. We always do."

Doohoon climbed up the stairs to find his mom at Woorim's door, trying to talk him into letting her in.

"Woorim, please."

"Leave me alone!"

"Please, just let me explain."

She turned around when Doohoon put a hand on her shoulder. He smiled at her reassuringly before motioning for her to leave. When she did, he knocked on the door softly. It shook slightly as something hit it from the inside.

He shook his head "Woorim, I'm coming in."

Without giving him time to answer he walked inside, shutting the door behind him. A textbook was laying on the ground, Woorim probably threw it at the door. Doohoon's eyes softened when he saw Woorim curled up on the ground in the space between the wall and the desk.

He walked over and sat next to him, sighing. And he waited. Finally, after a few minutes, Woorim lifted his tear streaked face, staring in front of him "Why didn't you tell me?" his voice was soft, almost whispering.

"Because it wasn't important." Doohoon shrugged "It was not something you needed to know."

"You think?"

"I know." Doohoon looked down at him "Because it's not important." he bumped their shoulders, continuing to nudge Woorim until they were practically laying on top of each other "You're still my annoyingly cute little brother. And I'm still the same amazing and handsome hyung you so despise." his smile fell when Woorim didn't react to the teasing, other than to push him off.

He sighed "We didn't tell you because it doesn't mean anything. Mom wasn't happy with him and I haven't seen that man since I was five. You and mom are the only family I need and want."

Woorim looked up at him, wiping away some of the tears "Does it really not change anything?"

Doohoon looked at him and smiled "I promise."

Hyungho was looking at him like he was crazy. Again. It seemed like he wasn't really doing much else lately.

"Mingyu, I'm not going to babysit them."

"I'm not asking you to babysit!" Mingyu rubbed his arm unsurely "Just, y'know… Keep an eye on them."

"That sounds like babysitting."

"Hyung, please. I need to figure something out and we need to make sure he survives until then."

"And you think there'd suddenly be a threat to his life? Just like that, out of nowhere?"

"Not… Not suddenly." he looked around the room as if to make sure they were truly alone "Look, there were some threats here and there. Most of them just blind shots to the dark but you never know." he came closer to the bodyguard "Please? You don't have to interact with anyone, just keep an eye on them."

Hyungho glared at him, but ultimately, he groaned "Fine." Mingyu cheered momentarily "But you owe me this one."

"Of course, hyung."

Chapter Text

Woorim had his arms crossed on the table, his chin on top of them as his friends talked around him.

"So yeah, the bottom line is, you should ask her out."

He blinked owlishly when all attention was suddenly on him, straightening "Huh?"

Sime raised an eyebrow "Did you not pay attention?"

"Not really." he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, smiling a little "What are we talking about?"

HyungGywn rolled his eyes "Kim Yuna? The girl you've been staring at since we know you?"

Woorim's eyes widened and his face got hot almost immediately. He looked back down at the table, making himself smaller "Are you all crazy? I can't ask her out." he muttered, idly turning the pages in his textbook like he was looking for something.

"Why not?" ChoongJoo asked "You're a handsome guy, the worst she can do is say no!"

"Yeah, say no and never talk to me again."

"She wouldn't." HyungGywn said immediately.

"Might as well laugh in my face."

"Woorim she wouldn't." Sime repeated.

Woorim looked up, only to find a familiar black car parked a few houses down from the caffe they were sitting at. He frowned, standing up and grabbing his books "I should go."

The other turned to him in confusion.

"What?"

"Wait, we didn't mean to-"

"No, no, it's good." he smiled at them slightly "I'm just tired, I'm going home. See you tomorrow." and he was out the door. The others exchanged a glance.

"Do you think we upset him?"

Woorim walked off in a completely opposite direction than he should've gone. He walked a little faster, entering random stores and shops on the way and peeking behind to check if the car was still there. It was.

He entered a random second hand, grabbing clothing and accessories, anything to stay there longer. Periodically he peaked out the huge window to see if the car was still on the other side of the street.

After half an hour he finally had enough. He walked out and aimed straight to the car, knocking on the window. It got pulled down and he found one of the men from yesterday behind the wheel, with sunglasses on and looking at him with an unreadable expression. Woorim leaned on the window, peeking his head inside "You're not very sneaky, you know?"

"Does it look like I'm trying to be?"

Woorim shrugged, 'fair' "Why are you following me?"

Hyung Ho leaned back in the seat and pushed the sunglasses up into his hair "Your brother is at work at the mall, which means a hundred and ten security guards all over the place. Your mother is home, and by the look of her that automatically means safe." he sighed "So you're the only one I gotta watch."

The teen raised an eyebrow "You're babysitting me?"

"I'm not babysitting-"

"You don't look like the type to babysit." he looked around, dropping his voice to whisper "How much do they pay you?"

"I'm not babysitting." he stopped "Thinking about it they don't pay enough." Woorim smirked "Want a ride home while we are at it?"

The teen got into the passenger seat "Not home. Take me to that Cho person. I would like a word with him.

Hyung Ho looked at him for a moment, like he wanted to say no. But he started the car and took off "You have no reason to sound so ominous."

"It's more fun."

Chapter Text

Mingyu was sure his head was going to burst at any second. Whatever the ambassador was telling him was practically just going one ear in, the other ear out.

"Please, I understand this is urgent," he said, trying to sound as polite as possible "however considering the current situation of my country, I simply cannot make any sort of agreement until the new king is crowned."

"So you found him?" the ambassador asked.

Mingyu bit the inside of his cheek "Yes." he lied "We are waiting until the annual ball to introduce him to the public." he's just digging his grave at this point.

"Ah, well, that's good to hear."

He was saved by a knock on the door. Inside peeked one of the assistants "I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but Mr. Kang said it's important."

Mingyu nodded "Tell him I'll be right there."

It took him record 10 minutes to get the ambassador to leave. And he was on his way to meet Hyungho.

Mingyu felt himself freeze up when, instead of his friend, he found the teen from yesterday sitting on the sofa and looking around with badly hidden curiosity.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Woorim jerked in surprise. He stood up quickly, bowing slightly as he held the harness of his backpack like they could save him from something.

"I came to ask about something."

"Right…" thinking about it he shouldn't have been so surprised "Uh. Would you like some tea?"

Woorim shrugged "I guess."

Mingyu could feel the awkwardness in the air as they silently sat there. Woorim looked like he regretted every life decision that led him to this point and really, he couldn't blame him.

"So…" he cleared his throat awkwardly "You said you wanted to ask about something?"

"Oh, yeah." Woorim looked up "Why do you need my brother so badly? You mentioned a cousin. Can't you and the parliament just take care of the country until the cousin is grown up?"

Mingyu sighed "I wish it was that easy. But we can't do that. The laws and relationships between countries don't work like that. There are more than a few countries waiting for something to happen so they can use it to their advantage." Woorim nodded "We don't want to pressure your brother into anything, but he might as well be our last hope."

"I guess that makes sense… How much time do you have? By the way you're scrambling I'm not guessing a lot."

"You've got a big mouth. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"I was told it's charming." Woorim smiled. And, God, what did Mingyu ever do to deserve this.

"The kingdom holds an annual ball every year." he said "I was hoping your brother would be ready by then but seeing as it's in three months…"

Woorim hummed and they fell silent. Mingyu rubbed his eyes. At least the headache calmed down.

"I think I can help."

Mingyu looked up in surprise "I'm sorry?"

"I can try to talk him into some sort of agreement. Or at least to give you a chance."

"Won't he just say no? He seemed pretty adamant about it."

"I'm his little brother." Woorim rolled his eyes like it was obvious "He won't say no to me."

Mingyu shouldn't be accepting the help of a 16 year old. Much less a 16 year old who had no idea about the politics of the whole thing. But at this point, it'll either work or he'll go out with a proper big boom.

"Fine then. Do whatever you want. As long as it works."

Woorim grinned "You have my word it will." he leaned a little closer "You do realise it'll take a lot of work before he can even pretend to know what he's doing right?"

"It's not like I have a choice anyway. Plus he can't be that hopeless."

"You clearly don't know him." he shrugged, standing up and grabbing his things "I'll get your number from the babysitter. Bye."

Mingyu frowned "The baby-" he turned around quickly "You mean Hyung Ho?"

But Woorim was already out of there. Mingyu groaned. What has he got himself into?

Chapter Text

Woorim will admit he probably could have made a better plan. But whatever he was doing now would have to be enough.

He barged into Doohoon's room, his brother jumping slightly in surprise.

"I got an idea."

The older man blinked at him a few times "Okay…?"

"I talked with the guy from yesterday."

"You what-"

Woorim didn't give him the time to get mad "He explained some things to me and I really think you should reconsider."

Doohoon tried to form a coherent enough sentence to send his brother to hell. But he couldn't get himself to actually do that, so he just sat on the bed tiredly "What are you talking about?"

"Well, they're desperate. Obviously if you are their choice-"

"Hey!"

"AND being a king really isn't that bad."

Doohoon stared at him "Woorim…" he sighed, shaking his head to sort his thoughts "Woorim, let's be honest here. Can you imagine me leading someone? A whole country at that? That's just… so much."

Woorim did feel slightly bad. He knew it'd be hard. But that's why he was doing this. Because he didn't want his brother's life to be harder than it needed to be. And if it meant sending him off to a different country, so be it. He sat next to him on the bed "Listen, I know it will be hard. But it's still gonna be better than here. Plus you're gonna be super rich. That has to count for something."

Doohoon smiled momentarily "I can't leave you and mom. What will you do?"

"Did you miss 'the super rich' part? We can move. For all I care, we can go with you."

"You still have to finish school. And mom already left once. I can't do that to her…"

Woorim pursed his lips. He just can't think about himself for once can he?

"Can you at least meet up with him?" he asked at last "Maybe you'll figure something out."

Doohoon sighed "Fine. I'll hear him out, but I'm not promising anything."

His brother smiled "All I'm asking for."

That's how Woorim found himself back at the embassy the next day. Sitting in the hallway with Hyung Ho while Doohoon and Mingyu talked inside a meeting room.

"Do you think he will agree?" Woorim asked anxiously, suddenly not so sure.

Hyung Ho shrugged "Mingyu's got a way with his words. I'm sure they'll come to an agreement eventually."

Inside the room, Doohoon felt like throwing up. He looked the part too.

"Three months?" he asked, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Yes." Mingyu nodded "We can take it as a trial period. If at the end you decide to still refuse you can do so officially. It'd help if you found someone to fill your position as well, but I can do that afterwards. It'll be easier once people see we're actually doing something and not lying to keep the power to ourselves."

Doohoon nodded. Right. That makes sense. But three months?

"Of course, you'd have to come back to the kingdom with me and Hyungho at least a month before that…" Mingyu stopped, fully taking the crown prince in. He sighed, his voice softening "I understand this is hard, I can't even imagine what I'd do in your place. But this is the best I can offer. I'm sorry, but my hands are tied."

"No, no. It's-It's alright." he took a deep breath to calm his rapid heartbeat "I… I think that can work…"

Mingyu smiled a little "Thank you."

Woorim was grinning like a dumbass the whole ride home.

"You are taking me with you, right?" he asked as they entered the house.

Doohoon sighed "Woorim-"

"A month in a palace? You can't leave me out of that!"

Their mom looked out from the kitchen. She raised an eyebrow "I'm guessing it went well?"

"Depends on your definition of 'well'."

Doohoon sat down on the couch, sighing tiredly. Woorim sat next to him, still looking excited.

"So? Will you tell me what you figured out or am I supposed to guess?" Min-ah asked.

Chapter Text

Doohoon had to leave his job. It wasn't something he actually wanted to do, but with Mingyu insisting on the "king lessons" being every day he didn't really have a choice.

Woorim noticed his dissatisfaction immediately after he got back in the car. He nudged his shoulder "Hey, brighten up. After you become a king you won't need a job anyways."

"I'm not becoming a king." Doohoon said "I just have to do this until that ball and then I can go back to my normal life."

"Whatever you say."

Mingyu circled him as he stood in the middle of the room.

"What exactly are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying to figure out where to start." Mingyu answered "There's a lot of work to do."

"Wow thanks, that sure helped my self esteem." Doohoon muttered sarcastically.

"We need to get you new clothes, that's obvious."

Doohoon looked down at himself "What's wrong with these?"

"Uh…" Mingyu looked up at him "Nothing." he said quickly, Doohoon raised an eyebrow "We just need you to look, well… expensive."

"You mean posh."

"Basically, yes."

"Great." he rolled his eyes "Just what I needed."

"No offence, but a king can't walk around with bleach stains on his clothes."

"At least he's relatable." Hyungho shrugged.

Doohoon pointed at him "See? He gets it."

Mingyu glared at his friend, who put his hands up in surrender, making Woorim chuckle. He turned to Doohoon again, his eyes focusing on his hands "You got painted nails?"

Doohoon looked up with a surprised hum, seeing the white nail polish. He grinned "Yeah, we match." he said, motioning for Woorim who lifted his own hands, showing off his black nails with a wiggle of his fingers.

"My god, okay… That should be fine, as long as you keep it clean and not chipped." Doohoon grinned "We need to figure out what you remember from before…"

"Practically nothing, I can tell you that." Doohoon said, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans "I was six. At that age they don't really teach you anything else than how to be quiet."

"They certainly did a crappy job then." Woorim muttered, making Hyung Ho snort.

The young advisor looked like he was either going to kill someone or himself "So we're starting from zero? Like, literally?"

Doohoon hummed in confirmation, shrugging. Mingyu put his head in his hands "Great! That's just awesome!" 

Woorim and Doohoon exchanged a glance.

"You know what? Let's just start with the clothes. We can deal with the rest later."

Doohoon raised an eyebrow "Where do you imagine you'll get them?"

Mingyu shrugged "We got tailors."

"Wait, like here?"

"Yeah."

Doohoon froze "Please tell me you're joking."

Minguy was, in fact, not joking. And Woorim loved every second of it.

"Are you finished laughing at me?" Doohoon asked as the tailor continued measuring him. He jumped slightly when he felt the hands on one of his tights "Hey! What do you need that for?"

Woorim burst out laughing again "I'd guess for your pants, hyung."

"Who the hell measures tights- Okay, that's a bit too high, don't you think?" he asked, looking down at the poor person who was just trying to measure his hips. The tailor stared up at him before withdrawing his hands.

Mingyu rubbed his temples. This was going to cost him his sanity "Can you just stay still?"

"Not really, no." Doohoon looked back at the tailor "Can you at least warn me?"

"Uh…" he looked at Mingyu unsurely before nodding "Yes, your highness."

Doohoon visibly shuddered "Oh, I hate that."

"You will get used to it." assured him Mingyu, looking him over critically "Your posture is pretty bad."

"Thanks, I've been working on it."

"You don't have to be so sarcastic."

"I said I'll let you teach me, I never said I'll make it easy for you."

Mingyu sighed "God, you sound exactly like the king."

He realised what he said too late. His head snapped up to check Doohoon's reaction. The future king fell silent, hanging his head. Woorim and Hyungho exchanged an awkward glance.

Chapter Text

Woorim was having a great day. After a long while it finally seemed like the universe was on his side. And even the trip to the embassy couldn't ruin it for him.

"Why are you so happy?" Doohoon asked in the car, looking him over.

His brother shrugged "Can't a guy be in a good mood?"

"Well, I've never seen you like this. Did something happen?"

"You should focus on the whole king thing, or that Cho guy is going to have a stroke." he covered his phone screen as he texted someone, grinning.

Doohoon tried to sneak a peek at the phone "Since when are you so secretive?"

Woorim turned away so his back was pressed to the car door, the phone hidden in his chest as he tried to gently kick Doohoon away "Since when are you so nosy?"

"Come on, show me!" he reached for the phone only for Woorim to dodge as best as he could.

"No! You'll tell mom!"

"I won't tell her anything, when did I do that?"

Hyung Ho opened the door, not even flinching when the two brothers fell out of the door in a heap of screaming limbs. He leaned against the car, smirking "Your majesty, we have arrived."

Doohoon spit out grass that got in his mouth when he fell, glaring at the driver "Yeah, thanks, I didn't notice."

"Get off, you're gonna break my ribs!" Woorim complained. His brother looked down at him "Oh, am I now?" and he laid back down with his full weight, ignoring how Woorim flayed under him.

"Hyung!" he whined.

Hyung Ho shook his head before grabbing the back of Doohoon's shirt and dragging him up like a misbehaving kitten. Woorim started heaving dramatically, like Doohoon really weighted so much for him to have trouble breathing.

The future king blinked as he realised his new position and that his feet barely reached the ground, before turning his head to look at Hyung Ho "You're strong… for a babysitter."

"I'm a bodyguard."

"Sure… Can you let me go?"

Hyung Ho did, making him stumble slightly as his legs buckled under the sudden added weight. Then he turned to Woorim, extending a hand towards him.

"I'm good." the teen said quickly, standing up.

They entered the embassy, finding Mingyu already in the room, waiting for them.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

"The children were acting up." Hyungho answered. 

Doohoon frowned "'Children', aren't we practically the same age?"

"You want to call me a babysitter, I'm gonna be acting like one."

Mingyu rolled his eyes. He motioned Doohoon over to him "We need to start with your posture. You can't slouch like that."

"That's sorta hard when you work behind the register for 5 hours straight." Doohoon answered, shrugging and muttering to himself "Guess you can't know that, considering you never had to lift a finger."

Mingyu glared "I used to grill and do the cleaning at McDonald's to afford college. At least you have a mom who cares." the last part was muttered, like he didn't actually want them to hear.

Woorim grimaced, looking at Hyungho for his reaction. The bodyguard was biting the inside of his cheek, ready to step in if needed.

Doohoon gulped, unsure whether to say something or not. The decision was made for him as Mingyu stood in front of him "As a royal, everyone's watching your every move." and Doohoon was grateful they dropped the subject "So you have to look like you are the most important person in the room." as he talked he showed what to do, Doohoon trying to follow "Keep your shoulders back and relax. Put your feet about hip distance apart and when you walk, balance the weight on both feet." he grimaced slightly when it was obvious Doohoon had a problem with keeping his neck straight "Put your head up slightly, like you actually think highly of yourself."

"Why don't you put a book on his head?" Woorim asked.

Doohoon gave him a side-eye "They only do that in movies, Woo."

"That's actually not a bad idea."

And suddenly, Doohoon had a book in his hands. How did it get there? No idea. Could he balance it on his head? The answer is very clear no.

He glared at his brother, mouthing a quick 'I hate you.' before turning back to Mingyu.

The advisor had no trouble balancing the thick book on his head, even while walking and talking. Doohoon was strangely unnerved by this.

'Come on, you've seen the Barbie movie, you can do this!'

He could not do this. At this point, he was sure the book was somehow rigged.

Woorim and Hyungho exchanged a glance as Doohoon almost crashed for the sixth time. Hyungho was staring with a raised eyebrow, like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

"He's lucky he's good looking." he whispered. Woorim nodded "You have no idea."

Doohoon turned around "What was that?"

"We said you're doing great, hyung." Woorim grinned.

Doohoon scoffed "You try it then!"

Before Woorim could properly realise what was going on the book smacked right in his face before falling to the floor with a hollow thud.

"OUCH! MY NOSE!" he grabbed at his face, doubling over in pain.

Doohoon's eyes widened as he ran over "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

"You did this on purpose!"

"I didn't! I thought you'd catch it!"

Mingyu came over to them, trying to pry Woorim's hands from his face as gently as he could.

"Let me have a look, will you?" he muttered when Woorim didn't seem inclined to do so.

Woorim finally put his hands down, looking up at them with slightly teary eyes. Mingyu softly touched his nose and the area around it, making him hiss.

"It's not broken." he said "But we should get some ice on it. Come with me."

Doohoon went to follow them, but Hyungho stopped him.

"He'll be fine. Come on, I'll help you." he said, passing the book back to Doohoon. He reluctantly took it.

Mingyu let Woorim sit on the counter while he rummaged through the freezer. Woorim was still holding his nose, but since the initial shock was over, he wasn't crying anymore.

"You two are worse than the dukes of Edelkland." Mingyu commented, putting the ice pack on Woorim's face.

"Context?" Woorim asked.

"They are five."

"Oh…"

Mingyu lifted himself to sit next to him. There was a soft buzzing sound, making him turn around to see Woorim texting someone. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed the heart next to the contact name.

"Your girlfriend?" he asked.

Woorim's face went red almost immediately. He pulled the phone to his chest as he spluttered 

"No! No, she's not my girlfriend!"

Mingyu raised an eyebrow "Really?"

"Yes! She's just…" he dropped his voice, looking away "Just a classmate."

"Just a classmate?"

Woorim groaned "You're annoying, did anyone ever tell you that?"

"I've been told it's charming." Mingyu parroted, smiling "Come on, tell me."

"Ugh. She's the prettiest girl I know okay. She's smart and nice and when she skates she just looks…" he hung his head, fidgeting with the phone "It doesn't matter."

"Did you at least ask her out?"

Woorim turned to him with wide eyes "Are you crazy?"

"I take it you didn't. How did you get her number then?"

"She gave it to me. We have a project together."

"And you saved it with a heart?"

"I didn't…" he smiled a little, looking down at the phone "She did."

"She's dropping hints!" Mingyu said. Thinking about it he really didn't have a reason to be so excited for him.

"Or, she's just being friendly."

Mingyu rolled his eyes "Hopeless."

Chapter Text

Hyungho clapped, cheering as Doohoon made another round around the room without the book falling.

"See? I told you, you can do it." he said, beaming proudly.

Doohoon grinned, taking the book off of his head "Yeah! It's not so hard."

He turned around when he heard clapping. Woorim and Mingyu were in the doorway, both clapping.

"I told you." Mingyu said "If you stop making it so difficult for yourself, you might even have fun."

Doohoon hated that he was right. Of course he wasn't going to say it aloud "Repeat it to yourself until you believe it."

Mingyu rolled his eyes "Seriously."

One week, two weeks, three weeks, and just like that a month was over. Doohoon was sitting opposite of Mingyu and Hyungho with his brother, dressed up in the fancy clothes Mingyu had made for him. Those, he was still not used to.

"We're actually doing pretty well." Mingyu said, choosing peace and ignoring how Doohoon untied the tie, unbuttoned some buttons on his shirt and completely disregarded the suit jacket "And you didn't even break anything. If we don't count the glasses."

"Not my fault." Doohoon said immediately "Why do you have to hit it with cutlery anyways? Why can't you just, I don't know, stand up? Wouldn't that make more sense?"

Mingyu stopped. He had a point. Oh, he hated that he had a point "That doesn't matter." Doohoon and Woorim exchanged a glance and Hyung Ho snorted.

"Before we start with this lesson. Have you ever ridden a horse?"

Doohoon froze. And Woorim burst out laughing. Mingyu looked at Hyungho in confusion, but the bodyguard just shrugged. It's not like he knew much either.

Once Woorim was done bending in half laughing, he straightened up, wiping away a tear "Mom took us once when he was 13. Never did it again."

Mingyu stared at him for a few seconds "Okay? Context?"

Woorim looked back at his brother and burst out laughing again "He refused to even get out of the car! He's scared as hell of horses!"

"I don't know what's so funny about it." Doohoon muttered, pouting.

"It wouldn't be so funny if they weren't literally ponies."

"It's not funny."

"They were half your size! It was hilarious! I can still see mom trying to get you out of the car, oh my god, my stomach hurts." and he doubled over again, trying to catch his breath.

"You are scared of horses." Mingyu muttered.

"Terrified, is the word I'd use." Doohoon said.

"You really can't make it any easier for me, can you?"

Doohoon shrugged.

"God…" Mingyu put his head in his hands.

Hyungho didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Woorim next to him was managing to do both at once.

"It's not so bad!" Mingyu said, trying to pull Doohoon out of the building. The prince was holding onto the door frame in dead grip, his eyes wide in panic "No! I am not going anywhere near that beast!"

"It's not a beast! It's a horse!" Mingyu pulled at his arm again, but it slipped from his grip, making him crash to the ground.

And Doohoon was out of there. All Mingyu saw were his retreating back as he returned inside the embassy. The advisor groaned, laying back on the ground.

"Scared of horses. He's scared of horses." he muttered, glaring up at the sky "What are you punishing me for?"

Hyungho shook his head, patting Woorim's shoulder "Get him up, I'm going to talk to your brother."

Woorim shrugged, walking over to where Mingyu was laying. And he laid right next to him. They were quiet for a few seconds.

"I was thinking about asking her out." Woorim said. Mingyu immediately sat up, looking at him in surprise "You did?"

"Yeah. I talked with some friends and apparently, uh, she saved my name with hearts next to it…"

"But Woorim, that's great!" Mingyu said immediately "What are you planning on?"

The teen shrugged "Not sure yet… Not even sure if I'm going to do it."

Mingyu pondered it for a second "I can help." Woorim raised an eyebrow "Don't look at me like that. I used to be a heartthrob back in high school." he winked.

Woorim laughed "Sure you were…" he fell silent for a second "You would? Help me, I mean…"

"Sure!"

It took Hyungho two rooms before he caught sight of the crown prince, sitting curled up against the wall between a sofa and an armchair, his knees pulled up to his chest to make himself as small as possible.

Hyungho stood in front of him. He put his hands on his hips.

"Came to laugh at me too?" Doohoon asked "Go ahead. It's funny, no?"

"Scoot over." Hyung Ho said instead.

Doohoon looked up at him in surprise. But he did move a little to make some space for him. Hyungho sat down with a groan "Ah, my knees." I'm only 25, Jesus Christ.

"So," he started "want to tell me why you're so terrified of horses?"

"Not really."

"Maybe I can help." he nudged his shoulder. Doohoon was reminded just a few weeks ago when he was in Hyungho's position in Woorim's room.

"You probably won't believe it, but I used to be obsessed with horses when I was a kid."

'Not that hard to believe, almost everyone was.' Hyung ho thought "Okay?"

"But they wouldn't let me ride one because I was too small. But one day, when I was 4, the king took me. We rode on the biggest horse in the stables. But something happened. I don't remember what exactly, but the horse got scared and threw us off." he rubbed his shoulder "I broke my arm and the horse almost stomped on me. We never told mom, she still thinks we fell while playing in my treehouse."

"And since then you're scared of them." Hyungho said "Why don't you tell your brother that?"

"It would take the fun out of it for him." Doohoon shrugged "At least he has something to laugh about."

Hyungho hummed, looking Doohoon over "You should give it a shot. The horses here aren't that big. And If you fall, I'll catch you."

"Why, so you can say I "fell for you"?"

"How'd you guess?" he asked in mock surprise, making Doohoon laugh a little.

Then he sighed, getting up "I will try it. But if you don't catch me I'm suing."

Hyungho chuckled, getting up with another groan "You can lower my pay when you become my boss."

"That sounds tempting. Might become a king just to do that."

Hyungho took that as a small victory "You can ask Mingyu for a helmet." he said as they started walking back "We might even find some protective pads for you."

"You just want me to look stupid at this point."

Hyungho shrugged "If we don't we can always wrap you in bubble wrap."

Chapter Text

Doohoon was looking at the horse in utter disgust. He completely ignored whatever Mingyu was telling him as he patted the spotted horse.

"Are you listening?" Mingyu asked. Doohoon looked at the horse a second longer before turning to him "Do you want the truth or a well meaning lie?"

Mingyu sighed "I said I don't expect you to immediately look all big and mighty when you sit on it. We're gonna start with baby steps."

Doohoon nodded "Okay."

Mingyu expected him to at least come a little closer. Instead, he took a step back. Woorim chuckled, petting another horse a little away "Hyung, come on. They're nice."

The black horse nuzzled Woorim's hair, making him giggle "Aw, aren't you just adorable?"

Hyungho nudged Doohoon slightly. The prince looked at him before huffing and taking a few steps forward. His hands stayed crossed on his chest though, like the horse would bite them off if he extended them even slightly.

Mingyu raised an eyebrow when Doohoon stopped still a few good feet from them "Want to come closer?"

"I'm actually pretty good here, thanks."

"Mingyu-hyung?" called Woorim "Can I ride him?"

Mingyu turned to find the horse still nuzzling Woorim's face.

"I think he likes me!" he added.

The advisor sighed "Yeah okay. Come on, I'll help you."

Woorim jumped slightly with excitement.

Hyung Ho smiled a little before walking over to the other horse, petting it softly. He turned to Doohoon who was now looking at Woorim and Mingyu. To make sure his brother was okay.

"Don't you want to pet him?" he asked.

Doohoon turned to him in surprise. Before the words fully registered and he frowned like he just presented the craziest idea he ever heard "Not particularly."

"You promised to give it a chance."

"You promised they aren't so big. This is huge!"

"Doohoon, come on. I promise he doesn't bite."

He sighed and painfully slowly made his way over. Finally, he stopped next to Hyungho.

"Go ahead. Pet him." Hyungho said.

Doohoon was about to protest when Woorim and Mingyu walked past them, the younger laughing in delight on the horse.

"Hold on, you don't want to fall!" called Mingyu with his own giggle.

So Doohoon took a deep breath and extended a hand, carefully patting the horse on the neck. The horse neighed, moving his head slightly closer. Doohoon yelped, taking a step back.

"It's okay, it's okay." Doohoon didn't know if Hyungho was talking to him or the horse "He liked it. That's why he moved." he looked at Doohoon with a teasing grin "He wasn't about to kill you."

"How can you be so sure?" Doohoon asked shakily, crossing his arms again.

"Because Philip here is probably the least aggressive horse you'll ever meet."

Doohoon raised an eyebrow "His name is Philip."

"Philip the third to be precise." Hyungho smiled "He's mine."

The prince blinked "This is yours?"

"Sure is. That's why I know he's not going to hurt you. Come here."

He gently took one of Doohoon's hands, wrapping his own around it and making Doohoon pet the horse properly.

"See? He's nice."

"I-I guess." Doohoon was feeling slightly lightheaded. He hasn't been this close to a horse since that incident.

He gulped, pulling his hand back, feeling relieved when Hyungho let him.

"Are you okay?" the bodyguard asked.

Doohoon was about to answer him. Tell him not to worry. When suddenly Philip nuzzled his head to Doohoon's neck. He jumped slightly, yelping as he hid behind Hyungho in an almost cartoonish way, hugging the bodyguard around the waist and hiding his face in his shoulder.

"Hey, hey, it's fine." Hyung Ho said quickly, patting his elbow "It's fine, he can tell you're anxious and he wanted to help."

"Well he definitely didn't." muttered Doohoon. Hyung Ho froze "Are you crying?"

"Hyung!"

Woorim ran over to them, immediately pulling Doohoon away. Mingyu was quick behind him. Doohoon practically latched onto Woorim. To the youngest's credit, he didn't laugh when they finally got what happened out of them. Instead, he looked worried "Are you okay? Come on, don't cry!" he hugged his brother again, making soothing circles on his back with his hand.

"I think we need less than baby steps." Hyungho said. Mingyu nodded "Definitely."

Chapter Text

Woorim didn't know if trusting Mingyu was a good idea. But right now, it was too late to question it when he already stood in front of Yuna.

The girl was looking at him, smiling softly "What did you need?"

He could feel his cheeks heating up "Uh, I-I was wondering if, y'know, maybe you'd like to… uh go… on a date? With me?" his voice was quieter as he spoke, the end almost whispered. He hung his head, feeling embarrassed and getting ready to get rejected.

"Of course!"

He looked up in surprise "Huh? Seriously?"

"Yes! I was worried you weren't getting my hints." she laughed a little, hugging him. He blinked, unsurely hugging her back.

"I have training today, but I'm free after 8. How does that sound?" she asked as they pulled away.

"That- Yeah, yes, that sounds good."

She waved with a smile, quickly getting in her car. Woorim stood there, stunned for a second. Before he jumped up with a victorious "Yes!" and ran off.

He practically crashed into the car where Mingyu, Hyungho, his brother and mom were waiting.

"So?" his mom asked.

"What did she say?" Doohoon added.

"She said yes!" he answered.

There was mandatory squealing and hugging from his brother while Mingyu smirked with a 'I told you so' face. His mom was dramatically wiping away a tear while Hyungho laughed.

"Today. At 8." he said when they all calmed down, turning to Mingyu "I hope you are not leaving me alone in it now."

"Oh, don't worry, I got some plans."

Mingyu was working on Woorim's hair, trying to make him look as good as possible.

"Is this all really necessary?" Woorim asked.

"Sure. You're a handsome guy, we gotta make sure it's visible." Mingyu answered.

"How do you manage to make compliments sound so sarcastic?"

"It's a gift."

"Hey, I got a question." Woorim said after a moment of silence.

"Shoot."

"Well, since my brother is a prince, king, whatever, what does that make me?"

The older stopped, obviously caught off guard by the question "Royal by affiliation." he answered after a second, moving away to grab something. Woorim raised an eyebrow, a not-quite smirk on his face "You just made that up, didn't you?"

"Do you want me to help or not?"

Woorim laughed. Mingyu gave him a suit "It should fit you. You look about the same size as the Duke of Aquilia."

"Do you just have random suits from all around the world here?" Woorim asked with a frown.

"Yes, actually. There's a full closet in the spare room upstairs." Mingyu shrugged "I'm not really sure why either, but y'know. It's useful from time to time."

"Yeah, like helping teenagers get a date."

"Oh no, you're the only one I'd do that for."

"Aww, I'm honoured." Woorim teased.

"Yeah yeah, don't let it get in your head. Go and change."

The suit was a great fit, except for the jacket. That was a little surprising.

“For a sixteen year old you have huge shoulders.” Mingyu said, looking through the huge walk-in closet.

“I’ll be taking that as a compliment.” Woorim said, catching a different suit jacket Mingyu threw him.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Woorim was sitting in the car, bumping his leg anxiously. He was toying with the flower in his hands, trying to calm his nerves.

"You got two minutes." Hyungho said from the driver's seat "You'll do great, go on."

Woorim nodded, releasing a deep breath.

He got out of the car, looking at the house in front of him. Half of his brain wanted to go back inside the car and tell Hyung Ho to floor it.

That was quickly thrown out the window when the house door opened and Yuna came out. Woorim was sure his lungs stopped working for a second. She looked beautiful, not that she ever didn't, but it felt… different.

"You like it?" Yuna asked when she was close enough, twirling around to show off her dress "I got all dolled up for you."

"M-Me?" he shook himself off "You look great."

After another second he realised he was still holding the flower in his hand. It was made from glass, all glittery and colourful. So he finally extended his hand "That's for you."

Yuna's eyes widened slightly "It's beautiful." she took it gently, turning it over in her hands. Woorim smiled "I'm glad you like it." he said, opening the car door.

Yuna blinked, like she only now realised it was a limousine. He helped her get in before joining her.

"Welcome on board, miss." Hyungho said, starting the car.

She turned to Woorim with wide eyes "Who's that?"

"Uh, he's my-"

"I'm his babysitter." Hyungho stopped him with a teasing grin. Woorim hit his shoulder, his cheeks slightly pink "Stop it!" he turned back to Yuna "He's my brother's friend."

Woorim had to leave it to Mingyu, the restaurant was beautiful. Although he probably didn't want to know how much he offered them to get him and Yuna a good table.

Halfway through, everything was going great! Yuna was obviously enjoying herself, the food was good and Woorim didn't even do anything embarrassing.

"Woorim, not that this isn't great, but how did you manage this?" Yuna asked "This must've cost a fortune!"

Woorim stopped. He couldn't just tell her his brother's advisor paid for it. That would be a pain to explain and he promised he won't tell anyone. He smiled a little "I have friends in the right places.

To his relief, Yuna just giggled and let it go.

Chapter Text

"So, I would say it went pretty well." Woorim said as he finished recounting the date to Mingyu a few days later.

"See, I told you." Mingyu answered, petting the horse "Is this really a good idea? After last time I don't know if I want to risk it again."

Woorim shrugged "He'll have to get over it eventually."

It's not like he was that happy either. He may tease his brother a lot about the horses but that didn't mean he wanted to see him have a panic attack because of one.

He turned to see Hyungho and Doohoon talking quietly by the embassy entrance. His brother was shaking slightly, while Hyungho had his hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down.

"I promise I will catch you if you fall." Hyung Ho said "And I promise you will be okay."

"I know. I know." Doohoon muttered, taking a deep breath "Let's-Let's just get it over with."

They walked over to Mingyu and Woorim, Doohoon once again having his arms crossed.

"So, as per tradition, you have to sit sideways." Mingyu said carefully.

Doohoon's eyes widened slightly "I thought only women do that?"

"Usually, yes. But we don't. Anyone under the age of 40 sits like that."

"Oh god, great." he gulped, walking slightly closer.

"Women have it easier because of the dresses. A lot of them just wear a fake leg while riding normally."

"That doesn't sound fair… Can't I just wear a dress too?"

Mingyu huffed out a laugh "Sadly, not an option."

Hyungho smiled a little "I'll help you get up, come here."

Doohoon walked over, forcing himself to breathe as deeply as he could. Hyungho put his hands on his waist, crouching slightly "Ready?"

"Well, it's not gonna get better." Doohoon answered.

"Okay. One, two, three." and he lifted him up, setting him on the horse.

Doohoon inhaled sharply, holding onto the reins tightly.

"You did it!" cheered Woorim.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all." Doohoon said instead of answering, looking paler than usual "Okay, I did it. Can I get down now?"

"Of course, come here." Hyungho said immediately, extending his arms up. He helped him down the same way he got him up, Doohoon holding onto his shirt like he was going to disappear otherwise.

"Are you okay?" Woorim asked.

"Definitely much better now."

"It's a step forward." Mingyu said, patting his back "You can do it one day."

"Ugh, I would rather not."

"There's just a few more weeks until the ball." Mingyu said.

Doohoon groaned "Don't remind me."

"Have you made up your mind?" the crown prince froze "We should start working on what you're going to say… Do you still not want it?"

And Doohoon found he wasn't so sure anymore. Just a few weeks ago he was so sure he'd never want the crown, but now… He was actually kind of enjoying it. And Mingyu with Hyungho grew on him; he couldn't say they didn't.

"I…" he cleared his throat "I need more time…"

Mingyu nodded, smiling a little "Let me know when you figure it out."

Chapter Text

Hyung Ho was woken up at 2 am by his phone ringing. He groaned, grabbing after it blindly.

"What?"

"Hyung!"

He immediately sat up at the panic in Woorim's voice, his head spinning slightly "Woorim? What is it?"

"I-I don't- There are reporters outside, they're demanding to talk with Doohoon, hyung, we need help!"

Hyungho was immediately out of the door, practically running through the embassy in his pyjamas "Where's your mother?"

"At-At work, she can't get home now…" there was a quiet sob "Hyung, we're scared."

"We're on our way, don't worry, okay?" he threw the door to Mingyu's room open.

The advisor jumped up in the chair, the table in front of him scattered with papers. Hyungho didn't even bother to ask why he wasn't asleep, just throwing him his jacket "We're leaving. Now."

"W-What?"

"Woorim, what's your brother doing?"

"He's in his room, I-I told him to hide there…"

"Okay, good job. Just stay inside, we're coming."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay…" he hung up.

Hyungho turned to Mingyu who was still looking at him in confusion "I'll explain in the car."

They got to the house in a record time. Hyungho was going to worry about the tickets later.

The reporters were on them almost as soon as they got out of the car, but Mingyu ignored them and their questions. Hyungho did his best to keep them away from him.

Mingyu knocked on the door "Woorim! It's us!"

The teen opened the door a tiny bit, just so they could squeeze in before shutting it.

Immediately, Mingyu had Woorim in his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Mingyu muttered, patting his back.

Hyungho looked around before aiming upstairs where he knew the rooms were from the last time. He saw the door that were painted light blue 'BDH' written on them in calligraphy.

He knocked softly "Doohoon? It's me, are you-"

Before he could finish the sentence the door opened and he had an armful of crying Doohoon. He stumbled slightly, before hugging him back.

"Are you okay?"

"How did they find out?" Doohoon asked lowly, holding onto him like he could save him from the world "How-How did they…"

"I don't know." Hyungho answered honestly "Come on, don't cry. We are going to get you out, okay?"

Doohoon's eyes widened as he pushed away, shaking his head abruptly "What? No, no, I can't go out, I-I can't-"

Hyungho grabbed him by the shoulders, making him look up "They are not going to hurt you. I won't let them." he lowered his voice slightly "I know you are scared. Believe me I know. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

And to his relief Doohoon nodded.

Mingyu checked the two brothers, his hand on the doorknob "Stay behind me, okay? Hold onto each other. We'll get to the car and get out."

After getting the confirmation from everyone he took a deep breath and opened the door.

Immediately they were all swarmed, the flash from the cameras blinding them from every direction. Doohoon was holding onto Hyungho's arm, keeping his head down while covering his face with his other hand.

Woorim was holding onto Doohoon's jacket, mimicking his position.

Suddenly, Doohoon almost fell over with a surprised yelp, covering his face with both hands as someone shoved the camera straight in front of him. 

Hyungho immediately pushed the person away, fuming "Are you mental?!"

"What's wrong with you?" asked the photographer "We can be here, this is public property!"

"His face isn't though! Get away from him!"

"Or what are you gonna do?" asked another person.

Hyungho got close to him, glowering "You wanna know? Do you really want to know?" his voice was icy cold, making Woorim take a step back, tightening his grip on Doohoon's jacket "Get that camera out of his face before I stuff it-"

"HYUNG!" Mingyu's voice stopped him.

The advisor pushed the two brothers inside the car, closing the door quickly. When he opened the passenger door to get in as well numerous microphones were pushed in his face.

"What about a statement?"

"We need a statement!"

"You'll get one when he's ready!" Mingyu snapped, shutting the door behind him.

In the car they were silent. Mingyu was fuming, his face red with rage. Hyungho was holding the wheel in white knuckled grip, eyes murderous while Doohoon sat in the backseat, trying to wipe away the tears from his cheeks.

Woorim's phone started buzzing softly. He gently pulled his hand out of Doohoon's hand, fishing the phone out of his pocket. And he stopped, staring at the name before picking up "Yeah?" he asked softly, his voice barely a whisper.

"I saw the news, oh my god, are you okay?" sounded Yuna's worried voice.

"I'm-I'm fine… Just a bit shaken up." he answered.

"What about your brother? And the other two? Those reporters must be crazy, they pushed you around like rag dolls!"

Woorim looked at the other three men unsurely "They are okay, we just… I have to go, we need to figure this out. I'm sorry. I'll see you at school."

"Yes, of course. Just… Stay safe, okay?"

With a muttered promise to do that he ended the call, taking Doohoon's hand again.

Mingyu almost tore the door out of their hinges as they entered the embassy. Hyungho quickly caught them before they hit anyone behind the man.

"I want the names of every single reporter who was there." Mingyu barked at one of the assistants "And get me every person who works at this embassy, from the cooks to the freaking gardeners! Someone ratted us out and I'm not going to let it slide."

She bowed quickly "Yes, sir." before running off.

Hyungho helped guide Doohoon over to one of the couches. The future king was still distraught, his hands shaking in his lap. Woorim took one of them, leaning his head on Doohoon's shoulder. The bodyguard pondered it for a second before gently taking his other hand in his. Doohoon looked at him in surprise to see him playing idly with his bracelets.

Mingyu turned to look at them "Who did you tell?"

They all froze. Doohoon looked up at him with teary eyes while Woorim pushed back into the couch a little. Mingyu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose "I am not mad at you, okay? But this is a big mess and I need your help to clean it up."

"I didn't tell anyone." Doohoon said softly "My friends think I'm helping Woorim with school that's why I'm always busy."

"I literally don't talk to anyone other than you." Hyungho admitted. When Woorim didn't have anything snarky to say he turned to him.

The youngest blinked when suddenly all eyes were on him. He shook his head quickly "Not me!" he said quickly "I didn't tell anyone anything."

"How did you explain to Yuna the whole date?" Doohoon asked. Woorim looked hurt as he looked at his brother "Are you accusing me of this? I told her I know people in high places! How can you even think I would-"

"Stop it." Mingyu said "Noone is accusing anyone of anything."

"It certainly sounds like it." pouted Woorim.

"Let's leave it for tomorrow." Hyungho proposed "Call your mother, tell her to come here. You'll spend the night."

The assistant came back inside "Uh, sir, I don't think that's a good idea, this is not a hotel they can't-"

"Try and stop us." Mingyu snapped.

Doohoon gulped, exchanging a glance with his brother who took out his phone.

An hour later their mom was storming inside, a murderous look in her eyes as she aimed straight for Mingyu.

There was a collective gasp when she slapped him so hard he took a step back.

"Hyung!" gasped Woorim, getting pulled back by Doohoon.

"You promised me he'll be safe!" Min-ah yelled.

Hyungho took a step forward, but Mingyu stopped him with a simple wave of his hand.

"I apologise, but this isn't something we could've predicted." Mingyu said, rubbing his reddening cheek slightly.

"What do you mean-"

"Mom." Doohoon put a hand on her shoulder "Mom, stop it. It's not his fault."

She looked at him for a second, before sighing.

Chapter Text

Doohoon was laying in one of the guest rooms, obviously designed for some important visits, if the expensive decor was anything to go by, as the sun started to shine outside.

He turned his head from the ceiling to see Woorim. He was snoring softly, his back turned to his brother and his body half falling down from the bed.

Their phones kept buzzing at the bedside tables, their friends spamming them after seeing the news.

After debating with himself for a bit he gave up on trying to sleep again and got up, rubbing his face. He walked around the huge bed, pulling Woorim so he was laying more comfortably and wouldn't fall before fixing the blanket and leaving the room.

His clothes were all messy and crumbled up from sleeping in it, but he couldn't really be bothered to care.

He started walking down the stairs, only to stop when he heard Mingyu's voice.

"Have you got any idea what you've done?!" Doohoon peaked around the wall to find Mingyu standing opposite of the tailor, his arms crossed over his chest "By giving them the address, not only did you practically sell the future king, you also needlessly traumatised a kid!"

Doohoon almost jumped from his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hyung, what-"

He covered Woorim's mouth, motioning for him to stay quiet. His brother nodded, confusion clear in his eyes that were still slightly fogged with sleep. Doohoon took him in, raising an eyebrow when he noticed he was wrapped up in the blanket.

Woorim shrugged and peeked from behind the corner as well.

"You have three minutes to leave before I have you escorted out." Mingyu said "And you should pray to your lucky star that the parliament will not want to sue you for breaking the nondisclosure agreement." he started walking away, catching a glimpse of the two brothers on the stairs.

"No, wait, please, it wasn't my fault-"

"No?!" Mingyu whirled back "And who's fault was it then? Oh, I guess the alcohol did it itself? Or perhaps mine for being such an idiot and thinking I can trust you! Get out of here before I really have you escorted."

They watched as Mingyu walked forward, the tailor practically running to get out.

Mingyu slammed the door, breathing heavily."I know you're there." he said, his voice a little calmer.

Doohoon exchanged an unsure glance with Woorim who shrunk back slightly, before starting to walk down the stairs.

"You didn't have to be so harsh." he said softly "He was drunk and-"

"God, you are way too nice for your own good." Mingyu muttered "It wasn't alcohol that made him do it." he turned to them "It was greed. Greed and nothing else. He would've told them even sober."

Doohoon didn't respond, pursing his lips.

"So… What now?" Woorim asked, handing Doohoon his phone "They're worried." he muttered.

His brother took the phone, opening it to find hundreds of messages from his friends. A lot of them worried, some hurt he didn't tell them.

"I don't know." Mingyu admitted "Are you two okay?"

"We're fine… It was just the shock."

"Well this is a PR nightmare."

They turned around to find Hyungho walking into the room with his phone in hand "But I think I did a pretty good job with distracting them from you. Most of the media outlets are tearing into me for "threatening" them."

"Oh…" Doohoon rubbed the back of his neck "Thank you for that…"

"Won't they get the police involved?" Woorim asked "I know they did the last time someone threatened them."

Hyungho scoffed "Tsk. Let them. I got diplomatic immunity in 47 states."

The youngest blinked "Okay. You are terrifying."

He grinned "Thanks!"

"Hello?" Mingyu said "The plan. What are we going to do about this?"

Woorim shrugged, sitting on a sofa "I say leave back to the kingdom? We're planning on that anyway and it might be better to stay away from the public here."

Doohoon froze before looking at his brother "I hate it when you're right."

"I know." Woorim smiled.

"Are you sure you will be okay?"

Woorim smiled at his mom, pulling away from the hug "We'll be fine. I'll be back before school starts."

Min-ah smiled before looking at Doohoon "Take care of him, okay?" she hugged him shortly, kissing his cheek "And whatever you decide to do, remember I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, mom." he allowed himself a second longer to hold her before pulling back "We'll be back before you know it."

She smiled "Go on now. You're making me emotional."

They both smiled at her before getting in the car.

She waved until the car made a turn and she couldn't see them anymore. With a sigh she looked up at the sky "Look after them for me, will you?"

"We got a private jet ready." Hyungho said as he hung up the call.

"Will you be piloting?" Woorim was only half joking. He wouldn't be surprised if he said yes.

Hyungho rolled his eyes fondly "Yeah, sure. Wanna see my licence?"

Woorim chuckled, leaning back into the seat. He turned to find Doohoon looking out of the window, anxiously.

Doohoon looked down in surprise to find Woorim gently taking his hand. He looked up to find Woorim smiling slightly "It will be okay."

He did his best to smile back "Hopefully."

Chapter Text

Woorim got out of the car, his mouth falling open. Mingyu came to stand next to him, crossing his arms and smiling "Pretty cool, huh?"

The teen looked at him, eyes wide before turning to Doohoon who was grabbing their bags "You lived here?!"

His brother blinked "Uh, yeah." he looked up at the castle stretching in front of them "I remember it bigger."

Hyungho shut the trunk, leaning over to him "That might be because you were five."

"Yeah, true."

Woorim looked like he was having an existential crisis. Mingyu looked at him with a soft laugh "Are you alright?"

"No?!" he motioned to the castle, looking at Mingyu like he was crazy "Have you seen the size of this thing?! How do you not get lost?!"

"Just pretend you know where you're going and you will eventually get there." Doohoon answered.

Woorim blinked at him "Are you serious?"

He didn't get an answer as the other three started walking forward. Woorim ran to catch up to them, holding onto Doohoon's arm.

He kept looking around as they walked through the hallways, bowing unsurely to the people that passed them.

Suddenly, he felt extremely underdressed. His ripped jeans and black t-shirt were a stark contrast to the place.

"This will be your room." Mingyu said, stopping suddenly and opening a door.

Woorim peeked inside. And immediately, he felt like fainting. He looked at the others before looking back inside the room.

It was enormous, everything in white and beige with gold details. It looked more expensive than the five stars hotel he used to work part-times at.

"Are you serious?" his voice was soft, almost a whisper.

Mingyu nodded "Yep. All yours."

Doohoon looked down at his brother with a worried frown "Are you okay?"

"I'm-I'm fine, just give me a second, I think I'm having a breakdown."

Hyungho and Mingyu exchanged a glance.

"We'll leave you to it." Hyungho said, taking Woorim's bag from Doohoon and putting it on the ground inside the room "Call us if you need anything."

Woorim nodded "Yeah, yeah, sure."

Doohoon didn't look very happy about leaving him alone, but he let them lead him away.

Woorim entered the room, carefully closing the door behind him. He slowly approached the bed. If he wanted to, he could definitely fit all of his friends on it. The covers were soft to the touch, just by the looks of them, by the looks of everything, expensive.

Well, he shouldn't have really expected anything else from a castle but still…

He looked around to make sure he was really alone before kicking off his shoes and climbing into the bed. A grin made it into his face when it was just as springy as he hoped. With another glance around he jumped.

Maybe it was childish, but with a bed like this, you can't say you wouldn't try it too.

He giggled as he jumped higher and higher before letting himself fall into his back.

The bed was now a mess, but he couldn't get himself to care as he sighed, staring up at the ceiling with a soft smile.

'I could get used to this.'

Mingyu looked down at his phone, groaning "They can't leave me alone for one day." he turned to Hyungho "I gotta take this, will you two be okay?"

"Sure we will." the bodyguard patted his shoulder "I'll make sure he doesn't jump out of the window."

Mingyu laughed before walking off in a different direction.

Hyungho turned to find Doohoon just blankly staring at the door. His hand was on the doorknob, but he was frozen in place, like time has stopped.

"Go on." the prince jerked slightly, looking at him in confusion "There's nothing that will hurt you on the other side."

"I know that." Doohoon turned back, holding the doorknob a little tighter. He took a deep breath and finally opened the door.

And he froze.

The room looked exactly the same as he remembered. Like not a single day passed since he was here. The walls were the same sky blue colour he practically begged the king for when he was four. Fairy lights were still lining the walls.

He let his bag fall to the ground with a soft thud, walking over to one of the walls that was really just a huge shelf with various stuffed animals and a few fairytale books scattered between them.

Doohoon gently took a plush bunny off the shelf, turning it over in his hands. The corner of his mouth quirked up slightly, his eyes softening as they fell on his name that was embroidered on its foot.

"Noone was allowed to touch anything here."

He turned around to find Hyungho leaning against the doorframe.

"His Highness was adamant about this room staying as it was when you left… I think he still hoped you'd come back."

Doohoon's smile fell as he looked down at the plushie, playing with its ears unsurely. He didn't know what to say. That, for years, he also hoped he'd come back? That now he regrets never trying to contact the king himself when he never took the first step?

"I'm not trying to excuse him, he wasn't a good father." Hyungho took the bunny from his hands and held it above his head, making him look up "But he was a good man. And he tried."

"Yeah…" Doohoon looked away, his voice softening "Just not enough." he reached out to take the plushie back, but Hyungho moved it up, just out of his reach "What are you doing?" he tried again, only for Hyungho to dodge once more.

The bodyguard grinned "I'm not giving it back until you smile."

Doohoon raised an eyebrow "Are you serious?"

He nodded "Deadly." he took a step back when Doohoon jumped up "Ohh, good try."

"This isn't funny." Doohoon jumped up again.

"Really? Because I'm enjoying myself." he laughed, standing on his tiptoes "Come on! Just a bit higher!"

He did jump up again, only to realise how ridiculous this must have looked.

A 21 year old, an adult, jumping up and down like an idiot to get a stuffed animal from another adult that wasn't even that much taller than him. He couldn't help but laugh at himself, jumping up again.

Only for Hyungho to let him take the bunny this time. He looked up at him in surprise to find him smiling. Hyungho booped his nose with a chuckle "See, it wasn't so hard was it?"

Doohoon stared after him as he left the room "I-"

"I'll be back! Don't break anything!" Hyungho closed the door and the room fell silent.

He looked down at the plushie again, sitting down on the bed "What am I going to do?" he muttered. From the look in his eyes one would think the bunny was actually going to answer him. With a sigh, he laid down on his side "Yeah…" he hugged the toy tightly to his chest, much like he did when he was a child "I don't know either."

Chapter Text

Hyungho knocked on the door "Woorim?" he frowned when there was no answer "Woorim, are you there?" once again, nothing.

He opened the door "Please tell me you didn't die."

Oh no. It was worse. He wasn't even in the room .

Hyungho turned on his heel and started rushing through the hallways. If he lost the kid Mingyu will have his head on a stake. Forget Mingyu, Doohoon will kill him.

He ran through the hallways, opening the doors and almost crashing into other people numerous times.

"Jesus Christ-" Mingyu grabbed after Hyungho to steady himself "What are you doing?"

"I lost the kid!" he said in panic "I went to check on him and he wasn't in the room!"

Mingyu's eyes widened "What do you mean-" and he was off.

They ran down the stairs, taking a sharp right.

"If we lost him, Doohoon will kill us!" Mingyu said.

"Do you think I don't know that?!" Hyung Ho snapped. And then he stopped, taking a few steps back to look out of the window. He looked outside to see Woorim with one of their archers. The man was fixing Woorim's posture as he held the bow and arrow.

"Found him." he said.

Mingyu came back to him, looking outside as well.

"You're doing good!" Hyun-soo said "Let's try again. Aim a little higher. Deep breath." Woorim did, closing one of his eyes "And release together with the arrow, follow through."

With a thud the arrow embedded itself right in the middle of the target.

"Yes!" he grinned brightly, high-fiving the older man.

"Good job!" he ruffled Woorim's hair, making him duck to try and dodge it.

"Woorim!"

He turned around to find Mingyu and Hyungho running over to him "Hey, guys!"

Hyun-soo bowed to Mingyu, suddenly serious "Sir."

"Yes, hello." Mingyu bowed back hastily before turning to Woorim "What were you thinking?!"

The teen blinked at him in surprise "What do you mean?"

"You can't just wander off like that!" Hyungho said, running a hand through his hair "You scared me half to death!"

"I didn't even do anything!"

"You could've at least left a note! Or text one of us!" Mingyu said.

Hyun-soo looked from one to another before taking a few steps back. He really didn't need to be a part of that drama.

Woorim crossed his arms "What, did you think I was just going to run away?"

"I wouldn't put it past you."

He stared at Mingyu for a second before pouting "Wow, thanks."

"You can't really blame me, can you?"

"I wouldn't just leave. Plus I texted Doohoon-hyung. It's not my fault you weren't with him either."

Mingyu pinched the bridge of his nose "Yeah, okay, whatever. We found you, that's all that matters."

Doohoon didn't even realise he fell asleep until he woke up again. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his hair.

He just sat there in silence for a bit, only the moon providing the slightest amount of light.

And then he stood up, quietly opening the door and slipping out. He used his phone to light up the way as he took turns and turns.

"Jesus Christ, this place is really built like a maze." he muttered, looking down at the corners carefully. And he smiled. There it was. Small black dots at the corners just above the carpet, barely visible in the dark.

Woorim jerked in the bed, blinking through the dark when he heard the knocking on the door. He yawned, walking over and opening the door, still half-asleep.

He frowned when his eyes fell on his brother, grinning excitedly.

"Want to see something cool?" he asked.

And of course Woorim couldn't say no to that.

Chapter Text

Doohoon was holding Woorim's hand as he led him through the hallways.

"Where are we going?" Woorim whispered.

But his brother only shook his head "You will see."

Woorim was about to argue when Doohoon suddenly stopped, almost making him crash into him. He frowned when he realised they stopped in the middle of a hallway. But before he could ask what's going on, Doohoon started knocking on the walls.

"Are you crazy?" he asked. However there was no answer as Doohoon continued looking for something.

"Yeah, it's official. You're crazy. It was the horses wasn't it? Something snapped when-"

He stopped when the wall suddenly sounded dull as Doohoon knocked on it. With wide eyes he watched as his brother grinned even more, pulling at one of the many unlit candles on the walls.

With soft creaking and whirling a piece of the wall pulled to the side, revealing a passage behind it.

"Are you serious? This looks like something out of Harry Potter." Woorim whispered.

"I know." his brother turned back to him, extending his hand "But wait. It gets better."

Woorim just stared for a second before taking his hand and getting pulled in. With a soft noise the wall closed again. If it wasn't for Doohoon's phone they'd be in complete darkness.

The passage was short, leading them into a big circular room that stretched up and up, stairs lining the wall.

"Come on!"

Doohoon pulled him up, practically taking the stairs by three at the time. Woorim almost fell over a few times as he tried to keep up.

Finally, they reached the top, panting for breath.

"Jesus Christ, this is high." Woorim said, leaning on his knees with his hands to try and catch his breath.

"Yeah. But it's worth it." Doohoon said, running off again.

Woorim grimaced. Where did he get that energy from? He took a few steps forwards before giving up and sitting on the ground.

Doohoon walked up the stairs to a small platform "Watch this!" he called, causing Woorim to look up. And he pulled a huge lever.

Woorim flinched slightly at the loud noises that started echoing through the room. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open as the ceiling started opening in the middle, revealing glass that covered half of the copule, allowing him to see the entire night sky.

"My great-great-grandfather had it built for his second wife." Doohoon said, jumping down from the platform "She used to be an astrology professor before they got married." he stood next to Woorim, putting his hands on his hips "Pretty neat, isn't it?"

Woorim looked up at him before standing up "This is awesome."

"Yeah, it is. The king, mom and I used to spend hours here just looking at the sky." his eyes softened "I'm glad it still works."

Woorim's eyes fell on a bookshelf at the other wall. He walked over to it, taking out a few books. Doohoon took one too, his eyes glinting "Oh, I loved this one!" he started flipping through the pages "I made them read it for me all the time." the pages were yellowed with age and the pictures weren't as vibrant as they used to be.

Woorim chuckled "You are such a dork." he elbowed him in the side. Doohoon elbowed him back "Leave me alone, I was, like, four." he flipped the book over, his smile fading slightly when he noticed the tiny letters at the bottom right corner.

'For our beloved son's 3rd birthday. May the stories bring you as much joy as you bring us.

Love, mom and dad.'

He pursed his lips, putting the book back.

Chapter Text

Mingyu looked up from the table, raising an eyebrow as the two brothers entered "Well, you two look like death."

Woorim sat down, yawning "Yeah, thanks." he laid his head on the table, closing his eyes.

"Didn't you sleep at all?" Hyungho asked, pulling Woorim's head up by his collar.

"Not really." Doohoon answered, grabbing a cup of coffee "I was showing him something."

Mingyu hummed "I got something that'll help you wake up today."

Doohoon looked at him, rubbing one of his eyes "I don't like the sound of that."

They entered the huge ballroom. Doohoon immediately knew why he didn't like the sound of it.

"Please tell me we're not going to dance." he muttered.

"That's exactly what we're doing." Mingyu answered, grinning.

"I hate you."

"I know. Anyways, we'll start with the dancing and then we'll move to ballroom etiquette."

"Is there something that doesn't have an etiquette here?" Woorim asked.

Mingyu shrugged "Sleeping?"

"Oh thank god I don't have to remember rules while laying in my own bed, how considered." Doohoon muttered, making Woorim and Hyung Ho chuckle.

"It's not like it's my fault." Mingyu pouted "All you need are the basics at this point anyways, we can go through the rest later… If you decide to stay, at least."

Doohoon nodded "Okay…?"

"So, the most important dance is probably waltz. Everyone knows it and you can never go wrong with that."

"I'm not going to dance, I'll just make a fool of myself."

Hyungho rolled his eyes "Come on, you can't be that bad."

Doohoon looked at him like he's crazy "Are you sure? The last time I was trying to learn waltz I almost broke my dance partner's foot after stepping on it like eight times in three seconds."

Woorim laughed "Oh yeah, I remember that." he patted his brother on the shoulder "But to be fair, you were sixteen. I'm sure you'll do better this time."

"See? If even Woorim supports it, it must be serious." Mingyu said.

The teen pouted "I always support him, what are you talking about."

Hyungho chuckled, ruffling his hair "Sure, whatever you say, big guy."

Woorim ducked out of the way, sticking his tongue out.

The bodyguard turned back to Doohoon, extending his hand and bowing slightly "May I?"

Doohoon looked at Mingyu with a pout before taking Hyungho's hand "I guess."

He let himself be dragged to the middle of the room. Hyungho put one hand on his waist, positioning Doohoon's hand on his shoulder while still holding his other hand.

"It's really not that hard." Hyungho said. Doohoon huffed "Is that another promise?"

"Sure is." he pulled him slightly closer "Just follow me. Right foot back. Now left foot here." he slowly guided Doohoon through the most basic step before stopping again "Good job." he smiled a little. He started counting the steps, continuing to lead Doohoon.

The crown prince kept his eye planted to the ground, his movements stiff and slightly awkward. 

"Stop looking at the ground, you're just making yourself more nervous." when Doohoon didn't react, he hooked a finger under his chin, making him look up "Hey, my eyes are up here."

Doohoon blinked, staring for a few seconds before clearing his throat, his cheeks slightly pink "I-I know that."

And as if on cue, Doohoon stepped with the wrong foot, stepping on Hyungho's in the process. He grimaced "Sorry."

"It's okay." Hyungho said "Just keep going. You'll get the hang of it."

"Yeah, sure I will."

"If you stop being so negative about everything it'll also help."

"No, thank you."

Chapter Text

"Only three days are left." Mingyu said. Doohoon gulped, nodding. Of course he knew it'd come, that didn't mean he was prepared.

"I wrote two versions of the speech. One where you're claiming the throne and one where you're stepping down." Mingyu released a breath "I know it's hard, but it'd really help if I knew what you're planning on."

Doohoon gulped "I know, I just… I don't know what to do…" he put his head in his hands.

The advisor put a hand on his shoulder, god he hated this "I know. Trust me I do… But it's coming and you need to be ready for it."

"It's hard…" he tried to blink away the frustrated tears.

Mingyu sighed, just rubbing his back in what he hoped was a comforting motion "However you decide we'll support you." Doohoon just felt worse.

He looked down at Doohoon, putting two papers in front of him "I will let you read them. If you need anything, you know where to find me." and he left the room.

Woorim knew he shouldn't be snooping. Much less in the office of an actual king. The fact said king was dead probably wasn't helping his karma either.

But he was curious and in his defence, he didn't know what room it was until he looked around. Not his fault the whole castle looked the same.

He looked at the huge desk that stood by the window, his eyes falling on a book that was just laying there. With a look around he opened it on the first page.

A diary. The king's diary.

He closed it again, just looking at it for a second before taking it in his hands. Doohoon should probably see it. Maybe it'd help him with deciding what to do. He took a step forward, before stopping again and sitting in the office chair.

"Just a peek." he muttered to himself "Just a peek to make sure it won't just hurt him." yeah. That makes sense right? He's just making sure he's not doing more damage.

So he opened it again, flipping through the diary. Just random pages to scan them quickly before moving on. And then he froze.

I didn't want her to leave. If it were up to me she could've stayed, I'd gladly take care of the child even if it's not mine.

That was about him. There was no doubt in that. Against his better judgement he continued reading.

But Min-ah said no. She thinks if the media found out they'd ruin both of us and our son. She decided to leave to keep the child… God, I miss her so much. I should've stepped down before we got married, then this would've never happened.

"Mom left because of me…" he closed the book, slamming it shut loudly, staring at it with teary eyes.

Doohoon lifted his head from the two papers when the door were thrown open. There was an immediate sense of relief when he saw his brother.

However that got quickly replaced by worry when he took in Woorim's expression. He quickly stood up from the bed, taking a few steps forward "Woorim, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

He got an answer in the way that Woorim shoved a book in his hands, way more forcefully than was necessary, pushing him back a few steps in the process "You lied to me!"

"What-"

"YOU LIED! You said mom left because she wasn't happy, but-but she left because of ME! She left because she got pregnant with someone else!"

Doohoon stared at him in shock "Woorim, I-"

"Did you know?"

He did. For god's sake, of course he did, him and their mom had that conversation a thousand times over "Woo, please-"

"I'm not a child anymore! You don't have to keep trying to protect me!" Woorim glared at him and Doohoon took a step back "Tell me the truth, for once in my damn life just tell me the truth. Did you know?"

And Doohoon was silent. He wanted to say a hundred things, to somehow comfort his brother. Tell him it still didn't change anything, noone blamed him, it wasn't his fault.

But nothing came out. He just hung his head, holding onto the book in his hands in a desperate attempt to ground himself.

He only looked up again when Woorim scoffed "Right." and he started leaving.

"Woorim, wait-" Doohoon stopped in the middle of his movement when Woorim slammed the door shut.

Chapter Text

Woorim stormed through the hallways, ignoring Mingyu and Hyungho. Just pushing past them when they tried to stop him.

The two exchanged a glance. And without a word each went to a different brother.

Mingyu opened the door to Woorim's room to find him throwing his things into the bag.

"What are you doing?" he asked, catching a shirt that Woorim threw behind himself.

"I'm leaving." the teen answered, wiping the tears from his cheeks, only for new ones to replace them.

"Okay?" he walked closer, putting a hand on Woorim's shoulder "Where will you go?"

Woorim practically threw his hand off, turning to face him. Angry tears were still making their way down his cheeks, eyes bloodshot and puffy "Oh, I don't know! Maybe somewhere where people aren't lying to me all the time!"

Mingyu blinked at him in surprise "Woorim, what are you-"

He was stopped when Woorim suddenly collapsed to the ground, sobbing loudly, his shoulders shaking. His eyes widened as he kneeled in front of him "Hey, hey, come on." he pulled him into a hug, seating himself on the ground so he wouldn't fall over as Woorim pulled closer to him, holding onto his suit jacket like it was the last thing keeping him alive "Talk to me, what happened?"

"It's all my fault…" Woorim whimpered, hiding his face in Mingyu's shoulder.

He frowned in confusion, tightening his hold on the teen "I don't follow? What did you do?"

"I ruined it, I ruined everything…"

"Yeah, okay, look at me." he pushed Woorim off just enough so he could cup his face, wiping the tears with his thumbs "Now take a deep breath." Woorim tried, but his breathing was all shaky and panicky from the crying "I need you to calm down and tell me what's going on. Because otherwise, I can't help you. Okay?" Woorim nodded "Can you try that for me?" another nod "Alright, breath with me, come on. Follow my breathing."

It took a few minutes of trial and error, but finally, Woorim could breathe properly again, the tears calming down as well. But he still refused to let go of Mingyu's jacket.

"There we go, good job." Mingyu smiled slightly "Now tell me what happened."

And he did. He had to stop every other sentence to calm down again, but he got through it. Mingyu listened, nodding and hugging him again when it looked like he was close to another breakdown.

"I just don't understand why they keep lying to me… They could've told me, but they kept me in the dark for sixteen years… I just… I don't get it, why don't I deserve to know?"

Mingyu sighed "It's not that you don't deserve to know. They just didn't want this to happen."

Woorim looked up at him "What do you mean?"

"They didn't want you to blame yourself. Woorim, it wasn't your fault. Your mother, and I'm not against her, she is an amazing person, but she's the one who made the mistake. She decided about everything. All you did was that you were born. And nobody blames you for it. If they did, you'd know way sooner."

Woorim sniffed, finally letting go of Mingyu and sitting on the ground opposite of him "Yeah… Yeah, you're probably right."

"Noone likes it when people lie to then, much less when it's someone they care about. But they weren't lying to hurt you." he ruffled Woorim's hair "You're allowed to be angry, of course. I'd be angry too. But you should at least consider their situation."

He nodded "Yeah. Yeah, you're right…"

"Aren't I always?" Mingyu teased with a grin. Woorim rolled his eyes, smiling too "This is an exception confirming the rule."

Hyungho knocked on the door to Doohoon's room "Doohoon? Are you there?" he opened the door slowly. He looked around. The fairy lights were on, but then again, Doohoon almost never kept them off since he came.

On the bed, he could clearly see the outline of someone under the blanket. He walked over, carefully pulling it off. And immediately, every protective instinct flared up.

Doohoon was lying there, curled up with the plush bunny held tightly to his chest with one hand while the other was covering his mouth to stifle the sobs that made his body shake.

He sat down on the bed, pulling him up "Are you okay? What happened?"

Doohoon just sobbed, pushing him off and pulling the blanket back over himself "Leave me alone."

Hyungho blinked in surprise "Well… I could . But do you really want that or are you just lashing out?"

There was silence for a few seconds. And then Doohoon sat up, letting the blanket fall and fold over in his lap. He wiped at his cheek in a halfhearted attempt to stop the tears.

"Now, want to tell me what exactly happened?"

He shook his head "Not really, no…"

Hyungho nodded "Would a hug help?" he opened his arms. And Doohoon wordlessly leaned into him, another sob making his shoulders shake as he hid his face in Hyungho's chest. Hyungho sighed, hugging him tightly.

Chapter Text

Doohoon was laying in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Hyungho left only a few minutes ago, but the room seemed colder already. The moon was making shadows dance across the walls, the trees looking more like claws trying to get inside through the window.

He sat up, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair to get them out of his face. His eyes fell on the book that was laying on the table.

With pursed lips he walked over and sat on the chair. His hands hovered over it for a second. He took a deep breath and opened it quickly, pulling back like he got burnt.

He closed his eyes, shaking his head "It's okay. He'd want you to read it… Probably."

With another deep breath he started flicking through the diary, looking for dates that came after the divorce. The more he read the more he felt like he was going to have another breakdown.

There wasn't a single page where he wasn't mentioned, pictures his mom had to send put between the pages.

His birthday, graduation, programmes of plays he was in…

Min-ah sent me a video of his performance. I guess she's raising a little actor… I'm so proud of him, I wish I could tell him…

He wiped at his cheeks to get rid of the tears, sniffling. And then his eyes widened.

I wish I could've sent him the letters I wrote…

"Letters?" he stopped, leaning back in the chair. With a look around he grabbed the book and walked out of the room.

He snuck around the corners, using his phone to light the way out of pure paranoia of getting caught. When he reached the office door, he slid inside, still not daring to turn on the lights.

With an unsure sigh he started looking around the room. First the bookshelves, then the drawers at the desk.

He found a small safe with a screen and a number code in the bottom left drawer.

Doohoon bit his cheek. He probably shouldn't be snooping that much. On the other hand, maybe it was exactly what he was looking for… But what's the code?

He opened the diary again.

Wedding anniversary?

The screen flashed an angry red, the numbers blinking at him almost mockingly.

"Okay, not that." he muttered, turning the pages once more.

Maybe the country's independence day?

Not that either.

He tried a few more combinations, but none of them worked. With a groan, he leaned his head against the table.

Maybe, just maybe…

[1507]

The screen flashed green and the door opened with a soft click.

Doohoon laughed a little. His birthday… It was his birthday, god.

With another look around he opened the door properly, finding a stack of old, yellowed envelopes.

Bingo.

He started looking them over. Some dated all the way back to when he was 5 and they continued on until his 21st birthday.

Doohoon closed the door to his room, sitting on the ground with the letters scattered around him. And he started organising them so they were laid out in chronological order.

And he stopped. Did he want to read them? God knows what he'll find there. He shook his head, taking the first letter. His hands were shaking, no matter how hard he tried to force them to stay still.

Chapter Text

"Where is he?!" Mingyu ran around the corner, phone to his ear as half of the castle scrambled "Keep a look out for him. I don't care, just keep an eye out!"

"Do you think he ran away?" one of the maids suggested.

"He wouldn't." Hyungho said "He wouldn't do that, no." he looked around, sighing heavily "He's driving me crazy, I swear to god."

Woorim looked from one to another in confusion. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, it was way too early "What's going on?"

Mingyu didn't look up from the phone "We can't find your brother!"

He frowned "What?"

"He's gone." Hyungho said anxiously "We can't find him anywhere."

Woorim pursed his lips "I might have an idea." he grabbed Hyungho's wrist "Come."

"Huh? Why me?"

"Because he'll probably respond better to you than me. Especially now."

Hyungho stared as the wall opened, blinking "I did not know it can do that."

"Yeah, you learn something new everyday." Woorim pushed him inside "If he's not there just come back."

He nodded, confused as to where he was going in the first place. Well, it's not like he can do much more so he followed the passage.

A groan left his throat when he saw the stairs "God, are you kidding me?"

When he finally got up, all he could do was sigh.

Doohoon was curled up in the middle of the room, facing the huge window.

He took a deep breath to calm his heart before walking forward.

"Hey, are you okay?"  he asked softly "You got us all worried."

Doohoon didn't move, he just kept looking at the sunrise. There were two books and numerous letters scattered around him.

"You were right." he said softly.

Hyungho frowned in confusion, taking one of the letter gently "About what?'

"He tried." Doohoon grimaced, a silent sob making his shoulders shake as he curled up more. Hyungho put a hand on his shoulder before looking at the letter. One line in particular caught his attention.

She's dead… She can't stop me now. But it's too late. I'm sorry, I should've tried harder… I don't have much time anymore… I'm so sorry, my son.

"Who's she?" he asked softly.

"My grandmother… Dad-Dad tried. He wanted to contact me he-he wanted to be there…" he was stopped by another sob "But she always stopped him, she wouldn't let him…" his voice cracked, raising a few octaves "And I blamed him…"

Hyungho sat down next to him with a sigh "Okay, come here, come on." he pulled him into a hug. Doohoon sobbed, holding onto his shirt tightly.

"It wasn't your fault."

"If-If I tried-"

"There was nothing you could've done." Hyungho stopped him "From what I heard your grandmother was stubborn, she wouldn't let your letter reach him even if you tried… It's not your fault. Never was."

"Do you… Do you think he knew I missed him?"

Hyungho hummed, hiding his face in Doohoon's hair "I'm sure he did."

Mingyu rubbed his face "You two are clearly brothers. Noone can make my blood pressure skyrocket quite like you." he looked up when Woorim didn't answer to find him hypnotising his shoes from where he was sitting opposite of him "Are you okay?"

"Do you think it's my fault?" Woorim looked up at him "I-I showed him the diary what if… What if there was something that made him mad? What if I just made it worse?"

"I'm sure you didn't. It… It'll be fine." I hope.

An awkward silence fell over them. Woorim pulled at the sleeves of his sweater "We're screwed, aren't we?"

"Definitely." Mingyu stood up "I'm going to find him, call your mom maybe-" he opened the door, only to reveal Doohoon and Hyungho standing there, Hyungho's hand extended to open the door himself.

"Oh my god!" Mingyu pulled a very confused Doohoon into a hug "Where have you been?! Do you know how worried I was?!"

Doohoon patted his back unsurely "I'm sorry? I… I just needed to be alone."

"Well, next time let us know! God, you two will cost me my sanity!"

Woorim yawned as he fell onto the bed, his phone still to his ear "So yeah, the last few days were sort of crazy, sorry I didn't call."

"Oh no, it's okay, I get it." Yuna answered "Is your brother doing better at least?"

Woorim sighed, laying on his back and throwing his arm over his eyes "I hope he is. We still don't know what he's going to do tomorrow, so…" he huffed "God, I wish you were here. I think you'd like it."

"Yeah, well, about that…"

He sat up when he heard the door open. And his eyes widened, the phone falling out of his hand.

Yuna, who was very much there, standing in the doorway smiled "Surprise!"

Woorim jumped out of the bed, immediately hugging her "Oh my god, what are you doing here?"

She laughed, kissing his cheek "The advisor sent a plane for me. He said something about you needing a date for the ball."

Woorim blinked at her "Mingyu-hyung sent a plane for you?"

"Yeah. Together with, like, ten bodyguards. I felt like a celebrity." she laughed.

He chuckled too, hugging her again "Bet you looked like one too."

Chapter Text

Doohoon was pacing around the room, the bunny held in his hand. He ran his other hand through his hair. This was a mess. A bigger one than he was used to.

"What should I do, what should I do, what should I do…" he groaned, falling onto the bed, one of his arms covering his eyes.

There was a knock on the door "Your highness?" sounded a feminine voice "Mr. Cho said he needs to see you."

"I'll be right there!" he called, turning to his side. He sighed, closing his eyes momentarily before getting up.

"Listen, I know it's difficult, but I really need to know if you made a decision yet." Mingyu said.

Doohoon looked at him momentarily before hanging his head "I-I think I made a decision…"

Mingyu's eyes looked soft, but sad, Doohoon's expression was enough for him to guess "Alright…"

Hyungho patted his shoulder, straightening the jacket "We'll see you there, okay? We have to take care of the guests." he rolled his eyes "Some of them think 6pm means 'come 3 hours earlier'."

Doohoon snorted, before looking at him unsurely "Shouldn't I, I don't know, come with you?"

"No, don't worry about it. Just try to relax. You don't have to see anyone until it starts."

He nodded "O-Okay…" he hung his head again "Thanks." and he was gone.

Woorim and Yuna were sitting out in the garden, leaning against each other.

"It's kinda sad that we won't ever get to come here again." Woorim mentioned offhandedly.

Yuna hummed "So, your brother has decided then? He really doesn't want the throne?"

He sighed "Yeah…" he pulled out a few grass straws "I should probably talk to him…"

"Mhm, you should."

"Is that a good idea, though? I- The last time we ' talked' didn't really end well."

"Woorim, he's your brother." she turned to face him, gently cupping his face "You should at least try it."

He sighed, rubbing his face "Yeah… Yeah, you're right…"

She smiled, kissing him on the cheek "Aren't I always?"

Woorim didn't bother knocking, too scared it'd just cause him to chicken out. Instead, he opened the door, catching Doohoon mid-call.

"Yes, sir, I'll call you when I get back." Doohoon said "Thank you. Goodbye." he threw the phone down, turning to look at Woorim.

And they both just kind of… stared at each other for a few seconds. An awkward silence filled the room.

Woorim cleared his throat, walking over and sitting on the bed "Who were you calling?" inwardly, he grimaced.

Doohoon wrapped his arms around himself, leaning against the table "My boss, asked for the job back…"

"So… You've fully decided to give the throne up?" he toyed with the blanket unsurely, avoiding eye contact by any means possible.

"Yeah… I mean, sure I guess I will miss Mingyu and Hyungho, but…" he shook his head "It's probably the best…"

Woorim hummed "The best…" he scrunched his nose "For who?"

Doohoon raised an eyebrow "Excuse me?"

His brother looked up at him "Look, I know that right now I'm probably the last person who has any right to give you advice about this, but," he stood up, coming to stand closer to him "you always chose what's best for me, or what's best for mom."

"Woorim-"

"When Jootaek-hyung asked you to move in with him because he found a good job for both of you, you said no because you didn't want to leave me and mom, the same thing happened again when you had the opportunity to go to an amazing university on a scholarship that you turned down because of us. And I could go on and on." he bit the inside of his cheek "You have the mind to change the world and now you have the opportunity as wel. I think it's time you choose yourself for once."

Doohoon just stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights before pursing his lips "Is this a peace offering?"

Woorim shrugged "Might be. Mostly it's just making sure you're not being an idiot again."

He looked at the suit hanging on his closet door.

"I'll see you at the ball." and Woorim was out.

Chapter Text

Doohoon took a deep breath, looking at himself in the mirror. His father's diary was on the table, opened on the date of his coronation.

"Okay…" he ran a hand through his hair "You can do this. You can do this, come on…"

"Doohoon-hyung?" the door opened, Mingyu peeking inside "We're ready for you."

He looked back at the diary, a picture of his mom and dad looking back at him, before nodding "Okay…" and he followed Mingyu out.

"How are you feeling?" the advisor asked carefully.

"Like I'm about to die on the spot, how about you?" Doohoon tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. Mingyu's eyes softened "You'll be okay. Just this once and it's over."

Doohoon straightened, releasing a deep breath "Yeah… Just this once." he bit the inside of his cheek.

"Nope. No. I can't do this." Doohoon said, taking a few steps away from the door. He just peeked inside. Just to see what he's dealing with. And when he saw all of those people filling the room, cameras and reporters at the very first row, he felt like he was going to throw up. Or pass out. Probably both. He could feel his heart trying to jump out if his chest. Was that even possible? To get so anxious your heart just decides to ef it and leave?

"Hyung."

Woorim's voice was the only thing that got through the sound of blood rushing in his ears. He looked up, his brother was crouching in front of him, eyes worried- When did he get on the ground?

"Hyung, it's alright."

Doohoon gulped "There's so many people, Woorim."

"Yeah and I don't think any of them can legally laugh at you even if they wanted to." he smiled a little "Just go out there, say what you have to and it's over."

"You believe in me entirely too much."

"You believe in yourself too little." he reached out a hand "Come on."

Doohoon took a deep breath and let Woorim haul him to his feet.

He looked out at the filled room, everyone's eyes boring straight into him. He gulped, feeling his cheeks growing hot under the attention "I-uhm… I'm not really good at speeches." he said, holding the edge of the table to stop his hands from shaking so much "Usually, I try to stay away from it as far as I can…" he looked at Mingyu who smiled reassuringly, before his eyes fell on Woorim and Yuna at the front, his brother showing him thumbs up, eyes soft "But, I guess now it's sort of my job so I can't really hide away from it…" he could hear Mingyu's breath hitch "I had people that helped me and-uh…" he took a deep breath "Just a few hours ago, I had every intention of giving up the throne and-and letting way more competent people handle the-the while 'ruling' thing… But, then I thought how I'd feel if I gave up the role of a-" the word didn't quite want to leave his mouth, the lump in his throat not really helping "Of a king of this kingdom. And I realised just how-how selfish it'd be… Not only towards the people of this place, but also towards my-my family…" he shook his head "And I thought that if-if I just stopped caring so much about me and and the little safety bubble I have created for myself and started using that time to think about other people instead then-then it'd be a much better use of my time… So, you see, if I were king then those thoughts and the thoughts of people much smarter than me would be better heard, and just maybe those thoughts could be turned into reality…" he looked at Hyungho who gave him a nod, smiling a little. And he stood just a little straighter, his head held that important bit higher "So, by this, I want to take my place as king Bae Doohoon, the rightful heir of this country."

Mingyu's legs turned to jelly, almost making him crash to the ground as applause broke out through the room. Hyungho grabbed his jacket, straightening him and holding him in place "Stop being dramatic, now is not the time." he said lowly.

"I'm going to kill him." Mingyu said instead of answering "I swear to god, I'm going to kill him… and Woorim as well, this can't be good for my blood pressure."

Hyungho just rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh, clapping as well "Wouldn't that he considered an assassination?"

"Not until he's crowned… I should get on it."