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Hwanwoong was well aware that the prince liked him. He saw the way that Keonhee’s ears turned red when he leaned in close to whisper in his ear during court or rested his head on Keonhee’s shoulder. He noticed how Keonhee’s eyes always seemed to follow his lips. He knew that he could get away with a lot more where the prince was concerned than most could. If anyone else blatantly stole food off the prince’s plate and ate it in his sight, Hwanwoong was sure Keonhee would dismiss them from his presence. Hwanwoong stole food from the prince at least once a day.
Hwanwoong liked Keonhee too, and not just because he was going to be king someday. He liked the was his lips curved up at the corners, the way he shrieked when he was startled, and the way his smiles were always genuine. He’d been having fun flirting with Keonhee and watching him blush. He knew it would be different if they got together for real, and he wanted to enjoy the intoxicating blend of anxiousness and excitement that preceded a formal relationship. Lately however, he was thinking he was ready to move things forward. He had stared at Keonhee’s lips for long enough; he was ready to kiss them now.
Hwanwoong prided himself for not being shy in the slightest. As soon as he found a moment with just the two of them, away from prying eyes as they sat together under the trees in the garden at the east side of the palace, Hwanwoong knew exactly what he wanted to ask.
“Can I kiss you, your highness?”
“I.. wh-what?”
Keonhee’s face turned the pink color that Hwanwoong loved. They had been talking about something completely unrelated, but Keonhee’s eyes had been so bright and his face so animated that Hwanwoong had felt the urge to press their lips together. Despite the fact that he frequently ignored royal courtesies where Keonhee was concerned, he felt like he should get permission before he did something as bold as kissing the prince.
“Kiss you.” Hwanwoong repeated, leaning forward so their lips almost touched. “I want to put my lips on yours. Can I have your royal approval?”
“No!” Keonhee said abruptly. “You can’t! I’ll-”
“You don’t want to kiss me?” Hwanwoong felt a little offended. Surely he hadn’t misread all the signs in Keonhee’s behavior? Beyond that, he knew he was charming. Hwanwoong liked flirting and charming minor lords and ladies at court was practically a hobby for him. Hwanwoong was pretty sure the majority of the court would jump at the chance to kiss him.
“No… I- I mean I don’t not want to kiss you.” Keonhee explained awkwardly, blushing furiously. “I just can’t.”
“And why can’t you?” Hwanwoong asked.
“I’m cursed.” Keonhee blurted out. “I’ll turn into a frog if anyone kisses me.”
“Keonhee don’t make up stories,” Hwanwoong rolled his eyes. “You can just say you’re nervous. I would be to if I had the chance to kiss me.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t nervous, and you’re ridiculous!”
“Well, since we sorted that out I’m going to kiss you.” Hwanwoong decided, and leaned forward to capture Keonhee’s lips with his own, feeling very proud of himself. Keonhee trembled against him, standing frozen for a moment before kissing back. Hwanwoong went easy on him. He knew the prince probably hadn’t had the chance to kiss as many people as he had. Keonhee wasn’t the type to indulge in casual affections. Hwanwoong knew he always put his whole heart into everything, and he was proud to have been the one to capture that heart.
When he finally pulled away, Hwanwoong was going to laugh at Keonhee for making up such a ridiculous story. He expected Keonhee to be cute and red faced, for his eyes to shy away from Hwanwoong’s until Hwanwoong captured his face in his hand and made him look. What he wasn’t expecting was for Keonhee to dissolve into a green blur before his eyes.
At first, he thought Keonhee had disappeared. Maybe the kingdom was under attack by an evil wizard or something and Keonhee had somehow gotten magically kidnapped. When Hwanwoong looked down at the spot Keonhee had stood moments earlier, he saw that Keonhee’s clothes were still there. Something small and green was crawling out of the fine lace collar of Keonhee’s tunic. It was a frog.
Hwanwoong let out a cry. He hadn’t imagined that Keonhee could have been telling the truth about the stupid curse. Why hadn’t he told the king or the royal physician? Or the court witch? Seoho was their friend and he was supposedly the most talented witch in the kingdom. Surely he could have lifted the curse before Keonhee had gotten in a situation where he was going to be kissed?
“Keonhee you dum-dum!” Hwanwoong told the frog as he picked him and his clothes up. “Why didn’t you go straight to Seoho after you got cursed? I’m taking you to him now!”
Keonhee wriggled his hands, and made a ribbit that sounded like an objection.
Carry a frog wrapped in the prince’s clothes probably would have drawn stares for anyone else. Hwanwoong was a pro at using confidence to mask any wrong doing or unusual occurrence though, so when he strolled across the castle to the witch’s quarters looking relaxed, no one batted an eye.
Seoho was in his chamber, waving his hand over a small caldron on one of his tables. Hwanwoong decided that whatever he was doing couldn’t be more important than the fact that the prince had been cursed, so he interrupted him.
“You have to help Keonhee!” Hwanwoong yelled, thrusting the frog in front of Seoho’s eyes as soon as he turned. “He’s been cursed!”
Seoho stared at the frog, blinking, and then giggled. Hwanwoong knew his friend was eccentric, but he couldn’t help but feel that the witch wasn’t taking the situation seriously enough.
“You guys finally kissed?”
“Yeah and he turned into a frog after!” Hwanwoong explained. “He said he would but I didn’t believe him. I need you to figure out how to lift the curse on him so I can kiss him again. Wait, how did you know we kissed?”
“Because it’s my curse.” Seoho answered in the same tone one might use to point out an inconsequential fact. “It isn’t serious. He’ll probably turn back soon, it should only last maybe… ten minutes tops?”
“Oh,” Hwanwoong muttered. He looked at Seoho and then at the frog in his hands. He gently set Keonhee down next to the caldron. “Okay.”
Keonhee let out another loud ribbit and Seoho gave him a stern look. Then there was a poof of green smoke, and a human and very naked Keonhee was sitting on the table. He stared at Seoho angrily for a moment and then realized his state of undress and frantically grabbed for something to cover himself with. In his urgency, he slipped off the table. Seoho moved quickly to grab the caldron so Keonhee wouldn’t knock it off as he went flailing onto the floor.
“So why did you curse him?” Hwanwoong asked, watching as Keonhee struggled to shove his tunic over his head as fast as he could, admiring the way every inch of his skin flushed pink.
“He insulted my cooking.” Seoho explained. “He told me only frogs would want to eat it.”
“Oh,” Hwanwoong nodded. “That makes sense now.”
“His cooking was awful,” Keonhee cut in as he tried to force his arm through his sleeve. He hadn’t realized cuff was still buttoned. “I almost wanted to puke. I can’t believe he fed that to me. I’m his prince.”
“Careful,” Seoho said lightly. “Don’t make me curse you again.”
Hwanwoong laughed and grabbed Keonhee’s wrist and helped him unbutton the cuff so his hand could get through. “Maybe next time choose a curse that doesn’t trigger with a kiss.”
Keonhee’s face went red at the word kiss, and he looked so cute that Hwanwoong couldn’t resist leaning in to claim his lips again. He knew Seoho was watching, so he restrained himself to a small peck rather than a proper kiss. There was another puff of green smoke, and Keonhee was a frog again.
“I thought the curse was over!” Hwanwoong shouted at Seoho.
“I never said it only happened on the first kiss,” Seoho shrugged. “You’ll just have to wait ten minutes before you can kiss him again.”
Hwanwoong smiled and grabbed Seoho by the collar and shook him a little.
“Remove the curse!”