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It wasn’t that Taehyung hadn’t noticed— he had simply chosen to ignore. But apparently, his coworkers didn’t take the hint. The moment table number three would receive its guest, eyes would turn towards Taehyung, whether it was the cashier, or the other waiters, and sometimes, even the regulars.
Taehyung hated it. He hated being the centre of attention for anything— and least of all for this.
And yet, every evening, exactly from 1855 hours, his eyes would dart towards the door of the inn where he worked. The restlessness, however, would start to make its presence felt a few minutes earlier. It would end in audible sigh from Taehyung, out of frustration or relief nobody knew, when the door was pushed open exactly at seven, announcing the arrival of the guest, leading to the occupation of table number three, an order of a large whiskey on the rocks, and nothing to drink it with.
Said table was stationed in the corner of the room that faced the wall. So the man would sink into his chair, his long hair covering the bit of face that was visible behind the mask. Taehyung had never seen his face— probably nobody had, under the dim lights of the inn— but especially Taehyung because he specifically tried to avoid looking at the table.
Not to say that he didn’t feel the eyes on him for the entirety of the hour that the guest nursed his drink.
Exactly at the end of the hour, the man would leave, knocking twice on the table to let Taehyung know that he was done. And like clockwork, Taehyung would walk to the table, pick up the bills, and the separate pile left for him as his tips, as well as the small token that would accompany the tips. Some days it would be a fresh flower, some days a dried one, and some days a pebble that looked unique— sometimes it was a bookmark, sometimes an inexpensive ornament, sometimes kohl for his eyes, and sometimes a poem on a piece of paper.
The poems were never about Taehyung, but always about nature, fate, or yearning. And Taehyung wouldn’t be able to explain it well, but they felt addressed to him, and so Taehyung just kept them all.
Their inn had a strict policy of not offending customers. And on top of that, this one was a regular, seemingly wealthy alpha. He had never bothered Taehyung apart from leaving handsome tips and gifts, and he didn’t have any grounds for complaining against him except the fact that— this seemed very suspiciously like courting.
The unsaid thing was that Taehyung never minded the pretty gifts, and his co-workers never brought it up, knowing how romance was a sensitive topic for the man.
They didn’t stop him or warn him, but the way his co-workers winked and nudged and giggled among themselves as soon as the clock struck six thirty in the evening, it was becoming clearer to Taehyung that everyone around him saw this as courting. Not that Taehyung could deny it. From whatever little interaction he had had with the man, he knew it was an alpha. It didn’t take much for people to look at Taehyung and realise that Taehyung was not.
𐔌 ﹒ ⋆ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹
An unmated omega serving alcohol in a roadside inn was quite unheard of in the Kingdom of Wolcheon— not that it was looked down upon, but it drew in quite a bit of a crowd. Omegas in Wolcheon were as much into the workforce as were alphas and betas. It was just that, they were more often than not mated before they started working. Most alphas were known to be the possessive kind, and they liked to have their mates marked before they ventured out into working— just to avoid confusion, or so they liked to believe and make people believe. Modernisation had just been a good way to hide social hierarchy, while adding to the family earnings.
But his love life was not the only reason why Taehyung drew attention to himself. It was the tales of his beauty, coupled with his efficiency, and seemingly the luck he brought with himself to this inn that had turned him into a kind of a folklore in his own hometown, Naksu-dong, the capital of Wolcheon.
Taehyung would laugh at the tales. If indeed he were so lucky, what was he doing slogging like a maniac from dawn till late night in a roadside inn?
Luck. The word in itself made Taehyung scoff. Because his life had been anything but fortunate. Brought up in a comfortable home as the only omega child, Taehyung was getting ready to be mated to an alpha from a respectable family from the neighbouring town when his father’s business ran into bankruptcy, making them lose everything they had. His father, otherwise a sane man, had ended up wagering him to the owner of the inn when he lost furthermore in a haze of alcoholic stupor. Taehyung was twenty then.
Now Taehyung was bonded labour till he paid off his father’s debt in exchange of the owner letting them stay in a two-room cottage near the periphery of the capital city, while Taehyung stayed, like the other staff, in the staff quarters of the inn itself.
Of course the reputable household had broken off the engagement, and therefore, Taehyung was still unmated, still working for more than fourteen hours a day, and still receiving meagre pay in return. Thankfully, the stranger’s tips made up for a bit of it.
The only solace was that the owner hardly visited the inn, and the rest of the workers were friendly, well-behaved, and pragmatic enough to not be jealous of his beauty. More customers to the inn meant more tips and better wages for them as well.
And to be honest, Taehyung was beyond beautiful. The group of betas and alphas who worked with him didn’t even question his looks or the attention it received. They all knew his unfortunate story, and being kind-hearted people, they focused their attention on protecting him from any untoward incidents rather than holding his face card against him. It wasn’t Taehyung’s fault that he was one of the prettiest omegas in town— that was just genetics.
It also helped that Taehyung was not vain, nor was he rude. He did his work well, and was friendly and polite. They’d have to have a heart of stone to feel negatively about him, especially after knowing his story.
Wolcheon was quite forward compared to other neighbouring kingdoms, but even then, a general expectation from omegas was to have found a mate as early as possible in life, as close to the legal age of twenty as they could. More so, if the omega was pretty.
Kim Taehyung, now twenty three, with his golden skin and golden hair, and moles dotting his perfect face like stars on the galaxy, mismatched eyelids and warm, rich brown foxy eyes that could turn piercingly dark in matter of seconds, plush lips with a well-defined cupid’s bow, was the very definition of regal beauty.
𐔌 ﹒ ⋆ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹
It was a Thursday that felt like a Friday in Naksu-dong since the next day was a national holiday. Most of the workers who traveled to the capital for work would be going back home tonight and coming back on Sunday evening. Taehyung loved such days because the inn would be more or less empty, only the locals stopping by for drinks or some food. The staff was relaxed, the atmosphere calm, and the load of work light. They would be flooded by the returning crowd on Sunday, but the next two days would not have a lot of people walking in.
Yes, Taehyung knew it was bad for business. But it was really good for his back and feet. And he was thankful for it.
He was looking forward to going back to his room early tonight and sleeping a little longer than he usually would get to. In his excitement of wrapping up work early, he lost track of time, only to turn his head as soon as he heard the door open. And for the first time since it had started, Taehyung found himself staring into the depths of the universe in the mysterious alpha’s eyes.
He’d heard about romance and romantic things. Honestly, he didn’t really believe in it, given that his only encounter with anything that was remotely related to a relationship was his betrothal to the alpha he hardly ever met. And that had ended in shambles as soon as he had hit difficult times. So yes, he perfectly understood practical decisions, and not the way his heart jumped at the sight before his eyes.
He had never seen the alpha’s eyes before.
And now that he had, he doubted if he would ever be able to forget them. In all the years after he had presented as an omega, Taehyung had never seen the emotion of kindness in an alpha’s eyes. He had seen lust, attraction, pity— not kindness, never respect.
It didn’t help that the alpha too stopped in his tracks and returned his stare, as if caught in the same time warp as Taehyung was. The world around them stood suspended, two men just trying to figure out how eyes could be so breathtakingly beautiful.
They would have stood there like that for much longer if someone hadn’t coughed behind Taehyung— that someone being the reception manager, and Taehyung’s best friend among the staff. At the sound of the sudden bout of coughing, Taehyung hurriedly lowered his eyes, muttering profanities to himself (we won’t go into the discussion of who it was directed at), and walked straight towards the bar to order his guest’s usual whiskey on the rocks.
As he always would, Taehyung followed the routine of keeping his eyes lowered while he served the alpha’s order, and walked away to tend to other tables and tasks at hand. If he hadn’t kept his eyes low, he would have realised that unlike the other days, the alpha was looking at him with amused eyes as he served the drink.
For some reason, that night, the alpha’s eyes on him left Taehyung very hot and bothered. Probably because now he knew what they looked like. Therefore, in order to get some respite, he left towards the kitchen to get a headstart on the dishes, and to drink some water and cool off.
The alpha at table number three waited till Taehyung had disappeared behind the closed doors, finished his remaining whiskey with a long swig, and instead of simply leaving his cash and tips on the table, walked up to the reception, which also doubled up as the cashier’s counter. Obviously.
“I’d like to rent a room for two till the afternoon of Sunday, please,” he told Min Yoongi, the beta manning the desk.
“Here?” Yoongi quirked a brow at him, unsure of his intentions. Surely this was a local, given that he hadn’t gone home for the long weekend. Why did he need to stay here?
The alpha tilted his head, confused. “Is this not an inn that offers rooms for lodging?”
“It does, it does. But I’m just curious and confused as to why you would need a room here. That too for two,” Yoongi asked, never a man to mince his words.
“And if I am paying for my stay, dear man, why would you need to know?” The alpha’s voice was restrained, yet the slightest irritation shone through.
“I have my reasons.”
“And I am not obliged to answer you.”
“Well, you are,” Yoongi leaned forward, careful to keep his voice low. “I manage the inn in the absence of the owner, and I can very well refuse your reservation request.”
At that, the alpha turned slightly so that he faced the corridor leading towards the stairs, his back towards the crowd of patrons. Slowly, he pulled his mask down, and pushed back the head cover of his robe just a little to reveal his face to the beta.
The beta gasped.
“Keep it down, would you?” the alpha growled. “Now, I assume you won’t have any problems issuing me the room anymore?”
“Of- of course not,” Yoongi hastened his work, fishing for the keys so he could hand them over.
“A room for two, with twin beds. I do not want one with a double bed,” the alpha’s voice had taken over a strange authoritative tone that Yoongi could not deny anymore. “And send him up to me so he can collect his tips for tonight’s service.”
No names were mentioned, and no names were required.
“But… yo—”
“No.”
“He—”
The man turned towards Yoongi, placed his hands on the desk in front of him, and leaned menacingly forward, “are you mated, young sir?”
“I am,” Yoongi gulped.
“Good. Then I will assume this comes from a place of concern and protectiveness instead of desire. And therefore, I will clarify, even though I need not— my intentions are not what you think. You can hold me to that promise. But if you do love your life and that of your mate’s, and I would assume you do, send him upstairs to my room when he’s done. The sooner the better.” With that, the alpha snatched the keys off Yoongi’s hands and walked towards the stairs after glancing at the room number engraved on the keys.
Yoongi stared at the retreating figure, shaking his head, unable to fathom what just transpired.
When Taehyung walked out, wiping his hands on his apron to dry them, he almost walked past Yoongi in his hurry to reach table number three for his usual haul of the night. Yoongi called after him, “it's not there, Taehyungie.”
“What?” Taehyung whipped his head in surprise.
“Your tips for tonight. It’s not- it’s not on the table,” Yoongi stuttered.
“Ohh,” Taehyung’s expression turned sad. He probably shouldn’t have left the room in a haste. It might have offended the alpha and now his handsome tips were gone.
“You have to go and get it from him, Taehyungie,” Yoongi added, and watched Taehyung’s sad expression turn into a confused one.
“From where?”
“He’s booked room number three zero one till Sunday afternoon. And he asked me to tell you, to go and take your tips for tonight from him from there.”
Yoongi watched, as Taehyung’s expression changed from confusion, to realisation, to anger, and then to helplessness. “Him too?” he asked, not a stranger to requests of one night stands from the guests at the inn.
Yoongi’s shoulder dropped in dismay as he shook his head, “he asked me to trust him that it’s not about that. And you know how three zero one doesn’t have a double bed.”
“And you trusted him?” Taehyung was hurt— more at Yoongi readily giving him the instruction than the alpha asking for such a favour.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“Well, you’ve always refused to board them before, what happened now?” Taehyung fumed at his best friend, heartbroken.
Yoongi beckoned him closer, and he went despite being angry and hurt, because this was Yoongi, and no matter what, he meant a lot to Taehyung.
“I couldn’t refuse him, Taehyungie. Trust me. I couldn’t.”
“Why the fuck!”
“Keep your voice down.”
“What is this suspense Yoon? Can’t you just tell me what’s wrong?”
“I couldn’t refuse him,” Yoongi whispered, “because he’s…” he gulped, “he’s Prince Jeon Jeongguk, Taehyungie.”
Taehyung gasped.
Much in the same way that Yoongi had when the alpha revealed his face, but probably Taehyung’s gasp was more dramatic, because what did Yoongi mean by the Prince of Woncheol was renting a room at their inn? What the fuck did he mean by he wanted to meet Taehyung alone in his room at night?
Whatever the fuck did it mean that Kim Taehyung had been serving whiskey to the future King of the land, and collecting gifts from him every single fucking day for the past three months?
𐔌 ﹒ ⋆ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹
Trying in vain to understand the turn of events, Taehyung walked up the stairs, mentally cursing his father for ruining his life— once in his drunken haze, and countless times over the three years after. He still remembered the exact sequence of things starting with the day his father finally broke down to reveal the state of his business. Up until the minute before he actually shared the state of his bankruptcy with his family, they didn’t even have a clue.
The house was running the way it had always run— the Kims were never extravagant spenders, always focused on saving up for the tough times. What Taehyung and his omega father didn’t know was that it was all those savings that had been running their household expenses and would be paying for Taehyung’s impending wedding since the business had been making losses for quite some time now.
And yet, none of them had said a thing to the alpha. They had listened quietly, internalising the information and trying to understand how this sudden change of plans would impact their future. Then they had looked at the alpha of the house kindly, and reassured him that they would figure it out together.
Taehyung wasn’t sure if it was the lack of drama or the lack of hysterics that drove his alpha father into storming out for a drink right after, but it did make him realise that sometimes, the alpha nature did come in the way of logical thinking and even existing knowledge. Alpha Kim had known his mate almost for the entirety of his life, them being childhood sweethearts, and yet he had not been able to handle a supportive, forgiving partner.
The next morning, however, Taehyung had woken up to screaming and cursing— something he was not at all used to. His omega father had never ever raised his voice, neither at his other father, nor at him. But he was shouting, and he was distraught, and the entire house was filled with a combination of burnt smells coming from both Taehyung’s parents. Taehyung had run out, wanting to calm them down, but then he had heard of the wager, and he had lost his ability to speak, to think, to respond— to even cry.
It didn’t take long for the news to reach his would-be-mate’s family, and it took even less time after that for the wedding to be called off.
Through all of this, Taehyung had not spoken a single word, despite his fathers trying to extract a reaction out of him. The only thought that had struck him, and stayed with him, was that even to his own father, and especially when his father had no control over his thought process, Taehyung was an object.
Because he was an omega.
That made it so easy to just give him away.
The pain of that realisation had numbed everything else around him, and Taehyung had not even asked a single question, nor had he asked how long he’d have to endure the ordeal. When the next morning came, he had packed his clothes, and turned up at the inn to offer his services.
He hadn’t spoken a word with his alpha father since that day. He couldn’t bring himself to. Because for every single moment after that, whenever he had felt dirty eyes on himself, or whenever his beauty had been ‘put to use’, or when he had to gulp down insults about his second gender silently since he had a loan to repay— the knowledge that he had been used as a mere exchangeable by his own father stole his words from him.
And now he was to face the Prince of Woncheol, and probably please him for the night if he wanted to live. All the tips and gifts he had accepted, starting to believe that there was some good still left in the world, was now going to literally bite him in the ass. Taehyung laughed soundlessly at his own self-deprecating joke.
He was disgusted with how a little tremor of excitement ran through his body at the mere thought of spending the night in the Prince’s bed as his bed warmer. No matter how much he held himself with dignity, thought Taehyung to himself, the mere thought of being that close to the most attractive, enigmatic, and loved alpha in the Kingdom made his wolf behave like a pathetic little omega, proving everyone who viewed him that way right.
He needed to control his wolf, and his thoughts that were running haywire. And he needed to behave. After all, the monarchy was heavily respected in the Kingdom— both Prince Jeongguk and his parents were known not only to be benevolent rulers, but just ones. Under them, the Kingdom had flourished, trade was great, laws were fair, prices were reasonable, and the people were happy.
And that’s why, Taehyung thought, it was so difficult to imagine that the Prince just wanted to fuck him.
There must be another reason.
Taehyung steeled himself before he mustered up the courage to knock on room number three zero one. But nothing, nothing could have prepared him for the sight that was awaiting him.
𐔌 ﹒ ⋆ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹
Jeon Jeongguk had opened the door in his silk pajamas, his face devoid of any makeup, and his hair not brushed to perfection. Taehyung had only seen him from afar during special days, and in the newspaper and magazines, in photographs that sold for hundreds of won in the market. He had never seen the Prince up close, never his bare face, and never with his hair out of place. Of late, he had only seen this man in a mask, his hair covering the rest of his face.
For the first time in his life, Taehyung realised how it felt to have his breath knocked out of his system.
In all objectiveness, Taehyung had heard a lot of compliments about himself taking people’s breath away. His ex-fiancé had also said something similar to him on the day of their engagement. Taehyung had never felt that way about anyone. Not even the alpha he was set to marry. Honestly, he had never given marriage or mating a thought. He had never felt attracted to anyone to seriously think about it, and neither had it been something he had dreamed about.
The only thing Taehyung was passionate about was living. He just wanted to make the most of every single moment of his mortal life. He didn’t want to die with a regretful heart. Ever since he was a child, he found happiness in the smallest of things, in the tiniest of successes. In fact, he even knew that if his alpha father ever apologised to him, he’d forgive him immediately— but the man had never made the attempt, and Taehyung had not spoken about it either, the daily reminders too much for him to make peace with by himself.
It was his sunny disposition that had helped him make friends at the inn easily and glide through his life as a worker there, even though he hated the reason behind his tenure. He just didn’t like moping around— it felt like a waste of time.
And right now, time seemed to have come to a standstill because he could never move on from this memory—that of standing in front of the prettiest alpha he had ever seen. One, who was looking at him with the same kindness that he remembered from earlier. One, whose famous cinnamon scent had filled Taehyung’s senses since he was probably off the scent blockers inside of his room. One, whose presence instantly calmed the noise inside Taehyung’s head and heart, making him feel safe.
“Would you like to come in, Taehyung-ssi?” the alpha asked him softly. “I need to talk to you.”
Taehyung gulped, even as the thought of being behind closed doors with the man thrilled him, as he nodded his head in agreement and stepped into the room which now smelled distinctly of Jeongguk. Prince Jeongguk.
“Please take a seat anywhere you feel comfortable,” the Prince said. Taehyung would have mistaken it for an order if not for the gentleness in the man’s voice. His entire aura exuded an authority that Taehyung had never encountered before. He chose to sit on the couch kept in the corner of the room, facing the Prince.
“There is something I want to offer you,” the Prince said slowly, “and no, it is not a sexual offer, if that’s what you fear. I know you are an unmated omega and I wouldn’t want to take advantage of my position.”
And Taehyung wanted to kill himself for the twinge of disappointment that coursed through his veins at that admission.
“But I would like to offer you a break from your duties, starting tonight, which is why I booked a room with a twin bed. I want you to get a good night’s sleep, because there’s something very important I need to ask you in the morning. And no,” Jeongguk interrupted even before Taehyung could open his mouth fully, “I do not want to do it right now, not when you have been working your… working so hard through the day. I’ve ordered some food for dinner, and if you would like to freshen up, please go ahead, I left the bathroom clean enough. You must be so tired.”
Normally, generally, Taehyung did not take orders from people about how to go about his life in his personal space. But the ‘ you must be so tired’ was spoken with so much softness, that it broke him. No one had said those words to him in the past three years, definitely not in the same words or with as much feeling as this person did. It felt as if his tiredness was personally affecting the Prince’s energy levels.
So Taehyung didn’t protest. Suddenly, the entire weight of three years worth of daily chores and serving customers, and staying away from his home, not having much of a relationship with his parents, not having anything to look forward to, crashed down on him. There was something in Jeongguk’s voice— some pull, a compassion that made him feel seen that made his body go lax, and automatically obey the alpha.
Not like he had much of a choice disobeying the future ruler of the Kingdom.
But this felt different. “I do not have a change of clothes with me,” he said, tiredness seeping through his muscles. “I’ll go and get them from my room.”
“There’s no need for that. I brought some things that might fit you,” the alpha said, sounding almost, shy? “I… I thought it would raise questions if you had to bring your stuff in here and so…”
Thoughtful, Taehyung said to himself. That was the word that came to him because in none of the interactions till date had Taehyung found him disrespectful or egoistic.
“Thank you, your Royal Highness, where could I—”
“Here,” the Prince hastily picked up some clothes from the cupboard in the room and held them out for Taehyung, “and please call me Jeongguk, I’m somewhere around your age.”
Before Taehyung could let that shock settle in, he bowed his head in gratitude, grabbed the clothes and rushed into the bathroom, releasing the breath he was holding in, sagging against the closed door.
By the time he had found the courage to re-enter the room, the aroma of freshly cooked food had already mixed with the existing cinnamon. And yet, Taehyung could smell the alpha distinctly— feeling his erratic heartbeat calm instantly. He wondered how the Prince always seemed to have a positive effect on him and his entire existence as he made his way to the table where the food was laid out.
He was very aware that the alpha wouldn’t— couldn’t— take his eyes off him.
When he settled down to eat, the Prince took it on himself to serve the food and Taehyung was too shocked, too tired, too wound up to comment. “You’re too tired from the day,” Jeongguk had said, and he had simply nodded, accepting the kind gesture. Except for his coworkers, people had not really been kind to him ever since the unfortunate event.
They ate, mostly in silence, with Jeongguk filling in the awkwardness with a few generic questions like how long his usual shifts were, what all he was expected to do, and whether the innkeeper was nice to his employees. Taehyung didn’t lie, except to the last question— he didn’t want the innkeeper to lose his inn, costing him his job. No matter what, he needed to pay back the loan.
Jeongguk smiled when he said, yes the owner is good to us, and continued to eat.
“Please sleep well, Taehyung-ssi,” the Prince had bid him goodnight, showing him the other bed that was free. “You don’t have work tomorrow. And no,” he had read Taehyung’s thoughts again, “your pay won’t be cut. I’ve spoken to the owner.”
Promising himself that he would think over the strange happenings the next day with a clear head, Taehyung had sunk into the comfortable bed, a comfortable bed after three long years, and allowed himself to succumb to sleep, giving his tired body a well-deserved rest.
Just before drifting off, he had felt those eyes on him, a gentle gaze, and he thought he heard something like, “of course you smell of honey to my cinnamon. Of course you do.”
He was probably already dreaming.
𐔌 ﹒ ⋆ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹
He woke up to the sound of soft snoring.
It took him a while to register where he was and what was happening before the previous night’s memories came rushing back to him and he sat up on the bed, trying to gauge if anything untowards had happened. He had been knocked out cold, he realised, entrenched in the warmth of the alpha’s scent, and cocooned in the comfort of the soft bed.
He sat, watching the alpha sleep, finding the entire thing surreal. For a second, he wanted to just find his things and leave, because this was just too strange. But then he realised how kind the Prince had been to him, and decided he owed it to him to listen to what he had to say.
It wouldn’t be a lie to acknowledge that he didn’t want to jeopardise his life by walking out of the room without the Prince’s permission.
“I can almost hear your thoughts, Taehyung-ssi. They’re so loud,” the alpha rasped, chuckling to himself at his own attempt at humour, and Taehyung swore he wanted to bury himself alive because he physically felt the rise of every single goosebump that broke out on his skin at the sound of that voice.
“You can call me Taehyung, your Royal—”
“Jeongguk”
“Jeongguk,” Taehyung breathed. The alpha closed his eyes, as if to savour the sound of his name rolling off Taehyung’s tongue, and Taehyung found himself blushing.
“Let’s freshen up. We can talk after breakfast,” the alpha said.
And that was that.
Post a hearty breakfast over an awkward silence in a room that now smelled of honey and cinnamon, two men sat face to face, on their respective beds, to have a much-needed conversation. One that seemed to have needed them to spend a night together, sleeping in different beds, and share two meals before it took place.
Dramatic much? Probably royalty had those side-effects, Taehyung laughed silently at his own sarcasm.
“Taehyung,” the Prince began. “Have you ever asked how much you owe the innkeeper?”
Taehyung’s head shot up on its own at the question, myriad thoughts running faster than the speed of light inside his mind, “you can’t… you can’t buy me,” he blurted out the first thought that struck him.
“No,” the alpha sighed. “No I can’t. You’re priceless, and moreover,” he continued as if Taehyung’s breath hadn’t hitched, “I don’t intend to buy you.”
“Let me start at the beginning,” Jeongguk continued. “Probably that would be a better idea.”
Taehyung nodded, his head still reeling, but his curiosity piqued.
“You wouldn’t know, as nobody should, that as a part of my preparation to ascend the throne,” Jeongguk said as if he was talking about sweeping the floor, “I go out on monthly rounds around the city, in disguise, of course.”
He kept his eyes on Taehyung, and Taehyung squirmed under that gaze, because he could tell that the Prince hadn’t uttered a single lie. His eyes were brutally honest, and so clear that they shone.
“I’m in disguise because it helps me—”
“See what people are really up to? This sounds like one from the books,” Taehyung couldn’t stop himself from saying, regretting it the moment it was out of his mouth.
But Jeongguk smiled, genuine, open, hearty, “the books are not always exaggerating, I can tell you that much,” he chuckled, happy at Taehyung’s candidness.
It was as if the awkwardness had been broken past, and his voice had taken on a lighter, much calmer tone. Taehyung could also feel the change in his scent. Almost, almost as if the Prince had been nervous to talk to him. Him, a waiter at a roadside inn.
“It’s a fun exercise. Gets me a lot of insight that I’d usually never get from asking the ministers. Everyone likes to give their supervisor a positive report, right?” Jeongguk asked Taehyung.
“I’d imagine. Otherwise their jobs would be on the line.”
“Right. But thankfully, it's not like they paint a completely different picture. The people in Wolcheon seem to be happy,” the Prince shared.
“They are,” Taehyung said, not an ounce of lies in his words. They were a happy country.
At that, Jeongguk smiled wide, his face resembling a bunny, and Taehyung couldn’t stop himself from cooing at him internally. Life was really strange, he thought, here he was, casually conversing with the Prince of the land, as if it was his daily routine, and wondering if the Prince was always this cute. Cute? Not really a word he would associate with an alpha, but this one? He was different. In a good way. In a way that made Taehyung want to climb up his lap and bury his face in the crook of his neck and put his arms around his neck and ask him to hold him, hug him, do things to him that he had never wanted before.
“So, I was saying,” Jeongguk’s voice broke Taehyung’s train of thoughts and warmth crept up his skin realising what kind of thoughts they were, “on one such visit I saw you at the market, buying vegetables with the innkeeper who was ordering you around like he owned you. You lied about that by the way, he is not really a nice man. Anyway,” he continued as if he had not just accused Taehyung of being untruthful to the ruler. “I am sure you know that you’re beautiful, and of course, that was what I noticed first. I mean, I have fully functional eyes, you cannot blame me.”
Jeongguk shrugged.
Taehyung wondered if the Prince knew how his heart was drumming against his chest at his casual compliments.
“I was wondering at first what someone as gorgeous as you, was doing with that man, and then I corrected myself because being pretty didn’t have anything to do with one’s job. And I, as a rational wolf, and a future leader, should not be drawing those kinds of conclusions, you know?” Jeongguk really didn’t know how endearing he was, did he? He was engrossed in his own spiel, while Taehyung’s thoughts were having their own monologue, taking over his existence, putting him in awe of the Prince and his nature.
“But I soon got mesmerised with the way you handled everything. You were so polite to every shopkeeper you met, asking them about their well-being, their families, even though it was so obvious how tedious the chore was for you. I wanted to know more about you. You intrigued me, more than your face did,” Jeongguk paused, and Taehyung’s heart skipped a beat.
He had asked around, Taehyung learned, and came to know of his history and the reason why he worked at the inn. “And I kept wondering why a server needed to accompany the innkeeper to the market instead of the kitchen staff. Later, when I found myself drawn to the inn the very next evening, my eyes seeking you, I realised the reason why.”
Taehyung had never paused to question this decision by the owner. He was asked to follow an order, and he did, not wanting to ponder much on it. He assumed it added up to the amount of work he must do to repay the debt.
“Why?” he whispered, “why do you think he did that?”
“People followed you to the inn, Taehyung,” the Prince said simply. “You attract customers.”
“And you were one of them,” Taehyung said, with great difficulty.
Jeongguk didn’t deny it. “I was charmed,” he confessed. “I would come just to see you move around, talk to people, serve orders like you were born to interact with people, charming their socks off them. The more time went by, I realised how naive you were, not realising that you were being taken advantage of by the owner, but also, how strong you were— to keep dirty eyes in their lane, and how effortlessly charismatic, managing all of the attention and yet, just doing your job. I was enraptured.”
𐔌 ﹒ ⋆ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹
Taehyung was expecting compliments, yes— about his face, and his body, and his perfect omega structure. He wasn’t expecting to be complimented on his work and his nature. He kept staring at the alpha, trying to understand where this was going.
“I couldn’t keep myself away. And sadly, I couldn’t even give away my identity. Somehow, I always felt that the moment I revealed myself to you, you would start ignoring me, and I… I couldn’t bear that thought,” Jeongguk’s voice was constricted as if he was still scared of that possibility, making Taehyung’s thoughts go haywire.
“So I waited. I decided I would wait till you were done paying your debt, and then I would come and talk to you,” Jeongguk lowered his eyes, his voice thick with emotions, “because you— I feel you’re not the kind to accept a favour like that. I feel you would despise me if I used my position and power and just paid the due off on your behalf. And honestly, the last thing I wanted to do, Taehyung, was to insult you by taking a decision on your behalf. You— you don’t deserve that. So—”
Jeongguk had not been able to complete that sentence because Taehyung had left his bed, and walked up to him, pushing his shoulder in a rare act of braveness, so he had looked up at the impact, and found the omega’s face inches from his own. And the Prince of Woncheol had forgotten all his words. He had also forgotten to breathe.
“You didn’t want to insult me,” Taehyung whispered.
Jeongguk shook his head a no.
“You respected my struggles and wanted to wait till I—”
“I was courting you,” Jeongguk whispered.
“You were….”
“Courting you. With the poems, the small gifts, the flowers. I was just letting you know that I am one of your options when you’re free from this hell,” Jeongguk said, slowly finding his voice back even as Taehyung hovered above him.
“One of my options, ” Taehyung repeated, lifting his legs one by one to climb up on Jeongguk’s bed, bringing himself closer to the alpha, his breath now mingling with Jeongguk’s.
It was Jeongguk’s turn to gulp.
“Yes. If you think I match up to your expectations of a mate—”
Taehyung laughed. His entire body shook with the deep laughter that broke out of the depth of his soul. “You’re the Prince of this Kingdom, alpha ,” he said, even as he watched Jeongguk shudder, “you’re asking me to consider your proposal of courting as if I am some… Some… I’m just a poor omega, reeling under a debt. Please, don’t make this funny. You’re a nice person, but this is outrage—”
Suddenly, Taehyung found himself with his back on the bed, and his hands pinned above his head, “is this better then?” Jeongguk growled lowly. “A more appropriate way of asking for what I want? By showing you your place ?” He left Taehyung’s hands, and moved away.
“You’re not a plaything for me, Taehyung. Not just an omega. You’re the one I intend to mate. If I cannot respect you, then how can I expect anyone else in this Kingdom to respect their future King Consort?” Jeongguk scoffed, clearly upset, his scent turning sour.
Taehyung took a deep breath, and without moving himself, he extended his hand to gently place it on the alpha’s cheek, the one accessible to him from his position, and immediately he could feel the man calm down, surprising himself with the power he seemed to have on the Prince.
“What changed?” he asked.
“Hmm?”
“You were going to wait till I finished paying my debt, what changed?”
“Ohh,” Jeongguk smiled again, this time victorious, and it took everything in Taehyung to not melt into the sheets, “I was getting impatient. So last week I cornered the innkeeper and asked him how much your father owed him and when it would all be repaid. I just wanted to know how much longer I’d have to wait. And then I felt so lucky to be born into the royal family because he got scared and spilled that you’ve already overpaid your debt with all the profit you have brought to the inn. It just… took me a week to devise a plan and find the perfect day when the inn wouldn’t be so crowded.” Jeongguk smiled sheepishly.
Taehyung stared at him, his eyes wide, and wondered if the man had realised what he had just told him. And then he smiled, because Jeongguk probably hadn’t— the man seemed to ramble on when he was nervous, talking about his freedom, mating, and courting, and having feelings for him in one breath without even thinking of the kind of impact it could have on Taehyung’s heart.
The omega was endeared. He kept staring at the alpha and felt warmth settle in his chest, making a home in his heart when he ran the entire conversation in his mind— the Prince of Woncheol was in love with him. And he had been courting him, hoping that Taehyung would accept his proposal.
It didn’t happen like this in society— the alpha would choose their omega and have the family send out an intent of marriage. Unless the alpha was lower in status, the omega’s family was bound to agree, especially if the alpha’s family came from power. In royalty, marriages were fixed after negotiations and considering the wealth and status of the kingdoms meant to unite by matrimonial alliance. Regular people who married for love were just that, regular people.
Taehyung’s gaze softened the more he stared at the alpha, wondering, yet again, if this was really happening. “Your thoughts are too loud, Taehyung-ssi,” Jeongguk smiled, leaning into the hand that was still on his cheek.
“What can you hear?” Taehyung asked, his voice indulgent, his scent spiking.
“I… can say it, but I don’t want to be heartbroken,” Jeongguk replied, still nervous.
“Then don’t say it,” Taehyung said, and watched as the alpha’s expression fell, taking the opportunity in the lapse of attention to move his hand from his cheek to his nape, and pull Jeongguk down towards his face. “Do what you feel, and let me respond, my nervous alpha.”
In this moment, with nobody to interrupt his thoughts or actions, Taehyung could admit to himself that he was, indeed, royally fucked . The most powerful alpha in the entire Kingdom had decided that he was completely powerless in front of love, and who was Kim Taehyung to resist the charm that lay in losing a battle to your heart?
It wasn’t clear who closed the distance, but within moments, Taehyung and Jeongguk found their lips in a battle of dominance, their limbs entangled, and their hearts beating in sync. It didn’t matter if clothes stayed on or came off, what mattered was that honey and cinnamon meshed with each other with the promise of never departing. What mattered, was that Prince Jeongguk had found his mate, and Taehyung had finally found an alpha who saw him as an equal— as not just a face, or a body, or a person who would bear his children, but a partner, a lover, a companion for life. Feelings that Jeongguk had carried in his heart for months culminated in that kiss, him just wanting to show the omega how affected he was by him. Feelings that Taehyung had never dared to dream of surfaced, his every pull and tug at the alpha’s lips expressing emotions he wanted his alpha to know, reciprocating all the love that was sent his way.
The Prince kissed Taehyung as if his life depended on it, his lips claiming the omega’s in hungry possession, nothing soft about it, completely opposite from the way their conversation had gone. Taehyung kissed back with all the newfound feelings in his heart that he had been suppressing for long, not wanting to get his hopes up about a certain alpha who left him poems about tiger lilies.
And as he traced the tattoos on the Prince’s hand a while later, with his head on the man’s chest, Taehyung suddenly knew why every other poem was about the Prince’s birth flower and every other flower left behind was a tiger lily— Jeon Jeongguk, the Prince of Woncheol had always arrived at the same time, sat at the same table, ordered the same drink, his eyes had only followed the same man, and his heart had always made only one request to his intended omega— please love me.