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“Remind me again why I’m having a ‘royal wedding’?” Seonghwa muttered, glancing around the opulent dressing chamber filled with silk drapes, gilded mirrors, and the faint scent of roses. He sat stiffly in his chair, his reflection almost unrecognizable beneath the expertly applied makeup. “This is so much more extravagant than I ever wanted. Something is definitely going to go wrong.”
Across the room, Chaewon let out a soft laugh, meeting Seonghwa’s eyes in the mirror. “Because you’re the King’s cousin, Hwa. That automatically makes your wedding a royal one. And let’s not forget, you’re the one who didn’t say no when the Prince Consort offered to plan it.”
Seonghwa groaned under his breath and tilted his head back dramatically. “This is a nightmare. I just wanted something simple. A countryside ceremony, a quiet celebration with family. Not… this circus. A palace wedding? It’s giving me a migraine.”
“You should’ve thought of that before letting your royal cousin and his husbands get involved,” Keeho chimed in, striking a pose in the mirror beside him. He was moments away from ruining his eyeliner, and the makeup artist hovering behind him looked ready to pounce. Keeho, of course, was oblivious. “Honestly, anyone else would be thrilled to have a wedding like this. I’d marry Jiung at the palace in a heartbeat if Heeseung would let me.”
Seonghwa rolled his eyes but smirked. “Heeseung would give you a palace wedding and a parade if you asked nicely. You are his husband’s cousin.”
“Are you really that upset about all this?” Nayeon asked, setting down her champagne glass. “You’re marrying Hongjoong. Your soulmate. Isn’t that what actually matters?”
At that, Seonghwa’s expression softened. A smile curled at his lips, small but sincere. “You’re right. It’s just… surreal. I never imagined we’d actually get here. Two years ago, did any of you think this was even possible?”
Lia let out a snort. “Absolutely not. Hongjoong was so emotionally repressed back then, it took you downing an entire bottle of wine to even crack that shell.”
The room broke into quiet laughter. Seonghwa laughed along, heart warming at the memory. That night had been the beginning of everything. Just one impulsive moment at a party, a little too much wine, and the accidental revelation that he and his childhood protector, his loyal bodyguard, were soulmates. No wine in the world could calm the nerves he was feeling now, though.
He was marrying Hongjoong. His best friend. The boy who once stood silently at his side with a sword strapped to his back, who now stood beside him with a ring and a promise.
When Hongjoong had proposed, nervous, formal, and entirely adorable, Seonghwa hadn’t hesitated. After he said yes, the first thing he’d done was ask his closest friends, the fellow Dukes and Duchesses of Koreth, to be his bridesmaids, with Chaewon as his maid of honor. The palace had practically shaken with their celebratory screams and the sound of corks popping.
“Where are your brothers?” Jiyu asked suddenly, breaking the nostalgic silence. He glanced at the door, concern etched on his face. “They were supposed to bring your flowers twenty minutes ago.”
Seonghwa’s smile faded. It wasn’t strange for San and Wooyoung to run late, they thrived on chaos, but Felix? Felix was never late. A knot of worry tightened in his chest.
“I’m going to find them,” he said, standing abruptly. The others scrambled to follow, heels clacking against marble floors, dresses rustling with movement.
They made their way to the throne room, where the ceremony was set to take place. Seonghwa threw open the grand doors--
--and was met with absolute chaos.
Hongjoong’s groomsmen were everywhere, running in frantic circles, voices raised in a cacophony of panic. Wooyoung, San, and Felix stood off to the side, both looking equally frazzled and breathless.
Hongjoong was nowhere to be seen.
“What the hell is going on?!” Seonghwa’s voice rang out over the chaos, sharp and commanding. The room fell into immediate silence.
All eyes turned to him.
Mingi, pale and clearly terrified, stepped forward slowly. “Um… Seonghwa hyung…”
His voice wavered.
“We-- we can’t find Hongjoong hyung. He’s… he’s missing.
A beat of stunned silence followed. No one moved. No one breathed.
Then Seonghwa’s voice echoed off the palace walls.
“WHAT?!”
⋆.˚🦋༘⋆
Jiung flinched. “We… We've been looking for over half an hour. He went to get some air in the gardens and then just… vanished.”
Ryujin threw her hands up. “We thought maybe he got cold feet, but that doesn’t make sense, right? I mean, he loves you!”
“Hongjoong hyung wouldn’t run,” Yunho said firmly, though the worry in his eyes betrayed him. “Something’s wrong. We just haven’t figured out what yet.”
"Something's wrong?” Seonghwa repeated, his voice rising to a sharp edge. “You think?! My soulmate is missing on our wedding day! Where were all of you?”
Chan winced. “We were… busy figuring out how to keep him from seeing your dress?”
“YOU LOST HIM BECAUSE YOU WERE WORRIED ABOUT TRADITION?!”
“I thought he was with Subin,” Kazuha muttered.
“I thought he was with you!” Subin barked back.
“Enough!” Chaewon clapped her hands, trying to restore order. “Split up. Bridesmaids, groomsmen, check every room, garden, corridor, and tower in this palace. We find Hongjoong, now. Hwa, come with me--”
“No,” Seonghwa said, already halfway out the throne room. “I’m going to the gardens. That’s where he was last seen.”
Lia caught up to him. “I’ll come too. He might’ve fallen or, Goddesses forbid, been taken.”
Keeho, surprisingly serious, followed as well. “We’re not letting you do this alone.”
The palace erupted into a frenzy of silk, lace, velvet, and tailored suits as both wedding parties scattered through its many halls, calling Hongjoong’s name and checking behind every curtain and beneath every banquet table. Servants jumped out of the way. Guards were interrogated. At one point, Mingi shouted at a statue because it looked “suspiciously brooding.”
Meanwhile, in the royal gardens, Seonghwa moved swiftly through the winding paths of rose bushes and ivy-covered archways, his heels sinking into the soft grass. His heart thundered in his chest. Please be okay. Please be okay.
He passed the koi pond, the marble gazebo, and the fountain shaped like a mermaid. Nothing. Just when the panic was beginning to settle in his bones, a movement caught his eye, something small and brown darting across the path.
A squirrel.
Seonghwa stopped, breath caught. He wouldn’t have looked twice, except… it was staring at him.
Unblinking. Head tilted.
“..Hi?” he said slowly, stepping forward.
The squirrel twitched its tail, then darted a few paces ahead, only to pause again and look back. Then it raised its tiny arms and made a very human gesture of frustration.
Seonghwa narrowed his eyes.
“...Hongjoong?”
The squirrel squeaked indignantly and patted its chest, nodding.
Seonghwa gaped. “No. No, no, no, absolutely not. You are not telling me--”
The squirrel did a tiny, exasperated spin on the spot, then mimed pointing to a ring finger.
“Oh my goddess,” Seonghwa whispered. “You are Hongjoong.”
And that’s when Seonghwa lost it.
“WHO THE HELL TURNED MY FIANCE INTO A SQUIRREL?!” He roared, whirling back toward the palace. Birds exploded from the trees above in fright.
A moment later, the rest of the bridal party burst onto the scene.
“There you are!” Yunho shouted. “Did you find--”
Seonghwa pointed furiously at the squirrel. “There’s your missing groom!”
Everyone stopped.
Felix blinked. “...That’s a squirrel.”
“That’s Hongjoong!” Seonghwa snapped. “He just mimed the entire proposal back to me! He even did the little nervous shuffle he does when he’s embarrassed!”
The group stared in stunned silence.
Then Ryujin raised her hand. “Okay, wild theory, but… remember when Jiung knocked over that potion bottle in the apothecary room earlier?”
Jiung’s face went pale. “That was labeled ‘Woodland Creature’.”
“YOU WHAT?” Seonghwa shouted.
“I DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS ACTIVE!”
Keeho clapped a hand over his mouth, laughing way too hard. “You turned Hongjoong into a squirrel on his wedding day?!”
Hongjoong squeaked loudly in protest, tail puffed up in indignation.
Chaewon rubbed her temples. “Okay. Someone get the royal mage. Now. Before Seonghwa actually murders someone.”
As Mingi ran off in search of magical assistance, Seonghwa crouched down beside his squirrel-shaped soulmate and sighed, softening.
“I should’ve known something ridiculous would happen. It is our wedding day, after all.”
Hongjoong squeaked again, this time quieter, and reached out a tiny paw to pat Seonghwa’s fingertip.
Seonghwa chuckled. “I’ll take that as ‘I love you’.”
Hongjoong nodded solemnly.
“Just don’t expect me to kiss you until you’re human again.”
⋆.˚🦋༘⋆
The transformation was as sudden as it was dramatic.
One moment, a tiny squirrel in a satin ribbon was chittering indignantly atop a garden bench, and the next, in a swirl of violet magic and a puff of rose petals, Hongjoong was very much human again, if slightly disoriented and thoroughly embarrassed.
“Why does my mouth taste like acorns?” was his first question.
Seonghwa had thrown himself into Hongjoong’s arms before he could say anything else, burying his face in the other’s shoulder, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. “Don’t you ever get turned into a squirrel again,” he whispered fiercely.
Hongjoong laughed, arms tightening around him. “No promises.”
⋆.˚🦋༘⋆
The throne room, once a scene of absolute chaos, had been transformed. White lilies and crimson roses lined the aisle, enchanted chandeliers glowed with a soft golden light, and the ancient stained glass windows cast colorful light across the polished marble floor. The air shimmered with magic, excitement, and the soft hum of string instruments.
Guests filled the seats, nobles, family members, foreign dignitaries, all waiting with bated breath for the most anticipated royal wedding in decades.
The music shifted.
The doors opened.
Seonghwa stepped into the room, and the world seemed to go still.
He was radiant in ivory and silver, his long train embroidered with constellations and symbols from his family crest. His bridesmaids flanked him, Chaewon leading the way with a grin of pride and unshakable calm, Keeho dramatically fanning him with a feathered hand-fan despite the air already being perfectly cool.
Seonghwa’s eyes, though, were only focused on one person.
Hongjoong stood at the altar, eyes wide, heart in his throat.
He looked like a prince, with royal blue robes lined with gold, his hair neatly styled, a sword sheathed at his hip in ceremonial honor of his days as Seonghwa’s protector. His hands were trembling slightly. Chan elbowed him gently. “Breathe.”
Hongjoong didn’t even respond. He was completely lost in the moment.
As Seonghwa reached the altar and took his place beside Hongjoong, they locked eyes, and suddenly it didn’t matter that the morning had involved panic, tears, and an accidental rodent transformation.
They were here. Together.
Heeseung stepped forward, as the king he would be the officiant. His voice carried gently across the room.
“Today, under the witness of sky and stars, sea and flame, we join two who were always destined to find each other, no matter the trials, no matter the time.”
As he spoke, soft winds stirred the petals lining the floor, as if nature itself had paused to listen.
“Do you, Hongjoong Wildwind of Clan Elderthorn,” Heeseung asked, “swear to love and protect Seonghwa through all that may come, in peace and in storm, in laughter and in silence?”
Hongjoong didn’t hesitate. “I do. I always will.”
“And do you, Seonghwa of House Honorrock, swear to stand beside Hongjoong with trust, with tenderness, and with truth, no matter what form he may take?”
There was a pause, just long enough for someone in the back to snort. Probably Keeho.
Seonghwa’s lips twitched as he said, “I do. Even if he gets turned into a squirrel again.”
Laughter rippled through the room, light and warm.
Heeseung smiled. “Then, by the power vested in me by the Crown and the Goddesses above, I pronounce you married, now and forever. You may kiss the bride.”
There was no hesitation.
Hongjoong pulled Seonghwa into his arms and kissed him like he’d waited his entire life for this, because he had. Cheers erupted through the room, echoing off the high ceilings. Magic sparked gently in the air, swirling like fireflies around them as they kissed.
Their friends rushed in after them, Chaewon crying openly, Mingi shouting unintelligible, and Jiung holding a “SORRY ABOUT THE SQUIRREL THING” sign he’d hastily scribbled on the back of his ceremony script.
Seonghwa pulled back, forehead resting against Hongjoong’s. “You know,” he whispered, “I didn’t really want a royal wedding.”
Hongjoong chuckled. “But?”
“...But I’d suffer through the glitter, the screaming, and being proposed to by a squirrel if it meant ending up here with you.”
“I wasn’t a squirrel when I proposed--”
“You almost were. I saw the twitchy energy even then.”
Hongjoong laughed, pulling him closer. “Well, next time we get married, you can plan it.”
“There’s not going to be a next time. One wedding is enough trauma for a lifetime.”
And so, Seonghwa and Hongjoong stepped into their forever, hand in hand, dressed to the nines, and surrounded by way too much drama for one lifetime.
But at least they weren’t rodents.
Anymore.