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Once upon a time, in a peaceful and prospering kingdom, which had a wall surrounding it, a prince named Felix, with golden blonde hair was born. Due to childbirth complications, shortly after giving birth, the prince’s mother fell ill. As his mother lay on her deathbed, she whispered, holding her baby close to her chest, “I know you will make a change one day. Make sure differences are able to flourish and thrive in this kingdom.” Years upon years passed after his mothers death, and in the blink of an eye, Prince Felix was already 18. He takes it upon himself to take care of the people in his kingdom, and makes sure they are all living their best life. His father, King Park, on the other hand, is not one to interact with his people a lot. His father focuses on war plans and usually shuns the people, so Felix does his part in making sure everyone’s needs are met in place of his father.
One day, Prince Felix decided to go out and talk to the baker named Chan. His father didn’t like the baker, but Felix personally adored Chan. He felt like he could be his true self with him. The prince’s father believed that the baker was considered “different.” Chan didn’t hold the same belief system as King Park, so the king did not like him. Nor did he approve of Felix going into town solely to see him, but Felix was 18. He would do what he wants. While strolling the halls of his family’s giant palace, he bumped into the top knight named Hyunjin. Hyunjin kindly greeted the prince. “Ah- Hello prince Felix- er- your majesty.” Hyunjin put his head down in a bow toward Felix. Felix let out a short laugh, before saying, “Hyunjin, thank you, but you can drop the formalities while we aren’t near my father. “Of course, Prince Felix. Sorry.” Hyunjin murmured. “So,” Felix started, “what has you going out to town today, Hyunjin?” The prince asked. “Oh! I’m going to meet with someone..” Hyunjin responded. “Oh, I am too!” Felix remarked. “I’m going to see Chan, the baker.” “I’m going to see a peasant boy. His name is Jisung.” Hyunjin remarked, and then added, “we’re sort of… dating.” “Really?” Felix questioned, “That’s… really beautiful Hyunjin. I think our kingdom needs more diversity and difference. And I feel like it’s my duty to make sure that difference thrives. I’ll keep an eye on you and Jisung.” Hyunjin, taken aback by Felix’s remarks, choked out, “Really? Th-thank you for your kindness, Prince Felix.”
The two eventually exited the castle, going their separate ways. As Felix approached the small, cottage-like house owned by Chan, he could feel butterflies in his stomach. He didn’t understand why. Despite the unshakable feeling of nervousness in the pit of his stomach, he knocked on the wooden door of Chan’s home. When Chan answered the door, he flashed a breath-taking smile at Felix. Gosh, why did Felix feel this way? He had always wanted to celebrate differences in his kingdom, but to think that he was different in this way himself…? His father would be completely outraged. Chan greeted him warmly, and Felix did the same back, taking Chan’s hand and entering the small, yet cozy home. “So, how have you been the past few days, Felix?” Chan inquired. “We haven’t been able to hang out in, like, a whole week.” Felix sighed, “I know, I’m really sorry Chan. I was just nervous about my father realizing.” Felix said apologetically. “Ah.. that makes sense.” Chan decided. “You deserve better than him, Lix.” Felix smiled at Chan in response, before leaning in to give the other boy a hug. Chan always knew the right words to make Felix stop questioning himself, and Felix was eternally grateful for it. He was even more grateful for Chan himself, though. They stayed like that, hugging, for a while, before Chan suggested that they ought to do something else for a bit. Reluctantly, Felix let go of the hug. He and Chan decided to bake a cake. It was a mess. By the time they finished the cake, there was flour and icing and sprinkles covering the kitchen. Chan didn’t mind, and Felix thought it was perfectly in character for the two of them to make a mess like that. Their clothes were also covered in various cake ingredients. Felix borrowed some of Chan’s clothes in place of his, now disheveled, previous clothing. It was now dark outside. “Chan, I should probably get going.” Felix remarked, staring out the window at the inky black sky. “My dad will kill me if I’m not home soon.” Chan smiled, “Alright. At least borrow a jacket, though. It has to be freezing cold around this time.” Felix obliged, carefully taking Chan’s jacket from his hands and putting it on. “Welp!” Felix chimed, “I’ll see you again, hopefully tomorrow.” “Yes,” Chan affirmed, “Tomorrow.” Felix turned toward the door and opened it, but just as he was about to step out into the chilly night, Chan called his name. “Felix!” He ran up beside him, and quickly planted a small, quick kiss onto his cheek. Felix could feel his face heat up, as he looked at Chan with nothing short of love and admiration in his eyes. “Let’s talk about this tomorrow, okay?” Chan proposed. “Yes, let’s talk about it tomorrow. I promise!” Felix exclaimed. He strolled home with a huge smile on his face.
When Felix arrived home, something felt… strangely off. He tip-toed upstairs into his bedroom, but when he arrived inside, he was met with his father, standing in the middle of his room, visibly annoyed. “Felix, what are you doing home so late?” King Park questioned, “Where have you been?” Felix, clearly nervous but not ready to back down, responded calmly, “I was out in town running errands, and I just got a bit caught up in something.” “You just got caught up in something?!” King Park thundered, “What could you possibly have been caught up in that would cause you to get home at 11:30 P.M!?” For the first time since his son stepped in the room, King Park scanned him. “Hold on,” King Park huffed, “That isn’t your jacket. Those pants don’t belong to you either. They clearly aren’t royalty-worthy pieces of clothing.” King Park pieced together a few more things in his mind, before certain realization flooded all his senses. “Have you gone to see that baker Chan again?! I told you to stay away from him, Felix! He’s… different. Different in a way that will poison you and all the rest of our kingdom!” King Park roared. “You don’t know him, father! You assume everything and judge everyone for everything except their character! What do you know anyway?” Felix shot back. Angrily, the king yelled, “I should have kicked out that good-for-nothing baker long ago! He doesn’t belong here! He’s ruining you, Felix! You should be aware of this at your age!” “Kick him out?” Felix’s breath caught in his throat, “No- father, please! You can do anything you want to me. Ground me, punish me, keep me in the palace as long as you want, just please, leave Chan alone!” “I’m afraid you’ve given me no choice young man.” King Park marched down the stairs and called his guards to order. They stormed through the village toward Chan’s cottage, Felix chasing after them in pursuit. Once Felix reached Chan’s house, two of the guards were already pulling him out, while other guards were standing by at the kingdom’s gate, getting ready to open it and throw Chan out. “Chan!” Felix screamed, “Please, let him go!” He screamed, over and over again, but it wasn’t enough. He caught up to the guards and grabbed Chan by the waist, trying to pull him away. “Prince Felix,” one of the guards said in a stern voice, “please get off of him. We have direct orders from your father that he is to be removed from the kingdom immediately.” Felix didn’t listen. The other guard pulling Chan away tried demanding Felix to get off of Chan too. Felix couldn’t care less. The first person in his life who made him feel like himself… who made him feel needed, was slowly being ripped away from him before his very eyes. He couldn’t- no, he wouldn’t let it happen. That was until he heard a softer, much more comforting voice say his name. “Hey, Felix?” Chan started, “Please, just let go of me, okay? It will make things easier for both of us.” Chan’s voice cracked a bit, “You have to let go Felix.” So, he did. And he watched in silent agony as the only person who he had ever grown close to was taken away from him.
The next day, King Park organized an assembly in the town, since some people had seen what happened the night before, and were extremely confused. Felix was obligated to attend this assembly, though he was still in a bad state of mind and overall distraught about what had occurred last night. Felix went into town with his father and the guards. God, he hated those guards now, after what they did to Chan, but he certainly couldn’t complain. It was not the time or the place. Felix didn’t know if there would ever be a time or a place to try and bend his father’s will about something as serious as removing someone from the kingdom. It wouldn’t hurt to at least try, though, would it? Before the speech started, Felix approached Hyunjin, who he had spotted standing with a more raggedy, shaken looking boy. When Felix saw the boy, he realized that he had seen this same person climb into the knights barracks at night a few times. His clothing and overall appearance suggested that he didn’t have much money, or maybe any at all. Much less a place to sleep. It seemed like Hyunjin was sneaking him into the barracks and offering him a place to rest. “Ah, Felix!” Hyunjin exclaimed, “This is Jisung, who I was telling you about yesterday.” Felix smiled, “Ah, yes. It’s nice to meet you Jisung. Hyunjin speaks very highly of you. I can tell he really cares about you.” Jisung smiled, “It’s nice to meet you, Prince Felix. I can tell you’re a very respectable and kind person.” The king had started his proclamation by now, but these three didn’t care. They continued talking behind a structure so the king couldn’t see them. “So, Felix,” Jisung inquired, “Do you know why we’re having this whole assembly?” Felix paused, contemplating the right words to express how he had just seen his favorite person in the world get dragged away, before saying, “Last night, my father and his guards threw Chan out of the kingdom.” Felix did his best to remain calm, but his voice shook a bit when he recalled the memory of last night and losing Chan. Hyunjin's expression darkened. “Are you kidding me? I shouldn’t be working for a corrupt joke of a kingdom like this one.” He scoffed, before adding, “Oh! No offense to you, of course, Felix.” Felix giggled, “None taken. But… I seriously do miss Chan. It hasn’t even been a day and I feel like I’m missing a part of me…” Hyunjin wrapped his arm around Jisung. “God, Felix… I’m so sorry.” Hyunjin remarked somberly. “If you need anything, never hesitate to ask me. Errands, chores, anything.” Felix smiled a bit at that. “Thank you, Hyunjin.” They continued talking, Hyunjin’s arm still wrapped tight around Jisung’s waist. Everything was great, until King Park approached them from behind. “What’s going on here?” King Park questioned. “Oh, your majesty!” Hyunjin removed his grip from Jisung’s waist and bowed toward the king. “You know Hyunjin…” King Park started, “You’re my top knight. The most amazing one in the whole bunch. I wouldn’t want anyone ruining you, would I?” Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at this. “Uh, no sir?” King Park smiled crookedly at this. “Correct answer! Unsheath your sword, please.” Hyunjin obliged, unsheathing his large iron sword from its hilt. “Alright,” King Park said, “Now, cut that boy’s throat.” He pointed at Jisung. “First you disgusting people come for my son. But now, for my top knight? How low do you intend to blow?” King Park growled. Hyunjin dropped his sword on the ground. “Sir, you could ask anything of me, but I am not willing to kill an innocent civilian for no reason.” King Park frowned. “There is a reason, Hyunjin. I just told you. He’s poisoning you. Getting into your mind and making it seem like you can be together. That is not allowed here.” Hyunjin freezed. Clearly taken aback by King Park’s sudden realization of his and Jisung’s relationship. “H-how…-?” Hyunjin started, but was abruptly cut off by King Park. “End his suffering now, or we will throw him out of the gates of this kingdom, just like we did Chan. Who knows what could happen to him out there. He could be tortured rather than killed. Do you really want that to happen, Hyunjin?” Jisung, who had been standing there the whole time, thinking to himself, turned to Hyunjin. “Hyunjin,” he smiled, “Just do what you think is right, okay?” He choked out, eyes filled with tears, “I’ll love you either way.” Hyunjin murmured, “I just- I can’t kill you, Jisung. I’m not capable of that.” Jisung smiled. “Alright, Hyunjin. That’s that, then. I love you.” “I- I love you too.” Suddenly, the guards grabbed Jisung by both arms and began to drag him out of the kingdom, the same way they removed Chan. Felix couldn’t understand it. Why was this happening? Why couldn’t everyone just coexist? Why did it matter if they were different? Why did that make them so bad? So many questions were running through his head, until Jisung was removed from the kingdom as well, and he was left there with a sobbing Hyunjin, who had just witnessed the same thing as Felix the night before. And neither of them could do anything. Or could they?
This happened for weeks on end. Someone was seen as different in the slightest way? They were removed from the kingdom. No matter how small the difference. Hyunjin and Felix were both constantly cooped up in Felix’s room, trying to come up with a way to fix this. It had been weeks. Weeks since they had seen their favorite people. Weeks since life had been fine. Weeks since they had still had full, healthy sleep cycles. They had finally constituted a plan they deemed good enough of acting on. They would venture beyond the walls of the kingdom, and attempt to find every single person who had been removed from the kingdom. They would return through a secret entrance of some sort, and confront the king. It was the perfect plan. They made a list of the people; 28, who had been removed from the kingdom in those passing weeks. That night, they wrapped up in warm clothes, gathered supplies in bags, and hung a rope over the farthest end of the back wall surrounding the kingdom. They climbed down and ventured to the front. To their surprise, there were a decent number of people still sitting at the front of the gate. They checked off their list. 15, but no signs of Jisung or Chan. Felix was anxious, and he could tell that Hyunjin was as well. They only needed to find 13 more people though, hopefully that wouldn’t take way too long. After searching for only 10 minutes, they found 3 more people. Felix was happy. Hyunjin was happy. But they weren’t Jisung or Chan. They continued looking, when they reached a field filled with fresh fruit. Upon entering the field, they could see a person in the distance. Hyunjin’s eyes widened. “Jisung?” He questioned, not yelling, but just loud enough so the figure in the not-so-far distance could hear him. The person turned, and it was, indeed, Jisung. “H-Hyunjin…? Y-you’re-?” Jisung couldn’t even finish his sentence before Hyunjin darted forward, knocking into him so hard they both fell over. They laughed, and hugged, and cried, and kissed, and most of all, they were once again happy. Felix smiled at the thought of him being able to reunite with Chan like that. After Hyunjin and Jisung were done with their cinematic reunion, the huge group set off to continue finding people, Felix and Hyunjin providing them with food and supplies along the way. After a bit more searching, they found 4 more people near a lagoon. 5 to go. They were so close. Felix was apprehensive. If they found this many people, they would be able to find Chan. He convinced himself of it. He wanted to be hopeful, because he had been waiting. Waiting to tell Chan how he feels. How agonizing it's been without him. How much he cares for him. How he wishes they could just run away and bake messy cakes together forever. He wishes to tell Chan a lot of things. After a bit more searching, the group finds an abandoned shack in the woods. They open the door to find 4 people sitting inside. None of which are Chan. But Felix sees something. He sees a jacket that he knows is Chan’s on the windowsill of one of the windows in the abandoned house. He lets his feelings get the best of him. He sprints outside, screaming. “Chan?! Chan are you there?!” There was no response for a few seconds. Until he heard a voice call back. “Felix?!” Felix felt like crying out of sheer relief. He could see someone running toward him. It was him. Chan. Felix found his legs moving before his brain could even catch up to what he was doing. He and Chan met each other in the middle, hugging each other with all the strength in their bodies. They lost each other, but were able to find each other again. Like how you struggle to relearn a song you once knew, but with every line you sing, it becomes just like it once was. You’re able to find the melody and the emotion again. Just like Felix was able to find the melody of feeling whole again. “I thought you were gone forever…” Felix sniffled. “Somehow,” Chan laughed, bittersweet, “I knew you would find me.”
Once everyone was safely rescued from beyond the walls, Felix and Hyunjin led them back to the rope they set up. Once everyone was safely up, they stormed into the palace to confront the king. He was sitting on his throne, aimlessly picking at a loose thread on his cape, when the group walked in. “Father.” Felix addressed him, calmly. “Felix? What are you doing with all the people I- Have you lost your mind young man?!” “No,” Chan cut in harshly, “He hasn’t. Maybe because he feels for others. He carries kindness. And he’s actually a good human being. Thank god he isn’t like you because we truly do need more angels in this world, and Felix is exactly that.” King Park was shocked at this behavior. “Don’t you talk to me like that, demon! You’re the one who started all of this, by poisoning my son with your falsities and your incorrect way of life!” “No father.” Felix interjected. “He is not the one who started all of this. You are. You were keeping this entire kingdom down from the start. Treating anyone who wasn’t exactly like you horribly, and when it was someone you at least kind of cared about, you just fought the idea and pretended that they weren’t different. Well,” He grabbed Chan’s hand, “We ARE different. And you know what? I love being different. If I had grown into a person who was unloving, cold, and could not accept people for who they are, I would be extremely disappointed in myself.” Hyunjin chimed in, “Do you know how isolated you make people feel? How you can corner them into a box with just a single word? Clearly you don’t.” The knight straightened his posture, staring at the king with unfathomable hatred. “You think your words come easy to everyone. Metal can ricochet off of armor, but hearts don’t have armor, and words certainly cannot ricochet off of them.” He tightened his grip on Jisung’s hand, “But, you know, it makes you a better person for removing people who you believe are too different from this kingdom and ripping them away from their loved ones, because of your conflicting beliefs.” It was Jisung’s turn to add on, “You don’t even help your people when they’re struggling. I grew up without parents and without money. I had to sneak into the knight’s barracks at night just to have a bed to sleep in.” Chan added to Jisung’s point, “Felix does everything in your place. He takes care of the people, makes sure differences don’t affect his view on people, and he’s actually a kind and well-respected person.” King Park had nothing to say to these people. He was baffled. But he knew what was going to happen if he didn’t end his reign. He would be overthrown or assassinated. He wouldn’t dare live with his name in the history books like that. So, silently, he picked up his crown off his head, and lay in on his throne. He walked up to his son and stared at him for a good while, before saying, “You’re king now. Do what you want. I am leaving this kingdom.”
So, Felix took charge of the kingdom, not known as Prince Felix any longer, but rather known as King Felix. King Chan also took charge of the kingdom, as Felix’s partner. Hyunjin remained top knight, Felix gave him and Jisung a room in the castle, with everything they could possibly need for life. Felix worked towards a better community and better life for all of his people, acting as the great king everyone always knew he could be. In the end, differences will always be stronger than everyone being the same. They’re what make people special, and what make them shine. Different people are just more unique than others. They aren’t weird, and they definitely aren’t demons or monsters. They’re just people. People who see the world in a different shade. And now; in this kingdom at least, everyone is accepted, no matter what marks them as “different” from everyone else. Whether that be trauma, race, gender, sexuality, disability, or anything of the like. Differences don’t divide us. They shape us, grow us, and make us more powerful so we can be our true, authentic selves. Felix knows this. Chan knows this. Hyunjin knows this. Jisung knows this. And each of them make sure to spread this message every day. It is important that everyone, no matter where, no matter large in powerscale or small in powerscale, rich or poor, strong or weak, brave or coward, loud or silently, or anything clashing with beliefs or with interests knows this. We are more powerful together. And different people ARE PEOPLE TOO. At last, in their peaceful, accepting community, Chan & Felix and Hyunjin & Jisung were able to live happily ever after, accepted, rather than turned away.