Not for you. | Changjin

7

Things Hyunjin hadn't expected to do on his first day at the palace; conquer his fear of horses. He would have been perfectly fine 'admiring' them from a far away distance, but now he was standing right next to one. Not only that, but a prince he was literally set up with was standing right beside him, waiting for him to move.

"How about you touch her nose first? She won't bite, I promise. She has never done so and I've had her for seven years." Hyunjin reluctantly glared as Changbin, before turning his attention to the horse. He slowly extended out his hand but as soon as Naia moved her head towards him, he retracted his hand faster than the speed of sound.

Minho who had been watching everything go down sighed to himself as he watched how hopeless Changbin seemed in regards to helping Hyunjin. He went to a wheelbarrow filled with carrots, grabbing two before walking back to his friends.

"Here, hold this out for her to eat." He said blandly as he shoved the carrots into Hyunjin's hands. Minho shared a glance with Changbin, who seemed relieved that the older boy had thought of a better idea than him.
Hyunjin slowly moved his hand holding a carrot towards Naia, who happily started biting away at the vegetable. Hyunjin stood frozen like a statue, just letting it happen as she finished the first carrot. After feeding her the second one, she seemed satisfied after not finding more.

"Now that you've given her food, she must like you." Minho stated, stepping away as he made way for Naia to be led out of her compartment.

"Do you want to get on first, or should I pull you up?"

"Uhm, you get on first." Hyunjin said as he could imagine a scenario where Naia would run off with only him on her back. It was not a pleasant thought to have, so he wished to avoid it at all costs.
Just as the prince was effortlessly climbing onto his horse, Jisung appeared on one of his own.

"You guys still aren't ready?"

"We are. Right, Hyunjin?" Changbin said as he held his hand out for the younger to take. It was ironically a sight that would be described in every fairy tale. A prince on his white horse. Hyunjin grabbed the boy's hand as he put his foot in the stirrup as he pushed himself upwards. He clumsily swung his other leg over the horse before sitting down behind Changbin. Instantly he realised he had nowhere to put his hands, feelings of helplessness setting in.

'Once we start going faster I won't be able to hold on. I'm going to fall off and die. Why did I get on this goddamned—'

"Are you going to hold onto me or are you intending to fall off?" Changbin said, breaking his train of thought as Naia began to slowly walk towards the exit of the stables.

"W-What?"

"You should hold onto my waist, unless you want to free fall off a horse?"

"No! Okay..." Hyunjin said, feeling awkward at the thought of wrapping his arms around the prince's waist. They had known each other for two hours, of course it would feel weird. However he had to realise that if they were to get married, this would become his life.
Slowly but surely, he wrapped his arms around Changbin's waist, holding onto the expensive clothing rather harshly as Hyunjin remembered he was still sitting on a horse.

"We'll be back later. Feel free to attend to other matters." Changbin said to Chan and Minho who both nodded before they walked off together.

"Lets go." Changbin followed behind Jisung this time as they reached a smaller gate near the stables. It was probably created with the sole purpose of an extra escape route for the royal family, but it seemed that today it would be used for a different occasion.
Hyunjin watched Jisung communicate with the guard who was on duty, watching just how different the younger boy acted when he was around other people. The way he demanded attention with the serious expression in his face was a strange sight to see when it was to be compared to his true personality.