Spring Snowflakes

❄️ chapter 4: destiny

That night, after they finished their dinner, Sooho walked back to his mansion with Kangmoo.

They were walking side by side to the Crown Prince mansion, located on the south east side of the royal palace. Sooho moved there since he was high school, and since then he lived in the mansion alone, along with his staff and maids. They stayed at different building though, but they lived closely so they could stand by as close as they could to the Crown Prince.

The two men walking through the palace garden in silence, before one of them innitiated a small talk.

"So... how was the dinner?"

"As usual." He answered shortly while loosing up his tie. "Royal duties discussion. And some political stuff. More paperworks to do, and Father needs my help to review and give him some of my thoughts or ideas. I guess I'm going to sleep late again tonight. And newsflash— I think that marriage scenario is getting real, real soon."

Sooho nodded curtly while walking his way to the mansion whenever royal guards or maids passed by him and bowed. Kangmoo did the same, but once or twice, he would greet some staff who he knew.

When Kangmoo felt the silence was back between both of them, he opened up again, "So, you're going to follow the King's and Queen's order now? You know... that marriage arrangement with— only God knows who?"

The younger man shook his head in disbelief, he couldn't even believe himself that he would do this. "We will know soon. The King ordered his men to find the family who own the ring. The late King, my grandfather, had lost contact with his best friend even when he was quiet young. But I guess they had a strong bond, until the kingdom still hold on to the promise up until now." He sighed. "It just happens that... I'm the one who will be fulfilling the late King's promise."

This time, Kangmoo stayed silent for a while. He was thinking of the right thing to say to his best friend, the Crown Prince, to comfort him. If they were a normal person... damn, Kangmoo would help Sooho to fight his own family so Sooho could have his own freedom. But he couldn't. He was the crown prince, and Kangmoo was his right hand man. They had to follow the rules and decisions made by the royal family.

When they arrived, Kangmoo let Sooho walked up the stairs to enter the mansion's front door. Kangmoo was watching Sooho's back and somehow, the man felt heavy on his chest. He was always more mature than his age. Sometimes, Kangmoo really wished Sooho could feel how freedom truly feels like, how it would feel to be men on his age.

As Sooho opened up the door, Kangmoo called him.

"Crown Prince," He said. "I really appreciate your willingness to follow the royal duties. But if you ever need help, or if you need someone... I will— Hyung will be there. Got it?"

The younger one came in a halt, and turned his head towards his friend who was watching him from his back. Sooho, the cold man, broke out a small smile as he saw the cheeky side of his friend. He waved his hand, "It's okay, Hyung."

"Call me if you need help with the paperworks. I took some politics and government courses before. Even some additional courses on Korean history and culture. I'm certified, so you can count on me—"

"Yes, Hyung. Got it."

"Get enough sleep as well! You will need to finish your short film project preparation tomorrow!"

Sooho was closing the door when he shouted, "Yeeeees. Good night!"

That night, Sooho stayed up late until early morning with his warm coffee and piled documents. In front of him, two newest launched Macbook Pro were working their fan at its best to keep the laptop's engine cool. Once in a while, Sooho would close his eyes to take some rest, but whenever he closed his eyes, his memories with Chungya that day kept on coming back.