When The Moon Hangs Low [ATEEZ]

Chapter Four

      The morning came inevitably. The Prince hardly had a good night sleep as the thought of the proposal kept waking and tossing deep inside his brain.

It was barely morning, even, the sun had not come out fully yet, still resting its under half within the horizon.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The footsteps were clear, and Wooyoung knew it by heart already after years of hearing it almost every night and day.

His door opened and an eye peaked through.

"Wooyoung–ie?" The person whispered. "I know you aren't sleeping."

"My brother's breathing patterns are uneven, stand and let us in." Another voice joined, and Wooyoung had no other choice than to invite his brothers unwillingly.

They were all still in their nightgowns, the second Prince with his hat to match.

The two resided in Wooyoung's comfort, locking the youngest in between. "You ought to tell us everything, who that stranger is, and what happened between you two." Teased Yeosang, the eldest.

Wooyoung slid under his covers, tucking away and into Mingi's side. The question was expected, perhaps he would have been more surprised if his brothers didn't ask anything about it.

"Do you love him?" Mingi asked.

Wooyoung snorted, "I beg your pardon? Love? I've only just met him."

"I know, but—oh, I don't know. Perhaps I've read too many books about stories of knights and..princes."

"You dwell too much on fantasies, Mingi. They're nothing but stories told to make it easier for people to choose their mates."

Yeosang slapped Wooyoung's covered arm. "Do not worry, Mingi, your mere stories will become reality someday. Like our father and papa." The eldest comforted the boy.

"But none of our fathers was a knight. Father Joong was a Prince but father Hwa was—"

"I do not only read about knights!" Mingi argued, cheeks reddening with fluster and anger at his brother. "There are many ways to fall in love as there are many kinds of people who fall in love. I only wish to meet mine, like how father hoped to meet father."

"Like how papa hoped to meet father." Yeosang corrected. "You two did always like to confuse things."

Wooyoung rolled his eyes, sighing against his bedsheets. It was true, even their parents firmly stated to call them separately as to not confuse everyone including themselves, the eldest obeyed, but the two were bonded with mischief, and mischief almost always comes with the idea of confusing others.

It was when sunlight came through the thick curtains that the three had realized how high up the sun must be to penetrate through it, and how many hours they had spent laying around. It was Mingi who stood first.

"I must go back, Yunho must be waiting for me." He fixed his wrinkled clothes, Yeosang following.

"Yunho?" Wooyoung asked.

"The new servant," answered Yeosang. "Mingi's old trustee resigned, left with her spouse already, and so Papa assigned Yunho to him."

Wooyoung nodded, and then he was alone once again. The sound of the door closing echoed much louder than when it was closed before. The silence made his thoughts boom inside his head.

The proposal, he thinks, it is today.

The Prince whined and cried without tears, still not prepared for his fathers' sure anger once they find out.