Song Recommendation: Exile (Taylor Swift ft. Bon Iver)
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The coronation is a spectacle.
Golden banners drape over the towering marble pillars of the grand hall, their silk edges rippling beneath the high-arched ceilings. Candles flicker in their ornate holders, casting long shadows over the gathered nobles, their faces alight with forced reverence. The scent of myrrh and burning sage thickens the air, suffocating, heavy.
Sunghoon kneels before the throne, his head bowed as the High Priest steps forward, holding the crown aloft.
This is the moment he was born for.
The words echo in his mind, a script written long before he ever had the chance to dream of something else.
Something more.
His fingers curl into fists against the silk of his ceremonial robes. He can still feel Jake's absence, like a phantom limb, like an ache buried deep in his chest. It should have dulled by now. It should have faded. But it hasn't.
And as the crown is placed upon his head, its weight pressing down on him like a shackle, Sunghoon realizes-
It never will.
A deafening cheer erupts through the hall, the sound of hundreds of voices merging into one. The nobles rise to their feet, their applause ringing through the chamber, but Sunghoon barely hears them. His pulse is a dull roar in his ears, drowning everything else out.
His gaze flickers to the far end of the hall, to the grand doors that remain closed, locked.
Jake isn't here.
Jake was never going to be here.
And yet, some foolish, desperate part of him had still hoped.
The crown has never felt heavier.
With this, Sunghoon opened his eyes. Looking around nd finally realising that it was a dream, at least for now.
---
Elsewhere in the City...
Jake sits in the dim light of a quiet inn, his fingers wrapped around a cup of untouched tea. The warmth barely reaches his skin. Outside, the streets are alive with celebration. Lanterns glow like stars, laughter spills from taverns, and distant fireworks light up the sky in fleeting bursts of gold.
The entire kingdom rejoices.
And yet, all Jake can do is listen to the sound of his own breathing.
Jungwon watches him from across the table, silent. He hasn't spoken in a while, but Jake knows he wants to. He can feel it-the words pressing against his friend's tongue, held back only by restraint.
When Jungwon finally speaks, his voice is quiet, careful. "You can still go back."
Jake's jaw tightens. "No, I can't."
"You can." Jungwon leans forward, brows furrowing. "He would take you back in a heartbeat."
Jake exhales sharply, shaking his head. "That's the problem, Jungwon. He would." His voice is raw, edged with something dangerously close to grief. "And it would destroy him."
Jungwon is quiet for a long moment. Then-softly- "You love him."
Jake closes his eyes.
He doesn't answer. He doesn't need to.
Love has never been the problem.
It's everything else.
---
Back at the Palace...
The celebration drags on for hours, but Sunghoon is numb to it. He wears the mask of a soon-to-be king-stoic, poised, unreadable-but inside, he is unraveling.
The court speaks to him in hushed tones, their words polished with false loyalty. They bow before him, their voices laced with empty praise.
And through it all, Sunghoon can only think of him.
When the last of the nobles have left, when the grand hall is finally empty, Sunghoon stands before the throne-the very place where his father once ruled, where countless kings before him sat, bound by duty, stripped of love.
His fingers trace the cold gold of his crown.
This was never meant for love.
He breathes in.
And for the first time since Jake left-
He lets himself break.
---
Outside the Palace Gates...
Jake stands in the shadows.
The lanterns cast their golden glow against the palace walls, illuminating the banners of the soon-to-be crowned king. The cheers have died down, but the weight of the moment lingers in the air, thick with finality.
He shouldn't have come here.
He doesn't know why he did.
His fingers curl into the fabric of his cloak, nails pressing against his palm as if the pain will ground him.
He doesn't step forward.
He doesn't knock.
He just stands there, staring up at the palace that no longer belongs to him.
And then-
He turns and disappears into the night.
---
Sunghoon dreams of him.
And in those dreams, Jake never leaves.
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Reviews???
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Thank you
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18-03-25
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1:00 am
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Your Highness
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Parksimcafe2002
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Your Highness | Jakehoon
Historical FictionA Prince and A noble, aren't meant to be. #1 in Hoonjake #1 in parksim #15 in Sungjake
