seashells ° k.th + j.jk

chapter four; part one 🍧

"hide in my wardrobe or something. wherever you can fit! hurry!" the younger squeaked, trying to shove taehyung somewhere. jeongguk flees the room, leaving a wide-eyed taehyung rushing to find a spot to hide. sure, the closet is big enough for him to fit in, but that's such a typical place, he thinks. he settles under the bed instead.

-

jeongguk walks out of his room into the hallway, heading down the dim corridor into the business hall, where his parents are discussing decorations for the upcoming ball. he opens the door slightly and knocks on it.his parents look up from their papers, to see their son with a red face and unsure smile.

"what brings you here, pumpkin?" his mother asks putting her quill down.

"well, um, you see," jeongguk manages with a shaky voice, " i have a friend, who, um, wants to.. uh, v-visit. he has no where else to stay."

his parents' eyes widen in surprise, but don't say a word. it stays silent for a few minutes, until his dad speaks up.

"and..how did you meet this friend?" he asks the suspicious boy in front of him.

jeongguk thanks himself for already planning his answer.

"i met him when mother and i were in the village." he shyly smiles.

"are you sure he means no harm?" his mother asks worriedly.

"yes mother," he rolls his eyes, "he means no harm. i promise."

his parents both look at each other, and they come to agreement, shaking their heads hesitantly.

"well, okay. he can stay." his father agrees.

jeongguk lights up, rushing over to his parents giving them hugs.

"thank you, thank you!"

his parents hug back, happy that their son is happy.

"he's here now, i'll get going. thank you again." jeongguk states, rushing back to his room.

his parents look at each other in confusion, not recalling their son saying he was already here, but they brush it off and go back to planning the ball.

-

"we're good now. my parents know you're here. they said you can stay as long as you like. how good is that?" jeongguk smiles, informing taehyung of the news.

taehyung is delighted by the news, and thanks jeongguk for his kindness over and over until jeongguk is tired of his kisses and his cheeks are a pretty red.

the two spend the afternoon with jeongguk showing taehyung his room and all his pretty things. he lends taehyung the finest of his clothes to wear, making taehyung look as handsome as ever.

-

the maids start knocking on the doors in the evening, signalling that dinner is being served.

jeongguk and taehyung's festivities are brought to a halt when the maid is shouting. unknown to taehyung and jeongguk, she had been knocking for over 5 minutes now.

"we're on our way, miss!" jeongguk shouts loudly, while untangling himself from taehyung's sleeping frame.

"tae, wake up! dinner is ready." jeongguk shakes the boy rapidly, afraid of being late for dinner. taehyung was dead asleep, as it took the younger a few minutes to get the blonde awake.

the blonde boy awakens at an aggressive shake from the younger.

"hey, what was that for?" he questions, immediately jolting up from the bed.

"wake up, silly! it's time for dinner and we can't be late!" jeongguk explains to the drowsy boy.

"alright, im awake. let's go."

jeongguk lifts taehyung up from the bed, and leads him out to the lengthy hallways. the frames have just been polished, but some are still damaged.

why would one of the wealthiest kingdoms still have damaged paintings up? taehyung thought.

taehyung's eyes roam to all the different portraits of past families, kings, queens, princes and princesses. he decides his favorites are the ones of his pretty prince.

taehyung's eyes no longer see paintings, but instead an elegant dining room. his eyes widen in amazement. the chairs are polished wood with curved legs. they're all cushioned!

the dining table is the same wood. the table is decorated with a large candelabra. to his confusion, they are two cups, plates, too much cutlery to count.

what a weird setup.

"taehyung, this is my seat at the table, but since you're a guest, you can sit wherever you'd like."

taehyung steps out of his trance and nods at the younger. he picks the seat next to the boy. too many maids for taehyung to count begin bringing all types of dishes and wine. many of them are rushing to put stuff down, almost scared.

there's a whole chicken in the middle of the table, adorned with vegetables. there's three main dishes, steak, selections of fish, along with the chicken.

taehyung doesn't know what to pick. he hasn't seen a dinner like this since he was five.

there's more people picking seats, and taehyung is surprised at how many people are in this castle.

"taehyung, my parents are coming. just act natural around them, they're eager to meet you." jeongguk says with an encouraging smile.

taehyung new meeting jeongguk's parents was gonna be scary, but his heart drops when he's suddenly face to face with them at the dinner table.

//
hello! sorry for the long wait for a boring chapter. i split this into two as i felt bad for not updating in a while. this is hardly proofread, sorry
love u