Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Much changed between Namjoon and Seokjin. The fire that lay dormant in them was reignited, the flames burning brighter with every passing day. So bright that it became difficult for even them to ignore.
"Hyungie, do you like Namjoon hyung?", Jungkook asked him one day. If he had been asked the same question before, he would have denied immediately. But now, he stopped to ponder upon it, which scared him. He shouldn't be feeling this way, not towards his best friend. But it was becoming difficult to contain his feelings, he didn't acknowledge them, but he couldn't ignore them as well. They were growing stronger day by day. Seokjin was afraid that one day he might act on his feelings and everything would be ruined.
But he couldn't help it. Every time Namjoon came a bit too close to him, his heart thudded and his breath hitched. Every time he placed a kiss on his forehead, his cheeks heated up, warmth spread in his chest. Every time time Namjoon whispered in his ear, it sent a shiver down his spine, goosebumps rose on his skin and he found himself leaning into his touch.
And every single time he smiled, Seokjin wondered how it would feel like if he kissed Namjoon, he wished to know how his lips tasted, and that if they would perfectly fit with his own. His hugs made him feel safe, like nothing could ever harm him as long as he was enveloped in Namjoon's arms, melting in them and seeking comfort. The world suddenly seemed beautiful by his side, felt an adrenaline rush whenever he was with Namjoon. Always excited to meet him.
Namjoon was a good man. He was smart, kind and protective over Seokjin. He treated him with respect, something that he had seldom received from noble alphas or betas. He respected his personal space and understood him so well, which he loved as well as hated about him.
He hated the fact that Namjoon could read him so easily, the wall that he had built around himself seemed to crumble in his presence. Of course, he had his flaws, but those made him even more attractive. No wonder the bachelor omegas and betas always flocked around him, trying to get his attention.
He remembered getting jealous of an omega who after many trials had finally seemed to have gained Namjoon's attention. She was the daughter of a friend of Namjoon's father. It seemed as though she was looking for a good man to be her mate and unfortunately for him, had set her eyes on Namjoon.
He had overheard her talking to her friends about how she could easily woo Namjoon and that he was going to be her future mate. He was worried that what he overheard would come true one day, even though he knew that Namjoon wasn't interested in her. "Stop it Seokjin", he had scolded himself. "It is unto Namjoon to choose his mate that's it".
"What is wrong with me?", he signed, as her words kept popping up in his thoughts.
Currently, he was walking towards the alley which led him to Namjoon.
"Excuse me! You dropped your handkerchief", someone called out to him. Quickly, he turned around and after obtaining his handkerchief he made his way to apologize to the stranger. At that moment his eyes fell on the bracelet that the stranger was wearing. It was made of red thread which dragons carved in gold on the beads. He eyes widened in recognition.
It was the royal symbol. It was worn by the successor of the throne only. Panicking he bowed to the crown prince," Your Highness, please forgive me for my ignorance". "It's okay. You can rise now", the prince replied. Seokjin stood up, keeping his face bowed, hoping that the prince wouldn't want to see his face.
Unlike the King, the crown prince was mysterious, cold and rude. A dark aura always surrounded him. He was also known as a playboy, going to the extent of sending his spies to look for omegas who were ready to submit to him.
There were rumors of him being the reason behind the disappearance of many nobles, mainly of those who did not co-operate with him and did not obey his orders. Unlike his father, he did not show mercy to those who were truly innocent. He punished those who he thought were guilty, which was a problem as his judgements were heavily based on what the head of Cho clan told him.
The people suspected that the king had knowledge about this. But at the end of the day, he was still his son, whom he loved more than his life. Even though the prince did not care about him, he still loved him, hoping for the day his bright boy would return to his father.
Seokjin could feel the prince studying him, making him fist his hanbok tight to control his uneasiness. "May... may I have the permission to leave your highness?", he asked stuttering. The prince hummed which Seokjin took as sign and he scurried into the alley, feeling the prince's eyes on him, even as he walked past him.
He breathed out a sign of relief as he entered the alley. On reaching Jimin's house, he found Namjoon waiting for him there, "Where were you Seokjin-ah?", he asked worriedly. "Nothing I just ran into someone", Seokjin said with a soft smile, embracing him. Namjoon held him close, stroking his long, soft hair as he rested his head on Namjoon's shoulder, inhaling his calming scent already forgetting about the incident that happened a few minutes ago.
Jimin smiled as he watched the duo. " Just kiss already ", he mumbled with a sign. "What?", Seokjin turned to him and asked. "Nothing. Nothing at all", he grinned, trying to cover up his little slip. "You guys go ahead, I'll make sure no disturbs you". "Okay! Let me know if you see someone looking for me". "Okay!", Jimin concurred.
Jimin could not hide his smile as he watched at them go. " Why are you smiling? ", a deep voice whispered from behind. It wasn't necessary for him to turn around and look at the person to find out who was speaking, the voice was more than enough for Jimin to recognize him immediately.
"I was looking at Namjoon hyung and Seokjin hyung", he said turning towards Taehyung who had rested his face on his shoulder and was gazing up at him. " Hope they confess soon. I wonder how can these two be so oblivious to each other's feelings", Taehyung chuckled, Jimin giggling in response.
"They look good together".
"Yes, they do".
XXX
Seokjin and Namjoon made their way into the greenery. Even when they reached their usual spot, Namjoon did not stop. "Where are you going?", Seokjin inquired. Namjoon just winked at him. Extending his hand out to him, Namjoon said, "I want to show you something. Do I have the permission. I promise we won't go far into the forest and we'll be back by sundown". Seokjin narrowed his eyes, searching Namjoon's eyes for a hint but all he saw was amusement and excitement.
"Okay....", Seokjin agreed taking Namjoon's hands. "But where are we going?". " Oh you'll see".
They climbed a gentle slope, through the trees to come across a stream flowing in the middle of their path. There were a few rocks that could serve at their bridge. " I'll go first. Follow me okay?". "Hmm".
The rocks had moss growing on them which made them extremely slippery. Seokjin held tight onto Namjoon's hands who guided his steps. Suddenly, he slipped on a rock and lost his balance. He shut his eyes tight, waiting to to hit the water as he fell. But just then, a strong arm encircled his waist, and he found his arms going around Namjoon's neck to hold himself steady.
The moment he opened his eyes, air was knocked out of his lungs. Namjoon's face was so close to his, their noses touching and lips barely inches apart. Namjoon's warm breath fanned his face as he spoke, "Are you okay?". "Ye-ah", he replied shakily.
Seokjin knew he was hanging by a thread, if they stayed like this for long, he would snap. And if that happened, he would end up kissing Namjoon, which could not happen. It would ruin their friendship.
So, he slowly found his footing and stood, removing his arms from around Namjoon's neck. He awkwardly coughed, face flaming, heart thumping and eyes everywhere but at Namjoon. He was obviously failing miserably at his attempt to hide how affected he was. Namjoon dark eyes which were looking at him intently did not help at all.
"Let's get going yeah?", Namjoon asked, a smirk playing on his lips as he tilted his head towards the forest. Seokjin did not have the guts to look at him so he nodded timidly and followed him. After a few minutes Namjoon stopped and turned towards him, "I want you to close your eyes".
"Huh?"
"Close your eyes. It's a surprise", Namjoon said, he eyes already lighting up with excitement. Seokjin did as he was told and Namjoon, holding him by the shoulders, began to guide him slowly towards a small opening in the dense woods.
"There! Now you can open your eyes", Namjoon whispered in his ears. Slowly opening them he looked around to be left stupefied due to the beauty of his surroundings. The evening sunlight seeped through the dense canopies gleaming on the blooming flowers. The leaves of the trees danced along to the tune of the wind, creating their signature relaxing, rustling sound.
Namjoon felt a sense of pride, having found a place about which only he, and now Seokjin knew about. He happened to come across it while exploring the woods a few years ago. Somehow even at that moment, all he could think about was how much Seokjin would love this place, since he loved spending time in nature. That day, he made up his mind that Seokjin would be the first one to whom he would show this place.
He gazed at Seokjin who was busy inspecting the blooming flowers, probably trying to remember their names. Namjoon couldn't get over how ethereal he was. Elegance and grace seemed to come naturally to him. He couldn't understand that how it was possible for someone to be this beautiful.
The alpha longed to smell his scent, having caught a whiff, two or three times when the concealer was wearing off, mark him as his own so that no one would dare to touch him. He had to keep himself in check around Seokjin to make sure he did not cross his boundary and offend him. But he couldn't stop his mind which ran wild at night.
His recent poems had been about love, which came as a surprise since he rarely wrote about that emotion. He claimed to not understand it which to be honest, he still did not. But what he felt around Seokjin made him question, "What is love?"
Seokjin then turned towards him, his smile making his face crease and eyes twinkle.
"Like it?". "I love it Joon-ah". Namjoon walked up to him, pulling him into a hug, which he reciprocated immediately, burying himself in his comforting scent.
All this time after Seokjin's return Namjoon had kept his distance from him, only embracing him and giving him a kiss on the forehead once in a while. Even when he had begun developing feelings for Seokjin, he had kept himself in check to make sure he did not cross the line even slightly.
But now seeing Seokjin being bright and giggly he found his control waning. Gently, he lifted Seokjin's chin with his finger so that he was looking at him and pressed soft kiss on his cheek, noticing how his cheeks colored immediately, as he smile and looked away shyly. "Maybe he feels it too. Maybe I'm not the only one".
The rest of their day passed like dream.
XXX
While returning home, Namjoon resolved to speak to Hoseok and Taehyung about this. Being close friends since childhood, they understood him well, and since both of them had experienced what it was like to have feelings for someone, they would be able to help him sort out the mess that he had gotten himself into.
There no doubt that he liked Seokjin, not just as a friend, but someone more than that. But he could not figure out if Seokjin felt the same way, he gave so many mixed signals that Namjoon got confused.
A moment he would be clingy and the next moment he would keep a two meter distance between them.
One time when they were running around the woods, Seokjin had tripped and Namjoon being right behind, lost his balance and fell on top of him. He had thankfully managed to prevent Seokjin from being crushed by using his hands as support. But that had them to the position where Seokjin was lying on his back and Namjoon on top of him, on his knees and palms resting on either side of his face.
His heart had immediately picked up pace, realizing how close his face was to Seokjin's. His eyes had travelled downwards towards to rest Seokjin's lips. They looked so beautiful, soft, plush and the prettiest shade of pink he had ever seen. He thoughts were running wild with different scenarios whizzing around in his mind.
Seokjin had his hands on his shoulders, as he gazed up at him. Namjoon had noticed him staring at his lips too. If anything, he would have kissed him as well. But suddenly as though a switch had been flipped inside him, Seokjin had pushed him slightly, asking him to move. The rest of the day had been awkward for both of them.
"What is he trying to say?", Namjoon wondered.
XXX
"Your Highness", the personal servant acknowledged the prince at his entered his chamber. He seemed to be deep in thought. "Listen to me. I want you to do something for me", he said, turning towards his personal servant. "Anything for you, your highness".
"I want you find out more about the beautiful omega that we met today. I want to know his name, where he lives and everything else about him. Where he likes to go, at what time he visits his favorite places, his hobbies and he likes and dislikes.
Find out everything you can about him and report it to me as soon as you can", he commanded. "Sure you highness, I will begin my research on him", the servant replied, bowing as the prince nodded in approval, preparing to serve him his afternoon tea.
What they did not know what that one of the prince's Hwarang was standing by the door and had overheard the entire conversation between them.
And that Hwarang happened to be someone named Kim Taehyung.
Thank you for reading lovely people!
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