The next morning things were tense within the palace. The storm had yet to lift Seonghwa's mood still sour. He was currently in the throne room pacing back and forth in anger. The argument between him and Mingi still fresh in his mind. Hongjoong, San, and Jongho watched their prince as he continued to pace. It had been a while since they'd seen their prince this upset. "Can you believe him? Did I do something wrong to deserve this? How could the universe give me him as mate when all he does is disrespect me? Like I found him in a brothel a fucking brothel with his dick in some whore's mouth, and can you believe he called this place a prison? This palace a prison he's really lost his mind" Seonghwa ranted as he paced.
"He's right" San's words caused Seonghwa to stop in his tracks. Jongho and Hongjoong turned to San, the expression on his face was serious. "What was that San?" Seonghwa walked closer to the dragon. "Mingi is right, this place is a prison" he watched as Seonghwa glared. "Care to explain?" He raised an eyebrow. Jongho placed a hand on San's shoulder, "San don't" his voice was calm. The guard wanted to avoid another argument, if the storm outside picked up like it did last night the dragon realm might truly be washed away. San shook Jongho's hand off his shoulder, "forgive me your highness but if I was in Mingi's position I would have ran away too. You basically banned him from going to the human realm to see his friends every time he asked for your permission to leave you'd decline it, you told him not to seek you you and you actively avoid him, he has no friends here. Jongho and I try our best to spend time with him but we are also very busy. The other servants basically only see him when necessary and even then they never speak to him more than what they need to. You know who he talks to the most here? The fucking koi fish, he considers them his friends. You aren't the only one who is affected by the mating bond, your highness, in fact Mingi is giving up more for you. He's moved away from the life he knows, and is living in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. So, yes this palace is a prison to him".
San finished his rant, his eyes were blazing with anger. He hated how Seonghwa was treating Mingi. The servant didn't think the human deserved the treatment, he found Mingi to be really kind and a genuinely good person. He hated seeing how hurt Seonghwa's actions have made him. Seonghwa stood there stunned, San had never spoken to him like that before. "I agree with San your highness, your treatment of Mingi is undeserved. You two need to spend some time together and get to know each other. I'm not saying you two need to fall in love but in order for this marriage to work there needs to be some respect. If you keep this up Mingi will run away again and what happens if you can't find him or something worse happens?" Hongjoong spoke this time. He also didn't like how Seonghwa was treating Mingi, he knew his highness wasn't normally like this.
Seonghwa took in a deep breath as he took in their words. He looked back on the past month and how he treated Mingi. They were right, he was unreasonably harsh to the human. Even though he wasn't very happy with their mating bond, there was nothing he could do the change it. Mingi was his mate and husband now and he deserved to be treated as such, after all he did give up his life in the human realm to live in the dragon realm with Seonghwa and his people. "You're right…I have been harsh on Mingi and he doesn't deserve it. I should get to know him, after all we're bound together for all eternity. Plus, how can I take the throne and rule over my subjects if I can't even respect my husband" Seonghwa finally calmed, the storm lifting outside proof of that.
San smiled his dimples on display,"There's the prince I agreed to follow". Seonghwa rolled his eyes at the water dragon, "I never thought I'd be scolded by you, you've been hanging around Hongjoong too much, he's rubbing off on you" "what can I say, when you spend so much time with someone you start picking up their mannerisms, you should be lucky Hongjoong didn't pick up my mischievous nature" San said smirking. "Yes, but both of you need to stop being so loud when y'all have sex, especially since your room is next to mine San" Jongho crossed his arms over his chest. Hongjoong sighed, "I tried to get him to just come to my room and night but San knows you get embarrassed when you hear us and he finds it funny".
Before the conversation could go further Seonghwa steered back on track, "San please tell Mingi to meet me at the gazebo in the eternal garden at noon, inform the royal chef that I will be having lunch with him and to make enough for us". San nodded, "Yes your highness", he bowed and quickly gave Hongjoong a kiss on the cheek before making his way out of the room. Jongho bowed and left the room as well, the male had to do some training. Seonghwa sat on the throne, his posture straight as Hongjoong stood by him. The prince had a few duties to attend to before lunch. Hopefully, he and Mingi could clear things up and start anew.
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Mingi walked to the eternal garden slowly. He was in no rush to see Seonghwa, their argument from last night still painful in his mind. Although he was a bit surprised when San said Seonghwa wanted to have lunch with him. The human honestly expected the dragon prince to grow even more distant. As he walked through the garden, his fingers lightly grazed over the soft petals of the flowers. It truly was a beautiful place, the entire palace was but it was hard to enjoy everything when he felt so confined. The gazebo was in the center of the garden, butterflies flew past Mingi's face as he walked closer to it. The storm had lifted earlier today and the sun was shining bright in the sky, so by noon everything was dry.
Mingi could see Seonghwa the closer he got to the gazebo, the dragon prince was taking a sip of tea as he watched a butterfly land on the corner of the table he was sitting in front of. It irritated Mingi that despite being an asshole Seonghwa was still so handsome, it was not fair. Once he got to the steps Mingi took of his placing them next to the prince's before climbing up them going unto the gazebo. Seonghwa's skin tingled a bit more intensity as Mingi sat down in front of him. "San, said you wanted to have lunch with me?" Mingi spoke, his voice deep and soft.
Seonghwa could smell his sweet vanilla and jasmine scent, he hated how immediately it made him relax. Hopefully the scent would keep him calm and reasonable throughout the whole lunch. "Yes I did, I wanted to get to know you and apologize for how I've been treating you" Seonghwa's eyes met Mingi's. The human quickly looked away, still not able to stare Seonghwa in the eyes for too long. "I should apologize too" he muttered. Even though what Seonghwa did hurt him deeply, Mingi realized that what he did probably hurt Seonghwa too. He truly didn't want their marriage to be strained, he wanted to make it work whether that was as friends or as lovers Mingi didn't know yet.
"I'll go first, I have more to apologize for" Seonghwa sat up straighter. "I am sorry for how I've been treating you this past month. I shouldn't have been so harsh and distant. I realized that you're also affected by the mating bond like if not more than me. You agreed to complete the bond even though you didn't have too, and you came to the dragon realm, a place that is foreign just for me. I should've been treating you with kindness and respect. I'm sorry for giving you such controlling rules and making this place feel like a prison. I never wanted, I want you see this place as home and feel safe here. I need to start living up to my wedding vows because those were the promises I made to you. I am truly sorry Mingi" Seonghwa's eyes were soft and showed his sincerity.
Mingi was honestly taken aback by the apology he didn't think Seonghwa would actually mean it, but he could see in his eyes that he truly meant every word he said. "I accept your apology, I know this set up is probably not what you expected, I'm sure you're whole life you had it in your mind the type of person you were going to mated with and I know it wasn't someone like me" Mingi smiled softly, "I'm sorry for disrespecting your rule and sneaking out of the realm. I was just really lonely here and I missed Wooyoung. I am sorry for going to the brothel and doing all those things. I am your husband and I need to respect our relationship, I shouldn't have gone behind your back like that. It probably hurt you seeing me in that position and I also must keep my vows to you as well".
"I forgive you Mingi, San made it quite clear that I pushed you to do all those things" Seonghwa's voice was soft, "but I will admit seeing you in that brothel with those women all over you did hurt a bit" the dragon's heart ached slightly when he remembered seeing Mingi with those women being intimate with him. Even though Seonghwa didn't necessarily have romantic feelings for the human, he hated the thought of others being intimate with him. "I'm really sorry about that, I promise you it won't happen again " Mingi gently played with the fabric of his pants. "I believe you, we just need to start fresh. Therefore, you are free to visit the human realm whenever you wish, just let me know you're going and take a gaurd with you" Seonghwa watched as Mingi was about to protest.
"I know you're more than capable of protecting yourself being a former captain of King Yunho's royal guard, but there are many people out there that don't want me to become king and now that you're my mate you'll become a target. It'll ease my worries if you bring someone along to protect you when I'm not around. You can ask him to just stay in the shadows" "okay, I can do that" Mingi agreed. Seonghwa smiled at that, "also if you wish to spend time with me just seek me out, honestly it'll give me a good excuse to sneak away from all my princely duties". Mingi laughed at that the sound was something that Seonghwa quite enjoyed. "Sounds good, it gives me an excuse to skip those boring lessons" he chuckled. "The only rule that won't change is the rule about going outside the palace walls. I was serious about there being things out there that will happily eat humans. For your safety you must never go beyond the walls" Seonghwa was serious. "I understand, I promise I won't go beyond the palace walls" that was the only rule Mingi didn't disagree with when he first heard jt.
The tension between was slowly melting away. "Let's enjoy lunch shall we,I think the chef was excited to hear that we're finally spending time together that he kind went overboard, but if you have any questions ask me and I'll answer as best as I can" Seonghwa began removing the covers to the plates. The large table was filled corner to corner with all kinds of foods. Some Mingi had never tried before. "I have a question, how come whenever I'm around you I feel this warm tingle over my skin" he picked up his chopsticks scanning the table for what he wanted to try first. Seonghwa picked his up as well, "ah, that's apart of the mating bond, at our wedding when we exchanged blood the affect of that is we can now sense each other's presence. So ,I know you're in a close proximity to me the closer you are the stronger sensation and the further you are the weaker it is, which is how I knew you left the realm" Seonghwa picked up a piece of boiled pork plopping it into my mouth.
"That's actually kinda cool, but it's going to make it hard for me if I want to play pranks on you" Mingi softly pouted picking up a small green onion jeon taking a bite from it. Seonghwa chuckled softly, "even without it, it's hard to prank me, I can also smell your scent" he picked up jeon too plopping the whole thing in his mouth. "I have another question, how old are you?" This question had been in the back of Mingi's mind since before he even met Seonghwa. Seonghwa laughed the sound loud and light as he poured some tea into his cup, doing the same for Mingi. Mingi blushed embarrassed, "is it offensive to ask you your age?" The last thing he wanted to do was upset Seonghwa after they agreed to start over. "No its not offensive, it's just not what I expected you to ask, your books don't tell you?" He raised an eyebrow.
Mingi shook his head, "no, I can make a guess based on what the books say but there's no accurate number" he was relieved that he didn't offend the dragon prince. Seonghwa leaned his elbow on the table resting his chin in his hands, "what's your guess then?" "Well since you were around when Yunho's dad was king, and when his grandfather was king I think you're three hundred and twenty eight years old" Mingi's blush only deepened when Seonghwa laughed again. "Is that too high?" He sheepishly asked. Seonghwa just chuckled, "it's too low, I'm two thousand three hundred and twenty five" the shocked expression on Mingi's face was quite amusing.
"You're over two thousand years old! You don't look like it at all" Mingi couldn't believe the person in front of him was that old, he knew dragons lived a long time but he never fathomed it would be that long. "I'm glad I don't look my age, it wouldn't be as fun living so long then" Seonghwa took a sip of his tea. "How old are you Mingi?" "I'm twenty three" Mingi said softly, "it must be weird being married to someone so young" he took a bite of the boiled pork. Seonghwa shook his head, "no its not, even in the dragon realm I'm considered quite old, there's only a few people in the palace that are older than me" he reassured Mingi. "Any other questions " Seonghwa asked as he picked up his spoon scooping up some broth of the seafood soup, he took a sip of it enjoying the delicious taste.
"What was your childhood like? Is it true you were born from a black egg?" Mingi had read all the books that depicted Seonghwa's birth, it fascinated him plus he was curious about what was true and what was fabricated to make the dragon prince seem extraordinary. "Yes, dragons come from red, silver, blue, or green. No dragon had ever come from a black egg, I'm the first" "everyone probably thought you were a blessing right?" Mingi placed his hands on his lap as he eagerly listened to Seonghwa. He looked like a child that was excited to be told a story. "It was quite the opposite actually, everyone thought I was a bad omen, that my birth meant the end of peace in the kingdom, that's changed now obviously but some people still believe it" Seonghwa thought about one person in particular, someone he believed was a friend but actually ended up betraying him. He pushed the memory to the back of his mind, not wanting his mood to sour.
"I'm sure your parents didn't think you were bad luck, in the books it said that they doted on you" Mingi couldn't imagine being born and everyone thinking you're a curse. Seonghwa smiled softly as he thought about his parents, "Yes, I was my mom's pride and joy and my dad doted on me, since I didn't have any siblings they showered me with love, they thought I was a blessing that my birth would bring prosperity and happiness to the realm" "you must've had a really good childhood, when you I guess hatched were you a dragon or in human form?" this really piqued Mingi's curiosity. He had tried imagining what it would be like to hatch from an egg. "I hatched as a dragon, we can't turn into our human form until we turn one hundred, so for good while I was just a full dragon" Seonghwa answered before placing some more food in his mouth.
"Wait! You lived as dragon until you turned one hundred, that's so cool" Mingi tired to picture Seonghwa roaming around the kingdom as a dragon, it must've been an interesting sight. "Where are your parents now? I haven't seen them around" Mingi took a sip of his tea. He had been wondering that since the wedding, he thought his parents would've been present but they weren't. "They're gone, it's customary for the king and queen to leave the palace after the next in line to the throne turns a thousand. It's so we can experience running the kingdom on our own", Mingi's expression fell at that, "you must've been lonely, living over a thousand years alone" "I wasn't, I had Hongjoong who always watched over me and nag me, I had San who caused mischief, and Jongho whose presence is always calming. Even when my parents left I was never lonely. Plus, we communicate through letters from time to time" Seonghwa sighed softly as memories flooded his mind from over the years. He was truly thankful for his friends; without them he would've felt alone.
Mingi was happy to hear that, he couldn't imagine being a place as big as the dragon palace and not having anyone to keep you company. "What about you? What are your parents like?" Seonghwa had both elbows on the table now, his head resting in his hands, his undivided attention on Mingi. "I don't know, I'm an orphan" Mingi looked down at his lap, "from what I was told my parents were very very poor, and after my mom had me her and my dad fell ill. Since they couldn't afford medicine they just got worse. Since my mom knew her and my dad were going to die, she left me in front of an orphanage. I was only a few months old then" he smiled sadly. "I'm sorry about your parents" Seonghwa could see the slight sadness in Mingi's eyes.
Mingi looked up at him, "you don't need to apologize, since I never knew them I never knew what I was missing out on, and it wasn't all bad. I met Wooyoung at the orphanage and now that I'm thinking back on it, I feel bad for those women that worked there, Wooyoung and I got into a lot of trouble there" Mingi smiled fondly at the memories. Seonghwa smiled softly too, "I am not surprised you were a mischievous child" "hey, for the record Wooyoung was the mastermind and I was just an accomplice" Mingi chuckled. "How did you come to live inside the palace? Seonghwa asked. "Well when Wooyoung and I were six, Yunho's mother the queen was visiting the village, she did that every once in a while to get a better understanding of what the people needed. She saw Wooyoung and I digging through the trash for food. I suppose she felt sorry for us and brought Wooyoung and I into the palace. There the palace staff took us and raised" Mingi was truly grateful for the queen and everyone in the palace.
"The queen was always a kind woman, her beliefs definitely translated to her son. You and Yunho seem close as well" Seonghwa knew that the king had feelings for Mingi, it was obvious based on his reaction when it was relieved Mingi was his mate, and when Seonghwa spotted them together at the lake. He saw how Yunho looked at the human. "Yeah, I think Yunho was lonely in the palace, he didn't have siblings and his parents were busy with their duties so he always looked for Wooyoung and I to play with. Now he's one of my best friends" Mingi smiled, he would need to see Yunho soon. He was sure the male was upset when he visited Wooyoung and not him.
While they were talking Yeji walked up to the gazebo, "forgive me for interrupting your highness but it's time for Mingi's lesson" her expression remained indifferent which was just the personality of ice dragons. "It's time for that already " Mingi pouted, "can't i skip it today the teacher is just going to make me read about the politics of the third dragon king which is so boring" his pout grew more. Seonghwa just chuckled, "you need to learn these things Mingi, how about this you go to your lessons today and tomorrow you can skip them and I'll show you around the village?" Seonghwa offered.
Mingi perked up at that, "really?" He had yet to see the rest of the dragon realm outside the palace, he was eager to see how the people lived outside the palace and if it was similar to how humans lived. Seonghwa nodded, "you have my word". Mingi stood up quickly bowing to Soenghwa, "thank you for the meal, your highness I enjoyed spending lunch with you" "I enjoyed it as well Mingi, enjoy your lessons" Seonghwa watched as Mingi followed Yeji away from the gazebo. Maybe having Mingi as a mate truly isn't a bad thing. Seonghwa was looking forward to spending more time with him tomorrow.