"So you're a ballerina?" The queen ushered Chaein to the couch in the guest room. Yes the queen had summoned her as soon as she knew of her being discharged from the hospital. And well Chaein had no other option but to comply since it was 'the royalty'.
"Yes queen." She sounded a little nervous.
"Oh you don't have to feel so restless. I mean this must be awkward but you see, when I got to know that you had rejected the crown prince's proposal to follow your dreams, I was so impressed by your courage..."
"...Also your dedication is commendable that despite all the hardships you have never given up on your dream. And I was wondering if you'd like me to become a patron of your art."
Chaein gasped and went, "Thank you but-"
The queen did not let her complete as she continued,
"The royal family is always looking out to help students like you who can be nurtured in a good focusing environment. And the crown prince is a married man, not only that but he'll be the king one day and lead the country. You understand what I mean, right?"
Of course she would, Chaein had been manipulated and manipulative enough to get the gist behind those words. The queen wanted her to step back and retract all her longing for something that clearly wasn't hers.
And who was she to deny, she had been quite hateful and hurt already.
"I understand your highness, you can rest assured that I will not cause the royal family any more nuisance."
The queen smiled generously, admiring Chaein for taking accountability and continued,
"If I could ask one more favour from you, would you mind giving a little interview to a few journalists here?"
Oh, so she had to clear the royalty's name out of everything, that is what was meant by the 'interview', right? Well it couldn't be anything else.
So she did as the queen expected of her, describing that none of the recent events in her life have been directly affected by the crown prince. The queen was happy that she got the statement to save royalty's reputation and Chaein was happy that she could escape the palace finally.
Although her happiness was put to halt as she bumped into Hyunsuk in the hallway.
"Chaein? You're here? Are you alright- I mean when did you-"
"I was invited by the queen."
"Oh I see." Hyunsuk was surprised as he had not known about any of this, well when does he ever know about anything.
Chaein tried to walk away but he stopped her,
"Wait- can you chat for a second?"
She complied with a sigh, of course she couldn't refuse him here.
.
"I don't know what to say now that we're sitting like this...I mean I should probably ask you how you are and-"
"I am going to keep Jihoon in my heart." Chaein interrupted and Hyunsuk turned all his attention to her expression, it only reflected anguish.
"If he ever wants to come back to my life, I'll let him. And I think we've hurt each other too much to become friends, but I know you're a good person."
"It wasn't easy for me either..." Hyunsuk spoke up, mirroring the expression on her face, of dismay.
"I know, that's why don't let him go. Hold on to Jihoon please."
Hyunsuk posed a confused face and Chaein smiled slightly as she grabbed her purse and stood up,
"Thanks, I'll get going now."
He was left speechless, he saw her leaving the room and couldn't comprehend what he felt in that moment. Should he be happy? Had she put an end to their misery, to her own misery?
He'd hope it was that way.
. . .
The controversy seemed to have watered down with that article which contained a summary of Chaein's interview. Things had returned back to normal and the mood in the palace seemed much better, at least to Hyunsuk it did. And his excitement returned when he got to know that Yoshi had successfully gained permission from the great queen mother to host his birthday party at his uncle's resort.
"It'll be nice to celebrate Yoshi's birthday with just friends right?"
Jihoon wasn't excited, anyone could guess.
"Yeah whatever."
"Hey why are you being salty, it's just a birthday party. He attended yours too."
"Yeah and you did flee with him after lunch." He frowned.
Oh so Jihoon remembered that but not what had happened that led to it?
"You wouldn't want me to remind you how big of an asshole you had been that day by letting your friends make fun of me."
Oops, Jihoon was caught in his own words and before Hyunsuk could put some further allegations on him, he escaped from there.
Two days later and it was Yoshi's birthday. Early morning and a few cars stood outside the palace. One of them had Asahi and Haruto sitting in already while Jihoon was on the wheel.
"You sure you're gonna drive, like it's never too late to ask for a driver and afterall you didn't practically drive once after learni-"
Hyunsuk put his hand on Jihoon's mouth through the open window to shut him up.
With a gritted smile he said,
"Oh I can drive, no I WILL drive. You guys don't have a problem tagging along with me right?"
He looked back at his friends who undoubtedly looked very hesitant or more like scared but still nodded, to save his pride.
"See you're the problem, now fucking get going."
Asahi was quite shocked to see how Jihoon was not only completely fine with sassy Hyunsuk but even passed a grin when he never otherwise would tolerate this behaviour with any of them.
'Something's cooking', he thought.
But he wished for something of his own to be cooking with that handsome alpha friend of Hyunsuk. He'd make it happen.
Some five minutes later, when Jihoon's car had already taken off, Hyunsuk was finally able to start the engine. And soon as he put the foot on the race, the car stopped with a jerk, extracting a yelp from Junkyu.
Yoshi came running out of nowhere.
"Are you fine?" He asked, looking worried.
"Uh, yeah. But why haven't you left?" Hyunsuk asked him nonchalantly, trying not to expose the nervousness he was feeling after that jolt.
"I'll go after you, just in case. Nevermind, you should drive now."
Yoshi was being considerate like usual. And so Hyunsuk took off from there, smoothly enough this time. But one could say that even a 60 year old grandma could pass them at the speed they were going.
"Hurry up man! I swear I'll get sixty by the time we reach the resort and Haruto wouldn't look at me then."
Junkyu received an eyeroll from Hyunsuk and Jaehyuk collectively.
"He wouldn't look at you either way, man's a fucking player, get over him. Also I'd rather get old then die in the middle of the road so dude drive as you like."
Hyunsuk whined out a "Jaehyuk!" And then sped up a little as he felt his pride at stake now.
After a long, long ride; compared to Jihoon and friends who had reached an hour ago, they finally stopped at the resort.
Yoshi's car was moving right behind Hyunsuk's and the realisation only made Jihoon frown.
"What took you so long?" Jihoon asked Hyunsuk in an annoyed tone.
But before he could impress with a comeback, Junkyu spoke up, stepping out of the car and stumbling over at Haruto's side,
"I...I want to puke.."
Haruto panicked as Junkyu leaned his body over him and Hyunsuk and Jaehyuk couldn't care less knowing how big of a drama queen he was. And well the trick worked since Haruto rushed him inside to find a washroom, while he winked back at his friends.
Whilst all of this happened, Hyunsuk had noticed Chaein standing beside Jeongwoo who seemed to have driven them up. He felt no unease this time unlike he did previously, maybe because something had changed between all three of them.
They all moved their stuff to their rooms. Haruto-Asahi and Junkyu-Jaehyuk were going to share a room each while Yoshi, Jeongwoo and Chaein had separate ones. For Hyunsuk and Jihoon, Asahi had very conveniently announced out loud, "Of course the married couple takes the same room and the same bed", making them all visibly embarrassed.
Yoshi had looked slightly uncomfortable then but it couldn't be helped.
"You didn't look as happy back there about sharing a room with me." Jihoon nudged Hyunsuk as the latter was unpacking his suitcase.
"Eh? I didn't say anything. It's just that...it feels a little weird, like I thought I'd be sharing the room with my friends."
"Oh it's never too late to change rooms." Jihoon scoffed and Hyunsuk knew he was annoyed.
"Stop acting like some whiny husband, you know I didn't mean it that way."
"Yeah of course and since you didn't then why don't we just get changed together?" Jihoon leaned in.
"What?" Hyunsuk was painted pink in a matter of seconds.
"Oh are you getting flustered darling?" Jihoon teased him.
And while they were having this conversation, something flew out of Hyunsuk's hand bag. It could have him a week's worth of teasing from Jihoon if it got spotted. It was a condom that he was very sure Junkyu had slipped into his bag when they were in the car. Now all he could do was find a way to distract the guy.
So he plunged onto Jihoon, pinning him on the bed. The latter was beyond surprised. And before he could utter anything, Hyunsuk was already unbuttoning his own shirt, knees caging Jihoon from either side of the abdomen.
"You wanted to change together right, your wish is my command."
Woah woah, Jihoon couldn't process when did the easily flustered Hyunsuk become this assertive, wild version. He was gagged by the boldness, you could say. But only when the last button remained undone was that Hyunsuk threw a pillow on his face and leaped off the bed, swiftly grabbing the condom off the floor.
And Jihoon didn't even get the chance to question Hyunsuk about whatever the fuck that had just happened because the latter had already fled inside the bathroom. He'd guess that Hyunsuk was just messing with him.
After a while they headed towards the barbecue station outside where everyone had gathered already.
"You guys took quite some time huh." Asahi slightly nudged Jihoon.
"Of course they would, you don't expect a couple to arrive first when they could be using their time for something else."
Junkyu pitched in and received a fatal glare and some fake laughter from Hyunsuk.
Although it was fun and games for everyone, two people found themselves miserable whenever such remarks were made, one could easily predict who they were.
"Um, we should eat, it's all ready."
Yoshi handed a portion of meat to Hyunsuk which the latter accepted with happy cheeks.
Everyone enjoyed the sizzled meat along with some fresh beverages over small chats.
Hyunsuk also took the chance to pull Junkyu aside and lectured him for his bizarre mischief.
"So you didn't use it?" Junkyu sounded disappointed.
"Of course not pabo!"
"Eh..I should have kept it with me, I might need that you know.." The way he smirked made Hyunsuk curious so he asked, "What do you mean?"
"I made out with Haruto."
"What?" Hyunsuk yelped a little too loud, attracting the attention but then pretended to have a fake cough.
"What? are you serious?"
"Yeah, we made out when he took me to the bathroom. I told him I just wanted to be alone with him and he was like 'bring it on', so yeah we kinda did something."
Damn, Hyunsuk's prudent ass couldn't imagine pulling such a savage stunt. Though he was glad that Junkyu had finally made some progress with the guy he was so madly after.
From there they all dispersed around to do activities of shared interest. Jihoon, Jeongwoo and Chaein went to the back gardens to take pictures while Haruto and Junkyu had probably decided to sneak somewhere and make out. Asahi and Jaehyuk were the only ones interested in getting a spa and so the ones left behind, Yoshi and Hyunsuk, were making portraits in the sunlight.
.
"I just shouldn't have come here." Jaehyuk sighed as he sat in the spa room with his robe on, beside Asahi who was constantly making song recommendations, asking for lighting and fragrance adjustments and what not.
"Why? You feel you're stuck here with me?" Asahi yelled, although he had initially planned on being more composed, Jaehyuk's indifference was frustrating him.
"Yes very much so. You are one self entitled, privileged, spoiled pain in the ass."
Sensing the heated environment, the worker decided to slip outside.
When Jaehyuk didn't hear the usual biting comeback, he got a bit anxious and turned to look at Asahi. He was crying, rather was almost going to cry and Jaehyuk had never seen or imagined him making such a face, so he panicked.
"Uh...hey what happened...why are you crying?"
"I'm not." And a tear rolled down Asahi's cheek. Jaehyuk couldn't help but snort, though he very quickly apologised.
"Look I'm sorry but what's wrong?"
What's wrong? Mate you just called the guy so many things(not one good) and expected him to not react.
"Fuck you. No! Fuck me for thinking that you- no just leave it."
Asahi tried to walk out but as he did, Jaehyuk latched onto his wrist causing him to fall on his lap.
"Tell me."
Oh the sweet voice reminded Asahi why he had first fallen head over heels for this hot guy. He could have anyone he wants, but somehow he still found himself sneaking glances at him in the school hallway.
He was red as a tomato, could be the steam spa that he took or could be something else.
"Hey are you going to tell-"
"I like you Idiot." Giving it no other thought he slotted his lips over Jaehyuk's, pulling him closer by the robe.
After a very unanticipated kiss, they sat awkwardly for some seconds.
"I um...didn't know that you liked me, I mean I thought we hated each other." Jaehyuk confessed, breaking the ice.
"I never hated you, you were the one who did."
"I had all the reasons though, you were always being mean to my friend, I had never seen you speak politely to anyone in school at all. I didn't like your attitude."
"I get it. I'm a straight face bitch, I can only be sarcastic and never caring. That's what I've heard since childhood, I guess they were right that I'm the worst."
That expression on Asahi's face, of sadness and humiliation had made Jaehyuk understand that he made some mistake assessing the guy. Maybe he wasn't bad but just scarred and that baggage of insecurities had turned him into someone people would refer as a troll or bully.
"That's one way of looking at it, the important question isn't what you are or were, but what you want to be. It's never too late to redeem yourself. I must also apologize that I wasn't compassionate in my way of correcting you."
That's a husband right there and Asahi couldn't wait to propose but he knew things took time and Jaehyuk wouldn't just start feeling the same as him after one kiss.
"So would you help me become better, would you teach me how to express myself more empathetically Jaehyuk-a?" Asahi slightly cupped Jaehyuk's cheek and looked straight into his eyes.
Oh how funny Jaehyuk looked as he tried to hide the blushing pink on his face while averting his gaze to somewhere else.
"Cute." Asahi muttered.
. . .
Back to outside where Hyunsuk and Yoshi were finally done with their portraits of each other. Hyunsuk proudly showed his efforts of one hour to Yoshi,
"How's it?"
"It's amazing, just like you are."
"Ay stop being so generous with the compliments huh, I know yours must look much better and you are just teasing me."
"No seriously, it looks just like me, you've done a great job."
"Then show me yours." Hyunsuk tried to take a peak at Yoshi's canvas but the latter totally blocked him and hid the portrait behind his back.
"I can't because it isn't finished, I'll show you once I'm done.."
"..I promise."
Well that seemed to have convinced Hyunsuk and now that everyone was back from their personal escapades, they were all retreating to their rooms to take some rest.
"You are back?" Hyunsuk asked Jihoon who was returning with a camera hung around his neck.
"Yes and you've been here for too long, let's take some rest." Jihoon grabbed Hyunsuk's hand firmly and walked off towards their room while the latter waved back at Yoshi, mouthing, 'You should also rest Yosh.'
But how could he, when he was feeling so miserable with every thought, every image painted in his mind. He dared not to show Hyunsuk the portrait he had made, because while Hyunsuk's portrait paid attention to detail and artistry, his own reflected nothing but love, longing and greed, a perfect example of how pathetic he had been.
.
While Jihoon was in the shower, Hyunsuk decided to set up his camera on the bed side table with the video recorder turned on. He was planning on recording a tape of Jihoon snoring, the habit he had only come to know after their trip to the summer palace. And then he'd prank him by playing the footage to his friends.
After placing the set up, he went to sleep himself.
Jihoon came out of the shower, a towel tucked around his waist and the first thing he saw was Hyunsuk sleeping soundly, cuddling into the sheets.
His instinct was to just smooch all over that cute face. And he really couldn't help it this time as he carefully sat on the edge of the bed and gently placed a kiss on Hyunsuk's forehead.
[Perfect time to insert this fanart😋]
After a few hours when Hyunsuk woke up, he went straight to check if the footage of his prank had been filmed successfully.
The first few minutes were a bore with just a long shot of him sleeping, but as it proceeded, he swam through a waterfall of emotions. Jihoon walking into the frame with just a towel on his lower body and kissing him on the forehead was peak flustered he had been. And from the looks it seemed like Jihoon was completely oblivious of the camera.
He quickly turned the camera off and plopped on the bed, rolling and giggling in the sheets until his ear lobes were turning crimson by just imagining what could have been going on in Jihoon's mind. He screamed internally, not knowing how to tame this unfamiliar cozy feeling building up in his body.
With sunset, they all gathered for the birthday dinner, clad in suits and masks since the theme was masquerade.
Hyunsuk entered the hall, carrying a cake singing 'Happy birthday' and Yoshi couldn't have been any happier. He blew off the candles, made a wish and they did a toast.
"Cheers to you all for coming here to celebrate my birthday. Honestly I just wanted to spend some time with friends before graduating because I didn't have many friends back in Japan. And I'm very grateful for all of this."
Those words made Hyunsuk a little emotional as he let out a sniffing sound and said,
"You've got us now. Right guys?"
And everyone cheered Yoshi up. They moved on to dinner next and after almost an hour of chatting with Junkyu, Hyunsuk noticed that Jihoon wasn't in the dining hall. Amongst all the others who were busy talking and eating he couldn't find him at all. Naturally he got worried and excused himself from Junkyu.
He looked around a major portion of the property but couldn't find the guy until he landed in the back gardens and found two shadows lurking in the dim light. He involuntarily hid in a corner upon realising that it was in fact Jihoon and his company was Chaein.
"About her wanting to become my patron, I'm sure it's an excuse for making me leave Korea..."
"You don't have to worry, the royal family can't dictate your decisions." Jihoon replied steadily.
"But I'm seriously considering her offer. I mean it would mean financial support and a lot of opportunities too. And well that reminds me, did we not make plans of moving abroad together where I'd pursue being a ballerina and you'd study making movies?" She laughed a little too carelessly.
"You even wanted to move to new york, right Jihoon? It'd be nice if we could move together, now that I think I'll be lonely-"
"I really wanted to move abroad, like Minji noona, to live away from this facade, this life..." Jihoon spoke up in a beat.
"That's great then you should really follow your dreams to Paris, it's an excellent place for learning filmography." Chaein's eyes were glimmering with an uncertain hope.
"I do think moving to Paris is a nice option..."
Well, that's all Hyunsuk needed to hear, to understand how much he meant to Jihoon and from these words it seemed that his husband was really keen on planning a future without a trace of him.
He ran away, toughening up this time and didn't shed tears, although it hurt like hell because he had assumed that this situation got some closure but it seemed like not.
"...but I won't go alone. I have something just as important as my dream now. If I were to go, I'd go together with him. But leaving the palace isn't an option right now. I'm not sure if my mother's intentions were the best but if it plays out well for you then good luck following your dreams."
Hyunsuk missed out the best part, the one that mattered.
He ran into Yoshi and it was too late.
"What happened?" Yoshi looked worried.
"Nothing, it just feels like I heard something I shouldn't have...Jihoon seems serious about planning a different future and it has no place for me."
Yoshi could see those watery eyes begging for the tears to be freed and the plight hidden behind Hyunsuk's little fake smile he put on to reassure him.
"I warned you that he isn't worthy of your trust. That he'd still choose his past love over you and you deserve much better.."
"...But forget him for a while, your friends are looking for you back there, they are serving desserts. Sweets can make you forget a lot of things, am I not right?"
This time Hyunsuk smiled without any effort.
Though the dessert felt assumingly cold to him, no literally because his mood seemed to have gotten real gloomy.
His gaze toggled from the bar where Asahi was immersively talking to Jaehyuk who seemed unusually attentive, to the corner where Haruto was caressing Junkyu with such lust and yearning that it made him suffocated. Why was he miserable, why was Jihoon sitting at a far off corner sipping on whiskey when he should have been the one sitting by his side instead of Yoshi.
A sudden burn from the flame of a candle that he unknowingly was fidgeting his finger over, brought a scream out of him.
"Ouch."
The friends got concerned but Yoshi didn't let any one have much time to react as he was already walking out,
"I'll get an ointment."
"I'll come with you." Hyunsuk held Yoshi's hand and followed him out.
This caught Jihoon off guard, so much that the glass in his hand could have almost shattered.
.
"I'm sorry, I've been causing you so many problems. It was your birthday yet I-"
"You don't need to apologise for anything, all that matters is you are fine. Remember when I said it hurts to see you in pain, it really does. So I like it when you smile. But you can always complain to me, at least I feel like I'm someone close to you.."
"No Yoshi... I'm really sorry that I-"
"If you're really sorry then accept my gift."
"Gift? But shouldn't I be the one giving you a gift?"
"You are actually." And Yoshi leaned in to steal a peck at Hyunsuk's cheek.
"Yoshi.." Hyunsuk looked so stupified in that moment, every muscle in his body stopped.
"I'm not saying this as a friend but as a man that thank you for being in my life."
Weren't the events unfolding themselves dramatically enough that Jihoon had to show up as well.
Hyunsuk gasped at the sight of him, but only moments later all that anxiety washed away, the scenes from the garden flashed in his memory and made him feel less guilty.
Jihoon didn't say anything until he got closer and was standing right infront of them,
"Get up."
"No." Hyunsuk gave a straight answer and turned his face away.
"I said get up." Jihoon was silently growling.
"No-"
But Jihoon had already grabbed, rather pulled on Hyunsuk's hand.
"He said no." Yoshi tried to stop him.
"You are no one to interfere." Jihoon almost threatened Yoshi, his eyes blazen with rage and dragged Hyunsuk away with him.
Yoshi stood broken, again. Just him, his feelings and his tears.
Meanwhile Jihoon dragged Hyunsuk into a hallway, pinning him against the wall,
"First you hug him and now you let him kiss you? You just wanted to be alone with him, isn't it?"
Jihoon's allegations made Hyunsuk disgusted,
"Quit that nonsense. You should think about planning your future abroad."
"What?....that-" Jihoon looked surprised by that being mentioned.
"I guess it's really better that way cause I'll get to be back with my family and start a fresh life with someone I love." Hyunsuk sneered in Jihoon's face.
To which he replied in a similar humourless chuckle,
"Does this plan involve that jerk Yoshi?"
"What? You stupid asshole-" Hyunsuk struggled to get rid of Jihoon's grip on his wrists which was starting to hurt.
But Jihoon had no intention of letting go. Rather he clutched on Hyunsuk's jaw aggressively, clashing their lips together. His tongue violently searched for a way inside the mouth while his hand ran up and down inside Hyunsuk's shirt, piercing the flesh. He was devouring him, mind fogged with no sane thoughts but only possessiveness. His teeth sunk into Hyunsuk's collarbone as he nuzzled a hickey over the pale skin. All while the smaller guy was continuously retaliating.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Hyunsuk pushed Jihoon slightly away from his body, his hair disheveled, lips swollen.
"Reminding you who your husband is."
And there went a slap right across Jihoon's face,
"You fucking jerk."
Hyunsuk panted for air and ran, looking like a crying, ridiculed mess.
.
.
.
Lmao this chapter has been summarised in the above memes (I tried sumn new🧍🏻♀️)
Jaesahi and Harukyu shippers can thank me later🤡
It's exam season guys so I'm not sure if I'll be able to be consistent in updating though I'll try to finish up asap😃😭 sorry for the cliffhanger but that's how we roll now😔💅