"I can't breathe Taekook," Jimin gasped, calling the pair by their joint name that the entire palace had adopted.
They were inseperable, Taehyung refusing to leave Jungkook's side except to sleep. Even then, many knew of the Prince's nightly trips to Jungkook's room, just to hold him for that much longer. If it was anyone else, Jimin would have said it was unhealthy. However, for what they had been through to get to this point, he believed they deserved, no, needed this time together.
The two had him wrapped in their tight embrace, practically squeezing the air from his lungs.
"Sorry Jiminnie," Taehyung blushed, the two rapidly letting go of the young lord who clasped one of each of their hands. "We're just going to miss you so much."
"I haven't even gotten to properly thank you for all of your help," Jungkook pleaded, his much weaker grasp strong enough to make Jimin's hand ache slightly.
He was healing quickly, no doubt due to Taehyung's 24/7 care of his wounds, both mental and physical.
"You can both thank me by writing me letters at least every other week, updating me on life here, okay? I don't want to miss anything," he smiled, finally letting go of the young pair and putting his hands in his pockets, standing back to look at them.
"I'm sure you'll be just fine without me."
"All the same, make sure you write us back. Who knows, you might even return with a noble as your husband, maybe even, a prince," Jungkook's adorable laugh rang, a welcome sound from his recently quiet mouth.
Jimin's cheeks tried to chameleon with the rose behind him, slapping Taehyung's arm.
"Ow, I didn't say that!!" Taehyung protested, letting go of his firm clench on Jungkook's left arm to rub his now irritated arm.
"Yes, but I can't slap an injured man, can I? You're his surrogate for now," Jimin chuckled, turning to say goodbye to the kings, Jungkook's singing giggle joined by a boxy smile from Taehyung, the two men in their own world once again.
The gravel of the courtyard crunched beneath Jimin's light feet as he made his way over to the two Kings, Yoongi, and Hoseok, who were exchanging similar sentiments.
"Hobi, I want updates from you as well, weekly if possible," Namjoon said sternly, as if giving an order.
"I want to know Taemin's every move, no matter how insignificant it might be. Everything he does is for a reason. I wish I could see the way his mind works, just for a moment...." Namjoon trailed off, looking toward the cloudy sky that mirrored the thoughts in his mind.
"Joon, you're losing focus again," Jin groaned, nudging Namjoon's side with his elbow lightly, the younger shaking his head and lowering his eyes to meet the confused general's.
"I'm sorry, I thought my job was to make sure Jimin is safe," Hoseok pondered, his eyebrow quirking up into a familiar position, the look Namjoon got every time he gave a questionable order.
"No, that's what it FORMALLY is, Hobi. Yoongi can handle Jimin by himself. Your real job is to keep tabs on the Anti royal family and their intentions. I don't trust that this selection ceremony is an ordinary one," Namjoon nearly trailed off yet again, Seokjin's elbow still sure of his awareness.
"Oh thank GOD. That's wayyyyy more interesting than following pabo over here around," the perky general breathed, his blinding smile gracing his structured face.
"You know, I bet they're not too bad to look at judging from the king and his son," he winked as he waltzed to his horse, gracefully mounting the saddle as they prepared to leave.
Jin shook his head while he turned to embrace Yoongi, his longtime friend and confident.
"And you, don't cause too much trouble," Jin chided, untangling himself from the Lord to allow Namjoon to say goodbye.
"Jinnieeeee, when do I ever cause trouble??" the short man smirked, his face barely peeking over Namjoon's shoulder.
"Just don't do anything stupid," Namjoon called as Yoongi joined his men and Jimin, Hoseok giving the orders to move out.
The sound of hooves meeting stone echoed through the courtyard, the Kims waving goodbye as their three best friends disappeared, their backs fading away with distance.
..................
"Ughhh Hobi, surely we're almost there," a tired Jimin groaned, the five days on horseback wearing into his behind.
"You sound like a toddler, Jimin," the agitated general huffed, still riding briskly as he stretched his neck to see further over the crest of the hill.
"Jimin, be mature for once. We should be coming upon the main city soon. I'm glad that Taemin went a few days ahead of us so we didn't have to travel with that asshole," Yoongi grumbled, passing the two as he was desperate to reach a bed that wasn't made out of straw, ground, or horse.
"If we don't see anything soon, I'm afraid I might go mad."
"Shut up grandpa. You're just cranky because you haven't had a good nap," Hoseok teased, his relentless laughter following what he believed to be a quite a good diss to his best friend.
"Hobi, that diss was about as weak as your arms," Yoongi mumbled, smirking back at his favorite general.
Jimin's glorious chuckle decorated the air, lightening the mood as well as the tone of their conversation, until they caught sight of something through the fog, the glint of something above the low clouds reflecting over several villages.
"Holy shit. Taemin really does compensate, doesn't he," Yoongi breathed, his mouth wide open as he realized what was reflecting the hidden sun that high in the air.
The Anti palace towered over the entire capital, Taemin's dominance exerting itself not only by his presence but by the size of the towers and terraces adorning a wall-surrounded fortress of a castle, much larger than any of the men had anticipated.
"Yoongi not everything has to be about genitalia. Be mature for once," Jimin scoffed, proud of his retort, still in awe of the gargantuan size of the palace that they were to live in for nearly 6 months.
After about 2 more hours of riding, the small band of men approached the palace gate, slowly being followed by increasing numbers of villagers, curious about the brightly dressed foreigners that dared approach the palace of the feared King.
Whispers surrounded them, sounding like "Kim" or "Park" and even some whispering about Taehyung and Jungkook.
How on earth could they have learned so quickly, Jimin pondered, scanning the crowd of people around them as the large palace gates opened.
He expected the people to flood in with them, wanting to get inside the fortress just to experience palace life.
Yet, they all stopped many feet behind the wall, terrified to step further while the Kim representatives continued to the slowly opening gate, "welcoming" their arrival.
Curious, Jimin thought, analyzing the crowd. Taemin is so feared that they dare not even attempt to enter his abode. Fascinating.
The castle was ornate, detailed wood carvings covering the outside of the palace, gold inlaid with the marble that cost a fortune only a King would have.
As they approached, Jimin noticed a familiar, terrifying figure descending the white steps, his bright red robe flowing behind him, emphasizing the black that clung to the rest of his body.
Jimin groaned, not wanting to see the man he despised so soon after his arrival.
"I hope you don't mind that we had you come through the back entrance," The King's silver tongue welcomed once they were in range.
The BACK?! Well damn, what did the front look like then?!
"Not at all, your highness," Jimin replied with his forced smile, "It appears to be closer to the stables so our mounts can get some much-needed rest."
"Ah, I see you think well, my friend. I have brought my son, Haechan, to show you to your rooms," Taemin's fluid words flowed through everyone's ears, his mere tone so persuasive you had to try not to agree with nearly everything he said.
"Thank you Haechan, I appreciate your efforts," Jimin spoke, dismounting his steed and handing it off to a stable hand as he bowed to the Prince, who looked surprised at Jimin's respect for him.
"I.... Uh, no problem," He blushed before motioning for the men to follow him.
Haechan appeared much different from his brother, still showing some of the same nervous tendencies as Prince Jeno, but he stood taller, as if more confident in himself than the prince that was to be married soon.
The minute Yoongi's boot hit the ground, his spine went cold, his gut speaking to him, sensing the impending danger.
I'm just paranoid. It's nothing. We can't be in danger yet, he fought his body, trying to remain calm for at least the first day.
The Palace swallowed them whole as they entered, the size asserting that Taemin was larger than any other man, a force that could crush before you even knew it was coming.
Perhaps this was the reason Yoongi could not shake the feeling that he was entering the belly of the beast that would eat him alive.
..............................
(A/N): OH MY GOD OKAY I JUST THOUGHT OF A HOSEOK STORY THAT IS GOING TO FOLLOW THIS BOOK I'M SO PUMPED. It is going to take every ounce of effort to restrain myself from trying to write that book before I even finish the one that comes before it lol. I still have to write the Namjin book before then too.
Every time I get a notification about a vote/comment I get ridiculously excited, like, people probably think I'm insane for grinning at my computer/phone whenever it happens. But, It just motivates me to write even more!!! I know not that many people are reading this book, but as long as I write the stories I want to tell, I'll be happy with even only 1 reader.
I'll stop rambling. I love every single one of my readers so much.
Much love,
~ KM ❤️