A Month After Jaehwan's Kidnapping:
Tuesday, The Cells, 6 pm, Baekhyun's POV:
- Having just finished a very nice dinner with Hunnie, you were getting ready to institute phase two of your plan for your present.
- That idiot guard being here made Hunnie happy enough already, and your king had been enjoying slowly trying to cut information out of him day by day. But you had thought of another use for Jaehwan, if he would ever give up and break, that is.
- "Hyukkie, are you ready to talk to him now?" you asked, tilting your head a little to the side as you waited for your friend's response.
- Technically, Hyukkie, or Lord Sanghyuk, was Hunnie's real spymaster, and had about three times as many agents as you. He was a lord as well so the two of you were of equal rank, and he was one of the few nobles who wasn't one of Hunnie's relatives. He had also been the person who helped you orchestrate Jaehwan's kidnapping in the first place.
- "I'm always ready, this may take a while though so don't hold your breath for immediate compliance. I want to get inside his head," Hyuk replied lazily, unfolding his long legs and stretching like a cat.
- "I've seen you break harder people than him in minutes!" you exclaimed, frustrated by his nonchalance.
- "True, but that's no fun. There's no skill to it. I want to take my time with this one," he replied, fixing you with that predatory stare which always made you feel a bit uneasy.
- You liked Hyuk a lot, and considered him a close friend, but he was still scary as all hell sometimes. "Fine," you sighed, reaching out a hand to lead him to Jaehwan's cell.
- He ignored your hand and walked right past you, moving with such fluid grace that the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. Hyukkie and Hunnie had clearly been trained to fight by the same person, their styles mirrored each other perfectly.
- You were no slouch when it came to combat, and certainly knew your way around a blade, but they were on a whole other level. You followed Hyuk down the hall and stood behind him as he unlocked the white door of Jaehwan's cell.
- "I brought you a visitor," you called as the door swung open. Jaehwan was lying on the floor, his hands folded behind his head and ankles crossed.
- "Lovely," he replied, not looking away from the ceiling as you followed Hyuk inside. "Stand up, I'm taking you to your new room," Hyuk said smoothly, catching you completely off guard.
- That wasn't part of the plan! "No! Hunnie will never allow it," you exclaimed, just as Jaehwan replied, "I'm fine here, thanks."
- Hyuk shot you a glare for half a second, before kneeling down and brushing Jaehwan's bangs off his forehead. You had no clue what he was doing but decided to stay out of it and let the 'master manipulator' do his thing.
- Jaehwan looked as surprised as you felt, but Hyuk's expression softened and he said, "Don't argue," before standing and pulling Jaehwan up by the hair.
- They stood eye to eye, and the guard's shouting was cut short when Hyuk gave him that lazar stare. His hand was still in Jaehwan's hair as he asked quietly, "What did I just say?"
- "I don't give a shit! I'm not going anywhere, aside from home! Who are you anyway, fucking weirdo?!" Jaehwan exclaimed, neatly extricating himself from Hyuk's grip and pressing his back to the wall opposite you.
- "I'm the devil, now stop arguing," Hyuk replied, still using that's soft tone and thoroughly freaking you out. You didn't bother trying to stop him as he picked Jaehwan up and carried him, kicking and screaming, out of the cell.
- He could deal with Hunnie's temper, this wasn't your fault! You followed them up one of your secret staircases, doing your best to ignore Jaehwan's cursing, and then along an upper hallway to an unoccupied guestroom.
- "Just kill me already! I'm bored of being messed with!" Jaehwan shouted, shoving Hyuk with both hands when your friend set him down inside what was apparently Jaehwan's new bedroom.
- "That would be much too easy. Now, make yourself comfortable. Have a shower and put on some clean clothes, you're having dinner with me in an hour," Hyuk replied calmly.
- "Like hell I am! Leave me alone!" Jaehwan exclaimed, but Hyuk ran a hand through the guard's hair again and said, "Be a good boy for me and do what I say."
An Hour Later, Jaehwan's POV:
- You had been in your new room for almost precisely an hour, showered and changed as instructed, and were now perched nervously on the edge of the bed.
- You didn't even know exactly why you had done what your 'visitor' had told you to, other than because he scared the crap out of you. Something about his eyes were completely unnerving. There was not a doubt in your mind that he actually was the devil.
- A sharp knock came at the door, and it opened before you could answer. "Come on, we're going out," the scary stranger said as he walked purposefully into your room.
- "What do you mean, out? And I don't want to go anywhere with you, Satan!" you replied, managing to hide your anxiety and make your voice full of anger like before.
- The stranger chuckled softly, putting his hands in the pockets of his dark, flowy jacket and replied, "Be a good boy for me. Come here."
- You stood up before you could stop yourself but didn't make a move towards him. This must be one of Baekhyun's sadistic plans, and you would do your best not to fall victim to it, but this guy had even seemed to scare Baekhyun a little.
- "We are going to the beach, now don't make me wait," the stranger said, his voice still calm but his eyes growing colder. You hadn't dressed for the beach!
- "Then I need to change, I thought we would be indoors. I'll freeze" you replied hotly, still unsure of why you were complying. The stranger waved his hand at the closet and you quickly ducked inside.
- You kept your black pants on but switched into a white long sleeve shirt, and you hurried back into the room. The stranger had taken a seat on the foot of your bed, and he looked up at you with such intensity that your heart skipped a beat.
- "Good choice, white suits you. Now, let's go," he said, and standing up and walking right back out of the room.
- *3 Hours Later*
- It turned out the scary stranger was named Sanghyuk. He had introduced himself properly a few minutes after the two of you had sat down under a gazebo that was set up on the seashore.
- It was a beautiful place. There were twinkling lights everywhere and the sound of gently lapping waves was nice background music. But, in an effort to stop yourself from falling for... whatever this was, you kept calling him 'Satan'. He didn't seem to mind and answered to the name immediately, maybe you weren't the only one who called him that.
- He was still terrifying, but you were starting to anticipate things that would annoy him. Clearly, he wasn't a person who liked to waste time. Even during a conversation, he would grow very impatient if you took too long to reply. Also, you were almost positive that he and Sehun were related. They moved exactly the same way and had the same physically expressive tendencies.
- You were sitting next to him behind the low table, eating a slice of tangerine and listening to the ocean. Other than carrying you to your room earlier, he hadn't made a move to touch you, which was a bit of a relief.
- "I know your name is Jaehwan, but you never told me what you prefer to be called. Jachil, Kenjumma, Sugar..." Hyuk said, with an expression devoid of any humor. The fact that he knew about your personal life was clear, he had been dropping hints about it all night.
- "Just Jaehwan is fine," you replied, trying to not to think about how he could possibly know Jaebum's private name for you, or the nickname kids at the orphanage had given you.
- "What if I call you Jaehwanie then?" he asked, glancing at you sidelong and taking a sip of water. He had served you wine, but didn't drink any himself, and you hadn't touched yours.
- "You can call me whatever you want, I just want to go home," you replied, sighing and leaning back on the giant cushion. You looked out at the ocean, focusing on the waves repetitive motion to help you stay calm.
- "Soon, but not yet. I want to get to know you better," he said, still using that calm voice that was so unnerving. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw that he had stopped looking at you and was now also staring out at the ocean.
- "Why do you have to get to know me at all?" you asked, trying to see if he would let anything slip about what you assumed was Baekhyun's plan.
- "Because, you're an intriguing person. A commoner who has as much influence on Amoura's royal family as you do is special." That wasn't what you were expecting. The fact that you were a commoner was true, but you had absolutely no influence, what so ever.
- "I'm not influential, I'm just a guard. Someone gave you the wrong information, so you can let me go," you said, not having any real hope that it would work.
- Hyuk looked at you full on, catching you staring at his golden-blonde hair which you hadn't even realized you were doing, and he paused for a few seconds before replying, "You are King Seokjin's head of security, and have been in charge of keeping him alive for 5 years. I'd call that being influential."
- "His other guard does most of the life-saving stuff, I'm just around," you said hastily, and then snapped your mouth shut. What if he decided to go after Jaebum instead?! You had said the most wrong thing possible!
- "I know he does now, but he wasn't always in the picture... for your king, was he?" Hyuk asked, making it very obvious that he knew Jaebum had been in your picture for longer than most people thought.
- You didn't say anything and just took a sip of water instead. He wasn't going to get any more information about Jaebum or anyone else out of you.
- Hyuk laughed softly, and he reached out a hand to run his fingers through your hair. You sat completely still, and managed not to shiver when he said silkily, "You're such a good boy, not telling me any secrets."
Time skip: Two Days Later, Thursday, Your Bedroom, 11 pm, Baekhyun's POV:
- Hunnie had just given you a goodnight kiss, and you were putting your pajamas back on as you thought about everything you needed to get done tomorrow. It had been an extremely chaotic day where the war was concerned, and there was always more to do.
- You collapsed on your giant bed, ignoring the rumpled sheets and running through a list of tasks in your head. Smiling a little to yourself at the thought of the havoc being rained down on Jin's kingdom, you rolled onto your back and shut your eyes, it was definitely time to sleep.
- "Bacon, wake up," a voice said out of the darkness, and you sat bolt upright, pulling a knife out from under your pillow and scanning your room for the voice's owner.
- "Hyukkie, what the fuck?! You scared the hell out of me! Why and how are you in my bedroom?!" you exclaimed, dropping your knife back on your bed and putting a hand over your heart.
- "And what in god's name are you wearing?" you added, glaring at him as you crossed your legs and switched a light on. Hyuk was giving you a bemused look from where he stood by the wall, and he looked ridiculously common in a beanie and giant t-shirt. He had that weird black gel in his hair too.
- "I was under cover-ish, but that's not important. And you aren't the only one who uses the secret passages in this place, remember?" he replied, nodding at the panel you knew concealed a door to one of the passages in question.
- "That still doesn't answer my 'why' question! I haven't seen you in two days and then you materialize in my bedroom in the middle of the night?! If you want to fuck, go find someone else, because I'm already exhausted," you said sharply, giving him a very annoyed look.
- "No, I'm fine. But thanks for offering. I just came to fill you in on my plan for your kidnapping victim," he replied in a completely serious tone. You rolled your eyes but waved a hand for him to explain.
- "Well, the first night went perfectly. He's already started doing what I say, and it's only a matter of time before he tells me everything and we can flip him to our side," he said, sounding very sure of himself and holding eye contact with you as he continued.
- "And just so you aren't too surprised, I act a little dominant around him since he seems to like it." You blinked several times in confusion, and then replied, "You act dominant around everyone, me included!"
- He exhaled impatiently, but said, "Well, I guess more than usual, because I'm making a conscious effort. He's cute, and it's fun, so who cares. But, getting back to my main point,"
- You held up a hand, and he paused. "Are you trying to tell me you plan on sleeping with him?" you asked, and then added, "He used to top Jin all the time, and you are certainly not a bottom, so how is that going to work?"
- "He's a flex, or a switch, or whatever it's called. His guard boyfriend fucks him constantly," he replied hotly, tapping his foot and crossing his arms. "My point was, just don't be surprised when you see how much I've gotten into his head, ok?"
- Privately, you thought he was wildly overestimating his abilities in this case. Jaehwan might be rude and obnoxious, but from what your agents told you, he loved that other guard with his whole heart, and you didn't think he would give that up just because Hyuk was acting all 'daddy' for him.
- Keeping your disbelief to yourself, you nodded and said sharply, "Fine, noted. Now will you let me go to sleep?"
- "Alright grandma, it's only 11!" he huffed, ignoring the rude hand gesture you flashed him and slipping back through the concealed door in the wall.
- Deciding to fit that door with a lock ASAP, you fell back against your pillows and were asleep almost instantly.
Time skip: Three Days Later, Sunday, Hyuk's office, Jaehwan's POV:
- "Satan, I've finished, do you have another one for me or do I just have to sit here and do nothing?" you asked, snapping the book shut and setting it down on Hyuk's desk.
- You were sitting across from him in his office while he did his mysterious work, and he had given you a book to keep you occupied, but you were an incredibly fast reader.
- The freedom was a welcome change from your cell, at least he was taking you around the palace with him, so you didn't have sit in a room all day and be bored out of your mind.
- Hyuk looked up from the stack of papers he was signing and replied, "Go pick a new one, read whatever you want."
- You stood up and walked over to his giant bookshelf, running your hand along the leather spines as you scanned the titles. He did have a great collection; all of your favorites were here.
- 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' caught your eye, and you slid it off the shelf, leaning your shoulder against the cool wood as you flipped to the first chapter and began to read.
- "You're such a good boy, following my instructions so well," Hyuk's deep voice said from right behind to you.
- You glanced up from the book and turned your head back a little to look at him. You felt his fingers tangle in your hair, and he added, "That's one of my favorites."
- "It's my all-time favorite," you replied, unable to stop yourself from locking eyes with him. His dark stare was mesmerizing.
- You managed to look away after a few seconds, but just stared at the bookshelf. He was standing so close you could feel the heat radiating off his body, and it was making you think very unwelcome thoughts.
- "I'm glad you like it, keep reading," he said softly, and it sounded like his mouth was closer to your ear than before.
- You forced your attention back to the open book in your hands, seeing the words but not taking in the meaning of a single one. His presence was way too distracting.
- "You look so cute when you're trying to ignore me," he said quietly, getting even closer.
- This was a new change in your dynamic. He always played with your hair which you didn't mind, but other than that, he hadn't ever been touchy or flirty before. You were starting to feel very overwhelmed, and his close proximity wasn't helping you cool off.
- "Yah! Will you knock that off and," you started to exclaim, but snapped your mouth shut as soon as you saw his expression change. You had momentarily forgotten that you were a prisoner and he was technically your jailer now. And he didn't look pleased.
- "What happened to make my good boy behave so badly?" he asked, his voice almost a purr now as he took a half step in front of you.
- You swallowed hard and turned away, but he held your chin in one hand and made you look at him. "You don't want to go back to your cell do you Jaehwanie? Isn't it much better here with me?"
- It was much better here with him, so you nodded but stayed silent. "Well, then you have to learn not to yell at me for no reason, that's not how good boys act."
- "What do I have to do?" you asked already resigning yourself to being locked in your bedroom for the rest of the day or something equally annoying.
- The corners of Hyuk's mouth turned up, forming the tiniest smile, and he turned your face to the side. A moment later, his lips had brushed along your jaw and he whispered, "You need to be punished."
Time skip: A Week and a Half Later, Wednesday, Your Office, Baekhyun's POV:
- You were just finishing up a meeting with an agent you had placed in Taemin's court when there was a sharp knock on your door. You quickly sent the agent out through your secret staircase and called, "What?"
- Hyuk pushed the door open and walked in, sinking gracefully onto the couch next to your desk before you even realized he had brought Jaehwan with him.
- "Why is he here?" you asked, totally nonplused by the guard's presence. He should be in a jail cell or his room, not following Hyuk around. "Because, he is. Now, I want an update on the status of Amoura's royalty. We would like to know," he replied smoothly.
- "You have your own people for that, you don't need me to tell you," you snapped, watching as Hyuk nodded subtlety to his right. To your surprise, Jaehwan walked over and sat beside him without saying a word, and the guard didn't even look annoyed about it.
- Hyuk started to play with his hair, watching Jaehwan for a few seconds before turning his intense gaze in your direction and replying, "Just tell me."
- Maybe this had something to do with his weird manipulation strategy. "Fine, Satan, if you insist. King Namjoon is back from his old capital, his uncle is dead, Jin is his normal annoying self, and their baby is fine."
- "See, nothing to get worked up over. Your friends are doing alright, so you can stay here with me a bit longer," Hyuk said, finally looking away from you and addressing Jaehwan instead.
- "It's not like they care that he's gone. Namjoon think's he deserted and so do the rest of them. Nobody is looking for him, his boyfriend doesn't even care," you added, grinning at Jaehwan over Hyuk's shoulder.
- Jaehwan seemed to have stopped breathing, but a moment later he snapped, "You're lying, they know me better than that!"
- You laughed, and replied happily, "Nope! One hundred percent true! Namjoon forbid anyone to even mention you."
- Jaehwan looked like he was going to shout something back, but Hyuk kissed him on the cheek for some reason, still playing with the guard's hair as he said soothingly, "I'll check for you, don't worry."
- This was all incredibly strange. Hyuk was reassuring the guard, and Jaehwan actually looked relieved! You had no idea what was happening but required an immediate explanation.
- "Hyukkie, can I talk to you privately for a minute?" you asked, pointedly not looking at Jaehwan. Hyuk turned and gave you an absolutely terrifying stare, but replied calmly, "Let's step outside."
- He stood up, and you watched Jaehwan look anxiously at his back as he walked out of your office. "Hurry up," Hyuk snapped, and you quickly followed him into the hallway.
- "Hyukkie, what was that about? And why is he being so... odd?" you asked in a whisper, once the door had shut behind you. "What do you mean? I told you how much I got inside his head. It was a lot easier than I expected. And don't be mean to him, it's messing up my plan."
- "I got that, but how? And why are you still doing it? It seems like you already broke him. Also, have you told Hunnie that you helped me yet? Because he's going to be furious about it at first," you replied in a rush, ignoring his comment about your meanness.
- Hyuk was still glaring at you, but a deep voice asked from the end of the hall, "What am I going to be furious about?" Shit. If Hunnie and Hyuk were about to get in a fight, you needed to get as far away from here as possible!
- "I'm borrowing your present for a little while," Hyuk replied exasperatedly, crossing his arms and giving you an even icier glare than before.
- "Well, I'm breaking your present, technically. Haven't you noticed that he wasn't in his cell?" he added, as Hunnie walked up to you.
- "Why are you playing with my present in the first place? And I thought my sweet Baek needed him," Hunnie asked, giving Hyuk a dangerous look. "Because, Bacon asked me to, and because its immensely entertaining," he replied, all of his infuriating nonchalance returning.
- Hunnie turned to you, and before he could ask, you said quickly, "I want to turn Jaehwan into a spy, but I couldn't break him myself, so I asked Satan to help. Jaehwan dislikes me about as much as I dislike him, so my attempts weren't working."
- Hunnie was looking at you in a very strange way, but after a moment, he asked, "Don't you both already have people watching Jinnie? And does that mean I can't kill him now?"
- "Yes, we do, but he would be better. None of our people have Jin's ear the way that Jaehwanie does," Hyuk replied. That may have been a bad answer, Hunnie didn't like the topic of Jin's close relationship with his guards.
- "Can I go now? He's waiting, and he doesn't seem to like being away from me for too long," Hyuk asked hotly, clearly getting impatient when Hunnie didn't reply to his first remark.
- "Fine. But don't break him so badly that it will be noticeable. Jinnie is hyperaware of people's feelings, and if Jaehwan is acting too strangely when he returns home, he WILL be able to tell," Hunnie replied, sounding annoyed.
- "And you can kill him once he has worked for us for a little while," you added. Hyuk just exhaled sharply and walked back into your office, dismissing both you and Hunnie without a word.
- He really was the only one who could get away with that sort of behavior. Probably because Hunnie knew Hyuk would fight back, and actually fight back well enough to kill him if Hunnie tried to challenge him.
Jaehwan's POV:
- "Hyoggi, what did you say about me? And did I hear king jackass outside?" you asked, quickly pushing yourself up off the couch as Hyuk walked back into Baekhyun's office.
- You didn't like to sit when he was nearby unless he told you to. It just felt weird. But his annoyed look melted away as he walked up to stand eye to eye with you.
- Well, as 'eye to eye' as you could stand. You weren't short, but he was even taller than Ravi. His intense gaze locked on you and he gave you a soft smile.
- "Yes, my king was outside, Baekhyun and I were just explaining that you're mine now, not my kings to play with anymore," Hyuk replied, his voice very soothing like always as he ran his long fingers through your hair.
- You grinned a little, relieved that Sehun wouldn't be messing with you from now on. Your time with him had really been awful, all he ever did was torture you slowly, and the majority of your new scars would never fade. Sehun was the real devil, Hyoggihad saved you.
- "Thank you," you said quietly, looking at the floor and disliking how much you owed him. For some reason, getting angry and shouting the way you normally would was very hard with him, maybe because he could be so terrifying.
- "My pleasure Jaehwanie, now you can spend more time with me instead," he replied, twirling one of his fingers absent mindedly around a lock of your hair.
- The office door opened again, and you saw Hyuk roll his eyes before he stepped around you and gracefully dropped back onto the couch. Sehun and Baekhyun had both come in, and you froze the moment Sehun caught your eye.
- "Jaehwanie," Hyuk said calmly, and you glanced at him over your shoulder at once. He nodded at the couch again, so you sat back down on his right side, barely even noticing when he resumed petting your hair.
- "Such a good boy," he said quietly, and you grinned a little at the praise before returning your attention to Sehun.
- The king was giving you a disgusted look, but then he glared at Hyuk and snapped, "Jesus! did you make a clone of him? Because he's acting like one of your pets! The real stupid boy would never behave that compliantly!"
- "No, it's him. And he's behaving perfectly, why are you whining?" Hyuk replied, running the tips of his fingers lightly up and down the nape of your neck.
- What was Sehun talking about? Hyoggisaying you were perfect made you grin unconsciously again, but you didn't say anything.
- Sehun was watching you like he was waiting for you to speak, and when you didn't, he hissed angrily, "Seriously? Nothing? No yelling? That's it, you've already broken him too much to be of any use to anyone, this is over."
- Before you even realized what was happening, there was a knife lodged firmly in the couch cushion your back had been resting against, and you were standing behind Hyuk several feet away.
- "Hunnie! You ruined my fucking couch!" Baekhyun exclaimed, but your extremely close call with death had caused you to temporarily stop breathing, and you barely heard him.
- "Will you knock it off, he's perfect! And quit trying to stab everyone, you're acting like a child," Hyuk snapped, not sounding mad exactly, more just annoyed at your attempted murder.
- "I'm not being childish, you are! You're always too rough with your pets! He won't be useful at all! Jinnie will know something's wrong!" Sehun exclaimed angrily, giving both you and Hyuk a very nasty glare.
Time skip: A Week Later, Thursday, Your Bedroom, 8 am, Jaehwan's POV:
- You were sitting on your bed, already dressed like you were told to be, and waiting for Hyoggito come get you for breakfast. He said he had something important to tell you today, and you were a mixture of excited and nervous.
- Last night, you had woken up from a nightmare about Jaebum being kidnapped. It had been the first time you had really thought about him in over a week. Sure, you missed him like crazy, but Hyoggiwas making up for his loss. And plus, Jaebum was safe, he was at the little castle with Jin and all the rest of your betrayers.
- Hyoggi's people, whoever they were, had confirmed Baekhyun's taunts. Namjoon believed you had deserted, and nobody was looking for you, not even Jaebum. Hearing that had hurt you deeply. You may not be the king's favorite person, but after everything the two of you had been through, you thought he had a higher opinion of you than that.
- Especially after you did all that 'fake husband' crap for him and didn't complain about it once! Sleeping with him had been the biggest mistake of your life, and you would take that secret to your grave. Every time you thought about it you felt sick and lost your appetite for the rest of the day. The only reason you were even in a position to get kidnapped was because he told you to keep Kai and Yugyeom happy! You hoped they were both dead, but they were an afterthought.
- You would have never, ever, willingly left Jin's side. Ever. Namjoon knew that, it was why he disliked you so much! You didn't understand why he thought you would run off now! But his reasons didn't matter. No one was looking for you, and you were sorely tempted to actually desert and tell Hyoggieverything, so you could stay with him forever and just to fuck Namjoon over for once.
- A knock on your door brought you out of your angry, confused thoughts, and Hyoggiwalked in. You quickly stood up, smiling as he shut the door behind him and turned to face you.
- Your smile dropped away when you saw how serious he looked, and you asked, "Hyoggi, what's wrong?"
- He watched you intently for a moment, that laser focus making you feel like he could see inside your brain, before he replied, "Nothing, just a busy morning. But you look lovely."
- You guessed he might like jewelry, and you knew he liked you in pink, so you had put on a loose baby-pink button down with a silver choker and tight black pants. He had let you dye your hair back to its natural brown a few days ago, and you were very happy with your appearance again.
- "Thanks," you replied shyly, looking at the floor and clasping your hands behind your back. Normally, you didn't like being complimented, but Hyuk made you feel special for some reason.
- He crossed the room in a few long strides and stood right in front of you, running a finger along your choker. "This is new, was it in the closet?" he asked, smiling a little. Your cheeks flushed, and you replied, "No, I had a guard bring it to me."
- Hyoggihad four guards stationed around you anytime he wasn't there. They were always different and never spoke to you, but you figured you might as well have them do something useful. It wasn't like you could escape this labyrinth of a palace on your own if you tried.
- He smiled wider, tugging on it gently and then brushed your hair off your forehead before saying softly, "I'm glad you did. I like it." He always said exactly what he meant and never hid his feelings. Not having to try and guess what he was thinking was such a refreshing change!
- "Are you ready to go? I have important things to talk to you about," he asked, trailing a finger along your open collar. You nodded at once, knowing that he didn't like to wait, and he grinned before turning away and walking purposefully back towards the door.
- You followed on his heels down the hall, the four guards had disappeared like usual, and he put an arm around you once the two of you reached the top of the giant staircase. You grinned unconsciously, he usually wasn't touchy in public. Maybe it was the clothes.
Baekhyun's POV:
- You were sitting in the dining room with Hunnie, finishing up your cereal. Hunnie wasn't eating, he didn't really eat much since Jin escaped and had lost a quite a bit of weight. He and Jaehwan had that in common, but you were actually starting to get worried, he looked like how he did when he and Jin were engaged, so much younger.
- The double-doors behind you opened without warning, and Hyuk strolled in with his arm over Jaehwan's shoulder, whispering something to the guard as they made their way around the table without sparing either you or Hunnie a glace.
- Jaehwan was smiling at Hyuk like a lovesick schoolboy, and what the hell was he wearing?! Jaehwan looked so dressy and, well just so weird when compared to how he usually dressed, that you actually did a double take.
- "Why are you dressed like a gay pirate-witch?" you asked, watching them take seats across from you.
- You weren't happy about Jaehwan joining you for meals now. He was a commoner and also an asshole, but Hyuk had shut you down when you tried to bring it up last week. He was too possessive where his 'pets' were concerned.
- "My Jaehwanie looks lovely, you're just jealous since your legs are too short to pull this kind of thing off," Hyuk replied, smirking at you and starting his obnoxious new pet-Jaehwan's-hair-like-a-kitten habit.
- Could this still be part of his trick to get in Jaehwan's head? If so, it was working. At his words, Jaehwan smiled brilliantly, and you noticed him lean a bit closer to Hyuk.
- "Where did you get that necklace? It's Jinnie's," Hunnie asked in his quiet-but-angry voice. Crap! Where had Jaehwan gotten one of Jin's necklaces? And why would He be stupid enough to wear it?!
- "My Jaehwanie just wanted to wear a choker today and asked a guard to bring him one. He didn't know it was from your 'Jin stockpile'. Be mad at the guard, not him," Hyuk replied evenly, continuing to play with Jaehwan's hair.
- He didn't seem to care that Hunnie looked ready to boil him alive, but Jaehwan did. His smile had melted away the moment he heard Jin's name, and he had scooted even closer to Hyuk as he glanced nervously at Hunnie.
- "Nobody is allowed to touch Jinnie's things, they are waiting here for when I get him back. Take it off and give it to me, now," Hunnie hissed, his voice low and dangerous as he glared at Jaehwan and held out his hand.
- That was one particular delusion you hadn't been able to cure him of. Jin's guestroom didn't need to be preserved like a museum, he probably wouldn't ever come back here, or you hoped he wouldn't.
- "There are like a thousand necklaces in that room, how did you even recognize it? And no, I like it on him, he's keeping it," Hyuk replied, stopping Jaehwan's hand as he started to take the choker off.
- Before Hunnie could say anything, you snapped, "It's just a stupid necklace, quit bickering and eat your god damn breakfast."
- All of them fell silent, thank god, and you sighed into your coffee. A very intricate offensive maneuver you had planned was being carried out today, and you were a little bit stressed to hear the outcome. If it worked, Kai would no longer have a quarter of his kingdom.
- To your annoyance, Hyuk wasn't eating like you had suggested. You glanced up to see him kissing Jaehwan very deeply instead. This really wasn't why you went to the trouble of kidnapping him.
- It was such an obnoxious development that you cleared your throat loudly in an attempt to get them to knock it off, but they didn't.
- Hyuk kicked you under the table, and you kicked him back as hard as you could, but he just smiled against Jaehwan's lips and ignored you.
- Jaehwan looked like he was glowing. You had never ever seen him appear so stupidly happy before, and Hyuk looked weirdly cheerful as well! This must have something to do with his plan.
- "Satan cut that shit out. I'm trying to eat and your being disgusting," Hunnie whined, chucking an orange at Hyuk's head, which the other somehow caught one-handed without opening his eyes.
- Hunnie's pouty voice always made you feel soft inside, and you couldn't stop yourself from smiling at him. Hyukkie could explain later.
Time skip: Hyuk's Office, 1 pm, Jaehwan's POV:
- You were curled up on the large leather couch by the bookshelf, reading 'The Alchemist' and listening to the scratching of Hyuk's pen as he wrote his millionth letter. Honestly, he wrote more letters than any person you had ever met, how many friends did he have?!
- He had some kind of ingenious mail shoot set up, and little folded squares of paper kept appearing every hour or so. Each morning after breakfast, there would be about 10 or 15 notes waiting, and he would sit and answer each one before putting his replies in a different shoot. You didn't know where the letters went or who they were from, but there sure were a lot of them. They looked vaguely familiar...
- One of the notes in question had just arrived, and you watched him spin around in his desk chair and snatch it out of the shoot. "Kitten, you're not reading,"Hyoggisaid absentmindedly. He had his back to you! How did he see you looking?!
- "How many eyes do you have?" you asked incredulously, setting your book on your lap. "Hundreds, but that's not the point," he replied, sounding very distracted.
- You didn't know what he was talking about, but you were very curious to see what one of his weird little notes looked like. You slowly stood up and walked around his desk, trying to be as quiet as you could.
- Peaking over his shoulder, you squinted at the paper in his hand. The writing on it was completely illegible, it looked like the note was in some sort of code.
- Hyuk spun his chair back around, grabbing your wrist and pulling you onto his lap before you had time to react. You let out an involuntary yelp of surprise, but he just stared intently at you as he slipped the note into his shirt pocket.
- "Are you spying on me, lovely boy?" he asked, his voice at its most dangerous level of calm. You shook your head quickly, opening your mouth to try and tell him you weren't, but no words came out.
- He kept watching you, clearly waiting for you to speak and tightening his grip on your wrist, but the sudden spike in your anxiety had fogged your mind so much that you couldn't form coherent thoughts.
- "Answer me," he said sharply, and you managed stutter, "I, I wasn't! I just wanted to see what your notes looked like, but I don't know what it said!"
- "That's because it's in code, Jaehwanie, so that spies can't read it. I don't like people reading my private correspondence," he replied quietly, and your panic seemed to freeze the blood in your veins.
- "I'm sorry, I was just curious, I won't look at them ever again," you said hastily, keeping your breathing as steady as you could.
- Was he going to give you back to Sehun? Or send you away? You knew he had no patience for disobedience, and he had told you not to look at his papers before.
- Hyuk glared at you for a few more seconds, and then his expression softened. He let go of your wrist and put his hand on the small of your back, saying soothingly, "I forgive you, this time, but don't try it again."
- His words unfroze you, and you wrapped your arms around his neck, hugging him as tightly as you could. He chuckled a little and kissed the top of your head but slid his free hand in between you and took the note back out of his pocket.
- "Since this one might actually interest you, I'll read it to you," he said, and you lifted your head to look at him in confusion. Why would you care about what the note said? You had just wanted to see it.
- "My Lord,"he read, pausing to decipher the code and then continuing, "'King Seokjin and his omnipresent guard,'that's your old friend, 'went into town today. The King is planning a party for King Jongin's upcoming visit, and everyone is focused on that, rather than the absence of your guest.'That's you."
- "'The guard in question is still in a relationship with,'"he read, but paused again. It felt like your lunges had stopped working. Hearing accounts of the daily lives of your old best friend and the person you thought was your true love always completely broke your heart.
- This wasn't the first time you had been told what Jin and Jaebum were up to. Baekhyun loved to give you very detailed descriptions of what they, and the rest of your betrayers, were doing instead of trying to find you.
- "In a relationship with the court musician, and they get closer every day. If your guest was here, I have a feeling the musician would be dead by now," he finished, folding the note up and dropping it on his desk.
- You narrowed your eyes and channeled your heartbreak into anger. "Whoever sent that is wrong. Jaebum can do what he wants, he's nothing to me, I don't care," you said coldly, and Hyoggichuckled again for some reason.
- "You are so strong, my lovely boy, so brave," he said soothingly, tilting your face up and softly pressing his lips against yours.
- You melted into the kiss. He may think you're strong, but his touch always made you feel so incredibly weak. And the strange thing was that you didn't care in the slightest.
- "But," he continued, pulling away a little and resting his forehead against yours.
- "You still broke the rules, so you have to be," he started to say, but you kissed him again before he could finish.
Time skip: Your Bedroom, 10 pm, Baekhyun's POV:
- You were sitting on your comfiest armchair, watching a very good TV show and drinking a glass of your favorite wine. It had been another long day, and you were very thankful to finally have some private time to unwind. Destroying a kingdom was fun, but so exhausting!
- There was a knock on your door, and without hesitating you threw the remote at it and shouted, "What now?! I'm relaxing!"
- "It doesn't sound like you're relaxing," Hyuk said, as he and Hunnie walked into your room. Hunnie picked the remote up and walked over to hand it to you, but you grabbed it and switched the TV off before throwing it at your bed.
- "I'm not anymore! Why are you bothering me?" you asked, letting all your irritation into your tone. "I have a new plan, but Sehun doesn't like it. We need you to be the tie-breaker. And why did you lock your secret door? I tried to come talk to you earlier, but I couldn't get in," Hyuk replied evenly.
- "Then the lock is doing its job perfectly. I don't want you skulking around my room," you snapped, glaring at him and tucking your legs under yourself before continuing, "Tell me your plan and then get out."
- "Well," Hyukkie began, not seeming at all put off by your rudeness, "As you saw at breakfast, Jaehwanie is completely mine now."
- "Yeah, I couldn't fail to notice that. But it was very hard to tell if he's yours or you're his, you aren't normally so happy. Or affectionate," you interrupted, smirking since you knew it would annoy him.
- "I like him, kind of, I guess. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to tell you. What I wanted to tell you is that I think Sehun may have been right, he probably won't be much good as a spy anymore."
- "No shit. I told you, you broke him too much," Hunnie hissed from next to you. "Starving him for weeks and cutting him up didn't help either, you lunatic. Now let me finish," Hyuk snapped back, momentarily shifting his glare to Hunnie before returning it to you.
- "Even though he can't be a spy, he does provide me with very easy access into both Namjoon's kingdom and their castle. I want to take him back home and pretend I'm joining their side."
- You blinked rapidly for a few seconds and then exclaimed, "Hyukkie! What the fuck?!" Hunnie crossed his arms and said, "My reaction exactly."
- Hyuk exhaled sharply and continued, "Think about it! I already had my people convince Namjoon that Jaehwanie was a deserter, so they wouldn't look for him. Now, he comes back with me as, I don't know, a peace offering or something, and I give Namjoon a bunch of fake information while messing their stuff up from the inside!"
- "Honestly, for one thing, it will be hugely entertaining. And for another, you know I always do the best work myself. Spies and middlemen just cause delays and get in the way."
- "Plus, having us around will be a great distraction. They will be so busy trying to figure out what I'm doing there, and what's different about Jaehwanie, that they will barely have any time left to notice you being all chaotic."
- "I still don't like it," Hunnie said flatly, but the wheels in your head were already turning. Hyuk was right, he did do best on his own, and he could find out all kinds of secrets that even the most competent agent couldn't. But something was nagging at you.
- "All of that is fine and great, but are you doing this to be helpful, or because you don't want to let your new pet go?" you asked, narrowing your eyes at him.
- "Both. If I send him back alone, Namjoon is just going to kill him. And if I go by myself and leave him here, Sehun is going to kill him," Hyuk replied, and Hunnie did a funny little salute that made you smile.
- "And I already told you that I guess I sort of like him, so I'd prefer it if he wasn't dead. But I want to do it because I think it would fun. Namjoon's uncle, may he rest in peace or whatever, said the king has a temper, so I want to see just how far I can push him before he snaps."
- "And Jinnie accuses me of messing with people for fun," Hunnie huffed. You rolled your eyes but nodded. Hyuk's plan was a good one, if for no other reason than the distraction it would provide.
- "Fine, just try not to get too attached to Jaehwan. I know you can get a little protective when people try to mess with your pets, but it will look bad if the two of you seem too close."
- "And update us. You always get too absorbed when you're in the field and forget, so please try. I'll write a list of fake things for you to tell Namjoon about my strategy tomorrow. Hunnie, you're overruled," you said firmly.
- "Good," Hyuk replied, and then abruptly turned around to leave your room. "No 'thank you'?" you called after him, and Hunnie chuckled when Hyuk said over his shoulder, "Thanks, Bacon."
Time skip: Friday, 7 pm, Jaehwan's POV:
- "So, what important thing did you want to tell me? We never got around to talking about it yesterday," you asked, resting your head on Hyoggi's chest and draping an arm around him.
- The two of you were in one of the million parlors, finally relaxing now that he finished the secret stuff he had been working on all day. You had found another choker, a red shirt, and a black belt that made your waist look ridiculously small.
- Baekhyun had taken one look at you earlier and nearly tried to kill you on the spot out of sheer anger. Jin was right, he was a jealous piece of work. But Hyoggisaid that you looked even more lovely than the day before, so you couldn't care less about Baekhyun or anyone else.
- The parlor was dim, and huge like every room seemed to be in this incredibly ostentatious palace, but you actually kind of liked it. Hyoggihad brought wine for the two of you, but you weren't nervous about drinking around him anymore. He had saved your life twice after all.
- "Well, that's a slightly delicate matter, actually," he replied, dotting soft kisses against your temple.
- You glanced up to see him watching you in that way that made you think he had x-ray vision, and asked, "What do you mean, delicate?"
- "I want you to go home, kitten." Your heart felt like it had leapt into your throat.
- "Everyone thinks I'm a deserter, nobody wants me there! I don't want to leave you!" you exclaimed, sitting up straight and angling your body so you were facing him on the couch.
- He wrapped his arms loosely around your waist and said quietly, "Let me finish."
- You were breathing a bit shallowly, feeling panicked at the idea of going anywhere near Namjoon, and not being with Hyoggi, but you closed your mouth and waited.
- "I want to come with you." Your eyes widened, and you began talking again before you could stop yourself.
- "Are you insane?! First of all, they are going to kill me for 'deserting'," making air quotes when you said 'deserting', and continuing, "Secondly, they are most likely going to torture you for information and then kill you too! I should know! I'm their head of security!"
- "Or, was, it's probably Ravi or Jaebum now. And neither of them will go easy on you, trust me! I'm not going, and even if I was, I wouldn't take you back with me! Not happening!"
- Hyoggihad let you talk yourself out, watching you closely and brushing his hand comfortingly up and down the side of your torso. Why was he smiling! This wasn't a joke, it was the worst possible scenario you could think of!
- "Listen to me, Jaehwanie. I love my king like a brother, but he has lost his mind. His obsession with Jin is out of control, and I have no patience for it anymore," he said calmly.
- "Also, he's losing the war. I don't play for the losing team, ever. Nobody is going to torture me because I'll tell King Namjoon whatever he wants to know. And nobody is going to kill you when you come home and tell them you brought along Sehun's spymaster, and that he wants to defect."
- Your mouth dropped open. All of you knew Sehun had someone else running things behind the scenes other than Baekhyun. You knew it was someone with power and influence in this kingdom and many others, but no one knew the person's identity!
- "You're not telling me you're that crazy Shadow King, are you!?" you exclaimed, squinting at him. He did send about a million messages a day, and people were always appearing out of nowhere to whisper things to him, but you thought that was just normal noble stuff!
- Hyuk grinned and gave your waist a little squeeze, still watching your face closely as he replied, "In the flesh."
- You had no idea what to do or say. If this was true, and it seemed to be, then he was more formidable than any person you had ever met. And he didn't even need a crown to pull it off!
- "Now, are you going to be my good boy and come with me, or are you going to stay here by yourself and make me go alone?" he asked, after you had been quiet for a few seconds.
- Even though he was an exponentially better fighter than you, there was no way you would let him go alone. You didn't want to be away from him, and you didn't want to stay here without him. Sehun would kill you the instant he was gone.
- "I am incredibly confused, but if you're hell bent on doing this, then of course I'm coming with you," you replied a bit loudly, wrapping your arms around him and hiding your face in the crook of his neck.
- "Such a good boy, my Jaehwanie. I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. We leave tonight. But first, I have to change my hair."