The Prince ran out from the ball quickly, chasing after the mysterious boy. It was just a simple question about the keychain, so why did he run away, if he wasn't hiding anything? Whatever it was, it just made him more suspicious.
The Prince followed the steady footsteps, running after the boy to the end of the hallway. Yet, suddenly he was gone, as if the cat-like boy had just disappeared into thin air.
"Damn it," yelled Jonghyun in frustration. How could he lose his target in his castle, his home? That only made the young Prince more curious, since the other boy seemed to know the castle very well and it was undoubted that the he had been in the castle very often. No matter how, Jonghyun need to find that boy.
Key's heart jumped like crazy as he saw Jonghyun through the half opened door. Luckily, the Prince hadn't noticed Kibum and passed by. Key silently thanked god that he suddenly remembered a shortcut or else the Prince could probably had caught him already. Good that he used to play in the castle a lot that he knew it like his own home. However, Key was still surprised, since he hadn't thought that he'd still remember this place so well, after so many years.
After making sure that Jonghyun had heft, the young boy breathed out in relief, turning around to lean against the door. Just then, his eyes widened in shock and his hands started to shiver. He felt a cold flash through his body and in the same second he froze, unable to move, as tears fell down his cheeks. He was in the royal library.
---Flashbacks---
"Mom?" The little Kibum called his mother, going through the hallway, looking around. It was getting late and Jonghyun had to leave because of his riding lesson. The little boy was alone in the giant castle.
"Mom, where are you?" He shouted again. He had been looking for his mom over an hour and she was still nowhere to find. Kibum's small legs were getting tired and he was hungry. He just wanted to find his mother and got home. Then she would cook something delicious and they would wait for his father. Then the whole family would eat dinner together and he would tell his dad how fun his day was or how 'mean' Jonghyun was. Just like every day. Yet, all that never happened again. From that day on, everything was never the same again.
Kibum saw a lot of people standing before the library. Everyone looked shocked and was talking about some poor woman.
"Mom" The young boy called, causing everybody to look at him. It suddenly became too silent. No one said a word. Then, everyone's expression changed from shock to sad. Kibum came closer and dropped the teddy bear in his arms by what he saw. His mom was lying on the cold floor, unmoving and covered in blood, too much blood. Her face was pale and her eyes were closed. Why was she sleeping on the floor? It's cold there.
---Flashbacks ended---
Jonghyun stopped running, as he heard someone's crying coming from the library. Carefully, he stepped closer and looked though the half opened door. Because of the bright moonlight and because the person was standing with his back to him, Jonghyun couldn't tell who it was, only that it was a beautiful figure of a young boy. The boy's crying was quiet, but it hurt Jonghyun's heart badly. Never had Jjong heard someone crying like that, as if he was in so much pain that he wasn't able to cry out loudly. The Prince didn't know what to do. Should he talk to the boy? Should he go away and leave him alone? Maybe he should ask the poor boy what was wrong.
Just as Jonghyun opened the door, steeping in, the bell rang. It was midnight. The boy seemed to be shocked because of the sudden noise, because he flinched and turned around. Within a second the Prince recognized the person in front of him. It was the same boy from the ball, the one he had been looking for the whole night. By that his hand formed a fist and he felt his face get hotter. Only the sight of that boy could get him mad easily.
Jonghyun came closer to the shocking boy, grabbing his wrist to make sure he wouldn't lose him again. By the Prince's cold touch, the other boy flinched and stepped back.
"Prince Jonghyun," he said nervously.
"Do you know how long I've been running, looking for you?" The Prince asked angrily.
The boy kept silent.
"Are you playing with the Prince? Do you think it's fun?" Jonghyun yelled angrily, tightened his grip, causing the other boy to whine in pain.
"P-Prince Jonghyun, you're h-hurting me," the mysterious boy stuttered.
"Please let me go," he said again with a brittle voice, trying to free himself from the Prince, what only made Jonghyun angrier.
"What? Do you want to escape again? Are you kidding me?" Jonghyun raised his voice, slammed the younger boy against the bookshelf roughly, causing some books to fall down.
"P-please, just let me go," the mysterious boy begged.
Jonghyun pulled the boy close to him, forcing him to look straightly at the Prince's eyes with his free hand.
"You are not going anywhere until I get what I want," Jonghyun said furiously, causing the younger boy to shiver. A tear fall down his cheek and once again in that night, he cried.
"Jonghyun, what are you doing? You can't treat a guest like this." A woman voice caused the boys to look at the door in surprise. Just then, the Prince let go of Key's wrist immediately.
"Mother," Jonghyun said nervously, while Kibum just stood there, unmoving. It had been years ago, since the last time he had seen the Queen.
---Flashbacks---
"Mom," the little Kibum yelled loudly and ran as fast as he could to his mother who was still lying on the cold floor, unmoving. There was so much blood on the floor, his mom's blood. Just when Key almost reached the room, a woman pulled him into an embrace, covered his eyes with her hand.
"No, Kibum, don't look," she said. It was the Queen, Jonghyun's mother.
---Flashbacks ended---
Even though she was the Queen of the Kingdom, she was still really friendly. She was also a good friend of Kibum's mom. She had always been very kind to Kibum and she had always cared for him, just like that day, when Key found his mother, dead, murdered in the library. The Queen had taken the young boy in her arms, letting him cry on her shoulder until he got tired from the crying and fell asleep. She had brought him home personally and had waited with him until his dad came home, because she didn't want Key to be home alone on that horrible day.
Kibum still remembered how she hugged him tightly, repeated over and over again that everything was going to be all right. She reminded him of his own mother so much that it hurt.
"Qu-Queen Young Ae," Key said and more tears fell down from his puffy eyes. He didn't want to cry again, but he couldn't control himself. He felt too weak with her before him, as if he had turned into the little Bummie again.
The Queen quickly went to the crying boy, wiped his tears gently and asked worriedly.
"Are you all right? Please excuse my silly boy. I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you."
Kibum looked at the Queen's pretty face. She hadn't changed at all, as if she wasn't getting older. She was in fact a beautiful woman, just like his mom.
"I'm fine. May I please go home?" Kibum asked quietly. Then, he turned to Jonghyun, asking with begging eyes. "Please?"
The Prince only looked away, giving him no answer. By that the Queen said calmly.
"Of course you can. Just let me get you some guards, it's late already."
"Thank you, but I'm all right. I can take care of myself, like I always do" The boy replied, keeping the last part to himself.
"Good, if you wish so, I won't force you, but please be careful, it's dark outside." The Queen said in a mother like tone that Kibum missed so much. A sad smile appeared on the boy's lips. He bowed, took a last look at her, before leaving the room. Since he might never be able to go to the castle again, this might be the last time he saw the Queen, right?
As soon as Kibum left the room, Jonghyun explained to his mom.
"Mother, it wasn't what it looked like, believe me." He said impatiently.
"Then tell me how I should interpret the situation early, Jonghyun. Because it looked like you was going to assault that poor boy." She said calmly, but Jonghyun could still hear from the voice that she was mad.
"It was a misunderstanding, really." The Prince replied nervously.
"Jonghyun, you could have everyone you want, but not in that way. Do you hear me? I'm not allowing my son to do such things. It does not suit a Prince." The Queen said, holding her son's hand and looked in his eyes.
"Mother, I promise, I would never hurt anybody. Please, believe me." Jonghyun said and by that she pulled him into her warm embrace, stroking his hair gently.
"I believe you. I'll always believe you." She said.
After that, the young Prince accompanied his mother to her chamber and told her good night.
Before he left, the Queen asked what the name of the boy from early was.
"I don't know, mother. I had never met him before," answered Jonghyun and with that he went back to his own bed room.
The Queen sat down tiredly on the bed.
"I could almost have said that the poor boy was Kibum. He looked exactly like Gwiboon." She murmured.
Jonghyun arrived at his chamber and found his best friend, Minho, waiting for him.
"You're still here?" The Prince said.
"Did you catch him?" Minho asked back.
"Yes," answered Jonghyun tiredly. Tonight was too much for him. He just wanted to go to bed now.
"So where is he?" Minho questioned again.
"I have no idea," said the Prince, making Minho feel confused.
"What?"
"I caught him and then I lost him again," Jonghyun explained quickly.
"Whatever," he said, "you have to help me find that boy."
"But how? I don't know his name. I don't even know how he looks like." Minho said in frustration.
"But I do," replied the Prince.
"Good, you know how he looks like, but you're the Prince. You can't ride on your horse through the whole Kingdom, looking for a boy." The knight said.
"Who said I can't?" Jonghyun asked sarcastically, confusing Minho once again.
"Don't worry. I have a plan," said the Prince with a smirk on his face.