nytis
soonyoung was ten when he first learned that it was dangerous to let your emotions cloud over your rational thoughts. it was on his first hunting trip when he encountered a wolf and thrown off his horse. if it was not for his father, he would've been eaten long ago.
he remembered back at the castle his father looked down at him with disapproval, demanding him why he didn't reach for the weapon that was hanging from his waist. the only thing he could stutter out was that he was too scared to move.
"don't let your emotions get the best of you, son. that will bring you nothing but trouble in this world."
at that time, there was nothing he hated more than disappointing his father. so slowly over time the concept of always being in control of your mind was beat into his very being.
but when jihoon stepped into the equation, everything seemed to change. he still remembered that night when he found jihoon barely conscious with blood on his face in the alleyway like it was yesterday.
he remembered the feeling of freezing up and the feeling of these horrible emotions crash over his mind. that was the first time in so many years when he felt like breaking down, felt like crying.
that was never going to happen again. ever.
soonyoung was so determined to make this night the best night of jihoon's life while concealing his identity at the same time. yet there he was, hand gripping dongyun's wrist and having the feeling of nothing but absolute rage course through every inch of his body.
things were going so well. he and jihoon had plenty of time having fun outside, he finally confessed and most importantly jihoon looked like he was really enjoying himself. the night was so close to being perfect until dongyun decided to step in and ruin everything.
as much as soonyoung wanted to stay with jihoon, when seeing dongyun slowly come closer and closer to the table they were standing by soonyoung had no choice but to leave before he was seen.
blending in with the crowd he watched from a far as the man started striking up a conversation which annoyed him greatly. it pissed him off even more when dongyun insisted on dancing with jihoon when jihoon clearly didn't want to.
inviting a random girl, soonyoung spun off to the dance floor and well, keeping a sharp eye on the two people. his blood boiled seeing him touch jihoon without consent and the look on jihoon's face finally made him see red.
he shook off the girl he was dancing with and pushed through the crowd towards dongyun, ignoring all the murmurs of "rude" and "impolite". he didn't care about anything at that moment. all he was thinking about was ending that disgusting man.
"don't fucking touch him ever again." soonyoung hissed, harshly shoving the man back. soonyoung looked at jihoon and grabbed his arm, "come on jihoon, we need to leave." a little surprised, jihoon nodded quickly and grabbed onto soonyoung's hand.
dongyun could only stare in shock at the silver haired man's face. he couldn't believe it. not once did he ever expect the crown prince of reinwa to be in his kingdom, at his ball. "g-guards! anyone!" he screeched, "do not let those two escape!" at this point everyone at the ball had their attention on the king.
some people stood on the side laughing quietly while watching the action unfold while others actually stood by the doors and grabbed onto the two people preventing them from going any further.
the guards came in like a flash and in no time they brought back the two struggling people in front of dongyun. "why the fuck are you doing this?" jihoon growled, "are you seriously still upset about the dance? fucking fine! i'll finish dancing with you, hell i'll dance the rest of the night with you. just let him go."
much more relaxed now that the two people were restrained, dongyun laughed, "that would be nice, honey. but i'm sure you know that kwon soonyoung isn't exactly nothing."
"what are you talking about? he told you to let go and pushed you. that's all." jihoon said angrily. jihoon then paused, how did dongyun know soonyoung's name?
"oh?" dongyun's ears perked up, "you don't know? well then.. everything just became a whole lot more interesting."
jihoon was now more confused than angry, "what is he talking about soonyoung?" he thought back to everything soonyoung had told him. "you're not... some criminal from reinwa, are you?" soonyoung didn't say a thing, keeping his eyes trained on the ground.
dongyun laughed, "criminal? oh honey, he's more than that. way more. in fact actually the exact-
"jihoon." soonyoung suddenly said out, "look, i'm sorry that i didn't say anything. i know i should've told you earlier but i'm a-
"he's the exact opposite! kwon soonyoung is the crown prince of reinwa!" dongyun yelled out, not for just jihoon to hear but everyone else in the room.
it felt like a bucket of ice water was dumped over his head. jihoon stared at soonyoung unable to find words to say.
soonyoung smiled a small guilty smile, "it's.. true jihoonie. i never wanted you to find out like this but i guess some things can't be helped." he whispered.
"i-i don't believe you." jihoon croaked out. he couldn't believe it, he didn't want to believe it. soonyoung wasn't a prince. he was just a regular commoner like him. soonyoung was that clumsy baker he worked with. soonyoung was that sweet, charming boy he fell in love with. not some... prince.
dongyun chuckled and walked closer to soonyoung. "will you believe it when you see this?" the man grabbed the hem of soonyoung's shirt, tugging it up showing his skin. the one place that soonyoung never let him see because of a scar.
surprise, surprise, there was no scar. the only thing that sat on his pale unblemished skin was a tattoo coloured dark purple. a rose sitting in the middle of a shield surrounded by thorns with a crown on top of the flower.
a royal... emblem?
"that's right honey." dongyun swiped his hand over the tattoo. "won't rub off, it's not ink." he laughed at the expression on each person's face. "kwon soonyoung, you've got some balls coming here. reinwa, reinwa." he tsked, "always stealing things. first, my trading partners and now my people."
the king snaked his hand over to jihoon and brushed back a strand of hair causing soonyoung to try and jerk his arms from the grips of the guards. "don't fucking touch him. if you do, i swear i'll reduce your fucking castle to nothing but a pile of rubble." he growled.
"don't forget where you are right now. don't tell me what to do in my kingdom." dongyun snapped back. "guards i want this filth out of my kingdom. send him back. i expect there to be a good amount of gold in his place." dongyun said, knowing that if he were to keep soonyoung here a war between kingdoms would most likely break out.
with that, the guards forcefully dragged an uncooperative soonyoung off while all jihoon could do was try to worm his way out of his own guards in hopes of talking to soonyoung once again. "wait, wait! soonyoung!" he yelled.
from a distance soonyoung turned back and smiled sadly, "i so sorry."
"i.. don't.. fucking accept your apology!" jihoon yelled. he thrashed around in the whole of the guards, managing to send a strong kick to one of their legs making their grip loosen momentarily.
he managed to tug out of his arms and then the other making it a few meters closer before getting pulled back again. "i don't accept it! you're not going to disappear! i won't fucking allow it! you can't just..." jihoon stopped his screaming and this feeling of hollowness resonated through him.
he vaguely heard dongyun say something but he didn't care anymore. he just stared and stared into the night where soonyoung disappeared.
it wasn't supposed to end like this.