Kintsugi // ATEEZ [Ishihara Sequel] ✔

12 Intention

The whole room is filled with snores from the five of them, but they get immediately woken up when someone barges into their room. The person who barged in announces loudly that it's already morning and that the sun has shown itself so it's time for them to open their eyes. He goes over to the window before pulling the blinds apart, gaining groans from those who were asleep just seconds ago. With an evil smile on his face he brings his hands far apart before banging the pan he's holding with the metal ladle. He bangs it multiple times until all five of them have woken up, despite some of them grumbling.

"Ah, Choi Jongho!" Wooyoung shouts. "What is this atrocity so early in the morning?" He kicks the air before he dives back onto the mattress, pulling the blanket over his head.

"Wake up!" Jongho exclaims loudly, going over to Wooyoung before pulling the blanket. "You're in someone else's kingdom, have some decency to wake up at the same time as Their Majesties!"

San sits up on the bed, his hair like a bird's nest as he yawns. "Have Seonghwa and Akira woken up?"

"Even more than that," Jongho says as he approaches Yeosang and Mingi who's sleeping on the same mattress before using his foot to take the blanket off of them. They grumble, but are forced to wake up. "Their Majesties are already at the dining room, waiting for all of you to join them for breakfast."

"They're already waiting for us?!" Hongjoong springs up, suddenly wide awake. He doesn't say anything more as he jumps out of bed, claiming the bathroom first.

"Indeed," Jongho nods while closing his eyes. "That is the attitude that I'm looking for from all of you. Now get going!" He bangs the pan again, this time nearer to the others. "I want all of you to appear in front of Their Majesties in less than 10 minutes. How dare you make them wait? I don't care whatever it takes, use the plenty of bathrooms we have in this palace, and move!"

Slowly, they get out of bed one by one, thinking how Jongho is acting like an instructor at a camp, disturbing their peaceful sleep and forcing them to get ready when they don't want to. Three of them go outside to search for other bathrooms while Mingi waits in front of the bathroom Hongjoong is currently using, his head lolling from side to side as he's still sleepy.

By the time the timer hits the 9th minute, all of them are already smartly dressed in suits, although Jongho had expected less from them. He beckons for them to follow him, and like chicks following their mother, they trail him towards the direction of the dining hall since they're still unfamiliar with the ways around the Lucida palace.

After the coronation ceremony, Seonghwa and Akira had invited all of them to stay at the palace for a few days, but they decided to only stay for a day. They would visit the Lucida town before making their way back to Nyla since now there's a new upcoming event: the closed ceremony for San's coronation as the Shadow King. After much persuasion from Wooyoung, San finally relented and agreed that they'll hold a small ceremony for him, but only among them. No one else would be invited since the 'secret' is supposedly kept securely.

From afar, Mingi sees Yunho coming from the opposite direction, looking different than when they had met at Nyla since his everyday style now has changed; Yunho has made sure that his hair is slicked back. With his new hairstyle, he looks more mature, more refined and he looks like someone they won't dare cross over.

But Mingi knows it's not the case when Yunho's face breaks into a smile seeing them making their way into the same direction as him, breaking into a small run as he joins the group.

"Going to the dining hall?" Yunho greets them.

"Yeah," San replies. "Jongho told us that Akira and Seonghwa are already waiting so we didn't want to make them wait longer."