♜
dinner was only a blink away when seungkwan, the kingdom's jester, had found the courage to visit seungcheol, who appeared to be occupied with important paperworks he had to finish before the ball that would take place in two days. though seungcheol wasn't a king who tend to follow rules, visiting the royal dungeons without permission could lead up to harsh punishments, or in worst case even death penalty..
"come in." the king's voice was heard from the other side of the door. with a final deep breath, seungkwan twisted the golden doorknob, instantly being greeted by seungcheol's friendly eyes. the king was seated behind his desk in his own private library, a room rather small for someone of royal blood. though with its fireplace crackling and multiple candles spread throughout the room, as the sun outside started setting, the atmosphere felt cozy and homelike.
"my best seungkwan! it's been so long since the two of us had a proper conversation, what are you visiting me for at this hour? aren't you supposed to be in the dining hall?" seungcheol asked with worry, wondering why one of his dearest friends postponed his precious meal to come see him.
"i have something to confess.." seungkwan spoke, eyeing the floor in pure shame. though he usually was one to speak with optimism and never feared for possible consequences, a situation like this had him mortified for his fate.
"it can't possibly be bad, right?" seungcheol's tone sparked uncertainty, finding it odd to see one of his dearest friends acting this way.
"i might have.. taken a visit to the dungeons last night.." even when seungkwan feared the worst, nothing happened. seungcheol remained strangely calm, a little too calm to the jester's liking. and so he averted his gaze back up, staring directly into seungcheol's eyes to see what damaged he had caused.
to his surprise, seungcheol's eyes were clouded with nothing but genuine worry. "oh but seungkwan, what is it you did down there? it's unbearably cold and not even to start about the growing fungus all over the walls. and besides, no one is being captivated at the moment. why would a man like you want to wander around in such horrendous place?"
"actually.. there is someone being held as we're speaking.. his name is hansol, the boy who was brought in when i just finished my show for you and the elves. i think i might have accidentally overheard one thing and another, my apologies for that." a sudden lightbulb appeared above seungcheol's head as he seemed to remember the entrance of the burglar.
"of course.. i almost forgot about him.. say by any chance, do you recognize him?" seungkwan shook his head, refusing to tell the actual reason why he went to visit the boy in the depth of the night. "then why did you pay a visit to the burglar, if i may ask."
"because i felt compassion towards him, and my hunch was right actually. hansol has told me everything about his miserable past and how he was left behind in the village. he had no other choice left than to be brought here.. i just wanted to come and ask you if you could, by any chance, speed up his process of being imprisoned and get him to start working instead.."
seungcheol averted his gaze, standing up from his seat as he started pacing through the room, preoccupied with the thoughts about how to handle this difficult situation. "as you said yourself, it's pretty cold down there.." seungkwan silently added, trying to awaken seungcheol's feeling of compassion.
"i'll get it arranged right now. please follow me so you can guide hansol to the dining room right away. i'll hear him out first thing tomorrow morning. but on one condition! you're the one who makes sure he gets a decent job that fits him. if necessary, he can even be your partner for particular acts."
"thank you, seungcheol. you owe me big this time." seungkwan let out a relieved gasp, trailing the king out of his room to free the boy from his captivity.
and while adora's king and the royal jester wandered through the halls of the castle, two musicians were occupied in their own little world. kwon soonyoung and his lover lee jihoon were in the hall where the ball would take place in two days, having over a hundred music sheets messily spread across the room as they were both seated in the corner, discussing the final details of their performance.
"i think we might actually be done. how about we go and have dinner, i'm starving and i bet chan loves to hear about what we've done today." soonyoung let out a content sigh, staring down at jihoon's face as the particularly small man lay with his head in his lap, facing up to meet the elder's eyes.
"as if. there's still practice, getting everything correct, checking everything over for the last time-" jihoon's sulking went cut off by soonyoung leaning forwards and capturing him in an unexpected kiss. desperately, jihoon moved his hands up and interlaced his fingers with soonyoung's bright blonde hair.
"stop sulking my love." soonyoung whispered as he let go, stumbling over his words as he was a little clumsy. which the smaller male couldn't help but to adore, being left astonished by his love once again.
"well, maybe you're right. we've done quite a good job the past few weeks. we can leave the biggest part behind us now, it's only the final preparation and the performance that matters." jihoon lets out a sigh of relieve, staring up at soonyoung's almond eyes. "i know i barely ever tell you, but i'm really grateful to still have you here with me."
the smile that appeared on soonyoung's face wasn't able to explain the explosion of happiness inside his chest. he knew all too well about his boyfriend's hardships with speaking his feelings out loud, so hearing him talk rather freely managed to make his heart skip a beat. "and why would i budge from your side?"
"well.. it's not like i'm the nicest person. please don't sugarcoat it, i'm well aware of the way i act when things get a little, you know, difficult. i feel like i always unconsciously throw everything on you, since you're the only one who want's to be around me on your own intention all the time." jihoon sighed, yet managed to bring out a smile when he saw the look of sincerity in soonyoung's eyes.
"yet i see far beyond everything you curse me for. it's in the lyrics you write, or the way you look at me. no words need to be spoken for me to understand the way you feel. and it might sound ridiculous, but that's why i've fallen for you." soonyoung explained, pressing an endearing kiss against soonyoung's forehead.
"and that's exactly why i've fallen for you, i love how ridiculous you are." jihoon's comment made both boys laugh.
the two previously lost musicians had found each other through their lyrics, a few years back. getting together had been the greatest decision they had made so far, and no regrets had made way into their daily routine. because what they felt for each other was something beyond the immature teenage love where it had all begun; it developed into true love that would undeniably last for eternity.
