♖
the door of the appointed room opened with more sense of hesitance than ever before, drawing a stroke of yellow light from the hallway on the dim floor. jeonghan stepped inside and hurriedly closed the door behind him, being welcomed by a well dressed seungcheol and a group of candles on the small dining table as the only source of light in the dark room.
even if it was only king seungcheol's personal office, rather small in his own opinion, he took it as a useful space to have jeonghan to himself for a moment. after all, seungcheol was a man of his word, and he still had to fulfill his promise of having an one-on-one dinner with his beloved jeonghan.
"seungcheol.. it wasn't necessary to put in this amount of effort." jeonghan breathed out, staring at the scenario in front of him with disbelieve and surprise clouding his eyes. though it certainly wasn't any unpleasing surprise, he had never expected seungcheol to put in so much effort just for a simple dinner appointment.
"good evening to you too, sir." seungcheol got up from his own seat, walking over to the opposite side of the table - in other words, his emptied work desk with a fancy tablecloth - and pulling the chair backwards to offer jeonghan a seat. "now don't just keep standing there, come here."
seungcheol's voice was warm, alluring almost, as jeonghan came closer and hesitantly took a seat, feeling the wooden frame moving as seungcheol pushed him closer to the table. his manners were royal, fitting his image completely and stroking jeonghan's heart with a pleasuring feeling on the singular sight of him in a full suit.
"so.. what's on the menu tonight.." jeonghan shyly asked, seemingly not recognizing whatever was spread across the table, in-between candle sticks that lit up the atmosphere.
"well, let's see." seungcheol threw a concentrated glance over the several bowls and plates junhui had prepared for him, trying to remember the explanation that had come along with it. "as a little appetizer we have some bread, i see we have geese meat and some pork, mashed potatoes, sweet peas, and another type of vegetables i forget the name of. enough for us both at least."
seungcheol sat down and observed jeonghan's still surprised expression, making a sense of worry dawn upon the king on the frown he wore. "you're happy with it, right?" without further doubt, jeonghan lifted his head and quickly nodded, trying to convince seungcheol of his gratitude.
"yes, i certainly am! it is just that i was expecting this the least, more like something simple, not even such an extensive variation of food. and it's not that i am not grateful, because that surely is not the case, i think i was just expecting something more simple." the runaway prince rambled on and on, hiding his face behind his long hair.
seungcheol let out a delighted chuckle, taking off his top layer of clothing so he was simply sitting in a blouse only, giving off a less formal aura. "then let's make it a little less fancy, shall we?"
"well no, that really isn't necessary.." seungcheol instantly caught onto the lump that got stuck in jeonghan's throat, which he tried swallowing away desperately. "it's just.. i'm not quite used to someone putting so much effort in a simple dinner with me.. without a specific occasion or more people involved."
the agony in the poor prince's eyes softened seungcheol, who gently lay his hand on top of jeonghan's milky white slender one, rubbing his skin in a reassuring way. "jeonghan, if there's anyone i want to put all my effort in, it's you. and this is only a simple gesture with a little help from my cook." even when seungcheol was well aware that jeonghan would most likely refuse to believe that, he continued nonetheless. "but if you want to have it a little more simple we can collect some pillows from the couch and sit in front of the window to watch the stars while we eat?"
"i would like that." jeonghan silently admitted, his lips curling up in the tiniest most genuine smile on just the thought of the little picnic idea.
and thus, seungcheol made two plates of food for him and his runway prince, moving onto a different spot to eat to create a less fancy atmosphere. the king had noticed all too well that jeonghan preferred things simple and more comfortable to make him feel at home, and so he worked up to that. if that meant jeonghan would feel at ease, seungcheol would travel to the moon and back to accomplish that feeling within his love.
"do you like it better this way?" seungcheol asked, throwing a glance at the flawless prince who sat beside him, swallowing his first bite.
jeonghan was enchanted by the night sky that spread out for infinite miles, being surrounded in a yellow hue that the candle light drew on his face, counting stars and unleashing the undiscovered mysteries of the universe. "i think i do. i'm just happy to spend a moment with you."
"i would spend more of my time with you if i could." seungcheol sighed, not fond of his current busy life.
"i could accompany you in silence if you want me to, your majesty." jeonghan purposely added the title of range in an exaggerated playful tone, knowing that it affected seungcheol in more ways than just one.
"if you like reading, you can take books from my private collection and sit with me when i'm working here in my office. we can lay the pillows like this or you can make yourself comfortable on my couch?" seungcheol flirted back, knowing perfectly well what he was doing to jeonghan.
"i was just fooling around with you. i shouldn't bother you when you're busy." jeonghan brushed it off with a chuckle, though seungcheol couldn't help but to notice the look of sorrow painted on his face.
therefore he put down his plate and grabbed a gentle hold of the prince's shoulder, guiding him to his chest and holding him up against his own body. "you're never a bother you me, my prince." seungcheol's voice came out in a hoarse whisper as he brushed his nose against jeonghan's temple, littering little kisses over the surface of his silky smooth skin. "besides, i would focus even better when you're in my eyesight all day. that way i don't have to worry about anything happening to you in or outside of the castle."
"then please invite me here more often." jeonghan requested, revelling in seungcheol's tender touches.
and so the runway prince and adora's king spent the night in his office, cuddling up on a bunch of cushions and staring at the stars high above them. and jeonghan knew, that as long as he was under seungcheol's safe wing high up in his castle, he would be protected from whatever his father was planning..
