My Treasure//Bang Yedam

Min Chinmae

"What are you going to do about the wedding?" A tall man stood at the front of the King's desk, head bowed respectfully as the King sat in his chair, his back facing the servant. "Princess Chinmae has already been of age for two years. The Prince just woke from his coma. The Kings' are also getting restless about the marriage."

The servant raised his head, expecting the King to be facing towards him, but the King didn't move an inch. "My King?" The servant stepped closer to the desk. "The castle as been gloomy and dreary and you locking yourself away makes the Kingdom worry. The cells in the dungeons are full, the Princess has been waiting for you to return her letters and calls for years, she hasn't even seen you or her personal servants in the past two years, and the Queen is-"

The servant's words were cut off as a flash of realization crossed through his mind. "-rotting away," he finished. Swiftly, he rushed to the King's side. A wave of shock washed over him as a yell of alarm ripped through his lungs. 

"What happened? Johnny?" Jisung, who was much older now, rushed into the King's study. He eyed as Johnny stared at the King with wide eyes. Chenle was not too far behind him, the boy barely had any time to put his contacts in, but it seemed like he didn't need to as Johnny gazed at them in horror. 

~~

Chinmae wandered through the long halls of JYP Palace, gazing out of the windows here and there and walking into unlocked rooms. Prince Yedam was spending time with the Princes' of JYP, talking about Jeongin's upcoming wedding, and Chinmae didn't want to hear about it. 

Prince Jeongin was quite the bachelor, Chinmae would recall, but his heart was always for that one boy. He was the Duke's son, Chinmae believed. The two were absolutely adorable together and Chinmae was truly happy for Jeongin, but she couldn't help the wave of negative emotions as she thought about it. 

Marriage, soulmates, love. Chinmae didn't have a good history with any of those things. Now that Prince Yedam was awake and well, much happier than he was before, Chinmae tried to push those negative thoughts away, but it was too hard. 

If Yedam remembered, what would he do? Would he push her away again? Would be hurt himself again? Chinmae knew him, not well, but well enough to know that he was rash, arrogant, and highly emotional. He was unpredictable, and she feared of what his reaction would be. But she couldn't wish him to forever remain ignorant. Because, though it was nice that he was so much sweeter and softer, it felt so fake. She felt like she was lying to him.

As she grew lost in her thoughts, she absentmindedly swung open the library door. The library didn't seem to change much over the course of five years. The walls were still covered in books and there were a few new bookcases set up around the room, but that was really it. Plants still decorated the corners and the study space was still up on the second floor. 

From where Chinmae stood, she could clearly see two figures sitting side by side. One was hunched over, scribbling on a notebook with two stacks of books beside them, on open and halfway down on the other side. The other was looking over their shoulder, but instead of looking at the words, they stared at the other lovingly. 

It was obvious who the couple was. 

"Princess Mae? What brings you here?" Mashiho tilted his head as he watched Chinmae slowly approach them. Junkyu cleared his throat awkwardly, shifting his gaze onto her as well. 

"I was just passing by," Chinmae said. "I missed this."

"Missed what?" Junkyu scooted himself over as he asked this, giving Chinmae space to sit. She gladly sat down beside him. 

"Missed you guys. The Palace is lonely without you guys. I haven't been able to visit your cottage too. Nor have I been able to catch up with you, ask about future children or pets, or anything of the sort." Chinmae leaned back into the sofa. She didn't realize how tense she was until she relaxed into the soft cushions. "I wanted to see the wedding too."

"We eloped, Princess. There was no wedding," Mashiho informed, continuing to work on his research as he said this. 

"Then let's set up a wedding for you both," Chinmae offered. "I would love to see you two have a happy wedding. Jeongin is already getting married and he just turned eighteen. Hyunjin will be wedded with Seungmin a few months after and will be officially the King of JYP Kingdom. We can plan for your wedding to be next year, by your cottage."

"That's sweet, Princess, but might I remind you that you have your own marriage to look forward to? Prince Yedam is awake now and the sooner you get married, the sooner you can take care of your people." Junkyu shifted his position to face Chinmae fully. 

"Once I get married with Yedam, my ties with my Kingdom will be completely severed," Chinmae stated. "No one will be able to take the throne after my Father, he and my Mother are too old to have children. Due to customs, my Father's right-hand man of the council will take the throne. I'm worried that the next King would be a ruthless fool."

Chinmae refrained from saying the other hundreds of reasons of why she felt the way she did about the marriage, keeping it to that. Junkyu and Mashiho weren't stupid. They knew that there was more, of course they knew, they had been close with her and been with her through the hardest time in her life, but they kept their mouths shut. 

"How are your hormones?" Mashiho asked, changing the subject. "I heard from Lisa and Jennie that they're getting more stable. Now that Prince Yedam is awake, your stress levels must've gone down."

"Yes, I've been improving," Chinmae agreed. "Actually, I have a project proposal for you, Mashiho."

Mashiho quirked an eyebrow at that. "Okay?"

"You're name has gotten quite the reputation over the past few years from your research of soulmates," Chinmae stated, "so I wanted you to look into something for me. A few things...actually. I'll pay you for your research, 10,000 silver every six months of research it takes."

Junkyu coughed, choking on air as Mashiho sputtered out incoherent words. "That's-that's! Princess Mae, that is way to much to-for-paying for-what do you-what kind of research?"

Mashiho and Junkyu leaned in closer, wanting to know exactly what Chinmae was asking for, but before they could hear what, the library door slammed open. The three jumped in their seats, startled by the rude entrance, but their irritation turned into fear and worry as they stared at an antsy Byunggon. 

"Princess Chinmae," Byunggon called. Chinmae stood up, her brows pressed together before stepping down the stairs and towards him. Junkyu and Mashiho followed behind. "News, from your Kingdom."

Hearing this, Chinmae's eyes lit up. It had been way too long since she had last heard anything from them. Even Jisung and Chenle stopped replying to her calls and letters after a few years of being apart. Expecting it to be good news or news about the treaty, Chinmae jumped on the balls of her feet. 

Junkyu and Mashiho would also feel excited for her, but the look of dread of Byunggon's face said otherwise. Chinmae soon caught on herself, her bright happy smile faltering. "What happened?"

Byunggon avoided her gaze, for a few seconds longer before staring at her straight in the eyes. "The King of SM Kingdom passed away this morning."