Royals // yeonjun

십 장

Days had turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Taeyang sometimes still hoped Yeonjun would be able to forgive her. She was not made for royalty; she was not made to be the figure next to a King.

His crowning ceremony had been televised all around the world. He looked so damn gorgeous wearing that white suit with golden buttons, his hair slick and black, his eyes fierce, and on top of that a very beautiful crown.

Taeyang saw the way her little brother's face changed from "excited to know how our new king looks", to "oh my god, it's Jun!", and then to... "oh my god. It's Jun", and give her a knowing look.

"You knew, didn't you?", he asked right before the ceremony started. They were doing a little cameo of the Regal Hall at the Ministry of Culture, where the Queen was smiling in her very politically correct manner.

"Of course I knew. I know it all", she replied. Maybe downplaying it was the best way to approach this conversation with Taehyun. He wouldn't let it go that easily, though.

"So you escaped", that sentence made Taeyang almost choke on her Diet Coke. "Yeah, that's exactly what you did".

"It was not meant to be", she replied quietly.

"I think it was", he pushed but she stayed silent. "You're impossible, you know that, right?"

"What do you mean? I'm impeccable and adorable", she mumbled back and he rolled his eyes before the national anthem was played on TV.

Taehyun upped the volume a bit, and then they focused solely on the crowning of the new King. The Queen was there, and next to her were Beomgyu and Soobin. They looked pristine, in their white colored suits, looking straight at the coronation taking place. The Queen wore a small tiara, as the reigning crown was placed softly but swiftly on top of her first child's head.

She took a breath in and caressed his cheek with one hand, barely a touch. The crowd cheered from outside the Regal Hall, as the ceremony was being televised right outside in the building's walls. No one other than the television broadcasters and the Royal Family were allowed in.

"Dear Korean citizens, I hereby present you King Choi Yeonjun, reigning effective immediately", the Queen stated towards the camera.

Yeonjun did a small bow as to not let his crown fall from his head, and his brothers and mother bowed back. It felt surreal to Taeyang; to be looking at the clumsy funny guy she'd met some months ago, being crowned as reigning King of the country. It almost sent shivers down her spine, knowing that, if Yeonjun actually wanted to find her, he would just have to say so.

Taeyang doubted he actually cared about her, given his new responsibilities and his new title. He was not a free royal kid anymore, he was a King. The King.

"He looks good", her brother commented.

"Yeah", she mumbled back. He always looked good, she wanted to reply. But she didn't. Lately, there were many things she didn't do; either because they scared her, or because she thought she would not be good enough.

Keeping Yeonjun in her life was one of those things. But, to be honest, this particular thing also made her stomach churn with butterflies and a need to go against her fears and reach out.

But it was too late now.

Maybe it had always been too late, even from the start. It had been like a dream, short-lived, but amazing and worth every second. If she had the chance to, she'd do it all over again.

But, instead, she would enjoy every second. Every moment they shared together she cherished, but sometimes she wished they could have more. More moments, more meet-ups, more ice cream and beach walks, and more kisses.

"So, you played with his heart and now he's becoming King...", Taehyun broke the silence. Taeyang looked at him before raising an eyebrow. "He will have you decapitated".

"Why do you keep insisting on him having feelings towards me too? We don't know if he had them, and we never will", she stated.

"Well... for starters he told you his biggest secret. He trusted you enough to tell you something that was life threatening to him", he started. "And also, the heart eyes he wore whenever you were around... the heart eyes are impossible to miss".

"Shut up", she blushed and then sighed. She had no business blushing, she has no business having any sort of feelings towards the King. Not now that she had ran away from him; not now that she'd ruined it all.

But she was rightfully scared. 'King' is a very imposing title, something the person that would date Yeonjun would have to live up to. He could not be hanging around with mere peasants; he would probably end up dating and even marrying either a scholar or a politician.

And Taeyang was no more than a mere nobody.

Well, not since her drama had aired. She had made enough money and gathered a big enough fanbase that another company was contacting her in regards a new show they wanted her to be a supporting character in.

She was still thinking about it; she also wanted a taste of freedom, now that she was able to not drown un work to be able to support her little family of two.

"I'm going to bed", she said.

"It's seven", he replied.

"My head hurts", she lied. She only wanted some alone time so she could, once more, dig into the memories of her short-lived... whatever-that-was she had with Yeonjun.

What she didn't know is that, on the other side of the city, a newly crowned King was making his first demands.

"I want a personal dance teacher. Please contact Jeon Jeongguk. And I want to learn about music, so get in touch with producer Min Yoongi, he has just graduated from university but I feel he will be great", he stated.

Soobin bit his lip while his brother asked for teachers. It was obvious he wanted to keep his only close friends close, so he chose to practically drag them into the palace and have them work for him. Apparently that was the only way he saw plausible to keep his friendship with Jeongguk and his boyfriend.

And he could really use a friend.

"Oh", Yeonjun said casually before taking a seat at his desk and eyeing next week's schedule. "And bring actress Kang Taeyang for a meeting. We have some business to get to".