RED ROSE | Seungjin

Chapter 13

3RD PERSON POV

Hyunjin sat on the pergola, chewing on his snack as he take one again on the plate. He was enjoying his alone time that he was surprised to see Seungmin joining him inside the pergola. "Do you mind if I join you?" Seungmin asked. 

Still in mild shock, he hesitantly hummed in agreement, scooching over to let Seungmin sit on the bench. "Huh, when you think about it, I don't even know your name."

"Its Hyunjin Hwang and you address me as Prince, not with my first name." 

"No."

The disrespected boy only scoffed but shrugged it off. The two were quiet, none of them didn't know what to say or how to even start a conversation with each other. Hyunjin was getting awkward and he bet that Seungmin felt the same way. Feeling obliged, he spoke to Seungmin, "Do you want to have one of my snack?"

Seungmin, who was staring at the field of roses, faced him and replied, "No, thank you. I already had my breakfast."

That was a complete lie. If only he zipped his mouth shut, he would've had breakfast with the other contestants. As if the universe was playing Seungmin, his tummy growled. Hyunjin was smiling awkwardly at him as he held the plate close to Seungmin, signaling the hungry boy to take one. 

Seungmin then sighed, giving up and took a biscuit. He bit a little, then the bite became larger until he swallowed the whole thing. He took another one without Hyunjin's permission as the  boy who offered him the snack look at him in disbelief.

"Never thought you wanted to marry me, huh. I believed you were an intruder or something because the second time I saw you, your hands were tied on your back." Hyunjin spoke out of the blue, chuckling at what he said.

"Huh? No!"

"Then why did you joined the contest? The two gifts you gave to me and my mother?" 

"Let me clear things up, First, I came for a much more important reason, not to join a contest or game. You are cute but I'm not even ready for a lifetime commitment. After all, we only met for a day. To answer your second question, I am not quite familiar with the culture and when my mom gave those items to me, i thought they were just regular gifts you give to people when you visit them. But the thing is, there are no other meetings reserved in a month and they think I was tricked by my own mother." Seungmin explained as he munched and grabbed on a biscuit.

"Doesn't matter. You can't back out now." 

"I talked it out with the Royal Servant who held the meeting for the qualified candidates. They said we can discuss it with the King and Queen themselves." Seungmin said.

"What are you going to do after they let go of you?" Hyunjin asked.

"Leave."

"Oh."

After there was no snack left on the plate and Seungmin wasn't chewing anymore, he cleared his throat. "So... About last night, Do you always do that?"

Hyunjin looked at him, surprised to see him starting a conversation. "Yes, but I usually do it on my own. Sometimes in my room, Sometimes here. I thought venting to someone would help me release." Hyunjin answered.

Seungmin nodded and asked again, "How does it feel like to be a prince?"

"Exhausting. But, I can't do anything about it because they basically own my life... for now."

"What do you mean by they own your life?" 

"Most of my activities were decided by them without my approval. I have no choice but to comply and follow everything they want me to do." Hyunjin said, sadness on his voice. "Well, can I ask about your own interests? Hobbies? Anything you love to do?" Seungmin asked.