"Ladies first," Hyunjin opened the passenger door as Jarim slipped into the luxury car, admiring the smooth leather that graced the interiors of the vehicle.
The Prince shut the door before entering the driving seat himself.
"Where are we going?" Jarim asked, her eyes shining as Hyunjin revved the engine to life.
"Just a drive around the city," The boy offered. "What d'you think?"
"Let's go,"
The two royals were quiet as they appreciated the beauty of Seoul. The spring weather was warm and allowed more daylight to see the day through.
Around them, hundreds of other cars were patiently waiting for their turn to continue their drives.
Some were heading off to work, some returning from their tiring day jobs. On the sides of the crosswalks were students in high school, leaving the karaoke places, cafés and boutiques that they had spent their time in after school. Young couples lined the streets, hand-in-hand as they too admired the beauty of Seoul at night.
"It's so busy," Jarim observed, her eyes still on the busy roads. "But it's also strangely peaceful at the same time,"
"I used to come out here all the time," Hyunjin muttered. "Before I got the car, and when I was still in school, the boys and I would just disappear off into the streets of Seoul. We'd go everywhere,"
"Did no-one ever catch you?"
"Not really," Hyunjin smiled fondly at the memories that drifted through his head. "We'd wear masks and make sure that we didn't look too suspicious. Occassionally, they'd snap a few pictures, but I was still young. Most kids are always outside, anyway,"
"I went out a lot during my high school years," Jarim remarked as the boy pulled into an empty park. "But as soon as I got into university, I got too busy and I couldn't go everywhere as much as I liked,"
"And then you got married," Hyunjin teased as the pair exited the vehicle, Jarim rubbing her cold hands together.
"Yes, I got married to you," Jarim smirked. "And then I stayed inside the palace and have not seen the outside world since I talked to Bae Jiwoo,"
"Your hands are freezing," Hyunjin ignored the mention of his ex-girlfriend, instead choosing to hold his wife's hands. "Here,"
Much to Jarim's astonishment, the boy let go of her hands and pulled off his hoodie, leaving him in just a black t-shirt. Gently, he pulled the hoodie onto Jarim's shivering figure, tightening the drawstrings as well as pulling up the hood just enough so that it would keep her head warm whilst still allowing her to see. He pulled her mask up, and Jarim felt her stomach flutter at the actions.
"T-Thank you," She stammered as the Prince refrained himself from smirking at her flustered self. "But, won't you be cold?"
"I'll be fine," He insisted. "Come on, let's play!"
The two found themselves reminiscising their childhood, eagerly going towards the slides and the swings. Hanging off of the monkey bars, spinning on the roundabouts.
By the time they had both finshed having the time of their lives, Jarim's cheeks were pink from amusement. Hyunjin had pulled his hair back using a hairband so it wouldn't get in the way of his fun.
"I forgot how fun these things were!" Jarim beamed as Hyunjin slyly took her hand, the two walking to find a place to eat.
"I haven't been in ages, either," Hyunjin agreed as they came to a halt at a tteokbokki place. "Tteokbokki?"
"Yes please,"
...
The owner of the tteokbokki restaurant had been momentarily surprised when he'd seen the future King and Queen of South Korea walk into his little dine-in, but he wasn't going to question it. He had led them into a slightly more secluded area so that the two could eat in peace, only asking for a photo which they happily obliged with.
"There's nothing like eating tteokbokki at night," Hyunjin grinned as he relished the food in front of him.
"The last time I did this was with Sora," Jarim took a sip of the drink beside her before digging back into the spicy cuisine in front of her. "We had a big exam coming up, and we decided to enjoy ourselves one last time before we started preparing for it,"
"Chan hyung can't eat spicy foods for dear life," Hyunjin mentioned. "His face gets all red and it's really funny!"
"How long have you known the boys for?" Jarim asked curiously.
Hyunjin leaned back in his seat, trying to think about the duration of his friendship with the boys.
"I've known Seungmin and Jisung since were were in diapers," He hummed.
"We're all childhood best friends. Felix is the son of the palace chef. They moved from Australia to Korea when I was around ten, and so we became best friends. Jeongin I met during one of the fly-overs the Air Force held when I was ten, and we became fast friends. Minho hyung is the son of one of my parent's oldest friends, the son of the Earls of Gyeonggi, so we saw each other a lot as kids. Chan and Changbin hyung are also my childhood friends as they both have links to the military and the navy. They applied for the position of being my bodyguards when I was around 17? Jisung and Seungmin I've known the longest,"
"Wow," Jarim mumbled. "That is a lot of years of friendship,"
Hyunjin nodded. "We've had our arguments and stuff, of course, but we've always been together, and I can't imagine what I'd be without them,"
"A stray kid?" Jarim joked.
"Literally, we're stray kids who came together as one,"
