saudade | taegguk

04

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"Jeongguk, your presence is required in the grand hall," Royal Commander Min Yoongi spoke, his deep voice echoing in the large room. Min Yoongi and Jung Hoseok, the personal guard of Crown Prince Jeon Jeongguk waited for the young prince outside his room. 

Jeongguk was the prince of the Jeon Kingdom and the two guards Min Yoongi and Jung Hoseok were his closest friends. Jeongguk doesn't speak much even with his friends, he speaks only when it's absolutely necessary and when his opinion is absolutely needed. 

Yoongi and Hoseok befriended him in other words constantly annoyed him and Jeongguk gave up on shooing them away. Now the guards don't receive just a "yes", "no" or a nod anymore and that was already a big achievement. 

Though in royal matters, he does voice out his thoughts which are often essential but in a succinct manner. 

Those working in the palace get shivers when they make eye contact with him. His ice-cold, unnerving gaze can get people to freeze in their spot. His intelligence and observation skills surpass many, his ability to foresee and predict the consequences of different possibilities makes him an ideal king. 

An ideal king, of course, but still idealistic seeing that the prince doesn't feel emotions. Exaggerated? 

Very. 

However, when his grandfather died he didn't cry. When his mother has a miscarriage, he could not console his mother except by giving her a hug. He didn't feel joy or even crack a smile on his face known to anyone in the palace. 

Jeon Donghyun and Jeon Ophelia knew that their son so was fit to be a King but his inability to feel or sympathise was scary, in a sense that sometimes empathising with the feelings of the people in his kingdom is required before decisions has to be made. 

The Jeons did get him checked for alexithymia but his diagnosis was negative, it meant that their son just chose not to reveal his emotions and thoughts. 

They do get chills, an eerie shift in the air when they sometimes walk into Jeongguk's room at night and see him lying on his bed, his pitch-black eyes hollow like the dark abyss staring off into the night sky.

 They got him what his favourites from as far as they knew. They got him multiple suitresses and suitors who were interested in Jeongguk but he rejected every single one of them without even sparing a glance. 

Jeon Ophelia wept away at night, thinking about her son and Jeon Donghyun couldn't stand his beautiful Queen being upset and his son being so detached. 

He faintly remembered his son playing with a particular blue-eyed prince always having full-blown smiles on his face and he intends to reconnect his son with that boy as his final hope at the masquerade ball hosted by the Kims. 

"I hope he will agree to attend the masquerade ball with us this year, he had rejected the one hosted by the Parks 5 years ago," Jeon Ophelia sighed as her husband gently massaged the nape of her neck. 

"Appa. Eomma," Jeongguk addressed while bowing down slightly. 

"Jeongguk, come sit and we are your parents you don't need to bow down to us!" Jeon Ophelia smiled as she hugged her son who patted her back. 

"Jeongguk, we are worried about you. Please talk to us. Talk to Yoongi and Hoseok. Or even talk to someone we set you up with. Please don't shut yourself away from us," Jeon Ophelia whispered her heart cracking slightly at her son's expressionless face. 

It was as if he was too far gone to ever come back.

"Indeed, we are worried about and next week you are coming with us to the masquerade ball hosted by the Kims." Jeon Donghyun directed at Jeongguk. 

 "Okay." 

"You cannot and I mean absolutely cannot say that you aren't coming because I'm dragging you there and you are going to talk to someone there and make a friend and smile and一" 

"一Honey, he already agreed to go," Jeon Donghyun shut down his wife from blabbering away. 

"Oh." Queen Ophelia muttered sheepishly. 

Before the couple could recollect their thoughts, Jeongguk had already silently left back to the confinement of his room. 

~

L