Not Quite a Prince || Eric Sohn

~ 31 ~

Eric walked into his parent's room, feeling uneasy. He was unsure why they wanted to speak to him, when they'd barely interacted at all since he got to the Palace. It had been over two months, and they'd barely said more than a sentence to each other. Their relationship, if you could even call it that, was formal and businesslike.  

The only reason he could think of was that they'd found out about Chanmi, and he refused to believe that. 

He stepped into their room, taking a deep breath and wiping his palms on his jeans, desperately trying to appear less nervous than he was. 

What if he'd gotten her in trouble? What if she did get kicked to the streets? What then? He still had no way to protect her. 

His heart dropped, shattering to the floor. If she was caught that meant... she really had given up everything for him. 

He clenched his hands into fists and looked at his parents, ready to fight for her. 

"The Princess of the Stray Kids Commonwealth is coming this afternoon," his father, the King, said. His voice was emotionless as he continued, "you two are going to get married." 

"You'll go on public dates for a while, and then get married," his mother added. 

He looked at the two of them. Neither of them was paying him any attention. They were looking at folders of papers and had said the words as though they weren't trying to change his life. Again. And not for the better. 

"What if... what if I don't want to get married?" Eric finally choked out. "I'm not ready-" 

"Sure you are," his mother said, waving his words away. 

"What if I don't love her?" he blurted out. He was tempted to tell them that he had someone else that he loved, but Chanmi's words were ringing in his ears. She'd said that they'd want him to marry someone beneficial, and she'd been right. 

"Love isn't really what's important," his father said, finally looking up from his desk and meeting his eyes. "As long as you can live together and produce some heirs, that's what's important. A girl who's politically beneficial... that's what's important." 

Eric felt sick to his stomach, hearing him and the unknown girl being talked about like that. Like they were both nothing more than tools that their parents could use. 

Briefly, he wondered how she was feeling about it, but he pushed that thought aside for now. His most pressing thought was... 

How was he supposed to tell Chanmi? 

Thousands of thoughts were swirling around his head, and he couldn't think straight. He needed to get help. He needed advice... he needed Juyeon. 

Without saying anything else, he turned around and ran out of the room. Vaguely, he heard his mother say something like, "he'll get over it", which only served to make him more upset. He ran through the hallways, having absolutely no idea where he was going until he turned the corner and ran into Hyunjae. 

They both fell to the floor. 

"Ouch," Hyunjae whined, glaring at Eric for a split second before seeming to realize that he was the Prince. Then he jumped to his feet. "Your Highness, are you alright?-" 

"None of that," Eric sighed. "Can you just tell me where the guard's dorms are?" 

Hyunjae's eyes twinkled, and he smirked. "Getting bolder, are we?" 

Eric's face suddenly felt as red as a tomato. "Oh my god!" he exclaimed, wishing there was a way to stop himself from blushing. "No... I... we... ugh, I hate you," he grumbled, dragging a hand down his face. "I'm looking for Juyeon. I need to ask him something," he said, trying to ignore Hyunjae's laughter. 

"Oh, well then you're in luck, he's in his room. Come, I'll take you," Hyunjae said, composing himself. Eric watched him take a deep breath and kill his smile and then suddenly, all the laughter was gone. His face was a stone sheet of expressionlessness. Eric couldn't help feeling a bit envious of that. He always had such a hard time hiding his emotions and often wished that he could be better at it. But the guards did it so well. 

A part of him was envious, but he also figured that it must be suffocating, not able to show your emotions freely. 

"So... how are things going with..." Eric asked, immediately regretting it. He'd wanted to say something to break the awkward silence, but maybe that was the wrong thing. "Sorry," he apologized quickly. "That's none of my business-" 

"That's okay," Hyunjae said, laughing. "Her name is Yerin, by the way. When you start giving speeches, you'll start meeting with her more often. She's the person who writes the speeches for the King and Queen. She's also an author." 

"Wow, that's amazing," Eric said, genuinely meaning it. "She writes whole books? Could never be me," he joked. 

"Right?" Hyunjae said, his eyes bright, pride for his girlfriend shimmering in his eyes. "She's great," he gushed.

"How long have you been meeting for?" Eric asked, really curious now. 

"A few years, actually," Hyunjae said, his cheeks tinting pink and a giddy smile coming to his face. 

"A few years? You may as well get married already," Eric joked. 

"Hopefully soon," Hyunjae said, his voice becoming softer and serious now. "Soon," he murmured. "Well, we're here," he said, shaking his head and laughing slightly at himself. "This is the door that leads to the guard's quarters, the male guards, that is," he said, his eyes taking on a teasing glint. "I don't think I'll show you-" 

"Shut up," Eric whined, knowing exactly where he was going with this. He felt his ears turning red again. "Just show me where Juyeon's room is," he grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring at Hyunjae. But it was hard to look intimidating when he was so flustered, and Hyunjae just laughed again. 

It almost felt like they were friends, and that made him happy. 

"Sure," Hyunjae said, opening the door and leading the way. Everyone in the hallways let out a collective gasp, and Eric had to stop himself from laughing. No one knew what to do, some turned and ran away as though he hadn't seen them, and others quickly bowed as he passed and mumbled "Your Highness." 

"It seems like you've shocked them," Hyunjae joked. 

Eric sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I really, really hate this Your Highness business. I wish I could issue a royal decree or something that made it mandatory for everyone to call me Eric." 

"Is that what you want Chanmi to call you-"

"I swear if you don't stop!" Eric complained aloud, drawing a bunch of surprised glances as he glared at Hyunjae, who had stopped in front of a door. Hyunjae pursed his lips together, looking as though he was trying to stop laughing, Eric couldn't help smiling as well. 

"What? What are you going to do Eric?" he teased, opening the door. "Welcome to Juyeon's room," he said dramatically. 

Juyeon was sitting on the bed looking through a pile of papers, and he looked up in surprise when Eric came in. Hyunjae left the two of them alone, closing the door behind them. 

"What are you doing here?" Juyeon asked, pushing aside his papers. Eric went to sit beside him. 

"I have to get married," he grumbled, crossing his arms in annoyance. 

"I know," Juyeon sighed. 

"You... what?"