Dimensions || taekook

Chapter 6

"My anticipations were correct, the view is magnificent this very fine morning."

Taehyung leaned back on the little bench he was sitting on. Jungkook, holding a wooden picnic basket the size of a full-sized trunk, noted how satisfied he looked, judging by the little smile playing on his pretty pink lips. And he had to agree.

From the crown prince's secret garden pavillion, you could see part of the castle in all its sunny glory plus all the beautiful roses swaying in the morning breeze. The sky was a bright pink and orange, making the rosy castle seem even more fairytale-y than it had initially been.

Jungkook's predictions about Elysium's food had been correct: it simply looked so valuable he was afraid to touch it. The strawberries were all in the same shade of crimson red that made them look perfectly ripe, the fluffy pancakes all had the same square piece of butter on top of it, right in the middle and not too hard and not too soft. And the strawberry tarts were a whole other kind of divine.

Being a royal heir seemed to come with its privileges, like getting loaded with all sorts of juicy fruits, soft bread and pancakes (so soft he was starting to wonder whether he was eating flavoured cotton) and the sweetest tarts and cakes any mankind had ever tasted for breakfast. And then there was Jungkook, usually downing crumbly chocolate muesli way past the expiration date every morning his mother had to leave for work. That's why he usually looked forward to weekends, when she and his father were home and the three of them could spend a relaxing morning together and share stories about school and work.

His parents must be worried about him. So, so worried. He felt a sudden churn in his stomach that had nothing to do with the food as he imagined his parents' panicked faces, nothing but pure desperation written on them as they frantically called the neighbours to check if Jungkook had come home last night.
Did he even deserve to be here, enjoying himself in the slightest? When his parents were probably worried sick about their only son?

"You are thinking," Taehyung interrupted his train of depressing thoughts. "Presumably about your loved ones at home." Jungkook looked up in surprise.
"How'd you know?" The prince wiped his hands on the silky napkin laying in his lap that he had insisted to bring, despite there not being anything on them at all. Probably a habit.

"I happen to read quite a lot of books. Reading so many different peoples' thoughts in combination with different situations gives me a bigger insight on what a person might be thinking and feeling and it helps me empathize with them. You must be horribly devastated, being forced to leave your world through an unlucky accident and entering another without any sort of warning beforehand. My deepest apologies," he spoke, keeping his eyes on the napkin in his lap and reaching out his hand to pat the younger's shoulder.

Jungkook was quite surprised upon hearing the other's words, not having expected a prince to be able to feel empathy for him since he didn't seem to really feel any for his servants or his family. "Why are you being so nice to me?," he then asked. "I figured you'd ask your parents or whoever to deal with me once you realized there was no way of me getting back."

Now, Taehyung finally looked at him. "You are different from them," he said quietly. "And that intrigues me. Life at court is so terribly monotonous, sometimes it feels like I am losing myself. Your presence appears to me like a breath of fresh air within years of almost suffocating." His gaze was calm and tranquilizing and there was something about the way that the beauty sat with his chin propped up in his hand and his head tilted towards Jungkook that took the brunette's breath away.

He really didn't know what to say. Part of him felt quite honored for having such an effect on the prince but the other part somehow felt... used? Frustrated? Something he couldn't quite decipher by himself.
"Why don't you ever try to bond with your family? You seem to hate them," he then asked.