merry go round || nomin ✔

- nine -

"hey jaemin, we'll have something delivered to the king tonight. it's your job to pass it to him, alright?" renjun said as he started to plate the dish and decorated it with special spices, sauces, and small leaves etc. jaemin watched in awe as the younger started moving his hands swiftly along the process of making and decorating the dish. even though jaemin was a decent chef himself, he never thought cooking can be very fancy even at this age.

"jaemin?"

"huh, yeah? oh, right." jaemin snapped out of his stare and immediately pulled out the wooden tray near him as renjun placed the plate of dish on top of it for jaemin to carry. they also didn't forget the drink which is warm tea. it smelled very delicious and homey which made jaemin miss his mother's homemade dishes he used to taste.

"do you know the road to the king's room?"

"i uh.. i'm not sure." he chuckled awkwardly and scratched his nape with his slightly free hand, almost dropping the tray of food. renjun sighed and smiled, gesturing the male to follow him across the hallway and into the specific area that says 'off limits, approved visitors only' in ancient korean calligraphy. jaemin wondered why the king wanted to be so secretive with himself since it'll just keep a barrier between him and his people. but then he thought that there must've been something that happened that could create the barrier like so.

"i can't come inside since they already have you so you go ahead. just straight across this hall and you'll meet doyoung, the butler you met a few days back." jaemin nodded and straightened his back, coughing slightly and walking elegantly. renjun who watched him just chuckled and shook his head.

renjun was indeed right. not long after he walked, he saw doyoung waiting for him right in front of a royal looking door covered in gold color and a very fancy looking door knob.

"i see you have received your first order, sir na." doyoung said as he smiled at the younger who bowed shyly while looking down.
"don't bow to me like that, we don't do that in the present time." doyoung whispered followed by a small giggle from the two of them.

"hyung! is my dinner here yet?" a muffled voice from inside the rood was heard by jaemin who immediately stood straight back, not wanting to get scolded by the king once more.

"that's your queue, jaemin." doyoung's smile was followed by a wink as the younger giggled and nodded. he took a deep breath and pulled off a smile.

as he entered the room, he was met by the king sitting on his bed pouting. but once he saw a familiar face on his door, he gasped and stood up straight.

"stranger?" the king said as he looked at jaemin, obviously surprised. the boy who was called 'stranger' by the king smiled and waved his hands at him, letting out an awkward giggle.

"what are you doing here?"

"i-i got a job as your personal helper, your majesty."

"so you are the personal helper doyoung hyung told me about. interesting..." the king kept putting on his cold face as he nodded slowly.

"you can put my meal on the table over there. thank you, sir.."

"call me jaemin, please." jaemin replied quickly and got a curt nod from the king who motioned him to dismiss. he nodded and obeyed as told, exiting after a 90 degree bow. letting out a big exhale, renjun held his chest which he held his breath in for god knows how long. he didn't know how heart stopping meeting the king was.

"how'd it go, young man?" a voice asked which turned out to be doyoung's who was waiting outside the door for him.

"gosh you scared me." jaemin sighed and rolled his eyes. "suffocating. very." he rolled his eyes and dragged his way back to renjun's room where the owner was already waiting inside.

-

"his eyes, renjun! his eyes are suffocating me. i now claim to understand why his citizens are so scared of their own leader." jaemin complained as he slumped himself on renjun's wooden bed. renjun too sighed as he patted jaemin's legs, who received a comforting smile from the older.

"you'll get used to it soon, alright?"

"i sure hope so. i just hope i can get along well with the king since i have to meet him often in the next few days." with that reply from jaemin, renjun frowned.

"what?"

"jaemin, remember what you're here for. i don't think getting too close to the king is a good idea." renjun shook his head as he spoke while jaemin frowned.

"why can't i? i thought i'd get to stay here for a long time." he pouted while renjun looked at him with sympathy in his eyes.

"there's one thing me and mark hyung haven't told you.." renjun spoke as he looked down.

"what?" no answer was given when jaemin spoke out, just silence from renjun.
"renjun, tell me. what is it that you and mark haven't told me?" with a sigh, renjun looked up at the younger.

"the specific amulet that the king owns has a time limit. it only stays for a few months or even weeks now, we don't know for sure. but there's one thing i know and i'm sure of, jaemin. if you get too attached to this world that's not supposed to exist, you'll disappear in the real world and it'll continue like you don't exist at all. so please, concentrate on your goal and what you're supposed to do. that's the least you can do to save yourself from here." renjun explained as he walked beside the door and blew the candle.

"you can stay here tonight, i bet you can't really sleep in new places alone especially in places like these, you never really know." with those words, jaemin sighed and laid back down on the bed which renjun also crawled into.

maybe renjun's right. i should really focus on getting back.

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