Whisper Of The Wind [ONF FF]

Chapter 3

The following morning Yuto woke up feeling the liveliest he had been in a while. He had confirmed with his mother the authenticity of the document Jaeyoung had presented him, being reminded of the conditions of his visits. He had to strictly follow the curfew and had to be accompanied by someone at all times. Such conditions were mere specs of dust compared to Yuto's will to discover.

At sunrise, the shiny undried droplets of rain looked almost ethereal. Everything looked prettier to Yuto, a plethora of mesmerising sights to choose from. He hurried his step through the dimly lit palace corridors with a set destination in mind.

His fingers pulled on a thin string hanging at the entrance of a wooden lodge, his gesture provoking a soft chiming noise from the bell inside the place. It wasn't long before a head peeked out from the wooden doors, sleep evident in the person's eyes.

"Prince Yuto? Is anything the matter?"

A part of Yuto felt bad at that moment for waking up the other boy, he hadn't really thought it through, his mind set on stepping foot into town as soon as possible.

"Good morning Changyun. May I come in?"

Changyun quickly composed himself, stepping aside to let Yuto into the lodge. "Please forgive me for the lack of presentation Prince, if I knew you'd come I would've prepared the place."

"No Changyun, forgive me for my unannounced visit at such early hours."

"Please, I am always at your service."

Yuto grew a fond smile, gesturing for Changyun to stand up straight as the other bowed. "Oh, I've told you countless times there's no need for such formalities between us."

"You know I cannot be informal to you."

The Prince sighed, flopping down onto a chair as he ran his hands through his hair. "Changyun, I actually have a favor to ask of you. As you may have perhaps heard, I am finally allowed to leave the palace as per my own desire."

Changyun nodded. "I have heard so, yes. Does my Prince wish for me to accompany him as I used to?"

Yuto smiled, nodding his head. "Bull's eye. One of the conditions Mother worded leaves me with the need of a companion. I'd like you to be that person."

"I am most honored to accompany you. Previously I was the one coercing you to leave the palace grounds, now the Prince is asking for my companionship, we truly have grown, haven't we?"

"Years have gone by in the blink of an eye." Yuto mirrored Changyun's fond smile, memories of their childhood filling their minds. "In order for us to go, however, I'm afraid I must ask one more favor of you."

Changyun nodded, softly bowing his head as a form of agreement to whatever the other would request of him.

"You mustn't refer to me as the Prince nor treat me as such during our outings. We are equal the moment we step foot out of the palace."

"But Sir-"

"Please. I want to experience the town as everyone else. Just treat me like you did when we were younger." Yuto smiled sadly. "I miss it."

Changyun cast his eyes down and bit his lip but nodded nonetheless. He wasn't certain about such a request but it was something he could not refuse. "Alright. I will."

"Meet me in front of the main gates in around an hour then."

Yuto happily skipped out of the lodge, looking up at the sky seeing that it was quickly becoming clearer. It was almost time.