His Highness

Chapter 1:Us

The market was bustling with life and the smell of fresh morning dew infiltrated the air. In a market full of familiar faces, a fresh face always grasped everyone's attention. A young man donning a monotonous outfit plodded around the area and scanned meticulously with his doe eyes. For sure, he could not be one of them. But still, he blended in with them. The elderly adored him and the girls could not take their eyes off such an angel. Even with all the attention on him, he still had a heart of gold. Really, was he a gift from heaven?

This young man was non other than the hidden Prince, Kim HyunWoo. But of course, everyone was oblivious to his royal status. Only a year later would he be presented to HwakGyeon Kingdom as Crown Prince.

Upon completion of his routine, he headed back to the palace by his usual route, void of any human contact. For of course, his true identity must be concealed. When he passed by the meadow, a creature caught his eye. With wary steps, he approached the creature and could finally make out the figure: a human. He eased up and approached the unfamiliar young man.

"Hello. May I know what you are doing here? It's quite isolated here." He lightly tapped his shoulder and asked.

His head snapped back and the tension faded away when he realised it was just a guy. He looked back and stared into oblivion again. HyunWoo settled next to him and repeated his question but again, silence. Again, he repeated his question in hopes of getting a reply. Third time was the charm right?

"Go away." He replied.

He was taken aback at his abrupt reply for no one had ever spoken to him that way before. Still, he collected his thoughts and tried to string a conversation with this man. But it was as good as talking to a wall. The man stared at him dead in the eyes and he decided that was his signal to finally leave.

Night fell and yet HyunWoo's mind was filled with the thoughts of him. Who was this mysterious creature? He did not even know his name. Something about him tugged at his heart strings and made him want to know him more. And of course the word 'give up' did not exist in his dictionary so he knew exactly what he was going to do.

The next day, he did his routine check up in the market, before he called it a day and headed back to the palace. When he passed by the meadow again, he was met with a familiar figure lying down on the grass. He grinned and skipped towards the man.

"Hello, we meet again." He smiled.

The man opened his eyes and was met with a bigger pair. He shot up and stared at HyunWoo.

"Woah, no need for that glare again." He teased before settling next to him. "Will you tell me why you're here now?" He asked again but was met with silence.

"Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself yesterday. I'm HyunWoo and I'm nineteen this year." He
smiled and stuck out his hand. "Let's be friends."

To his dismay, he simply looked away.

"Oh? You still don't want to give me a reply? I thought that was why you didn't want to talk to me." He sulked. "Then can I at least know your name or age? So I'll know how to address you." He pouted and tugged on his shirt.

Persistence was his model but in this case, it was far from working. He stood up and left abruptly.

"Oh? You know I won't give up right?" He exclaimed and smiled.

This was a sign that he was at least listening to him. And he was willing to go to any extent to open up his heart. Feeling more content than ever, he returned to the Palace but was suddenly called to the King's book room.

"Ah I've been expecting you. Take a seat." The King motioned towards the chair.

HyunWoo was skeptical but listened to his Father anyway.

"Son, your twentieth birthday is eleven months away so I think that it is best you stay in the Palace. We cannot risk your safety at this point." He explained.

"But no one knows who I truly am yet. I don't feel threatened either and this is the only way I can feel normal." He retorted.

"Listen here carefully." He walked over to where his son was and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I too wanted my freedom when I was younger but you have to understand that you are not normal. And never will be. As part of the royal family, you have a position to uphold and duties to fulfil. Being the only son, only you have the power to have a heir to the throne. God forbid anything happens, everything will fall apart." He explained in detail.

"But I don't see a need to stop me this early. At least let me enjoy the next few months. Weren't you the one who said you always prioritised my happiness?" HyunWoo stood up and faced him.

"HyunWoo-ah, life isn't so simple. We must be willing to make sacrifices."

"I will in the future but not now."

The King sighed in defeat.

"I'll see what I can do." He said before dismissing him.

He plopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. This was the first ever time he had talked back to his Father. And he did not even know why. All his life, he had blindly complied with his Father's orders to keep him happy so this was very unusual to him and his Father. He had no idea what had gotten into him.

He cooped up in his bed and stared into oblivion. There was just something about this guy that he could not quite put his finger on. Something about him made his heart flutter. His brain was in a mess and he did not know what to do. No one had ever made him feel this way before. But HyunWoo was more than determined to get to know that mysterious man. The man that had unknowingly stolen his heart.

This became his routine for the next month. No matter how many times he was turned down, he persisted on. Surely, he could not avoid the question forever right? And if he truly was annoyed, why did he still come back everyday? Right when he thought all hope was lost, he got the reply he was longing for.

"Don't you have anything else to do?" He asked.

HyunWoo's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"You finally talked!" He jumped up and ran around like a little kid high on sugar.

He quickly sat back next to him and started bombarding him with a thousand questions.

"What's your name? Your age? Your birthday..."

The other male stared at him without uttering a word.

"Sorry, I'm just really excited. " He smiled. "Then what's your name?"

He hesitated for awhile before deciding to reply.

"MinJun."

"Oh, that's a pretty name." HyunWoo exclaimed. "Then what's your age?"

"Twenty."

"Oh? You're older than me! So you're my Hyung!" He proudly exclaimed.

"Who's your Hyung?" MinJun snickered.

"You of course!" He hugged him and flashed his big doe eyes.

"Yah, yah, keep your distance. Don't make me regret talking to you so early on." He pushed him off.

He pouted but eventually stopped hugging him.

"Oh right. Why do you like visiting the meadow?" He asked.

"I think we should head back. The sky is going to turn dark soon." The elder male quickly stood up.

"But it's only three-"

Before he could even complete his sentence, he was gone. He had been attempting to ask that question several times but not once did he get an answer. Surely, something was up.

Despite that, he was still feeling more content than ever. He finally managed to open his heart even if it was just a little. That night, he slept like a baby. His heart was finally full and he could not have been happier. This was the beginning of their book. Together.