He Walks Alone in the Moonlight [COMPLETED]

BOUND BY A SECRET

After Jihyun's breathing had steadied with the rhythm of sleep, the crown prince finally pulled his eyes away from the delicate face to look at Minjoo, who had been silently glaring at the prince. "What's going on. What did you see in that cave that made you rush all the way here?" The Crown prince sighed, rising to sit next to Minjoo in the dim corner of the room. "And why did you come to him-" Minjoo pointed at Jihyun with his chin, "when you weren't concerned as to whether he lived or died only hours ago."

The prince's back tensed at the mention of Jihyun dying, his mind replaying the vivid scene from his vision of the future. There was no point in lying, he would tell the world who Jihyun was to him sooner or later, he just didn't want the servant to know, was worried it would scare him off, or make him terribly sad. The crown prince had never been concerned about winning the approval of others, but the thought that Jihyun would refuse his advances and deny their fate together made his heart constrict. The crown prince has never hoped to find his fated. Finding the one you were meant to walk the moonlit path with while you were alive was as rare as being blessed with unusual magic. Most fated did not meet until after their death, only able to spend eternity together in the afterlife. But because it was a possibility, because it was a fate his late mother had spoken of with such reverence, the prince unconsciously held himself back from any deep romantic relationships. He had refused arranged marriages and nobles' advances. Once he accepted the truth the witch showed him, the prince couldn't fathom how he hadn't considered the possibility that finding his fated could be a possibility. Winning Jihyun over was now more important than becoming king. The cold exterior he had built, his ferocious reputation, all seemed to crumble in Jihyun's presence.

"If I tell you what I saw, you must not tell anyone. Not Jihyun, and not the others. You must swear to keep this secret until I say otherwise." Minjoo, straightened, watching the prince with a seriousness uncharacteristic of him. "What did you see, your highness?"

"I saw the coup. And I saw Jihyun die. For me." Minjoo's face crinkled in confusion, his sharp eyes flicking over to Jihyun's sleeping form. Doyoon could not let Jihyun hear word of his possible death, and even breathing it into reality upset him. It was best to keep that knowledge tucked away.

"How was he at the palace? Why would he do that? Was the coup successful?" questions streamed from the seamster's mouth in a hurried whisper.

The crown prince shook his head. "I don't know. I can only assume I brought him there-"

"Why?" Minjoo was quick to cut the prince off. The prince frowned at the interruption before taking a deep breath that made his shoulders shift. "He is the one with which I will walk the moonlit path, Jihyun is. The witch told me, showed me." Minjoo's eyes blew wide at the crown prince's confession.

"He- wait, truly? You saw that in the vision? Is that why you were so hurried to return, why you came straight here? Because he was the answer to finding your true happiness?" The crown prince only nodded, lowering his head with exhaustion. It had been a long day, and his whole world view, his life goal, had shifted in a matter of hours.

"Minjoo, what am I supposed to do? I have never had affections for someone, I've never had someone I needed to care for, and even my first meeting with him was one where I was filled with cruelty." The crown prince remembered the sound of tea sloshing, the feeling of his hand twisted painfully in Jihyun's long hair.

"You will not like to hear it, but I think it would be best to keep your distance from him for now. I could not even stand to look at their faces without being reminded of-" Minjoo paused, pain and anger flashing in his eyes. The reason for his pain was why even the Crown Prince tolerated Minjoo's disappointment in him after whipping Jihyun. If anyone had a right to be angry at the prince's abuse of power, it was Minjoo. "It will take him time. To come around to even being near you, much less accepting that you're his fated, unless you insist on traumatizing him further." Although the crown prince indeed didn't want to hear such words, he knew what Minjoo said was true, and it was only cemented by the previous fear in Jihyun's eyes. Sensing the prince's unease, Minjoo placed a hand on his shoulder. "I will look after his recovery, your highness. I will talk to him as well, not about being the one with which you will walk the moonlit path, but about other things. He will need to be comfortable around at least one of us if you wish to bring him to the palace."

"Very well, then. I suppose I could not expect the others to achieve that," the prince conceded as he stood, preparing to leave the room. Minjoo snorted, thinking of the intimitaditing muscle heads that were Jaeon and Chang, as well as the critical and haughty Songmin. "No, I suppose you could not. Besides, he and I have much in common," Minjoo whispered, looking at Jihyun. It was true, both men were of a more delicate frame than the crown prince and the rest of his party, and both were of relatively lower status as well, amongst other things.

"I will leave him to you then. Report to me if anything changes." Minjoo bowed his head, watching the prince struggle to leave the room, and his fated, behind.