Crimson Crown

⌠50⌡

Jinyoung found himself staring into his gold-plated hand mirror before bed. He opened his mouth, examining the space of his lost tooth.

Well, at least it was only one. He could tell that Mark felt bad for the duration of their training and cut it off early with the excuse of needing to run errands, but Jinyoung knew that he just wanted to escape from the damage he'd done. At some point, he returned to give Jinyoung some sweetened ice dessert as an apology, then ran off and disappeared again.

As he was assessing his now vacant tooth hole and determining the tenderness of his gums, he received a knock at the door. Behind the knock entered Youngjae with a tray holding a glass of water, the younger wearing a concerned expression as he spotted Jinyoung examining himself.

"Are you okay? Would you like some more painkillers?"

The elder shook his head, setting the mirror down on his dresser. "Do not worry Youngjae, I am fine."

"Mark should have gone easier on you, next time I will—"

"This was him going easy."

The servant faltered. "...well, you are not at your best performance, so it is not a problem! You just need more rest."

"I don't want to rest, I want to do something useful." Jinyoung sighed, turning to go plop himself on his bed. "...but I said I would take some time to slow down and think, so do not worry."

Youngjae, clearly relieved by his decision, let out a sigh. "I am glad."

The latter hummed as he pressed his face in to his pillow, listening to the sounds of Youngjae tidying up his room.

"So... when were you going to inform me about your... relationship with him?"

Jinyoung lifted his head, glancing back at the servant. "I'm sorry?"

Youngjae shrugged as he dusted various surfaces. "I just assumed, as not only your servant but also your close friend, you would have told me that the vampire was more than a mere interest..."

The prince could already feel his cheeks heating up.

"That— I just— never got around to saying anything. I do not even know what to call us yet..."

"Well... you know doing lewd things in the palace is—"

"We do not do lewd things!" Jinyoung snapped, his embarrassment leaking out. Youngjae was probably referring to the kiss he had walked in on, but things did not escalate further than that; and even if it were going to, it was the servant's fault for interrupting it. "Besides, I turn a blind eye when Jaebeom comes to 'visit' you, so..."

This time Youngjae was the one flushing red— he had thought that his little excursions with the blacksmith had faded from the latter's mind, but apparently not. "I-I know my prince, and I'm grateful for that, but I just felt a little left out of the know since I came to find out about your deeper connection through a coincidence..."

"That coincidence being you forgetting to knock..." Jinyoung grumbled.

"Well, I used to be able to just walk into your room without worrying if I'm disrupting anything but—" The latter faltered, letting out a breath as he turned toward the prince. "...but, now that I understand the relationship that you two have, I can understand you more. Why you're so protective of him and all. I respect his and your feelings."

Jinyoung's gaze fell to the mattress under him as he let out a soft sigh. His feelings for Jackson were strong, yet all over the place— he was wasn't even quite sure what sort of relationship he and the vampire shared, he just knew it was close and intimate.