Hold My Hand - A Taekook Love Story.

05 - Walking Towards A Heartbreak.

Jungkook sighed for the nth time. He was fed up with staying inside his chamber but he promised Jimin that he wouldn't leave his room. That was the only way he could get the guard to agree to do what he requested.

Jungkook snapped his head towards the door at the sound of Jimin's voice, asking for permission to come in.

"Come in!" Jungkook tried to mask his excitement but wasn't sure whether he succeeded completely.

Jungkook could hardly wait till Jimin was in his room, before greeting him with a question.

"Did you find him?"

"Well.."

Jungkook's face fell a bit at the blank look Jimin was giving him, but then again, Jimin has always been good with hiding his emotions. "Come on, just tell me!"

"I talked to that lady at the snack stall..." Jimin was pausing way too much and Jungkook was getting agitated with each second. "... and she didn't know who he was. She asked me to check with the man selling herbs so I did that. But.."

"But?!"

"He didn't know the man either. However, he told me to check with the woman who is selling the rings and bangles and stuff so I did-"

"-Hyung!!"

By now, Jungkook had realized what was happening. It is very rare that Jimin tries to be mischievous with him but looks like this is one of those moments.

He sat on the bed after that whine and looked at the elder with a pout. "Stop teasing me."

Jimin was silent for a few seconds before he broke into a light chuckle. It then turned to a full laughter and soon, Jungkook joined him too.

They were laughing uncontrollably for about a minute before calming down. Jungkook then gave an expecting gaze to the other and this time, Jimin properly complied with his request.

"His name is Kim Taehyung. 25. Painter. Sells paintings and portraits. Lives in a nearby village with his parents. He has a sister, 5 years younger than him. Father works as an assistant with the local doctor. And uhh... they are not that well off."

"Oh.." Jungkook said absentmindedly as he tried to absorb all that information. Kim Taehyung. Even his name is pretty. Fitting really, cause he is the prettiest man Jungkook had ever seen.

And he's a painter. It really wouldn't make a difference to Jungkook what his profession is, but as an artistic person himself, Jungkook loved the fact that Taehyung is a painter.

Music is Jungkook's passion. He cared very little about politics or governance of the country. It was a job meant for his brother anyway. Jungkook spent most of his time playing various instruments and singing.

Jimim watched as the young prince got lost in his thoughts. Jimin was in two minds about doing what the Prince wanted because he was worried about what the outcome might be. He couldn't understand what the Prince hoped to achieve with this information. Well, he did understand, it's just that he knew how futile that would be.

But like pretty much every other person in the palace, Jimin is defenseless when it comes to the young prince's pout. Those big doe eyes that got even larger as he made his request, was more than enough for Jimin to yield.

If Jimin had the ability to turn back time, he would make sure to never let the prince set a foot in that market. It seemed impossible at this point, but Jimin hoped with his whole heart for the prince to get spared from a heartbreak.



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Jimin and Jungkook were coming back from another little trip in the villages. As promised to the king, Jungkook did ask for permission this time. The king wanted to send a few guards but Jungkook argued that it is much safer when the public is not clued in on his identity. General public, who had no connection to the palace, hardly saw any royals. They'd not recognise prince Jungkook and traveling with an entourage of guards would just call for unwanted attention.

After pleading a lot, well, not really a lot cause the king couldn't hold off for long, Jungkook was permitted to roam around the country with only Jimin as a guard.

Of course, he didn't tell the king about the purpose of this trip, which would have been a sure way of getting himself grounded for the next three years.

It took them a little while to find Taehyung's village, although neither had any clue what to do when they did. Like Jungkook replied when Jimin posed that very question, they will cross that bridge when they get there.

The road was through a little bit of countryside where there were nothing but fields of crops. It would have been a pleasant scenery, if not for the fact that most of those fields had withered to an unappealing brown. The rain gods had not been that kind to the land for a few seasons now.

They were going in a slow pace and suddenly a man jumped out of a bush on the side of the road, making the two horses instantly stop.

Jimin jumped down in a swift motion and stood in front of Jungkook's horse. His hand was already gripping the hilt of his sword.

"Who are you?!" Jimin's voice rang with authority. "Why have you stopped us?"

The man whistled loudly and 8 more people came out from the nearby bushes and the crop field. They tried to circle the two horses but stopped when Jimin pulled out his sword.

"Let us pass, or I'll make you reach the afterlife sooner than you would like." Jimin sneered while gesturing to the prince to stay on his horse.

Jungkook wasn't frightened or anything. He knew that even all these people combined are not much of a threat to Jimin. They looked nothing like fighters, even though they all carried some kind of a weapon. Household knives, sickles and some only had wooden bars.

"G-give us the money you have." The man who first jumped called out in an attempted brave voice. "Then we will let you go."

Jimin laughed at that. "Go back to your houses, unless you want to suffer the consequences of your actions. Have you no regard for your lives?"

"Y-you are o-outnumbered. Give us the money!"

Jimin moved his foot on to a combat stance, ready to strike them on the spot they were standing, but Jungkook's voice stopped him.

"Are you so troubled that you have no other way than to rob people?"

Jungkook's melodical voice seemed to have had a strange impact on the group. Majority of them looked hesitant and not sure of their actions any more.

"Do you not have jobs, or have lands to work in?" Jungkook asked again. "This method will surely get you killed instantly."

Another man from the group lowered his knife at that. "We will anyway not survive the next winter. I suppose an instant death sounds better than a slow starving."

Jungkook's eyebrows furrowed at that. He knew that life is not fair for everyone but he didn't know it was this bad. Isn't his father a good ruler? Wasn't he looking after his people properly? What are the ministers in this area doing, waiting till the people are driven for suicide missions?

Jungkook quickly pulled out a pouch from his inner pocket. He threw it towards the people and one of them caught it.

"Here, you can have it. It's not much but maybe it's enough to share amongst yourselves. Hyung, can you give them your money too?"

Jimin wanted to protest but he didn't. Because he knew it was useless. He was just about to do what the prince asked, when another person came out from the crop field.

"What's going on here?!"

And Jungkook wasn't able to see or hear anything else thereafter, as his attention was solely focused on the man who had been invading his dreams for the past few days.

Kim Taehyung.