adorn

chapter 11

the room soon became void of two. the king hindered the stream of words that welled up yedam mouth by excusing himself, saying that the sudden fit of suffocation is about to come. the next person, all flushed, cheeks colored almost the same as the hair, one or two tears already fell for they were too much of a load to be held inside. yedam tried to convince his brother to stay but his hand was abruptly shrugged off, the youngest stormed out of the place.

yedam felt guilty even if none of this was his fault. still, he was the one who was supposed to be called fiance now. honestly, he would rather watch how doyoung brightens up upon hearing that he will get married to haruto, he will get to wear the wedding garment, the lilac rose fastened to his bosom, the veil with diadem attached to his hair, everybody's eyes on him, the most breath-taking husband-to-be, walking down the aisle to join hands with the one he had fully given himself to.

at this moment yedam remembered that he wasn't left alone. his head snapped to cast the crown prince a reproachful look.

"what kind of an idea did you put into his head?!"

he felt a slight tugging in his fists, preparatory to use strength. usually, he was composed and unfazed but no one could remain calm in such a situation. hyunsuk was dumbfounded, his gaze down, hand resting on his forehead, elbow on the table. he kept on repeating the words of their father.

"I wanted..." he mumbled weakly. "I wanted to marry yoshinori..."

yedam slowly uncurled his palms, letting one of them comfort the other with pats on the back. how could he blame hyunsuk for it? how could he decide to be blatant, brusque, saying that if he hadn't fallen in love in the first place none of this would have happened?

"so how..." he murmured, a quaver interrupting his sentence. "how did your marriage turn into mine...?"

when hyunsuk tilted his head to look into yedam's eyes, they were almost embracing each other in a hug. the middle prince could never experience or fathom, however now he was able to see the sorrow and remorse with which his gaze was laden.

"I wanted to marry the king to join our kingdoms in an inextricable union. this way the great war of the kingdoms would never happen again in the future. father wasn't against my idea, he even... seemed to consider it. I would've never expected that he would shamelessly drag you into this and haruto and..."

"and doyoung."

the crown prince didn't understand. he was taken aback as the other mentioned their brother, suggesting that he had some ties in this hodgepodge he had caused.

"are you saying..."

"I dare say, our brother is in love with haruto, hyung."

after a momentary lull the one reaction was "for god's sake", hyunsuk hid his face in his hands. soon, one of his palms transformed into a fist, which released the boy's anger and frustration by hitting the table with a loud thump.

eventually, two brothers decide on mending matters. hyunsuk had taken on the responsibility of talking with the king, so that the man takes into account that doyoung would be a better choice for the marriage, meanwhile yedam sought for the youngest brother around the palace premises.

the eternally blooming flower was nowhere to be found, until late at night. when every dweller of the castle, the royal family members, servants were gone to the respective rooms getting ready to recline, only some guards marching along the gates or standing in front of the king's and princes' rooms, yedam held jihoon by both arms, asking the other to repeat what he had just said.

"on the way here I saw a boy getting out from the back. he used the same rusted, forgotten gate you instructed me to use from now on."

as promised, jihoon came back this night again. yedam hugged him tightly the moment he saw a familiar figure on the balcony. the boys remained silent, the prince nuzzling in the other's body, enjoying the soothing influence jihoon's hands had on him, yedam basked in the boy's gentle stroking, playing with his hair, putting tender kisses on his head.

the conversation which started with an "I missed you", whispered into yedam's ear, soon entailed to jihoon sharing the scene he was a witness of. they were lying on the prince's bed, the younger having his head placed on jihoon's chest, his hand wrapped in the line of his waist. this whole time he had been having his eyes closed, a serene expression on his face as he listened to the other's voice which yedam wished could amend all the problems. finally, he heard a sentence that snapped him out of his paradise.

"when I came here this night, the young boy dressed in a long, purple cloak passed through the gates and got into the carriage."

the middle prince reacted too emotionally at that, too emotionally for a "close friend of a crown prince" and nothing more, as he introduced himself to jihoon. if he didn't lie, the comely boy would never dare to get closer, to caress him with such love again. their relationship would dwindle to bowing, kneeling, waiting for orders, and thinking twice before taking any action. it was yedam's last wish.

right here yedam held jihoon by both arms, asking the other to repeat what he had just said. after scratching his nape the reflection came, the boy trying to calm the shivers of his hands with no effects, continued slower, minding every word.

"this boy...it could have been a younger brother of a crown prince, doyoung. are you sure he had a purple cloak? periwinkle one perhaps? he had gone missing today."

jihoon hesitated.

"so it's not only the crown prince? king has two sons?"

it wasn't appropriate to answer with another question but at that time yedam wasn't in the right mental state to care. jihoon could have, no he must have said the truth. there was only one place doyoung could travel to this late at night, deliberately so that no one knows, no one sees.

the king's kanemoto palace was around an hour away to the north and this is where the carriage lead the youngest prince.

// ✧ //