The Prince's Prince [SeungJin]

Chapter 38

A/N: a very short chapter but an update nonetheless.

Dedicated to @ANBTSJJ who upvoted

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"Ready?" Seungmin's warm palm squeezed his lower back.

"No?" Hyunjin's nerves were high; his confidence low.

"You can do it. It's just a matter of telling the truth. Isn't that liberating for you?" Seungmin could always be counted on to increase his confidence. He'll go up there and have a bitching fest. Well, a polite one with a mix of platitudes and simple language that everyone could understand. Not because his citizens were stupid but because he wanted to make sure that the message was conveyed to everyone.

"I can do this" he hyped himself. If his people saw him do the clenched fist pose now they were sure not to have confidence in him but fortunately they didn't see and hopefully they were not so fickle to police Hyunjin's natural behaviour.

Were the doors leading to the balcony always so loud? Their 'bang' as they hit the wall startled him. Everything was a lot. The crowd. The noise. The strength in their arms which they left unhinged with no control when they opened the doors. Who cared about doors now when this speech may open a new future for them; stir them in the right direction.

The wind calmed his blushing face. This was nerve-wrecking but Seungmin was right by his side. The wind was gentle...perhaps a bit too gentle. It felt like a caress.

"Thanks" he whispered.

He could tell when people took notice of him. There was a hush then a roar. A bunch of fingers and hands were pointed at him almost like an ovation but an unintentional one.

It helped him calculate how many people were there...the answer was probably most of the citizens and residents of their small nation.

"It's the prince" someone shouted loud enough to be heard amongst the crowd.

He stepped forward until he was at the edge of the railing. Seungmin stepped right beside him

"Isn't that our Seungmin?" was the general sentiment.

"Isn't that your son?" someone else shouted. Ah so the lovely Kims were in attendance.

He took a long breath from his nose and released it then he crossed his hands behind his back. It straightened and he looked down. It was a scary position but it went with the situation. At least he wasn't afraid of heights just mildly apprehensive.

"People of Levanter" he started. There was a lull in finger-pointing and whispering; silence now took its turn to dominate. Silence which was soon filled with his own words. "I know that you have been let down. I am hearing you and I have been hearing your pain and your stories for a while and I ask for your forgiveness for not doing anything before now."

"You did!" someone shouted in between the crowd.

Hyunjin's eyes hovered on the crowd. Sanha, who as a soldier stood out even out of uniform.

Hyunjin nodded taking this as an opportunity. "My family or most of them at least, have conspired with people who were not looking out for your safety. One example is the ex-General Uhm who as you know planned to attack our neighbours from Yellow Wood. What you don't know is that they lied to soldiers by making them believe that they were going to attack us first. What you don't know is that it was in the hopes of gaining more territory. I plead with you not to say anything now with people from other nations. If you'll allow me, I will come clean to the nice monarch of Yellow Wood but I maintained the secret because if there would be war, it will be you, the people, that will pay the highest price and I didn't want that. I promise to strive for peace and I was willing to do a lot for that recently." He admitted, opening his heart.