Dark Skies || Seongjoong

It's Been So Long

Seonghwa wakes up early the next day for his piano class. Out of all the classes Seonghwa has attended unwillingly, he only liked the piano. So, once asked which ones he would like to continue, he chose piano before anything else and then chose Chinese and Japanese.

As the hour-long piano class ends, Seonghwa runs to his mom to help her further with the crowning ceremony preparations.

"Hi, mom. Should we decide on the cake now?" says Seonghwa, enthusiastically approaching the Queen.

"Seonghwa, why are you not ready yet? Your friends will be here any minute now," says the Queen, a bit confused as to why Seonghwa is still in his casual attire.

"Friends? Oh no, I forgot," thinks Seonghwa, panic clear on his face.

"You forgot, didn't you?" says the Queen.

"I will be back in 10 minutes," says Seonghwa, already running towards his room.

Seonghwa can't help but wonder how he could forget that his friends are visiting him today. The princes from the neighboring kingdom gather together once in a while. They don't talk business but have casual conversations about life like any other friend circle does. While growing up, the prince wasn't allowed to go out much for security reasons. Seonghwa is sure that it must be the same for the princes in other kingdoms. So when in a close assembly with the neighboring friendly kingdoms, Seonghwa asked if young princes could meet and spend some time together, no one could find a reason to say no. Since then, they have met once or twice a month at Seonghwa's place for a day of fun. It is also one of the rare occasions when Seonghwa is allowed to leave the castle because he is not alone with Yunho.

But his mind recently has been so occupied by Hongjoong that he forgot they decided to meet today. He wonders if Yunho remembers it or not. Yunho always takes leave on a day like this, and because he didn't mention anything, he probably forgot too. So, before going to his room to get ready, he looks for Yunho.

"Yunho, why are you not at your usual place? Why today? I don't have the time to go around the castle to search for you today," thinks Seonghwa as he goes from one place to another in search of Yunho.

He has one last option.

"Did you take a leave today?" says Seonghwa as he enters Yunho's room. He looks at an embarrassed Yunho halfway through putting his pants on.

"Thank you for knocking," says Yunho, still embarrassed.

"How could you not remind me? You didn't mention it once," says Seonghwa, sprinting towards Yunho to tackle him on the bed. Yunho runs on one leg across the room with one leg halfway stuck in his pants, and Seonghwa chases him like an animal.

"How am I supposed to know that you don't remember?" Yunho says, running in circles across the room, laughing hysterically.

The running session ends with Seonghwa and Yunho lying on Yunho's bed, panting hard and laughing. And at that moment, as Yunho looks at Seonghwa, he realizes that he couldn't have asked for a friend better than him.

Seonghwa and Yunho stand beside the palace gates, excited to meet their friends after a long time.

The Choi brothers enter first in their car. Seonghwa has always loved their taste, so Prince San gifted him one on his last birthday. He never drives it, but he likes to keep it. The Choi kingdom is attached to the left boundary of the Joseon kingdom. It's smaller than the Joseon kingdom, so once, when a neighboring kingdom attacked them, the king of Joseon provided immediate help, and since then, they have been on friendly terms.

"It's been so long. How are you doing, handsome?" says San, hugging Seonghwa. He giggles at San's tone, pulling him into a tight hug.

"How do you manage to become prettier every time I see you," San turns towards Yunho and hugs him tightly.

"I should be the one saying that. What potions have the Choi brothers been drinking?" Yunho says, making San and Jongho laugh loudly.

Seonghwa and Yunho were beyond happy to see Jongho, immediately engulfing him in a hug from both sides.

They are all standing near the gates, talking when Wooyoung's car enters.

Wooyoung is the prince of Jung Kingdom, ruled by Seonghwa's father's childhood friend. Jung Kingdom is attached to the right boundary of the Joseon Kingdom. Seonghwa's father was introduced to Wooyoung's father as a kid by their parents. The kingdoms always had close relations, and the princes were happy to continue that.

Seonghwa, the oldest of the group, is like a mother figure, and Wooyoung is the problem child. Wooyoung gets off the car and immediately runs to give Seonghwa the tightest hug, followed by others. As he breaks his hug with San, Yunho notices a slight blush on Wooyoung's face.

"Let's go to the garden," says Seonghwa, leading the way.

They reach the garden to see a round table set in the middle with snacks. Wooyoung and Jongho run toward the table to grab their favorite ones. Yunho calmly sits beside Wooyung, picking up a cookie and observing Wooyoung shoving fried chicken in his mouth.

"If you are not going to get over him, then at least try to pursue him," Yunho whispers, moving closer to Wooyoung. He chokes on the chicken, coughing loudly. Seonghwa quickly passes water to him.

"Can you eat slowly? No one is taking the food away," Yunho says, trying to divert the attention from him and Wooyoung. He looks at Yunho wide-eyed. He looks like someone caught him stealing.

"You're being so obvious. Of course, someone would notice," Yunho continues whispering.

"Do you think he knows?" says Wooyoung, almost crying at the thought of ruining his friendship with San.

Among the five friends, San and Wooyoung are the closest. They have the best dynamics and tell each other everything. Wooyoung would give up anything to save his friendship with San. And if his love for San is one of those things, he's ready to live in pain.

"I'm sure everyone except him knows. But what's wrong with him knowing?" says Yunho.

"You don't understand Yunho. We tell each everything, yet he has never mentioned that he likes men. Even if he does, I can't risk losing our friendship by being selfish," says Wooyoung, his face dropping.

Yunho could lecture him about not overthinking and giving it a try, but when he puts himself in Wooyoung's place and Seonghwa in San's place, he decides that there is no better advice he can provide in this matter. It's better if he leaves this to Wooyoung to decide.

"But it doesn't mean I can't help," thinks Yunho as a smirk appears on his face.

"San, I heard King Choi has started looking for potential brides for you," says Yunho, loud enough for everyone to hear. It comes as news to everyone. Yunho wouldn't know either if it wasn't for Jongho. Things like these are private until the process officially begins, but the princes never keep secrets from each other.

"Yeah, he talked to me about it. I haven't said yes, but he mentioned the younger princess of Jeon Kingdom. I met her during the new year ceremony last year. She's pretty and learned. I might meet her," says San, his dimples visible as he talks about the princess. Wooyoung's face visibly drops. Yunho and Jongho glance at each other, noticing the change in the air. Jongho immediately understands Yunho's intentions.

"I think the process will be faster now since hyung seems interested," says Jongho, exaggerating things according to the situation.

"He should get married and be happy with a woman. I can't do this to him," thinks Wooyoung, staring at the ground as he tries to hide a tear rolling down his cheek.  

A/N:

Hello lovelies. I hope everyone is okay. Not me finally introducing the remaining Ateez members. I totally forgot about the song recommendation series I was doing. So, I'll restart today.

For today the recommendations are: Ballroom Extravaganza by DPR IAN , Wild Flower by RM (from BTS)

Stream Paradigm by Ateez. Please vote:)