How To Avoid Doom Flags? : A Guide By Lee Felix

Fifth Flag - Don't Have Dinner With A Potential Foe

Of course Felix's shitty luck would make him cross paths with the one person he'd desperately wished to avoid. He hadn't even known Hyunjin had a fiancé, but he'd been determined to avoid getting dragged into any sort of love-fueled rivalry – a surefire way to getting in all sorts of trouble.

Prince Hyunjin's fiancé—

"Temporary," gritted out Hyunjin, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I- I'm sorry?"

"He's my temporary fiancé," repeated Hyunjin, appearing annoyed. "This arrangement is nothing more than a political ploy, and we'll all be better off if we stay out of each other's way – as per agreed upon the last time we confronted each other, Prince Han, though your memory has clearly failed you considering your presence."

Sensing the tension rising even more, Felix felt as though it might be for the best if he stepped in. Maybe if he did his best to mend their rocky relationship, then Prince Han would consider him an ally of sorts and not an outright rival?

"There's no need to be rude, Hyunjin," he tentatively said. "If Prince Han was indeed invited to wander as he pleases, then we can't blame him for wanting to satisfy his curiosity."

Hyunjin looked almost offended that Felix would seemingly take Prince Han's side, while the latter's eyes sparked with newfound interest, and no little amount of glee.

"Oh? An interesting partner indeed, you've found yourself," he mused. "It's not often one would dare address the mighty Hwang Prince so casually, let alone tell him off." He grinned. "I like you, Lee Felix."

"Is- is that so?"

Hyunjin simply scoffed, but neither of the two paid him mind.

"That is so. As such, allow me to put your mind at ease: I have no intention of divulging your little trick to Commander Seo," he assured.

Some relief found Felix's heart, though he was still wary. "Why not?"

"Well, at first, I was tempted to do it out of spite," he admitted plainly, sparing a glare for Hyunjin. "But I now understand that this situation would affect you much differently and as stated previously, I like you. Plus, ultimately, you are the fair winner of this match. Though you didn't abide by the rules established, there's no denying that, in a normal fight, you would have won. After all, like you said, your role is to protect Hyunjin, not win his fights – knocking your opponent out like you did gives you the perfect opportunity to either finish them off, or make your escape, and that is was matters to you as the Prince's personal guard."

Felix hadn't quite thought about it that way, but Prince Han's words made sense. They'd avoided challenging the Commander to an outright sword fight, for there was too much of a moral code implied for things to work out in Felix's favor but, putting things under this perspective, Felix truly was the winner – for he would have been the one to survive if this had been a real combat situation.

"With that being said, there is one thing I'd like to request—"

"Of course there is," cut dryly Hyunjin, grabbing Felix's forearm again and tugging him away. "Come on, let's go."

"Hyunjin!" hissed Felix in protest. "He's agreed to keep our secret – the least we can do is hear him out." He glanced back to Prince Han. "What is it?"

"A dinner, with only you." The ghost of a genuine smile briefly graced Prince Han's features. "Surely that is a reasonable request?"

"Felix is my personal guard—"

"You've surprisingly managed to survive over twenty years without one – surely you can do it one more night," scoffed derisively his fiancé.

Hyunjin glowered, an acidic retort burning his tongue, but Felix placed a placating hand on his shoulder, effectively silencing him. He then looked to Prince Han once more and nodded, a tad awkwardly.