𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞'𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 | hyunho

eight

The sun was shining brightly above their heads as Prince Minho and Hyunjin rode through the forest, on their horses.

It was mostly silent until one of them joked about something or did something funny, only then some lively laughs could be heard. Otherwise, the sounds of distant animals, birds or insects could be recognized.

The silence was comfortable for the both of them though.

They continued moving deep into the forest, glancing left to right and front to back, in search of any animals.

Suddenly, Hyunjin heard a little sound.

"Did you hear it too?" He asked Minho.

"Hear what?..." Minho asked, confused, as he listened closely.

"Shh.. I hear it." He got off the horse and started walking towards a bush.

All of a sudden, Minho saw him run further into the woods and disappear.

"Hey, Hyunjin! Where are you going?" He quickly jumped off his horse and sped towards the direction that Hyunjin went in.

Hyunjin behind the rabbit and Minho behind Hyunjin, all the three were running further and further into the forest.

Suddenly, Hyunjin came to a stop which made Minho bump into him but he balanced himself.

"Why.. why were you.. running?" Minho asked while panting.

"Look!" Hyunjin said with a huge smile, pointing towards something in front of him.

Minho moved his gaze to the direction and his face lit up as he saw a lush green field, full of numerous rabbits and their little ones.

They both slowly walked over to the area so that the little bunnies don't get scared. Minho carefully picked up one and pet it in his hand. Hyunjin swatted in front the little ones as they came near to him. Minho, with the bunny in his hand, sat next to Hyunjin as they both caught their breaths after running so much, while looking at the white, fluffy creatures moving around and playing among themselves.

Cute.

They both were so overjoyed to find so many bunnies that they forgot about hunting and lost track of time. I mean, who wouldn't? They played with the little animals and had fun the whole time.

Soon, the sun was setting in the sky. The sky was filled with pretty hues of red, orange, and pink.

They both sat on the soft grass as they watched the sunset.

"Well, this was unexpected.." Minho spoke. "But it was better than anything I've ever done in these dense woods."

Hyunjin nodded. "I agree with you."

They sat in silence, admiring the sky until it grew darker.

"Umm, don't you think we should get going now?" Hyunjin asked.

"Oh, right! Let's get back to our horses." Minho said while standing up.

They walked back to the place they left their horses only to find out that they're gone.

"We forgot to tie our horses! What do we do now?" Hyunjin panicked.

"Calm down, Hyunjin. I know the way back to the castle. We can walk?" Minho assured.

"Ah, alright. Let's walk then." They started moving through the woods.

The forest was dark and dense. They had to walk close to each other so that any of the two don't get separated from each other.

"Your Highness! Watch out!"

Before Minho could process, he tripped and rolled down a slope. Hyunjin failed to get a hold of him on time so he slid down the slope after the prince. Luckily, they landed on a pile of long, soft grass.

"Your Highness! Are you okay?"

Minho groaned while sitting up. "I think so,"

"Wait, let me have a look." Hyunjin moved closer to him and squinted his eyes to see in the dark. He observed a tear in Minho's white, which now had patches of brown and sap green, pants. Underneath the cloth, there was blood. Minho had scraped his knee.

Hyunjin hissed at the spilled blood as he examined the wound. "Does it hurt too much?"

"It doesn't, don't worry about it. It's just a scratch." Minho reassured.

"But it's bleeding a lot! Let me try to stop the flow." Hyunjin reached for the pocket of his pants.

Before Minho could protest, Hyunjin pulled out his handkerchief and wrapped it around the prince's knee. The blood stain on the baby pink cloth of his handkerchief was getting larger the more they looked at it.

"Will you be able to walk?" Hyunjin asked as he stood up.

"Yes," Minho stood up and limped on one leg.

"Do I hold onto you for support? I mean, if you want so-"

"Really? Thank you, Hyunjin."

Hyunjin smiled and wrapped his hand around Minho and held him by the upper arm.

"Now, how do we get back up there?" Minho said as he looked up the small yet steep hill that he fell down.

"Uh oh... Can you climb up with this condition of your knee?" Hyunjin inquired.

"I can try."

Minho slowly walked towards the end of the slope and stepped on a protruding stone and then another, carefully mounting up the hill. Hyunjin followed, aware of the injured prince ahead of him.

"I'm able to do it!" Minho exclaimed.

"I know you can, Your Highness." Hyunjin accorded with a slight giggle.

They were almost at the topmost point of the slope when Hyunjin misplaced his step and staggered. He let out a yelp and stumbled backwards. Minho turned back and quickly caught his hand just in time using his cat-like reflexes.

Hyunjin balanced himself again and let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you, Your Highness. I felt like I would've died just now."

"You won't die, I'm here with you." Minho deadpanned.

Hyunjin, unable to completely understand what he meant by that, just smiled at him and continued on their way up.

. . .

They finally reached back to the top and did a little celebration dance. (lmao-)

"Hyunjin, can I request you a little something?" Minho asked while walking beside the younger on the narrow path in the forest.

"Sure, Your Highness. What is it?"

"Call me Minho."

"H-huh?"

"You know, you're like a friend to me. I've never had any people to trust, other than my cousin and best friend, so I seemed to act cold to the others. But you, even though we just met a month ago, I know you're an amazing and genuine soul and I started opening up to you even before I myself realized it. I hope you see me as more than just a prince."

"Oh my... That's so kind of you. Thank you, Your High- oh, sorry."

"Say it. Say my name."

"Thank you, Minho." Hyunjin stuttered out.

"No need to thank me, I should thank you for being yourself."

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