DUNE || ateez ☆

prologue.

  long ago, in the middle of a desert in asia somewhere, there was a small village known as tinyville. it was full of life, and it was home to a variety of forms of art, most notably dance. their king, however, was the best performer that anyone within thousands of miles had ever laid their eyes on. his style was unique, energetic, and different. it was what caused him to become king in the first place. no matter what positive things anyone said or who said what about his dance, the king always stayed true to himself and never let it get to his head. he was humble; it was the trait that his citizens liked about him the most. he was respected as much as he was feared, his people all bowed as soon as they saw him in the streets. they adored him, constantly sang their praises for him, and never once doubted him.. or at least that's what most of them did.

  he was hiding a big secret that not a lot of people knew about, and he'd rather die before he let any of his loyal citizens find out. if they knew, he'd lose all of it. his fame, his wealth, his reputation, every last bit of it. they'd all desert him and leave him, and they'd rather die of dehydration before having to spend another moment anywhere within 500 feet of him. some people were starting to get suspicious of him though, due to the fact that residents of the village would randomly disappear and never be heard from ever again.. luckily for him, however, most of his citizens didn't even notice how someone would disappear every so often due to the fact that at the time, his son was sick. everyone was in a state of grieving as if his son had already passed on. the whole entire village was more quieter than it usually was these past few weeks or so. they all knew he wouldn't make it, even the king himself knew, but he was still fixed onto a dying hope, clinging onto a shooting star that had already been wished on by someone else.

  the king came into his son's bedroom, silently praying that this wouldn't be the very last time he'd ever see him.

  "..joonho?" he called out his son's name softly.

  joonho was in far too much pain to respond, the most he could manage without using up too much of his energy was a small groan.

  the king quickly rushed to his son's side, taking a seat next to his bed and gently resting a hand on top of one of his hands. joonho clutched his stomach in pain, groaning again.

  "it hurts.. everything hurts.." he mumbled softly, struggling to speak.

  "shh, shh, it's okay, son.. i know." the king spoke, his voice trembling slightly at the condition of his son. he had only gotten worse and worse over time.. there was nothing he could do for him. joonho coughed, and coughed, until some blood came up.

  he stopped for a bit, until the coughing fit started right back up again until blood was flowing from his mouth and even his nose like two red waterfalls. two of the royal servants of the king came into the room and wiped the blood away before leaving just as quick as they entered.

  the sight was horrific, he looked nearly half dead. he was barely breathing, and his heartbeat was slow. all the life that was in his eyes just about a month ago had died and rotted completely. the doctor tried everything, but he said there was nothing he could do for him. he said he had never seen anything like this, and this was extremely severe.

  joonho glanced up at the king, tears welling up in his eyes. "f-father.. will i make it?"

  the king looked down at the poor boy, unsure of what to say to him for a moment, choosing his words carefully before he spoke up. "..don't worry about that right now. all that matters is me being here for you, and you staying strong for me.." he so badly wished he could tell his son the truth, but he knew he couldn't, he'd hurt him and himself as well in the process.

  joonho looked away from his father's gaze, the tears that threatened to fall starting to spill fast like heavy rain. the king leaned in to hug his son, putting his arms around his body as best as he could without accidentally hurting him. "hey.. i'm here for you, okay? please don't ever forget that.." he said as he wrapped up his son in his warm embrace.

  they stayed like that for a moment, and the king was about to let go of joonho and leave the room to let him rest, until he realized something.

...

  the slow, but steady beating of his son's heart had come to a complete stop.