DUNE || ateez ☆

1.

  years went by since the passing of the king's son. the whole village had gotten past the tragedy by now, but the king still held onto the grief just as tightly as he did the day he lost him.
 
  his mourning was so extreme to the point where he'd constantly skip meals, and his demeanor changed from carefree and friendly to cold and hostile. every night, he'd curl up into a ball in his bed and weep as if he was a child who couldn't sleep because there were monsters in his closet. it was either that or he'd be sound asleep until his slumber was interrupted by nightmares of watching his son dying over and over again.
 
  he wouldn't dance or perform as much as he used to either. he only ever did it angrily in his practice room, berating and belittling himself in the mirror at every single tiny mistake he made. he'd done this for several consecutive hours until he finally pressed his back against the wall, sliding down it and sitting down as he hugged his knees securely. he'd sob silently into his own arms and mumble incoherently for what felt like an eternity.

  the king was extremely miserable, and there was no denying it.. he even used his own magic to keep him from aging less faster, but his stress was so much that it failed to conceal it. his hair fell out, and he had small gray strands of hairs in his head too. additionally, the eyebags under his eyes had gotten worse over the years.

  today, the king decided that enough was enough. he needed answers as soon as possible. he was tired of sitting around and being miserable, because nothing was going to change unless he made a change to his life. and that change needed to come, now.

  he rushed out of his palace, nearly knocking over the guards who stood at the front doors.

  "be careful, your highness!"
  "stay safe please, sir!"
 
  they both tried to shout out to the taller male, but he was already long gone.

  ...

  BOOM!

  the king entered unannounced into the workplace of the fortune teller.

  "yunho? i'm surprised to see you here.. anything i can help you with today?"

  "how many times do i have to remind you to address me properly, jung? or are you just doing it on purpose to piss me off?"

  the fortune teller only looked at yunho with a sly smirk. "..maybe i am doing it on purpose." he said with a chuckle as he leaned on the counter.

  the king let out a sigh. he had only been in there for a couple seconds, and he already had nearly forgotten why he was here. wooyoung was really something else.. he could only say a few words and that was enough for the king to almost lose his mind.
 
  "..whatever, i was here because i need something from you. quickly. you know how to tell people their future, right?"

  "hmm, maybe.. depends on who's asking." wooyoung said with a small giggle. that was his way of saying "show me the money, or else you can exit my place of business immediately."

  the king rolled his eyes, and pulled out a bag full of coins, tossing it onto the counter as some of them spilled out.

  "give it to me the right way." the fortune teller told him in an attempt to annoy him even more.

  yunho gave a glance to wooyoung that said, "who do you think you're talking to?!" for a moment before he picked the bag back up and handed it to him in a more respectful manner.

  after he was given the money, wooyoung said, "alright, come with me." and both of them started to walk down a long hallway together.
 
  "i haven't really used the future telling thing in a while, so i may not be able to see your future that well.. just letting you know." wooyoung said out of nowhere in an attempt to break the silence. yunho didn't reply, though.