lee heeseung - breathe

- nine -

You tugged your black nightgown down over your bare legs from where it had ridden up and stumbled across your room. You pulled the door between your rooms open without bothering to ask. Your eyes were heavy with sleep and your mind was becoming slowly alert. You didn't sense any imminent danger, just the sound of Heeseung up and about before the sun.

You slipped into the room as Heeseung stood before the mirror, dabbing on lip colour and running his hands back through his hair. The only light in the room was from a vast multitude of candles.

"Your Highness- what are you doing?" You mumbled. Heeseung turned back and smiled at you. There was an undertone of melancholy to the quiver in his lip and the slight furrow of his brow. "Becoming presentable?" He paused and chewed the inside of his cheek as if he were considering telling you the truth. "Well- my mother and father have called to meet me."

"At this hour?" You fixed your hands on your hips and frowned. "Should I get ready?"

"It's alright." Heeseung shook his head and leaned back against the vanity. You crossed the distance between the two of you and picked up his crown. You traced your fingers over the edge then held it up. Heeseung bowed his head slightly to assist you as you crowned him. "Why?" You demanded under your breath. You felt Heeseung's hand flutter over yours as he lifted your fingers. He shook his head. "I- ah...Her Majesty, she...doesn't like you."

"Doesn't like me?" You frowned. Heeseung smiled apologetically. "It's okay, nothing will happen to me."

"No, I-" need information for my mission. You needed to hear whatever they were to speak about. If it concerned both rulers of the kingdom and their sole son it had to be important. You grasped Heeseung's hand and squeezed it gently, eyebrows furrowed, "But..."

"Y/n." He ran his thumb over your knuckles and his smile widened a little. "You'll miss me? Just go back to sleep."

You rolled your eyes. "You and your ego, I will not miss you, but..."

Heeseung took a step forward, forcing you back, and gave himself room to bow. From his bow, he tilted his head up to stared at you with pretty doe eyes through his lashes. His cheeks were flush in the candlelight and his smile was rosen and glossy. You sucked in a deep breath and furrowed your eyebrows. "Your Highness, what-"

Heeseung shook his head gently and you snapped your mouth shut, watching him in wide eyed silence. Slowly, Heeseung pressed his soft lips to the back of your hand. He pulled away and smiled at you, his lip stain smudged a little at the bottom left. You reached up with your free hand and wiped it away with your thumb. As you moved your hand back away, you caught sight of it shaking. You couldn't fathom why that was. You sighed as Heeseung straightened to his full height, fingers still gently around yours. "Okay." You mumbled. You tugged your hand away from his and crossed your arms over your chest.

Heeseung smiled at you. "Thank you." He brushed a tangled hair away from your face and tucked it back up. "See you when the sun rises, pre-" His motion at your temples falters. "Y/n." He breathes. You cared an annoying amount about what he'd almost called you first. It was a strange itch in your brain, prodding and curious. You frowned at Heeseung, nodded, and turned on your heel.

You shut the door almost all the way, leaving a slim crack to peer through. You watched as Heeseung sighed and muttered to himself before stuffing his hands in his pockets and languidly approaching the intricately carved door to the antechamber.

You waited for the sound of that main door shutting then scrambled out through the back door of your room. You could see Heeseung down the hall from you, walking slowly with his head down and his crown shining on his head like a circlet of golden teeth. It was what marked him as royalty. It was his title and status. It was his entire being. It was cruelly beautiful. You wondered how it felt. You often wondered how that felt when in the face of the princess of your own kingdom. She was the one who ran the society, a superior to your boss and everyone else. She was four years older than you, an immensely beautiful girl with straight dark hair and skin. The thought of her and the society reminded you painfully of the real reason you were here.