Ice Prince

Chapter 4

“Don’t you want to eat anything?”  The southern prince heard the gentle voice of the person sitting next to him, who had leaned slightly towards Hongjoong and was looking at the prince with some concern.  Hongjoong looked hesitantly at the plate full of delicacies that stood on the table in front of him, untouched, the meat already cooled.  The young prince had not yet touched the wine either.  He simply had no appetite and he simply didn't feel like drinking.  He shook his head.

"I'm not hungry."  He replied, making Seonghwa smile.  He put an arm around his newlywed husband's shoulders and leaned in close to his ear so he wouldn't have to speak so loudly.

"You haven't eaten anything today, have you?"  He asked and Hongjoong nodded after a moment's hesitation.

"Then don't tell me you're not hungry."  The Northern Prince reached out for the plate and pulled it a little closer to Hongjoong.

"I'm begging you. Just eat a little."  Hongjoong turned his gaze to his husband.  The beautiful black-haired man looked at him gently.  A gentle smile was on his lips and he tilted his head slightly to the side.

"You can also leave the salad to the side."

"Tss."  Hongjoong chuckled to himself and shook his head.  He looked back at the plate while Seonghwa took a step back, but didn't take his eyes off Hongjoong.  The young prince sighed in frustration at the sight of his full plate.  Seonghwa was right.  He hadn't eaten all day and was supposed to eat something, but his appetite just wasn't there.  Unmotivated, he reached for the fork that was lying next to his plate, stabbed one of the potatoes with it and brought it to his mouth and took a bite.  As he chewed and pouted at his husband, a satisfied smile grew on Seonghwa's face.

"It works."  He said before turning back to his plate and eating.  Hongjoong took a deep breath and continued to eat, slowly, while his gaze wandered around the massive banquet hall.  The guests were all spread out at five tables.  They were all deep in conversation, eating, laughing and even flirting.  The prince spotted his friend Yunho in the crowd, sitting and chatting with Seinghwa's knights.  He smiled.  His gaze was almost constantly fixed on the tall knight, Mingi, which made Hongjoong smile.  He had always known that Yunho's type was big men, so he had immediately known that Yunho would like Mingi the moment he had seen Mingi when he picked him up before the welcoming party.  While the three were talking, Wooyoung padded towards the knights with a sweet grin on his face.  He sneaked up behind San, leaned over to his ear and whispered something to him.  At first, San was surprised, but as he listened to Wooyoung, a cheeky grin formed on his lips. He turned to the maid, who stood up again, somewhat shyly.  San took Wooyoung's hand, placed a gentle kiss on the back of his hand and said something to him before Wooyoung ran away, blushing and giggling.  After that, it didn't take long for San to say goodbye to the other two knights and disappear in the same direction that Wooyoung had disappeared.  Hongjoong smiled slightly to himself and looked down.  At least the two of them could decide who they could be with.  The black-haired man couldn't help but be jealous of this privilege.  If he could, he would have married someone he loved and not someone he had known for two days and had been talking to for a total of maybe ten minutes.  It wasn't that Seonghwa was an unreasonable husband.  He was handsome, no question.  He also seemed polite, at least so far, maybe a bit charming, but that was just the first impression the young prince had of his husband.  If Seonghwa was actually completely different, then Hongjoong would probably find out within the next few weeks.

The celebration lasted a few hours.  People ate, danced, laughed and chatted.  In the entire time, Hongjoong hadn't even stood up from his seat.  During this time, the guests all came to the bride and groom one by one to convey their congratulations.  The two princes had smiled for hours and thanked hundreds of guests for their congratulations, so they were now both very exhausted.  The southern prince sat in his seat, his nerves exhausted, mindful that the night was far from over, while his husband had risen and was conversing intently with his father at the other end of the table.  Hongjoong paid no attention to it.  He leaned back in his seat, holding a cup of wine in his delicate hands and breathing deeply.  The fire in the fireplace was almost gone.  The temperature in the banquet hall had dropped and the only thing that really kept the young prince warm now was the alcohol, which warmed him from the inside.  He shivered slightly and bundled himself up in his coat while his gaze wandered over to his husband, who had just been talking to his father, but was now standing next to his bodyguard Mingi and talking quietly to him.  Hongjoong watched the two for a moment.  They both looked tense and Seonghwa took a deep breath before his eyes met Hongjoong's.  Hongjoong froze for a moment and looked at his husband.  There was something in his brown eyes that Hongjoong couldn't quite place.  He seemed nervous and uneasy, as if he didn't know exactly what to do next.  When Hongjoong looked away, the older prince took a deep breath before saying goodbye to Mingi and running back towards Hongjoong, who had lowered his gaze and took another sip from his wine cup.  A cold hand that placed itself on Hongjoong's and took the cup from his hand made Hongjoong look confused.  He looked at the black-haired prince, who leaned down to his ear.