• Selfish Prince • || KookMin

20. Sadness

"I'm sorry for burning you."

"It wasn't your fault, darling" Hosook assures him by grabbing his face. "Don't worry" She kisses him on the lips and Taehyung pouts, "If I'm being frank, it's something I thought of telling you when this happened, but you left me so disheveled, even the ideas went away." she laughs sympathetically and Taehyung reddens.

"A-at least you liked it." he stammers abashedly.

"Of course I liked it! It was a little stronger than I expected, but I loved it!" says Hosook smilingly. "Is there something you want to know? My love." comments with an amused, slightly teasing leave. Typical of her personality. Taehyung looks at the window and then at Hosook. She's in a sleeping robe and bandages. So she doesn't drop the creams Jin put on her.

"You are... Human?"

"Yes. I am. Did you think I'm a vampire?" Taehyung gives her a bad look Can her judge him for thinking that? It's the most natural thing to do. "I wish it were so. I just... I'm a very greedy human" she admits with a coy smile. "I used to love walking around my home garden. I loved the plants and everything I couldn't do anymore."

"Why couldn't you go out in the garden when you got married?" he asks.

"My fiancé was...intense" She rolls her eyes. It's the first time he's noticed her irritated. "And he didn't want meto be out. Provoking others."

Taehyung scratches the back of his neck. How stupid and awkward.

"I felt saved among the flowers. What... I was one of them Do you understand?" she asks curiously and Taehyung nods. "I just... I loved it. I really loved that so much, but I was also afraid of withering away from living in a soil infertile of love... Losing my luster, my petals, my everything."

Hosook smacks her lips and looks out the window.

"Longing for something and doing everything to have it, is not the same as getting it. Sometimes life is miserable and all your will, all your strength, is not enough." she exhales disappointedly, brushes her fingers along her bandaged arm and Taehyung pulls her close to hug her. He lays his head on her abdomen and she strokes his hair tenderly.

"Why do you really like me? There's something...you see something in me. Something more. I know, but not what it is."

Hosook laughs again.

"I can't even tell you what it is. It's just some kind of vague remembrance."

~ * * * ~

"You are a very strange man."

"Me?" scoffs Namjoon. "Funny, I could say the same thing about the guy who resurrects and looks for everyone to make deals." opines Namjoon, almost indiscreetly. Jin moves a little closer to him.

"What are you looking at?"

"The garden." he replies simply.

Jin looks in the same direction and questions himself: why is Namjoon looking at Taehyung so much? Why is he watching him? Hosook has questioned him and caused him, too, to be curious. Jin is startled by the grip on his chin, followed by the touch to his lips.

He pulls away abruptly from Namjoon who smirks. A gesture too similar to Jin for Jin to be comfortable.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

"Jin, I don't care about you being a man and I'll kiss you as many times as it takes for you to stop bothering me!" warns Namjoon and Jin turns red with anger Who does he think he is!? He walks away in annoyance and Namjoon goes back to what he's doing.

"Nam" squints at Yoonji, who has a whistling, timid tone. In his hands is a small lyre. "I'm going to play Will you join me?"

He takes one last look at Taehyung, who walks hand in hand with Hosook through the overgrown sunflowers. "Of course my lady." he replies with a slight bow of his head. Yoonji smiles weakly.

~ * * * ~

"But I'm still love you..."

Jimin exhales, hugging his legs. He moves his feet slightly to the edge of the wooden chair. He looks out the open window and the slight breeze blowing in along with the birds fluttering around: canaries and hummingbirds playfully in the breeze ruffling his hair. Jimin continues humming, never ceasing to go round and round on the same subject.

"You have a beautiful voice. You are just like a little bird. Just like the ones you admire and study."

Jungkook's comment makes one look at him. So tall, muscular, groomed; all prince charming, a dashing gallant and perfect knight in shining armor. His red eyes, the only thing that denotes humanity, denotes that there is something wrong with him. Jungkook reaches over and strokes the straight, flowing hair.

"I've always had what I want: toys, clothes, books, animals" Jimin muses, "my parents gave me everything... and they smiled, whenever I saw them, they smiled at me... When I grew up, I still saw their smiles, but I also felt their hands" Jungkook slightly pulls his hand away. "They... They love me right?"

"No. They don't. No one in your family does. They just know the reality." Jungkook replies with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Which one is it?" interjects Jimin in a thread of voice so faint it's barely there.

"You are beautiful. You are powerful... And eventually you would give them what they wanted, if they waited long enough."

Jimin exhales and clenches his hands. Jungkook tilts his head to one side. He looks like a frustrated dancer in this specific pose. His feet crossed and clenched as well.

"What's wrong with wanting to feel loved?" he questions and Jungkook denies.

"There's nothing wrong with it, Jimin... It's wrong of them not to have given it to you."

Jimin cries, Jungkook accompanies him without trying to be the same as them. That so much indirect harm they did to him. So discreet, Jimin no longer knows love from manipulation and for him, everyone loves him.

When in reality, nobody loves him.

. . .

"To be loved... that's what you want, isn't it? I can give it to you."

He opens his eyes with difficulty. His face swollen and flushed toward the fact. He sits on the bed, to the right, sees Jungkook examining a book with explanations of paintings he hasn't had a chance to see. He notices that Jimin is awake. He puts the book aside and advances to the bed, crawls over until he is facing Jimin.

"Well? Do you know what you want?"

Jimin smacks his lips. It's not the same voice... The one who spoke to him was Jin. For a moment he imagined it was Jungkook.

"I want to be loved" Jimin takes Jungkook by the arm and presses him. "Whether it's beautiful or not."

Jungkook tilts his head and frowns, not knowing what he means by something like that. "How could you love someone who doesn't...?" He is interrupted by Jimin's kiss. The Korean pulls him in until he's all over him. Jimin's small right hand settles on Jungkook's face, covers his eyes completely and prevents him from looking.

Jungkook thinks he hears Jin's laughter, but he doesn't have time to find out if it is that or not.