Sacrifice

Chapter 16 : Moments of Us

"So I heard that you can hold your alcohol quite well." Now that you're hearing yourself say it aloud, you realize it's not the best way to ease into a conversion. It certainly is not the most subtle. But then again, you've never taken Sunoo as someone who does things subtly – or at least not on a normal basis.

"And where did you hear this?" the prince laughs. His chuckles reverberate through his body softly and his arms move up and down from the motion, gently shaking your interlinked arm as well. "Or better yet, who did you hear this from?"

"Heeseung," you shrug simply.

"Of course it was Heeseung," Sunoo shakes his head with a fond smile. "If you ask me, I think he's envious of my higher tolerance."

"He did mention that he's the lightest weight out of the seven of you," you giggle.

"For someone who's so good at everything, it sure gives me a good chuckle to know that drinking alcohol is one thing he's bad at," Sunoo jokes.

The two of you are currently strolling around the castle having just finished breakfast. The bubbly prince had pulled you aside while you were cleaning up, insisting that you needed a break from all the chaos that had unraveled within the past couple of days. So naturally, he took it upon himself to be your official tour guide, offering you a tour of every room you have yet to explore in this castle. He's currently leading you with a sense of giddiness in his steps, to his favorite spot in the castle.

"Just out of curiosity, how exactly did our alcohol tolerance come up in your conversation with Heeseung?" Sunoo asks after pondering for a moment. He knows the eldest prince isn't one to just blurt out this topic – that seems like something Jake might do. But he also doesn't imagine you to be the type to ask such a random question out of the blue.

"It was back when we were searching through the royal family's castle. We stopped to check the large ballroom which is where Heeseung described the gala you attended all those years ago," you explain.

"Ah, that night was surely something to remember," Sunoo hums in enlightenment, giggling in afterthought.

"I bet it was a magical experience," you suppose, wishing you had gotten to experience it alongside the princes as well.

"Hardly," the foxy prince snorts right as the two of you climb a familiar set of stairs. "We spent the night chasing after Heeseung because he was drunk out of his mind, acting like a buffoon."

"A buffoon?" you parrot in amusement.

"A cute buffoon," Sunoo corrects with a confirming nod. "Heeseung acts like a child whenever he's intoxicated. And while it's a hassle chasing after him and taking care of him, we're still happy to do so. Heeseung has always taken his role as the oldest very seriously. He always made sure to protect us so that the rest of us were given time to enjoy our youth, so to speak. We know it hasn't always been easy since he started in the same boat as us. So during those rare moments when we see his playful side, we're happy to see him indulge his inner child."

Sunoo's words strike something deep within your heart. You've never stopped to think about the burdens Heeseung took on as the eldest. It was easy for you to notice Jungwon's hardships because of the tremendous responsibilities he took on as the second youngest prince. Yet, you managed to overlook Heeseung's responsibilities and the sacrifices he made for the younger princes.

"There's that sad look that we get whenever any of us think about it for too long," Sunoo murmurs, bumping his shoulders with yours in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Try not to dwell on it too long. It'll just send you down a never-ending spiral. We've spoken to Heeseung about it but he always brushes us off, saying that he's happy as long as we're happy. We try to show him our appreciation through our actions instead."