halcyon || seungjin

01: Change of Scenery

Hyunjin sits on the railing of his balcony, looking down at the boundless garden before him. A night breeze sweeps softly through the air, and the stars in the sky twinkle delicately, creating a stargazing-worthy view.

Jeongin always scolds Hyunjin when he catches him in this position, something about a regard for his personal safety being nonexistent, and that a three-story fall onto cold, solid pavement could seriously mess him up, but he doesn't listen. Not when the view he gets to behold from such a height is so grand- the royal garden that stretches from one end of the courtyard to another is Hyunjin's favourite feature of the palace, and from his bedroom balcony view, he feels like he's staring directly into the world's most detailed painting when he stares down at it. The garden's construction began a few months earlier, and since its completion, Hyunjin has made it routine to gaze down at it every night.

It's a nice place to be when Hyunjin just wants to unwind for the day and think about nothing. When he stares at the garden, he doesn't have to think about the fact that he's almost 24 and in need of a fiancé as per his parents request, or that he'll have to start preparing for his eventual rise to the throne since he's next in line. No, instead, he focuses on the endless garden beds stretched all the way across the courtyard, filled to the brim with flowers of all colours and shapes that blow gently in the wind, their blooms all closed for the night except for a certain type of flower that Hyunjin doesn't know the name of. Still, they're his favourite, the small round flowers that face the moon and stars at night, with their soft, white petals exposed to the vast sky when no other flowers dare to do the same.

"Whoever does the gardening around here does a pretty good job, huh?" A voice laughs from behind Hyunjin, causing him to jump and almost lose his balance from his sitting position on the narrow railing.

"What the hell, Jeongin? I thought I told you not to come and sneak up on me like that!" Hyunjin snaps around to face his younger brother, who has a fox-like grin spreading across his face.

"I'm sorry. I can't help myself. It's funny how easily you scare."

"Yeah, well, as per your own warning, I could fall and die if you scare me badly enough that I lose my balance."

"Maybe you should stop sitting on the railing and use a chair like a normal person,"

"Maybe you should stop sneaking up on me."

"You never listen to me, so I refuse to listen to you." Jeongin counters, that sly grin still wide across his cheeks.

"You have to listen to me since I'm older and you're adopted."

"Ouch. That was unnecessary," Jeongin clenches his chest in an overly-dramatic fashion, and Hyunjin just rolls his eyes.

"Care to explain why you're here?"

"I was trying to get you to fall so that I could become the sole heir to the throne." Jeongin deadpans.

Hyunjin resists the urge to roll his eyes a second time. "Seriously."

"Felix made brownies."

Hyunjin stares up at the moon. It's at its highest point in the sky, sitting directly above the palace. "In the middle of the night? Why? Doesn't he only make brownies on special occasions?"

"I think he said something about the head gardener moving into the palace tomorrow, they're a welcome gift, blah blah blah. The point is, he made too many and there's extras, and I'll eat them all if you don't come get some now."

While the offer is tempting, Hyunjin isn't in the mood for brownies right now, even if they are as heavenly as the ones Felix makes. Rather, he focuses on the other piece of information Jeongin just provided him.