halcyon || seungjin

02: Not Fair

Seungmin arrives at the palace gates bright and early on his scheduled arrival day. The ride to the palace wasn't outrageously long since Seungmin's own family home isn't too far from the royal grounds. Still, he feels worlds away from home as soon as he gets there.

It's just as he remembers it to be from last time- or maybe even more extravagant looking since Seungmin is really taking in the fact that he'll be living here from now on- tall white and gold gates mark the perimeter of the grounds, and gardens, fountains, statues and many things of the sort, as well as pathways fill the surrounding area. There are some smaller buildings further away- guard quarters, storage areas- but a huge building made of creme coloured bricks towers over the grounds, casting a shadow so large that Seungmin is engulfed in it despite his fair amount of distance from the castle. Seungmin looks up and he can sees the endless windows and terraces and balconies that scatter the castle, backing onto the courtyard that now looks more full of life than Seungmin could have ever imagined.

Luckily, being a royal guard, Jisung is at the palace everyday and happens to be posted at the gates at the time of Seungmin's arrival. Another guard begins to approach the carriage, but Seungmin watches Jisung wave a hand at them, walking towards the carriage himself instead. He escorts Seungmin to the gates personally, and Seungmin is grateful for the familiarity, especially as the enormous and extravagant palace scenery unfolds before his eyes.

"Isn't it, like, so big?" Jisung marvels at the building, eyes shining, as if it's his first time seeing it.

"Yes, Sungie." Seungmin laughs. "It's very big."

The guards take Seungmin in, and Jisung hugs him goodbye for the time being, even though they'll be seeing each other a lot more than they usually do now that they live on the same grounds. Jisung's quarters are only a few minutes' walk from the main palace, after all.

Seungmin is taken to his room by an elderly attendant, stick-thin and tall in a red dress and pointy heels, the palace emblem sitting on the right side of her chest. "Just some ground rules," She begins as they walk together- well, Seungmin trails after her as her long legs carry her impossibly fast- "you have access to all sectors of the palace except for the royal family's personal tower. If you need anything, return to the lobby and seek out an attendant. Your hours will be outlined by the documents found on the desk in your room. Your tools can be found on the shed in the north-west side of the courtyard..."

Seungmin drowns out her voice as he becomes increasingly intrigued by the interior of the palace and the sheer length of the hallway they're walking down. By the time they near the end of the hall, she abandons him by his door without notice, walking off and leaving Seungmin entirely alone in the huge hallway. The sound of her heels against the floor quickly becomes distant, and then inaudible, so Seungmin carefully opens the door to his room and drops his bags down on the floor. But before he can so much as settle down, he's met with a knock on his door. Upon opening it, he smells them before he sees them- a plate of brownies, decadently fudgy-looking and topped with caramel, stacked on a gold tray and being held by a boy who looks to be about Seungmin's age, with freckles and dyed blonde hair.

The boy immediately beams at Seungmin. "Welcome! I'm Felix, head baker of the palace," he introduces himself, and Seungmin is instantly eased by his presence. Something about Felix is warm, like a ray of sunshine.

Seungmin smiles as he graciously takes the plate from Felix, inhaling the scent of the brownies and feeling himself salivate at the smell of them alone. "Seungmin." He tries to return Felix's energy with a toothy grin of his own. "I'm the new head gardener."

"Oh trust me, I've heard all about you. But it's nice to finally meet you, Seungmin! If you need me, you can come find me anytime. Cause, guess what? We're neighbours!" Felix excitedly rambles. His energy level and enthusiasm over this topic suggests that Seungmin might be his first 'neighbour' in a while, considering how empty the hall of guest rooms looked as Seungmin was walking down it.