halcyon || seungjin

14: Stay or Go

The royal family has never been close to the people of their kingdom. Giant palace walls separate royal grounds from common ones, and common people are rarely let into the palace. The King and Queen don't leave the palace unless there is a matter related to royalty in other kingdoms. They stand isolated from the rest of their society, and this is Jisung's main driving point to the idea that Hyunjin should be able to escape and integrate into the city without getting caught. Him and Jeongin haven't made public appearances since Hyunjin was ten and Jeongin was nine. The people of the kingdom don't know their princes. Hell, Seungmin hadn't known Hyunjin was who he was the first time they'd met.

"Leave... as in never come back?" Hyunjin asks, and various people nod their heads, Jisung giving him an mhm in confirmation.

They're all sitting in Jeongin's room, everyone crossed-legged in a semicircle on the ground while Jisung is standing in front of them and explaining his plan.

"It's this or face your parents, who will probably lock you in your room for eternity once they're back." Changbin chimes, matter of factly.

Hyunjin knows he's probably right. He tries to wrack his brain for other solutions, ones that aren't so immediate and life-changing, but none come to mind. He really only does have two choices: stay or go. That's all he can do.

One night to pack and one day to flee the palace before the King and Queen's return, Jisung had explained, was how the plan would have to go. They could seek refuge in Seungmin's home for a night or two, which only had two spare bedrooms including Seungmin's own, but it could work.

By the sounds of it, everyone, from Felix to even Jeongin seem to be on board with the plan with little disagreement. Hyunjin feels like he's been missing out on discussions of leaving the royal family and abandoning the palace for a while, but maybe he's just never seen the reality of what his friends have all had to deal with in the walls of the palace. Even as Hyunjin looks at Seungmin, he feels like he's seeing someone he doesn't entirely recognize. Not in a resentful way, but in a way that's more shameful to Hyunjin, like he should have been paying closer attention this whole time. And it's not that he disagrees with the plan Jisung has proposed, but he's shocked by the drive all of his friends have to leave the royal grounds.

"Okay everyone," Jisung says after discussions of meeting points and times are done, "get ready now. We head out after midnight."

Everyone files out of the room after that, Seungmin leaving last after a meaningful glance at Hyunjin and a planted kiss softly on his cheek as if to say see you later instead of a goodbye, as if Hyunjin deciding to stay behind is unfathomable. Hyunjin stays back for a second to talk to Jeongin.

"How do you suppose I pack an entire grand piano in my bag?" Jeongin laughs as soon as the room is empty, save for the two of them.

"Fold it in half?" Hyunjin jokes back, but then his grin settles into a straight line. "Have you always wanted to leave the royal family?"

Jeongin sighs. "Maybe not always, but there's nothing here for me. You and I both know it, Hyunjin. Me and Chan, we talk about it too, a lot more than I'd like to admit."

"You do?"

"Growing up in the palace was fine and all, but we were severely deprived of social lives for pretty much our whole childhoods. You're certainly my brother but your parents aren't my parents. I've never been their son. This palace has never been a home to me, just a place I happen to live. I'm ready to leave it all behind."

"So you're definitely going?" Hyunjin doesn't think it's desperation in his voice. No, at least not desperation for his brother to stay. More like desperation for his brother to not leave him behind.

Jeongin simply nods. "What about you?"

Hyunjin swallows.

Stay or leave, palace or city, his parents or his friends. The choice is pretty obvious.

"I'm coming with you."

...✦

Chan warns everyone that it'll be a pretty long walk to Seungmin's house since they're planning to take a direct route there, avoiding the city just to be safe. That doesn't stop Hyunjin from death-gripping Seungmin's hand the entire trek to their destination.

Footsteps can be heard a bit further down the road, Hyunjin and Seungmin trailing behind everyone else. Jisung and Chan lead the group, Jisung with a comically large bag of his things that he's somehow not hindered by, and Chan with an oversized lantern that illuminates the road far ahead. They're followed by Changbin and Felix, arms linked and both with barely any baggage, and Minho and Jeongin behind them who've managed to find a stand-up piano that they're somehow pushing on a wheeled trolley down the bumpy road.

"Anxious?" Seungmin asks in Hyunjin's direction, running his free hand along the prince's tensed arm muscles as they walk over pebbles and tree root overgrowths that scatter the dirt road.

"A little," Hyunjin says quietly, looking forward to the dark road ahead. "Can you tell?"

"A bit." Seungmin give's Hyunjin's arm a squeeze. The muscles become less taut as he does so, but not entirely.

"I just have... I have a lot of things to think about right now."

"Are you sure this is what you wanted?" Seungmin asks with concern creased in his forehead.

Hyunjin exhales. "It is. It's just... it's a big change, obviously. I don't know how my parents would react, nor will I find out. They may send people to come looking for me or they may not. All my art, most of my clothes, left them in my room. I'll never see your garden again."

"Maybe that's for the better," Seungmin says thoughtfully, "those things are all attached to memories of your... old life." Seungmin hesitates at the word old. Seungmin is returning to his home, yes, but for Hyunjin, this is the start of something entirely new.

"You're right," Hyunjin nods. "The only thing I really needed to bring was you." His eyes turn into crescents when he smiles the way Seungmin loves.

"Stop that. You're so cheesy." He laughs.

"It's true though, Seungminnie," Hyunjin says and Seungmin can hear him pouting as he says it, "I might not have left without you-"

"Hey." Seungmin stops him. "You did this for yourself, okay? You deserved more, and now you'll get it."

Hyunjin stays silent for a second. Seungmin knows he's not convinced.

"Someone like you, one of the most beautiful souls I've ever come to know, shouldn't be kept from living a proper life. You deserve the love you want and the future you want. That wasn't something the palace offered you." He reasons.

"Yes, but-"

"No buts. You deserve this." Seungmin pokes him in the chest with a finger.

"But I've abandoned my kingdom. My people."

"Were they really your people if you'd never even met them? Hyunjin, you were barely allowed - actually no, prohibited from leaving the palace. Your parents treated you like a caged animal whose only purpose was to act on their requests and act as a bridge between two kingdoms."

Hyunjin raises his eyebrows, probably contemplating what Seungmin has just said, and nods slightly.

"So we're agreed then?" Seungmin asks more softly, and Hyunjin smiles. Not exactly a happy smile but not a sad one either, just a slight quirk of the corners of his mouth to show Seungmin that he's listening and understanding Seungmin's argument.

"Yes."