✮ ⋆ ENHYPEN ˚｡𖦹 ⋆IMAGINES ｡°✩

☆ Royal death☆Sunghoon ☆

At one point, Sunghoon was your best friend.

A prince of the Empire of Enha, your fiancé, your childhood friend. Your everything.

But it all changed when his father killed yours. And you, the daughter of a King of (C/N) were forced to step up as a princess, changing your normal life. (C/N=Country name)

"Our marriage will be beneficial to me," Sunghoon says neutrally, his chin on his palm.
"I have no reason to annul it."

He acts as though your friendship had never meant anything. It wasn't his father who'd ruined the two of you.

"You'll marry me," Sunghoon says simply, with a dangerous glimmer in his eyes as he holds his dagger up against your neck. "You may not have a choice."

He smiles a dangerous smile as he leans in, the tip of his dagger brushing against your skin. "Either you're mine or you aren't alive," he says in a quiet, menacing voice. His eyes flash with a feral look that tells you he's not playing around.

"You're just like your father." You scoff looking at him. "Go and kill me."

Sunghoon narrows his eyes at your defiance, taking a step back so that he's at a safe distance from you. "You really are the perfect little girl, aren't you?" He asks sarcastically, his tone threatening. "There is no fear of death. You must want to die."

"Out of everyone in the royal community, you choose me. I would rather die than be seen with you."

Sunghoon raises an eyebrow in surprise at the fact that you'd really rather die than be his wife. He's only ever dealt with a woman who immediately submitted herself to him. No one's ever truly challenged him before.

"You have strange notions of marriage," he says dryly, and then chuckles to himself. "You'd rather die than marry me?"

"I would've married you before."

His expression changes again. He'd never expected such a thing from you. He'd never expected that you could possibly have genuine feelings for him, even if it was a thing of the past. He can feel his chest tighten as emotion washes over his face, and he's quiet for a long moment before he speaks again. "You would've married me before?"

"Before your father killed my father,"

Sunghoon's grip on his dagger tightens slightly at your words. He's almost afraid of how your words are making him feel.

Because yes, you're right, his father was the one responsible for the murder of your father.

His father was the one who hired the assassins to carry out the hit. But now, he finds himself almost wanting you to forgive him for his father's actions.

The words you're saying. They're hurting him far more than he'd anticipated. And in that moment, he hated it.

"Whats taking so long? Go on. Kill me."

Sunghoon's gaze settles on you, his eyes full of a strange emotion. Anger. Sadness. Regret.

He's trying so hard not to feel anything right now, but your words and your lack of fear are breaking him. He doesn't believe you.

He thinks you're only saying what you're saying to try to anger him. But he can tell that it's not. But just in case...

He steps a little closer to you. The tip of his dagger pointed over your heart. "So you really would rather die than marry me?"

"Yes."

He is surprised.

There wasn't any sort of hesitation.
There's no fear.
No worry.
No second-guessing.

You're not even scared to die. You simply nod and accept the fact that you're probably going to.

He's never quite met someone with your kind of courage. He has to admit, it's attractive. And he finds himself feeling this way.
A type of way he's not used to. But Sunghoon doesn't want you to know that, not while the tip of his dagger is pointed at your heart.

"And I thought we were friends."

His eyes flicker with another emotion. Surprise. He thought the same thing.

You both used to be as thick as thieves, as they say. At least he thought you were.

But now it seems like you don't even trust him. He can't blame you.
He knows what he did, which made everything between you two impossible.

But he still can't help but feel hurt and even betrayed in some way. So, he stays quiet. Maybe if he remains silent, you'll get scared and finally agree to his terms. Yes, that's it...

Sunghoon's eyes continue to flicker with various emotions, like surprise, hurt, and even disappointment.

All because of your reaction. Because you're not scared.
Because you'd rather die than marry him. Because you don't trust him.
Because he doesn't have the power over you that he wants.

The prince lets out a sharp breath as his grip on his dagger tightens. He has to admit that he's getting frustrated. He's not used to the idea of getting rejected, let alone by a woman who used to worship the ground he walked on.

"Let me say something before you kill me."

Sunghoon hesitates, his brow creasing for a moment, but he nods. He gives you permission to speak, although he doesn't fully expect you to say anything of importance.

He listens carefully to whatever you have to say. He tries to seem uninterested, but the truth is, he's genuinely curious about what kind of words are going to come out of your mouth.

After all, he'd never expected you to talk. That's why he was taking so much pleasure in terrifying you the way he was.

"Did you ever love me?"

He was not prepared for that question. For a moment, he doesn't move. He remains still, his eyes on you, and his breath is even and steady as you ask the question.

Slowly, the tip of his dagger starts to lower, now pointing at the ground instead of at you.

And then he opens his mouth. "Yes."

"Why didn't you even show it?"

Sunghoon clenches his jaw. "I couldn't."

There was no way he could've shown the extent of his feelings. He's a prince. He's supposed to be a stone-faced, emotionless being. He's not allowed to display emotion.

Not even to you. Because no matter how much he wanted to tell you that he loved you, he had to maintain a certain image. Otherwise, he'd never be king.

You sigh at his quietness. "I have one more question."

Sunghoon doesn't say anything but nods.
He'll gladly grant you the ability to ask another question, even if he can't guarantee that he'll provide you with an acceptable response.

"It's just you and me in this room, right?"

He gives a slight nod in response. He knows where you're going with this question, but he decides to answer anyway. "Yes, it's just you and me. Nobody else."

"Perfect"

You move away from his dagger and grab your pistol from your waist, pulling the oldest trick on him.

Sunghoon had been completely unprepared for the sudden movement.

He'd been so distracted by the emotions he'd been feeling, the anger he'd had at being challenged, the realization that he loved you, and the fear he felt of losing you that he completely neglected the possibility of you pulling out a weapon of your own.

And so the bullet hit its target. Sunghoon cried out as the pain hit, and he stumbled backwards. The dagger fell from his hands as a look of utter shock and surprise crossed his face.

He stares at you, the bullet still lodged in him, blood running down his body and staining his shirt red as he tries to comprehend your words.

You sat beside his bleeding body, patting his head. "I loved you."

Did you love him? Is that it? Did you love him so much that you were willing to go with him?

His arms fall to his side, and for a moment, they almost seem weak and unable to hold you as the world begins to spin around them. "Seriously?" He whispers, unable to believe your words.

He was dying with a smile on his face, his eyes still full of disbelief, but now there was a glimmer of relief, and even joy, in them. "You really..." His voice broke for a moment, and his breathing became a little shaky. "You really do love me?"