My Prince | sunwon

2

The celebration for Sunoo's birthday had never been as grand as those for the prince; no gathering of guests in the great hall, no music to be heard throughout the castle, no wide array of gifts of highest quality to lay praise to his status. Because to the court and the kingdom as whole, Sunoo didn't particularly have status. But Jungwon always made sure that his best friend still felt loved and requested the royal kitchen prepare a special tart for him. Sunoo much preferred the small pastries to decadent cakes. Jungwon sat on a worn wooden stool as watched as the cooks worked on his request.

"Your Majesty, you look far too sad for it to be young Sunoo's birthday," a kind, older cook commented as she kneaded some dough. "Are you sure it is today?"

"Yes, I am sure," Jungwon sighed.

"What has you so sad then? Usually this is one of your most delighted and cherished days."

"I have but only a week left with him before they are to send him away," Jungwon whined.

"Ah, yes, my apologies Prince Jungwon, I had forgotten that he is to leave for training shortly," she said softly, glancing up with compassionate eyes for Jungwon's loss.

Jungwon never viewed the staff among the palace as less than him, or below him. He'd often found comfort in their presence and kind demeanors. When he needed time away from being under the scrutiny of the court and guests, he sought out the staff in the kitchen or private quarters and savored the time to simply be Jungwon. The way he was with Sunoo and Ni-ki. He sighed as he plopped his chin in his open palms.

"Young master," a strong but friendly voice called. "Sunoo's tart is finished, will you be taking it to him now?"

Jungwon nodded as he slid off the stool and trudged over to accept the dessert and placed it in the basket that also held his small gift for Sunoo. He sighed and gave a small, sad smile of thanks to his cooks before heading out to find his best friend. He left the main palace and made his way across the court towards the Kim home. Sunoo's family was allowed their own house within the walls of the Lotus Falls castle, just not within the royal palace itself. Jungwon was fine with that though, happy just to have his best friend nearby.

"Jungwonie!!"

The call of his name—well, one of Sunoo's adoring nicknames for him—clenched Jungwon's throat and brought a sting to his eyes. He wouldn't hear such a joyful call for him for years.

Sunoo watched the boy approach his home, his head downcast, with what was undoubtedly his special tart in a small basket. He couldn't stand to see his best friend so broken, so sad. Of course, Sunoo was dealing with his own state of depression and aching desperation to stay with his best friend, but he knew that if Jungwon knew how sad he was, it would only make his leaving worse.

He hurried to greet Jungwon in front of the house. "Hey Bunny," he said softly with a friendly ruffle to Jungwon's fluffy black hair.

Jungwon's large, dark eyes, so often filled with sparkles and curiosity, met Sunoo's. But there were no sparkles to be found, only sadness. Sunoo fought harder to bring some kind of light back to Jungwon's sweet face. The corner of his mouth pulled up, "So, what's in the basket, Bunny?"

"You know what's in the basket," Jungwon mumbled quietly. He wanted to be happy, wanted to celebrate and play with Sunoo like he always did for his birthday, but his heart was so heavy, so pained with the upcoming loss.

"Is it peach? Please tell me it's peach," Sunoo said with a smile. Please smile Bunny, please, I hate seeing you so sad.

Jungwon's lip quirked. "Of course, it's peach. It's like you think I don't know you."