Trash of the Count's Family Anthology

That's right... My family's bigger than that.

Alberu's eyes were as heavy as his burden. The crown took more out of him then his father. Remembering little facts like that, made him feel inferior. His father had left such large footsteps, and despite his efforts he felt that maybe his feet were just too small to measure up. His father had so much help running the kingdom - his father before he passed, his wife, his advisors, his sons. Alberu only had his aunt and Cale to back him up. 

Thoughts like that took up his headspace as he walked up those rickety stairs. Those stairs creaked and groaned louder the higher  he went up, as if they were crying about being stepped on in their old age. Alberu had a fleeting thought about maybe refurbishing them and putting these stairs to rest. He was pretty sure they had been put in at the beginning of his father's reign. He noticed how the crowd of citizens were able to see him now and gave them a cordial wave. It caused his onlookers to erupt in cheers.

Perhaps he should've had a few hours of extra sleep so he could've noticed the suspicious blue carpet. Or that there was a faint dip in the carpet where a dip shouldn't have been. Or the slightly patronizing speech his biological dongsaengs were giving him before the ceremony. As he walked, he worried about how obvious his eyebags might be. Or how his step-mother might be watching, staring, judging. She was currently the monarch since his father had gone out, but he would soon take his rightful spot. It wouldn't be long. But a small part of him wanted her approval still.

As Alberu's thoughts kept his mind occupied, his feet betrayed him. At the sudden change in depth, he fell forward. If he hadn't honed his instincts, he would've face planted against the red carpet. His face reflected the red from the carpet after his stumbling and he silently cursed himself for not paying attention. He held out his hand to signal that he was alright, calming the worrying crowd. He could hear his little brothers snicker next to the podium and the red bloomed on his ears and neck too. Sheepishly, he adjusted his cravat and stood at the podium. 

'What a great way to start an award ceremony.' He thought to himself. 'Embarrassing yourself! What are you entertainment?' His inner voice scolded him as he smiled. It was his kingly smile; perfectly curated, appealing to the public and utterly fake. If he could, he would erase everyone's memories of his near fall.  He read the list he had brought out, and called out his friend's names into the magic voice enhancer. The heroes of the Raon Kingdom. 'They're probably laughing too. I would be laughing.'

"Cale Henituse, dongsaeng, please come up to collect your award. This one is to commend your ability to keep calm." He repeated what was engraved on the back of the medal. A cheeky plastic grin smothered on his face as he tried to keep the blush off. 'Stop thinking about your almost fall dumbass.'

 "All these awards must be taking up dust in your cupboard. Or, they would if you had kept any." Polite chuckles ran through the crowd. "If these awards were trophies, you would be treating them like simple silver goblets. You're just too expensive." He joked. The mane of red hair was what he saw first go up the stairs before he noticed the man himself. 

"You know me so wel-" Cale rolled his eyes before widening them. Almost in an instant, his elgant walk was cut short by kissing the red carpet. Just where Alberu had almost fell himself. Alberu's jaw dropped as he heard the smack of a body hitting a carpeted floor, face-first. The crowd went silent at the sight. Alberu tightened his jaw and hurried over to pick his dongsaeng up. 

"Cale! Are you alright? That was a nasty fall." His voice made his way to Cale's ears, genuine worry sewn in. Since he stood away from the voice enhancer, his words weren't picked up. He picked him up by the elbow and helped his disoriented dongsaeng to the podium. Cale blinked in surprise a few times, before reassuringly smiling.

"I'm okay."

"Cale-nim? You okay?" Choi Han asked in worry. He went up the stairs and very carefully walked towards him. And yet. His fall caused him to go over the stage, out of the spotlight and into the audience. Rosalyn ended up losing her shoes like Cinderella if she was a klutz. Raon didn't know how to feign a fall as well as everyone else could so he just ended up flopping on the floor. 

By then Alberu understood what was happening. They were trying to share his embarrassment. He looked down at Cale who looked pleased as Ohn had successfully tripped without hurting herself. That's right. Alberu came to the realisation that this was solidarity. Family. He was wrong. It was never just Cale and Tasha backing him up. As soon as Cale called him hyung, he brought him into his family. 

"You guys are such an adorable family. Your family is loyal as fuck." Alberu whispered.

"We're siblings. So, we're an adorable family you shit."

Alberu's eyes widened as he turned to look at Cale. 

"And it's our family."

"...that... Our family?"

"That's how family works, isn't it? I'm still new to this so."

"No, you're right. Its our family. So Tasha's your aunt too. She's a gossip btw."

"Oh shit, can I take it back?"

"Nope. Its our family." Despite their jokes, they had matching smiles.