long live the king - nct, markhyuck

♕ 11 ♕

no wonder that merchant street was called wonders alley.

donghyuck felt like he was in the middle of a dream, lost somewhere between heaven and paradise, surrounded by riches and royals, and mostly treated as such as he was by the future king of aes' side.

the alley was tremendous, spreading across hundreds of meters, with an impressive number of shops on each side, selling a variety of stuff, going from jewels to fabrics and passing by dinnerware, flowers and furniture. the alley was also quite full of people, all of them being dressed in beautiful clothes, adorned of golden and silvery details, and being followed by a servant in much simpler clothes, pulling a small carriage in which the items previously shopped had been tossed.

everything was definitely new for the tanned male who wasn't aware of the existence of such things, and who hadn't stopped bombarding mark with questions ever since they had reached the place.

"do you think this is real gold?" the tanned male questioned as he glued his face to one of the windows behind which were displayed a few golden pieces of jewellery.

"it is." the royal replied without even looking. "what would be the point of having it golden if it wasn't real gold?"

"woah..." donghyuck simply let out, his eyes diverting between each of the pieces that were worth more he could even imagine.

mark stared at the boy for a while, being amused by his constant amazement.

"we probably should start shopping if we want to be back on time for dinner." the future king informed.

"start shopping? are we shopping there?!" the tanned male couldn't help but ask surprisingly – which shouldn't have been a surprise for him since mark had deliberately told him they were coming here to shop, but now that he could see what kind of shopping they were talking about, he couldn't help but think this had to be the wrong place.

"why else would i have brought you there?" mark chuckled at donghyuck's cuteness before taking a few steps forwards. "follow me, i know where we could get you a nice fit."

donghyuck obliged, trying his best to stay focused on the royal who skilfully slalomed his way between people, not even slightly interested by the shops surrounding them. donghyuck was exactly the opposite of that, his eyes widening a bit more at each shop, and his head lowering in sorrow each time his shoulder brushed against a royal's.

"here." mark pointed a shop on the right side of the alley before immediately darting that way, followed closely by the peasant who was scared to lose his guide.

the two young males walked in the shop in question, donghyuck letting an amazed 'woah' slip past his lips as he stared at the inside of the store.

"good afternoon, your highnesses." the old merchant spoke clearly as he bowed. "how may i help you."

"good afternoon." mark answered immediately, taking a step closer to the rack on which a few beautiful robes were hung. "we were looking for a casual diner dress. lumen style."

"of course, your highness." the merchant scanned the two males from head to toe, as if to judge which size would fit them best. "would you like them matching or...?"

"it won't be necessary. we only need one for him." mark informed, focusing back his attention on the robes.

"alright, please wait an instant, your highness."

that being said, the merchant walked away towards the back of the store, leaving mark and donghyuck in a comfortable silence.

the royal fiddled with the various clothes hanging on the racks, tugging on them to check them out before skipping to the next one. on his side, donghyuck stood in the middle of the shop, his mouth still ajar in bewilderment.