Heeseung’s hands trembled as he carefully folded the letter, sealing it with the finality of a decision he never wanted to make. His heart felt heavy, weighed down by the secrets he had kept from Sunoo for the past six years.
Sunoo, the prince, sat in their shared apartment, unaware of the storm brewing outside the walls of their home. He had just returned from a long day of dealing with royal matters, his exhaustion evident in his slumped shoulders. His fingers ached to reach for Heeseung, his most trusted confidant, but there was something different about the atmosphere tonight. A coldness that lingered where warmth used to live.
Heeseung had been distant recently, and Sunoo couldn't ignore it any longer. Their once-easy conversations had become strained, their nights together fewer. Sunoo could sense something was wrong, but Heeseung, ever the protector, had never been the one to open up.
“Hyung?” Sunoo’s voice was soft as he approached Heeseung, who was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the letter in his hands.
Heeseung didn’t look up. “Sunoo, there’s something I need to tell you.”
The words hung in the air like a threat, and Sunoo felt his stomach drop.
“Is this about us?” Sunoo asked quietly, his voice betraying the vulnerability he was trying to hide.
Heeseung closed his eyes, the guilt swirling in his chest. “I... I can’t be with you anymore.”
The words hit Sunoo harder than he expected, his chest tightening, as though the air had been sucked out of the room. He took a step back, shaking his head. “What? Heeseung, you’re scaring me.”
“I’m sorry,” Heeseung said, his voice almost a whisper. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but it’s... it’s for your safety. You don’t know everything about me, Sunoo. I’ve been keeping secrets.”
Sunoo’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean? We’ve been together for six years, Heeseung. You... you never hid anything from me.”
Heeseung stood up, his gaze finally meeting Sunoo’s. His eyes were filled with a sorrow that Sunoo had never seen before. “I’m not just an ordinary man, Sunoo. I’m an agent, a protector. My job is to keep you safe, even if it means distancing myself from you.”
“Agent?” Sunoo’s voice wavered, disbelief lacing his words. “You’re telling me all this time you’ve been protecting me... as a job? You knew who I was, but you never told me?”
Heeseung nodded, his heart breaking with every word. “I never wanted you to know. I thought, if I kept it hidden, you’d live a normal life, away from the dangers of the royal world. But now... it’s too dangerous for us. I’m too dangerous for you.”
Sunoo shook his head, trying to process the truth that had been hidden from him all these years. “So you’re just... leaving me? After everything we’ve been through?”
“I have to,” Heeseung said, his voice cracking with the weight of his decision. “I’ve failed at protecting you in ways that can’t be fixed. You need to be safe, Sunoo. You need to be away from me.”
Sunoo took a step toward Heeseung, tears filling his eyes. “I don’t want to be safe if it means losing you. I don’t care who you are, Heeseung. I just want you.”
But Heeseung, with his duty weighing heavily on his shoulders, turned away. “I’m not the man you think I am, Sunoo. I’m a soldier, and you deserve so much more than what I can offer.”
A final silence filled the space between them, the weight of Heeseung’s words lingering like a thick fog.
Sunoo, heartbroken but resolute, took a deep breath. “If you leave, I won’t chase after you. But don’t you dare think this is the end. We may be apart, but I’ll never forget you. I’ll never stop loving you.”
