Royal Temptations

Chapter 3

I have a lot of things planned for this story and I'm honestly so excited hopefully it all works out.

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Junmyeon's POV

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Another typical morning. I should've known that as soon as they were done putting on their show, back to business it was. Would it kill them to just share one meal with me? Probably. I slouched in my chair at the head of a table far too large for my party of one, moving my breakfast around on my plate without actually eating any of it.

"Sire?" I looked over to Heechan, who was supposedly going through some paperwork, but he'd probably been watching me more than actually doing it. "Aren't you hungry?" he asked at last, eyeing my plate that was still mostly full.

"Not really," I replied. "Where did they say they were this morning?" He winced, and I sighed, resting my cheek on my palm. Same old story.

"I don't even know myself," he said at last. "They just told me urgent business." I gripped my chopsticks a bit tighter, cursing myself inside for feeling affected by this again. "Are you alright?" he asked. There he went again. Sounding more like my dad than my actual dad some days.

"I'm fine," I mumbled, shoving my plate away. But the door to the dining room opening caught my attention. I looked up and was pleased to see Yixing entering. "Good morning Prince Yixing," I greeted.

"Good morning," he said back, looking around. "Where's King and Queen Kim?" he asked. He sat down to my left, with his assistant hovering not too far away.

"Your guess is as good as mine," I said, stuffing a bite of food in my mouth to hide my disappointment in the matter. One of the staff brought two more plates of food, handing one to the assistant and setting one in front of Yixing. For a little while, no one said anything. It wasn't a stifling silence, per se, but it was far from comfortable.

"You must be by yourself a lot," Yixing suddenly interrupted the silence. I could only nod, not trusting myself to speak. "Does it get lonely?" he asked. I shoved my chair back abruptly, rising.

"Heechan I'm going to go oversee some things," I said, striding away, half hoping he'd follow me. But I didn't hear him scurrying to catch up. So now I really was by myself. I sighed. Yixing's question bothered me in ways I didn't want to admit. Yes, it was very lonely being by myself all the time. But a part of me was used to the loneliness. Sure, I had Heechan and the staff. But it wasn't quite the same as having my family close by.

I got that they were busy. After all, they had a country to run. But sometimes I wondered what it would've been like if they were just common people. Would I see them more? Would we actually have meals together? I didn't know a life outside of the one I lived. One where my parents ran a country first and raised me second. And it wasn't like they were bad parents. I knew they loved me. And I knew they didn't wish me away. But I also knew that their first priority was running the country.

I found myself outside in the gardens again. It looked vastly different in the daylight. Everything looked so vibrant in its rainbow of colors. The water in the fountain was crystalline rather than murky, which was definitely more visually appealing. Already I could feel some of the weight lifting from my shoulders. Yixing was right on that front. Out here surrounded by nature I could be whoever I wanted to be.

"Hey." I whirled around, finding myself face to face with Yixing's assistant. He bowed. "Sorry to startle you Your Majesty," he apologized. I waved the matter aside. It didn't matter how often it happened, or if it was true, it was still a very odd feeling being addressed like that. "I hope what Prince Yixing said isn't bothering you," he added.