heartstrings • seventeen au

nine.

"Wake up you three!"

Joshua's the first to be ripped out of his sleep by the opening of the door. He yawns and throws two pillows at the two sleeping boys on either beds. The two yelp and groan out whines.

The boy at the door chuckles. "C'mon, you three need to get up now, I have the clothes that you all will have to wear today." The boy enters the room quietly and sets the clothing onto the table near the dresser. He checks the time on his watch, "You have about an hour and a half, to get ready so chop chop!"

The three groan in agreement.

"Thank you...?" Joshua asks, barely able to keep a smile on due to exhaustion.

"Lee Seokmin at your service!" The said boy flashes a blinding smile that makes the three of them have to squint to look directly at him.

Seokmin leaves the room and closes the door gently.

———

"Oh my god it feels like i'm wearing a bunch of soft kittens." Wonwoo says as he slips on a clean dress shirt. Joshua laughs and brushes his hair as he attempts to style it.

"I think mine is a little too tight for me," Junhui exclaims as he comes out the bathroom. The brown trousers hug his legs and perfectly define his hips. In contrast, the button-down dress shirt is loose and breathable around his torso. The three of them are essentially wearing the same clothes but are decorated with different details on the cuffs of the sleeves.

Joshua's are decorated with purple roses, Wonwoo's with black lilies and Junhui's with blue bell flowers.

Seokmin pops his head into the room. "Are you all done?"

"Just about!" Junhui answers, setting the comb down on the dresser. "Alrighty! Come out once you're all at your 100%!" He says flashing his smile and closing the door.

"Joshua!" Wonwoo calls out from the bathroom. Joshua hums as an answer and walks towards the dark haired boy. As soon as he enters the room the boy shoves an item into his arms and he lets out an 'oof'.

Joshua looks down to examine the object. It's some sort of black liquid stored in a small potion-ish bottle. The pink haired boy furrows his eyebrows. "What... is this?"

"Ooh!" Junhui enters the bathroom and immediately his eyes land on the item.

"Why'd they leave eyeliner in here?" Junhui asks. Wonwoo shrugs as he leans his back against the sink. "But it'd look pretty hot on Shua-" Joshua sputters. "Wait wait wait, slow down you two. Eyeliner?"

Junhui looks back at him taken aback. "Joshua Hong, do you not know what eyeliner is?"

Joshua looks at him blankly. "Am I supposed to...?"

"Wait but don't you see Yuha or Jieqong wear it back at Ayrith?" They youngest asks.

Joshua only stares at the two of them with a blank stare and they both sigh. "Okay uhh... you basically draw a line on the corners of your eyes to make 'em sharper, y'know?" The boy blinks twice.

"Why would I do that?"

"It just makes your eyes stand out more and makes you seem more... fierce." Junhui said enthusiastically and Wonwoo nods. "It'll look really good on you Shua, your eyes are practically made for this."

Joshua immediately shakes his head before he even contemplates on putting it on and sets it on the sink. "Maybe... not today, I really don't wanna risk my eyesight because of some cosmetic ink." Wonwoo shrugs and gets off the sink. "Suit yourself."

The three finally exit their bedroom and are greeted with the advisor and another figure standing him.

"Good morning boys! I won't waste any time so I'll tell you where you three are assigned to." He explains cheerily with his hands behind his back.

"Wonwoo, you'll be with my h-" Soonyoung slaps his hand over his mouth and his eyes widen comically over his own words. The figure behind him quickly takes over and introduces himself. "Lee Jihoon, captain of the royal guards."

Soonyoung looks thankfully at the shorter male. "Right, i'm not used to new people here so- sorry about that." He sheepishly rubs the back of his head. "So Wonwoo, you'll be following Jihoon to the training grounds."

"Next- Joshua, your supervisor is still working so you'll have to go there yourself." The advisor points to his left.

"The library is down the hall and to your right." Joshua wordlessly nods.

The advisor turns to the last boy. "And finally Junhui, you'll be following me."