strange addiction {y.guk}

five

"jeongguk, i'd like you to meet park chaeyoung." jeongguk's father gestured towards a beautiful young girl with long, wavy brown hair. she was dressed in a formal red dress; chaeyoung had taken off the mask since she was meeting jeongguk, so he figured he should do the same. "these are her parents. we thought you two should get to know each other." his father smiled, somewhat forcefully. "you know, for the future."

oh, how jeongguk wished he could run back to the garden with the stranger.
but, sadly, jeongguk was a prince and had other matters to tend to. he led chaeyoung onto the center floor, taking the lead. he coughed quietly, avoiding eye contact. "so, um, i'm jeongguk."

she laughed softly. "i know. and, you don't have to be so awkward, okay? i don't want an arranged marriage to happen."

"what?" jeongguk looked down at her, tilting his head to the side.

"i want to meet someone i'll love for real. no offense." she smiled warmly and squeezed his shoulder gently.

jeongguk bit his lip and looked down at their slow moving feet. "me too."

"then we won't let this happen, alright?" she held his cheek softly, trying to find confidence in him.

he slowly looked up, nodding along. "alright."

-

"he's going to make me marry someone." jeongguk was laying face down on his bed, jimin sitting next to him and playing with his hair. the action always soothed him. "i don't want to marry someone i don't know, jimin."

"i know, ggukie. i'm sorry. maybe your father will change his mind. just try talking to him." jimin frowned, doing anything he could to comfort his friend.

jeongguk turned to look up at him. "he would never reason with me. he never has, after she, you know." he sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

"she's on your side, right? we just have to show both your parents that you guys aren't meant to be, and you love someone else."

-

yoongi was in the castle's library while having a relaxed conversation with namjoon. he had grown closer him and a few of the other castle's workers over the past few weeks.

"you've been teaching jeongguk since he was twelve?" yoongi questioned as he traced the words on the book placed on the table in front of him. "he must've been a handful back then."

"oh yeah, definitely. he was a trouble-maker." namjoon nodded with a smile on his face. "but, he grows on you. i'm sure you've spent plenty of time with him in the garden?"

yoongi looked down, hoping a blush wasn't present on his cheeks. the older man's question only reminded him of his night with the prince. "of course. we don't talk much though. i try to stay out of his way." the two looked up when they heard quiet shuffling from the side.

"hello, your highness." namjoon stood and smiled warmly at the boy, his dimples showing. "what can i help you with?"

jeongguk glanced between the two men, crossing his arms. "i want to look for a book. i'm bored and can't think of anything else to do."

"alright, then. do you have anything in mind?"

yoongi decided to cut in, holding up what he had in front of him. "i was just returning this to namjoon-hyung. i enjoyed it, so you should give it a read. i think you might like it."

jeongguk nodded slowly, taking the book from yoongi's hand. "i'll return it once i'm finished. thanks."

yoongi smiled and stood up. "let me know what you think."

-

jeongguk wandered around the servant's quarter's when he bumped into jimin. the shorter man's features lit up at the sight of the prince. "hello, jeongguk! what're you doing down here? you never come here."

"i-i'm looking for yoongi. do you know where he is? i need to return his book." jeongguk scratched the back of his neck, gripping the book in his hand.

"oh, he just went into his room. it's down the hall, third door to the left. i think he just got done working, so make sure you knock before going in." jimin giggled before wandering off.

jeongguk stared down the hallway for a second too long before making his way down, looking for the correct entrance. he lifted his hand, staring at the wooden panel. knocking softly, he hoped the man on the other side heard because he was too stubborn to do it again.

it wasn't long before he heard a muffled, "come in!" jeongguk cracked open the door, peeking inside. it was a small room, seemingly too cramped for a grown man. for some reason, he felt bad for the older man.

yoongi bowed his head, straightening his black shirt and moving around a few things that had been misplaced on the floor. "sorry, sir. i thought you might've been jimin, maybe taehyung. what brings you here?"

"i wanted to return the book you gave me. i don't read much, but i liked this." jeongguk smiled slightly, placing the slim book in yoongi's large hands. "thank you."

yoongi chuckled. "no problem. you couldn't return it to namjoon, though?"

jeongguk hoped yoongi didn't notice the blush on his face. "oh, um, i thought, since you gave it to me i could give it back to you and tell you what i thought." he rubbed at the ground with his foot and shrugged his shoulders. "i can take it back if you want though."

"it's okay, your highness. i'll take it." yoongi frowned when he saw that jeongguk's face had gone blank, almost staring off into space. "hey, jeongguk, you there?"

"w-where did you get that?" yoongi followed his gaze. the younger was staring at the gardenia placed on his desk.

"gguk-ah," the name slipped past his lips without thought. "i picked it out of the garden one day while i was working. you know it's my favorite."

so many thoughts were running through jeongguk's head as he stared down the flower. he should've known who the stranger was from that night. jet black hair, small, but sturdy frame with broad shoulders, and strong calloused hands that he's so used to seeing nearly every day. so stupid. how could i have not noticed.

"you were there that night. why didn't you say anything?" jeongguk returned his gaze to yoongi, tears in his eyes.

"jeongguk, everything was going so well, and it would've-" but yoongi didn't get to finish his sentence because jeongguk was already out the door. the older wasn't going to let him run off like he did all the other times, though. "jeongguk, wait!"

-