HEARTBEAT AWAY || JAEYONG

VIII [ falling in... ]

Taeyong ran along the waterline. The summer breeze felt warm on his face. He should have paid more attention to his steps because as the next thing, he was flying forward after having stumbled upon a rock.

He fell hands first to the rough sand. "Oww-" He whined.

"Princess!" Jaehyun had been watching him. He ran to him and helped him on his feet. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay." He dusted off the tiny rocks from his dress.

"You sure? No broken bones or blood—?"

"I am sure." Taeyong chuckled. "Shall we eat next?" Jaehyun agreed with a nod.

They walked back where Jaehyun had left their basket. Taeyong picked up a dandelion after another and blew them into the wind, giggling. The princess made it difficult for Jaehyun to contain his smile. There was no other person as endearing as Taeyong.

The maids had packed them something to eat on their trip. There was fruits and various of sandwiches and buns. Jaehyun spread out the cloth on the fields, like it was a picnic.

"I've never eaten outside like this." Taeyong admired as he sat on the cloth first. He picked up the dandelion seeds from his dress and threw them away. Jaehyun sat next to him.

"I used to do this a lot with my older sister when we were kids. We stole vanilla buns from the kitchen and went to the woods to eat them. The fun was that no one knew what we were up to." Jaehyun told, smiling fondly. They ate slowly while chatting.

"I wish I could've been with you then."

"What do you mean?" Jaehyun questioned.

"You seem to know all the fun." Saying he was a bit envious, was an understatement.

"You seem to have pretty much fun now." Jaehyun reminded.

"Yes! This is the most fun I've ever had. I wanna do this everyday. To go on a trip and—" He stopped. He shouldn't dream too big. He shouldn't forget his place that was in the palace, being silent and look pretty.

"What is it? I can take you outside again sometime if you want to." Taeyong only smiled briefly at him, forced, before taking a slice of mango.

"But why would you do that for me? I don't want to take an advantage of your kindness more than once."

Jaehyun leaned a little closer. "Isn't it a little obvious? You fascinate me, princess. I've never met anyone like you and I've travelled through countless of kingdoms." Of course he had met anyone like him before. Taeyong wanted to roll his eyes.

"You're kind, endearing and true. And every minute, you surprise me with your personality, like I was reading a book and with every turn of page I find out something new and fascinating about you which makes me fall deeper."

"Fall?" Taeyong wondered. Was this prince saying what he was thinking?

"Yes, fall in love with you." Jaehyun said with a gentle voice, eyes never leaving Taeyong's.

Taeyong was honestly taken aback. After a few seconds of silence, he let out a chuckle. "You only like the idea of me, not the true me. Maybe you like the idea that I'm an unmarried young princess. Maybe you like the way I dress and how I look, the outer part of me—"

"Don't mock my feelings for you, princess. It's you as a whole person who interests me. You caught my eye ever since you ran into the king and I in the hallway. You're like a puzzle I need to put together."

Taeyong looked away, unsure what to think of. The prince's words sounded so sincere. He wanted to believe them.

He wasn't used to that kind of attention. Having a man swooning on his knees before him, ready to give him the world, it all sounded so absurd. He wondered if he was allowed to enjoy it.