𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 | ᵃᵗᶻ

XXI

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the crown prince set his forkful of eggs down slowly, and his hand travelled up to gently rub the faint cut on his neck. his slender fingers gently grazed the affected area, and the rings he wore refracted the bright light. se-ri gulped, looking away quickly in hopes of not getting caught gawking over the prince.

"hm...it seems se-ri seems to favour daggers. i'll remember that." he mumbled vaguely, but the boys heard every word that came out of his mouth clearly.

their reactions were comical; san's eyes bulged out of his head, mingi stopped sipping his orange juice and joong's head snapped up so quick she was sure it was faster than the rate of speed that light travels at.

"se-ri?" they all gasped. said girl's cheeks flushed as she let the small strands of baby hair curtain her face. she looked down at her french toast, taking a small nibble as she shrugged her shoulders in the slightest motion.

the prince just hummed a yes, hiding the bubble of laughter that threatened to be let out from inside behind a mask of zero emotions.

the pair watched as mingi stood up from his seat, taking dramatic, and deliberate slow steps. once he reached her, he knelt down to his knees as he grabbed her hands in a tight grasp. she looked at him with a curious gaze, along with the other bystanders in the room.

mingi could feel seonghwa's burning gaze burn holes through his head, but he ignored it.

he angled his head downwards so he was looking at the floor. with a loud voice, he announced words that had san, hongjoong and se-ri laughing so hard that their stomachs started to ache and tears were brimming at their eyes.

the dull pain in se-ri's side throbbed, but she paid no mind to it, instead focusing on the comical red-head in front of her.

"no one has ever laid a hand on him, let alone leave a cut on his skin. i commend you, soldier lee. but do tell me your secret." he finished, barely keeping his small chuckles in. he even flashed a cheeky wink at her.

what a drama queen.

seonghwa just rolled his eyes, already used to the redhead's antics. "she got me when i was in the middle of a deep sleep, and i already knew it was her." he said with narrowed eyes.

se-ri's brows raised in surprise, "then why didn't you stop me sooner?" she asked, a small smirk forming on her face.

he stayed silent, not wanting to let anyone know that he had sensed her by the rustling sound of her getting dressed and her familiar - yet faint - citrus scent. he didn't dare look at her when se-ri was getting dressed, though, he respected her privacy.

in all honesty, he was struggling to sleep, and he had to act like he really was resting.

but he would never let her know that.

seonghwa just shrugged, sipping his bitter coffee as he bounced off his seat and made his way out of the kitchen.

minutes later, se-ri found herself excusing herself from the kitchen to go to the restroom. little did everyone else now, she'd be following the prince. the boys did have their suspicions, though, and san caught on quickly. he ushered her out of the room so she could catch up to him.

she followed him down multiple corridors until he stopped at a large room. she peeked into see walls that had swords of all lengths and materials mounted on it, along with bulky armour.

se-ri saw seonghwa's back turned to her as he wore some of his armour himself, and the ching from his sword sounded as he tucked it tightly into the sheath wrapped around his hip.

all of a sudden, he turned around and made direct eye contact with se-ri as if he knew she was there all this time.

"come in, miss lee." he said, leaning backwards against the wall and crossing his arms across his chest, his relaxed posture only seeming to cause her nerves to skyrocket.

she walked in, and her eyes immediately caught the array of daggers on display as if they were magnets. her fingers reached for one in particular, but she stopped herself when the sight of metal invaded her vision.

she was face-to-neck with the crown prince, and she gazed into his eyes as he looked down at her. his hands raised ever so slowly to rest on her hips, pulling her impossibly close.

her breath hitched when she felt him leaning down to whisper in her ear, his hot breath fanning on her delicate skin.

"you should slow down, we don't want a repeat of what happened yesterday." he hummed.

the heated moment was gone in a flash when she noticed the teasing tone laced in his voice. she rolled her eyes inwardly, grabbing a hold of his forearms to maintain slight distance between them.

"it was an accident! you should get it cleaned up, though. why haven't you gone to treat it yet?" she asked.

he replied simply, not beating around the bush, "i was waiting for you to do the honours."

a little oh left her mouth and she quickly let go of him to make her way to beckoning him to follow her.

he did as she pleased, and chuckled as he looked down at her smaller form leading the way in front of him.

the cut didn't even hurt.

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💌

skdjkss hai my lovelies<3

this chapter had all sorts of things going on in it but i hope you enjoyed it nevertheless!!

continue to leave comments that make me laugh to my heart's content skdjs;-;

stay safe and stan ateez <3