pleia | svt

11

jeonghan's eyes burned at vivid lilac, trying to make eye contact with his blonde brother.

jihoon, who avoided his gaze, turned to soonyoung. "soonie, whatever you do, do not let him touch you." jihoon whispered softly.

"that's an odd request, but okay?" soonyoung complied, taking a step back from the stranger, "why?"

"he has telepathy, but he can't use it on people he hasn't touched. if he so much as grazes you it's enough for it to work, so just stay here and let me handle this." jihoon replied, stepping away from the brunette towards his brother with his eyes glued shut.

"jeonghan hyung let me explain..."

"no jihoon! there's no explaining this! you broke the rules, rules you know keep us safe! you're so irresponsible hoonie, you know they're danger-"

"hyung you know they're not dangerous! you used to go on and on about seungcheol and how amazing he was. don't forget that it was you who taught me that i can pass the gateway by myself, because the first portal i opened to earth was for you!"

jeonghan's eyes widened, he was used to being reminded of that boy, but it had been a while since anyone called him by name. his once aggressive stature softened as he started to think back at all the conversations he used to have with his childhood friend.

seungcheol was jeonghan's first friend, first love and first act of rebellion all rolled up into one beautiful package. he had shown jeonghan what it meant to be kind for no reason, that good people needed no reward for doing nice things.

"jeonghan hyung, please... give me a chance to show you that they're not what everyone else thinks they are. don't you think it's time for change, hyung? you can do that! you can lead pleia into a whole new era, so why won't you?" jihoon pleaded, it had been a while since jeonghan had seen such a tenderness in jihoon's eyes.

jeonghan didn't want to be the person to destroy jihoon's heart; his parents had done it to him and he never really recovered. jeonghan would daydream of seeing his first love in person, what it would be like to be with him without restriction. jeonghan knew the freedom he would have as king, but he didn't want to lose the trust of his people or  the trust of his brother.

jeonghan drawed out a long sigh, "fine, hoonie. i'll give him a chance. however, i can't judge a whole species on one person. so even if he's nice, that's not good enough to open the gateway." jeonghan looked up the brunette before him, his wings shooting up, his demeanor more demanding.

"you, boy. what's your name?"

"hello, your highness. my name is soonyoung." the imanity bowed down, still keeping a safe distance between them.

jeonghan smiled softly at his action, "get up, it's fine."

the boy stood up, a bright smile plastered on his face.

'i get it, hoonie, he's cute' jeonghan thought to himself.

"my name is jeonghan. i'm the oldest of the princes and the soon-to-be king. as an imanity, you are not exactly welcome to our land, but i will make a small exception as my brother seems to be somewhat attached to you." jeonghan's head whipped around to jihoon, who gave him a small smile. he continued, "you are not going to be introduced to the people, and are only permitted to be in castle grounds at all times. as far as i'm concerned, this is an experiment. since you're the only person who knows about us it'll be easier to keep track of you."

soonyoung shot a panicked look at jihoon, 'he doesn't know about my brothers', he thought. jihoon shook his head lightly, as if telling him not to worry. jihoon had already made eye contact with his brother and he didn't freak out, meaning he wasn't trying to use his powers anymore.