nytis
"you've been learning for weeks now!" song jeobeom, his father, towered over kitae and glared at the boy who was on the ground cradling his wrist. "look, even dongyun can do it! why can't you? your younger brother would be a much better king than you." jeobeom stalked off leaving kitae on the ground hurt on the outside and the inside as well.
"father cared about strength. he cared about ruling the people which was very different from my plans. i didn't want to rule, i never did. kings aren't supposed to rule and tell people what to do anyways, they have to lead them, support them. because then again, as powerful as the royal family is, our power is nothing if no one is willing to follow us."
kitae let out a heavy sigh. "but both dongyun and my father just couldn't understand that." he brushed away his hair, "so father never liked me. he didn't like me going to the markets, didn't like my weak body or blue eyes.. he said all of it was inappropriate and not fitting for royalty..."
"... and then when my father found out about his illness, he locked me up and declared me dead because he didn't want me to rule. i remember him saying that i should be grateful that he wasn't killing me."
"why didn't you try and escape?" jihoon asked, trying to comprehend how horrible it must've been down in kitae's cell.
"oh believe me, i did." kitae let out an empty chuckled, "i gave up after i found out that the guards and anyone who 'didn't do their job right' got killed. i didn't want people dying because of me."
minghao stiffened at the same time as jihoon. "about junhui then..." jihoon asked, concerned.
"junhui shouldn't die. he's too valuable of a guard, even as a child everyone could see that he had great potential. but i can't be sure about the ones that chased us earlier.." kitae shook his head sorrowfully. "if it were anyone else who opened my cell door, i would've stayed. one of my biggest regrets was not telling you, jihoon, the truth of what happened."
a little speechless, jihoon patted his hand and smiled, "i'm glad you're not dead." there was a comfortable silence between the four that lasted for a few minutes before minghao pushed his chair back and stood up.
"kitae and i. we can't stay here. you can't either." he eyed chan and jihoon, "i'll come back later for you." prince or not a prince, the killer seemed to give no shit and yanked kitae up just as harshly as earlier. the prince managed to wave jihoon and chan a small wave before he was pulled out into the night.
as soon as the two were gone, jihoon turned to chan, "where's seungcheol? and why is he not out yet?" knowing that the older would notice, chan could only grimace.
"cheol...he's not.."
jihoon barged into the man's room, not waiting to hear chan's answer. "seungcheol! what's going on?" the man was sitting on his mattress with pillows propped up behind him. he looked just as happy as chan was when seeing jihoon appear in his room yet there was something else hiding behind his smile.
"hoon! you're back! what happened? is soonyoung gone?"
ignoring his questions, jihoon placed the back of his hand on seungcheol's forehead. "what's wrong cheol? are you sick? how are you're legs?" pulling back the blankets jihoon looked at the man's oddly placed legs. "that looks uncomfortable cheol..." he reached forward to straighten one but quickly retracted his hand when seungcheol let out a pained noise.
"ji. don't do that. don't touch them." seungcheol said swallowing.
feeling strangely stiff and cold jihoon looked at seungcheol in the eyes, "what's wrong with your legs? they were fine the night of the ball, right?"
no response.
"right? chan? cheol? that's right, right?" jihoon whipped his head and looked at chan who refused to meet his eyes. "what happened! tell me!" he yelled out, voice higher than usual.
"i- ji- they have been hurting since we got back from clover field. i thought it was normal because it happened every year. so i didn't say anything about the pain." seungcheol confessed weakly, "it got worse but i didn't want to worry you because i wanted you to enjoy your time at the ball. and then after you got taken away.. for a short amount of time i- i stopped taking the meds because we ran out."
stopped taking the meds.
"it was just for a short amount of time though! chan quit school and started working so we brought more and i'm taking them again. i'll get better! don't worry!" seungcheol rambled on.
jihoon's face crumpled as the information settled in. "WHY DID YOU STOP TAKING THEM!" he yelled, "IF YOU RAN OUT OF MONEY YOU COULD'VE SOLD THINGS! YOU COULD'VE SOLD THE FUCKING HOUSE AND I WOULDN'T HAVE CARED!"
both seungcheol and chan jumped at jihoon's outburst, "ji, don't yell. it's okay-
"it's not okay." he hissed angrily at seungcheol, "your legs- THEY WERE DOING SO WELL BEFORE! you were even walking around without these stupid things at one point! we were so close.." he said pointing at the crutches.
jihoon wiped furiously at his eyes, "look at you now. back on wheels. everyone knows you hate that thing!"
"ji.. don't cry."
but jihoon couldn't help but cry. he was sad, frustrated, angry. if only he didn't go to that ball. things were so great before. working peacefully at the bakery with soonyoung and jeonghan by his side, chan going to school and coming back home telling him and seungcheol about all the things that happened, seungcheol stumbling around the kitchen trying to make breakfast.
he was never going to get that again.
"jihoon, it's not the end of the world. it's still me, choi seungcheol, and lee chan. what ever happens, where ever you go, we'll be there with you."
those words only made more tears fall. how are we going to leave if you can't even walk?
there was a light knock on the door. jihoon wiped his eyes and pushed out of chan and seungcheol's hug. "stay for the night hoonie," pleaded seungcheol.
"please, ji!"
"i'll be with minghao for now." he mumbled, shaking his head. the boy left the room and headed out the door.
no smiles, no waves, no nothing.
