𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲•𝐣𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐧

thirteen

THREE KNOCKS on jisoo's new, temporary bedroom door. jisoo still wanted to doze off—but shit, could he act like the king in the palace of the actual king? no. with that realization, jisoo jumps up from his bed and runs to the door.

"pleasant morning, sir!" a cheery, tall man in a suit appeared in front of jisoo. jisoo was clearly confused, as he always is. "i am kim mingyu, the butler who have been assigned to you. the breakfast banquet is going to start in an hour, so i will help you get ready."

jisoo was unwillingly pushed back inside his gigantic room, all credit going to his butler(wow, jisoo never thought he'd ever be able to say that). he was strong and big, and jisoo bets that if he goes rogue mingyu could easily snap his neck.

this butler's physique is enough to send jisoo running, but his expressions are far different from jisoo's gruesome imaginations of what mingyu's personality is like. that's one thing, at least, that keeps jisoo on edge.

why do i always think that i'm gonna die?!

"your bath will be ready in a few." mingyu explained, eliciting from the bathroom. jisoo wondered when he got there. "anywho, the king has allowed you to accompany him everywhere. that is a lot of time. have you thought of an efficient strategy to stop the king, sir?"

oh. right! jisoo had all the time in the world, but he has never thought of a strategy to persuade the king. what would work, though? jisoo is inept for this job, because he doesn't know what kind of stuff works on jeonghan because he doesn't know jeonghan in the first place—but would it hurt to try?

maybe it would. failing is a high, probable chance, and you know what happens when he fails? two kingdoms fall into war, and jisoo will be in kids' history books a hundred years later being dubbed as 'the person who caused the 8th war'.

"maybe just keep asking him until he gets irked and he just says yes to me?" jisoo replied(more of asked), making a sour face. mingyu mirrored his expressions, meaning that his initial plan was bad.

"may i suggest something, sir?"

jisoo nods, curious. can mingyu be actually better than him in this job? "go on?"

"don't do it, sir. that is not a plan, that is a recipe for more disaster. anyway, i hope you think of a good strategy before breakfast, sir! i will prepare the clothing you are assigned to wear. please get in the bathroom."

oh. not only did his plan get called 'a recipe for disaster, but he spent a lot of time picking out his best clothes and turns out he wouldn't be wearing them! why is he not told about anything? he's starting to hate it here!

"sir!" mingyu scolds, hurrying to jisoo's side. "curtsy, you just arrived!"

sorry, jisoo spaced out. the dining hall was so pretty. the three chandeliers lighting up the long table were more worth of jisoo's attention than anything else right now. that's some good lighting.

but, ah, this is not the time to marvel about good lighting, nor the time for his photographer self to come out. awkwardly, jisoo turns to jeonghan who sat at the end of the table and curtsied.

his slacks and ruffled dress shirt felt restraining, as it was tailored to fit(surprisingly) and not some oversized cheap one that jisoo bought at the department store. plus, the vest? ugh! so annoyingly tight! why can't he wear his own clothes?

"good morning, hong jisoo-ssi. sit wherever you like." jeonghan smiles, greeting jisoo. the latter made a little face as he made his way to the seat beside seokmin, who was waving at him.

"good morning," jihoon arrives. jeonghan only nods at him, making jisoo feel a little bit special with the greeting he got.

not too soon after jihoon took his seat, the maids arrived with trays and bottles of goddamn wine. the princes took interest in it—while jisoo had to embarrassingly call mingyu to ask for water.

(he also had to ask mingyu which fucking spoon to use.)

"aw, the menu today is very nice!" chan exclaimed, neatly placing his utensils on the plate. "i'm finished! i will excuse myself now!"

the youngest prince darted out of the dining hall, his butler running behind him on a hurry. jisoo suspected that it might be because he wanted to distance himself from jeonghan.

"still upset at me?" jeonghan asks, looking down on his plate. jisoo didn't know that they were allowed to poke and play with the food. "he hasn't spoken to me ever since."

"he is still upset at you." jihoon replies, staring dead into jeonghan's eyes. the second eldest prince seemed to be the type to resolve problems immediately, unlike seokmin who sits on it and ignores it and also unlike chan, who runs away from it. their personalities are clashing and it will most probably cause family drama.

jisoo avoids any type of contact, because hell, jisoo did not care at all. he is not a part of the royal family, and he had more urgent concerns: one, how to start the week of persuading right, two, what spoon to use on the mashed potato.

mashed potatoes can be eaten using salad spoons, right? shit! he can't call mingyu over again, it's too embarrassing! why did he suddenly become an intern prince or something? he should've researched about this. he came here without ang knowledge about basic table manners, but he brought all of his clothes that are useless now. what a hong jisoo move.

"hong jisoo-ssi," jisoo flinches, hearing jeonghan's voice and feeling a cold palm on the back of his hand. hey, when did jisoo pick up the salad spoon? "i assume you're going to eat the mashed potatoes?"

jisoo nods, tempted to make a sour face out of awkwardness. jeonghan laughs and pulls his hand away from jisoo's hand. "in here, it is more proper to use a fork. here."

jeonghan bends over to reach the fork, handing it to a dumbfounded jisoo. jisoo eats the mashed potatoes anyway.

the abundance of commoner life is exceptionally hard for jisoo. he guesses that he understands how jeonghan feels now, when he was out in the world, supposed to be dead. jisoo did not know what he would do if he was in jeonghan's place.

"you can't be a husband to me if you can't use your utensils right," jeonghan giggled, winking at jisoo. "enjoy."

what?! jisoo chokes on whatever he was eating, tempted to spew it out and cough aggressively in front of the king. luckily, he felt mingyu's hand rubbing his back and the butler told him reassuring words that prevented him from making a grotesque publicity stunt(unintended).

and, thankfully, his seatmate—prince seokmin—was also considerate. the kind young man offered jisoo a glass of water. "your majesty, you are implying something else." seokmin had said as he handed jisoo the glass of water, which the latter totally agreed to.

"i learned how to joke like that from hong jisoo-ssi himself! isn't it funny? well, not to jisoo since he choked and all," jeonghan explains, throwing his hands everywhere. to reply to the king, seokmin shook his head. "oh, then, i'm sorry for the joke."

"it's... it's okay." jisoo says, after he downed the contents of the glass of water. "i was just... off guard."

"why, you haven't thought about marriage even just once? you're getting older, jisoo-ssi!" jeonghan complains, pouting a little. "i'm getting older too, and i have not found a person that i love. perhaps we could get married? we'd be a visual attack!"

"wha—!"

seokmin secretly enjoyed watching jisoo choke everytime his brother joked about marriage. no, don't tell anyone.