𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲•𝐣𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐧

fourteen

"I TRUTHFULLY don't think that's going to work, hong jisoo-ssi. please cross it out." the youngest prince told jisoo, wind blowing the hair out of his face. if jisoo was a little more romance-driven, he'd be simping for lee chan.

jisoo turns to the journal on his lap, crossing out the 'switch his documents' option. mingyu, who watched them behind the bench, had showed his thumbs up to jisoo and hearing the terrible news that it was crossed out made him slouch in sadness.

"what the... we're left with 'beg on my knees', 'surprise him in his study with pretty things', 'blackmail him using his feet pics', 'get mad at him', and 'set the palace on fire.' prince chan, this is... uh, bad, for starters." jisoo's face crinkled, looking begrudgingly at his journal book.

he wanted to set the grass in the garden on fire and throw himself(along with the journal) on it. the best option involves him throwing away his dignity and reputation, while the fastest one included illegal selling of the king's feet photographs! (hey, that's in hd, thanks to jisoo's expensive camera. if you are interested, please contact him.)

"sir hong jisoo, prince chan," mingyu walks to the bench, with his index pressed to his earpiece. jisoo was startled, causing him to drop the journal. he wanted to step on it while he had the chance. "the highest security officer has notified us that the king is back from the agricultural sector. he will be heading here at once."

chan shrugged, while jisoo panicked. yeah, well, i'm not a part of your family tree!

"what are you doing here, kim mingyu?" fuck fuck fuck fuck, that's minghao! the king's royal guard being here means that jeonghan is here too. there is a very high chance that jeonghan will catch him here, plotting about his task tremendously.

"we are about to leave. let's go, sir hong jisoo and prince chan. your highness, prince chan, you may stay if you wish." mingyu politely bowed, giving jisoo a glint of his smile before minghao spoke again.

"and, may i tell, before you leave?" minghao stares into jisoo's eyes, basically boring holes in his soul. "do your job well."

"a-ah, sure?" jisoo nods awkwardly as minghao scooted away. minghao was no royal, but his words felt like a command from a king. minghao truly was something else.

"hong jisoo-ssi?" chan calls. jisoo catches a glimpse of the king before he turned around, quickly striding to pick up chan's pace. mingyu followed as well, too, but he was keeping his distance to prevent unintentional eavesdropping.

jisoo clears his throat, sparing chan a glance. "p-prince, is there something else you want to discuss?" in response, chan nods, playing with his oh-so expensive cufflinks that were probably made of gold or something. jisoo holds himself back from being envious, as he continued: "what may it be?"

"the king's royal guard is counting on you too. xu minghao has family from grazia, since he originally came from that kingdom. can't you feel the weight you're carrying on your shoulders?" chan inquires. jisoo opens his journal, meanwhile. "i suppose you do. you've got only a week to do all this."

"i'm getting suggestions from mingyu and you, prince, so i think it will go... smooth." jisoo wondered if he used the right word.

"i have another suggestion." chan stops walking. having stepped a few more inches from the prince, jisoo looks back and walks to stand in front of the prince properly. "make him fall in love with you."

oh my god. jisoo shook his head in disapproval, avoiding chan's gaze. as he awkwardly puts up with the atmosphere, jisoo wonders how much romcoms chan watched. maybe fanfictions as well. that is a damned idea.

jisoo hesitantly stepped into the light, letting himself be in jeonghan's view. the king, however, took no attention to jisoo as he was busy stirring his cup of tea. the former hesitated to clear his throat.

thankfully, though, jisoo didn't have to do anything to catch the king's attention. jeonghan had already sensed that someone entered his study. "welcome, jisoo-ssi. you look rather grumpy. have i disturbed your resting hours?"

if anything, jisoo was the intruder here. "no, not really. what do you want to talk about?"

speaking of the study: it was anything but simple. tapestries are gold, curtains were detailed heavily, bookshelves are obviously custom-made, and god—it was so, so spacious. too much space for about a thousand books, a table and a chair to be stored in.

"i reconsidered my decisions—"

jisoo gasped. jeonghan gave him a look, before he continued: "no. i'm not cancelling anything. what i meant is that i'm personally alloting time for your persuasion. you seem to take no initiative to talk to me, yes? i suppose you feel like you don't want to interfere with my schedule in fear that i might slap you, or something of that sort."

not really. jisoo just had no ideas. and yeah, maybe jeonghan was also right, but the main reason is that his creative juices were just gone.

"what made you reconsider?"

"the fact that you have helped me when i was on the run. i haven't given you anything in return, and this is the least i could do to fulfill your request, such as stopping my plan against grazia."

so, that curse is a blessing now? jisoo furrows his eyebrows, pretending that he was not happy for jeonghan actually took things into consideration because of jisoo. it was making him feel all giddy inside, but he must hide it to keep his calm and cool image.

giddy inside—?! what is he now, in love? no! anyone would do what jeonghan did, if they had a jisoo in their lives. nobody is that much of a scum to dispute one's efforts to help somebody else they barely knew. that is just fitting.

but, not everyone had a jisoo in their lives. it was only jeonghan who has a jisoo in his life.

"okay. what do you say, if i set the palace on fire? will you stop the plan?" jisoo asks, impolitely placing one hand on the study table of the king. he wasn't smirking like the usual tsunderes, though.

"the whole kingdom would turn their backs on you and you'll go to jail infinitely. that is, if you even get a chance to escape the estate." jeonghan sips on his tea, amused at jisoo's first attempt. "that was.... definitely a start."

jisoo groans, despairingly looking straight into the king's shining eyes. huh, jisoo is his personal entertainment source now? if that's the case, he's just glad that he's leaning to the 'clown entertainment' side than the 18+ kind of entertainment side.

"i have more, but that's for tomorrow." jisoo finally says, crossing his arms on top of his chest. jeonghan nods to the door, smiling. "i can go now?"

"well, you're going out that door with 1% progress. a shame, so would you mind hanging your head low?" jeonghan laughs as he suggests, thr teacup on his hand rattling dangerously. "just kidding, jisoo-ssi. you are dismissed."

jisoo's jaw set tight, a little angered at the king poking fun at him. the next time he asks jisoo for help, he'd dismiss him and tell him to exit while looking at his feet.

"that bastard," jisoo grunts under his breath, stepping out of the king's study. he looks back once, seeing the annoying king calmly sipping on his tea, then jisoo closes the door behind him; deciding that watching his pretty self doing innocent stuff while wishing that the teacup spills its contents all over the king was atrocious. well, the idea was not atrocious just a few moments ago.

"being a tsundere does me no good. this is annoying." jisoo told himself, practically marching back to his room. "i'm not even a tsundere. ugh! i will get my hands on him someday!"