𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲•𝐣𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐧

eighteen

APPARENTLY, JISOO was not feeling well ever since he thought about the king being easy to fall in love with. his nose bled, his muscles started feeling sore, and he felt rather feverish.

is this what they call 'falling in love', or was there another reason for these unpleasant symptoms that jisoo's feeling right this very moment? jisoo doubts that people who fall in love get sore muscles when they think about their special someone.

"congratulations, sir hong jisoo! you have made 3 more strategies for your task. though they're few, one of them might still work." mingyu's voice boomed beside jisoo, making the latter almos jump in his seat. almost. "oh! my apologies. i must've startled you."

"yes, you did." jisoo answered, sparing mingyu a glance before ramming his head to his journal. "mingyu.... how is it like, to fall in love?"

jisoo sounds ridiculous , but hey! his symptoms might be because he's falling in love, and maybe mingyu had some kind of experience with these kinds of things. jisoo wishes that mingyu knows what this is, and that it's not jisoo finally experiencing how falling in love is like.

"i've always had a... teeny, weeny crush on the prime minister like the person next to me would... and i know! i know that it doesn't count as love, but i do know how it feels to at least like someone." great. mingyu is into cold, straightforward types of guys. "your stomach feels queasy, like you can throw up any time. your heart feels like it's going to jump out of your ribcage, and you smile instantly when you see them. why the question, sir?"

dumbly, jisoo replied: "do your muscles feel sore when you see the prime minsiter?"

mingyu's eyes widen, as an adorable shade of pink tint his cheeks. "w-what do you mean, sore muscles? sir hong jisoo, that sounds unruly!"

what's wrong about that? jisoo furrowed his eyebrows, lazily lifting his head up from his journal to look at mingyu questioningly. is feeling sore when you see the prime minister really that taboo or something? why is mingyu being all shy—

"oh! oh no, i didn't mean it that way! i..." jisoo took one of mingyu's hands instantaneously, reassuring him that he did not mean anything... private. "i feel so feverish and sore after i thought of the king being so easy to fall in lo—"

realizing that he slipped up, his hands flew to his lips to stop his useless mouth from exposing himself further. mingyu's chuckles were already taunting enough! jisoo should just get his mouth seen shut! imagine if jisoo slips up more and mingyu laughs hysterically at him—that would be the death of the photographer.

"so... you have taken a liking in bellezia's ruler, sir jisoo?"

"h-hey, i wouldn't say such bad words." jisoo glares at mingyu. "stop looking at me like that!"

"as you wish." mingyu's laughs died down, before awkward silence filled the room. jisoo tried to mask the atmosphere with rustling, but of course, it did not work as the lingering thought of mingyu teasing him about the king was still etched in jisoo's mind.

jisoo stood up and walked to the study table, pulling one of the drawers open to hide the journal inside. just in case jeonghan goes snooping again. that man is so sneaky, but somehow, jisoo puts up with him and he still hadn't slapped jeonghan across the face up to this day. surprising.

huh, have i forgotten the ugly things he called me just yesterday? why am i thinking about him all day?

jisoo shook his head aggressively, dismissing the budding headache that he's getting from doing it so many times today.

"ah, what you said about feeling feverish and your muscles being sore... do you wish to meet the royal family doctor? i suggest you do it, sir...." mingyu approaches jisoo and takes his hand—which surprisingly had red, irritated blotches on them. a rash. "i think it's not from your undying love for the king."

jisoo snarls at mingyu, blushing. "don't say it like that!"

"i heard you faked your death."

"heard? jisung-ah, it was all over the news. i had a hard time hiding."

"haha! right, sorry."

"but yes, it is true."

jisung lifts his face from beaker#32, which contained ceranium—a new compound that jeonghan discovered, and which jisung did research on. the chemical takes the phase of a liquid, having the characteristic of dissolving metal at an alarming pace.

jeonghan sighs, tossing his notebook somewhere unreachable. "i truly support your proposal for a war against grazia, since they have been a little bitch when it comes to travel taxes, trading and territorial claims." both the kings giggle, before jisung continued. "but, i don't get the need to fake your own death."

"jihae was restless, and so are her people. if i stay alive, i'd get killed before i can even start a war. i followed what suhae said, but i don't want to stay dead for long. they killed another one of the people i cherish—yes, even if suhae is from grazia—and my anger is building up.

"i had to seriously consider the plan, without getting killed first. so, i faked my death until the restraint order for jihae was approved, and i'm back in the throne to fulfill my first project. exhilarate grazia." jeonghan exclaimed, taking his goggles off in defeat—as all of today's new experiments had failed.

"is this week the preparation week?" jisung asks, setting the beaker he previously held somewhere so he could sit beside jeonghan and they could have a best-friend-talk.

"it is supposed to be prep week and considering forgiveness for grazia's wrongdoings, but no. it's just prep week now." jeonghan explains, making the latter smile instantly. jisung liked gossips. "someone... killed my mood."

"by mood, do you mean 'forgiving grazia and cancelling the plan'?" jisung suggests, wriggling his eyebrows in a teasing manner. jeonghan laughed. "who is this someone?"

"there you go again with gossip—hold on, hold on." jeonghan cuts himself short when minghao suddenly enters the room, looking a little frustrated with whatever information he has to tell jeonghan. jisung eavesdropped.

hearing the urgent matter, jisung smirked. he could see how constipated jeonghan's expression suddenly became, and how his hands involuntary were together, fumbling. jisung knows what's going on now. thanks for the enlightenment, minghao.

"let me guess." jisung stood up, unbuttoning his lab coat. minghao steps backward, giving the two kings privacy. "that someone you were talking about is the one who your guard is referring to as 'hong jisoo'. and now, you have to go because there is an urgent situation involving him."

jeonghan blushed slightly, embarrassed that jisung could read him like an open book. "i'm really sorry. yet! i had fun in the very little time we had to bond over science and explosives."

"me too." jisung waves goodbye, before adding: "don't forget to apply chapstick before kissing!"

"jisung-ah!"