Cursed Hearts | ATEEZ

004

The doors swung open and the sounds of conversation came to an abrupt halt as everyone's attention turned to Seongwha and me, my heart skipping a beat as I felt the weight of the seven kings and fifteen other contestants' gazes boring right through me.

My breath caught, and at that moment I wanted nothing more than to shrink back into the shadows of the hallway and turn back to walk back the way we had just come from. But before I got the chance to execute my plan, my eyes widened as I felt a shiver make its way up my spine at the feeling of Seongwha's hand snaking its way around my waist.

I whipped my head in his direction, only to realize that his attention was no longer on me but instead solely focused on the King of Autumn who was smoldering in his seat.

An attempt to comfort me but also to provoke the fellow royal. Only one of the two had been a success.

Seongwha seemed unfazed by the stares, though, as he quickly turned to give me a warm smile before leading me to the table in the middle of the room, pulling out my chair and helping me sit down before strolling over to his own seat between the two contestants from Sector 2.

"Let's eat, shall we?" he said, turning to King Hongjoong who sat directly across from him.

The King of the North simply nodded his head before clapping his hands, making a crisp wind whisper through the room before an entire feast appeared on the table, everyone gasping at the sight.

Food from every sector, season, and nationality lay sprawled out in front of us; pies and bread that still smelled freshly baked, meat piled into heavy mountains atop decorative platters, steaming sauces and gravy, fresh salads and fruit, cooked vegetables of every kind, and cakes all created a beautiful landscape of colour and aromatic smells that seemed to fill the entire room.

King Mingi gestured for the amazed contestants to dig in to which they gladly obeyed, excited smiles stretching across their previously anxious and nervous faces.

I followed their example, piling a little of everything onto my plate despite the fact that, deep down, my heart was telling me that I should have stayed in my room, that spending a night like this was a waste of time that I couldn't afford.

But I was hungry and tired, exhausted even, and so, I fell slave to the rumbling of my stomach, even forgetting the dislike I had felt for the King of Autumn earlier on in the day despite him sitting right next to me, digging into the numerous dishes and practically having to hold back a moan as the flood of differents tastes exploded on my tongue.

As the conversation once again continued, I took the chance to study the dining room for a moment, grateful for the fact that the others had seemed to overlook me, forget me completely, as I let my eyes wander across the space.

The room was enormous; a narrow but long hall lined with an endless row of windows on both sides, the other two end fitted with a pair of grand double doors that marked the entrances.

Along the windows, more of the intricately sculpted columns that could be seen all over the palace had been placed between each pane of glass, rounding out at the top before meeting in an arc at the middle above the windows. The ceiling was sloped, decorated with mosaics that depicted each sector, each kingdom of Haelan, with images of North, South, East, West, Winter, Summer, Spring, and Autumn all in one.

I turned my attention back to the people at the table, studying the kings as the thought passed my mind, my eyes gazing over their features, trying to see the seasons, the different cities within their eyes.

They had seated themselves between the two contestants from their sector; Jongin, or Kai as he told us to call him, sitting at the far end on one side next to Hongjoong in between him and Baekhyun, then Changkyun with Jongho in between him and Hoseok, or Wonho, followed by Juhyun, who went by Irene, with Yeosang between her and Seulgi, and lastly, Chungha, Yunho, and Jackson who sat right across from me.