Cursed Hearts | ATEEZ

009

"Where were you when I woke up?" I asked King Wooyoung as I made my way into the training room, already suited up and ready for today's session, coming to a halt as I took in the King of Autumn's silhouette against the warm light that filtered through the windows; a well-built, strong shadow against the soft golden hues of morning and summer, wearing the same outfit as me, sowing the cut of every muscle moving and flexing as he turned around to face me.

"After yesterday I thought it would be better to give you some space before you declared me a creep in front of the other kings and contestants," he said, running a hand through his mop of hair the shade of midnight and hidden secrets.

"Well, are you, your highness?" I asked, stopping a couple of steps away from him as I crossed my hands over my chest, cocking my head slightly to the side.

"A creep? a pervert-?" I began, only for him to roll his eyes before holding out his hand to me, a perfect little pastry materializing in the middle of his palm as a swift breeze moved past us, heavy with the smell of autumn, falling leaves, flickering candles, freshly baked goods, and late-night conversations.

"Breakfast?" King Wooyoung mused, lifting a perfectly sculpted brow in amusement as I took a step closer, and then another, and then another as I reached out for the pastry. The rich brown colour of the baked crust, the chocolate coating and toasted nuts on top, and all of the colours of autumn intensified as I got close enough to it, to the king, to smell the cinnamon, my eyes widening in horror as Wooyoung, with one swift movement, stuffed it into his mouth.

I let out a cry of surprise and dismay, my stomach rumbling in protest as I watched the King of Autumn happily chew the sweet pastry with a cocky, yet innocent, smile on his face, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Training first," he mumbled, his words coming out muffled as a couple of crumbs fell to the floor. I furrowed my brows as I clenched my fists and tried to stay calm.

"Training first," I mocked, turning my back to him as I stomped toward the door once again, deciding that there were plenty of other things to do than spend my time with this ridiculous excuse of a male, of a king, like getting my own breakfast if he didn't want to offer me anything.

But I didn't get very far before a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist from behind, warmth spreading throughout my body as a firm chest pressed against me, hot breath ghosting over my neck as the king bent down to say something.

Only he didn't get the chance to as I bent forward, shifting my weight along with the movement before throwing my elbow backwards and to the side, the corners of my lips turning up as it connected with the king's neck, earning a pained grunt as he released me.

"I am hungry," I hissed, clenching my teeth as Wooyoung regained his balance, "and I don't have the patience for this right now." But the king seemed unfazed by my words, simply charging forward again as the look in his eyes changed into the one I had come to know so well during our training sessions the last couple of days, cold precisions and seriousness, grabbing my wrist with such force that I felt my heartbeat pick up.

Instinctively, I raised my leg to kick him in the knee, hitting the side of it which made him lose his footing as he tried to grab me again, stumbling sideways which only gave me a couple of seconds to try and calm my hammering heart, my ribs hurting, my brows furrowed in confusion.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice coming out more feeble and frail than I had intended it to as I felt a wave of nervousness rush through my veins, chilling, cold, as Wooyoung straightened himself. "I know that you're swift, and yesterday you showed me that you are also strong," he said, charging forward again as I took a step back, "Now let's see if you're able to combine the two for when you have to defend yourself in the trials."