COLOURS ✓

PROLOGUE

He got used to the white walls eventually.

Of course, having been stuck inside these walls ever since he could remember, he didn't really have much a choice.

The walls were white. So was the floor, and the ceiling, and the bedsheets, and the furniture. And Hoseok knew that white was a positive thing; it represented purity and light and good, but really, it was just so, so damn boring.

If only he weren't stuck inside this palace. If only he weren't the Prince of Korea. And if only he didn't have to be hidden away from everyone.

"Your Highness?"

Hoseok glanced up and forced a smile onto his face for the sweet maid waiting at his doorway. "Younha, what's up?"

"Mr. Kim would like to see you---"

From behind her came a voice that said, "I told you, Younha, just call me Jin!"

Younha blinked, but then nodded. "Yes, Seokjin would like to see you."

Hoseok's smile became genuine. "Thank you, Younha. Allow him in."

As soon as he got the affirmative, Seokjin bolted inside and leapt onto Hoseok's bed, causing Hoseok to make some sort of inhuman screeching sound.

"I just made my bed!" Hoseok scolded. "Mother is going to kill me when she sees it's messed up!"

Seokjin only grinned at him and sat up. "Aw, your mom loves me. I'm sure she'll understand."

Seokjin was the son of a very rich, high class family, though he didn't act like it. Hoseok admired his fearlessness, even though Seokjin was known for doing some of the stupidest shit he'd ever seen.

Seokjin was also the only one, besides his parents Mr. and Mrs. Kim, to know that Hoseok was the prince. The Kim family were close friends, and they knew that when the king died due to poison in his drink, the queen took over and hid her son from the world to protect him until he turned 18, the age he could take the thrown as the rightful heir.

"Anyways!" Seokjin leaned forward and pinched Hoseok's cheeks. When Hoseok whined and swatted his hands away, Seokjin continued, "High school starts in 3 days, huh?"

Hoseok's playful mood came to an abrupt end. His expression fell and he sighed. "Yeah. High school."

Seokjin smiled encouragingly at him. "C'mon, Hobi, it won't be that bad!"

"It will be terrible," Hoseok stressed. "As much as I want to get out of this damn palace, I have never talked to anyone my age! Homeschooling did nothing for my social interaction skills, no one knows me, what if my cover is blown, what if---"

Seokjin slapped his hand over Hoseok's mouth. Hoseok licked it and Seokjin recoiled, wiping his hands on the bed.

"Gross, Hoseok!"

"You asked for it." Mentally, he made a note to wash the bedsheets later.

Seokjin rolled his eyes and ruffled Hoseok's hair, messing up the way he'd combed it perfectly.

"You'll be alright, kid," Seokjin said earnestly. It was rare for him to act like the older one in their friendship, but it seemed he knew exactly when to play the role.

"I don't even have a fake name," Hoseok grumbled. "They're sending me in as Jung Hoseok."

"Tons of people have the last name 'Jung', not just the Queen."

When Hoseok's shoulders slumped, Seokjin tapped a finger on his nose. "Cheer up, Hobi! Look, it'll be great. I'm sure you'll make friends and learn tons of stuff. It honestly won't be so bad."

"You've given me the crash course on how everything works, but I fear it isn't enough." Hoseok remembered the time when Seokjin had told him the "basics" of highschool. Lockers, classes, assignments, deadlines, cafeterias, dorm rooms.

"It's bad enough my mother is shipping me off so she doesn't have to see me---" Hoseok continued.

"The Queen isn't sending you off because she doesn't wanna see you."

"It's far away from home and I'm gonna stay there year round. It sure feels like she's sending me off."

"She's sending you to that prestigious high school because you coming home to this palace everyday is risky. Someone might see you, and every effort made to keep you hidden these past 17 years would go to waste."

"Right." Hoseok clenched his jaw. "So it's better for me to live there, I guess."

"I know you don't like it, Hoseok, but everything is gonna work out just fine." Seokjin stood up and stretched out a hand for Hoseok to take. "Now, c'mon, let's make some cookies."

Hoseok blinked. "What?"

"Cookies," Seokjin repeated, and he left it at that, grabbing Hoseok's upper arm. He dragged Hoseok out of his room and into the hall, where they bumped into the Queen.

Hoseok swallowed nervously and fixed his hair. "Mother." He bowed before straightening back up. The Queen was in her usual attire of an enormous dress, and a crown on her head. Her sharp, angular features would make anyone cower in front of her. 

Seokjin bowed too, but it seemed that the Queen wasn't paying attention to him.

"Hoseok." Her tone was flat, as it usually was. She eyed him up and down before walking away, to whichever destination she was headed to. A crowd of bodyguards followed her.

Hoseok glanced down at his clothes. Since he wasn't in the public eye, he didn't have to dress perfectly 24/7. He was in casual clothes most of the time. He wondered if that was why the Queen looked at him the way she did. Because he wasn't dressed like the prince he was supposed to be.

Or maybe it was the fact that his mother wasn't fond of him no matter what he did. Hoseok didn't like thinking about that part, though.

"C'mon." Seokjin tugged his sleeve again.

Hoseok didn't budge, instead watching his mother as she left.

"Hobi?"

Hoseok turned back to Seokjin. He gave a weak grin. "Sorry."

"You okay?"

Hoseok considered his answer. Finally, he said, "I'd like some cookies now."

-

this was written a long time ago. excuse the poor quality