♔
"seungcheol! wait up!"
as the king was just done scribbling his autograph on a book of paperwork and closed the library door behind his back, his little brother, whose age only differed with two years, sped up to him. with a face that radiated the same warmth as the sun, lee seokmin slung his arms around seungcheol's neck.
"good evening seok. why are you still up this late? you know we have to wake up early tomorrow." seungcheol scolded his younger brother, who was in fact an adult as well, though seungcheol couldn't help but to feel a parental responsibility.
"i could ask you the same question." seokmin answered in a playful manner, crossing his arms as the brat he was.
now you might wonder, how could seungcheol and seokmin be brothers with two different family names. was seokmin an official prince of the kingdom of adora? was he even an official brother to seungcheol?
it all happened years ago, when the little body of a boy, huddled up in blankets, was found by the large gates. besides the little note that had his age and full name written on it, they didn't have any other information. though the king and queen raised him as their own son, and seungcheol who had only been three years old at that time, had always seen him as just his little brother.
"i had to finish some important papers." seungcheol exclaimed, emitting a heavy sigh as he rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms above his head. "now what are you up for this late? what time even is it?"
"just a little after two i think? and i heard some maids whispering about the rumors of two intruders staying in the castle. what about it, huh?" seungcheol let out another sigh, why wasn't there anyone in this castle he could trust. even the gatekeepers couldn't keep their mouths shut.
"yeah, they're staying in two separate guest rooms in the west wing." seungcheol explained, making the eyes of his little brother widen on an instant. "that's close to our bedrooms! only other nobles are allowed to sleep in there! and even for them it's unlike to sleep that close to the king! don't you remember what our parents told you before they left?"
"i did that on purpose. i want them inside my own eyesight, and i could tell by the way they looked they didn't mean any harm to the kingdom." seungcheol hesitated to add the next, though his brother was the only one in the castle he trusted enough with this information. "one of the two actually caught my eyes. he looked so familiar, as if i've ever seen him somewhere before. does the name yoon jeonghan recall something?"
seokmin though for a brief second, but shook his head soon after as he couldn't remember having ever heard the name yoon jeonghan. "not really. i can't recognize it at least, maybe i should see him first?"
"let's do that in the morning, i'm tired. i'll invite them over for dinner tomorrow. oh and please don't be late again, the elfs from the seventa woods are coming over tomorrow for an importing trade." seungcheol pointed a stern finger at his little brother, being reminded of the embarrassment he felt last time when seokmin came barging in in his sleepwear in the middle of their meeting.
"i know i know." seokmin rolled his eyes, but giggled soon after. "now go to sleep, you look like you could use some!"
the brothers greeted each other a goodnight when they arrived at the west wing. though unlike seungcheol, who immediately went inside his room, seokmin waited outside a little longer. seokmin had a bad habit of curiosity, and especially in this case he couldn't control it.
he just had to know who these two intruders were and why seungcheol had been so generous to let them live and even offer them a room in the royal wing. especially for two normal villagers.
so when all sound behind seungcheol's bedroom door died down, the nosy prince decided to sneak through the hallway. his footsteps were mostly silenced by the majestic patterned carpet that lay through the entire corridor, though seokmin still thought to hear soft thuds echoing against the high ceiling. the paintings of saints suddenly looked a whole lot scarier, as they seemed to follow seokmin's exact footsteps.
until he finally turned around the corner where the sleeping quarters were. twelve doors, with only two of them being in use. it was only a matter of opening each door to see what was inside.
and to his luck, behind the first door that opened with a loud creak as the wood was older than seokmin's existence, there was a peacefully sleeping boy in a kingsized bed, tucked in underneath the satin duvets. pitch black hair covered his forehead a little and the candle that stood on his nightstand threw a yellow glow over his face, it being the only source of light in the room. and seokmin couldn't help but to feel the need to get closer and to see more of the details carved in the boys face.
the way his pinkish lips curled a little up, or how his nose pointed out, maybe even his sharp shaped eyes. everything about this boy allured seokmin to draw in closer, and eventually accidentally sit down on the bed next to his unconscious body.
however, the slightest movement managed to wake the boy up, making him crawl back against the headboard on an instant once his eyes landed on the well dressed boy seated on the bed next to him. and seokmin couldn't help but to get mesmerized by his huge dark orbs, that seemed to pierce directly through his soul.
"p-please don't hurt me.." the black haired male whispered, his eyes showing nothing but pure terror. and when seokmin finally came back to sense, he understood the man's sudden panic.
"oh no no no! i'm not here to hurt you, i'm so sorry i might have given you that impression!" seokmin reached for his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down and pull him back in his formal position, though jisoo refused to lay down again and kept sitting straight. "i heard from my brother about two intruders at the gate and my curiosity sort of took over."
the black haired male hummed in response, staring down at the shining duvets as he was too scared to say something. "how about i give you my name and you give me yours?" seokmin politely offered a trade, not wanting to give off any more of an intimidating first impression.
to his luck, the boy seemed to agree with that as he looked up at seokmin and gave a slight nod. "my name is seokmin. lee seokmin. i'm seungcheol's brother, which makes me the prince, doesn't it?"
the boys eyes widened even more as he bowed his head politely, scared to look up once again. "forgive me. i didn't know you were a prince, your majesty." but seokmin was quick to give him a tap on his shoulder, making the boy look up once again.
"please drop the formality, it's just you and me in here. and since i'm just in my sleepwear, of course you couldn't have known i'm a prince! now, your turn." jisoo felt his cheeks burning on the nice words, yet managed to remain eye contact.
"jisoo. hong jisoo." he simply answered, purposely letting out the formalities after the prince's order. "now jisoo, can i ask you what your intentions are? i'm actually quite curious why they caught you and your companion at the gates." seokmin giggled, folding his legs together on the bed as he got ready for a story. a sight jisoo wasn't used from a prince at all.
"well.. eh, it's going to be a long story.." jisoo finally loudened his volume a little, feeling oddly comfortable around this unfamiliar prince in his sleepwear. "i-i know this sounds weird, but i can trust you right? i really don't want to be sent back to where i come from.." this prince didn't seem as merciless as his older brother, though he still was a member of the royal family. should he trust him?
"jisoo, i just gave you my trust by you not having to use formalities. of course the story will stay in this sleep quarter!"
and a tiny but thankful smile appeared on jisoo 's lips, which seokmin caught immediately and answered with a broad gummy smile, before the lost boy started his story about how he and his companion ended up in the kingdom of adora.
