“are you hungry?”

The voice was soft. It was almost apologetic in its tone and it was a lot more mild and passive than the previous voices that had barked at Jonghyun. The voice of the other guard was harsh and sounded like gravel. This voice that spoke to him now was soft, timid, and had a sound that resembled a trickling stream.

When Jonghyun looked up through the bars of his cell, he knew that this wasn’t a guard. At least, this wasn’t your average, block-headed guard. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Who are you?” Jonghyun’s voice was raspy, his throat dry from the days of being given no water.

The cloaked figure in front of him shifted a bit. The black cloth that was draped around him moved around a bit to reveal a bit more of his face besides his crescent eyes. An arched nose and plump lips were revealed to Jonghyun and he couldn’t help but silently gasp a bit in surprise.

“I asked you if you were hungry,” the boy before Jonghyun stated, a twinge of discomfort in his voice.

“Sorry, I don’t take food from strangers,” Jonghyun hissed. His resentment was clearly displayed.

The newly revealed lips thinned in a smile. A set of pearly white teeth were shown and the smile made jonghyun’s stomach tighten.

“You know very well who I am, Kim Jonghyun. And I know who you are too. If you won’t eat this food, I guess I will have to,” with a shrug, the boy pulled a bundle of wrapped napkins from under his cloak and unwrapped them.  Under the napkins were a few fruits and bread, clearly a beggars meal but it was still better than what Jonghyun had eaten in weeks. His mouth watered. He watched eagerly as the boy in front of him brought an apple to his mouth and took a bite. He could hear the crunch of the apple and nothing had ever sounded that beautiful in his life.

“what do you want?” Jonghyun questioned, his voice cracking a bit at the end. The smile played at the lips of the boy again and the apple still rested in his hand.

“I’m here to make a deal with you,” he stated with some excitement.

Jonghyun snorted. How stupid, he thought. He looked up at the boy and saw his newly formed pout and he couldn’t help but snort out a laugh again.

“You want to make a deal with me? What about then, your highness?” there was acidity in Jonghyun’s voice.  He tinged beastly.

With a smile, the young prince nodded. Jonghyun didn’t try to hide his over exaggerated eye roll, but he stopped mid-eye rotation when he saw the shiny metal in the prince’s hands. He was holding the key.

“I’ll let you free, Jonghyun. All you have to do is one little thing for me,” the prince said. Jonghyun didn’t dare move in fear of breaking this secret meeting. Everything seemed precious now that this key was shown.

“there’s only one condition, okay?” the boy seemed to be getting  nervous now, he his lips.
“I’ll let you free and you can leave and go anywhere you want.”

Jonghyun nodded, excitement bubbling up in his chest. Freedom tasted so sweet, even more so to a deprived tongue.

“All you have to do is take me with you.”

It was like a punchline to a bad joke. Jonghyun stared at the prince in front of him in shock. His eyes analyzed him for a sign of a laugh or a smile that would indicate this to be a joke. But his face was serious, all Jonghyun could read from his expression was something like desperation, but he couldn’t be sure.

"is this some type of joke?" he said, his face almost reaching a point of disgust. The boy in front of him sighed. he seemed to expect this reaction.

"Look, do you want to get out of here or not?" he was annoyed now. He tapped his foot impatiently and with a groan Jonghyun stood on wobbly legs.

"Fine," he stated with an air of boredom. However, he was excited, almost sickly thrilled, at the promise of freedom. he couldn't even remember how long he had been trapped in such a forsaken place.

He heard the clink of keys against metal and his throat dried. he was thirsty, partly parched from his lack of water upon his arrival in the dungeon walls, but also hungry for the smell of grass and the feel of sunlight. He felt jumpy, ready to bolt at any moment.

"You won't leave me will you?" The prince spoke as the large metal-barred door opened. Jonghyun looked at the open door, took in a deep breath, and ran.

He pushed through the heavily cloaked boy and ran down the cooridor until he heard a broken voice.

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