“Hyung-nim!”

 

No. He wipes his fallen tears away, using both his hands to cover his ears to let his younger brother’s shouts dissolve under his anxious thoughts. He can’t live like this anymore – being forced to do things that he simply does not want to do. He rolls up the sleeves of his robe, running over to his horse by the stable. The moment he struggles to climb on top of his horse, one of the knights pulls him by the leg, startling him.

 

“Wang Eun, my prince,” The knight pants, exhausted from chasing the rebellious prince. “The king is furious. He demands for your presence.”

 

“No!” He screams, trashing against the knight’s strong arms. “I refuse to see him! Release me this instant!”

 

The knight’s expression remains exasperated as he begs for the prince to follow him. “Please, my prince, he is your father – you should not be disobeying his words.”

 

“I refuse to be wedded to a woman I do not know!” The 10^th prince cries; too tired to be fighting the knight, knowing that he wouldn’t win.  “Let me go, I do not want to be here. I will come back before dawn, I promise…”

 

“Wang-Eun, the king will have my head if I do not bring you along with me.” The knight sighs, “Please, my prince. I beg of you.”

 

Once the knight sees the 10^th prince surrendering, nodding and pouting, he smiles and hands him his favourite doll. “Here, my prince. Your doll.”

 

Wang Eun says nothing in return, only quiet sobs and sniffles can be heard from him as he hugs his doll tighter against his chest. “I am only 25 years old… I am too young to be getting married.”

 

The knight raises a brow, staring at him as if he is not making any sense. “With all due respect, my prince, you are the only prince that is yet to be wedded. Even the 14^th prince has gotten married.”

 

The 10^th prince scoffs and pushes the knight away. He staggers before he runs once again, taking advantage of his chance to escape. He curses under his breath when he sees more knights roaming around the main entrance – it is too much of a risk to be running towards the huge gate. The prince backs away, running towards the back gate before he finds a small path that leads him to the deep, dark forest.

 

Cradling his favourite doll tighter in his embrace, the 10^th prince walks further into the woods with no place to head to – no destination. He only needed to run away. To run away from his father, the king, the man he loves with all his heart – but also despises, as the king tends to force him to obey his every words.

 

Wang Eun, the 10^th prince, is blessed enough to grow up in a loving, royal family. He was surrounded with pure love and pampered with luxury – but he also grew up observing his older brothers. The ones who obey, who fight, who lead – his brothers, especially the 3^rd and the 4^th prince have always been the king’s favourite sons. Wang Eun, however, turned out to be the oddest prince out of all 14 princes. Instead of preparing himself for upcoming wars like the 5^th prince, Wang Eun prefers to paint the starry skies and play with his dolls. He knew the king was not proud of who he turned out to be.

 

His brothers were all forced to wed pretty princesses, some from the north, some from the south – but all equally beautiful. His eldest brother had been most furious when he was forced to wed a stranger, but after a few years of marriage, the 1^st prince had became the happiest prince out of them all, blessed with a gorgeous wife and two sons. But Wang Eun is simply not his brother. He tends to oppose to all his father’s demand, preferring to go on his own way.

Now that he has escaped, the 10^th prince expected to feel happy and free. Instead, he feels the opposite. Having nowhere to go and realizing that he is completely lost, the 10^th prince settles on sitting under the tallest tree he could see and tries to distract himself from his worries by talking to his doll.

 

“Wang Eun the doll,” He pinches the doll’s ears. “What should I do? Father must be extremely furious right now… My brothers must be absolutely worried… All because of me.”

 

A single tear falls against his flushed cheeks and he wipes it away before anyone could see his weaker side – before he registers in his mind that he is currently alone. “I have always disappointed my family… I am a disappointment, Wang Eun the doll. You are the only friend I have left.”

 

It’s true – being the different one among the perfected princes, he feels left out, as if he was the ugly duckling out of a family of gorgeous swans. His brothers loved him with all their hearts, of course, but they would never understand how it felt to be a “disgrace”, quoted by most of his relatives.

 

His only friend was the knight – the one that he had pushed away in order to escape. Always accompanying him wherever he went and comforting him when he cried. Wang Eun figures that it was better to marry his own knight than having to wed an unknown princess. But then again, he thinks that even the knight despises him after he had broken his promise of going back to his father, the great king.

 

“I wish to disappear,” He cries and leans against the tree trunk, the sound of soft droplets of rain against dried leaves lulling him to take a rest. He pulls his doll closer to his body as he shamelessly lies down on the ground, closing his eyes and drifts to sleep.

 

I wish to turn back time and disappear.

 

 

 

—

 

 

The camera flashes right in front of him, hundreds of shutter sounds could be heard from miles away – albeit the said sounds are drowned in those hormonal teenage girls’ screams when they see him coming out of the club. The bodyguards surround him when the overly attached fans try to take a closer look at him. As he enters the car, two women approach him with sultry glances and purrs, pulling him by the tie, ending the night of his bachelor’s party with drunken ecstasy.

 

Fame, money, chicks; these are the three main reasons Hoo Jun is still alive.

 

Being a famous actor, he needed to put on a face smile and pretend like he actually cares about these pathetic fans that would die for him. Hoo Jun smirks and lies back, allowing the stripper to dance on his lap. He’s letting himself go for one last time before the big day; his wedding.

 

The next day is his wedding day – after a year of dating, Hoo Jun figured that it’s time for him to tie the knot with his girlfriend, an equally successful actress. Although he liked fooling around, his company had convinced him that being a married actor would allow him to have a better image, refraining him from getting involved in nasty scandals.

 

Marriage is not a problem for him. His girlfriend (now current fiancée) is a wonderful woman, an actress who makes a lot of money, and a woman who’s good in bed. What could be better than that?

 

“Isn’t this considered as cheating?” The stripper teased sultrily, slowly pulling down the zipper of his pants. “You’re getting married tomorrow but look at you; spending your last night with us.”

 

The other girl beside him giggles, “Let’s give him the best night, then.”

 

Hoo Jun allows the strippers to undress him, not even noticing that his engagement ring had fallen on the ground with a low thud.

 

 

—

 

 

It’s raining heavily the moment Wang Eun wakes up, still lost in the forest.

 

He’s about to cry, being hungry and emotional, Wang Eun hugs his doll tightly, trying to find the way back home, but he keeps on stumbling upon trees and dead leaves. He’s fully sobbing by now, murmuring his knight’s name, but of course, no one could hear his cries—not even himself. His stomach grumbles in hunger as he continues to run, and run, until he finds a house, quite far away from him—but at least he could ask for directions. He is the 10^th prince, after all. People would do anything to please him.

 

Entering from the back door, Wang Eun casually walks in, dragging his robe and his doll along. He could hear faint murmurs of people talking, the sound of the heavy rain drowning everyone’s conversations. Wang Eun notices that everyone is dressed rather oddly, woman in white and men in black – but that issue is at the back of his mind the second he spots a delicious looking dessert nearby.

 

“Today, we are gathered here to bear witness to the holy matrimony of Hoo Jun and Hana—”

 

Every sound is unheard, not even a drop of rain could be heard as Wang Eun devours the delicious, sweet dessert. He wonders why people do not pay attention to the magnificent cake; instead they chose to focus on the strangers at the far front, holding hands. Oh well, Wang Eun thinks. More food for me!

 

“Do you, Hoo Jun, take Hana as your wife—”

 

“Yah!” A voice shouts from afar and everyone gasps, including Wang Eun himself. “Who the hell is that, eating the wedding cake?!”

 

The piece of half eaten cake and his doll are both dropped to the ground as almost everyone turns to look at him. Wang Eun blinks before laughing loudly.

 

“Now, now, don’t worry! I am the 10^th prince, as you all know,” Wang Eun says, “There is no need for you peasants to bow down to me, I was just simply hungry and I was lost, now, could someone with a horse-drawn carriage send me back to the palace?”

 

Whispers of “what the ” and “is he high?” are ignored as he continues to make a speech about his sudden appearance, until a rather rude lad interrupts him.

 

“Who the hell are you and what the are you doing at my wedding?” The man hisses, rudely grabbing him by the arm. “And why are you drenched? Who gave you permission to eat my wedding cake!”

 

“Easy now, peasant, one word at a time,” Wang Eun sighs, shaking his head. “I am the 10^th prince, Wang Eun. I was lost in the woods and now, I demand you to send me back to my palace!”

 

The man stares at him in disbelief. “You’re crazy.”

 

“Enough!” A woman shouts, “This is my wedding and I deserve a perfect wedding! Get the crazy guy out of my wedding chapel!”

 

The rude man turns away from him to approach the screaming woman. It seems like everyone else was crazy, except for the prince. “Hana, calm down—”

 

“Don’t tell me to calm down! My wedding is—” She stops shouting abruptly, squinting her eyes for a closer look at the man’s collar. “Hoo Jun, are those… Are those hickeys?!”

 

“I-I can explain, wait, it was the bachelor’s party last night—”

 

And all of a sudden, the whole room are full of noises, gasps and shouts. Wang Eun, however, sits back and enjoys the show, munching on his cake. The woman, who kept on shouting, is hitting the rude man’s shoulder with a bouquet of flowers. She lets out a loud wail before throwing her ring away and running out, following by a few more people chasing after her.

 

Wang Eun is halfway done with his fourth piece of cake when a person taps on his back. “Hey.”

 

“Please greet your prince properly.” Wang Eun sternly demands.

 

The man raises a brow before scoffing. “Look, I’m Hoo Jun’s manager. I don’t know what you’re doing here—you basically ruined a very famous actor’s wedding, you know. You better have a solid reason to be here or else I’m physically going to kick you out of here and press charges for harassing the groom.”

 

“Considering that no one would wish to listen to me and everyone has gone mad, I will play along.” Wang Eun glares at the manager, still chewing on his cake. “The rude peasant, Hoo Jun? Yes, him – he has a very familiar face. You can say that I am his relative.”

 

“His relative?” The manager looks at him in doubt. “Like his cousin?”

 

Wang Eun nods. “Although I am a noble prince and he is…nobody, I will humbly accept him as my cousin. Now, once again, I demand you—or him—to send me back to my palace.”

 

The man stares at him before bringing him over to Hoo Jun. The other people had gone home, somehow, with frowns on their faces. The place is empty except for a few people rearranging the chairs.

 

“Hoo Jun, this boy says that he’s your relative.” The man says, pointing to Wang Eun who smiles in return. “Like your cousin or something.”

 

“Yes, yes.” Wang Eun agrees, “It would be delightful if you could send me back to the palace now, for I have no place to go.”

 

The manager paces back and forth, furrowing his eyebrows with concern. “I think he’s a lost child. What do we do?”

 

“We? We do nothing! It’s not our fault that he lost his home and his mind.” The tall man, Hoo Jun, scoffs. “It is his fault that my wedding is ruined. What is the news going to say about this? Things are going to go berserk!”

 

Wang Eun frowns, his bottom lip jutting out adorably. Did they just address him as a lost child? “I beg your pardon—”

 

“Excuse me, oh my god, Hoo Jun, it’s an honour to be seeing you so up-close like this! I am Minhee, a reporter from K Weekly,” A woman gushes, “Could you explain what had happened and who is this boy? Is he lost? Are you going to save him and give him shelter? What about your fiancée? Are you guys still together? Why did she bolt out? Oh my!”

 

“Shut up!” Hoo Jun shouts, rubbing his temples and startling the woman, his manager and even Wang Eun. He then laughs nervously. “I-I mean, yes, it’s nice to meet you. I am a fan of K Weekly but could you please give me some space and time to think?”

 

The woman, who was all smiles, is now scowling at the lack of proper response. Wang Eun supposes that he should barge in and help. “Greetings, lady!”

 

“Oh, hello, little boy,” The woman squeals. “What is your name? Why are you wearing a robe? Look how long your hair is! What an adorable kid.”

 

“I am Wang Eun, the noble 10^th prince. I ran away from my father because I was force to wed a stranger, hence, now I am lost.” He introduces himself, not forgetting to flash a darling smile. “Please return me back to my palace.”

 

“Aw, the poor boy is lost! Hoo Jun, would you help him?” The woman asks, along with a few more reporters looking at Hoo Jun, waiting for an answer.

 

The tall man only groans in annoyance.

 

 

 

—

 

 

Sitting at the corner of the his living room, Hoo Jun grimaces in disgust as he stares at the lost boy devouring the fried chicken that his manager had just bought. Said manager sighs, slurping on his soda and takes his coat off to drape it over the boy’s blue robe. Hoo Jun raises a curious brow at his manager.

 

“He was cold,” The man explains.

 

“Not your problem.” Hoo Jun huffs, playing with the wedding bands. He should probably just throw them away. “And certainly not mine. Get him out of my house.”

 

“But Hoo Jun,” His manager whines, “Look how adorable he is.”

 

The prince turns to glance at them, mouth full with fried chicken and chilli sauce. Hoo Jun has never seen something so ugly before.

 

“If he’s so adorable to you, why don’t you take him home?” Hoo Jun walks over to the boy in the blue robe, leaning down to grab a piece of fried chicken for himself, only get pushed away. The boy hisses at him. “My food!”

 

“My girlfriend would be furious if I suddenly bring a stranger home—plus, Hoo Jun, the press is counting on you.” His manager pesters him, handing him a bottled soda. “Your image as a respectful actor is stained the moment your ex fiancée calls you out for cheating. What better way would save your image then to become the humble Hoo Jun, who sacrifices his wedding and love life just to save a lost boy and provide him shelter?”

 

“You’re literally not making any sense.”

 

“Trust me when you see the news soon.”

 

His manager exits his house with a loud click of the door and Hoo Jun is left alone with a creature in a hideous blue robe and drenched long hair.

 

 

In a way, his manager was right. There were negative news articles about him – of course, but there were also positive articles that still gave him hope on still being a successful actor as long as people do not dwell on the past. However, the boy sitting in front of him couldn’t stop talking about the past.

 

“It is amazing!” He shrieks. “The people here are oddly dressed and there are moving machines everywhere. It is nothing like where I came from.”

 

Hoo Jun stares at his dinner, unamused. “And where is that? An institution for the mentally ill?”

 

“Goryeo dynasty!” The boy says. “I am a very intelligent prince, I know that this, here, is a different world. Before I fell asleep in the forest, I had wished to turn back time and disappear…although time had brought me to the future.”

 

“Oh my god…you’re really crazy.” Hoo Jun shakes his head, tossing his hoodie and sweatpants to the blabbering boy. “Go and take a shower, then change into that. You’re starting to smell weird. The bathroom is on your left.”

 

The boy stays unmoving, still talking about how marvellous the world is – Hoo Jun had no choice but to push him into the bathroom. He made a note in his head to search for the Goryeo dynasty – but for now, all he wants to do is to finish his dinner and go to bed after a long day. He had to call Hana, too – they still needed to talk about their relationship. Not that Hoo Jun gives a damn anymore.

 

 

 

“Hana.”

 

The woman on the other line scoffs upon hearing his voice, and Hoo Jun does not really blame her. He knows that she probably wants nothing to do with him anymore after finding out that he had slept with other girls before the day of his wedding and a part of him was glad. That doesn’t mean that he’s not guilty.

 

“It’ll take more than just a simple phone call for you to have me back, Hoo Jun,” She growls. “You humiliated me.”

 

“I don’t want you back.” Hoo Jun denies. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

 

“…Excuse me?” She asks in disbelief. “You ing . How dare you! How dare you cheat on me, ruin my wedding and my reputation, and then say that you don’t want me back!”

 

He flinches, regretting his choice of putting his speaker on. At least the sound of the so-called 10^th prince’s singing in the shower is drowning his ex fiancée’s constant shouts.

 

“You know what! I’m ing glad I didn’t marry you, you ugly little ogre!” Hoo Jun almost snorts at his ex fiancée’s weak insult towards him. “I only wanted to marry you because of money and fame but now that the whole country knows that you’re a liar that cheated on his innocent fiancée, no one would give a about you anymore! Goodbye, Hoo Jun! Hello, Song Joongki!”

 

“Song Joongki isn’t even as famous as I am—” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence when his ex hangs up, leaving him frozen mid-sentence. Hoo Jun shrugs. “What a .”

 

Now that they got that issue all cleared up, he’s more than glad to not be marrying the girl. Putting his phone away, Hoo Jun sighs, ing his tuxedo and grabbing his towel. Pampering himself with a warm bubble bath would be nice, but the choked singing and shouting coming from the guest bathroom distract his thoughts. “What kind of song is that?”

 

Strutting down to the guestroom, he barges in and knocks on the bathroom door. “Hey, prince! What’s taking you so long? Are you performing some kind of exorcism in there or what?”

 

“I have found a magical substance that softens my hair!” The prince shouts back. “Everything smells delightful!”

 

“Those are the shampoo and conditioner, you idiot,” The actor slams on the door with his palm. “Don’t be swallowing that . You’ve been in there for an hour, get the hell out!”

 

The door suddenly opens to reveal the prince with foams of shampoo on his head. Hoo Jun is thankful that the boy has the decency to cover his . “Would you like to join me?”

 

“Hell no,” Hoo Jun cringes. “Wash all that soap away and wear the clothes I gave you. Don’t go anywhere after that. Stay in your room. I’m gonna take a shower and then I’m going to bring you to the adoption centre.”

 

 

 

Yet of course, the prince wouldn’t listen to him.

 

Hoo Jun goes out of the shower about half an hour later, only having his towel wrapped around his lower body, and screams in shock when he sees the prince lying on his bed, cooing at the smooth bed sheets. “How the hell did you get in here?”

 

“You did tell me to stay in the room, didn’t you?” The prince wonders loudly. With a quick judge of the prince’s clothing, Hoo Jun figures that the boy clearly doesn’t know how to put on a hoodie. He’s literally wearing it inside out with his hands awkwardly hanging out of the same hole.

 

“I meant the guestroom, not my room!” He shouts in frustration. “And don’t you know how to wear a hoodie?”

 

“You mean this evil creature that is latched onto my body?” The prince tugs on Hoo Jun’s hoodie, clearly too big and oversized for him. “It is possessed. My hands are crippled. The king would be furious.”

 

With a mutter of multiple curses under his breath, Hoo Jun rolls his eyes and walks over to the boy on the bed. “Hands up.”

 

Surprisingly, the prince obeys his words and puts his hands up in order for the actor to take the hoodie off of his body. What he doesn’t expect is for the witty prince to pull his towel down.

 

“Yah!” Hoo Jun shrieks, throwing the hoodie to the prince’s face. “You ing ert!”

 

He ended up standing far away from the prince, with his towel wrapped securely around his waist, watching as the prince happily humming about the warmth of his sweater.

 

 

 

“Oh! Oh! That is my brother, the 8^th prince, Wang Wook!” The prince excitedly points to the drawing of princes on the picture that Hoo Jun had found while he was searching on the Goryeo dynasty. He still thinks the man beside him is crazy, ignoring him as he talks about his brother – not letting the fact that the prince’s words being completely true bother him as he goes through the history of the noble princes.

 

“That is prince Wang Seo. And oh!” The prince exclaims. “That is the 10^th prince! It is I! The 10^th prince!”

 

Hoo Jun stares at the drawing of a prince, with his hair tied up into a ponytail and wearing the exact same robe that the boy beside him was wearing. Rubbing his temples, Hoo Jun figures that he’s definitely going nuts. Does he seriously believe all this bull?

 

“It says here that you ran away and disappeared in the year of 918,” Hoo Jun reads the sentences aloud. “After rebelling against the King’s demands, the 10^th prince, Wang Eun escaped from the palace and disappeared.”

 

Noticing the prince’s silence, Hoo Jun glances at the boy and notices the tears b in the prince’s eyes. “Wang Eun?”

 

The prince whimpers softly, sniffling. “I…I disappeared?”

 

Hesitantly, Hoo Jun nods. “Yeah. That’s what Wikipedia stated.”

 

“I was never found?” Wang Eun wipes his snot with his sleeves. “Am I going to be trapped in the future…forever?”

 

“Probably,” Hoo Jun shrugs. Who was he kidding? He only got to know this prince for less than a day—he doubts that this man was speaking the truth. He could be a crazy homeless guy who sleeps at the park.

 

Though the prince, Wang Eun continues to cry silently, Hoo Jun runs his fingers through his own hair, his thoughts messing up. “Stop crying.”

 

“I am a disappointment!” Wang Eun wails – he reminds him of a lost puppy. “All I have ever done was disappoint the king and the queen. I deserved to disappear.”

 

“Stop crying so loud,” Hoo Jun grimaces, flinching when the prince pulls him into a bear hug. “What are you doing?”

 

Wang Eun continues to sob against his chest, murmuring on how he’s such a disappointment. Sighing for the nth time, Hoo Jun awkwardly pats him on the head. “You want some strawberry ice cream?”

 

Wang Eun stops crying. “Strawberry?”

 

“Yeah.” Hoo Jun eyes the weeping boy in his arms. “Strawberry. Now get your hands off me.”

 

 

 

“I’m still going to send you off to the adoption centre, you know,” Hoo Jun mutters as Wang Eun eats his tub of ice cream, snuggled up beside him on the couch. “Idiot.”

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

“You should take him shopping.”

 

His manager says, watching Running Man on a Sunday morning. Wang Eun is still fast asleep on the couch (Hoo Jun wouldn’t allow him to sleep in the guestroom, not the master bedroom) and the actor almost chokes on his breakfast. “What?”

 

“He can’t be wearing that cute robe all the time,” His manager shrugs, “And your clothes are too big on him. You could put on a mask and a cap or something as a disguise and buy the kid some clothes.”

 

“You know, I’m still wondering which part of the prince you think is “cute”. He looks like a squirrel and he talks like a duck.” Hoo Jun says as he munches on his pancake. “Not to mention, he eats like a cow.”

 

A loud gasps erupting from the couch surprises him as Wang Eun throws a pillow at his direction. “I do not!”

 

“Be rude and I’ll really send you off to the adoption centre,” Hoo Jun threatens as he points to the prince with his fork. “One night of you hugging me and you’re acting like we’re best friends already.”

 

His manager whistles teasingly. “You guys were hugging?”

 

“He hugged me – I had both my hands by my side. Plus he couldn’t stop crying.” Hoo Jun stabs on his small slice of pancake with a fork.

 

“Aww, what do you know; actor Hoo Jun has turned into a real softie now,” His manager cackles. “Anyways, you don’t have any activities on your schedule today so go and bring him out. Buy some clothes and food.”

 

Wang Eun suddenly pops up beside his manager. “Food?”

 

“Yesh, yesh, you would like that, wouldn’t you?” The manager coos at the prince. Hoo Jun watches their interaction in disgust. “Oh yes you would! You could have all the foods that you want.”

 

“He’s not a puppy, stop talking like that, it’s making me want to throw up.” The actor throws a slice of strawberry towards his manager – only for the prince to catch it and pop it in his mouth.

 

“Good catch!” His manager pinches the prince’s cheek. Hoo Jun groans.

 

 

 

Going to the mall was a huge mistake.

 

Wang Eun wouldn’t shut up as they rode in Hoo Jun’s car, refusing to put on his seat belt and excitedly bouncing on his seat upon seeing the streets. He couldn’t stop questioning about the most random things, and by the time he asks Hoo Jun about the existence of busses, he simply told him to keep his mouth shut or else they’d be going to the adoption centre.

 

The moment they arrived at the mall, Hoo Jun practically had to drag the prince’s to the clothing store.

 

“What is this?” Wang Eun grimaces at the clothes and pants that Hoo Jun forced him to try on.

 

“Louis Vuitton, but of course, you wouldn’t know,” Hoo Jun deadpans as he pushes Wang Eun to the fitting room.

 

“I refuse to dress oddly like all of you peasants do!” Wang Eun shouts as Hoo Jun traps him in the fitting room, leaving the workers of the clothing store to stare at each other in a weird manner.

 

“There,” Hoo Jun smirks as he buttons up the prince’s shirt, both of them feeling quite claustrophobic in the small fitting room. “At least you look decent.”

 

Wang Eun only huffs in anger, walking out of the fitting room and the store before Hoo Jun even pays for the clothes – making the alarms blast throughout the whole store and everyone glancing at them. Hoo Jun is still contemplating on sending the prince to the adoption centre.

“I am never bringing you to the mall ever again,” Hoo Jun says once Wang Eun is all calmed down in the car, slurping on his strawberry smoothie.

 

Wang Eun only grins and continues to hum along to the songs on the radio as Hoo Jun drives them to the park.

 

 

“This is a place that you can be loud and run around,” Hoo Jun utters, pointing to the empty park. “There’s a cotton candy parlour over there. Wait here.”

 

Wang Eun nods eagerly upon hearing mentions of more food, making the actor chuckle lightly. He sits by the bench, watching as a few people walk and jog as they inhale the fresh autumn breeze. Reluctantly, he leaves his seat, walking forward to have a good look at the river.

 

“Hey, what did I say about waiting on the bench?” Hoo Jun walks over him, feigning irritation. “Here. Cotton candies.”

 

“People in the future eat cottons?” Wang Eun questions, tilting his head to his left. “How…different.”

 

Hoo Jun laughs. “Not real cottons, silly. Just try it. They taste good.”

 

Wang Eun stares at the actor for the longest time with his brows furrowed, as if doubting him – but as soon as Hoo Jun takes a pinch of the pink cotton candy and stuffs it into his mouth, Wang Eun bursts with joy.

 

“Delicious!” The prince grins. “I like it.”

 

“Told ya,” Hoo Jun smiles. His cheeks feel warm all of a sudden – he blames it on his thick coat.

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

Hoo Jun startles when soft blows of light wind passes by his ear, and he’s not surprised to see Wang Eun’s staring back at him with his stupid, bright grin. This time, the prince has his hair tied up in a neat bun and his face contorting in an awkward manner. The actor doesn’t have the chance to ask him what he was about to do when the prince starts to pull him off his bed and dragging him out of the house.

 

“H-hey! Wait!” He yanks his hands back, rubbing at the reddening spot. “Where are you taking me?”

 

The 10^th prince blinks innocently. “To see strawberries.”

 

Strawberries. The handsome, famous actor could not get a wink of proper sleep just because of a self-claimed “prince” wants to see god damned strawberries. Hoo Jun rolls his eyes, about to push the prince away and crawl back to the warm comfort of his own house when he sees how excited Wang Eun is, jumping around in Hoo Jun’s worn out shirt that was absolutely too big for him. Sighing in defeat, the actor allows himself to be pulled to anywhere the prince desires him to be at.

 

“Wang Eun loves strawberries. Does Hoo Jun like strawberries?” The walking sunshine turns around, tilting his head as he questions. He holds the actor’s hand, still, swinging their hands back and forth as he leads him to the strawberry farm nearby. Hoo Jun only nods lazily, agreeing to whatever the prince is blabbering about.

 

“Strawberries are red, pretty and sweet.” Wang Eun grins. “Just like Hoo Jun.”

 

Ignoring the actor’s frozen state, the prince excitedly runs to the strawberry farm, shouting about gobbling strawberries. “I’m not red…” Hoo Jun murmurs, blushing madly from embarrassment.

 

The next moment, he sees Wang Eun squatting on the ground, humming to himself as he chews on strawberries. Hoo Jun plucks a strawberry, removing the small leaves before popping it into his mouth, savouring the sweetness of red strawberries and bright laughter. He squats beside the prince (who wasn’t paying any attention to him) and forcefully cups the prince’s chin, cradling his face so they would face each other.

 

Hoo Jun doesn’t know if he should cry or laugh at the sight. Wang Eun has his cheeks full of strawberries, stuffing more and more into his mouth as red liquid drips off his pink lips, igniting a sudden, odd warm heat coming up to the actor’s neck. He clears his throat before chuckling, tapping the prince’s cheeks. “You like strawberries that much, huh?”

 

Smiling with his mouth still full, Wang Eun nods. “Berry much.”

 

Shaking his head, Hoo Jun stands up, pulling the prince along with him. “Come on, we’ll pluck more strawberries and put them in a basket. We’ll make strawberry jams…or smoothies.”

 

At the mention of strawberry jams, Wang Eun runs to pluck more strawberries, trying hard to control himself from devouring the ones he had gathered into a basket. Hoo Jun laughs softly, trying hard to ignore the erratic beating of his heart.

 

 

 

 

Around two in the morning, when Hoo Jun is tossing and turning in bed, trying to sleep, his bedroom door is opened suddenly. He watches how Wang Eun drags his feet into the master bedroom, shoulders hunched and holding onto his blanket. Sitting up on the bed, Hoo Jun turns on the bedside lamp. “Wang Eun? Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

 

“I…had a bad dream,” The prince sniffs slightly, padding over to the bed. “I could not sleep.”

 

Hoo Jun looks at him in concern before clearing his throat, moving over. “Come here.”

 

Without any reluctance, the prince sits on the bed, making himself comfortable in the actor’s embrace as he tries to cover his sobs. “I miss my brothers.”

 

The actor simply hushes him, rubbing on his back to soothe his cries. “I know.”

 

“Although I smile and laugh, deep inside, I miss my father, the king. My mother, my brothers, my servants…” Wang Eun hiccups. “I miss my knight the most.”

 

“Your knight?” Hoo Jun asks, staring at the prince fondly.

 

Slowly, Wang Eun nods. “My knight is a strong man who always protected me. He also used to comb my hair every day and play with Wang Eun the doll with me. I miss Wang Eun the doll.”

 

The actor tries not to laugh at the prince’s adorable confession. “You have a knight who combs your hair and plays with your doll? Seriously, how old are you?”

 

“I am 25,” Wang Eun answers in all seriousness. “It is not a wrong thing to have dolls.”

 

“I know, calm down, and don’t get all angry.” Hoo Jun chuckles softly. “Do you really like your knight?”

 

Wrapping his arms tightly around the actor’s waist, Wang Eun nods again, still hiccupping. “He is very good looking. I want to marry him.”

 

Hoo Jun rolls his eyes, pushing the prince slightly away, irritated. “You’re a prince. You can’t marry a knight.”

 

“That’s why I ran away,” Wang Eun whimpers, pawing on Hoo Jun’s shirt. “I regret running away now…”

 

“Go to sleep, Eunni,” Hoo Jun internally slaps himself at the sudden name-calling. “Goodnight.”

 

Wang Eun pays no attention to the pet name as he rests his head on Hoo Jun’s chest, yawning. “Goodnight, Hoo Jun.”

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

The next week, for Hoo Jun, it’s back to reality. Wang Eun was fast asleep on his couch when he was getting ready for the press conference of his latest movie. It would be awkward to be seeing his former fiancée again (with her being the female lead) but he assured himself that it would all end swiftly and professionally. His ex fiancée wouldn’t create a scene in front of hundreds of reporters and cameras, not to mention the press conference would be on live television.

 

Taking a sip of his morning coffee, Hoo Jun walks over to the living room, where he sees Wang Eun being sprawled out on the couch, his leg awkwardly dangling. Soft whimpers could be heard from the edge of the couch, and Hoo Jun covers his mouth his hands to stifle a cackle when the prince begins to whine as soon as sunlight directs itself towards his sleeping face.

 

“Wake up, idiot,” He says, kicking the couch. “I need to go now. Stay inside. You don’t want those paparazzi to shove their cameras up your pretty little face.”

 

Wang Eun groans, “Do not leave me alone in this horrible dungeon…”

 

“…I’ll just pretend like you did not just practically insult my house.” Hoo Jun rolls his eyes. “There’s food in the fridge. Do you know how to use the microwave?”

 

“Microwave?” The prince wonders, now wide awake. “What is a microwave?”

 

Grunting, Hoo Jun rushes to the kitchen to heat up the food. God knows what would happen if he doesn’t. The helpless prince would die out of starvation.

 

“I’ll see you later. Here,” He hands the remote control to the prince. “Click on this. Channel 9; there’ll be a live broadcast of my press conference.”

 

“Will the King be there?” Wang Eun’s eyes glimmer with hope, looking up at the actor. Hoo Jun shakes his head, sighing.

 

“Wang Eun, this is the 21^st century,” Hoo Jun says as he switches the channel to Channel 9. “The only thing people care about now is just boys dancing in tight leather pants.”

 

Huffing his sudden irritation, Wang Eun grabs the remote control, shoving it into the cushion of the couch. “The 10^th century is much, much better.”

 

“Couldn’t agree more, little prince,” Hoo Jun taps on said prince’s cheek. “I gotta go now. I’ll see you later. I’ve hidden your strawberries away for now. You’ve been eating them too much, your tummy is going to blow up.”

 

“If this was the Goryeo dynasty of the 10^th century and you are disrespecting the prince like this, my father would have your head by now.” Wang Eun playfully grins, leaning up to place a quick kiss on Hoo Jun’s nose before he runs to the bathroom.

 

Grabbing onto the prince’s arm, Hoo Jun presses his lips against the prince’s mouth without hesitation, savouring the sweetness of the prince’s lips. Wang Eun is the first to pull away, both his hands covering his mouth as he smiles and dashes off to the guestroom.

 

Hoo Jun ends up going to the press conference with a huge grin blooming on his face.

 

 

 

Much to Hoo Jun’s irritation, the MC kept on insisting for the lead actor and actress to re-act their most famous scene – the dramatic kissing scene in the rain. Hoo Jun remembers filming that scene in Shanghai last year. His ex was rather pleased about it.

 

“I don’t think it would be appropriate,” Hoo Jun fakes a smile, glaring at his ex fiancée.

 

“Come on, Hoo Jun, it’s only going to be an act,” His former fiancée shrugs, walking over to him and pulls on his tie. The crowd roars, completed with snaps and flashes of cameras and the fans’ screams.

 

With a low grunt, Hoo Jun re-acts the scene with his ex fiancée, ignoring people’s squeals as he pecks on his ex’s forehead instead of . She scowls once the crowd claps their hands and the mc continues on talking about the movie.

 

The press conference was rather suffocating. He’s just glad that he sat through the whole thing without pulling onto his hair in frustration. Before he could go home, though, the crew invites the actors and actresses to the club nearby to “celebrate” their success. Even his manager insists for him to have a drink or two.

 

“Cheers on the movie!” The director shouts, already drunk as he downs his fourth glass of scotch. “I must say, Hoo Jun and Hana, even though you guys are exes, you still have some chemistry…”

 

His ex fiancée giggles, clanking her glass with the director’s. “Oh well, of course – we have a special connection. Don’t we, Hoo Jun?”

 

Hoo Jun only chugs on his scotch, refilling his glass of alcohol as he sits by the bar once everyone gathers together to dance.

 

By his sixth glass of scotch, Hoo Jun’s vision is blurry – his low alcohol tolerance. His manager is flailing his arms awkwardly on the dance floor as a few guys and girls laugh at him. Hoo Jun wipes his mouth, grimacing in disgusted when the stench of his scotch stays on his sleeves.

 

“Hoo Jun,” His ex fiancée whispers on his ear, “I need to talk to you.”

 

Almost smashing his glass on the table, Hoo Jun turns to her, slurring, “What is there to talk about?”

 

“Us,” She whispers. “Don’t you miss us? Don’t you want to have one night – just for the both of us?”

 

“ off,” Hoo Jun turns away, calling out for the bartender. “Gold digger.”

 

“Hoo Jun, please…” She begs, holding the man closer, bodies flushed against each other. “Just one night – one last night for the both of us before we forget it all.”

 

A quiet “no” was about to roll off his tongue before she traps his lips with , sloppily trying to taste his everything in a drunken haste. “I missed you so much,” She whispers, tracing her fingers on the back of his neck. The smell of alcohol lingering on her lips makes Hoo Jun’s head spin, but he does no effort to push her away.

 

“I missed us so much,” She cries.

 

In response, he pulls her closer.

 

A cab heads itself towards the nearby hotel, a man and a woman attacking each other’s mouths, flashes of cameras forgotten, news reports ignored as he wraps her legs around his waist, drowning in lusted moans as they fall on the hotel bed.

 

 

 

“NEWSFLASH! ACTOR HOO JUN AND HIS EX FIANCEE ARE BACK TOGETHER?”

 

 

That was the first thing he hears, followed by a sound of multiple text messages popping up on his phone. Hoo Jun groans – his head hurts, his throat feels like it went through a week-long drought, and there’s a sickening feeling at the bottom of his stomach – telling him he had done something wrong. He glances by his left, horrified at the sight of his ex fiancée, staring back at him, both of them lying on the bed.

 

“What the !” He shouts, and then regrets doing so. His headache had gotten worse. “What the hell happened last night? Don’t tell me—oh no....”

 

Pictures—even videos of Hoo Jun and his ex fiancée are all over the news. How can he not notice there were paparazzi everywhere, following them? He does not remember a single thing that had happened the night before, only flashes of messy kisses that he is about to regret – and flashes of innocent morning kisses that he had tainted; Hoo Jun is hit with realization of what he had done. “.”

 

“H-Hoo Jun—” His ex tries to call out for him, to pull him back into the warmth of the bed. He pushes her away, each touches striking him with guilt.

 

“Don’t touch me,” He grits out, putting on his shirt. “This was a mistake. This never happened. I ing despise you, so don’t you ing touch me.”

 

His ex fiancée snorts, as if he had just told her a dumb joke. “Oh, please. That wasn’t what you said when you were inside of me.”

 

“Shut the up,” Hoo Jun clenches his fists. “We were drunk.”

 

“We both know for a fact that you weren’t drunk, Hoo Jun.” She stands up as well, not bothering to put on any clothing as she struts towards him, fully . “Accept it – you were fully sober last night and you ed me. Now, guess what? The reports caught us making out at the hotel lobby! ing cherry on top.”

 

She lets out a hollow laugh at his furious expression, buttoning Hoo Jun’s shirt up for him. He, in return, slaps her hands away.

 

“ off,” Hoo Jun scoffs, grabbing his phone by the bed stand, walking out of the door, and each step he takes spells out regret.

 

 

He ignores every single text messages and phone calls sent by his manager, covering his face once he exits the hotel, running to the cab and ignoring the reporters’ frantic shouts of his name. Even the cab driver is glancing at him every now and then, with the people on the radio talking about the newest scandal of the day – Hoo Jun wishes they would just shut up.

 

The house is empty the moment he steps in. Thousands of apologies run through his head as he shuts his eyes, trying to figure out how to make up for the things he had ed up. A voice at the back of his head tells him that he should not even be thinking so hard about it – the prince and him weren’t dating. He doesn’t even know what he feels for him. But why does he feel so guilty?

 

“Wang Eun,” He croaks out, throat itching. “I’m home.”

 

No reply. Only faint sounds of the television could be heard – low murmurs of the actor’s scandal set to a low volume, mixed with sounds of soft sniffles. Approaching the living room, Hoo Jun is greeted with the sight of the small prince sitting on the couch with his knees against his chest.

 

“Hey,” Hoo Jun takes a seat beside the prince on the couch. “Good morning.”

 

Silence.

 

“You’re…watching the television.” Hoo Jun swallows on the lump in his throat as he sees pictures of him and his ex fiancée on the news, making out. “Did you click on Channel 9?”

 

Wang Eun only nods, his eyes glued to the screen of the television. Cautiously, Hoo Jun takes the remote control out of the prince’s hand, turning the television off with a click. The prince remains unmoving, even when Hoo Jun pulls him into his embrace.

 

“I’m sorry.” The taller man apologizes, rubbing the prince’s back when he starts to hiccup. “I’m so sorry. Please don’t cry—I… I don’t know how to make it up to you but I’m so, so sorry, Wang Eun.”

 

“I am not crying,” Wang Eun whimpers, his constant hiccups contradicting his words. “I am the 10^th prince. Princes do not cry.”

 

“I’m sorry, for not coming home last night,” Hoo Jun places a kiss on the prince’s head. He had left him in the morning, only to return the next day – did the prince even eat? With his ego in the way, Hoo Jun couldn’t bring himself to ask all the questions in his head. All he could do is apologize. “I’m sorry for leaving you alone. I’m sorry…for being with her.”

 

“I despise the television now,” Wang Eun says, resting his head on Hoo Jun’s chest. “The television always breaks my heart. It is a bad, evil television.”

 

Hoo Jun pauses for a while, pulling away slightly just to cup the prince’s cheeks with his hands and slides his thumb on Wang Eun’s bottom lip. “Yeah. I hate the television too.”

 

“The television always tells me lies. The television kissed me, then kisses other humans. I hate the television.” The prince’s hand rose up to push Hoo Jun’s hand away and wipe his eyes. “I do not wish to see the television right now. It would only tell me lies again.”

 

Hoo Jun’s gaze softens as he looks at the way Wang Eun distances himself away from him. “We’ll throw the television away, okay? In that way, it won’t tell you lies and break your heart again.”

 

Wang Eun nods. “I agree. The television should go away.”

 

“The television likes you so much, though,” He rests his chin on his knuckles, chuckling softly. “It wants to apologize for the things it did last night. The television was stupid and drunk – but when the television kissed you, it was sincere.”

 

“Telling me lies again,” Wang Eun rolls his eyes, flipping his long hair. “I only like strawberries now. Strawberries are nice, even gave me food to eat early in the morning.”

 

With that, Hoo Jun frowns, raising a brow. “Who’s the strawberry?”

 

“Your manager,” Wang Eun says, snatching the remote control away from the actor. “He was searching for you, but then we saw the news and he ran out, shouting. I suppose he was angry.”

 

“He still is,” Hoo Jun sighs, reaching his hand out to ruffle the prince’s hair. “I thought I was the strawberry, though. Sweet, pretty and red?”

 

“No. You are the television. Evil and always lying.” Wang Eun stands up, leaving Hoo Jun alone by the couch, walking away to the kitchen. “I only like strawberries. I will only allow strawberries to kiss me from now on.”

 

“Hey!” Hoo Jun exclaims, following the prince into the kitchen. “Say that again and I’ll throw all your precious strawberries away.”

 

The prince ignores him, taking the bowl of strawberries out of the fridge, placing it by the counter. Bothered by the silence, Hoo Jun hugs him from behind, resting his chin on the prince’s shoulder. “I really do like you, Wang Eun. I hope you would believe that.”

 

“I—”

 

“I don’t know how, and when, but I’ve fallen for you.” He whispers, holding him tighter. “Last night was a blurry mistake – I don’t like her. We were engaged, yes, but that’s all in the past. I’m sorry for all the things you’ve seen on the news. But please believe me when I say that I really like you.”

 

Wang Eun turns around in his hold, shoving a piece of strawberry into his mouth and laughs gently. “Be quiet.”

 

The actor, chuckles. “But seriously, Wang Eun—”

 

The prince shoves another piece of strawberry into his mouth. “Let the 10^th prince eat his strawberries in peace. Be quiet.”

 

“My ex fiancée is an evil woman.” Hoo Jun continues to speak, covering his mouth to avoid being shoved with strawberries again. “I hate her.”

 

“I hate you,” Wang Eun forcefully pulls Hoo Jun’s hand away, inserting more and more strawberries in the actor’s full mouth. “Stop talking.”

 

Smiling, Hoo Jun leans in for a kiss, laughing against Wang Eun’s lips when the prince groans in disgust as he tastes the strawberries in Hoo Jun’s mouth.

 

“Is the television forgiven now?” Hoo Jun asks, chewing on the excessive amount of strawberries in his mouth and pinches the prince’s cheeks. “Do you still want to throw the television away?”

 

Wang Eun shakes his head. “Not forgiven.”

 

Hoo Jun pouts. “But I like you. Berry much.”

 

“Silence!” Wang Eun continues to shove more and more strawberries into Hoo Jun’s mouth, blushing madly at the actor’s confession. “Silence, I say!”

 

Hoo Jun could only laugh, falling in deeper and deeper, not noticing that he’s reaching the edge of a cliff, close to falling into the abyss of grand heartbreak.

 

 

 

The next few days were only spent with Hoo Jun staying at home, refusing to pay any attention to every phone calls and messages on his phone. He ignores the news and rumors of him getting back together with his ex fiancée – instead he spends his time teaching the prince how to play video games or watching the movies together – even kissing him on the couch.

 

“Is this okay?” Hoo Jun asks, carefully hovering over the prince’s figure on the bed, so close, too close, he’s pretty sure Wang Eun could hear the thumping beat of his heart. The prince nods, smiling. He has his hands on Hoo Jun’s shoulders for support, holding onto him for dear life. “It is okay.”

 

Hoo Jun nervously smiles back, internally scolding himself for sweating. He was known to be a lady-killer, making girls kneel on the ground with just a snap of his fingers. But with his prince looking beautiful, lying on the bed, looking at him, the actor has to get his together to not melt into a puddle on the floor.

 

“Can I kiss you?” He asks, leaning near, nearer, too close. Wang Eun laughs in reply. “That is what we have been doing the whole day, Hoo Jun.”

 

“I know that,” Hoo Jun grins. I know that—but this is different. With the heat surging through his body, waves of want clouding his eyes; he feels the need for consent before he could kiss the pure prince. The thing that they have been doing the whole day—the chaste, innocent kisses at the kitchen, by the pool, on the couch, light pecks of lips at the backyard—is different from this.

 

Hoo Jun’s grin falters, “But can I kiss you…longer?”

 

Wang Eun nods, he always does, and welcomes the actor into his arms, opened mouth tasting like red strawberries, thin layer of sweat on his skin tasting like the sea.

 

“Hoo Jun,” The prince whispers. “Thank you.”

 

The actor stops tracing his mouth on Wang Eun’s neck, looking up at him in confusion. “For what?”

 

Wang Eun suddenly sits up; his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes like it used to. “When I was still in the past, I did not believe in fondness…or love. I was too used to seeing my brothers being forced to wed other people of my father’s choices, that I began to doubt the existence of sincere affection.”

 

Hoo Jun stays quiet, already sensing that something was wrong.

 

“But when I am with you, I felt fondness, even jealousy and heartbreak. I like you so much, too.” The prince holds onto his hands. “Thank you for that.”

 

“W-Wang Eun, I—”

 

“Thus, I have decided that I have to return to the past.” Wang Eun says softly. “I hope you understand.”

 

And the room turns silent – too quiet that Hoo Jun could hear the sound of his heart breaking.

 

The two men lay side by side on the grey mattress, their legs tangled together under the silky sheets. Hoo Jun has his arms wrapped around Wang Eun’s waist as the prince buries his face in the crook of the actor’s neck, breathing softly. Their hands are clasped together and Hoo Jun watches as the prince pulls himself back just a little with a bright smile on his face, but Hoo Jun, terrified of letting go, refuses Wang Eun to do so. He yanks him even closer, running his fingers in Wang Eun’s long hair and settles on resting his fingers on the prince’s nape, earning a subtle laugh.

 

The prince, his prince, looks beautiful just like this. It reminds him of the first time he saw him – in the chapel, with his wedding cake smeared all over the prince’s flustered face and his adorable blue robe and Hoo Jun yelling at him, cursing the so-called “prince” for ruining his wedding.

 

“Stay,” The actor whispers, his voice slightly muffled when he presses his lips against the prince’s hair. “I don’t want you to go.”

 

Wang Eun’s expression remains bubbly and bright despite seeing the scowl marring the actor’s face. “I have to go, Hoo Jun. I am the 10^th prince.”

 

Hoo Jun lets out a frustrated groan, exasperated. “You’ve been saying that since the day you were caught gobbling up my wedding cake. You, being the 10^th prince of whichever dynasty—it doesn’t matter! You can’t just ing leave me like this.”

 

“Hoo Jun,” The prince cradles Hoo Jun’s face delicately, puffing his cheeks. “Do you not understand? We must not be together; we are not from the same century.”

 

“I don’t ing care! Who the gives a if we’re from the same century or not, the same lifetime or not! It doesn’t matter—it absolutely does not matter as long as we’re here for each other b-because I…” Hoo Jun sighs. “Wang Eun, I’ll cut it short. I like you. And I don’t want you to leave.”

 

The 10^th prince smiles before he kisses Hoo Jun, lips tasting like autumn leaves – pure against Hoo Jun’s cigarette-stench mouth. “I have to leave.”

 

Hoo Jun’s eyes prickled with sudden, confusing tears. “Don’t you care about me? Do you not feel anything for me at all?”

 

“…Goodnight,” The prince kisses the actor by his forehead and holds him by the waist. “Hoo Jun.”

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

“My prince!”

 

Wang Eun’s ears perk up when he hears the familiar voice calling out his name from afar. He had almost shed tears when he realized that he was lost in the woods once again, crying himself to sleep as he lied on the cold ground and wishes to be returned to the past. The 10^th prince thanks the lords from the skies above once he sees his protector running towards him. Wang Eun laughs at the knight’s expression; a mixture of confusion, anger, melancholia and jubilance all twisted together.

 

“Good heavens, my prince, where have you been?” The knight unconsciously pulls Wang Eun into his embrace, wrapping his arms tight around the small prince. “The king, the queen, the princes, the whole kingdom – everyone was terrified! My prince… Please do not do such thing again, I beg of you.”

 

“Breathe,” Wang Eun laughs and hugs his knight just as tight. “Did you miss me?”

 

His knight takes a deep breath and pulls away to examine any scars or bruises on the prince’s face – all he sees is glowing skin and shimmering eyes. He cradles Wang Eun’s face softly, wiping his thumb on the prince’s cheek. “Of course, my prince – everyone had missed you. It has been three months since your sudden disappearance. The king had wept for weeks and the kingdom had mourned, assuming that you had faced death.”

 

“I…” The prince stammers; too surprised to be hearing what had happened after he disappeared. “Forgive me. I must have disappointed the king once again.”

 

“No, my prince, the king… The king had declared that he would do anything for you to return. He would not force you to wed anyone you wish to not be wed with. I have never seen him so… devastated before.” The knight smiles, his gaze softening as he sees tears pooling in the prince’s eyes. “My prince, you are the king’s favourite son.”

 

Wang Eun nods against the knight’s broad chest, promising to stay. He sighs, comforted by the knight’s warmth that he had missed. He listen to the knight’s hums before bracing himself and stands on the tips of his toes, pressing a light kiss onto the knight’s left cheek, surprising said knight.

 

“Thank you for waiting for me,” The 10^th prince grins, “Chanyeol.”

 

A faint tint of red paints itself across the knight’s face once he realizes that the prince has called him by his name. He grins back, swiping the prince’s strands of hair to the back of his ears. “Anything for you, my prince. Now, I suppose we shall head back to the mansion.”

 

“Ah!” Wang Eun feigns tiredness. “I am too exhausted to walk. And I do not see your horse anywhere.”

 

The knight, Chanyeol chuckles and immediately places his hands at the back of the prince’s neck and knees, scooping him up in his arms. He frowns when he feels the unfamiliarity of the fabric worn on the prince’s skin. “My prince, did you lose your robe? I am afraid that the clothing you are currently wearing is terribly hideous.”

 

Wang Eun laughs and playfully leans in closer to whisper into the knight’s ear. “This, my knight, is Louis Vuitton.”

 

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

It’s been two weeks since his prince had left. Hoo Jun wanders around the empty 3 A.M. street, hands shoved in his coat and his black mask covering his mouth as a hasty disguise. Wang Eun had disappeared, just like that. Hoo Jun has never felt so betrayed—the prince stubbornly insisted that he needed to leave when he knew that Hoo Jun needed him. How could he? The prince was tucked safely in his arms that night – only to be gone the next morning.

 

Hoo Jun felt angry. There were no proper goodbyes, only a kiss on his forehead before he wished him goodnight, expecting to see him again in the morning. He didn’t care if Wang Eun was really a prince, or he’s lying about being a prince—he just needed him there. Being with him made Hoo Jun felt genuine happiness that he never thought he would ever feel. And to know that the prince left him, ditched him so easily made him feel as if he was worthless.

 

He doesn’t realize that his manager is calling him until a stranger taps him by his shoulder, slurring, “Dude, your phone’s ringing”. 

 

“Hoo Jun,” He listens to his manager’s warning tone on the other line. “Please ing tell me you’re resting at home, preparing for the script reading tomorrow.”

 

Hoo Jun walks slowly, practically dragging his feet back to his car. “I’m just walking around. What script reading?”

 

“Walking around? What the hell, it’s almost four in the morning, Hoo Jun!” His manager yells. “The script reading for your new drama starts at 8 in the morning tomorrow. Don’t you remember the other day when I told you about your new upcoming drama about this man who has anterograde amnesia and he wakes up every morning with post-it notes on his walls—”

 

“God,” Hoo Jun groans, “I don’t ing care. Just call me when it’s time to get ready for my schedule tomorrow.”

 

His cocky manager scoffs before hanging up, the screen switching back to the lock screen. He unlocks it once again to scroll through his camera roll, stopping at a particular picture of a tiny man with a long ponytail, wearing a cute blue robe that complimented his fair skin.

 

“Goodnight, my prince,” Hoo Jun whispers. “Wherever you are.”

 

 

 

 

He woke up feeling like .

 

His manager has been calling him for a load of times now, frantically screaming at him for being late for his first day of script reading. Honestly saying, Hoo Jun didn’t give a anymore. He wanted to stay at home and stare at the ceiling all day long, basking in the warmth of his bed sheets that still smelled like sunshine and a little prince. But when his manager came up to his house, dragging his to the bathroom – Hoo Jun knew he didn’t have another choice but to comply.

 

Once he arrives to the building, his manager awards him with a cup of hot espresso and rushes to Room 44, where all the actors and actresses are gathering, waiting for the “grand entrance” of the most anticipated actor. Hoo Jun rolls his eyes when he hears faint squeals from the women walking beside him, trying to get closer with every step they take. His manager walks past him, running to Room 44 while Hoo Jun stays unimpressed, forcing himself to put on a smile.

 

Before he could even stretch the corners of his lips into a grin, he bumps on a seemingly clumsy human. His cup of hot espresso falls onto the ground, along with his dignity. Hoo Jun curses. Can this day get any worse?

 

“Watch where you’re going,” He hisses, grimacing at the mess of coffee stains on his shirt. “ing idiot.”

 

The man in front of him gasps, kneeling on the ground to grab the cup of coffee and bows. “I am so sorry! I was looking for Room 44 for my first script reading ever and oh my god I was so nervous, I didn’t see where I was going—I’m so sorry!”

 

Room 44? Hoo Jun nods anyway, waving nonchalantly at the guy—a universal sign for “piss off”. He wipes his shirt before looking up, opting on having a good look on the guy who ruined his morning.

 

His heart stops.

 

Hazel brown eyes look back at Hoo Jun as he stares at the man. The man, with beautiful, shimmering confused smile, mop of short brown hair covering his cute brows, albeit barely touching his eyelashes. Hoo Jun’s trembles as he shakily reaches out his hand, aching to touch the small mole by the familiar man’s pink petal lips.

 

“Wang Eun…” He whispers, love-struck.

 

The man chuckles, as if he doesn’t understand what Hoo Jun is saying. “Pardon?”

 

“I-I…” Hoo Jun lets his hand fall back to his sides. It was impossible. “Nothing.”

 

“You must be the famous actor. Hoo Jun, right?” The man grins, bright like the sun—like the 10^th prince. “Nice to meet you. I’m a rookie actor.”

 

Messy coffee stains forgotten, Hoo Jun chuckles lightly. “That explains the clumsiness.”

 

The man laughs shyly and Hoo Jun is taken aback at the similarity of this man and the one that got away. His prince. Once again, the rookie actor apologizes. “I’m really sorry about that.”

 

“It’s okay,” Hoo Jun reassures. “Come on, we’re late for our script reading. Room 44, right?”

 

“Y-yeah, but is it okay for you to walk around…with that?” The rookie actor points at his stained shirt.

 

Hoo Jun’s smile falters for a while before he grins again, for very different reasons this time. “Only if you buy me another cup of coffee.”

 

The rookie actor laughs. “It’s a deal, then.” He pauses for a while before speaking.

 

“My name is Baekhyun, by the way.”

 

Hoo Jun laughs with him, feeling his heart trembling along.

 

“Hi, Baekhyun.”

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

its finally done. oh my god

i hope u have enjoyed reading this fic bcs i love love love hoojun and wang eunas a couple, but of course, they dont belong together.

although they /did/ end up with each other if u think about it...enters pcy and bbh lmao

wang eun's knight is chanyeol! thats why he said that hoo jun looked familiar hahaha

talk to me on curiouscat! u dont need an acc for it and u can stay anonymous if want ^^

until next time~