"You are not busy, are you?" Taekwoon shyly poked his head round the door to Woobin's office. He hadn't wanted to waste any time in asking the lord to look for Sanghyuk. He had left the grounds and come immediately to the room Woobin often frequented. It was a room that had frightened him slightly since he was a child, however. The walls were a deep purple and the desk was large and imposing. There was also a closet in the corner that Woobin said he kept all his scrolls, books, papers and stationary in. But the door was painted pitch black to match the leather armchair sitting behind the desk. The thick velvet drapes were always half draw too- the lord said he worked better at night. 

Woobin smiled broadly and gestured for him to come closer "Of course not, sire. I can always make time for my princes." He moved away from where he was standing beside the closet door and motioned for the guards with him to leave the room. They both did as instructed wordlessly, bowing to Taekwoon on the way out. "I need to speak with you," he told Woobin seriously, staying standing stiffly by the door with his hands linked neatly behind his back "It is of an urgent matter which I would like addressed as soon as possible."

"Well, whatever it is, I am sure we can sort something out," Woobin replied, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded over his strong chest "What is it? If it's about your music lessons again," he pointed a playful finger at the prince "I have already told Hongbin 'no'."

Taekwoon chuckled slightly and dipped his head, adjusting his stance "No," he smiled faintly "It is about one of the groundskeepers- the men that saved us a few weeks ago."

"Ah, those fellows," the elder nodded.

"Yes, one of them has gone missing."

Woobin's face suddenly sobered and he pursed his lips, placing both palms on the desk in front of him "Hm?" He tensed up, his shoulders rising. But Taekwoon didn't seem to notice. "The youngest, Sanghyuk, hasn't been seen for two days. He has no friends or relatives; no reason to leave unannounced," he rattled off the details firmly and seriously and Woobin bit his tongue as the younger man's tone reminded him distinctly of the King. "I demand there be a search party sent out this afternoon to find this man, no later."

"Steady there, sire," Woobin said quietly, getting up out of his seat and taking slow, thoughtful steps towards the young prince "What makes this servant so speacial, hm? We have hundreds more here." Taekwoon's gaze met the floor and he felt his cheeks heat up slightly. He couldn't say the real reason was because his secret... lover... He tried not to smile at the words as he tested it out in his head for the first time. It sounded nice. "I feel we owe him a great debt. He helped save our lives so we should-"

"You are princes, he is only a simple peasant. There are thousands of them around just like him," Woobin chuckled as though Taekwoon had said something completely absurd. He circled the prince as the younger man frowned, trying to wrap his head round what had just been said. "But... He might be in serious danger. What if it is those bandits seeking revenge?"

Woobin laughed and grasped his shoulders from behind, squeezing them lightly "Your imagination runs away with you, your highness. But I cannot simply send out valuable men looking for this one boy." 

Taekwoon felt his heart drop to his toes "But I promised-"

"Who?" The elder frowned, feeling suspicion creep through his mind.

The prince bit his lip and dipped his head, trying to desperately think of a way to cover himself. "I- I promised all three men that I would take care of them all as employees of the royal household," he mumbled. 

Woobin turned him round and lifted his chin, bringing them eye level, and heaved a large sigh "That was not your promise to make, my lord."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hakyeon and his youngest brother were sat on his bed playing cards when the door was thrown open, bouncing off the wall. Hongbin's head snapped up in shock and he wasn't surprised to see Taekwoon storming in, slamming door behind him with a huff. "What's happened?" Hakyeon asked, setting his cards down beside him and getting to his feet, his knees groaning in protest due to how long he'd had his legs curled under him. "Lord Woobin" was the simple, angry reply. 

"What has he done now?" Hongbin rolled his eyes. He was still bitter and annoyed at the fact some of the only lessons he enjoyed were being taken away from him. Lord Woobin had always been strict since they were young but this was something else. "More like what won't he do," Taekwoon growled, throwing himself down beside them and clenching his fists. "Talk to us, brother," Hakyeon encouraged. Taekwoon had always been like this; he would be angry or anoyed but avoid talking about what was upsetting him.

The younger man sighed and tipped back his head "Do either of you remember Sanghyuk?"

Hongbin thought for a moment or two. "Is he one of the heroes?" he asked, quite endearingly, his brothers thought. Taekwoon nodded and ran a hand through his hair "He is missing."

"We must look for him!" Hakyeon cried, suddenly sitting upright. He remembered clearly now Hongbin had reminded him. Ashamedly, the eldest prince had forgotten their three saviours' names- he hadn't seen any of them since they had come home. "Woobin will not send out any men," Taekwoon told him dejectedly "Wonshik and Jaewhan are worried sick, as you can imagine."

Hongbin pouted and looked down "Is there nothing we can do?"

"I think all we can do now is give comfort to Jaeshik and Wonwhan-"

"Wonshik and Jaewhan," Taekwoon corrected his older brother, rolling his eyes. 

"We should make sure they are okay before we do anything else," Hakyeon continued, ignoring what he had said. The younger men both nodded in agreement but Taekwoon felt something like a chill run up his spine. He and Wonshik were going to be together... in the same room... with other people...

I don't feel like I say it enough so I just want to say thank you to everyone, even those who don’t comment, for supporting me and giving me the confidence to explore and thrive on creativity. I have so much more to offer and I’m happy to see that I have a larger audience to show it to. I have a handful of followers that have read most, if not all of my work, that I love a great deal. Even though most of them are oceans apart from me and other readers. They’re always liking my stuff no matter how dumb it is and really keep me from falling into the trap of losing interest in writing. I want you all to know that every little comment, subscriber, vote and view does not go unnoticed and you are all amazing human beings ^^