A week passed and all the invitations had been delivered.

After talking to Siwoo, Hyunjung couldn't stop thinking about canceling that dance and leaving his kids free so they could do whatever they wanted. After all, the Emperor knew very well what it meant to marry someone because the parents had decided that it should be so.

Hyunjung sighed and continued walking through the palace alongside Siwoo who was happy for whatever reason that day. They chatted occasionally and even smiled at each other. The relationship they had was a friendship with mutual respect. They knew they didn't love each other and – as Ryeowook had said – they were used to that life.

But as they walked, they saw Kyuhyun sitting alone on the floor. The little one was totally bored as he rolled a pebble from side to side. Siwoo had already talked to Jungsu and Kyuhyun once, so she expected Hyunjung to do the same thing and this time with more cordiality.

- Hello, Kyuhyun. – Siwoo greeted the little alpha who quickly got to his feet and cleaned his clothes – Oh, my dear… No need to be scared. We were just walking by when we saw you alone. Where's the maid?

- I don't know.

- Did she leave you alone? – Hyunjung asked a little upset – It's not possible that this happened.

- Someone called her and then she went there, but said she would come back. – Kyuhyun sat down again – In my house I didn't have a maid.

- And what did you have at home?

- Just my appa and an old horse. Grandma also came to our house to see us.

- What grandma?

- Grandma Chaeyeong. She gave my appa a chicken and we had fresh eggs at home every day, you know? Here you don't have a chicken.

- And you wanted to have a chicken?

Kyuhyun chuckled.

- I don't know. Because appa always says the Emperor needs to let me have a new horse.

Hyunjung then laughed – which surprised Siwoo.

- How many chickens do you want to have?

- Two.

- So I'll give you two chickens, but you have to take good care of them because cooks might think your chickens are for lunch.

Kyuhyun widened his eyes.

- They can't eat the chickens. I'll take care of the chickens whenever I can. I'll give them food and I'll get the eggs too.

- That's really good. You are a little boy who needs to have responsibilities.

Siwoo couldn't hide how surprised she was.

- Well... – she cleared – We should build a place so that Kyuhyun can take care of his chickens.

- I know. We’ll do this. – Hyunjung smiled at Kyuhyun who smiled happily like the child he was – And do you want anything else?

- No, thank you.

- Then I will provide two chickens for you. And every day you need to take good care of them, do we understand? – Kyuhyun nodded and he looked like the happiest child in the world at the moment. Then the maid came running and bowed, saying:

- Excuse me, Your Majesty. I was called to do something and I knew I couldn't leave the boy alone, but...

- But still you left him alone. – Siwoo said – Don't do it again. You're here to take care of him, not let him loose. If something had happened, what would you say to his appa? – the Empress lifted her nose and said – You are excused from work. We'll keep the kid until his appa can pick him up.

- I... Will I be punished?

At that moment Hyunjung and Siwoo looked at Kyuhyun who was scared, then the Emperor cleared his throat and said:

- I won't punish you, but keep in mind that what you did was a mistake that could have hurt the child. Now get back to your old job before I change my mind.

She nodded and bowed once more, taking the opposite path before the Emperor changed his mind. But Hyunjung was more concerned about not scaring Kyuhyun.

- What do you do when you're at your house?

- I like to play.

- Then you can play. We'll stay with you until your appa comes back for you. – Siwoo said and smiled at Kyuhyun who thanked her and went to play alone. She then looked at Hyunjung and asked – Why did you change your behavior so surprisingly?

Hyunjung sighed.

- The boy is not to blame for being here. I put him here with the appa to teach Heechul a lesson, but apparently I have a very soft heart.

Siwoo chuckled.

- Does that mean you already see yourself as Kyuhyun's grandfather?

Hyunjung arched an eyebrow and fiddled with his mustache. He always did that when he was over thinking it.

- Let's not rush things, Siwoo. I still can't say that I see myself as Kyuhyun's grandfather.

Siwoo giggled.

- At least you're not being rude by not calling him by his name.

Hyunjung narrowed his eyes, but then shook his head and thought it best not to try to argue with Siwoo who was amused by seeing her husband acting exactly like the grandfather he always wanted to be. And while the couple took care of Kyuhyun – who turned out to be the perfect chatterbox for the new grandparents – Hyukjae and Donghae were in the garden.

Ryeowook was painting on the parchment so he didn't even pay attention to all the times Hyukjae and Donghae kissed and the kisses were truly passionate. And the moment the alpha just hugged the pink-haired omega, they fell flat on the grass and smiled at each other. Hyukjae caressed Donghae's cheek and said:

- I still don't know what your secret is, but you are always more and more handsome.

Donghae giggled.

- You always praise me, Hyuk. You are also very handsome.

- But not as handsome as you.

- Do you think you're ugly? What a strange thing for an alpha to say.

- And as you know, I'm not an alpha like the others. – Hyukjae kissed the tip of Donghae's nose – And I'm so happy that we're here together. I'd like to take you for a ride, but I hear you're not allowed to leave here.

- You're a guard, so you can accompany me on a tour of the city. After all, I need more books and nobody knows what I like to read.

- Even if you have a library in the palace?

Donghae shrugged.

- I don't mind having an excuse to leave the palace. And if it's with you, I'll be more than happy. We could buy fish on a spit.

- It would be very nice, but I still don't like fish.

- That's true. – the omega laughed softly – Let's find something for you to eat then. – and so they kissed – You know... Yesterday I dreamed about us. I dreamed that we were making love again.

Hyukjae blushed and laughed.

- You take me by surprise when you say that kind of thing, but I can't deny that I haven't stopped thinking about the two of us making love for the first time either. It was so sweet and smooth, wasn't it?

- Yes. You were very kind and kissed me the whole time. It’s strange for me to feel that something is missing. Since we got here, I've been missing a hug from you and I've also missed our conversations. Everything we did together at omma's had an effect on me.

- I know what you're talking about. Sometimes when I'm making the rounds, I look at the moon and think of our nights talking by the fire. I also remember how you always snuggled against my body to escape the cold or for the simple fact that you liked being so close to me. There's so much I wish I was doing right now, especially holding your hand and walking hand in hand through the fair.

Donghae smiled, rubbed his forehead gently on Hyukjae's chest, and said:

- Let's wait a while and we can walk hand in hand whenever we want. Meanwhile, I'm learning to weave. Siwoo said that Wook and I need to occupy our minds with more satisfying things.

- And do you feel satisfied when weaving?

- Sure. I've already started making a rug and I have to say it's turning out really nice.

- So do you also want to work with rugs?

Donghae chuckled softly.

- Why not? I like my newest activity. Also, I can teach my omma how to weave and she will earn more money, or make the house more beautiful.

- Glad to see you so excited. Last week you were so sad and I worried that you were about to give up.

- There were moments when I really thought about giving up, but that's in the past. Now I'm a little more motivated and ready to take on the world.

Hyukjae smiled, kissed Donghae's lips softly and sat up.

- Now I have to go, although I don't want to.

- Why do you need to go?

- Because I stayed here for a long time and I don't want to be punished for it. If I get punished, I can't see you for a few days.

- Then you better go. I don't want to miss the chance to see you every day. – Donghae sat down and then stood up with the help of Hyukjae – See you tomorrow?

- See you tomorrow. – the alpha hugged the omega's waist, pecked his lips and whispered – I'll count the minutes.

Donghae smiled and hugged Hyukjae's neck.

- Me too.

That said, they kissed like it was the last time they saw each other. Then Hyukjae left the garden and Donghae was gently waving his arms as if he was dancing towards Ryeowook who laughed and said:

- You two are so cute when you're together.

- And I'm happier about it. And I loved the painting you're doing. So beautiful and delicate.

- Thanks. I think this romantic atmosphere helps me to make paintings. And I need to teach Kyuhyun to paint. He asked me when we are going to start.

- I imagine he's very excited. Yesterday I read a book to Kyu and taught him some new words. This child is very smart.

- Yes and I'm glad he started studying. – Ryeowook smiled and started to put away his materials – Can we go now? I am starving.

- Let’s go. I'm hungry too and it's tea time.

So they left the garden and each went to his room so that they could dress properly. One interesting thing about teatime at the palace was that the whole family would get together to spend time together. Hyunjung and Siwoo were already with Kyuhyun and that surprised Jungsu and Heechul – but at the same time, they were very happy because the Emperor and Empress treated the little boy very well.

- Did you behave today? – Jungsu asked and Kyuhyun nodded, so the alpha looked at the couple in front of him and said – Thank you so much for spending the afternoon with Kyu. Tomorrow I promise I will do my best to...

- Oh, Jungsu! – Siwoo started – Don't worry about it. We had to let go of the maid because she was irresponsible and left little Kyu alone. So Hyunjung and I took care of his son.

Jungsu smiled and Hyunjung said:

- And Kyuhyun is a great kid. He hasn't stopped talking and is very smart. I'm glad you decided to let him study here.

Even Heechul was surprised that Hyunjung was talking to Jungsu who bowed and said:

- I can only thank you for the opportunity, Your Majesty. – and so he messed up Kyuhyun's hair, hugging the boy who said:

- The Emperor will give me two chickens.

- You asked? – Kyuhyun shook his head and Hyunjung laughed.

- Don't be angry with the boy, Jungsu. I said I'm going to give him two chickens and he needs to take care of them so no one makes them for lunch.

- Oh... And did you thank the Emperor, Kyuhyun?

- Yes and I said I will take care of the chickens every day.

Jungsu chuckled softly and that was a relief to Heechul who was happy to see that there was no animosity between his parents and his little family. It was all he'd really needed to smile genuinely since the day he'd returned to the palace. And then, Donghae and Ryeowook arrived and waved at Kyuhyun who greeted them by saying a loud hello.

The omegas joined the family and decided to be cordial with Hyunjung who smiled and said:

- I hope you both are feeling well today.

- I'm feeling well. – Ryeowook said – I painted a little in the garden and I think I'm very inspired.

- That's nice. Have you been painting a lot?

- Certainly. I'm enjoying my free time as I don't know if I'll be able to do this after the dance.

Hyunjung nodded and looked at Donghae who said:

- I just like to accompany Wook to the garden, but I also take advantage of my free time to learn weaving with Siwoo.

- And are you enjoying it?

- I am. Siwoo has a lot of patience in teaching us to weave.

- Donghae and Ryeowook have shown a lot of skill in weaving and I'm excited to finish the rug we started. – Siwoo smiled at the omegas who smiled back – And we are very happy that you are all here with us, aren't we, Hyunjung?

- I can say it's good to be reunited here as a family and I hope we stay that way for a long time. And on this day I would like to welcome Jungsu and little Kyuhyun in a proper way.

To say that everyone at the table was surprised was a huge understatement. After all, no one expected Hyunjung to say those words as an apology for the behavior he had from the beginning. This was indeed a surprising change.

- Oh... Thank you very much, Your Majesty. – Jungsu broke the silence and smiled – Kyuhyun and I were happy to hear that. I think the beginning would be difficult for all of us, but now it's just a matter of getting to know each other better, as we're going to live under the same roof for a while.

Hyunjung smiled and looked at Heechul who held Jungsu's hand and said:

- This is very important for the three of us, appa. I don't know how I can put into words how excited I got about this new phase after everything you said.