The Great Ritual
Royal Encounter [on hiatus]The wedding was just as it was expected to be. Grand, traditional... and stifling. There was not the joyous screams, endless chatter or the playing of silly games to tease the bride and groom, for those were deemed to be inappropriate. A wedding represents the union of two families, not the union of the individual, it was a solemn occasion, at least for the two connecting families.
The day had been long, beginning with the long procession to the bride's home. Jinki was seated with his parents, the emperor and empress, while his older brother Lee Teuk took his place on a smart white horse at the front of the procession. On the side of the procession were members of the public, struggling to take a picture of the grand procession that was probably the only one they would ever get to see in their lifetime. It was after all a wedding fit for the royals, and not just any royal, but the crown prince of Korea.
Jinki looked at his older brother down the line of people who were playing "joyous music" to celebrate this honorable event. He was wearing the traditional Korean costume right under the hot sun on a summers day and still looking picture perfect. He wondered how his brother even managed to maintain his smile when the weather was so hot he swore he would have gotten a heat by now if not for the fact that he was seated comfortably with his parents in an air-conditioned limousine. At least he was born in an era of air-conditioners, whoever invented it deserved the Nobel Prize.
The procession was proceeding slowly, with cars following behind the white horse who was taking one step every 2 seconds. Jinki tried to calculate the speed out of boredom and then gave up after a while when he noticed his mother giving him a warning look to keep his poise. People were watching. Immediately, he straightened his back (not that he slumped over in the first place, years of education forbid him to do so), plastered the "polite smile" he was taught to give on his face and waved ever so slightly at the members of the public.From the corner of his eyes, he spotted a billboard among the many others with the words "Prince Onew, Jjang!", no doubt, his fanclub. As thankful as he is for their love, he was slightly embarrassed to see it on the day of his brother's wedding. It was just not the right occasion.
Just when he was wondering whether they were going to ever reach the bride's home, the procession stopped before this huge lush mansion. They have arrived at the home of his distant relative, which meant that they were within the scope of royalty. It was the perfect wedding for the royals, marrying within the family that is, this way their line remains pure as they produced "purebloods" who marry other "purebloods" producing more "purebloods". Jinki could not help but wonder if such a tradition would actually end up having brothers marrying their own sisters.
His brother was the perfect crown prince, and now he had a perfect wife to add to his already more than perfect life. Jinki was not envious, in fact, he idolized his brother. At school, Lee Teuk topped his cohort every year. Jinki did not fare too bad, he was second in his cohort, but to his parents that was less than perfect. It was okay, he was not close to his parents anyway. It was part of the tradition for royal children to be raised by nannies and tutors. He was much too young then, but he heard from his nanny that he had not called his parents until he was five.
To the members of the public, Lee Teuk's image was also perfect. Despite the paparazzi's desperate attempt to smear the royal family's name, their attempts have proven to be fruitless. Lee Teuk was always within the boundaries set by the royal family. He handled reporters with so much professionalism, the only things ever reported about him was good. He was already the president of the International Cultural Exchange at a young age of eighteen, leading men whose average age exceeded 30.
His life seemed too perfect to be real. One may think that a man like him must have had some regrets, perhaps he was forced into this royal marriage and he could not marry the one he truly loved. But that was not true, even his wife, Lee Min Jung, was the one he truly loved. Their story was like a fairytale, minus the witches and evil queens, and now they even have a beautiful ending.
But Jinki was not envious, he loved his brother, as much as his brother loved him. To his parents, Lee Teuk was the perfect son; to members of the public, Lee Teuk was the perfect crown prince; to Min Jung, Lee Teuk was the perfect husband; to Jinki, Lee Teuk was the perfect brother. The only person that ever understood Lee Jinki was Lee Teuk. To Jinki, Lee Teuk was more than a brother. He was also his father. He took him out to play when he was bored. He was there to counsel him when he was feeling down. He gave him attention when everyone else overlooked him.
Jinki remembered a time when he asked Lee Teuk what he should do to be as perfect as him. He was nine, Lee Teuk was sixteen. Lee Teuk chuckled and placed a hand on his little brother's head, "No one's perfect, Jinki. Just do what you think is right, you are answerable to no one else but yourself. Even if you don't achieve what you set out to achieve, just ask your heart," Lee Teuk removed his hand from his brother's head and pointed a finger to his chest area. "Have you done all you can to achieve what you wanted to? If you have, you would not have any regrets and that is all that matters."
At that time, he didn't understand what his brother meant and he simply pouted his lips and blinked. But through these years, he saw his brother living his words and he finally understood what he meant. Lee Teuk wasn't perfect. He worked hard to achieve what he wanted to so even if he did not, he had no regrets.
Jinki stood at the sides as he watched his brother and sister-in-law exchanged their bows towards each other and towards the bride's parents. His mouth curled up in a smile, a genuine one and not the one he was taught to give "politely". He was happy for his brother and his bride. They were made for each other.
After what seemed like forever, night fell and it was time to send the newly weds into the bridal room. Before they actually started undressing the couple, Lee Teuk ran to Jinki. "Jinki-ah, I'll be going on honeymoon tomorrow so I won't be around for the whole week to attend any of the events. For this week, you'll have to play the role of a crown prince and help me out with it yea?"
"Yes brother, just go enjoy your honeymoon and leave the rest to me," then in a softer voice, Jinki whispered, "bring back a niece or nephew for me, won't you?"
Lee Teuk laughed and lightly punched the side of Jinki's head, "Little Scram, you're all grown up now, aye?"
Jinki frowned and started arranging his hair, "hey, watch out, I still need to maintain public image on our way home, okay?" then in a fake authoritative tone he said, "Crown Prince, please watch your language. Words like scram should not come out of your royal mouth"
Lee Teuk laughed again and said, "I better get back to my wife now, or you won't get your niece or nephew. Goodbye dear brother, see you in a week's time." he gave one last laugh before turning back to the bridal room.
Jinki smiled and took out his iphone to check his schedule for the week, "first on the list... Miss Korea Pageant 2010."
Author's note: Hmm is it a little short? haha i just wanted to introduce the royal family. I hope you guys could somehow get a glimpse into Onew's life, his relationship with his parents and his brother. Did you love the brotherhood? because i did :D hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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