the plan
;

Luhan could stand it no longer. It had already been three days since he was grounded ("And don't think about leaving this palace again anytime soon, young man!") He couldn't eat nor sleep; each passing day was pure torture to him. The only way to describe it would be like somebody was cruelly squeezing his heart dry of all its blood, then breaking it into small pieces and taking one away each day.

He jolted up in bed. He had to go and find Prince Jongin and work out a plan to solve all this. His parents thought it was the end—but it was not. Sehun was still in the dungeon, Minseok was still in the orphanage, Jongin was back in his country and Luhan was grounded in the palace; and none of them were where they really wanted to be.

"I'm just going to stroll in the garden for a while," Luhan lied, whilst passing by his mother in the corridor. The queen smiled pleasantly. "Sure, you should go and get some fresh air. Being cooped up indoors isn't good for you."

Luhan nodded slightly and made his way to the royal gardens. He walked a few rounds around the garden and stopped in front of the fence. The fence appeared ordinary from afar, but get closer and one would be able to see a little hole in it. Luhan bent down, pretended to admire the roses, and when nobody was looking quickly crept through the hole in the fence. Feeling grateful that nobody had cared to mend it, he dusted himself off.

"Whew! Finally!" he heaved a sigh of relief, turned back to glimpse at the palace, before running full speed ahead, heading towards the neighbouring kingdom. His long princely robes billowed out behind him, proving to be a hindrance. After a while, the difficulty of running with billowing cloaks got to Luhan and he removed his cloak and threw it away. What his parents would say when he got back, well, he would care about that later. His first priority was to get to Jongin's palace, and fast. 

By the time he reached the palace, he was already grimy and dirty, a far cry from the dignified prince who left the palace an hour ago. Nobody could recognise him, nor did anyone take any notice of him. As far as they were concerned, he was just another homeless person living on the streets. 

"Please, it's urgent," Luhan pleaded, begging the guard who stood in front of the palace with an immovable expression. "I need to see the prince." 

The guard didn't even bother to answer, instead he just made a guttural grunt, signalling for him to get lost. Luhan felt humiliated, but he bore it with grace. "May I please see the prince?" he tried once more, making no effort to conceal the anxiety in his voice.

Maybe it was luck, or maybe it was coincidence, but at that moment Jongin walked out of the palace.

"Your Highness! Prince Jongin!" Luhan called, rushing over at once. 

Jongin turned, but not before the guard pushed Luhan down, one foot stepping on his stomach menacingly. Luhan yelped in pain. "How dare you speak directly to the prince like that, you little swine?" the guard grunted. 

Jongin squinted, and started. "S-Sehun? Is that you?" 

The guard looked shocked. All the blood drained from his face immediately. "Your Highness, do you know him?" 

"Get off him now," growled Jongin. "Now." He repeated, fists clenching, when the guard didn't move. 

"Y-Yes, Your Highness." The guard stood respectfully back at his post, and Jongin rushed to help Luhan up. 

"Sehun, are you alright? Why are you here? Are you—wait..." he trailed off when Luhan raised his head. "You're not Sehun."

"No, I'm Luhan." 

Jongin narrowed his eyes in an unfriendly manner, as the name registered in his mind. "So... you're Luhan? You two admittedly look alike; no wonder I was fooled." 

"Jongin, it was my fault. All of this was my plan, and Sehun just went along with it. Blame me if you want to, not Sehun. I'm really really sorry."

Jongin still couldn't forgive Sehun—who could?—because the heartbreak he experienced could never be remedied with a mere apology. He shook his head. "I don't want to hear your explanations." 

“Look, I know you're upset. Just give me a chance to explain, won't you? Jongin, I ran all the way here to find you—look." For the first time, Jongin really looked at Luhan, and was immediately struck by how disheveled he was. His eyes slowly travelled up, taking in every expanse of his clothing, stopping at Luhan's face. His face was also smudged with dirt. But his eyes were as clear as day. While gazing steadily into Luhan's eyes, Jongin was reminded of someone who looked just like him—only maybe a little taller, with a sharper nose, and perhaps more defined cheekbones—looking back at him, silently pleading. An dull ache throbbed in his heart. He started regretting not listening to Sehun then. And now here Luhan was, giving him an opportunity to understand the entire thing. If he missed this chance yet again, he might regret it for life.

"Alright, I'll listen to you," Jongin relented. "Come in, and say what you have to say." He led Luhan down the path of winding corridors and into one of the guest rooms, before gesturing for him to sit down.

Luhan began narrating the story of a young prince, trapped in misery, wishing for more than anything to escape the confines of the palace. The prince, whom by a of good luck, managed to find a person who looked exactly like him, then persuaded him to take his place for two weeks. The prince, with a new identity, then spent the happiest two weeks of his life in an orphanage—ironic as it sounded—and fell in love. But during his stay, the prince constantly had a nagging feeling on his mind that something might go wrong. And indeed it had. On the last day, the palace guards infiltrated the orphanage searching for him. Then, the prince was forced to reveal his true identity—one that he had been hiding for two weeks. His lover was shocked and upset, and they parted with tears of confusion and misunderstanding. He could still remember the look of sheer shock and disappointment on his lover's face. What broke his heart most was the fact that it had all been his own doing—he naively thought it was alright to just leave the palace for two weeks without considering the consequences. And when he was forced to return, he couldn't even explain everything to his lover. He had hurt himself, his lover, his parents, and also that poor street boy whom now had to suffer in the dungeon, locked away from sunlight.

Jongin remained quiet even after Luhan finished recounting his tale. Luhan continued, "What hurts me more is that I've not only ruined my own love life, but Sehun's as well. I can't even bear to forgive myself."

Somberly Jongin nodded. "I agree that you were kind of foolish. But somehow, I understand where you're coming from. And it's not entirely your fault." He was thinking of Sehun, locked up in the dark, dank dungeons just for being an impostor. Instantly, his heart swarmed up with regret. How could I have been angry with Sehun? Now... does he even love me anymore? Someone who left him in the lurch and abandoned him when he most needed him—am I even worthy of being loved? His heart twitched—Sehun was forgiven in an instant. 

"Now... I don't even know what to do. I've been in the palace for three days already and I can't get used to the absence of Minseok. Sometimes I'd go, 'Look Minseok,' and suddenly realise he's not there. Sometimes I have the urge to hold his hand—and end up grasping thin air. It's painful, you know." Jongin could tell as much from Luhan's eyes, which were rimmed with red.

Luhan's words echoed in the back of his mind. It hurt for him too, because he knew exactly how Luhan was feeling. More than once, he imagined Sehun beside him, smiling and laughing, only to have that illusion shattered mercilessly when he blinked. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't forget Sehun. In fact, his absence only served to make Jongin think of him more.

"We should fix this. No, we have to fix this." Jongin said determinedly. "We have to set this right again."

Luhan sighed."I want to too, but... how? The future seems so bleak."

Jongin furrowed his brows. "Just this... we need to find Minseok and Sehun, and explain to them. More specifically, you go find Minseok, and I'll rescue Sehun."

Luhan brightened, the twinkle returning to his eyes. "Then I'll propose to him. And ask my parents for agreement."

"That's all very good, but what if your parents disagree? After all, they're the king and queen. You can't flip out with them just because of this." Jongin raised a valid point, and Luhan rubbed his temples in frustration.

"I'll just have to try and hope for the best. And if they don't agree, then... well, I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it."

"I'll rescue Sehun... but how am I going to do it? It's harder than it sounds. And I'm not familiar with the way your dungeon is structured."

"No worries, I can help you here. The dungeons in the palace are very confusing, like a maze. That's to prevent prisoners from escaping. So if you don't want to get lost, always keep a hand on the wall. Also, the entrance of the dungeon was constructed earlier than most other parts of the dungeon, so head where it looks older and has more moss growing."

"How do I even get in? The dungeon must be very heavily guarded." Jongin thought Luhan's tips were really helpful, but in order to carry out the mission properly he'd need more information than that.

"That's right. Hmm..." Luhan's brows creased and pursed his lips, the way he always did when he was thinking. After some moment of thought, he spoke, "I kind of have an idea. But I'm not sure if it'll work."

"What? Tell me," Jongin eagerly insisted, happy that Luhan had an idea.

"You wear a guard's uniform and sneak in. This is going to be very risky and dangerous, so if you don't have the guts to do it, you better not."

Jongin's nostrils flared instantly. "What, you've just met me and already think so little of me? No, of course I'll do it! I'd do anything to have Sehun back by my side."

Luhan broke into a smile. "That's what I want to hear. But that means you'll have to sneak into the dungeon, and knock down the first guard you meet, then change into his uniform in record speed. Are you sure you can do that?"

"It doesn't sound too easy, but I will still do it." Jongin nodded. "I'll bring a stick or something to whack his head."

"Okay, but be careful. Be really careful. The guards are not to be looked down upon. And don't make too much of a racket, if not you'll attract attention and end up like Sehun." 

Jongin nodded. "First, breaking and entering. Got that. Then, I need to find Sehun's cell and get him out. There must be another guard there with the keys, right?"

Luhan nodded vigorously. "Correct! So you have to find a way to take down that guard too."

Jongin nodded. "Understood. After I take him down, then I get his keys and rescue Sehun. Then it's done!" he beamed happily.

"Not so fast," Luhan warned. "Sehun can't move around in his prisoner's clothing, the guards will be after him at once."

"So... I have to strip the other guard as well?" Jongin asked in disbelief. Stripping one guard was already unprincely enough, needless to say stripping another one. He dejectedly wondered if he would ever recover his princely image again.

Luhan shrugged. "That's what you have to do to avoid being caught."

Jongin nodded slowly, the formulated plan slowly taking shape in his head.

Luhan said, "Let's run through the plans again. First, sneak into the dungeon—"

"Knock down the first guard I see—"

"Steal his clothes—"

"Find Sehun's cell—"

"Take down the guard there—"

"Strip him—"

"Find the key and get Sehun out—"

"Make Sehun put on the guard's clothes—"

"Then get out in the most inconspicuous way possible," Luhan finished.

Jongin smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

A/N:

Sorry it's been so long! >< May was a crazy month for me, and I've just managed to update!

And my birthday's in 3 days so yay happy birthday to myself haha 

EXO'S XOXO ALBUM IS FREAKING AMAZING BTW YOU HAVE TO HAVE TO LISTEN TO IT JUST ASDGHKLJH