discovery
;

 

It wasn't long before the last day of the courtship arrived and Sehun found himself sitting before the king and queen in the gigantic conference room, with Jongin dressed immaculately as usual, seated by his side. It felt more like a business deal somehow, rather than a cosy family meeting. After being in Luhan's shoes for so long, Sehun could inevitably understand why he wanted so badly to escape the confines of the palace. The streets were no better place, yes, but they had a sense of freedom that always eluded him in the palace.

 

"Luhan, it's been two weeks already. I think it's time to set a wedding date," suggested the king, benignly looking at his 'son' and future son-in-law seated opposite him.

 

"Yeah, when are you two getting married? I think it's about time," the queen chimed in. Jongin's hand sneaked to hold Sehun's under the table, squeezing their hands together. Jongin didn't know how much Sehun was grateful for that—it calmed him down and showed him encouragement to continue putting on a show in front of the king and queen.

 

"I'm fine with any date, actually. As long as Jonginnie agrees," Sehun said without thinking. 

 

"Aww, look at you two. Already calling each other pet names," cooed the queen, scrunching up her face. Sehun blanched—it was kind of disturbing to see such an expression on an old lady; nonetheless the queen.

 

"How about next week? I'd like it to be as soon as possible actually, but since we need time for preparations, so I think next week would be good. What do you think, Luhan?"

 

"Next week?" Sehun was taken aback. That meant Luhan would only have about a week to truly interact with Jongin before they would be bound by the eternal ties of marriage. If anything, he wished Luhan would at least have more time to properly get to know Jongin.

 

"Would it be possible for the date to be pushed back a little?" 

 

"Why? Don't you want to get married to me?" Jongin said jokingly, but Sehun could see hints of doubt colouring his features. 

 

"Yes!" shouted Sehun. "But it's not about that. Since I'm only getting married once in my lifetime, I want it to be an event to remember. I'd rather do it properly and in the grandest style. One week is definitely not enough to prepare for it," he explained.

 

Jongin nodded in understanding. "Ah... I see now. And I agree. I must just wait a while more then." He chuckled. 

 

"Impatient, are you?" The queen teased and Sehun could feel his cheeks heating up to abnormally high temperatures. 

 

"Stop it," he mumbled, and Jongin threw his head back and laughed animatedly. Sehun was envious of Jongin's natural charisma. He could somehow always get people to like him—something that Sehun struggled with. He still couldn't believe that today was already the last day of the two weeks and he had to go switch back places with Luhan already. Really, time just flew, and in between spending time with Jongin and enjoying the luxuries of the palace, Sehun found that he didn't really leave time for himself. 

 

"By the way, Luhan, you haven't been wearing that engagement ring I gave you. Do you not like it?" This question suddenly popped out of Jongin's mouth and Sehun's heart plummeted faster than a rock. He was dumbstruck. There was an engagement ring? How could Luhan fail to tell him of such an important thing?

 

"Oh yeah, son, why haven't you been wearing it recently? I thought you said you loved it," the king asked.

 

"Uh, I couldn't bear to wear it because it was so beautiful, I was afraid I would dirty it," lied Sehun. He hoped that the impromptu explanation he cooked up would be enough to satisfy Jongin and his parents - after all, he didn't even know about the existence of the ring until Jongin mentioned it five minutes ago.

 

"You're so silly," Jongin chided good-naturedly, poking Sehun's ribs. "I've been wearing it ever since our engagement." 

 

Sehun turned to look at Jongin who was pointing at the shiny gold ring on his ring finger. "If you don't wear it, that means you don't treat me like a husband." He pouted, and Sehun just wanted to poke his cheeks because god how cute was that but he was alarmed because what if it led to him being forced to—

 

"Luhan, why don't you go and put the ring on now?" The queen said. 

 

Sehun but his lip. He was in deep trouble now, he knew. What if his luck had long run out and heaven didn't want him to play the game of deception anymore? He couldn't respond any other way except nod and return to his room in hopes that somehow, fate would lend him a hand again and he'd manage to find the ring by a of luck.

 

"Show me a sign, anything, just tell me where the ring is," pleaded Sehun as he turned his room upside down, trying to find the ring. He threw all of the clothes and shoes in the wardrobe, feeling every single one of them to check for the ring. 

 

"Nope, nothing's in here. Not in this pocket, either," Sehun murmured to himself. An increasing sense of dread imposed itself upon him, and he was becoming more and more breathless by the minute. He was so flustered and busy rummaging amongst the cupboards that he didn't hear Jongin enter until he greeted Sehun by placing a hand on his shoulder. 

 

""Hey," Jongin smiled, and Sehun jumped. 

 

"Ah... hi, Jongin!" he said a little too brightly, an unnatural smile forced itself upon his face. Jongin knitted his brows together—something seemed off about Sehun. 

 

"Is everything alright? You've been here a while. I was starting to get worried so I came to look for you."

 

"I'm... uh, fine." As calm and composed Sehun appeared on the outside, on the inside he was really freaking out. 

 

, I'm really going to get busted this time.

 

"So what about the ring? Where is it?" Jongin asked, scanning his eyes across the room. He cocked his head to the side after seeing Sehun shake his head sadly. 

 

"You lost it?“ Jongin inquired softly, biting his lip. Sehun hated to see Jongin so sad—but he supposed he would feel even worse if he found out that he wasn't Luhan.

 

"I..." Sehun trailed off. What was the point of this continued pretense? He was tired of trying to be someone who wasn't him. The façade he put on was already on the verge of being seen through. 

 

I'm a bad person, Jongin. You shouldn't have fallen in love with me. 

 

It broke his heart to see that Jongin was still clueless and didn't know what was going on. It hurt him that Jongin still thought he was deserving of his love, when in fact he was far from it.

 

Luhan, I'm sorry to have failed you, but I can't do this anymore. 

 

"I'm sorry, Prince Jongin," Sehun's voice wobbled as he bowed low, low enough for Jongin not to see him trying to blink back the prickling of tears. 

 

"Wait wait wait, what? What are you talking about? Why should you be sorry?" Jongin asked, knitting his brows together. "And what's this about calling me Prince? You've always called me Jongin." 

 

"I'm not the prince." Sehun's heartbeat was so loud, he almost couldn't hear his own voice.

 

"What?" An expression of disbelief etched itself onto Jongin's face.

 

"I'm not Luhan. I'm Oh Sehun, and I'm just a poor street rat who isn't worthy to love you."

 

Jongin laughed in disbelief. "Wait, you've got to be kidding me, right? Luhan? Is this a prank of some sort?"

 

Sehun bit his lip, slowly shaking his head. Tears were now freely streaming from his dark brown orbs.

 

"You mean... you've been lying to me all this while?" Jongin asked, disappointment and hurt evident in his eyes. Sehun wanted to say something—anything, to explain himself, to comfort Jongin, to tell him that he really did love him and even though his identity was fake, his love for him most certainly was not. But before he could open his mouth, a shout from behind interrupted him.

 

It was the king, who had come into the room silently moments ago. Beside him stood the queen, hands clapped over ,  

 

"This is outrageous! An imposter!" he yelled, face puffed up in rage. "Guards!" He commanded, and guards armed to the teeth flocked in from all sides of the room, overwhelming Sehun. Before he could even react, his arm was already pinned behind him and he was being led out the door.

 

"I'm sorry! I know I must have shocked all of you! But please, let me explain!" He yelled desperately as the guards dragged him mercilessly, not giving him a chance to speak.

 

Jongin held up his hand, signalling the guards to stop. The king and queen eyed him curiously, but made no move to stop him. 

 

"How could I ever have trusted you?" Jongin shook his head sadly. "I thought you really did love me, and yet... why did you lie to me? Who are you really? Where is the real Luhan?"

 

"Listen to me, I can explain, if you'd just give me a chance!" Sehun begged, struggling to free himself from the guards' iron grips but to no avail. 

 

Jongin took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I just don't know whether I can still trust you anymore." He looked away, and the guards resumed dragging Sehun away. 

 

"Jongin, I'm sorry!" yelled Sehun. Sehun begged for Jongin to look at him, to make even the slightest eye contact with him, but he never did.

 

A lone tear rolled down Sehun's cheek, followed by another, and he bit his lip as more tears fell, dropping soundlessly on the polished marble floor. 

 

-

 

Minseok's hair is so beautiful... 

 

"Your Highness! Prince Luhan! Are you in there?" Urgent voices and loud knocks interrupted Luhan from his reverie. He quickly removed his fingers from Minseok's hair and sat up.

 

"!" he cursed, not caring in the least about his language. "They've found out!"

 

Minseok sat up slowly, dazed and muddled. "Who's 'they'? And what have they found out?" 

 

" I—I..." stuttered Luhan, as the pounding on the door got more and more urgent. "There's no time to explain, Minseok! It's a long story." He looked around before quickly deciding on the best course of action.

 

"Quick! This way," Luhan whispered fiercely before dragging Minseok through the connecting door into the next room. "Sorry!" he yelled as he manoeuvred his way around the three boys inhabiting said room who looked up in shock and confusion at seeing the intruders.

 

"What the hell are you doi—" Minseok asked furiously, but he never got the chance to finish his question as Luhan clamped his hand over his mouth and raced towards the door of the room, opening it and then dashing down the stairs with Minseok tagging close behind. 

 

"I hope you have a decent explanation for me because if I don't get one, I'll be really mad," Minseok huffed.

 

"Shh! Here's not a good place to talk," Luhan quickly looked around before pointing at the secluded back alley near the orphanage. "We'll talk there." Minseok didn't ask any more questions and just followed behind Luhan as he ran at top speed towards the back alley.

 

"Okay, now would you care to explain?" Minseok asked with narrowed eyes, hands on his hips. He wasn't angry, simply confused and a trifle irritated because he had been really comfortable lying on the bed when Luhan had to pull him up and make him run like a pack of hungry wolves were on his trail.

 

"It's kind of complicated, really..." Luhan started, and Minseok nodded, curious to hear more. "You remember how I said they've found me?"

 

"Yeah..." Minseok trailed off. "Wait, Luhan... Prince..."

 

Realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh... oh. You're the Prince, aren't you?" 

 

Luhan nodded. "That's basically the crux of the matter."

 

"But..." Minseok furrowed his brows, trying hard to grasp the reality of the situation, that the Xiao Lu he had been with for the past few days was in fact not a rich man's son gone lost, but a prince, and the royal heir to the throne. "Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in the palace? Why did you lie to me?"

 

"I..." Luhan's voice cracked, upon seeing the hurt look on Minseok's face. He couldn't face him, after knowing how much he'd hurt him. 

 

"And..." Minseok softened his voice, steadily gazing at Luhan's already-moistening eyes. "Do you really love me?"

 

Luhan stared at his feet, unable to look Minseok in the eye. "At first I came here only because I wanted to escape the constraints of the palace. But... I never expected to fall in love with you. Believe me, Minseok, I never thought about lying to you, because I never intended to fall in love with you in the first place. But you just snuck into my heart and refused to budge. I tried, I really tried to stop my feelings for you. And I couldn't. So forgive me, for hurting you, because I myself am hurting just as badly."

 

The last few words were muffled as Luhan started choking, tears freely spilling from his eyes. He didn't want it to end like this, with Minseok hurt and upset and him not even having a chance to make it up to him. 

 

"Luhan, where are you?" The distant voice of the queen was getting louder and louder. "If you're not coming out I swear the guards will turn this place upside down to look for you. One—"

 

Luhan turned back to Minseok and fiercely grabbed him, melding their lips together in a bittersweet kiss. It tasted salty and bitter, and Luhan realised that he wasn't the only one crying. 

 

"Two—"

 

"I... I don't know why you came, or why you're here, but you really broke my heart, Xiao—Luhan." Luhan hated the way that Minseok's tongue was tripping over the foreign syllables of his name, almost as if he was forcing himself to call him that. He'd much rather Minseok call him Xiao Lu like he used to—he liked being called Xiao Lu by Minseok, even. 

 

"I'm sorry," choked the prince, "I love you."

 

"Three!"

 

Luhan quickly wiped away his tears with his sleeve and tried to escape, running to the doorway. But before he could make it his path was blocked by a few intimidating royal guards. 

 

"Luhan! There you are!" The queen's familiar shrill voice pierced Luhan's ears. "Do you know how much we were worried about you when we realised that, that a ragged beggar had been pretending to be you all this while? Absolutely outrageous!" she huffed. "Luckily we didn't have to do much, he owned up everything. And that's how we found you here."

 

Luhan's eyes then widened in alarm. "Mum, that... that boy, what did you do to him?"

 

The queen huffed. "Thrown him in the dungeon of course! What else would I do?"

 

Each word hit him with the force of a hammer and the whole world started crumbling around Luhan, piece by miserable piece. He had gotten Sehun into so much trouble. He must hate me, Luhan thought miserably. 

 

Luhan tried to turn around to catch a last glimpse of Minseok, but he couldn't because of the unyielding way the guards were dragging him away. He twisted his neck, only to see Minseok's back facing him. He won't even spare me one last glance, thought Luhan bitterly, as his struggles only made the guards hold on to him tighter. 

 

"Minseok! I'm sorry! I'll be back, I promise!" he yelled, at one last attempt to make Minseok turn around, just to know that he still loved him.

 

He got none.

 

Luhan's cries got fainter and fainter and eventually disappeared altogether, leaving just Minseok standing alone. He was left to his own devices. Even though Luhan hadn't been taken away for long, Minseok could already feel a hole of emptiness eating away at his heart. Luhan had been such a big part of his life—that now when he was gone, Minseok didn't know what to do at all.

 

Minseok returned to his room with heavy footsteps, which now seemed much too big to be comfortable. He missed those times when he and Luhan would snuggle together to keep warm, and he remembered fondly how Luhan loved to fiddle with his fingers and draw on his hands, and thread his fingers through his hair.

 

Minseok was puzzled and upset, but more of what he was feeling was hurt. Hurt that Luhan had left him, hurt that Luhan had been feeding him lies the entire while, and even greater hurt that he had believed him. He felt betrayed. 

 

The bigger question that lingered in Minseok's mind was—why him? Minseok was a nobody. He wasn't special, or talented, or even good-looking in the slightest way. He was just normal and monotonous. He couldn't understand why Luhan, out of so many people, chose to be with him. It boggled his mind.

 

Or was it just a ploy? Was Luhan acting all the while? It was probable, but Minseok didn't think anyone could act that well. Those times that they spent together—Luhan really seemed to have genuine feelings for Minseok.

 

Nobody could act that well—or could they?

 

Minseok really didn't know. He went to sleep with a hurting head and a heavy heart. 

 

---

A/N:

Made you wait too long oops :/ Drama mama this chapter heh. Finally, a twist to the story! xD

SIDETRACKING BUT FAHSJKDGJHLJHWE WHY SO SERIOUS IS DAMN NICE OMG EVIL IS MY NEW FAVOURITE SONG

(double sidetracking but somehow I'm starting to like MBLAQ now wae)

EVERYBODY ON THE LEFT

\o/