The Plan

              Daehyun felt sleep waning into consciousness, though he still refused to open his eyes.  “Just a few more minutes,” he grumbled to himself as he pulled his pillow tighter into his chest.  Wait… since when did pillows have hair? And noses? And breathe on his chest? Wait…he’s ? His eyes shot open and he startled when he looked down to see the still sleeping prince snuggled into his chest.  So last night… it was real? He smiled a goofy grin to himself as he gazed down at Youngjae’s angelic face, running his fingers through the short, brown locks.

                “Nnnnn… Daehyun….Ahhhh…Daehyunnie…” Daehyun started once again when he felt the prince’s voice coming out against his skin, but chuckled when he realized the younger boy was still sleeping and apparently dreaming about him.  He leaned down until his mouth was just above Youngjae’s ear.

                “You called, my prince?”

                Youngjae awoke with a start, eyes wide in shock and confusion as he looked up at the boy next to him.  “AHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Daehyun felt a fist in his gut and was thrown off the edge of the bed.

                “! What was that for?” he wheezed from the floor.  Youngjae cautiously peered over the edge of the bed.

                “Daehyun!  Crap, I’m sorry.  You scared me.  I’m not really used to waking up to people cuddling me in my bed.”

                “I’d hope not,” Daehyun retorted, rubbing his abdomen in an attempt to soothe the pain.  “What were you dreaming about anyway?  my name like that?”

                Youngjae’s cheeks flared an instant pink.  “Nothing! I was not your name! I was just-“

                “Youngjae, honey.  Are you in there?”  A knock and Queen Yoo’s voice came through the door.

                “!  !” Youngjae cursed, leaping off the bed and grabbing his robe.  “Quick! Under the bed!”

                “Are you serious?”

                “Youngjae?  Are you awake?” It was his dad’s voice this time.

                “NOW!” Youngjae growled in a hushed voice, shoving the knight underneath the bed and throwing his clothes in after him.

                “I’m coming!”  He ran to the door and opened it.  “What do you want?”

                “We were just coming to say that we’ll be leaving soon, so get ready.  Also, have you seen Daehyun?  They said he’s not in the servants’ quarters…”

                “Daehyun? Why would I have seen him?  I’ve been here all night.  You should know that.  He’s probably out running.  You know he’s obsessive about his training.”

                “Are those his boots?” Youngjae’s dad tried to peer around into the room but Youngjae quickly stepped in front of him.

                “No! They’re….they’re mine.  They’re new.  Why?  Are you going to start controlling what kind of footwear I can wear too, now? God.”  Youngjae’s harsh tone caused his father and mother to back farther out the door.

                “No, no. I was just wondering.  Alright, well, we’ll be heading downstairs…come down when you’re ready…” Youngjae’s parents quickly turned to leave before another fight like last night broke out and Youngjae shut the door behind them.  Daehyun came out from under the bed, now fully clothed.

                “That was a close call,” he sighed.

                “I thought you were going to head back!”

                “Hey! Don’t snap at me.  You were the one begging for me to lie in bed with you.  It’s not my fault I fell asleep after all that rigorous exercise.”  Daehyun gave Youngjae a suggestive wink and smirk, causing the younger boy to deeply flush.

                “Sh-shut up.  And get back to your quarter’s before they send a search party after you.”  Youngjae turned to start looking for his clothes.

                “Hey, you forgot something.” Youngjae turned back to the brunette who was now approaching him.

                “What?”

                “This.” Daehyun grabbed Youngjae by the waist, pulling him flush against his chest.  He lowered his lips onto Youngjae’s in a sweet, chaste kiss.  As he felt the younger start to soften and respond, he pulled away and Youngjae let out a small whine in protest.  “What?  If we keep going we’re just going to have a repeat of last night and then they really will be looking for me everywhere.” He smiled and patted Youngjae’s cheek before sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling on his boots.  “How are you feeling, by the way?”

                “A little sore,” Youngjae grimaced as he pulled a new outfit from his bag.  “But I’ll live.”  Daehyun finished with his shoes and walked up behind Youngjae, pulling him into a back hug against his chest.

                “We’ll just have to keep practicing and then eventually it won’t hurt anymore.” Daehyun smirked against Youngjae’s neck as the younger boy playfully smacked the hands that were tight around his waist.

                “How much practicing do you think we can get done in a week?” Youngjae sighed, his tone turning serious as he hugged onto Daehyun’s arms.

                “I’ll figure something out.  I promise.” Daehyun accented his statement with a kiss to Youngjae’s neck before letting the younger boy go.  “Ok, I’m going to sneak outside.  I’ll see you in a bit.”  Youngjae nodded and returned to the task of getting washed up and packed as Daehyun silently slid out the door.

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                “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” The three boys shouted at the prince once they were all safely in the carriage and on their way home.

                “Haha, thanks guys,” Youngjae blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

                “To celebrate the big 19 we made you some presents!” Jongup announced, digging around in his bag.  “Mine first.”  He pulled out a severely dented box, scrunching his nose as he passed it over.  “Well… I made it a couple of days ago and it may have gotten a little damaged in my bag…”  Youngjae opened it to find a very mushy mess inside.

                “What, uh…what is it?” He asked as he tried to inspect it closer. 

                “It’s a birthday cake!  I made it myself before we left.”  The younger knight dug around in his bag and produced four forks.  Each boy took one and tested a bite.

                “It’s uh…. It’s… Thanks, Jonguppie,” Youngjae tried to keep himself from gagging as he placed the box to the side.  “How about you, Junhong?”

                “Here you are, hyung.” Junhong handed him a rolled up scroll with a pleased look on his face.  “I drew a picture of the four of us!  A memory keepsake, you know?”  Youngjae unrolled it and revealed four badly drawn stick figures.

                “Ah, I see.  And who’s who?”

                “It’s not obvious?  The short one is Jonguppie, the one with the angry face is Daehyun-” Junhong quickly dodged the kick to his leg, “The one with the crown is you and the good looking, tall one is me!”

                “Well, thanks, guys,” Youngjae smiled as he rolled the paper back up and placed it safely in his bag.  No matter how awful the gifts were, he appreciated them.

                “Hyung, aren’t you going to give a present to Youngjae?”  Jongup asked the oldest boy.

                “Oh, I… uh… I gave it to him already…” Daehyun awkwardly answered.  Junhong raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, by the way, where were you last night?  You never came back.”

                “I… fell asleep somewhere else…” Junhong narrowed his eyes at the dodgy answer.  He noted the way Daehyun started looking out the carriage window and how Youngjae’s cheeks burned red as he started to fiddle with a coat button.  His eyes trailed down and for the first time he noticed their thighs pressed against each other.  Why were they sitting so close in such a roomy carriage?

                “You guys finally did… you know what…didn’t you?” Daehyun choked on his spit and coughed loudly as Youngjae looked up at his friend with wide eyes.

                “I- wha-no- wha- where did you get that idea?!  And what do you mean ‘finally’ ?” He managed to splutter out.

                “Did what?” clueless Jongup asked.  Junhong leaned in to whisper an explanation into his ear.  “Oh that?  They haven’t already been doing that?”

                “YAH!” Daehyun wasn’t sure if his face could burn any hotter.  He promptly kicked the two youngest members in the shins. 

                “We’ll take that as a yes,” Jongup hissed as he rubbed his sore shin.

                “I will make you walk outside,” Youngjae growled from behind his hands.

                “We’re just saying… anybody with eyes could have seen that it was coming,” Junhong tried to clarify.

                “So, are you guys like a couple now or something?” Jongup asked.  Youngjae shot Daehyun an uncertain glance.  They hadn’t actually discussed things this far.

                “Yes.  Yes we are,” the eldest said firmly, grabbing the prince’s hand in his.

                “Awwww, that’s cute,” Jongup squealed and Youngjae’s cheeks continued to blush as he looked down nervously.

                “Yeah.  Except for the part where Youngjae’s marrying somebody else in a week.”  Daehyun glared at Junhong’s callous comment.

                “I’ll figure a way out of it,” he shot back.

                “How, hyung?  Do you think you can just casually explain everything to Yongguk and he’ll just say ‘Ok!’ and give his blessing?  What are you going to do?”

                “I don’t know yet.  But we’ll run away if we have to.”

                “Run away?!” Youngjae’s eyes once again went wide with surprise.

                “That’s actually not a bad idea, Hyung,” Jongup piped up from his corner of the carriage.

                “Where would you go?  What would you do?  It’s not like you can just head to the woods out back and pray that nobody finds you.”

                “What about Koje?” Jongup interrupted Junhong.  Youngjae furrowed his eyes in confusion.

                “Koje?  What’s in Koje?  It’s so far away.  And what would we do there?”  But Jongup ignored the prince to turn his attention to Daehyun.

                “Don’t you remember Woo Jiho and his guys, hyung?”  The name triggered Daehyun’s memory.

                “From our trainee days, right?”

                “Yeah.  And they came here for that exercise training program two years ago.  They said if we ever needed anything to just let them know…”

                Daehyun pondered Jongup’s suggestion, biting his thumb nail as he became lost in thought.  If he could get word out to Jiho that he and Youngjae were coming, would he help them out?  They’d just need help getting to Koje and then getting settled and starting lives once they arrived there.  It was several countries over so they’d be hard to find there if they kept their heads down…

                “What would you think about it, Youngjae?” Daehyun turned to the prince.

                “About running away to Koje?”

                “Yeah.  You and me.  And Junhong and Jongup if they want to come too.  I’m not saying it’ll be easy.  We’ll have to leave our families and never see them again.  I won’t be able to take care of you like you’re used to, either.  You’d have to work.  But I promise I’ll do my best.  And we’d be able to be together without anyone stopping us, without anyone telling us what to do.”

                To say that Youngjae was nervous would be an understatement.  He had been a prince since birth.  And while he often complained about the royal life, it was true that he was incredibly pampered with no experience in hardships or work outside of his studies.  But when looked into Daehyun’s eyes he knew he’d be able to give it all up in an instant if it meant that they could be together.

                “Let’s do it.  Let’s run away to Koje.”  He shot a reassuring smile at Daehyun, whose face instantly lit up in his typical bright, eye smile.

                “What about you two?  Are you going to come too?” Daehyun turned to the two younger boys.

                “You really think we’re going to stay here and deal with the consequences of you two running away?  As if.”

                “Plus, there’s no way you two can stay out of trouble without us,” Jongup added with a coy grin.  Youngjae smiled happily as the future started to look a lot brighter.

                “Alright then, it’s settled.  Now we just need a plan.”

                The rest of the trip was spent with their heads huddled together, trying to get as much figured out as they could while they had perfect privacy.  Once they reached the castle again there was no telling who might be around a corner or behind a door listening in.  And thus they made a rough plan.  It wasn’t the most beautiful plan in the world, but it’d have to do with the time and resources they had available to them. 

               When they arrived home, Daehyun would immediately write to Jiho and his gang to ask for help.  He’d need them to come meet the four of them once they managed to get outside of Gogureyo and help them get to Koje.  He’d put a meeting place in the letter and pray for them to arrive.  Then once there, they’d need a place to stay and jobs to start a life. 

                On Youngjae’s part, he needed to tell his parents that he was alright with the marriage. Obviously he’d need to be convincing so as not arouse suspicion- telling them that he’d only agree to it if it meant that he got an increased allowance, was allowed to quit all of his royal lessons and that the three boys would come live with him.  Since the wedding was to be held in Goguryeo, this would ensure that they would all be there with luggage already packed, ready to escape.  They’d have to clear Goguryeo to get to Koje anyway and this would give them a head start. 

                Then, during the week, Youngjae would need to subtly collect any money and valuables that they could take with them to help them settle in.  They’d also need to leave some of it to their own families since they would no longer be able to provide them financial support.  Meanwhile, the other boys would map the escape route that they’d use late the night before the wedding.  And thus their plan was formulated.

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              “Why did you want to meet at the stables?” Youngjae asked once he arrived and saw Daehyun waiting outside.

              “Because I want to go somewhere with you.  Come on, I have everything ready.”  Youngjae was impressed to see that the knight had already saddled both horses.

              “Where are we going?” Youngjae asked as he mounted. 

               “It’s a surprise,” Daehyun winked and took off, Youngjae following behind.

               They rode rather quickly so the ride was mostly spent in a comfortable silence.  Youngjae was slightly confused as they passed by many usual landmarks in the woods but kept quiet and followed his now-official-boyfriend.  They finally broke through the tree line and were greeted by the expansive ocean.

              “The beach?  Your big surprise was the beach?” He laughed as he dismounted and started walking his horse forward, Daehyun following suit.

              “Well, it’s not really a surprise.  It’s more just… I wanted to come here one last time with you.   We’ve spent a lot of time here together and we’ll probably never see it again, you know?”

               Youngjae sighed.  He hadn’t thought of that.  The idea of leaving and never coming back had yet to truly sink in.  “There’s a beach there, right?”

              “Yeah, but it’s on the other side of the peninsula so it should be a different ocean.  And I think the beach is rocky instead of sandy.”

              “So this really is our last chance, huh…”

                Daehyun stopped walking and started going through his saddle bags.  “Here, help me unpack.”

               “What is all this stuff?” Youngjae asked as he was handed a big blanket.

               “A picnic,” Daehyun replied as he started unloading food.  Youngjae spread out the blanket and helped set everything in place.  Daehyun had brought a simple spread of breads, fruits, meats and cheeses, but it was enough.  “Even if we’re together, things are going to get really complicated from now on.  This might be the last chance we have for a while for a real date.”

               Youngjae smiled at the older boy as they settled down on the blanket and he leaned forward to place a kiss on his cheek.  “Thank you,” he whispered, “for always being there for me.”

              “My pleasure,” Daehyun replied as he turned his head to capture the prince’s lips in a sweet kiss. “But it’s not just that,” he clarified as he moved back.  “We also needed a secure place to talk.”

            “Ah, about the plan?”  Youngjae leaned back and began picking at the food spread in front of him.

            “Yeah.  You packed your decoy luggage, right?  So that we can hide the real suitcases in the woods earlier and not have to worry about them when you’re sneaking out of the castle?”

            “Packed and ready to go.”

            “Money wise, what did you manage?”

            “Right, I brought it with me.”  Youngjae began rummaging through his bag.  He pulled out a wad of cash and handed it over.  “It’s my entire savings.  Do you think it’s enough?  I also have all my jewelry that we can sell or trade later.  We just need to be careful about it being traced back to us.”  Daehyun hummed in agreement and began counting and placing the bills in four separate stacks.  “What are you doing?”

              Daehyun waited to finish until he answered.  “I think it’ll be enough.”

            “What’s with the four different piles?”

              “Well, one’s for us, obviously.  And then one each for our families.”  Youngjae noticed the dispirited expression on the knight’s face and scooted closer.

               “Is it going to be enough for them?  To make up for not having you?”   Daehyun picked up the pile of bills and thumbed through it once more.

               “It should be fine.”

              “Then what’s wrong?”

               “It’s just… I know I don’t get to see my family much now as it is, but… you know, I won’t even get to tell them bye.  Just slip in, leave the money and then never go back.  I hope my sisters grow up well.  I wanted to see it, you know.”

              Youngjae felt guilt burning his heart.  He knew that working for the castle had been hard on the other three boys.  Ever since they were young they had been forced to live at the castle, doing training and then later following Youngjae’s every movement.  They were only allowed to visit home a couple times a year.  And now, still because of Youngjae, they would never be able to see their families again.

             “I’m sorry,” he whispered, burying his face in Daehyun’s shoulder.  “We don’t have to go.  We can figure something else out…”

             “Youngjae,” Daehyun breathed out, lifting the younger’s face, “I’ll be ok.  I promise.  I’ll give up whatever it takes to make you happy.” 

               Youngjae smiled as he was pulled into a kiss, arms instinctively wrapping around the knight’s neck.  Without parting their lips, Daehyun swiped his arm and cleared the space behind them of food. He slowly lowered their bodies down until Youngjae was on his back and he straddled the younger boy, hovering over him.  He pulled back slightly and gazed down at the boy beneath him.  He knew he would never grow tired of seeing Youngjae’s blushing cheeks or glazed over eyes as he looked up at him, breathless with lust and love.

               “How about we get some practice in while we’re here?” he smirked and Youngjae nodded eagerly, dragging the older boy back down.

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Author’s note:

Hey guys.  I’m sorry this chapter is so… bleh.  I had a lot more planned out but it just wouldn’t all fit in one chapter properly, so it got pushed to the next one.  But I suppose some of this mildly important?  Now there is a plan!

The next chapter is already underway (finishing up page 5 as I post this one) since it was the part that I was actually excited about writing so I hope it will be up relatively soon and that you all won’t unsubscribe and curse me forever for giving you such an awful layover chapter.

Also, some last DaeJae fluffs for you before starts going down.

Until next time, my loves!

<3 Dani