Common Love

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Two heavy taps could be heard coming from the Royal Announcer and silence fell. “Ahem, announcing his Royal Majesty, the great leader of our beloved kingdom; King Park Dae Hwang and his Queen Son Hye In!” The orchestra began playing a glorious fanfare, the brass filling the room with magnificent music. The audience clapped loudly as the King and Queen walked gracefully down the stairs. The crowd bowed as they went by and carried on clapping until the King raised his hand for silence.

“Welcome my people, children of this kingdom.” His proclaimed with a deep but aged voice, “Another year has passed since our last gathering; I sincerely hope you have all been well…” The crowd stood silent and listened to their wise leader. However not every individual felt that way.

“…I’m bored …I’m bored …I’m bored” Henli muttered, picking at the buttons on his jacket, kicking the floor softly. He nudged his brother.

“Hyung is His Majesty going to be finished soon?” He whispered. Sungmin frowned and held a finger to his lips. Henli sighed impatiently and looked towards his noona.

“Noona … I’m bored…” he moaned quietly. She swiftly hit his back with a sharp but powerful slap as discreetly as possible to not draw any attention. Henli looked at her with a stunned expression but as he opened his mouth to argue, she responded with a glare that would have struck fear into the mightiest of men. He just dipped his head away from her and carried on mumbling to himself.

“Why did I come in the first place =_=”

Henli was on the verge of fainting (or so he thinks) from lack of food. But finally after 15 minutes or so (although it seemed like hours to Henli) the King announced, “Now please make your way to our dining court where a feast will be served ~ enjoy!” The crowd applauded loudly and dispersed following the King to the dining hall.

“Finally he says something that sounds good!” Henli said excitedly patting his stomach. Sohee hit him squarely in the head.

“Henli where did your manners go?? Especially in front of the king!!” She hissed holding up her hand to hit him again.

“Hyu…” He turned to complain to Sungmin but got hit by his hyung instead. Henli looked at him with a horrified look ~ hyung doesn’t hit him!

“I know you teach sports but I’m quite sure father brought you up to understand manners too.” Sungmin said disapprovingly. Henli pouted.

Seeing the commotion, Ryeowook steps in and pulls Henli away with him, patting him softly on the head. “Come on that’s enough, let’s go eat, I’m starving ~” Ryeowook wondered following the crowd. Henli brightened up from the mention of food and skips happily along with him.

The dining room was quite large; a table was raised above the rest in which the King sat in the centre, with the Queen, the Duke and the two mistresses on either side of him. The King had a seating plan drawn up which mixed everyone together so some lucky girls and boys might find themselves sitting next to Princes and Princesses. The food served was very exotic, plates from distant lands were being served and the hall was filled with animated discussion. However, not everyone was fully in the party mood.

Prince Seunghyun, the Duke’s eldest son, didn’t have the friendliest exterior. He had a cold air about him, and his expression was permanently solid. No one seemed to see him smile, he was just frosty. The lady sitting next to him was frozen stiff. She dared not move and couldn’t even bare to start up a conversation in case she was shot down. Changmin, Seunghyun’s brother, was sitting further along the table and thought to help the lady out. He excused himself from the table and approached her.

“Excuse me miss do you mind if we swap seats I have some business with my brother” He smiled softly. The girl looked at him gratefully and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Sure you highness, it’s no problem at all.” She quickly got up, bowed to them both and walked hastily away. Changmin watched her as she left chuckling softly.

“I see you’re going around scaring the girls again hyung~” he teased turning back to his brother. Seunghyun rolled his eyes.

“It’s not my problem...” he said lazily staring blankly at his younger brother. Changmin sighed.

“Hyung what am I going to do about that personality of yours, seriously just smile once in a while and people won’t think you’re a cold hearted brick” He smiled cheekily.

There was an eerie silence before Seunghyun suddenly says, “Changmin-ah, I’m going to do it tonight.” He looked deep into Changmin. Changmin’s smile faded and was frowning slightly.

“Hyung are you sure, in front of everyone....” Changmin said with a hushed and worried tone. Seunghyun nodded slowly. “This is the only way for it to work. If it was behind closed doors then everything will be hushed and rejected” Seunghyun replied, a hint of anxiety in his voice. Changmin bit his lip and nodded, grasping his brother’s hand tightly.

“Do what you think is right hyung, you have my support …” he smiled darkly at him...

As the food disappeared, the people started to retire back into the main hall. The orchestra restarted and people began to dance. It was slow and steady, but had an air of excitement to it. As the dance finished everyone disperse from the dance floor except for one man who was walking towards it. Prince Seunghyun bowed deeply. Everyone stared at him confusedly. Why was the unsociable Prince standing in the middle of the hall attracting so much attention? The corner of his mouth pulled up slightly as he walked towards a small group. He pulled out a girl from the crowd and softly led her towards the middle of the room.

Minah, unable to comprehend what was happening to her grabbed a hold of her brother’s hand and pulled him with her, leaving their town friends staring at them with clear shock on their faces. Everyone backed away leaving the three of them. There was a sea of whispering, “What did she do?” “Why did he pull out a commoner?” “Who is she?” “Is it a love triangle?” “Wow she’s hot~”

Sohee and Hyoyeon looked at each other confused; Yesung, Sungmin, Henli and Ryeowook raised eyebrows but were looking more at Zhou Mi than Minah.

“What the hell are you doing?” The Duke growled preparing to charge in there. Changmin grabbed his arm and held him back. “Father not in this crowd.” He said firmly. The Duke hesitated and looked at his youngest son Minho. Minho nodded slowly. The Duke stood still and waited.

Seunghyun took a deep breath and held Minah’s hand softly. His heart was pounding.

“My dear family and the fellow people of this country, sorry for my interruptions to the festivities but I would like to take this opportunity to do something I’ve been meaning to do for quite a while now.” He looked directly at his father. “This woman ~ this... wonderful woman is the love of my life ~” He said much more softly. “I would like everyone present to witness this moment ~ tonight I wish to ask for her hand in marriage.” He smiled at her gently.

As he turned to face the King, Minah took the chance to hide behind her Oppa, everything was happening too fast for her. The crowd was...lost for words. Sohee was stunned and held onto Hyoyeon for balance. All the attention was now getting too much, Zhou Mi tried his best to comfort his sister who was trembling like mad.

“I told you it was possible!!!” Henli whispered in a content yet confused way, the others could only agree with the statement because it really was happening...

“I know this is a very big step away from traditions, that’s why I wanted to take this opportunity where everyone is here; to make the moment in history where there are no longer barriers separating the people of this kingdom.” Seunghyun said confidently. The crowd was whispering amongst themselves enthusiastically. Women were swooning; men were inspired by his righteousness. Changmin grinned happily. The Duke, on the other hand, was furious. He turned dark red and grabbed hold of Minho to keep him supported. Minho looked on in pure disbelief. 

“W-w-why, this is preposterous!! Why a Prince and a commoner, who’s ever heard of such a thing!” The Duke roared, causing the crowd to silence. Seunghyun ignored him and walked closer towards the King.

“Dear uncle will you allow me to take this beautiful woman as my princess?” He looked at him pleadingly. The King paused for a moment and cleared his throat.

“A marriage between royalty and common folk is unheard of throughout the history of this kingdom… “, he wavered. The Queen gently nudged him and smiled.

The King smiled gently, “but I am not one to be an obstacle in the path of love and I do believe it is not my permission you should be seeking.”

He held his hand towards the Zhou siblings. Minah was still hiding Zhou Mi, too scared to move. Seunghyun bowed to the King deeply and turned towards the siblings.

“Zhou mi hyung, you and Changmin are the only ones who knew of our love” The friends looked at him in sheer disbelief, “I know you have always been worried about the pressure Minah will have due to the great difference in our ranks. But now that I have taken this step, I will dedicate my life to protect your sister from all harm that comes her way. I hope that you will give me your blessings” Seunghyun bowed deeply towards him. Zhou Mi smiled, and gently pushed his younger sister towards him and nodded. Seunghyun smiled brightly and got on one knee. The entire crowd held their breath.

“Minah, I have received the blessing needed for us to be properly united. Now I just seek one word from you. I love you and want to be your knight, protecting you from all harm for the rest of my life. Will you grant this wish of mine?” He unveiled from his pocket a purple box and opened it to find an intricate white gold entangled rose, with a little pure simple diamond placed delicately in the middle. “Will you marry me?” He looked at her with eyes of pure affection. His voice was smooth and rich with not the slightest bit of nervousness. Minah gasped slightly, forgetting about the crowd and looked at him with endearing looks. Her eyes filled with happy tears. She couldn’t speak but nodded gently laughing slightly.

Seunghyun laughed with her, placed the ring tenderly upon her finger and stood up. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, crying softly. The crowd was in uproar cheering and shouting in celebration. The King and Queen clapped excitedly and even Prince Heechul and Lady Sulli clapped, even though they weren’t too pleased by the idea.

The Duke was fuming. His son, a crowned Prince, was marrying a commoner. “Minho we’re leaving. NOW.” He roared storming out of the castle, Minho following close behind. Changmin sighed and rolled his eyes. He turned back and pushed his way to his brother. He applauded and cheered loudly.

The King signalled to the orchestra to play again. They began playing a soft romantic waltz. Seunghyun and Minah, not letting the other out of their arms began to dance, still laughing and kissing softly. The King and Queen joined, inviting the entire room to join in.

Zhou Mi stood happily watching them when he was ambushed viciously from behind. Sohee held him in a headlock whilst Hyoyeon held his arms.

“Right mister! you have a lot of explaining to do!” She whispered darkly. The boys were still in a state of shock apart from Henli. He was too excited by the fact that it was now possible for royalty to marry commoners...

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Hehe ~ I couldn't resist playing on TOP and Shin Minah's past relationship XD