MHP Ch. 3




Many weeks have passed since the news of the Prince’s marriage to Sungyeol’s sister. During the weeks that have passed by, preparations for the wedding ceremony have begun. Sungyeol’s sister and his mother have been going through fabrics after fabrics that will fit the next princess who will soon become the queen.


Of course Sungjong was happy for his sister to get married to the Prince, but he caught his Sungyeol’s eyes that linger on Myungsoo. He didn’t know what to think of it so he ignored it. Then as those weeks progressed, Sungjong saw how empty his brother’s eyes were.


However, Sungyeol noticed the way Sungjong was looking after him. He didn’t want to be a burden to his little brother so he pulled off a smile every time they were close to each other. Then just like that, Sungjong believed Sungyeol.


There wasn’t until another week when the ceremony would begin. Everyone is hustling around the palace grounds, trying to find ingredients, decorations, and making sure everything is perfect for the future of the prince and princess.


Many people, especially the king and queen, were excited for the wedding. There were a few exceptions as always. Myungsoo truly wasn’t excited for the wedding, and it was quite obvious that Sungyeol didn’t show excitement either. Though, both of them pulled off smiles so that nobody suspected them.


While these past weeks have flied by, to Myungsoo it felt like a thousand years. He was forced to practice for the marriage ceremony and look over more documents. During that time, the only person he wanted to see was Sungyeol, who was avoiding him like he was the plague.


Whenever their eyes met, Sungyeol was the first one to look away. Whenever they found themselves passing by each other, Sungyeol would run on by; not letting Myungsoo speak a word. Even when there were meetings, Sungyeol would turn to the ground.


Today, Myungsoo told himself, is the day he will talk to Sungyeol. No matter where he is, Myungsoo is determined to find him and talk to him. It felt like it has been forever since Myungsoo has last talked to him. To him, he needs to talk to his friend.


Honestly, he needs the support. Thinking about the marriage and taking over the throne: it haunts Myungsoo. The pressure...all of it is getting to his head. Everything that was running his life was making it seem like his life had no worth. The only thing that mattered was him getting married and becoming king.


While everyone else is running around, the prince is by himself in a secluded area. There was nobody to bother him here and he enjoyed the peace. Sure, he wanted to see and talk to Sungyeol today, but he hasn’t spotted him yet.


Then somewhere in the distance, he heard someone singing. Myungsoo stood up and wandered over there, wondering who was singing. He got closer and closer and the person’s voice got clearer. It sounded familiar, like it has been a while since he has heard this voice.


Myungsoo’s eyes widen when he sees Sungyeol sitting on a bench all by himself. The prince couldn’t help but be pulled in by Sungyeol’s voice. As a child, he remembers when Sungyeol would sing him a song he learned from his mother. Myungsoo would always be the first one to hear it.


He couldn’t contain it anymore so he spoke up.


“Sungyeol?” Myungsoo took a few steps forward, scaring Sungyeol in the process. The latter jumped from the bench, clutching onto his shirt as if his heart had popped out from his chest.


“Myungsoo-wangja, how come you are here and not getting ready for the wedding? It’s the best for you if you’re ready before it comes. I hope you know that it is arriving soon.”


The prince’s eyes harden, and Sungyeol caught that. He knew that he angered Myungsoo so he hurried to the other’s side and bowed to him. That caught off Myungsoo. He wasn’t expecting for Sungyeol to do that.


“S-Sungyeol, please don’t bow like that to me. You are my friend.” Sungyeol’s heart drops like an arrow that had been aimed badly. “Myungsoo-wangja, please, let’s go back to the palace. I’m sure the king and queen are looking for you.”


Sungyeol first walks away but then is stopped by Myungsoo. The prince’s hand was holding onto Sungyeol’s wrist, and tightly at that. It was like he was afraid of letting go of Sungyeol. Maybe it was like he was going to lose the other. That sort of feeling bubbled inside of him.


“M-Myungsoo-wangja, please let go of me. I have duties to attend to. As the same goes for you.”


His grip doesn’t loosen, though, instead it gets tighter. It even makes Sungyeol wince in pain. The latter tries to pull but to no avail. Sungyeol is surprised at the prince’s strength, wondering since when Myungsoo was this strong.


“Myungsoo-wan--” Sungyeol is pulled, making him turn around, and collide into Myungsoo’s body. On instinct, Myungsoo wraps his arms around Sungyeol causing the other to freeze up.


It was like time stopped for them. A gust of wind ripped by, followed with tons of peach blossoms. It created a little barrier around them as if it the petals were trying to protect this moment. The sun’s rays shined on them perfectly, giving the area beauty and life. Everything shifted around as the wind became a breeze and the peach blossoms glide to the ground.


Then it was replaced the the rustles of the tree, birds chirping, and flowers began to bloom around them. Neither of them noticed it as the other were immersed in each other. Myungsoo’s hold tightened and Sungyeol’s body relaxed. It was like two pieces that fitted each other.


The catch, though, was that two forces were pulling them apart. One piece is forced to fit with another and the other piece was left alone in the dust.


Alone and scared.


Scared and alone.


Two things he hated the most. What Sungyeol hated the most.


“Sungyeol, please, don’t ignore me anymore. As the future king, you have to pay attention to me from now on. I won’t let you look anywhere else but me. Understand?”


Myungsoo reluctantly let go and backed away a few steps. Sungyeol stared into Myungsoo’s eyes and let out a sigh. “I understand, Myungsoo-wangja. I don’t dare go against your order.”


And it ended at that. The two of them headed back to the palace grounds and to Myungsoo’s room. A few servants passed by saying the king wanted to see his son. Myungsoo didn’t want to go but with a few pushes from Sungyeol, he went.


When they entered the king’s room, Myungsoo’s father told Sungyeol he would like to speak to his son alone. “Myungsoo, where have you been? I need you to be prepared for this as well. Do you understand what your future wife is feeling right now? You should at least comfort her nervouseness.” The prince looked up at his father and let out a deep sigh.


“Father, I do not wish to marry her. Can I not choose who to marry?” Myungsoo’s father stood from his chair and walked over to him. Before Myungsoo knew it, the king had slapped his son across the cheek.


“You will not question your father who is as well the king of our country. Don’t you dare defy me or question my decisions for you.”


What the prince and king didn’t know, was that Sungyeol was listening to their conversation. And when he heard the slap, he couldn’t help but wince in pain. It was as if he felt the slap himself and hoped that Myungsoo wasn’t in pain. Suddenly, he remembered what happened earlier. The way Myungsoo hugged him as if Sungyeol was going to disappear.


Sungyeol wrapped his arms around himself and tried to remember the prince’s warmth. Slowly, everything comes running to him at full speed. The air was knocked out of him but he stood his ground as memories flooded him.


FLASHBACK

“Sungyeol, when we get older, you have to be my wife and queen. Okay? That way we can be together forever!” Myungsoo made a big arch to emphasize what he meant.


Sungyeol’s cheeks reddened at the thought of marrying the prince. “B-But we can’t Myungsoo! You have to marry a princess and I’m not a princess! I’m the son of a teacher. We cannot get married! I’m not even a girl either!”


This, however, disappointed Myungsoo that Sungyeol was objecting to marrying him. He justed wanted his friend to stay by his side forever and ever. Myungsoo didn’t want to be apart from his friend that he was willinging to marry him. Though he knew his father, the king, won’t let him. Even his mother was excited for Myungsoo to meet his princess in the future. At the thought of never being together with Sungyeol forever, he started crying.


“S-Sungyeol, why won’t you marry me?! Is it because I’m the prince?! I don’t want to be the prince anymore if I can’t be friends with you forever!”


Sungyeol, being a bit more mature, walked over to Myungsoo and wiped away the tears. He couldn’t stand the sight of the prince crying. But he knew what was best for the other. Despite at a young age, he was quite mature. Through his father’s teachings, he grew up too fast.


“Myungsoo, please don’t cry. Please?” Suddenly, Sungyeol started to cry as well and Myungsoo noticed it right away. “D-Don’t cry! I’m sorry! See, I’m not crying anymore!”


Myungsoo smiled brightly and it made Sungyeol stop. The prince let out a sigh of relief and hugged the other. It caught Sungyeol off but he reciprocated the hug. Warmth radiated off of Myungsoo and Sungyeol made sure to remember this day forever.


“Sungyeol, I love you.” Myungsoo smile even more if that was possible. The small confession made Sungyeol’s heart beat faster and his cheeks became red like a red rose.


“Me too... I love you...”


FLASHBACK ENDS

I love you too... My prince...


Tears dripped from Sungyeol’s eyes. One by one, they slathered Sungyeol’s cheeks and fell to the floor. Sungyeol quickly wiped them away when footsteps could be heard. He turned around so his back was facing the hallway.


“Sungyeol-sshi? Is that you.” Sungyeol cleared his throat and turned around. What he didn’t expect to see was Myungsoo’s sister.


“Oh, it’s very nice to see you here. Do you need to speak with the king?”


She nodded her head with a big smile. Then she clapped her hands and her cheeks flushed like flowers blooming in the spring. “I-I’m going to ask my father a favor. I hope he grants my wish.”


Sungyeol smiles at the princess and bows to her. “I hope that everything goes well for you. Tell the king I passed by. I will being going now.”


Without waiting for Myungsoo, Sungyeol walked out and headed to his home. Honestly, the palace air was making him feel constricted and he just needed to get out of there. People passing by recognized Sungyeol so they smiled and bowed to him. Sungyeol replied back and went on his way.


When he got home, his mother was surprised to see him home. His mother and sister just came back from the town. Sungjong was at school where his father taught at. Sungyeol walked inside and smiled to his mother and sister.


“Mother, I see you’re back. I hope the future queen hasn’t been tiring you out. You need to relax as well.”


She chuckled and started to organize a few things that were on the floor. “I’m quite alright. Thank you for worrying about me, Sungyeol. I’m very grateful for having such a caring son like you.”


Sungyeol walks over and helps his mother. While cleaning and organizing things, he sees a little charm. It’s white with a flower in the middle. The flower was a water lily from studying about flowers. He gently picks it up and looks at it with awe.


“Mother, where is this from? Does it belong to Naeun?” Sungyeol began to play around with it but when his mother saw it, she tore it away from him. His eyes widen when he saw his mother act that way. He bowed his head, apologizing right away.


“I-I’m very sorry! I won’t touch something that belongs to Naeun without permission,” he gets up and walks away, “I-I will be leaving.”


His mother holds the charm closely to her chest but Sungyeol doesn’t catch the tears that fall from her eyes.



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“Sunggyu-goon! Sunggyu-goon!”


Sunggyu turns around to see Woohyun running towards him. Woohyun had just came back from training subordinates at the training facility, and truthfully, Sunggyu was surprised to see him. In his eyes, Woohyun was slowly running towards him, the sun was shining just a bit brighter, and the other was smiling at him.


Woohyun stopped in front of Sunggyu and bows to him as usual. Then as usual, Sunggyu is flustered so he tells Woohyun to stop that. He makes the latter stand straight because he doesn’t want this kind of treatment. Sure, he isn’t treated as the future king, but he is still of royalty.


“Woohyun-sshi, is something the matter? What do you need of me?” Just the presence of Woohyun startle Sunggyu; making his heart pitter patter.


“I do not need anything from you, Sunggyu-goon. I just wish to see you as we haven’t had much time to talk.” Sunggyu is a bit flabbergasted at Woohyun, but holds it in. He doesn’t want the other to know how much Woohyun affects him.


The prince turns around and gestures for Woohyun to follow him. They head into the woods that are near the palace grounds, yet it was like they were very far from it. There wasn’t a conversation between the two of them but the air around them was comfortable. Sunlight peeked through the trees, creating little paths for them to walk through.


Through the winding trees and vines, they finally arrive to an open area. Woohyun’s eyes widen when he sees it, and Sunggyu simply smiles at the sight of the scenery and Woohyun. Thousands, maybe even millions, of different flowers scattered on the ground. You couldn’t even see speck of grass until you reach the peach blossom tree that is a bit further up.


Right above the beautiful place, the sky was blue like the ocean, the sun’s rays aimed right at the peach blossom tree creating a light shadow under it, and there were even butterflies flying about. This place to Sunggyu...is a memory that is held deep in his heart. To him, this place is his heaven: where he can think without being disturbed.


Woohyun, though, vaguely remembers this place. Somewhere in his mind, he sees a spit image of this beautiful heaven. Woohyun is the first one to step in and Sunggyu follows along. They silently walk to the tree, and butterflies scattered from under the flowers to the sky. Sunggyu looked up at the butterflies and reached forward, wishing he could be one as well.


“S-Sunggyu-goon, what is this place?” The prince snaps out of his thoughts and goes sit against the tree. He pats the space next to him as Woohyun sits down.


“This place...is my own little secret place. The only person I showed this to was a long time ago. I’m very sure he doesn’t remember this place from what I saw.” Sunggyu turns his head to Woohyun and smiles. Though that smile doesn’t reach Sunggyu’s eyes like it used to when they were younger, and Woohyun caught that. “Woohyun-sshi, what would you like to talk about?”


Woohyun looked down at his lap and played with his sleeves. He looked up at the empty sky and saw two birds flying by. “I do not know what I wish to talk about. However, I must inform you of something.”


“And what may that be?” Somewhere in his heart, Sunggyu fears as to what Woohyun is going to say. He feels like his heart isn’t prepared for it, but he knows, no, has already accepted for what is about to be said.


“The princess, your sister, wishes to marry me.”


In that second, Sunggyu’s heart shatters into a million pieces and get blown away in the sky. If it had been nighttime, then maybe Woohyun would have seen the shattered pieces shining in the sky. But it wasn’t: it was daytime and the stars were invisible. Like right now how nobody can see the pain he lives through everyday.


Sunggyu clutches onto his garment and shakily smiles. “I-I’m glad for you that my sister is already looking for a husband.” He stands up, body starting to shake. “Y-You two will be the perfect husband and wife. After Myungsoo and Naeun-sshi that is.” He bites onto his lip so that he can stop stuttering.


Suddenly, Sunggyu’s body collapsed to the ground. His hand clutched onto his shirt above the chest as he struggled to breath. Woohyun immediately went to the other’s side and started to panic.


“Sunggyu-goon! Sunggyu-goon!” Sunggyu couldn’t say anything as he continued to reach for air. Woohyun quickly lifted Sunggyu up and carried him in his arms.


Woohyun ran and ran back to the palace grounds. Out of nowhere, a sunlit path appeared before him. He thanked whoever was helping him and followed the path. Sunggyu started to wheeze and clutch his head in pain. This didn’t help Woohyun at all about worrying for Sunggyu.


When they arrived at the palace grounds, nobody took notice of Sunggyu. Everyone was paying attention to getting the wedding prepared. Woohyun got angry for the others to not notice that some one of royal blood was sick. He pushed his way through the crowd, and brought Sunggyu to the Sunggyu’s bedroom.


Carefully as he could, Woohyun laid Sunggyu on the bed. Then he looked through drawer after drawer for some kind of medicine. When he finally found one, he ran over to Sunggyu and helped him sit up. Sunggyu, though, wasn’t waking up. He was still coughing furiously and clutching onto his head. The prince wasn’t going to open his mouth anytime soon, so Woohyun went to his last resort.


Woohyun put some of the liquid medicine into his mouth and opened Sunggyu’s mouth with his fingers. He quickly closed Sunggyu’s mouth with his own, and passed over the medicine. Sunggyu wasn’t even in the right mind to realize what was happening. On the other hand, Woohyun realized what he was doing was wrong, but this was the only way to help Sunggyu.


However, the prince’s lips were soft to him like a feather. They tasted sweet and heavenly. And the way how Sunggyu’s eyelashes rested up his cheeks so delicately and just the taste of Sunggyu’s lips...felt like heaven.


Once the medicine was fully passed, Woohyun pulled away. He tried to spit out the bitter taste of the medicine and the memory of practically kissing Sunggyu. Though, when he saw that Sunggyu was peacefully sleeping, Woohyun let his body relax. His body reacted on its own as he got closer to Sunggyu and leaned down.


Sunggyu-goon, what is wrong? Why will you not tell me anything? I’m worried for you. I do not wish for you to suddenly disappear.


A tear unknownly slipped from both of their eyes as Woohyun pulled away and left Sunggyu’s bedroom.


Sunggyu, though, was not asleep as Woohyun had though. He was wide awake through everythinng. Sunggyu’s slim fingers touched his lips where Woohyun had given him the medicine. Mouth to mouth. Sunggyu knew better, though.


Tears began to pour down his cheeks as he sobbed in his room.


Woohyun, you don’t even remember that place is and will always be our heaven. Everyday I wait there, hoping you will come find me there. But the look in your eyes tell me the opposite. You do not remember and probably never will.


However, I won’t leave that place, Woohyun. No matter what happens, I will always be there. Under the sky and the stars, they will be my witnesses.


I love you, Woohyun. So please, please, don’t marry my sister.



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Dongwoo looked up at the sky and noticed something drastic. In many of other people’s eyes, there is only one sun. To him, he sees two, but one of them is fading. That one sun is fading faster by the day, and Dongwoo knows there is nothing he can do about it.


Suddenly, it starts raining, and Dongwoo runs inside. Then a sound of a thump catches him. He turns around and sees a still figure on the temple grounds. Dongwoo runs over to see if the person is living. A sigh of relief escapes when he feels a breath from the other’s mouth.


He lifts him up and helps carry him inside his home. Dongwoo strips off the luggage the other is carrying, and brings the stranger inside where it is dry. Then he gets a few blankets and lays them out on the floor. Dongwoo puts the stranger on the blankets and another one on top of him.


“Who are you?” Dongwoo mumbles to himself. The stranger begins to shiver so Dongwoo went to fetch a bowl of hot water. A towel is placed in the basin and then on the stranger’s forehead.


“Who are you?” He asks once again yet no answer.


After a while, Dongwoo falls asleep next to the stranger. When two hours pass, Dongwoo wakes up and see that the stranger is doing better. He is about to get up, but a hand around his wrist stops him. Dongwoo slowly turns around to see the stranger awake.

“M-My name is Lee Howon. And I’m here to stop a disaster from happening...”



---------------------------------------------



In the middle of the night, Sungyeol woke up with a startle. He clutched onto his sweaty shirt and frantically looked around the room. In his dream, nightmare, there were many people around him. He remember hearing his mother crying, even his siblings were crying as well. His father was just standing there with empty eyes.


Then he remembers the image of him pale, almost sickly looking. People were scurrying around him getting bottles and towels. What scared him the most in the nightmare, was being able to feel his younger self’s heartbeat.


There was no heartbeat...

(A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update! I just moved to a new place and I finally got the internet today! I've been writing chapters to the other fics so thank you for waiting patiently! Hope you enjoy this chapter!)