Donghae puts the finishing touches to his hair. His twists the long dark strands into a simple bun and secures it with an elaborate pin - one he wouldn't have normally chosen for daily life, in the shape of a lotus surrounded by extravagant lilies and studded with aquamarine. And just as he does, there is a shout ringing through the establishment in the form of his name.

He frowns, not bothering to listen. It's the same every night after all. "Donghae! Where is Donghae?!" he mutters in synch with the shouts that reverberate around in the house. "It's almost the hour of the dog and he still isn't down yet? What if he costs us the month's electricity because a potential client asks for him but he isn't there?! Donghae!"

He waves his arms sarcastically into the air as he imagines Mama-san would usually do, then drops them in surprise when a soft chuckle sounds from his left.

"Leeteuk-hyung! Don't scare me like that!" Donghae clutches his heart, which from the way it stutters, seemed to have stopped for a second. "I thought you were Mama-san!"

"Serves you right for playing the fool then," Leeteuk replies cheerfully, then, his plain white robe swishes across the floor as he settles next to his dongsaeng. His delicate hands pick up the outer sash, which Donghae has neglected and left lying on the floor.

Just as he is about to help wear it, Donghae stops him, "There's no point is there? It'll be off before half the night is gone anyway."

Leeteuk's eyes soften and a sad smile graces his lips, but he continues despite Donghae's words and ties the elaborate outer sash on anyway. "There. All presentable. Now go, before Mama-san has a fit."

Donghae sighs and reluctantly nods. Then, despite his unwilling expression, he rises with a grace that surpassed even most girls. It was that grace, Leeteuk reflected, that made Donghae one of the most popular Zinnia in the country.

"I'll see you tomorrow, hyung." Donghae tries to smile cheerfully at the elder, but Leeteuk can see the frustration that lay deep inside the younger's honey brown eyes.

"Ah!" The show of Donghae's rebellion reminds him. "Do you have your pouch of ambrosia?"

A sigh, then a glass-like clink as Donghae opens a pouch of what appears to be colourful balls of hard candy. "It's here, but you know I'm not going to use it."

"Why not, Donghae?" Leeteuk asks even though he knows. "You know it'll make things easier."

"Only for those who have given up leaving this hell-hole." Donghae replies curtly, before he leaves, blue silks skimming over the ground.

Hearing Mama-san's cry of relief and the nagging that naturally followed, Leeteuk steps closer to the window and looks up at the natural sky.

And as always, he offers a prayer to God, asking that, for once, Donghae's customer would be kind.

~*~

Hyukjae enjoys coming to the floating world on Market day, the only day he is free to do whatever he wants. But not so much for of the wares they offered. Instead it’s because he can leave those two swords behind at the gates. Those two swords which he has to carry everywhere else. Those two swords which draw crowds to him, pushing whatever they can at him, hoping that his favour will fall on the thing that he chooses.

Those two swords which mark him as the second prince of this country.

It’s like shedding a pair of shackles, and he always loves leaving them to the gatekeeper, who no doubt hates the responsibility his prince left to him – both of the physical welfare of the swords, and the silent agreement to secrecy – that no one should know that the second prince was visiting such a vulgar place in his free time because of a loose-mouthed gatekeeper.

He’s in such a good mood, that for five minutes, he just traipses around, grinning like an idiot at everything he sees.

A soft cough reminds him that he isn’t alone, and he turns to see Yesung tapping his foot impatiently. “Well, time is ticking and the best of the Zinnia are getting taken. Are we going to carry on with business or were we actually just here to take a walk.”

Hyukjae laughs and tilts his head, signalling for them to follow him. He doesn’t blame Yesung for his impatience – his two personal guards always drew lots for every time they came with here, and the one who won would get to be in the company of a Zinnia of their choice, the money taken out of Hyukjae’s own purse, and this time, it was Yesung who had won.

It’s an arrangement Hyukjae had thought up which had already reaped several benefits – some of which being his popularity with the guards that he was assigned, as well as paring down one less pair of eyes to look in on the life that was supposed to be private to him.

“Finally!” Yesung grins, smoothing down his jacket, pretending to be more desirable than he really was as they march towards the row of cages where the beautiful Zinnia are displayed. Hyukjae grins at him and shakes his head – this is the third time Yesung has won in a row. And for all the fail that this bodyguard of his is, he seems unnaturally lucky when it comes to winning this little competition.

Truth to be told, Hyukjae is rather glad that Yesung had won again. Other than the fact that he could slice a man into half with a lazy flick of his sword, the guard is ridiculously innocent. He’s sure Yesung’s idea of a fun night with a Zinnia encompasses taking him or her for a walk down the food alley and then going to the lake to see the stars.

He isn’t so sure about his other guard – a stoic man named Kangin. Hyukjae rarely got a word out of the man, and whenever he did, it was usually to tell Hyukjae of the arrivals of important people and documents. Which is good, because Yesung tended to forget that outside of Hyukjae and a select few others, most people in the palace were stuffy and sticklers for protocol. He is sure that Kangin would protect his prince with his life, which Kangin would be doing tonight, but other than that…

“Hey, look. There’s a huge crowd over there.” Yesung points out and Hyukjae looks over. There is indeed a crowd, and curious, he moves forward, trying to see what has caught the attention of the masses.

And when he sees what all the commotion is about, elbowing his way close to the front, he realizes that there is indeed a cause for a commotion.

In front of him, is the most beautiful man he has ever laid eyes upon – dressed in a royal blue kimono that is modest, yet elegant at the same time; his hair, long and silky tied in the simple style of the male Zinnia, held up by an elaborate lotus pin.

This man’s name was Renge then – the lotus. A water flower.

But what catches Hyukjae’s eyes is not the beauty, nor the finery. Instead, it is the spark in this man’s eyes that Hyukjae has never seen in any of the Zinnia before.

He eyes the small pouch that sits by the man’s waist, and he observes, with a growing smile, that the Zinnia doesn’t play with it, clinking the contents inside – in fact he doesn’t touch it at all.

And Hyukjae knows that he wants to be in the company of this Zinnia tonight.

~*~

The bidding for hours with a Zinnia is like bidding for anything else. You call out the amount you with to pay, for the number of hours you want and for what purpose you wish to use the Zinnia for. And by the end of the round, the caretaker of that Zinnia you’re bidding for will announce the winning bid and you claim your prize. It is similar to bidding for a pretty plant, or a prized calf, or a nicely-crafted cupboard.

If the Zinnia is less popular, then this process will repeat several times a night, a scant few minutes after the first customer returns him or her. But for a Tayuu of the house like Donghae, it happens only once – right at the hour of the Dog, because for a jewel like Donghae, the rich can afford to pay for the whole night.

Donghae swallows a sigh as he stares at the scene that happens every night. He hears the calls of crowd and ignores them. He knows those that the one who will have him tonight will not come from the hollering screams – instead it is those that send their servants with the white slips of paper that would have a chance.

He recognizes all of the servants that come tonight – it is the usual few, and for Mama-san, she would consider this a slow night. A repeat customer usually would not give extra tips or do extra things. But Donghae supposes this is good – he won’t have to deal with anything new tonight – routine lets him think about other things.

Thus, he instead, he focuses his attention to the process of the bidding to his right. It is the bidding for one of the newer Zinnia of their establishment – a fetching, feminine boy who went by the name of Bara. Too new to be given the likes of ambrosia, but popular enough that he attracts crowds nearly as big as Donghae’s. He looks terrified and Donghae’s heart goes out to him.

Looking at the potential clients, Donghae picks out the one most likely to get him and his lips thin. The man has gotten Donghae before, and he is rough with his actions – too rough for the likes of the fragile boy beside him, Donghae decides.

He feels eyes on him and he looks back up to see Bara staring curiously at him. And Donghae smiles, giving him a reassuring grin, winking at him before his eyes shift to Bara’s potential client. Tilting his head, Donghae signals for Bara to watch before he makes his move.

He catches the attention of that client with a simple lift of his hand, fiddling with the pin on his head so that the jewels flash in the colourful light. It takes a while but the potential client finally turns to Donghae instead.

And now, all Donghae knows that all he has to do is to lower his head, peering from under fluttered eyelashes at the man.

There is a pause, and he can feel the man’s full attention on him. And he looks up, eyes liquid amber, before he looks away.

He doesn’t need to look to know that the potential customer has pulled his servant back before he can go and directs the servant towards Donghae’s caretaker instead.

Donghae is satisfied and he smiles at Bara, who smiles gratefully back. Either the potential client’s reputation is that famous, or Bara has had him before. But Donghae is glad he could help. God knows that Bara would have worse as the years passed, so what was one more year of relative ease?

They both return to their passive states, Donghae ready to settle into boredom again when something catches his eye – a crop of finely grown golden hair. A westerner?

No… Donghae’s sharp eyes correct that thought. Not a westerner… just someone who has hair like theirs, and now that Donghae takes a second look, he sees the black roots of that someone’s hair. It is dye – good dye. Dye only the rich could afford.

However, Donghae has never seen him before. He is a rogue element. And rogue elements usually don’t bode well.

Donghae feels nervous, feeling the man’s eyes on him… yet at the same time, he feels strangely hopeful.

It is something to think about as the last bids are collected and the round begins to close.

~*~

Hyukjae is no stranger to the real process of the bidding in these higher end establishments. Rarely did those who made the most noise get what they wanted. Instead, it was the quiet power that won, and he had easily gotten Yesung to fill in his bid, stamped with the royal seal that was sure to win it.

Hyukjae rarely uses such methods to secure a bid, finding it cowardly, as well as risky. But tonight, he has no qualms in doing so.

Men, whatever sort they are, are instinctively savage when it comes to the things they want.

He watches quietly as the caretaker subtly looks through the slips or white paper, then he sees her pause and knows she recognizes the royal seal.

Or perhaps she sees the seal, doesn’t recognize it, but knows it’s important enough to tuck into her obi. Hyukjae doesn’t really care, as long as it gets to grace the interest of the proprietor of the place.

It comes as no surprise to him when his name is announced as the winner’s. Well, not his name really - a pseudonym rather. ‘Eunhyuk’. Something he uses when he’s out on the streets and doesn’t want to be known.

He smiles, satisfied that he has gotten his prize. And when he turns and notices Yesung staring at the Zinnia betting just on the right of his, he slips a white paper and a huge sum of money into Yesung’s robe.

Patting the surprised guard with a grin, he says nothing and makes his way up to the landing and is ushered inside. A room will be prepared for them, sound-proofed and private for whatever they will do.

Hyukjae catches the eye of the Zinnia and finds suspicions in it. He shrugs to himself – the Zinnia will find out soon enough that there is nothing to fear from him.

~*~

Obviously, Donghae thinks otherwise as he is pulled aside from following the mysterious customer and into a room so violently it’s like a scene out of a cartoon.

He lets out a squeak of surprise before he realizes it is Mama-san who faces him. And he colours as she stares at him in stern disapproval. “I hope you won’t squeak like that in front of the prince.”

“Of course not, Mama-san…” Donghae begins before the whole of Mama-san’s sentence finally sinks into his brain. “Wait… what prince?”

Mama-san mutely hands Donghae a slip of white paper and Donghae takes it. His eyes widen as he sees the seal on it. It takes a while though, before Donghae matches the seal to the memories in his mind to distinguish why he knows it’s important. He’s only seen it several times on official letters Mama-san reads to them, but there’s no mistaking it.

It’s the royal seal.

Gaping, Donghae doesn’t protest when Mama-san takes back the paper. But when she begins to lecture on how Donghae should behave in the prince’s presence (second prince actually, from his hair. The crown prince is proper as they come while the second was the notorious dastardly royal bastard), Donghae begins to resent the prince for upsetting his relatively peaceful night.

Barely keeping from rolling his eyes and tapping his foot in impatience, Donghae bears the lecture with a poorly concealed disdain.

He hasn’t even met the prince properly yet, and already, Donghae hates him.

~*~

Hyukjae’s never been really made to wait before, and it’s a novel experience, this itchy scratchy of anticipation. However, he deduces that if it were a more serious situation than just meeting a Zinnia, like waiting for a loved one to come out from the operating room, Hyukjae wouldn’t like this feeling very much.

He has time to observe that the wallpaper, with the dragonfly print, is not blue as he first thinks, but a rather fetching blue-green that borders almost into turquoise. He also has time to pick at the tatami mats – a secret hobby of his that his etiquette trainers has always treated as a vice. But it is interesting what he can find hidden there, lost among the straws by human error – a hairpin, a coin, a piece of plastic that looks like it could have belonged to a toy.

He has garnered quite a collection by the time a maid comes knocking on the door, apologetic for making him wait. He sweeps his collection of prizes into his pocket and smiles at her, shaking his head. By the time the Zinnia slides open the door with an elegant hand, there is no sign of the childish Hyukjae, only the proud visage of a prince.

They exchange the usual platitudes. Greetings, the exchange of names. The Zinnia introduces himself as Renge, confirming Hyukjae’s suspicions, and he in turn introduces himself as Eunhyuk, and from the look on Renge’s face, he can tell that Renge knows that both of them weren’t using their real names.

There is an awkward silence thereafter, which Hyukjae feels suffocated in. Somehow, for a top-notch Zinnia whose expertise is entertainment, he certainly isn’t making Hyukjae feel welcome.

Finally, after a few minutes of trying to squirm discretely, Hyukjae opens his mouth to talk just as the Zinnia does the same.

“So what do you want to do?”
“What do you wish to do with me, sir?”

“Eh?” They both say at the same time. Then there is a pause as Renge turns away in embarrassment of making such an inelegant sound, and Hyukjae is left blinking at how their questions, although similar, had such vast differences in meaning.

“I don’t… wish to do anything to you…” Hyukjae says after a pause and awkwardness. The statement causes Renge to turn and face him with a stare that makes Hyukjae rush through the next part of his sentence. “But I don’t mind doing something with you.”

There is a deafening silence in which Hyukjae swears he could here the crickets chirping in the willow glade ten li from here.

“…There’s a difference?” there is a skeptical tone in Donghae’s voice and Hyukjae can see in Renge’s eyes that he has marked Hyukjae for a fiend and is thinking of something much more rated than what Hyukjae meant.

“No! No!” Hyukjae blushed crimson, nearly falling back in surprise and embarrassment. “I didn’t mean that kind of something! I meant like… going to the movies! Or playing games! Or-”

“Luring me into a false sense of security before you act?”

“Ye- what? No!” Hyukjae stares baffled at Renge. He wonders how this Zinnia has become the Tayuu of the house behaving like that. Then he sees a glimmer of amusement in this Zinnia’s eye and he has to admit to himself that the spirit behind this sort of behaviour was what had caused Hyukjae to choose to spend a good sum of money on Renge in the first place.

Hyukjae calms himself, taking a few deep breathes before shrugging. “Well… if you’re so certain that I’m going to do something to you, then I guess my money will be kind of wasted for tonight.”

Hyukjae seems to turn his attention to the tatami mats, but in secret, he peers up at Renge, who seems surprised at the announcement. He hides a smile at the look of confusion when minutes pass and Renge realizes Hyukjae is serious. Finally, as if unable to stand it any longer, Renge opens his mouth to ask. “What do you mean?”

“Well… obviously you and I have different ideas of what entertainment entails. And you only seem to be interested in your kind… which I will definitely not partake in.” Hyukjae looks up with a small smile. “So I will have to amuse myself instead.”

Now it’s Hyukjae’s turn to be amused when the Zinnia gets irritated at the implication. “I am not only interested in… that kind of entertainment-”

“Really? Then why do you seem intent for me to do it with you?” Hyukjae raises an eyebrow and watches Renge colour.

“I AM NOT-” Renge realizes his voice has risen and coughs, quietening back down. “I am not intent for you to do it with me. It’s just that every customer that I’ve had seems to have that agenda in mind.”

Hyukjae stares at Renge in incomprehension. “Every customer?”

There is a roll of eyes and then a nod.

“But surely…” Hyukjae takes a moment to properly formulate his sentence. “…there must be one or two who just wishes for conversation and company?”

Renge is surprised at the man’s naivety, then he realizes it’s probably because he’s been coddled inside the palace, his eyes shielded from things the higher society deemed improper. “Perhaps for a lower-ranked Zinnia.” Renge answers patiently. “But for in the situation of the Tayuu like me… well, when one pays so much for something, might as well make full use of it. It’s just making the best of one’s money.”

“So… the last time you went out for a movie was…?”

“…I don’t know…” Renge confesses truthfully. “It’s been a while certainly.”

Hyukjae is quiet for a while, but it is a thoughtful quiet. And when he is done, he looks up with a twinkle in his eye as he stands up and unceremoniously grabs Renge’s hand. “Well then it’s settled!”

Renge nearly stumbles as he is practically dragged down the corridor, and they both startle everyone they pass. “Hey! Wait! Where are we going?!”

“The movies of course!” Hyukjae answers with a merry tone and they are out in the open in no time, Renge barely having any time to grab his coat as they rush out.

Stunned, Renge lets the prince drag him along without any protest for a few minutes. What was this? Why was the prince taking him to the movies? Renge wasn’t a cheap Zinnia, and even if Mama-san had chosen the prince’s bid more for the prestige than the money, it would have still been a pretty sum, knowing the nobility and their pride. So why was he wasting all that for something as simple and time-wasting as a movie?

Turning back, Hyukjae sees the scandalized look on Renge’s face and laughs. “Why? Worried I’ll do something to you in the dark of the theatre? Don’t worry, I’m not that crass. I promise I won’t touch you at all.”

Renge colours at the assumption, but before he can rebuke, Hyukjae has already turned back and is pulling Renge even faster through the street. So fast that the lights and sights that Renge had grown up with becomes a blur, and all he can see is that strong, lithe figure with the crop of golden hair that is leading him.

~*~

The movie is good – a safe movie meant for family and children. It is not shown inside the floating world, which means Eunhyuk has to smuggle Renge out in order to watch it, and Renge is grateful to get out of that suffocating district for at least a while, even if it meant that he’d be d in the dark for it.

But much to Renge’s surprise, Eunhyuk is a man of his word. He keeps his hands to himself and the only time he touches Renge is when he reaches over for the drinks and accidentally brushes against the Zinnia’s hand. Even then, he apologizes and Renge can’t really concentrate on the movie after that.

After it is over, they take their time to walk back. And through their walk, they talk about simple things, asking simple questions. It is here that Renge finds out that Eunhyuk’s favourite colour is blue, the same as his. And that they both enjoy looking up at the night sky, staring at the stars.

For some reason, Renge blurts out his belief in aliens, and to his surprise, Eunhyuk engages him in an intelligent discussion about the speculated life that is out there. By the time Renge realizes the conversation has moved on from that to taxes, to flowers, to human rights, to food, to art, to literature, to games, to how fast time has passed, they are back in the floating world at the door of the Zinnia establishment Renge works for. And he suddenly wishes for the first time that the night could be longer.

Eunhyuk is polite to the point as he drops Renge off, playing the part of the perfect gentleman, and making Renge feel too much like a delicate lady. There is a pause, and as if embarrassed to ask, Eunhyuk runs a hand through his golden hair. “Uh… I’m sorry if this is presumptuous of me… but would you mind if I come back and meet you again next week? I always come here during my free time on Market day.”

Renge doesn’t know how to reply, and all he can say is – “Well, you’ll have to win the bid first…”

A slow but unsure smile creeps onto Eunhyuk’s mouth, and taking it for a tentative ‘maybe’, he nods, understanding as he begins to leave.

Somehow, that look tugs at Renge’s heart, and he finds himself calling out to Eunhyuk. “Wait!”

Eunhyuk turns around, a curious look on his face, and Renge finds himself half wanting to pull the man back into the house even though the time the prince has paid for has already ended. He opens his mouth to ask anyway.

But for some reason, what comes out of his mouth instead is - “Donghae.”

“…What?” Eunhyuk blinks, frozen to the spot as he stares at the beautiful silhouette Renge makes, standing against the back light.

“Donghae… that’s my real name.”

And then, he loses his breath when Eunhyuk turns to him with a brilliant smile…

~*~

“You look happy.” Is Leeteuk’s statement as he sees the soft glow of Donghae’s cheeks as the younger hurries back to his room.

Startled, Donghae stares at Leeteuk in confusion, before he just shakes his head and rushes into his room like an embarrassed schoolgirl. Leeteuk stares – Donghae has never behaved like this before.

He peeks into Donghae’s room and sees the younger smiling at a beautiful comb that has the design of the chrysanthemum carved into it. And Leeteuk knows that it is a gift from the second prince because the chrysanthemum was adopted by the Royal Family as the Imperial flower at least a century ago.

“Hyukjae…” He hears Donghae whisper and he sees the blissful grin as Donghae traces the pattern in the carved ivory with a delicate touch, and Leeteuk knows exactly what he is seeing.

That night, he gets on his knees in thanks to God for answering his prayers.

~*~