***

Awkward moment.

Jaehwan tried to snap out of his temporary dreams so he spoke as he looked at random places to find a good topic to talk about. He immediately pressed the stop button on his phone and put it in his pocket.

"U-Uh, I didn't know you can sing," Jaehwan said, looking elsewhere. He entered slowly, walking towards Prince Leo who closed the fallboard. In panic, his fingers got caught and he screamed in pain. "Prince Leo!" Jaehwan cried as he finally looked at the prince. He ran towards him, sat beside him and held his injured hand. "This looks worse than I thought. Let's-"

"Go away," Prince Leo snatched his hand from Jaehwan. "Why are you even here? Didn't I tell you to-"

"Stop being an right now, Your Highness," Jaehwan said as he snatched the prince's hand back. "You're injured so we need to take you to the clinic."

"Mind your own business, Lee Jaehwan," The prince stood, taking his hand back once again. He almost walked out when Jaehwan stood and said something that stopped him.

"I will sell this video to the media if you don't listen to me!" Jaehwan shouted. Prince Leo stopped. "I-I... I didn't want to use this for blackmail but you're too hard-headed."

Prince Leo turned to him saying, "I would sue you for that."

"I don't care. I don't know why you don't show everyone that you can sing and I know that you have a huge reason for that, but I am not afraid to show this to the whole world if it's what would make you obey me," Jaehwan said with conviction. "Your hand needs medical attention right now so listen to me."

Prince Leo sighed in defeat as he faced Jaehwan. "Fine. But don't go with me. I'll go there myself."

"Who would back you up then?" Jaehwan asked. "You can't say you were playing the piano, but you can say that someone was playing the piano then he accidentally closed the fallboard, right? And if I don't go with you, it would be tarnishing my image."

Prince Leo rolled his eyes and went away, signaling that Jaehwan could go with him. Jaehwan smirked and followed the prince.

***

"I seriously didn't know you can sing that well, Prince Leo," Jaehwan was all-smiles when they were walking back to their classroom. "You could join me perform in the bar-"

"Are you seriously out of your mind?" Prince Leo turned to Jaehwan who stopped from walking. "I've been keeping these for almost ten good years, then you would like me to perform in that bar? In front of people?"

"I just find your voice unique and it would be a waste to not use your voice," Jaehwan reasoned out, looking elsewhere. "And besides... I think your voice suits mine."

Prince Leo felt a little giddy because of that, but he didn't pay attention to what he was feeling. Instead, he shrugged it off, left Jaehwan and went ahead. Jaehwan just scratched his head and ran to catch up with the prince. He blocked his way, even stretch his arms sideways. "What?"

"Sing with me."

He would like me to sing with him? He found it very sweet that he felt butterflies in his chest. Weird.

"I want you to sing with me, even in private. I won't let you sing in public, but I want you to sing with me," Jaehwan told the prince who was just standing there, looking at the person in front of him, thinking that the seriousness in his face was scary. "Remember that I still have your singing video and if you don't sing with me right now, I'll sell it to the public."

"Why are you blackmailing me?" Prince Leo raised his eyebrow.

"This looks like a blackmail but I am not blackmailing you. I am giving you an opportunity,"  Jaehwan said. "I'm giving you an opportunity to break out from what was holding you back. As soon as I heard you sing, I realized that you loved it so much, so why do you keep on hiding your talent?"

Prince Leo looked away. "You don't understand because you're not a prince who has a lot of responsibility."

Jaehwan kept silent.

"I am the prince that everyone watches. Everyone is watching my every move, that one mistake would make me fall," Prince Leo continued, looking at Jaehwan in the eyes. "Singing, unfortunately, is not one of the things that the people want me to do-"

"But singing is something you want to do- no, more on, singing is what you loved above all others, but your status as a prince was a hindrance, wasn't it?" Jaehwan approached the prince. "Showing a talent and doing the things that you love isn't a mistake. If you're a good prince, then you would not be afraid to show who you are and what you love to do."

Prince Leo continued staring at Jaehwan who was intently looking back at him. After a few seconds of silence, Prince Leo replied. "Why are you telling me this?"

Jaehwan smiled. "Because I don't want the prince to be someone he really isn't, just because people want to see him as a perfect prince." Prince Leo didn't speak at that, so Jaehwan continued, "I would like to sing with you because you're my friend. For me, other than the prince title, you're just the ordinary Jung Taekwoon who loves to sing."

Prince Leo heaved a deep sigh. "I don't know why you're so annoying. Seeing you makes me frustrated, you know."

Prince Leo walked away from Jaehwan who displayed a huge grin before following the prince who was not walking towards their classroom but in the opposite direction where the music room was.

***

"Okay. So you finally convinced me. Now what?"

They were back in the music room. Prince Leo was standing beside the piano, and Jaehwan was in front of him. Jaehwan started to sing, and that caught Prince Leo off guard.

"You're singing the same song you and... that Kong... sang yesterday. So..."

Jaehwan didn't listen. Instead, he sang louder. Prince Leo found the urge to sing together with Jaehwan, accompanying his melody with a second voice.

While singing, Jaehwan was smiling at the prince who was looking back at him. They continued to sing until the end of the song. After their duet, Jaehwan commented.

"Our voices really suited each other," Jaehwan said. "I am not biased but having a duet with a prince was a fun experience."

Prince Leo didn't speak, but he couldn't agree more. Their voices suited each other, and the more they reached the of the song, the more he wanted to continue singing. The thought of singing aroused him. He couldn't believe he smiled afterwards.

"See, you enjoyed it," Jaehwan said.

He remembered how he used to love -