(Hi, please help me do this poll before you proceed to the chapter! It's about a potential period fic that I might be writing. Thanks!! :D)

 

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"Your Highness, are you o-"

"Please excuse me and move aside."

It took the Crown Prince a long time before he finally got back to his room. It was irritating, having to face an impossibly endless line of concerned guards asking him if he was fine. Or course, they all probably thought he was grumpy because of his meeting with the King.

They were partly right, indeed. But the main reason for his agitation was not the King.

But him.

What is he doing here, messing up my feelings all over again?

Does he even know how difficult it was to forget him and move on? Does he know how many sleepless nights he had had? Does he know how troublesome life has been so far? Everyone - the guards, caretakers, chefs, teachers, and even my own family members, thinks that I am suffering from depression. Depression, they say, and stress due to the pressing urge to live up to my position.

Well, that is just utter crap.

The physicians said that it could be the absence of an important figure in his life - Teacher Minseok. That was true - Jongdae missed Minseok like crazy. All the times he would spend sitting in his room and playing round after round of rigged chess matches with his teacher... The times spent meditating with him, teasing him, throwing pebbles into the lake with him, horse-riding with him... He missed all that sorely.

No one could replace Minseok in his heart. Definitely not some graying, middle-aged scholar whose name he could never remember.

But that wasn't what kept him up night after night, as he watched the rise and fall of Sooyoung's chest as she slept beside him. That wasn't what made him hesitate to touch her, in the way that husbands should touch their wives. That wasn't what made him withdraw into himself, shutting himself out everyone else, keeping all his heartache and feelings suppressed within himself.

But what was done, was done.

I cannot return, I have an entire kingdom to take care of in due time. Once Jeonha steps down, I must claim the throne and rule the country. I have my responsibilities, and I cannot shirk them for the sake of some common college student from the 21^st century.

I cannot forsake the kingdom for the sake of my own happiness.

Happiness...

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Where is that Kim Jongdae?!

Baekhyun had been sneaking around the royal headquarters, trying to locate the Crown Prince. He did receive many odd stares from the guards around, but none of them actually approached him. Word must have spread about him and his apparent acquaintance with the Crown Prince.

He managed to find his way to the Crown Prince's room, but it was empty, and Baekhyun could only assume he moved out of it to another room. Which room could it be? Exhausted from all the walking about, he leaned against a wall to catch his breath, glancing out of the window...

... And he finally caught sight of his target, walking slowly towards the gardens.

Thank goodness! Baekhyun pulled himself upright and dashed off to find the exit of the building.

 

Baekhyun trailed Jongdae out to a side garden, where there was a large quaint pond situated within it. Several fluffy white geese and mandarin ducks were peacefully wading about among the lily pads and lotus flowers. Baekhyun watched from a distance as Jongdae carefully crossed the pond using the stepping stones to get to the centre, where there was a small pavilion.

He almost went forward to join the Prince, until he did something that made Baekhyun stop in his tracks.

Jongdae reached behind his neck, pushing through the layers of hanbok cloth, and fiddled about with something that Baekhyun couldn't quite see from all that distance. After a while, he got frustrated, and simply yanked it off his neck, snapping the chain into half.

Baekhyun swallowed, as the realization hit him.

It was the necklace that he had given him, all those months back.

 

**

"What is that?"

"For you." Baekhyun dropped the little bag into his hands with a proud grin. "I got it for you."

"Me??" Jongdae poked his chest in exaggerated alarm.

Baekhyun snorted with amusement. "What's wrong with me buying you a present?"

Jongdae shook his head immediately, a delighted smile grazing his lips as he lifted the plastic to the light, in an attempt to see through it. Baekhyun gave him the go-ahead, and he quickly tore it open, shaking the hole in the plastic out onto his palm.

A tiny necklace fell out. It was a simple single-chained silver necklace with a small round disk pendant attached to it. Jongdae brought it close to his face and gasped in awe.

"It is so cute and tiny..."

Baekhyun reached over and pressed the side of the disk. It sprung open, revealing a tiny decorative watch. Jongdae's mouth formed a little circle in surprise. "Woww..."

"You like it?" Baekhyun knew that Jongdae would get fascinated by little things like this.

"Yeah... but why are there only even numbers?" Jongdae creased a brow in confusion.

Baekhyun beamed knowingly. "You are a good observer. That's because..." He pulled a similar looking keychain from his pocket and flipped it open, revealing a set of odd numbers, "the other half is here."

 

 

**

Baekhyun instinctively raised his hand to finger the thin chain around his neck. The fact that Jongdae was still wearing it all these years... It made Baekhyun feel a little bit touched.

Then his gaze snapped towards Jongdae when he realized what the other was doing.

The Crown Prince dangled the necklace in front of him for a while, expression unreadable. Then, with a determined huff, he flung the necklace as far as he could into the distance, and it splashed down into the pond, plummeting deep down into the murky depths. The nearby ducks quacked in alarm, flapping their feathery wings about.

Baekhyun gawked in surprise. Why would he-

Jongdae crouched down suddenly and appeared to be crying.

- do something like –

Jongdae started to pull off his shoes and socks.

- that?!

Jongdae started to climb over the railing of the pavilion.

What?! Is he an idiot? Baekhyun smacked his forehead in exasperation. Why would that silly boy fling something into the water, regret it ten seconds later, and then try to retrieve it back again?

Talk about acting on impulse. Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

A second too late, he realized something else even more dangerous and heart-stopping.

Jongdae can't swim.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Baekhyun didn't really consider the implications of his actions. Well, I am an impulsive little for a good enough reason.

Plunging himself into the freezing cold water, he gasped in shock and almost swallowed a mouthful of pond water. The hanbok was surprisingly heavier than he expected, despite him removing the top two layers prior to jumping in. The fabric just seemed to absorb water non-stop like an endless sponge, and Baekhyun felt his limbs turning stiffer by the second.

By the time he got to the centre of the pond, Jongdae was nowhere in sight. Panicking, Baekhyun began the impossible task of treading water while in a hanbok, shouting out Jongdae's name.

A small ripple on the water surface caught Baekhyun's attention, and he swam towards it. His leg hit something satin, and immediately he reached down underwater, grabbing onto the limp body and pulling it upwards.

When Jongdae finally emerged from under the water, he was pale and unconscious. Baekhyun used whatever ounce of remaining strength he had to lug Jongdae towards the shore. Every movement he made seemed to require more and more strength, and his muscles felt extremely fatigued.

Eventually, he heaved Jongdae over the edge of the pond onto the grassy bank. Man, that was some crazy workout! Baekhyun mentally chided himself for not keeping in shape a little better.

He tumbled beside the Crown Prince, catching a few much-needed breaths before pulling himself up into a kneeling position. He pressed his fists against Jongdae’s chest and began to pump.

Jongdae -pump- please wake up -pump- soon -pump- because I’m running -pump- out of strength -pump- really quickly… -pump-

As he leant closer to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, brushing Jongdae’s bangs out of his eyes, a sudden déjà vu struck him.

 

**

CPR... I need to do CPR...

Uh...

 

This. No.

I'm going to freaking kiss Jongdae.

 

I. Can't do this... I can't kiss him, I'm not supposed to... this is not... not right!

Don't be ridiculous, you're just breathing air into his mouth to unclog his airways.

But... I can't...

 

**

Baekhyun smiled a little at the vague memory. Well, I don’t have Yifan to save the day now. Besides, why do I even need Yifan? I’m perfectly capable of saving Jongdae myself.

And so he leant forward to capture Jongdae’s lips with his own…

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

…Not five seconds later, he was hit in the head with a large stick.

Baekhyun coughed and spluttered, raising his abused head to look at his attacker. It turned out to be a couple of young patrol guards, who had probably noticed them from a distance and mistook Baekhyun for assaulting Jongdae.

“Aish! Why must you hit me? I am giving Wang seja-nim the kiss of life!”

The guards stared back at him blankly.

“Kiss of life! Kiss! Po-po!” Baekhyun puckered his lips at them, and they stepped backward in surprise. “Have you all never gotten kissed before?”

“This person is really weird… should we call Officer Huang?” One of the young guards whispered to another.

“I think we should…” The other replied. To Baekhyun’s amusement, the small group played a quick finger game similar to stone paper scissors to decide who goes to get the Officer. Kids… To think they are no different from the kids these days.

 

Officer Huang arrived a short while later with a bunch of older palace guards, and they rushed quickly over to Jongdae’s side. With incredible speed and skill, the guards hoisted Jongdae over their shoulders and carried him away.

“What happened here?” Zitao questioned him firmly.

Baekhyun explained that he was passing by and saw Jongdae struggling in the water, so he jumped in to rescue him. The young patrol guards added that they saw Baekhyun on top of Jongdae so they thought he was attacking the Prince.

“You may go,” Zitao instructed the boys. He turned to Baekhyun next. “You again. I told you not to loiter around, did I not?”

The Officer Guard sighed, waving away Baekhyun’s desperate attempts to explain himself.

“You have done a noble deed. Thank you for helping to bring the prince out of the water, sometimes Wang seja-nim does strange things out of the blue, it is hard to keep track of him sometimes.”

Yep, Jongdae definitely hasn’t changed.

“I will bring you another set of hanbok to change into, as a token of appreciation for helping Wang Seja-nim.” Zitao beckoned for Baekhyun to follow him. The History student sighed with relief – he was starting to lose the feeling in his fingers and toes.

 

After changing into a fresh hanbok, Baekhyun bowed to Zitao respectfully and prepared to take his leave. Suddenly, he remembered something else. “Officer Huang, could you do me one last favour?”

The Guard did not turn around, but sighed instead. “You want to know where is Dae Jong Kim Wang seja-nim, am I right?”

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows in surprise. “How… do you know?”

“From the moment we met, that is all you have been asking me,” Zitao replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Why are you so intent on looking for the Crown Prince?”

Baekhyun looked away, suddenly feeling slightly insecure. “I… There is something I need to tell him.”

Zitao watched him carefully, hands behind his back. “I wonder if it has anything to do with the disappearance of Kim Minseok hakja-nim?”

How did he…? Baekhyun swallowed, fighting to keep his expression level. Zitao continued on, despite not getting a response. “The other time I met you, Baekhyun-sshi, was around the same time Minseok hakja-nim went missing. I cannot help but make that connection… I am sorry if I misunderstood your intentions.”

The Officer bowed once, and as he straightened up, he said something that made Baekhyun’s heart stutter in confusion.

 

“Wang seja-nim should be resting in the room he shares with the Crown Princess.”

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

The sleeping quarters were much bigger than the one the Crown Prince used to reside in. It was more beautifully furnished as well, more elaborate décor and also a touch of femininity.  There was a large sleeping mat unrolled on the ground, on which there was a person lying on top of it, fast asleep.

“Thank you, Officer Huang,” Baekhyun bowed to the guard, who nodded once and took his leave.

He stepped into the room and went up to sleeping mat, kneeling beside it. Jongdae’s sleeping face was peaceful and serene, unlike earlier when he looked so stressed out and unhappy. Baekhyun wondered how the past two years had been like for Jongdae. He must have been through a lot…

Jongdae stirred a little in his sleep. “Don’t go…”

Baekhyun lifted his hand, bringing it closer to Jongdae’s cheek. It was slightly clammy to the touch, like he was feverish. The water earlier was freezing. A lump found its way to Baekhyun’s throat. The accident was partly his fault – if he hadn’t returned so suddenly like that, it wouldn’t have prompted Jongdae to do such a thing.

“… I miss…”

Jongdae’s words were muffled, and they trailed off without an ending. He misses what? Baekhyun didn’t dare to speculate anymore.

“Jongdae… Are you happy?”

The Crown Prince shifted again, this time burying his face onto Baekhyun’s hand. “Mmm…”

Is that a yes? But Jongdae didn’t make any more sound, and drifted off into a deeper sleep.

 

 

Looking at Jongdae’s calm sleeping face evoked many conflicting feelings in Baekhyun. It had been a long time since he was alone like this with the other, and with Jongdae’s guard down like this, it was giving him a lot of… inappropriate feels.

Aish, why am I feeling hot now?

Am I getting a fever too?

Baekhyun puffed out his cheeks and fanned himself with his available hand. He loosened the front of his hanbok, but nothing seemed to be helping.

I should free my trapped hand first…

Baekhyun slowly tried to extract his hand from underneath Jongdae’s face. The sleeping male didn’t budge at all. What should I do? He scooted closer, using his other hand to move Jongdae’s head. It didn’t work, and he shuffled his knees closer…

The fabric of the hanbok slipped against the futon, causing Baekhyun to sprawl forward. When a squeak, he caught himself before he face-planted into Jongdae, one hand and the other elbow flanking Jongdae’s head. That put him in an extremely compromising position… with Jongdae’s lips.

The blood rushed to his cheeks at the realization that Jongdae’s lips are just a couple of inches away from his own. It was too close… for him to process… any coherent thoughts…

Before he knew it, Baekhyun was leaning closer, closing the distance between their lips…-

 

 

“Wang sejabin, the Crown Prince has a visitor.” A hushed voice was heard from outside.

Baekhyun leapt off at the speed lightning, yanking his trapped hand away and tumbling back at least one metre away. He smoothened down the hanbok and patted his flaming cheeks hastily, just in time for the doors to be slid open and a head poked in curiously.

It was a girl… a beautiful young lady about their age, with long hair coiled in a braid and bunned at the nape of her neck. Her face was petite, skin fair and rosy, and when she smiled, the apples of her cheeks rose up prettily.

Wow…

Baekhyun momentarily forgot his embarrassment over that near-awkward position with Jongdae, as he took in the beauty of the lady by the door.

“Is it okay if I come in?” She asked politely.

Baekhyun got up awkwardly and bowed low. “Y-yes, Wang sejabin…”

She laughed as she stepped inside, making her way slowly towards the futon. “You can relax a little, if you are Crown Prince’s friend, you shall be mine too.”

Baekhyun didn’t know how to respond to this. It felt strangely relieving that the Crown Princess is accepting of his presence, but at the same time, if only she knew who exactly I am…

“Did the Crown Prince get into some mischief again?” Her voice was lilting, with a tinge of fondness, and it made Baekhyun feel slightly weird inside. He heard her sit down a little heavily on the futon, with a tired sigh. “He is going to become King, but sometimes he still acts like a small kid.”

Baekhyun straightened from his bowed position, took a deep breath, and turned around…

 

… And his heart flew to his throat.

 

 

---

 

 

 

She is…

 

“How did you meet Prince Jong Kim?” The Crown Princess smiled up at him, in an attempt to strike conversation. “I met him when I was a small kid, back then I never knew I was betrothed to him. Oh, did I forget to introduce myself? I am Soo Young, the Crown Prince’s…” She placed her hand on top of Jongdae’s on the blanket. “… Wife.”

Wife. Of course she’s the wife. Of course, since she’s…

Baekhyun found himself tongue-tied, and his palms turned clammy with sweat. All he could manage was a weak smile and a nod.

“Who might you be, young man?” She asked, tilting her head with an inquisitive smile.

Oh, I have to speak. “B-b-byun Baek Hyun, Wang sejabin…”

“Ah, I see…” Soo Young turned back to Jongdae, watching him sleep with a gentle smile. “It is nice of you to pay Prince Jong Kim a visit. He always seems so lonely…” She frowned slightly, “although it is my job to keep the Crown Prince company, at times it feels like my company is not what he wants.”

Busying herself with arranging the blankets around Jongdae, Soo Young continued to talk, more to herself than to anyone. “Maybe it could be Hakja-nim he misses, he does not talk to me very much about his feelings. But this…”

Her hand flew to the top of her hanbok, on the bulge on her abdomen, and her face blushed crimson. Baekhyun felt sick to the stomach, and he swallowed down hard.

“You think that maybe he will open up more once this child is born, Baek Hyun-sshi?”

Jongdae… with her… he…

“P-perhaps he will… I mean, he definitely will.”

Soo Young beamed at him. “Thank you so much for coming today. Do come and visit again when the child is born, Baek Hyun-sshi.”

She nodded at him respectfully, behind returning her attention to Jongdae. Carefully patting down his hair, adjusting his hanbok, his hand… Just like a caring wife should.

Just like the wife of the Crown Prince of Balhae should.

 

 

Baekhyun had never felt like this before. Walking out of the Palace, each footstep growing heavier and heavier. It wasn’t just jealousy, or anger, or disappointment. It was a much stronger emotion, like the walls of confidence and determination within him had just been hacked right through and crumbled into nothing.

There’s nothing left for me to do here.

In a sense, things have returned to normal, haven’t they? Baekhyun had originally just planned on borrowing Jongdae for a couple of months for his project, and then return him back when he was done. On hindsight, it was an extremely selfish and cruel action – tearing Jongdae away from his home and bringing him to a completely new and unknown place.

The least I could do now is to not cause more trouble for Jongdae, right?

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

It wasn’t surprising that Baekhyun came back alone.

He brought only one teleportation device, after all.

But what was surprising were his actions immediately after arriving back to the modern time period.

“You aren’t going back to get Jongdae?” Yifan tried to hand Baekhyun another time travel set, while Minseok and Luhan stood beside him worriedly.

Baekhyun barely looked at him. “Are you out of your mind?” He pushed past the three men and went straight to the living room, picking up his handphone from the coffee table and exiting the house without another word.

Yifan stood at his original position, dumbfounded. What’s up with him?

Luhan quickly grabbed the teleportation set that Baekhyun used, and started to fiddle with the dials. “What are you doing?” Minseok went over to stand beside his boyfriend, watching with great confusion.

“I’m just checking the… Ahh…” The History professor slapped his forehead and groaned. “Baekhyun went to 910!”

910? Yifan turned to Luhan in shock. “Isn’t it supposed to be 908?” Now that explained why Baekhyun looked so devastated, Jongdae was probably pissed at him after suddenly appearing in two years.

But why didn’t Baekhyun just turn the knob and go back 2 years earlier to pick Jongdae up?

The look on Minseok’s face was unsettling. His lips were pursed together into a tight frown. “Just what… What could Baekhyun have seen in 910 that made him change his mind like that?”

 

Yifan nudged Luhan. “Hey, what actually happens when we take someone from the past to the present?”

Luhan glanced up at him wearily. “He just disappears, without a trace.”

He looked down at the time travel kit in his hand. Disappearing without a trace… “There has to be a reason he doesn’t want Jongdae to just disappear without a trace… I wonder what that reason could be?”

Minseok nudged Luhan from the other side. “So what should we do now…?”

The professor scrunched his eyebrows. Yifan sent a hopeful glance at his direction. At times like this, we can only depend on you, Luhan.

 

“Where do you think Baekhyun would be heading to now?”

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

“Baekhyun?”

 

It was already past nightfall, and Yixing was just preparing to head to his study to do a bit of reading when someone pressed the doorbell.

It turned out to be his best friend, a plastic bag of beers in hand, and a weary smile on his face.

“What are you doing here?”

The shorter male pushed past him into the apartment wordlessly, heading straight into the living room and throwing himself on the couch.

“Just checking up on your report,” he finally replied, voice muffled into the cushions.

Yeah, right. Yixing followed suit, nudging Baekhyun’s legs to the side and planting himself on the sofa. “I don’t see how beer is going to help my report, Baekhyun.”

“Drink with me, will you, Xing?”

Is he depressed? Yixing reached over and smacked him on the . “I expect you to tell me everything, though. Do you promise me that?”

Baekhyun made a vague noise of approval, and grabbed the plastic bag, pulling out the first can.

Yixing sighed. This is going to be a long night.

 

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Hey!

Thank you for leaving comments :) I should really get to replying them but I’m afraid of accidentally spoiling y’all so I’m holding myself back. I’m the kind of person who will reply a “I wonder what will happen to XXX” question with an “Oh XXX will be … … …” answer that gives away the whole plot LOL

The end is near... thank you for those who have been reading this since the start (not many I guess… I went on a too-long hiatus D: I shouldn’t have done that) and for those who joined halfway through. For a fic full of flaws like this, I’m glad to have all 500+ of you on board xD

I’ll keep writing and keep improving myself! ^^

 

PS: How I imagine the pavilion at the Palace garden to look like (plus the ducks):

PPS: BTW i've been reading up alot on korean history and watching korean period dramas that I'm suddenly craving to write a proper period fic! But I'm having trouble deciding the main role so it would be nice if you could help me out by doing the poll on top :D

 

Keywords:

Jeonha: formal way of saying ‘King’

Hakja-nim: formal way of saying ‘Scholar’