A/N: Behind the scenes/deleted scenes for chapter 7

 

Yifan was preparing to take a nap when his phone sounded off. It was a lazy afternoon and he had taken a day off as he went to collect his car from the maintenance workshop that morning.

"Hello?"

"..." There was a muffled voice. And then a "Ah! Wrong side up!" and some fumbling.

"Umm... Is this Yifan?"

Jongdae? "Yeah it's me. Jongdae what's wrong?"

There was a swooshing sound on the other end. "Ahh!!" Jongdae let go of the phone and it landed on the floor with a thud. Yifan shook his head in amusement.

"I am sorry! Sorry! I dropped the paper." His voice crackled through half a minute later. "I do not know how this thing works, but I wanted to try it out. Um, Bae hoon gave me a list of numbers and I decided to call you... Are you busy?"

Yifan found himself chuckling. "Nope. Why?"

"Can you come over? I need your help to do something."

"Sure. See you!!" Yifan got up from his seat and began to button up his coat after hanging up. He tried to call Baekhyun to inform him, but the other was just not answering his phone. Is he in class? Yifan decided to drop him a text instead.

He arrived at Baekhyun's apartment in half an hour. He pressed on the doorbell. "Jongdae, it's me Yifan!"

There was a silence. He knocked his fist on the wooden door. "Jongdae?" To his surprise, the door knocked right back at him.

Unable to contain his amusement, Yifan burst out laughing. "You supposed to open the door, not knock it!!"

"I do not know how to! Bae hoon trapped me inside!"

What?! Trapped him inside? What if something dangerous happens, like a fire or any such emergency? Jongdae would be unable to escape! "Don't worry, I will try to find a way..." He reassured the boy in the house, and started to hunt for a spare key.

He didn't have to search very hard, though. The key showed up at the first place he looked. "This idiotic Baekhyun... Can't even be bothered to try harder when it comes to hiding his key..." He mumbled as he fitted the key into the lock. He pushed the door inwards and it opened straight into Jongdae's nose.

"Ah!" Jongdae fell back on his and clutched his face. Yifan started, and quickly fell on his knees beside Jongdae.

"Jongdae!! I'm sorry! You should not stand behind the door like that when I am opening it! Okay?" He pried Jongdae's hands away and inspected his face for any damage. Jongdae pouted at him bitterly, but otherwise appeared fine.

He helped the Prince up to his feet and took him to the living room. "What do you need me for, Jongdae ah?"

Jongdae fiddled with his hands for a while in silence, before looking up at the historian. "Can you take me somewhere?"

Yifan raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "Where?"

"I... Oh, follow me!" Jongdae tugged the edge of his shirt and led him to Baekhyun's bedroom.

 

---

 

Yifan was appalled.

"What is this...?" He surveyed the wreck on the table, the floor and the makeshift bed. History books were strewn everywhere, together with clothes Yifan recognised as Baekhyun's, stationery, squashed coffee packets and crumpled balls of paper. The only clean surface free of mess was the bed which Jongdae slept on, the sheets pristine and nicely made.

He pulled out his phone to text Baekhyun as Jongdae waved his hands about frantically. "Ehhh, Bae Hoon was rushing his homework and he stayed up all night to do it. I told him to start on it earlier but he insisted on playing some Bird game on his handphone. He played it for three hours straight. I wonder why...?"

Jongdae trailed off with a look of absolute puzzlement, as he absently picked up a coffee packet and held it as far away from himself as possible. "And why does he like coffee so much...?"

Yifan bent down and started to help him tidy up. "Coffee has caffeine, it helps to keep people awake." He explained. "By the way, did Baekhyun make you clear all this?"

Jongdae hesitated, and he stared down at the coffee packet. He sneaked a glance at Yifan, and smiled nervously.

"I take that as a yes." Yifan tapped on his phone again.

Jongdae sighed and nudged a pile of clothes with his toe. "I do not mind clearing them, but he did not tell me what to do with these..." Jongdae stepped around a stack of journals towards a stack of books on the desk, fingers brushing along the spines until he reached a particular book about botany. He yanked it out and flipped to a well-memorised page.

"Can you tell me where I can find these flowers?"

 

---

 

"Buckle your seatbelt."

Jongdae sat motionless on the passenger seat and blinked at him. Yifan smiled when he realised that Jongdae probably didn't know.

He reached over, slipping an arm around Jongdae's shoulder to tug on the seatbelt. "You pull this and then you clip it on here, like this." He patiently demonstrated once, before unbuckling it and gesturing for Jongdae to try.

"Are you trapping me?" His eyes were as wide as saucers. "The last time I sat in this moving box, I did not wear this strap."

Yifan mentally cursed Baekhyun for not ensuring Jongdae wore his seatbelt the previous two instances that he rode in his car. "I'm making sure you are safe. When you are sitting in front, it is a must to wear this or you might fly out and bang your head."

Jongdae gasped and clutched his head fearfully in response, and then quickly buckled up obediently.

He's a precious one, this Jongdae.

 

At the Park, Jongdae surveyed his surroundings with great delight. "I have come here before!" He exclaimed, referring to the previous meditation session he had with his teacher, Baekhyun and the professor.

"Do you like this place?" Yifan asked him as they walked down the path scattered with pretty pink-and-white flower petals.

"I do..." Jongdae paused to pick up a fallen flower. "This place reminds me of home the most." He tucked it between his ear. "I think Teacher Minseok must like this place too. That is why I want to make something for him from here."

Yifan slipped his hands out of his pockets. "Do you miss home?" He studied Jongdae's expression carefully.

Jongdae pursed his lips and focused on something in the distance. "Am I allowed to?" He whispered.

What does he mean by that? Yifan reached over and squeezed his hand. "Why not?"

"I do not know whether I miss home, or not. I have never left the Palace so all this is new. What does missing home feel like?"

Yifan felt a little sting in his heart, and he halted in his footsteps, forcing Jongdae to stop as well. If anything, he knew what missing home was like, more than anyone else.

"You will feel sad, like there is an empty void in your chest, expanding and threatening to engulf you. A dull ache in your heart that doesn't go away, a pain that you can't understand, a feeling of helplessness, a yearning for the unattainable..."

Yifan snapped out of his thoughts with a jolt. Jongdae was eying him without a word. "Ah I was just-"

"Yifan are you homesick?"

Yifan cracked a nervous laugh and mussed up his hair. "Um, that..."

"Yifan if you are from a faraway place too, then we are on the same boat." Jongdae replied softly, his eyes scanning the scenery ahead of them. A wistful smile tugged on his lips.

"You and I, we are the same."

 

---

 

Luhan balanced the huge recipe book with one hand and the half-filled pot of water with another. He groaned in frustration. My arms ache and I wanna put this down somewhere but...

The kitchen counter was littered with all sorts of ingredients - beef brisket, onions, leeks, mushrooms, radishes, and condiment bottles. Minseok was studying a taro stem intently like it was the most intriguing thing he had ever seen.

"Could you move the stuff aside, Minseokkie, I'm dying here!" Luhan whined. Minseok paid him no heed, placing the stem on the chopping board and bringing the knife down.

Slam!!

Luhan winced. "It's just a taro, Minseok. It's not a whole chicken or something."

Minseok glanced up at him, his expression serious. "Shh, do not disturb me."

Luhan groaned, and ambled out of the kitchen, dumping the book and the pot of the dining table and flexing his sore muscles. He collapsed on the sofa for a short rest. After a while, he heard scraping sounds, and hurried back to the kitchen. Minseok was collecting some white shredded stringy pulp into a plate and...

Wait. White shredded stringy pulp?!

"Minseok what is that?" A dubious feeling rose in his throat.

"The taro." He replied.

There was a dramatic pause. Minseok scraped up the remaining flaky bits and beamed at Luhan. "I put this in the pot?"

Luhan subsequently exploded. "WHY DID YOU MINCE THE TARO?!"

---

"How does this look? Is it too messy?"

Jongdae held up the wreath for Yifan to inspect. He set down his cup of coffee and leaned over with a thumbs up. "Good!"

Jongdae pouted. "You are not looking closely!"

Yifan got up and crouched beside Jongdae, peering real close at the wreath until the leaves tickled his nose. He made a comical googly-eyed look, which made Jongdae laugh.

He patted Jongdae's shoulder proudly. "Good!" He repeated.

Jongdae giggled behind his hand. "You are exaggerating..."

Yifan shrugged. "You wouldn't be convinced otherwise." He reached over and took the wreath from Jongdae's hands, turning it around for a proper inspection. "Here, it's prickly. And here, it's too empty."

Jongdae snatched it back and immediately set to work. "Do you want one too, Yifan?"

Yifan sat back on the grass with an incredulous look. "Me? Why?"

Jongdae looked somber for a moment. "I feel bad for making you come here with me. Besides, I have got leftover flowers." He gestured to a pile of flowers beside him. "What a waste to not use them..."

"Well, I know someone who might like flowers."

"Who?" Jongdae's expression was a mixture of curiousity and delight.

Yifan grinned.

 

 

The sky was turning dark, and the air was turning frosty. Yifan started to regret even suggesting anything to Jongdae. He shifted from one leg to another as he watched the petite boy weave the twigs expertly, fingers nimble and face etched with concentration.

He stepped forward, unable to take it anymore. "Jongdae let's go back." He grabbed his icy-cold hand and tugged on it. "It's too cold."

"Just two minutes!!" Jongdae pleaded. "Please!!"

Yifan sighed, and relented. He blew hot air on his own palms and rubbed them together. "Do you not feel cold at all, Jongdae?"

The boy didn't reply, instead placing all his attention on the bundle of neatly arranged flowers. It was way past two minutes before he finally got up to his feet.

"I am finished." He held out the bouquet proudly. "Do you think Bae Hoon will like it?"

Yifan chuckled and immediately started to pull Jongdae down the dimly-lit path. "I'm sure he will."

 

"Where are we going? I am hungry..." Jongdae managed the saddest pout Yifan had ever seen. Oh damn, since when do Crown Princes of the 10th century have such convincing aegyo?

Yifan got Jongdae buckled up in the front passenger seat, and went round to his side of the car. "Do you want to go and eat?"

Jongdae bobbed his head sleepily. "Yes!"

He revved up the engine and glanced at the exhausted teenager with a worried expression. "Alright, let's go."

Yifan drove the car out of the car park and onto the main road. He slipped a hand over and gripped Jongdae's. They were still freezing cold. Jongdae sent a nervous smile in his way and pulled his hand away, shoving them into his coat pocket.

It is already spring, it's not normal for someone's hands to be this cold...

Yifan stopped in front of a large fast-food joint. He cranked up the heater by a notch, and hopped out of the car. "I'll go in and buy something for us. Stay here, okay?"

Jongdae mumbled a reply and curled up on the passenger seat, leaning his head on his knees.

 

When Yifan returned to the car with food, he found a furry brown lump huddled on the front seat. Warning bells sounded in his head as he quickly climbed into the carseat, wrapping his arms around Jongdae. "Hey, Jongdae?"

Jongdae whimpered in response. "It feels cold..."

He pried Jongdae's arms away from his face and placed a palm on his pale forehead. "You... feel hot. Let's go back home quickly, okay?"

"Where is Bae Hoon?"

Yifan froze, and realised that the student had not replied him since afternoon. He pulled out his handphone to double-check, and he still had not replied.

"He... Why not come to my place, to be safe." He suggested. Jongdae blinked at him hesitantly, before nodding with a wan smile.

Yifan strapped himself back to his seat and shot off towards his apartment, feeling a fuming anger build in his chest. How could Baekhyun just ignore him for five hours straight? Does he have any sense of responsibility at all?

It wasn't that he minded looking after Jongdae, the Prince himself was not a problem at all. It was the fact that Baekhyun didn't even acknowledge anything he said since the beginning that made him upset.

Jongdae started whining and clutching his stomach. Yifan panicked. "Jongdae!! Are you okay? Do you want to throw up?"

Jongdae groaned in exasperation. "I did not even eat anything... You are going too fast, Yifan, I could throw up my intestines at the speed you are going!"

Yifan barely caught himself at the traffic light, jerking wildly to a halt. Jongdae screamed and clung onto the sides of the car. "Yifan!!!!!!"

"Sorry!"

 

---

 

Yifan hung up and set down his handphone. While he was relieved that Baekhyun was not missing in action anymore, he still felt a slight stinging anger at his friend for the prolonged absence earlier. He padded into his bedroom and sat at the foot of the bed.

Jongdae was knocked out on his bed, after having taken over-the-counter medications and eaten some food. Yifan didn't want to risk taking the boy to the doctor because he was fully aware of the lack of identification documents Jongdae had with him. Jongdae was, after all, not a legal citizen of this country. Of this time period.

It's complicated...

He adjusted the fever pack on Jongdae's forehead and tucked him in properly, brushing several locks of hair away from his face. His vision then focused on the two beautiful flower arrangements that sat on the armchair against the wall.

Well, those two better appreciate what Jongdae did for them, he mused, before popping them into a large bag. Then he went over to the spare bedroom, where he would be spending the night.

 

---

 

"Awwww...."

Jongdae flung a pillow at Minseok grumpily. "That is not fair!!"

Baekhyun nodded in agreement. "It isn't!!"

Minseok clicked his tongue, neatly dodging another pillow like a natural. "It is perfectly logical. I will not let you eat the stew and that is final. Now drink your tea."

"But it's bloody Yukgaejang!!" Baekhyun exclaimed. "He made you a wreath and you give him some bitter herbal tea?!" Sometimes Minseok needs to use his blessed scholarly brains a little more. If he isn't going to give Jongdae the stew, why mention it in front of him? 

"Mind your language. And herbal tea is nutritious."

Baekhyun was feeling more than a little riled up. It was the first time he had seen Jongdae in a full-scale tantrum, aside from the time he came to Balhae. Jongdae was fidgety, antsy, and was angrily flinging every pillow he could get his hands on at Minseok. Baekhyun was the dutiful pillow-replenisher, partly because he was too afraid to deny Jongdae of his ammo, partly because he feared what Jongdae would use if he ran out of pillows.

Luhan burst into the room with a very red-lipped smile. "Hi guys! I've finished half the pot!"

Jongdae wailed, and shifted his attack to Luhan instead.

"How does it taste?" Minseok turned to Luhan, who was apparently faring very badly in the pillow-dodging department.

"Care to it off my lips?" Luhan made a kissy face.

Minseok ignored his remark and exited the room. Luhan collapsed onto the floor with hysterical laughter.

Jongdae cried some more, flung some more pillows, then grew tired. He picked up the tumbler of herbal tea and downed everything in one go, before resuming his attack process with renewed energy on the defenceless Luhan.

"How dare you eat my beef stew!!!!!"

 

Baekhyun sometimes wondered what kind of madness had he gotten himself into.

Then again, there's no harm joining in once in a while, right?

He sneaked out of the room and hurried over to the kitchen, joining Minseok who was currently stuffing his face with stew.

"Leave me some!!"

Baekhyun had to fight with Minseok for at least three minutes before finally claiming dominance over the pot.

"All hail Yukgaejang!!" He yelled, before tilting the pot and tipping the remaining stew contents down his throat.

 

A/N:
Sorry about that lame part. I was studying for my test while writing this chapter. So this was the product of my bottled-up stress haha.
I'll start on the next chapter very soon so expect a speedy update!! XD

(I'm so glad AFF added the toggle editor function. Now I can post with my ipad without any problems yay!!)

Yukgaejang:

 

I'm hungry now :P