Epilogue: a Song of Our Own

Joonyoung's fingers glided nimbly over the ivory. A sweet, unfamiliar tune filled the room and blended melodiously with the cackle of the fire from the fireplace.

He was playing in a different room now, in a different house, in a different town. It was a house much smaller than the one he had lived in last autumn, but it was much, much cozier and more welcoming. The icy breeze blew on outside as snow fell and enveloped the world in white, but Joonyoung felt warm. The warmth of happiness and love had embraced him.

He immersed himself in his music, until he heard the sound of a carriage approaching and the front door creaking open. He stopped playing and turned around. Roy had returned home.

"You're back later than usual," he commented as he approached the other man and helped him carry the baskets that he held.

"I went to the market place after taking Seungwoo to the academy," Roy explained.

"Have you eaten already?" Joonyoung asked him.

"I have not," Roy replied. "Have you?" 

Joonyoung shook his head. "I was waiting for you. Come, I made breakfast for you."

Roy smiled. "You do not need to do such favors for me. I'm no longer a prince."

Joonyoung set the baskets on the counter. "Who said so? You're my prince."

The pianist wrapped his arms around Roy's waist and leaned in to kiss him.

 

A year had passed since that fateful night of their encounter with the witch. Joonyoung had broken the spell and ended the curse, and as a result Seungwoo had fully recovered. Gone were the days when he had to stay locked indoors. The child was now free to play, as other boys were. He was healthy enough to attend school.

The witch was reported to the authorities. She was beheaded and burned, forever unable to cast a spell and ruin anyone else's life.

Prince Roy--or rather, simply Roy now, had given up his crown. After that night, he, along with Joonyoung and the child, had ran away from Giemsa. They went to Monte George where he had explained his wishes and admitted his love for the pianist to the king. The king, instead of sending the two to prison, had granted them pardon. He eliminated Roy as one of the possible successors to kingship, but kept him as one of the kingdom's officials.

Roy was sent to live in Gram, a small town in the outskirts of Monte George, close to the borders of Giemsa where he could still oversee the farmlands and fulfill his duties. He took Seungwoo and Joonyoung with him.

Joonyoung, on the other hand, made a living off royalties from his songs. He continued to create music and taught children how to play the piano.

 

The coldness of winter had splayed away like the darkness of the night. A new morning of leaves growing and flowers blooming had replaced winter's  gloominess. Spring had arrived.

Both father and son had went to the fields of Gram to see the former prince who had been away from home for a fortnight.

"Dad, come on!" Seungwoo said as he tugged at Joonyoung's arm.

"Alright, alright," Joonyoung replied laughing as he ran after his son. The child was so eager to see Roy.

He watched as Seungwoo's eyes shined with delight. Seungwoo was no longer the pale and sickly boy he was under the curse. The child became more brilliant, lively and talkative. Seungwoo was like a breath of fresh air that constantly refreshed Joonyoung.

The boy ran towards Roy who had his arms outstretched for the child. The older man embraced him warmly and playfully tossed him up in the air. 

Seungwoo giggled in exhilaration. "I've missed you, uncle Roy."

"I've missed you too, Seungwoo," Roy replied as he carried the child in his arms. "Look how much you've grown since the last time I've seen you."

"It's only been a few weeks," Joonyoung piped in as he approached his son and his lover.

"It felt like a year to me," Roy answered. "Didn't you miss me at all, Joonyoung?"

Joonyoung wrapped his arms around Seungwoo and Roy. "I did not."

"But he kept on calling for you even if he knew you weren't around," Seungwoo added.

"Ah, Seungwoo, you blew my disguise. I think I was succeeding in making Roy believe that I did not long for him at all!"

"You are a terrible actor, Joonyoung," Roy commented. 

Joonyoung smiled and stared intently at Roy's lips. He motioned to kiss the other man, but was cut off by his son's reaction.

"No, dad!" Seungwoo exclaimed as he shielded his eyes with his small hands. "I'm too young to witness this!" 

Joonyoung and Roy could not help but break into laughter.

It was a wonderful sound: the rustling of leaves in the wind, the chirping of birds in the distance, and the laughter that came from true, simple happiness and contentment.

It was a song of their own. And it was the most beautiful song Joonyoung had ever created. It was the song he would play forever and even after.
 

~The End~
 

Author's note:

First of all, I would like to thank all of you who read this story to the very last chapter. Thanks for subscribing, upvoting, and commenting :) I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did while writing this. This story has become far longer than I expected it to be. I did my best writing this, and this might be the last JoonRoy story I'll write for the entire year or more.

I'd like to thank my best friend Fujosshi for all her wonderful suggestions and reactions, and especially for the beautiful sketch that she made (it's the one I used as the poster for this chapter ^^). I can just see how much Roy loves Joonyoung in that drawing <3 It makes me imagine this entire story as a manhwa/manga. 

I also want to say thank you to Necator Darlenamus for eagerly awaiting each chapter and giving me encouraging comments. Thank you to shenez73 for being the first one to comment and reply to me in this story, and pandagirl753 for supporting all the JoonRoy stories I have written.  

If any of you readers have taken up or are currently taking up microbiology or parasitology...hahaha you must think I'm crazy, but I hope you enjoyed seeing parasites and microorganisms named in this story.

All comments are really welcome and appreciated. Please do leave a comment so I know what you think about the story. I've been getting more subscribers, yet hardly any of you leave comments. Leaving one won't take too much of your time.

Thank you for reading this. Let's support Roy Kim and Jung Joonyoung forever~