Kyungsoo kept his head down as he followed the Prince’s brisk steps. The shame engulfed his entire being. All this over a broken plate. How could he have been so careless? He should have just kept walking and never looked back, never been tempted. And now he was going to get fired. Great.

The crisp clicking of Prince Sehun’s dress shoes clashed with Kyungsoo’s drab shuffling of his worn-out sneakers. The distance between the two was incomparable, yet it was funny how the mere chef was within arms-length of the all-mighty royal.

Prince Sehun came to a halt as a servant rushed up to him, bowed, and said with a grave expression, “Queen Krystal wants you to visit her.”

There was no reaction from the Prince, not any that Kyungsoo could tell, as he dismissed the servant with a nod. Casting an unreadable look at Kyungsoo, he raised an eyebrow. “You’re Ji-eun’s friend, right? The chef. Jongin’s close with you, too.”

Kyungsoo, slightly confused, nodded. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“Okay,” Prince Sehun turned around with a graceful whoosh. “Follow me.”

He led Kyungsoo down the corridor and took a sharp left. With long strides, the two of them approached the door at the very end. Prince stood in front of the closed door and raised a hand to knock. Kyungsoo watched the Prince let out a breath and shut his eyes briefly. “Do Kyungsoo, wait here until I come out.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The Prince’s lids flew open the instant he turned the doorknob and entered. Underneath the Prince’s skinny arm, Kyungsoo got a glimpse of the weakened Queen in her bed and King Junmyeon at her side. Eyes widening, Kyungsoo took a step back and bowed to the shut door. He knew the Queen was ill, but he didn’t know it was to that extent.

Frightened, Kyungsoo barely registered the fact that Prince Chanyeol entered the room minutes later at the same time Prince Sehun exited.

“How is she?” The Crown Prince asked anxiously, hands shaking uncontrollably.

Prince Sehun glared at his brother. “It’s about time you came. And her condition’s not improving at any rate.”

“I…” Prince Chanyeol directed his stare at the shut door and winced. “I can’t-”

“What are you waiting for?” Sehun cut him off sharply. “Go in. She’s waiting. Act like the Crown Prince you are. You’ve always been so good at doing that.”

“Sehun.” King Junmyeon opened the door and shot a brief look at Kyungsoo, who was silently observing the entire exchange. The King commanded, “Don’t talk to your brother that way. And Chanyeol, come on in.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Yes, Dad,” Sehun echoed, clearly annoyed.

Chanyeol shut his eyes, composed himself, and straightened his back. He glanced over his shoulder at his little brother, a silent exchange happening between the two before he entered the room. Prince Sehun rolled his eyes and seemingly remembered that Kyungsoo was still standing there. “Right. I still have to deal with you.”

Kyungsoo furrowed his eyebrows, trying to absorb what just happened before him. The princes obviously weren’t close, but that was all he could clearly assume for now. And Queen Krystal looked far worse than what everyone was told. A slight cold, Miss Bom had told them, no need to worry. She’ll get better by the time Prince Chanyeol gets married.

“Don’t go around spreading rumours about what you’ve seen,” Sehun dismissed his thoughts in one sentence. “Also, I’m not going to fire you, so loosen up.”

“I won’t - what?” The shorter boy looked up at the Prince, shocked. Everything was happening too fast for him to respond. “But I broke-”

“You’ll just have to work overtime to make up for the price. It’s not part of an original set, so don’t worry; it’s not super expensive.” Just as Kyungsoo was about to launch into multiple thank you’s, Sehun cut him off with a blunt, “Don’t think I’m being nice here. I don’t want you to go around bad-mouthing the Royal Castle or the royals. And you also have connections with Jongin and Ji-eun. Firing you would just bring too many unnecessary problems.”

The chef suppressed his flash of annoyance. A brat will always be a brat. Bowing deeply, Kyungsoo thanked the Prince, who just sniffed and left.

Sighing, Kyungsoo allowed himself to smile. Maybe things weren’t going downhill anymore. He managed to keep his job and things with Jongin were proceeding according to plan. Staring at the Prince’s retreating back, he let out a relieved breath and relaxed, before turning around and making his way to the kitchen.

¤¤¤​

Jongin left Luhan in his room after making sure he was sound asleep and comfortable to find the only chef he trusted with the sleeping boy. He stood in front of the double doors closing off the kitchen from the rest of the Royal Castle, doubts flickering through his mind at what Kyungsoo would say to him. But Kyungsoo and Luhan were friends, right? He wouldn’t deny helping out his good friend, Jongin tried to convince himself, tried to build up the courage to fling open the doors. I always do this. Every chef knows who I am, they treat me like family. So why am I scared? Nothing’s different.

But the thing is, everything was different.

Kyungsoo hated him now and obviously avoided Jongin at any cost. No matter how hard Jongin tried to approach him, the chef knew him too well and was always one step ahead of him. It had been days since they last talked to each other, and even though that may not seem that much to an outsider, to Jongin, it meant that the two of them have really reached the end. They’ve gotten mad at each other before, all friends have, but that only lasted a day at the most and was always fixed with a simple, “I’m sorry.” But this time around, Jongin didn’t even know what he did wrong, so every “I’m sorry” he said seemed to ring empty in Kyungsoo’s ears.

Whatever, Jongin shook his head, Luhan has a cold and Kyungsoo can help him. It’s no time for me to stand around thinking useless thoughts.

Making up his mind, Jongin was preparing to burst through the doors in a dramatic fashion and take the tiny chef by surprise before he could change his mind, but instead, he was the one who was shocked when the double doors flew open to show the very person he had been chasing down for the past few days.

“Jongin?” Kyungsoo looked up with wide eyes. Some emotion flickered through his eyes, but before the butler could place a finger on it, it was replaced with coldness. Kyungsoo made an attempt to move, but Jongin’s hand dashed out and grabbed the chef’s arm. “Jongin, I’m holding a bowl of chicken soup so if you don’t want to get me fired for dropping another piece of china today, let go of my arm.”

“Wow,” was all Jongin managed to say.

“What?”

“That was the most you’ve said to me in a while now.”

Kyungsoo sighed. How come he keeps sighing in front of me? Jongin unconsciously frowned. The chef seemed to give up and asked, “What do you want, Jongin?”

“I - oh. Um. You know Ji-eun’s room? Can you-”

“Deliver soup to her room and check if she’s alright?” Kyungsoo held up the bowl in his right hand. “Yeah, that’s what this is for. Prince Chanyeol ordered me to send it to her room, saying something about her catching a cold.”

“Prince Chanyeol?” Jongin furrowed his brows. If anything, he thought Prince Sehun would have ordered that. But he supposed the younger Prince couldn’t have known Luhan caught a cold, since they haven’t seen each other ever since the date. He muttered, “Why are all the princes interested in her?”

“Why? Jealous?” Jongin looked up, surprised at Kyungsoo’s icy tone.

“No, that’s not-”

“I have to follow the orders, so if there’s nothing else you need, then-” Kyungsoo gave a curt bow before striding past Jongin.

The butler was left staring at the space where Kyungsoo used to be just moments ago, wondering why he felt so cold.

Everything’s different now.

¤¤¤​

Luhan stirred awake to the sound of knocking on his door. He forced his eyes open and instinctively snatched the wig off the dresser beside his bed and tugged it on his head. Blinking wearily, he squinted to make out the blurred person entering his room. Yawning, Luhan let out a small smile. “Kyungsoo?”

“Hey, Ji-eun,” The small chef greeted him warmly before setting the chicken soup on the vanity table. “You should drink this chicken soup. I cooked it myself, so you know it tastes the best.”

Laughing, Luhan reached for the bowl and took a sip. “Damn, what did you put in here? It tastes amazing.”

“Hmm, y’know, a pinch of salt and sugar and everything nice.” Kyungsoo joked with a poker face. “I made it with love.”

“Gross,” Luhan gagged, yet he kept sipping. “Hey, speaking of love, how are things with Jongin?”

“Ah…” Kyungsoo absentmindedly grabbed the deer plushie off the ground and ran his fingers through the soft fur. “It’s a long story. A lot of things went down.”

“Achoo!” Luhan let out a huge sneeze, sniffed, then gestured to himself. “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Alright…” Kyungsoo relented to Luhan’s puppy eyes.

¤¤¤​​

“You didn’t even tell him why?” Luhan exclaimed incredulously after Kyungsoo told him what happened after the storage room incident.

“He didn’t ask.” Kyungsoo shrugged. “Isn’t that your policy? If they don’t ask, then you don’t tell. Plus, it’s not like he even cared anyway.”

Luhan’s volume grew with each word. “He’s known you for his entire life as the one person he could rely on, and suddenly you kick him out. How can he not care?”

“He didn’t react!” Kyungsoo raised his voice as well. “How am I supposed to know what he’s thinking when he’s on ‘I-don’t-give-a-’ mode 24/7?”

“He ing hugs you every time he sees you, Soo. If that doesn’t scream, ‘I care for you’ I don’t know what does.” Luhan placed the bowl on the table, now completely empty. “And he’s a butler. He’s trained to appear not to give a .”

“It…” Kyungsoo seemed to give up his fight as he placed the bowl back on the tray and lifted it, wiping the table underneath with a cloth he pulled from his back pocket. “It doesn’t matter. Right now, what I’m doing, is for me. It’s obvious he won’t forget about Prince Sehun when his job is to be by his side all day long. All this-” He motioned wildly around his chest area. “-is unnecessary and will just make me miserable. Once these feelings go away, we’ll be back to normal like before. I just need time.”

“And what if they don’t?” Luhan held onto Kyungsoo’s arm, forcing the chef to look him in the eye.

Kyungsoo replied with a determined edge to his voice, “They will. I will move on.”

Luhan shifted uncomfortably, not sure if this was the wisest decision his friend had made, but he supposed there wasn’t much one could do in a one-sided crush besides getting over it. He just wished the chef had at least gave confessing a shot, because Jongin might be confusing in expressing his feelings, but he was the one person Luhan would trust in treating Kyungsoo like royalty. But obviously Kyungsoo wasn’t willing to serve his feelings out on a silver platter alongside his dishes.

The chef stood up to leave. “Cute deer. Who’s it from?”

Luhan stared at the stuffed deer sitting at the foot of his bed and hesitated. Apparently, he had some kind of look on his face because Kyungsoo immediately guessed the answer.

“Ah… So I take it your date went pretty well, if the Prince even got you a stuffed deer. Hey, it even looks like you!” Kyungsoo laughed. It made Luhan feel as if he was overreacting.

“He ditched me, Soo. He was going to kiss me but when I closed my eyes, he disappeared. It was raining. I tried to walk back but a friend of mine spotted me and I ended up staying over at his place.” Luhan’s jaw was set as he gleamed over the details, especially the ones involving Prince Chanyeol. “The next day, I walked to the bus stop and Jongin saw me there. The Prince sent him and he took me back.”

“...Wow.”

“I know.”

“That’s... “ Kyungsoo furrowed his brows. “That must have been the worst date ever. I was wondering why you didn’t come back home last night. Sehun didn’t either…”

“What, do people think I slept with him?” Luhan scoffed, running a hand through his hair frustratedly. “God, just when I think things were decent, the Prince just has to come along and ruin it. Where the hell was he, then, if he didn’t come home?”

“Jongin might know. You can try asking him.” Kyungsoo opened the door and gave a small wave. “See you later, Ji-eun.”

“Later, Soo - ah, wait-”

Just as Kyungsoo turned back around, he slammed into something solid and felt the tray tumbling. His hand whipped out and caught the bowl. Sighing out of relief, a smile sneaked onto his features, but faded once he realized just who he crashed into.

“Soo, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Jongin held Kyungsoo’s arm, scanning him for injuries, all the while, worry written clearly across his face.

“Nice reflexes.” Luhan commented from behind them, innocence melting into a blatant, thin thread of amusement. “Don’t give a , my .”

Kyungsoo glared at the grinning imp. Shut up. He recalled that Jongin had asked him a question and was still waiting for the reply. Sighing again, Kyungsoo nodded, still refusing to talk.

“Oh, that’s great.” Jongin smiled the smile with dimples and sunshine and pearly whites over chocolate and Kyungsoo took it as his cue to leave. “Wait-”

“Is there something you came here for, Jongin?” Luhan interrupted, letting Kyungsoo escape successfully. Jongin looked like he was about to bolt after the chef any moment now. “Oh, just let the poor guy go.”

“You know why?” Jongin stared accusingly at the older boy. “He told you why, didn’t he? Are you closer with him than I am already?”

“Jongin, if he didn’t tell you, I sure as hell am not! Give it up and do your job.” Luhan shook his head at the whole ridiculous situation. He slithered out of his bed and flung open the closet to change out of his sleepwear.

Jongin cleared his throat and averted his eyes, not sure why Luhan felt comfortable changing in front of the butler. “All the ladies are to meet in the banquet hall shortly in about five minutes for lunch.”

“Wow, it’s already noon?” Luhan’s voice was muffled as he pulled the shirt over his head. “God, I haven’t taken a nap since kindergarten. What’s the meeting for anyway?”

“Um, probably another test.” Jongin let his body relax once Luhan was fully clothed. “You sure you wanna go in there like that? I could call over Luna for you.”

“Nah…” Luhan fidgeted. “It’s okay, I don’t want to bother her.”

“Too late for that,” A voice sang from the doorway, and both males turned to find Luna sashaying into the room, her dress leaving a trail of ruffles. She pulled Luhan towards her with a swift tug of the sleeve and examined his outfit choice, humming disapprovingly. Jongin, not wanting a replay of Luhan stripping, politely excused himself, leaving the older boy staring after him pleadingly.

As Luna threw out several pastel dresses from the closet, Luhan remembered what Suzy had warned him about earlier. He cleared his throat, “Uh, Luna. You heard the two girls were sent home right?”

“Mhm,” Luna replied half-mindedly as she dug deeper into the wardrobe, only one of her legs in the open now.

“Um, don’t you think it’s time for me to leave, as well?”

“Ah, found it!” Luna pulled out a navy blue, regal gown with cap sleeves. Smiling, she held it up to Luhan and ushered him into the bathroom to put it on. The boy reluctantly changed into the dark dress and came out, knowing full well Luna would be armed with foundation in one hand and a brush in the other. Immediately, she set to work dusting away at his face, as she chatted amiably, “This dress is a welcome change from all the pastel I made you wear before. Changing it up is always fun, y’know?”

“Luna…”

“Luhan, as long as you’re not down to the last five, I assure you that there’s no need to worry.” Luna raised her eyebrows at the blatant, disbelieving frown on Luhan’s face, “And I’m going to be a little selfish right now, okay? This place is full of quality food and dresses we’ve only ever seen on TV. Is it too much to ask to stay as long as we can? Anyway, we can talk about this later. We’re late for the next test.”

Luhan hesitated, unsure if any words could resolve the minefield he had placed himself in. He decided to leave first after Luna’s swift dismissal. Luna was on her way following him out, but she tripped over the stuffed deer thrown haphazardly on the ground.

“Ow…” Luna groaned quietly and lifted her head up from the ground, brushing away her locks to reveal a dark bruise contrasting against her pale skin. She picked it up and tossed it onto the bed, thinking about how out-of-place it looked in the castle. Maybe it was time to leave.

¤¤¤​

Luhan and Luna arrived in the middle of Miss Bom’s introduction to the next test, putting themselves in the centre of attention. Luna bowed apologetically at Miss Bom, who looked seconds away from hurling a dish at their faces, and dragged Luhan to their spots next to the rest of the girls. They were lined up in a straight line, all facing a row of butlers.

“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” Miss Bom’s sharp tone sliced through the air, “Each of you will be paired with the butler standing in front of you.This is not a matter of who’s the best dancer, but more of preparing you for all the upcoming events if you were to become a princess; a simulation of sorts. We will be looking for grace at all times and the ability to handle things your own way.”

“You a good dancer?”

Luhan looked up to see no one else but Jongin smirking at him. The butler was wearing the same suit he wore every day, but the new hairstyle rendered him completely unrecognizable. Jongin’s dark locks were swept up to reveal his forehead and curled slightly, unlike his usual fringe. Smiling back, Luhan shook his head. “I’ve never tried ballroom before.”

“Just follow my lead.” Jongin winked.

“Ah, I forgot to mention one important thing,” Miss Bom grinned, strongly resembling the Cheshire cat as a glimmer appeared in the gaze she directed to the opening side doors. The sunlight streamed in, spotlights of floating dust unveiling the one royal Luhan never wanted to see again. Prince Sehun strode in confidently and stood beside Miss Bom with unfocused eyes. “The Prince is also an available option as a dance partner. Of course, you won’t be the one choosing. Prince Sehun will randomly decide which lady he wants to dance with and he’s allowed to cut in, but he can’t dance with the same lady for the entire ball.”

“That’s all, so let’s begin,” Miss Bom sang out loud as she snapped her fingers daintily, cueing the pianist into beginning a classical song with a flick of a wrist.

At once, the butlers all took their respective ladies’ hands and bowed simultaneously, before dragging them in closer to closed position, with the two boys facing each other, Luhan’s hand on Jongin’s shoulder while the butler rested his hand on the shorter boy’s back. Some girls let out shocked gasps at the proximity, and Luhan saw Luna push her partner away as a reflex. Letting out a surprised laugh, Luhan let Jongin take the lead and made a face when Jongin placed his hand on the middle of his back. He held the butler’s left hand out to the side and started off on the wrong foot, stepping on Jongin’s polished dress shoe in the process.

“Sorry!” Luhan exclaimed, still laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. He watched as Hyuna and her dance partner accidentally bumped into Dara and her partner, while some other girls were twirling around in circles and dipping professionally, their dresses billowing around them.

Jongin tugged his hand. “C’mon, let’s try that again.”

After a few more stumbles and a trip over the hem of his gown, Luhan felt as if he had gotten the hang of it. The butler led him across the room in simple turns, and as the music considerably slowed down, Jongin smoothly transitioned into smaller steps. Luhan could feel the beam on his face with every note of the ivory keys the pianist pressed. Even though feeling the skirt swoosh every time he took a step was awkward, it was still surprisingly fun.

When the music paused for a beat, Jongin pressed Luhan against his chest in one swift move, Luhan’s face hanging on the butler’s shoulder. Struggling to push back, Luhan squirmed. “Jongin, what are yo-”

“Prince Sehun chose his first partner.”

Luhan widened his eyes, and watched as Jongin subtly turned so Luhan could see the Prince placing a hand on a butler’s shoulder, the latter stepping back with a bow. He couldn’t quite see who the girl was from his angle, but as Jongin smoothly dipped him, he got a clear view of Luna’s blank face. Luna frowned as she placed her hand on Sehun’s shoulder and grasped his left hand. The surrounding girls were shooting her looks of envy.

Luhan averted his eyes to Jongin and took a step back, before resuming position once more. Jongin shot him a glance as if he knew what Luhan was thinking, but he couldn’t possibly because Luhan himself didn’t even know what was going on in his own mind.

“We can rest for a bit, if you want,” Jongin suggested, moving the two of them closer to the edge of the dance.

“I’m not tired.”

“You’re sick.”

“I know, Jongin,” Luhan furrowed his brows, “But I don’t feel sick, so it’s okay.”

Jongin gave him that look again, which annoyed Luhan for some reason. “Your fever might not be the reason you’re feeling sick.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“You’ll see.” Jongin’s mouth tugged upwards at the corners. “I’ll help make you feel better.”

“Wha-” The butler twirled him in a circle again, enclosing him in his arms even closer than before. “Jongin!”

Jongin simply smiled and Luhan felt his hand reaching lower and lower, dropping to the small of his back. The older boy was pressed uncomfortably against Jongin’s chest, and he was about to shove the butler away aggressively because Kyungsoo-

“Jongin, sorry, buddy, but I’m going to have to take this dance.”

Luhan stumbled away from Jongin, fixated on shooting the butler looks of realization and don’t-you-dare. But unfortunately, Jongin did dare as he waved cheekily while making his exit, leaving Luhan alone with the waiting Prince Sehun.

Luhan debated whether or not he could make a run for it, but when he noticed Miss Bom staring at him threateningly, as if wondering why he wasn’t complying to the Prince’s wish, he had no other choice but to take his stupid, attractive dance partner’s hand in his.

The older boy decided to focus on Sehun’s collar instead of his distracting face, but the shirt reminded him of the wet dress shirt Sehun lent him that was soaking up the floorboards of his room. Frowning, Luhan tried to look away, but the intimate position the two of them were in didn’t allow for much variety in views. Everywhere Sehun was touching him burned.

Luhan coughed, wondering why it was feeling so hot all of a sudden. He felt the Prince grip his hand harder. “Your hands are so cold.”

“Excuse me?”

“Do you have a fever?” Luhan glanced up at Sehun staring at him with worry etched in his gaze. Luhan’s sneeze gave him away. “You should be in your room resting.”

“That’s what I was doing before they called me down here to dance of all things,” Luhan replied with raised eyebrows, the roughness of his voice not going unnoticed.

He lost his focus and delayed one step, crashing into Sehun’s shoulder. A horrible ripping sound filled the room. Luhan didn’t know the cause of the cacophony was himself until he turned his head and saw a huge tear in his gown, pieces of runaway fabric flying away.

Lifting his head, he met eyes with the girl standing behind him, heel firmly on the hem of his dress. Luna stared, horrified, and quickly retracted her foot. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you were behind me, I just-”

“Lu!” Jongin ran up to his side from his spot by the wall and slipped off his jacket to wrap around Luhan’s waist.

“I’ll bring her to the girls’ room.” It was only when Sehun spoke that Luhan remembered the Prince was right there and waves of embarrassment crashed over him.

“No, Your Highness, I think it’s better if only Luna went with her,” Jongin intervened, much to Luhan’s relief. He shot the butler a grateful smile.

The Prince frowned, “Are you disobeying my order, Jongin?”

“Of course not. But you’re supposed to stay here and pick the girls you want to dance with.”

“I…” Sehun hesitated, and Jongin took that opportunity to motion for Luna to take Luhan outside. The two of them successfully escaped by the time Jongin convinced Sehun to dance with another girl.

Outside, as Luna walked with him silently to the washroom, Luhan kept his mouth shut. He didn’t know what he would say, but it definitely wasn’t going to be nice. There had to be a reason why Luna just tore a hole through his dress, right? She was a logical, nice girl. At least, that was the Luna he knew. She probably did it somehow to help him, not because she had another agenda - but either way, it left him feeling shocked and cold inside.

If he can’t even trust Luna, who can he trust at this rate?