Kyungsoo couldn't bring himself to look Jongin in the eye, not when the two of them were in an enclosed, dark space by themselves. Even in the dim lighting, the chef could clearly see Jongin's amused grin - the one he always wore with Kyungsoo around. Kyungsoo was amusing, a friend, but nothing more. Jongin never looked at Kyungsoo the way he looked at Sehun, with real love, not the type of love meant for childhood friends. And that was the exact reason why Kyungsoo dragged the butler into the storage room. To end it.

"So... what's up, Kyungie?" Kyungsoo shut his eyes. Don't back down now. Jongin took the chef's silence in stride, as always, and barreled on with words to fill the distance between the two. Jongin could never read between the lines or understand the concept of being subtle. "It's been so long since we last talked. I missed you so much-" Kyungsoo's heart panged at the words. "-and I have so much to tell you. You cannot believe what Prince Sehun was tell-"

"Can we stop this?" Kyungsoo finally blurted out at the mention of the Prince's name. He loathed hearing the three syllables spill from the butler's curved lips.

Surprise and something else he couldn't decipher painted Jongin's handsome features. "I... um - what?"

"Let's stop this," he repeated firmly, hands clenched at his sides. Kyungsoo's eyes were on the ground again, for he knew if he were to look up again, he wouldn't be able to finish without cracking.

"What's this?" Jongin sounded slightly frustrated, but Kyungsoo could never tell with him. "Explain so I can understand."

"Stop visiting the kitchen. You're a butler; I don't think butlers need to spend so much time loitering in the kitchen." Kyungsoo took a deep breath. The next part was going to be difficult for him to say. "And... please don't speak to me again, unless you absolutely need to. As in, you were given an order to speak to me or something. I-I'd rather not meet up with you anytime soon. It would be appreciated if you'd avoid me."

An ocean of silence filled the room and Kyungsoo felt as if he was drowning. The chef snuck a peek and he didn't know what he was expecting, but the sight of Jongin's completely blank face made his chest squeeze painfully.

Kyungsoo tried again, stating quite simply, "What I mean is... it'll be nice if we separated for a while."

There was a long pause before Jongin replied, "If that's what you want."

His voice was so detached and void of emotion, Kyungsoo didn't know how to feel about it nor did he know how to respond to it. This outcome wasn't something he predicted, but as the chef examined Jongin's personality and relationship with him, it was quite likely. It wouldn't matter if Kyungsoo was cut out from Jongin's life. Kyungsoo couldn't matter to Jongin a quarter of how much the butler meant to him. It was that obvious.

And so, the chef bowed and quietly slipped out of the stifled room. It was only when the door clicked shut behind him did Kyungsoo notice the steady river of tears streaming down his face. But his hands stayed at his side, not moving to wipe away the wetness staining his fair cheeks. For the first time in his life, Kyungsoo let himself cry everything out until there was nothing but his hollow self left, because he had no reason to hide anymore. It was the last time he was going to cry over Jongin, anyway.

And afterwards, when there were no more tears, Kyungsoo felt accomplished. He had achieved what he had been trying to do ever since the butler first laid eyes on Sehun.

But he still couldn't ignore the gaping hole that used to belong to Jongin.

¤¤¤​

In the bustling streets of Seoul, litter paved the way for zooming cars and oblivious citizens. Smoke painted the city ceiling in of charcoal and dust. There was so much density packed into one mere city; intriguing shops blasting pop songs and purposeful people with sleek outfit choices caught Luhan’s attention at first. His senses were going into overdrive, there was too much to experience.

He was dragged from the overwhelming sights when he felt someone’s hand fall on his shoulder and he looked up to see the arm belonged to Prince Sehun. In the midst of the city, the Prince was blocking him from the oncoming ocean of people, Luhan’s skin heating up wherever Prince Sehun touched him. His hand lingered for a brief moment to make sure Luhan was alright before letting it drop back to his side. Luhan shot a curious glance at the taller boy, but the Prince wasn’t looking at him. No words were exchanged between the two since they left the Royal Castle and Luhan found that he didn’t mind it that much. A silent Prince’s company was much preferred than a talkative, rude Prince.

The café they were supposed to spend their date at appeared in their sights, the cartoon logo of a coffee cup and doughnut standing out from the other clothing shops surrounding it. Judging from the mass of people streaming in and out of the store, it was popular.

When they neared the location, Luhan felt Sehun’s hand brush against his several times before the Prince slipped his hand smoothly into Luhan’s grasp. The shorter boy glanced up alarmingly at Prince Sehun and tried to tug his hand free, to no avail. Prince Sehun’s grip was gentle but firm as he led Luhan through the crowd and into the café.

Once they were inside, the Prince finally let go of Luhan’s slender hand and pointed to the stairs. “The first floor’s full already,” was all he said before he took one step at a time calmly without a look back. The brusqueness of his manner was off-putting to Luhan, whose childhood was spent in a village full of warm, inviting people and raised with smiles and kindness. But he supposed he should get used to it, if that’s what Seoul was made of.

A beaming waitress led them to a table meant for two seated by a window. The lighting was just right for a relaxing, late morning treat – pouring in from the window pane, floor-to-ceiling – and the café’s décor created a mellow atmosphere. The faded strawberry leather seat squeaked whenever Luhan so much as moved, but he couldn’t stop fidgeting. Tugging at his wig’s locks, he surveyed the room and noticed that it was mainly all couples. There was one group of cute girls seated in the back that kept shooting glances over at his table, though. Now that he thought about it, all the girls in this café were dressed cutely and had their makeup done. They look like dolls, Luhan thought.

Sighing, Luhan looked at his reflection in the glass window to his right. He didn’t bother with the makeup today, even though Luna offered. He didn’t really take much thought for his clothes either and just picked whatever was comfortable. Luhan ended up looking like he just woke up and even he realized he could have taken a lot more effort.

“Are you even gonna order?” Sehun’s abrupt tone sliced through Luhan’s thoughts. The brunet turned to face his date with a raised eyebrow. “You haven’t even looked at the menu once.”

Luhan rolled his eyes and skimmed the first page of the menu. “I’ll just have taro bubble tea with a slice of coffee cheesecake.”

“Alright.” Sehun raised a hand to signal to the waitress, voice drawling and possibly hesitant. “So...”

“So?” Luhan plopped his head down onto his hands. These days, he stumbled upon a habit of waking up at noon, inevitably skipping breakfast. He’d rather sleep in than let his mornings be stained by the stupid competition. And since he had to wake up early today, Luhan was seconds away from deeming the checkered tabletop his new bed.

“I assume you’re still uncomfortable around me.”

“It’s getting there.” Luhan shrugged, eyes vacant as he stared drowsily out the window.

Sehun let out a frustrated sigh. At least, Luhan took it as frustration. He could never tell with the Prince. “The point of a date is for both people to enjoy themselves and clearly, you don’t look like you’re having much fun-“

“Sorry for the interruption, but is your order ready?” The smiley waitress butted in to take Sehun’s order. Luhan couldn’t help but smile back at her. But once she left, Luhan’s smile slipped off as he turned back to the Prince.

“I’m going to be blunt here. It’s been, like, fifteen minutes since this stupid date started and we’ve barely exchanged a minute’s worth of conversation. That was the best fifteen minutes since I’ve met you,” Luhan shot back, eyebrows raised. “I don’t want to have fun on this date, I just want to get through this and screw up so I can go home. I don’t like you, Prince Sehun. I don’t like living in the Royal Castle. In fact, I hate it. I hate wearing those stupid dresses and I hate acting like I actually give a what you think about me. I just want to leave and – if all goes well – never see you again.”

“I think that’s the most you’ve ever said to me ever since you got here.” The edges of the Prince’s lips tugged upwards, almost mockingly.

“I-“

“Sorry for the interruption, but your order has arrived.” The waitress butted in and Luhan’s eyes nearly bugged out to see her set down multiple trays cluttered with plates of various pastries that looked very, very appetizing. Did he order this all for me? She was still smiling as she bowed and left.

“Are you not going to eat?” Prince Sehun barely spared him a glance before digging into the vanilla chocolate cheesecake placed in front of him. All the words charging through Luhan’s system and bubbling at the tip to explode all dissipated into meandering mist and he opened his mouth to find nothing coming out. The Prince seemed to be affected by what he had said previously and Luhan felt small pangs of guilt, but the jumbled chatter and clattering of meals flushed whatever feeling he had felt towards the blond boy seated in front of him out.

Luhan was about to respond before he got interrupted by the group of girls who were blatantly staring at them for the past few minutes. The leader of the group with bangs giggled and covered shyly as she approached their table. “Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt, but are you Prince Sehun?”

“Ah, yes.” Sehun dabbed at his mouth with a napkin and did a one-eighty personality switch as he shot her a blinding, kind grin.

“I thought so! My friends and I saw you and I told them you looked exactly like our Prince. But they didn’t believe me.” The girl flipped her brown, flowing locks as she gestured toward a group of waving girls. Luhan bit his lip as he watched the Prince give her a once-over and do the same to her giggling friends. “My name’s Yuri. Do you mind giving me an autograph?”

Maybe it was because Luhan was from the countryside, but he didn’t understand why they were treating Prince Sehun like some idol. If his village were to stumble across royalty, they would immediately present them with gifts and blessings. But apparently it was common to Sehun as he whipped out a pen from his pocket (who even carried pens around in their pockets?) and signed his autograph on Luhan’s napkin before presenting it to Yuri. When she reached out to grab it, Sehun swiftly caught her wrist and pressed his lips gently on her hand before placing the napkin in her palm.

“Prince Sehun!” Yuri turned tomato red and clutched the hand Sehun kissed to her chest. “I-I… Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Sehun was about to turn back to the table before Yuri blurted out, “Ah. I don’t mean to sound rude, but who is she?”

Luhan looked around the room before realizing who “she” actually was. He couldn’t help but notice the way Yuri phrased it made it seem as if he wasn’t sitting at that table a few feet away from her.

“Oh, her?” Prince Sehun’s eyes flickered to Luhan briefly. “She’s not important. Don’t mind her.”

Luhan barely registered the fact that Yuri returned to her table and Sehun had silently finished his cheesecake. All he could hear was she’s not important. Not important. Don’t mind her.

He wasn’t important.

Perhaps that was the moment Luhan allowed himself to accept what he knew was going to happen. Maybe he was just running away because anyone would in a situation like this. Luhan was playing dress-up, ironically putting on a façade of the person he vowed to never be. He turned into a girl, a liar, and a coward. And who was he even kidding? How could anyone possibly dislike the Prince as much as Luhan pretended he did? Even though Prince Sehun had his mean streaks, he had an appealing undertone that drew people like moths to a flame. He was a fire no one could keep their eyes off of, dangerous yet blindingly beautiful. And that was exactly why Luhan couldn’t let his guard down for a second, because Sehun was too much to handle and he knew if his walls tumbled down, he wouldn’t be able to last and withstand the oncoming storm.

Lost in his thoughts, he was startled as he suddenly realized the two of them were in the middle of a rowdy crowd surrounding their table. Luhan could hear his heartbeat pound in his ears and vaguely sense his trembling hands. Ever since he was a kid, he hated when a large group of people stared and pointed at him. It made him feel like he was on display for the whole world to pick at his faults.

Breathe, Luhan. In, out. In, out.

His gaze darted frantically from all the blurred faces until it landed on the Prince’s slightly irritated expression. Luhan gulped down the sense of terror at the sight of a familiar face. He felt Sehun grab his shuddering hand from under the table and heard him whisper, “Oh, this won’t do. C’mon. I’ll distract them and you run, okay? On the count of three.”

He nodded, confused.

“One.”

The citizens persistently demanded Sehun for an autograph and Luhan barely heard Yuri’s clear voice directing everyone’s attention to their table.

“Two.”

Luhan felt a squeeze and realized that he wasn’t shaking anymore.

“Three!”

In a flash, Sehun tugged the tabletop off in one try, letting the plates and food all crash onto the floor. The crowd scattered as everyone tried to avoid stepping on the broken glassware and smushed cake. Luhan didn’t stay to watch the aftermath as he darted through a small opening and away from the mass. It felt like his heart was leaping into his throat as he bolted down the stairs, out the door, and feet pounding down the sidewalk.

Luhan slowed to a stop when it struck him that he just ditched the Prince and now here he was in Seoul, alone, with no idea where he was. Another strike of terror hit him as he whirled around and doubled back as far as he could recall. Soon enough, he caught sight of the café’s pastel entrance and a reassuringly familiar mop of blond hair. A wave of relief and something warm and fuzzy washed over him as he waved hesitantly, hoping Sehun could spot him. He put his arm down once he could tell the Prince was making his way over. That was the only instance in which Luhan was glad for the Prince’s height.

“So…” Luhan started off and let out a sigh of relief when Sehun’s lips tugged upwards.

“So,” The Prince replied, tone light as a feather. “I’m sorry you don’t like me, the Royal Castle, or possibly Seoul in general. But maybe we can change that?”’

And Luhan found himself agreeing with a hint of a smile, “Yeah. Maybe.”

“Let’s be honest here. It that you’re stuck in this horrible situation you can’t get out of. So at least enjoy whatever you can, y’know?” The Prince began to wander slowly down the streets. Luhan tried to keep up, and quickly realized two of his steps were equal to one of Sehun’s long strides. Stupid long legs.

“I… I’m sorry, too, for being all y earlier.” Luhan didn’t know why he felt the need to explain his behavior – maybe because now he realized Sehun probably deserved at least that. “Normally, I’m not like this. I’m actually a very friendly person if you can believe it.” Sehun’s snort guaranteed he did not. “It’s just hard for me to adjust when I’ve only ever lived in one place my entire life, and suddenly I have to compete with other girls for you – it’s not that I don’t necessarily like you, but I barely talked to you before, so it’s pretty bizarre. And now it seems like everyone hates my guts.”

“I’m still pretty pissed about this whole competition, too, so I get where you’re coming from.” Sehun nodded towards a shoe store to their right, causing Luhan to break into a grin. “I don’t blame you. We could both have been better.”

“Yeah.” There’s so much I’m not telling you. Does this still count as honesty? “Thanks.”

¤¤¤​

The two boys continued window-shopping wordlessly, only breaking the companionable, comfortable atmosphere to point out several items they thought were attractive. They even stopped at a few food stalls to buy steaming street food that Luhan much preferred over the café they went to that morning.

When the burning sun hung high in the sky, Luhan didn’t realize how much time passed by as he found him and Sehun standing in front of those cheap claw machines filled with adorable stuffed animals. Everyone knew that it was impossible to win one of those, yet Luhan still yanked the Prince by the arm towards the contraption, eyes filled with undeniable glee.

“Sehun, Sehun, look at this!” Luhan glued his palms to the fogged-up glass. He immediately zoned in on the only deer in the pile of plush baozis and unicorns. “I want that one.”

“You do realize we can buy a deer plushie from that toy store we passed by a few minutes ago, right? We’re just gonna waste money on this thing,” Sehun replied with a raised eyebrow. He stopped talking once Luhan turned to him with eyes so large they resembled saucers. “Oh, no, don’t you dare use the puppy face-“

“But it’s just three dollars,” Luhan pressed as he pointed at the deer again. “Just two tries, okay?”

“No.” But Sehun’s wobbling voice gave him away. He shook his head, wondering just how many sides there were to this confusing girl. First, she was cold, and then suddenly came truth hour for no apparent reason. Now, she pulled out the aegyo guns? Sighing, the Prince relented, “Okay, fine. Make it one.”

“Three tries it is!” Luhan laughed and rubbed his hands enthusiastically before reaching into his pocket for spare change. The Prince watched half-amused, half-I-told-you-so, as Luhan failed horribly at snatching his precious deer toy. The third try was the closest, the claw just barely over the edge of the hole before the deer tumbled out of its grasp. Of course, it just set off another fit for Sehun to “wait just a sec, I totally got this.”

Several outraged cries and six dollars later, Luhan gave up with a huff. He sighed, “I really wanted that deer toy.”

“Clearly.” Sehun didn’t know how to respond to this newfound predicament. “What did you do to the real Ji-eun? The one who was moody all the time and wouldn’t break into a smile no matter what I did?”

“Not funny,” Luhan stared longingly at the stuffed animal and finally turned around, a frown prominent. “My village only ever had teddy bears and this is my first time seeing a real live stuffed deer toy. And I really love deer, okay? They’re freaking adorable.”

“I can tell.” Sehun drawled dryly, yet he couldn’t help but smile at Luhan’s excitement. “How about-“

“Oh!” Luhan held out his palm and stared up at the ashen sky. He could barely make out the sun peeking out shyly from behind the dingy clouds. Raindrops started off as a light drizzle but quickly whipped up into ‘thuds’ as the icy water raced to pound the ground. He turned and grabbed Sehun’s wet wrist. “C’mon, follow me.”

One hand was wiping away the water in his eyes and the other was in Luhan’s strong grip. Prince Sehun was soaked to the bone, yet he felt strangely calm and warm with his hand in his date’s. The two of them sprinted to the nearest shelter, which was a quaint store with a balcony serving as a roof over their heads.

Panting, Luhan felt shivers run their full course up and down his body. He wrapped his arms around himself and stared at the rain hammering down the streets relentlessly. People dashed by them, hands over their heads helplessly to cover the oncoming drench. Splashes of colour showed the ones who were smart enough to check the weather forecast and bring umbrellas. But other than that, Luhan had no clue as to where they were.

“Here.” The shorter boy felt something cozy and heavy settle around his shoulders. He reached up and met damp fabric that chased the cold away. Looking up, he met Sehun’s drenched, almost uncomfortable gaze.

Luhan tried to shrug it off but was quickly stopped by Sehun’s warm hand. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

“I don’t want you to get a cold.”

“But now you’re the one who’s gonna catch a cold.”

“I don’t get sick easily,” the Prince smirked, yet Luhan found that hard to believe with the tall boy standing there in a wet white tank top and soggy jeans.

Suddenly, the door behind Luhan burst open allowing an old man carrying an umbrella to exit and hobble down the street, causing the brunet to take a couple steps forward, directly into Sehun’s broad chest. “Oh, sorry.”

Luhan tried to move back, but was stopped by Sehun’s sturdy arm on his back. Something was charging in this moment, possibly the background music of rain kissing the grey pavement or Sehun’s annoyingly y, wet locks of hair. It was almost too perfect, too quick for this to be happening and yet the Prince kept moving closer and closer, eyes slowly closing, wet lips just a tad bit open.

And Luhan knew a canon blasted through his walls, letting them crumble down pathetically in that one single second. His mind was a complete mess, thoughts running rampant, yet he still felt his eyes shutting, his fists clenched so he wouldn’t reach up and clutch Sehun’s shirt, and worst of all, his heart pounding out a rhythm of I like you I like you I like you.

A tiny voice in his head screamed out, Don’t let him fool you! He did this to hundreds of girls before! But it got shoved into the back of his head, the rain drowning out the most logical of thoughts. Luhan could almost feel the moistened lips press against his, moving sweetly. He could almost feel the Prince clutch his face gently, lovingly. He painted the entire scene out, every single moment he wanted to experience was etched in his mind.

He could almost feel…

Nothing.

It wasn’t happening. Slightly confused and ignoring the tiny voice’s growing volume, Luhan kept his eyes shut for three seconds, which quickly turned into five and ten and quickly approaching a pathetic fifteen until he finally opened his eyes.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks and his heart even harder with a piercing sword.

Sehun was gone.

A/N:

Oh, no~ Where did Sehun go? Why did he leave Luhan alone after tricking him into an-almost kiss (if that's even a thing)?

I'm super, super sorry I didn't update for over a month OTL I honestly don't even know why any of you are still subscribed, but thank you so much if you still are and for the comments and upvotes ♥ I love you all so much you don't even know. My return from China got delayed and my computer crashed, so pretty much all of my progress got deleted and I had to rewrite it. Then rolled along school, and we all know what that means. These are just all excuses, but I'm just really sorry orz please forgive me?

Also, a huge thanks to my amazing beta, iamawesomeness

If you want to contact me or ask any questions, my contact info's on my wall ^^