sorry this took so long and sorry in advance if this ><

To say King Donghae was annoyed that day was an understatement.

It all began in the morning when Eunhyuk barged into his room, proclaiming his presence with a loud bang of the door and a shout of, “Rise and shine your Majesty!” It took a lot of patience for Donghae not shove his pillow down on his throat although he did allow himself to glare at the intruder. A deathly one of course. However, much to his dislike, the other just smiled to him.

Nevermind him Donghae. He looks like a monkey anyway. An ugly one in fact.

Having breakfast with Eunhyuk droning on about his schedules did not help as well. Usually, he would be in a good mood seeing his favourite fish shaped pancakes alongside scrambled eggs and bacon but today isn’t really his day.

He chewed his food slowly as he tried to remember what he had dreamed about. It was all so vague unlike all his other dreams. He did remember thoug that he was trying to find his lover although the person was nowhere to be seen. He sighed as he brought the glass of milk in his lips.

“And so your Majesty, once you have finished eating the carriage at the front door will take us around the Kingdom.” Eunhyuk finally concluded his long speech.

And that was how Donghae ended up splashing milk on the poor servant’s face. “What?! We are going out of the castle?”

Eunhyuk shook his head in disapproval. “Yes your Highness. That was what I have been trying to tell you. I heard you were an incompetent ruler but I didn’t know you were such a bad listener too.”

It is concluded. Donghae does not like Eunhyuk at all.

But of course, like most of the things he does every day, he had to comply with what his adviser had planned for him. Nervously, he got into the carriage beside Eunhyuk and had to resist the urge to stop the thing as soon as it started moving.

Eunhyuk eyed him suspiciously. “Is there something wrong your Majesty?”

Donghae bit his lip. Was he that obvious? “I-I’m fine. Go mind your own business.” He concentrated on looking at the disappearing view of the castle to avoid the piercing stare of the other.

A smirk formed on Eunhyuk’s lips as he crossed his arms and looked outside as well. “It is always scary to go outside of the confines of the palace. It’s like getting a slap on your face for being so irresponsible for all the lives that are in your hands. But it is only when you meet real people can you understand what is really going on.”

Donghae took in the small houses of the commoners and the number of people running around the street. Eunhyuk sounds so smart after saying that. Will he be able to give off the same vibe when it's his turn to show himself?

What he sees so far scared him. It had only been a few minutes since they had started moving out but he could already draw the difference between the lifestyle of the people here and the his lifestyle inside the palace. Most of them wear clothes that looked like rags to protect their skinny bodies from the cold morning breeze. Some even don’t have anything to protect their feet as they walked uneven roads while pushing carts or carrying big sacks on their backs. He also noted that even if it was the usual time for children to go to school, a great number of them were around the shops to help their parents or do work for some adults. Is this really how his people lived under his rule?

“You’ll do great.” Eunhyuk smiled at him, breaking his thoughts as he patted his leg. Donghae wanted to mumble a thank you but a loud booming voice proclaimed his presence to the people. “Ladies and gentlemen! Your Higness, King Donghae Lee, has arrived!”

Light poured into the carriage once the door had opened and Donghae stepped out nervously after Eunhyuk. He felt wary with everyone’s eyes upon him as he stepped on the make-shift stage but he knew he must compose himself if he wanted to do his job well.

“A pleasant day to all of you. I am King Donghae and I have especially allotted this day to go around the Kingdom in order to get to know my people more…”

“DOWN WITH THE KING!!!!” somebody hollered from the crowd and before anyone could react, Donghae was attacked with rotten tomatoes and cabbages.

He didn’t know what to feel at that moment. Something tells him to just accept everything becase he deserves this treatment but somehow, the rotten vegetables did not reach him. To his surprise, protective arms were wrapped around him and he was pressed against someone’s chest while being dragged into the carriage. “Somebody take control of the situation! I’ll get the King to a safe place.” He heard Eunhyuk’s authorative voice cut through all the noise and in minutes, he was once again inside the carriage, driven out of the angry crowd.

Donghae looked down and felt the hot tears flow down his cheeks freely. He did not dare wipe them or hide them from Eunhyuk. He had embarrassed himself too much today anyway.

To his surprise however, the royal adviser started cleaning his tears and wiped all the remnants of the vegetables on him with a handkerchief. Donghae looked up at him warily. “I really messed up a lot huh?”

Eunhyuk smiled down at him and caressed his cheek. “Your Highness, we can’t please everybody. But we can always win them back.”

Donghae let his guards down and rested his head onto the other’s shoulder like a kid. Despite being flabbergasted with the other’s action, Eunhyuk wrapped his arms protectively against the other and rubbed his hand gently onto his back to comfort him. “I don’t think I can win them back, Eunhyuk-ssi.” Donghae mumbled as he cried again. “No one ever liked me. Ever since I was born, they had already despised me. They hated my father because he had to take up the throne. He did not want it at all! But he had no choice. His uncle did not have an heir. That’s why they killed him. That’s why mother was killed too before I even got the chance to remember their faces. That’s why I was forced to be here. But they want me to die too so everything will be better for them.”

Eunhyuk hushed him and ran his fingers through the other’s hair. “If I find someone who still believes, would you promise me that you would try?” Donghae huffed in desblief. “You won’t find anyone.” Eunhyuk’s lips tugged into a smirk. “Oh you’ll see.”

Eunhyuk could not hide his amusement at how Donghae was acting. He was so at lost today like a kid who will cry anytime. This made Eunhyuk think that it is only right for him to feel protective of him. Even if they were already penetrating each other's personal space despite the few hours they were together, the adviser enjoyed holding the King in his arms while the latter was sleeping comfortably with his head on his shoulder.

He had to say good bye to his serene features though since they had already arrived in their destination. Eunhyuk smiled at how cute Donghae was as he stretched and rubbed the sleep of his eyes like a little kid. He really was too young to be a in such a situation, he had thought. “Where are we?” he asked in a groggy voice but instead of answering him, his companion just went out the door.

Donghae, still traumatized with what happened earlier, took cautious steps outside of the carriage. He need not to worry however since they were in the middle of a big rice field with the huts far apart. There wasn’t anyone there too since most of them were preoccupied with planting saplings on to the ground not minding  the blaring hot afternoon sun on their backs. What caught his attention though are the two men that lived in the nearest hut who immediately greeted Eunhyuk upon seeing him. They seem to be really familiar with each other since they all looked happy with the mini reunion.

Seeing him however, the two immediately bowed down politely. Donghae was stunned at first but managed to wave for them to stand up. “Ya Prince Hyukjae! You did not tell us that you were with the King! We should have prepared something!” the taller man said while adjusting his clothes awkwardly.

Prince Hyukjae? Who is that?

“Don’t bother Kyuhyun. I only wanted to show the King something.” Eunhyuk smiled at him and patted his back. “Can you give us a tour around? It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. I miss this place.” True enough, his features showed longing as he scanned the area and inhaled the fresh breeze.

“But his highness might not…”

“It will be fine Kyuhyun-ssi. I really planned to go around the Kingdom today.” Donghae smiled and nodded to tell them to proceed.

It was a new experience for Donghae. He had never felt leaves tickle his skin before nor has he walked through muddy ground. Despite the blaring sunlight, he enjoyed helping the other farmers with their chores. He tried cutting loose plants here and gathered rice grains there. He even had the chance to ride one of the animals they used for plowing the ground. Although it was quite humiliating that he almost fell and hit the ground if Eunhyuk wasn’t staying close enough all the time to help him.

Kyuhyun and the other male whom he had introduced as his husband (to Donghae’s surprise), Sungmin, were also very entertaining. They told the king how things work around there and how they earn a living from farming. He knew that they were trying to conceal the hardship that they experience but Donghae saw it in his own eyes. The people there barely had food to eat since they need to sell their crops to for money to be used by their families. There were also times that they had nothing to produce since pests and extreme weather conditions would destroy their crops. Children also had to walk a long way in order to walk to school. In fact, some of them had already dropped out and decided to just help their fathers in the field or their mothers in taking care of their siblings.

Seeing the sufferings of his people up close, Donghae would have really felt despair in trying to find solutions for all their problems but something Sungmin said d changed his mind. They were sitting on one of the shaded benches while watching Eunhyuk and Kyuhyun help the men load the sacks in order to deliver them into the nearest marketplace when Sungmin addressed him. “Your Highness, I know you saw today how bad our condition is as commoners of this Kingdom. I won’t even try to lie that everything is okay under your rule. But I do believe that you can be the leader who will save us. You are our ruler because you were destined to be there. Besides, we have no one to look up to as our King besides you, right?” Sungmin had smiled at him and patted his shoulder before cleaning his husband’s sweaty face, leaving Donghae with alone with his thoughts.

Donghae wished for the first time in a while that the day would be longer and for night to wait for a while. He wanted to see more things outside the palace. He wanted to meet more people, know their story, and assure them that he will try his best to help them. It was the first time that Donghae accepted that he was the King and that he wanted to do something.  After everything that he had experience today, Donghae felt an unfamiliar feeling spark somewhere inside him which he did not realize that had been there all along.

“A penny for your thoughts?” Eunhyuk smiled as he watched Donghae stare intently outside the window as they ride the carriage back to the palace.

“Eunhyuk-ssi. I want to make things better for Kyuhyun and Sungmin. I want to help the farmers. I want to help my people. I want them to believe in me again. I want to be their King.” Donghae said, full of conviction while looking at his adviser in the eyes.

The other man smiled and reached out for his hand to squeeze it. “You will and I will be here to help you, your Majesty.”

Okay. Maybe this day wasn’t that bad after all.