"The headache won't go away." Yongguk rubbed his temples as he hunched over the dining room table.

"Try not to strain yourself." Himchan replied in a soothing voice, hovering from the kitchen towards Yongguk. "Here, take a load off." He placed a mug of coffee next to the other's furiously writing hand.

Yongguk's pen fell from his hand and he picked up the colorfully decorated mug, it was littered with cute animals and sweets. The coffee scent emanating from it smelled too sweet for most; just the way he liked it. "Thank you, Channie." He broke into a gummy smile, shrinking his dark circles into wrinkles underneath his eyes.

Himchan leaned over and pecked the other on the cheek, "You're welcome. Why don't you turn the light up more? You'll hurt your eyes."

Yongguk smirked, “I wish. That’s the highest these old lights will go up.”

“Really?” Himchan asked, trying to turn the brightness up more by turning the light switch wheel, “You’d think that such an antique house would have better lighting...”

“Well, that’s why it’s called antique.” He replied, placing his cup of coffee down, leaving a coffee ring Himchan knew he'd have to scrub out of the wooden table. 

Himchan leaned against the doorway of the kitchen, “Hows those documents coming along?”

“They’re good.” He adjusted his glasses.

“Need any help?”

Yongguk looked up and smiled, “I would, if there was anything in here that your level of education could process.”

Himchan’s smile faded, “Oh, yeah...Sorry I asked.”

Yongguk’s tired eyes darted up when he realized what he had told his boyfriend, “No, no. Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that...Oh my god I’m such a . I’m so sorry.” He immediately got up from his seat and rushed over to the other, trying to embrace him.

“No, no, it’s okay.” Himchan threw his arms up protectively and retreated further into the kitchen, a pained look on his face, “I know you don’t want some cleaning boy touching such important documents. Sorry I brought it up...”

“Himchan, wait!”

Himchan ran into his bedroom next to the laundry room; the bedroom Himchan used when Yongguk had company over. All other nights he would spend them wrapped up in the arms of Yongguk in his grand, king sized bed. Himchan’s mother had been a housekeeper at the Bang household since she was a kid, and eventually became Yongguk’s nanny. Himchan was sent to live in the huge mansion with his ever busy mother after his grandmother had passed away and there was nobody left to care for the boy. His mother was kind, and let her play with Yongguk and begged the head of the house to let her son attend school. He agreed, but only up until the end of high school. Himchan never thought much about it, he was allowed freedom, allowed to stop by the candy store after school with friends (when he had any), but only to look, never to buy. He never had enough money to buy. When he was finished with his homework he would always help the other housekeepers with their chores, and the other women would dote on him and insist that he needed not to strain himself. They often told the squishy little boy to go play with Yongguk, and then later in life, to have the young handsome man keep Yongguk company when he was studying.

And as fate would make it, when Himchan’s mother passed away, the young boy who knew no other life stayed and took his mother’s place. And have stories be, the young orphan servant fell in love with the charming prince.

And the charming prince fell in love with the servant.

“You be careful!” One of the housekeepers who had watched Himchan grow spit at him one day.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about your relationship with Yongguk. I know you two are in love but this is a dangerous game I’m watching you two play and I can’t stand to see either one of you get hurt.” She replied, her eyebrows raising with the serious tone of her voice.

“What are you talking about? Yeah we’re in love...but what’s the big deal about it?”

She rolled her eyes, “Do you not understand? Have you forgotten to distinguish all those fairy tales your mother used to read you from reality? He’s rich and you’re a servant. It’s not gonna work. It never does.”

Himchan chewed his bottom lip. He knew. And next month Yongguk was going abroad for college, leaving him alone to tend to the large house as usual. Would Yongguk even love him once he returned for the holidays?

Yongguk did love him when he returned from the holidays, and he loved him when he returned for summer and he still loved him every reunion after that. And he still loved him enough to bring him to the old, antique house his grandfather had left him after he returned from college. For Yongguk, he had brought Himchan because he loved him, but for everyone else it was because he needed a servant.

“There you go, Nahyun.” Himchan smiled, freeing his hands from the young girl’s hair.

She ran her fingers over her newly braided hair and giggled, showing off the gaps in her teeth. “Thank you, Channie!” She wrapped her tiny arms around Himchan before running off to play among the flowers.

Himchan looked over and sighed as he watched Yongguk’s older sister’s daughter laugh so loudly and play so freely among the garden that Himchan had spent months cleaning up among blistering summer heat.

Yongguk’s family was here, and apparently from his mother’s words, ‘It was urgent.’

Despite their fight happening last week and Yongguk immediately coming to Himchan’s room to apologize profusely and insist that no matter what he loved him just the way he was. However, Himchan couldn’t help but think that his time to leave the other’s side was coming. A couple years ago Yongguk’s mother insisted that her daughter finally marry her rich and successful boyfriend and start a family. She had listened of course, and that led to a wedding and Nahyun and Yongguk’s mother reminding him he should hurry up and find a nice girl (preferably someone who shared the same social status as him) and get married.

“Channie!” Nahyun came running back, leaning up against his knees.

“What is it, sweetie?”

She rummaged into her tiny backpack and pulled out a storybook of fairy tales, “Can you read this to me, please?”

Himchan smiled and took the book from her before letting the younger crawl into his lap, “Of course. Which one do you want me to read to you?”

“Cinderella!” She laughed loudly.

Himchan nodded and opened the book, flipping to the story he knew all too well, “Once upon a time there was a young servant girl named Cinderella...”

Nahyun fiddled in her seat a little as Himchan ended the end of the fairytale, “And Cinderella and the prince had a beautiful wedding and they lived happily ever after. The end.” He shut the book and looked down at Nahyun, who had a confused look on her face. “What’s wrong? Did you not like the story?”

“I’m confused.”

“About what?”

“How can they live happily ever after? How do they do that?”

“Well Cinderella, the servant girl who’s evil step mother and step sisters were mean to her all those years finally got what they deserved and Cinderella got to marry the nice, Prince Charming.”

“But what about the step sisters?”

“Hm?”

“Why don’t they get to live happily ever after?”

“Because they were mean to Cinderella!”

“That’s not fair.” She pouted, “I always learn in class that mean people are mean for a reason. People aren’t just born evil. Those step sisters loved the prince, they didn’t know Cinderella loved him. They wanted to live happily ever after with him and be his princess...”

“But they couldn’t...” Himchan’s voice fell.

“Yeah! So why don’t they get a prince?”

“I-I don’t know...” Himchan chewed his lip, “But, you liked Cinderella didn’t you? You liked how in the end it was the servant girl who got to become the princess?” He quickly asked, trying to get Nahyun thinking about something more positive.

“Yeah!” She grinned and quickly nodded her head, “I liked that! Hey, Himchan?”

“Yes?”

“Mommy told me that you help clean Yongguk’s house. Isn’t that what Cinderella did too?”

“Yeah.” Himchan narrowed his eyes, afraid Nahyun was going on the wrong path again.

“So you’re like Cinderella! And one day a beautiful princess will come and marry you! Has that happened to you yet?”

Himchan smiled sadly and looked back at the flowers, “Something like that.”

“Is she pretty?”

“He...it was a prince.”

“Ooo! That makes you even more like Cinderella! So you two are in love? That means you two will live happily ever after! Where is your prince, Himchan? I wanna meet him!” She bounced up and down in Himchan’s lap.

“We probably won’t live happily ever after...”

“But why?” Her smile fell.

He looked down and brushed some loose hair away from her face, “Because maybe I’m the evil step sister.”

“Nahyun sweetie! Come say goodbye to uncle Yongguk!”

“So you’re getting married...”  Himchan crushed some peas under his fork.

“Yeah...to the daughter of some oil tycoon.”

“Is she pretty?”

Yongguk looked up and groaned, “Himchan, please. Can we focus on our problem here right now?”

“Our problem?” Himchan spit out, scoffing, “As far as I know, there isn’t a problem. You’re getting married and I’m leaving.”

“What are you talking about?” Yongguk narrowed his eyes, “You’re not leaving.”

“Oh so am I Rapunzel now? And you’re the witch who’s keeping me from living my life?”

“Rapunzel...what?” Yongguk exclaimed before rubbing his temples, “Himchan can you not? Can you just gather your little brain off the floor for a second and listen to me? I’m getting married. But I love you. We have to figure something out.”

“No. We don’t have to figure out anything.” Himchan picked up his plate and walked to the kitchen, “This wasn’t gonna work out in the first place so I didn’t know why I kept on letting it happen. I just want you to do what’s right...”

“Then I would marry you!”

“But you can’t!” Himchan yelled back, “Just marry her...I feel sorry for you.”

“You feel sorry for me?” Yongguk glared.

“Poor little rich boy has to marry the rich girl because mommy said so. At least when you’re poor you can marry who you want.”

“Oh yeah? And how’s that working out for you?”

Himchan slammed the plate into the kitchen sink, causing it to shatter and leading to a two hour apology from Yongguk.

“Woah, whoa. Hold up, what are you doing?” Yongguk frantically asked, when he finally found Himchan in the last place he would have looked. In his room by the laundry room. Packing.

“I’m leaving.”

“Leaving? Packing? What are you talking about? Stop for just a second...” Yongguk exclaimed reaching for Himchan’s furiously moving arms to stop him from folding up clothes and neatly placing them in his suitcase.

“An old friend of my mom’s offered me a job. It’s hard work but it pays good and I can make it by with what I have. Aren’t I lucky?” He said in a smug tone.

“Job? But you have a job here. And I pay you more than any other cleaning job would.” Yongguk replied, his voice distressed.

Himchan sighed and threw the pair of pants he was folding into his suitcase and sat down next to Yongguk on the bed, “I can’t be here...”

“No, of course you can!”

“It wouldn’t be fair to your wife.”

“But I love you!”

“No, Yongguk. She’s a nice lady and I can’t...I can’t be around a married couple like this! It’s not right...and Yongguk...” He cupped his face, “We all knew this was coming.”

Yongguk reached up and gently took Himchan’s hand from his face and kissed it, “I know...”

Yongguk helped wheel Himchan’s suitcase out to the front and called him a cab. Yongguk’s eyes were strained with dark bags. Himchan’s eyes were wet with tears. Himchan kept sniffling and Yongguk offered to run back inside to get some tissues but Himchan declined. They held each other and Himchan rested his head on Yongguk’s shoulder and Yongguk kissed him on the forehead. They didn’t know what to say. The cab was ten minutes late but neither of them minded. Yongguk put Himchan’s suitcase in the trunk while Himchan got in the cab and gave the driver the directions to where he needed to go. Their final goodbye was an ‘I love you’ strained with tears.

“Uncle Yongguk?”

“What is it, Nahyunnie?” Yongguk asked, picking up his niece and bouncing her against his hip.

“Where did Himchan go?”

“He went to go find his Prince Charming.” Yongguk smiled.

“Daddy, can you tell me a story?”

“Sure, sweetie.” Yongguk replied, reaching for his daughter’s story book from her nightstand.

“No...I’ve already heard all the stories in there. I want a new one.”

“A new one?”

She excitedly smiled, “Something I’ve never heard before.”

He rubbed his chin and thought for a second, “Ah, I have a story for you. But it doesn’t have a happy ending...”

“Tell me, tell me! I want to hear a sad story for once!” She clapped her hands and snuggled deeper into her bed.

“Once upon a time there was a servant boy who fell in love with a prince he knew he couldn’t live happily ever after with...”