"The king has informed me of your fever. Why are you not in bed, Sir?"

Suho placed a bowl of water on the wooden desk while Jongin had not moved from his spot since the king had left the room.

"If needed I will bring you herbal medicine to soothe the fever."

Jongin heard nothing. Neither did he notice when Suho guided him into the bed or the cold cloth on his forehead.
The intimate act imposed by the king was still the only thing on his mind. Only, memories of another's kiss made Jongin's heart feel heavy and uneasy.

"How did you fall in love?"

The king and Jongin was once again gathered around Jongin's desk the following day. Kyungsoo had not been able to sleep in his own bed. He was tired but very enthusiastic at continuing where they had left off.

"Well, Sehun and I used to be the best of friends. We would get into all kinds of trouble, always daring one another to do something crazy. One time he even dared me to pick a flower from the king's garden. I had to climb the stone wall but only made it halfway before he pulled me back down and scolded me for listening to him."

The boy laughed fondly.
Kyungsoo did not.

"How is any of this relevant to you falling in love?"

"I loved Sehun when we were children but I was not in love with him. It was only after his family separated us that I were to fall in love. Suddenly he was not the silly boy I once knew but a gracious young man and I was able to see him in a different light."

"Different... Light?"

"I started seeing him in a romantic way."

"Romantic?"

"As in... all of a sudden his eyes were not merely brown. They were shimmering orbs of hazel and gold. It was a longing to hold his hand in mine, to touch his hair... Kiss his lips."

"Kiss?"

Kyungsoo tilted his head to the side, an inquisitive look on his face.

"Lips touching lips."

"How...  HowowH does it feel?"

"Wet? Soft... Absolutely incredible."

There was something almost alarming about the way Jongin let his eyes fall to his lap.

"Are you sad?"

Hesitant, Kyungsoo opened his arms like Jongin had done the day before, ready to cure the sad.

"I am fine, Your Grace."

Stunned and a little something else, Kyungsoo, awkwardly, let his arms fall to his sides, clearing his thorat.

"You say a kiss feels incredible. Is it part of falling in love?"

"It is. You can tell if it is love from that first kiss. And for me... It was."

Kyungsoo kept gnawing on his lip as he contemplated his next move.

"A kiss is something very intimate and special. it helps us to fall deeper in l... NO~!"

Kyungsoo had leaned in, lips puckered up, eyes wide open and aimed at Jongin's plumb lips when the boy had taken quite the tumble backwards.

"Jongin? What are you doing on the floor?"

There was a loud sigh as the boy struggled to his feet.

"His Majesty cannot do that."

"Why not?"

"He must understand that a kiss is not forcefully taken. It is shared between two people who feels the same. I realise his Majesty does not love me but I belong to Sehun. Please refrain from doing that ever again."

"I am your king."

"That he is. But even so, he cannot simply kiss someone. Not without  their consent."

"I would have to ask for a kiss? And that is considered romantic?"

"Yes."

"...I still fail to see how any of this should lead to the reason of falling in love with Sehun?"

Red stained the cheeks of a shyly smiling Jongin.

"If it was not obvious before, I can tell you that my family is very poor. Being the oldest means that I have to take responsibility for my siblings which I am happy to do... But I would be lying if I said it was not difficult. We struggled to make ends meet but just last year a guardian angel helped us through the hard times. Every night someone left food on our doorstep and we never knew who... Not until I caught him in the act."

A strange sensation rumbled through Kyungsoo's body. A mix of sweaty palms and an incessant abusing of his lower lip.

"It is not what you thi..."

"It was Sehun."

A different kind of sensation replaced the other. Hands balled into fists and jaw tensed up.

"It was Sehun who had helped us all along. And that is why I fell in love with him."

"...And that is why you are a fool."

Kyungsoo immediately stood up.

"Your love is but a lie you gullible dimwit."  

Voice laced with malice danced of off the king's tongue as he with hasty steps left the room. Sehun was a liar and Jongin was blinded that naive fool.
Perhaps, not quite deniable, Kyungsoo wished Jongin knew of his wrongly credited effort.

Jongin was furious.
Fool?
Dimwit?!

How dared the king call him such untrue words?!

Jongin paced the floor thin, sulked and fumed until Suho grabbed his arm.

"If he keeps this up, he will fall through the floor and I will not be there to catch him."

"You heard what he called me! How can I let that pass idly by?"

"He is the king."

"He is a bully. And I will speak my mind."

Jongin pulled his arm back before marching towards the door, opened it and turned to look at Suho.

"And he will listen."

There was the faintest hint of hesitation as if he was waiting for Suho to stop him but Suho did not move a single pace. So Jongin took a courageous step out the door, turned right... And got lost.

Jongin had not the slightest idea of where the king resided but a faint sound kept him going. He simply kept walking and walking as the sound became clearer and clearer. In the end, he ended up at the foot of a long winding staircase. Without a second thought, Jongin climbed the dark tower, curious as to what made the strange noise. At the top, a big wooden door kept guard to the room that held the  intriguing sound captive. A tentative push to the door and to his surprise, it swung open. Faint moonlight shone through a small window, lighting up a beautiful golden chest, placed on a stone shelf at the far back. The hypnotising sound guided Jongin closer to the chest and persuaded him to open it but what he found was quick to send him back to reality.

"What are you doing here? Did Suho send you?"

The King's voice bellowed from behind.

"I-is... Is this..."

"A living, beating heart? Yes."

"Yours? This is not possible..."

"But it is."

"...I don't believe you."

"Is it really that hard to believe? I have no comprehension of love. No... Feelings, whatsoever. But perhaps you need a demonstration to truly accept the truth."

The King approached. Jongin's own heart raced the one entrapped in gold as the king reached out for his hand, placed it on his chest... And nothing.
Instead of being met by a soft beat, the King's chest was silent.        
Stunned, Jongin let his hand fall down.

"Satisfied?"

"How are you alive?"

"Magic? A sorcerer sealed it away, along with any unwanted feeling I now never have to experience."   

"You... Y-you are a monster!"

"A monster..."

"You are not alive! Neither are you dead... You are a monster. And I will stay here not a second longer!"

In a rage and perhaps out of fear, Jongin pushed past the King and ran as fast as he could down the stairs, through seemingly endless corridors until he somehow managed to make his way back to his room. Suho stood watch by the window as Jongin flung open the door, startling the poor soul.

"Jongin!"

"Help me!"

Sobbing, Jongin fell to his knees in front of Suho, clutching his garments tight.

"Please! I beg of you! Let me leave this wicked place! Let me reunite with my family... Let me find Sehun."

"You know I cannot do that..."

"I'll kill myself! I have nothing to live for! The king will never know love! How can I teach a man with no living heart inside his chest... To feel?!"

Jongin finally let go of Suho as resignation took hold of his body.

"How...?"

It was not worth it. Living. Going through life alone, with no one to love and with no one to care. Without that... What was life except for... Hopeless? Dull? Not. Worth. Living. Jongin's tears pressed on when suddenly Suho dropped down next to Jongin, a frantic expression on his face.

"You listen. And you listen to me well because I will only speak this once."

Their eyes met. Suho seemed frightened as he relayed hastened word after word until nothing more was said and Jongin was left to himself. He wondered...

'Will it work?'  

A/N 

Finally an update! Writing this fic turned out to be a bigger pain in the than I had expected... I'm not sure if I'll scrap it or not or maybe turn the story into pure dialogue... But we'll see (: 
Thanks for reading and I hope you've liked the story so far... (: