“Hi, this is the answering machine of Winner. Please leave a message after the tone.”

*Tooooot*

“Taehyun-ah, it is your Mother. How did a picture of you and the prince got leaked to the press? We are really worried. Please call us back once you get this.”

*Beeeeep*

“Nam Taehyun ssi, I saw the reports. I expect you be report to my office tomorrow at 9am sharp with a full explanation. We need to discuss damage control.”

*Beeeeep*

“Hi this is Dara noona, we just came back and saw the reports online. Are you okay, Taehyun-ssi? Does our boss know?”

*Beeeeep*

About twelve hours earlier…

 “I think we need to check on them again to see if they are alright. They are taking too long in there. It is unsettling.” Seungyoon muttered as he casted another glance at the closed door.

“Should we bring them some drinks? Like hot chocolate or hot tea or hot coffee?” Jinwoo quipped.

“Wait, why would they not be alright? They are adults. It is Taehyun we are talking about here. He is more adult than any of us here.” Seunghoon muttered not lifting his eyes off his phone.

“I do not understand why do you need to be so nice especially to him...”

“We are taught to be polite that is why. No really, I think we should bring them tea. We should be a good host or something.”

“Oh, I am quite certain that Taehyunie is being a verrrry good host right now.” Seunghoon could not help but sniggered. That promptly earned him a slap on the shoulder from Jinwoo.

“Owww! Why did you hit me for hyung?”

“Because you deserve it!”

“That is it! I am going in!”

“Seungyoon-ah!”

Seungyoon stalked down the corridor leading to Taehyun’s room and was about to rip open the door but the person inside was faster. He stared at Mino’s face, his smiling face.

“Hello.” He said.

“Hello…” Seungyoon replied suspiciously.

Mino’s smile was friendly, kind and a bit curious which mirrored Taehyun’s who looked a little red but was otherwise fine.

“We are wondering what is taking you both so long? We also wondered if you want something to drink.” Seungyoon said

“That would be nice.” Mino said as he stepped into the living room.

Seungyoon cast a dark glance at the maknae.  What happened? Seungyoon mouthed. Did he…

No! Oh gosh! Taehyun mouthed back in shock. 

Clearly not satisfied with his answer, he followed Mino but not before casting one last questioning glance at Taehyun.

The answer he got was a wistful smile from their youngest member and it was enough to let him infer. However, Seungyoon was still not as attuned to the finer intricacies of human relationships unlike Jinwoo.

“Oh! You both are together now!” Jinwoo exclaimed as the three of them entered the living room.

Taehyun nods.

“You are wearing the ring so he asked you?” 

The younger guy nods some more.

Mino watched in amusement as Jinwoo happily hugged the maknae which as usual Taehyun tries his hardest to escape. Seungyoon grudgingly tell him to be happy and be careful. Seunghoon was just happy in general for the maknae and came over to Mino to tell him no hard feelings.

Someone then came up to tap him on the shoulder, turning he saw Hanbin standing beside him. “Congratulations, hyung.”

Mino saw the openness in his eyes and the look of true glee at the fact that both of his friends are happy.

“Taehyun, if he ever makes you unhappy. Please know that I will always be here for you.” Hanbin jokingly called out to the younger guy.

“Yah! Hanbin!”

Mino knew he was lucky to have such friends with even one who would dare to argue with him the lowest manner possible and not hold a grudge in the end.

Later on as they were just hanging out on the couch, Taehyun was curled up against Mino as they discussed their overseas schedule. Mino frowned as he listened. He did not like the idea of Taehyun flying out knowing that the killer is still out there. It would be so much safer if he was in Korea where help will be close.

“I don’t like it that you are flying out so much.”

“These are pre-planned schedule. We can’t just back out.” Taehyun patted Mino’s hand gently hoping to ease the tension.

“You don’t have to worry. Kihoon hyung is taking care of the fan letters or security issues.” Seunghoon commented.

“Fan letters? Like stalkers?” Mino asked suddenly worried.

 “Not to the point of physical stalking but just a little over zealous I guess?” Seungyoon shrugged.

“You sure that it is okay?” Mino asked Taehyun worriedly.

“Yes, we will be fine.” Taehyun nodded.

“So what is going to happen now that you are together?” Jinwoo asked 

“There is not much change to be honest. I am not the crown prince therefore not required to be at the Palace all the time. There are occasional state functions that we need to attend together. Other than that, Taehyun is still with Winner and follows the group’s schedule.”

“So you won’t be moving out?”

“Not moving out per se since my apartment is just the unit next to your dorm.”

“You are our neighbour!?” Four pairs of eyes turned to stare at him.

“Well, I have not moved in yet but father and mother chose this place. I had nothing to do with it. I swear!”

“Are you sure you are not the stalker that we should be worried about?” Seunghoon asked suspiciously.

“Yah! I am really not. I have nothing to do with it. I am just waiting for the whole killer thing to settle before I move in.”

“They never cease to amaze me with their meddling skills.” Taehyun shook his head.

“You know I have always wondered what is like to really see the Palace ground. Will we be able to visit the place?” Jinwoo suddenly asked.

"Any time you want,” Mino immediately said. “As a matter of fact, I am very much looking forward to it. It will bring life into the Palace for sure.”

“What’s there to see?” Seunghoon wanted to know.

“Well,” the prince shrugged. “It’s the greatest place to play hide-and-seek. And you can play golf. And ride a bicycle all over it, scaring the guards. There’s lake where you can bath in the summer. Lots and lots of food. Also, stiff people, waiting to be scared out of their socks.” Mino grinned

“I can’t wait to bring you all there.” Mino chuckled as he pulled Taehyun closer to him.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next day was a flurry of activities. Kihoon came to fetch the group for their press conference. Taehyun could not even say a goodbye to Mino who spent the night at the dorm. Not even a kiss or a hug, they could only be consoled by warm smiles and hands brushing for a fleeting moment before Taehyun left.

Mino made his way back to the Palace and waited impatiently for his lover... to worry over him, hug him and kiss him for all he wanted…

Taehyun was out there facing the world, praying for it to end soon...

Jiwon went to face the man… the man who was behind this.

The door splintered, as if made from paper. Jiwon had drawn his gun and pointed immediately but knew in an instant that the apartment was empty.

Carefully, he made his way inside, accompanied by the usual army of men in black, Seunghyun’s guys. They swarmed into the place, silently and efficiently. It took them under thirty seconds, until Jiwon received clear status for the entire place.

But Jiwon had already found it. The living room was a big, neat place, light and spacious It was not the sort of dark, dirty holes one usually expected from psychopaths and stalkers that lived on television or movies.

The guy was a neat freak, Jiwon thought, when he approached the laptop to see the neatly staked pictures there, the carefully filed pieces of paper.

There was a picture that caught Jiwon’s attention. It was an old photograph and he found it in the scanner.

He had seen it before; Prince Mino owned one copy, as did Taehyun. It was very old and it showed both of them, Taehyun and Mino as children, and Siwon was on it with Jiyong too.

Someone had digitalized it.

But how did that person get that picture? It was personal property of the Royal Family and Taehyun. These things either leaked to the public by accident, were intentionally released or …

… were stolen.

But who would …

It was someone close to an idol. An SBS employee? No. Not an SBS employee. Someone who had access to Taehyun and Winner.

Someone who had intimate access to them...

Someone like …

It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be. He worked for YG Entertainment for seven years. Seven years! But he fit the profile.

Male. Mid-thirties. Alone. Had access, resources and information.

Jiwon flipped open his cell phone, but the moment, he wanted to dial, it beeped instead. Opening the picture that had been sent to him, he first read the text from Seunghyun hyung:

How did this leak, especially during a YG Family press conference?

Attached to it was the picture that Jiwon was holding right at that moment.

He knew who it was…

YG Family Press Conference:

Hilton Hotel, Seoul, in a huge conference room. Taehyun sat silently in between Seungyoon and Seunghoon, praying for the time to end soon so that he could go back to be with Mino at the Palace spending time together before he left for the first leg of the tour.

There were about hundred reporters or more, some of them standing, some of them sitting themselves on rows and rows of tables with lots of laptops in front of them. Various photographers flashing away as the team just finished announcing the venues of the tour and the concert dates.

They were about to start a question and answer session when it happened...

A phone rang then another and another…

Every phone in the room suddenly started to go off, text messages started to pour in, even the artists were just as surprised as the reporters. A murmur washed over the room, and then, the first person managed found out.

“No way!” A KBS man said, his eyes almost popping out as he stared at his phone. Then he looked at Taehyun, and back at the pictures, and again to Taehyun.

The people with the laptops changed what was on the screen to ascertain in bigger what had been sent to them in a small version on their phones.

The many, many computer screens in the room all changed to one picture that had leaked onto the net.

The resemblance was uncanny.

First was Taehyun, clearly distinguishable, as his handsome features were already visible. Second was Siwon, who was easy to recognize in the picture since he was the Crown Prince then. Third, it was Jiyong with his trademark smile. Finally, the young boy everyone knew from official pictures as Minho, the youngest prince of Korea.

The flashes of the photographers whitened the room and the whispers rose like a tsunami, as they all, astounded, astonished and awed, stared at the maknae from Winner.

“They know,” Seunghoon unnecessarily whispered.

One brave reporter dared to ask the question that everyone was dying to know, “Is this picture real? Are you on personal terms with the Royal Family?”

Taehyun took a deep breath before answering, “Yes.”

All mayhem broke loose. People fired their questions, flashed away, stared, pointed, yelled into cell phones. The security had to hold them back, as information spilled out of the little room.

Still, the emotion that swept everyone away, grew in a manner that security had to rush Winner out of the room, through the waves of people, not only journalists, but also people from the hotel, fans, spectators, everyone who suddenly seemed to flood the place.

In the confusion of screams, of shoves, of camera flashes, of questions and of stumbling, Taehyun got separated from s and from the public relation team. He just got swept away. He tried to find Yunho or Changmin, who just recovered not too long ago from his injuries, but none of them was there.

“Taehyun-ah,” a voice said.

He looked around and felt relief immediately flooded through his mind. It was his manager hyung, Kihoon. He grasped his arm.

“Taehyun-ah, come with me. We have to get you out of here.”

“Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.” Taehyun whispered to him in all the chaos surrounding him, as his manager lead him away.

Minutes later, Jiwon arrived. He had tried to reach Seunghyun or to reach any of the bodyguards, but could not get through.

Finally, left with no choice, he phoned Mino, the prince.

“It is Kihoon, it is Kihoon!” Jiwon screamed into the phone.

Mino was already leaving the Palace, racing down the pathway in front of his garage towards the main gate, ironically driving Siwon’s old, favorite and only car, an Audi A8.

“I know!” Mino growled back and immediately cut the call.

The last message he had been sent appeared on the small touch screen. It showed Taehyun, unconscious, on the backseat of a car.

Underneath an address and some words…

Come and get him...

~~~~~~~~~~

Hihi back with an update... drama happened...I will try to update soon hopefully chinese new year with my family will not be crazy so i could  find pockets of time to write...  i hope you all like this... no silent readers please... GONG XI FA CAI to all chinese readers!!