And slowly, Luhan began to heal. His wounds were not numerous, but his couple wounds were deep and he was bed ridden for quite a while. Sehun was always there though. Sehun, who Luhan had become friends with suddenly became the kindest person in the world. It was as if they had returned to the old days, when Luhan was the only thing in Sehun’s eyes, when Sehun took care of Luhan and made the other smile and laugh. It was Sehun who changed the majority of Luhan’s bandages and brought the boy food and no matter how much prompting Luhan gave the other about going back to work, Sehun always seemed to have time for Luhan.

Jongin came to visit quite often as well and there was nothing but affection that Luhan had for the other. Jongin had been a constant friend when Sehun hadn’t been there and Luhan enjoyed his chats with the other. He could tell that Sehun enjoyed Jongin’s company as well, they always seemed to banter playfully and Sehun talked to Jongin as if he was a brother. The other, though stubborn and sometimes extremely pure in his ways, was a wonderful companion to have. The three of them together brought Luhan back to the old days of fun and games and though Luhan hadn’t known Jongin back then, it was like he had been there all along. However, it was still Sehun who was there for the majority of the time, who made Luhan’s heart beat like old times.

Sehun was, to say the least, charming. He often times flattered Luhan until his cheeks were red as fire then teased the other. And of course, Sehun was very intelligent, there was never a dull moment around. Sehun was witty, he was pleasing to be around and he always had the most wonderful stories to tell. His eyes shone when he spoke and he was absolutely handsome, even when there was a playful smirk on his lips. Luhan could tell why Sehun had so many people fawning over him.

However, part of him regretted the fact that Sehun had so many people fawning over him, mostly because it gave Luhan more enemies to deal with. The whole palace knew by now that Luhan was one of Sehun’s favorites, considering Sehun had dropped everything at a heartbeat to go to the other. Sehun was willing to throw everything away for Luhan, if Luhan called, he knew the other would be there in a heartbeat. That made him the object of more than one jealousies.

Oh yes, the first time Sehun had allowed Luhan to actually roam outside his room, Luhan had caught the glares that were shot at him because then turned away from Sehun, Luhan had seen the death threats in their eyes. He paid no heed to it, but it made him quite nervous as it was. Luhan liked to be in good relations with everyone, and honestly, having a mistress of Sehun’s size him up, a growl on his lips made Luhan just a bit unnerved.

And yet, Luhan was happy. There was hope in his heart again, that maybe Sehun could be changed, that maybe the bad habits the other had learned could be soothed into something sweeter. After all, Sehun was slowly opening his heart to Luhan.

And Luhan in turn, tried to open his heart to Sehun. He was quite on edge about it of course because he didn’t know how the other would react to his suspicions, however eventually Luhan reached a point where he thought Sehun would actually listen to him.

So, one day he gave it a try.

It was over a game of chess when Luhan first brought the idea up.

“Sehun.” The other’s words were soft and Luhan still wasn’t quite used to calling the other by his actual name, without the king attached to the end, but the name was slowly becoming more and more familiar between his lips.

“Yes?” the king didn’t even bother looking up, his fingers were moving quickly to grasp a chess piece as he gazed at the chess board.

“Your—“ Luhan paused, eyes watching the other’s fingers watchfully as Sehun moved his piece to eat one of Luhan’s pawns. “Financial minister didn’t seem to like me the times I’ve met him.”

“Well you did come up as a bit stingy the first time we saw each other.” Luhan merely rolled his eyes at that, because honestly he thought Sehun was the stingy one.

“That’s besides the point.” Luhan hummed, moving his own piece before he gazed at the other, pausing for a moment before he spoke “I don’t trust him frankly, Sehun.”

That caught his attention. Sehun glanced up, eyes narrowing as he gazes at Luhan. “Don’t trust him? Why he has been working for the kingdom since I took over. Now, Luhan, make your move.”

‘And what good that did the kingdom.’ “I don’t think what he’s doing is right for the kingdom.” Luhan merely uttered in reply. “He’s—do you see your people out there?”

Sehun seemed to be a little ticked now. “The people are quite happy out there, thank you very much.”

“Happy—Sehun do you even see your kingdom?”

“I get the financial reports. He is saving us quite a bit of money. Make your move Luhan.”

“They don’t tell the whole story—sehun please if you just saw your people—“

A bang caught him off guard and Luhan can see the chess pieces shake. Sehun’s voice is soft, but deadly so. “ Are you questioning my authority? Are you questioning my sense in officials Luhan?”

“I—“

“I do not need you to tell me what course of action to take, I understand what is best for my kingdom. Now Luhan, make your move.”

For a moment Luhan thought of opening his mouth, perhaps to protest. But the look in Sehun’s eyes was enough for Luhan to merely shut it moments later as he dropped his head down. “Yes, my king.” Was all he managed. The talk would have to come another time.

AN: Hello, yes, it's been a while. I have to apologize for that, I've been crazy busy with everything so I ended up setting this aside for a little, but well, I have some time now so this is the next chapter.So i actually decided the previous chapter 16 was a little too short so i combined these parts together.  I hope you enjoy, if you do, make sure to leave a comment or subscribe <3 I'll see if I can update faster in the next couple months.