Chapter Nine

A Dream’s End

Luhan couldn’t sleep. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t slip into a dream world where none of this was happening. By now, it must be after midnight. The night only rang with crickets and the occasional gust of wind. All else was still. Today was Sehun’s final day with him. As much as Luhan wanted it to be monumental, he knew that there wasn’t much he could do to ensure that kind of special. He rolled over onto his side. Undisturbed, Sehun rested on the opposite side of the room. Luhan couldn’t deny—no matter how hard he tried—how unbelievably handsome the prince was nor his everlasting feelings for him. Still, Luhan couldn’t trap him here forever.

When Sehun finally awoke a few hours later, Luhan had hardly snuck in a nap. His eyes drooped into a pool purple eye bags. Sehun must have noticed as he expressed deep concerns for Luhan’s health. He merely shrugged it off as a restless night, which wasn’t a total lie. Truthfully, his stomach ached at the thought of their impending fate.

“What’s on the market for today?” Sehun asked, playing with his breakfast.

“We’re going around town,” Luhan stated, avoiding eye contact.

Sehun leaned in, eyebrows knitted. “Is something wrong, Lu?”

“I’m fine. Just a bit tired,” Luhan mumbled, shaking his head.

Sehun didn’t believe it and Luhan knew that, but they both chose to drop the conversation. Breakfast came and went at a snail pace with only the sounds of birds singing outside to break the silence. It took him all morning, but Luhan finally pulled himself together and glanced up at Sehun. Those brown orbs captivated him for a few, heart wrenching moments. Luhan smiled. Sehun returned it, displaying his beautiful eye smile for just Luhan to see.

“Let’s go now,” Luhan suggested.

“Sounds like a plan,” Sehun chirped.

Once their meal ended, Luhan officially regained his ability to engage with Sehun again. Throughout the whole trip to town, they played and teased each other as if today was just another day. As if tomorrow, they would do the same thing again. As if this summer would never end. A cloud of truth hovered over him, but he chose to let the sun break through anyway. After all, today was his last chance to give Sehun a memorable adventure.   

“Wait a second, so royalty actually sit on their thrones and answer people’s questions at a specific time of day?” Luhan guffawed, his jaw jutting inwards as he laughed.

“Yes! What? Do you think we’re not human?” Sehun retorted. With those looks, definitely not human, Luhan thought.

“I thought you were descendants of Exodus,” Luhan mocked.

“Oh hush! As if anyone actually believes that anymore,” Sehun heaved. Luhan punched his arm.

“Plenty of people do! They teach it in schools for Exodus’ sake!” Luhan screeched.

“Kids probably grow out of it by the age of, what, like ten?” Sehun retailed.

“Xiumin and Jongdae and Chanyeol and Sunny and Seohyun and literally everyone I know, but Kyungsoo still believes it,” Luhan argued.

“Ridicules,” Sehun muttered, crossed his arms.

Once they stepped onto the streets of town, they popped in and out of each store they frequented during the last three months, including the sour faced woman who always shunned them from her antique clock ship for their supposed rowdiness. Even at this point, Sehun was still rather oblivious to the whole situation. His mind drew a blank as Luhan told him to say goodbye extra well—shake their hands, bow low, and maybe give them a hug if he liked them that much. All the while, his voice shook, though Sehun could tell Luhan tried his absolute best to hide it. Of course, Sehun had lost track of the months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds until his freedom. Once they were friends, Sehun didn’t care about his sentence. He didn’t come to terms with the truth that when he awoke tomorrow, Luhan would be saying his final goodbyes. This experience, something he had secretly vowed to treasure, would end sooner than he once thought. 

Their last destination was the—at least in Sehun’s eyes—infamous tavern that he and Luhan spent most of their time hogging a table and munching on every topic they could think of. A wave of despair suddenly came over Sehun as realization set in.

“Is it already…?” Sehun started, but couldn’t manage to finish. Luhan nodded. “But-but I’m not rea-“

“Ah! Luhan, Sehun!” Minseok clapped once before leaving the room. While the waited, Sehun and Luhan took their rightful seats. Minseok quickly returned with Jongdae.

“Hi, Luhan,” Jongdae greeted cheerfully. The only greeting his gave Sehun was a vexed glare. Sehun never understood how Jongdae could be loathing him one second, but adoring Luhan the next.

“Hi, Jongdae,” Luhan smiled that toothy grin that took the air right out of Sehun’s lungs.

“So the fateful day has finally come,” Jongdae sinisterly murmured, clasping his fingers together. Minseok elbowed him.

“Any last request, Sehunnie?” Minseok inquired. Jongdae gasped.

“Sehunnie? Baaabe!” Jongdae pouted.

“Chocolate bubble tea, please,” Sehun replied, ignoring Jongdae’s out-of-character whines. Minseok turned to Luhan.

“Nothing for me,” Luhan stated. Everyone’s eyes bore into his skull. “I’m just not hungry.”

Scooting closer, Jongdae placed a hand on the older’s shoulder. “Luhan, you know it’s not right to avoid eating just because you’re depressed.”

“Jongdae!” Minseok yelled from the kitchen. His face whitened. As much as Sehun loved seeing Jongdae challenged, he worried more about Luhan’s condition. He studied the older’s face only to find solemn expressions and unfocused dazes.

“Lu?” Sehun began. Luhan glanced up. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Sehun,” Luhan faked a smile. Sehun could tell.

Their last get-together ended with long hugs, Jongdae’s unwanted advice (“you need to take responsibility for you feelings sooner rather than later,” he had said), and Sehun consecutive “thank you”s. Once alone, Luhan tried to create distraction conversations, but to no avail. They all flopped within minutes. Both were too focused on the end of an unforgettable summer and, most importantly, the end of an unforgettable friendship. Subconsciously, they led themselves down the path in the woods (one considered the long way home).

“Hey, Luhan.”

“What?”

“If I’m only moving back to the castle, why am I saying goodbye to everyone?” he asked. Luhan laughed sadly. Facing Sehun, Luhan released a prolonged sigh.

“Sehun, we are never going to see each other again. It’s for the best this way,” Luhan explained, tears welling up in his eyes.

Sehun stopped dead in his tracks. “Huh?”

“You’re a prince and I’m a commoner, Sehun! No matter what you try, it will never be acceptable to everyone else if we are still best friends as much as we wish it could be. It doesn’t matter that I love you, Sehun,” Luhan sobbed.

His heart raced. He just confessed to Prince Sehun. Every feeling of dread and hope ran through his body.

“I love you too, Luhan.”

The whole world stopped for that brief second.

“You do?” Luhan sniffled.

“Of course, Lu. You’re the best brother I’ve ever had,” Sehun assured, grinning ear-to-ear. 

Luhan’s heart shattered. All of his limbs failed him and the foolishness of his own heart transfixed him.

Pulling Luhan into a hug, Sehun mustered, “I will never forget our friendship, Luhan. It’s the best gift you could have given me.”

Luhan should have been happy with that, but he ached so deeply everywhere that he couldn’t help allowing the merciless pain to consume him.

---

It was six o’clock sharp when the carriage rode up to the cottage. After another restless night of tossing and turning, Luhan found himself waiting at the window for them to arrive. If only this summer was as endless as this wait felt. About an hour prior to their arrival, Sehun awakened too. Draping his body over the smaller male, he watched alongside Luhan. When the wheels of the carriage rocked up the dirt road, they had ushered Sehun out the door as a family—a terribly brokenhearted family. Still, Luhan felt a tinge of hope residing in the corner of his heart.

In front of the carriage where his family waited, Sehun scanned Luhan. His normally pretty, light features sagged slightly and his weak half-smile didn’t help too much either. Sehun couldn’t cry. He hugged Luhan tightly.

“I’ll miss you, Luhan,” Sehun uttered into Luhan’s ear, just for him to hear.

“I’ll miss you too,” Luhan whispered, “Goodbye.”

When he pulled away, Sehun bowed to Tao and Yifan. “Thank you so very much.”

As Sehun boarded the carriage, the Kim family thanked them for their patience with their youngest. Neither Luhan nor Sehun bothered to listen. Riding away, they shouted their final goodbyes and “thank you”s. Luhan returned to the cherry tree. Unable to remove his eyes from the boy, Sehun’s heart sank lower and lower in his chest.

Back at the castle, all of the royalty cheered for their blatant success. Days in advance, they prepared a royal ball where, once again, all of the kings, queens, princes, and princess were invited. Almost as if to prove their new image. With their goblets filled with alcohol and their minds with false ideas, they danced and talked and were oh so oblivious to Sehun’s mental civil war. Halfheartedly, Sehun listened without argumentation, though he debated causing trouble just to go back to the carefreeness. To go back to Luhan and the Wu family.

“I cannot believe the commoners actually humbled him,” one had said before yelling at a servant to fan them harder.

“Oh, thank the Grand Exodus! I don’t think I could stand another horrendous prank outta that boy,” another had wailed, flailing their arms into the air.

Of course, this was all for show. Deep down, Sehun knew they were wrong. They were wrong about commoners. They were wrong about the pranks and the jokes. They were wrong about him.

That night, after loads of wine and food, Sehun headed off to bed early. He locked the bedroom door and rolled into his king sized bed. Salty tears escaped from his eyes and streamed down his face. Only day one and Sehun already desperately missed Luhan. His stupid jokes. The way his presence always made his mouth spurt out incoherencies. His stubbornness. The cute face he makes when someone defies him. His gentle touches. That feeling that bubbles up in his stomach whenever the older was near. His breathtaking smile. Sehun had adored that smile since the very first day. Every bit of him, Sehun loved. Sehun loved him.

Oh no.                                                                           

Sehun loved him. 

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