Chapter Seven

What is Love

As Sehun rocked back and forth on the old family rocking chair, reading up on the Summer Festival, Luhan stared at the spinning orbs around the fan. Of course, it was another steaming summer day and the grogginess from the heat caused a slight laziness within him, but he pushed aside that complaint. Ever since Sehun’s birthday, a weird feeling bubbled up inside him whenever he was around, looked, or even thought of the prince. He gulped. Just the idea that the poor commoner, Luhan Wu could ever be with some as noble as a prince (or even someone above the middle class) made him snicker. Prince Sehun consumed his daydreams and thoughts. Luhan must be going insane. After his time his up, Sehun would return to castle and forget all about him.

“Luhan?” Sehun called out abruptly.

“Hm?”

“Why does it say that no shoes are allowed? Isn’t that unsanitary?” Sehun asked, titling his head to the side as he read.

Luhan laughed, “Of course not! It’s an old tradition, but it’s meant to symbolizes youth and adventure, which is kinda what summer is all about.”

“Ohh,” Sehun paused before irritably huffing out, “How come I don’t learn these things?”

“Because only lords and ladies attend this festival and even that’s pretty rare,” Luhan clarified.

“When does it start?” Sehun closed the book.

“Whenever Kyungsoo gets here.” There was a knock on the door. “Okay, so now.”

“Open up, Lulu,” Kyungsoo shouted, banging on the door harder.

“Don’t call me Lulu!” Luhan yelled back, throwing a hat at the door, “I’m not cute.”

“Lulu? How precious,” Sehun cooed. Within a matter of seconds, Kyungsoo burst through the door.

“Sehun? Hold down Luhan for me,” he smirked, approaching slowly, “This is for that dart prank on Sehun’s birthday.”

“Sehun, don’t you dare,” Luhan warned as he felt Sehun fingers dancing around his waist. Feeling Sehun’s hands wandering around his body, a blush creeped onto Luhan’s face. Oh no. Another touch and Luhan was positive he would combust. He squirmed out of the younger’s grasps before Kyungsoo could even get close to him. “Let’s just go.”

Off they went, skipping up the dirt road side by side. Kyungsoo found it magnificent how different the prince was when beside Luhan. When Luhan went off to plan the younger’s birthday, Kyungsoo witnessed a whole other person. He experienced firsthand just how far Sehun’s loyalty towards Luhan went when he lost the older. That day he actually grew a newfound respect for the prince—a status for which he rarely ever demonstrated respect.

“Kyungsoo, what’d you wanna do first?” Luhan asked, draping his arms around Kyungsoo’s shoulders.

“I wanna see the race,” Kyungsoo insisted, shooting Luhan an eyebrow wiggle.

“Why? Is the vendor cute?” Luhan pressed on. Sehun rolled his eyes.

“It’s Hongbin!” Kyungsoo squealed, “He’s the cutest guy in the entire town.”

"You know, maybe I’m just playing devil’s advocate, but he’s probably not,” Sehun retorted, placing his arm on one side of Luhan’s shoulders and catching a glimpse of Luhan’s scrunched up expression.

“You haven’t even seen him yet,” Luhan exclaimed, “He’s like a god!”

“Doubt it, Lu,” Sehun chuckled.

However, when they got to the race, Sehun couldn’t think of a single argument to combat their giggles. Hongbin definitely was attractive—more so than most people at this god forsaken fair were. So far, Sehun has seen like five toothless people, ten unsupervised children, and over a hundred beer bellies. Not only that, but his feet ached from stepping on countless pebbles and stems. Overall though, the festivities seemed promising. At this particular event, Luhan stupidly wasted twenty-thousand won on gambling over who would win first place. The race started slow, but quickly picked up when it came down to two people way ahead of everyone else: Sulli and Luna.

“Sehun, look! She’s gonna win!” Luhan cheered, grabbing onto his hand. When Sulli crossed the finish line, the crowd went wild. In seemingly slow motion, Luhan jumped and turned to wrap his arms around Sehun’s neck. “She won! I got forty-thousand won! I knew I was betting right!”

Tightening his grip around the smaller’s waist, Sehun spun Luhan in midair. “That’s amazing, Lu!”

Once Luhan collected his money, they headed off down to the next event Kyungsoo wanted to see: the dunking tank. By the way Sehun’s shoulders straightened and how he walked faster than the rest, Luhan knew he was excited. Unknown to Luhan, Sehun wanted to watch the humiliation of the stranger from earlier who had called Luhan a princess. At the dunking tank, Kyungsoo keenly shot up to the front of the crowd.

“What is he gonna do? Tap it?” Sehun laughed, though he still wished a miracle would happen.

"I’m scared for the poor guy,” Luhan whimpered, hiding behind Sehun.

“Why-“Sehun stopped as Kyungsoo threw the ball at record high speed. His jaw dropped. The man plummeted down into the water. A cheer erupted from the growing crowd.

“He could murder,” someone whispered, their eyes wide like saucers.

“We better drag him away from here before he gets out of hand,” Luhan chortled, starting toward him.

As soon as Luhan got a hold of Kyungsoo, they left the area to somewhere less inhabited by loads of people. Sitting on the curb outside the old magic shop, they chatted about casual topics like the weather and their favorite seasons. Everything was calm until Sehun spotted Krystal, who waltzed up the street with her sisters and mothers. It almost seemed too coincidental.

“Prince Sehun!” She called out when she noticed him, waving her hands in the air. In her high heels, she ran over to them. Sehun jumped up instantly and bowed to her.

“Hello, princess,” he said quietly.

“Oh, Sehun! It’s a pleasure to see you again,” Krystal gushed, fanning herself. Luhan and Kyungsoo stood up and bowed. “Hello to you too, lads.”

“Hello, Princess Krystal,” they greeted simultaneously.

"Enough of them, Sehun you look so healthy and handsome!” She squawked.

“Thank you, princess. You look quite beautiful yourself,” Sehun replied, remembering his talk with his family about image.

Soon, Krystal began rattle off to Sehun about everything and anything and Sehun would reply with brief answer. Through Luhan’s eyes,  it looked a lot like flirting. His heart ached. Spinning around, he sealed his eyes and ears shut before he would do something regrettable.

“Luhan? Are you alright?” Kyungsoo asked, but quickly caught up. He whispered, “Have you…fallen for him?”

“Yeah,” Luhan whispered, “I kind of made a mistake.”

“It’s okay, Lu. We all experience love one day,” Kyungsoo hushed, pulling the older into a tight hug.

“What even defines love?” Luhan wondered aloud.

"Hell if I know. But I see the way you look at him like he placed the stars in the sky just for you. I know the feeling that comes along with it,” Kyungsoo ceased to speak for a few moments before saying, “Let’s go talk at the tavern.”         

“Sehun, I’m gonna go take Luhan for a little while,” Kyungsoo shouted over to Sehun.

“Why?” He demanded, furrowing his brows. Sehun placed his hands on his hips.

Kyungsoo shrugged and replied, “Consider it a little date.”

 Sehun’s dark, hooded eyes watched as Kyungsoo tore Luhan away from him. Luhan didn’t even fight back. What is that lunatic planning? He definitely doesn’t have permission to steal Luhan away like that, especially after he had yapped at him for doing the same.

“Sehun?” Krystal sweetly called as he began his jaw clenched.

"Shut up,” Sehun growled, “I’ll see you some other time.”

While Sehun sprinted to catch up to Luhan and Kyungsoo, Krystal yelled, “Wait! They’re not important, Sehun! Don’t be a green eyed monster for those unfearful of the dark!”

As he sprinted after him, still keeping his distance, he ignored her petty pleas. She was not a concern. Meanwhile, inside the empty tavern, Luhan and Kyungsoo situated themselves at the farthest table from the door. Peeping in from outside, Sehun noticed how stone-faced and serious they looked. When Sehun had snuck in, Minseok was preparing them a small snack on the other side of the room.

“Psst! Minseok!” Sehun whisper-shouted. The smaller man jumped, clutching onto his chest.

“Huh! Oh. What do you want?” Minseok asked, bending over to get a better look at him,

“I need you to sneak me over there!” Sehun ordered.

“Why?”

“No time for questions! Just do it!”

Minseok complied. He shoved him in the bottom of a dish carrier. Beneath their lunch, Sehun tried his best to keep his balance in the unsteady environment. When the cart came to a sudden stop, Sehun jolted forward slightly. After sticking his head out the back to survey the room, he crawled out. Ears perked up, he creeped behind another table.

“I have been in love with Prince Jongin for years, but I don’t ever expect that to work out,” Kyungsoo claimed.

“Why not?” Luhan asked, swaying side to side absentmindedly.

"Because we come from two different worlds. Being a doctor was the only way I could get close to him. I hate this job, but if it means I get to see and help him every day, then I think it’s worth it,” Kyungsoo explained, poking at his food, “Love at its finest. Exactly what happened to you, I might add.

 In his head, Sehun thought of a million reasons why Luhan would disagree with that statement. He always believed love had no limitation.

“I guess you’re right, Soo,” Luhan sighed. What is he saying? Sehun thought, has he gone mad? “I wouldn’t be so pessimistic though. It might work out some day. Love might work its magic and horrors on him too.” Better, but still not quite right.

“The chance of that happening is slim to none,” Kyungsoo pointed out.

“Anyway, I think Sehun’s nearly chosen his bride,” Luhan said sadly, “I bet he’s taken an interest in Princess Krystal.”

"Oh? I didn’t think so,” Kyungsoo replied, “Sounded to me like he loathed her.”

"Well, either way. I’ll help him if he needs it,” Luhan stated, shoving a spoonful of food in his mouth.

Wait. Whom was Sehun going to choose as his bride? Technically, he doesn’t even need one; he’s not going to be king. If he does, it definitely isn’t going to be Krystal. She’s a wench. As a prince, does he need to get married? No, of course not, only Baekhyun. Though, marriage did seem like a nice option. What about Luhan, though? When he leaves, Luhan would be all alone. Even though Sehun was a prince with his royal duties, Luhan was his best friend; he couldn’t just give that up. Sehun stood up. No, Luhan is an important person who doesn’t deserve to be alone.

“Hey, guys! Thanks for leaving me with that witch,” Sehun joked as he took his place beside Luhan. Tossing his arms around Luhan, Sehun kicked his feet onto the table.

“Sorry! Not my fault you’d rather face than eat,” Luhan smirked, elbowing the younger slightly. Sehun grinned cheek to cheek. 

Fun fact about this chapter; it used to be called "The Gravity Effect," but I changed it when I wrote a one-shot. 

(x) Here it is if you wanna check it out ;;;;))))

Anyways, thank you guys for being lil babes and commenting and subcribing and upvoting.

Every comment brings a smile to my face :)