"Kyungie!" Luhan exclaimed with his arms wide open as if he was inviting the younger male into a hug.

"Hyug! How are you feeling?" Kyungsoo says with a smile as he walked over and sat beside Luhan on his bed.

"A lot better. Your soup is the best, of course! Jjang!" Luhan laughs and Kyungsoo nods, satisfied that he was able to cheer up his friend with his cooking. Luhan's sincere compliments always seemed to make his day.

"So...this is Sehun's and your new room?" He states as he observes the quiet bedroom.

"Yeah..can you believe Halmeoni? Only giving both of us one bed?! Sehun looked as if he could kill me in my sleep!"

"You guys are sleeping together then? I mean, if you guys are going to get, you know, married..it's only natural for you two to." Kyungsoo turns to Luhan who just drags his hands down his face in horror.

"Just the thought is scaring me!"

"Why? This bed is large enough to even fit 3 people. Just sleep on separate sides." Kyungsoo suggests simply but Luhan sighs.

"That was the plan but jerk prince decided that 'because he's the prince' he made me sleep on the window side." Luhan pouts and his short friend chuckles, taking a quick glance at the large glass window beside the bed.

"But you never take the window side! I remember that time we rented a room at the hotel- the one with the woman with a blue mole on her chin-"

"Oh I remember her! It was on the day you came back to China from Korea after a whole week."

"Yeah, and you basically rearranged the whole room to sleep as far away from the window as possible! I remember how the cleaning lady got so confused she thought she was in the wrong hotel because of how different the room looked!" Kyungsoo said in between laughter and Luhan couldn't help but giggle along.

"Good memories..I still can't believe we're living in the palace now. One night feels like a dream."

"But we'll only stay here if you marry Sehun..how's that working out for you, hyung?"

"I don't think I'm getting any closer." Luhan huffs, his shoulder slouching at the new topic. "He doesn't hate me as much, I think. He's actually not a bad kid- He even stopped calling you rude names! But if anything, I don't think we'll ever get passed the friend zone, which is still a long way ahead."

'Don't worry, Luhan. I'm sure you'll be able to charm him in no time."

Luhan smirked. "Like how Kim Jongin with you?"

"W-What?!" Kyungsoo stuttered, face suddenly flushing and eyes going wide.

"Don't pretend, Kyungie. I see it. I'm sure he likes you. Gee, if only Sehun and I were able to fall in love that quickl-"

"I'm not 'in love' with Jongi-"

"Oh, did I interrupt something?" The subject of their conversation walked into the room with a sheepish and slightly dissapoited face.

"No, not at all. We were just talking about y-" Kyunsoo slapped his hand over Luhan's mouth and gave Jongin a shy smile.

"About yesterday! It was quite hectic..right Luhan?" Kyungsoo sends Luhan a desperate glare that said 'dont-you-dare-say-anything-' but Luhan just shrugged innocently.

"O-okay. I just wanted to ask if you were okay, Luhan." He says with his usual bright smile. "I'm not quite sure what Sehun said when, or even if he came by, but I just want to apologize for getting you injured. It shouldn't have happened and if anything, it should have happened to me. I'm Sehun's body guard and I should have been the one to protect him, and you, in that situation. I'm really sorry-"

"I'm completely fine. It's wasn't your fault at all. No one knew that was going to happen. But thanks for your concern..and carrying me back here." Luhan says after pulling Kyungsoo's hand off his face. Kai let out a relief and a sincere smile at Luhan's words.

"I'm glad you're better now. You have no idea how much Sehun had been panicking. He was really worried about you."

"Sehun? Woried about me?" Luhan asked in disbelief. He couldn't imagine the young prince worrying about anything but himself.

"He isn't really one to show it but he's actually quite a sensitive and emotional person. As I said earlier, he's not a violent person either." Jongin explains and Luhan takes a note of it. 

"It's a good thing we got to you guys in time. Who knows what would have happened if you two?" Kyungsoo adds.

"Oh by the way, where did you guys go when we were at the clothes shop? You two ran away..together.." Luhan says, looking at Kyungsoo and Jongin who both seemed flustered.

"Uh- that-" "Oh..about that.."

Kyungsoo's eyes pleaded for Luhan to drop the topic. But he was having too much fun.

"Okay, okay," Luhan chuckles. "Jongin, what time is it?"

"It's 7 right. We post poned the dinner under the Queen's request. She wanted to make sure you were well enough to attend dinner."

"Oh, well, should we go now then? Kyungsoo, you must be hungry, right?" Luhan says, pushing the blankets off his body. Kyungsoo couldn't help but admire how Luhan still thought of him before himself.

"I'm not really..but you should probably get some food into your system. You've been resting since the afternoon and my soup can't keep you full for more than an hour." Kyungsoo pats Luhans back as he slowly sits on the edge of the bed and places his feet on the ground.

"Okay, we'll make our way to the dining room. Just let Halmeoni know Luhan's up." Kyungsoo tells Jongin who just nods and leaves the room.

"He totally likes you, Kyungie."

"Shut up, Luhannie.'

---

"Luhan!" Halmeoni exclaims with a relieved smile. Luhan hadn't seen her since the incident in her office earlier that day.

"HalmeonI!" He says back as he walks down the whole row of seats to the one at the end of the table. It took them a while to make it to the dining hall but Halmeoni was patient and Sehun still hadn't arrived yet. He would only sit at the other end of the table anyway, Luhan thought.

"How are you feeling? I was really scared when I heard that you hurt your head. Maybe I should get you body guards-"

"Oh I'm much better now. Don't worry, Halmeoni, I'm a strong man." Luhan jokes.

"I'm sure you are. You must be really hungry, you probably didn't even have lunch, right?" She asks, taking his hand into hers as she looks at the bandage on his head.

"Kyungsoo made me some soup. His cooking is really the best!" Luhan says and Kyungsoo sends him an embarassed look as he took his seat. Both boys sat on either side of the table, across from each other.

"Really? Good job, Kyungsoo. You should work in our kitchen maybe." Halmeoni says with a genuine smile and Kyungsoo shakes his head.

"It's okay. My cooking skills are only average compared to the palac-"

"Nonsense. If Luhan says you're the best, you must really be talented. How about you cook our dinner tomorrow? I'll ask one of our chefs to teach you some recipies."

Kyungsoo's eyes brightened at the idea. "No way!- I mean, really? Can I?"

"Of course! I'm also quite curious about your skills. I'm not a very picky eater but I can tell when food is really worth eating." Halmeoni says and Kyungsoo nods before slightly bowing.

"Thank you, Halmeoni!"

"Now..where's Sehun?" Halmeoni asks, looking more at Luhan than the younger male. It was as if she was expecting Sehun to have been with Luhan.

"He left after visiting me earlier, but that was about an hour ago..I'm not sure about now, Halmeoni." Luhan tells her and she sighs.

"Isn't that kid hungry? It's already 7:3-"

Just then, the dinning hall doors opened and Sehun, followed closely by Jongin, quietly walked in. Sehun had changed out of the clothes they bought earlier and into a white button up and tight black skinny jeans. Luhan only watched their entrance but as the sound of their footsteps continued, Luhan furrowed his eyebrows.

Why is he still walking if he was going to sit on the other end?...Unless

Luhan lifted his head and turned to see Sehun slowly walking closer to their end of the table.

"Ah, Sehun-ah! Jongin-ah! You're sitting with us today?" Halmeoni says with a bright smile. Kyungsoo's eyes widened at Jongin's sudden arrival.

"Yes, Halmeoni. Sehun insisted that I ate with you all today, if you don't mind. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Jongin says, giving the old woman a tight hug. She was like a second grandmother to him. Having grown up with Sehun in the palace, Halmeoni watched the two grow up together and also considered Jongin like the grandson she never had.

"Too long. Sehun-ah, you should have invited Jongin sooner." Halmeoni says before patting Jongin's back gently. "Feel free to eat with us for every meal. The past week you had been at your parent's place, right? I'm sorry we had to ruin your family reunion with Sehun's wedding. But I'm sure with more company in the palace now, it'll be fun."

"Of course!" He says with a smile before glancing over to Kyungsoo. He had been watching he other the entire time that when they suddenly made eye contact, Kyungsoo immediately looked away as the blood rushed to his cheeks. Please don't sit next to me..

Luhan on the other hand, was trying to catch the younger's attention. He had been standing beside Jongin without a word or glance while the two were chatting and Luhan couldn't help but watch how he stood awkardly alone.

"Sehun-" Luhan quiet called out his name but the young prince pretended to not hear it.

Eventually, he ended up sitting right next to Luhan, while Jongin sat beside Kyungsoo. Luhan tried to hold in a giggle as the younger male failed to hide his excitement and blush. Sehun had quietly slid his chair a bit further away from Luhan and he couldn't help but frown.

Am I back at square one again? Or did I never even move up?

"Alright, since we're all here now, let's eat!" Halmeoni says, satisfied with the full table of people. Ironically, it wasn't full. Actually it was just barely 1/4 full. But even so, Luhan smiled because it felt like a family dinner even with 5 people.

The servants brought the dishes out and set them on the table before them. One dish in particular caught Luhan's attention.

"Oh..isn't this."

"The mackerel! I know you really like it so I asked the chef to cook another dish with this fish." Halmeoni says and Luhan's eyes sparkle. Literally.

"Thats it, Kyungsoo, tomorrow you are learning all the mackerel recipies from the palace chef." He states and Halmeoni laughs.

"Yes, hyung.." Kyungsoo smiles at the idea before they begin to dig in.

The dinner continued in a relatively quiet and calm silence with a few comments here and there. Luhan watched from the corner of his eye and noticed that Sehun wasn't really eating much. He seemed to stick to his bowl of soup and rice more than the dishes prepared in front of them.

"Halmeoni, this fish is seriously-" Luhan gave her a big thumbs up before laughing. "Sehun-ah, try some."

The young prince looked up to refuse but by the time he got a letter out, Luhan was already scooping some of the meat onto the soup and gently placing it on his bowl of rice.

"I'm no-"

"Seriously, just try it." Luhan urged him and the blonde boy huffed in defeat. He might as well have just eaten it and got it over with instead of having Luhan constantly pushing him to eat the damn fish.

He scooped a portion of rice and placed the mackerel ontop before carefully spooning it into his mouth. Luhan watched him as the spoon went in and came out empty.

"How is it? It's good, right? Right?"

Sehun rolled his eyes. He typically didn't eat fish, more beef and red meat, but it didn't taste bad. He didn't really know what to expect but it was simply different from what he'd usually ate. It wasn't that he hadn't eaten before either. But that was too long ago and they had recently changed their palace chefs.

"I-It's okay." Sehun mutter but Luhan still took this as an accomplishment.

"Right?! Ahh, it's so good!" Luhan says, taking another spoonful.

"Eat more, Luhan. You eat so well, you have to stay healthy!" Halmeoni says and Luhan happily nods.

"I'm surprised Sehun is actually eating dinner here though. It's actually been a while since I came in here and ate a meal." Jongin comments.

"How long?" Luhan asks with curiosity.

"Hm..2 years..?" Jongin says and Luhan's jaw drops.

"But don't you basically live in this palace?...Other than the times when you go back home." Kyungsoo asks.

"Yeah but Sehun doesn't really eat in the dining hall. It's been maybe 8 years since I've seen him eat here..maybe 8 and a half?" Jongin his head and Luhan looks over at Sehun.

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"It was part of Halmeoni's deal to sit and eat as a family after my wife moves into the palace." Sehun simply explains and Halmeoni has a satisfied expression.

"But doesn't this feel more like a family? It's nice, isn't it Luhan-ah?" Halmeoni comments, taking a sip of his soup.

"Y-Yeah.. really nice." Luhan quietly agrees with a small smile.

Sorry for such a lame chapter Dx but the next one will have more Hunhan, yaksok! <3

Leave a comment! Anyone shipping Kaisoo? Still, how do you think Sehun is going to thank Luhan? (to be 105% honest, I hadn't made up my mind yet so that's why that scene wasn't in this chapter lol..I NEED SOME INSPIRATION FROM YOU GUYS!)

Thank you to those who commented, especially @Tobiowasaki, @hotarunza, and @kaciek for writing your guesses! I enjoyed reading them; really gave me a good laugh! ^o^

All comments are appreciated whole heartedly! <3 THANKS FOR READING AND SUPPORT THIS STORY <3

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