“I think you should accept your role, Taemin-ah.”

 

“Oh.” Taemin said, climbing off of Jonghyun’s lap- much to Jonghyun’s displeasure- and instead sitting at his side. “You know, um, you didn’t have to tell me all this if you just wanted to break up. You don’t need an excuse.”

 

“What? No.” Jonghyun shook his head. “ no, Taemin, that’s not what this is about.”

 

Taemin stared blankly at Jonghyun. “I don’t understand. Why else would you want me to be a prince?”

 

“Because I thought that’s what you wanted!” Jonghyun answered, shifting so that he could face Taemin. “I thought you liked being rich and having professional meals and driving in a limo and - ”

 

“I’ll admit those are nice perks,” Taemin interrupted, “and yes, I was thinking about officially becoming a prince, but those aren’t the reasons why.”

 

“Then why?”

 

Taemin playfully pushed Jonghyun’s shoulder. “Because of you, idiot.”

 

“Oh. Sweet.” Jonghyun blushed and ran his hand through his hair. Then he frowned and looked off to the side. “I have no idea what we’re supposed to do, then.”

 

“...but you’re definitely not breaking up with me, right?” Taemin asked, looking at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs.

 

“I mean, in the long run, it’d probably be for the best that we ended this sooner than later…” Jonghyun sighed, and Taemin’s expression immediately soured. “But I don’t think my heart could take being away from you.”

 

Taemin made a gagging sound and focused on the laptop screen so Jonghyun wouldn’t see him blush. “I’m going to watch the movie now so I don’t have to listen to you be gross anymore.”

 

Jonghyun smirked, completely aware of Taemin’s embarrassment. “Okay, but I’m gonna bring it up again later. You don’t get off the hook just because you’re cute, you know.”

 

“It works on everyone else, though…” Taemin mumbled, pressing the play button and resuming their watch of Ariel and Eric’s first date.

 

Life would be so much easier if Jonghyun was a mermaid prince, Taemin thought as the scenes played on the screen. He’d be a royal then and we wouldn’t have this problem. There aren’t any laws against me marrying mermaids, right?

 

...or are there?

 

……………

 

...I’ll ask uncle Jinki about it later.

---

 

13 years ago

 

Jinki’s phone was ringing. He forgot to turn the sound off before they were seated at the restaurant, so now he was hurriedly reaching into his back pocket before too many judgemental eyes sneered at him.

 

His hand stopped once he brought the phone to his face. Lighting up the small screen was a number he knew all too well. He pressed the “call” button with sweaty fingers, holding the phone to his ear.

 

“This is prince Lee Jinki.” He said, all his dinner guests turning to look at him curiously at his sudden authoritative tone.

 

“Your highness.” A breathy male voice replied, clearly distraught. Jinki recognized the voice but couldn’t contemplate who it belonged to before it began speaking again, “I-I’m so sorry to interrupt your evening, but...” The man took a shaky breath and Jinki realized that he must be crying.

 

“Is everything okay?” Jinki asked, subconsciously pushing his chair away from the table.

 

“Your brother.” The man choked out. “He’s gone missing.”

 

A rush of cold spread from Jinki’s head to his toes. “What?”

 

“They went on a fishing trip,” the man’s voice whimpered, “They were supposed to be back yesterday, but - ”

 

Jinki shut his phone closed. He didn’t even care that it was rude. He needed to get out of here. The next thing he knows he’s standing up and grabbing his jacket off of his chair.

 

“Babe? What are you doing?” A concerned woman said from beside him, reaching out for his hand.

 

“Robin.” Jinki breathed, turning towards her. “I have to go.”

 

“Wha - ” Her sentence was cut short because Jinki was suddenly dashing through the restaurant, leaving his meal unfinished and his three dinner guests overcome with shock and confusion.

 

His arm raises to call for a taxi without his brain even telling him to do so. He doesn’t even mind when someone pushes him out of the way and takes the taxi for themselves. It’s like he’s running on autopilot, his body knowing what to do despite not being able to tell if his thoughts are so jumbled he doesn’t understand them or if they’re simply not there at all.

 

The ride home might as well have been ten seconds instead of ten minutes, Jinki is so separated from reality. Once they arrive at his apartment complex he pays the driver more than he needs to and doesn’t wait for the change.

 

It isn’t until he’s going up the stairs to his apartment that he realizes he’s crying, his blurry vision making him stumble up the steps. His hands shake as he struggles to find the right key and it scruffs the metal of the doorknob as he unlocks the door.

 

He heads towards his and Robin’s shared bedroom, forgetting to turn on the lights. By the time his phone rings again, his suitcase is already open and waiting on his bed.

 

“Hello?” Jinki says, turning around so he can rummage through his closet.

 

“Jinki, where are you?” Robin says on the other line, speaking louder than usual in order to be heard over the noise in the background.

 

“Where are you calling from?” He asks, not bothering to hide his avoidance of the question.

 

“I had to wait to use the restaurant phone.” She replies. “And please, don’t avoid the subject. Marie and Elise are freaking out back at the table.” Robin worries her lip as she waits for Jinki to respond before asking a different question. “What’s the matter? Is everything okay?”

 

“I’m at our apartment.” Jinki deadpans, shoving as many clothes as he can into his suitcase.

 

The clatter and idle chit-chat of the restaurant are the only sounds heard on both ends as Robin attempts to think of something to say. “What are you doing there?” She tries, knowing he’s choosing to only reply to certain questions.

 

“Packing.” Jinki says, walking towards the bathroom to grab some toiletries.

 

“Oh.” Robin says. Her knees begin to shake after a reply fails to come. “Was it something I said?” She asks, gripping the phone tighter.

 

Jinki’s hands are sweating so bad he drops the toothpaste into the sink. “He’s gone.” He whispers.

 

“Who’s gone?” Robin says, sighing as she’s met with silence once more. “I’m coming over. Please don’t disappear again. We’re going to get through this, okay?”

 

He’s certain he forgets a lot in his haste. His chest is tight as he continues packing, as though he forgot how to breathe. It doesn’t let up until he’s sitting in the back of a taxi headed towards the airport, Robin still two minutes behind him.

---

 

The funeral itself was packed, the many friends the late prince made over the years unable to hold back their tears as they spoke about his life and how he touched so many of their hearts. That is, except for the row of seats Jinki was now sitting in. The row reserved for family members. Save for himself and his cousin with his head between his hands, it was depressingly empty. A whole row virtually empty and hundreds of reporters waiting outside, trying to get even the slightest glimpse of the casket. Jinki would have laughed at the irony of it if he was able to feel anything.

 

People offer their condolences during the luncheon following the service. Jinki replies accordingly, before forgetting what it was they said. He’s not entirely sure he was listening in the first place.

 

The blurry feeling encompassing his body isn’t lifted until he hears shouts coming from the kitchen. Everyone turns their head as the chef drags a young boy out by his arm, headed towards the phone.

 

Jinki stands and cuts them off before they can make it. “What’s going on?” He asks the chef, eyeing the boy who’s fruitlessly trying to break free from the large man’s grasp.

 

“Your highness,” the man says with a bow, “this rat somehow snuck into your brother's funeral so that he could come and steal food from my kitchen!”

 

“I didn’t sneak in!” The boy squeaks, hitting the chef’s forearm as hard as he could. “Let go of me!”

 

The chef turns to the kid with a snarl but is interrupted by Jinki before he can get a word out. “Let him go.” Jinki says.

 

The chef looks between the boy and Jinki with wide eyes before releasing his grasp, bowing his head as he backs away towards the kitchen. The kid tries to make a run for it but is halted by Jinki, who clasps his hand on the kids shoulder and leans down to his eye level.

 

“How about you and I have a talk, hm?”

---

 

Jinki and the young boy sit next to each other on the steps in an unused section of the church, the boy clutching his blue hoodie to his chest, obviously hiding something inside of it.

 

“What did you steal?” Jinki asks, pointing his head towards the large lump in the hoodie’s fabric. The boy sheepishly reaches into his hoodie, pulling out a bag of white bread.

 

“God, what a ing …” Jinki swears under his breath, the boy gasping and staring in shock at what he just heard. “Oops. Sorry.”

 

The boy leaves the bread on the bottom step and brings his knees to his chest. His gaze is fixed on the ground and Jinki sighs, not entirely sure how to handle this type of situation. It’s times like this he felt his speaking lessons truly failed him.

 

“I didn’t sneak in.” The kid mumbles, drawing circles with his finger on the marble of the step. “I have an invitation.”

 

“May I see it?” Jinki says, and the boy fishes out the crumpled piece of paper from his pants pocket and hands it to Jinki, still fixated on the ground.

 

“Kim Won Hae.” Jinki reads aloud. “Is that your name?”

 

“No, it’s my dad’s.” The kid replies.

 

“What’s your name, then?” Jinki tilts his head to the side to try and make eye contact with the boy. He turns his head away. “You can tell me, you’re not in any trouble. I just need to know what to call you, that’s all.”

 

The boy turns his head forward again, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Kibum.” He sniffles.

 

“It’s very nice to meet you, Kim Kibum.” Jinki says, only getting another sniffle in reply. “Tell me, is your father here with you?”

 

“He’s dead.” Kibum whimpers.

 

“Oh.” Is all Jinki manages in reply. He drums his fingers against his thighs as he tries to think of something, anything, to say to Kibum that could possibly help.

 

“Is...your mother here?” Jinki tries, hoping for a better reaction this time.

 

“I hope not.” Kibum says, wiping his face with the sleeve of his hoodie. “She didn’t want me. My dad found me in a dumpster when I was two days old.”

 

Well, . Jinki clears his throat awkwardly, mentally cursing himself for making the already terrible conversation even worse. “Sorry...about...that…” Jinki says, moving his hand to try and pat Kibum’s back before deciding against it, arm falling to his side. Not knowing what to do, he pries further, seeing as finding out what’s happening is the only way he can somehow help this kid.

 

“Who’s taking care of you, then?” Jinki asks, pulling out his handkerchief from his pocket and handing it to Kibum. Kibum blows his nose into it and Jinki recoils. That’ll be fun to wash.

 

Kibum keeps the handkerchief scrunched in his hand, lowering his face into his knees. Judging by the lack of response and also the fact that he had to resort to stealing, Jinki figures the answer is ‘no one’.

 

“Do you have a place to stay, Kibum? Any relatives I might be able to call?” Jinki says.

 

“I don’t have any family, they didn’t want my dad, either.” Kibum murmurs, voice muffled by the fabric of his jeans. “I’m still living at home, but…” He trails off.

 

“But what?”

 

Kibum looks off to the side. “I ate the last of the food that was in our fridge. That’s why I had to steal.” He turns back towards Jinki with new tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be.” Jinki tells him, and offers his hand as he stands up. They walk side by side back into the dining hall, Jinki’s body shielding Kibum from the curious eyes of the guests. He quickly finds his two most trusted workers, and approaches them without preamble.

 

“Ashley, Joo Hyun, this is Kibum.” They greet the young boy enthusiastically. “Ashley, please prepare a room for him back at the castle. A room close to mine would be preferable.” She bows and briskly makes her way towards the exit. “Joo Hyun, I would like for you to take Kibum to his house and help him pack.” She nods and crouches down to eye level with Kibum, taking his small hand in hers.

 

“What about my dad?” Kibum asks, gazing up at Jinki. He and Joohyun exchange confused looks.

 

“What about your dad?” Jinki says, trying to understand where Kibum was headed with this.

 

“He’s still in his bed.”

 

Jinki almost doesn’t make it to the bathroom before his face is riddled with tears, as if a dam had broken simply from those words. He was crying sympathy tears for Kibum’s pain as well as his own grief, the same grief he had been denying himself to feel for the past month.

 

He wants to thank Kibum later on.

---

 

“How come you weren’t at the funeral?” Jinki asks a short woman as he leans against her kitchen counter. She sighs and sets her knife next to the birthday cake she had been cutting.

 

“First of all, I haven’t seen the man in over five years, second of all, I don’t have the money to travel to Aellyn, third of - ”

 

“Hyo Jin, he’s your son’s father.” Jinki interrupts, pointedly tilting his head towards the child stacking Legos into a tower with the help of two friends in the room over.

 

Ms. Lee sighs and rubs at her forehead, leaving a streak of chocolate across her skin. “Speaking of my son, he’s wondering why a strange man he’s never met before suddenly showed up at his birthday party.” She turns back to the cake and resumes cutting it into squares. “Without a gift, mind you.”

 

“I’m his uncle.” Jinki says defensively, folding his arms across his chest.

 

“So what?” Her cuts become more forceful as she continues talking. “I barely know you, Taemin’s never seen you before in his life, and his father left us while he was still in my womb. As far as I’m concerned, none of you are our family.”

 

“That’s why I came here to say I’m sorry.”

 

She halts her cutting for a moment, before resuming again at a much calmer pace. “For what?”

 

“For the way my brother treated you, and how our family never gave a about you despite your son being the heir to the throne.” Jinki says, lowering his head. Hyo Jin halts her cutting of the cake. “That’s why I came here today.” She turns towards Jinki, curls falling onto her face.

 

“To apologize for your brother? I understood why he had to leave. I let him go.” She says in a gentle tone Jinki recognizes as the one he uses when he speaks about Robin. “It’s not like he can go against the laws of his country.”

 

“No, that’s not…” Jinki sighs, running his hand through his hair. He looks to the next room over, watching his nephew stand on his toes to try and stack a Lego on top of a tower that’s already at least a foot taller than him. “What are we going to do about Taemin?”

 

“I don’t want him knowing he’s a prince until he’s at least eighteen.” Hyo Jin says with a curt nod, as though she had already thought this over. “I want him to have a somewhat normal childhood.”

 

“I also think that would be best.” Jinki nods.

 

Hyo Jin pauses as she transfers the squares of cake onto Toy Story paper plates. “I wasn’t expecting you to agree so easily.” She chuckles.

 

“Well, I don’t exactly like the thought of another kid going through the I had to.” Jinki says. Hyo Jin gives him a stern look and points her thumb towards the children playing in the living room. “Oops. I meant hardships. Yeah.”

 

Hyo Jin rolls her eyes and hands the cake slicer to Jinki. “Here. You can do this, seeing as you’ve only been standing there this whole time.” He takes the utensil from her hand and picks up where she left off as she shifts over to the sink.

 

“I had to leave someone behind because of Aellyn’s laws, same reason why my brother left you.” Jinki says, his grip on the cake slicer becoming weak. “If Taemin decides to inherit the throne…” He stops, and turns around just in time to see Taemin’s Lego tower crash to the ground. Jinki takes a deep breath and looks at Ms. Lee.

“I promise, he will never have to give up on love for the sake of his country.”

 

---

 

First of all, I'd really like to apologize for how long this took. These past couple of months have been really hard. But, in my defense, I did write three other fics while this one was lying around so. Yeah.