Once upon a time, in a Kingdom far, far away, lived a prince, who was known to be a beauty of both heart, and looks. When the King and Queen had gotten their firstborn son, they had found him to have the most beautiful coal-black eyes, plush pink lips and the most delightful high laugh. The King and Queen were overjoyed, and gave the Prince the name Mark. Prince Mark grew to be a silent, thoughtful boy, but he was always smiling and laughing, and he was the joy and pride of both the royal house and the whole Kingdom.

The years passed, and as Prince Mark grew older, his beauty only grew and matured, his looks admired and envied amongst men and women alike. His looks were tried to mimic all over the court and even in the courts of some neighboring countries, his fashion setting trends in the whole Kingdom and a few others. On his sixteenth birthday the Prince had his hair color changed to a shimmering white silver that brought out the fair color of his skin. Many in court and otherwise tried to copy the look, but none were able to wear the color and look as natural but otherworldly with it as Prince Mark was. In addition to his hair, his facial features were adored and desired as features for both men and women, his most desired feature always being his soft, small, pink lips, which always managed to look moist and full. There were colors used for painting lips sold with the name “Crown Prince’s lips” all over the country for those who were wealthy enough to buy such frivolous things.

Although Prince Mark was the crown prince, the King had sworn to never make his children to marry for anything but love, so he and his sisters and brother were never forced a fiancée from a young age. Since Prince Mark was both unpromised and adored for his looks, the Kingdom envied and awaited who would be the lucky one to get the Prince’s first kiss, never mind his love. But because he was so widely desired and beloved, the Prince would not give his affection or his kiss away easily - during the years many royals and heroes from this Kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms visited the palace, wishing to win Prince Mark's affection or at least receive a kiss as a blessing from those revered lips, but never once did Mark touch his lips onto another person except his family, and the myth and magic that was around his lips only grew. However, his laugh was plentiful and for everyone to enjoy, for Prince Mark laughed a lot and his smiles and charms were adored everywhere.

And all was well, until the day of Prince Mark’s eighteenth birthday, when his mother, the Queen, got so ill, that even the best doctors in the Kingdom could only shake their heads and bow in apology. Prince Mark, who had always been close to his mother, was of course mad with worry and sad beyond measure when he was called to her bedside a few days later to say his farewells.

“Smile for me, Mark, and laugh, for your laugh is the most joyous sound, and I will miss it so much.” She said as she held Mark's hand gently, a weak smile on her face to hide her fear and sorrow.

“I can't, mother, you’re dying, how could I laugh now.” Mark said, brushing his mother’s wavy, black hair away from her face, trying to stop his lips from trembling by biting them, willing the tears back.

“Then smile for me, my beloved, so that I may see at least that cherished sight once more before I go.” She cradled a delicate hand around the line of his jaw, smoothing a thumb over the tremble at the side of his mouth.

Mark tried his best, eyes flowing over with tears as he gave his mother one last sincere smile.

It was the last time Prince Mark graced anyone with a sincere smile for a long time, and he did not laugh even once since. To his family he told that he would not laugh, since he could not fulfill his mother’s last wish to laugh for her. They tried to convince him to forgive himself, as he was not at fault for his mother’s death and it wasn’t what she would have wanted, but as the others slowly stopped wearing black and walking around the halls of the palace with their steps heavy, Mark’s expression did not change, he did not return to the bubbly self he was, and his family, especially his father, the King, grew worried.

Months passed, but the halls of the royal palace did not hear the laugh of their Crown Prince, and his pale cheeks did not get the rosy hue they used to get when the eldest of the princes got happy and excited. It was bad for morale in the Kingdom, but no amount of convincing would make any difference. Prince Mark would at times force a polite smile on his face when it was required, but his eyes did not light up, and he looked unhappy.

In a desperate attempt to get his eldest son to be happy again, the King promised any wish that was his to grant filled for the one who would get the pale rose prince of the Kingdom to laugh again. Many tried, hoping to ask for power and status, or their weight in gold, or something similar as vain and selfish as the price. Jokes, gags, stand-up, shows, stories, anything and everything in the category of comedy was tried on the Prince, but never once could anyone get Prince Mark to smile out of more than politeness.

When no one succeeded, eventually people stopped coming, and the citizens of the Kingdom slowly gave up hope of hearing the wonderful laugh of their Crown Prince again. He was still beautiful, though now tragically so, and the sadness at times still apparent in his eyes was enough to break a tough man’s heart. The Kingdom still loved the eldest prince with all their heart, but he no longer brought the Kingdom happiness like he had brought as the quiet, but smiling, gorgeous little prince he had been when he was younger.

In the town around the castle, there lived a famous glassblower, who was getting older and had wanted to employ apprentices to continue his work. He found two apprentices; his son, Park Jinyoung Jr., who had watched him for years and wanted to learn his trade, and Jackson Wang, a fencer’s son from a neighboring kingdom, who had had no training in glassblowing, but showed incredible talent and passion for the art. The boys were around the same age, Jackson having a few months on Junior, and Junior having a few crucial centimeters on Jackson, that always made the older envious. Jackson was an impulsive, happy-go-lucky person, who said straight up what he thought and cared a lot for the feelings of those around him. Junior was much calmer than Jackson, his ideas and dreams more down-to-earth, but he was smart and well-mannered, able to see consequences of decisions for lengthy periods of time and capable of both doing math and keeping books. The two boys competed and bickered with one another, but they were good friends that pushed each other to do their best in their common passion, all the while being mindful of each other's strengths and insecurities, and the old glassblower was glad, knowing he had made a good choice taking the two of them as his apprentices.

Out of the two of them, Jackson was more talented in the art, although his methods seemed chaotic and most of his work was only average in quality, every now and then he would seemingly by accident create a sculpture or dish that easily rivaled the old glassblower's work, but as those accidents kept happening every now and then, the old glassblower came to believe that Jackson's work was highly affected by the going-ons around him, inspiration sometimes finding him and sometimes eluding him. Junior on the other hand was hardworking, delivering with constant quality, that did not match Jackson's high, but was well above his average, and worthy of praise and adoration. It seemed like with the two of them, they would be able to run the shop, Junior balancing Jackson's unreliability and Jackson getting fame for the name with his occasional brilliance, and the old glassblower felt relieved, as he wasn't going to be able to keep working on the art much longer.

A chance to reap more fame for their name came soon, as the Crown Prince’s 21st birthday approached, and all the artisans in the Kingdom and in its neighbors were invited to present gifts to the crown prince, should they want to do so. It was a huge opportunity, since if they could get their work recognized in the court, there would be a lot of wealthy royals and members of the court that would want to order glassware and sculptures from them, even more so if the Prince showed any liking for their work. The glassblower insisted on both of his apprentices to present a sculpture for the crown prince, and they had no choice but to agree, working double to complete both their existing orders and the special gifts for the Crown Prince.

As Jackson was new to this land, and not familiar with the royal family, to find inspiration for his work he asked Jinyoung what the Crown Prince was like. After a moment of going over the words in his head, Jinyoung answered, “He is a kind and beautiful person, loved in all of the Kingdom, but after the loss of his mother, Her Majesty the Queen, he has descended into sadness and been unable to rise from it.”

Jackson, who had also lost his mother to illness when he was young, understood the Crown Prince’s pain all too well. He nodded solemnly and set to work, tirelessly working for three days and three nights until he was satisfied with his gift.

Jinyoung’s sculpture was his best yet, a skillful twirl of red, white and clear glass in the forms of a white swan in the middle of red tulips, the size of it heavy enough that it required wheels to move it. It was a tall sculpture, demanding attention with the sheer size of it, and its theme and quality was fit for any royal hall, and the old glassblower praised his son for his excellent work.

Jackson’s gift was almost simple in comparison, a small sculpture that could fit in the palm of his hand. It depicted two cats sleeping, a bigger, clear colored cat curled around a white, smaller one. When the old glassblower questioned Jackson about it, he said it was for the Prince to be reminded of his mother’s love and of how she would always watch over him, even though she wasn’t there for him anymore. The thought was beautiful, but the sculpture was very small, and it wasn’t likely it would be noticed in court, as if one wasn’t well versed in the art of glassblowing, one would not be able to appreciate the sheer skill required to do a sculpture that small with as many details as Jackson had worked onto it. He had even managed to add a drop of cherry blossom pink glass into the chest of the bigger, clear cat, and that was a feat not easily accomplished even by the old glassblower master. Even though the sculpture wasn’t one that would get noticed, the old glassblower didn’t have the heart to force Jackson to do another, a more grand sculpture, as the gaze in his chocolate brown eyes was determined, his heart solemn and true, jaw set to defy anyone who would question if this was not the perfect gift for the Crown Prince.

On the days before the Prince’s 21st birthday, all the different classes of people in the Kingdom had a specified day when they could bring gifts to the beloved Crown Prince, if they so wished. This was a week long process, as the Prince insisted on seeing each person to give him a gift, so several days were taken so that he would not have to exhaust himself. On the first days, farmers and workers from different districts of the Kingdom were invited, and many came, bringing goods of their trade; wines, fine cheese, dried meat, fresh eggs, anything and everythi