The first few days of April turned into the last few days of April. The last few days of April turned into the last week of May.

Every time Seungcheol’s big brown eyes were in range – lovely, round, full, so trusting, so naïve and kind and good, Jihoon just couldn’t try again. Seungcheol had chosen not to believe him. And someday it was going to come back and bite him in the .

But why did it have to bite him like this? This was, possibly, the worst thing to ever have happened to him in his adult life.

Jihoon stared at the large sapphire, enclosed in a flurry of tiny, exquisite diamonds. The object was ostentatious, huge, and perfectly royal. It had been in the family for hundreds of years, and it had been seated on many a Royal.

Jihoon closed the box again after a quiet moment of contemplation, sat back and gently shut his eyes. “When?”

“…China doesn’t like dallying. But they do like romance. It’s got to be a big event, really romantic, make a splash, in front of a large crowd.”

The message wasn’t getting to him. “Yes?”

“…we’ve all agreed it’s going to be on the first day of the Great Garden’s opening.”

Jihoon’s face crumpled: his eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead, wrinkles appeared in his skin and he pulled his legs up, burying his face in his lap. No. No, no, no, no. So soon. Why is it so soon? Why does it have to be so soon?

“I’m sorry,” Joshua whispered.

Jihoon could tell his thirty-five-year-old brother was crying, but he couldn’t move.

“I’m so sorry, baby brother. I know what this must be doing to you. What this… How it… God, please.” Joshua burst out into tears. “Please. Forgive me, brother.”

“There’s nothing you can do.” The cold, unattached, lifeless tone of Jihoon’s voice just pushed his brother to more tears. “There’s nothing to be done. This is how it is.”

Joshua’s entire face was red when Jihoon looked back up. His eyes were with red, mouth curled into an ugly grimace.

“I love you, Jihoonie.”

“I know,” the boy answered. There was no change in his automated tone, no change of expression.

“I don’t want to hurt you like this.”

“…it’s alright. It’s my duty. I am a prince. It is my duty.” Jihoon looked over at a door. “…who knows how many I could save, if I prevent war?” he whispered. “Thousands of lives, spared, at the expense of my own.”

Joshua hid his face behind his hands. “I hate me.”

Jihoon took a deep breath. “I don’t.”

“Well, you should!” Joshua’s fists both came down on the table between them. “What was the point of it all, anyway, then? Hmph?! What was the point then, of you being born an omega? What was the point of the torture you endured as a child?! Of what we all endured having to watch? What was the point of you being able to leave, if I just have to drag you back?!”

Jihoon waited until his brother had finished ranting.

“I like Hayi,” the Dark Prince said softly, looking at the table. “I adore her. She’s possibly one of the loveliest people I’ve ever known. She’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had. We talk about anything and everything. We already decided that our relationship would become and stay that way. I guess the point of me being able to leave… well.” The corners of Jihoon’s mouth twitched up to the most pathetic, the saddest smile the boy had ever shown. “At least I was free for five years. The best five years of my life. I’m grateful for every single day of that time.”

“It’s not fair!” Joshua screamed.

Jihoon waited until the sound dimmed. “No,” he answered quietly. “It’s not fair. Nothing ever is, for a Royal. Hayi taught me that.”

Joshua looked away.

“She learned that, herself, when her family rejected her because she can’t have children naturally.” There was a moment of silence. “It took her a while to tell me that. She needs IVF in order to have children. I didn’t ask for specifics. And I shouldn’t have told you. But… I think if it’s Hayi… then I can probably survive.”

Joshua’s tears had slowed to a drip. “…you really love Hayi, don’t you?”

“She’s like a sister to me. Just as much as Nana and Yoonjo and Shannon.” Jihoon stared at the little blue suede box on the table. “And we’ve talked about how we’ll live together. She’s a very… good person. Not light – though she can seem light. She’s not bubbly and dim-witted, not really. She’s very deep, and very regal, and very grounded. But she doesn’t care – everything she does, every move she makes is one in pursuit of happiness. And she doesn’t care who sees her do it. You know my love for Dino.”

“Insurmountable,” Joshua interceded.

“Yes. I’ll never love anybody the way I love him. But… just as I wish for him to have a full and beautiful life, I wish the same for Hayi.”

“…I see.”

The only face in Jihoon’s mind was Seungcheol’s. His name, his face, the touch of his hands, the heat of his body, the sound of his voice, the angel’s touch of his lips. The pain this would bring him. The way it would rip through his body.

“I’ll do it on one condition,” the Dark Prince whispered.

“…anything. I’ll give you anything, baby brother.”

“…in China, there is a barista by the name of Wu Yifan.” Jihoon looked up with a deadly, cold set of eyes. “He’s to be installed in the palace kitchens as an employee for the rest of Hayi’s life. He’ll be here before the wedding.”

“…we can’t kidnap a man-”

“Make him a job offer he can’t refuse.” Jihoon didn’t even move. “He knows Hayi is here. It won’t take much.”

Joshua considered it for a moment. “This Wu guy… this is your way of making Hayi happy?”

Jihoon didn’t answer. He simply looked at the inoffensive suede box once, and back up to his brother.

Joshua nodded. “…a deal’s a d