Chapter Two

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“Jimin.”

Jimin heard Taehyung call to him, but he didn’t respond. He pretended to still be asleep. He pretended because he was comfortable, and he didn’t want to move. He thought he grew up in luxury, but his bed and quilts at home were no where near as comfortable as the ones in Taehyung’s room.

Come to think of it, this was his room now, too, wasn't it? This was home. It was where he’d be spending the rest of his life.

“Sweet Jimin.”

His voice was just as soft and gentle as it had been the night before, maybe even more so now that Jimin knew Taehyung had no ill intentions toward him.

Jimin sighed just as Taehyung brushed his hair behind his ear, and he opened one lazy eye to peek at his husband.

“Exhausted after last night, are you?” Taehyung asked, his tone teasing and friendly.

“Oh yeah,” Jimin hummed in response, his eyes falling shut again. “Jumping on the beds and making a mess of the room. So exhausting.” He opened his eyes, and he turned to look at Taehyung. The prince was smiling back at him, and he just looked so content. Jimin was sure that they already seemed comfortable enough with each other to pass as a couple that had been married for years. “I do think you bruised my arm, though.” He said, holding his arm out to where he can see it, the silk sleeve of his gown falling down around his shoulder.

Worry painted itself over Taehyung’s face, and he pushed himself up in one movement. He grabbed Jimin’s arm to look at it. “It seems that I did.” His voice was apologetic as the words left his lips. “My sincerest apologies.” He kissed the darkened spot on Jimin’s arm only to apologize again when Jimin winced at the pain.

Jimin laughed, pulling his arm away. “There’s no need to apologize, my prince.” Jimin assured him. “I know you meant me no harm.”

Taehyung smiled, lying back on his pillows. He took Jimin’s hand into his own, and he kissed the back of it. “Do you know why I’m smiling?” Taehyung asked as he rolled over to his side, propping his head up on his arm. He wore that same content smile that had been present on his face moments ago.

“No,” Jimin replied. “Why are you smiling?”

“Because,” He kissed Jimin’s hand once more. “I get to wake up to your beautiful face every day of my waking life. I’m certain I made the right choice, picking you.”

Jimin could feel his stomach doing flips, a feeling that he was all too unfamiliar with. Many people had complemented him and called him beautiful in his life, but only Taehyung was able to have such an effect on him. Maybe he was beginning to fall for Taehyung already.

“I am the one who should consider myself lucky.” Jimin told him.

“Why is that?” Taehyung asked, his voice deeper than usual. With the hand he wasn’t keeping himself up, he ran his fingers through Jimin’s hair.

Jimin sighed, content. “Because I got to marry someone like you.” Jimin said.

“Like me?” Taehyung questioned, raising an eyebrow at his husband.

“Kind and understanding and patient.” Jimin listed off a few words that he thought fit Taehyung well. Of course, he had only known the prince for one night, but this was the feeling he got from him.

Taehyung exhaled, and he leaned in closer to place a kiss to Jimin’s nose. Jimin closed his eyes and scrunched up his face, but it was more in happiness than disgust. “I just want you to be happy and feel safe, my sweet.” He said. “Your first time is going to be scary no matter what, but I want it to be a good kind of scary for you, sweet Jimin. Instead of being afraid that I might hurt you, I want you to trust me enough to know that I will take care of you.”

Jimin could only wonder how someone like Taehyung could exist. Especially as a royal. The bedding ceremony was the most important part of any wedding, especially a royal wedding. Without it, the marriage could hardly be considered official, and any one of the partners could easily be married off to someone else.

To most people, it wasn’t that big of a deal. was just a part of life, and most people in their culture were more than willing to give themselves up to their partner on the first night of their marriage. Jimin was not one of those people. Even having been trained to ually please the prince should they ever get married, Jimin couldn’t just let Taehyung take him.

“Have you ever done it before?” Jimin asked. He didn’t know why, but he needed to know that. He had told Taehyung that he would be his first, so he needed to knew where he stood.

“Truthfully?” Taehyung asked, and Jimin nodded. “I have.”

Of course. Being the royal that he is, Taehyung would be able to bed anyone he wanted. Of course he would have experience before Jimin.

“Does that displease you?” Taehyung asked when Jimin didn’t respond after a while.

Should it? Jimin didn’t know if he actually wanted to be Taehyung’s first. One way, it would have been magical if they were the first for the other one. Looking at in a different way, however, Jimin was sure that Taehyung would know what he was doing when the time for them finally came.

Jimin shook his head, and he scooted closer to Taehyung. He wrapped an arm around the prince’s waist, resting his head on Taehyung’s chest. “Not really,” He decided. “But I—”

The chamber doors came open, and Taehyung’s handmaiden entered the room, silencing Jimin. “Your grace,” She said, bowing politely. “It’s time to get ready for the morning meal.”

Taehyung sat up, lifting Jimin from his chest. “We’ll continue this talk later, my sweet.” Taehyung said, and he pressed a quick kiss to Jimin’s lips.

The handmaiden helped Jimin out of bed, and she helped him get dressed on Taehyung’s orders while the prince dressed himself. She removed Jimin’s gown and helped him get dressed in his day clothes. Taehyung was done dressing himself before the handmaiden got done with Jimin, but she had to fix the tie on his cloak, making some joke about how he can’t even do simple things. Jimin couldn’t help but feel jealousy burning in the pit of his stomach at how close the handmaiden seemed to be with Taehyung. Jimin could have just as easily fixed the tie for him.

“You’ll have your own handmaiden soon,” Taehyung told Jimin, holding out his arm for Jimin to take.

“I don’t think I want one.” Jimin said, an unintentionally bitter tone in his voice. “I can dress myself, and I could even dress you if you’d let me.”

Taehyung laughed, and Jimin almost felt offended. He was being serious. This was no laughing matter. “This wouldn’t happen to be jealousy, now would it, my sweet?” Taehyung asked.

“I know how to tie cloaks.” Jimin said instead of answering Taehyung’s question directly.

A royal breakfast was much different than breakfast in Jimin’s home. The table was fairly large, but only Taehyung’s grandparents and his parents along with his younger brother and sister were seated. Aside from Taehyung and Jimin of course. There was a ton of food on the table from loaves of bread to pieces of pork and beef and eggs. Jimin felt sad knowing that most of it was going to go to waste. That was something he brought up to Taehyung later, and Taehyung promised that, when he took over the throne after his father, he would do something to change that. Like giving their leftovers to the less fortunate in the capital.

During breakfast, Taehyung’s father addressed Jimin and formally welcomed him into the family. “I hope that my son treated you respectfully,” He said.

Jimin smiled, shy and not really sure what to say to that. “Oh, he was nothing but respectful,” Jimin had told him. “He took very good care of me.”

The proud and satisfied look on the king’s face told Jimin that he had said the right thing. “I raised him well.” He said.

After breakfast, Taehyung had to leave Jimin to go off on his duties as the crown prince, and Jimin was stuck spending the day with his mother-in-law. She took him out to the gardens and walked with him, holding onto Jimin’s arm like Jimin held onto Taehyung’s arm earlier that morning. They walked along the pavement, passing by beautiful rose bushes and other sorts of flowers that Jimin didn’t recognize or know the names of, but they were all beautiful.

“You two didn’t ,” The queen said. He tone was knowing and serious, but Jimin couldn’t tell if it was a bad thing. Taehyung said that, if his father found out, he’d make sure the ceremony was completed, so he wondered if the queen was the same.

“What ever do you mean?” Jimin asked, trying to remain neutral and polite instead of outright admitting that he and Taehyung faked the whole thing.

The smiled, and she pinched Jimin’s cheek. “A mother knows,” The queen assured him. “When Taehyung selected you to be his bride, and you two were introduced, he swore that he would do everything he could to make sure you fell in love with him, and he wouldn’t just treat you like a common . Mind you, this was only hours before your ceremony, and I was certain that he’d change his mind when he got you to his chambers. When I entered later, however, the room didn’t smell of . It looked like you two did something, but I know better.”

Jimin had no idea what to say. Yet again, he was speechless to one of Taehyung’s parents. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing. The queen didn’t seem upset that he and Taehyung didn’t do anything, but Jimin was afraid that she would send in the guards to make sure they completed the ceremony tonight.

“I-I—”

“Don’t worry, my child,” The queen said, patting Jimin’s arm. “I’m not going to tell anyone. What you two do or don’t do together, that shouldn’t be anyone else’s business.”

Relieved, Jimin felt like he could breathe again.

It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that he and Taehyung finally got time to go back to the bed chambers and talk. Jimin lay on his stomach on Taehyung’s large bed, looking over to where Taehyung was sitting at his desk, writing something down.

“My prince,” Jimin said, and Taehyung turned to face him.

Jimin said nothing more.

“Is something troubling you, Jimin?” Taehyung asked. He set his feather pen down, and he got up from the desk. He made his way to the bed and sat down next to Jimin, placing a gentle hand on his back.

“I’m just wondering,” Jimin sighed. He rolled onto his back and looked up at Taehyung’s face. “Why didn’t you make me complete the ceremony with you?”

With Taehyung’s words from the night before and what his mother had just told him earlier, Jimin wanted to know why Taehyung was so different. What made him want Jimin to fall in love with him on his own?

“Because I know what it’s like to be forced to do something you don’t want to do.” Taehyung told him. “I admitted this morning that you won’t be my first, correct?” Jimin nodded. “The reason is because I was taught to take care of my future bride the same way you were taught to please me. Only, in my case, I actually had hands-on lessons. I wanted to save myself for whoever I would marry in the future, but I didn’t get that choice. Because of that, I want you to have the choice. I know what it’s like to give yourself to someone without wanting to, so I didn’t want to put you through that.”

That was understandable. Jimin understood now.

“Taehyung,” Jimin said. He repositioned himself so that his head was resting on Taehyung’s lap, and he took the prince’s hand into his own, intertwining their fingers. It really doesn’t feel like they’ve only known each other for a day. Jimin had met many, many people in his life, but none of them ever had the effect on him that Taehyung did. He never grew so comfortable with someone so quickly. Never was anyone able to affect his heart beat or make him physically react to them at all. But Taehyung was all of that. “I think I’m already falling for you.”