Taehyung sat at the bottom of the wooden stairs leading to their cabin. The sun was setting already and as the shrine was surrounded by the forest, he could only imagine it disappearing slowly behind the horizon.

The perspective of darkness swallowing the sky and forest around them saddened him, as he wanted to stare at the peachy color of the sky for longer. To feel its soothing touch on his soul a little bit more.

The prince looked at his hands. Few days of horse riding and those spent at the rural area left him tanning more than he expected. Mother would’ve been shocked to see me looking like this. He smiled to himself fairly, remembering that last time he freely enjoyed the touch of sunbeams on his skin was probably when he was a little brat, back as a child.

He could feel the weight of Jimin’s eyes on his back. Even drawing on the ground with a wooden stick while trying to distract himself, didn’t help to get rid of that annoying feeling of guilt which formed inside the prince’s chest.

The two of them were the same age and Taehyung could usually find Jimin being the most understanding towards him. However a moment ago, when Jimin asked if him trying to pursue Oh Miran’s heart and make her fall in love with the man he was behind all the titles, gold and connections – was just a joke... Taehyung felt his heart aching ever since.

After all he went through and all the two-faced people he met on his way, the young prince learned different tactics of unraveling what was truly hidden behind their smiles.

Out of all of the four of his side guards, Jimin was the boy he knew for the longest. A son of one of the maids serving at the palace. The one with great ambition ans skills which always left Taehyung speechless.

Horseback riding, swordsmanship and even bow shooting. Even though, in terms of their statuses, a son of a maid was nothing compared to the prince, Taehyung always felt way behind Jimin in everything.

Their first encounter was still fresh in his memory. A boy with a wooden sword made out of a stick found somewhere in the garden. The one who tried to hone up his fighting skills at the place, where maids used to hung up the palace’s laundry to let it dry in the sun.

Both of them were only 10 years old back then. Taehyung was just slightly higher than Jimin, but seeing that face full of determination, left the young prince stare at him with mouth wide open.

Not knowing how, every time the maids or his own mother didn’t look, Taehyung sneaked out to spy on the little boy he found so interesting to watch.

Day by day, Taehyung didn’t even notice when he begun to memorize the choreography of Jimin’s movements and every night before sleep tried to re-enact all of them with the biggest precision.

“Yah! Who are you? Who’s there?” Taehyung got startled once after tripping over the bucket left behind by one of the maids.

The prince didn’t even manage to get himself up from the ground, when Jimin found him. Seeing Jimin’s wooden sword aimed at him, left Taehyung getting back on his feet in an instant.

“Are you here to steal?” Jimin asked full of suspicion while Taehyung’s expensive looking clothing didn’t alarm him at all.

Later Taehyung got to know that while being raised by a single mother, Jimin felt bounded to be the man on the family – the one to protect her and his younger sisters. At that moment, he was probably afraid that Taehyung would take anything Jimin’s mother was responsible for. Which would end up with her getting up punished or maybe even thrown out of the palace.

“No…” the prince stuttered not sure how to act in front of someone the same age. His clothes dirtied by falling on the ground.

After his first words being spoken to Jimin, both of them were found by Jimin’s mother who ended up scolding her son greatly for treating the crowned prince in such way. Not to mention that she assumed things Jimin might’ve done right after seeing how messed up and scared the prince looked.

As always – at that time also, Taehyung felt greatly burdened when Jimin’s mother started apologizing to him in the name of her whole family and begged for forgiveness.

No matter if he was 5, 10 or 21 – people always treated him with the same reverence. Who was I to be asked for forgiveness? She should’ve grabbed my ear and pulled it until I cried for acting so recklessly. Taehyung thought.

Scared that he would end up scolded by his own mother for sneaking out, Taehyung didn’t speak up that he was the one who tripped and Jimin had nothing to do with his dirty clothes.

Months after that day – Taehyung couldn’t get Jimin to speak to him again. No matter how many times he followed after him, or asked anything out of the blue – Jimin wouldn’t have even looked a him…. and Taehyung liked it.

He loved to be the one seeking for someone’s attention, to wait for someone he truly treasured.

Taehyung smiled fairly at that memory and glanced at Jimin over his shoulder. His friend didn’t look away when their eyes met and kept casually leaning on the cabin’s wooden wall.

Earlier both of them went out of it to get some fresh air after late supper all of them shared together. Even though you found me annoying, I still got you to like me… he thought and laid his eyes at the cabin in front of him.

The one behind which door – he saw Miran disappearing for the last time.

Even though the food they were given was delicious, the young prince couldn’t bring himself to fully enjoy the meal.

Taehyung patted his belly. Are you also rebelling against me? He wanted to scold it, but in the end sulkily leaned forward and rested his chin on top of his knees.

What a coincidence it was that a the ground in front of him laid two stones, one brown with perfectly smooth surface and the other one completely black, with sharp edges.

Unknowingly Taehyung started drawing a circle around the brown stone with the wooden stick. Even though he didn’t use much strength, the soil was so moist, he ended up creating a lone island for the “pretty” stone.

Aren’t you left alone in here, buddy? He asked after glancing at the black stone and little by little, tried moving it closer to the other stone with the stick.

His eyes wandered off to the door of Miran’s cabin again. “Are you still in there?” he sighed not knowing if maybe she left the shrine already and went back home after what happened at the stream side.

She probably changed and went back, huh? He wondered while looking at the two stones in front of him.

Is she mad at me? But I didn’t intend the things to end up like this… only if she wasn’t so proud and stubborn… Taehyung thought pouty and remembered all those expressions of her, he had a chance to see today.

“… and pretty.” he mumbled to himself and immediately scratched his head in frustration, not even knowing how entertaining it was to watch him struggling with his own thoughts.

Jimin giggled while looking at him from behind, right before Hoseok joined them outside.

“Whaa~ what a life~!” Hoseok chanted while stretching his hands high above his head. He scratched his tummy as the leisure they’ve been tasting after arriving there, was very much to his liking.

Seeing Taehyung at the bottom of the stairs looking so gloomily from behind, irked Hoseok into playing a bit with his poor and naive heart.

“Ehhh~ First love~” he sighed dreamily while stopping right next to the sitting Taehyung “When a heart recognizes its other half after it went missing for years.” Hoseok added and cheekily looked down at Taehyung who glanced back at him wary.

“What are you talking about?” the young prince mumbled pouty and avoided his friend’s eyes.

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