For once, it didn’t bother Sanghyuk that Jaehwan was already waiting for him with an apologetic face before dinner, ready to excuse his Lord.

“It’s ok, Jaehwan. I assume Lord Hakyeon isn’t going to join me for any meal any time soon. You can stop excusing him.”

Jaehwan took a moment too long to school his expression of shock into a neutral one as Sanghyuk passed him, taking his seat in the half lit dining room.

For once, it didn’t bother him that he was eating alone, either. He had his conversation with N to look back at, and tomorrow to look forward to, and he ate with good appetite for the first time since he’d arrived at the castle.

That night, Sanghyuk slept through until the morning sun had already risen, no nightly crying waking him.

“You are in a good mood today…” Hongbin observed as he brought Sanghyuk’s clothes for the day out of the dressing room.

“I am indeed.” Sanghyuk smiled at him in response, and Hongbin lifted an eyebrow.

“Care to join me for breakfast, or nah?”

Hongbin’s other eyebrow rose as well. It had been a while since Sanghyuk had asked him to join him for any meal.

“Uh… Err, sure…”

“You don’t have to, you know. I would completely understand it if you’d prefer to eat with your friends instead.”

Hongbin blushed slightly.

“I do like to eat together with my friends, but if I can be completely honest, I missed eating with you, too. So you’re no longer mad at me?”

Sanghyuk sighed.

“Oh, Hongbin… I haven’t been mad at you since that time we talked over breakfast, last week.”

Hongbin didn’t answer verbally, but Sanghyuk understood the look anyway.

“I know I’ve been distant, but I didn’t mean to make you feel as if I was mad at you. That was wrong of me.”

Hongbin’s face lit up a little as he watched Sanghyuk finish getting dressed, looking forward to eating breakfast together with him. Once they were seated and Hongbin had brought out the food for both of them (he wasn’t going to let the other servants serve him), though, he couldn’t keep his curiosity hidden any longer.

“Lord… Sanghyuk-ah… What made you invite me to eat with you all of a sudden?”

Sanghyuk smiled over the food he was about to stuff into his mouth.

“I’m tired of eating on my own. Also, I missed you. And I want to know what you’ve been up to all these days.”

Hongbin’s brow knitted in confusion, but he smoothed it out quickly.

“Well, the usual… Keeping your room tidy, everything you need stocked and in place…”

He interrupted himself when he saw Sanghyuk’s ‘not what I meant’-look, clearing his throat.

“Uhm, and helping out around the rest of the house. There’s always plenty to do, and it’s nice to do it together with friends. You know, we have years of gossip and chats to catch up on…”

Sanghyuk chuckled.

“I shudder at the kind of gossip you have to spread about your moody Lord…”

Hongbin shook his head playfully, lowering his chopsticks.

“Aish, Lord Sanghyuk… So full of yourself! As if I didn’t have better things to gossip about! Like the s of that new cook you hired just before we left… So sad I didn’t get to know her better…”

Sanghyuk almost spit out the juice he was drinking as laughter overcame him.

“Oh, Hongbin! You don’t even like s!”

Hongbin’s jaw dropped as he blushed profusely, stuttering his answer.

“Wha-Y-yah, t-that’s not- That’s not even true!”

Sanghyuk’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Isn’t it? And here I thought you were more interested in a certain young servant with slightly droopy eyes and ash-grey hair… Tell me, how does he dye it? Does the colour come off when you run your hands through it?”

“It doesn’t- ah, damn…” Hongbin shook his head, hanging it low to hide the blush covering his face while Sanghyuk laughed out loud at his servant tapping into his trap.

When he took too long to recompose himself, Hongbin decided to throw his balled up napkin at him, though.

“Stop it already!”

Sanghyuk stopped laughing but still chuckled.

“Something tells me you are too busy being the subject of the gossip to gossip too much yourself, huh?”

Hongbin rolled his eyes at him, but he couldn’t keep a small smile off his lips. He’d missed bantering like that with Sanghyuk.

“Yes, yes, just laugh at me…”

Sanghyuk eventually stopped, returning to his food, but after a while he noticed Hongbin’s uncomfortable shifting and looked up from his plate again.

“What?” He prompted, and Hongbin froze, avoiding his gaze.

“You don’t… Do you mind? Me and… and Wonshik, I mean…”

Sanghyuk’s eyes widened at the ridiculous question, but he was quick to shake his head.

“No, of course not! Why would I mind? It’s your life!”

The servant slowly expelled a sigh of relief, and Sanghyuk narrowed his eyes at him.

“You didn’t honestly think I’d forbid you to pursue a relationship… if it is a relationship, I mean. Or that I’d forbid you to have whatever consensual adult fun you decide to have with someone else. Did you?”

Hongbin shrugged, picking at his food.

“Some masters do. I didn’t think you would, but I needed to make sure.”

Sanghyuk huffed playfully.

“After already engaging in it?”

Hongbin paled.

“Wha- How-?”

Sanghyuk rolled his eyes.

“I saw you, the other night. I-“ He interrupted himself quickly, not wanting to admit that he’d caught them making out in an empty room when he’d been following the sound of N’s crying one night. “I’d forgotten something in the library one night and saw you two on the way back.”

Hongbin spluttered, grappling for an answer, but Sanghyuk saved him.

“I don’t mind. I didn’t think it necessary for you to ask for my permission, anyway, but since you asked, yes, you have it.”

Hongbin bought time to compose himself while sipping on his juice before setting the glass down and meeting Sanghyuk’s eyes, much calmer now.

“Thank you.”

Sanghyuk inclined his head, then felt the need for a question of his own.

“Does Lord Hakyeon allow it?  For you two…?”

Hongbin sat up straighter at that, nodding quickly before swallowing the bite he’d been chewing.

“Yes, yes, he does. He doesn’t mind, either. We’re just not allowed to break each other’s heart, is what he said.”

Sanghyuk nodded slowly.

“That’s a reasonable request. I should second that.”

The look Hongbin gave him was outright comical, and Sanghyuk threw the balled up napkin Hongbin had thrown earlier back at him.

“Stop looking like that. Just because I’m mad at the guy for ignoring my existence under his roof doesn’t mean I can’t agree with him from time to time.”

Hongbin recomposed himself when the napkin hit his face and shot a glare at Sanghyuk. Like that, they finished breakfast, and while Hongbin insisted to clear the table by himself instead of asking for help, Sanghyuk announced he’d go outside and wished Hongbin a good day. Not without a wink, though, which warranted him an eye-roll from Hongbin.

***

Sanghyuk couldn’t wait to venture into the gardens to find N again, but he searched in vain the whole morning. After lunch, though, he got lucky. He was just reaching the clearing with the unicorn as he called out once again.

“N-hyung?!”

“Sanghyuk-ah!”

A face splitting smile illuminated Sanghyuk’s features as he stopped in his tracks.

“N-hyung! Where are you?”

“Close! Wait for me next to the unicorn, I’ll be there in a second!”

Sanghyuk didn’t have to be told twice, darting forward into the clearing and only stopping right next to the marble rendition of the mythological equid, awaiting the other’s arrival eagerly.

He happened to watch the wrong three paths to spot N’s arrival, not seeing how the older arrived behind him, peeking carefully through the leaves of the last bush and breathing a sigh of relief.

“I’m here, Sanghyuk…” he announced, ready to jump back behind the bushes should Sanghyuk turn around.

He didn’t though. He almost turned, but froze instead, remembering the hyung’s reluctance to let him see his face and wondering if it was alright for him to see him now.

“Hyung… Can I turn around?” He asked tentatively, and missed the little relieved smile on N’s face.

“Thank you for remembering. Shall we go back to the same clearing as yesterday?”

Sanghyuk shrugged; he’d be happy with whatever N suggested.

“Anywhere is fine.”

N turned his back at him.

“Then come.”

Sanghyuk whirled around, quickly catching up to N as he followed him, but keeping a respectful distance to honour the older’s wish not to reveal his face to him. He didn’t mind, though, as there was plenty else to marvel about N, Sanghyuk found.

The man was pretty tall; not quite as tall as Sanghyuk, but still above the average height. He was of slim build, but he didn’t look weak at all. Sanghyuk was pretty sure if he chose to he could throw him across a room if need be.

Instead of the fine clothing he’d been wearing the day before when Sanghyuk met him, he was only wearing a white linen shirt today, sleeves pushed up to his elbows and, despite slightly dirty, making a beautiful contrast with the dark honey coloured skin of his toned forearms. A pair of worn dark brow breeches hugged his long legs, accentuating the delicate but strong muscles flexing underneath the fabric as he moved along the path with all the grace of a dancer.

Sanghyuk found his heart beating faster as he watched the older’s movements, never suspecting anyone could make something as simple as walking seem so fascinating to him.

All too soon, N reached the clearing, sitting on the same stone bench as the day before, before patting the spot next to him.

“Come sit!” He invited, keeping his face averted from Sanghyuk, and just like the day before, Sanghyuk sat facing away from him.

“I’ve been looking for you all morning but couldn’t find you…” Sanghyuk remarked, trying not to let his voice sound accusing, but not quite managing to keep the disappointment out of it.

“Ah~ I only expected you to come out here after lunch… I was busy tending to the flower beds behind the stables and completely forgot the time over it…”

Sanghyuk’s eyes widened at that.

“You tend to the garden? All of it?!”

He could feel the other shake his head behind him.

“No, not all of it. Just the flower beds and small bushes. I’m not allowed to cut the hedges or trim the big bushes; I think the gardener is afraid to lose his job if I did that, too.” Sanghyuk could hear a small smile in the others voice that warmed his heart just enough for him to feel it.

“Whow…” He marveled, recalling all the opulently blooming flowers all over the garden, the neatly kept beds and cute little bushes separating them and lining the sandy paths winding between them. “You must really spend a lot of time out here…”

The other shrugged.

“I do. Flowers don’t judge, so I prefer them over people.”

Sanghyuk couldn’t miss the sudden sadness that had replaced the small smile of before in N’s voice.

“People are mean and tend to forget their words can be more hurtful than they think. It’s not like it’s your fault how you look! Nor is it anyone else’s business!”

Behind him and out of his sight, N closed his eyes after a pain-filled look flashed in them at Sanghyuk’s words.

“Let’s not talk about things like that; I don’t want to think about it when I don’t have to. If it’s alright with you, let’s talk about you!”

Sanghyuk could understand the other’s wish, and was happy to drop the subject. He wasn’t sure yet if he was happy with the new subject his hyung chose, though.

“About me?”

“Yes, about you! I want to get to know you. All I know about you is what I remember from the old Lord’s tales, but all of that always sounded so clinical and contractual, official. I want to get to know the real you. If you don’t mind.”

Sanghyuk thought about it for a bit.

“Hm… I don’t think there is much to say about me… The only thing worth mentioning is probably that I’m an omega, but that’s pretty obvious even without needing mentioning…” Sanghyuk mused, but the other interrupted him.

“That’s just your status, not what defines you as a person. See, I could say about myself that I’m cursed with this face and that’s it, but that doesn’t say it all about me, does it? Same with you being omega; that says nothing about whether you are a kind person or not; or if you prefer rain or sunshine; or if you like to read, or have a creative streak.”

Sanghyuk’s jaw dropped, emotions welling up in him. He couldn’t believe someone was actually the least bit interested in him as a person, not as a collectible or boy-toy.

N gave him time to collect himself, sensing that the younger needed a moment to wrap his head around what he was asking.

“I don’t… I don’t know what would be of interest about me…” Sanghyuk eventually confessed, suddenly feeling small, and startled a bit when N nudged his shoulder with his own gently.

“Hum… Tell me which flower you’ve found in the garden so far you liked best.”

Sanghyuk’s eyes widened, not understanding why someone would be interested in that.

“I… I don’t know. They are all nice. Maybe… the blue ones?”

N couldn’t stifle a chuckle.

“Which blue ones? There are plenty.”

Sanghyuk scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

“The… the ones in the clearing of the Neptune-fountain by the east wing.”

N inclined his head in thought, trying to recall which flowers grew there.

“There are no blue flowers there… Or do you mean lavender? But those aren’t blue, they are purple.”

Sanghyuk rolled his eyes, slightly embarrassed.

“So? Isn’t that the same thing? I didn’t like them for their colour, but because they smell nice, anyway!”

“Oh, you liked their smell? Wait, I know another flower you might like if you liked that one! Come with me, I’ll show you!”

N sounded excited suddenly, jumping up from the bench and taking Sanghyuk’s hand in his when he didn’t follow immediately.

The touch went through Sanghyuk like a lightning bolt; he wasn’t used to anyone touching him, except for the occasional accidental brush from Hongbin when he helped him with a tight jacket or something. The playful elbowing the day before had been the most bodily contact he’d had in years, and everything that went beyond that was a completely foreign sensation for him; even more so bare skin-to-skin contact.

N didn’t seem to notice, though, as Sanghyuk stumbled after him, still trying to recollect his senses and not focusing all of them on the feeling of N’s fingers circling his wrist and brushing against his palm. His heart throbbed wildly at the sensation, but he couldn’t say he disliked it entirely; in fact, when N let go as they reached their destination to pick up one of the flowers blooming on a small bush in a corner of the clearing, Sanghyuk found himself wishing he didn’t, hoping he’d pick up his hand again as soon as possible.

Of course, Sanghyuk didn’t get that lucky, but he knew to take an opportunity when he saw one; and when N stretched out his hand behind him, offering him the flower he’d picked, Sanghyuk’s fingers not so accidentally brushed against N’s delicate ones as he took it, marveling at how soft they were yet how strong they appeared.

Remembering the reason why N had picked the flower for him a tad too late, Sanghyuk finally lifted it to his face to smell it. His eyes widened, unsure if he recognized the smell, but definitely liking it.

“And?” N asked expectantly, and Sanghyuk lifted his head, nodding.

“It’s nice; I like it.”

“It’s rosemary. It’s really hard to grow out here, and even harder because Taekwoon keeps stealing parts from it to season the food he cooks. I have to plant it hidden in corners all over the gardens to keep at least some bushes alive every year; on the other hand, I can’t deny I love what he makes with it. Ah, what should I do, Sanghyukie?!”

Sanghyuk chuckled at the theatrical way N described his dilemma, taking in the aromatic scent of the tiny flowers hidden between hard leaves in his hand.

“Plant enough bushes for him to use where he sees them without having to search, and I’m sure he’ll leave the others that you hid throughout the rest of the garden alone.”

“Oooh, that’s a good idea! Let’s do that! Right now! Will you help me?”

Sanghyuk was taken aback by the request; he’d never before dirtied his hands with a work like gardening before, taking it for granted that it was the gardener’s job and he had no business with it. But when N suddenly hugged him from behind, cooing an incredibly sweet “Pleeease!” into his ear, he couldn’t say no.

Whether it was the shock of feeling someone, anyone, hold him, or of feeling specifically N this close, or if it was the sweetness of N’s plea that convinced him, he would never know. What he did know was that he would never have expected to have as much fun as he ended up having as he dug in the dirt with N, filling rows of pots with the rich black soil before planting tiny little versions of the bush N had showed him on the clearing in them. Even more fun was finding places to hide them from the cook in the greenhouses, making sure they would get enough light to grow but still be hidden enough not to be found by those not supposed to find them.

When the bell rang, calling them in for dinner, Sanghyuk’s expensive clothes were dirty enough to have him pale as he looked down at himself. N chuckled behind his back as Sanghyuk whispered a terrified “Hongbin is going to kill me!”.

“Maybe you should get yourself some clothes specifically for gardening; that is, uhm, if you… if you want to do that again…”

Sanghyuk almost turned around to look at N at how small and unsure his voice had become at the end of his sentence, catching himself at the very last second.

“Hyung! Of course I’d like to do that again! If you’re willing to put up with my clumsiness again, that is!”

He could see N step away from him and turning around out of the corner of his eyes.

“You do?” He asked tentatively, disbelief in his voice, and Sanghyuk nodded frantically.

“Yes, hyung! I had the most fun I’ve had in a while with you today! I definitely want to!”

He could hear N take a deep breath before he answered.

“Then I’ll put up with all the clumsiness you have to offer and do my best to show you. Go on inside, now, though. Dinner will get cold if you don’t.”

There was a choked quality to N’s words, but he said them with a finality that kept Sanghyuk from stalling any longer, and he did as he said.