XiuBaek

Royal AU

Prompt: Minseok shouldn't fall for her, not when Baekhee is promised for someone else.

The first time Minseok heard the news, he was glad that the royal advisors were bothering someone else for once about settling down. When they asked for his opinion if this choice was okay, Minseok barely looked at the picture, simply humming in agreement, uncaring of his brother's fate. He regrets it now, a week later, when he finds out that his brother's betrothed is much more prettier than any other girls he has met.

As the heir of Exodus Kingdom, Minseok is allowed to overturn past decisions, and he can certainly change his mind regarding his brother’s betrothed. Except, Minseok isn't as heartless as some may gossiped. He cares about his brother's happiness, and if it means watching the love of his life be happy with someone else, then he'll learn to swallow his jealousy.

Unfortunately, Jongdae doesn't seem to care nor want to love her. The younger is adamant to never get married and will spend his olden days as the strongest warrior of the kingdom. The royal advisors doesn't know what to do, and they end up passing the problem to Minseok, in hopes that the crowned heir will be able to appeal to his brother’s compassion.

Minseok doesn't know why he didn't deny the request. He could have let Joonmyeon deal with this, or even Jongin! Yet, Minseok can't walk away once he hears the heartbroken sobs in the empty hallways. He finds Baekhee sitting on the floor, sobbing heavily into her hands, and he wonders why no one is around to console her.

This marks the beginning of their friendship.

Despite the ten years difference, Minseok never feels like the oldest one whenever they talk. There are still some obvious of signs Baekhee's innocence, from her naive perspective of finding a soulmate to the ridiculous junk food she loved since she was a child. Yet, Minseok finds comfort in her, in more so than anyone else he has met.

Baekhee confides in how she believes in serendipity and how she truly thought Jongdae would change his mind one day. Minseok can only nod to that, biting the harsh reply on the tip of the tongue. The surprise is when Baekhee admits that she was probably wrong in thinking so. That maybe her real soulmate will be someone she meets after Jongdae. She can only hope that she could meet him once before she's trapped in this marriage. Minseok’s heart breaks at the thought of letting Baekhee marry without love, and he also imagines if he was her fated one. Though, he still doesn't overturn the marriage decision, at least not until he's sure that Jongdae would be happier without her.

Time passes quickly and soon they spend almost of their free time bonding over some book. They share too many interest and Minseok falls deeper into the hole. It's not long before their shared moments becomes flirty touchings, and a heated gaze turns into their first kiss.

Baekhee is the one that pushes him away, embarrassed by her weak moment. She's scared, they could make her disappear if she causes issues for the royals. So she stutters apologies and begs for Minseok to not tell Jongdae. She already has a strained relationship with him, she doesn't need more reasons for him to hate her.

“I'm not mad,” Minseok insists, unwilling to let go of her wrist.

“Minseok,” she starts to say. “We shouldn't even be bonding together. It's not right. They'll think I've been with every prince before Jongdae.”

“No! They won't,” the elder insists. “The engagement isn't public yet and they're not allowed to release the details until I agree to it. I just… Tell me you feel differently about us. Tell me that I'm just a friend or that I'm family and I won't ask again. I'll give you both my blessings and I'll move on.”

“What about Jongdae?” She whispers back, eyes wide in surprise.

“I don't care about him,” the elder says in frustration. His own eyes widen after the outburst, because he didn't think he'd admit that outloud. “I mean, I love him. I want him to be happy, but if you're not happy with him, then please don't marry him.”

He slides his grip to her hand and intertwines their fingers. He stares down at it, as if momentarily amazed by how well they fit each other before looking up again.

“It's not my decision, you know that,” she whispers, her tone wavering from sadness.

“I know, but I can overturn it. I just need you to tell me and I will.”

There's a moment of silence before Baekhee tells him her answer.

“Okay,” she says quietly. “I don't want to marry him.”

Minseok takes a step forward and he tries to pull her closer into a hug, but she refuses as she pulls away from his grip.

“Not until it's done,” she insists as she steps backward.

Minseok withholds a heavy sigh and nods at her.

“And you should also tell him why it's cancelled.”

This time the elder can't withhold his annoyed sigh.

“And then maybe I'll let you kiss me,” she teases in the end.

His disbelief expression causes her to giggle shyly. It's always a beautiful sight for him, so he can't help but smile back at her.

It takes another week before Minseok finds the time, mostly because the royal advisors are questioning his decision on choosing Baekhee. Minseok doesn't care about their opinions, they're there to advise him on the Kingdom’s future, not about his personal life. So when he finally has a free time, he invites Jongdae for dinner.

He doesn't know how to break the news, so he says the easiest thing first, that the engagement is over. The relief in Jongdae's face is a blessing, and Minseok wonders if the next news will be okay too.

“And there's one more thing,” he starts to say, though avoiding his brother's gaze.

“What?”

“As you know, I couldn't cancel the engagement without a valid reason, and I refuse to lie for anyone's sakes,” he explains.

“Okay?” Jongdae looks at him confused. “So, did you end up breaking that oath or something?”

“No, of course not,” he immediately denies. “But I want you to understand that the reason is something that I would never expect to say. I mean I did think it'll happen one day, but I didn't expect it to cause so many issues.”

Jongdae squints his eyes at him, as if he's unsure on how to reply. He does know one thing though, that Minseok is rambling.

“You did something bad, didn't you?” He asks with a smirk.

“No! Of course not,” Minseok huffs, though he’s still behaving weirdly. He doesn't want to admit that he was the other man, as if he was some kind of mistress.

“Then just say it,” the younger rolls his eyes. “Or let me leave if you're too scared to admit it.”

“Okay!” He replies annoyedly. “I just… I told them to annul it because I was falling in love with her.”

Jongdae remains silent as Minseok looks at him expectantly. There's no visible reaction in Jongdae's face, he remains passive as he processes the information.

“You mean the girl I was engaged with, or?” Jongdae ends up asking.

“Yes! Who else would I mean?” he replies frustrated.

Jongdae shrugs casually before picking up his coat again.

“Okay then,” the younger tells him. “Can I leave now?”

“Yes,” the elder replies before realizing he forgets to check if Jongdae is really okay with this. “Wait! So, is this okay?”

“What is?”

“Me and her, getting engaged,” the elder replies annoyedly.

“Sure, have fun,” Jongdae shrugs it off as if it's not a big deal.

And it really isn't, because Jongdae never did love her or found her interesting. He was happy enough to let his older brother have his happy ending.

So when Minseok finally marries Baekhee, Jongdae was there right besides him, as one of the best men. It doesn't take long for the couple to start having a family. Baekhee gave birth to twin boys, and the royal advisors are already preparing them to be the next heirs. It'll be a while before their first lesson, since she doesn't want their childhood to be ruined.

Jongdae eventually finds his own match, two years after the twins were born. It's never love at first sight for him, but he learns that love doesn't have to arrive first. It's a bittersweet fate, and that story will be told another time.