"I don't think you understand, father. None of these women strike any interest in me. None of them know about the kingdom, and none of them even know my name."

"Jisoo, why must you keep singing the same song over and over again? Just pick one, and teach her!"

It was frustrating, trying to talk to his father about women while sitting by the man he'd spent the night curled up against, but there was no better way of arguing his point. He knew that admitting to his uality would ultimately end up getting him forced into a marriage, for the sake of having an heir, if it didn't get him put to death first. Perhaps there was a way he could fake a marriage for the sake of keeping his crown, but still be with Wonwoo, but that wasn't something that could be talked about right now.

"Southern Kingdom still belongs to Hani's family, right?"

"Hani, the little girl that your mother used to watch while her parents were out doing charity work for their kingdom?" The prince nodded, and leaned back in the lavish chair he was sitting in, letting out a quite perturbed sigh.

"I believe so, I would've gotten word if they'd lost the kingdom in some way or another." The king's shoulders raised slightly before dropping with a bit of confusion.

"I'll tell you what, I'll go to the Southern Kingdom, and see if Hani will marry me. If she won't, I won't be marrying someone else."

A surprised sputter left both the king, and Wonwoo, two pairs of eyes staring at him in mass confusion. Hani was Jisoo's childhood best friend, and they promised to have each other's backs for everything, maybe this would be the one big favor that he had to ask her for. But somewhere in the back of the prince's mind sat the thought of just leaving, and never coming back. It would be easier for the sake of their relationship, but as far as lifestyles went, a banished prince-- or even one on the run tended to be unwelcome, even in different kingdoms.

"Wonwoo and I will pack up and leave tonight, and as far as our return goes, I can't promise we'll be back soon, because as I said, I won't be marrying anyone but her. Is that satisfactory?" Jisoo knew his father wouldn't deny him the chance to try converging with the Southern Kingdom, they had too much land and wealth for their own damn good, this was just the beginning of a business endeavor that was too good to resist. But, the prospect of their marriage was now on the table, and while it was all that Jisoo needed to cut this conversation short, it still had Wonwoo looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Y-yes, I suppose we could manage to work that in, since there aren't any meetings or things of the like for us to attend today, but I might have to figure out a way to move all the meetings going on next week if we're going to be gone long, sir." Jisoo held up a hand, lips crimped together with a certain frustration in their form.

"No, since my father has harped on this for so long, and made such a huge ordeal about it, I'm almost certain that my trip to find a princess will be good enough news to his ears that he'll undertake the task of moving my appointments himself, right father?" The prince didn't give his father enough time to even think about an answer before standing up, and storming out of the conference hall. Wonwoo didn't give much of an explanation or apology for the prince's sudden snap at the king, rather just giving a small apologetic wave and smile in an attempt to atone for the ridiculousness that had just conspired. The servant had to practically sprint to the prince who was storming off in the direction of his room, presumably to pack up to go meet up with his new wife, he sneered to himself over whatever was going on right now, and managed to slip a finger through one of the prince's belt loops to make him stop his rampaging away.

"Sir, pardon my language, but what the hell is going on right now?" Wonwoo hissed through gritted teeth, his face scrunched up in frustration, and some mild form of hurt over whatever idea it was the prince had. Jisoo grabbed Wonwoo's hand away from his waist, and politely dropped it with an unnerving grin on his face.

"Once you meet Hani, it'll make sense. For now though, I don't want you to waste too much time worrying about this. It'll be a good thing." No matter what kind of perspective Wonwoo could imagine the prince had about this whole thing, there was no good options. Even if he did get married, it would be to someone other than Wonwoo, and that thought was more painful than just not being with the prince, having to watch him kiss and laugh with someone else for the sake of the public eye? It wasn't even a fair thought in Wonwoo's mind.

As the prince started back on his route, Wonwoo felt a hand at his shoulder, and paused in his tracks, looking back at the quite concerned face of the king. "Can we talk for a moment, prior to you two leaving? Just you and I." He had no right trying to deny the king such a simple request, so he gave a short nod.

"Jisoo! I'll catch up with you, go on ahead and pack your bags." Wonwoo waved the prince off, and his heels, catching a deep breath before he began following the king into one of the smaller conference rooms that were just sitting around in the castle, waiting to be used. His skin was crawling with anxiety, and there was some feeling in his gut giving him regrets about agreeing to talk. The king latched, and locked the door with care, giving Wonwoo a moment to look around one of the various rooms he'd never quite paid attention to.

There was a round table, surrounded with wooden chairs that had no obvious details on them, a few family photos, most of them were photos of Jisoo's mother, and the room was a soft yellow, one that matched the bright colors she was wearing in most of her photos. "Wonwoo," The king's voice startled the servant out of his trance, and he looked over to the king who'd slumped down into one of the chairs, with a very defeated expression painted across his face. "I know you must know more about my son than I do, at this point you've spent more time with him than I would be capable of spending by his side. Please, I beg, explain to me what's wrong with all of the young women that I've brought in to marry him."

Wonwoo pursed his lips together a moment, and sighed, taking a seat in the chair that was closest to him, interlacing his fingers and laying his head carefully on his knuckles. "Sir, I don't think this is really my place to be speaking. I'm merely his seer."

"But you two have to talk about things, would women not be one of them?" The servant shook his head, with a slight frown.

"Sadly, I couldn't tell you his taste in women, but I do think that you should listen more to what he's been saying about the women that you have brought in. No one knows anything about the kingdom, and that's his biggest issue. He wants to marry someone who cares about this kingdom as much as he does. Maybe consider a woman from our military, or a woman from the counsel, we don't lack much, so it's not like a union to converge kingdoms would be any kind of necessary at this point."

"You have to be kidding. No one in this family has married to someone who wasn't royal. Be honest with me-- Do you even think he fancies women? I've never seen a spark in his eye, and it concerns me wildly." The servant merely shrugged his shoulders, and stood up, ironing out his shirt with his hands.

"I believe this is a conversation for you and the prince to have, not you and I, sir. If you'll excuse me, I must go pack." He let himself out, catching a slight glimpse of the king looking even more distraught than he looked at the beginning of the conversation as he slumped over the table. The sickly feeling in his gut had only gotten worse, and now his limbs felt heavy trying to trudge their way to the servant's wing to pack a bag for this trip. Even if he didn't want to go, he had to, because the prince hadn't given him much of a choice. This trip already felt like it would be something he'd end up regretting, even if the prince was so sure that Hani would be able to help their situation, Wonwoo didn't feel like there was anything to be helped. But, the lump growing in his throat was swallowed down, and he'd just ignore the warning signals in his head for the sake of Jisoo.

The prince was furiously shoving shirts in the first bag he'd been able to find in his closet, not bothering to fold anything, or even try to preserve the state of his clothes. At this point, it felt like his skin was on fire, and he just wanted out. He wanted to be able to ignore the kingdom, ignore his father, ignore everything about this godforsaken castle for a little while. He grabbed an armful of the cosmetics, and hair care products that were sitting on the vanity, and tore pairs of underwear and socks out of his dresser to stuff them into his luggage. Hani would be able to fix this, there was no doubt in his mind about it, a fake wedding between two gay people for the sake of appearances, there was no way it wouldn't work.

It felt like it was only yesterday that Jisoo and Hani were kids, playing together in the garden, and having fake weddings, professing their love to each other, with the adults laughing along at the gesture. It wasn't until the two were old enough to be allowed to play in the maze that they ever really knew things about each other, how neither of them wanted to rule a kingdom, how they didn't have any other friends, how lonely it was to be royal. Hani was the only one who understood him, and that was the biggest comfort to him, she would understand the need for help. She would have his back.