Muffled shrieking pulled Hyungwon from his sleep. He groaned as he rolled around, trying to fall back asleep. But sleep did not come to him. His body grew aware of the cold that seeped through his skin, keeping him from succumbing to slumber. With great effort, Hyungwon managed to pull himself up from bed, settling his sleep-filled eyes on Changkyun.

He gave the apprentice a tired smile while blinking himself awake. Each time his eyelids fluttered, prince picked up the details of Changkyun’s face and his smile began to fade. From his furrowed brow to his pursed lip, Changkyun’s face was the mirror of apprehension.

Hyungwon was about to ask him what was wrong when Changkyun asked, “Who-who are you?”

“I’m Hyungwon,” the prince said, as if it should have been obvious. Judging by Changkyun’s surprise, he hadn’t been expecting that answer. His reaction made Hyungwon start to fully comprehend his surroundings. He looked up at the boy, then down at himself. Back up at the boy and then back down at himself. He blinked curiously as he noted he was sitting stark on Changkyun’s bed, sitting up in his own human body.

The slender figure and lanky limbs of his, which were exposed for all the world to see, didn’t seem to matter to him at all. The now human prince curled his thick lips into a soft smile as he looked at his hands with awe and repeated, “I’m Hyungwon.”

“The kiss worked…” Changkyun stated, as if he didn’t believe what he was seeing.

“If I’m human again, it must have,” Hyungwon said excitedly as he threw off the last bits of blanket covering him. “Your plan worked!”

The prince almost embraced the boy, but Changkyun took a step back to avoid it, greeting him with an even, cordial tone, “It did.”

After a few moments the boy gestured to his closet, purposefully avoiding looking in Hyungwon’s direction. “Uh, d-do you want to borrow some of my clothes?”

“No, thanks,” Hyungwon spoke, as if gloating. He smirked as he leaned closer to the blushing apprentice and waved his hands over their heads, showing off the height difference. He looked down at Changkyun to meet his eyes. “Your clothes won’t fit.”

The apprentice’s mouth hung agape for a few moments before he determinately set his jaw and made his way to his closet. The boy returned with a bundle of white cotton which he promptly shoved into the prince’s arms.  

“Here,” Changkyun said as he still avoided the looking in the prince’s direction. “It’s just a bathrobe but it’s a little big on me.”

Hyungwon unfurled the fabric and slipped it on. He moved around to assess the fabric, pressing his lips in reluctant acceptance. They were just a tad too small for him, but they covered what needed to be covered.

Changkyun looked the prince over, his blush still ever present. “Are you sure you don’t want any other clothes?”

“Nah, I’m fine. You’re pretty used to seeing me anyways,” Hyungwon teased.

Changkyun’s eyes went wide as he made a strangled choking noise.

“Ah, sorry. I guess I said something inappropriate,” Hyungwon apologized, trying to laugh it off but mentally scolding himself for speaking without thinking. Then he realized this might be the first time he’d ever apologized that easily and without someone asking him to.

The apprentice gave him a weak smile. “…It’s fine. It’s not like there are clothes tailored for frogs anyways…” Changkyun’s joke hung in the air like a bad smell. It made the growing awkwardness feel more present and Changkyun wasn’t sure what do, so he spoke the truth. “I’m sorry I’m not sure what to do now. I was so focused on getting you turned back into a human, I never thought about what to do when it actually happens.”

Hyungwon hated to admit it, but he hadn’t thought much on it either. Part of him had just accepted living life here with Changkyun. Now that he was back to being himself, back to being a prince, there was no way he could stay. Just the thought made an uneasy feeling settle in his gut. Hyungwon decided to do what he does best and avoid the issue altogether until it came to smack him in the face.

“We’ll get to that when we get there. For now, how about we eat some breakfast? I’m starving,” Hyungwon suggested, wanting to avoid having to explain to Changkyun that he’d been housing a prince this whole time.

“Ah! Right. Wait here,” Changkyun said as he gestured for the prince to stay put.

The boy hurried over to his door and opened it just enough for him to pick up the tray of food at that had been laid at the entrance, like it was every morning. He hastily stepped back into his room, making sure to lock his door with magic as he walked over to the sitting area.

Changkyun wrung his hands together nervously as he set down the tray of food at the arm table between his two chairs. “There’s only enough for one person so-”

Hyungwon cut him off. The prince picked up the fork and knife off the tray and began to cut the food into halves as he warned, “Don’t even think about handing it all to me. You’re eating half of this.”

“Alright,” Changkyun began, in a breath before he nearly whispered, “Hyungwon…hyung.”

“Hyung?” Hyungwon asked, perking up as he heard the suffix.

“I-I felt awkward referring to you as just Hyungwon,” Changkyun stuttered, avoiding his gaze again.

“So, I had to be a human to earn some respect?” Hyungwon joked, laughing before he bit into another slice of fruit.

Changkyun opened his mouth to argue but quickly shut it. He stuck out his lip in a pout as he apologetically looked at the floor.

Hyungwon only nodded, wondering how Changkyun still hadn’t pieced together that he was Gwangju’s prince now that he was human again. Had the boy never seen the multiple banners of him that they hung in Gwangju’s cities and towns?

Their meal ended as quickly as it began. As Changkyun was about to put away the plate, Hyungwon started to ceaselessly sneeze.

The apprentice set down the plate and rushed over to Hyungwon. “I’m so sorry. I knew we should have dried you off. You’re going to catch a cold at this rate.”

Hyungwon didn’t get the chance to say it was fine. At almost an inhuman speed, Changkyun fetched a towel and began to roughly dry Hyungwon’s wet hair.

The prince felt himself freeze at the proximity. Changkyun didn’t seem to notice how close he was. Each breath that escaped his chapped lips fanned the exposed skin of Hyungwon’s chest. Hyungwon swallowed, trying to look away from the boy’s face. But he couldn’t help it.

He kept glancing down, taking note of all his features. Changkyun had long lashes. And a pointy nose. And thick brows that looked even thicker when pressed together. And perfectly kissable lips. At the last thought, Hyungwon shook his head to wave away the stupor.

Changkyun’s hands pulled back and Hyungwon realized his mistake. He must have thought the prince wanted him to stop.

“Ah… I’ll just go put away the plate then,” Changkyun said. He swiftly turned his back and picked up the tray, leaving Hyungwon standing there, dumbfounded with a towel hanging from his head.

As he hurriedly tried to make his way to the door, Changkyun tripped. The tray went flying from Changkyun’s hands as he stumbled backward.

Hyungwon’s reflexes kicked in, allowing him to catch Changkyun before he fell. The recoil pushed him back, causing the both of them to plummet backwards.

Good news was that they’d managed to fall somewhere soft. Bad news was that place was Changkyun’s bed.

They’d landed in a position that was the definition of compromising. Hyungwon had landed on top of Changkyun. And when he pulled himself up, his arms were on either side of the boy’s shoulders. His was only a few centimeters from Changkyun’s flushed face.

The apprentice was looking up at him with wide eyes and parted lips – and damn it was hot. Hot enough to make the blood that had been going to Hyungwon's angled head now start moving elsewhere.

There is no way this could get any worse , Hyungwon thought.

Of course, the universe loved proving him wrong because at that moment, the door burst open – despite the many magical locks.

“Changkyunnie, I’m bac-WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL IS GOING ON?!”

Hyungwon could swore some frog instincts remained with him as he jumped off of Changkyun in a way no human should be able to.

Flush faced and slightly ticked off, his eyes found the intruder and rage lit inside him.

“You!” Hyungwon seethed at the pink haired herbologist who’d turned him into a frog.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Kihyun snapped as he made his way further into the room.

“I could ask you the same damn question.” The prince’s eyes burned with fire as he stepped between Changkyun and the fuming pink haired wizard.

Kihyun’s face contorted into a mask of sheer anger. “I have every right to be here!”

“How so?” Hyungwon challenged.

“Kihyun-hyung, please calm down. This is um, my friend, Hyungwon,” Changkyun tried to explain as he wormed his way past the prince.

“Your friend, Hyungwon?” Kihyun asked incredulously before turning to Hyungwon. “Does he not know who you are?” the pink haired wizard sneered.

“You didn’t seem to care much for who I was when you turned me into a frog,” Hyungwon spat back.

Changkyun gasped, looking disappointed as he addressed the older wizard. “Hyung! You’re the one who turned him into a frog?”

“Listen, Changkyun, he’s not who you think-” Kihyun tried to explain but was cut off by the sound of the door swinging.

Jooheon strode through the doorway carrying letters for Changkyun and smiling happily until he saw the scene before him. His jaw along dropped, and so did the letters he’d been carrying in his arms. He gulped at the sight of Kihyun before looking across at the taller man he was yelling at. The ambassador’s eyes went wide as he called out, “Your Highness?! What are you doing in Changkyun’s bedroom?”

The apprentice’s eyes went wide as he looked up at Hyungwon, who was glaring at Jooheon. “Your Highness?”

“Yes, Changkyun,” Kihyun affirmed with a cold smile. “The man standing before you is His Royal Pain in the , Prince Hyungwon of Gwangju.”

“You’re really testing me today, Pinky,” Hyungwon sneered halfheartedly, not wanting to address the topic with Changkyun.

Kihyun snorted. “Pinky? Is that the best you got, you lechering piece of-”

“That’s enough, hyung,” the apprentice warned, cutting him off.

“You’re defending him? Do you even know who or what he is?” Kihyun asked, his tone rising with his flaring anger.

“I guess I might not know what he is and I thought I knew who he was, but that doesn’t give you the right to speak that way, hyung,” Changkyun answered coolly, grating against Kihyun’s ego.

“You two get of this room. I want to speak with my apprentice in private.” Kihyun’s gaze was intently locked on Changkyun as he spoke.

The apprentice and his master locked eyes as if having a silent argument and Jooheon didn’t want either himself or his prince to be there when it happened.

Hyungwon barely had time to register that Kihyun was Changkyun’s master before he was being hauled out of the room. “What are you doing?!” Hyungwon yelled at Jooheon, who’d managed to drag him out of the room. The prince shrugged himself free and tried to open the door. He jerked the knob, trying to get it to budge with no success. In the end, he resorted to banging on the door. “Hey! Let me in!”

Hyungwon slammed his fists against the door. He even gave it a kick for good measure. There was no way a simple wooden door could be this sturdy. They’d obviously reinforced it with magic, but that didn’t keep Hyungwon from yelling and pounding on the door.

“What’s going on here?” Wonho called out as he made his way over, for once wearing his armor. Not too far behind him was Prince Minhyuk dressed in full regalia.

The sight might have normally made Hyungwon question what was up but he was too focused on opening the damn door.

“Jooheonie! Prince Hyungwon!” Minhyuk greeted cheerfully before he looked Hyungwon up and down and with a frown. “Why are you wearing that?”

“You were expecting him to be here?” Wonho asked, somehow picking up the context missing in Minhyuk’s words.

“Yes, I was expecting him to be here, just not dressed in Changkyun’s bathrobes.”

“Prince Minhyuk,” Hyungwon nodded, giving the blond prince his regards and ignoring the silver haired guard on purpose. “Your herbologist kicked me out of Changkyun’s room before I had a chance to put on proper clothes.” Hyungwon told the man the half-truth and watched as Prince Minhyuk’s face contorted with annoyance.

“Aish, I’m going to drop kick that ert when I see him,” Minhyuk muttered.

“He’s speaking with Changkyun privately at the moment,” Jooheon interject, gesturing to the locked door.

“Ahh,” Minhyuk gave a weak acknowledgement before gesturing for them to step aside. “I’ll go in. You can take Prince Hyungwon to your regular quarters,” the blond prince said callously as he moved closer to the door.

Hyungwon heard what the prince had said but he kept trying to get the door to open. Wonho’s hand wrapped around his fist before it clashed with the door. He shot an angry gaze at the silver haired man, who held a stony expression.

“I think it’s best if you left this to us, Your Highness.” Wonho’s words were cordial, to Hyungwon they sounded as if he was mocking him.  

Hyungwon jerked his fist away ready to smack the door again, but Jooheon placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Can you please not cause any more trouble, Your Highness? For now, I think it’s best if you leave this to Prince Minhyuk,” Jooheon did his best to speak and politely and rationally as possible.

Hyungwon didn’t know how much words could cut him. A rational part of him knew that Jooheon was right, but it was hidden under the anger and rage that told him to tear apart that door. Wonho’s grip tightened on his arm as the prince tried to knock on the door again. Jooheon restrained his other arm and the two dragged him away from the door.

He fought them, kicking and screaming, until the door of Changkyun’s room swung open. He turned his head to look over his shoulder. And for a split-second he was able to see Changkyun. But the boy didn’t look back up at him. A sullen-confused expression painted his face. He seemed hurt and lost, almost like he’d been betrayed. It made the prince wonder if Changkyun even wanted him to go back. And the thought alone was enough to quell Hyungwon’s resistance.

 “He lied to you the whole time he was here, Changkyun.”