Between meeting with members of Parliament, taking calls from dignitaries around the world, reviewing and approving ceremonial preparations, signing documents upon documents, visiting orphanages and shelters to build goodwill and restore his image, and, indeed, going on various fruitless dates, Jinyoung was busier than he'd ever been in his life. Still, he tried to visit Father as often as possible, mindful that their time together was limited. In this way, nearly a month passed by, and he was no closer to marriage than he was before.

"Father," he said gently, the king's cool but damp forehead. It was odd, but Jinyoung never knew what condition he would find his father in each time they met. Sometimes he would be feverish; sometimes not. Sometimes he would be deathly pale; sometimes he appeared quite normal, if a little flustered. His cough was consistent, but his health had not appeared to turn for the better or the worst.

"Father," Jinyoung repeated, sighing. "I've tried, Father, believe me, I have, but . . ."

"I'm proud of you, Jinyoung-ah," said the king, smiling weakly. "I know you're putting yourself out there and trying. I know."

". . . you do?" Jinyoung whispered, feeling something within him break—and heal. In truth, he'd come to renegotiate their deal or ask for more time or give it all up—he wasn't completely sure now—but hearing those choice words from his father made all the hardships seem not so hard after all.

Father nodded, patting Jinyoung's hands. "I know, son, and I'm proud of you. You're doing so well, and you're wonderful . . . you are. Soon, someone will realize that too, and they won't ever want to let you go."

Jinyoung hugged him tightly, taking a deep breath. Father smelled the same as always, not sickly or abnormal, and it somehow gave him comfort, along with the reassurances. "Thank you, Father," he simply said.

 

 

♚

 

 

"I thought I told you no more guys with pets." Jinyoung scowled at his phone, hoping they could feel his disapproval on the other end of the line.

"We know that, but—" Yugyeom started to say.

"This guy doesn't have a pet," Bambam interrupted, "at least not anymore. So, technically, he meets your requirement."

"Why am I standing in front of a cat café then?"

"Just give him a chance, hyung," Bambam said, and then he hung up. That little . . .

Jinyoung sighed and thumbed opened the much-dreaded Purpl app, which he had mostly left Bambam and Yugyeom to navigate. At the beginning, he tried to be more involved in connecting with potential dates and chatting through the built-in messaging system, but lately he'd been so busy—and so jaded—that he just showed up to all the rendezvous arranged by his friends, basically going in blind. It was no wonder that none had worked out, and Jinyoung had been this close to shutting the whole operation down when the pep talk with his father happened and reminded him why he was doing this.

"For king and country," Jinyoung murmured before pulling up his date's profile. "Oh, christ."

 

 

defsoul, 24, looked decently handsome, sure, but he appeared to be even more fixated on his cat than Youngjae had been with his puppy.

"I'm going to kill Bambam," Jinyoung groaned.

"What's a bam-bam?"

Jinyoung spun around—and wow, that one filtered photo did not do defsoul justice. In person, he was tall, broad, and ridiculously chiseled. In motion, he was art.

"Uh, nothing. No one. I think I'll spare him after all. Hi, I'm Jinyoung. You must be . . ."

"Im Jaebum, your highness." Ah, the new Duke of Goyang. Jinyoung had heard of him before—they might have even attended some of the same events—but this was the first time they properly met.

"Jaebum-ssi, hello." Embarrassed that he was caught staring a moment too long, Jinyoung cleared his throat and put on his most charismatic, princely smile—the one he used to say, Come, peasants, give me your babies to smooch. "Why don't we speak to each other comfortably?"

"Sure." Jaebum returned his smile easily and held the café door open. "Shall we?"

 

 

♚

 

 

On the first date, Jinyoung learned that both he and Bambam had been correct. Jaebum was obsessed with his cat, Nora, and all cats in general, though he no longer had one of his own for reasons Jinyoung imagined were too painful to share. It was why Jaebum came to the cat café often and suggested it for their date, which Jinyoung thought was kind of sweet. Personally, he didn't love cats any more than he did dogs, but as long as Jaebum had other interests and priorities, he wasn't too worried. It helped, he justified, that Nora wasn't there to intimidate him the way Coco had been.

On the second date, Jinyoung learned that outside of performing his duties to the dukedom, Jaebum liked to sing and dance and make music, which he released under the pseudonym defsoul. Jinyoung charmed Jaebum into letting him visit his secret studio and listen to some of his songs and was impressed by his vocals, compositions, and artistry. Jinyoung shared that he used to, in his youth, dream of becoming an artist as well—singing, dancing, acting, all of it—but realized that it was something he could never actually pursue.

"Perhaps in another life," Jaebum said, touching the back of Jinyoung's hand in a gesture of comfort.

"Perhaps," Jinyoung agreed, turning his hand over and catching Jaebum's fingers between his own.

On the third date, Jinyoung learned that Jaebum was also a voracious reader, and they spent hours browsing their favorite secondhand bookstores in the quiet neighborhoods of Jongno-gu. They recommended books to each other, filled their shopping baskets, updated their to-read lists, geeked out over the latest Murakami, and even had a deep discussion about their respective Hogwarts houses (Jinyoung admitted he was more of a Slytherin than a Ravenclaw, which surprised Jaebum, while the latter defended team Hufflepuff with pride). They discovered a lot about each other that day, and Jinyoung thought maybe, just maybe, this was it . . . maybe, somehow, he'd found his soulmate.

On the fourth date, Jinyoung learned that it would be their last.

"My father is ill," Jinyoung confessed. "I am to take over for him in . . . well, about six weeks or so."

"Wow," Jaebum breathed, pulling him in for a hug. "I'm sorry, Jinyoung-ah."

"Thank you, hyung," Jinyoung said, letting his head rest on Jaebum's sturdy shoulder for a moment. He took a deep breath, pulled back, and looked into Jaebum's eyes. "I need to marry before I take the throne."

Jaebum looked confused.

"It's . . . it's our custom," Jinyoung explained. "More than a custom, actually, it's the law."

"What does that mean?" Jaebum said slowly, as if he still wasn't comprehending where Jinyoung was going with this.

"Will you . . . marry me, hyung?"

They stared at each other. Deep down, Jinyoung knew that Jaebum's silence, his shock, was answer enough, but desperately, agonizingly, he waited.

"Jinyoung-ah," Jaebum began after several moments. "I like you . . . you know I do. I like you a lot."

Jinyoung braced himself. "But?"

"But," Jaebum said, frowning, "it's only been a few weeks. We barely know each other."

"I know you," Jinyoung said in a small voice.

"Do you?" Jaebum sounded like he was talking to a child, and Jinyoung hated it, hated the way it made him feel. He wished he'd never started this conversation at all, though he knew he had to. "What's my mother's name? Who's my best friend? What's my favorite color?"

Jinyoung couldn't answer him, and Jaebum sighed. "Do you even love me, Jinyoung-ah?"

Jinyoung couldn't respond to that either.

"I can't marry you," Jaebum said, gently now. Apologetically. Then with more conviction, he added, "I don't want to, not you or anyone. Not right now."

Jinyoung wiped at his eyes. "I understand," he said. He did. It didn't mean he wasn't hurt. But could he fault Jaebum for that? He was the only one racing against time here. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, hyung. And I'm sorry I wasn't honest from the beginning."

"I'm sorry you're in this position," Jaebum replied, patting Jinyoung's shoulder. His touch had an air of finality. He didn't linger.

Jinyoung wished he did, though. Just for a moment longer.

 

 

♚

 

 

Jinyoung let himself wallow for about two weeks—as much as he could while keeping up with his intense schedule anyway. After the first week, he gained the clarity to acknowledge that while he hadn't been in love with Jaebum, he had been infatuated with him and with the idea of marrying someone like him. Someone with whom he had so much in common. Someone he could very easily love under normal circumstances. Someone who made him feel like this was all his choice.

By the end of the second week, Jinyoung was ready to give up on the notion of having a choice at all. The deadline of his three-month agreement with Father was looming closer. With the dating experiment falling flat, Jinyoung planned to initiate a marriage of state with a prince or princess from one of their allied nations. Aside from fulfilling his promise and allowing him to ascend the throne, he rationalized, such a marital union would have the added benefit of strengthening ties between the two countries. Best of all, he could let Wooyoung sort everything out—pick one of them, any of them, what did it matter? He just needed it to be done.

He was on his way to find the Lord Chamberlain when he was accosted by Bambam and Yugyeom in the corridor.

"You'll never believe who just liked you on Purpl," Bambam said, sounding slightly out of breath. It must have been someone extremely exciting or important for him to run like that—Bambam never risked his fancy shoes.

"Who? Is Prince Harry available after all?"

"No!" Bambam gave him a dirty look, while Yugyeom blurted, "It's Jackson!"

"Jackson?" It was a name Jinyoung hadn't thought about in weeks, but he knew whom they meant immediately, of course. The three of them had spent a while discussing who this Jackson could possibly be after he'd reported back about his date with Youngjae. They'd even gone through Youngjae's uploaded photos and compared his ex with Mark's to determine if he was really the same guy. The results had been inconclusive, but they'd ran with the narrative anyway. "Youngjae's Jackson? Mark's Jackson? Player Jackson?"

"The one and only," Bambam said confidently. "Here, look."

 

 

"No," Jinyoung said, shaking his head. "No way."

"Why not?" Yugyeom whined. "You're not exactly in a position to be choosy right now."

Jinyoung frowned. "I know that, which is why I was going to see Wooyoung hyung about arranging—ow!"

Bambam pointed with the hand that just slapped the crown prince. "Don't you dare say the words 'arranged marriage.' Don't you dare even think it."

"I could have you executed for this," Jinyoung said indignantly, rubbing his cheek. In truth, Bambam had barely tapped him, but it was the principle of the matter. "Do you know what treason is?"

"Come on, hyung," Bambam pleaded, ignoring the threat. He was serious now. "Don't do that to yourself."

"Do what?" Jinyoung countered irritably. But he softened too, knowing that they were only looking out for him. "Listen, guys, I really appreciate your help so far, but it's over, okay? It was over weeks ago, when Jaebum hyung . . ." He paused before smiling bravely. "Anyway, don't worry about me. I've made up my mind. It's time for me to stop being so selfish."

"It's not selfish to want to find someone you love," Yugyeom said softly.

"Maybe it is when you're the crown prince."

They stood in silence for a few moments, letting that depressing thought sink in. Jinyoung knew neither of them could argue it, even as some part of him was hoping they could.

Then, Bambam spoke up: "Just go on one more date. Go out with Jackson." He unlocked his phone and showed Jinyoung the screen again.

Jinyoung was unmoved. "Why? It's pointless."

"Aren't you curious at all about him?" Yugyeom asked. "I know I am."

Jinyoung stared at Jackson's photo before his eyes trailed down to the quote. Never give up on things you can't live a day without. It sounded like Jackson was mocking him and his decision right now, and how annoying was that? Sure, he was handsome, with fluffy brown hair and big puppy-dog eyes, but did his movie-star good looks give Jackson the right to judge Jinyoung when they'd never met? Yet again, Jinyoung felt resentment toward the other man—and toward himself for how irrational and hypocritical he was being. He was aware of it; he just couldn't stop.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to meet this Jackson, once and for all, at least so he could justify these feelings. Jinyoung would see Jackson and confirm for himself that he was the player who broke Mark's heart and terrorized Coco and scorned Youngjae. He'd see that Jackson was a judgmental douchebag who mocked others for their decisions and he'd give him a piece of his mind. Then they'd part ways—Jackson to play with another's heart, Jinyoung to marry whomever Wooyoung chooses and become king—and they'd never have to see each other again.

"Fine," Jinyoung said, taking the phone from Bambam. Biting his lip and hoping to god he wouldn't regret this, he hesitated for just a moment before clicking on the purple heart. "One date."

 

 

♚

 

 

"This was a big mistake," Jinyoung whispered into his phone while waiting for Jackson to buy their tickets. "I regret everything."

"Why?" asked Yugyeom. "Is he hideous in real life? Horrid? Smells weird?"

"No on all counts," Jinyoung replied gloomily, glancing around to make sure Jackson was still busy. "He's cute. And energetic, and lovely, and—he smells wonderful. I don't know, I was just expecting to see him and have an awkward lunch and maybe scold him a bit for fooling around with people before I excuse myself, but . . ."

"But?"

"But he surprised me! He was funny and disarming and he wanted to take me to an amusement park."

"What? You've never been to an amusement park, hyung; you didn't even want to go with me and Bambam."

"I know! But here I am."

"You're there already?"

"Yes. I am here . . . out in public . . . surrounded by families with their small children . . . and people in animal suits . . . with only sunglasses and a baseball cap as my disguise."

"You sound creepy, hyung."

"Be quiet—oh here he comes, I have to go."

"Ready?" Jackson said, waving the tickets. He also bought tickets for all of their bodyguards, who were similarly in poor cover-ups.

"Um, sure," Jinyoung said, tucking the phone behind his back like he had something to hide. He put on his best baby-smooching smile. Not creepy at all. "Let's go."

Jackson seemed to know exactly what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go, so Jinyoung followed him dutifully. He was half-listening to Jackson's excited babbling, half-contemplating the man beside him. He wasn't what Jinyoung expected at all, but Jinyoung was trying to be careful not to let his guard down too much. After all, perhaps Jackson had been this charming with Mark and Youngjae and all of his exes too, before things started going south.

Over lunch, Jinyoung had learned that Jackson Wang was a cousin of the Chinese Emperor. Not in line for the throne himself, Jackson focused on his career as an accomplished fencer with the Hong Kong national team. He had multiple medals and trophies under his belt from all sorts of global competitions, including the most recent Olympics, and frequently traveled the world for both business and pleasure. He'd graduated from Stanford University in the States—Jinyoung supposed that was where he'd met Mark, though he hadn't mentioned it—and spoke several languages fluently. His Korean wasn't the strongest, but he didn't let that stop him from saying whatever he wanted, which Jinyoung found very refreshing.

"Wait!" Jackson suddenly said, holding his arm out across Jinyoung's chest. When Jinyoung looked at him, Jackson's eyes were lit up and he was nearly bouncing. "Jinyoung-ah, let's take a picture here, okay? We should start making memories."

"Here?" Jinyoung asked, looking at the large plastic castle behind them dubiously. "Now?"

"No time like the present," Jackson replied cheerfully. "Wait a minute, I'll ask someone to take our picture."

"Hold on, Jackson," Jinyoung said, grabbing his sleeve. "What if we're recognized? Let's just take it ourselves. Or we can ask one of the guards, maybe—"

Jackson rolled his eyes but patted Jinyoung's face with warmth and good humor. "Chill, your highness. I guarantee you no one knows or cares who we are. Look at us," he said, gesturing to their accessories, "we blend right in. We're camouflaged. We look absolutely average. Don't worry." Then he looked around and called out, "Ahjumma!"

The ahjumma Jackson called upon helpfully took their photo and, as Jackson predicted, did not indicate that she knew—or cared—who they were at all. Jinyoung let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding throughout posing for the photo, and Jackson nudged him in the rib playfully, as if to say, See? Told you.

Jinyoung ended up having fun at the amusement park, more fun than he'd imagined he would. Despite Jinyoung's initial reservations, Jackson continued to do and say all kinds of things so unexpected that he could only laugh, which made him feel more and more comfortable throughout the day, even as he was aware of how strange that was. By early evening, however, he realized that Jackson had only taken him to food stalls, to attractions to pose for photos, and on the carousel, train rides, and a few enhanced motion virtual reality rides.

"Want to do the rollercoaster?" Jinyoung asked, looking up at the famous T Express.

Jackson looked nervous all of a sudden. "I'm afraid of heights," he admitted, before shaking his head a little and standing taller. "But . . . if you want to do it, let's go."

"Hey, we don't have to," Jinyoung said, squeezing Jackson's arm gently. "Forget it, we'll do something else."

"Wait," Jackson said, catching Jinyoung's hand. "No, let's do it."

Jinyoung looked at Jackson, puzzled. "Why? I don't want to do it if you're afraid of heights."

"Thank you," Jackson said, bringing his other hand up and using both to play with Jinyoung's fingers. He was looking down at them rather than at Jinyoung. "But today is kind of about stepping out of our comfort zones, right? You said you'd never been to an amusement park before, but you came. Also, I can tell . . ." He looked up at Jinyoung then, smiling sweetly. "I can tell that you took a chance on going out with me too."

Jinyoung swallowed. "How did you know?"

Jackson laughed. "You're not as subtle as you think you are, your highness. I saw your face when you walked into the restaurant—you looked like you were attending a funeral or something, like you couldn't wait to get it over with."

Jinyoung flushed. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Jackson said. "Your face changed. Changes. It's so expressive, did you know that? Your eyes, especially. Reluctance. Uncertainty. Intrigue. Curiosity. Excitement. Attraction. I can read it all."

"Can you read 'embarrassment'?" Jinyoung muttered.

Jackson laughed again and nodded. "But that's why I want to go on the rollercoaster now," he said earnestly. "With you. You took a risk for me today, now I'll take a risk for you."

"You're giving me too much credit," Jinyoung argued, feeling bad about all the mean things he'd previously thought about Jackson.

"Come on," Jackson said, tugging Jinyoung toward the line for the T Express. "Or," he added slyly, "are you scared?"

Okay, Jinyoung thought, it's on now. "As you wish. We'll see who's scared."

It was Jackson, of course. Of course, Jackson was scared. He started fidgeting as they got closer to the front of the line and by the time they were strapped into the first car of the train, his mouth was running nonstop.

"Jinyoung-ah!" he screamed, hooking his arm through Jinyoung's and trying to pull him closer. If the lap bars hadn't been holding them down, Jinyoung swore one of them would be sitting on the other. "Jinyoung-ah! Jinyoung-ah!"

Jinyoung could not stop laughing as they climbed up and up and Jackson's voice pitched higher and higher. As the T Express took them on twists and turns and dips and dives, Jackson pressed his face into Jinyoung's shoulder and released one long, continuous, murderous scream, so loud that Jinyoung's ears were ringing by the time they got off.

"I'm dying," Jackson said, collapsing on the ground as soon as his feet hit the pavement. "I'm actually dead. Go on without me."

Jinyoung laughed and helped him up, letting Jackson lean against him as they limped away from the ride. "You did well, Jackson. Thank you for doing that with me. It was fun."

Neither said anything for a few minutes as they made their way through the park under the light of the fading sun. Then, Jackson whispered, "You had fun today?" Jackson's breath was hot against Jinyoung's neck, but it made Jinyoung shiver, sending chills down his spine.

"I did," Jinyoung murmured, squeezing Jackson's shoulder. "I had fun."

"Would you want to go out with me another time?"

Would he? One date, he'd told Bambam and Yugyeom. One date and then he and Jackson would never have to see each other again. The safe thing to do would be sticking with the plan, saying bye to Jackson, and moving forward with an arranged spouse who would definitely know what they were getting into. The opposite of that would be seeing Jackson again, letting himself fall for Jackson, setting himself up for disappointment when it invariably wouldn't work out, saying bye to Jackson anyway, and ultimately wasting another few weeks on a love game he had no business playing.

"Hey," Jackson said suddenly, poking Jinyoung's cheek. He was standing in front of him now. "I can read your face, remember?"

"What does it say?" Jinyoung asked, searching Jackson's eyes for the answer. Tell me, he implored. Tell me how I feel. Tell me what I want. Tell me what to do.

"You're overthinking it," Jackson said softly. "You're getting ahead of yourself, and of us. I'm not sure what's worrying you, but. Stop thinking and just tell me . . . do you want to see me again?"

Jinyoung exhaled. "Yes."