​​​​​

Sighing, Shin stared into the flowing water of the stream that ran through the castle garden. First thing that morning,  his father had informed him that he was to meet the person he was set to wed. Groaning,  he tugged at the sleeves of his elaborate princess gown and shifted uncomfortably. His underwear had been creeping up for an hour now but it was considered unlady-like to eradicate the situation. Why did it matter if Shin was lady-like at all?  As the only child in a monarchy handed down solely to women, his parents had decided their best path was to raise him as a princess to preserve their legacy. Princess Shin.

He really didn't understand what his parents thought would happen once he got married.  Surely the poor man would notice something off when his wife had a serious case of morning wood. For that matter,  how was he going to explain why they couldn't bang or have kids just to hide this burdensome secret his parents had cast upon him. With a shout of anger,  he took off one of his elegant slippers and threw it into the river with all his might,  almost throwing himself off balance. Before he could topple into the rushing liquid,  strong arms embraced him, wrapped around his waist as he was pulled away from the edge. 

"Why do you hate shoes so much?  My arms are going to fall off if I have to keep carrying you around." A cheery voice chuckled close to his ear. Sangmin, his personal bodyguard, had come to rescue as he often did when Shin's hidden jewels got him into a tizzy. 

"Is that-" Shin cleared his throat,  making his voice uncomfortably high as he stepped away from the other man, situating his dress. "Is that any way to talk to a woman?"

"I don't know." Shrugging,  Sangmin gave one of his usual bright,  earth shattering smiles and ruffled Shin's hair gently. "I'll let you know when I meet one." Shin prepared his argument but gave up, fed up with the stress of his secret identity both on his mind and his vocal cords. Besides, if he trusted anyone,  it was the man beside him. 

"Sangmin. Can I tell you a secret?" He kept his voice high,  trying to portray as much of the gravity of the situation as he could without making his voice crack. 

"Of course.  I'm a steel trap for secrets." Sangmin patted his shoulder and Shin sighed.  He had to do it. He had to tell someone. 

"I'm a man." Bracing himself for Sangmin's inevitable shock or disbelief, he adverted his eyes,  choosing to count the small river stones in his anxious wait. 

"No , Shin. We grew up together. My mother basically raised you." Sangmin sounded amused and now Shin was the one truly confused. "I've seen your at least three times."

"What?" He wasn't sure he was comprehending exactly what was happening.

"I wouldn't say it's in the top five best es I've ever seen." Sangmin continued, thoughtfully tapping his chin with a fingertip.  "But certainly in my top ten."

"Wait... You knew?" Shin inquired, his mind felt almost fuzzy as he tried to work out what he had just heard.  "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NOT TOP FIVE!?"

"Don't get me wrong. It's grown nicely. But come on." Sangmin shrugged, smirking playfully. "I'm a dickologist. I've seen all the . Plus my is always number one."

"You disgust me, Sangmin. " Shin scoffed, still slightly taken aback and horrified by his slip ups in keeping his secret safe. 

"You adore me and you know it." chuckling, Sangmin made some cute gestures with his hands,  earning a small laugh from Shin. 
"I guess. If I have to." Shin smiled lightly, shaking his head.  He could not express how happy he was to ditch his painful feme voice.

"Oh you definitely have to." Grinning, Sangmin scooped the princess into his arms. "now we need to get you fed before you become Hangry. Then we meet your fiancé and his guard for horseback riding."

"Psh. Fiancé. I don't even know the man." growling, Shin squished Sangmin's cheeks between his palms in frustration. "You look stupid."

"You look stupid." Sangmin cheerfully echoed back. "Man.  You're already a hangry little monster." Swatting Shin's rear,  he bounced him as he walked.

"Hey, Sangmin?" Sighing, Shin poked at his friend's chest.

"What's up, Buttercup?" Smiling,  the body guard jostled Shin around just for the hell of it.

"I'm going to start telling people I'm a man." Shin could feel his nervousness creeping in again. "Will you stay by my side?"

"I'll always stay by your side." Smiling, Sangmin bounced Shin in his arms again. "Everyone's going to love you as you are."

"Thank you...  And Sangmin..." Shin reached up to gently hold Sangmin's cheeks between his palms, gazing into his eyes as he bit his lower lip. "For the love of all things good in this world,  stop ing bouncing me.  I have the worst wedgie of my life and if you keep this up it will cut me in half and I will literally die. " With a rather loud fit of laughter,  Sangmin apologized, carrying his charge into the castle. 

After a quick bathroom break to eradicate his creeping circumstances, Shin allowed Sangmin to carry him into the castle kitchen. The chef,  Yongseok, barely even glanced their way as Sangmin sat him on  one of the many counters. Shin watched him a moment before clearing his throat. 

"I have something to say." He announced, simply receiving a nod from the cook to continue. "I'm a man." Slowly, the younger man sat the knife he was using to chop fruit onto the counter in front of him. Momentarily, Shin wondered if he should run but Sangmin's hand in his held him still. 

"I'm busy making your damn food and you come at me with this ridiculous bull?" Yongseok questioned, palms flat on the counter as he stared down Shin. "Of course you're a man. Have you ever seen yourself in the middle of the night when you stumble into my kitchen half asleep and demand I make you a grilled cheese? You have the voice of an angry old man and enough chin stubble to put me to shame at my best. Interrupting me with this . God damn it."

"I..." Shin's mind was reeling as he turned to look at Sangmin. His trusted guard was hiding quiet chuckled behind his hand.  Growling, he lightly punched his shoulder. "Shut up, would you?"

"Take your food and get out with your nonsense." Despite Yongseok's exasperated tone,  Shin saw the boy smile before Sangmin took the bowl of fruit and hoisted the princess over his shoulder, heading toward a his bedchamber to ready him to meet his prince.

"AYO!  SEYOUNG!" Sangmin shouted down the hall as he kicked open Shin's bedroom door and half tossed him on the bed. "SOMEBODY EXILED THEIR SHOE AGAIN!"

"Heeeey. " Shin whined as he landed on the bed. "You better not spill my food."

"Oh come on. I taste much better than fruit if you're that hungry. " Sangmin delivered an over exaggerated amount of winking and shoulder winking before dissolving into laughter. 

"I don't know if you're filthy or stupid." Shin rolled his eyes but chuckled as Sangmin went to retrieve his riding gear from his closet.

"I COULD BE BOTH" The bodyguard shouted from the depths of the closet as Seyoung entered the room. 

"I don't know what he's talking about but he's probably right." Seyoung smiled, holding a pair of riding boots out to Shin. "Please be kind to these ones.  You're made to fit you perfectly."

"Thanks." Shin took the boots,  inspecting them. "Hey. What would you say if I told you that I'm possibly, maybe, actually a man?"

"I know." Seyoung gave him a kind look.

"You know?" Shin was becoming frustrated with how poorly he had apparently been keeping a secret his entire life was based on. "How?"

"Shin... I wake you up every morning." Seyoung explained, his cheeks slightly pink. "Sometimes you have better dreams than others and your night dresses are not thick."

"What does that even mean?!" Shin groaned, throwing himself backwards in frustration. Sangmin's laughter boomed from the closet. 

"HE'S SEEN YOUR BONERS,  SHIN! NOT ON STEALTH!" Sangmin hollered out to him, causing Seyoung to go red and bow, almost running from the room.

"FOR S SAKE, SANGMIN!  SHUT UP AND GET MY CLOTHES!" Shin shouted back,  exasperated. How was nothing going as planned?! 

Once dressed, Shin allowed his increasingly annoying protector to the castle gate where two servants had their horses ready and two more men we're already mounting their steeds. Truthfully, both strangers were handsome but the man with the mole on his chin sent electricity through his body. A part of him was urging him to tackle the man off his horse and mount him instead. Maybe his mole... 

"PRINCESS SHIN HAS ARRIVED!" Sangmin's shout shocked him from is progressively concerning thoughts about the stranger.  Looking up, Shin saw the handsome man smile down at him, his companion seeming to eye him critically. 

"This is Prince Takuya." The surly man announced, almost glaring down Sangmin whom and playfully nudging Shin with his elbow. Growling, shin slapped at him.

"Just get on your horse, Sangmin." Shaking his head,  he mounted his own horse and smiled at Takuya. "It's nice to meet you. Please ignore my bodyguard. He's not right."

"That's cold, Shin." Grinning,  Sangmin got on his steed and winked at the other bodyguard.

"This is Casper. He may seem mean but once he knows you, he's a soft person." Shin was now convinced that this man's smile was possibly the whole reason he was even alive. Boy was y. 

"Takuya..." Casper groaned,  finally ending his slight eye ing of Sangmin to look at his prince. "I'm none of that."

"Shall we go on our ride? " Takuya questioned,  blatantly ignoring the other man's protest as the group of men rode off into the forest.

Once they reached a clearing, Sangmin almost dove off his horse. Shin sighed, tearing his eyes away from Takuya to find out what the hell his childhood idiot was doing. Sangmin grabbed the reins of their horses and began to tie them to a tree branch. 

"The ?" Casper finally questioned, earning one of Sangmin's stunning smiles. 

"Gotta take a piss." With a wave, Sangmin disappeared into the trees. Not long after, his scream echoed back to them. 

"You two stay here. I'll check it out." Dismounting, Casper followed after the other bodyguard. "FALSE ALARM! IT WAS JUST A SNAKE!"

"I think he likes him." Takuya smiled, getting off his horse to help Shin to the ground. 

"Thank you." blushing, Shin slipped, knocking Takuya to the ground, landing on top of him.  "I am so sorry."

"Your eyes are really pretty." Takuya's own blush was just making his beautiful mole stand out. Before he realized what was happening, their lips had met and guilt began to eat at him.

"Takuya... I'm a dude... " He blurted out as their lips parted.

"Clearly." Takuya chuckled lightly, brushing some hair from Shin's face.

"How is it so clear?" Shin groaned. "I keep getting that reaction!"

"Well... You have an Adams apple for one. Plus your name is Shin." Takuya smiled, shaking his head. "Also your riding pants don't put a lot of padding between you and my leg.

"Oh dear God..." Shin rolled off of him, covering his face in embarrassment. "I understand if you don't want to get married."

"Shin... I'm hella gay." Takuya lowered Shin's hands and kissed him again as another shriek sounded through the bushes. 

"CASPER JUST SHOWED ME HIS !" Sangmin shouted from the bushes, followed by a bought of giggles and an audible groan. "DEFINITELY NEW TOP FIVE!"

"SANGMIN! SHUT UP!" Casper shouted followed by a squeal and more giggles.

"Told you he liked him." Takuya laughed, shaking his head. 

"You do know if we get married we have to deal with those idiots for the rest of our lives, right?" Shin questioned as he tried to ignored the loud squeaks and giggles from the bushes. 

"It's well worth it." Takuya smiled, pulled Shin into another kiss. As relieved as he was to be so well accepted, Shin was still trusted by how clearly bad he was as hiding his gender. He honestly thought he made the best woman. But hey. At least he still got his happily ever after.