-Yongguk’s POV-

It was a twenty-four hour ride all the way back home. Zelo and Youngjae kept getting antsy from staying in the carriage for hours. The carriage was pretty roomy so we weren’t squished together, but Junhong and Youngjae still weren’t happy. “I never like going on these trips.” Zelo grumbled to himself. “I don’t think I like them either.” Youngjae pouted.

“Well we would’ve been there sooner if we hadn’t stopped so many times.” I told them. “But I can’t stay in one place for too long. I have to move.” Zelo defended. “Are we there yet?” Youngjae whined. I shook my head. “You guys really do act like little kids.” I remarked.

I peeked out the curtains and smiled. “We’re here.” I answered. “Jinja?!” the two said in unison, removing the curtain to look outside. “We are here!” Junhong cheered. “Woooow! It looks so nice.” Youngjae said in awe. “It looks so different. Everything is so….red, even the flowers.” Youngjae observed. I smiled lightly.

“Can we get out now?” Youngjae suddenly asked sitting back down, getting over the view. “What?” I couldn’t help but laugh slightly at this. “Let’s walk the rest of the way. I usually walk everywhere I go anyway, and it’s so nice outside.” Youngjae said yearning to go out. “But we’re not even inside the palace grounds yet.” I told him.

“Bwoh?” He questioned. “We still have about a good half an hour left.” I informed. “Ughhhhh…” the two whined hitting the back of their heads against the seats in vain. I laughed shaking my head.

It really wasn’t until 45 minutes later when we finally arrived at the front of the palace, where we were greeted by servants and the daughters of walthy families. Youngjae and Junhong didn’t look too comfortable around the girls who pushed them aside. The royal guards came to remove the girls and the 3 of us were able to enter the castle. “That’s another part I don’t like.” Zelo muttered to Youngjae. “I don’t think I do either.” Youngjae noted. I chuckled at the two, they were something else.

“Wow! Youngjae’s eyes widened nearly popping out of his head. “It’s so…big.” He said. “It’s the same size as the Jung’s castle, it just looks bigger because we don’t have as much stuff put out as they do. My parents like to keep things simple.” I laughed. Youngjae looked at me. “I’ve never been in the Jung castle before.” He told me.

I had almost forgot that he still doesn’t have his memories of Daehyun back yet. “24 more hours…” Zelo said reading my mind. I nodded. “Himchan’s Castle is way bigger. It’s about twice this size, since it’s an older Kingdom.” I said. Youngjae’s eyes grew wide again. “Jinja?!” he questioned. I nodded. “Let’s go up to my room.” I smiled leading the way up the stairwell.

“Finally!” Junhong cheered jumping onto my bed once we reached my bedroom. Youngjae roamed around the room like a lost child. “It’s so…blue in here…but everything else in the castle is red. Why is that?” Youngjae questioned curiously. “Well…it was red, but Blue is Junhong’s favorite color. So…I guess you can say it kind of grew on me.” I said scratching the back of my head, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Junhong blushed lightly, looking down. Youngjae hopped on the bed beside Zelo. “Awe! How cute…” Youngjae cooed rolling over on the bed. “Did you hear that Zelo-ah?” Youngjae asked picking on the younger. Zelo didn’t respond. “Huh? Did you know that already? Hehehe…” Younjae laughed teasingly. “Hajima~.” Zelo whined.

“Wae? You know it’s…oof!” Youngjae had rolled to the edge of the bed and Junhong took the chance to push him off. “Ow!” Youngjae whined now rolling on the floor. Junhong started to laugh when then his eyes widened in realization.

“Youngjae! I’m so sorry! I forgot! Are you okay?!” Zelo said rushing to the elder’s care. I laughed at them. Zelo helped Youngjae up back onto the bed. “Youngjae…” Junhong said worried. “Zelo…” Youngjae said weakly. I raised an eyebrow at this. “Yes Youngjae?” Junhong said. “Come closer…” Youngjae said.

Junhong obeyed and came closer to him. “Stop! Don’t get too close. You don’t want to get Yongguk mad.” Youngjae smirked. “Yah!” Zelo spat. “I should push you off again.” He threatened crossing his arms. Youngjae busted into laughter. “…but that really did hurt.” He said. Junhong got off the bed and walked over to me, leaving Youngjae all alone.

I put my arm around him. “I think I can get used to this Youngjae.” I remarked. “No…actually…this is the real Youngjae. The only difference is that he is a little more childish.” Junhong corrected. “So what? You’re some kind of Youngjae expert now?” I questioned. Zelo thought a bit before answering. Then he nodded. “Yes, yes I am. Just don’t tell Daehyun. I don’t want him to get jealous.” He said. “Ooooh~…Okay.” I laughed playfully rolling my eyes.

After we finished unpacking everything, Junhong and I showed Youngjae around the castle, so that he’d have a general idea of where things and places were. My parents and siblings weren’t home yet because they were still at the Jung kingdom since they had attended the ball the other night. However they should be back in a couple of days or so.

“So where is Youngjae going to stay?” Junhong asked me when we outside in the back. Junhong and I stayed uin the shade while Youngjae laid out on the grass in the open, enjoying the nature. “I don’t know. He’ll have to stay somewhere, where he could live permanently.” I said. “Somebody is going to have to adopt him until he turns 18, because his father can take him away at any time. And he will try to do so.” I noted as well.

“Oh! He can stay with me.” Zelo suggested. “You’re going to adopt him?” I looked at him. “I mean…my mother can.” He corrected himself. “I don’t know. We’ll have to see.” I said. “But for now we can go down to the village and see your mother I said standing up. Zelo cheered in excitement and ran out to get Youngjae.

Since the two were tired of riding around we walked all the way to the village. It was an extremely long walk but they didn’t seem to mind. Actually…they were running, skipping, and playing around until we finally arrived at the village. From there Zelo led the rest of the way home and I put on my hood to cover my identity.

“Emeoni!” Junhong sang opening the door to his own home. “Zelo? Is that you?” Ms.Choi questioned coming out of a separate room. “Yeh.” Junhong answered nodding his head. “It is you!” she smiled giving her tall son a tight hug. “That’s what I said.” Zelo smiled chuckling a little. “Oh! You’ve gotton so big. You’re growing an inch everyday.” She remarked taking a good look at him. Zelo blushed lightly rubbing the back of his head. “I’m the tallest one.” He said bashfully. She just laughed and shook her head.

“Prince Yongguk.” She greeted with a small bow. “Ms.Choi.” I acknowledged removing my hood. “Now who’s this skinny little boy?” Ms.Choi smiled poking Youngjae in a playful way. “This is Youngjae, mom.” Zelo introduced.

“Oh! The one from your letters. It’s so ice to finally meet you.” Ms.Choi squealed giving Youngjae a warm, welcoming hug. “It’s nice to meet you too Ms.Choi.” Youngjae greeted formally. “No need to be formal. You’re family! I’ve heard a lot about you and your mother.” Ms.Choi said. Zelo smiled cheekily at his.

“How’s your mother doing? I heard she was sick.” She asked with genuine intentions. Junhong’s smile slowly faded away. “I havn’t seen her in a couple of days, but from what I hear she’s doing great.” Youngjae told her happily. Zelo’s expression became dark. “Well maybe we can meet some time. I’d like to thank her for taking care of little Zelo for me.” She said. Youngjae nodded.

“So…Ms.Choi how have you been doing?” I butted in stealing the chance to change the subject. “Good. I’ve been holding up. It’s a struggle but…I’m getting by with enough to spare.” She assured. “Um…Can I talk to you about something?” I asked. “Well of course.” She said. I looked over at Junhong who caught the hint. “Hey, Youngjae. Let’s go out back into the woods on the other side. It’s an amazing view!” Zelo suggested. “Okay!” Youngjae said following the younger out the back door.

“What is it?” Ms.Choi asked noticing the seriousness in my face. “We brought Youngjae here for an important reason.” I began. “Has Zelo told you about Mr.Yoo? Youngjae’s father?” I asked. She nodded. “We’re trying to keep him from taking Youngjae away…right now…he’s Youngjae’s only guardian.” I paused and sighed. “Youngjae’s mother passed away a few days ago.” I told her.

Ms.Choi gasped in shock, her expression completely changed to one of sorrow. “Oh my goodness.” She said quietly.

“…and Youngjae doesn’t know yet. Some of his memory was blocked after fainting, but they will come back soon. So if he starts asking questions about his mother please be careful not to tell him what happened or not to lie to him. Once Prince Daehyun arrives he’ll tell him.” I explained. She nodded her eyes becoming glossy. “That poor child.” She whispered in disbelief.

“He needs somewhere to stay…he can’t stay with his father, he’s too dangerous.” I went on. “Oh no! He can stay here with Zelo and I.” she offered immediately. “He needs somewhere to stay permanently.” I told her. She thought for a few seconds. “I won’t mind taking him in and adopting him.” She finally said. “That’s what Zelo suggested. But I’m not so sure though. He might not want to be a burden.” I said. “He won’t be a burden at all.” She insisted.

I looked at her. “Youngjae is very stubborn. If he doesn’t want to, he’s not going to do it.” I sighed. Ms.Choi rest a hand on my shoulder. “Try not to think about it too much your highness. Let’s just wait until Youngjae gets his memory back before making any decisions over his life. Things like this takes time.” She spoke gently. I nodded giving in.

Junhong’s mother removed her hand and nodded unsure of what else to say or do. “Um…well…I guess…I should get dinner ready.” She said her voice cracking in between words. “Um…do you know any of Youngjae’s favorite foods?” She asked looking at me. I shrugged my shoulders. She nodded in understanding. “I’ll go and see if they have anything good at the market.” She said picking up a basket. “I’ll be back.” She sniffed leaving the small home. I was left alone to think to myself. There was a lot of teings that need to be done.

-Zelo’s POV-

“Wow! That was an amazing view.” Youngjae said as we traveled back home. “Mm hm.” I agreed. “I like stuff like that, where nature can express its beauty freely….that was my only escape to happiness when I was younger…and still now.” He said in thought.

“Really?” I said. He nodded. “When I was younger, like two years old, I remember my mother used to take me to this meadow place far from the kingdom…it was so nice! But, after a while she stopped taking me…and I never knew how to get there, so I couldn’t go myself. I still can’t believe I even remember that.” He smiled to himself.

My heart mourned for him. “Can you…can you tell me more about your mother?” I asked. He looked at me strangely? “What? Why? You already know her.” He laughed. “I know…but can you just tell me?” I asked again. He thought for a little bit. “Mmm…okay, why not?” he shrugged.

All the way back home Youngjae talked about his mother, some of the things he said made him smile and laugh, which brought a sweet smile to my face. This will probably be the last sincere laughs and smiles from him for who knows how long, I feared. Youngjae talked passionately about his mother, the same way he talked about his friends, maybe even a little more.

“I really love my mom. Just the things she’s put up with, being limited with her health as well. I definetly wouldn’t have been here without her.” He said in deep thought. “Well of course.” I joked. “I don’t know what I’d do without her. You know Zelo, sometimes…sometimes I fear that one day that I’ll wake up and she won’t be there.” Youngjae said honestly, looking me in my eyes. I had to look away. “…But, she’s fine now…” he spoke happily to himself.

“Zelo.” He said again. “Yeah?” I said forcing myself to look back at him. “How long are we going to be here? I want to see my mother again, I feel like I haven’t seen here in a while.” He asked innocently. I quickly looked away again, I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t look at him. “I…I don’t know.” was the only thing I could come up with. “Well I’m pretty sure it’ll be soon. But for now….let’s just have fun.” He smiled. “I’ll race you back.” He said taking off. I decided to go along with it and chased after him. Yeah Youngjae…let’s just have fun, for now.

"I win!" Youngjae announced touching the house. "What? No!" I said. "Um yeah. As you can see I touched the house before you did." he simply explained. "You cheated though." I argued. "Zelo...I don't know what you are talking about." he lied. "Youngjae you clearly-," "Lalalalala!" Youngjae cut me off covering his ears. “Youngjae.” I said. “Lalala!” “Youngjae~.” I said louder. “What?! I can’t hear you!” he spoke loudly entering my home. “Yah! Yoo Youngjae!” I spat shutting the door behind us. “Lalala.” Youngjae went on.

“What are you two fussing about now?” Yongguk questioned. “Youngjae is being a cheater.” I told him. “I am not a cheater. You need to stop calling me names. That’s not nice.” Youngjae said now hearing me ‘all of a sudden’.

“I’m not even calling you names.” I defended. “Yes you did. You called me a cheater.” He said sticking out his tongue. “Yah!” I said chasing after him. Youngjae just laughed running around in circles. “You know I’m eventually going to catch you.” I told him. “Oh really? I don’t think so. You can never catch the…whoa!” Youngjae tripped and fell and I caught him. “What was that Yoo Youngjae?” I asked teasingly. Yongguk shook his head a small smile stuck on his face, “You tow are too much.”

-Youngjae’s POV-

I stayed the night over at Zelo’s while Bang Yongguk returned home to the castle. Zelo and I chatted throughout most of the night until Ms.Choi shushed us, telling us to go to sleep. Ms.Choi is a really nice, friendly, and funny lady. I felt really comfortable and right at home around her.

The next day we woke up early to help Zelo’s mother with chores. I actually really enjoyed doing so. It’s been a while since I’ve done work like this before and the fun part was doing it with Zelo and his mother, it kind of reminded me of back home with my own mother. I really did mis her a lot. I couldn’t wait to see her again.

Strangely, in the middle of the day I started to feel really tired and sleepy. “Are you okay?” Zelo asked me noticing my stumbling. “Yeah, just really sleepy. You kept me up all night.” I joked, but Zelo wasn’t laughing nor smiling. “It’s about that time…one hour left.” I heard him say to himself.

"Hmm?" I questioned. "You should go and get some rest." he told me. "But I'm fine....I'll take a nap later." I assured him. "We're almost done anyway. Just go. So we can go through the forest together." he smiled. "Um...okay..." I finally gave in.

I finished what I was doing and headed back to Zelo's home. I made it just in time right before I completely lost my balanced. I slowly made my way to where Zelo and I slept and took a nap.

I instantly fell asleep as soon as my eyes closed. At first I slept peacefully, but soon things became intense. It first began with me and Jiho little kids out at night when suddenly a boy bumped into me, causing me to fall hard to the ground.

I moaned in pain, the kid stumbled trying to get up, stepping on my legs and stomach in the process. Jiho helped me up "Are you okay?" he whispered. I nodded as I stood firmly on my feet. I stood there and studied the boy. It was hard to see what he looked like because he wore a black cloak, but my guess was that he was 7 years old.

Then the scene changed. It was day time and I was with the same boy I had bumped into, we were still little kids. "Hmmm...That’s strange I asked him if he sold meat. And he just laughed at me. He was like 'What do you think this is?'" the boy said thinking to himself.

"You asked for meat??" I questioned astounded. He nodded nonchalantly. I shook my head and sighed. "You need to go home and not come back to the village." I told him. "But...but why?" he whined. "Cause....it's too dangerous...for you and for the rest of us." I said in a hushed tone. "No! I'm not going back home!" he demanded loudly. I dragged him to the side so we wouldn't gain any attention. "You know nothing." I said. "Then teach Me." he urged.

Just then the scene changed again. I was still the same age, this time in a fancy bedroom that belonged to the boy. "I didn't want to see you!" the boy snapped angrily. That's when 3 guards entered the room. "Get...him." the boy ordered pointing at me.

The guards obeyed and grabbed me. "W-Why are you being like this?" I was now in tears. "Because you're a thief…a filthy little peasant. You're just like the rest of them. You deserve to be treated this way..."

The scene changed again this time to a multitude of scenes, of guards attacking the village area. It was a horrific scene. I saw my friends as little kids being harmed by the guards. Ukwon losing both of his parents, Minhyuk laid in front of me unconscious. I looked up to see the boy on his horse staring down on me. I was filled with hurt and hatred.

I twisted and turned in my sleep as the scene changed too much later, this time I was much older and another attack of the guards occurred. I saw the same boy (who was much older as well) with his friends. My arm had been broken and I was saved by Zelo.

Everything seemed to move in fast forward from seeing my dad to Zelo being taken away from me. Everything flashed in my mind. Next thing I knew I was falling off a horse hitting the tree. I remembered seeing a guy in all black.

The scene moved again to where I was crying over my sickly mother and I was being forced out the room by Daehyun and Dr.Sunhi. The different scenes continued to flip through, all the way up to the ball, when it began to storm.

I was with my group of friends when I felt dizzy and nearly collapsed. "Are you okay?" Himchan asked me concerned. Everything was starting to seem surreal. It all seemed real but felt like a dream, I felt as if my life was being drained from me. That was when Daehyun and Dr Sunhi came with not so good expressions on their faces. Next thing I knew we were outside in the pouring rain. "We need to get him to his mother." I heard Dr.Sunhi's voice. There was a sudden huge flash of lightning that lit up the night time sky, and that was the last thing I saw before I felt my body shut down.

I continued to toss around on my sleep. It wasn't over yet. Other scenes came afterwards in which i didn't recognize anything. I felt myself running towards something.

**

I was in a rush, it felt like I was running for my life, like somebody else's depended on it. "Mom!" I called. "Mom!" I called again tears streaming down my cheeks. It felt so real like it was actually happening.

“Mom! I cried falling to my knees. “Where are you?” I cried in vain. That’s when everything went black.

Next thing I knew, I was sitting up ont the hill where Jiho and the others and I used to run to and hang out. Where we got away. I rubbed my eyes as if waking up from a long nap. Am I up? Or is this still a dream? I looked around the place. Everything seemed so real. It was still and quiet. Not even birds were heard.

There was a light gentle, cool breeze that silently moved the leaves of the trees. I stood up and climbed down the side of the hill and walked slowly among the fresh green grass. I went over to the riverside and bent down cupping my hands. I dipped them into the water and carried it out. I put my lips to it taking a sip.

I immediately spit it out, choking on it a little. The water was disgusting! “That’s strange. It’s usually cleaner and tastes better than this.” I said to myself. It felt so real, but yet it all looked surreal. I stood back up looking around the place once more. Just then a thought crossed my mind. “Mom.”

I quickly ran throught the woods that led to the village. As I got closer a thick wretched smell entered my nostrils. It was suffocating. I began to cough as the contaminated air entered my lungs. I looked up and what I saw made me nearly stumble backwards.

There was a thick black smoke rising from the village forming large, dark, unpleasant looking clouds. I could hear terrifying screams and cries. I covered my nose and mouth and ran into the village.

The scene was unbelievable. Almost everything was on fire. There was blood everywhere, along with dead bodies sprinkled along the road. Women and children ran in all directions screaming and crying. Men were taken away by guards or beaten down to the ground. Explosions came from all directions, shaking the foundation, I nearly fell to the ground.

“Mom…” I coughed. “I have to get my…” I couldn’t finish. I ran past the shack-like homes going the opposite direction of everyone else. I stumbled on my feet losing more and more oxygen, but I made it inside Minhyuk’s home right before a nearby explosion set off.

Nobody was inside the home. I quickly made my way to the back room where my mother was staying in, but when I opened the door she wasn’t there. It was empty. The room was completely open. “Where…” I coughed hard bringing an extraordinary pain to my chest.

I stumbled back out the house looking around the village. The next thing I saw flushed the blood from my face. A group…no, an army of soldiers came marching down in unison with weapons on them. The sound of their feet making contact with the ground echoed throught the village.

They weren’t like the royal guards at all. They wore all black leather bombat suits along with laced up black combat boots. On the left arm of their jackets was a strange white hex looking symbol. Just then a teenage boy came running and accidentally tripped in front of the endless group of soldiers. The soldier who he fell in front of looked down upon the poor teenager with no emotion. The soldier then raised his sword and took the boy’s life with one swift movement of the lethal weapon.

The soldier straightened his potision and put his sword back and the army continued to march. This brought a huge amount of terror upon me. My body was shaking and my heart pounded loudly. I stumbled taking a few steps back, coughing harshly. I have to get my mother.

I tried my best to run to my home, in hopes that she will be there. I stumbled several times struggling to breathe, but I managed to stay on my feet. My eyes burned from irritation of the smoke and heat. I hadn’t seen any of my friends on the way, which made me worry even more.

“Mom!” I called bursting into my home. Once more no one was here. “Mom?” I said again checking every cornor, though there wasn’t really many places to look. “…Mom…” my voice cracked. Where is she? Is she okay? I fll to my knees and started crying. There was nothing more for me to do, no where to go.

I heard the foot steps come closer, the sound grew louder and louder as each second passed. Just then a white dove flew into the room. Which was strange because we didn’t have any windows.

I watched the dove aimlessly as it flew in circles before landing onto my shoulder. I stared at it and it stared back at me. Then it tweeted nd flew again, this time heading towards the back. I stood up and followed it. The bird led me to a hidden door.

With all of my strength I slid the door open and followed the dove the rest of the way to the back into the forest. At this point Oxygen became scarce as the thick smoke engulfed my lungs. My vision started to get blurry, but I forced myself to follow the dove. The pure creature ended up leading me to…Daehyun.

“Youngjae…” he said worry filled his eyes. “D-Daehyun…” I forced myself to speak. “Come…we must go.” He said looking up. I heard footsteps coming our way. I had no choice but to nod and follow him the rest of the way.

It was hard keeping up with him, my vision worsened and there was no more room in me to breathe. The men were gaining up on us fast. I looked back to see 7 to 8 men running after us in their black unifroms.

“Come on…we’re almost there.” Daehyun urged. I looked back up to see that there was a ship that laid ahead of us with all of our friends aboard it. Maybe my mother is with them….but…I’m not going to make it. My body was dying.

I coughed severly, only this time I couldn’t stop coughing. I stopped running and coughed and coughed and coughed. I felt like I was on the verge of coughing my insides out. My body gave out, forcing me to the ground. Daehyun stopped. “Youngjae!” He called running back to me.

“No.” I coughed weakly. But he kept coming. I glanced back at the soldiers and saw that they were now on our tail. “Go!” I yelled to Daehyun in agony. I forced myself to my feet with the little energy I had left. I have to at least save him, with what I have left.

Daehyun ran up to me. “Youngjae…are you okay?” He asked checking me. “Daehyun…go. I’m not going to make it. Go without me…” I urged. “No. I’m not leaving without you.” He said determined. I tried to push him away but he didn’t budge even an inch.

“Go! I don’t want you here! Just go…” I ordered desperatly. Daehyun opened his mouth, but nothing came out, he remained frozen. “Daehyun?” I said. “Daehyun.” I searched him and my eyes widened in remarkable terror. An arrow had pierced the center of his chest. Daehyun put his hands to his chest trembling.

I looked back up at him. “Y-Y-Young…” he couldn’t finish. “Dae-Daehyun…” my lips quivered. “I’m…I’m…” just then another arrow pierced through his chest near his heart. Blood dripped from his lips and his eye lids slowly lowered. “Daehyun…” my voice was nearly gone.

Daehyun didn’t respond, he collapsed to the ground. My tears ran down my face as I dropped to my knees beside him. “Daehyun.” I said. “Daehyun. Can you here me?” my voice squeaked. No response. “Daehyun answer me…” Nothing. “Daehyun…please, don’t leave me.” Still no words came from him. “Daehyun~” I cried hard. “Daehyun…Don’t you love me enough not to leave me? You-You said that you weren’t leaving without me.” Still…nothing. “Daehyun!”

“DAEHYUN!” I screamed shooting straight up out of my sleep. “Shhhhh…Shhh…” It was…him. “Daehyun? Is that you?” I asked crying.

**

The room was dark and quiet. “Yes Youngjae…it’s me.” He said soothingly. I dived into his chest holding onto his shirt tightly with both of my hands. I cried my all into him. He wrapped his arms around me rubbing my back gently. “Shhh, it’s okay, everything is okay.” He spoke calmly. “Is this real? Is this a dream?” I cried.

“It’s real Youngjae…I got here a couple of hours ago. Zelo said that you had been sleeping all day.” He spoke gently to me. “…I had a terrible dream…I had a terrible dream…I had a terrible nightmare. It was so scary.” I cried.

“It’s over now. None of it is true. It’s gone.” He assured me. “I almost lost you. I lost you Daehyun…you were gone.” My body trembled at the thought. Daehyun held me tighter. “I’m here Youngjae.” He coughed a little. “…and I will always be here with you.” He promised. All I could do was cry.

I cried, I cried for what seemed like hours. I coughed, choking on my tears. “Daehyun…” I finally spoke again, my voice hoarse. “Hm?” he said. “I remember everything now.” I said. “I’m glad.” He said. I could tell that he was smiling. “Daehyun.” “Hm?” “I remember Dr.Sunhi say something about my mother the day of the ball.” I sniffled.

Daehyun just coughed. “Are you okay?” I asked. “Mm hm.” He nodded. “…that night. Is my mom really okay? Do you know how she is?” I asked him. There was no response. This frightened me a lot. “Daehyun?” I said again.

“Youngjae…” He said. He paused for a few minutes. “Y-Your mother on that night…had passed…away.” He spoke as slow and gentle as possible. My eyes widened. Everything stopped.

My heart stopped beating my lungs stopped taking in Oxygen. Blood rushed from my veins. “Youngjae. I am so sorry.” Daehyun’s voice cracked. “No…no…” my bottom lip quivered in disbelief.

“No…no…” I said louder, sorrow filled my entire being. “No! No!” I cried shaking my head. “Youngjae.” “No! This can’t be! You’re lying!” I screamed pushing away from him. “You’re lying! You’re lying to me!” I yelled trying to pull away but he didn’t allow me to. “Why? Why would I lie about this?” his voice was weak.

“No! I don’t believe you! I want to see my mom! I want to see her now!” I scrambled about to stand up when Daehyun pulled me back down. “See who? See who Youngjae? She’s not here or there.” He told me.

My heart snapped in two. I felt my bones shake within me. “No…” I rocked back and forth. “No!!” I screamed in agony. I buried my head into my knees pulling my hair.

“Umma! Umma! Mom! Emeoni!!” I cried. All of my heart poured out, I felt empty. This was it. I broke. I snapped. My mom. My own mother…is she gone? Is she really gone? She can’t be, not now, not ever, what am I going to do without her? How am I supposed to live without her? She can’t be gone. She just can’t. “Umma~.”

-Daehyun’s POV-

My heart broke for him. It was horrible. It was so bad I had to look away, I couldn’t do anything. There was nothing I could do at all. The only thing was to be there for him and…that’s what I did. I stayed with him throughout the night as he mourned in terrific pain.

The next morning Youngjae didn’t bother to get up at all and I stayed with him. I laid down, resting beside him. “Feeling better?” I asked him quietly, caressing his hair. He shook his head. “Take you time. I know it’s a lot to take in.” I spoke softly and quietly to him. I continued to gently run my fingers through his hair throughout the day comforting him. It was towards noon time when Youngjae started to cry again. Although I wasn’t feeling well I still did my best to comfort him.

“Is she really gone Daehyun? Is she really…gone?” He cried. I slowly nodded, though he couldn’t see me, for he covered his face in my chest. “…But she lasted so long. Why did she have to go now?” he continued to cry on and on. I rubbed his back gently in an attempt to calm him. The way he was crying worried me a bit. He was choking and having a hard time breathing.

He continued to cry until he cried himself to sleep. He slept so peacefully, and his breathing had finally steadied too. I couldn’t help but let out a small smile at the peaceful sight of him. Before he was crying himself a river and now he was sleeping like a baby. Just then there was a gentle knock on the bedroom door. I carefully removed Youngjae from me and stood up to answer it.

“Hello?” I answered. “We came up with something for Youngje.” It was Jongup. He still hadn’t hanged since the incident. I don’t think he’s going to change until he knows that Youngjae is okay. I glanced back at Youngjae before leaving the bedroom to join the others. I followed Jongup outside to the back of Zelo’s home, where Zelo, Himchan and Yongguk stood around talking. Jongup and I walked up to them joining in. “Jongup says that you guys came up with something for Youngjae?” I said.

The 3 of them nodded. “What is it?” I asked. “We’re going to adopt Youngjae.” Yongguk announced. I raised an eyebrow, what he said threw me completely off guard. “What?” I said. “We’re going to adopt Youngjae.” Junhong clapped excitedly. “Who’s going to adopt Youngjae?” I asked not liking the idea at all.

“Well, orginially my mom was going to…” Zelo began. “…but Youngjae more than likely would be strongly against it and plus it may remind him too much of his life with his mother, which may bring him a lot of emotional stress.” Himchan added on. “And also…we need to act soon as possible.” Yongguk inputted. “Soooo…” Zelo did a mini drum roll for Bang. “Bang Yongguk’s family is going to adopt him.” Jongup said stealing the eldest prince’s line.

“You mean like make him a royal? Of the Bang Kingdom?” I said not very enthusiastic. The four of them nodded. “Did you talk to your parents about this?” I asked Yongguk narrowing my eyes. “They actually came up with the idea themselves last night and told me about it this morning. We’re going to go over everything in detail tonight.” He explained.

“A royal? Yoo Youngjae as a prince?” I said not believing it. “He won’t have the same duties. He won’t have to follow our customs as a royal. He’ll be free to do what he wants. This is just to give him protection.” Yongguk explained. “I can protect him.” I grumbled.

“But what about what Youngjae thinks? I doubt that he’ll be okay with it.” I said. “Well…we’ll just have to wait and see.” Yongguk simply answered. “Whatever.” I muttered sill not liking it one bit. “What’s wrong Daehyun? You don’t look too happy….are you…jealous?” Zelo whispered the last part. I shot a glare at him. He just smiled innocently. “I’m going back to Youngjae.” I muttered going back inside.

I went back into the bedroom and snuggled with the younger. I was actually kind of glad to have him to myself. I just wished that it was for a different reason though.

Youngjae didn’t wake back up until hours later. He looked up at me with a sad and worn out face. “Daehyun…” he sniffled. “Yeah?” I responded. “Do you want the truth?” he said. “About what?” I asked looking at him strangely.

“Honestly….I really don’t know what to do without my mother anymore. Though I still can’t believe it, I feel so lost knowing that she’s not here.” He fought back his tears so that he could finish. “…but I’m not going to give up on life. I-I-I can’t. Only because, I have you and everyone else who’s worth living for. I’m sure that my mom would like it that way as well.” He sniffled. “I’m pretty sure too.” I agreed. “I don’t want to lose anyone else.” Tears streamed down his face as he got ready to cry again.

“You don’t have to worry about that….we’ll be here for you.” I promised him. “I-I don’t know what to do anymore Daehyun. I-I can’t think.” He started to cry his emotions getting the best of him again. “It’s okay. You don’t have to. It’s okay Youngjae, just cry if you need to. Cry it all out. I’ll be right here with you, even if it takes you a week.” I lightly joked in the end.

“And Yongguk, Himchan, Jongup, and Zelo are here to help you through it as well.” I smiled. Youngjae didn’t say anything but just cried his heart out some more. He didn’t talk for the rest of the day, he didn’t want to speak. He listened, but he just didn’t speak.

Night came fast. “Youngjae.” I said. Youngjae was now in my arms, as I sat up rocking him gently. “Hm?” was his response. “Do you want me to sing to you? Sing you to sleep?” I asked. “Mm hm.” He sniffled nodding his head. I smiled softly. “Okay.” I said. “I’ll do it just for you.” And so I sang to him.

-Youngjae’s POV-

Daehyun had a really nice angelic voice that lulled me fast asleep. That night I slept gently and peacefully. I felt good and warm inside at the sound of Daehyun's assuring, soothing voice.

"YOUNGJAE-SSI!" I heard Zelo cheer busting into the room the next morning. "Junhong what are you doing?!" Daehyun snapped. "Getting Youngjae's attention of course." Zelo answered innocently.

"Can't you see that he's sleeping? He needs to rest. Are you out of your mind?! Don't you know what he's going through?!" The more Daehyun spoke the more frustrated he got. I couldn't help but smile a little.

"But I have great news." Zelo said. Daehyun sighed, "What is it?" he asked. "There's going to be a huge festival tonight and everyone is invited to come." Zelo clapped. "And that's worth waking Youngjae up for?" Daehyun said not sounding very pleased. "Mm hm...The Queen majesty and his highness are throwing a big festival for Youngjae-hyung." Zelo said.

"Why?" Prince Daehyun asked. "They're officially adopting Youngjae!" the maknae cheered excitedly. Daehyun didn't respond. Adopting? This time I opened my eyes and forced myself to sit up. "What are you talking about?" I questioned sleepily. Zelo ran over to me sliding onto his knees to give me a tight squeeze hug. "Yongguk's parents are adopting you. They've also heard a lot about you and want to help you out. But only until your 18. You're more than welcome to stay when you're 18 also but you can leave if you want too when you turn 18." Zelo explained. I couldn't believe this. "Wh-What? Why?" I asked bewildered. Daehyun sighed

"To protect you from your father...and my parents." he answered. "Originally my mom was going to take you in. But the others said that you would be against it and it may cause other problems." Zelo added. "He got that right, but this isn't a good idea either! Why didn't you guys talk to me about it first?" I said.

"We were, but when Yongguk spoke to his parents they insisted on taking you in...And so yeah...that's what they did." Zelo explained. I looked over at Daehyun but he didn't say anything. "It's not too late to decline." Zelo mumbled quietly. I looked back at him.

"They need you to sign one thing before it's actually official." he mumbled some more. I raised an eyebrow at this. Honestly, I was upset about how they did all of this without my consent and while I was in a bad state of mind. They're moving this way too fast for me. "Youngjae please don't decline it...I know it's too soon...but please!" Zelo begged.

"I have to talk to Bang." I said forcing myself to stand up. "He's in the back with Himchan and Jongup." Zelo muttered. I left the room and went to the back, outside where the others were. "Youngjae. You're up." Himchan said sounding surprised. Jongup raised an eyebrow. "I need to talk to you." I told Bang. The elder nodded and the two of us went for a walk away from everyone else.

"What is it you want to talk about?" he finally asked once we were far enough. "About this whole adoption thing." I said. "Zelo told you?" he sighed. I nodded. "What is this all about?" I asked.

"It's too protect you." he said. "Daehyun told me that but...but I don't want to become a royal. I can't do that. That's not me." I said. "You won't have to follow any of our customs if you don't want to. You'll be free to do whatever you want. You can even stay here if you please, but you just have to return at the end of the day, just to make sure you're okay." he explained. "....That won't make a difference. I'll still be a royal. That's not who I am." I told him.

The Prince stopped walking and looked at me. "Your status whether villager, Nobel, wealthy, or even a member of a royal family doesn't control or determine what you are. It's you and your own experiences that make up who you are. It's how you handle it, how you see it. And it starts right in here." he said pointing his finger to my chest where my heart was. I had nothing to say, he had a point....and he was right.

"You have a few hours to think about it before the ceremony." he assured me. I slowly nodded. "So...would that mean I'd become...your brother?" I asked awkwardly. He smiled and nodded.

To be honest I wasn't sure what to do. They were right but...but I can't do it. Become a royal? Never. I can't. Ugh! I don't know! I went back to Zelo's home to talk to Daehyun. Maybe he could help me come up with some sort of conclusion.

I returned to the room just to see that Daehyun hadn't left at all. He still sat there all alone, by himself, coughing severely a couple of times. I sat down beside him. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Don't worry about me." He said forcing a smile. I just looked at him. "Do you need water? Anything?" I asked concerned. "Youngjae...I'm fine." he slightly laughed. I only looked at him not convinced. "I'll get something later, after you tell me what happened if you want to talk about It." he promised. I sighed, "Fine."

"So what is it you want to talk about?" he asked running his fingers gently through the strands of my hair. "This whole adoption thing." I said. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to become a royal. But everyone else says it’s for the best. And they...have a point." I frowned. "What do you think?" I asked him. "Well, i'm for anything that will keep you safe. But I'm not very fond of the idea of you becoming a family member of a family outside the kingdom." he said honestly. "That helps." I grumbled sarcastically. "I'm not done yet." he said.

"When you left with Yongguk and Zelo I took some time and did some thinking. Although it's different and new...it might be a better idea for you to be adopted by Yongguk's parents. It's all for the better anyway. And if you think about it, in the condition you're in you won't be able to do much hard labor for a long time...like for a few years, until you fully recover. And who knows what will happen between now and then. And new things aren't always that bad. Right now there's a need for a change." he explained. I didn't say anything. Although he was trying to help me I could tell he was also trying to convince himself that it's the best idea.

"Youngjae." he said. "Hm?" I said looking back up at him. "You okay?" he asked. I nodded, "i'm just thinking." "About?" he questioned. "About what you and Yongguk said. And reflecting back some." I told him. "So?" he raised an eyebrow. "I think...I think I'll accept it."