Among the vast field was an exquisite site as cherry blossoms littered the ground and beneath one of various cherry blossom tress were two equally as alluring people dressed in lavish and elegant clothing. The young man lay his head on the young woman's lap and held her hand in his chest as he casually the ring on her finger. Their respective servants stood away from them giving them the privacy they deserved as they bowed their heads in the couple's direction waiting for them to address them as part of the protocol. No one dared to interrupt as the couple seemed to be enchanted in their conversation and they were too engrossed in each others presence that they failed to notice the position their servants were in. It was a bright day with no hint of rain and the couple obviously took advantage of it to spend more time with each other before duty calls them and take their time away from each other. The young man reached up and carefully took the flower petal from the young woman's hair, ring on his finger shining brightly as the sun reflected on it and gave her an affectionate smile as pink dusted her cheeks.

"The cherry blossoms are no match for your beauty." the deep and husky voice says. The voice that would usually be filled with worry is now carefree as he looked at the woman in front of him. You can tell how much the man cares for his wife with the way he looked at her as if she was his whole entire world. He looked at her like he would give everything up for her. 

"I would say the same for you your highness." she quietly replied, giving him a bashful smile. The young man was about to reply when his eunuch cleared his throat bringing his attention away from his wife. He sat up, careful not to accidentally hit his head with his wife's and faced the eunuch who bowed before looking up to the Prince. 

"Your highness, you are needed in the throne room. His majesty would like to have a word with you." the eunuch declared. The prince sighed before standing up and kissed his wife in the forehead before quickly leaving for the throne room since he would not want to be late knowing how angry his father would get. His servants walked behind him as he speed walked to the throne room and as soon as he arrived, he took his shoes off as the eunuch at the door announced his presence before the court ladies opened the door for him. As soon as he walked in, he saw his brothers stood at the end while his father sat in his seat with Mingyu stood by his side. However, he noticed that someone else was in the room. He looked at the young man, probably younger than him by a couple of years who was on his knees facing the king. The prince bowed at his father while his brothers bowed to him out of courtesy. 

"I've got an important notice for you. You are not allowed to reject this command so listen carefully." the King said in an authoritative tone. "This young man over here is Jeon Jungkook, illegitimate son of the Left State Minister. He has been recommended to me due to his outstanding skills and I have given my word to the person so this young man will serve as your personal bodyguard. We have tested him and I am beyond impressed." 

Taehyung looked at his father, surprise painted all over his face as his father would never give an important position to someone who wasn't even a legitimate son. He deemed them as people who were in the same level as the servants so for his father to appoint this young man as his bodyguard it seemed unreal. Jungkook stood up and bowed at Taehyung as soon as the King motioned for him to stand up. It was then that Taehyung as able to see a glimpse of Jungkook's face and he is indeed extremely young. But apart from that, his built physique suggests that even though he's young, he must have undergone plenty of training and the scars on the back of his hand confirmed Taehyung's suspicions that Jungkook may not have been trained by warriors who worked for the upper class and he may have been trained differently. 

"He's been assigned to protect you because of the Crown Princess." the King continued. At the mention of his wife's name, Taehyung looked at his father questioningly who looked at Mingyu who bowed at their father before speaking to the Crown Prince.

"By choosing Lady Joohyun from the Bae clan, you have given more power to the Chief State Councillor who is almost like a leech. He is the third most powerful man of this nation and you've made him even more powerful because you chose to marry his daughter."

"What does this have to do with my safety?"

"This means that as his power increases, by the time you become King you would have to seriously consider his policies. You can't ignore them even if you feel like they're wrong. If you were to fall ill and you have no sons, the regency would be given to him as the father in law of the Queen who is experienced in politics. The chances that he would try to put your life in danger is high since he is a leech." Mingyu continued. The King nodded as Taehyung does not believe this to be true. Even though they have their differences regarding their political view, his father in law is more of a father to him than the King ever was. But he could not contest his father's decision so he did nothing but nod in order to please the King. Taehyung bowed his head as his father stood up and left the room and as soon as the door closed, he glared at Mingyu.

"Why would you feed abamama those suspicions when you know full well they aren't true. The Chief State Councillor gained all his power in his own merit." 

"I did not feed him lies dear brother. You are just too blind to see it." Mingyu retorted as he made his way down. Seokwoo just sighed as he could sense another argument while Jongin and Seokjin just kept quiet. 

"Why must you always ruin my happiness?" Taehyung countered.

"Because I care for you." Mingyu replied sarcastically. 

"Lies."

"Of course it is dear brother. Nobody in this palace care enough for you, unless your dead mother's ghost is still around." Mingyu said as he chuckled under his breath. At the mention of his mother, something in Taehyung snapped and he lunged at his younger brother who did nothing but smirk at him while Seokwoo quickly moved in front of his brother, getting ready to defend him. However, before Taehyung could do any damage, Jungkook blocked his way and prevented him from moving further as he placed his sword across Taehyung's chest acting as a barrier. Seokjin and Jongin gasped at Jungkook's action that seemed to be protecting Mingyu while Seokwoo remained calm despite all the chaos. 

"Get out of my way Jungkook." Taehyung demanded while glaring at his bodyguard.

"My job is to protect you your highness. If you hurt the young prince you yourself would be in danger and I can't let that happen to you." Jungkook replied calmly. "Think about your actions before acting on them, sire. If you believe that this won't put you or your loved one in danger, then I shall let you go."

Taehyung carefully thought about Jungkook's words before relaxing. The younger is right. He may be the Crown Prince but if he hurt Mingyu, he may be punished by the King and it would not only be him who would suffer under the King's wrath, but Joohyun will as well. The Crown Prince sighed before turning around and quickly leaving the throne room with Jungkook and his servants trailing behind him. The younger doesn't seem to be clueless as he is well aware of the problems in the palace, almost as if he was informed of all of it before entering the palace which seems highly unlikely due to the fact that he is an illegitimate child. Taehyung has also observed that the while some may be curious about his relationship with his brother, Jungkook does not seem the least bit interested since he only seems to be interested in doing his job. He sighed for what seems like the thousandth time this day before asking what he has been itching to ask since Jungkook was introduced to him.

"How old are you?"

"20 your highness."

"You're Mingyu's age. If you've impressed the King I wonder why you've been assigned to me and not to Mingyu." Taehyung questioned to see whether Jungkook would try to pry. 

"You're the heir your highness." Jungkook countered much to Taehyung's disappointment. He didn't know why he was hoping for more. 

"You don't talk a lot." which Jungkook just replied with a hum. Taehyung gave up trying to talk to Jungkook and just focused on his surroundings instead. The sun was starting to set and he wonders where the Crown Princess was but then he remembered that she would be dining with the Queen. Thank the heavens that Jungkook had stopped him before he could even touch a hair on Mingyu's head because he could have put Joohyun in danger. She would be the first one to get punished because the King is aware of how much Taehyung adores her and also because he wants to decrease the power the Chief State Councillor has on the nation. The King would do so because he does not want anyone's power to exceed his. Chances are, the King would use Joohyun to hurt Taehyung who is holding the position who he believes belongs to his youngest son. 

"Thank you Jungkook-ah." Taehyung voices and motions for the bodyguard to walk beside him. 

"For what your highness?"

"For stopping me from attacking Mingyu. I would have been reprimanded terribly by the King." 

"Excuse me if I am out of line, but isn't Prince Mingyu below you? He provoked you."

"He is my father's favourite. He is untouchable and he can change the King's mind on many aspects." Taehyung explained. Jungkook just hummed, not asking anymore questions. "Sometimes I wonder why he hates me so much."

"Who?" Jungkook asked before he could stop himself. Taehyung smiled, happy that Jungkook is starting to talk more. Taehyung himself also oddly feels comfortable around Jungkook because he feels like he can touch him. 

"Mingyu." Taehyung replies sadly which caused a look of confusion to paint Jungkook's face. The first emotion he's shown. "Him and I used to be close when we were younger. Out of all my siblings, I was closest to Mingyu and Seokjin hyung but as we got older Mingyu started to become distant, then he became mean."

"Why?"

"He probably realised that father loves him the most."

"Why?"

"Because he is more like father. He is as smart and wise as the King, he is skilled in martial arts and he is good at politics."

"What about Prince Seokjin?"

"Hyung and I still talk. He is still there when I need him but he is not allowed to live in the palace. In fact, none of them are but Mingyu still stays here because of the King and Queen. Even Seokwoo has his own residence outside of the palace. I only see Seokjin hyung when I visit the ministries since he's usually in the Ministry of Rites."

"He must know the Minster of Rites then." Jungkook said quietly, not intending for Taehyung to hear. 

"You know Namjoon?" Taehyung exclaimed excitedly. 

"Yes your highness. He is aquainted with Jung Hoseok, son of the Minister of Defense."

"Hoseok hyung?! Wow." Taehyung uttered in wonder at the mention of his childhood friend. Jungkook and Hoseok must know each other because they must have been the candidates for the job to be the Crown Prince's bodyguard. He is more shocked at the fact that Namjoon and Hoseok know each other since they seem so different considering the fact that Namjoon was more interested in rituals and diplomacies whereas Hoseok is only interested in military affairs. Jungkook just stayed quiet as he surveyed their surroundings for any signs of danger as Taehyung seemed lost in his thoughts. When the eunuch had motioned for Jungkook to stop, he realised that they were already in the Crown Prince's residence so he cleared his throat to let Taehyung know that they have arrived. Taehyung was brought out of his thoughts and made his way by the steps and taking his shoes off before entering the building. He looked back at Jungkook and smiled.

"You can go on ahead Jungkook. You're dismissed." he said before entering the building with his eunuch behind him. Maybe having a new bodyguard wouldn't be so bad since Jungkook seems like a good listener.