Kyungsoo watched his brother and his new wife Jinhee from a distance. They had been married the day before and now they were going away for a short trip to their eldest sisters home down south. He watched as Jongin's oldest friend walk away from the couple and then his brother violently yanked on Jinhee's hair before going into the carriage. Kyungsoo slammed his book closed and walked away, a storm brewing in his chest. In the days before their wedding, Jinhee had been coming into the palace more and more. Fairly often she would find herself with her tutors in the library as they taught her manners and the family lineage that all members of the royal family had to memorize. Since Kyungsoo spent most of is time there, the two had struck up conversations and grew to respect each other. Jinhee was a fun woman who liked to look at the whole picture instead of the tiny details which was refreshing for Kyungsoo who had been so obsessed with the little infractions in the world that he often missed giant milestones in his life.

 

The more time he spent with her, the more he knew that she wasn't the right woman to be marrying his younger brother. Out of all of the siblings, Kyungsoo and Jongin disliked each other the most. For all of his life, Kyungsoo had been small and fragile but with a large intellect that was second to no one else where as Jongin grew tall and strong, easily overpowering his older brother in childish fights. It was as if Jongin was a mirror image of their father and it drove Kyungsoo insane. But he hated him even more now because the one woman he ever got along with was now his wife and Jongin was second in line for the throne, over himself.

 

"Where are you in going in such a rush?" A arm draped over his shoulder and pull him to a halt. Baekhyun was his younger brother, although he didn't consider him as a lesser as they were only a few months apart.

 

"Going to study." Kyungsoo looked back at the carriages pulling out of the palace gates and then back at the ground.

 

"Oh I get it, 'study'. Yeah, I studied this morning." Baekhyun elbowed his brother and the elder smacked the back of his head.

 

"I mean actually studying, which you should try to do once in a while." Kyungsoo held the book up and Baekhyun smacked it out of his hands.

 

"Gross." Baekhyun scrunched his face up in disgust and Kyungsoo couldn't help but crack a smile. "Come play with me, I'm bored." Baekhyun whined and pretended to through a fit until his brother finally sighed in defeat and the two started walking away together.

 

"Kyungsoo." a deep voice called out to the two of them and when they turned back they see their eldest brother Suho. They both bow to the crown prince who has a grim look on his face.

 

"Yes brother?" Kyungsoo saw his brother bend down and pick up and the book that he had forgotten about in the ground. He had so many thoughts going around his head that he felt like a fool for having someone pick up his stuff for him, especially Suho.

 

"I've been told that your mother is looking for you." Suho held the book out and Kyungsoo graciously took it.

 

"Thank you." The three brothers stood there awkwardly as they hadn't really been around each other in a while. It seemed that all of them had reached an point in their lives where they felt the need to be by themselves. Baekhyun suddenly clapped his hands together and slightly startled the other two.

 

"Well this is weird." He chimed in before turning and walking away which made the older two brothers smirk.

 

"He hasn't changed a bit." Suho said and Kyungsoo nodded in agreement.

 

"How is Kyungsoon doing today? Feeling better I hope." Kyungsoo asked and the tired look behind Suho's eyes answered for him. The crown prince reached out and grabbed Kyungsoo's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

 

"Every day is a blessing." Suho's voice cracked near the end. He cleared his throat before his hand slips off his brothers shoulder and he walks away. Kyungsoo couldn't imagine the pain he was going through, watching the woman he loved wither away in front of their own eyes. Before he could dwell on it any longer Kyungsoo walked off towards his mothers quarters. He reached the large doors into her room and the servants slide the door open and his mother was sitting at a table filled with only the finest foods and golden plated accessories that his father threw at her every once in a while. His mother was louging in a lavish clothes with a pipe dangling front her fingers. Although the room with filled with flowers, everything smelled of old smoke which took Kyungsoo back to his childhood which is one of the reasons why he was regretting coming here.

 

"Sit down." Her voice was thick from years of smoking and Kyungsoo hesitated before sitting at the table across from her. How a weak person like himself came from the King and his terror of a mother, he knew was going to understand. "What are we going to do about this?" His mother tapped her pipe onto the table and Kyungsoo tried to figure out what she talking about. "We can't let Jongin take what's yours." His mother smirked and Kyungsoo felt a cool breeze waft through the room and chilled him to the bone. His mother was ruthless and feared what ever plan she had made up in her mind because although he hated his brother, he didn't hate him enough to punish him.

 

An hour later, Kyungsoo came out of his mothers room, his face flush with fear and looked up and down the hallway to make sure that no one could have overheard what he was just told. He stormed out of the palace into the secret garden that was just meant for the concubines and when he reached the fresh air he took a deep breath. He felt so dizzy and lost that he stumbled around for a little bit before he noticed two figures on the other side of the garden, partially hidden behind some large grass. It was his youngest brother Sehun and one of the young servants. His hand was cupping her face and his thumb was gently her cheek bone. The woman had a blush on her face as she looked up to Sehun with dreamy eyes and he smiled back. Something caught the woman's attention and she turned and when she saw Kyungsoo standing there, staring at them with his mouth hanging open, she turned and ran as fast as she could and Sehun faced his brother.

 

"Hyung." Sehun called out but Kygunsoo just turned and walked away. His brain was being overloaded from the past two days and he just wanted to retreat into the library and hide in his world of books before anyone else could get hurt.

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This chapter is shorter than normal but i am going to be releasing like 5 chapters this weekend so be ready