Get yourself together. Taemin. You're just imagining things. It's fine. 

Taemin takes a deep breath as he tries to convince himself that it's just pure coincidence that the Prince had been glancing at him through the entire event.

He likes kids. It's the kids. Not you.

The young man fidgets in his place and tries to keep calm despite the butterflies in his stomach. The Prince was more handsome than he had ever imagined him to be. The pictures and videos of him that Taemin had seen all his life definitely didn't do him any justice. He was wearing a classic black suit which fit him like a glove and his brown hair was kept perfectly in place.

The young man's heart soars as listens to the Prince give out a short speech about the importance of the work that they do here at the hospital. He really should be concentrating on the wonderful things that the Prince is saying but he couldn't help but stare at the way he said it. There is a certain way that the royal would speak--in a calm, gentle, but firm manner, almost as if he was embarrassed to have all the attention directed at him. It was endearing how he would glance at his notes and crinkle his nose at certain words. But what really got him was that smile. The Prince had glanced towards the children, and him, as he said something about the next generation and he smiled adorably as the kids cheered. Taemin could almost swear that he was melting in place.

He clears his throat to distract him from the attraction he felt at the pit of his stomach and dutifully claps along with the crowd as the Prince cuts the ribbon for the new wing. Right after the ribbon was snipped, all the important people posed together for a picture with the guest of honor. Taemin couldn't help staring at the Prince's smile once again, and was surprised to see the royal look towards him once more. He flushed as he and the Prince locked eyes. The young man quickly looked away, not knowing at all what to do. 

Okay. I'm definitely not imagining things. He's looked straight at me.

Oh my God. 

*****

He felt like a man possessed. Jinki couldn't keep his eyes away from the young man. He didn't mean to, but the royal found himself glancing at him many times, even sometimes locking eyes with the object of his affection. It frustrated him to no end that the man kept looking away when they connected. It was during moments like these that he wished so hard that he wasn't a Prince. 

He had never felt this way about anyone before. The feeling was absolutely new to him and it was intoxicating. It was like he was itching to know more about him, to talk to him, to be with him. For some unexplainable reason, he felt like there was an invisible thread that linked him to this young man. And he felt so lucky to find it.

"Your Highness," Minho says, stepping closer to the Prince so that he could whisper properly into his ear. "The man that you were asking about.... His name is Lee Taemin and he has been a loyal volunteer at the children's ward for years."

"A volunteer?" 

"Yes, Sir."

"Thank you, Minho."

He wasn't going to leave this place without getting the chance to properly meet this man, even just once. He had to find an inconspicuous way to know his name, so that he could see him one more time--without such publicity surrounding them. 

Jinki turns to the President of the hospital with the sweetest smile he could muster.

"Madam, I would like to meet your volunteers if you don't mind. They work tirelessly for nothing in return and I would like to express my deepest gratitude to them on behalf of the people."

"Certainly, Your Highness. They are all standing with the children, right over there. I can have them over in a moment."

"No need. Let's go over to them. Going to them myself is the least I can do."

"Of course, Your Highness." The President of the hospital hurries to tell the staff to get the volunteers to fall in line to meet the Prince. 

Minho is observing the events from a few feet away, but he could no longer hold his tongue once he saw everyone falling in line. "Sir, may I ask what is going on?"

"I'm going to meet the volunteers, Minho."

"The volunteers, Sir?"

"I just want to thank them myself. Don't worry, we'll keep to our schedule."

"Your Highness..." The look on Minho's face was one that Jinki was well familiar with. It was the look of panic and concern; of pleading for the Prince not to get him in trouble and stay the course. Fortunately, Jinki knew well how to navigate through times like these.

"Minho, has everyone in the room kept to protocol?"

"Yes, Sir. Everyone who is present has been searched and checked before gaining an audience with you. All security personnel are nearby and alert, as usual." Minho does not break eye-contact with him, as if it was a last-ditch effort knock some sense into him. 

"Then you don't have anything to worry about." The smile on his face was one of determination. The Prince even had his hand on Minho's shoulder, a clear sign that he was about to get his way. The younger man knows when to give up and surrender.

"Very well, Your Highness."

*****

There were a million things going through his mind when they were asked to fall in line. He really didn't think that he could have a chance like this in his life. Meeting royalty was already something to be happy about, but meeting this particular royal... It put butterflies in his stomach. 

All of the volunteers had spread out in a single-file line that the Prince could walk through. Anyone could tell that all of them were excited and nervous at the same time. Taemin turns to the person next to him, his hands shaking. They had been volunteers in the ward together for years and he trusted her more than anyone else in this entire hospital. He didn't have an older sister but if he did, he expected her to be exactly like his confidant, Taeyeon. "Do I look alright, Noona?"

"You always look fine, Taeminnie... Don't worry. It'll be over before you know it," Taeyeon says, lovingly. "There's no need to be nervous," she says, as she notices her friend's fidgeting hands. "I've met him once before, and he's quite warm and polite. Don't forget to bow and address him as 'Your Highness,' and... Maybe straighten your tie a little bit. Come here." She leans over to fix his tie that was just a bit out of place and smiles at him. "There. Lovely as always."

"Thanks, Noona."

The Prince finally makes his way down the stage to walk toward them and Taemin could swear that he could hear his heart thumping in his ears. Being the youngest, he was the last one in line and stood proudly in place. His nose suddenly started to twitch on its own and that's when he realized that he was unfortunately next to a massive arrangement of flowers. His allergies didn't care that he was having a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and they promptly started to act up. The sniffles were swift and aggressive, and the ones closest to him started to notice. 

"Are you okay?" Taeyeon asks.

"It's the flowers. It'll be over soon... I'll be fine," he says, sniffing his way through the sentence.

"You don't sound fine. And, oh no, your eyes are watering!"

"Oh man, should I leave? But Noona, I want to meet him so bad," Taemin says, desperate to stay.

"No, don't go! Just... Just think of something else. Maybe it won't be as bad if you don't focus on it... Have you thought about what you were going to tell him?"

"Okay... It's worth a try..."

Taemin nervously looks to his left and sees the Prince coming down the line pretty fast. He rubs his eye and shakes off the coughing and sneezing that his body is aching to do right now.

'Hello, Your Highness.' No... That's too generic. 'A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.' Not that either, it sounds so stiff. I need a bit of... Swag... 'Eyo, Prince?' I hate myself.

Before he knew it the handsome royal is standing right before him and the young man is bowing in respect.

"Hello, Your Highness, I'm..." The young man takes a deep breath as he tries to control the sniffles that are overwhelming him right now. "I'm..." The Prince crinkles his nose at the sight of Taemin's face contorting and--

"AHHHCHOO!" 

The entire room lets out an audible gasp and then immediately falls deathly silent. Everyone is visibly shaken at the scene before them.

Taemin had sneezed right in the face of the Crown Prince.

The young man immediately covers his mouth with both his hands but he was a few seconds too late. His eyes are wide, not knowing what to do with himself as he realizes the gravity of what he had just done. The Prince's eyes are closed from the impact and he slowly takes a handkerchief out of his pocket. Taemin watches in horror as the royal wipes the droplets of snot and saliva on his face. 

"I'm... I'm so sorry..." 

Everyone waits with bated breath to see how the Prince will react.

"It's quite alright... It's my fault, really. I guess I really do need to take a shower every now and then."

Taemin starts to giggle at the joke and so does the Prince. Soon, everyone in the room is erupts in uproarious laughter. The Prince stretches out his hand for a handshake and the young man accepts. Taemin is quite surprised as the royal gently pulls him forward and leans in to whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry about it, Taemin. It'll be forgotten soon."

Taemin clams up at the mention of his name. He can't really remember anything that he's said so far but he's quite sure that he hasn't introduced himself. How did the Prince know who he was?

The royal smiles sweetly at him and he feels his knees wobble and go weak. The tries to steady himself by clutching Taeyeon's shoulder as the Prince and his entourage walk back to the main stage.

"Noona, can I ask you something? Does he really call people by their name?" Taemin asks, terrified of the answer.

"No, he's never called me by mine. Why?"

"Nothing..." Taemin says nervously, his hands still shaking from the awkward encounter. "It's nothing."

Oh my God.

*****

Jinki was on a high the whole ride home. 

No one had ever sneezed in his face before, and it was a rather... awkward experience. Be that as it may, he couldn't imagine how awkward it must have been for the one on the giving end of that sneeze. He smiles as he remembers the way Taemin looked, as if he had committed a crime. He had never seen anyone turn so red so fast in his entire life. 

Minho had tried to talk to him about what happened but the Prince just dismissed it as part of his job. The younger man kept insisting that they schedule a visit at the infirmary just to make sure that the Prince wouldn't catch a cold, but again he dismissed the idea. Even if Taemin really was the carrier of something contagious, it would have been his pleasure to ride out a cold coming from him. At least he would have something other than a mere memory to remember him by.

They come back to the Palace, and it is clear within minutes that the Prince was absolutely smitten. The entire time that he had a fitting for the ball, all he could think about was how he could get a certain young man to be in attendance. He hardly touched his lunch, as he was still deep in thought and wondering what he could do to connect with Taemin again. 

He had never felt so bored as he sat there leafing through proposals. The Prince had completely lost the ability to concentrate on anything else and there was only one thing on his mind: to spend more time with Mr. Lee Taemin. He had finally enough and rose to his feet to have a little chat with his Chief of Staff. 

"Minho... I think I would like a cup of coffee from a specific cafe downtown..."

"Sir..." the younger man says, nervously.

"Kindly tell Lady Eva that I have important matters to attend to and regret to reschedule our appointment." Prince Jinki was in one of those moods again and Minho knew there would be no convincing him otherwise.

"Your Highness, it would be too late to do that... The lady would already be on her way and--"

"Also please alert the convoy that I am going out," the royal says, completely ignoring Minho.

"Prince Jinki..."

The royal turns and looks at his friend squarely, and with as much gravitas that he could muster. "Minho. In our years together, when have I ever deviated from schedule and done something impulsive like this?"

"Well, I seem to remember an incident this morning..." the younger man says.

Jinki draw in a sharp breath. "I meant a complete deviation, Minho. Leaving one schedule for another without any valid reason."

"Oh. In that case... Never, Sir."

"Then maybe you can grant me this, just this once. You know I won't be able to give my full attention to anything anyway--not in this state." Jinki shoots him a pleading look. "Please... I'm asking you as your friend."

It was quite rare for the Prince to ask favors. It was even more rare that Prince would ask for favors in such an emotional manner. The young man had been struck by the seeming desperation that he had seen in his friend's eyes. How on earth could he say no?

Minho picks up his radio and barks his orders at the other members of the royal staff on frequency. "Ready the royal convoy for departure in thirty minutes. The Prince has an important errand to attend to."

*****

Kibum's and Jonghyun's laughter echoes through the empty cafe as Taemin tells them about the morning incident with the Prince. The young man is beyond embarrased and anyone could tell that he was beet red even if he had hid his face in his arms. He is fully tucked face down on the table, with only his crimson ears sticking out.

"You sneezed in his face!! Way to stick it to the monarchy!!" Jjong says enthusiastically, his fist raised up in the air.

"No... Geez... I didn't mean anything by it... Oh God..." The young man starts banging his head on the table. 

"You know the Prince will never forget who you are now, right?" Kibum sits up and excitedly conjures up some scenarios for Taemin to prepare for. "You could be interviewed for a memoir of the Prince's most memorable events. Or maybe you could be on the news, or some magazine... I can see the headlines now: 'Snot Boy'."

Suddenly, they see blue and red lights flashing outside and stopping right outside the cafe. 

"Or... Maybe you would just get arrested," Kibum says.

Jonghyun stands up from his chair and goes up next to the window to investigate the commotion. "What in the world...?"

Suddenly, men in suits start to file into the cafe and going straight into searching every nook and cranny of the space. Some men even went so far as to walk straight into the back rooms and search there too.

"Hey! You can't go back there!" Key is starting to get flustered and everyone is too shocked to say anything else.

Taemin is shaking in his seat, slowly standing up to talk to the lone man that was staring at him. "Are you going to arrest me?"

The man flashes a badge before him. "My name is Special Agent Shim Changmin from the King's Service, and these are all my men. We are conducting a routine, albeit rushed inspection of the premises. May I please speak with the owner of the establishment?" the man says.

Kibum steps forward to block the young man from scaring poor Taemin. He boldly speaks with the tall individual. "He's not here, but I'm in charge... Is there something wrong?"

"Your name, Sir?"

"I-I'm Kim Kibum..."

"Mr. Kim, We would like a copy of a government-issued identification card for everyone present today, for background screening."

The three gather in front of him and look at each other in fear. 

"Let's just give it to him, guys. There's no use fighting it." Kibum says. Each of them pull out their wallets, fish for identification and hand it over to the mysterious man. "Here..."

He quickly hands it off to someone else who takes pictures of the cards and starts to type furiously on his phone.

The tall man starts to speak, looking directly at Kibum for answers to his questions. "Are there any guns or other weapons to be found within the premises?"

"Not counting the knives in the kitchen, no..."

"How about drugs, legal or otherwise?"

"I wish," Jonghyun mutters under his breath. Taemin swiftly elbows him in the ribs to keep quiet.

"No, there are none. At least none that I know of," he says, casting a mean side-eye at Jjong.

"Is the place free from any contagious or communicable diseases?"

"Well, we fumigate along with the city's schedule if that's what you mean..."

All these questions are making the trio fidget in place. They had no idea what was going on and they were trying their best to remain calm.

The guy who disappeared with their IDs suddenly returns and hands the cards back to them. "Sir, all of them are clear. So are the premises."

"Wait a minute, what is this about? Are we in some sort of trouble because this is really stressing out my aura," Kibum says.

"Gentlemen, the Crown Prince is on his way, and he will be arriving shortly. I will be confiscating all your cellular phones as this is not an official visit. Taking pictures,  videos, voice recordings or any media and subsequently uploading them in any manner will be strictly prohibited and punishable by Section 14 of the Royal Security Code. We expect your strict compliance." Special Agent Shim opens his hands and the three sheepishly hand over their precious phones. 

"E-excuse me, did you just say that the Prince is on his way here? Prince Jinki?" Taemin asks, his heart pounding in his chest. 

"Yes, Sir. His small convoy has just pulled up as we speak."

Oh my God.