A/N: IS IMPLIED IN THIS CHAPTER (I did not mark it as M because there are no details lol)

*Youngjae’s POV*

I peaked out the bedroom door, glancing down the hallway to make sure that no one was there. “Is everything alright your highness?” Yoseob asked from behind me.

“Um, yes. I-I was just checking to see if the hall was empty.” I said.

He gave me a confused look, “do you need Junhyung to walk you to the hot springs?” He asked. “N-No.” I answered. However, he didn’t look convinced. “Do you know if Daehyun is out there?” I asked. The elder shook his head, “I don’t know your highness.”

“Oh, Okay. I guess I’ll go out now.” I turned towards the door once more.

I’ve been avoiding Daehyun ever since he kissed me a couple weeks ago. I wasn’t mad at him. I was just nervous. I’d never experienced anything like that or even imagined it! I was…It was kind of nice.

But after that I didn’t know how to approach him. I had butterflies in my stomach every time I saw him. My cheeks burned when he spoke to me and my palms sweated every time he said a word to me.

I don’t think he knows how to approach me either. We never exchanged anything more than a wave or hello. And he avoided eye contact.

I turned the knob and hesitantly opened the door. I nearly jumped seeing Jaejoong standing on the other side about to knock.

“Good Morning Youngjae.” He bowed. I bowed as well. “I came to see if everything is alright. You were taking a while.” He said.

“Oh.” I said embarrassed.

“You’re not feeling sick, are you?” He asked concerned.

“N-No.” was my short answer.

Jaejoong studied me a bit confused and looked at Yoseob who only shrugged. “Well, the bath is ready. Come on, before it gets cold.” He said, leading the way. I nodded and followed close behind him. Yoseob followed as well.

On our way to the hot springs I spotted Daehyun.

The two of us made eye contact, but we immediately looked away. I couldn’t contain the blush on my cheeks.

Yoseob raised a curious eyebrow, witnessing everything, but he didn’t say anything.

When we arrived at the hot springs, I slipped out of my pajamas and bathed in one of the baths. Winter had finally come and Jaejoong had deemed me strong enough to go outside. It was also cool enough for me to go out in the day. So, today we are going to go out and hand out sweaters to those in need.

We made more than enough sweaters between Jaejoong and I. Yoseob mastered crocheting blankets. Kyungsoo even helped make some blankets as well. I was kind of nervous about going out and meeting the people. I wasn’t sure how they were going to react to me. But then again no one knows who I am. But what made me even more nervous was that Daehyun was going with us too.

“The others are already outside. A wagon has been prepared for us.” Jaejoong informed me after I bathed and changed. “Others?” I repeated. “Yes. Prince Daehyun, Junhyung, and Kyungsoo.” He said. “Kyungsoo is coming?” I perked a little. “Yes, I was able to relieve him of his duties.” Jaejoong winked, “And the head guard Junsu will be joining us as well. It was his King’s orders.” He added.

“Junsu?” I repeated.

“Neh. Don’t worry. He’s very friendly. Now let’s go. We don’t want to keep them waiting too long.” With that, Jaejoong turned and headed toward the front of the castle. Yoseob and I followed him.

Daehyun, Junhyung, Kyungsoo, and Junsu were already outside the palace and seated on the wagon. We all exchanged greetings before taking our seats. Jaejoong sat next to Junsu at the reigns. Yoseob took his spot next Kyungsoo and Junhyung in the row behind Jaejoong and Junsu. “Hey.” Daehyun greeted as I took the empty spot next to him in the last row. “Hi.” I returned the greeting through the mask he’d given me. I hadn’t worn any other mask since then.

The beginning of the ride was silent, neither of us knowing what to say or do. However, my nerves vanished when we entered the city. My eyes grew in amazement. The place was highly decorated with ribbons that formed a maze from stand to stand, dressed in light purple, pink, and pale yellow. There were several miniature statues of golden and pink dragons, in celebration of Lover’s month.

People were dressed in the same colors. Children ran around, wearing dragon mask and chased each other. There several couples out enjoying the festivities. “Wow, everything looks so pretty.” I said in awe at the decorations that seemed to transform the city. Daehyun chuckled a little, “don’t lean too far or you’re going to fall.” He warned. I blushed in embarrassment, not realizing that I was leaning so far over the edge. I immediately sat back straight, “Thank you.” I murmured.

We arrived at the edge of the city over an hour later. The stand was already set up for us. The stand was already set up for us. We each grabbed a basket from under the wagon and set them up at the stand.

I felt my body tense a little as people began to approach us. Jaejoong noticed this and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Relax.” He smiled, “Just think of it as if you were handing out sweaters with mom.” He said. I nodded and reached for my first sweater, handing it to the first woman who approached us.

“How much for the sweater?” She asked. “I don’t have much on me.” She confessed, clearly ashamed. “Um, they’re free.” I told her. “Huh?” She looked at me surprised. “We’re handing them out for free, for those who need them.” I explained. She stood there stunned. “Wow. Thank you. Thank you so much.” She thanked.

I smiled, though she couldn’t see it behind my mask. “You’re welcome.”

“What’s your name?” She asked.

I was thrown off by the question but answered anyway. “Youngjae.”

“Thank you Youngjae. You have a wonderful day.” She thanked once more before leaving. I stood there a bit shocked. Jaejoong smiled at the scene, “See? Just be yourself.” He patted my back and went to hand out the other sweaters.

I followed Jaejoong’s advice and the more people that came, the more comfortable and at ease I felt. It made me smile, seeing how appreciative and shocked people were.

People recognized Daehyun and Jaejoong. They were more gravitated to Jaejoong, especially the children. The people seemed more hesitant to approach Daehyun but were surprised when he greeted them with a smile. It was a forced smile and he was a bit awkward talking to them, but they seemed to appreciate his effort anyway.

“Are you struggling to be nice?” I a little. “I told you, I haven’t’ been known to be a very friendly person.” He reminded. “Well, I think you’re nice.” I said, still not understanding why people thought he was mean. “It’s different when you’re trying to be nice and when you’re naturally nice.” He said. I furrowed my brow, not understanding what he meant. He noticed this and laughed.

“Excuse me. Are you the cute guy that’s handing out sweaters?” Two girls approached our side of the stand.

However, when I turned to respond to them, I froze. “You girls are beautiful.” I thought aloud.

Daehyun stopped laughing.

The two chuckled.

I blushed in embarrassment, “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” I said. They nodded, “But thank you.” They thanked anyway. “You’re welcome.” I said feeling awkward. “We heard that there was a really cute guy handing out sweaters.” One of the girls spoke. “Yeh. They said that he was really nice and that he wore a mask.” The second girl inputted. They both looked at me and smiled, “That must be you.” The first girl said.

“Oh…uh…Thank you.” I blushed deeper, not expecting the sudden compliments. “We’d love to see you without your mask.” The second girl suggested.

I was caught off guard by the sudden suggestion. Kyungsoo looked up, hearing it was well. “We bet you look cuter without it.” The first girl encouraged. I was hesitant. I didn’t’ know what to do. I wanted to take it off, but I didn’t think it would be a good idea. “He’s not that cute.” Daehyun suddenly remarked.

Everyone looked at the prince in surprise. His eyes widened in realization when we made eye contact. “Oh.” Was all I could say, turning away before he could say anything. I never cared much about my looks. It wasn’t something I got to pay attention to. There were more important things to focus on. But those words did hurt coming from him.

“Would you ladies like some sweaters or a blanket?” Jaejoong quickly cut into the conversation. “Oh. No thank you. We just came to say hi. We should probably get going now.” The first girl said, sensing the awkward tension as well. The girls bowed to Jaejoong and Daehyun before leaving.

For the rest of the time wealthier girls and guys came up to my end of the stand to talk. However, when they came they would open their mouth’s and then freeze. Then they’d bow, mutter an apology, and quickly leave. It was as if they’d seen something that scared them. But ever time I looked behind me there was nothing there, except for Daehyun who usually stood their whistling to himself or fumbling through supplies or eating. It was strange, but I didn’t bother to ask.

We ran out of sweaters and blankets a few hours after noon. “You guys made a lot of sweaters.” Junsu said as we packed. “Prince Youngjae did most of the work. I barely did two.” Yoseob confessed. “Well, there’ll be a lot of happy people out there this winter.” Junsu smiled at me. “Thank you.” I thanked him, grateful towards his words.

“How are you feeling?” Jaejoong asked. He and Kyungsoo approached me. “I feel great. The weather is wonderful.” I beamed, feeling stronger than when I first arrived at the kingdom. The two smiled at this. ‘We brought some medicine for you to take while we eat.” Kyungsoo informed. I nodded, with that we joined the others who had already taken out the food we packed earlier.

It was nice eating in a group like this. Everyone got along fine. They were even chatting and laughing, dropping all formalities. Junsu did the most joking around. He was really funny! Daehyun even let out a little chuckle at some of the head knight’s jokes.

The scene warmed my heart. It was a different feeling, eating with people like this. The only thing that could make it better was if Kikwang and my mother were here, and if Daehyun opened up a little. He kept himself distant from the others, especially Jaejoong. It made me sad that Daehyun hated Jaejoong. But according to Jaejoong, he’s used to it. My heart sunk further at the sad thought.

“Alright, we should probably get back to the palace now.” Jaejoong said, once he saw that everyone finished eating. “Youngjae and I have somewhere to go.” Daehyun said. “We do?” I said, unaware that we had plans. “Is that fine?” He turned to Jaejoong. The ravenous man nodded. “He’ll be fine. The weather is good for him.” He smiled at me. I lit up at this. I did want to stay longer and see more of the city. “Just be sure to return right away if you feel dizzy or any