Jinki’s POV

“What do you mean you cannot find any traces of them?! Did the earth open and swallow them up or did the sky eat them?! Do you know how serious this matter is? Huh?! I do not care how you find them, I want them in front of me before this week ends! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?” I bellowed.

“We will try our level best Your Majesty. Till we find them, please let us tighten the security around the palace.” My general told me. I nodded my head to express my consent. I felt a migraine building behind my eyelids. Is it really so difficult being normal?! One day! One day is all I ask for to spend with my family!

“....... Your Majesty…..” a timid call snapped me out of my thoughts. There Jjong’s attendant stood, looking desperate.

“Yes?”

“Your Majesty, could you please come with me? His Grace is not eating anything. I have tried all means but he is not listening. Please come and make him eat before his condition declines!” By the end, he was close to tears. Sighing, I stood up from my throne and followed him to our bedroom. My Love, see how many people are worried about you! We all love you!

As we entered the room, I saw him sitting on the bed. He had a faraway expression on his face, like he was physically here but mentally very far away.

“Jonghyun…”

As if scalded by something hot, he flinched. When he looked at me, I could see fear in his eyes.

I silently opened my arms as I called out to him softly so as to not startle him further.

“Come, love….”

This was enough of a motivation for him, as in the next second, I had my arms full of him. He held on to me as if his life depended on it. He was trying to merge his body with mine, so that no force may pull us apart. Any other time, I would have been immensely happy with such an act. However, today, it only made my heart ache to see Jonghyun in such a condition again. I wish I could remove all the troubles from his life! He looks so fatigued….. I wish I could….no, I will change the world that tires you Jonghyun! Just be strong for a little while more!

As I held him in my arms, I realised just how much weight he had lost in these few months. It was as if I was hugging myself. He was shaking badly as if someone was rattling his bones. His body was  colder than normal. Pushing him away a bit, I looked him in the eyes.

“Jonghyun! Love, look at me!”

Pulling his chin up, I asked him soothingly, “Are you alright?”

Tears started flowing from his eyes as his shaking got worse. Suddenly, his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out in my arms!

“JONGHYUN! JONGHYUN! Jjong, come on, wake up! Please Jjong!”

He wasn't responding.

“Hey! Call the royal physician! NOW!” I ordered as I picked him up and carried him to our bed.

“Jjongie…. Please wake up….. Please!” Seeing him like this hurts me more than I can express! My love, please wake up, I need you!

I do not know how long I sat there holding his hands.

“Your Majesty!” I heard the doctor call.

“Check him now! What is wrong with him?!”

“Allow me to check himYour Majesty. I will be able to answer you once I take a look.” Nodding, I let the doctor check him.

He took his pulse and checked his temperature before turning to his assistant and asking for some medicine. I saw him prepare Jjong’s arm for injection. After he was done injecting, he handed the empty syringe back to his assistant and turned towards me.

 “Your Majesty, he is fine. He just had a panic attack. Did something happen that triggered his fear or some traumatic experience?”

Sighing, I looked at him in the eye before answering,

“There was an attack on the palace a few days ago. We are yet to find the perpetrators. That probably triggered Jonghyun. His previous experience with gunmen and bullets must have made him panic.”

“Your Majesty, there isn't much that I can do in this case. I have given him some medicines which will help him sleep better. Now it is in your hands. Try being with him as much as possible, at least for a few days.” Nodding, I let him take his leave before turning to one of my most precious persons.

I brushed aside some of his hair and lightly pecked his forehead. Please be alright my love….

………………………………………………………………….

Jinki's POV continued~

For the next few days, I made sure to be with Jjong as much as I could. He was still paranoid, always flinching at the smallest sound and constantly looking around as if expecting someone to attack him. But at least he wasn't shaking and fainting anymore.

Today, I decided to spend all my time with him. I made sure to push aside all the work and freed my schedule. When I made it back to our room, I could see him sitting there, scribbling in a small notebook which he uses to write lyrics.

“Jjong…” I called out softly so as to not startle him. He looked up at me with that innocent gaze.

“Onew….”

I walked towards him and pulled at his hand.

“Come….”

“Ehhh!!! Where are you taking me??” he inquired in confusion.

“Just come along and you will find out.” As I pulled him out of our room, I covered his eyes with my palm.

“Onewwwww…..what is all this? Where are you taking me? I cannot see!”

“Shushhh! You talk too much. Trust me, I will not let you get hurt. So just follow my lead for now.” I sushed him with a finger to his lips, while leading him slowly.

Before going to get him, I had asked some maids to arrange some snacks and tea for us in the palace garden under the canopy.

I helped him sit in his chair before uncovering his eyes. The moment he opened his eyes, a soft gasp left him.

“O… Onew….this….”

“It has been a long time since we spent some quality time together. So I thought, why do we not have a date right here! Just the two of us like that time when you brought me your home cooked chicken!” I told him, reminding him of one of our precious moments.

A smile bloomed on his face, as his eyes twinkled.

“This is beautiful…..thank you so much for doing this!”

“Anything for you my love!” I reached across and held his hand.

We spent time feeding each other and remembering more and more of our precious memories. Our moments with our baby boy. We were so engrossed in ourselves that we didn't notice one of the guards approach us; not until he was standing right next to our table. We both glanced at him curiously.

“Your Majesty, this parcel came in for His Grace from Dokkam.” He said as he handed Jjong a box. It clearly had a seal from Dokkam.

Taking the box from the guard, he looked at me curiously.

“Seems like either your Crown mother or brother sent you a gift.” I told him chuckling. He smiled as he shakes his head. Then he focused on opening the box.

Just when I turned towards the guard to dismiss him, I heard a blood curdling scream from Jjong along with a sound of chair falling over!

When I glanced at him, he stood there shaking, while his eye were trained on the box that was now at his feet. I stood up and went to him. I immediately pulled him in my arms.

“Jjong, what happened?! Are you alright??”

“T… Ta… TAEEEEE!!!!!!” He screamed again before falling to his knees. He pulled something out from the box.

When I sat down next to him, I noticed that the thing he was holding was actually a shirt. A very familiar shirt covered in blood!

Taemin! That was TAEMIN's SHIRT!