A/N: I recommend listening to Yesung's song Paper Umbrella while reading this chapter. The lyrics really fit the chapter well, and the melody really sets the mood for the whole thing.

Sorry if the first 2 chapters were too emotional >.<

********

The Royal Palace is truly a restless place. Just a few hours ago, the royal ceremony was taking place in Geunjeongjeon, with every courtlady and eunich catering to the event. Now, only a few hours later, a royal banquet is being thrown in Gyeonghoeru, the main banquet hall in Gyeongbokgung. At this moment, the hall is filled with royalties and noblemen, to celebrate the entrance of a noble family into the royal family. The hall is decorated even more fabulously than the ceremony, with lights hanging from the trees, candles on the walls and banisters, and lanterns across every path. Inside the hall, the party is as crowded and noisy as Sungmin expects it to be. He is now seated two tables from the King and the Queen. Their dining tables are again placed higher than the rest of the tables, emphasising their positions in the palace. The King and the Queen sit facing the hall's door, like how the King's throne is positioned. Below them, on the main floor, are seated two rows of tables on each side of the room, facing each other. On the King's side are noblemen related to the royal family, including Sungmin's father, sitting facing him. And he knows, out those doors, is Kyuhyun, standing guard together with his team to protect the place.

After he has greeted and thanked the King and the Queen again, and greeted the rest of the concubines, Sungmin is now dining with the rest of them in the hall. The party is more than extravagant, with more than ten dishes being served. Most of the food he has never even seen in his life. He stops a moment, wondering if this is how it would be being a royalty. But he does not stop for too long, not wanting to draw any attention to himself.

After the King and the Queen have finished their meals, they stand up to return to their gungs. Everyone stands up and bows to say goodbye, and Sungmin bows and says his thanks once again. The King only lets out a small smile at him, while the Queen shows him another warm smile, and mutters a soft "Hope you will fit in well here", before heading towards the door. After they have left, the noblemen use the occasion as a chance to drink with each other, while the concubines start to gossip with each other. After answering their hundred questions, Sungmin excuses himself with walking his father back home, and gets out of the hall with his father.

- I really hope you fit in here, Sungmin-ah - he tells his son - and don't get in any troubles, please. Contact me in two weeks.

Sungmin laughs at his suggestion. It is a relief to him to see his father still treat him the same, after everything that has happened. He replies, while letting out a bright smile:

- Of course, abeonim.

Hesitating at the door to his palaquin, his father turns back to him and looks him in the eyes for a long while. After what feels like forever, he mutters softly into Sungmin's ears. Something that he has always known. But something he will never refuse to hear:

- You know I'm proud of you, right?

Letting out another smile, with which Youngwoon swears he sees a tiny tinge of sadness, Sungmin tells his father with absolute confidence:

- Yes, abeonim.

Smiling at his son again, Youngwoon turns to get into the palaquin. It is already dark, and he has to get back to the residence before late. Sungmin watches his father's palaquin start to move, then out the gates into the city, then down the street, until it and the four men that are carrying it disappear into the dark and the fog of the autumn night.

******

Kyuhyun has finished his shift for the night, so he has dismissed his team of guards who were protecting Gyeonghoeru when the party was taking place. Just the thought of that person sitting in there, celebrating, being married to the King, makes him shiver and want to cease everything he was doing and just lie down, marinating in his own sadness. Now, he is wandering around the palace, for some reason he does not know. When he looks up again, the gate that shows that name "Geoncheonggung" startles him. It is the gung where Sungmin is to reside, now, until forever, he thinks. He does not know why his feet have led him here. But he is certain he is not gonna come in. What good is to come of it, he thinks, then makes a turn back to where he has come from, when he sees a dark figure standing on a bridge connecting a pavillion on an island to the main ground. The figure only stands still, and from what he can guess, is looking down at the water. After a minute, his head looks up from the water to the sky, letting out a small sigh. Kyuhyun decides to approach the figure, only to realise who it is when he is a few steps from the figure. He is about to turn back from the man, not wanting to face that person, when a soft voice breaks the dead silence:

- Kyuhyun?

Stopping in his tracks, Kyuhyun feels like he is busted for something. He turns back to the other man, and slowly walks to stand next to him on the bridge.

- Lee Sugyeong mama. - He bows his head respecfully. - Where are your guards and courtladies?

Sungmin feels his heart drop at his formal title just uttered from Kyuhyun's mouth. Those three words have put a distance of a thousand miles, it seems, between him and Kyuhyun. But he forces himself to smile, reassuring himself that it is only because of the rules.

- I dismissed them. - He answers, eyes not leaving the other man.

- It is extremely dangerous to walk around the Palace without your guards, mama.

Mama.

Again.

- I don't need them. - Sungmin replies. - There is nothing they can do that I cannot do.

That, Kyuhyun ponders, is in fact true. Sungmin is a black belt in Taekwondo. He was also top of his class in wrestling and martial arts classes. It would take an army of about ten people, all skilled in martial arts, to take him down. Even Kyuhyun could not beat him.

- That's true. - Kyuhyun lets the words slip from his mouth without any honorifics added. Just like a habit. He has known the man in front of him for more than three years, after all. This has been his way of talking to him for all of the time he has known the other man.

Sungmin turns his stare from the water to the man that has just uttered the words. His eyes widen in surprise, but he is not shocked or irritated. He is only relieved at Kyuhyun's momentary slip. He smiles in response. The bright-pink flower smile.

As if realizing his own slip-up, Kyuhyun quickly adds what he had forgotten in a moment of absentmindedness:

- ..., mama.

But Sungmin does not shrink back his smile at the other's afterthought correction. He keeps his smile and his eyes attentively on Kyuhyun:

- How have you been? - He asks softly and caringly.

Kyuhyun looks at Sungmin again. He can always know what the other means just by looking at his eyes and his facial expressions. Right now, Sungmin's eyes remain glued on him. His smile is still visible, but Kyuhyun can see obvious traces of worry on his face. So he replies with the most honest answer that his mind can process right now.

- I'm good, mama.

There is silence again. Kyuhyun knows that it is because neither of them can think of anything to respond to that. But, after another while, Kyuhyun can feel the other inhale a full lung of breath, as if trying to gather all of his courage, then continues to whisper to him:

- Because you didn't come to my farewell that day.I didn't get to say my goodbyes to you. I thought you were mad at me. You probably still are. And you have every right to be. Because I did this. But I...

-I'm not mad at you. - Kyuhyun suddenly steals the conversation.

Surprised at the reply, but Sungmin does not feel offended or annoyed. He feels relieved. But he still tries to scrutinise Kyuhyun's facial expressions to make sure what was said is actually true. Kyuhyun has turned to look at the water again. But no detail on Kyuhyun's face is suggesting that he is lying at this moment.

- Really? - Sungmin asks again.

Kyuhyun turns to look at Sungmin again. He looks deep into the other's eyes for a long moment, and he can feel in his heart what answer the other is expecting. 

- Of course. - Kyuhyun forces a smile.

With that, Sungmin beams the brightest smile at him, probably the brightest smile Kyuhyun has seen from the other man, ever since that day. And Kyuhyun knows that just being able to see that smile is worth all the pain and sorrows that he is feeling right now.

Relieved at the other's response, Sungmin feels a whole weight of burden lifted from his shoulders, his stomachs and his mind. 

- So we're okay? We're still friends?

Another silence. Kyuhyun did not expect this question to be uttered by either of them right here at this moment. He turns to look again at the man that just asked the impossible question. The hardest, most painful question Kyuhyun has ever had to answer in his whole life. Are they still friends? Were they ever even friends? He thinks. Perhaps not. But he knows just what he has to say to see that smile from the other man before.

- Of course we're friends. We'll always be friends, Sungmin.

Bright pink flowers. Crescent moon. Those are what Kyuhyun is reminded when he sees that smile from Sungmin again, and those eyes that seem like smiling on their own. He also lets out a small smile at the other man, reassuring him.

- That's good. I have to get back now. See you around, Kyuhyun. - Sungmin mutters softly at him.

- Goodnight, Lee Sugeong mama. - Kyuhyun says respectfully and vows his head.

But Sungmin is not bothered by the honorific again. His mind is still wrapped around what the other had said before, about him not being mad, about their friendship. And he is happy again.

Kyuhyun watches the smaller man get through the gates to Geoncheonggung, then disappear into the one-story royal building. The building is built in thr same style as the rest of Geongbokgung, yet has its own warmth and coziness, unlike any other gungs. It has Sungmin's simplicity, doubtlesly, Kyuhyun thinks. And for a short moment, Kyuhyun feels glad that the said person is not completely lost in the glamorous palace of the King, blended perfectly together with the rest of those people. 

When Kyuhyun is alone on the bridge, he turns his gaze towards the water in the lake again. The water is dark, so he raises his head up to look at the sky. It is a cloudy night of an autumn night. The sky is dark. But there is one thing he can make out, amidst all the darkness and gloominess of it. A crescent moon. Shining its bright and warm light in the dark. Tearing the thick and evil darkness to guide the lost to safe haven. An autumn moon. Kyuhyun's moon. 

A few breezes send chills all over his body, reminding him of that last day one month ago at Lee's residence, where everyone gathered to see Sungmin off when he left for the Palace. It was just as cold, and as dark, to Kyuhyun.

Turning his head to Geoncheonggung one last time, Kyuhyun mutters something to himself. Something that he would never say in front of the person now, but something he feels like the truest thing that he should say, now, and probably forever, until eternity.

- Goodbye, Sungmin.

And he feels the sky is just as dark as without the moon.

*******

The gate to the Lee's residence was unusually crowded. Neighbours, traders and passerbys were gathered around to witness an event they probably had one or two chance to see in their lives. The Royal was here to take Lee Youngwoon's son to the Royal Palace to become one of the King's concubines in one month. People were chatting, exchanging anecdotes and what little background they had on the Lees. Some were excited for the family, some were sad that the son was now taken. But, mostly they were only jealous of the chance to go to the Royal Palace, to live in luxury, to be married to the most powerful man in the kingdom.

Inside the residence, on the main yard, close friends and family of the Lees were gathered around the . There were one eunich, four palaquin carriers and two courtladies, all standing in two rows in front of the palaquin. The eunich was reading something from the red roll of paper, announcing that the was there to take Lee Youngwoon's son, Lee Sungmin, to the Royal Palace, as the marriage was arranged, and the ceremony was to take place in one month. After hearing the announcement, Sungmin knelt down and bowed his head to the ground to show respect and gratitude to the King. Although the Royal eunichs had been here before to announce the King's intentions to the family, he would never be used to the formality and extravagance of royal rituals.

Sungmin turned his head to look at everybody that was there. His father was standing right behind him, his eyes glued on him since the very moment he knelt down and took the grace from the King. Kim Heechul and Hankyung seonsaengnims were there, hands intertwined together just like Sungmin had always known them to be. Leeteuk yeonggam was there, as Sungmin imagined he would be. Sungmin knew for a fact that he would never leave his father alone on a day like this. Standing beside Leeteuk, a little bit to the right, were Donghae and Hyukjae, his two bestest of best friends in this whole world. They were standing beside each other, but Sungmin knew, the moment he disappeared out of here, Donghae would bury his head into Hyukjae's shoulders and both would burst into tears like children. But, now, Hyukjae put both his arms around Sungmin's shoulders and gave him the tightest hug that he had ever had from someone.

- Minimini, take care of yourself, okay? Come visit when you can. - The second sentence, Sungmin could guess its other meaning.

Sungmin only gave him a slight laugh, tapping him on the shoulder.

- Hyukkie-ah, Donghae will be jealous.

- No, you can have him for the day, Minnie-ah.

All three of them laughed again. But none of them felt any part of it was funny.

After another while, when Hyukjae still had not let Sungmin out of his embrace, Kim Heechul approached them and gave Hyukjae a slight flick on his head. He then separated the two by taking Hyukjae's ear in his fingers.

- Yah! This brat! He is not yours alone, you know!

Hyukjae, now with one red ear, kept fanning himself and rubbing his ear to relieve it of the red and the pain.

- I know that without getting tortured in the ear, seonsaengnim! - Only to solicit another an "Aishh" and a raise of a hand by the teacher as a threat.

Turning to Sungmin, his attitude was unchanged:

- Lee Sungmin, you have been a pain in my , destroying what little peace I had left in my wrestling class. - He received a small laugh from Sungmin. - But now, be a strong and brave pain in the . Remember all of the moves I have taught you so you can teach anyone in the Palace a lesson if they mess with you.

Before Heechul knew it, Sungmin was already kneeling down and bowing his head to the ground to show gratitude towards the teacher:

- Of course, I will remember, seansaengnim. Thank you for all this time.

Moving over to Hankyung, he smiled gently at the teacher. When he got a slight nod from the martial arts teacher, he knelt and bowed down again.

- Thank you, Han seonsaengnim.

He stood up again, knelt and bowed down before Leeteuk.

- Leeteuk yeonggam mama, thank you for taking care of me and my father since I was too little to remember. Please take care of my father for me, now that I can't anymore.

Those few words were enough to bring tears to Leeteuk's eyes. He quickly wiped them with the back of his hand, then tried his best to give Sungmin the brightest smile he could.

Sungmin was standing before his father now. The great man who had raised him for more than twenty years, thirteen years of which all by himself. His role model. His hero. The man who saved him millions of times when he was in trouble. The man that made him who he is today. The man that he was now leaving. For the first time in twenty years. He would be seeing his father again in one month. But this was the first he would be away from his father for such a long time. And the next time he met his father, their roles would be different.

Sungmin knelt down before his father, raised his hands above his head, and bowed his head to the ground. Then, he stood up again and kneeled and bowed two more times, until he finished the ritual. It was a 'goodbye' and 'thank you' wrapped in three bows to the ground, used when a child left a parent to get married.

Lee Youngwoon kept silent for a long while, failing to find the right words to say to his son at the moment. In the end, he put his hands on his son's shoulders and muttered to him:

- Take care of yourself, my son. I'll see you at the ceremony.

Pushing back the burning feeling he felt at the corners of his eyes and his nose, Sungmin nodded to his father. He then turned back to where Donghae and Hyukjae were still standing. Not seeing who he expected to see, he looked around the yard, to the halls and the buildings that surrounded the main yard, for a figure that could nearly resemble the person that he was waiting to see. Yet, he failed to see any person that even came close.

- Kyuhyun? - He finally took the guts to ask Donghae and Hyukjae.

They slightly shook their heads at him, their eyes telling him exactly the answer to his question. Neither of them could look Sungmin right in the eyes at this moment.

- Um... um... you know how he is... mm... he... - Hyukjae rambled on, his eyes still refusing to meet Sungmin's.

- He's probably hanging around with Changmin and Minho again. - Sungmin gave Hyukjae a small smile. He then shifted his eyes to the ground for a moment. Hyukjae did not know whether that smile had shifted into something else.

Then, Sungmin quickly turned to the palanquin, where the Royal was waiting for him. He took one last look at everybody standing on the main yard. All the people in his life. Everyone that he had loved and who had loved him. Except for one person. Or perhaps the reason that person was not here was because he never really loved Sungmin. His feelings were only unreturned, anyway.

The palaquin carried the small man out the main gate, into the busy streets. Then, it turned towards the woods, whose other side was the heart of Hanyang, the place where Sungmin would spend the rest of his life, with the people whom he had never known. The Royal Palace. Sungmin shut his curtains and stopped looking outside at the streets. Or, more particularly, at the people on the streets. He accepted what had come of the day, because this is what he had chosen to do. And he was to take responsibility for his actions and his feelings, just like how he was taught by his father and teachers. 

The sky was getting darker, as if about to rain.

It was going to be a long journey.

********

Kyuhyun could see the palanquin that was slowly getting out of the main gate, even at such a long distance. He could have gone to see Sungmin one last time. To look deep into those eyes again. To see that bright smile one last time as a single man. To ramble on and have Sungmin listen about some new types of soju that he heard only existed in other cities. To joke with Sungmin one last time about the ridiculous fishcake seller on the street who might have put them on his personal blacklist. To have someone listen to his casual singing. To kiss Sungmin on his eyelids. Just one more time. One last time. But he could not bring himself to. He knew that his reason would fail him when he stood before the other man and had those eyes smiling at him. He knew he would not be able to think of any words to utter to him. Any word. Even cursing. He would not be able to. He was even more afraid of what he would do if he was standing there in front of the other man, thinking that they could never be together. Would he burst into tears right there in front of everyone they had known, and just cry over his another loss? Or would he stand there and object to the King's command? Would he confess his feelings right then and there in front of Sungmin, his father, their teachers, and their friends? He did not know what he would do, and he was afraid to find out. So, he chose to stay away. Because if not, he would not be able to let Sungmin go.

Kyuhyun followed the palanquin deep into the woods. The sky was getting darker. Dark clouds were gathering up above his head. The wind was blowing more strongly on his face now. It gave chills all over his body. Every step he took was getting heavier, and heavier now. He did not know if it was due to the storm that was coming, or some other reason.

Then, suddenly,

One drop,

Two drops,

Falling onto Kyuhyun's shoulders.

Three drops,

Four drops,

On his face.

Five,

Six,

...

Until his face was soaked with rainwater. 

But some had tasted like saltwater.

The moment you left¹

The whole world turned its back against me

I'm wandering like a crazy person because i miss you

Where are you?

Just  like I loved you poorly

I'm sorry that this goodbye was done poorly too

Because I let you go without knowing anything

It's coming, it's falling

Between the torn sky

One drop, two drop, a spring shower

I'm drawing you out, calling out to you

As dawn falls like a rain

All night I'm in the rain

Under a paper umbrella.

I said I was okay

But I don't know if I can make it

But flowers still bloom on this street without you

Endlessly waiting

Just like I foolishly loved

Sorry that this goodbye was foolish too

Couldn't do anything but hold onto your ankles

It's coming, it's falling

Between the torn sky

One drop, two drop, a spring shower

I'm drawing you out, calling out to you

As dawn falls like a rain

All night I'm in the rain

Under a paper umbrella.

The Palace was visible before his eyes now. Blurry in the rain and the fog, but it was there. The palanquin, along with the Royal , stopped for a moment for the guards to check their identities. Then, swiftly, they took him with them.

And, as Kyuhyun felt clearly in his chest, a piece of his heart too.

********

Notes:

1. Yesung's song Paper Umbrella.