It was raining, Myungsoo noticed. The grounds of Obscurans were damp, cold and wet; a mirror of the castle’s mood. Not that Obscurans was a cheerful place to begin with anyway. It had been dark and dreary in his hometown for as long as he could remember, when the queen ruled it with an iron fist and dark magic.

The queen was gone now, drained of her powers and trapped in her prison. Ruling in her place was her only son, her protégé, Myungsoo. Well, trying to rule was the more appropriate term. The evil in Obscurans had fallen, and the villages had already been rebuilt, but Myungsoo still felt like he hadn’t done enough.

He wondered if anything he did would be enough, considering that he had been so ignorant of his mother’s deeds for so long. It was like walking on a tightrope and waiting for his fall.

“Are you going to keep brooding?” Sunggyu stood at the entrance of the throne room, unimpressed as Myungsoo stared out the window.

“I’m not brooding.” Myungsoo cringed at his own unconvincing tone, getting to his feet once he sees two figures making their way towards the castle. They weren’t expecting visitors… especially not with this weather. “Hyung… there are people coming.”

Sunggyu was besides Myungsoo immediately, rolling his eyes once he sees the figures as well. “Idiots.”

“What was that, hyung?”

“Nothing.” Sunggyu stepped away, reaching out to pat the king’s (He was still the little prince in Sunggyu’s eyes, even after all this.) head. “You stay put. I’ll see who it is.” Myungsoo opened his mouth to protest, closing it as Sunggyu left.

He might have continued to ponder (he was not brooding, thank you very much), when Sunggyu returned about half an hour later, bowing a little more formally. “Your Highness, Prince Howon of Flora wishes to have an audience with you.”

Wait, what?

“What?” Myungsoo’s eyes widened, but he recovered his composure quickly enough, trying to keep his poker face on. It wasn’t working. “I mean—very well. Permission granted. Send him in.”

Howon wasted no time in entering the room, hair wet from the rain but thankfully dressed in dry clothing. He bowed politely, eyes boring into Myungsoo’s own. “Your Highness.”

The formality of it all didn’t sit well with Myungsoo, who promptly blurted out, “Did you eat something weird? You’re never that formal.”

“I heard you’re the king now though.” Howon flashed a small smile at him, almost like those romance mangas from Earth Sungyeol had once brought back home. “I wanted to give my well-wishes…”

“It couldn’t wait until the rain stopped?”

“Not at all.” Howon grinned, and this wasn’t fair because Myungsoo had a thing for nice smiles and Prince Howon’s face and arms and personality, which was definitely not royal behavior. “The king and queen’s wishes for negotiations with the King of Obscurans can always wait. My interests in making sure Kim Myungsoo is safe though? They definitely can’t, especially when said person takes off in the middle of the night after several months in Flora. The only news I hear of him is through Woohyun because he does just about anything to see Sungyeol.”

Myungsoo groaned at that, flopping down on the throne and making a face when his meets the hard seat. Yep, this throne was going to be thrown out first thing in the morning. Maybe he can conduct his royal businesses while lying in bed… “You’re the worst.”

“I’m the worst because I worry about your well-being?”

“Yes!” Okay, Myungsoo was getting very confused. “I mean, no—I’m actually happy you worry about me—wait, do you even remember what happened eight months ago when I kidnapped you and ripped your heart out so I could help my mother get her revenge on King Woosung and Queen Soohyang?” Who just so happened to be your parents? Myungsoo added silently.

Howon merely snorted at that, expression amused. “In vivid detail. I also remember you giving it back and coming to your senses about your mother then helping me escape. You also ended up saving my entire family and an entire country from being destroyed. Are you sure we’re remembering the same chain of events?”

Myungsoo rolled his eyes, sinking further into his seat. So much for being an imposing and intimidating figure of authority. “I left because I didn’t want to mess things up. I know my mom… she made a lot of people suffer, especially your parents and… I don’t want you to get into anything bad because of me.” This was difficult… expressing himself like this. It had been easier when he was younger, but time and his reality had taught him that emotions made people vulnerable and he couldn’t afford to be vulnerable.

Howon didn’t say anything, just looked at him for a long moment before he took a few steps forward, walking until he was right in front of Myungsoo. He leaned down and Myungsoo tried very hard not to blush because wow, Howon was so close—

Only so he could flick Myungsoo’s forehead, the king yelping in surprise. “Yah—what did you do that for?!”

“You’re an idiot,” Howon said bluntly. “If you think that I’m going to leave you here to turn brood over mistakes that aren’t even yours. You’ve stopped your mother, you’ve done everything you could to repair the damage. Isn’t it time you did something that you wanted for a change?”