Taehyung held in his breath till those lingering yet gentle footsteps washed out of his ears, eventually letting out a concealed sigh. A series of events took place, yet he had no clear view of what the eastern prince looked like or who he truly was. “I… This must be a dream… Did I just have a strangely formal talk with a royal prince? An interesting prince, to be fair…”

A grin playing on his lips, he led his horse back to the stable before entering the palace. “Father, may I enter? Oh, you will not believe what happened in the past few moments! Oh, it is such a great day today! Where is Namjoon-hyung? I need to confabulate about today’s occurrences!”, he exclaimed with a giddy smile.

The king, confused by the outburst of joy from his son, suppressed a chuckle and replied, “Save it for later, son. Head to your room, have your outfit changed, and prepare yourself for the royal feast. There are a lot of new experiences awaiting you, including a formal meeting of the royal families. That is definitely a first, is it not?”

Taehyung nodded and allowed his feet to himself to his room upon the king’s orders, with the servants following behind. “It is not truly a first…”, he confidently told himself as his mind drifted off to the thoughts of the incident at the garden, unaware of the servants’ puzzled faces.

Dressed in a blue hanbok embroidered with vestigial floral patterns along the bottom, bordered with a golden lace closing in on his chest, Taehyung looked at his reflection on the mirror. Adjusting a few strands of his hair, he exited his room and walked across the corridor to the main hall where all the royalties were to be seated.

“Oh… I sincerely apologise for my late arrival…”, his voice quietened out at the sight of everyone gazing towards him. The accumulated energy boiled out in an instant, feeling his father’s glare over his back as he bowed down.

“A bad impression already, it seems. Ah, come here, son.”

Taehyung’s ears perked up at the gentle tone and he waddled over to his father like a little boy, evoking a muffled giggle from one of the princes. He swiftly scanned the room and held in his breath as he spotted the prince of the Jeon Kingdom covering his mouth. Turning back to his father, he put on a smile.

“At last, meet my younger son, Kim Taehyung. It truly is an unfortunate matter that he wasn’t present during our previous summits, but I suppose he had his reasons… Now, let us begin the feast with hopes of working together, and bringing about a nation of goodwill and solidarity.”

The royal feast progressed smoothly as the kings conversed about their journeys and their suggestions on establishing a stronger nation – ambitions, plans, layouts and other aspects were discussed that they hoped to implement later.

The calmness of the room faded away as an exhilarated voice claimed, “I would like more of the goldongban please!”

A sigh left Namjoon’s lips as he gently nudged to his side, “Taehyung, behave well, will you?”

The other, scoffing at his brother’s response, heaved up his chest and poked at his bowl with his chopsticks. “I want more food… It tastes absolutely delicious, and why would it be a problem to have more? I just want a little more boiled rice, some chopped vegetables, shredded beef, and a small fried egg, sitting in my bowl, ready to be devoured! Therefore, I shall say it again, I would like another serving of goldongban! Hyung, you can share it with me!” Taehyung’s entire body radiated ecstatic joy, and while his brother and his father grew tense at his behaviour, the other royalties somehow grew to admire the bright soul.

“Ah, leave him be… It is not a problem to ask for more food, especially when the flavours are beyond delicious.”

The king of the Kim Kingdom eventually calmed down at the assurance of the other kings.

“You seem to be very fond of the ingredients. Do you, perhaps, take an interest in royal cuisine or cooking in general?”, the prince of the Lee Kingdom asked with a soft smile.

Taehyung, encouraged by the aforementioned smile, shook his head and responded with just the right amount of enthusiasm, “Cooking isn’t my forte, but I grew to admire traditional cuisine, especially with the chefs’ extreme efforts. Besides, when food is delicious, there really isn’t a need for a reason to be so fascinated.”

Namjoon forced a smile on his face, unsure of the true motives of the other royalties; he was ashamed of his brother’s behaviour, but there was nothing he could do at that moment. Similarly, the king tried to prevent the conversation from being focused on his son, but he was aware of how ill-minded his actions may appear, to which he decided to keep quiet.

After the royal feast, Taehyung sneaked out of his room and requested his servants to stay put. “I would really appreciate some privacy, so please do not send anyone after me. If… If my brother asks for me, tell him I’m asleep. Tell him I don’t want to be disturbed. I know he will be looking for me, especially after my fiasco today at lunch in an attempt to create a good impression… Ah, my head hurts thinking about it… Either way, I believe you all will do me this favour, so I shall take my leave.” His hushed whispers effectively convinced the ladies, accompanied by a charming air-kiss. Smiling at the muffled squeals of the ladies, he exited the hallway and quickly left the palace.

Tiptoeing across the paved path, he strolled out to the gardens and straightened his shoulders, no longer feeling the need to hide. “Good afternoon, mother…”, he smiled as he spoke. Approaching the large tree, he kneeled down and let out a sigh of relief. “The world greets you again, mother.”, he paused for a moment.

“The gardeners have been takin