“Come in, son.”, the king answered to the knocking on the door. As Taehyung stepped in, the king rose to his feet and gestured his son to come closer.

“Taehyung, today is a special day for you, and I am sure you know why. In a while, the official meeting will commence regarding the unification of the kingdoms. Now, I was slightly disappointed in your behaviour during the feast but I will not scold you for being yourself. I would never tell you to stop smiling, to stop expressing yourself, to stop enjoying your life, but I’m afraid I will have to advise you this time. For the love of God, do not cause any form of disturbance throughout the meeting. We have important matters to discuss, and you may observe and ponder upon our suggestions. However, do not comment upon anything at all unless you are directly questioned to do so. In fact, as this will be your first ever summit with the royal families, I permit you to leave the room halfway through. Clearly, you will not find joy in our talks. Therefore, you can exit the hall after staying for a while, perhaps to show respect to the others. Is that clear, son?” The king had his hands placed on Taehyung’s shoulders as he spoke in a gentle tone.

“Yes, father. I will not disappoint you this time.”, Taehyung said softly as he looked down.

The king, surprised at his son’s words, replied honestly, “You have never disappointed me, at least not after I’ve become a better person. Now, go on. Prepare yourself for the summit.”

The summit was initiated shortly after sunset, once the royal families returned from their tour across the kingdom, guided by Namjoon himself.

“Settle down, gentlemen. I shall now begin our conference.”, the king declared in a bold and affirming voice before taking his seat. “I suggest we voice out the issues in each kingdom and how the unity can tackle those problems, before we move on to the preparations for the union. Do I have the agreement of all here, or shall we proceed in a different path?”

Taehyung’s ears immediately muted out his father’s voice as he let his eyes wander across the hall. On each side of the throne in which the king sat, were floor mattresses and wooden tables accompanying the cushions. There were the kings of the two kingdoms and their sons, as well as his brother, and a few other ministers of the Kim Kingdom. He leaned back and tapped his fingers on his table, only to be stopped by his brother who sent him a glare from across the room. Holding in a chuckle, he leaned forward and finally brought his attention to the critical points that the kings were discussing, followed by the ministers’ responses.

“Your Majesty, as I have been communicating with the royal knights of the Jeon Kingdom in these years, I’ve come across the issue of lack of weaponry and armaments after the war. I suggest a new trade route to our neighbours of the south for more artilleries in exchange of textile, which I can assure you, has been produced in bulk amounts for the past few years. This trade can only be successful if the carrier ships of your kingdom can be temporarily used.”

Taehyung’s ears perked up at the voice and he shifted in his place to see which prince had decided to speak up before the others; he widened his eyes at the sight.

Gulping down heavily, he wondered if the prince he was seeing was the same as the one in the royal gardens. He appeared to be strong, confident and elegant during the meeting, while in the gardens, Taehyung could see nothing but a soul with a desire to build friendships. Shaking off the thought, he focused on the miniature cups filled with water that sat on the table, but found himself drawn towards the prince.

“Oh…”, he whispered to himself and prayed that it was inaudible to the others.

During their encounters, he didn’t have the courage to directly look at the prince for long enough to be able to memorise his features. He was awestruck by the beauty of the other; from his brown orbs that glimmered with the light’s reflection, to his sharp jawline that complemented his rounded cheeks and his plump, cherry-red lips, highlighting his perfectly curved eyebrows, yet it wasn’t the enticing features of his face that intrigued Taehyung, for the latter found something unique and touching in their short encounters; Taehyung felt warm and relaxed in their conversations, and it was more than just a shock, for he never felt truly happy in the royal gardens. It was a place where he revealed his hidden sorrows, yet Jungkook’s presence minimised the pain in his heart – he knew that Jungkook had something in him that made him feel that way.

“I understand your concern, Prince Jeon, but would it not be rather peculiar and unusual of us to trade with the ones that defined the war?”, the king refuted with utmost respect.

While Jungkook kept his head low deep in thoughts, the others murmured to themselves.

“I don’t think so, father.”

Attention spiralled towards the response, and the owner of the words stiffened in place. “Father, almost four years has it been since the war, and I’ve grown these four years and so has everyone, and so has the nations. It would be morally wrong of us to treat the southern kingdoms as outliers. Every nation grows, every leader changes. We are all aware of the southern kingdoms’ new leaders and their new councils. Certainly, we cannot hold a grudge against their actions. In fact, is it truly the current leaders’ actions that we seem to have strong hatred for? It most definitely isn’t, and I believe that the new trade will be a new page to a new chapter of our stories. We can mend the damage caused between our bonds. If this trade is allowed, we may build stronger connections between the four regions and stand together united. Of course, we are far from creating a unity with the southern kingdom but I believe this is a reasonable start. After all, the war was simply a misunderstanding and we are stronger than letting one communication error ruin what we had in the past.”

Silence fell upon their shoulders as the speaker’s reasonings were absorbed. Exhaling a deep breath that Taehyung didn’t know he held in, he abruptly stood up. Bowing to the others with a flushed face, he excused himself, “My apologies, but I will have to leave. Please disregard my departure and continue. Thank you.”

“Oh, what have I done?” Taehyung walked in a hurry along the corridor till he found his personal servant. “Oh, Seolhee-noona, a disaster I have caused, a disaster!”, he pouted as he entered his room with the young att