The palace of king Wonjong is a beautiful and huge place. After all, every fish swimming in a river or sea in Korea belongs to him, every bird flying in the air is his and also lives of his many humble servants belongs only to the king. But there is one life about which king Wonjong would like to forget. 

 

Queen couldn’t have got pregnant for many years but then she finally gave birth to a son. King was overjoyed to have a son after so many years after he lost hope. 

 

Then one winter the little prince Yesung got seriously ill. His body was tortured with very high fever and then he woke up completely blind. His mother and father couldn’t have looked at their only child who was crippled for the rest of his life and slowly but surely pushed him away from them until they moved Yesung out into a small house on edge of the palace garden. It was cruel to leave an eight years old child alone in darkness but no one cared. Yesung needed a servant so the queen named Heechul, a servant with one crippled leg, in charge of taking care of Yesung.

 

Every day Heechul brings him three meals, other than that Yesung is alone. Heechul can’t stand the way Yesung begs him every night to stay but Heechul cant be with him. Queen knows everything and he can't break her orders or he is going to be punished hard.

 

Yesung is living in darkness and lonely, the only company is a small dog, Melo, who somehow got in this tiny house. It has one bedroom and the second room is used as his bathroom with a bucket that serves as his toilet and a wooden tub. Heechul needs to carry fifteen buckets of hot water from the palace reservoir to fill the tub so Yesung takes a bath only once a week. He doesn’t want to make Heechul’s duty even harder. Tonight he can have his regular bath and Heechul is scrubbing his back while Yesung washes the rest of his petite body. Heechul washes his long black hair and then dries Yesung’s body before helping him in a clean hanbok. Yesung eats dinner and gives pieces of meat and rice to his puppy. He is listening to the noises Heechul makes while he cleans the tiny house.

 

“I heard some music yesterday, the lantern festival is already here?”

 

Heechul sighs but confirms that the festival is here. He knows that Yesung would like to join the festival. He is blind but he is so lonely, he would do anything to spend just one day with people around him. 

 

“I will come just for a tiny, short time. Just a few minutes, please.”

 

Heechul sighs again and shakes his head.

 

“You know that it isn’t possible.”

 

Heechul’s heart hurts when he sees Yesung slowly hanging his head down. He knows that he can't leave this place but he still tries it. After Heechul left Yesung is alone in the darkness and silence again. Melo jumps in his lap and Yesung smiles a bit. He is the soft fur and Melo his hands a few times before falling asleep.

 

“Maybe next year ..”

 

There is nothing Yesung can do. He spends warm days sitting on the wooden floor in the outer corridor that wraps around the house and when it is cold he sits inside. But today the weather is nice and warm so Yesung can sit outside. He ate breakfast a short time ago and now he has to wait until lunch to hear someone’s voice but suddenly he hears some giggling. He knows that young servants make fun of him, they often come to the house to .

 

“Melo!”

 

Yesung is scared that one day they will hurt his only friend so he feels better when he holds Melo. However the puppy isn’t so fast as one stable boy who caught the small dog. The stable boy knows that he isn’t going to get punished for this, no one in the palace cares about the blind prince who is a disgrace for his family. 

 

“Come and get him!”

 

They laugh and Yesung got up. He isn’t sure where they are standing but he has to get Melo back. The servants parted and start to make noise so Yesung cant decide in which direction he should go. They creep to him and yell directly in his ears until Yesung fell down completely exhausted and confused.His knee hit  sharp small rocks which are lying on the yard and he feels drops of hot blood rolling down his leg. Yesung blinks away tears and tries to not whimper.

 

“I told you that it is fun.”

 

The stable boy let go of Melo and they left while laughing. Yesung slowly gets up and picks up his dog. He limps back to the house and sat down. His small fingers finds a hole in his hanbok on his injured knee and Yesung tries to dust off his clothes because he knows that he gets clean clothes only after bath. Yesung hissed when his fingers brush over the wound but he doesn’t know how to treat it. Blood is slowly running down his shin and he tries to focus on something different than the pain in his leg. 

 

Heechul is mad at the servants but he cant help Yesung. He can only carefully clean the wound on the slim leg and then wraps a piece of clean cloth around it. Yesung eats dinner and then Heechul tucks him in bed. Yesung blinks few times and listens to the frogs croaking outside from a near pond. Melo is snuggling to his side and Yesung his fur. Suddenly he hears loud singing and cheering coming from the palace where is everyone celebrating the festival. 

 

“We can sing too.”

 

Yesung starts to sing a song so the dark space doesn’t feel so empty but it isnt helping much. Nothing can erase the loneliness, not even the small puppy.

 

The only person in Yesung’s life is Heechul who is just a servant with crippled knee. They both don't know about anything outside the palace. They don’t know that an army is marching toward their small kingdom. 

 

King Siwon decided that he wants to extend his kingdom and nothing can stop him. After few weeks long military campaign Siwon and his army clashes with king Wonjong’s army and wipes them out. The palace isn’t protected by many guards and king Siwon easily marched inside and killed the king and queen. Siwon is going to stay in the palace for few months to be sure that the kingdom is truly his and there is no resistance. Heechul and other servants who promised to be loyal to the new king survive but the problem is that there are too many soldiers. No one knows about the blind prince and Heechul cant bring food to him. He waits if the soldiers become lax but after five days he cant wait anymore. He has to risk it and sneaked in the kitchen to take some food. He was almost out of the palace when guards caught him and bring him to the king. Siwon doesn’t understand why did the man steal food, after all he takes care of everyone who promised to serve him. Siwon is getting mad at this crippled man but tries to look like a righteous king.

 

“Why did you steal food? You are a servant, you are feed.”

 

Heechul shakes on the floor and bows so deep that his forehead is pressed to the cold stones underneath him.

 

“It wasnt for me.”

 

Heechul starts to cry because Yesung is probably dead anyway. Heechul isn’t far from the truth, five days without food pushed Yesung on the edge of death. He was never chubby, his slim body turned into a bag of bones and he lies exhausted on the sleeping mat. The puppy is whining in hunger and Yesung hugs the shaking little creature.

 

“Don’t worry, Melo. Heechul is coming, they are going to remember about us.”

 

Yesung his bleeding gums and lips and hopes that someone is going to come soon. Yesung is slipping in and out unconsciousness while shaking under a blanket. His body and clothes stink and the bucket he uses as a toilet is overflowing so the whole place terribly reeks. 

 

Siwon needs to know why Heechul stole food and the servant wants to show him the reason. The king let him take some food and walks behind him. They walk out of the palace and head toward a forest. Siwon put his hand on the hilt of his sword in case Heechul acts him. There is a small path leading through the forest and after a while a tiny house appeared in front of them on a small meadow. Heechul is walking as fast as his crippled knee let him and walks inside.

 

“Yesung?!”

 

Siwon hears nothing but then something small moved in the dark. Heechul lights a lantern and Siwon can finally see the room. There is almost nothing, only a sleeping mat with few blankets and a small table. Heechul put the tray with food on the floor and quickly pulls the blankets away. A petite male dressed in dirty hanbok appeared and Heechul quickly grabs him under armpits to sat him up. Heechul grabs the spoon and scoops the warm broth while also gently grabbing Yesung’s chin. Heechul brings the spoon to the prince’s chapped lips and Yesung quickly swallows. He is so hungry that he would like to drink the soup right from the bowl but Heechul knows better. Yesung would feel sick if he eats too much food and too fast. He is focusing on eating the food and doesn’t realize that there is one more person in the room. 

 

He hears someone’s loud breathing which definitely doesn’t belong to Heechul, the servant is silent no matter what he does. On the other hand Siwon has troubles to survive this terrible stink and also tries to find out who could this be. 

 

“Heechul, who came with you?”

 

The servant peeks at the new king and doesn’t know what to say. He has never lied but luckily Siwon is fast.

 

“I am a new servant and came to help Heechul.”

 

Yesung nodded and Siwon said that he is going to get few buckets of warm water so he can take a bath. Siwon is filling the tub while Heechul is cleaning the mess and Yesung is sitting in his bed and feeds Melo. After a while Siwon announced that the bath is ready and Heechul takes off Yesung’s dirty hanbok. Siwon caught Heechul’s glare but he isn’t going to look away from the fragile looking body. Heechul gently holds Yesung’s small hand and helps him to get in the tub. Heechul starts to wash the young prince while Yesung’s cloudy eyes roam around the room.

 

“What is your name?”

 

Yesung turned toward the place where is standing the new servant, at least he thinks that the man is standing there. 

 

“I am Siwon. And you are?”

 

Heechul wants to stop Yesung from saying who he is but that would be suspicious. 

 

“I am prince Yesung.”

 

Siwon raised his eyebrows and Heechul eyed the sword held on the waist. He doesn't know if he could fight with him, the man is taller and much more muscular so Heechul would probably lose. Heechul is scared that Siwon will kill Yesung right here and right now because Yesung is the  rightful heir of the throne. Heechul slowly wraps his arms around Yesung to shield him with his own body but Siwon doesn’t move.

 

Heechul finished bathing Yesung and then goes to get a clean hanbok. Siwon doesn’t understand it. If Yesung is a prince then why he lives here. And why he wears such old hanboks with many patches? Heechul dressed Yesung and then tucks him in the bed again before handing him Melo. Then they walked back to the palace and Siwon needs some answers. Like why is a prince living out of the palace.

 

Heechul told him how Yesung felt sick when he was a young kid and then woke up blind. His parents were ashamed that their only child and the heir is blind so they moved him out of the palace and everyone forgot about him. Siwon is glad that he killed his parents and sent Heechul away. Now he has to think about an important thing.

 

Should he kill Yesung? He is the only heir but he is blind and no one is going to support him if he decides to start a riot against Siwon. So what should he do? 

 

Siwon sits on the throne for the whole night and when morning came ..... he still doesn’t know what to do. At least he knows that he needs to spend more time with Yesung. He spotted Heechul carrying a tray with food and told him to give him the tray. Siwon is slowly walking and then walked out of the forest only to see the small house silent. He opened the door and walked inside before putting the tray down. Yesung sat up right after he heard the steps coming from outside and Melo jumped in his lap.

 

Siwon takes a bowl with rice and meat on top and doesn't know if he should feed Yesung like Heechul yesterday. Yesung solved this problem by raising his hand. Siwon gives him the bowl and a spoon and Yesung starts to eat while also giving some pieces of the meat to his puppy.

 

“Why did I get so much meat?”

 

Yesung is used to having meat only occasionally and just a bit but today the bowl must be overflowing with meat. This doesn’t make sense.

 

“I dont know, i just bring what they gave me.”

 

Yesung nods and scratches Melo’s belly. Siwon watches him eating and then Yesung silently raised his hand with the empty bowl. Siwon took it from him and Yesung stood up.

 

“You really don't know what to do, am i right?”

 

Yesung chuckled and sits outside.

 

“Just fold the sleeping mat and blankets.”

 

Siwon completes the task and then sat down next to Yesung.

 

“How many years are you living here alone?”

 

Yesung chuckled and patted soft fur of his dog.

 

“I cant tell apart if it is a day or a night, how can I recognize months and years?”

 

Siwon looks around the meadow and sighs. This place is so lonely, there is nothing and no one. Only Yesung is living here far away from everyone so they could forget about him. Siwon watches the small hands and long black hair which is slightly moving in the soft breeze.

 

“I could stay for a while if you want some company.”

 

Yesung looks happy for few seconds but then worries fill his eyes. 

 

“But you need to go back, what if they need you? You cant get in troubles because of me.”

 

Siwon quickly thinks about some lie and then says that the king and queen traveled somewhere so he isn’t going to get in troubles. Yesung smiles a bit but doesn’t ask where did his parents travel. He wishes so much to be with them but he knows that they don’t want him. His heart clenches when he remembers how many nights he cried for his mother. 

 

Melo barks at Siwon and Yesung smiles.

 

“Melo likes you!”

 

Siwon looks at the small dog who is barking but stays in the safety of Yesung’s lap. They silently sit there for a long while before Siwon needs to leave. He would like to spend more time with Yesung but he has to rule to this country. Yesung is sad after the servant left but he is used to being alone all the time. He scratches Melo behind ears and listens to the birds who are happily singing.

 

Siwon is trying to rule the country but it is hard when his mind keeps running back to the small house and Yesung. Siwon needs to focus on destroying every kind of resistance which could threaten his reign. He still occasionally manages to escape from his responsibilities and rushes to Yesung. Siwon always brings him so small gifts, usually food or some meat for Melo and it makes Yesung so happy. However today after two months of Siwon’s often visits, the king finds him frowning. Yesung doesn’t want to speak with him and gives him only short answers on his every question. After a while Yesung cant take it anymore and banged his small hands against the floor.

 

“I am not dumb! You aren’t a servant!”

 

Siwon is surprised by the sudden outburst and got mad at Heechul because he must be the one who told him the truth.

 

“Which servant carries a sword? I can hear it clinking whenever you move!”

 

Siwon looks at his sword and sighs. How could he be so stupid.

 

“Well i am a guard and ...”

 

Yesung hit the floor again and his blind eyes turned to Siwon.

 

“And your clothes? You are wearing silken hanbok, luxurious embroidered hanbok!”

 

Siwon doesn’t have a lie which could cover this fact and thinks that this is the best moment to say the truth. 

 

“I am the new king.”

 

Yesung knew that something happened to his parents. They never left the palace. Yesung wants to feel sad that they are dead but his heart is empty. The only problem is if Siwon will kill him too. Yesung doesn’t really care if he lives or dies. What is the point of his existence?

 

He is blind, alone and no one cares about him, no one will notice if Siwon kills him.

 

“What are you going to do with me?”

 

Siwon sat down next to Yesung and sighs again. He doesn't want to hurt him, no one knows about this blind prince so Siwon shouldn’t worry. His only worry should be the fact that Yesung is alone in this tiny house, far away from anyone who could help him in case he needs it. 

 

“Well, i think that you should live in the palace.”

 

Yesung is surprised that Siwon wants him to live in the palace. Everyone avoids him or makes fun of him and Siwon, the new king and murder of his parents, wants him in the palace? Yesung slowly nodded but says nothing. The next day few servants came and they collect the few things Yesung owns so they only take Yesung’s old clothes and Heechul grips his small hand and leads him toward the palace. Yesung is anxious, he hasn’t been here since he was a little kid. The palace is busy, servants are hurrying back and forth and there are many noises.

 

Heechul leads him somewhere and then told him to sit down. Yesung has no idea that they are in the king’s bedroom and sat down on a chair. Heechul goes to prepare a cup of tea for him and doesn’t know that the king is heading there to see Yesung who is slowly sipping the tea. He forgot how tea tastes because he always got only water so now he is holding the cup and slowly drinks. He can hear that someone is coming and waits if someone kicks him out of the palace. What if Siwon changed his mind? 

 

He hears rustling of heavy silken robes and knows that the king is here. Yesung gets up and stands unsure because he doesn’t know this place. He was able to freely walk around his tiny house because he knew it so well but the palace is huge and new for him and he doesn't want to break something. Heechul gently takes his small hand and leads him to Siwon. 

 

“I want to eat lunch with you.”

 

Yesung nodded and Heechul leads him behind Siwon who is walking in the splendid garden which is reserved only for the king. Servants already prepared a long desk for them and brought many plates and bowls with food and cups with drinks. Siwon starts to eat almost immediately and Heechul quickly left. Yesung is sitting there and holds Melo in his lap. He cant see the plates with food but smells it. However he doesn’t move to take something because he isn’t sure if Siwon wants him to eat. Maybe that he only wants Yesung’s company and he could get mad if Yesung eats. So he sits there with empty stomach and waits. Siwon is too hungry to notice but after a while he realized that the petite man in front of him doesn't eat.

 

“Why don’t you eat? You want something else?”

 

Yesung shakes his head no and slowly moves his empty hand to find some food. Siwon feels stupid for not realising this sooner and quickly moves a plate with dumplings toward Yesung. Melo barks so Yesung gives one dumpling to the dog and then also starts to eat. Everything tastes so good, he got the same food almost every day and now Siwon is giving him so many different meals. Yesung’s stomach is full but he would like to eat more. He can feel that Melo is also full and he put the dog down. Siwon is staring at him and tries to remember every detail on the perfect prince. Yesung’s feline eyes, his long black hair and snow white skin are making him look too perfect for this world. He looks like a fragile creature who could be killed by a breeze. Siwon smiles and for a brief moment feels happy that Yesung cant see him because the powerful king who killed so many people is blushing right now. Siwon told servants to take the empty bowls and plates away and left the king alone. 

 

Siwon takes few steps to get next to Yesung and carefully takes his delicate hand. 

 

“I hope you like living in the palace.”

 

Yesung smiles a bit and nods. He isn’t so lonely anymore, there are many people and many noises so he doesn’t feel so lonely. Melo is jealous and barks until Yesung picks him up. 

 

“What about a short trip? My favorite horse is bored in the stable.”

 

Siwon leads Yesung in the stable and the blind male frowns. This place stinks but at least he can hear the horses neighing. He hears Siwon softly speaking to his favorite horse and then Siwon grabs his hand again. Yesung yelped when his small hand touches the horse. He the mane and laughs when the horse turned to him and nudged his side. Siwon knows that this horse will never hurt Yesung, the animal is calm and never gets nervous. Siwon sat on the horse and grabs Yesung under armpits. Yesung froze in fear when Siwon picked him up and sat him on the horse. Siwon’s warm and muscular chest is pressed to his back and one strong arm wrapped around his slim waist. The horse is slowly walking and Yesung is starting to relax. It is still scary but Siwon is holding him so nothing bad can happen to him. The horse starts to trot and Yesung laughs in happiness. The feeling of soft wind playing with his hair and Siwon’s scent are making him dizzy and Yesung grips the king’s hand which is resting on his thigh. Siwon squeezed the delicate hand and smiles when the short fingers wrapped around his wrist. 

 

Siwon knows that he is a king, he has many responsibilities but he would love to spend the rest of his life like this. Yesung is laughing when the horse speeds up even more and after a while they reached a lake which is in the middle of the forest. The weather is warm so they could swim to cool down a bit.

 

Siwon jumped down from the horse and put his big hands on Yesung’s waist. He easily lifts him and put him down on the ground. 

 

“There is a lake, what about washing away dust from the journey?”

 

Siwon is already taking off his robe and Yesung grips his hanbok.

 

“I don’t want to.”

 

Siwon hesitates but he is really warm, he wants to spend just few minutes in the cold water. Yesung quickly ads that Siwon can swim if he wants to but the king would feel bad if he enjoys the cold water alone.

 

“There is a rock in the shadow of a tree. You could sit there and at least dip your toes in the water.”

 

Yesung is also hot, he is sweating and dipping his feet doesn’t sound so bad. Siwon sat him on the top of the big rock and took his shoes off. Yesung’s toes slowly touched the water and Yesung sighs in relief. Meanwhile Siwon walked in the lake and starts to swim. It feels great to be alone for a while, without having to deal with his many responsibilities. He can just swim and watches the blue sky above them. After a moment he swims to Yesung and unintentionally scared him. Yesung almost fell down when something touched his feet but Siwon quickly caught him. The king sat down next to him and watches Yesung’s small feet kicking in the water. He knows that they need to head back but he really doesn't want to.

 

They ride back and Heechul is already anxiously waiting for them. He has taken care of Yesung for so many years that he feels unsure now when Yesung moved in the palace. He doesn’t understand why Siwon treated Yesung so nicely. The king brought many new and pretty hanboks for Yesung, he wants only the best food and drinks. Yesung is slowly getting used to his new life in the palace and doesn’t know about worries of his servant and best friend Heechul. The servant doesn’t want to ruin Yesung’s happiness by sharing his worries with him. However the destiny is cruel.

 

One morning Yesung got breakfast and Melo was angrily barking until he got the first bite. Yesung sighs but smiles because the small puppy is so commanding. 

 

“Are you happy that you eat sooner than me?”

 

Suddenly Melo whimpered and Yesung quickly reached his hands down to the floor but Melo doesn’t run to him. 

 

“Melo!?”

 

The puppy doesn’t answer and Yesung starts to scream. A guard runs inside the room and sees the dead puppy on the floor. Heechul also stormed in the room and tossed the tray with breakfast away from Yesung. He is staring at the unmoving dog while the guard runs to inform the king. Siwon is usually calm and thoughtful but the news about the unsuccessful poison forces his blood to start boiling with anger. He immediately told the guards to gather on the huge yard in front of the palace and stares at the scared men and women who are shaking in fear.

 

Siwon promised that if the culprits confess then the rest of the servants and guards wont be punished but if no one confess then every one is going to be harshly punished. Siwon let them to stand there and goes to see how is Yesung doing. He found him crying on the bed and Heechul is trying to calm him down. He is promising him a new puppy but he keeps yelling that he wants Melo.

 

“There is no dog like Melo!”

 

Siwon is trying to stay calm, otherwise he would run to the yard and kill them all. Someone wanted to hurt him by killing Yesung but they only made the dangerous king mad. Siwon takes his sword and storms out of the palace. He looks at the servants and guards and stabbed one man who fell down dead. Now they will take this situation more seriously.

 

Yesung cries himself to sleep and doesn’t know about the drama which is happening  outside. The culprits confessed, two guards and a maid who works in the kitchen. She put a strong poison in Yesung’s breakfast and it was just a coincidence that Melo ate the first bite. Siwon locked them in the deepest prison cell and they are going to be tortured and executed for their crimes. This helped to calm down Siwon’s anger but Yesung is still depressed. Melo was his only friend, the small dog was always with him. And now Melo is dead. Heechul tries to cheer him up but nothing works. Siwon is bringing him the best delicatessen but Yesung is refusing to eat. A huge part of Yesung’s heart died with Melo. They were alone but felt happy because they were together. And now Melo is gone.

 

Three weeks passed and Heechul must force Yesung to eat a bit of soup or rice. The blind prince lost his will to live and there is nothing what could Siwon and Heechul do to change it. They try it but nothing works and Yesung looks like he is near to dying. Tonight the king silently entered his bedroom and stands next to the bed. He is watching Yesung and sighs few times before sitting down on the bed. Siwon gently Yesung’s cheeks, forehead and hair until the unseeing pair of eyes opened. Siwon is staring at Yesung who rubs his red and swollen eyes. Siwon caressed the fine black hair and then leaned closer until his lips brush against Yesung’s pink bow shaped lips. Siwon hesitates for a second but then kissed him. Yesung is shocked but then calmed down because of the warm feeling spreading inside his heart. He starts to sob because he feels bad that he is happy when Melo cant be here. Yesung wraps his arms around Siwon’s neck and pressed his face to Siwon’s chest.

 

“I love you.”

 

Siwon regrets it after the words slipped out of his mouth and coughs to cover it. He has never said such a thing, he was taught to be a rough and heartless man but now his heart is slowly melting. On the other hand Yesung is terrified. His mother and father also told him that they love him but after he became blind they simply erased him from their live and forgot about him. What if Siwon also stops loving him? Yesung is sure that then he would kill himself. Siwon feels how is Yesung shivering in his arms and wraps a blanket around his shoulders because he thinks Yesung is just cold. 

 

Yesung starts to cry again but not because of his beloved puppy but because of the vision of Siwon chasing him away like his parents did. He wouldn’t survive another betrayl.

 

Siwon tightly hugs him and starts to run his warm hand up and down Yesung’s back. He is waiting until Yesung stopped crying and then gently his puffy cheeks. Yesung sniffles few times and then raised his head so he can face the king.

 

“I believed that because of my blindness, i cant dream about a better life but now, with you next to me, i feel free for the first time in my life.”

 

Siwon feels the huge load of responsibilities landing on his back and gulped. He knows that he is holding Yesung’s fragile heart in his hands and if he fails then it will kill the petite prince. Siwon kissed Yesung again and smiles. 

 

“You are the first person who make me feel something.”

 

Siwon is a bit scared because this is the first time he can say that he cares about someone. And this is also the first time he can say that he will be gentle and careful about someone’s feelings.

 

The end