The Classics lay neatly sorted on his desk while Ryeowook watched the outside world slowly grow dark. Hours had passed since the discussion and since Jungsu had cheered him up, but he still hadn’t found the motivation to pick up any of those books again—or talk to his father more than the necessary words. A ‘just emperor’. What a laughable title!

When darkness had finally settled over the garden, Ryeowook grabbed his dark coat, hiding whatever light-colored fabric was on him beneath it before he stepped outside carefully, finding himself in the darkness between the rose bushes and cherry trees just a few steps later. He walked to a nearby bench that he had shown Kyuhyun the night before and sat down, waiting, breathing in the fresh night air. With gratefulness, he noticed once again that the flowers’ sweet scents weren’t quite as overwhelming at night as they were during daytime. His throat had begun to feel a little sore some time earlier, so he appreciated the night air’s crispness even more than usually.

“Little prince, you look troubled tonight.”

Ryeowook looked up, finding himself not surprised but rather used to Kyuhyun’s sudden appearance. The fire artist bowed towards him before he sat down next to the prince, his expression unreadable in the night. “A lot happened today.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Ryeowook shook his head, then he let out a sigh. If he could, he would ban any memory of this day having happened from his mind. “They’ll close the gates against the wandering artists one of these days. Whoever can’t prove that they have a residence in town won’t be let in anymore.”

“How will they do such a thing? You can hardly tell me that all the farmers will have some kind of proof for their residency.”

The young prince shrugged. “They said something about ‘proofs’ getting handed out starting tomorrow. I don’t know the details about that.”

“Why would they do that all of a sudden?”

“Can’t you guess it?” Their eyes held for a little before Kyuhyun was the first to avert his gaze, looking sincerely troubled. “You never told me where exacrly you’re staying. I’m guessing that you’re not staying inside town?” Kyuhyun had mentioned staying at an inn near the south gate, but by that point and with Kyuhyun's reaction in mind, Ryeowook somehow thought that to be unlikely.

Kyuhyun shook his head. “There’s a hunter’s hut that’s been unused these days, so I’m staying in that one. It wasn’t too difficult to find the owner, so I’m paying him a little bit for letting me stay there.”

“Why didn’t you come into town?”

“I told you that I’m sensitive to loud sounds, didn’t I? Where could I have stayed that wouldn’t hold long nights filled with lots of alcohol, laughter, singing, and whatnot.”

Ryeowook turned his gaze to the grass patch in front of his shoes. After all the overthinking and frustration from the day, he couldn’t muster the concentration to come up with a solution. Silence settled between them during which Ryeowook tried to think of a way to help, but nothing much crossed his mind. “Can’t you still move into an inn now? Or will you move on?”

“Moving on will hardly get you your private fire show, will it?” A hint of humor tinted Kyuhyun’s voice, but it was far from his usual good-natured mockery.

“With all the new rules and me being confined to the court, I’m afraid that won’t be possible anyway.” And so, he was back to the beginning of his confinement: no private show. No Minjeong. No Kyuhyun. “When you go, will you be safe out there?”

“I’ve been safe until now, I will be safe in the future, too. I’ve learned ways to cope with whatever may arise, so don’t worry about me.”

“Then you’ll probably be safer out there than in town, won’t you?”

Kyuhyun didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to: Ryeowook knew that it was true. “It will be lonely. I had been hoping to stay here for a little longer.”

“Growing attached to your patients?”

“Not as much as to you.”

Their eyes met and once again, Ryeowook couldn’t find the usual mockery in them despite the teasing smile. His heart gave a funny twist and his throat suddenly felt dry. “You shouldn’t say such a thing,” he whispered, regretting the words the moment they left his lips.

Before he could take them back, Kyuhyun’s expression changed and he looked away. “What are you, your maid? I know that I shouldn’t say such a thing, that it’s indecent of me.”

Ryeowook’s heart hurt and guilt dropped in his stomach. Suddenly, the night didn’t feel fresh anymore, but chilly. Hadn’t he still sworn on this particular day that he wouldn’t let his apparently useless education rule over him? “I’ll miss you when you’re gone.”

“You don’t even know me.” Kyuhyun’s voice sounded bitter, but something about that woke the prince’s pride and he turned to face the fire artist properly.

“Then tell me about you. Most of the time when I ask about you, you avoid my questions, so tell me instead. Tell me the things that you would have wanted me to ask about.”

Kyuhyun’s expression gave away his surprise before he could hide it behind a mocking smile that sent a rush of relief through Ryeowook—until he heard the answer. “There’s a lot that I can’t tell you about and so much more that wouldn’t be any use to tell you.”

“What does usefulness matter? Everything I have learned so far seems to be useless, so usefulness doesn’t seem to be the actually important factor regarding the obtainment of knowledge.”

“Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute. What happened?”

“What does it matter? You won’t answer me anyway. And also, it ‘wouldn’t be any use to tell you’.” Ryeowook turned away. His frustration and disappointment caught up with him again and he wished it wasn’t too late to seek out his brother for another cup of tea, but knowing Jungsu, he was probably already asleep.

The young prince rose to his feet nevertheless, braving himself for a final goodbye as he turned to Kyuhyun once more. From the strong whispers, his throat was growing more and more uncomfortable.

“Give me a few more days.”

“I don’t think you understood—you don’t have a few more days. They’re closing the gates. My father’s officials work fast enough, they’ll have everything done in two or three days. You said it yourself: what does it matter whether I know anything else or not?”

“Ryeowook.”

Why was his heart unable to take the other calling him his actual name? He had heard those syllables countless times, so why did it have to feel so different when Kyuhyun called him that?

Kyuhyun stood as well, not giving Ryeowook the chance to find out his heart’s reasons. “I don’t want to end things like this.”

“But you’re right. After tonight, we’ll go separate ways and probably never meet again: you said it yourself, you don’t normally return to places. So why change the ending?” Ryeowook had to avert his gaze, tears burning in his eyes at the thought of this being the last time they saw each other.

“Because I don’t want to regret meeting you. And I don’t want you to regret it either. Maybe you and I won’t have a lot of time together, but I at least want to give both of us the chance to remember this short time fondly. Is that too egoistic?”

Ryeowook’s first instinct was to yell ‘yes!’, but he took a deep breath instead, trying to calm himself. No, attracting the guards’ attention wouldn’t help either of them in this situation.

“So you will tell me more about yourself?” He had wanted to pose that as a statement, a confirmation maybe, but certainly not as a question. He shouldn’t want this as much as he did.

“Yes. I’ll tell you about myself. I’ll answer your questions properly.”

Hope rose inside Ryeowook at those words and excitement flared up inside him. Finally! There was so much that he wanted to know, so much that he just had to know!

“And then I will leave.”

The excitement instantly shattered into a million pieces. Coldness creeped into the suddenly empty space and Ryeowook sat back down on the bench, his legs feeling weak.

Kyuhyun sat down next to him and took his hands. “I know how that sounds. I know that it doesn’t seem fair. But believe me, it will be necessary.”

“Why?” Had the broken pieces of excitement scraped his heart and that’s why it was bleeding?

“Allow me a bit more time with you. Please. I’ll answer everything in a few days. I won’t avoid a single question you ask, I promise.” Kyuhyun squeezed Ryeowook’s hands, prompting the prince to look up, almost hoping to see the other’s eyes full of mockery or dishonesty—but neither was present.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

“I know. I don’t want to leave either. But I don’t have much of an option.” A sad smile played on Kyuhyun’s lips. “You’ll understand everything in a few days.”

Ryeowook’s throat felt tight, but he still refused to cry—that was nothing that a prince should do in front of people, after all. And with all the rules he was breaking just by meeting Kyuhyun, he should definitely at least stick to his etiquette.

“Isn’t it strange to live in a hunter’s hut?” he changed the topic, wanting to get back to safer territory. “I mean, you’re all on your own in the forest… I would imagine that to be scary, at least at night.”

“It’s not really scary, not for me at least. You see, I’ve grown very used to traveling on my own and to the night.”

“Your life sounds very lonely.”

“It is.”

Their eyes met once again and Ryeowook’s heart went out to the other. “Don’t you have a fiancée or a wife? If I’m not mistaken, we should be about the same age, and since I should have long since been engaged if not even married, I can only imagine the same to be true for you.”

Ryeowook couldn’t be certain, but he thought he saw a shadow ghost over Kyuhyun’s expression before the other could turn away, pulling his hands back in the same move. Suddenly, Ryeowook’s hands felt cold once again and he hid them in his sleeves to warm them.

“There was someone a long time ago. Before I became a wandering artist. But… I had to leave her in order to pursue this path.” Kyuhyun sounded conflicted and Ryeowook remembered that the other always tried to avoid questions about his past.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to bring back bad memories.”

“It’s okay. You couldn’t have known.”

“Then… what do you usually do? When you’re not performing, I mean. Since you’re sensitive to loud sounds, how do you normally spend your days?” Ryeowook tried to find a different topic, hoping that he didn’t overstep any boundaries.

“When I find books, I like to read, but since most of them are for high scholars, the sample that I can choose from is quite small.”

“How did you even learn Hangeul?” Ryeowook asked, quickly clasping a still hidden hand over his mouth. Did he just destroy the moment?

“The teacher who introduced me to the art of fire taught me.”

Ryeowook let out a breath of relief, dropping his hand after briefly rubbing it over his sore throat. “She must be a very wise woman if she can even read.”

“I wouldn’t call her wise. But she loved to… let’s say, acquire things. Knowledge, treasures… you name it.”

“What else do you do?”

“I told you that I like to help wherever I am with whatever work is needed. You’d be surprised how much you can learn by traveling like this. You learn many skills but also a lot about people.”

“Like that, it actually doesn’t sound too bad. Enduring the loneliness, I mean.”

“Sometimes, it can make you feel even more alone, actually. When you see everyone belonging together and you always feel new and like you can never belong.”

“I hope you’ll someday find a place where you can belong.”

“I’m rather thinking about a person whom I can belong to.” Kyuhyun looked into the distance and something about his expression clenched Ryeowook’s heart. He reached out to take the other’s hand and scooted a little closer, wanting to provide whatever comfort he could offer.

“I hope you’ll find a person like that.”

Their arms were touching, distracting Ryeowook from the thought of Kyuhyun being happy with his future partner, but sadly not from his aching throat. He rubbed it a little with his free hand. Maybe he should sneak into the kitchen and get himself a tea with honey before bed?

“What’s wrong?”

“Huh?”

“You keep on rubbing your throat.” Kyuhyun’s eyes pointedly stared at his throat for a moment before their eyes met.

Ryeowook felt heat rise into his head and he quickly looked away. “I think I talked too much or too loudly at the discussion today, so my throat is a bit sore from that.”

Even from the corners of his eyes, he could see Kyuhyun tense up immediately. “A sore throat.”

Ryeowook faced the other again and nodded with a smile. “It’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure it’ll be gone by tomorrow.”

“Ryeowook, with this disease—“

“I know.”

“No, you do not seem to know. All of those patients reported the first symptom being a sore throat which they didn’t think much of.”

“If my throat still feels sore tomorrow, we’ll call a doctor to check on my condition, okay?”

“Don’t you have any medicine that you can take tonight?”

“I’ll drink some tea with honey before going to bed. Really, Kyuhyun, don’t worry about me.” Ryeowook couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Kyuhyun obviously caring about him. “Tomorrow, my throat will be well again.”

“I hope so. And here I am, keeping you up and talking so much. I—“

“Don’t.”

Kyuhyun rose to his feet nevertheless. “I’ll leave you alone for tonight and you make sure to stay healthy, okay? Promise to see a doctor first thing tomorrow if your throat still doesn’t feel better.”

Ryeowook got up as well while he nodded. “I will, I promise.”

Kyuhyun nodded, maintaining eye contact for just a little longer before he took a step back. “Good. Stay healthy, okay? You have to.”

Ryeowook frowned a little at that statement but then pushed his confusion to the back of his head so he could flash Kyuhyun another bright smile. “I will.”

“Good. Goodnight, my little prince.”

“Goodn—hey!”

Kyuhyun was already gone, but Ryeowook still thought that he could hear a soft snicker from the darkness. He glared into the direction that Kyuhyun had disappeared into, then he turned around swiftly.

Careful not to get noticed, he slid back into his room and, once he was certain that no one would be able to find out about his nightly meeting, he opened the door towards the hallway, finding a guard who instantly stood at full attention when he spotted Ryeowook.

“I just want to get some tea,” Ryeowook explained himself sheepishly and the guard seemed to relax, motioning for the prince to go first. With a small sigh about not even being allowed to get tea on his own, Ryeowook went ahead to the kitchen to get his tea, adding a bit more honey than he usually would so that Kyuhyun certainly wouldn’t be able to scold him the next day!

He couldn’t help the smile that sneaked back onto his lips as he thought about the conversation he had had with Kyuhyun and how much the other had cared about his well-being. The memory warmed him from the inside while he waited for the water to heat, biting his lip to keep himself from humming in happiness: the kitchen staff was certainly asleep if the water didn’t wake them up.