The next day, Ryeowook fetched a messenger and ordered him to go to Minjeong’s family to bring them their son’s message and, in case that hadn’t happened yet, the news of their son’s death. During class, he couldn’t even fake to pay attention, his thoughts drifting off to Minjeong or Kyuhyun or the short moment during which both had been there with him. Kind of, at least. His brothers and Changmin were doing their best to cheer him up, but all of their efforts were in vain when Ryeowook found out that his two personal maids had already left the court the night before, the main argument being that they had let Kyuhyun get too close to him over and over again.

The days seemed to blur between his thoughts and the Classics, between sunlight and candlelight, between sitting at a desk and by his window, between staring at books and staring at the garden. He wanted to go outside and help, especially when he knew that his help was needed now more than ever! But no matter how much he begged, his parents refused him and all the maids, servants, and guards had been instructed not to allow him outside.

Changmin kept him up to date with what was going on outside the court walls, but that hardly managed to cheer Ryeowook up, torn between gratefulness for knowing what was happening and feeling even worse because he still couldn’t help.

His eyes were unfocused as he stared into the near blackness outside his window. The cherry blossom time was almost over, causing bouts of flowers to be blown into his room every so often, yet he couldn’t get himself to care. One of the Classics sat open in his lap, but his thoughts drifted from principles of good behavior to the world out there. Or, more specifically, to one person.

Was Kyuhyun still around? Had he left the capital by that point? Did he assume that Ryeowook had simply lied to him and ditched him? Did he even think about Ryeowook? Was he still helping at the hospital? Was he safe from whatever disease was going around? His lips curved into a small smile when he remembered the many sweet scenes he had witnessed between the children at the hospital and Kyuhyun and he sincerely hoped that the other was still helping out at the hospital, or that he at least cheered up the children there. And what if he had moved on? What direction would he go into? Maybe north and over to China? Or south? Or would he try his luck in Japan?

Thinking about China and Japan: he really had to get back to his studies!

Ryeowook sighed and lowered his gaze, trying to focus on the Chinese characters. Did Kyuhyun know how to read? He knew so much, so Ryeowook couldn’t be entirely sure. In general, there seemed to be so much about Kyuhyun that he didn’t know. He still wanted to know more about the other!

But that wasn’t possible anymore, as it seemed…

With another sigh, Ryeowook forced his focus back on the scriptures, trying to not only read the characters but also take in their familiar meaning. Which book was he reading again?

A small object crossed the edge of his vision. Ryeowook jumped and instinctively scooted away from the window. His eyes shot over to where the object had landed, identifying it as some kind of balled-up parchment. But that couldn’t be, could it?

He put the Classic aside and carefully approached the small object, lifting it. It was a bit too heavy despite its surface definitely consisting of parchment. He glanced towards the open window, then he unfolded the parchment, finding it wrapped around a small stone that had probably helped its flight.

The characters on the thin page confused Ryeowook at first, but then he realized that they had simply been written in Hangeul instead of the more frequently used Chinese characters. So the sender was probably either a woman or a man who was only trained in basic literacy and thus didn’t belong to the elite class.

Meet me outside. - Kyuhyun

Ryeowook stared at the characters. Read them again. And again. His heart fluttered and something between excitement and fear settled in his stomach. Kyuhyun? That couldn’t be, right? No, there was no way that Kyuhyun was able to get into court, even less so at night! But who else could it be? One of the guards? Yes, it had to be one of the guards. But had they learned how to write? Or maybe one of his brothers playing a trick on him. Yes, that was more likely.

But what if it’s not? a small voice in his head asked and his heart beat faster. What if indeed Kyuhyun had sent this stone flying into his room? Ryeowook should call the guards. No, he had to call the guards! This was a potential threat, maybe someone unauthorized was on court grounds and could harm all of them!

But what if it’s really Kyuhyun?

Ryeowook stared at the piece of parchment, waiting for panic to settle in, but all he felt was nervousness. Why wasn’t he as afraid as he should be? He looked back towards the window. If this was Kyuhyun…

All the possible outcomes crossed his mind and he knew what he should do, but his heart was pulled outside, away from the guards, away from the Classics…

As quietly as possible, he opened the door that led to the garden, closing it behind himself with shaking hands. His heart was hammering in his chest and he tried to take a few deep breaths of the fresh night air against the nerves, but all it did was to give his mind more time to come up with reasons why he shouldn’t be outside.

Ignoring the voice of reason, he turned to the garden and glanced around, listening for any sounds—whether form the one who had written him the message or from any guards who might have noticed the opening of his door. When everything remained quiet, he crossed a small passage of uncovered grass before he stood between the high rose bushes, flowers, and cherry trees, his eyes still adjusting to the darkness.

Something moved in front of him and adrenaline shot through him, his body tensing and ready to turn around and run.

“It’s me,” the other person, barely a silhouette against the darkness, whispered and all the tension left Ryeowook’s body. His knees suddenly felt weak and he wanted to cry and run up to the other person and hug him and never let him go…

“How did you manage to get here?” he whispered instead.

“That’s a secret.”

Ryeowook could almost see the other’s smirk, but his eyes had only managed to adjust enough to recognize the other’s silhouette a little clearer. “That doesn’t sound very trustworthy.”

“And yet, you’re here.”

“The guards would be here in a matter of seconds if I call them.”

“But I don’t hear you calling them.”

Ryeowook didn’t know how else to intimidate the other who called him out every time, but even the last worries dissipated when Kyuhyun finally approached him, coming to a stand so close that Ryeowook could finally see his face, the constantly messy nature of his hair, the always so tight-fitting black clothes that simultaneously hid and revealed the other’s muscular arms… Ryeowook didn’t dare to let his eyes go even lower, so he raised them back to Kyuhyun’s face, surprised to find a serious expression for once.

“Are you okay?”

The young prince nodded, taken aback by this question. “Yes, of course I am.”

Kyuhyun shook his head. “You seemed so distraught when we parted and then you suddenly stopped showing up… I thought you caught this disease.” His voice was so low that Ryeowook had to listen closely, yet the words were so unbelievable that he wasn’t sure if he really understood correctly.

“I didn’t. I’m okay, really. I just got my permission to help at the hospital revoked…” He looked away despite finding himself spilling the truth.

“Because of the disease?”

Ryeowook nodded. “That and…” No, he couldn’t tell Kyuhyun that he was one of the reasons why Ryeowook wasn’t allowed to leave court anymore. If anyone knew that Kyuhyun was right there… “I’m not allowed to leave the court anymore.”

“I’m glad.”

“What? But—“

“Ryeowook.”

A shiver ran down the prince’s spine at that one word and he realized that it was the first time that the other actually called him by his name, a so familiar and yet strangely new sound.

“I’m saying that I’m glad because it keeps you safe here. The hospital is overflowing with patients who are all showing the same symptoms…”

“You still work there?”

“I thought about leaving, but then I didn’t want to leave the doctor to face this challenge on his own.”

“But what about you?” Ryeowook placed his hand on the other’s arm, worry taking over. “What if you catch this strange disease.”

Kyuhyun shook his head. “I won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Shh, someone might hear us.”

Ryeowook shook his head and withdrew his hand, not even having realized that he had raised his voice. Both of them listened for a while, but when no one seemed to have heard them, Ryeowook continued his protest. “Kyuhyun, what if something happens to you? If there are so many people getting sick these days…”

“Don’t worry, I’m protecting myself according to the doctor’s instructions.” That mocking smirk was back to the other’s lips, evoking displeasure in Ryeowook.

“What?”

“I just think it’s funny how worried you are about me when you literally want to do the same thing I am doing right now.”

The prince opened his mouth to protest further, then he closed it and eventually looked away. What could he say in defense? Kyuhyun was right, after all.

“Nevertheless, please believe me. While I can’t tell you the details about how it’s possible, I can assure you that I will not be affected by the disease.”

Ryeowook met Kyuhyun’s gaze, searching for any signs that the other just said those words to comfort him, but all he could detect was the other’s honesty. If Kyuhyun did lie, he was either good enough at hiding it from Ryeowook—which shouldn’t be too hard, if the prince thought about it, since they still hardly knew each other—or the darkness obscured any signs. “Will you promise?”

“You’re quite worried about my health.”

Ryeowook took a step back at the amused tone, feeling anger well up inside him. Of course he was worried about the other’s health! But was he wrong to worry about that when Kyuhyun had literally broken into court to ask about his health? That was definitely more extreme than just asking!

“I promise, I promise. I won’t get sick.” Kyuhyun’s tone was serious again, so Ryeowook accepted the promise with a curt nod, letting his eyes wander to anywhere but the other man. “By the way, that boy’s parents came to the hospital.”

“Whose?”

“Min… something. The boy who…” Kyuhyun trailed off and Ryeowook was certain that the other did it out of heedfulness towards him.

“Minjeong.”

“Yes, that child. His parents were sad that they couldn’t meet you, so they asked me to convey their thankfulness for everything that you’ve done and for sending out a messenger with Minjeong’s last words.”

Ryeowook nodded, grateful that the message had reached the boy’s parents, hoping they were able to hold a proper funeral for their son. “I’m glad to hear that.” But thinking about Minjeong’s soul having left them, he also couldn’t help but remember all his so far unspoken worries regarding Kyuhyun. “What about you?”

“Huh?”

Ryeowook glanced at the other in confusion until he realized that he had never said his train of thought out loud and so the question had to seem very arbitrary. “Ah, I’m sorry. I meant to ask: for how much longer will you stay in town?”

Kyuhyun shrugged. “I don’t know yet. But I am hoping to help the doctor get the situation under control first before I’ll move on.”

The young prince couldn’t help but smile. “First you tell me how admirable my work at the hospital is and now listen to yourself.”

“You might have rubbed off on me a little. And maybe it’s not that much of a bad thing to see the world become a little better.”

“I know that you’re definitely making a change for those children and all the others whom you’re helping.”

“I’m not so sure about the adults, but I’ll agree with you regarding the children.”

Ryeowook shook his head in amusement, but there wasn’t much to argue about: while the children were usually well enough to be easily distracted from their pains, the adults didn’t go to the hospital so easily, and so only proper medical experience could usually help them get better.

“However, there does seem to be a certain adult who feels less miserable thanks to my presence.”

“The doctor?”

Kyuhyun snorted and quickly covered his mouth to hold back any further sounds. “Silly.”

“I’m not silly.” Ryeowook did his best to keep his voice low despite wanting to raise it, barely suppressing the instinct to glare at Kyuhyun, reminding himself that a prince did not do such a thing. Then again, a prince who held his position in high regard probably also didn’t sneak out of his room in the middle of the night to meet a wandering artist.

Struck by that thought, Ryeowook blinked and realized for the first time how strange his behavior really was. That he not only should have called the guards by the time that he had clues, but that he should have called them right away when that stone came flying into his room, that he should have done anything but sneak out to meet Kyuhyun. Had he gone mad to act so rashly?

“What’s wrong?”

“I shouldn’t be here.” The words escaped him before he could think about holding them back and he focused his stunned gaze back on the fire artist.

“That’s true. Neither should I.” Kyuhyun sounded calm, but the obviousness of his statement still surprised Ryeowook.

“This can’t happen again.” Ryeowook took a step back, but suddenly, Kyuhyun’s hand was around his wrist, holding him in place, tightly at first, then gently. He should be afraid. By that point, he really should. So why wasn’t he?

Slowly, Kyuhyun’s hand dropped away completely and Ryeowook stared at the spot where they had touched just a moment earlier, finding his heart heavy with the loss.

“Even if it is improper for me to ask… Will I see you again tomorrow night?”

Ryeowook raised his eyes to Kyuhyun’s and did the only thing that seemed right despite how wrong it was: he nodded. “But before you leave, you have to tell me how you manage to break into court.”

Kyuhyun diverted his eyes and took a step back. The prince immediately wanted to reach out, keep the other close, but this time, he kept his manners intact and stayed as he was. “I’ll try to tell you.”

“That’s not a promise.”

“Correct.” Their eyes met once again and this time, Ryeowook couldn’t resist but take a step closer to the fire artist who immediately took a step back. “Good night, little prince. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“But—“

Kyuhyun turned around and seemed to literally melt into the darkness. Ryeowook hurried to still catch the other, but Kyuhyun was gone, leaving only silence and shadows behind.

Ryeowook looked around, suddenly feeling creeped out by the darkness around him. He wrapped his arms around himself, suppressing a shiver that he wasn’t sure stemmed from the cold or the fear that had taken a tight grip on his heart. “Good night,” he whispered into the darkness, then he turned around, briefly double-checked to make sure there were still no guards around before he crossed the grass ring and snuck back into his room. He firmly closed both the door and the window, but his hands lingered over the shutters afterwards, a feeling of shutting out Kyuhyun as well taking a hold of him, bringing along a sinking feeling.

No. That was irresponsible.

Ryeowook’s gaze wandered through his room, quickly landing on the abandoned volume of the five Classics. He grimaced at the thought that he should technically study.

Letting his lack of motivation reign over him, he decided that it was time to call it a day, so he got ready for bed, carefully avoiding all thoughts that related to anything outside the court and past sunset. However, one thought still made it through his safety wall: what had Kyuhyun said earlier? Hadn’t he first mentioned taking care of his health like the doctor told him to before saying that he could tell Ryeowook how exactly he protected himself?

The prince sat in front of his mirror, stunned. That didn’t make sense, did it? If Kyuhyun was taking care of himself the way the doctor advised, why would he be unable to tell Ryeowook how he was doing that? Or was it in order to keep Ryeowook from copying that method so he wouldn’t try to sneak out?

Ryeowook glared at his reflection. No, that sounded like Kyuhyun had made a pact or something with the guards or his family. Which wasn’t unlikely regarding Kyuhyun had managed to sneak into court, but at the same time, it also didn’t seem likely.

He turned away from the mirror one last time that night, banning all his thoughts of Kyuhyun into the reflection world, yet the exciting feeling that had taken a hold of him earlier that night still wouldn’t leave him, making him buzz with the anticipation of the next night and too restless to find sleep easily.