"...and nine... and ten. Ok good job, good job.." The trainer patted the crossbar of the heavy weights as they were being set back down onto the stand. He watched the tall sweaty man sit up then scoot back to lean against the crossbar and breathe heavily. A fond smile crossed the trainer's face as he moved around the bench to drape a towel over the tall man's neck. "I know you hate arm day, but it's really paid off."  

The tall man raised his head to look at the trainer and smirked. "Yeah, you know that better than anyone."  He subtly swept his eyes around the room before looking at the trainer. "Especially when we work out.. together.." 

The trainer pursed his lips as he fought against a smile. The tall man took this as a challenge. "Or do you want me to remind you..?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows and his lips as he leaned towards the shorter man.

"Chan- Your Majesty!" the trainer hissed, his eyes wide as he quickly looked around the room before letting his shoulders slump. "You can't joke like that, Chanyeol..."

"I don't call bench pressing one hundred thirty-five pounds a joke, Baekhyun." 

"You know that's not what I meant. And tell me why again, it is that you insist on one hundred thirty-five pounds every time?"

The tall man leaned over closer to the trainer. "Because that's two-thirds your weight." 

The trainer blushed. "And your point is..?" 

"When I lift you, you're doing about a third of the work.." the tall man grinned. "..cuz' you also hang on."

"Cheeky er.." the trainer scoffed with mock annoyance as he moved closer to stand directly in front of the tall sweaty man.

"Byun Baekhyun..!" The tall man acted shocked. "Talking like that to a royal? Are you trying to offend the crown prince?" He grinned as he put his hands on the trainer's hips. 

The trainer rolled his eyes as he grabbed the towel on both sides hanging around the tall man's neck. "Something tells me he's ok with it.." The trainer's words drifted off as he bent to let his lips connect with the grinning man. The two engaged in a heated lip lock but broke apart after a few seconds. They moved a little apart out of habit, struggling to keep the matching soft affectionate looks from their faces. 

The trainer looked down briefly, composing himself, then looked up with a sigh. "Ok that's enough working out for today. Go hit the showers before your assistant sees us and tells the world about us."

The tall sweaty man grinned as he stood up, wiping his forehead with the towel around his neck. "I don't think he'd blab.. He doesn't want me to tell anyone how close he is to Mother's personal assistant."

"Oh?" The trainer's eyes widened even as he moved back to give the other more space. "Are they getting serious?"

"Join me in the shower and I'll give you all the gossip.." The tall man winked and tried to move closer to the shorter man.

"Ohhh no no. Something tells me what you want to give me wouldn't be gossip.." the trainer smirked. He put his hands out and pushed lightly on the tall man's shoulders, turning him to face the opposite side of the room. "We'll save that for another time. Go on now.. I still have to wipe down all the equipment." 

The tall man chuckled and started to amble towards the shower area. As if on cue, the doors at the far end of the room swung open and a tall handsome young man with sculpted eyebrows carrying a clipboard in his hand came striding into the large room. "Your Highness.. Your mother has asked that you come see her as soon as you've finished cleaning up from your workout." 

"I do the cleaning up, Sehun. The prince is just here to work on his guns." the trainer said sarcastically. The prince turned back towards them, lifted his arms, and deliberately flexed his sweaty muscles.

The newcomer rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just get your royal guns clean and go see the queen as soon as possible. She's anxious to talk to you about something."

The prince dropped his arms and whined. "First my trainer and now my own assistant... I don't get any respect around here."

"Sir, I respectfully ask that you get your into the showers before I get my chewed out by your mother.. Sir!" the assistant said, using his clipboard to gesture towards the shower area.

"Alright alright.." the prince grumbled but grinned as he began to back away. "You seem stressed Sehunnie.. are you getting enough ual attention from Junmyeon?" 

The handsome assistant spluttered indignantly. The trainer quickly turned away and began wiping down the workout equipment in an attempt to hide his shoulders shaking in silent laughter. The prince's own laughter echoed as he walked around the corner into the showers area. 

The assistant huffed then his heel and headed back towards the door. As he grabbed the handle to open it, he called back to the trainer. "Baekhyun. Please make sure he doesn't have one of his famous 45 minute showers. The queen really is anxious to talk with him."

The trainer looked over with a reassuring smile. "I'll rush him along. You can count on me."

"Yes I always can." The assistant smiled back. "That reminds me. Next week will mark nine years you've been working for the royals. Congratulations on your tenacity." The tall man gave a brief bow then left the room. 

The trainer blinked in surprise. "Has it been that long?" he said absentmindedly to himself.  "Wow.. I guess it's true that time flies when you're having fun." 

 

Nine years ago Byun Baekhyun was in his final year at university making decent grades as he worked on finishing his degree in Sports Medicine. He had a part-time job working as a personal trainer at a mid-priced franchise gym in the neighborhood near his apartment. He was well liked by the clients and staff, and he had a close brother-like relationship with his boss, Minseok. They were so close that the older man had already given his word Baekhyun could work full-time at any of the four locations that were under the gym franchise once he graduated.

One regular work day the university student happened to be walking by the glass front doors of the gym when a large SUV with dark tinted windows pulled up into the parking lot. A tall guy wearing a tracksuit, dark sunglasses, and a baseball cap that accentuated his large ears climbed out of the vehicle. This wasn't so strange, but what got Baekhyun's attention was the three bodyguards that also climbed out of the vehicle and surrounded the stranger as he came into the gym carrying a backpack. The guy took off his sunglasses and the university student was pleasantly surprised to see the man was very good looking. Baekhyun tried not to stare as the handsome man went into the changing area and one of the bodyguards went into Minseok's office. Within two minutes the boss stepped back out of the office and walked the bodyguard over to Baekhyun. The university student was informed that the tall stranger would be working out at the gym for about a week and had requested a personal trainer to assist him. Minseok insisted Baekhyun was the best for the job since he was well experienced with the machines and exercises, a trustworthy and fairly private person, and was close in age to the stranger. 

Baekhyun agreed with little reluctance, a bit of confusion, and huge curiosity. But he kept his questions to himself and properly assisted the stranger with a full workout that day. Although a bit on the thinner side, there wasn't a lot of fat on the man's muscular body, and he took to the workouts like a fish to water. In fact, the stranger had liked having Baekhyun help him with his workouts enough that the man came back again every day for five days straight, always checking what Baekhyun's work schedule would be for the following day and booking a full two-hour session with him each time. The only reason the man didn't have Baekhyun help him a sixth day was that was the university student's day off.

The handsome stranger had asked Baekhyun to call him Loey, and after four days had even exchanged phone numbers with the slightly confused yet capable part-time trainer. They had talked a bit during the workout sessions, so Baekhyun already knew Loey lived at home, and had one older sister and loving parents. When Loey also told the university student that his family owned a hyperactive black poodle, Baekhyun laughed delightedly and told Loey about his own family's easily excited welsh corgi. The whole time he was talking, the trainer didn't realize the handsome guy wasn't able to concentrate on what he was saying for watching his beautiful smile and thinking Baekhyun resembled the cute dog that he was speaking of.

On Baekhyun's day off Loey sent three text messages and two pictures that Baekhyun didn't get to open until the end of his day. The texts were random, happy greetings, wishing Baekhyun a good day and good eating on his day off. The pictures were of the black poodle as the main part of the shot. Baekhyun cooed over them and saved both pictures in his phone in a private file. Although secretly attracted to the guy, he still didn't know what the man did for a living to need three bodyguards, but he figured Loey deserved his privacy. Baekhyun also didn't want to put himself in harm's way if the tall handsome guy turned out to be connected to mafia or something else shady like that, so the private folder made perfect sense. 

On the day after his day off, Baekhyun arrived at the gym for his usual late-afternoon shift. As he headed to the front door he passed a long black limousine with dark tinted windows. As soon as Baekhyun walked into the building, he noticed two familiar looking bodyguards standing outside his boss's office door. 

One of the men called his name, so Baekhyun walked over with a smile. The man smiled back briefly and opened the door to the boss's office, gesturing for the trainer to enter. Baekhyun tried to bow politely as he went into the room, but the small office felt crowded with the amount of people inside. Minseok sat at the desk, another bodyguard stood next to the plush chair opposite the desk, and a well dressed petite woman sat in the plush chair. As Minseok greeted Baekhyun warmly, the woman turned around - and the trainer about fell over in shock.

Baekhyun didn't read newspapers or gossip magazines, and he rarely the news on TV, but he had seen pictures of the king and queen as he scrolled past news items on his phone. And this was most definitely the woman in those pictures.

"Y-Your Majesty!" the trainer said as he bowed deeply.

The woman smiled. "Mr. Byun. I have heard good things about you and how you have been helping my son." she said graciously.

Baekhyun looked up in shock. "Your- your son?" His head turned back and forth between the queen and the gym owner, looking for confirmation. There had only been one guy that Baekhyun had been helping in the past week and although he had thought through all the possible identities of the handsome stranger, this honestly had never crossed his mind.  "You mean- he's.. the crown prince?"  Although he hadn't seen any recent pictures of the royal family, the trainer knew the king and queen only had one daughter and one son. And apparently the good looking man with the bodyguards and the unknown backstory that he had been helping the entire past week was actually a prince.

"So you did not know." The comment was given as a statement, not a question.

Baekhyun felt the need to confirm it anyway. "No Your Majesty.. I had no idea. Forgive me."

The queen smiled. "There is nothing to forgive. I can see that both my son and your boss have been honest with me. This is wonderful! You will be perfect." 

The trainer shot a panicked look to his boss then looked back to the royal guest. "I- I don't understand. I will be perfect...for what?"

Minseok gave his favorite part-time worker an apologetic smile. "It seems the queen wishes to take you away from me."

By now Baekhyun felt more in the dark than he had ever been in his entire life. He looked back and forth once again between the queen and Minseok with a confused look on his face. The queen laughed lightly at the befuddled university student. 

"Allow me to explain. The prince's duties will be increasing over the next few years, and he did not feel it fair to his bodyguards to have a weak helpless person to guard. The prince made the decision to have a gym to be built for him, so while it was under construction he decided to come here and work out. He has enjoyed his time with you and has expressed a desire to have you continue as his personal trainer."

"Did...he not have a personal trainer before?" Baekhyun asked hesitantly.

The woman smiled. "He had been working out with the captain of the guards, but they were often in the way of the other guards that needed the space to keep up their own workout regimens. That is why he decided to have his own gym built. And you are now firmly in his wishes to carry on with his workout regimen in his own gym." 

Baekhyun's boss leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk as he gestured to the trainer. "It's up to you.. but I'm sure the equipment in the Prince's gym will be the best available. I always said you were meant for greater things and this is a wonderful opportunity for you..!" 

"But I'm still in school. Surely there are others that are much more qualified than me..?" Baekhyun protested weakly. 

"From what my son has told me, you are more than qualified to continue in the manner in which you have been helping him all this last week. You would obviously need to continue to go to your classes and finish earning your degree, but it makes sense to me that you could easily do that while also being Chanyeol's personal trainer." the queen replied.

"Chanyeol.." the trainer said quietly, testing the name on his tongue. His boss and the queen both looked at him with curiosity, so he explained. "He told me his name was Loey.."  

The bodyguard spoke up. "That's the name the crown prince chose as his code name when he's out in public, Your Majesty." he explained to the queen, but obviously for the other two in the room to understand as well.  

Baekhyun took a deep breath before addressing the queen. "Your Majesty.. If it's not too much to ask, I would like to take a couple of days to think about your offer. I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity, but it would mean significant changes to my life and therefore I don't think my decision should be made in haste."

The queen nodded. "You are as honest and forthright as my son said. I think it is wise of  you to not jump into your choice. I understand you have Chanyeol- I mean Loey's phone number?" 

"Yes Your Majesty." Baekhyun gave a slight bow and smiled at the implied joke.

"I will leave it to you to contact him when you make your decision. He wanted to come with me today, but he had other obligations to attend to. I believe he has business tomorrow as well, so even though my son is eager to have you take the position, you will at least have these two days without him pressuring you to accept." The queen smiled back at the trainer with an extra twinkle in her eye. Then she stood and turned to the gym owner. "Thank you for allowing me to visit here today. I appreciate your time and generosity."

"The pleasure is all mine, Your Majesty." Minseok said, standing and bowing to the queen. Baekhyun bowed as well, as the bodyguard opened the office door and escorted the queen out of the gym. The two men stood looking out the window, watching as the queen and her bodyguards got into the limousine and then drove away. 

Baekhyun looked at his boss. "That..was.. ..surreal." As the strangeness of the situation and their left-over nerves washed over them, the two men burst into giggles. Soon they were full-on laughing, Minseok leaning over his desk and Baekhyun sinking into the plush chair the queen had sat in earlier. As if on cue, Baekhyun's phone chimed with an incoming message. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked it, then turned it towards his boss to show him the message. 

'Please say YES'

 

It took three days of trying to politely ignore Loey's messages while thinking things through for Baekhyun to make his decision. There would be a lot of pressure to do a good job. After all, he would be partially in charge of the prince's health. But he knew he would never have a better job offer after graduation. So after talking things over with Minseok, Baekhyun accepted the offer of being the crown prince's personal trainer.

The university student continued his classes, so he only spent about four or an occasional five days a week at his new job. Although he was nervous at first, he found his time with Chanyeol was easy and relaxed, picking up where they had left off from the first week they spent working out together. Observers in the palace could tell they got along very well, and their workout sessions were soon filled with endless fun conversation and inside jokes. Baekhyun continued to call him Loey, only rarely using the prince's real name. 

The gym was down at the end of a long hallway in the family's private quarters in the palace. It was a large room that had floor-to-ceiling mirrors on three of the walls. Three large windows faced a large inner hallway of the palace, a side locker room had two deluxe showers, and the main area was filled with the best exercise equipment money could buy.

The thought crossed Baekhyun's mind that he might have to leave all this behind someday, and he didn't know if that would be harder on his body or his heart. He and the prince were becoming very comfortable around each other, and Baekhyun was aware his relationship with Chanyeol seemed to occasionally resemble exactly that - an actual relationship.

Baekhyun tried his best to not let his emotions get away from him, telling himself that he had no right to have any romantic feelings towards the crown prince. The trainer was determined to be realistic. The times that felt more intimate between them were obviously products of his own imagination. There was no chance of any romantic relationship developing. There was no way the prince had any romantic feeling toward him. In the non-existent possibility that he did there was even less chance of any relationship surviving in the circumstances surrounding the two men. Baekhyun resolved himself to silent one-sided pining and bottled-up emotions.

 

Five months after taking the job he was one day away from getting his degree but still no closer to confessing his pent-up feelings for the handsome crown prince.

 

The day after Baekhyun's graduation he arrived at the palace for a regular workout session. As he made his way through the long corridors to the private gym his mind was filled with the events of the day before.

Mr. and Mrs. Byun had traveled into the "big city" to attend the ceremonies, sitting with Minseok in the family section of the audience. Baekhyun's former boss showed his vulnerable side along with the graduate's mother, both of them shedding proud tears when Baekhyun's name was called as one of the graduates with top honors.

Baekhyun had been surprised to see two of the royal bodyguards sitting in a corner of the balcony of the university's large auditorium where the commencement was held. The main reason he noticed them was because they cheered just as loudly as his parents when Baekhyun's name was called. He reacted by smiling and waving politely, but once the ceremonies were finished the bodyguards were nowhere to be seen.

Minutes after leaving the university to go to dinner with his parents, Baekhyun had received a text message filled with emojis from Loey.  Little man in a graduates cap emojis, celebratory streamer emojis, proud face with the tissue emojis, and clapping hands emojis all made sense and drifted around in Baekhyun's head long after his parents had dropped him back off at his own apartment later that night. The one emoji of the red heart at the end of the message had been a surprise that made the new graduate's own heart jump, but he quickly convinced himself it had been a slip of the finger. The prince obviously hadn't proof-read his own text before hitting the "send" button. 

The next morning Baekhyun met his parents for breakfast before they left the city to go back home. After hugging his parents goodbye he made his way across town to the palace and by 10am and he was in the private gym, waiting for the prince to arrive for their scheduled session. Having already changed into workout clothes, Baekhyun decided to listen to music with his headphones and jog on the treadmill for a warm up as he waited. 

A little over five minutes later the trainer noticed movement over his shoulder so he stepped off the treadmill and took his headphones out. As he turned around, his intuition was confirmed.  Chanyeol stood leaning in the doorway, looking handsome as ever in dark jeans and a white button-down shirt.  He had a hand behind his back and a fond look on his face.

Baekhyun smiled back as he walked over to his gym bag and pulled out a small towel to wipe his slightly sweaty forehead as he tried to calm himself. It wasn't the exercise that had his heart racing and he knew it. He turned back around to the prince right as the man pulled his hand out from behind himself to reveal a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  Baekhyun gasped.

"Congratulations Graduate!" the prince said, the fond look never leaving his face as he walked over and handed the flowers to the trainer. "I hated not being there, but Jongdae and Yixing took a couple of pictures for me."

"Oh that's quite alright! I don't think it'd be a good idea for any royal to attend a regular university graduation." Chanyeol's shoulders sagged a little at his words, but Baekhyun didn't notice as he continued. "I admit I was surprised to see your bodyguards in the audience but they left before I could thank them for being there."

"So..it wouldn't make you happy to see me there?"

The prince's suddenly pouty face made the trainer melt a little and he found himself being quick to protest. "No! I'm always happy to see you- I mean.. I-"

"I'm always happy to see you too, Baekhyun." The prince responded with a small smile. He reached out and grabbed one of the trainer's hands. "I really like spending time with you. I wish- I mean.."

Baekhyun was surprised at the unexpected skinship, and his face flushed a light pink. "Loey.." 

"Chanyeol. Please.. I want to hear you call me by my real name. " 

"I... " Baekhyun's pink got deeper, and he struggled to control his fluttering heart. He took a deep breath as he looked at their joined hands, then looked up at the prince. "Chanyeol."

The young royal seemed affected by hearing his own name, and his face matched the trainer's in color as he spoke. "I like spending time with you."

Baekhyun cocked his head slightly. "Yes, you said that.."

The prince seemed determined about something and he squared his shoulders before speaking again. "No.. I mean- what I meant is, I want to spend time with you more."

Baekhyun's heart was beating double-time but he didn't want to misunderstand what the prince was saying. He decided to be safe in his response. "Well, you know I'm done with school now so we can work out more often." 

"Yes, but that's not exactly what I meant.." The prince shook his head, seemingly a little frustrated with their miscommunication.

Baekhyun cocked his head in question. He didn't want to hope, but something told him the conversation was going where he really wanted it to go.

Chanyeol looked at the trainer with his face completely red now, but his expression earnest and his heart obviously on his sleeve. "I like you, Baekhyun. And I think you like me too. At least I hope you do. And I hope you want to spend more time with me too. Because I really do..like you. I'm serious. I want.. I mean.. Do you..? I'm rambling. I knew I would do this. Is any of this making sense? I hope you don't hate me now. I'm just-"

As the prince was speaking Baekhyun dipped his face in the bouquet of flowers, but after Chanyeol mentioned his own rambling the trainer couldn't help a nervous giggle. The sound made the prince stop his anxious speech and he looked hopefully at the pink-faced man. "Please tell me what you're thinking.."

The trainer paused for a moment. What he was thinking was that he might be dreaming, but he didn't want to miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime chance. He lifted his head, smiling at the waiting man. "I'm thinking... you need to figure out which of your bodyguards you trust to book reservations for you when you take me out to dinner." 

Chanyeol's shoulders relaxed in relief and he smiled widely at the man still holding the flowers. "Don't worry. I've already talked to him about it."

"You talked to your bodyguards about me?" Baekhyun's eyes grew big. "Oh dear... do I even want to know about the conversation?"

"There has been more than one conversation.. and no I don't think I want you to know the details because that would be too embarrassing for me!" the prince shook his head as he blushed harder.

"Ohmygod you're serious!  There has been more than one conversation about me..!" Baekhyun blushed but still teased the red-faced man, shaking their joined hands for emphasis as he spoke. "You had a crush on me, didn't you?"

Chanyeol smiled and shook his head. "Not had. HAVE. I have such a crush on you. Ever since the first day at Minseok's gym, when I first saw you I was distracted by how handsome you are. And that whole week you were so dedicated in showing me how the exercises should be done. I had to let you show me everything yourself because watching you made me forget how I had done most of them before when I used to work out with Kyungsoo."

Baekhyun blushed through his amazement. "Oh my..."  He was very familiar with the workout regimen of the captain of the guards.  Over the past couple of months Kyungsoo had joined them for a workout a few times in the prince's private gym. Although short in stature, the captain was very strong, compactly muscular, and determined in nature. He also had a deceptively quiet persona that hid a warrior spirit. It was hard to believe the prince would forget what Kyungsoo had taught him.

But Chanyeol was always honest and didn't lie, so even though it was hard for Baekhyun to believe, he realized what the prince was saying had to be true. Evidently the tall royal actually liked him.

 

Chanyeol proved he wasn't lying later that week. He showed up at the trainer's apartment with a single red rose and sincerely thanked Baekhyun for agreeing to go out with him. Then he took them to a small Italian restaurant that was skilled at helping celebrities have as normal a dining experience as possible. 

As they sat in the secluded booth Baekhyun was nervous and unsure how to act, but he recognized the prince was also nervous, so he tried for the both of them to relax and be himself.  Pretty soon both men were enjoying the food and enchanting atmosphere, laughing and talking like they always did. 

 

The next day during their workout, Chanyeol was concentrating on his leg muscles.  In between weighted lunges he thanked the trainer for the previous evening and politely asked if they could go out again. Baekhyun lost count of the lunges but managed to agree to the date through his blushing. 

The prince celebrated by doing an extra set of reps.

 

Later as the trainer rode the bus towards his home, he stared out the window but his eyes weren't really watching the scenery.  Instead, the prince's big pleading eyes and sweet words kept going around and around in his head. The same words the prince had used to convince him to become his trainer.

"Please say Yes" 

 

Agreeing to a second date soon lead to a third and then a fourth.  By the time he was waiting at his apartment to be picked up for their fifth date, Baekhyun had already decided he would let his heart enjoy this whole experience. If his heart was to be broken, he would at least have these lovely memories with the prince.

But after realizing it had been over an hour-and-a-half past the time the prince was to pick him up, Baekhyun wondered if he might have made the decision a little prematurely. There had been no texts or phone calls from Chanyeol or even the couple of bodyguards that knew about their growing relationship. He was worried and he was also feeling a bit hurt. But even though the trainer had been working at the palace for almost a year, he was a civilian and wasn't going to try to contact the palace on his own. It wasn't his place.

Baekhyun sent a quick text to the prince telling him that he understood if something had come up and to just text him later. He went to his bedroom and changed into comfy lounging clothes, then went to the bathroom and washed his face. Then he went to his kitchen and made himself a cup of hot tea, before heading into his living room to sit curled up on his couch with the TV remote in his hand, ready to watch something mind-numbing as he wallowed a little in his self-pity.  

Three hours later Baekhyun woke up curled into a tight ball on his couch.  He was a little disoriented but realized the reason he had woken up was because of a steady knocking on his apartment door. Baekhyun rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he walked to his door.  It was the middle of the night, but glancing through the peephole he suddenly felt much more awake. He yanked his door open.  A tall figure stepped through and almost as quickly the door was shut and Baekhyun found himself being hugged tightly by the crown prince. The man's large hand was cupping the back of his head and his other hand had a firm but comfortable grip on the trainer's ribs through his worn-out T-shirt. 

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I had no way to get out of it. Please don't be mad. My uncle is prick. He insisted I attend and made it impossible for me to leave any sooner. I'm so sorry. I-"

"Chan- hang on.. " Baekhyun's words were muffled by the crown prince's shirt and he had to push hard against Chanyeol's torso to lean back. But he regretted it as soon as he was able to look up at the prince, since the taller obviously took that action to mean that the trainer didn't want to be in his embrace. The look of dejection was clear in the prince's eyes, and Baekhyun found himself quick to want to change that. "No.. Nononono.. Don't look at me like that. It's OK. I'm not mad. I understand things happen. Come on." he took the prince's hand and began pulling. "Let's go sit down and you can explain everything to me more clearly." Baekhyun guided them to his couch and sat down, still holding the hand of the crown prince while smiling up expectantly at him.

Chanyeol sat down beside him on the couch with a tired yet affectionate look on his face. "I'm so glad you're not mad. It was so frustrating for me and I know it had to have been for you too. I'm sorry I left you waiting with no explanation."

Baekhyun made shushing noises as he reached up to brush a few strands of hair away from the prince's forehead. His hair gel had obviously been put in hours before that and was starting to give way after the exertion of the day.  "Tell me what happened..?" the trainer asked carefully. Civilian or not, he deserved to have some sort of explanation as to why he had been stood up. 

The prince took Baekhyun's hand and intertwined their fingers, slowly playing with them as he spoke. "OK.. So I don't know if you know this but my uncle is the ambassador to Singapore. He has stayed there for the last three years using our government money to live like he's on vacation. So Dad decided to bring him back and make him give an update on the relations between our countries so Uncle will actually have to do something legit for a change. But instead of waiting to do this officially with Parliament like he is supposed to, Uncle went behind Dad's back, telling the staff it was approved and arranged a big dinner with traditional food from Singapore. He called it a 'family reunion' and sprung it on us at the last minute late yesterday afternoon. I actually had my phone out to text you and try to reschedule our date, but Uncle made a fuss about 'disrespectful kids' and went on about it for almost ten minutes in front of the staff and everything. Mom and Dad kept quiet because they know the more attention Uncle gets, the worse he gets. Yoora had plans too but she couldn't even get a word in edgewise to argue our case. Uncle only stopped when he took his first bite of food and by that point we all had full plates served in front of us. Yoora and I could only eat and otherwise keep our mouths shut the rest of the dinner, and there were FOUR courses!" 

Between the prince's long rant, his own frustration over the prince having been taken advantage of, and being increasingly flustered over the unexpectedly intimate hand holding, Baekhyun could feel his face turning red and he was having a hard time breathing. "That- that is horrible! I am so sorry you had to go through all that." 

Chanyeol looked down at their laced fingers. He gently ran his own thick fingers over the delicate ones in his grasp."The whole time I could only think about how frustrated I was that I wouldn't be able to see you today.  But.. I did a lot of thinking while I was dealing with the boring 'family reunion'." 

"Oh..?" Baekhyun was breathless by this point. "And.. what did you think a-about?" he struggled to keep his voice from breaking.

The prince stopped fidgeting. "I thought about why I was so disappointed. And I thought about what it was that I really wanted."

"W-what you..really want..?"

"Yes.. Baekhyun.." Chanyeol bent his neck a little to look the trainer in the eye. "I really want you to be my boyfriend."

The pretty flush on Baekhyun's face was now three shades deeper but he couldn't help his amazed reaction as he looked up at the prince. "Can- I mean.. Is that.. possible?" he asked. 

His obviously flustered question made the prince chuckle. "It is if you agree to it.. I really do like you, Baekhyun... so much. Be my boyfriend, please?" 

The trainer only took a minute to think before he grinned bashfully. "Well... since you asked so nicely.." 

 

From that night on, Baekhyun's private file of pictures and texts began filling up his phone rapidly. Selfies and candid shots of the two of them during their times together were his prized possessions. He increased the security on his phone and password protected everything he could to ensure their privacy. Their texting increased to daily comments about things that they each saw and thought about when they weren't together, and their secret dates continued. Baekhyun insisted the dates be limited to once a week or less, just to make sure they didn't raise outward suspicion or interfere with the prince's duties.

However, the number of workout sessions in the private gym increased and proved extremely helpful in strengthening their bond. Although the captain of the guards joined them a few times, generally they were alone together in the gym, and the interactions were not always innocent. Sweaty bodies and bulging muscles as they worked out made the air thick and hot, both figuratively and literally. The in the gym proved motivating for both men to workout and show off for each other, building their bodies and their endurance. The outward results of this caused the public to begin referring to the crown prince as the "Buff Heir".

The showers after their workouts also proved beneficial. More than once Baekhyun mentally thanked whoever was in charge of making the whole gym soundproof so that he didn't have to feel so self conscious about voicing how good his boyfriend made him feel when they were alone there. 

The prince's bedroom however wasn't soundproof, and neither was Baekhyun's apartment. So the couple made use of extra pillows and blankets to muffle sound when needed, and they were always careful to be aware of their surroundings especially during private times. The prince and his trainer enjoyed each other's company as much as they could get away with but both men grew to dread the alarm on their phones as they limited their time together in efforts to not raise suspicions about their "friendship".  A fuzzy picture of the two on one of their few dinner's out had surfaced on social media sites, but an anonymous source helped identify the "mystery man" as "just the prince's trainer", and both men wanted to keep it that way. The public adored their “Buff Heir”, so the meal-time photo was easily disregarded.

 

Baekhyun had been working at the palace for about a year and a half when the queen invited him to join her and the family’s black poodle the next day for afternoon tea in the gazebo at the corner of the royal garden. Although the request was made casually, the trainer knew an order when he heard one. He accepted, arriving the next day in his dark blue slacks with pale blue button-up which perfectly complemented the queen's dress made from a material covered in small dark blue flowers. Any nervousness Baekhyun had when he reached the gazebo disappeared as he found himself petting the royal family dog while enjoying conversation with the queen, discussing different types of flowers and their meanings. Baekhyun also told her about his idea to start an online health blog. She fully supported the idea and asked that he be sure to tell Chanyeol's sister about his plan, since the older sibling was wanting to adopt a healthy eating campaign as one of her public causes. Baekhyun assured the queen that he would be happy to speak with Yoora whenever her schedule allowed.

As the two drank tea, munched on shortbread cookies, and played with the black poodle, the palace photographer approached and took a few pictures. The queen explained to the surprised trainer that she liked to have casual pictures of all the trusted employees of the palace. Baekhyun hadn't heard of this before, but he didn't voice any doubts to the generous and caring woman that had given birth to his secret boyfriend.  

Later that evening Baekhyun told the prince about how the tea time went and the somewhat impromptu photo session.  Chanyeol was delighted to hear about both, but told the trainer that he didn't know his mother had such a tradition. They agreed it was harmless and decided to not worry about the pictures. The queen was a carefully private person and didn't allow any public photos that would put herself or any others in a bad light. Baekhyun mused that she probably had a personal photo book with lots of pictures that she didn't share with the world, just like he did with the private folder on his phone.

 

While the prince slowly increased his public duties he still continued his secret relationship with his trainer and as they got to know each other better the months seemed to fly by. The prince became very skilled at sneaking out of the palace in disguise so that he could get to his boyfriend's side for their dates. Most of their dates were spent at Baekhyun's apartment, where the trainer would cook some of the prince's favorite foods or they would order takeout from their favorite restaurants. Although the trainer would make all the arrangements for the food, they took turns paying for it and enjoyed good-natured bickering over who was the better gentleman. They enjoyed long conversations and they watched shows and dramas on TV, watched movies on Netflix, and played cards and board games. 

Increasing their time together meant they could also increase bedroom activities. Both men became very inventive on where they left hickeys and marks on each other's bodies, learning each other's sensitive spots without leaving traces that were seen by the public. Inevitably the inside jokes and private conversations between the two increased to include keywords and phrases that only Baekhyun and Chanyeol knew what exactly they meant. 

Since they also saw each other at the palace, it wasn't necessary to go out for their dates very often. They couldn't risk the public taking notice of their increased time together. There were a couple of times they were in danger of being discovered, and this led to a few arguments and several tears, but neither man could ignore their heart.  Both were cautious about their situation, but they took time to talk things through and each time they both decided they couldn't live without each other. As difficult as it was, they didn't want to let the other go.

Plus, the make-up was always hot and memorable, so that made things even sweeter.

 

Two years passed before Baekhyun's parents came to their own conclusions that he was involved with someone, and that someone was an important figure. They invited their son home for a nice dinner, and between the main course and dessert explained that although they didn't need to know who this person was, they trusted Baekhyun to do what was best for himself. They would support him whatever his decisions for his love-life were as long as it made him happy. The trainer felt so overwhelmed with their love and support that as soon as he got back to his apartment he got the prince's help in arranging to give his parents a vacation at an expensive hot springs resort. The boyfriends had enjoyed a private weekend there just months before, so the trainer knew his parents would love the location and accommodations. It was at that very resort that the boyfriends first verbally acknowledged that they loved each other, so choosing that location made the gift even sweeter for Baekhyun.

 

Before they knew it, Baekhyun and Chanyeol had been together for four years, and the public was still none-the-wiser. It seemed almost crazy how the media was so off-the-mark in their occasional speculations about the love life of the “Buff Heir”.  Along the way, however, it had been necessary to tell a few people the truth. They made the decision after their one year mark to let the captain of the guards in on their secret.

Two weeks after making that decision the prince invited Kyungsoo to join them in the gym, and then the boyfriends explained their relationship status. They told him that they wanted him to understand why they wouldn't always want him to join them in working out there in the future. Kyungsoo laughed understandingly and told them he had been suspicious of them for a while but that they weren't overly obvious and their secret was safe with him. Well, him and Yixing and Jongdae. The other two guards had been there from the start and had witnessed the spark between the prince and his trainer, so they claimed it was no surprise to them when they learned that the two men were finally officially an item.  It turned out that Yixing was the one the prince had spoken to at the very beginning about his crush on the trainer.  It was also Yixing that had picked up the one hundred pink roses that Chanyeol gave to Baekhyun for their first anniversary. The secondhand embarrassment caused by the florist gushing over such a romantic gesture by the "cute young gentleman" had the guard flustered for days afterwards. 

Most of the guards joked that Chanyeol was obviously addicted to working out since he would become cranky and frustrated when he wasn't able to have his workout sessions regularly.  Chanyeol secretly agreed he was addicted, but the addiction was actually to his boyfriend. Whenever the prince was too busy to meet up or had to go out of the country due to royal obligations, he and Baekhyun would text throughout the days that they were apart and at the end of the days they fell asleep watching each other as they talked on video call. 

Just after the four year mark of being the trainer's boyfriend Chanyeol had made the decision to hire a personal assistant. Sehun was only three years younger than the prince and was very efficient and professional, but his almost constant presence at the palace made things harder for the boyfriends to get away with private moments.  To compensate, Baekhyun began sending the prince daily pictures of his hand with his pinky up. It was their secret code that they had "pinky promised" that they really loved each other.

 

One day, towards the end of the fifth year that Baekhyun had been working in the palace, and four-and-a-half years of being the prince's secret boyfriend, the queen stopped him in the hallway to talk. She warmly yet politely asked the trainer to join the royal family the following month on their annual vacation to go skiing in the Alps. She explained that the resort they would be staying in had a very nice gym. The trainer could continue to help her son with his workouts while they would be there for the two weeks, since he hadn't had a chance to have as many workouts the previous month due to an increase in royal obligations. Baekhyun accepted the invitation but also warned the queen to not expect too much group participation from him since he didn't know how to ski. The queen laughed and said that Chanyeol could teach him how to snowboard instead, since that's what the crown prince preferred. She reassured the reluctant trainer that he would blend in perfectly with the small group of guards that always accompanied the prince, and the public wouldn't know the difference when they all wore their snow suits and protective gear. She also made a point of reassuring the trainer that the prince would have no royal obligations during the vacation and therefore his assistant would not be coming along on the trip. Baekhyun wasn't given a chance to question the queen's choice of words before she was bustling off to take care of other business. 

When the prince arrived for his workout later, the two shared a quick kiss then Baekhyun brought up the conversation he had with the queen just an hour prior to that. Chanyeol was ecstatic that his boyfriend would be joining the family vacation, but he agreed that his mother's reasoning had a slightly suspicious feeling about it. He immediately texted Kyungsoo and asked him to come to the private gym. Very soon the captain of the guards came through the door. 

The prince was quick to greet him. "Kyungsoo, we may need some help."

"Of course, Your Highness. How can I be of service?"

"My mother asked Baekhyun to join the family on our Alps trip but her wording makes it seem like she wants to catch us off guard. I don't know what she suspects, but I don't want to make this hard for any of us and the media doesn't need to catch wind of anything either. You know Baekhyun and I don't wish to disclose our relationship for now. But Mother is a smart woman. I refuse to give up my happiness just because I happen to be born a royal."  Chanyeol's words had his boyfriend gasping in amazement and he clutched the prince's arm in an affectionate gesture. The captain looked thoughtful and nodded understandingly.

Chanyeol gave Baekhyun a soft smile then looked back at Kyungsoo and continued. "I know Yixing and Jongdae are going as part of the security detail. Can you make sure they are aware of this development and help as much as they can? I don't want to make this stressful for Baekhyun when this is supposed to be a fun vacation." 

The captain smiled a rare heart-shaped grin and he nodded. "Don't worry Your Highness. We'll do everything we can to keep Loey and Puppy safe from prying eyes. It's time to let Jongin in on the secret tho, since he's the one that always goes along as your decoy." 

"-Puppy?!" Baekhyun interrupted questioningly. "Is.. THAT my security name??"

Kyungsoo chuckled. "Don't yell at me... Chanyeol chose it!" he pointed at the prince.

"Soo! You're supposed to protect me!" Chanyeol protested, laughing and slightly cowering as his boyfriend's grip turned into light punches to the prince's bicep. 

The captain just laughed more. "You're on your own here, loverboy!" He pulled his phone out and sent a quick text. 

Chanyeol caught Baekhyun in his arms in a tight embrace to keep him from continuing to flail at him, and they enjoyed a giggling hug. Right as the prince leaned down to peck the smaller on the forehead, the gym door swung open and a tall handsome tanned guard came into the room with a look of amazement on his face. "Well that explains a lot." he said with a grin. 

Baekhyun tried to quickly step away from the prince, but his boyfriend kept a firm arm around the smaller's shoulders as he spoke to the guard. "Yes. Well now that you know, we need you to understand how much more important it is that you do a good job being my double on vacation next month."

"Oh is Puppy going with us this time?"  The guard's words were met with an indignant shriek from the trainer and chuckles by the captain and the prince. 

"Nini, Mr. Byun isn't fond of his code name." Kyungsoo laughed as he turned to Baekhyun. "My apologies...This beautiful buffoon is Jongin, and he also happens to be my husband, so don't worry about tattling on him -- if he messes up he pays for it double." the captain grinned mischievously. 

"Soo~!" the handsome tanned man grabbed the captain's hand and shook it as he whined like a little boy. 

Baekhyun turned to his boyfriend with amazement. "So THIS is why you knew we could trust Kyungsoo to keep our secret? Wow... nobody tells me anything.." 

"Don't feel bad. I had to keep your relationship from my own husband all this time. Do you know how hard that is?" the captain shot back in mock accusation. The trainer and prince both giggled at his words.

Jongin snapped his fingers and pointed at his husband as though in realization. "Actually, this is perfect! The inner circle knows we're married so if these two are spotted by the others at any time we can just say it was us!" 

Chanyeol nodded in agreement. "Our heights are pretty close.." He looked at his boyfriend who was already smiling up at him. "This is gonna be my favorite vacation yet..." 

Baekhyun grinned. "Does this mean I get out of having to learn how to snowboard?" 

"Ohhh no. You need to learn in case someone asks for a demonstration of your new skills. Plus it's really fun! You'll see.." the prince reassured his boyfriend. 

The trainer huffed. "Well, don't think I'll go easy on you on your workouts while we're there then. You need to make up for what you missed lately."

Chanyeol turned to wrap his arms back around Baekhyun and leaned down a little. "Well,... now that you mention it-"

"ANNNDD We'll be going now! Thank you for the important update! Come on Nini, we should leave these two alone to continue their..um.. workout." Kyungsoo grabbed his husband's hand a little tighter and began pulling him to the door. Jongin giggled loudly and gave a little wave to the couple as he let the captain pull him from the room. 

 

As expected, the trip to the Alps was a fun-filled time for the crown prince and his trainer.  When on vacation the royal family always treated their entourage as their family, with all meals and conversations being relaxed and happy for everyone.  The royal family enjoyed taking time off from all their official duties as the whole group spent their days on the slopes. It took a few tries but Baekhyun did eventually learn how to snowboard. Although the trainer complained that he didn't do it well, the prince contradicted that by showing everyone a recorded short video on his phone of the trainer's new skill.  

The room assignments at the winter resort were on a private wing with three corridors.  Baekhyun was given what was referred to as the "nanny room". There was a door connecting his single room to the adjacent double room that was designated for the captain of the guards and his husband.  The crown prince had his own double room across the hall, with another double room for Yixing and Jongdae next to it, also linked by an interior door. These were the only rooms on this wing, so the prince spoke to the captain privately and politely asked to switch rooms with him. Kyungsoo agreed, saying he and Jongin would be happier since that way they wouldn't be overhearing any of the boyfriend's private time. The change of their rooms was kept a secret, and with the  help of additional pillows and blankets muffling the noise, every night the prince and trainer were able to enjoy a lot of cuddling and bonding time without raising the suspicions of the rest of the entourage. 

Several of the guards wanted to work out while they were at the resort, so Baekhyun and Chanyeol found they had company every time they went to the gym for a session. But since they had managed to figure out how to stay in the same room each night, they weren't that upset about not having the gym to themselves when they worked out. The king even came to the gym to walk on the treadmill a couple of times, and Baekhyun found himself helping more than just the prince during the workout sessions. As he gave pointers to the various people using the workout equipment, he also answered a few questions about his health blog and some of the points he had made in his recent online posts. 

When the queen later heard about the trainer helping so many others in their group, she said he should be given a bonus for being made to work while on vacation. The trainer tried to decline, but the royal family insisted. 

When the vacation was over the prince quietly informed his mother he had found out Baekhyun had sent the extra money to his parents to help with their bills. The queen noted that such generosity from the filial son should be rewarded and promptly arranged for the trainer to have a raise.

Baekhyun was shocked and deeply appreciative. He wasn't the type of person to wear flashy, expensive clothing or drive a fancy vehicle. Having the extra income was a luxury and he counted himself blessed. He did purchase a custom made suit so that he would have something nicer to wear if he needed it, but otherwise Baekhyun put a large portion of his newly increased income into his savings account. He was happily in love with the prince but he was also realistic. If anyone other than the small group of guards learned of their relationship, Baekhyun would be on the losing end of the entire situation. But this way, whenever that happened he would have enough money saved up to sustain him financially until he could get another job.

What would happen to his heart was something he didn't want to think about. But until then he chose to continue to enjoy the fairytale while it lasted.

 

The years continued on, and Baekhyun was invited to the royal family winter vacations every year. Each time, the group was made up of only the royal family, select guard members, and the prince's trainer. Baekhyun told his parents about going on ski trips with friends, but never showed them any pictures that the faces could be identified. His mother was happy that her son was increasing his circle of friends, and his father was proud of Baekhyun continuing to be athletic, even if having snowboarding skills didn't necessarily translate into extra income.  

 

In the eighth year of his secret relationship with the prince, the queen asked Baekhyun if he thought his family might be willing to come along when they went on a late summer vacation to their private estate in the Caribbean. This shocked the trainer. It was the first time he could remember the royal family going to the estate together all at the same time, and he had never been asked to join them there before. He also had never told his family who his employer was, so this would be a huge shock to them as civilians. It seemed very strange to think the royal family would want to have any outsiders tagging along on their personal vacations.

Baekhyun hesitated, and the queen took this as reluctance to accept. She explained that none of the royal's personal assistants would be coming along, and therefore it would be easy to accommodate his parents in the spacious resort. She said it would be lovely to have Mr. and Mrs. Byun come along, and politely asked Baekhyun to take his time to consider before giving his answer. He agreed to think everything over carefully and let her know his decision within the week. 

The first thing Baekhyun did after leaving the queen's side was text his boyfriend. He didn't hear back from the prince until later that evening. As the trainer was getting ready to take a bite of his dinner, his phone rang. Hearing the familiar ringtone, Baekhyun immediately answered. "Chanyeol we have a problem.."

"Tell me." The prince didn't bother with pleasantries, giving his boyfriend his undivided attention.

"Your mother asked me to join the family on vacation to the Caribbean next month."

"That's not a bad th-"

"And my parents as well." Baekhyun interrupted, the apprehension evident in his voice.

"Wait- What?" 

"Chan, I haven't even told them who I work for! They don't know about us either! And your family NEVER goes to the Caribbean all at the same time, so why now?? What is this? I was so confused when she asked me today. And I don't know how to tell my folks! What do I say? 'Guess what I've been working for the royal family for almost a decade and now they want to meet you at as exotic a location as possible!'  I mean- WHAT.. just.. WHAT..??"  Baekhyun was working himself into a frenzy as his nervousness from earlier in the day finally was able to be released. 

Chanyeol's caring boyfriend side kicked in. "Hey...! Hey, it's ok... It's going to be ok." he said, trying to sooth his boyfriend through the phone.

"No Chan. You don't understand. My parents know me too well and they'll figure it out.  My mother reads me like a book and Dad is very observant to his surroundings. They will be able to tell that the Loey I mentioned having a crush on a couple of times several years ago is actually you. They will KNOW..!"    

The prince kept his tone calm. "Baek.. baby.. I'm sorry I can't be there to help you calm down right now but let's talk this thru, alright? Just breathe.. come on. Like you tell me in workouts.. Innnn.. count to three.. and ouuutttt... Ok.. Ok..."

Baekhyun followed what his boyfriend told him and shakily breathed in through his nose then blew the breath out through his mouth. He deliberately slumped his shoulders and rolled them forwards then straightened back up in his chair. "Ok... So what should I do..?"

"Do you want them to come with us?" Chanyeol asked.

"I don't know.. This is a chance for them to have a vacation they could never afford, and I know they would do their best to not be a bother. But they don't know about my job with you, so this will be a huge shock for them. Plus I don't know what sort of things would be said about the lowly trainer and his parents barging in on the royal family vacation. I don't care about me, but I don't want bad things being said about either of our folks, Chan.." 

"Hey now, I don't want bad things said or thought about you either.. Ok?"

"I- thank you. But Chanyeol.. what about the timing?" Baekhyun rubbed his forehead trying to stave off a headache. "I can't help thinking something is off about all this. I mean, think about it.. Your family never goes to the Caribbean all at the same time. Yoora went on her own last year to get away from everything, and the king takes the queen on last minute holidays sometimes when they've been extra stressed. And it's been a while since you went too... So what do you think is going on? Doesn't all this seem strange to you?"

"It has been about four years since I last went to the estate.." the prince acknowledged. "And I only stayed three days before coming back early because I was missing you like crazy."

"Aah! Stop it, you sweet talker! You're gonna make me blush.." Even through his anxiety Baekhyun couldn't help his grin. 

Chanyeol chuckled. "I'd like to see that. It's been a while since I made you blush and you're so cute with pink cheeks.." he cooed. 

"Lo~ey.." the trainer whined bashfully. "Quit changing the subject."

"Ok, Ok.." the prince laughed. "I don't know what's going on, but I promise I'll keep my ears open and let you know if anything comes up. Meanwhile, just do what you think is best. If you want to invite them, then you know it will be OK."

"I always knew those big ears were good for something..." Baekhyun quipped. 

The prince spluttered. "Hey! Your ears are just as big! You're just better at camouflaging them!"

Baekhyun couldn't help laughing at his boyfriend's protests. "I know.. You know I think they're adorable."

"Yes yes.. I believe you." The prince's verbal eye roll was obvious. "But seriously tho, if you want to tell your folks about us, then I don't mind. I trust your judgement with that too."

"One step at a time, Chan." the trainer was quick to answer. "The shock of my actual job will be big enough for now. I think I'll wait a little while to tell them about us." 

 

The next morning, the trainer video-called his parents. Just like he had thought, Mr. and Mrs. Byun were indeed shocked and amazed to learn their son was working for the royal family and had been doing so for eight years. They were understanding of his choice to not give out the information so willingly, but even more surprised that he had managed to keep it a secret all this time. However, as Mr. Byun wisely noted, it was obvious that most of the public didn't have a clue about what went on in the daily lives of the royal family. The fact that their own son was chosen to work there gave the Byun family a deep sense of pride. 

Baekhyun let them calm down and the family chatted casually a little. He waited until he knew his parents were fully calm before breaking the news to them that the queen had invited them to join the royal family on their summer vacation to the Caribbean.  Baekhyun's mother went into an immediate tizzy, wondering what to wear and what to bring and what would be expected of them and why they were to be given such a great honor to join the private vacation. The trainer did his best to calm his mother, but ultimately ended up sharing a laugh with his father at how worked up Mrs. Byun had become. He shared the whole scene with his boyfriend later that evening when the prince came to visit at Baekhyun's apartment. Chanyeol enjoyed a big laugh and promised to pass the Byun's acceptance of the royal invitation on to his own mother the next day since they already had plans for lunch together. 

 

About six weeks later, a private jet whisked the whole entourage away to warmer climates and ocean air. Once again the boyfriends found themselves placed in adjacent rooms, thanks to some fancy behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the captain of the guards. However, Mr. and Mrs. Byun had a room on the other side of their son.  So despite the romantic setting, the boyfriends had to try to be extra quiet the few times they decided to get intimate. They couldn't risk being heard through the walls. 

Although the landscape was beautiful and serene, the trainer was having a hard time relaxing since he was so worried about saying or doing the wrong thing in front of most of the people in the entourage. He didn't have the luxury of bulky padded clothing and safety gear to hide behind since they were on a large private beach in warm weather.  Just watching the prince coming back out from the ocean water with his muscles and hair dripping wet was torture for the trainer. Baekhyun was worried that his expressions and actions would be easily understood and the huge secret of his relationship with the prince would be discovered. 

The first three days the trainer spent the bulk of his time with his parents, trying to not be around Chanyeol too much during the daytime. The prince understood why his secret boyfriend was doing this, but it made him a little upset that they couldn't hang out or interact without being worried everyone was watching them.

On the fourth day of the vacation most of the group gathered as they did each morning for breakfast at the beautiful outdoor dining area.  The light meal of various fruits, breads, coffee, and juice was almost finished when the prince mentioned he would be having a workout session with his trainer a little later. The king looked surprised and started to tell his son that Baekhyun should be allowed the time off since it was vacation. Thankfully the queen intervened and told her husband that the men should be allowed to spend the vacation doing things they enjoy, and they both obviously enjoyed working out. The queen's words were met with an amused chuckle from both the king and Mr. Byun. The two older men exchanged understanding looks, but before Baekhyun thought to question it, his own mother had turned to him and was urging him to go ahead and make his way to the gym at the far end of the private resort.  Kyungsoo quickly finished his cup of coffee then jumped up saying he would join the two men. Baekhyun breathed a little easier as they left the outdoor dining area. However, as soon as they were out of eyesight from the others, the captain left the couple and headed back to his room where his husband was waiting.

Chanyeol linked hands affectionately with his boyfriend as they walked along the hallway to the gym. Baekhyun panicked and pulled his hand away. "Park Chanyeol! What if someone sees?!" he hissed. 

The prince chuckled. "Relax... There's no one in this area and we're almost to the gym anyway. I just wanted to hold my boyfriend's hand in the daytime for a minute, OK?"

"I understand, but please.. I don't want to risk it." the trainer sighed. He turned and batted his eyelashes up at his tall boyfriend. "You know... You'll get to hold more than just my hand tonight..." 

Chanyeol looked down at the shorter and raised an eyebrow in interest. "You do make a valid point..." he smirked.

Baekhyun smirked back as he reached out for the door to the gym. "You know it.." he said with a y tone, and entered the room. 

It wasn't until after the two men shared a passionate kiss later as they finished their workout that they realized no one else had come to join them in the gym that day. Baekhyun was nervous about the coincidence, but Chanyeol just called it luck. They agreed to disagree, then discretely headed to their room and locked the door before helping each other get thoroughly clean in the shower. Once they finally emerged from the steamy bathroom, Baekhyun drowsily dropped on the bed and deliberately whined until Chanyeol joined him and spooned with him.  They ended up napping thru the lunch hour, waking up in the early afternoon. 

Baekhyun was worried his parents might have been looking for him, especially when a check of his phone showed he had missed messages. However when he read them he found out his father had joined the king and some of the guards for a round of golf, while his mother was enjoying an impromptu shopping trip with the queen, Yoora, and some of the other guards. 

In fact, the only guards still at the royal's private resort were the captain and his husband. Kyungsoo had left Chanyeol a message saying they were down at the ocean edge enjoying the beautiful water and sunshine, and inviting the prince and his boyfriend to join them. Baekhyun and Chanyeol readily joined the married couple, and with everyone else being gone, this finally gave the boyfriends the chance to appreciate the y views of each other being sweaty in the sun and wet from the ocean. The four men swam and played in the water, laughing and talking the whole time.

That evening dinner was a quiet affair.  The king and queen, as well as Baekhyun 's parents were all tired from their activities earlier in the day.  Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, and Jongin all confirmed they too were tired from their long time on the beach together. Yoora hadn't even joined the group, but her guards reported the princess planned to take a nice long soak in the deep tub in her private bathroom and then go to bed early. For some reason, this explanation made the queen and Mrs. Byun giggle, but neither lady bothered to explain herself. Later, when Baekhyun had snuck back into his boyfriend's room for the night, they discussed this interesting reaction but couldn't come up with an explanation.

Throughout the rest of the vacation it became very obvious the king and queen had become fast friends with Baekhyun's parents. The four of them spent more time on the golf course and shopping in town together, had morning mimosas and evening cocktails on the beach together, and even spent time talking together in the large hot tub located in the bamboo grove at the back side of the resort. Baekhyun was amazed at how well his parents had relaxed and he was glad to know they were enjoying the vacation.

Meanwhile Yoora enjoyed spending more time with her brother, the trainer, and the rest of the guards. When several of them played poker together, the princess and one of the female guards wiped the table of the other players. The next night at the pool table it was discovered the princess was also a very good billiards player. Baekhyun's remark that he didn't want to let Yoora in the gym for fear she'd put the trainer to shame was met with a lot of good-natured laughter. 

By the end of the two week long vacation, Baekhyun felt sure he was living in an alternate universe. Even after returning home, his parents were on first name basis with the members of the royal family, the princess had added Baekhyun's number to her phone and was sending him funny memes and texts every day, and almost all of the guards seemed to be creating ways to make sure Chanyeol had all the time he wanted alone with his boyfriend.

It was surreal. 

 

And here they were, just over a week later.

The prince's personal assistant had reminded him that it had been nine years since the trainer began working with the handsome man that happened to be the crown prince of the country. Thinking back through all the years, Baekhyun felt like he had been living in a dream.

But for some reason that worried him. 

 

Two days after they had gotten back from the Caribbean, Chanyeol had started acting strangely.  He smiled and talked with his boyfriend like always, but he turned down their apartment date for the weekend, saying that he had unexpected royal duties to tend to and wouldn't have the time. This had happened before, but never with such secrecy on Chanyeol's part. The prince's assistant also seemed to be around a lot more in the past week, and Chanyeol didn't seem surprised when the busy young man had come into the gym to insist that Chanyeol go to see his mother as soon as possible.

This was the prince's second meeting with the queen in the few days they had been back from their vacation, and Baekhyun couldn't help feeling nervous. He only knew about the previous meeting because Yoora had sent him a strange message earlier in the week telling him to "be gentle" with her brother since he was "shook up from the meeting with his mother". She didn't give any details, and Baekhyun felt a jolt of reality when he reminded himself that he was a civilian that didn't have the right to demand to know what was going on in the royal's lives. 

Chanyeol and Baekhyun had only had time for two workouts since getting back from vacation.  At this last workout, the trainer had gone a little easy on the prince, letting him goof off and not be quite so aggressive in his lifting.  Chanyeol didn't seem to notice, and Baekhyun wondered if he was starting to lose his boyfriend.  The prince seemed to have something on his mind, and the trainer had caught his boyfriend staring at their hands a couple of times, almost as though he were comparing them.  When Baekhyun joked about it, the prince had given a stuttered excuse, saying something about manly hands versus soft ones. The trainer's heart sunk. They had flirted just before the prince went to the showers. But what if it were out of habit?  What if Chanyeol was trying to give him hints about breaking up? 

As the trainer shooed his tall boyfriend out the door of the gym to meet with the queen, Baekhyun couldn't keep his mind from racing. His thoughts were in a turmoil.  Soft hands were women's hands, but Baekhyun was a guy.  As far as anyone other than a few of the guards knew, the prince had been "single" for a really long time. What if his mother was trying to set him up with someone to marry? It would definitely be a woman of high stature. Royals married commoners all the time, but they still chose individuals that were beautiful and would be well-received by the public.  There was only one other gay married couple among the royals of the world, and at the time the press had a heyday with the news.  There was no way the public would be accepting of the “Buff Heir” marrying anyone other than the perfect bride for their next king.  It would make sense that Chanyeol would be nervous to explain all this to Baekhyun. They had been together in secret for a really long time. Their comfort level with each other was that of close friends. Their life wasn't boring, but they knew each other so well that maybe their intimate times were getting routine. It wasn't for Baekhyun, but maybe it was for Chanyeol? 

The tears stung as Baekhyun tried to hold them back. He ran to the shower area and hurriedly the water, getting in almost before he had completely stripped himself of his sweaty workout clothes. The deluxe showerhead pounded the water down on the trainer's head as he let his tears out under the steady flow. He felt like a fool.

He was supposed to be able to handle this. He knew the fairytale couldn't last. It had been going on too long. Maybe the vacation in the Caribbean had been a beautiful goodbye gift? 

Nine years was longer than anyone deserved to be with the wonderful man that he would apparently soon be calling his ex-boyfriend. He wouldn't even be able to say those words out loud. Ever. No one could ever know that the crown prince had been involved in a gay relationship with a civilian that was supposed to be helping to protect his health and well-being.  

The trainer was bawling like a baby now. He didn't realize how long he had been under the water until someone spoke urgently. 

"Baekhyun? Baekhyun are you OK??" 

The muscular arm of the captain of the guards came into view as the shower curtain was whipped back.  The trainer yelped and turned facing away quickly, his sobbing halted abruptly from the shock. 

"Baekhyun?" Kyungsoo leaned over to a side rack to grab a towel, but kept his eyes on the trainer's head. 

Baekhyun took a shaky breath to steady himself as he turned off the water. "I'm- I'm ok. I've just been under a lot of stress and I guess.. it's catching up with me. I'm fine tho, really." He looked over his shoulder and gave the captain a small smile. "I'm fine." He reached out to accept the towel. "Thank you. I'm fine, but thank you."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself." 

The trainer sighed at the captain's blunt words. He knew the man meant no harm, but he didn't want to make the guard worry about him any more than necessary. "Maybe I am. But please don't worry about me." He smiled a little more in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "Thank you for your concern. I'll be getting dressed now. I have to get groceries on the way home, so I'd better get a move on it.." Baekhyun hoped his flimsy excuse worked. He had asked as nicely as he could manage under the circumstances.

Kyungsoo stared at Baekhyun's face a little longer but then dropped his eyes and stepped towards the door. Just before leaving the room the captain stopped and turned his head slightly to look back over his shoulder. "I hope you know that you have friends here that you can trust, Baekhyun. More than just Chanyeol."

The trainer couldn't bring himself to respond. After seeing the captain leave the room, Baekhyun waited long enough to hear the sound of the gym door closing before bringing the towel back up to his face and crying silently into it. He may have friends there at the palace, but he may not have Chanyeol very much longer. 

After a few more minutes, Baekhyun realized that he had been standing in the and drip-drying for too long. He toweled off what was left of the wet spots on his body the best he could with the damp towel, then scurried to get into his clean clothes. He knew he needed to snap out of it. He rubbed his head vigorously with the towel once more before dropping it into the dirty linens hamper, then checked his reflection in the mirror, dragging his fingers through his hair to give a semblance of a style.

Baekhyun shook his head at his reflection. Puffy eyes would have to be explained as allergies if he ran into anyone that asked. He decided it would be best to take the least obvious way out of the palace so that wouldn't happen.  The trainer glared at his reflection and then straightened his shoulders before leaving the showers area.

Only to see the queen's personal assistant was standing just inside the doorway of the gym. 

"um.. Junmyeon?" the trainer raised an eyebrow in surprise. He suddenly felt uneasy. 

"Hello Mr. Byun." the gentle smile on the man's face seemed out of place in the tension in the room.  "The queen asked that you join her at the gazebo in the garden for tea."

Baekhyun couldn't help his sigh and he shook his head.  "I'm afraid I must decline. If you will be so kind as to give my apologies to her Majesty.  I am not feeling well and would not be good company this afternoon." 

The assistant looked surprised at the trainer's answer. "Oh but it would not be proper for you to refuse.  Please, I implore you to reconsider. She is quite insistent that you come and join her."

Baekhyun looked at the small nervous man in front of him. The usually calm and collected assistant was almost panicked in his body language and this made the trainer feel sorry for him. He reminded Baekhyun of a bunny rabbit, cute and adorable exterior but seemingly nervous all the time and probably would run the other way if he got scared. The trainer held back his eye roll. It wouldn't do for the poor bunny to get scolded if he didn't play along. "I guess I'll have to hope the tea is caffeine free so I can sleep easily later and wake up to feeling better." 

The queen's assistant visibly relaxed at the trainer's words. "So you'll come to the garden then?"

Baekhyun chuckled. "Yes Junmyeon. Your job is safe. I will do as you ask."

"Well he told me- Nevermind. Thank you, Mr. Byun. I will send word that you are on your way." The assistant bowed politely then left the room, the gym doors clanging in the man's hurry to leave. 

The trainer stood with his head slightly cocked as he looked at the door in wonder, but then shook his head. It was best not to overthink anything else today. Whatever the queen had to tell him, she evidently thought would be best softened by offering him tea and giving the news in a relaxed setting where they had enjoyed time together before. Afterall, she had been the one to first ask him to be the prince's trainer. Maybe she would be the one to officially break the news to him that his job was now done.

The idea that Chanyeol didn't even have the decency to tell his trainer the news himself made Baekhyun mad, and he let the doors clang again behind himself as he left the gym. His footsteps were more like stomps as he headed up the long hallway towards the corridor that would lead him to the garden located in the interior of the palace.

Many people had heard about the beautiful outdoor space, but few outsiders had the privilege of ever viewing the wide area filled with a colorful display of iris, tulips, daffodils, snowbells, roses, azalea, juniper, and pine trees. The whole garden was truly a feast for the eyes, and Baekhyun stopped at the edge to let the glorious view calm him. He knew he couldn't be in such an aggravated state in the presence of the queen. The woman had done him no wrong, showing the trainer only kindness over all these years. 

Baekhyun took a deep breath and let it out slowly before starting down the winding path over to the gazebo on the far side of the garden. As he walked, the trainer looked at the flowers surrounding his feet and he couldn't help feeling a bit melancholy that this might be the last time he would get to see them. There would be other flowers in his life, but none displayed in such a setting, with such delicate care and grace. It was humbling to think he had been allowed to see them for so long.

Baekhyun sighed then lifted his eyes towards the gazebo.

Where the crown prince was standing, dressed in one of his nicest suits.

With a very large bouquet of roses in his hand.

And a very nervous smile on his face.

Baekhyun slowed down, the confusion obvious on his own face. His eyebrows furrowed in a deep V as he finally came to a stop a respectful four feet away from the prince. "Your Highness.. I thought the queen.. Is she here?"

Chanyeol fidgeted. "Um.. probably. Somewhere.. But, what's with the 'Your Highness' stuff..? We're a lot closer than that, babe."

Baekhyun's eyes widened in shock at the term and he looked around nervously. "Cha- Sir!" Noticing the few servants in the area he leaned in a bit to hiss in a loud whisper. "What are you doing?? What if someone hears??" 

The prince seemed to think this was funny, and he grinned widely as he responded in a normal volume. "So what? They all know.. "

Baekhyun couldn't widen his eyes any more, but now he felt his heart was going to jump out of his body in shock as well. He struggled to keep his voice quiet as his panic heightened. "What the-! They all KNOW?? What the hell does that mean? Is that why I'm getting fired? Why is the- wha- I mean- just- What??" 

By now Chanyeol had placed the flowers down on a chair in the gazebo and stepped out to grab the hand of his completely confused boyfriend who was staggering a bit from the shock. The prince was smiling but made shushing noises and tried to bring the trainer in for a hug.

Baekhyun pushed back against the strong chest, his voice raising even more in protest. "No! I will not be calm! If this is my last day here I refuse to be humiliated as well. I have done my best at this job, now LET GO of me SIR!" 

"NO. I will never let you go." Chanyeol's arms tightened around the panicking man and he spoke firmly. "You're not getting fired. I don't know where the hell you got that idea from but it's not happening. If you say yes I will keep you till the day I die." By now the prince was begging. "Please Baekhyun. Don't leave me."

The trainer's shoulders slumped as he gave up fighting and he whimpered, butting his forehead into the prince's chest. "I don't understand. Why does everyone know...? I tried so hard..."

The prince kissed the top of Baekhyun's head. "You did a wonderful job. You have tried really hard for such a long time and I appreciate that. But now you don't have to try any more."

Baekhyun raised his head, looking up at the man he loved. "I thought I wasn't getting fired.." he said forlornly.

Chanyeol smiled affectionately. "You're not. Come sit down and let me talk to you.. Please?" He loosened his embrace but quickly grabbed one of the trainer's hands as though to stop the smaller from running away, then stooped down a little to be eye to eye with his boyfriend. "Please?"

Baekhyun cursed himself for not being able to resist when the prince asked so nicely. He huffed and gave a small nod, giving in as he decided to listen to the handsome man one last time.

The prince led his boyfriend to sit in a chair, then knelt down with both knees on the floor of the gazebo at the feet of the trainer and placed his large hands on the trainer's knees. Baekhyun made a noise of protest. "Your suit! It'll get dirt-"

"I don't care. It's nothing if you don't understand. Please. Just listen to me." Chanyeol had a pleading yet calm look on his face.

Baekhyun couldn't understand how the man could be so calm. He tucked his head down to look at the large hands on his knees. 

Unless.. it had all been fake.

Maybe the prince didn't mean it when he said he loved him. Maybe the fairytale dream was actually a nightmare. 

Two weeks ago they had been so happy. Was it all a lie?

Baekhyun didn't realize the tears were now flowing freely down his face. He whimpered as Chanyeol began to panic. "No no no! Please don't cry!" He leaned up and put his hands on both sides of the trainer's face, trying to tilt the crying man's head back up. "This is supposed to be a happy day. You know I hate to see you unhappy. Please baby-"

At the term of endearment Baekhyun broke.

He lunged forward with a loud sob, flinging his arms around the prince's shoulders with such force that the man had no choice but to fall backwards on the floor, bringing the crying trainer with him. Chanyeol compensated the change by shifting with his arms carefully around his boyfriend until Baekhyun was completely curled up on his lap, his face crammed into the juncture between the prince's neck and shoulder. By now Baekhyun didn't care who saw them in this compromising position. It had been nine years of hiding his love. He deserved to have this last bit of affection. Even if the servants gossiped about him later he didn't care. He felt the large hands running over his head, comforting him as he tried to calm down. 

"Baekhyun... This wasn't how I thought things would go.. but I'm just going to say this now."

Baekhyun froze. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and held his breath as he waited for the final blow.  

"I love you. And I want the whole world to know it. I want us to take care of each other for the rest of our lives." Chanyeol's deep voice vibrated through Baekhyun's chest as his boyfriend continued. "I haven't been completely honest with you about everything that I've been up to this last week, but I didn't have a choice. The ring wasn't ready until we got back from vacation and the legal papers had to be properly documented to make sure there would be no miscommunication with the press or other branches of government. I'm sorry baby, and believe me I've caught hell for making you wait so long." 

Baekhyun opened his eyes and slowly lifted his head as the words from the prince started to sink in. He blinked in confusion and sniffed, trying to focus. "What..?"

"Byun Baekhyun. I'm asking you as nicely as I know how..."

Baekhyun realized his boyfriend was holding up a small velvet box and the lid was propped open. The trainer blinked again and lifted shaking fingers to the box, tilting it to better see what was inside. He gasped as a beautiful slender two-toned band came into view. The trainer turned his head to look at his boyfriend, still unsure. 

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun with all the love in the world and whispered. "Will you marry me? Please?"

 

Baekhyun was stunned. He never thought this would be a possibility. He stammered a minute before words began to finally come back to him. "But- Can we- I mean.. Is that possible?"

The prince began to smile as he understood what Baekhyun was trying to ask. "It's very possible. I just need to know your answer."

"But- I don't understand.." The trainer began wiping his cheeks and eyes as he stammered. "I mean- You- You have obligations! And I'm.. a MAN. And YOU'RE a man. And- What would people SAY? What would your parents say? Does the queen know? She's been so nice to me. I don't want to be the one to hurt her. Well, I don't want to hurt her at ALL but I mean-" Baekhyun huffed as the prince put his hand over the babbling trainer's mouth.

The prince leaned in, putting his face near his own hand that was still held over his boyfriend's mouth. He waited till their eyes met and then he brought his hand down and leaned the rest of the way in, touching their foreheads together. Their eyes closed in unison and the prince spoke slowly and calmly. "I love you. Putting everything else aside, do you want to marry me?"

"Well..." Baekhyun gave a small smile. "Since you asked so nicely..." he answered quietly. "Yes please."

Chanyeol surged forward and kissed his boyfriend warmly, tightening his arms around the now smiling trainer. Just as Baekhyun was getting into the feeling of the kiss, the prince leaned away and crowed loudly

"HE SAID YES!!" 

Baekhyun didn't have time to shush the prince before he suddenly felt arms surrounding him from all sides. As the trainer looked up in confusion he realised he and the prince were encased in a group hug by the queen, Yoora, Jongin, and Kyungsoo. The king, along with Junmyeon and Sehun were standing at the opening of the gazebo, smiling and applauding loudly, and there were echoes of applause from several other servants and guards all standing in the surrounding garden area.  

Baekhyun twisted his head to look back at Chanyeol. The smile on the face of the prince was the widest Baekhyun had seen in a very long time. It almost made the trainer want to cry again, but he bit his lower lip to control himself. As the sea of arms around them relaxed a little, Chanyeol leaned in, sensing his fiance's mood. He brought their foreheads together again and whispered so only they could hear. "Breathe. Innn and ouuuttt.."

This was exactly what Baekhyun needed to break his mood and he let out a wet chuckle.  The captain and his husband helped the two men off the floor and into chairs, and the queen and princess joined them all seated around the small table in the gazebo. As the king came to stand by his wife's side, the queen leaned in and took the trainer's hand. "I hope you will forgive us dear. We are all just so excited you have agreed to officially join our family."

Baekhyun looked up a bit shakily. "How long..have you known.."

"Call it a mother's intuition, but I had a strong inkling when my son had a new twinkle in his eye as he told me about the trainer he had met at the gym he was attending while his personal gym was being constructed." 

The trainer was shocked. "That long!?" He looked accusingly at Chanyeol. "Did you know this??"

The prince threw his hands up in defense, his eyes wide. "No! I thought we were doing a good job keeping things low key.." 

The princess spoke up, unable to contain her grin. "You both did a good job, but there's no way Channie would need a trainer for a full workout four times or more a week all these years and also hangout together outside of that if there wasn't something going on!"

Baekhyun and Chanyeol both flushed in embarrassment, but smiled good-naturedly when the others around them laughed at Yoora's words. When the laughter died down the trainer spoke again, "So the trip with my parents.."

"Was to let the future in-laws get to know each other, yes." The king spoke up. "You can thank my wife for that. She's been trying to figure out how to make that happen for years now!"

The queen laughed at Baekhyun's flabbergasted face as she patted her husband's hands that were placed on her shoulders. "Baekhyun, after you and I had our lovely tea time together the first year, I was convinced you would be a perfect life-partner for my Chanyeol. I wanted so much to tell you, but I knew it wasn't my place since he hadn't told me so himself yet."

The trainer gave his fiance a look through slightly squinted eyes. "And just when DID you tell her..?"

The prince squirmed uneasily under Baekhyun's glare. "Umm... three..years..ago?"  He tried to look apologetic through his sheepish smile. The trainer had an incredulous look on his face as Chanyeol continued. "It was just before you went on the second Alps vacation with us." 

"Park Chanyeol!! You- I can't believe - Agh!" Baekhyun's protests were accented with light whacks on the prince's arm and leg, and the onlookers all chuckled at the scene.

The queen smiled widely. "Don't be too angry with him dear. I cornered him and practically demanded that he get serious with you and he reassured me that he already was. I told him then that the reason I had insisted he hire a personal assistant was so he could still get things done and not be a negligent boyfriend to you."

Baekhyun blinked in shock then watched as Chanyeol reached out and threaded their fingers together. The prince then looked over at the two assistants standing together. "Junmyeon had already been helping Mother for a couple of years, so I talked to him to see if he could recommend anyone. It turns out the latest valedictorian of his former university was a Communications major that was looking for a job. It was after I hired Sehun that I learned about their mutual crush on each other, so I used it for blackmail to make sure they played dumb about us." By now the prince's grin had led to laughter as he finished his explanation. The two assistants were red-faced but smiling as the rest of the group laughed together. 

Baekhyun looked around at all the smiling faces and started to feel more at ease. But he suddenly gave a loud gasp. Everyone turned to look at him expectantly and Chanyeol asked, "What is it?"

"Does this mean my parents already know??" 

The prince grinned towards his sister. "Yoora let the cat out of the bag the first night we were at the resort. Remember when we went down to the beach that first night?" Baekhyun nodded. The older adults had stayed behind to talk a little bit and then get settled into their rooms. Yoora and her own guards had also stayed behind, but Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and several of the other guards had gone down to enjoy a first-night bonfire on the beach. Someone had brought a couple guitars and soon everyone was singing cheesy campfire songs and taking turns telling jokes. "So it turns out my sister thought they already knew, so she mentioned how the two of us should go ahead and get married already, and well.." 

The princess picked up the explanation. "I apologised as soon as I realised what I had done but Mom and Dad didn't contradict me so I figured they were OK with your parents finding out. Your mother was really surprised but she had such poise about the whole thing. And your father didn't say a word. He just stood there like a proud dad and grinned the whole time our moms were talking." 

Baekhyun chuckled and shook his head, giving a wry grin.. "Yep. Silent and all-knowing. That sounds like him..." He glanced back and forth between Chanyeol and the king. "So.. how will this work? I can't give you grandchildren. How will there be an heir?" 

The prince smiled and kissed the back of his fiance's hand. "Well that's partly why I was so busy this week. I know you've never been one to want titles or be in the spotlight too much.  And I know you couldn't give me a child in the conventional way.  So I had a serious talk with Mom and Yoora.  And then we all had a family meeting before going to the royal lawyers to ask that the official documents be drawn up and approved." 

The trainer looked at his fiance with a bit of awe. "You HAVE been a busy man... And what does all this mean?"

Chanyeol took a breath and smiled at his sister, then looked back at Baekhyun before responding. "I will be king some day.  And when that happens, Yoora will become queen. You will be my consort and have an official title, but no legal obligations to maintain a fully public image. All appearances and obligations will be up to you to decide if you wish to be involved. And the next heir will come from Yoora whenever she has children. So whatever manner in which you and I decide to have children will be completely up to us and of no consequence to the line of succession to the throne." 

Baekhyun beamed at his fiance and slowly nodded. The solution was complicated but simple all at the same time. And it was perfect for them. The trainer couldn't be prouder of how much his fiance knew him at that moment.  "I love you." Baekhyun said quietly with a soft smile.  The prince smiled back and leaned in for a soft kiss.

A slow "awwww" was heard from everyone watching and Baekhyun ducked his head into his fiance's chest, blushing fiercely. 

 

The rest of the day went better than Baekhyun ever could have imagined. The servants all smiled and congratulated the newly engaged couple as they walked hand-in-hand down the hallways of the palace. Jongdae and Yixing stopped them to talk, and the palace photographer snapped shots of them proudly showing the ring. They sat on the sofa in Chanyeol's bedroom together and video called Baekhyun's parents to officially tell them the news of their engagement.

It was all surreal for Baekhyun again, but this time he was happier than he ever felt possible. 

 

The next few weeks flew by.  Everyone agreed with the royal advisors that it was best to slowly make Baekhyun's presence known to the public. Chanyeol had told his fiance it was up to him if he wanted to be involved in official obligations, but Baekhyun felt it was only right to attend and participate in whatever meeting he could. He sat in many meetings at the prince's side. It was important to know what was being planned for their future, and he also wanted to give his opinions and ask questions as soon as he thought of them. With so much time dedicated to meetings, the trainer had difficulty finding time for his blog, but compromised by filming in a spare corner of the prince's personal gym.

The wedding planning was also in full swing, and the fiances felt like they were almost constantly being asked their preferences and opinions on little details for their upcoming special day. Baekhyun tried to look at the positive side of all of this. At least he was being taken seriously and his feelings mattered. And Chanyeol tried to stay relaxed and easy-going most of the time, helping Baekhyun to not feel too pressured.  It was a lot to take in, but somehow they managed. 

There was an annual show jumping event where the royal horses were paraded out and their jumping skills were shown off. All of the royal family always attended the event, and extended family members  and government officials were also invited. This year's event happened to be five weeks after the royal family had returned from their Caribbean vacation. Baekhyun had been to the event twice before in past years as a back row spectator, but this time he was seated in the royal family's section along with the government officials and their wives. The media was given limited access for photography to that section, but the addition of the prince's trainer did not go unnoticed.  Although not intended to be the focal point of the picture that was published, a small following developed almost overnight after the handsome young man was correctly identified.  Soon online searches for "hot royal trainer" and "BHBs/Byun Health Blogs" were blowing up the internet. The interest grew so quickly that guards had to be doubled to properly protect the trainer when he went to his apartment one last time. 

That was the latest development. 

The fiances had discussed the possibility of them living together outside of the palace once they were married. Baekhyun noted that his apartment was a bit too small and didn't have enough security to keep them safe. Chanyeol took this to heart and scoured the internet for possible apartments the soon-to-be-newlyweds could consider for their living space. The crown prince would always have a room at the palace, but he didn't want to put his fiance through the uncomfortable possibility of having to constantly be aware of others living around them. They deserved their own place. Baekhyun appreciated Chanyeol's hard work and helped narrow the choices down to two similar apartments that they both thought would be suitable.  After arranging private showings and viewing the places in person, a decision was made, purchase was completed, interior design was commissioned, and an additional security system was installed. 

Ironically, the day the security system was installed in their new apartment was the day a picture was leaked online of the prince and his trainer holding hands just outside Baekhyun's soon-to-be-former apartment. The picture was dated from over a year before and the two were in the background of the shot. Evidently a girl had watched a BHBs episode with friends and they were soon saying how the good-looking guy online looked like the guy in the background of her first day of middle school picture hanging on her grandma's wall.  The fervor over how cozy the two men looked together was enough to convince everyone at the palace that it was time to officially introduce the crown prince's fiance to the world. Within 24 hours an official statement was released announcing a press conference for the following day.

That night Baekhyun agreed to sleep over at the palace, and it was only once he was safely curled up in the prince's arms that he finally got some rest. The next day the trainer found himself dressed in his nicest suit, seated in a waiting room off to the side of the official press room at the palace. His leg shook with nervous energy fueled by the extra cup of coffee he had finished just an hour before, and he gave a nervous smile as Chanyeol entered the room. His fiance immediately came to his side, putting a comforting hand on his knee to help still his movements. Baekhyun smiled appreciatively then turned his attention to the royal press secretary that had sat down in front of the couple. The king also came over and stood near them, listening to the last minute advice from the secretary. Then they all stood and walked single file into the large palace press room.

Twenty minutes later official pictures of the happy couple were spreading all around the world. Chanyeol stood proudly with his shyly beaming fiance at his side in front of the lines of reporters. The king stood off to one side, smiling and nodding at the couple as all follow-up questions were deferred to the list of information that had been carefully given just minutes before. The whole time the flashes from cameras were incessant and Baekhyun had to remind himself that he had chosen this.

In six months time he was going to be married to the man he loved. And the whole world now knew about it.  

 

The security for the royal family was on high alert as the weeks rolled on.  There had been a little backlash surrounding the news of the engagement, but for the most part the security was needed due to the increase in fans of the "ChanHyun'' couple. The nickname was questionable and the fiances enjoyed good natured bickering over whether it should actually be "BaekYeol'' or even "ChanBaek" but they shared laughs with the princess as she almost daily pointed out new fan sites and articles about them. Yoora proclaimed herself their biggest fan and she bonded even more with Baekhyun when she revealed that she had been dating one of her personal guards for the past two years. Evidently the two had dealt with for over a year before giving in and privately confessing to each other. The princess claimed that only her personal maid and one other guard was aware of her girlfriend status with the other high-ranking guard, but when Baekhyun brought up the interesting reactions from the queen and his mother while they were in the Caribbean it was obvious there were more that had figured it out.  A relaxed conversation during tea time with the queen the next day confirmed their suspicions, and both Baekhyun and Yoora laughingly agreed to never doubt a mothers intuition again.

 

Four months before their big day, Chanyeol and Baekhyun moved into their new apartment. They had talked about waiting to move until after the wedding, but agreed it would be a lot less stressful to not be homeless any longer. After the trainer's apartment had been discovered by the public he had been under constant scrutiny, and he felt bad about having so many guards being inconvenienced as they kept round-the-clock protection on him. To remedy this, Baekhyun had agreed to move temporarily into the palace. But Chanyeol knew his fiance was hiding his discomfort at being there constantly, so the prince pushed to make the move to their new place happen sooner. 

As they settled into the new apartment, both men were happy to find that the security system worked perfectly, the decor was definitely what they wanted, and most importantly the soundproofing was of the highest quality.  Neither they nor their neighbors had any complaints.  

Two days before the wedding, Baekhyun went to stay with his parents in their home.  Due to a job change, Mr. and Mrs. Byun had moved to the gated community when Baekhyun was a senior in high school, so it was not much of a stretch for them to get used to the security increase that happened due to their new connections with the royal family. Most of the neighbors had known the Byun family for years and all were happy to sign a confidentiality agreement in exchange for the added security and importance of their community.  Baekhyun was just happy to have a warm familiar place to relax before the big day.  He had asked Jongdae and Yixing to come with him as his friends and also for personal protection. His mother invited his good friend Minseok to come and stay as well, and the four men had a great time getting to know each other better. They asked Mr. Byun to join them playing poker and drinking a few beers, and also spent plenty of time praising Mrs. Byun for her good cooking. The prince felt a little jealous after learning through text of their activities and he made sure to get his future in-laws to agree to let him join the fun the next time they had everyone there. 

Chanyeol had his own fun with the palace guards two nights before the wedding.  A few weeks before, Jongin and Kyungsoo had talked with the queen and obtained several embarrassing photos of the crown prince from his childhood years and through his awkward teenage years. That evening when the men sat down to enjoy what they thought was a new-release movie they were treated to a montage of all the pictures, set to music from the prince's favorite cartoons he watched daily in his pre-teen years.  The footage ended with a video of the prince as a teenager, dancing the choreography to songs from well-known pop girl groups. His sister had shot the video on her phone when her brother thought he was alone in his bedroom. The embarrassment was spread through the group when the challenge went up for the men to see if they could dance any better. The movie was soon forgotten in favor of a karaoke session, which was actually the secret plan of the night. Jongin proved his worth as a friend to Baekhyun by sending him footage of the dancing prince for the trainer to show everyone gathered in the Byun home. 

All members of both gatherings were up very late so it was almost noon the next day before Chanyeol and Baekhyun were awake. They texted throughout the rest of their day apart and at the end of the day they fell asleep watching each other as they talked on video call, much like they had done for many years as boyfriends. 

The next morning Minseok, Jongdae, and Yixing kept Mrs. Byun company as Baekhyun got ready with his father's help. The trainer's nervous fingers refused to fully cooperate.  After finally managing to get the groom dressed, Mrs. Byun pulled out the family camera and candid pictures were taken all the way up to the moment the whole group arrived at the palace in the private limousine. Baekhyun was whisked away by a team of stylists to work on his hair and makeup, and his parents were brought to the royal family tea room to spend some time with the soon-to-be in-laws. 

Meanwhile, Minseok went with Jongdae and Yixing to find the prince. Chanyeol had just finished getting ready and had been looking for something to do to calm his nerves.  When they found him in the billiards room, the four men decided to enjoy a game together, successfully distracting Chanyeol and letting the gym owner get to know him better. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, but the older man had fond memories of the week the prince had used his gym over nine years before.

As they were finishing the game several other guards joined them.  The gym owner was grateful for the chance to get to know the men that had taken on the role of protecting his favorite ex-employee. It turns out some of the other guards knew of the gym that Minseok owned and a few had even gone there to work out before.

Soon a servant came and asked the prince to come to the garden. Baekhyun had asked for a private "first view" with just the two of them and a discreetly placed photographer to capture their reactions to seeing each other in their official wedding attire. The garden where they had first agreed to get married was the perfect setting for the beautiful pictures. 

As Chanyeol followed the walkway lined with the various flowers, several just coming back into bloom after the colder months, his mind raced with nervous energy and he felt like he might understand a little of the way Baekhyun had felt walking that same path so many months before.

The prince looked up and saw his fiance standing at the opening of the gazebo.  Chanyeol's heart was immediately in his throat and he couldn't help being misty-eyed at the view of his beautiful lover waiting for him.

Baekhyun was wearing an ivory colored suit with a dark brown silk dress shirt. The shirt was closed at his neck with a small shimmering pendant that matched the tones in his engagement ring. His hair was styled slightly up off his face, and he had a hint of eyeliner and lip color to accent his natural beauty. One hand was in his pants pocket, and his other hand held a bouquet of roses. The overall effect was overwhelming and the prince was caught between being and being amazed that this handsome man was his.

Baekhyun heard a choked gulp and turned to the noise. He immediately gasped then began smiling widely at his now teary fiance.  

Chanyeol was wearing a dark brown suit with an ivory shirt and a brown silk tie with shimmering accents. His dark hair was coiffed in a comma style that Baekhyun had mentioned in the past was one of his favorite looks for the handsome prince. His eyes were also lightly lined with eyeliner and he had an official royal pendant hanging just below his ivory pocket square.

As the men gazed at each other, the shutter of the camera made them both realize they were just standing and staring. Baekhyun giggled and the prince grinned back at his fiance. The moment was broken and all words they said as they moved towards each other was drowned out by the shutter of the camera making their conversation unable to be heard by any others in the area.

The moment was truly theirs.

 

The next morning the world was treated to three pictures. 

A group setting of the newlyweds with Mr. and Mrs. Byun, and the royal family.

A picture of the newlyweds looking at the camera with bright smiles.

And a picture of the prince and his trainer, looking at each other. The sun rays were shining around them as though in competition for the strong love and affection that was shining in their eyes. 

 

At the press conference months before when their relationship was first confirmed and upcoming nuptials were revealed, a reporter had mentioned the possible pressures of being in the public eye and being married into the royal family. Baekhyun was asked why he had agreed to marry the prince and therefore take on that responsibility for the rest of his life.

His initial response brought down the house.

"Well.. He did ask very nicely.."