When Sandeul woke up the next morning, he was still clutching onto the thin fabric of Gongchan’s shirt, head buried in his chest. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes with his fists before weakly trying to break free from Gongchan’s grasp. Unfortunately, Gongchan wasn’t about to give him up, tightening his grip and squeezing Sandeul against his body. “Gongchannn,” Sandeul protested, pushing at Gongchan’s chest with as much strength as he could muster in his sleepy state. Then, he made the mistake of removing his head from the warmth of said prince’s chest and turning his face up. Their faces were a little over an inch apart, causing Sandeul to flinch at the closeness. He could feel Gongchan’s warm breath as it danced across his cheeks, and his eyes flickered across the other boy’s face. For the first time, he noticed Gongchan’s flawless, milky skin; his full and plush lips; his dark eyelashes; his unusually peaceful and innocent appearance. The way he looked now, Sandeul could almost believe that the haughty prince wasn’t too bad.

Almost.

Gongchan’s hair fell over his closed eyes, and Sandeul suddenly had the urge to feel the other’s chocolate-brown locks.

So, he did.

Sandeul tentatively reached a hand up to Gongchan’s feather-soft hair, examining the way it moved so easily under his touch. Then, his gaze shifted to Gongchan’s eyes, his eyelids like delicate curtains. Slowly, Sandeul’s gaze drifted across all of the prince’s features, until his eyes settled onto his smooth, full lips. Sandeul found himself being drawn to those lips, leaning closer and closer, until his own lips just barely touched Gongchan’s.

Almost instantly, Gongchan grabbed Sandeul’s shoulders, flipping him over onto his back and hovering over him as he straddled his waist. “If you wanted a kiss, you should’ve just asked,” he taunted, smirking. Sandeul looked like a deer caught in the headlights, stuttering as he tried to explain the situation he'd put himself in. “I…I…I didn’t…I don’t…”

Gongchan didn’t allow him to gather his thoughts enough to form a coherent sentence, pressing his lips to Sandeul’s own. Sandeul tensed noticeably, lying completely still from the shock of Gongchan’s sudden transformation. So much for peaceful and innocent… Sandeul scoffed to himself.

When Gongchan finally released Sandeul’s lips, he was met with a pathetic sight. Sandeul lay completely still, his hands the crisp white sheets. His eyes were unnaturally large and unmoving. “Sandeul…?” Gongchan patted the motionless boy on the cheek, hoping for some kind of positive response.

Sandeul bit his lip and blinked several times, as if just awakening from a dream. His weak gaze flickered to Gongchan’s eyes, lingering there. “San-” Gongchan began, but was interrupted as Sandeul abruptly sat up, gripping the stunned prince’s shoulders. The two boys were nose to nose, and Gongchan couldn’t help but notice the fire in Sandeul’s eyes.

Sandeul gritted his teeth as he spoke. “Stop trying to take advantage of me or I swear, I swear, you will be a woman once I’m through with you.” Gongchan’s eyes grew, his jaw going slack at the severity of the threat. Sandeul seemed to ponder whether to continue, his yearning to give Gongchan what he rightfully deserved getting the better of him.

“Do you know why you’re lonely? It’s because you don’t treat people right. You’ll always be lonely unless you change your attitude.” Sandeul paused briefly before continuing. “You know, I was actually beginning to think that maybe you weren’t such a bad guy after all. It seemed like you had feelings, like you weren’t so heartless, like you understood what I was going through. I thought things would change after last night; I thought that we could get through our problems together. I was stupid to ever think that. I was an idiot to think that you actually had a heart and feelings, or that you really cared about how I felt. All you want is my body. You don’t give a about me!”

The poignancy of Sandeul’s accusations pierced Gongchan’s heart, and he no longer felt so much confidence in his authority or stability. He swallowed the thick lump in his throat, biting down on his bottom lip to keep it from trembling, until crimson drops trickled down his chin and stained his white nightshirt. There was a subtle prickling at his eyes, and he felt so furious at himself for being so weak, for not being able to hold back his blessed tears. Anger began to bubble up in him, not at Sandeul, but at himself, because everything Sandeul was saying was true; because he was a lousy excuse for a human being, much less a prince.

“I’m trying, okay?! You have no idea how stressful it is to be a prince, to have so many responsibilities hanging over your head at such a young age! I’m still just a teenager! I shouldn’t have to deal with all of this!” Gongchan waved his hand through the air. Before he began again, he took in a few deep breaths to control his temper. This time, his manner was much softer, and he seemed really exhausted to Sandeul. “I just need to feel wanted…That’s all I want…I do care about you and your feelings, but I don’t just want to be your friend. That’s why I treat you the way I do. It’s not because I’m trying to be a jerk. You must’ve realized that by now…?”

Gongchan’s eyes were pleading, and Sandeul felt a pang in his heart. He didn’t mean to be so harsh. All he wanted to do was to get his point across. Now, the tables were turned, and Sandeul felt like the jerk, while Gongchan was the victim.

Sandeul had never in his life spoken up or talked back to anyone, so this was a new experience for him. If this is how it feels to speak my mind, I don’t want to ever do it again. I feel rotten, Sandeul thought miserably.

♦

“…Baro? Are you in here?” Sandeul cautiously stepped into the room he’d found Baro in the day before, anxiously awaiting a reply from said boy. “Sandeul! I’m glad you came to see me again!” Baro tackle-hugged his friend, lifting him in his arms to swing him around. Sandeul, meanwhile, clung onto Baro like his life depended on it, instinctively wrapping his legs around Baro’s own so that he wouldn’t knock over anything as Baro flung him about like a rag doll. “He-he, you’re like a cat, Deullie~” he teased, poking Sandeul’s cheek once he’d set him down. “How so?” Sandeul questioned, cocking his head to the side.

“Well, you know, cats cling onto things when they’re scared, so…”

Sandeul lightly slapped Baro on the arm. “That wasn’t even funny.” Baro feigned offense, gasping exaggeratedly and placing his hand on his chest. “I resent that statement!” Sandeul shook his head like he was annoyed by his best friend’s antics, but truthfully he was overjoyed to have his silly friend with him.

About an hour later, Sandeul and Baro were still together, laughing and whispering to each other as they cuddled up together in a fluffy, oversized chair. When there came a break in the endless chattering, Sandeul’s mind wondered back to the argument he and the prince had. The last thing he wanted to do was to sour the joyous atmosphere surrounding him and his best friend, but if he didn’t talk to someone about his problems, he thought he might explode.

“Baro…The prince and I got into a fight today…and it’s really bothering me. What should I do?”

Baro didn’t answer for several minutes, but Sandeul didn’t rush him. When Baro came up with a piece of advice that would actually help Sandeul, he would speak up, but not until then.

Finally, Baro sighed, patting Sandeul on the back comfortingly. “It’s none of my business what the fight was about. I have no idea who started it, or if it was just a petty fight that could have been prevented. Only you know that. But, I will tell you this: it doesn’t matter who was at fault; you still need to apologize. If neither of you initiates an apology, then your fight will last much longer than it should. No matter who was at fault, you need to apologize, Sandeul.”

♦

Sandeul left Baro with a bear hug that nearly cut off both of their air supplies, and then snuck back down the hall to Gongchan’s bedroom. He barged right in, not bothering to knock, and Gongchan shrieked as if he’d busted into his room and pointed a gun at his head. “Oh, it’s you, Sandeul…”

Sandeul inhaled to compose himself, and opened his mouth to begin his extensive apology speech, but was never able to begin, as Gongchan's body flew at him, engulfing him in a suffocating hug rivaling the hug he and Baro shared. Sandeul teetered on one foot for a second before falling back into a massive cushioned chair.

Wow, lucky that was there or the fall would’ve been much more damaging…

“I’m sorry, Sandeul! I really am! I’m sorry for everything; I’m sorry for being such a jerk; I’m sorry for not considering your feelings; I’m sorry that I can’t be a good companion for you…” Gongchan sobbed, arms wrapped around Sandeul’s upper body securely while he sat in his lap with legs folded up on both sides of him.

“…I’m sorry that I can’t control myself when I’m around you; I’m sorry that I keep forcing you to kiss me; I’m sorry that I ca-”

Sandeul cut him off in the middle of his nervous breakdown, prying Gongchan’s face out of his neck and cupping his cheeks with delicate hands. Then, Sandeul kissed him, and for the first time it was completely on his own accord.

A/N: Guys, I am so so so so so so SO sorry that I haven’t updated in so long. School has just been so hectic and I just haven’t been in a writing mood and stuff…

But thankfully I’m back! Right, right? No? Ok. Hehe ^A^

This chapter took me so long to write. I just wanted it to be perfect, so I hope you guys like it ^.^ (even though it was kind of boring, sorry)

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Well, thanks so much for supporting me even though I’m such a terrible and mean author T_T

<3 <3 Love you guys! (you know, if that isn’t too creepy haha)