*Hey All! I hope you had a lovely little break from this story, but it's back now! I just finished up regional's for dance, and I have some good ideas for the next few chapters, so updating SHOULD come a little quicker. I'm sorry for leaving you all hanging. Enjoy the new chapter!~*

The brisk wind whipped past the three who had just appeared in a sparkling cloud of glitter. Little flurries of snow nipped at their faces as Sungjong turned to them with a large smile. "Welcome to the Eastern Kingdom, sweet tarts!" He motioned them to follow him quickly as he made his way up the quickly freezing pathway to the large oriental palace before them.

The colorful, frost-bitten garden around them seemed to be sleeping with the palace, fading into the midnight sky around it. The village below the palace seemed to be in slumber as well. Sungjong knocked on the gold and red wooden door before them.

A young man answered the call in a matter of seconds. "Oh Sungjong! Thank goodness. I was just about to head home for the night, but I shall wake the Emperor right away!" The boy seemed more than willing to collect the Emperor and leave Sungjong in his hands. The lithe god-maknae thanked him and stepped inside. Dongwoo and Hoya followed suit.

Some minutes later, the young man came back with an oral message. "The good Emperor Sunggyu has requested the three of you to wait in the tea room," The boy wearing all white bowed and lead the way to the tea room, "And the good Emperor Woohyun says 'We're not home. Tell him to leave my T.V., computer, and make-up, and leave!' I'm sure his highness will come see you, though." Sungjong laughed and sat down in the room, patting the spot next to him for Hoya and Dongwoo.

"Thank you for all your work. Go home now, it's cold and dark!" Sungjong smiled and winked. The tired man bowed again and left hurriedly.

"Soooo..." Hoya began, "Who are these people?" Dongwoo shrugged.

"Oh, sorry, hon. I forgot to say! Silly me. Emperor Sunggyu and his husband rule the Eastern Kingdom. They should be able to find a room for y'all. Not only that, but they owe me quite a bit of currency for wishes. This may be able to ease their debt..." Sungjong pouted, pulling out a black book the size of a dictionary.

"What's that?" Dongwoo asked, eyes bulging.

Sungjong reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, pamphlet-sized version of the original book, "This book is for my regular customers, and THIS," He slapped his hand on the book on the table, "is for my dear Emperors." He sighed, flipping open to the first page of the large debt book and wrote a few things down on the first page.

"Sungjong..." The three looked to the door to see a young, tired looking man with golden, almost orange hair and slits for eyes. "I know I said come as soon as possible, but don't you think midnight is a little ridiculous?" He rubbed a slit and sat down.

His clothes were simple yet elegant. Certainly something Dongwoo could never pay for. The man wore no shirt, just a thin, black night robe with a gradient navy blue boarder around the edge, centering on the moon in the middle of the hem. His plain black boxers were obviously made of the finest silk and his slippers seemed to match the blues of the robe, carefully fitted onto his foot with cotton and wool.

Sungjong gave the stranger a quick bow and said, "Sorry 'bout that, pumpkin. Now, listen here. I want you to meet some friends of mine." He gestured to each as they were being said, "Dongwoo and Hoya." The fairy smiled and pointed to the regal man. "This is Emperor Sunggyu. He is the Emperor of the entire Eastern Kingdom. I do a little this and that for him sometimes," Sungjong smiled proudly. "Now, Sunggyu, Sugar Cookies. WHERE is that delightful husband of yours? He best be makin' an appearance if he wants his make-up."

Sunggyu sighed and rubbed his temples in stress. He mumbled a quick, 'He's wasting all my time and resources again, isn't he?' before a beautiful man, only slightly younger than the first stepped in. He looked to be wearing the opposite of Sunggyu. He wore a long night robe which was tied, so none could see if he were wearing clothes underneath or not. The garment was that to mimic a sunrise, the reds, oranges, and pinks highlighted his pale skin tone. His slippers were the same as the Emperor's only in red. His black hair brushed the back of his neck and barely scrapped the top of his large, black eyes.

The beautiful man scurried over to Sungjong and gracefully tucked his knees in to sit beside the fairy-god maknae. "Sungjong-Ah. What a surprise! Who are your lovely friends?" His sweet voice echoed through the room.

"Oh hush up, darlin'. I know what you want." The man feigned hurt by the younger's words. "This is Hoya and Dongwoo, though." Sungjong sighed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a long black tube. "Kids, this is his highness, Emperor Woohyun."

Woohyun flashed a quick smile and nod of the head. In a matter of seconds, however, he had pulled a compact mirror out of nowhere and was already applying the make-up. After mere seconds, the make-up was perfectly outlining his eyes, which he used to glare at Sungjong. "Woah, wait, Sungjong... Where's my T.V. and Computer?"

"Baby, I'm gonna tell you this because I care about you." The maknae put a hand on the crook of his nose, closing his eyes, "You have literally two pages left to fill in your debt book. I've asked the company to left me get you a bigger book and they said no. If you keep this up, y'all won't have space for something important..."

"Honey, have you seen our house? It's getting pretty bad. What's that one show you watch? Hoarders?" Sunggyu thought aloud.

"HOARDERS? I'm not a hoarder! I can't even believe you could accuse me of such a thing." Woohyun gave his silk-like hair a good flick before saying, "I just value material items. There's nothing wrong with that when a lot of places in the world have little to no material items. Besides, this Kingdom has nothing interesting, so I need my things to keep me entertained!"

Sunggyu and Sungjong stared at Woohyun with a less-than-impressed expression. Sungjong opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it, and buried his head in his hands. Sunggyu sighed, "Oh, so then I guess you wouldn't mind if I ... I dunno, took one of the T.V.s from our bedroom and gave it to Master Kim from down the street? His birthday IS coming up soon..."

"AH NO! You can't do that! I need ALL my things, Sunggyu! That's why I wished for them!" Woohyun stuck his nose in the air.

"Babe, are you giving me sass?" Sunggyu stood up in a fluid motion and walked to one of the corners of the room. He picked up a dust covered artifact, it was merely a decoration, but Woohyun cringed when Sunggyu handled it with little care. "Sungjong, how much am I paying for this?"

Sungjong opened his book and said, "5 hours of Luck."

"Woohyun, we could've bought clothes for all the children in orphanage with that luck! Don't you think their little toes will be cold on Christmas morning?" Sunggyu's eyes turned misty as he thought of the unfortunate children.

The sassy Emperor glared at his husband, "Don't bring children into this. You know how I feel... Sunggyu." Woohyun spat out his name like it was a curse word.

The older Emperor stood in front of the man he loved and folded his arms, "Then perhaps you have forgotten that I am not the only Emperor of this country and that you need to care for all of your people."

Woohyun stood up as well, taking offense to the other's words, ready to start a fight with his husband. Sungjong turned to Dongwoo and Hoya to apologize. "Don't be too surprised if you see them fight like this a lot. I fear it might be my fault. They both used to live like the rest of the Kingdom, but I took them to see what I'd done with the Western Kingdom and Woohyun got a little jealous, and everything just escalated after that..." Sungjong sighed.

"But they do this EVERY time you come? How are they still together?" Hoya asked, eyes widening as he saw Sunggyu threaten throw the useless decoration on the ground. Sungjong nodded.

"They love each other though... Their relationship story is one of the strangest ones I've ever been a part of." The fairy shook his head, remembering the odd tale.

"Ohh What happened?" Dongwoo asked, smiling brightly, always ready for a good love story.

Just as Sungjong was about to tell the story from his point of view, they all heard Woohyun screech and jump on top of Sunggyu's back. "Shut up, he-demon! You know your mother doesn't like me!" Woohyun wrapped his arms around Sunggyu's neck.

Sunggyu coughed and feel the floor, "... and your mother just comes for the free wifi!"

Sungjong turned back to his younger friends. Deciding to leave the two to their family feud, "Let's see I met Sunggyu about five years ago..." He noticed Dongwoo and Hoya trying to pay attention to the story, but the impending law suit in the background was getting very interesting as well.

"I always pay for debts, too!" Sunggyu had somehow pinned Woohyun to the floor. "Why do you think whenever we go to bed, I just lie there, waiting for you to sleep?" He reached up quickly and grabbed the black book from the table. Laying it on top of Woohyun, he opened it and read a whole section, "Let's see, honey,  you wished for an in-ground pool, a bowling alley, a golf course, a tennis court, a movie-viewing room, movies to go with it, Jeeves, and the eternally-growing chocolate tree... all in one wish!"

Sunggyu's hand scrolled over the page to find the price, "ah ha, and here's the price! I took the price for it myself, like I do for ALL your wishes. Sungjong coupled all these wishes into one, and the price was that I can't sleep for the rest of the year! No matter how tired I get, I physically CAN'T sleep." the Emperor pouted and put the book back on the table.

"Sunggyu, love. Why didn't you ever tell me..." Woohyun looked up to Sunggyu with pitying eyes. Sunggyu forced himself to look at Woohyun, knowing he would melt in his husband's eyes. The older placed one small kiss on Woohyun's lips and stood up.

"Don't worry about it, Woohyun." He helped Woohyun stand, and the moved back to the table. Each taking their seats respectively, Sungjong sighed and crossed his arms.

"Are you two done? I still have important things to discuss." Sungjong busily moved the book into the position it was in before, perfecting the smallest things. Sunggyu bowed his head apologetically and turned to the new comers.

"I'm very glad to meet the both of you, and I'm sorry you had to witness this as your first impression of myself and Woohyun, " Sunggyu took over the conversation again, addressing Dongwoo and Hoya, "However, and excuse me for my incompetence, but I fail to see the reasoning behind you being here..."

Sungjong smiled and laughed. "I'm sorry, Sweets. Let me explain." The flamboyant maknae tapped lightly on the debt book while explaining. "Basically, all y'all need to know is these two were kicked out of their homes and need a place to stay, and as I reckon," He tossed open the book, "you two have quite a debt to settle with me. Let these two stay here with you and consider your first whole page of debts paid for."

The rulers didn't even need to look at each other before stating the answer in unison seconds after, "DONE!"

-------------------

Hoya, Dongwoo, and Sungjong followed Woohyun and Sunggyu through the palace. The large complex of buildings and rooms in the oriental Kingdom seemed to have more than enough rooms to house an army, so when they kept walking past rooms in the hall, Dongwoo became very confused.

Fortunately, when he looked over to Hoya, he seemed to be thinking the same thing. Neither of them, however, wanted to break the silence, or make a bad first impression on the Emperors, so they stayed silent. The two were content with just holding hands.

Deciding that maybe, perhaps Sungjong would know the answer to the question, Dongwoo asked quietly enough for only the fairy to hear. "Hey, Sungjong... Why are we taking so long when there are a bunch of rooms here...?"

The fashionable man huffed and shifted his gaze to Woohyun for a split second before continuing, "Well you see, Sweet pea, and I'm gonna be brutally honest here, Woohyun has 'bought' and traded so much junk that they now only have one bedroom left that can be used by guests. Don't get me wrong, now, ya hear? Woohyun and Sunggyu do a great job with organization, and they have a VERY high idea of what a guest room entitles. With Woohyun's things," They stopped at a beautiful, paper-thin door, "THIS is the only room that fits their criteria."

Sunggyu himself held the door open for the two. "I hope that everything will be fine for you. Our chambers are just down the hall. Spare clothes can be found in the drawers. Breakfast is always served at 8:00, but there is no time you are forbidden from going to the kitchen, or rather any part of this house." He and Woohyun bowed deeply, "Goodnight, honored guests." They said in unison before heading down the hall to the tea room again.

Sungjong turned to the two and sighed, "Now I gotta go talk to them about important things... See y'all in the morning!" He waved, flouncing down the hall to the tea room.

-------------------

The two hadn't been in the room for more than half an hour and the former prince was already out like a light. Dongwoo, on the other hand, wasn't even in the slightest bit tired. The day had been far too exciting!

The young man hopped off his comfortable little mat and tip-toed his way to the door, lest he wake Hoya.

Dongwoo's original intention was to head to the kitchen for a drink, then try to get some sleep. His plan, however, was quickly spoiled when he realized just how big the palace was. He wandered the wooden hallways for a bit, seeming to go everywhere BUT the kitchen.

Finally, after 20 minutes of walking, Dongwoo heard voices talking. He started racing toward the noise source, eventually stopping at the familiar tea room. He glanced inside, not wanting to interrupt anything too important. He saw only the slim maknae and the tired Emperor. He waited outside and began listening to the conversation.

"Sungjong, you know how important this is... Not only for the Kingdom, but for me as well. I'm ready to take this step in my life." Sunggyu spoke, sounding a little hurt.

"Honey, Let's not forget HOW big a step this is. I have no doubt that you could do this, but I KNOW Woohyun is not expecting this... at all." Sungjong was obviously trying to be sympathetic and realistic at the same time.

"Sungjong... Can I just see the prices again? What if we gave some stuff back?" Sunggyu was reaching desperate.

"You and I both know Woohyun would rather throw himself in front of horses on a race track than give up his things."

"Damn, why do I have to love him so much?" Sunggyu sighed.

Dongwoo's heart broke. He felt this overwhelming need to help the couple get what they wanted without sacrificing anything. He was ready to step out and play saving grace but he still needed to see what this big wish was.

"Baby, now might not be the right time..." Sungjong put a hand on the Emperor's shoulder.

"Would waking Woohyun up help at all?" Tears could practically be seen forming in his eyes. Whatever this wish was, he wanted it with his entire being. Sungjong smiled and nodded to the red-haired ruler.

After Sunggyu left the room, Sungjong sighed and spoke a little louder than normal, "Dongwoo... I know you're there. You too, Hoya."

Dongwoo whipped his head around only to come face-to-face with the former prince.

The two bowed apologetically, but Sungjong still motioned for them to come into the room and sit.

"Sungjong... Just WHAT is going on?" Dongwoo asked, trying not to beat around the bush.

Sungjong sighed and took a deep breath, trying to form sentences in his head. "Well, boys," He chose his words carefully, "It's a lovely, heart-felt wish with a terrible situation to go with it."

The whole time, the fairy-god maknae talked, he had been flipping through the filled pages of the Emperor's debt book, "Sunggyu, the poor dear, wishes for something that is originally very expensive, and with these debts, is impossible to pay."

Without even knowing the wish, Dongwoo knew he wanted to help. He gave Hoya a quick glance. The more time Dongwoo spent with Hoya, the more he felt like he was understanding the other. When he looked into Hoya's eyes, he could see the same emotions that he himself felt for the elegant older couple. Even though they were both sad for the couple, he loved sharing these little moments with Hoya.

Sunggyu glided his way back into the room, dragging a half-awake Woohyun behind him. He led Woohyun to his seat and helped him sit. Neither Dongwoo or Hoya understood their relationship, but they could tell that it was definitely one that had its roots in true love.

"Dongwoo, Hoya. Did you not find your beds very comfortable?" Sunggyu asked, genuinely worried.

Both men shook their heads, signifying to Sunggyu that any problems they are dealing with have nothing to do with the bedroom.

"Ah... I'm glad..." Sunggyu bent his head, trying to show a little happiness although there were clearly other thoughts in his head.

The group sat in silence for a moment before Woohyun, waking from his dead state, lifted his head and turned to his husband, "Sunggyu, is there something wrong? Why did you wake me up?"

The kind Emperor took hold of his love's hand and held it tightly, the backside with his thumb, "Darling, we need to talk about something very important."

Woohyun eyed his husband suspiciously, "I can imagine..."

"I want you to know, right from the beginning, that this is not just for the Kingdom. I know many times, it seems to you that I spend more attention to the Kingdom, but in this situation, I want nothing more than you to think of this as something that I want. I hope you will want this as well. I ... believe it could even help strengthen our marriage..." A tear fell down Sunggyu's cheek as he thought of the possibility of Woohyun saying 'no'.

Woohyun looked at Sunggyu with loving eyes, brushing his one tear away, "Just tell me what this wish is, love..."

"Woohyun, I... want to raise a child with you."

As Woohyun's face went blank, and his hand went limp, Sunggyu held on a little tighter. "Woohyun, stay with me. I'm not done. I know we can do this. We're the right age, we have the money, and we have to raise a child sometime... We need an heir."

The flabbergasted man tried to speak words that only came out as barely audible sounds. "Sunggyu, I..."

The Emperor quickly interrupted the younger, trying to tell him the true conflict, "There is a situation, though," Woohyun seemed to come more into focus with this new statement. "Sungjong may be able to help us, but the cost is too much... We have a LOT of debt, Woohyun."

The usually graceful Emperor only nodded, finally finding his voice, he said, "Then, Sunggyu, how will we pay?"

Sungjong had nearly died in pity during the entire scene. He thought it might be time to relieve the couple of the night's stress and left them sleep on it. Not only them, but he needed to sleep on the solution as well. "Sugar, I don't want you worrying about nothing right now. At least not the cost. I've made everything else work this far, I'm sure I can think of something!" He clenched his fist in determination. "Y'all go on and sleep."

The Emperors looked regretful that they could not stay up to make sure their guests were alright, but they respected that the guests did not wish to sleep. They stood, bowed, and slowly walked back to their room, Woohyun's arm placed carefully on top of Sunggyu's outstretched arm. The trail of their robes intertwining every few steps.

Sungjong buried his face in his hands, "Oh, honey-cakes, this is a nasty situation." He groaned.

Dongwoo furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. "Ah, Hoya," he turned to his previous fiance, "I wish there was something we could do. We're staying in their house practically for free for the night and ... I just feel bad, ok?"

Hoya rubbed Dongwoo's back and smiled a bitter-sweet smile, "I know Dongwoo. I feel the same."

Suddenly, as if triggering a gun, Sungjong's head shot up. "That's it! I know what to do!"