Hi! ^.^

A double update for today! I will update again tomorrow since time is being unkind to me. 

Thank you all for your kind comments and also the subscriptions! *bows bows* 

Do stay and read... and I sincerely hope that no one is disappointed with this lack luster updates! I ended up kind of over-emphasising the POV's... T^T Aigoo!! When am I ever going to finish droning if this continues!?! Tehee

Ciao~ xoxo

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“By order of the king.”

“I hereby betroth Kim Jaejoong to my best friend for life, Jung Yunho.”

“Jung Yunho is not to bully his lawful wife, Kim Jaejoong, for forever. And they will stay together until they become old and die.”

As soon as the messenger is done dictating the content written on the single scroll consisting of a piece of golden clothe, he raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat, as if trying to ease the suffocating atmosphere.

Just done with cringing throughout the short yet terrifyingly childish decree, the king wished he had a tool on hand to dig a hole in the ground with, and bury himself. Even the royal messenger is obviously having a hard time stifling a good laugh while the rest of his subordinate turns away awkwardly, praying that Yoochun will not catch them in the act of grinning uncontrollably.

Taking note to abolish the stupid rule stating that he will need another edict to revoke the already ‘processed’ edict even though he is present at the reading, the king is undeniably baffled by how stubborn the royal messenger is, wondering if he should replace the man for humiliating him. Nevertheless, Yoochun is not in the position to take back ‘his words’, since he had made a promise to Junsu.

Looking down, the king is met with an unimpressed Yunho and that is only an understatement.

“Ah… eh… that was… what I wanted to tell you earlier… you know.” The king stuttered as Yunho raises from kneeling on the ground. The advisor’s expression is unreadable, and all he did was retreat back to the table, continuing from where he left off, with the drinking session. “You are behaving and writing like a five year old.” The advisor frowned at the king as the man follows.

While watching the door shut, Yoochun had to supress the urge to reopen the door and yell at the group of his lackeys, who are laughing so loudly, right outside. Slamming his palms on the table surface, to scare them into stopping, and partially for the purpose of distracting Yunho from his drinking, the king is satisfied to know that both his targeted audience is giving him the demanded attention. “THAT WASN’T WRITTEN BY ME!! I just… that wasn’t… I didn’t come up with that!!”

With the mocking ceased, followed by terrified scattering of noisy footsteps as those outside escapes his pending wrath, Yoochun eases himself on to the chair next to the advisor and stares the man in the eye while the other handles the cup loosely with three fingers. “My table is expensive.” The advisor mumbled and Yoochun sulked.

“Yun ah. We are not getting any younger… so let’s just get ourselves married… alright?” Yoochun said under his breath, observing Yunho for any possible negative reaction. The king knows he has to stay focused to get the job done, and as soon as possible. The advisor just rested his chin on the table and whined, like a man. “Chun ah! I can’t marry him. I want him to be happy…”

“He will be happy to marry you. Who wouldn’t be? You are the next best thing aside from me.” The king beamed, somewhat relieved that the advisor is not taking the edict too seriously. “Well. I’m unavailable already, so that leaves you.”

“Availability isn’t an issue here. He hates me.” The advisor added somberly.

“That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t marry you!” The king’s logic isn’t easily acceptable amongst commoners. He is the king after all. No one defies the king.

“Which part of me wanting him to be married to me willingly don’t you understand?!” The advisor is beginning to get irritated, taking a few more mouthful of wine as he rolls his eyes. “He won’t even stay with me because he detests me, so I can’t marry him either.”

“Who cares if he is happy?” “What’s important is that you are happy!” Yoochun doesn’t really know what he is talking about either. He is just rambling on and on without giving his own words much thought. “We can never please everyone right?”

“I DO! I CARE ABOUT HOW HE FEELS!” The slightly tipsy advisor is now peeved and glaring at the startled king. “I decide who I marry. You just mind your own business and stop bugging me.” Yunho replied rather hurtfully, losing the ability to control his tongue to the drinks. “I’m not you, Yoochun. I tried, but it turns out that you just can’t change your destiny with sheer determination.” “I’m just not as barbaric as you are.”

“SAYS WHO?!” “You knocked him up didn’t you?! Yoochun argued. The king did never win the advisor in any of their private debates, since Yunho IS the brains while Yoochun is more of the… brawn.

“That was me trying to be like you… and it didn’t work for me.” Yunho replied. “Look.” “Can we not start quarrelling about this?!” “Can’t you see that I’m in a foul mood?!”

“You think I have all the time in the world to make sure you don’t remain an eligible bachelor for the rest of your pathetic life even though that’s a sin!?” “Just listen to me huh!” “I really have to get you married off. It’s my job!” Yoochun concluded.

“What are you? My mother?”

“NO! I’m the king.”

“Right… and that gives you the same rights as the person who gave birth to me to get me married off?”

“I just said I’m not your mother!!” “I’m… a concerned friend!” Yoochun disputed. Both of them know that Yoochun is not being himself since he was never the pushy kind of a person.

“I know.” The advisor answered plainly, fingers fiddling with the handle of the wine jug, pouring himself a new cup. Yunho is in no mood to ask the king for his motives, for such a random confrontation, and what is making him so damn persistent. “Thank you. But it’s really strictly my own business. I can handle myself.”

“What?!” “NO!” “I call the shots since I am the KING.” “I am not your FRIEND anymore. And I’m not your mother! I am your KING!!” Yoochun will not take ‘no’ for an answer.

“I know.” Yunho replied after swallowing another mouthful. He is starting to slur a little at last, chuckling as if Yoochun just made a joke. “And what will you do to me exactly? Execute me for refusing to marry?”

“I-I will!! You defied my orders!!” “You know who I am, don’t you?!”

“Thee almighty Yoochun.” The advisor’s head is already spinning since he has had one too many drinks, but he couldn’t be bothered. He had unknowingly downed a month’s worth of wine supply, meant for the Jung family’s guests, and he is close to bliss. Not even Yoochun can stop him from knocking himself out.

“YAHHH!!! JUNG YUNHO!! I-I. I… what makes you think I enjoy wasting my time like this?!” “You drunken piece of faecal matter!!” As soon as Yoochun is done hollering, Yunho has fallen off his chair and is lying on the ground, staring blankly into the ceiling. Yoochun can tell that his friend is in the slumps, but can’t find any words of comfort to offer the other.

“Chun ahh… what do I do?!” “I already miss him!” “Can’t sleep… can’t think straight… can’t do anything.” Yunho mumbled as Yoochun squats down beside him, pulling him up onto his feet.

“That’s why you have to marry him!!” “I will talk to your appa. He will help us.” The king is as insistent as ever.

“Stop it!! Don’t you think life is unfair enough?!! STOP RUBBING IT IN!!!!” The advisor couldn’t suppress the sudden outburst, raising his voice while he breaks free from his friend’s grasp and staggers back to his bed.

“I HATE ALL OF THIS!!! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS GET WHATEVER YOU WANT!?! WHAT ABOUT ME?!!” “ALL I WANTED WAS FOR HIM TO RECIPROCATE!! HELL I EVEN TRIED HARDER THAN YOU DID WITH JUNSU!!!” “IF NOT FOR YOU, HE WOULDN’T EVEN HATE ME AT THE FIRST PLACE!!!” “HE HATES ME BECAUSE OF YOU!!!” Yunho couldn’t keep his dangerous temper in check and ended up lashing out at Yoochun rudely; speaking whatever mean thoughts he has in his mind at the moment, without filtering. The king is wide eyed.

“STAY OUT OF THIS PARK YOOCHUN!! WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE!!?” “I AM JUNG YUNHO!! AND I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP SO BACK OFF!!” Yunho is becoming more aggressive with every passing minute and Yoochun soon found himself backing out of the advisor’s room, as the man shoves him.

“BAMMMM!!” With a slam of the doors, causing the floor to quake, Yoochun is officially cast out and trapped on the other side of the door. The king knows his friend does not mean to slam him so, but his words do hold a certain weight, enough to crush the other. Yunho isn’t one to bash anyone so harshly after all.

For the first time in his life, Yoochun is feeling more hurt than offended. No one has ever zinged him like Yunho did, but he isn’t even maddened. Not even Junsu’s words could pierce through his heart so efficiently. Yunho’s tongue might not be the kindest thing in the world, but this is also the first time they ever bickered on such a personal level. Yunho was always the one to give in.

Guilt accompanied Yoochun while he loiters outside his advisor’s room, trying to recall when the last time he showed Yunho any form of concern was. Yoochun’s unpremeditated soul searching did him no favour. The king is left with the troubling realisation that he had always been on the receiving end of everything good and the giving end of everything bad. He wasn’t and still isn’t the best type of friend, yet Yunho would never complain. Yoochun wondered if it’s really because he is the king, since Yunho was one who never cowers in his presence either.

It then dawned on Yoochun that Yunho had never bothered to seek him out in order to confide in him, and the king is feeling more indignant because of this fact. They grew up together, and Yunho is always the one giving him pats on the back and smiles of reassurance and encouragement. He, on the other hand, has never truly appreciated Yunho for the pains the man had to go through, just to ensure that he is a happy king. Much less be aware of Yunho’s feelings.

Cursing under his breath, the king tries to kick down the door and get confrontational, but the advisor had already barricaded the entrance with the tea table. The king is nettled, but he knows he has no rights to be. He was the one who started this entire ruckus, behaving like an insensitive spoilt brat, re-emphasising to Yunho, his loss.

Also, Yoochun is aware that if not for Junsu, he wouldn’t even know that his best friend is wallowing in sorrow. If not for Junho bringing up the idea of taking Jaejoong away, he wouldn’t even remember that the healer exists. Again, if not for Junsu, he wouldn’t even know that Yunho is in love and longing to be loved in return. He was that type of a friend.

Grumbling, the king simply can’t understand why Yunho was harping on felicity in marriage and alacrity on Jaejoong’s part. The king assumes that Jaejoong is just trying to play hard to get since the couple did sleep together at some point in time. He genuinely does not believe that Jaejoong would not fall for Yunho since his friend has the best personality in the entire era. Yoochun does not complicate things and prefers to get straight to the point, using either ‘like’ or ‘dislike’. He doesn’t know Jaejoong is a complicated person, who likes to waver between ‘love’ and ‘hate’.

Most importantly, Yoochun does not wish to see Yunho so depressed. He is undoubtedly affected after witnessing his friend fall apart in misery. He may not be the most desirable kind of friend, but he is not unredeemable.

Knowing that Yunho has indubitably done a lot for him over all this years, the king is prompted to think about how he can repay his friend. He feels indebted to Yunho, and even though he is pissed that the man just upbraided him and locked him out, he is still hoping to do something for this special friend of his.

TBC

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