Sunggyu was brushing his teeth the next morning, while he stood in his living room, flipping through the television channels. He stopped at some day time talk show when he noticed his name being mentioned.

“Yes, being a royal handler has gained much popularity since success stories like that of Kim Sunggyu’s.” A lady in an apricot blazer explained. “The amount of students striving for school and teaching based majors has been steadily increasing since Kim Sunggyu came into the picture.”

“Ah yes.” An older man sitting beside her sighed. “You know I asked my grandson what he wanted to be when he grows up…and you know what he said? He wants to turn people into kings like Sunggyu hyung-nim!” The group at the table all burst into collectively polite laughter.

Sunggyu was smiling gleefully at the screen. Sure he knew his popularity had steadily been growing, but he still wasn’t quite used to certain aspects of fame, such as being talked about on television. He hurriedly rushed out of the room to phone up his mother to tell her about it. But he left the television on, and didn’t hear what the hosts were discussing.

“But you know there’s been that new handler who might be giving Kim Sunggyu-sshi a run for his money.” The old man pointed out.

“Ah that’s right…Nam Woohyun-sshi.” The lady in orange glanced down at her papers. “He’s a few years younger, but he’s been getting quite a lot of praise for his friendly, gentler approach.”

“Ah really…” The other hosts nodded.

“While Kim Sunggyu-sshi is known for his tough, no-nonsense, and strict teaching methods, this man is the opposite. He likes to be at the same level as his students, and become something of a friend and helpful ally to them.”

“And not to mention he’s quite easy on the eyes.” A thirty-something lady giggled. “I just want to eat him up!”

“Aigoo…” The old man sighed. “You’re a married woman aren’t you? Does your husband know you’re looking at younger men like that?” He shook his head and sighed, earning laughter from the studio audience and the other hosts.

*

“Ok, so you know that simple test we took yesterday?” Sunggyu shuffled through a folder, as the princes all focused their attention on him. “Well actually you all did pretty well.”

“Yay!” Sungyeol cheered.

“Except for you.”

“Oh…” Sungyeol pouted eyes downcast. Sunggyu awkwardly patted him on the shoulder.

“Uh, but that’s ok. Since that was one of the main things you had to work on…” Sunggyu assured him. “Relax, ok? Soon enough you’ll be an expert.”

Sungyeol looked up at him with a childlike innocence. “R-Really?”

“Of course.” The tiniest hint of a smile threatened to form at the corner of Sunggyu’s mouth. He couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe these kids weren’t so bad. But then he unconsciously eyed the seat across from the Lotus Prince, which was still vacant. “Still no sign of the Rose Prince huh?”

*

“Myungsoo-yah!”

Myungsoo was standing outside the Rose palace, near the lake, busy snapping pictures with his camera.

“Woohyun hyung.” He turned around and smiled slightly in greeting at the other man who was running across the lawn towards him.

“What’re you doing?” Woohyun asked, as he sank down on the bench behind the younger man, attempting to catch his breath. “Taking pictures again?”

“Yeah…” Myungsoo nodded, studying his camera for a moment, before raising it up and taking a shot of a stray leaf floating in the lake. “What’re you doing here at the palace hyung?”

“I came to see you of course.” Woohyun had on a bright smile, but Myungsoo barely noticed, still distracted with the leaf in the water.

“Why?” Myungsoo asked nonchalantly.

“Why? Can’t I see come to see you?” Woohyun pouted.

Myungsoo finally took his attention off the leaf, and went to sit beside Woohyun. “Why are you answering my question with another question?”

“Because that’s what us Rose kingdom guys do.” Woohyun grinned.

“I guess…” Myungsoo sighed, and focused his gaze on the water. He spotted some petals from the nearby flower bush trickle down, forming little ripples in the water as they landed. “You like flowers right hyung?”

“Hm…” Woohyun turned to him. “Well, yeah I guess. I mean some girls like getting them.”

“Girls…” Myungsoo murmured, studying his shoes for a moment.

“What’s this?” Woohyun playfully poked Myungsoo’s arm. “Could it be…there’s a special girl you’re interested in?”

“No.” Myungsoo replied blankly, matching Woohyun’s gaze. “Not a girl…”

“…Ok?” Woohyun tilted his head. “If it’s not a girl, than who could it be? A zebra?”

“Never mind…” Myungsoo sighed, fumbling about with his camera for a moment, before turning and taking a picture of Woohyun.

“Sorry I was just kidding.” Woohyun frowned. “You can tell me you know. Whoever it is…I won’t tell anyone or judge you.”

“What’d you come here for anyways?” Myungsoo blinked, deciding to change the subject.

“Oh right…well you know you have a lesson today?”

“Lesson?”

“Yeah, prince lessons.” Woohyun replied. “Don’t you remember?”

“Oh that’s going on now?” Myungsoo grabbed Woohyun’s wrist to check the time on his watch. “I guess I lost track of time…”

“Yah, you’re already an hour late.” Woohyun sighed and stood up, dusting off his trousers.

“Do you think the teacher will be mad?” Myungsoo asked, nervously.

Woohyun smiled to himself, before pulling the younger man off the bench. “As long as you show up, I think he’ll forgive you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, so come on.” Woohyun dragged Myungsoo across the yard. “Let’s go!”

*

The taxi they took dropped them off at the parking lot of the Garden palace library. Myungsoo glanced at Woohyun, noticing the older man seemed slightly uncomfortable, as they got out of the car.

“What’s wrong hyung?”

“Hm?” Woohyun wrapped his arms around his own waist nervously. “Nothing…” He shot Myungsoo a casual smile, and started walking ahead of him. When he noticed the prince wasn’t following, he stopped and turned. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you coming?” Myungsoo nodded slowly and grabbed hold of Woohyun’s hand, and then continued walking. Woohyun didn’t really mind and allowed himself to be pulled along by the younger man. As soon as they reached the entrance of the library, however, he completely froze.

“Uh…you go ahead Myungsoo.” Woohyun murmured, clutching onto the door frame.

“Hm?” Myungsoo blinked. “Okay…if you say so. Thanks for bringing me here hyung—.”

“Yeah ok bye.” Woohyun waved him off, then whined slightly, and grabbed onto Myungsoo’s arm again. “Wait. Don’t leave!”

Myungsoo halted in his steps, frowning. “Why? I have to go to class.”

“I…I have to go too.” Woohyun admitted. He paused for a moment, before reaching into his pocket and fishing out a pair of sunglasses. He hastily put them on, and smoothed the collar of his shirt.

“Huh? Why? You’re not a prince—.” Myungsoo’s question was left unanswered however, as Woohyun dragged him into the library.

*

“Hoya was actually the one who did the best with the test.” Sunggyu explained. “As long as you watch your tongue, I think you’d be pretty successful with dinner parties. You’re good at making sure there isn’t an awkward atmosphere and you know how to act mature when the situation calls for it.”

“Good job man!” Dongwoo patted the younger prince on the shoulder. Hoya grinned and looked down, feeling somewhat embarrassed at the flood of compliments.

“Ah look who it is!” They all looked in the direction Sungyeol was pointing, to see Myungsoo approaching them. He was holding hands with someone who the princes didn’t recognize, but Sunggyu certainly did.

Woohyun immediately made eye contact with Sunggyu and gulped as he adjusted his sunglasses.

“He’ll never recognize me with this fool proof disguise!” Woohyun thought to himself, with a confident grin.

“Woohyun?”

“Oh crap.”

“What’re you doing here?” Sunggyu questioned, unsure if he should be hugging, or strangling the younger man. “And why are you wearing sunglasses indoors?” Then he noticed that Woohyun was holding hands with Myungsoo and instantly became suspicious. “You know the Rose Prince?”

“Uh…” Woohyun cleared his throat, wary of the stares he was receiving from the princes, as he peeled off his sunglasses. “Well, my name is Nam Woohyun and—.”

“Don’t tell me you kidnapped the Rose Prince?!” Sunggyu gasped. “Yah, stalking me is one thing, but a prince? Isn’t that too much—?”

“L-Let’s talk in private Kim Sunggyu-sshi whom I have just met!” Woohyun frantically made a grab for Sunggyu’s arm and pulled him behind a book shelf.

“What’s gotten into you? Stalking and kidnapping? When did you become such a bad kid?” Sunggyu nagged. “What would your brother think if he knew? Don’t tell me you did something to him too—?”

“Can you just shut up for a second?” Woohyun sighed. “I didn’t kidnap the Rose Prince. I brought him here for your lesson.”

“Oh…” Sunggyu blinked. “But why?”

“Or should I say…our lesson?” Woohyun folded his arms smugly, staring up at Sunggyu.

“What do you mean by that?” Sunggyu eyed him skeptically. “And why were you stalking me before? And how did you even know I was holding lessons here? And—.”

“Ah so many questions!” Woohyun groaned, leaning an elbow on the dusty book shelf beside him. “As if you even care about anything having to do with me…”

Sunggyu frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you still upset about what happened…uh when was it? A year ago?”

“I-It wasn’t a year! It was nine months, eight weeks, and thirty days ago!”

“That is a year.”

“…Oh.” Woohyun pouted. “Well still! I don’t care about it. In fact I don’t even know what you’re talking about! A year ago? Did something happen then—?” He froze when he felt Sunggyu’s hand on his head.

“You look a bit older, but you’re still pretty cute.” Sunggyu grinned, as he his head gently. Woohyun immediately grabbed Sunggyu’s wrist, and pulled it away from his hair.

“Don’t touch me.” Woohyun muttered.

Sunggyu snorted. “That’s not what you said the other morning when you attacked me in my shower—.

“Th-That wasn’t—!” Woohyun’s eyes went wide.

“Yah, you better delete that picture of me.” Sunggyu wagged a warning finger in Woohyun’s face. “If anyone sees that, my career will be over…”

“Oh…” Woohyun smiled bitterly. “Well we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

Sunggyu merely tilted his head, in a state of blissful oblivion. “Well yeah, obviously. Anyways, what did you say you were doing here again?”

“As I said before…this is now our class.” Woohyun explained nonchalantly. “We’re going to be co-teachers.”

“Hah that’s funny.” Sunggyu waved him off with an amused chuckle. “But I don’t need an assistant.”

“Well that’s fine. Since I’m not your assistant.” Woohyun gave him an unhappy pout. “I’m on the same level as you. We’re equals.”

“That’s just ridiculous.” Sunggyu sighed.

“What’s so ridiculous about it?!” Woohyun clenched his fists, becoming defensive.

“You’re just a kid…you’re not a teacher—.”

“For your information, I graduated from Rose University, fifth in my class!” Woohyun stated proudly.

“Fifth? Is that something to be proud of?”

“Apparently you haven’t been watching TV lately.” Woohyun remarked, folding his arms in a haughty manner. “Because I’ve been getting pretty popular lately.”

“Popular? With what?”

“People are even comparing the two of us! Saying I could soon surpass you and that my teaching methods are superior—.”

“So you really did it, huh?” Woohyun was taken off guard by Sunggyu suddenly pulling him into a hug. He unconsciously closed his eyes taking in the older man's scent. He was about to move his arms to return the hug when Sunggyu pulled away. He gasped, regaining his consciousness.

“Th-That was close…” Woohyun thought to himself, clutching his chest. “I almost…”

And there it was. Sunggyu’s killer adorable eye smile that never failed to turn Woohyun’s legs into jelly.

“Boohyun and I…we were always worried you would never graduate.” Sunggyu ruffled up the younger man’s hair. “Since you were always messing around, but you actually did it. I…I’m so proud of you.”

Woohyun gulped, forgetting what he was supposed to be doing. “Uh…”

Sunggyu immediately became embarrassed and cleared his throat. “A-Anyways…you were saying something?”

“Teacher…” Woohyun mumbled. “I-I’m a teacher—no a handler! And I’m going to handle this class with you. No I mean teach this class, and handle you. Ah wait no I mean—.”

Sunggyu raised an eyebrow, immune to Woohyun’s incessant rambling. “Did the Rose Queen send you here?”

“No. All of them did. The Rose Queen, the Sunflower Queen, the Lotus King—.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” Woohyun shrugged. “I guess they thought you needed some help.”

*

“CARL!” The Rose Queen yelled as she settled into her rose water scented bubble bath. A female maid rushed into the bathroom.

“Y-You needed something my lady?”

“I asked for Carl!” The Rose Queen demanded, as she picked up a pink loofah and scrubbed her shoulder.

“B-But Carl is a man…w-wouldn’t that be uncomfortable for you?” The maid asked in a timid voice.

“Hm, I guess you have a point there Carla.”

The maid blinked. “M-My name isn’t Carla—.”

“Carla, be a dear and hand me that bar of soap.” The Rose Queen gestured to a pink bar sitting on the soap dish which was perched on the rack beside the tub. The maid rushed through the rather spacious bathroom across the checker board tiled floor. As soon as she handed the soap to the Queen, they heard a disturbance coming from down the hall.

“W-Wait! You’re not authorized to enter—!”

Suddenly the bathroom door burst open, and Sunggyu barged in, with a determined look. He faltered slightly, when he realized the Queen was taking a bath. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze.

“I-I need to talk to you, Your Highness.”

“Ah Sunggyu-sshi!” The Queen greeted, merrily.

“But I can come back if—.”

“Oh it’s quite alright!” The Queen announced, and boldly stood up in the tub. Sunggyu gasped lightly, his eyes glued to the floor, as the Queen gestured for the maid to get her a robe.

“Hyung! Wait for—!” Woohyun stopped dead in his tracks, at the sight of the queen.

“Y-Yah don’t look!” Sunggyu clamped a hand over Woohyun’s eyes and dragged him out of the bathroom.

“W-What’re you doing?!” Woohyun struggled against the older’s hold, after he was pulled into the hall.

“I-I said don’t look!” Sunggyu hissed.

“Why?” Woohyun shrugged. “Its nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“W-What?” Sunggyu pouted. “W-What do you mean it’s nothing you haven’t—?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Woohyun stared at the upset man, and then muttered under his breath. “You think I would wait for you forever?”

Sunggyu didn’t hear Woohyun’s last words, but, let go of Woohyun’s arm. He nodded slowly. “Yeah…you’re right. It’s good…its better this way. I’m happy for you.”

“Well I don’t care what you think either way.” Woohyun brushed him off.

“Right…” Sunggyu smiled sadly. “You shouldn’t…”

Woohyun refused to look at Sunggyu and his somber expression. “Why is he being like this? He was the one who—.”

“So what did you want to see me about Sunggyu-sshi?” The Queen appeared in the door way, now fully covered in a silky red robe.

“It’s about this.” Sunggyu pointed to Woohyun.

“Ah Woohyun-sshi!” The Queen greeted the younger man cheerfully and Woohyun bowed politely in response.

“Why was he sent to my class? I don’t need an assistant.”

“I’m not your assistant.” Woohyun piped up, more than a little annoyed.

“Well, everyone agreed that you seem to be a little overwhelmed taking on five fully grown boys all at once. So we decided to hire Woohyun-sshi to help you out.”

“And no one thought to discuss this with me first?” Sunggyu sighed.

“Well, it was pretty clear you were struggling Sunggyu-sshi.” The Queen gave him a knowing look. “Remember that mental breakdown you had the last time you came here? And also you never could get my Myungsoo to participate in your class, so—.”

“I only had that mental breakdown because this weirdo was stalking me!” Sunggyu jabbed a thumb in Woohyun’s direction. “And it’s not my responsibility to get your son to my class.”

“Yes, but I feel like I’m wasting my money, since my son isn’t even present to learn whatever you’re teaching.” The Queen put a hand to her cheek in a delicate fashion.

“Well then maybe you should actually tell your son about his lesson, and make sure he gets there instead of taking a freaking bubble bath in the middle of the damn day.” Sunggyu muttered.

“And that’s why I thought Woohyun-sshi would be the best option.” The Queen remained oblivious to Sunggyu’s biting words. “Since my Myungsoo seems to get along so well with him.”

Sunggyu studied Woohyun from the corner of his eye. “Fine, then just have Woohyun bring him to class. He can leave after that.”

“Yah.” Woohyun frowned. “I’m not a chauffer. I have a degree!”

“Ok great! Then go teach somewhere else!” Sunggyu retorted.

“No can do. Myungsoo might disappear while he’s in class. He’ll stay if Woohyun-sshi is there to—.”

“What is he? A ghost? Why would he just disappear?” Sunggyu questioned, rubbing his temples and groaning. “He’s a person isn’t he?”

“He’s just like that…” The Queen smiled fondly, wondering what she was going to eat for her afternoon snack. “Hm…well if that’s all.” She clasped her manicured fingers together. “I have some macarons awaiting…”

“No that’s not all.” Sunggyu frowned. “We haven’t even discussed—.”

“Carl will show you the way out!” The Queen was already making her way down the hall, as she waved a royal hand in their direction.

Sunggyu shook his head, completely frustrated.

“I hate her…” He grumbled.

“Ballsy thing to say while we’re standing in her palace.” Woohyun commented, casually leaning against the wall.

Sunggyu turned to Woohyun. “Why did you even agree to this job? If you knew you were going to be working with me…” He bit his lip, averting his gaze. “Wouldn’t you not want that?”

Woohyun pursed his lips, angrily eyeing Sunggyu. “Not everything’s about you, you know?”

“Woohyun-ah…” Sunggyu took a step towards the other. “I didn’t think that. I just meant—.”

“The pay was good. Plus it looks good on a resume.” Woohyun replied curtly. “That’s all.”

“But…it’s going to hurt—.”

“I already told you.” Woohyun huffed. “I don’t care what you think anymore. I’m done with you. So nothing you can say or do will hurt me.” At that he marched off, leaving Sunggyu standing there.

“Its not you that’s going to get hurt stupid…” Sunggyu thought as he watched Woohyun get farther and farther away from him. “It’s me…”