Minho woke up that morning feeling like hammers were hitting his head from inside, which was very unpleasant.

What had happened the day before ? Had he drunk ? Well, he didn't really remember... He knew he had joined in the ball, had danced with Taemin and had confessed to him in his cottage but... After that, what had happened ?

Oh, yeah...

He had met Sulli and they had danced together for a while; now, the Prince remembered he had had a hard time not to day-dream while he thought of Taemin. And yes, he had drunk. How many glasses ? Good question. Probably a lot.

He hoped he hadn't had a weird behaviour... What if he had said or done wrong things ? He had never been weird when drinking before but he had never drunk that much either: usually, he still remembered the evening when he woke up.

Groaning, Minho rubbed his eyes and rolled on the other side of the bed. Sadly, he hadn't noticed he was quite on the edge of it and he ended up falling off with a shrill and a oh-so manly yelp.

It hurt ! Not the fall though, but the sound of his own voice resounding in his head was more than enough to make him hiss in pain.

Next time, he should remind himself not to drink that much...

He stood up and slowly walked to the window, trying not to fall as the room seemed to spin around him. He opened the window and breathed in, hoping the fresh air would help his dizziness to go under. Well, it worked but the sun also hurt his sleepy and swollen eyes, so he quickly stepped back.

He decided to take a bath and enjoyed the warm water for a while, slowly feeling better, although the hammers in his head slowly changed into ringing bells.

No alcoholic drinks for him during the next two months.

Well, no. He would surely drink some wine the day of his wedding... It would be a big party with lots of guests, lots of acrobats and entertainers, lots of food and lots of alcohol.

The wedding. His biggest fear. He already feared it before knowing that Taemin loved him but now, he felt like he had to do something to avoid it. But what could he do ? For sure, he couldn't go to the King and tell him that he knew everything about his son and that he was in love with him... Even if he said it by himself, that stupid King Sulmyong would think it was his son's fault and he would be really mad at Taemin. He would probably end up hurting him... Again.

And Sulli... It was obvious that the Princess loved him, he didn't want to break her heart but still... He couldn't lie to himself: Taemin was the love of his life while his sister was just a friend and a girl that he wanted to make happy.

But her happiness couldn't depend on him.

If he chose her, he would be miserable and feel resentment against her, since it was his wedding with her that kept him from finding his own happiness. Sulli would end up unhappy as well.

On the other hand, if he chose Taemin - and he really wanted to do so - she would be heartbroken.

He wanted to stay with Taemin. He needed him. He wanted to fight for his love but the one he had to fight against wasn't Sulli but her father. How could he do so without hurting his fiancée ?

He didn't know how and to say the truth, he felt like there wasn't any way to solve the problem. One of them would obviously be hurt in the future. Would it be Taemin, Sulli or himself ?

Sighing and thinking that it was too early to think over such serious topics, he came out of the bathroom with a white linen towel wrapped around his hips, heading for the wooden wardrobe to choose something to wear.

He glanced at the window and realized that the sun was quite high in the sky, so it wasn't as early as he had thought it was. It was probably about eleven o'clock...

He heard a knock at the door and automatically answered:

"Yeah, come in."

His brain chose to remind him that he wasn't wearing any clothes at that moment, when Sulli - and a guard behind her - opened the door, catching sight of his half- body in all its glory, some droplets of water still running down his chest and his abs.

Frozen, they stood perfectly still for a while, until the guard stammered:

"We... We are sorry, Y... Your High... Highness, we thought... We... Sorry !"

The man slammed the door and Minho quickly chose a random tunic; seconds later, he had gotten dressed and opened the door again, facing Sulli who was as red as a tomato.

"Hum... Hello." he said, smiling awkwardly.

She tried to smile as well but the result was rather creepy, so she gave up and said shyly:

"Hello, Minho... Did you sleep well ?"

He nodded, scratching his neck, and Sulli added, a bit more happily:

"I'm glad to know that. I was thinking maybe we should have a picnic in the garden, it's sunny outside and we should enjoy the nice weather..."

In the garden ? No. Everything but that place.

The garden was his and Taemin's place, the one where they had really talked for the first time and had learnt more about each other. The boy's cottage stood in the garden, it was the place they had confessed and kissed for the first time... He wasn't going there with Sulli.

"Why don't we go outside the City ?" he suggested. "What about a ride in the woods ? We can have a picnic in a glade."

Didn't it sound a bit too romantic ?

Sulli nodded happily and even clapped her hands together.

"This is such a nice idea !" she said. "I will ask a maid to prepare our meal and the groom will harness our horses. Can we meet in front of the stables in twenty minutes ? I need to change my clothes..."

She span round, showing him her beautiful, red dress. She was right, it wasn't an appropriate dress to go in the woods and in top of that, on a horse. So, he nodded and she quickly ran to her own bedroom, followed by the guard.

Minho slowly closed the door, trying to realize what he had just gotten into. A ride with Sulli. It meant they would probably spend a long time outside the City, and he wouldn't be able to see Taemin. Though, he had told him he would try to come to his cottage... Well, he would understand, right ? He wouldn't think he didn't keep his promise, would he ?

***

Minho wanted to punch himself right in the face. Why had he had that stupid idea to go on a ride ?! He still hadn't recovered from his hangover and it was really hard for him not to fall off his stallion while galloping. Focused on keeping his balance, he didn't pay much attention to the branches of the trees and he got hit several times.

He was relieved when they finally arrived in a glade and Sulli suggested to stop there in order to eat. Minho nodded a bit too happily and quickly got down his horse, almost tripping on his own feet.

Seriously... Why had he drunk that much ?!

Minho helped Sulli to get down as well; the Princess was riding side-saddle and he was really glad not to be a girl right now: he couldn't have ridden like that with his bad condition.

They let their horses graze and the two guards who were following the couple quickly laid a table-cloth on the grass and some pillows for them to sit down.

Pillows. In the woods. It was a picnic, not a party in the castle !

Still, Sulli sat down and smiled to the closer guard, who blushed. He quickly settled the sandwiches, vegetables and refreshments on the cloth before bowing and turning around; he walked to the second guard who was sitting a bit away from the couple, since he didn't want to disturb them, just keeping an eye on the surroundings in order to protect Sulli if needed. And Minho ? They didn't care: he was a man, he could defend himself.

They ate while chatting peacefully, until Sulli said:

"Minho... Can I ask you a weird question ?"

Surprised, the Prince stared at her with a curious gaze. Weird ? What did she mean ?

He slowly nodded, taking a sip from his drink and wondering what that was all about.

"Are you..." she began, blushing and talking on a low voice. "Are you a ?"

Minho choked on his drink and began to cough, while his fiancée seemed really embarrassed and hid her face in her hands.

"Why... Why do you ask ?" the Prince stammered, shocked.

"Well, I... Hum... Answer me first."

Now, it was Minho's turn to redden. Why did she even ask that ? It wasn't the kind of topic that a girl could talk about with her future husband, was it ?

"I am." he whispered, looking everywhere but at her.

Surprisingly, she sighed in relief before explaining to her fiancé:

"I'm glad to hear that... You know, most of the young men like you are quite used to be with women and I... I was wondering if you have already..."

She blushed even more and became silent but Minho understood what she meant.

"I haven't." he said.

How could he have slept with someone ? His first love had died before they could take that important step in their relationship and he was aware of Taemin's feelings since yesterday... But she didn't know that.

"I haven't either." Sulli told him with a tiny and shy smile. "To say the truth, I was quite scared, thinking you were more experienced than me and... I was afraid you should think that I wasn't... good enough."

She had whispered her last words, really embarrassed, and her next sentence almost killed Minho:

"Do you think our wedding night will be awkward ?"

"Well, it's awkward to ask..."

Sulli nodded, blushing, and didn't say a word anymore, while his fiancé was thinking about their whole conversation.

Yes, it was awkward to talk about that right now but still, he was amazed by Sulli's boldness. It was probably hard for a girl to enter upon that topic and to admit that she was scared but now, they were even... Both inexperienced, aware of it and afraid.

At least, Minho knew how to do it, since his father had told him literally everything he needed to know, but the King Minhyuk had never known his son was already well-informed about that: in order to reassure him, Nichkhun had explained to him how things happened between two man and he guessed that it wasn't much different with a girl.

"Do you think we will have children ?" Sulli asked, a bit more happily.

"I guess we will." Minho answered, thinking they would have to give an heir to the country.

"Do you want a girl or a boy ?"

The Prince thought over it several seconds, since he really didn't know what to answer: he had never thought of his future children before.

"I don't have any preference." he finally said.

The gender of his children didn't really matter, what was most important for him was... Would he be a good father ? He knew how fathers could be, his own had killed his lover and Taemin's father had broken him. He didn't want to be like them.

On the other hand, he was sure Sulli would be a good mother: she was nice and caring, courageous and so on... Actually, she was like the ideal wife.

Minho suddenly felt bad for thinking about a family life. What about Taemin ? He felt like he was cheating on him just by talking about that with Sulli, even if he should rather feel bad for being in love with someone else than his fiancée. He felt guilty but still, he didn't have any remorse. He had the right to love and if his lover had to be his fiancée's brother, so be it.

Why was his life so complicated ?

"Is something bothering you ?" Sulli asked. "You seem worried and you've barely eaten."

"I think I'm a bit sick today..." Minho admitted.

Maybe if he ate something, he would feel better but he had the intuition he would throw up if he did and since it wasn't really polite to do so in front of a lady... It was better if he didn't eat at all.

"Really ? Do you want to come back ?" Sulli asked in concern.

Why was she so kind ? It would have been so much easier for him if she had been rude or if they didn't get along... It was probably hard for Taemin too: he was her brother, what did it feel like to be in love with his sister's fiancé ?

"Well... I'm the one who suggested to go out, so I can't change my mind now." he answered.

Sulli shook her head and said:

"You are most important than our ride. Let's go back to the City."

She stood up and the guards immediately asked what was wrong, so she explained to them that they were all heading back for the castle. They gathered the cloth and the pillows; then they shoved the remaining food away. The animals would be happy to have that kind of meal.

The Prince and his fiancée approached their mounts and gathered the reins.

"Minho, can you help me to get on my horse ?" Sulli asked.

The Prince nodded, before realizing that she was doing it again: she wanted to be close to him. Still, he smiled and gently grabbed her waist to lift her up and allowed her to put her foot in the unique stirrup.

But things didn't happen as he was expecting them.

Sulli's foot slipped out of the stirrup and she fell with a yelp, wrapping her arms around Minho's neck in order to avoid a rough fall, but as she did so, she also drew her fiancé closer to her and they fell together, their lips crashing on each other as they grounded.

The Prince froze, unable to shove her away, but Sulli tried to kiss him for real, his lower lip and partly opening her owns.

Suddenly, he felt the weight on his stomach disappear and saw the two guards, who were now holding up his fiancée.

"Your Highness !" one of them exclaimed. "Are you alright ?"

"Yes, I am." she answered. "The stirrup was slippery and I fell, I'm sorry."

Minho was still laying on his back, his eyes wide open. She had kissed him. She had... Wait. Did she really fall or did she do it on purpose ?

He slowly stood up and turned away to discreetly wipe his lips with his sleeve. The thing he had tried to avoid had finally happened. And as he expected it, he didn't like it at all.

He felt relieved when he saw a guard helping Sulli to get on her mount and this time, she managed to do so; Minho got on his stallion as well and they headed back for the castle at a slow pace. Sulli was by his side but he didn't dare to talk to her, he didn't know what to say.

Finally, Sulli whispered:

"I'm sorry for what happened."

Minho gave a forced smile to her and answered:

"Well, it was an accident... I don't mind."

Since he was in this City, he felt like he was becoming a good liar. He usually didn't lie but he couldn't help it: lately, he had lied several times, trying to protect Taemin and to keep Sulli from being heartbroken. But would he really be able to keep on like that ?

No. Sooner or later, he would have to take a decision. He knew what it would be: there was no way he would marry Sulli and break up with Taemin, but still, it was hard to do.

He felt like he was drowning in his own thoughts, everything was blurry in his mind. He needed to talk to someone about his relation with Taemin, someone he could trust and who would give him advices without judging him.

But he didn't know anyone he could trust in this City... To say the truth, he didn't know anyone at all, except for courtiers, but they weren't friends nor worthy of his trust.

Minho didn't notice they were in sight of the City before the grass under the horses' hoofs became cobbles, and the different noise made him look up.

That morning, he had felt bad for not being able to see Taemin but even if he came back earlier than planned, he didn't want to go to him right now. He was too confused and he didn't want to show him that he was worried about their future.

When they finally arrived near the castle, Sulli told him:

"Maybe you should go to Jinki and ask for something to ease your pain."

Minho's eyes widened and he turned his head to her. Jinki. Why hadn't he think of him yet ?!

The Prince nodded and thanked his fiancée before getting down his stallion; caressing Flame's neck, he gave the reins to a servant who would bring him back to the stables. Then, he entered the castle and walked to the infirmary.

Jinki wasn't his friend but he was Taemin's. When they had talked about him, he had seemed really sad that the boy was treated that way and now, Minho understood that he knew everything from the start. He felt like he could trust the doctor, that he wouldn't tell the King... At least he hoped so.

The Prince peeked inside the infirmary and saw it was empty, except for Jinki, who was sitting on a chair and busy applying some green balm on his forearm.

"Hum... Jinki ?" Minho said, signalling his presence.

The doctor jumped in fear and turned around, sighing in relief when he saw the Prince.

"Hello. Do you need me ? I hope you aren't injured...Not like me." he said, smiling and showing him his arm. "I burned myself while I was cooking chicken."

"I'm not." Minho answered, coming inside the infirmary and closing the door behind him. "I just need to talk to you about something really important. Do you remember that day, when we talked about Taemin ?"

Jinki nodded, curious.

"I told you what happened in this room stayed here and today, I want you to promise me the same. Don't tell anyone what I'll tell you." the Prince added, serious.

The doctor furrowed his brows and asked:

"Why ? Is it really that important ?"

"It's about Taemin." Minho answered.

Jinki's features immediately softened and he said:

"I promise you, then. Did something bad happen to Taemin ?"

The Prince shook his head and sat on one of the beds.

"No." he said. "But I know everything. I know he is a boy."

The doctor's eyes widened and he stammered:

"B... But... How... You... It was a secret, how... ?"

"I love him."

"Are you kidding me ?" Jinki asked.

Minho stared at him without answering and the older man sighed.

"You're not." he stated. "I guess he's the one who told you about his gender ?"

"Yes. I confessed to him and he explained to me what happened when he was younger. Also, I have to thank you... I know you tried to change the King's mind."

"He also told you that..." Jinki mumbled. "I wish the King had listened to me. Taemin loves you too, doesn't he ? Otherwise, you still wouldn't know about his gender. Did you still think he was a girl when you confessed to him ?"

"Yes..."

"And you still love him, even if he's a boy ?" Jinki asked, a bit surprised.

"Well... You know, I don't like girls. I've always been attracted to boys and I thought I was in love with a girl, which was really weird. I'm relieved to know he's a boy but even if he had really been a girl, I would have loved him."

"So, I guess this is what we call true love... Your feelings are really intense."

Minho nodded and Jinki sighed, rubbing his temples.

"And Sulli ?" the doctor added. "She's your fiancée and you have to marry her in three weeks..."

"I know." the Prince answered. "I haven't forgotten. I don't want to hurt her but I can't leave Taemin either."

They remained silent for a while, both thinking of the situation.

"What are you going to do ?" Jinki asked.

"I don't know." the Prince answered. "Well, I know what I want. I would like to run away with Taemin and live somewhere else, far away from here. In a place where he wouldn't need to hide himself, where we could be happy together."

The young doctor smiled when he saw Minho's shining eyes: just thinking about a life with his lover was enough to make him happy.

"I don't know where we should go, though." the boy added. "And I know I can't leave everything like that, even if I really want to..."

"Running away seems to be the best way to avoid the King's anger. But what about Taemin ?" Jinki asked. "Do you think he would follow you if you told him that you want to run away ?"

Minho bit his lower lip, hesitating a bit. He hoped Taemin would go with him, of course: what had he here ? Nothing, except for some friends and a family that didn't love him. Sulli did, but she didn't spend much time with him. All the boy had was a cottage where he lived alone and since Minho was there, he also had the hope that things would get better.

But still, this City and the country-side were everything he had ever known and the Prince understood it could be scary to go to an unknown place... Also, Kibum and Jonghyun seemed to be really important for him, as well as Jinki. Would he agree to leave everything he knew in order to live with him ?

"I don't know." he finally answered.

Jinki heaved a sigh and whispered:

"Sulli is my friend as well as Taemin. It is really hard for me to help you or give some advices to you since I love them both but... Taemin has been miserable during his whole life and even if it sounds rude to say that, I think he deserves to be happy, more than Sulli does. I don't judge her and this isn't her fault but she has always been spoiled by their parents, as if they had given her the love they didn't give to Taemin. She probably loves you, but you don't. I think you should be sincere with her."

Minho slowly nodded but he didn't have the time to answer, because Jinki immediately asked:

"If you could, would you really give up on everything you have here to be with Taemin ? I mean, you are the heir of the throne..."

"Yes, I would." the Prince answered, and Jinki could see the sincerity in his eyes.

He was glad Taemin was loved by someone like Minho, even if Sulli was between them. Because he could tell the Prince would do everything he could for his lover, even if he obviously needed help. Alone, he wouldn't be able to do anything in order to run away...

"I don't want to be stuck with a girl I don't like that way during my whole life." Minho added. "Taemin is the only one I want to be with."

Jinki nodded and said:

"If I find a way to help you, I'll let you know. For now, I need to think of it for a while, because it is quite surprising and I don't know what to do yet. But... You should talk about it with Taemin, in order to know if he would agree to run away. If he is fine with that idea, then you should think about a plan and... Try to find something before the wedding. Before it's too late."

Minho nodded, relieved that the doctor hadn't judged him.

"Can I ask you something else ?" he said after a while.

"Yes, of course..."

"Well... Could you give me some remedy for a hangover ?"

Jinki is back and tries to help ! Is he going to succeed ?

Thank you for reading !