Yunho POV

It was dinner time and we were eating quietly until my father tapped his spoon against his glass. All of us diverted our attention to him. He cleared his throat before he started speaking.

"I accepted my best friend, Minister Kim's, invitation to a ball. I want all of us to be there," my father said.

Yoochun sighed and muttered,"Why?"

Our parents heard it, so did I. If I had not known about it beforehand, I would have had the same reaction. We did not like going for such gathering. People, especially girls will crowd around us and thus, making it hard to enjoy. In fact, we dreaded about it.

"Oh, come on. I know how you feel... But, just think of it this way. For the sake of our country?" Father said. "Oops! I have forgotten to tell you that the purpose of this banquet is to strength our bonds with other countries."

"Ok..." Yoochun and I said in unison.

How should i put it? To rub salt into our wounds, Father teased us.

"Thank goodness I have my queen with me," Father said and winked at Mother.

Mother gave him a ridiculous look.

"What?! I was surrounded with people when I was young until I went to a gathering with your mother, that is," said Father.

True enough. If I were to go to a gathering with a partner, I would not be able to get rid of the crowd, but I could reduce it.

After dinner, Yoochun pulled me to a corner. I was surprised by his actions. I thought he would be hostile towards me forever. Nonetheless, I was elated that he warmed up to me again. It was better than having an awkward silence between us all the time. He hesitated before he spoke. "Hyung, I think it's no good for Jaejoong to be a maid," whispered Yoochun.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you say so even though you were the one that suggested it?" I asked; this topic was unexpected.

"He was attracting unwanted attention. Being there itself puts Jaejoong in danger," said Yoochun. I was shocked by his reason. Seeing my stunned face, Yoochun continued, "Don't you get it? Jaejoong is beautiful beyond words."

"Wow... He's praising my Jae..." I thought.

"Or maybe, someone is too blind by his beauty that only has him in his eyes and therefore, unable to compare him with others?" Yoochun questioned.

"I don't get you..." I mumbled, slightly puzzled at his words.

"Is my hyung that dumb? Jaejoong's beauty stands out from the rest and he's attracting men. He was almost if I didn't get there in time!" hissed Yoochun, frustrated.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

My sudden outburst caused a maid, with a stack of plates, who was walking past us to drop them.

"I'm so sorry, Your Highnesses. Please forgive my incompetency," she said and bowed continuously.

"It's ok. I'm sorry to scare you as well," I said.

She picked up the smithereens and left the area after bowing again. I hoped she did not hear our conversation. I turned back to Yoochun. 

I asked worriedly, "Is Jaejoong ok?"

"He's fine," Yoochun assured.

However, I could not believe his words until I saw Jaejoong with my very own eyes. I spun around and took a big stride forward. Yoochun gripped me by the arm. "Where are you going?Are you going to find Jaejoong?" He was asking the obvious. I nodded and pushed his hand away from me. "Hyung, I suggest you don't go looking for him. People would get suspicious and Jaejoong might get into more trouble." I sighed. "Trust me, hyung. He's really fine. He's a snow leopard after all. Beautiful, strong and brave."

Not that I was convinced or anything, I decided to leave it as it was. I waved Yoochun goodbye and left the corner. With all this power that I had as the prince of this country, I could not even do a similar thing - meet Jae.

"Think about it, hyung. Jaejoong shouldn't be there. It was my mistake for giving you such an option," said Yoochun as I left.

To prevent having the urge to dash right over to the maids' quarters just to take a look at Jaejoong, I busied myself with work. Then, my stomach growled. An idea came upon me. I picked up my phone and called the maid quarters.

"Hello, I would like Jaejoong to bring  up a snack to my office," I requested; I hope I did not sound too obvious.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but Jaejoong is working temporarily in the stables and she's not here at the moment. I will have your snack brought up to you immediately," said the woman.

"...ok" I said, ending the call.

It did not work. "Oh, wait! Did she just mentioned the stables?!" I exclaimed, banging my fist against the table. "Great! Now, there's no reason for me to meet him anymore."

Instantly, my chamberlain rushed in to tell me to calm down.

"How dare they transfer my Jaejoong to somewhere else without me knowing?!" I sat down, grumbling.

 -

3rd person POV

A few days later...

Feeling physically drained at the end of the end, Jaejoong dragged himself back to his room. As he opened the door, everyone welcomed him back. Minah walked up to him and threw him a towel.

She pinched her nose and said, "Eew... Hurry up and bathe. You stink." 

Then, she pushed him into the bathroom. Smiling warmly, she closed the door for Jaejoong. Hearing a click on the door, Minah went back to do whatever she was doing before.

When Jaejoong came out, everyone was in bed but, they were not asleep. They chatted for a while. Jaejoong lay on his back for some time, staring up at the ceiling, not in the least bit weary anymore. When he heard the girls' breathing take on the even rhythm of sleep, he rolled over onto his side. Finally, when he had the time, his mind wondered to Yunho and realised how much he missed him. Unable to bear with this feeling, he sat up at the edge of his bed and looked at the clock. Just twenty minutes more and the guards would change shift.

"Should I?" mused Jaejoong.

Jaejoong nodded to himself and got off his bed as silently as possible. Tiptoeing out of the room, he went to Yunho's room. Squatting behind a pillar, he waited for the guards to move. When they were gone, he hurried into the room.

"Yunho... Yunho..." Jaejoong called as he stood by the side of the bed. When there was no reply, Jaejoong shook Yunho gently. "Yunho, Jaejoong is here."

Awakened, Yunho had his eyes still partially closed. Through the dim light provided by his night lamp, he could see the silhoutte of Jaejoong.

"Jae, I'm glad you're ok," Yunho mumbled.

Then, Yunho grabbed Jaejoong's wrist and pulled him into his bed. Snuggling up to each other, both of them fell fast asleep. Next morning, the alarm rang and Yunho reached over Jaejoong to off it.

"Jae. Wake up. It's morning," Yunho whispered.

Jaejoong sat up, rubbing his eyes and muttered a 'good morning'.

Words from the conversation during dinner that day played in Yunho's head.

"Yeah, why didn't I think of it?" thought Yunho. Then, he turned and gripped Jaejoong's shoulder. "Jae, can you accompany me to a ball?"

"You're going to play with me?" mumbled Jaejoong.

"Eh? No. I meant going to some gathering together," explained Yunho.

There was a moment of silence.

"Come on! It's going to be fun~ There's lots of food there such as meat~" tempted Yunho.

"Ok..." Jaejoong said sleepily, lying back down and pulled the blanket over his head.

"Jaejoong! You can't go back and sleep. Don't you have a job?!" exclaimed Yunho, pulling Jaejoong up.

With his eyes closed, he nodded lazily and got out of bed. Yunho almost wanted to punch the air but, he constrained himelf. Grinning from ear to ear, he got ready.