"Sungyeol."

It was another Tuesday of class, and Sungyeol chose to sit in the back of the lecture hall to conceal himself from everyone.

As he napped through the whole hour lecture.

"Sungyeol." Myungsoo needed to wake him up, resorting in placing his hand to touch both cheeks and squeezing his face till his lips protuded like a duck.

"WHAT! I'M AWAKE! WHAT IS GOING ON!" Sungyeol was flabbergasted, twisting in his seat as he hit the table, kicked his backpack, and almost punched Myungsoo in the face to get himself up. Myungsoo dodged the attack the instant he saw Sungyeol raise his hand. Sungyeol opened his eyes as wide as possible, convincing himself that he had been awake this whole time. "What are we learning..." he muttered under his breath.

Well, they were not learning everything as the whole room was empty and cleared out. Vacant tables, chairs pushed in, the only other objects in existence were some loose leaf papers crumpled and thrown around.

"What the..." Sungyeol checked his pockets for his phone, looking at the time. 

It had been 8 minutes since the class ended.

Sungyeol buried his head in his hands, wiping the tiredness off of his face and giving quick slaps to wake himself up. "I slept through the whole class?!"

Myungsoo sat in his seat, scanning the classroom for oddities that may have turned Sungyeol this way. The chalkboard for History 49, with several topics written down about the topic "Christianity in Korea". A word that Myungsoo had never seen or heard before. Around it were a bunch of scribbles made by the professor, showing a cross comparison between the word "Christianity" and Buddhism, which Myungsoo knew was a religion practiced by many in Korea. "I had no idea what he was talking about the whole time," Myungsoo pointed out. "But I believe we were talking about religion."

Sungyeol squinted his eyes to take a look at what he missed. "He went through a lot today..."

Myungsoo laughed, coming up with another of his insults on the current era. "I have noticed that many of you students these days sleep during class. How do you expect to learn if you cannot open your eyes and ears to what the teacher is saying? You should have slept early last night."

"I told you, my cousin from Busan wanted to talk to me and we played League of Legends. I wouldn't pass up any chance to talk to him, I haven't seen him in a really long time! When you have a good conversation with someone, you can't just stop it," Sungyeol defended. "Also, this is my least favorite class. Religion gets boring."

"There are some subjects I do not enjoy as well, such as certain kinds of cultures and math, but I always force myself to stay awake during all of my tutoring sessions out of respect for the person speaking and myself. How does your head fill with knowledge if you are not aware of everything around you? You have to try your hardest in school," Myungsoo scolded. "There is never an excuse."

"Watch your words prince," Sungyeol pointed right at his nose. 

Sungyeol swung his arm at the floor and scooped up his backpack, standing up from his seat and checking out the time. School was done for the day, much to Sungyeol's pleasure. "Come on Myungsoo, we're done here."

(((())))

"Mother, I brought you a letter from Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu."

Queen Jinyoung sat at her desk in her personal library chambers, a place for her to deal with business of the nation and of the household. Standing at the doorway was her son Moonsoo, holding onto a rolled piece of paper passed on by one of the royal court messengers. He waited for a response from his mother. "This is a letter that states Japan wants to strike a deal of trading officially at the port of Busan. The letter has been reviewed, and now we need your answer as well as uncle Bang Sok."

Queen Jinyoung was aloof to anything around her. It was as if her soul was taken out of her, her eyes lackluster in the sunlight. Even in the most colorful hanbok garnished with silver and gold linings, the leading lady of the House of Kim never felt the same again after that fateful evening.

Up to this point in time, Moonsoo had no idea how to react to his mother's withdrawal from life. It was a saddening scene for him to watch, the mother who raised mourning over the death of her husband and eldest son missing. Two weeks and nothing had changed in the royal court's search for Myungsoo. As a new day passed, the color of her lips started to fade. Moonsoo could not wait much longer due to his studies and walked over to his mother's desk, placing the letter next to her hands atop the cool mahogany. At his appearance, his mother did not move a single inch. Distraught, the best thing Moonsoo could do was leave her be. 

Moonsoo found the after effects taking a toll on his own spirit. Walking out of his mother's library chambers, he walked to his tutoring session when he accidentally ran into Daehyun and several other palace guards.

"Please watch your step next time... Prince Moonsoo." Daehyun barely recognized him, disoriented in his bow as it seemed like he was in a bit of a hurry.

"Daehyun, you never have to bow in front of me," he added, respectfully bowing to him because of his much younger age. Daehyun never liked his status in the House of Kim affect his relations or authority with others. He also despised being called a prince, considering how young he was his lowly rank in the House. He felt he did not deserve the title. "How are you?"

"I am fine, returning to court soon to discuss matters on our current crisis." Daehyun motioned the two other guards to leave him and Moonsoo alone, waiting for the both of them to walk away before talking to Moonsoo. He had kept a very good relationship with both Kim brothers, always acting more of a friend than a worker of the palace. "How is everything Daehyun? How are your studies going?"

Daehyun tried to keep all of his anguish in, concentrating on the basics. "My studies are fine. I am learning more about the stars in my science classes. Astronomy is an interesting subject, do you think?"

"I have to admit, I have not learned much about astronomy in my life, but the study of the night sky sounds very interesting."

Moonsoo gave a faint smile, not having much else to talk about. 

"I must return to my duties now," Daehyun said. "I will talk to you soon."

"Daehyun, I have a question I would like to address before you go," Moonsoo stopped him, biting his lip as his whole body started shaking.

There was something visibly bothering Moonsoo, a trait that Daehyun was able to catch with people. Judging by their posture and tone of voice, he suspected when things were wrong. "What do you need Prince Moonsoo?"

Moonsoo was used to keeping his emotions in check, much more than his brother, in times like this. Keeping a straight face and hiding feelings was the most appropriate thing to do when the House of Kim fell under pressure and demands of everyone around them. It was an unfortunate moment for everyone, and he had to stay strong.

But sometimes, days were tough as well.

The weight of the world was on his shoulders, and Moonsoo could no longer hold it in. "Do you think we will find Myungsoo?" Moonsoo asked, tears falling down his face. "I believe my brother is a good person."

Daehyun saw the heartbreak in Moonsoo, stepping out of his role as a guard and embracing Moonsoo with a sincere hug. Without a doubt, the palace, the whole country had never been the same since the Compassionate Prince had gone missing. Daehyun felt this from the beginning, but little did he know that Myungsoo's brother also shared the sentiment. It was now only a matter of finding Myungsoo alive and though the whole royal court was against him, Daehyun understood in his heart that Myungsoo would not commit such a crime. Seeing Moonsoo and the rest of the House of Kim break down, Daehyun realized that he needed to find Myungsoo. "Moonsoo, I promise to you, I will find your brother soon. The real prince will be returning, please be sure of it."

(((())))

Sungyeol laid out his whole closet on the bed and floor, pairing up outfits with every type of combination possible: colors, weather, patterns.  Standing in the middle of his room, he rested his hand on top of his head to contemplate the perfect choice for an outfit. It was less than 24 hours left until he would attend a history seminar for Kim Hodong. But more importantly, it was less than 24 hours till he would hang out with Taeyeon for the first time since their breakup. He tried imagining every possible interaction they would have and how he would react. How was your day today, Sungyeol? Have you ever read any of Kim Hodong's books, Sungyeol? How is the weather today, Sungyeol?

Sungyeol without a doubt was a nervous wreck.

Myungsoo opened the door to his room, dressed in Sungyeol's pajama pants and his Korea University t-shirt as he dried his hair with a towel after showering. Upon entering, he was shocked by the amount of clothing thrown around the room. Some of the clothes, Myungsoo noticed he even wore before and thought dropped it off in the laundry basket. It was a pigsty. Myungsoo lifted up his upper lip in disgust, never seeing his room as dirty as now. 

"Myungsoo!" Sungyeol spotted him, throwing the current outfit he was holding on top of Myungsoo's sleeping mat. "You need to help me out. I don't know what to wear tomorrow."

Myungsoo draped the towel around his neck, glaring at Sungyeol and pointing to himself in disbelief. "You want my advice? I would give the worst advice."

"Sungjong isn't home right now and I doubt he will be since he's studying, so you're the next best option." Sungyeol grabbed onto a blue collared shirt of denim texture with one hand, and in the other was a pair of casual tan khaki skinny pants to balance it out. "How is this?"

Myungsoo stared at the outfit in question, shrugging his shoulders and having no real opinion on it. "It looks like a good outfit."

Sungyeol threw that outfit by his drawer and bent down to pick up an outfit on Myungsoo's mat, a different look. It was a black long-sleeved collared shirt that he paired up with a forest green pair of khaki skinny pants. "Now how about this outfit?"

"That looks good as well."

"DAMNIT MYUNGSOO!" Sungyeol complained, throwing the clothes right in front of Myungsoo's feet. "You can't tell me every outfit is good, you have to choose the best one! It's already midnight... I just want to get this over with!"

"I will!" Myungsoo took a nervous step back, scared of what Sungyeol will strike with next. He leaned against their bedroom door, frightened by how nervous Sungyeol was about being with Taeyeon. Myungsoo wished for Sungyeol to have the best date as possible with Taeyeon and have everything work out with her. "I... well... both outfits are good, but I would choose the black shirt and the brown pants."

Upon a second look, clearly the styling of the black shirt and tan pants much surpassed that of any other clothing combinations he tried out. Sungyeol held up the two articles of clothing in front of himself, covering his body for Myungsoo to comment on.

"Yeah!" Myungsoo gave a satisfied smile. "That is a good pair of clothing."

Looking at his final option, Sungyeol was content by everything Myungsoo had chosen. "This is pretty nice. You see Myungsoo, your advice helped out."

"Maybe so." Myungsoo hung his towel around a hook at the back of Sungyeol's door, making his way to the floor to help fold up the clothes Sungyeol thrown and clear his mat to sleep. "Black is my favorite color, so anything black I enjoy."

Sungyeol hung the perfect outfit on the knob of his door, turning around a bit surprised. "Is black really your favorite color?"

"Yes it is."

"You like dark colors, huh?" Sungyeol began clearing his bed of all of his unchosen clothes. "Majority of the shorts you bought are dark. All the hanboks in those days are really colorful, though. And the hanbok you came in was pink."

"It is my mom who loves to decorate me in shining colors. Hanboks are the most comfortable thing to wear, but the choice of colors could improve. She is always choosing the brightest and most lavish outfits for the my brother and me. Sometimes I feel like I dress better than all the royal ladies of our House. My mom and hairdresser get into fights all the time on the best look for me."

Sungyeol chuckled. "What a difficult life."

Myungsoo grabbed onto the arm of Sungyeol's shirt and pointed it at him. "It is much more difficult than you think when you want to be an individual! Black, gray, and blue are my favorite colors. Lately since I became the Crown Prince, I have a lot more individual freedom on what I wear. I feel bad for Moonsoo though... who has to deal with the pampering of my mother."

Sungyeol raised his head, realizing that Myungsoo has never really talked about Moonsoo before. "How old is your brother?"

"Well I am 20-years-old, so that means my brother is 14." Myungsoo giggled, his cheeks blushing red. "Wow, my brother is really young compared to me. The difference between you and Sungjong is a year."

"What is it like having a gap that big? Does it make any difference with anything?" Sungyeol was quite interested with Myungsoo's family outside the drama. "I mean in the history book, it said that your brother was too young to take the throne and that's why your uncle took over."

Talking about his family brought the brightest smile on Myungsoo's face, his dimples pinching his cheeks and his laughter contagious. Being separated for so long, Myungsoo relished in the details. "My brother is a lot smarter than me in academics when I was his age. He loves science, especially the study of the sky. I think before he said he wanted to be a scholar, explore the world and discover its wonders. He was really jealous of me when I went to Japan without him. To appease him, I brought him the Japanese form of an abacus."

"A what?" Sungyeol was dumbfounded. 

"You know. The form of making calculations by moving the pieces around." Myungsoo spoke of it like it was a common thing.

Basically, a calculator.

"Well..." Sungyeol's nostrils flared as he had no clue what he was talking about. He finished folding up the extraneous clothes he threw around the room. Myungsoo made a pile himself right next to his mat, the room looking back to its normal cleanly state. Sungyeol grabbed the pile of clothes to place in his drawers, while Myungsoo helped assist and pull out the drawers for him. "Hey Myungsoo, since Sungjong has meetings Wednesday nights. I have an extra ticket to watch the historian tomorrow. It would be me, you, and Taeyeon." This seemed like a decent idea in his head. For a renowned professor to speak, there would be no bias that Myungsoo could fight against. Most of all, he did not want to leave Myungsoo alone again after his incident with Dongwoo. "It would be like an hour or two of just Kim Hodong talking about history. You're leaving soon, so why not?"

"Really?" Myungsoo was shocked by the invitation that he almost dropped Sungyeol's clothes. "I would love to go. I wonder if he is going to talk about the Joseon era."

"Maybe! It should be fun. You like Korean history, or at least, finding out how our country changes over the years. You will definitely enjoy it." Sungyeol closed the drawers as he finished. "There. Good job Myungsoo, we finished cleaning up." 

Now it was time for both of them to sleep. Sungyeol walked towards the door and switched the lights off. Myungsoo slide on the floor and wrapping himself with all of the sheets, as Sungyeol jumped into his bed for a night's rest. Sungyeol and Myungsoo yawned in unison, passing 1 in the morning on an early Wednesday. Myungsoo hugged blankets and turned to his side, closing his eyes to prepare to sleep.

Sungyeol did the same, lying on his back and throwing all the blankets over until they were right below his chin.

But before he fell asleep, Sungyeol had something to tell Myungsoo.

"Sungjong is a lot different from me as well, if you hadn't noticed. Our personalities are a lot more different. I can be more laidback while Sungjong is much more uptight. The two of us can trade places sometimes, depending on the day. Academically, we're pretty much the same though."

Myungsoo opened his eyes one-by-one after hearing the comment, addressing the subject of brothers again. "I can be serious and forceful when the time calls for it, especially when I practice martial arts. On a regular day, I am very calm like you. My brother is the opposite, and sometimes he can also be a little cheeky with me. He is silent because he is the youngest, but when someone talks to him he has a fast tongue. He hates to admit it, but my Moonsoo has a big heart."

"That sounds like Sungjong to me," Sungyeol groaned. "That brat is a smartass."

Sungyeol and Myungsoo continued talking about their brothers until they fell asleep.

Little did they know, they would fall asleep five hours later.

(((())))

Taeyeon waited by the main gate of Seoul National University, wearing a bright yellow and pink patterend sundress that would be noticeable for a person to identify. As the sun began to set on Wednesday night, she held her hands together with her phone in her hands patiently waiting for Sungyeol's arrival. Taeyeon had been the only person who has been to Seoul National University before, and to make sure Sungyeol found her she tried to be obvious.

"Taeyeon."

Taeyeon turned her head, and just as she expected Sungyeol was standing right before her. "Sungyeol!"

Sungyeol had looked the best Taeyeon had ever seen. A black collared shirt with tan khaki pants, followed by a nice watch and his hair gelled to the side. Sungyeol had never tried so hard in his life to look good. "Hey Taeyeon."

With an impressive and chic appearance, Taeyeon let out a timid laugh. "Wow Sungyeol. You look really good. I'm glad you were able to find this place," Taeyeon grinned.

"Same here. And you look great as well," Sungyeol smirked. Taeyeon, you always look great.

Taeyeon nodded his head as she noticed a figure standing right behind him. Leaning to her side, she spotted someone wearing a blue denim shirt with a black pair of shorts folded at the bottom with navy. Her eyes widened, shocked that it was not Sungjong. "Oh, hello! We met before."

Myungsoo peeped out behind Sungyeol's shoulder and bowed slightly in front of her. "Hello. I mean." Myungsoo tried that again, bringing his hand out to wave and act more casual. "Hello Taeyeon."

"My brother was busy, so yeah," Sungyeol explained.

"Well, let's get this going!" Taeyeon pointed in the direction they would walk, leading Sungyeol and Myungsoo on a journey through campus to the history lecture hall. "Myungsoo, the person we're watching today is named Kim Hodong. He is one of the most famous historians in Korea and teaches at this school. One time he travelled to the best college in America, Harvard, for his work."

"America?" Myungsoo was confused. "What is an America..."

Sungyeol immediately covered Myungsoo's mouth to stop him from talking and further embarrassing him. "That's cool." Taeyeon continued to lead the way as Sungyeol whispered in Myungsoo's ear. "I told you, no comments about anything. Do not say anything. Please be normal, I am trying to impress her."

Myungsoo nodded his head and took the hand off of his mouth. "I apologize. How long..." Myungsoo let out an exhausted yawn. "How long is this?"

"Shouldn't be that long," Sungyeol commented.

They finally arrived at their destination, which was a modernized lecture hall for the history department. The area was nice, surrounded by much green in the form of flowers and trees. The campus brought an appeal that was much more newer than the Korea University campus, which was older and what Myungsoo much more prefered. Though he was enamored by the new scenery around him, Myungsoo was a little too tired to deal with it. 

Taeyeon was close to opening the doors of the lecture hall when Sungyeol impeded, extending his hand first to open the door. 

"Thank you Sungyeol." Taeyeon gently brushed Sungyeol's shoulder with her hand in gratitude, walking inside and Myungsoo following suit.

Her touch... "Of course." Sungyeol closed the door behind them and followed her to the hall. In his head, he was playing the same situations he asked himself and how he would impress her during this seminar. "What exactly is the lecture about?" Sungyeol started, sparking a conversation.

"This professor is going to be discussing Chinese history," Taeyeon explained.

Myungsoo took one nervous gulp. "Chinese history?" sounding uncertain.

Though it had nothing to do with terrible relations. Myungsoo recalled a time several years ago when his uncle Bang Sok went on a diplomatic mission to help establish a better trading system with China's Ming Dynasty. The deal was successful, transfering many new items such as introducing silk, spices, silver, and most of all Confucianism to their country. With all the Chinese culture infused with the Joseon and a good economic relationship, Myungsoo did not have a huge problem with it all.

He simply thought Chinese culture was boring.

Taeyeon led the both of them to their seats. Sungyeol followed Taeyeon, watching the curls in her hair bounce up and down everytime she stepped down the lecture hall stairs. Little simple details like that captivated him, igniting his mind to sensational thoughts of him and her.

Myungsoo on the other hand instantly regretted coming with Sungyeol. He formerly believed the lecture would discuss more about his Korean history.Myungsoo remembered walking to Seoul National University that Sungyeol had the faintest idea what the lecture was about. Sungyeol only wanted to spend time with Taeyeon and ignored the rest. Myungsoo let out a tiresome yawn as he took a seat at the aisle, running on few hours of sleep from talking to Sungyeol the evening before. "You told me this was going to be a lecture on Korean history," Myungsoo chided.

"What?" Sungyeol turned to Myungsoo, a little bothered that he continued talking to him. "Sorry, I didn't really know."

"Sino culture disinterests me," Myungsoo frowned, letting out another yawn. "Also, I am really drained from last night. We talked for hours and I am sleepy. I thought this would be on a more engaging subject."

"Well... just deal with it," Sungyeol muttered, patting Myungsoo on his thigh to continue listening to Taeyeon. "This is the most important thing in the world to me, so please don't ruin it."

"But Sungyeol, I thought this was on Joseon history..."

"Really, just shut it." Sungyeol pressed his fingers together to tell Myungsoo to stop talking. This is what Sungjong was talking about when you were trouble.

"I have been looking forward to this lecture for a long time," Taeyeon mentioned, flashing a quick grin to Sungyeol. Her face spelled excitement, the glimmer in her eyes the only thing shining. "I am thankful you can share in this moment with me. I was about to focus my dissertation on the relationship between the People's Republic of China and South Korea. I knew if I anyone would want to go, it would be you."

"Of course. You can tell me anything and I'll be there," Sungyeol laughed. Did that sound too desperate? That was desperate... Sungyeol instantly regretted everything he said. "This should be a good seminar," he finished.

Kim Hodong from Seoul National University stepped forth to the front of the lecture hall to begin his seminar. A simple man with a pair of glasses, sporting a striped collared shirt and jeans. His smile was warm, welcoming of everyone who had attended far and wide. The seminar, which was spread to many universities in Seoul, housed over 200 people in the building. Those invited are those of interest in history and yearning to learn more. Being invited to a seminar for Kim Hodong was one people passed on if they were truly busy.

"It's a shame Woohyun and Shinsong had to miss this." Taeyeon elbowed Sungyeol, a tendency she had when she complained about someone

Of course with such a friendly jab, but Sungyeol immediately interpreted it to a flirtatious move on her part. Which it totally could have been. Sungyeol was having good vibes about the night.

To finally start the seminar, Kim Hodong walked to the controls cabinet and dimmed down all the lights to showcase a PowerPoint of his own titled "Chinese Folklores". "Let us begin," the professor announced with a smile. He proceeded to turn to multiple slides explaining the origins of specific Chinese folklore, starting off with the specific gods worshipped. 

The dark room brought a sort of mischievous atmosphere for Sungyeol, even though it was not appropriate for him to try and entice Taeyeon. As half an hour went through the lecture, Sungyeol had been barely listening to a thing Kim Hodong was saying. Instead, he plotted his plan.

Another person who had barely listened to a thing was Myungsoo.

Myungsoo, be respectful. Please stay awake.

Myungsoo noticed himself dozing off, leaning his head forward and immediately snapping out of it when he realized he was falling asleep. During Myungsoo's studies, there were two things that did not interested him: chinese culture and geometry. 

Sungyeol side-eyed Taeyeon and watched her careful movements, hoping somewhere in the dark lit room he could make a quiet gesture. Just as he expected, Taeyeon placed her whole arm on the chair armrest. Her hand dangled off the edge, fragile and soft, almost inviting Sungyeol to hold it.

One more hour Myungsoo. One more hour. The Crown Prince has kept himself awake through much more mundane meetings before.

Myungsoo fought for his eyes to stop closing, doing a trick Daehyun always taught him to stay awake by twisting his fingers around till they hurt. Something that always worked, this time around Myungsoo was slowly losing the battle. He wondered if it was the dimly lit room that was contributing to his sleepiness, leaning his head back to the headrest and struggling to keep himself awake. 

Sungyeol had his hands placed in the middle of his legs, switching views between the lecturer and Taeyeon. Finally, it was time to make his move. His hand slowly trickled across his thigh, trying to get to the tips of her fingers to hold. Nothing more he wanted than to lace his fingers with hers. This moment had to be perfect, and as his hand climbed up the arm rest to get to the top, their hands were less than a centimeter away from touching.

That was when something hit Sungyeol's shoulder.

Sungyeol first jolted in his seat as the nerves sent through his whole body. He brought his hand back down to his thigh, stunned and confused what was going on. His perfect plan nullified, and Sungyeol turned to his side to check out what was going on.

Slumped in his seat, not a single proper etiquette upheld, was the Crown Prince Myungsoo leaning against Sungyeol's shoulder with both eyes shut. His face was still and calm, his lips pressed together as he breathed heavily. Sungyeol watched his chest move up and down. Kim Myungsoo was knocked out.

"Myungsoo, hey." Sungyeol was livid, trying to whisper in Myungsoo's ear and elbow his side to wake him up. "Wake up."

It was rarely that Myungsoo would loose himself like this, but even sometimes a prince cannot stand certain things in life. Deep in a slumber from a lullaby of China's fiction and poetry, Myungsoo was gone.

"Hey prince." Forgetting about his original mission, now he wanted Myungsoo off his shoulder. Sungyeol suddenly took Myungsoo's hand, which was falling off the armrest to squeeze. "You have to get off of me."

Still not a response, which Sungyeol should have expected. Myungsoo was a deep sleeper, and between their whole household Myungsoo was always the last person to wake up.

"Myungsoo..." Sungyeol started pinching Myungsoo's hand. "Wake up-"

"Sungyeol, is something wrong?"

"YA!" Sungyeol turned his head to catch Taeyeon with a full view Myungsoo leaning on Sungyeol's shoulder, as well as the both of them in a compromising position locking hands together. Instantly, Sungyeol let go of Myungsoo's hand and held it up, accidentally punching Myungsoo in the face and waking him up.

Suddenly woken up, Myungsoo reeled in his seat, losing complete balance and letting out a deep cry as he waved his hands in the air for help and fell right into the lecture hall aisle.

The scene caused a commotion, with everyone turning around right to the center of the problem to see what had occurred. Kim Hodong stopped his lecture completely, pausing to turn off the projector and turn on every light to understand what went wrong. "Is everyone ok?" the professor asked.

Sungyeol and Taeyeon sat in their seats, their jaws dropped and their faces turnt tomato red in embarrassment. The two of them shared a look at each other like they never wanted to come here ever again.

Myungsoo slipped down a few steps of the aisle stairs, grabbing onto the edge of a step to climb himself back up. Planting his feet to rise, Myungsoo used the armrest to finally pull himself together and get his composure back. He started brushing his clothes off, fixing his gray collared shirt and patting his black pair of shorts to rid of any sudden creases from the fall. After all of that was finished, Myungsoo weaved his fingers through his hair for the final touch up. Good as new.

At least somewhat.

"Young man, are you ok?" Professor Kim asked worriedly. "Do we need to call an ambulance?"

Myungsoo blinked his eyes multiple times, realizing that the whole lecture stopped for his fall. It was an uncomfortable feeling for him. All eyes stared at Myungsoo as he realized that his insolence and rude behavior caught up to him. Myungsoo was ashamed, never being the center of attention for such gall. "I apologize," Myungsoo bowed in front of everyone and made his way running out of the lecture hall.

"Myungsoo!" Sungyeol called out, trying to catch him and tell him majority of that was his own fault.

But Myungsoo disappeared right through the doors.

(((())))

Myungsoo sat right outside the lecture hall, sitting right on the curb of some plotted trees of the school. With his knees high up and his arm wrapped around them, Myungsoo reflected on his actions from inside and feeling humiliated. 

Sungyeol ran out immediately, pushing the doors out and searching for Myungsoo. "Myungsoo!" Sungyeol spotted him, but instead of the confident prince he knew he was almost like a defeated child on the verge of crying. Sungyeol scampered right to Myungsoo, his face apologetic as he put his hands together to plead with him. "Myungsoo, everything inside there was my fault. You started falling asleep during the lecture, and when I tried to wake you up I accidentally pushed you over to the aisle." Sungyeol took a deep breath, shoving his hands down his pockets and lowering his head feeling dejected. "I'm sorry Myungsoo. I didn't mean for that to happen."

"No Sungyeol," Myungsoo finally spoke, raising his head to look up to Sungyeol. "I should not have fallen asleep in the first place."

"We're never gonna go to Seoul National University ever again anyways, so it's ok. It was only this one time-"

Myungsoo put his hand out to stop Sungyeol from talking. His whole body started heating up, a mixture of different emotions that he could no longer hold back. Clenching his fists, Myungsoo wanted to pour his whole heart out. "Sungyeol, I do not belong in 2014."

Sungyeol furrowed his eyebrows, trying to understand fully what he was trying to say. "Myungsoo, I know these past two weeks have been strange, but don't let a moment like this destroy yourself. It was a simple mistake. My mistake, at that."

"This is not just about that. It is about me losing myself the longer I stay here. I miss my mother, my brother Moonsoo, my whole family. I am an annoyance to everyone around me, and I ruined your time. I am adapting new styles and developing new interests that are not proper of the House of Kim as a Crown Prince. Simple matters of politeness that is expected of me, they are gone. Sungyeol, I really want to thank you. I want to thank you for everything you have done for me. For time I have known you, you and your brother have given me much to learn. Two weeks in 2014 was an experience I will never replace, but I realize my time is up now." Spoken like an eloquent prince, Myungsoo explained his sentiment with teary eyes. With much regret, he did not want to admit his weakness.

Sungyeol was rendered speechless, his heart aching from hearing the sorrow the prince felt. Sungyeol and his brother believed this whole time Myungsoo was having an outstanding time in the new world. Though this may be true, Sungyeol understood the moment Myungsoo cracked. Homesick. Myungsoo is homesick. Which made plenty sense to him, especially after last night. No matter how much time you spend in a new and magical place, nothing could ever compete with the comfort of being in your own home.  Forcing Myungsoo to the opposite side of town to spend time with Taeyeon, Sungyeol instantly regretted it. "I'm... I'm sorry Myungsoo."

"That is all I wanted to speak. You may go back inside with Taeyeon. I will wait here to take the subway with you." Myungsoo sniffed his nose and wiped the tears off his face. He called himself a vagabond for being a hassle, especially on a day that was very important to him. He took a seat back on the curb. "I apologize for everything Lee Sungyeol."

Sungyeol bit his lip, unsure how to respond to Myungsoo after such a confession. Sungyeol dealt with moments similar to this before, especially moments of his own where he lost himself in the lights and sounds. He truly understood where Myungsoo was coming from. I'm sorry Myungsoo... I'm sorry you feel this way.

Then he remembered he left Taeyeon in the lecture hall.

Sungyeol nodded his his head and took several steps to go back to the seminar. Sungyeol had to start figuring out for himself how he would do damage control and explain everything to Taeyeon. The hand holding, the push, the running outside. Different instances ran through his mind of what he would say. I hope Taeyeon understands... this looks terrible on my part. Sungyeol finally turned his full back against Myungsoo to return to his date. Sungyeol opened the door to enter.

With Myungsoo left alone, he continued crying to himself as he wanted nothing but to go back home. The streetlights shined down on him, illuminating his sadness for those in passing.

Myungsoo heard the footsteps of someone coming close to him. He lifted up his head, shocked with tears splashing out of his eye to see who it was. "Sungyeol, what are you doing?" 

Sungyeol walked over and used both hands to grab onto Myungsoo's hand and pull him up gently. "We're leaving," he declared, patting on Myungsoo's collar to fix it. 

Myungsoo felt even more repentant on ruining Sungyeol's plans to stay with Taeyeon. Myungsoo tried to push Sungyeol away and wave his hands. "No Sungyeol, that is fine. I will wait a little longer for you to watch the professor with her. It is ok, I promise."

Sungyeol shook his head. Without much more talking to explain himself, the two of them made their way back to the subway. "Taeyeon will understand..." Sungyeol gulped. "I hope at least... yeah she will... anyways I'm gonna call Dongwoo and Sungjong to meet us up at a restaurant where they serve something called barbecue. It's a couple blocks from our apartment. I think you will really like it."

Myungsoo held his hands together as Sungyeol wrapped his arm around him. His tears started to dry up, no longer coming out as he was strangely comforted by Sungyeol's actions. Yet, he did not understand why. "Why do we have to leave now? We can leave later," Myungsoo suggested, trying to get Sungyeol to stay for Taeyeon. "This was very important to you."

Without much more thinking, Sungyeol sighed. "Because... you're gonna have one more amazing night in Seoul before you leave tomorrow. I'm sending you off on Thursday instead of Friday so that you can see your family as soon as possible." Sungyeol shared a look with Myungsoo, whose blue look was wiping off. "How does that sound?"

Myungsoo hesitated at first to the idea of accelerating his departure from 2014. Taken aback, Myungsoo knew that he wanted to go home, but at the same time leaving a person like Sungyeol made him sad. With Sungyeol's hospitality and efforts to make him feel good in the new era, Myungsoo could not help but be grateful for his existence.

He had no idea what he would do without Sungyeol, and the day was coming.

"Thank you Sungyeol," was all Myungsoo could muster out.

"No problem," Sungyeol replied with a smirk. He prayed that he can smooth things over with Taeyeon the following day, but for now he had to bring Myungsoo home.

Right now, this is more important.

Hello everyone! I hope this story is fun and entertaining. I am having a good time wriing it, and I wanted to mention that so far this has been my favorite chapter to write! So please enjoy. Thank you to everyone commenting, subscribing, casual reading, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING REALLY. I LOVE YOU ALL <3

Also, sometimes I don't know how to respond to comments when you ask me things that are literally happen in the next chapter :PPP