A Smile worth a Fortune

Once upon a time in a kingdom far away, there lived a young prince and his father King Zhang. Prince Yixing enjoyed exploring the land outside of the castle. He was only seven but he could already out ride the guards when it came to horses. He wasn’t afraid of going too fast which was one of the main reasons he always managed to lose them. Whenever he managed to sneak away he would always go visit one particular villager named Joonmyun. Joonmyun was the same age as the prince, so the two often played together on the outskirts of the town.

One day when the prince had snuck out with his horse, he went over to Joonmyun’s house to pick him up so that they could play. When he arrived he saw Joonmyun with his parents. Joonmyun’s father kissed his mother and then set off, not forgetting to pat his son on the head before leaving.

When Joonmyun and Yixing had reached their usual play spot they got off the horse, securing the reins to a nearby tree, they decided to take a walk. As they walked, Yixing thought more about what he saw while picking Joonmyun up.

“Hey Joonie.” The prince piped up.

“Yes Xingie?” The boy asked.

“What was that your dad did to your mom earlier?”

“You mean how he kissed her?”

“Yeah, what was that?”

“Oh, well my dad told me that when you find someone you really love, you kiss them to show them how special they are to you.”

“Really? Well you’re special to me so does that mean we have to kiss?”

“It makes sense to me.” Joonmyun shrugged.

The two boys leaned in closer, letting their lips touch just slightly. It was a sweet and innocent moment.

“Prince Yixing! There you are!” A guard called

“Who is this boy? What did he do to you young master?” The Chief asked grabbing Joonmyun by the arm.

“No! Don’t hurt him, we were just playing! I brought him here.” The prince informed the guards.

“Take the prince back to the palace and be sure to inform the King that we found him.” The Chief ordered his men.

“Yes sir!” The men called

“Now to deal with you.” The Chief said as he turned to Joonmyun.

“You’re a Prince, Yixing! Act like one, you cannot lower yourself to them.” The King bellowed.  He was not a mean ruler, he was a kind and generous man but he knew that if he didn’t teach his son to respect his position as the soon to be ruler of the kingdom, he would not lead his people well.

“No father! I’m a child! I do not wish to be a lonely king when I grow up! Friends are allies, didn’t you say so yourself!?” Yixing screamed

“Yes I did but what could a villager possibly offer you, who has everything already? When I said to make allies, I meant with neighboring kingdoms! With people who would help you and this kingdom thrive!” The man informed the other.

The young prince ran up to his chambers, slamming the door before he hoped onto his huge bed. Yixing sighed as he ranted about his life. “Why did I have to be born into the royal family? I would have been perfectly content being a villager just like Joonmyun. I wonder if he’s okay. I hope the guards didn’t do anything to him. I will have them all beheaded if they did!”

Yixing shot up from his bed running to the defense tower, once there he saw the chief of police talking to two guardsmen. “Chief Lee!” the boy yelled.

“Young master.” The men bowed

“Yeah, yeah, no time for bowing! Chief Lee, what did your men do with Joonmyun after you brought me back home?”

“Well, after you were taken back to the palace we escorted the boy home. You took him quite far from his house young master.” The Chief answered.

“Okay good. I was ready to have your heads on a platter had you and your men hurt him or something.” Yixing sighed. “I’ll be off then, good day.”

The prince tried to return to his chambers but was stopped in the hallway by his father, the King.

“Son, you can’t hide in your room forever. You’re a prince; you have royal duties to attend to.” The older man chided.

“Fine then Father, if you will not allow me to lock myself in my room then I will lock up my smile. From this day onwards I will not smile, I will not laugh. I shall live as though I know no happiness. I hope you’ll be able to live with the guilt Father.” Yixing said as his face took on a bored and emotionless expression.

“Stop being childish son, this is nonsense! Do you really think you can live as if you know no happiness?” The King called after his child’s retreating figure.

Staying true to his word, the young prince did not smile or laugh since that day. Word spread through the kingdoms that the prince had lost his laughter, rumors arose, and soon everyone across the land knew the tale of the prince’s missing happiness. Many years passed and the prince had grown up into a dashing young man at the ripe age of 19. His twentieth birthday was just around the corner.

Exactly one month before the birthday of Prince Yixing, his father went into town to make an announcement. The Royal Herald stepped down from his horse, clearing his throat he informed the crowd. “By Royal decree of our beloved King Zhang, a favour is asked of the townspeople; in honour of the Prince’s upcoming birthday-”

The King raised his hand to the herald, signaling for him to stop speaking. The man stepped down from his own horse and addressed his people. “I am but an old King now, my only wish is to see my son happy. I beg of you townsfolk, if one of you is able to bring laughter back to my boy I shall give you half of my wealth. He will soon be taking over the kingdom as the new king, but a king cannot rule a happy kingdom if he himself is not happy. So I ask of you all, please help my son.”

The contest became the talk of the town. Many people tried and failed to get the prince to laugh. People told jokes, they danced, some princes’ and princess’ from other kingdoms even brought jewels and beautiful works of art but still Yixing did not smile.

The prince had soon gotten fed up of this. Everyday strangers would show up in hopes of making him laugh and winning the money, and everyday those same strangers would return home empty handed.

“Father, please stop this nonsense! I’ve grown tired of all these futile attempts. It does not amuse me. Give up.” Yixing pleaded.

“Excuse me young master. There is another person here to try his luck.” Chief Lee chimed in.

“Send him away, I do not wish to see him.” Yixing said

“Wait son; let this be the last man who comes. After this I will stop.” The King begged.

 “Fine, as you wish Father.”

A hooded man walked into the throne room. He looked up, making eye contact with the prince. He bowed before both men, showing his respect.

“Do I know you?” Yixing asked intrigued by the stranger.

“My name is Suho, but you may know me as Joonmyun.” The man pulled the hood from his head, revealing his entire face.

“Joonmyun!” Yixing yelled a huge smile spreading on his face

The King and Chief Lee were both shocked. Firstly they were shocked that Yixing smiled just by the mere presence of the other and secondly the little boy they knew as Joonmyun had grown into such a handsome and fine young man.

Joonmyun pulled off his cloak so that the other could take a good look at him. Yixing stood from his throne, running to his childhood friend; he tackled the other to the ground. Suho laughed as he hugged the other back. Both boys emitted a joyful laughter.

“Oh, how I’ve missed you!” Yixing squealed.

“I missed you too.” Joonmyun laughed

“Father you must keep you promise now! Half of your wealth shall go to Joonmyun- uh, I mean Suho.” Yixing proclaimed.

“Only you can call me Joonmyun. After you left, I changed my name. I didn’t like the way it sounded coming from other people’s mouths as opposed to yours.” Suho said “And your highness, I did not come for your wealth. I came so that I could reunite with my greatest friend and love. If I may be so bold, I would like to ask for your son’s hand in marriage.”

Yixing’s eyes popped out of his head and he grinned. The King could see his son nodding and mouthing the words ‘Yes, please Father, say yes!’ The old King laughed at his son’s sudden playfulness.

“I don’t know about that.” The King started, internally chuckling at the disappointed faces of both boys “Are you sure you want to marry my boy?”

“Father!” Yixing giggled.

“I’m fairly sure I do your highness.” Joonmyun laughed.

“Are you really sure? He’s lazy-” King Zhang teased.

“Father please!” The prince cut him off.

“And he’s sneaky.”

“Father, stop it!” the young man pleaded.

“And he’s stubborn! Almost 13 years without laughing! Are you sure you want to marry that?” The King laughed again

“Now that you mention it…” Joonmyun played along.

“Oh shut up!” Yixing said as he playfully hit Suho’s arm.

“Well son, if you really do love my little boy then I guess it’s up to him. He will be king soon; he needs to start making his own decisions.”

Joonmyun turned to Yixing. “Well Prince Xing, if you’ll have me, I’d like to become your husband.”

“Of course I’ll have you stupid!” Yixing shouted as he leaped into the other’s arms.

The two kissed happily until a voice brought them back to reality. “Ew, save that for your wedding night!”

“Father!” Yixing yelled as he and Joonmyun both blushed.

The couple was married on Yixing’s twentieth birthday. They were crowned as King Yixing and King Joonmyun. And they lived happily ever after…

“I still think Queen Yixing has a nice ring to it.”

“Oh shut up!”

Or almost happily ever after.

A/N: Omg I just can’t, I haven’t slept since yesterday and I’m seriously running on empty. I spent all night writing. I’ve finished one drabble, this one-shot, and a 7 page chapter for a new fic I’m working on. It’s unlisted right now but it’ll be out soon. Anyways I think this one-shot is pretty cute but it’s probably poorly written since I’m half dead. Leave a comment, saranghaeyo!

Word count: 1,737

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