Kyungsoo is awoken the next morning by the sound of a fist banging on thick wood.

          “Kyungsoo! Have you yet awoken?” Tao’s muffled voice makes its way to Kyungsoo’s sleep-addled brain as he rolls out of bed and shuffles to the door, pulling it open to let him in.

          “Mornin’” he mumbaddled brain as he rolls out of bed and shuffles to the door, pulling it open to let him in.

les as he makes his way back to his bed, flopping down so that he’s face first against the plush bedding.

          “I hope your room is to your liking?”

          “S’great.”

          “Good to hear it. Now, if you don’t mind, it’s time for you to get up and dressed, you have a busy day ahead of you.  Did you see if the clothes in the wardrobe fit you properly? I gave my best estimate, but I’m not sure how accurate I was.”

          Kyungsoo groans as he rolls over to once again be on his back. Turning his head and squinting his eyes, Kyungsoo looks over to Tao.  Tao has made his way to the wardrobe and is riffling through the clothes hanging in it, posture impeccable, and hair slicked back to expose his kohl rimmed, feline eyes which are at the moment carefully appraising the clothes to find a suitable outfit for Kyungsoo to wear.

          “Here, put this on,” Tao walks over to Kyungsoo, burgundy silk draped over his arm.

          “That looks complicated. Can’t I just wear my hoodie and jeans?”

          “If you are referring to what you came to this world wearing, then the answer is no.  You must learn to blend in, for the safety of this kingdom, and more importantly, for the safety of yourself.  Now, if you are that concerned about the difficulty of dressing yourself, I can assist you if you would like.”

          “Uh, no thanks, I’ll figure it out myself,” Kyungsoo says uncomfortably, reaching out to take the clothes from Tao’s hands.

          “That is what I thought. Get dressed and at least try to do something with your hair. When you are finished, breakfast is at eight. I expect to see you there.” And before Kyungsoo can ask him how to get to breakfast, Tao has already made his way out of the room.

          “I’ll figure it out later, I guess,” Kyungsoo shrugs as he takes off his bathrobe and attempts to dress himself.

          Twenty minutes and a garbled stream of profanity later, Kyungsoo has finally gotten himself into the burgundy suit and has finger combed his hair into a fairly reasonable semblance of his usual style, though, it’s impossible to do completely perfectly without his various hair styling products.

          Giving himself a last once over in the mirror, Kyungsoo nods his head, squares his shoulders, and leaves his room to go get lost in the behemoth stone creation that is commonly referred to as a palace.

          Kyungsoo has no idea where he is supposed to be going, and is frantically walking from one crowded hallway to the next when he spots Yi Fan.

          “Yi Fan! Hey, wait up!” Kyungsoo calls out as he jogs over to where the giant is standing, completely oblivious to the many and varied scandalized looks that are being shot his way.

          As he nears Tall Scary Man, Kyungsoo at last seems to notice not only the looks of the people around him, but the dark, and frankly terrifying look that Yi Fan has spread across his face.

          “What?” Kyungsoo questions timidly, his voice small and uncomfortable with the amount of attention being given to him.

          “Follow me,” Yi Fan grits out between clenched teeth, not even waiting to see if Kyungsoo heard him before doing an about face and walking stiffly down the corridor, his chin up and expression haughty.

          “Well ,” Kyungsoo breathes out as he follows him, shoulders drawn in and spine hunched, as if he could make himself smaller and undetectable.

          Yi Fan turns off of the large, crowded hallway into a much smaller, completely deserted one, Kyungsoo following at a slight distance behind.

          As soon as he turns into the quiet corridor himself, Kyungsoo feels himself being slammed into the wall. Blinking rapidly to reorient himself, Kyungsoo looks up to see Yi Fan towering over him, one strong arm pinning his own small frame down, the other hanging by his side, hand clenched in a tight fist.

          The look on his face is deadly.

          “Wha-“

          “You do not address me in such a disrespectful manner Do Kyungsoo.” His voice is low and rough and sends chills down Kyungsoo’s spine, making him shiver slightly.  “I can and I will punish you if you dare to speak to me in such a way again. I may have gone easy on you previously due to your unfortunate condition, but no longer.  I do not know, nor do I care how it is in your world, but in this world, a crown prince is spoken to with respect and with dignity, and those who neglect to do so do not have lives that end well.”

          With one final forceful shove, Yi Fan storms off and Kyungsoo is left to slide down the wall with wobbly knees.

          “Well ,” Kyungsoo breathes out, running his shaking fingers through his hair, “that was actually completely terrifying.”

          Kyungsoo remains in his slumped position on the floor for a few moments more, taking calming breathes and trying to bring himself from his Crown Prince induced adrenaline rush.

          After he feels moderately calm, Kyungsoo rights himself once more and goes back down the hallway to where he expects the great hall must be.  Arriving to the location of his earlier social faux pas with Yi Fan, Kyungsoo hears the sound of a muffled crowd coming from behind the giant wooden doors set at the end of the hallway.

          Kyungsoo is simply standing there, staring up at the imposing doors, unwilling to open them and cause yet another scene when Tao approaches him and gently places a hand on his shoulder.  Not having heard the other’s footsteps, Kyungsoo jumps slightly at the sensation of the warm hand on his thin, and still slightly shaking shoulder.

          “Forgive me, I did not wish to startle you.”

          “What? No, I’m fine, it’s okay,” Kyungsoo turns to look in Tao’s face where he finds the intimidating feline eyes have softened slightly.

          “I heard about what happened earlier, are you okay?”

          “What? Pfft, it’s no big deal. All is well.”

          “I am sorry for Yi Fan’s behavior, he has many pressures as the Crown Prince, and he does not always deal with them appropriately.”

          “Nah, it’s all good, he’s a anyway. As if I give a what he says to me.”

          Tao’s eyebrows knit together in concern.  “What is it that he said to you?”

          “Huh? Oh nothing really,” Kyungsoo drops his gaze to the floor and shifts from one foot to the other nervously.  “So what’s for breakfast? Do I really have to go in there?”

          “I think that in light of this morning’s events, we will save breakfast with the other noblemen for another day. Come, follow me.”

          Tao leads him to a small room right next to what Kyungsoo can clearly tell are the kitchens.  They sit at a rough-hewn wooden table and are served a simple meal of meat, cheese, and bread.

          As they eat their breakfast, Tao informs Kyungsoo that he will begin training him in the art of being a nobleman.

          “Hopefully, your lessons will help you to avoid any more incidents like this morning.”

          “Great, what will I be learning?” Kyungsoo asks through a mouthful of bread.

          “Everything. You will be learning how to speak, how to dress, how to hold proper conversation, as well as horseback riding, archery, and fencing just to name a few.  You will learn everything that you need to know in order to navigate the complex social waters of this world.”

          “Great. I feel like Alphaba getting popularized by Galinda.”

          “Pardon me?”

          “Nothing Tao,” Kyungsoo sighs as he sticks yet another forkful of food into his mouth and chews vigorously.

          “It would seem as if we have our work cut out for us.”