Once Prince Chanhee reached his reserved room , a little problem encountered him .

How would he unlock the door without having to drop Byunghun  ?

Luckily , he caught a glimpse of a boy who seemed to be working in the inn and so he called him .

“ Oh ! Did he faint ? “ the innocent young boy asked making Chanhee inwardly roll his eyes . He didn’t enjoy dealing with young people .

“ He is drunk . Get the keys out of my pocket . “  Chanhee corrected before ordering the boy to do as told .

Finally , the boy unlocked the door and put the keys over a small table before excusing himself .

If it weren’t for Byunghun already asleep , Chanhee would have normally slept on the bed alone .

But since he didn’t have heart to drop the said to the harsh floor , he ended up placing him on the bed . It was spacious any ways .

But when he was carefully doing so , Chanhee heard the other mumble something in his sleep .

“ Mother .. “

Chanhee blinked , his head just next to Byunghun’s . He stayed like that to see if Byunghun would say anything else . feeling curious was something new to him . He never really cared much about anything aside from his sister , the princess and his father , the king  .

“ I miss him .. “ Added Byunghun in his sleep , possibly sighing along that Chanhee couldn’t help but narrow his eyes in curiosity .

Wait ?

No . He wouldn’t just spend his next minutes wondering what Byunghun had meant .

The prince shook his head and closed his eyes shut before dropping to the bed , sleep consuming him right away  .

Next morning :

“ Prince Chanhee , wake up . ‘

Calling didn’t work .

He tried knocking on the bedside table .

But it didn’t work either .

He couldn’t just poke the prince . He couldn’t touch the prince in his sleep .

That’d just be wrong .

Few seconds passed before Byunghun gasped .

“ Prince Chanhee !! “ Byunghun panicked jumping to conclusions .

He was still alive , right ?

In his anxious state , Byunghun snatched the covers away to check if the prince was breathing properly or not .

It was a huge relief when he confirmed the prince was okay and breathing soundly . well , minus the fact he stirred a bit after the covers have been snatched away .

Byunghun sighed dropping to the floor just by the bed as he watched the prince closely , taking in the sight of the peaceful expression the said  wore  .

“ If something were to happen to you , what would become of me ? “

Byunghun wondered absentmindedly but then and as realization hit him .

He would only be guilty if he couldn’t protect the prince from harm but if the said were to leave .. As in .. If it was time for the prince to leave this earth .. It wouldn’t be Byunghun’s responsibility yet he felt bad thinking about it .

“ Because you are our prince .. Of course I would feel bed if something were to happen to you even if It was out of my control .. “

convincing enough ?

“ I’m grateful you are not a weak person . You are not the kind of prince known for wine and women . You are cold yea but well , that makes people fear you which I think is a good thing . It’s good at some point to have your people fear you and be skeptical of going against you . That’s what makes a good leader , right ?  But .. As much as being cold is your strength , I believe it’s also your weakness ..  Such heart , What can warm it up ? “

Those were Byunghun’s sincere feelings , voiced out before he found himself dozing off .

The next time Byunghun woke up , prince Chanhee was already up ,

Eventually , Byunghun got off the floor and silently watched as the prince perfected his clothes .

“ Prince Chanhee . “

The prince hummed in reply , still looking at the mirror .

“ We were supposed to be hunting . “  Byunghun asked the question he had been dying to ask ever since he realized they never ended up doing it .

“ There is no hunt , Knight Lee .  “ The prince calmly answered before turning around to face the other .

“ I was testing you . “  He explained locking eye-contact with Byunghun who was in a state of astonishment .

Never once has his loyalty been questioned .

Why was it so hard for the prince to trust him ?

“ And what did your highness find out ? “  Byunghun was eager to know how the prince viewed him after such thing .

But he still maintained his respectful attitude .

“ You are not as bad as I initially thought you are . “

Direct praise was never Prince Chanhee’s style .

That’s what Byunghun learned .

He would also change the subject right away .

“ Any ways , pack up . We are leaving today . “ Announced the prince as he started heading towards the door .

“ Eh ? Already ? “  Asked Byunghun in surprise and a hint of disappointment .

Prince Chanhee halted in his steps before smiling in disbelief and sarcasm .

“ Did you think we were going to spend the rest of our lives here ? Are you perhaps disappointed ? Are you enjoying it , Knight Lee  ?  “

Having your prince directly asking such thing is not the kind of situation people would envy you for .

“ Eh ? No .. It’s okay . I just didn’t know we were leaving today so it kind of surprised me . “

Byunghun struggled with his defense especially as he saw the prince nodding like he didn’t buy it .

“ Um .. I will be going . “  Byunghun excused himself and headed straight towards the only place he could be alone at right then , the restroom .

The moment he got in , he started whispering to himself .

“ Enjoying it ? “

His eyes narrowed in disbelief as he recalled it .

“ He is .. right .. I’m disappointed .. Why though ? “

“ Because .. Because it feels like a vacation and normally anyone wouldn’t want vacation to end especially a hardworking knight like me . “

“ Yea,  yea . That’s the only reason . “ He nodded to himself before reminding his mind , assuring it .

Everything is okay . Everything is under control .

But that was not right .

Before they could leave , Byunghun and Chanhee were obliged to have another tradition performed .

The binding red string tradition .

The memory and evidence shall last forever even though the moment itself had long passed .

On the way back :

“ Is everything okay ? “  Byunghun asked after they had crossed a great distance and prince Chanhee was even more quiet .

Oddly enough , the prince seemed to get the hint .

“ shall I start telling some jokes ?” He asked sarcastically but Byunghun couldn’t tell what expression the said wore since the prince was few steps ahead .

“ N.No , my prince . “ Byunghun calmly replied after regaining his composure .

It’s gonna be a long way , ha ?

~ ♦ ~ 

Flashback : Unknown pov : A deserted bar :

“ It’s really cute how you think having me by your side would aid your ' Conquering Flavonia ' plans . “  A  stranger sarcastically pointed out .

The man in front of him only smiled wickedly before replying  .

“ Think of it . you get your vengeance and I - “

“ Why would you help me ? “ The young guy interrupted , feeling suspicious .

The man chuckled darkly before repeating himself .

“ You get your vengeance and I rule Flavonia . You being his twin is a bonus . But that’s not enough , you have to be capable . Are you ? “ The man asked provoking the younger who stood up abruptly squeezing the said elder’s neck in his grasp choking him , portraying his capabilities .

“ You don’t wanna pester me , fellow . “ The guy glared , almost growling and not just threatening .

19 NOV .