throne °nct

Episode 2

"Charming morning, isn't it?" Princess Sooah says as she pushes the heavy curtains to let the sunshine into the dining room where all four of the married couples have their breakfast together. Of course, including Mark and Sooin's one-year-old daughter and Donghyuck and Ahyoung's three-year-old son. 

Sooin just smiled at her twin sister instead of answering her. Her hands were too busy cutting her freshly grilled steak. "Pleasent, sister. Very pleasant it is this morning." Princess Mei Qing said to the eldest princess. While at the same time, Princess Ahyoung sat quietly as she feeds her son who was sitting on her lap. The little prince was well-behaved despite his young age, never being cranky even though he just woke up from his slumber. 

The princes also didn't have a word to say to each other. The guards and maids, of course, had nothing to say either. 

"Sister," Sooin suddenly called. Though she only called for her twin, all of them looked at her with curious eyes, waiting for the next sentence to come out of her mouth. "Can you stop eyeing my child? It feels quite uncomfortable for me as her mother." the second princess said with a sly smile. Nothing about the smile was showing any hint of happiness. It felt as if she was mocking her twin. Princess Ahyoung and her husband quietly chuckled, not letting anyone else on the table hear their silent laugh. 

"My apologies, sister." Sooah let out a sad smile. She did not expect her younger twin to embarrass her in front of the royal family. "She's just so beautiful, I can't stop wishing I also had my own."

Sooin then rolled her eyes and she made it obvious to everyone on the table. "We get it, sister. You cannot bear a child. Stop making it your whole personality. When I am around Yuni, do not act as if you were the one who gave birth to her. I only allow you to babysit her, not be her second mother."

A slam on the table startled all of the people in the dining room. "Sooin. I think that's enough. Let's just have a lovely breakfast on this lovely day. Please?" Prince Taeyong said with a stern voice.

Sooin did not say a word but it does show that she understood Prince Taeyong's warning. She looked at her sister one last time before continuing to eat her breakfast. 

"Will you excuse us, please?" Ahyoung suddenly stood up after passing her son to Donghyuck. "The tension in this room can be too much for Hyukah. His birthday is coming on next week and I am wishing that he will have the best birthday party. Of course, all of you are invited. Let's go, darling." The two of them left the dining room with their son in Donghyuck's arms.

Princess Mei Qing looked around the room then to her husband who was next to her and then back to everyone in the room. She wondered how to tell them that her soup was not appetizing at all but she figured that it might not be the best time for that. 

She sighed, "I just want waffles." 

♛

Princess Ahyoung slept with her son on her shared bed with Prince Donghyuck. Donghyuck was wide awake though, a glass of whiskey in his hand as he stared across the window of the wide bedroom. He then looked at his wife and son who was peacefully enjoying their slumber together. Their son had a separate room that was not too far from them but still, Ahyoung wished that they could spend more time together. So she cherished every moment they had with their young toddler prince.

Donghyuck put away his glass as he took his steps towards the bed. He lightly shook his wife's shoulder to wake her up. "Ahyoung," he whispered as low as he could, not wanting to wake his son up.

Just a few seconds later, the princess awakened as the evening sun hit her face, blinding her sight before she could freshen up her eyes. "What is it, darling?" she rubbed her eyes before letting out a big yawn as she stretched her arms up.

"We need to find a way how to make sure that I become the next king after father."

And just as easy as that, Princess Ahyoung was awakened freshly. No more yawning, no more tired eyes, no more numb body. "How?" she asked.

"Well, though I have the biggest confidence that His Majesty would most definitely choose you to take over this kingdom."  Ahyoung smiled assuringly. She got up from the bed and hugged Donghyuck.

"You deserve it more than anyone else in this family, my darling." She breathed.

"And what makes you say that?"

"Well, first of all, our biggest weapon is," She pulled away from the hug as she looked behind her where their child was in his little dreamland on their bed. "Hyukah."

"Hyukah?"

"We have a crown prince already if you become the king. Sister Sooah cannot bear a child. Sister Sooin only has a daughter. And for Prince Jeno and his wife?" she chuckled before making an unamused face.

"She's just a kid. What would she know?"

"You do realize that you were pregnant with Hyukah when you were her age, don't you?"

Princess Ahyoung rolled her eyes. For some reason, she did not like the youngest princess. And though it might not be that obvious, so did the other princesses and princes of the castle. Perhaps it's because she's a foreigner. Or maybe because she doesn't take concern about what goes on in the castle. Or maybe it is because she's just a kid and what would she know about the throne and taking over it? Whatever the reason was, almost everyone in the castle did not take a liking to her.

"Are you telling me that they would take over this kingdom? She? That 18-year-old princess from a different country?"

"Lower your voice, Ahyoung. Hyukah might wake up."

The princess cleared her throat. "Point is, no one is fit for the throne other than you. Only you, Prince Donghyuck, is fit enough to be the king." She gave kisses on his cheeks, specifically where he had his moles.

"Oh, you're so adorable, darling. I'll ask them to make some choco-balls for you this evening during tea time."  The princess walked out of the room to get to the kitchen.

Donghyuck sighed to himself. Though he knew that he would be the perfect candidate to leave the country, he did not feel as confident as his wife is. He laid down next to his son.