Me In You | k.gh×l.sh

my all is yours

chilly winds harshly collide against the uncovered skin from under geonhak's thick jacket as he battles his way to the training centre alongside a no doubt deflated seoho forcibly dragging himself out of the warmth of his dorm room.

winter was far from near yet the autumn winds seemed unforgiving with their force sending a chill through seoho's spine. the heater in the car ride to the royal residence was indeed a blessing but like most good things, it was over to soon with his body only able to absorb the heat for a good ten minutes before being forced out in the cold again.

as much as the both of them sincerely despised their training lessons, geonhak knew that seoho was even more beat than him taking into consideration that one half of his soul had just recharged the other missing half currently residing in his body.

their monthly recharge dates are clearly visible with seoho bearing dark baggy circles under his hollow eyes and geonhak looking more jubilant than ever.

geonhak could only feel pity upon seeing seoho being the one to receive a tougher training schedule on those days as opposed to him who is usually made to sit down and learn about the long history of the royals, the lineage and their significant soul bond.

the same one seoho shares with him. the reason he is alive.

as for today, he sits on the piled-up crash pads in one corner awaiting the usual hefty study materials he is meant to read off. much to his surprise, his trainer produces a yellowed with age envelope before him. no writing bares its contents and geonhak is left intrigued as he gazes back and forth between hwayoung and the envelope. he receives a nod from her end and he flips the delicate flap open to have a bunch of photographs fall into his lap.

"careful with those," hwayoung warns as she bends down to pick up the one stray photograph on the floor.

geonhak skims through all the material before him. he recognises the setting in an instance; the overdose of velvety red carpeting walls, decor and almost everything signified the one of the key rooms he was shown in the palace that being the courtroom.

from the few faces belonging to the royal family, he guesses that the pictures held the memories of an intimate occasion.

"the sacred inaugural bond," hwanyoung says as geonhak takes up a random photograph, examining the scenarios of what had been thoroughly with his sharp eyes, "it's a tradition to bond with your official protector in front of the royal court."

"why in front of everyone?" geonhak interjected, drawing his attention away from the picture of presumedly a younger self of the queen and hwayoung.

"you learned that the position of the official protector is a competition, right? so on that day, the actual person is chosen by the royal family and then the bond is created."

although the concept of the soul bond is younger than the actual healing power of the royals, the ritual holds its place in history all starting with the turbulence between the surrounding group of kingdoms leading to the royal family developing the soul bond.

if geonhak were to describe the soul bond to a passerby, it would be a kind of back up.

although in the modern era of technology and political treaties keeping the peace amongst the kingdoms relatively on still waters, the royal family continues to practice the ritual of placing a half of their soul within the body of their trusted right hand man for if any sort of misfortune fell upon the heir during the brutal war, the other half of his soul could stay safe and ready to resurrect them back.

"so i stick out like a sore thumb in terms of tradition?"

hwayoung shakes her head as she puts another photograph from the pile between his fingers. this time the high end decor is replaced with the an exquisite bedroom suite filled with unfamiliar faces, save for the queen who was standing beside the luxurious bed in the centre of the room. although the face on the person occupying the bed is a group of pixels geonhak assumes that they belong to hwayoung.

"no actually. prince seoho and you aren't the first to deviate. my inauguration was also far from traditional."

it had been months since the accident, three to be precise. geonhak still spots some of the reminiscent scars of metal scrapes and needle punctures. unfortunately for him, the moment the doctors of the royal hospital declared him to be completely healed, he was stripped from any sort of rest.

a soul bond had been created and came with it the added responsibility of the future prince's official protector.

"since you are already bonded and you can't really unbond if they find you unworthy, so there aren't really any tests. it will just be a regular recharge session in front of the court," hwayoung explains with her finger trfirmly stamped against the picture in his hands, "but that doesn't mean you don't train hard, geonhak. a soul bond is no joke especially in your case where your life literally depends on seoho's survival."

the life was a protector simply did not include keeping the heir's soul safe, far from danger in a safely locked cell. no. it meant if seoho was in a battle and was fighting off enemies in the front, geonhak must safeguard his back.

a soul transfer must be the last and dire option.

however, the conditions are different in his case.

see, geonhak had died.

the car crash was fatal for him.

his soul had almost fully detached itself from the host.

the only reason he stands today alive and well is because of seoho.

the part of seoho's soul that sits within him runs his entire body.

he lives solely because of seoho.

and if seoho were in need of a soul transfer- well, he knows what is to come.

-x-

tried explaining as much as possible without giving you guys an overdose but still kinda feel it's a mess :"))) let me know