adorn

chapter 12

the next day, the middle prince entered his brother's room. the younger boy was lying on the bed, book in his hands, eyes following verse by verse. yedam approached him quietly, sat down, his gaze consistent, focused on the other only.

"doyoungie, look at me..." he pleaded, his hand caressing the other's thigh gently.

"I can't hyung, I am reading." was a blunt reply, doyoung browsed some pages.

yedam wasn't the one to give up easily.

"but... you know that you are reading it upside down?"

at this moment the other looked at him dumb-founded, then looked at the paper sheets again, groaning annoyed. he cast the thing away which failed to be his impromptu excuse from having a serious conversation or what he hated, preachy talk always given by his older brother whenever a conflict got in their way.

"you cannot blame me on what father decided, doyoung."

"I do not blame you hyung, I do not blame anyone, why would I? I am happy for you! you are getting married, congratulations! make sure to make me an uncle as soon as possible!"

little prince clicked his tongue, looking away. he winked rapidly, fighting back the urge to release the grudge, sobbing out. he didn't want to be treated as a vulnerable baby anymore, harmed by mere words.

"I don't want to marry haruto." yedam's voice sounded convinced, remained unfazed, the boy didn't raise his tone.

he still had his hand on the other's thigh, stroking it up and down in a soothing manner. he couldn't look at doyoung differently but as his dear dongsaeng who used to come to him at night, fearful of the beasts which could be hidden in the darkness.

"even if you don't want to, father will force you." the boy cackled but the sound made the whole atmosphere even colder, thicker.

"I would never marry someone who doesn't love me. he loves someone else, don't you know?" the question was put deliberately, provoking.

the boy crossed his arms, his fingers clenched around the material of his periwinkle sleeves. since the answer wasn't given, yedam upon feeling impatient, blurted out :

"the day of their visit, what did you do? what did you do with haruto?"

he could have been accused of nosiness, he could have been seen as a voyeur of some sort but he couldn't care any less. it was about his brother, the one who has barely come out of the ground, still being a sprout which if grew too high could be snapped in a half by a wintry gush.

little flower got flustered, his cheeks pinkish, eyelashes concealing the flickering sparkles which appeared while reminiscing the collective moments he shared with his younger friend. all of the stars seemed to be spearing yedam as he still tried to push away the thought that someone touched his brother, used him.

"that day we..." the younger tried to bite his lip to contain the inadvertent smile. "he was my butterfly, I was his flower."

yedam sighed, his hand retreated. he wasn't repulsed, wasn't even surprised. in the back of his head the awareness, the belief that his brother, the pet of the family, the one pampered by everyone, the one petite and fragile, let someone else take care of him.

"you are still so young, haruto is even younger... what do you know about love at this age?"

his speech wasn't slurred, but the words might have escaped before he could imagine the after-effects. doyoung looked at him directly, his small hands clenching on the duvet, eyes exuding the threatening sparkles.

"what do I know about love? what do you know about love, hyung? do you think you can look down on me only because you are one year older?" he drawled, mindful of every letter. "oh... or maybe it is because you let a pair of dirty hands contaminate your pearl skin every night?"

yedam's heart accelerated. he scowled at the other, scooping down, showing dominance.

"what did you just say?"

"I saw that boy in ragged clothes climbing your balcony one moonlight. I thought it was just my delusion but guess what? I could easily confirm his existence the same night, after a span of some hours I saw him again. going out of your room."

yedam's jaw clenched, every word was like fuel to his enrage.

"doyoung, stop..."

"but don't worry hyung! your good, little brother got worried that you could have been put in danger and so he went to see if you were left intact. and you know what he saw after entering your room? middle prince lying on his bed, half-naked, his torso and chest colored with reddish marks and bites. now it's my turn to ask what these were, what you two did, and what you know about love."

yedam's gripped doyoung by his collar, lifting him so that their faces were now aligned.

"doyoung stop I am warning you! don't you dare tell anyone about jihoon or-"

"oh, so your toy's name is jihoon?"

"doyoung!"

yedam's voice was trembling with fury, he dragged the other even closer, not ready to attack the member of his family.

both of them had tears in red, menacing eyes, and probably if not sudden entangling they would just stare at each other, breathing heavily, anticipating who will act unsightly first.

"have you both gone insane?!" the disappointed exclamation made by hyunsuk made them finally break the intense eye contact. "you are brothers of the same mother and the same father! how could brothers act like this?!"

the silence prevailed. hyunsuk too stunned to speak more, doyoung choking on his tears, yedam with a lump in his throat.

"did you..." yedam has never strained so much to let out a whisper. "talk to father?"

hyunsuk nodded. "he is obstinate. he wouldn't agree to you swapping places with doyoung."

"but why...?" a tear of regret fell on his cheek.

"the closer a fiance is to the throne, the stronger marriage union will be. you are the second prince, doyoung is the third, the last. if he married haruto, the union would be more prone to weaken within time."

the muffled sobs lingered in the air, doyoung hid his face in the pillows. the sky turned gray, and there was no sunshine to brighten the shadows in the room, where three brothers have never felt so lost in.

// ✧ //