adorn

chapter 18

hyunsuk looked at himself in the mirror. looked up, looked down, crossed his brows, widened his eyes, tilted his head to the right, then to the left. sleeking his hair a little, he let out a frustrated groan.

"don't flatten it like that. the crown might slip off even before yoshinori can put it on your head."

hyunsuk sighs, giving in. yedam approaches him, ruffles his head in a playful manner, then directs his body towards the mirror.

"much better," he says contented with the work he had done, although the older cannot hide his puzzlement, considering whether the crown won't turn out too small for his now unkempt hair.

the middle prince knows his brother like the back of his hand, he can read his troubled thoughts one by one, he notices the tiny crinkles which form on his forehead.

"hey... if you don't like it, sleek it again I won't feel offended."

hyunsuk chuckles, looking at yedam with his crescent eyes.

"it's not about my hair yedam-ah. if the crown doesn't fit anyhow, yoshinori will just keep an eye on me the whole time, reminding me to stay motionless so that it doesn't fall in not so elegant manner in front of everyone. I just... do you think he will come?"

yedam feels a pang in his chest but his face remains composed, a warm smile never disappearing.

"of course, he will. everybody in both kingdoms knows about your coronation. we don't know where our brother has been throughout these two years, we can't even testify if haruto was with him. however we have to be sure about the present – I know he came. he stands somewhere in the crowd, probably jumping like a little kid just to see anything from under others' heads."

hyunsuk's corners of the lips quiver shortly, he tries to form a smile.

"we will meet him today, finally."

two brothers look each other in the eyes, not long after hyunsuk pulls his dongsaeng into a hug, a much-needed comfort at this moment.

since the day of doyoung's disappearance, no one could find him, nor could find haruto. as if dissolved into the air, no tracks, no possible locations, no letters, no explanation. the princes' father's health distinctively deteriorated. the man was bedridden, lost the ability to speak, not mumble like a patient with mental illnesses. his days were counted. next to his bed on the day he died, were no others than his betrayed but adamantly loyal sons. yedam could tell in the last blabbering of his father he heard a name of the youngest brother, disguised somewhere in between incoherent apologies.

yedam assumed that doyoung didn't even know how many things have changed within these six hundred twenty days, nine hours, seventeen minutes, and forty-seven seconds. the king, their father, died miserably two months after his youngest descendant had been seen for the last time. after a designated time devoted to national mourning, hyunsuk could have been chosen to wear the crown.

but he said no. despite all of yoshinori's and yedam's effort to put into his head that he was ready to rule the country, to become the benevolent, courageous, mindful of his decisions and acts king, he pushed them away, sometimes literally pushing them out of his chamber with a bitter "leave me alone!" among fits of sobbing. yedam would at such moments do what was ordered, meanwhile, yoshinori stayed by hyunsuk's doors as persistent as he could, not moving for an inch until the love of his turned the doorknob, and let yoshinori lock him in a tight hug, ornamented with cherishing kisses on the top of his head.

"we won't do it again, I promise. rest assured, we will give you as much time as you need."

yedam heard the king's consolation and couldn't but comply. he didn't want to impose anything on his hyung who had already gone through enough. that's how after two years the palace's gates were opened to every citizen, the balconies, windows, and pillars dressed in lavender and silver garlands, the tables abundant with food, the throne room festive as never before, with the young king holding a crown in his hand, prepared to title hyunsuk as the king right by his side.

in the meantime, yoshinori was in charge of policy and authority, the idea of uniting two kingdoms into one reaching him from various directions. finally, they've decided – once hyunsuk wears a crown, they will rule over one, vast and beautiful land, together.

they have been husbands for a year now. from now yoshinori could not only call the other "my dear husband", starting this day he could refer to him as "my king and dear husband" and this only made him want to put the crown on hyunsuk's head even more.

// ✧ //