Kingdom [Namjin]

26

The sunlight was bright. Too bright for Namjoon to remain asleep. He groaned and shielded his eyes from the sun as he woke up. The windows were closed, but the curtains weren't drowned. He shivered as the cold air from the air con hit his naked upper body. The room that was given to him was huge. A bed on the centre top of the room, a huge window overlooking the gardens and a walk-in closet on the right. There was a bathroom on the left. It had a huge bathtub. Huge enough for two people to sit in comfortably. The room was smaller than his room back in Yangsang but he was sure he was given the largest room in the guest quarters. They were really treating him like a delicate toy who would break if not kept with care. Or they thought he was arrogant enough to get angry if anything was not as per his standards. He didn't blame them. Yangsang had been reserved for too long. Namjoon took this chance to show them that they were ready to expand their friendships to other nations.

Namjoon looked around on his bed and found the other side empty. The image of Seokjin sleeping peacefully there the previous night was still pretty intact in his mind. He understood the drill. No one can see them together. Not outside the professional reasons. And definitely not like this. He chuckled. It felt shitty how the other person had to leave before people woke up to be safe. It felt like he was indulging in forbidden grounds. He shook his head. From the time he had come to Myeongseong, his thoughts were messing with him. First, he got disappointed when Seokjin didn't show up the entire day and then he got carried away as soon as Seokjin was in front of him. Maybe because he has too much free time on his hands. Yeah, that's the reason. He should do some work so that he can keep his mind occupied.

Soon after getting ready, he met Hoseok, Jungkook and Taehyung in the main corridor. Luckily, Namjoon didn't have any marks on his neck. Others just got covered under his clothes. He wore a white shirt and black trousers. A symbol on the shirt told everyone that he was the prince from Yangsang. Hoseok looked at the tablet, "We have an invite to attend the official court activities today."

"What?" Namjoon tilted his head, "Really?" Usually, no almost all the time, the guests are never allowed to attend the courtroom activities because many tactical strategies get passed in the process. This land really had surprises for Namjoon at every corner. Namjoon nodded, "Let's attend that then."

Everyone followed Namjoon knowing exactly where to go. He remembered the tour that Yeojun had given yesterday. But to their convenience, they met Yoongi on their way.

He bowed to Namjoon, "Your highness." Namjoon smiled and nodded, "I assume you are going to the courtroom?"

Hoseok nodded, "Yes, we have an official invite."

Yoongi chuckled, "I know. I was the one who scheduled it. This way, please."All of them followed Yoongi. The palace was really beautiful. The windows that let the sun rays in the hallways were tinted in every different shade of warm colours to keep the heat minimal but the brightness maximum. Namjoon was really intrigued by the architectural masterpiece that the palace was. As opposed to their palace, the walls in this palace were painted with bright colours. Mostly white. But at some places, there was a tint of other colours. He understood it perfectly. They had to keep the place cool as the city burned under the bright sun every day. The main hallway to the courtroom had portraits of all the previous kings. It was like a shrine dedicated to them. Of course, there must be a symbolic meaning behind it, but Namjoon didn't know what it was yet.

The courtroom was different from theirs as well. It was more like an auditorium of a cooperative business rather than the traditional setup. There was a huge chair in the centre, probably for the king. There were other chairs arranged on both sides and a projector wall right opposite the huge throne. Yoongi pulled a chair for Namjoon right on the left side of the king. Namjon thanked him before sitting there. There was another row of chairs behind them. They were reserved for personal assistants and secretaries. Yoongi made Taehyung and Hoseok sit there with him. The room was soon filled with the nobles and the royal family. The king sat on the throne as Namjoon had predicted. The topics discussed in the courtroom were very basic. Now Namjoon knew why he was allowed to sit in the room. There was nothing dangerous discussed in the meeting. After a while, Youngbae went to the centre and bowed to the royals, "I would like to discuss something in private, if his majesty permits."

Seunghyun nodded, "Everyone except the five internal members, please leave."

Everyone stood up and left one by one after bowing to the royals. When Namjoon got up, Youngbae stopped him, "Prince Namjoon shall stay. This concerns Yangsang as well."

Namjoon, confused, took his seat again followed by his team, "Yangsang, how?"

Youngbae smiled a little. He called someone instead of answering Namjoon, "We are clear."

The doors of the courtroom opened, letting Seokjin and Jimin into the courtroom. Seokjin was wearing his uniform, a white shirt, a blue blazer with the Myeongseong symbol on it and blue trousers. His hair was styled neatly, parting from the side. The tie around his neck was a little loose displaying the marks left by Namjoon. Though he looked tired, to Namjoon, he still looked ethereal. The posture that Seokjin held screamed confidence and pride. Namjoon had always seen Seokjin in either a professional setting or while they had sex. He wondered how Seokjin was with the people he loved. Namjoon really wanted to see what Seokjin would act and look like in a normal setting. Namjoon closed his eyes to calm himself down. Not now.

Seokjin came into the centre and bowed to the royals.

"Your majesty," Seokjin attached a laptop to the projector and there was a picture of the Western kingdom on the wall, "I have some crude information on the rumours that were spread six months ago."

Namjoon opened his eyes and looked at the screen. Were they still digging in that case? He was really surprised because Yangsang had closed that chapter as soon as Seokjin left the country. Maybe that is why Myeongseong had such a strong defence system. Seokjin continued.

"The pictures sent to Yangsang were from the Western kingdom."

Namjoon nodded, "So you are saying that the West is behind all this?"

"No." Seokjin looked at Namjoon with a strained, professional look and changed the slide. "About a year ago, the fourth princess of King Cha Moohyuk married the king of the West. Cha Moohyuk is behind all this. He is just using the west as a forefront. Their initial plan was to make the two of his strongest enemies fight and then conquer the already weak lands. But he didn't anticipate the truce that we pulled. So he tried the last resort that he could." Seokjin changed the slide again, "He sent princess Hana to impress the king and prince Namjoon so that a marriage can be set between them and he can control Yangsang."

Namjoon nodded. Seokjin was right. Hana had stayed a week longer than all the guests that had attended the year-end event. She found every possible way to get closer to Namjoon. Namjoon sighed, "Seokjin-shi is right. Cha Moohyuk is getting too involved in my life."

Seunghyun hummed, "What happened at the war on Western borders?"

Jimin came forward and stood beside Seokjin, "The war lasted for two weeks. We dominated them in the first week and they retreated by the end of the second week. 300 casualties. 250 soldiers were badly injured and 50 were martyred. We have mobilised a new troop there and given a month-long holiday to all the soldiers that were involved."

Seunghyun nodded and looked at Yeonjun, "Make sure to visit the martyrs' families and pay for their loss. Make sure you are respectable enough."

Yeonjun nodded, "Yes, your majesty."

Seunghyun looked at Seokjin, "Seokjin-ah, good job. Take a week off. You have worked hard. Jimin-ah, I am proud of your leadership. You too should take a rest. Dismissed."

As the king left the room, everyone sighed. Seokjin tilted his head and picked up the things he had brought, exiting the room with Youngbae. Namjoon stared at his back as Seokjin left the room. Not once during the entire meeting, Seokjin had smiled at him. Was he overthinking? He shook his head. As they exited the room, he looked at Hoseok, "Set a meeting with abeonim."