pillar of life | sunsun

4

song:  flash  –X1

4| favours and favoured courtiers

sunoo padded across the carpeted floor upon hearing the soft knocks on the door of his assigned room. he gently opened the door to reveal jongseong clad in a pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt with his black hair falling on his eyes.

"what might bring you here prince park?" sunoo bowed slightly in respect for the man standing before him.

"i'm just looking for a certain kim who happens to be the prince of ordon." jay bowed back.

"drop the formalities with me prince park and just address me as sunoo."

"likewise with me as well. jay hyung seems much much warmer than addressing me as prince park which might i add is confusing with another park in the royal bloodline," jay smiled warmly.

sunoo chuckled as he gestured for the young prince to enter the room, though technically he was just a temporary inhabitant.

"it comes back to the question, what brought you here this late jay hyung?"

"i'm sure you've heard about the alliance and the marriage that is intended to happen between us. i'm practically a stranger to you. why did you accept it?" jay pondered out loud.

it was a reasonable doubt which begs to be answered since there has to be a motive behind his decision. after all, marriage was equivalent to tying one to another for eternity, especially to those who possess royal blood since marrying more than once was frowned upon.

"who informed you that i did? if anything, both of us are here on a two week trial to fall in love with each other. though i can confirm that you do not have much interest in this marriage from how you were shamelessly eyeing my courtier, am i right to say as such?" sunoo swirled his tea as the question, that required no answer, lingered in the air.

"you're making this easier than ever for me sunoo and here i had a speech on formally rejecting you. my apologies, you have nothing lacking but neither do you interest me in the slightest bit." jay sighed, relieved.

"i do want to request a favour though. if you fulfil my wish, i'll let you court my best friend jungwon." jay's eyes widened slightly in shock while sunoo smiled playfully.

"i wasn't expecting that but go ahead and i'll see what i can do about it."

"i would like you to keep up the charade of 'trying to know each other' for these two weeks. it would give me enough time to plan my getaway," sunoo whispered.

there is no doubt there are eyes and ears everywhere in the palace and for something to be discreet well, it takes luck and faith for a secret to be hidden from prying eyes and ears.

"you're running away?" jay was flabbergasted. why would someone run away when being a royal allows you to get anything from any corner of the world with just a word.

"i love the palace, my family and the people, don't be mistaken. but i don't think being a royal is for me. i would like to love freely, passionately and wildly without a care in the world. i want to live among the people and earn my living; sharing happiness with everyone around me rather than spending the riches that are accumulated from the poor. i want to build a home just for me and the love of my life and enjoy the world and the vast opportunities and sights it has to offer. for that, i need freedom. i cannot do that with the weight of the crown on my shoulders. i will formally renounce my right to the throne of ordon and the title of prince during your coronation. for that your coronation must happen and so i beg you to pretend to be my friend for the next two weeks. i think our parents just want us to get along with each other, well enough to rule side by side and us developing romantic feelings is more of a security to them."

jay gazed at sunoo fondly. sunoo was just a lively soul trapped within the endless walls of the palace.

"will you regret it?" jay asked softly.

sunoo smiled, the moonlight lighting his skin, "i don't think i ever will."

jay was convinced that he'd do anything to help the younger boy in front of him.

friends? jongseong knew that he'd take care of sunoo like a blood brother for the rest of his life.  

– 

L