you're so golden! || minsung ||

10♕

The next day, Jisung had gotten out of bed without whimpering or without the usual thousand and one requests from his servants. To his own surprise, Jisung wasn't in the mood to blink his eyes and watch the day go by, wanting to get back to the comfort of the bed covers quickly like always. On the contrary. Today, he wanted to enjoy breakfast and the day that, despite being cloudy, promised good surprises and, perhaps, a few more moments in the presence of the prince and his friend Minho. At least he hoped it.

In the dining room, slicing through a pile of soft, perfectly round pancakes as if they'd been molded to the finest detail, Areum, who's decided to sit next to him this morning, clears her throat to get his attention. Jisung has one side of his cheek full of food, looking at her wide-eyed in question.

"How was it?" The girl of the same caste as his asks discreetly, as they should speak at meals.

Jisung doesn't need to think too hard to figure out where she's headed. Last night, more precisely during dinnertime, all the selected ones stared at him curiously, probably waiting for someone to ask the same question as Areum, or else for Jisung to take the initiative and brag about his date with the prince in detail. Obviously, Jisung kept silent the entire meal, preferring to keep his concentration on the delicious dish of pasta and on the exchange of glances with Minho.

However, Areum seems to be the only one brave enough to ask the big question, looking expectantly at him as she waits for a clear detailed description of his date. And those words uttered by her, even though they were muttered, are enough to get the attention of everyone on both sides of the table as if all the contestants were anxiously waiting for the subject to arise. It was obvious that everyone around Jisung was listening.

Jisung finishes chewing, taking a deep breath and replying, "It went well."

The selected look at each other, clearly waiting for more details.

"How did the prince behave?" This time it's Choi Sohui who asks, tucking her hair behind her ear as if it would help her hear better.

"Hum..." Jisung pauses, trying to choose his words carefully. "He's very polite. And funny too. In short, he behaved very differently than I expected."

This time, replacing the silence, various murmurs resound around the table.

"You're doing it on purpose, aren't you?" Seo Yejun breaks out. "That's pretty petty of you."

Jisung shakes his head. Why was the Three being this mean? He couldn't understand. As far as he knows, Jisung is in his perfect right not to detail his date with the prince. But how could he explain that without making the others selected hate him even more?

"It's nothing like that. I just don't know what you want me to say-" Jisung starts off by saying but the tumult coming from the hallway saves him from having to formulate a more complex answer.

When he gives more attention to it, Jisung realizes they are weird screams. In his short stay at the royal palace, Jisung doesn't remember hearing any sounds that could be considered close to loud, let alone yells. The usual noise of the guards' assertive footsteps, the opening and closing of huge doors, and the touch of cutlery on plates resounded in a kind of melody. However, this was different. It sounded more like utter and complete chaos.

The royal family, seated at the usual table just a few feet away from the selected ones, seem to understand everything before they do.

"Ladies and gentlemen, to the back of the room! Now!" King Bon-hwa orders, running to one of the windows.

The contestants, completely confused but not wanting to disobey the orders of the king, move chaotically to the wall at the end of the dining room. The king lowers a blind, but it's not one to filter the light as is usually seen; it's made of metal and creaks when it's being closed. Beside him, Minho puts down another one, and after the prince, the gentle and delicate queen Yuna hurries down the next one.