Princely Predicament

Chapter 26

I've updated a couple other stories so now I get to come back here. To my comfort story in my comfort world. I could write King Junmyeon and King Yixing stories forever if you guys would let me.

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DaeHyun's POV

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It had been a solid month since I'd last set foot in our Chinese home. Not for lack of wanting to. But because dad and pa had pulled me to the side and told me straight up that I would be taking over dad's domain some day, so the more time I spent in Korea, the better. However, I missed my other home. And ChaoXing and I had been separated for a whole week while she and pa were in China doing official things there, and I kind of missed her too.

"Welcome sire." I just grinned as Li Jie was the first to greet me. He dropped into a stiff bow. "Your father and your sister are currently in some diplomatic meetings," he continued without even a pause for a breath. He straightened, taking my bags from me. I let him, even though I was more than capable of handling it myself and he knew it. "Shall I get you anything?" he asked as we ascended the stairs. He peeked over his shoulder until the other staff was out of view. Then he sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Hi DaeHyun. It's good to see you. How have you been?"

"Good. Better since..." But I let the thought trail off. My failed interview was still a sore subject between us. And I knew why. Of course I did. But it wasn't like I could just talk to him about it. He made his stance on it abundantly clear. "How are you?" I asked next. "How is Mei Zhen?"

"Ah, well, you see..." He paused for an uncomfortable time and we climbed in silence. He emerged onto the floor housing my room before he chose to speak again. He cleared his throat. "We uh...we broke up." I rounded on him, eyes wide. But he wouldn't even look at me. "She was...not super impressed with the fact I chose you more often than not. So she said we needed a break." And that was that. He stopped, and I didn't press the issue. Though that left me spinning in circles up in my head. "I assume Hojun is well?" he asked in turn, swinging the door to my bedroom open. I led the way inside while I pondered my answer.

"He's good. He had some things with mom he couldn't miss, so he won't be here this time. Though he promised we could video chat at some point. You can join if you'd like." He hummed thoughtfully. It wasn't a no. I didn't expect him to say yes either, but I thought I would give him the option. He wheeled my suitcase in behind me. "Thanks," I said. "Pa mentioned to bring one of my tang suits back with me."

"Tang suit?" I turned. Li Jie stared at me, eyes wide open. "Your pa must have someone to impress of he's asking you to dress traditionally." I nodded. Of vourse he was. But such was life. "Oh pop did tell me to warn you that the paps have been spotted lurking around the palace again. King Yixing upped the guards for the week, but I imagine once they thin back out they'll come crawling back to the grounds." I simply sighed. Paparazzi were another thing I was quite used to by now. "We'll do our best to shield you from it, we promise. I know you aren't a fan of them."

"They've got nothing but te to waste," I said with a roll of my eyes. "I'm not doing anything offensive. If they want to photograph me sitting in our longue or haning out in the garden let them." I sat on the edge of my too large bed, facing Li Jie, who stood near my doorway, his hands tucked behind his back. "Do you want to...talk about what happened?" I gently invited. He pulled a dace, and for a minute I thought he would decline, but then he threw himself beside me, his face in my sheets.

"I just don't understand why she can't see my work is important to me." His muffled voice floated up from his face down position. "And I can't just abandon it. I did my best to spend a lot of time with her. I really did. And I was good to her. Didn't yell. Didn't threaten her. Took her nice places. We talked on the phone a lot when we weren't together. I don't think I could have done anything differently if I tried expect maybe..." He abruptly stopped, and there we sat. Well. Here I sat. He laid. But the silence stretched so thin a cotton ball could have broken it. "I'm sorry sire I shouldn't be spilling my broken heart to you." He finally lifted himself up and heaved himself to a sitting position. "Do you need anything?"