♔ Royal Pain ♔ → kth | jjk

XVII

Jeongguk rested his arm up on the side of the carriage on the ride home, fist propping up his head. His eyes were set on the passing path, watching as the land was swallowed by the hooves of the horses and the wheels of the carriage.

"Jeongguk did well tonight, Taehyung. Thank you for keeping him well behaved." Jeongguk heard the voice of his father, but he refused to acknowledge the conversation.

"He did well all by himself, King Jeon. I had nothing to-"

"Nonsense. If you weren't beside him, he may have caused a scene."

Jeongguk curled his fists in tight, knuckles turning white and nails digging into his palms. He refused to speak up. He refused to acknowledge his father's jabs and taunts. He bit on the inside of his cheek, biting back any retaliation that tugged at the back of his throat.

Taehyung kept himself level, although he wanted to speak against the King and stand up for Jeongguk. Instead he lowered his head, remaining quiet. He didn't want to put Jeongguk on the spot anymore than he already was.

"How are his lessons going?" The Queen smiled. "I don't believe I've asked yet."

"They're going wonderfully. Your son is very intelligent and picks it up easily." Taehyung smiled back weakly. He felt Jeongguk shift beside him and briefly glanced over, catching a glimpse of his visible discomfort before the Queen caught his attention again.

"Is that so?" She nodded. "I'm pleased to hear that."

She sounds surprised too, Jeongguk thought bitterly to himself.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Or at least, for Jeongguk it was. There was small talk happening, but he took no part in it and remained silent. He wasn't being brought up anymore thankfully, so that made the ride a little more bearable for him.

By the time they arrived back home, it was nearly 10.

Yes, 10. That damn dinner had lasted longer that Jeongguk had hoped and his parents insisted on a tour of the Kim's residence.

"Shit..." Jeongguk muttered when he scanned the sky with big eyes.

"Language, Jeongguk." His mother sighed.

"The lanterns are over." He lowered his head.

"They release the lanterns at the very end of sundown. Of course they're over, Jeongguk. Hoping we'd return home in time to see them was wishful thinking. As a King, you cannot get in the habit of wishful thinking."

Jeongguk looked at his father with an unreadable expression before silently going inside, arms hugging himself tightly and nails digging into his sides to refrain from talking back.

Taehyung frowned, watching him go. "With all do respect, sir... I don't believe that was the right thing to say. Jeongguk was looking forward to this."

"I understand where you're coming from, but he needs to learn to grow up and stop living life like it's a childish fairytale. Kings are supposed to be realistic, strong, and powerful. You cannot be those things if you're constantly getting your hopes up only to let yourself down." King Jeon said stiffly.

Taehyung pursed his lips. "He's not a King yet." He muttered to himself and went after Jeongguk.

He found Jeongguk laying on his side with his back to the door on his bed, his phone held in front of him.

"What are you doing?" Taehyung asked.

"Texting Yoongi. Both him and Jimin are busy tonight so I guess I'm stuck in this God forsaken place all night." Jeongguk grumbled, putting his phone down.

Taehyung sat on the edge of he bed and bit his lip. "Oh. Well... I'm here."

Jeongguk rolled over and looked at him quietly.

"You were really upset the other night... are you doing okay, Jeongguk?" Taehyung asked quietly, careful not to potentially upset him further. Jeongguk's expression became blank as he thought about it, then laid back down with his back to Taehyung.

"Yeah." He lied. "I'm fine. Thanks."

Taehyung sighed heavily. "You said everyone hates you."

"So? What's wrong with that?"

"It's not true."

"Bullshit." Jeongguk scoffed.

"Jimin and Yoongi don't, neither does Namjoon. Those girls you always play with don't, and Hoseok thinks you're pretty cool..." Taehyung bit his lip and hesitantly laid down behind him. "And I don't hate you, either."

Jeongguk said nothing, absorbing the words. "You don't?"

He sounded authentically surprised by that.

"No. I don't..." Taehyung whispered, letting the conversation dissolve into comfortable silence.

- - -

"Ah- Fuck, Jimin! You handed out all the lanterns, right?" Yoongi cursed, looking around frantically for the couple they were supposed to take.

"Yes, Yoongi." Jimin rolled his eyes and appeared with a box. "Looking for these?"

Yoongi got glimpse of the box and smiled sheepishly. "Uh, yeah. Thanks." He counted the lanterns in the box and nodded to himself. "6. Perfect. Taehyung got 2, right?"

Jimin nodded and carried the box down to the shoreline, where the boat was waiting for them.
"Yep. I dropped them off when I went to talk to Kook. Put them out by the front gate and texted Taehyung about it."

Yoongi nodded and made sure he had the matches before joining Jimin at the boat. "You know how to use this thing, right?"

"Of course I do." Jimin snorted and got in, bringing the lanterns with him. Yoongi carefully stepped into the boat as well, trying to remain balanced as he sat down. "Careful, we don't want you falling in and getting the matches wet."

Yoongi gave him a look. "That's what matters if I fall in the water? The matches?"

Jimin cocked a brow. "Why? You can swim, can't you?"

When Yoongi didn't answer, Jimin's mouth cracked into an amused grin. "Yoongi... Are you telling me you've never learned how to swim and yet you agreed to go out to the middle of this lake in a very-" He shifted his weight a bit to prove his point, and with his shifting weight the boat rocked ever so slightly and Yoongi gripped the edges tightly. "-very unstable boat?"

Yoongi grumbled. "I never really needed to."

"Ah. Right. I guess basic wilderness survival isn't important when you grow up with a golden spoon in your mouth." Jimin teased. "It's alright. I'm here to protect you."

Yoongi tried to bite back his little laughter but he couldn't help how much he loved Jimin's attitude about these sorts of things. 

Jimin smiled victoriously and re-situated himself so his weight was evenly distributed on his half of the boat. "What time is it?"

Yoongi checked his watch. "10:38. What time are we supposed to do this?"

"11. We have time." Jimin hummed, beginning to take the boat out into the center of the lake. "I'll never understand how every year, it's always perfect weather for this thing." He murmured as he observed the clear night sky.

Yoongi smiled a bit. "I keep telling Jeongguk it's cause he's special but he always ignores me." He chuckled.

Jimin sighed quietly. "I hope he isn't still mad at us..."

"Yeah." Yoongi's smile faded. "Me too. Hopefully this'll make up for things?"

Jimin nodded and picked up a lantern, observing the design. "Yeah. Hopefully."