His Knight | Taegguk

4| Fairy House

Jeongguk stepped out of the palace gates, taking a look at the city before him. The noise of incoherent voices mixed with squeals of laughter drifted his way, carried on the wind. He smiled at the sound, glad the people of his kingdom were enjoying themselves.

He walked down the path that led into the town, looking around at the small shops and streets bustling with people. Most did not drive in the capital; almost every place was accessible by foot. In fact, Jeongguk was aware that most people didn't even own cars. This thought worried him; what would his people do in the midst of a natural disaster or some other scenario that required evacuation? After a moment of thought, he decided that in an event like that he would ensure that all means of public transport were to be used to transport them out safely.

Upon making the decision, he smiled to himself; he was already thinking like a king. Maybe he really was getting to the point where he'd be prepared to take the throne. His smile fell when the thought reminded him that he needed to study. He'd do that later- right now, he was going to check on his people.

As he was walking past a small shop, he nearly tripped when two children ran in front of him.

"Look! See? I wasn't lying!" A little girl cried out, pointing to a bush.

The second child, a young boy, bent over to examine whatever the little girl was pointing at.

"That's a mushroom."

"No, it's not! It's a fairy house. Don't you know what a fairy house looks like?"

"Whatever," The boy sighed turning away.

Jeongguk figured the boy was probably ten, while the girl looked to be around six or seven. When the boy looked at him he gasped.

"Oh, my apologies, your Highness," He exclaimed quickly, bowing low.

The little girl gasped.

"Oh my gosh! It's the prince!" She squealed, jumping up and down.

"Hey, have some respect, Mina," The boy scolded her, pulling her hand so she would bow to.

"Oh, sorry," Mina muttered, blushing.

Jeongguk laughed, shaking his head.

"That's quite alright," He assured them. "Can I see the fairy house?"

Mina smiled brightly and nodded, moving out of the way. Kneeling down, Jeongguk peered through the bushes to see two large mushrooms seated between the roots of the plant. He smiled and turned back to the girl.

"You know what? I think I read somewhere that fairies like sugar," He told her, taking a small bag of sugar cubes from his pocket. "Gives these to them and come back tomorrow to see if they ate them."

The girl smiled gratefully, taking the bag.

"Thank you, your Highness," She told him in a very serious tone, bowing low.

He smiled, ruffling her hair before turning to leave. When the children thought he was out of earshot, Mina jumped for joy.

"See? The prince said they're fairy houses, so they must be!"

The boy laughed.

"Must be."

Jeongguk smiled to himself, turning a corner.

***

The wind blew through the trees, sending Jeongguk's hair into a frenzy. He sat quietly on his balcony and watched the city settle down as evening fell across the kingdom. A strained sigh escaped his lips. He was uncomfortably full from having stuffed himself with the delicious food Seokjin had made. It had earned the chef many compliments, as it did every night, and Jeongguk was grateful, of course. However, the thought that Seokjin had made loads of his absolute favorite foods crossed his mind. What if the chef had planned this? What if he wanted the prince to feel this pain? Pouting, Jeongguk crossed his arms.

His thoughts soon drifted, though, and he forgot about his overfilled stomach. He was just starting to think about what he would do with his day tomorrow when a movement from the rooftop above him caught his attention.

A few yards left of him, a man leaned his elbows on the edge of the roof and rested his head on his hands. Jeongguk recognized Taehyung in an instant. The golden glow of the sun made his features seem hazy and ethereal, pulling Jeongguk into a trance. The knight seemed to be deep in thought, staring off into the distance. He didn't notice the prince, nor did he notice much else. He seemed entirely unbothered when the sun finally cast its last rays of light before disappearing into shadows.

The moonlight came from behind him then, and Jeongguk could only see his outline.

Realizing how long he'd been staring, the prince silently scolded himself for being a creep. He slipped back inside and closed the door, careful to keep it quiet; he didn't want to disturb Taehyung.

A last glance was cast at the night sky before Jeongguk turned away, ready to prepare for bed. Then, there was a knock on his door.

"What is it?" He called.

"It's Namjoon. I wanted to remind you that your parents are holding another selection in seventeen days."

With a sigh, the prince nodded. He then realized Namjoon couldn't see him through the closed door. With four long strides, he reached the entrance to his bedroom and opened the dark oak wood door.

"Sure thing, Joon. Get some rest, will you?" The prince advised, glancing at the time on his phone.

8:42 it read in bright white letters against his lock screen.

"I could say the same to you. Good night, guk."

"G'night."

With that, Jeongguk closed his door. Making his way to his walk-in closet, he chose a silky nighttime robe to wear. Admiring the softness of the item, he retreated to the bathroom to wash up before bed.

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Double update to make up for how long it's been ♡