His Knight | Taegguk

10| Retrieving the Knight

a/n: I'm so sorry for not updating. I've been going through a lot lately. Please understand. I purple you <3

Jeongguk peered into the perfectly clear glass of his mirror, judging his look. He was wearing an oversized white t-shirt and black ripped jeans along with a pair of black boots. A silver necklace hugged his neck, tucked into the collar of his shirt so that the charm was hidden. Fixing his hair one last time, he approved his look with a final once-over. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he exited the room.

He took his phone out of his back pocket as he walked down the halls, checking the time. It was 8:45 AM, which meant he was right on time.

"Ah, so good to see you awake!" A voice came from behind him just as he put his foot on the first step of the staircase.

Turning around, he saw his father approaching him.

"Morning, Dad," The prince replied with a smile, giving his father a half-high-five half-handshake combo.

"I heard you were going to take interviews today," The king began, stepping down beside Jeongguk and motioning for them both to continue down.

Jeongguk nodded, following his father down the staircase. He realized his father still didn't know who the knight was that had saved him, nor did anyone except Jin, who had caught them sneaking around the night before. So, the prince was not surprised at his father's next few questions.

"Are you going to retrieve the knight?"

"Certainly. I'm sure the interviewers would love to opportunity to question him."

"Who is it?"

Jeongguk let the question hang in the air for a moment. He wasn't sure why he hesitated.

"You don't know his name?" The king pressed, glancing inquisitively at his son.

"Of course I do," Jeongguk sighed, "His name is Taehyung."

They had just reached the bottom of the staircase, where his father paused.

"Is that so?" He asked, bringing a hand up to rub his chin. He was not looking at Jeongguk; his gaze rested on the silk rug that lined the hallway.

"Is that a bad thing?" Jeongguk asked, not allowing defensiveness into his tone.

"I wouldn't exactly say that," His father explained, "More like... surprising. He is one of our youngest knights; I wasn't sure about him."

"Well I'm certainly grateful you hired him- I'd be dead if you hadn't."

"Speaking of which," His father began, taking on a more scolding tone, "What were you thinking, walking outside alone at 3 AM? What idiot was guarding the entrance to let you? How could you be so careless? What if you had died?" He got more worked up as he went on, raising his voice with each question.

"Father, please, I made a mistake. It worked out okay and I know not to do it again. I assure you, I learned my lesson. I am still learning, after all- I'm not king yet."

His father paused, considering.

"I suppose," He finally muttered, teeth gritted.

They walked to breakfast in silence after this pleasant conversation.

***

"Taehyung, there you are!" Jeongguk called, hurrying to catch up with the knight.

The knight was standing with his friends in the courtyard, where they were guarding the West Gate. Upon spotting the prince, the knights bowed in greeting.

"Good to see you awake, Your Highness," Taehyung commented, smiling.

Jeongguk pressed his lips together, disapproving of the formalities. But he understood that it would be uncomfortable having to explain everything to the other knights, Jimin and Hoseok.

"And to you. I came to fetch you in case the interviewers would like a word with you- if that's alright, of course."

"Certainly," The knight replied.

Jeongguk smiled, glancing at the two knights on either side of Taehyung.

"Is it alright if I steal Taehyung away for a while?"

The two only dipped their heads. Jeongguk frowned.

"I know I've taken him away a lot in the past couple of days. I apologize for everything that's happened. But I promise I will bring him back safely."

"Of course, Your Highness," Hoseok replied, though his voice was emotionless.

Jeongguk sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

"Again, my apologies."

The prince led Taehyung towards the South Gate, which was the grand entrance to the palace. Once they were out of earshot, Taehyung spoke.

"They were quite upset with me for worrying them."

Jeongguk frowned deeper, sucking his teeth.

"I'm sorry for stirring trouble with your friends."

"No need to apologize," Taehyung replied quickly.

Jeongguk gave him a sideways glance.

"Of course there is. This entire ordeal was my fault from the beginning."

Taehyung shook his head, opening his mouth, but before he could speak they were interrupted by Namjoon.

"Jeongguk," He greeted him with a dip of his head, "I thought you may want to know that you're scheduled for a public interview in two hours and a private one in thirty minutes."

"Thank you, Namjoon," Jeongguk replied, "I presume Taehyung is expected to take part in these as well?"

"Absolutely," Namjoon replied, smiling at Taehyung. 

Word seemed to have gotten around that Taehyung was Jeongguk's mighty savior; as people made their way in and out of the palace they were giving interested glances. A few maids even stopped to giggle and point, whispering to each other.

"Well, Taehyung and I are going upstairs to prepare, then. Thank you for your excellent planning, Namjoon," Jeongguk added, giving the man a handshake.

"No problem. See you two later."

With that, Jeongguk led Taehyung to the grand staircase and up to his room.