His Knight | Taegguk

11| Interviews

"I can't have you in that uncomfortable metal suit while we're doing the interviews," Jeongguk explained as he frantically whisked through his wardrobe.

Taehyung was standing behind the prince, watching as he aggressively jerked clothes hangers one by one to the right side along the bar. In Taehyung's eyes, every one of those outfits was an absolute luxury- he would love to be able to wear any of them. Jeongguk, however, did not seem to feel the same.

"Jeongguk, I couldn't wear your clothes for the interview. I-"

"Nonsense. Here," He thrust an outfit at Taehyung, gesturing towards the bathroom attached to his room on the left. "We don't have much time, hurry and try it on."

Taehyung wasn't given a chance to farther protest as Jeongguk practically shoved him into the bathroom. He let out a sigh of defeat and began removing his armor. It clamored to the floor with ear-splitting crashes, the sound magnified by the bathroom tiles. Grimacing, the knight rubbed his throbbing ears before beginning to put on the outfit Jeongguk had given him.

To his surprise, it looked quite good on him. It was a simple pale grey turtleneck with a white overcoat, complemented by a pair of black skinny jeans. He was also provided with a pair of black slip-on shoes, which were a perfect match for the outfit. He struck a few poses in the mirror before opening the bathroom door.

Jeongguk was sitting on his bed, waiting patiently as he scrolled through Instagram. When the bathroom door opened, his head shot up. There was a moment of silence in which Jeongguk only stared. Slowly, the prince's eyes raked down Taehyung's body, then up again. His jaw was slack, lips parting slightly, his phone left forgotten on the bed beside him. Taehyung blushed.

"That bad, huh?" He asked, rubbing the nape of his neck sheepishly, head turned to the side to avoid eye-contact.

Jeongguk blinked a few times.

"Huh? What? No, you look... stunning." He whispered the word, letting it float off his lip like falling leaves.

A deeper blush made its way to Taehyung's cheeks, causing him to hug his own waist in self-consciousness.

"There's no need to stare," He murmured, turning around to collect his armor. "Where should I put this?"

Jeongguk quickly shook himself as if bringing himself out of a trance. 

"Oh, I've got it," He replied quickly, standing up and taking the armor from Taehyung's hands. He placed it in the corner of his bedroom, leaving it to lean on the wall. "It's so heavy," He commented as he put it down, "How do you manage?"

Taehyung shrugged.

Jeongguk frowned at the gesture, pausing before crossing the room again to grab his phone.

"How is your wound, by the way?"

"I got stitches earlier this morning, so I'm pretty much fine."

The prince whirled around and glared at Taehyung, unintentionally making the knight flinch. 

"Stitches? Why didn't you tell me it was that bad before? I'd have woken the nurses in the blink of an eye!"

"I didn't know it was that bad... It was just three stitches."

"What if your armor had ripped the stitches?"

"I- I don't know..."

Jeongguk sighed heavily, eyes softening as he reached up to fix a stray strand of Taehyung's hair.

"Forget it. Shall we go?"

***

The interviews had gone successfully, though they were quite boring. All the interviewers were thrilled to have a prod at Taehyung, which neither the knight nor the prince liked very much. Jeongguk wouldn't go as far as to say he felt protective over Taehyung, but that was exactly what he was saying.

"I'm glad that's over," The prince sighed as he made his way through the palace gates.

Taehyung hummed in agreement, following closely behind him. The walk to Jeongguk's room seemed to last mere seconds until they were both standing in the large expanse of living space. Taehyung slowly approached his armor, hauling it up in his arms as he turned towards the prince.

"I'd love to keep you here and waste a bit of your time," Jeongguk mused, "But I've made a promise to return you as quickly as possible."

"Quite understandable," Taehyung assured him with a kind, playful smile, "It's about time we each get a proper night's sleep."

"Agreed," Jeongguk murmured, sitting down on his bed. He was determined not to show his disappointment.

Taehyung retreated into the bathroom. He changed out of the elegant clothes he had on before- the ones that felt like fluffy clouds hugging his body and smelled of Jeongguk's cologne- and once again slipped into the bulky metal armor he wore on a daily basis. When he exited the bathroom, he handed Jeongguk the clothes.

"Thank you for letting me wear them," He chirped, smiling.

Jeongguk smiled back at him but did not lift his hand to take the clothes.

"I want you to keep them. The outfit looks better on you than it does on me."

"Really?" Taehyung's eyes went wide, his eyebrows curving into arcs.

"Really," Jeongguk confirmed, pushing the clothes against Taehyung's metal-plated chest, "Now, you have a few eager friends waiting for you; I suggest you move along."

Taehyung grinned, nodding and thanking the prince.

Find the image used at the beginning of this chapter here: www.pinterest.com/pin/627055948091564877/?lp=true