His Knight | Taegguk

16| Unfortunately

"Unfortunately."

Unfortunately? Unfortunately? What was unfortunate? Taehyung thought back to the last words the prince had said. "He's a friend of mine." What was that supposed to mean? Did Jeongguk not want to be friends after all? Taehyung's heart clenched a bit. Of course not, he probably just wanted to get Taehyung to agree to this job because it was better than having an old man follow him around. He probably didn't even want to be around Taehyung at all. He was probably just being nice. He was prob-

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Taehyung realized he was staring at the prince with a wide-eyed expression- he must have looked horrified.

"Taehyung?" Jeongguk called, "Is something wrong?"

Taehyung took a moment to respond.

"N-no."

"Don't lie to me." This tone, partnered with Jeongguk's expression, was quite intimidating.

"Sorry," Taehyung muttered, looking away.

"For what?" The prince pressed, leaning forward.

"For being here."

Just then, a waiter placed a small leather booklet on the table- a bill. Taehyung began to dig for his wallet, but Jeongguk immediately put his card in the booklet and handed it back to the waiter. The waiter disappeared behind the counter.

"Now, tell me why you're sorry for being here." His tone was softer now, almost hurt.

Taehyung sighed and refused to make eye contact.

"I know you don't want me here."

"Taehyung-" The waiter slipped Jeongguk's card back to him, earning a quick 'thanks' from the prince. "-how many times do I have to tell you? I do want you here. After all this time I've practically been begging for excuses to spend time with you, how could you doubt that?"

Taehyung was staring at the patterns in the smooth, polished wood table in front of him. It was pine, as were the other tables, which gave the cafe a never-ceasing smell of the tree. He took his time on this examination before finally breaking the silence with a small voice.

"Why? It could've been anyone else. Why me?"

Jeongguk sighed.

"We've been over this..." He reached across the table, taking hold of Taehyung's hand. Taehyung still didn't look up. "You're special, that's why."

Taehyung flinched. Of all the reactions he could've had, he flinched. Jeongguk's heart cracked a little.

"I'm not."

"But you are."

The knight slipped his hand out of Jeongguk's, bringing into his lap.

"I'm sorry you believe that."

Jeongguk wanted nothing more in the world than to grab Taehyung's hand again. If he could, he wouldn't have let go so easily this time.

***

When they had made it back to Jeongguk's room, Taehyung was acting like his normal self again. He was happy, bubbly; he acted as if nothing had happened. The two boys flopped onto Jeongguk's bed with a relieved sigh.

They had run through the rain, resulting in a fit of giggling and a few detours to avoid large puddles and flooded streets. Even after the cafe conversation, as Jeongguk had come to label it in his head, they had managed to forget all else but each other and slip into their own little world. In their eyes, they had been the only people under the rain that day- and perhaps they had.

But now was the time to restore seriousness. Jeongguk was determined to get to the bottom of this reoccurring event in which Taehyung suddenly abandoned everything Jeongguk had told him.

"Taehyung," He called, rolling on his side to face Taehyung. The knight hummed. "I've just realized..." He shook his head quickly, spraying silver droplets from his hair, "We're still sopping wet."

Taehyung giggled. The two peeled themselves off of the warmth of the covers. Jeongguk lent Taehyung a new pair of clothes, and they changed. Meanwhile, the prince's mind was a whirlwind. He wanted to ease Taehyung into the conversation, but he found no likely way he could lead into it. So, when they were warm, dry, and on a spot of the bed they hadn't gotten wet, Jeongguk turned to him.

"Hey, Tae?"

Taehyung looked at him and smiled. They were nestled together for warmth in a nest of pillows, kind of like the first time they'd been on Jeongguk's bed together.

"What's up?" Tae asked, leaning closer to Jeongguk's body heat.

Jeongguk pulled Taehyung against his chest, arms wrapped around the knight's torso. He didn't notice the blush on Taehyung's cheeks; he was looking out his window at the falling rain.

"I wanted to talk about what happened in the cafe." His tone was awkward, as if he didn't know whether or not it was a touchy subject.

"What do you mean?" 

Taehyung knew what he meant.

Jeongguk let a heavy breath dance off his lips.

"Taehyung, I know we haven't known each other for long in reality, but doesn't it feel to you like we have? It does to me. Haven't you noticed how well we get along? We can practically slip away into a fantasy land together, just you and me. Why do you suddenly doubt our friendship at random times?"

Taehyung's eyes were as shiny as the raindrops on the windowsill. He took a long moment to speak.

"You said, 'unfortunately'."

Jeongguk shifted to look into Taehyung's eyes. He frowned at the gathering tears.

"I said what?"

"You said, 'unfortunately'. After you said we were friends."

Jeongguk's expression slowly changed from confusion to realization. He was lost in thought for a moment before explaining himself.

"I meant the rain. I thought in my head, 'oh, it started raining before we could get home' and finished the thought out loud, 'unfortunately'."

Taehyung stared at him blankly for a moment.

"O-oh."

Jeongguk laughed softly, laying back on the pillows.

"Let's take a nap," He suggested, opening his arms.

Taehyung smiled and snuggled up to Jeongguk, letting out a contented sigh.

"Okay."