Royal ~ Minsung

-2-

"Jisungie, honey. Come here for a second."

Jisung got up from the worn out, brown couch he was laying on, putting down the dusty, old book he had been enjoying for the past half hour.

"Coming" He announced, before walking into the kitchen where his mother was making dinner for when her husband would be returning.

A small piece of meat layed on a plate on top of the counter, next to 4 carrots and a potato. It didn't look like much, but it was what they could afford. Jisung wasn't complaining in any way. At lest they were able to live in something resembling a house, rather than a cave, or on the filthy streets of the slumb area they lived in.

"Do you need help with anything, mother?" Jisung asked, sending his dear old mother a smile.

His mother smiled sadly and handed a letter over to her son. Jisung accepted it, looking at it curiously. It looked awfully formal. The seal was already broken, exposing that his mother had read it's content.

"What is this, mother?" Jisung asked, carefully eyeing the woman.

"Read it, dear." Mrs. Han answered in a heavy voice.

Jisung opened the letter, and read the first few lines. His eyebrows furrowed as he continued reading the whole letter.

---

ᴅᴇᴀʀ ᴄɪᴛɪᴢᴇɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴀʀ ꜰᴀʀ ᴀᴡᴀʏ.

ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇᴡ ʏᴇᴀʀ ɪꜱ ɴᴇᴀʀɪɴɢ, ᴍᴇᴀɴɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇxᴛ ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴜʀ ʏᴏᴜᴛʜ ʜᴇʀᴇʙʏ ɪꜱ ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏɴ ᴊᴀɴᴜᴀʀʏ 1ꜱᴛ ᴀᴛ 9.00ᴀᴍ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏʏᴀʟ ɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴇʀꜰᴏʀᴍ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴏʙʟɪɢᴀᴛᴏʀʏ ꜱᴇʀᴠɪᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏʏᴀʟ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ.

ᴀɴʏ ᴍᴀʟᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɢᴇ ᴏꜰ 18 ᴀɴᴅ 25 ɪꜱ ᴏʙʟɪɢᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴀʀᴛɪᴄɪᴘᴀᴛᴇ, ᴏʀ ᴇʟꜱᴇ ᴘᴜɴɪꜱʜᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴡɪʟʟ ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡ.

-ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏʏᴀʟ ʜᴏᴜꜱᴇ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴀʀ ꜰᴀʀ ᴀᴡᴀʏ

---

Jisung read the letter over and over again. He refused to believe it. He wasn't going anywhere, let alone to serve the royal family for a whole year.

"No." Jisung sternly said, slamming the letter down onto the counter.

"I'm not going." He told his mother, looking straight into her eyes.

Mrs. Han sighed. She had expected Jisung to react like this. He had always been loyal to his family, so telling him to leave them for a whole year wasn't even an option in the boy's eyes.

"Jisung. This is a great opportunity. If you do a good job, you may be able to start working for the royal family for real after your service. You'd be able to live a better life than what you're living now." Mrs. Han calmly explained.

"It doesn't matter. I don't need a great life, family is more important." Jisung argued.

"Jisung, this is a great opportunity. Your father and I already discussed this when the letter arrived 2 days ago, and we agree that you should go." Mrs. Han calmly said, making flames ignite behind Jisung's eyes.

"2 days!? You kept this from me for 2 days?! I'm your son. How can you just send me away like this. Do I not matter to you?" Jisung spit, raising his voice.

"Honey of course you matter. But this is a great opportunity, and we want you to take it."

"Do you really wish me away that badly?" Jisung asked in disbelief.

"Honey of course not-"

"Then why are you making me go? Huh? You didn't force me into going last year when i got called in for duty. What makes this year different. Why is this suddenly so important to you?" Jisung asked, stepping closer to the woman whom birthed him, and glaring at her.

Mrs. Han bit her lip as she looked back into Jisung's eyes with sad ones.

"Your father lost his job, Jisung."

Jisung suddenly felt numb. His expression dropped in the matter of a millisecond. His father had been the family's source of income for as long as he could remember.

"W-what?" He asked, feeling his dry throat.

"A servant quit their job about a week ago. If you managed to get the job as the new servant, you'd make more money than we've ever had. And also, if they like you, you'll be able to keep your job as a servant after your duty-year is up. We wouldn't have to live in the slumb anymore. We could live a good life together. Please Jisungie. We need you to at least concider this. For our family's future." Mrs. Han softly said.

Jisung rubbed his neck uncomfortably. Tears were pressing through his eyelids, and slowly sliding down his cheeks.

Jisung closed his eyes and drew a shaky breath.

He could fix this some other way, right? He didn't have to leave his family to secure their future. No, he couldn't. There had to be some other way.

"Please Jisung. You're our only hope right now."

Jisung looked up at the ceiling and blinked the tears out of his eyes. He sighed and lowered his head to meet his mother's eyes.

Jisung nodded carefully.

"Ok." He silently whispered, his bottom lip trembling.

Mrs. Han quickly engulfed her son in a tight hug.

"Thank you so much Jisung. Thank you for doing this." Mrs. Han said, holding her son tightly in her arms.

Jisung hugged her back, already regretting his decision. He didn't want to go. He absolutely hated the thought of leaving his family. Leaving the only people that cared for him and treated him nicely.

The slumb wasn't exactly a nice place to grow up. He had only ever made one friend, but the young boy disappeared years ago, right after his parents died from a disease. For all Jisung knew, the boy was dead too.

Jisung rarely left his home. Only when he had to. The people out on the streets were filthy and deprived of everything imaginable. Jisung had always been over average good looking for a boy from the slumb, and had often experienced strangers touching him without consent, or trying to bring him home.

If Jisung's parents weren't so protective and reasonable, Jisung would most definitely had been sold away as a sex slave even before he even reached his teens.