Mabsuli Blood || txt

Four: Unhappy Royal Sons

The dinner was an... interesting one to say the least.

For starters, Jimin and Taehyung did most of the talking, and they had a lot of questions to ask. King Choi had no problem answering them, which Beomgyu had started to find weird before that voice began screaming in his ear that everything was fine.

He knew everything was far from fine, but that voice wouldn't let him think further of it. He was starting to get a headache, and, judging from Yoongi's stiff posture as he sat next to him, he was in pain too. If he was hearing the same voice Beomgyu was, that is.

Of course he's not. We're two different people, why would we hear the same voice? I swear, I am going to pull a Boo and whack myself over the head with a baseball bat.

"Yeonjun, you okay?" Seokjin suddenly asked. The attention at the table suddenly shifted to the First Royal Son, whose jaw was clenched and eyebrows furrowed as he stared at his plate of untouched food. He was clutching his right wrist with his left hand in his lap, squeezing so hard his knuckles turned white. When Seokjin noticed, he gently reached over and pried the hand away. Yeonjun jolted at the sudden contact.

"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. Queen Choi frowned.

"Are you feeling alright, sweetheart?" she asked. Yeonjun nodded as she laid a hand across his forehead.

"I'm fine, Mother. Don't worry."

"You look like you're in a lot of pain, though," Seokjin said worriedly. Yeonjun smiled warmly at his attendant.

"I'm alright, Seokjin. Really." Although Seokjin didn't look convinced in the slightest, he gave in and nodded. Beomgyu shared a concerned look with Soobin across the table, and upon turning back to Yeonjun, he found his jaw had clenched up again and right wrist back in his death grip. He wondered if he was in pain like him and Yoongi—

He's fine. Everyone is fine. I should just focus on this dinner with these newcomers. That's it, where's the closest baseball bat?

"You know, I was wondering something," Jimin spoke up.

"You two sure are wondering a lot today, aren't you?" Yoongi said. Jimin shrugged.

"Can you blame us? Verdelnia isn't exactly the most open kingdom in the land."

"Of course. My apologies," Yoongi said immediately before frowning to himself. Jimin smiled and nodded in satisfaction before turning back to the rest of the table, but Beomgyu's eyes were on Yoongi. It looked as if he didn't know what he was saying.

That's ridiculous. Of course he knew what he was saying. And he meant every word of it. I would really like that baseball bat now, please.

"Yeonjun," Jimin started. Said prince startled back from the daydreaming state he had returned to and plastered on a smile as King Choi watched him intently. "You're the First Royal Son, correct?"

"Correct," Yeonjun said.

"Then why is Soobin the heir and not you? Isn't the oldest the heir?" The rest of the table stiffened at his question.

"Well you see, I'm not really—" Yeonjun began to speak immediately, but then cut himself off, blinking hard. Beomgyu's breathing hitched.

Was he about to say...

Yeonjun shared apologetic faces with the family, who had all tensed as they realized what he was about to say. King Choi bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep his anger under control, but Beomgyu could see the fire raging in his eyes. He involuntarily shuddered before he felt Yoongi's hand grasp his under the table. He squeezed back, grateful for his attendant's comfort.