Royal ~ Minsung

-22-

The two boys were laying side by side, listening to the silence. The long grass was soft and comfortable to lay onto. The two tall creatures they had arrived on were standing a few feet away, munching away on the fresh grass.

Two wet shirts hung from a branch, side by side with two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks and two pairs of shoes.

Jisung and Minho actually didn't mind laying half naked beside each other. They had grown awfully close during the two hours they had spent in the middle of the woods.

"Chipmunk." Minho softly said.

Jisung hummed in response.

"Can you tell me about the life outside of the castle? How you used to live before you came here." Minho asked silently to match the calmness of their surroundings.

"Sure, your highness. So, i come from a city called Bergen. It's about 5 cities away from this one. It's a nice city with a lot of nice nature and a nice society and stuff. I grew up with my parents in a small, one bedroom - one bathroom - one main room house. We weren't that economically stable, but better than most people in my district. I never actually went outside because of the high chances that I'd get abducted or raped if i did. A lot of people from the slum lives off of selling younger people to rich people as slaves or personal pleasers or whatever. My mom taught me a lot about manners and etiquette and stuff because she wanted me to grow into a decent human being, which is the reason why i got this job to begin with. My father lost his job a couple days before i got the letter with the notice about my duty, which is the reason why i came here. I've been sending them every one of my paychecks, so hopefully they've been able to make a better life for themselves already."

Minho softly placed his hand on top of Jisung's, stroking his palm softly.

"Im sorry to hear that."

"Oh don't be. I actually liked my life back home. I had everything i needed, so i have nothing to complain about." Jisung said showing Minho a smile.

"How about you? How was your life before i came?" Jisung asked the prince.

Minho chuckled and gave Jisung's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"My life has pretty much always been the same. My mom passed away when i was in my pre-teens. My father allowed me to change my last name to take hers instead, same with Felix. I've pretty much always been in conflict with my father because of his controlling nature, and because of my desire for independence and freedom. Woojin got married when i was 19, his fiance has pretty much been my closest friend ever since. I trust all my brothers as well, but not the way i trust Chan. Felix is together with the captain of the archery team, which I'm pretty sure has made my dad very happy because he is best friend with Changbin's dad. Seungmin is engaged to the tall bookworm, and I've managed to stay single my whole life. Its not because i don't want to marry, it's just because i want to find my true love myself, and then decide to marry them. I don't want a forced marriage to strengthen the royal family."

Jisung listened willingly, glad to see the prince opening up to him.

"Has your father always been violent towards you like he was a few days ago?" Jisung asked.

"No, I think that was only the second time he has layed his hands on me. However he has punished me by telling guards to beat me or by having me get whipped a few times before. I think the worst thing he has ever ordered on me was when i was 20, and he tried to marry me for the first time. I refused and he got so angry he threw me in the hole and starved me for a whole week, in addition to sending in guards to beat me once every two days."

Jisung was shocked to say the least. Not only by how a father could do this to his own son, but by how Minho spoke so normally about it. Like it could happen to anyone. Like it was something he was so used to, he didn't think anything of it.

"Oh my god, Minho." Jisung whispered while moving closer to Minho to wrap his arm around his naked torso.

Minho started playing with Jisung's hair while letting the younger hug his side. Why did it feel so comfortable. He had never before been comfortable sharing skinship with anyone this way, but here, now, having Jisung's naked chest pressed against his own felt good. It was comforting.

"That's so horrible, how can you own father do this to you?" Jisung said while hugging Minho.

Minho stayed silent. He didn't quite know how to respond to that. It was normal to Minho. If you do a bad thing, you get a bad punishment. That's what he had grown up hearing.

Minho could feel his heart beat faster than normal in his chest. The way Jisung's hot breath fanned over his skin gave him goosebumps. Never in his 21 years of living had Minho felt this way. So happy simply because of another person's presence. So giddly because of simple skinship. So tempted to pull someone closer, and never let them go.

"We should probably get dressed and start heading back." Minho said while running his hand through Jisung's now dry hair. It was a mess, but it felt so good against Minho's skin.

"Yeah, im sure its dinner time by the time we get back." Jisung said, sitting up.

Minho sat up as well, taking in the beautiful sight of the half naked Jisung before him. Jisung noticed Minho lookign at his body, making him blush while looking away.

"Stop staring you pervert." Jisung whined and pushed Minho playfully.

Minho giggled and stood up, offering Jisung his hand. The younger accepted, letting Minho pull him up to his feet. The two went over to the branch where they had put their clothes and started getting dressed.

Once they were both dressed and ready to head back, they walked over to their horses.

"I'm glad you came along today Chipmunk." Minho said with a smile.

"Me too, i had fun." Jisung answered.

"I see their horses. Over here."

"Shit."

Before Jisung could register what was happening he was running after Minho, through the trees of the forest, his hand locked in Minho's grasp.

Minho stopped running and pressed Jisung up against a tree, to hide both their bodies.

"What's going on?" Jisung asked while panting.

"My dad's guards." Minho answered, grinning apologetically.

"I'm not allowed to leave castle grounds." Minho continued.

Jisung sighed, muttering a small 'of course' to himself. However he couldnt help but laughing at how Minho this all was.