New Rules ⇿ YEONBIN

⇿ 18 ⇿

When Yeonjun had woken up, his Knight wasn't by his side anymore. He didn't expect him to be there, but it still hurt. It made him feel pathetic. He didn't understand why he had allowed someone to infiltrate his heart and mind so easily, it was almost as if the whole period of time when he was with Soobin he was in a trance. The name of that trance? Yeonjun didn't want to speak about.

He second guessed his decision of not eloping with Soobin for only a split second, quickly retracting back to what he knew was right. He and Soobin would've never worked out no matter how perfect they were together, because sometimes (most times) life was unfair.

Yeonjun tried his hardest not to let the tears that were building up in his eyes slip, wishing he could bury himself in his covers but he couldn't. He had, stupidly, decided it was a good idea to take his mind off things by wandering the palace gardens,
but it wasn't working. All it was doing was forcing him to hide his emotions due to the guards that were watching his every step, ready to snitch on anything that was dodgy.

Yeonjun couldn't help but feel the slightest bit angry when he allowed crystal tears to cascade down his porcelain cheeks after finding a secluded area, angry at how unfair everything was. It didn't make sense what he had done to deserve a taste of freedom only to be snapped back into the same-old routine of imprisonment, being forced to act like everything was okay as if the only person he'd ever loved hadn't gotten snatched out of his grip.

The Prince wiped away his tears quite quickly, sniffling slightly in an attempt to stop his cries. Crying wouldn't do anything except make the hole in his heart feel bigger and, at this point in time, it was already gaping.

Yeonjun was slowly but surely beginning to detest the way the sun shined, it was like the earth was mocking him. The weather was so nice despite how gloomy he felt inside. Not to mention the way a certain glistening star reminded him of the stars in Soobin's eyes-

Yeonjun stood up from his seat on a bench quite abruptly, feeling a need to blame how negative his mind was on the fact that he was someplace foreign. The outside. Even though he could whenever he wanted, he never usually wandered the palace gardens. Mainly because it was never satisfactory. Rose bushes and flower pots weren't as satisfying as walking down a street of corner shops and cafés. It would never be.

Like the fake person he was, Yeonjun threw a smile onto his face when he passed some servants on the way to his room. It seemed like everyone was always scared of him in a way since he was the son of the Queen and he didn't like that, so maybe the friendly approach would change things.

To say that Yeonjun was shocked when he entered his room again was an understatement, he was completely gobsmacked when he walked inside to see his fiancée drenched in tears as more sobs escaped her lips. A, because the Prince has high-key forgotten that they even shared a room now, and, b, because Shin Ryujin seemed like the happiest person on Earth all the time. Since when did she have any reason to cry?

(ik the fiancée was called something, but ive been obssessed with itzy lately n ryujin's my bias so the fiancées ryujin now)

"R-Ryujin?" Yeonjun called out hesitantly, reaching out his hand but retracting it quickly when the addressed turned around.

Stray strands of pink hair stuck to her rosy tear-stained cheeks that matched her bloodshot eyes, her bottom lip trembling uncontrollably almost as if she was going to cry again. The sight on its own made Yeonjun's stomach churn. It didn't fit her. Tears didn't suit her. Sadness in general simply looked unnatural upon her features.

"Yes?" She placed a smile onto her face, but it was fake and that only made Yeonjun's stomach churn harder because he realised that he's never seen Ryujin actually smile before. He'd been so caught up in his own emotions that he didn't even bother to acknowledge that someone else was going through the same feeling of entrapment right in front of him.

"... Y-you okay?" Yeonjun didn't know how to introduce the conversation anyway else, it was kinda ironic really. He was at his worst yet he was asking someone else if they were okay.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Ryujin completely dodged the Prince's attempt to get her to confess her feelings, the fact that her voice had cracked causing her act to seem even less believable.

"No. Why were you crying?" Yeonjun rephrased his question, glad that he was able to speak without stuttering for once.

"Crying? Me? Never-"

"I won't judge you, y'know. Believe me, I-I know what it feels like to be judged. I'd be the last one to do it to someone else" Yeonjun tried, not knowing why every bone in his being was urging him to somewhat comfort his fiancée— that sounded much better in his head.

"You promise?" Ryujin's expression switched, her fake smile long gone and her tone now somber. It was relieving, at least to Yeonjun, to see her raw emotions. It made him wonder, did she feel the same about him? Did she feel concerned when he shut himself out? Did she ever wonder, or has she even realised the fake smiles he gave?

The Prince nodded his head, trying his hardest not to let himself fall into his thoughts again because he had to focus. He had to be ready to give Ryujin the best advice or support on whatever she was worried about because that's what friends do and he'd like to think that, even though they've never had a real conversation, he was friends with his fiancée— again, that sounded way better in his head.

"Are we meant to be happy?" Ryujin broke the silence, her voice showing the epitome of helplessness.

"What do you mean? In general? Or-"

"No, now. We've been forced into this marriage, a-and I know this is all my life will amount to but it doesn't feel right. I-I don't think I love you, and I'm not sure if you love me- to be honest, half the time I see you it's almost as if you used to have someone else before me- is that true by the way? Wh-what people whisper about, did you have a relationship with a man?" Ryujin was starting to annoy Yeonjun simply because he didn't want to be reminded of Soobin, he didn't want to be reminded of how heavy his heart felt.

"Y-yeah" the brunette decided to respond, looking down at the floor because he didn't want to see the possible disgust on the other's face.

"That only makes me feel even more guilty for being here" she sighed, causing the Prince to look up again because those weren't the words he was expecting.

"You shouldn't feel guilty. You were asked to marry me because I was caught with Soobin" Yeonjun tried to reassure, but it only made the hole in his heart swallow him whole because the words he spoke made him relive those moments again in a way.

"Still, I just don't feel right here. N-no offence, but there's way more I wanna do than just be your wife, y'know?".

"Exactly, but there's no escape is there? S-so we have to live with it-"

"That's the thing. We don't" she said, almost excitedly, causing the elder to furrow his eyebrows lightly.

"My sister's done it, and sh-she still sends me texts in code. We've got a plan and it's fool proof, but I'm a scaredy cat, so, will you carry it out with me?" Ryujin asked hopefully, and the Prince felt his stomach churn and he didn't understand why.

"What is it-"

"I'll only tell you if you accept" she stated so simply, but Yeonjun's mind didn't take it that way.

"I-I can't. I just rejected Soobin's offer to run away, why would I do it with you?" He tried to explain, but he knew it must've came off a bit harsh by his fiancée's change in expression.

"Why'd you reject Soobin?" Ryujin asked, causing Yeonjun to come to a slight realisation. Why did he reject his Knight?

"B-because there's no way to-to escape".

"There's always a way, stop lying to me. Why did you really reject him?" Ryujin raised an eyebrow, and Yeonjun felt so small.

⇿ "I'm scared, okay? I-I'm scared". ⇿

txt's in my blood 😭😭😭