Wonderstruck ✓

Chapter 29

"Wait, what?"

"I'm stepping down. I'm giving up my throne," Off said.

"What?" Gun asked once more, still dumbfounded. "Why?"

"Well, I never wanted to be king but I was born to be one, you know?" Off frowned. "I've always felt like I wasn't in the right place. I knew I never belonged to the place I was trying hard to fit into."

"Are you gonna like...just step down?"

"When I met you Gun, you made me want to be better," Off confessed. "I wanted to try harder and be the person everybody expected me to be because I wanted you and my parents to be proud of me. I was never proud of my past, Gun, with all the parties and, um, random girls." Off hesitated. Gun urged him to go on. "But Gun, aside from pushing me to be better, you also showed me a world where there are no crowns and jewels involved. I know that you're an actor and we're basically on the same side of the road but you are so...you. You were sure and confident and you made me realize who I really am. I am not meant to be a king, Gun. "

Gun, in a small voice, answered. "What are you meant to be then?"

"I don't know," Off admitted. "I'm not sure about anything right now except one thing and that is I am not meant to be king. Well, actually, I'm sure of two things. I want to be somebody that will take care of you and love you. For the rest of my life."

"Oh, Off," Gun cried and hugged Off again.

He felt moved by Off's words but he wasn't exactly pleased by the prince's decision. As he held Off in his arms, King Ryan and Nai's words echoed on his head again.

"Because he loves you. He is willing to throw away everything he has and everything he could achieve for you. He has a whole future ahead of you and he's more than willing to throw all of those away just to be with you. That's how much he loves you."

"I only did that because I fucking loved you, Gun! But you're stupid to throw all that away for Prince Off! You're only ruining each other. You are better off with me than him!"

Now that Off told him that he's giving up his throne to be with Gun, the actor felt guilty. He would be depriving the whole country of a good leader. He would be depriving Off a great future ahead of him. He would be depriving him of his chance to help a lot of people.

But he would also be depriving himself of his own happiness if he chose to let Off go.

He was stuck between choosing what's right and what felt good. He had loved Off for years and he had always yearned to hold him in his arms. Now that he had him near, would he choose to let him go because everyone thought they were not right for each other?

"Hey, you okay?" Off asked when he noticed that Gun was drowned in his own thoughts.

"Yeah, just thinking," Gun tried to smile. "If you are not going to be king, who will be?"

"Chat, my cousin," Off simply replied, as if he wasn't sacrificing a big part of his life. "He's smart and generous. I know he will be a good king too. He fits the role."

"Oh," was all Gun could muster.

He stared at Off and tried to hide his teary eyes but Off was quick to notice. "Why are you crying?"

Because I don't want to go.

"I...I had a situation this morning," He said instead, trying to reel off his mind from the ideas he was slowly starting to form.

"Yeah? Tell me all about it."

Gun told Off everything that happened after he left his condominium. He told him about the man that got caught by Lee and Sing, how he confessed that Nai paid him, how they confronted Nai in his own place, and that the police have him now.