nytis
behind the grey gates, jihoon breathed in.
he didn't like birthday parties or parties in general but since when did his opinion ever matter to dongyun? so there he was, standing beside dojin and a whole line of guards, trying not to fidget in his uncomfortable clothing.
"it'll get better honey, just wait." dongyun said to him, reaching out an arm to fix jihoon's hair. the boy quickly smacked the hand away before it could touch him.
"wonderful," he said, voice void of any emotion. jihoon waited and watched as the gates blocking his view slowly started creaking open. his heartbeat slowly sped up once seeing so many people below the gates. his eyes scanned the crowd, looking at all the people who had come.
there were children smiling gap toothed smiles sitting on their guardian's shoulders. tired adults clapping along politely, friends chattering excitedly among themselves. it took jihoon a moment to realize he was searching for a peculiar head of silver or maybe even a set of ocean blue eyes. even a set of unblinking jet black ones would do.
you idiot, what makes you think that soonyoung would be here? if anywhere, he'd be miles away in a completely different kingdom, probably busy with his work.
dropping his eyes, jihoon cut his wishful thinking and let the sounds of the crowd drown out all his thoughts. as everyone began to simmer down, that's when dongyun began to speak.
"dear people of nytis, thank you all for coming to such an important event. i'm sure most of you have heard of the horribly tragic incident that happened to my father just recently." dongyun took a breath, making it look like it was a very hard topic for him to talk about.
jihoon fought the urge to roll his eyes. what a fucking theatric.
having absolutely zero desire in hearing a teary eyed dongyun talk about how close he was to his father and how much he admired him and was inspired by him, jihoon let his gaze wander again. the boy swore that half the people there weren't listening, wherever he looked, people were all glancing around, murmuring quietly to someone beside them, picking at their nails, some were even dozing off. this made him wonder how many people actually cared dongyun.
his eyes, slowly travels to the front few rows. he saw a rich looking lady carrying a sleeping baby, a well dressed man with wire framed glasses nodding enthusiastically at everything dongyun said, a pretty young man wearing simple yet formal clothes who was smiling at everything a man in wispy, white was saying.
for a brief moment, the young man and him met eyes and sent him a smile. how odd, jihoon had never seen him around before yet the man smiled at him like they had been friends since five.
he watched closely as the man nudged the one in white both of them now looking at him. jihoon stopped fidgeting as he caught a better glimpse of the other man. a pair of eyes as black as coal stared into his. a ghost of a smile floated over the man's face.
it was minghao.
minghao and a man he had never seen before. jihoon felt a jolt of energy go through him. if minghao was here does that mean kitae is as well? and the only reason why kitae would be here is to... claim back his spot. for the first time in days, jihoon felt alive.
"...and before we proceed to the crowning of his majesty song dongyun, we welcome sir yoku ilsong and his birthday gift and blessing for his majesty." jihoon watched as the man with the wire framed glasses proceeded up the the few steps between him and. dongyun.
the man dropped on one knee and bowed his head for a few seconds before standing up. the thin man pulled an intricately carved wooden box from his suit and handed it to dongyun, "here you are your majesty, i hope you live a long, healthy life and nytis will prosper under your rule."
opening the box dongyun pulled out a necklace crusted with all sorts of crystals and gold. "each of these gems were carefully selected and polished. it was made by only the best jewelry makers in the land."
dongyun smiled and dropped the necklace back into the box before handing it to dojin. he thanked the man and then waved him away. "and next we have miss sachi areum," the lady carrying the baby jihoon saw earlier climbed up the stairs and bowed to dongyun.
"with your knowledge, i hope that nytis will grow to become a powerful kingdom. i bless you and your family." the woman handed dongyun a flat package wrapped in a dark blue. when he opened it, the inside revealed a delicately crafted purple suit.
once again, dongyun thanked the lady and handed his item over to dojin. "now we shall proceed to the-
"excuse me," a voice rang out stopping the announcer on the side. the mysterious man jihoon had never seen before stepped forward with minghao trailing close behind. "i think you forgot us." dojin narrowed his eyes as dongyun shook his head in confusion.
"i never heard of a third guest," dongyun stated out loud.
the man smiled, "dojin must've forgotten to tell the announcer. forgive me for spoiling but dojin requested us to come last night as an extra surprise for you. it is your coronation after all."
"i never requested for you." dojin said coldly.
now it was the man's turn to look confused, "but.. yesterday night.." the man gave a defeated sigh, "i understand. it's a shame i couldn't give you the birthday present we spent so long preparing for. it's something i guarantee you have never received before but i guess... you won't ever receive it."
minghao and the man walked back down without any protest.
"wait!" dongyun yelled out, "it'd be a shame if you just threw someone you two have worked so hard on in the trash. please come back up, i'd love to see what this mysterious gift is."
eyes wide, jihoon watched as the man smiled and returned back up the stairs with minghao. the two bowed, neither sparing jihoon a glance. "my dear friend over here, would like to present it to you."
minghao stepped forward and smiled at dongyun. the man pulled his hand out in front and showed dongyun his empty palm.
"er.. there's nothing there.."
"do not fret," minghao said, "it takes a little time. focus on my hand, your majesty. perhaps then you'll see it." dongyun leaned forward and stared closer at minghao's hand.
the audience seemed to quiet down as well, all of them just as eager to find out what the gift was.
slowly closing his palm, minghao turned his hand so the back of it was now visible. "do you see it now, your majesty?" completely intrigued, dongyun shook his head and looked closer. "your majesty," minghao smiled and tapped his shoulder making him look up.
"yes?"
"happy birthday."
a fist crashed into dongyun's face.
