relationship: lovers
tags: royalty!au
word count: 1.9k
published: 09.13.20
all across the sea, there was only one ruler. he was king and his family had been royalty since the beginning of the nation's birth.
the great king, king kim daehwan and his wife, queen do minjae, were a favored royal couple. they had two children whom they vowed to support until the ends of the earth; and they were true to their word. their youngest son was prince hongjoong; he was a special child.
he was gifted with free creativity and a free mind, unlike the majority who possess a mind so sheltered, one could only hold onto reality.
hongjoong was thankful that he was accepted for being himself; he was royal and gay. he was honestly afraid he wouldn't be accepted, due to his status and simply because he liked the same gender.
the whole kingdom gladly celebrated prince hongjoong's coming out; he encouraged the citizens to come out as well, "if a royal member can come out, surely it must be appropriate for us to do the same, no?"
hongjoong was engaged to the shoe shiner's son, y/n. the kingdom supported the two as much as they supported hongjoong alone; therefore the two lovers were extremely grateful. the people under king kim's rule respected the privacy of the young prince and his lover, but there were the select few who couldn't get over the fact that kim hongjoong was human too and not some god to fantasize over.
one of those few was the daughter of the king's right-hand man and not much younger than hongjoong; cho minji. she was in love with the prince, but of course, it was one-sided.
y/n and hongjoong were out on a picnic date, y/n planing the whole date so that hongjoong could get a weight off his shoulders. they were sat on a blanket that lay upon the white sands of the beach, listening to the seagulls that passed by and the calming sound of the waves. y/n had saved up his paychecks for months to be able to rent a small house on the finest beach in their kingdom. hongjoong hadn't found out he was spending from his own paycheck until moments before, so he was a bit upset at the fact that y/n didn't just ask him to pay for it.
"why didn't you just ask me or my father to pay? you know we would have done it," he pouted, eyebrows furrowed as he looked up at y/n from his lap.
the older snorted, bringing a strawberry to hongjoong's lips, "that's why. i want to treat you and it doesn't feel sincere if i have to ask you to pay for your own gift."
hongjoong's pout deepened as he chewed the fruit and y/n couldn't help but lean down to give multiple pecks to his forehead.
hongjoong whined before letting out a giggle, "stop, i can't be mad at you when you do that."
"well then i'll keep doing it," he teased, pecking all over his face before his lips finally planted themselves on the prince's; remnants of the strawberry making him taste all the sweeter. hongjoong whined out when y/n bit his lip softly before pulling away.
"whatever, just promise me next time we go on a date, i'll pay for everything!" y/n only smiled, shaking his head, the locks falling graciously over his face.
"no can do, buttercup."
hongjoong grumbled, slapping his chest before looking back up at the sky, watching the sun start to set. he pointed at the sun over the edge of the sea, calling out to his lover, "look, isn't it pretty?"
y/n ignored where he was pointing and only averted his gaze to hongjoongs' profile. "very, my lov—"
"hongjoong oppa!" a pinched voice squeaked out, causing the flock of resting seagulls to flap their wings in shock. y/n flinched as he crouched over hongjoong, his body immediately going into protective mode.
