So, This is Love💫 (Chenji AU)

📚9📚

"Is he okay?"

"The doctor said he'll be fine. He's just malnourished."

Chenle heard voices speaking before he opened his eyes. The brightness of the room was enough to make him groan out loud. His whole body felt sore and he had a headache. He rubbed his eyes to look around, spotting familiar figures in an unfamiliar place.

"Where am I?" Chenle croaked out.

"You're in a hospital. You passed out and we brought you here." Donghyuk spoke next to him.

"A hospital? What about..." Chenle thought about how to address the woman, but he didn't need to think because the other two knew exactly who he was talking about.

"She's at home. She had a fit, but we brought you here anyway. You should rest more." Chenle turned to see Jaemin speaking and Jeno, surprisingly, to his side and an unfamiliar face beside Jeno.

"Hey, Jeno." Chenle frowned, posing his greeting almost like a question.

"Hey, it's nice to see you again, Chenle."

"What are you doing here?" Chenle asked.

"Jeno has been-" The boy beside Jeno started speaking but was interrupted.

"I've been visiting areas of the kingdom and looking for a crook." Jeno interrupted, flexing an arm.

"What are you-" The stranger started to speak again with a frown, but was once again rudely cut off by Jeno. Chenle heard Jaemin laugh at the situation.

"Anyway, this is Mark Lee. He also works in the kingdom, but his job isn't as important as mine." Jeno spoke, leaving the other boy, Mark, to glare at him.

"You work in the kingdom?!" Chenle asked in awe over the giggle-fest Donghyuk was having beside him.

"Oh, sure, I'm a knight." Jeno smiled proudly. "Since I'm already here, would you guys like to come back with us and visit the palace this evening? Mark is more of a party planner and he needs help, so I thought you guys could help him out." Jeno smiled, his eyes almost disappeared into his cute smile. It sounded a bit planned to Chenle, but he appreciated the offer. It was too good to deny.

"I would like to, but am I even allowed to leave here? I mean, didn't Jaemin just tell me to rest?" Chenle said.

"Well, I think we can go after you've had lunch." Jaemin said, smiling at his little brother.

"Yeah and you can have dinner with us if you'd like." Mark smiled kindly.

The light conversation continued and Chenle had a light lunch that he didn't feel like throwing up. He smiled to himself. Chenle's mood was always quick to change into a positive mood. He had fainted in a depressive mood and woke up feeling refreshed, although he was still a bit visibly unhealthy. He didn't want to even think about when this would all end and he would have to go back to his step-mother's house.

Chenle wasn't used to being around so many people, but it definitely wasn't as overwhelming as the ball, when he had to step out for air. This was nice. He still felt a bit weak, but he supposed it would go away as long as he started eating healthily again. He felt he needed to make it up to his step-siblings greatly for making them worry and go against their mom. Still, he was allowed to leave the hospital but only after promising to eat healthy meals.

Chenle walked out of the hospital to see a carriage waiting. He almost felt guilty getting inside in his tattered clothes, but he was too excited to care enough. They rode the carriage all the way to the palace, with Chenle looking out the window the whole time. The other boys couldn't help but find his excitement cute. They couldn't comprehend themselves how excited he must be to get to have a taste of freedom for a while. This occasion was very new to Chenle.

They got to the palace pretty soon, even if it didn't feel so soon to Chenle. Jeno led the way into the palace, passing hallways full of paintings and expensive furniture. Jeno opened a door and peeked inside first. He sighed but smiled, then opened the door and walked in, everyone following behind.

"Guys, meet Renjun. He's the painter of the paintings you've seen in the hallways. His job is also more important than Mark's." Jeno smiled, placing an arm around Renjun, who stood up from a couch where he had been drawing something. Mark punched Jeno's arm and Renjun backed away from under Jeno's other arm. Both boys were annoyed at Jeno's cheerfulness. He was acting a little odd in their opinion. It was entertaining to Jaemin and Donghyuk though, who smiled and laughed.

"Your paintings are really nice." Jaemin complimented, catching Renjun off guard.

"Thank you." He smiled shyly, flustered at the sudden compliment.

"Renjun where's J-" Mark started asking quietly, but still loud enough for us to hear.

"The prince! Where's the prince, Renjun?" Jeno asked. Renjun quirked a brow at that. He caught on quick, but still wondered why Jeno had to keep this all a secret from Chenle too. He knew why it was a secret from Jisung, but Chenle, they barely knew Chenle. He sighed and answered.

"He's in the study room, said he was going to study Korean. I offered to help, but he refused. He sucks at grammar. I don't know why he's even thinking of learning Mandarin." Renjun said, mumbling the last part.

"Mandarin?" Chenle asked.

"Chenle can speak Mandarin." Donghyuk said proudly.

"Me too." Renjun said, smiling at Chenle.

"I'm afraid I'm losing it, since there's no one I know to speak it with." Chenle said.

"Well, you can always speak it with me." Renjun offered.

"I will." Chenle smiled. He thought to himself that he might not see Renjun again, but it was still nice to dream of a normal life with friends. He thought these people were so kind. He didn't even feel out of place in his outfit that was such a big contrast to the extravaganza of the palace.

"Chenle, you could help the prince learn some Mandarin, if you'd like that I mean. You and him are close in age, you could be friends and it would be a great asset for a prince to be able to communicate with foreign allies." Mark said, finding it difficult to call his friend "the prince."

"I think it'd be impossible to teach that kid." Renjun rolled his eyes.

"You guys seem close to the prince." Donghyuk wondered aloud.

"He's definitely a friend." Jeno said, smiling to himself.

"A friend? How kind of him to associate with commoners." Jaemin said, laughing at his own joke.

"Why don't we go meet the prince, shall we? He must be getting lonely right about now." Jeno said.

The crowd followed Jeno out of the room. Jeno took a couple of turns. Chenle wondered how long it would take to memorize your way around the large building. He looked around everywhere they went, faintly hearing everyone's conversations, and being nervous but excited to be in the presence of a prince. Jeno finally stopped in front of a door. He peeked inside before he turned to Chenle specifically.

"Chenle, come see this." Jeno said, motioning Chenle over. Chenle walked up to Jeno, confused. Jeno then lightly pushed the blond boy forward, until he was entering the room. Jeno shut the door behind him, leaving Chenle confused and speechless. Chenle turned and quickly scanned the room and didn't see anything too interesting that Jeno might have wanted him to see. It was filled with bookshelves and a smell of books filled his nose.

"Guys?" Chenle said, turning the knob. He frowned. It was as if the door was being held shut. "What are you doing? This is childish." He whined, knocking on the door. "Jaemin! I'm...I'm scared." Chenle called worriedly, whispering the last part to himself.

He heard no response. He felt afraid being closed in inside an unknown room. His step-mother would sometimes lock him up in his room as a punishment and this was triggering that same claustrophobic feeling. He wasn't used to this place, it made him nervous. He wasn't used to being anywhere but home, although it really didn't feel like home most times. He started knocking more frantically and his breathing picked up in fear.

"Um...hello?" Chenle's breath hitched and he froze his actions at a sudden familiar voice coming from behind him.