Chapter Text
We live in a world where monarchy is still strong and democracy never started. Royal families are the most important and honored people this world has ever seen. And so, they have to appear flawless. Always looking neat, their hair always styled and not a single strand being out of place. Makeup has to be smooth, skin perfect and even their clothes can’t leave a bad impression. Men wear traditional clothing in the representative colors of their nation and women wear gorgeous, expensive gowns, also matching their nation’s colors. Their necks are always shining with the most expensive pearls, fingers are decorated with rings from pure white gold and women of royalty never fail to wear the most gorgeous earrings you can’t even imagine. And all the royals follow this rule of looking picture perfect every second of their lives. Appear flawless, talk, stand, walk, smile without a single blemish and most importantly- act exactly the way you’re supposed to. Never get into scandals and never speak on problematic topics. If you have an opinion, keep it to yourself and don’t ever step out of the norm that your ancestors build up in the years before you were even born. Respect your bloodline, follow the rules and never complain. Don’t. Make. Waves.
The crown prince of Central Plains is the ideal example of this. He truly is the perfect royal. Except when he’s seen sticking his tongue down the throat of another prince.
“Sung Hanbin, you have failed me. I hope you are well aware of this.” The queen hissed, staring her eldest son down. “Do you realize how serious this is?” She adds. Hanbin can feel the bitterness of her words on his tongue. It stings and doesn’t seem to stop.
“Yes, mother. I apologize for my wrongdoings.” He says, trying to sound as honest, as he could. But the truth is that he was raging. Intense anger was burning in his chest, spreading fire to his throat. He knew he didn’t have to apologize for his actions. He did nothing wrong.
“You will apologize. Publicly.“ The queen sighed and took a deep breath. “By the end of the week I’ll have you sent out on a.. trip. Oh yes, a trip. Your father and I will tell you more, when the time’s right. Now, go to your room and don’t you dare step out of that room until you’ll be told to. Taerae will take you away.” She said and slowly walked away.
Flustered Taerae comes sprinting from the other corner of the royal room they’re currently in.
“My Lord, please, let me lead the way.” He smiled and offered Hanbin his arm. Hanbin politely smiled back and wrapped his arm around Taerae’s. Taerae is one of their royal workers. A waiter, if you will. And thankfully, one of Hanbin’s good friends.
They start walking. Both of them staying quiet until they’ve turned around a corner and the queen can no longer see them.
“Okay, how do I approach this..” Starts Taerae. “What the actual fuck was that?”
“Yeah. I think I’m actually pissed for the first time in my life.” Hanbin answered and put a frustrated frown on his handsome face.
“Well that’s new.” Taerae chuckled and took a deep breath. “What are you going to do? And what about Yujin?”
Hanbin’s eyes drifted to the floor. He felt lost. While trying to calm down, he started rubbing his temple. Desperately thinking about his options, he stopped walking. Yujin is his younger adopted brother, also a prince. They both have to be perfect, of course. However, the older is the crown prince. Meaning, he has to become king one day. And unfortunately for him, he was born into the central Sung family. They are the most important people in their land, since they fuel their entire country with food, water and other essential commodities. There are exactly 5 nations within their big kingdom: Central plains, South soil, West province, North state and East land. Each having a royal family, that runs it.
“I.. have no idea. I guess it all depends on my parents”
“.. as always” Taerae adds and Hanbin can do nothing but nod. It’s funny, honestly. He’s the third most important person in the 5 nations, but he doesn’t really have a say in anything.
“That trip my mom was talking about sounds sketchy. Like a conversion camp or something.” He giggles, but you can clearly hear the obvious worry in his voice.
“She wouldn’t do that.”
“My dad would, though. I don’t even want to think about what my parents want to do about.. him, you know?” Hanbin takes a deep breath and starts walking again. He doesn’t even give Taerae some time to answer. He’s very mad, and all their maids and overall, the entire castle is very much aware of it. His steps are aggressive, each louder than the other. But still- his posture and face remain calm. He’s softly leaning onto Taerae, who quickly caught up to him. When they start approaching Hanbin’s room, they walk with ease and as Hanbin’s steps slow down so does his heartbeat. Blood in his veins seems to cool down as well as he sighs and looks at Taerae.
“Whatever happens, he’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of that.” Hanbin finally says and lets go of Taerae’s arm. You couldn’t even tell that he almost burned down his entire castle a few minutes earlier. He quickly gathered all of his emotions and buried them deep, deep down. His smile was bright again, showing no sign of anger or sadness.
Taerae reached out for Hanbin and pulled him into a hug. It wasn’t one of those tight, intimate ones. But it was comforting and all Hanbin needed at that time. He’d never admit to it, but this is the only type of comfort he was able to accept.
As his friend starts walking away, Hanbin quickly shimmies into his room. At one point you’d think he’d build up some type of hatred for it, since he always gets sent there like a little kid. But that’s not the case.
The room is massive. Large walls are covered with blue roses and golden leaves. The ceiling is tall and decorated with a gorgeous painting of a garden and big, 3D like golden ornaments. The space in this room is truly giant. Soft carpet that has a blue, grey-ish tone spreads out almost throughout the entire room and Hanbin loves it. He closes the door behind him and instinctively locks it. He gently slides his hand on the deep brown door made out of African blackwood and turns around to face the beauty of his home. There had to be a maid not long ago, since his nose is hit with the familiar fragrance of fresh sheets, even adding on the comfort that surrounds him. He happily takes of his shoes and lets his feet touch the soft fabric of the carpet beneath him.
Relieved, he walks over to his bed and starts taking off his clothes, then neatly folding it and putting it on a fancy chair near his bed. He lets out a deep breath and lays in his bed with a smile.
Right now, he doesn’t want to worry about the bad stuff that’s been happening. He’s a prince, he shouldn’t dwell on the worse aspects of his life. And as always, he convinces himself that he’s okay.
He’s at peace.
For now.
And as he was laying on his bed, he started counting the roses on the ceiling. Sometimes he wonders if he’ll ever count more than 42. Or less. But since he was a child, the number stayed the same. His tired mind started drifting, and drifted so far, Hanbin fell asleep.
————
Hanbin slept until the very morning. The second he opened his eyes, intense pain spread through his body. He created a strict schedule for himself, and he never messes it up. But yesterday, that changed. His usual evening routine was ruined because he fell asleep. He was so mad at himself. His body was calling him for a shower, skin was asking for his usual skin care routine and his hair screamed for a hairbrush. Still regretting yesterday’s laziness, he heard a familiar knock on his door. He got up and rubbed his eyes. A big, royal mirror was right in front of him, and he could do nothing but giggle. He did not look like a crown prince. He was dressed in his black boxers, and that was it. His hair was so messy, he’d swear they had a mind of its own. With a deep sigh he made his way to the door.
“I’m alive” He raised his voice, so he’d be heard over the thick door.
“Good.” Taerae laughed. “Your family called you for breakfast.”
Hanbin slightly opened the door and peeked at his friend. They’ve seen each other naked many times.
“I’ll warn you, though. Looks like they have a lot to say to you. I didn’t hear much but I heard something about a camera crew. No idea what that’s about.. but.. good luck, hyung” Taerae gave Hanbin a warm smile and upon hearing his name from other maids he quickly turned around and with one last look to his friend, he walked away.
The currently not-so-royal looking crown prince hid into his room once again and started getting ready for the day.
With each drop of water that touched his skin, he could feel his worries go down the drain. The rosemary scent of his body wash was so dear to him. It was so beautiful and so familiar. Little bubbles formed on his skin and all he could focus on in that very moment, was the quiet sound of the bubbles popping.
After he properly showered, did his hair and dressed up in white pants and a white shirt, he was all set to face his biggest fear. His parents.
A maid walked beside Hanbin to assure his safety in his own castle. He felt uneasy, always having to be accompanied when he wasn’t hidden in his room or out on his royal duties. Sometimes he hated being a monarch. Not because of all his duties, but because of how important everyone made him out to be. So what if I’ll be the king one day? I’m still me. He’d always say to himself.
The second Hanbin stepped in to their dining room, he could feel that something was off.
“Good morning mother, good morning father and good morning brother.” He smiled and sat right next to Yujin. His heart was beating rapidly fast. He could feel his hands slightly shaking, so he hid them under the table.
A bunch of waiters walked into the room. Every single one of them holding a plate with a single portion of food. Each family member would decide the day before what they’d want to eat for breakfast, and their lunches and dinners were prepared together by the royal cooks.
A bowl of oatmeal with freshly picked berries appeared in front of Hanbin and he nodded to the waiter as a sign of gratitude. He rarely asked for oatmeal, since his father judged him for it.
“That’s not what real men eat” he’d always say. But Hanbin couldn’t care less after what’s been happening lately.
“So, darling, before we start eating, I‘d like to inform you on your schedule today.” Said the queen. She was directly looking at Hanbin and he could feel the pressure crawling on him simply from her stare. He found this odd. His schedule today was quite free. Only a horse riding lesson and dinner with his cousins. Also, they never speak of plans before breakfast. It’s an unspoken rule, in a way.
“We’ll have the Fusion Network come in today. You’ll film a public apology for your..” The queen stopped in the middle of a sentence and took a deep breath. She frowned, almost as if she was disgusted and continued: “well.. that incident. There is a script prepared for you. It’ll be given to you after breakfast. Learn it word for word and don’t make any more trouble.” She finished and took a sip of her tea. During her monologue she quickly broke the eye contact she made with her elder son and slowly started looking at her husband. The king.
The king, who was quiet the entire time and just kept his burning gaze on Hanbin. And Hanbin was furious. The same exact anger that was eating him alive yesterday, started creeping into his veins, trying to destroy him. But he wouldn’t let it. Not this time.
“Of course.” I will burn this castle down. Said that little voice in Hanbin’s head. He was going mad. His ears turned red from the anger he build up. He tried so hard, as he always does, to hide the tornado happening in his soul. But his younger brother felt his emotions. They both knew, that saying anything would make this so much worse. So, Yujin shared a deep eye contact with his brother and hoped he’d understand. And he did.
Trying to appear as normal as possible, Hanbin started eating his breakfast. Every bite he put into his mouth was so.. comforting. Tasty. His anger overtook him so bad, he forgot he didn’t eat dinner. Exchanging anger with hunger, he ate quite quickly- enjoying every bite of his warm, cinnamon smelling oatmeal, the warmth of the oats sometimes crashing with the cold fresh berries. And as always, Hanbin pushed all his emotions away, not eating just his breakfast, but also all the cruel words he wanted to say to his parents . He knew they meant well. He understood them, but it was still so painful.
The royal family sat together in complete silence, everyone quietly munching on their food, and Hanbin knew that this was his only chance.
“Mother, father,” He started, “you mentioned a trip yesterday. May I ask what you meant by that?”
The queen choked on her food and quickly turned to her husband. He let out a deep sigh and put both his fork and knife back on the table. He looked frustrated, but still decided to speak.
“Well, of course. We wanted to tell you about this later, but I suppose it’s best you know beforehand. You’ll be sent to the East Land Kingdom. Far away from the West Province. You know very well why. The East Land is our newest gold supplier, so be nice. Okay, son?”
It took a while until Hanbin replied. This shocked him. He expected everything, but being sent to the East side. The eastern people were the ones that disliked the Central Plains. It was jealousy, of course. They hated how the central nation had everything. East and Center never got along.
“Oh.. okay. When and why am I being sent to the only kingdom in our country, that doesn’t respect us?” Hanbin asked. He meant it well, as an honest question, but it came out sounding a little cocky. He realized that immediately, so he finished his question with a smile.
“We have to separate you and the crown prince of the West. You have to understand. And we figured that it would be best for you, if you took a break from your duties after today’s apology. The North State wasn’t up for debate, considering their crown prince,” Said the queen. She rolled her eyes upon mentioning the northern prince. “And the South simply declined. However, to our surprise, the East accepted. It’ll be good for all of us. Maybe it’ll better our current situation with them. So, behave. You’ll leave on Sunday morning, in two days. Is that clear, Sung Hanbin?”
“Yes. Yes it is clear.” Hanbin nodded and slowly turned his head to Yujin. Yujin looked shocked, absolutely stunned with what he had just heard. The brothers both knew that they were gonna discuss this morning together, when they’ll be alone without a soul to listen to them.
After finishing their breakfast in silence, everyone went their separate ways. Yujin and Hanbin met up with Taerae in their royal garden. There is a wooden bench in the hidden part of the said garden, and the three of them love to sit and chat there. Sometimes they talk about random, non important topics and sometimes they talk about their deepest, darkest secrets.
Today was no different. At first the conversation started with Hanbin laughing about being sent to a kingdom that’s known for disliking him and then Hanbin didn’t laugh about being sent to a kingdom that hates him.
“No, like, what the fuck will I do there?” He laughed.
“Isn’t Zhiyu like super attractive?” Said Taerae with a smirk.
“Are you actually suggesting I hit on the crown prince of the East?”
“I didn’t say that.. but..” Taerae stopped laughing and locked his eyes with Hanbin, “he is really cute. I saw an interview with him talking about his family. He’s really caring, you know? The way he talked about his younger brother reminded me of you and Yujin”
“Yeah.. I guess. Ohmygod, Yujinnie, what will you do here without me?”
“I’ll be okay. I have Taerae hyung and our parents will go soft on me. They’re still super pissed about your little scandal.” The youngest smiled and looked around. “Besides, the spotlight will be on me, instead of you. I can’t wait for my solo duties” He giggled.
“I guess you’re right. But call me if you ever need anything. That applies to the both of you, okay?” Hanbin said and gave them a friendly hug.
Everything will be okay.
——————————
Flashback
A week ago
Hanbin’s room
The West Province royal family came to visit the Sung family. They are business partners and very good friends. The mothers love to chat about their newest dresses, the fathers discuss politics and their sons are platonic soulmates.
Seok Matthew, the crown price of the west, was currently sitting on the floor of Hanbin’s room. They were the bestest friends, the closest a soul can get to another. Matt knew everything about Bin and the other way around. It was a lovely Friday and Hanbin couldn’t be happier to have his best friend with him.
“Okay, do you know Ricky?” Laughed Matt, taking another sip of his peach flavored soju.
“Ricky? Like, Shen Quanrui? North state?”
“Yeah. Have you heard? He’s dating one of his workers. And it’s guy!”
“No way.. where did you hear this?”
“Bro.. from his boyfriend” Laughed Matt and passed the bottle to an already drunk Hanbin. He accepted the bottle with a smile and dunked the rest of the liquid down his throat.
“You know him?” Hanbin cheeks were bright red. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the fact that another crown prince is queer. What a nice surprise.
“Yeah, and you do too. We met him when we went to Ricky’s coronation. His name is Gyuvin, you know, the tall handsome dude?”
“Oh shit, good for them” Hanbin’s voice was getting a little louder. He always tends to scream and laugh out loud when he’s under the influence. The two of them drank two bottles of soju each, and were on their way to open more.
“Bin?” Matthew’s voice was suddenly so quiet, calm.
“Matt?”
“Would it be weird if we kissed?” He asked, completely focused on his friend’s lips. Hanbin’s head hurt from the amount of alcohol he consumed, he was a massive lightweight.
“Why.. are you asking?” He breathed out.
“Don’t know. I just wanna kiss you. No feelings involved, of course.” He chuckled and slowly started pushing himself closer to Hanbin.
“Hah.. okay” Hanbin smiled and leaned in. Matthew didn’t waste a second and locked his lips on Hanbin’s. His lips were warm and soft. They parted slightly, allowing Matthew’s tongue to slip inside. Hanbin's hands found their way to Matthew’s shoulders, gripping lightly as if to steady himself, though he wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the kiss making his head spin. Matthew's touch was surprisingly gentle, his fingertips grazing Hanbin's jaw as their mouths moved together in a slow, exploratory rhythm. They both suddenly pulled away from each other.
“Damn, you’re a good kisser” Hanbin laughed and leaned back, slightly touching his bottom lip. “You’re not that bad yourself. But, oh my god, let’s never do this again, I just realized you’re my best friend and I asked you to make out with me” Matthew started giggling and took another sip from his freshly opened soju.
“Yeah it was awkward. I liked it, tho”
They laughed about their kiss the morning after. And they thought that would be the last time they’d talk about it. That was, of course, until their faces kissing each other appeared on every newspaper, every tv channel, every post on social media.. safe to say- it was everywhere.
As it turns out, Hanbin forgot to close the curtains and some royal gossip obsessed paparazzi saw everything.
And that’s where it all began.