"What happened to you?" Johnny asked at the panting Jaehyun who just came into his bedroom. He was currently writing something and to his dismay, Jaehyun slammed the door. 

Jaehyun took a deep breath, "Doyoung is here?"

Johnny nodded, "Well, yeah. He is the one and only Lord Kim of this kingdom," he goes back to what he was writing on a piece of paper with his fountain pen, "What's up with him?"

The alpha could only let out a frustrated groan and let him drop onto the prince's bed.

"He almost caught me just now and I can't let him! He always hates me. He always barks at me everytime he doesn't like my ideas or even how I act. He hates everything about me. And if he found me, then he'll call my parents and I'll live miserably forever."

"First of all, you won't live miserably forever. Second, he won't find you if you stay here in the castle."

Jaehyun furrowed his eyebrows and clicked his tongue, "I can't."

The prince frowned and pulled himself back to look at Jaehyun, "What do you mean you can't?"

The alpha sighed, "I go out...just to see him. So I can't just stop seeing him so sudden."

Johnny teasingly looked at him, "Aye, are you not going to let me meet him?"

"I'll let you meet him if things are a bit clearer."

"Haven't it yet?" Johnny goes back writing and remembered he needed to finish this because of his father's urgent deadline.

Jaehyun shook his head, "Not yet."

"I'll be waiting for it then."

"Hyung."

Taeyong looked at his brother who was cleaning the shop with him. They just closed and it was time for them to clean.

"Hm?"

"Did you get an employee?" Yuta asked.

"Uhm..." Taeyong uttered, "Well, he insisted helping me so I let him. He was being really pushy, Yuta."

"Did he hurt you--"

"No! He just wanted to help me with the shop."

Yuta nodded and continued mopping the floor, "What's his name?"

"Yoonoh. He was the one who helped me when you were gone."

"Oh, really? I haven't thanked him!" Yuta said.

Taeyong chuckled, "I think he'll come back tomorrow. He's always here."

"Eh? For what?"

The omega shrugged, "He said he wanted to work here."

Yuta smiled teasingly at his brother, "I won't say no if he's courting you but--"

"Yuta! No, he isn't! You and Mark are really brothers," Taeyong clicked his tongue and finished wiping the tables.

After cleaning the shop, both of them walked home like always. They were quiet and nothing to talk about. People around them are still in a rush and still buying at the busy market.

Finally reaching the peaceful part of the kingdom, Taeyong and Yuta are greeted by the farmers and they greeted back at them. They could see their house from afar but Taeyong was surprised to see his father talking to someone in the same carriage as the other day. Yuta knew who it was and all he could do was stop Taeyong from going there.

"He's here again?" Yuta asked and didn't mean to speak out loud which made Taeyong to look at him with a frown.

"What do you mean again?"

Yuta looked away, "Well..."

"What do you mean, Yuta? Do you know him?"

The alpha cleared his throat, "He's always here. Every day, he kept talking to father about...something."

Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows at his brother, "About what?"

"I don't kn--Hyung! Come back here!"

Taeyong immediately ran to his father and tried catching who is inside the carriage. Just like the other day, the carriage goes off and Taeyong just shouted for it to come back but it was just too far away to hear it.

"Taeyong! What are you doing?" his father asked.

The omega panted and regained his breath, "Who was that, father? Yuta told me it's been here always to talk to yo--"

The man patted his son's shoulder, "Are you hungry? Let's get inside, I bet your mother baked something."

Yuta ran at them and was ready to collapse, "I'll be right behind you..."

Taeyong was pulled by his father into their house but he stopped, "Father, is there something? Is it about your loans?"

His father shook his head, "Everything is fine. You'll know someday."

Without any confidence and strength to ask anymore, Taeyong decided to leave it. Nobody wanted to let him know about anything. He was bothered about everything and couldn't think straight. He was overthinking and was jumping into conclusions already. Taeyong wanted to ask somebody else but he was expecting that no one will ever let him know.

Taeyong knew it was something serious. His family was hiding it from him. He felt betrayed. They shouldn't be acting like this towards him, Taeyong is also a part of the family. But why are they keeping things as a secret from him? It was disturbing him.

"Father, when are you planning to tell him?" Yuta asked as they were at the field.

The man sighed, "I've been thinking about it."

"I am against about this force marriage, father! Taeyong deserved someone better than that man! He can't just get Taeyong away from us! We don't need his wealth, father! He can--"

"But, Yuta, this is our family on the line. The lord gets what he wants and I can't say no. I want to go against him, I want to protect Taeyong...but he's the one Lord Kim picked for his mate."

Yuta clicked his tongue, "Can we think of something else? I can't let him get Taeyong...I really can't."

The man looked upset about being so powerless. They are poor and not known for having a royal name. His father has already told the lord to find someone else and not his son, all he did was to get mad and almost slapped the father's cheek if Mark didn't stop Doyoung from doing so.

No one in their family would have the power to argue with the lord again. They were afraid of what will happen if they disobey. Taking a deep breath, the father sighed.

"I'll let Taeyong know."