"Your Majesty?"

Beomgyu hummed, tearing his eyes away from the servants dragging his luggage to the aeroplane that was going to take him to the academy. It had been a few weeks to the day he met Taehyun and he had to leave for his last year at the Royal Academy, an educational institution located in the kingdom of Knowledge. All the students were required to start coming in at least a day or two before the actual classes started so they could set up their things in their dorms.

"His Majesty, the King, has requested your presence in his study for a chat before you leave. I am supposed to escort you there." The servant bowed.

"Oh, okay, let's go then," Beomgyu nodded and fell in line behind the servant, wondering why his father wanted to talk to him suddenly before he left. Was it something to do with his schooling? Or perhaps the boy he was supposed to be there with?

The King's study was a large room full of shelves, filled with books upon books of various topics. In a corner at the end, there was a table upon which sat a computer that Beomgyu was sure his father never really used, more comfortable doing things the 'traditional' way. His father sat upon the comfy chair behind the table, pouring tea into two small cups that were there on the table as well.

"You called?" Beomgyu smiled, taking his seat across his father in the only other chair that was in the room.

"I wanted to tell you a few things," the King pushed a cup of tea towards the prince, a tired smile gracing his withered features. He waited until Beomgyu had picked it up and carefully took a sip from it. "King Tae-geun and I have arranged for you and Taehyun to share a dorm room for this year. The Academy generally does not accept requests for dorm partners, but they do make exceptions for fiancés. For the next nine months, you will be sharing a room with him but it's not just that. You will be sharing a part of you with him, whether you want to or not. These nine months will give you a clear idea of who he is as a person, of what he stands for, of how he lives and how he loves. You will learn about him and his habits, his quirks and peeves. I can only hope that all goes well and you both learn to live in harmony, not just for these nine months but the rest of your lives."

"I will try my best," Beomgyu smiled, trying not to think about all the ways it could go wrong to trap them in one room. His father smiled gratefully at that, patting Beomgyu's left hand that was lying between them on the table.

"And, I also wanted to tell you that during the time you live there," his father continued, his expression now serious, "we expect you both to act in love. It's fine if you aren't right now, but we must not let anyone find out that this marriage is one of alliance. It might not only alert the Ice Kingdom but also the others to attack your relationship. The strain of that pressure can only be harmful to your marriage and you both. You have to convince them all that you are both in love and this marriage is a result of that love. I know you hate lying and pretending Beomgyu, but for the sake of your own safety, and for the safety of this alliance and marriage, I have to ask you to do this."

"Oh," Beomgyu's fingers tightened around the handle of his teacup before he placed it back on the table. He stared at the dregs at the bottom of the now empty cup before he spoke softly. "What about Taehyun? Does he know this?"

"King Tae-geun has informed him about it," his father reassured him. "Taehyun said that he will do his level best and I am sure you will too. I know this is all really overwhelming for you, too sudden and too new and your mother and I are guilty for putting such a weight on your shoulders at such a young age–"

"I'm 21, dad," Beomgyu smiled at him, letting the casual term escape in the confines of privacy. "I know I will always be your little boy and I admit that I still feel like a child stuck in an adult's body sometimes but, it's time that I start picking up some of the burdens that you, mom and hyung have shielded me from. It is all new to me but I'm sure that I can do it. You both can rest at ease. I don't want you feeling guilty for doing your best to protect the people we love so much. If I have to sacrifice some things for it, what does it mean in the grand scheme of things?"

"When did you become so mature, my baby bear?" His father's face was so full of pride that Beomgyu couldn't help but lean over the table for a hug.

"What do you mean, I was always mature!" Beomgyu's wobbly laugh echoed through the room, soon followed by his father's watery one. "I'll do my best to make you proud, dad."

"You already have, Beomgyu."

✿

The flight to the kingdom of Knowledge took a little under three hours but Beomgyu wasn't the only one on the plane. Children of noble blood that also attended the Royal Academy from the kingdom of Air were also in the plane with him. Beomgyu didn't really pay them much attention, for once wishing to just look out the window and take some time to himself instead of socialising as usual.

He didn't miss the way the younger ones were all glancing at him worriedly, unused to him being so quiet and spaced out. He also didn't miss the whispers running through them, right from the giggles of the 11 year olds about their romance fantasies about his marriage with Taehyun down to the contemplative theories by some of the older ones.

Instead of confirming any of them, the black-haired prince just plugged in his earphones and stared at the tiny houses and pastures of crops that he could see out the window. Inside his mind, he thought about Taehyun, his mom, what his father told him. Their marriage. The fake pretence he has to pull off in front of others. Acting like he loves Taehyun. Acting like Taehyun loves him.

Just the idea of it made Beomgyu nearly snort derisively but he held it in in favour of not weirding out the others anymore. He was supposed to meet Taehyun at the landing area before they both went to the dorms. He couldn't even imagine how they were going to act civil, forget in love.

Beomgyu was so buried in his thoughts that he didn't even realize they had reached until the captain announced for them to wear their seatbelts for landing. The descent downwards and everybody else running out to escape the closed confines was a rather noisy affair so Beomgyu just waited until everyone was off before he came out.

The sun was high up in the sky, marking noon. Even so, it was breezy today, the feeling of the wind making Beomgyu feel almost at home. Back in his kingdom, it was always breezy no matter what season, an obvious situation for the kingdom of Air. His eyes wandered around at the others, who were already meeting up with friends and catching up as if they hadn't been texting each other all summer.

He found Taehyun leaning against one of the pillars outside the gateway, a plain white button-down tucked in his black jeans that accentuated the curve of his waist. His eyes were covered in black sunglasses, arms crossed over his chest and Beomgyu could tell by the quirk of his lips that the youngest Kang was bored. He could also tell, as people with eyes are bound to do, that Taehyun was incredibly hot. It was a miserable realization, especially knowing that the younger happened to not think those exact same things about him, but he was briefly reminded of his mother's passing remark from a week ago that Beomgyu was lucky that Taehyun was at least handsome.

He internally had agreed to that and these were the repercussions.

"Finally," Taehyun groaned upon seeing him, getting off the pillar to come to Beomgyu and tugging him closer to where he was standing. The action made something swoop in Beomgyu's stomach, the nearness to the younger making him swallow thickly in order to not blurt out something shameful like 'you look really good'.

"Sorry, did you have to wait too long?" Beomgyu said lowly, not sorry in the least because the flight's timings were not really in his hands. Taehyun pushed up the sunglasses into his now brown hair, different from the red he had when they had first met.

"Just half an hour but I was more irritated about the way everyone keeps giggling around me," Taehyun rolled his eyes. "It's apparently very romantic to wait for my fiancé in the waiting area of the runway."

"How chivalrous of you," Beomgyu chuckled. He pretended not to notice the way Taehyun was eyeing him in surprise at how they were both acting like their whole argument had never happened. "So. I know you heard from your father too, that we have to act like we're dating in front of others. Convince them that we're in love. Have you thought about how?"

"Of course I have," Taehyun sighed, eyes looking everywhere but at him. "We have to be together in front of them whenever we can. Waiting after each other's last class of the day, getting food together from the canteens together, stuff like that. We will also need to be physically affectionate to make them think that we're interested in each other in that way too."

"Like, kiss you?" Beomgyu's nose scrunched at the thought, the thought making him shudder because he was sure if he let Taehyun inside his mouth, the younger would bite his tongue out. Taehyun's face twisted in disgust before he shook his head.

"We don't have to do that," Taehyun grimaced. "Unless you're comfortable with it. I don't really care either way."

"I'm fine without your tongue down my throat," Beomgyu cleared his throat, eyeing the people around them to pretend that his cheeks weren't splotched at saying those words out loud. "Little pecks on the cheek or lips are fine with me, though. Hand holding and hugs too."

"Works for me," Taehyun shrugged, pulling out his phone. That irritated Beomgyu a bit, because they were talking and now the younger boy was suddenly disinterested enough to play with his phone. "Let's go."

In an act of pettiness, Beomgyu slithered an arm around Taehyun's waist. The younger jolted in surprise, staring at Beomgyu with wide eyes but the older boy was too smug internally to notice it as they walked towards the dorm area where their luggage was already taken. When Taehyun didn't complain about it, he took it as a yes and didn't remove his hand until they were at the key counter of their dorms. The dorm mother there pulled out the two copies of their room key and gave it to them, her face serious.

"No sex in the dorms," she warned them. Beomgyu's hands let go of Taehyun's waist as if burned but if anything, it was his face that was burning at the implication. Taehyun was not faring much better, his ears turning rather red as he lightly scratched his own cheek.

"W- We aren't going to do that," Beomgyu mumbled. "We aren't even big on PDA–"

She just raised an eyebrow at him, eyes glancing at his hands and Taehyun's waist. Right. Not really convincing when they had been that close in front of her just now.

"It was breezy, I get cold easily," Beomgyu said, willing his blush to go down as he said it with as much sincerity as he could. "Taehyun is warm. What I meant is… we won't bother you with having to witness anything indecent."

"As you shouldn't, princes that you are," she smiled warmly, pressing both the keys in Beomgyu's hand. "I was just teasing you. Go on up now, your luggage just came through a few minutes ago."

"Thank you," Taehyun managed to say before tugging Beomgyu after him in a hurry to escape her. Only when they were up the two flights of stairs to their room did he drop Beomgyu's hand and sighed. He took one of the keys from Beomgyu and opened their room with that before speaking again. "You're not a bad liar."

"It wasn't really a lie," Beomgyu shrugged as he made his way inside, shutting the door behind him with his foot. That made the younger freeze.

"Uh, I'm going to go take a bath," Taehyun said, his voice a little higher than usual as he rushed to grab a set of clothes from his bag before running inside. Beomgyu watched him run in confusion, wondering why his ears were looking red again.

Deciding that he was too mentally tired to deal with that, he pulled up the luggage and started unpacking everything. By the time he was done, Taehyun came out wrapped in a normal tee and skinny jeans this time.

"I will be going out later until dinnertime," Taehyun muttered. Beomgyu nodded as he grabbed his clothes that he had laid out in the bed. The younger set to unpacking his own bag while Beomgyu went in the bathroom and undressed before getting under the shower.

He stood there for a few seconds, pretending that he was under the rain before letting out a relieved sigh. Everything has been okay so far. They hadn't tried to kill each other and Taehyun wasn't treating him like complete trash (or like a mistake, his mind reminded him). Maybe what his mom said was right.

Maybe they can make this work.

❀

The Royal Academy was the only educational institute in the world that offered equal knowledge about the political, social and economic knowledge of how to govern a kingdom and maintain peace. It was situated right in the middle of the Kingdom of Knowledge, the only kingdom without a ruling royal family or governing authority.

The Kingdom of Knowledge gave more value to knowledge than anything else, and they believed that knowledge was not something to be withheld, but rather shared to make the world a better place. All princes, princesses and children of noble blood attended the Academy to learn about how to behave and act in the upper society. They learnt things without bias, without any cultural influence in this place.

But how was the peace maintained in a place where there was no ruler? Taehyun remembered being curious about this and asking his father the very question when he had first joined the Academy at the ripe age of 10. The answer his father gave him was eye-opening.

Magic. It was unlike anything that was shown in fairy tales and fantastical stories of mythical creatures. No, magic in their world was something like a miracle of nature. An unexplainable phenomena that occured from the energy thrumming below the Earth's surface. This magic lived in the land and only went awry when the people on the land made extremely wrong decisions.

The Kingdom of Knowledge didn't need a ruler because it had the highest concentration of magic in the entire world. Anyone with ill intentions against another in the land of knowledge was unable to enter, unable to exist there. With this in mind, it was only the most natural place of choice for all the children of various kingdoms to come together. They couldn't harm each other, or else the land would throw them out. There was this safety that made every kingdom trust its precious blood to the kingdom of Knowledge.

If Taehyun closed his eyes and just let himself feel, he could sometimes feel a pulsating throb right beneath his feet. He didn't need anyone to tell him that it was magic. There were those who didn't believe that magic existed, but they also never really contested it or tried to prove otherwise. Taehyun however, believed in it since he was a child. Being a child of the Earth meant that he had an inexplicable connection with the ground he walked on, the trees that grew from it and the flowers that blossomed over it.

When he had accidentally heard about his father worrying over the peculiar happenings around their shared borders with the kingdom of Ice, Taehyun had felt the urge to prove his worth to them. Show them that he was a helpful asset to their kingdom as well. An arranged marriage for alliance was the best thing he could come up with and for that, he chose Choi Beomgyu, the prince of the Air kingdom that he had seen in passing in his classes.

Beomgyu had always seemed like an open and bright person. Taehyun was sure that if anyone could make an arranged marriage work, it would be him. But as it turned out in their first meeting, his judgement of Beomgyu had been wrong. The older boy had judged him, found him unworthy and put words in his mouth that didn't even exist in his mind until Beomgyu assumed and spoke them himself.

And Taehyun lamented the fact that he failed in figuring out the boy he was now set to be married to. Now, he was stuck sharing a room with him and there was only one person who he could relieve his worries to. So as soon as he had unpacked, Taehyun went to his closest friend, Kai. Told him everything he couldn't tell over the phone, emptied his heart and his worries and dared to believe in the other's reassurance that everything will work out between the two of them.

Hours later, when the sun had dipped below the horizon, Taehyun finally left Kai's room and trudged back to his own, wondering if Beomgyu was still there or if he had left too. They had been fairly civil the whole day and Taehyun had wanted to start over but didn't know how to say it. He was afraid of being judged by the boy again and it wasn't like Beomgyu wasn't pretending their first conversation had ever happened. He just went along with it, too afraid to voice his thoughts aloud, not wanting to break the fragile balance they had somehow set.

When he inserted his key in the door, he heard a giggle from inside, the sound making him pause in place. He had never heard Beomgyu laugh like this ever since they were betrothed. He clicked the key into place and opened the door, to find the older boy lounging on his bed, phone to his ear and smiling widely at whatever the other person was saying. Their eyes met in a brief glance of acknowledgement before Taehyun shut the door behind him.

Beomgyu sat up, whispering something to the person on the other side, eyes not leaving Taehyun's frame the whole while. It made him feel self conscious, wondering if he was the subject of their conversation. Was it that Beomgyu was laughing at him? Before he could entertain the thought fully, Beomgyu laughed again, voice clear and loud enough this time that Taehyun heard.

"You really are the best," his cheeks were flushed as he spoke, eyes bright and so full of happiness that Taehyun's insides hurt. Or was it hurting because Beomgyu had never looked at him that way? "I don't know what I'd ever do without you Soobin-hyung. I think I would die if you weren't there for me. You really are my soulmate, my other half."

It wasn't Beom-su. It wasn't anyone from his family. Why was Taehyun's stomach clenching in anger at the words? Who was this Soobin? Why was Beomgyu talking to him like this, like he was in love with that person? Taehyun's mind was overloaded with thoughts and questions that he couldn't ask Beomgyu straight up. He was not in a position to demand to know who Beomgyu talked to.

On the other side of the phone, Soobin started laughing at the praise pouring out of Beomgyu's mouth suddenly out of nowhere in their conversation.

"Let me guess, Taehyun is there, isn't he? You're doing this to make him jealous?" Soobin guessed, lips quirked in amusement at the thought of his best friend's (failing) tactics. Beomgyu laughed at that again, sounding much lighter and happier than when their phone call had started two hours ago.

"How did you know?" Beomgyu's smile was blinding and Taehyun didn't know what was hurting anymore. Was it his heart? Was it his stomach? There was a voice pounding in his head, feeding him suspicions of a secret lover, of a person that Beomgyu loved– that it would never be Taehyun, that there was no happy ending for them. "You know me so well, hyung. I don't think anyone knows me as well as you do."

That was the last straw. Taehyun stomped over to his bed and grabbed his pyjamas for the night from his cupboard before rushing past Beomgyu's bed to reach the bathroom. He didn't look at Beomgyu the whole time, which didn't go unnoticed by the older prince.

The black-haired boy just watched Taehyun shut the bathroom door behind him with a bang and whispered to Soobin, "I think he's angry?"

"Congratulations, you ruined everything again," Soobin's sigh of amused disappointment only made Beomgyu huff. "Let's hope you both don't get into another fight over me now."

Beomgyu just whispered a quick bye and hung up. He got off the bed and made his way to the bathroom, placing a hand on the door as he asked gently but clearly, "Taehyun, is everything okay?"

There was no reply, just sounds of something falling inside followed by some scuffling. Beomgyu sighed and backed away, waiting for Taehyun to come out. The few minutes of silence was broken by a knock on their door.

Beomgyu opened the door to get his dinner that he had ordered from the canteen, thanking the delivery woman with a smile. When he turned around, Taehyun was finally out but still not looking at him. The older prince placed his food on his table and pulled out his chair. Tucking his legs into the arm gaps, he sat down the other way, chest pressed to the backrest of the chair so that he could stare at Taehyun.

"I didn't know what you wanted for dinner so I didn't order anything for you," he decided to change the topic. "I didn't want to waste any food since I don't know what you like to eat or if you have any allergies. You know, we should make a list of things we both generally want for dinner so we can place orders together even if one of us is out."

Taehyun didn't say anything, only rewarded him with a roll of his eyes that made Beomgyu's tentative smile face immediately. Okay, he knew that had played a prank on the other but it really wasn't enough reason for Taehyun to treat him this coldly? It didn't seem fair to Beomgyu and it wasn't helping them at all.

"You know, rather than just glaring at me and rolling your eyes," Beomgyu snapped, "it would be better if you just talk to me. Tell me what your damn problem is."

That finally made the younger pause and look at him, face blank of any expression.

"You didn't like it when I spoke what was on my mind," he said calmly, referring probably to when he had called Beomgyu a mistake, "and you don't like it when I stay silent. I'm not even sure what you want me to do at this point because no matter what, you already have an idea of me and I can't change it."

Oh.

Beomgyu just blinked, wondering if he really had been judgemental of the other ever since they met. He had never given him the benefit of the doubt and just assumed that Taehyun didn't want anything to do with him. He coughed lightly, embarrassed at that.

"It's better if you tell me if I do something wrong," he said after a few seconds of silence. "If you just hold a grudge and be silent, I won't know what you're thinking or why you're doing what you're doing. Just, be straightforward with me."

"You want me to be straightforward?" Taehyun raised an eyebrow. Beomgyu nodded, eyes curiously fixed on him. "Then, I have a question to ask you. Do you have a boyfriend? Or a secret lover?"

The question was followed by silence and the look on Beomgyu's face screamed bewildered for two seconds before he burst out laughing. Taehyun thought he had a boyfriend. Taehyun thought that Soobin was his boyfriend. Taehyun was under the impression that he had a secret romance with someone else under the wraps of their marriage.

Taehyun was jealous of his 'secret boyfriend'?

The unimpressed glare on the youngest Kang's face made Beomgyu sober up. He sighed and smiled at Taehyun, shaking his head.

"No, I don't," he held in the laughter but couldn't help himself from asking, "why would you think so?"

"From the way you talked on the call with that other person," Taehyun paused before shaking his own head and dropping the sentence there.

"Soobin-hyung is my best friend," Beomgyu smirked, unable to keep the amusement inside. "You were jealous, weren't you?"

"No."

Taehyun's flat answer made Beomgyu pout in disappointment. He silently watched the younger punch in the numbers to place his order in the school canteen.

"You're such a bore," he huffed and turned around in his seat to finally eat his now cold dinner.

❀

Beomgyu noticed something in their first class.

It was the next day and classes started at 9 just after breakfast, with their first class of the day being the one for the royalty who were not the first in line for the throne. Which meant that both Beomgyu and Taehyun were in the same class. He had peeked at Taehyun's schedule in the morning when the younger had gone for a bath and most of it was the exact same except for their choice of extra-curricular activities.

Which meant they were going to be in the same classes for most of the time too. He thought that Taehyun would sit with him but to his surprise, that didn't happen. In fact, Taehyun chose the seat at the opposite end of the room from him, hands wrapped around the arm of a taller boy. Beomgyu eyed him curiously, wondering who this boy was.

There was a chance that this could be Taehyun's boyfriend but he dismissed the thought immediately. With the way Taehyun had treated the topic yesterday, it seemed unlikely that he would have one. Maybe he was Taehyun's best friend. After all, they were the same age. Beomgyu was the only one in the whole class who was a year older than them and he never really felt especially close to them like he did with Soobin, despite them being in different years.

He spends the rest of their classes watching the two of them. He learns during roll call that the tall boy's name is Huening Kai and he hears in passing that he was from the Kingdom of Sky. And it made sense since the Kingdom of Earth shared their north-eastern boundaries with the Kingdom of Sky. The two were also said to be in an alliance for a few decades now, so they must have probably grown up together too.

If Taehyun noticed him staring, he definitely didn't act like it but Kai started to look back at him by the time their classes were ending. He looked curious too but didn't say anything so Beomgyu decided to approach him when Taehyun wasn't around.

But when the last class ended, he couldn't see the two of them in the class anymore. Grabbing his bag, he stepped out of the now empty classroom only to be startled by a figure jumping in front of him.

"Hi," Kai was looking at him, eyes wandering over his face in excitement. "I'm Huening Kai, prince of the Kingdom of Sky!"

"Uh, hi, Kai," Beomgyu smiled, unsure how to act with the younger. "I'm Choi Beomgyu, from the Kingdom of Air."

"I saw you looking at me and Tyunnie a lot today," Kai smiled warmly. "Any reason?"

"Oh," Beomgyu froze like a deer in headlights. He didn't miss the nickname but decided to store it in the back of his mind for later. "Uh, Taehyun is my boyfriend. Fiancé, actually. I just felt upset that he chose a seat far away from me?"

"What?" Kai giggled at that, quickly checking their surroundings before leaning closer to him to whisper, "I know the truth. You don't need to pretend in front of me."

"Oh."

Taehyun even told him everything? They must be really close. Almost as if Kai could read his mind, the younger shot him a thumbs up.

"I am his best friend! Taehyun tells me everything so don't worry, your secret is safe and sealed. Not gonna say a word to anyone."

"Thank you, Kai," Beomgyu smiled softly. Kai was like a golden retriever, he mused. Overly excited but with obviously good intentions. He just exuded the vibes of someone who was innocent. "Where's Taehyun, though?"

"He had to talk with a professor," Kai explained. "I told him I'll wait for him outside in the gardens at our usual bench. Would you like to join us there? We were going to get some coffee and pastries before going back to the dorms."

"Oh, I would like that!" Beomgyu brightened at the thought of an iced americano after hours of classes. It was late afternoon anyway and the weather was perfect for some cool coffee. The two of them walked out of the building in silence and settled on one of the benches in the school garden. There was silence for a few minutes before Kai spoke again.

"I know things haven't been the greatest between you two," he said sympathetically, giving Beomgyu a small frown. "And I know that Taehyun is not completely innocent here. Knowing him, I'm sure he must have acted cold and distant and maybe even said a few harsh things."

"He did," Beomgyu huffed through a smile, somehow feeling easy talking about this to Kai. He didn't even know the boy but it felt good to have someone understand him.

"And I know I'm not in any place to say this," the younger bit his lower lip, hesitancy seeping into his voice, "but I was hoping that you could give him some time. Taehyun is not very good with new people. He acts aloof and distant to everyone because he has grown up learning to not trust others easily, especially those of other kingdoms. But, once he trusts you, you will see that he is one of the kindest and gentlest people ever. He has a soft heart and he cares too much but he's also a hard nut to crack. But I promise, once you make it into his inner circle of people, it will only be smooth sailing from his side. So until then, can you please forgive his mistakes?"

"I am trying my best to," Beomgyu admitted, glad that Kai told him all this. "But when will I get into his inner circle? What do I have to do to be worthy of it?"

His soft whine was left unanswered because Taehyun appeared at that moment, eyebrows furrowed in anger as he tugged Kai off the bench.

"What are you doing?" His voice was sharp but the question was directed to Beomgyu, who gaped at him. "Kai is my friend."

"Uh, what?!"

What did that have to do with anything? Beomgyu was just talking to Kai. It's not like this was a ploy to make the taller boy ditch Taehyun or something! This was ridiculous. Was Taehyun jealous of him talking to Kai?

Beomgyu wanted to protest but all his words died in his throat when he saw the look Kai was giving him from behind Taehyun. His eyes were pleading him to drop the conversation. Beomgyu sighed and glanced tiredly at Taehyun one last time before grabbing his bag and speed walking back to the dorm.

The moment he was back inside the confines of his (their) room, he shut the door close and jumped onto his bed. His fingers automatically dialled his mom's number in his phone as he felt tears prick the corner of his eyes. It was like the exhaustion and stress of the past few weeks had come crashing down at once.

At the fifth ring, his mother picked up and answered with a, "Beomgyu?"

"Mom," Beomgyu croaked, tears falling down his cheeks as he clutched the device tighter in his hands.

"Baby, are you crying?" His mother's voice was full of concern. "Did something happen?"

"I am just," he sucked in some breath, trying to sort out the words in his head. His mother waited patiently until he could speak again. "So exhausted. I don't know what to do, mom. First, I mess everything up by myself. Then I try to amend it and it goes well and then I just have to be myself and ruin everything again. And I don't know what I should do to make him trust me or to give me the time of his day but I feel so useless right now. Like I can't do anything right. Like everything I touch only comes to ruin."

"You know that's not true," her voice was gentle, soothing. "I know you're trying hard, my love. I know you have been trying but even then, we all make mistakes, don't we? What matters is that we correct them. That we apologize and communicate. We talk about what's wrong and fix those things."

"I don't know how to talk to him," Beomgyu admitted, the flow of his tears slowing down at her comforting voice. "I can't predict how he will react and I can't stop thinking that he hates me. That he doesn't want me. I know we're brought up differently but it's hard to figure out what's a result of that and what's just him being a jerk. It's hard. It's so hard, mom."

"I wish I could make it easier for you," she sounded truly sad. "I wish I could fix things for you so that you don't have to go through these hard times but I also cannot coddle you anymore. You're about to be married Beomgyu, and that comes with a responsibility. I need you to learn how to deal with these things by yourself. There's only so much that I can tell you and help you with but it won't be any useful if you don't work on it."

"I know," Beomgyu mumbled, side pressing into his pillow. "I know and I will. But for now, can you just be here? You don't have to do or say anything. I just need you here with me."

"Of course, my bear."

Beomgyu doesn't know how long he stayed like that, phone trapped between his left cheek and the pillow, hearing his mom's breathing while she probably worked on the paperwork back in their palace. He stared at Taehyun's bed that he could see to his left until the door opened and the bed's owner stepped into the room.

Beomgyu hastily sat up and turned away so that Taehyun didn't see the tear stains on his cheeks that he quickly rubbed away. "Mom?"

When she hummed in response, he said a quick "I love you", waited for her to say it back and hung up. The crying had exhausted him and he didn't want to talk to Taehyun at the moment.

So Beomgyu pulled up the blankets and decided to sleep early that day.

°•❀•°