Six months. Six months have passed since Seokjin was announced the winner. Six months since the other candidates had been sent home. Six months since Taehyung last saw or even spoke to Seokjin after saying goodbye at the palace gates.

Tae isn't necesarily angry of the fact that he and Seokjin hadn't kept in touch. If anything it was Tae who didn't reply back to when his brother messaged him, nor did he answer his calls. It was nothing personal, but Taehyung felt that he needed to distance himself a bit from his hyung, more due to the fact that he was trying hard not to depend on others so much. He was sure that hearing his hyung's voice again would make him miss him and want him back.

There was no avoiding his hyung today, however. And at least, today, Taehyung felt he was ready.

The door clicks and Jimin steps into the living room, dressed in a finely pressed black suit and tie with his now blonde hair slicked back out of his face. Taehyung grins at him when he sees him.

"It fits," Tae comments, himself in a similar black suit, blonde hair now gone and replaced with a light brown, styled into his usual bowl-cut.

Jimin looks at himself in the mirror and nods. He had been worried the suit wouldn't fit since he was a tad bit chubbier now, Taehyung had assured him he would look fine.

Both of them had gotten their GEDs over the last six months. With the ways the competition had ended, Taehyung and Hoseok had decided it was best that Jimin didn't go to school. Mostly due to the way people would talk about him, especially after seeing his father slap him on live TV.

Taehyung had gone back to school for a few days but decided not to go back. Too many people approached him with a hidden agenda, many asking for information about the competition, others asking if he was going to also live in the palace, some asking what his brother did to win when clearly others "deserved it more".

Yeah, he wasn't going to stay around to hear a bunch of people talk smack about his hyung like that.

Luckily for him, he and Jimin were good students, so passing the GED tests was easy. The palace had even been the one to pay for everything considering that it was the competition's fault that they missed so many classes.

Another thing he got asked a lot. Why didn't he stay in the palace with Jin? Tae thought it was obvious enough. Being the brother of the king's fiancé, of course he was offered to stay at the palace. But no. Taehyung knew where he was needed.

Jimin needed a lot of support when he had woken up. He had been so ashamed when he had finally gained conscious and realized that his plan to die had failed. Guilt consumed him when he realized Taehyung was staying by his side. No matter how many times he tried pushing him away and telling him to just leave him, to let him die. Taehyung didn't.

"I'll help you," Taehyung had told him. "I'll help you through this. I can't fix this, but I'll support you. Because you're too young to let the world break you."

Despite the way he showed it, Taehyung knew Jimin loved him. You know you really love someone when you don't hate them for breaking your heart. Jimin could never bring himself to hate Taehyung despite the times Taehyung had rejected him. The pain was always there, but there was never hate.

For a while, Jimin avoided him, tried to get him to leave. After a while, he simply accepted that there was no way that Taehyung and Hoseok were going to leave him alone. Taehyung considers this a good thing, takes it as a step forward. Progress.

A car honks outside. Both males grab their phones and wallets and head on out to where Hoseok is waiting for them in the car, dressed elegantly in all black. "Ready?" he smiles when they get into the car, both boys nodding.

Hoseok was hired to be a choreographer for BigHit. He got a lot of offers from several companies; SM, JYP, Cube, but in the end, he chose BigHit. Currently, he was focusing on choreographing for the companies newest boy group, which were due to debut by the end of the year. Courtesy of a certain king's fiancé.

While chatting with Hoseok as they head to their destination, Taehyung keeps glancing at Jimin in the back who just fidgets with his hands, looking nervous and ready to run. Jimin's head rises and meets Tae's gaze and Taehyung smiles at him, making Jimin duck his head down as he blushes.

Yeah, things were still a bit awkward between them but Taehyung was willing to keep trying.

Hoseok parks the car at a public parking lot once they're close enough to their destination. One by one they get out of the car, meeting up outside the parking lot and walking along the sidewalk together. On their right the giant walls of Gyeongbokgung greet them, the lights of the Seoul Namdaemun Courtyard lighting their way as buses and cars zoom past them on the road. Taehyung feels at awe, the outside of the palace gave a sort of mystical feel at this hour.

At least, it did so from the outside.

At the main gate of Gyeongbokgung, reporters are lined up with their cameras and mics. There is a barricade of soldiers keeping them from entering, telling them to settle down when any of the reporters start getting restless.

The boys approach the doors. Some reporters spot them, point to them and shout before cameras start flashing in their direction. Hoseok sighs, it's been a while since he's had camera flashes blind him consecutively. He'd never gotten used to it, hoped he'd never have to.

One of the soldiers spot them, says something into the walkie talkie hanging from his shoulder and then nods, signaling them to step inside.

They make their way over, stepping onto the red carpet that's been laid out for certain guest arrivals. The doors open for them, General Min is on the other side.

"He never did get your number, did he?" Taehyung asks in Hoseok's ear, a little louder than he was supposed to but it was most certainly done on purpose. "Coward."

Clearing his throat —obviously from hearing everything that Taehyung had just said— the general leads them inside.

It's different, Hoseok notes. The atmosphere of the place. Less tense and more festive. Lanterns and fairy lights dangle from wires above them. Sheets of many colors fill the courtyard with life. Maybe if it were like this year round then Hoseok would consider staying around a bit longer.

Crossing several courtyards and greeting various staff members that he recognizes, they are finally dropped off at Hyangwonjeong and led straight to a room. The general knocks and then tells them to wait at the door before he leaves them. It's only a few seconds later that the doors swing open and there was the man of the hour on the other side.

The groom.

Seokjin lips turn into a huge smile as soon as he sees them, wastes no time to immediately pull the closest one of them —Hoseok— into a hug. Hoseok, of course, doesn't hold back and hugs him at full force. Both laughing at the sight of each other.

"You look good," Hoseok whistles as pulls away, eying him up and down and placing his hands on Seokjin's shoulders. "The color suits you."

His hair is fluffier than what he's used to it somehow manages to make his features took sharper. The hanbok Jin wears is modern, the jeogori being loose almost like a kimono, with light purple one underneath the top blue, yellow flower designs at the edges and a black long-sleeved shirt peeking out underneath. The chima being black like the shirt.

"Any color suits me," Seokjin points out shamelessly. Hoseok laughs but can't help but agree. Although the royal blue tone of the hanbok made Seokjin look even more handsome there was no doubt that the elder could manage to look good in absolutely any color.

"Shameless," Hoseok laughs, "It's an improvement though." Jin agrees, recalling his original shy nature at the start of the competition. A part of him may be pretending that that side of him doesn't still exist, but he was still slowly working on himself.

From the corner of his eyes, Jin catches sight of Taehyung idly standing by the door. Seokjin's smile never leaves his face. "Ah, Taehyungie," he calls out in a sing-song manner, opening his arms, "come give Hyung a hug."

Taehyung wastes no time darting across the room and right into Seokjin's arms. Seokjin pats his head lovingly, kisses it and just smolders it in his arms. Taehyung mutters a "can't breathe" but Seokjin only waits a few more seconds before he lets him go.

"I missed you," he says gently then adds, "Can't believe you ignored me for six months you ungrateful brat. Hyung is deeply hurt."

The younger Kim just gives him a boxy grin. "We needed some distance."

"Distance my ass, I raised you on my back and this is how you repay me?"

"Now, now," Hoseok intervenes, wrapping an arm around both brother's and pulling them in. "No fighting on your big day," he tells Seokjin. "So where's the king?"

"Also getting ready," Seokjin pouts. "They won't let me see him yet."

"Well, you'll be seeing a lot of each other during your honeymoon," Hoseok grins.

Seokjin grins back, wiggling his brows. "True."

Among their chatter, Seokjin's eyes flicker towards the door, spotting Jimin peeking in shyly. Both Hoseok and Taehyung follow the elder's gaze and then pause, waiting, watching. Seokjin takes a few steps forward, stops directly in front of Jimin who takes a step back.

"Hey," Seokjin says warmly with a smile. "Thank you for coming."

Jimin doesn't respond just yet. He stands there, biting his bottom lip and staring. Seokjin watches him, notices his discomfort and decides to extend his arms out. There's brief hesitance in Jimin's eyes before he slowly steps forwards and Jin engulfs him in a hug. The younger male freezes in place but Seokjin moves to pat down his back.

"Really," he assures against Jimin's head of hair, "thank you for coming."

The hug lasts longer than the one with Hoseok and Taehyung combined. Seokjin signals his two friends to leave the room for a moment, both nodding as they wait outside while the two of them hug it all out. It takes a few breaths but Jimin does wrap his arms around Jin, body slightly shaking.

"Hyung," he whispers, suddenly sniffling, "I am so sorry."

Seokjin shushes him. "I've forgotten all about it," he answers, rubbing the younger's back softly.

"There's no way that's true," Jimin argues, pulling away. "Hyung, because of me Taetae is—"

"Taetae is not doing anything he doesn't want to do," Jin interrupts. Jimin looks unsure, biting his own lip.

"I don't get you, Hyung," he whispers. "You're always so carefree about everything."

He really isn't. He just pretends to be so that others don't have other things to worry about, but Seokjin knows where he's coming from. "I'll admit I was a bit worried," he sighs, "but, Tae seems happy." He stares at the younger. "Are you?"

Jimin can't really answer that. Was he? Was that even something he was even capable of at this point?

Seokjin seems to read his thoughts. "I know you're going through something difficult, Jiminie." He reaches for his hand, takes it into his own. "But please, never try to take your own life ever again," he pleads. " Even when you don't feel happy, I just hope you remember that your presence can bring happiness to others. So even if you feel all alone, promise me you won't throw yourself away. Ever."

A lump forms at the younger's throat. Lowering his head, Jimin avoids his gaze, blinks to prevent the sting of his eyes from creating tears. It doesn't work. Seokjin notices the younger boy's shoulders shaking and it makes his chest tighten. Seeing Jimin restraining his tears was something that pulled at Jin's heartstrings. Despite everything that happened, Jin loves Jimin. In a way, they were family.

Taehyung comes storming in seconds later, grabbing Jimin and pulling him up against his chest. Seokjin watches the interaction with new eyes. How many times has Jimin held Taehyung in such a comforting way? How many times has he wiped the tears away when Jin couldn't? Just like Taehyung was doing right now.

For many years Taehyung has been babied. Being the youngest of their group of friends, he was always doted on. Now here was Seokjin watching him take care of someone else. Refusing to be with him to stay by another's side.

It was a step forward.

"You're really okay with this?" Hoseok asks him once the other two males leave the room.

"As long as he loves him."

"He really does love him, Hyung," Hoseok comments. "There are so many forms of love. We can love our parents, we can love our friends, we can love a lover. The fact that its different levels of love doesn't mean it isn't love. Love isn't always romantic you know."

"I know," Seokjin states, turning to Hoseok and smiling. "Really I do."

Hoseok laughs and wraps an arm around Seokjin's shoulders, squeezing. "I love you, bro."

"Love you too, bro."

Namjoon is anxious. Namjoon is sweating and he hates sweating. And he most certainly shouldn't be sweating right now of all times.

A hand slips into his, his eyes flicker to Seokjin's face who stands next to him, smiling. The action eases him, gives him a bit of strength and calms his nerves. There was just something about Seokjin standing next to him, posture straight, stance powerful, brown eyes unyielding, that just made Namjoon feel protected. Safe.

Maybe it was the shoulders, he thinks to himself, thinking that maybe joking around would make him feel less tense. It worked to a certain point, but the official in front of him gave him a look and Namjoon had to immediately switch to his stoic demeanor.

They've been planning this for months now. And the day was going by in such a flash that Namjoon felt like he missed all of it although he was present through the whole thing.

Eyes flickering to where the officials stand watching to his left, the men are stern, unmoving. Stoic faces watching closely, yet at the same time showing no real interest in the events.

They should. Today was going to be a day for the history books.

Lowering his head, Namjoon lets the crown be placed. From behind the official he catches sight of his grandmother. She's smiling at him in approval. She probably wouldn't be smiling for long if she knew what Namjoon had up his sleeve for today.

Behind his grandmother, Jungkook stood in a modern-styled blue hanbok that matched Seokjin's. Namjoon's was a slightly different style. A lighter blue, with dark blue flower patterns on it. Right, Namjoon reminds himself as his eyes meet his brother's, Remember who you're doing this for.

Squeezing Seokjin's hand, Namjoon stands straighter as Seokjin lowers his own body to have the official place a crown on his head. The action makes Namjoon's heart jump. Especially when Seokjin turns and meets his eyes and smiles at him, nothing but warmth and love evident in those brown orbs.

They weren't allowed to kiss. Something about public indecency that had made both Seokjin and Namjoon scoff when they got the order. Seokjin had joked that that was going to be the first thing he was going to change when he became king. Namjoon was pretty sure he wasn't joking though.

At the moment though Joon was finding it extremely hard to keep his eyes and hands off of the man who would eternally be by his side. What startles him out of his trance is the sudden sound of stomping and a sudden burst of shouts echo through the courtyard as servants shout praises of "Long live the kings!" from the top of their lungs.

Right. He was the king now. The title was no longer just something to be said before his name, he was now the most powerful person in South Korea.

Well, tied with the person who stood next to him.

Hand locked with one of Seokjin's, Namjoon turns to face the crowd, reporters attentive with their notepads, photographer snapping away. The first thing he notices is the lack of a certain face in the crowd and feels his chest tighten at the thought of his little sister being there smiling and cheering along with the rest.

But she wasn't.

Geongmin's funeral hadn't been broadcasted. Namjoon had refused to allow them to broadcast such a personal event to people who didn't even know her, people who only 'liked' her for her title. Even the royal family needed some privacy. Their lives shouldn't be entertainment to others because of their status.

In a sense though, it fueled Namjoon, reminded him of what he needed to do and why. Encouraged him to go through with his carefully thought out plan.

As the crowd continues to chant, Namjoon takes a few steps back, Jin in hand following his footsteps till they're inside the throne room. Completely alone. The cheers from the courtyard still strong.

They'd have a few minutes alone. It was so the courtyard could get cleared for the wedding reception. Namjoon glances around the throne room, shivers erupting through his body as he recalls the last time he was there.

"Who do I have to fight so you can smile on your wedding day, Namjoon?" Seokjin asks with a sudden huff of breath before Namjoon feels the elder's hands come up and pinch his cheeks.

"Sorry," he states, though it comes out muffled from the way Seokjin is now rubbing his cheeks. "I'm nervous."

Amused, Seokjin raises a brow, lowers his hands. "Hyung's here," he confidently states, patting Namjoon on the back, "don't be afraid."

Namjoon smiles, pearly whites exposed and a small 'ha' leaving his lips. "Ah," he whispers, "you're so cute, Hyung."

Seokjin suddenly pouts, brows pressed together. "Wasn't going for cute," he mumbles. Namjoon continues smiling.

The doors open and the court officials walk in. Namjoon's smile disappears. Seokjin wrinkles his nose in disgust as the politicians stop before them, congratulating them on their marriage and their coronation. His eyes fall on Namjoon, who's jaw tightens as one of the advisers bring up his accession edict and how he should stick to the script that they had given him.

"Just remember, no answering questions. Just promise the basic. Provisions for the needy, affordable education an—"

A yawn escapes Seokjin lips, he takes this opportunity to make it louder, exaggerating it to catch the attention of the officials who were blatantly ignoring him. It works. He has their attention. "Oh, sorry," he says, no hint of shame clear in his voice. "I suddenly got bored with all the dead skin cells coming out of your mouth."

The politicians are all gaping at him. Seokjin's heart is pounding against his chest, but he doesn't stop. "Wait," he says suddenly, then sniffs the air. "You smell that, Namjoon? I think some hypocrites are stinking up the room." He starts snapping his fingers. "All of you, out, out."

One of them opens their mouth to protest, but Seokjin turns to face him and the guy's eyes flicker up to the crown on Seokjin's head. Jin grins at him, daring him to open his mouth.

Hesitant but suddenly aware of their place, the officials slowly leave out the door. Once the door closes behind them, Seokjin lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Wow that was intense," he gasps out, leaning against the door frame. "I really had no idea if that would work or not." He laughs, it's a bit faint. Namjoon is just staring at him, expressionless.

"What?" Jin asks, seeming defensive. "They were trying to walk all over you. I wasn't going to let that happen. The bastards," he mutters, "who the hell do they think they are? I've watched enough kdramas to know that most of them are probably out to get us."

Joon's eyes land on the older's shoulders. "Hyung, you're shaking."

"Yeah? Well, it was a bit nervewracking," he admits, catching his breath. His eyes look up to Joons. "Someone has to protect you though. Consider me your emotional k-pop boy or something. I'm handsome enough to be one, after all."

A brow raises on Namjoon's forehead, amused. "Emotional k-pop boy?"

Jin doesn't bother explaining. "Yup. Just look it up on Naver or something later on," he waves off.

Namjoon laughs and walks over, arm wrapping around Seokjin's shoulder and pulling him into a side hug. It's strange. They've been married for a few minutes now and a simple touch is enough to cause Seokjin's stomach to flip. Not to be possessive but Namjoon was really his and each passing second was making it harder for Seokjin to believe it.

Outside the throne room, the chants grow louder. This time the chants had shifted, going from "Long live the kings!" to "Kim Namjoon! Kim Seokjin!" Seokjin feels Namjoon's grip on his shoulder tighten.

"I can't do this," Namjoon suddenly says, turning around to look at Jin, body shaking and eyes shaking. What if the people rioted? What if they started a revolution? Namjoon had read one too many history books in his lifetime and doesn't want any of it for his family. "I can't," he swallows. He's not strong enough, not strong enough to govern over a country, much less strong enough to change it.

Seokjin gives him a sympathetic look while Namjoon's eyes just plead him. To the world, they saw a strong potential leader. They've never questioned if Namjoon was fit for this role, they just assumed that it was in his blood. Namjoon was so young.

"Then I'll do it," he replies, taking Namjoon by the hand. "I'll do it for you."

Namjoon bites his lip. Hesitant. "You shouldn't."

"Someone has to," the elder points out.

"But not you. I'm—"

"The king. I know," Seokjin interrupts. He suddenly grins, it's mischevious. "But you forget, so am I."

He steps forward, quickly grabs Namjoon by the collar of his shirt and pulls him down to meet his lips with his. Namjoon lets out a tiny squeak before Seokjin pulls away, still grinning.

"Hyung," Namjoon whines, cheeks pink as he moves to hide his face behind his hands. Seokjin laughs triumphantly.

"Just needed to recharge my batteries a bit," he says casually as he stretched his arms out, grunting as his bones cracked, and then shook it off. As soon as he's done, he turns, cracking the sides of his neck then focusing his gaze on the doors.

"Open them," he orders. And the doors creak, slowly opening. Namjoon is by his side in the next second and holding his hand, gripping it tightly. From where they stand Seokjin can hear the chants ringing in his ears. It'd be a lie to say that he wasn't nervous. To stand in front of a group of strangers and smile.

"I'm sorry," Namjoon says in a low voice, but loud enough for Seokjin to hear him. "You've married a man with many burdens."

"I'm not doing anything that I don't want to do," Jin replies cooly, thumb rubbing slowly across the back of Namjoon's hand. They were both stronger now. The events leading to today had been molding slowly. "It's not like you'll carry those on your own anymore," he says. "I'm here now."

Lowering his head to no doubt hide himself from blushing, maybe even hiding a few tears, Namjoon laughs. Maybe laughs so that he doesn't cry. Seokjin turns back to face the crowd, doors now wide open. They start walking, taking long strides down the stairs, never once letting go of the other as they head towards the large podium waiting for them for their accession edict.

If anyone told Seokjin that this is where he would be after being taken from his home, almost dying several times, being close to losing his friends on multiple occasions and being threatened multiple times, he wouldn't ever believe it. Especially not if you told him that the whole thing would spark a journey of self-discovery and self-love that he hadn't known he could go through.

And it would be a lie to say that he wasn't scared in this moment. Life wasn't magically going to be easier just because they were together now. And not with what they had planned. Not with the things they wanted to do together. Both knew their plan today was dangerous but it was time.

"Hey, Hyung?" he hears. Seokjin looks up to his side. Namjoon is staring at him with sweet eyes, smiling, a small pink tint to those cheeks of his, dimples exposed. "I love you."

Three words powerful enough to make Jin's heart flutter, to make him happy. Yeah. This is what he wanted, no matter how scary it all seemed.

He plays it cool. "I know," he winks. "I do too."

"Your Majesties?" Seokjin glances up, sees Soobin making room for them so that they may approach the podium.

"Hi," Namjoon says into the mic and the crowd goes wild. No doubt that all of South Korea was watching at this moment from their televisions, phones or laptops. Maybe this whole things was being broadcasted even further than that. "My name is Kim Namjoon," he continues before starting his edict.

Seokjin drifts off from Namjoon's speech. With the ability to silence the screams of a whole nation by just speaking, it was hard to believe that Namjoon wasn't a leader. Maybe he was, just needed to trust himself a bit more. Just like Seokjin trusted him.

"Jin-hyung," he hears Namjoon call him, snapping him out of his daze. His husband is giving him a nervous look, then steps to stand next to him. "Your turn," he whispers. Jin nods, swallows, approaches the stand.

Mic in front of him, Seokjin recalls how maybe all of his acting classes had been unknowing preparing him for something like this. He sucks in a breath.

"South Korea!" he shouts into the mic and the people scream in return. Seokjin laughs, catches a glimpse of some officials facepalming themselves to the left of him. See if he cares. He was bent on making their lives miserable anyway. "I'm King Seokjin," he winks and the crowd erupts again, some in laughter, others swooning and others just busting their lungs out cheering. Jin feels the tip of his ears burn as he hears Namjoon chuckle behind him.

Among the crowd there are faces of strangers. Some hold up signs, Seokjin recognizes the colors, knew what they represented. After noticing the writing in large bold letters among the colors, Jin's eyes keep flickering to that particular sign in the crowd. Mostly because of the words it carried.

The King Likes Men.

Seokjin smiles as he speaks, trying hard not to chuckle into the mic. The King likes men? he thinks to himself. Nah. And turns back to deliver his edict, one thought entering his mind as he begins his speech.

The King likes me.