Archive of Our Own

If Yunho’s being completely honest with himself, he’s absolutely terrified. 

The last time that he was apart from the others for this long in a foreign country was when they were fleeing from the west several years ago. That, and he’s technically going to be on his own and away from the others for at least a month. Although he knows that they’re all just one phone call or text away, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt to feel the lack of their physical presence. 

Damn.

Maybe he really does have attachment issues.

Or, as Wooyoung and Yeonjun like to point out, puppy syndrome.

Fuck them.

It’s not just the nerves of being alone in a foreign country either. He has an incredible weight on his shoulders that his family has trusted him with, and he can’t afford to let them down. He knows that they chose him because they collectively decided that out of him, Wooyoung and Yeonjun, Yunho would be the least likely to crack or freak out beneath pressure. He was also the least likely to get physically aggressive if antagonized.

It’s familiar, the weight of a mission hanging over his head, but he’s very aware that he can’t afford to let anything slip, lest he fuck it up for everyone else. He sort of misses hearing Wooyoung’s sarcastic quips, Yeonjun’s nonsensical rambling, Changbin’s cackling and Yeosang’s quiet presence. He wonders how Hongjoong is dealing with them. Probably what he always does – lets them have their fun before he reels them in before they get out of hand.

He’s only been on the northern kingdom’s castle grounds for the past few hours, but he’s quickly realizing that the castle is massive. It’s much bigger than the southern kingdom’s castle or their grounds, with intricate designs, multiple gardens and courtyards, and beautiful fountains. Yunho’s already gotten lost several times already.

To make matters even worse, his tour group also gets lost in the castle, unable to keep up with the two soldiers who were leading them through, no thanks to the front of the group stalling to look at the interior design of the castle, or hoping to catch glimpses of the princes. Then, a good chunk of the others were stupid enough to try to split up and find their guides afterwards.

Yunho, along with three others decided to just remain standing there awkwardly in the center of the hallway in silence, in hopes someone would come back to find them. He doesn’t know any of their names. They were instructed to keep that information private – and instead they have numbers printed onto the back of their uniforms. 0141 is a young girl, perhaps a couple years younger than Yunho with her long dark hair twisted up into a high ponytail, tucked neatly beneath a cap and 0375 is another girl who seems even younger, with her brown hair tucked into a low-lying bun with a bangs hanging in her eyes. 1966 is a young man, possibly the same age as Yunho, broad-shouldered with short blond hair. Yunho’s own number is 0272.

Yunho’s practically vibrating with uneasiness, hands shaking even though he’s shoved them into his pockets, nerves all over the place. He’s even started running through different lines of dialogue in his head, mouthing the words to himself, chin tucked to his chest, mumbling beneath his breath. He knows that the dialect up in the north is different, and he’s only just become good enough at speaking Korean without his Russian accent bleeding through.

His head snaps up when the younger prince, Choi Jongho, rounds the corner, Park Seonghwa right behind. He halts to stare at the four soldier candidates. Yunho immediately bows, and the other three follow.

“We lost our tour group.” 0141 says, tone polite. “The others have scattered, but we thought that maybe just standing here would be effective, because the guides would come back.”

Jongho is handsome – even more so in person. He’s not short by any means – but to Yunho, at his towering height, he’s a little short. He’s got a little bit of baby fat left on his cheeks, but his eyes are sharp, with dark hair swept out of his eyes, and broad shouldered with packed muscles prominent even beneath his clothes. Park Seonghwa is just a little taller than the prince, just as handsome with striking features, and the impassive, nearly soul-searching expression on his face has Yunho shifting almost uneasily. 

“I’ll take you back to the main groups outside.” Jongho tells them, voice somehow sharp and melodious at the same time. “Hyung, can you go see if you can find the others?” Seonghwa simply dips his head and disappears down the hall, and Jongho ushers Yunho and the other three throughout the castle. “I’m assuming you’re all here in hopes of becoming a kingdom soldier?”

“Yes, that would be right, Your Highness.” Yunho says easily. The other three mimic. Jongho hums, leading them back outside and into a bustling courtyard.

“Good luck.” Jongho tells them, before he disappears into the castle.

“He was handsome.” 1966 comments. 

The four of them stick close as they venture back into the crowd. It’s overwhelming, if Yunho’s being completely honest. The other candidates to become kingdom soldiers are milling about, murmuring to each other, and there’s the occasional scream as someone recognizes another person. He’s not certain how long they stay close together when there’s the sound of a whistle.

They all look up, gazes snapping to the front of the crowd of candidates where Song Mingi and Park Seonghwa are standing, tall and intimidating on a platform to oversee the crowd of hopeful people before them.

“Welcome.” Mingi starts, his low baritone ringing out throughout the courtyard. 

Yunho’s impressed – he has no idea how Mingi’s managed to project his voice this far without a microphone. Then, Mingi’s telling them all that they have a lot of work cut out ahead of them in the next few days, and that more than eighty percent of them would most likely be returning home after the end of today. They’re the second batch to come in – the first group had over eight thousand candidates and only two hundred and something remained.

That gets a bunch of concerned murmurs out of the crowd, and Yunho shifts on his feet.

“More than eighty percent ?” 0375 whispers in horror. “There’s more than a few thousand of us.”

“It’s tough competition.” 0141 replies, expression grave. “This doesn’t happen very often, and the amount of applications that the kingdom receives each time is insane. We’ve got hope and a dream.”

Yunho’s confident in his own abilities, and he knows that they should be able to at least get him into the lowest ranks.

“We’ve got this.” Yunho tells them.

Even from this far back in the crowd, Yunho can tell that both Mingi and Seonghwa have years of hard work and physical labor and activity etched into their bodies – he can see it in their every movement. Like before, Seonghwa has a rather impassive expression on his face, but Mingi has a cap that lays low on his head, the brim covering most of his face. Mingi explains that neither he or Seonghwa will be actively supervising the events, but that the other royal guards and higher ranking soldiers will be.

Seonghwa easily takes over, and he’s firing out commands at such a rapid pace that it takes Yunho a couple seconds for the words to register. It seems like it’s the same for most others, because there’s a pause before there’s an explosion of movement. They’re being split up into three different groups, and those with the numbers one through three would be heading to the military training courses first, the numbers four through six would be heading to the eastern courtyard where multiple workout stations were set up, and the numbers seven through nine would be sparring.

Reading numbers is something that Yunho can do.

But that also means their little group of four is being split in two. 

0141 gives her friend an anxious look, and 0375 reaches out, squeezing her hands, promising that they’ll see each other again. Yunho hopes that it’s true. It takes a little bit for everyone to group up, and Yunho doesn’t mind the way 0141 sticks close to him, since his tall frame makes it pretty easy to push through the crowd to get to the right location.

When they arrive, the soldiers there are already splitting them up into groups of four. In Yunho’s group, there are just over six hundred candidates. Yunho has no idea how the fuck the northern kingdom has this much space for this many people. Two of the groups would start with the races, starting at different points. Everyone gets a little bracelet that they attach to their wrists – when they pass the finish line, it’ll automatically log their time and their ID. It also checks to make sure the candidates actually complete each obstacle and not skirt around them. The other two groups would start with the military training courses.

Yunho gets thrown into the first group.

Everyone’s chattering, low and nervous, as they stretch and warm up.

“This is insane. I didn’t think that it would be this difficult.”

“Did they say that more than eighty percent of us would be going home after tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“There’s no way we can do this.”

“Kingdom soldiers have to be in the best condition.” Yunho comments, stretching his arms above his head and rolling his neck. He hasn’t had to properly stretch – other than for dancing – for a few years, so he’s following what the rest of them are doing whilst still incorporating his own dance stretches. He gets a few weird looks.

“I mena, you’re right, but I thought that the training was supposed to happen after you became a soldier.” One of the girls – 2733 – frowns.

“Well, they have to make sure that you’re in shape to do the actual training.” Yunho shrugs. The others shoot him unimpressed and annoyed glares, but Yunho’s pretty much impervious to all of them. The southern soldiers had helped him build up immunity. He wonders what Wooyoung or Yeonjun would do in his position.

Probably nothing good. His brain provides.

Before anyone can say anything else, a whistle blows. Yunho straightens to see the royal guards ushering his group towards what looks almost like a Spartan race type set up. Yunho had seen markers around the courtyards before, and now he realizes they probably marked the trail they had to take. He’s pretty sure he also saw some heading out of the castle gates and through the woods.

“Line up!” A voice rings out. Yunho and 0141 look around before they spot a royal guard – Jisoo, if he remembers correctly – standing on a bench to be seen. “This is a Spartan race. If you know what it is, fantastic. It’s eight and a half kilometers long. If you don’t know what a Spartan race is, you shouldn’t be here. There are over six hundred of you here right now in this group alone. If you complete the race within two hours, you move on. The rest of you can go home.”

Holy shit.

There’s no mercy.

Yunho can run right kilometers in just under forty minutes, and he’s suddenly very glad that he's been dragged to the gym by Changbin and Yeosang for the past several months – though he has no idea if anything would be transferable in this situation. He’s naturally athletic, he knows that. Wooyoung might be better at this than he is. But whatever it is, Yunho knows that he has to make it. 

Barely anyone can say anything before Jisoo is firing a blank in the air, and Yunho is laser focused. He’s done plenty of things like this before, though less intense. It more so consisted of Hongjoong telling them to run laps through the woods or abandoned villages and towns. The first task seems to be an entire lap around the castle walls – most likely to split up the candidates so the obstacles themselves aren’t too busy or mobbed with people trying to get over or through them. 

Yunho starts off at a relatively average-paced jog, the speed that he was initially traveling – perhaps a bit faster now – when he was running from the west. He doesn’t want to expend his energy all the very start. There are a decent chunk of people who took off like a shot, and Yunho hopes that they either know what they’re doing, they’re athletic, or they’re just stupid.

He overtakes a decent chunk of people, long legs and large strides working in his favor, and then he spots the first obstacle. There’s some hurdles, followed by multiple low lying or waist height wires and ropes that people have to duck and crawl beneath. Some try to jump over them. Some are successful while others eat shit and fall on their face. The same thing happens again a few hundred meters later, and Yunho can easily tell who’s out of their depth already. He can spot a decent chunk of people ahead of him, but he also passes by at least twenty others on his way to the next obstacle.

The next obstacle happens to be walls that are about a meter and a half tall that have been put up, and Yunho easily leaps over the first couple like a hurdle. There’s about five other walls that Yunho can see, spread out in small segments. Those he passes over with a single arm – he’s jumped way too many walls and fences before to not pass by with ease, but he notices that some of the shorter people are starting to struggle.

The next walls are even taller – at least two meters tall – and Yunho takes a flying leap to pull himself up and over the top. They’re finally starting to leave the castle grounds, and there’s a massive triangular ladder that he has to scale, followed by twisting bars with handles, hanging over a pool of water. Fantastic.

Yunho makes a poor attempt at wiping off his sweaty palms on his uniform and takes a leap, hands gripping at the handles, gritting his jaw as he feels them slipping. He hears a shriek as someone slips and falls in the pool with a splash, and though it probably feels refreshing, Yunho isn’t really keen on running the rest of the race with sopping wet clothes. 

It’s a good thing he doesn’t fall, because the next obstacle is a series of slanted walls, with holes and several chains with grips at the ends of them hanging in increments. People are struggling with maintaining their balance, and it’s more difficult than Yunho initially expected it to be. He can feel the adrenaline rushing through his body, and it’s a good rush. He knows that he’s going to be hella sore later in the night, though.

The next obstacle is another set of bars, the first one at Yunho’s chest height, though they curve inwards. He spots a couple of candidates helping to boost up the shorter ones and Yunho grabs for the ones on the edge, jaw gritting as he hauls himself up, ever so thankful for Changbin’s insistence on working on core and upper body strength. 

There are several more obstacles in between long periods of running: climbing up a tall box with just a thin rope that burns Yunho’s hands, crawling beneath barbed wire, climbing over more walls, crawling through mud, running up slip walls and inclined walls, log jumps, multiple climbing obstacles that require a lot of twisting, turning and ducking, rope swings, carrying heavy objects, throwing heavy objects, dragging heavy objects, rope climbing, balancing on a teetering platform over a pool of water – muddied from people falling in – and several under and over obstacles. There are even some obstacles that include spear throwing – which Yunho fucking excels at, thank you very much – and archery.

Yunho doesn’t even realize he’s finished, until the bracelet around his wrist buzzes as he easily clambers up another incline wall, chest heaving. He blinks, staring at the bracelet, before the soldier next to him nods at him.

“You did a great job, kid. Top three.” He pats Yunho on the back, and gestures to the staircase that leads back to the ground. Yunho grunts out a brief thanks before he trudges down the stairs, his muscles starting to cramp up now that he’s not actively moving anymore. He immediately starts stretching again, hoping to mitigate as much damage control as he can.

There’s quite literally only one other candidate who’s laying splayed out on the ground in the shade beneath a tree. Yunho hadn’t realized he passed so many people. He looks up when Yunho curses when he wipes his face and smears mud across his cheek.

“Hey, 0272.” Yunho looks up. The other man, 0171, gestures to a big bucket of iced water. 

“Oh. Thanks.” Yunho trudges over, thanks the soldiers and grabs a couple bottles. As he’s doing that, he hears a few more victorious whoops and looks over to see a couple more people reaching the top of the last obstacle, and pads over to 0171. “Congrats on first, by the way.” Yunho offers him a fist bump.

“Thanks.” He beams in response, before flopping back on the ground. “Man, I’m going to be so sore tomorrow.”

“Same.” Yunho admits.

“You think they’ll expect us to do everything else today, too?” 0171 asks, squinting at the sky.

“I hope not.” Yunho sighs, cracking the bottle open and taking a long swig.

Thankfully, Yunho and the others who made it past the Spartan race, don’t have to do anything for the rest of the night, during the next morning or afternoon. It’s apparently a system that the northern kingdom has, and flushes out the “weaker” ones with ease. There’s a little over two hundred of them who made it in the time that Jisoo had allotted them, and they’ve already split up into small groups to stick with as they recover and rest from the race. To his relief, 0141 made it, though just barely, and the two of them, along with 0171 and a few others have formed a small group themselves.

They’re going to have to go to the military training courses later in the night to make up for time lost, and then the next few days would be spent being scrutinized, judged and analyzed at the last few stations. Yunho was honestly the most excited about the sparring.

He’d already texted the group chat, having snuck out to explore the castle layout – even though he had already gotten lost multiple times – and had accidentally overheard a handful of conversations, but at the very least, they were helpful to his cause. He catches glimpses of San and Jongho on occasion, and they truly are both really handsome, and he’s pretty sure Wooyoung would spend most of his time just staring at San if he could. 

The emotion tests that they’d all read about before arriving were strange in concept, but terrifying in reality. Yunho really couldn’t tell what any of the royal guards were thinking. The dialect was difficult to follow at times, but he was doing pretty well. He hopes that the others can’t hear his own accent.

He sees Mingi and Seonghwa more often, and each time that he sees the former, he feels like his breath is being stolen away. Sure, Seonghwa is also attractive, but there’s something about the way that Mingi holds himself, the aura that he radiates, and it terrifies and excites Yunho at the same time. 

The rest of the initiation is quite frankly, brutal.

The military training courses were nothing compared to the race, but everything else was a little overwhelming – getting yelled at, being instructed to do several things at once, being challenged and pushed around, and yeah, Yunho can see why he was the one chosen to come here. Wooyoung and Yeonjun probably would’ve punched someone in the face by now. He’s pretty sure Hongjoon would’ve lost his temper by now too.

He gets irrationally upset when 0141 comes up to him with timid steps and lowered eyes, telling him that she was eliminated because she wasn’t able to keep up with the others in her group – because she’d rolled her ankle near the end of the race a few days ago and hadn’t had enough time to let it heal. She cries into his shoulder, and Yunho can only awkwardly pat her on the back before they hear the announcement that those eliminated need to leave.

“Best of luck.” 0141 tells him, eyes still red, lower lip wobbling.

“Thank you.” Yunho whispers. “I’m sorry.” She smiles at him, a little sadly, and disappears.

Nearly a week and a half has passed since Yunho had arrived within the mob of hopeful candidates, and now he’s in the group of two hundred and twenty three remaining candidates who are now starting their official training. He’s just managed to sneak away from the group to try to do a bit more snooping when he – unsurprisingly – gets lost.

He’s pretty sure he’s in one of the main foyers, but of which wing, he has no idea. His sense of direction isn’t the best. He’s just about to turn around and try to retrace his steps and hope to everything above that he doesn’t get lost when he hears someone call out to him.

“Hey.”

Yunho freezes, gaze sweeping from side to side, and when he sees no one, glances up and spots two people watching him. Yunho can’t really tell who they are – he forgot to put his contacts in earlier after being woken up by the blare of an alarm at the butt fuck crack of dawn, so they’re just vaguely blurry figures.

“Do…” The young man pauses, tilting his head at Yunho. “What are you doing?”

Well shit.

Pull yourself together, Yunho.

Hongjoong said you were the most level headed of the other three. Which, I guess doesn’t say much but– oh shit he’s waiting for an answer.

“Uh…” Yunho starts. “I… got lost? Looking for the bathroom I mean.”

Great job, you fucking idiot.

“Are you a newer guard?” Yunho shuffles on his feet, nodding. “You should probably make your way back to the group, or at least have another trained soldier accompany you so you’re not wandering the castle grounds alone.” Yunho shrugs helplessly. “Mingi, can you help him try to find the rest of the group?”

Wait.

Fuck.

Shit.

Mingi?

So that’s–

“Your Highness–” Mingi starts.

“Ah- It’s alright, I promise.” Yunho squeaks out, dipping down low in a quick bow, flustered. Great, he looks like an idiot. “I apologize for taking up your time, Your Highness. I can find my way back to the group.” Yunho babbles, turning on his heel and pushing through the double doors before he can embarrass himself further.

If the others found out about this, they’d have a field day.

The day that the king’s two closest advisors die is chaotic. Yunho’s swept up in a whirlwind of different tasks and commands, and pretty much everything he’s doing is making sure that the castle is kept safe and the royal family is alive. He hasn’t had time to text the others either, but he knows something really fucking weird is going on.

Yunho remembers being told that they were going to need to up the number of patrols in the city by Kaijin, but he definitely doesn’t remember being told to do that because of a sudden increase in illegal weapons. The king had come down to their quarters, and though Kaijin was in his office, everyone could hear the king’s booming reprimands. Of course, this prompted Yunho to do his own digging in the minimal free time he had. 

It was only when he spotted his family and the northern royalty walking through the castle that he remembered he could probably sneak some time into texting them some updates.

He also discovers that life as a soldier is busy.

It sucks.

The welcoming ball is busy and bustling, and Yunho’s not sure how many times he’s had to tell people he doesn’t know where the bathrooms are – he just makes vague hand gestures or tells them that he’s still getting used to the castle layout, and that asking another soldier might be a good idea. He catches glimpses of San and Jongho, and it’s almost horrifyingly impressive to see the way that they interact with guests, the way their initially open expressions shutter close to something colder. A few soldiers have already shared some stories about San and Jongho, as well as Mingi and Seonghwa, and their abilities to mask and conceal their emotions and tells.

At the very least, Yunho found a tiny bit of time to go say hi to Wooyoung, Yeonjun and Changbin before he had to return to his post.

It seems that watching the royal guards training is a favorite pastime of soldiers. Yunho realizes this as he’s put on a patrol with more senior soldiers, and they all linger when they notice that the royal guards are training in the courtyard. Yunho watches too, as Seonghwa and Mingi are sparring, hand to hand and matching blow for blow. Seonghwa’s quicker, but Mingi’s defenses seem impenetrable. It doesn’t take much longer before Mingi has Seonghwa on the ground.

“How long have they been royal guards?” Yunho finds himself asking.

“Who?” The patrol leader, Jackson, if Yunho remembers correctly, turns to Yunho.

“How long have Mingi-nim and Seonghwa-nim been training as royal guards?” Yunho repeats.

“Give or take ten years?” Jackson tilts his head. “They’ve been the princes’ royal guards for the past nine years, and they only had official royal guard training for about a year before they took on the responsibility.”

“Wow.” Yunho hums, watching as Mingi hauls Seonghwa to his feet.

The patrol continues.

It doesn’t take Yunho too long to pick up on the weirdness of his suddenly new schedule. That, and a few muttered words and exchanges around not-so-private corners helps the pieces fall into place. Yunho knows that Silverthorn and Zuha have an alliance, but he hadn’t expected Zuha to somehow manage to infiltrate and convince the head of the northern kingdom’s soldiers to turn against his king. 

Something about it isn’t surprising, though.

Apparently, his “excellent” performance during the initiation was enough to catch Kaijin’s eye, and the older man had pulled Yunho aside and asked if he was interested in helping him and… others in a special mission. Yunho had left his answer vague, acted a little stupid, and Kaijin spilled some details – how the western kingdom is superior, how they are running their kingdom right, some sort of bullshit like that. He asks to check the official schedule of patrolling, under the guise that he was given a false one, and Kaijin believes him, because he lets Yunho see the entire thing.

There’s a strangely unsettling amount of empty slots and spaces, but Yunho easily pretends that he doesn’t see it, and catalogs that information for later. He also knows now that Silverthorn is planning another attack, and that San is their next target. He makes a mental note to keep an eye out for more suspicious activity later on.

His text to the others, unfortunately, comes a little too late.

He’s patrolling with a few others when they hear gunshots and blasters. His heart drops to his feet and their patrol is immediately sprinting down the hall to the source of the noise. San, Mingi and Jungwon are all there, in the middle of the hall, fighting off a group of bandits. They’re holding their own well – it looks like Mingi’s dispatched three of them and is working on the fourth, Jungwon’s locked in a battle with another, and San just knocking off a bandit off of him.

“Don’t shoot!” The patrol leader barks. “We don’t want to risk any unwanted injuries.”

Yunho can only stand there helplessly as he watches the three royalty fight, and relief floods through his body when the last man falls. Immediately the patrol is moving forward, sweeping the halls for any other bandits, calling for backup to check everywhere else as well as picking up and figuring out how to dispose of the dead bodies.

One of the soldiers immediately breaks away and runs over to Jungwon, and Yunho watches as Mingi draws San in for a tight hug. There’s screaming – Yunho watches as the king, queen, Jongho and his royal guards run to check in on San and Mingi. There’s so much chaos, and suddenly Mingi’s voice is booming in the hall, demanding everyone to move back and give San space.

Yunho busies himself with sweeping through the nearby hallways, hand on his gun and muscles tense, ready to fight if he needs to. He finds nothing out of the ordinary and returns, awkward, uncertain of what he needs to do. He doesn’t have to dwell on it for much longer, because someone’s yelling at him.

“You over there! Puppy face!”

Eh?

“Me?” Yunho balks, recognizing that it’s San who’s calling him over. Puppy face? Does he really look like a lost puppy? “Can I help you with anything, Your Highness?” San simply tilts his head in Mingi’s direction.

Mingi, who is currently shirtless, with blood smeared all over his abdomen.

“Oh.” Yunho short-circuits. “I- I’ll go get some medical help right away.” Yunho bolts before he can make an even bigger fool of himself. He has no idea where to go, and he somehow manages to find the infirmary. He nearly gets run over by Jongho.

“What’re you doing?” Jongho asks, voice sharp.

“H-his Highness Prince San sent me to go get a medic.” Yunho says.

“He’s coming right now. Follow me.” Jongho doesn’t give Yunho an option to refuse, hand clamping around Yunho’s wrist to drag him back.

San’s shirt has been torn open in the time that Yunho’s been gone, and he can spot a nasty looking wound on his hip. He can also tell that Wooyoung is trying very hard not to stare – and maybe it’s a good thing that both Mingi and San aren’t in the right state of mind to notice, because he’s also having difficulties keeping his gaze respectful.

Yunho has no idea how he ends up next to Mingi, but he’s trying not to flinch or grimace by the way Mingi’s nails are digging into his forearm as his wounds are cleaned and stitched up. Mingi’s swearing constantly beneath his breath, and Yunho does his best to stare at a nondescript spot on the wall to distract himself. Then San’s looking over at him with the sweetest, apologetic smile.

“Sorry about him. You didn’t really sign up for this.”

I might.

“Oh… er, don’t worry about it.” Yunho offers, eyes flickering from Mingi before they dart to the floor again. He shouldn’t look. Eventually, Mingi lets go of his arm, huffing out a low apology, the baritone ringing in Yunho’s ears and traveling in a shiver down his spine. He awkwardly fixes his sleeve. He can tell Hongjoong is watching him with amusement.

Yunho takes the escape San provides him with eagerly.

Yunho has no idea how he ended up in this situation. Mingi’s arm is slung over his shoulder, Yunho’s hand tentatively resting on Mingi’s hip as he helps the royal guard stagger down the hallway. Mingi grunts, frustrated, muttering curses beneath his breath when he trips.

“Take it easy.” Yunho frowns. “The poison’s not going to be flushed out of your system in one day.”

“It’d be better if it was.” Mingi replies, arm shifting over Yunho’s shoulders. Yunho’s pretty sure his ears are beet red. He can feel the heat radiating off of Mingi’s body, too. His torso is wrapped up in bandages, and he’s forgone a shirt, and he smells like sandalwood and vanilla. 

He’s really handsome.

Yunho tries not to think about that as he helps Mingi trying to regain his strength after a frankly brutal attack. Mingi sometimes mentions how he doesn’t want to worry San, and Yunho, a little awkward and out of his depth, uncertain if Mingi should be talking about something like that with him, simply tells him that as long as Mingi is safe, San wouldn’t worry.

He learns in the few days that Mingi basically holds him captive that he’s got a dry sense of humor that’s sometimes quite morbid, that he has a sharp tongue and he doesn’t hesitate to meet San’s sarcastic quips or barbs with twice the heat. Mingi seems to like Yunho as a soldier, at the very least. But he also seems laser focused on protecting San, which Yunho doesn’t blame him for. He’s worried when San comes in to check in on a sleeping Mingi, dark circles beneath his eyes and offering Yunho a tired smile and letting him know he can go back to his usual duties.

Yunho also snoops around and discovers that there’s a rather large number of traitors within their ranks, some of them new. He wonders if 0141 was one of them. He finds some reports – primarily of the bandits showing up dead, or mysterious figures lurking at night, and he knows the people behind it have to be Wooyoung and the others. A few short text messages later confirms it.

The chaos that ensues after people find out that Advisor Kim, Advisor Min and Kaijin are traitors makes Yunho think about the time they got caught trying to assassinate Zuha. He and another soldier were yelled at by Jungwon and Felix to follow them moments after Kaijin had sprinted past them and Yunho followed without hesitation.

He was the one to catch up with Kaijin first, tackling him to the ground, and reveled in the look of shock on his face when Kaijin recognized him. Kaijin had tried to swipe at Yunho with a knife, but the former assassin easily caught his wrist, twisting it and forced him to drop it. Yunho kept him pinned with Felix’s help as the other two stripped Kaijin from his weapons, ignoring the foul words that the older man was spitting at them.

Jungwon and Felix haul Kaijin to his feet, Yunho and the other soldier following behind them quietly as they return to the main courtyard. San, Jongho, Mingi and Seonghwa are all there, the former two holding a struggling and writhing Advisor Kim between them. Jungwon informs San about Kaijin, but the prince is peering at Yunho, head tilted.

“Oh, it’s you again. What’s your name?”

Oh fuck.

“Um. Juno.”

Good job! You unlocked level 1000 of stupidity!

Hongjoong was going to kill him.

San doesn’t seem to find anything wrong with it at the very least, and just gives them a few orders. When Kaijin spits at San in retaliation, San simply steps forward and with a quick few jabs and twists, Kaijin’s falling unconscious and Yunho almost feels his jaw drop open incredulously.

Holy shit.

Yunho follows Felix and Jungwon in a daze as they make their way back into the castle and up the stairs and down several hallways before they rap on the door. There’s a pause, before he hears the king’s voice telling them to come in. Jungwon and Felix exchange glances – nervous – and Yunho glances at the other soldier, who shrugs at him helplessly. They push into the lion’s den.

Everything is pretty much a blur, the king’s voice rising with incredulity, as Jungwon and Felix do their best to explain the situation at hand, and the king’s royal guards take Kaijin from Jungwon and Felix. Yunho thinks he might pass out. 

He’s dismissed, and he’s stumbling out of the room, the other soldier booking it down the hall in the opposite direction, and Yunho, stupidly, makes his way back outside. He halts when he spots San, Jongho and their royal guards, along with Advisor Kim, in a secluded corner of the main foyer. Advisor Kim’s voice is loud and hysterical.

He hears Kim talking about how the south – how his family – are hiding information from the north, and feels his stomach drop. This isn’t a good sign. Kim probably knows about Yunho and the others, of Zuha’s petty revenge plot, though he obviously doesn’t know them by face, else he would’ve outed Yunho by now. But nonetheless, the way Kim is speaking is starting to paint the south as the bad guys.

He has no idea what to feel. San and Jongho’s backs are to him, so he can’t see their expressions, but there’s something about their tone that has him terrified. Kim also confirms that there are traitors within their ranks, that they’ve been letting the bandits in through the castle walls, and Yunho knows that’s Kaijin’s doing.

Yunho doesn’t even realize the others have noticed him stalling before he hears Kim’s threat, and San’s overly sweet voice, before there are several pairs of eyes on him. Yunho blinks.

“How much did you hear?” San asks, and his tone is terrifying.

“Almost all of it.” Yunho says instantly.

“Please go back and report to my father. We will be there shortly.” San tells him, the innocent smile on his face startling in contrast. He still finds himself frozen to the floor, even as he watches Mingi knock Kim unconscious, and only springs into movement when San tilts his head at him.

Yunho scrambles back down the hall, trembling hands knocking on the door of the king’s office, and slips in when he’s granted entrance. He does his best to explain what Kim had just said without giving himself away, and it’s sort of hard to maintain eye contact and speak straight when the king is radiating such a menacing aura.

He’s relieved when San and Jongho arrive, and immediately bolts when he’s dismissed, heart in his throat, tripping over his own feet as he makes his way back to his dorm, tearing his phone out from the nightstand to text the others, hands trembling. 

Yunho stumbles across Mingi by chance. Or rather, Mingi finds him. It's the same day that Yunho had spotted Mingi and Seonghwa stalking out of the building where the guests were being housed, stormy expressions and waves of fury radiating off of them. Hongjoong had texted Yunho about an hour later, telling him that the two royal guards had burst into the room and told them off – Wooyoung and Yeosang primarily – to stay away from the northern princes. 

That wasn't a good sign.

There’s even more pressure on his shoulders now.

He’s wearing his normal uniform, and he’s exhausted, having just finished a very rigorous training session, cap pulled low on his head to cover his features, even though his ID is embroidered on his back. Yunho’s leaning against the banister of the balcony, staring up at the dark sky when he hears a door opening behind him. He doesn’t want to speak, uncertain of who it is, but his body tenses nonetheless.

“What are you doing out here?”

It’s Mingi.

His breath catches at first, Hongjoong’s text branded in the backs of his eyelids. Yunho feels his shoulders drop, but he can feel warmth crawling up the back of his neck and his ears. He doesn’t know how to respond. He hears Mingi huff out a breath, before the door opens further, and the clicking sound of boots against cement rings in Yunho’s ears. Mingi comes to stand next to him a few seconds later, about a meter of space between them.

“I needed some fresh air.” Yunho finally says. Mingi hums softly in response.

“I feel like you guys don’t get enough of that.” Mingi says, voice low. “You’re all being worked to the bone.”

“It’s alright.” Yunho says lightly, staring down at his fingers. “I know what I signed up for.”

I really didn’t, but that’s besides the point.

He can feel Mingi eyeing him, and wills himself to breathe normally. Now is not the time to have a bisexual – or gay – panic.

“I’d imagine that a lot more happened than you’d expected.” Mingi’s tone gives nothing away. Yunho’s eyes flicker over to him, but Mingi’s standing just like Yunho, gazing up at the sky, arms braced against the banister.

“A little.” Yunho admits.

“Juno, right?” Yunho blinks. It takes a few moments for his stupid slip up of a name to register in his head.

“Yes.” Yunho nods, shifting to rearrange his cap over his head, hoping the darkness and the cap is enough to hide the blush on his face. He hopes Mingi’s just staring at the sky.

“You don’t talk much, do you?”

Neither do you.

“I haven’t ever had a reason to.”

“Mm. Don’t you talk amongst your ranks?”

“Everyone’s too on edge.”

“I see.”

There’s a few moments of silence.

“0272.”

“Yes?”

“Nothing. I was curious to know if you’d respond to that.”

“That was the number I was given, sir.”

“Mingi’s just fine.”

“Alright.”

Yunho can tell that Mingi’s watching him curiously, eyes roving briefly over Yunho’s body. More heat rushes to his cheeks.

“You finished second in the race during initiation, right?”

“I placed second within my group, yes.”

“You were still second overall, which is impressive.” Mingi tells him, shifting to look back up at the sky. “Seonghwa placed fifteenth overall, and I placed seventeenth. I suppose we were much younger than you are now when we initially did the race.”

“Why are you telling me this, Mingi-nim?” Yunho asks, genuinely curious. He sees Mingi shrug out of the corner of his eye.

“Need to think of something else for a while.” Mingi replies. 

“Understandable.”

“Do you have any stories to tell?”

“Pardon?”

“Anything to share about yourself?”

“I… didn’t think we were allowed to.” Yunho admits. 

That, and there’s no way he can try to make up a coherent story on the fly, without risking Mingi asking him to repeat things and him forgetting. He can’t afford to fuck this all up when they’re so close. He knows Wooyoung and the others have caught onto some leads, thanks toYunho’s own digging around, but the sudden lack of contact with the princes had hit them hard.

Yunho’s their only hope, really.

“That’s up to you to share.” Mingi tells him. “Most soldiers see it as a point of weakness.” He shrugs. “I couldn’t give a flying fuck.”

“My life story isn’t very interesting.” Yunho tells him.

“Not everyone leads an exciting life. Modest lives are just as pleasant.” There’s a soft buzzing sound, and Mingi sighs. “San’s calling for me. It was nice chatting with you, even if it was for a little bit, Juno.”

“Thank you for indulging me.” Yunho bows politely.

“Of course. Get some rest soon. The roll call is soon.” Mingi fixes Yunho with a warning look before he steps back inside of the castle.

Over the next few days, Yunho runs into Mingi a lot more often than he’d expected. Mingi gives him a head nod each time, and Yunho returns it with a half-assed salute, startled that Mingi’s paying enough attention – and is taking the time – to greet him. It’s noticeable to the point that some of the southern soldiers Chan had sent up undercover have started making comments on their patrols. The other soldiers simply give Yunho side-eyes or the occasional jealous glare.

Sakura, in particular, finds it both amusing and adorable.

“You like him, don't you?” Sakura nudges Yunho cheekily with an elbow as Mingi brushes past them hurriedly with a soft greeting. He’s probably heading to one of his training sessions, if the skin-tight shirt and loose cargo pants was any indication. Yunho feels his cheeks heat up immediately.

“Shut up.” He mutters.

“Juno,” Sakura sing-songs, teasing. She pauses. “Isn't that too close to… y’know?”

“Yeah.” Yunho grunts, lengthening his strides so Sakura’s forced to catch up. He's already been chastised by Hongjoong for poor choice of cover name, but to be fair, he’s only been referred to as his ID number, so suddenly being asked what his name is when he’s never had the time to think of a good fake name threw him off guard. “Hongjoong’s already yelled at me for it.” Sakura hums.

“I can see why you're attracted to him. He’s your type.”

“Hey!” Yunho shouts, immediately shying back when he gets weird looks from some guests passing by. “What does that mean?” He hisses at Sakura.

“Opposites attract.” Sakura shrugs. “You're chipper, friendly, and slightly overbearing but in a puppy-dog way, and-”

“Why does everyone compare me to a puppy?” Yunho whines. Sakura pats him lightly on the back.

“Other than you just are, it's hard to explain.” Sakura tells him. Yunho huffs, features scrunching up. “Anyways, opposites attract. He's mysterious, stoic and a little intimidating, and I think you like that about him.”

“Maybe he's a very attractive individual and I happen to be very gay.”

“Aren't you bisexual?”

“Not the point.” Yunho grumbles, cheeks warm as he remembers the plethora of texts he'd sent to the group chat, raving about his undeniable attraction to one specific Song Mingi. They fall into a comfortable silence as they continue to patrol. About ten minutes have passed when they spot a familiar figure standing alone by the garden walls. Yunho blinks.

“Is he supposed to be alone?” Sakura hisses.

“No,” Yunho shakes his head. Sakura shifts uneasily.

“Should we?” Yunho’s already making his way over, and Sakura hurries after him.

San looks a little startled to see them, and Yunho takes a few brief moments to scan the crown prince. San looks exhausted, dark circles beneath his eyes, features a little pale, and he looks vaguely uncomfortable. He still straightens to greet Yunho and Sakura, asking for Sakura’s name, who gives it to San after a few moments of hesitation.

It’s a little surprising that San seems so friendly towards them, when Yunho’s only seen San act professionally distant and polite with other soldiers, and he wonders if all of his unintentional run-ins with San and Mingi have made him a familiar face. It’s a little embarrassing, but this could certainly be used to their advantage.

The following conversation they have makes Yunho feel a little depressed when he realizes how readily San’s accepted his fate – stupidly selfless, or perhaps just stupid – and he doesn’t realize how unfamiliar he is with speaking to royalty as if they weren’t family until San’s got him stumbling over his words. San seems to have that ability on multiple people, it seems. Maybe Yunho’s also a little distracted by how attractive San is as well, but that’s not the point.

When San asks for their assistance on a particular matter, Yunho and Sakura exchange glances, already aware of what the possibilities could be. Yunho’s surprised that it’s about Wooyoung, rather than the current events happening. Everything that San says makes sense – Yunho can’t even try to imagine what it’s like to keep his emotions under lock and key.

He’s always worn his heart on his sleeve, which might explain why the others are so fiercely protective of him. Perhaps that’s where the ‘puppy syndrome’ comes in too – Yunho knows that he will gravitate towards those who give him attention without realizing it. It’s difficult to try to talk to San about this and make an effort to help him through his thoughts without giving themselves away, or letting anything slip. Yunho lets Sakura do most of the talking – since she knows less about this mission than he does – and simply just follows her lead.

The switch that San has from somber to suddenly cheery gives Yunho a bit of whiplash, but he and Sakura still indulge San anyways when he requests them to take a walk. San asks them to tell him about what it’s like to be a soldier, and both the southerners tell him that it’s not too exciting, but San insists anyways.

So they share little stories and the drama that happens in their dorms and within their ranks.

As they’re approaching the entrance of one of the mazes, Yunho feels that something’s off. He catches slight movement in the little gaps of the green walls, the slight crackling of twigs, the quiet sound of metal on metal – a weapon being drawn, and he’s instantly stopping them all with an arm.

“There’s someone.” Yunho says. He feels San stiffen behind him, and before anyone can say anything else, a Silverthorn bandit is lunging out of the entrance of the maze. 

Yunho immediately darts forward, ducking the first swipe of the weapon – he’s never seen anything like it before – and blocks the next blow, letting his instincts take over as he grips the bandit’s wrist, twisting it viciously before he knees the other man in the stomach. A few more rough blows, Yunho’s manhandled the bandit to shove him down, elbow connecting to the base of his spine, sending the bandit crashing down into the corner of a marble bench, bashing his temple in when he falls from the force of Yunho’s push. Though it’s not necessary, Yunho takes his gun from the holster and shoots the bandit in the head.

He reholsters his gun, steps over the dead bandit’s body and runs his hands down his uniform to straighten it up. His heartbeat is a little faster than it normally is, and he can feel the way his fingers are itching for more. He glances up when no one says anything and tilts his head at the way San and Sakura are both staring at him.

Right.

Sakura knows of Yunho’s background, but she’s never seen him in action.

“What sort of training have you had?” San demands.

Um.

Years of commissioned killing and assassinations.

“Ah… I was sent to a private military academy at a very young age.” Yunho says. It’s not entirely wrong either – he, Wooyoung and Yeonjun had snuck onto military academy campuses on multiple occasions and trained with the cadets and snuck off before people realized they weren’t supposed to be there. When San asks him if he’d ever think about joining the royal guard, Yunho simply shrugs.

He feels his heart skip a beat when Mingi, Seonghwa, Jungwon and Felix all come running towards them, and he flusters when San praises him and everyone’s eyes are on him. He easily accepts Mingi’s request without thinking when he asks if he and Sakura are willing to look after San for a little longer. He’s a little flattered that the royal guards are entrusting them with San’s safety, especially when they see them as simple kingdom soldiers.

Yunho has no idea how they end up on a couch in San’s room, scrolling through Sakura’s phone first, then Yunho’s – put on do not disturb in case text messages come through – phone explaining to San what goddamn thirst traps are. It’s cute, honestly, to see the way San flusters at the edits people put together, at the captions, and so forth. He’s seen enough of Yeosang and Wooyoung to be mostly unaffected by these. 

He’s not sure how long they’re sitting there when the door of San’s bedroom flies open and all of them are leaping to their feet. Mingi arches a brow at them. San flops back down onto the couch with a groan, chastising Mingi. Mingi simply tells San to pay more attention, and Yunho and Sakura bow briefly in greeting. He asks them what they were doing, and Sakura tells them.

“Hey, Jungwon.” San says, to the shorter royal guard standing just behind Mingi. “I found out what a thirst trap was. You were right. I did not want to know.”

Yunho can sort of hear what San’s saying. But he’s trying really hard not to stare. 

At what? 

Mingi, of course.

The royal guard isn’t wearing a shirt.

Yunho’s thoughts are far from innocent.

Even though Mingi’s pretty tall and lithe, he’s ripped. He’s got broad shoulders that taper down into a trim waist, defined pectorals and abs and arm muscles that bulge beneath his skin with every movement. Even with the plethora of scars that pepper Mingi’s body, he’s breathtaking. Yunho really wants to get slammed against a wall by those strong ar-

Okay, maybe it’s a good idea to look away.

Yunho fidgets, knowing that his face must be red, eyes flitting from Mingi – he can’t help it, okay? – to the ground and back again. The muscles in Mingi’s back shifts as he digs through San’s closet for the… whatever shirt he’s been looking for.

I’m really gay. I’m really fucking gay. Holy shit.

He hears San asking Mingi if he’s gotten into another fight, to which Mingi affirms. Yunho wonders if Mingi’s also been fighting off the bandits. San wanders over to Mingi, and Sakura shoots Yunho a sly look, nudging him teasingly with her foot. Yunho can only flip her off. He’s aware of Mingi tugging his shirt on – he resists the urge to pout – before the royal guard is running his hand through his hair. Yunho doesn’t even realize San still has his phone until the prince hands it back to him, and he’s glad that he has a distraction, at least for the time being. That is, until, Mingi addresses them.

“Thanks, by the way, the two of you, for looking after Prince San.” Mingi’s sitting on the foot of San’s bed, and he’s looking directly at Yunho. “I also apologize for my indecent state when I first entered the room.”

“There is no need to apologize.” Yunho says, tucking his phone into his inner coat pocket, trying to do something – anything – to keep himself distracted. “This is obviously a comfortable and safe space for you, so you shouldn’t have to apologize.”

Why is Mingi staring at me?

Mingi’s gaze is unreadable, and Yunho blurts out some bullshit excuse about needing to leave. He offers a shaky smile before he’s practically sprinting out of the room as politely as possible. 

As soon as they’re outside, Sakura bursts into cackles.

Yunho sulks.

“0272.”

Yunho glances over his shoulder, feeling himself go stiff for a moment when he recognizes Yeji. The western princess is watching him with an inscrutable gaze.

“Yes?” Yunho asks. Yeji tilts her head.

“Jeong Yunho, correct?” Yunho goes rigid. “I have information I need to tell you.” Yeji says hurriedly, picking up on Yunho’s barely concealed panic. Yunho shoots her a frightened look. “I promise I’m on your side.” She holds up her pinky, and it’s so ridiculous, that Yunho waves it off.

“I believe you.” Yunho mumbles. “But not here.” He leads Yeji down the halls to the small alcove that he sometimes hides in. It’s private and hidden and out of the way.

“You know of my father’s plans to kill the northern king and San, correct?” Yeji’s straight to the point. Yunho nods. “I know that your family’s working on killing my father to stop it all, and I’m trying to get in contact with them. Father won’t let me anywhere near them, but he doesn’t know about you, so I’m using this to my advantage. Do you have contact with them?”

“I do. I’ve been updating them on the situation.”

“Good. You need to know that my father’s arranged a bloodbath.”

A chill runs down Yunho’s spine.

“A what?”

“Bloodbath.” Yeji looks grim. “Eleven-thirty, the night of the ball. Father’s going all out. He wants San and his father dead, and he doesn’t care who gets in the way. The only way to stop this is to kill my father – and it can only be done by your hands. That’s the reason why he’s constantly out in public and surrounded by people. He wants you to be caught.”

“And… you’re completely fine with this?” Yunho asks, vaguely appalled. Yeji shrugs.

“My father is a horrible man.” Yeji says. “He’s been trying his hardest to keep this from me, but he doesn’t know that I know everything. It’s going to be difficult to get this done, especially when your family is at odds with the northern princes at the moment – and I’ll admit, I would also be terrified if I was getting glared at like that by Mingi and Seonghwa, but that’s besides the point.”

“Do you have a plan to tell San?” Yunho asks. “I can’t afford to do that – it’ll blow my cover.”

“I have a plan.” Yeji nods. “Do you?”

Yunho has only vaguely worked out the details with Hongjoon, but they’ve both decided that he and Wooyoung would be the ones to carry out the final hit. Yunho, because he knows the castle layout better than the others, and Wooyoung, because historically, he’s had a higher kill ratio than all of them.

“We have a general one.” Yunho nods. Yeji arches a brow. “We’ve never had plans set in stone. We need flexibility.”

“Understandable.” Yeji nods. She pauses, expression grave. “You should also know that there are two groups of Silverthorn bandits coming into the castle gates a couple hours before the attack. One group is taking the main route through the woods by horse-drawn carriage. They’re carrying weapons and explosives. The other group is just a bunch of backup. They’re going to be heading towards the back entrance of the castle walls.”

“Got it.” Yunho nods, making a mental note to text Hongjoon immediately. Yeji seems to hesitate.

“Promise you’ll all be safe.”

“We’ll do our best.” Yunho says, because that’s all that he can promise.

The night of the ball, the patrols of soldiers are out in full force. No one’s allowed to walk alone, and everyone must be in groups of at least five. Yunho and Sakura stick together, and he’s uncertain where the other southern soldiers are. He’s on the night shift, so he spends most of the morning and afternoon napping and trying to get some last minute cram planning in with Hongjoon over text.

Everyone’s on edge, and he can tell that some of the other soldiers keep staring and looking at their arm bands, gazes flicking to the castle gates, and he wonders if they’re suspicious. He nudges Sakura to let her know, and he notices her subtly texting on her phone, likely letting the other soldiers that Chan sent up know as well.

The hours pass so quickly – much quicker than he expected, and he nearly jumps when he feels three consecutive buzzes against his chest. Three short text messages from Wooyoung, telling him that they’ve dispatched of the two groups of bandits, and that they need to meet up. He catches Sakura’s eyes, and nods, easily slipping away from the group as they round a corner, hiding for a brief moment in the shadows before he’s taking off to meet up with Wooyoung and the others.

“We have like… maybe two hours at the most.” Yunho tells Wooyoung and the others as he approaches. It doesn’t take long before they let their old instincts take over.

The horror and fear that overtakes Yunho’s body when he realizes they’re too late is overwhelming. He’s distantly aware of Wooyoung spitting fire at Zuha as he pins the bandit to the ground, wrestling him for the weapons he’s wielding. He’s successful, kicking the bandit to the side just as Wooyoung slits Zuha’s throat. Yunho distantly hears Yeji screaming, and another wave of horror rushes over him as he realizes that San is there.

He’s trying to get Wooyoung to listen, to wait, but he’s shooting the bandit, and the door is being wretched open and–

The devastated and betrayed look on San’s face is enough to make Yunho feel like shit.

Yunho can’t even say anything as San whirls around and flees, his shaking hands already booting up his phone, because he needs to tell the others. Wooyoung’s panicking, and he’s suddenly Yunho’s first priority, dragging the younger man into a tight hug before he can completely derail.

He has to drag Wooyoung back to his quarters, thankfully avoiding the patrolling soldiers, and manhandles him into the bathtub so he can scrub the blood off of the younger man’s skin. Yunho lets him soak as he hurries to the other bathroom in the suite and showers, stealing some of Yeonjun’s clothes to wear before he attends to Wooyoung.

Wooyoung’s gone completely quiet, eyes glazed and empty as he stares at the ceiling, unresponsive. Yunho sighs softly, knowing that there isn’t anything he can do to knock Wooyoung out of his stump – he just has to wait. Yunho’s quiet as he washes Wooyoung’s hair and face, draining the tub before he rinses him off and wraps him in a towel. He dresses him in soft, oversized clothes and curls up on the bed with him. Wooyoung lets out a soft noise and buries closer, hair tickling Yunho’s chin.

“It’ll be okay.” Yunho tells him quietly.

Wooyoung doesn’t respond.

Mingi doesn’t think that he’s ever been this mad in his life. He hates Zuha with every fiber of his being, and just seeing that man’s cocky smirk has his blood boiling. He was pissed when he found out a bunch of soldiers were shit talking San behind his back when he was sixteen. He’s mad whenever San talks about himself like he’s easily sacrificable. But nothing could ever have prepared him for this.

He already hates seeing San upset, or mad – but having to witness seeing him this devastated and broken because of the people he trusted?

Fuck that shit.

He remembers panicking, because San hadn’t come back within the time frame he’d promised he would, and he heard screams about finding dead people on the balcony and he and Jungwon wasted no time before they split up to search for San, sending Jungwon up to the second floor while Mingi swept the first and out into the courtyard.

San had rammed right into him, nearly knocking Mingi off of his own feet, and the prince had immediately collapsed in a fit of sobs in Mingi’s arms when he realized who he was. Mingi prided himself on excelling in keeping his emotions in check. There seemed to be only one thing – well, recently two things – that pulled at his heart. 

“Shit. What happened? You didn’t show up for a while and we got worried. Hey–” Mingi tries to get San to respond, but the prince simply shakes his head, pushing further into Mingi’s body. He hears footsteps and looks up. Hongjoong, Changbin and Yeonjun are there, staring at San, wide-eyed. He has no idea what the fuck just transpired, but it’s pretty obvious San was just running from them. “If you know what’s good for you, fuck off.” Mingi practically growls, fiercely protective over San.

Hongjoong seems to hesitate, but Changbin and Yeonjun are pulling him back with insistent fingers. Mingi ignores them, his attention wholly on San as the prince just sobs, hiccuping on each breath, tears streaking down his face as he chants out Mingi’s name.

“Shh, I got you.” Mingi murmurs, before he shuffles, finding his earpiece.

“Mingi?” Jungwon’s voice comes through, breathless, panicked. “Did you find him?”

“Yeah, I found him. We’re by the main entrance.”

“Meet up in the main foyer?”

“Yeah. See you in a bit, Jungwon.” The call ends, and Mingi lifts San up, cradling him close. The prince doesn’t seem to even notice, fingers scrabbling at his outfit, clutching at his heart, sobbing that it hurts, and Mingi hurts seeing him like this.

Eventually, San calms down, though his body still shakes with each inhale, and when Jungwon comes running over to tell them that Zuha and San’s father were found dead on the balcony, it sends San off again, choking out rough breaths as Mingi does his best to soothe him. Jungwon looks both alarmed and concerned.

“The- they’re not- nice people.” San hiccups.

“Who aren’t nice people, Sannie?”

“The south.”

Mingi feels all the blood in his body go cold. Now it makes sense as to why San was running from the other three.

“They killed my father and the western king. They- they were there. There was blood everywhere and… and…” San shakes his head, pressing himself closer to Mingi as he dissolves into another round of heart-wrenching sobs.

Mingi feels helpless.

He tucks San’s head close to his neck as he lifts San, he and Jungwon hurrying across the main floor and up the stairs as they hear guests start to exit, confused and anxious. There’s no way he’s letting anyone see the crown prince this vulnerable. San almost doesn’t let Mingi pull away. It takes a bit of struggling to get San out of his tight outfit of the night, and neither he or Jungwon argue as San tugs them both down so he can curl close to them. San falls asleep quickly, and Mingi catches Jungwon’s eye from over San’s lax figure.

“What the hell do we do?” Jungwon asks, quietly.

“I don’t know.” Mingi exhales. He can already feel the rage simmering beneath his skin. San shifts against him, brow furrowing, as if he can sense it. Mingi smooths a hand through San’s hair, and the prince relaxes. “I really don’t know.”

The next couple days are spent doing as much damage control as possible. Mingi, Seonghwa, Felix and Jungwon are up to their ears in work helping guests leave as quickly as possible, weeding out the traitors and getting the remaining soldiers in line to help assess the damage and clean up. He also manages to convince San, Jongho, their mother and the other three royal guards to take a vacation to the family’s holiday home.

“You should come with us.” San pleads quietly, round eyes peering up at Mingi. Mingi knows that San knows that he’s weak to those goddamn puppy eyes.

The thought of puppy eyes reminds him of someone else – and even though he doesn’t want to think about him, his face comes to Mingi’s mind, unbidden.

Jeong Yunho.

Or, as Mingi used to know him as 0272. 

Juno.

The number 0272 had stood out to him almost immediately during the second wave of initiation. 0272 had finished the Spartan race within an hour and sixteen minutes, which was damn impressive – only two minutes after the first place runner. 0272 was also at the top of nearly all of the other categories with startling stats.

Mingi wonders if Yunho becoming a familiar face to them was intentional or coincidental. It could go either way – and he’s pretty sure that if he confronted Yunho about it, the other man would easily spill out the truth. There’s something about him that makes him easy to read – or maybe that’s just Mingi’s effect.

That soldier’s got a crush on you, by the way.

Mingi doesn’t know what to think. He wants to be angry – he wants to be pissed off, because San trusted them and they betrayed him, and San will always be his first priority.

“I can’t.” Mingi tells San quietly, feeling horrible at the way San wilts, lower lip trembling in a pout as his eyes start watering. “I need to look after the castle, okay? I’ll join you guys later.”

“Promise?” San mumbles, forehead thumping against Mingi’s shoulder. Mingi threads his fingers into San’s hair.

“I promise.”

He gets right back to work as soon as the others pack up and leave. He’s aware that the southern royalty are probably still here – King Chan had wanted them to stay a month afterwards, anyways. The temptation to just kick them out is strong, but he grits his teeth. He has more important things to worry about.

A couple days later, Mingi runs into Wooyoung. Or rather, Wooyoung runs into Mingi. Mingi feels his fingers curl into fists and he ignores Wooyoung’s pleas to talk, but freezes in his steps when he heard the first soft sob.

“I’m sorry.” Wooyoung hiccups. Mingi’s jaw ticks, ready to keep walking when Wooyoung unexpectedly bursts into tears, sobbing out apologies.

Holy shit, Mingi’s not great with this, even when it’s San.

Sighing, Mingi drags Wooyoung into a smaller, secluded room, and before he realizes what’s going on, Wooyoung’s spilling what feels like his entire life story.

“I’m so, so sorry. I- I know you probably hate me- hate us, but I need to tell you this. Yeonjun, Hongjoon, Yunho and I were all assassins, several years ago. Damn successful ones at that. Gumiho, Mireu, Bulgae and Dokkaebi were the names we used.”

Mingi recognizes them. They were names that were widely feared, especially in the west, and that fear had crept across the borders and into some of the legends that parents tell their kids to freak them out into not staying out so late.

“We tried to assassinate Zuha about seven years ago. We were unsuccessful, and so we fled the west. Zuha sent his men after us. Those masked men that were trying to kill you guys aren’t with Zuha. Those are a group of bandits known as Silverthorn. Ever since we started with our… gigs, we’ve had a weird relationship with them. They’ve always tried to mob and destroy villages, we would always stop them with a few murders. They were terrified of us, even though we were four, and they were many.

Nonetheless, we were separated when we fled, and I ended up running into Yeosang, who was surrounded by three bandits with more in hiding. I saved his life, and found Yunho after that because I threw one of our signature grenades and he recognized it. We led Yeosang back to the edge of the woods because he got lost even though we had no idea where we were. We saved him again from a pack of wolves. Once we’d found Hongjoon and Yeonjun, we saved Yeosang and King Chan from a Silverthorn ambush that definitely would’ve left one or either of them dead. That’s how we were first welcomed behind the southern castle walls. Chan took us beneath his wing, and long story short, he basically welcomed us into his family after a couple of years.

A little while ago, Hongjoon found out about Zuha’s plan – a little after we received the invitation, actually – and we left for here immediately. We realized that Zuha still wanted revenge on us, and made up this entire elaborate scheme to get back at us; he didn’t care who was hurt in the process. Yunho infiltrated the castle first to see what information he could find, and obviously he didn’t expect the extent of things that he had to do to get into the ranks, but we’re all fucking proud of him anyways.”

It definitely does explain how Yunho was at the top of nearly every single category. Mingi’s definitely impressed.

No.

Not impressed – he’s still furious.

“The three weird guys you and San ran into in the city that day was Changbin, Yeonjun and Hongjoon. They’re idiots sometimes. They were talking about Yunho’s slip ups, but it came across wrong. The reports you guys were getting about strange figures lurking and dead bandits showing up were from us. We were taking them out as the traitors amongst the soldiers were letting them in. We snuck out the night of the ball to intercept two groups of bandits, one carrying weapons and the other just a bunch of backup.

Yunho and I were on the main mission to find Zuha and kill him before it was too late. Yunho, because he knew the castle layout, and me, because well… I had the highest kill ratio out of all of us. We were seconds too late. We just reached the second floor when we saw two bandits heading out onto the balcony we heard Zuha and the northern king on, and a gunshot just as we opened the door. I killed Zuha, and San caught us right after it. I can promise you that we didn’t kill your king. I’m…”

Wooyoung fumbles, taking out his phone with shaking hands and Mingi’s just sitting there trying to absorb all of the information Wooyoung’s just thrown at him. It takes a few seconds before he’s digested it all, and by then, Wooyoung’s holding out his phone expectantly. Mingi glances down at it, noticing that Wooyoung’s pulled up a chat, and he notices multiple different icons and names.

“What’s this?” Mingi asks, taking the phone gingerly.

“A group chat.” Wooyoung replies. “Um, Yunhoe is Yunho. Obviously. Hoengjoong is Hongjoong. Hoejun is Yeonjun. Sangie is Yeosang. Dwaekki is Changbin.” 

Mingi lets out a noncommittal hum, slightly amused. The nicknames seem very… Wooyoung. What that means, Mingi doesn’t know. It just sounds right. He’s surprised, though, at how much Yunho was able to pick up from his first day at the castle, and he wonders if it’s part of his assassin background, or if he’s just naturally that intuitive. The southern bodyguard saw so many things in his first few days that Mingi and the others had somehow been blind to for the past several years.

He spots the conversation about Hongjoong, Yeonjun and Changbin getting caught by him and San, and it lines up. He feels his cheeks warm slightly when he skims through the conversation, alsoooo yunnie is right, san’s rlly hot and so is mingi. He’s not the most fluent in English, and the text speak doesn’t make it any better, but he gets the gist. The occasional bits of chaos and disorganization in the chat has a small, involuntary smile tugging at Mingi’s lips. 

“Your friend. Yunho, right?” Mingi asks, as if he doesn’t already know that.

“Yes?” Wooyoung blinks. His eyes are a little red and puffy, but he’s calmed down, at the very least.

“How didn’t anyone notice him acting off earlier?” Mingi asks, finally. “Hiding in a closet whilst texting the group chat?”

I’ve been meaning to text you guys to like… make sure you guys know I’m not dead or I haven’t been caught but I’m literally hiding in my closet right now to type this out and holy shit guys there’s someone at my door.

“Yunho’s special.” Wooyoung replies, shrugging. He tilts his head to the side. “He was rooming with a few other soldiers Chan sent up from the south. It was mostly planned. We decided that out of the four of us – the four being me, Yunho, Yeonjun and Hongjoong, that Yunho would be the least likely to crack and spill beneath pressure, and we needed Hongjoong to guide us through our plan.”

“Juno?” Mingi asks, unable to stop his lips from twitching up in amusement.

“Further down,” Wooyoung gestures to the phone Mingi’s holding. “If you haven’t hit the part about Yunnie having a crisis over how attractive he found you after the time you, San and Jungwon were attacked.” Mingi blinks. He takes a few moments before he looks back down at Wooyoung’s phone to continue scrolling.

He first reads through the conversation that Hongjoong starts about San speaking Russian with Zuha, and how he speculated that Zuha was speaking Russian as a subtle way to remind the former assassins of what they are is quite clever, and even though Mingi hadn’t known their background, he doesn’t think there would be any way he would’ve caught onto that. He’s honestly impressed with how much information Yunho’s extracted and figured out himself, when it took him, San, Jungwon and others to figure the same information out several days later. He wonders if Yunho has ever worked in cybersecurity, or some branch or shit like that.

The first time he spots Yunho… what was the phrase? Thirsting after him, flusters him a little more than he’s willing to admit. 

Like, he could rip my arm off or throw me into a wall and I would thank him.

I know there was a lot of blood and shit but the scars? Like damn

“Ah.” Mingi blinks at that, cheeks warming. He knows that San’s told him time and time again to not look at his scars as some sort of ugliness, but as a reminder of how much he’s been through, how strong he is and how dedicated he is to what he does. Hearing that they’re attractive is something new – he can practically hear San singing I told you so in his ears. 

NO ONE’S ASKED ME MY NAME AND I MAYBE PANICKED AND I

My name’s Juno now.

“That’s literally just your name but in a different font.” Mingi repeats Hongjoong’s message, unable to keep a wry, amused smile off his face. He pauses. “I’ll be honest, I’m surprised neither of us pieced this together earlier. We all sort of forgot that Yeosang had a second bodyguard.”

“Yeah, I kinda panicked when I mentioned Yunnie off handedly that one day.” Wooyoung shifts in his spot. 

“I never noticed Yunho’s…” Mingi pauses. That’s not entirely true, if he’s being wholly honest.

“Gayness for you?” Wooyoung asks. “His big, fat crush?” Mingi shrugs, pushing down the heat threatening to rise in his cheeks as he continues scrolling. It’s endearing, and a little embarrassing as he continues to scroll that Yunho’s updates are nearly half and half of their mission and of Mingi.

“I’ve always just focused on protecting San.” Mingi admits, which is true. “I didn’t really have time to look for other things.”

“Yeah, well, Yunho’s got a big fat crush on you, but he’s also lowkey terrified of you now.” Wooyoung mumbles as he reaches up to rub the back of his neck. Mingi doesn’t reply, instead chewing on his lower lip contemplatively as he continues to scroll.

His face is definitely a little warm as he reads through Yunho’s retelling of the time Mingi had practically kicked down San’s bedroom door whilst shirtless. Maybe that time had been slightly intentional, but no one but Mingi needed to know that. At least he knows that his effort wasn’t in vain.

“You and Yeonjun have an interesting way of texting.” Mingi says finally, handing Wooyoung his phone back. The southern prince blushes.

“I get easily excited.” Wooyoung says quietly, wringing his hands together.

“I can see that.” Mingi’s lips quirk up, before he pauses for a few moments. “You really do like San, don’t you?” He asks, quietly.

It was obvious through Wooyoung’s text messages to the group, the way that he acted and spoke and looked at San, that he was clearly in love with the northern prince. But now there was a hesitant and fragile look to his eyes. 

“I do.” Wooyoung wrings his fingers together, staring down at his lap. “I… I remember San told me that he didn’t deserve me. But the truth is that I don’t deserve him. San’s… way too good for me.”

Mingi frowns at that. He knows that San’s said practically the same thing. 

“I’ll admit,” Mingi breaks the silence. “I was really wary of all of you at first. The timing of your arrival and the death of Advisor Chul and Lee seemed too coincidental, and now that you’ve told me all of this, I think that could’ve been planned, too.” Wooyoung shrugs almost helplessly, sliding his phone into his hoodie pocket, his hands following as he stares at his feet.

“I’m really sorry, Mingi. We didn’t want to tell anyone and risk something else happening. Zuha’s been spending the past several years trying to figure out how to ruin our lives in revenge for trying to kill him.”

“I… can understand.” Mingi says, slowly. He does – it’s going to take him a few days to digest what Wooyoung told him and what he’s read, though. “I would also like to apologize for how I acted towards you. San is… doing alright. He’s struggling a little bit, and he’s confused. We’d heard that you were basically on our side and helping us, but then he saw you and Yunho in that… bloody situation, and things got mixed up. It’s going to take me a few days to process everything you’ve told me, Wooyoung, but I really do appreciate you being honest with me.”

Mingi knows what he has to do.

Wooyoung apologizes again for bawling in the middle of the hallway but Mingi chuckles, shaking his head, and instead apologizes himself for how he and Seonghwa had practically cornered Wooyoung and Yeosang a few days prior.

“Just go with your gut instinct.” Wooyoung suggests to him. “It’s usually right, especially if you’ve been doing what you’ve been doing for several years.”

So if I were to give into my gut instincts, then–

“So if I were to throw Yunho against a wall, and then kiss him, he’d let me?” Mingi has no idea when or why those words leave his mouth, but Wooyoung’s jaw drops, and Mingi immediately regrets letting his thoughts get the better of him, embarrassed.

“I mean, he’d probably be hella confused at first, but probably.” Wooyoung tilts his head at him. “I think he’d really like that, actually.” Wait, what? “He’s still terrified you’re going to kill him or something, for scarring San, but – wait did I hear you say kiss?”

“Yeah.” Mingi shrugs as casually as he can. He’s already dug his grave. Besides, Wooyoung had practically bared himself to Mingi, showed him the embarrassing texts and he supposes that he should give something in return. “I mean, he’s pretty cute and it’s easy to fluster him, whether it be me or San, and San also mentioned that he seemed to be a pretty good fighter. Now that you’ve told me you all used to be assassins, I sort of want to try my hand at sparring with him and see if I can throw him to the ground. Or if he can throw me.”

“Oh.” Wooyoung looks like he can’t believe he’s having this conversation with Mingi. Mingi can’t believe it either. “I mean. Go for it. But you can’t blame me if Yunnie ends up socking you in the gut.”

Hot. Mingi’s brain provides him.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Mingi sends Wooyoung a grin that the prince tentatively returns. Then, he remembers. “San, Jongho and the others will probably return to the kingdom in about a week. They just want some time away from the castle to recalibrate before they return.” 

I technically forced them to go.

“Alright.” Wooyoung nods at him.

“You are all still more than welcome to stay, unless you’d rather go back home to the south. It’s up to you.” Mingi tells Wooyoung as he stands up, dusting his hands on his pants.

“I’ll talk about it with the others.” Wooyoung replies, voice quiet as he follows Mingi out of the room. The silence between them is a little awkward as they leave the room.

“Thank you again, Wooyoung. For… everything, really.” Mingi says sincerely, turning to face Wooyoung.

“Thank you, Mingi.” Wooyoung whispers, eyes glassy again. “For hearing me out… and also for everything.” Mingi reaches out to ruffle Wooyoung’s hair before he can think better of it.

“If you do decide to leave…” Mingi hesitates. He doesn’t know what he’ll do. But it’s up to the southern royalty at this point – and he supposes that it’s also up to him. “Let me know, okay?” 

Wooyoung nods.

Mingi buys everyone a phone on his car ride to the family house. He spends the four hour ride fiddling with his new device and setting it up, hiding it in his inner coat pocket, keeping the other phones hidden in the bag. He’s barely got his feet on solid ground before a body is slamming into him, strong arms and legs winding around his body, and Mingi staggers, unable to keep a broad smile off his face when he smells apples and roses. He hugs San tightly.

“Good afternoon to you, too.” He grunts.

“I missed you.” San says instead, face buried in Mingi’s neck. “I haven’t seen you in forever.” Mingi rolls his eyes even though he knows San can’t see it.

“It’s only been a few days, Sannie.” Mingi missed San too.

“I’ve literally never gone a day without seeing you for the past decade, so excuse me if I got excited.” San pouts up at him.

“I missed you too.” Mingi laughs. It’s adorable how San bobs around him, trailing after him like a puppy, excited and eager to be back in each other’s presence. San’s firing questions at him, and Mingi’s doing his best to avoid them, because he knows that if San keeps prodding, he’ll give in, and he wants it all to be a surprise.

Later that night, holding his prince, the one person that he swore on his life to protect, and the knowledge that he might actually have his own chance at a happy ending with a certain puppy-like southern bodyguard, everything feels right.

PuppyHo

Hi. Is this Jeong Yunho?

Um.

It depends on who’s asking.

Who’s this?

Song Mingi.

?

SORRY

UM

HI??

HOW DID YOU GET THIS??

PHONE?

WHEN?

I bought one yesterday. I got one for
everyone else, too.

I figured it would be easier to stay in
contact.

Is that not what you all do?

Um

Yes

But

Like

Holy shit

Wait

I need to like

Scream

For what?

Why are you screaming.

HNNHNHMHN

Woobaby

What does this mean.

[image]

huh>

who?

oh!!

hi mingi!!

BAHAHA

it’s nothging bad i parorme.

…

[romise

*promise

…

Alrighty.

Thank you.

We’re heading back tomorrow, if you’re
still around.

we are.

unm see you thaen, i guess.

The night that they return to the castle, they run into Hongjoon and Yunho. Yunho looks like a deer in headlights when he meets Mingi’s gaze, cheeks flushing and ears going red as he rips his gaze away to stare at the floor. The hall is quiet for a few moments. San’s the first to speak. Mingi is only focused on one person, lips quirked up into a barely concealed smile of amusement.

He’s not entirely sure why Yunho’s the only one who’s managed to make his heart pound like this, but he’s spent enough time watching and trying to help San work through his emotions to know what this is. He feels San nudge him with his elbow.

“Yunho-ya.”

“Y-yes?” Yunho’s head snaps up, eyes wide and alarmed. His eyes flicker over Mingi’s features, but Mingi keeps his facial expressions carefully blank.

“May I speak with you briefly?” Mingi tilts his head to the side innocently, but it has the desired effect. Yunho swallows nervously, eyes darting to every person standing in the hallway.

“Um. Sure?”

It’s all the confirmation Mingi needs before he’s striding forward, curling his fingers around Yunho’s wrist, dragging him away. Yunho trips and stumbles after him. He distantly hears Hongjoong asking if he should be worried.

“Where are we going?” Yunho asks, sounding flustered and out of breath. Mingi doesn’t really know, if he’s being honest. Somewhere a little more private, where they won’t be disturbed. He can hear his heartbeat in his ears.

Mingi finally stops at one of the smaller, multiple alcoves peppered throughout the castle and half hauls half tosses Yunho into the gap. The other man lets out a soft gasp as his back hits the wall, palms slapping against it, breath hitching as Mingi steps closer. Mingi doesn’t say anything, and even though Yunho has a little bit of height on him, they’re basically eye to eye. Yunho’s red. It’s cute.

“You didn’t reply to my question.” Mingi hums, voice pitched lower. He hears Yunho swallow. “Wait for what? Why did you need to scream?”

“Um.” Yunho stutters, eyes flicking from Mingi’s eyes to someplace behind him, then back again, and then– they drop to Mingi’s lips. “I-” Yunho inhales sharply, licking his lips. “Can you back off a few centimeters?” He finally asks, weakly.

“Why?” Mingi tilts his head, watching as Yunho squirms.

“Because I have a big, fat crush on you and I’m sort of terrified of you because you could probably just snap my neck with your bare hands and I dunno if it’s fucked if I think that’s kind of sexy and you’re really hot and attractive, and you’ve got me pinned up against a wall and that’s also really hot but I sort of forgot how to breathe and you’re really hot and I kind of freaked out when you texted me, because holy shit? Also you’re really attractive, did I mention that alread-”

Yunho lets out a little noise of surprise when he’s cut off, before he shudders, hands coming up, hesitant fingers tangling in the loose buckles of the simple harness over Mingi’s uniform, letting out a soft, blissful sigh against Mingi’s mouth.

I mean. Go for it. But you can’t blame me if Yunnie ends up socking you in the gut.

Yeah.

This is much better.

Yunho’s brain is melting out of his ears. He might be a puddle of goo on the ground. Or on the wall. He can’t really think straight. Which is funny, because he’s not straight, he’s bisexual and very gay for one specific Song Mingi. That one specific Song Mingi who currently has Yunho pinned up against a wall, rough and calloused hands on either side of his head, soft and warm lips pressing against his.

Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit.

He’s unable to stop the low moan that escapes his throat when Mingi presses forward a little further, tilting his head to deepen the kiss, and Yunho’s fingers are hooking further into the harness to tug him closer. Heat radiates off of Mingi’s body as he crowds Yunho further up the wall. 

Yunho is going to die.

“Breathe for me,” Mingi hums, just pulling back. Yunho pulls in several gulps of air, embarrassed as he lets out a few shuddering exhales. His eyes flutter open to see Mingi watching him with fond, hazel eyes.

“I-” Yunho starts, his brain like scrambled eggs. “When- who- me?”

“Mm. You.” Mingi hums, knocking their foreheads together.

“I think I’m in love with you.” Yunho blurts, before he groans, slapping both hands over his face. “Nevermind. I just really, really like you.”

“I gathered that much.” Mingi kisses the back of Yunho’s hands.

OhmygodohmygodohmyGOD–

“I’m going to die.” Yunho says, his words muffled.

“That would be a shame. You’re cute when you’re flustered.” Yunho lets out a devastated noise. “Hey.” Mingi easily tugs Yunho’s hands away from his face. “You should date me.”

Eh?

Yunho short-circuits. There’s a hopeful glow to Mingi’s hazel eyes.

“Date me, please, holy shit.” Yunho gasps out, hands tugging Mingi forward again to press their lips together. Mingi hums, immediately tilting his head to deepen the kiss and Yunho’s knees buckle when he feels the first brush of Mingi’s tongue against his mouth. 

He immediately grants Mingi access and the royal guard presses him up a little further, and Yunho gasps when he feels the muscles in Mingi’s arms and shoulders flex up against him, the gasp tapering off into a pleased moan as Mingi licks into his mouth. Yunho’s hands come up to clutch at Mingi’s shoulders, one of the royal guard’s hands coming down to rest on Yunho’s hip, tugging him even closer. A soft whimper leaves Yunho’s lips.

He can’t believe this is happening.

Yunho has no idea how long they stay like that, exchanging kisses until their lips are swollen, half hard against each others’ thighs.

“I should-” Yunho gasps as Mingi nips at his jaw. He swallows thickly, trying to collect his coherent thoughts. “I should get back to the others. We- we had something planned for tonight.”

“Mm.” Mingi hums, the sound vibrating against Yunho’s skin. “Unfortunate.” He pulls back and Yunho immediately misses the warmth. Mingi’s hazel eyes are dark as they roam over Yunho’s features.

“Can…” Yunho starts, pausing. He licks his lips, noting the way Mingi’s eyes drop down to his mouth. He blushes. “Can we do something together tomorrow?” Mingi arches a brow. “Not just this!” Yunho blurts. “I mean, kissing could be nice too, but like, just hanging out and I dunno, like a date or something?” Mingi’s lips quirk up into a smile.

“You’re adorable.” He says. Yunho blushes. “I think Sannie’s planning something for Wooyoung in the afternoon, and I should be there for moral and emotional support, but after that I’m free.” Mingi presses a chaste kiss to Yunho’s lips, and Yunho chases after him when he pulls back.

“Sounds like a plan.” Yunho breathes. “Text me?”

“Will you actually reply this time?” Mingi teases.

“Yeah.” Yunho huffs, cheeks red. Mingi steps back, albeit reluctantly, and they take a few moments to let themselves wind down. 

Their fingers are intertwined when they walk back down the hallway.

He knows that Wooyoung left about half an hour ago to go find San, and he’s jealous, because Woo knows where San’s going to be – in his office. Yunho, on the other hand, has a whole goddamn castle to search, because Mingi could be anywhere. He also doesn’t want to get caught by Mingi before he sees the royal guard himself. He could ask the other soldiers, but he doesn’t want to risk them telling on him. Yunho’s just rounded the corner into a garden when he hears a familiar call.

“0272?”

He whirls around. The girl who’s standing there in her patrol looks familiar. She’s perhaps a couple years younger than Yunho, with long, dark hair that’s twisted up into a high ponytail, tucked neatly beneath a cap. Yunho feels a grin splitting his face.

“0141. You made it.”

“You two know each other?” One of the other soldiers asks, curiously.

“He was in the same group that I first initiated in.” 0141 explains. “I was eliminated, and I came back just this year, better than before.”

Yunho bounds over, pulling her into a hug.

“I’m proud of you. I told you that we’d all make it.” Yunho beams.

“You don’t look like you’re a soldier for this kingdom, though.” The same soldier frowns.

“That’s a long story,” Yunho chirps. “I’m willing to share if you’re willing to tell me if you know where Mingi is.”

“We last saw him about five minutes ago heading into the southern wing of the castle.” 0141 provides.

“Great! Thanks.” Yunho beams. “First of all, I’m Jeong Yunho.”

“Like, Jeong Yunho from the southern kingdom?” 0141 asks, her eyes wide.

“That’d be me.” Yunho blinks. “How’d you know?”

“I only know you by name, not by face.” 0141 admits. “What were you doing trying out to be a kingdom soldier, then?”

“I was trying to get clues on the people trying to assassinate the former king and Choi San.” Yunho says. “Long story short, we sorta fucked up along the way, but my princes and the current northern king and prince are in a very loving relationship, and Mingi is my dear boyfriend that I’m trying to surprise after being apart for over a year.”

“Wow.” 0141 stares up at him with sparkly eyes. “You’re awesome.” Yunho blushes, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Naw, I think I’m just a pretty normal guy.” Yunho shrugs. He glances back at the castle. “I don’t really want to keep you guys from your patrol. I know they’re important, so…” He hesitates.

“Want to keep in touch?” 0141 asks, and Yunho nods eagerly. 0141 digs into her pocket to take out her phone, unlocking the screen – and Yunho vaguely recognizes the face of 0375 as her lockscreen. “I’m Danielle, by the way.” 0141 tells him. “I figured it was only fair, now that I know your name.”

“I get that.” Yunho smiles at her, quickly typing in his contact information before he hands it back. “It was great seeing you again, Danielle. I’m really happy you made it in.”

“Me too.” Danielle smiles. “Good luck finding Mingi!”

“Thanks!” Yunho waves before he’s jogging back into the castle.

He’s just reached the third floor of the castle, a little out of breath from taking the stairs three at a time, when he spots Mingi at the end of the hall, seeming deep in thought as he hurries past. Yunho picks up his pace, heart thrumming eagerly in his chest. 

“Mingi!” Yunho screeches, hurtling himself at the royal guard turned court advisor when he’s within range. 

Mingi whirls around, startled and alert, but he’s obviously not expecting Yunho to literally throw himself on top of him. Mingi stumbles, arms coming up to hold Yunho as he tries to regain his balance. They go crashing to the ground and Mingi just lays there on the ground for a moment, stunned, while Yunho nuzzles into him happily.

He hears the sound of footsteps and cracks one eye open to see San and Wooyoung running towards them. San looks good, somehow even more attractive and broad, if not exhausted, but he and Wooyoung’s hands are linked, and the younger man easily loops his arm around San’s waist as they watch the tangled heap of limbs on the ground.

“He’s been looking for Mingi since we arrived.” Wooyoung says, looking amused as he explains their predicament to San. “We wanted it to be a surprise, and thankfully, you’re predictable, so this is the first place I looked.” Wooyoung pokes San in the cheek, and the northern king smiles fondly. 

It takes a few more seconds for Mingi to recover from Yunho’s attack, but when he realizes who it is, he’s wrapping his arms around Yunho’s body tightly, tucking his head into his neck. Yunho hums happily, inhaling Mingi’s sandalwood and sweet vanilla smell.

“That hurt, you asshole.” Mingi grunts at him. The affection is clear in his tone. Yunho doesn’t reply, still nuzzling at Mingi’s shoulder and neck, giddy. He’s barely aware of the others talking until he hears San asking them how they managed to clear his schedule.

“Long story short, everyone but you knew that we were coming to visit for a bit.” Yunho says, practically purring when Mingi lets him do whatever the hell he wants, simply running a hand up and down his back. “Although Mingi didn’t know what time we were arriving.”

He blocks out most of what everyone else is saying, tunnel vision completely set on Mingi, and bites back a yelp – though he’s unsuccessful – as Mingi easily sits up, hooking his hands beneath his thighs as he stands up. He had no idea that Mingi was that strong, and it’s sort of a turn on.

“Damn right.” Mingi says, kissing Yunho on the cheek and bringing him back to the present. “Now if you’ll excuse us, I think it’s my turn to knock Yunho onto his back.” 

Wait what?

“Gross.” Wooyoung and San scrunch their noses up in unison. Yunho blushes hard.

“Not like that!” Yunho squawks, indignant as he tries to escape Mingi’s hold, but the royal guard holds him tightly as he carries Yunho away, one hand coming up dangerously close to groping his ass. They haven’t gone that far yet. “Mingi! Put me down!” He yowls. Mingi doesn’t reply, simply humming in response, tilting his head up to mouth beneath Yunho’s jaw, and he feels himself melting into the other man involuntarily.

“Missed you.” Mingi says simply.

“Missed you more.” Yunho mumbles, relaxing in Mingi’s arms, blissful.

Mingi brings them to his room – it’s a little bigger and more luxurious than the last one he had, and settles Yunho gently on the bed, crowding him until he’s hovering over Yunho, wrapped up in his strong arms again. Yunho nuzzles beneath his chin, peppering sweet kisses up and down Mingi’s neck, and the younger man sighs, tilting his head to grant Yunho more access.

Yunho’s hands come up to tug at Mingi’s hips, still a little shy, but more bold at the same time, guiding Mingi down to press into him, and he lets out a pleased little sigh when Mingi obeys, then presses their lips together.

Kissing Mingi makes Yunho feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and a soft noise leaves him when Mingi drops down on him further, pressing him into the mattress, lips becoming more insistent. Yunho easily opens up for Mingi, a moan leaving the back of his throat as he feels a tongue swipe against his bottom lip, shivering when Mingi’s calloused fingers dip underneath his shirt.

“Please.” Yunho gasps, breaking free from their kiss to take a gulp of air.

“Breathe for me, baby.” Mingi murmurs, and Yunho blushes, remembering the way Mingi had said nearly the exact same thing when they first kissed.

“I am.” Yunho shoots back. His breath hitches when Mingi presses their mouths together again.

The kiss is a little more hungry, a little more greedy, and Yunho obediently opens up as Mingi requests access. A low moan escapes Yunho’s lips, hips kicking as Mingi nips his lower lip, warm hands sliding up beneath his shirt, tracing over the muscles of his abdomen. He gasps, muscles flexing, and Mingi hums appreciatively.

“You should show me what you can do with these muscles.” Mingi tells him against his mouth. Yunho mumbles out something incomprehensive, arching up into Mingi’s touch when his fingers brush his nipple.

“Mingi-” Yunho gasps.

“Mm?” Mingi hums, flicking the nub. Yunho’s breath catches in his throat as he tilts his head back, breaking the kiss to let out several short puffs of air. “Sensitive.” Mingi teases, lips trailing to his neck. 

Yunho wriggles beneath him. He hooks a leg around Mingi’s waist, winding an arm around the other man’s neck and flips them. A soft oof leaves Mingi’s lips as Yunho clambers over him, a grin on his face when Mingi simply watches him with a dazed expression, hands falling to his hips. Yunho’s eyes rove over Mingi laying beneath him, pliant, waiting for Yunho to make a move.

“You’re gorgeous.” Yunho breathes, dropping his head down to press their foreheads together. There’s a soft flush that rises on Mingi’s cheeks.

“You’re beautiful.” Mingi returns. “My handsome Yunnie.” One of his hands comes up to cup Yunho’s cheek, and he turns his head to press a kiss to Mingi’s palm. He flops down completely onto Mingi, nuzzling into his neck, and the royal guard simply smooths a palm down Yunho’s back, relaxing beneath him.

“You think San or Wooyoung’ll propose anytime soon?” Yunho asks. Mingi hums.

“I know San’s been thinking about it. He hasn’t told me anything explicitly, but I see it on his face.” Mingi replies, nosing behind Yunho’s cheek to press a kiss there. “What about Jongho and Yeosang?”

“Jongho reached out to Wooyoung and I a couple days ago to ask for help.” Yunho replies, voice muffled against Mingi’s neck. “Sangie’s been thinking of it, but he’s too shy to do anything about it. So I guess we just have to wait to see who does it first.”

“My bet’s on Sannie.” Mingi says, mouthing against Yunho’s neck. Yunho shivers.

“Of course it is.” Yunho breathes.

“What about you?” Mingi asks, tongue flicking out to taste Yunho’s skin, teeth nipping.

“You expect me to think straight when you’re kissing me like that?” Yunho’s head is hazy, full of just Mingi Mingi Mingi.

“You’re not straight.” Mingi replies, sucking sharply. Yunho gasps, body jerking up against Mingi and- oh, yeah, they’re both hard.

“I know.” Yunho’s hands come up to clutch at Mingi’s shoulders, shifting to bend his knees, letting them bracket Mingi’s hips. He chokes on his tongue as Mingi starts rolling his hips upward, slotting them together just perfectly. “Uhh…” Yunho trails off, already forgetting what Mingi had asked him. Mingi snorts against his neck.

“Nevermind.” Mingi hums. “C’mon, Yunnie. Show me how good you feel.” Mingi’s voice has dropped into a low purr, and Yunho is helpless to comply.

the boiz the hoes who cant touch their fucking toes

Menace: hOLYHSITBGUSYFGA

Joongie: … Is there a reason you’re
texting us in English.

Menace: no but holy shti??

Menace: GUYS?? SAN JUST

Menace: HE JUST PROPOSED??

Yeonnie: CONGRATS!!

Binnie: That’s amazing! Congrats, you
two! :)

Binnie: Yeonnie you owe me

Menace: YOU BET ON US?

Binnie: Just on who’d propose

Menace: WAHT THE FUCK ?

Menace: I WANS SGOING TO TDO IT TBUT
THE LOVE OG MY LIFE BEAT ME TO IT
(｀0´)

Sangie: That’s amazing, Woo! I’m so
happy for you!!

Joongie: Now we have to wait for Sangie’s
turn

Binnie: Or Yunnie.

Binnie: Where is Yunnie, by the way? He’s
usually pretty active in the chat by now.

Menace: i dunno probalby getting his
bakc blown out by Migbni

Joongie: …

Yeonnie: …

Sangie: …

Binnie: …

PuppyHo: WHAT THE FUCK?

PuppyHo: First of all, no, Mingi just fell
asleep on top of me so I couldn’t grab my
phone at first

PuppyHo: Now he’s awake and grumpy,
so thanks for that

PuppyHo: Second, congrats on the
proposal, you absolute fucking menace

PuppyHo: Mingi and I both bet on San
proposing first by the way

Menace: HUHA? DID ABYTONG THIGK ID
DO IT FIRST?

Joongie: No

Binnie: No

Yeonnie: No

Sangie: I thought you would, Woo.

Menace: Sangie, you’re my only friend.

Sangie: Okay :)

“What’s so important that you interrupted our cuddles?” Mingi grumbles, shoving his face up against Yunho’s bare chest. Yunho snorts, carding his fingers through Mingi’s hair before he puts his phone on do not disturb and shuts it off.

“San proposed.” Yunho says, simply. Mingi makes a noise of surprise in the back of his throat.

“Damn.” Mingi’s quiet for a moment. “Something tells me it was anything but eloquent.” Yunho breathes out a laugh, wrapping both arms around Mingi’s body, thumbs rubbing down the other man’s bare back idly.

“Maybe,” Yunho relaxes further into the pillows, something warm blooming in his chest as Mingi nuzzles beneath his chin, shifting even closer to him. “Hey Mingi?”

“Hm?”

“I love you.” Mingi presses a kiss to Yunho’s collarbone.

“I love you too.”

Yeah, Yunho could stay like this forever.