the choi family was eating their dinner in silence. ever since beomgyu had accidentally told them that he and soobin are dating, his father hasn't even looked at him. his mother hasn't spoken much, either. there are now guards outside of the castle 24/7, so that no one can sneak in or out at night.

beomgyu suddenly stood up and was about to walk to the kitchen to empty his plate, but his mother stopped him. "aren't you going to finish your food?"

"not hungry." beomgyu then went upstairs to his room, slamming the door. maybe you'd say that he has no reason to be mad at his parents, but he still is pretty mad. yes, maybe he was the one at fault for sneaking out alot, but still. they shouldn't be this angry at him for that.

"prince beomgyu, can i come in?" seungmin asked as he knocked on the door.

beomgyu let out a quiet sigh before answering, "sure."

seungmin entered the room and closed the door, looking at the prince who was seated on his bed. "you alright?"

"yeah, why?"

"really now?" the older said, quirking an eyebrow. the other boy sighed in defeat.

"fine. no, i'm not alright. i'm mad and sad," he replied, falling onto his back. "my parents are still mad at me and they won't let me see soobin, but i really want to see him. and because of those stupid guards, i won't be able to sneak out. but i really just want to see him today." he said, not taking breaths in between.

"what if i help you sneak out?"

seungmin isn't stupid, he knows mr. and mrs. choi won't let beomgyu see his boyfriend. but he really does feel sorry for the younger, so he wants to help.

beomgyu sat up again and looked at his guard with wide eyes. "you'll do that?!"

"if it makes you happy, then sure."

the black-haired boy squealed and sprung up, hugging the elder. "really?! thank you! thank you so much!" seungmin just awkwardly chuckled. "will you distract the guards for me?!"

"uhm.. sure," seungmin replied.

—

beomgyu was hiding while seungmin went up to one of the guards. he was shaking, he was so nervous to get caught. "uhm uh.. hello?"

"can i help you?" the guard replied.

"i-i think i heard something- or someone. maybe it's an intruder."

"what?! an intruder?!"

"i'm not sure! but-" before seungmin could finish his sentence, the guard was already gone, along with the other guards in that area. beomgyu came out of his hiding place and thanked the other male, before running off.

—

"is it true that you're in a relationship?"

"is it true that you're dating someone?"

"is it true that you're dating a boy?"

"is it true that you got kicked out of the castle?"

"is it true that you are no longer part of the royal family?" was all the reporters kept asking, while beomgyu just stood there, flustered. he didn't know what to say. there were so many people around him at the moments, it was overwhelming for the boy. why did they have to recognize him right now?!

"can i please just- please leave me alone," was all he said. he tried pushing through the crowd, but the reporters just blocked him. this is why he always needs to have a guard with him. all of a sudden, he harshly got pulled away from the people. beomgyu gasps as he got dragged behind a wall. once he can't hear the reporters anymore, he yanks his arm away, finally looking at the person.

"it's just me, gyu." beomgyu sighed in relief, hearing soobin's voice. he quickly hugged onto the elder.

"hyung! oh my god, thank you so much!"

"no problem. what happened out there and what were you doing?" soobin asked, pulling away from the hug to look at the younger boy.

"i was going to visit you, but these reporters kept asking stupid questions. i couldn't get passed them. sorry."

"no need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong. are you okay, though?"

"yeah.."

"but uhm, now there are alot of guards outside the castle, so i won't be able to sneak out as much. my parents are still mad at me and they won't let me see you for a while, i think.."

"sorry."

"stop apologizing! you didn't do anything, gyu."

"but i was the one who accidentally told them about us."

"they were going to find out somehow, don't worry about it. atleast now they know and we don't have to lie, hm?"

"mmh, yeah.."

"for now, let's just go to my house. okay?"

"okay."

—

—

—

—

—