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"Your hair! It's pink!" Hoseok exclaims after Seokjin settles in the driver's seat, his eyes wide in surprise. He thinks he had seen a hint of a rose colour weaved into his locks back in his apartment, but now there is no denying it.
Seokjin smiles, amusement washing over his features. He tousles his hair with his long fingers, and a faint, sweet smell reaches Hoseok. The man throws something small and heavy into the glove compartment, something golden that glints in the light, but never replies to Hoseok's exclamation.
Instead, he orders, "Buckle your seatbelt," as he brings the engine of his fancy car to life.
~*~
"I have questions," Hoseok asks, not ten minutes into the drive.
Seokjin sighs and mumbles something akin to "It's not a prince's duty to carry out interventions," which makes absolutely no sense to Hoseok's ears.
"What?"
The now-pink-haired man rolls his broad shoulders in preparation, "Okay. I'm supposed to fill you in before we get there," he informs.
"Get where?"
"You'll see. For now, just... just listen, okay? And believe as much as you can, alright?"
For some reason —most likely because of his handsome face, which exuded a certain air of trustworthiness—, Hoseok decides that nothing Seokjin has to tell him will be so bad that he would want to jump off the moving car.
He was wrong.
"Unlock this door right now!" Hoseok yells an hour later, hands desperately tugging at the door handle, failing to open it. And what luck that is, given that they are driving 90 mph down a highway.
"Hoseok, just—"
"No!" He yells, both irritated by the lies and dumbfounded by the mere possibility of them being truths. "W-What do you mean prince? And you! How am I engaged to you? Who the fuck is the Red Pearl King?!"
It is not just the load of information dumped on him in the span of an hour, but the utter madness behind Seokjin's words that which have Hoseok at such a loss. He is going crazy, surely he is. Seokjin's claims are beyond unbelievable, and he begins thinking he might just be in the presence of a maniac.
The impossibility of it all sends Hoseok into shock: he feels the air escape his lungs, and his arms crawl with goosebumps.
"Hobi!" Seokjin exclaims, his voice reaching the deepest corners of Hoseok's being. Somewhere in the back of his head, the dancer wonders how the pink-haired man knows his childhood nickname at all. "You need to calm down!"
"Don't!" Hoseok jerks away from the hand that intends to settle his nerves, "Don't even..."
"Let me explain, please. I wasn't trained for this." Seokjin looks at him with worry in his eyes, blaming himself for not listening to his intervention instructor when he needed to. And he has now caused Hoseok pain because of it. He isn't trained for this shit; isn't trained to delicately approach the subject of who Hoseok really is. He has screwed up.
When the dancer remains quiet, trying to steady his breathing, Seokjin smiles his way softly.
"As I said, your parents didn't die. They are alive. They are our king and queen, and you the sole successor to the throne."
"What throne?" Tears well up in his eyes. The mere prospect of seeing his parents again, which he doubts anyway, is too much for him to handle.
"There are several kingdoms, hidden from the ordinary eye. Their people look and act like humans, so you wouldn't be able to tell them apart unless you were one of them. Your parents rule over the White Pearl kingdom, which makes you the prince." Seokjin grins and points to his own head, signalling his bright pink hair. "Rose Petal kingdom," he says as if that is enough of an explanation. "Now, each kingdom has an opposite, supposedly destined to fight forever amongst themselves. The Rose Petal kingdom has the Rose Thorn kingdom for enemies, for example, and the White Pearl kingdom..."
“The Red Pearl kingdom," Hoseok states, a vacant look to his expression.
"There you go! You're getting it!" His teeth-baring smile puts Hoseok's nerves somewhat at ease.
"Some kingdoms have chosen to disregard ancient writings and ally themselves with their opposites, like the Tree leaves and the Tree Roots. They have been united for generations under the Tree colours. But your kingdom and the Red Pearls have historically despised each other."
"Is that why I'm marrying you?" Hoseok asks, looking out the window rather forlornly. It makes Seokjin happy, however, that he is not arguing against the engagement, although he is quite sure he will, when he finally believes him.
"Kind of." The pink-haired man pulls down the sun-visor and takes a photograph from it. "We've been engaged since you were five."
He extends the picture to the White Pearl prince, who takes it, not without distrust in his expression, which fades completely when he looks at it. He snaps his gaze back to Seokjin, jaw dropping open like a cartoon.
"We know each other?" His eyes go back to the photograph, where he recognises himself as a skinny five-year-old of messy brown hair. He is standing with a giant grin on his face next to a boy a couple of years older than him, who clearly bears a resemblance to the gorgeous man who is driving him god knows where; pink hair and everything.
"We do. We were playmates when we were little. Not that we had any choice in the matter, but yeah. The idea of that." He points at the picture, "is to test the compatibility between heirs to the thrones."
"What do you mean?"
"Throughout childhood," Seokjin explains, "it is customary that we visit other heirs and spend entire afternoons with them. Royal matchmaking for kids, if you will." Hoseok chuckles for the first time in an hour, and the Petal prince's chest fills with pride. "It's how well the kids get along that determines the possibility of future alliances by marriage."
"That's insane! Why let kids decide the entire future of a kingdom?"
It is certainly amusing to Seokjin to witness how worked up his fiancee gets over something he hasn't believed a word of.
"Because children are untainted by prejudice. When the matches are left to adults, they may choose unwisely, based on judgements and preconceptions of a certain kingdom's people. And generally, heirs that were playmates rule at the same time, so they have at least some recorded knowledge of their purest interactions. They know who to avoid and who to consider a friend."
Hoseok finds himself again at a loss, his utter confusion evident in his eyes.
"Don't worry, your memories will start coming back in no time," Seokjin smiles.
"So... you and I," Hoseok whispers.
"Yup. You and I."
"Then why... If everything was going according to plan, then why...?" Now Hoseok's curiosity burns inside, like a wildfire that cannot be put out.
"Why have you been living as a human all these years?" Hoseok nods. "Heirs are always sent to live in the human world. It's partly for protection, partly for learning. It teaches us about hardships and hard work, and about what our subjects' lives are like so that one day we might become fair rulers. Those who can stand it, that is." His expression turns into a sombre one. "Some turn to greed and trickery. The human world poisons them."
The Pearl prince remains silent, trying to make sense of it all. Either this is a very elaborate, cruel joke or he has just been kidnapped by a crazy person—or recruited for a cult. There is also a third option, slightly less believable than the last: all of it is true. Hoseok isn't at all inclined to the third option.
"Protection from what?" He asks distractedly.
"From enemy spies. We're harder to track when we believe ourselves human. But when it's time to go back —like it is for you now—, we become easier to find." He paused then, face like stone. "That’s why I was sent to get you. One of the Red Pearl king's spies found you."
"What?" His eyes grow wide, surprise and fear mixing together in his expression. "He found me? What was he going to do with me?"
"We don't know. But I got to you before they could, so everything is fine. You're safe."
Silence ensues while Hoseok tries to make sense of all he has just been told. It is certainly a lot of information to take in, and he still isn't sure he believes half of it. But he is certain of one thing —he is glad Seokjin is beside him. And even if he had been disastrous in his technique of breaking the news to him, Hoseok would not have wanted it to be anyone else. Not that he knows anyone else who could tell him about it all... or does he?
"What about my grandparents? Were they king and queen, too?"
Seokjin lets out a hearty roar of laughter from within the depths of his stomach. "God, no. They're subjects of yours. Guards, sworn to protect you before your mother an father. They were the ones who identified the threat and informed your kingdom."
"And they sent you?" It sounded like an accusation rather than a question.
Seokjin's hand flies to his chest as he gasps, mock-offended. "Are you saying you would have someone else come get you?"
"No," Hoseok replies immediately, tone very much sober. "No, I wouldn't."
His pink-haired companion smiles, pleased, though his grin falters when distress begins to settle over Hoseok's features.
"Don't worry," Seokjin says, placing a tentative hand over the Pearl prince's, his touch making a shiver run down the dancer's spine. "You'll have time to learn. Everything will make sense eventually."
Hoseok looks at their joined hands and blushes deeply. If all of it turns out to be a lie, at least he hopes Seokjin will still want to see him, for he has never seen such a beautiful, kinder soul in all his life. The idea of not seeing his face anymore leaves Hoseok with a knot in his stomach, like losing a long-time friend would, except he has just met him. Or has he? Perhaps they are destined to be together —or not destined but forced. Either way, Hoseok is glad he has met him, whatever the circumstances may be.
"Do you have any other questions?" The Rose Petal prince wonders, voice soft as silk.
The inexperienced prince examines his companion's features carefully, deciding that surely Seokjin has been created by whatever gods his people believe in —his people. Hoseok has a people now—, because his face seems carved from marble by a divine hand.
Thinking about how his life has turned so quickly into one that belongs to a complete stranger gives him a headache. He can't think of his studio, or his students, or his debt. Can't think of how he will have to marry a man he barely knows, or that he now has an entire kingdom to rule over. Or about how his grandparents, whom he loves so dearly, have been lying to him all his life. Or about how, all of a sudden, he has enemies he isn't completely sure he hates yet. And worse of all —he cannot think of how he will see his parents again.
"I should sleep," Hoseok says, hoping sleep won't be nearly as hectic as reality feels.
"You should. There is still a long way to go, pearl." Seokjin squeezes his hand gently and lets go.
Without his touch, Hoseok feels empty; like a part of him is suddenly missing. So he leans into his companion, braver than he has ever been before, and rests his head on Seokjin's shoulder, his hands holding onto the Rose Petal prince's arm softly.
Safe. He feels safe.
Hoseok sighs deeply and closes his eyes, drowning in the other man's warmth. He fails to see the red creep up Seokjin's neck and spread over his cheeks sweetly.
"Thank you, petal."