Chapter Text
Myung Jaehyun, the crown prince of Arella Kingdom, turned twenty two today. It marked him as the legal heir of the kingdom.
He was not originally the first son, it was because his older brother ran away from the house to get married to another man—the King decided to give the crown prince position to Jaehyun after a long consideration.
Jaehyun was fuming around at that time. Because he never got the chance to really pursue the studies of being a crown prince until he was eighteen. He had been having a hard time keeping up with all administration and sword matters for these past four years. He spent days with tears that stayed hidden behind the castle’s wall.
Of course, all of those training made Jaehyun a strong omega. But, he was still kind of frail inside. That was the thing everyone did not know about him.
He also had no close friends because the King and Queen restricted him a lot, busy shaping him as the perfect heir. He never got the full love from his parents, because they were busy with his older brother as the old crown prince, and his little sister as the youngest. His position was always in the middle—never good enough to be loved.
The royal officials and citizens were against the King’s verdict to make Jaehyun as a crown prince. Mostly, because Jaehyun was an omega. The heir was usually an alpha, but their family did not have any sons left except Jaehyun. Jaehyun’s older brother, Heeseung—was an alpha, yet he decided to pursue his love of life outside the kingdom, leaving Jaehyun all alone.
Another sibling who Jaehyun had was Eunchae, his younger sister, the youngest of all. Jaehyun would do anything for his little sister, no matter what it costs. Honestly, without Jaehyun doing anything, the King and Queen would protect their youngest daughter with all of their might.
Jaehyun’s birthday was decided to be a forum of his marriage that was arranged by his parents. He should marry an alpha, so the prince from another kingdom was chosen through an agreement with both kingdoms, and there was a highest match for Arella, the second son of the Soleil Kingdom—Prince Taesan.
The popularity that Taesan had was like a firework, bursted everywhere. He was an adroit prince, specialized in swords and horse riding. He already was a commander of war at the age of nineteen—made him one of the top soldiers in his kingdom. Adding his skilled self, he also had a beautiful face. Many princes and princesses had chased him, yet he never opened probability for them.
Rumours said that Taesan was a cold and untouched prince. He rarely smiled and talked to other people. Those facts made Jaehyun shivered—how on earth was such a scary person like that existed? Jaehyun never understands the fact that being a prince should not be a warm and gentle soul like his parents always pictured him to be.
He spent years building a high fortress for his reputation as a prince, yet in another globe—there was Taesan, the total opposite of him.
It sparked some terrors in Jaehyun’s head.
He was scared of his future.
He was scared that Taesan would never spare some love for him until the end.
—
“Myung Jaehyun, the crown prince of Arella.”
Jaehyun’s voice echoed through the conference hall. Taesan, who sat across from him—sparing a glance of acknowledgement and stood up following Jaehyun.
“Han Taesan, the second prince of Soleil.”
Taesan’s cold voice felt like a piercing through Jaehyun’s heart. This did not sound good. Taesan also did not give him a smile even just a bit. It made Jaehyun taken aback, afraid that his life would be more miserable than before. But, his feelings did not matter here. All that mattered was their marriage which will be held two weeks ahead.
The nervewrecking discussion finally came to an end, the Queen commanded Jaehyun to have a talk with Taesan separately in another room.
Jaehyun nodded, signalling Taesan to follow his step into the royal garden. Jaehyun's steps finally faltered and he sat down on the bench, Taesan also followed to sit beside him.
A minute passed by with just the sound of the afternoon’s cold wind passing by.
“Myung Jaehyun.”
The call made Jaehyun look into Taesan’s direction. His tired eyes shone with an obligation that he never asked in the first place.
“Say it, Han Taesan.”
Taesan looked like he hesitated a little bit, then he said,
“I never wanted to be in this damned marriage. I despise it, you know? I just hope we could put a perfect act until the end, because I know, both of us did not want this and would never have the power to refuse. I will write some terms and conditions, you could check it and tell me your inputs. Is it clear?”
There was a cold fire beneath Taesan’s gaze, felt hot and freezing at the same time. Jaehyun shivered—Taesan’s words melted into his soul completely.
He should have known that this marriage would be a beginning of disaster later.
Jaehyun’s hand absentmindedly landed on Taesan’s right arm to show that he was agreeing, yet he got a shove at his left shoulder instead.
“Don’t touch me, I don’t like when strangers do it. You are included.”
Taesan rose from the bench and walked away, leaving a stunned Jaehyun alone.
Finally, the tears that Jaehyun held fell off onto the ground, quietly. His body shook a little, a mixture of sadness and vulnerability that always came together like a wave.
Jaehyun always hated himself for that.
—
The marriage finally will be held today. Jaehyun was already dressed in a glamorous white suit, looking nervous as ever. He never prepared for a day like this.
He spent several days behind to take care of various kingdom matters. The King already bestowed him with most of the responsibilities, and nearing the marriage day, his responsibilities got stacked like a suffocating blanket. He did not get either a good sleep or rest these past days. His eyebags looked dark, his lips also looked pale. The maids tried their best to conceal Jaehyun’s pale complexion—even their efforts did not make it any better.
Jaehyun hated his reflection in the mirror.
He missed his eighteen year old self who had freedom, although he never had a complete love from his parents.
And now, he had nothing.
—
Jaehyun took the short moment before the vow to sit on the edge of his bed. His eyes were in complete void for some minutes—until he noticed blood dripping from his nose. He hurriedly wiped it with a towel beside his bed. His brows furled because his head felt like spinning too.
He slipped off from the bed, sat on the floor, and put his head on the bed, waiting until his nose stopped dripping. The exhausting days finally took a toll on his body.
Jaehyun was busy pressing the towel under his nose, when he heard his room’s door open from outside—revealing Taesan in a white suit, similar to his.
Taesan looked frustrated and finding Jaehyun sprawled on the floor with his head on the bed made him even madder.
“Jaehyun, what the fuck are you doing here? The ceremony will start in a bit, stop messing around!”
Before Jaehyun could answer, Taesan already stormed off and closed the door harshly. Jaehyun hurriedly rose from the floor, almost falling down to the floor again if he did not brace himself on the bed pole. His head still felt dizzy and both of his legs were also trembling. But fortunately, the blood finally stopped dripping from his nose.
He sighed and tried his best to walk into the ballroom. He did not notice that time flew by. Taesan was mad—his dark chocolate scent turned sour, showing how irritated he was. Jaehyun pressed his jasmine scent to not burst into sour too.
He should look presentable tonight.
Presentable enough to be Arella’s crown prince,
And to be Taesan’s mate.
—
The ceremony felt like an eternity. His father and also Taesan’s—the King of Soleil, giving a long speech until he and Taesan did not have enough time to speak on their behalf.
Actually, Jaehyun was glad, because his body did want to compromise tonight. His vision was blurred countless times. He felt cold until his body was subtly trembling. Yet, he held himself together, he did not want to ruin the night.
There was a time when he stumbled until he almost collapsed to the floor, yet Taesan rapidly held his waist to stabilize him. He looked up to Taesan who was looking at him with a gaze which he could not interpret.
“Watch your step.”
Taesan scolded Jaehyun with a calm voice. His brows were furrowed a bit then he swiftly changed his facial expression back into neutral. His right hand was still on Jaehyun’s waist, just in case.
Jaehyun wanted to answer Taesan—to tell him that he was not doing it on purpose, before the wave of nausea suddenly washed him. He bowed his head a little to hide his face. He felt so awful.
Taesan could feel the body in his embrace was trembling. He dropped his gaze to Jaehyun’s position—he could see Jaehyun’s head slightly bowed, but he could not see the older man's expression—and he stayed quiet.
He was unconcerned, yet he strengthened his grip on Jaehyun’s waist.
—
The marriage ceremony finally came to an end. Both Jaehyun and Taesan walked into Jaehyun’s room—that turned into their room. Taesan moved into Arella because Jaehyun was the legal heir, and of course as his “arranged” mate, he obeyed to live in Arella.
Right after Jaehyun opened his door, his body could not hold any longer, so he collapsed in front of the door. With his hand gripping the doorframe like a lifeline. His breathing labored and his vision almost turned into black.
Looking at that scene made Taesan dragged Jaehyun to their room and locked the door.
“Don’t put any acts right now, I am exhausted, Jaehyun. I don’t care about you. Do as you like, but don’t get me involved!”
Jaehyun could only bow his head and stayed still—his back was resting on the wall. He looked at Taesan with droopy eyes. His breathing was still uneven, and it was getting worse.
He panicked.
Taesan kept raising his voice on him, yet his body signalled it as a danger.
He could endure harsh remarks, but this time—he was not in the condition to endure all of those insults alone.
Taesan ignored him and detached his robe, then he walked into the bathroom.
Not so long after Taesan headed to the bathroom, Jaehyun’s legs gave up again. This time, he completely blacked out.
There was a loud thud coming from the bedroom, so Taesan hurriedly opened the bathroom’s door. He saw the scene of Jaehyun’s unconscious form on the floor.
His face still in a neutral expression, he did not look surprised at all.
He lifted Jaehyun’s body to the bed and pulled the blanket until it reached Jaehyun’s neck.
“Ck, you are so weak. What a troublesome thing.”
Taesan muttered under his breath and walked away from their room.