The corridor outside the council room was deserted. Torches hissed as if whispering secrets to the stone. Hyunjin walked ahead, silent. Felix followed, his footsteps echoing slightly behind.
No guards stopped them. No servants dared speak. The palace itself seemed to hold its breath.
Finally, Hyunjin stopped at the end of the hall, at the door to his private chambers. He turned.
Hyunjin (quietly):
"Come in."
Felix hesitated. "Hyunjin…"
Hyunjin (without looking back):
"If we are to be condemned by dawn, I won't have the night stolen from us too."
Felix's pulse raced. He followed.
The door closed behind them with a heavy thud. The room smelled faintly of ink, metal, and candle wax. The moonlight bled through the windows in pale threads.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Hyunjin crossed the room and poured himself a cup of wine — hands steady, eyes unreadable.
Hyunjin (bitter smile):
"The crown that commands armies cannot command silence, it seems."
Felix (softly):
"You shouldn't have defended me."
Hyunjin:
"I shouldn't have kissed you, either. Yet here we are."
He looked up then — and whatever mask he'd worn before was gone. His eyes were dark, fierce, tender all at once.
Hyunjin:
"You told him the truth. Why?"
Felix:
"Because I'm tired of being afraid."
Hyunjin:
"Afraid of the king?"
Felix shook his head. "Of losing you."
Hyunjin's jaw clenched. He turned away, but Felix stepped closer, voice trembling.
Felix:
"They'll exile me. Maybe worse. But if I die without saying it again… I love you, Hyunjin."
The words cracked open the air between them like lightning.
Hyunjin exhaled, setting the cup down. "You make everything sound simple."
Felix smiled faintly. "Isn't love supposed to be?"
Hyunjin (bitter laugh):
"Not in this palace. Here, even love bleeds politics."
Felix moved closer, until their shadows merged on the floor.
Felix:
"Then let it bleed. I'll still call it love."
Hyunjin turned — sharply, almost angrily — but the anger melted when he saw Felix's eyes. Something broke inside him.
He reached out, pulling Felix forward until their foreheads touched.
Hyunjin (hoarse):
"You think I'm brave enough to choose you over everything I was raised to protect?"
Felix (whisper):
"You already have."
For a heartbeat, neither moved. The tension between them was electric, fragile, holy. Then Hyunjin kissed him — slow, desperate, a promise and an apology all at once.
Felix responded as if drowning, gripping the prince's collar, their breath tangling. The kiss deepened — not frantic, but burning with restraint that had finally been shattered.
When they broke apart, both were trembling.
Felix (half breathless):
"So this is what defiance feels like."
Hyunjin (smiling faintly):
"No. This is what truth feels like."
He brushed his thumb against Felix's lower lip — a tender, almost reverent motion.
Hyunjin:
"If dawn takes you from me… I'll start a war before I let them bury you."
Felix's eyes widened. "Don't say that."
Hyunjin (grimly):
"I mean it."
Felix shook his head. "Then they'll hang us both."
Hyunjin:
"Then we'll hang together."
A sad smile ghosted across Felix's lips. "You make ruin sound romantic."
Hyunjin:
"Because it is. When it's for the right person."
The room dimmed as a cloud swallowed the moonlight. Only the glow of the single candle remained, flickering wildly between them.
Felix (quietly):
"What if I leave tonight? You could tell them I fled, that you had no choice."
Hyunjin's expression darkened. "You'd make me lie."
Felix looked down. "I'd make you safe."
Hyunjin stepped closer until his breath brushed Felix's cheek.
Hyunjin:
"You think I could ever be safe without you here?"
Felix blinked hard, fighting the emotion that rose like a tide.
Felix (voice breaking):
"Then what do we do, Hyunjin?"
Hyunjin exhaled. "We don't kneel."
Felix:
"You'll defy the king?"
Hyunjin:
"I'll defy the world."
They stood there for a long time — neither moving, both knowing what sunrise would bring.
Then, unexpectedly, Hyunjin's hand found Felix's again — fingers intertwining like a vow.
Hyunjin (softly):
"Stay tonight. Not because of fear. Because I want you here."
Felix nodded, unable to speak.
---
They sat together near the window as the night waned, watching the slow crawl of stars. Occasionally, they spoke — soft words, half-whispers that carried the weight of forever.
Felix:
"Do you ever wish you were ordinary?"
Hyunjin:
"Every day. Until you looked at me like I wasn't."
Felix laughed quietly, resting his head against Hyunjin's shoulder.
Felix:
"Then maybe we're both cursed."
Hyunjin (smiling faintly):
"Cursed beautifully."
Silence again. Outside, the first faint hint of dawn painted the clouds a soft gray.
Felix:
"Promise me something."
Hyunjin:
"Anything."
Felix:
"If I'm taken, don't come for me right away. Wait. Think. Live."
Hyunjin turned sharply. "Don't ask me that."
Felix met his eyes. "Please."
Hyunjin's throat tightened. "…All right. But only if you promise to survive until I do."
Felix smiled sadly. "I'll try."
Hyunjin's fingers brushed his cheek, memorizing the feel of him.
Hyunjin (softly):
"You always say that. 'I'll try.' I wish you'd say 'I will.'"
Felix leaned closer. "Then I will. For you."
Their lips met again — slower this time, lingering like a farewell disguised as a promise.
When they finally parted, the candle had burned down to its end, leaving only the gray light of dawn filtering through the window.
Felix (whispering):
"It's morning."
Hyunjin (quiet):
"Not yet."
He pulled Felix into an embrace, holding him against his chest as if to stop time itself.
But the bells of the palace began to ring — slow, deliberate, summoning them to face their fate.
Felix exhaled. "It's time."
Hyunjin didn't let go immediately.
Hyunjin:
"If this is the end, I'm glad it began with you."
Felix:
"Then let's make sure it's not the end."
They rose together, straightening their coats, their faces calm despite the fear that pulsed beneath the surface.
When they opened the door, the guards were already waiting — eyes hard, voices cold.
The prince of the realm and the lord he loved stepped forward side by side, toward judgment, toward dawn, toward whatever future waited beyond the king's wrath.
And as the first light touched their faces, Hyunjin reached for Felix's hand — only for a second, just enough for the world to see that love could still stand tall in the shadow of a crown.