A Woosan fairytale one shot! I hope you enjoy! Warnings for very slight animal abuse

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Once upon a time in a country in the far west, lived a prince named Wooyoung. He was the fairest of all gentlemen between the mountains in the north all to the sea in the south. His beauty and prosperity were desired not only amongst the kingdom's regions but also in the other lands. From far and wide, princes and princesses alike travelled the sea to ask Prince Wooyoung for his hand in marriage. However, no matter what abundance or vows they promised him, Wooyoung was bored at their attempts.

Every day at noon, the period in which suitors were allowed to visit him in the throne room ended. And today, like any other day, Wooyoung slumped into his chair disgracefully the second the double-winged doors closed behind the last person.

His father, King Jongho, looked at Wooyoung with an expression of mixed exasperation and sternness. The heavy golden rings on his fingers reflected the light as they brushed through his greying beard.

"Son, I need you to make a decision in due time. You aren't getting any younger and with age, less attractive suitors will come to visit you," he grumbled in his deep voice.

Wooyoung sighed. He was nothing like his father. The king had settled for the arranged marriage he was always meant to have. But Wooyoung was bothered by all the empty faces and fake smiles that graced their court all day long.

"Father, their blandness exhausts me. How can I spend my days with a person who has neither the wit nor the humour to charm me?"

Jongho grumbled as he rose from his throne. His long red cape draped behind him as he walked over Yeosang, their priceless carpet.

"You hold this up for some more months until you will notice there is no other way. The finest thing you can do is to marry rich and live a fulfilled life. Your hobbies can be your main pass time still."

He exited with grandeur. Once he was gone their tall and handsome guard Yunho hesitated to close the door just yet.

"Will you return to your chambers, Highness?" He bowed politely as he addressed Wooyoung. When the prince passed him, they shared a sympathetic grimace.

"I will. Thank you, Yunho."

With long steps, Wooyoung walked down the luxuriant corridor. Expensive paintings of his ancestors lined the walls with their heavy wooden frames decorated with beat gold. None of them had described too happy of marriage in their memoires. As time passed, Wooyoung lost even the last of his hope.

Back in his chambers, Wooyoung took off the bulky coat he had to wear for representative purposes. His throat was parched from hours of enforced smiles and tedious conversations. He took a sip of water from his golden chalice and handed it to Seonghwa, his cupholder.

"Oh, dear me. I have everything I could ever desire already. But nobody sees my worth beyond the gold and silver."

Stricken, Wooyoung dropped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. It was of white marble and with golden veins crossing to the stone like its blood. Everything Wooyoung possessed was made of gold. His bed, his plates, his hairbrush, even some of the food they ate had a thin layer of it coated around it. And yet, none of those materials seemed as important as the prince's heart.

When the door opened and closed quietly, Wooyoung didn't look up. Without a glance, he knew it was Mingi, the cleaning lady that kept his room in an orderly fashion.

"Mingi, what should I do? How can I find someone who makes my heart beat in my chest like a butterfly's wings? Where on this far world is a person hiding who is suitable for me?"

Since Mingi was a man but was employed strictly as a cleaning lady, he always rose his voice to ridiculously high pitches. Wooyoung relished the fun it brought both of them in his depressed state. Especially since Mingi's voice was ordinarily so deep.

"Don't think about it too much, dear Prince. As the time comes, the right person will also come. And they will sweep you off your feet," Mingi reassured him gently. His voice sounded goofy, but his kindness alleviated the weight pressing on Wooyoung's heart.

From his nightstand, Wooyoung grabbed his golden ball. It was his favourite thing to play with, and his best companion.

"I'll go out to play. Tell my father if he sends for me."

With that, Wooyoung skipped off. Their spacious gardens were beautifully tended to. Colourful and fragrant roses trimmed to neat bushes garnered recognition and compliments from their foreign visitors. It was a place of relaxation and indulgence for any who visited them.

Wooyoung liked the corners behind the castle, where no other person usually wandered. An old well made of irregularly sized stones and wood that had withstood the ages dwelled back there. Wooyoung appreciated it for how wild and wise it was, compared to the recent and modern hedges. The grass there was softer, too, and was perfect to bounce the ball in.

Today, like any other day, Wooyoung came to the well to share his hours of yearning with it. For a while, he played by himself. He threw the ball high into the air to catch it again. Wooyoung was never good at sports for it had so many rules and techniques. But in throwing his ball and catching it, he was an expert.

Not today, however. On no other day, he would have dropped his precious ball. Since he was troubled and frustrated today more than usual, however, the inevitable happened.

When the ball dropped into the well with a 'glob', Wooyoung let go of an agonised wail.

"No! Not you, too! I need you!"

Desperate, the prince leaned over the rim to try to spot his golden ball in the dim darkness the well offered. The smell of old and rotten water brought tears to his eyes.

Heartbroken, Wooyoung sank to the ground next to the stone walls. His lip wobbled as he buried his head in his knees. He wanted to cry over the outrage and bad luck that had been bestowed on him. Yet, he swallowed his pain and tried to regather his virtues.

"Hey, I can help you get that ball back."

Wooyoung whipped his head up, looking around. Never before he had heard this peculiar squeaky voice.

And no person was there, either. Wooyoung was all alone with the well.

"I must be losing my mind..."

"No, I'm just down here!"

Befuddled, Wooyoung glanced down to his left, where the voice had come from. And there, in the high grass around the well sat an ugly green frog. It had warts all over its blotchy skin, and its tongue came out to lick the air.

"Hello, your highness! I'm San, and I can help you-"

Wooyoung screeched.

"Disgusting, a talking frog!" With a fast movement, he rose his hand and batted it forcefully at the creature. It flew off instantly, hitting a tree and tumbling to the ground. A slimy spot remained on Wooyoung's hand where he had touched it.

The prince hastily wiped it off on the grass as he stumbled to his feet. His yell had alerted Yunho, and the man came running with his hand poised on his sword. When he spotted no imminent danger nearby, he rushed over to Wooyoung.

"My Prince, are you alright?"

"I am. There was just this really nasty frog over there... Give it to Hongjoong or something." Wooyoung shuddered once more. When he turned to leave this cursed place, he spotted his golden ball in the grass behind the well. Apparently, he had mistaken the length of his throw.

Relieved, Wooyoung collected it and returned to his chambers. He moped some more until Hongjoong visited him in his room. The cook wore a chef's hat that was taller than him as he presented Wooyoung with the frog, now deliciously cooked into a meal.

Wooyoung smiled at him, relieved that the ghastly frog didn't haunt their gardens anymore.

"I will eat later, thank you."

Hongjoong left with a bow while Wooyoung went back to cursing his existence. Since the frog had been a talking one, he must have been extraordinary. Wooyoung hoped his taste would be, too. It would be a slight distraction from his bleak days.

Oh, if only there was a prince somewhere out there who understood Wooyoung and would make his life a paradise.

And Wooyoung lived unhappily ever after.

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So uhhh. This was inspired by a gag gift that my dad gave me. It was basically just Haribo frogs in a can that reads 'frog stew' and this came out of it, I'm not even sorry.