Tears mixed with the water falling onto his face. His mind swirled with thoughts of unexpected turns in an already surprising day. And, they all morphed into Should I just drown myself?

A cold feeling took over his chest and his lungs began asking for air. Seonghwa pulled away from the warm stream erupting from the silver, polished shower head. 

The pressure on his chest did not relieve itself as he wrapped his body in one of the white towels, embroidered with the red and orange feather of a phoenix. 

He turned to stare at a tired, young man, functioning on only 30 minutes of sleep, achieved after thinking about the fresh faces in the classroom he had adopted as his second home. Not only was his hair dripping but also his bloodshot eyes. 

A whimper, so small it almost got lost on his lips, escaped his throat. 

Seonghwa wiped the tears from his face and walked into the bedroom, "his" bed already made and the clock on "his" nightstand reading 8:02 A.M.

He was buttoning the shirt up and getting used to the feel of the expensive fabric when there came a knock on the door. 

He could feel a response lodged in his throat, scared that his voice would come out squeaky and reflect what he was feeling; fear. 

"Hello?", a quiet voice, calm, found its way into the room. 

  Pushing any sign of terror behind his tense shoulders, Seonghwa walked towards the door and pushed it open. 

San stood before him, dressed in a basic black suit, like the one that was stranded in the corner of the room behind Seonghwa, and his hair was slicked back from his forehead. 

The locket around his neck, a mole on the skin, bounced as he walked into the room, throwing invitations to the wind, "Goodmorning, Seonghwa."

The young man was left by the door, his hand frozen on the knob and his eyes glued to the newcomer who now was sitting on the couch, his arm slung over the back. 

"Go-Goodmorning.", Seonghwa closed the door, mentally cursing himself for stuttering as he approached San. 

"I wanted to talk to you before the wedding."

A chorus of footsteps echoed through the palace and ended at his door. "What in the world?", he mumbled as he approached the entrance. 

But, there was no need to accept anyone because they accepted themselves. 

Six other young men stormed into the room. Aside from the variations in hair color and prominent facial features, they all looked like clones, the same stern expression on their faces and the same attire on their bodies.  

"Pardon me, we are all here to talk to you before the wedding.", San rose from where he was sitting, a look of gratification on his face for he knew he was the one in control. 

"Park Seonghwa, I believe?", a shorter young man with bright blue hair raised an eyebrow at him, his arms crossed over his sculpted chest.

Seonghwa's head bobbed up and down as a fool. 

"Hong Joong. The chief commander of the Sonar Army.", the blueberry stuck out his hand. 

Seonghwa stared at the petiteness of the hand outstretched before him. He could feel a question that was surely to offend climb up his throat but he bit his tongue and shook Commander    Hong Joong's with a smile. 

As he moved away from Seonghwa, the groom held out his hand to two other young men. The blond with sharper features than the black-haired, who had features relevant to a child's, stared at his hand in distaste, his friend following closely behind even with soft features. 

"I'm Wooyoung, the lead palace's medic. And, this-", the black-haired gestured to his friend, "-Yeosang, the lead palace's gardener."

Seonghwa hid his hand behind his back, a subtle amount of embarrassment filling his chest, and smiled, "Nice to meet you. Both of you."

As they made way for the last three unknown individuals in the room, they kept an unwelcoming eye on the nervous boy. Or, Seonghwa felt like a naive, stupid boy who needed someone to come pull him out of his dilemma. 

"I'm Mingi.", the brown-headed with stern features but a warm smile said. 

"I'm Yunho.", said the orange-headed with innocent features. 

"And, I'm Jongho.", the black-headed with red tips and childish features raised his hand with a small wave. 

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Seonghwa's eyes traced the designs on the tiled floor as San's eyes burned holes through his soul. 

"We are Princess Anabella's bodyguards.", Jongho whispered, the statement provided almost as an afterthought. 

Seonghwa ripped his eyes from the ground in time to see San shake his head at Jongho, a frown etched into his face. 

"Anyway-", San smiled back at Seonghwa, a kind of patronizing smile, "-we just wanted to acquaint ourselves with our feature king and give you a warning."

"Warning? Does Princess Anabella have any flaws?", Seonghwa let sarcasm and false shock flow freely through his lips. 

San grabbed Seonghwa's collar and pulled him so close, the latter could smell the residue of toothpaste on the prior's breath. "Hurt her and I promise you I will hang you myself-", San sneered, "-Your Majesty."

He still had in mind that he was threatening was someone who was to have power that could have his blood on a sword, but he also knew that Princess Anabella would not let anyone harm him. 

"San, let him go.", Hong Joong mumbled and San followed the instruction but not without a final glare. 

"She does not like to sleep with covers nor with the warmth of someone else. Do not kiss or hug her without her permission. And, I do not care if you are to be king. Treat her like an object, and well, I do not believe it is necessary for me to repeat myself.", San patted his shoulder and walked out. 

A series of warning eyes and more pats on the shoulder followed before Seonghwa was alone once more, a mental breakdown only inching closer. 

1041 words!!

I hope you enjoyed. 

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