He kissed him, right there and then.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but absolute silence, the tension so thick you could cut it through with a knife. Time seemed to have been held still.

In fact, everything seemed to have been held still, there wasn't even the tiniest of movements from anyone. Absolutely nothing happened, except for the shocking kiss.

While Taehyung's one hand was clutching the other boy's collar in a tight fist, his other hand was latched to the back of his head while his lips were tightly pressed onto his. He truly had no idea what he was doing nor had he ever done anything of this sort. Of course, he had read his fair share of romance novels and kind of knew what was happening, but to actually do it...

Having held his breath for several seconds, he let go of Jungkook as he realized what in the actual world he was doing. And suddenly, it seemed like the ballroom revived itself.

Eunbin dropped her bouquet of flowers, the pretty petals spreading all over the flawlessly polished floor, the Queen who had just been standing proudly almost fainted out of shock and noise started to fill the hall again. But this time, not gleeful whispers and happy chuckles, there were gasps and even little screams of horror.

Jungkook almost dropped the ring-box too, wondering whether he was hallucinating or living inside a dream. Not even in his wildest dreams would he have ever known anything of this sort to happen. He simply stared into the prince's eyes, who had no choice but to stare back.

"Wh-Wh- I--," the Queen whimpered, seating herself onto her throne again, and this time not in an elegant manner but rather in a lurch. "D-Dear, I am afraid you are not well. Wh-Who thought it was an amusing idea to let you drink so much wedding champagne?"

Averting his eyes slightly from Jungkook's, Taehyung now gazed at his mother. Part of him knew it, he must back down, admit he was drunk and out of his mind and had absolutely no control over his actions. But something, something inside him did not listen and continued to rebel against what was rational and right.

"But I am perfectly well, mother," he spoke up, without the slightest bit of a stutter. "Not the faintest bit of dizziness." She yelped, clutching her chest with one hand and seemingly losing her ability to speak. The King, who had looked just as paralyzed and shocked up until now, seemed to have come to his senses and was balling a furious fist.

"My eyes simply must be deceiving me."

"Someone slipped something funny into His Majesty's food or drink, I am sure of it. What if there is a plot against the kingdom?"

"Madness. Absolute madness."

Taehyung realized he had just ruined his entire reputation, the words of the wedding guests ringing inside his ears like alarm bells. He ought to run off and hide somewhere and not return until after the ceremony. But his two feet stood their ground on the floor firmly, as if cemented into it.

He could sense his father opening his mouth trembling in fury, wondering if he would throw a tantrum in front of all these people when suddenly, someone else stepped forward and spoke before him.

"I knew it! Your Grace, I fear that your son is gravely ill. I thought something was suspicious, but I could not dare think..." It was the kitchen maid who had picked a fight with Jungkook and called him privileged and lazy, Choi Yujin. In her hands she held a tray with beautifully sparkling pink champagne and strawberry tarts, decorated by pink roses that matched her pink uniform but not her spiteful face.

"What by all means do you mean, servant?," the King asked icily, not taking his eyes off his son.
"This servant boy," she pointed towards Jungkook while talking, "has been spending an awful lot of time with Prince Taehyung. I have seen them, walking in the garden, eating breakfast together, even entering His Majesty's private library together! Immediately I knew, this was not an appropriate relationship between the Prince and his servant!"

The Queen gasped again, looking like she could faint anytime again despite being seated on her throne. Princess Eunbin's eyes flickered between Taehyung, Yujin, the King and Queen and Jungkook, which made her feel extremely dizzy.

"But," the maid continued. "That is not all. Your Grace, I have been serving this castle since Princess Sojung has been born and your-- crown prince has always showed most unusual behaviour! He is not fit to rule this country, not by all means!" The King furrowed his eyebrows, looking even more infuriated then before.

"Whatever do you mean?" Despite having the King glare at her, Yujin simply scoffed and didn't seem intimidated in the slightest. "Have you ever seen His Majesty take the slightest interest in a woman? First, it was Painter Choi and now this strange servant boy he's infatuated with! Something strange is going on here, at first I thought he was part woman! And he never showed any interest in politics or anything related to Elysium in the slightest! How can you trust him to rule this kingdom?"

Every single person was gaping at her, their jaw dropped and their eyes wide as saucers, her shrill voice the only thing filling the huge room. Taehyung felt either his head or his ears burn, he could not explain it. All of a sudden he felt dizzy, wishing this was a nightmare.

But this was reality. It was actually happening right now. His brain was spinning like crazy, a loud ringing filling his head.

He had to speak now, there was no other option.
"Thank you for your honesty, Yujin. I appreciate you having the courage to express your opinions so freely although I could never take you seriously because you are nothing but a... butthurt bitch," he spoke, having heard Jungkook call her that multiple times.

People started whispering again, evidently not knowing what that offensive term meant, but the Prince continued.
"It is true, I have absolutely no interest in ruling this country and the thought of doing it only pressurizes me. I also don't have interest in marrying a woman so why exactly am I here?"

He looked directly at his father who looked too shocked to speak. "I think I have had enough for a lifetime. Living here is like living in a cage, such a pretty palace with pretty gardens and yet so ugly and deceiving. My whole life, I thought you and mother were trying to protect me by forbidding me to visit the village or the outside world but now that I am older and actually capable to think for myself, you are just running away from your problems and own mistakes."

"This kingdom is selfish and cruel and I do not want to have any part of it anymore. A very special someone made me open my eyes. Now that I know there is another world outside of here, a world where you can be yourself without being afraid? The world that you taught me was so ugly and dark? Of course there will be problems, but anywhere!" He stepped closer towards the throne.

"Anywhere is better than here. You can ask Namjoon or Seokjin to be crown prince instead, they seem more up for it than I am. Goodbye, father. Goodbye, mother. Goodbye, everyone. I think it is time for me to leave." And he grabbed Jungkook's hand and started running out of the throne room while dragging the other behind him.

Suddenly, the King seemed to have regained his ability of speech. "Guards, seize them!," he shouted, but the pair had already gone out of sight when the heavily armed soldiers started moving towards the door in pairs.

Meanwhile, Taehyung was running around the now empty corridors still seizing Jungkook's wrist while panting. What exactly he was doing, he had no idea.

His feet carried them towards the horse stables, the beautiful animals jerking back in surprise as they stormed inside. When he stood in front of Roseanne, Taehyung suddenly seemed to have regained his voice. "As fast as you can go, dear Roseanne. Please."

He mounted the horse in one swift movement, but hesitated as he saw Jungkook's confused face stare back at him. And then he realized what he had done and how terribly shocked the other must be at the moment.

"I-I...," he stammered. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I have never defied anyone like this, not once in my life. But I need to go somewhere, anywhere, and I apologize for involving you. I'm stupid, I should never have dared. Forgive me. You are not obliged to come with if you don't wish t--" He fell silent as the brunette also mounted the horse and took his seat right behind him.

"So, are we going or what?" He showed something that could almost be read as a grin, softly hitting Roseanne's sides to get her moving, and she complied. Neither of them had any riding gear on and the horse wasn't even saddled, but they had more important things to worry about.

Taehyung's heart leapt inside his chest- a feeling of pure ecstasy and excitement filled him as Roseanne seemed to recognize how dire the situation was and galloped out of the stables and towards the woods with a loud neigh. This was happening. He was breaking free.

All he hoped was that Jungkook would not mention the kiss. Not now, not ever.

°○●○●○°

It was a quiet and peaceful evening. No rain, a beautiful sunset with a gleaming ruby red sun. The birds chirped quietly while a gentle breeze swept over the perfectly mown lawn.

There, about two dozen people were gathered, dressed in all black, kneeling down silently and keeping their eyes in front of them. There stood a picture of a handsome brunette boy, smiling brightly which gave his face an almost childish look. In front of the large pictures lay various flower bouquets, ranging from red roses to blue forget-me-nots.

A few people were silently crying, including a middle-aged man and woman who hugged each other while expressing the grief that came with losing an only son. Two teenaged boys were also crying, one tall and dirty blonde, the other short and rather redheaded.

This unusual gathering was Jeon Jungkook's funeral. Rather than holding it in a church, the deceased boy's parents wished for a more quiet and private event, knowing their son didn't think all too much about religion, thinking it caused more damage than it brought happiness.

It wasn't a normal funeral: one might say it wasn't like a funeral at all, since there was no body to bury and no priest that would do the honors. But the power that the dead held over his remaining loved ones was all the same, today Jeon Jungkook was remembered by his relatives and close friends, and he would be missed. The silence within the attending guests spoke volumes, louder than any sort of words would be able to.

"Everyone," Yugyeom spoke after the minutes of silence had been completed. "Although the police are still searching for the body, Jeon Jungkook has been pronounced dead and we are here to pay our respects and mourn his passing." His voice was quiet but perfectly audible.

"It is a beautiful summer night, and we all know how much Jungkook loved spending his evenings in the garden hammock or out somewhere in the hills, riding his motorcycle." Few people smiled. "So let us cherish it like he would have cherished it."

"Jungkook was a loyal and trustworthy friend, son and relative. He was always there when you needed him and he would never fail to make you laugh. He never hesitated to chase his dreams and go after what he wanted, he was never one to let himself get oppressed and silenced and always stood up for what was right and important. A quality I've always admired about him." People nodded, many of them tearing up and sniffling quietly. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Jeon were trying to keep their sobs as muted as possible.

"That's right," Yoongi spoke, standing next to Yugyeom. "It was a privilege to have him as a best friend and it truly breaks my heart to realize how much there is that I wanted to tell him but will never get to do. But I know he's still somewhere out there, still looking out for me and Yug and he knows how much he meant to us, even if we never said it out loud. He had his whole life ahead of him, he wasn't even sure about which career to pursue! All I can hope is that he lived his too short life to the fullest, lived without any regrets and he was happy and will continue to be happy. The power of love and passion will always be stronger than the power of death, and the fact that Jeon Jungkook was a loving and passionate person will give me comfort through hard times and I hope the same goes for you. Thank you for listening."

The two of them bowed to scattered applause, all the funeral guests looking touched and sincere. That was the nice thing about little, private funerals. You could count on the fact that everyone truly spoke from their heart. No strangers at all.

"Dear guests," Mrs. Jeon spoke with a tear-stained face. "If you could please move into our sitting room. We would like to make a t-toast," she gestured towards the Jeon residence with a shaky hand.
"Take your time, no rush." She smiled as few people stood up, patting her shoulder and moving into the house slowly. Some, like Yugyeom and Yoongi, remained next to the memorial and silently gazed upon it as if praying to the dead boy.

"I wish this was a dream," Yoongi muttered, patting a bouquet of white roses with his hand while eyeing them mournfully. Yugyeom nodded in agreement.
"I wish all of this was a dream, and I can soon wake up and find out that he didn't actually die, that he's perfectly happy and healthy and he'll just randomly burst into--"

At that very moment, there was a loud disturbance.

A pair of loud hooves could be heard, clattering on the asphalt like a loud drum and coming closer and closer, making everyone gasp in shock.

And then, the unbelievable happened, screams of absolute surprise filling the air:

A well-groomed, pearly white horse was standing in the Jeons' garden, its hooves trampling over the memorial and scattering the pretty flowers all over the ground. With a loud neigh, it halted abruptly and stood upright and tall.

And on its back, it bore two terrified-looking boys: one with messy brown hair, the other with hair the exact shade of freshly plucked blueberries, a diamond-equipped tiara sitting in the midst of it.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

(A/N: confusion confusion confusion ik, but i will explain so no worries :D

well hello there, i had some exams so i had to lay off wattpad for a while but don't worry, i did not abandon this story or this account XD you love reminding me of how slow the updates are but i did not forget, i'm just a little busy and as an 11th grader, i'm competitive to a point where i want the top grade everywhere except for pe and politics and so far i'm doing quite well so yeah, school goes first and there's also my cello competition to prepare so that's that😳

but nevertheless, i hope you could enjoy and i'd like to thank you very much for tuning in and reading despite the delay, exams are over now so maybe i'll be able to write more frequently :) love you very much bye bye💜)