The Parks

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Author's POV

"What's wrong?" Seokjin was the first to ask and noticed Jeongguk's bitter facial expression which revealed he didn't want to talk about the topic. But the older one also wanted to know what was the reason behind it.

"As far as I know, you didn't mind an arranged marriage, Jeongguk." Namjoon initiated, sipping on his tea slowly before continuing. "What's the matter, you don't like him?" He questioned and shared a glance with Seokjin who gave him a concerned look. They were taught an arranged marriage ever since they were all little and really, they have gotten used to it including Jeongguk himself. The royal didn't marry for love, they married for power and support. And if one of them is lucky, they will find love in their partner afterward.

"Nothing is," Jeongguk shrugged.

"Quit lying and simply tell us. We are your brothers..." Seokjin stated calmly, holding the cup of tea in his hand, warming it up. In contrast, Jeongguk felt his head would explode. He wasn't a fan of talking, moreover about his situation. He liked to keep it to himself, telling other people about his difficulty would only bring bad luck as a weakness to him. And Jeongguk only wanted them to see he was strong.

"Are you perhaps worried about the throne, Jeongguk? After all, none of us married a man..." Namjoon asked and the younger quickly shot up a glare.

Bingo.

Seokjin shared a glance with Namjoon who nodded, understanding what all of this was about. It was the only valid explanation for Jeongguk to not want to converse about it. He was the crown prince after all, and speaking regarding the throne in front of his older brothers would only make them feel degraded. At least, that was what the younger one seemed to think.

While in an actual case, they completely adored him and believed he was fit to be the next majesty. His deficiency of nothing was outstanding and his love for the people was deeper than any of the siblings could ever. But Namjoon wasn't going to make it into another problem for their youngest. He knew that Jeongguk was only timid about the worst possibility.

"If that's the issue then I suppose you should think about it thoroughly, Gguk. I'm well aware of your concern for the throne, however, not every man you meet yearns for it. None of us did."

"True." Seokjin agreed. "You were being unfair to him, Gguk-ah. You should give him and yourself a chance to get to know each other better before speculating anything. Stealing the throne won't be effortless, moreover sitting in that position. He's your husband, not your enemy." The oldest one concluded as they leaped in silence, letting Jeongguk's mind be occupied by their advice.

'He's your husband, not your enemy.'

He sighed at it. There's a thin line between that.

Suddenly, last night's memories flashed inside his head, reminding him of what happened. Right, the attempted murder. He reached for his pouch before tossing it on the table, looking at Namjoon and Seokjin who raised their eyebrows in question. But no words were uttered as the 3rd prince took it and confusion plastered on his face before putting out the Norigae.

"What is this, Jeongguk?" Seokjin raised a query.

"A Norigae."

"Yes, I know it is a Norigae, I'm not blind. But why are you showing it to us?"

"Last night an attempted murder was made when we stopped by in the middle of the woods," Jeongguk stated shortly, seeing Namjoon's and Seokjin's tempers shift in the blink of an eye as the room reeked with outrage. As expected of them. "And I found this Norigae which I believed belonged to the man. He was wearing a mask."

"If the culprit has a Norigae then it means he is living among us, Jeongguk."

"I know."

"It also meant you needed to be extra careful. We don't know if he is observing you and planning to raid you again. It's even easier for him if he lived in the palace," Seokjin urged, while Namjoon maintained to be tight-lipped and observed everything. Well, there wasn't much to tell, they just needed to do an investigation regarding the assault. And so far, having Norigae as the lead has pretty much given them greatly important information for them.

"I'll report this to the High Court," Seokjin suggested but was quickly denied by the crown prince.

"No, hyung. We need to settle this quietly. If we report it to the High Court, they will announce it at the hall later." Jeongguk concluded and both of his brothers nodded in agreement. If the High Court made this issue public, then it would be harder to detect the man behind the mask. Because whoever it was would be well conscious about the investigation updates and disguise himself further. That would make things even more complicated.

After that, they leaped in silence as they finished their tea. Jeongguk on the contrary, thought how strange for the man to leave his Norigae behind. Of course, it could be justified as accidental because he was rushing into the woods.

Yet, it felt as if he guessed everything wrong.

It had taken a while for Jeongguk to arrive at the Ministry of Personnel and when he did, he was greeted by the General himself.

"Greetings, Your Highness, we have been expecting you." The man proclaimed and bowed a little to extend his gratitude while Jeongguk nodded in acknowledgment. He had not gotten enough sleep for the last two days and somehow it made him unable to think strictly and his attitude became unstable. However, he regardless tried to uphold his manners and the royal regulations even outside the palace.

Truly, he was born to be a King.

"In the capacity of the Parks' adopted son, Min Yoongi has been ordered by His Majesty to render you assistance." The General spoke and watched the crown prince nod again before they both walked in to proceed with the discussion. Along the way, Jeongguk learned that Yoongi wasn't the one who was in charge of the personnel, his position as the General was only to give the people the protection they needed along with guarding the royal palaces. He was there only to aid the younger. Hence, he doesn't have anything to do with the affair going on.

Soon, they reached the hall, and Jeongguk wasted no time to enter it with General Min following behind him. His nose was immediately greeted by an unpleasant smell as he looked around before sitting in the front, facing every higher authority member from the Ministry of Personnel sideways. The room reeked of enviousness and hatred toward Jeongguk, it made him nauseated. But it wasn't the first time. And certainly won't be the last.

"Enlighten me..." He trailed off, scanning each of their faces who couldn't be more apprehensive. "Which one of you is the greedy bastard who refused to pay the workers?"

They paled.

And Jeongguk sneered.

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Jeongguk was having dinner with Namjoon and Seokjin. But awkwardly, the younger remained silent and this somehow caught their attention. Of course, they knew that Jeongguk didn't speak unless necessary, but it appeared like he was only being silent outside whilst storming inside.

Truth to say, Jeongguk was thinking about his husband.

And no, if you guess it was a bitter thought then you're completely wrong. Instead of wondering about the throne and how much he hated the older- Jeongguk surprisingly wondered about Jimin's condition and what he might be doing currently. After all, it had been two days since Jeongguk met him. And it will take two more days to go back, hence four days in total. It occurred to him that they had been married for almost a week with little to no conversation between them.

Not that Jeongguk will talk to Jimin anyway.

To him, Jimin was nothing but a nuisance.

Yet, he somehow couldn't stop thinking about the older.

"What's on your mind, Gguk?" Jeongguk looked over at NamJoon hearing the question. He sighed and put aside his chopsticks before leaning behind and glanced to the side. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk about it, but he felt it was a waste of time. And he doesn't want others to know his mind was filled with Park Jimin from the moment his eyes opened to the point he closed his eyes. It was odd and unknown.

"I'm thinking about Jimin..." He admitted and looked over at SeokJin who smiled slightly at that while NamJoon spared a chuckle. Jeongguk clicked his tongue at both of his brothers' behavior before asking. "What's so funny, hyung?"

"It's not funny, Gguk. It's cute." Jungkook scrunched his nose in disgust at that comment. He grabbed a cup of alcohol and held it to his mouth, sipping it slowly before focusing back on SeokJin. He shouldn't have said it earlier, he forgot how his siblings always loved to tease him.

"You already started to like him,"

Immediately, the cup of alcohol slipped from his fingers and fell on the floor with a loud crash. It was a ceramic, hence it shattered on the floor. "Ridiculous!!" He raised his voice and stood up, making the room go silent. There was no way he had started to like Jimin, he wasn't opposed to same-sex relationships but he never once liked a man. And even if he does, it would never be his husband. That was impossible.

"It's not a bad thing, Jeongguk," The 3rd prince commented.

"It is. I hate him. I would never." He spoke out loud, bitterness could be seen inside his eyes as he glared at Namjoon and Seokjin. The room fell into silence as he took that cue to leave the room. He turned around and walked away but stopped when his name was called softly.

"The opposite of love is not hate, Gguk-ah. It's indifference..."

He took a deep breath at that and strode outside of the room with a heavy heart. He doesn't know why he was so pressured by the argument. He looked over his fingers and eyed his nuptial ring. It was ironic. He claimed to be against the marriage and despised his husband, yet he never once took the ring off his finger. He could have just done it and gone out and met the princesses or royal concubines, but he chose not to and dwelled with the ring instead as a married man.

He had never noticed the changes until now.

He sighed, shrugging it off. It wasn't a bad thing so he doesn't feel the need to be upset about it. He then looked upwards, watching the moon shine in the night as he felt his abdomen stirred in unknown feelings. But it wasn't like the usual, this time it was deeper, and for some reason, he couldn't get enough looking at it. You know, that kind of stare when you feel yourself missing someone who lives far away yet you feel close because both of you are somehow in some way looking at the same moon. When you feel lost and uncertain and confused, you look up at it in hopes you could rewind the time and just be a little kid.

But Jeongguk knew it was merely a hope.

Everything had changed now, he had someone to take care after. He had someone to be responsible for. He glanced back at the moon, it reminded him of Jimin. He looked like the moon, from Jeongguk's eyes. Not like the stars amongst the same, nor like the sun too flashy to face. Just simply like the moon, beautiful and bright. Every feature on his face represents the phases a moon has. His smile was a waning crescent, and on certain occasions, it was a waxing crescent.

"Do you intend to remain here for the night?"

A female voice cut in, breaking off Jeongguk's reverie as he looked to the left and saw his sister-in-law, Park Shin-Hye. He doesn't notice her arrival even, too deep in his mind.

She bowed in greeting as he gave a simple nod in return. "I'm not quite certain," He said frankly and she smiled lightly at the response. He doesn't know whether he wants to stay here or go back to the palace. Truthfully speaking, he doesn't even want to leave Changdeokgung. Because coming home also means he would meet Jimin. That was one of the things he wasn't looking forward to happening. He hoped that they already prepared the older's room and by the time he arrived, he could sleep alone like he always did.

"Are you here for Namjoon hyung?"

"Ah no, I was informed of your arrival and wanted to greet the guest. Congratulations on your wedding, Jeongguk." He tensed at the wish before thanking her. Bowing a little, he caught sight of a Norigae hanging on her hanbok. It was awfully similar to the one he had found, the only difference was that it was in pink whilst the other was red. It occurred to Jeongguk if it was just a trendy design or if every household had its specific symbol on it.

"Your Norigae... What does it stand for?" He asked and watched her facial expression. She was stunned, almost as if she wasn't expecting the question to come out of his mouth. Or almost as if she was hiding something and was trying to make up a lie. "H-huh? O-ooh... t-this..." She trailed off, holding the pink Norigae while Jeongguk observed and patiently waited for the answer.

"I d-don't know it, either. My older brother gave it to me."

Jeongguk furrowed his eyebrows at that. Older brother...? He wasn't aware that Shin-Hye had another sibling. Namjoon and her had been married for over eight years and not once did he meet her side of the family. Maybe he did a long time ago, once or twice, but he was too little to remember.

"Oh, I didn't know you had an older brother."

She smiled and nodded at the statement before gripping the Norigae tightly. "I was adopted by the Kim's household ever since I was a child. So we have been apart and rarely meet. But sometimes he stopped by and checked on me. He gave me this..." She showed the Norigae to Jeongguk and brushed the symbol softly before continuing. "To let me know that he will never leave me and no matter where I go, I still am a Park."

Jeongguk hummed at the explanation as they talked further about little things that were going on. Unaware of the pair of eyes that were watching them from far away, behind the bushes, in the dark.

Watching the crown prince, specifically.

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[A/N: The next update will be two chapters, pinky promise ;) Don't forget to vote, please. It always helps.]

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