"Queen Linha, it is a pleasure to see you in this sunny morning" The young man greeted with a respectful bow.

"Sir Park, thank you for being here although it is your day off. Sending for you was very short notice I must admit" she said, apologizing with her eyes.

"My time is best used at your service my Queen, how can I help?"

"I was thinking maybe you could teach few of my ladies about the art of candle making, scented of course. The ones you offered me on Thera Day were a delight." she asked as they walked side by side towards her court ladies' quarters.

"I have no problem with that, I shall gladly share my knowledge" Jimin replied, stopping right in front of the closed doors. 

The Queen nodded to him and smiled kindly "And- sir Park, to show my gratitude for everything you've done for this palace, I hereby invite your sister Park Mina of the Southern Liquis to be an official apprentice at the royal family's academy" she announced, watching his eyes widen and shine in excitement.

"My Queen... It will be her pleasure to honor your invitation. I shall let her know as soon as I return home" he replied, trying to contain his joy for his sister. 

"Well then, I will leave you to your work. The ladies you shall be teaching are waiting for you inside." she finished before turning and walking away, newly followed by a couple of court ladies in the area.

---

"No Jungkook, Vals cannot hear beyond or within palace walls, you know this" Jin replied for the third time "They were built differently to prevent that".

The Crown Prince was yet again seeking answers for his endless questions. The most recent bizarre incident was when he heard the guard and the woman speak from way too far, and now he had to make sure it was doable somehow because if not, he wouldn't be crazy but he would be something else. 

"I need you to listen to me carefully" the Prince said, looking at his former teacher in the eyes. "If someone hears from within a room in the palace, a conversation that is carried out dozens of strides away, what does that make them?" he asked.

"A Val God"

They were sitting at Jin's office desk, one trying to explain a situation as best as he can and the other doubting every word he says. Jungkook noticed the relaxation of Jin's features, signally that he was not ready to believe anything he advances from now on.

"Well let me tell you one thing, I am not a Val God" Jungkook replied with his teeth gritted. His hot temper was taking over and he had to remind himself not to give in, because he doesn't know what he might admit once he's in that state.

"Was it you who heard this conversation? Jungkook you're not even a Val. You cannot hear anything past a certain range-to-volume limit" Jin sighed in exasperation. He didn't know what's gotten into the Crown Prince but he's been coming to his office with the oddest problems to solve. 

"You have to believe me Jin, I am not lying to you. Could you search whether it is possible for Pyre's ear to become as strong?" Jungkook said, a hand on the older's forearm while he pursed his lips.

"Even if your ear was trained, it could never rival a Val's hearing. Their abilities are drawn from the air, they hear with their element" Jin elaborated once more, hoping the Crown Prince would understand how impossible it all sounds. "Maybe the conversation you heard was louder than you thought" he suggested.

"I was in my office Jin... The conversation was in the East gate." he quickly replied before standing up to make his leave.

"I will look for an answer" Jin declared when the Prince was halfway out.

"Only come to me, this is confidential" Jungkook added, looking from over his shoulder "Thank you Jin" he last spoke before closing the door after himself.

"Well I have a lot of books to read..." Jin whispered to himself as he walked between the shelves of the royal library. On his way to pick up the thirteenth book that might help, he heard a knock on the door, then an announcement from the guards.

"Teacher Kim, The royal doctor would like to see you" a deep voice said while he made his way to them. 

"Good morning sir Kim, how may I help you?" the teacher greeted, stepping aside to allow the doctor inside the room. They sat together at either sides of his desk again and first just looked at each other. The royal doctor never visits him so he doesn't know what this could be about, and he would like to find out soon.

"Are you perhaps here to ask about little Niyah, worry not she is doing excellent work at the pre-school" Jin smiled, reassuring the young father.

"Thank you teacher Kim, but I am not here for my daughter. I have recently gotten word about a certain plant that has started growing around the capital, it is one that no one here's ever seen before. Though I am sure it existed at some point" he started, "I was hoping I could ask for your assistance to find books that might help me" he added.

"Of course sir Kim-"

"Namjoon is fine, really"

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to abuse of your modesty" Jin asked cautiously. He's never talked to the man before yet he asked him to be informal already, so he wanted to make sure he wasn't only saying that out of politeness.

"No it is fine, fellow royal attendants using honorifics with me has always made me uncomfortable" he rubbed his neck slightly, "Though I shall continue calling you teacher Kim, don't worry" he quickly pointed out.

"Oh no, it would only be fair if you call me Seokjin as well. Honorifics were never my favorites either" they chuckled together.

"Well, Namjoon, what is the type of this plant?" he asked, his arms behind his back as he walked the shelves about the flora of the world.

"It's a flower, white with a yellow heart. You might have seen one yourself, do you remember such a thing?" he questioned, putting a hand on one of the books that caught his eye.

"I don't recall it, but I might have not paid enough attention... That book you hold will give you information about the flora in the South. It will also tell you about the different places they grow. Whether it contains this new flower I am not sure" Jin explained.

"Is there a book, an encyclopedia, that holds the history of all flowers ever found?" the doctor tried, he knows that such a book would be huge and probably impossible to assemble but one never knows.

"No Namjoon, the book you described doesn't exist" Jin laughed, "Such a large collection was split into different records grouped by key characteristics" he added, "However, if this flower was never seen before as you said, it might be in this book right here" he picked up a relatively thin book and handed it to the other.

"A book about rare plants?" he raised his eyebrow, "Interesting, this should be enlightening. I will start with these two and see" he nodded to himself and followed Jin back to his desk. "Those are quite a few books, starting a new research?" Namjoon said, pointing at the tall pile of reading material.

"You see, I appreciate the Crown Prince, but he gives me too much work sometimes" Jin sighed, slopping onto his chair with a defeated look.

"What has the young man done now?" Namjoon scoffed in amusement.

"This research is all for him. Believe it or not, I already know that none of these books will help but I will read them anyway" he rolled his eyes looking at the amount of work he has in front of him.

"Why do that? Why not find books that will help instead?" he asked in confusion.

"Because there are none... If I told you, you would agree with me, but I can't because our Crown Prince is a man of secrets and mystery" he shrugged. 

"No problem, I do know how he is. I've had my share of secret missions too" Namjoon joked.

"Right? My role here is to teach in all the elegance of the art, not scavenge for information that might not even exist" Jin complained some more along with Namjoon, just ranting about the different things they liked or didn't like from their experiences of working in the palace.

"Alright then Seokjin, I shall leave you to your research and go start mine. Good luck." he smiled brightly with his dimples and left the office to Jin again, faced with hours of reading.

---

"Have a good day, lady Dahun. You've done good work" Jimin smiled to the woman as she bowed goodbye.

"Thank you sir Park"

It was a productive morning, Jimin gave his little workshop and taught the women a thing or two about candles. It will now allow them to make said products for the Queen themselves instead of adding to his list. It was already full anyway.

"Giving you a day off meant you should rest sir Park" he heard the Crown Prince say from behind him. He turned to the man and bowed with a smile, "My Prince" he greeted.

"Had I known you will be in the palace anyway, I would have thought twice." Jungkook said then nodded towards him with an equally polite smile for a greeting.

"Well, thanks to you I could now relieve myself of one task. That makes more time to work on your requests"

"And rest" Jungkook pointed out with an eyebrow arched to mark challenge.

"And rest." Jimin gave in.

"What brings you here, may I ask? I believe you have a trip to plan" the young man asked when the Prince signalled to follow him.

"I do, indeed, but I don't really have much to think about" he shrugged.

"You shall leave for Hansu, my Prince. The Pyres of the North have not been discreet about their hostility against the royal family" Jimin asserted, trying to remind the Prince that he wasn't going on a vacation to his houses in the islands of Ujin.

"I am well aware, thank you. Regardless, I am not here to talk about myself, I wouldn't know where to start" Jungkook shook his head.

"That is what you say every time I ask, should I be worried?" Jimin chuckled. 

"Not at all, I am alright. All I have to do lately is listen to the elders discuss futile topics and go back home to a boring lifestyle" he shrugged making Jimin nod slowly.

"There it is, are you perhaps getting bored of the capital, is that why you are travelling to Hansu?" he asked, taking a minute to turn his gaze to the taller man.

"Hansu was never part of my plans, it was the idea of His Majesty the King. The purpose is to change sceneries while observing certain matters up close" Jungkook replied, obviously not glad about it. 

"Two weeks is not a long time, you shall be back before you know it" Jimin encouraged. 

"Your consolatory skills have come a long way sir Park, back when we first met, there wasn't one chance this conversation could go the way it did" the Prince pointed out, a smirk stretching the corner of his lips. 

Just for a second there, Jimin saw another image in his mind. It was fast and unclear so he couldn't understand what it meant. It's almost like a Deja Vu...

"Each has their own defense mechanisms I suppose" he replied with an amused expression, "But if you weren't here for a casual chat, may I know what this is about?" he asked.

"I technically shouldn't be asking this today but since you're here anyway, could you please come with me for a second?" he politely requested.

"Of course my Prince, no need to ask" Jimin nodded. The two walked together in silence until reaching the intended location, the Prince's side of the palace. Jungkook opened the door to his room and invited Jimin inside. 

"I'm sorry your highness, I wouldn't dare find myself in your private room" Jimin bowed his head apologetically while sporting a slight frown. He looked quite uncomfortable. 

Of course he would be, there are people watching... Jungkook scolded himself.

Very few personnel was allowed inside the royal family's personal spaces, and generally, any outsider seen entering is assumed to have an intimate relationship with said royal member. Jimin would hate for anyone to have such a scandalous view of him. 

"My apologies, I never meant to be disrespectful to you" he said.

"I am sure you had the best intentions" Jimin simply replied, and Jungkook didn't fail to notice the tint of red dusting his cheeks, probably from his embarrassment under the eyes of his comrades.

"I'll be inside the room so you don't have to" Jungkook smiled, hoping to make up for his mistake.

"But what did you need me for, then?" Jimin asked, confused.

"I would like for you to walk -say 50 feet- away and whisper something. I will close the door and try to guess what it is" he explained, watching Jimin's expression shift to disbelief.

"If your desire is to play a game, perhaps should I call for Prince Kyungsoo instead?" Jimin suggested and the Crown Prince laughed.

This was too familiar, it was too fresh in his memory and Jimin would be stupid not to understand now. Jungkook reminded him of Jungil, it was too striking especially with the current turn of events. It happened just like when Jungil asked about the stories that night.

It couldn't be him, Prince Jungkook must have been celebrating Chuseok at the palace. Jimin thought and nodded to himself, agreeing with his own mind. Although it's nice to see he has a fun side to his personality, he mentally shrugged.

"So, I should walk away and say something under my breath. Let's try it" he scoffed.

"Alright, maybe you should go to the pharmacy shed? That's a good enough distance for now" Jungkook said and nodded one last time before shutting the door to his room. 

He sat on his bed waiting, in the first few seconds all he heard was the court ladies talking in his quarters, the footsteps and the different other sounds they made. It quickly got messy the more he focused on his hearing. He closed his eyes when it became a bit overwhelming, trying to shut them out at once.

"My prince?"

There it was, he found it. Now that he was able to locate his voice he could easily clear out the others around it. 

"I'm talking to myself. Great", he heard Jimin say and chuckled. It's true, this idea wasn't the sanest one Jungkook ever had but it was still quite funny that Jimin went along with it. "Hello, how was your day?... It is indeed my day off, but I can take a look if you want... Are you sure?... Alright then..."

The Pyre heard all of what Jimin said, but not the words of whomever he was talking to. He could only do this if he focused on one voice at a time, so he guesses that the other day was just beginner's luck or something. 

Maybe Jimin was too far? Not loud enough? He doesn't know the rules of whatever ability he recently developed, so he couldn't know what changed for sure-

"Your highness, I am back" Jimin said from outside his door, interrupting his thoughts and making him stand up faster than he realized. He walked out to find the man and was met with an expectant expression.

"What?"

"I am assuming you have no guesses... That's unfortunate, I whispered some serious secrets over there" Jimin replied with a smug face, earning the Crown Prince's scoff. 

"Who said I don't have guesses?" he smirked and wiggled his eyebrows, "I know all about that significant other you talked about" he added.

"A significant other? Is that all you came up with?" Jimin giggled hiding his mouth with one of his hands.

"Well since it didn't work the first time, I have to repeat it again. This time you shall stay in my office, and I will be the one walking around" he announced with a smile, leading them both to said location.

"Are you sure this isn't just stress you might be feeling before your important trip?" Jimin asked.

"No sir Park, this is much more... Are you afraid I will actually guess right this time?" he turned to look at him over his shoulder with a smirk painting his lips. 

"I do hope your expectations come true, except I really doubt they will my Prince" Jimin replied with a light chuckle. 

"One can never know unless they try" the other simply said and invited Jimin in before closing the door and staying on the other side. "Remember, keep saying things until I come back" he loudly called out and waited for a response.

"Will do" 

The Prince walked further and further, but heard nothing. He was confused, not knowing if he lost his new hearing, or if there was nothing to hear in the first place. Perhaps he really thinks this is just a game. 

"Okay fine...My Prince?"

It almost startled him, but it made him laugh. 

"He can't hear anything I'm saying why am I even trying...I have to admit, this office is really nice, and nobody is in here... "

A few seconds of silence came after that line. Jungkook was near the East gate, right where those two people were talking the other day. He wanted to test his hearing and find out just how much distance he could cover, but the sudden pause made him wonder if he went too far. He turned on his heel and was ready to stride back when the sweet voice boomed again in his head.

"Please have a seat. I am the mighty Crown Prince of Goryeo, what can I do for you"

Is he trying to imitate me? Jungkook thought with an amused expression. 

"Amazing job sir Park, as per usual. You are a true asset in this palace, what will I do without you... Oh no it is only my duty... No please, let me acknowledge your hard work..."

Jimin also couldn't stay serious while performing his little act and burst out laughing, not aware that the Prince heard all of it and joined in the laughter. Jimin, what will I do with you. Jungkook thought to himself, crossing his arms against his chest and looking up to the sky, waiting to hear more.

"How long will this last? He's not coming back yet?"... The taller was having too much fun to cut it short, but since Jimin seemed to grow impatient, he assumed he should.

"Jungkook? Jungkook are you there?" Jimin said with a quieter voice followed by a small giggle. Embarrassed about calling the Prince by his first name and afraid someone else would hear.

The other young man just stood frozen in his spot. Jimin did call him on a first name basis before, except it wasn't his real one. This just felt much different, or maybe my infatuation has grown into something else.

"I would be in so much trouble if he knew what I was saying... Significant other? What am I, a young girl?... Keep saying things... Today was a good day, though I hoped to meet Jungil somehow... I miss his presence, his voice... and maybe I do feel some type of way towards him..."

I'm glad it's mutual, Jungkook thought upon hearing that.

"Instead I met a new side of the Crown Prince, who knew he could be so playful... "

Interesting, looks like I did start winning you over after all. He pondered.

"Being Crown Prince must be so bizarre, you're born and then you have to take care of millions of people... I can barely take care of Mina and myself alone..."

It's a mindset to train oneself into. My people, my responsibility. Jungkook confirmed, despite the other not knowing.

"Alright I'm done talking to myself, I'll just wait here" Jimin said and sat on the guest's chair, looking around the room and patiently waiting for the other to arrive, until he did. The room opened with a tall strong Pyre emerging through, making Jimin stand up again and greet him.

"Welcome back my Prince, have you achieved your goal this time?" he asked with a curious tone.

"You know... Sometimes you need failures in order to enjoy success" he said and Jimin chuckled while shaking his head.

"Indeed, worry not, I'm sure you will do it one day" he assured.

"Of course I will" he replied with a somewhat mischievous smile "Now going back to our first topic, today is your day off. Yet you came to the palace and worked very hard" the Prince started. Jimin was ready to deny when the other beat him to it.

"Before you say anything else, no you are not allowed in the palace on your day off is that clear?"

"Yes your highness" he gave in.

"That said, I will be making it up to you by giving you tomorrow off as well. This time you will stay home and rest. Don't work on the requests or anything related to here" Jungkook warned one last time making Jimin smile.

"Thank you very much my Prince, I will do as you say" he replied, "But tomorrow is the day you leave, are you sure I shouldn't be here?" he asked again.

"No I will be just fine. Now you go take care of yourself, after all you are a true asset in this palace" Jungkook said with a smirk, not bothering to look at the shorter, and Jimin felt his brain freeze. 

What did he say?

"Oh... Have a safe trip then..." he nervously laughed and walked out as fast as he could. Did he hear what I was saying this entire time? Or maybe he truly meant to say that. Oh don't flatter yourself Jimin...

Jimin walked through the palace areas, his mind foggy from the thoughts swarming in. Suddenly, he halted in his steps from something crashing into his leg, and looked down briefly to find an adorable little boy in kids Hanfu.

"Young prince Byunho?" Jimin asked with a soft smile.

"Excuse me mister" he said with a small pout.

"His name is sir Park, okay Byunho?" The older prince said from behind as he jogged his way closer.

"Young Prince Kyungsoo, it is a pleasure seeing you here" he greeted in turn.

"Likewise sir Park. Come on Byunho, apologize for bumping into him" he told the child, a hand on his hair smoothing it.

"I'm sorry mister sir Park" he spoke making the older ones chuckle.

"Just Jimin will do" the pharmacist replied.

Suddenly, something shiny caught his eye, an object he hadn't seen in quite a bit of time. He stared at it for a few moments, making sure it was the same, before dread started settling in his chest. 

He asked himself, why does Byunho have that. There was only a handful of possibilities and none of them made sense except one.

"Prince Byunho... May I ask you a question?" he started, crouching down to be at eye-level with the kid and get his full attention.

"Of course mister Jimin" the child replied, glad he was solicited for something.

"Okay... Where did you find this glass flower?" There it is, he asked the question, now he needed to wait and hope the answer wasn't what he thought it was. Please don't be him, please.

"But I didn't find it, someone gave it to me" Byunho replied.

"Okay, who gave it to you?" he asked again.

Kyungsoo watched the exchange from where he stood, not understanding why the Crown Prince's pharmacist was asking about his brother's belongings. Unless It wasn't Byunho's.

"Excuse me for interrupting. Perhaps is it yours sir Park? Byunho did you borrow it from someone... or somewhere?" Kyungsoo asked. There has been a time when Byunho was even younger and picked up random objects that didn't belong to him. The owners generally didn't complain and let him keep the things eventually.

"No I am saying the truth, brother Jungkook gave it to me the other day"

Just like that, Jimin heard his heart shatter right into his ears. He heard the pieces clank against the floor just the way his crystal would if it broke. No way...

"Are you sure? Wasn't it a man named Jungil? He is tall, has black hair... He wears a mask" Jimin replied, pleading with his voice for the child to suddenly agree. He didn't notice however the way Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows at the description. 

"Yes I am sure, brother Jungkook gave it to me to stay strong just like this flower is" the boy said, nodding his head in confirmation. But Jimin still held onto that tiny bit of hope and refused to let go because he knows he wouldn't get over it if he did.

"Is that so, and where did the Crown Prince get it? Perhaps it was that man named Jungil?" he asked again.

"Hmm... I think he said that someone who is special made it for him. Maybe it's Jungil!" Byunho beamed, trying to help however he could. Although despite himself, all he did was tear Jimin away from the rope he was desperately gripping onto.

You truly are special Jimin. Jungil said that night. 

"Right... thank you little one. Please forget this happened, I was just confused" Jimin curtly apologized and didn't even excuse himself before scurrying away from the two. His heart was hammering in his chest and all he wanted to do was cry. 

He knew everything since the beginning, he might not have known who I was the night of the festival but he definitely found out during the royal reception. Here I thought I was executing my plans, but he was playing me all along...

I will kill Jeon Jungkook.

---

Would you have felt the same way if you were in Jimin's shoes?

-Aida-