Jungkook woke up in the morning and it took him few seconds to realize where he was. He has been living in the palace for so long that his own room at home felt kind of unfamiliar at the first sight.

Jungkook gave a sigh and rubbed his forehead as he remembered what happened. He came home late last night and went straight to bed as he was exhausted. Jungkook was deep in thoughts when the door opened and his mother came in.

"Good morning baby." His mother said in an affectionate tone as she gave him his tea.

"Morning mom." Jungkook replied with a smile.

"So, I made your favourite breakfast. Quickly wash up and come to eat." Mrs. Jeon ruffled her son's hair before getting up to leave the room.

"Mom?"

"Yes baby?"

"Why aren't you asking me anything?" Jungkook looked at the bed when he asked that.

It's not that he wanted to get in to a conversation about what happened but his mother's lack of interest was strange. Last time he was here, his mother and father held a full interrogation.

Mrs. Jeon gave a small smile to her son and sat on the bed.

"Hoseok called your father last night. He told that something upsetting had happened at the palace and it's totally not your fault. He said that the crown prince personally asked him to convey his best regards to us and asked us to look after you as long as you will stay here. And Hoseok said that the crown prince humbly requested us to not ask you anything. And your father agreed. " Mrs Jeon explained softly.

Jungkook didn't know what to feel anymore. The extend of Taehyung's consideration for him was astonishing. He looked up to see his mother looking at him with concerned eyes.

"Now we did agree to not ask you anything. But if you want to talk about anything, I'm here for you. You know that right, baby?" Mrs Jeon asked in a soft voice and Jungkook gave a nod at that.

"Ok then, come to breakfast. You have a surprise."

With a mischievous wink, Jungkook's mother left the room. Jungkook got up and did his morning routine. When he went to down to the dining room, there definitely was a surprise.

"Morning Koo!" Yugyeom greeted him enthusiastically from the table.

"Gyeomie!? What are you doing here?" Jungkook asked in surprise.

"I came to see you of course." Yugyeom answered with a huge smile.

"Gyeomie, I've been home for few hours only. There's no way for you to know-" Jungkook stopped mid sentence as he realized what might have happened.

One look at Yugyeom's nervous face was enough to confirm his suspicions. Taehyung had sent him here.

They had the rest of the breakfast in silence. After the were done, both of them went outside.

"So, why are you really here?" Jungkook asked even though he knew the answer very well.

"Prince Taehyung called me yesterday evening and asked me whether I'll be able to keep you company for few days. And before you fly off your horse here, no, he did not order to do anything. He respectfully asked me, said you might need a friend." Yugyeom said with a soft smile.

Jungkook didn't say anything and Yugyeom didn't ask anything for few minutes either.

"Koo.. he's the one right?" Yugyeom finally broke the silence and Jungkook gave a nod in confirmation.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Yugyeom asked again in a softer voice and Jungkook shook his head at that.

"Ok." That's all Yugyeom said and they sat in silence for few more minutes.

Suddenly there was a sound of people talking and both friends turned their heads to see Jinyoung walking towards them.

"You got to be kidding me!!" Jungkook hissed under his breath as he got up and walked toward Jinyoung.

"Did he send you?!" Jungkook asked in a loud voice and Jinyoung gave a huff in return.

"Of course he sent me, Kook. How would I have got out of the palace otherwise?" Jinyoung replied in a cheerful voice.

"Well, go back! I don't need a babysitter." Jungkook said in an annoyed tone and Jinyoung rolled his eyes at him.

"Ohh... don't be like that Kook. I want to spend some time with my boyfriend too." Jinyoung said as he walked towards Yugyeom.

"What-" Jungkook stopped talking mid sentence when he saw Yugyeom welcoming Jinyoung with a huge smile and pulling him in to passionate kiss.

Two of them were at it for atleast a minute before breaking up and looked at Jungkook, who were standing there with an open mouth.

"Wha- how?! When?!!" Jungkook could barely form a sentence due to shock.

"Well, after he got his head out of your fantasy, I was able to finally make him see me." Jinyoung said with a teasing voice and Yugyeom gave a shy smile at that.

Jungkook gave an apologetic look to both of them and Jinyoung noticed it and quickly reassured the younger.

"Hey, I was just kidding, Kook. You don't have to feel bad. Look, it's all good now." Jinyoung reached over and patted younger's shoulders with a smile.

Something flicked in Jungkook's mind and he looked at Jinyoung.

"Wait, did the prince knew about this?" Jungkook asked curiously and Jinyoung gave a nod.

"Yeah, he knew."

"For how long?"

"Uhhh... a long time I suppose. He called for me after we went to Seoul university that day. And he asked me lot of questions."

"Oh..."

"I was shit scared at first, you know. Cause he was asking a lot of questions about you. And you two were kind of at each other's throats those days. Man!! Yugy, I was actually scared that the prince will executed this idiot one on those days. He was damn disrespectful to the prince." Jinyoung said to his boyfriend who had a confused look.

"And I thought maybe the prince was looking for a revenge or something. Guess he was just checking up on competition. He was whipped for you even then."

Jungkook didn't say anything. But that explained a mystery that had always been on Jungkook's mind but a one that he didn't dare to ask from Taehyung. In an unsaid agreement, neither of them talked about Jinyoung or Yugyeom after that as both were touchy subjects for each other.

Three of them spent the day talking and laughing, catching up on old times. Jinyoung disclosed about the times that Yugyeom cried to him about Jungkook's obliviousness, making the two best friends howl with embarrassment.

After they had their dinner Jinyoung and Jungkook got to talking, Yugyeom tactfully left saying he's tired and sleepy.

"So." Jungkook didn't know how to start or what to say.

"So."

"Did you knew about Kai?"

"Nope, I did not. Captain asked me to keep an eye on you when he's not around and I just figured that it was  prince's orders. He's so damn protective of you. Did you knew that you had two guards outside your door after you locked yourself up in your room?"

Jungkook sucked his breath in surprise. "No. I did not."

"Yep, two guards. Around the clock. And I was told to come here just after you left. The prince actually wanted to send few more people but the captain might have talked him out of it. You would have gone ballistic at that." Jinyoung said with a chuckle and Jungkook couldn't help but laugh too.

Yep, he would have definitely gone ballistic at that. A silence dragged for few more minutes before Jinyoung spoke up again.

"Look, I'm not trying to take sides or say who's right or wrong here. What you two do is your own business, I ain't doing couple's therapy shit. Maybe you both are right and maybe  both are wrong."

"We do weird shit when it comes to people we love. If anyone tried to capture or kill Yugyeom, I'll even put him in a cage if it'll keep him safe. You know you will do that too. He atleast let you roam around, with protection of course."

"Just think from his side too. You know he didn't meant any harm. Love makes people do crazy shit Kook. Sometimes we have the best intentions at heart but our actions are little... well, questionable."

"But I was listening to what you said that day, about being unable to disobey him and I think you have a point there. He will always be the crown prince and when it comes to things like your safety, he will order you around. As much as you might hate it, I don't think you'll ever be able to change that."

"So I suppose the choice is truly yours. When Yugyeom had asked how long you'll be staying here, prince had told him that he doesn't know. He had given you the option of when to return and even if to return. Couldn't have been easy for him."

"So just think about everything ok, and take a decision wisely. There's no rush for anything. This is a chance for you to walk away if that's what you truly want. Me, Yugyeom, your family and friends and I believe even the prince himself would support you in any decision you make. So it's all up to you. Ok?"

Jinyoung gave a fond smile to the younger and got up from the seat. As he walked towards the house, Jungkook stopped him.

"Jinyoung?"

Jinyoung turned back to see the younger who had a faint smile.

"Yes?"

"Is it too late in the night to go back now?"