We had almost reached the Great Hall when we came across Yoongi. And by 'came across', I mean, full-body collided into him. Because, the great me, decided to walk backwards until I nearly toppled over the poor guy. Why? I don't know either. Just seemed fun at the time. Matched my motto of living crazy.

After apologising a few hundred times, Jimin had to pull me away. "I'm not listening to another 'Sorry' anymore."

"Oh yeah, um, right uh, sorry, no wait, not sorry, or sorry if you want me to be, because well I am sorry but if you don't want to hear it then I won't say it but, Shit I already said it, didn't I, ugh," I trailed off, embarrassed.

"Just go on, without me, eat up–you're hungry, I'll meet you at our room later, okay?" Jimin nodded and with a gentle peck on my forehead, left me alone in the hallway with Yoongi who was awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

"What was that," he joked, attempting to break the uneasy tension between us.

"Honestly? I don't know either. But uh, sorry, for crashing into you, and nearly breaking all your bones. I wasn't paying any attention."

"Ah, don't worry about that, I've got 206 of 'em, a few broken wouldn't make much of a difference," he jested, and my lips rose up into a grin.

"How were you here though, you must really be planning on breaking Hoseok's heart by cheating with me," I laughed.

Yoongi smiled deviously. "Oh, I just heard you came back. So was on my way to the garage. You ready?"

"Ready? Huh- Oh right, yep, everything ready. Now spill, what's the surprise?"

"Patience, O Young Muffin. You must accompany me to my house to uncover this mystery that has you're so utterly besotted by."

Oh now he was definitely asking for something risqué. "And which shady dealing do you plan on conducting by the gloom of your unlit house? With the next queen of Illéa, that too. Such behaviour is absolutely unheard of and cannot, and should not be tolerated. Ergo, by the power vested in me, Min Yoongi, you are under arrest on the grounds of attempting to assault an unprotected maiden. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say, can—and will—be used against you in a court of law."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm your tits, lady. All I ask, is for a small, undemanding favour of you. There shall be no assault, sexual or whatsoever."

"Besides," he added, "you and I both know you're no maiden, in the archaic sense of the term."

"I-I beg your pardon?" No, no, this cannot be happening, Yoongi can't possibly know shit about Jimin and me, it's not possible, is he going to report us? Fuck, I knew we should have been more vigilant, second time in the same day too, Oh god, we're done for, we're utterly fucked to the point of no return, fucked till we cannot fuck anymore and why are all my thoughts related to fucking.

"You know, it's quite obvious that there seems to be a thing between you two. Like that of lovers. And even though you're a member of the Royal family, I get that you might have done stuff with him that is looked down upon but that's fine, there's nothing that you've done that needs to be reproached," he explained.

Oh. Thank God. Thank the Lord in the Heavens that I don't believe in, but thank him all the same. "Yoongi, no. Me and Jimin are anything, but not lovers, lovers is like the most far-fetched explanation of the relationship we share, he's just a person I look up to, someone who cares a lot about me and that's it, none of whatever you were referring to and yeah, no we're not in love, and definitely not with each other."

"Oh." Yoongi seemed rather fazed by this news, face looking blank and rather empty, lacking the sparkle in his crinkled eyes from moments ago. Yet at the same time, he looked rather wary, almost as if he thought I was lying, trying to cover up whatever I had to hide.

"Thank you, all the same though, you're right, there's nothing to not condone about that, about sex."

"Shhh, they might hear you. But you're right, and I'm glad you think that way too," he let out a breath I hadn't realised he was holding. "So, let's go? Unless you'd like to eat first, although I can always cook you something up at home."

"Yeahh, let's do that, I'm not particularly hungry right now, Jimin on the other hand was starving. Thoroughly famished. Your food's a great saviour, a mouth-watering reward after the day we had."

We started walking the way I had come, back to where his car would be parked in the garage. "The day you had," he repeated, "Did anything noteworthy happen?"

I proceeded to tell him the adventures of our failed miscapades, leaving out the part about getting Tae home. I wasn't quite sure of his reaction—if he came to know I had brought an Eight home, and was planning on keeping here. Would he report us? He did seem pretty relaxed earlier today, while he alluded to mine and Jimin's pastimes, basically giving us permission to break the most stringent law there ever was. But this is life, where there's no one to trust except yourself or you're just asking to be betrayed.

Yoongi didn't bring his car. When we got to his bike, streaked with red and embellished with the logo that seemed to have been polished rigorously till it shone as brightly as it did, he offered me the helmet that lay atop the seat. Grabbing another from the tank bag for himself, he lifted his leg to straddle the seat.

I climbed on too, and tightened the helmet around my head, taking care to make sure that it was locked safely. Placing my hands on his waist, we rode off out and into the picturesque sunset that slowly transitioned into the dusky night sky, glittering brightly with the light of the twinkling stars.

"So," I started, "nice bike?"

Yoongi chuckled. "Why, thank you. Gift from my late father. I had it fitted and upgraded though."

"Oh." I didn't know what to say. Sorry seemed insensitive and honestly, it wasn't even my fault he passed away, how will me apologising make a difference.

"Yeah. He was nice, my old man. Got rather senile at the end and choked on a sausage to death, but yea."

"Choked on a sausage? And died?" My curiosity knew no bounds, how on earth can one die of choking, on a sausage. But looking back, not a great idea to just blurt it out like that, considering the situation we were in.

"Yeah. Never quite figured out how myself either. But that's what the reports said. And he was quite old too, so it made sense. I wasn't there, in his last moments. Don't regret it but, feels like my duty, y'know? Like I should have seen him die, even if I can't do anything about it. Like I owed it to him, to spend his last moments together, and happy. Even if he was being choked." Yoongi let loose a small chuckle but then sighed.

"Hey. It's not your fault. How were you supposed to know he's gonna die. Besides, there's nothing you could have really done. You'd just feel guilty for the rest of your life if you had to witness that. He wouldn't have wanted it, he'd want for you to be happy, to enjoy, live life to the fullest. And he wouldn't want his son having to see him choke to death, helpless to do anything else either. He would have done a lot for you, you can repay him by making the most of what you've got, enjoying and making memories. So that you have something to share with him, if you ever cross paths."

"You believe in the after-life?" Yoongi asked.

Rather uncalled for, but I answered anyway. "Not really, no."

A pause before he spoke again. "Yeah, me neither."

Yoongi maneuvered the bike left, as we turned away from The Palace back in Gaegyeong and headed towards Seoul. Three hundred years and that might have been the only city in all of the Koreas to have not changed its name. With a few other exceptions, almost all the cities and towns had been renamed under Atticus' rule.

We head past a sign-board that read 'Turn right for Dosi' and continued straight, to where Seoul was located, if my sense of direction was still any good. Yoongi broke the silence.

"It's just hard, thinking of everything I could've told him, but never did. One last I-love-you, one last I'm-gonna-miss-you or even just a smile. I won't ever get him back, and that's what pains the most, I suppose."

I kept quiet, not knowing what to say. After another brief spell of quiet, I spoke up. "That's life, I guess. We're all gonna die one day, we're gonna leave and never come back. Everyone is gonna leave us, sooner or later and sometimes, they don't even have to die for that to happen. We can't be prepared, we can never know with absolute certainty if this is going to be their last moments, or even God forbid, ours, but we can make sure that we have no regrets. Ride or die. YOLO, you know? We get one chance at living, no evidence of any other, so let's make it count. Give it our all. If you're nervous about whether or not you should do something–just do it. Chances are, it's something better off done but you started doubting yourself and your capabilities halfway through. Doubt has killed more dreams than failure ever has. You wish you got to remind your father once again that you loved him? Well, if you told him that every day, let it be known to him that you cared, and weren't shy or embarrassed about any of it—not that there is anything demeaning about caring for others—you wouldn't have had to tell him that again while he's dying because you've already told him that so many times throughout his life that there's no way he can doubt you. You've spent so much time with him, happy, enjoying together, so that he doesn't need to see you smile to visualise it. And most of all, he knows, he knows what an impact he's had on you, and that you'll obviously miss having him not around. But he'll also know that he's done such a fine job at parenting that there's no way you'd need him around for anything either. He's prepared you for everything, as impossible as it might sound, he's made you ready. So, you know the best way you can make up for the way you're feeling? Go home today, and hug Hoseok. Long and hard. Then tell him how much you love him, and just how much he means to you. Tell him, keep reminding him every day. So that the one day you can't, the one last time which you never get—the one chance you never get to remind him once again just how much he means to you, he'll be happy knowing that even if he never felt 'purposeful', felt useless for being unable to save you, he'll remember that in his time here, at least one person felt happier with his presence, one person loved him beyond words. To the world he's just another guy but to one guy, he was the world. The good, the bad, and everything in between. 

After a long pause, Yoongi spoke up, his voice sounding chock full of emotions. "I love you. You know that, right? You'll forever be my little muffin. Even if you grow taller than me, you'll still be my little muffin." I gave a small smile though I knew he wouldn't be able to see me.

"God, I love you so much. Thank you. But I still love Hoseok more." At that, I cracked a laugh, barely audible over the whir of the engines and the screams of the wind yowling around us as we raced through the highways but he heard it. Somehow, Yoongi heard it, and gave his typical gummy smile which I caught on the side-view mirror.

The air between us was much lighter and I decided to ask the one question that had been on my mind since the beginning. After all, you only live once, right? "Why do you use a motorcycle? Isn't it too 'hip' to be caught in the possessions of a thirty-something years old man?"

Yoongi let loose a guffaw at that. "I am not in my thirties. I'm still very well within my twenties."

"Mhm," I scoffed. "Don't lie."

"I'm not. I'm still in the twenties. Twenty-nine but still. In. My. Twenties."

"Yea, yea sure, whatever you say. Grandpa." I would have continued my not-so-derisory jibes but we came to a halt as Yoongi applied the brakes with strength I would have thought was well above him. Those macilent arms do hide massive guns then.

"We're here," he announced and made for a large mahogany door of the manor, the cobblestone pathway to which was lined by small pots with bright flowers, grass seeming to stretch endlessly on either side. The white fence at the front looked freshly painted and smoke was rising out of the little chimneys above.

Yoongi motioned for me to follow him, so follow him I did. Turning the handle of the unlocked door without bothering for a key, he gestured for me to sit down on one of the plush cream sofas dotting the living room before turning back to gently close the door.

An automated voice announced, "Welcome home, Daddy!" The suddenness of it all scared the living shit out of me and I barely managed to restrain myself from screaming out, but only just. Through my helmet, I could make out a suddenly shy Yoongi who unlocked his helmet and laid it by the vase of white lilies on the counter top. I removed my helmet too and was just about to unbuckle my boots when another voice rang out, but not the automated robotic voice from earlier that faintly resembled that of a popular actor of our times.

"Hoseok, I'm back!" Yoongi yelled from the doorway. Unperturbed, I continued removing my boots which were zipped up rather tightly.

No reply. "Hoseok?" He hollered even louder this time. I looked into the kitchen beside the doorway. Empty. Strange that smoke was rising out of it earlier. Only a few cups and a packet of milk were scattered over the clean marble-top.

Yoongi was now starting to panic. "HO-SOCK?" Still no reply. Slipping off my coat, I hung it on one of the adhesive hangers and completely disregarding Yoongi's earlier instructions, walked into the first room I saw. 

Yoongi meanwhile, was flailing his arms about in trepidation. "HOE-SUCK, come SUCK-" A pale hand suddenly clapped itself on Yoongi's mouth and a man, presumably Hoseok—or I'd have to call the cops—emerged from behind.

"Shush. I just got him to sleep," the mysterious man jutted his chin at the bundle in his arms. Yoongi's cheeks were a concerning red now, eyes darting about the house before settling on the little baby cradled in Hoseok's arm. The adorable little boy slept peacefully, an expression of pure content resting on his features.

I was still confused. With not even an inkling of why Yoongi'd require me here, I stared around bemused.

Yoongi looked back at me and started off, "Right so the reason I called you...Hoseok'll tell you."

Huh? What's going on? Why can't he just tell me already? Didn't not asking about it for an hour while he drove given me enough brownie points to demand an immediate explanation?

Hoseok seemed to disagree. "Me?" he said, the baby still sleeping with soft puffs of air escaping it's mouth every now and then.

"Yes, you. Tell her. Why you wanted to see the future queen."

I wanted to say I didn't do autographs but it didn't seem prudent to joke about with a man already so tired, probably from all the sleepless nights spent looking after the baby.

"Can I help you?" I tried to ask politely, which hopefully didn't sound condescending at all. I didn't want more people thinking that I looked down on them, simply because I might be Princess.

"Well, as a matter of fact, you can. And Hoseok here will explain how," Yoongi butted in.

"Seriously? I've to look after Otsu all day long and do your dirty work too?" Hoseok sounded irked, and I did not want to find out how a sleep-deprived, apparent ball of sunshine (as described by Yoongi) could be when completed pissed.

"Otsu?" I interrupted.

"Yes, him," Yoongi pointed towards the sleeping baby. "Our son."

"Oh."

"Yeah, he's our kid, Hoseok's mom here is Japanese, so to honour his roots, his," he again pointed at Otsu with his chin, "name is Otsukare Nikomoto. And korean name's Min Otsu. Min from me and Otsu for short."

"Why'd you name him 'tired' though," I asked. From the basic Japanese I knew, Otsukare meant something like 'to be tired'. Strange name for a baby if you think about it.

"A name repels what a person is. So, by naming him Otsukare, as in 'the tired one', he shall never be tired," Yoongi explained with a grand wave of his hands which Hoseok caught with his free arm.

"Stop bullshitting," he said, giving the older a rather pointing look. Turning back to me, he smiled and elucidated, "My mom picked it. I'm not quite sure why either but it held quite a lot of meaning for her and sounds rather endearingly appealing too so I didn't bother arguing. Not like I'd win, but still," he gave a slight laugh at that, beaming widely. I couldn't help but want to smile back, so I did.

"Otsu does sound rather cute. And fits him, the baby, I mean."

"I know. That's why I picked it," Yoongi replied with a failed attempt at a wink.

"And that's why you'll explain it," Hoseok cut in with a death glare aimed at Yoongi.

"Ughh, fine." Yoongi seemed to have given up any hopes of evading the big question: why was I called? And why couldn't he just have told me this back at the palace? And the most important of them all, what's for dinner? Patience is a virtue but I'd never been one to practice austerity.

ANDDDDDDDDD GUESS WHO RANDOMLY DID A 3K UPDATE LOLLL, I THINK I HAVE LIKE 2 CHAPS MORE OF CONTENT LEFT BUT IVE NOT BEEN DOING ANYTHIGN LIKE AT ALLLLLLLLL, I HAVE NO CLUE HWAT TO WRITE AND NOT VERY IN THE MOOD EITHER LOL

BTWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WHATS THE SPECIAL FAVOUR U THINK YOONGI WANTS FROM EST? ;D

PLEASE DO VOTE AND COMMENT, THEY MEAN A LOTTTTT TO ME!!! PLUS, IF YOU'RE A SILENT READER AND JUST LIKE-WHY BOTHER HITTING ONE BUTTON, YOU'RE ACTUALY HELPING A LOTTTTTTTTTTTT. SEE, THE ALGORITHM IS BASED ON THE VIEWS TO VOTES RATIO, SO THE MOST POPULAR BOOK THAT RANKS #1 CAN HAVE 10 READS BUT IF IT'S GOT 10 VOTES TOO, THEN IT'LL DEF BE NUMBER ONE. AGAIN, THESE KEEP CHANGING FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT YOUR SUPPORT WILL MEAN A LOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT. SINCE THIS IS GONNA TAKE UP A LOTTTTTTTTT OF MY TIME, I'VE DECIDED THAT I CAN INCLUDE THIS ON MY COLLEGE PROFILE, SO INSTEAD OF SPEDNING TIME ON INTERNSHIPS AND STUFF, I CAN JUST WRITE AND LINK IT LATER. AND IF IT MANAGES TO REACH LIKE A 100K READS A YEAR OR TWO LATER, IT'D LOOK RLLY RLLY GOOD ON MY PROFILE AND BE A VERYYY VALUABLE USE OF MY TIME

THANKYOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU AND TAKE CAREEE!!!!!!