I really don't know what to call this yet. Or how to categorize it. Or of it will even happen.

Temporary title as these so often get.

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DaeHyun's POV

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"Knock knock kiddo." I sat up in bed, sliding to the edge, tilting my head to the side. A very familiar face cracked the door open. "Can I come in bub?" Hyeja asked.

"Auntie Hyeja?" I asked as she shoved the door open and made her way inside. She sat beside me on the bed. "What are you doing here?" I asked after a particularly long stretch of silence. She seemed to contemplate the question, picking at a thread on my bedspread. I was suddenly aware I hadn't cleaned in a couple days, and embarrassment tinted my cheeks pink. But she didn't seem to even notice.

"You know your dad and pa are worried about you, right?" she finally asked me, turning to face me. "They called me to talk to you. Figured maybe you would be comfortable talking to someone who isn't your parent." I dipped my head and gazed at the floor, nudging a pair of pants away with my socked foot. Maybe... But I still loathed the idea of sharing my secret with anyone who wasn't my little sister. I knew I could trust the adults in my life. That was never the problem.

My relationship with Hyeja was...strange. Dad never made it any secret that he and Hyeja were the reason I was around. I'd known since I was small that I'd been in her belly at one point. As I got older she told me she did it because she and dad dated before dad and pa got together, and she was willing to help however she could. She was always around when I was growing up, watching over us just like dad and pa did. She loved me and ChaoXing both. She was also an outlier for a lot of my bottled up feelings, because while she did care about me, she wasn't my parent. She was a motherly figure in my life, sure. So sometimes she would get the big dump of feelings, especially if it was a subject that I didn't want to bring up with dad.

"A woman's touch," dad would often say to me after conversations like this. "Sometimes it's necessary. Your Papa and I aren't mind readers." Which was definitely a good thing because some of my thoughts... Well, let's just say I wouldn't be leaving the palace any time soon.

"Auntie Hyeja?" I began hesitantly. She hummed in response, her hand covering mine on the bed. "What if I...like someone in China? Someone who I shouldn't be with in the long run because they aren't royalty?" She seemed a bit taken aback by the question, but I forged on, knowing if I stopped I'd crumble. "But I really, really like this person. So much. But I know that I shouldn't, because when I eventually take over from dad, I need to have a partner that's at least somewhat royalty so we can continue on the bloodline. Even Pa was royalty when dad was growing up. But I don't like someone like that. I like..." Now I did stop, but the damage had already been done. Hyeja sat there in silence, pondering it, frowning thoughtfully. "Stupid feelings," I mumbled, more to myself than anything. "Why can't they go away."

"Aww kiddo, don't say that," she scolded gently. "Your dad was eaten alive with that kind of mentality." I closed my eyes and flopped backwards onto the bed, letting out an exasperated sigh. "I can't tell you how you should feel," she started, massaging my stomach. "Or even how you think you should feel. But I can tell you without a doubt that your dad and pa... they aren't going to care who this person is. Your happiness has always been the most important thing to them. I don't think it's going to matter if you end up with someone who is of royal blood or not. And it's not like Korea is any stranger to gay kings." I finally looked up to her and her knowing smirk. "I assume that's part of the problem?"

"Part of the problem," I confirmed. "It's not like I think dad and pa would be upset about that on its own. It's the person's social status that worries me most. They've given me everything I could ever want. I don't want to disappoint them."

"Oh bub, you know you'd never disappoint your dad and pa," Hyeja said. "You and your sister are the center of their world. They love you to bits." I could only nod. "I have a hunch, but if you don't mind me asking, who is this boy of yours?"

"Li Jie," I whispered. She smirked a little, nodding to herself. "I can't like him Auntie Hyeja. Not like that. Not since I'm prince. How would the country react?"

"Why would they care?" she countered. "It's your life kiddo, not theirs. And don't give me that crap about appeasing your people. I heard enough of it when your dad was that age." I smiled a little at that. "Love is strange, isn't it?" she finally asked, laying down beside me. "It's never with the person you'd expect it to be. It also comes out of nowhere, with no warnings or preparations. Just, boom, suddenly you've caught feelings when you didn't mean to." We gazed up at my ceiling together. "You should talk to your dad you know," she continued.  "Don't bottle it all inside like he did all those years ago. Trust me, all it did was make him miserable."

"I'll try," I promised her. "Thanks for talking with me. I definitely needed it." She reached over and ruffled my hair. "Auntie Hyeja," I whined, squirming away. She laughed at my antics.

"You're a good kid DaeHyun," she said at last, sitting up. "Your dad and pa are doing a fine job raising you." I sighed, nodding along with her. "You got this kiddo. No one ever said you had to have your whole life figured out at fifteen, so don't pressure yourself." She turned to leave, and at first I thought she really had left. But when I sat up she hovered in the doorway, quietly observing me. "Don't be scared," she whispered. "We always have your back." And finally she left as quickly as she'd come. I studied the place she'd occupied for a few minutes before rising and pacing my room. I had to tell them. I had to tell someone. It wasn't good to keep everything to myself.

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Junmyeon's POV

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"Dad?" I perked as I heard a knock on the office door, DaeHyun's voice calling out into the quiet evening air. He pushed the door open another crack. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Of course not pumpkin," I replied, closing the lid of my laptop. "Come on in. You know Yixing and I are always here if you need us." He stepped inside the office, glancing around. I let him take his time, as rushing him wouldn't solve anything in the long run. He slunk over and sank into one of the chairs across from me. I laced my fingers together and rested my elbows on the desk in front of me. "What's on your mind kiddo?"

"I...have something to tell you," he began, wringing his hands together on his lap nervously (a habit he more than likely picked up from me). "But you have to promise me you won't get mad, okay?" I frowned thoughtfully.

"As long as you didn't do anything bad, there's no reason for me to be mad," I explained. "So I promise that I will try my best to not get mad at you." He pursed his lips and nodded slowly, mumbling something to his lap so quietly I didn't catch a single thing. "What pumpkin?" I prodded gently. "I didn't hear you."

"I love someone," he blurted. My conversation with Yixing a few nights prior flashed across my thoughts, but I quickly shook it away. I waited to see if he would elaborate. "But I can't love them," he added.

"Why not?" I questioned. "What's wrong with being in love Dae?" He shifted uneasily in his seat, glancing up to the windows behind me. "That's really awesome," I continued, hoping to ease his worries. His gaze flicked back to me. "Papa and I will always support you in whatever you decide to do." He looked down again, sniffing a few times. With a start, I realized he'd began to cry. "Oh pumpkin, what's going on?" I urged. "You can tell me anything. I won't ever judge you, okay?"

"I like someone who isn't royalty," he confessed, his breath catching as he tried to pull himself together. "I know that you and pa are going yo want me to date, and eventually marry, someone who is either minor royalty or the child of a rich household or...something. But I don't. I like someone who isn't even close to royalty." He sucked in a breath and waited while I took that all in.

"Is that all?" I asked. His expression went from terrified to puzzled as he nodded. "Oh Dae. You're silly for ever letting that worry you. Your Papa and I don't care who you love. As long as your happy. That's all that matters to me." Fresh tears glistened on his lashes, but he quickly blinked them away. "My I ask who it is baby boy? That way we can help you?" He glanced skyward for a second, saying a little prayer to himself before facing me again.

"It's Li Jie dad," he finally admitted, sounding defeated. Ah, so Yixing had been right. I owned him a coffee for that. "Do you see the problem now?" he asked me.

"No?" I answered. He sank back, still looking perplexed. "Should I?" He gave me a pained look. "I see my baby boy falling in love with his childhood best friend. I see..." What I really saw was myself when I stared at him. That sixteen year old boy who had no clue what he was doing. Who had no idea what to expect. Who faced a dilemma much like this, by falling in love with someone he shouldn't have, but couldn't stop. "I see a cute couple," I finally settled on. This poor kid had a lot to go through if his story line were to match up with mine.

"What do I do dad?" he asked. "Like... I like him so much. But he's been seeing Mei Zhen for a little while, and every time I see them together something in me feels...funny. Like I'm jealous of her, almost. Why can't it be me?" I simply shook my head. The parallels were starting to scare me here. "Granted, it's not like I've told him anything," he added as a kind of afterthought.

"Tell him," I replied automatically, and he paused, studying me. "Your papa and I aren't the best at communicating everything, but we more than admitted we liked each other. Even when he was with Ying Yue and I was with Hyeja." No, that wasn't a secret from him. We were very open with our pasts. It served as a good lesson and a good reminder all in one. "Actually that was like the only thing we could say to each other for awhile." I chuckled, thinking back on those days. The days of navigating something unfamiliar and strange but all at once comforting and exciting. Yixing had always been the one for me, even then. "You also have no idea if he doesn't like you back or not," I reminded him. "Because you've just assumed."

"I don't..." He stumbled over his words for a minute. "I just don't know how to handle myself if he doesn't." He seemed to mentally pull himself together. "Because he's still going to be in my life after this even if he doesn't. After all, he's Luhan's son. And that means he's going to be my advisor. And ChaoXing's too. He already is, really. And I don't want to ruin things but at the same time I'm so torn because it sucks seeing him with someone else when every time I'm around him these feelings just roar to life."

"I know it's scary Dae," I responded carefully. "And rejection does hurt. It hurts a lot. I would know." I paused, collecting my thoughts before continuing. "But you know what hurts worse? Never knowing and watching him slip away." And at that my son crumpled into himself, tucking his chin against his chest to try and mask his tears. "Oh pumpkin."

"Can you guys call and get the jet ready?" he asked in a wobbly voice. "I want to go there." I nodded even though he couldn't see me and fished my phone out of my pocket. "I'll probably be there a few days," he warned. "I don't know if I'll have the courage right when I get there." I circled around the desk at last, wrapping him in a hug. After a brief moment his arms came around me too, clinging for dear life.

"Take as long as you need pumpkin," I told him. "You know your papa and I always have your back." I felt him nod against my shoulder. "I'm so glad you and your sister are in our lives," I added, sweeping his hair back and kissing his forehead.

"Dad," he whined lightly, but I could hear the smile in his voice. "I'd better get packing." He finally released me and stood up. We were almost the same height now, which only reminded me that my babies weren't really babies anymore. "Thanks for talking with me dad." And finally he left the office, his head held high. I sat back in my own seat, bowing my head.

Please just let this work out for him better than it did for me at that age, I prayed. Just let him be happy. That's all I ask.

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It's gonna be strange possibly having a story in my vast library here that isn't a fanfiction. Well. It is. But it also isn't. It's complicated