Hey it's chapter thirty. Who would've thought. Certainly not I. But I'm honestly so happy.

Fun facts I'm currently jamming to NCT Dream's We Go Up. This song, BTS's Idol, In2it's Sorry For My English, and Up10tion's Catch Me have been playing on loop in my head for two weeks.

Oh. My. God. Guys. I lost most of this chapter and my revision history is yielding no results. I may scream or cry or both.
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No one's POV

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"Shhh." Two bodies wandered the halls of the Chinese palace, in search of something specific. "I doubt they're up," the voice continued. "But if they are, I don't want them knowing of this."

"Okay?" Hyeja had to admit that whatever Ying Yue had planned sounded crazy. Her boyfriend and Ying Yue's husband, together? Sleeping together? It sounded absurd. But when they stopped outside a room and Ying Yue gently pushed the door open a crack, she was kind of shocked. There they were. "You weren't kidding," she mumbled. "It's like there's a magnet in both of them."

"According to lore, this is how they were when they were sixteen, and again before Junmyeon met you," Ying Yue replied, stepping back. She had conflicting feelings about her discovery. On one hand she trusted her husband completely and knew that nothing would actually become of this. On the other hand, she couldn't deny how happy and peaceful they looked like that.

"You know," Hyeja spoke up suddenly, stepping forward for a closer look. She peered in. "I always kind of thought there was a history between them. Junmyeon thinks he's good at hiding things, but sometimes he's really transparent." She chuckled. "I kind of always just brushed it off as "oh they're buddies they just like to hang out together." But I see it goes a bit deeper than that."

"You must have a lot of faith in Junmyeon," Ying Yue replied. "I'm married to one of the idiots, but you're just dating one. In your shoes, I'm not sure what I'd do."

And in truth Hyeja wasn't exactly sure of that herself. She knew her boyfriend well enough by now and if something were to happen, it would have already. Junmyeon was nothing but sweet and loving to her. But now she really knew who came before her, and she could sense that there was still some lingering feelings, no matter how desperately they tried to hide the fact.

"We should let them sleep," was all she said, grabbing the handle and gently clicking the door shut. "Jun doesn't get much sleep these days, and I'd hate to ruin it. We'll just act like we didn't see anything, yeah?"

"Yep," Ying Yue agreed. "I trust our boys. Besides, it's just some harmless cuddling. They aren't doing anything absolutely abhorrent." And with that said both females slipped quietly back down the hall, now with a full picture of what had taken place before either of them were in the equation.

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Junmyeon's POV

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"Ah, King Junmyeon." I whirled around at the mention of my name. From a voice I knew all too well. Yixing smiled his signature dimpled smile. "It's been far too long, hasn't it?"

"Yes it has, King Yixing," I agreed, his name burning the back of my throat. He looked so casual. So happy. Even more so when Ying Yue waddled up, a small child nestled in her arms. Once again, my words failed me. Yixing hooked a free arm around her waist, kissing her temple and ruffling his child's hair.

"We'll have to get coffee together sometime," he said, though I could tell he really didn't mean that. It was all pleasantries. Neither of us had the time for that.

"Sure," I replied with little feeling. "I'd love to." The tragic part was I actually would have loved to. But I knew better. He was forbidden fruit. And I was not that desperate. Not anymore. "Well, I'd better get back to Hyeja," I said, pointing in a random direction that would take me away. "It was nice catching up." I bowed quickly in his direction.

"Bye Junnie," I heard behind me as I turned my back to him. My breath hitched. I closed my eyes for a second before calmly walking away. But as soon as I was out of eyesight, I was off, running to god only knew where. But it felt like no matter how fast I ran, it wouldn't be enough. I wouldn't be able to run from my problems forever, no matter how hard I tried.

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I opened my eyes and blinked blearily at my surroundings. Moonlight still tried to force its way through the cracks in the curtains. That meant it was still the middle of the night. I sighed wearily, gazing across the small space at the man beside me. Yixing seemed so peaceful tonight.

I wasn't even sure if I could classify that as a nightmare. It wasn't scary. Not really. It was realistic. I could've just imagined a scenario five, ten, fifteen years into the future. A happy Yixing with his even happier wife and a child. A little baby Zhang. And that's exactly what was supposed to happen. I closed my eyes and buried my face in his neck again.

A part of me still wanted to be selfish and keep him for myself. Even though I had a girlfriend and he was married, sometimes I was tempting to just rip him away and hold him close until the painful knot in my chest dissolved. But the very thought if it was enough to make disgusted with myself. I wasn't like this. I wouldn't ruin a happy, healthy relationship. Not solely to fill my selfish needs.

I grabbed a fist full of his shirt, curling myself against him like I'd done countless times in the past. Would it be weird to think that we for together perfectly? Probably. But damn we really did seem to slot together effortlessly, like we'd done this all our lives. I closed my eyes, praying sleep would overtake me soon. But it didn't seem I was tired in the slightest.

"Why?" I whispered, my breath hitting his skin and making him squirm. I paused until he settled again. "Out of everyone in the world, why you? Why always and only you?" It was few and far between that I let my emotions get the best of me these days. After all, I had to be unshakable. I was the figure my public looked up to. If I showed any signs of weakness, it was over for us. I think sometimes I forgot I was only eighteen years old, and needed to let out my frustrations.

It was true though. It seemed no matter what I thought or what I did, everything always led me right back into the arms of Zhang Yixing. He was a drug and I was an addict deprived in the worst way possible. Even if I knew better, I still craved him. Still wanted him.

Still loved him.

I loved him with everything in me. That had never changed. As the months passed and I watched our separate lives unfolding, one thing that had remained steadfast was that I loved him so fucking much, even though I shouldn't. Some nights I still laid in bed and wished for a different outcome in my life. One where he'd be with me. One where we could be happy together.

I disentangled one of my arms and gently ran my fingers through his hair. I wanted to savor as much of this as I could tonight. Tomorrow morning he would never be mine to hold or to love ever again. With that thought in mind, I burrowed closer to him. I didn't want this to end. Given the option, I would gladly stop time and relive right now over and over. Because Yixing was here with me. But also because I was happy.

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Yixing's POV

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"Good morning ladies," I greeted Ying Yue and Hyeja,who were seated on the loveseat in the lounge, talking quietly. As I passed, I stole a quick kiss from Ying Yue, then settled myself comfortably in the recliner. "Did you both sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you for asking Prince Yixing," Hyeja said. "Your palace is beautiful by the way." I smiled at her compliment. At that moment Baekhyun chose to come waddling in, still rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes. "Hey Baek," Hyeja greeted, scooting over to make room for him. He flopped beside her.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," I teased. He childishly stuck his tongue out at me, but grinned afterwards, so he was clearly amused. This felt nice, being surrounded by so many people close to my own age. My own friends and wife. Only one very important person was missing.

"There you are," Baekhyun suddenly said. I turned to see Junmyeon push the door open, gazing at the faces staring back at him. "I was wondering if you were up." Wordlessly Junmyeon strode over to us. "Sorry bud, I'm not moving," Baekhyun said, sandwiched between Hyeja and Ying Yue. "You'll have to find somewhere else to sit."

"Why don't you just crash in the recliner with Yixing?" Ying Yue suggested. Junmyeon's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. I turned to my wife like she'd grown a second head. "What?" she asked us. "The other chair is on the other side of the room. He'd be too far away to talk to us, and there's no sense dragging it across the carpet because we'd just end up putting it back anyway."

"Two Bros can't sit in a chair?" Hyeja asked. Now they were being suspicious. What were they planning? But honestly the recliner was big enough both of us could fit side by side anyway. I tugged on his hand and he looked down, pleading we don't do this. But I pulled him down until he was settled beside me, so tense I'm sure he hurt. And through this all he hadn't said a word. "See, it's not so bad," Hyeja said, leaning back against the loveseat. "Yixing's not contagious or anything."

"Oof," Baekhyun mumbled. "You two are painful to watch sometimes." Junmyeon blushed and glanced down, trying to keep as much space between us as he could. I tickled his side, and he squirmed, whining quietly.

"Cat got your tongue today?" I asked him. "Come on Junnie, speak to us." I felt him freeze beside me. He shook his head. "Alright," I said, leaning my cheek against the side of his head. I gazed across the small space at the three on the loveseat, but none batted an eyelash at the two of us.

"That was a beautiful wedding yesterday," Hyeja suddenly spoke up. She turned to Ying Yue. "You were so pretty. I loved your dress." Ying Yue smiled wide, and I found myself smiling as well. Yes. She was very pretty indeed.

"Thank you," Ying Yue said shyly, brushing the hair out of her face. "And thank you guys for coming. It means a lot to the two of us." I felt myself nodding along. It really did. Junmyeon, Baekhyun, and now Hyeja were important people to me, and it would've felt a bit incomplete without them there. "Xing," Ying Yue added, turning to me. "Don't move."

"Huh?" I asked. I tried to glance down, but Junmyeon shifted beside me, so I paused. Ying Yue grabbed the blanket off the back of the loveseat and rose, throwing it over the two of us.

"This reminds me," Hyeja said. "We were all supposed to fly home today, but I don't think any of us actually want to leave yet. Would you guys mind terribly if we spent another night." She looked directly at me now. "Junmyeon doesn't sleep back home. This is the most I've seen him get in a long time." Ah. He must've drifted off again.

So the conversations went on, mostly between Ying Yue and Hyeja, with Baekhyun and I chiming in when it seemed necessary. I pulled the blanket farther up, slipping an arm comfortably around him and drawing him closer. He twisted in his sleep and buried his face in my shoulder, curling up next to me. I rested my head on top of his.

"You know," Hyeja said, turning to us. "You guys are kind of adorable like that." I laughed awkwardly. She was just being nice, but still. I didn't think she realized how close to home this was all getting. How tempting it was to stay here all day, holding onto him and never letting go. "It's almost lunch time," Hyeja continued. "Ying Yue, why don't we go figure something out and bring it back for the boys."

"Sounds great," my wife said, rising gracefully from her place on the loveseat. Hyeja rose and well, and they started off, leaving Baekhyun, Junmyeon, and I alone. Baekhyun turned to me once they left, arching an eyebrow.

"What are they planning?" he asked me. I shrugged, reaching up and smoothing back Junmyeon's hair when he made a noise. "It seems highly unlikely that they're okay with...this." He waved a hand in our general direction.

"I don't know Baek," I said. "I really don't. It doesn't seem like they're really up to anything, but I agree. In Ying Yue's shoes, I'm not sure I'd be okay with this. Especially since she kind of knows about the history between the two of us." Baekhyun shrugged. That was all I could offer up. But I wasn't going to complain. Junmyeon was still here, with me. That was all that mattered.

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Interesting chapter all around, wouldn't you say? What do you think of the girls knowing?