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There isn't an explanation to why Jeongguk was being optimistic about the next day. Thinking that maybe there's a slight chance that tomorrow would be better, it would live up to the night he had and he won't have to go back to his miserable life where he pretends to live like he's not having trouble breathing without him.

It was a nightmare indeed. The first thing he saw when his eyes were forced open by the sun shining straight on him was an empty space right next to him. The duvet was curled from the corner and the pillow had a slight bump into it. As if someone just got off the bed. That was his delusion. Taehyung wasn't in his room like he thought, he wasn't even in the Palace, heck he wasn't even in the same kingdom as Jeongguk anymore. His heart felt like it had a body of its own, weighing him down so hard. He felt like he had stones in his chest.

Once again, Kim Taehyung had left him all alone on these four walls, leaving him with consequences of their actions.

Putting his mask back on, Jeongguk took a bath like every other morning. The servants came inside to help him get dressed, he stopped caring about wanting to get dressed by himself a long time ago. It doesn't really matter anymore. Just like most mornings, he sees the breakfast on his table but he doesn't even spare another glance and walks out of the room, letting the servants take the untouched plate back to the kitchen.

Despite how everything turned out, he can't forget that he is the King of Elestial now and he has to act like it. He can't chase someone who he can never keep. Not anymore. His responsibilities have doubled in size and he cannot ignore any of it. He is given a walk through from the head advisor from the court of what should he expect of his day now that he is a King. Starting with a meeting in the courtroom with all of the higher officials and other High Post men in his court bowing to him. Sitting down on the throne that he was used to seeing his father in.

Jeongguk's father wasn't here anymore. He was in the Palace but he had separated himself from the ‘King Activities’. He has completely retired. He wanted to come here today but Jeongguk's mother stopped him. “Let our son rule now, you can rest, my love.” His mother says to his father, kissing the scar on his head. He doesn't fight it because he sees the pure love in his wife's eyes for him. He has neglected her for so long, he has been so busy for decades, it's time he spends more time with her.

So he lets everyone in the palace know that from today, everyone and their worries or complaints, whatever it is, shouldn't reach him but instead should be taken straight to the court of Jeon Jeongguk now. He isn't a king anymore and he will try his best to not interfere in Jeongguk's reign.

Jeongguk respects the decision. He is immensely glad. Good or bad, his father had a long run, he for sure made the people of Elestial proud with the way he has ruled so faithfully and without any ill intentions towards his people. Now it's time he rests, he has done enough, Jeongguk will take it from there.

The court meeting goes smoothly. With all the officials of different departments first welcoming him and then telling him his concerns and the way Jeongguk handled it so smoothly made everyone so relieved. He was just like his father, that's what he heard from people when he was done. Smiling to them, he thanks them before he leaves the room to his next task.

As a new King you have to keep making rounds in the Kingdom, making sure everyone is alright and be more familiar with the people around. Since Elestial is a very big kingdom it would be impossible to tour it in a day so he divided the areas into the schedules of different days for example today he will visit the center of Elestial where all the market is and it's the most popular spot in Elestial and tomorrow he would visit into the North of Elestial.

The tour was quite nice. Jeongguk always likes to interact with his people. They are all so kind to him, the slight hesitation from them does bother him a bit because ofcourse they don't want to say something that would make their new King mad so they are very cautious of what they are saying. He wishes they were able to tell him everything however they wanted to. If he needs to make changes he needs to know the core of problems.

This little girl was following him the entire time he was in the market. She was probably no more than six years old and so adorable with her pigtails. Jeongguk leaned down to her level and patted her head. “Are you lost?” Jeongguk asked her.

“...no.”

“Then why are you following me? Do you want candy?”

“No, mommy said candy is bad for me.” The girl shared with him, a bit shy towards him. Jeongguk chuckled. He looked around to see a stall where they were selling dalgona candy. He took her small hands and led them to the stall.

Buying one for her, he handed the thrice the price to the man selling it and gave the candy to the little girl. “Here you go, mommy doesn't have to know about this.”

“Really? thank you Mr.prince!” She claimed excitedly as she bit down on her candy. Jeongguk didn't correct her and just chuckled. “Make sure she gets home safely.” Jeongguk ruffled her hair.

“Your majesty, you really shouldn't have bought her that. Another mister in the morning bought it for her too, I think he was some kind of royalty too but her mother would be mad if she knew about this.” The guy from the stall told Jeongguk.

“It's okay, two candies won't hurt her. I want to give back to my people and make sure they are happy. Maybe that gentleman had the same idea as me. He was someone from the Palace?”

“I am not sure, your majesty. The way he was dressed in the fine silk, red and black hanbok I assumed he was from the upper class-”

“Did you say red and black? did he also have a scar on his face around his eyes?” Jeongguk asked him and the guy's eyes lit up.

“Yes!! I just came to my stall early in the morning to start preparing the candy and the man was roaming around, going into shops, interacting with the kids. I wasn't following him but it's hard to miss someone who is that handsome and in such expensive clothing.”

Jeongguk knew for sure he was talking about Taehyung now but he didn't know what to make of it. Why was he here? acting like a local ? He left him all alone to come here, he just doesn't understand why.

“When did he leave?”

“An hour before you arrived, your majesty.”

Jeongguk just nodded and walked off from there. If he came earlier maybe he would have run into him. But did Taehyung want to run into him? thoughts like this makes him lose his mind. He did confess to him last night and Jeongguk was the one who rejected him. Even right now he thinks that was the right decision because a happy ending is not something written in their fate, it's better if they start accepting this as quickly as possible.

Just because everything else worked out for them doesn't mean this would work out too.

“Did he say anything to you?” Jeongguk asked Jimin, barging into the kitchen where the guy was having his lunch.

“Your majesty, how are you? How was your night ? I'm doing great thank you for asking. As a new King you must have some better things to do.” Jimin mocked him and Jeongguk just rolled his eyes.

“I don't have time for this, just tell me.” Jeongguk asked him. Jimin sighed, taking one last bite of his food before he stood up from there. Walking out of the kitchen because there are many servants around them to be having this conversation.

Walking in the hallway and standing as far away from the rooms as possible. Jimin still rechecked again to make sure no one was around them. “Ok we are good here, what did you ask me again?”

“Taehyung, did he say anything to you before leaving?”

“No, why would he? We are not that close, Jeongguk. Wait, can I still call you Jeongguk or now that you are a King I should go back to Your majesty?” Jimin asked him a genuine question and Jeongguk just wasn't in the mood for it.

“I don't care, Jimin. If he didn't say anything to you, did Yoongi say anything? I know he was with you last night, don't even try to lie to me.” Jeongguk was right on the spot, Yoongi did spend the night with him. By some point in the night both of them figured that the two rulers weren't going to come back and they might as well take advantage of this opportunity too.

“Nothing much, Around 5 in the morning my room door started to bang loudly. Yoongi hyung got up to get it, Taehyung was there and he…looked like he was crying.” Jimin paused to see Jeongguk who looked angry already, his jaw clenched tightly. “I couldn't hear what they were saying, some murmurs and whispers. Next thing I know Yoongi hyung comes back to me, he apologizes to me that he has to leave but he will come to see me again soon. After that, he took his things and left with Taehyung. That's it.”

The King sighed and leaned against the wall. Looking down at his feet as distraught filled his chest. He was crying, Taehyung was crying before he left. The thought alone is making him so upset. He knows one thing for sure, he can't move on. There is no way he can just move on.

He has to do something about this. He can't just give up. He and Taehyung have come so far they have achieved the impossible so why is this such a big thing to achieve? Why is loving someone so hard?

The inner monologue was interrupted by one of the servants finding them and calling for the King.

“Your majesty, Your mother is calling you in her quarters.” The servant told him and Jeongguk nodded. He dismissed Jimin and just made his way towards his mother's quarters.

Knocking twice on the door of his mother's bedroom. He waited until he heard a faint come in. Opening the door to walk inside. He looked up to see that his mother was sitting on the sofa but she was not alone, she was with Princess Sera. They were having tea together.

Just seeing them together put a feeling of discomfort inside his chest. They were having a laugh together, bonding over something he doesn't even know yet. His mother noticed him and she was beaming with happiness.

“Ah my handsome son. Look at him, Sera. It's the first day as the Ruler of Elestial and he is already beaming.” His mother said, walking to him. Jeongguk kissed the palm of her hands. “ I only have you to thank for these looks, mother.”

“Not your father?”

“Eh…” Jeongguk says, making his mother slap him on the arm playfully.

“Still being so cheeky. You have grown so much, it's a proud day for me as your mother. I heard from Shin, our advisor, that you have been doing so great. I cannot be happier than this. I knew you would be able to handle it.” his mother caressed his cheeks and Jeongguk just smiled.

“Oh, it's just the first day we would see how this goes. I would do my best to make sure your head doesn't lower in front of anyone. I promise you that. Is this why you called me here?” Jeongguk asked her and she shook her head. She grabbed her son's hand and took them to the sofa where the Princess was staring at him.

They both sat down as the Princess bowed to him. “Your majesty.” She says, fluttering her eyelashes again.

“I see you are here too, Princess Sera.”

“I called you to see how you are since you went to bed quite early last night. Sera was wondering too so I just asked her to join me for afternoon tea.” Her mother said so. The two women shared a knowing look.

“Yeah, you went out in quite a hurry after the King of Xethen. I didn't know you guys were close.” Sera asked him, making his mother look at him in confusion too.

“I uh…we got close when I was engaged to his sister. We have drifted apart since but last night when we met I really wanted to talk to him so that was that. I just went to bed early after that.” Jeongguk lied through his teeth.

He can't exactly tell them he fucked the King of Xethen to another dimension. Despite how the morning turns out, Jeongguk tries not to think too much about how sensual last night was or he would have a problem down there. And there is no Taehyung anymore to help him with it and he definitely doesn't think anyone else would be able to help him through it too. He doesn't want anyone too, he only wants Kim Taehyung.

“Oh, That's nice to hear. Despite the circumstances, It will be beneficial for the Kingdom to be closer to Xethen now that the mad King is dead and the new king seems like a better person than him.” Sera told her opinion and Jeongguk wanted to agree but he couldn't.

“Don't be ridiculous, Sera. Him and his entire family betrayed us, they infiltrated our kingdom using the excuse of a proposal and killed many of our innocent people. We only invited their king so we don't have unwanted battles but that doesn't mean we are on good terms with them.”  His mother spoke instead of him. Jeongguk tightened his fist.

“That's in the past, as far as I am aware, Elestial also tried to attack on Xethen but now that you guys are on equal sides with inviting each other to big events I think a partnership would be so good for Elestial-”

“Princess Sera. I appreciate your input but I know how to run my kingdom. I will handle it so enjoy your tea and stay out of it.” Jeongguk said to her in a stern voice. She gulped down and nodded.

“Sorry, your majesty. I didn't want to offend you. However, I have to leave now. It was really nice to have tea with you both, we should do this again soon.” She bowed to both of them before leaving the room. Jeongguk saw her leave through the door and the second he clicked he turned to his mother.

“What are you trying to do?”

“What? wasn't she so outspoken? it's really admirable.”

“Mother, please.”

“We need someone like her, Jeongguk-ah. A girl like that would be an amazing Queen for Elestial.” She finally said and Jeongguk sighed, she really isn't giving up.

“It hasn't even been a full day since I got crowned and you are already talking about marriage. You think I can't handle this?”

“You can! but you need someone next to you, my baby. You need someone to lean on to, someone who can help you, someone who can handle you!!”

“I have you, I don't need someone else.” Jeongguk said to her and she just chuckled.

“I can't be that for you, Jeongguk. I retired the second your father did. I am not a Queen anymore. I am just the mother of the King now. I need rest too, I'm getting old I can't run to places with you. It's time to bring someone in. I need to see that this kingdom that me and your father built is in good hands….I also would like some grandchildren.” She shared it with him. 

Not wanting to tell her no because what she said is right. He is getting older and many others his age already have 4-5 kids with wives. His parents do deserve a chance to be grandparents but…he can't give them that.

“I'm sorry, mother. I can't give that to you, not right now at least. I need to stand up, I need to be confident enough in my role before I start looking at suitors but right now I have no space for someone else.” The space is filled with one person who he can't have. The urge to tell her that it's a man and she probably can never have grandchildren because of that, breaks his heart.

“I don't want to force you. You have worked a lot for this day so I won't ruin it for you but I told you what I want and now you need to start thinking about it. Start preparing yourself for it, Jeongguk. Get married, have kids, that's what life's really about. The throne will always be here but your family really makes it all worth it. I love you okay, I know you are trying your best and I trust you for this.” She kissed his head and Jeongguk didn't say another word. He had nothing to say.

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boring update, sorry about that. I'll make sure next one is more interesting !!
Do you guys have any predictions of what might happen? let me know I'm curious :)
love yall
-K