At dawn, the sun began to rise; rays beamed over the early land, gracing the flowers with light, birds chirped alongside wind chimes and the wind was just as calm as the day before. Jungkook laid awake on his white bed, gliding his hand alongside the spot right by his side that was always left bare. For as long as he can remember, there was never a waking moment when Jungkook wouldn't look at the bed differently.

     "What does it give to have a King with two pillows, when he only uses one?" Jungkook questioned.

    The King tended to talk to himself every morning as if there was another vessel sitting by his side to hear his whispers and second doubts. Jeon Jungkook was so young, but he felt as if he didn't need to be old enough to understand what it means to be lonely. His bed had two pillows, however, he only needed one from the very beginning. Just as the thought of being lonely began to fill his mind that very morning, Jungkook suddenly remembered the promise he still had yet to fulfill.

     "Jimin... Park Jimin," The very thought of seeing the omega seemed to deepen into his mind until the thought of being lonely, vanished within seconds. The King stood up, adjusting a silk robe over his body before taking a quick glance over to his painting supplies. "I'll be there soon, Jimin. I believe I could skip my first meal just for today," The King whispered with a slight smirk, "Just for today."

     Concurrently, Jimin stood in front of a mirror; standing perfectly still with his chin pointed upwards. His family servant brushed and styled his long and silk hair into the usual hair braid with the ribbon tied at the end. Jimin always hated the style of his hair, showing himself off as a pure and unmarried omega as if that was the only thing special about him. Yet, he did adore the most stunning teal brooch sitting over his black strands to match the bright, blue ribbon to his hanbok. As the omega stood in silence, he was given a cup of tea with a porcelain plate underneath it to serve his father within his chambers.

     This was his omega home training and getting through the last session was always the hardest. Jimin fixed his posture and held nothing but silence to his perfect complexion to serve his father. At home, Jimin was trained to be the perfect omega to his alpha, however, he could never keep an engagement due to his rebellious demeanor that would drive the alphas insane. Jimin was independent, but no one seemed to love that side of him.

     It was this part of the training that would drive him crazy, he had to serve his father tea and take what his father gave him. Normally, Jimin had the most respect for his father, but when it came to his negative feedback on what he lacks to become the 'perfect omega', it tended to make Jimin grow red in the early morning. As soon as Jimin received the signal from his servant to walk in, he stepped into the sleeping chamber to serve the tea.

     "Good morning, my son," The Minister greeted the omega.

     "Good morning, Father. I hope you slept well."

     "I did, thank you. I have great news for you," he announced. The wrinkles on his face curved into a smile while he adjusted the strap under his chin; holding the long cap sitting over his head. "Please, sit."

     Jimin set the tea in front of his father and carefully sat down on a cushion in front of the low table. This was the part, this was the very moment that made Jimin fail his morning training, what came out his father's mouth next, was what dreaded the independent omega the most.

     "You did great, my son. However, you will no longer need to prove yourself to me from now on. You'll be such a great omega to your future alpha, I now have a fine suitor for you," announced the father. Within seconds, Jimin's heart sank and his hands began to tighten around his very own.

     "A-A... fine suitor?" stuttered the omega as he looked away. "Did you find an alpha for me to marry?" Jimin spoke in soft whispers as he looked away in worry.

     "There you go again, the same reaction I get every time I introduce an alpha who wants your hand in marriage. You know the matchmaker no longer has patience to match you with another alpha again! You listen to me, Jimin. You are going to love this alpha, I know you will and you will not rub your independent needs to him like the ones you've done before. Understand?" The Minister bickered and looked into his son's eyes. "Look at me, young man."

     Jimin slowly looked up to his father and swallowed his words that were bound to fall out eventually. The thought of another alpha being interested in wanting to marry him just made him sick, he had no idea who this man was and now, he was going to be arranged to marry a man he's never met. The young omega was furious, his blood began to boil and his face turned into a vibrant red while he sat before his father; watching him drink his tea as if things like this seemed perfect in his world, when it was truly the opposite in Jimin's perspective.

     "I.. I want a say... in this. For once, can't I-"

     "Don't finish that sentence, you already know the answer. Jimin, do not fear marriage. As soon as you have your heat, you will be ready and plans will be set into motion. He will be over later on today for dinner and you will be there to see him, not uttering a word about social roles and independence! Do I make myself clear?"

     "Yes, father," Jimin sighed. With that, he was dismissed. Jimin tried to ease his anger as he managed to leave the house unsupervised. Still remembering his promise to the alpha at the river.

     It was the way the minister hissed his words and demanded attention, that made Jimin scream in rage on his way out of the house. Jimin could only imagine how disgusting this new suitor could be, it was written all over his father's face. Whichever alpha the father deemed perfect for his son, was always one of those alphas he could never get along with. At this point, Jimin just couldn't bear to think about this any further, if he was to continue poking at it, he could possibly trigger his heat so suddenly. Of course, that's what he was always warned about when it comes to an omega's heat.

     Eventually, Jungkook reached the river after begging his guard, Min Yoongi, for the millionth time. With all the hard work, soon came his reward as he finally met eyes with the lovely river he had been dreaming of. Jungkook rushed to the same spot he sat before and set up his supplies. This time, he was sure to bring more colors to his palette, hoping to capture the true essence of a swan.

     Jungkook sat on the grass and took a moment to gaze up at nature before him; carefully remembering the soft and steady whispers Jimin graced him about appreciating the world around him. Just as he closed his eyes with a smile, he caught on the familiar, sweet, and soft scent of the omega right behind him; causing the small smile over his face to turn into a brighter one by the second.

     "I know you're there," Jungkook whispered and heard a youthful giggle erupt from the omega. "Good morning!"

     "Hello, Yeong-Hwa," Jimin breathed into a smile; doing a good job on forgetting what his father told him about marriage and a fine suitor. "I thought you wouldn't keep your promise, the slight thought of you actually being here, humored me."

     "Well, here I am."

     Jimin then dropped onto the grass at least six feet away from the alpha. "Sorry for the distancing, I tend to cling onto the scents of any alphas. So, I need to keep my distance," Jimin assured.

     "Whatever suits you, Jimin."

     With a quick second of silence from the omega, Jungkook finally began to paint the scene with more vibrant colors until the omega began to speak. Each sentence the omega began, Jungkook anticipated every sound to his words.

     "Yeong-Hwa... Do you care about social roles?" Jimin questioned as Jungkook took a moment to answer such a peculiar question that never gets asked that often. It was almost like a forbidden conversation since all the people obeyed the roles and never questioned it; they were the lambs that always followed the shepherd. "We're friends, right? You could tell me!"

     "Uh... well, I never really had anyone ask me that question," Jungkook confessed and placed his paintbrush down with a chuckle. "I will give you an honest response, I don't really think I care about it, really."

     "What? How come?"

    "Honestly, I am an alpha, but what does it make me if I hurt an omega if they disobey me? It doesn't seem right. I apologize if I get a little too personal, but I remember seeing my Father... hurt my Mother when she used to be 'out of place' when I was younger. I didn't like it one bit," Jungkook replied. It was obvious Jungkook felt bad for the omegas as a King, but what more could he do when roles were passed down by long ago? The two were ahead of their time just speaking about this sensitive topic. "I don't care about social roles and I can't see myself treating my omega like that... Or how they treat betas as courtesans, they're all seen as products to have in ruts or heats, it's cruel."

     "Ah, Yeong-Hwa I don't think I've ever heard a more precise answer like yours! Oh, if only we could truly change the ways these roles are seen. I bet we could save so many... But I guess the king is too much of a busy man to care," Jimin pointed out with a slight giggle at the end. "I love honesty and your words are well treasured."

     "If you think about it, I don't think the king could change that, it's nature and society, not a rule here," Jungkook replied, adoring every second of a conversation so different, yet, so impactful.

     "Hmm... On the topic of the King, have you.. ever seen him?" Jimin asked, placing his hands against the grass and eyeing the bamboo hat the alpha wore.

     "Can't say that I have," Jungkook replied and tipped his hat lower to shade his eyes as he avoided eye contact.

     "I've never seen him in person. I may be the son of the Minister, but I don't think I've ever seen the king up close, I heard he's charming, young, and his words are wise... I've only seen paintings of him, though."

     With those words alone, Jungkook felt his cheeks grow red once he paused to reflect on such admiring words. The young alpha suddenly began to smile until he realized Jimin tilted his head to look right at his handsome smile.

     "Why do you wear that hat? I can't see your face properly, your smile on the other hand, I can see it shine through like a sun on a hot day. Can you remove your hat?" Jimin requested with a careful and persuasive whisper.

     "I-I... I wear it to avoid the sun burning my skin, taking it off could awfully damage it," Jungkook lied and continued to paint. Just then, he heard the omega give off a gentle sigh before laying back on the grass behind him.

     "That's fine, I won't push you to do something you wouldn't like. Ah, my father would kill me if he found me lying on this grass like a child! At times, I just hate this 'be the perfect omega' thing. It makes me miss out on the many things I love about the world. Nature could be so beautiful but the world is cruel, ripping away the chances of embracing it as it is."

     Each sentence pouring from Jimin's lips seemed to intrigue Jungkook the most. It made the young man look at the world differently and observe it from another perspective. How could nature be his muse if he only seemed to notice it when it was described under Jimin's attentive words?

     "What is that? Is it something omegas go through after a heat or something?" Jungkook wondered and heard another giggle from the omega.

     "No... It's something we're raised on. Being perfect for our future alphas. It couldn't be something after a heat because then, I would not be going through this right now; I would be living my life so carefree," the omega answered. "I've... never... had my heat. Ah, this is so embarrassing! But, it's true. My Mother told me I am a 'late bloomer', I enjoy not having it... That means I won't marry! I'll be free and independent."

     "You've never had it? That truly is a blessing," Jungkook confirmed. "What I hear about omegas in heat seems difficult, they're in a lot of pain and-" with that, Jungkook caught onto Jimin's expression, his eyes widened and were glued to the grass in front of him in worry. "It's going to be just fine!" Jungkook reassured while Jimin took a short breath and brushed it off.

     "Yeong-Hwa, is it worse than an alpha's rut?" Jimin curiously asked and made Jungkook let out a nervous chuckle. "Please tell me! I'm very curious, no one ever tells me about these things, it's never discussed!"

     Jungkook noted the desperate spark in Jimin's eyes and the way he pleaded made it difficult for Jungkook to turn him away. As peculiar this conversation was, Jungkook had to address the omega's odd request.

     "Well, I can not say... I have never experienced a heat since I am not an omega, but ruts can be completely worse. For instance, when I have them, I can't think, I can't remember, it's hard to grip onto something in my head and it feels as if I'm not myself..." Jungkook answered with a shrug right after. "At the end of the day it's just natural, no need to feel embarrassed."

     "Well what if... an alpha and an omega... have their rut and heat at the same time, they have se-"

     "The teacher is not accepting any further questions," Jungkook replied instantly and heard Jimin begin to laugh.

     The way Jimin laughed was far more perfect than the giggles he would give. Jungkook looked back at the omega and gave another sweet smile, finally looking at him directly as if he had just found his new muse. It was something far more difficult and far more mysterious, but it was something so sweet and gentle. Jimin was like nature itself, Jungkook had the tendency to compare many things, but comparing nature and Jimin alone just didn't seem right, both had their differences and both had their beauties. Yet, only Jimin seemed to wander around longer within his head as if he alone was the friendly muse he was searching all along for. The king's very own muse, a living, pure, vessel of beauty and elegance combined; just like a swan.