After eating the breakfast that turned almost cold — albeit Jimin protested to reheat everything, Jungkook didn't allow him, they walked out to buy some essentials from the market. Jimin had worn khakis and so Jungkook ran back into the room and changed from his black and white attire to a brown one, matching the older one. When Jimin laughed at him and asked him a reason, Jungkook replied by saying "I want to blend in."

The curious eyes going rounder made Jimin's heart sing and dance, it was a sight to carouse in. The innocence and purity of a child possessed Jungkook. During ancient times, when someone like Jungkook was born, people often said that it must be their first life of many lifetimes that they were intrigued by every small thing. Jimin never met anyone like that, but now, he thought that perhaps the old folktales weren't entirely fictional. 

"How many wons for the 2 kilograms?" Jimin asked a hawker, a lady in her mid-forties, a little plump and cute. 

"You always take the fish from him. Why are you bargaining with me today?" The lady remarked, curious as to why he suddenly came to her. 

"I wanted freshwater fish today," the man politely smiled at the woman, making her eyes and mouth go round.

She leaned closer to Jimin as to whisper it. "Who is that handsome?" She referred to Jungkook who stood a little behind Jimin, grabbing his coat's end. 

"My guest. He traveled from afar," Jimin responded in a hushed manner too as though he also wanted to keep it a secret.

The lady was generous enough to add a few grams extra and handed the fish to Jimin. "Here you go, son. Eat well and come again. I will give you the best quality fish at the lowest price on the market." 

"Why?" Jungkook suddenly barked out, surprised at the generosity, or perhaps he felt that the woman was stupid to deal with customers. As he dug his hand into the pocket to simultaneously take out the money, Jimin already paid for it and bowed at the woman.

The lady looked at the prince whose face was covered behind the mask. "Because you are our town's guest. We want you to feel welcome, son."

Jungkook tilted his head. "But you are poor. If you do business like this, you'll never get rich. You-"

Jungkook surprised the hawker with his words who grimaced her face. The prince wanted to teach the lady some tactics on how to run a business, but Jimin dragged him along. "Why are you pulling me, Jimin? The poor woman needs our help. You must teach her, otherwise, she will give freebies to everyone."

Jimin was flustered. "Keep walking, Jungkook."

The younger huffed and walked with restraint, but now, he was pouting underneath his mask indignantly. Once Jimin ensured that they were comparatively in a secluded street, he slowed down and left Jungkook's palm. "We are not supposed to be vetting others in return for their kindness, prince."

"But she will lose money," Jungkook widened his eyes and intoned in response, pointing his finger at the back.

Jimin inhaled, realigning the thoughts to explain in a better way before looking sideways at any audience, or lack thereof. "I know where you are coming from. All that you have studied told you ways of increasing wealth, but for people like her, it's only a means of survival. If she can provide three meals to her family in a day, it's happiness and wholesome for her. She isn't here to make a profit, but to make relationships with her customers, so even if she sometimes gives free stuff, people remember that and admire her for it. They also don't forget to return the favor. For example, I gave her a thousand wons extra than what the fish is worth."

Jungkook pulled down his mask and looked at Jimin with bizarre expressions. "I get it that she merely needs survival and not profit, but why did you pay when I was going to? You are just plain stupid because I am richer than you."

With a soft smile and a proud gleam in his eyes, Jimin admired Jungkook. "That's because you are younger than me and for as long as I can, I'd like to pay for you and me. If you are with me, I am the one who likes to provide, consider it a flaw in me, but I like to take care of people."

"Even if other people are capable of taking care of themselves?"

Jimin stepped a little ahead and with his newly formed proximity, he looked at Jungkook's face softening. "Don't you like it when I do?" He asked, tucking Jungkook's hair behind his ear. The prince began to gnaw on his lips, slowly melting and hugging the older all of the sudden. He somehow felt conflicted in his mind. There was uneasiness he couldn't express, but he knew what he liked. "You are very kind, Jungkook. You will be a very loveable king. If you ever had doubts, throw them all out now." Jimin praised the man who curled himself into his embrace. 

"I don't think so," Jungkook pouted, sniffing the faint rose scent from the counselor that he has put all over himself to sleep all these months. At first, when he began to realize he was missing Jimin, he used abundant quantities of the fragrance to feel closer to the man, but a month passed, and the bottle turned half-empty. He had to restrict the quantities, but now, he could sniff the man all he wanted, without having to use the scent made by Jimin. 

"Should we go now? We still need to buy rice, red meat, eggs, a few spices, and some clothes for you."

"Clothes?" Jungkook pulled away to look at the man in confusion. 

"You said you want to blend in, right?" 

Jungkook nodded. 

"Then you need a few sets of garments like mine. They will be comfortable for you to sleep in too. Do you trust me?" 

**

Jungkook laid on the diwan while Jimin sat beside it on a chair. "You know... I will be here for a long time. You should really drop the formalities. Not only just words... But also actions. Why don't you lay beside me? It's a big diwan and it can accommodate you too."

Jimin bit his lips together, biting back his laughter that wrecked from within. "I am good, Jungkook. You should lay comfortably."

"I will be more comfortable if you are beside me and I won't have to strain my neck to look at you while talking from here," Jungkook replied, his eyes carried mischief, and so did his words. 

Jimin didn't know how to feel about it, but he couldn't. Not when he knew he was bewitched by the doozy. "Your nose pin," he commented, "it really suits you. You should try wearing a hoop ring in your piercing sometimes. I am sure you'll look just as appealing, even more."

"I don't have it. Buy one for me." Jungkook asked, blinking softly at the man. 

Jimin looked down with his lips curled up and nodded before they pulled back down when he heard a knock on the door. "Stay here, prince. I will be right back."

Jungkook seemed to notice the creases on Jimin's forehead. Sitting up, he brought the pillow to his lap and hugged it tightly, waiting for Jimin to come back so he could talk to him.

Minutes passed, but Jimin didn't return. He peeked from the diwan to see the door closed so he decided to go check. Just as he shifted the curtain a bit to look through the window, his eyes blew wide. Out of anything, he could recognize the continence or how a man was bowing at Jimin with his knee bent on the ground, an arm crossed against his chest, and his head down. Albeit it was only for a moment, Jungkook recognized it before Jimin suddenly dropped his arms to bring the man up and hugged him.

But why would a man bow to Jimin as though he was a king? 

All these years of being a royal, no one once bowed like that in front of him, even though he was a prince. That bow was strictly restricted for someone of the highest command — A king.

He gasped and jumped in his place when Jimin closed the door. The older also flinched a bit when he heard someone gasp right beside him. "Jungkook!" The man intoned in an accusatory tone. "You scared me."

"Who was that man?"

"Prying on a man is bad manners, Jungkook," Jimin raised his brows at the younger and while doing so, amusement was clear in his low tone. 

"Who are you?" Jungkook's brows were drawn together as he stepped back so suddenly. 

Jimin felt caught in horribleness. How could I let it happen? Did Jungkook really see something or heard that he shouldn't have?  "Just my old village friend. I would have invited him in to introduce him to you, but I didn't know if you would have liked it." The older kept his voice as smooth as he could, but he couldn't divest the prince of the creases on his forehead.

"Jungkook?" The man now soothed, wanting to take a step ahead, but Jungkook turned pale. It worried the older and just as he touched the younger's shoulders, feeling how cold the man had shifted, Jungkook bowed down ninety degrees. 

"My king," he murmured, eyes turning moist as he recollected his harsh treatment of Jimin from earlier.

The silvery ash-haired man turned petrified. Never has he wanted anyone to refer to him as a king. Jungkook remained in his position until Jimin gained enough solidity to hold the man's forearms and straighten him. "Jungkook, I think you must have misunderstood something. We were joking around."

"I can never mistake this, your majesty."

Jimin spluttered out laughing a little. "Jungkook, please. It sounds ridiculous. I am not calling you by title, why are you when I don't even have one?"

"Why are you so hell-bent on hiding it? Which is your kingdom? Is it Kimgabkyu? I am sure it must be it. Why, Hyung?" As though Jimin's words fell on deaf ears, Jungkook continued the assault of his questions. 

Jimin's laughter ceased to exist and with a concerned face, he grumbled lowly. "No one can ever know."

Jungkook's eyes now widened as he heard Jimin admitting, that a punch was thrown to his lungs when he couldn't breathe anymore. With a loud squeal, he jumped over the man, letting the king hug him and hold him steady. "Why do you live here, Hyung? Oh, I have so many questions."

"Let's go back inside and talk," Jimin suggested, not wanting their voices to reach beyond the wooden walls. 

Jungkook naturally held Jimin's palm and let the man lead him inside. Jimin didn't stop in the living room but walked all the way into the bedroom and sat down on the bed. The younger looked at him spaced out, so he held the older's hands. "I promise, I won't say a word to even a bird. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand too. Please don't be worried. I give you my word."

"It's not that," Jimin laughed wryly. "I never talked about it with anyone."

"Then you don't have to-"

"My father..." Jimin sighed and stopped Jungkook, sniffling with a determined look in his eyes. 

"My father and my uncle fought for zenith," he continued, wanting to share it with Jungkook all of the sudden. "When I was born, it was obvious that the future of the kingdom resided with me. My uncle was older than my father and he had no child of his own because of my aunty's complications. He employed concubines and announced in the kingdom that whoever was willing to give him a child, he'd turn their destinies around. My aunty was against it, and so was my mother-in-law, but for her own rudimentary reasons. My grandmother didn't want a child just from anyone but from pure royal blood."

Jungkook listened intently while still holding Jimin's hand as the older continued unhurriedly. "The fights became a regular thing and when I turned three, my uncle attacked the fort with the army he has been accumulating. My mother was killed while defending me. My father fought with my uncle. They both didn't survive the night and when the morning prevailed, all there was left was ruins and chaos."

"I have heard the stories, but they said that the king turned mad because he loved another woman," Jungkook spoke timidly, unable to get his head around so much all at once. 

"Many rumors started by the men who survived from my late uncle's army. Seeing the next morning, my grandmother set fire to the fort and ran away to seek refugee in Beomsan as your father's terms with our kingdom have always been friendly. She left the royalty behind and hid our identities. Your father found out much later about us. I left the town by then, but we did meet in the city where I was studying."

"Is this why you are afraid of it now?" Jungkook asked pitifully. 

"No," Jimin smiled sourly, gripping his hold tighter around Jungkook's hand. "The power and richness are what makes anyone go crazy. I have seen many great minds succumbing to it. I don't want anything that is tainted with the blood of my relatives. I lost my parents and my grandmother lost her children. I could never imagine myself living such a life and being happy over my ancestor's graves... Besides, this life suits me the best."