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For Yoo Joonghyuk, love had come in many forms.
Love had come conditional. In return for correct etiquette, compliments from private tutors, rumours of how successful he was, he gained love. It was a love that wasn't much: it was a pat on the back, a glance, a smile, a show off to others but Joonghyuk was young so he gobbled this love down until he fended off childish starvation and awaited for more with sticky hands held behind his back and a slight bittersweet smell that graced the air when he spoke. Love came conditionally━━ in the form of a sea, tides that would push and pull.
( And take a piece of him with each wave. )
Love had come hesitantly. In a small child, wrapped in a bloody cloth that held onto his pinkie with a freakish amount of strength. It was an overwhelming love that caused overthinking: it was wondering if she was going to be okay, hearing 'oppa' for the first time, it was letting her fall into your arms after five steps, it was looking after a child like it was yours, it was hiding her from the loud silence of her parents. Joonghyuk was fifteen and he hoped that his love could become an endless feast for her. Love came hesitantly━━ it came and then drowned everything in sight.
( He could relish in a braided love, with pink ribbons tied at the end. )
Love had come at first sight. In red blood, that was sticky and disgusting and warm. It was a love like none other: a murderer in mourning clothes, the bodies of his parents━ face shrewd up in pain━ dropping to their bed, the moonlight pouring endlessly into the room, a boy━ maybe one year older than him━ staring at him with no expression and the blood of his parents dripping down his sword. It was a love that was beautiful━━ in the form of a boy that was just as beautiful.
( A love that left him on the throne. )
ㅤㅤㅤ──── · · ✦
Joonghyuk doesn't remember much about the boy who had broken into the room of the King and Queen— he remembers him wearing mourning clothes, a white suit that fluttered with the open window, a sheer black wedding veil that covered his face and his sword that reflected the tears of the moon. He remembers the Queen— King already dead, blood pooling on the silk sheets underneath his heart— scream Joonghyuk's name, it was the first time he had heard his name from the woman in a long time.
But Joonghyuk is distracted by the boy, straddling the Queen, sword pointed at her heart. The boy peers over to look at Joonghyuk and the Queen grasps at nothing, finding the itchy, wedding material in her hand and tugs with all her might. Losing the veil seems to anger the boy— his eyebrow furrows and lips quirk in mild annoyance. "Joonghyuk–ah! Help your mother!" He hears again.
Joonghyuk's heel clicks as he enters the room and then the door clicks when he closes it behind him. The Queen stares at him incredulously but Joonghyuk doesn't care for the woman, he cares for the murderer in mourning clothing. His skin is pale, the veil pools at his waist, dipping into the blood of the King. The murderer scrutinises Joonghyuk, soulless eyes stare haphazardly into his own, the moonlight seems endless behind him. He's waiting to see what Joonghyuk is going to do.
"Your Majesty, Mia just fell asleep, I'd be honoured if you kept it down a little." Joonghyuk says, finally silencing the woman and then before her open mouth spews another scream out, the sword goes through her and back out in a languid motion. The blood flies off his sword, splattering against lavished walls with another whip against the air and then is silenced into his sheath.
The murderer in mourning clothes turns to face Joonghyuk, taking himself off the corpse of the Queen and sitting himself on the edge of the bed. Joonghyuk loses his breath staring at the boy before him━ blood splattered on his cheek and streaking onto pink lips, lashes fluttering against almost clean skin. Joonghyuk thinks he is a dream. "Your Highness, the Crown Prince." He states, unbothered at the Prince's appearance as he murdered his parents. "I wish you a good night, don't stay up too late."
For some odd reason, Joonghyuk waits a couple minutes after the murderer jumps out the window, gliding down onto the maze garden to ensure him a safe escape. After staring at the shadows in the garden, Joonghyuk clears his throat, dusting down his pyjamas and then steps out the room.
He closes the door behind him without a sound and then waits until he can hear movement to knock against the door. "Your Majesty?" He hears himself speaking, and then turning the knob, "I'm coming in."
The guard that was coming up for their shift nears and Yoo Joonghyuk takes long strides into the room before shouting out, "guards, is there someone there?!"
The rest of the night is a blur. A doctor is called to pronounce them both dead, Yoo Joonghyuk takes the black wedding veil left behind as evidence, he then threatens each and every guard on the post during that night and then lets them off when he needs to go quell Mia back into sleep, the chancellor and everyone whom worked to maintain the kingdom was issued a letter for an emergency meeting for early morning, and then Yoo Joonghyuk orders not a single soul to gossip unless they had a death wish.
When in his study, Yoo Joonghyuk stares at the will that the King had left behind when a knock raps against his door. Allowing for entry, his eyes glance up before they trail back down in boredom when he realises it was but a guard on patrol that night. "Your Highness," Joonghyuk nods as a reply.
"The night that the," the knight trailed off and Joonghyuk finally looks back, nodding in understanding, "yes, I think I saw something."
"Go on." Joonghyuk involuntary leans forward, hoping to hear something that may help him find the murderer in mourning.
"It was a woman," Joonghyuk slumps back down, "she was wearing men's clothing, a black coat wrapped around her and she had black short hair and wore a peculiar mask."
Joonghyuk simply nods once more and then gestures him to leave.
ㅤㅤㅤ──── · · ✦
A month later, at Yoo Joonghyuk's coronation and the King and Queen's funeral, he meets him again. The murderer is stood at the foot of the stage, bearing the white coat and a white wedding veil this time. It's a lace that allows Yoo Joonghyuk to stare at his features beneath the material. The servant beside Yoo Joonghyuk leans down to whisper, "Kim Dokja, eldest adopted son of Sir Hades and Lady Persephone."
Kim Dokja waits until the servant straightens back up to speak, drawing his eyes elegantly back to Yoo Joonghyuk and eliciting a shiver from him. "Terrible misfortune that has struck us, Your Majesty." The hall silences at his casual way of addressing Yoo Joonghyuk, whom yet had not buried his parents nor had been crowned King. They are words being carried out as if he were speaking about the weather and words that Joonghyuk had heard from all nobles, trying to win his favour.
Yoo Joonghyuk hums in agreement, "I just detest that the assassin is still out there whilst I am buring the late King and Queen."
"How painful it must be for you, Your Majesty, being so young and burying both parents."
"I notice your parents are both missing," Yoo Joonghyuk doesn't notice any visible signs of surprise, how dull.
Instead a slight smile lights on his face and the soon—to—be king doesn't miss it, wishing that he wasn't wearing a veil so he could see it clearer, "they are nearing their anniversary, and Mother has been bothering Father about a certain place out of the city so I regret to tell you that neither of them are currently aware of this incident."
Joonghyuk loves the warm tone that speaking about his parents bring, he wants Kim Dokja to speak about him in such a tone. "Thank you for attending in place of your parents."
"It was my duty, Your Majesty."