Chapter Text
To grow accustomed to beauty is perhaps one of the greatest tragedies a human can know. When eventually, the ivory towers and glittering ballrooms become part of the mundane routine. When things that used to be fascinating are now just… things.
Maybe they were never fascinating at all. Being born into a life of servitude had somewhat affected the lens through which you viewed such opulence. Sparkling crystals were just another thing to be polished; flowing gowns were just another linen to wash.
But not him. Prince Sunghoon was the one piece of art you would never tire from looking at. Perhaps it was because his beauty was so dynamic; always shifting and growing. You were born around the same time as the Prince, which meant you got to watch how he changed over time.
You remembered when his navy blazer began to swell under the expanse of his shoulders as they slowly broadened. You were instructed to hold the tailor’s pincushion as the prince was fitted for a new one.
You remembered when he grew six inches the summer before his fifteenth birthday. You watched how the stretch marks on his spine danced like lightning as you caught a glimpse of him changing into his nightclothes.
You remembered the first time you noticed the soft bulb that had developed in his throat. You were holding a decanter, refilling the princess’ glass of wine when you noticed how it dipped as he swallowed. You remembered wanting to kiss him there.
There’s that to mention, too. Watching such a masterpiece for so many years led you to develop a deep admiration for the Prince. It was impossible not to; He was the world’s most beautiful unfinished painting, and you got to watch him progress every day.
You were wary of using the word “love” to describe your feelings for the boy. How could such a gorgeous creature be loved by such an ordinary being? And did such a love actually mean anything if it was never acted upon?
You decided it didn’t. Maybe to justify never acting upon your feelings, maybe to help yourself cope with the fact that in this lifetime, such beauty could never be yours.
Still, you couldn’t help the way your heart fluttered every time he would make eye contact with you across a crowded ballroom.
Perhaps it was your proximity in age to the Prince that drew you to him. Perhaps it was simply his handsome face.
But there was also the time that he offered to help you clean the floors at twelve years old when he noticed how all the kneeling made your knees bruise. There was the time that he offered you the last slice of the tangerine he was eating, even though he knew he could get in trouble for talking to you. And there were all of the times that he simply said, “Thank you”; two words which you’d never hear from anyone’s lips but his.
No, it wasn’t just his age or his face. Prince Sunghoon was compassionate, empathetic, kind hearted, and good. He was everything a prince should be.
He was breaking your heart just by existing.
⁂
One afternoon early in the spring when the snow had just finished melting, you’d been assigned to sweep out the fireplace in the Prince’s bedroom.
“Go in just after dawn when he’s off practicing his swordsmanship,” your superior had told you, “Make haste and finish before he’s returned.”
You knew the consequences if you took too long or, god forbid, spoke to the prince without permission, so you arrived at his bedroom door just when you were told to, wrapping your fingers around the cold brass doorknob and twisting it without bothering to knock.
And although you were hoping that by some miracle of the gods he would be in that room, your heart still dropped to your toes when you saw him. He was perched on a daybed by his obnoxiously large window, the golden light of the rising sun turning his cheeks pink with warmth. He was still in his off-white nightclothes, his hair tousled in an unkempt halo of black. His lips were swollen with sleep.
You immediately bowed, moving to close the door and stuttering out a pathetic, “Excuse me, my lord.”
And then he called out your name. The sound was unfamiliar. It felt wrong. You’d listened to his honey voice a thousand times before, but hearing it speak your name was a first.
Knowing that he knew who you were at all made your head spin. He had taken time to distinguish your face from the hundreds of others that buzzed around the castle every day. He had taken time to learn your name . How he learned it, you had no idea, but royalty was not to be questioned. You liked the way he pronounced it, anyway.
You couldn’t do anything but freeze in the doorway, clutching your broom and bucket.
“I was just reading,” Sunghoon held up a book that must have been in his lap the whole time. “You can come in. I really don’t mind.”
You weren’t to be alone with the prince. You knew that. He knew that. But his hypnotically dark, kind eyes met yours and you couldn’t help but stagger forward, pulling the door shut behind you.
“I-I’ll be quick, your highness,” you muttered, pulse rushing in your ears. “I won’t bother you.”
“You could never bother me.” That gentle saccharine voice.
You opened your mouth to speak but opted not to, moving to kneel by the fireplace and get to work, picking up the largest coals first and placing them in the bucket.
You could never bother me . His voice droned in your ears as you tried to complete a chore that you’d done countless times before, this time with shaking hands. His presence was electrifying; you could almost feel his eyes burning holes through your back.
“It’s Eros and Psyche ,” his voice made you jump. “Have you read it?”
You chose your words with caution. “Servants are not taught to read, my lord.”
“You…” he muttered, almost to himself. “You can’t read?”
“I have no reason to know how to read, my lord.”
“No reason?” His voice raised slightly, making the hair on the back of your neck stand up. “How could you say that? I can’t imagine a life without stories. Sometimes I feel my books are the only friends I have.”
Words escaped you again. How could such a perfect creature feel lonely?
You continued working, sweeping the dusty gray ash into little mountains.
“This is one of my favorite stories…” His words were gentle again. “It’s about a girl so beautiful that she cannot be loved.”
Your heart flipped in your chest. “O-oh.”
He hummed. “Psyche was more beautiful than Aphrodite herself. She was so gorgeous that she made the goddess jealous. Can you imagine how beautiful she must have been?”
“S-she must have been very beautiful.” Your hands were shaking worse than before as you attempted to funnel the ash from the dustpan into the bucket.
“Aphrodite was so jealous of Psyche that she decided to curse her by making her fall in love with a horrible monster. She sent her son Eros to place the curse on Psyche, but he was so stunned by her beauty that he accidentally stabbed himself with one of his arrows when he saw her.”
He paused then. You emptied the last of the ash into the bucket before turning to face him.
“What… what happens next, your highness?”
He smiled, flashing you his gorgeous fang-like teeth. “Psyche was sleeping when Eros visited, so she didn’t know he was ever there. She became so desperate with loneliness that she visited the Oracle to ask if she would ever find true love.”
“What did the Oracle say?” You leaned forward, perching on the balls of your feet as you kneeled.
Sunghoon chuckled, delighted that you were enjoying the story. “She said Psyche would find love, but it would be with a monster. Then Psyche was carried by the West Wind to the monster’s palace. It turned out that he wasn’t much of a monster at all, because he was completely invisible.”
“Invisible?”
“Yes, Psyche could never see the monster. But he treated her to a life of luxury and opulence, so she never complained. One day, Psyche’s sisters visited her and were jealous of her new life, so they told her she should try to kill the monster before he killed her.”
“But… he was kind to her.” Your eyebrows furrowed. “Would he really hurt her?”
Sunghoon shook his head. “He would never hurt her. He loved her. He… he gave her a child.”
Your cheeks burned. You looked at your soot-covered hands in your lap.
“S-so, Psyche…” The prince cleared his throat. “Psyche snuck into his bedroom one night with a dagger and a lantern. When she saw the sleeping monster, she found that he was none other than Eros himself, the god of love and desire. He was so handsome that Psyche was startled and accidentally stabbed herself with one of his arrows. The oil from Psyche’s lantern accidentally splashed on Eros, burning him and causing him to flee to Aphrodite.”
“Oh, no…”
He nodded. “Aphrodite was angry with Psyche and told her that she must complete four near-impossible tasks if she ever wanted to see Eros again. Psyche loved Eros, so she agreed.”
“Did she succeed?”
“She received a lot of help along the way, but she succeeded. Eros took Psyche to Olympus, and Zeus turned her into a goddess. Psyche and Eros were married as equals, and they had a daughter whose existence represented the union of the human soul and love.”
“That’s… That’s a very beautiful story, my lord.”
He nodded, smiling slightly as he ran his long fingers over the cover of the book.
“I should-” You quickly stood, bending over in an awkward bow. “I should be going now. Thank you for the story, your highness.”
“I could teach you.” He stood as well.
“I-I’m not sure if that’s a good idea, my lord.”
He shook his head. “My name is Sunghoon. Please refer to me as such.”
The silence in the room hung heavy over your shoulders.
“It would help me,” he almost whispered. “The best way to practice is by teaching. You’d be doing me a favor.”
“You could get in trouble, my l-” You stopped, forcing your tongue to speak a name it had never said aloud before. “S-Sunghoon. I could get in trouble, too.”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.” He took a step closer to you and the room started spinning.
“Alright.” Your voice squeaked out like a mouse.
He flashed you those brilliant fangs again. “Fantastic. Meet me here at the same time tomorrow. I’ll request that my linens be changed so that nobody will question you.”
You nodded, feeling completely and utterly enchanted by the prince. Your feet had a mind of their own as they carried you towards the door. You had almost shut it behind you when his voice called out your name again.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He beamed. “I’m looking forward to it.”
You meant to say, “Me too,” but whether the words ever escaped your throat or not remains a mystery.
⁂
Sunghoon was a gentle teacher. You sat beside him at his small desk as he wrote the alphabet on a piece of parchment.
Admittedly, your eyes were more focused on the way his slender fingers delicately held the quill than you were the letters he was writing. You remembered wondering how even his fingernails could be so lovely.
“Here,” He snapped you out of your thoughts, handing you the quill. “You try.”
“O-oh,” You stammered, trying to clear your head. “I… I don’t think I’m ready yet, your highness.”
“Sunghoon.” He softly smiled at you. “And don’t stress about it, just try. I won’t judge you.”
You nodded, attempting to hide the way your hand shook as you reached for the quill. It looked awkward in your hand, your fingers clumsily bending to grasp something you’d never held before.
The prince let out a small laugh, but there was no taunting or belittlement behind it. If you knew any better, you might think that he sounded endeared.
“Like this.” He lightly placed a perfect hand over yours, gently manipulating your fingers to correctly hold the quill.
His eyebrows furrowed. “You’re trembling.”
You self-consciously pulled your hand away from his, setting the quill down on the desk and avoiding his eyes.
“I’m sorry, your-” You inhaled a shaky breath. “S… Sunghoon. I told you, I don’t think I’m ready yet.”
Sunghoon nodded, hoping you didn’t notice the redness growing on his ears.
“That’s alright. Why don’t I teach you what the letters sound like first?”
Your chest bloomed with warmth. How could you expect any less from your thoughtful, compassionate prince?
“That would be nice.”
He went on, going over each letter and explaining the sound it made, asking you to repeat after him when he demonstrated the noises. Every once in a while, he would point to a letter and ask you to tell him its name.
You tried to force yourself to not get distracted again, but his scent was intoxicating. He smelled like clean linen and skin and soap, flooding your nose and filling your brain with thoughts of him and only him. You imagined what he must look like after a bath, black hair dripping beads of water that’d fall down his shoulders and chest and—
“Now, what’s this one called?” He pointed to a letter on the page.
His neat handwriting stared back at you. “T-that one’s… um,” you shifted in your seat. “That’s…”
He laughed again, warm and sweet. “I think we’ve practiced enough for today, don’t you?”
You weren’t the only one with warm cheeks when you looked into his eyes and smiled. Perfect boy.
“Yes,” You half-whispered. “I think so, too.”
His eyes stayed on yours for a little longer than necessary. “We can do this whenever you want.” You swore you heard a quiver in his voice.
“How’s tomorrow and every day after that?” Your words tumbled out before you could barricade them.
His brilliant smile. “Fantastic.”
⁂
Your vocabulary expanded as the spring matured into summer. After you mastered the alphabet, Sunghoon moved on to words. He taught you “bloom” and “storm” and “birth.” And while the earth thawed and the days got longer, you fell deeper in love with the prince.
You also slowly developed the privilege of publicity with him. That is to say, the two of you began meeting in places other than his bedroom.
It started in the library. Sunghoon requested that the shelves be dusted to give you an excuse to enter the solemn room. You paced through the endless sea of books with him once your lesson was finished.
“You’ll be able to read all of these soon.” Soft fingertips brushed their unworthy spines.
Then he taught you in the garden. He asked that the weeds in the bed of hyacinths be removed. You wrote words in the rich soil, fingers turning black. His shoulder repeatedly touched yours as you spelled out the words he requested, and you hoped it was on purpose.
He flipped the pages of a book for you as you slowly read in the Great Hall. He smiled fondly at you when you got words right, gently assisting you when you crossed unfamiliar ones. His touch was starting to feel less foreign. His hand resting against yours felt customary and right.
People around the castle certainly noticed all the time the prince was spending with you. Your fellow servants noticed first.
“The prince has been requesting an awful lot of chores from you lately.” One of your colleagues pointedly stated as you hung linens up to dry.
Since no question was posed of you, you kept your mouth shut.
The guards noticed, too. When you slipped out of Prince Sunghoon’s room with a hoarse voice from reading for hours, they only rolled their eyes.
“Leave her be,” the superiors would say when a young guard questioned your presence. “The prince has chosen her as a companion.”
You stared at the floor to hide your smile as you scurried back to your quarters. The prince has chosen her.
Even the king eventually noticed. “I see you’ve taken a liking to a certain servant.” He quipped as the royal family ate a lavish dinner.
“Yes,” Sunghoon took a sip of his wine before meeting his father’s eyes. “I like her.”
The prince’s serious tone indicated that the conversation was to end there, and nobody challenged him.
So maybe this forbidden love wasn’t as forbidden as you originally anticipated. Maybe the prince’s steady shift into manhood had affected the way that he was permitted to know you. Maybe boys can’t love girls, but men can love women.
It didn’t matter. To know the prince at all was the most impressive acclaim. And you did know him. You knew how the dimples in his cheeks pooled as he laughed. You knew how he ran his fingers through his hair while he talked, pushing it off his forehead. You knew how he hummed and raised his eyebrows when he ate something he liked.
Every detail pushed you further into the deep end; in this strange space where you were his but he was not yours.
⁂
Early that autumn, you sat beside the prince underneath a cherry tree as its crimson leaves began to fall. Foliage painted a nearby lake red, setting the water ablaze with the summer’s death. Although you could read simple books on your own now, you asked Sunghoon to read you one of his stories. One of the beautiful, poetic ones that only sounded right when his voice was the one speaking the words.
It was book fourteen of Homer’s Iliad , rhythmic and beating. His voice carried the story into your head and heart.
“…There is the heat of Love, the pulsing rush of Longing, the lover’s whisper, irresistible—magic to make the sanest man go mad.” He’d been reading for hours and his velvet voice was starting to tear at the edges.
Still, the words stirred something inside of you. You tore your eyes away from the scenery to look at him.
The book was closed in his lap, a slender finger running through the middle of it to hold his place. You couldn’t tell if the red leaves were reflecting off his cheeks or if he was blushing.
It must have been the latter because seconds later, his lips were clumsily falling onto yours. An innocent, almost childlike kiss; lips pressed to lips like the soft cherries that grew from the tree you were sitting under.
You were the first to pull away. Not because you wanted to stop kissing, but because you had never seen the prince this close before. You brushed your fingertips against his cheek, gently running your thumb over the birthmark underneath his eye. Your other thumb traced over the expanse of his full lips.
Sunghoon scrunched his nose, giggling under your touch. “T-That tickles.”
“How are you even more perfect up close?” You giggled through your question, but he flushed a deeper red nonetheless.
He cupped your cheek, gently lifting your face to his again. His thumb soothingly rubbed your cheekbone as his lips found yours once more.
These were definitely the hands of a prince. Smooth and uncalloused, never to be used for physical labor, saved for only the most beautiful of tasks. It was an honor to have such gorgeous hands touching your skin; it felt like a sin to use your weathered ones to touch his.
The prince didn’t seem to mind. He just kissed you and kissed you and kissed you until the sky was as fiery as the lake with the setting sun.
“Sunghoon,” you smiled against his lips, no stutter. “We should get back to the castle soon.”
“Why?” His pearly fangs. The pools in his cheeks.
Nothing was more important than this. You shook your head. “Nevermind…”
He giggled again, dipping his lips into yours. You stayed like that until the moon was fat in the sky and the crickets started singing. When you finally made your way back to the castle, the prince held your hand, stumbling and laughing through the twilit meadow, drunk off words and kisses.
⁂
Things changed after that. You spent just as much time kissing the prince as you did reading with him, if not more.
You went back to meeting in his bedroom, just as you had earlier in the year when your love was still confidential. You sat in front of the same fireplace you had cleaned the first time you were alone with him. The fire blazed, painting the room with orange light. His head rested on your shoulder as you attempted to read The Iliad to him. As the world outside froze over, you’d never felt more warm.
So much had changed in only a few months.
His lips on your shoulder made the words on the page look fuzzy. “Like the generations of leaves,” your voice wobbled out. “The leaves— uh, wait… The lives of mortal men. N-now the wind scatters…” His lips brushed against your neck.
“T-the…” You took in a ragged breath. “The wind scatters the old leaves across the earth…”
“Now the living timber bursts with the new buds and spring comes round again.” He quoted, his face never leaving your neck. “And so with men,” He kissed your throat. “As one generation comes to life, another dies away.”
Of course, he could make even death sound seductive.
“Sunghoon...” A praise, a poem, a cry for help.
“Kiss me.” His voice sounded small over the roar of the hearth.
It was the easiest task the prince had ever given you. You held his sharp jaw and pulled his face up to yours.
You liked the desperation that was beginning to show in his kisses. You liked knowing that he needed you.
The longing only grew stronger as the earth got colder.
⁂
It peaked sometime mid-December, about a week after the prince’s birthday. You knew this time would be different when he kissed you as soon as he opened his bedroom door, skipping the reading part altogether. You could taste the figs and honey he had just eaten for dessert.
“I waited an eternity for you.” He breathed against your mouth.
“You saw me three hours ago.”
“As I said,” he kissed you again. “An eternity.”
He is both Eros and Psyche. He is simultaneously the sun and the moon. He is the beautiful mystery of darkness and the warm embrace of light. You wanted to kiss him until your souls fused together.
But kissing wasn’t enough. You needed to be even closer to him. You needed more.
Your hands rested on his chest (was it always that firm?) as you gently pushed him towards his bed. His long legs clumsily staggered backward until his knees folded as they hit the mattress. Although you knew this should be a serious moment, an aura of playfulness was evident in the room. You smiled at each other as if to say, I love you and you love me and we’re doing this together now.
Your knees found a place on either side of his lap as you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him again. Sitting in someone’s lap felt strange and you had no idea what you were doing, you just knew you needed to get closer, closer, closer.
Sunghoon’s hands shook as they held your waist. “I-I’m sorry,” his voice was small and sweet, “I don’t know how— I mean, I know how , I’ve just never…” His face fell slightly, cheeks pink. “Ah, I’m embarrassed...”
You held his perfect face. “Never be embarrassed on my account, my love.” Another kiss. “I’ve never done this, either.”
“Really?”
You nodded with a smile and a hum, and the atmosphere was light again.
“But surely…” His smiling lips brushed against your collarbone as he looked up at you through his lashes. “Surely you’ve thought of this…?”
You exhaled, closing your eyes. “Yes. I have.”
“Tell me. Please... tell me what you’ve thought of.” His lips pressed to your skin. The desperation in his voice made you shiver.
“I’ve thought of… your lips.” You kissed them again, still honey-sweet.
“You’ve told me what you think of my lips.” He smirked. “Tell me something else.”
“I’ve thought of... your chest. What it must look like underneath your clothes.” You gently slipped a hand into the low V of the collar of his shirt, feeling his heartbeat.
“Have you?” His voice was barely above a whisper now, cheeks crimson.
You nodded again. “I have.”
His already-rapid heartbeat seemed to increase under your hand. “I hope… I hope it doesn’t disappoint you.”
“Nonsense.” You shushed him, gently picking up his hand and pressing your lips to the back of it.
He visibly relaxed under your touch. “You know,” you toyed with his pretty fingers. “I think about your hands the most.”
“My hands?” He laughed, soft and dear. “What of my hands?”
“They’re beautiful. I want to feel them everywhere… all over me.”
He smiled as his fingers played with the hem of your dress. “So be it. This might need to come off, though.”
You smiled back at him. “So be it.”
You stood up, turning around so that Sunghoon could get started undoing the long line of buttons down your back. The task didn’t seem to bother him; in fact, his kisses down your spine as more skin was slowly revealed only made the moment more intimate. You could feel a familiar heartbeat between your legs that you usually felt when you thought of the prince.
By the time your dress was unbuttoned and slipping off your shoulders, some of your confidence had wavered. You had never been naked in front of another person before, and being naked in front of the most beautiful person in the world was starting to sound more scary than sensual.
Your arms instinctively folded over your chest.
“Turn around, darling.” That desperate tone. “Please, let me see you.”
“I’m…” Your voice was small and unsure. “I’m… shy.”
He let out another sweet giggle, peppering kisses all over your back. “What was it? Never be embarrassed on my account, my love.” His impression of your voice made you laugh, too.
“Sunghoon…” You whined, “Don’t tease me.”
“I know, love,” He let out one last chuckle. “I’m sorry.”
“How’s this…” He pulled you closer to him so you were almost in his lap again, “Lay against me like this.”
You looked over your shoulder at him as he did an awkward sort of crab walk on the bed until his back was against his headboard. He laughed at himself once he was situated, opening his arms and raising his eyebrows at you.
You wondered if everybody laughed this much their first time. You sat on the bed, clumsily moving your own limbs until you were sitting between his long, slender legs. His soft fingertips danced along your back.
As always, his touch was intoxicating. You slowly felt yourself leaning into it until your bare back was pressed against his clothed chest, your head resting on his shoulder.
“Beautiful…” His gentle hands brushed over your breasts, making your breath catch in your throat. “Is this alright?”
“Yes,” you breathed, “More.”
“I know, love.” His fingertips softly groped the flesh. “You want to feel them everywhere .”
He chuckled again, and you joined him in laughter when his hands brushed over your stomach.
“You’re ticklish here?” He kissed your neck through giggles, his hands continuing to roam your belly.
“Ah- s-stop,” you laughed, “S-Sunghoon, please .” You rested a hand on his cheek to force him to look at you. “P-please.”
His laughter slowly faded into a smile as he looked in your eyes, leaning down to press a kiss to your lips. Neither of you could force yourselves to pull away, so you kept kissing as his hands moved downward.
His fingers brushed past your hips down to your thighs, and you spread yourself open for him when he touched your sensitive inner thighs. “So soft…” He mumbled against your lips, fingers moving closer and closer to where you needed him most.
You had to close your eyes to keep yourself from getting dizzy, resting your forehead against his when he finally touched you there. You were embarrassed at how wet you’d gotten but he seemed to like it, humming against your lips as he kissed you.
His gorgeous fingers were unskilled but eager to learn. They shook slightly as they softly rubbed over your core, no method behind his movements; touching just to feel, to explore.
You let out a noise you’d never made before when the pad of his middle finger brushed against a certain spot, a spot that you’d only ever touched by yourself at night to feel some relief when the heartbeat between your legs wouldn’t go away.
“Did that feel good?”
You nodded, biting your lip and closing your eyes again.
What a fast learner he was. His fingers circled and gently flicked over the bud, studying your reactions and making note of what got louder noises to come out of your mouth.
You wondered how such pleasure could even exist. Your own fingers never felt this heavenly. He was a god, you were sure.
You couldn’t help how your hips moved towards his hand. An unfamiliar feeling was starting to build in your stomach, and you didn’t know what to do except chase it.
And he had quickly figured something out; this one particular movement of his fingers that felt better than any earthly pleasure you’d ever felt. The feeling completely inebriated your brain, voiding all thoughts other than the prince’s fingers on your cunt.
“Don’t stop,” you begged, “You’ll kill me if you stop.”
His other hand gripped the plush of your thigh, carving little crescents into the flesh with his fingernails.
“You’re gorgeous when you’re falling apart.”
You mewled at the praise. The pressure in your lower stomach was starting to feel so euphoric it was almost unbearable. Something needed to happen but you didn’t know what. Your sanity was quite literally in his hands.
Just when you thought you couldn’t take anymore, his fingertips quirked in a way that made the pressure explode. Your body felt hot and then cold and then hot again, lightning shooting through every vein and nerve. Your thighs closed around his hand as your body involuntarily caved in on itself.
Sunghoon just gently kissed what skin he could reach, coaxing you through your orgasm as he tried to restrain himself from rutting against your back.
It took a few minutes for you to piece your body back together and completely come back down to earth, but Sunghoon was waiting for you when you finally did.
“That was incredible, darling,” He kissed your temple. “So beautiful.”
You suddenly didn’t feel so shy anymore. You flipped around, pressing yourself flush against him and there was one layer of cloth between your bare bodies. One layer too many, you decided, and tugged the hem of his shirt up as you kissed him.
More giggles filled the room when the shirt was pulled over his head, making his hair stick up in different directions. You ran your fingers through the dark tresses, smoothing them down and pulling his face to yours again in yet another kiss.
“My heart.” You smiled against his lips.
Your hands finally slid down his neck to his chest, where you could still feel his soft pulse beneath your fingertips. His stomach rose up and down as you pressed your palms against it. His flesh was hard but his skin was soft; a perfect oxymoron just like the rest of the boy. You’d waited a lifetime for this.
“Perfection.” You breathed. “You’re everything.”
“You’re not disappointed?” He blushed.
“Disappointed? I couldn’t conjure such a perfect image if I tried.” You smiled down at him. “You’re better than a dream.”
That delicious desperation was in his eyes again. He leaned up, connecting his mouth to yours.
You thought about how much your kisses had changed since that night under the cherry tree. Back then, your kisses were short and sweet, continuous little pecks of stolen affection. Now, they were slow and soft, melting like candy in your mouth, setting your whole body on fire.
Sunghoon inhaled sharply when your leg unintentionally brushed up against his crotch.
“I think these need to come off.” You dipped your fingers into the waist of his trousers.
He nodded, lifting his hips so you could help him pull off the clothing. You’d never seen a man naked before, but you were sure that Sunghoon was going to skew your standards for the rest of your life. He was prettier than any panting, more captivating than any statue. Michelangelo should be jealous that such a perfect muse was yours.
“Can I touch you?”
“I’ll die if you don’t.”
You smiled and kissed him again, wrapping your fingers around his erection. He made a noise you’d never heard before when your hand slowly started moving up and down.
“That feels good?”
You’d never seen the prince at such a loss for words. “M-mhm.”
You continued kissing him and moving your hand, drinking in his gorgeous little moans and whimpers like wine. After a few minutes, he felt even harder than he did when you started, dripping lubricant over your fingers.
“Do you want to try…” Your cheeks heated as you looked down. “I mean, can we…”
“Yes.” He breathed, begged. “Please.”
You kept him in your hand, experimentally sliding his tip up and down your slit. You were actually just trying to figure out exactly how to get him inside of you, but the gesture made him whimper in pleasure and squirm against the sheets.
It was too much. He was too arousing, too desirable. You needed him inside of you yesterday.
Finally, his tip dipped into your entrance. You both sighed at the feeling and his hand moved up to grip your thigh. You met his eyes, dark and captivating as ever.
You kept your eyes on his as you ever-so-slowly eased him into you, slightly wincing as he stretched you out. The sweet boy was truly worried that he was hurting you but felt so good that he had a difficult time getting words out.
“A-are…” A shaky inhale. “Are you alright, darling?”
You nodded, picking up his other hand to press his knuckles to your lips. “Keep your hands on me.” You pressed his palm to the valley of your breasts as you adjusted to his full length inside of you.
You rested your hands on his firm stomach to stabilize yourself as your hips almost involuntarily rocked against him in tiny little thrusts. You moaned softly while you got used to the feeling of being filled. Your prince was so patient and so unbelievably hard.
Relief washed over him when you finally moved your hips up and down rather than back and forth. You went slow at first, sliding him all the way in and almost all the way out a few times before finding a rhythm.
He was soon making those sweet noises again, tiny whimpers escaping his lips in time with your movements. And the more you moved, the better it felt. His hand found a place in the curve of your waist, soothingly brushing his thumb against your skin as you built up a pace.
Sunghoon’s already perfect face looked even more gorgeous like this. His eyebrows were furrowed in pleasure, dark eyes even darker with desire, his plump lips parted in a moan. Every now and again, he’d clench his jaw and grit his teeth before dropping his mouth open to gasp. You could watch him like this forever.
But flames were starting to build in your thighs. You wanted to hold out as long as you could for your angel, but the burning was starting to become unbearable. Your legs shook as you pathetically attempted to continue bouncing on his cock.
He knew just what to do (of course he did, that perfect boy) and gently flipped you over, wrapping one of your legs around his waist in the process. You tried not to stare at his biceps flexing as he propped himself up.
Sunghoon picked up your hand and placed it on his face, pressing his lips to the area just beneath your thumb as he started thrusting into you.
So this is what they mean when they say ‘making love,’ you thought.
For the first time that night, your sex made noise. A gentle slapping, a sound to remind you yes, this is real; yes, it’s really him inside of you right now .
You wrapped your other leg around his waist, hooking your ankles behind him. He let out a loud, gorgeous noise and quickened his thrusts. You’d always imagined what he would look like from this angle.
This feeling was amazing but so different from the first one. His tip was bumping a spot inside of you that you didn’t even know existed, and you could almost feel the beginnings of another sneeze-like sensation building.
But Sunghoon’s thrusts were getting messier, less coordinated. His moans were becoming increasingly desperate. You slid your hand up through his hair and gently tugged it, pulling his head down to your level.
“You look gorgeous when you’re falling apart.” You whispered into the shell of his ear.
He cried out as he released inside of you, burying his face in your neck and softly biting. As he rode out his high, he briefly pushed himself back up so you could see his face. Unsurprisingly, his orgasm face was nothing short of perfect. You rested your foreheads against each other once he had completely finished, both panting. This was the warmest you’d felt all night.
You weren’t sure who started giggling first, but you were both smiling when he kissed you again. He reached for a handkerchief on his nightstand, dipping the corner of it in his silver basin. He used the damp cloth to clean up what spilled as he pulled out of you, neatly folding it back up once he finished cleaning himself off, as well. He cupped your cheek, and you pressed your lips to his hand once more.
“Light of my life.” You whispered, almost to yourself.
He beamed down at you. “Love of mine.”
Sunghoon lied down on his stomach and pressed his plump lips to your collarbone, resting his precious head on your chest. “Our love is the kind they write stories about.” He hummed against your skin.
As the angel traced his fingertips over your body, you thought about just what kind of story your love would turn out to be. A prince and a servant: a tale as old as time, ill-fated from the start. He was yours today but the existence of tomorrow was both a promise and a threat. You thought about six months in the future, a year in the future, six years in the future.
“Promise me you’ll remember this.” You whispered.
He lifted his head to look at your teary eyes, immediately moving to hold your face. “Stop that, darling, stop it.” He kissed your cheeks. “I couldn’t forget you if I drank the entire River Lethe.”
His naivety broke your heart. Nobody warns you how painful it is to be star-crossed.
“Sunghoon… In a few years…”
His stomach sank as he slowly realized the causation of your sorrow.
“...You’re half of my soul.” His voice cracked through his whisper. “I’ll love you ‘till the sky falls.”
His head fell on your chest again and you held him as you both quietly wept. His gorgeous back rose and fell unevenly with his staggered breathing, and you remembered how you used to sneak glimpses of it when he changed clothes. The stretch marks that used to paint his spine were long faded now. You stroked his hair, vision blurry with tears.
You recalled Sunghoon’s silk voice reading Achilles’ words only weeks ago.
Any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.
And all you could do was hold him and hold him and hold him as tears rolled down your cheeks, a silent curse to the gods for being so cruel.