The next day, Jimin still decided to go against the crown prince's wish.
He woke up early and wandered around in search of some delicious gossip but somehow his feet had taken him to the doorsteps of the peach blossom manor.
The mischivious smile on his face was hard not to notice as it grew bigger and bigger.
The wind blew on his light coloured robes and with a fan in hand, he entered the manor in a dignified scholarly manner.
This was a habit of his, never knocking on doors; a bad habit that he was not looking forward to getting rid off cause if he did, how would it be any fun?
Jimin was much alike Taehyung in those matters, in fact, before Taehyung had come here, Jimin was considered the most shameless General in the country but even now, that had not changed, at least not until the two compete in shamelessness.
When he stepped inside the manor, the guards had originally wanted to stop him but when they saw his identity, they dare not.
Jimin walked around the manor like he owned the place, the sight truly would fool one's eyes into thinking that he was just looking around his own backyard.
However, the smile on his face disappeared when he got to intake a sight of Jungkook sitting down with the rumoured hostage, laughing and having a pleasant time together, enjoying the tea which was being served.
This was something truly unbelievable; anyone who saw it would say the same.
One had to know that the ice cold General Jeon would hardly laugh in front of anyone or anything unless it was his childhood best friend, Jimin. This was a special privilege only Jimin got and only he could be proud of it but to think that this new man had managed to break Jungkook's defenses and make him laugh? Just what kind of sorcery was this? Was it the same kind that had been cast on the crown prince?
This was dangerous.
Jimin stomped on the ground on purpose, letting the two men know that somebody was approaching them.
When Jungkook heard the sudden intrution, he looked over coldly but when he saw the face of the man who had come, the coldness instantly vanished and in its place came a warm smile so sweet and innocent; this was the smile of a person who was truly devoid of the world and was not worried about things he did not know about.
When Jimin saw that smile, his heart melted a bit and as if on instinct a lovestruck expression was once again painted across his face.
Taehyung also looked over at the newcomer calmly, it seems that he didn't care about the manor being trespassed like this and he wasn't shocked to see this. It wasn't like Jungkook announced his entry, hadn't he also barged in here like this young man?
Taehyung smiled warmly at the stranger, this smile made him look innocent and appeasing but Jimin was not flattered at all.
Jimin folded the fan in his hand and bowed to greet the man, "I'm just a General here to greet you, young prince. My name is Park Jimin. Nice to meet you."
Taehyung also returned the courteousy and stood up, bowing as he greeted, "Pleasure meeting you, General Park. I'm just a foolish prince here to pass some time."
When Jungkook heard this awkward greeting, he broke out laughing.
His laughter was certainly contagious and soon Taehyung couldn't help but titter.
Jimin glared at the laughing Jungkook, not understanding what was going on.
Taehyung smiled gently as he spoke to Jungkook, "Your friend seems to be a lot more respectful than you."
Jungkook took a sip of his tea and waved his hands, "He is well-mannered, I can't compare."
Jimin sneered, "Yet you rank higher than me."
Taehyung looked at the two with unhidden amusement, it was the first time in his life, he had seen such military Generals talking so freely around him. At moments like this, he really felt like being an hostage might just have been the greatest luck that befell upon him.
Jungkook stood and walked towards Jimin, grabbing his hand and disrupting the aura of elegance the man was trying to portray. He pulled Jimin after him and made him sit down together at the table with Taehyung.
This scene was not too unnatural for these two generals however Taehyung on the other hand glanced at the interlocked hands between the two, his smile growing wider.
Taehyung, "Although I appreciate such mannerism but I prefer us dropping these court manners where they belong; in the court."
Jungkook bobbed his head in agreement.
It had not even been a complete minute since Jimin had met this prince but somehow he could already judge his character and know exactly why Jungkook was laughing so openly when he came here.
Jimin was a specialist in detecting fake smiles and the smile on Taehyung's face was geniune, there was no doubt about that.
It was certainly rare to find such an open warmhearted prince that did not care about the court manners.
Jimin nodded happily in his head; his royal highness had indeed found a good match.
"I can see why the young prince is so liked by our dear friend." Jimin beamed, not trying to hide his thoughts.
Taehyung tilted his head in confusion, "Friend?"
Jungkook took a bite out of the delicious snacks kept on the table as he answered, "He means Yoongi."
Taehyung's eyes slightly widened when he heard the name being said so casually. The amusement in his eyes could not go unnoticed.
Just who in the world would dare call his name out like that without fear? This man was most certainly the only one with that much guts.
Jimin slapped Jungkook's thigh not at all lightly, scolding him and reminding him about manners.
No matter how easygoing Taehyung was, he would still be offended by hearing the crown princes name being called out like that.
But when Jimin glanced at Taehyung's face for a reaction, he found that there was only a second of shock and in the next second, that shock had disappeared like a bubble that had popped at some point in time.
Jungkook laughed, "Why are you always worrying about such trivial details?"
Jimin, "....."
"Didn't Yoongi himself give me the permission to use his name? Why should I decline that offer?"
Jimin sighed, he really could not understand how simple-minded his best friend was.
Taehyung chuckled, "I don't mind. You can call him whatever you like infront of me as long as it's not something disrespectful."
"Isn't calling him by his name disrespectful?" Jimin asked blankly.
Taehyung, "Disrespectful? How so? Isn't that his name? How is his name considered disrespectful?"
Jungkook laughed and nodded enthusiastically at the same time; this had never happened before. It seems that the cold-hearted general had really taken a liking to this foreign prince.
Jimin chuckled nervously, "That..... Makes sense but I still not dare call him by his name, especially behind his back."
Taehyung thought about it for a minute and in the end he nodded, maybe calling the crown prince by his name behind his back was really considered a bit disrespectful but this also made Taehyung take mental notesâa checklist of what he wanted to do in the future and in this checklist, a new item was added: Call the crown prince by his name once and that too, infront of him.
Just a few minutes and a few interexchanged words, that was all it took for Jimin to understand exactly how the crown prince had developed such a crush. At this point, it was hard not to develop a crush on this man but Jimin would rather save his head and stick to Jungkook.
Jungkook, "I ain't seen the man for ages, how is he doing?"
"Do you mean the crown prince?" Taehyung asked, sipping at the cup of tea which was not actually tea, it was peach flavoured water. Tea was too bitter for Taehyung, something he'd never find an interest in, however, this sweet flavored water on the other hand, if he could, he'd want to raise the chef's pay. This thing was ridiculously delicious.
Jungkook nodded in turn, his eyes slightly lowering with a sense of a rare emotion; sadness.
Taehyung couldn't know what this hint of sadness was about but Jimin knew, he knew the reason behind it all too well.
For Jimin, he had became a Military General because of his childhood best friend but for his childhood best friend, Jungkook, the reason was the crown prince.
Jungkook's father was a General who had died with pride on the battlefield; fighting for the country and its crown prince.
When his father died, Jungkook was an unruly kid, a young talent that was yet to be polished. He would run around the streets freely, causing trouble everywhere he went; this young boy loved to fight and if he didn't have a reason to, he'd create it for himself. That was how he had spent his whole childhood. It still came as a shock how the two opposite type of children had became best friends. On oneside there was Jungkook the rebel child and on the other hand there was Jimin the shining child with the best manners.
It could be said that Jimin was like an angel who would always look out for Jungkook and cheer him up, but when his father died, even Jimin could not provide help. At that time, Jimin was still unaware of how to deal with a situation such as death, he was only a mere child.
But there was another child, a few years older than them, the child who had saved Jungkook and cheered him up. This child was the crown prince.
When Old General Jeon died in battle, Jungkook couldn't believe it; he dare not accept it. With eyes that were brimmed with tears flowing down like a waterfall and a nose so runny and red, his face could only be summed up as a mess. He was in a mess and why wouldn't he be? He had never expected his father to leave him. Never expected death to come so easily and unexpectedly. His father was like a superhero to him, somebody who could never be beaten by anyone but to think that person just left him like that? Without even a good bye?
The last words his father had said to Jungkook were precisely the reason why he refused to believe his father had died.
He held onto a paper crane in one hand and would wait in the cold doorway, waiting for his father to return every night. Every single cold night till the point that he fell sick from it and had to be forced to take a rest.
"Fold a crane for me, will you? By the time you have completed it, I'll be back, I promise." Those were the last words old General Jeon had said to his son as he ruffled his little bedhead and left early in the morning, kissing his wife goodbye and promising to return soon.
A young Jungkook would hold onto that paper crane, refusing to believe that his father had lied to him, refusing to believe that he will never return.
On such a cold night, while waiting for his father with teary eyes, he was visited by Yoongi, the crown prince who could hardly be seen outside the palace.
Jimin never knew what the two spoke about that night but when he visited Jungkook the next morning, Jungkook was nowhere to be seen; he had woken up early in the morning and went to the training fields. When he finally managed to find Jungkook, what he saw was the face of a smiling youth wielding a sword with such rough technique but great strength. That day Jungkook had smiled at him and with great determination told him, "I'll become a General too and I'll protect the country, Yoongi and you."
Till this day, Jimin had still wondered what the two had talked about that day. What could have motivated Jungkook so much? Maybe this had been the greatest mystery he was yet to solve, and he had pestered Jungkook to tell him about it but the man never did speak a word on that topic.
"He's doing good. You should pay him a visit and not just send him your good wishes from afar." Taehyung smiled, he was curious to know what that hint of sadness was all about but he wasn't a person who liked to force people to talk about their personal matters so he would naturally not prude any further.
Jungkook looked at the young prince and smiled, "That's good. I'm glad."
Jimin felt like the atmosphere had took a turn. This cold friend of his had finally shown his true colours and managed to let the coldness of his armour seep through and in order to save it from freezing, only Jimin would take that honor.
"So how far has your relationship developed with the crown prince?" Jimin asked Taehyung, who chocked upon hearing the sudden question.
The man really had a talent at choosing to speak out about the most awkward topics...
________________________________________
A/n: Hello! Thank you guys so much for reading.
I have great news for all of you!
From today onwards, The crown prince will be updated on a weekly basis. What exactly does that mean?
It means I'll be updating every Monday.
Yay!ð
Here is the updating schedule for anyone who wants to know:
Chapter 9: 30th Nov, 2020
Chapter 10: 7th Dec, 2020
Chapter 11: 14 Dec, 2020
Chapter 12: 21 Dec, 2020
That's all I've planned so farð
But this is not set in stone just yet, if I get more likes and views, I might feel motivated enough to update in between those days as well.
Lastly, I'd like to remind you all to stay positive and take care of your health.
Have a nice dayðð