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Long ago, in a faraway land, there was a prince who was betrothed to a princess. Similar to the usual fairytales you have read, they met and "undoubtedly" fell in love. In most cases, this is the part where we end the story and live happily ever after, but not for them. Hence, come with me as we find out the story of King Jeon Jungkook and Queen Kim Taehyung.
"Oh, you’re here already Jungkook. First, go and take a seat while I finish making the tea for us so that you can eat it along with the cookies.." Taehyung urged the servants to go outside of their chamber to let them have a little bit of privacy. She’d been waiting for his return for a long time, not that it was obvious.
Jungkook accepted Taehyung's offer and sat down watching him preparing the tea cheerfully, looking at his Queen he almost did not want to break the bad news to him but this can not be delayed as it will only bring more harm than good to the both of them and other people who are involved.
He licked his lips to ground himself as he continued to hesitate whether to speak or not when the Queen pushed a cup of his favorite milk, and he’d be a liar if he said that watching the Queen did not let his guilt slowly consume him, although he had already made up his mind.
"Queen...Do you still remember our deal?" Jungkook said as he carefully looked at the Queen’s reaction, because of the unexpected topic Taehyung paused midway through the tea preparation.
Due to being completely taken aback, all Taehyung could do was nod and try to answer Jungkook's question as composed as he could be at that moment, "Why... Yes, of course.... We have agreed that in order to make this arranged marriage work, we’ll be civil and if one finds someone who they love, we’ll give way, as well as that we won’t trouble each other over this matter. "
Taehyung gulped before he continued to ask with a shaky voice, "Have you... found her?"
With the nod and the sad smile from the King, Taehyung swore that he definitely heard his own heart drop to the ground just like that but he composed himself and tried to continue preparing the tea.
"When will she enter the palace then?" He inquired with his heart throbbing painfully and face turning warm because of sadness, frustration, embarrassment- honestly, he, himself could not bring himself to describe what he felt.
As much as he does not want to hear when will his own husband bring a lover to their sacred place, he also wanted to prepare his heart to let go of the other for the sake of his own sanity. He might do drastic things which he hope to God will not happen, as he already said to his husband that companionship from him would be enough as a solace inside their cold palace.
Jungkook sighed before he said, "After a week, my Queen. She still needs to take care of some things back in their village, you'll like her and I'm sure both of you will get along."
"I'll inform the servants to prepare the quarter for your lover then, Jungkook," Taehyung said as he poured Jungkook the finished tea.
"There's actually no need for you to do that, I do appreciate your help but I'll handle it." Jungkook accepted the tea given by the Queen and held it but made no move to drink it.
"I'm so-"
"Don't be, it's okay. You are not required to love me, the companionship that you've given is enough for me Jungkook. It's more than enough, shall we continue with our tea time?" Taehyung cut off Jungkook before he can even finish saying his apologies as he would rather end their time together on a good note than beg the other to love only him.
"Taehyung grabbed his own cup and grounded his heart to listen to what his husband will tell him, " Would you tell me about her, Jungkook?"
And just like that King's face lightened up and talked about her with a smile, different from the sad smile he sported during his conversation with the Queen.
"She got the most beautiful smile, My Queen."
To summarize what happened after that, the king brought in a concubine who he claimed he loved a week after their conversation as he said to the Queen. He showered her with love, letters, and gifts in the same way the Queen had secretly wished to be treated by the King.
The King even made a separate castle for him and the concubine to reside in, leaving the Queen inside the big and lonely castle. As much as the Queen would like to hate the King and the concubine, he felt his hatred shatter as he saw the King put effort to demonstrate his love for the concubine in a simple way.
Up to the point, where he could no longer recognize him despite being married to the man for 5 years. The concubine was simply too kind for the Queen to hate. She even gave the Queen a jar made in her hometown. For these reasons, the Queen can’t help but support and love the King from afar.
Foolish but love makes everybody a fool
"Queen Taehyung, what would you like to do with the jar given to you by Concubine Carys?" The servant who's been serving Taehyung for years asked as he cleaned the Royal Chamber now turned into the Queen’s Chamber.
The Queen did not respond but just smiled sadly as he watched the King and the Concubine laughing in the garden, talking about things only they knew. His mind told him to suck it up and stop but his heart can't help[ but mourn for the what if's of something that could not be.
"Queen….."
The servant can only sigh sadly and try his best to cheer up the Queen, even if it’s a futile effort. He gave the Queen the jar instead to at least distract him from damaging his own heart again and again.The Queen took the distraction, to the servant's relief, and tore his gaze away from the couple.
When he looked at the jar, he was very fascinated with the carvings on it and found himself wanting to keep it, despite the fact that the very same jar came from someone who had caused him to feel this misery.He initially thought of giving it to the servant for him to sell and make money out of it but he changed his mind maybe the jar could help him accept his situation better.
To be honest, though, the Queen had already accepted that most of the mistakes came from him, apart from this one what bothers him the most is the thought that he could have done better.
As his thoughts wandered from what if to what if, he failed to notice that his grip on the jar was loosening, causing it to crash to the ground with a loud thud. Just like his own heart.
"Queen!"
"Oh no, what to do?" The servant rushed to the Queen's side to inspect any injuries, if the King find out about this he will have his head- Well, the King before the whole concubine thing would the servant is not so sure about the current King but it's better to be safe than sorry after all.
Besides. no one should harm this country's Queen, his Queen is already hurt his heart and now there's a possibility that the Queen got hurt because of the stupid jar! That simply just cannot be-
"Are you hurt, your majesty?" A raspy voice greeted the servant and the Queen as black smoke came out of the jar and took a solid form that looked like an octopus with the upper body of a human.
"Guar- The servant was about to call for the guards but was cut off because his mouth was sealed shut before he could even utter the word.
"Whoopsie, there’s no need to panic. All you have to do is rela-" The unidentified creature was cut off by the pillow, smashing his head straight on, unlike what Taehyung first thought that the pillow would go through him.
Taehyung was about to throw another pillow when a smoky octopus hand grabbed it away and the creature suddenly spoke, "No can do, your highness." Fool me once, shame on me, but falling again is unacceptably dangerous. Tsk, you guys are very rude to your guests. I definitely don't recommend this place so, I will rate it two out of five stars. You guys are really no fun, you wound me! "
"Would you just stop, state your name and leave us alone?" Taehyung shouted as he tried to bring back the pillow that was snatched from him, which caused him to get all tangled up with the smoky tentacles.
"First, you attempt to call the guards on me and it’s not like they can do something about me. Second, you threw a pillow at me, and lastly, you demanded my name like you don't already know, I mean you're asking my name? As in me, myself, and I?". The creature stopped talking when he realized the deadpanned faces of the two.
It then looked confused and wilted, but nonetheless, was able to recover and conclude, "Seriously?! You two don’t know me?! You guys don’t know me! At last!"
The creature looked ecstatic, whereas the Queen and the servant were left more confused than ever.
"Yahoo! I’m free! Thank you! Thank you! I know you guys never asked, but I’ll still tell you. The condition of the hag's release was that I would never be able to get out of that god-forsaken jar unless the person who broke it didn't know who I was!" The creature sat down with his leg crossed engrossed in talking about himself.
"Oh, the name’s Azad, by the way, it means freedom it was given by my birth parents but my master calls me by the name, Jimin.. To sum up my long boring life, I was cursed and was freed by you, your highness!"
"If the hag decides to curse me again for being ungrateful to my benefactor, I have to repay you by giving you a chance to wish! " Azad-Jimin scratched his head because no one was answering him but then he heard all the muffled screaming and returned to his senses.
He forgot that he had shut the servant’s mouth with magic and his tentacles physically shut the Queen’s mouth.
"Oops, there you go. You may now talk." With the snap of a finger, all things were back to normal, except for the fact that the identified creature was still present which means it was not entirely back to normal perse but it is kind of.
"Queen!" The servant immediately went to the Queen’s side and checked the Queen.
"Uh, no thanks! I have to refuse. Would you just get out of my room already? I don’t need a wish from you! " Taehyung replied to the witch...genie...whatever the octopus thing is.
"But you do, I heard you and I'm a genie just so you know I also heard that." Taehyung went still from the confident declaration from the other.
Flabbergasted, he tried to deny it but was stopped by what Jimin said after, "I heard your heart’s wish and you may fool everyone but not me, so is it a deal? Then come and take my hand."
As the Queen stepped forward to accept the deal, the servant grabbed his wrist to stop him, "This may sound impudent, but please hear my plea, your majesty. Don’t put yourself at risk for something uncertain and definitely not trustworthy enough."
The Queen merely smiled and said, as he removed the hand from his wrist, "If you don’t trust Jimin, then trust me, and if you don’t trust me, then trust the way you raised me, Kelly."
"Oh, Kelly is your name? Freedom and War, what a perfect fit. "
"Shut it, you unidentified creature, and don't you dare utter my name!"
"Nickname basis already? I like it! I'll call you Yoongi instead then because of your glossy skin. Now then, back to you, your highness, place your hand in mine and say these words: "In every moment is there an ekwivalente uitruil. Komm luister nou na my pleidooi God of Freedom." Yoongi scoffed at the side as Taehyung followed what Jimin had said.
"In elke wens is daar 'n ekwivalente uitruil, kom luister nou na my pleidooi God of Freedom." As he said the phrases, his body glowed black and he only had one thought in mind before he fainted.
That thought was experiencing the King’s love even if it means making a deal with someone. The next time he opened his eyes, Yoongi was close to strangling Jimin.
"Queen! You’re awake!" Jimin immediately went to give the Queen a glass of water.
After taking a sip, he sat down and asked, "How long was I asleep?"
"Oh, just an hour. I told Yoongi he was overreacting and that was normal, but he wouldn't listen and continued to attempt to murder me during the duration of an hour. " Before he continued, Yoongi glared at Jimin, who was sticking his tongue out to tease.
"Now that you are back from Wonderland, I’ll state here the conditions of your wish."
"Conditions?"
"What? Anyway, before Yoongi tried to kill me and prevented me from telling you here, it was free. Since the deal or the wish is a matter of the heart, that means I have no control over it.
What you wish for is to be loved by the King as much as he loved the concubine. My magic allows him to forget about the concubine for a while and treat you as he would with her. Now here comes the bad side. This would only last a week at the expense of your life. "
"WHAT?! I knew it! You are a scam! How dare you put the Queen of this country in danger!"
"Shh kitty, let’s deal with our love story after we finish. Anyways, I noticed when I scrolled through time with magic that it rarely rains here. Maybe that’s why this was included in the condition. When the rain finished pouring, that’s the time the price of your wish would be reaped,’ Jimin said as he looked Taehyung dead in the eye.
Taehyung was quiet. On the other hand, Yoongi panicked and cursed the creature in any way he knew.
"Thank you." Yoongi was flabbergasted with the Queen’s response and proceeded to stand there in shock.
"Welcome, now fix yourself to greet the King. In fact, he'll be here shortly," Jimin said joyfully and true to his words, the King suddenly visited the Queen’s Chamber alone without any aid.
"My King?! What are you doing here alone?" Taehyung asked as the King sat down next to him and asked her how he was.
"Is it wrong to visit my Queen without a reason? Come, and take this fruit. I’ve heard that you collapsed earlier. What will I do if you disappear, my Queen? Never do that again." The King fussed over the Queen all day long.
Taehyung was fully aware that his wish was granted and gratefully accepted the King's action of love. Yoongi, on the other hand, was shocked to the point he couldn’t help it but be happy that his beloved Queen finally had what he wanted. They were so preoccupied with the King that they failed to realize Jimin's reaction.
As the King left, Taehyung hesitated before he asked Jimin a favor, "Will you make a clone so as not to alarm the concubine and make her worry?" Jimin agreed to do it if the week was as entertaining as the first day.
On the second day, the King and the Queen had their first picnic at the Queen’s Garden and the Queen was able to find out more about the King’s childhood and him.
On the third day, the King and the Queen rode a boat on their private lake, and the King shared his goals and dreams with the Queen, which the Queen listened intently to.
On the fourth day, the King shared how he immediately fell in love at first sight with the Queen, which the Queen concluded as an effect of his wish.
On the fifth day, the King gave the Queen his mother’s ring, which made him promise to only give it to the one that he really loved. The Queen accepted it with a sad smile.
On the sixth day, the servant could not take it anymore and begged the Queen to take back his wish as the dread of the Queen’s death could no longer be overshadowed by seeing the Queen happy.
The Queen only smiled and continued to open the door to go with the King to visit the plaza undercover.
On the seventh day, the Queen sat down for a while to look at herself in the vanity. Hee was going to the garden where the King and he were going to spend his last day.
"Are you okay?" Jimin asked while Yoongi was out because that kitty was adamant in keeping Taehyung away from him. With that in mind, he chose to appear to Taehyung at a time when he knew Yoongi would give her some privacy.
"I’m okay." Jimin gave her a deadpan expression. Admittedly, he had grown a soft spot for Taehyung these past few days.
"You can fool eve-"
"Everyone but you...I know. But, truly I’m okay." Taehyung said with a smile. Jimin muttered underneath his breath, which made it hard for Taehyung to hear.
"Let me remind you one more time when the rain stops, it means your time is up; before that happens, make sure that the King kisses you because he absolutely loves you, not because he wishes to. When the rain starts to fall, you’ll feel a throbbing pain in your heart and it will stop when he kisses you if he truly loves you. "
"Why would you say that now?"
"I don’t know….Maybe I do want you to live." Jimin disappeared when the King went inside the chamber.
"Are you ready, my Queen?" The King asked with a smile in which the Queen returned. "As ready as I’ll ever be."
The two spent their afternoon quite happily and peacefully. They shared many nonsensical and old-fashioned stories of their own. It did happen so quickly that the Queen wished that time would just stop, but he had enough of those wishes, and the throbbing pain in his heart reminded him that it was time to face reality.
"My Queen, I think we have to go inside now. It’s starting to rain." The King hurriedly urged the Queen, but he only gave him a smile and said, "Can’t we enjoy the rain for a while, my King? Come and dance with me."
"Why would you dance outside in the rain? We have a big ballroom for this." The King asked with an amused expression but offered a hand which the Queen accepted. He then put the Queen’s hand on his neck and put his own on the Queen’s waist. The rain was already pouring heavily, but the smiles on their faces seemed like it was not raining at all.
"With the rain, my King. My tears won’t be so easy to see if you’ll love me like how you love her." The Queen muttered quietly but enough for the King to hear but not clearly.
The King frowned and tightened his hold on the Queen and asked, "What did you say?"
"Nothing, my King. I said that it was such a wonderful day."
"Yes, it was, my dear." The King gazed at the Queen’s eyes lovingly while it made the Queen tear up. Unlike what the Queen thought, the rain does not hide one’s tears.
The King swiped a finger under the Queen’s eye to wipe his tears before asking in a soft voice, "What’s the matter, my love?" He did it to appease the Queen, but it had the opposite reaction and made the Queen weep even more. "Why can’t it be me, my love? Why is it not me, Jungkook?" Why? Why? Why? Am I that unworthy?"
"What do you mean by not you and unworthy, Taehyung? Your name already means worthy of love. What makes you unworthy of it? "
"Then, why? Why is it not me? Why do you love her and not me? Tell me? Where am I not enough?" By this time, Taehyung had gotten out of Jungkook’s hold and asked while the rain and his tears were all mixed up together.
"I love you."
"You don’t"
"I do lo-"
"You only do it because of the wish! You don’t truly love yourself. " Taehyung argued back in anger and sadness.
"I do love you in a way you don’t realize because your own perception of love differs from mine," Jungkook argued back, his fist tightening as he defended his feelings.
"You don’t, you don’t, you don-"
Jungkook couldn’t take it anymore and kissed Taehyung, which made him stop talking. What even shocked him was that the painful throbbing in his heart disappeared.
"What? How?"
"I’m sorry for misleading you these past few weeks. The truth is that the concubine that I bought here was a witch and she used a potion to trick me." Jungkook confessed as he placed his palms on Taehyung’s cheeks.
"She tricked me when I was looking for a gift to give you when I came back, but then I decided to just give you my mother’s ring and bring home snacks for you, and that was when she offered me a drink with a potion."
"But then, we need to-" Taehyung was cut off by Jungkook.
"Jimin already took care of her. He was roaming around at that time, so he was not able to warn me about the potion, but he was clearly stronger than she was." Jungkook explained while looking at Taehyung's eyes, hoping that his sincerity would reach the other.
"The only way to break the potion’s spell was to counter it with a wish from the matter of the heart from someone who is dear to me, which is you. In short, my love, the man that you spent a week with was me and it was not because of the spell. " Taehyung was never as confused as at that moment, but then he remembered what Jimin had said.
"But Jimin said, I have to make sure that the kiss was because you love me and not because of the wish. The pain won’t disappear unless you love me.”
A voice suddenly appeared, saying, "I only said that to push this cowardly guy to gather his wits and courage to confess how he really feels about you, and I told you, Yoongi, they’ll be fine! Now, let’s settle our own love story."
"Tsk, moment destroyer, as ever, Jimin." Jungkook rolled his eyes while Jimin teasingly said, "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn’t be holding your majesty at the moment and you’d be stuck with that little experienced witch! Haven’t you heard that it’s not okay to accept random things from strangers?!"
"Yes, yes, yes... Thank you, now shoo!" Jimin just rolled his eyes and followed what Jungkook said.
"Jimin is my companion given by my mother. No one is supposed to see him but me, but I made you an exception and he made Yoongi his, he got his eyes on that caretaker of yours for years, my love. Now then, shall we continue, lovely?" Jungkook expected a hand but was greeted by a punch.
"What?! Did you expect that after all of that, I’d just smile and forget?! No way, Jungkook! Did you know how much I have suffered waiting?"
The water dam that was stopped due to shock was back in full force and all Jungkook could do was hug Taehyung as tightly as he could comfort her and say his apology, "I’m sorry for making you wait for five years, my Taehyung." Jungkook’s voice was teary and he could no longer hold it in.
He was too scared that Taehyung had enough of his bullshit and would leave him but Taehyung just hugged him tightly.
After letting all their emotions out, with the rain slowing down, Jungkook asked again, while offering his hand, "Shall we dance?" Taehyung took his hand and this time, as they danced, they knew that they loved each other.
In conclusion, never assume things you are not sure of unless it comes from the other person directly, and of course, don’t accept any deals or anything from strangers, even if you are desperate.
In general, in this area, they’ll say they live happily ever after, but not for me. See you in the next fairytale.