Chapter Text
Hyunjin didn't remember drifting off to sleep. Maybe Felix's reading helped him after all. Though he would never admit that out loud. When he sat up, he noticed that Felix was no longer there. He probably went to work, a servant as he is. Hyunjin wished he didn't have to have the walk of shame back to the house and explain to Chan where he spent his night. There was nothing more embarrassing than having to admit that you slept on hay, in a barn, next to a servant boy. He hoped his expensive clothes weren't completely covered in hay and just wanted to take a bath with lavender scented candles lit so bad.
He simply walked in, not bothering to knock, and went straight to his room. He laid on the bed that now felt actually quite tolerable compared to his place of stay last night. His back ached from sleeping on such a hard surface and he didn't feel like he rested at all. A very small part of his brain worried for Felix as the stable was his bed every night and the boy seemingly got up much earlier than he did even though he must've stayed up late. But it was his own choice. Hyunjin didn't ask him to read, Felix insisted on it and servants shouldn't get the same privileges as the wealthy anyway.
His inner monologue was interrupted when Chan burst into the room, a worried look on his face. "Where were you?! I was worried all last night! You can't just disappear!" Hyunjin would've felt bad but a part of him was glad that Chan worried. Everyone else's negligence led to the prince having to sleep in a stable. He crossed his arms, looking anywhere except at Chan. "Hyunjin-" Chan sighed but was interrupted by the prince's displeased tone "If you must know, I spent last night sleeping on a pile of hay in a stable" he expected Chan to be ashamed for not looking after him properly or outraged that the prince wasn't let back into the house. Instead, he chuckled.
"It's funny to you?!" Hyunjin's entire world kept getting flipped around by the events and people around him. Chan laughed even harder, now crouching. "You," he pointed at Hyunjin, "slept in a stable?" He pointed outside and when Hyunjin nodded he got lost in another fit of laughter. Hyunjin didn't find any of this amusing at all. He had been badly mistreated and if his pride didn't prevent him from telling anyone else but Chan, he surely would've written to his parents of this awful wrongness.
"Are you done?" Hyunjin asked coldly as Chan seemed to finally calm down. The older gave the prince a rather fatherly look as he sat down next to the irritated boy. "Come on, loosen up a little Hyunnie" Hyunjin also hated the fact that he had a weak spot for that specific nickname that Chan had been using since they were kids. He caved in, resting his head on Chan's shoulder and whining "I don't want to be here hyung! I wanna go home!" It hurt Chan how tired Hyunjin sounded. He truly retracted into a pouty child sometimes and he found it rather endearing. But he also knew that this would be good for Hyunjin. He might get the happy, kind, and caring Hyunjin, he once knew, back.
"I know you do. Just try to make it through the 2 months, if you try to get along here they'll go by much faster" Hyunjin hated that Chan was probably right so once again, he would never admit it. He just whined again, closing his eyes. Chan sat there soothingly stroking Hyunjin's back until there was a knock on the door. "You should take a bath. You smell like you slept in a barn" Hyunjin whined at the teasing tone in Chan's voice but got up to get to the bathroom.
He didn't really even get his own bath ready, they had servants for that but he couldn't be caught dead looking like this so he'd just have to figure it out by himself, how difficult could it be? The bathroom wasn't beautiful and shiny like in the castle. Hyunjin once again felt like throwing a fit over how much everything wasn't up to his standards or suitable in any way for the prince. He struggled for a while with the bath, refusing to believe he would be incapable of getting his own bath ready. Even though it wasn't his job to do.
Once he finally succeeded and had a bath ready, he took off his clothes and stepped in. He didn't have any scented candles or expensive oils which made this bath seem more like a chore rather than a relaxing comfort. When he was fully seated, he realized too late that he had over-filled the tub, and water spilled everywhere, getting the entire bathroom soaking wet. He was once again taken by a sudden urge to scream out cuss words and before he could stop himself he cursed rather loudly.
Hyunjin felt like someone had cursed him. This had to be some curse of bad luck. Nothing had gone right from the moment he left the castle, he had had enough and it was only the second day. Just as Hyunjin had started considering just drowning himself in the bathtub there was a small knock on the door.
"Is everything alright in there?"
The voice was familiar. The soothing, deep voice that had lulled him to sleep last night. It had to be Felix. There was once again the same afraid, hesitant tone to his voice and Hyunjin found himself not liking the tone. He much preferred the one Felix had used last night while reading. It took him just a bit too long to realize he hadn't answered.
"Sir, are you hurt?"
He couldn't tell why, but he liked the fact that Felix sounded almost panicked. He sighed, not wanting Felix to go fetch someone "I'm fine!" It came out rather harsh once again. Hyunjin was just frustrated and didn't need the confusing thoughts and feelings Felix seemed to bring with him. "Oh, sorry sir, I didn't mean to bother you. I just heard cursing and it startled me" Felix seemed to calm down a bit when it was confirmed to him that it was Hyunjin on the other side of the door. Hyunjin heard footsteps getting further away from the door.
"Felix, wait!" The footsteps stopped. He felt ridiculous. He rarely called servants by their names, but then again, he rarely spoke to servants outside of requests or commands. He, however, was clearly hitting all the new lows today as this curse of bad fortune had struck him. "You are forbidden to tell anyone you heard me curse!" He didn't know why exactly he was bothering to do this. Under what context would Felix bring this up with anyone? Even if he did Hyunjin could easily just say the boy was lying and everyone would believe him. He heard a small, low chuckle that somehow seemed to ease him a bit.
"I won't tell, sir" Hyunjin was confused as to why did the boy seem to get happier and more comfortable when Hyunjin started ordering and acting cold. Felix let out a sharp hesitant breath before continuing "But sir, you shouldn't call me by that name. If the miss hears, I will be in great trouble"
Who was he to tell Hyunjin what to call him? Who was Gayoung to tell Hyunjin what to call Felix?! He would call the boy whatever he pleased. Furthermore, it shouldn't be Felix who gets in trouble if someone else decides to use his real name. Hyunjin didn't know why this had made him so irritated so he resorted to what he knew best "I will call you whatever I please! How dare you tell me what I should or shouldn't do?" It just now struck him how strange it was to be having a conversation with one of the servants while he was in a bath that had flooded the room.
Felix seemed again a bit panicked by this as he hastily responded "I-I wouldn't, sir! Never! I-I just know the miss won't like it" The last sentence came out so small and weak it gave Hyunjin a strange urge to comfort the boy. "I shall call you Felix and if Gayoung gives you trouble for it, you must come tell me at once!"
Once Felix registered what he had just heard, he blushed. He had never been defended against Gayoung and the thought of this rich boy being willing to argue with her just to use Felix's real name made him giddy. "However you wish, sir. I will quit bothering you now" he best leave before someone hears him talking with the rich boy and catches him not working. He would be in great trouble if either happened.
"No Felix, wait!" Hyunjin said again, a little desperation in his voice. He really didn't want to admit he had struggled to make the bath and had now managed to make the bathroom flood. His pride didn't let him ask for help often but something in him nudged him to ask Felix. He surely wouldn't be brave enough to make fun of the prince. "Yes, sir?" Hyunjin took a second to once again curse at the situation he was in. "I umm…You mustn't tell anyone about this!" Felix was confused by the statement as he already agreed on not telling anyone about the rich boy cursing. He was furthermore confused by hearing the boy sound unsure for the first time. He always spoke with such confidence and authority.
"I seemed to have made the room flood"
Felix fought the urge to burst out laughing. The rich boy sounded like a lost kid and Felix couldn't help but find it hilarious that this confident, arrogant boy could be so helpless in such a simple situation. "Do you wish for me to clean the mess up, sir?" Hyunjin thought he could sense amusement in the other's voice but maybe he was just paranoid, knowing himself how ridiculous the current situation was. He responded with a curt 'yes', starting to get embarrassed. Now he swore he heard a small chuckle accompanied by the voice "Please let me know when you are finished with your bath and I will come clean it up, sir"
Hyunjin looked at the floor. Now with water all over it, he could tell it wasn't as clean as it looked when walking in. He made a mental note to write about this to his parents. The house was unclean and unfit for the prince. "The floor is filthy, I wish for it to be cleaned now!" He was offended by the fact that he was expected to bathe here when the room clearly hadn't even been properly cleaned. "B-But sir, you are-" Felix tried to reason but was cut off by Hyunjin "Are you refusing to do as I command?" He took offense to Felix's reluctance to do as he said. In the castle, the servants did as told in an instant and didn't ask questions. "No sir! I just-" Felix tried again but Hyunjin's patience was wearing thin and though he knew he would rather rot away in this filthy bathroom than speak with Gayoung again, he cut the boy off again "Do you wish for me to go and tell Gayoung of your reluctance and disobedience?"
"Alright then, sir!" Hyunjin thought the boy sounded irritated. He wasn't used to being spoken to like this by servants so it took him a couple of seconds to recover from the other's snappiness. During this period Felix had opened the door with a bucket and a rag in hand, getting on his knees and starting to mop up the water from the floor. Then it hit Hyunjin. He was sitting in the bathtub in his birthday suit. So that might be why Felix had insisted on doing it afterward. The room got very quiet as the strange situation sunk in for the two men. Felix seemed rather flustered as he mopped up the floor but Hyunjin found it rather entertaining.
He found himself once again just blatantly staring at the boy. He didn't know why, the boy just instantly caught his attention every time he was around. "You are forbidden to speak of this to anyone either!" Hyunjin at least had the decency to sound ashamed. Though he would never admit it. "Yes, sir" all the snappiness had vanished from the boy's voice. Cleaning up the floor was a lot more work and took so much longer than Hyunjin had ever realized. He had never stayed and watched any of his servants clean up so this was new to him. He started wondering if Felix's knees or shins hurt from kneeling on the tiles like that. If they did, he hid it very well.
"How long have you worked here?" Hyunjin shocked himself again. That question was nothing but pure curiosity, something Hyunjin never thought he would experience with a servant. Felix responded casually, not looking up from the floor "For 8 years, sir". Already? Felix didn't look very old, on the contrary, Hyunjin had thought the boy was maybe 17 years old, 18 max. But no 10-year-old would be put to work, nobody would hire a child. This greatly confused and intrigued Hyunjin to the point where his curiosity beat his will to stay indifferent about the servant. "How old are you?" He once again forgot to hide the curious streak in his voice, mentally cursing himself out for it. Felix was absolutely baffled as to why he was playing 20 questions with the rich boy now but did as he was taught and answered politely "20 years old, sir".
20?! This boy was his age?! Furthermore, he started working when he was 12?! This boy had to be lying to him, he scoffed "No one would hire a 12-year-old, I think you may have lied to me" now Felix looked up at him with those big, innocent eyes. He looked confused and had stopped mopping the floor for a second. "But sir, I haven't lied to you" he insisted and as much as Hyunjin wanted to press further, something in Felix's eyes screamed that he was being genuine. After this short moment of eye contact, Felix looked down again, cheeks a pretty shade of pink. Hyunjin thought the pink cheeks looked very nice on him, they brought out his freckles even more. "I-I don't mean to disagree with you sir, but most children are working by the time they turn 12"
Hyunjin was getting shock after shock today. Learning about things he had never stopped to consider before. When did Felix play as a kid if he was working like this? When did he study? Hyunjin started feeling something uncomfortable and ugly creep into his chest but once again as he didn't know what those feelings were, they scared him. He looked at the mostly clean floor now and huffed "You're dismissed" Felix looked up at him, confused "B-But sir, the floor isn't-" Hyunjin rolled his eyes, taking an annoyed breath before repeating himself with more finality "You are dismissed!" This got through to the boy who took the bucket and rag, closing the door behind him, not saying a word in return.
Hyunjin didn't feel as clean and nice as he usually did after a bath. He mused it was the lack of oils and scents as well as the poor excuse of a bathroom. He dressed himself, looking in the mirror. At least he still had his beautiful, soft clothes. He had dark circles under his eyes from the poor sleep last night and rolled his eyes. Would he even survive 2 months here if one night was enough to break him? He felt like there was a dark cloud that followed him that day as he walked the grounds with Chan and unfortunately Jisung. His mind was clouded with thoughts about his small conversation with Felix. How could this be? He considered himself smart, having to study and learn lots growing up but talking with Felix, he felt like he knew nothing. It frustrated him to no end, he wanted to know more but his pride was preventing him from letting a servant teach him about things.
"Prince, is everything okay?" Chan asked, accompanied by his, what Hyunjin liked to call, "worried dad" look. "You've been so quiet" Hyunjin swore he heard Jisung scoff but was surprised to find out that he was too deep in thought to care. "Did you know most children start working at 12 years old, hyung?" Chan looked even more worried at Hyunjin's question. Hyunjin looked off into the fields where people were tirelessly working. They worked from sunrise till sunset, maybe even later. Was their life nothing but work? When would they spend time with their families?
"Where is this coming from?" Chan found Hyunjin's behavior odd. Usually, the prince didn't give his workers a second thought but now he seemed so bothered by his thoughts that he couldn't even hold up a conversation. Of course, Chan knew that Hyunjin had no idea about what life was like, being sheltered by all the luxuries of the castle but he wanted to know why did he now all of a sudden know.
"Don't act like you suddenly care!" Jisung spat, looking somehow more furious than last night. Even Hyunjin was taken aback by the anger in his voice. He turned to Jisung, looking astounded. "You've never cared a day in your life about the people you considered to be beneath you, who cares if they're kids, right?" It sounded like he needed to get it out of his system. Chan knew this would result in a fight but somewhere deep inside, he agreed with Jisung to an extent.
"Why do you always insist on talking?!" Hyunjin already had enough to think about, he didn't want to waste his energy fighting Jisung again. They could spend the next 2 months in harmony if Jisung learned to keep his mouth shut and respect Hyunjin like a prince was to be respected. Hyunjin did feel the sting Jisung intended, however. He would never admit it but he knew Jisung was right. He had never spared any servant a second thought, never questioned who does the work, how long does it take or how old are they. He just simply expected servants to do as told, ask no questions, and not to disappoint.
"Can you two please not?" Chan asked, voice tired. Tired enough apparently for Jisung to back down. He rarely did, not wanting to feed Hyunjin's ego by having him think Jisung "submitted". Hyunjin didn't linger on the fight for too long, just kept walking, lost in his thoughts once again. He missed the worried look Chan gave him again.
He then spotted Felix in the fields. His clothes and hands were very dirty, his hair disheveled, tan skin sweaty. He still somehow looked so beautiful. Hyunjin hadn't wanted to admit it but it was the first thing that came to mind when describing the boy. He was beautiful. The servants were all chatting and Felix seemed to get lost in a fit of laughter. His smile was so contagious, it made Hyunjin almost smile too. He stopped himself, realizing how it would've looked to others. He spotted a young boy next to Felix. The boy looked no older than 13 and especially after what he had been thinking about all day, it made Hyunjin upset. Felix was clearly helping the boy and joking around with him.
Hyunjin turned his back on them, why should he care?
Hyunjin, however, noticed as he laid in bed that night that he did seem to care. Why else would he not be able to get all these thoughts out of his head? Why else would he be so intrigued by and infatuated with Felix? He didn't like it. He didn't like feeling like this. He wanted to go home and forget all about this place. He had always been happy and comfortable in the castle, now he was not only physically but mentally too, plagued with new feelings that were rather uncomfortable. He felt like he couldn't sleep, though the bed felt a whole lot more comfortable now that he had spent last night on a pile of hay. If only he was home and none of this would've bothered him.
His mind seemed to be full of Felix to the point that it was becoming bothersome. He had to figure out what spell the boy had cast on him to have Hyunjin like this. He sighed, getting up from his bed walking to the window. The night was truly beautiful. The forest was quiet except for the rustling of the trees, the moon illuminated everything and he could see so many stars in the sky. His attention was however quickly drawn to the only source of light in the yard. The stable still had warm, orange light coming from it. He saw a figure walk there, no doubt Felix who was taking care of the horses. Hyunjin's horse, May, was there as well. He chuckled to himself as he started wondering if she was behaving well; if she also greeted Felix when he showed up. He stood there, staring at the stable and the boy walking back and forth until finally he no longer came out and the light was put out. Just for a moment, Hyunjin forgot that he is a prince and simply let himself exist and feel the way he did. He however quickly composed himself, scoffing and going to bed. This was all Felix's fault.