Everyone is busy at the manor; some maids were in his room to help dress and prepare him for the banquet and others were dashing back and forth between rooms to get the makeup and other supplies that they needed. He didn't know exactly what products they applied to his face and body, nor did he know how they were able to stack so many of them on his skin, but he didn't say anything, trusting them to know what they were doing.
"Add more blush here."
"Right!"
"Bring me some lotion!"
"Which accessories do we need?"
Busy hands found themselves' all over his body, from his face down to his feet, all of them working with the exact aame precision. However, this was all his fault to begin with since he accidentally let it slip to his mother that he was going to the banquet with Joonghyuk. Right after that Persephone ordered the maids to make him the most attractive man at the banquet.
"Young Master, it's time to put your clothes on," one of the maids told him. He stood up and let the maids do the work, closing his eyes. While he tried insisting on bathing and dressing himself, the maids were quick to push back against the notion, looking scandalized as they all ganged up on him to say that they'd do a better job to prepare him for the crown prince's date.
In the back of his mind, Dokja lamented that the royal family was adamant about holding their banquets at night. He was sleepy and constantly had to hold back his yawns as the maids worked on him. Having tucked the kids into bed earlier, he really wished he could go to sleep too. "Young Master, it's done." Dokja opened his eyes and observed himself in the mirror.
He donned a three-piece suit, the outside coat an elegant gothic style with a silver trim, long enough to sweep against the floor. His entire outfit, the suit, pants, shoes and gloves, was white. No one would notice, but Dokja especially favored the detailing on the inside of the coat. The cloth was an ethereal dark blue and embedded with small white crystals, mimicking the night sky. As he turned to face the mirror, he touched the thin crystal headband in his hair.
"Do you like it, Young Master?" the maids enquired.
He nodded without looking at her, "It'll do."
When the door finally opened, he saw the duchess approaching him with a smile that shined brighter with every second she took in his outfit. "You look beautiful, my dear." she remarked as she placed her palm on his cheek.
"Thank you, mother," his lips lifted into an embarrassed smile.
"I'm sure that bastard won't even think to cast his eyes off you", the duchess murmured as she stroked his cheek.
"What?"
A butler came through the door and bowed at them, "Your Grace, His Highness has arrived for Master Dokja."
The duchess nodded and placed her hand on his wrist, guiding him from the room, "Let's go, lest we make His Highness wait any longer."
They walked together, arriving at the staircase leading down to the main entrance when they heard the duke's voice faintly echoing off the walls.
"… and I swear on this ducal, if you even think about touching my son again, I'll…"
Persephone loudly cleared her throat to announce their arrival, making both Hades and Yoo Joonghyuk (who hadn't been listening to a word the other man was saying and just stared blankly ahead) crane their necks up to look at the to. For a moment, Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk locked eyes with each other, before the duchess gently pressed her hands against his back, urging Dokja to walk down the stairway.
Nodding at her in goodbye, Dokja slowly made his way down, each step becoming more confident as he straightened himself up. The entire way down he could feel the prince's eyes burning onto him.
Arriving at the foot of the stairs where the two men awaited him, he bowed in greeting at Yoo Joonghyuk, taking a moment to observe his outfit.
He was also wearing a three-piece suit that matched Dokja's, but his was entirely black with the exception of some subtle golden linings along the seams. Pinned to his outer jacket was a small insignia representing the royal palace, and like always the prince made sure to have his sword around his waist, never wanting to part from it.
"My son," Hades called from beside him.
Lightly jolting in place, realizing his gaze lingered for longer than he'd intended it to, Dokja looked over to his father, who was taking in his outfit with a soft gaze.
"That outfit looks nice on you," he said, "Be sure to enjoy yourself at the banquet, and stay safe," Hades made sure to put a little more emphasis than necessary on the last point. Nevertheless, Dokja nodded to him.
"Thank you father, and don't worry, I will," Dokja earnestly promised.
Nodding back at his son, Hades walked behind him and placed two firm hands on his shoulders as he started to sternly address Yoo Joonghyuk again.
"I expect my son to return home right after the banquet concludes, and not even a scratch shall be found on his body.If anything happens at the banquet, you must be willing to lay your life down to protect him. You will accompany Dokja at all times and don't even think about laying your eyes on anyone else—"
"Ah hah hah, you're so overprotective, father! I think we should start going now, before we're late to the banquet!" Dokja tried interjecting Hades, noticing that the stare between the two of them was rapidly becoming more vicious as the duke talked on.
"Your son is right, we need to leave now, Duke Hades," Yoo Joonghyuk smugly remarked as he returned the duke's glare. The prince went to hold Dokja's hand in his own. The stony grip on his shoulders tightened as Hades reeled in his anger.
"…right, of course, have fun you two," Hades remarked, though he made no move to let go of Kim Dokja's shoulders. Though Dokja tried to make his father let go by giving him a pleading look over his shoulder, he remained as unmoving as a statue. Dokja sighed, already tired of tonight.
With a bit of help from Yoo Joonghyuk, Dokja was able to wrestle himself from his father's ironclad grip, waving away at the man as he stared at his son with a forlorn expression, as if that was the last time he'd ever see him.
Hand-in-hand, they walked out the manor, and parked at the front was an extravagant carriage more luxurious than Dokja had ever seen before. While the carriages that the Underworld Ducal were pristine, they held practicality and safety at a higher priority than design. The one before him was marble white, its surface shining immaculately in the moonlight. It was complimented with intricate golden detail that shone just as brightly. It seemed more like a work of fine art than a vehicle. Somehow the thought of sitting inside of it felt like a crime to Dokja.
Dokja was about to make his way towards the carriage before Joonghyuk gently pulled his arm back to stop him. "Wait, Kim Dokja," he turned to face the prince, an inquisitive expression on his face, "You're forgetting something."
"Eh?" Dokja patted down his clothes, thinking maybe he'd forgotten to put on a piece of his outfit. His maids had dressed him themselves; he doesn't think that they'd forget anything important. Not able to come up with anything else, he turned back to the prince. "What do you mean, I'm pretty sure I have everything I need..."
With no elaboration, Joonghyuk reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar silver necklace, the gem on the pendant twinkling delicately as it swung back and forth. As he stepped to clasp the piece of jewelry around Dokja's neck, Dokja could only freeze, astonished.
He looked up at the prince, the two now huddled close together, "Your Highness, this necklace… isn't it precious to you? Why are you giving it to me?"
Yoo Joonghyuk remained silent, opting instead to stare at the way the necklace complimented Dokja's delicate collar, running his fingers reverently along the chain , his gaze impossible tender. "… It looks good on you…" he whispered out, as if the air between the two would shatter if he spoke any louder.
The fragile atmosphere around them was seemingly broken when Joonghyuk looked up to see Dokja's bewildered stare, his eyes wide. Coming to his senses, the prince retracted his hand as if he were burned and took a step back, coughing into his fist.
"Ah, it was Yoo Mia's, but she's scared she'll lose it again. It'd look out of place on me, and it isn't safe to have it laying around…" Yoo Joonghyuk trailed off awkwardly as he tried to explain himself. Realizing he was starting to ramble, he cut himself and sighed. "Pretty things belong together, that's all…"he muttered out. Hearing that, a light dusting of pink overtook Dokja's face, the man speechless on how exactly to respond to that.
"O-oh, right, I'll take care of it, thanks," was all Dokja could come with in the thoroughly empty brain of his as he could feel warmth radiating off his cheeks. He comforted himself with the fact that the prince was in no state to mock him over it. Despite his face being as emotionless and stony as ever, the tips of his ears were red as he jerked his head into a nod.
Not wanting to stand still for imminent deafening silence that was sure to overcome the two, the prince offered out a hand to help Dokja into the carriage, which he took with no complaints, avoiding looking at the other man.
As soon as they boarded the carriage, Joonghyuk gave the coachman the go-ahead to start traveling. The carriage then started to move, eventually speeding up to a brisk pace. The wheels didn't even let out any creaks or groans as they turned, diligently doing their jobs without a sound. Of course, the inside of the carriage was just as ornate as the outside. The seats were plush and lined with fine white silk, while both sides of the carriage had three small glass windows to peer out of. One window was on the door while the two others were on the walls on either side of the door.
The two were seated on opposite sides of the carriage. As they rode along, they were able to regain their composure, the silence between them turning amicable once more. Joonghyuk sat with his back as straight as an arrow and his eyes closed, perhaps preparing himself mentally to bear a whole evening of pretentious nobles and having to deal with his stepmother and father. Dokja leaned against the side of the carriage and stared out the window, watching the scenery pass by, and his hand unconscious went up to fiddle with his necklace.
It was Dokja who broke the silence first," Your Highness," he called out in a firm voice. Joonghyuk opened his eyes, glancing over at the man, " The preparations we've made, are they ready?"
"Of course they are, they'll make their appearance as soon as we need them to," his lips twitched upwards, " with you as my date, we'll be side by side to witness the spectacle in person."
Dokja crossed his legs, primly placing his hands in his lap.
"Perfect."
-----
The carriage slowly came to a stop, with the coachman calling out that they'd arrived at the castle. Unlike the previous times that Dokja had attended royal banquets, he and Yoo Joonghyuk would be entering through the back entrance reserved for the royal family, rather than rolling through the main entrance with all the other nobles.
Joonghyuk was the first to exit the carriage, and just like before extended his hand to help Dokja exit the carriage.Though this time, after Dokja stepped off the platform, Joonghyuk didn't bother letting go of his hand.
Then, as they entered the palace together, Dokja started looking all over the manor, curious since he'd never been to this part of the castle before. Honestly, as grand as it was, it was much of the same opulence as he'd seen throughout the castle in the prior banquets, the manor filled white marble and complimentary gold and silver lining along the floors and pillars that blended together nicely.
Eventually, the two of them arrived at the balcony that overlooked the banquet hall. Dokja looked over the railing to see the guests making their way into the room. It was strange looking down on them like this, knowing that normally he'd be walking in just like the rest of them. It was like being on the other side of a double-sided mirror. None of the nobles even noticed them, too busy mingling amongst themselves.
He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt something suddenly wrapping around his waist. Glancing down, he saw that it was Joonghyuk's arm. He looked at the man, his eyebrow lifting questioningly.
"You're my date, it's normal," Joonghyuk insisted while scowling at him.
Dokja gave him a blank stare before nodding and turning his attention back to the banquet hall. "Right," he murmured.
----
"His Royal Highness, the crown prince of the Seoul Empire, and The Young Master of Underworld Duchy, Sir Kim Dokja, are making their entry!"
Everyone turned to look at them as they entered, Dokja clinging to Joonghyuk's arm as they walked down the stairs together. The two had been what everyone had been whispering to each other about the other night, speculating on if the prince would bring Dokja as his date, or if the two would try to hide their relationship with each other. As soon as the nobles set their sights on the two men making their way down, their hushed gossip turned into full on chaos as the room was lit abuzz with gasps and exclamations.
"Is this really what I'm seeing?"
"I find this unbelievable."
"I guess Sir Dokja was telling the truth after all."
"Pinch me please."
While the whispering continued, everyone couldn't help but stare in awe at the powerful image the prince and young master made as they walked down. They exuded nothing but poise and authority, as if they were the true rulers there.
One command from either of them and everyone in the room would drop to their knees. They both finally reached the ground floor, going over to the emperor and empress.
Dokja bowed down to them, "I, Kim Dokja of the Underworld Duchy, greet His Majesty, the Emperor. It is an honor to be in front of the shining star of the Seoul Empire," he made sure to pour on the flattery thick. Beside him Yoo Joonghyuk just stood there, not bothering with formalities, and looked off to the side with a bored expression.
The emperor grinned a little and remarked, "Ah, the Kim Dokja that my son has had a passionate relationship and rivalry with, I'm assuming."
"Yes, Your Majesty. It's quite embarrassing to have such a reputation, " he affirmed in a measured tone.
"Well looking at the two of you tonight I can certainly see why my son fell for you," the Emperor chuckled out, eyeing him up and down.
Dokja held his check and tilted his face to the side, looking bashful, "Your Majesty, please don't flatter me," he coyly pleaded.
The Emperor let out a hearty laugh, "Yes, yes, my apologies Sir Dokja. Please go on and enjoy the banquet."
He nodded eagerly, "Of course I will, Your Majesty."
He bowed and hooked his arm through the one that Joonghyuk had offered him. As they were on their way to their respective seats, a servant nervously approached them, her legs trembling.
"Sir D-D-Dokja.....Y-your H-highness..." she could barely stutter out her words, and was too scared to look at either of their faces. She bowed low, "I'm extremely sorry on the behalf of the planning committee, but to our error, there was a blunder on our end...I'm afraid there isn't one available for Sir Dokja."
Since Dokja was accompanying the prince as his date, there should've been a space cleared to accommodate him at the table reserved for the royal family at the front. For such an oversite to have happened was a monumental lack of foresight.
The onlookers around the room recognized this fact, and watched on in curiosity about how the prince and young heir would react. From where he had already sat down, the Emperor cast a perplexed glance at his wife, " My dear, how could this have happened? Weren't you in charge of the guest list?"
The queen turned to face him, looking regretful, "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. It's my negligence for not checking it carefully, Your Majesty. I've been so stressed out lately that I forgot about it." Her tone was overflowing with a remorse that never reached her eyes.
She looked at Joonghyuk and Dokja, embarrassed, a hand on her cheek and her face twisted in worry, "What should we do this…" she asked. Scanning around the room, the empress's eyes widened as she spotted something. She pointed to a vacant seat in the room, "There's an empty seat over there, perfect for you Sir Dokja!" Everyone was astonished as they turned to look at the seat that the empress had indicated; it was a rickety old chair in the corner of the room, used by servants when they had no one to attend to.
"Did Her Majesty really just..."
"Oh my..."
The emperor stared at his wife in disbelief, exclaiming that they could never give such a seat to one of their most important guests. All the while, the guests around them chattered like monkeys, soaking up the drama.
The queen tried calming down her husband, "I know Your Majesty, but we can't just let Sir Dokja stand there all night. He'll be seated next to the buffet, and since he's by the window he'll have a fantastic view of the fountain outside!" The queen tried to justify herself, but they were surface level assurances. Anyone could see past the farce she was putting up, but no one dared speak against the woman in her own domain. No one wanted their tongues sliced off for something as trivial as a seat.
"It's the only seat left, please don't think much about it…" she cooed out to the emperor. To the side Dokja just sighed, he didn't know why he didn't expect the queen to pull something like this. He supposed he was so wrapped up in her vendetta against her stepson that he didn't think he'd be targeted. Though, he did have to admit he was impressed, he didn't think anyone would match his aunt and uncle for the award for "The Most Passive-Aggressive Asshole in my Life"
"I'm so sorry about this, Sir Dokja, we don't have a choice..." her voice was dripping with pity as she sent a commiserating glance his way.
Dokja sighed and turned to face the queen, "Your Majesty—," but he was interrupted.
"Looks like the queen is suffering from early memory loss, how sad." Beside him, Joonghyuk was looking down at his stepmother with a stone cold glower.
"Excuse me?" The empress gasped out, appalled by his words.
"Kim Dokja is accompanying me tonight, why would I allow him to sit in such a place?" Joonghyuk bulldozed straight through her shocked sputtering, ignoring her completely. "To insult him like this, do you oppose us being together?" But then, with a sly upturn of his lips, he added, "Or do you perhaps have something against the Underworld duchy itself?"
His stepmother flinched at the last comment, but still tried her utmost to deny his words, saying, "Of course not, why would I do such a thing?! I'm just trying to propose what's best for Sir Dokja in this predicament—!"
"Hmmm? There are a lot of guests here, aren't there," he gave the guests a menacing side-eye, "Oi, one of you, give up your seat."
All the nobles suddenly found themselves under the unbearable weight of Joonghyuk's stony stare. All at once, a flinch ran through the crowd, and they all tried avoiding his eyes. All of them looked around, trying to see who was weak-willed enough to give up their seat. No one wanted to be the unlucky guest to sit in the corner seat, it was a matter of pride and public image, after all.
Not sure it was the best idea to directly oppose the queen in front of all the guests, and frankly tired how drawn out the whole commotion over seating of all things was getting, Dokja grabbed the prince's arm, "Joonghyuk~ah, it's really fine, I don't mind sitting there."
Unlike the rest of these nobles, Dokja's upbringing had taught him thoroughly that the way strangers viewed him didn't matter in the least. No matter what he did in this moment, they'd all default back to gossip and rumors to judge his character. Whatever sitting in a silly chair symbolized, he didn't care.
Unfortunately, Joonghyuk and him didn't see eye to eye about the matter.He was met with a scowl by Joonghyuk, who responded, "No, I won't let you sit there."
"It's really ok," Dokja sighed out. They both stared hard at each other, going back and forth with their eyes as both men silently insisted on getting their way.
Still frowning at him and refusing to let him sit there, Joonghyuk appeared to have an idea as he glanced around, "Well, if all of you are going to be like this, I guess there's only one option left…" he stated ominously as the perplexed emperor and queen watched on.
Without explaining further, Joonghyuk grabbed Dokja's hand and led the heir to the seat reserved for him, sitting down and dragging Dokja into his lap, unwittingly making them bear witness to the sea of astonished stares. The whole room gaped at the two.
Not expecting the prince to do something outrageous, Dokja whipped his head to the prince, just as astonished as the guests. While he had said he wanted front row seats to what they planned for the night, he didn't mean it like this!
"Joonghyuk this is—!"
"There, Your Majesty, this way everyone is satisfied, no?" Joonghyuk spoke over him, glancing smugly at the queen.
She turned to her husband, outraged at the development, "Your Majesty, this is unacceptable behavior from your son! This banquet is supposed to be one of utmost class and etiquette!"
To everyone's surprise, the emperor barked out a loud laugh, thoroughly amused with Joonghyuk's actions, " Haaa, oh how it is to be young and in love…" he said fondly, looking like he was reminiscing about something.
"Your Majesty!?" the queen uttered out, with wide-open eyes of disbelief.
He turned to her, putting a placating hand on hers "My wife, it's only a seat, and it's not Sir Dokja's fault for the mistake of the seating arrangements. Why not let them enjoy their young love while they can," he ended. Rather than allowing the arrangement to help settle the matter, it looked like he was only allowing it since the whole situation entertained him thoroughly.
The crowd looked on at the two men. From his seat, the crown prince radiated the same commanding aura he always did, his face as unyielding as a cliff, composed even as he casually held another man in his lap. As for Sir Dokja, the nobles could clearly see that he was flustered, redness creeping up his neck and cheek as he muttered undecipherable words to the prince.
Yet, the Underworld heir still held a certain air of grace. His lithe body was poised, his hands resting properly in his lap. The way he sat; it was as if Joonghyuk was his personal throne. For some reason everyone couldn't help but agree that it looked natural, like it was meant to be.