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multifics99 · 9 months

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A King's Choice Pt.3

➳ King!Seokmin x fem!reader x RoyalAdvisor!Joshua

➳ tags: angst, fluff, royalty!au, love triangle, childhood friends to lovers

➳ pt 3 wc: 5.1K

It had now been a week since you had been back in the palace, you simply put the first night in the back of your mind and threw yourself into working. It was an awkward exchange with Seokmin, nothing either of you were prepared for. You hadn’t seen him since then, you only heard from him through his advisor, Joshua. You could feel your head starting to hurt just thinking about Joshua, he was so arrogant, you could never imagine why the royal family was so loyal to him. The past week you had gotten in a few spats with him, he liked telling you how to do your job, and you didn’t like being told what to do by him.

It was a particularly early morning, as you and Mingyu prepared things for the day when Joshua had found himself in the kitchen. Mingyu dropped everything and bowed to him, you pushed him back up by the shoulder. “He isn’t royalty, he’s simply their pet” You turned to Joshua, “what could be wanting right now at the crack of dawn?”

“Well as his pet I am fulfilling an order by the king.” You felt your face get hot at the direct mention of Seokmin.

“Oh” you replied. Joshua smirked, you hated his smug face.

“You and the apprentice here are being summoned to prepare and serve afternoon tea today.”

“We aren’t maids”

Joshua’s eyes darkened as he stepped closer to you. Mingyu hunched his shoulders, feeling the air become thick with tension. You could smell Joshua’s musk, a particularly expensive perfume, as he leaned down to become eye level with you. He was intimidating and you could feel yourself shrinking under his gaze. “You will be whatever the king asks you to be, you will be whatever I ask you to be” He took a moment to look you up and down, like a lion sizing up his prey “is that understood, Miss y/n?”

You felt your sense of strength break completely, you knew he was right, and he could see he had won today’s battle.

“2 pm” that was the last thing he said before taking his leave, he didn’t even look back as he closed the kitchen doors. Mingyu let out a breath, had he been holding it? “I think he scares me more than the king and I haven’t even seen the king since we came,” he said, his eyes then widening, “oh my gosh i’m going to see the king.” You just huffed as you got back to your work, and Mingyu followed suit without another word.

You went about the rest of your morning as your father and more staff came in for work. You and Mingyu did as you were told and prepared the food and platters for tea. Soon enough the time came and you had to start making your way to serve it, you took a few deep breaths to prepare, you knew you would be serving the same people who had taunted you in your childhood.

You stood in front of the doors to the drawing room now, behind would be multiple members of the court, and Seokmin. You knew you had to go inside but you could not bring yourself to ring the bell, the kitchen was your safe place, your old cabin was your safe place. This room held too much of your past that you would rather forget.

Mingyu could see your discomfort and reached behind you to ring the bell himself. As the door opened you took in a deep breath, of course though it was Joshua who had opened it. Where in this place would you not see him? You forced yourself to push the tea cart in though, Mingyu following behind you with a large platter in hand. Sitting at a small table in the middle of the room was Seokmin, and one of the men of the court who was accompanied by his wife. You recognized them both, the man was Jeonghan, he had been appointed one of Seokmin’s advisors, and his wife was just a girl whose family had connections and was around the palace often in her life. It seems her father struck a deal with Jeonghan’s.

You rolled the tea cart to them, and Joshua took his place at the empty seat next to Seokmin. You and Mingyu set down the teapot and all of its fixings. The small sandwiches and scones. You always wondered what they conversed about at this time. Politics? Music? Art? Was their conversation as nuanced as you imagined or was it simply gossip about the other people in their circles. Either way you always wanted to know. As you set down the last of the plates Jeonghan stared. “Y/n?” he said. Dammit you thought, you were hoping you would be ignored. “I thought that was you, y’know I nearly didn't recognize you,” good grief please don’t say anything more, “you’re a pretty thing now aren’t you” He would not take his eyes off you as he began to sip his tea. His attention caused everyone’s attention. His wife shot daggers at you with her eyes, Joshua shot daggers at Jeonghan with his, and Seokmin looked at you apologetically. Mingyu just kept his head down as he placed empty trays on the cart, he was probably afraid you would explode and get them fired on the spot. You knew though that it was safe to just opt for silence, you could not let your temper get the best of you here, unless you wanted trouble.

“Sir Jeonghan,” Joshua said, glancing between you and him, “you just got back from your honeymoon did you not?” Jeonghan shifted uncomfortably in his seat as his wife replied, “we did, it was lovely, he took me to his estate in the countryside.” Her face stayed blank though, probably still fuming over her husband’s comment. Joshua shot his signature smirk over to Jeonghan though as he raised his cup, “a small toast to the newlyweds then.” They all raised their cups and drank, Seokmin remained docile, not at all the demeanor one would assume from a king.

He only spoke to finally dismiss you and Mingyu, and as you two left you could only remember why you had become angry with Seokmin, he was a coward in front of his court. He only showed loyalty towards you in private that had always been the case, even now when he could say and do whatever he wanted, he still chose the easy way. Joshua being unafraid to say something in front of the king said all that you needed to know.

…

It was later in the early evening now, your day was done. Your father never allowed you to work past afternoon tea, he wanted you to have your free time. He would always say someone your age should be out mingling, you never did though. You spent your early evenings out in nature, the air was refreshing and the sounds of the birds and the creek relaxed you. So now that is what you did, you wandered back to the woods of your childhood home for a stroll. As you walked you passed the cabin, it was still intact, even though it was being used for extra barn storage. How many supplies did they need for those horses? You were still upset that you had been pushed out of that home but maybe it was best left as a memory, maybe living there would have been too painful.

You chuckled to yourself thinking again about what Joshua had said about you and Mingyu sharing living quarters. Inappropriate. Mingyu has entertained some maidens, but he’d begun to focus all his attention on the flower girl, and you’d never seen him that way. You wouldn’t even know what to do if a man approached you, you’d held hands with Seokmin as a child, and gave Joshua a peck in your early adolescence. That was the extent of your love affairs, you had never had anyone propose a courtship. You weren’t even sure if you wanted to get married, your father never pushed the idea on you, he didn't need money or status, and you had only ever met one person you thought you could love, and he was entirely unattainable.

As you meandered about on the walking trail in the woods, your head in the clouds you heard a clopping behind you. You turned to see none other than Seokmin on his horse taking a leisurely stroll himself. You prayed he wouldn’t try to speak to you, you had no interest after tea this afternoon. Unfortunately though as his horse approached he came to a halt by your side, there was no way to escape, it wasn’t like you could outrun a horse.

“What’s a lady doing all on her own in the woods?” he joked, you were in no mood for jokes.

“What’s a king doing all on his own without his posse?” Seokmin came down from his horse so that he was standing beside you. This is the closest he had stood next to you in years, that night in the kitchen it was dark and you were both standing some distance away, now he was right by your side. He was so tall now, the top of your head would probably only just reach his chin, he was broader too, you could only imagine how strong his shoulders would feel. You snapped yourself back into reality, you couldn't allow his looks to distract you.

“I apologize for Jeonghan this afternoon, I will have a word with him about the way we treat people in my palace.” You scoffed,

“Why bother? Joshua seemed to take care of him just fine for you.”

“Joshua has is own way of doing things”

“Joshua seems very unafraid of his king”

“His King” Seokmin said, choking on his words “does not want his people to fear him, I refuse to be my father.”

“I was under the impression your father was fair”

“He was but he also had a darkness to him, a side of himself that I don’t want to continue to live on through me” Seokmin held his gaze to the ground as he continued to walk with his horse on the path, you simply followed.

“He was tough then?” you asked, you knew the late king was strict but Seokmin never told you much beyond that.

“Uhm, yes you could say that.” he was smiling at you but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, he always tried to hide his sadness, he didn’t like his emotions to be a burden on others. You dropped your facade of anger completely, Seokmin was a strong person, but when it came to taking care of people he was filled with emotion. You still held grudges but right now it seemed he needed his old friend. You were willing to give him that. “I haven’t heard much about your mother since he passed,” You said, “How has she been?”

Still looking at his feet Seokmin replied, “She has certainly been better, and I can’t say I made it easy on her, when I decided to leave, it put a strain on our relationship, I mean I left a whole kingdom for her to deal with alone,” his words were starting to falter as his eyes welled with tears, “I am lucky I had Joshua then, he stayed by her side during those months and helped make decisions, I still feel like a coward though.” and that was it, the tears fell. His mask of happiness and ease that he always wore had fallen off. He turned away from you as if you couldn’t already see that he was crying. You lightly touched his shoulder and he turned back around, his ears red with embarrassment. “I apologize, this is very uncouth of me.”

You didn’t say anything though, you simply hugged him. He seemed to melt into your touch, his head leaned over to find a comfortable place on your shoulder. You stroked his hair as you allowed him to sob into you. You two stayed that way for a moment, the rest of the world seemed to fade away, this was something just for the two of you. Finally he quieted down and his breathing returned to normal. He pulled away from you and sniffled, “Thank you” he said.

“You know I didn’t want to talk to you when I arrived” you admitted “I am still holding onto grudges from the past.”

“I know” he replied “among all of the mistakes I've made so far, hurting you was one of my biggest, and I regret it everyday.” You just nodded as you kept walking the path with him, “I can’t say I was entirely fair to you back then either” you admitted “I think I was angry because I felt that in my time of need I didn’t have my best friend by my side.”

And your first love

But you couldn’t say that.

So you just walked and continued to talk to the King and remember the fun you two had when you were younger. You talked about when you were children. You teased him for embarrassing things he’d done, and he laughed along. You watched him as he did, he was undeniably beautiful. His skin glowed under the golden light of the sunset, the warm undertones of his dark hair shone through. What made him shine most of all though was his smile, it never failed to make you feel warm. He always lit up a room with that smile.

Neither of you realized how long you had been out until it was noticeably darker outside and the air had a slight chill. “Dammit” you muttered as you saw the sun was beginning to set, “I’m going to miss supper, my father is going to be worried” Seokmin gave his horse a pat, “I could take you back, it’s about time I get this old boy back to his stable anyways.” You nervously looked up at the horse, you’d never ridden one before and the creatures always made you nervous. You’d heard of people falling off and losing memories, or worse, getting stepped on. Seokmin could sense your hesitation, “It's okay” he said with a large grin, he then gently held your hand in his, your breath hitched at the gesture. He slowly lifted your hand towards the horse, “May I?” he asked, you were nervous but you wanted to trust him so you nodded your head yes. He put your hand on the horse’s neck and together you pet the large beast.

“Hmm” you said

“What is it?”

“Horses are much softer than I thought they would be.” Seokmin simply chuckled, the sound of his laugh, there was that smile again, making your heart feel so warm. “He’s very gentle I promise, may we escort you back now?” You nodded yes again, Seokmin mounted himself on his horse and then held out his hand to yours. As you grabbed his hand he instructed you on where to put your foot, once you seemed secure he began to pull you up. He managed to pull you all the way up, but before you could begin to mount yourself, your hand slipped out of his and you stumbled back a bit. With his free hand Seokmin grabbed you by the waist and then hugged you to him. Your face was inches from his now, you could feel his breath on your cheek. Your heart pounded, you told yourself it was just the shock of almost falling. Seokmin simply stared at you until suddenly his eyes grew wide and a pink tinge colored his cheeks. He helped you mount the rest of the way until you were comfortably sitting behind him.

“You uhm” he finally said “you have to…p-put your arms around me…so you don't fall off.” You did as he said and you felt him become tense as you wrapped your arms around his waist.

As you two rode Seokmin seemed to relax a bit and eventually it was a leisurely ride back to the palace. For the first time in a few years you felt calm, you would have never expected that you would feel that way around Seokmin again. You decided to put that to the back of your mind and allowed yourself to simply be. After some time you two finally made it back before dark, you suspected supper was just about to start so hopefully you would find your father before he began to worry.

“Thank you for the ride” You said to Seokmin after he put the horse back in the stables. “Of course, you are the last person I would allow to wander about the woods in the dark” You cocked a brow at him, “Oh really? Because I recall you daring me to spend five minutes alone in the woods at night when we were children.” Seokmin dramatically placed his hand over his heart as he sighed, “And I worried about you the whole time.”

The two of you chuckled and reminisced more about how you had played together as children. In the corner of your eye though you noticed two stable hands pass by as they whispered together, and that was when you remembered what Joshua had told you about Seokmin inviting multiple women to his bed. You realized then that if you were seen with him like this, people would gossip. Feeling self conscious you took a step back, “I should go to my father now and have supper.” you mumbled, as you began to walk away he followed after you. “May I escort you in?” He suggested. “No” you said as you kept walking, you know he tried to follow you but you did not turn around, you left him without another word and eventually he just stayed behind. You felt foolish for thinking things could be as they were before, that you could ever have a calm moment alone with him. Of course you couldn’t, if you tried people would call you all sorts of things, and not only would that reflect on you but your father.

You stayed deep in your thoughts as you walked through the corridors that you didn’t even notice anyone was walking towards you until you had bumped into something. You looked up to see Joshua in front of you, you had run right into his chest. How is it even possible for his body to be that hard? You just shook your head, not having any energy to argue with him today you gave a silent apology and tried to continue along until you heard him call your name.

“Y/N”

His voice sent a chill down your spine. You slowly turned around, “What?” You were in no mood to be polite. “Well you look glum for a girl who was just getting private riding lessons from the King,” he snarkily replied. “Who on earth told you that?” you had not even gotten off that horse ten minutes ago and already there was a rumor. “Oh please y/n, I know everything.” you just rolled your eyes, “Well i'm afraid to tell you that you have it all wrong, Seokmin happened across me while I was on a stroll and he simply helped me get back before it became dark, I think everyone here needs to mind their business.” You turned around to continue walking but you could hear Joshua’s footsteps behind you,

“Joshua please just leave me alone.”

“Y/n I promise I'm just concerned, I’m really not trying to aggravate you this time.”

“Ahh so you admit you aggravate me on purpose.”

Joshua smirked, “Only a little.”

“Idiot.”

“Snarky as always,” he chuckled.

“Well no need to worry” you said “I promise I don’t wish to ruin the King’s reputation by being seen with him.” Joshua shook his head, “The King’s reputation? No he is fine, honestly he would be wholly unaffected by any implications that he’s taken you as a kept woman.” He cringed at the idea “No I am worried about you I would not want to see your reputation sullied by such rumors.”

“Why do you suddenly worry so much about me?” You asked “You made sure I did not share a roof with Mingyu, you got Jeonghan to let me be at tea, and now this.” Joshua averted his gaze, “It is my job to keep all the staff in line.” You giggled “Well if keeping me in line is what you’re trying to do it is not working, in fact you encourage my bickering with you.”

“Well then let’s call it looking out for a friend“

“Your definition of a friend seems skewed.” you replied as you shook your head.

“Have we not been friends all our lives y/n?” Joshua asked, and you couldn't help but begin to laugh, “Joshua, please, you were perhaps my biggest bully then, you always teased Seokmin for playing with me and made fun of my clothes.” Joshua smiled to himself, as if it was a fond memory for him. “What on earth are you smiling about?” He was honestly beginning to look like a fool with how wide he was grinning.

“I think back then,” Joshua said “I was simply jealous of how close Seokmin was to a girl.” You clasped a hand over your mouth to keep from loudly cackling, you would never have guessed Joshua had a passing fancy with you. “It’s alright though” he continued “because eventually I got to kiss you.”

You snorted, “Seokmin never even noticed, I felt so silly.”

“Did you want him to?”

“Of course I did.” You then noticed Joshua’s face fell a bit solemn, “Well” you continued “I'm not sure it was really a secret that I had an infatuation with him as a child, so of course I was hoping kissing you then would make him a bit envious.” He just nodded, you couldn’t distinguish his thoughts, and the silence was becoming uncomfortable. “I should hurry to my father now, he must be worried I'm late.” and before either of you could utter another word you hurried away, the air around Joshua had become off. You were unsure of what had happened just then but you hoped it would not happen again.

As you and your father had supper that night in the server’s dining quarters you were silent, the entire day had been strange and eventful and you wanted to explain none of it to him, you didn’t want him to worry about you anymore. Your father had spent the better part of five years worrying about you. “So how was your day? I did not get to see much of you.” Your father asked as he placed some potatoes on your plate. You plastered on a fake smile as you told him your day was fine. “It was rather uneventful honestly.” Father seemed unconvinced though,

“Really? Because one of my cooks overheard you being seen riding on a horse with the King.”

“Where is Mingyu?” You asked to distract him. “Don't worry, I think it’s nice, I recall you being close with Seokmin as a child.” You didn’t look at him though as you cut your pork into bite size pieces, “He just found me while I was on a walk and helped me get back before dark.” You stabbed your meat with your fork and shoved it into your mouth, praying the topic would be changed soon. “Well” father sighed “it is good to know he’s stayed kind through his struggles.”

“So where is Mingyu?” you asked again. “Oh he went into town, I needed him to do some shopping, we were low on flour, sugar, you know the essentials.” He scrunched his eyebrows as he spoke, “though I do wonder why he’s not back yet.” You held back an amused smile, knowing full well Mingyu had stopped to see the girl at the florists. “I am sure Mingyu is on his way back now, you know how social he is, probably got caught up in a conversation along the way.”

“I suppose so” your father mumbled, as he chewed he looked deep in thought, and once he finished he asked, “What do you think of Mingyu?” You looked back suspiciously as you set down the glass of water you were about to sip, “Aggravating” you replied “but like a brother, he’s a good friend to me.”

“Ah I see, I was wondering since you two spend so much time together…” You knew what your father was getting at now, though he was trying to be subtle about it. “I do not wish to marry him, father, or any man for that matter.” You stated matter of factly. Father seemed a bit exacerbated, “I just worry about you-” but you cut him off. “And I will be just fine in the future, you’ve already stated that your assets will be mine. I have no reason for a husband.”

“But what about companionship?” Your father asked sadly. You had no idea what else to say so you decided to just escape. “You know what I am full, thank you for supper.” You cleaned your place at the table and left off to your private quarters. You hated seeing your father so upset like that but he would just never understand.

The rest of your evening was spent shedding tears in your room. You were sad because your father was sad, you were sad because you knew the reason you refused to seek out marriage was entirely ridiculous. It wasn’t something you could help though, you had unintentionally built a wall around your heart. Companionship with anyone felt impossible…if they weren’t Seokmin. You shoved your face in your pillow and groaned at your own childish mind set. How could you still have feelings for him after all this time, you kept telling yourself it was a silly childhood infatuation. He would never choose you regardless of whether he was the prince or king or what have you and not just because he was royalty but because he was now an experienced man. He must have met tons of women on his year long travels, no doubt most of them were rich, suitable candidates for marriage. Those women were fit to become his wife, not you.

After hours of tossing and turning you finally managed to get some sleep. It wasn’t enough though and you woke up not feeling the slightest bit rested. You forced yourself out of bed and groggily walked over to your makeshift vanity, which was just a small table and a mirror. You looked absolutely horrendous from the lack of sleep, at least your messy hair could be brushed but there would be no helping the dark circles that had appeared overnight. You put on your uniform for the day and combed through the tangles in your hair before putting it into a braid. You decided washing your face today might be a good idea to try and look somewhat freshened up. The water pump was down in the basement though and the thought of walking there in the moment was daunting. If you wanted water though you supposed it was necessary. You walked out into the hall with your bowl, as you walked down the stairs you passed Mingyu whom you haven’t seen all night. He stopped to say hello but his face dropped when he noticed how tired you looked. “Sleep okay?” He asked hesitantly. “Just some nightmares, I snuck some dessert too late at night.” You tried to sound nonchalant, you didn’t need anyone being concerned. He simply nodded, “I suppose I’ll see you for work then.” You nodded in response and kept walking with your bowl to fetch your water.

…

You felt a bit better after washing your face, the dark circles of course didn’t leave but at least you felt like you had rinsed some of the sleep off. You went off to work and had a very typical morning of preparing breakfasts and scolding Mingyu for sneaking bacon off some plates. Getting into your normal routine was comforting and working kept your mind from wandering too far. You made a point to seem lively and joke around with everyone in front of your father so he would forget about your behavior the night before. He seemed content enough and didn’t mention any of the conversation you’d had. Once the breakfast preparation was over and all plates had been handed off to maids and butlers the staff dispersed to have a short break before needing to prepare for afternoon tea.

You moved yourself to a small garden located outside of a servant’s door for your break. Being outdoors on a sunny day was always refreshing, and this garden had some berries growing that you wanted to check on, if the strawberries were ripe you wanted to use them in a tart for tea time. As you checked on some of the produce you noticed Mingyu approaching you from the corner of your eye. “Can I help you or have you come to disturb my peace?”

“Bright and cheery as per usual.” You could feel his sarcasm hit you,

“I just wanted some fresh air.” Mingyu assumed a comfortable position on a bench in the garden which looked a bit funny as he was so tall and the bench was so low to the ground. With his knees so high one might think he was squatting. “Hey” he continued “do you think we will have to serve tea again? Because honestly that was an awkward exchange, and I’m not really sure how I feel about that Lord Jeonghan.” Mingyu cringed thinking about the events from yesterday.

“I don’t think so” you said “something tells me the king won’t have it happen again” “more like Joshua” Mingyu chuckled “he truly commanded that situation.” “Seokmin is just…he’s not all there right now…” you sighed.

Mingyu gave you a bit of a side glance, “y/n please he stayed completely silent while Lord Jerkhead made you and his wife uncomfortable” he tsked “not at all a way to treat ladies.” You giggled as you plucked a reddish looking strawberry to inspect it, “oh am I a lady now.”

“Well to the general public at least, I know you’re an absolute troll though don’t worry.” You spun around and chucked the strawberry at his head. “Hey that’s fresh food!” he exclaimed. “Don’t cross me and I won’t waste these berries any further.” You smiled a bit as you went to share the bench with him. “Thanks for being my friend Mingyu.” You said quietly. “Thanks for being mine.” He said. You both sat silently, content with each other’s company. A moment later Mingyu checked his pocket watch and stood from the bench, “Unfortunately break is over.” He said as he stretched himself out. You sighed as you stood up as well, “I don’t even get to make my strawberry tart” you tsked, “I threw the only good one at you.”

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