Destined [JIKOOK]

The Princes of Busan

Jimin

"You really should be mingling right now, son.  How will you find your future bride at this ball if you don't at least talk to the girls?"

I held back the urge to roll my eyes at my father.  I didn't want a bride.  I didn't want a girl.  I kept quiet, regardless and heard him out.

"Besides, you might run into the Prince of West Busan and get the chance to meet him before the state's dinner tomorrow night."

Here I did scoff.  "Father, I sincerely don't want to meet the Prince of West Busan.  I've heard no good of him whatsoever.  Only that he is a beastly, wild man with no class or regard for other's feelings or opinions.  He has no decorum and does not act in the proper etiquette befitting a prince."

My father chuckled and patted my back.  "You judge him so soon?  Before you've even met him?  Go.  Go now.  Mingle and meet the people before you make an old man wet himself with laughter."

I grinned fondly at my father, but nodded slightly and stood from my gold gilded throne at his side to follow his request.  Stepping through the throngs of people, I stiffened my resolve to be polite and charming despite the fact that I had no desire to be flocked by these girls giggling at my presence.

"Prince Jimin, you look delightfully handsome this evening."

"Oh yes!  He's so refined and delicate!"

"You absolutely must dance with me, Prince Jimin!"

"No!  He must dance with me!"

"No, me!"

"I spoke with him first!"

"Well, I asked for a dance first!"

Trying to hide the annoyance I held at the overwhelming situation I'd unintentionally created, I held up my hands, bowing my head to each lady in turn. 

"Ladies, please.  I merely moved to step outside for some fresh air, but perhaps once I have returned I can dance with you all," I placated, knowing full and well I would not return to the ballroom until after the dancing was complete.  I made my way past them and turned to tack on, "alone," once I discovered they'd attempted to follow me.

If only a group of handsome men would surround me begging for a dance the way the ladies had.  Perhaps fate had other intentions though.

Jungkook

This was unbearable.

The ballroom was suffocating.  My collar too tight.  The women too desperate for a dance or the tiniest attention from a prince they didn't know was uninterested in their sex.  The insistence of my overbearing father to at least try to find a partner.

It wasn't that I didn't want one.  It was simply that I didn't want what he thought I wanted.  I had no idea how he'd take that news, either.

Slinking through the shadows and behind curtains, I escaped onto the darkness of the terrace overlooking the gardens.  I let out a relieved whoosh of air and turned only to find a smaller, well dressed man leaned against the ornate stone railing.

I inched closer, attempting to make myself known softly so as to not startle him.  "Hi.  Sorry to interrupt your alone time, but do you mind if I share this balcony with you for a while?"

He jumped a little before turning with wide eyes to find the intrusion.  I heard myself audibly gasp as his face came into view by the moonlight.  He was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen in my life.  I'd been privileged to meet thousands of men from all over the world as a benefit of my princely duties, but no one had ever come close to this man's beauty.

I watched in awe as he silently surveyed me as well, seeming a bit bewildered.  "I...I don't mind."

His voice was not entirely deep, but did not hold the high pitched quality of a woman's voice.  It was sultry and sweet and I was completely entranced by it.  I wasn't sure how I'd managed it, but I willed my feet to make their way to his side.  We leaned against the rail as my heart thumped too loud and too hard inside my chest.  I tried to keep my breathing calm and it took all my willpower not to reach out and touch his golden, high cheekbone.

We stood in silence looking out over the gardens in the moon's glow for a few minutes before I gathered the courage to speak. 

"It's a lovely ball, don't you think?" I chastised myself for how foolish I sounded.  I might as well have said 'nice night, aye?'

He smiled politely and nodded, "I agree."

Awkwardly, we both looked away before turning to speak at the same time.

"Would you like to dance?"

"I should head inside I guess."

"Oh," I replied, a bit dejected.

"I could...I could dance first, though.  If you'd like to," he said as he fidgeted with his fingers.

"I'd love to dance with you," I agreed with a wide grin.

He smiled wide until his eyes curved into crescents and I felt the air leave my lungs as my heart melted.  Gently, carefully, I took his waist with one hand and intertwined our fingers with the other.  He rested his free hand on my ribs and it felt like electricity shot all the way through to my heart.

The soft violin music drifted onto the terrace from the ballroom as I lead the both of us in elegant spins, twirls, and dips.  We inched closer and closer organically as we moved together until his chest was pressed against my own.  Our noses were inches from each other once he'd wrapped his arms around my neck.  I held his waist tightly, pulling him impossibly closer as I looked into his beautiful brown eyes.  Something flickered in them just before he noticeably glanced down at my lips. I took that as an invitation and slowly dipped them closer to his. 

"Would it be alright if I kiss you?"

He sighed a breathless, "Yes," and I connected our lips in a tender kiss.

I woke the next morning in a bed that was not my own, granted to me in a castle in a kindgdom I did not belong to with memories of the stranger's lips still lingering on my own.  I wish I had gotten the beautiful man's name.  I wish I'd had some way to find him again.  He'd not even left a shoe, as the girl in the silly fairytale had.  All I could hope for was that I would find a way to see the mystery man again one day if destiny would be so kind to me.