After that whole situation, Seonghwa decided to take Hongjoong on a modified tour of Aurorialis. It wasn't all just bright and almost city-like; there were hidden places, there was a whole area of less than wealthy merpeople, but none were homeless.

"So, how many royal merpeople are there? And, who created them?" Hongjoong blinked.

"Well, merpeople are what we would call a fairly newer race, and have only existed the past, maybe, 5 millennia. As for who created them, it was Taemin. Taemin created the Sorcerer's, Merpeople, Goblins, Ogres, Humans and Giants, however Elves, Faeries and Pixies have their seperate God or Godess" Seonghwa explains.

Hongjoong nods, humming in acknowledgement, "so, do they have their own way of worshipping their God?"

"Yes, they do. It's a special event that brings this entire kingdom together at the turn of the year. They offer up three of the most attractive merpeople as a sacrifice, and they, of course, celebrate the lives of those three lives as well as celebrate the existence of Taemin" Seonghwa chuckled, "I've been lucky enough to see it once before, but unfortunately Taemin himself hadn't joined in for that one. He joins one at random. For a few years he won't, and then he'd suddenly appear in the middle of one"

"Does he even show his gratitude?" Hongjoong scoffed.

"He does in little ways. Once, he brought one of the sacrifices back to life. Another was Yeosang's mother being pregnant again, which is already so rare for mermaid's. It's why Yeosang's mother is the king's favourite wife" Seonghwa smiles softly, "oh, here we are"

The two stop at a massive mural to the left side of the entrance into Aurorialis. Hongjoong gaped at the design, but frowned when he realised something odd about it.

"It's unfinished" Hongjoong pouted.

"There are paint buckets over there, left there by the person who painted the mural. They died before they had the chance to finish it, and they hadn't gotten to paint Yeosang right there" Seonghwa pointed at the blank spot.

"So why'd you bring me to it?" Hongjoong asked, turning to look up at Seonghwa.

"Because it's far enough away from everyone" Seonghwa sighed, looking down at Hongjoong, "so we can perhaps be alone, and talk"

"R-right" Hongjoong gulps, "but, I'm going to take a wild guess and say you don't just want to talk"

"I just wanted to say that my feelings for you are true" Seonghwa fulls turns to him, and Hongjoong can see nervousness written all over the Prince's face, "it's a little daunting to be honest; I fell for you so quickly and I didn't know how else to go about it other than to be straightforward with you, but I only ended up scaring you away"

Hongjoong waited, to see if Seonghwa would say anything else. Upon realising that the Prince didn't want to say anything more than that, Hongjoong sighed.

"It's going to be difficult to leave here if we pursue this relationship, but I'm not gonna lie and say I don't like you as well" Hongjoong scratched the back of his head, "I won't say that I l-love you just yet; my feelings aren't that strong, but..."

"You do want to try, then?" Seonghwa muttered, swimming closer to Hongjoong, "can I kiss you?"

Hongjoong gulps, and he nods with his face as red as a tomato, "y-yeah, you can"

Seonghwa doesn't hesitate; there is no slow leaning in like in the movies Hongjoong has watched. It's a soft, sweet, slow kiss, and Hongjoong feels his previous fears melt away. Suddenly, Hongjoong is gripping onto Seonghwa's arms like his life depends on it, pulling the prince closer. Seonghwa doesn't exactly tower over him, but he's still just slightly taller, and Hongjoong feels all warm and fuzzy and happy.

'So this is what it feels like; to be loved in that way' Hongjoong thought to himself.

They don't know how long they were kissing, but they pulled back for air several times before going in again. It wasn't rushed, and Hongjoong could tell Seonghwa was being careful not to take things too far. After a while, Seonghwa pulls away for the final time, but leans in to place a gentle kiss on Hongjoong's cheek.

"I must warn you now" Seonghwa pulls back and grins, "I'm a bit of a romantic"

"That's fine by me" Hongjoong giggles, feeling like a lovestruck school girl.

'This is bad; I think I do love him. Oh God's help me...hey Taemin, Dad, if you're listening, please stop me' Hongjoong thought, only half meaning it.

He didn't think Taemin would hear that thought anyway, considering Taemin was a God that wouldn't be bothered by such things...

But Taemin did hear him, and to say he was furious would be an understatement. Of course, he wasn't angry at Hongjoong...

He was angry at Seonghwa

Uh oh...