Namjoon should have been overjoyed. He's been seeing Lady Sarang a lot lately.

Except he was far from content.

As she smiled at his Prince, her smile, which once made him feel butterflies in his stomach like a teenager in love, now made his heart squeeze in pain.

Her bright eyes, which used to make him feel like his life was complete, now made him wish he could be blind as she gazed lovingly at his prince.

He would just stand there, staring at nothing in particular, and listen as the two people he loved the most in the world conversed for hours on end, too preoccupied with one another to notice he was there in the first place. His gaze would wander to her from time to time, torturing him a little more each time.

There were some days where he found himself wishing he could be the Prince for a day or even just an hour.

Lady Sarang spoke to him a few times, remarking on how different he was from the little boy with whom she used to argue.

He despised himself for being unable to control his emotions. He despised himself for still feeling on top of the world whenever she even glanced his way.

The Crown Prince hummed a cheerful melody as he worked, Namjoon standing on the other side of the room. In reality, Namjoon knew the prince was not working, but rather writing a letter or a poem for Lady Sarang, who was too preoccupied with the Princess to meet him for the next few days. During that week, Namjoon had to personally deliver a few of those letters to her, making sure the Queen didn't catch him wandering around and away from her son, whom he should be protecting. Lady Sarang would smile down at the paper before thanking him and hurrying back to her room, not bothering to put on her usually stoic face.

Namjoon, on the other hand, would stand there for a moment, staring into space, unsure of what to think or feel, before returning to the Prince's chambers to inform him that the letter had been successfully delivered.

Prince Seokjin abruptly stopped writing and returned his gaze to Namjoon, who looked down without missing a beat.

"I think I'm going to propose," the Prince said, his grin spreading across his face.

Namjoon made eye contact with his Prince for the first time since being assigned as his bodyguard.