Three full days had passed since Hoseok's arrival to the Palace the previous Sunday afternoon. And what a peaceful time it had been. Well... What may have been peaceful in his books had been anything but in the eyes of the people around him. Chaos seemed to follow in his every waking step, regardless if people were aware of his presence or not. He would have a little fun toying with the fatigued staff at every chance. It turned out there was more misery within the Palace walls than he could have ever imagined.

And his two pea brain guards that had been tasked to watch him had assumed he had never left their sights. Oh how wrong they were. At every opportunity Hoseok had, he would slip out the back window of his isolated room to acquaint himself with the grounds and its people. Having the advantage to hide from the naked eye allowed the tricky demon to roam wherever he pleased. He used the free time to become familiar with every inch of the Palace. He mapped out all the best escape routes, memorised places to hide, studied the people around to decide who was useful and who was useless.

Whenever he felt like company, he played by the rules and left his room via the proper door. Sometimes he would step out, and without saying a word, begin to walk in one direction while his two guards scrambled to catch up. Other times, Hoseok would poke his head out of the door and ask if they were ready to play a game yet. The answer was always the same; a grunted no.

The more time Hoseok spent with Taehyung and Jungkook, the more fond he became of the pair. He wasn't sure if they felt the same way, but that didn't matter too much in the grand scheme of things. He viewed them as his little disgruntled puppies. They didn't look happy to be there, but they followed him around - even though neither had a choice. He was sure that he would miss both of their presences when they were stood down from being on 'Jack Duty' once he was finally allowed to be unsupervised.

Earlier that Thursday morning, Jimin had delivered all four handmade costumes to him personally. Hoseok really hadn't expected his complicated order to be fully completed in essentially two days. In actuality, he had expected the main costume to be the only one finished by the Saturday evening just prior to the feast. Maybe even the Sunday morning at the very latest since it was all so last minute. He had inspected everything under the silent dressmaker's gaze, and given the short turn around, he had been rather impressed by the impeccable quality. The vision within his mind had truly been brought to life by Jimin's talented hands.

Hoseok made sure all the outfits were neatly hung within the wardrobe so not a single crinkle would appear. He grabbed his only personal items from the desk before he walked over to the bedroom door and pried it open at a snail's pace. He glanced left then right. His mischievously twinkling eyes landed upon his two guards who were facing each other, perched on the waist-high stone wall opposite his door.

Their poses mirrored one another. With their furthest foot on top of the wall and bent at the knee. While the heel of their other foot rested on the ground, their legs extended towards the other to create an overlapping 'x'. Both of their postures were relaxed, obviously not on guard. Their heads were turned away from Hoseok, their gazes casted upon the grass and nearby garden beds, low voices murmured to one another. The only difference was how they both had their right hands rested upon the pommel of their swords.

Most people wouldn't bat an eye at their current position. But Hoseok was not most people.

"Good afternoon, pea brains," Hoseok loudly declared his presence as he exited his room and closed the door securely behind him, perhaps a little too loudly.

"Any damage to the Palace will be your liability, Jester. I wouldn't get into the habit of closing doors like that. Especially in the company of King Agust D and Advisor Seokjin," Taehyung told him as they both whipped their heads around and the body language of the pair instantly became alert.

"Worry not, young one," Hoseok causally shrugged as he sauntered his way towards the pair. The dark look within his eyes caused the guards to exchange a knowing glance with one another before they stood at attention, ready for whatever chaos may ensue. "It will be our little secret if anything happens."

"And be caught covering for your foolish ass? I think not," huffed Jungkook as he held his chin a little higher.

A deranged laugh loudly reverberated around the otherwise empty hallway. Hoseok grabbed his stomach as he bent forward, his antics only raised eyebrows from the stoic guards. A few moments passed only for Hoseok to suddenly stop laughing. He slowly lifted his head while still bent and gazed up at the pair with a serious expression; all previous amusement gone. He straightened up, took a tiny step forward, and leaned in closer. As he did, both guards leaned away, eyes narrowed with suspicion, and their hands tightening upon their pommels.

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you both down with me," whispered Hoseok, hauntingly. A beat passed between the trio before Hoseok's serious expression was replaced by his normal mischievous look as he stepped back - much to the relief of the other two. "I'm bored. Oh! I know, let's go on an adventure!"

"To where, Jester?" Taehyung was the brave one to ask after the terrifying words from the newest addition to the Palace's staff.

"Hmmm," Hoseok hummed in feigned thought as he stroked his chin with his right hand. "Let's go find the King!"

"Absolutely no," immediately said Jungkook.

"Definitely not," simultaneously said Taehyung.

"Ah see, that's the fun part. You two pea brains don't have to tell me where the King is because I'll just open every single door until I find him," Hoseok said with a dark chuckle, his eyes gleamed with trouble while his smile beamed bright like the sun. "And there's nothing either one of you can do unless you physically restrain me. Ooo, maybe you can tie me up once you catch me."

And with that, Hoseok took off sprinting at full speed down the hallway. He didn't dare look back; he could hear the clang of metal and thumping footsteps behind him. Despite being of a slimmer build and having the misleading look that he wouldn't be fast, Hoseok had the unfair advantage of unhuman powers on his side. He could always outrun any human, but on this occasion he had to hold back his abilities. He made sure to only just use enough speed that he could slip ahead and around the nearest corner.

The very second Hoseok successfully rounded the corner on his first left, he activated his layer of invisibility over his entire body. If anyone had been there, it would have looked like he had disappeared into thin air. When in reality he was still very much there. He held his breath, slid to a halt, and turned around as not even four seconds later Jungkook and Taehyung followed in his footsteps. He watched as they too slid to a halt and panic flooded their faces once the realisation set in.

"He was right here," whispered Taehyung, his wide eyes darted around the apparent empty corridor. "He definitely turned down here. We just saw it."

"There's no way he could have ran all the way down there. We were literally right behind him," Jungkook shook his head, eyes locked on the other end of the hallway with disbelief written all over his face.

"What if he jumped the wall and cut across the courtyard? He would have had just enough time to do that and be out of sight by the time we got here, especially since we stopped," Taehyung tried to explain the impossible as he approached the waist-high stone wall that had a small courtyard on the other side. "If he did that, he's gone."

"We lost him," he groaned as he pressed the balls of his palms to his eyes. "We are royal screwed."

"Come on, brat. We should probably tell Advisor Jin before he is the one to find the Jester first. At least we can explain the situation first hopefully before chaos befalls the Palace. Let's just hope our heads aren't on the chopping block tomorrow," he sighed dejectedly as he walked up to Jungkook, grabbed his left arm, and tugged the reluctant guard along.

Hoseok madly grinned as he silently watched the panic and despair unfold before his very own eyes. Perfect. It had all gone according to his plan. Lure the guards into chasing after him, disappear from their sight, and hope they unknowingly lead him to the Advisor. Find the Advisor, find the King. Surely the royal pain in the ass wouldn't be too far from the King, and even if they weren't in the very same room, he'd be near.

The two guards hurried throughout the palace, their tense demeanours definitely turned a few heads along the way. Hoseok stayed a few two steps behind at all times. And for a change, he didn't cause any of his usual chaos. He let the miserable staff escape his conniving grasp since he was on a far greater mission. He was off to see the King!

Their journey was brisk. As they walked, the demon could practically smell the apprehension wafting from the two in front of him. The pair came to a stop outside of a closed door and turned to each other. Taehyung took a slow deep breath and gestured for the nervous Jungkook to do the same. Only once the younger one had nodded his head, did Taehyung raise his hand and knock. Hoseok silently observed the interaction with a curious look and a raised eyebrow.

After they received a gruff response that granted them permission to enter, Taehyung opened the door and entered with the younger of the pair closely behind. Just before the door was closed again, Hoseok just managed to slip inside; unbeknownst to all currently present. The room they had entered had been doused in silence since their arrival. Hoseok could feel the tension that was thick in the air. He wouldn't be surprised if he could hear a pin drop.

How interesting. Hoseok's two pea brained guards really lived up to their nickname, as directly in front of him sat his dear Advisor Seokjin. And the best part? There was no need to explore the surrounding rooms since the exact person he had been searching for was also there. Perfect. It might just be his lucky day. Although the other two were not alone. A third man - one that Hoseok hadn't yet had the pleasure to cross paths with - made up the original occupants before Hoseok and his two guards joined. All three were sat at a large table, paper scattered everywhere, with the King in the middle.

At long last, Hoseok was able to finally lay his eyes upon the notorious King, up close and personal. His dark brown eyes took in the impassive expression on his face, eyes dark from across the room. He noticed the blonde hair tied up in a top knot, held in place with a golden accessory. Scratch that. Majority of the jewellery that adorned him was gold. Even the black clothing had intricate golden patterns. He started to pick up on a theme going on here.

And of course, Hoseok would be a fool not to mention King Agust D's natural beauty.

"Your majesty," Hoseok's two pea brained guards simultaneously greeted the King with a deep bow.

"Dare I even ask why the two of you are here without a certain someone?" sighed Jin, already having a sense the direction the conversation would head in.

It took everything within Hoseok not to burst out laughing when he noticed the annoyance on his dear Advisor's face. Oh, it truly was his lucky day after all. He just hoped his two pea brain guards don't feel the repercussions of his actions. Maybe he'd have to put in a good word for them so they don't disappear... Permanently.

"Please forgive us," Taehyung said as the pair straightened out of their bows. Both of their gazes remained on the ground with stoic expressions. "He just started running and we lost sight of him. We decided to come and find you before you found him first in the middle of causing some type of trouble."

"You did the right thing," Jin sighed as he pushed his chair back and stood up. "Please forgive me, your majesty. I have to find a madman on the loose."

The only response Seokjin received was a wave of dismissal from the King. Hoseok watched everything play out with bemusement. He was rather excited to be left alone with the person of his search. Well, almost alone. The unknown male remained seated as Seokjin and his two pea brain guards exited the room to go look for him. Hoseok's body practically thrummed as he waved his dear Advisor out, thriving from the compliment. He really was a madman.

Once the door had been closed again, Hoseok slowly walked towards the only two occupants left. He had nothing to worry about; still invisible and moving silently. Nothing could give away his presence prior to when he decided to reveal himself. He folded his hands behind his back as he stalked around to the other side until he stood directly behind the chair of the King. He leaned forward over the King's shoulder, his twinkling eyes scanned the pages littered upon the table. The contents rather boring if he did say so himself. To spice things up a little, he dropped his invisibility.

"Ah yes, very interesting," Hoseok hummed lowly in feigned interest.

The reaction was immediate. The nameless stranger to Hoseok's left jumped in surprise while King Agust D whipped around and had unsheathed his sword within the same movement. Hoseok raised an eyebrow and took a step backwards away from the sword that had been swung at him. The tip of the sharp, shinning weapon had stopped a mere inch from his throat. Impressive. The speedy, accurate reflexes had definitely surprised him but not caught him off guard. Hoseok would give credit where credit is due.

"Jesus Christ!" the nameless male exclaimed.

"Guess again," Hoseok said as he slowly removed both of his hands from behind his back and held them up to show he was unarmed.

"Who are you and how did you get in here," demanded the King without lowering his weapon.

"It's a long story, your majesty, and I have time to tell a long story. But the question is, do you have time to listen to a long story?" cheekily replied Hoseok, smiling madly which only served to irritate the insane King.

"Do not test me. I will not hesitate to take your head off," he threatened in a low warning tone as he pushed the tip of the sword against Hoseok's delicate Adam's apple.

"I'd like to see you try," he huffed in amusement as he softly pushed the tip of the sword with his pointer finger and walked away with his hands folded behind his back.

For a change, Hoseok didn't do it to antagonise or be funny. He needed to show the King that he didn't fear being attacked, especially after being threatened. It was a calculated move rather than a foolish one. Having his back turned to the raised weapon would surely get his point across. And if the King decided to strike him for the invasion into the office or the blatant disrespect he had shown, it's not like Hoseok could actually be hurt by that pathetic little sword.

"So there I was, sat in my room, all alone and extremely bored," Hoseok began to speak without being prompted as he slowly walked around the room and pretended to inspect the many items that lined the wall. He didn't need to look over to know his audience was already captivated. "I thought to myself, you know who I haven't been introduced to since I arrived? The King. I desperately wanted to meet you, your majesty. But my two pea brain guards wouldn't entertain my brilliant idea to cure my boredom."

Hoseok sighed dramatically and his shoulders drooped as he turned around sharply on his heels. His beaming smile and dark brown eyes reflected the insanity within him. The look upon his face clearly unnerved the stranger beside the King, his body tensed as he sat straighter in his chair. However, King Agust D himself appeared unfazed by what he saw. Only hell knows how he truly felt. He stared back at Hoseok with calculated, narrowed eyes. His sword had appeared to lock upon its target and followed wherever he moved.

"And what does one do when they can't get their way? Trick others into doing it, of course," he chuckled darkly, continuing his long story as he leisurely paced on the other side of the desk in front of the two seated males. "After my two guards - great guys by the way so please don't behead them - didn't take me where I wanted, I took off running. I guess all their armor slowed them down though because I was able to slip around a corner and hide just out of sight before they could catch me. Little did they know, they led me exactly where I wanted to be."

Hoseok stopped his pacing and his wandering eyes focused back on the King, ignoring the weapon that was still trained towards his neck. Somehow, the demon's eyes appeared to darken even more. The story had enchanted the nameless guy to the point that his body had lost the previous tension, but the look he saw snapped him back to being alert straight away. As they both listened to the story, they only grew more curious with the stranger in front of them.

"You see... I figured if they could lead me to my dear Advisor Seokjin, he wouldn't be too far from the King. My simple plan really did work much to my delight. I do have to give my guards credit because I wouldn't have been able to find your majesty without them. All I had to do was slip into the room when no one was paying attention, and finally come face-to-face with the one I truly desired to meet," he chuckled darkly again as he slowly stalked forward, pushed some of the papers out of his way, and perched himself on the edge of the desk. "You may call me Jack. It's a pleasure to meet you finally, your majesty."

Ignoring the sword that had entered his personal space once more, Hoseok bowed his head in respect. Realisation flashed within the King's eyes. It was evident that he had just put the pieces of the puzzle together and had figured out just who exactly sat upon his desk in another blatant show of disrespect. Hoseok maintained eye contact with the King while a smirk slowly tugged at the corners of his lips.

"Get off my table, Jester," the King demanded with a squint, sword still raised.

"Oh, but I just got myself comfortable," he whined rather childishly without moving.

The comment caused the tall handsome man beside Yoongi to snort at his behaviour. And when the King shot him a glare, it was quickly covered up by the stranger clearing his throat. The reaction turned Hoseok's smirk into a rare, genuine smile. It always boosted his mood when people found his antics amusing, and yes, it did encourage him. His mischievous eyes trained upon the stranger finally, slowly eyeing him up and down. Huh. Another handsome male. This kingdom may just be blessed with beauty and cursed with madness.

"And who do we have here?" Hoseok asked seductively, body leaning in towards the nameless male.

"Show some respect, Jester. This is Namjoon, another one of my advi-," the King began to answer only to be cut off much to both of their surprise.

"I wasn't asking you, your majesty. I was asking the handsome man himself," Hoseok shot the King a glare of his own, despite just being told to show respect. "Good to know that only half of your advisors are allowed to speak for themselves."

Once again, the comment caused Namjoon to laugh and immediately clear his throat to cover it up. The King's squint turned deadly as he gazed between the other two in the room with him. Meanwhile, Hoseok's body practically shook with enthusiasm, the reactions from the pair egged him on. Perhaps he did have a death wish. He even somehow forget about the sword that was still steadily trained upon his jugular. However, before he could even continue to speak, the weapon was finally put away as the King decided he was no immediate threat.

"Well, well, well. My handsome Advisor Namjoon," Hoseok seductively purred, turning all of his attention onto Namjoon and completely ignoring the King. Although, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the way King Agust D clenched his jaw. Interesting. "It's an honour to meet you. Truly. Aren't I glad that all my travelling has led me to this gracious Kingdom. Now I get to look at raw beauty whenever I want. My, my, my. Aren't you a pretty thing."

"What do you think you're doing?" suddenly snapped Seokjin, who had just appeared out of thin air. Anyone would have thought he was the one with supernatural powers.

"Ah! My dear Advisor! You found me," happily cheered Hoseok as he stood up from the desk finally and stepped up to Seokjin's side only to sling an arm around his shoulders. "Welcome back to the party, my dear Advisor. Well if you must know, I'm currently talking to my handsome Advisor about his beautiful face."

"Is that so," quietly seethed Jin and shrugged off the unwelcome arm.

"It is so," madly grinned Hoseok. The response made Yoongi raise an eyebrow, but he otherwise stayed silent. Hoseok looked around and noticed how his dear Advisor had returned all alone. "Where are my pea brain guards? Did I lose them again?"

"I told them to go back to your room and stay until you've been returned," answered Jin with an annoyed huff as he walked around the desk and instead sat at the end of the desk next to Namjoon. There were several unoccupied chairs to choose from after all. "You may go, Jester. We are doing important work and I've had enough of your shenanigans for today."

"But I want to stay," whined Hoseok and stamped his foot rather childishly, which earned yet another covered up laugh-cough from Namjoon. "I promise I'll be a good boy. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"I doubt you are capable of that," quietly mumbled Jin, but he was heard by all the other occupants. "Leave, Jester. I want you to go straight back to your room. If I hear of you wandering around unsupervised again, I'll be paying you a visit."

"Surely it'll be fine if he maybe sits quietly in the corner or something," Namjoon spoke up for the first time. "Do you trust him to go straight to his room alone? Wouldn't it be better if we escort him back there ourselves later?"

"Thank you, my handsome Advisor!" Hoseok gasped with a smile, hand pressed to his chest, looking as if what had just been said about him was a major compliment instead of an insult.

"Joonie, I don't think you understand who you are dealing with," Jin warned quietly, which only caused Hoseok to darkly chuckle as he sat on the edge of the desk once more.

"Now, now. Don't give me that option without knowing me, my handsome Advisor. I'm afraid my dear Advisor is right. Maybe I shouldn't be allowed to stay because I'm a bit of," Hoseok paused as he pulled out a joker card from the pocket of his pants, "a joker. Here. For you, my handsome Advisor. Something to remind yourself of me."

Everyone silently watched as Hoseok placed the joker card - court jester side up - upon the desk and very slowly slid it across to Namjoon. The move had mixed reactions. Hoseok observed how Namjoon become flustered and quickly shoved the card into his pocket. Jin only seemed to sour more and looked as if he would blow a fuse any moment. And the King sat there with his usual expressionless face, except for the way his eyes seemed to gleam in perhaps hidden amusement. It was hard to tell with someone really well trained to contain emotions.

"On the other hand... My handsome Advisor is also right," Hoseok continued when the silence stretched on long enough, eyes twinkling as he knew he was about to poke the hornets nest. "I should be kept on a tight leash. A much tighter leash than the guards had me on."

The comment of course caused the exact reaction Hoseok had expected it too. Immediately, Namjoon started to laugh. But this time he made no move to cover it up. Not even when Seokjin threw him a deadly glare and reached over to lightly slap his arm. Hoseok's sharp eyes observed the interaction between the pair. Between Jin's irritation whenever Hoseok gave Namjoon attention, the lingering looks towards the other, and the deeper level of comfort within the way they spoke and acted among themselves... Well let's just say his senses were tingling.

"Joonie! I swear to God! Do not encourage this behaviour," he angrily seethed in a quiet tone, barely containing his irritation towards the newly hired jester.

"I'm sorry, Hyung," Namjoon cleared his throat as he tried desperately to subdue and contain his amusement.

"Ha. Someone's in trouble. Looks like a certain someone will be sleeping in the chicken coop tonight," Hoseok interjected. Namjoon snorted only for Jin to raise his hand threateningly again. Hoseok raised an eyebrow and waved his index finger between the pair "Oh. Oh yes, I see now. There actually is something going on between you two."

"What are you implying, Jester," Seokjin turned his glare towards Hoseok.

"Yes, he's my husband," said Namjoon at the same time.

"Oh wow. Congratulations, my dear Advisor. I didn't know you had it in you to achieve such great accomplishments in life. Good on you," Hoseok said with mock sincerity.

Namjoon only added fuel to the fire as he laughed loudly at that comment only to be punched in the arm by a very pissed off Jin. A devilish smile graced Hoseok's face while he watched the shenanigan's between the husbands. He was almost always right when it came to unravelling relationships between people. His powers allowed him to sniff out attempted buried emotions or his eagle-sharp eyes to hone in upon actions. It was fruitless to hide things from Hoseok, because he'll become like a dog with a bone until he uncovers the truth.

"So no touchy the handsome advisor?" Hoseok asked innocently, just to grind Jin's gears even more.

"No touching my husband," repeated Seokjin with a fierce overprotective glare. "Now run along to your room, Jester. The grown ups have work to do."

With a resigned sigh, Hoseok gracefully hopped off the edge of the desk. He straightened out all the documents he had messed up in the process. Once everything was back in order, he paused with his hands on the edge of the desk, and slowly lifted his gaze to meet the dark brown eyes of the rather silent King. Silence and stillness befell the room.

Insane brown eyes stared into equally insane brown eyes.

Hoseok slowly tilted his head to the right as he gazed even deeper into those captivating eyes; said eyes narrowed ever so slightly in response. He picked up on the way the King clenched his jaw again and how his right hand tightened upon the pommel of the sword. Hoseok couldn't get a read on the King. His impassive expression gave absolutely nothing away; not even his eyes sparkled or lit up. It seemed he had everything on lockdown while he was under Hoseok's curious gaze.

The moment Hoseok straightened up, it seemed like the silent observers let go of their bated breath. While neither of them were well versed in combat, they both had enough training to protect the King if the occasion arose. It would be rather useless and slightly moronic if they were around the King the most but couldn't do anything in the face of danger. They had intently watched the interaction between the Joker and the King, on alert if anything were to happen. It appeared that this time they had nothing to worry about.

"Until we meet again," Hoseok said with a deep bow before he promptly left the room.

Hoseok leisurely strolled through the Palace as he headed back towards his allocated room like a good boy. An air of accomplishment swirled around him while a dark gleam twinkled in his eyes. It turned a few heads, raised a few eyebrows, and sent shivers down the spines of many he crossed paths with. No one wanted to mess with the newly hired Jester. Not when he had that mischievous look in his eyes and whispers had already spread about what happened when this madman walked down a hallway looking like that.

>_<     >_<     >_<

Meanwhile back in the conference room, Yoongi had trouble focusing on the task at hand unlike Namjoon and Jin who both easily returned to the conversation prior to being interrupted. Yoongi sat with his chin propped upon his left thumb while his pointer finger absentmindedly caressed his chin.

It was no surprise that his thoughts were rather consumed by a particular pair of mischievous brown eyes. He found the mannerisms of the new Jester to be odd yet refreshing. The first interaction had been interesting to say the least. And if he were to base anything off what he had just witnessed, he would say that the performance for the upcoming feast had potential to be the first genuinely entertaining one in a rather long time. Only time would tell.