With Mingi's impressive navigation skills, they manage to make it to their destination quickly and unnoticed by the villagers passing by.

The house is small, a good size for just one person. There is an eerie atmosphere surrounding them as they examine the area with nervous eyes.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Jongho asks and Mingi nods.

"This is definitely the address written on the book".

Yeosang inhales deeply, trying to make himself seem less anxious. Everyone around him also shares the same anticipation and fear about what they're about to find out.

His whole life, Yeosang has been sheltered from everything, he barely knows anything about himself or his family and now that there's a possibility he's going to find out right now, it makes him overwhelmed. Especially since there are five other people with him, three of which he isn't even close to.

Even though he is a little uncomfortable with Wooyoung, San and Yunho finding out his family's story, he knows they mean well. He knows that they're becoming closer as friends and that he should trust them and hope they're not actually spies who have been tricking him all this time. Although, something in his gut is telling him not to trust them. His mother hated the royal family and Wooyoung is the crown prince. He should hate him too. If his mother hated them it means that Wooyoung's family is 100% part of the problem.

Wooyoung looks at him, sensing the inevitable anxiety. Somehow, just a pat on his back and a soft smile from him makes Yeosang's clouded mind heal. His brain is telling him that he shouldn't be close to Wooyoung but his heart is telling him to give himself a break, to let himself accept the kindness he's getting from him and his friends.

"This is the last chance where you can back out, are you sure you want to go ahead with this?" Mingi asks, letting him know that it's okay to change his mind.

Yeosang nods anyway, his newfound desperation to listen to his mother's story overpowering his nervousness.

Once he is sure Yeosang is okay with it, Mingi knocks on the door.

"What if she doesn't even live here anymore? it's been years and wasn't she old back then?" Wooyoung whispers and Yunho hits his arm.

They all take a step back in surprise when the door opens, revealing an elderly lady. None of them can speak, all too nervous in front of her. Yeosang recognises her immediately, her face hasn't changed all these years. He sees the woman also scan the faces in confusion, wondering why a group of young men have arrived at her house. Yeosang lowers his mask, revealing his face. The woman gasps, knowing that face all too well.

"Yeosang..."

Yeosang lets out a small smile "Grandma".

She walks slowly toward him, cupping his face then pinching his cheeks. "Oh, how I've missed you so much. I've been waiting for you to come." Yeosang looks at her in confusion, his face still in her hands. Memories of his childhood flash through his head, how this woman used to visit every week, play with him, help his mother with things. Some part of him wishes he could go back to the past and stay there forever.

The old lady looks around "and you've brought friends with you, what a relief to see, you were such a lonely little boy." She smiles sweetly at the others. "I know why you're here, come inside. It's too cold to talk out here". Once she's inside, everyone glance at each other, all incredibly confused and curious. She had been expecting them, waiting for Yeosang?

Mingi and Jongho hold one of Yeosang's hand each and with a shaky breath, they enter.

The old lady offers them tea and starts brewing it anyway when they refuse. They take a seat at the fireplace, warming their hands while waiting for her.

"I won't drag this meeting out since it's risky for you to be out Yeosang, I might suddenly get a visitor". She says with a sweet smile, then looks at the others. "Also we don't want your spells wearing off, what would happen if people found out a purple was in my house".

Wooyoung tries to hide his surprise but he fails, eyes widening as he glances at the others, everyone else having the same reaction.

No one has time to ask how she knows this as she starts speaking again. "You found the book I presume? Unless you've been knocking on every single door in this huge village to find me". She glances at the crystal hanging from Yeosang's neck and smiles.

Yeosang nods. This woman has some strange sixth sense but he's in too much of a rush to question it.

"Not tell me Yeosang dear, what is it that you want to hear from me?"

Yeosang gulps, glancing at her red spades. "I want to know why I'm unmarked- the whole story".

The woman smiles once again but this time in a more gentle way. "I've been wanting to tell you this since you were a child. Now, after years you can finally stop questioning your existence Yeosang. You deserve to know and I will tell you everything".

Jongho and Mingi squeeze his hands, giving him an encouraging nod. Yeosang looks at Wooyoung, he looks solemn and almost sick. He's about to frown but he catches San and Yunho giving him warm smiles. He looks at the lady and nods, telling her to begin.

She takes a deep breath, suddenly looking nervous. Yeosang fidgets in his seat, what exactly happened that is suddenly making her nervous. "Yeosang dear... this will be shocking for you to hear but, your father...
he was crown prince, about to become king".

Yeosang pales.

If his father was the crown prince back then, it means the king is his father? But Wooyoung- Yeosang frowns, then widens his eyes. He had kissed his br-

"You and Wooyoung are not siblings!" The lady says in fear after looking at everyone's utter shock. Yeosang and Wooyoung had their mouths hanging open, life drained from their eyes.

"I realised I must have phrased this wrong, I apologise".

Yeosang let's out a shaky sigh of relief, he might have had to bury himself underground and live there forever if Wooyoung turned out to be his brother. He glances at the other right at the same time the prince also sneaks a glance at him. Their eye contact is incredibly awkward and humiliating. His whole body is hot from embarrassment, Mingi and Jongho must be questioning why his hands have suddenly become clammy.

The woman observes the interaction in curiosity, the way the pair became flustered and avoid looking at each other. But now is not the time to question their relationship.

"Wooyoung dear..." she says, getting the attention back once everyone gets over the accidental shock.

The prince looks at her in confusion, she knew he was purple marked along with his name. He wonders how, he's never seen or heard of her since he usually keeps his face hidden. It's the reason why most people don't recognise him when he goes to the marketplace.

"You will be shocked to hear this too, but your father is not of royal blood, none of your family are."

Wooyoung furrows his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?" It makes no sense, otherwise how would his marks be purple- it's not biologically possible.

"I know what you're thinking, and I know- it's complicated and even I don't understand how it happened but I can just tell you the story".

They all glance at each other, dying to hear it. Wooyoung's heart sinks, not sure if he even wants to hear it.

Yeosang looks at the prince's dejected expression, wanting to comfort him for some reason. He tries to shake the feeling away, he needs to listen to the story that will change his life.

~

22 years ago

Yeosang's father was the crown prince, his life was perfect. He was ready to take the throne in a few years, he was naturally good at being a leader, despite the purple diamonds on his cheeks. At least it's where he gets his strong mental capability from.

He was happy in everything he did, as long as he had his best friend with him, Wooyoung's father.

Wooyoung's father was the son of the highest ranking general. His family acquired immense respect from the public as well as the royal family. They where who the purples trusted most. Yeosang and Wooyoung's father's were inseparable friends.

Until greed and jealousy consumed the trusted family.

The closer time became for Yeosang's father's coronation, the more Wooyoung's father wanted it for himself.

His father, the general was the cause of this. Constantly calling Wooyoung's father useless and telling him he should just disappear unless he can do something worthy of his time.

Of course, the man who sought validation from his father his whole life, gave in to his whispers once he finally had the opportunity to make his father proud.

"You're close to the crown prince, you know all his secrets! Just tell me everything and I'll help you". He would say. "Don't you want to be crown prince too? I want to be king- aren't you tired of him getting all the luxuries? He'll forget about you once he's king!"

Wooyoung's father was done hiding behind his friend's shadow.

He and the general spread a malicious rumour about the royal family, about how they're plotting to collect and drain innocent people's magic one by one, into an orb so that they can turn it into a spear and become the most omnipotent royal family there has been.

What the king was actually doing, was getting rid of evil spirits and negative energy using the orb, then planning to lock it away forever, since all that bad energy would be extremely dangerous.

The rumours spread like wildfire, and once people actually saw proof of the orb, everyone went crazy rioting, not wanting to be ruled by a tyrant. Yeosang's father had begged his friend to tell them it wasn't true, to clear his family's name.

But Wooyoung's father was already in to deep, there was no going back now. And since his father had full control of the army, it was all too easy taking over and attacking the castle.

They fought, spells flying back and forth. Even with an army, because purples have the highest form of magic, it wasn't too difficult.

However, Yeosang's father realised that this was the end for them, it was slowly becoming too difficult for them to defend. His priority now was to protect his pregnant fiancée.

They weren't alone fortunately, they had a few supporters who would not believe the rumours but they were still outnumbered by a colossal amount. The worst was yet to come.

Wooyoung's father managed to get a hold of the orb that manifested all the negative energy, and used it against the royal family and their supporters.

This stone went crazy and completely drained the magic out of the royal family. Once sucking the purple out of them, it was clear that the effects were fatal. Yeosang's father had his life taken away from his best friend. His tragic story of betrayal was one no one acknowledged.

By nature's laws, there must be three colours. So when the purples were wiped out, the one who held the orb (now containing the powers of the previous purples) gained the status of royal, along with his family.

Though, the immense amount of energy made the stone unstable, causing it to shatter into pieces, the force so large they flew miles away where no one was able to find. Though they were able to keep one.

Wooyoung's father's family was finally royalty. He looked in the mirror, welcoming the purple marks and feeling powerful. The only problem now was the fact that everyone knows they're not the real royal family.

Luckily it wasn't a problem at all since now they possess dark magic. It was all too easy to combine their powers to erase the memories of the whole kingdom, making everyone forget about the old family- thinking nothing ever happened.

Still, they had to make sure.

Yeosang's mother was nowhere to be seen, the lady was pregnant so she couldn't have survived the spells but they still hunted her down.

She was found taking shelter at a empty hut in the village, heart dropping when her hiding spot had been revealed. She begged them to keep her alive, to let her and her baby live in peace.

They did. On the condition that she leaves the kingdom and never speaks a word about this. To make sure she is unable to communicate with anyone, they strip her of her marks, with an additional spell to make sure the baby has none either.

Yeosang's mother lived a depressing life. She mourned the loss of her fiancé every day, she tried her best to raise her son. But she was ill, ever since that day.

She was only alive because of one person. Mrs Lee. She was one of their advisors in the palace, extremely intelligent and noble. She had knowledge scholars would dream of.

Amidst the fighting, Yeosang's father had told his fiancée and Mrs Lee to get away as far as they could and hide. The old lady had protected her with countless spells, forming shields that would prevent any bad spells harming her. It's the reason why neither of them were affected by the memory erasing spell.

The pair only had each other. Mrs Lee lived under the radar successfully, and did everything she could to help Yeosang's mother live an easy life without marks. She helped deliver and take care of Yeosang, reminding him to always cherish his mother.

When Yeosang's mother knew her time was ending, she made Mrs Lee promise not to come to Yeosang but instead, wait for Yeosang to come to her. Then she'll be able to tell him everything.

Everything about his family's story, why he's unmarked. And get his life back, not live miserably like his mother did for 18 years.

She'll wait for him when he's ready. He needs to avenge his family.

~

The silence is unbearable, every single one of them unable to form words after hearing everything.

There's too much to take in, Wooyoung's family being frauds, Yeosang's family actually being the real royals. The evil things that were done to make sure no one knew, the crystal on his neck containing his family's magic.

"You all must be shocked hearing this, especially Yeosang and Wooyoung" she looks at them, the pair don't even spare each other a glance. "All of you should go home and rest, it's up to you to decide what you want to do with this information".

They all get up and leave, still completely silent. Yunho and San are holing Wooyoung up as if he's unable to walk. His expression is grim, eyes empty of feeling.

"We'll get going." San says, looking at the others. The three of them teleport back to the castle, not wanting to walk.

Things have become extremely uncomfortable between the two friend groups now, just as they were staring to get closer.

"Are you okay?" Mingi says, rubbing Yeosang's back. The story was shocking for them but Mingi can't even being to imagine how distraught Yeosang is feeling. He doesn't deserve this cruel life he's been living all this time.

"I don't know" Yeosang says truthfully.

"Do you want us to take you home? We can teleport there if you don't feel like walking?" Jongho offers, sometimes when you don't know what to do, the comfort from a friend is the best.

Yeosang shakes his head, wanting to be alone. "I'll walk on my own don't worry, I'll see you guys later". He turns around and leaves, wanting to be alone with his thoughts. There's too much to think about and he needs to organise the war zone that is his head.

He gets home quickly without even realising, not taking in his surroundings. Maybe it's the comfort of his home but he suddenly squats to the floor, tears rolling down his face.

He had always hated his father. He thought he was alive and just left him and his mother to live this life alone. He had no idea he was betrayed and killed in a tragic way. He cries out of guilt, apologising to his father, who would have been king of none of this happened. He cries for his mother, wanting nothing but her warm embrace.

~

Wooyoung has been concerningly but understandably out of character, but it gets to the point that San and Yunho start to worry.

The story had been so shocking for Wooyoung, even a week later he's still silent and has no enthusiasm for anything. He tried not to believe the crazy old lady, convincing himself that she made the whole thing up. But it only worked for a few minutes. The story makes sense but is at the same time unbelievable.

He wanted to ask his parents if it's true. But that would be messy. If it is true, then they'd be hunting down who told him and probably even erasing their sons memory.

Every night since then he'd silently cry in bed, out of guilt and anger, but mostly hurt. His family are monsters. Yeosang probably hates his guts, he would too if he were in his shoes.

He probably thinks Wooyoung is a heartless beast like his father. His heart aches.

Sure, he dislikes his father but he is still his parent. He raised Wooyoung, was present his whole life. Wooyoung thinks he turned out pretty well. He would never have thought he would do such a cruel thing to his supposed best friend. Yeosang probably thinks he's going to betray him too, it would be best for him to exit his life so that no one would get hurt.

San and Yunho catch on to his thoughts, they've known him his whole life so they can pretty much read his mind now.

"You can't live like this forever Wooyoung". Yunho says, sat on the end of Wooyoung's bed where he lies, staring at the ceiling lifelessly.

"Yeosang hates me. I know it." Wooyoung says blankly despite the sad statement.

"Yeosang needs your help" San persists. "You heard the story, you don't want him to keep living a hard life? He's your friend- he doesn't hate you. You had nothing to do with this".

Tears roll from his eyes on to the pillow. "My family... we're all despicable. I'm sure they all hate me, they ruined Yeosang's life!"

"And you can help him fix it, I'm certain Yeosang is waiting for you, for his friend that he trusts" Yunho says gently. The pair leave, giving him space since he's clearly distressed.

Of course what he heard was equally as shocking, finding out his family are not the real royal family. So they give him time to be upset about his situation- anyone int heir right mind would be devastated upon hearing that their supposed pure family are monsters.

But they also hope he thinks about what they said, about Yeosang needing him.

~

Life goes on for Yeosang. It has to, it's not like he has anyone else to take care of him while he's depressed. He has no one to help him do things and instead has to do it himself. Mingi and Jongho do visit and help as much as they can, but they can't come every day.

It's been nearly a month since he had found out what happened to his family and he still hasn't done anything about it. Jongho would bring it up sometimes but he would just become silent so the younger eventually stopped.

His heart clenches painfully imagining what his parents went through. He wants to avenge them, wants to stop living the life he's been forced to because of who he really is. He knows his parents don't want him to live the sad and unfair life he's living right now.

He wants to do all this but... he can't. Both physically and mentally he has no motivation to do anything let alone this impossible task.

Any normal person would be livid, wanting to get revenge as fast as they can, making all sorts of plans and put immense effort to find justice.

But Yeosang has no energy. These days he does the bare minimum just for the purpose of keeping himself alive. Eating plain foods, not bothering to make it delicious, it's even an effort to open the curtains, just wanting to stay in the dark.

He doesn't know why he's feeling like this. The only thing he wishes for right now is to stop feeling like this, so helpless.

After laying in bed until the afternoon Yeosang gets up, but only because his body is crying at him to feed it. He puts no effort into making it delicious though, heating up a bowl of plain rice- the same meal he's been having for all his meals, for weeks.

He's about to go back to bed when he hears a knock on his door. Yeosang listens for any speaking because Mingi or Jongho usually shout to announce that they're here.

Either his friends were not in the mood for yelling or it's someone else.

Yeosang sighs. Not in the mood to talk to anyone but he also can't ignore them if they came all the way here, so he trudges with great effort and opens the door to see the one person who's been occupying his mind 24/7.

Wooyoung looks just as drained as him. Both avoid eye contact with each other, Yeosang doesn't know what to say now that he's opened the door and Wooyoung doesn't know what to say now that the door has been opened.

Wooyoung was expecting to be ignored, or shouted at or cursed at- anything. But Yeosang's has no readable expression. Even though his mind is going crazy. The last time they saw each other was in the old lady's house.

"Why are you here" It comes out a bit harsher than Yeosang wanted but Wooyoung is just silently staring at him so someone was supposed to start the conversation.

"I..." Wooyoung doesn't really know why he's here, there are a million things he wants but will take so long to get.

"Do you want to come in?" Yeosang moves from the doorway, letting Wooyoung in. He figures this might take long.

They both take a seat and Wooyoung turns to face Yeosang. "I'm sorry" he blurts out, he has a lot to say but the apology is the most important, so it comes first. "I'm sorry for many things, for leaving suddenly that say, for abandoning you for nearly a month, for what my family did-"

Yeosang sighs, "You don't have to apologise for that" Yeosang cuts in, not wanting to hear Wooyoung be sorry for something he didn't do.

Wooyoung looks at him with a frown, eyes glassy. "Yeosang, your life was ruined because of my family. Your parents died because of them, how can I not be sorry"

"You didn't do anything of that sorts"

"But my family, my own blood did this. They did a million horrific things to your family. I know you despise me now, and I'm so sor-"

Yeosang squeezes his eyes shut, headache forming. He hasn't talked this much in days. "You weren't even born when this happened, neither of us were".

Yeosang understands Wooyoung must feel incredibly guilty because of his family's actions, he 100% would too if the roles were reversed. Yes, he hates Wooyoung's family. But he doesn't hate Wooyoung. "While you were in the womb, did you scheme with your father to take my family down?"

Wooyoung widens his eyes at the ridiculous question. "No?"

"Okay, then after hearing Mrs Lee's story do you support what your family did, if you were alive then would you have helped them?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then I don't hate you Wooyoung, I never did and I don't blame you for anything that happened, so don't apologise." Yeosang feels bad for the sudden attack of questions but he had to somehow convince Wooyoung that he doesn't hate him.

Even with Wooyoung's defeated nod, he knows the prince still carries that guilt with him because of his family. So instead of forcing him to change his feelings, Yeosang tries to help him understand that he doesn't blame him.

With a tentative hand, he touches his shoulder, which makes Wooyoung look at him in surprise. He tries to show that he means no harm with a smile but it comes out a little strained.

Somehow, he doesn't feel so helpless anymore. Even though he still has no energy to take care of himself, he wants to take care of Wooyoung after seeing him like this- like how he is feeling. He doesn't want anyone to feel like how he's feeling.

"Thank you for coming back" Yeosang says. At one point he thought he lost the new friends he'd just made but he knew deep down that they'd come back. That he won't be lonely.

Wooyoung bites on his lower lip nervously. "I'm sorry for taking so long". He lowers his head in shame. He had made this all about him when Yeosang is the victim.

"You could have taken a year and I would still be glad you came. As long as you came back". Yeosang is in no position to even comprehend how hard it must have been for Wooyoung. The prince definitely has it harder than him, Yeosang would have taken months to even get over the initial shock.

Wooyoung's teary eyes meet Yeosang's empathetic one's. The other can't believe what he's hearing right now. He came ready to get on his knees, beg for forgiveness. Any normal person would absolutely loathe him even if he had nothing to do with it. Being associated by blood would be enough grounds to include him in the revenge plot. So hearing a thank you makes his brain short circuit. The small smile Yeosang gives also doesn't help, making his heart race painfully.

The confusion written all over Wooyoung's face amuses Yeosang. He really can't stop himself from running his hand slowly through Wooyoung's hair before settling on the back of his neck. He watches his throat as he gulps nervously.

"I don't know what to do" Yeosang whispers and Wooyoung tilts his head in question. "We know the story, and of course I want to make things right. But I don't know how".

Wooyoung bites the inside of his cheek. With the intimate position, he thought Yeosang meant something else. He internally scolds himself for thinking Yeosang likes him, he probably doesn't even like him platonically. He definitely hates him but is just hiding it.

"I'll help you, we all can- with more of us it would be easier to think of ideas". Wooyoung says, he might as well attempt to make Yeosang not hate him. He wants him to know he's genuinely on his side.

Yeosang looks at him in surprise. "You'll help me?" He knows it must be a hard decision. Even if you completely despise something your family did, you would still hesitate being part of a plan that would most likely ruin their life.

Wooyoung nods, Yeosang's hand is still gently gripping his neck. "I know you said not to apologise but I can't help feel guilty. I should be thankful for you for not hating me".

Yeosang looks at him sadly. He suddenly feels bad for making Wooyoung stop apologising when he clearly does feel sorry. He's going to have to make him stop feeling guilty some other way. "It's okay, I just want you to know that even after hearing everything, in my eyes, nothing has changed between us".

Wooyoung looks at him with hope, wanting to believe him so bad but just can't because of his negative thoughts taking over.

Yeosang pulls him closer until their lips touch. Wooyoung's eyes are wide and before he can even close his eyes, Yeosang is pulling away, touching their foreheads together. "I mean it. Really".

A tear slips out and Yeosang moves to wipe Wooyoung's cheek. At the same time, Wooyoung wipes his cheek and Yeosang had no idea that he'd been crying too.

He didn't mean to suddenly kiss Wooyoung, it certainly isn't the mood for kissing but something switched inside of him when the other had said he'll help him. It's like he suddenly gained energy and motivation again. All from a few small words from Wooyoung. Maybe he had been waiting for him to say it.

"Are you sure you want to help me? I want to avenge my family so won't be lenient with yours" Yeosang isn't a violent person, he doesn't want to physically harm them but he at least wants to take the throne away from them.

Wooyoung still nods "I want to. I will be able to get any information you want. I'll help you live the life you really deserve".

Yeosang's heart races, he looks at Wooyoung's face, his beautiful features then his eyes trace his purple hearts. He cups each cheek with his hands, Wooyoung releasing a shaking breath. This is all too overwhelming to think about, especially in the vulnerable state they're both in.

The hands on his face pull him closer once again, lips connecting. This time Wooyoung closes his eyes, hands coming to wrap around his neck as Yeosang moves his to his waist. They both need a distraction now, neither wanting to carry on the conversation.

They kiss messily, wanting to just feel everything and not think. Their tongues meet for the first time and Wooyoung gasps, hands moving to Yeosang's hair to pull him to a new angle. Yeosang shivers at the change, relishing in the feeling of Wooyoung's hot and soft lips, their previous conversation completely forgotten.

They pull away when their bodies beg for oxygen, faces still close to each other. Yeosang plays with the fabric on the back of Wooyoung's shirt, not even realising he had lifted it slightly. The prince shivers when cold hands roam his warm back.

They look at each other for a few moments, before Wooyoung is hugging him and Yeosang doesn't hesitate to hug him back. His mind goes back to when they first met, how he had found Wooyoung irritating when he kept coming back even though he said not to.

And today, he thanked him for coming back.