As Jin woke up, he did not find it unpleasant to wake up to an empty bed without the King's presence. On the contrary, he felt rather relieved yet extremely emotional at the same time. He was having a hard time processing his emotion the night before due to the King's presence; he was overcome with the feeling of hopelessness upon hearing the King say that he would not be allowing him to leave his sight.

He sobbed in the bed while trying to give himself the mental comfort that his sacrifice had not been in vain, and his parents were in good hands because of what he had done for them.

Feeling the baby move, he put his hands on his stomach and stroked the five-month bump. "You are my only hope," he whispered. Physically and mentally, he felt so low that he didn't want to get out of bed, but he had no choice. There were plenty of tasks that he must accomplish within the King's place, and that was another concern that was bothering him. Inhaling deeply, he pushed aside the covers, wiped his tears, and rose from bed to begin his day.

********

Despite his exhaustion, Jin felt good. He had accomplished so much, and the King's place had become like a whole new place. Even the guards were able to get a ladder for him to reach the high ceilings and clean the fans and chandeliers in the suite that looked as though they had never been cleaned.

While most of the kids' rooms had been cleaned and organized, he still left two undone, but he had to pause for the day since his back was hurting. Along with cleaning some of the kid's rooms, he had also accomplished cleaning the living room, family room, theatre room, kitchen, bathrooms, dining room, sunroom, and a few of the closets. He planned to finish up the remaining rooms, including the closets, as those took a lot of time, especially reorganizing and figuring out where things should go. A lot of laundry had to be done as well as he had to change a lot of sheets, but he was thankful that the King had a lot of new bed sets, so his job was a lot easier.

Done with cleaning for the day, Jin walked out to the balcony, where he had requested the staff to set up the meal he ordered for dinner. A peaceful meal outside in the good weather was what he wanted to enjoy.

While he ate happily, he admired the beautiful view that lay ahead, one of the best features of the King's place. While the view was unlike any he had ever seen before, his mind drifted to how the King certainly had the best of everything but showed no signs of caring or appreciating any of it in the slightest. With that thought, his mood shifted, "he could have said he wasn't going to be here all day." He mumbled while taking a bite of his food.

"This is the first time I see you out here. Have we become neighbors?"

Immediately shocked, Jin nearly dropped his utensil as Prince Namjoon stood on the balcony adjacent to the one he was on, waving. "Prince Namjoon?"

The smile on Namjoon's face spread as he heard Jin's shocked voice as he spoke, "how are you, Seokjin? Please call me Namjoon."

Placing his utensil down, Jin wiped his mouth with a napkin before he responded, "I am doing okay; I didn't know you were next to the King's suite."

Namjoon chuckled, "you have never come to visit me, so I am sure you wouldn't know, but the King and I are neighbors indeed. I am surprised to see you on the King's balcony though, how come you are there alone?"

"Oh, okay, I understand. The King has moved me here now, and how did you know I am here alone?"

"That's interesting; you live with the King. What have you done to earn such an honor? There must be a great deal of jealousy in the Kingdom currently, I can imagine. Furthermore, I understand that you are alone since our King is away, and you must also know he will not be returning until the next two months."

Jin widens his eyes, "next two months?"

"Ah, you weren't aware of it; well, in that case, I never said anything."

A frown formed on Jin's face as he leaned back in his chair.

"Don't be sad; he will be back once he can. He has important things to take care of for the Kingdom."

"I am not sad. I wish I could've stayed in my room instead of being here," Jin responded while looking down; he couldn't believe the King didn't tell him he was going away.

Namjoon laughed, throwing his head back, "you are not-"

"Daddy, can I have another banana, please?"

Jin's face flushed with confusion as he heard a little girl's voice, then saw her appear next to Namjoon.

"Sure, sweetie, give your sister one too."

"Thank you, daddy!" The little girl responded happily before running off back into Namjoon's place.

As Namjoon looked at his daughter and smiled, he turned his attention back to Jin, "that's my daughter Mi-Sun, she loves fruits."

"I didn't know you had kids; she is beautiful. How old is she?" Jin stood up, walking towards the balcony rail so he could be closer to talk to Namjoon.

"Well, this might surprise you then, but I have four kids, three girls and one boy. Mi-Sun is the oldest; she is eight, my son is the youngest, he is four."

Jin stared at Namjoon; while he tried processing the new information, he realized how little he knew about the people he had met since being in the Kingdom. Even in conversation with Jimin and learning about Namjoon, he never knew he had kids.

His eyes shifted to Namjoon's ring finger, which was empty, and he sighed as he began to wonder if Namjoon was doing something similar to the King. Namjoon could sense where Jin's thoughts were, so he spoke up, "it's hard raising all four of them while being dedicated to my tasks in the Kingdom, sometimes I wish my husband had been able to hold on longer, but it's unfortunate when we found out about his health it was too late."

"Y-your husband died?"

"Four years ago."

"Oh my, I am so sorry to hear that-"

"It's alright; we have been working hard on moving forward. It's been my goal lately to find someone I can connect with and bring into our family to help us become one again, but it's not as easy as I thought it would be."

In his mind, Jin stared at Namjoon, feeling torn up for him, thinking he could never have imagined the kind Prince who always spoke nicely to him and gave him access to a large library of books, had suffered such a tragedy. Even though he told him he was okay, it troubled him because he knew it was hard to be okay after losing someone special. Movies provided him with a visual of the intense emotions people felt upon losing their loved ones. It was almost impossible to imagine how he would cope if he lost one of his parents. It was an unimaginable pain and one he would never wish to experience.

"I know you say it's okay, but I am deeply sorry for your loss and your children as well, which must have been extremely difficult to cope with and continue to cope with. It's not something I have experienced, but I always pray that my parents will live a long life and that now my baby will too. I am not strong enough to deal with something like that; you must be very strong, Prince Namjoon.

My sincerest wish is that you and your children find someone who will make you and them happy. While that person will not replace your husband, it's possible they could give you new happiness. My knowledge of romantic love and stuff is limited, so I apologize if the words I use here are inappropriate. I wish you happiness."

Namjoon smiled warmly at Jin, "your words are anything but inappropriate. Thank you for sincerely wishing me happiness. Your positivity has helped me to believe that it might one day be achievable. Having you here in this Kingdom makes me very happy, Seokjin."

At Namjoon's words, Jin smiled, "thank you so much; although I am not happy that I am here, I am happy that someone is happy because I am here."

"Maybe I can help change the way you feel about being here."

Jin shook his head with a pout as he looked down at his feet, "I don't think so, but thank you for thinking so kindly towards me."

"Tonight, the kids and I are doing movie night; come over and watch with us. I will show you that there is more to this Kingdom than being stuck alone."

After a moment of reflection, Jin remembered that the King wasn't coming back anytime soon, and he smiled, eager for a chance to see more of what the Kingdom had to offer than just being stuck alone.

********

"Is this why you dragged me out here?" Yoongi glared at Jimin, who was not paying attention to him but standing on his tippy toes as he tried to look at Jin and Namjoon walking in the garden laughing with Namjoon's son running ahead of them.

"Do you see friends when you look at them?" Jimin turned to look at Yoongi as he awaited an answer, but Yoongi shrugged, making him irritated, "Can you devote some time here, please? Jin says Namjoon is his friend, but I am not convinced that Namjoon feels that way, and my brother moved Jin into his place, which means he wants to marry him. I cannot let Namjoon interfere with that. Would you please pay attention to this, and have you asked Namjoon what I asked you to ask him?"

Yoongi sighed, "Namjoon is not crazy to want something more than friendship with Jin. From what I understand, he is helping Jin learn more about the Kingdom, and they share many similar interests. Sometimes I overhear their conversations, and they're really silly; there isn't anything to be concerned about. So stop dragging me about to spy with you. I wish I had gone with the King than stayed here."

Jimin rolled his eyes, "I am going to tell my brother you did nothing to stop them if he thinks wrong when he arrives."

"For fucksakes Jimin, what do you want me to do? Stop them from walking and talking? You are the prince here; if you see something wrong, send Jin to his room, separate him from Namjoon, do what you want, but stop putting this on me! I already told the King what's been happening."

"You did?" Jimin asks, widening his eyes. "Since when? What for? What did he say? How could you have said that to him? Are you crazy?"

"He is not happy, and yes, maybe I am fucking crazy, so leave me alone." Yoongi walks away, but not before Jimin hugs him, "I am sorry; what do you mean when you say he is not happy? Was it jealousy, like he is not happy Jin is with someone who is not him or mad not happy he wants Jin to leave because he is wrong towards him? I'm trying to piece together the possibilities here, don't leave me hanging like this."

"I don't fucking know. Jungkook doesn't share his feelings with me. I know he is upset, and if he could have been here yesterday, he would have been here. Taehyung called me this morning and asked if I had any knowledge about why the King had been acting in a very strange way. So I'm not sure if he is angry or jealous, or maybe both at the same time. I think it would be better for you to use your authority as a prince and make Jin stay in his room for the rest of the time the King is away."

Jimin shook his head, "I can't do that; Jin will hate me. Can you find out from Taehyung how angry the King is, please?"

********

"Thank you; I had a lot of fun; give the kids hugs and kisses from me," Jin said with a smile as he walked down the path towards the King's suite.

His smile had disappeared as he saw the dozens of guards in his path. After a moment of shock, he swallowed. "H-he's back?" he whispered to himself.

He took a deep breath and walked slowly toward the door, which had been opened for him by the time he arrived at it. When he enters, he takes off his shoes and changes into one of his indoor slippers before making his way into the room.

His ears perked up at the King's voice, "Where are you from?" He turned to see the King standing behind him in the family room archway.

"My King, you are here."

"Where are you coming from?"

"Where were you?" Jin questioned, walking over towards the King.

Jungkook's eyes were hard on Jin as he approached closer towards him, "I asked you a question, Seokjin."

"I went to dinner, my King."

"Who did you go to dinner with?"

"Our neighbor, Prince Namjoon, my King," Jin responded with his heart racing as he stood before the King. "My King where-"

Jin's words were silenced as the King grabbed him by his shirt and shoved him against the wall, "what the hell have you been doing with Namjoon?"

Tears escaped Jin's eyes from the pain in his back from being slammed against the wall, "nothing, he is my friend."

"A fucking friend who you like!"

Jungkook's words were met with Jin's silence as his eyes shifted from Jungkook's.

"Do you like him, Seokjin?"

"My King-"

"Of course you fucking do! How is it that I trusted you, I poured out my heart to you, and you do this to me? How could you?" He was furious with what he had heard, and seeing Jin's expression only fueled his rage.

Jin shook his head, "that's not true-"

"Shut it, you fucking like him, I know it!"

"I do, but not in the way you think, my King, I like him for he is an excellent and kind friend. I do not like anyone the way you think, My King, so please stop being so aggressive toward me and hurting me in the way you are. I am not the kind of person to do to you what you are doing to me."

"What do you mean by that? What am I doing to you that you wouldn't do to me?"

"Being intimate with many other men while also being intimate with me."

Jungkook took a deep breath, "have you no realization that I am a King and I am allowed to do what I want when I want, and you and I are not on the same status for you to compare what I do versus what you do?"

As Jin nodded, he said, "I do realize, my King. I'm fully aware of the difference between us. I am only here to give you what you want when you want it. I am nothing but a slave to a King. You are using not only me but also all the other men around you. Now that I think of it, maybe it's not a bad idea for me to like Prince Namjoon; at least he is looking for a husband and not a slave."

Jungkook released his hold on Jin and took a step back; his eyes looked to Jin's stomach, and then he looked back up at him, "you want to leave me and go to Namjoon, is that what you want to do?" He asked in a calm tone as he moved his hand to his waist.

"I didn't say that."

Retrieving his gun, Jungkook ignored the panic cry that left Jin, as he removed the safety and pointed it towards Jin, "if you want to leave me, I can make it happen, just say the word Seokjin."

"How can you be so evil? Why do you want to kill me and not yourself? You left me here for two months by myself, told me nothing. Namjoon was the only one who could explain why you were away and why it was important.

Being tired and bored of being alone, I offered to babysit for him while he kept the Kingdom going as you were away. When I told him of me wanting to return to my room, he told me to think of being in your room as high honor and that you must really care for me to have done something like this, but now you want to kill me? I don't understand how he could think you are the best King this Kingdom has ever had; certainly, he is wrong."

Jungkook lowered his gun, not saying a word to Jin, he walked out of the room.

Jin clutched his hand over his stomach and broke down into tears.