Insu had decided. He would kill that abusive prince and then he would figure out the rest. He didn’t really care about anything anymore, his mind only circulating around one thing: to take his revenge from that bastard.
Taking off the many layers of clothing they always forced on him, he remained in the underwear because when you wanted to go for a hunt, you had to be at your minimal weight. The last thing Insu needed was fabric slowing him down when he attacked. He had locked the door from the inside, knowing they would somehow report it to the man he wanted to kill and he would come for him, to tame him as he liked to say. The tray for lunch was still there, untouched, as he tied his hair out of his face and got hold of the knife, waiting in the corner for when his target would show up.
He had just dozed off after hours of waiting when a loud bang echoed in the room. He watched the lock of the thick wooden door give in as he jumped up on his feet, sitting on his ankles the way he always did waiting for prey. A single strand of hair was dangling on the side of his face but he didn’t have the time to push it away, he only had his eyes and focus on the broad figure that walked inside the room.
He had been so sure. Had gone through his plan of attack and the many possibilities so many times that he was sure nothing could stop him from pushing the knife into the man’s heart right on the spot. But as soon as the prince walked closer, when Insu could see and smell him vividly, his whole body started to tremble. Not in fear, but in something else. Something he couldn’t understand at all. Something that forced him to drop the knife because even the idea of hurting Namil brought tears to his eyes.
He fell forward, helpless and having no idea why he was feeling sympathetic toward the person who had hurt him so much. The wounds were still there, both on his body and his mind. The prince’s scent filled the air more when he crouched down and Insu felt a hand stroking over his naked back. The touch should’ve been calming but all it did was reminding him of the many times the same hand had hit him or tugged at his hair. The doubt and the hurt were still there but he fought them with all his might, pushed them to the back of his head when he got hold of the knife once again to do what had to be done. Only that his body was so weak in the presence of the black-haired man that he couldn’t attack with even one-tenth of his usual force. It wasn’t the other using pheromones on him this time. No. It was something else. It was his own self that didn’t let him kill, screaming at him of a terrible consequence he didn’t know of. The knife ended up tearing through the prince’s thigh rather deeply.
As soon as he saw blood pouring out of the fresh wound, he panicked. The lock was open but did he really have a chance at escaping? He doubted it. And his struggles weren’t even for running away as the prince had thought. He simply wanted to run to the bathroom to get the bandages and other stuff the servants always got from there when they wanted to attend to his wounds. But the strong arms around him kept him perfectly in place, the calming scent clouding his mind and making him forget about everything that was not the two of them. Insu had absolutely no idea, not even in the slightest, of what was going on anymore. Why he acted the way he did and why he was worried even though his intentions had been to put an end to this man.
“I should ask you that. What are you doing to me that I’m hugging you like this to not let you out because if the others know you’ve attacked me, you’ll be executed.”
A mixture of feelings spread goosebumps all over his skin, making a shiver run down his spine. Rationally, he should’ve been scared to the bone at the possibility of execution awaiting him, but all he could think about was those words repeating again and again in his brain; The prince was protecting him.
The room fell silent. His own quiet sobs the only sound breaking the air. Burying his nose in the crook of Namil’s neck, he sniffed deeply one last time with his eyes closed before forcing himself to lean back and get away from the addicting feeling.
Looking down, he saw that blood was still flowing down from the muscular thigh, making a small puddle on the floor tiles. Insu’s breath hitched at the sight, his eyes widening and more tears running down his cheeks. Nothing made sense anymore.
“Why does it pain me to see you hurt like this? I hate it. I should be happy now that you’re bleeding because of me.” He mumbled, his fingers wrapping around the knife, ready to pull it out.
The prince’s hand kept on stroking over his head, not minding the wound at all as he wrapped his own fingers around his on the silver knife, pulling it out without hesitation and little to no pain evident on his face.
The older didn’t say anything as he got up, gestured for him to stay still, and walked to the door. Without removing the chair from behind it at all, he knocked on the wooden door, perhaps to get the guards’ attention.
“Get Ryung here fast.”
A quick and loud ‘yes your highnss’ was heard before silence fell upon them again.
Namil walked back limping and sat on the edge of the bed, easily tearing the fabric of his pants a bit and pressing his palm on the wound to stop the bleeding.
“So what was your plan? Kill me and then what? Did you think the guards and the whole castle soldiers would easily let you go just because there was no prince imprisoning you anymore?” The low voice said in a tone barely more than a whisper. The dark eyes landed on him as the older stared right into his soul. “Didn’t you think about your family while planning all of this? Even if you managed to escape, they would find you and execute you and your entire family. You’ve broken many laws and if anyone else was in my place, all of you were rotting in prison by now, waiting for the day of your death in the worst ways imaginable.” His face was still calm as he talked. As he said the facts that Insu had not thought about at all and that froze the blood in his veins. What if he had put his family in danger by letting the anger overshadow his senses?
Jumping up, he ran to the bathroom to take the first aid kit and then back to the bed where the prince was still sitting. Kneeling between the man’s spread legs, he did a quick job at getting himself under control to stop his hands from trembling.
“Move your hand.” He said and tugged at the older’s wrist to remove it from the wound. The latter simply did as told and let his blood-covered hand lay on the sheets next to his injured leg.
Insu was an expert in attending to wounds, even the nasty ones, since they were all they had in the jungle. There was no doctor they could call when an accident happened and they didn’t even have all the stuff that they used here in the castle either. All they could use on a wound was a mixture of leaves and herbs and honestly, they were much better and faster at healing than the creams and liquids they used here. But he was a fast learner and had picked up the steps from the many times the servants had done it for him, and he followed those at the moment while he cleaned the deep wound he himself had caused. There was not a single sound coming from the prince, not even the sound of his breathing, as he cleaned the torn flesh and saw just how bad it really was. Deep down he wished it would leave a scar, but he also wished he hadn’t caused any damage to any nerves. His thoughts were a giant mess.
“You confuse me.”
The prince’s low voice and the hand that raked through his hair broke the train of his thoughts.
“I confuse myself as well.” He forced through his gritted teeth, hating to admit to how good the fingers in his hair felt.
“I can understand why you wanted to hurt me but,” Namil put his free hand on Insu’s, stopping him from what he was doing, as he moved the hand in his hair downward and lifted his face up by his index finger under his chin. He only continued when Insu looked up at him. “But I don’t understand why you’re doing this now. You should know by now that this wound is nothing crucial for me, but I at least expected you to simply sit and watch as I bleed, not running around and going all pale while cleaning my wound.” The man’s thumb stroked over his chin as he talked calmly, facial expression still void but a hint of curiosity and confusion present in those dark eyes jumping from one feature of his face to the other.
“I don’t know why I’m doing this, either.” Insu replied, biting on his bottom lip hard and looking to the side. His hand tightened around the towel under Namil’s palm.
“I was so set on killing you because of manipulating me like that.” He looked back right at the eyes that were holding his gaze intently. “You turned my body against me. My own damn body and I hate you for it.” Anger rose in his mind again as he clenched his jaw and huffed through his nose, tears gathering in his eyes once again.
“Why did you hesitate then? If you had stabbed me when you had the chance, I might’ve actually been hurt severely. I could’ve never thought you’d be so fast in attacking. Just look at how deep you pushed the knife in my leg even though I responded to your strike on pulse.” Namil’s hand cupped the side of his face gently, thumb rubbing on his cheek and the corner of his lips getting crooked from the way he pouted in thought.
“I don’t fucking know.” He whispered helplessly, hands shaking and head hanging low. “It seems as if it doesn’t matter how much I resent you in your absence. The second you walk in, the moment you’re close I just go weak. Not even physically but my mind…” He sighed shakily, keeping back a sob. “I guess I’m the one with a Stockholm syndrome in the end which is just pathetic.”
The black-haired man didn’t say anything further as he just looked at him with an unreadable expression that was now only familiar to Insu. Swallowing hard, he quickly wiped the tear that had just rolled down on his cheek away and looked down at their hands on the other’s leg. He was about to tell him to move his hand and let him continue his work when a knock interrupted them.
“Doctor Ryung is here, your highness.”
Insu panicked suddenly at the possibility of the doctor being a danger to him and his family when finding out about what he’d done. His eyes widened to their limit as he lifted his head at the speed of light and stared at the broad figure in front of him, keeping the air inside his lungs and forgetting to breathe. Namil didn’t say a word when he patted his head gently and got up. The prince walked in a limp to the door, removed the chair and opened it just enough to let the slim doctor inside before closing it again and making sure the guards couldn’t see inside.
Ryung didn’t even glance at the prince once he was in. Walking fast toward Insu and crouching down, he abandoned the giant case in his hand on the floor as he gripped his arms and examined his body all over.
“Where does it hurt?” The latter asked with a pained expression and a tired tone.
“I…” He started but couldn’t continue. He didn’t know what to say. ‘I’m not the one who’s hurt but the one who hurt the prince with a butter knife and he’s been bleeding like crazy for the past half an hour?’ He couldn’t say it. He was too scared for the safety of his parents and siblings to do that.
“He’s fine. I’m the one in need of your stitching skills. Just make sure it won’t leave a scar.” The bed screeched under the weight of the older as he sat near them.
Ryung turned toward him hesitantly, his eyes widening comically when he saw the blood and the torn pants. It was only then that Insu noticed the man had become a bit paler than his usual skin tone.
“Namil what-” The black-haired doctor rushed to the prince, worry seeping through every pore of his skin. “Who dared to do this? Who could even get close enough to-” As if he had just answered himself, Ryung turned his head toward him, staring at him with his still widened eyes. No words were spoken when he simply looked away and started taking care of the injured leg. Insu could feel Namil’s eyes on him throughout the whole stitching process as he stared at the needle and the older stared at him.
“What are you going to do about this?” The doctor said once he was done and walked out of the bathroom, drying his hands on a towel. The atmosphere in the room was so thick, it could be cut by a knife.
There was no reply for long seconds. Insu’s heart beating fast in his ears and his breath stuck as he waited for the announcement of the punishment that was awaiting him. He was getting himself ready to beg the prince to leave his family out of this. He’d do anything. Anything at all if it meant they were safe and-
“Tell them the omega has gone into another heat and I’m taking care of him. I’ll stay here until I’ve healed enough not to limp.”
Ryung simply nodded at the prince’s response as if it was only natural to try to hide the fact that he had attacked the only heir to the throne. Insu couldn’t believe it. Why would they protect him? The doctor had been furious upon seeing the prince hurt and the moment he’d put two and two together and figured it had been his doing, the anger had washed away, replaced by an expression he could only read as sorrow.
“And Ryung, pay a visit to Hyo and Duho. Tell them I’ll go there as soon as I can. And don’t let Kangdae in here. Tell him I said I want to have him to myself and that he can have him the next time all he wants.” The low voice said lazily as the black-haired man lay down on the bed, closing his eyes.
“I will. Just take some good rest, okay? The wound is deep but it’s nothing you can’t handle. You’ll be back on track in a few days. And don’t worry. I’ll play with Hyo till you’re out.” Ryung checked Namil’s temperature and brushed the hair out of his face as he talked. A low hum was all he got in response before, with a brief glance toward Insu, he packed his things into the case and walked out of the room. He was quick at putting the chair behind the door to keep it shut again.
And then he stood there. His back against the thick wooden doors as he looked at the resting figure on the giant bed. Was there really not going to be any punishments? He couldn’t believe it. He had been humiliated by this very man for simply wanting to have some fresh air not two days back and now, what? He was going to leave him be after committing such thing? There was no way. There had to be a catch. Something Insu couldn’t see yet.
“Are you gonna stand there for the rest of the day?” The hoarse voice ripped him out of his thoughts as the prince looked at him with his eyes only slightly open.
“Come here and eat your food. It’s all cold by now but you’re gonna need the strength.”
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