The Next Prince, Chapter 5 pg2
The Next Prince, Chapter 5 pg2
“I know you want sweets, but I can't let you have too much or your teeth will rot... So you can only have this as a reward for accepting your feelings. Is that okay?” The offer came with a caramel candy placed in Nin's small hand. Khanin raised his head and looked at his father with hidden sadness, still haunted by the pain...
“Father knows that his you wants to eat sweets, but I cannot let my little Nin eat too much because his teeth will hurt. Therefore, Nin can only eat this when it is a reward for himself. Is it good when the child can accept his own feelings like that?” The proposal came with a small candy placed in his small hand. Khanin looked up at his father with sadness still lurking as the pain from the wound continued to function.
“Uh.”
“Do you still want to sing?” The answer to this question is a pause. Khanin still held back, even though tears were about to fall.
“If you want to sing, go ahead, good kid.”
Memories of the past, even if time has passed. Khanin still remembers. He looked at the brown candy in his hand and weighed it in his heart for a moment before realizing that he could not reward himself this time. Finally, he chose to put the candy back where it was.
“Hey, hiding here without telling me? Don't you know I've been looking for you everywhere?” The call from a close friend drew Khanin out of his reverie. Paul walked in, while the other party stepped closer before raising his eyebrows slightly when surveying the face of his small friend.
“It's been a while, right?”
“I called your name three times. Is there something wrong?” Paul greeted him, and Khanin was confident that it was not because of his facial expressions, as this close friend knew his personality and behavior better than others.
“Just a little.”
“Just a little? But your face doesn't say that.”
“I have something to think about.”
“... “
“What are you thinking? Life is short, don't stress, just relax, take deep breaths and let it out slowly. My mom taught me to do yoga every day to help reduce stress.” Paul was good at lifting people's moods, but his friend's advice didn't seem to have a positive effect on the listener.
“Can one really avoid stress?”
“We can't avoid it, but we can reduce it. That's what I can help with.” Paul smiled charmingly and whispered softly, even though there was no one else in the room. “Samanta invited us to a party tonight at 2 a.m. They're going to pre-drink together, but I already made plans with Alex at the flat. Will you come with us?”
“Samanta? The film kids?” Khanin asked to clarify.
Samanta's friends were the same ones he used to play music with during the time they were still using tiktok. They played short cover songs on the channel to promote themselves. Khanin played the keyboard and sometimes rapped with them. That gang was a geeky music group and they had fun together, but lately he had distanced himself. This was because he had to practice his sword skills more often according to his father's orders...
“Yeah, the Samanta and Charly and others. Come on, Nin, you haven't hung out with us for a long time.” Paul said, shrugging his shoulders and standing up, taller than the smaller person.
“I...”
“Don't refuse just yet. After the class is over, I'll ask again.”
Khanin chuckled softly at his close friend's quick wit, shrugging as the larger friend led him out of the music practice room. He wasn't sure how he felt at the moment. One thing was certain: he didn't want to talk to his father, see his face, or take any phone calls. But every time he chose to attend a party...
Tattanai would usually wait until morning, or alternatively, call him every two hours...
The owner of the small body quietly withdrew his breath, intending to let go of the matter and temporarily put all his frustration aside. However, it seemed fate... or karma would not let it go as he had planned.
“Nin... Is that the guy from the club who used to look after you?” Paul's sentence was like a chain that violently yanked the smaller man's ankle. Khanin stopped, his mind searching for a way to escape, but it seemed his movements were too slow. Someone had already turned to look at them.
The two pairs of eyes met, sharp as a hawk's. The unfamiliar face that he had encountered too often lately stood not too close, nor too far away, leaning against a railing with an expression that revealed no emotions other than calm and composed, like a carved statue every time.
“Don't mind him, just keep walking.” Khanin turned back to Paul, gripping the bag that hung from his left shoulder tightly. The young man didn't hesitate or stop walking. As soon as he regained his composure, the royal-blooded individual brushed off all distracting thoughts and focused on leading his close friend to perform their student duties, without intending to look back at that person ever again.
Khanin spent nearly three hours in class that day. He paid more attention to the professor's lecture than ever before, even more so than Emma, the girl sitting at the front, or even Paul, who usually paid attention because of the subject but spent most of the class talking about party plans with the Samantha group.
One could say that Khanin's left ear was for entertainment, while his right ear was filled with academic knowledge. However, the young man didn't feel annoyed; he willingly listened to everything, mainly because... he was trying to find something else to overshadow the disturbing thoughts in his mind.
So, what's the plan for tonight?” The golden-haired young man asked with a smirk, revealing his fangs as soon as the professor walked away. Paul moved closer, bumping shoulders and raising an eyebrow with enthusiasm.
“Well, I don't want to go home anyway.” Khanin shrugged as he put his iPad in his bag, not wanting to go home and face his father, along with that annoying doctor. He hoped they wouldn't be too persistent in waiting for him.
Hadn't they been in class all day?
“Why is he still here? He's looking this way too. Strange, does he have business with you?” Khanin's guess was completely off. The unfamiliar man was still waiting in the same spot, for three full hours... He didn't know if the other party had left and come back, but such behavior was quite annoying.
“No, there's nothing.” The short man furrowed his brow and quickly denied it, feeling a slight headache.
That doctor was truly insane and persistent...
“Why did that doctor come after you then... or maybe he likes you?” The close friend with golden hair made a thoughtful expression, analyzing the situation before widening his eyes and giving a comment that nearly made the listener choke.
At first, Khanin was going to deny it, but Paul's words made him think of something. He didn't want others to know about the secret and absurd story, so diverting his friend's attention seemed like the best thing to do at the moment.
“Yes...”
“What do you mean, yes?”
Comments
Post a Comment