The King Likes Men

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It pained Namjoon to be away from Seokjin after everything that happened, it killed him really. He wanted nothing more than to run to him and beg. Beg for forgiveness, beg for him not to hate him, bet for him to continue loving him.

However, the days went by and he never got the chance to even get close to him. After every date he would storm into the palace, sprinting down the hall till he made to the kitchen where he would once watch Seokjin cook. 

Seokjin was never there. 

Out of pity, Yoongi had informed him that Seokjin would just go in and cook at random times each day, not really following a schedule like he had before. And it pained Namjoon to know that he was doing it to avoid him.

Namjoon knew he messed up, knew that he deserved the treatment he was getting. Jungkook and Geong-min's words echoed in his head.

"He said you had something to prove to him." He knew what he meant, he just had no idea how to prove it when the other was avoiding him.

Something had changed with Seokjin, Namjoon caught it when he would watch the footage from The Reveal. He had become confident, started to let loose and seemed to just not take things so seriously. He had started to mingle with the other candidates. Over the course of the last two weeks it seemed he had grown close to candidate number 308, Lee Jae-hwan. 

Namjoon didn't like that. Watching Seokjin flirt with another man made him uncomfortable, made him worry. What if Seokjin found someone else? Was he considering it? Would he be happier?

"Your highness, please watch out!"

Namjoon glanced up as soon as he heard the scream, the saw the tree in his path and squeezed the front breaks of his bike as hard as he could. The bike stopped but Namjoon flew, it seemed like it all happened in slow motion as his body flipped forward and crashed to the ground, the air escaping him when a part of the bike landed on his stomach.

He could only muster up a groan when he heard the worried cries of the staff members. 

"Your Highness! Are you okay?!"

Joon opened his eyes. Lee Jung-hwan, candidate number 4986 and the last of the thirty remaining candidates he had to go on a date on, stared down at him with worried eyes. Namjoon gave him a weak grin.

"I'm alright," he assured, "Just got a bit distracted is all."

Jung-hwan nodded, extended his hand. Joon grabbed it, feeling a sharp pain in his hand. Yet he ignored it and pulled himself up, dusting himself off as the staff came and checked on him. Namjoon couldn't be more embarrassed at the situation and just hoped they would edit that part out. 

By the end of the date, he could feel the aftermath of his fall. Every muscle ached and his back was especially killing him. His hand throbbed and hurt like hell. No one seemed to notice.

It was a bit petty of him not to request help. He should probably go straight to a royal doctor to get his hand checked out but he wanted to get to his destination as fast as he could. If a doctor saw him they would just lock him in a room and tell him not to strain himself.

Too much trouble.

He walked down the hall towards the royal kitchen, knowing that Seokjin wouldn't be there but yet still hoping. Just as he figured, the kitchen was empty. He sighed. He should've expected as much. He headed on back. He wasn't allowed to go near Seokjin's hallway, Yoongi had ordered the guards to immediately report to him if he even glanced in that direction. But that didn't mean he couldn't go visit the areas opened to all the candidates in hope of catching a glimpse of Seokjin.