The King Likes Men

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The morning of the funeral Seokjin is in the kitchen cooking. The whole staff and residents of   Changgyeonggung Palace were sent off to the main palace to watch the cremation today, so Seokjin is able to move about freely. 

Based on this, the first thing he does is cook, because he needs to distract himself with something and cooking helps with that. 

Even though he has the TV on, where every channel showed the funeral cortège from Changdeokgung Palace to circle the streets of Seoul and end up at Gyeongbokgung Palace for the cremation of the body. 

It was embarrassing to watch. Mostly because of the people following the cortege, who were holding fans and banners with his face on them and waving them around. He felt like some celebrity but also felt that he didn't deserve it. He has done nothing to make these people love him like this. And even now all those people out there supporting him were being lied to. 

He was very much alive and suddenly felt bad because of it.

"Morning, Jin-hyung," Soobin calls, peeking his head into the kitchen. Seokjin gives him a quick good morning in reply but now he's finding himself to be really nervous because the younger male's presence here meant that it was almost time for them to head on over to the main palace for his reveal.

"Well?" Soobin asks him, taking a seat at the table. His young face expectant. "Are you excited?"

Seokjin shakes his head then accidentally burns his hand on the disk. He lets out an expletive that makes Soobin gape at him. "Sorry," he mutters, blushing at the foul word that escaped him. "I'm just nervous."

"Clearly," Soobin says bitterly.

"Yah, you're not the one who's suddenly going to 'rise from the dead' in front of billions of people."

Soobin looks amused at Seokjin's mental breakdown. "You worry too much," he says lightly then points to the TV. "You see all those people? They'd be happy knowing that you're alive." In any other circumstance, Seokjin might believe him. Seokjin isn't having it though, his mind is plummeting in absolute negativity due to nerves. 

"We're going to fail," he says, his voice catching. "Something is going to go horribly wrong I just feel it."

"Hyung, your wrinkles—"

"Stop mentioning my wrinkles!" he shouts, covering his forehead. Soobin just laughs, then moves to take a seat next to him.

Still beaming the kid leans towards him, eyes mischevious. "I heard you get grumpier with old age—ow!"

Seokjin tightens his grip on the spatula, eyes narrowed. "I will hit you again if you don't stop," he warns. Soobin holds his hands up in surrender, but there's still a hint of mischief in his eyes.

A sudden slam of the door opening makes both of them jump. Seokjin is about to duck behind the younger till he sees the two smiling faces of HueningKai and Taehyun peeking in.

"Hi," they beamed as they entered. "Sorry we're late," HueningKai states, "All the buses are running late due to the funeral."

Great, so now even the buses were being affected because of his fake death. Is the whole country pausing to mourn his fake death? Because that really makes him feel like a horrible person at the moment.

He shakes those thoughts from his head. Negativity would get him nowhere.

"We brought you more clothes," Taehyun beams, holding up a bag. Seokjin takes it from him and peeks inside. "We had Yeonjun grab them from the clothes the stylists have laying around."