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ten minutes before the afternoon meal, Yoongi summons him. the same scrawny page boy from the day before strides into the kitchen, oily hair pushed back, looking far too self-satisfied in his position as he relays Yoongi's request.
Jin is to take him his food, and knows he will be held hostage for however long Yoongi deems necessary. his father's face goes red with frustration, and Minyoung seethes quietly across the kitchen, and Eunjoon watches with raised eyebrows as Jin gathers the tray in his arms and leaves the oppressive heat of the kitchen behind.
he grabs the bag of clothing he'd hidden in an obscure corner this morning, and slings it over his shoulder as he takes the narrow servants' stairs up to Yoongi's rooms.
"come in," Yoongi hollers, barely a second after Jin's knuckles meet firm wood. Jin groans, trying to balance the overloaded tray without falling over. there's a brief pause, like Yoongi is waiting for someone to enter. Jin taps his foot idly against the ground, and counts the seconds it takes for Hoseok to yank the door open.
"sorry, sorry," Hoseok offers. Jin snorts, and steps into the parlor.
"don't plan on keeping me long," he calls, loud enough that Yoongi should be able to hear it. "i think my father is ready to kill the both of us."
"no man can kill me," Yoongi proclaims. in one half-graceful movement, he drapes himself against the doorway of his bedroom, clad in nothing but a silk robe. Jin rolls his eyes, and settles down onto the thick carpet with their dinner on the low table in front of him.
"he'll try," Jin promises. he has half a roll in his mouth in the next second, the first he's eaten since crawling off his cot with the sun still well below the horizon. "i'm supposed to be working, you know."
"you work too much," Hoseok frowns, from the other side of the table. Jin shrugs.
"always something to be done around here."
"skip the small talk," Yoongi interjects. he ignores the ornate furniture and drops like a sack of flour to the floor next to Jin, his robe riding up obscenely on his thigh. Jin rolls his eyes and pointedly looks away, to where Hoseok is looking critically at the selection of dishes. "Jin-ah, the court is a mess."
"what?"
"don't act like you don't know." Yoongi levels a pair of chopsticks at him, more threatening than Jin thinks should be allowed. "no one will shut up about the handsome stranger Namjoon danced with. all night."
"ah," Jin says, and puts down the remains of his roll. "that."
"the prince has been moping all day," Hoseok mumbles, like he thinks he's being helpful. Jin's stomach churns, even mostly-empty as it is. he tugs out Yoongi's clothes from the bag, smooths his fingers over the soft lapels of the coat. the blue had been a welcome change of pace from the dusty off-white he wears in the kitchens, the shirt had settled delicately over his frame in a way he isn't used to. for the hour it had taken them to deem him acceptable, it had been nice to be pampered-taken care of by his hyungs, stations forgotten.
