The Grand Ball

It was finally the day of the grand ball, the day Prince Jimin had been looking forward to since they started making preparation 3 months ago. As usual, he would be the one greeting the citizens at the main entrance. He was all suited up with a sparkly sequined black blazer paired with a white button-up silk that had a ribbon collar decorated around his neck. His hair was styled loosely around his head and slightly parted in the middle. His plump lips were a dash of pink and the outline of his cat-like eyes was sharpened with a shade of light brown. He wore his pretty smile on his pretty face every time the Alanians bowed down to him upon entrance. Small conversations such as 'How are you feeling today?' or 'Please look forward for today, we prepared a lot of great food' or 'Please enjoy your time!' were being repeated by Prince Jimin like a mantra. Even though he only became royalty through the marriage of his mother, the Alanians sincerely thought he looked like he was born to become a prince either way.

Prince Hoseok was still inside his bedroom, making final touches to his look. He knew how much the grand ball meant to his dongsaeng so he wanted to try his best to hide the feeling of anxiety and nervousness that were haunting him like a predator. Yoongi was stood a few feet away from the prince, examining his behaviour with an anguish look on his face. Prince Hoseok acknowledged and gave his personal bodyguard a weary smile.

"Don't give me that look, Yoongi. Everything will be fine. Don't you trust me?" the prince quizzed.

"I trust you. I just don't trust Hobi and J-Hope," Yoongi confessed. "Especially, J-Hope."

"I don't trust him either. I know J-Hope is violent, but as long as he doesn't do anything that causes misfortune towards the Alanians, I think he's still under control," Prince Hoseok attempted to reassure Yoongi but it was not working at all because the prince didn't entirely know the truth.

'But something did happen, Your Highness,' Yoongi monologued. It was true. After J-Hope went berserk towards Taehyung when Prince Jimin tried to introduce them during last year's grand ball, he had managed to escape and went straight to the vacant downtown while everyone was still enjoying dinner inside the castle. The guards had found him two hours later with his hands full of scratches and traces of blood. None of the Alanians found out the cause of the incident but still it brought shame towards the royal family in silent. Prince Hoseok never found out about it as well. Doctor Namjoon had advised that it was better if the prince doesn't know as it would only cause further complications with his inner feelings. Since that day, King Sihyuk had ordered extra security for Prince Hoseok as a precaution of not wanting the same thing to happen again.

Prince Hoseok noticed Yoongi was spacing out so he spoke again, "There's nothing to be worried about, Yoongi. Let's just enjoy the night, shall we?" Yoongi nodded obediently and proceeded to open the door for his prince to walk through. He followed closely from behind, silently praying and hoping that there was indeed nothing needed to be worried about.

They reached the grand ballroom and Prince Hoseok immediately spotted his dongsaeng busying himself socializing with the Alanians. Prince Jimin felt the eyes on him so he spun around and he caught his hyung looking at him as a huge grin broke across his face. He politely excused himself and raced towards his hyung, plunging himself into his inviting open arms. They broke apart and Prince Jimin couldn't stop giggling through his eagerness.

"Hyung, you look very handsome!" Prince Jimin exclaimed. The older prince waved off his hand but Prince Jimin continued with a playful tone, "I'm serious, hyung. Finally, you are more handsome than me."

"Am I more handsome than Seokjin as well today?" Prince Hoseok joked.

"I think you beat him!" Prince Jimin asserted confidently.

"Alright, alright. Let's go take our seats." Prince Hoseok tugged his dongsaeng's arm and started to pace. Prince Jimin was practically skipping beside him while he hummed merrily to random melodies with his arms swinging back and forth. Before Prince Jimin came into Prince Hoseok's life, he never would've pictured himself to be able to survive his misery, ever. His dongsaeng had taught him that not everything in his life happened because it was his fault. Bad things didn't happen because we asked for them to happen; they just simply did. Even though Prince Jimin never fully understood the cause of his hyung's split personalities, he somehow managed to ease the situation with the positivity and happiness that he kept on spreading. Prince Hoseok cherished Prince Jimin too much and he hoped that there would never be a day where his dongsaeng found out what happened to him in the past. The last thing that he ever wanted was to make the person he cared so much about, worried sick about him.

The princes took their seats and Prince Jimin spotted Taehyung's family not far off from where they were sitting. He turned to Prince Hoseok and whispered, "Hyung, after father's speech, let's go meet Taehyung first before we eat." Prince Hoseok responded with a keen nod because even though his stomach was grumbling, how could he say no to Prince Jimin's pleading eyes.

King Sihyuk's speech was short but solid. He ended it with, "Last but not least, please enjoy the feast!" The crowd roared with clapping sounds and some whistling noises could be heard from the back. Prince Hoseok started to feel claustrophobic as the anxiety began to take over him. He felt like the crowd was giving him too much attention and he couldn't stand all the people that were scanning him up and down, as if they were judging him. But he knew it wasn't like that at all, he couldn't stop himself from feeling that way and he hated himself for not being able to control his emotions. He was panting heavily as sweats trickled down his face. The gigantic air-conditioned ballroom suddenly felt too hot and he was feeling nauseous. In reality, nobody noticed his change of behaviour but he could've sworn he felt every pair of eyes inside that ballroom were piercing through him like thousands of tiny knives. Prince Hoseok scrambled to grip on Prince Jimin's arm and the young prince was quick with his reflexes as his head snapped to the side to look at his hyung with widened eyes.

"Are you okay, hyung?" Prince Jimin asked with concern.

"I-I think I need to take a break, I'm going to the b-bathroom," Prince Hoseok breathed, the trace of shakiness was clear in his voice.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"It's okay. I'll go get Yoongi. D-Don't worry about me, okay?" Prince Jimin frowned and he nodded sadly. Prince Hoseok flashed him an exhausted smile before he silently exited the ballroom. Prince Jimin slumped down in his seat and toyed around his food with a fork. Queen Adora noticed so she got up and sat in Prince Hoseok's vacant seat.

"Is Hoseok okay, baby? Where did he go?" the queen asked.

Prince Jimin sighed before he answered, "He went to the bathroom. I think the crowd is making him nervous again."

"He went on his own? I'll go check on him."

"It's okay, mom. Yoongi is with him. Don't worry."

"I think you should say that to yourself. The look on your face is obvious." Queen Adora stroked his son's cheek and told him to cheer up even though she knew he would not stop worry about his hyung. She offered him a smile and went back to her original seat next to her husband, King Sihyuk. Prince Jimin tried to hide the perplexed look on his face for the sake of the Alanians. He didn't want them to find out that there was something bothering him.

Prince Jimin finished his appetizer and Prince Hoseok still haven't come back yet. He wanted to go check on his hyung but he knew it would be a bad thing if both princes were missing in action. Instead, he took out his phone and texted his hyung a message from under the table. King Sihyuk had once told him to not ever use his phone during important events like this so he made it quick without anyone noticing. He slipped his phone back inside his pocket and stood up to go find things that would distract himself. He decided to go over to Taehyung's table. He walked down the aisle and he could already see Taehyung waving both of his arms like he was marshalling an aircraft. Prince Jimin breathed a small laugh at his childhood friend's goofiness and proceeded to walk faster. Jungkook was seated next to Taehyung with his doe eyes widening at the sight of the prince approaching their table.

"Good evening, Your Highness!" Jungkook stood up abruptly and did a complete 90 degrees bow as soon as Prince Jimin reached their table. Taehyung snickered loudly and Jungkook slightly shoved him.

"Good evening, Jungk—" the prince paused suddenly when he saw Yoongi walked past him. He blinked a few times and turned on his heels to go get Yoongi. He took a hold on Yoongi's shoulder and the personal bodyguard stopped in his track before he turned around and bowed slightly towards the prince.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Hoseok-hyung?" Prince Jimin asked, genuinely confused. Yoongi shot him a quizzical look.

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

"Hoseok-hyung went to the bathroom half an hour ago because he felt nervous. He said he was going to get you. Didn't he call you?" Yoongi quickly took out his phone, worried that he had accidentally put it on silent. But when the flicked on the screen, it was empty.

"He didn't." Yoongi dialled Prince Hoseok's number immediately and put the phone on his ear, anxiously waiting for it to be picked up.

"Can you please go check on him?" Prince Jimin pleaded.

"Yes, Your Highness." Yoongi bowed down again and sprinted towards the exit of the grand ballroom. Prince Jimin took a deep breath to calm himself down. He had to put on the happy mask on his face in order to hide his real facade. He had to, for his own people. Once he was more relaxed, he went back to Taehyung's table.

"Is everything alright, Your Highness?" Jungkook questioned politely.

"Yes, Jungkook. Just some problems at the kitchen, nothing serious," Prince Jimin laughed it off. Taehyung squinted his eyes, he knew his Jiminie better. He knew it had definitely nothing to do with the kitchen. They chatted for almost 10 minutes when suddenly most of the crowd stood up and was beginning to surround the royalty's table.

"What's going on?" Taehyung asked, also standing up. Prince Jimin ignored him and darted towards the chattering crowd as everyone made way for him. As soon as he reached upfront, his knees buckled involuntarily. He couldn't register the sudden pressure that was beginning to burn his kneecap as it hit the floor. He felt tears pricking at the corner of his eyes as he watched the guards lifted King Sihyuk's unconscious body onto a stretcher. His father had collapsed, again. The crowd whispers were getting louder and louder and Prince Jimin was still glued to the floor, unable to process the whole situation. His heart thumped loudly against his chest and he could feel the sound of blood rushing inside his ears. But the sudden buzz in his pants got him out of trance and he quickly realised that it came from his phone. He slipped it out with trembling hands and he felt his heart dropped, literally, as soon as he read the text message on top of the screen.

It was from Yoongi, and it said, 'Prince Hoseok is missing.'