𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫

1.2 || Family

Seungmin remained unfazed even after hearing the little boy say "brother." He already figured that they were siblings because, from what he assumed, only members of the Imperial Family could enter the Imperial Library; if the boy was in the guarded area, that must have meant he was a part of the family.

"So this is Henry."

Seeing an unsurprised face, the small Prince began worrying that he got it wrong. The joy in his eyes wavered as he fidgeted with his hands, and his little legs swung awkwardly as he sat in the chair. Henry averted his eyes to his fingers, but when he heard a confirmational hum from Seungmin he whipped his head back up.

"Really?!" he beamed, hopping off the wooden seat and pitter-pattering to where Seungmin stood, straining his neck to look up at the taller boy. Henry, being only six, seemed about four feet tall--a whole one to two feet shorter than the Second Prince. For a while, the two of them stood and stared at one another silently.

After a moment of thought, Seungmin crouched down so that his nape wouldn't hurt anymore, closing his eyes and rolling his head to ease the stiffness. His soft hair slid from one side to another, and when he reopened his eyes, Henry was reaching out for Seungmin's hair. His tiny fingers pat down on the Second Prince's head, and Seungmin let him fiddle with the pale, mint-colored strands.

"Your hair really is green!" Henry awed. Seungmin angled his head better for the child to play with.

As Henry continued to brush his fingers through his hair, the older boy couldn't help but doze off. His energy was all wasted in the morning and the sunlight was warming his back, a perfect feeling to sleep to. But, he opened his eyes again when he felt Henry stop playing with his hair. The child took a step back and pouted.

"Mother said you don't like me," he whispered.

Seungmin narrowed his eyes. It was possible that the past Sion didn't like Henry, but that Sion was gone. Seungmin wasn't going to live his new life purposely making enemies, but he also wasn't one to go out of his way to please others. Regardless, he found himself reaching out for the little one's head and pushing the gold-streaked hair up to expose his forehead, causing Henry to instinctively squeeze one eye shut and look up at Seungmin curiously. Why he did this? Seungmin didn't know.

He retracted his hand and rested his jaw on his knuckles.

"Well, do you think I would let you play with my hair if I didn't like you?" he mumbled, unknowing of how else to comfort the boy.

As if thinking hard, Henry furrowed his eyebrows before relaxing them with a big smile.

"So Mother was wrong!" snickered the boy. He paused and a loud yawn followed suit, prompting Seungmin to yawn as well. Henry rubbed his eyes lazily and grumbled under his breath that his mother had told him to study because he was a "good-for-nothing," but Seungmin heard loud and clear. By that statement alone Seungmin could tell what type of person the Concubine was, and she quickly fell into his mental list of who to avoid. With one hand still being used to hold up his chin, the Second Prince used his free hand to pinch the four-year-old's chubby cheek.

"...Do you want to take a nap together instead?" he offered softly, releasing his hold and watching as the younger boy rubbed his reddened cheek with a pout.

"I can't." Henry pursed his lips and looked down at his feet as he drew half circles with his foot. "Mother told me that if I don't memorize all of the previous Emperors' names I can't go back to my room."

"Don't worry. If you're with me she won't get mad," Seungmin hummed, pulling Henry closer and picking him up as he rose from his crouching position. Cheering, the boy looked around to see how different the view was from the new height. He quickly turned his attention back to Seungmin.