The King's Pet

Chapter 7: The Countryside

Hyunjin's P.O.V

After Makita told me what Jian did to him that made him freeze up when I invited him into my room, I felt awful for triggering it in the first place. We'd gotten back to the castle and I couldn't stop thinking about our relationship. Even well after he'd told me I continued to let it occupy my mind. Days had passed and I was unsure about how to move forward with him. It seemed Jian had done so many awful things to Makita that I could do anything innocently and unknowingly trigger him. I couldn't imagine what it must have felt like, to be tormented by the actions of another despite being hundreds of kilometers away from them.

I didn't know what pace to set or how to help our relationship graduate without making him afraid. I didn't want him to have fear for me or anyone else in the kingdom and I certainly didn't want to keep triggering him. I was so afraid to put him in a state that I stopped touching him all together. I stopped holding his hand and walking too close by his side whenever we walked together. He seemed to notice because he mentioned it as we walked back to the castle from his tutoring lesson.

"My King...why have you been ignoring me?" He asked, his tone filled with clear despondency. In my worrying for his mental health I hadn't realised how it must've looked like to him. Suddenly, after all the affectionate gestures I'd been giving him over the past days, I just stopped without explanation for almost two weeks. No doubt he saw that as me ignoring him despite us speaking everyday as usual.

His sadness pierced my heart and I nearly went down on my knees to apologise for upsetting him. "I'm so sorry Kita, I didn't mean to ignore you, I was just scared." I admitted. "Scared?" He questioned. "After what you told me in the pool I felt horrible for making you freeze. I didn't, and still don't, know how to interact with you without reminding you of him so I just stopped touching you." I explained and the colour of his cheeks blossomed quite quickly. He looked away and used his hair to cover up his flushed over cheeks. "How thoughtful..." He whispered, though I heard.

When he was ready, he stopped in his tracks and waited for me to meet his gaze. The colour on his cheeks was still prevalent and I couldn't handle how adorable he looked. Suddenly, Makita hugged me tightly making me gasp. "Please don't be afraid to touch me, the last thing I want is for you to be afraid of me! I trust you my King, I swear I do!" He cried into my chest, holding onto me for dear life. My heart felt warm as I realised just what he'd said.

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into me, happy that he was fine with my touch. "Thank you for trusting me, Kita." I mumbled into his hair as I continued to revel in his soft hug. I stroked his hair, helping to calm him down. Then I thought of something.

"Makita, would you like to go to the Kingdom's countryside with me?" I asked him and he pulled back to look at me. His eyes were still teary and his whole face was red from crying, but he looked incredibly cute. "I'd like that my King." He responded with a weak smile. I smiled back. Then, out of sheer curiosity, I decided to take a leap of faith.

I leant down slightly and placed a delicate kiss on his forehead and his face became even more red as he registered the action. He hugged me again, using me to hide his embarrassment which made me chuckle. "You're so adorable Kita." I chuckled some more as he got a grip on himself and pulled away from me. He pouted before grabbing my hand and continuing the walk back to the castle, and I didn't hesitate to move with him and walk right by his side like I used to.

When we got back to the castle I got a servant to prepare a carriage for us. I gave him a bag so he could pack his things while I packed my own things. We finished, had lunch then left for the countryside. Considering it was a long weekend I had a roster of things lined up for us. I thought some fresh and clean country air would do him some good. He'd get away from the inside of a castle and away from the setting he'd seen for most of his life.

I planned for us to cook for ourselves and together, to go to the lake to fish and swim, go to a forest clearing for a picnic and so he could develop his painting skill. In my mind it would help him associate more positive things with royalty and being independent. I was hoping desperately that he'd enjoy it and have fun.

When we got to the cabin we'd be staying in he looked at it in awe. "I've never seen such a big and simple looking house." He commented, mesmerised as he walked towards it. I carried our bags inside and sent the carriage driver to the nearest town to get us some supplies for our stay.

I found Makita lookin out at the view from the enormous window in the living area of the cabin. "Do you like it?" I asked as I walked up and stood next to him. "It's so pretty, may we go for a walk my King?" He responded hopefully. The way he looked up at me was too sweet for me to say "no" to him and since it was still light out I decided it wouldn't hurt. I smiled and offered him my hand. He smiled back and took my hand in his.

We went out for the walk and it seemed like a refreshing activity for Makita, which made me happy. The wonder that sat behind his eyes as he asked me about various flowers and trees was amazing to see. I could almost make out a new side to him I hadn't seen before. It was similar to a child-like excitement made up of curiosity. He even let got of my hand so he could run to the stream ahead.

"My King, there are little fish in the water!" He shouted excitedly, cupping his hands in the water to scoop up some of the fish for a better look at them. "There are even bigger ones we can catch at the lake tomorrow." I said, bending down beside him. He let the fish go and we continued on our walk before, out of nowhere, Makita stopped and looked at me with a sincere but shy look in his eyes.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Hyunjin." He spoke softly, so softly I thought I didn't hear him clearly. I was in complete disbelief at the sound of my name leaving his mouth. I felt as though I accomplished my goal of continent-wide reform, but even that didn't feel as good as Makita saying my name for the first time.

"I-It's a pleasure Makita." I responded, stumbling on the sentence a bit as he continued to hold my gaze with a soft but sultry look. He leant forward seemingly stuck in the gaze we were holding and without being completely conscious of it myself, I leant towards him as well. I cupped his cheek and held his waist, pulling him closer to me by instinct. Makita's hands rested on my chest as he stood on the tips of his toes to reach my face.

Then, like we'd been robbed of the opportunity our whole lives, we kissed each other. He was soft and shy with his kiss like he didn't want to do anything wrong and, as with most things about him, I found it incredibly adorable. I pulled away slightly and turned my head so I could deepen the kiss, introducing my tongue. I barely grazed his tongue with my own when he moaned softly then pulled away, embarrassed and hiding behind his hands. I chuckled at him softly and blew at his hands which made him uncover his face but he then just looked to the side.

"I'm sorry for doing that, my King." He spoke, sounding ashamed. I held his chin and turned his face towards mine so he was looking directly at me. "I'm not..." I started. "I really like you Makita." I admitted, deciding to be honest about my feelings. "You...you don't have to lie to me..." He responded, pulling away from me completely and turning his back to me.

"I'm being serious Makita, from the moment you came to me I knew I liked you!" I raised my voice slightly out of sheer passion and desperation for him to be believe me. He turned around with tears in his eyes and a hopeful look. "Do you really like me Hyun?" He asked with a shaking voice. My heart felt like it was going to explode from just how sweet he was being. I cupped his cheeks and wiped away his tears with the pads of my thumbs. "I really do like you Makita." I confirmed with an endearing smile. He smiled back, snuffling softly before hugging me tightly.

I wrapped my arms around him and sighed contently as I stroked his hair. I never thought I'd see such progress between us and especially after our day at the pool. But seeing how fast we moved, even after that incident, made me believe he liked me just as much as I liked him, which hopefully meant that he wanted to be with me.

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