fire from the ashes (MINWON)

chapter one

Jecheon, Donghae Province.
Royal residence of Prince Wonwoo, 1931.

Yoon Jeonghan was probably the most beautiful man Wonwoo had ever seen, but at the same time, the most cheating and lying man. A scumbag, a snake between his legs, that's why she had made him his best friend, and that's why he was now considering kicking him out of his house.

Wonwoo sighed loudly and placed one of his rings and his robe on the table, much to the other man's delight. Behind him, he could hear Soonyoung laughing.

"Is it funny?" He asked him, annoyed, "Do you find it funny that this criminal strips your prince of his clothes?"

"I have never seen the prince have any problem taking off his clothes," he commented casually. "In fact, I have heard from the servants that he may really like to do it, in the hallways mainly, if he meets a certain official..."

Soonyoung didn't stop because he had some mercy for his friend, no, he stopped because Wonwoo threw some mustard greens in his face, making Jeonghan laugh now.

"You're still a sore loser, Wonwoo," he commented, pretending to be disappointed in the young prince as he slipped the new ring onto his index finger. It was already the second he took from Wonwoo and surely he could take a few more from him.

It's not that Wonwoo disliked losing, after all he only lost things that had no value to him. What did a ring mean if he had hundreds? What did a robe mean to him if he had a dozen people making the most exquisite designs for him every time he asked? The answer was nothing, they meant nothing.

And that's why he wouldn't have had a problem with stripping away his belongings, if Jeonghan wasn't the winner.

"You are a cheater. A poisonous snake," he accused, pointing a finger.

Jeonghan smiled brightly at him and opened his mouth to say something unworthy of a man in his position when the door suddenly slid open.

The three men immediately stood up, Wonwoo frowning at being interrupted when he clearly asked not to be disturbed.

"I knew I could find all three of you here," Jisoo said, looking disapprovingly at the trio who caused his constant headaches, but whom he was very fond of despite everything. "Why aren't you dressed?"

That last bit was directed at Wonwoo, who, although was not naked, was only wearing a soft jeogori that was slightly transparent. Something his father would have found scandalous and unworthy of a prince, so he found it perfectly appropriate and worthy of him.

Wonwoo shrugged.

"Wonwoo gets affectionate in the mornings, you know that," Jeonghan joked, throwing an arm over his friend's shoulder as he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

And on any other day, Jisoo would have fallen for the provocation, and scolded them for being so careless and improper, but today he was strangely serious.

"Well, you better leave that for later and get dressed," he recommended seriously. "The prince is here, and he has brought companions from the royal palace. They are waiting for you in the living room."

Seungcheol was there?

Wonwoo couldn't help but look surprised at the mention of his older brother, it's not that he got along badly with him, but Seungcheol rarely visited him, being the crown prince he had had to stay in the capital and help repair not only the royal palace but the homes of all the people who had been affected by the curse two years ago.

Seungcheol wasn't a bad brother, but he was very different from Wonwoo, he didn't like silly games, he didn't like being in a place as remote and rustic as Jecheon, and above all he didn't like wasting his time.