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loeyshine · 27 days ago

Text

Voices Through Time

Epoch Book

•*⁀➷pairing: chanyeol x fem reader

Theme: romance, time-travel mystery, fantasy, past lovers au, different timeline, 90s. “I love you since 1980”.

Description: one telephone takes time to take me to you even though we are drifted aparts for years. You left me, but are we really meant to be?

Playlist: i’ve been waiting for you — las triplets

Chapter 1: The House at the Edge of Time

The train ride was long, stretching endlessly through winding fields and sleepy hills, but you finally arrived at your grandmother’s old countryside home. The house had been untouched for years, creaking with age and filled with the scent of pine and memories. You hadn’t been here since you were a child.

Dust clung to everything as you pushed the door open. A chill brushed over your skin. The house was just as she left it, down to the lace doilies and faded floral wallpaper. You explored, trailing your fingers over antique furniture, until something odd caught your eye in the study an old rotary telephone sitting alone on a small table.

It shouldn’t have been working the phone line had been disconnected years ago. Still, it rang.

You stared at it. It rang again.

Curiosity overrode logic. You picked it up slowly.

“Hello?”

There was silence… then a warm, velvety voice responded.

“…Hello? Who’s this?”

The voice was unfamiliar, male, gentle and confused.

“I… I’m Y/N. I’m visiting my grandma’s house. Who are you?”

A pause.

“This is Park Chanyeol. I live here. You must be joking this house is mine.”

You froze. “That’s impossible.”

“No, what’s impossible is that you’re using this line. It’s connected to my home. No one else is supposed to have this number.”

You blinked. “Chanyeol… what year is it?”

“1980,” he said, cautious.

Your heart stuttered. “It’s 2025 for me.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 2: A Voice That Stays

The calls continued. Every evening at the same time, the phone would ring. You and Chanyeol started waiting for each other.

You learned that he was a young musician, living in your grandmother’s house when he was in his early 20s long before she moved in. He loved the guitar, composed songs late at night, and dreamed of a future where he could make music freely. You told him about your world smartphones, EXO, AI, and how the world changed over time. He laughed, fascinated, sometimes teasing you for “making things up.”

But he believed you. Because deep down, he could feel you were real.

You looked forward to the sound of his voice. His laugh. The way he would hum his unfinished songs into the receiver. You recorded them on your phone, promising to keep his music alive.

You told him you wished you could see him.

He told you he sometimes dreamed about you.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 3: Time's Cruel Thread

One night, you woke up to static on the phone. It never rang, but something told you to pick it up.

“Y/N…” His voice was breaking up. “I think… this might be our last call.”

Your heart dropped. “What? No, no, don’t say that why?”

“I don’t know. Something’s wrong. It’s like the house is… changing. Maybe the phone’s connection to you is fading.”

“I don’t want this to end,” you whispered, choking back tears.

“Me neither,” he said softly. “But before we say goodbye, I want you to know… you made me believe in magic. You gave me songs I never would’ve written. I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

You cried. “I wish I could meet you for real. I wish I could change time.”

He was quiet for a moment.

“Maybe one day… in another life, Y/N.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 4: The Song You Left Behind

The phone never rang again.

You stayed in the house a while longer. On your last day, while rummaging through the attic, you found something beneath the floorboards: a dusty journal… with your name on it.

Inside were pages of letters you never wrote but he had. Lyrics, too. One melody was the same as a recording you made during one of your calls. Your hands trembled as you realized…

Chanyeol had known you’d find this.

On the final page was a note:

┃If the stars align and music travels beyond time, maybe you’ll hear me again. Until then, sing my song, Y/N. That way, I’ll always be with you.

┃ Chanyeol, 1999

Back in the city, months later, you heard a busker playing a familiar melody the one Chanyeol hummed. He said it was an old tune he found online, no known artist.

You smiled.

He kept his promise.

Through time, through memory, through music he stayed.

And somehow, you knew…

He was still listening.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 5: If Time Has a Door

Weeks passed since you returned home, but your heart stayed in that old countryside house and with the voice that belonged to another time.

The melody Chanyeol left behind echoed in your dreams, like a memory that refused to fade. Then one night, as you played the song on your phone, something strange happened. The lights flickered. The air turned heavy. And the old rotary phone the one you took with you as a keepsake rang.

You stared.

It hadn’t made a sound in weeks. Trembling, you picked it up.

“…Y/N?”

You gasped. “Chanyeol?!”

His voice was faint. “I don’t have much time. The connection opened again for a reason. There’s something in the house. A door. It only opens once every 25 years. If you follow the song, you’ll find it.”

Your mind raced. “How? Where?”

He whispered, “Under the attic. Look beneath the journal.”

Then silence.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 6: The Passage Between Us

You returned to the house immediately. The moment you stepped inside, the air felt different charged. Like it knew.

In the attic, you pulled back the floorboards again. Under the spot where you found the journal, you uncovered a small latch.

It led to a narrow staircase spiraling downward a secret basement.

The walls were covered with sheet music. His handwriting. Your name.

At the center of the room stood a grand mirror. Its surface shimmered like water when you stepped near it. And the melody his melody played softly from nowhere.

You reached out.

And the mirror pulled you in.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 7: 1980

You landed on soft grass under a starlit sky.

The house stood before you newer, untouched by time.

And standing on the porch, guitar in hand, was him.

Chanyeol.

His eyes widened. He dropped the guitar.

“Y/N?”

You ran to him. Neither of you hesitated. He pulled you into his arms, warm and real. You buried your face in his chest, both laughing and crying.

“You’re real,” he whispered, brushing your hair back. “I hoped… I dreamed this, but—”

“I followed your song,” you breathed. “I’m here.”

He held your hand like it was the most sacred thing in the world. “Then I don’t care how. You’re here. And I’m not letting you go.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 8: Borrowed Time

Days passed like magic. You and Chanyeol explored the world of 1980 together dusty record shops, secret lakes, quiet cafés. He wrote songs with you beside him. You taught him how to dance like a 2025 TikTok pro. He made you laugh so hard you forgot time even existed.

But eventually, it caught up.

You started hearing the song in the wind again. The mirror would soon reopen… to take you back.

“Stay,” he whispered one night, holding your hand tightly. “Even if time pulls you away, stay a little longer.”

“I want to,” you said. “But I don’t think I get to choose.”

He kissed you for the first time under starlight, with his music playing faintly in the distance.

“I’ll find a way back to you, no matter how long it takes.”

2025, Again

You woke up in the attic, alone but not empty.

The mirror was gone. The phone never rang again.

But on your phone, a new voice recording appeared. It was Chanyeol’s voice, singing your song. The one you wrote together.

You smiled.

And outside the house, a package waited at the door from a music label. Inside: a newly released vinyl record. The artist?

“Park Chanyeol – Echoes of Y/N”

Recorded: Unknown Origin, Possibly Archival

Maybe it was magic. Maybe it was time folding in on itself. But one thing was certain:

He found his way back.

Through music.

Through love.

Through time.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 9: A Name in Dust

Back in 2025, everything felt duller.

You returned to the city with Chanyeol’s songs in your ears and his memory in your heart. Even as time moved forward, a part of you was still in 1980 wrapped in his arms, watching stars blink above the countryside house.

You clung to the vinyl he left behind. It was your proof. He had existed. And more than that he had loved you.

One rainy afternoon, curiosity gnawed at you. You searched for him online. There had to be more records, maybe interviews. Something.

But there wasn’t much.

Just one thread a faded article from 2000, under a local news archive:

┃ “Young Musician Park Chanyeol Passes in Tragic Fire”

┃ April 7, 2000 Park Chanyeol, age 23, perished in a sudden fire that consumed the countryside home he was living in. The cause remains unknown. His final compositions were found intact and have since become a local legend, though his name faded with time…

Your fingers trembled.

The house. That house.

The fire happened less than a year after your last meeting.

You read the article again and again, heart breaking open with each line.

He was gone.

He had always been gone.

You fell to your knees on the floor, clutching the vinyl. The last gift he left you.

Tears blurred your vision.

He knew. He must have known. That’s why he said goodbye like it was final. That’s why he sang that last song like it would echo forever.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 10: The Song Lives On

You returned to the countryside one last time.

The house stood still weathered, quiet, hollow. But in the silence, you heard it: the faintest hum of his song, like the walls remembered him too.

In the garden, you buried a letter.

It read:

┃ I found you too late, but I’ll carry you forever. You weren’t just a voice through time.You were my heart’s echo.

I love you, Chanyeol.

— Y/N

The wind blew softly, brushing your cheeks like fingers.

And you smiled through the tears.

Because love real love doesn’t vanish.

It leaves melodies.

It leaves footprints between lifetimes.

And sometimes…

It lives again.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 11: The Final Ring

It had been months since you discovered the truth.

Chanyeol had died in a fire, his music left behind like ash and gold. And though the grief still curled tightly around your heart, you’d tried to move on piece by piece, song by song.

You stopped expecting the phone to ring.

Until one night… it did.

The same old rotary phone you kept on your desk as a relic of love that once defied time rang again just once.

You froze.

One ring.

You picked it up with shaking hands. “Hello?”

Silence.

Then:

“…Y/N?”

Your breath caught.

“Chanyeol?”

His voice was fainter than ever. Distant. Echoed.

“I don’t have much time,” he whispered. “This is the last call. The time tether is ending.”

Your eyes filled. “I thought you were gone.”

“I am,” he said gently. “But the universe… let me speak to you one more time. I needed to tell you the truth. About why we found each other.”

“What do you mean?”

“You should ask your mother… about your grandparents. About the house. I think… you’re more connected to me than either of us realized.”

Static crackled.

“Wait Chanyeol, don’t go yet—!”

“I love you, Y/N. And I always will.”

Click.

The line went dead.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 12: Blood in the Roots

You went straight to your mother’s house, heart pounding like thunder in your chest.

She was in the kitchen, surprised to see you so late.

“Mom… can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

You hesitated. “Do you know someone named Park Chanyeol?”

Her expression changed. Like a ghost had passed through her. “Why are you asking?”

“Because… I met him. A long time ago, I think. At grandma’s house.”

She stared at you for a long time.

Then quietly, she pulled out a photo album from a drawer. Flipping through pages, she stopped at one a black-and-white photo. Young faces. The old house in the background.

She pointed.

“That’s him.”

Your breath caught.

Chanyeol.

You traced the image with your fingers. “Who was he?”

She hesitated. “Your grandmother’s… first love.”

“What?”

“They met when she was very young, before she married your grandfather. He lived in that house before she did. He was a musician. She said they were soulmates… but he died young. In a fire.”

You sat down, stunned. “Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?”

“I didn’t think it mattered,” your mom said softly. “I didn’t even know his name until I found her letters after she passed. She kept a photo of him hidden in her journal. I think… a part of her never stopped loving him.”

Your heart raced. “But… I talked to him, Mom. *I talked to him.*”

She stared at you, wide-eyed.

You whispered, “He knew me. Loved me. And somehow… he came back for me.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 13: Full Circle

Later that night, you returned to the house. You placed the photo next to the rotary phone.

For the first time, everything made sense.

He wasn’t just a stranger from the past.

He was your grandmother’s lost love.

And somehow by fate, by blood, by something cosmic you had been the one to find him again.

To love him.

To say goodbye for her.

To close the circle.

You picked up the phone one last time, even though it didn’t ring.

You whispered into the silence:

“Thank you for finding me, even across time.

You were her great love… and mine too.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 14: A Year Without Him

It had been one year since the last call.

One year since the voice you loved slipped through time and silence.

And though life continued, part of you had stayed back there with the songs, the letters, the boy in the past.

But you kept your promise to him. You lived.

You graduated college with a degree in literature, your thesis titled “Echoes Between Lifetimes: A Love That Time Forgot.” You were now a published writer, known for weaving love and mystery into stories no one believed could be real stories only you knew were true.

Still, there were quiet nights when you would sit with the old phone, your fingers brushing the dial, heart aching for the voice that once whispered, “I love you.”

You’d stopped expecting magic.

Until it found you again.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 15: The Boy with His Voice

You were walking out of a bookstore café near your new internship, your tote bag filled with draft manuscripts and notebooks. The spring breeze was soft, and a familiar song was playing overhead his melody.

You weren’t watching where you were going. Neither was he.

Thud.

You both stumbled, and your papers flew to the ground.

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” he said, crouching to help you gather them.

You froze.

That voice.

You slowly looked up.

And your heart… stopped.

Him.

Same eyes. Same smile. Same way he tucked his lower lip in when he was nervous.

But his hair was shorter now. He wore a denim jacket. No guitar in sight.

And yet you knew. You knew.

“You okay?” he asked, handing you the papers with an easy grin.

You nodded, too stunned to speak.

“I’m Chanmin,” he said. “New editor at the publishing house across the street. I think fate wanted me to run into you. Literally.”

You forced a laugh, your fingers trembling. “I’m… Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/N.” He hesitated. “Have we… met before?”

You stared at him, searching his eyes, heart thundering. “You remind me of someone I used to know.”

He tilted his head. “Someone important?”

You nodded. “The most important.”

He smiled faintly, like something deep inside him recognized the weight of that.

“Well, if I reminded you of someone beautiful, I’m flattered.”

You smiled, heart aching, burning, hoping.

He handed you the last page. It was one of your short stories the one about a girl who fell in love with a boy through a telephone across time.

His fingers brushed yours.

And in that tiny second, you saw it.

A flicker in his eyes. A flash of memory. Like a chord struck from a song long forgotten.

And he whispered, quietly, like a deja vu

“…Have we ever talked on the phone?”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 16: The Last Melody

You didn’t answer.

Instead, you looked at him this man who was once your ghost, your heartbreak, your time-trapped love now standing in front of you again.

Not as a memory.

Not as a voice.

But as a beginning.

You smiled. “Do you like music?”

He grinned. “I play guitar.”

Of course he did.

“Then maybe,” you said softly, “you’d like to get coffee and talk about our favorite songs.”

And as you walked away side by side, you knew

Love had remembered.

Time had forgiven.

And fate had rewritten your ending.

This wasn’t the past.

This was your forever.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 17: The Song He Never Knew

It had been months since you met again or rather, met him, all over again.

Chanmin. That was his name now.

He was your colleague, your partner in stories, your afternoon coffee, your night-long conversation. You didn’t tell him the truth not yet. You didn’t need to. Some truths find their way home without words.

And he kept surprising you in all the ways only he could.

Like the way he strummed his guitar when he thought no one was listening. Or how he always hummed the same haunting melody while editing a tune that had no name, one you’d only heard once before

His song.

One night, you found him in his apartment, sitting on the floor surrounded by sheets of music and worn-out notebooks.

“I found this old cassette,” he said, holding up a dusty box. “I don’t remember ever recording it. But it sounds like me. And the song… it hurts, in a way I can’t explain.”

He played it.

Your breath caught.

It was your song. The one he left behind in the past. The one only the two of you ever knew.

Tears filled your eyes.

Chanmin stared at the speaker, completely still. Then his hands slowly moved to the guitar.

Without a word, he played along every note perfect.

Like muscle memory from another life.

And when the last chord faded, he looked up at you.

“I don’t know why… but I feel like this song was meant for someone I lost. Someone I promised I’d find again.”

You moved closer, kneeling beside him.

“You did,” you whispered, placing your hand over his heart. “You found her.”

He stared at you, as if seeing you truly seeing you for the first time.

And for a flickering moment…

You saw him too.

Not Chanmin.

But Park Chanyeol.

His eyes softened. “Y/N…”

You smiled through the tears. “Welcome home.”

He pulled you into his arms.

No more phone lines.

No more static.

No more goodbyes.

Just two hearts that had waited across lifetimes…

And finally, found their way back.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Final Chapter: Love, Remembered

Seasons passed quietly. Life returned to its steady rhythm. But this time, you weren’t alone.

Chanmin was by your side. The boy who didn’t remember the lifetimes he once lived but remembered you in every way that mattered.

You never told him everything. You didn’t have to.

Some days, he would catch you staring at the old rotary phone on your shelf.

“You really love vintage things,” he’d tease.

You would smile. “It reminds me of how everything started.”

One night, you gave him a copy of your book Echoes Between Lifetimes. He stayed up all night reading it.

The next morning, his eyes were puffy, red. He didn’t say much. Just held you a little tighter. As if some hidden truth in his soul had stirred… and whispered, this was us.

You married two years later. Not in a grand hall, but in the garden behind your grandmother’s house the place where the past had first whispered to you.

Soft music played. Petals danced in the wind. The same melody from long ago drifted through the air now performed live by Chanmin, who still didn’t know where the song came from.

Only that it felt like home.

As he sang, you looked up at him and thought of the first time you heard his voice on that old phone. The boy from the past. The love lost in flame. The soul reborn into your world.

He wasn’t a ghost anymore.

He was yours fully, finally, forever.

And on your wedding night, as you watched him sleep beneath the moonlight, you leaned close and whispered:

“I found you again.

You came back to me.”

In his sleep, he smiled.

As if some part of him had always known.

But love like this?

It never truly ends.

It simply begins again… in another life.

9 notes · View notes

glorianamultistan · 2 years ago

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The General and The Prince

Park Chanyeol x Male Reader

Contains:- mentions of wars, blood, and kidnapping.

A little over a week ago, y/n's life was all over the place, and it still is; the difference is that now he is married to the vilest person he could have probably thought of while imagining a married life.

But life changes happen often so abruptly that one is found sitting in an emptied ballroom, with a burnt-up piece of dress shriveled up in hands clutching it tightly while the castle palace all around collapses.

Y/n was well aware of the fierceness of the General who was the primal cause of every defeat his kingdom had suffered; the end result of the war was pre-destined the day enemy troops crossed the inner walls of their most secured military base, but for it to come to this was never imagined.

A surrender was in process to safeguard the capital; y/n's father was hellbent on not letting the enemies cross the gates of the capital and destroy it like they have left ashes and misery in the path they have followed.

Yet General Chanyeol was not satisfied with it; he had to take the main palace down, and that was his aim, swearing which left his country.

Y/n sat there, ashen and mute, staring at the embers still there all around him; his clothes were still intact, he had a few cuts and burns throughout his hands and that was it; he sat as if in a trance, without any emotion on his face, so still that to an observer it would be a photograph symbolising doom.

Chanyeol saw y/n sitting there, he knew who it was and he knew why it was important to not touch him still; something in him was calling out, a melody, rising, rippling like an unknown sea coming up from the depth of the earth; it was the very last step which brought him so close to y/n that he was able to clearly see the tear stains on his cheeks that made enough metallic noise to break the young prince's trance and look up; there it was, the face that he denied to dance with at the last winter ball, still looking unfazed, 'let's get out of here your royal highness' said Chanyeol, with a proud grin, that is all he remembers before blacking out.

'Is this really the only thing you are going to ask for, General?' The King was shocked, and the Queen and the princesses too; everyone was ready for General Park to ask for rank promotion; the King even decreed a Dukedom, only for winning over the major ports and cities of the enemies, but to ask to marry the prince of the enemy was unprecedented.

'Yes your majesty, this is all. Now, if you may permit, I will take my leave.' Chanyeol left the murmuring throneroom and made his way to the room housing y/n, it was the fourth day since he arrived with the prince there, and he was informed that the younger regained consciousness last night.

'Leave.' As soon as he entered the room, he ordered all the attendees. He went forward and sat on the chair next to the bed facing the wall opposite to it. The prince was leaning on the headboard with his head down.

'So, your royal highness, how do you like our facilities here?' Chanyeol cocked while turning to look at y/n. No response. After a few minutes, the older continued, 'We will give the inner territories conquered by us back, and you will be marrying me for that to happen.' Y/n knew this was coming; all the threats the General made for years to make him dance with him whether he likes it or not, to marry him and only him, they were all real which y/n took in jest as he was too proud to accept such an invitation.

'You know, keeping quiet will not lead you anywhere, so say what you have to now, I am here to listen, I grant you a wish too, as is the ritual here, ask for anything but return.' Chanyeol was suddenly all perched up, looking at y/n. 'Respect' y/n whispered; his throat was still hurting due to all the smoke he inhaled.

'What?' 'I ask for respect; if you can grant that, I will say yes to the marriage.' There was a stretched silence, the fountain of the connected gardens was all one could hear, then a deep inhale, 'Okay, if that is the only request you have, you will have titles here too, I have been granted a Dukedom and you will be living comfortably, nobody will disrespect you, even at the court. I will assure you that.' 'I want respect from you too; you have taken, vehemently snatched everything, still you are returning the territories, so I will say yes, but I want respect from you too.' 'Will I get the respect back my prince?' Chanyeol smirked; he knew how irritatingly ambitious he was, 'Yes.'

The only win here seemed to be that of Chanyeol; it was the completion of his grand plan, the final nail in the coffin; this is what he has been dreaming about since he set his eyes on y/n a few years ago during a festival, he was just a mere soldier back then, he bloodied his hands to get to the level of a reputed General to be asked in a ballroom full of aristocrats, then too he was denied the chance to be with y/n as the prince knew how ruthless the General was and y/n hated wars and murders.

After a few days of convalescence, all of which were accompanied by Chanyeol, who updated him about the upcoming marriage and all the preparations, y/n was free to meet his family.

A troop was sent with him to the castle on the farthest side of his kingdom where his family was currently staying after the attack on the capital. His father was annoyed and his older brother was not helping with the mood too; they were all dejected that it had to come to this but none of his relatives even suggested going against the marriage.

'We will gain back our territories; think about your brother's future as a limited king; you need to persuade your fiance to let go of all the territories and not just the inner ones.' 'I am doing no such negotiations, I am already becoming the reason for you to get back what you lost shamefully, do not try to depend on any of my upcoming relations, have some self-respect father.'

'Self-respect!?' Y/n brother screamed making him bounce in shock a little, 'It was your deranged idea of self-respect that caused this war; if only you could have given him a chance he would have never attacked us like this. And look where you stand; you are forced to do what you never really wanted and did whatever you could to stop it.'

'Well, brother, you do remember who it was who first denied me to dance with him, don't you? 'A self-obsessed lowly General' is what you said when he asked you for a dance with me the very first time we went there for the Royal Ball.'

'But later he became a threat so I urged you to give him a chance too, then you were the one who was hell-bent on denying him!'

'Enough! Stop arguing about what has already transpired and think about the future. Y/n, son, you must not waver and make demands; you are a prince, he is a General, and the rank difference must come into play.'

'Update your information father, because you seem to be having none; he is a Duke now, and even if I am a prince, of a mostly fallen kingdom I must remind you, I have no intentions of making any more deals for and on behalf of this marriage. I will leave now, I am not waiting for dawn to have another fruitless discussion, farewell your majesty, brother.'

With a solemn bow, y/n left as he came, with the metallic clinks and rustles of the troop.

Reaching the other kingdom he was informed that rather than going to the palace, he would be going to the new manor of Chanyeol, which was now decked and ready for his arrival. He was greeted by the whole household and finally met his mother-in-law, who opposite to what he had expected, was too sorrowful to handle without any prior preparation.

'I am ashamed to be hosting you like this, your royal highness; please find a way to ignore all the mess; the house is still not up to date with all that is necessary to be having you here.' The lady wouldn't even raise her head, 'Please sit now Lady Park, I have no reservations as such regarding the place, I am pleased that I am not in a prison after a war, and please do not make a fuss about the titles, you are going to be my mother-in-law so we can work things out.' 'Oh no sir, I do not accept any of this, I am more of an apologist for my son's actions right now in front of you; he paid no heed to my requests and did what all his swelled-up ego allowed him to do. I don't know how will I ever get over the fact that my son forced you into such a situation.'

'Lady Park, I just had this conversation with my father and brother too; let us please move on from what has happened and try to resolve the situation peacefully and think about how the path ahead can be one that is less painful to go by.' 'You are as kind as the rumours suggested sir; please let me know about any trouble you have here, and I will look into it right away; let me take you to your room for now; you must rest before tomorrow's ceremony.' 'I am not a guest here Lady Park, I am supposed to live here, so please do not be at your tip-toes around my comfort; let us go; it is quite late now.'

Y/n's room was, for now, pretty well arranged; he could run away pretty easily from here, the manor was secured but if he asked Lady Park to help him, he was sure that she would do all in her power to let him go without a scratch; but it was useless to do so, he had nowhere to run and if somehow he managed to cross over to the other kingdoms there was no guarantee of his survival, he had no money of his own or any possession, so he sits down on the bed and flops, to stare at the roof and think, think about tomorrow when at a private ceremony he will accept now Duke of Sandria Park Chanyeol, then he will be living with that man under this roof, as his husband, for the rest of his life, was respect the right choice?

The rituals were over; they were married, no gala, no ball, a peaceful summation of more than five months of unrivaled violence. Y/n was sitting in his room, with a book open as a distraction while looking out of the giant window; the land surrounding the manor was beautiful, and the hills were lush green and mild dew which the mist caused made it all look fantastical.

'Come in.' Y/n answered the knocks and did not look back at the door, thinking it was some maid or servant who came to take his belongings, or gifts as they were, away, 'You looked beautiful today, Mr Park.'

Y/n stilled for a moment, then closed the book and turned back. 'Why did you knock at my door? This is your house.' 'I believe privacy should be respected too; you have all the right to say no.' 'I believe I lost all the rights to deny anything the moment I said yes to you today.' 'Don't make it more miserable than it already is dear, I have no intentions of hurting you, I just want to talk to you before going to my room.'

'Oh? I will get a room of my own?' 'Until you are ready to share a bed with me, yes, you will have a room to yourself.' 'Then I guess there will be no more direct descents for the Dukedom.' 'Time will tell. Well, if you have any requirements tell to my mother who is pretty much willing to serve you food if you want, (he sits on the bed) I will be going on a tour soon so we have a week to spend together and unfortunately my sister will be coming to meet you too.'

'You know, I feel like this is all a dream; as absurd as it may sound, it has yet to settle down on me, because I never thought I would be taken away from one prison to another like this. I knew my father wanted to marry me off as a peace offering to any kingdom willing, but it happened so that I was actually picked up, like a garbage bag.'

'Don't demean yourself; you are the crown jewel I snatched, and this is not a prison; you can go anywhere you want, do anything you want; you do not need my permission for anything, just remember to come back otherwise there will be useless wars again.' 'Don't worry, I will not run away, I will stay, and live, but do not expect me to reciprocate your feelings, whatever they may be, and we will be fine; a lot depends on this marriage, I do not want my people back home to suffer because of my foolishness.' 'Ah well, I will go now; also, try to accept people here too; they see you as a prince and no less; good night.'

The next few days were calm, weirdly bland, and nothing happened, which made y/n realise how calm life can actually be; back at home before the war all he did was read and attend events or be locked in the palace; there was nothing to do, he was not allowed to go anywhere too since the threat of people kidnapping him was always looming, which he never understood why, kidnap the crown prince why the other one.

On the third day Lady Kim, Chanyeol's sister, arrived, and she was like her mother in a grave mood, fidgeting while meeting y/n; he did not understand yet again, why such courtesies for a snatched prince, 'Your royal highness, I am sorry I was not able to attend the wedding, I live quite far away from Sandrian region and it was such a shocking and sudden news.' 'It is alright Lady Kim, please do sit down, you too Lady Park, I have said it to you multiple times don't wait for me to sit, just sit; let us cut back on some formalities insides these walls at least, we are a family now, forced indeed, but I have not a drop of vengeance in me, if you ask me honestly, I used to live like this back at home too, so, let us just be comfortable.'

'How are you adapting to the changes, sir? It gets colder than your kingdom here, I hope my brother has made arrangements for you to be at ease.' 'I am doing well, I have always adored winters more than the humid summers we had, so I can say I am better off here in some sense.' 'Oh it is good to know; we can all go and skate over the lake once it freezes and you can attend the winter festivals; we have a lot of them throughout the empire, I am sure the public is eager to meet you too.'

Lady Park put down her cup and said 'They are eager indeed, I have more than a dozen invitations for the balls and dinners already, and all asking specifically for his roya... I mean, y/n to join them.' It was as hard as biting a bullet for her to let go of the formalities in which she had soaked herself into the bones.

So it went on, and a week went by, full of still awkward lunches and dinners and a few guests to be entertained; throughout the week he did not see the head of the house anywhere, technically he was the head too but he liked Lady Park being in command more as he was not used to being the one in authority of a household.

One Saturday, after almost two weeks of disappearance, Chanyeol knocked on y/n's room around the ungodly hour of 1 AM. Y/n was a bit scared by the knock; he was writing a letter of reply to the crown princess as she had invited him to the palace for a private visit and did not expect anyone to be up this late. 'Can I come in?' The rasp was the giveaway, 'Please wait a minute, I am not presentable.' Y/n was not; he was in his robes; he quickly put on a loose shirt and trousers the said 'You can come in now.'

'Why are you up so late your royal highness.' The courtesy was more sarcastic than respectful, 'I have not been able to sleep, I have weirdly a lot of correspondents to reply to so I thought why not do that.' As he finished speaking and arranging paper on his desk facing the grand windows, he turned to look at Chanyeol and was shocked to see blood all over his clothes; for a moment he was stunned; y/n was not a fighter; he hated the very sight of blood when his brother would come from his military tours and right now, in front of him was a man almost soaked in blood, in his room talking to him, and he felt scared for the man, so much so that without thinking about who he is talking to, he had to verbalise it.

'What the hell happened to you!? So much blood!? Why are you here!? Go to a damn hospital for god's sake!' He almost screamed the last part, and was shaking so much that Chanyeol had to walk from the door side to hold him. 'Calm down, it is not mine.' 'DO NOT TOUCH ME LIKE THIS! I HATE BLOOD!' Y/n screamed in whispers while shutting his eyes. 'Okay! Okay. Will you try to calm down please, wait just turn around.'

Chanyeol took off his pads and shirt and gloves and threw them out of the room, then shut the door to come back in and saw y/n standing still, 'you can turn around now.' The glory of the human body was never so well available for y/n to look at like this; his brother was muscular and well built but nothing he can imagine, even the Commander in chief of his kingdom's army was not comparable to Chanyeol, yet he had to control himself once again. 'What happened? You are still wounded you know, I see the cuts on your arm, not that they should do anything to such a great General, but get treated I guess.' Y/N had already turned around again flustered.

'Nice to know you care, and sorry for coming in like this. I had no idea you would have such a reaction upon seeing blood. I will keep that in mind. I came to check up on you as I was attacked on my way here by some people who were allegedly from your father's kingdom, so I thought why not check up if you are safe or not.'

'Oh. Don't worry, my father does not want me back; they would never come for me; rather, they might kill me as it was pretty clear that I caused the war that destroyed them.' 'Something's wrong with your family, I have never seen anyone react like this to all the events that have happened.' 'Well, why dwell on it. I am here; you survived another attack, and all is fine.' 'Nice to know my survival is fine for you.' 'Don't get ahead of yourself; my survival depends on your survival, do not forget that you brought a prince from your enemy kingdom after a war. You must survive, I plan on living a long life.' Y/n turned and looked straight into Chanyeol's eyes.

There was an understanding between them that some lines are put up and they shall not be crossed, and respect was mutual. 'I will be staying for some time; we have to go to the palace soon, a private invitation. I hope it won't be a problem for you to attend, I have yet to accept it.' 'I was writing to the crown princess; we can go, I have no problem, just keep your mother here; she will probably fall sick due to all the stress she will take about a royal visit.' 'You like her?' 'I never had a mother; she is a good company, but frail for her age; you never thought about her while fighting wars?' Now y/n was sitting on his bed, and Chanyeol was in front of him on the chair where a y/n sat writing letters.

'I thought of her; that is why I never told her any trouble or wound or failure I ever had, and I had a retinue of servants to look after her.' They were again staring at each other; where will all of this arrangement lead them? Nobody had any idea; it was a day-to-day event still.

'Well, I will take my leave; you should sleep, I will ask them to serve the breakfast an hour later than usual.' 'Don't do that; your sister and mother should eat on time, I will just get up early.' Chanyeol was surprised at how well y/n was settling in; it was as if for the first time he had somewhere to hold on to. 'Okay then, good night my prince.' Chanyeol smirked closing the door, and left y/n flustered again.

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