Chapter Text
Ever since they were children, Jung Hoseok always knew that he and Min Yoongi were meant to be together.
Hoseok was born and raised in the slums of a gloomy town in the northern highlands, as the only son of a lowly footsoldier stationed with the garrison there. It was a bleak place for a child to grow up in, filthy and decrepit, but it never stopped Hoseok from wanting more.
The town he lived in was enclosed within stone walls to keep its people protected from wild animals and bandit attacks, and sometimes, Hoseok’s father would take him up to the top of the walls and they’d look out at the grey moors that seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction. Somewhere out there far beyond the moors, Hoseok’s father told him, was the royal capital. That was where the king lived.
The king, according to Hoseok’s father, lived in a great castle in a golden city in the south. Every town in the kingdom, theirs included, was presided over by a noble family - but even the nobles all bowed to the king. He ruled the entire kingdom and everyone, peasants and nobles alike, were all his to command.
Having an entire kingdom in your hands with everyone in it bending to your will - even though he was young, and nothing more than a footsoldier’s son, Hoseok found himself growing hungry for that kind of power. And so he decided, while standing atop the city walls, that he would do whatever it took to seize it one day. He didn’t care what he had to do, he’d fight tooth and nail until it happened.
Their town was presided over by the Min family, one of the north’s most powerful and feared noble families. Generation after generation of Mins had guarded the north across the centuries. They lived in the stone fortress at the center of town, and every family in the town, no matter how poor, paid taxes to them.
Lord Min, an alpha, was the head of the Min family and an austere man feared by many. Because of his ruthlessness, the Mins held onto the north with an iron grip, and even other noble families of the region dared not to do anything that would incur the wrath of the Min family. Everyone knew that anyone who crossed them would meet a grisly end.
Hoseok’s mother died of illness during one particularly harsh winter. And the following year, their town was attacked by another noble family’s army, who hoped to dethrone the Min family as the dominant power in the north. Although the enemy was defeated outside the city walls, Hoseok’s father was killed defending their town. This left Hoseok an orphan at the age of seven - and with no means to pay the taxes that kept a roof over his head, he would have likely died in the muddy streets, were it not for Min Yoongi.
Lord Min had five sons, and Min Yoongi was the youngest of the five Min children. He was around the same age as Hoseok, and they met him for the first time when the town gathered after the attack to burn the bodies of their fallen garrison soldiers.
A great pyre had been set up in the town center in front of the Min family’s fortress, and Hoseok watched in silence as his father’s body was placed upon it. He did not cry as he watched the flames grow, because he knew that his father would have scolded him for shedding tears. And besides, he had no tears to shed - he felt nothing but utter numbness, knowing that he was now all alone in the world.
But suddenly, he was not alone anymore. As he stood by himself watching the pyre, a little boy suddenly came to stand next to him, and slipped his hand into Hoseok’s. Hoseok was startled by this, to say the least - even more so when he saw the boy was dressed warmly in expensive furs. In a town like theirs, only a child of noble blood would be able to wear finery like that.
And that was how his friendship with Min Yoongi began.
Like Hoseok, Yoongi possessed a sharp mind and was exceedingly clever for his age; perhaps he was sometimes too cunning for his own good. He stole valuable things from his brothers for Hoseok to sell, and sometimes he’d steal coins from the Min family’s treasury itself. He would sneak out of the fortress during the night to bring them to Hoseok, unafraid of how his father might punish him if he was caught. But either way, Yoongi was much too clever to be caught, and nobody was the wiser.
This was the way that Hoseok, young as he was, was able to survive on his own without his parents. And he vowed that one day, he would repay Yoongi for everything that he’d done for him.
When he came of age and presented as an alpha, Hoseok followed his late father’s footsteps and enlisted in the garrison. He was the youngest of that year’s new recruits, but was determined to prove himself nonetheless. He trained hard, practicing with swords and bows from dusk until dawn, determined to become nothing short of the best of the best. He knew that Lord Min would come to inspect the garrison regularly, and he would choose the most skilled soldiers to serve in the Min family’s personal guard. If he was chosen, then it would bring him closer to Yoongi. He could spend the rest of his life living with him in the Min fortress instead of the filthy garrison barracks, and he could devote himself to protecting him.
As they grew older, Hoseok became tall and strong and agile on his feet, with plenty of lean, sinewy muscle from his extensive training with the garrison. As for Yoongi, who was the only one of the Min children to present as an omega, he became more and more beautiful with each passing moon. With his porcelain skin, raven black hair, and rose-red lips - as well as his irresistible scent - it was difficult for any alpha, mated or not, to not stop and stare whenever he passed by.
Because he was an omega, Yoongi was forbidden from going anywhere near the barracks, but he didn’t let that stop him. Like he had when they were children, he’d sneak out to see Hoseok, and one night when the rest of the garrison had all gone to sleep, Hoseok took Yoongi up to the top of the city walls.
Yoongi had never been outside of their town’s stone walls before, nor had he ever laid eyes on anything beyond those walls. Illuminated by moonlight and starlight, the grey moors looked like a sea of silver, and Hoseok held Yoongi’s hand in his as he told him what his father once had - that the kingdom stretched on far beyond what they could see, and that the king in the south ruled over it all.
“One day, I will give all of it to you,” Hoseok vowed to Yoongi as he swept his arm out wide towards the dark horizon, “I will give you a kingdom.”
Yoongi only smiled at him, his eyes bright under the moonlight.
“Not if I give it to you first, Jung Hoseok.”
That was when they share their first kiss - a secret kept only by the two of them and the stars that were shining above them that night.
With his determination and natural aptitude, it was only a matter of time before Hoseok made a name for himself as one of the fiercest fighters in the garrison. And it did not take long, either, for Lord Min to take notice and select him to serve as one of the Min family’s guards. And so he left the garrison barracks for the luxury of the Min fortress, eagerly anticipating the chance to be close to the one he loved.
Living at the fortress, Hoseok learned much about the Min family very quickly. Yoongi’s alpha elder brothers were all raised to be the future leaders of the north, but the only purpose given to Yoongi by his father was to be silent, look pretty, and wait to be sold off to an alpha from another noble family. While his brothers learned politics and swordplay, Yoongi was taught to sew and cook and clean. The Min family had many servants that worked in the fortress, and Yoongi may as well have been one of them as well with the way his father and brothers treated him.
But Yoongi was not satisfied. Despite his inferior status, he was the cleverest of all his siblings and was hungry for more than a just life of being some alpha’s prize. He played the role of a quiet, obedient omega well, but there was a tiger lying in wait somewhere inside of him, patiently anticipating the right moment to strike.
Because they were rarely in any sort of danger, serving as a guard for the Min family was not as exciting as it sounded, but Hoseok didn’t mind. After all, Yoongi no longer had to sneak around in the middle of the night to see him - all he had to do was walk down the hall. Yoongi would often secretly pass him sweet treats from the kitchens when he walked by, and they’d sometimes steal a kiss when nobody was watching. But for both of them, as undeniably attracted to each other as they were, it was not nearly enough. Fortunately, clever Yoongi had a solution.
Even though he was more than capable of looking out for himself, Yoongi deliberately complained to Lord Min that he felt unsafe whenever he was outside of the fortress. Strange alphas would stare at him, he said, and it frightened him. This made Lord Min uneasy, for he knew that an omega of noble blood was a precious commodity only for as long as their virginity remained intact. It was no secret that he planned to one day sell his youngest son off to some other alpha from a noble family that would be the most advantageous for the Mins to align themselves with, but he would not be able to do that if Yoongi’s purity was snatched away by some grubby commoner.
Wary of losing Yoongi’s value, Lord Min permitted him to choose a personal guard who would escort him everywhere and attend to him at all times. Naturally, Yoongi chose Hoseok. And just like that, they were able to spend nearly every waking moment in each other’s company. It was everything Hoseok had dreamed of - living in a luxurious fortress at Yoongi’s side. For a while, he thought that he was content with that, until he remembered the vow he’d made to Yoongi on the night they’d shared their first kiss.
One day, I will give all of it to you. I will give you a kingdom.
Not only did he love clever, beautiful Min Yoongi with all of his being, but he owed him his life, too. This was not enough. He had to give Yoongi more than what they had now.
But Hoseok had gotten far too comfortable, and he’d nearly let himself forget the reality of things. Yoongi had noble blood, and his father would choose a mate for him who was also of noble blood. There was no place for Hoseok in that future, no matter what vows he had made before.
Lord Min began holding large gatherings at the Min fortress and invited other noble families to dine with him. Hoseok knew what his intention was - he used those lavish banquets to show off his breathtakingly beautiful omega son in hopes of receiving offers for Yoongi’s hand in marriage and the right to mate and claim him.
It didn’t take long at all for offers to begin pouring in, and like a greedy auctioneer, Lord Min continued to hold gatherings in hopes of receiving even better ones. The more gatherings he hosted at the Min fortress, the more fiercely alphas from all sorts of noble families would fight against one another for Yoongi’s hand. It disgusted Hoseok to no end, to see them slavering over his precious Yoongi like wild animals - and Yoongi could do nothing but sit there and hold his tongue as his father flaunted him like a prize broodmare.
Even the king himself became curious as to why alphas from nearly every noble family in the kingdom were squabbling amongst themselves over an omega, and so he came to the Min fortress to see for himself. It was a grand occasion - after all, it wasn’t every day that the king would come all the way to the north. Lord Min eagerly welcomed him to the fortress, and the servants spent weeks preparing for his visit. But while everyone, Yoongi’s brothers included, clamored for a glimpse of the king on the day of his arrival, Hoseok immediately decided that he hated him.
The king, much to Hoseok’s disgust, was a potbellied older alpha who already had a mate - his omega queen who had borne him two sons, who Hoseok had heard were similar in age to Yoongi and himself. This made the king old enough to be Yoongi’s father. But despite all that, just like all the other alphas, the king spent the entirety of that night staring blatantly at Yoongi like he was a piece of meat. His eyes did not leave him for even a moment, and it made Hoseok sick to think that this was the man who wore a crown on his head and had the whole kingdom bowing down to him.
He didn’t deserve it, Hoseok thought angrily to himself. He didn’t deserve any of it.
But Hoseok was only a guard and had no right to think such things. He could only stand there rigidly, staring straight ahead as the king circled around Yoongi to admire his beauty. Yoongi remained perfectly still as well, his face void of emotion and his eyes demurely downcast like a proper omega as the king examined him thoughtfully.
The king reached out to place his hands on Yoongi’s hips, his big hands nearly able to span the omega’s dainty waist entirely. Even though Yoongi did not react or so much as flinch at the contact, Hoseok could feel himself bristling with rage. How dare the king put his hands on Yoongi like that? King or not, he had no right to touch an unmated omega so shamelessly.
“He is thin,” the king remarked after a moment, “Perhaps too thin to bear sons.”
“Yoongi is stronger than he looks,” Lord Min replied without hesitation, “He will carry as many sons as an alpha can put in him.”
Hoseok would never forget the disgusting, lustful smile that had spread across the king’s lips at those words, and he wished for nothing more than to be able to slay him on the spot. But Yoongi was looking up at Hoseok now - and he could see the faintest of glimmers in those cunning, feline eyes of his. He knew what that look meant, he’d seen it before.
Yoongi was planning something.
Less than a month after the king’s visit, word began to spread across the kingdom that the queen had suddenly passed away. And not even a day after that news had reached the north, they received a letter with the king’s seal.
In his letter, the king proclaimed his intention to have Yoongi as his new mate - and Lord Min agreed right away.
And so it was decided that Yoongi would be sent to the capital in the south to marry and mate with the king. The news had come as no surprise to Hoseok, and it was not as if he hadn’t known that sooner or later, Lord Min would choose a mate for Yoongi.
If the omega they loved was promised to someone else, any other alpha might fall into despair. Perhaps they would try to fight it, or perhaps they would make plans to run away with their lover. But Hoseok did none of those things. In fact, he was not even the slightest bit upset by the news, and this was for one simple reason - because he trusted Yoongi and knew that Yoongi loved only him.
Nor had Hoseok forgotten that on the night he vowed to give Yoongi a kingdom one day, Yoongi had made a promise of his own in return -
Not if I give it to you first, Jung Hoseok.