Chapter Text
Spring had basically exploded across the Imperial Palace by the time Hao came back from his week-long break.
The whole courtyard smelled like fresh blossoms. Cherry petals drifted in the air like someone had turned on nature’s confetti machine. The sky was clear, the sunlight looked soft and warm, and for a second Hao felt relaxed until he stepped into the Crown Prince’s private gym and saw that:
He froze in the doorway.
Sung Hanbin was doing shoulder presses, muscles flexing under a sleeveless shirt, sweat catching the sunlight dramatically like he was starring in an action movie but the problem wasn’t the muscles.
It was the hair.
The wild, overgrown, chaos-of-a-beard hair.
The moustache-that-had-lost-its-path hair.
Chest hair peeking out as if trying to flee.
Even his arms looked like they'd joined some kind of rebellion.
Hao's soul left his body.
“…Hanbin,” he said, blinking very hard, “What. Is. That. On. Your. Face.”
Hanbin immediately perked up like a golden retriever spotting his favorite toy.
“GEGE!!!” he shouted, dropping the weights with a metallic crash that made the guards outside jump.
Then - of course - he ran up to Hao, big goofy grin with a big hairy face.
“Nope! Stop right there,” Hao said, holding out his palm like a traffic officer dealing with a disaster.
Hanbin screeched to a stop, bewildered.
“Gege?”
Hao squinted at him as if trying to decode ancient hieroglyphs.
“Hanbin… baby… my dear Crown Prince of Korea… what have you done to yourself?”
Hanbin rubbed the back of his neck, flustered.
"Uh... you weren't here to remind me."
“Remind you?” Hao stepped closer, inspecting his beard like it was a crime scene.
“Seven days, Hanbin. I left for seven days and you turned into a walking fur coat.”
Hanbin puffed up hopefully, “Do I look more manly?
“You look like you got into a wrestling match with a yak and lost!”
Hanbin wilted immediately, shoulders drooping, “I thought you’d like it…”
Hao sighed the sigh of someone who had accepted their fate as the lifelong babysitter of a very sweet, very clueless prince.
“Hanbin,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “you’re a Korean public figure. Clean-shaven men rule this country. Do you know what would happen if the media saw you like this?”
Hanbin blinked.
“Compliments?”
“NO YOU IDIOT PEOPLE WOULD RIOT.”
He circled Hanbin, observing the aftermath.
"Show me your arms."
Obediently, Hanbin raised them.
Hair. Everywhere.
“Oh my god,” Hao groaned, “Even your armpits are rebelling. What kind of vacation did you take while I was gone?”
"A hairy one…" Hanbin muttered.
Hao snapped his fingers at a nearby guard.
“Call the imperial barber. Emergency Level five. Bring extra razors.”
Hanbin’s eyes widened, “Gege! Do we need the barber? You shaved me last time-”
“That was before I realized the amount of maintenance you require. I am a secretary, not a lumberjack.”
The imperial barber entered, seemingly calm until he saw Hanbin.
He paused, blinked and looked at Hao like: "Sir, how did you let this happen?"
Hao motioned only towards Hanbin.
“Fix him.”
Hanbin sank into the reclining chair with the defeated energy of someone who knew they’d brought this upon themselves.
Hao crossed his arms beside him like an annoyed parent supervising a very chaotic toddler.
A layer of the warm shaving foam was applied onto Hanbin's face by the barber.
Hanbin yelped, “It’s cold!”
“It’s literally warm,” Hao said, “Stop being dramatic.”
“But gege, it tickles!”
“Hanbin, you are the future Emperor of Korea. Control yourself or I’ll shave your eyebrows too.”
Hanbin’s hands flew to his brows, “GEGE YOU WOULDN’T-”
Hao raised an eyebrow, an elegant gesture, "Try me."
The barber, sweating, carefully slid the razor along Hanbin's jaw.
Hair flaked off immediately, leaving only smooth, pale skin underneath.
Hanbin opened one eye and peeked through.
“Gege… am I still handsome?”
“You'll see, when we are finished extracting the Amazon rainforest out of your body.”
“Gege… you’re so mean…”
"Mean? I'm SAVING your public image."
But Hao’s voice softened just a little, without meaning to.
“Of course you’re handsome.”
Hanbin smiled so sweetly that Hao almost choked.
The robe was arranged, the screens were placed, and the barber moved on to Hanbin’s chest, arms, back, shoulders—basically everywhere except the parts indecency laws protected.
Every time the foam hit his skin, Hanbin would flinch.
“Gege, it’s cold-!”
“Deal with it.”
“Why is there so much foam??”
"Because you have enough hair for three people!"
“Gege, help me-”
“Just sit still before you make him slip and become the first Crown Prince to die from a grooming accident.”
Hanbin reached for Hao’s hand in comfort.
Hao pretended not to notice… but tightened his fingers just a little more.
A panel slid open.
Hanbin almost threw himself out of the chair, in panic.
"Why is everybody screaming about shaving?" the Empress asked, raising an eyebrow.
Behind her, the Emperor Consort bit his lip not to laugh.
The barber dropped into a bow so deep he almost folded in half.
Hao bowed too, “Your Majesties.”
The Empress looked at Hanbin’s half-shaved, foam-covered body and sighed dramatically.
"I leave the palace for ONE meeting and my son becomes… this."
The Emperor Consort shook his head at Hanbin, “I told you this morning. You looked like a rookie actor trying to play a mountain hermit.”
“APPA!!” Hanbin whined, his face red.
The Empress smiled warmly at Hao, “Hao, thank you for saving our family from a national scandal. Again.”
Hao straightened proudly, “It’s my honor, Your Majesty.”
As they left, the Emperor Consort added casually, “Hanbin, maybe take your secretary for a walk later. The cherry blossoms are beautiful.”
Hanbin's whole face lit up, like a dog upon hearing the word "walk."
Hao quickly said, “We’ll see.”
Hanbin mouthed: "Gege please".
By the time the barber finished, Hanbin looked like a freshly sculpted statue: clean face and jawline, smooth chest, hairless armpits, neat arms, no trace of the chaos that had existed an hour before.
Hanbin touched his face, amazed,
“Waaah… gege look! My jawline’s back!”
Hao rolled his eyes, though he was trying not to smile.
“Congratulations on rediscovering your face.”
Hanbin sprang up, grabbed Hao by the waist, and lifted him off the floor like he weighed nothing.
“GEGE IS THE BEST!” he shouted happily, spinning him around.
“PUT ME DOWN YOU HAIRLESS GOLDEN RETRIEVER!”
But Hanbin only hugged him tighter.
When he finally set Hao down, he didn’t step away.
He leaned close, smooth cheek brushing Hao’s.
“Thank you,” he murmured.\
“I really did miss you.”
Hao’s heart did a stupid flip.
“…Fine,” he muttered, “Just don’t grow a forest again.”
Hanbin grinned, “Then… will you walk with me? To see the cherry blossoms?”
Hao pretended to think.
“Only because I need to supervise you in public.” Hanbin laced their fingers together, beaming.
“Gege,” he whispered, “you’re my favorite person in the palace.”
Hao squeezed his hand back, cheeks warm.
“Come on,” he said softly, “Let’s show the cherry blossoms what a properly groomed Crown Prince looks like.”
And together- fingers intertwined -they stepped out into the warm spring sunlight, petals swirling around them like gentle pink snow.