AT LEAST THERE wasn’t any awkward bowing or really formal titles like ‘prince’ or ‘king’. theo allowed a small, genuine smile to tug at the corner of his lips and chuckled at jungkook’s rambles. it was safe to say that it was a pretty adorable reaction compared to the rest, especially with the honorific tacked on. “i honestly didn’t want to believe it at first, if i’m honest…” his lips found the end of his drink’s straw and began to chew at it endlessly. he could still remember his adoptive parents pulling him into the living room with his tutor and two other more people dressed in suits. they wore a familiar crest on the breast of the jacket, emblazoned on it the same way it was scattered inconspicuously around the house. he denied it all, everything until the very end when they mentioned the birthmark.
“i wasn’t allowed to tell anyone,” he confessed. “the moment they told me, i was shipped out to my country and there i was basically taught everything from scratch.” it was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. the moment theo entered the small cafe, seeing jungkook again… guilt burned at the back of his mind, stiffening up his entire frame. but now that it was all out in the open, he was able to relax now. theo leaned back against the booth, stretching out an arm on the back of the seat as he leisurely sipped at his drink. “i had to learn how to give speeches, address large crowds, handle snobby politicians. hell, i even had to learn when to use the right forks!”
theo fell silent and leaned in again, placing his drink back on the table. “i saw me during a televised press conference.” unbeknownst to him, his voice was much quieter than before. “it was a little scary because i didn’t really recognize myself. i looked so cold, almost empty.” theo almost continued but he couldn’t bring himself to dump all of his baggage on his childhood best friend so early into this spontaneous meet up. he pushed away those ebbing thoughts to the recesses of his mind and pulled up a smile again. “but enough about me! what about you, huh? i promise i won’t treat you any different since you did a damn well good job with me.” he leaned even more for emphasis: elbows on the table and his head perched comfortably in his open palms.
THIS WAS DEFINITELY A lot to take in, but he sat and listened to every little bit of what the elder had to say. While anyone could say a life of royalty seemed ideal, after hearing that, Jungkook might have thought twice about it. It sounded like there was too many rules and regulations, the exact thing that he usually preferred to break or get around. Part of him wasn’t even sure how Theo was able to do all of it, even if he was pretty good as a child there had to be some instinct to rebel and break the rules. It’d become such second nature to Jungkook that he couldn’t imagine anyone without it. “That’s...crazy...” he starts, eyebrows furrowing as he shook his head. “I don’t think I’d ever be able to do something like that, so kudos to you. You have to be very story to be able to hold yourself together and make sure everything goes smoothly.”
Part of him didn’t want to believe that it was true actually because it seemed more like some type of prison by the sound of it, not like a life of luxury at all. “I can tell you something for sure...” He hums, rubbing his lips together and taking a sip of his drink before he continues with a wide grin. “While you’re here, I’m gonna help you have the time of your life all over again. It sounds like you need to loosen up, and who’s better for that, right?” A gentle laugh left his lips because Jungkook knew that Theodore had to know exactly how spontaneous and crazy he could be, it’s always been that way and will probably never change; it’s gotten worse if anything.
As soon as the focus shifts to him again though, that happy go lucky demeanor is immediately lost and he suddenly gets nervous, tensing up and sitting back up straight in his chair. Every time he had to tell someone about his past or job in general he gets taken over by a wave of anxiety because the reaction is either a hit or miss at this point and he didn’t know what to expect, even if Theo told him he wouldn’t judge him or treat him differently, it was going to be nerve wrecking. “Well...” He started, looking down at his cup and lightly running his thumb over the sweat on it as he avoided eye contact. “Uhhh, after you left...my mother passed away.” That was such a terrible way to start it, and the bridge of his nose wrinkles after he says it to make that much obvious. “But...basically after she died I was really desperate for money and uh...yeah, I got taken into a ring...y’know...as an escort; things have kind of been messy from there on, as you could imagine...”