#royalty nct

[haechwrites]

sugar, butter, & the royal crown - L.DH

prince!lee donghyuck x baker fem!OC (no name!)

synopsis: prince donghyuck only has one princess on his mind, but she's not actually a princess. she's just the royal baker's granddaughter.

wc: ~17.1k

warnings: pet names used only so i don't have to namedrop lol. no other warnings tho!

A/N: this is my second longest fic i've actually finished hehe i'm really happy with this one and now i wish i had a prince haechan lol

-- some things to note first:

THIS FIC IS WRITTEN IN FIRST PERSON. if you see ♔, that means it's in haechan's pov written in third person!

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As a child, life is all about the simple pleasures. It didn’t matter that I’d come home to a dark house carrying the faint snores of my mother. I was still reeling from the sweet taste of mangoes on my tongue, the slight dusting of sugar in my hair, and the lingering soreness from laughing in my cheeks. I’d quickly wash up, give my mom a quick peck on the forehead, and tuck myself in bed. Before I know it, the sun greets me again and I meet my grandma outside as she leads me to the palace. This was my routine and for my young brain, there was nothing ever wrong with it.

My grandma is the head baker at the palace. Since the separation of my parents, I have spent my days with my grandma at work. It was all I knew and I was content with it. Every sunrise, I’d have 30 minutes before I had to meet her outside. Together, we’d walk to the palace’s servant entrance and my grandma would give our favorite guard, Doyun, a warm smile and a promise to slip an extra pastry in his meal for letting me tag along. I’d walk past him with a finger to my lips asking him to be sworn to secrecy. He’d always return it with a wink and a small laugh. It was our little promise, though I’m sure no one would actually mind an extra guest on the grounds – especially a mere 7-year-old. 

Once inside the kitchen, I strap on the apron that the palace’s tailor secretly made specifically for me. Grandma told me that the busiest times in the kitchen were the mornings, so I always sit in the corner to let her start the day. I occupy myself for at least an hour before my friend comes to play with me. His entrance is always the same: a secret knock on the side door and a gleaming smile when I open it for him. 

Today he’s dressed up in a super fancy garment, almost like a uniform. I had never seen him in anything other than his casual button-up and pants, typically covered by an extra adult-sized apron we’d find laying around.

“Donghyuck! What are you wearing?”

“Princess!,” He’d squeal, pulling me into a tight hug. “It’s my special outfit.”

“Is it your birthday?” My nose scrunches in confusion, looking him up and down. Even if it was his birthday, I can’t imagine his servant parents could afford such expensive fabric. 

Donghyuck laughs before yanking a spare apron off its hook and pulling it over his head. 

“Nooo. I have something important to do today. That’s why I’m wearing this,” He explains, looking a little nervous.

“Oh wow. You look like the King. Or like a prince,” I say jokingly, but Donghyuck freezes. His eyes are wide like the time he accidentally ate the last mango tart I was saving.

Then he breaks out into an awkward laugh and smiles wide at me, “I am a prince… because you’re my princess.” He says with utmost confidence, before grabbing my hands. We’re standing the way I position my two play dolls during a pretend wedding ceremony.

I quickly turn the shade of freshly baked cherry pies and I tear my hands out of his hold.

“Donghyuck-ah! How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?” I huff, crossing my arms. 

He snickers, “Hmmm… maybe one hundred more times.”

“One hundred more times?!”

“Yes, if you can even count that high,” he smirks, instantly easing the tension from earlier. He plops down onto my stool and looks up at me. “So what are we playing today? Or should we read? Or does Baker Grandma need help?”

I aimlessly kick the leg of the stool, thinking about what we could do today as I can see him anxiously bounce around in his seat. He looks like he’s running on limited time today. Sometimes Donghyuck disappears on me in the middle of our hangouts or doesn’t show up at all. I just assume his parents need help with their tasks just like how Grandma often calls me to help her bake. He’s never told me where in the palace they work despite the years we’ve been hanging out. 

“What if we help your parents today?” The minute the question leaves my lips, I hear a snort from the kitchen staff and Donghyuck goes into a coughing fit as if the flour seeped into his lungs.

I begin to feel myself turn red again and wondering what was so wrong till I feel a familiar warm hand on my shoulder.

“Ah Donghyuck, you’re here today?” My grandma looks at his attire with a suspicious gaze. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” Her hands are on her hips and it feels similar to the times she’s caught me using the oven on my own.

Donghyuck starts shyly giggling while fiddling with the oversized apron my grandma is reaching to remove. I stand there in confusion as he looks like a puppy that was told he wasn’t allowed to play or have a treat. I want to help him but the look on grandma’s face is too scary to fight.

She’s slowly ushering him out the door and I’m holding his apron in my hands, watching him pout.

“Bye Hyuck,” I mutter, sad that our day was cut short before it even began. This was the quickest that one has ended.

“Byeee Princess,” He says with as much despair in his voice. He always has to be a little more dramatic than me. I giggle and wave him goodbye, spirits lifted by his antics. I see a smile grow on his face at the sound of my laugh before my grandma closes the door.

My loneliness returns as I stare at the wooden panels of the side door. 

“Did he have to go?” I ask, slumping back onto the stool he was just on.

My grandma turns to me with a quizzical look. I can’t tell if she’s angry, sad, or disappointed and then she’s crouched down in front of me. Her flour-coated hands are resting on my lap.

“Donghyuck got called by his parents. They’re very important people,” She starts slowly. Grandma has never talked about Donghyuck’s family or personal life before. It was never brought up in the past because I assumed he was just like me. Now that we’re finally beginning to talk about it, the hesitant look on her face makes me not want to know anymore. 

“Guards?,” I ask. To me, Doyun is the most important worker in the castle as he freely lets me in and out. Maybe guards earn enough to adorn such fancy clothes I saw Donghyuck wear.

“No, honey,” She glances back at her staff, and I notice they’ve been watching. They give me a reassuring smile, but there’s uneasiness quivering on their lips.

“Donghyuck… Donghyuck is the Prince.”

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♔

They found him. Donghyuck’s personal guards find him where they usually do when he escapes his tasks, and that would be at the palace kitchen. This time, they find him outside the door, rather than inside scarfing down mango tarts. 

Without any hesitation and with no room for him to trick them and run, they grab the tiny prince and bring him to the meeting he was meant to attend with the King. It was meant to be the first glimpse of his life as a future ruler, attending meetings with fellow diplomats and other boring princely things. Donghyuck does not understand why he can’t spend his day playing like a regular 7-year-old with his pretty friend from the kitchen. 

Despite having complained and whined his way out of most duties, Donghyuck had reached the level of maturity to know that this one he couldn’t fight. I mean, the tailor adjusted his royal attire just for this one-hour meeting. After having come to terms with sitting in boredom for an hour, Donghyuck did not expect to be dragged into more as he was about to skip his way over to the kitchen once the diplomats left.

“And where are you off to now, Donghyuck?”

He freezes in his tracks and a shiver ripples down his spine at the sound of her voice. He’s been caught again.

He spins around, plastering the biggest smile possible on his face. “Nowhere, Mother. Just strolling around until my tutoring session.” He hopes she doesn’t recognize this path to the kitchen.

“And is your tutoring session located in the kitchen today?” She asks, words dripping with a patronizing attitude. Nothing Donghyuck isn’t used to.

“Oh! I wanted to see if I could get a quick snack before. My brain needs food, right?” He hides his crossed fingers behind his back, praying she doesn’t call his bluff.

“And you’re not just going there to see that girl, are you?” She takes a step closer and Donghyuck is scared she can see the drip of sweat beginning to trickle down his forehead. How did she know about Princess? He wonders if his guard ratted him out… even after Donghyuck gave him half of his tart. The betrayal, he scoffs. 

“There’s no girl, Mother.” Donghyuck decides it's best to deny it and stare straight at his feet. 

“You are correct, there will never be a girl. Instead, there will be a future queen. A princess for now and you need to begin meeting our potential suitresses,” The queen firmly states, grabbing his shoulders to steer him towards the library. Before he could stop himself, his chest bubbles with heat, and his brain is fogged with confusion. He can’t imagine anyone by his side but her.

“Why can’t she be my princess?”

The words spill out from his royal lips before he could catch them. There’s no missing the instant look of rage and disgust on the Queen’s face when her son’s true desires are revealed. Desires of the heart, but a complete disgrace to his duties as the Prince. Her eyes grow colder and her skin pales till her blush is the brightest hue on her cheeks. 

Donghyuck feels his throat go dry and the crossed fingers behind his back unlock. No luck can help him now.

“No more kitchen visits, Prince Donghyuck.”

The queen’s words are final. His shoulders slump lower and his feet are heavy as he drags them across the cobblestone trailing toward the library. It feels like there was a wall that slammed into the ground behind him, forbidding him from seeing her again.

“Yes, ma’am. No more.”

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^ FIFTEEN YEARS LATER ^

The only memory of my childhood that lingered was the heat of the oven. Like I did every day at the age of 7, I continued to bake to keep that fire alive. There were days where the warmth was cooler than normal and my urge to bake waivered. Days like when my grandma stopped showing up outside my house every day a half hour after sunrise. Days like when my mother decided I was too much to raise when I stopped spending my time at the palace. And days like the one when I moved out of the city to live with my dad. 

However, there were also days where the flame was ablaze. Days like when I got my own personal baking set. Days like when I got accepted into a baking school. And days like today, where I return to the city that pushed me out fifteen years ago to open a bakery. Despite the dismal circumstances of the day I left, I always felt the urge to return. It never felt right that I moved in the first place. Confusion still envelops my mind when I think about how my grandma stopped taking me to the palace for unsaid reasons and how my mother was incapable of taking care of me due to it. There had to be something more going on. 

Outside of this mystery of my childhood, my main goal was to return with my own bakery specializing in my soon-to-be infamous mango tarts. I had visited the city for the first time since my move before to scope out bakery locations. But today was the day that I officially move in, to both my home and bakery, and kickstart my business. My first task was to put up a sign displaying the bakery’s name.

“Oh my goodness… so it is true!”

Warmth blooms in my chest; I would recognize that voice anywhere. I flip around and I’m greeted with her same sugary sweet smile. My grandma looks just as she did before but her hair is dusted white like the flour she worked with. But she still smelled like spiced apple pie, my eyes watered in disbelief. 

“Grandma!” I ran into her open arms and I could feel her chuckle. 

“Oh honey, it’s been much too long. Look at you now… a beautiful woman before my eyes,” She’s smiling widely and I can see her eyes take in my features. Fifteen years worth of change and growth. 

“I’m sorry we haven’t been in contact much. I could barely find the time to tell you I was coming back.”

“It’s alright. All that matters is you’re here,” Grandma rubs my arms reassuringly. “And are you here alone? Or have you moved back with a lover?” The childish gleam on her face makes me giggle and I quickly correct her that I’m single and focusing on my baking.

“Ah, I see. In that case, you must have more time than I anticipated. You must come with me to work one of these days. Just like old times. Consider it research for your bakery.” The way she sways with excitement makes it hard for me to turn it down, and I can’t deny the flutter in my heart at the idea of stepping foot onto the palace grounds again. It was where it all started for me. I agreed with a smile.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

After a week of prepping the bakery, I decided to visit my grandma. To be completely honest, outside of the work I had to do, my nerves did play a role in keeping me from going earlier. But now that I’ve decided I’ve run out of excuses, I’m walking to the servant entrance of the palace a little before noon to give my grandmother the morning to solely focus on work. It makes me smile knowing I still remember the schedule of the palace kitchen. 

The streets surrounding the castle are quiet at this hour. I can still remember the hustle and commotion of the staff in the early morning, lining up to get inside to start their days. It was never daunting to be a young girl surrounded by a diverse array of people. It was thrilling and almost comforting and it was much better than staying home alone. 

When I reach the gates, I feel like I’ve traveled back in time because blocking my path is a young guard who looks eerily like Doyun, the guard I knew from before.

“How can I help you, miss?”

“Hi.” I’m inspecting his face. He has the same colored hair, but it’s parted differently. He has the same warm light brown eyes and his face is a little softer than Doyun’s. My mind can’t help but ask, “I’m sorry if this is a strange question but do you know Guard Doyun?”

His stiff demeanor drops like a curtain and the young guard’s eyes light up, “I’m his son, Yunseo! How do you know my father?” Suddenly I don’t see a guard in uniform, but instead a bright, inviting individual in his place.

“No wonder! I’m the granddaughter of the head baker. I used to greet your father every morning when I was a child.” 

“Oh yes! Yes, she told me you were coming. You can go right along in, just make sure she knows to sneak me an extra sweet treat.” He opens the gates for me.

“Ah like father, like son,” I giggle, slightly bowing to him as I enter.

“Do you remember how to get to the kitchen?”

I stare at the familiar worn cobblestone paths and nod, “I think so.”

The walk to the kitchen is shorter than I remember but the smell wafting from the windows is all the same. I reach the side door and I’m about to knock when I notice it’s creaked slightly open. I hear a voice above all the kitchen noise.

“Gran, please sneak something in my food today so I can get sick and stay in bed for the whole week. I do not want to court these women.” I peek my head in further to take a look at the man speaking. I let out a soft gasp when my eyes land on him.

Outside of his stunning beauty, he looks familiar. His tufts of chestnut brown hair are slightly waved as they curl around the nape of his neck. He often shakes his head to get the bangs out of his face, exposing his tan skin. If I look close enough, he has distinguishable moles on the plush curves of his cheeks. His rosy lips are wrapped around a piece of pastry and even when he’s talking with his mouth full, he’s still attractive. My eyes instantly widen when I notice his outfit: the royal attire.

A squeal escapes my mouth and before I could hide, the door is swung open by my grandma.

“You’re here!”

At the announcement of my arrival, the young man is dusting the crumbs off his hands, and looks like he’s about to make a quick escape. 

“Hi Grandma,” I give her a hug, not minding the flour sticking to my sweater. “I was just about to knock.” I let out a small laugh to hide the fact that I was definitely eavesdropping not moments ago.

“Grandma?” I hear the man say behind her. He decided to stay after realizing it wasn’t one of his guards coming to get him, but instead a pretty woman. An oddly, familiar, pretty woman. 

My grandma bites her lip to keep from smiling any bigger and she grabs my arm to present me to the man.

“Oh my. I forgot you guys know each other! It’s Donghyuck, do you remember, honey? You used to play with him every day as I worked.” The glint in her eyes is something more than just happy nostalgia and I give her a look.

“Pri-... Princess?” When the old nickname leaves his lips, I gasp and feel my cheeks bloom pink. The layers of the handsome man in front of me started to peel and I could see the little boy I spent my early life with. Most of my warmest days were spent with him. But I’m also brought back to one of the colder days of my childhood. The day I found out my childhood best friend was the Prince. 

At first, I didn’t understand why my grandma was so fearful of telling me who he really was. I was ecstatic to hear that Donghyuck was royalty. I was fascinated and curious to see what his life was like and how it compared to being the granddaughter of a palace worker. I soon learned that what I wanted to discover was not so glamorous. Because apparently, his life excluded me. I didn’t piece that together until a few years after my move. Why else did Donghyuck stop showing up and why else was I forbade from going to the palace with my grandma? When I came to the realization, I began to resent him and eventually, completely forgot about him.

“Prince Donghyuck,” I bowed, trying not to show any expression. He had his arm slightly raised like he was about to reach for me but his body stiffened at my curtness. My grandma even looks at me with confusion. “It’s… It’s nice to see you again.”

“Oh, there’s no need to be so polite. You guys were friends!” My grandma squeezes my arms, urging me to get closer. I stay in my place.

“He’s the Prince, Grandma,” I whisper through my teeth and I can tell he hears me by the dejected look on his face. I can’t get myself to look him in the eyes.

“It’s quite alright. I actually have to get going. Prin-... Sorry, It was lovely to see you,” The Prince ducks his head and leaves the way I came in. He looks back at my figure once more, thoughts churning, before he disappears.

My feet remain still and I’m staring at the place he stood. Staring at the pastry he bit into. He’s real and he’s back. And the door he walked through was the same one he used to leave me 15 years ago. The alarms rang in my brain and I quickly shook my head, grabbing a bowl and mixing whatever contents are in it. The faster I stirred, the more I begged my mind to stop thinking about Donghyuck.

“You’re overwhipping the cream.”

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♔

On every page he turned to, the words blurred and all Donghyuck could see was her. She was more beautiful than he remembered. She’s much taller now, and he naturally smiles remembering when she used to argue that he was only taller than her by a centimeter. Her hair was also longer and not bound in her classic two braids. Though he didn’t get to see her smile, he was sure that it’s brighter than before. After all, everything about her seemed to have grown more beautiful than before. Donghyuck wonders if he should be calling her “Queen” now with how wonderfully she’s aged. 

A delicate tap on his shoulder forces Donghyuck out of his lovestruck haze. “Prince Donghyuck, are you enjoying your book?”

He remembers that he’s in the library with one of his potential suitresses. He turns to her and almost wants to laugh. For the years that his childhood friend has been gone, it was the memory of her that invaded his mind whenever he was forced to go on these dates. But now that Donghyuck has seen her again in the flesh, he realizes how doomed he is and how these other princesses definitely don’t stand a chance.

During the fifteen years apart, Donghyuck’s gloom exacerbated the Queen’s determination to find him a future queen. Out of all his regular royal responsibilities, his courtships took the most time. He excels in all areas of his duties, but the one he can’t manage to succeed in is getting a wife. From playdates to formal dates, Donghyuck aged and remained single. And both he and the head baker knew why. 

Despite the Queen’s warnings to never enter the kitchen, Donghyuck found himself there every week whether it was to steal extra mango tarts or ask about the baker’s granddaughter. It was usually after failed dates when he’d trudge into the kitchen, completely drained of energy, and beg the baker to talk to him about his first love. Questions about where she is, how she’s doing, and whether she thinks of him spill from his mouth, and the baker would entertain him every time. Even if he only knew and could only remember the child version of her, Donghyuck still managed to compare her to every suitress he met. None of them stood a chance against his princess. And though with time he could recognize how silly this infatuation had gotten, he grew fatigued of courtship and this was the easiest way to go about it. The grandmother was wary of this long overrun connection as well, but at the same time commended him for his commitment to her granddaughter. She also didn’t have the heart to tell him to move on.

And now Donghyuck’s here, on another date and he actually has an image, a real person, to be thinking of. 

“I’m sorry. I don’t think this is going to work out.”

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“So you are hiding from me?”

“Oh Jesus Christ,” I drop the bowl of frosting at my feet and scramble to pick it up. A pair of far too expensive shoes enter my vision. I shoot up and my heart races, knowing exactly who it is.

“My prince,” I bow, meeting the ground once more. I stand upright and give him a passing smile.

“I like hearing you say that,” The Prince smirks. He swiftly scoops a finger of frosting before popping it in his mouth.

“Formalities,” I respond and I move the bowl out of his reach.

He chuckles and he starts to fiddle with an apron left on the counter.

“So you’ve been visiting at nighttime. Are you actually avoiding me?” He looks at me like he’s challenging me to say no. 

Yes. “No, I just prefer the kitchen at night.” I clutch the frosting bowl tighter and focus my attention on what’s salvageable.

“You mean my kitchen… which you’ve been sneaking into with the help of my guard.” I can feel that he’s moved closer and I wince.

“Yes… I’m sorry. My grandma said it’d be okay and my kitchen at the bakery isn’t finished being built. If you’d like me to stop coming, I can.” I start to untie my apron and his hand catches my wrist.

“No,” He blurts out. “There’s no need. Feel free to use the kitchen.” The Prince raises his hands in the air as if to give me permission. I politely nod and go back to fixing my frosting, ignoring the tingling I feel on my wrist. 

He doesn’t make a move to leave. Instead, he puts on the apron from the counter and leans in to watch.

“Um, what are you doing?” The Prince is tapping the table and humming as he stares at me.

“Hanging out,” He says matter-of-factly. 

“I see,” And that’s all that I can say because who am I to kick the Prince out of his own kitchen? So I just mix and continue doing my thing.

“Just like the old days. You do remember, right?” I make the mistake of looking up and meeting his eyes. He’s looking at me like his question meant more than just a test of my memory.

“Vaguely… It was a long, long time ago.” A time I don’t wish to relive.

There’s a short pause before The Prince replies.

“Well, I remember. I think I’ll always remember. You were my best friend… And those were probably the best days of my life.” He doesn’t look at me when he says this. In fact, he looks nervous to be admitting it in the first place. 

All I can do is nod, not knowing what to say to his confession. Especially when the feeling I get when I look back on those times is not as positive.

“Anyway… I’m planning on recreating those times.” Without thinking, I meet his eyes and he’s smiling hopefully. “So don’t try to hide from me next time. I’ll be here whenever you are. Think of it as your payment for using the kitchen.” 

The uneasiness and warmth in my stomach are hard to decipher. The thought of spending more time with him is thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I try to ease my nerves by mixing even harder and he notices before laughing. 

With my unspoken agreement, we spend the rest of the night in silence, just in each other’s presence. Every now and then he steals a bite of my makings and tries to lighten the air with a poorly made joke. And I don’t hold my laughter back.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“And then, once the frosting is on, you can add the strawberries.” I demonstrate by putting the nicely sliced strawberries on in a thin layer. 

“When are you going to teach me how to make the mango tart?” The Prince pouts and bites the strawberries instead of putting them on the cake. I scowl and move the bowl away from him. 

“When are you going to stop eating my ingredients?”

He smirks and taps the counter, “When are you going to stop using my kitchen?” He tilts his head to the side to goad me.

I roll my lips into my mouth and stuff another strawberry in his face when he laughs. 

“Eat up,” I say sickeningly sweet.

Completely out of my control, my hangouts with Prince Donghyuck have returned. However, this time, I know he’s the prince and instead of every day in the morning, it’s 2 to 3 times a week at night. My excuse is that my kitchen in the bakery isn’t done being built, but to be completely honest, I could have it done by the end of the week. Maybe it’s because I enjoy my time with the Prince or maybe it’s because I actually do want the extra amenities I asked to be installed last minute… who knows? The end conclusion is that I find myself in the palace’s kitchen more often than I intended, and I find myself enjoying the Prince’s company more than I intended.

“Okay, your highness. Do you think you can stack these layers evenly?” 

He gives me a playful salute, mouth full of cream, as he hops off the kitchen counter. He stands by my side and takes the cake from my hands.

“You know… as much as I like hearing you call me ‘your highness,’ why don’t you ever call me by my name anymore?” 

“Because now I know you’re the Prince.” And I don’t know how it feels to have your name roll off my tongue as it did before, I think to myself.

The Prince lets out a low whistle. “Do you see me differently?” He trains his eyes to the level of the cake to get it precisely right. I watch him from above.

“It’s been fifteen years… so yes, I do see you differently.” I move to mix more frosting to coat the cake with.

“Okay,” He nods, thinking about my response. “So me being the Prince isn’t part of it?” He glances at me quickly with what I can assume is worry before he goes to add another layer of cake.

“Mmm… It is. Not a big part, but definitely a part. I think it’s mainly because you’ve grown up, We’ve both grown up. Maybe me more than you,” I tease. He sticks his tongue out at me and I make a face back. “Example number one.”

He finishes putting on the last layer and stands up straight to admire his work.

“What makes me different than before?” He takes the frosting bowl from my hands and begins icing the cake like I’ve taught him a couple of days ago. I take this as a break and I lift myself up to sit on the counter, dangling my feet.

“You’re taller than me, for one,” he gasps in fake shock and I hit him on the shoulder. 

“You’re dressed nicer.”

“That’s not a compliment for me, that’s a compliment for my stylist,” He corrects me.

“True, okay. You’re smarter than before, I can see you’re not skipping your tutoring sessions. And… you’re not as cute.”

At that, he perks up, frosting is long forgotten. “What do you mean I’m not as cute?” And with the face he’s making, I almost take back my words.

“Well, your highness, you were a boy before. Of course, you’re not cute now. You’re a man.” I roll my eyes as if that were the most obvious thing.

“If I’m not cute, then what am I?” He squints at me and I can tell I’ve fallen into a trap.

“You’re… You’re handsome. Now,” I mutter out. I quickly clear my throat and point to a bald spot on the cake. “Hey, you missed a spot.”

Without even looking at him, I know he’s smiling. “You think I’m handsome.”

“Alright,” I drag out the word. “You’re the Prince. Aren’t you supposed to be handsome so you can woo and marry a pretty princess?”

“Not exactly. Being ridiculously handsome isn’t a royal requirement.”

I let out a scoff, “When did I say ‘ridiculously handsome’?”

“You didn’t have to, I see it on your face.” He taps my cheek and I suddenly notice how close our faces have gotten. Before I know it, my face is blooming pink again and I can feel the warmth shoot from my head to the rest of my body. I launch myself back and adjust my apron. And he stares at me like he’s won.

“Okay, your turn. What’s different about me?” I look around the kitchen to get my heart to settle down. What is happening?

The Prince doesn’t hesitate. “Well, you’re just as beautiful as you were before. Maybe even more.”

I gasp at his words and look him in the eyes. There’s no hint of his typical teasing attitude; he looks completely genuine. My mind goes blank and my ability to respond is rendered useless. He seems to notice that so he brushes off his comment quickly, thinking he’s overstepped.

“Anyways, since we’ve discovered that the only thing that makes me different from before is that I’m exceptionally more handsome-”

“Didn’t say that.”

“-Then why don’t you just call me ‘Donghyuck.’ Like you did before.”

Maybe it’s because he called me beautiful. Maybe it’s because I like the idea of exclusively calling him ‘Donghyuck.’ Or maybe I’m excited to eat the cake we just made, but my heart is fluttering quicker than it ever has.

“Okay. Donghyuck.”

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“FIRE! DONGHYUCK! FIRE, FIRE!”

“OH SHIT!”

Watching the medium sized fire bursting from the top of the pot, I run to the fire extinguisher. I’m scrambling to grab it, swift to squeeze the white dust all over the burning stove, despite the dough covering my hands. I hear Donghyuck’s screams in the back and he’s grabbing my shoulders to hide. Once I see the last flame get coated, I drop the extinguisher on the ground, exhausted.

I feel his hands digging into my shoulder blades and I grab him by the jacket, turning him to face me. Knowing how to cover his ass, he smiles in shame, rubbing my arm.

“I swear I was watching the stove,” He whips out his baby voice and try my best not to smack the side of his head. He’s the Prince. He’s the Prince. He’s the Prince, I repeat to myself. 

“Your looks distracted me.” I slap him anyways.

He groans in pain, even though I could’ve slapped harder and I cross my arms to look as threatening as possible. 

“You burnt the caramel,” I whine, staring at the black tar in my brand new pot. “And my pot!”

He immediately attacks me with a hug, shaking me around, mumbling apologies. “I’ll buy you a new one, I promise! I’ll buy you three! Four? Seven!”

“Make it eight,” I huff, tearing his arms off me, only to weirdly miss them.

He gasps, hands against his head in shock. “You definitely dressed prettier today just so I could set your pot on fire and buy you twenty more… You’re evil,” He looks at me like I’ve masterminded the biggest robbery of the century. 

I narrow my eyes at him, lifting my hand to smack him again. “And you’re on timeout. No more baking today.” I start putting away the dishes I had ready.

“Hey! Who’s older here?” Donghyuck begins helping me sort the supplies into the pantry.

“I’m pretty sure I am,” I say, trying to remember if we told each other our birthdays back then.

“When were you born?”

“May.”

“Shit,” He mutters. He tosses the burnt pot into the trashcan, wincing at the char. “Okay, let’s keep the ball rolling. What’s your favorite color?”

I laugh, “Really? Also should I save this dough for tomorrow when we try again?” I hold it up to show him and inspects it.

“Yeah, why not? Just wear a trashbag or something tomorrow.” I kick him in the foot and he chuckles. “But yes, really. What’s your favorite color? I like red.”

“Purple,” I play along while saran wrapping the dough. “Favorite food?”

“Kimchi jjigae,” he spits out, with no hesitation. I nod along, remembering all the times he’s requested it as a midnight snack while we bake. “What do you like to do besides baking?”

“I like to go on walks. When I moved out of the city and with my dad, we lived near the beach. It was nice to just walk on the shore only five minutes away from me. I miss it sometimes. I should probably visit soon.” I tap the bowl mindlessly, trying to figure out my schedule.

“You should take me,” Donghyuck says. He’s right next to me now. “I always wondered where you went after I stopped seeing you. I assumed you were still in the city, until your grandma told me you moved-moved.”

“Ohh, no, yeah. I moved. It was hard leaving everything I knew, but at the same time, I learned so much when I was there with my dad. Come with me next time, and we can hangout on the beach. Nothing should be too flammable there.” I tease, bumping his hip with mine. He laughs with me, but I can tell his mind is somewhere else. His eyebrows are furrowed, and he looks almost guilty.

“You know, when I found out you were the Prince, I wrote down a list of questions. I was so excited to see what your life is like.” 

This grabbed his attention and my heart eased seeing his eyes light up a little more. The kitchen was relatively clean now, so I decided to prop myself up on the counter. Donghyuck always gets mad at the sudden height difference, but I can tell he loves it when he naturally wedges himself between my thighs like he does right now.

“Yeah? Do you remember any?” His hands were pinned on either side of my hips, forearms pressed against my outer thighs. It’s comfortable. I’m not sure when we got so comfortable. “This is kind of like ‘Princess and The Pauper.’”

I snort trying to remember my list. “I think I wanted to know how many crowns you had.”

“Classic question. I’m pretty sure I have three. My head’s kinda small, so it actually takes awhile for them to make it.”

I hum, investigating his head. “I can tell.”

“Mean.” He lightly pinches my thigh and I stop staring at his skull.

“I also wanted to know if you had any royal pets.”

“A cute, small, white dog. Yep.” He nods, like he’s impressed with himself for having such a basic dog and I have to laugh. 

“Any cool cars?”

“Tons,” He brags. “Okay, what does ‘Adult You’ want to know?”

There’s always been a question I wanted to ask him since I started hanging out with him again. It nagged in the back of my mind as I watched him, always happy, always cheering everyone on. Despite his bright facial expressions and body language, I could tell it was tiring, it must be. I never imagined the royal life to be hard, or as hard as my own, until I met him again.

I look at his face, checking for any signs that I shouldn’t be asking him. But he looks at me with such softness and openness, that I don’t hesitate to ask.

“Are you happy? Like… do you like being the Prince?”

His eyes widened at my question and he looks down at my lap to think. He takes longer than I expect, and I assume no one has ever bothered to ask. His silence is telling.

“Hey…,” I reach for his face to lift his chin up. “It’s okay to say you’re not. You don’t have to be all the time.”

He flinches like this was a concept he couldn’t accept for himself. I grab his face a little tighter so he really hears me.

“As long as you’re at least looking for your happiness, that’s all that matters,” I stroke his cheek with my thumb. “You deserve all the happiness, Hyuck.”

I can see his mind slowly wrapping around my words as something in his face shifts. He looks hesitant for a different reason.

“And what if I find my happiness in you?” I gasp, instinctively letting go of his face slightly. He’s fast to bring his hand up to keep mine there. His fingers slot between my gaps. He looks desperate to keep me here.

Knowing my words hold immense weight, I still don’t stop myself from saying, “Then I’ll be that for you, in whatever way I can.”

Despite me being vague, Donghyuck takes all that he can. His face blooms into a smile and I return it, knowing it was cause of me. He holds my hand this time and brings it down to my lap, sighing happily.

“Thank you.”

And for a split second, I’m scared for what I’ve promised. After all, he’s the prince and I’m the pauper.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

♔

Donghyuck is the happiest he has ever been. Unlike how it was when he was a kid, he’s attending his classes, his meetings, and even having lunches with the princesses the Queen sends over. However, he can’t promise that these dates are leading up to a potential marriage. He’s doing just enough so that his mother doesn’t get suspicious. Best of all, for most nights, he gets to sneak into the kitchen and talk, bake, and laugh for hours.

The secret hangouts are going amazingly. He can tell she’s warming up to him as she did back then or maybe it’s just the fire from the oven heating up the place. Last week, the kitchen at her new bakery finally finished being built and he knows this because he hired his staff to make sure the job was done well without telling her. That day he expected her to come in and tell him that she had to stop seeing him, but she still showed up like clockwork – two to three times a week. 

Next week, her bakery is set to have its grand opening and Donghyuck hopes this isn’t what actually stops her from coming to see him. He’s even practiced his baking skills on his own and eaten less of the fruit while they’re together in hopes it doesn’t make her want to leave again. And so for the following week, Donghyuck is treading carefully.

“Do you need help with that, Princess?”

“Should I preheat the oven for you?”

“Here, let me tie your apron.”

“I’ll carry that for you.”

All of these mini acts of chivalry are met with a suspicious gaze and a light dusting of red on her cheeks. Donghyuck feels a sense of achievement whenever she accepts his help. And this all leads up to the night before her grand opening.

Donghyuck is lighting the last candle when the sound of keys unlocking the side kitchen door is heard. He quickly blows out the match before scurrying behind the table to greet her with a “Surprise!”

“Donghyuck! Don’t do that! God, I thought I was caught for sneaking in.”

He rolls his eyes at her lackluster reaction and reorients himself. 

“I said… Surprise!” He dramatically waves his arms around to show all the work he put into decorating the kitchen. She finally notices her surroundings and her eyes light up. Donghyuck can feel his heart soften, compared to how it was racing earlier trying to set all of this up without his staff.

“What… what is all of this?” Her hands are covering her mouth in disbelief. There are streamers and fairy lights gracing the walls and candles are littered all around the room. Donghyuck is standing in the center with a single cupcake in his hands.

“Congrats. I heard from the grapevine that your bakery opens tomorrow.” She laughs at his theatrics and sets her bag down to look at the cupcake he’s made. In messy red font, the top of the treat reads the name of her bakery. She almost wants to tear up.

“Only one? Are we sharing?” She takes the cupcake from his hands and he tries not to think too hard about her fingers touching his.

“Well, I made that myself, and I personally don’t trust that I didn’t mess up the recipe in some way. So if anyone’s getting food poisoning tonight, it’d be you.” He taps her nose. “Eat up!”

At that, her jaw drops and she keeps the cupcake at a distance as if it’s some nuclear substance.

“Do you secretly want me dead?” She laughs.

“Hey, when it comes down to a royal and a baker. The baker’s going.” Donghyuck mimics his throat being slit and bites his lip to stop himself from smiling too hard. He loves to mess with her.

“You are the worst. Way to look out for your people, your highness.” She begins to unwrap the cupcake, taking a sniff out of precaution.

“‘Your Highness’? Aw, Princess, don’t be like that.” He moves closer to her and she shifts back, tutting.

“Nope. As a baker under your kingdom, I will gladly sacrifice myself by eating this cupcake. Alone.” She dramatically curtsies before going in for a hesitant bite.

Donghyuck swiftly beats her to it and takes a large bite out of the other end as her lips touch the cupcake. Her eyes widen in shock and he sends her a wink before brushing the crumbs off his mouth.

“Now you can’t tell me I don’t care about my people,” He says while chewing the weird texture of his creation. Donghyuck smirks at the deer-in-headlights reaction she has on her face. 

She gulps, shaking her head so that her hair hides her blush. She sets the cupcake down, not wanting a reminder of how close his face just was.

“Well, it’s edible,” She jokes. Donghyuck’s tongue prods the inside of his mouth as he takes in what was supposedly a compliment.

“Says the one who took the smallest bite known to man,” He accuses, pointing at the cupcake.

“How was I supposed to take a bigger one when you practically shoved your face into it and devoured half?” Once again, she’s reminded of what just transpired and feels her cheeks growing warm.

“Ooo, did I make you flustered? Scared your lips were about to touch mine?” Donghyuck takes a step closer and brushes a nonexistent crumb off her lip with his thumb. He hopes she doesn’t feel his heart pounding like fireworks.

Like she can sense his fake confidence, she grabs his wrist. “Is that what you were thinking about when you took a bite? Kissing me?” She tilts her head to the side and his whole body buzzes.

Before he could crumble even further, he tears his hand out of hers. “Please. Like I’d let anyone touch these royal lips.” He turns around to calm himself down and pretends to busy himself with something on the fridge.

He hears her laugh behind him. “I bet they’re not as sweet as a baker’s.”

He turns around and narrows his eyes at her. “How did this grand opening celebration turn into you messing with me?” Accepting defeat, he resorts to fake anger and his signature pout.

“You started it,” She playfully rolled her eyes. “Anyways…”

With the softest smile, she says, “Thank you, Hyuck. I really appreciate you.”

He returns it, “Always.”

The rest of the night is filled with laughter and playful bickering as the two avoid finishing the mysteriously textured cupcake. Donghyuck makes multiple attempts to pit the blame on her as the teacher, and the soon-to-be bakery owner fails to leave and sleep early at the expense of the Prince’s whines. To be honest, the lack of sleep was worth it if she got to spend more time with him.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Now that the bakery is well past its grand opening and flourishing greatly, I’ve gotten my days back. My employees are well-trained and seasoned and I feel comfortable taking days off when I need to. Oddly, my new opened-up schedule was somehow sensed by Donghyuck and I was invited to the palace during the daytime for the first time ever. I was nervous at first to be sneaking in in broad daylight, but he assured me that if I followed the steps he gave me exactly, I’d be fine – not that reassuring. 

As written in his note, I greeted Yunseo, the guard, as usual, and he gave me weird looks, going back and forth between the sun and my face.

“You know the sun is out, right?” He asked, still looking at me funny.

I gave him the most incredulous look. “You’re joking? It’s not nighttime?” I made an effort to crazily look around and he sighed.

“Alright, alright, I get it,” He shook his head. “What are you doing here?”

“Thought I’d switch things up,” I shrugged, not wanting to reveal who I was meeting.

Yunseo nodded, “Fair… okay, be careful, okay? The palace feels a little frantic today.” With that, he opened the gates for me and I gave him a smile.

“You’re the best. Make sure to stop by sometime this week, I have pastries for you.” I waved goodbye as he promised to come. 

Following Donghyuck’s poorly drawn-out map, I realized our meeting point isn’t the kitchen and that he’s taking me on an obscure path that the Queen and King definitely are not aware exists. As I walk through centuries-old, dimly lit stone walls, I think about how many times Donghyuck has used these secret passageways and if little Donghyuck used these when he snuck out to see me, 15 years ago. I can imagine 7-year-old Donghyuck discovering these routes within the castle’s walls.

“Stop right there!” A voice echoes through the abandoned hallway.

My heart spazzes and as loud as my brain is yelling at me to run, my feet don’t budge. I curse under my breath and crumple Donghyuck’s map in my hands, remembering to kill him unless I die right here. And if I do happen to die here, then I have to make sure I return as a ghost, haunting that man for life. I turn around slowly, eyes half closed, to see who’s behind me, but there’s no one there. There’s no one in the passageway at all. I whip around a few more times to confirm and I notice a crack in the wall to my right. It’s a peephole overlooking the actual palace hallways.

Out of curiosity, I look through and I see the Queen, face as red as the beautiful gown she adorns.

“Prince Lee Donghyuck,” his name is spat out like bile. “You will follow my orders.”

Coming into view, I see Donghyuck. He and the Queen are in the middle of a heated argument. His head is hung low and I can see him playing with his sleeves like he does when he gets anxious. I wish to reach for him, but then I remember the wall separating us.

“Your majesty, I… I can’t. I don’t want to,” He hiccups, and if I can’t see the tears on his face, I can hear them. “I never did.”

The space in my chest feels as tight and narrow as the walkway I’m in and I want to look away, but I can’t.

“It doesn’t matter what you want. You are the Prince and you are expected to marry a Princess. How dare you fool me for all these years?” As the Queen, she still carries her natural elegance, but her words burn like acid. She’s speaking to him at a normal volume, but her tone pierces your ears. 

“I-I didn’t mean to fool you. I tried my best, but I don’t love them. I don’t love the suitresses you send. And I need you to understand that I never will.” Donghyuck finally looks up and I can see the desperation in his eyes from where I stand. 

“Love?,” The Queen laughs bitterly. “I don’t need you to love them. You just need to marry one. As the Prince, what makes you think you have the privilege of being in love? Not when you have a country to rule.” There’s less anger in her words and more disappointment. 

Donghyuck winces, looking like he’s fighting back what he wants to say. His bottom lip is trembling and the grip he has on his sleeves is tight. His whole body practically shakes. Eventually, he lets go.

“If I’m not meant to love someone, then explain to me why I already do. Explain to me why I love her? Explain to me why I can’t have her?!” 

Tears are rolling down his cheeks like heavy rainfall. “I never asked for this!” He screams, and I wonder to which he’s referring to. 

My body is sweaty like I ran a mile and I feel like my breathing can be heard through the wall. He never mentions my name, but I know, I can feel, that he’s talking about me. My whole body is buzzing and I don’t know whether to feel ecstatic or sad. Despite my confusion, one feeling is clear: fear. Before I can hear what the Queen has to say, I run. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

♔

“Oh God. Sorry, I was supposed to get here before you. I was supposed to be part of the surprise,” He smiles meekly, praying the puffiness from crying doesn’t make him look strange. He accidentally sniffles and hopes she blames it on the flowers and his chronic allergies.

She’s sitting in the garden chair next to the tea table Donghyuck had set up an hour ago. He scoped out a secluded spot in the royal garden and slowly put everything together. He moves to sit down across from her and she’s staring intently at the cup in front of her. 

“I asked Gran what your favorite tea is and brewed some for us. I know I don’t have your baking skills, but if we get hungry, we can sneak back to the kitchen,” he playfully winks, trying to hide the fact that he was in the worst state five minutes ago. Although he can’t bake, he can definitely make a good batch of tea. He hopes it hasn’t gone cold. 

He waits for a response, but she’s still frozen, chewing the inside of her cheek. Maybe he’s still on edge from his argument with the Queen, but she doesn’t look happy. This is definitely not the reaction he was expecting.

“Do you wanna try the tea? I bet it’ll amaze you so much, you’ll beg me for the recipe,” he teases. The teapot hovers over her cup, but she makes no move to accept it.

“Okay, no tea. That’s fine,” Donghyuck chooses to laugh it off. “Do you wanna walk around? Most of the garden is secluded so we don’t have to worry about someone catching us.”

“Would that be so bad?” The first words she whispers strike him with confusion. Her voice is dry like she just strained it.

“Huh?” He tilts his head, scooting his chair in closer to hear her.

“Would that be so bad?” She says, unable to bate her anger. “Being caught with me? Would his royal highness hate being found walking with me?”

“Hey,” Donghyuck grabs her hand from her lap, interlocking his fingers. “What’s going on?” She tears her hand out from his hold like it stung and he feels like he’s making mistake after mistake.

“I-I’m sorry, is this too much? I wanted to do something nice for our first date outside of the kitchen. Was this a mistake?” He starts to stack the plates, quickly discarding his work. “I usually don’t plan these myself, so I’m sorry if this is bad. I-”

Donghyuck sees her wince in his peripheral and feels her hand on his wrist as he’s about to haphazardly dump the tea in the bushes. Her hands are cold today.

“Date?” The word leaves her mouth as if it made her sick.

The alarms go off in Donghyuck’s mind. “Date? Did I say date? Sorry, I actually mean-”

“Donghyuck,” she cuts him off. He can see her harshly swallow. “Why are you doing this?”

He blinks. “I… I wanted to do something nice for us. It doesn’t have to be romantic if you don’t want it to be. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Donghyuck can feel himself beginning to ramble.

“No. Why have you been hanging out with me? If it’s because you feel guilty about ditching me all those years ago, forget about it. I don’t care anymore.” She looks at him with so much intensity, not only trying to convince him, but convince herself that none of this matters.

“Princess, please. No, it’s not out of pity. You know that.” He shakes his head almost violently, begging her to believe his honest intentions. He was shocked he had to convince her in the first place, always assuming she knew his heart better than him.

Completely ignoring him, she continues, “And why aren’t you married yet?”

“W-what?” Similar to whiplash, Donghyuck feels like his brain has just been jostled. Are his ears tricking him and forcing him to relive the traumatic conversation he just had with his mother? Why is this topic being brought up?

“You’re the Prince,” she says like it’s an unwavering fact. “You’re meeting with princesses weekly. You’re meant to rule side by side as King and Queen. Why… why aren’t you married yet?” She asks and her eyes are ice cold like her hands. 

She too closely resembles the older woman who was just yelling at him moments ago. The casing around his heart begins to harden and the feeling he gets from the girl in front of him is now anger. The same bitter taste returns in his mouth.

“Are you serious?” He looks at her and the Donghyuck she knows has washed away. Betrayal, rage, and sorrow are painted across his face. It was like she was looking through the peephole again.

“Don’t ask stupid questions you know the answers to,” he mutters, words barely making it past his tight lips. He’s breathing much harder than before.

“Answer me. Why. Aren’t. You. Married.” Her hands are gripping the edge of her knees to stop them from shaking. 

Donghyuck stares at her for a long time, eyes flittering over every facial feature, confirming that she actually wants to hear the answer. Her face is firm and her question is set. He takes a deep, pained breath and leans back slightly.

“It’s because I love you.” Not like the confession he imagined in his head, Donghyuck reveals his long-term feelings like this was their end and not their new beginning. The period at the end of a sentence. The last page of a hardcover book. The last second on a timer.

She simply nods, stiff in the neck. She excuses herself before standing up, bowing, and walking away.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“That’ll be $6.06. Would you like your receipt?”

The cash register dings with another purchase and I slump back in my chair as the customer leaves. It was a slow and agonizing shift with only two more hours till closing. It’s also been a slow and agonizing two weeks. 

I’m haunted by what went down at the royal garden almost every hour of the day. At first, I was using every chance I could get to skip work and wallow at home. But suddenly the plants in my room reminded me of him and the teacups in my cabinets smelled like the tea he prepared for us. So for the second week, I decided to dedicate myself to work. I’ve been coming in every single day and overworking myself to the point where my employees don’t know what to do but stand around. I debate whether or not to let them leave early when a familiar head of brown hair walks in. My heart picks up its pace and it’s like the teacups all over again.

“Donghyu- oh. Hi, welcome!” I smile wide, trying to hide the previous disappointment drawn on my face. The customer gives me an awkward smile back and begins browsing the pastry racks as I mentally slap myself.

I slump down to the floor behind the counter and silently groan in my hands. Why does every male brunette customer these past two weeks remind me of him? And why are there so many of them? Like every other time I’ve confused a customer with Donghyuck, the guilt begins to creep back into my system and I get flashbacks of our last conversation. 

“Why aren’t you married?,” I mock my own voice. “Are you stupid?” I repeatedly hit my palms against my head when I hear a ding from the counter bell. I quickly shoot up and brush the bangs out of my face, hoping the customer thinks I’m at least slightly normal.

“Hi, how can I hel- Grandma!” On instinct, I glance behind her, foolishly hoping he’s hiding behind her tiny frame, and my shoulders slump when I’m met with no one. So now I’m really imagining him.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, composing myself.

“Just checking in on you. I notice you haven’t been coming to the kitchen because when I come in in the mornings, my counter is actually clean,” she jokes. I smile sheepishly and nervously adjust the apron string around my neck. 

“Sorry, it’s usually Donghyuck’s fault,” I quickly clear my throat, answering a little too fast. “The Prince, I mean.”

Grandma’s eyebrows shoot up at the mention of his name and she looks down at her feet, suddenly fidgety. I notice her change in demeanor instantly. 

“Speaking of him…”

“We don’t need to,” I cut her off. “Speak about him, I mean.” I wince at how suspicious my words sound.

“If you don’t want to, that’s okay. I’m just curious… if anything happened between you two.” She whispers the last part, looking back at the customer to make sure he can’t hear. She clears her throat and steps behind the counter with me, naturally rearranging the bread in the display case. She busies herself while encouraging me to speak.

I gnaw on my lip, tapping the counter, debating if I should finally talk it out with someone. I’ve only been talking to my employees about bread starters and yeast.

“We fought.” I admit.

“About?” Grandma loads the case with more bread. I start passing them to her one by one. 

“He told me… he told me he loved me.” I press my lips together and I hear her head hit the top of the display case and the bread hit the floor. “Grandma! Are you okay?”

I crouch down, grabbing the top of her head to inspect, and she’s giving me the most incredulous look.

“He told you he loved you?!” She squealed at an embarrassingly non-discrete volume, making the customer drop the pastry in his hands. He’s looking around, frazzled, and I can see him debate whether or not he should pick it back up.

“Don’t worry about it! I’ll clean it up!” I screamed from behind the counter. 

“Grandma, keep it down,” I curse through my teeth.

She’s rubbing her head and shaking it in either pain or confusion.

“I know, I know. A Prince saying he’s in love with the baker’s granddaughter is farfetched and unrealistic. I get it.” It’s what has been circling through my brain every day.

“That’s not what I’m confused about, dear.” She looks like she’s debating what to say next. “Did you not hear?”

“Hear what?” At the end of my question, and like a universal sign, the door jingles and the mailman is rushing in, hair swept back by the wind. 

“Sorry! I forgot to drop this off this morning. It’s urgent mail.” He salutes and is out the door as quickly as he enters. 

On the counter is a letter with the royal stamp. My stomach feels queasy assuming this is the first contact I’ve had from Donghyuck since our fight, but I can’t help the naive smile that breaks out on my face. I rush to open it, not worrying about the papercuts. Every doubt that was just in my head disappeared and my grandma interjects, hoping to bring me back down from my high.

“Sweetie, wait. I need to tell you that-”

To the owner of Princess Bakery,

Prince Lee Donghyuck will be celebrating his union with Princess Nam Soohae on 26 May, 2023 at the royal garden grounds. The royal family requests a wedding cake to be made with your expertise and culinary skills. 

Please accept this royal assignment with details soon to come.

Signed,

The Lees

The words on the page silenced me and my thoughts, my breaths barely leaving my lips. My eyes kept darting across the paper; the calligraphed words are being repeated over and over again in my brain. 

Prince Lee Donghyuck.

His union.

Wedding cake.

Realization finally dawns that this isn’t the love letter or apology I was expecting from Prince Donghyuck. A breath finally escapes and it’s shaky as it wavers in the air like an offkey music note. A heart-stopping pain envelopes my chest and it seizes up to my eyes. The whites of the paper burn my irises. I catch a teardrop splattering onto the parchment. I’m haunted with images of Donghyuck at the altar with someone else. And then I’m thinking about the garden. And us. 

Surprise.

Our first date.

Because I love you.

Because he loves me? Because Prince Lee Donghyuck loves me? Prince Lee Donghyuck who is getting married to an actual princess in a week? Suddenly, it feels like the floor’s unsteady and the oven temperature was turned up to the highest. The letter wrinkles between my fingers and the ink smudges with salty tears. 

This is what I was afraid of. And yet this is what I set myself up for. I knew I should have stopped seeing him. I knew it the moment mango tarts began to remind me of him. The moment my secret ingredient of love found in every bake was powered by him and his place in my heart. Even though I meant to stop this from happening during our talk in the royal garden, that small teaspoon of hope was still sprinkled in my mind. That hope stayed every time I saw a plant, a teacup, or a brunette. But now it’s dissolved.

A new feeling washes over me. One that I haven’t felt once these past two weeks. Not false hope. Not heartbreak. And not regret.

Anger. 

“Don’t blame him.” 

My grandma’s words slice through the red and her hands on my arms attempt to calm me down. I look up through wet lashes, lips trembling.

“Donghyuck… Prince Donghyuck had no say. The royals… they never do.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be my grandma?” I clench my jaw to stop the shaking, slightly regretting my bitter words. 

Her grip is softer. “Oh honey, I am. And that’s why I’m telling you not to waste this energy on being mad at him. What you guys share is beautiful, don’t let this taint it.” She takes the letter out of my hands and physically turns me to face her.

“Shared,” I corrected her.

“Share,” She corrects me. “Your love for each other is seen by everyone. I know it can’t flourish the way love is supposed to, but at least cherish it for what it was.”

Her words reintroduce more feelings. Sorrow. Frustration. 

“I was really hoping this time it works out…” She voices my thoughts.

At this point, I’m hiccupping between breaths, caught between reliving the past and hearing these explanations. The world was never meant to have us together it seems. But at least I was told this time we had an ending.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

The next royal letter came two days after the first, and I was called to spend a week in the royal palace to test out different wedding cakes. I essentially had no choice but to say yes as the royal chauffeurs picked me up every morning to take me there. It felt like those sunrises with my grandma when I was seven but the butterflies in my stomach turned into bees. Unlike the past, I prayed I wouldn’t run into Prince Donghyuck, but with him having requested I make his cake, I’m sure he knows I’m here.

My grandma designated a portion of the kitchen to me as the head baker and it mimicked the old days as much as it could. That was until I got a visitor on the second day.

“Good morning! I’m Princess Nam Soohae.”

My eyes widened and my whisk fell out of my grasp as I took in her presence. She’s beautiful. She’s an actual princess. Her bright, toothy smile would’ve made anyone smitten if it weren’t for the fact that she was about to marry the man I loved. The pretty pink dress she wore was tinted green through my eyes. I shook my head, trying to remind myself of my place. 

“Good morning,” I bowed. “I’m the baker in charge of your wedding cake.” My smile faltered only slightly with the mention of the union.

She giggles and I almost want to laugh with her. “I know that, silly. I was sent by the Queen to sample some. Or should I say my future mother-in-law.” She bites her perfectly manicured nail with excitement.

Soohae leans her hands on the counter and peers at the bowl in my hand.

“Is there any to try right now?” Her head surveys the kitchen like a kid looking for cookies. It’s genuinely hard to dislike her.

“Um, I have a few cakes placed to the side to cool right now. There’s no frosting on it yet, but I’m sure it’d be good to try the base first!” I move to grab one of the trays and she flutters to follow me.

“Ooooh!” She gushes. “I’m so excited to try it. My own wedding cake, can you believe it?”

“No.” I almost drop the cake. “I mean, yes? Sorry. Getting married to the one you love is… it’s a crazy thing.” I cut a piece of cake and place it on a plate for her.

She doesn’t hesitate to take a bite and as she chews, she thinks. 

“I don’t love him yet, to be honest. This cake is really good, by the way.” I start cutting a slice from the other cake to sample. “But I know I will love him eventually. I already get butterflies when I look at him. I trust that he’s the one for me, I mean have you seen him?”

Before I can agree, and thank god she doesn’t give me a second to, she continues, “I know it’s silly for a person in my position to believe in the one. But I really, really do think it could be him. The other day he brought me my favorite flowers, like how did he know?!” She pops a bite of the other cake in and her eyes light up.

“Oh this is the one! Don’t even think about giving me another,” The Princess reaches for another bite and applauds me.

I laugh and make sure to note to go with the lemon base and not the mango one. As my hands are about to toss the mango cake away, my mind stops me and I consider whether Donghyuck would prefer this instead. The clanking of the Princess’s fork on the plate, finishing the lemon cake slice till it’s crumbs, reels me back and I let the cake fall into the garbage. It feels eerily like a metaphor.

For the rest of the week, Princess Soohae visits me and taste tests the frosting, fondant, and other things she wants. With every passing day, I hear more about Haechan and I can feel that her words have turned fonder. Coincidentally, her sweet tooth has gotten worse and the final components of the wedding cake are a complete sugar bomb like her personality.

On my final day, the Queen joins her. The last time I saw her majesty, she was berating the Prince as I secretly watched. It felt like I was in that hidden passageway again as she watches me prepare a slice of the wedding cake for her. My hands shake, placing the plate down in front of her and her gaze is sharp. It’s interesting how harsh her energy is when her facial features are as soft as the Prince’s. She looks like she’s been through a lot and I wonder if Donghyuck will experience the same thing when he fulfills his role as King. Like she can tell I’m thinking about him, The Queen’s eyes narrow. 

“I hope you enjoy,” I bow, and she doesn’t say a word. Princess Soohae on the other hand is completely bubbling over how good it turned out and how her guests are sure to love it too. 

The Queen simply nibbles on a piece and nods along. The black and white vibes almost give me whiplash as I stand there, watching the two of them. A sweat forms on my hairline and I’m internally glad this is my last day. I can’t go through this any longer. 

And like a karmic jinx, the kitchen door opens and a familiar brunette walks in. This time, it is him.

“Oh my! Prince Donghyuck!” Princess Soohae scrambles off her chair and bows both gracefully and clumsily. I bow as well, trying hard to hide the immediate blush on my face I get whenever I see him. I wonder if I can stay bowing so I don’t have to meet his face. The last time we saw each other was when we talked at the royal garden, and as much as I prayed I wouldn’t run into him here, truthfully, a part of me also hoped I would.

As soon as I force myself to stand up straight, we lock eyes and the strain in my chest loosens like a snapped thread. I can feel my lungs fill with air and it’s relieving to see him again after so long. It hurts in the best way as I’m overwhelmed by his presence. That familiar brown waved hair, the sunkissed tan skin, and the plump smiley cheeks. Everything is how I left it but his expression is not one I expected. He’s in complete shock and I don’t know what to do but look around the room to find something that would cause such surprise. I quickly glance at the Queen, and for the first time since she sat down, there’s a small lift in the corner of her mouth. Is she smirking?

“Princess?” He tilts his head, still staring at me before he realizes what he just called me. “Princess! Princess Soohae! I came to get you.” He runs over to grab her hand and the lifted cheekbones on her face tells me she’s grinning. 

“What- uh- what’s going on?” I’m fixated on the way he fiddles with her hand as he looks around the room for answers. 

“Cake testing? How did you forget, silly?” Princess Soohae laughs as she playfully pats his cheeks. Everyone in the room can tell she’s head over heels and my stomach hurts. As I’m clutching my stomach and the Prince stares at me quizzically, there’s one person in the room watching all of this go down.

“She’s the wedding cake baker we outsourced, Prince Donghyuck.” The Queen says calmly, gesturing to me. She tells him like it’s his first time hearing this and I’m taken aback, my movements making the utensils on the table quiver slightly.

“He didn’t know?” My mouth was too quick to voice my thoughts. “His highness, I mean.” I bow in apology.

“No. No, I didn’t.” His hands are at his side now, gripping the fabric of his sleeves. The shock left his face and now he’s staring at me with pity and then silent anger when his head turns towards the Queen. My eyes follow his and she returns his look as if to challenge him to say more. 

Completely obvious to the shift in atmosphere, Princess Soohae raves about the final wedding cake decisions and begs the Prince to try a bite. He turns her down without sparing a glance and asks her to leave with him. He doesn’t give me a second thought as he breaks eye contact with the Queen and drags his future wife away. There’s no stopping the ache that fills my chest again, slow but strong like the rising tide.

“So he still likes you.”

Snapped out of my haze, my ears don’t believe the words I hear coming from the Queen’s lips.

“Pardon?” She’s looking at me now and it’s a mixture of disappointment and disinterest etched on her face. The warmth on her face has depleted. 

“My son. Prince Donghyuck. He still likes you,” she laughs dryly. “After all these years…” 

My eyebrows furrow and I feel myself getting dizzy. Maybe this is all some sort of hallucination and the Queen isn’t talking to me right now. I grip the counter for support, and she doesn’t wait for me to respond.

“You know, I thought I handled the issue 15 years ago when I asked the head baker to stop bringing you here. I was stupid to think it would be that easy when he purposely sabotaged every date I set up for him the years after.”

She’s twirling the fork on the plate now and the scrapes make me flinch. The kitchen no longer feels like a safe space for me right now as her words slowly suffocate me. 

“And when he started to actually go on these dates this year and report back to me that they’re going well? I was foolish to think it was him beginning to try. I saw you one day, back in this kitchen. Back in his life. It all made sense and it made me so angry.” Her hands grip the fork handle. They’re dainty, but if you look close, they’re calloused, indicating years of work. Her face appears the same. If it weren’t for the terrifying state I was in, I would’ve wanted to comfort her. She looks up at me, and I felt tinier than I did before, her eyes piercing into me. 

“Do you not understand the life I’m trying to set up for Donghyuck? He’s the future king. He needs a queen, a real queen to survive in this world. As the queen, I know firsthand what he needs. My king wouldn’t be anywhere without me and his mother who set me up with him. You’re not fit for this role and you never will be.” She finally sets the fork down with a clatter. 

“Listen to me, and let him go. It’s what’s best.” Her threatening nature fades as quickly as it came and she gracefully stands up, brushing the nonexistent debris on her gown. The Queen gives me one final look, waiting for me to bow and essentially agree, before leaving the kitchen. 

The air returns and I grasp my chest to let myself breathe. Tears prick the corner of my eyes as I choke back sobs.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“Remember, it’s the room on the right hallway. Third door. And if anyone sees you, don’t tell them I sent you. I’ll get in trouble.” My grandma hammers in the details one more time, waiting for me to nod in confirmation.

It’s the end of my final day and she asked me to deliver pastries to a room in the palace before I leave, saying her workload is too large to be going herself. I figured it’s one more thing I could do before I never step foot in the palace again. I almost turned her down earlier in fear of running into the Queen. Just the thought of that happening makes me feel sick, but I know I won’t be seeing her again after this anyways.

I scoff, “So you’d rather I get sent to the guillotine?” I tease her with an exaggerated horrified look. 

She easily flicks my forehead, despite our height difference, and I grab it wincing. “You’re lucky I don’t chop off your head myself with that attitude of yours.” She sneers at me and I giggle.

“Fair…,” I playfully mutter, soothing the area between my brows.

Her directions sent me to a room with beautiful brown double doors. I smile at the two ladies standing outside of it and I’m about to explain why I’m here before they cut me off.

“Pastry delivery for the Prince?” They say in unison.

Like a horror movie, my jaw drops and I lose my instinct to run. One thing I do know is to make sure I yell at my grandma later as I nod and tell them they’re correct. She completely set me up.

On another occasion, I would’ve appreciated the doors to Prince Donghyuck’s bedroom more, but right now, they look like the gates of Hell. I attempt to swallow whatever saliva was left in my suddenly dry mouth as I brushed my hair out of my face. The ladies allow me to knock on the door. My palms are sweaty as I shakily knock on the varnished wood, hearing it echo into the space on the other side. His room must be huge.

No responses are heard. This was my out, but my body was telling me not to leave, even though my mind was screaming to run. Instead of knocking again, I turn the knob and almost wish it wasn’t unlocked, but it was.

There he is on the other side, scribbling at his desk. His back is facing me and I watch the muscles in them move with vigor. I haven’t seen him work this hard since he convinced me to teach him how to make a creme brulée and accidentally made scrambled eggs with the yolks.

I shut the door behind me and hope it catches his attention, but it doesn’t. I gulp, realizing how very real this situation is and I almost want to throw up knowing I have to speak.

“Hyuck.”

I hear him inhale and he spins quickly out of his chair to look at me. Different to how it felt seeing him in the kitchen earlier today, his face is softer, accepting my presence. My heart floats in my chest, wondering why I was so nervous to see him when just the sight of him oozes comfort. He looks at me like he’s feeling the same way. I see the longing in his eyes and the way they warm, I close my own to stop myself from giving in too much.

“Princess.”

His voice is fragile and his choice of words makes me shut my eyes harder, scared that I’d lose all my resilience and run straight into his arms. He doesn’t correct himself this time, and he says it again with more confidence.

I finally peel them open and force myself to act cold. Just an hour ago I was finishing his wedding cake; this fire has to be extinguished.

“Princess Soohae will make a great queen.” I move to set the pastry basket down on a table near me.

“It’s not what you think. I was going to-“ He turns around in a frenzy and grabs the paper he was just writing on. The Prince takes a step closer and it takes all my strength to recoil. It takes all of me not to be swayed by the obvious hurt on his face. This will be good for us, I have to remind myself.

My hand is up, drawing the line. “You don’t have to explain. It’s not what I’m here for.”

He hesitantly puts his arm down, eyebrow twitched in confusion. The paper is still in his hands.

“I got you a gift,” I partly smile. “A wedding gift and I guess, also… a goodbye gift.” With that statement, I break away from his stare, fixating on a corner in his grand room. 

I hear paper wrinkling. “A goodbye gift?” His voice gets lower and it causes me to wince. It feels like all the tension in the room gathered in the small vacancy in my chest and the overwhelming pressure makes my eyes sting. I can already feel the tears build up as I play with the hem of my shirt. 

“Mhm,” I painfully affirm. “The wedding cake. It’s both my gift and my goodbye. I thought you requested it when I first got the royal letter,” I laugh at the situation, trying to stop myself from letting him see me cry.

“Turns out it wasn’t you, but regardless. You’re getting married and I can’t be here anymore. So I left it in the kitchen. Obviously, it’s not a goodbye-goodbye, since I’ll still be living here in the city, but… No. Yeah, it’s a goodbye,” I nod to myself, trying to unravel the knot in my throat. “I guess you took my advice, huh? Congratulations, your highness.”

The silence from him is thick and it leaves a sour feeling in my stomach. It calls me to look up at him, and his eyes are icy cold. The sweet honey brown is as dark as coal.

“This is your response?” His words are robotic, I can feel the venom on his tongue as it pricks at my heart.

“S-sorry?” I tilt my head, not understanding him. It felt terrifying to make him repeat himself in the state he’s in.

“I told you I loved you. I’m assuming this is your response.” My eyes flicker to the paper in his fist, no longer readable. Neither is his face as he gives me the blankest look. It makes me want to cry more knowing this is how I will remember our last moments.

This time, I do take a step towards him but he’s shaking his head aggressively, lower back pressed against the edge of his desk. Now I know how he felt.

“If you want to hear me say ‘I love you’, you know I can’t do that.” Just having those three words leave my lips causes a tear to roll down my cheek. 

“Because I’m the Prince?” This time, his expression changes to match mine. I can feel the frustration and pain radiating off of him, and all I want to do is to tell him what he needs to hear. But I just nod, forcing a distance.

“So it always mattered. What if… what if it was 7-year-old Donghyuck asking his princess? What would you have said? You didn’t know who I was back then. I was just… just Donghyuck.” He sighs, his body is limp as he settles onto his desk. I notice his frail build, worried that he’s been eating less.

I smile, fondly remembering the ignorant bliss from 15 years ago. But then I’m forced to remember our situation now, our ugly situation where our hearts are demanded to stay silent. 

“I would’ve told him I loved him too.”

And with that, all strength is gone as I sob into my palm. I’m trying to force the wails in, but my body is shaking. My legs feel weak and he’s over here and his arms are wrapped tightly around me in a second. I can feel his heart beating against my arm trapped between our bodies and his breath shakily blowing on the top of my head. One hand is holding me tight and the other is brushing through my hair as he shushes me. 

“I love you. I love you. I love you,” He repeats. A part of me thinks this is to calm himself down too. 

I know I’m right when I slowly pull myself back and see the red in his eyes and on the tip of his nose. My hand flinches as I’m about to caress his cheek. His breath is steadier as it now fans across my face and his eyes are lidded like they’ve finally got some rest. My hesitation vanishes as I let myself cup his face, trace the constellation painted on his cheek, and feel the sweetness of his lips on mine. The warm sensation that envelops my body makes me gasp and Donghyuck tightens his embrace on me, refusing to let go. He tasted better than every sweet treat I’ve had combined. He was intoxicating and my whole body buzzed like a sugar rush. 

I close my eyes tighter, savoring the feeling of his lips, wanting to remember every trace — letting myself be selfish this last time. He’s sugary, cozy, and soothing like the afternoon sun on my back. His mouth moves with such ease against mine and it feels like I’ve been kissing him my whole life. The feeling of his tongue gently nudging my bottom lip jolts me back to reality and I push away, seized by the cold air of his big room again. 

I bring my hands to my face, hoping to cool down the flush. The Prince is breathing as heavily and in sync with me, and all I can hear is our matching breaths and the ringing in my ears. I have to end it here. 

“Um. Congratulations on your wedding,” I say in one breath. I don’t dare look at him as I quickly bow, scrambling to his door. 

“Princess! Wait,” He grabs my wrist, almost too tight. “I can’t go through with this. Please, I-I only want to marry you.”

“Your highness…”

“Don’t. Don’t call me that. Say my name, please. Call me Hyuck. Call me Donghyuck. Anything but that. Just don’t-“ His teeth are chattering and he blinks away the tears. “Don’t leave me again.”

Without a second thought, I’m shaking my head ‘no.’ Even with tears blurring my vision, I can see the hurt on his face and I feel a part of my heart rot. It pains me just as much to reject him, but the Queen’s words swirl around in my head, unrelentless. I’m forced to leave him and my heart here and I want to scream, but I can’t. He notices that. It reminds him of himself.

Letting the finality of my decision settle in, he lets go of me, taking in a shaky breath. This was our end.

I restrain myself from taking any steps towards him as I reach for the door behind me. The wooden panel swings open, gliding past my extended fingers as I’m met with the face of the Queen.

That same hand shoots up to touch my lips, remembering what just happened in here and I bow till my hair grazes the tiled floors. 

“Your Majesty,” I squeak. She looks at me with a million emotions and plants her glare at the Prince. Like pieces of a puzzle coming together, her face twists into anger, dissecting the situation. I take this as my cue to leave but the Queen shuts the door behind the both of us. I don’t hear the Prince make any moves to save me.

“What were you doing in there?” She angrily whispers between clenched teeth. Not sure what comes over me, but the fear I felt before is gone. Instead, I’m left feeling numb.

“Don’t worry. I was just saying goodbye.” I swallow, bracing myself for her reprimands. 

A beat passes, before she speaks, this time in a normal tone. “Are you done?” 

I nod, “Yes, and I’d like to be excused from attending the wedding to serve the cake.” The Queen’s eyebrows quirk up, shocked that I’ve made a request. I look her straight in the eyes so she knows I mean it.

“I can’t… I can’t be there for that. I believe I’ve done all the preparation I can and I am not needed to actually attend.” My confidence waivers, and I draw my attention back to the ground.

“Fair enough. You don’t have to attend. I’ll tell the other bakers to serve it.” I take my chance to meet her eyes again and I can almost see concern on her face. I shake my head of that ridiculous thought, and offer her my best smile.

“Thank you, your majesty.” I bow before dragging my feet off the palace grounds. Hoping to never set foot in here ever again.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Bells. I plan to remove all bells from my bakery. The royal wedding bells have been ringing all morning and I don’t need any more reminders moving forward. 

I spent the whole night crying after leaving the palace and then my anxiety kicked in, trying to get me to map out my life without him. Naturally, I planned to pour myself into work and here I am, out of bed, manning the shop by myself on his wedding day. I may have cried into a batch of dough in the morning, but baby steps are important. This is only day one anyways.

I realized I made a mistake leaving the house when I overheard everyone in town talk about the wedding of the century. I even let my employees off for the day, mainly to have my space to wallow alone. Practically everyone was outside the palace gates, waiting to get a glimpse of the couple. The streets were currently empty and I wonder if I should just close up shop. 

Right when I was about to count up the cash and close out the register, the bell on the door jingles. I’m halfway into the one dollar bills when I roll my eyes at the sound, pressing my lips together to stop a groan. I make a mental note to remove the bell before I leave.

I look up to check on the customer and I see a man with, of course, brown hair surveying the bread on the back wall. All I can see is the back of his head as he peruses. I scoff to myself at the instant fluttering of my chest at yet another brunette customer. Is no one blond anymore? Are gingers that rare for me to never encounter one in my bakery?

I finish counting the ones and I move onto the fives when I realize he’s still standing in the same spot. I’m organizing the bills in my hands as I examine him. Normal guy. Black hoodie. Jeans. 

Maybe he’s just really indecisive. I can see him tapping his foot from the counter. I decide to offer help after I finish counting the five dollar bills.

With the last dollar to count, I place it in the tray and slowly walk over to the man. As I get closer, my stranger danger instincts kick in and I suddenly regret my decision. His foot is still shaking and from this close, I can see him fidgeting with his sleeves in front of him. I grab a pair of tongs from the closest case and approach him.

“Excuse me, sir? Can I help you find something?” I have the tongs gripped with both hands, discreetly but ready to swing. 

I see his body tense and my breath hitches, thinking I’m really going to have to hit this man with my makeshift weapon.

He turns around painstakingly slow and I raise the tongs instinctively to block my face, before letting out a squeal.

But then I see his face. And different bells go off.

“Oh my god. Hyuck?”

The bags under his eyes are prominent and I finally notice the way his hair has been pulled in different directions. His lips are dry as he cracks a sheepish smile. He’s rubbing the back of his neck and notices the kitchen utensil in my hands.

“Were you gonna hit me?!” His mouth is open in surprise and he’s taking the tongs from my hands. I let him and put my hands up in defense.

“You were standing there for so long, all fidgety! I’m alone in here, what was I supposed to think?” I fight back, taking the tongs back and clutching it close to my chest.

He lets out a long sigh, seemingly frustrated with himself as he runs his hands through his hair. I hate that I find it attractive.

“Wait.” He looks up at me through his lashes, swallowing. “What are you doing here?” I ask. He blinks, knowing that question was coming. 

I expected to feel sick awaiting his answer, but instead my heart is racing, anticipating his next words. I almost feel that false hope I felt a week ago, and I try hard to deny it. But the way he’s looking at me leaves me with no doubts. 

I’m about to push him out the door when he digs a hand into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. The wrinkled piece of paper from yesterday. He plays with it in his hands as he thinks about his next move.

“I was drafting a request to get the law changed.”

His words peak my interest. I set the tongs down and let him continue. Wrapping my arms around my waist for security, I’m fearful of what he has to say next.

“I’ve actually been working on it for the past two months.” He flattens the paper out in his hands. “You caught me finishing the final draft yesterday. I didn’t expect it to take up until my wedding day…” He laughs, unhumored by the situation. 

He hands it to me. “This is an old copy now, but it’s actually already being reviewed by the King. Right now. Being who I am, I fled just in case.” 

He looks at me anxiously as I read the top of the page, the words in bold:

Formal Petition to Repeal the Royal Marriage Ordinance 

Written By Prince Lee Donghyuck

My eyes don’t believe what’s written, like the royal letter I received not too long ago, requesting I bake the royal wedding cake. The same royal stamp and all rests in the top left corner. 

This time, I can read the words clearly. They settle into my chest, leaving me with such a funny feeling. I read the text and I can tell it’s written by him. I imagine him staying up every night after we meet in the kitchen, working by himself on this proposal. All of his hard work for the past couple months was printed on this very paper. All this work… for us. 

I feel my cheeks wet from pure joy and I cover the smile straining my mouth. A rush unfurls through my body like sweet, sweet sugar and I look up to share it with him. 

“Donghyuck… You-?”

“Marry me.” 

He gets down on one knee, holding my free hand. He’s rubbing that one spot on my ring finger and it feels unreal. The gleam in his eyes reminds me of the toasty fires in the oven, the glistening mangos on his favorite tart. His smile matches mine, nervous just slightly, and I want to paint this memory in my brain forever. The love and desperation in his eyes are begging me to think of him. Think of us. Every fear that had been eating away at me the past month was overcome by his pleas. This paper and his actions are proof that we can happen.

He continues, 

“Princess, please marry me. I’ve only wanted to marry you almost my entire life. I know that sounds crazy, but how can I doubt my obvious soulmate? You always come back to me, but I still don’t want another reason for you to have to leave. So please, trust me and trust us. Forget everything and everyone else and say you’ll marry me. If this petition doesn’t pass, I’ll continue to fight. Just…

Say you’ll be my princess forever.”

I tug his hand softly to get him to stand up. He obliges and I free my hands to hold his face. He finally breathes and closes his eyes, leaning into my touch. I can feel him relax and his hands rest on my hips, drawn like a magnet. My mind is bouncing back and forth trying to contain the frenzy in my heart and the steady warmth of my core. I tap his eyelid lightly with my thumb and ask him to look at me. He opens them slowly, fear still trickling in his irises. I smile at him.

“My Prince,” His breath hitches. “I love you too.”

Donghyuck wastes no time tucking his head into my neck and lifting me against his body. He spins me around between the cases of bread and I giggle, feeling his heart beat erratically against mine. He softly lets my feet touch the ground and we’re looking at each other again, tears adding sparkles to his eyes. I wipe them away instantly.

“Thank you for coming back,” he whispers, but it feels like he said it with his whole being.

“Always.” I say with just as much commitment.

We’re cherishing the moment together, laughing at how happy we get to be, when the wedding bells go off once more. I look at him with confusion and he shrugs, just as lost.

“I can’t believe my wedding cake is going to waste,” I pout, remembering all my hardwork. And he squeezes my hip at my choice to be silly, snickering.

“I can’t believe you went with a lemon cake. Do you even know me?” He teases, pretending to be hurt. I gasp, slapping his chest.

“I’ll make sure to go with the mango tarts for ours.” I press a soft kiss on his lips and he smiles with me, pulling me unbelievably closer. 

“I like the sound of that,” Donghyuck hums.

“I’m sure you do.” I laugh.

Donghyuck and I stand there in each other’s arms for as long as our legs allow. We talk about the past, how it felt to leave each other. We talk about the garden and I admit to catching him talk to his mom, which explains everything he needs to know. Even as I’m profusely apologizing, he’s doing the same, saying sorry for putting me in such a situation. I choose to ask about Princess Soohae and he bites his lip nervously, telling me he hasn’t handled that predicament yet. I almost drag him out of the bakery at the sound of that. We even go over his repeal proposal and I call him out for some typos.

Eventually we move to the kitchen, doing what we do best, and what we’ve done for years, waiting for someone to find him. The Prince and his Princess.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

A/N: i hope you enjoyed!! pls like, reblog, reply, whatever!! if u want hehe

[prodbymaui]

Oops, Baby (I Love You)

I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

PAIRING: jeong jaehyun x reader

GENRE: modern royalty ; arranged marriage

WORD COUNT: 12.5k+ words

WARNINGS: heavy alcohol consumption, mentions of sleeping pills, food play, oral sex, dirty talks. (the whole fic is romcom slash very fluffy, the only nasty thing here is the smut scene)

SYNOPSIS: you had been living your life as a rebellious and controversial crown princess, now you must face the consequence of purifying your tainted image; marrying the gentle and infamous crown prince of South Korea.

PLAYLIST: Do you hear my heart?

A/N: after weeks of depression episodes what do you call them), I finally got the strength to finish this bad bitch lmao. I know you guys have been waiting so I hope you'll leave your thoughts after? anyways, happy reading!

Everything is spinning and everyone is either two or three. You don't know how much alcohol you've drank but certainly it was enough for you to stumble your way out of the bar, looking for somewhere to puke your guts out.

The intense nausea is already too much for your fucked up body system to accommodate, but the gods and deities thought it's not enough and it'll be perfect if you trip continuously on your Celine Truffle Pointed Heels, possibly damaging it more than you've done to your other shoes. The mask to hide your face is not helping as well.

Someone bumps your side and due to your drunken state, you lose your balance and break one of the heels, sending you to dive to your side. Your eyes shut close as you brace yourself for a painful slam but it never comes. Instead you meet a firm chest hidden underneath a black dress shirt and 2 layers of silver necklaces.

Looking up, through your hazy vision, you see pursed lips and palms up, as if avoiding touching you anywhere. As you step to regain your balance, you trip once again and like a deja vu, the man only lets you use his shoulders and chest to support yourself but never lets his hands touch you.

''You might want to get off of me, Ms…?''

Hearing that voice, a strange sense of familiarity and longing surge to your heart, engulfing it and squeezing it. As if to say, remember it.

''...heart.'' Why is my heart aching?

The man pulls away and observes you, sighing. He clears his throat. ''Sorry, Heart.''

His figure walking away is the last thing you see before your vision blacks out with no guarantee of you being able to recall the events that took place tonight.

Utmost disappointment. Series of distasteful comments. Disapproving reactions. Surely, these aren't the usual feelings of the people towards the soon-to-be-queen of their country but it has been the weekly routine for the people of yours to criticize their sole princess.

''Strip her off the royal titles–! Are these people out of their mind?!'' Your squeal that comes close to a banshee rings across the whole entirety of the bedroom.

''Excuse them, they take after their princess.'' Hiding her giggles behind a fist, Winter scrambles off the bed as you aim to strangle her fragile neck.

Barely dodging your deathly grips by an inch, Winter's yelps bounces off the walls continuously, followed by your irritated shrieks and threatening hands ready to crush your best friend. The chase eventually dies down with the two of you panting, catching your breaths. You pull her short brown locks one last time before jumping on the bed, face down. Winter does the same and lands next to you, arms draping over each other.

A knock disrupts the peaceful atmosphere that engulfs the room, pulling you out of your slumber trance. You knew the pattern of the knock too well. It is practiced by all royal staff to ensure politeness and great manners whenever they are surrounded by royalties and VIPs. Included in training  as per the Queen's request.

The door opens and it reveals a female servant. This one's not yours, judging by the blue brooch. ''Good evening, Your Highness. Ms. Kang wishes to see you in her office right now and orders me to fetch you.''

''And why is that?''

''She said nothing, Ma'am.''

That earns a boisterous laugh from your best friend, alongside a series of claps. ''Goodluck on hearing an hour of scolding, girl.''

Winter sends you a 'fighting' gesture. You give her your middle finger.

The trip to the advisor's office takes a few minutes as the private chambers of the royal members are at the east wing while gatherings, some royal duties, and part where it is open for the public are dealt with at the west side of the palace. You're still not mentally prepared when the wooden entrance makes its way for you. As your eyes meet the pair of the royal advisor, you know you should've prepared yourself much better.

''Good evening, Your Highness. Please do take a seat.''

Albeit it's probably showing on the courtesy of your eyebrows, you still cover your scoff with a cough under your breath. ''Drop the politeness, Eunhye. I don't need it.''

Eunhye removes the newspaper that serves as a hindrance for you to see her expression, and there you spot the disapproving look on her face. You shrug inwardly. What's new? You suppose people in their late 30s are quite uptight. Or it's just your former babysitter.

Kang Eunhye used to play with you a lot during your childhood whenever you and your friends didn't have a playdate. You should've known she was going to take up her late mother's position when Eunhye often disappeared after the death of the former royal advisor. That was when she started changing and became more strict with you.

''You don't need it, you say? Good. Because I don't perceive it as necessary when I tell you Her Majesty had gone haywire by yet another scandal of her sole heir that she asked me to not let you out of the palace if it's not for your studies or royal duties.''

''–what?! That's absurd!''

''Oh I think it's a light punishment for a scandal involving participating in a brawl, breaking the nose of a commoner and almost ending up in jail. Mind you, this happened in front of a controversial bar! And to top it all off, it hasn't been a week since you were caught sleeping in the streets because your drunk ass couldn't help yourself up!''

You scratch your head. ''...well, if the bodyguards came–''

''They would've if you didn't switch clothes with a random woman and make them follow her thinking it was you! Do you know they got suspended and will not receive a portion of their salary because of what YOU did? It's only because of the King that they were spared from getting fired.''

''Not my fault that the guards you hired were fools and easily deceived. They should've recognized my figure even with different clothes.''

''They are bodyguards. Not your devoted fans–,'' Eunhye sighs. ''Your Highness.''

A moment of silence travels along the soundwaves of the room decorated with blue.

''Okay…? What do you want me to do, then? Public appearances? Press conference?''

Eunhye, knowing her ways, will probably advise you to address the issue, apologize for the things that you don't even regret to pacify the netizen. And because they most likely (definitely) won't buy your fake ass apology statement and continue to terrorize you on social media, your schedule will be packed with attending public events to show your 'genuineness'.

You've done this routine more times than the royal court approves so you know what to expect. In fact, you already have a few suggestions ready on which events will possibly dust bits of dirt on your name. You know this like the back of your hand.

The Queen enters. ''No.''

Apparently, you don't..? 

The moment your mother opens her mouth, you feel as if a myriad of buckets of icy water washes over you.

''You will marry a gentleman with a clean image. By then, you will be seen with great influence and garner people's love.''

Once. Twice. You slap yourself three more times but you don't wake up from this nightmare. Winter only looks at you pitifully while chewing her steak.

''Darling, would you please stop hurting yourself?'' A lovable tone is evident from the King's voice, accompanied by a concerned stare.

You sigh but the stabs of your fork through your own steak doesn't stop. ''Marry a gentleman.. I can't fucking believe this.''

''Language.'' The Queen says firmly. ''I apologize for getting ahead of you. I suppose you don't fancy a gentleman?''

''You apologize for assuming my preference but not for taking away my freedom..?''

''Do you wish to marry a lady, then?''

Silence fills the table. You sigh. ''Honestly? Anything would be fine.''

Your mother mums. ''Very well, then. You will be meeting your fianceé in 3 days–''

''–as long as I get to choose who I am marrying.''

''That won't be possible. The person needs to have the most influence and power among your age. The gender will be the only thing we can let you choose.''

''You don't have problems with having a queer princess?''

The Queen frowns. ''Of course, why would we? It is neither a crime nor a sin.''

Your father then nods. ''The royal court fully supports it since two decades ago.''

''But not the 'choosing your own lover'?'' You can only shake your head. You turn to the maid nearby. ''Please bring this to my room, I'll eat there instead.''

Everyone watches you in silence. No one at the table dares to scold you for your behavior.

''She has the rights to be upset this time.'' The King comments.

''Yes, she does.'' The Queen agrees.

Winter warily looks around, pursing her lips as she raises her hand. ''Uhm.. Your Majesty?''

''Yes, Lady Minjeong?''

Winter winces at the mention of her government name. ''As your daughter's best friend, will it be possible for me to know who she'll be marrying?''

Smiling, the King snaps his finger. ''Ah.. let's see if the future lover would pass the best friend's vibe check.''

His husband sends him a curt glance. ''Don't ever try to use generational phrases, it doesn't suit you. Back to Lady Minjeong, yes, it is possible. Would you like to know now?''

''A-already? I thought you're still looking through the profiles?''

''We have tons of staff, Lady Minjeong.''

''Right, I forgot about that.'' Winter sheepishly smiles.

''I'll excuse myself then. I have an appointment with a VIP in an hour, I have to go.'' Just as the husband and wife head towards the exit of the dining hall, the Queen turns. ''It is Prince Jaehyun of South Korea. A good man and the best one for the princess.''

''None on twitter. Nadda on instagram. Nothing on their official website. Heck, there's not even a single picture on google! Does this Prince Jaehyun even exist?'' Winter exclaims as she continues to scroll on her phone.

Frowning, you throw a pillow in her direction. ''Let the others hear your whining and they'll think you have a crush on my soon-to-be-fianceé. Why are you so interested in him?''

''Well, duh! You're literally marrying him, that's enough reason for me to get curious! The question here is why are YOU not interested?''

''I'm more interested in that man at the bar.''

''You should give some! This is the person you'll be spending your life with we're talking about!''

Scoffing, you tug the ends of her hair. ''Will you stop saying I'll marry him? The engagement will be called off sooner than mom and dad can even realize it's coming.''

Winter gasps dramatically and shots up to sit. ''What if it's some old man with a stinky smell and white hair? Oh my god what if Her Majesty agreed to marry you off to some ugly ass 50 year old man for the sake of the country's betterment?!''

Threatening to punch her if she doesn't stop with the overthinking, Winter zips her mouth as she decides to scroll on her phone once again.

You sigh. ''Pretty sure, Mom wouldn't do that, right? I mean she said something about being the best out of the people among our age so..''

''Huh, look at this.''

Winter crawls to you from the part of the she is lying, hands careful not to swipe her screen and risk refreshing the page. You squint your eyes to see.

PANN:

Crown Prince Jaehyun Once Again Stuns The People Of South Korea With His Amazing Visuals.

[ +217, -5 ] It's a shame that we're not allowed to post a photo of him on the internet. How am I supposed to stare at his face for a long time then? How am I supposed to appreciate and share his beauty?

[ +190, -3 ] Daebak! The royal family just visited our village and the rumors weren't lying when they said Prince Jaehyun is handsome ahwksjskww. He's like a walking statue!

[ +165, -20 ] I would die for a man like Prince Jaehyun. Very gentleman and polite. One time, I was with my niece when I met him and the youngest prince in a mall. My niece really wanted the toy car but Prince Jaehyun and Prince Jaemin got the last one before use but they still gave it to my niece.

[ +132, -56 ] Heol ㅋㅋㅋ Of course he would say that, he has an image to keep up! Royalties would try to polish their personalities in public often because they can't afford to lose the trust of the people. It's so fucking dumb how you think the prince acts that way because that just how he is and not because he has an image to take care of.

[ +122, -13 ] The comment above lolol. You're just jealous that the prince has everything you don't; looks, manners, and brains ㅋㅋㅋ

[ +84, -7 ] I don't think Prince Jaehyun does it because people are watching him. I've seen him lecture Prince Jaemin about how he shouldn't expect to get what he wants every time and mind you no one was inside our store that time as our store isn't quite popular so he couldn't be doing it for his image. I feel like Prince Jaehyun is genuine!

[ +65, -5 ] Didn't a lot of people see him wearing clothes with no brands? And that he has a good relationship with the youngest prince? Idk about you but I'd say that speaks a lot about him.

[ +52, -3 ] I've met Prince Jaehyun a lot of times, the only thing I could say is; 'Ultimately Prince-Like'! Handsome and tall, like he's written by Taylor Swift ㅋㅋㅋ. Prince Jaehyun is a dream *three heart emojis*

As you read over the first comment again, the curve on your forehead only deepens. They are not allowed to post a photo of their prince? Then, that would explain the lack of appearance of the royalty everywhere on social media. This pricks your interest. 

''That's a bit.. odd. They forbid any pictures of that prince from getting uploaded.''

''I know right! It's strange. Why would they hide the prince's face if he's truly handsome like the people said?''

You suck the top of your teeth. ''Maybe he's actually ugly and those that say otherwise were paid people. Or probably royal staffs ordered to spread some good words about their prince.''

''Why are you so hell-bent in making him ugly? Can't accept that your parents actually chose someone handsome, rich, and has good personality?''

Shaking your head, you wave your hand dismissively. Oh how you wish you could swipe off that annoying smirk on Winter's face. Is there a rule saying a princess can escape any law including those that involves unaliving a certain daughter of a duke? Hopefully, there is!

If, miraculously, your parents bring that man from the bar to you and arrange him to a marriage with you, maybe then you'll agree to tie up the knot at such a young age. In fact, you might even drop down to your knees and serve him–

The alcohol, or lack thereof, is definitely not good for you.

With the news of your engagement being released plus the anger from the people that is far from dwindling anytime soon, Winter didn't think twice to join you when the idea of getting drunk comes up. There's nothing better than drowning yourself in alcohol after constantly having to deal with the disappointed people of your country.

However, the night is just near getting young when your personal bodyguards dragged you and your best friend out of the bar. It is said that the royal advisor ordered them to do so but your mother was the root. It angered you to the core. They took your freedom of marrying someone you truly love and now, they're depriving you of coping with it as well? How controlling.

Winter was sent home right after both of you got howled back to the royal car. A couple of warnings from the Duke to his daughter and you know something is off. 

Winter's father isn't one to indulge himself in his daughter's vices. Sure, he keeps tabs on her every now and then but the Duke of Boryeong never attempts to control Minjeong as if some kind of robot, lest he suffers from the wrath of Duchess of Boryeong.

You could only wish your own parents did the same. Maybe they will. If you beg for a couple of days in front of the palace while dawning your white hanbok like those korean historical films that Winter likes to watch.

Shutting the car door close, you pass a whisper of 'thank you' to the driver before striding inside the palace. There aren't many people aside from those guarding the entrance which is why you don't find the need to be extra careful on your way. Being free from the shackles of aches caused by your heels is the only thing on your mind.

Just as you turn a corner, straight down the hall that leads to the dining area– you collide with someone. It'll send you a few steps backwards if it's not for the grip on your blazer. Your vision clearing takes a couple of seconds, courtesy of being tipsy from your previous activity.

''Is everything alright?'' A rather soothing yet deep voice asks you, hands already back on his sides.

Your attention diverts to the man that steadies you. Sharp cheekbones in contrast to the soft jawline, almond eyes, and a slightly chapped lips. You wonder if they're naturally pink or the color comes from cosmetic products.

''Your Highness–'' Eunhye appears out of thin air and your bodies separate right as the royal advisor sets her eyes on you. 

Your Highness? Who could this be?

''Ah, I see, you've met each other already. Shall we take this to the dining..? Her Majesty awaits alongside the King and Queen of South Korea.''

No words are exchange between you. Silence fills the air. Clicking of heels appearing every now and then until they reach where your parents and the leaders of South Korea chatters. Everyone stands before their seats at the sight of two crown heirs.

You might be rebellious but no way you're gonna forget the basic manners each person should possess. Doing a brief curtsy, you earn a loving smile from the Queen of South Korea. It radiates warmth and comfort. 

The man beside you does a bow as well that makes his body fold to a 90 degrees. It was too formal for your liking. Too ancient royalty. Too prince-like. So this is what the mysterious prince of South Korea looks like. Somehow, it irks you to the bones.

Gritting your teeth, you sit at the right side of your father after exchanging pleasantries. Each person that occupies the seats of the table starts to dig in as they begin to discuss the matter which you assume is about your issue.

You thought you could go through this dinner in peace until the conversation, courtesy of your mother, diverts to you.

''I've seen the news but it doesn't bother me at all. The princess is merely having fun, just like those around her age do. I, myself, have gone through that phase. '' Queen Miyoung laughs softly. ''The Crown Princess is only at the wrong place, at the wrong time. We used to get in trouble for sneaking out often before as well, isn't that right?''

With the amount of times you've gotten snapped by the paps and you were caught doing shits that is considered inappropriate behavior for a royalty like you— surely, it's not a coincidence anymore. Ever since your first scandal came up, the media that follows your every step doubles. They are always hungry for a headline. And you cannot deny the fact that you're giving them a reason to use you as one.

Your mother reciprocates her friend's chuckles, shaking her head as they recall their memories during when they were your age. Surprisingly, there's a relief inside you. Well, at least the Queen of South Korea doesn't think you're a defect in the royal family.

''I think the wild-like personality of our dear perfectly contrasts the gentle and tame personality of Prince Jaehyun, which is a charming point that the people will eventually love once they got to know about this marriage.'' Your mother adds. 

Balling up your fist, you had to bite the insides of your cheeks to prevent your eyes from rolling.

''Oh absolutely!'' Queen Miyoung places a hand on her son's shoulder, a smile once again appearing on her captivating features. ''My son here is known in our country as someone who is compassionate, emphatic, and humble. Talented on top of that as well!''

Adoration paints your mother's face. ''So I've heard. I feel assured that someone like Prince Jaehyun will be taking care of my daughter.''

''Please, Your Majesty, you can just call me Jaehyun.''

The velvety voice swoons the hearts of the Queen. ''Alright, alright. My heart is beaming at the thought of having you as my son-in-law soon, Jaehyun.''

What the hell? What did this Jaehyun do for him to gain the favor of those around him? Even your father is nodding and smiling in approval as he shares a conversation with this insufferable prince! 

''Humor me, Jaehyun.'' Your father speaks. ''What do you do as a hobby?''

Probably plan how he can convince everyone with that fake ass personality lol.

Jaehyun pats the napkin on his lips before replying. ''Not much, Sir. I indulge myself in music instruments and sometimes, I also sing for fun.''

Did he do his research? That's your father's favorite pastime!

''Ah, singing! If you didn't know, that's one of the things I like the most especially if I'm consumed with boredom.''

Your mother nods. ''Catch him singing while signing papers at his office. Or while feeding our dogs.''

Chuckles blooms on the table.

''Maybe if we have enough time, you could sing for us?'' Your mother suggests as the others agree. 

Jaehyun shakes his head with a fist hiding his smile. ''I'm not great at singing but I'll make sure to prepare once that time comes.''

Acting humble now, eh? He doesn't have to prepare because you'll make sure that time won't come. The skin on your forehead creases even before you could stop it. This is stressing you out more than you anticipated.

Deciding to release your stress on something else, you proceed to harshly cut your Sole Meuniére with the knife prepared by the kitchen staff all the while pursing your lips. Poor innocent Mr. Fish, suffering from the wrath of a princess.

Operation: Stopping the wedding! Step 1, do things that will turn him off. Forking the sea creature's meat, you make sure to chew extra loudly, looking straight at Jaehyun's eyes as you open your mouth every now and then while munching. Surely, anyone would grimace at the sight of chewed fish meat inside one's mouth and at the sound it makes.

Anyone, Prince Jaehyun not included. You slow down the movement of your jaw when the man only sports a brief squint of his eyes before turning away, as if he didn't see the disgusting view you just showed him. Is he not disgusted? Hah! Maybe this is how he actually chews when there's no people around so he's not bothered by it. That's right!

You nod subtly at the voices in your head, gulping the food down when it starts to feel a little weird on your tongue. Reaching for the glass of water, you sip the liquid to tend your throat.

''So about the wedding next week–''

The people gasp, your father standing up from his seat. Series of coughing sounds emit from you as you pat your chest continuously.

''I'm sorry– the water went down the wrong pipe.'' You face towards the other way while massaging your throat, your back getting tapped by your father.

What were they thinking, mentioning that fucking wedding while eating? What if you die from choking? Far-fetched, but you don't cross out the possibilities anyway.

Clearing your throat, you give them a smile after fixing yourself. ''Did I hear it right? The wedding is next week? Isn't that quite fast? We're not chasing a due date here. Plus, we haven't even announced an engagement yet. I'm sure the people will be shocked if I'm suddenly married or engaged in just a matter of days. I suggest prolonging the engagement for– let's say.. a month? I think that would be realistic enough.''

King Jaekyung sends you a grin. ''Dear, your engagement is trending on social media platforms as we speak.''

''W-what?''

You quickly fish out your phone. You don't even have to search either your name or Jaehyun's because an article about your engagement pops up the moment the app loads.

JUST IN: The Crown Princess Revealed To Be Engaged To The Crown Prince of South Korea

After getting involved in numerous issues, the Crown Princess had dropped off the limelight for a few days only to surprise us with an amazing news. According to the exclusive interview held two days ago, Her Highness shyly reveals that the reason for her disappearance on the radar is because a certain man snatches her focus with a shiny ring!

The princess happily shares that she and Prince Jaehyun, Crown Prince of South Korea, have been in a healthy relationship for 4 years now and still going strong. During the early months of dating, the two royalties express their worries about causing an unnecessary ruckus and heartbreaks if they ever go through a break up. According to Her Highness, a stable relationship wasn't exactly guaranteed as they live in different countries and have heavy responsibilities as the future leaders which is why they avoided letting the people know about their romance until they are sure that they can handle the consequences all at once.

''The country had been experiencing some serious issues back then so when Jaehyun and I started to get in touch, we decided not to make it public immediately. Not only were we just starting but we also didn't want to stir another headline if we ever broke up. We were teenagers 4 years ago, we were kids. We know that we are bound to make mistakes but as the future leaders of our countries, adding our childish break up to the countries' problems isn't something that we desire. Thankfully though, our relationship stayed strong and sturdy. There were a few fights here and there, of course, but Jaehyun and I remained understanding with each other. Those years were the reason why I didn't hesitate to say yes when he proposed to me. It was just the two of us, no cameras, no media, no other people. Saying this might be off to some but I was glad that only the both of us got to witness it. As someone who lives in front of the camera and prying eyes, we enjoyed the privacy and intimacy we had during the proposal. We initially didn't plan to have our wedding soon but we figured that there's no point in prolonging what's been a long time coming. Our love kept us intact throughout the years and until now, I could say that I'm still very much and deeply falling in love with him.'' said the Crown Princess.

Furthermore, Prince Jaehyun also shared that one of the reasons that he hid his face was to protect his relationship with his future lover, now Crown Princess. Show more…

''I don't– I don't remember getting interviewed for this...''

The Queen massages your shoulder. ''That's the power of influence, love.''

A shrieking scream jostles Winter in her bed despite being on the other line. Rubbing her ears, Winter felt as if her eardrums got busted just now. She munches on her cookies while she waits for you to be finished with all your screaming and throwing angry punches at the poor teddy bear beside your pillows.

The screeching stops. You look at Winter through the screen of your phone. ''Humor me.''

Eyes boring to you, she didn't stop licking the crumbs that were left on her fingers. ''What is it?''

''Making up stories about my supposed relationship with that man was one thing, but seriously? Telling the whole country I'm still fucking falling in love? Deeply even!''

You hear your bestfriend giggle. ''You think them making everyone think you're smitten with a man is worse than creating fake ass stories about your love life?''

''Well, Isn't it?''

''You're unbelievable.''

''Tell me something I don't know.'' Getting off your bed, you head out of the room. ''Anyways, text you later.'' Blowing her a kiss, the call ended just as you jog down the stairs.

It's been three days since you last saw that prince and those days might be the happiest of your entire life, sans the nags from your mom to get closer with that twat. For a few suns, you've surprisingly experienced peace.

However, it didn't last a long time. It seems like when God precipitated a rain of misfortunes, you were in the middle– swimming in it. Instead of peacefully staying at the palace just like you had always done, you received the news saying you'll move to a place– an apartment. And you received it through waking up one day and seeing them packing your things without even asking your permission. You were asking yourself whether it's real, or it's just a figment of your imagination as sleep still buzzed in your veins.

Now, what's so unfortunate about having your own place? Jeong Jaehyun, is what's unfortunate. You won't forget that infuriating smirk that he sports as he watches you glare at the boxes in the living room, boring holes in them. Complaints start to spill out of your mouth in a whisper despite being in the same space with him in just a matter of an hour.

Dividing the closet and choosing bedrooms is a nightmare. Everyone knows you've got things enough for 3 people, including your heels collection. Storing your possessions requires a big space, but Jeong Jaehyun thought it was a great idea to upped you and place his stupid rubber shoes (or sneakers) collections first without leaving any space for your heels.

Jaehyun stands by the door, leaning on the frame with his arms crossed as he witnesses you turn into some kind of witch, casting different spells, desperate to cast his annoying ass away. It's so comical that it had Jaehyun's shoulder shake as he stifles his laugh. A witch with a collection of heels? Truly, one of a kind.

''Let's split them, Jeong. You take the right side, I'll take the left.''

''No can do.''

''The fuck? Are you expecting me to leave my babies on the floor?''

Jaehyun quirks a brow. ''What's so bad about that? I'm sure your 'babies' will not mind where they are placed, nonetheless.''

''Well, I do!''

The prince turns his heels, but before walking away, he looks at you over his shoulder. ''Learn to take a no, witch.''

''W–what? A fucking what? Hey! Jeong, you jerk– get back here and repeat what you said! Oh you piece of– you did not just say what I heard you said.''

Needless to say, the night ended with you cackling like the devil you are in your room while Jaehyun stays at the kitchen, pressing a cold compress to his skin, hissing. This should go away by tomorrow, or he wouldn't be able to explain how he got a faint mark of slippers on his forehead. Prepare a protective gear if he wants to taunt a witch, Jaehyun notes.

Operation: Stopping the wedding! Step 2, piss the fuck out of him like he does to you.

Being the menace that he is, Jeong made it his daily errand to annoy the hell out of you. His day wouldn't go by without doing things that ticks you off so much you just wish something important would come up in Korea so Jaehyun would be obligated to leave your country and magically stay there for good. 

Example no.1, the cookies you baked for yourself.

''Jeong, where's the cookies?''

''What cookies?''

''The ones in the tray. On the countertop.''

''I don't know no cookies.''

The crumbs on the corner of his lips says otherwise. You waited for half an hour to eat that!

''You– Jeong!!''

Example no.2 followed not long after. You were running late for a hang out with Winter as you couldn't find your today's pick of pair of heels. No, you wouldn't leave this apartment until you find that very pair. Your outfit won't look put together if you wear a different one.

A quarter before 9 PM, you still haven't found the shoes. Did you perhaps leave it at the palace? That couldn't be! You swear you saw it yesterday. Going back and forth to the walk-in closet, living room, and your bedroom– you're this close to tearing your hair apart and turning the whole apartment upside down.

Your phone pings and displays Winter's message. ''Fuuuck, where did I put that?''

Washing your hands over your face, you tilt your head upwards as you let out an exasperated sigh, stomping your feet in annoyance. When you open your eyes, you see the shoes you had been looking for the past 30 minutes. At the ceiling. Where the broken ceiling fan used to be.

How the hell did that even get— You recall seeing Jaehyun standing on a ladder this morning, saying something about fixing the fan.

''JEONG JAEHYUN, YOU FUCKER!!''

Boisterous laughter echoes from the bastard's room.

You still haven't recovered from the heels incident when example no.3 shows itself.

Hammered from drinking all night long after getting your hands on your shoes, you are swaying and tripping as you reach the apartment, slurring your nonsensical words. You don't know how, but you got home safely anyway. A hangover was expected yet it is harsher than you thought it would be.

''Ah fuck..'' You hold your pounding head.

Heading towards the kitchen, you fend your drying throat some water. Washing yourself is not on the list as you change out of your black bodycon dress and fit yourself into an oversized hoodie and sweatpants. You jog out of the building after fighting the urge to throw up the elevator and arrive at the convenience store in no time, your breath that reeks of alcohol be damned.

Picking up a few items for your hangover didn't take long, the cashier is already punching them a few minutes upon your arrival.

''You..''

You bore your eyes to the cashier. ''Yes?''

''...Nothing, Ma'am.'' He then proceeds to tell you the total of what you bought.

There's no further exchange between the two of you after that, so when you get your plastic bag, you walk back to your apartment. As you prepare yourself some cup noodles, you tilt your head, tsking.

Is it just you or the cashier has been giving you some looks? You might be suffering from a headache but pretty sure, you're sober enough to notice the subtle glances the cashier has been giving you. Did you do something stupid again last night? But Eunhye would be calling you first in the morning if you did. Maybe he recognizes your face? The country's princess' face is plastered everywhere. 

''Whatever. Why am I even thinking about it?'' Ever since the engagement, you noticed that you became more cautious in your actions. The streets say the lioness got tamed by a prince. You say you just learned your lesson not to underestimate your mother's punishments.

Staring at your food, your bladder got triggered at the sight of the soup. Peeing what's probably the alcohol in your system, you stand before the sink to wash your hands. And when you look up, you feel an overwhelming surge of emotion.

You are shocked. You are angry. You want to hide yourself from embarrassment. You want to punch the wall. And on top of that, you desire to unalive a royalty, preferably a crown prince that comes from South Korea.

A smile that appears to stretch the ends of your lips. A massive black dot on your nose and cheeks. Two big horns at the top of your eyebrows.

''JEONG JAEHYUN YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD!!''

There were a lot of pranks that Jaehyun had played, with big ones not failing to show up each week. Hiding your charger. Stealing your snacks. Mismatching your socks. And many more that ruin your day so often that the second thing you'd do after waking up is checking for the prank that the prince had done for the day. You are frustrated. And it's not like you to let these kinds of things pass without getting back. This time, you're making sure he'll order to stop the wedding and regret messing with you.

Shuffling in her bed, Winter huffs. ''What do you want?''

''Help me curate a list of the most infuriating pranks.''

Your best friend frowns. ''What for? Are you turning to a kid now? Or perhaps, you're..'' Then she gasps. ''You're carrying a kid?!''

''..The fuck?'' How did she even come up with that conclusion?

''Isn't that what happens when two people who hate each other's guts live under the same roof? Like enemies to lovers!''

You scoff. ''I told you to stop watching kdramas.''

''I'm Korean, duh!'' Winter rolls her eyes. ''Don't forget I'm still upset you took a long time before telling me you literally moved in with your fianceé.''

''Well now you know, and I'm asking for help so I could escape this hellhole.''

''Wait– so you're telling me to suggest pranks in order for you to move out? How does pranking even equals to that?''

Giving her a bored stare, you click your tongue. ''I'll piss the hell of out him, he won't be able to sleep properly at night.''

Winter squeaks. ''You're pranking the prince–?!''

''Yeah, no shit. Who else would it be?''

''Never thought I'd to live the day I'll see you getting on prank wars with your fianceé.''

''Yadda yadda. Just help me with it, please.'' Winter fake gags as she watches you bat your eyes at her.

''Promise me when you get in trouble, my name won't get drag.''

''You're my ride or die, though..''

''...''

''...''

''...Fine.''

''Yay!!''

Jaehyun passes the clock a glance. He's up early so he doesn't have to worry about getting late to his appointment for the day. His footsteps ring from his bedroom, eventually transfering to the kitchen. Just as Jaehyun reaches out for a mug, a container catches his attention.

''Made too much, you can eat it if you want.'' The sticker on it says.

His eyes must be playing with him. What has gone to the witch? Should he be scared? Although overthinking aside, you mentioned that you only made more than enough for one person, hence giving it to him. Welp, free breakfast for him then.

Sitting down, Jaehyun takes off his coat lest he stains it minutes before he attends an appointment. The lid clicks open and his nostrils hit with an appetizing scent of eggs and bacons. There's some rice and tomatoes on the side as well.

Biting the bacon along with rice, Jaehyun chews slowly, checking out the taste. He then hums, figuring out there's nothing to be afraid of. They taste like what they should've been. Strangely, Jaehyun thinks it tastes more delicious.

Today, you are not at the unit as it is the start of your 'redeeming reputation' era. Jaehyun ponders what you're doing right now. Are you sleepy? He heard you talking to your friend at 2am. Have you eaten breakfast properly? You eat a little in the morning. Are you having fun? Or you're just pretending to be? You don't fancy gatherings unless it's with people you are close to.

Jaehyun doesn't know when he started thinking of you, he just catches himself wondering what you're up to often. Is he catching feelings? Is he getting infatuated? Jaehyun doesn't think much of it. If he's developing feelings, then so be it. Would it be bad for him to harbor romantic feelings for his–

Saliva lands everywhere on the counter as Jaehyun launches forward, spitting what he ate at the empty spot of his plate. ''What the fuck..?''

Using a fork, he pokes the egg, turning it sideways, up and down. The food breaks down with all the movement, revealing the receipt that left an overly salty taste on Jaehyun's buds.

Fishing out his phone, he snaps a picture of the devil food in front of him before sending it to you, uncaring if it looks disgusting and all chewed up.

JH: What the hell is this?

Not even a minute, you reply. As if you've been waiting for him to message you.

You: Uh.. egg? Duh.

Jaehyun clicks his tongue.

JH: I know it's a goddamn egg. Why the fuck does it have clumps of rock salts in it? We put iodized, not the huge ones.

You: Heh. *Tongue out and eyes shut closed tightly emoji*

Jaehyun gulps down his water alongside his irritation, eyebrows meeting each other. He tries to settle for the bacon and rice but the demonic egg fucked up his taste buds and now, he can't enjoy his breakfast. Jaehyun should've known his fate was written the moment he decided to prank you.

Little did the royalty know, it was just the start of his road to slow death. Starting from the salty as fuck eggs, Jaehyun soon finds out you took the remote of the TV and so he couldn't watch the movie he had been waiting for since the announcement of its release date, unfortunately Jaehyun is not one to remember his passwords– he couldn't log in on his mobile phone.

What comes next is the kitchen sprinklers. You must've noticed Jaehyun cooks his own food from thereon (the egg incident) and figures out it'll be a good idea to use it against him. Jaehyun didn't see the lack of labels on the sprinklers, and with his hands already memorizing the placement of herbs and spices, Jaehyun grabs what he knows is the right one. Long story short, the prince opts for food delivery as his kimchi jjigae was for the ants. It was like the demon egg all over again, except this time, it was fucking sweet.

3 days later, when Jaehyun's favorite sneakers went missing, he knew he hadn't misplaced them. Is he unlucky that you're out of the city to do your princess duties? Maybe. Is he gonna let this piss him off? No, that means satisfying your goals. This is nothing, Jaehyun can search for it, surely it's somewhere in the house.

Wrong. Well, it is in the area of the house but it's not in the house. Guess where Jaehyun found his fucking sneakers? On the fucking rooftop. How did you even put that there, he doesn't have a clue. In the end, Jaehyun had to climb a ladder and fell once at the third step (he's quite clumsy, yes) before retrieving his shoes.

As Jaehyun sits through a meeting in a stained white (or should he say pink) dress shirt, he is surely determined to get that win back

Acting civil with your fianceé is something you didn't expect after a constant back and forth of ruining each other's day, but you suppose it's only appropriate in a dinner with the family of both sides. Royals like meals as family bonding it seems, not that you know. Or do your parents consider discussing country matters on dinners as one?

Sipping your champagne, you hum quietly at the taste, too busy in your own world to listen to whatever conversation they are having at the other side of the table. That is until your father softly calls your name. You turn to him and pay attention.

''How's your appearances doing so far?''

''Good, I guess..? If it's not, Eunhye won't let me rest for a day or two.''

It's not like the King and Queen only orders you to help in charities and orphanages solely for building a good reputation for you, they also genuinely care about the unfortunate.

''That's great to hear then.'' Queen Miyoung smiles. And even though you're once struck by her beauty, it doesn't sit well with you.

''Hmm?''

What your mother says next emits a confused look from you. ''Prince Jaehyun will be accompanying you in every schedule, especially those that involves the media.''

You frown. ''But I thought it was for my image? Why would I need him to come with me?''

''Because once people see you getting along with your husband, moreover someone known for his kind and compassionate personality, it'll be easier to convince them that you've changed. Prince Jaehyun will be a great help to you.''

Seeing the grin that the man in front of you is not-so trying to hide, you clench your fist around the cutleries. How irritating.

''It was all thanks to the Prince for he voluntarily comes forward to join you on your appearances including those that does not involve medias.''

So the suffering you'll experience for the following weeks was his idea?

Squinting your eyes at the prince, you reach your foot forward, your face remains unchanging. You observe Jaehyun who's happily eating his food for a few seconds before smirking and stomping down on his foot hard enough to make it hard for him to hide his pathetic whimper.

Concern and worries are thrown at him but he dismisses them with his usual flower smile. Jaehyun then looks at you, his eyes diverting your subtly hidden fist, gesturing to punch him as a representative for your irritation at him. Jaehyun tongues his cheek and chuckles. He dares to fucking chuckle?!

Why is he smiling as if he won the olympics? Why is he so smug about this? And more importantly, why is your heart racing as you stare at the dimples shyly peeking out?

You yelp as you accidentally bite your tongue. Before you could even reach for yours, Jaehyun shoves his glass of water to your hands. Everyone is looking at the exchange, you have no choice but to accept his offer. You wanted them to believe this marriage fell apart naturally, and not because you sabotaged it. Though, you plan on doing the latter.

King Jaekyung's snicker rings on your ears. ''Ah, it seems like the two have been getting along. Perhaps the shared apartment was indeed a great idea.''

Your mother follows right after, clapping lightly. ''Right, right. Look at them, treating each other like real lovers. I'm not gonna be surprised if they themselves request for the wedding to be done soon.''

''How lovely. Are you alright though, darling? What has caused you to bite your tongue?'' Queen Miyoung worries.

''It's noth–''

''She was too busy staring at my face, Mom.'' Now, what the flying fuck is this motherfuck trying to play?

Queen Miyoung squeaks. ''Is that so?''

''Yes– my fianceé here even once said I'm too handsome, I could be up as an exhibit in Louvre.''

You give Jaehyun a smile so sarcastic he will know to run for his life the moment you two get out of here. The other people in the room thought it was a smile fondness instead. While Jaehyun sends you a finger heart, you itch to send him the middle finger.

Your mother shares a giggle with Mrs. Jung. ''Ah.. young love.''

Jaehyun earns another stomp.

Days after the dinner with the Kings and Queens sees you and Jaehyun in a kindergarten wearing pink white polka dots aprons. The little humans cheer as their teacher announces that they'll be designing their own cakes today with the help of the visitors. Visitors being you and Jaehyun.

Raising a piece of fruit, you snatch the kids' attention. ''Who wants some strawberries?'' 

''I want to! I want–!'' Little Seol-a makes grabby hands to you, making you chuckle.

''Okay, okay. Say ah..'' Popping the strawberry in Seol-a's mouth, you receive a cute giggle and 'thank you' from the little girl.

As the teacher announces the start of the making, everyone quickly gets to work, eager to create their most beautiful versions of cakes. Since you also have a cake to decorate, you only look at the kids every now and then, checking up on them. So far, everyone's doing good.

A high-pitched voice calls you. ''Can you please help me with the icing..?''

Smiling, you leave your seat and transfer beside Mina. ''What should we do?''

''I want it pink like Seol-a's, it's so pretty!''

Mina's words pull Seol-a out of her focus, turning to the two of you. Seol-a purses her lips. ''But I'm making it for my mommy. Does your mommy likes pink too?''

Mina looks down and her eyebrows crease in thinking. ''No. My mama likes blue, I think..''

Watching the exchange, you could tell that Seol-a doesn't want to tell Mina off but at the same time, she doesn't want her friend to do exactly the same as she's decorating hers specifically at the thought of her mom.

You decide to step up. ''Then, Mina, would you like yours to be blue?''

Mina ponders for a second before nodding, smiling a bit. ''Okay..''

Seol-a perks up. ''Mina! I'll be pink and yours will be blue, and then let's decorate it the same so our mommies would get matching cakes!''

Mina lights up at what she heard. She will have a matching cake with Seol-a, yet also have her own version. The two girls squeals at the cute teddy bears and gushes over the pastel colors their cakes will be. You smile in adoration.

Minutes pass, little humans ask for your assistance until almost everyone at your table is finished. You feel a tap on your back.

''Hi, Rowoon!''

The chubby boy smiles cutely at you, hugging you. ''Teacher, can you come help me please? Teacher Jaehyun is a bit busy with the others.''

Glancing at Jaehyun, a bunch of kids flock around him, calling his name and asking for his help. It has no sign of dwindling down so you nod, heading towards the boy's place after telling your own group that you'll be at the other table. As you help Rowoon with his cakes, you fail to ignore the conversations he's having with the kids due to the proximity.

''I love chocolates, I eat them everyday! Teacher, do you like chocolates?''

''Yes, of course. Chocolates is one of my favorites.''

''I like chocolate too but my mom won't let me eat more than three. Does your mom let you eat a lot of chocolate, Teacher?''

Jaehyun laughs, shaking his head at the core memory of Queen Miyoung scolding him for eating too much sweets. ''No, she doesn't. Your teeth will turn bad if you eat a lot of it and mommies are just taking care of you.''

''Turn bad? Like fall out–?!'' 

''Most likely.'' The little boy covers his mouth dramatically, earning another laugh from Jaehyun.

''Teacher! Your cake is so pretty!''

''Why, thank you, Yuna.'' Jaehyun boops her nose with a clean finger.

''You should get an award for having a pretty cake.''

One kid appears. ''My mommy gives me kisses as an award!''

''Me too!''

''Does your mommy gives you kisses too, Teacher?''

What's with these kids and questions about mommies?

''No, she doesn't.''

''Oh no.. is she mad at you?''

Jaehyun giggles. ''She's not. She used to give me kisses but not anymore because I'm a big boy now.''

''Ah, you don't want kisses anymore?''

Thinking he will earn kisses from the little kids if he says no, Jaehyun tells them he loves kisses. Humming, one of them then points a finger.

''Teacher will give you kisses as a reward if your cake is the prettiest!''

Jaehyun follows the path where the kid is pointing at. ''Really?'' His eyes landed on you, still and unmoving. Jaehyun bites his lower lip to stop the laugh rumbling on his chest.

Jaehyun grins. ''Then I should work on making this the prettiest cake ever made.''

You almost choke on your own spit.

Articles after articles, headlines after headlines. Old people gush about how pure your interactions are. Adults nudge each other at how you sweetly stare. Teenagers envies how Jaehyun performs all love language at you. It seems like everything now revolves around the Crown Princess and her lover.

The crowd certainly loves the contrasts between you and Jaehyun whereas you're more carefree and casual while Jaehyun sticks to his formal attitude. One thing that became popular amongst your supporters, or 'shippers', is the picture of you– like the diva that you are– wearing a pink miniskirt, corset top, socks with ribbons on top, mary jane pumps, and a cream loose cardigan sits beside Jaehyun who is dawned in his usual dress shirt, slacks, and blazer. You cannot forget that fanfic you found wherein Jaehyun is a CEO and you're a supermodel. Shippers are imaginative and delusional at the same time.

It's been 2 months since you've started attending events with the prince and it wasn't as hellish as you thought. Maybe because Jaehyun can't cause a problem in public, or maybe he just doesn't find the need to. Nonetheless, that didn't cease the fire that is the prank war. It goes on and on that even Winter finds it hilarious at this point. Who knew the lovely couple searched for a list of pranks to do in their free time so they could piss each other off?

Lately though, you've noticed (actually it was Winter) that your pranks have been getting less harmful to your daily lives and had just become something to enlighten the mood. Like the clown that pops up when you open the fridge and the snake balloon hidden in the tin can. Very uncharacteristically, you even find yourselves posting each other's reactions on your stories. And if Jaehyun created an instagram account just to upload videos and pictures of you, you're not so sure. A thing you're certain though is that the dislike for Jaehyun had faded away and was replaced by something else. Something you're yet to find out.

''A penny for your thoughts?'' A finger snaps you out of your thoughts. Jaehyun grins.

You shake your head and continue looking for the best quality of vegetables as Jaehyun follows you around, pushing your cart. Another thing that you've grown to get used to is doing groceries with Jaehyun. Very domestic, isn't it?

''Can we buy this one?'' Jaehyun points at the packs of big marshmallows.

Frowning, you shake your head. ''What're you gonna need it for? It'll just expired at the cabinet.''

''No, it won't.''

''How so?''

''I'll eat it before you can even say chubby bunny.''

''No, Jeong.''

''But we have a mini chocolate fountain machine at home!''

''Yes, a fountain machine you, may I say–'' You face him. ''–unnecessarily bought. Literally no reason to buy one.''

''Well now I can finally use it and it won't be useless anymore..?''

Tsking, you walk away to look at the meat. In the end, Jaehyun huffs, staring longingly at his marshmallows before tailing you, steps heavy.

After shopping for at most 2 weeks worth of food, you type on your phone while Jaehyun carries all those bags. So much for being a macho man. Winter sends an atrocious idea and forces a laugh out of you.

''What's funny?'' Jaehyun asks like a curious cat, peeking at your phone.

''Winter says we should announce that all of this is fake at the upcoming press conference and film Eunhye's reaction. God, that would be hilarious honestly.''

''Oh..'' And curiosity finally kills the cat. Jaehyun mums. Are you faking it all this time? Are you not enjoying your time with him? Are you faking having fun whenever you're with him, even now?

You are about to ask Jaehyun for the car keys but as someone who spends their entire life under the spotlight, you know a camera when you see one. Pocketing your phone, you stride towards the man at the car beside Jaehyun's. Said man tries to run away but you are quicker with your feet and grab him by his collar, you hear Jaehyun's call of your name.

''What's wro–''

''Give me the phone.''

''Why– what's happeni–''

''Give me the fucking phone!'' Shoving the man to a car, he winces at the pain in his back. When he surrenders his phone, you delete his video and throw it on the ground before stomping on it, crashing it.

Jaehyun calls your name again. ''Why did you do that? Stop, you're choking him.''' Though obviously wanting to calm you down, Jaehyun doesn't touch you anywhere, opting to wash his palm over his face.

You ignore him and focus on the man shivering in your hold. ''Tell me, what the fuck do want?''

''Nothing–''

You dig your forearm deeper to his neck. ''I'm only gonna ask this twice, you fucking twig. What do you want?''

The man struggles to breathe but attempts to answer anyway. ''I–I was.. paid to–'' He wheezes. ''To prove t-that.. Prince Jaehyun isn't what– what he pretends to be.'' The man coughs.

Raising a brow at what you hear, you wrap your hand around his throat and lean closer to his ear. ''Listen here, fucking microphallus. I know this fucker here looks like he's a worldwide known actor but in reality, he can't act for his fucking life. This man doesn't have a fucking future in acting. He can't fake anything, he's too goody shoes. This prince can't do a thing except entertaining the fucking crowd.''

He is genuine and is not pretending in front of the cameras. Is what Jaehyun can hear between your lines.

''So if you're thinking of exposing him and shit– too bad for you, Jeong lives his life by the books.''

Sighing, Jaehyun tugs at your shirt. ''Let's.. let's let him go. He said he was just paid to do it, didn't he?''

Glancing at the prince, you could see the stress on his irritatingly handsome face and annoyingly, you find yourself to hate the foreign emotion on it. Clicking your tongue, you let go of the man but grips his collar again before he can get away. ''Spread misinformations about my fianceé again, you'll be caressing metal bars the next day.''

Jaehyun holds your hand to take it away from the man and fixes his mask. ''Sir, you can send your resumé at the palace and you should be offered a job with monthly payment. Please don't ever damage someone for the sake of quick money. Money wears off in time, but the damage doesn't.''

With that, Jaehyun tugs you away from the scene. During the ride, silence fills the car and as you arrive at the apartment, that's when you realize Jaehyun's hand is still intertwined with you from the moment he holds it until you reach the flat. Why does Jaehyun look like it's the most normal thing? Why is your heart doing the fucking rabbity pumps?

Jaehyun heaves a sigh. ''Damn.. that's actually crazy– I can't even believe it happened. It went by so fast, my brain couldn't process the fact that someone believes I fake my personality and manners in front of the camera. Like–''

You plop to the couch.

''–what did I even do? Did I upset them? Did they say hi to me one time and I didn't say it back? Did they–''

''I punched the guy because I wanted to protect my friend.''

Jaehyun stops arranging the items you bought. ''What–?''

Hugging your knees, you keep your eyes on Jaehyun's. ''It was my friend's birthday and she wanted to celebrate it in this bar, it was called gangbang. Controversial, I know. We were having fun just like we planned to. But a group of guys at the other table starts joining in. We weren't paying attention to them– or at least, I wasn't. But one of my friends starts complaining about how one of the guys 'accidentally' brushes his hand on her ass too many times. Accidental, my ass. No one wants to come forward so I did, being the hero that I am. I talked to the guy calmly and asked what's wrong. Said guy told me my friend was lying but fuck– my friend was this close to crying about it. And then I got pissed at how his friends defends him when the CCTV clearly shows the incident so I fucking punched him and broke his nose.''

''Next thing I know, news outlets reports me getting involved in a brawl and ruining a fucking commoner's nose without including the reason why I did it.'' You scoff. ''Said friend I protected refused a statement and left the country without defending me.''

Jaehyun sits at the carpeted floor, facing you, looking with worry in his eyes. Something in your eyes flashes but disappears before Jaehyun could even determine what it is.

''And the pictures of me sleeping on the streets?''

Jaehyun hums, caressing your hands.

''They told everyone I was so fucking drunk I couldn't even bring myself home and showed videos of me chugging vodkas, whiskeys, beers straight from their bottle. But why didn't they show the part where all those fucking people around me gangs up on me and calls me a fucking pussy, a no fun, and a fucking killjoy. They didn't stop until I agreed on drinking all those fucking liqours.'' You sniffs, you didn't even know when you started tearing up.

''And that video where my bodyguard had to carry me because I wouldn't wake up? The palace was on emergency alert at that time– why? Because alcohol and sleeping pills were mixed inside me. When I tried to explain what happened, no one fucking believed someone slipped me a fucking bunch of sleeping pills– my heartbeat was fucking slowing down and I was over-sedated, Jaehyun. There's no point of telling them the truth when they already decided I was fucking lying. For fuck's sake, I was near to dying that fucking night– god!'' You bury your head in your knees, shoulders shaking as you sob, fist continuously knocking your head hard.

Jaehyun hugs your quivering figure, whispering words that he knows best that'll comfort and calm you. ''I understand you. I believe you. It's okay, love. You're gonna be okay. I'm here, alright? I'm here, love. Everything's gonna be okay.''

Your cries haven't even died down when you look at him. Jaehyun thinks vulnerability was the flickering emotions behind your eyes these past minutes that he failed to catch on.

''Aside from the people who did those shits, Winter is the only one who knows about the truth. Because she's important to me.'' You hiccup, tears streaming down your face. ''Do you get why I'm telling you this, Jeong?''

There's a clue, but Jaehyun doesn't want to get ahead of you. ''..why?''

You chuckle while crying, more tears roll down your cheeks. ''God, you're so fucking stupid, aren't you? Winter is important to me so she knows the truth. I told you the truth because–'' You bow your head down and hold Jaehyun's hands. ''–you're more than just important to me.''

Jaehyun's breath hitches, and the world stops. ''Oh baby..'' He kisses the back of your hands and the top of your head before hugging you tightly.

He attempts to say the words that have been at the tip of his tongue since you decorated cakes with the kids but you cut him off.

''I will hurt you, Jeong, accidentally. I don't communicate. I don't open up. I find it hard to trust people easily despite sharing a close bond with them. I curse more than I say affectionate and loving words. I push away more than I pull. I'm violent. I am broken, I'm a mess.''

Jaehyun smiles, so handsomely it makes your heart ache. ''You don't communicate and open up? That's fine, I can read between your lines. You find it hard to trust people? That's alright, trusts are earned, not bought. You curse more than being lovey dovey? Well, I'm lovey dovey more than cursing. You push more than you pull? Isn't it great that I'm the exact opposite. You're violent? I could do the talking, you could do the punching. You're broken? I will patch you up again and again. You're a mess? So what, you're a beautiful kind of mess. And if you hurt me and wound my heart.. well then– Sorry, Heart.''

Right there and then, the faceless man that you saw at the bar and had a crush on morphs with Jaehyun's. You chuckle. ''Fate is playing with us, isn't it?''

Jaehyun cradles your face. ''And I'm glad it did. Because I met you.''

''You're such a sap.''

''Oh shush, you love it.''

''Maybe, maybe not.''

''Pfft, wait– does this mean we stop the pranks now?''

''Do what the hell you want, but you'll continuing to be pissed off first thing in the morning.''

Operation: Stop the wedding! Step 3, fall in love with your soon-to-be-groom.

A shudder electrifies the fibers of your body as Jaehyun spreads the cold juices of peaches along the lines of your collarbone, his tongue dips in next, easing to freezing temperature with his warmth. He sucks where the sticky liquid lays previously, his cravings of sweetness beaming in glee as the flavor slowly seeps in him.

Your breath heavy, hands moving to caress your boyfriend's blond strands as his kisses travel to your breasts. The flesh of the fruit circles your nipples before Jaehyun dives in, sucking the hard nubs all the while fondling and playing with the other. Quiet moans of pleasure finally escape your lips after minutes of holding back, your head lolls back and your eyes close shut, sighing from the pleasure slowly building up. Slurping sounds bounces off the four walls of your shared bedroom, it's so obscene that anyone who could hear it could certainly feel how hungry Jaehyun is for the mixture of the peach's sweetness and the bits of saltiness coming from your sweat. It's disgusting to think but Jaehyun's cock gets only harder with each taste.

The surface of his hand palms your clothed core, thumbing where he's sure your clit settles and gives the area a slight pressure, he makes circles around the button that elicits a series of whimpers from you.

Fuck. How he wishes to see this image of you everytime. Your glossy eyes, puckered swollen slips, and whole face scrunched up as your body shivers in his hold, back arching as pleas of having him inside you draws out. 

Break me, wreck me, ruin me. Those are everything your body screams. 

Oh, he will ruin you, alright.

Jaehyun rips the remaining pieces of clothing off of you, gripping your legs apart, wide and open just for him. The way your pussy glistens under the dim lights of the room, the prince's lust fuels up until he could no longer bear the desire of devouring you. 

His mouth, his tongue, his body, his mind -- screams for your taste, it craves the feeling of you thrashing against his embrace as you fall apart. And Jaehyun.. he's just a man. One who could only do much to control himself from drowning his face in the sea of tempting your slick.

''Ooh, Jaehyun, please..'''

From the alley your legs created, you are able to see Jaehyun's face and how his brow quirks in question to your plea. He's so fucking cruel, unlike the gentleman and polite prince everyone in your country had loved since the beginning. If they only know.

The pad of his tongue follows the traces of your juice, squeezing the last bits of the peach and lets it trickle down on your pussy. Dipping the tip of his tongue, he wiggles it until he's deep inside your warm tight walls, clenching on his muscle as he fucks you with it.

''Jaehyun–! Fuck!''

Your hips jerks upwards, practically offering your core to Jaehyun's face. That, Jaehyun accepts. Gripping each thigh, he pins you to the bed as he sucks, licks, and devours more than you offer.

Jaehyun's fingers join his tongue, squelches emitting from your soaked pussy as Jaehyun's digits continuously penetrate it. By the time Jaehyun is about to add the fourth finger, he sees your eyes rolling and notices the constant clenches of your walls– a telltale sign of your climax. And Jaehyun isn't Jaehyun if not a bastard in bed.

He pulls away before walking away to fetch something, all the while unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants. Jaehyun reaches the foot of your bed, he tugs his pants and boxers down, revealing a girthy and lengthy dick with an angry tip.

Jaehyun pumps his cock, staring at your sore pussy and fucked out face. Your breathlessness is music to his ears.

''Jaehyun, please..''

''Please?''

You open your legs wider, hands dipping between your legs to spread the cheeks of your pussy. ''It's all yours. Please, fuck me.''

''Fucking hell..'' Jaehyun nudges your legs open as you both moan in unison as his cock pushes past your entrance, veins rubbing against the tight velvet walls. Jaehyun plans to wait for you to adjust, but you shake your head. He smirks, and starts fucking.

''My girl is getting brave, huh? Let's how much you can fucking take.''

God, this is why you love Jaehyun in bed. This is the only time you hear him curse, be rough, and manhandle you in positions you didn't even know you're capable of doing.

You ask for it hard, and Jaehyun gives it every time. Wrapping his hand under your knee, he folds your body until it touches your chest as Jaehyun slides deeper, reaching deep inside you that a bump appears every now and then on your stomach.

''Fuck– do you see that, baby? Look at your stomach, shit, it's bulging. Am I too big for your tight pussy, baby?''

Jaehyun pins you against the headboard with his weight as drools escape the corners of your lips, dribbling down your neck. You grip the top of the headboard for support.

''Ah ah ah! S-so good.. so good!''

Jaehyun chuckles lowly. ''Does it, baby? Tell me what makes you feel good.''

''Y–your big–big cock! Fuck, i-it's so, haahh, so big!''

''That's right. My big fat cock is making my girl feel so good; she can't even construct a proper sentence. Do you know how that makes me fucking feel, baby? I feel like a fucking king, you know. Crown Princess, fucking feisty and always hissing at everyone, crumbling down at the feeling of my cock at her guts.''

Jaehyun plows into you deliciously, white spots showing themselves at different parts of your vision as pleasure takes over your body. ''You're so fucking tight, baby. You're choking me.''

Yelping, you hold onto Jaehyun as he withdraws from your pussy, carrying you as he transfers you to the glass window near the bed, pushing you against it before he starts pounding vigorously once again, teeth sinking to break your skin, lapping the droplets of blood. Lewd moans knock out of your throat. Seeing your reflection from the window, you're reminded of those pornos you've watched as a curious teen.

''Jaehyun– uh, uh, Jaehyun! You're gonna make me come!''

''Then come. Come for me, darling.''

You white out, shuddering in Jaehyun's hold as you clamp down on his cock, white ring appearing around his length. Jaehyun buries his head in the crook of your neck as he chases his own high, groaning as he finally reaches it, pulling out to finish himself on your back.

As a minute passes, you both regain the air your lungs have been desperately needing. Jaehyun makes you face him and kisses your lips full of gentleness, so in contrast to the rough pounding earlier.

And of course, Jaehyun isn't Jaehyun if not a sap after sex.

''I love you so much, baby.''

You snort. ''I do too, idiot. Now clean me up.''

Operation: Stop the wedding! Step 4, abort mission.

Come morning, the sunlight seeps through the curtains and shines on your bed beautifully. Jaehyun wakes up, his day already made at the sight of you sleeping peacefully in his arms. You look adorable, like you couldn't harm a fly. You wouldn't if said fly doesn't harm any of your loved ones.

God, Jaehyun is so fucking in love with you. You smile, his day is made. You breathe, suddenly the weather is perfect. You exist, Jaehyun finds every reason to live. You are the water that keeps Jaehyun tethered.

''What the fuck do you want, Jeong?''

The prince chuckles. 8am in the morning and you're already so grumpy. It confuses a few staff members how Jaehyun fell in love with you. If he won't get in trouble, he'll tell them you're a witch and make him drink some irreversible love potion or what.

''Nothing. You're pretty.''

''... Shut up. Just because you look fucking good in the morning.''

''Thank you, baby. I love you.''

''Ugh, you're too in love with me.''

Jaehyun giggles. ''I am. Will you marry me?''

You stop yawning and look at him as though he grew a second head (or third..?). ''The fuck did you say?''

''Will you marry me, baby?''

You scoff. ''Ask that again if you have a ring to out around me.'' The words are mumbled but Jaehyun manages to hear it.

''What?''

''I said your breath stinks, Jeong.''

Shaking his head in disbelief, Jaehyun laughs deeply, caused by his morning voice. You find that hot but you won't te him because he'll use it against you everytime.

Jaehyun reaches for something behind him, inside the drawer, and faces you again. There you see a small red box on his palm, Jaehyun opens it and reveals the ring you've once mentioned to be your dream ring. Wordlessly, he slips the ring on your finger after taking off the fake one.

''But we're already engaged though.''

''Eh.. that was fake, baby. This one's real.''

You raise a brow. ''I haven't even said yes.''

''You'll say no to me?''

''Pfft, you're getting too cocky. I don't like that.''

''Hmm, sure, love.'' Jaehyun smiles warmly and takes you in his arms again. You bury your head in his chest.

''Jeong,''

Jaehyun hums.

''I hate you for making me feel this way.''

Jaehyun settles his hands on the sides of your face and caresses your cheeks with his thumbs. ''I love you too, witch.''

''Psst,''

''What now, baby?''

''I love you, Jaehyun.''

Operation: Stop the wedding! Step 5 and the last step, be in love and marry each other for real.

[xiaojuun]

WAYV for VIJION VOL. 2

[planetkiimchi]

this turn of events | d.sc

featuring: guard!winwin x royalty!reader

word count: 1172 words

author's note: every time i write something with wayv i can and will make them speak in chinese / their dialects if possible, so i guess we can’t really be surprised that when i say “their language”, i really just mean wenzhounese. i can’t speak wenzhounese myself, so i’m trusting google on this one. hope you enjoy <3

author's note 2.0: winwin believes in fate btw. if you even care. (source: the panda video at 3.40)

taglist: @slytherinshua ,, @welcometomyoasis

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Sicheng glanced up at you, his ruler, and his heart softened. You were strong, courageous, but most of all, you were whole. You had been split apart time and time again and you still stood there, fully whole and scarred from the fractures. You smiled your glorious smile, the one that made kingdoms crumble and cities tremble, that led countries to their downfall.

In his heart, he didn’t think he had ever held so much love for anyone—not for his sister, whose hearing they were currently attending, not for the parents that had laboured to give him such a good life.

No, the only person he held in his heart was you, the hurricane that had dredged him out of the outer circle, that had molded this farmer’s son into the highest of the royal guard.

If your intoxicating aura could have been hidden away like a secret, in a cave full of treasures and wonder, they would have done you in. Yet, your spirit roamed free, never crushed underfoot by conquerors. The people's attitude had no effect on you, only providing a source of amusement which you enjoyed greatly.

Sometimes, when your eyes twinkled like that, mischief and resignation muddled in a cloudy mess of emotions, Sicheng was afraid. Not afraid of you—never afraid of you—but afraid for whoever had incited that mischief, for he knew it would never end well.

He knew that two months earlier, when he had attempted to break Sixue out of prison, that he had intentionally been left as the only guard on duty. You trusted him, and your brother hadn’t interfered, because he’d wanted to test Sicheng.

He hadn’t passed that test, evidenced by how they were gathered in that courtroom again, awaiting judgement.

Earlier, when Sixue had been led into the courtroom, her eyes haunted and dull, lips cracked and dry, Sicheng had felt a flash of a headache. It happened when you exerted a great amount of power over him, typically when he was being stubborn, but it was gone in an instant.

Because even without you controlling him, he could feel your stare against his back, and that alone was commanding enough for him to listen.

Sicheng hadn’t intended to go towards Sixue, even if her gaunt body and the blood that had dried crimson on her skin worried him. Because you had told him not to, and he trusted you with his life. By extension, he trusted you with Sixue’s as well.

One glance at you now, back rigid and gaze emotionless, would send shivers down anyone's spine. With your narrowed eyes, taut lips set into a line, it was easy to overlook the spots of pink dusting your cheeks, a telltale sign of your investment in this trial.

It hadn’t been hard for you to offhandedly make a decision to give Sixue a trial instead of immediately sending her for execution—and though Sicheng had bristled at how much power you held, he found comfort in the fact that you would never wield that power carelessly.

He wasn’t sure how you were intending to turn this trial in your favour when you weren’t allowed to speak, and as he watched Sixue, worry tugged at his heart. Upon questioning, Sixue’s words were hollow, hair hanging like a sheet in a drawn-back ponytail. Her fingers kept twitching, and Sicheng noticed her fingernails were grimy with dirt.

Sixue denied all of the accusations, which was a complete change from her attitude the last time she’d been brought before you. What Sicheng didn’t know was that you had instructed her to deny all accusations, and you would take care of the rest.

With little to no evidence to prove her guilt, and your silence encouraging the judge to let her go, Sixue was released.

Once the trial had ended, she was brought out of the courtroom, albeit no longer in chains.

Sicheng turned towards you, pleading gaze begging for your permission to speak to her, and you blinked slowly, guiding his foot to take one step in Sixue’s direction.

He didn’t need to be told twice, sprinting out of the courtroom and darting down the steps to where Sixue was, ready to wrench her out of the guards’ grasps, but then he caught himself, stopped, and inhaled.

“I’ll take it over from here.” He issued it like an order, the same way he imagined you would have, and the guards looked at each other before shrugging and handing her over.

As soon as they were out of earshot, backs turned towards the brother and sister, Sicheng wrapped Sixue in a hug so tight she had to pry herself out of it, gesturing to her blood-stained clothes and the bruises on her limbs.

“Agū.” She said one word, but the weight of it was unbearable for Sicheng. That one word was filled with years of memories, Sixue always turning to her older brother in times of trouble; when she scraped her knee or sprained her ankle, when she got tanned after spending too long in the sun and she cried because she would never be fair again.

Now, she was indeed fair, pale, even—and still she called out for Sicheng. Agū. He was her safe haven, the only constant in her life, the one who would attempt to rescue her even with the threat of execution hanging above his head.

She crumpled in his arms like paper, fragile and easily torn, so light and frail she might have flown away if the wind blew too hard.

“Why… why would the Crown do that for me?” she whispered, referring to you the way all peasants did, as “the Crown”, or in their language, huáng guān. 

“The Crown is a complex person,” he shrugs. “I’ve known them for so long, and yet I can never claim to know what exactly goes through their mind. I just know they’re not half as cruel as the rumours say.”

“They almost cut off my foot,” Sixue hissed, recoiling at the thought.

Sicheng rested one hand on her shoulder reassuringly. “The dagger would never have fallen on your foot. It was a mistake not to trust them then, because maybe if I’d left the dagger alone, they wouldn’t have sent you immediately for execution, and I wouldn’t have panicked and tried to break you—” He was cut off by Sixue clamping one hand over his mouth.

“Don’t voice it aloud. The walls have ears.”

Either way, as soon as Sicheng said it aloud, he knew that if he hadn’t changed the course of that dagger, you wouldn’t have had anything to bring your brother down with. In some ways, the world worked like that—if fate hadn’t brought him to you, he wouldn’t have had the money to keep his family alive.

Sixue would have spoken, but just then, you appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

“My brother’s trial is in a short while,” you informed Sicheng. “Be ready.”

Sicheng nodded, and turned to Sixue. “Take care of yourself.”

Sixue hugged her brother once more and was off.

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[mint-yooxgi]

Kinktober Day 22.5 - Prince!Haechan + Cockwarming & Praise

@soluvcore​ Said: Prince Haechan + Praise + Cockwarming. 🧡

A/n: And as it is written, so it shall be~

Word Count: 443

Kinktober 2022 Mini Masterlist

The two of you sit beneath the shade of the willow tree, a blanket spread out on the ground and offering you a layer of comfort over the grass. Slowly, a breeze flits by, causing the leaves to sway gently as the clouds float lazily through the sky above.

Shifting your hips slightly, a low moan escapes both your lips, smiles on both your faces. You quirk a brow, hands resting on his shoulders as he pulls you closer.

“Ready to give in, yet?” You tease, purposefully clenching around him.

He inhales shakily, fingers digging into the skin of your sides as his hands bury themselves within the folds of your dress. “You wish.”

If anyone were to look at the two of you, it would simply appear as if you are sitting in his lap. Haechan’s back rests against the trunk of the tree, using it for support as you sink even further onto his cock buried within your wet folds.

A simple bet. Whoever could make the other crack first gets to do whatever they want to the other all night long. You’re confident you’re going to win, but with how good he feels filling you up, the tip of his cock brushing against your walls, you may just find yourself cracking sooner rather than later.

“Fuck, you feel so big within me,” you throw your head back, eyes fluttering shut as you revel in the fact that his cock twitches inside of you at your words. “Stretching me out so nicely; making me feel so full.”

“Princess,” he groans, “I’m already having a hard enough time thinking straight with your tight, hot little cunt wrapped around me so delicately. I don’t need your hypnotizing voice putting me under your spell, too.”

“Oh?” Your quirk a brow, lips twitching upwards in the corner. “But you know how much I love your cock, especially when it’s filling me up like this. How can I not tell you how much I love it when I’m stuffed full of you?”

Haechan bites his lip, suppressing the moan that threatens to escape him at any second.

“Come on, My Prince,” you lean in, your voice a mere whisper as you nip at the shell of his ear. “Don’t deny me when I’m telling you that you make me feel so good.”

“You’re really in for it later, Princess,” he hisses through clenched teeth as you once again shift above him.

“Oh, am I?” You giggle, and the sound is like music to his ears. “I think someone needs to win first, and if I’m being honest,” your eyes flash, “I have no intentions of losing.”

[mcl4r3n]

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST JOHNMARK!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY FUCKING GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[justwritedreams]

Welcome to the Kingdom | Jeno

Chapter One: The Party

Prince Jeno x Princess Reader, enemies to lovers au!, royalty au! Word count: 3123 Genre: kinda angst? Author: maari Warnings: none i think Note: So the Lee royal family will have the entire Lee unit 😏 this chapter is shorter than i thought but i didn't want to make you wait any longer. Summary: After Jeno's surprise visit, you want to know why he was in your kingdom and why your father is holding an event for the Lee family.

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Y/N walked hurriedly through the huge hall of the castle, the heavy boots were not the only noise that echoed, her heavy breathing too. But it wasn't because of training but because of Jeno, it was his fault and that arrogant tone he always carried. But he had gone too far this time, getting close enough to speak in her ear? This was an outrage! So she went to her father's conference room, where she knew he would have met the Lee’s, she entered unannounced and from the way the King had handled her arrival, keeping his attention focused on the papers on the table, he already expected that reaction. "Daughter-" "What was Jeno doing here?" she asked directly, bluntly. "It was an invitation I addressed to King Taeyong, Jeno came as an escort." Y/N waited for her father to continue, placing his hands on her hips. "That's all." "How so that’s all?" She moved her hands nonstop as she spoke, she had this habit when she was nervous. Which often happened when she was around Jeno. The king took a deep breath and dropped the papers, facing his daughter. "Diplomatic relations." She crossed her arms. "Considering that I am the next and only one in the line of succession, I deserve to know, dad." He motioned for her to sit in the chair next to her and she did so, paying attention to him. "Tayeong assured that he wants a friendly relationship between the two kingdoms." She rolled her eyes. "Just like everyone else and days later they bombed our border." The history of east and west wasn’t the friendliest in the world. The east was known for its physical strength, having the most developed navy on the continent as its borders had access to the sea, it was also ruled by the Lee royal family. Jeno was fourth in the line of succession and one of the youngest. Taeyong, the first and crowned king a few weeks ago. The west, on the other hand, was entirely terrestrial. Forcing the kingdom to have much more strategic than physical strength. Y/N was the sole heir to the throne and all the weight fell on her shoulders as all the enemies of the royal family were waiting for any tiny mistake to dethrone them and take possession of the kingdom. The Lee family and the entire eastern kingdom would be the ones who would have the most advantages in taking more land, the feud between the kingdoms was very old but known to all. When the kingdoms were divided, the west didn’t have a king, only a queen. She ruled for a short time until she fell in love with a soldier and married him, thus making him king. However, this didn’t go down well with any of the other kingdoms, who found it an outrage for a commoner to rule. He had no titles, he wasn't worthy. Although the north and south maintained good relations with the west, the same couldn’t be said of the east, which saw it as a threat. Even after years, king by king, the two kingdoms still didn’t have a friendly relationship, some attempts were made during some reigns but nothing concrete. All attempts end up in the same way, the agreement was signed verbally and days later some attack happened on the border of the western kingdom, always making the king retreat in an official agreement. Too suspicious. "Believe me, daughter, Taeyong is being sincere." Y/N was speechless at the confident way her father said that. Does he believe in Taeyong? The rookie king with little experience? "And how are you so sure?" she asked, curious. "Always remember, a king always recognizes another king's sincere wishes." "That still doesn't explain Jeno's presence here, why didn't Haechan or Ten come too?" Her father smiled, though it took him a while to respond. "All I can say is that we have a deal with Jeno." Y/N looked at him suspiciously but didn't question him anymore, because, from what she had noticed, her father wouldn't say more than that. "And the training?" she smiled at the question and for the next few minutes chatted with her father about her training and how excited she was. Not any princess had the king's authorization to train something as dangerous as learning to wield weapons, so she was grateful to her father for that. But the conversation didn't last as long as she wanted, her father got a call and she took the cue to get back to her chores. "Daughter." she heard her father call as she opened the living room door. "Yeah." She turned to look at him, he had a tender smile. "Could you try not to hate Jeno so much?" Y/N sighed and didn't answer what she really wanted to say, that not in a million years she would stop hating him. "No promises."

[...] "You can say what you want about Jeno or the Lee family, but you can't deny that the genetics are wonderful." Y/N listened to her cousin, Yeri, speak as she put on her earrings in front of the mirror. "You say that because you have a crush on him." she snapped, rolling her eyes. "And who in the four realms doesn't?" Yeri crossed her arms and her cousin turned to look at her. "I don't." she replied and received a laugh in response. “For none of them? Even Mark?” Yeri raised her eyebrow and Y/N opened her mouth to deny it but was interrupted. “You know very well that you liked him when you were younger.” “I was 6 years old, Yeri.” “And your point is…?” "Even if I had a crush on any of them, even Jeno and I make it very clear that I don't like him, it's not like it changes anything between our families." Y/N didn't hate the entire Lee family. As Yeri had said, she had a silly, childish crush on Mark when she was a child, but it was fleeting. Since it was not very common for the two families to meet more than twice in the same year. However, the hatred was rooted since she was born, her entire family hated the Lee family and vice versa. And that was why she didn't understand the sudden approach of the two families, well, diplomatically she did. What she didn't accept was the ball her father was giving that night to welcome them to court. That was unusual and rare, it was difficult enough for the two kings to meet at official events in the southern and northern kingdoms, imagine having a ball just between the two kingdoms. To be honest, Y/N didn't like to hate anyone but Jeno was different. Of all the Lee family heirs, even Haechan who was the loudest of them all, Jeno was the one that irritated her the most. Everyone knew the prince as kind, polite and selfless. However, when he was around Y/N, he would become arrogant and prepotent. She hated that superior pose he seemed to wear just with her and that didn't change as they grew up, quite the opposite. After all, he was a womanizer. "I don't say change, but kissing him doesn't seem so bad." Y/N heard her cousin answer and turned around instantly, completely surprised. "You're looking at me like that, it's because you've already thought about that possibility!" the cousin laughed and Y/N grabbed the first thing she saw and threw it at her, feeling her cheeks burn. "Hey, it's going to mess up my hairstyle." “The day I feel like kissing that ridiculous mouth, the world will end!” “That day is near then.” Yeri got up from the bed where she was sitting and raised her arms, seeing her cousin's offended face, she ran out of the room laughing like a child. "Yeri!" Y/N screamed and pulled the hem of her dress to go after her but stopped in the hallway when she saw the mother elegantly in a red dress and a wide smile on her face when she saw her daughter dressed up. The princess wore a long navy blue dress, the skirt in tulle with some diamonds studded that went up to the torso, the top had a more open neckline and imitated a corset, the bust had some details in gold while the sleeves were also in tulle. They covered only her shoulder, leaving her arms exposed. The Greek braid added a neater touch and the makeup perfectly highlighted her face. "We must go, the guests have arrived." the queen warned and the daughter agreed, Yeri approached so they could link arms while the queen went ahead. The king appeared near the stairs, taking the queen's hand for himself while Y/N and her cousin waited for them to descend the stairs, being photographed and observed by everyone. When Y/N did it the same along with Yeri, smiling gently at the photographers, her gaze met Jeno's and trying to hide her surprise, she lifted her chin even higher, as if showing that she wasn't being affected by the intense way he was staring at her from head to toe. Or contrary to him, she was more subtle when evaluating his attire, Jeno was dressed all in white, a tuxedo that appeared to be velvet and with silver details on the left side, but even against her will, the princess's legs wobbled when she noticed that he didn't wear a shirt under his blazer. The Lee family always had their own rules about what clothes were worn to official events and Jeno never seemed to care about etiquette, no wonder the only thing covering his torso was his one-buttoned blazer. A damn button. But maybe her legs didn't just wobble because of that, but because of the way he sized her up. Did he seem to…like what he'd seen? "I think I'm going to need to change my panties." Yeri spoke close to Y/N's ear so that no one but the two of them could hear and she turned to her cousin, opening her eyes more than usual, of course she knew what her cousin was talking about. Or rather, from whom. “My God, Yeri!” the two made it to the hall trying not to laugh at what Yeri said and they joined the king and queen to get more. As Y/N felt Jeno's gaze on her, causing her to take a deep breath so as not to reciprocate. What had gotten into him after all? After the photos, some guests approached to greet the royal family and the princess even tried to grab her cousin by her arm so she wouldn't leave her side but it was in vain. It would be very helpful to have Yeri company as the Lee family approached, well or maybe not so much because her cousin's words echoed through Y/N's mind as soon as she looked at Jeno again. All the men were beautiful, of course they were drawing not only sighs from the women in the room but also all the attention, Y/N noticed that the crown looked good on Taeyong and smiled warmly at him when he greeted her. She was polite, despite the anger she felt for his brother. Although she moved her hands together nonstop, fighting the urge to leave, she couldn't take her eyes off Jeno. She knew he would do anything to get attention, he was the type who loved the spotlight on him. But that outfit… Did he have no manners? His exposed skin shone brighter than the silver cord he wore around his neck and she wanted to tuck him into a decent shirt. "I don't say change, but kissing him doesn't seem so bad." angrily, the princess looked into his face and analyzed him minutely. From the black hair properly combed and parted in the middle, through the small and intense eyes, the protruding nose and the pink and full lips. Well, it's not like she really wanted to kiss him, but just assuming to herself that they were terribly attractive that night wouldn't hurt, right? She might hate him but she wasn't blind. Y/N looked down at his neck and stopped at the damn button. If Jeno wanted so much to attract the attention of the guests and the press, why didn't he show the torso right away? It wouldn't be easier to show off your bare chest and… "Princess? "What?" she blinked a few times and turned her attention to the guests in front of her. Everyone, including her parents, stared at her as if expecting an answer. “Honey, Jeno asked you to dance.” her mother said, smiling heartily. "Ah well, I-" she started trying to find an excuse when Jeno came out from behind Taeyong, walked over to her and grabbed her wrist. "Excuse us." he nodded to the others present and pulled Y/N with him to the center of the room. "I didn't say yes." she complained when they were away from their families, rolling her eyes briefly. As always, he was very polite to her. Jeno turned to face her, lowered his fingers from the wrist to her hand and his free arm went to her waist, pulling her closer. Automatically Y/N's hand, which wasn’t held, went to his shoulder. She didn't want to dance with him, but it wouldn't be nice of her to refuse in front of all the royalty and the press. Y/N felt a shiver when the song started, it was one of her favorites, and they started to twirl around the room. It had nothing to do with the fact that Jeno's warm hand felt so soft as he held hers gently. It didn't even look like he was the one there, at least it wasn't the Jeno she knew. "You didn't say no either." he smirked, teasingly as he led her. “Could you be any less…” she tried to find the right word. "Attractive? Beautiful? Irresistible?" he suggested and she looked at him with boredom. "Irritating." Unlike all the other times they teased each other, Jeno didn't snap back with a child's pout, on the contrary, he laughed. He laughed at her. “Don't make a face, princess. Everyone is very attentive to our movements, they will say that you are making light of our peace agreement.” he blinked and she clenched her jaw, feeling the words she'd so wanted to say to him along with the hate she felt being barred from her tongue. However, an evil idea crossed her mind and she didn't think twice about acting. Y/N stomped on Jeno's foot as they whirled around the hall, seeing him stifle a grunt. "Don't make a face, Lee." she scoffed, smirking, proud of the feat and saw him close his eyes. Without waiting, he spun her gracefully and made her lean back, holding her around the waist with a force that stunned her and surprised all the guests, she could hear a chorus of oh across the hall but her eyes locked with Jeno's. They were closer than either of them had ever been. She could feel their noses practically touching, breaths in the same direction until his cheeky smile appeared and then suddenly, Jeno made her stand up straight again as if nothing had happened and his hands weren't touching her anymore, she was dizzy from the spin then answered Jeno's curtsy a little too late, watching him walk away from the center of the hall with the cheeky smile that irritated her deeply. The other guests approached the hall to dance to the next song while Y/N went back to the corner where her cousin was, this time with a glass of wine in her hand and laughing at her. Y/N took the opportunity to get champagne from the waiter who passed beside her and drank all the liquid in one gulp. "Don’t say anything." she asked Yeri who raised her hands in surrender. The last thing she needed was to hear her cousin talk about the sparks between her and Jeno that the entire royals had seen during the dance, it was enough that her own body had betrayed her own reason and what she truly felt for Jeno. It was hate, always has been and always will be. It had to be. For the next hour, as everyone waited for the feast to be served, the princess physically remained there but mentally she was far away. Even if Yeri or anyone else tried to bring it up, her attention was focused on what had happened during the dance. Well, her heart always races when she sees Jeno and her blood always bubbles up, that wasn't a strange feeling. But it was because he always pushed her limits. It was nothing more than that. Shaking her head and finding enough the time she wasted thinking about that, Y/N decided to go to the bathroom to compose herself, as she couldn't understand what the guest was saying, she walked away from the attention of the hall and went to the empty hallway, heading to the first floor bathroom. But she stopped midway when she heard whispers in one of the rooms, thinking it could be some conspiracy against her own kingdom, she paid close attention. "But brother, I don't know if it's fair." Jeno sighed and Y/N dared to look through the open door. Jeno had his back to her, hands on his hips, looking down, and Taeyong was beside him and put his hands on his brother's shoulder for support. She frowned, didn't understand what they're talking about but was already suspected, tried her best not to be seen but the guys inside the library seemed too busy talking to notice that she was there. “We have no other choice. Our kingdom has no other choice.” the king spoke and the brother was silent for a while. Y/N was almost smiling out of pure hatred, she was about to call her father and the guards to get the traitors out of the castle when Jeno replied. "And how do you think Y/N will react when she finds out I'm the one who has to marry her?" The princess widened her eyes and the smile completely disappeared from her face, giving way to an expression of shock and confusion. Unable to control herself, she entered the library and pushed open the door until it slammed against the wall and they both realized this time that she was there. "What did you say?"

Taglist: @floweronacloud​, @cookydream​, @travelleratheart101​​, @ilvaussie​​, @tyongf-sunflower99​​

[lily-blue]

Uncharted waters

☆ characters: poseidon’s son!chenle & mermaid!you ☆ genre: royalty au, greek gods au, the little mermaid au, fluff, horror(ish) ☆ warnings: violence and death ☆ summary: you’re so in love with Prince Chenle, the boy you rescued when he was knocked overboard, that you’re willing to sacrifice everything to be with him - little do you know, everything is exactly what he wants to take away from you ☆ words: 6,2k ☆ also: a massive thanks to @dat-town​ for her help with this story ♥ your questions made me realize how important details are in every fantasy, even in fantasies where you already have a world to work with! 

Your body felt heavy, like shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea, and your lungs were on fire, a sensation you had only ever heard in those magical tales Kunhang, the seagull, had told you whenever you had visited him on the surface. 

For a long time, the eccentric albeit friendly bird had been your sole connection to the human world; your only resource, when you had had yet another question about those treasures you had found during your adventures with Yangyang. But the more stories you had heard about human inventions and people with two beautiful, long legs who could dance, walk, and run, the more curious you had become. Curious and bold enough to save a human boy when he had fallen in the ice cold water on a stormy night and make a deal with the sea witch just to get a chance to have your happy ending by his side.

The contract you had signed consisted of three simple statements: The sea witch gave you two human legs in exchange for your voice. To keep them permanently, you had one week to make Prince Chenle fall in love with you. If you failed, and he didn’t give you the true love’s kiss by the seventh sunset, you had to choose whether you killed the prince and turned back into a mermaid or took your own life, offering your undying soul to the wicked. 

Which meant failure wasn’t an option. It couldn’t have been one.

Groaning without any sound, you rolled onto your back and opened your eyes. The overcast weather dulled the colors of your surroundings, but you still found the shore beautiful. Unlike when you had been staring at the barely visible Sun while lying beside Yangyang and your moody babysitter, Kun, the sand, now dry, stuck to your skin and made you feel itchy. It penetrated places you didn’t want to think about (and couldn’t have named), but that must have been a part of your new, scale-less life, so you embraced the sensation. It was alright, because your new legs would take you to your prince: to the one you were destined to be with.

A pair of beautiful legs. Your legs. The thought alone made you feel exhilarated. It was like electric eels were rushing through your veins. Your heart was pounding in your entire body.

You couldn’t have told how long you were lying on the beach while you were smiling at the gray clouds, but then a faintly familiar woof-woof gained your attention and knocked the thoughts out of your mind. You snapped your head in the sound’s direction and rolled on your stomach just in time to see the fluffy animal whose steps came to an abrupt halt in front of your face.

‘Daegal! What are you doing there?’ A second intruder ran up to you, this time, a human boy whose voice played on your heartstrings. Prince Chenle looked different from how he had looked at the night when his ship had fallen victim to the storm. Then, his clothes had been torn and his dark locks more disheveled. Now, he seemed more of a safe place than an exciting adventure. Yet, you couldn’t tear your gaze away from him.

Your eyes widened in shock when you felt something damp against your cheek, although you let out a soundless giggle as soon as you realized that it was Daegal’s doing. Chenle’s animal greeted you with a lick across your face, then licked your nose, too, for good measure.

‘Oh?’ The soft sound came from the prince who walked up to your duo in the meantime. He sat on his knees in an arm’s distance from your figure, and pulled Daegal in his embrace. Following the movement with your lingering gaze, you pouted, disheartened, at the thought that he might have felt the need to protect his friend from you. ‘Who are you? And what are you doing here so late?’

You opened your mouth to tell him everything: that you were the one who had pulled him to the shore when the sea had been about to swallow his body; that you were here for him. But no sound came out of your throat.

‘You cannot speak?’ The prince asked, and you nodded with a pout. How were you supposed to make him fall in love with you if you couldn’t make yourself understood? Ursula might have been right about your pretty face and the possibilities that came with body language, but you still felt somewhat lost while you were thinking about what you should have done next.

You winced when something cold poked your shoulder, then did it again when the same, ice cold sensation hit the small of your back. You were familiar with the rain. However, the drops definitely felt different now that you were out of the sea. You turned your head towards the gray clouds.

‘Come on! We need to find shelter,’ Prince Chenle said as he stood up and held his hand out for you. You hesitated only for a fleeting moment, your curious gaze boring deep into his coal orbs, before you accepted his help.

Standing on two legs was a harder task than you had initially thought. First of all, your body’s weight was a real thing on land, unlike when you were in the water; you found it hard to divide it equally. Which automatically led you to the second most crucial problem: your weak sense of balance. You managed to take one tiny step forwards before you lost your footing and fell head first into the prince’s arms. Completely naked, save for the seaweeds that stuck to your skin.

‘Are you oka—? Oh, goodness! Here! Take this,’ he said with one of his protective arms around your figure. He didn’t look at you while he shook his midnight blue jacket off his shoulder and threw it over yours. In fact, his gaze kept sliding from one thing to another until it fell on everything in your close proximity but your exposed skin.

Determined to not be a nuisance, you quickly adjusted the fabric so that it would hide your chest and thighs, then tapped the prince’s shoulder twice in order to gain his attention. It was still very new to you to communicate without your voice, but when Prince Chenle finally looked at you, a newfound wave of confidence surged through your whole being. You could do it. He had understood what you had wanted. You could do it.

The walk to the castle where the prince lived was mostly silent, but you didn’t mind the lack of conversation. Instead, you observed your surroundings and tried to burn every tiny detail in your memory: the dull color of the sand under your feet, the deep red, almost black flowers down the road that led to Prince Chenle’s home, and those iron gates that opened for you seemingly out of nowhere as soon as you reached them. You supposed, there must have been guards who controlled them from somewhere, but no matter how eager you were to lay your eyes on them, you saw no one.

‘You can stay here until we find your family,’ the prince told you while he led you towards the stairs. ‘It is just me here, Daegal, grandpa, the cook, and the maids. So it is no problem at all,’ he reassured you further before he called for someone named Yuqi, and pushed you into an empty bedroom.

The palace in Atlantica was nothing like the castle that had suddenly become your new home. Because even though it was at the bottom of the sea, far from the Sun, it was brighter and full of life. There, your bedroom barely had walls and everyone could easily swim from one place to another, even those who were only visiting your family temporarily.

This place isolated its habitants. The dark paint on the walls, the black baldachin around your bed, and the heavy curtains in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows gave you the impression that you had to ask for permission before you left your room; you weren’t sure that you liked it. It didn’t sit well with your adventurous nature.

However, it could have easily been the storm’s doing: your anxiety. Thus, you tore your gaze from the decoration and turned towards your prince with a smile. As expected, his presence worked wonders on your mood.

‘I will tell Yizhuo to bring you something nice to wear. She will prepare your bathwater, too,’ he informed you with a warm smile on his face that reflected on your own.

Recalling those stories Kunhang had told you about human habits, you pinched both sides of the jacket you were wearing and lifted it gingerly. You wished to put your immense gratitude on display while showing the prince that you were an educated woman. Although, when your gaze slid from the floor to his comically wide eyes, the scandalized look on his face told you that you might have been mistaken.

You opened your mouth to ask what you had done wrong, however, no words rolled down your chapped lips. Still, your pathetic attempt at communication brought the prince back to his senses and revived his numb limbs.

Prince Chenle rushed up to you and grabbed the jacket you were wearing. Your lips parted in horror when you realized that he was fixing the fabric on you as it hadn’t been covering your front anymore.

‘Do not ever do this again,’ he pleaded, voice barely above a whisper. The prince’s handsome face looked pained while his black eyes bored into yours, like when you upsetted a jellyfish and suffered the consequences. So you gulped and nodded in understanding.

You had no idea how long the two of you were just standing there, in the middle of the room, but you were aware of countless other things. For one, you couldn’t ignore the prince’s warm breath that fanned over your skin and dressed it in goosebumps. Then, your heart was beating faster than ever, even when you were racing with Yangyang under the sea. Not to mention, if only you had been a few inches taller, your eyes would have been in line with the boy’s rosy lips. He was so close.

‘Khm… dinner is in an hour. Yizhuo will show you the way,’ the prince said when he took the first step backwards; his hands falled back by his sides.

You once again nodded - you wished you could have done more, but the human alphabet was different from the one you used under the sea which meant you couldn’t have even written notes so early into your new life - and smiled at him. You smiled until he turned his back to you and walked out of the room, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

You wished Yizhuo arrived soon.

The dinner with the prince and his grandfather was better than you had imagined; the food melted in your mouth and the company welcomed you with open arms, although not literally. Humans, at first glance, weren’t too affectionate creatures, but they had many other qualities that fascinated you. They ate their meals with two equally long sticks, kept the side dishes in different bowls and sucked on the snarfblatt instead of blowing it.

Fueled with curiosity, you could have easily stayed at the dining hall all night to learn new things about humans and human objects, but once the dessert was gone and Prince Chenle’s grandfather called for their maids to clean the table, it was time that everyone headed back to their room. And you had no right or way to protest.

That night, buried under a comfortable, warm blanket, your thoughts wandered in directions you wished they hadn’t. You thought of your father and the molten fury in his otherwise loving eyes. You wondered whether he had already known that you had made a deal with the sea witch after he had destroyed your collection of human inventions. Was he looking for a way to get you back or he refused to call you his daughter anymore because of your actions? Based on how much he despised humans, you wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been the latter. Still, the possibility made you sad. He was your family, after all.

The more you doubted your bond with your loved ones - Yangyang must have felt betrayed that you had left him behind when he had followed you into danger time after time despite what a guppy he was -, the louder the voices in your head became. They told you that you had sold your soul the moment you had set tail in the sea witch’s cave. They called you immature and stupid. They said it was inevitable that you would become a murderer.

You tried to convince them that they were wrong and true love didn’t work like that, but by the time you managed to silence them, the first rays of sunlight shone upon your bed, and the second day began.

Before breakfast, Yizhuo was kind enough to not make comments on your disheveled hair and overall disoriented appearance. Not that you weren’t aware of how you looked even before you were sat in front of the vanity table.

There were dark circles under your eyes and angry red scratches all over your arms, although you had no recollection of when you had injured yourself so badly. As far as you could tell, once you had gotten in bed, you had been tossing and turning around for hours before your body had given in to exhaustion. You had been troubled, but safe. Your scars made no sense.

‘Do not worry, miss. I have the perfect long-sleeved dress for you,’ the maid reassured you with a warm smile. ‘It might be a little warm for the summer weather, but it will hide your scars from unwanted eyes.’

You thanked her for her kindness with a beaming smile and took the hair brush out of her hands so that she could fetch your outfit. Before Prince Chenle had bid his goodbye last night, he had promised to show you the town around the castle after breakfast and you didn’t want to waste a second. Especially because it had already felt like hours while you had been waiting for Yizhuo to knock on your door and prepare you for the day. 

The dress the maid brought for you was simple but gorgeous. It consisted of a blue skirt that reached your ankles, a black corset, and a white shirt that hid your arms, but emphasized the lines of your neck and collarbones. Completed with the blue ribbon in your hair and the light make-up Yizhuo put on your face, the outcome was magnificent. It fitted those images you had in your head - that you had seen in human books - whenever you daydreamed about dating.

Feeling restless, the breakfast went by both quickly and painfully slowly, but your chair was right next to the prince’s, therefore you weren’t complaining. You ate your soup diligently and put some rice in the broth when you saw that Prince Chenle and his grandfather did the same. There were so many things you still didn’t know about their habits, you couldn’t wait to tell Kunhang and Yangyang about your own discoveries.

“As if they wanted to hear about them, you silly girl. You will never see them again. Never see them again. You will never see them again.”

The voice came from behind you, but when you snapped your head in that direction, you saw no one but the maids who stood by the door, waiting for your requests silently. You gulped and shook your head. You could have sworn that you had heard this scolding tone before, but you had no idea where.

‘Is everything alright, dear?’ The prince’s grandfather inquired; worry evident in the way he pronounced each syllable.

You reassured him with frantic nods and a beaming smile. Although, if you had wanted to be honest, you weren’t entirely sure whether things were indeed quite alright. But to explain the situation to them in detail, you needed more than your limited arsenal of gestures and mimics. Hence, you chose to not address your concerns. You were a big girl. You were determined to prove to everyone that you could fight your own battles.

Your father and Kun might have never believed in you, but neither of them was present in your life anymore to doubt you.

The books that sank to the bottom of the sea were too fragile to read after a certain point. But once you had realized that it was because the material they were made of changed form under water, you had gained the habit of opening them at your favorite pages as soon as you found them so that you could at least stare at them when you were bored.

The drawings you had seen in these books portrayed humans in beautiful ball dresses while they were laughing and dancing. They depicted lovers on romantic dates as they were kissing. And they also showed how human towns were always crowded and full of life.

The town around the royal castle wasn’t any different. It was loud, but well-coordinated. At first glance, it seemed that everyone had somewhere to be, even the youngest children who ran past you and the prince near the market. Their energy reminded you of your carefree childhood and the day when you had first met Yangyang. 

The tropical yellow fish had gotten lost on his way to school, so you had helped him get home safe while you had been having fun getting to know each other and munching on seaweed cookies. You had been his first friend. And he had been yours.

“He could help you, if only you had told him about your plans. But you didn’t think about anyone or anything, did you? Do you really believe you can make him fall in love with you in six days? You can’t even tell him it’s too warm in your dress or that you’re thirsty. You’re pathetic, you silly girl. Pathetic. You’re pathetic.”

You flinched when someone grabbed your hand, but relaxed immediately when your eyes fell on Prince Chenle’s delicate fingers around your wrist. He pulled your hand away from your neck and squeezed it lightly the moment it swung back and forth by your side.

‘Do not be nervous. I will be here the whole time,’ he reassured you kindly; his thumb was caressing the back of your hand tenderly. You furrowed your eyebrows, confused, but then you noticed the softness of his fingertips against your skin and your mind went blank. With your sanity out of the way, you didn’t question why he would have thought you were nervous. What you focused on instead was the fact that he cared.

Therefore, you pressed your lips together with a newfound determination and looked around in the vicinity in search of a place where you could get some refreshments. There was a house on your left with breads of different shapes and sizes in its windows and another one on your right with stalls of apples in front of it. You saw a shop that changed one’s hairstyle and a building that had a dining hall in its garden.

You pointed at the latter.

‘Are you hungry?’ The prince asked and you shook your head. ‘Well, that is a restaurant. But we can have shaved ice at the shop two corners from here. Do you like shaved ice?’

You knew what an ice cube was and you didn’t particularly like the stinging numbness you felt when you touched one. However, shaved ice was most probably different because you had never seen anyone eating plain ice cubes before, thus your brain decided that not even humans would have enjoyed chewing on them willingly.

Seeing your contemplation, Prince Chenle patted the top of your head with an affectionate smile and pulled you towards the aforementioned direction. By the time you reached the shaved ice shop, you completely forgot about the reappearing voices in your head because your mind was filled with all the stimuli you had encountered on the road. You had seen old people reminiscing about the good, old days; children scolded by their parents; and animals like Daegal running after a round toy.

Humans were fascinating; and so were their animal friends. Smiling at the vendor behind the wooden counter, you wished you could have shown your father that they weren’t as malicious as he made them to be.

“They are monsters, you silly girl. They are monsters. All of them.”

‘… a different flavor every time, but their red bean shaved ice is really good,’ the prince said, pulling your attention to your options while quieting the scolding voice. Your lips parted in wonder. Ah! So this was shaved ice. ‘They have fruit flavored ones, too. You seemed to like the peach slices last night,’ he nudged your shoulder with his arm that encouraged you to take a closer look at the variety of desserts.

Prince Chenle was right. Although they weren’t as good as seaweed cookies, you had enjoyed the fruit slices during dinner, even more when they had been coated in warm chocolate. Thus, you pointed at the displayed topping that resembled yesterday’s dessert the most, then put one of your palms on the counter to support your legs. When feeling excited, you had gained the habit of bouncing up and down a little; it messed up your weak balance.

‘Easy,’ the prince scolded you with a chuckle, before he asked for two portions of peach and two portions of  mango shaved ice, one of each in your separate cups.

It tasted amazing. And not just that. One spoonful of the delicious, cold dessert managed to make the hot weather less suffocating. It lifted your spirit and gave you an energy boost that urged you to see more, taste more, feel more. Hence, when Prince Chenle suggested looking for an empty bench in the shade, preferably in the royal garden, you disagreed with him for the first time since you had exchanged your voice for a chance to be with him.

The prince’s steps came to an abrupt halt, and your eyes opened wide when you snapped your head in his way and your gaze fell on his figure. His face and posture looked a little different, but you couldn’t pinpoint why looking at him gave you this impression.

Especially because a couple of heartbeats later, he shot you an amused smile.

‘So you have a better idea? Now, I am intrigued,’ he raised his left eyebrow, and you giggled soundlessly, because his sudden playfulness took you by surprise in the best way possible. It must have been a sign that the two of you had grown closer.

You nodded with a beaming smile and walked up to him with your loose steps so that you could take his big hand in yours again. You craved for the damp feeling of his palm against your own and the warmth that this gesture ignited in your chest.

During your morning adventures, you visited a huge shop where people could eat mooncakes, drink bitter and sweet beverages, and borrow books that were placed on huge shelves in the back of the building. You also met children who invited you to draw on the road with them - they had these short, wooden sticks they could write in the hard sand with - and bumped into two adorable animals that looked exactly like Daegal, just with brown fur.

‘Should we check out the lighthouse, too, before we call it a day?’ Prince Chenle asked after you bid your goodbyes to the two puppies and their owner.

Honesty, a part of you felt that it would have been too early to head back to the castle even if you had visited the shore, but you were a royalty just like the prince. In the back of your mind, you knew that he couldn’t spend his entire day with you: that he must have had his own duties and responsibilities. So you squeezed his hand and nodded. Since he had offered, you saw nothing wrong with prolonging the time that you two had a little more.

The more steps you took towards the shore, the more exhausting it became to move your legs, but you did your best to shut out the numbness. You didn’t want to cut your program short with unnecessary complaints, especially because you couldn’t have been sure whether it was normal to feel so drained after a couple of hours of walking. There was a fat chance that you were overreacting and you were determined to not let your lack of knowledge sabotage your happily-ever-after.

Still, you barely reached the borders of the town, when your limbs gave out and you lost your balance. A silent scream stuck in your throat as you held onto the prince’s hand, desperate in a way you had only ever experienced when Yangyang and you had been attacked by a shark during one of your impromptu adventures. You closed your eyes, unsure what else you could have done to prevent the fall.

‘I have got you,’ Prince Chenle whispered against your cheek; his arms keeping you close to his chest in an awkward hug. Perplexed, you opened your eyes and turned your head to the right slowly.

Prince Chenle’s hair smelled like salt and peaches; it blended your world into his and pushed your already mushy brain into overdrive. You didn’t even notice that your nails were digging tiny crescents into his bladebone or that he turned his head in your direction in the meantime. You were lost in your fantasies: all you could think about was your future together and how much you yearned for his kiss.

You choked on air when the prince’s nose brushed against yours. His inviting lips were mere inches from your mouth like in those books about romance. This was it. This was the moment you had been waiting for. Therefore, you pursed your lips and leaned forwards. Three inches. Two inches. One in…

The prince pulled away and sat on his knees in front of you with his back to you.

‘Hop on!’ He encouraged you, shooting a warm smile at you from above his shoulder when he realized that your feet were rooted to the ground. ‘Come on! I will carry you.’

Brushing aside your confusion mixed with disappointment, you climbed on the prince’s back and linked your arms in front of his neck. His muscles tensed and relaxed repeatedly under your body while he stood up and started to walk towards the lighthouse.

‘You know, next time you should tell me when you are not feeling well. We can always finish these tours another day,’ he scolded you worriedly, his words awakening dozens of butterfly fish in your tummy.

You buried your face in the crook of his neck and nodded. Your lips grazed along his soft skin when you smiled.

Your days as a human girl were filled with delicious meals, town tours, and lazy strolls on the beach. Despite his busy schedule, Prince Chenle made sure to take a few hours out of each one of his days to spend some time with you, showing you new places and free time activities that made you bounce up and down in excitement like when he had showed you the oldest books you had even seen in your life: books that told tales about gods and goddesses who blessed the world with as many wars as miracles.

Your nights, however, got more tiring, the closer you got to your seventh day on the land. The voices haunted you in your sleep and poisoned your happiest memories with your loved ones. By the fifth afternoon, whenever you saw something that reminded you of your life in the sea, your chest felt heavy and the urge to scrawl your way out of your own body clouded your mind. Your skin was dressed in crimson and rose-colored scars, some deeper than others, all of them painful nevertheless. You were a mess.

A hopeful mess desperate for her happy ending.

You couldn’t have picked a favorite; you thought of the beautiful colors of the sunrise just as fondly as you thought of those sunsets you had spent on the shore with Prince Chenle by your side. Then and there, it didn’t matter that you couldn’t speak or that you had the trident of Poseidon hanging over your head. You were happy listening to his stories while he played with your hair, lying on the sand.

It was one of those days when the prince asked you to accompany him for a walk after dinner. The Sun was still shining down on the world, painting the scenery in an orange-gold hue and you couldn’t contain your smile while you were listening to the prince’s stories about pirates and monsters nearly as dangerous as the kraken. His love for the sea was evident; you could see it in his big hand gestures, the way he kept stealing glances at the tides, and the smile that adorned his face while he was reminiscing. You wished you could have shown him Atlantica. You couldn’t picture a single scenario in which he wouldn’t have fallen in love with your old home within a heartbeat.

‘That night, I thought that this was it. I was going to die,’ he said animatedly, pulling you in with the intensity he told you about the happenings. You swore, you saw the hopelessness in his eyes when he talked about his inevitable death. ‘But then this girl saved me. She showed up out of nowhere and pulled me to the shore.’

You almost fell over your own legs when your brain processed what he was talking about. It was you; you were the girl who had saved him.

‘Grandpa says it was just a hallucination, but I know she is out there somewhere,’ Prince Chenle kept insisting, his gaze stuck on the waves. You gulped. ‘One day, I will find her and ask her to be my wife. I will make her my queen.’

He wanted to make you his queen. The revelation kicked the air out of your lungs, making it even harder to think straight, collect your thoughts, and communicate. However, you had to find a way, because this was the perfect moment to confess your feelings for him. He yearned for his savior, he would have forgiven you for exchanging your voice for your legs, making it harder for him to find you.

With time, you could have learned how to tell him the truth.

So you pulled on the prince’s arm and demanded his full attention. Your steps didn’t come to a halt, but they didn’t need to, because the moment your gazes met, everything else became secondary. You pointed at yourself, then pointed at the sea.

‘What? Would you like to swim?’ Prince Chenle inquired, frustration rising in your chest. It was more difficult than it should have been, but you couldn’t afford losing.

“You have to kill him, you silly girl. Kill him. You don’t have much time.”

You shook your head. You pointed at yourself again, then at the sea. You slotted your palms together and imitated the unique movements of your tails when you were swimming. Yet, he didn’t seem to get it.

“So you’re ready to die. Because that’s what will happen. You will die, you silly girl. You will die.”

You gulped and lay down on your side on the sand. You rested your chin atop of your palm while you were staring at a random spot where your imaginary prince was lying. You opened your mouth to sing him a song, and while no sound came out of your throat, it did the trick.

Because the next thing you knew, Prince Chenle was lying next to you on the sand, his eyes dark albeit happy.

‘It is you,’ he breathed as he reached towards you with a trembling hand and the pads of his fingers grazed along your jawline. You fluttered your eyelashes and nodded.

The voices were still there, in the back of your mind, they still laughed at the inevitable, but you had even fewer reasons to believe them now that the prince was looking at you so fondly. He looked at you like you were irreplaceable, like you were the key to his happily-ever-after, too, and your heart was about to explode.

A silent yelp escaped your throat when Prince Chenle pushed you on your back and towered over you with his entire body. The situation was thrilling and terrifying at the same time, although you blamed the paralyzing dread you were feeling on the voices that didn’t stop chanting: “He’s a monster. A monster. He is a monster.”

For the first time, they sounded like Yangyang when he was panicky, but your best friend was living his life in the bottom of the sea, hence you deemed it a cheap trick. How could Prince Chenle have been a monster when he was about to make all your dreams come true?

You licked your lower lip when he adjusted his position and placed one knee on the sand on each side of your body. He sat on your hips and leaned forward for what you assumed was a kiss. So you pursed your lips the way lovers did in your beloved books and waited, flames of anticipation licking your being from the inside slowly.

Although your older sisters had already gushed over mermen in front of you and told you how kissing could make one’s lips feel as though they had been touched by a jellyfish - if you kissed someone for too long, that was -, the intensity of the prince’s kiss still took you by surprise. It was suffocating in the way your brain forgot to remind you that you should have breathed through your nose; messy with his tongue coating your pink flesh with saliva; and mind-shattering when you felt his fingers sneaking around your neck.

You furrowed your brows in confusion when he pulled away, but his hands remained on your throat. He was smiling down at you and you tried to reciprocate the gesture, but the grin he shot at you was unsettling.

“Kill him! You have to kill him! Kill him!”

Yangyang’s voice filled your senses, confusing you even more. Meanwhile, the prince’s hand squeezed your windpipes and one of his knees put a light pressure on your chest.

‘It’s okay. It won’t take too long,’ he taunted you, his chuckle making you sick.

A part of you tried to convince you that this was a sick joke, a nightmare, but the voices said otherwise and for the first time, they sounded less mocking and more desperate to make you see the monster behind the charming facade.

You dug your nails into Prince Chenle’s arms, but he didn’t budge, so you quickly moved on to his face until your body still had the energy to fight. You scratched his cheeks, pushed his head to the right, and went for his eyes. But the more determined you became to survive, the more amused his laughter sounded.

‘You signed your father’s death. How does it feel? To know that he will die because of you?’ He asked before he leaned down to press a kiss in the corner of your mouth.

You bit into his lip and kept pulling on it with your teeth so harshly, you could feel the iron taste of his blood in your mouth. He pressed his knee against your lungs harder.

“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”

You didn’t understand what was happening. You didn’t understand his reasons and the sudden change in his behavior, but you knew you wanted your father to be safe. You tried to kick him with your legs, push him off yourself with your arms, but he was too strong. Your head started to hurt from suffocation while your vision was already a bit blurry. The voices were screaming at you, scolding you for being so weak, but you couldn’t kill him. Heartbroken, you wanted nothing more than to swim back to your father and beg for his forgiveness. You wanted to see Yangyang and Kun.

Although you were certain that you were still on the shore, it felt like your lungs were getting filled with water. You furrowed your brows, eyes wide in horror. Prince Chenle’s hands weren’t around your neck anymore. They were pointed at you, fingers curled.

You coughed up water. It was salty on the tip of your tongue.

‘I should thank you I guess. Without you, I might have never gotten my happy ending,’ he mocked you, reciting the words you had told the sea witch when she had asked you about your heart’s desire. ‘It’s all thanks to you, love.’

When he balled his fists, your coughs became more aggressive. The water burned your lungs and your tears ran down on your cheeks.

Your death tasted like home.

the end.

[gonelike-ach00]

Crowned Prince | Hendery

Prince! Hendery x Princess! Female Original Character

Author: gonelike_achoo

Genre: Romance, Drama, Arranged marriage, royalties

Word Count: 3,085

Warnings: war, violence, complex family relationships, pseudo incest (not main story, but be warned), sexual relationships

Preview: Where Hendery finds himself in an arranged marriage he can not runaway from- just as he has for everything else in his life. He has planned to runaway from the throne, but marrying the princess from the kingdom besided theirs served as his biggest hindrance.

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masterlist | next

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1: The Gathering of the Lands

Cunning, charming and the center of the night. 

That was how they would describe Moon Taeha’s bright red ball gown, in the middle of plainly colored clothings. She was the embodiment of elegance and grace, not one hair or lace out of place. There was no one better to be put center stage, but her. Just as it was when she entered the room, alone, strong and independent. There was no better place than walking through that door with her bright red dress and unlike all of her peers, greeting the people alone in one of the biggest events of the year.

The gathering of the lands was an annual ball hosted by the 5 royal families of the continent. These families rarely held balls, rarely threw parties and rarely had this amount of people roaming around their grounds, that was why this was such a prestigious ball. At this time of year, everyone who rarely walked these halls would take out their best dresses and flaunt it. Flaunting of wealth and fortune, that was all these balls were now. Long gone was its initial initiative to unite the kingdoms that sat beside one another. 

There was no one else who was enjoying this night of extravagance more than the lady at the center of attention. This was her forte, her battle grounds, she walked up to potential suitors, ladies from various lands to hear of rumors and stories that went around in their side of the kingdom. 

“Rumor has been going around, your highness,” Duchess Jung of the kingdom of Feliz lowers her voice and leans towards the princess. The duchess was merely 20, yet was carrying the child of the Duke, she was a few years younger than the still unwed princess. “Of how count Dong has been looking for a wife,” she talks of the famous good looking count from the kingdom of Hwei. 

“Is he?” Even the princess’s ears perk at the news. There weren’t a lot of good looking guys in the marriage market, thus it was an interesting thing to hear when men like them were set to look for a wife. Though, marriage was still off her plate.

“The count of Hwei and my husband have long been friends, since they were in the academy of Maha’ali.” 

“There is no source more trusted than your husband when it comes to that private count.” She nods her head as she turns to the side in order to call over a server to offer her some drinks. 

Taeha, as she was the epitome of elegance and grace, turns her head ever so slowly. Her head looks over, but stops as she spots a man quietly standing in the corner. 

If rarity in good looks were a thing among nobles, there was a group of siblings that do not fall under this category.  Aside from the royal siblings in Feliz, Hwei was known to be a hub for young handsome eligible bachelors. All born from pure noble bloods, there was no denying how powerful and important each of the men in Hwei was. The man she was looking at directly was the crowned prince of Hwei, born from the king and queen himself, he was royalty down to the tip of his toes. The crowned prince was known to be rather quiet, nearly out of the social life, rarely attending balls and showing himself to the noble crowd. Just as his striking white and blue attire stood in the corner, it was nearly impossible for heads not to turn towards him due to being such a rare sight in these events. 

“One glass of champagne,” she tells one of the servers, who was standing a few tables away from her. 

Just as her head turned towards the direction of the server. Talking among noble men were two more bachelors from the kingdom of Hwei. Standing tall among the crowd was the eldest of the bunch, who arrived late into the royal family. His was a face most popular with lines of women asking to be wed to him, it was a rather interesting sight to see that he was being pursued rather than the other way around. Standing right beside him was a man much softer in looks, but was a beauty nonetheless in comparison to his brother. He was known to have much more gentle features than the two of his brothers, as others would note that this may come from his mother rather than his father. Just as the eldest was a late addition to the royal family and so was the youngest, born into a different kingdom and raised in one, his birth and addition to the royal family in Hwei was still a political topic that the leaders of Hwei and Feliz avoided.

Taeha could simply sigh. Though they were the most eligible bachelors in the continent, they were also shrouded with rumors, some as shocking as soon as it reached her ears, while others were claims that were obviously false. 

There was a reason why they remained unwed even at the age of marriage especially for a royal family.

Soon enough the hired musicians began playing their piece, and it was there that everyone understood what was about to happen, or heard and read of it from stories of the past. In other normal balls or events, there was no need for a center stage or a huge expensive band and singer, but every once in a while the gathering of the lands was used as a stage to announce engagements among the five kingdoms. It was rare, as it was often practiced that kingdoms do not engage or marry into one another, yet in the rare case that they do it is indicated by a single song playing and able to silence the crowd to a near silence. It was easily a recognizable tune, with the beginning strong and mighty commanding everyone to turn their heads to the center. 

Just as it was often practiced, from books that she’s read about the event the two leaders would stand in the middle and announce the engagement, before calling over the two who are now engaged and allow them to dance. In history, this has only been successful twice but was attempted several times. 

So, it didn’t come as a surprise when the first king that walked into the center was the king of Hwei, though much elder everyone could tell where his sons got their looks from. His nose bridge was tall and features truly masculine, it was impossible not to call such a man in his late years good looking. Standing in the center with the same blue and white colors as his sons, but in an outfit much grandiose than all of his sons’ combined. He was easily the center of attention. He begins with greetings, just as every leader does, as a way to establish his presence.

“Thus, tonight I would like to call on one of my sons to dance in the center.” Almost immediately his eyes moved towards the son that was quietly standing at the back, obviously baffled by the sudden call on him, though his name was still to be uttered by his mouth. “Thus, I would like to call on the crowned prince of Hwei, Huang Guanheng!” The sound of clapping immediately follows. If it weren’t for the huge clapping sound echoing through the ball room, Guanheng wouldn’t have stood upright from leaning against the wall.

She watched as it took him a moment to come to his senses and begin gently bowing his head in confidence as he walked towards the center. Whispers couldn’t help but follow as he walked to the center stage. Among nobles Guanheng wasn’t perceived as the perfect ruler, some say he was too soft spoken to take charge, or that he wasn’t communicating with others enough. He didn’t try to get along with nobles and it was very clear that he wasn’t even in the slightest bit interested. He was the crowned prince, but no one truly acknowledged him as the next king of Hwei.

Once he got to the center, it was clear that even with rumors circulating about him, he stood tall. Nearly as if standing at the center stage was a different man from the person leaning against the wall of the ballroom just earlier. Though eyes were on the crowned prince of Hwei, eyes were darting between the four other kings. Anticipating who would walk towards the center stage next.

In all honesty, it wasn’t looking too good for her as well.

With a number of royal princesses already married off as soon as they were able to marry, there were only three who could be married with the prince. Aside from herself, there were two more from the kingdom of Feliz. This might be the reason behind the rarity of marrying between kingdoms, the absolute lack of pairs that could be paired.

Just as she was feeling all uneasy, the moment the red cape walked to the center, she knew that the inevitable was about to happen, that it would be her who would be called out next.  They have five siblings in total, their eldest has long been married to a count, she was thirty and five years. The following was another lady, thirty years of age, just as their eldest, married. Then followed by their only brother, the crowned prince of the kingdom of Sui, he was twenty and seven, just as it was with the two eldest, married and with children. That was also the case with the other princess that followed. All that was left was her, she was twenty and three, by  this age all her sisters were either pregnant with their second child or caring for their children. 

It wasn’t like she was of no beauty either, she’s had suitors and has been engaged a number of times, yet not one lasted longer than a month. It was quite obvious what she had been trying to get across as soon as she turned eighteen, that marriage was the least of her concerns. This was probably her parents' way of forcing her to marry, as her bethronement was now much weightier than any other engagements she has had in the past. 

“I am glad to welcome everyone tonight, as this remains a sign of cooperation between the kingdom, each and every nobleman present tonight would stand witness as another feat for peace would be settled with the tying of our two royal children.” King Taemu, the king of Sui, smiles at the crowd and turns his head towards the crowned prince standing just as tall as he was. “Thus, I shall call my youngest daughter to the front,” Taeha feels her heart drop at the moment, “Princess Moon Taeha!” As if her name was a cursed word, she flinches.

The moment she looked up at her father, triumph was written all over his face. She then quickly scans the crowd as eyes watch her every move, just as they did with the crowned prince of Hwei earlier. However, she doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes that he did, instead of appearing more flustered she takes a deep breath in, even as her hands were shaking she grabs her dress to slightly lift it and walk to the center.

She stood right beside her father and beside the crowned prince, who appeared to be much taller than he looks. With her head held up high and her hands trembling, she couldn’t help but glare at her father every chance she got. Though it was unladylike of her, she would rather glare at him now than she dances with her now fiance. 

“We hope to invite everyone present tonight in two months in the kingdom of Hwei to celebrate the union of the princess of Sui and the next heir of Hwei!” Immediately the ballroom erupts in cheers and joys from the news, this was probably the first– and most likely the last– in their generation where two great kingdoms were to marry.

“My beloved youngest daughter, princess Taeha and my future son-in-law, prince Guanheng, the two of you may start the dance tonight.” As it was tradition for the now engaged couple to dance together first, as a spectacle, a show, a political tool. Tonight, once her hands were placed on top of his shoulders it would mean that escaping this marriage would be nearly impossible. 

Thus, when a hand was offered in front of her and the room erupts in murmurs, she knew that there was no way she could think of a way out of this at this moment. Thus, she did what every lady would do when offered with a dance she couldn’t refuse, she turned around and bowed towards her father and then to the king before facing the hand held up towards her. Then she bowed towards him. 

“I believe, your fathers would leave the two of you to enjoy the stage.” The King of Hwei gives them a mischievous smile. 

Without uttering another word, the crowned prince acknowledges his father with a simple nod of his head. “Then shall we proceed, princess?” The way he called her ‘princess’ felt like he was mocking her. Instead of uttering a word towards the prince who, just as she was, appears to hate every moment this set up gave them, she simply accepts the hand that was held out for a little too long. She forces a smile on her face, but as everyone in this hall has seen her with the same smile earlier, no one could tell that she was annoyed beyond her wits. That is except for the man guiding her down to the center of the dancing area. 

They stood there, unsure of what song and routine they would be dancing to. At that moment, Taeha stood upright, just as the crown prince was, and they were finally looking each other in the eye. Indeed, rumors cannot be made up about how good looking the next heir of Hwei looked. His eyes were big and his features strong, he kept himself clean and he, just as she took a whiff earlier, smelled just as clean. She’s seen images on painting, but they could not compare to his beauty.

Taeha simply takes a deep breath, in order to calm herself down and stop her from complimenting the prince further. It wasn’t long after that the music began playing. In an instant the two well trained royals knew how the dance would go.

With a hand on his shoulders and his hand on her waist, they take steps in tune to the music. The dance originates from the kingdom of Maha’ali, known to be a romantic dance meant for couples to get to know each other as they move. It was slow, and kept them close, but not too close, just enough to converse without anyone other than them to hear their conversation. Intimate enough for only two, but leaves enough space for the dance not to turn awkward. 

“Indeed,” she mutters as she takes a step, “they’ve talked about this engagement long before.” 

“Is it because of the choice of music?” The prince is close enough to hear her mutters.

“The piece is no simple feat to learn, your highness. As my knowledge suffices, there is no band in the land that knows how to play this tune.” They do a simple turn, and take a step away from each other.

Yet the distance was closed in a mere second. “And how would you,” his eyes scan the band playing in the corner, “know of that, princess?” The way he calls her princess feels like he was swearing at her.

“Noble women always want the most absurd, your highness.” She glances over his shoulders when given the opportunity. She would be an absolute rock if she never noticed the envious dagger like stares towards her.

“You speak as if you aren’t noble yourself.” 

“I believe the absurdity of society needs to be called out.” 

“Indeed,” Guanheng simply nods his head.

Then the two begin dancing just as they were taught, with absolute precision and grace. If anyone was in their right mind, they would understand that they were nothing compared to the royal family. Sure they could send envious stares towards the princess, but the famously beautiful and graceful princess suited the crowned prince more than anyone else in this room. It was uncommon for two royal families to marry into one another, but much rare was the marriage of two people of the same age. 

“Appears the good looking crown prince has some admirers,” she decides to break the ice further by commenting on the stares she’s been getting since they’ve begun to dance.

“Are they admirers of me or are they admirers of my title?” He smiles at her, but one that was obviously forced upon.

Taeha sighs. “Well, not a lot of those women would be married to men the same age, and fewer would be able to marry a crowned prince.” 

“Indeed,” he replies the same as he did earlier, as if he wanted to say more but was holding himself back. 

Then they danced once again in silence. Taking steps they’ve memorized and practiced for as long as they could walk. Holding themselves up in a way that people would describe elegance and grace. 

“Does it not occur to you, princess,” this time him calling her out was much softer, “that your father simply repressed the bands from playing this difficult tune from Maha’ali for your engagement?” 

“Do you think my father is as obsessive as that?” 

“Not yours,” he pauses, “mine.” His eyes slightly grew a bit at that moment. “He can be a little… overbearing as a father.” 

“Ah,” was the princess’s reply as they took one last turn on the dance floor. Once she takes a step back to bow towards him once more, she takes notice of how every single pair of eyes were looking at them– not just her.

“Knowing my father, it won’t be long until we meet again, princess.” Guanheng takes her hand and leaves a light peck on it, it was a universal sign between them that he was bidding his farewell to the lady.

When Guanheng bid her his farewell, she didn’t expect things to roll out as quickly as they did.

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[shineoko]

“Your Highness”

As you walked outside into the market to accompany you mother to sell apples a crowd of gasps and compliments flood your ears. Before you lies a gigantic crowd of people who live in your village.You wonder who so many people are crowded infront of your house but you somehow manage to peek over a few heads to see the crowned prince of the neighbouring kingdom on a horse surrounded by 2 bulky guards in the classic silver armour. You squint your eyes and take a step forward to see what he could be doing sat still for so long before you see your mother offering him a bag of apples. ‘No way’ you think . You take a few steps forward as you rub your eyes somehow getting through the crowd as smooth as silk.

Once you’ve finished rubbing your eyes for a bit you find that you’ve gotten pretty close to the scene so you decided to do what you were supposed to do when you got out of your house and slid right next to your mother.

“And who might you be?” Prince Kun askes abruptly as he swiftly notices your sudden appearance.

“I’m her daughter, your highness.” You reply as you point at your mother but as you squeeze the 4 fingers shut you can feel a tad bit of sweat glazing your palms.

“I see…” Kun says as he looks away from you and back to whatever he was looking at before.

You let out a sigh of relief that you never knew you were holding once he orders a guard to talks the bag of apples as he pays you mother.

“You girl, your coming with me.” Kun instructs as he points to you. You look at your sides and then point at yourself “Yes you, who else would I be talking to.”

It takes a moment for you to process what he’s actually saying but he soon grows impatient.

“Don’t worry about you mother of your belongings, just come with me” he says slightly frustrated

You oblige only because you feel like he’s verbally cornering you and if you say no there might be consequences.

You follow his horse until you’re out of the village and into the wooded area. Along the way the guards seem to have disappeared.

“Sweetheart.” He says tauntingly and you are visibly taken aback by the new nickname, “I haven’t learned your name yet. Please enlighten me.”

“My name is y/n l/n your highness” you blurt out while looking down to you feet.

“Thank you” he takes a huff of air then begins “And please do drop the whole ‘your highness’, I don’t want my future wife to think that we’re not on the same level.”

Navigation

[honeyhuii]

When Roses Bloom

idol au, soulmate au, royalty au, modern au, strangers to lovers

Genre: Fluff, Slowburn

Lee Taeyong x Reader

Wordcount: 6k+

Warnings: Swearing, kissing, mentions of food, Markhyuck ( I don't ship them irl, it's purely for the plot)

Rating: PG13, some cursing and kissing

A/N This is for the love of my life. @mhyori1117. I hope you enjoy Taeyong as your soulmate. <3

You sighed. Everyone around you has been finding their soulmate. They get to experience the magic of seeing flowers bloom when they accidentally bump into their soulmate on the side of the street. Or passing by a classmate in the halls and suddenly tulips blossom out of the ground and lockers are filled with lilies. Maybe that cute coworker from the office “accidentally” bumps into you just to see if flowers bloom beneath your feet.

All of your friends have been getting swept off their feet by their gorgeous soulmates. Some of them have known their soulmates all their lives and have finally accidentally bumped into each other. Not that you aren’t happy for your friends, because you are, you just wish you would finally meet yours. You wish you could finally feel that magic. Finally getting to look in the eyes of the one meant for you. You know your soulmate won't ‌be a prince on a white horse from a faraway kingdom. But you could care less if he did have a major kingdom title or not. As long as your prince was meant for you. That was good enough. But when? When will you get to meet him?

You sigh again for the umpteenth time. Currently, your best friend was telling you about his newfound soulmate. Again, it’s not that you aren’t happy for him. It just gets annoying to hear that one of your friends has found their soulmate. Plus, he’s been rambling on about this guy for literal days. It feels like you know him more than you know yourself and you haven’t even met him yet! “Mark..Dude. It’s not that I don’t care, but you literally won’t stop talking about him. I love you and love that you are so in love with your soulmate, but I seriously feel like I know him more than I should. I haven’t even met him yet,” you set your coffee cup on your desk, “it’s not helpful when I’m trying to work on this new draft that Mr Nakamoto is requiring me to do and I can’t focus.”

“Sorry. I forgot that the boss is making you stay extra late for a new draft that he just assigned to you today,” Mark rolls his eyes, “I can’t believe he’s requiring you to finish it by tonight.”

“I know, I don’t know why he’s so up my ass about it,” you pick up your coffee cup again, take a sip, and notice it's gone cold. You frown, your evening has gotten even worse. “I’ll be back Mark. I gotta get another cup of coffee if I want to manage to finish this stupid draft before the sunsets.”

Mark waves and turns back to his desk, “can you get me a cup too?”

You wave in response as you you exit the office into the hallway. You greet the other office workers who also have to stay late to finish whatever projects they are working on. You turn left to head towards the break room to get a fresh cup of coffee. However, you bump into a rough chest. You looked up and weren't expecting to see him.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't see you there Y/n," his deep voice escaped his pretty pink lips.

"It's okay Johnny. I should've watched where I was going. Was just super lost in thought," you reply, looking away from the tall man. Johnny Suh, a man every woman dreams of being with. He's super tall, gorgeous eyes, and has all the charms in the world. Every female coworker (even males) have tried to bump into him, hoping that he is their soulmate, but so far none of them have had any luck. You? You don't really care trying to bump into attractive coworkers in hopes they are your soulmate, too complicated. Johnny, however, has tried to bump into you on several occasions, hoping that you are his.

"Boss having you work late again?"

"Mmm, he's making me work on this draft and wants it finished by tonight to be ready for the presentation tomorrow. What about you? Why are you still here this late? Didn't Jaehyun leave hours ago, thought you would've gone with him."

"Yeah, he did. Told him to go home without me. I have this merger I got to finish by tomorrow and I'm only halfway through. Looks like it'll be a long night for the both of us. You getting more coffee? I'll walk with you," Johnny turns around and starts heading towards the break room, even though it looks like he's just got a fresh cup of coffee already.

You trail behind Johnny trying to figure out his motive. Does he not believe in the soulmate system? Why has he been so adamant about trying to get you to go on a date with him? If you didn’t have so many hopes in wanting to meet your soulmate, you would consider accepting his pursuit.

“So, I was thinking…you want to go to a concert this weekend? One of my close friend’s is performing this weekend and I think you’d like his music,” Johnny asks, pouring himself and you a fresh cup of coffee.

“I need one more cup, Mark’s staying late too,” you take your cup out of Johnny’s hands and wait for him to pour a second for Mark.

“Ah, I see. So, what about the concert? You want to go,” Johnny hands you the second cup and you graciously take it.

“Thanks. I’m not sure if it’s something I’d want to do…Plus Mark and I have our movie night this weekend and he’s inviting his soulmate over so we can finally meet,” you take a sip of your coffee and follow him out the break room.

“Why don’t you invite them both? It’d be a lot of fun, plus I think Mark would get along with my friend that’s performing. You guys would be allowed backstage to meet him and hang out after the show is over. I got front seat tickets and everything,” Johnny says, holding three tickets out in front of you, “Will you at least take the tickets and ask? If neither of you wants to show up, that’s okay. At least give me some hope that you’ll come.”

“Alright,” you take the tickets out of his hand, “I’ll ask Mark and see if he’s up to going. It would be a nice change instead of our weekend movie nights. Well, I need to finish this draft so I’ll be getting back to work,” you wave goodbye and head back to your desk and let out a deep sigh.

“Johnny ask you out again,” Mark asks when he hears you sigh?

“Yeah, that’s the 3rd time this week. He can’t get a clue when I keep denying him,” you rub your forehead, feeling a migraine coming on.

“Where’d he invite you to this time?”

“To some concert, his friend is performing at, some group called 127? He invited you and your soulmate to go with. Here,” you pass him two tickets and his coffee.

“127?! Dude, I love 127! We have to go, it’ll be so much fun,” Mark practically jumps out of his chair, trying to give you his best puppy dog eyes, “Please. It really will be a lot of fun, my soulmate loves this group too! Apparently, all of the members keep their identity hidden and don’t allow pictures at performances. They are really hush hush about it.”

“Really? Johnny says he knows one of the members and that he got us backstage as well as front stage seats.”

“Johnny knows 127? Really? Dude, we have to go now that you told me there are backstage passes. I’ve always wanted to meet them and see them perform live.”

“Will your soulmate wanna go?”

“Definitely, we listen to them together all the time.”

“Alright. It will be nice to do something different this weekend. But what shocks me is that they even sell backstage passes. Aren’t most idols and celebrities royalty? Like super high royalty? Because I know we all are some type of royalty, but in order to be able to do a job like that, they have to have a higher status. Why would they even let crazed fans near royalty?”

“I don’t know. Probably. I don’t know about you, but I can flash my royalty card and get a free coffee,” Mark brags…again.

“Mark, you say that at least once a week. I don’t care that my royalty card doesn’t get me a free coffee. It’s not my fault that my royalty card doesn’t get me anything, blame my parents for not having a higher royalty status. Anyways, leave me be and let me finish this draft before Mr. Nakamoto yells at me for slacking.”

You knock on the door to Mr. Nakamoto’s office, holding a stack of paper in your right hand. You hear a faint “come in” signalling for you to enter the office. You enter the office and see your boss sitting at his desk, typing on his computer. His black hair dishevelled from him constantly running, his fingers through his hair, glasses perched on his nose, and his tie undone.

“Hi sir, I have the draft that you wanted by this evening. I’ve finished it and printed it so you can look through it,” you walk up to his desk, holding out the stack of papers for him to take.

“Thank you, just set them on the desk. I’ll look over them when I’m done. You can go home now,” he doesn’t even look up from his computer and continues typing.

“Thank you, sir. Goodnight sir. I’ll see you tomorrow,” you place the stack of papers on his desk and exit his office. “Alright Mark, drive me home.” Mark nods and you both walk to the elevator in silence.

The week flew by, and before you knew it, it was ‌Saturday, the day you were meeting Mark's soulmate and the day of the concert. You were getting ready, making sure you looked your best. You were looking over your choice of clothes when there was a knock at the door. You look over at the clock, Mark was supposed to be picking you up around now, so it was probably him. You walk over to the front door of your spacious apartment and open it.

“You ready to leave,” Mark asks, walking into your apartment.

“Yup, let me get my shoes on, real quick,” you walk over to your shoe rack that’s by the front door and sit on the bench to slide your shoes on. “Alright, I’m ready. Is he in the car?”

“Yeah, he’s driving so I told him that I’ll go up and see if you were ready.”

"What's his name,” you both walk out the door and shut it behind you. You lock it and follow Mark down the steps to his soulmate's car.

"Donghyuck, Lee Donghuck is his name," Mark walks up to the car and opens the backseat for you.

You sit down and buckle up, "Hey I'm Y/n! It's nice to finally meet you, Mark literally never shuts up about you."

"I can say the same about you, he's told me so much about you I feel like I've known you forever," Donghyuck laughs. He looks super dressed up for the concert, no wonder Mark has him as a soulmate. They really were made for each other.

"Are you excited for tonight's concert? It's my first time hearing about 127, so I'm really curious as to why Johnny thought I would enjoy their music. Mark is a really big fan of them," you try to make conversation with Donghyuck as he drives you to the place that the concert will be held at.

“Mmm, I know he is. He made me listen to their entire discography on our fourth date, not that I minded, I really like their music as well. Speaking of Mark, can you put on our playlist? That way Y/n can hear some of their songs before we get to the stadium,” Donghyuck drives out of the apartment complex and you make your way to the concert. Mark puts on their playlist and music starts blasting from the car speakers.

By the time you arrive at the stadium, you have learned the entire discography for 127 and learned Mark and Donghyuck personal favourites, and have found out yours. No wonder Mark was such a fanboy over them, their voices were really attractive and the songs were really catchy. You could definitely see yourself becoming a fan after this concert is over. But right now, you need to text Johnny and find out where he is.

You:

Where are you at? We just arrived at the stadium.

The tall Johnny:

I’m inside, meet me backstage and come meet the guys.

You:

Heading over now.

You put your phone in your pocket, “Johnny says he’s inside. He wants us to meet him backstage. Let’s get going.” The two boys nod and follow your lead. You walk to the end of the line and some of the other’s in the look at Donghyuck with a strange look, like they’ve seen him somewhere before. You brush off their odd behaviour, he must go to a lot of concerts or he’s a popular prince.

Once it was your turn to give the lady your tickets, you did so, but the way the lady acted when she saw Donghyuck was even stranger. It was a look of surprise, like she didn’t expect him to show up there. What is up with everyone’s behaviour… I’ll have to ask him about it.

You three get led inside of the stadium and were guided backstage. How did they know that we were going there…or that we even had backstage passes? Did Johnny say something to her beforehand?

As you’re walking to the backstage, you accidentally bump into someone because you have this habit of not watching where you were going. You look up to find the most gorgeous eyes staring down at you with a look of concern. What you didn’t expect was roses to start blossoming out of the floor and vines to start flowing down the ceiling as you two made eye contact.

It was as magical as Mark said it was. You felt butterflies erupting in your stomach as you two continued to stare into each other's eyes. Neither of you dare to break it, fearing that once you look away, the beautiful pink roses blooming behind the stranger will go away. It made him look ethereal. Like he was sculpted by the gods themselves.

“I’m Y/n…it’s nice to finally meet you, soulmate,” you hold out your hand for him to shake.

“Taeyong, Lee Taeyong. I’m sorry you had to wait so long to meet me,” he takes your hand in his and kisses your knuckles, “I agree though, it’s great to finally meet you. I guess my timing was always off because I swear I’ve seen you before. Perhaps my dreams?”

Lee Taeyong? Why was that name so familiar? “I’m surprised this is how fate chose us to meet. Backstage to a concert someone invited me to. I think your timing couldn’t have been any better,” you give him a soft smile, which he gladly returns.

Someone clears their throat behind you, knocking you two out of your daze. “Ah right. This is my best friend Mark and his soulmate Donghyuck. Both of them are big fans of the artist’s that’s performing tonight.”

“Ah, fans of 127? You must be the coworkers Johnny was telling us about, follow me, I’ll take you to meet the rest of the boys. Johnny’s been waiting for you guys to arrive as well,” Taeyong doesn’t let go of your hand and drags you along with him. Wait…What?

“Ah, wait. I think it’s time for the concert, why don’t you head to your seats, I’ll have Xiaojun show you to your seats,” Taeyong gestures to a man in a security guard uniform who smiles at Taeyong, he must be Xiaojun.

“Actually, I need to use the restroom, why don’t you guys head to our seats without me. I’ll meet you there when I’m done,” Donghyuck stops Xiaojun in his tracks.

“Are you sure Hyuck? I know how much you love 127,” Mark questions his soulmate.

“Yeah, I’ll probably only miss the opening act, I’ll be back in time, don’t worry.”

“If you’re sure. Alright, Y/n, let’s go,” Mark says, following Xiaojun out of the hallway.

You shoot Johnny a quick message telling him that you would be heading to your seats since the concert was starting soon and that you would meet him there. He replied with a simple okay and that was the end of the conversation.

When you finally arrived at your seats, which were located near the front of the stage (how Johnny was able to afford the tickets was still beyond you), you sat down at the perfect time because music started to blast through the stage speakers. A young man walked onto the stage and started the opening act. The opening act was a new and hot artist by the name of Xuxi and everyone was astounded by his amazing performance. You couldn’t believe that this one guy could hype up the crowd this much, if Xuxi was this amazing you wondered how amazing it would be to see 127 on stage.

The lights started flashing with the beat of the music, the first song was about to start and both Donghyuck and Johnny had yet to arrive. You were starting to get worried, you looked over at Mark to whisper something into his ear, but you stopped mid sentence when shock took over Mark’s face. Confusion filled your face, you looked back over to the stage and not only were you shocked to see who was up on stage, but you were completely confused.

“Is that Mr Nakamoto? And Donghyuck? What the fuck? Johnny?!” You are beyond confused and it looks like Mark had no idea that his favourite group was so close to him. He had no idea that his soulmate was a member of 127 and no idea that a coworker and boss was also a member of 127. You had no idea how you were going to be able to go to work and face them.

Taeyong makes eye contact with you as he raps his verse and winks. That causes an immediate blush to spread across your face which Mark starts to tease you about until Donghyuck blows a kiss in his direction. You began to tease him about it since he teased you, it was only fair.

The concert was half way over and you were glad that Johnny invited you to go. The initial shock and surprise is over and you would definitely agree that Johnny, your flirty coworker, Yuta, your mysterious boss, and Donghyuck, Mark’s soulmate, belonged on that stage. Johnny was a very talented rapper and he could dance too. Yuta’s vocals were off the chart. And his dancing skills? Absolutely blew you away. Donghyuck’s vocals were absolutely breathtaking. You couldn’t believe how high he could see. Not to mention that he was also a very talented dancer. But no matter how amazing they were, you kept your eyes trained on Taeyong. The way he could move and dance along to the song was hypnotising. The way his voice would rasp when he would rap his parts of the song, kept you on the edge of your seat. His entire aura was hypnotised and had you under a spell. Maybe it was your soulmate bond that caused you to feel the way you did or maybe you were just magnetised by him.

Once the concert was over, Xiaojun led you two back to the hallway where you met Taeyong, and followed the long corridor. The three of you arrived at a door that had a piece of paper taped to it saying, “127”. Xiaojun knocked on the door and you heard a faint “come in” from the otherside. Xiaojun opens the door and you trail behind him. You see the six boys lounging on the couches taking a break after the hectic concert. Taeyong sits up straighter once he spots you and his gaze never leaves yours as you walk closer to him. A smile spreads across his lips as you walk over to him. “Hey, I thought you were amazing up on that stage,” a smile spreads across your face. The other’s in the room look at you two in confusion and Taeyong notices.

“This is Y/n, my soulmate,” Taeyong introduces you to the others with a proud smile on his face.

Johnny doesn’t look the least bit surprised and neither does your boss or Donghyuck. It’s like they knew before you even found out he was your soulmate. “About time,” Johnny pipes up.

“What do you mean,” you look over at him in question.

“I had a strong feeling that Taeyong was your soulmate, you’re both basically carbon copies of one another. I told Donghyuck, Jaehyun, and Yuta about it. That’s why I was constantly asking you on dates because I was trying to get you to run into Taeyong. I probably should’ve told you the reason for the dates but at least my plan finally worked. Didn’t I tell you guys they were soulmates,” Johnny responds, throwing a look at both Yuta and Jaehyun which causes them to roll their eyes in response.

“Yeah, yeah whatever Johnny. Don’t make me give you extra hours for that look you gave me,” Yuta responds, crossing his arms.

“Wait wait. I have several questions,” everyone turns to look at you, “if you knew about it Donghyuck, why didn’t you tell Mark and why didn’t he know that you were a part of 127? Johnny, why were you trying so hard to get Taeyong and I together? Yuta, can I call you Yuta? It feels weird to call you Mr Nakamoto outside of work. Anyways, why were you also in on it, I’m your coworker and you're my boss, isn’t that a little weird. Jaehyun, I don’t really have questions for you because you live for this type of thing. Lastly, if you guys are all in this amazing band, why do you work in an office with a 9 to 5 job?”

Donghyuck is the first one to chime in, “Well I remember Mark constantly talking about you and then Johnny would do the same. I thought it was weird at first when both my soulmate and bandmate would talk about one person so much. Then Johnny told me that he thought that you might be Taeyong’s soulmate and from the things I heard from Mark I thought he might be onto something. I wanted to help, but I didn’t want to tell Mark about the plan because he might accidentally tell you since he is quite the blabbermouth. Especially with the secret of me being a part of 127, I wanted to surprise him with that factor. Though, I’m surprised he never caught on because you can very clearly hear my voice in the songs.” Mark rolls his eyes at the last comment about him, but still grabs Donghyuck’s hand and intertwines their fingers.

“Well, I saw how you would always be so passive aggressive when someone mentioned soulmates, I could feel how sad you were whenever you saw yet another person meeting their soulmate and yet you still didn’t. I wanted to help my friend, even if it was a shot in the dark. Plus, it was pretty funny watching you get flustered anytime I asked you on a date,” Johnny adds with a smug smirk as he watches you get flustered yet again.

“Yeah, call me Yuta. Anyways, Taeyong’s one of my good friends and just like Johnny I felt like it was finally time to do something. He’s been complaining about how single he feels whenever Donghyuck tells us about the recent date he went on with Mark. I’ll answer your last question about why we work a 9 to 5,” Yuta uncrosses his arms and leans in, “It gives us a sense of normalcy. We don’t let anyone know about our identity outside of our concerts to keep that secret and feel normal. Everyone knows who Taeyong is because of his status in the world of royalty, but when he’s on stage, he’s just Ty. Not some world famous prince. Same goes for us who work at the office. If we let people share our identity then we won’t be able to do anything normal without getting swarmed by rabid fans of both those who are fans of 127 and those who are just obsessed with royal status. Plus I just know it would get worse for those of us who don’t have a soulmate. But that basically sums up, does that answer your questions?”

You nod your head, "Yeah, it does. Thanks and I guess that does make sense. Thank you Johnny for looking out for me, same with you Donghyuck, even though you didn't know me, you still wanted to help me just because I'm your soulmate's best friend. That's really kind of you."

Donghyuck shrugs his shoulders as if it wasn't anything to him, "Of course I would. I had a feeling we would get along from all the things I heard about you. I guess I was right about that too." He winks at Mark. Looks like there's something else he knows, you'll have to interrogate them both later.

"I'm just glad I finally found you, even if it was with the help of our friends," Taeyong brings you into a hug and warmth surrounds you. You smile and wrap your arms around his neck pulling him in close.

"Thank you for finally finding me," you hear a gag behind you and you roll your eyes. You didn't have to guess who that was, "Donghyuck, as if I haven't heard you say worse things to Mark." Everyone laughs as Donghyuck tries to deny it but no one believes him because everyone knows how whipped he is for Mark.

The night slowly ends, one by one everyone heads home. Taeyong happily holds your hand as he walks you to Donghyuck's car, the boys following you, but keeping a slight distance so that you can get to know one another in private. And that you did, you both basked in each other's company, just enjoying each other's presence. You talked and talked as much as time would let you, until the four of you eventually arrived to Donghyuck's car. Johnny honks his horn,signalling for Taeyong to hurry up and get in the car. Taeyong waves him off, basically telling him to give him a second to talk to you. "Uhm, Y/n. I'm really glad I met you. I was wondering if I could get your number? So I can ask you on a date, that is if you want to," Taeyong, the usually confident man on stage, seems to be feeling a bit of shyness overcome him. He fiddled with his jacket as he waited for an answer.

"Of course Taeyong. I would love to go on a date with you," you respond with a smile, you take his phone and make a contact for yourself. Once you finish typing your number, you hand him back his phone, which he takes with a smile.

He gives you one last hug, "I look forward to our first date," and hops into Johnny's car. He waves goodbye and Johnny takes off down the road. You let out a sigh when Johnny's car is no longer in view. You turn to the boys, "We have a lot to talk about on the way home, don't we?"

Saturday has arrived and it's time for your first date with your soulmate, Taeyong. It's been a few weeks since you first met him and you've both been constantly texting back and forth getting to know one another before Taeyong decided to officially ask you out on your first date. Currently you were putting on last minute details, making sure your outfit was to perfection. You hear a ping from your phone and you look over to see a message from Taeyong.

Yongie💞

Hey, I'm parked out front

Just come down when you're ready.

You

Alright, I'm heading down now.

Can't wait to see you💞

Yongie💞

I can't wait to see you either babe 💞

You smile at the message and lock the phone.You set it in your purse and lock your door on the way out. As you walk down the steps of your apartment you see Taeyong quickly rushing up the stairs to meet you halfway. He's slightly panting and holds something behind his back. You look at him confused, "Taeyong? Everything okay? I thought I was meeting you at your car?"

"You were, but I forgot that I wanted to give you these," he pulls out a bouquet of roses, just like the ones that bloomed at your feet when you first ran into him.

You take the flowers out of his hands and pull him into an embrace. You kiss him on the cheek and a light red hue spreads across his face. "Thank you Yongie, I just locked my door, but I want to put these in some water so they don't die. Come on," you grab his hand and drag him with you. The blush on his face darkens at the endearing action. You quickly unlock the door again and drag him inside, "Go sit while I put these in a vase, it'll be a minute then we can go on our first date." Taeyong nods and sits down on your couch.

You go to the kitchen and pull out a vase you made with Donghyuck and Mark when you crashed their soulmate date. It was ugly, but made with love, especially since Donghyuck and Mark decided to get handsy with your pottery vase and "help" you with it. You put some water in the vase, silently hoping it doesn't leak, and trim the rose stems to fit in the vase. As you're dumping the food packet into the vase, Taeyong walks into the kitchen, he leans against the counter and watches you do the finishing touches on the bouquet he gave you. The look he was giving you, anyone could tell that he was a man who finally met his soulmate, he looked so in love.

You finally finish and turn around to see Taeyong leaning against the counter, staring lovingly at you. You raise your eyebrows in confusion, "Yongie, do you need something?" "Mmm, no I'm good, just watching you," he quips.

"Alright, I'm done here so we can go and start our date," you walk out of the kitchen with Taeyong following you.

You and Taeyong arrived at the restaurant, it didn't look like a 5 star restaurant, which you were thankful for, you didn't really dress for the occasion. Instead it was a quaint little diner, one that fit nicely on the corner street. As you both walked in, the waiters and waitress turned to look at you two, to greet the new customers, but when they saw Taeyong they all smiled and greeted him like they were old friends. You looked up at him expecting him to explain, but he grabbed your hand and dragged you to a booth.

An older lady, who was more than likely the owner, handed both of you menus, "Hello Taeyong, it's been a while since you've visited the diner and I see you've brought a friend this time."

"Hey mom, I know it's been a while, but work has been busy. This is Y/n, my soulmate," Taeyong reaches across the table and laces your hands together.

"Ah, hello Mrs.Lee, if I knew that I would be meeting you today I would've dressed for the occasion, but Taeyong was being really secretive about where we were going," you say with a small blush dusting your faces as Taeyong squeezes your hand in reassurance.

"Oh don't worry dear, you look just fine. Anyways, I'm going to let Chenle know that you're here. He's going to be your server for this evening," Taeyong's mom walks away to the staff room and you look over to Taeyong with an exasperated look.

“Taeyong, you didn’t say anything about meeting your mother! What if she doesn’t like me? What if she thinks that you deserve a prettier soulmate? What if-” you were cut off by Taeyong when he covered your mouth with his hand.

“Shush baby. She loves you, I can tell by the way her eyes lit up when I introduced you as my soulmate. Plus, I think you’re the prettiest soulmate, so who cares whether or not she thinks you aren’t, she won’t be the one waking up next you every morning,” he winks at the last part of his statement. You roll your eyes, but a smile blooms upon your lips.

Chenle arrived at your table with two water glasses in hand, “Hey Tae, long time no see. So this is the infamous soulmate you’ve been telling me about,” he smirks and sets down the water, Taeyong resists the urge to splash the water in his face for ratting him out meanwhile a blush spreads across yours. “Anyways, you guys know what you want?”

“I’ll have a burger and fries and a chocolate milkshake,” you pass Chenle the menu and take a sip of your water.

“I’ll have the same,” Taeyong replies, handing the menu over.

“Alright, it’ll probably be about 15 minutes,” Chenle writes down your order and walks away towards the chef.

While you're waiting for the food to arrive, you and Taeyong make small talk, getting to know each other and just enjoying each other’s presence. Even when the food arrived the both of you couldn’t help but get lost in conversation with one another. Smiles never left either of your faces and minute by minute, you further fell in love with one another. Occasionally, Taeyong would reach over and steal a fry or two even though his plate was full of his own fries. You’ve never thought stealing food from another’s plate was so endearing, but when Taeyong did it, you just felt so comfortable in his presence that you didn’t even mind. And once you both finished your meals, you said your goodbyes to the staff, with your stomachs and hearts full. And in all these moments, your favourite has to be when neither of you could say goodbye at the door, with light kisses being pressed to your cheek and then you returned it by kissing his. In the end, he left pressing one last kiss to your lips with silent promises of more in the future.

“Taeyong, have you seen my box of clothes? I can’t find it,” you ask searching through the several closed boxes in the brand new bedroom.

“I think it’s in the living room, one of the movers accidentally put it in there,” Taeyong replies, opening another box of his.

“Okay, I’ll go look, thanks babe,” you walk out of the bedroom and into the living room to look for your missing box. Several movers come in and out of your shared apartment, bringing in furniture and boxes of both your and Taeyong’s stuff. Your heart swelled seeing the ugly couch, that belonged to Taeyong who had begged you to keep much to your dislike, shoved against the wall in the centre of the room on top of the rug you kept from your apartment. 

You spot the missing box, it was shoved on top of a box labelled “kitchen” in your messy handwriting. You grab the box, not realising that it was super heavy, and accidentally drop it onto your foot. Taeyong immediately comes rushing out of your shared bedroom to make sure you’re okay.

“Baby? You okay?”

“Yeah, I just dropped the box with my clothes and shoes onto my foot.”

“Awh baby, let me get that for you,” Taeyong picks up the box with ease, bringing it into your bedroom. As the day turns into the night and with a gentle breeze blowing onto your faces, you cuddle into Taeyong’s side and watch the sunset while sitting on the balcony to your new shared home. Taeyong presses a kiss to your temple and right then and there you truly know what it means to feel loved by your soulmate. When roses bloom you feel lighter than air. When roses bloom you feel like everything finally makes sense. When roses bloom you finally meet your other half. And roses did finally bloom for you, both inside your heart and at your feet. Taeyong gently grabs your chin and kisses you on your lips, you feel the roses bloom on the floor as you melt into the kiss. You finally met your soulmate and know roses will forever bloom.

Taglist for nct works: @mhyori1117 @enhasfever @kkooongie

[neednolighttoshine]

no thoughts head empty xiaojun is king

[hazyhwa]

. tag dump

[saythemahae]

fictober 22, day 1: "i chose you"

summary

"Immediately, after the news of the terrible death of King Taeyong on one of his journeys through the kingdom arrived to the Palace, Donghyuck knew his life was about to change drastically. He only had two options, and both of them meant leaving behind one of the two things he loved the most."

In which Donghyuck is called to be King after the death of his brother, but he doesn't want to leave his lover, Mark, behind.

warnings:

-minor character death -royal setting -middle age

The sack was resting, nearly done, at the foot of the bed while the boy rummaged through the drawers of his mahogany desk in the search of the emerald ring Mother gave him some years ago, before her death. That was the first person he ever lost in his rather short life. The second one was his father, just a couple of years later. And then his older brother, and King of Alexandrite. 

That one happened only 24 hours ago. 

Immediately, after the news of the terrible death of King Taeyong, on one of his journeys through the kingdom, arrived to the Palace, Donghyuck knew his life was about to change drastically. He only had two options, and both of them meant leaving behind one of the two things he loved the most.

When he found the ring, the brown-haired boy put the box inside his bag with a sigh and took the envelope that rested painfully on his bedside table, next to the only burning candle that was lighting the spacious room. He looked at the slightly yellow piece of paper with sad eyes. His decision was already made —in reality, he knew since the minute he heard about his brother’s death— and there was no turning back for him. Without sparing the letter another glance, he left it on top of his untouched bed and took the cloak that was laying next to it, putting the hood over his head so he wouldn’t be recognized, and then threw the sack over his shoulder. 

The hallways were illuminated just by the dim light of the moon. The shadows of the leafless trees, that embellished the outsides of the castle beautifully, created an eerie scenery in front of Donghyuck, whose determination was such that he payed no attention to the figures that used to scare him throughout all his life. 

He knew his home like the back of his hand, and that included all the secret passages he used to sneak into the garden when he and Taeyong were kids. He never thought they would have much use until that fateful day arrived. The new heir of the Throne took the longest, but safest, way towards the garden behind the palace and, soon enough, he reached the opening he was looking for. When he was playing there as a child, he found a gap in the unkempt undergrowth at the deepest part of the garden, where no one ever let him go because “it’s dangerous, Your Highness. You shouldn’t go there”. So he ran to that place, next to the cedar trees, and just left through the Autumn Forest.

Darkness was all that he could see, but the boy knew the path he had to follow by heart —he had visited that little hut hidden in the vastness of the forest a hundred of times before—. The moon, once again, helped by showing him where to step until he arrived to the small forest glade surrounded by tall pine trees. First, he saw the small wisp of smoke coming out of the chimney —a little smile appeared on his face just by imagining the man inside of the cabin being all cozy in front of the fire, while he read that book he talked about nonstop just a couple of days back—, and then the wooden house lighted up only by some candles and the fireplace. He stepped closer, just enough to see the boy asleep on the couch through the narrow window next to the entrance, which made him let out a sigh of relief. He knew some people figured out he was seeing someone, so he always had the fear that the man would be found and killed. 

But there he was, with a blanket thrown over his slightly toned body and sleeping in a really uncomfortable position.

Donghyuck knocked hard enough to wake the boy up, as he could see through the dirty glass. He looked confused as to why he was so rudely woken up, but got up anyway and went to the door to open it. When the sleepy man realized who the person waiting by the doorframe was, his eyes widened like saucers and took him by the arm, bringing him into the house and looking around the woods before closing the entrance quickly. Once they were inside, the scarcely taller one embraced the prince with his arms tightly, trying to bring him some comfort —he knew about the King’s death too— and letting him know that he was safe. Then, he brought both hands to his face to see if he was hurt.

“Your Highness, what are you doing here this late at night? You know how dangerous this part of the woods is,” he began, his eyes still rummaging through Donghyuck’s body in search for any injuries. “Are you okay?”

“I chose you.”

That was all he said. 

The owner of the cabin was visibly confused so he asked, “What do you mean, Your Highness?”

“It means that I chose you, Mark.” Donghyuck’s voice came out really tiny. “I-I left a letter on my bed back at my palace saying that I refuse to take the Throne. I don’t want to be King, Mark, you know that,” he continued almost whispering. “I do not want to be King if that means I can’t have you. I have lost my parents and my brother already, and losing you… That’s something I just won’t put up with. So I…” His eyes were on the verge of tears. “I chose you.”

Mark was speechless. A hurricane of emotions ran through his mind, but the main focus on his heart was the boy that cried silently in front of him with eyes full of love and sadness.

“Oh, my love…” Mark replied in the same tone the boy was using, and then hugged him again, leaving a small but tender kiss on his forehead. “Even if I’m extremely happy to have you here with me, Your Highness—“

“Don’t call me that. Please,” uttered the shorter one, almost begging. “I know what you’re going to say, Mark, but I have never been more sure about something in my life, and you won’t change my mind. I was never supposed to rule Alexandrite and I won’t,” he denied with his head, anxiously. “My place, where I want to be, is here with you. Unless you won’t have me. But my life in palace is over. So… No more Your Highness, I implore you.”

After a sigh and a little smile, Mark said, “Your stubbornness is one of the things that made me fall in love with you, did you know that, Hyuck?” he shook his head, laughing. “I will have you until the day I die, my love.”

And then, he finally brought their lips together in a well-desired kiss, his hands traveling to his lover’s waist and pulling their bodies even closer. They had done that a thousand times before, but it was different that time, because they were both free.

author note:

if anyone reads this, i really hope you enjoy it!!!!

love, irene. ✩

[justwritedreams]

Welcome to the Kingdom | Jeno (Preview)

Prince Jeno x Princess Reader, enemies to lovers au!, royalty au! Word count: 550 in the preview Genre: fluff, action, slight smut, angst in the serie Author: maari Warnings: reader wanting to kill jeno, that’s it for now. There will be a lot more warnings in the next chapters Note: SOOOO here I am again with another series of royalty!au because I can't hold back. I'm still writing so I don't know how many chapters there will be, sorry! Also, if you have any ideas for me to add to this series, don't be shy and let me know 😉 Request: Hii I love your writing! Can I request a Jeno royalty fic? It could be a rival kingdoms princess enemies to lovers type or anything really. Thank you~ hope you are taking care of yourself 💗

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Y/N was training in the castle garden. By orders of the King, and also her father, she would have more focus on how to prepare physically than the etiquette classes she'd had enough of. Unlike the kingdoms that surrounded her own, where princesses only needed to worry about being polite and beautiful wherever they went, Y/N didn't have that privilege. She was the sole heir to the throne, which meant she would have to know how to be a Queen and a King, if need be. That's why she had been training in archery for a few weeks, had enjoyed the activity and was trying to improve every day. Even though the bow required much more strength than she had. She was getting ready to shoot the next arrow at the target when, before she even let go of her own, another one hit the middle of the target. One that she wasn't the one who shot. Therefore, she turned her body with the arrow still pointed forward and was ready to shoot whoever it was. And she almost did when she saw the face. "Slow down, princess." he smirked, teasing the bow he'd picked up lowered. “I could gouge your eye out and no one would know. I could say it was a simple accident.” she shrugged, still keeping the bow pointed at him. He laughed and opened his arms. "Do you want to try?" he asked and Y/N pulled the arrow further back, unlike what she imagined, he didn't move away. On the contrary, he took a step forward towards her. “Will you hit the target this time?” “Shut up, Jeno.” she huffed and lowered the bow, shoulders slumping with it. “What are you doing here anyway?” she asked, even though she wasn't interested in the reason. Anything that was about the Lee family and their kingdom wasn't in her interest. "I came to say goodbye but if you want I can stay to give you some archery lessons." he replied and she rolled her eyes at the tone, too smug for her taste. Y/N raised her head and stared at him without an ounce of will. "I don't need your help and I didn't even know you were here, if I did I wouldn't have come to the garden to bump into your annoying face." she snapped and saw him laugh, approaching with his arms behind his body. “Always an answer on the tip of your tongue, isn't it?” "And now at the tip of my arrow too." she warned and laughed sarcastically. “Well, you see that target.” he pointed forward and Y/N took her eyes off Jeno's face to look where he was pointing. However, she didn't expect him to speak so close to her ear, his breath so close that she just swallowed hard. “If you want to hit the middle, you need to relax your shoulders and let go. You only get what you want, princess.” Having said that, Jeno walked away from Y/N and did the same way he came, being watched by her who was confused and angry. First, who did he think he was for getting so close to her and talking like that? And second, what the hell was he doing in the kingdom?

[planetkiimchi]

if the line holds | d.sc

featuring: guard!winwin x royalty!reader

word count: 1534

taglist: @welcometomyoasis ,, @slytherinshua

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Sometimes, you couldn't trust your eyes.

You’d learnt this lesson from faded memories that clawed at your insides if you indulged in them for too long, experiences of your brother torturing your mind and planting visions of insects crawling over your skin.

You had scars all over your arms, your legs, any expanse of skin that you could reach in those hours where you had been locked up. Hungry and sleep-deprived, your mind had been in the prime state for your brother to manipulate, causing you to see things that had never been real.

Your brother used to be your role model, before everything went to hell.

At first, everyone had thought he was a natural born ruler. Far better than you, a scrawny, book-smart child who never amounted to any sort of leader.

Then, by the time he was ten, he was so power-hungry and vicious that your parents had done everything they could to prevent him from becoming king. They had done their best to squash any sort of revolution, punishing all of his supporters and restraining his movement to one tower of the castle.

You had visited him often, still, your younger self not quite understanding what it meant to be the heir to the throne. You hadn’t known that your brother was, by that time, so vicious he would eat you alive if it meant he would survive just a second longer.

When you had visited, you had been entranced by the images he had conjured up in his tower, the visions of grandeur that graced his imaginary windows. It had enthralled you, pulling you to visit again and again.

Some days you would bring food, seeing how skinny your brother had gotten, and some days you would bring stories. You had always had an offering of some sort to give to him.

Then one day, the offering had been you.

Your brother had wrenched the food from your hand and tossed you into a cell you had never seen before, possibly because he had hidden it behind his pretend world of sand and shore.

You had lain there for days, losing track of time between snippets of sleep. There had never been food, but sometimes he would bring you water, just so that you wouldn’t die before he could conduct his experiment.

By that time, his gift had been extremely strong, and you had yet to come into yours. Your brother knew this, and so he had picked you as his first target.

Through that week of lying there, wondering when your parents would finally see through the glamour and find you, you had learned some things about your brother that you would never forget.

He fed on helplessness and feasted on fear. His heart was hardened inside and out, and his eyes had long since turned blind to the suffering, his ears deaf to the screams of all that he dared to torture.

Your parents had eventually found you, your gift having come into fruition under those circumstances, when you were so desperate your body learned to do the thing you wanted most—seize control of others. However, your parents hadn’t managed to do anything to your brother before he fled to the outskirts of town.

When you were 20, both your parents were killed on a trip to the outer circle, and you knew your brother had murdered them.

He had slowly made his way back into the kingdom with honeyed words and false praise, luring people in with his appearances and promises. You were powerless to stop him, but you had succeeded in keeping him at bay so far.

Now, as you watched your brother conjure up images of the desert and its strong winds, you forced yourself to see through his deceiving gift, to reject the enticing picture his gift was asking your mind to accept.

With some difficulty, you managed to see through to the other side, to Sixue lying on the ground, clutching her stomach, and Sicheng standing ramrod-straight, glaring at the visions.

The vein in your brother’s temple throbbed in anger. Sicheng was not providing him with the reaction he wanted, and he was getting annoyed.

Then, you realised something. Sicheng wasn’t staring into space like he usually did when he was on duty. Rather, he was staring at a specific spot on your brother’s face. You watched him a little longer, and it seemed like he was staring at your brother’s… nose?

You drew back from the crack in the wall in confusion.

Sicheng’s fingers curled up, scrunching his pants, and you watched his grip tighten. His face remained painfully neutral, but then your focus was broken by your brother’s choked gasp.

You watched the fear flash across your brother’s face with worry and confusion. You weren’t doing that, and to your knowledge, you were the only one present with the power to suffocate him without touching him.

Yet, there he was, gasping desperately for air, and you had nothing to do with it.

Out of nowhere, Sicheng fell to his knees, head bowed. “Your Highness,” he gritted out. “Are you alright?”

Your brother was scared and angry, and he had been taught to lash out when he experienced these emotions.

He moved towards Sicheng and wrapped his hands around his neck. He had completely let down his guard, and it was easy—too easy—to slip into his mind when he was that heated. You kept his hands where they are, around Sicheng’s neck, but you didn’t let him squeeze any harder.

His fingers rested there, on the skin of Sicheng’s throat, and you watched Sicheng take a long, slow gulp.

“You can control minds, too?” your brother asked, bewildered. Truth be told, so were you, but you didn’t have time for confusion. You tilted your head slightly around the crack, and spotted the telltale black camera in the corner of the room. There was no audio on these cameras, they only recorded visual information. And with your brother in such a position, hands around a guard’s neck, a prisoner lying indisposed on the floor, he didn’t look very good.

If you made it out alive, the tape from the security camera could place your brother behind bars—something you had been wanting to do for a long, long time.

Sicheng cocked his head to the side challengingly, but his fingers trembled slightly by his side. Whatever trick he had just pulled drained his energy, and you needed your brother indisposed of. Quickly.

Sicheng began to choke, gasping for breath, but you could tell it was self-inflicted. Your brother looked confused, but then Sicheng went limp in his hands, and you noticed he was holding his breath.

You had some time to act, in order to catch your brother red-handed.

The door crashed down and you sighed in relief. It felt like it had been an eternity since the power turned back on, but it had probably been only a few minutes. Additionally, the prison block had a backup power generator that only served the prison block, since power outages used to be a main factor in prison escapes.

The rest of the power must not have been restored yet, so they probably hadn’t sent guards out yet immediately. By the time the guards reached, it was the perfect opportunity for you to release your brother.

His fingers had been struggling against your hold on him for the past minute or so, and your sudden release drove his fingers hard enough into Sicheng’s trachea that it turned red when he immediately flinched and lets go. You winced, hoping Sicheng wasn’t injured, but fortunately he was starting to breathe again.

He convincingly made it look like your brother had just tried to strangle him, and Sixue lying on the floor didn’t help your brother’s case.

With a devilish grin, you prevented your brother from using his powers, leaving the rest of his cognitive ability alone. He wasn’t aware that whatever illusion he was trying to conjure wasn’t working, and the guards immediately moved forward and placed him in chains.

“What are you doing?” You were sure your brother has never been put in chains before. It must be heavy for him, seeing as how he stumbled forward when the guard roughly pushed him along.

“I didn’t do anything, I swear!” His voice rose higher and higher when the guards showed no sign of listening. One of them leaned down to help Sicheng up, and another guided Sixue back into her cell. Anyone who had been monitoring the feed would come to the conclusion that your brother had let the prisoner out, not Sicheng, and his attempted murder seemed like a natural course of action.

For that, he could possibly be charged with treason to the crown. Aiding a traitor and trying to kill a guard seemed like reason enough for imprisonment, possibly execution if you had evidence for him killing your parents all those years ago.

You clenched your jaw. The line between reality and illusions had finally been brutally ripped apart, leaving the ugly, naked truth in its wake. Since that line no longer held, you couldn’t help but wonder what would happen next.

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