It felt weird. 

It was the first time I ever saw my room look so empty. The bed that was usually cluttered with pillows and dolls had nothing on it but a single blanket. The wall of photos was now empty too, all the photos packed into a box. My table was likewise empty, all old knick-knacks and books cleared away. It felt like just yesterday that I was informed by my family that apparently, I was going to be sent away. It came as a surprise, of course, hearing them tell me that all my life, they knew they had to give me away. They didn’t want to, but it was debt to be paid. I was the payment to be given to the royal family, of all families.

Marriage. That comes with love, right? The Lee family had six sons, my mother told me while she was brushing my hair just this morning. Surely, one would capture my heart, and I will soon be a princess, married to the prince of my dreams. The happily ever after all girls my age probably dreamed of. For some reason, it felt kind of sad to think about it too, and a bit too forced— wasn’t this technically arranged marriage? Was I really supposed to fall in love with one of the princes? 

“Seoyun! Come down, your ride is here.”

I took one last look around the room before I headed downstairs.

My family was waiting for me by the open front door. The boxes that contained my stuff were being carried into a truck, where another car waited in front of it. Calling it just a car would be to insult it though, since it was one of those royal limousines. Everything still felt unreal, and I didn’t realize how lost in thought I was until my older brother shook my shoulder.

“Hey,” Seongchan said as I snapped back to reality. He looked nervous— an expression I haven’t seen on his face since that time I had to help him get ready for a date. I tried not to cry. Not yet, anyway. “Be careful there. Tell us how things are going.”

“Of course,” I replied back as teasingly as I can. “I’ll tell you all about it.”

Dad came over next. He wore a bit of a guilty expression on his face, probably thinking about how he was the one who made the deal. He never talked much, and today proved no different. I gave him a hug, and I felt all he wanted to say when he hugged me back tightly. Maybe I was close to crying by this point. Mom already was when she came over next, but she still wore a smile on her face.

“Look at my princess,” she said, glancing down at the dress I was made to wear. “Beautiful.”

“Just like you.”

She laughed and wiped a tear away as she did, “I’ll miss you.”

“We all will,” Seongchan added in.

“I will too, but don’t worry about me too much,” I flashed them my best smile, willing my tears to go away instead. I didn't want to add more trouble to my family by bawling like a baby in front of them. Besides, I was going to be living in a palace and get married to a prince. How bad could it go, right?

“Miss,” a guard came over to the door. “Time to leave.”

I gave them all one last hug, took one last look around the house, and walked out to my new life. 

/

The ride to the palace took close to an hour, but the surroundings were alright. We passed by areas in the town that contained a lot of good memories. Soon, the buildings grew distant, and more trees came into view. It didn’t take too long from then before the magnificent palace began to peek through, just like a scene from the movies. My heart was pounding by this point as we drew closer. Way to go, Seoyun, getting nervous just as you’re about to reach your destination. It was too late to back out now.

Correction. I can’t back out. 

The gates to the palace had a huge letter L on it, which wasn’t surprising since this was the Lee family after all. Entering it just made my nerves feel even worse, but I tried to calm myself down somehow. There were people waiting by the stairs to the palace, a few maids and guards it seemed. Just as the car stopped in front of them, the actual palace door opened. 

“Welcome to your new home,” the driver announced as he opened the door for me.

I was too distracted by the people coming out of the palace door to properly reply. The king and queen themselves! They looked happy, and I hope they weren’t disappointed that they had to be stuck with me. Behind them were six boys— undoubtedly the princes— I couldn’t really tell what they were thinking. Their expressions could only be described as cold. None of them smiled. One of them must have seen me staring, because he smirked for a split second before reverting back to a stony expression. 

“Seoyun, right?” the king asked, to which I nodded. “Nice to know Jang wasn’t kidding when he said he would present me with a beautiful daughter. I’m glad the deal was made.”

The queen ordered the guards who were waiting by the steps to bring my stuff up into my room. The maids were introduced to be my own personal servants, which came as a big surprise. I didn’t think I would be considered royalty already. What came as an even bigger surprise, was how after my stuff was moved into the palace, boxes and luggages came back out. Apparently, the king and queen were going abroad for some event they were invited to.

Today. As in, right now. 

“Don’t worry, though, the boys will be nice,” the king assured me. I glanced at the line of princes behind him— all still with stoic expressions, like they were trained not to smile or something— and wished that was true.

The king looked pleased with what he saw. That must have been why they all bothered to be there at the door in the first place; it must have been on their father's orders. Here I thought they actually took the effort to greet me. It took a few seconds for me to realize that meant I was going to be alone with the princes for… how long did they say they were going to be away? A month. Right, a month, that doesn’t sound so bad. I was going to spend the rest of my life here anyway.

“Bye, Father,” one of them said, tall with black hair. The rest followed suit, saying good bye to the queen as well. Nobody hugged anybody, which felt kind of sad. It also made me suddenly wish I had hugged my family longer than I did. They started walking back inside the palace, and I figured I should follow. The maids and guards came following after.

The doors shut close behind me with a loud bang.

I was left facing the princes, who had all stopped and stood in a row like being in one line was something they were used to growing up. It probably was. They all still looked like they hated me, and maybe they did. The idea of marrying a common girl must have felt insulting to them. All this time I was worrying over how I was going to handle it, when I didn’t realize there were 6 other people in the equation. 

“We should introduce ourselves,” the one who spoke from earlier said. His mouth was set in a thin line. He looked bored, to be honest. “I’m the eldest, Minsoo.”

“Chanhee,” the one beside Minsoo spoke next. He could only be described as rather handsome in a pretty sort of way. His hair was a surprising mix of pale grey and purple, which was the same as the boy beside him as well. Chanhee gestured toward the said boy. “I’m fraternal twins with this one.”

His twin, I realized, was the one who smirked earlier. Now he was scowling toward Chanhee’s direction, “this one is named Byunghun.”

Byunghun flashed me a smile, “pleased to meet you, pretty lady.”

The compliment caught me off guard, but that was also a relief, at least they don’t all hate me, right? I was just about ready to smile back and extend my hand so I could properly greet him, when a scoff interrupted me, followed by an annoyed voice. 

“Quit faking innocence,” the boy next to him spoke, rolling his eyes. “We know you called her ugly when she went down from the car.”

Wait, what?

Byunghun glared at the brown haired boy, “shut up, Daniel, you’re no different.”

“Whatever, at least I’m not faking it,” Daniel shot back. 

“Guys, play nice,” another boy announced, holding back Daniel, who looked like he was ready to pounce. He glanced at me, and offered a sweet smile; too sweet it seemed almost sinister, or more likely, fake. “Let’s treat the common girl nicely, shall we? Hi there, my name is Changhyun.”

Common girl? I guess I was right then. Minsoo finally gave a bit of smirk, in agreement to what Changhyun just said. Even Daniel looked like he calmed down from his moment with Byunghun, now snickering behind his hand. Chanhee straight out laughed. The dream I woke up with today about a happily ever after and a wonderful life here shattered in pieces and I desperately wished I could return home instead.

The last one didn’t even introduce himself as he walked away from the hall, earning snickers from the other boys. 

“That’s Jonghyun,” Chanhee informed me, pointing towards the retreating figure. “Don’t worry, he’s just as happy as the rest of us, I can assure you.”

I tried my best not to sound affected as I replied back, “and by happy, you mean the opposite, right?”

“Well, at least she’s not dumb,” Changhyun said, finding the nerve to still smile at me. His face had a boyish innocence to it that just didn’t match up with his attitude. 

Daniel stepped towards me and handed me a key, “this is for your room. Third floor, fifth door on the left. Make sure I don’t see you around.”

I took the key, my fingers unintentionally brushing against his as I did so. An immediate look of disgust was on his face as he retreated his hand like I burned him. Were they serious? Was this really how the royal family was, or was it just these pompous princes? I didn’t notice that the maids were still around until one of them appeared beside me. 

“I will lead you to your room, Madam,” she said quietly.

“She’s not a princess,” Byunghun said haughtily, “why are you calling her Madam?”

The maid thankfully ignored the comment by bowing politely towards him, and began walking at a pace that was slow enough for me to catch that I should follow, yet quick enough to say that this was a good chance to escape. The only one who didn’t say anything mean yet was Minsoo, but overall he just felt like the silent type, and he didn't exactly defend me either. I didn’t want to expect anything anymore, considering how badly things are going now. 

Can I even call this a fairytale?