You know you’ve been gone for so long in AFF when a reader comments your real name in the comment section. LOL Hi Joy eonni! Mianhe! :*

Almost 3 weeks of absence. (opens my umbrella as shield) I know! I know! Mian! Kekekeke! Got so busy but rest assured I’m not one to abandon a story especially, this Royal ship. Wink! Wink!

Any juicy news from uri ship? Meron, waley? Waley?

Anyway, my fishy’s birthday is coming!!! Yaaaaay!!! Ano yon? ‘Our fishy’ dapat? Ayoko. Bakit ba? Puahahahahahaha!

She was standing there like a human being about to burn a village with her boiling fury. 9:07 in the evening, no single soul could be detected in the holy campus. It was as if too impossible that the dark, huge wall in front of her was still there with the way she had been trying to make it collapsed with just her fiery stare.

This is the only way. She thought. I should be saved. I should save myself from tomorrow.

The big pail of screaming red paint on her left side was even more inviting the heiress to do the deed. Urging her to dip that brush and write the name. Oh, yes.

ing Romeo’s name.

His goofy face was still etched on her mind. How that face ruined her once in a blue moon dream of being a princess to . . .

“Dara?”

“!” She almost jumped when she heard a man’s voice at her back. “Trying to kill me?!” She growled at him. “Why are you still here?”

He adjusted his eyeglasses as he walked towards her. “Overtime in the library. Miss Hyoni asked me and Ryeowook to clean some mess in the third floor of the library,” explained Donghae. He looked at her annoyed small face and then to the infamous wall at her back. “Why are you still here?”

Dara pursed her lips forward, not knowing if she would tell him the truth or feed him a small white lie.

He stood beside her and noticed the red paint near her. His eyes widened in horrification. “Yah! Don’t tell me you’re-”

“I’ll write Lee Seungri’s name.” She cut him in a flash. “Got a problem?”

Donghae found his jaw dropping at that. Lee Seungri? The one who would play the role of Romeo? “Why?”

“Because I want to.”

What’s wrong with her? Donghae creased his brows as a sign of protest. “Do you have any idea how much misery this Wall of Doom causes a person’s life in this school?”

“You would know, huh?” She smirked.

He rolled his tongue inside his cheeks. Of course, I know! He wanted to shout at her. “He’s not doing anything wrong to you. You and your of manipulating and making people miserable.” Donghae didn’t understand why this side of Yang Sandara was coming again. “I think he’s kind, friendly to many-”

“I don’t want to participate in that ty play tomorrow!” And there was the truth. If you’re not going to be Romeo. Well, half the truth.

Silence.

“I get it.” He told her quietly.

“Good.” Dara rolled her eyes at him and looked at the emptied benches near them. “Wait, what?” She snapped back at him. What does he mean by that? Did he see through me? Am I too obvious with my feelin-

“You have a stage fright.” Donghae scratched the back of his head while grinning. “I understand you. It’s my first time too.”

.           .           .           .           .           .

What the ? Dara felt partly opened as he continued with that theory.

“Honestly, it normal for first timers to feel . . .”

Blah. Blah. Blah. Dara couldn’t really focus on what he was now discussing to her. Donghae began to explain about human behavior, conscious and subconscious mind, some iceberg . . . Is he this dense? Stupid? She pursed her red lips to the side as she glanced at him. Me? Stage fright? It’s the audience who should be frightened at me. She wanted to tell him but Donghae was too engrossed on Psychology or something as of the moment.

Dara felt her right brow twitched. “Can you not sprou-”

“I heard from Seohyun that this is Lee Seungri’s dream.”

The Yang heiress closed her lips at his sudden change of topic. And expression.

He continued. “We all have dreams, Dara. Own passion each wants to excel.” Cold breeze of wind passed the two. “Me on Medicine. You on Arts. Them in Stage.” He smiled at her. “They have been waiting for this play to happen. Spent restless nights on practicing and stuff. Don’t take it away from them.”

They stood there in another round of silence.

“I hate you.”

Donghae blinked at her.

“God! I really hate you!” Dara screamed at his face as she threw the clean brush on her hand at the Wall of Doom. She glared at him in annoyance. Back then, she would have already written somebody’s name without any hesitation but now . . . Lee Donghae. Sowing this unwanted conscience in me. I truly hate you. She sighed but the pissed off face still on her.

“Let’s practice then!”

Dara’s eyebrows met on the middle. “What?”

“Let’s throw lines at each other.” He smiled kindly.

“How about I throw this pail of red paint at you?” She wryly asked.

“Let’s start!”

“Yah! What are you-” Dara protested when he grabbed her Hermes bag and pulled the crumpled script she had been slamming and hurling somewhere everytime she got the chance.

“Here.” Donghae handed her script to her. “We don’t really have much scenes together.” That brought back the dark cloud in Dara’s head. “But since, the main thing you’ve got to practice is . . .” He paused and took a glance at her hesitatingly. “Let’s just pretend that I’m . . . I’m . . .” He stammered for a bit as the power of shyness began to take on him.

“You’re what?”

“Oneofthemaincharacters.”

“What?”

“TheheiroftheMontagues.”

“Speak clearly!”

“Romeo.” Donghae cleared his throat, avoiding her stare as something hot began to creep up his neck. “A-arasso? J-just for y-you to f-familiarize with the lines.” The upcoming play shouldn’t be that hard for someone who truly loves to act. Again, for someone who truly loves to act. In Yang Sandara’s case? Well, not once she attended the scheduled practices so it was really a do or die thing.

Dara bit her lower lip, looking at somewhere as she felt herself blushing. “W-whatever.” She put up the script on her face, hiding all the redness of it.

“Have you memorized any line?”

“First part only.”

“O-okay.” He cleared his throat again, flipping the pages to Romeo’s line. “T-the first part.”

“First part?” Dara looked at her supposed lines.

[Romeo holds Juliet’s hand]

They both read.

Silence.

Their eyes wandered around the area as if someone could save them in the awkwardness they were currently having. And to think they just started.

Donghae cleared his throat for the nth time as he gently took Dara’s left hand. She could swear her face heating up as the butterflies inside her went on a full rampage. Her eyes slowly looked up and found them captured by his melting gaze. That gaze which he could only capture her all.

“If I profane with my unworthiest hand

This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:”

He pulled her softly. Closer to him.

“My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand

To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss”

Donghae brought her hand near his lips and kissed it softly he did.

A genuine smile formed on her inviting lips as her eyes never left his. The sensation brought by that mere kiss was too much for her to remember her next lines. She felt his fingers softly caressing her hand and she smiled at him again.

“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,”

Dara pulled her hand back. Although, wanting to feel his warmth again.

“Which mannerly devotion shows in this;

For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch,

And palm to palm is holy palmer’s kiss”

Donghae took a step closer to her. His head hovered on hers.

“Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?”

He glanced swiftly at the script. [Romeo tries to kiss Juliet]

Donghae leaned his head to her.

Dara felt her breath stopped as she glanced on the script on her hand too. [Juliet moves away a bit] that. She wanted to curse whoever wrote that but then followed it by taking a step back and smiling at Donghae. Teasing him with that playful grin.

“Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.”

Donghae grinned too as he took her hand again and firmly held it.

“O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;”

Not once she let go of his innocent eyes as they both took child steps to the back . . . to the side . . . teasing each other . . . like they were the real Romeo and Juliet.

“They pray grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.”

He whispered to her softly.

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayer’s sake.”

She whispered back as her breath hitched once again when Donghae’s other hand made way to the back of her waist, pulling her closer.

“Then mov