Jun. 16. 16 @ 9:47 am KST

To: Byun PD

From: Hera

We attended a party with the King

and you lost every round of riddles
so we left early because you were drunk.

Jun. 16. 16 @ 10:02 am KST

To: Ji Hera

From: Byun Baekhyun

I wasn’t drunk -___- I was pretending
so they would let us leave early.

Jun. 16. 16 @ 10:17 am KST

To: Byun PD

From: Hera

You also said that too. Should’ve listened to
me when I told you to study the philosophers.

Jun. 16. 16 @ 10:30 am KST

To: Ji Hera

From: Byun Baekhyun

Blahblahblah.

***

Jun. 18.16. @ 11:34 pm KST

To: Ji Hera

From: Byun Baekhyun

I just woke up from a nap. It was a summer day
and we were bored so we sat under the peach
tree in front of the coy pond and fell asleep.

Jun. 18. 16 @ 11:36 pm KST

To: Byun PD

From: Hera

… isn’t it too late to be waking up from a nap right now?

Jun. 18. 16 @ 11:43 pm KST

To: Ji Hera

From: Byun Baekhyun

… Don’t judge my lifestyle…

Jun. 19. 16. @ 12:05 am KST

To: Byun PD

From: Hera

I remember, it was a nice nap. Surprisingly your
bony shoulder was a nice pillow :D

Jun. 19. 16 @ 12:08 am KST

To: Ji Hera

From: Byun Baekhyun

Your big head was a nice pillow too :D

Jun. 19. 16. @12:09 am KST

To: Byun PD

From: Hera

-__- Bye forever.

***

Jun. 20. 16 @ 2:35 pm KST

To: Byun PD

From: Hera

Haesu Haesu Haesu Haesu Haesu, ALWAYS
HAESU. “Haesu would never do this, Haesu

Would never do that.” HAESU HAESU HAESU!

Jun. 20. 16 @ 2:35 pm KST

To: Ji Hera

From: Byun Baekhyun

What?

Jun. 20. 16 @ 2:37 pm KST

To: Byun PD

From: Hera

Shopping for a gift for your mother’s birthday.

Apparently my taste in gifts does not make me

a woman.

Jun. 20. 16 @ 2:40 pm KST

To: Ji Hera

From: Byun Baekhyun

… You picked up some weird bark with legs...

Jun. 20. 16 @ 2:42 pm KST

To: Byun PD

From: Hera

-__- It was rare wild ginseng that your mother loved…

Jun. 20. 16 @ 2:25 pm KST

To: Ji Hera

From: Byun Baekhyun

Oh… oops.

Sparing a yawn, Hera stuffs her phone back into her pocket and returns onto the set of NCT 127’s photoshoot for their album jacket. Compared to her previous shoots where she spent a lot of time running around, this time Hera mainly stayed by the monitors and observed while Heejin personally took the photos. It was nice to have an easy day, especially for her feet.

With every free moment, Johnny always gravitates towards Hera. Maybe it’s intentional, maybe it’s not but she doesn’t mind except for the fact that he’s making it very obvious about his growing feelings towards her. It’s cute and he’s always giving her a nice laugh along with the other members but she wishes he wasn’t so open about it in front so many staff members because neither of them can afford to have any unnecessary rumors break out.  

Filming goes deep into the night per usual and wraps up a little after two in the morning. After she makes her round of goodbyes to the staff and coordinators, Hera finally sighs in relief when she steps out of the studio into the world that has darken immensely since she’s stepped in. She looks up to the sky like she does every night and per usual, there are no stars but the moon is bright like it always is. The darkness of the sky doesn’t scare her nor does the silence that comes with it. It’s calming to hear her own thoughts when she spends most of her time in such loud and chaotic places.

It doesn’t take long for Hera to get lost in her head again but her little world of silence is broken when her phone starts ringing. She stops momentarily to grab the call that happens to be coming from Johnny and she assumes he’s calling because she didn’t say bye to them earlier. It was intentional. But before Hera can take the call, someone from behind shouts and Hera turns just as Johnny dashes forward while an unidentified dark figure rushes into the nearby alley. Her eyes are wide with a mixture of shock and confusion when Johnny reaches out to her, alert and on guard with his gaze fixated on the dark alley. Moments of silence pass before he finally spins around to Hera, eyes lined with endless worries.

“Yah, you really need to pay attention to your surroundings,” he scolds quietly with a hand gently pushing her along the road. “Something could’ve happened if I wasn’t here.”

Hera slightly pulls away from his touch. “I think the correct thing to ask is, “Are you okay?” and also,” she grabs his hand and twists his arm backwards which instantly causes him to groan in pain. “I’m highly skilled in martial arts so I think I’ll be okay. Don’t you think?”

Johnny nods aggressively with a pain stricken expression and Hera chuckles as she releases him from her hold. He straightens up with a grunt and Hera is ready with an explanation the moment his mouth opens to whine.

“I didn’t say bye to you on purpose,” Hera reveals and his jaw falls open then closes again. “I didn’t want the other staff members to think things were going on between the two of us.”

He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans and tilts his head curiously at her. “Saying farewell is something normal people do, Hera.”

She sighs. “You know what I’m talking about. Even though there’s nothing, people believe what they like to believe and that can be very damaging, especially for you.”

Johnny comes to a halt and Hera follows a few seconds later when she realizes the spot next to her is suddenly empty. She turns back to him and he looks up from the ground with a disappointed frown. “I begged my manager so much to let me walk home with you,” he sighs. “But you’re pushing me away. I’m hurt.”

Hera spares him a tiny smile. “I’m just doing this to protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection,” Johnny says as he tosses an arm over her shoulder to get them back to walking. “That’s what the company is for. That’s their job. I’m simply walking my friend home,” he smiles. “Who just also happens to be a girl I like.”

Johnny shrugs with a smirk tugging on his lips as Hera fights back a smile. She finds it fascinating at how fastly adjusted her body has become to him. Sure her heart still beats irregularly around him but it’s not so hard to breathe anymore and his touches have a sense of familiarity in them. Never in a million years did she ever think Johnny Seo would become more than just a far fetched fangirl fantasy, let alone a normal boy who has a growing crush on her. She likes the way things have changed.

“So was that a confession I just received?” Hera asks with his arm still tossed over her shoulder while she has her arms folded against her chest. She turns her head slightly to catch him grinning like an idiot and it’s enough to answer her question but he confirms it anyway still.

Johnny snickers. “I guess the cat slipped out of the bag.”

***

It’s been over a week, almost two since Baekhyun has last seen his girlfriend and that’s nothing out of the norm with their irregular schedules. Although he’s usually at the company studio, Baekhyun’s been busy working on some songs in his personal studio for a change of scenery. Recently his heart hasn’t been at ease and although he now knows why he’s always yearning for the unknown, it doesn’t make it any easy on him so instead of letting it chew him alive, he decided to put it into his work. Chanyeol use to come regularly but now that he and Wendy are officially a thing, Baekhyun’s starting to miss having that clumsy giant friend of his around.

A little after midnight, Baekhyun’s eyelids start to grow heavy but unlike usual, it’s harder to fight the urge away and before he’s even fully asleep, the studio fades into the coy pond at Eun’s residence. From the front door of his quarters, Eun spots Soondeok and Haesu walking away towards another building. They’re deep in conversation and he finds it a little odd knowing the two aren’t really in a friendly relationship. Soondeok shows respect towards everyone, whether they be from the royal family to servants, she always made then know she was aware of them. Even though Soondeok isn’t very fond of Haesu due to Eun’s previous one-sided love, she’s never rude to the popular Court Lady but Eun does find it odd to see them together like so. He’s curious but not curious enough to get over his pride to follow them so instead, he turns the opposite direction to see if there is anything fun to do before heading over to tea with his mother later.

Haesu smiles at the small box Soondeok presents her. She lifts up the lid to reveal several ginseng roots and judging from the way it was packaged, Haesu quickly assumes it’s not just any local ginseng root.

“As you know, Lady Ham (Eun’s Mother) especially likes ginseng tea,” Soondeok explains with a shy smile on her lips. “This is a rare wild ginseng that I managed to find. Can you show me how to make tea from it? I want to present it to her later.”

Haesu looks up from the ginseng roots and Soondeok immediately looks away to avoid her eyes. It’s not only evident that she really loves Eun but also everyone else around him. She may be fierce on the battlefield and deadly with a sword but her heart is pure as it is good and Haesu wishes Eun would realize that if he hasn’t already.

“Of course,” Haesu replies with a soft smile. “Lady Ham would really love it, especially since it’s coming from her dear daughter-in-law.” Soondeok shyly bites down on her lips with innocent, hopeful eyes. “Oh, why don’t you also prepare The Prince’s drink as well? It’s very simple.”

Soondeok’s eyes light up immediately at the mention of Eun and the light in them sparkle like stars in a galaxy. After a moment, she nods cheerfully and Haesu motions her towards a different room with the box of ginseng in her hands.

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