Chapter 10. Meetings. Part II.

"This is like… super unfair, you know?"

"Really, Jisoo? We should be in prison, I do not see how this situation can be “super unfair”… Seok-Jin joked.

"Hey, you, brat! Show some respect to your elder sister!" 

"For like a few fens only, yah! No age honorifics work here, identical twin sister." 

"We do not look alike, Seok-Jin!" Jisoo complained while pouting.

"Excuse me? If I was wearing a hanbok I would look just like you, please… Well, I would look far better than you because you do not have my charisma, but, still…" 

"THAT IS NOT TRUE!" 

"YES, IT IS!" 

"IT IS NOT!" 

"IT IS!" 

"NOOOOO!" 

"Milady, milord…" Jimin tried to intervene. "You should not be…"

"SHUT UP, Jimin!" they both yelled.

"Woooooh, you sounded the same!" Tae Hyung joked. "Maybe it is true and you are the same person in different bodies…" 

"Nooooo!" Jisoo didn’t want to accept defeat.

"Ha! I won, sister! Thank you Tae Hyung! High five!"

Jisoo rolled her eyes and decided to sit in the other corner of the room, ignoring the two friends doing stupid things, like the usually did. Jimin just laughed while watching them.

"And these are the men that will rule the nation someday? We are screwed." she complained.

"Come on, lady Jisoo, let us have some fun after our small victory, please." Jimin begged.

Jimin was right (although for Jisoo it was difficult to accept that), so, she decided she would not complain, for a while. Because, honestly, nobody expected the Queen to be so comprehensive with them. Actually, when they had the invitation to dinner, everyone panicked.

----- Flashback -----

"So… Seok-jin, have you given your last will to one of the maids at home? So mother can read it once we are dead." Jisoo asked her brother while they were waiting outside the Queen’s chambers with Tae Hyung and Jimin.

"I have left one in my desk, just in case. Hope mum finds it before father." 

"Is the Queen allowed to kill her own son?" Tae Hyung asked while trying to fix his hat. "I mean, for this thing about being a legitimate heir of the King and all" 

"Not all of us have that privilege, Tae Hyung, do not brag about it." Jimin complained.

"Jiminie! I was not trying to brag!" Tae Hyung pouted.

The maids opened the doors and let the four young nobles enter the Queen’s chambers. And once they saw that not only the Queen was there, but also the Dowager Queen, lady Yuri, and lady Chaerin too, made them want to run and never come back to Joseon. The two most intimidating women of the Choi clan and the two best bodyguards of the Queen.

"Perfect, just perfect…" Jisoo whispered.

"If someone survives, tell my horse that I love him." Seok-jin added.

"Why your horse?!" Jisoo protested. "Do you love him more than your sister, brat?!" 

"Enough!" the Dowager Queen, who was presiding the table, ordered.

The four sat down as fast as they could, unable to stop staring at each other, waiting for the final decision of those women to kill them for high treason.

"Why is not princess Pranpriya here?" Tae Hyung complained. "She is in this mess too." 

"The princess' mother says her daughter has a strong fever and she will not join us, unfortunately." 

"She was so healthy yesterday… poor princess." Jimin added.

"We are not here to discuss the Thai princess health!" the Black Pearl, lady Kwon Yuri yelled. "Ashhhh! These kids, shut up and listen to the Queen! NOW!"

Perhaps it was the first time in their lives they were truly scared of lady Yuri. They knew she had been one of the most fearless pirates in history, and that mentioning the nickname Black Pearl made most of the members of the Royal Navy shiver. But, she had always been so nice to them…

"Well, I guess now I understand why lady Yuri is considered scary." Tae Hyun confessed.

Queen Mi-young observed the four young nobles in front of her, with a mix of pride and annoyance. She was really proud because they had followed their ideas to their last consequences, and, in a world full of fake people, that was admiring. But, the way they had handled the situation had only made things more complicated for everyone. After she considered they were scared enough, Mi-young decided to speak again.

"So… who was the genius behind this brilliant plan?" she smiled, which made everyone in the room quite confused.

"I mean, you really fooled me. I thought Tae Hyung and Jimin were the ones planning something." 

"It was me, your highness." Seok-jin bragged and Jisoo just wanted to die of embarrassment. "I knew my plan was brilliant. I told you that I am not useless, sister."

If stares could kill, Seok-jin would have been already dead after the stare the Queen gave him.

"Well… maybe not that brilliant."

“And he is supposed to be the heir of the Parks of the West. Well, at least they still have Jungkook.” Jimin thought.

"Did you really think about the consequences of your actions?" Mi-young stared at them individually. "ALL.OF.YOU?" she glared at her son, and Tae Hyung could see the disappointment in her eyes, how betrayed she felt because he had not trusted her enough. He had never seen her mother so upset with him, and, had to control the urge to cry.

“A Prince doesn’t cry. Never.” was what his older brothers usually told him.

"I am terribly sorry, mother. Please, do not be mad at my friends." 

"Did you think about your sister, Tae Hyung, when you sent her to this suicidal mission?" 

"I was the one who wanted to go, but, she insisted. She is your daughter! You know how stubborn she can be!"

And what happened next made everyone confused: suddenly, the Queen outburst in laughs as if there was no tomorrow. Everyone giggled, but deep inside they were too scared of what they were witnessing.

"I know, right?" she whipped her tears. "Ashhh, this daughter of mine… Sorry for that, seriously, but, due to the circumstances, or I try to be positive or I think I will go crazy."

The Queen took a few deep breaths and once again stared at the young troublemakers with her imposing eyesight.

"Officially, the First Princess is so affected by her father’s illness that she has asked permission to leave the Court for a while and stay in lady Jisoo’s villa outside the Palace. For that reason, both lady Jisoo and lord Seok-jin will stay away from Court, pretending to take care of my daughter." 

"But…" Jisoo wanted to complain.

"And of course," Mi-young continued, because a Queen cannot be interrupted, "princess Pranpriya will be able to visit you as soon as she recovers. After all, you are best friends, right?"

----- End flashback -----

"I miss Pranpriya. If she was here, at least, I would not be surrounded by so much testosterone." 

"She will join you soon, do not worry, lady Jisoo." Jimin tried to comfort her, as he always did with everyone around him.

"I hope she does! It has been almost a week since the la