I ran around all day. From the square to the town hall, to the town hall to home.

As I approached my house, I saw that many people were crowding around the door. Small town, the news travels very fast. 

"Excuse me, Excuse me." I pushed past the crowd of people and stepped in to the living room. My mom was sitting on the small, gray arm chair, looking at our family picture on the wall across from her. 

"Mom.. Where's Grandma?" I put my hands on my knees and huffed to catch my breath from running. 

"She's in the room with Daehwi and the doctor." she explained with a sigh. "Maybe I should sell the piano. It won't make much, but it might help with the medical fees just a little." 

"No, mom. We need that piano so you can keep teaching." I shook my head at her. "Besides.. I decided to hand in an application for the Selection. And I know it's a slim chance I'll be chosen out of the millions of girls who applied, but we're not going to sell your piano just yet." 

Mom was silent for a while. Mom knew my opinion of the Selection. I'm sure she didn't expect me to hand in an application.

I walked past her and turned into the hallway that led to Grandma and Mom's shared room. The door squeeked as I peered through. 

Grandma lay on a blanket on the floor with Daehwi holding her hand as the doctor assessed her. 

"How is she doing, Doctor?" I asked as I stepped in to the room. 

"She's a little unstable. Seems that her heart isn't beating as strong as it should be. She's going to require quite a bit of care." The doctor explained as he put his stethoscope around his neck. "I'll be back tomorrow afternoon with a stronger medication." 

The doctor stepped out. Daehwi and I remained silent as the sound of Grandma's breaths filled the room. 

********************

Sunday night had rolled around and Mom, Daehwi and I sat in a line as we waited for the Palace Broadcast to come on. In a couple of minutes, the names of 10 girls who will participate in the Selection will be announced. Mom and I had decided earlier today that we were going to sell the violin instead of the piano to gather money for Grandma's medical care. The violin was my dad's most prized possession before he passed away 3 years ago. We treasured Dad's violin, but we couldn't sell Mom's piano because we need the piano to make a living.

"Good evening, citizens of Cahan. This is the Palace Broadcast and my name is Bazzar Klennet! Tonight we will be announcing the names of the 10 girls that will be taking part in the 17th Selection! As you all know, Prince Woojin has turned 21 this month and in search of a partner to build the future of Cahan. Partaking in the Selection is an honor....." 

At exactly 9pm, the host of the Palace Broadcast appeared on TV and began the introductory speech. All three pairs of eyes were fixed on the TV screen, even though we had already known all of the information given in the speech. I saw Daehwi anxiously rub the palms of his hands on his knees and Mom nervously tapped her fingers on her thighs. I found it hard to breathe in the midst of the tension, even though I already knew there was such slim chance of my name being called. There were millions of girls between the ages of 18 to 24 in Cahan and I was just one of them. 

"The application pool has been narrowed by the Selection Committee based on personal history and family background..." Bazzar continued. 

Of course they would check personal history and family background. They wouldn't allow individuals with criminal history or controversial families be a member of the royal family. 

"The first name is..." Bazzar reached into the basket and pulled out a slip of paper. "...Marine Woo!" 

I felt my breath hitch and I wasn't sure if I was inhaling anymore. 

"The second name is... Rina Kang!" Bazzar showed the slip of paper to the camera. 

I couldn't hear the third and the fourth names because I had to focus on my breathing. It was as if my brain suddenly forgot how to breathe. I put my head between my knees and concentrated on breathing. 

"...Soorin Lee!" My head snapped up at my name. 

Daehwi and Mom were yelling that I was the fifth name to be called but my eyes were focused on the screen. This had to be a joke. There was just no way my name could have been picked out of the millions of girls. 

By the time I snapped out of it, all ten names had been called.

"Citizens of Cahan, I encourage you to support these ten girls as their journey to the Royal Palace begins! One of these ten girls will stand with Prince Woojin as the future Queen of Cahan, and we all ought to cheer them on.." Bazzar ended the night with an plea for support and the screen went black. 

As the screen went silent, the phone started to ring. Mom picked it up and began to converse excitedly with exclaims of "we can't believe it either!", "what are the chances!", and "yes, she is excited!". 

Daehwi hugged me real tight and started talking about how he had read that the Palace has secret tunnels and that I must figure them out and tell him all about it.

The phone didn't stop ringing until about midnight. 

Boy, what have I gotten myself into? 

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Hi lovelies! I know Woojin hasn't made an appearance in the story yet, but I promise in the next chapter he will! 

Thank you for reading my story! It would be super encouraging if you guys left comments below of what you guys think so far of the story! 

Thanks!!