Chapter 11:

"Lu Han, you do know that we can go see Yoona if you wanted to," Kris said. "I can arrange for it one way or another."

"Kris, I can't," Lu Han said, seemingly disheartened.

"If it's because you haven't told Yoona you exist just yet, then surprising her with your existence might be a good thing."

"Kris, my Dad is going to be there."

"And? If you're happy, why won't he be?"

"He's the Emperor, in case you have forgotten, and his duties..."

"His duties are not yours. It was his choice to marry your mother with or without loving her. But I say the end result wasn't that bad," he said, giving his friend a look-over.

Lu Han shook his head. "We're busy."

"Lu Han, if this is a shot at your happiness, and Yoona is the key-"

"It's just going to hurt her! I can't let her feel like she's being used to tie an agreement between our country and her country. I can't do that to her, not her."

"Then you're going to let someone else stand in your mother's place when that person could be someone you love?"

"Kris-"

"You're being stupid, Lu Han. You're being stupid," Kris emphasized. "Why won't you hit two birds with one stone? One stone. Yoona's not going to kill you if you do. She might even understand."

"No."

"Lu Han-"

"Can we not include her in this?"

"Do you really love her?" Kris asked. For the first time in a long time, Kris challenged Lu Han. He questioned Lu Han, pinning the other boy down with his gaze.

Lu Han squirmed under Kris' gaze. He knew the answer, he knew it. He admitted it to himself, and he'd already pondered it before. He was sure.

"Yes, I do," he replied, his voice not wavering.

"That's all I needed to know," Kris said, with a nod.

~°~

"You're taking him in if he says 'yes'?" Lay asked. He and Tao were having lunch a little later than everyone else after overseeing the preparations for the Emperor's trip to South Korea.

"Yeah. I had a word with Kris, and it turns out Lu Han really finds Baekhyun interesting," Tao replied before taking a bite of his brown, sticky rice ball.

"Interesting... How?" Lay inquired.

"Remember the tassel?" he asked.

"Yes. And?"

"That tassel had the colours that represented Korea. Well, the South, at least. He finds that display of loyalty interesting," Tao replied. There was a hint in his voice that said 'I have my doubts, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt anyway', but he didn't question further. He trusted Lu Han.

"Sometimes I wonder how you both trust Lu Han so much," Lay confessed.

"It takes years of practice," Tao assured him. "And if you think bringing in this new guy is going to mean that you're out of a job, think again. Lu Han appreciates loyalty, and he knows where yours lie."

Lay was the newest addition. He'd been with them for only two years, in a lot of ways, that differentiated him from the other two, who had joined Lu Han from childhood. If Kris was eight when he met Lu Han, and Tao officially right before he turned thirteen, Lay was added when he was sixteen. But ‘officially’ meant that he was left alone. Tao had met Lu Han when he was ten, and while he trained for the next three years in skills that he would need, he was slowly being trained to get used to being with the prince.

Lay, or Zhang Yixing as he was born, was the son of martial artist and musician Zhang Ziyi. His father was then a man with no name, from a family unknown. Lay's grandfather had adopted him, in a sense, and gave him the name 'Zhang Fei', with the hopes that this young man would soar high after breaking away from his past. He had married Lay's mother, the daughter of Old Zhang, out of duty, at first, so that he could really be known as the son of Old Zhang, but through their union, grew to love Ziyi.

Ziyi was a lovely, petite woman with a strong sense of justice, but a soft-spoken exterior. She spoke when spoken to and rarely ever lashed out at anyone, but when she had to, she would put her foot down, knowing she could. In this way, she had brought up her son, Lay. Her father had his doubts to this sort of character for boys, but Lay demonstrated impeccable manners, and therefore, raised no questions from outsiders. Except maybe the question of 'how ever did you make your son so well-mannered?'

Jay Chou-xuege was Ziyi's friend, and fellow student under Master Li Lianjie when they were children. As she had other children to tend to as well, Ziyi could not train her son, merely supervise him in his training. So, she had sent him to her friend, and Lay's godfather, without any qualms from her husband nor from her father.

Jay privately trained Lay with much enthusiasm before he enlisted himself to work in the government. Lay had finished the important lessons before then, and when Jay had become an official, he mentioned his godson to Master Li who suggested the boy to Master Chen Long who had been tasked with the care of the young prince.

As Lay was also a lover of dance and music, he was sent to Korea to learn Korean under the guise of a dance student, then shipped off to Russia for a brief period as an exchange student under the school’s program. When his Korean had been deemed acceptable by a language coach, he was brought back and incorporated to the team. At first, Hangeng stayed behind, making sure that the transition would proceed smoothly, and left them alone when he felt satisfied, which was a week after Lay was introduced to the team.

Truthfully, the moment Hangeng told him that he was leaving him alone with the prince and the two other boys, he was ready to faint. A week was far too short a time span for him to have seen what the personalities of the three had been. Aside from being very tight-knit to the point of almost being a family, he knew little else about them, and he feared that whatever they were showing when Hangeng was around could’ve been a hoax. They could’ve been fooling the elder, and could’ve been planning on something malicious behind the scenes; but since he was trained to be a fighter, he could not back down. He could not dare to tarnish the reputation of his family by being a coward and decided to hold his ground.

He did so, and found that what he had seen of Lu Han, of Kris and of Tao over the past week was true to who they really were. He learned that the prince was really nice, nicer even, than what he had been made out to be, and he was horribly ashamed for thinking ill of the prince even for five seconds. But nice and welcoming as Lu Han was, Lay could not be comfortable with bantering with him as the other two. He had to force himself to do so, and it was only in the last few months that he had learned to really loosen up and be open to Lu Han.

~°~

"Come on, come on!" Seohyun insisted, practically dragging Yoona by the arm with Kai following them at a more comfortable pace.

The three of them were at an amusement park, and although Seohyun had really missed Yoona, she could not not invite-slash-force Kai to tag along. Kai was like the little brother she never had, and so he was sort-of spoiled by Seohyun in a way that only elder siblings, sisters especially, could.

"Seo, don't go too fast, we might leave Kai behind!" she exclaimed.

"Nah, he can catch up, can't you, Kai?" she asked.

"Yup," Kai agreed, quickening his pace to catch up to them.

"Seo, who's older, you or Kai?" Yoona asked with a laugh.

"Me, of course! Kai's my adorable little brother," she replied cheerily. "Speaking of, we should've invited Baekhyun to tag along. Three's an odd number."

"He's busy catching up with everyone else, especially his parents," Kai replied. "'Sides, don't you like me tagging along?"

"Like? No! I love having you along, little brother," Seohyun replied.

"Great!" Kai replied.

"Is it that you guys are here to catch up with each other, not with me?" Yoona asked. "Seo, you seem to be more eager to catch up with Kai than me!"

"Who says? That's just you. It's your arm that I'm dragging, not Kai's."

"Yeah, 'cause that's going to make you look like an obsessive girlfriend when you're not, and my brother's not even your boyfriend."

"You've got a boyfriend?" Kai piped.

"Yeah," she replied a bit sheepishly.

"Cool," he replied. "Have you met him, Yoona?"

"She says next week. He's about our age, right?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Why?" he asked as they got in line. "Just 'cause he wants to see your friend?"

"No, 'cause he's on a business trip with his friend and they're coincidentally coming here," she explained.

"Exactly how old is he?" Kai asked skeptically. An image formed in his head, but he gave Seohyun the benefit of the doubt. For some reason, people going on business trips somehow equated to old man for him. Or at least someone older than their age group, but definitely someone he deemed a little old for Seohyun.

"Seventeen," she replied.

"How... Why...?" Kai asked, fumbling to complete the question properly.

"He doesn't own anything yet, if that's what you're wondering," she replied calmly. "He works for someone, like an apprentice in China and that's one of the few things he does."

"But you live in Canada," he stressed.

"He's Chinese-Canadian."

"Okaaay, weird person. I demand to meet him when Yoona does," he said.

The two girls laughed at his reaction. Seohyun wasn't his sister, but he had over-protective brother instincts kicking in. "Sure. Next week. Clear your schedule, okay?"

"But I've got classes," he reminded. "Unlike you two oh-so-cool university students, I still go to high school."

"I thought you were on your semestral break," Yoona commented.

"Oh, yeah," he replied sheepishly.

"Kai," Seohyun playfully reprimanded.

~°~

"Sir," Kris called respectfully.

The Emperor looked up from his work and smiled at Kris. "Yes, Kris?"

"Sir, your flight will leave in an hour and a half," he reminded. He was Lu Han's assistant in many ways, but in order to slip into the role seamlessly when Lu Han inherited the throne, he was sometimes asked to do tasks such as these for the Emperor.

"Ah, yes," he remarked. "Thank you for reminding me."

Impeccable manners was something that the royal family prided themselves with. He knew that his children might not be in the best relationship siblings could be in, but he always made sure that they respected each other and were cordial.

"Sir, Master Chen Long has also informed me that he and Master Li Lianjie will be sending Hangeng-xuege and Songqian-xuejie in their stead. Will that be alright? Or would you prefer that they come as well?" he asked.

"I hope that Songqian-xiaojie will not misunderstand, but I would prefer if Jay-xiansheng is to come, if neither Master Chen Long nor Master Li Lianjie is unable, which I highly doubt," he said.

"I shall inform them, Sir," he replied.

Not long later, Kris came back and told him that Master Chen Long will join them, but Master Li Lianjie will not in order to prepare Jay Chou for the government position of a 'master'. The Emperor understood the need for this, and allowed it to slide. The two masters never did anything to compromise him, something he was grateful for.

The Emperor made his way out of the room with Kris trailing behind him. Everyone who needed to be there was already there: Lu Han, his guards Lay and Tao, Master Chen Long, Hangeng and Victoria. He smiled to himself. Victoria, though she was not obviously needed, was really an important member of the team. Her bright personality always seemed to negate the seriousness of the other boys and complement Master Chen Long's serenity. Hangeng was on his way to learning that, but he still had a long ways to go.

They all greeted him, and Victoria even asked if she was disturbing the Emperor's plans with an apology, though it was by Master Chen Long's command that she was there with them.

"It is good to have you along as well, Songqian. But I needed Master Chen Long to come as well, because he will be the one representing the academies," he replied with a smile.

Need. That was probably the word that differentiated the Emperor from other leaders. He always liked to say he needed his people; he liked the fact that they were indispensable to him, at least for the most part. It reinforced a positive atmosphere, and it seemed to make people more willing to cooperate. Besides, the only other word he could think of was want, but he didn't really want them there. Honestly, he knew nothing of those people who work for him before they worked. So how could he say he wanted them there?

Kris, as always, sat beside Lu Han. The elder looked a bit apprehensive, perhaps because he was thinking that they would be on their way to Yoona's home country. He did not like that look on his friend's face, and it truly frustrated him knowing that Lu Han could do a lot of things with just one command, and yet he chooses to forego those things in favour of those that would make those around him pleased rather than those that could possibly make everyone happy--including himself.

Some things, he would probably never really understand. There were those years he had spent prior to meeting Lu Han that he thought were the main causes of differences between their thinking, if there were any. Those were rare and few, but they still existed nonetheless.

~°~

The two girls were out shopping. Well, more like window shopping since they have yet to buy anything other than the food they had eaten for lunch and the ice creams they were having for desert.

"Look at that dress, isn't it pretty?" Seohyun asked as they stopped in front of a store. They still couldn't go inside because they still had ice cream, but they were content as they were.

"It is," Yoona replied. "But we don't need them, Seo. We don't have special functions to attend any time soon."

"You're right. But hey, it's pretty," she shrugged.

"True," Yoona replied. "Want some more?"

"Nah, I think I'm going to get fat from all the ice cream we've been eating. How much of this stuff have we eaten since yesterday?" she asked, trying to recall.

"A lot," Yoona replied. "But I think yesterday's ice cream's worth of fat was burned already since we spent so much time under the sun."

"Yeah, but the sugar's still not quite good for the body," she replied.

Yoona shrugged in agreement before they proceeded to the bookstore. They dumped their trash on the way, having finished their ice cream while they were staring at the dress.

"Hey, Yoong, look at this. Doesn't that guy look familiar?" Seohyun asked, pointing at the newspaper sitting on one of the racks.

"Emperor of China?" Yoona asked, reading the headline. "He's coming to Korea?"

"I can read, Yoong. I meant doesn't he look familiar? As in a familiar face you've seen somewhere before?" she asked. The thought was nagging at her, and she wanted to know who the Emperor reminded her of.

"Sure, I guess," Yoona shrugged. "But Seo, hundreds of people can easily look alike. We've only got so much genetic code."

"Yeah, but I don't know. There's really something," Seohyun remarked.

"Come on. Let's go before you fall for that guy," Yoona said teasingly as she tugged her friend away. "Kris is going to be jealous."

"No way, Yoong. He's too old for either of us," she remarked.

"Yeah, well they say love knows no boundaries, right? Besides, I'm pretty sure that's the age group that initially popped into Kai's mind when you said your boyfriend's coming here for a business trip."

"Ew."

"Ew yourself, Ms. Love-knows-no-boundaries."

~°~

After another glance at the mirror to check if his bow was still straight, Baekhyun hobbled down the stairs to find his parents there, all dressed and ready. They hopped into the car and made their way to the place noted in the invitation. Today, they were to have an audience with the Emperor.

~°~

"Kris, where do you think you're going?" Master Chen Long demanded calmly.

Kris stood in front of him in a pair of jeans, a crisp, white, button-down shirt and a pair of sneakers. He was in no way dressed for a formal occassion, even if he was presentable.

"Forgive me, Master Chen Long, but I have something to do," he replied apologetically. He might not be forgiven for this.

"Kris, whatever it is, it can wait," the master said patiently. "Right now, what's more important is that we meet our guests."

"Sir, this can't wait," he urged. "Please, allow me to go."

"Tell me, then. Why are you in such a hurry? Your presence is needed here. Victoria is a responsible young woman, but this is not her task. You can tell me. Have I not gained your trust after all these years?"

He sighed. "It is a stupid decision, one that I must do. For happiness."

"Have you not been happy all these years? Have you not been treated well? I have done all I can to make sure that you and Tao are both looked after as you look after Lu Han."

"All these years, I have felt nothing but gratefulness towards you, Master Chen Long, for your wisdom and your kindness towards me and my brothers. And it is for their happiness that I choose to do this. Please understand, Master. It is something that must be done for a troubled soul's happiness," he begged.

Though the name was not spoken, Master Chen Long understood. They were now speaking of none other than Lu Han, the poor thing. All his life, he has been subjected to things that were beyond his control, and he has always gracefully bent down to accept them. Selflessness has become the sole description of his personality, and even if it was a good trait, things were never good in excess.

"And how do you propose you will give it to him?" he challenged the younger.

"I know, but I cannot tell you. I...simply can not," he replied dejectedly.

After a brief moment of silence, Master Chen Long sighed. "Very well, do so. However, you must change. You are a representative of China, you cannot be seen running around without looking presentable."

"Will that not attract too much attention?" he asked.

"How will you bring Lu Han his happiness if you cannot stand before the Emperor presentably? Presentation, boy, is key to convincing others. Convince the Emperor properly, and you would've made Lu Han's heart full," he advised.

Though he did not really have the time, he did as he was asked. Master Chen Long, though he did not know what Kris had been thinking, nor did he know how Kris would do such a thing, he had to let him go. Some things he knew he would never completely understand, but to do things well, he would need to let those boys do things in a different manner. After all, one cannot prevent change.

It was stupid of him to have done it the way he did, but there was no turning back now. He had traded his casual outfit for a white suit with a mandarin collar and dress shoes. He had also neglected to think of transportation, and had to hail a cab. In the confusion that was his mind, he had told the driver to take him to the address written on a piece of paper.

The driver had given him a curious look, and he had forgotten that his white suit, like all others, bore the insignia of the Emperor on the left chest area. It was just a shade off and it was small, but even designs embroidered with similar colours could be seen, so it definitely caught the man's attention. He had lied that that wasn't exactly the insignia of the Emperor; he had told the driver that he was in-training for the Chinese government, and that he was here to visit a friend. The driver swallowed that excuse and drove him to his destination.

There, he rang the doorbell, and a young man, probably just a few years younger than he was opened the door. The boy in front of him was clad in jeans, a hoodie and sneakers and was eyeing his insignia with curiosity as he tried to process who this boy was.

"So, who are you and why are you here?" the younger asked.

"Is Miss Im Yoona here?" he asked.

"Depends," he shrugged.

"On what?"

"On what you mean by here, and why you're here," he replied nonchalantly.

Kris found the boy's way of speaking a bit rude, but not obnoxious. He had the right to act the way he did, after all, Kris was but a stranger, and knowing if Yoona lived there or not could possibly bring harm on her.

"Forgive my rudeness," he replied, though he was a bit agitated. Time was running. "My name is Li Jiaheng. The palace has asked me to Ms. Yoona."

"My sister?" the boy blurted. He shook his head. "I doubt it. She knows these things, and the fact that she's in school means that she doesn't know. So, tell me, Mister. What do you want with her?"

So this was her brother. No wonder he looked familiar. "Kai?"

He narrowed his eyes at the other boy. "How do you know my nickname?"

"I thought so. You can call me Kris, if you'd like-"

"Kris Li?"

"Yeah, why?"

"By any chance... Seohyun...?" Kai fumbled.

"Joo Seohyun? How do you know her?"

"You're that Kris?" Kai asked out of shock. "How do you know my sister? Are you cheating on Seohyun?"

"What? No!" he scoffed, insulted. "But I need to see your sister."

"Why? Seohyun doesn't even know you work for the government. She thinks you're just working for some company! Liar," Kai accussed him. The accusation made sense, but it still hurt.

"I wasn't allowed to tell her what my job really was. And I for one am not entirely sure what my job really is right now," he muttered urgently. "But what I do know is that I need to see your sister. I need Yoona's help."

"Does she even know you?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Lu Han."

"Who?"

"The crown prince. They've met."

"But no one from the outside world knows who he is. Except maybe you do, but you work there. She can't know him."

"Please," Kris begged. His voice seemed to be pathetic enough that the younger's resolve dissolved immediately.

"Fine. My sister isn't here. She's at school," he said, and even gave the university's name, building and classroom number. "I demand to know what you plan to do to her."

"Nothing she's not comfortable with," he promised.

Kai was afraid of what his choice would entail, but there was no turning back now. He thought back and remembered Baekhyun told him where he was going...

As soon as Kris had left, Kai called up his mother. "I'm going to go somewhere but I'll be back later. Do you have a key? Okay. Mm. Yeah. No, I don't have one, but I'm going to go look for either Seo-noona or Yoong-noona. Don't worry. If not, I'll go bother my friends or something. Great. Okay. See you later, Mom. Love you, too."

Kai grabbed all the important things he'd likely need and headed out.

Keep your word, Kris. Foreigner or not, mess with my sister and I'll make you regret it.

~°~

Yoona was scribbled words furiously onto her notebook as she listened intently to the teacher's lesson. She was trying to distract herself from the blandness of the lecture by writing down everything that was on the board and jotting down the important things that she could find in the teacher's words.

"And the premise-"

A figure loomed outside the door, distracting the professor. His chest was heaving, likely from the effort of running up to the fourth floor, as his eyes seemed to dart around the room, looking for someone until they rested upon Yoona's petite figure, busily scribbling notes. Her head snapped up, feeling a pair of eyes boring into her skull.

"Excuse me? Is there something that you need?" their professor asked.

"Sir, please excuse Ms. Im Yoona for today," he said, as he grabbed Yoona's bag and began stuffing her things in. "Her presence is required at an important event."

Before Yoona could speak, nor anyone move, Kris latched onto Yoona's hand and gripped it firmly. He gently, but forcefully tugged her out of her seat.

"Young man-"

"Thank you for your understanding, dear Sir," Kris said with a curt nod before making his exit with Yoona in tow.

Because Kris' legs were quite long in comparison to Yoona's, he ended up half dragging, half leading her. At least he was carrying her bag for her like a gentleman.

"Kris? You're real?" Yoona asked bewilderedly.

"Yes, I am," he replied, huffing as he did so. He was still out of breath, but he made no move to slow down to catch his breath. "And so is Lu Han. Now, let's go."

"Kris, let go of me. Where are we going?" she demanded.

They had reached the ground floor, and Kris was almost tempted to just carry Yoona since her resistance was making everything harder for him.

"Please, Yoona," he urged. "I need your help."

On their way out, they passed by a familiar figure, Seohyun, who was on her way to pick up Yoona from class so they could hang out together.

"Hey-" she began, but retracted her arm and her statement when she realized who was doing the dragging and who was being dragged.

"Seohyun," Kris muttered in shock, he curtly greeted her, but he had no time.

"Seo, this isn't what it looks like," Yoona protested.

"Exactly what is it, then?" she demanded harshly. It was odd, but it hurt. She trusted both of them, but seeing them like this...

"Seo, I will explain," Kris promised. "But for now, please trust me, okay?"

"Kris-"

"I promise," he reiterated, then promptly began ushering Yoona away quickly.

"Kris, Kris!" Yoona demanded, struggling against his grip.

"What?" he demanded, stopping to really look her in the eye. "We do not have time for this, Yoona. We have to get going!"

"What time?" she asked. "You drag me out of class and expect me to understand?"

"It's for Lu Han, Yoona. Please, please help me. We have to see the Emperor," he stated. "Please."

"I'm not-"

"Invited? I'll take responsibility. Dressed well? Which is why we have to hurry," he urged. "Now, come on."

~°~

"Good morning," Victoria greeted. She was the usher of sorts, a job she enjoyed simply because it meant meeting new people and not being trapped in the room with the others. The atmosphere there was quite heavy, as they were making difficult decisions inside.

"Good morning, Qian-xuejue," Baekhyun returned chirpily. He was glad to see Victoria once again; he was truly grateful to her for all her help to get him this far even without biases.

"Just the three of you?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "I don't have siblings."

"Really?" she asked. "I thought you had a younger sibling."

"No, but I have friends like brothers," he replied.

"That makes sense," she replied. "Please follow me? The Emperor will be pleased to meet you."

"Thank you."

Victoria left the Byuns in the care of her colleagues. She felt Baekhyun shrink when he realized that Tao was sitting across him, but he seemed to loosen up a bit when Hangeng came striding in with a smile on his face rather than a scowl.

When she returned, this time with the Park family, the Emperor and his son were in the room, dissipating the tense air. When the Parks entered the room, Baekhyun's jaw dropped in surprise, and he scrambled to regain composure.

"Welcome," the Emperor stated warmly.