Chapter 12:

A guard slipped into the room and whispered something into Victoria's ear. She quietly excused herself and followed him out. The sounds of people quietly arguing reached her ears. Unfamiliar, unfamiliar, familiar. Kris.

She raced down to where they were as fast as her dress and heels would allow. Kris stood there glowering at the guards with a doe-eyed woman in a long, flowing, emerald green dress behind him, as if he were defending her.

"Let us pass," Kris urged, but the guards refused.

"What is going on here?" Victoria demanded.

Four pairs of eyes locked onto her.

"Victoria-xuejie-"

"Why are you denying the Prince's assistant the right to pass?" she asked.

"We have been ordered not to let anyone in because they could bother the proceedings inside," one replied.

"Then I shall answer for them," she settled. Oh, this is going to be a headache. "Let them in. That man is Kris Li, Prince Lu Han's assistant."

"Prince?" she heard the girl ask quietly in shock.

Kris simply gave her a sheepish and apologetic smile. Was it that he had not fully explained to her what he was expecting from her? Did he just bring her here for the heck of it?

"Follow me," Victoria snapped. She couldn't afford to look soft and biased in front of the guards; thankfully they could both speak Korean.

Kris held her hand, as a gentleman should, and led her up the stairs. Victoria commended her grace, but what was with the schoolbag hanging from Kris' shoulder?

Victoria eyed it as Kris and the girl stepped up, he offered her a sheepish smile. She took that as an 'I'll explain later' and led them to where everyone else was.

~°~

"Seo!" Kai called as he ran towards her.

Seohyun was sitting on a bench, bent over a book. Her hair was like a veil, draped over her face, concealing it from the outsider's view. She heard Kai's call, but she didn't move. She didn't want to move.

"Seohyun?" he asked, slowing down to a walk before completely stopping in front of her.

She willed herself to be strong. She willed herself to get over the hurt. She willed herself to understand... But the tears came anyway. A big, fat drop made its way onto the book on her lap. She hoped he didn't notice. Oh, by the heavens, how was she going to explain to Kai? She wasn't even sure what was going on, but it hurt. It hurt a lot.

"Seo-noona?" he called softly. Rare were the days that Kai used honorifics with people he was attached to, and it had been long since she'd asked him to drop formalities.

He knelt down in front of her and held her hands, which were tightly knitted to each other on top of her book. He wrapped his warm hands around hers. "Seo-noona, are you hurt?"

~°~

It's always been quite problematic, arranging a marriage that is. The Emperor had thought it a good idea to ask his son to marry a woman of Korean descent, a move, though maybe no longer as binding as it was for the countries as it used to be in the days of old but still quite binding, to solidify the relationship of China to the South Korean nation. He had two options, really. Get his son to marry a Korean woman who was both known and loved by majority of the nation or trade in men with the government. That was the reason why Baekhyun was there, and why Chanyeol and his sister, a popular idol singer known as Luna, were there as well.

Deep in his mind, though he found young Luna adorable, Lu Han could not think of marrying her. For one, though they only had four years between them, Luna was very much a minor while he, though not yet considered an adult in Korea, already was in China and many other countries. Secondly, though Luna seemed like a very pleasant person, he could not think of asking her to do such a thing as marry him though he knew that he could learn to love her. Third, though he seemed to get along with Luna well, he was still in love, very much in love, with a young woman named Im Yoona. And to him, that was immediately unfair to Luna. If he didn't love her, he might as well never have loved at all so he could be unbiased.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol looked uneasy the whole time the deal with the marriage was being talked about. Luna was like a sister to him, and marrying the prince... How was that for her? He also wondered what that was like for Chanyeol, who, though always finding ways to tease his little sister playfully every now and then, really loved her. He was the protective brother when it was needed, but right now, with these people in front of him, what was it that he could do to go against? How could he help Luna?

There was a knock on the door, and it opened to reveal Kris standing in the doorway. He had an apologetic yet determined expression etched on his face, and he gave them a cordial bow.

"Why so late, Kris?" the Emperor asked.

"Forgive me," he said. "But I have gone to fetch someone that I am sure the Prince would be glad to see."

The Emperor cocked a brow in question. To answer, Kris simply stepped aside and revealed a lovely young lady standing behind him. She suddenly seemed self-conscious when he did so, and wanted to follow him, but he held her hand, as if presenting her to the audience, and resisting would be even more embarrassing. She bowed to them in greeting.

"Yoona," a collective response came from the guests and Lu Han, surprising everyone else.

“What in the world are you doing here?” he fumed, but he strode over to her anyway. He glowered at Kris as he did so. He grabbed Yoona’s wrist and promptly began dragging her out.

“Lu Han!” his father exclaimed, freezing him in position. There were simply days when he hated being so obedient.

By now, all eyes were trained on them. Lu Han inwardly shuddered and Kris flinched. Never in his life had he ever seen Lu Han look absolutely terrifying. Lu Han straightened his back, raised his head and steeled his gaze. He wished that he did not have to let Yoona see this side of him, but there was no other choice. It was either going to be that he be harsh in front of her and protect her or he be soft as he always was and let her suffer. For some reason, he preferred the first.

“Where have your manners gone?” he asked, putting on a cold mask. Lu Han had never had a streak for acting out, he wasn’t about to let his son do so now. Adults must act like adults. “You have yet to introduce us to this lovely lady and yet you wish to run off?”

“She…is not someone you need to meet, father,” he explained curtly. If this was to turn into a battle of words, so be it.

“Why ever not? I do believe that Kris brought her here for a specific reason; your reaction has already sparked my curiosity.”

There was something absolutely terrifying in the tone of voice of the two men that seemed to freeze Yoona’s blood, yet no one seemed to mind terribly, only her.

Lu Han sighed softly. "Forgive me; I do not know what has come over me. Please, allow me to introduce to all of you the lovely Ms. Im Yoona. It is truly a blessing to have you grace us with your presence today."

The sudden change in character shocked Yoona as it made Kris' heart ache. Lu Han, what are you doing?

Lu Han smiled, but it was a smile that did not reach his ears; he smiled a smile that was only skin deep.

"Please join us, Ms. Yoona," the Emperor said, motioning for her to sit down. The other Chinese boys scrambled to make room for her.

She was seated between Kris and Lu Han, feeling herself small. She gave her brother's friends a sheepish smile, but could not give anything more. After all, she only knew so much.

The rest of the lunch proceeded quite slowly for Yoona. She felt like she wanted so much to cry, but what good would it have done her? It would've just made others worry.

When it was over, Yoona sighed. Apparently, over was not completely over. Tomorrow night, she and her family were to meet with the Emperor to discuss matters that have fallen upon her shoulders.

~°~

"What are you trying to do?" Lu Han roared at Kris when they had gone back to their rooms. As Yoona had been ushered out by Victoria along with the rest of the guests, Lu Han had not been able to talk to her properly, to apologize and explain where he was coming from.

"I'm trying to help you," Kris replied as calmly as he could. But he was feeling anything but calm. The possibility of his removal was looming around the corner.

"How are you helping me? Kris, you're getting Yoona in trouble. You're putting her in a position that she may or may not like. I'm not joking with you," Lu Han warned. "Yoona is a normal person, she may not be able to handle this!"

"Define normal, Lu Han. Aren't you normal as well? You're human, and so is she."

"But I grew up with this. I was raised to handle this. What about Yoona? She was raised to handle the mundane things!"

"And so you're going to go ahead and marry Ms. Luna and destroy her dreams? She's got big dreams for someone so small, and already she's invested so much into it. What kind of a monster will you be to do that, Lu Han? You love Yoona. You can make her happy if you wished to, you just have to try."

"But I can't always do that, Kris. I can't always ask her to understand," Lu Han insisted. "There's more to her than meets the eye, yes, that's true, but the thing is, I don't know what's going to happen to her when she steps foot in China. You have to understand. What I'm doing right now? I'm already trying to protect her, and it's killing me."

Lu Han clawed at his heart as tears began to fall from his eyes. For the first time in his life, Kris saw Lu Han vulnerable, so completely vulnerable and helpless. And...it clawed at his mind.

Perhaps Lu Han was right. He did not know what would happen to Yoona once she's out of Korea, that is, if her parents would consent to her marrying the prince out of nowhere. The Emperor may not do anything to her, he may even simply have her wellfare in mind, but the others...

At this point, Lu Han was powerless. He has little right to do or even say anything concerning the matters of the state. He could go and help the farmers plant their crops on their lands, or help the fishermen catch fish, or perhaps teach the children how to read or write, but that was it. He could not command armies, though he knew how. He could not release decrees for the welfare of the people for that was his father's job. In many ways, he was just as useful as any other teen his age, but he had burdens far greater. And the problem with burdens was that they weighed you down and if left unchecked, they could drag you to the bottom of the ocean and drown you. All because there was not a single thing you could do.

~°~

Tao stood outside the door, listening in on the conversation between his two elder brother figures. Despite his sometimes crabby exterior, Tao was a softie. He could fight, he could kill, but he never wanted to. He didn't like to. He was a gentle and sensitive soul.

Right now, hearing both Kris and Lu Han so helpless made him feel so worthless. So horribly useless.

"Tao?" he heard Victoria call. She was back.

He looked to her and she rushed to him. She wiped away the tears that he did not know had begun to fall.

"Jie," he gurgled helplessly.

Understanding what he was trying to say, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. "It's going to be okay, Tao. It's going to be okay."

~°~

Yoona was standing in front of her doorstep, staring at the door. She had yet to change out of her dress, but her bag and her clothes were with her.

From inside, she could hear her mother, her father and her brother. Seohyun as well, and a voice she did not recognize. Somehow, she felt as if she had failed, as if she had no right to go back inside and face them. She had not done anything bad, or anything worth condemning, but somehow, going back inside, going back to the way things used to be and trying to forget any of this ever happened... It simply seemed impossible.

The door swung open. There, before her stood Seohyun.

"I'm sorry, Seohyun. I did not know. I didn't even know that that was the same Kris. But I swear, he was not cheating on you. Not with me," she said sincerely. Her eyes were locked onto Seohyun's, imploring her to listen. To understand.

Seohyun closed the door behind them and stood beside Yoona. She smiled through her sadness. "I know, Kai told me. He's a stalker you know, your stalker at least. And... I guess I over reacted, you know. Kris... He's never really been to Korea before, and you've never been to China before. Well, without Kai that is, and never to Beijing, so you guys would never have met.

"I'm sorry, Yoong. I overreacted. I... Let's not let this get in between us? You're my best friend, Yoona. I don't want to lose you."

"Don't be daft. You won't lose me that easily," she replied, giving Seohyun a hug.

Seohyun began to sniffle as she laughed. "Thank you, Yoona. I love you so much!"

"I love you, too," she replied.

"Glad to see you're all made up," Kai's voice commented. He stood by the door with a small smile on his face. "Sis, you've a visitor."

"Who?" she asked.

"A guy named Lay," he replied. "Poor guy, Dad's fuming."

"Why?" Yoona asked in shock.

"It's not easy for a Dad to hear that his daughter is being asked to marry a prince, you know," Seohyun remarked.

"And I think you're going to have to go in and talk to Dad yourself. He's a bit..."

"Mad?"

"Furious."

"Let's do this," she said with a sigh.

~°~

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Yoona shifted her attention to the door. Nope, not Kai randomly knocking on her door. Heck, it didn't even seem like her door. Her door was wooden.

Tick, tick, tick. Tick, tick, tick.

Window? Yoona got up from reading her book, and went to her window. Below, she saw a figure standing with small pebbles in his hands.

"Ms. Yoona?" he softly asked. His voice was not very familiar, but the feeling he gave off was quite familiar.

"Who are you?"

"Tao, Ms. Yoona. I am Huang Zi Tao, Prince Lu Han's guard," he whispered. "Would you mind coming down to talk to me? I have come here on my own, not of anyone's orders."

"Can you wait there for a bit? I'll come down," she replied.

Tao nodded. Quickly, Yoona got ready and quietly went down the steps. Her parents were probably still awake, but they were probably winding down from the day. She felt sorry for Lay, he bore a lot of pain from listening to her father's words.

She greeted Tao. He had politely refused her offer to go into the house, and so they went to a nearby park to talk. He had not immediately implored her to do or not to do anything; he simply asked for some of her time to talk to her.

"It's not my position to say such things, but I just...wanted to ask you if you know Lu Han. The real Lu Han."

"The real Lu Han? What side is that? Him as a prince or him pretending to normal?"

"Him not being a prince. You know, this morning... What you saw was not Lu Han. It was Lu Han's instinct to protect the people he wants to protect. The few people he can actually protect. I hope you know that," Tao said softly.

"I had hoped so," she replied. "That the part of him that I knew was the real him."

"If...you don't mind me asking, how did you meet Lu Han?"

"I met him...in a dream," she confessed. "You're going to think me strange, but yes. That's how I met him. In a dream, in a place by the river. And that's where I got to know him."

"Ah, that place. I've only been there once, but it was beautiful," he commented. "Don't you think?"

"Yeah, I do think so."

"Do you like Lu Han?"

"Why? It's not going to help anyone right now."

"But it is, Ms. Yoona. It is."

"How?" she asked wearily. "Just this evening, your friend, Lay, he was here. He...bore the worst of my father's tantrum, and I'm sorry for that. Please, tell him I'm sorry. I-"

"Lay is fine," he assured her. "And Lay will bear that if not because it is his job, then because of his loyalty to Lu Han. I realize it's difficult to grasp, to understand, really, but our affection to Lu Han is quite deep, and somehow, we see that if this is going to bring Lu Han any tiny sense of joy, then we'd gladly do it. We'd gladly bear some pain. Lu Han... Honestly, he's been burdened with so much since he was a boy. Kris knows more than I do, but it's more than enough."

Yoona sighed. "I like him. I...really do. I realize I do. But there's someting that I can't do. I can't go against my father, Mr. Tao."

"Please, just Tao."

"Then call me Yoona."

"Milady-"

"We don't live in the Medieval period, Tao. If you're not comfortable, then do it when you're just with me. In public, you may call me formally. But privately, please. Just Yoona."

"You and Lu Han really would get along well together, you know. He dislikes being called 'Prince Lu Han' or 'young master'. He enjoys being simply called Lu Han."

"Is that supposed to make me decide to do something?"

"No, I was just stating an observation. I understand why Lu Han likes you so much," he replied with a smile.

"Tell me, Tao. By coming to me, what do you want?"

"What I want? ...I want... to know if you really like Lu Han. I want to know because if I can do something about it, I will. What will it take for you to marry Lu Han?" he asked innocently. "I don't want it to be against you, I'm not trying to coerce you, but...would you marry him if you were under more normal circumstances?"

"...Yes."

"Then...why not...now?"

"If you don't realize it yet, we don't live in the days when marriage was easily arranged between parents. We live in a time where parents object when they think something is being compromised. And...I admit, it's true. It does feel like I'm being asked to compromise for Lu Han, but the biggest thing here are my parents. They're not quite comfortable with the idea as of the moment."

"If..." he began, then thought for a bit. "If I were to promise your safety and happiness, would he be content? If I get Lu Han here to talk to you, do you think he will agree?"

"How will you do that?" she asked.

"I do not know yet, but I will. I can. If it is for more than just one person's happiness, don't you think it's worth it?" he asked with a child-like smile.

"Thank you, Tao," she said.

~°~

"Huang Zi Tao, not you, too!" Lu Han complained when Tao proposed his idea to Lu Han.

"But Lu Han, she's amazing," he reasoned.

Kris had failed at convincing Lu Han by talking to him about what he (Lu Han) feels about Yoona. So, Tao decided a more underhanded tactic--convince Lu Han by telling him that he wants Yoona as a sister of sorts, and that the only way he could have her as a sister figure was if he married her. It was a bit underhanded, but if it was the trick that would work... Why not?

Tao continued, "Besides, she's really nice. I'm sure the Emperor and the people of China would like her; she's definitely adorable to no end! And I want a sister."

"What? Tao, I'm not your big brother!" Lu Han exclaimed. "That is not my responsibility."

"But you are my big brother figure, aren't you? Aren't you? You told me you were!" Tao insisted, getting his tears ready. He never knew he could act, but apparently, he was pretty convincing.

Lu Han sighed. "Are you even still being honest, Tao? Or are you being asked by Kris to do this?"

"Do I look like I'm lying?" he asked, giving him his own version of 'puppy-dog-eyes', though it was probably more of panda eyes than anything, and not as pitifully adorable.

"No," Lu Han sighed in defeat. "No, you've never lied to me about things. I'll talk to my Dad."

"Really? Yay! Thank you!" he exclaimed.

So, in the end, it seems that a more personal attack became more convincing. Tao's pestering had made Lu Han's seemingly difficult stance crumble, and in the end, his feelings for Yoona were stronger than what meets the eye.

A/N: I with angst, don't I? *sigh* And Seohyun... She was too forgiving, wasn't she? *sigh* Forgive me. >.<