Baekhyun hovered around Byul's bed the rest of the day.

He never got to do much because he was too worried about her to do anything else. He couldn't bear to leave the rest lest she woke up suddenly and found herself alone.

It wasn't as if she would be afraid if she was left alone, unlike other girls out there. But it was the notion that he had left her alone that made Baekhyun uncomfortable.

The King and Queen had visited Byul too later in the afternoon but she was still asleep, running a fever and murmuring distractedly in her sleep. Seeing her in that weak state made the King agree with Baekhyun's choice of stripping Attendant Kim from her duties. It was nice enough of him to let her stay in the Palace itself.

The EXO-M boys too visited but Byul hadn't woken up yet and Baekhyun had ushered them away because they were making too much noise to be healthy for her.

He stood ready by her side the entire time, waiting for her to wake up, attending to her every need. He was by far the best husband material exhibited by any of the EXO boys, really.

Byul had been asleep the entire time and she looked tired and frail. Baekhyun felt his heart break whenever he took a look at her and blamed himself for it. If only he had set that Attendant Kim earlier, this wouldn't have happened.

Sitting beside her bedside, Baekhyun watched and tended.

"Get well soon, Han Eunbyul." he whispered, her hair tenderly. "Please get well soon again and I'll let you punch me as many times as you want. I don't like seeing you like this."

He sighed softly. What was he going to tell Mrs Han if she knew about this? He failed even before they got married, how embarrassing.

"But really Han Eunbyul, are you stupid?" Baekhyun suddenly blurted, frowning as he rubbed his temples. "You're some sort of superhero, you always have been. You acted like one and I almost believed you were too. But you aren't, don't you know you have a limit as well?" he scolded even though he knew she wasn't listening.

He grabbed her hand and the back of her hand. "You dared to go against me the Crown Prince by calling me Ddong-ha and things like that but you didn't dare go against Attendant Kim. Shout at her! Snap at her and tell her you needed a rest! Why didn't you!"

He stared at her for a moment, almost as if he expected an answer.

"You were trying, because of me weren't you?" he whispered in realization. "The reason Han Eunbyul took so much from that devil Kim was because of me." he buried his head in his hands and groaned. "Damn it, if only I wasn't a prince. I'm sorry."

"If you love me like I love you, don't force yourself anymore, Han Eunbyul." Baekhyun murmured softly, "Because I don't mind if I'm stripped down into being commoner to be with you, but I don't want you to become an unhappy Queen."

-----

Byul woke up the next morning to find a head at the side of her bed. She didn't have to look at it properly to know it was Baekhyun lying there.

She groaned at how her body felt: aching every single place possible. Did she even use her fingers for anything? Why did they feel tired as well?

Byul tried to sit up without making any noise because she knew Baekhyun was still sleeping. She managed it somehow and she let out a small breath of relief, proceeding to stare at the sleeping Baekhyun by her bed. The sides of her lips twitched up slightly at the sight of his calm sleeping face, a sight that amused her to no end.

He looked like a baby even when he was sleeping.

Byul tried to pry her hands away from his to brush his hair but that motion woke Baekhyun up. He stirred and rubbed his eyes tiredly, squinting at the light. He took few moments to focus his gaze on Byul and the concern was what she saw first. His gaze softened and his hands moved to cup her face as he took in her sight.

She stared back, drinking in his as well. She missed him even when she was sleeping, was that possible?

And then his hand let go of her face to push a curl behind her ear, his eyes not leaving hers the entire time. When all of a sudden, his fingers collided with her forehead painfully as he flicked her forehead.

Byul winced, not expecting it. "Oww!"

"Yeah oww." Baekhyun muttered blandly. "So you do know pain."

"Of course I know pain." Byul frowned at him, huffing. "What did you think I was? Some sort of superwoman that doesns't feel pain and fatigue?"

"No, I didn't once think you were. But I was under the impression that you thought that way." Baekhyun sighed softly and shook his head. He moved up from his seat and went to sit on the bed beside her, while she shuffled in to make space for him. He slung an around around her shoulder to bring her head against his shoulder and she let him, resting her head against him comfortably.

"You don't have to go to the princess lessons anymore, Eunbyul." Baekhyun murmured against her hair. "They're cancelled, at least, the ones with Attendant Kim. I'll look for another more qualified person to teach you these princessy things, but really, I don't see the need."

"Don't see the need!" Byul blinked at him. "I NEED the lessons, Ddong-ha. I am most definitely NOT ready to be the Queen of the nation with my standards. Just because I fainted-"

"There isn't a 'just' about it, Han Eunbyul." Baekhyun raised his hand to stop her. "Fainting is a big deal, who knows if you never wake up again." he ignored the look she sent him. "Fine if you feel insecured, I'll find someone else to coach you. But not full day princess lessons like this anymore, those were hell."

Byul sank against him against and nodded. "Fine." she relented, inwardly agreeing. "Those were hell."

They sat there in silence for a few moments, staring blankly into space, each of them engrossed in their own thoughts. Byul was too busy thinking about her own incapabilities of being Queen and Baekhyun was busy thinking about her sacrifices because of him.

"Thanks." he suddenly blurted.

Byul turned to him and looked at him with raised brows. "For?"

"Trying." Baekhyun looked down at her and smiled softly. "For trying so hard because I'm the damn Crown Prince. If I wasn't, you wouldn't have so much more extra burden to carry. Thank you, for being willing to try."

Byul grinned and smacked his arm, though weakly. "I don't just try, Ddong-ha. When Han Eunbyul does something, she succeeds."

Baekhyun laughed and nuzzled her cheek. "Right you are."

A loud growl from her stomach alerted him of more pressing needs compared to his urge to press his mouth to hers. "Think it's time for breakfast now. "

"Are you feeling alright, Byul noona?" Sehun asked worriedly. "It was terribly unsettling to hear that the superwoman Byul noona fainted yesterday. It was like being told that Santa didn't exist, as my friend Amber told me."

Byul chuckled softly and shook her head. "I'm really fine now, I don't know why you guys are fussing so much. I remember the time of cynaide poisoning and you guys were acting like I died."

"Cynaide poisoning?" Lay's eyes widened in alarm.

"Exactly." Suho nodded. "With a reputation like that in front of her, imagine our shock when we heard Byul fainted."

Baekhyun deflated at the memory. Another reason why she got hurt because of him, and she nearly died that time too. "It's all my fault."

"It's not, it's the evil Attendant Kim's fault." Xiumin muttered in distaste. "I hope I never have to see her for the rest of my life."

"Dude, you haven't even seen her once." Chen pointed out.

"Still." Xiumin crossed his arms and huffed, as if to prove his point.

"But Byul noona, you have to get well soon. We won't be able to see you get well because we're leaving tomorrow." Tao sulked at the thought. Sehun deflated and Luhan patted the maknae's head.

"We'll be back soon enough." Kris offered. "It's not like China and Korea are that far away."

"Far enough." D.O. murmured. "You guys better come often. Or maybe we should go over." he beamed. "How about a trip to China? I would love that!"

Baekhyun looked over at Byul and squeezed her hand softly. "When you get better and we get married, when things settle down and we aren't as busy as we are now, let's go to China." he suggested. "How about it?"

Byul nodded with a weak smile at the thought. Wow. China.

Chanyeol smiled softly when he saw that Byul was indeed okay and he excused himself from the room with a reason of getting drinks for the guys. What nonsense, drinks for the boys. As if he ever bothered.

Chanyeol walked out of Byul's bedroom and saw Sora standing guard by the door, playing with a piece of twig absent-mindedly in her hands as she stared out into the sky, deep in thought.

He took a deep breath and strode towards her, mustering all his courage. He owed her an apology, a very sincere one at that.

When he thought of his accusation, he realized how serious it was. He was accusing her of being a potential murderer. Did Sora look like a murderer? No.

And the look of hurt in her eyes while tears were welling stained his mind, popping up in the most inconvenient of times.

He reached her and stopped by her side, his gaze on her. She took a few moments to notice his presence, and when she did, her face immediately hardened. Her lips pursed into a hard line and she lowered her gaze, not looking at him. "Prince Chanyeol." she murmured.

"Sora, you don't need to be so formal." Chanyeol shifted uncomfortably. "You can call me Chanyeol, that's enough."

She didn't say anything.

"Uhm about yesterday," Chanyeol swallowed. "The thing is, I didn't-"

"Prince Chanyeol." Sora cut in, her voice soft but cold. "Pardon. I should have gone to the kitchen to ask for tea sooner, I will go right now." she her heel and strode away quickly, as fast as her legs could take her.

Chanyeol watched her go in desperation and wanted to clutch his hair. . He really screwed up this time didn't he?

Sora didn't know what she was doing as she walked on, not looking where she went.

She felt her cheeks and was horrified to find them wet. Tears, they were signs of weaknesses. And Im Sora was anything but weak, even if she complied to orders all the time and was treated like dirt.

Being emotionally attached was a form of weakness as well, Sora knew. But what she didn't know was that she was currently in the process of forming one.

Which was why she wondered why it had hurt so badly when Chanyeol accused her of something she didn't do in the previous day.

She shouldn't have cared. After all, she wasn't supposed to be nice.