Don't Tell My Brothers - Chapter Six

Donghae and Jessica haven't spoken to each other for some time after their argument. Donghae took Jessica to her brother's mini-concert at a bar in downtown Seoul. He followed her silently ; still trying to absorb the message into his mind. He never expected Jessica to say 'sorry' first to end the short argument they had. Honestly, it hurt Donghae's pride deep inside. Now that he has seen the light in Jessica's dark side, he's starting to feel something else. 

He couldn't stop his heart from beating faster than before. He clenched his fists and thought, "I must be crazy."

Jessica sat down with a young woman around her early 20's. Her skin is milky white and her dark brown hair flows down her shoulders. Her brown dress makes her look more gorgeous than she is. Everyone in the room envied her big, bold eyes that twinkled whenever she looked at something. Donghae stood right next to Jessica, examining the whole place.

"Oh by the way, this is Lee Donghae. He's my personal assistant. Yunho-oppa hired him for me.", Jessica introduced him to the woman.

Donghae bowed down and said, "It's nice to meet you."

The woman extended her hand and said, "It's nice to meet you too, Donghae-ssi. My name is Seo Joo Hyun. SeoHyun for short."

Donghae shook her hand carefully and stared back at Jessica.

"In case you don't know, Seohyun is Yonghwa-oppa's girlfriend.", Jessica informed him.

"Oh.", Donghae uttered.

The sound of the drums got louder and louder as the band began to play music. Yonghwa appeared, making all the girls scream. Seohyun laughed upon seeing the girls shout Yonghwa's name. For her, it was quite odd to be sitting with Yonghwa's fangirls. But she knew that among all the girls in the room, Yonghwa would still choose her. They've been dating for two years already.

"Sit down.", Jessica looked at Donghae.

"I can't-"

"You should. You've been standing beside me all day.", Jessica insisted.

Donghae sat next to Jessica and listened to the Second Prince play his songs. He stared at Jessica for awhile. She blinked and froze to her seat. She knew that Donghae was staring at her. It made her feel awkward. She focused her attention on her brother's performance. But she felt uneasy. She stared back at Donghae. Donghae turned his head away. Seohyun noticed this. She smiled and didn't mind to ask Jessica if she likes her own personal assistant.

"Why does she call him a personal assistant? He's more like a bodyguard because he guards her. He's more like a butler, too. He drives her everywhere, too. Why did Yunho hire this man in the first place? He seems familiar to me.....", Seohyun thought.

Yonghwa winked at Seohyun. "This song is for the love of my life, Seo Joo Hyun. Ya, Keroro master! This is for you."

Seohyun giggled. Jessica squealed. "Did you hear that? He called your name out! Oppa's really sweet, isn't he?"

But the thought of having seen Donghae somewhere invaded Seohyun's mind. Then, she remembered everything as she listened to Yonghwa sing a romantic song for her.

"He was... Yoona's husband-to-be.", Seohyun thought.

Jessica woke up earlier than expected. She headed to the dining room for breakfast. The Arab chef her mother hired cooked Chicken Cordon Bleu for breakfast. Just then, she saw Donghae approaching. She took a sip of her iced tea and looked at him.

"You're early today. You don't even have a schedule ahead.", Donghae said.

"I don't know. I woke up all of a sudden. I wish my senses would start obeying me.... especially when I have classes.", Jessica replied.

Donghae nodded his head. A bodyguard came around and tapped his shoulder. Donghae was surprised to see his fellow bodyguard, Kim Yesung. "What's up, man?"

"It seems like you haven't had breakfast yet. The princess woke up so early today. You should eat.", Yesung invited him.

"I don't think she'll allow me to. Once she's wide awake, my duty is on.", Donghae replied.

Jessica raised her eyebrows. "What's the matter, Yesung-ssi?"

Yesung cleared his throat. "Um, Donghae haven't eaten his breakfast yet. I think it would be better if he join us bodyguards."

Jessica nodded and said, "You can go, Donghae-ssi. I don't want my personal assistant to faint while on-duty."

Donghae rubbed his nape and bowed down. "I'll take my leave then, your Highness."

Donghae followed Yesung to the Servants' Chamber. He didn't know why Yesung invited him for breakfast. For the two months he had been Jessica's assistant, Donghae knew that all the bodyguards and maids would eat together at the same time. The butlers and the other servants didn't have to eat together. But why in the world would a young bodyguard like Yesung invite him for breakfast? Is it his birthday?

Yesung led him to a table near the corner. Everyone greeted Donghae. He felt a little bit awkward.

"Here. Eat some. Miss Choi, Jessica's head maid, told me you haven't had breakfast yet. Is it because our princess woke up earlier than before?", Yesung said, initiating a conversation.

"Yes. You've got that right.", Donghae affirmed.

Donghae stared at the plate of fried rice and eggs. He started to munch on it. Yesung poured a cup of tea for him. Donghae looked at him as Yesung handed the cup over. "Thank you."

"You can always trust me, Donghae-ssi.", Yesung assured him.

Right after eating breakfast, Donghae went back straight to the dining hall. Suddenly, he felt numb. His vision was fading. He stopped walking and massaged his temples. Slowly, his knees fell to the ground and he fainted. Yesung watched from behind and threw the teabag away. He pretended not to know. Just then, Miss Choi found Donghae on the floor. She asked for help. Upon hearing this, Jessica stopped what she was doing and went to the Servants' Chamber to check on Donghae.

Donghae was already sleeping in his room. The doctor went out and recognized Jessica. "Your Highness."

"How is he?", Jessica asked.

"Well, he's fine for now. It seems like he ate or drank something that made him dizzy. I don't think it's fatigue either. Maybe he skipped some meals but it doesn't seem like the case. For now, let him rest. It's the best thing to do. And I left some medicine for him. Don't worry.", the doctor informed her.

Jessica was relieved. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Goodbye, Princess Sooyeon.", the doctor said as he took his leave.

Jessica entered the room and closed the door gently. She sat on the chair next to Donghae's bed and looked at him. She studied his facial features. She touched his forehead and said, "Aigoo. You're burning hot. Could it be my fault that you became like this?"

Jessica shook her head. "No way. Maybe he's just tired."

Her heart was beating rapidly. It wasn't normal anymore.

She held his hand and felt the warmth from his hand. "I really wanna be close to you but.... I don't think it's appropriate. If only you weren't my personal assistant..."

Since Jessica had nothing to do for the whole day, she decided to stay in Donghae's room and take care of him. The maids were really surprised since it's the first time the princess cared for her servant. Jessica was always rude towards her maids and bodyguards. But this time, she chose to let her dark side go away.

Yunho went to the kitchen, examining everything around. He was thinking that there was a foulplay behind Donghae's condition. He heard that Yesung invited him to breakfast out of the blue. Donghae always ate by himself. If not, he would eat together with the head butler or head maid. He didn't want to mix with the others. So, Yunho interrogated the chef and the people in charge of the servants' dining hall. He found it very strange for Yesung to invite Donghae over.

Despite having Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, Yunho forgot about cleanliness and order when he got his hands fishing for evidences inside the trashcan. He found the special teabag Yesung threw away awhile ago. It had the logo of the secret organization against the Royal Family. Yunho's anger rose. He marched out of the kitchen and looked for Yesung. As soon as Yesung came, Yunho started looking at him in the eye. Yesung gulped upon seeing the teabag on his hand.

"Kim Yesung-ssi, what is this all about?!", Yunho shouted as he threw the teabag to Yesung's direction.

"I don't know, your Highness.", Yesung lied.

Yunho approached him and grabbed his collar. "Don't you ever provoke me. You know what I'm like when I'm mad, right?"

"Please, your Highness. I'm the breadwinner of my family. Please....", Yesung begged.

Yunho let go of his collar. "Only if you tell me the truth behind this teabag."

Yesung knelt to the floor and said, "Forgive me, your Highness. I needed money at that time...."

"And?", Yunho said, making Yesung continue his story.

"Miss Im wanted to poison Donghae with this tea. She said it has something that will make a person sleep forever. I didn't want to kill Donghae, so I only poured a little.", Yesung continued.

"Miss.... Im? Do you know her real name?", Yunho asked.

"I-Im.... Yoona.", Yesung answered.

"I knew it was the Ims all along!", Yunho said as he placed his hands around his waist.

"Forgive me, your Highness. Please. If you remove me from my job, what will my family say?", Yesung pleaded.

"Apology accepted. Just make sure you won't take any bribes anymore. One more violation and I'll really fire you out. Understood?!"

"Yes, your Highness."

Donghae woke up by late afternoon. He shifted his position, only to see Jessica sleeping. Jessica noticed him moving. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Donghae smiling at her.

"You took care of me?", Donghae said as he reached for the glass of water on the table.

Jessica shook her head and denied the fact that she stayed in his bedroom for hours. Donghae ruffled Jessica's hair, making her annoyed.

"What are you doing?!", Jessica said.

"Thanks, Jessica-ssi. I knew you were going to change for the better.", Donghae thanked her.

Jessica kept silent for awhile. Then, she spoke up. "You better take your medicine by 6 pm, okay? I guess my work here is done." She stood up, shaking the dirt off her clothes and looked at Donghae for the last time.

"I understand, Princess.", Donghae replied.

Jessica made her way out of Donghae's room and closed the door. She touched her chest and smiled. "Donghae....Even though it's a bit silly for us to be together, I will always reserve a place for you in my heart."

A-yo! :) I hope you like my update today. About Seohyun.... isn't it awkward for her to be Jessica's unnie in this story when in fact she's SNSD's maknae? -laughs-  And yes, Seohyun and Donghae met  a few years ago. Donghae just pretended he didn't know Seohyun. Watch out for my next update!