Y O O N A

It was around eleven at night when the call came.

“Hello good evening?” I spoke into the receiver.

“Ms. Im? This is the hotel concierge. Your highness, we just received mail addressed to you,” there was a slight hesitation in her voice as if she was hiding something back.

“Then please have it brought up,” I said as calmly as I could.

“Y-your Highness. We think it’d be best if you come down and view it with our security team,” the concierge stammered.

I immediately turned to my father.

“What is it?” he mouthed.

I shrugged.

“Alright,” I told the concierge. “We will be on our way.”

~~~

As soon as we got down to the hotel lobby, a pair of security officers escorted us into a small room located at the back. In the room was a low, flat metal table. And on the table were a bunch of envelopes.

“Good evening, Your Royal Highness,” a man in his fifties with graying hair bowed at us. His name tag said that he was David Chang, Chief Security Officer. “We apologize if we disturbed you this late at night.”

“It’s okay,” my father nodded. He gestured towards the envelopes. Sure enough, my name was written on the back. “Please proceed.”

“We received these from an adolescent girl some thirty minutes ago,” Mr. Chang began. “As part of our security measures, we often check the content.”

“Yes, for anthrax, harmful poisons and the like,” my father cut in. “Our letters undergo those procedures all the time.”

The Chief Security Officer nodded and continued, “Fortunately, these letters are free from such toxins. But the contents are … not too pleasant. We thought of throwing them away at once but we thought it’d be more ethical if we’d get the princess’ permission first, since they are, after all, addressed to her.”

“I’d like to see them,” I told him defiantly. I didn’t like the way this guy was addressing me in third person. Does he think I wasn’t worth talking to? Was he afraid of me? I clicked my tongue. Really, now.

“A-are you sure?” Chang-man asked me.

“As long as they’re not poisoned,” I replied as nonchalantly as I could and picked up the first envelope.

To Princess Yoona

Aw. How cute. I was rarely addressed this way. Smiling, I slid out the piece of paper and unfolded it. My eyes widened upon seeing what was inside. The words were hastily printed in the blackest ink, some it dripping downwards, creating a nasty, horrific effect:

“GET AWAY FROM DONGHAE! OR ELSE WE WILL KILL YOU WHILE YOU SLEEP!”

I threw it aside and picked up another envelope. The letter in this one was worse. It was written in dark red ink – no, it’s written in blood.

“I’M GOING TO KILL MYSELF BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU ! ONCE I’M DEAD, I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER.”

Another one read:

“STAY AWAY FROM HIM AND WATCH OUT. YOU ARE NO LONGER SAFE.”

I looked up at my father. He took out his handkerchief and patted at my eyes. I didn’t know that tears were already b at the edges.

“Who sent these? Did you get the name? You should’ve asked the sender to register in your log-book! Did you catch her on your security camera?” My father demanded.

“S-sir,” Chang-man stuttered. “The girl wrote down a fake name and she wore a hat and a jacket so we couldn’t really use our security video to track her down.”

Dad looked extremely agitated. I’ve never seen him like this.

“Alright, thank you,” he stood up and bowed deeply. “Please double the security. Even though these letters may seem harmless, we still should not take them lightly.”

“Of course, sir,” Officer Chang assured us and bowed back.

~~~

“Call him,” my father barked out once we were back in our room. “Call him and tell him to make a public statement as soon as possible that there is nothing going on between you.”

I nodded obediently.

“There really is nothing going on between the two of you, right?” my dad glowered at me.

I hurriedly shook my head and fumbled for my mobile phone at once. My forehead was drenched in sweat and my heart was behaving like a wreck train.

“How’d you meet him in the first place, anyway?” my father wanted to know. “Did you know that he’s a pop-star? Don’t you know better than to associate yourself with the likes of him?”

“I helped him get around Dokbayo once,” my voice sounded strained and I was fighting a wave of tears. “I – I only found out later that he was pop-star. I didn’t know, honestly. I – I only wanted to help. I only wanted to be a hospitable host.”

“You did it for Dokbayo,” my father rushed to me and hugged me. I realized that he was crying also. Then, he hastily wiped off his tears and let me go. “Go. Call him at once. I’m sorry if I reacted this way. I just didn’t like seeing my daughter being treated like that because of someone else.”

I dialed his number as quickly as I can.

“Put it on loudspeaker,” my father ordered.

I did as I was told. We heard the phone ring a couple of times and then…

“Hello? Yoona-sshi? Where are you? Are you okay?” Lee Donghae spoke so fast.

Dad looked as if he was ready to yell so I put my hand up to stop him.

“Let me take care of this,” I mouthed. Clearing my throat, I spoke into the receiver. “Mr. Lee? I’m alright. I just need – “

“Where are you? Are you safe? Is your Dad with you? Are you in the hotel? Can I come over there right now?”

My voice was trembling. “Mr. Lee, please, I want to request –“

“Oh, Yoona-sshi. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?”

“DONGHAE, WILL YOU PLEASE STOP INTERRUPTING ME?” The moment I screamed, tears gushed out. “Listen to me. I need you to make a public statement that nothing is going on between us.”

There was silence at the other end of the line.  

And then, “Okay. I will. But where are you? Please tell me. I want to talk to you.”

“Hang up!” Dad whispered harshly.

I muttered a soft “bye” and pressed the “end call button”.

“If he doesn’t make that statement, I will personally contact his manager and make sure it happens,” my father declared once I’d put my phone down. “Tomorrow, we’ll leave for Dokbayo.”

Dad stomped into his bedroom and slammed the door shut.

I wanted to go lie in my bed. I wanted to go to sleep. I wanted to forget about everything - forget that Carrot-head exists. I wanted to wake up and realize that this was all just a bad dream.  But I couldn’t move.

I felt as if all the energy had been drained out of my body.

Trembling, I sank down to the ground and tears fell soundlessly down my face.

Is he worth it?

At the back of my mind, I see him. I see his eyes. I see his smile.

But I also see the angry fans. I see the death threats.

Is he worth it?

At the back of my mind, I watch him embrace me again. But then I also see my father’s troubled and anxious face.

Is Lee Donghae worth all this trouble?