Chapter 13: “There are mortal secrets that are kept from immortals”

What was he supposed to do? He wasn’t a heartless man--- no of course not. He knew that trouble was around to stay, tease some more and maybe multiply through the days if not corrected. Thus he had to correct it. He had to apologize to Yoona, perhaps make up for the mistake he had done, a very huge apology required. But that was impossible, she must have been scarred for life of what she saw. That was too much; maybe keeping it a secret was a bad idea after all.

“What are you going to do?”

“I...I have to leave,” she replied,shaking her head with a smile. “The more of a reason I have to really leave because she would be cursing my name for the rest of her life.”

“She’s...she isn’t like that,” Changmin reasoned, almost in defense, believing what he barely knows as his wife. “Yoona isn’t that type of person so you’re...lucky.”

She shyly took his hand, her bag near her as the morning entered his chamber, minutes after the incident and where probably, Yoona had spread the news with Krystal and Seohyun, blabbing nonstop about how she caught her husband cheating.

“You take care of yourself, Shim.”

He smirked, pulling her to a strong embrace even though something else ached inside. “You keep yourself safe in China as well.”

“Worlds apart,” Sooyoung remarked. “But that’s all right. I have you inside my heart. And I’ll return when I can.”

Changmin planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’m sorry, Sooyoung. I... I can’t... I don’t know what to do now, with Yoona knowing and...”

“At least now she does. At least now,” she stopped him. “I’ll be away and she has nothing to worry about anymore.”

But maybe letting go was even harder. Maybe Sooyoung shouldn’t have just left. Maybe if stupid traditions were broken, perhaps he could marry her instead. In the afterlife, he would have to try again. Yoona could have been right about changing tradition, and he was in fact wrong of keeping it. Maybe even then Yoona had really dispised him, loathed him as a husband. Maybe before she already knew of his relationship with Sooyoung---answer to why she had been avoiding getting any close.

 Again he pulled a knotch of hair, unable to sleep too well of what happened the other morning.

“Thinking?”

He bolted upright with that startle. Sometimes he even could mistake Krystal for Yoona. They seemed to love sneaking without ever noise, like they were trained for it.

“Yes, because I know how to,” he answered his sister, as the girl got up and sat beside Changmin. The throne room was as wide and as peaceful as it had been, without any parties and celebrations recently. He was in his father’s seat while she took her little one. Four chairs according to the members of the monarch they were now in were settled at the front of the throne room. To each corner were hallways, leading to respective places around the palace. Facing him were the doors that opened to the village, and above these was a high-arched window, where the horizon met his eyes, the sun lining parts of the sea.

 He was watching the sun rise up, bothered by the noise from the horses and some of the main gates crunching earlier--- he couldn’t go back to sleep anymore after that. And surprisingly the other little pain was awake.

“Why are you up at this hour, Krystal?”

She shrugged. “I don’t sleep. I’m an... insomniac!” The last word was like a random guess, Changmin noticed, how she seemed to be six rather than sixteen. He thought about Krystal and her condition as a child, the sickly Krystal, getting hurt all the time, colds and coughs and runny noses. Her heart after all had a tear on the muscle as a child, so breathing got difficult until doctors repaired it.She was not fitting for princess life, let alone any ordinary person’s. She had to be checked upon by the doctor twice a week, before finally it stopped when she reached eleven and she began to do things that pleased her. If not, be met by a tantrum, and that meant bad news to her heart as well.

“Yes, well you’re a pretty bad liar as well,” Changmin remarked, rolling his eyes. “Did the noise a while ago caused you to stir too?”

She shook her head. “I told you. I didn’t sleep.”

“Krysal!”

“Okay, so maybe I did,” she admitted, twisting her lips for Changmin uncovering her thoughts. “But only for a little of an hour or two.”

“I’m not going to ask anymore why you were up late but I hope it was studying,” he replied, laughter energizing the throne room right after

“I know what that noise was because I was already awake,” she answered, sighing and fidgetting her fingers. “But you must not tell Yoona of it.”

Changmin’s gaze hastily fell on his sister. “What do you mean by that?” Right, not tell Yoona--- he didn’t even know where in the world to begin his apology so that Yoona would actually make contact or talk to him even for a second. If it weren’t for his pride as a prince and someone who had been keeping an image clear, saying sorry would be a breeze.

“You know that Seohyun’s room is next to mine, right?” Krystal started, hands behind her back as she stood up. “I heard her walk out of the room, but it was too quiet. Then I heard voices in the hall. I’m not really sure. Seohyun sounded a little happy and worried at the same time, rushed even, but almost like begging---”

“Krystal! My god,” Changmin staggered as he got off the seat, tripping nearly on the velvet carpets of the small steps. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Did you go check her room? She could have been kidnapped or something whent the guards were having their rest. Goodness, why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He was running at storm’s pace, Krystal running behind him hoping to be given a chance to explain but the man raced upward the staircase as morning hatched finally unto the sky.

“But it’s not---”

He kept clicking his tongue, heading now to knock on Seohyun’s door. Krystal pulled his hand to make any more further noise. Irritated, she shook her head.

“Let me finish,” she spoke quietly.

“Why are you talking like---”

Krystal punched the side of his shoulder, her fists ever so powerful than Changmin’s own. “Shut the up and let me talk first, will you? Yoona’s going to wake up any minute now so please give me time to explain.” Changmin rubbed the affected area, glaring.

“One minute,” Changmin responded. “If not, I’ll knock and really tell Yoona.”

“Okay, okay,” Krystal shrugged. “Listen, I went outside and saw Seohyun with Kibum and---”

“Kibum? That man kidnapped Seohyun? Why didn’t you call the guards or---”

She stomped on his foot to make him stop. “For crying out loud, he didn’t kidnap Seohyun-unnie.” Really, being talkative ran in the royal blood indeed. “He said they were going to the island in the middle of the ocean. They were getting Seohyun’s eyes back.”

“The island in the middle of...” he trailed off, eyes widening. “The island where we banished witches to? Seriously, they’ve never been there, both of them. How the hell are they going to pull this off? They will get hurt.”

“Kibum said don’t follow,” Krystal voice was cold, stony that Changmin stopped and stared for a while to check if it was really her sister speaking. “If they weren’t back by sunset, that’s the time for backup. Don’t ruin it!”

“What did they pay you?”

“No charge,” Krystal answered lightly, twirling around and eyes focusing on the steps. Changmin followed her, quietly as possible, as Yoona was still asleep. “I’m putting it on Kibum-oppa’s debt. Yoona shouldn’t know. She’ll panic and even worry for more. So our plan is to keep hush hush and tell her that Seohyun and Kibum went to town to meet...er, that peasant boy...what was his name again?”

“Kyuhyun, was it?” Changmin said. “And if Yoona actually went and visited the so-called pauper without finding her sister, what will we do by then?”

“Your charms of course,” Krystal smirked, a very cunning one, aging through it he thought. From six years old, she acted like twenty-six in an instant, now looking older and practically smarter than him. He sighed, crossing his arms.

“We are not in good terms lately,” he answered with his head down.

Krystal’s eyes were squinted. “What do you mean by ‘not in good terms lately’? Since when were you two ever in good terms?”

About to defend himself, Changmin fell short and realized Krystal was right yet again. That made her seem forty years old. “Well... I mean, we’re not arguing all the time like other couples do! And...and besides, Yoona usually made us some tea before breakfast, that’s bound to be a sign of friendship. And...and we do talk, and we do hold hands. Like other couples,” he gulped before going further. “Okay. So I’m wrong. Get to the point.”

“Real couples take care of each other,” Krystal muttered to his ear and he jolted up, scared suddenly. He saw Krystal in a new light, seeing a woman so mature she appeared to be more like the queen now, her features just like hers and even the way her voice flatly resembling her mother’s. “They sleep and wake up in each other’s arms. They hold hands because they weren’t told to do, but because they loved to do it. They kiss each other out of missing their other half, but not because people are watching. Real couples show their love through the smallest gestures like smiling and shyly slipping one’s hands into the others. Do you understand? Yes, you and Sooyoung.”

Changmin sighed, thumping his head for it. “I...If all women see it that way, then Yoona must be more than crushed.”

“More than crushed?”

“You didn’t know?” Changmin looked at this wolf in sheep’s clothing. Really, this little girl? She was an expert at underground business, digging up so many things even he himself was unaware of until she blurted them out completely. “She found out about Sooyoung and I being more than what she thought we were. I had to in of course and she completely took it as though it was nothing!”

She gaped. “Took it like it was nothing? This...this is serious. You have to go apologize to her!”

“I already did, Krystal and she said it was all right!” Changmin’s voice cracked, hints of panic coming to action. “Clearly she’s very bad at lying more than you are with geography!”

“Then that means she still is very furious,” Krystal responded, crossing her arms. “You really have to do something with this. See, this is your job now. Kibum and Seohyun leaving is the perfect timing to practice those rusty skills of yours.”

He scoffed. “You want me to treat Yoona...like how I treated Sooyoung? Would you think it’ll work? She’s not that stupid to see my real purpose. She’ll probably say, ‘You’re doing this because you’ve done something bad.’ And then bam, we’re awkward again.”

Krystal slapped her forehead, facing her tall brother. “You’re pathetic for a prince. I don’t even read books but I have one thing you don’t have. Common sense, maybe?”

“Yet, that’ll be insincere,” Changmin answered, looking at this closely.

“Make it sincere,” she rolled her eyes. “If you don’t start making up for the days you’ve wasted on another girl, I don’t think you two will ever last to be rulers. Remember, father and mother will be evaluating not how much you know about the kingdom, and everything around us but also the two of you working together. And if you fail,” she paused, smiling widely. “I’ll be the one to rule.”

“Yes, and get married as well,” he joked, Krystal glaring. “And that evaluation is a little unfair. We are only in this situation because of the war. If Yoona and I were married later on, perhaps things would be better or something. Or if we were never married at all, that would be the best! Look at this way: Yoona and I were destined to marry each other because we are the next leaders of the joint kingdoms Byungmi and Sangdokchi. They will be joined according to history if war strikes. And here we are. Civil wars with other nations, Byungmi coupling with our kingdom...” Krystal yawned. “My point is that if war never hit us, Yoona and I wouldn’t be forced into marriage.”

“But it is here and this is now,” his little sister attacking. “Treat her like you really mean it. You want to say sorry, show her that. She isn’t forgiving you yet for what you did to her, I’m very sure. Besides, you are a real couple to other people. You just have to be... sincere about making things work and maybe it’ll flow naturally. Come on, you want to start today? I’ll be willing to help as long as you don’t tell her about Seohyun leaving the palace.”

Silence filled the hallway, the sun’s beam glistening through the window, touching Krystal’s dark brown hai