Chapter 16: “Today is the day (my heart grows fonder)”

It wasn’t long, that nearly a day and a half reached him, stuck in remembering whatever happened to the two of them the other night. Nothing, except maybe that he pushed himself too hard as she pushed herself away too hard. Rejection, oh sweet rejection he never anticipated was present, and it could be because of the love potion too. He would have never felt something so strong, Yoona was so beautiful, always had been, just that he couldn’t accept it at all.

“Changmin,” the knock from the door still hadn’t gone away. It was already sundown.  He kept quiet, sitting still in his room, stomach begging him to surrender.

His wife had always been there for him, and now she turned him away. Yoona. Yoona, what made you so different? What made you so intriguing?

This was all Krystal’s fault, the stupid love potion’s side effects had him thinking it was okay to love Yoona. It was okay to fall in love--- but the circumstance is wrong, all wrong, different, fake. Their love is a fake, surreal, a dream he wished never came, and wished never left.

“Changmin!”

He was not meant for this things, really. The feeling of love, the way Yoona was around him, how efficient she was, at how all of it seemed like a far off dream because of the potion and that they weren’t really making love, because love wasn’t existent in any of their lexicon, nor their hearts. It was not real, and that was what Changmin had been regretting the most. Because he was not in love, not really himself. But now...

“Changmin, would you open this door?”

Now, he kept questioning himself why was this all so weird and strange. She admitted things to him, he remembered, but only little things, and they were some confessions he had never heard from anyone, not even Sooyoung herself would admit. Again, it was all the love potion’s (slash truth syrup) doing. Or was it?

That she was in love. She wanted Changmin but couldn’t think straight because of something...

“Changmin, you’ve been in there since yesterday morning!”

That Yoona needed to be loved, she begged from him, but not in this manner that they would be forcing themselves to conceive the next heir.

“Changmin, are you in there?”

That she was here in Sangdokchi for her sister, and for her people, and she loved them so much she would do anything for them, a true ruler, a servant--- heart as pure as gold.

“Yah! It’s almost twilight!”

That Yoona would want Kibum to be there for her at all cost, never leave her side, and although Changmin was not quite sure if it meant love, but it sure sounded like one.

“Changmin. Come on, my prince, open it for me,” the knocking continued, but he was patiently taking it all in. “I have food. You need to eat. You love to eat. You haven’t eaten since the other night. Please, it’s me, your wife.”

She could say it so finely, so easily. His wife.

All at once, he had been crushing Yoona’s life, making it miserable for her dreams to come true. He might have been a man all the ladies in the village wished to have married, but he surely was the Yoona dreaded to have ever been with. And now he could not open the door, not to Yoona who was calling him since the morning, asking if he was all right.

Of course, he wasn’t all right. Yoona made him feel new, never before been exposed to the light, this Byungmi princess he had sworn to be with for all eternity. It was not the war, nor the prophecy. It might not have been love, but Changmin knew, as the epiphany held him up in nirvana, that whatever it was now that he felt, it was certainly going to stay for a very long time. And it wasn’t the potion, he knew very well. Something this strong could not merely come out of something artificial. It must be love. It had to be love. Why was he so blind?

“Leave me alone!” he finally replied, the noise stopping and a very loud sigh came from behind the door. He approached it, the knob locking and separating him from seeing her. It was just the door in between, unlike last night where they completely become too close. Yoona kept pushing him away though sadly saying that she wanted him so much. Was it so against her will to actually fall in love? Or had she already? With Kibum maybe?

He was more than confused.

“Why are you doing this?” she softly spoke, her sad face at the back of his mind. Because of the deal, Yoona. I was first to fall in love, even when I’m not that sure if this is really love. But if it is just the love potion, I think it should have worn off yesterday!

“Come on, Yoona! We have to go.”

“No, I’m not leaving until he opens the door,” she flatly responded. “Changmin, open the door! We’re going to leave for Yesseu to get Seohyun back her eyes. You’re going to die of hunger here! You haven’t eaten in a while.”

“Yoona, hurry up. Kyuhyun is waiting for us at the gates,” Kibum urged even further, Changmin heard while he just listened closely. “The prince might be asleep. Let’s go.”

He could see it, not literally, but inside his head. He was taking her away from him, from this madness and into her real purpose, not being the queen of Sangdokchi, not being Changmin’s wife, but someone other than her, indeed.

“No, not yet!” she continued whining, pulling away from Kibum maybe. “Changmin, you grown man! Do not make me look after you! I have to go!” Her stabs on the door were stronger than earlier, almost like pleading Changmin to just let her in, but that man was as still as a rock.

Kibum’s sigh was the loudest Changmin had heard from any person and he seemed aggravated the more, though he was silent now, waiting for Yoona to give up.

“Just leave already!”

“I’m not going to leave until you open this ing door, you sly man!” Yoona angrily retorted, kicking the door with her foot. “Damn it, Changmin. The waters are not safe for travelling, and while it is bearable at the moment, and while we still have time before my father comes tomorrow morning to fetch Seohyun, we have to leave now, as soon as possible!”

“Then leave! I don’t care if you do,” he answered her.

“I said I won’t leave until you eat something! You missed five meals, you glutton stop acting all strong!”

“Yoona, your majesty---” Kibum again chirped in but couldn’t anymore say another word when the door clicked. Slowly, Changmin revealed himself to them, still in his robes, chest slightly open with those shoulders so lean and simply amazing to look at. His eyes were lifeless, his face also was, probably because he had forced himself not to eat. It was this moment that his heartbeat went uptown, seeing her in a commoner’s clothing, some long skirt that reached her knees and boots of course.

Kibum bowed his head at Changmin’s ever fatigued state. “Your majesty, we were just leaving.”

“Without me?” He asked and Yoona smiled brightly.

The other prince was keeping his best manner in not to act as though he didn’t like that idea at all. “Your majesty, I thought Yoona asked permission from you and you declined to go.”

“Oh, that’s right,” he then said, shaking his head with a low smile. “Did you make the food yourself, Yoona?”

“Yes, I did and I’m not going---”

 He took the tray of food from his princess, smiling at her until his temper got to him, throwing it to the floor, uncaring of Kibum uttering what mermaid’s bear is wrong with you and of Yoona glaring at him so furiously.

Then all three were silent.

“You...you...” the princess was balling her fists to her side, tears strating now.

Changmin rolled his eyes, closed the door behind him, and added, “I said leave me alone.”

“You don’t know how much I wish I can do that, you imbecile!” she shrieked, only Changmin was again safe inside his own room, locking the door for comfort.

“You don’t know how much...how much I want to leave you alone but it seems you...” She grunted hysterically, kicking the door with her foot. “Fine! I’m ing tired of this anyway!” She hastily grabbed Kibum now, the two of them hurriedly pacing away as Yoona continued projecting her anger on her gloves.

Sunmi, her horse, met them in the entrance, Kibum at once mounting on it as Yoona stopped, a little worried of what to do. The skies were a bit foggy, clouds floating by, and the wind outside had grown stronger since earlier.

“You coming, Yoong?” Kibum asked tensely, as she wiped her tears. She looked so delicate this way, so cowardly now that Changmin seemed to have rejected her. Whatever happened to them the other night might have triggered this stir of emotions, but then again, Yoona had always been this soft towards the prince. She always had been and, as Kibum knew Changmin to be one of the calmest persons in the planet, could not have turned hot-blooded the moment he saw Yoona.

“Is something the matter, Yoona?”

She sighed, Kibum extending his arm. She took it, and she sat behind him, Sunmi grumbling. “Let’s go.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

Yoona closed her eyes, leaning close to him as he gripped the ropes. She was imagining the other night, how Changmin seemed to be in love with her, but she knew he was thinking of Sooyoung. Just Sooyoung maybe, and never her. It had always been like that, anyway. “Yes, I’m fine, Kibum.”

He dabbed her cheek with his fingers, Yoona gazing at him in surprise. Foreign hands they were, a bit rough on the knuckles; Changmin’s hands were so soft, gentle against her skin. “Had your hands been always...like that Kibum?”

The man flinched, turning away with his cheeks crimson. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t...have...”

She smiled, putting her arms around him. “I forgot that you went to the military and became a lieutenant.”

“Seohyun and the others might be waiting,” Kibum responded, Yoona holding her ring. “Are you sure you’ll sacrifice that for her eyes?”

“It’s for the best,” Yoona quickly answered. “And she’s the only left heir of Byungmi. We need to.” Not really, Kibum thought. The other one, the main one, was still very much alive and kicking.

“Did you bring the fake elixir? You know...in case Seohyun wonders what replacement we’re going to give.”

Yoona tapped her pocket. “It’s right here.”

With a strong tug, they ventured now towards the port, to the ship that had been waiting for them, again thanks to Kyuhyun’s relentless begging to borrow, leaving behind the palace of Sangdokchi, leaving behind Prince Changmin, who was watching them from his balcony window. His princess was taken away by the young debonair prince, much dashing, much more attractive than him. How dare he do that, touching her face and wiping possibly the tears that rolled down her cheek. Such a pain, that man, acting all heroic, a fairy godmother to fulfill Yoona’s wishes. Oh these things made Changmin sick in the gut.

When he got his hands on him without Yoona trying to defend that suspicious boy...

-o0o-

“We’re here. We shall wait for when it is okay to go there by foot,” Kibum reported to the princesses aboard, Yoona still not leaving the younger girl’s side and keeping her safe in her arms. But this sort of act prevented Kyuhyun from getting any close to her, and that need had been rather uncontrollable seeing that Nichkhun and Victoria were inseparable, and his conversations with Kibum hardly lasted two minutes. This was driving him nuts, being alone, but not really alone.

That confession the other day, still left a smirk on his lips just by remembering. His hyung was pathetic, untrained, and Qian had to kiss him midway his sentence just to make him admit something and being Nichkhun, admitting was the worst weakness. It seemed fine afterwards, Kyuhyun then reflected, although Nichkhun hadn’t come home last night early, probably out with Victoria for some who-knows-where adventures. And now they would not leave each other’s side, gazing at the clear night sky, pointing at stars and giggling, oh Nichkhun giggling was too funny to pass. But then Victoria would get violent, nudging his ribs as his hands were around her so ver tightly.

But even with this kind of entertainment, Kyuhyun sighed, it still felt lonesome.

“Hey.”

He turned at the soft voice, hoping that it was Seohyun. A little disappointed to see Yoona instead, he bowed his head at her and sat still very quietly, watching a romance play in front of him, Nichkhun and Victoria as main roles.

“Kibum said we’re arriving soon,” she informed him without really looking at the man and he nodded, eyes also on Victoria’s gleeful poking of his hyung’s face.

“So I heard,” Kyuhyun said, somewhat dismissing this. She was up to something, except he couldn’t be that sure, but really, weren’t all these royals that way? Kibum seemed to be hiding something from him as well, ever since the ring incident that happened the other time. And besides, why would the princess even talk to him, if it didn’t involve him getting used or life at risk or anything of exchange? They would need the pauper to do all the dirty work anyway, in return for something they would only be benefiting from.

But Seohyun was different, he then thought. She would always be different from the rest of them, that’s why he favored her more than anyone.

“I’ve never tried travelling during the night, though,” Yoona admitted.

Kyuhyun stared at his shoes, uninterested with this. “Me either.”

“And I didn’t know that that oppa liked your friend over there,” she started again, pointing at the couple star-gazing or probably looking at their reflections on the still water.

He chuckled lightly. “Yeah, my hyung’s shy to show his feelings.”