HyunAe took his hand and led him to the palace gates, the grand white pearly gates that separated the royal family and elite from the town. They shined when the sun was up in their world and glowed at night to make sure people could always find their way home. 

“I can lead from here, princess.” He told her, squeezing her hand softly, “I have some place to show you that I bet you haven’t seen yet.” 

“Of course you do. I haven’t been able to venture out very far with my father being so strict, but I trust you. I’m sure this place must be special.” She told him, smiling. The gates opened for them and they swam outside into the town.

“It’s not close to the palace though. But I can protect you.” He promised her, he flicked his red and blue tail at her with a smile.

She flicked hers back, “I will hold you to that.” She told him and he led them away, swimming towards the outskirts of her father’s kingdom. They were close to the boundaries but not too far where she would be unprotected. 

The fish smiled at them as they swam by and HyunAe gave all of them her signature smile. Yonghwa noticed and found a smile on his own face as well. She was born to be Queen with her charm and love for her people. He would never want to take that away from her, she needed to be shown the world before being confined to the palace. 

He led the way as they approached a spot of coral reef, there were many colorful fishes surrounding them. And she looked in awe at the eels and anemone that swayed with the current like a gentle breeze.

The fish inside greeted her accordingly, "Why have I never seen this before?" She asked him. 

"This reef doesn't really get much attention, they mind their own business and don't cause trouble." Yonghwa told her.

"It's so pretty here." She smiled at all of the fish around her, a manta ray glided past and she waved. Yonghwa watched her spin around as she wanted to see everything. 

Her hair shined as the light hit it as well as her white tail. He reached out to hold her steady as her head spun, "Careful there, princess." He told her and all the fish gasped or gave knowing looks.

She blushed as she felt his rough hands holding her arms again, "Sorry." She said softly.

"It's okay, you were excited." He said, not wanting her to worry that she was being bothersome. It was interesting to see someone get as excited as he used to when he first saw new things.

She sighed sadly to all the fish around her, "I'll want to visit them again." She said.

"I'll take you here as often as you want." Yonghwa replied back. "But we have to go now, don't we?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yes, my friend wants to meet you." She said sadly.

"Come on then." He held out his hand to her and she took it. They both waved goodbye to their companions and swam away back towards the palace.

A brunette with a pink tail stood waiting for them in front of the pearly gates. She saw HyunAe and gasped loudly. Yonghwa let her hand go slowly as she swam towards her friend and gave her hug, "Hello, Seohyun." She said pleasantly.

"HyunAe, is that him?" Seohyun asked back.

HyunAe turned and saw Yonghwa looking down and scratching the back of his neck. She gestured for him to come closer and he did. "Yes, this is him, Yonghwa meet Seohyun." She said.

He held out his hand to her and she took it, shaking gently. "Nice to meet you." He said politely.

"And you." Seohyun said a bit breathlessly. She turned to HyunAe, "You never told me he was this good-looking." She whispered.

"Yeah. Well anyway, we have to get back inside, right Yonghwa?" HyunAe said, asking him.

He nodded and moved to stand behind her, "Have a good day." He told Seohyun.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay outside longer?" She asked him with a pout on her face.

"I'm sorry but I have to follow HyunAe back inside." He said, "It was nice to meet you." 

"As for me too. Have fun." Seohyun said, "I'll see you around, Yonghwa." She swam away and HyunAe let out a sigh of relief.

"You don't like her very much?" Yonghwa asked HyunAe as they went back to her room in the palace. She climbed onto her bed and hugged herself.

"I don't not like her. She's a good friend. But she isn't a part of the palace and even though she will never admit it, she will forever have an agenda to get into the palace." HyunAe said sadly.

"You mean how I stay with you in the palace until I go home which is right outside the gates?" Yonghwa asked her, moving closer.

"Exactly like that, status is about where you live in relation to the palace, is it not?" She asked back.

"True, very true. I have moved up just by being truthful." Yonghwa said.

"That's usually what my father appreciates, over fake people. But the elite are different, they want to make a name for themselves." HyunAe sighed sadly.

"You'll have to see her again, won't you?" He asked her.

"Yeah, she's one of my closest friends." She answered.

"Do you tell her your secrets?" He asked again.

"Not really. She could use them against me. Plus she has always been prettier than me." HyunAe admitted, turning her head down sadly.

He went up to her and curled her hair behind her ear, "Hey, don't say that. You're the prettiest one." He told her.

She looked at him with sad eyes, "How do you know that? All the guys want Seohyun when we walk by them." She said.

"It shouldn't matter how many guys want you." He said, "What matters in the end is that the guy you want, wants only you." He smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back.

"You're right." She said, "It's funny, Yunho oppa says that to me all the time." 

"Well your brother is wise." Yonghwa said to her. “You should listen to him about guys especially.” He rested his forehead against hers before pulling away. “Have a good night, HyunAe.” 

She froze and he gave her a smile and headed towards the door. “Same to you.” She stuttered, her face turning warm. He gave her one last smile and walked out of the room. She let out the breath that she didn’t realize she was holding and sighed.

She couldn’t understand it, it was weird to be around someone who was so open about his thoughts. he was being truthful and truly cared about her, or else he wouldn’t have done that. He wouldn’t have pressed his forehead against hers, it was a sign of trust. 

She had to figure this out properly, what she was going to do about it. Especially with Seohyun around. She had seen the way her friend had looked at Yonghwa, he would be Seohyun’s new toy if Seohyun got her way. And somehow that made HyunAe’s heart hurt a lot.

She didn’t want him to leave her, he promised, after all. To stay by her side for as long as she wanted him. She hoped he would honor that promise.

Author's Note;;
Another update :D please enjoy~ 
I'm having major issues with this just because I don't wanna friend zone Yonghwa. LOL. 
but I have to cuz this was the whole premise of the story when I started it. :o 
so please bear with me until we get to the good parts. XD <3
next time I'll try not to friend zone >< cuz I can't XD
i always root for the underdog and now I'm the one who's writing the underdog and it's hard. 
i have no idea how authors do this to themselves..