PROLOGUE

 

~BAEKHYUN~

 

 

"CODE 45, I REPEAT, CODE 45! SOMEONE GET RID OF THAT HORRIBLE THING!"

"HAND OVER THE KNIFE. I'M BRAVE ENOUGH TO STAB IT."

"QUICKLY, YEOL! IT'S THREATENING OUR LIVES!"

 

The door suddenly slammed open, and Suho hyung ran in with a panicked face.

"WHAT IS IT?! WHY ARE YOU GUYS ALL SCREAMING?!"

His eyes travelled down to the floor, where we were all staring at with fear. He braced himself, getting ready to face a huge, red-haired Sabertooth with five faces.

 

A tiny, black insect was crawling on the floor.

"SPIDER, HYUNG! IT'S A SPIDER." I cried out in panick.

Suho hyung blinked a few times, registering all of this. Then he sighed and released all his previous worry.

 

"I was expecting some kind of nine-foot deadly monster. But seriously?! A spider?! That's what caused all this?!"

Chanyeol's jaw dropped.

"It's not just a 'spider'! It's a freaking SPIDAH."

 

Kyungsoo suddenly yelped.

"Ohmygod LOOK! I THINK IT JUST MOVED."

We all gasped and froze in shock, staring at the black insect. Each of our hands were armed with gloves, air fresherners, or random forks.

Silence filled the room as we watched the unmoving spider.

 

It suddenly crawled a centimeter to the left.

 

We all jumped three feet back with a scream.

"OHMYFREAKINGGOD IT MOVED. SOMEONE PLEASE STEP ON IT." I cried out desperately.

"NO! MY SHOES WILL GET DIRTIFIED BY ITS INTESTINES." Kyungsoo panicked.

"I'M TELLING YOU, SOMEONE JUST GET THE KNIFE SO I CAN THROW IT AT IT." Chanyeol boomed in his deep voice.

 

Suho hyung sighed and crossed his arms, shaking his head at us from afar. He walked up to us and simply stepped on the black spider so it was crushed miserably under his shoe.

We all cheered.

 

Suho hyung rolled his eyes.

"And to think one of you guys are supposed to be leading the country."

I widened my eyes and raised my hands up in defense.

"It's not MY fault this stupid and erted spider had to crawl up my leg and--OH MY GOD I DON'T EVEN WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT."

 

Chanyeol suddenly crossed his arms and gave Suho hyung a look.

"And besides. You shouldn't be talking, hyung. Who was the one who screamed over fifty times on that roller coaster ride last month? And the one who cried in the bathroom when their pet fish died? And not to mention last week's thunderstorm--"

"Yah!" Suho hyung interrupted. He gave a look at Chanyeol. "Steve was a special fish! ... And, well, anyways... Where are the others?" He said while looking around.

"They're all in the other building watching some kind of Chinese drama." Kai made a face. "Chen just HAD to be a jerk and brag about how he could watch it with them. But I bet you that guy's sleeping through all of it right now without understanding anything but the actors' 'Nihao' greetings."

Suho hyung chuckled and grabbed a seat to sit down, the rest of us gathering around the table as well.

 

"Well, then, that's their loss, since they won't be able to hear what I'm about to say right now."

He suddenly turned to me.

 

"Baekhyun, the Palace sent for me to assist your new secretary back here."

I blinked a few times.

"Secretary? I'm supposed to have a secretary?"

"Yeah. You know... the woman who kept track of your stuff just until last week. Don't you remember Ms. Lee?"

".... Ms. Lee? Who's Ms. Lee? How come I don't remember her?" I tapped my chin in thought, thinking of all the girls I knew in the past with a 'Lee' last name.

 

"How old was she?" I asked.

"Forty-eight."

"That's why." I pointed out.

 

Suho hyung rolled his eyes.

"Well, she retired. So I'm going to go out of the Palace to find a new secretary for you."

We all shut out the rest of his sentence right when he said 'out of the Palace'.

"WHAT?! Y-YOU'RE GOING OUT?! BY YOURSELF?!" Kyungsoo's jaw dropped.

"Yes. I am. And don't even THINK about dragging yourselves with me because--"

Chanyeol stood straight up and slammed his palm against the table.

"I'M GOING."

"WHAT?! No! I was ordered to go alone with four guards and ONLY the four guards. All of you guys are to stay right HERE."

We all pouted to ourselves and sat back down, dissapointed. Being the 'cool' one, Kai cleared his throat and waved off how childish he had acted before along with us.

 

"And besides, this isn't for fun. I'm not going out to buy kimbap. I'm going out to find an appointed official who will work for Baekhyun and the Palace." Suho hyung added.

"Then when are you leaving?" Kyungsoo asked.

"Tomorrow. But I'll be back in no time."

"Still! I can't believe you get to leave without having a whole red carpet and a mob of guards and reporters behind your back." Chanyeol pouted.

"I bet you'll just escape to the arcades in the streets... Lucky you....." Kai grumbled.

 

In contrast, I crossed my arms, always having been the quick one able to make the best of all situations.

"Well, fine. Let's just send him to go alone being all lonely in the lonelier outside of the Palace where the people are all probably lonely. We'll just have our own fun without the lonely Suho hyung. Right?"

"YEAH." The rest chorused, throwing looks at Suho hyung.

 

He just chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"As you wish, then. I'll start packing up right now."

 

We all quietly watched him leave the room with envy.

Chanyeol gave a small grumble.

"He'll get bored and regret it. I bet it's all hot and dirty outside of the Palace."

"Yeah." Kai nodded.

 

I shrugged.

"And besides, it's just a secretary..... It's not a big deal."

 

Or so I thought.

----------------------------------------------------

~SUHO~

 

I looked at the piece of paper in my hands. It had a city name messily scribbled.

 

Andong.

Yup. This was the place.

 

I gave a heavy sigh, already finding this a bit weird. All the buildings around me were old and run-down. There were few people that I saw, and they all looked pretty poor and common.

And to think the secretary to serve the Prince lived here.

 

Nevertheless, I kept on walking, trusting that the Palace had their own reasons.

It was seconds later when I caught sight of a highschool, also run-down and old. It was incomparable to the schools near the Palace.

I reluctantly walked in, making sure to contact the rest of the men to come here. Although I doubted that a poor highschool would help me.

 

Park Yoonhee of Andong.

I had been instructed to find Park Yoonhee.

 

As I walked near the gates, many groups of students ran around, calling out to their friends and laughing amongst others. School had just ended, it looked like.

Before I was about to make up my mind to leave, a certain name being called reached my ears.

 

"YOONHEE!!"

 

I froze and turned around, looking at the group of girls where the voice had come from. A girl with dark brown hair turned around, answering the voice that had just called her name.

Yoonhee. That was the name.

Instinctively, I immediately followed the brown-haired girl who had been called. She walked fast, and I had to move quickly to match her pace.

 

So the Palace had chosen a high schooler as the new secretary?

I immediately shrugged it off, figuring that she was some genius that just happened to go to a school like this. There had to be reason for everything.

 

And so I followed the girl, not knowing that the second I started doing so, I had taken the path that would change the life of Byun Baekhyun. Completely.

 

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CHAPTER ONE

 

~YOONHEE~

 

 

"WHAT?!"

My jaw dropped. The shock and surprisement ran up and down my body like lightning. The words that the guy in front of me had just said echoed across my brain.

I slowly shook my head, dazed.

"... No...." I quietly said.

 

And just like that, I ran into the stage of denial.

Because this couldn't be true. Of course not. It wasn't possible. This had to be joke.

The guy in front of me was NOT from the Seoul Palace. The black car behind him was NOT a car of the royalty.

 

I am NOT being called to be the Prince's secretary.

 

Regaining composture, I sharply looked up at the guy in front of me. He had the clothes of the people who were only seen on TV, seeming to be lighting up the whole place with the words 'RICH AND EXPENSIVE.'

If it hadn't been for the ridiculous words that had just come out of his mouth, I would've walked past the dollar sign covered guy in a blink of an eye.

 

WIth a deep breath, I switched back to the usual, confident face expression of mine. The guy slightly widened his eyes, having been surprised everytime I made a move that didn't look up at him.

In fact, I looked DOWN at him. Royal, rich, high-classed or not.

 

All he was was a guy. A guy.

A guy that obviously was in the wrong state and the wrong city.

 

"I'm sorry, but you got the wrong person. I'm not the secretary you're looking for. I have nothing to do with this."

He frowned.

"But didn't you say you were Park Yoonhee?"

"Yeah, but--"

"Then you're the right person. I was told to go and find Park Yoonhee of Andong. And here you are, Park Yoonhee of Andong."

I froze at the spot, at loss for words.

 

"But... But SURELY I'm not---"

"Look. As you can see, I've came from far away. We only have a limited amount of time to get back, and I just found the Park Yoonhee of Andong. So can you just quit being so stubborn for no reason and just follow us?"

I widened my eyes at the grip he suddenly formed on my wrist. Immediately, I slapped his hand away without hestitating.

 

It took me a second to realize that I had just slapped away a guy from the royal Palace.

Sure, I was fine with it.

But the guards that had been hiding behind the bushes weren't.

 

Immediately, I found us surrounded my four, well-built men in black suits who all seemed to have popped out of an action drama.

I rolled my eyes.

"It's just a freaking SLAP on the HAND. What, do I get arrested?! Do I get sent to court?!"

The guards all stared at me open-mouthed, surprised by my 'rude' tone of voice. Especially to people from the Seoul Palace.

 

Seriously.

These people need to get used to being shunned once in a while.

 

The guy who had just had his 'royal' hand slapped by a commoner looked at me, obviously a little annoyed. But he didn't reach for my wrist again.

"Hey, I know it's hard to NOT be stubborn for a person like you..." I shot him a glare. He cleared his throat. "But there's no acceptable proof that you're NOT the Park Yoonhee we're looking for. So for now, I'm sorry, but you'll have no choice but to come with us back to the Seoul Palace."

 

I widened my eyes. Wait, WHAT?!

"H-Huh?! But I told you this is ridiculous--"

"Sorry. Unless you have legit proof, we'll have to take you back by force."

 

Now THAT changed everything. Everything.

I suddenly felt helpless, completely confused about everything and shocked at how my situation changed so much in a span of three seconds.

 

Was it because I slapped his hand?! Is THAT why he was suddenly threatening me to take me by force?!

This was kidnap. It was real kidnap. The royalty was kidnapping me. The Seoul Palace was kidnapping me.

 

I gasped, a sudden image of guards pulling me into a helicopter popping inside of my head. God, this was NOT good. I needed to get away from these people, and fast. They were crazy. And demented in the mind!

I my phone inside of my back pocket. Should I call Mom or Yunho? No, they wouldn't be able to do anything..

Should I call Sehun?He was probably at home.. He would come....

I quickly typed in a short and urgent text to him behind my back.

Hopefully he'll come soon and I won't die...... And I would be rescued from this danger and....

 

It was then when I realized for the fiftieth time how ridiculous this was.

 

I scoffed and put my hands on my hips. I was going to get out of this mess. And I didn't need no help.

Immediately, I glared up at the guy, blowing on my bangs.

"Okay, I never thought I would say anything like this, but LOOK at me. I live here, wear this, and go to this school. Do you seriously think I was chosen by the Palace to serve as the 'oh-so-royal secretary' for the Prince?!"

One of the men in black suits nodded in agreement. The guy shot him a look.

 

He then frowned at me.

"But you're the only Park Yoonhee I found here! YOU should be the experienced secretary that the King sent for. Who else would it be?!"

Beep. Beep.

"Umm.... sir?" One of the men behind him suddenly spoke up, a phone in his hands.

"What." The guy snapped.

"... Uh.... Well.... Actually, the King just sent us a notice that he had told us wrong. It's not Park Yoonhee we're looking for....... it's Kim Yoonhee."

 

I immediately brightened up and put my hands on my hips, lifting my chin up.

"SEE?! I told you so! I'm not Kim Yoonhee! So, if you'll excuse me, I have some important stuff to do--"

"Wait." The guy grabbed my wrist and spun me around. I groaned.

 

"What?! What now?! I told you, you have the wrong person, and that I don't have anything to do with this!"

The guy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, okay, I know..." He suddenly let out a deep breath. "But... You see....."

 

"We're seriously sick and tired of this trip. It's a long ten hour trip back to the Palace, and we still haven't found this Kim Yoonhee girl. Could you just.... you know... say you're Kim Yoonhee and come back with us?"

I didn't have to think for a moment before answering.

"NO. No, no, and NO. I'm happy here with my life just FINE, and NOTHING will convince me to go work as some secretary for some--"

"The salary is a HUGE deal."

Stop. Right. There.

"How much?" I immediately demanded. The guy smirked, seeing a total change in the mood.

 

"That, isn't something that I can say through my own lips." He said.

I widened my eyes. "Then, that means it's a LOT, doesn't it..."

"A WHOLE lot. It's not just some rich business owner you're going to be working for. It's the Prince of Korea."

 

The Prince of Korea.

I would be paid by the royal family. All our debts would be paid back easily. Our lifestyle could completely change. Food, our house, clothes.... Not to mention Yunho's private school fees...

 

Oh who was I kidding?! I didn't belong in some Seoul Palace.

 

I cleared my throat and looked down, fiddling with my uniform.

"Sorry, but my answer is still the same. I never had a liking towards the royal family, and I still don't."

 

But the money...

 

The guy sighed, obviously dissapointed. He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small golden business card.

"Here. If you ever change your mind, call. We're leaving tomorrow at two."

With that, he and the men walked away, getting back into their extremely expensive car and taking off probably with extremely expensive gas.

 

I looked at the card in my hands, eyeing the phone numbers neatly printed on it with a frown.

 

Kim Suho

Seoul Palace

 

"... I should probably throw this away later..." I muttered to myself.

With a sigh, I stuffed it into my pocket. It was then when I remembered that Sehun was probably around here somewhere looking for me while panicking.

I immediately turned around and started to run to find him, cursing myself for getting him so worried for no reason.

 

It was then when he suddenly popped out of the corner two feet away.

 

I froze and widened my eyes, jaw dropped.

"H-How..."

Sehun shrugged.

"I came earlier and eavesdropped." He said blankly.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"Of course."

Sehun walked up to me. He was dressed out of his uniform and was in casual clothes.

 

I suddenly frowned.

"But how'd you come so quick?"

"Seriously, Yoonhee. You can't send a text to someone in all caps 'I'M BEING ' expecting them to relax.

I laughed, sheepishly smiling.

"Hey, well, I was panicking."

 

Sehun rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

Then he suddenly turned serious, his voice turning low.

"You're not really going to go, are you...."

I froze.

I don't know. Am I?

 

"No. Of course not." I said, suddenly feeling as if the business card in my pocket was some stolen gold piece.

Sehun's gaze was stern.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

 

I'll forget about this whole thing. It's not much of a big deal. Just a small, annoying confusion between Kim Yoonhee and Park Yoonhee.

It was nothing.

 

And yet, the business card inside of my pocket was never thrown away that day and the day after that.