❝New Sense
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                                   "I prefer it here,"

The raven-haired lad stared the girl in front of him, his hand continued to rub her wounds with a cloth soaked in water and ointment. Naeun was still wearing her white ball dress. Her maid had wanted to change her but L insisted that they should treat and sew her wounds and cuts first. The maid and the boy in her house, Yoseob were not an expert in heavy treatments, but he was.

Naeun looked like a mess. Her hair strands were all over the place; her white dress was covered in a mixture of mud and soil as well as the princess’ blood. Her face was the worst, brown marks, cuts and stiches here and there, but she looked so beautiful to him. Always had, always will.

L was not from the kingdom Hearts, in fact, he actually grew in a place where the people there hated Hearts. Call him a spy, a traitor, but till now, he never let out the secrets of Hearts. He didn’t have a reason too, but he did now. The lad passed to be a guard so easily because he was best in martial arts. He was assigned to be one the Crown Princess’ guards, he was the maknae actually. He served the princess for more than a year now, but not once had the princess noticed him. She was too busy……Performing her duties.

It did not bother L one bit. He did not deem the princess as an arrogant and an inconsiderate girl. He admired and even praised her loyalty and love towards her people. To him, she was the epitome of a perfect princess. Always smiling and helping people. Her smile was always sincere and loving, but he noticed that there was something lacking.

 And now he knew what it was.

Beneath all those smiles and kindness laid an empty heart. It was not that she didn’t love sincerely; it was her who no one loved. She lacked the love from her parents whom had left her years ago as he was told. She was giving too much rather than receiving; it was not fair, a little too cruel too actually.

Sure, L saw the two people who cherished the princess. The young Prince Jaewoo and her cheerful maid Jung Eunji. They were the only two who gave Naeun what she needed, love. It angered L, how this beautiful person was always in the shadow, always taken granted for. So he vowed to protect her with his life

He was loyal to her, he had respect for her, he cherished her. And perhaps, he even loved her. But like the princess, no one was to know his real feelings, not now.

The girl’s eyes twitched. She tried to open her eyes but was immediately blinded by the light. Naeun tried a few more times before finally fluttering her eyes open. She was welcomed by an unknown view. The room was small, definitely small. But it had that feeling of warmth in it, Naeun figured this out quickly. She had that little sixth sense going on in her head. The former princess tried to get up, but was stopped by a handsome stranger dressed in simple white T-shirt. But weirdly, the shirt had stains here and there.

“Lay down, your neck is not all good yet.” The lad said.

My neck? What is wrong with my neck?

As if on impulse, the girl’s right hand went up to her neck. To her surprise, it was wrapped with bandage.

“You stopped bleeding a few minutes ago, but still, don’t move much. It will hurt you.”

Naeun nodded absentmindedly. She didn’t know why, but the lad looked familiar, and he seemed like a good person. Therefore, she had taken his word for it. She somehow truste-

Ow! The girl winced. She suddenly felt all these pain coming back to her again. Worse, Naeun felt hot liquid running down her cheeks. It was blood, she knew it was. All of the sudden, the horrifying memories came back to her. She was once again in fear. She felt so vulnerable, so scared so-

Tears followed the running red liquid and she struggled to wipe them away. However, her hand was grabbed by the lad beside her. His coffee eyes looked tired and worn out, but Naeun noticed that he was with determination and……Concern?

The lad got up his seat and went near Naeun. He wiped away her tears and blood with his bare fingers and stained them on his shirt, “Your cut is open, I am going to have to sew it again. It’s going to hurt, so just bear with me, okay?”

Naeun remained silent. L opened a small box on a table to take out few things needed. He then sat on the bed and gave Naeun a small smile, “Hold on a bit,” He whispered.

The stitches definitely hurt. It was like having your skin by sharp needles over and over again. Actually, it was the exact same thing. Naeun felt the pain, but somehow, she was not bug by it much. L’s handwork was so soft and gentle it made her feel calm. Scratch that, she did not feel calm. A little embarrassed and nervous actually. L’s face was just a few inches away from her, they were so close she could feel his breath running down her eyes. Oh, forget the pain, she now felt dizzy. So dizzy.

“All done,” He exclaimed.

“W…Wa…Ter,” Naeun’s voice croaked as she asked him.

“Shh, don’t talk. You neck probably still hurts,” He ordered lightly. “Water? I’ll get it for you.” In one swift move, he was out of the room.

“I don’t give a damn care about your cat! Stay here and watch Agasshi with me!” The girl wearing a blue dress ordered. Her hands held her companion so firmly his shoulders hurt.

“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Yah! Jung Hyerim, let go of me!” The boy yelled as he wiggled himself out of the girl’s hands. “And why do I have to watch her? There are two of you here!”

“Oh, and here we go again,” she sighed, “Yang Yoseob. Just because a few people call me Eunji doesn’t mean that there are two of me…s? Aish, forget that, I’m Jung Hyerim, but some call me Eunji. Is that so hard to understand?”

“I was not talking about you, idiot.” Yoseob remarked, his head turning to take a glimpse at the room where Naeun was in, “I was talking about him. Who is he again?”

Eunji slapped her head, “Why do I have such a stupid friend?” She murmured.

“I heard that,” Yoseob retorted, his eyes still glued to the door.

“He is one of Agasshi’s guards. He stayed loyal to Agasshi and followed us.”

“A stalker then?” Yoseob asked.

Eunji smiled sarcastically, “Yes, a kicking stranger that saved Agasshi’s life!”

“Touché Eunji, touché,”

“Since when do you speak French?”

“Since I was a baby, because I am just that awesome,"

“Oh shut up,”

“No can do, because, like I asked, who is he? And by that, I meant his name,”

Eunji plopped herself onto the small couch while looking at the closed room, “I’m not quite sure. Everything was so quick, he was moving so fast. The only thing that I got was that his name is L.”

Yoseob gave his best friend a disbelief look, “And you trust him with Princess Naeun just like that? Hyerim-ah! What if he’s a bad guy?”

“If he was a bad guy, why would he risk his life to save Agasshi? Besides, he was wearing the royal guard suit. As I said, he’s just a loyal guard who foll-” Eunji’s explanation’s was cut short when the door room suddenly opened. The lad in discussion stepped out. The other male in the room was shocked to see all those blood stains on his shirt. He was quite sure that L did not have so much on him when he first rushed in.

“She’s awake,” L notified them, “You can change her clothes first, but be careful, especially with her neck.”

Eunji nodded, “Ah…Deh,” She would have been careful even if he didn’t remind her. She remembered the agonizing scene where her mistress was injured with a knife on her neck. If they were a moment too late, Naeun may had been gone by now.

“I’m going to get some water,” L spoke again before making his way towards the kitchen.

Yoseob and Eunji’s eyes followed the lad’s back. It was not until he disappeared into the kitchen had they removed their gazes, “What’s with all the blood? Eunji-ah, did he…Perhaps…Kill her?”

“Yah!” Eunji snapped as she hit the boy’s back, “Stop saying such thing, will you?”

“But all those blood!”

“They are stains, now shut up!”

“Fine then, how about this? How did he know his way into your kitchen?” Yoseob questioned again.

Eunji looked at him with a bored face, “You know what? I’m done talking to you.” She announced before entering the room, leaving Yoseob alone in the living room.

“But…But…All those blood!” He murmured again.

“Agasshi?” Eunji addressed carefully, taking small steps towards the bed. Her mistress turned her head to look at the girl, giving her maid a weak smile.

“Eu…n…Ji…eo…ni,” She tried. The older girl was alarmed by this. She immediately went to Naeun’s side and said, “It’s okay Agasshi. I’m here, don’t talk much.”

“Gwen…cha…na?” Naeun asked, concern filled her croaked voice. Eunji was moved. Even in her worst moments, her mistress was still asking about her. This was what made Eunji cherished her lady so much. This girl in front of her was so sincere, so kind-hearted and loving. It broke her heart to see Naeun like this.

“I’m fine, Agasshi,” Eunji assured the former princess, “I’ll help you change, then Agasshi can eat chicken porridge that I cooked. L-goon is going to bring it in,”

“L…Goon?”

“Deh, Agasshi. He’s the one that saved Agasshi. He was also one of Agasshi’s guards.” The older girl explained.

Ah, no wonder he seemed so familiar.

“Wah, Daebak!” Eunji exclaimed, much too Naeun’s surprise. “Did L-goon did all these?” She asked caressing the stiches on Naeun’s face one by one, “He’s really good Agasshi!”

“Thank you,” a sharp voice spoke from behind. Eunji turned her head around, only to meet the sight of her mistress’s savior holding a tray of glass water and a bowl of chicken porridge.

“L-goon,” The older girl called.

“You haven’t changed her yet, Eunji-shii? I’ll leave these here then. She can eat it later.”

Eunji was a little annoyed for the fact that L addressed her mistress as ‘her’ and not ‘Agasshi’. Respect for higher status had always been a principal in her life, especially when concerning the royal family. But she knew that this lad did not mean it, so she let him slide.

“Gamsahamnida, L-goon,” She bowed her head little, as to which L did the same, “Eat. And rest well princess,” He smiled and went out the room.

Eunji looked at Naeun again. The girl’s face was red. Eunji placed her hand on her mistress’s forehead, “Agasshi, did Agasshi perhaps catch a cold?” The girl in bed responded by having her head shook.

“Then why is Agasshi’s face so red?”

Eunji did not know how it was possible, but Naeun’s red face definitely went up another shade, “Ch…Change,” The girl pleaded, and so Eunji obeyed, her mind forgetting the fact that her mistress was actually blushing in front of a male.

"Hyung! Hyung! Hyung! Open up!"

The young Queen sighed, "It's your brother again,"

"I noticed," The king muttered, "Open the doors," He ordered the guards.

The crystal ambled door opened under the orders of their king. To no one’s surprise, a fair skin lad stood in front of those doors. The boy was no younger than 18. His hair was combed nicely and his bangs were perfectly placed. He also had high nose and visible cheek bones. However, his big round eyes and the constant smile on his face made it hard for people to take him seriously.

“What is it now, Sungjong?” His brother asked, looking very annoyed.

The younger of the two brothers raced towards his brother and sister-in-law, earning yet another sigh from the Queen, “It’s L hyung! L hyung!” He sang.

“What about him?” The lady questioned, flipping more files and records of their kingdom.

“He’s coming noona, L hyung is coming!”

“Jinjja? After all these years?”

“Deh hyung, he’s finally coming.”

Sungyeol raised his eyebrows as his right hand went straight up to his chin, “Well that’s weird,”

“Definitely weird,” His wife agreed.

“But it’s L-hyung! Don’t we all love him?”

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✉(A/N).

So, wow. I thought that I was going to post this chapter on the weekends, but I got it finished early, so, why not? By the way, you guys may notice that this chapter is a lot shorter (almost half as short) as the last chapter, but I think this chapter has more interactions between our mains wheread last chapter was just...Oh, there's L, finally! Lol xD I'm assuming you guys got bored last chapter, with all of thoose flasbacks nonesense (again, LOL) so I hope that I made it worked in this one, wasn't our croaked voice Naeun cute? No? O...Kay..

Finally, be sure to comment (As L and Naeun interacted in here, and if you want more xD) and for those who haven't suscribe, please do. Thank you :)

( h a r l e q u i n. )