“Okay, everyone, so here’s the plan,” Krystal explained as they all huddled like otter penguins in a circle.

           Princess Sica, Avatar Taeyeon, Secretary Yoochun, Minhyuk and the rest of the band, and most importantly, Prince Yonghwa, were all present for the little meeting.

“Seohyun Eonni’s surprise birthday party is in two days. We all need to organize this properly and make it as special as we possibly can. She can possibly be the next Queen of the tribe, so by now, we should treat her like royalty too.

           “Taeyeon Eonni,” Krystal turned to the half-asleep-half-awake Avatar sitting by the corner. It looks like she did not get any decent sleep again. “You need to take her out around town or something while we prepare the party venue.”

           “Right, got it,” Taeyeon nodded groggily.

           “Yonghwa Oppa’s band mates,” Krystal turned to the goofing around with the melted snow. “You guys invite Seohyun Eonni’s friends from all over the city.”

           “Do they have to invite Kyuhyun?” Yonghwa just couldn’t hide his growing jealousy.

           “That cucumber guy? Gosh no, please,” Sica scoffed.

           “We have to,” Krystal replied. “Seohyun Eonni is close friends with him. We can’t leave him out. That wouldn’t be fair. Besides, he will come and look for her anyway even if we don’t invite him.”

           “Fine, just make sure that the party will be cucumber-less or I will personally sink the whole place in the arctic trenches,” Sica coldly said, making Taeyeon giggle in her own little corner.

            Then Krystal continued, “Sica Eonni, Yonghwa Oppa, and I will make sure that the place will be ready by the time Seohyun Eonni arrives with Taeyeon Eonni. Then later, Yong Oppa will have some ‘alone time’ with her so he can propose to her properly.”

            Secretary Yoochun loudly cleared his throat and asked, “What about me? How may I be of assistance?”

            “Just do what you think is best. I trust your wisdom,” Krystal said with a smile.

            After all that being explained, everyone dismissed to their own businesses. Sica immediately grabbed Taeyeon by her arm and dragged her away to an empty hall where they can talk in private.

             “You look like you didn’t sleep at all last night. What happened? Did you study all night about Avatar Leeteuk or something? Don’t tell me you stayed up searching your soul and thoughts for answers again,” Sica asked.

             “No, I talked to him in my dream,” Taeyeon replied with a yawn as she linked arms with Sica.

             Sica immediately let go of Taeyeon’s arm in excitement and squealed with a jump. “What did you talk about? How did it feel like to talk to him? Did you learn anything new?”

             “All I can say is that it wasn’t a very long conversation,” Taeyeon vaguely replied. “At least I initiated. He, however, didn’t really reciprocate much.”

             “Well that ,” Sica dejectedly sighed. “Oh well, you can always dream about him again.”

             “I don’t really control most of what I dream about. Some of it I pretty much forget when I wake up. Sometimes I don’t even remember having any dreams. I’ll still try though.”

             “Honestly, I really want to know what the Avatar has to say. From what I’ve seen in his portraits, he’s pretty good looking during his younger days. He has this cute smile and cute dimple much like that Lay kid from the clinic. I wouldn’t mind dreaming about him if I were you,” Sica giggled.

              “Of course he’s good looking. What do you expect? He is my past life,” Taeyeon retorted with a smirk.

              “Tch, whatever Taeng. Let’s go out and look for gifts for our Seohyun.”

***

            For the rest of the day, Yonghwa went to Seohyun’s house to spend more time with her. This time, he even taught her the basic guitar chords, which she patiently learned even though her fingers weren’t positioning on the frets quite easily. Her fingers eventually became sore, but since she was a healer, soaking her fingers in cool water soothes them immediately.

            As Yonghwa’s music floated around the room, Seohyun finally asked him something that she always wanted to ask him. “Prince Yonghwa, have you ever written a song about me?”

            At first, Yonghwa gulped the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat. Then he easily and comfortably said, “Of course. I’m working on one right now.” He’s been trying not to be awkward with Seohyun lately.

            “Oooh, can I hear it?” Seohyun enthusiastically lent her ears.

            Yonghwa began strumming his guitar and a playful smile on his face. Then he started singing,

            “When I see you, my face turns red. When I see you, my heart goes ‘dugeun-dugeun’* Like a child, I shyly talk to you…”

(Love Light - CNBLUE)

            At this point, Yonghwa’s face actually turned red and his heart’s beat accelerated on queue. Seohyun, however, had an adorable smile on her face. She seems to be enjoying the song.

            “When I see you, I smile for no reason. Like a fool, I just keep doing that. Yeah, I think love came to me…”

            The entertained girl whimsically giggled when she heard the lyrics. “Prince Yonghwa, what is this? This is too cheesy!”

            Ignoring Seohyun’s remark, Yonghwa took over the song and began to sing the chorus,

            “You are, Darling, more beautiful than the stars in the sky, something that shines deep down in my heart, my own love light.”

            Seohyun suddenly burst into laughter. That wasn’t exactly the reaction that Yonghwa expected to receive, but he just laughed with her anyway.

            “What’s wrong? You don’t like it?” Yonghwa asked with a chuckle.

            “Oh Prince Yonghwa, I do like it very much, but it’s just too cheesy,” Seohyun giggled some more.

            “Ugh, Prince Yonghwa, Prince Yonghwa, Prince Yonghwa,” Yonghwa suddenly scowled.

            “What’s wrong? Did you get offended, Prince Yonghwa?”

            “Stop calling me that,” Yonghwa demanded.

            “Why? You are Prince Yonghwa. What else am I supposed to call you?”

             “Call me Yong. Like you always did when we were kids. And I’ll call you Hyun.”

            “Eh, why? It sounds too informal. You’re the Crown Prince and I am nothing but a lowly child of a former palace minister. You shouldn’t even be visiting me like this. Don’t you have other important things to do?”

            “What could be more important than spending time with you?” Yonghwa whimsically smiled.

           “Eh, shut up.” Seohyun lightly slapped his arm and rolled his eyes. “Taeyeon Eonni has been teasing me a lot lately since you were always hanging around the house. She keeps calling you ‘my Prince Charming.’”

            “Tell her to call me ‘Yong Charming’ instead. I don’t like the term ‘Prince.’”

            “Eh, stop it, Prince Yonghwa. Go home,” Seohyun said as she playfully pushed him. “You’re more like Yong Childish than anything.”

***

            On the sunset of Seohyun’s birthday party, her close friends all gathered by the water fountain near the palace. All day they pretty much ignored her and never mentioned anything about her birthday. Taeyeon basically acted like she didn’t care and Minhyuk even bragged to her about everyone giving him gifts—because apparently was his fifteenth birthday too—to make her feel bad and hide the surprise. Yonghwa went to her house for his daily visit, but he still sang the same old “I’m a Loner” song and not a single happy birthday song. Of course she felt bad that nobody remembered her birthday, except Kyuhyun, but it did not matter to her. It’s not like her birthday is a mandatory celebration or worldwide holiday or anything.

            When Taeyeon got home after supposedly training with Sica and refusing to learn more about human anatomy and healing from Seohyun, she finally asked the downcast birthday girl for a walk down by the ports. The countdown to the birthday surprise starts now.

            When they passed by Kyuhyun’s refurbished ship by the docks, Seohyun heavily sighed.

            “What’s wrong? Did your boyfriend Yonghwa dump you or something?” asked by the mischievous Avatar Eonni.

            “No way! He’s not my boyfriend,” Seohyun suddenly acted up.

            Taeyeon couldn’t help but giggle. She remembered that Fany also had the same funny reaction when she about Nichkhun. Now I miss Fany, Taeyeon thought with a short, unnoticeable sigh.

            “Kyuhyun Oppa is leaving in a few weeks,” Seohyun finally said.

            “So, your boyfriend Kyuhyun Oppa is leaving you?” Taeyeon threw her head back and laughed some more. She even snorted. It wasn't very lady-like at all.

            “No! Eonni, stop that!” Seohyun slapped her arm. Taeyeon tried to hold back her laughter. “He offered me a ride to the Earth Kingdom so I can see my parents but I’m not sure if I should go. I have this strange feeling that I should stay here for the time being. Do you think I should take this chance?”

            Taeyeon saw the setting sun in the horizon and remembered the birthday party. “Honestly, I think you should think about it a little longer. Now come with me.”

            “Where are we going?”

***

            Back at the fountain, fire bender Shim Changmin lit the candles to Seohyun’s birthday cake. Water benders Sica, Krystal, Kyuhyun and Suho all worked together to bend an ice sculpture of the birthday girl. Yonghwa rehearsed a newly written song with his band with Secretary Yoochun suggesting some musical dynamics for more romance. Some of Seohyun’s friends were also there to help with food preparations. So far everything was going well. When everything was all set and done, Yonghwa’s band left for the empty bridge to set up lamps and candles for the Crown Prince’s proposal. Now all they have to do was wait for the birthday girl.

            Minutes passed and the sun was about to set. Taeyeon and Seohyun were still not in sight. Sica was getting really impatient. Yonghwa was getting jittery.

            “Where are they? They should be here by now,” Sica said as she impatiently tapped her foot.

            Soon, the assigned watchman Zhang Yixing, also called Lay, started running to the fountain as fast as he can, loudly whispering, “Everyone, they are coming! Get to your places!”

            When Taeyeon and Seohyun finally turned the corner where the fountain was located, everyone, including Taeyeon, started singing, as cheerfully as they can. Kyuhyun took the cake and walked toward her.

            “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, beloved Seohyunnie, happy birthday to you!”

            Seohyun’s mouth gaped in surprise. The ice sculpture of her head was displayed by the fountain, while Krystal water bended some bubbles to give the place a festive atmosphere. The place was filled with bright smiles. All the people she held close to her heart were there to celebrate her fifteenth birthday. Each one had gifts to give her too. She couldn’t help but tear up a little. They have never done a surprise party like this to her before.

            “Make a wish, Seohyun!” said Kyuhyun as he held out the birthday cake in front of her.

            She then closed her eyes and thought of a wish. I wish I could see my parents again. And I also wish that Sergeant Keroro is alright wherever he ended up hopping to. With a quick blow of the candles, the flames were out. There was a round of applause. Taeyeon gave her a big squeeze. She hugged the Avatar back.

            Before Yonghwa could even come up to her and say something, her other friends already crowded around her. First one was Suho, who even madly blushed while handing her a wrapped up present, which were obviously some books since he works at the library. Then Kyuhyun gave her a big warm hug and a whole new stack of sweet potatoes that he got from the Earth Kingdom. Sica also gave her a hug and patted her head like a puppy. Then she gave the birthday girl a wonderful new coat that she and Taeyeon personally bought.

            When the excitement calmed down a bit, Yonghwa finally approached Seohyun. He took a deep breath and then exhaled. Now is the time.

            “Prince Yonghwa, I didn’t realize that you were here,” Seohyun said when she finally noticed him.

            “Is it because I didn’t give you a present yet?” he said with a smirk.

            “Oh, I don’t mind if you don’t give me a gift. Your presence is enough, that’s for sure.”

            He giggled at her remark and gently took her hand. “Come, I’ll show you something. Let’s sneak out of the crowd for a while.”

            “Where are we going?” Seohyun hesitantly followed him.

            “You’ll see once we get there. It’s a surprise.”

            Prince Yonghwa and Seohyun silently walked together hand-in-hand in the growing dusk. The atmosphere was a bit awkward, so Yonghwa tried his best to play small jokes along the way to ease the tension. He’d play with her hair, about aging—since it was her birthday—and sing some random songs. Seohyun gladly reciprocated with a chuckle from time to time. Although she did not admit it to him directly, she really enjoyed walking with him. Eventually, they reached the palace front.

            “What are we doing here?” Seohyun asked.

            “Tell me, do you miss Sergeant Keroro?” Yonghwa asked as he gripped Seohyun’s hand tighter.

            “Yes, but what does that have to do with the palace?” Seohyun’s face was just filled with innocence.

            “Come with me,” Yonghwa whispered in her ear and tugged on her hand. Seohyun gladly followed. After running through some halls, they finally stopped at the wooden door that leads to the Spirit Oasis. “Sergeant Keroro is in here.”

            When Yonghwa entered the Spirit Oasis, he was surprised to see that someone was already there. This wasn’t part of the plan. The Water Tribe King wasn’t supposed to be in there!

            “Oh, Prince Yonghwa, I did not expect you to come to the Spirit Oasis at this hour. In fact, I never expected you to ever visit the Spirit Oasis at all. Did you come to pray for your upcoming marriage?” the King said with his lousy sense of humor. “Is this the lucky lady whom you plan to be marrying? My, my, who would have thought that it would be the darling Seohyun of all people?”

            Seohyun awkwardly bowed at the sight of His Majesty. Then she mumbled loud enough for Yonghwa to hear, “What is going on here?”

            Yonghwa’s sweat started to drip. Then he stuttered out, “T-the Chief i-isn’t sup-posed to be here…”

            Suddenly, they heard a frog croak from near the pond. Sergeant Keroro. Seohyun’s face suddenly lit up. She couldn’t help but squeal and run to the direction of the croaking sound to look for her precious little pet. When she was finally reunited with her bullfrog, she held it close to her face for a cuddle.

            “I almost gave up on looking for you!” she cried. “I missed you so much!”

            “I hate to break up your little reunion but I’d like to say congratulations, my dear child!” the King finally announced.

            Yonghwa tried to stop the King. He can’t just congratulate Seohyun when the Prince hasn’t proposed to her yet!

            “Um, Father, please…,” Yonghwa tried to say something.

            “Congratulations for what, Your Majesty? That I just turned fifteen today?” Seohyun innocently asked.

            “About your engagement to Prince Yonghwa of course!”

            “Excuse me?”

            “Thanks to you, our Crown Prince Yonghwa’s throne will be fully secured! I knowing that you are one fine lady—since you lived here in the palace for a few years—I am definitely assured that Prince Yonghwa’s future reign will be a success!”

            “But, I’m not engaged to anyone…,” Seohyun awkwardly said. Yonghwa cursed himself at the background. The whole moment was just ruined. How could all the bad luck just come to bother him on this particular day?!

            “Oh, but you are the lucky girl, am I right, Prince Yonghwa?” The King turned to Prince Yonghwa who was nervously fidgeting in his corner, not knowing what to say. “I heard you and Secretary Park talking about the lovely Miss Seohyun a few days ago. He even said that marrying the girl will rid you off all shame because of her purity. The throne will be even more glorious when you finally become King! We shall arrange for your marriage as soon as possible to secure your right to the throne.”

            Seohyun glared at the nervous Prince with her two big, previously-gorgeous-but-now-scary eyes that pierced through his soul. She doesn’t look all too pleased with what she was hearing from the King considering her strange gesture of breathing heavily down her nostrils whenever she gets angry. Marriage? For the security of the heir? What was all this about? Did they all plan this without even telling her anything? Is this the whole reason why Prince Yonghwa has been hanging around her house lately? Is this why Taeyeon, Sica, and Krystal have been acting strange when it comes to topics about her and the Prince? Why didn’t they say anything about being chosen as the Prince’s wife?!

            Then, the confused and upset girl respectfully bowed to the King and apologized saying, “I’m sorry, but I was just here for my pet bullfrog. I shall be taking my leave now, Your Majesty.” After that being said, she stooped down to gently place Sergeant Keroro in the bosom of her coat and hurriedly went on her way without even saying goodbye to the Prince.

            “Argh! How did this just go terribly wrong?!” Yonghwa cried in agony even in front of the King. He needs to fix this or Seohyun won’t even consider him a friend anymore in the least.

***

            Meanwhile, everyone from the party was starting to clean up and to finish all the remaining food. Afterwards, everyone went home for the day, but Taeyeon and Sica sat together by the fountain to talk. Although they rarely agree on opinions and sometimes start thrashing each other with not-so-graceful words, they still stuck together like opposite magnets anyway.

            “So, do you think Seohyun will actually say yes to your brother?” Taeyeon asked as she clicked her fingers together to light up a flame on her fingers.

            “You’ve seen it yourself that she adores him,” Sica said nonchalantly while admiring her newly manicured nails.

            “Yeah, but this is Seohyun we’re talking about. She’s kind of hands-off when it comes to love because she would rather waste her time on ‘more important matters’ such as being a good citizen or doing community service like helping old people chew their food or something.” Taeyeon held the flame close to her breath for warmth and then blew on it like a candle.

            “What could be a bigger community service than being Queen?” Sica raised her eyebrows. “Besides, they fit perfectly from the start.”

            “How could you all do this to me?” Seohyun cried when she heard Sica. The angered girl had run back to the scene of the party to complain and seek comfort from her eonnis but now she realized that they were both part of the gang too.

            “Whoops, looks like the proposal didn’t go well,” Taeyeon mumbled near Sica’s ear.

            “Do what to you?” Sica stood from her seat beside Taeyeon at the fountain and approached the upset child. Taeyeon stood up from her seat too.

            “You could have told me that the authorities are looking for a Crown Princess! I could have thought about it and made a decision on it! Why did you all silently tried to get me closer to Prince Yonghwa just to get me to like him more? If you all thought I was fit for the Crown, why didn’t any of you tell me, Sica Eonni? Why act in secret? I feel like a naïve sacrificial lamb to quickly secure Prince Yonghwa’s right to the throne. Now I don’t know what to do…”

            “I knew this wouldn’t end well!” Taeyeon exclaimed, mostly to save herself the humiliation of joining forces with Krystal in the first place. She then held the sobbing Seohyun in her arms. It was a rather strange sight; Seohyun’s long arms engulfed the tiny Avatar, making it look like Taeyeon was comforting a giant.

            “We didn’t mean it in a sacrificial-lamb kind of way,” Sica said dejectedly. In her mind, she repeated Krystal is so dead over and over again because she actually had nothing much to do with this whole marriage thing. “I think Yonghwa didn’t tell you because he was afraid of this—your reaction to a sudden marriage, I mean. He didn’t want to get married either, but if he had to choose, it would totally be you because you’re very special to him. If you say no, his life will end miserably.”

            Seohyun continued crying in Taeyeon’s arms as if the world was about to cave in. Since the Avatar was literally in a really awkward position in the grasp of a tall crying girl, she lightly patted Seohyun’s back and said, “Of course, Sica will defend her brother. We’ll punish Sica and her weirdo family later. Now let’s go home, birthday girl. We’ll reflect on this when we get there.” Then Taeyeon gave Sica a signaling wink, hinting her to back off for now.

***

            All night, Seohyun did nothing but lovingly Sergeant Keroro’s frog head. The Avatar just watched her do that for hours, until finally, she placed the new blue fur coat that she and Sica brought for the girl’s birthday over th girl's shoulders.

            Then she sighed and said, “You want to hear a story? Stories always keep your mind off of things.”

            Seohyun looked at her eonni and paid attention.

            “Once there was a girl named Taengoo,” she began. The truth is she actually had no story to tell her, so she just let the words flow out of nowhere, making up the story as she went for the sake of just conversing.

            Seohyun chuckled. This was the first time that she smiled. The whole marriage plans really bothered her. Knowing that everyone kept it a secret from her added to the weight of it all. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the Crown Prince. In fact, she likes him very much. She wasn’t really sure why she was upset about it so much. Maybe because there was too much pressure in the situation. Maybe because she had been denying her feelings for him for such a long time that she was easily repulsed by the idea. Besides, what about her other plans for the future? Wouldn’t they be compromised by this? This is why they should have told me as early as possible so I could have thought about it thoroughly!

           “Taengoo was badly bullied as a kid,” Taeyeon continued her story as Seohyun was reflecting on things.

           “How could you be bullied? You’re the Avatar,” Seohyun chuckled in amusement.

           “Well nobody knew it at that time. Anyway, the bully stole the money that Taengoo’s mother gave her for her errand. She tried to fight, but alas, she was too weak. So she begged for mercy. ‘I’ll do whatever you want!’ she said in a weird squeaky little voice and then…,” Taeyeon told the story so animatedly as if she was telling it to a preschooler.

           “Eonni, what’s your point in all of this?” Seohyun interrupted the Avatar’s story.

           “Shush! Let me finish. Then the bully said, ‘Fine. Get your brother’s friend and make him date me!’ Even though Taengoo though it was ridiculous since the bully was ugly as hell, I mean gosh, nobody will date that stupid bully even if they get offered a thousand pounds of gold! Anyway, even though Taengoo didn’t want to, she trudged out in the hot Fire Nation summer to look for her brothers.”

           “So what happened next?”

           Taeyeon thought for a while. It’s been about two years. She almost forgot that the ending of this story was the very horror that she tried to erase from her memory for such a long time. She breathed a heavy sigh. Not this story of the volcanic eruption again.

           “Well, let’s say her life changed forever,” Taeyeon tried to mask the sadness from her eyes with a smile. She was supposed to make Seohyun feel better, but now, ironically, she just made herself feel bad again.

           “What the heck was that story?” Seohyun snarled.

           “The point is that even the worst of all trials can be a key to open many good doors,” Taeyeon said it more to herself than to Seohyun, sounding like a wise old woman. She remembered how she met Fany after the eruption and was adopted into the Royal Family a month later. It's true. Something good did come out of that terrible night.

            “I understand what you’re trying to say, but I don’t get what that has to do with your story and what that has to do with my situation.”

            A strange grin started to form on Taeyeon’s face. “It doesn’t have much to do with you, but it does for me. I believe my soul searching has finally ended. I already found what I’ve been looking for.”

           "Huh?"

***

           The next day, Taeyeon hurriedly went to the palace to meet Sica and tell her about the new things she learned and decided on as she searched her soul the night before. After fixing her messed up brown hair and catching her breath, she finally announced her new findings to Sica.

           “Sica, I’ve been thinking lately. Seohyun told me that Kyuhyun was leaving and even heading to the Fire Nation and later to the Earth Kingdom for a few days. I thought maybe I should go with him and travel to other places. No offense, but I’m kind of sick of this freezing place. I kinda miss not slipping on ice or catching a cold every now and then. I just want to wander around on my own for a while so I can have time to reflect on things. Maybe I can even figure out how to communicate with my past lives by then. And face it, I pretty much mastered water bending, right? I mean, with my ‘Water Monster from Hell’ I’m already unstoppable!” Taeyeon jokingly chuckled.

            “You couldn’t even avoid my wave with that ‘Water Monster from Hell,’” Sica rolled her eyes. “Anyway, do you really think that you should leave the North Pole so soon? Don’t come crying to me when you realize that your water bending skills need more improvement!”

            “Gosh, Sica, just tell me that you will miss me. You don’t have to act so cold,” Taeyeon teased the Ice Princess. “Besides, I’m sure you’ll miss getting frustrated by my amazing ‘fire-ice’ techniques.”

            “Whatever, Taeng,” Sica turned a cold shoulder.

            “Anyway, I already figured out something very important about myself while I was reflecting on things, and I did not have to talk to my past lives about it,” Taeyeon finally announced.

            “What’s that?” Sica asked. She seemed excited to hear about it too.

            “The key is my past,” Taeyeon vaguely answered. Honestly, Sica was getting so sick Taeyeon’s vague answers. She could barely understand anything when the Avatar talks.

            “For my sake please explain further,” Sica said in an annoyed tone.

            “Even the worst of all trials can be a key to open many good doors,” Taeyeon quoted herself. “In other words, those terrible things that happened to me keep appearing to me in my dreams for a good reason. When I fell in the cold arctic sea a month ago, the dreams started coming back, warning me of coming danger. I just need to know why I always dream of my past. It could be the key to future events! The dragon, the eruption, my brother--they could all mean something!”

***

            Seohyun continued working at the clinic for hours. She tried her best to avoid Prince Yonghwa since she felt that she wasn’t ready to face him with this marriage proposal at all. Besides, she just turned fifteen. She had never considered marriage at such a young age. Plus, why would she even agree just to secure Prince Yonghwa’s crown? If she was to get married, she should at least not be used like that. Marriage should be sincere.

            Just as she was helping Yixing with a stressed patient later at twilight, the Crown Prince unexpectedly appeared at the clinic front. Yixing immediately approached him and bowed for respect, but Seohyun just continued tending to the patient. The last thing she wants to deal with is another royal pain in the .

            “Your Highness, what brings you here?” asked the young nurse.

            “Lay, I need to talk to Seohyun,” Yonghwa said with much authority.

            Yixing immediately went to Seohyun and told her that the Prince was there. Seohyun just shook her head and told him that she doesn’t want to talk to the Prince at all.

            “Sorry, but he doesn’t really want to talk to you,” Yixing said when he went back to Yonghwa.

            “Fine, I’ll force her then.” Yonghwa went out of Yixing’s way and forcefully grabbed the girl’s hand. “Let’s go,” Yonghwa said as he grabbed her arm.

            “Hey, let go of me!” Seohyun squealed. “I never agreed to anything!”

            “I just need to talk to you! Why don’t you ever listen to me?!” Yonghwa raised his voice.

            Yixing readied some water to strike at the Prince. Seohyun was his friend and he wouldn’t let anyone be rude to her even if it were royalty. “Your Highness, let her go. Now.”

            Yonghwa and Seohyun both calmed down. Then Seohyun motioned Yixing to stop.

            After Seohyun agreed with much hesitation, Yonghwa dragged her out far to a bridge deep in the city. As they walked in uncomfortable silence in the growing dusk, both felt really sorry for each other and for themselves. Being royalty has never been easy. Being caught up in political affairs surely wasn’t either. If only they were just two ordinary kids with ordinary lives, this love wouldn’t be so complicated.

            “I’m sorry for being so rude and all the stupid things I’ve done,” Yonghwa began as he ran his fingers through his dark brown hair.

            “No, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have refused and ignored the higher authority’s call. I’m sorry, Prince Yonghwa,” Seohyun also apologized.

            “No, you never did anything wrong, Hyun,” Yonghwa sighed. “I’m just this stupid Prince who can’t even get a Princess. I still don’t understand how those fairytales easily found love like that.”

            Seohyun chuckled. Afterwards, none of them said anything. They just continued walking in the icy streets.

            “Oh, is that Minhyuk? Jonghyun Oppa and Jungshin?” Seohyun asked, trying to make out the figures as they approached the bridge.

            Without wasting another second, the three began playing their instruments. The sweet music drifted toward Yonghwa and Seohyun, making them feel all weird yet brighter at the same time. The terrible mood was slowly dispelled by the melody. When the couple finally came in plain view, Jonghyun, who was playing guitar with an amused smirk on his face, nodded at Minhyuk for his singing queue.

(Star - Kang Minhyuk)

            “The star in the sky that is shining, the star shining far away from me; it’s like you came down to my heart…”

            “What is this?” Seohyun asked in surprise.

            “I actually planned this for your birthday but it didn’t work out so I used a different song this time,” Yonghwa explained.

            “The star engraved in my heart, the star shining in my heart; I think it might be you…”

            As Minhyuk continued singing, Yonghwa finally mustered all his courage to confess. So he began, “Listen, Hyun, I can’t really do much of anything right, but I care about you a lot.”

            “Can you hear my quavering voice, oh star? Can you feel my passionate heart? You’re my star…”

            “Even if many others can care for you better than I can, I just hope that you won’t forget that I still care. I’m just saying this because I might just be in a little corner of your heart. Many more people can come in your life and leave bigger impressions on you than I can. I want you to know that you left a great mark on my poor little heart. If you could just let me stay there in that little corner of yours, I’ll be content, even if I’m not in the center. I’m not asking you to marry me at all if you don’t want that. Even if I was not able to save you, or find Sergeant Keroro for you, I just want you to remember this failure of a Prince who at least tried. For me, that’s enough. That’s all I ask.”

            “...even when time passes, always shine at the same place. My heart will only be given to you…”

            Seohyun bit her lip and tried to understand what the Prince was trying to say. She wanted to tell him that she did not care about his flaws and failures. To her, even though he is the supposed Crown Prince, he was just like everyone else. He wasn’t perfect; he wasn’t the kind of Prince to come and sweep the Princess off her feet, but Seohyun did not mind. Nobody is perfect. A friend is to be accepted despite the flaws. She even admits to herself that she isn’t perfect either.

Besides, friends don’t forget each other as time passes. Through the times they spent with each other since they were children, Seohyun had permanently marked the place for Yonghwa, Sica, and Krystal close to the center of her heart.

“From a long time ago, I knew that you were the love I’m dreaming of; Let’s always stay together…”

“Hyun,” Yonghwa said her name as he stared right into her soul. “When we were in trouble in the glaciers, I thought I was going to die before I tell you something very important.”

“What’s that?”

 “I…after that accident, I realized that every second in life is precious. So before I lose any more time whiling away I thought that I should just tell you now that…”

“That?”

“I love you.”

Meanwhile, Taeyeon and Sica were discussing important matters and future plans as they walked together around town. When they turned a corner near the bridge, the sweet music drifted through their ears.

“Even if time passes, I hope you always shine on the same place. My heart is only yours…”

            “So, do you really think going with Kyuhyun and leaving the North Pole is a great idea? What about your water bending training? Are you absolutely certain that you won’t need me to train you anymore? Besides, what if your dreams are just, you know, dreams? They could mean nothing...” Sica asked Taeyeon but she wasn't really listening.

            “Your heart’s engraved star, your heart’s shining star—I hope it’s me; Forever will I love you…”

            “Hey, that song sounds really familiar,” Taeyeon said as she stopped in her tracks.

            In a few seconds, Sica’s jaw suddenly dropped. Her face, which happens to be pale as white already, turned even paler. “T-taeyeon look!”

            Taeyeon immediately took a glance at the direction Sica pointed to. On the bridge was Yonghwa’s band playing music, and right next to them was Yonghwa and Seohyun…

            “Dae…bak,” Taeyeon mouthed out.

            “Oh my gosh, I can’t look,” Sica turned away.

            From faraway, which was Taeyeon and Sica’s point of view, the couple’s faces were so close to each other as if they were about to kiss. The couple had a passionate gaze in the eyes of the two erted eonnis, when the truth was, Seohyun just lifted her head up from crying on Yonghwa’s shoulder after a hug. The Prince, of course, wiped off the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. Then he let his hands linger on her face for a little more so he can catch her tears. There was no kiss at all.

            “Let’s get out of here and give them privacy,” Taeyeon said with a suggestive wink. And so they left without really knowing what was going on.

            “You’re the only one my eyes see, Will you only look at me too? Let us be each other’s star…”

Seohyun took a step back to take a deep breath. She could not believe it, but after the Prince said “I love you,” she automatically reciprocated with an “I love you too” without even thinking about it. Then she just fell apart and cried without knowing why. Maybe it was because of her conflicting feelings. She had never felt so confused in her life.

“Look,” Yonghwa smiled as he stared deep into Seohyun’s eyes. “Kyuhyun Hyung is leaving in a few days. I want you to go and see your family. You miss them and they miss you. You haven’t seen them in years.”

“But…what about you? How will your crown be secured?” she sniffed, her eyes b with tears.

“I’ll be alright.”

......Author's little world down below....

YAY so Yoona will be in the next chapter! I'm really excited for Yoona's character. Hope you will be too! ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

This is just a gif. Don't get the wrong idea. Yoona will not be a weird male or have a moustache in the story.

Peace Out! XD