Luhan had slipped away from the droning chatter into the empty hallway and stared at both ends, unsure of which direction to go. One thing was for sure, however. He couldn’t go back now.

After deciding to retreat back to his room to finish packing his things, he heard the door swing open behind him. A brief second of garbled words escaped before the door shut with a click. Sehun? Luhan whirled around, only to find his sister staring at him with worried eyes.

“What’s up, sis?” Luhan asked, making sure to mask his disappointment. He cursed at himself for always keeping his hopes up foolishly. Why would Sehun chase after me when he has Ji-eun by his side already?

“Okay, promise me you won’t freak out first,” said Ji-eun, breathing heavily. It seemed as if she had sprinted after Luhan just to tell him this. After Luhan gave a confused nod, Ji-eun continued, “So he - Prince Sehun told me that the families of the top three contestants are allowed to stay at the Royal Castle as, I guess, a prize of some sort for their daughters lasting this long.”

“Top three? But-”

“Throughout the chaos of the reunion, he had met with all the remaining girls and their families and he broke the news. He gave them until the end of the day to pack their bags. I - well, I guess you already know I’m in the top three.”

“But, but we’re allowed to leave, right?” asked Luhan, fear creeping into his rushed question. He didn’t know what he’d do if he had to stay here even a day longer. This was supposed to be the end.

“Of course! They can’t keep you here.” At Luhan’s relieved sigh, Ji-eun cleared . “Well, that’s only after the following morning. They want you and Dad to stay for tonight, at least. To check what the living conditions are like.”

“Ji-eun,” groaned Luhan.

“I know, I know! It’s just for one more day - at least - and you’re going to be rooming with Dad. He already left for his room a while ago. The Prince said it was in the same corridor as my - I mean, your old room.”

“You said this was over! You said I could go back to Bucheon and live peacefully after this insanity! Why isn’t this finished yet?”

“You think I wanted this to happen?” JI-eun stopped and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this, Lu, but just stick it out a bit longer, please? You waited for two months. You can wait for one more day.”

Luhan scrutinized his sister, saw her pleading eyes, her delicate stature, and all of her that Yixing was waiting for back home. SIghing, he could feel his resolve crumbling before he even turned away.

“One more day, and that’s it.”

¤¤¤

With his back turned to his father, Luhan rolled his suitcase up to the bed to the left side of the room. The only thing his father had said to him after he entered the room was, “You’re on the left side.” Short and simple. Normally, he wouldn’t be put off by his father’s silence since his father was a quiet man, but after all the recent events, the lack of noise was disconcerting.

Clearing his throat, Luhan asked tentatively, “Dad?”

“What is it, son?”

Luhan sunk down onto the soft mattress, still not daring to look his father in the eye. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” He couldn’t tell if his father was angry or not.

“For…”

“Luhan.” At the firm tone, Luhan finally looked up at his dad. “Your plan was extremely foolish and could have put our whole family in danger. You also purposely didn't inform me about any of this.”

Luhan hung his head. “I have no excuses-”

“I know you did it for your sister,” His dad sighed. “I can't believe you went through all this for her and Yixing. But I understand where you were coming from, and I suppose at the heart of all this mess you were trying to do the best thing. You weren’t the only one involved, and honestly, you’re past the age where I can decide what you do is right or wrong.”

Luhan looked up at that. He was surprised to detect no hint of disapproval from his dad at all. “So you’re not mad?”

“More than that, I feel like I’ve been making a lot of decisions for you and your sister, but you’re both adults now,” His dad smiled wryly. “I did a lot of thinking about how I raised you two for this incident to happen, and that was the conclusion I arrived at.”

Luhan bumped shoulders with his father. “I think you raised us really well.”

“Yeah, I think I did a decent job,” His dad chuckled. “I mean, one of my kids just earned one hundred grand.”

“Wait, what? Ji-eun or-”

“You earned us one hundred thousand dollars, Luhan. For lasting until the top five.”

“Oh my god,” Luhan breathed out. His fingers dug into the mattress underneath. “One hundred grand.”

“We can afford workers on our farm now, and we can finally send you to university in Seoul, just like you always wanted to. Ji-eun contacted Baekhyun and he said that his roommate agreed to another tenant, as long as you paid rent on time. You can move in right after they sort out the rent pricing and all that. They want you to visit them soon and check up with the details.”

University in Seoul? Luhan pinched himself hard, unable to believe that this fantasy of him going to school in Seoul - living in Seoul - could be made reality. He had made detailed plans based off (what he deemed pointless) research of all the universities in the capital city but when he managed to get to tuition, he knew there was no way he would ever be able to afford the expensive education, even with the help of scholarships. Luhan couldn’t leave his father and Ji-eun behind, as well. But now, it was like he could see the finish line just a few metres before him. It was something tangible, something he could actually picture himself doing.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Luhan laughed out loud, running his hand through his hair. “I guess some good did come out of this craziness after all.”

¤¤¤

After Sehun finished saying goodbye to Dara, Hyuna, and their families, he quickly ran back to the courtyard square in the middle of the Castle where he saw Ji-eun last. Sure enough, she was lying by the trunk of the maple tree with a hand covering her eyes. He frowned slightly, however, because she appeared so skinny even in her baggy clothes. Did she lose some weight recently?

Plopping down beside her, Sehun poked Ji-eun awake. He smiled at her squinting eyes as she stared up at him. “How can you fall asleep in broad daylight? It’s only four in the afternoon.”

“Hello, Prince Sehun.” Ji-eun pushed herself into sitting position and nodded politely. “This day took a lot out of me.”

“You must have been excited, with your family coming back and all. I was surprised at how alike you and your twin brother looked, honestly. It was almost scary.”

“Yeah, haha,” Ji-eun forced a laugh and nervously brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

Sehun cleared his throat, wondering why he felt like he was grabbing at straws just to continue the conversation. “So, um, do you still have the deer I gave you?”

“Deer?” Ji-eun blinked blankly. The Prince felt his heart sinking, until she spoke again, “Ah, that. It’s in my room.”

“Oh,” Sehun replied cleverly.

There was nothing left to say, and the Prince was taken aback and slightly hurt at the notion that Ji-eun was uncomfortable in his company. Was it because they were really moving too fast? Or did he do something wrong and she was mad at him now? Sehun wanted to do anything to break this frustrating wall between them. It was as if Ji-eun had reverted back to the phase when she couldn’t even look him in the eye, like it almost physically hurt her to look at him for a second too long.

Frowning, Sehun started to lean forward, and it wasn’t until he had a hand grazing Ji-eun’s hair did she finally look up and realize how close he was to her. Startled, Ji-eun froze, eyes blown wide open, as Sehun started combing his fingers through her hair. He gently tugged on a strand, and when it didn’t fall off as he half-expected it to, he let slip a smile. Thoughts of the “wig” that he saw in the pool was merely his eyes playing tricks on him. Of course, Ji-eun wouldn’t have any need to wear a wig of any sort. His mind was just trying to play tricks on him, when the stress of the almost-finished bride hunt affected him too much.

Now thoroughly pleased from the clarification, Sehun closed the distance between them to do what he had been waiting for so many painful hours ever since this morning - kiss Ji-eun. When his lips closed over hers, he didn’t expect a muffled, protesting sound to come out from her lips. She quickly shoved him away and covered , blushing bright red. Shocked, Sehun stared at her blankly as Ji-eun quickly got up, bowed, and left. The poor Prince was left staring at the back of her swishing dress as he wondered just what in the world did he do to deserve this.

¤¤¤

Ji-eun let out a breath when she saw the Prince leave and stepped out from where she was hiding behind a pillar. What in the world was up with Prince Sehun? Did he try that on every single contestant? Another wave of guilt made Ji-eun frown as she wondered about everything Luhan had to go through here.

“What are you doing?”

Ji-eun started, but relaxed once she realized it was just Luna who asked the question. Turning around with a huge grin, Ji-eun grabbed Luna in a bear hug, screaming, “Argh, I missed you so much, you wench!”

“Same here, idiot. I even missed all the trouble you would cause,” Luna bit back, smiling nonetheless as she patted her best friend’s back. She pulled away to glance at the spot where Prince Sehun was previously. “What were you doing hiding from the Prince?”

“Oh,” Ji-eun bit her lip and fought back a blush. “He tried to, um, kiss me.”

“Ah.”

“Do you have any idea why? Like does he do that to just anyone?”

“Not exactly,” Luna leaned closer to Ji-eun and whispered in her ear, “Think about who he thinks you are, right now.”

“I don’t get it,” Ji-eun said, confused. “Who else would he think I would be?”

“Hopeless. You’ll get a headache if you think too much, right?” Luna shook her head and slung an arm around her friend, leading her down the hall. “You two are more alike than I thought.”

¤¤¤

The sound of plates dropping to the floor caught Luhan’s attention, as he looked up from the soccer ball in his hand. His eyes met Kyungsoo’s, who looked as if he had just seen a ghost, eyes wide as saucers and lips parted open in surprise.

“Lu - Luhan?”

Luhan grinned and held out a hand, which Kyungsoo took hesitantly and shook. “The one and only. Nice to meet you, Kyungsoo.”

“You look… Wow,” said the chef as he took in the fitted grey t-shirt and basketball shorts Luhan had changed into, not to mention the noticeably shorter hair that revealed his unfairly sharp jawline. “So this is you, huh?”

“Like what you see?” Luhan winked, making Kyungsoo cringe. He bent down to pick up the fallen - thankfully, plastic - plates. “You have butter hands, don’t you? Dropping these left and right.”

“Well, aren’t you in a good mood.” Kyungsoo took the plates from Luhan with a nod as thanks, “So where are you headed?”

“Soccer field.” Luhan held up the soccer ball in his right hand. “There was nothing left to do, and my dad, bless him, packed a soccer ball for me so I just decided to head over to practice.”

“By yourself?”

“Yeah, no one seems to be available at this time of the day.”

“You never know. There could be someone just like you who’s at the field right now, but I doubt it. Barely anyone uses that field anymore. I didn’t even know it existed until you told me about it.”

“That’s why it’s perfect,” Luhan smiled and patted his friend on the back. “I hope you weren’t too shocked by my hotness.”

“Please,” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “If you were so hot, then why is your only companion a soccer ball?”

“Hey, don’t hate.”

Kyungsoo shook his head, but couldn’t hide the wide smile he was wearing. “It’s nice to finally meet you, too, Luhan.”

¤¤¤

“Am I doing something wrong? I’m not that bad of a kisser, right? That couldn’t be why she ran away. Bad breath, maybe?”

Sehun’s questions fled into the open area of the soccer field that he found himself wandering to after that incident with Ji-eun. He couldn’t shake off the way she stared at him, as if he was a stranger, as if he was a creep. Something bad probably happened back home, which caused her to lose her temper. She wouldn’t have treated Sehun like that after everything that happened between them.

Sehun knew there was a reason behind Ji-eun’s odd behaviour, but he didn’t want to believe that reason was him.

“Argh, girls are so complicated!” Frustrated, Sehun kicked his legs in the air and pushed himself up from his lying position on the ground. It was only then did he realize there was someone else occupying the field besides himself. The sounds of shouts and a soccer ball punted in the sky drew his attention to the soccer field behind him, where he spotted a figure running up and down the field.

With his curiosity piqued, the Prince quickly neared the running person whom he soon recognized as Luhan. Leaning against the white goalpost, Sehun watched, amused, as Luhan weaved between imaginary players and scored goal after goal. He had to admit, the boy was pretty good. He and Ji-eun probably trained together. They were twins, after all.

He waited until Luhan caught sight of him and dribbled the ball up to him, wiping sweat away from his red face. “Hey, Prince. I didn’t notice you at first, sorry. Should I leave?”

“No, it’s fine. I see you’re playing soccer alone. Isn’t it more fun to play with teams?”

Luhan shrugged and said, “Soccer’s always fun. For me, at least. The feeling of booting the ball, of sprinting up and down the grassy ground, the feeling of a solid cross-over. Everything about the sport helps me clear my head.”

“Clear your head, huh? Maybe I should try playing too, then.”

“Do you even know how to play?” asked Luhan, doubt written all over his face.

Insulted, Sehun put a hand against his chest. “Don’t you know who I am? I’m the Prince. Of course I know how to play!”

His words were, of course, proven contradictory as the Prince was soon puffing and huffing, hands on his knees as he asked for thirty-minute breaks after only playing for ten. Luhan easily stole the ball away from him and even when he toned down the fancy footwork, Sehun could barely keep up with him. Finally, the older boy took pity on the Prince and let Sehun score one measly goal. It wasn’t even that good of a kick, either.

Laughing, Luhan watched Sehun collapse in a pile of tangled limbs, not caring in the very least about his expensive suit getting dirty. The Prince had tossed his blazer about halfway through their match, and Luhan couldn’t help but wonder how many hundreds of dollars went down the drain because of this one game of soccer.

“Woo!” Sehun shouted into the air, somehow satisfied with his one goal. “Take that! I told you I knew how to play!”

“You knew the rules, alright. You just weren’t the best at… Application?”

“Shut up.” Sehun threw an arm over his eyes. Luhan dropped to the ground to join the Prince, a content smile stuck on his face. Spending time with the Prince like this, with no worries about a wig falling off or a secret slipping plaguing his mind, felt strangely normal.

“Is your head cleared now?”

“Actually… Yeah.”

“What were you so worried about, anyway? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine,” Sehun sighed and lifted his arm, staring into the vast, empty blue sky. He squinted at the sunlight passing through the gaps between his fingers. “Have you ever felt like someone you thought you couldn’t get any closer to became a stranger one day?”

Luhan tensed, waiting for Sehun’s next words. He sat up, fixating his stare on the soccer ball a few metres away from them. Rolling, rolling, rolling. Rolling slowly to where, he didn’t know.

“It’s just. Your sister. I bet you already knew, right?” Sehun laughed. “After you and your father came, or maybe after I told her I loved her, it was like she became a different person. Even the aura around her feels different. More polite, more… dim-witted? When I hold her, too. It just doesn’t feel right anymore.”

Luhan managed to make himself speak, eyes still on the rolling soccer ball. “Give her some time. Ji-eun’s never been good with relationships, especially with someone as great as a prince like you. Also, a lot of changes happened back home so it makes sense that she’s shutting everyone out. She was distant with me, too, if it makes you feel any better.”

“Yeah, but… I saw her all chummy with Luna. Before, they weren’t like that.”

“Maybe she wants more girl friends now than guys. I heard she mainly had guy friends here.”

“That’s true.” Sehun pursed his lips. “I just wish - I don’t know. I don’t like it. I wish she would go back to normal soon.”

“Normal, huh?”

“You know what’s weird, though?” Luhan could hear the smile in Sehun’s voice. “I don’t know why, but I feel really comfortable about you. You feel so familiar.”

The soccer ball Luhan was staring at finally stopped. It was as if everything around him screeched to a halt, as he watched Sehun sit up out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head ever so slowly, and a jolt of something a little fizzy, a little electrifying zipped through his being when they locked eyes.

“That is weird.” Luhan’s voice didn’t sound like it belonged to him. “It’s probably because I resemble Ji-eun so much.”

“Maybe. Either way, it’s nice hanging out with you like this,” Sehun cocked his head, smiling. “Strangely enough, I feel better talking it out with you.”

“Well, I’m honoured then, Prince Sehun.” Luhan got up to his feet in a frenzy and jogged to his soccer ball, shouting over his shoulder, “I have to go now.”

“Hey, Luhan?”

At the sound of his name being uttered by the Prince, Luhan’s feet stuck to the ground. The two syllables he had heard his entire life had somehow managed to sound magical coming from Sehun. He was put under a trance by his own name.

Despite his better judgement, he faced the grinning Prince. “Yes?”

“We should do this again, playing soccer. Maybe you can help me improve?” Sehun laughed, eyes transforming into adorable crescents. “I had fun today. Thank you, Luhan.”

“Me, too,” Luhan replied, not even sure what he was agreeing to. He blinked rapidly, trying his hardest to blink away the dangerous image of the Prince smiling at him and not Ji-eun.

Don’t get confused now. Just one more day.