For the entire night, Luhan got no sleep at all. He laid in the comfortable bed, eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling above his head. Luhan thought back to Mr. Jongin, whose surprise visit put a wrench in his plans. But that might have been a good thing because God knows where he could have gone. And he didn't necessarily lie to the butler, the guy just didn't ask the right questions.

He tossed and turned, before sitting up and staring at the cup of hot chocolate sitting on his table. It was probably freezing cold by now. Sighing, Luhan flopped back into his bed, dreading the awaiting morning.

¤¤¤

When the sun was peeking out from behind Luhan's closed silk curtains, his door slammed open to invite a frantic Luna. She threw the wig his way along with a periwinkle dress, yelling something about hurry up the Prince is a ert before slamming the door shut behind her. In a matter of seconds, Luhan put on his disguise in confusion just before a knock interrupted his thoughts.

He padded to the entrance. "Who is it?"

"A visitor." The deep voice resembled the Prince's, and Luhan widened his eyes. So Luna was warning him about the Prince's morning visit.

"Ah, come in." Luhan opened the door and blinked to see the Prince in a dazzling white suit. It nearly hurt to stare. "What brings you here?"

"Just checking up on you." Prince Sehun smirked before stepping a little too close for comfort. "So are you enjoying your stay so far?"

Luhan tugged at his hair, gulping. He tried not to stutter. "Sure."

"Mind if I come in?"

"It's your castle..." Luhan walked to his bed and sat down, kneading at the fabric of his dress. "You pretty much invited yourself in, anyway."

He wasn't sure how to feel when the Prince sauntered up to him and sat down right beside him so their thighs were touching. Prince Sehun leaned back, and Luhan watched as his arm circled Luhan's waist, yet not quite touching. If anyone walked in on them right now, they would think the Prince had already chosen his future wife. Unless he did this to all the girls. Which he probably did. To that, Luhan rolled his eyes and inched away.

"What, do I smell?” The Prince said, and Luhan could hear the smirk in his voice.

Luhan glanced over and in a breath at the close proximity. Sehun was so close he can see the spaces between each individual eyelash. A frown tugged at his lips, his lips and now Luhan was blushing. He forced his gaze upwards again, focusing on the single lock of blond hair that fell over Sehun's forehead. Even that was perfect. Luhan wanted to punch himself in the face.

"Why are you here?" Luhan whispered softly, even though they were the only two in the room. His voice came out more breathy than he liked.

Sehun chuckled lowly. Luhan could feel the vibrations. "To meet the girls one by one. And to check on the test, as well as my own."

"Test?"

The Prince patted the bed, smoothing out the sheets. "They wanted to see if you were princess material, and so they put a pea under this mattress. If you slept through the whole night, then you aren't delicate enough. Seeing the bags under your eyes, I assume that you didn't sleep a wink. Such a pity. You didn't seem like the delicate type."

Luhan frowned. "Firstly, that test is stupid. And second, I am so not delicate. I didn't even feel the pea, I was just thinking about stuff."

"Oh?" Sehun raised an infuriating eyebrow. Luhan wondered how such a perfect being existed, and how long it would take for him to be caught for murdering the Prince. "What kind of stuff?"

"Stuff like why the Prince would visit girls in the morning, when they're all probably in bed." Luhan narrowed his eyes. "I think I know the answer."

"To be honest, you were the only girl up and not in a night dress. I'm disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing you in one."

Luhan pondered if it was bad he wanted to smack the smirk off the Prince's face.

"And the answer to your question is not 'Prince Sehun is a ert,' by the way. I have standards, too, you know."

Now Luhan wanted to shove the royal Prince off a cliff. It was strange how violent he had grown ever since he arrived in Seoul. Luhan decided it would be best to get out of here as fast as he could.

Luhan was interrupted from his thoughts as he noticed something odd. Is it just me, or is Sehun leaning closer and closer? Now the Prince was centimetres away from liplocking. Luhan felt something strange race through his veins. Anger? Shock? Ecstasy? Thankfully, before Luhan could hit the Prince's sculpted nose, someone knocked on the door.

"Lu, I need - oh! Er, maybe I could come back another time..."

Luhan watched as Sehun shut his eyes briefly, before muttering a few curses under his breath and swinging around. "Jongin? What the , man?"

Turning around as well, Luhan locked eyes with the nice butler he talked to last night. He side-eyed Sehun, hoping the Prince didn't catch Jongin's slip up. Luhan stood up and strode towards the apologizing butler. "Good morning, Mr. Jongin. Do you need something?"

"Ah, good morning, Ji-eun." Mr. Jongin smiled apologetically, though there was confusion in his dark eyes. "I just came to collect the mugs."

"Oh!" Luhan reached over and grabbed the said mug off the vanity table. He handed it to the butler with a grin and whispered, "Thank you so much. I owe you."

"Why are you two taking so long?" Mr. Jongin narrowed his eyes at Sehun's annoyed tone. "Jongin, can you just please get out?"

"Fine." The butler frowned and placed Luhan's hand on his extended arm. "I'll just Ji-eun to breakfast then."

Sehun glared at his servant before sighing and standing up. "No, I'll do it."

Luhan bit his lip, staring at the two angry men. He glanced at his arm on the butler's elbow and made a quick decision. "I - um - I'll go with Mr. Jongin."

"Just call me Jongin from now on." The butler flashed a pearly-white grin at him, yet it didn't quite reach his eyes. Jongin's eyes unnerved Luhan to some extent, even though the butler had been nothing but kind to him. Luhan felt it was mean and unfair of him, but Jongin's gaze was so intense and always held some conflicting emotions. Luhan never liked holding eye contact with the butler. He felt like he would break under Jongin's stare.

Sehun, on the other hand, was hard to look at entirely. Even though this was the second time Luhan met the Prince, he already found it hard to look away. Sehun was like a star, attracting everyone's gaze, no matter what he was doing. And when Luhan was left alone with someone like that, well, he was surprised he didn't explode. When Sehun looked at him, it was like the world suddenly dropped on Luhan's shoulders.

And now, Luhan could feel the heavy weight of Sehun's stare as he walked out the room holding Jongin's arm.

¤¤¤

"Thank you, again," Luhan spoke out loud once it was clear no one was around them.

Jongin replied, somewhat distractedly, "Ah, it's fine. Any time."

Luhan looked to where Jongin was staring so attentively at and furrowed his brows at the sight of ten girls with their luggage. A few of them were crying while the others looked depressed, heads directed towards the ground. Miss Bom was talking to them with no expression, and only shot Jongin a brief smile before returning to her current task at hand.

Luhan nudged Jongin. "What's happening?"

"They failed the first test, so they're being sent home." Jongin led Luhan away from the scene towards the dining room. Luhan watched as Jongin's expressions switched from troubled to relaxed in a second. "So now it's narrowed down to ten."

Once the door opened, the two boys were engulfed in a frenzy of chatter and cutlery clinking on glass porcelain. Since the royal family wasn't present, the girls were obviously more at ease. As Luhan paid closer attention, he realized they were throwing around remarks about the first test.

"What do you think it was?"

"The dinner, probably."

"Yeah, the royal family was present for that."

Luna squirmed her way out of the crowd to get to Luhan and beamed at him before raising her eyebrows at Jongin. "Good morning! Did Prince Sehun visit you?"

Luhan nodded and Luna's grin grew larger. "What did he do?"

"Uh... Just talked, I guess?"

"Hm, I see..." Luna positioned herself in such a way so she was between Jongin and Luhan. The butler looked annoyed, but Luhan couldn't confirm it before Jongin left. "Oh, that's the butler, right? Did he give you a mug of hot chocolate?"

"Yeah. I didn't drink it, though," Luhan murmured, though he was thinking, what's with all the questions? I'm getting a headache.

Hyuna, who was beside them the whole time, overheard and snipped, "Me neither. I don't eat or drink anything except for water after eight."

"Well, I don't drink or eat anything that fattening at all," Another called out over the noise.

Luna's eyes lit up and she directed Luhan to the remaining six girls, asking them if they drank the hot chocolate from last night. Every single one of them replied with a curt "no" along with a judging glare. Luhan stayed by her side, silent, as he processed the information.

"Luna."

"Mhm?"

"Did you drink the hot chocolate?"

Luna smiled at him. "Actually, I did. I just felt really uncomfortable for the entire night. I think it was the bed. It was kind of bumpy."

"Oh." Luhan recalled what Sehun said about the princess being delicate. So Luna was delicate enough to be a princess. "I hope you have a better rest tonight."

"You're such a sweetheart," Luna giggled and patted Luhan's hair before flouncing away to converse with the other girls.

Luhan sank down in his seat again. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since he entered this competition, and Luhan already had waves of exhaustion filling him to the brim.

¤¤¤ 

After breakfast was over, Kyungsoo grabbed a few multi-coloured cloths, a water-sprayer, and soap with him to clean the dining room table. He sighed, absolutely despising cleaning, but it couldn't be helped. He was on cleaning duty for the entire week.

Kyungsoo took his time arriving at the dining room and let his eyes trail along the beautiful masterpieces lining the pale, peachy walls. The brief times when he wasn't rooted in the kitchen usually composed of him wandering around the castle hallways or garden and taking in the majestic beauty. Even though he worked in this castle ever since he could remember, he still couldn't get over how breath-taking it was.

At last, Kyungsoo stopped in front of the large set of mahogany doors and creaked it open. He widened his eyes as he heard hushed voices drift out. The chef didn't know why, but he immediately whipped behind the door on impulse. Leaning slightly over, he could see two very familiar people conversing. Jongin? And-

"You're lucky that I didn't get you thrown in jail. I still can." Kyungsoo raised his brows in surprise. That was Miss Bom's voice, no doubt about it. He sneaked another peek and saw her slim frame donned in a flowing, cerulean dress that hung off her shoulders. She flipped her dark, long hair, the image of confidence, but the shaking in her voice gave her away.

"I know." Kyungsoo moved a tad bit closer and in a breath at the sight of Jongin leaning against a velvet chair, his frame outlined in his usual black suit. He looked beyond drained, and all Kyungsoo wanted to do was wrap his arms around him. "I don't regret anything."

A pause. "It's the prince, isn't it?"

Silence.

Both Miss Bom and Kyungsoo took that as a yes, causing the former to sigh heavily and the latter's heart to hurt incredibly. It's always the prince, Kyungsoo thought resignedly.

Miss Bom sank down into the chair across Jongin and covered her face with her hands. She looked so small in the vast room. "Jongin, you're a butler. This isn’t - you can't do this to yourself. For heaven’s sake, Prince Sehun's future wife is in this castle right this second. You can't just always stay by his side, if you haven’t realized it yet. You need to stop. Or else it'll hurt even more once the time comes."

"I know," was his quiet reply.

"And you can't keep ing up the tests. You're lucky I already thought the test was a joke and had the heart to give you a few of my sleeping pills. But if it was anyone else that caught you, if it wasn't me, you'd be dead, Jongin."

Kyungsoo clamped his mouth with his own hands as he slumped against the wall. He tried to process what he heard, but it was all too sudden and too much. The chef knew Jongin loved Sehun, probably way more than he should, but he didn't know the feelings reached the point where he would risk his own life just to ensure the Prince didn't get married. Jongin's stupid plan was already faulty. The Prince had to get married for successors and because Queen Krystal requested it. Jongin was just a butler, he couldn't stop that. You're such an idiot, Jongin, Kyungsoo gritted his teeth. Not to mention that Sehun would never love you that way.

At least, that was what Kyungsoo convinced himself of so he could sleep every night.

Too caught up in his thoughts, Kyungsoo didn't notice Miss Bom and Jongin already left. I guess it's just you and me, Jongin. Trapped in this endless loop of pain. One of us will have to escape it one day, that's inevitable. I suppose we're just waiting to see who breaks first.

The chef stared blankly at his reflection in the clean glass window panes. When did I get so weak? He could see it in the tired lines crinkling from his furrowed brows, and in the way his shoulders slumped as if he were carrying the weight of the world.

Was it the time when Jongin first wrapped his arms around him? Or maybe, it was when Kyungsoo watched Jongin's eyes change every time Sehun entered the picture. Honestly, Kyungsoo thought, it probably went back all the way to when I first met him. To the first time he spoke my name and captured me in his eyes.

The cook slowly covered his reflection with his hand, fearing he'd end up throwing up his breakfast if he stared for too long.

¤¤¤

"I hate you so ing much right now."

Sehun's irritated tone boomed through the room the second Jongin stepped in. The butler winced and bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Prince Sehun. Given the circumstances, I had to come to fetch the mug from Ji-eun's room. I didn't know you were... Making a move."

Sehun tapped his dark blue pen on his engraved desk while frowning. "You make it sound like it's my fault."

"Well, I don't think it's very appropriate to be trying to get some lip action on the second day she arrived." Jongin tried really hard not to roll his eyes. He failed.

"God, are you interested in her too?" Sehun paused, then stood up and strode angrily towards his butler. He poked a finger in Jongin's sturdy chest and hissed, "You even called her Lu. Is that some stupid nickname?"

"Sehun," Jongin warned, clenching his jaw. If only you knew.

The Prince didn't stop and instead poked again. Jongin narrowed his eyes before shutting them completely, obviously trying to control himself. His day certainly didn't start off very well, with Prince Sehun kissing Lu being the first thing he graced his eyes with. He was lucky he was shocked long enough until the realization hit him once Lu wasn't by his side anymore. He really didn't want her to see that part of him. And now, Prince Sehun was shouting at him for interrupting their little moment. Jongin seriously wanted to punch something, and sincerely hoped Lu wouldn't be around when he did.

Seething, the butler spat out, "I don't ing like her, Prince Sehun. In case you've forgotten, I don't even like girls in the first place."

Sehun froze, his finger held out. The butler took a couple deep breaths as well as a step back, trying to calm himself down. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said tiredly, "Sorry, Prince Sehun. I just - I had a really rough day so far."

"No, I - I'm sorry." The Prince backed away to his bed and sat down. Jongin felt a stab of pain at the distance. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I don't even know why I did." Sehun laughed, trying to make up for his previous show of hostility. "I guess I just wanted to vent at someone."

"You really wanted to kiss her, huh?" Jongin asked after a pause. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

Sehun hummed, looking out the window at the blue birds chirping cheerfully by his window sill. He smiled at them, an airy kind of smile, and Jongin's heart clenched painfully.

"Yeah, I guess I did."