CHAPTER 2- TO PROTECT

Sungjong was crying throughout the night. It was an innocent cry, not meant to bother others, but it still scared some of those trying to get sleep in the palace. It seemed especially scary to Jieun, who was just told a story about a banshee by Dongwoo and Sungyeol just a few moments prior. Jieun was shivering on the mat on her bedroom floor, thinking about banshees and other creatures that the crazy duo, Dongwoo and Sungyeol had told her about.

This is scary. I swear I shouldn't have listened to Dongwoo and Sungyeol. Listening to them was smart. Very smart, Jieun. Very, very smart. She thought.

Jieun rolled her eyes about the stupid mistake, making note to never listen to their scary stories again, and then she suddenly got an idea.

That's it! Woohyun oppa!

Jieun grabbed her pillow and slowly walked down the empty hallway. Past Somi's room, past Sunggyu's room, past Sungyeol's room...

On the last room on the left side of the hall, she tried to slowly open the door, but some sort of force swung it right open.

Because of that, Jieun got a little heart attack.

With wide eyes, she looked up to see who it was, and it was her Woohyun oppa, giggling.

"Did you see your facial expression?" Woohyun snorted. "It was so funny!" He proceeded to grab his stomach and laugh like a maniac.

"Oppa!" Jieun pouted, a little shy and a little mad. "You should be quiet, everyone would be sleeping."

"Alright," Woohyun said in a relaxed tone, leaning against his doorframe. "What brings you here?"

Jieun looked down, feeling a red blanket spreading across her cheeks. Being the shy girl she was, she doesn't really like to tell people stupid reasons.

Thank goodness it's dark! Jieun thought. She didn't want Woohyun to see her blushing in embarrassment of herself.

"So," Jieun started slowly. "Dongwoo and Sungyeol told me a banshee story... and they're really stupid because, no, anyway! I'm not really the type to get scared of silly stories like these, but since someone's crying right now, I..."

"I?" Woohyun asked.

"I really don't want to go to sleep by myself, tonight, so if you don't mind..."

"You want to sleep with me?" Woohyun confirmed with her. Even though she tried to hide her feelings, Woohyun knew her well. She was his sister for heaven's sake!

"I... yes." Jieun quietly replied, and jerked her head up to look at Woohyun, with panic in her eyes, afraid that he might deny her request. "But if you don't want me to sleep with you, it's fine! I can sleep with Somi or Minseok or-"

"It's okay, Jieun." Woohyun replied calmly, with a sweet smile.

Jieun walked into the room and slipped herself under Woohyun's covers and put her pillow under her head. Woohyun did the same and scooped Jieun into his embrace. Overwhelmed by the sudden touch, Jieun widened her eyes, but felt her eyes drooping from the warmth of her older sibling.

"Jieun," Woohyun whispered into the crook of Jieun's neck. The soothing sound of his voice sent tingles up her spine. "Perhaps..."

"Perhaps what?" Jieun asked.

"Perhaps you like.."

"Like?"

"As in crush, Jieun,"

Jieun widened her eyes and felt heat coming up to her face.

"Perhaps you have a crush on Kim Minseok?"

Everything was silent. Even if Woohyun didn't see Jieun's face, he felt something vibrating and hot. Must be his little sister trembling with anxiety. Jieun was scared about revealing her true feelings, although she never really thought about it.

What do I do? What if Minseok knows? How did Woohyun notice it? How-

"It's okay," Woohyun broke the silence. "It's okay if you have a crush on Minseok."

"Huh? I don't, though!"

"We can all see it, Jieun. The way you talk to him, the way you look at him, the way you sometimes become more delicate than you usually are, the way you sometimes become shy of him..."

Good point. She thought. There were actually many times Jieun actually felt something stitching her stomach when she was around her bodyguard, and felt her heart racing. She always denied it, but what if she did like him.

What if she liked him more than a companion?

"I guess, I guess I do..." Jieun quietly admitted, closing her eyes. "BUT YOU BETTER NOT TELL ANYONE. OR ELSE YOU'LL BE STUCK IN THE WELL THAT'S OUTSIDE OF OUR PALACE FOREVER!"

Woohyun chuckled at his sister's sudden outburst. "Better stay quiet, it's night.... and I won't." Woohyun ended with a fake grin that Jieun didn't see.

"Yah! Kim Sunggyu! Wake up!" The door to Sunggyu's room was pushed open and Somi stormed in, shaking him and pulling the blanket off his shivering body. Sunggyu woke up after that irresistible force that was alarming him to wake up, much to his dislike.

"Is that the correct way to talk to your oppa?" Sunggyu's eyes narrowed, and Somi froze. His eyes were gazing directly into her again, and she couldn't help but feel the familiar feeling that she felt the day before.

"Sorry," Somi said, trying to look as confident as she always was. Sunggyu continued glaring at her, annoyed that she woke him up from a night of little sleep.

"Well, turn around so I can change into my clothes, we're going to be outside today so I should wear something that will protect me from the sun," Sunggyu rolled his eyes and reached into the basket near his bed to pull out his work clothes, something similar to what he wore when he was gardening that day seven years ago.

"O-o-okay.." she said, turning around. Even though she wasn't looking at him anymore, she could feel his eyes burning into her back, and the scary expression on his face. After a few minutes of pure silence and awkwardness, Sunggyu finally finished changing.

"You take longer than that new princess, Bae Shinja," Somi said.

"Whatever, let's just get out before the wind dies off," Sunggyu said, grabbing one of the kites that Somi was carrying out of her hands and running out the door of his room, down the main hall and out of the castle.

That guy.. What's wrong with him.. Can't he wait for a girl? Somi rolled her eyes and followed him out anyways.

The sun was radiant, and the sky was a deep blue. The rose of sharon trees led them to a little mound, which they stood on to fly their kites.

"So the first thing to flying kites is catching the right wind. Do you know how to do that?" Sunggyu asked Somi, with an annoyed tone.

"Umm.. no.." Somi quietly said.

"Goodness, do you know how to do anything?!" Sunggyu was losing his temper.

"Well, I can p-" Somi started, with fear of making him become a raging bonfire.

"Never mind that. Let's just get this kite in this air," Sunggyu gestured to Somi's kite, setting his own down on the floor.

"You're going to hold onto it by the string, and I'll run the top part against the wind, and then let go. It should take off into the sky if I run in the right direction," Sunggyu scanned the perimeter and grabbed the top of the kite.

"Ready?" he asked Somi, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Yeah," Somi quietly said, unsure but willing to obey everything he told her.

Without another word, Sunggyu and Somi took off, running along the familiar dirt road in front of the palace.They raised their kites in the air above his head, and let it fly. A smile formed on his face, something that Somi only caught for a second before Sunggyu returned expressionless. Seeing him smile so naturally made Somi smile, and then strong winds hit.

"WHOA!" Somi exclaimed, as the kite dragged her along, this way and that way, and eventually towards the pond where Dongwoo and Sungyeol were eating by.

Their backs were to Somi, and the kite was dragging her even closer to the pond. Somi didn't know what to do. If she let the kite go, her dad would probably scold her and cut her hair, as the kite was very expensive.

The pond wasn't so deep anyways, and Somi could probably stand in there and not get hurt.

The kite was literally growling in the wind, flying this way and that and dragging poor Somi towards the dirty pond water. Somi called out for Sungyeol and Dongwoo and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the cold water she would soon feel against her body.

At that moment, two arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a tight back hug. 

She thought it was Dongwoo, as the person who grabbed her wasn't as tall as Sungyeol. However, that person wasn't as short as Dongwoo either. 

She turned around, expecting to meet Howon's smiling face, until she saw the small, expressionless eyes of Kim Sunggyu.

He grabbed the kite out of her trembling hands.

"Let's do this another day."

He picked up his own kite and walked away towards the palace. Somi placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart.

Thank you..

Yay! New update. Okay, sorry Myungsoo or Sungjong wasn't in this, but at least this was an intro to the side stories...? Hehe anyway, the main three will be heavily involved :3 I hope you enjoyed this! Subscribe, comment, and perhaps upvote!