The Princess

Luhan took a deep breath before unlocking the box with the silver key. A click announced that the box had opened and Luhan slowly lifted the wooden lid to reveal the neatly folded letter that lay inside. He picked it up, unfolding it as he did so and sat himself down on his computer chair. The familiarity of the letter surged an immense amount of emotions over him. All those days he had spent reading and re-reading this short letter in order to find some deeper meaning, in order to find the truth, flashed back to him that instance. Yet the letter had never given him anymore than what it had written on it in impeccable handwriting.

He laid the letter on his desk, adjusting the neck to his trusty lamp so he could view it properly. Picking up his circle framed glasses, Luhan once again tried to find deeper meaning within the letter. Was there some kind of secret code perhaps? He would have found something like that a long time ago though, seen as how the letter had been in his possession for over a year.

“Dear Lufan,” Luhan read aloud in a hushed voice. “We had warned you what would happen if you left us. You were a fool not to listen, to think you could get away from our wrath. When you visit Korea, the ones we sent will come for you and you will find yourself in your deathbed. Say goodbye to your family whilst you can.”

 Luhan always ended up gritting his teeth and clenching his fists when he finished reading that letter. Whoever had written that was heartless and cruel- heartless and cruel enough to kill a husband and a father. And the top suspect right now was none other than the republic of Korea’s own king: Im Young. The imperial seal shone in all its wicked glory at the end of the letter. That practically said enough. Even if there was a possibility that the King hadn’t directly murdered his father, he was definitely a part of it. This letter was clearly sent from the royal family.

However these were all conclusions that Luhan had reached to many times before. Yet why did he always question them? They were clear as the sun but Luhan had a sinking feeling he was getting it all wrong. It was like he had only one piece to an enormous puzzle. Was it because he used to admire the King once upon a time? He needed to let go of that admiration because according to this letter the King was a sick, twisted and wicked man who would kill his own best friend.

A knock from the door had interrupted Luhan and he quickly began to panic when he realised it would be none other than his mother. Luhan hid the key he held into a drawer and shoved the letter back into the box, not caring to fold it. Accidentally he had pressed onto a button like thing but he had no time to investigate that so he shut the box and pushed it behind the curtains on the windowsill.

“Luhan…” the soft and soothing voice of Mrs. Lu called as she slowly opened the door. Her tiny head bobbed through the gap and she peered around the room until she landed on a very tired looking son. Luhan looked up from his ‘work’ at his mother. He felt like he hadn’t seen her in a long time even though he had starting living with her six months after his father had died which was two years ago. Maybe it was because she was always with Mr. Kang and his daughter, Jae Hee. He felt weird to see her act like a mother to someone else’s daughter and act like a wife to someone other than his father. Was it jealousy? But Luhan rarely ever felt jealous and besides he was a twenty four year old man. Surely he could handle a step family?

“Luhan…” Mrs. Lu called again, snapping Luhan out of his thoughts.

“Uhh…yeah?” he mumbled, trying not to sound excited that his mother had decided to visit him in his room for some private talk.

“Dinners ready. Come down and eat with the rest of us today. I made your favourite.” She smiled. But that sentence had already crushed Luhan’s hopes of having a mother-son talk. He thought she would want to know how his day went, ask him about everything. But it was dinner. Dinner with strangers. Luhan was about to open his mouth to tell her he had already eaten out, like he always did albeit this time it was lie and he was actually seriously hungry but his mother quickly hushed him.

“I can tell when you’re lying you know. Now come down and eat.” She furrowed her brows. Why did her son always insist on never eating with the family? He seemed to get along with them pretty well…or at least with Mr. Kang. She sighed as she eyed her son lethargically stand up and follow her.

 The mouth-watering aroma of Kung Pao chicken filled Luhan’s nose. This dish had always been his favourite because it was the one he could remember most vividly having with his father. He remembered how much he and his father would beg his mother to make this dish and he would remember his mother sternly telling them to help her cook it if they wanted it. So they did. Mr. Lu, Mrs. Lu and fifteen year old Luhan would get to work on making the best Kung Pao chicken Luhan had ever tasted. The process would be filled with laughter and happiness and those were truly the best times Luhan could think of.

The dish was his favourite specifically because of the cooking process he shared with his family. Now his mother would just make it herself, not even requesting help from Mr. Kang, and so the main ingredient was gone. There would be no crying from cutting the onions, no gasping at the over steamed rice, no laughing at failures and then no pride from tasting the finished product. Now it was all laid there in its perfect form. And to be honest Luhan couldn’t say it was his favourite anymore.

Mr. Kang and Mrs. Lu were seated next to each other and opposite Mrs. Lu sat Jae Hee. There was an empty seat beside her, which Luhan awkwardly took. Mr. Kang smiled at him as he took his seat which Luhan returned. Jae Hee just looked at him and then back to the food. He had a very awkward relationship with his seventeen year old step sister. It was kind of his fault really. He never took the initiative to talk to her ever since his mother had gotten remarried. Now it was too late. Luhan had grown and matured and he would love to talk to Jae Hee a bit more but he had built a barrier that was pretty tough to break.

“Jae Hee, what did you get on your end of term test?” Mr. Kang asked.

“100%.” Jae Hee replied as she took a gulp of her food. “Will you buy me a present since I got first place out of my class?” she shot a cheeky smile. Mrs. Lu and Mr. Kang chuckled whilst Luhan continued eating as fast as he could.

“Well…since you did so well…I guess we could…” Mrs. Lu winked. “Is there anything you want?”

“Hmm…oh!” Jae Hee stood up and gasped and then ran upstairs to do god knows what.

“100% hey?” Mrs. Lu smiled. “Luhan was lucky to get 50%!” she laughed. Mr. Kang raised an eyebrow.

“Really?” Mr. Kang chuckled. “I always thought he got top grades and such. He seems pretty smart.”

“Well right now yes, but back then no. Back then Luhan would never study. All he would do was train at his father’s dojo, hence the reason why he is so good at fighting instead.”

“I’m right here you know?” Luhan coughed. They were talking as if he wasn’t there!

“Oh sorry Lu!” Mrs. Lu laughed. “I didn’t notice.” She threw a wink. Luhan knew it was supposed to be a joke but he didn’t really find it funny.

“I’m done.” He announced, staring at his half eaten food.

“What, already?” Mr. Kang pouted. “You’ve barely eaten anything!”

“I guess I’m just not hungry.” Luhan sighed. He washed up his plate, glass and cutlery before heading upstairs.

Luhan was heading for his room when he noticed the door to Jae Hee’s room was ajar. For some reason he went over to peek at what she was doing. Jae Hee lay sprawled on her bed sighing at a picture she had cut from a catalogue. It was a pink gown covered in pink roses and from the looks of it, was really expensive. Was that what Jae Hee wanted? Luhan shrugged as he walked back into his room, eager to hit his bed.

Luhan was picked up promptly at seven by a butler from the palace. The butler had told the suited up Luhan that he would meet the princess that day and also help her with her daily shopping.

“She shops a lot.” The butler warned. “You’re going to have to carry loads of things!” Luhan nodded distractedly. The princess was the King’s daughter. She was an enemy too. Luhan had to make sure things didn’t get friendly between them.

“Also, she is quite demanding. I hope you have good tolerance. Her personal attendant is about to blow though she has been with her since they were children.” The butler continued whilst he was driving. He was just droning on and on and on. Luhan decided to watch the happenings of the street. He noticed a tall and slim woman was shouting, pointing her slender fingers at a y looking man. The man held a purse in his hands and he wore a smug look. Luhan looked back at the woman. He realised she was Yoona, the girl he kept running into.

“Stop!” Luhan ordered the butler, who quickly halted the car. Luhan stormed out and ran after the man, leaving the confused butler. Luhan was extremely fast whilst the thief was awfully slow so he had caught up to him in record time. He jumped at the man, pinning him down onto the concrete floor and twisted his hands behind his back. A scream escaped the man and he squirmed to free himself but Luhan’s grip was strong. Luhan pulled the purse out of the man’s clenched fists. A crowd had gathered around him, awing at his work. He could even see flashes of cameras. What had he gotten himself into?

“Police, there he is!” shouted a woman. The crowd parted to reveal Yoona and some police. The crowd suddenly began gasping at the sight and turned their cameras to Yoona. Luhan raised an eyebrow as he threw the purse to Yoona. Who was she? “You again!” she gasped whilst catching the purse.

“Yeah, me again.” Luhan winked. “I thought I’d help you out.” Yoona looked at her purse and then back to Luhan.

“I don’t want to be in your debt again so tell me what you want.” She started.

“Again? I told you I don’t want anything.” Luhan sighed. Why was this girl so caught up on paying him back?

“Well I’m sure you didn’t do all of this just for justice. Just tell me what you want.”

“You’re right, I didn’t do it for justice but I didn’t do it for something in return either.” Luhan furrowed his brows. Yoona’s way of thinking was extremely contorted. She seriously believed that people only did things for things in return? Well she hadn’t encountered a lot of people in her life then.

“Sir, thank you for your help.” A stoic woman wearing the police uniform stepped forward. “Please let us detain him.” Luhan nodded and got up whilst still having a firm grip on the thief. He handed him over to the woman who handcuffed him. She mumbled some stuff to him involving something to do with the right to remain silent and dragged him away.

Luhan thought the crowd would disperse since the commotion had finished yet they wouldn’t budge. They were snapping photos and videos of both Yoona and Luhan for god knows what reason. The butler whom Luhan had left behind and a girl came running into view.

“Princess, are you okay?!” the butler and the girl exclaimed.

“Princess…?” Luhan mouthed. The butler and girl checking up on Yoona, Yoona addressing the crowd, Yoona lounging in the palace, the Kings request to see Yoona, Yoona being attacked by strange men- it all made sense now. How could Luhan have not caught up on this? It was obvious as day! Heck if he had looked at the news he would have known immediately. If he had googled her, he would have known. Now it was all too late. He had kissed the princess and even flirted with her! Gosh he was a mad idiot. This could danger his plan and even danger him. He had made a terrible move. If she was indeed part of his father’s murder then she would surely know about him? Is that why she didn’t punish him for acting so nonchalantly with her?  Luhan bit his lips, worried about the consequences his actions would bring.

“I’m fine.” Yoona sighed. “This is why you should have been more alert Hwayoung!” Yoona scolded to the girl. She immediately bowed her head and bit her quivering lip.

“I..I’m so sorry princess! I’ll be sure to be more alert from now on!” she stammered. Yoona turned to Luhan who stood still as a statue staring back at her.

“So now you know.” She trailed. “I’m the princess.” Luhan gulped. He had to apologise even though he didn’t really do anything wrong. But if she kicked him out of his position then he would never find out why his father died and get revenge!

“About before…at the palace…sorry…” He apologised. Yoona’s eyes shadowed and Luhan thought he saw a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

“I’ll accept your apology since you didn’t know.” She coughed. “You said you were a worker at the palace. What do you work as?” The butler stepped in and smiled.

“Actually, this is your new bodyguard.” The butler introduced. Yoona’s eyes widened.

“W..what?!”

“Is something the matter?” the butler smiled wearily. The princess’ reaction didn’t seem so good. “Did you do something wrong before you even started officially?” The butler whispered to Luhan. Luhan didn’t answer. He just stared right into Yoona’s eyes. His gaze turned serious and calm which surprised Yoona a bit.

“I will not cause any more trouble. My boundaries are clear now. I will stay as a bodyguard and nothing more.” He said is a husky voice. Luhan knew this would be best for both of them. It was a shame as he had started to grow a liking towards Yoona. But now that he had found out she was the princess, he had to stop that. He had stop any sort of relationship developing be it friendship or even romance. She was now the enemy in his eyes- daughter of his main suspect. And even if she wasn’t, she was the princess, born of royal blood.  

“Alright…” Yoona trailed. “Now that we have that sorted I guess we can officially introduce ourselves. I am Im Yoona, crown princess.” She smirked.

“I am Luhan.” Luhan simply stated.

“What’s with this cold atmosphere?” the butler whispered to Hwayoung.

“I don’t know Jinwoo. Doesn’t it seem like they’ve met before?”

“But why would they introduce themselves then?” Hwayoung turned to look at the two who were still staring at each other. Why did it seem like they had both just found out they couldn’t be with each other or something? She shrugged and then eyed Luhan closer.

“Wow, he’s really hot…” she trailed to herself.

A/N: Super sorry for the late update :< I was extrememly busy because I had cousins coming over etc. Anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you all for your wonderful comments :) Also poster has been added. That awesome was made by wickedjackal of poster paradise. (I'm in love with it XD) Also if you've checked out the soundtrack, you could probably tell I'm in love with masters sun. I know I'm late watching it and all and I seriously don't know why it took me so long to watch. If you haven't watched it then I HIGHLY RECCOMEND IT!!