For: iCiere

Partner: Beast's Doojoon

Request again~

A young man carefully set her down on the ground and cuffed her to the wall. I’m sorry, princess. I wish I didn’t have to do this. He noticed that there was a cut on her face. He carefully put some medicine on it before standing up. Before he left the room, he looked back at her poor state. He sighed and reluctantly closed the door on his way out.

Bi An groaned and opened her eyes. She looked around and adjusted to the minimal light that came into the room she was in. She was in a dungeon. Bi An shot up from the ground but was pulled back by the chains on her wrists and ankles. Where am I? Why am I here?

Scared, she crouched back in the corner and wrapped her arms around her legs to keep warm. Minutes later, she could hear voices from outside. “Yes, the princess is inside.” Bi An gasped. The big door opened with a creak, revealing two men. The bigger one looked at her as if she was prey.

He maliciously smiled at her, “Good job. Now we’ll be able to get the king to kneel down and hand over the throne to me.” Bi An gasped at his words. The younger man hung his head low but agreed with his boss. “Yes, sir.” The bigger man let out a laugh that made Bi An cringe. “My my, I never knew that my brother had such a beautiful, young daughter.”

Bi An’s eyebrows furrowed. Brother? Does that mean... “I trust you to keep her here alive. I don’t want her dead before Won gets here.” The younger one bowed. “Of course, sir.” After her uncle left the dungeon, the younger one came toward her. “Are you o-”

“Do I look okay to you?” Bi An snapped at him, causing him to step back. “If you were so concerned. you would’ve let me go a long time ago.” The man sighed and muttered an apology. Bi An looked at him curiously. Did he just apologize?

Before the young man left, he gave her a bandage to put on her head. She stared at the bandage in her head and looked at the closed door. Who are you and why are you so nice to me?

Everyday, the young man came to deliver her meals. Sometimes, he would just come down to check up on her. Bi An started to anticipate his next arrival. He was the only person she could talk to. As the days passed by, her interest in him grew more and more and she began to enjoy his presence. She even acknowledged his good looks, but of course never told him.

The young man came in again to deliver her dinner. Before he left the room, she called out. “I never got your name.” He stopped and slowly turned around. He looked down at his feet. “I don’t deserve to tell you my name, princess.” Amused, she replied, “I have a name, you know.”

His head shot up, his expression covered in disbelief. “I'm Bi An. Lee Bi An. So make sure you call me that next time you address me.” The man, for the first time, showed a hint of his dashing smile. “My name is Yoon Doojoon, pri-.” Bi An shot him a look. His ears turned red as he cleared his throat. "Bi An."

Soon, Doojoon visited Bi An for hours until he had to go and run errands for her uncle. He even uncuffed her whenever he was by her side. She told him stories about the village and life in the palace while he told her stories of his adventures. “Why are you here?” Bi An asked, out of the blue.

Doojoon raised his brow. “What do you mean?” Bi An looked at him. “Why are you here, working under him? You have such great potential, Doojoon. Why did you choose this life?”

Doojoon looked down and his lap. “My parents passed away with a debt they never paid back. So I was sent here to pay it back.” Bi An slightly gasped and apologized for asking such a personal question. Doojoon shook his head and assured her with a smile.

“I’ll be out soon. Maybe in a couple of months? I’ve been counting down the days until I’d be free. But I stopped caring when I met you.” Bi An's heart slightly fluttered but she waved it off and joked in order to cover her blushing face. “You mean when you kidnapped me?” Doojoon let out a laugh before proceeding on to another topic.

One chilly night, Bi An was woken up by someone shaking her. “Bi An, wake up.” She groggily opened her eyes and was surprised to see Doojoon. “I’m getting you out of here.”

Bi An shot up at that statement. “What? Are you crazy?  What if you get caught?” “And you don’t mind if your father hands his throne to Joon?” She lowered her eyes. “And don’t worry about me. He won’t hurt me. I still have a little bit of debt to pay back. He wouldn’t miss a chance of getting more money from me.”

They quietly snuck out of the dungeon and sneaked across the hallways to the front door of the run-down mansion. Suddenly, a low voice came from behind them. “Going somewhere?”

They both turned around to see Joon holding a gun pointed directly at them. Doojoon instantly pulled Bi An behind him. “I’m setting her free, Joon. Do you really think keeping her here will make the king bow down to you? He’ll just send his men over and have you killed.” Joon let out a sarcastic laugh before putting on a serious face again.

“And let him have his daughter back to live a happy life? I don’t think so.” Before they could do anything, a gunshot was fired. “Ah!” Bi An fell down behind, holding her arm. “Bi An-ah!” Doojoon bent down and looked at her bloody arm.

Furios, he stood back up and pulled out a gun from his belt and shot Joon. Joon fell back with a howl, holding his right chest in pain. “You little-”

Doojoon hurriedly picked Bi An up and carried her outside and set her on top of his horse. But Bi An didn’t let go of him. “What are you doing? You have to go, Bi An.” She shook her head with tears in her eyes. “No, I’m not leaving you here. Come with me.”

Doojoon stared into her eyes and cupped her face. “Don’t worry about me. I'll be fine.” He looked back when he heard Joon yelling out his name.

"I’ll be there soon. Just count to 30. I’ll be there in 30 days.” He reassured her, ignoring her pleas, before slapping his horses behind. His horse immediately ran into the woods, leaving Doojoon behind.

“Doojoon!” Bi An held onto the horse and looked back, tears flowing down her cheeks.