Chapter 45: Changes

I watched her as she paced back and forth, anxiousness written all over her body language. She was worried, I was worried and by the look on my father’s face, I could tell that he was worried too. I bit down on my lip, and inhaled a breath to try and calm the feelings stirring in the pit of my stomach. I looked over at my father as his eyes followed Taeyeon in her stressed state. He didn’t really know what to say; neither of us had seen her like this before.

She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration.

This morning she seemed okay, level headed and calm - like she didn’t really care. But now it was reaching mid-afternoon and it seemed that her worries were getting the best of her, like all of it was just now settling underneath her skin and the realization had somewhat slapped her across the face.

“It’s not that bad, Taeyeon.” My father tried to reason.

She stopped in her tracks, in front of his desk, and placed her hands atop it and leaned forward, locking eyes with him. My father tensed slightly.

“Not that bad?” She questioned. “If it’s not that bad, then what do you suggest we do? What happens if the public finds out who I really am? Everything would-“

“Then we’ll just have to tell them truth.”

“The truth? What about all the lies? They already doubt me as the new king. Do you really think that they’ll let all the rest of it slip? If they know that I was just a poor commoner, they’ll have more of a reason to doubt me.”

She wasn’t just worried, or anxious. She was angry. I’d like to think that I knew all the sides Taeyeon had, I had seen her angry before, just never this angry and I wasn’t exactly sure how to deal with it.

“And what about my family? I don’t want reporters snooping around their house.”

My father said nothing, and a long and heavy silence settled between the three of us.

“Taeyeon.” I said softly. She relaxed slightly. “Please come sit down.”

She sat beside me and I laced our fingers together and tried to give her a small smile of reassurance. She pulled our intertwined hands onto her lap and traced my knuckles lightly, distractedly, as she massaged her left temple with her other hand.

My father sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. He leaned his elbows on the desk. “Look Taeyeon, there’s really not that much we can do. News stations and tabloids are always out looking for stories that will attract attention, and right now you two are the biggest targets. We’ll just have to be extra careful with what we release out for the public eye to see.”

Taeyeon lifted her head and pressed her lips into a line, and squeezed my hand a little tighter. She swallowed down, and looked down at her lap briefly. “I’m sorry.” She said softly. “I just don’t want anything to happen that will have an affect on anybody else.”

My father breathed in and leaned back in his chair, nodding his head slowly. “It’s okay, Taeyeon. I understand.”

She wet her lips, and looked him in the eye. “I want my mother and Hayeon brought to the palace immediately. I want them here, with me, until this whole thing blows over.” Her voice was stern. “And I think we should double guards and security. I don’t want to take any chances.”

My father nodded in consideration. “I think that would be sensible. You’re right, we can’t take any chances.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “The media is already buzzing about us at the moment, with everything that’s happened lately.”

“They know what happened?” I asked my voice somewhat quiet.

“About Yoona?”

I nodded.

My father inhaled and shook his head. “The only people that know what happened is us, and we intend to keep it that way. And as for Yoona…she’s not mentally stable. She’s currently being taken care of in a private institute. We’ll just have to pray and hope that she gets better, and all of this will die down smoothly.”

We all agreed silently in the still of the air.

A knock on the door was heard and we turned around to see who it was, or whom it may concern.

“Come in.” My father announced.

Henry poked his head through the door. “I’m very sorry to bother you, your highnesses, but Miss Jung is here to see you, My Queen. I’ve sent her to your room.”

“Thank you, Henry. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I smiled at him and he bowed once again before leaving.

I turned back to my father.

“It’s okay. You can go, Fany-ah. I have some more things to discuss with Taeyeon anyway.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, looking between them as I stood.

My father gave a reassuring smile and nodded. “Of course.”

I looked down at Taeyeon and she nodded, bringing my hand to her lips. I leaned down and pecked her cheek quickly.

“Don’t be too long. Jessica probably wants to see you too.” I said, pulling away, and she nodded, flashing a small smile. I looked into her eyes, clouded with so many conflicting things and I suddenly felt sorry for Taeyeon. This wasn’t her fault, but the burden of it all was weighing down on her shoulders.

I left and headed to my room, gliding down the hallways and corridors, the excitement of seeing Jessica making me feel slightly giddy. Jessica was my soul mate, my best friend that I had known since birth, and the one person that I could tell absolutely anything to. We didn’t spend an awful amount of time together, due to our busy schedules. I had just seen her two days ago, when Taeyeon and I had explained everything that happened at the coronation party. I hadn’t spoken to her since. I was glad and very lucky that I had a friend like Jessica.

* * *

“Yuri didn’t come with you?” I asked as we sat on the bed.

She spread out her legs and leaned back on her hands, shaking her head. “No, she had a few meetings today. She really did want to come see you guys though.”

I folded my legs into a basket and clasped my fingers together as I gazed out of the window. It was sunny, the skies were blue and the clouds were snow-white. I let out a quiet sigh as I felt the reality of things sink a little deeper into my skin and it made my heart feel a little heavier than usual.

“When’s the wedding?” I asked, looking back over at Jessica as she situated herself comfortably in the midst of our pillows.

“Uhm…about a month.” She answered.

“Wow.” I said blowing my fringe out of my eyes. “That’s pretty soon. Aren’t you excited?”

“Of course” She said, “I’m nervous too though.”

“It’s natural to be nervous, Jess.” I told her, moving to sit a little closer. “If you weren’t nervous, I’d be worried.”

“I suppose.” She laughed lightly and hugged a pillow to her chest.

“Are you hungry?” I asked, looking up at the clock. “It’s nearly lunchtime. We could get Henry to bring us something up, or we could even go out if you want to...” I looked back at her to find her staring at me intently, her eyes following my every move. “Well? What do you want to do?”

She shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”

“Are you sure because-“

“Just tell me what’s bothering you.”

I raised my eyebrow at her. “I was just asking if you wanted something to eat, Jess-“

“I know.” She sighed, rolling her eyes. “But as soon as you stepped through the door I could see that worried look in your eyes. I know something’s up, Tiff.“

I pressed my lips into a line and looked at her for a short moment. I sighed, rubbing my forehead in what only could be described as frustration. Why did Jessica have to be so smart when it came to these things?

“Fany-ah,” She cooed softly, placing her hand on my back gently. “Just tell me. I know it’ll make you feel better if you do.”

I gazed into her brown eyes again and saw a sincere concern twinkling there. I sighed again, running my fingers through my hair. “Well…”

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

I looked over in the direction of the stairway to see Taeyeon standing there, something unreadable in her eyes as she smiled at the both of us.

“Taeyeon!” Jessica squealed, getting off of the bed to give Taeyeon a hug of greeting. Jessica had always been a hugger. “How are you?” Jessica asked, pulling away from their short embrace.

Taeyeon smiled and nodded. Jessica may have not seen it, but I could tell that there was something wrong.

“I’m fine.” Taeyeon answered. “How’s Yuri and everything?”

“Yuri’s really good. She wanted to come and see you, but she had meetings to go to, but she’ll come see you guys soon.” Jessica assured.

Taeyeon nodded, glancing over at me. “Well, if she’s in the area, she can come see me at the office. I’m just gonna get ready and go.”

Office? Why was Taeyeon going to the office all of a sudden?

“Oh,” Jessica said. “Can’t you stay a little longer?”

“I’m sorry, Sica-yah. But I really need to go. I’ve got to get some things sorted.”

Jessica nodded in understanding. “Okay. Well it was nice seeing you anyway.”
Taeyeon smiled. “Yeah, it was. “ She then looked past Jessica, locking eyes with me. “Well, I better get dressed.” She said, crossing the room and entering the closet.

I breathed out a sigh as Jessica pulled her phone out of her pocket.

“I’m gonna call Yuri quickly, tell her that she can stop off at the office later to see Taeyeon if she wants to.” She said, her eyes focused on dialing Yuri’s number. “I’ll be back in a second.”

I nodded as she left down the stairs to make the call. I grabbed my own phone and lay back on the bed, my head resting on my pillow. What was going on with me? Were thin