Girl, what's your problem?
Cause I know it's hard sometimes, baby just give it some time
Oh, honey now girl, we can solve 'em
If you just give me some time, I can open up your mind
If you le-le-let it shine, You can free-ee-ee your mind
Cause I know,
And now that it's over, I'll never be sober
I couldn't believe, but now I'm so high
And now that it's over, I'll never be sober
I couldn't believe, but now I'm so high
Now I'm so high
Now I'm so high
Now I'm so high

The boy took off the white earpods he previously had in his ears. Guess the iPod he stole off of that girl in the subway had pretty decent taste in music. Not bad, he must say. He mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done since this was the fifth "expensive" thing he stole this month and he hasn't been caught once. He sold off the iPod he had stolen three months ago because it was full of ty music and he'd rather get money from it while he's at it. He kept the iPod in the back pocket of his washed-out jeans and went into a nearby convenience store. He checked the fifth aisle (as he would usually do) for five things that has enabled him to survive for the past five years; triangular kimbap, instant ramen, cheap sushi, baked eggs, and a two-litre bottle of water. For sure, he's grown tired of it but it gets him by and he hasn't died from it, so that was okay. After collecting the things he needed, he walked over to the cashier to pay for the things he took (which is odd to say the least). 

"The usual, huh?" The cashier said and the boy simply hummed in response. The cashier looked up to the boy and packed the things into a plastic bag without ringing any of the items up.

"Aren't you going to ring them up?" The boy asked slightly confused.

"I can pay for them. Don't worry about it, Donghyuk." The cashier handed the plastic bag to the boy with all his food in it before taking off her work apron signifying the end of her shift. She slipped a few bills and coins in the register to pay off the things he "bought". She got out of the counter and pulled him out of the store. The two sat on a bench while Donghyuk opened the packet of triangular kimbap, munching on it silently. "But I have to ask you something."

"What is it?" He asked with his mouth full.

"When are you going to get a real job? You can't live off your whole life by stealing! You're going to end up in jail sooner or later."

The boy swallowed the kimbap and muttered under his breath, "At least in jail you get food, a bed, and a place to shower." The cashier just looked at him quietly.

"I heard that, you know. You can't keep living in bathhouses and gyms either. You can come and live with me for the time being-"

"I don't need your sympathy, Ara."

"It's not sympathy, Donghyuk. My parents would understand. You were my only friend in that orphanage and I am genuinely concerned for you. Come on, just stay with me until you get back up on your feet and get a job."

"Easy for you to say, you got adopted. I've been in that hellhole ever since I was born." The girl bit her lip in frustration. It seemed that what she was saying flew right over his head.

"Okay, stay with me for one week. If you manage to get a job by then, I'll shut up." He turned to face her.

"You promise?"

"I'll keep my promise if you lay off stealing things." She raised her pinky. waiting for him to do the same. He sighed. "Fine." He raised his pinky and they entwined their pinky fingers together in a pinky swear. She dug into her pocket and took out a 50,000 won note out. She took his hand and placed the bill in it.

"Ara, what are you-" She put a finger on her lips, telling him to not further his question.

"Keep it. My mum told me to give it to you. This should be able to last you about a week, maybe even two if you know how to stretch your dollar."

"Ara, please-"

"No objections. Just think of it as an overdue Christmas present." She smiled.

"Thank you." He smiled.

"Don't mention it. I just hope that you won't need me to bail you out next time or anything." She joked.

"Don't count on it." And with the plastic bag, he left the store. He was making his way to an often-frequented bathhouse when he saw something on a newsstand that caught his eye. He eyed if the owner of the stand was there before casually walking away with a copy of the newspaper, seamlessly blending in with the street crowd. He sat on a nearby bench and looked at the front page. It was a picture of their King along with a picture of some other King which he didn't recognise. They were shaking hands and smiling widely in the photo and the headline read "CAERIA AND SEVEIN TO BECOME ONE." in bold italic letters.

"The hell is this? What's a Sevein?"

***

Dites-moi d'où il vient 
Enfin je saurai où je vais
Maman dit que lorsqu'on cherche bien
On finit toujours par trouver
Elle dit qu'il n'est jamais très loin
Qu'il part très souvent travailler
Maman dit "travailler c'est bien"
Bien mieux qu'être mal accompagné
Pas vrai?

The girl was bobbing her head and tapping her feet to the beat of the French song. Her teacher had always reminded her to keep track of her proficiency in the language by listening to more French songs and by watching more French movies. This was a new language that she had taken up to consume some of the time she spends in the castle. But that wasn't the full reason for it, her father has also pushed her to learn more languages but she didn't really knew or understood why when all she did was stay at home. When was she even going to speak the language? But nevertheless, she never disobeyed. She was absorbed in the song until she heard three knocks on her door. She took off her earpods. "Come in!"

"Hey, you busy?" She kept away her notebook and iPod in a drawer before looking to the source of the voice.

"Hey, Seokkie. What's up?" Her brother walked over to her bed before plopping himself on it. 

"Why do you always call me that?"

"It's a term of endearment. And why not? You're my brother!"

"Seokkie sounds so... Cute. It makes me sound like I'm five. At least Wooseok is manly." The girl rolled her eyes before pushing her brother's legs off of the bed, making his posture on the bed a bit lopsided. 

"If you're just here for a nap, you know that you have your own room for that, don't you?"

"Your bed is more comfortable, though. Dad got you a great mattress." He said patting the bed while putting his legs back on. She jumped on the bed, joining her brother.

"A great mattress means nothing when you can't go anywhere. I don't even know how this town looks like! Can you believe it? What kind of princess doesn't know how her country looks like?"

"You, apparently." She sat up and slapped him harshly on the arm making him exclaim in pain.

"The f-" He calmed himself down and exhaled. He had to watch his tongue whenever he was with his younger sister. His father would kill him if he were to ever "corrupt" her or so he says.

"Minnie, that hurt." She huffed in frustration. "Okay, I'm sorry. I was just joking."

"It's not funny! Why am I the only one not allowed out?"

"Well, you're only fifteen. Dad's kinda weird like that. None of us were allowed out until we turned a certain age. But your coming of age ceremony is coming soon, isn't it? You'll probably be allowed out by then."

"Without supervision?" She asked excitedly.

"Are you crazy? Even Jangmi and Saebyeol aren't allowed out unsupervised. But, you can go out tonight if you want." Her eyes widened in excitement. 

"Really?! How?" Wooseok covered his ears and made an exagerrated uncomfortable face. "Stop shouting! You're right next to me."

"But, seriously. How?" She asked in a whisper this time.

"I'll sneak you out! Siwon always did it for Jangmi and Saebyeol when they were younger. He did it for me too." Minyoung considered his offer. A taste of freedom? She'd be an idiot to say no.

"Count me in!" She grinned and hugged her brother.

***

A/N:

Congrats to Minyoung a.k.a Minyoungie-Lee! The youngest child of the Cho family has been revealed owo. I hope y'all liked this teaser and I'm so thankful of all your wonderful and supportive comments! You guys are really cute and really nice haha. I hope this teaser was okay and I hope you guys are as excited as I am for the real fic uwu