Chapter Thirty Two

We cuddled comfortably for what felt like hours, dinner was long forgotten and the woes from a while ago already forgiven. As I rested on top of his chest, pressing a peck after another into his soft plump lips, I felt like could never be happier. I knew then this was where exactly I wanted to be, in his arms forever. 

“I’m sorry,” I still repeated even though he already told me enough of it. I felt him shift as his arms were holding me firmly on my waist. 

“It’s okay, princess.” His voice was deep and sincere, yet weariness was also present. 

“You’re not taking care of yourself, are you?” I pouted, brushing my thumb underneath his sleepy eyes. 

He smiled weakly. “It’s not like that. Since I’m on the night shift I have to stay up late all the time, which messes up my body clock making it quite difficult to sleep lately.”

“You’re definitely stressed,” I concluded, feeling very guilty for seemingly neglecting him. 

“I’m just sleep deprived, Yeona, a good night’s rest would solve this all.” He yawned before closing his eyes to rest a bit, his arm pulling up to rest against his forehead. 

I got off from my position, as much as I would like to remain cuddled by his side I knew he needed more than just sleep. I sat beside him with my legs folded underneath me and patted my lap, “Come here.” 

He sniffed, “What are you up to?” he looked at me as if I was conjuring something naughty. 

“Nothing,” I giggled, “I’ll just give you a massage, so put your head on my lap.” 

He chuckled as well, doing as told and rested his head on my leg. I then began to massage his forehead, smoothing out the creases on his eyebrows and putting pressure on areas where I figured must be cumbersome. I, myself, frequently have headaches thus I know perfectly where all the discomfort would ensue. 

Oppa groaned as he relaxed into my touch, releasing a long and satisfied sigh. “Aigoo, I feel like I’m such a terrible girlfriend.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked, eyes still closed. 

“Because I never take enough care of you,” I answered, pouting. 

“Don’t say that. Never ones in my life did I ever imagine receiving a massage from the Crown Princess but now here I am. You’re doing more than what you really have to,” answered he. 

I began to lower my hands and massage his shoulders instead, giving much attention to the junctures of his neck and the prominent collarbones exposed from his shirt. “Wow, you’re unbelievably good at this,” he further groaned. 

“I do have my fair share of stresses; thus, I know exactly what do to,” I proudly answered. 
He chuckled once again, “I just never imagined you would be giving massages to anyone else.”

“I give halma mama a massage once in a while, especially when she complains about her stiff necks and back pains,” I answered, nonchalantly, ever so focused on relieving tension from his stiff posture. 

“That explains it,” he mumbled, as he was slowly being lulled to sleep. 

I gazed down at the man I so adored, looking very worn-out but still ever so attractive. Did I ever mention I just adore his forehead? There’s something about his widow’s peak that’s just very appealing. As I lose myself in my own thoughts of him, and how much I truly care about him, I realize the grievance of what I had done. “I’m sorry for making the decision all on my own again,” I mumbled, just in case he was already fast asleep. 

For a minute or two I really thought he was already, but his sudden movement proved otherwise. He gently pushed me back down unto the bed, hands pushing hair away from my face, and planting a gentle kiss on my forehead. “Please apologize no more, I should have known that you would always take the initiative of deciding on what’s best. You don’t have to be sorry for that, but next time talk to me. You know you always have me, right?”

I nodded, willing to be very obedient this time. He looked at me adoringly, as if he was trying to burn every feature of my face into his memory. His eyes trailed down from my eyes to my nose and mouth, until he stopped right at my neck. He had the usual gorgeous crooked smile on the corner of his lips before planting another kiss on the same spot he previously looked at. Once again, my breathing got caught up in my chest, body melting into his gentle touch and replying ever so passionately to his kisses. 

The sudden ringing of the phone on my nightstand broke us apart rather, unfortunately. Youngho oppa audibly groaned in frustration, making me laugh before I reached for the telephone. 

“I apologize for the disturbance, your royal highness,” Soojin unnie spoke from the other line, “but dinner is slowly getting cold. Would you like it delivered to your quarters instead?”

“Right, I forgot about that,” I answered, “please do so, unnie, and also bring us some fresh clothes for Youngho oppa to change into.”

“As you wish, your highness,” she replied before ending the call. 

“I hope you intend to stay for the night,” I told oppa with a little hint of a tease as I crawled out of bed. 

“I guess I don’t have a choice,” he answered defeatedly.

“By the way,” I said before I entered the door to my wardrobe, “you got lipstick stains right here,” I pointed at the corner of my lips, “you might want to get that out before Soojin unnie arrives.” I winked before disappearing into my walk-in closet to change. 

I heard him chuckle in return. 

Dinner was quickly served before us and my staff left without further words. They probably got the idea that we just wanted to be left alone. After oppa and I got changed, we ate while watching Netflix and snuggled against each other. 

“I can’t really persuade you to let me come into the tour, can I?” asked he as he munched on some grapes. 

“No, you focus on your studies, I focus on my responsibilities to the Crown,” I answered, eating some peaches. 

“Am I allowed to at least visit you then?” he was persistent, not about to accept the current terms. 

“Of course, if you’re free you can always come and see me, or I could come and see you.”

“No, I’ll come to you,” said he, peeling an orange and feeding me some, “too much security risk for you to be away from the royal entourage. I’ll come visit you every weekend.” 

“Arasso, oppa,” I smiled, satisfied by his condition. 

“You must know how proud I am of you.” 

I simply smiled in return. We finished eating after a while and the staff went in to collect the plates and left us alone once again. We spent the rest of the night catching up, talking about the most random of things and laughing at almost anything. Until such time I found oppa’s eyes to be practically drooping then I proposed the idea of actually going to sleep. He enveloped me in his embrace and in a matter of seconds he was already fast asleep. 

- -

Third Person Perspective

It was a very busy day for a certain Dispatch reporter. Last night, just about sundown a certain white Audi R8 was seen driving towards the Imperial Palace, taking the back entrance and through the thick array of trees of the Imperial Gardens, a perfect cover for anyone trying to get inside the palace unnoticed. This was the proof Reporter Bae Donggu has been waiting for.

He had been trailing the said vehicle for weeks now. He was just about to give up on it, believing that the lead they had was another farce. Seemed like the owner of the vehicle had a very ordinary routine. From its parking spot at a high-rise condominium, it drives to the gym early in the morning. Afterward, it drives to SNU, specifically the medical school building—which was, by the way, another lead for the man he was supposed to trail was a soon-to-be doctor. It then stays there for the duration of the day, almost until the wee hours of the morning sometimes and then drives back to its home. It’s a very tiring and repetitive schedule, which would only deviate once or twice a week when the owner would go visit the mart or stop by what seemed to be his parent’s house. 

Reporter Bae was just about to drop the investigation when one very fortunate afternoon, just as he was about to fall asleep in his car that had also been his mobile home, the vehicle started to drive. It’s a very fast sports car, which meant once it’s on, he mustn’t lose it. That afternoon it was driving faster than how it normally does and by the time it reached the intersection where he was supposed to turn right for his way home, he turned the other way. Bingo! It seemed as if his work would finally see some results. He almost lost the car at one point but knowing the twists and turns of the many roads in Seoul, he caught up with it and saw it just driving towards the private back gate. All that was left for him to do was to wait for the morning to hopefully snap some pictures of the man and the princess and then bam! Front page worthy, number one in the search related topics, and the most buzzed about article in Korea for the next day. It may even stay on the top spot for a week or so. This was a jackpot, brewing till it’s perfectly cooked. 

He parked his car as far away from the palace as possible and began his undercover mission. This was a job that meant life or death for him, this would define his career and he could almost see his bank account getting filled and getting that company-paid vacation to Fiji the next weekend. He put on his spying gear, a black tracksuit with ferns, twigs, and bushes attached to it meaning for him to be camouflaged on the woods if he was to simply duck a little bit. 

He took his handy camera and began to crawl his way through the only security lapse in the palace that he and a few other paparazzi knew of, an underground tunnel, very narrow in size and only the smallest of person would be able to fit. It would lead directly behind the largest and densest trees in the Imperial Gardens, a part where the bushes were as high as an average person’s chest and conveniently hidden in bird’s eye view or in any plain sight. Unless one’s a sniper or a very well trained Blue House agent, but these days the palace don’t employ such security anymore unless there’s some very important occasion, so he was almost sure this plan of his would surely succeed. 

He climbed out of that tiny