Once upon a time there lived a price. He was a cheerful, energetic and smart lad that all the people in his kingdom cherished. The prince wanted to be a brave and strong warrior just like his father when he grew up so that he could protect his kingdom just like the deceased king did. The queen was proud of her little prince.

But one day, an evil witch appeared. The witch disguised herself as a poor lady and went to seek to the palace. The queen was sceptic, but on the insistence of the kind prince, she let the witch serve in the palace. The witch, little by little, filled the pure hearts of the people with fear, disgust and hatred for the queen and the little prince. 

Alas, it was one cold night, when the thunders were at its loudest and the lightening showed no mercy, the witch took advantage and set the palace on fire. The queen and the prince were lucky to have survived, but many had died. It was the witch's last plan to overthrow the queen and it worked. The enraged people blamed the queen and the prince. The queen tried to explain to them, but their hearts were so closed they were not ready to listen. So, the queen had to run away with the prince.

The witch was smart. She knew that the queen would come back or the prince might come back. Both were a threat to her power. Thus, the witch sent a troop to kill both of them. The queen, on finding out about it, was despaired that her own people didn't trust her. She had to act fast if she wanted to at least keep the prince safe. 

The little prince had no idea what was happening. He was oblivious of the witch's doing or how his people, who adored him, had turned vengeful. The prince was in his innocent world of happy endings that when the queen took him in an unknown land and left him there, he was shattered.

The little prince didn't eat for days and kept on crying. He was teased and bullied by the children in the orphanage he stayed in until he met a kid with runny nose. That kid was younger than him by two years and was shorter. Wearing his torn pants and oversized t-shirt, he was the first kid who would look at the prince with the warmest smile and extend his hands. "Hi." 

 

 

Sarang doubt if Luhan was in a stable condition to do anything let alone their history project. She wanted him to take a day off or something after what happened yesterday. What happened yesterday was like a dream. It was still an unbelievable fact that Miyu was actually Luhan's sister.... 

After finding out Miyu's mom was Luhan's mom too...well, let's just say she and her two best friends excused themselves. The scene they had withnessed was too private and vulnerable and it felt wrong to even be there. Sehun and others, on the other hand, knew Luhan well. As much as Sarang wanted to know what happened after, she knew she shouldn't ask.

After a lot of pondering, she gathered her courage to tell him to rest. But before she could utter a syllable, Luhan dropped her pencil on the book and turned towards her. 

"I am sorry."

A what???

Sarang blinked at him. Once. Twice.  Thrice 

"I am sorry. I seemed to have heard you wrong. What did you say?" 

"I said I am sorry. Because of me things have become awkward." 

Oh wow...how am I supposed to answer? 

...

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...

...

...

...

"So..ugh...this topic...I am really confused-" 

So what that Sarang couldn't tell Luhan what she wanted to, it was an awkward situation she had no other way out of. This subject was too sensitive for her to handle. 

 

 

 

"Luhan hyung," Sehun looked at him in worry. "Are you okay?" 

Luhan sighed. "Sehun, I am not going to answer that anymore." 

"But it's odd. You are taking this just too maturely." 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You should be throwing tantrums! You know, like, lock yourself in your room for a day or two-"

"I share my room with you."

"-or shout at me or dad or that lady that calls herself your mom! You should be angry, or, or upset-" 

"Sehun, calm down-"

"How can I calm down hyung! You aren't reacting a least bit and it's making me more worried!" 

Luhan eyed Sehun for a minute before he huffed all the burden he had in his chest. Luhan's face changed from normal to weary in seconds and he plopped down on his bed. 

"Sehun, that's enough." 

"Hyung-"

"I said that's enough." 

Luhan's tired tone was enough for him to stop. With slumped shoulders he left the room. "I will sleep in the guestroom."

 

 

 

Luhan stared at the full moon from his window. The night was calm and breezy to cool his head.

The queen left the prince...but why? Why did she leave him when they had already left their kingdom together?

 

"Because Xing Jia was still after me. I couldn't let her track you. She wouldn't hesitate a bit to kill you." 

 

To save him from the witch's troops?

 

"Then what about Miyu? Isn't she in danger too?"

 

Or...

 

"xing Jia...we got her arrested..." Luhan's mom looked hesitant before continuing. "When I got pregnant with Miyu."

"Who helped you in her captivity?"

"Miyu's father..."

 

Was he just a burden to throw? 

 

If Sehun thought he wasn't angry or upset, he was wrong. The way his heart plummeted when he heard her mention Miyu's dad...it was indescribable. 

The nightmares of the day she left him in the amusement park still haunts him...he is still hurt and forgiving her is not a plan at the moment. He wants to lash out, throw things, even scream on her face, but he has his brain on the right track. He may be vulnerable, but not completely at the mercy of his emotions. He knows circumstances were not in favour of him and even if there were loopholes where he could have questioned her sincerity to him, Miyu's face kept it from him.

Miyu didn't deserve to have her innocence stained by the mistakes committed by people she barely even knew. 

Luhan seriously wanted to laugh at his pitiful situation. He was angry, he was sad, he wanted to blame someone, anyone. But he couldn't because it was no one's fault.

 

 

 

 

"Some friends you are," Sarang hissed on her phone. 

"What do you expect me to do? Help you and Luhan in your history project?" Ahreum answered from other line. 

"You were there before."

"I can't come there AFTER."

Sarang huffed. "It's really uncomfortable Ahreum. Especially after he apologized."

"Yeah, and I commend you for tackling that situation well," Ahreum replied. "But look, it's not in our place to make the situation bearable. That would be just selfish." 

"I don't know," Luhan replied honestly. "I am sorry I have nothing intelligent to say." 

The words that Luhan said to her back in the camp in darkness of the kitchen rang repeatedly in her ears. Flashes of him patiently listening to her ,whether it was the kitchen or under the shade of the tree or under the starry night sky, came to her mind and it pained her heart so much she had difficulty breathing. 

"Sarang? Are you there? Sarang?" 

Ahreum's voice brought her back. 

"Y-eah....sorry."

"You alright?" 

"N-nothing. It just got stuffy here." 

"Well, take care. Its summer after all."  

Yeah. It's summer. 

 

 

 

 

Sarang kept saying no. She kept rejecting the idea... how the heck did she still end up in the amusement park with Luhan, Miyu and Miyu's mother? She should be in the library, under the AC, doing their history project. 

You see, Sarang was quietly doing her share of the project when she saw Luhan enter the library hand in hand with Miyu and his mother trailing behind them. Luhan had come to inform her of his plans to spend the day with Miyu at the amusement park (the exact park where he met his mother) and Sarang had happily accepted it. But the lady behind them had another plan. She invited her. Sarang rejected, but the lady was persistent. 

Fellas, that is how she ended up in this freaking hellhole of an amusement park that started all this drama.

"I am sorry for wasting your time," Miyu's mother said. Her voice was gentle and soothing. If her voice was a face, it would definitely be Luhan's face.

Soft and sweet. 

Realization dawned a little late on Sarang that she thought of him like that and when it did, it made her blush. She looked nervously at Luhan as if afraid he heard what she thought. 

Silly me. He won't. 

"Nee-San," Miyu tugged on Luhan hand. "That." Little Miyu pointed at the merry-go-round. Of course, Luhan had to maintain a poised look eventhough his heart broke when he saw the said ride. 

"Miyu," the lady started. "Likes that ride as much as you when you were a kid. Back then you would beg me to let you ride it. You wouldn't get tired of it eventhough you rode it for-" 

The narration, however, was disturbed when Luhan took off with Miyu without letting her complete. 

Awkward.

Sarang awkwardly faced the lady. "Well...Lu-Luhan, ugh, he..he is always like that. Don't mind him. Hahaha." 

The lady let out a sad sigh while shaking her head. "He...he hasn't forgiven me." 

"Aunty..."

"I wish he would give me a chance. You know, he didn't ask any questions when I told him my story. He just listened."

Sarang was confused. "Isn't that good?"

"He isn't at all curious...why it started on the first place. What caused it...or anything about his past."

"Sarang!" Luhan's voice pulled her attention away from pondering on what she just heard. "Hey airhead, can you help me here."

A nerve striked on Sarang's head as she stormed her way towards Luhan. "What did you just call me, jerk?!" 

Luhan's eyes turned into crescent as his lips curved from a smile to a hearty laugh seeing her pissed. He was shining so much that it made her heart ache and choke in a good way. 

The way she feels about this....

And the way she can describe and identify this feeling....

It made her realize....

 

"One of the villagers who came to us gave it to me. You should take your friends there."

 

"Do you want water?"

 

"Well, the master plan belonged to Luhan hyung," Beakhyun cooed. "He told us to do it."

 

"I owe you." 

 

Oh son of a gun. 

 

Of all the times she had to discover she liked this jerk, it had to be now.