Chapter #20:

        The Date.

Baekhyun wasn’t exactly unhappy or bothered to take Haejin out. He didn’t feel compelled or forced. It was impossible to ever force him into things he didn’t like and he was sure if it was his brothers instead of Haejin, he wouldn’t have given it a single thought. Nope. Not at all. Even though he had to leave behind his work unfinished which he had never done before; he still thought that having some fun won’t hurt him. He genuinely wanted to spend some time with his wife too now that the things didn’t seem to go southwards and this was the best opportunity since his brothers were not around. He could always finish his work later for just this once – and if he was feeling any of the above-mentioned emotions even a little bit then they all went flying out the window when he saw his wife excitedly pointing at the things that attracted her like a child. Baekhyun watched his wife with an amused smile. He didn’t think that someone could be so excited about a drive along the district. Yeah, it was said to be really beautiful, but he had never seen anyone as excited as Haejin. He, himself as a child loved to visit this place just for the mere purpose of the visual delight it served, but even his passion didn’t compare with his wife’s. It made him happy that she loved the place just as much as he did. He felt proud because this was his homeland and no one can deny the beauty of it. The eldest found it hard to focus on the road with an excited toddler like adult sitting in the passenger seat with him, but he managed it. Even though, he felt his gaze traveling towards his wife more than often still, he managed to not cause any causality.

Thirty minutes into the ride, he found himself pointing out the important places and things for his wife to see and explained a little bit about everything without her asking. It was fun. He concluded. He liked the way Haejin listened to him attentively and came to him with questions if she managed to see things that he had missed. What he liked the most was the childlike grin gracing his wife’s face throughout their small adventure.

“Is that the main market?” Baekhyun, who was finally focusing on the road ahead lifted his gaze off the road again and gazed in the direction his wife was pointing at. It was indeed a market; a really big one. It was the main market of the district where all the commoners like to shop for the necessities of their life. The eldest has visited the market a lot of times dressed as a commoner himself, but he had never been to the place as an actual prince- a King now. The market was famous for its numerous food stalls that Baekhyun had never dared to try out. He hated to admit that, but growing up in the castle under strict hygiene care it was impossible for him to eat the food on the streets. Even the thought of the number of germs on the food makes him cringe. He was a germ-phobic; at least that’s what his brothers always call him.

“Yeah. It’s pretty huge and always crowded.” Baekhyun provided and shifted his gaze back to the road. Haejin pressed her lips in a thin line when she heard that before narrowing her eyes at the crowd in the market. Excited kids were running around carrying different eatables that they had brought from the vendors while their parents were busy shopping for the things that attracted their attentions. It looked like fun and she wanted to experience it all herself.

“Can we stop here?” Baekhyun slowed down the speed of the jeep when he heard the question and looked between his wife and the market with doubting eyes. By the looks of it, it seemed like her husband was not very fond of the place and she really wouldn’t have forced him into it if it was not for the fact that it might be her last visit here. Besides that, he had said that it was her day earlier.

“Do we have to?” Baekhyun knew what he had said earlier and now he was greatly regretting it. He didn’t like crowded places. They suffocated him. Going into that market means the whirlpool of people and the thousand decibels noise that always comes with them.

“I really want to go. They seem to be having so much fun.” Haejin insisted and pointed towards the group of ladies by a nearby stall. The eldest hesitantly followed his wife’s line of vision and examined the group of ladies himself. They really seem to be having fun, but there were many more things that they could do to have fun. Why do they have to go inside that crowded place? He wanted to tell Haejin that she could come here later with one of his brothers, but the hopeful glint in her eyes kept him tongue-tied. Reluctantly, he brought his jeep to a stop in front one of the stalls and leaned back with a heavy sigh.

“Fine. Stay around. I will park the car and come back.”

Why am I being so compliant?

“Okay!” Haejin exclaimed with an excited grin on her face which made Baekhyun’s heart to flutter but of course, the said male tried his best to ignore the abnormal rate at which his heart was beating and turned away to face the crowd of the market with a scowl etched on his face.

“Don’t be so excited. We can’t stay here for long.” He grumbled under his breath, but the way Haejin just gave him an acknowledging hum and jumped out of the jeep told him that his wife had barely contemplated what he had just said. In normal circumstances, he would have been greatly offended, but in that moment Baekhyun couldn’t bring himself to feel anything other than amusement. Life certainly won’t get boring as long as he has his brothers and wife around. With a sigh, the eldest prince straightened up in his place again and drove the jeep away from the entrance of the market. He hopes that Haejin would be tired of the market soon.

……………

Haejin shifted her gaze away from the jeep that just drove off and examined the bustling crowd around her. She liked crowded places. There was so much to see, so much to observe, so much to learn. It was so exciting to see people bantering with each other for the prices of the goods. She liked to do that herself, but she told herself that she would refrain from doing that today since her husband won’t be very happy with it. She waited for Baekhyun to return for a minute, but when the latter refused to return soon she decided to look around the nearby stalls. She can’t help the grin that was gracing her lips. Back in the Moonlight, she was barely allowed to visit such places. If it was not for her mother, Haejin would have been isolated her whole life without any friends because of her father; who just wanted to keep her locked inside the castle. Haejin was sure that her father would have gotten rid of her already if it was not for the fact that she was his only child and he needed her to inherit the crown.

“Umph-” Her small train of thoughts was broken when she bumped into a sprinting kid. The kid merely gave her a single glance with a sheepish smile before side stepping her figure and running away again.

“Are you okay?” Haejin, who was busy following the kid’s running figure with a small smile turned to face an old lady standing behind the stall nearby.

“Yeah. He was barely big enough to cause any damage.” She replied in a humorous tone which elicited a light-hearted laugh from the old lady.

“That’s great! But still be careful of these little monsters. More often than not, they end up hurting themselves rather than others.” The old lady explained while adjusting the things that she had lined on the table to sell. There were numerous hair clips and bands with beads embedded in them. Haejin was not the one to wear such accessories, but still, she thought that it won’t hurt her to have a look to pass some time until her husband returns.

“Can I have a look?”

“Of course. That’s why I am here.” The lady replied with a small chuckle which caused Haejin to rub the back of her neck in embarrassment.

“Yeah.” She replied awkwardly and flitted her gaze over the clips, trying to find the one that attracts her most. After two minutes of searching, she was almost ready to give up when her gaze finally landed on a small silver clip. It was molded in the shape of a butterfly with silver beads embedded in them. It didn’t look extremely expensive or stylish, not even unique, but still, she found herself pointing at it. 

“How much does it costs?”

“That would be five dollars.” Haejin nodded her head while still gazing at the clip and grabbed it while giving the lady a smile. She blindly reached for her side to grab the purse to retrieve the needed money but frowned when she managed to grab nothing, but empty air. The Queen turned her gaze towards her side where the purse was supposed to be and finally realized that in her excitement of Baekhyun relenting to her wishes, she had completely forgotten to grab her wallet and phone before leaving. Heaving a dejected sigh she gave the women an apologizing smile and slightly bowed her head.

“It looks like I forgot to bring my wallet.” She informed the other in a slightly sheepish tone and returned the clip with a sad pout. It was nothing special, but still, she liked it enough to be sad when she was not able to buy it.

Why do I have to forget my wallet at home?

“I will buy it.” Startled both, Haejin and the old lady shifted their gazes towards Baekhyun; who had magically appeared out of nowhere. Before Haejin can protest and tell him that he didn’t have to do that, her husband was already taking his wallet out and handing over a hundred dollars bill to the lady.

“Keep the change.” Baekhyun offered the aged lady a crooked smile and put away his wallet. It seemed like the lady was shocked to see her husband. Shoot it! The whole market was shocked to see him. It seemed like Baekhyun had attracted a lot of attention which caused the poor girl to frown in confusion.

Why are they all staring at us like that?

“Is it me or they all are staring at us?” She finally decided to question her husband while the lady behind the stall packed the clip for her in the wrapper. Her husband let out a snort when he heard that and leaned a little bit closer to her so that he could whisper in her ear.

“It’s not daily that they see their King and Queen roaming the markets like commoners.” Haejin looked at her husband confused for a moment as he leaned away but eventually managed to grasp the situation. Of course, even if they didn’t recognize her, she was sure that they all knew who Baekhyun was.

“Oh-” She let out in an unintelligent manner which caused her husband to snicker smugly.

“Hurry up and look around.”

…………

In the end, Baekhyun ended up paying for all the things that Haejin bought. She felt bad for using his money at the start, but then the thought that he was her husband and that he was supposed to take the responsibility for her expenses made her relax. After that, she would merely point at the things she wants to buy, look at Baekhyun with expectant eyes and her husband would roll his eyes at her before pulling out his wallet. It happened so many times that she had lost the count already. Haejin was worried her husband would start noticing the dent in his wallet.

“Do you really have to look this scary?”

“Excuse me?” Baekhyun asked with an offended frown when he heard her question and faced her with a glare, but she remained passive. Talk about stubborn people. She was not lying, though. Her husband looked like he would strangle the next person that comes close to him, but then again it could be his natural expression too. Haejin was really having fun; well as much fun as she could have with a socially awkward husband walking beside her. Her husband was not used to do have fun and the fact was obvious by the awkward vibes that he was emitting. It almost looked like he had no idea what to do with himself. He looked extremely uncomfortable while walking beside her. She suspects that it might have to do something with the number of eyes watching their every move.

Maybe he is scared that something bad would happen.

“Look at those kids. You’re scaring them.” She finally decided to complain after the half an hour of endurance. Baekhyun narrowed his eyes at Haejin again and turned towards the kids she was pointing at. Indeed, they looked like they have seen a scary ghost, but he was not going to admit it. He didn’t want to be a killjoy, but he really had no idea what to do. All his life, whenever he went to the markets used by the commoners, he always had a mission to accomplish. He knew what his target was and what he was supposed to achieve, but now he was just supposed to walk between so many people leisurely. It was a difficult task especially when there were so many stares on him.

“Can’t we just leave this place?” He complained and turned towards his wife while releasing a tired sigh.

“You’re no fun. I should have come with Taeyong.” Baekhyun was starting to feel that his wife was bringing up that stupid guy around him on the purpose; especially after the whole jealousy incident. He was not stupid. He knew his wife was just using her friend to make him succumb to her wishes, but he really can’t help the fire that courses through his body whenever that guy is mentioned; don’t even ask him about what he feels when Haejin compares him with Taeyong.

“I will let you know, that I’m a pretty fun company to be around.” Lie. A Big. Fat. Lie. Baekhyun felt like smacking himself on the head.

“Oh- Yeah?” There was a mocking glint in Haejin’s eyes that he didn’t like at all. It was like they were having some kind of a competition and he was losing it. He hated losing.

“Yes! I’m a really funny person.” He insisted and stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest.

“I believe you on that since you’re joking pretty good right now.”

“I’m not joking!”

“Prove it.”

“I will show you.”

“A library?” After their small banter, Baekhyun had dragged her to the car and had vowed to show her that he could be a fun person too. He had claimed that in such a determined tone that Haejin has believed him on the spot which of course, she shouldn’t have done because fifteen minutes later she was standing inside of a freaking library.

“What?” Her husband looked genuinely confused and Haejin wanted to do nothing more than to smack him on the back of his head.

“This is your idea of fun?” She deadpanned and impatiently tapped her foot on the floor while glaring at her husband. It just seemed like he wanted to have her out of that market as soon as possible and this was his pretty successful plan again. She was not happy at all.

“Well…I have heard that library dates are…cute?” Baekhyun answered her awkwardly while rubbing the back of his neck. From the look on Haejin’s face, it was obvious that she didn’t approve of his idea, but he really didn’t have anything else in mind. When he was still a teenager and a high school student, he had heard some girls talking about how cute library dates are, but it looks like his wife had some different opinions—

He spoke too soon, as soon as he uttered the word date his wife’s face seemed to lift up in a smug manner rather than the scowl that she had before.

So he was not tricking me after all, huh? I might just give this library ‘date’ a shot.

“Who said that we are one a date?” She asked him with a teasing smile which caused Baekhyun to scoff.

“Do you think I’m stupid enough to not realize what you have been trying to do since the start?” It was more of a statement than a question and this time around Haejin found her cheeks getting hot at the mention.

Why does he always have to be so smart?

“It’s not my fault that you always gave me the impression of being romantically dysfunctional. I have all the rights to think that you won’t know.” Haejin defended herself with a sheepish smile and stepped further inside the library when her husband glared at her again.

“I’m not dysfunctional in any way.” He protested while following her.

“Yeah. Yeah. Let’s start this ‘cute’ date, shall we?”

…………

He is not the romantically dysfunctional guy that I thought he was.

He is the most romantically dysfunctional guy I’ve ever met!

Haejin thought to herself sourly and glared at her husband; who didn’t even bother to spare her a single glance for the past fifteen minutes. Usually, the kid's section in the libraries are strictly for kids, but Baekhyun being the King had successfully persuaded the guy at the reception to let them use the isolated area for some time where no one can stare at them. Looks like, the guy at the reception was used to her husband’s presence that is why he guided them over to the very end of the library and left them without a word. The floor was lined with comfortable pillows of different vibrant colors that they have perched against the walls to make a comfortable back support for themselves. As soon as they were left alone her husband was the first one to make a move. Haejin watched in silence as her husband made an effort to grab a novel and then comfortably adjusted himself on the pillowed floor while leaning his back against the cushioned wall. She hesitantly followed his suit and grabbed the first book that came into her reach. Situating herself right in front of Baekhyun, she comfortably leaned her back against the wall too and tried to focus on the text written on the rough pages of the book that she had grabbed.

Whoever said that library dates are cute should be hung!

It seemed like Baekhyun had almost forgotten about her existence around him; she won’t even be surprised if he did seeing the way latter was immersed in the book. Throwing her husband an agitated glare she let out an annoyed huff and went back to the book she was pretending to read. It didn’t seem like Baekhyun was planning on gracing her with his attention anytime soon. The eldest had grabbed a mystery novel before sitting down and was diligently reading it without any pauses. Haejin was thankful that at least it was not an encyclopedia or she would have really banged her head against the nearby wall. Another fifteen minutes passed by at a painfully slow pace and so did her patience. She finally threw away the book she had grabbed before on the floor and gazed towards her husband with a scowl when the other finally had the time to lift his head from the book to acknowledge her presence.

Baekhyun wasn’t exactly ignoring Haejin. Actually, it was totally contrary to it considering the fact that he was hyper aware of her presence in the room; a little bit too much for his own comfort. He was completely clueless. Earlier, he had very confidently claimed to be the romantic guy even when he knew that romance was the last thing he would be an expert at. There weren’t many people that managed to get on his nerves and elicited extreme reactions from him, but his wife would have to be one of them. Somehow, she always manages to hit just the right spot inside him that shuts down the rational side of his mind and he blurts things out that later on he always regrets. He was confused because it was happening to him for the first time, but he was not surprised since there were many things happening to him for the first time ever since he married Haejin. She made him see the sides of himself that he never knew even existed.

What am I going to do?

It was not daily that Byun Baekhyun; the King of two of the largest Kingdoms in the world would admit to himself that he was suddenly feeling shy and awkward around his wife, but it was one of those days where he did. He didn’t know why, but there was something about this situation today that was making him feel giddy and for some reason extremely inexperienced. Maybe it was Haejin’s behavior or maybe it was the way she was enjoying teasing him a lot that day. It could be because of the fact that he was feeling extremely out of place in this situation too. He didn’t know and he didn’t have enough time to ponder over it too. 

“Are you going somewhere?” The innocent manner in which the question rolled past his lips along with his brow raised in inquiry told her that he really didn’t have an idea about what was making her so pissed and restless.

Romantically dysfunctional indeed!

Completely ignoring his question, Haejin stomped her way over to her husband who was sitting crossed legged and snatched away the book he was reading. Baekhyun looked up at his