Sometimes, telling older people about happy things is a mistake. And right now, Taeng is experiencing the truth in that statement. His excitement over making a new friend in Steph Hwang is diminishing by the second as Advisor Kim advises him on the perils of investing too much attachment into someone he doesn’t know well enough.

“But she’s really nice. She brought me to the secret hiding place of her puppy and everything.”

“My King, you have not been exposed to the world out there for eighteen years. The world outside isn’t like Jebu-do. Here on this island, you are king and your subjects are loyal to you. But in that school, you are not king. People use one another in ways you cannot imagine. Now, I’m not saying you can’t make new friends. In fact, I will encourage you to. But please be careful. Hold back a part of yourself and watch these people carefully. Don’t take what they say at full value. Observe what they do. Action speaks louder than words.”

“I will try my best, Advisor Kim.”

Advisor Kim pats Taeng on his shoulder like a grandpa would. “You are like a nephew to me. I would say son, but that’s a little too much when you’re the king. I don’t mean to throw cold water on you like that but I’m just trying to prepare you for what you might face.”

“I understand. You are like an uncle to me too. Even if I call you grandpa most of the time.”

Advisor Kim chuckles. “I know, your Majesty. I know.”

|\/\/|

“The new boy?” The brown haired girl turns up her nose and shakes her head. “He’s nothing much. Choi Minho is much better looking than him.”

“You should be nice to him, Ha Min. He’s new after all. Show him your charms. Who knows, he might turn out to be your King Charming.”

“It’s Prince Charming, Dad. Not King.” The girl rolls her eyes. “You’re the principal of our school but you still manage to embarrass me every other day.”

Gim Yongmin shakes his head. “I’m not wrong,”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’m not wrong.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Take my advice and you’ll thank me for it later.”

“Is he secretly rich or something?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Daddy! Stop trolling me.”

“Bring him around tomorrow. Be his friend.”

“If you’re not gonna tell me, I’m gonna find out myself.”

Gim Yongmin chuckles. “Be my guest.”

|\/\/|

Taeng boards the bus with anticipation the next morning. He isn’t disappointed as he scans the bus passengers. There she is, asleep, head leaning against the window pane. There are other free seats on the bus but Taeng heads straight for her and takes the empty seat beside her. Feeling pleased with himself, he grins while looking at his schedule for the day. There’s biology class today—something he looks forward to. Learning about life is fascinating and he loves nature. Biology is right down his alley.

The girl beside him yawns and stretches her arms, hitting him in the face. She turns to him, expression apologetic, but it dissolves into a smile when she realises who he is.

“Good morning, Taeng.”

“Good morning, Steph.”

Her smile morphs into a frown, however, as she blushes and stands abruptly. “Stand,” she says to him.

“But this isn’t our stop.”

“Oh.” Steph’s blush deepens as she sits. “It looked like our stop.”

“There’s five more to go.”

“Okay.”

Taeng smiles. Steph’s energy level is infectious from the moment she wakes up.

|\/\/|

“You’re unreal. You’ve never tried KFC before?”

Taeng shakes his head. “What’s KFC?”

“Korean fried chicken.” Steph palms her forehead. “Where have you been living all this time?”

“J—Jeju-do. I only moved here recently.” I’m really sorry for lying to you Steph. One day I’ll be able to tell you where I’