Wishful Thinking
Cupid at Heart
The princess expected herself to be haunted by nightmares following the news of the royal matchmaking against her will. However, she found all of those worries and anxieties disappear the moment she had gone off to dreamland. In fact, she had a very pleasant dream she couldn’t exactly recall. Something involving the melody of a tiple, and maroon colored overcoat and…
The blaring sound of trumpets blown directly into hear ear.
Hyunmi shrieked in horror, jumping awake in her satin sheet bed. Her chest was rising with her racing heartbeat, glaring to her side to identify the disturbing presence of the white rabbit. As with Sungjong, the rabbit also had the ability to shapeshift into a human form.
“Kihyun, I have instructed you many times not to wake me up using such devilish ways. I could lose my sense of hearing,” she mumbled to the guy who stared at her with a blank expression. The white bunny ears attached to his head twitched a little. She wondered how he had become the king’s royal advisor despite looking so lost and blankmost of the time.
“It was his majesty’s order to wake up the youngest princess,” Kihyun spoke in a matter of fact way, completely seeing no fault in his extreme methods.
“For whatever reason?” She stopped herself from yawning in front of the male, having to uphold the grace of a princess.
Kihyun’s bunny ears twitched again, and it was clear he was hiding something from her. “I advise you to get ready and meet the king in the ballroom in order to pose the question yourself,” he said hesitantly.
Then he politely bowed to the princess and pivoted on his heel towards the door. He realized the two elder royal sisters standing there and bowed once again before giving way for them to enter.
“Sister, we have heard the wonderful news!” The eldest one among them, Soonkyu, spoke with gleeful excitement. She plopped herself on her sister’s bed and immediately grabbed Hyunmi’s hand in hers.
“You are going to become the queen of Spade,” her second sister, Hyoyeon, chimed in as she mimicked the other’s movements. The bed bounced a little every time someone moved.
“Hold on. The prince is merely courting me. It does not mean I have to accept,” Hyunmi quickly stopped her elder sisters’ excitement. She retracted her hands away and got off from the bed to properly face them. “I am thinking of rejecting his courting.”
Soonkyu and Hyoyeon looked at her with a blank stare, exchanged a look with one another, then burst out into laughter.
“How can you be the one being courted when you do not know the proper etiquette?” Soonkyu frowned a little, truly finding it a question mark. “If you reject the Prince’s courting, you are declaring war with the Kingdom of Spade.”
Hyunmi’s face turned horrified. She did not know about this.
“Prince Sunggyu is one of the most attractive princes in the entire land. Many would die to take your place and be courted by him,” Hyoyeon said. “If you reject him, you are humiliating him.”
“But… But… He doesn’t even know me,” Hyunmi stammered, feeling her determination to reject the courting deteriorate. She was still a princess who loved her kingdom and the people in it; she couldn’t possibly become the cause of the next great war.
“Apparently, such formalities is no longer needed when you are beautiful. It is a principle I am sure you understand very well.” The grimness behind Soonkyu’s tone went unnoticed. She got up from the bed and placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I do not mean to threaten you, but the least you could do is to accept this opportunity.”
“True. It does not come to just anyone,” Hyoyeon added on. Then she smiled again when she linked arms with Soonkyu, and left the room.
Hyunmi faced the ground, stuck in a bigger dilemma. Perhaps it was her fate as the princess to simply accept her royal duty. No one would get married out of love nowadays. She had to stop dreaming of those fairytale romances she always mocked Sungjong with. She had to accept the prince of Spade.
It had taken the princess nearly an hour to get ready. She tried to elongate her time as long as possible just to avoid having to meet her father. She knew she had to see him out of respect, but wasn’t keen on knowing what he had to say.
“You are exactly 13 minutes late, young princess,” Kihyun announced as soon as she set foot in the ballroom. He kept pointing at his golden pocket watch to indicate the fingers that had ticked by.
“You never announced a time for me to be here by,” Hyunmi told the human rabbit, and he flinched in shock, realizing his mistake. Kihyun was meticulous, paid attention to detail, and possessed stern punctuality. Sometimes, however, even he would miss several things.
“My apologies.”
Luckily, Kihyun was not trained with big ego and knew when to apologize for his mistakes. He bowed his head, and led his hand direct the way where the princess should go to.
The king was already waiting at the front of the large ballroom, sitting at his golden throne that was decorated with heart shaped rubies. Next to him were Dongwoo the prince, Hoya the head of knights, and Kihyun the royal advisor who soon took his rightful place.
“Father.” Hyunmi curtsied in front of him, slightly lifting the sides of her long maroon colored long dress. She couldn’t control her grim expression, but managed to fake a diplomatic tone. “For whatever reason have you summoned me here?”
The king’s lips curved up so brightly he barely looked sick. He was glad she asked. “I want you to refine your dancing in order to impress the prince.”
The command was so ridiculous Hyunmi failed to uphold her composed face. She was trying her best to reject the courting, not to impress the prince. She laughed at her father’s idea, which may have seemed rather rude.
“And who would be formidable enough to become my dance partner?” She questioned her father challengingly in an attempt to make him see the absurdity of this entire idea.
“That would be me, your highness.”
Hyunmi was surprised at the voice coming from behind her, and spun around to meet the familiar figure. It was him. Cupid. He was smiling so charmingly at her she could feel her heart hammer against her chest in the most delightful way possible. Now that she could see him better during daytime, she realized just how handsome he truly was.
“Sir Cupid, what a pleasant surprise,” she exaggerated the shock in her tone. There was something that pulled her lips into a curve even without her intention to. She watched him take his place beside her, noting she barely reached the tip of his nose. He was taller than she had expected him to be. And from so up close, she could whiff the faint smell of rose petals coming from him.
“Your majesty, I assure you the youngest princess will have mastered the art of ballroom dancing before the day of the masquerade ball,” Woohyun spoke to the king with confidence.
Hyunmi gulped, once again forgetting Woohyun’s role in this entire fiasco. This man was still on her father’s side and agreed to the idea of making her fall for the prince of Spade.
“I knew Aphrodite’s son could be trusted with such difficult tasks. I have high expectations for the masquerade ball.” The king roared a healthy chuckle.
In fact, Hyunmi did not remember seeing her father this happy ever since her mother was still alive. If only she hadn’t been struck with a deadly disease, she would’ve still been around. This loss was what sparked Hyunmi to take an interest in herbal medicines in the hope that she could one day find a cure for her father. Her attempts were never met with joyful gratitude. And yet, the thought of her marrying off to the prince made him so happy.
“Have strength, dear sister,” Dongwoo whispered to her briefly before he followed his father to the doors. Along with Hoya and Kihyun, the four males left.
This left her alone with Woohyun. When she turned her gaze to him, he was already staring at her. It wasn’t the kind of stare of astonishment at her beauty, but he was simply looking at her.
“May I have this dance, your highness?” He elegantly circled his hand to her and made a small bow.
“I have granted you permission to call me by name. Also, there is no music,” Hyunmi remarked, hesitantly placing her hand in his. The moment he encased his fingers so warmly around hers, she could feel that strange feeling appear in her chest. Soon he had his other hand wrapped around her waist, and the other hand lifted hers midair at the height of their shoulder. She knew the proper procedure to place her other arm around his neck.
“A remarkable dancer does not need music to impress,” Woohyun answered with a playful smile, and she seemed bedazzled.
“Were you trying to impress me, sir Cupid?” She played along, letting him lead her steps with the silent tune playing in the mind.
“Judging on the delight on your face, may I assume I succeeded?”
Hyunmi only smiled vaguely in return, and decided to talk about something else—about him.
“So you play the stringed instrument, offer graceful compliments—”
“Possesses extremely good looks.”
She chuckled. “Possesses extremely good looks, and also dances. Is there anything you can not do?”
“That depends whether or not I can get your heart, your highness,” he answered.
“M-my heart?” She found herself stammering a little in surprise.
“Yes, get your heart to take an interest in the prince.” He explained himself.
Hyunmi bit her lips together, feeling slightly disappointed at his reply. What was she expecting, anyway?
Woohyun noticed the distance Hyunmi was trying to keep, and laughed. “Ballroom dancing is all about physical contact, so excuse me,” he pulled her closer against his chest, “But you needn’t be afraid of me.”
The way he suddenly tightened his grip around her back made her gasp a little. She was so close to him now, the only thing she had to fear was the way her heart thudded loudly again. And yet, she for once had no will power to protest against his actions.
“Are you really going to aid my father and try to make me fall for the prince?” She then questioned, perfectly following every step he was leading her to.
“Hm? You sound as if you are hoping I’d have a different purpose in mind,” he remarked, focusing on the dance. He had to admit the princess was a far better dancer than he had expected.
“Well, I was hoping you could help me out instead.” She spoke as Woohyun gently held one hand up, and she obediently followed by making a graceful twirl she didn’t even know she was capable of. It was like magic. Their movements seemed to synchronize together despite not being planned beforehand.
“Interesting offer. How would you like me to offer my assistance?” He asked, for a second sounding as if he’d go along with it. Nonetheless, it had the princess believing he would.
“As much as you can make a person fall for the other, could you also make a person despise the other instead?”
Clever. Woohyun knew the issue had bothered her to the point she had been trying to find a solution to it herself.
“I am afraid my specialty is only to make someone fall in love,” Woohyun spoke, twirling her once again as her entire red dress spun around in elegant circles. He then slipped his hand behind her waist, and held her securely at a leaned angle as the dance came to an end.
“And in your case, making someone despise you would be highly impossible. You even managed to enchant Cupid himself, Hyunmi.”
He whispered the last part. He called her by name. He stared at her in such a way no one had ever done before. She was certain he was the cause of her tumultuous heart beating, but she did not know how to react other than feel her cheeks take on a shade of red.
“Bravo. I am sure a dance performance like that is bound to spark up chemistry between the two dance partners.”
Hyunmi turned to her side, completely unaware that the purple cat had been watching them. He then jumped up and morphed into his human form with ease. The chester grin was much more visible in this state.
The princess quickly cleared , and removed herself from Woohyun’s hold. Even until the very last second, his protective hand only left after he ensured she was safe standing on her own.
“What are you doing here, Sungjong? You aren’t allowed in the ballroom,” she scolded the cat. But as usual, Sungjong never took orders from anyone, not even the king’s.
“You should be glad I was here to prevent whatever was about to happen,” Sungjong said with a suggestive grin.
“You are mistaken. Nothing happened. R-right?” Hyunmi requested the other for some help.
“Well, I don’t know. You did ask me to join a conspiracy scheme,” Woohyun said with a casual shrug in an attempt of light humor. He then grinned at her playfully, realizing she somehow couldn’t be mad at him. He did earn a soft push against the arm.
Sungjong kept staring as his long purple tail danced behind him. “It is a dangerous game you’re playing, Hyunmi,” he then said.
Hyunmi knew Sungjong had an eye for anything worthy to be gossiped about, and she hated to become his next subject. So she quickly went to the human cat and pushed him along to the grand door of the ballroom, telling him it was time to go.
Sungjong showed no reluctance and simply obeyed, all the way observing the two who kept stealing glances as if they were having a secret exchange in silence. Then the princess stopped in front of the door and turned to face the cupid.
“So the answer is no?” She asked.
“We both know the answer already,” Woohyun said calmly, slightly apologetic.
Hyunmi hated the fact he was right. It was a stupid question. But what surprised her more was her disappointment, despite already having predicted the outcome.
“Your highness,” Woohyun suddenly called, and she immediately turned to stare at him with hope. “Same place and time tomorrow.”
He did not have to elaborate for her to know he was referring to the dance lessons. Honestly, she believed she was proficient enough to do without these lessons. But spending more time with Woohyun meant she had more time to change his mind.
Part of her secretly wished he would’ve agreed, but for a different reason. It was merely her wishful thinking, albeit a dangerous one.
If anyone wants to protest it's too fast for Hyunmi to fall for Woohyun, you can throw Woohyun to me with all those fancy lines and I'll fall for him in no time XD Still, the cheese hasn't appeared yet.
Anyway, I've posted this story on Wattpad too. The only difference will be their fancy kingdom-y names that are more Greek now, sort of.
Click here to follow it if you have a Wattpad account.
Yay! Won the bid today! I hope you will enjoy the story~ Would love to know your thoughts, so please do leave comments too~ Thank youuu <3
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