*** Chapter 3: Heartbeats ***

It's Saturday. SKK High School applied a system that students study in classroom for five days from Monday to Friday, and in Saturday, it was time for club activities. It was to make sure that students had enough concentration on academic lessons and not to tire themselves too much on other activities. Each student officially registered to one club only, but at later half of the day, they were allowed to have some tours on other clubs. Some students used the opportunity to play around with their friends, although some prefer to rest, or even secretly went home. Well, not really home, they’re in their youth anyway.

But for the Princes, most of the time, they will stay in their respective clubs the whole day. It means that Eric would have a date with his basketball team, Minwoo would wear out s in modern dance studio, Dongwan would do whatever he wanted to do in the theatre, Hyesung would kick and break anything in Taekwondo dojo, Junjin would fight anyone in MMA gym, and Andy would make the most delicious yet easy cooking in the club’s kitchen. Oh, and the beloved princess would run around and bent her body anyway possible in Traditional Dance Club.

A day with full physical activity was waiting for them, that’s why, since earlier in the morning, the Princess was busy in her kitchen, preparing lots of food for her brothers’ breakfast. And sometimes, Andy was helping her, like that day.

“Oppa.. Your cooking is better than mine. Why do the others always demand for me to cook when we have you.. and this palace actually has that massive kitchen…” she murmured while mixing the eggs.

Andy chuckled because it was a normal thing to be heard from his sister, “What did I tell you when I teach you to cook, Changjo-ya? What is the most important thing in cooking?”

“We have to cook with love, especially when we cook it for someone else, so they would be fullfilled both physically and spiritually,” she answered.

“Exactly,” Andy nodded and gave an assuring smile.

“I always cook it with love..”

“And that’s why we want it. We’re craving for your love.”

“Don’t I love you guys enough? I know I’m easily upset everytime you guys tease me, but…”

“You do. Sure.. we know that. It’s just us that keep wanting more..”

“Don’t they want your love too?”

“Oh they do, at times. But still, it’s your privilege as the only girl we see every day and night. We might even fight within ourselves because we want to be ‘Number One’ in your heart. Even me,” suddenly he smeared some ketchup on his sister’s chubby pouting-cheek.

“Oppa..!!” she wanted to revenge, but suddenly she was imprisoned by some muscular arms that gave her a bear hug from behind.

It was the skinship lover number one, Minwoo. “My sweet little orange… wanna come dance with me later after lunch?” he asked.

“Oppa, stop calling me orange. I’m not a fruit. Even my cheeks are not so round anymore..”

“Ah..ah..aahh… Your cheeks are still so full and blushed in bright orange colour,” he pinched it softly, “And so mushy just like orange. So you are my orange princess..”

“Oppa…”

“Changjo-ya…” this time it’s Junjin, “Wanna kick some with me this afternoon?”

“Nooo… She’s going to my dojo…” Hyesung shouted behind him.

Before she heard another commotion from the rest from her brothers, she stopped them, “No, oppadeul. I’m sorry, but I’m going to stay at the Arts gym today.”

“Why?!”

“I need to practice,” she answered.

“For what?”

“For your graduation ceremony,” she’s looking at the older boys.

“You’re going to dance solo?”

“Yeah..” she nodded.

“Just by yourself?”

Somehow she couldn’t really look into Hyesung’s investigating eyes. “Err.. well.. not really…”

Silence befallen. She knew they’re waiting for her to continue.

“I’ll be having a joint performance with Eun Jiwon sunbae’s Daegeum solo,” she spoke quickly like an express train.

“What?!” Eric gaped.

“That means you’ll be practicing with him?” Dongwan asked, calmly.

“The teachers are going to stay with you, right?” Minwoo crossed his arms.

“There’s no way you’ll be alone just with him..” Hyesung put his hands on his waist.

“Where? Your studio, or music room?” Junjin interrogated.

Andy asked nothing, but he did wait for his sister to answer all those questions.

“Well…” Changjo knew the storm was coming. “The teachers ask us to try to come up with our own performances.. so…”

And the storm really was coming. She closed her eyes and she wished she could close her ears too so she didn’t have to hear her brothers’ nagging and disagreeing. But she couldn’t let it going their way anymore.

“Come on, oppadeul.. It’s a dance and flute practice. And it’s for your graduation! Don’t  you want to see me congratulating you? Officialy on the stage? You can’t keep me away from any boy forever. And he is your classmate. You know him. What are you guys worrying about?”

Hyesung was the first one to step up, “You are our sister. We have to protect you.”

“And what is it with that Eun Jiwon?" Minwoo's joining. "He was in Swimming club and he joined Traditional Music only this year, why the teacher chose him? Is he the best they have?” he complained.

“All Daegeum players in the club are boys. I believe, whichever Nam sonsaeng choose, you guys will react this way,” Changjo countered, trying to stay calm.

“You’re right,” Dongwan was agreeing, and soon after he received dead glares from his brothers.

"Fine then, I'll go to Choi sonsaeng to say 'Sorry, Mam, I can't perform the dance since my brothers don't wanna see me congratulate them on their own graduation'. How's that sound?!"

"It's not that we don't wanna see you dance, dear baby," Eric tried to reason, "Of course we'll love to see you dance. But..."

"But what?!"

No more replies.

“Oppadeul, please…” she took a deep breath for her last resort, “You know how much passion and love I have for dancing, and Daegeum is my favorite traditional instrument. Don’t make me hate you over this trivial matter. I know you all love me and want to protect me, but it doesn’t have to be this way.”

No one dared to speak any words. They knew their sister was right. After a moment they just realized that they’re being foolish for jumping out of nowhere impulsively.

“We’re sorry, Changjo-ya,” Dongwan grabbed her hand, “Please bear with us. It’s just because you’re very precious to us.”

“I know, oppa,” she nodded. "I know it well."

“Please do give us your best performance,” Dongwan added.

At last she could smile, “Sure.”

******

“You managed to ensure your brothers? Wow?!” Hyemi was happy for her friend.

“Yeah.. I thought it’s not going to be easy. But I guess they do grow up,” Changjo then laugh at her own comments.

“I’ll spy on your brothers and make sure that they go nowhere near your studio.”

“I doubt it,” Changjo squinted, “You and your cheerleading team always run around basketball team.”

Hyemi grinned, “At least I’ll make sure I’m spying on one. Kekeke… See you then, Changjo-ya… Good luck with Jiwon sunbae… Hwaiting!!” with that she ran into her stadium, leaving the Princess trying her best not to imagine how the afternoon would be, before the time came.

******

I just don't know how many personality this guy has. Or is it just me who was fascinated by him so I'm halucinating that he act differently towards different person?

My brothers once said that he's very quiet in the class, even slept at some, but everytime I see him with his childhood friends, Lee Jaejin sunbae and Kim Jaeduck sunbae, he joked around a lot, even teased and bullied them frequently. Well, they're from the same town around our northern borders, and they barely befriend other students in the school, since they have funny accent, and some are joking about that. But it's their third year in Seoul, actually they have improved a lot. Even this boy in front of me seems to have mastered our capital's accent.

But still, I can only see him smile when he's with them. It's a pity that they're never in the same class, thanks to our school system that divides students to class based on the grades.

Class A consists of top 25 smartest students, Class B is the next, then Class C, and at last is Class D. The grading was based on Entrance exams for the First Year, and End Year exams for the Second and Third. The teachers teach the same for each class. They do try their best not to be in favor for smarter students. Even some of them genuinely encourage D class students to improve themselves. It's the students' pride itself that make them try their hardest to be in better classes.

This 'quiet' Jiwon sunbae might prefer to sleep in literature classes, but he was a genius in Chemistry and Maths, so he deserves a place in Class A for 3 years straight, while his friends are struggling in Class C.

I wonder if he ever help them to study.

My brothers and I, we are pretty aware not to embarrass the Royal Family so we put everything at stake not to be in D or even C Class. Minwoo oppa and Eric oppa struggled in B for two years before Hyesung oppa's nagging and Dongwan oppa's encouragement save their faces for the final year. During the finals at their Second Year, Hyesung oppa made a severely intense studying sessions that miraculously making all of them end up in 3A now.

As for Andy oppa, grades are never a problem to him and he easily grabs the first rank, in A class obviously, in a blink of an eye. Jinnie oppa was struggling in 1B, but he doesn't want to experience another ZomDy a.k.a. Zomby Andy haunting his study room so he successfully reach 2A already, although it's the last place.

And me? Thanks to my lovely mother Her Majesty the Queen who passed down her brilliant brain to me, I'm around top 5 in 1A. You see, I'm not as smart as Andy oppa though.

******

"Princess.. Princess..."

"Your highness..."

Eh?

Jiwon was waving his hand in front of Changjo's face. He even snapped his finger until finally he saw that Changjo's eyes were focused and now staring him in confusion.

"Yes?"

"Were you...listening to my play? Was it not good enough? Or.."

"Oh, nonono...it's not. No, it isn't like that..." she quickly replied because she's afraid he might misunderstood. "It's the contrary. It was so beautiful I thought I was...drowned in the melody that I...feel like flying...and... didn't notice that you stop..."

Oh come on, Changjo. That's ridiculous. Don't let yourself mesmerized by him. Don't make it obvious. You can't let your heart and mind swayed with any thought about him, especially when you're alone with him like this. You can't imagine what your brothers will do if they know you like him.

Changjo reminded herself, and with that thought she tried her hardest to hide her feelings and stay as calm as possible. Actually it's not her first time working with Jiwon. Her Traditional Dance club had collaborated countless time with Traditional Music club. But yes, this was her first time alone with Jiwon.

She was particularly drowned in the thought about that boy of her dream. Apart from his quiet and bully side, Jiwon could be very serious in doing something that he had to do. That concentrated look in his eyes was the first thing that drew Changjo's attention back then, when he was learning hard to play Daegeum.

He indeed is so cool.

"So, what do you think?" The boy asked, cutting her another day-dreaming, "It's not finished yet, but I want to hear your opinion."

"I think.. It's kinda too sad?" She tilted her head a little, trying to avoid a pair of dark black pearl-like sparkling eyes, "I know you said that graduation means separation and goodbye. But I don't think it should be that sad. Because somehow, you're gaining some freedom, aren't you?"

"Yes," he admitted, "but adulthood doesn't really give you freedom. Freedom from studying intensely, yes. But with that, comes responsibilities. First thing first, you should have been able to survive on your own. Therefore more challenges are waiting for you."

"Yeah," she agreed. "But I still don't think it should be that sad. Saying goodbyes to friends could be unpleasant, but those challenges you mentioned, means lots of new things in your life, and I'd rather wait for it with excitement." Her eyes sparked with ideas in her head, imagining the moves she'd dance. "And we should put in the pictures also, about the memories that should be treasured by each student."

Jiwon formed a soft smile on his face, "You're an optimistic person, aren't you, Your Highness?"

"Yes, I am," she smiled too. "And for the umpteenth time, sunbae, please, you don't need to call me 'Your Highness'. It's in school."

"But you're still the Princess.."

"And your junior by two years," she stopped him and rose from her seat. "Come on, sunbae, it's almost time. I need to go back to dance studio before my security detail get beaten to death by my brothers."

Jiwon chuckled by her remarks. "Do they always like that?" He rose from his seat too and followed the girl to the door. They were on the rooftop of Arts Gym.

"Yes! All the time," she disclosed. "And they DO know that I spent time with you, so if anything happen to you, please do tell me. I can't let them messing with any boy around me."

"Don't worry, I'll have Jaejin and Jaeduck, as my shield.."

Changjo rolled her eyes, "You really use them for your benefit, don't you?"

"I'm not using them. They happily do things for me," he grinned, widely, in a handsome and tricky way. And Changjo shook her head thinking how did she attracted to this weird boy next to her.

When they arrived at the studio, they were greeted by Hyemi's wave and smile, but next to her was Eric leaning against the door with crossed arms and stern look, and next to him was Changjo's security detail who dropped her head with troubled look on her face.

Without waiting Eric to attack them, Changjo greeted only her best friend, "Hyemi-a, sorry to make you wait. You'll go with me to my place, right?"

"Yeah, I've been waiting for it," Hyemi knew her friend was avoiding a storm from Eric.

"Sunbaenim," Changjo turned to Jiwon. "Thanks for today. I'll be waiting for your finished score. I'll start working on my dance too."

"Sure, thanks for the ideas," he bid his farewell as soon as he saw the look in Changjo's eyes, telling him to flee.

"Eric oppa," Changjo finally turned to his brother, "I'll be taking bus with Hyemi. We'll buy some drinks and go straight home," she put her best smile. "See you."

Without waiting for any response from the oldest prince, Changjo walked away with her friend and security detail, leaving her brother heaved a deep sigh with annoyed look.

"You okay, Aejong-a?" Changjo asked her security detail once they're in the bus.

"Yes," she answered right away. "Prince Junjin came once, but I didn't say any word just like you ordered, so Prince Dongwan and Prince Sunho dragged him away."

"And Eric oppa? You looked pretty miserable back there," she truly worried about her guard, "He didn't lay any hands, right?"

"Yes, Princess. Harsh words are pretty much expected, but Prince Junghyuk didn't lay any hands on me. He never did."

She sighed, "Sorry to put you in such a difficult situation, Aejong-a."

"Don't mention it, Your Highness, it's my duty to serve you."

"Thanks anyway..."

******

Changjo and Hyemi arrived at the palace and they headed directly to Emerald Gardens. At this time of the day, the Queen and Concubines would always be seen there for tea time, or actually, it was their favorite place to spend time chatting and playing games, other than their beautiful Queen's Palace and Consorts' Quarters.

Unlike those dramas on television, which portrayed that the Queen and the Concubines were mainly jealous with each other and fought for power, the real Queen and Concubines present were really harmonious. In fact they were bestfriends since their youth.

It was unfortunate that the Queen's bad health didn't let her issue any heir for the King. That's why the Court Officials urged her to let the King had secondary consorts. Rather than fighting with unknown ladies in the palace, she decided to bring her own bestfriends. Luckily soon enough everyone had their kids, including the Queen herself, finally gave birth to the Princess. The Concubines put their friendship first before others, and that's what made them live in peace. They love all the princes and princess, and so do the children love and respect all of them. They portrayed a perfect harmonious Royal Family that was too dreamy to be true.

"Good afternoon, Mother and Moms," Changjo delivered her greetings.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty and Your Highnesses," Hyemi did too.

"Finally... it's our beloved Changjo and Hyemi..." the Queen was pleased to see them. "Come, we've been waiting for you."

"We have many things to discuss," said Lady Mun.

"I know, it's Dongwan oppa and Hyesung oppa's birthday party, right?" Changjo was excited.

"Yes. And also a celebration for their CSAT exams," Lady Kim added.

"Their results are satisfying so our King allows us to make it big," Lady Shin was very happy imagining the party they're going to have.

"It's good then," Hyemi was glad too. "But are the Princes okay with having a joined birthday party? They're actually a week apart."

"Oh, they're absolutely okay with it," Changjo answered. "We did have separate birthday parties, but most of the times, they asked for joined one. Hyesung oppa doesn't really fond of parties."

Hyemi nodded understanding. "I wish I could come at the party."

"Why couldn't you come? You'll be invited," Lady Lee grabbed her hand.

"Oh really?"

"Yes of course. Coz it's going to be big for Changjo too," Lady Lee continuing without noticing the warning look from the other Ladies.

"Me?" The Princess seem suprised.

The Queen tried to stop her friend, but the words were already spilled out, "Yes, Changjo-ya, it's about your marriage announcement."

The other Ladies closed their eyes.

Hyemi was stunned.

And Changjo started to believe that her ears were playing tricks on her.

"What did you say, Mama Lee? My marriage?"

"Yes, the King is going to announce your marriage!" Lady Lee was so excited.

And Changjo felt that her heart stop beating.

"What??!!"

*** to be continued ***