She nearly jumped into oncoming traffic in her rush to get to Joohyun, sure that she’d disappear at any moment, but the look of panic on the face across the street convinced her to wait the few seconds it would take for the light to turn green for pedestrians.

All around her, people continued to move in their rush to get home. It seemed strange that nobody had noticed her and Joohyun, that nobody had paused to witness the miracle taking place in front of their eyes. They just kept walking, only registering her presence in order to avoid bumping into her.

And then the light was green and she didn’t care about a single person aside from Joohyun, who was finally close enough to touch, close enough to capture in a hug so tight she couldn’t even breathe. “You’re real”, she whispered in her ear, her hands shaking as she clung to her. “You’re here”

“Only because of you”, Joohyun answered, pulling back to face her. She was different from princess Joohyun. She seemed more restrained, less given to the princess’s effusive bursts of emotion. She gazed at Seungwan with bright eyes and held her hands in a painfully tight grip, but still her lips were curved in a soft smile and her voice sounded steady. Subdued.

“You saved me. I don’t know what you did, but you went in that tiny room and the next thing I knew, I was back home. Actual home, not the palace”, Joohyun explained happily. “I’ve been trying to find you ever since, but I wasn’t sure if you even knew what you’d done. If you knew I was here”

Seungwan listened in a daze, barely registering her words. The same thought still occupied her mind, not allowing much else to cut through it. “You’re real”, she repeated in awe. “He lied. He lied about everything”, she breathed out in a sudden rage.

Joohyun’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Who lied?”

“The storyteller! The… thing in charge of the story! He told me you weren’t real”, she exclaimed, nearly yelling. She knew he was gone, but she suddenly wished there was some way to hurt him, to bring him back just to make him pay for his cruel lie.

“And you just believed him?”, Joohyun asked playfully. Her tone was still light, like she didn’t understand the meaning of what Seungwan had done. It made sense, because she couldn’t know. She hadn’t been there with her. She hadn’t heard the way the man had dangled Joohyun’s inexistence over Seungwan’s head, told her that she’d destroy every trace of Joohyun on her way out.

“He didn’t – He wouldn’t let me say goodbye – I thought I’d never see you again” The words stumbled out of her in a rush, just as she felt a stream of tears pour down her face. Joohyun tried to brush them away, but Seungwan pulled her closer to hide against her shoulder. She knew how embarrassing she must look, sobbing into Joohyun like a child, but she couldn’t help it. It all came crashing down on her and it seemed that the breakdown she’d been fighting off for so long had finally arrived.

A hesitant hand dropped on her back, beginning to rub it in soothing circles. “It’s okay, I’m here”, Joohyun whispered sweetly. “I’m here now, I’m not going anywhere”

They stood holding each other until the sky was entirely dark and the world around them was no longer packed with people making their way home. Finally, Seungwan pulled back, hands slightly numb from the cold and from hanging on so tightly to the back of Joohyun’s coat.

“I’m sorry I messed up your shirt”, she mumbled in a voice still thick from crying, sniffling a little as she spoke. Joohyun laughed the concern away and turned to the side to rummage in her bag.

“Don’t worry, I owe you more than a shirt after what you’ve done for me”, she said awkwardly. She turned back with a pack of tissues, which she handed to Seungwan.

“Do you owe me more than a shirt and a pack of tissues?”, Seungwan asked in a poor attempt at humour. She suddenly felt nervous, worried that Joohyun would simply go away. What if she didn’t want to talk to her anymore? What if she didn’t feel the way she had in the book and Seungwan’s crying and sobbing had just made her uncomfortable?

“Maybe a coffee as well? If that’s alright with you”, Joohyun offered a bit uncertainly. “It’s just, I feel like you know a lot more than me about what happened. I was hoping we could talk”

The excitement that had bubbled up in Seungwan’s chest died down a bit as Joohyun explained. Obviously she just wanted to know about the book and whatever Seungwan had done to get them out of it. It wasn’t her fault if it had sounded, just for a second, like it might have been a date. Seungwan should focus on the positive side: at least she wanted to talk. Maybe they could keep in touch.

“It doesn’t – if you have to go home, we can… do it some other time, whenever it’s best for you”, Joohyun added after a pause, and Seungwan finally noticed that she hadn’t actually answered her.

“No, we can do it now, I don’t have any plans. Now is fine”, she quickly confirmed. Thankfully, Joohyun didn’t dwell on her awkward response and simply smiled happily. She turned to go, offering Seungwan her arm as she used to do whenever they walked together. They both paused, looking at it hesitantly before Joohyun cleared and let it drop, shoving her hands in the pockets of her coat.

“Right, I know a place. This way”, she said, nodding towards a side street before walking off slowly.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Seungwan felt ready to say anything just to have them talking again. “I’m sorry I cried on you for such a long time. It must have been weird for you”, she tried, not very happy with what she’d come up with.

Joohyun, who was a few steps ahead of her, slowed down to walk by her side before answering. “It wasn’t weird at all. You did the same for me, remember? When the bandits got us, I cried on you the whole way to their base”, she pointed out with a small shrug.

“You remember that?”, Seungwan asked with some surprise. She’d assumed most things would have faded away by now. None of her friends could remember anything other than a few scattered details, everything else already scrubbed from their minds.

“It’s a little fuzzy, but I do”, Joohyun admitted shyly, kicking a stray rock before carrying on. “I tried my best not to forget anything. I was afraid that if I let things slip, I might walk by you one day and not recognize you anymore. I shouldn’t have worried, though. As soon as I saw you, I knew it was you”

She’d grown a little red as she spoke and now she let snap shut, cast her eyes forward and began to speed up once more. Seungwan reached out to keep her close, fingers circling her wrist. Neither of them said anything as she let her fingers slide down, to join Joohyun’s hand inside her pocket. They walked the rest of the way in silence, but it began to feel a bit less suffocating and a bit more comfortable.

(…)

The coffee shop where Joohyun had brought her was nearly empty at this late hour, when most people were already having dinner. They sat in a corner with their drinks, Seungwan taking the last bites of a sandwich that Joohyun had bought her after her stomach had rumbled a few too many times.

“So, based on what the storyteller told me, I guess the plan was just to people in, convince them that staying in the story was a good idea and then get them to agree on their own. Then they’d forget everything and be part of the fairy tale and the book would pop up in the library to find its next victim”, she summed up slowly. “And I was the only one who made enough of a mess on her first run through the story to expose the whole thing”, she added with a chuckle.

Joohyun sipped on her drink, tea rather than coffee, and mulled over Seungwan’s words. “It sounds like a mess was exactly what was needed”, she mused with a small smile. “But what I don’t understand is why you believed I wasn’t real, just because he said it. You knew he was a liar and, well, he had very good reasons to lie about that”, she pointed out. She didn’t seem angry, only curious at the situation.

“Actually, I already kind of suspected you weren’t real because you didn’t… remember fudge”, she finished with decreasing volume, a little embarrassed at how weak the explanation sounded when she said it out loud.

“Fudge? That was your test?”, Joohyun asked, amusement mixed with disbelief. “Was that supposed to cause such a strong reaction that it even broke through the fog of fake memories? I’m sorry to disappoint, but I’m not a big fan of the stuff”, she concluded with a crooked smile.

“No, it’s – There’s a fudge place in front of the library where we all found the book. It sells marshmallow caramel fudge, it’s got a big sign and everything. Everyone else remembered”, she mumbled sullenly, a bit disconcerted by Joohyun’s reaction.

“Everyone else?”, her companion asked with surprise.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you! We’re not the only people who got trapped in the book. There were other girls and they helped me with my plan, we’re friends now and we hang out all the time. You can come with me next time and meet them. I mean, if you want. It’s not…”, she trailed off, staring into her warm coffee to avoid Joohyun’s eyes.

“That sounds nice”, she said simply. Seungwan looked up cautiously and found her smiling at her, so she smiled back. “So, who were they? Do I know them?”

“Oh, well there’s Sooyoung. She’s the king’s mage, so I guess you two never met, but I think you’ll like her, she’s nice. And there’s Yerim too”, she remembered with excitement.

“My Yerim?”, Joohyun cut in with wide eyes.

“Yes! I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you and, uh, she’s a little different from book-Yerim, you know, she’s not a trained assassin or anything like that, she’s just a kid, but she’s really funny and we got her to stop stabbing people with sticks, so it’s the perfect time to meet her” She took a deep breath after her long, rambling sentence, happy at the way Joohyun’s eyes twinkled with joy. For a moment, she forgot what she was saying and only stared into those eyes.

“So, it’s just the three of you?”, Joohyun asked, bringing her cup up to her lips. Seungwan finally caught herself and looked away sheepishly.

“No, there’s also Seulgi. The, uh, the captain of the guards, do you remember her?”

Joohyun smiled tightly, suddenly looking a little awkward. “Yes, I remember Seulgi” She didn’t elaborate and neither did Seungwan, so that they both sat in silence for a few moments, only taking sips of their drinks.

“So, it’s weird that you didn’t remember the fudge”, Seungwan said in an effort to change the subject. Joohyun looked a little relieved and quickly seized the topic.

“Actually, I think I know why that is. I didn’t attend the library, I worked at it. Part-time. I just started university and I wanted to help my parents with my living costs”, she explained with a shrug. “I always got in through the staff entrance in the back. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen the fudge place, or at least I never noticed it”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense”, Seungwan accepted, nodding along thoughtfully. “I can’t believe I almost got trapped in a cursed book forever over a fudge misunderstanding”, she joked, then grew red as she remembered that she situation only arose because she was nearly willing to give up her old life just to live in ignorant bliss with princess Joohyun. That was probably an awkward thing to bring up to the Joohyun in front of her.

“So, I was curious. You were the princess, you know, the main character. What was the story even like without you?”, she quickly asked before they could dwell too long on that particular topic.

“Oh, it wasn’t too interesting. A kingdom was being harassed by bandits and an evil wizard. A neighbouring prince showed up and managed to bring them all to justice. Then the king thanked him profusely, wishing he could unite their kingdoms and offer the prince his just reward, but he couldn’t because he didn’t have any daughters”, Joohyun explained, tapping her fingers against her cup and gazing at the liquid inside with her full attention. “I… I guess it only makes sense why I’d go in if you knew a little more about me”, she added after some hesitation.

“So tell me”, Seungwan requested simply. She wanted to reach out and grab her hand but she didn’t know if she could. It felt strange, they were the same people but subtly different. She didn’t know this Joohyun or anything about her life. They’d shared such a strong bond, but now things were changed just enough for a new awkwardness to stretch between them. Joohyun was the love of her life, but she was also a stranger, and Seungwan wondered what that meant for them.

“My parents are a little… traditional. They’re fine with me focusing on my studies and my career, but eventually they’ll want me to get married and have a family. I’ve always known that and it’s always felt like something I should do, the way my life should go in the end. But all throughout high school, whenever a boy would ask me out, I’d never feel anything. There wasn’t any part of me that wanted to go on that date or get to know them or… anything”

She shifted in her seat, avoided Seungwan’s eyes as she took a drink then immediately returned her gaze to her tea. “I told myself and everyone else that I was going to focus on my education first, that high school was too early for dating. Then I got to university and I didn’t have that excuse anymore. My parents started pushing a little more and I started saying yes to some dates. I thought maybe it was just awkward at first and it would be easier as I got to know them. But it just never felt right”

“And then I found that book, when I was cleaning up in a back room. I read it all in a couple of hours and it just stuck in my mind” She brushed her hair behind her ear and finally looked at Seungwan, offering her a small embarrassed smile. “It sounds stupid, but in that moment I just… I wished I could be that princess that the king wanted. I wished I could just marry a prince and unite our kingdoms and know that I’d done the right thing. All those dates I went on, I kept wondering. Does it feel like this because I’m with the wrong person? Or will I just… keep looking forever, because there is no right person out there and it’ll never get any better? I just wanted to be sure. To feel like I knew what I was doing”

Seungwan nodded solemnly, trying her best to show Joohyun that it wasn’t stupid at all. That she got it. That it wasn’t just princesses in magical kingdoms that could struggle with figuring out their feelings.

“I suppose one good thing came out of being trapped in that book”, Joohyun concluded with a laugh. “I met you, and now I’m pretty sure I know why all those dates felt wrong. I guess I’m gay”, she announced grandly, the dramatic flair poorly concealing the real awe that clearly grew inside her at the realization. The great sigh of relief as this pressing mystery in her life was solved and everything made sense at last.

“Yeah!”, Seungwan replied with forced cheer, her insides deflating a bit as she struggled to understand where they stood. “And now you can, uh, go on dates with women!”, she added with a forced smile. She tried not to dig her nails too hard against her cup, afraid she’d pierce the fragile material.

“Oh”, Joohyun said, blinking rapidly as she looked away. “I wasn’t really… planning on dating women. Or, I mean, maybe one woman. Maybe… I thought…”, she trailed off, her eyes flickering between Seungwan and the wall with nervous movements.

“Oh”, Seungwan echoed. She carefully put down her cup, still half-full of the drink she’d nearly forgotten as they talked. “I wasn’t sure if you’d still…”

“You’re still the same. You’re the same person I fell in- I fell for”, Joohyun pointed out quickly. “Why wouldn’t I feel the same? I’m the one who doesn’t… I’m not a princess anymore, I mean, I giggle a lot less. I barely giggle, really. I’m not as decisive, either. I second-guess myself a lot, I don’t just suddenly decide to run away from home or anything. I don’t know how to ride a horse”, she finished weakly, bringing her cup to her lips before realizing that it was already empty and setting it down sheepishly.

“I can’t ride a horse either”, Seungwan quipped, her words struggling to come out against the knot in . It was a happy knot, one that made her feel like she’d never be able to speak again when all she wanted to do was smile, smile and lose herself in Joohyun’s eyes. So, instead of talking, she reached for the girl’s hands and brought them to her lips, carefully kissing each of the knuckles.

“I didn’t fall in love with a princess”, she pointed out in a soft voice. She felt like she was going to cry again, which she definitely hoped to avoid. “I fell in love with Joohyun. I fell in love with you”

Joohyun smiled then, a bright, radiant smile, and Seungwan knew she’d have something new to add to her notebook. Because that was a smile she’d never seen before. A smile that didn’t belong to the princess, one that was born entirely from the girl in front of her. And it was so beautiful.

They walked home slowly, hand in hand, taking more than twice the time Seungwan would have taken on her own. Neither of them seemed in any rush to end the night, lost in each other, in the simple pleasure of holding hands and knowing that they were together, finally together and happy.

As they reached Seungwan’s street, their steps slowed until they were barely moving. She didn’t want to say goodbye, even if it was just for one night and she could see Joohyun again the next day, and the day after that, and every day. Even if she knew that she wasn’t going anywhere. They stopped in the shade between two lampposts, delaying the inevitable for as long as they could.

After what felt like no time at all but must surely have been at least half an hour, they let their hands slip apart, shoving them in their pockets to protect them from the cold. Seungwan turned to leave, but a hesitant touch on her shoulder stopped her.

“Do you… Do you remember what you told me? When we were captured?”, Joohyun asked with searching eyes. Seungwan remembered all of it, enough that she couldn’t be sure which part she meant, so she stood silently, waiting for her to elaborate. “I just thought… It’s all over and we’re safe and… I’m not your princess”, she finished slowly.

Seungwan’s heart jumped into as she realized what Joohyun meant. As she realized that she was right. She’d never finished her promise, but it stood nonetheless. And now all those impossible conditions had finally come true and she could just step forward and kiss her. Her Joohyun.

“Well”, she said playfully, happiness flowing so strongly through her entire being that she felt lighter than the air, ready to float off towards the stars. “You’ll always be my princess. In here”, she added, pointing at her heart with a wink.

Joohyun groaned, her hand flying off Seungwan’s shoulder dramatically. “You know what? I changed my mind, you can go home now”, she said in fake disgust. She turned away, possibly to walk off, but Seungwan stopped her by reaching out her hand and capturing her elbow.

She pulled her back in one swift motion, her free hand moving up to cup her cheek before she was kissing her. When their lips met, her entire body seemed to melt in a single sigh. Every single worry she’d ever had disappeared with that sigh, fading into the cold night air, leaving behind nothing but her and Joohyun, together, under the barely visible stars.

“I love you”, Joohyun whispered against her lips, her hands moving to settle on Seungwan’s waist as she pulled her closer.

“I know”, she whispered happily, barely able to resist Joohyun’s lips for long enough to form the words.

In a fairy tale, this would be the end. The starry sky would explode in fireworks, the world around them would erupt into celebrations, the very trees would blossom, bursting with colour and fragrance and life under the contagious vitality of their love. And then they’d live happily ever after.

But this wasn’t a fairy tale. It was real life. And that was so much better.