Chapter Three – Circus

            The Dean is furious. He is fuming and I believe that he is close to popping his veins and proceeding to strangle all the media in the school. This media surrounding the school for the opening parade is not something new. This school is an international institution that is one of the best in the world. Add the fact that I am here and that I am one of the leaders in a popular house. But we did not expect this prank. The school released a statement minutes after the explosion that it’s a prank that has gone wrong. But the media knows better.

“ damage control” he says to Jinu who is clearly mad at me. I know he wants to tell me ‘I told you so’ badly right now but he has to keep his composure. The media is blowing up. Saying that this is a threat to me and the royal family. They saw through the lie that this is just a prank. Yes, it’s not a prank but a stalker. It’s not a terrorist attack towards me.

“ Prince Jinki, Please know that the guards in the school will be patrolling your house grounds. ”

“ thank you. I appreciate it, but please do not change the usual assignments of the police. I have my royal guards.”

“ You do. ” Jinu stresses and I leave the room.

I cannot take more talk. My mother called me, even Leeteuk called me. This is getting worst. I don’t even want to talk to my publicist right now. I just said that whatever the school said is mine as well.

But I know that I need to have an interview to clear the air.

“ Hey! You okay?” Jonghyun walks towards me along with Minho and Taemin.

“ Yes, I just – this is getting crazy- ”

“ It’s not, Onew- someone blew up that tunnel knowing that you will be there.” Minho retorted and I looked down.

“ It is not a bomb, it’s a homemade explosive-”

“ thank god for that! If that was a real bomb, a lot would have died.” Taemin stopped me and there I go. Three of my friends look at me, what do they expect from me?

“ I will not be releasing a statement until further investigation. Okay? I feel embarrassed.”

“ why? Why do you have to embarrassed about?” Jonghyun asks.

“ I spoiled the opening ceremony. We are all over the news and the school is depicted as some place that a terrorist attack took place.” I stomped my foot and thankfully, a couch was close by so I can sit down and collect myself.

“ well, the girls from Rosewood are pretty happy that their pretty faces got interviewed. I swear, those girls act better than us over at Stanley.” Jonghyun commented.

“ Students from Leavesdale did impromptu protests,” Taemin chimed in and I glared at the three of them.

“ don’t tell me that something good came from that incident. ”

“ There is, everyone is in party mode now. They all feel like they just escaped death and they want to celebrate life.” Minho smiled at me and I felt relieved. Atleast the students here understand me more than I do myself. I am too hard on myself.

“ all the parties are still a go, and you idiots are still invited over at Stanley after you finish up at Eagle. ”

Ofcourse. Stanley parties last till 6:00 while others finish up at 2 or 3am at the most. I just nod at him and I allow myself to smile.

“ but that stalker needs to stop, he did that for you. I think he wants to save you or something-“ Taemin says and I am confused.

“ save me? ”

“ remember in his last letter? He told you that he will take you away. I think he feels like he is saving you from something. That you need him in your life- ”

“ that’s twisted.” Minho states and I have to agree. I just want to talk to this stalker and tell him everything that is needed. I believe in the power of diplomatic conversation, but I think he won’t even be able to understand.

“ So, who is you new guard? Jinu said something about your new guard putting you out of trouble.”

. I haven’t told them about Key. Yes, he saved my life with his persistence. If he did not talk to me that time, I would have been in that tunnel. If I wasn’t so distracted with him.

“ hey.”

“ oh- yeah, the new guard. He is really good.” I say finally and move towards the door, trying to run away from this conversation and join the party over at Eagle.

“ oh, please drop the act and tell us the truth. You sneaky git. ” Jonghyun comments and I looked at them.

“ It’s Key.” I say finally and closed the door.

“ oy! Oy! ” I hear jonghyun knock at the door but I refuse to open.

“ I knew you had a crush on him! You! ” he knocks and I know the people passing by are looking at me. I mean, I am outside the the dean’s office building- holding the door closed. I hear Minho and Taemin telling me to open the door and ask who this Key is. This day is just testing me and my control.

“do not overreact!” I call out.

“I promise to keep Jonghyun’s mouth shut.” Minho promised and that is good enough for me. Opening the door, I can see the two men restraining jonghyun and I give them a nod.

“ Jonghyun, I don’t have a crush on him, I was asking because I was doing a background check.” I say levelly and he just smirks.

“ whatever you say Onew, now, how can he part of the royal guard? He’s not older than us, ”

“ according to Jinu, he’s a trainee, his tuition here is paid by the government.” I supplied and Minho eyes me. I know Minho will find out soon who Key really is, if I’m not careful. He can take my secrets out of me without bugging me. He just gives me a look and I get all guilty and spill the beans. Same goes with Taemin. I should be more careful.

“ I don’t think a theatre major is needed to protect you.” Minho comments.

“ You underestimate the power of the arts Minho. What about James bond? It’s not that he’s strong or what. He can disguise himself and act all cool and in trouble.” Jonghyun splutters and I smile at him.

“ so, please don’t mention this to anyone or tell Key that you know. We agreed to be friends to be as normal as possible.” I said quickly, tripping over my words.

“ friends huh?” Taemin teases and I act nonchalant.

“ now, can we just go to our respective parties?” I finally state and we all go our separate ways. Minho and I made our way to Eagle along with the university patrol.

“ I hate this.”

“ I know you do, but it’s part of being you. The prince jinki. Now, let’s have fun at that party!”

Entering the hall is like stepping inside a timewarp. A crazy college party with me, right smack in the middle of it all. All those state lunches and uptight social gatherings pale in comparison to this. Utter freedom. This is what it is.

Kangta is playing poker. That man Is seriously taking that game seriously. Not only because he likes mind games, but the pot money also won’t hurt his pocket.

Some are on the makeshift dance floor with a band playing some low-key music as an intermission. I can see a bunch of people doing drinking games and some idiots playing spin the bottle ( what are we? In high school?). A few are talking among each other, genuinely interested. The freshmen are welcomed warmly and I just love the light in their eyes.

“ ya! These things make me feel old.” Minho says and I hand him champagne.

“ Same here, it seems only yesterday when we got in here and Kangta offered us drinks.” I recall. “ I felt so cool that time. ”

“ so- ” he starts as he sipped his drink. “ what’s the deal between you and Key?” the question was so innocent but the intent is brutal. The intent is for me to tell the damn truth and not dance around and try to trick him. Sometimes, minho is too smart.

“ I told you, he is a new bodyguard. Plus a friend, he’s nice. You’d get along.” Word vomit. Here I go again.

“  You don’t make new friends. ” Minho stated and I pushed him lightly.

“ I have new friends, I am a friendly person. ”

“ what I meant is, you don’t let people come inside your inner circle of friends. I never thought you’d let someone in, so- who is he?”

“ I told you-”

“ Onew, please. I saw you with him- once. You couldn’t take your eyes off him. And if you did, it took you a lot of control to not look back again. ”

. He does know me.

“ Minho, I never told this to anyone. Or I did, but- ”

“ I know that tone. I only know three secrets about you that you told me to not tell anyone. ” he says and I feel thankful to have a friend who keeps my secrets for me. Sometimes, I just can’t bottle them all up.

“ This secret. I have told this to you, Jonghyun and taemin. Think, high school graduation party.”

He narrows his eyes at me as he recalls. And as soon as he remembers, he blanches and his eyes widen. Now he knows how important this is for me. I had relationships before, I am not immune to attraction and lust. But they all know about my sick and depressing non-love story with the “man from the hallway”.

I remember telling them about it, two weeks after my first day in the university. Those were the nights I kept dreaming. Minho told Jonghyun and they both cornered me. I looked like hell and it’s not helping my reputation as the College student Prince. So I told them. After a two months, when taemin visited- I confessed as well.

“ NO! ” Minho says almost comically and I nod my head yes.

“ How? How the ? He is your hallway guy? That er you made out with in the dark? The guy who ruined all kisses and make-outs for you?”

“tone it down you idiot!” I hissed and he laughs and jumps, yes, jumps like a five year old. “ Yes, he is hallways guy. After how many years, he now has a name, and it’s not just a make out In the dark okay? I saved him. We had an understanding.” I sound defensive, I know but I don’t want that experience to be tarnished. For me, it’s pure. Sort of.

“ you should see your face man, I love this, I mean. Only you can have a love-life as complicated as this. ”

“ I know, I’m such a lucky guy.” I say and as I look around, I catch  sight of a familiar blonde hair but as I gazed, it’s not Key. It’s a girl. Ugh. I have it bad, I am seeing him everywhere already.

“ I mean, the universe must love you. Makes you a prince, gives you this man-and it’s just- wait, do you plan to tell him?” he asks.

“ he doesn’t even remember,” I reply bitterly and minho’s face falls.

“ are- you- what do you mean he doesn’t even remember? Who forgets those kinds of things?”

“ I know. But, that day was also traumatic for him. You forgot, he was attacked. Almost , if not for me- maybe he forgot it. Or-” I trail off and grip my glass. I cannot let this get to me. When I met Key again. I promised myself that we will be friends and see what goes on after that. That was just a kiss, I cannot expect him to come running and profess his love for me. It was just a kiss for him. It’s not his fault that I’m an idiot who feels more.

“ Look, You cannot hide this from him forever. Sooner or later, you will blurt it out. Like what you do with me, you will feel guilty and tell the truth. Plus, he deserves it.” He says and I look towards the poker table. Kangta is gone. They replaced it with something different, like a dies and number thing. I’d like that.

“ For now, I will just be his friend and- ” I stop and pull minho towards me. “ I will be playing over the table. ”

Minho says no and says something about getting wasted with punch and finding his soccer buddies. I make my way towards the table and tell them that I will play. The crowd cheered and I feel someone move closer to me, invading my personal space.

“ This is not my plan, ”

I turn towards that voice to be faced with Key. But this is not Key, this is the one with the long blonde hair. Doing a double take, I see the difference. He is dressed as a girl. She looks the part to be honest, but I still prefer his usual look. He has a long blonde hair/wig (or extension, I don’t really know.), skinny jeans and a purple hoodie. He has light make-up on and someone taps me so I can place my bet.

“ I don’t have a gender identity. But I need to go undercover again, just so I can look after you in here. Jinu will kill me if I don’t.” he says and I feel thankful that we are open now. He speaks to me like a friend and not an employer.

“ It’s not as exclusive as it seems , people from other houses tend to trespass at around 1 am or later.” I say this to him and I cheer on the numbers I placed my bet on.   

“ But I can’t wait that long to leave you alone. ” he says finally and my heart twists. How pathetic.

“ then have fun with me,” I invite him over to an empty table and everyone is looking at us. Damn. I almost forgot, I never talk to girls like this. This will look like I’m interested in this girl- which happens to be Key. He seems to notice my discomfort.

“ they won’t see me in any lifetime after this night, so relax.” He ushers me towards a loveseat that we share and I suddenly feel self-conscious. He on the other hand, he is so relaxed. I have never met someone like him, he is so sure of himself. He smiles at those who pass by and fake toast with them. He looks around and surveys the environment and his stare always come back to me. For someone is living his life as my guard and a theatre student. Someone who is forced to live a pretend-life, he seems so in tune. Like this is his reality. I don’t know if I should admire him or feel sorry.

“ hey, just enjoy the party. Lancelot house parties are the best, no matter what house you’re in. especially the opening parade.” I smile at him and he looks down, ducking down,

“ I know, I enjoyed the opening parade. Don’t worry. And who says I won’t go back to Stanley as soon as you pass out.” He jokes and I feel confident for a moment.

“ are you saying I’m going to pass out soon?”

“ 2 am tops,” he replies and that smug look on his face and the smirk playing on his lips. God, I want to kiss him.

“ you wish, why don’t we play a drinking game?” I challenged. This is a stupid move for me, I cannot hold my liquor too much. But I won’t back down on him, and the thought of him dragging me away while I am drunk. Just being so close.

God.

I need to work on my control.

“ and what kind of drinking game does your majesty know?” he says almost politely and I take the unopened bottle of vodka.

“ 20 questions.” I grin.

“ what? That’s child’s play, when will we drink? If we refuse to answer?” he asks and hands me a shot glass as I open the bottle.

“ No, everyone answer, you just drink. See, I want to get to know you, the alcohol is just to prove a point. Plus, it will loosen our tongue. ”

“ I must warn you, I had training for this.” He eyes me and I smirk.

“ let’s put that to the test.”

As we fill our bottle, I already figured out what I will ask as the last question. I mean, bu the 20^th shot, or maybe, the 10^th, he will surely answer everything I ask.

“ easy one first, favourite color?” I Start,

“ pink” he says immediately and downs his shot, only to say, “ this isn’t that strong. Not much alcohol content.”

“ kangta pre-approves all the liquor, he prefers girl drinks that are rainbow colored.” He passes my my shot glass and asks me.

“ how does it feel like to be a prince?” his question startles me. I started at an easy one, I did not expect him to pounce on me like this.

“ It – I- I don’t think of it as something separate from me you know. It’s not like being a movie star, those people, they had a life before they became superstars. Even a president, they had lives before that. But I was born into this, so it feels normal, it feels like life you know. ” I say without looking at him, just holding the glass in my hand. “ sometimes I’m just so happy, I just feel so fortunate. Then there are times like today, where I feel horrible. ”

“ about that attack? I am getting worried onew, I think that person is determined to get you. ” he says andi ignore him, preferring to down the drink.

“ You next,” I tell him finally and we proceed the questioning. We added the alcohol to 6 more questions and decided to ditch it after. This getting to know each other is much better. Maybe it’s the disguise as a girl, like, he is a different person that makes him calm. His tongue is loose as he tells me about his life.

“ where do you live?” I ask.

“ Wiltshire, but I spent the last years around the capital.”

“ what do you mean?”

“ I am homeless.” He states a matter-of-factly and I find that hard to believe. He is clearly educated and he moves with grace. Plus I hear jonghyun tell me that he has good taste in almost everything.

“ what do you mean? How? ”

“I am an orphan, so, I am under the foster care program. I go around, but I always stay at the capital. When I turned 16, I had myself legally emancipated. I befriended a teacher and he thought me a lot.” His story is fascinating. Like something that only happens in films. I know there is something more to this story, but I don’t ask him. It’s too personal, what matters is who he is today.

I cannot help but admire him. How I wish I can tell him how proud I am of him. From that scared boy to this confident man infront of me.

We are both broken from our trance as we hear a happy-drunk jonghyun along with 3 other people (who I recognize as minho’s soccer friends) come to us. Jonghyun looks at key, then to me and he smiles. He takes my hand and drags me as the three others take key.

“ hey! What are you doing here? What happened to the party at Stanley?” I ask.

“ still perfect, but I received a message from someone here that you have a girl with you. That’s more interesting.” He whines. “ your lovelife, is my life’s mission do you know that?”

“ let us go jonghyun, Jinu will have your head. ”

“ No, Jinu knows and I promised to keep you safe.” He says in a singsong voice and I am mortified as I saw where we are taken. At a closet. in closet.

Seven minutes in heaven.

“ I will have you deported from this country if you don’t stop,”

Jonghyun seems unfazed as he opens it and shoves me inside, along with Key. I frown as the door closes and key is quick enough to pull something so we can have some light.

“ sorry, my friend is a bit-”

“ I understand,” he cuts me off. “ he is a force to be reckoned with.”

We sit there in silence. I am counting down the seconds for this stupid 7 minutes. I hate that I desperately want to reach out and touch him. It’s not about kissing him or throwing him down the floor and his skin. I just want to hold his hand right now. Jus reach out and have our skins touch. How cruel can this get?

If I can just move a little. But that tiny step seems such a big move forward. In this tiny enclosed space where we virtually have no distance apart, I feel like- we are separated by miles.

Down to 30 seconds and we hear Jonghyun.

“ Kiss her now you fool! Go!” he cheers and I frown. Key looks at me but I refuse to meet his stare.

“ again I am sorry about him. ”

25 seconds.

“ he gets annoying when he is drunk”

20 seconds

“ plus, he invests too much time in my love life-” I laugh at that.

10 seconds

“ and – I’m just sorry,”

5 seconds

“ If I were to kiss you, it will not be in this dingy closet. You deserve more than that.” He suddenly says in quick succession. In that controlled voice and for a moment I wonder if I just imagined it.

The door bursts open and Key ducks his head and makes a quick get away. They don’t stop him as he walks away. Jonghyun cheers me on and I cannot help but smile as well. Did he really mean it? Am I not alone in this?

And for the first time since we met, since that night in the hallway, I suddenly felt hope. This is not a lost cause.

Please remember me. Please remember us. 

A/N:
1. I am enjoying writing this, i hope in turn, you enjoy reading this. thank you for the wonderful comments and support you have been giving this story. it means alot to me.
2. Again, the posting schedule:
Chapter iv - Feb 22, 2012
Chapter v - Feb 27, 2012
Chapter vi - March 3, 2012
Chapter vii - March 8, 2012
3. Shameless plugging! tumblr accounts accio-onew | wondermarie. tell me you are from lj so i can follow you back. <3