Chapter 14:

“Hello?” Jaehyun answered into his phone as he witness Jisoo stagger into her room, not seeking to notice that he returned home.

“Hyung?” Jisung called all the way from Korea.

“Oh, hey Jisung. I haven’t heard from you in a while.” He greeted his little brother.

“Hyung…” Jisung paused and asked in a very concerned tone of voice, “How is Princess Jisoo?”

“She’s doing good. She’s getting the hang of everything and she’s making lots of new friends..” Jaehyun gladly explained about his girlfriend.

“Does she know anything about what’s been happening here?”

“What do you mean? What happened?” Jaehyun asked curiously.

“The entire nation is demanding to see her. People are already suspecting that she’s missing. Lots of crazy rumors are starting up, and they all regard the Princess.” The little sibling explained.

“That doesn’t make any sense… she told me that she hasn’t been exposed to the media in years…”

“That’s true, but the King had a press conference a couple weeks ago to announce Lee Taeyong as the next King. Since then, everyone has been questioning where the Princess is during this entire situation. They want an explanation from her, as to why she didn’t marry into the throne, and what her opinion is regarding Taeyong’s coronation.”

Jaehyun glanced over at the closed door leading into Jisoo’s bedroom. “I don’t know if she knows yet.” He told his brother over the phone.

Jisung sighed in relief, “Okay… I’m not sure when would be a good time to tell her. But she’s going to have to think about her next move sooner or later because everything is circling around her.”

Jaehyun nodded, “I might tell her soon. She has to know what’s happening over there.”

Jisung agreed, “Okay, good. Well, I have to go now. I’m trying to save up my international minutes. I hope you’re doing good, by the way, Hyung. Thank you, again, for looking after Jisoo Noona. Bye!”

The call ended.

Jaehyun stood up from the sofa, where he took the phone call, and walked over to Jisoo’s closed door. He knocked a couple times, but resulted to no answer. He knocked again, no answer.

“Jisoo?” He called out from outside of her door. “Are you okay? Can I come in?”

When he didn’t hear any response he decided to check to see if she was asleep. He opened the door and quietly entered her room, only to see her sitting on her bead, blankly staring into nothingness. Jaehyun assumed that she was pondering hard about something, or her behavior had something to do with her time of month. He approached her by sitting directly in front of her on the bed and waving his hand in the space she was staring at. He successfully caught her attention and her eyes widened when she realized Jaehyun was sitting in front of her. “Oh? Jaehyun, when did you get in here?”

He subtly chuckled and answered her, “I just got here… Are you okay?”

Jisoo’s eyes looked elsewhere and her face showed an apparent expression of worry. Yet, she tried to assure him, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He knew that she definitely wasn’t fine. But he tried changing the subject in order to lighten the mood. “So what did you have for lunch? You had lunch with Jennie, right?”

She nodded. “Dim Sum.”

“Oh… okay. Did Jennie say anything significant? Are you two friends now?”

She nodded again, leaving Jaehyun confused about which question she was nodding to.

He scooched closer to her and extended his arms to put his hands on her shoulders, allowing him to look at her face properly. As he did, he could surely tell that she was concerned about something, but he didn’t know what about. Then, he asked her on a whim, “Is it about the palace?”

She immediately met his eyes, not knowing if he read her mind or if he knew about it already. “Y-You know?”

Jaehyun nodded and put his hands back down beside him. “Jisung told me a few minutes ago.”

She stayed silent and continued to stir the thoughts in her mind.

“Are you going back?” His chest felt a hurtful pang by saying those words. The thought of Jisoo leaving him to return to her country made him fearful. It made him anxious. But in reality, he knew that she was already considering that option.

She glanced at him and he could sense the sorrow in her eyes. “I don’t know… I don’t know what to do anymore.” Tears fell rapidly from both of her eyes, making it the first time for Jaehyun to see her cry. “I don’t want to go back.” She told him as her voice cracked in many places. “I don’t want to see the palace again.”

Jaehyun took her cold hands into his, having her look him straight in the eyes. “You’re still a Princess, Jisoo. Your people still need you.”

“No they don’t. They’ve never needed me, what makes you think they need me now?” Jisoo sniffed in he