Chaewon opened the door to her room, pulling Hyejoo with her. She was about to close the distance between their bodies, when Hyejoo spoke. 

“Hello, Jiwoo.” 

The princess turned to find her friend staring at them with raised eyebrows. 

“Welcome back, Chaewon, Hyejoo.” She greeted with a grin.  

“J-Jiwoo! Hi!” Chaewon forced a natural voice. 

Jiwoo's stare jumped between the girls and their linked hands. 

“I’m going to get dinner for you.” She smiled, walking towards the door. “For the both of you. How rude of me.” Jiwoo added before Chaewon could reply. 

They waited for Jiwoo to close to door. Chaewon let out a long sigh, with a chuckle at the end. 

“I completely forgot she could be in here.” The princess sat on her bed, Hyejoo following and sitting beside her. “She would eventually understand even if I didn’t tell her anything. She catches on to things quickly... Reminds me of a certain someone.” 

“Oh, is that so? Who is that certain someone who can read you so easily?” Hyejoo teased. 

“I think you know her. She’s this beautiful, gentle, kind, and strong woman. And when I'm with her, my heart seems to jump off my chest.” Chaewon confessed, grabbing both her hands, feeling her face warm up. 

Hyejoo gasped, trying to stop her lips from forming a wide grin. 

“Oh my, thank you, Your Highness. I’m certainly flattered by your kind words.” Hyejoo took her hand to her lips, kissing its back. “But I already know all of that.” She finished with a wink. 

Chaewon smacked Hyejoo shoulder, earning a protest from her. 

“If you get cocky, I'll stop saying these things.” She threatened with her fierce glare. 

“Oh, please forgive me, Your Highness! I must be punished for my behavior.”  

A smirk snickered through Chaewon's lips, as she leaned in closer to Hyejoo, stopping an inch from her face. 

“And what would that punishment be?” She whispered, pushing Hyejoo until her back met the mattress, following the movement and allowing her body to rest on top of hers. 

“Whatever the Princess considers adequate,” Hyejoo whispered back.  

The second their lips were about to touch, the click of the door echoed.  

“Did I... interrupt something?” Jiwoo asked, seeing Chaewon standing awkwardly by the bed, her face red as a tomato, and Hyejoo straightening herself. 

“No! We were just...” 

“Resting.” Hyejoo quickly added. 

Jiwoo bit her lip, fighting back a loud laugh. 

“Chaewon, His Majesty wishes to have dinner with the both of you.” Jiwoo announced, regaining her posture. 

Chaewon irked an eyebrow and shared a look with Hyejoo. 

“Why?” 

“I don’t know. But you're expected in the dining room.” 

♚♚♚

After a long meal, Hyejoo escorted Chaewon to her room. They stopped in front of the door, facing each other, not knowing exactly what to say.  

“You should rest. You’ll be back to training tomorrow.” Hyejoo said, fixing her bangs. 

“You should too. You'll start attending my own sessions. You'll start attending my own sessions. You’re very strong, but you lack speed and flexibility, and I want you to fix that, so you can be a more versatile and stronger guard.” 

Hyejoo chuckled. “A guard attending army training. What can't I do, really?” She smiled. 

“Meditation. We also start tomorrow.” Hyejoo frowned and Chaewon continued, before she could protest. “It’s not boring, and you’ll like it. Trust me.” 

“I will do whatever Your Highness wants.”  

“Kiss me, then.”  

Hyejoo raised her eyebrows. She looked around, making sure they were the only ones in the corridor. Without wasting any more time, Hyejoo cupped her cheeks and leaned forward, attending the princess’ wish.  

“Good night, Chaewon,” Hyejoo whispered, resting her forehead on hers.  

“Good night, Hyejoo.” 

Hyejoo planted a long kiss on her forehead before taking a step back. Before she could move one more inch, Chaewon grabbed her hand and pulled her into a tight hug, resting her face in the crook of her neck.  

“I love you,” The princess whispered in her ear, squeezing her body against her own.  

“I love you too.”  

Kissing her lips just one more time, Hyejoo walked away.  

Chaewon opened the door and stepped inside her room, her lips in a wide grin. Her smile was soon replaced by a frown when she found Jiwoo sitting by the window.  

“God, Jiwoo, you scared me. What are you doing?” 

“I was waiting for you. How was dinner?" 

“Hmm… fine, I guess. My father wanted to properly thank Hyejoo for saving me and ask her to keep up the good work.” Chaewon let her tired body dive into her bed.  

“That’s good. So… what about you and Hyejoo?” Jiwoo asked, her eyes fixed on her.  

“W-What about us?” 

“Don’t play dumb, I know you’re together. I’m really happy for you, Chaewon. You finally found someone you love and care for, aside from yourself.” Jiwoo teased, earning a glare from her. “But I’m also worried.” 

“What are you worried about?” 

Jiwoo stood up and sat in the edge of the bed.  

"You know you'll have to marry a prince eventually, right?"  

Chaewon remained silent and drove her look anywhere else other than her eyes.  

“I know.” She breathed out. "But that is not going to stop me from being with her." 

"And I'm glad it's not. Chaewon, I will always support you and your choices, if they make you happy. I just want you to be careful. If your father finds out... I don't know what could happen." 

"I just don't understand why. I don't care if I have to marry a prince, but why can't I be with her? Why is it so weird? Why wouldn't people accept me because of it?" Chaewon's voice raised, her eyebrows drawing together. 

Jiwoo grabbed her hand. 

"That was never… well accepted in our society, unfortunately. That's why I only ask you to be careful, Chaewon,” Jiwoo said, sadness in her low tone. "You can count on me to keep your secret. I'll protect it with my life." 

♚♚♚

Chaewon missed her training, and now, having Hyejoo training with her gave her an extra motivation. She managed to keep her mind occupied for most of her day, but sometimes, the conversation with Jiwoo popped up in her head. Chaewon tried not to give it much thought, not to make Hyejoo worry. 

It was time for meditation, at last. She sat down on the grass, cross-legged, and Hyejoo followed. 

“Meditation is all about becoming one with your surroundings and the present moment. Your mind should be right here, right now. Not in the past, not in the future. You should just... be.” Chaewon explained. "Rest your hands on your knees, like this.” Chaewon did so, and Hyejoo followed. “Now, let yourself be in a comfortable position and close your eyes.” 

Hyejoo let Chaewon do it first and then repeated. She straightened up her back and let her eyes close.  

“Breath in through your nose and out through your mouth, and take deep, long breaths. Feel the environment and the elements around you and empty your mind.” 

Hyejoo nodded as if the princess could see.  

A couple minutes went by with silence between them.  

“Chaewon.”  

“You aren’t supposed to speak,” Chaewon said, without moving or opening her eyes.  

“I can’t focus anyway.” 

“Yes, you can. It might be difficult at the beginning, but if you overthink what you're doing, it's only going to get worse. When you have a thought, don't blame yourself for it, thinking you should have an empty mind. Just be in peace with it and watch it pass like a cloud in the sky, without letting it take over your mind.” 

“I can’t do that.” 

“Why?” 

“I can’t stop thinking about you.” 

Chaewon opened her eyes and looked at Hyejoo. The latter was already staring at her, her lips in a straight line and her eyes sincere. The princess let her body fall to her side, resting her head on Hyejoo's lap. 

"Hyejoo." She hummed in response, her hand playing with Chaewon's bangs. "Why did you fall in love with me?" 

"Why did you?" 

The princess glared at her. 

"Don't answer a question with a question. And isn't that... obvious?"  

"Isn't it obvious for me too?" Hyejoo smiled, earning another glare. "You're too... well, you." She caressed her cheek. Chaewon met her eyes but didn't say a word. "I think your beauty is the first thing that catches everyone's attention. And then, when I got the opportunity to stay by your side, watching you closely, I found you're also brave, strong, intelligent... but also insecure. That was why I wanted to help but, well, it was not in the best way. I still regret the way I talked to you that day.” 

“Don’t regret it. I’m thankful you did it. It was exactly what I needed to realize what I was lacking.” 

Hyejoo smiled and leaned to kiss Chaewon's forehead. “You can now tell me what’s troubling you.” 

Chaewon avoided her eyes. There was no use in trying to hide whatever it was from her. Hyejoo always knew when something was wrong. Was the that easy to read, or was it that she was naturally drawn to cunning and observant people?  

“I had a conversation with Jiwoo, and I’m still thinking about it.” 

“What was it about?” 

“Hyejoo, you know that… I’ll have to marry a prince, right?” 

“Yes.” 

“What do you think about it?” 

Hyejoo pondered for a bit. 

“I think marriage is just something written on a piece of paper for a diversity of reasons, except for love. The majority of noble marriages don’t have any meaning to it, and most of the times, they’re in love with other people. My father, for example.” Chaewon widened her eyes. “He married my mother, but he never loved her. He fell in love with a commoner. Do you think it would ever be acceptable for a noble man to marry a commoner? But they never gave up on each other, even if he had to be married to another woman. So, the fact that you’ll be married to a prince won’t change our feelings for each other. You know I’ll always love you, no matter what. I’ll always be by your side and I’ll always protect you. And I know you will do the same for me.” 

Chaewon took a deep breath, almost a relieved sigh. 

“I know it works like that, but I'll still have to... share a bed with someone else. Sometimes. I just didn't know how you felt about that. It frustrates me that I have to marry a person I will never love just for the sake of it, and that I can’t be with you like I wanted to because it’s not the way things work.” 

“I know. But who knows when that will change. And it’s not for the sake of it, you’re the only daughter of the king, you need to continue his legacy. I’ll take care of your child like it’s my own. I don't care if you need to fulfill that duty and be with someone else for a few nights... as long as most of them, you're with me, and you always come back to me. But if that man, whoever he might be, tries to abuse you, I swear I’ll kill him.” 

“If that happens, he'll be dead before you even hear about it,” Chaewon said, her voice deep and somehow dark. 

Hyejoo raised an eyebrow and smirked. 

“That’s… attractive.” 

“W-What?!” Chaewon sat and punched Hyejoo's arm. 

“Okay okay I’m sorry, I was joking!” Hyejoo tried to escape her punches. “Not really.” She added, earning another punch. 

“Stop. It's an order from the Princess.” Chaewon pointed with her index right in front of her face. 

“But it’s so cute when you act all aggressive to hide your shyness.” 

“Can't I have any thought privacy in this castle? Stop reading my mind. And stop saying that out loud, I have an image to maintain.” The princess hit her again, her cheeks becoming redder. 

“I love you, Chaewon.” Hyejoo blurted, pulling the princess into a hug. 

“And I love you, Hyejoo. Thank you for wanting to fight this battle with me.” 

“I always will, and it will be alright as long as we’re together.” 

♚♚♚

A/N: A little bit more fluff, but please, get ready for the next chapter keke c':