Chapter 4

Sitting alone against her closed door, Yujin brings her knees in to hug while resting her forehead on it. After getting Minjoo out of her room, memories from the former year start rushing back as she closes her eyes tight. With her eyebrows scrunching together, the pictures, the sound, the recollections all play in her head.

 

(Flashbacks)

Waking up to an early morning, Yujin stands outside her balcony and stares out at the view from her condo. With all her attention focused on the city view, she feels a pair of arms wrap around her and a pair of lips land on her cheeks.

Startled by the sudden moment, Yujin quickly turns to see a girl looking about to be the same height as her smiling.

“Wonyoung-ah…” Yujin calls out.

Chuckling from the surprised look Yujin was giving, Wonyoung utters

“Haha…Good morning to you too.”

“When did you wake up?”

“Just a few minutes ago. I didn’t see you in bed, so I thought you would be out here. What were you thinking about that you didn’t even hear the balcony door open?”

“Nothing. I was just enjoying the view outside.”

Staring back at the view of the city, Yujin turns back to ask

“The weather is nice today; do you perhaps want to go out for a walk by any chance?”

And with a smile curving up her lips, Wonyoung answers

“I would love to.”

 

 

Walking in a nearby park with their hands intertwined, Yujin and Wonyoung enjoy their time together as if they were the only people on earth.

“Yujin-ah…Dad called me yesterday. He said that his issues are starting to get resolved one by one. The police are also getting close to arresting the people that threatened him too.” Wonyoung says as they continued their stroll.

“Yea…my captain has also informed me about this as well. Looks like my job in protecting you is about to be finished.”

“What? No. I don’t want it to end. I still want to be with you.” the girl whined as she stops her bodyguard from walking any further.

Letting out a smile from the cuteness the girl was displaying, Yujin replies

“And when did I say we weren’t going to continue our relationship? Right now, my job is to protect you from any danger that may come from the result of the threats your father is receiving.”

“Sigh…yea but you’ve been reiterating the same stuff every day ever since we started our relationship and I just don’t like the sound of it. Just admit it, you’re only dating me so your job will be easier, right? In reality you probably want this job to be over so you can break up with me.”

“Hey, stop putting words into my mouth. I never said that.” Yujin says as she ruffles the other girl’s hair.

“But –”

“Wonyoung-ah…please understand. This is my job after all. Every minute of my life right now is to protect you.”

“I know but you’re making it seem like we have to separate after all of this is over.”

“Come on. Don’t act like a little kid now.” Yujin says in a serious tone.

“I’m not. I just don’t like you saying stuff like this. It hurts every time you say it. Do you hate me that much?” Wonyoung says with a pout.

“Hey, don’t use this card on me right now.” Yujin replies with a bit of irritation in her tone.

“Then stop making it seem like we’re never going to be together after all this is over.” Wonyoung continues to whine.

“Okay, I promise that when all this is over, my job in protecting and staying by your side will continue on. How about that?”

Seeing the other girl try to cheer her up, Wonyoung finally lets out a smile. Taking a look around to see if anyone was close by, she quickly steals a kiss from Yujin before saying

“You promised already okay.”

Stunned by the girl’s display of affection, Yujin’s eyes widen as she exclaims

“Wonyoung-ah…we’re in public right now. We can’t keep doing this here. Your Dad is going to find out sooner or later if we do.”

“Then let him find out. I don’t intend to keep it a secret from him forever.”

“I know, but it’s still not the right time for him to find out. After everything is clear, I’ll go tell your father of our relationship myself, but right now it’s best to keep this hidden.”

Hearing Yujin say this made Wonyoung’s heart warm. Being able to open up about her relationship to her father was the only thing she wanted to do right now.

“Sigh…Fine. But the minute the police arrest the bad guys, I’m dragging you to have a proper meeting with my dad.”

And with gentle caresses to the other girl’s head, Yujin nods her head before taking her girlfriend by the hand to continue their walk.

 

 

(One week later)

Standing with her head hanging low, an older man dressed in a suit approaches Yujin and grabs her by the collar of her shirt.

“How could you let this happen?! You had one job and how could you fail at it?!”

The man shouts out as he tugs at the girl’s shirt.

With no response, the older man grows mad with tears coming out of his eyes.

“Y-You had one job to protect her and h-how could you let this happen...” he continues with his voice starting to weaken and break.

Growing frustrated he pushes Yujin back causing the girl to slightly stumble. As she regains her balance, the bodyguard falls to her knees with her head still kept down.

“I-I’m sorry, Sir…” Yujin quietly answers back which causes the man to get even angrier.

“Sorry! For what you’ve done, you think saying sorry will be enough?!”

“No Sir…I know nothing will be enough to pay back for what’s happened.”

“Then why did you let it happen?!”

“I…I have no excuses.”

“Aish! You little…”

With all his pent-up anger, the old man grabs the girl on her knees by the collar again and as he was about to land a slap, a hand suddenly comes in to stop him.

“Mr. Jang. Please, I ask you to stop this.”

Letting go of Yujin while shaking off the grip the person had on him, Mr. Jang takes a step back and says

“Eunbi-sshi, you expect me to stay calm after what she’s done.”

“Sir. All the things that happened today was something none of us wanted. I-It was an accident.”

“An accident! You guys are known to be the best, yet you let something that could have been preventable happen. Sh-She shouldn’t have been the one t-to…”

Not being able to finish his sentence, Mr. Jang’s emotions start to crumble. And Yujin was no different as she tries her best to hold in her tears for as long as she could.

With the weakening state that she was in, Yujin walks up to Mr. Jang before dropping to her knees again. And with an apologetic look that also showed grief, she bows before the older man’s feet.

Seeing this, he takes a step back and looks away.

“Don’t even think about showing up tomorrow or ever in front of me again. I’m not accepting your apology and never will, remember that.”

With those words said, Mr. Jang walks out with his people trailing behind while Yujin was still in her bowing position. And as the older man was now out of the room, Eunbi rushes up to her cousin to call out

“Yujin-ah…get up. Yujin-ah…Yujin-ah!”

Seeing no movement in the girl, Eunbi starts to grow worried as she tries to pull the girl up.

“Yujin-ah…get up!”

And as she struggles to do so, her heart starts to weaken from the amount of pain she could see her cousin was going through and the only thing she could do now was try to give the girl a hug.

“Yujin-ah…I’m sorry all this happened. I know you’re just as hurt, but please don’t do this to yourself.” the older cousin says.

And as they continued to stay in that position, a ding was suddenly heard from Yujin’s phone. In the lifeless state that she was in, Yujin instinctively pulls out her phone and stares at it. And after reading the reminder that was on her phone, the tears that she’s kept in for so long came flowing out as she starts to let out a heartbreaking sob.

The notification read:

‘D-Day + One-hundred-day anniversary. Don’t forget to pick up the mint choco cake.’

Seeing this, Eunbi pulls the phone away and brings the younger girl in for another hug.

(End of flashbacks)

 

 

(The next morning)

Being unable to sleep, Yujin gets up bright and early to go on her normal morning jogs and about halfway through her run, she suddenly notices she forgot her phone.

Thinking her phone was needed as she was still on the job, Yujin rushes back and while jogging back, she notices Mrs. Honda walking around the neighborhood as well.

“Mrs. Honda!” Yujin calls out as she runs up to the older lady.

“Oh…Yujin-sshi.”

“What are you doing out here? You shouldn’t be outside in a time like this.”

“I know, but we’ve been staying here for so many days. I just wanted to get out of the house a little.”

“But Mrs. Honda. Right now, you and your daughter’s life are in danger. It’s best if you stay in a safe location for the time being.”

“It’s okay. I’ve been taking small walks here and there throughout the whole day yesterday. This neighborhood seems pretty peaceful and safe. Plus, it’s gated as well, I don’t think anything bad would happen around here.”

“Still…anything can happen. I rather you not risk it. If you do want to go outside, bring me or Eunbi unnie with you just to stay safe.”

“Sigh…I understand.” Mrs. Honda responds as her shoulders drop.

Seeing the older lady give out a frown, Yujin suddenly thinks of something to maybe brighten up the older lady’s mood.

“Mrs. Honda…Have you and your daughter ever been to the night markets in Daejeon before?”

“Huh? No…We haven’t. This is actually my first time in Daejeon.”

“Then would you like to go tonight. So, you don’t have to cook dinner later. It’ll be nice to eat out for once.”

“But you said you wanted us to stay at the safe house.”

“There are generally a lot of people in that area so an attack would most likely not happen. On top of that, Eunbi unnie and I will be accompanying you and the Princess the whole entire time, so I believe leaving the house for a few hours wouldn’t hurt.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Honda’s mood starts to lift up as she’s been having restless nights thinking about her real daughter that she was starting to go crazy staying at the safe house all day. Even though Minjoo was reassuring her every single day that the police were doing their best to locate Hitomi, she still couldn’t put her heart at ease as she feels like her daughter must feel so lost right now.

Thinking that going out of the house into a different and livelier environment would help lessen her worries, Mrs. Honda quickly agrees to this suggestion.

“That sounds great. Thank you for this.” the older lady exclaims as finally lets out a smile.

Seeing this, Yujin also responds back with a smile of her own before remembering she had to go back to grab her phone.

“Okay. Then I will go back and inform Eunbi unnie of our plans tonight. I’ll allow you to take a walk around the neighborhood for now, but please stay within a close distance of the safe house incase anything happens.”

“Thank you Yujin-sshi and I promise I won’t go far.”

Giving the older lady a slight bow, Yujin rushes back home.

 

 

As the bodyguard opens the door to the house, she hears someone saying

“The person’s name is Wonyoung. She was Yujin’s ex-girlfriend and also the person that made Yujin quit her job as a bodyguard.”

Immediately after hearing a familiar name, Yujin rushes in to where Eunbi and Minjoo was before shouting

“Unnie!”

Turning to face the person calling her, Eunbi’s eyes widen as she utters

“Yujin-ah…I…I…”

Shifting her focus to the other person standing there, Yujin charges towards Minjoo.

“You…what did you ask her?!”

Taken aback by the sudden approach, Minjoo takes a step back while keeping her hands up as a way to tell Yujin to stop moving towards her, the fake princess then explains

“Yujin-sshi…I…I just wanted to know who the person’s name you accidentally blurted out was. I know you wouldn’t answer me if I asked, so I made Eunbi-sshi tell me instead.”

“This is none of your business Princess. The only thing you need to be focused on is staying safe until the people of your country come to pick you up.”

“Yujin-ah. I agreed to tell her myself. It’s my fault.”

Eunbi utters as she walks up to Yujin and as she tries to put a hand to her cousin’s shoulder, Yujin moves back to say

“You have no right to be telling her this Unnie. You know how much this has affected me and you’re helping her bring it back up?”

“Yujin-ah…let’s not misunderstand things. I’m only telling her to prevent her from getting any more curious. I didn’t want the princess to start asking you these questions.”

“Well she’s not going to get the chance to ask me any more questions.”

“What do you mean?”

“I quit. Have the police deal with this from now on.”

Following those words, Yujin goes into her room to grab her bag and car keys before heading towards the exit. Seeing how mad her bodyguard was, Minjoo knew the mine she stepped on has just exploded.

As Eunbi bolted towards Yujin to try to get the girl to stop, Minjoo slowly follows the both of them out the door.

With Yujin not willing to listen to anyone, she opens her trunk and places her bag in before heading to the driver’s side of the car with Eunbi following close by while exclaiming

“Yujin-ah…you can’t quit now. You’ve already agreed to this.”

“Well too bad Unnie. Tell your friend to look for someone else.”

After saying that Yujin enters her car and quickly locks the door so her cousin won’t be able to open it.

With constant banging on the window from her cousin, Yujin quickly starts her car before backing out of the driveway and starts driving back to Seoul.

 

 

Walking into a large office room, a man looking to be in his mid-twenties stands in front of a person who is sitting by a desk while enjoying her morning coffee.

“Princess Nako.” he calls out.

“Prince Jungin. Is there something I can do for you?” she replies back.

“I was just wondering, regarding the pickup of our heir that’ll be coming up…”

“Yes, what about it?”

“I was just thinking, why don’t all of us go pick her up together. We can go to Korea for a couple days before our official pickup date and maybe enjoy a few days there before we come back.”

“Hmm…”

“Considering we’ve never been to Korea before and seeing our former King loved the place so much, I think it’ll be nice if we could all go there to learn about the country our heir grew up in.”

“Hmm…it is true that we’ve never been there before, and it would be nice for everyone to have a small vacation before we prep the heir for her advancement to the throne. Plus, it would be great for Grandmother to finally meet her other granddaughter for once.”

“So, does that mean…”

“Yes, we’ll be going to Korea to pick up the heir ourselves. I’ll contact the police in Korea about this and inform Grandmother. Have our people prepare extra guards to travel with us.”

“Understood Princess Nako.”

As the Prince leaves the room, he lets out a smile while walking down the hallways of the castle with his underlings.

“Everything is going out as planned. Have you been able to contact the shooter yet?” he whispers to one of his minions.

“Yes Prince. He’s safely arrived in Korea yesterday. He is expected to continue on with his mission soon. I already have someone following him.”

“Good, I want her dead before we leave Korea. Also, arrange for our people to be the ones to accompany the royal family in Korea, I want to make sure I’m able to keep track of where the royal family is when we get there.”

“Yes Prince.”

“Keep track of what, Jungin?” a voice suddenly comes in.

Coming to a halt, the Prince and his underlings quickly bow to the person in front of them before saying

“Your Highness…Princess Sojung…what are you guys doing here in this side of the castle?”

“Nako just told me about our trip to Korea. I wanted to talk to her in person about it, so I’m having Sojung accompany me there.” an old lady looking to be in her late seventies explains.

“Ah…is that so? Sigh…how could Princess Nako do this? Making an elderly come to her. How ill-mannered of her. She should have been the one who came to you.”

“I was the one who insisted on meeting her in her office. I also wanted to make sure Hitomi’s room will be ready by the time she gets here.”

“Ah…is that so?”

“Yes. Now would you like to tell me what you needed to keep track of.”

“Uh…I just wanted to keep track of our security teams to make sure the welcoming of our heir will run smooth.”

“Good, I expect no troubles to arise when she gets here then. Now…Nako has been waiting for quite some time now, let’s go Sojung.”

And with a nod from the person next to her, the old lady continues to walk past the prince. But after a few steps past him, she stops. With her back still towards the young man, she says

“Also, Jungin-ah…”

“Yes, Your Highness.” the Prince turns to answer.

“Remember where you came from, don’t make me regret letting someone like you into our family. Your parents may be of royal status, but none of them are from the Honda bloodline. Which means you have no right to be talking like that about my family. If my husband didn’t ask me to bring you in, you wouldn’t be standing here right now. Be thankful for what you have now.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I apologize.” the Prince responds back as he brings one of his hands behind his back and starts to clench it.

And as the old lady and Princess Sojung walk out of his view, his gaze starts to darken.

“Just wait. Once I get this country for myself, not even you could have the chance of talking to me like that.”

 

 

Waking up to a new room, Hitomi takes a scan at her surroundings and comes to realize that the reality of her being away from her mother was true. Nothing was a dream, and this was something she had to face alone.

Last night after coming home, both Hitomi and Chaewon separated ways as the long and exhausting day had caused them to want to head to bed right away. So, without discussing any plans for what was to happen the next day, their night had ended in a quiet and awkward way.

Not really knowing how she was going to continue her act of being someone with memory loss, Hitomi sits up before doing a thinking pose with one hand. Thinking she had to contact her mother first, the girl tries to think of a way to get a hold of a phone without anyone noticing.

Still not being able to figure anything out, Hitomi decides to head to the bathroom to wash up as she feels that staying in bed like this wouldn’t be of any use.

Opening the door, the girl was met with the owner of the house setting the table with breakfast for the two.

“Oh, Hiichan. You’re awake. I was just about to go call you.” Chaewon says as she sees the other girl walk out of her room.

“Chaewon-sshi. Y-You didn’t have to make breakfast. I should be the one to do so, since I’m the one that’s been such a bother to you.”

“It’s okay. I usually wake up early anyways. This is all normal to me.”

“But –”

“Come on, go wash up so we can start eating.”

“But –”

“Sigh…why do I need to do this every time.”

Walking up to Hitomi, Chaewon proceeds to take the girl by the hand before dragging her to the bathroom.

“Now wash up. I’ll wait at the table.” Chaewon continues.

“It’s okay, just eat first if you’re hungry.” Hitomi responds.

“It’s fine. I’ll wait.”

“But –”

“Sigh…any more buts and I’ll go in there with you.”

“What? No, it’s okay!” Hitomi quickly replies as she rushes into the bathroom before slamming the door shut.

And as she sees the door close up in front of her, Chaewon lets out a smile and shakes her head while walking back to the dining table.

 

 

Walking out of the bathroom, Hitomi heads to the dining table and as she takes her seat, she notices the other girl on her phone. Thinking of a way to gain access to it, this causes Chaewon to notice her stare on the device.

“Do you want to use it?” Chaewon suddenly asks as she brings Hitomi’s attention back.

“Huh?”

“My phone. Do you want to use it? I assume you might have remembered something already for you to be so focused on it.”

“Oh…uh…no. I haven’t remembered anything yet. I just…I just…uh…wanted to see what you were looking at.”

“Oh. Here. I’ll show you.”

Pulling up her seat, so that the both of them were now sitting side by side, Chaewon shows Hitomi what was on her phone. Looking upon the screen, Hitomi notices Chaewon looking at news portals.

“I was trying to see if there were any news about someone missing or any recent events that you could have been in. This might help us find out where you’re from.” the owner of the house explains.

“D-Did you find anything?” the other girl asks as she fears Chaewon might have come across the news about the Princess of Eito.

“No, not yet.”

Hearing this, Hitomi immediately lets out a sigh of relief.

“The only big news that really came up is about some princess from a foreign country getting attacked.”

“What?” Hitomi exclaims as nervousness starts building up in her again.

“Yea, apparently she’s a princess from a neighboring country that’s about to take the throne. I guess someone wanted her dead, so they attacked her and her mother a few days ago.”

“A-And are they okay?”

“Yea…no one was injured cause someone came to help them in time. Right now, both the princess and her mother are safe.”

“T-That’s good to hear.” Hitomi said as she took a sip of the water in front of her as a way to not show her tenseness.

Wondering who was taking on the role of the princess, Hitomi asks again out of curiousity

“Chaewon-sshi…did there happen to be a picture of the princess and her mother by any chance?”

“No. They didn’t disclose any pictures. I guess it’s for the safety of the princess.”

“Ah…makes sense…”

“Something wrong?”

“Huh? Oh. No, I was just curious on how the princess and her mother looks.”

“Oh, I think there are going to be people to come pick her up in less than two weeks, I’m pretty sure the Korean news will be all over it by then. There’s bound to be some pictures taken when they get here and meet the princess.”

Staying silent, Hitomi nods her head before taking another sip of water as Chaewon continues to say

“Oddly enough, the attack happened literally right next door to my family’s house in Seoul. Who would have thought that I was neighbors with a princess for almost all my life?”

And with that heard, Hitomi sprays all the water she was gulping down everywhere.

Moving back from the sudden splash of water she was getting, Chaewon turns to Hitomi before uttering

“Hiichan! What the heck?”

Realizing what she’s just done, Hitomi quickly apologizes as she runs up to grab some paper towels in the kitchen to wipe down the table.

“I’m so sorry Chaewon-sshi. I-I didn’t mean to. I’ll clean this all up.” the panicking girl exclaims.

“Sigh…it’s okay. You didn’t mean it, but what was so shocking about me living next to a princess.”

“Uh…I guess I just didn’t expect it.” Hitomi answers as she starts wiping the table.

With this new information she just heard, Hitomi finally understood why she was in the back of Chaewon’s truck that night. Thinking that Minjoo had probably put her in Chaewon’s trunk for her safety, Hitomi actually feels relieved now that she can start piecing things together.

Realizing that she had actually been neighbors with Chaewon all her life had also put a small smile to the girl’s face as things seem to not be as bad as it could have been.

It seems like fate had always kept the two of them close by even though they never saw each other, but now that they were actually apart, fate wanted them back together.

Looking at the mess in front of her, Chaewon could only let out sighs as she didn’t know what to do or what to say. It was obvious she was not happy with what’s happened, but it wasn’t like she could be mad at the injured girl either.

“Hey...just sit down. I’ll clean the rest up.”

“What? No, I caused this mess; I should be the one to clean it up. Plus, I’m almost done anyways.”

“But your shoulder –”

“My shoulder is fine now. It’s not hurting as much as yesterday. Give it another day or two and it should be back to normal. There…see. All done and not even a bit of pain from the injury.” Hitomi exclaims as finishes cleaning everything up.

With that said, Hitomi and Chaewon proceeded to start their breakfast together. Lucky enough, Chaewon had actually covered up the food so it would stay hot when Hitomi was in the bathroom causing the food to stay untouched after the accident.

During breakfast, Hitomi started to get more curious of the other person as the thoughts of them being neighbors who never seen each other intrigued her.

“So…the princess. Have you ever seen her before?”

“Surprisingly…no. I don’t even think I saw her mother before. When I was still living in that house, I never really went out unless it was with family or for school, so we never ran into each other. I believe my sister has seen them before as she talks with Mrs. Honda and her daughter from time to time.”

“Mrs. Honda?” Hitomi utters.

“Yea. She’s the mother of the princess.”

Hearing her mother’s name again, Hitomi’s thoughts automatically go to how her mother was right now. She knows her mother is probably worried sick for her and as of right now, there was nothing she could do to help the situation.

“Hey. Something wrong?” Chaewon asks as she notices Hitomi’s expression start to darken.

“Huh? Oh. No…I just thought of…”

“Thought of?”

“Uh…it’s nothing.”

“Are you sure? Cause it looks like you have something on your mind right now.”

“Yea…it’s really nothing.”

“Sigh…okay, but if something’s bothering you; please tell me. Maybe if you talk about whatever’s on your mind right now, it could help rejog your memory.”

Seeing the person in front of her so concerned made Hitomi’s guilt grow even more. How was she going to break it to the person that she’s been lying all this time? Especially when the person seems to be genuinely worried about her.

The only thing she could do now is maybe get a hold of her mother so she could head back to Seoul and not burden the owner of the house any more than she already is. But would contacting her mother be a good move for their safety?

Trying to extract more information, Hitomi starts asking again.

“Chaewon-sshi. You said that your family lives right next door to the princess’s house. Have you contacted them to see if they were okay?”

“Oh. Don’t worry. My parents are currently overseas right now, so only my sister lives there. My sister did call me a few times this morning, but I didn’t get a chance to answer it. I’ll be calling back after breakfast.”

“Ah…I see…”

‘So…Chaejung unnie is her sister.’

Hitomi thought as she remembers talking to the girl’s sister before. Even though she was not close with the sister, they still had a friendly relationship and would always exchange some small talk whenever they see each other.

 

 

Finishing breakfast up, both girls decided to do the dishes together as they wouldn’t let the other person clean up. Not being able to come to a decision resulted in the both of them by the sink helping each other instead.

And with the dishes done, Chaewon picks her phone up to call her sister and just when she was about to hit call…

“Chaewon unnie!”

A loud shout was heard outside the house startling the pair that were inside.

Opening the door, Chaewon notices a frantic Yuri running up to her to say

“Unnie! Help!”

“What’s wrong?” Chaewon asks as she starts to grow concerned.

“Jinsoo…he ran away from home.”

“What?!”

“His mother just called me asking for our help. She went to use the restroom and when she came out, she saw the front door to the house open and Jinsoo nowhere to be found.”

“Where is she right now?”

“She’s walking around her neighborhood searching for him.

“Alright. Let’s just start at their house first then. We’ll work our way out from there.”

“Okay.”

Turning around to grab her car keys, Chaewon notices Hitomi rush out the door. Quickly following the other girl out, Chaewon asks

“Hiichan. Where are you going?”

“I’m going with you guys.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to. Just stay home and rest. Yuri and I can take care of this.”

“It’s better if I go. The more people the better.”

“But –”

“Chaewon unnie. We don’t have time. Just let her come.” Yuri rushes the older girl.

“Okay. But if you’re starting to feel tired or if you’re injury starts hurting again tell me, okay?”

And with a nod from Hitomi, all three get into the car and head to their destination.

While in the car Hitomi starts asking

“Do you mind me asking who this kid is?”

“Jinsoo is one of our students at the school we teach.” Chaewon answers.

“Can you guys give me a description on how the kid looks?”

“He’s about five years old. Wears glasses and his mother said he was wearing a blue shirt and jeans today.” Yuri responds.

“Is there a reason why he would run away?”

“His father got into a car accident and passed away while driving back from Seoul a week ago. From what his mother told me; he still hasn’t processed any of this yet. He still thinks his father is going to comeback. I guess he ran out to try to go look for him.” Chaewon explains.

Approaching the house Jinsoo lives in, all three rush out of the car as Yuri starts to call the kid’s mother.

As they start seeing people from the neighborhood all looking for the kid, Chaewon orders

“Everyone’s out to look for him, we all should too. Yuri, once you get a hold of his mother, tell her we’ve arrived and are out searching as well, so she doesn’t get alarmed when she sees my car outside her house. After that, go to the school and check to see if he’s there. I remember he always waited for his father on the playground. He might think his dad is going to go pick him up there. I’ll go to a nearby park to see if he might be there as well. Hiichan, you can come with me.”

“No, We should all separate. It’ll be faster. I’ll go look somewhere else.” Hitomi replies as she turns around to start looking for the little boy.

And after a few steps, a hand comes in to stop her.

“Hiichan. Don’t. You still don’t know the island that well. I don’t want you to get lost. We’ll just go search the park together.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine. The most important thing right now is to find Jinsoo. The faster we find him, the better. I’ll take easy paths so I can remember my way back. I promise.”

“But –”

“Chaewon-sshi. Please let me help.” Hitomi pleads as she grows worried for the kid.

Even though she’s never met him but hearing the story of how he lost his father, Hitomi could sympathize with the pain he would be feeling right now.

“Please?” Hitomi continues to ask as both her hands grab onto Chaewon’s.

Not knowing what to say, Chaewon only gives out a nod resulting in Hitomi quickly bolting out to find the young boy.

Blinking her eyes a few times as she felt a little dazed from the sudden moment, Chaewon was brought back to her senses as someone approaches her from behind.

“Chaewon unnie! Not the time to fall in love right now!” Yuri shouts out from behind.

“Huh? What?”

“Let’s go. We have to go look for Jinsoo.”

Hearing what she needed to do, Chaewon quickly heads for the park to start searching. And about ten minutes into her search, she gets a phone call from Yuri.

“Hello. Yuri-yah. Did you find him?”

“Unnie. Someone said they saw him at the station waiting for the ferry.”

“Okay. Call Jinsoo’s mom and go wait with her at their house. I’ll go get Jinsoo and bring him back.”

Rushing to the station, Chaewon looks around the crowded area and as she scans the place, she spots the boy sitting on a bench waiting for the ferry to come back. As she rushes up to the kid, Chaewon suddenly notices someone familiar was already with him.

“Hiichan?” Chaewon whispers under her breath as she walks closer to them.

 

(Flashback to five minutes before)

After asking around for where the ferry station was, Hitomi reaches the place and finds a young boy with glasses in a blue outfit that fits the description Yuri explained. She sees him on a bench starring out at the ferry coming back. As she notices the boy scanning around to see if his father was in the crowd that just got off, she lets out a sigh and walks up to him.

“Jinsoo?”

Noticing an older girl walk up to him while calling his name, the boy slightly freezes.

“Your name is Jinsoo right?”

Slightly nodding his head, the young boy asks back

“Who are you? How do you know my name?”

“My name is Hiichan. I’m a friend of your teachers.”

“Chaewon ssaem?”

“Yes. Chaewon ssaem.”

Kneeling down to be on her knees right in front of the kid, Hitomi starts a conversation with the little boy.

“What are you doing here all by yourself?”

“I’m waiting for Dad. He should be here soon.”

“Hmm…Jinsoo-yah. Then can I wait with you then?”

“Huh?”

“I’m waiting for my Dad to return too.”

“What?”

“My Dad left me and my mom last year and I’ve been waiting to see him ever since. Maybe if I wait here with you, I’ll get to see him.”

“But where did he go?”

“He went up there.” Hitomi answers as she points to the sky above.

“That’s where Mom said my Dad went.”

“Really? Then maybe both our Dads have met each other.”

“Then do you know when they’re going to come back? I miss him.” the boy innocently says with a pout.

Hearing this, Hitomi feels a slight sting to her heart as she lets out a sigh.

“I don’t know either, buddy.”

“How were you able to wait this long then? I mean it’s been a year for you and he still hasn’t return from up there. Then how long would it be for my Dad to return.”

“It’s because I know, he’s still with me even though we’re apart.”

“What? I don’t get it.”

Letting out a small smile, Hiichan touches the necklace her father gave her and explains

“When I found out he went up there, I was sad just like you. But then, my Mom told me that even though I couldn’t see him right now, Dad was still looking over me. He would continue to live on through all the memories we shared together and also right here.”

With her other hand, Hitomi points at her heart.

“So that means I’m never going to see him again.” Jinsoo says in a sulking tone as tears start forming in his eyes.

“No. You will see him again one day. But right now, it’s not the time.”

“Then when is?”

“Sadly…I can’t answer this question. But I promise you one day, you will meet your father again and I can assure you that when that time comes, he will be more than happy to see you.”

With the silence the boy was giving, the older girl tries to think of ways to cheer the younger boy up.

“Jinsoo-yah. How about we play a game?”

“A game? Right now?”

“Yea…a game. Loser has to do whatever the winner asks for.”

As the topic was now changed into something lighter, the kid’s mood starts to brighten up.

“Okay. What game then?”

“Hmm…how about a simple rock paper scissors?”

“Okay.”

(End of flashback)

 

Walking up to two people starting a battle of rock paper scissors, a confused Chaewon hears the both of them saying

“Rock. Paper. Scissor!”

“Hiichan?” the older girl calls out causing Hitomi to turn around making her lose the game as the sly little boy quickly changes his hand from ‘paper’ to ‘rock’ beating Hitomi’s ‘scissors’.

“Yay! I won!” the boy cheers out.

Turning back to see the results, Hitomi lets out a cute pout as she stands up to say

“Aww…Chaewon-sshi, I lost.”

“What’s going on here?” Chaewon asks as she approaches the both of them.

“Well Jinsoo and I were playing a game of rock paper scissors. Loser has to do whatever the winner says.” Hitomi explains.

“Sigh…Everyone’s been so worried for the kid and now that we’ve finally found him, you guys are playing rock paper scissors?” Chaewon utters in somewhat of an irritated tone.

Sensing the other girl was starting to grow angry, Hitomi says

“I-I’m sorry. Chaewon-sshi. I guess I should have contacted you when I saw him, but I don’t really have a phone on me, and I just wanted to make sure Jinsoo was okay first.”

“It’s fine. But let’s get him back to his mother first. She’s been running around frantic looking for him.”

Hearing this, Hitomi turns around to face the kid while reaching her hand out to say

“Jinsoo-yah. Let’s go home. Your Mom’s waiting for you.”

“Aww…do I have to? Mom’s probably going to yell at me.” the kid replies with a pout as he gets down from the seat and holds onto Hitomi’s hand.

“Jinsoo-yah…your Mom’s not going to yell at you. I promise.”

“But how do you know?”

Kneeling down to face the kid, Hitomi answers

“Because…she’s probably missing your Dad just as much as you are. She’ll understand why you did this, but please don’t do this again, okay?”

Seeing the older girl give him a reassuring statement, the little boy nods his head and with their hands still held, the both of them head off to the kid’s home leaving the other adult even more confused.

“How did they get so close?” Chaewon whispers as she trails behind the two people.

 

 

Reaching the front of Jinsoo’s house, the mother could be seen running up to hug the little boy as tears stream down her eyes.

“Jinsoo-yah…where have you been? Do you know how worried I am for you? Don’t do that again.”

“I’m sorry Mom. I-I just wanted to go wait for Dad at the station.”

Hearing this, the mother freezes as she caresses the little boy’s head.

“Jinsoo-yah…your father’s not coming back. He’s left to go somewhere far.”

“I know Mom. Dad left to go look over us.”

“What?”

“That Noona over there told me, that even though I can’t see him right now, he’ll always be with us through our memories and that one day, when the time is right, I’ll get to see him again.”

Giving her son a bittersweet smile, the mother pulls him back into a hug and she looks over at Hitomi and mouths the words ‘Thank you’ as a sign to show gratitude for helping her son understand his father’s situation.

Seeing this Hitomi smiles back with a slight nod as she looks at the mother and son still in their embrace, remembering the time her mother comforted her when she found out her father had passed.

 

 

With everything all settled, Jinsoo’s mother quickly thanked all of them for helping her find her son. And just as they were all about to leave, Jinsoo runs out to call for one person.

“Noona!”

Knowing the little boy was talking to her, Hitomi kneels down to wait for Jinsoo to approach her.

“Noona, the game of rock paper scissors. You lost remember.”

Letting out a chuckle, Hitomi replies

“Of course I remember. So…what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to be my girlfriend.”

“WHAT?!” a loud voice was heard from behind causing everyone to stare at her.

With all the attention on her, Chaewon quickly apologizes as she looks down at the floor embarrassed from her sudden outburst.

Seeing this, Yuri quickly walks up next to her to teasingly whisper

“Unnie, looks like you have competition. And he happens to be adorable too.”

“Shut it.” Chaewon whispers back before approaching the boy and Hitomi to say

“Jinsoo-yah…don’t you think you’re a little too young to be dating right now?”

“Age is just a number Ssaem. Dad was younger than Mom by five years and things worked out great for them. Why can’t it work out for us? Unless you don’t like me, Noona.” the boy innocently responds back.

“Sigh…this kid.” Chaewon exclaims as she facepalms herself.

Letting out a chuckle, Hitomi ruffles the kid’s hair and answers

“I do like you Jinsoo.”

“Then if we both like each other, then that means we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, right?”

“Jinsoo-yah…where did you get all this from?”

“Dad told me. He said that when you like someone, you should just tell them upfront and if they like you back that means you guys can date. That’s how he and Mom got together.” the kid answers with a wide smile.

Smiling from the statement the kid just made, Hitomi continues with her answer

“Jinsoo-yah…it’s true that when two people like each other, they can be together. But this only applies when you’re an adult. Right now, you’re too young for this. And yes. I did say I like you, but I only like you as a younger brother.”

“Then when I get older, can you be my girlfriend?”

Hearing this Chaewon facepalms herself again as she cannot believe a little kid is brave enough to confess like this.

“Haha…by that time. You would have probably found someone around your age to date.”

“That’s not true. I’ll wait for you, Noona.”

Butting into their conversation, Chaewon also kneels down next to Hitomi before saying

“Jinsoo-yah…let’s not be like this. You said that you’re going to wait, but what if this Noona has already found someone else by that time. You can’t keep her waiting on you forever.”

Pouting from all the obstacles that were thrown at him, the little boy grows tired and admits defeat.

“Fine…I guess I shouldn’t keep you waiting…”

“Haha. Thank you. Here. How about a hug instead?” Hitomi suggests as she lets out a smile from all the adorableness the boy was displaying.

As his expression turns from sad to happy, the boy runs into Hitomi’s open arms as he grins from ear to ear.

“Sigh…okay. Go back to your mother now and don’t do this again. You’re lucky we found you before a random stranger did.” Chaewon exclaims.

Pulling away from the hug, the little boy turns to Chaewon before uttering

“Ssaem. Why are you extra grumpy today?”

“Grumpy? I’m not grumpy.”

“Then why does your face look like those grumpy cat memes.”

Laughing from the statement the little kid made, Yuri suddenly intervenes in to say

“Jinsoo-yah…you should head back before this grumpy cat bites you. She’s known to have quite a temper when she’s in a bad mood. Especially right now when someone else is eyeing something she likes.”

“Yah! Jo Yuri!” Chaewon shouts out as she stands back up to look at the girl.

“Kidding Unnie. Kidding.”

Slightly confused as to what Yuri was stating, Hitomi turns to the little kid before saying

“Okay. You should go back now Jinsoo and remember to behave towards your mother and treat her well. You’re all she has now. Remember your Dad is looking over you from afar, you don’t want him to be mad at you for mistreating your mother, right?”

Jinsoo nods.

“Then promise me you’re never going to be doing this again.” Hitomi utters as she sticks a pinky out towards the kid.

And as the little boy closes in on the promise, he gives Hitomi another hug before running back into his house where his mother was waiting.

Seeing the warm side of the other girl, Chaewon unknowingly lets out a smile. It seems like the grumpiness she had earlier disappeared as soon as she saw how Hitomi was treating the little boy and how she was able to get him to behave. And all this did not go unnoticed by the girl standing next to her.

“Psst…Unnie. You’re starting to do it again.” Yuri quietly whispers.

“Doing what?” Chaewon whispers back.

“Letting out a smile no one has ever seen.”

“Hey. Stop it. I told you whatever you’re thinking, it’s nonsense.”

“Just saying Unnie. You should learn a thing or two from the kid. If you like someone just admit it. I mean, I might be joking when I said the kid was your competition but what if it was someone else that was older. I mean, there’s already rumors going around the island that there’s a cute girl that just moved here. I can guarantee you with her personality, Jinsoo’s not going to be the only one falling for her.”

And with that said, Yuri proceeded to drag the clueless Hitomi back to the car leaving a dazed Chaewon to stand still for a few seconds to try to process what the other girl just said.

“Wait. What rumor? Yuri-yah!” Chaewon utters as she comes to realize what the other girl meant.

However, she was too late as the two other girls had already entered the car, leaving all the questions in Chaewon’s mind unanswered.

 

 

Dropping Yuri off at her house, Chaewon and Hitomi head back home and as they entered the house Chaewon utters

“Hiichan.”

“Yes.” Hitomi replies.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“How did you know Jinsoo was going to be at the ferry station? Jinsoo’s house is pretty close to the place, but the walk can be quite strenuous if you don’t know the right path.”

“When I asked you guys why he ran away, you answered me that he was still waiting for his dad to return. If he still thinks his dad was going to come back, he would have to go wait at the first place his dad would be when he gets to this island. This island isn’t that big so there would only be one ferry station meaning the only place his dad would enter into this island by car would be there.”

“Ah…I guess that makes sense.” Chaewon utters with an understanding nod.

“Yea…I also did something similar when I –”

Eyes widening from almost revealing an old memory, Hitomi stops herself as Chaewon notices something weird in her statement.

“Hiichan. Did you just remember something?”

“I…Uh…”

“Is your memory starting to come back?”

“Uh…”

Not knowing what to say, Hitomi brings both of her hands up to her temples before closing her eyes to let out a “painful” scream.

“Ahhh! My head! Ahhh!” the girl shouts out as she tries to find a way out of this situation.

Thinking this was slightly embarrassing and also outrageous, Hitomi had no choice but to do this. Not knowing what to do as she wasn’t ready to admit she was lying to Chaewon just yet, this was the only solution she could think of.

Seeing the girl scream out in pain, Chaewon gives the girl a confused look before rushing up to tend to her condition.

“Hiichan…what’s wrong? Does your head hurt?”

“Ahh!” Hitomi exclaims while thinking in her mind

‘Why am I doing this? This is so stupid.’

Swaying her body to act the part, Hitomi tries her best to convince the girl in front of her that she was going through a tremendous amount of pain.

‘I hate myself.’ the girl thought as she continues on with her actions.

“Hiichan. Here, sit down first.” Chaewon says as she leads the girl to a seat.

Feeling tired from all the screaming and acting she just did, Hitomi plopped onto the couch before letting out small pants.

Seeing the girl like this, Chaewon grows worried and quickly reaches for her phone.

“I’m going to call a doctor.”

“NO!” Hitomi shouts out as she brings her hand up to stop the other girl.

“Hiichan. I have to. Just look at how much pain you’re in right now.”

“Uh…I…I think I’ll be okay. I walked a lot earlier. I think I just need some rest.”

“But your head’s hurting. I don’t think that’s normal. I think it’s better if I take you to the doctor. They might be able to help you with this. This might even help you regain some of your memory back.”

“No. I’m okay. Really. I…I just need to rest a little. Please. You don’t need to call a doctor.”

“But –”

“Chaewon-sshi. I’m really okay.”

Looking at Chaewon straight in the eyes, Hitomi takes the phone in Chaewon’s hand away before placing it under a pillow while she proceeds to rest her head on it.

“What are you doing?” Chaewon asks.

“Making sure you’re not going to call a doctor. I’m sorry I have to do this, but I’ll give it back to you after I wake up.”

Flabbergasted by the situation, Chaewon sits there in silence as she sees Hitomi start to doze off.

Not knowing what to do now as she doesn’t want to disturb the sleeping girl, Chaewon continues on with her day in a mindless state leaving the other girl at peace.

 

 

Waking up to notice she’s been asleep for quite a few hours, Hitomi feels a sudden vibration under the pillow she’s sleeping on. Looking around to see that she was alone in the living area, Hitomi pulls Chaewon’s phone out under the pillow to look at the caller ID.

With a familiar name displayed on it, Hitomi quickly picks up the call.

“Hello.”

“Hello. Chaewon-ah, why didn’t you pick up my call earlier. Have you seen the news? The police are asking for you.”

“Chaejung unnie?”

“Hello? Chaewon-ah?”

“Chaejung unnie. This is your neighbor, Hitomi.”

“Hitomi?”

And with a slight pause, Hitomi hears

“Hiichan?!”

“Yes unnie. It’s me.”

“Hiichan! Are you okay? Where are you right now? The police are looking all over the place for you.”

“Unnie. I’m okay. Luckily, I met Chaewon-sshi. She was able to help me.”

“Thank goodness, you’re actually with Chaewon. Where is she right now and why do you have her phone?”

“It’s a long story Unnie. I don’t have a lot of time to explain, but I just wanted to ask how Mom is. Is she okay?”

“Your mother is fine Hiichan. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet, but from what the police told me, she is really worried about you. If you are okay, then I suggest you come back to Seoul or at least try to contact her. Right now, someone is taking on the role of the princess for you, so it should be safe for you to come back.”

“I don’t think I can return right now Unnie.”

“What? Why?”

“I-I’m just not ready for this. Just a few days ago, I was living a normal life just as an average person and now I find out, I’m a princess of a foreign country that’s next in line for the throne. It just seems…impossible.”

“Hiichan…I know this is a lot to take in and this is none of my business, but considering you’re with my sister right now, I don’t want her to get involved in this. This is something you can’t avoid forever. You’re going to have to come back one day and I suggest you do it now than later so no one else will risk getting injured.”

“Unnie…I understand you’re worried about your sister, but I promise nothing bad will happen to her. I’ll make sure of that, but please give me a little bit more time. Once I sort out my thoughts, I will tell Chaewon-sshi everything and head back.”

“Wait. What do you mean Hiichan? What do you need to tell Chaewon?”

“I need to tell her who I am.”

“What?! Chaewon doesn’t know who you are?!”

“I-I told her I lost my memory, so she doesn’t exactly know who I am or how I got in her truck.”

“Sigh…Hiichan. Why are you doing all of this? What is this going to get you?”

“I know Unnie, it was a stupid mistake. But I don’t exactly know how I’m going to tell her I’ve been faking everything, especially since she’s been so nice to me. I can’t even imagine how betrayed she would feel if she found out.”

“Hiichan…”

“Unnie please. Just give me some more time. I promise I’ll tell Chaewon-sshi everything and return back to Seoul once I sort everything out. But as of right now, please don’t tell Chaewon-sshi who I am.”

“Hiichan, you’re making me lie to my sister here.”

“I know and I’ll take responsibility of it if she gets mad at you. But I really am not ready for all this. Please understand.”

“Sigh…Hiichan…”

“Please.”

“Okay, fine. The pickup date scheduled is in about two weeks. I’ll give you until the day before. But if I hear nothing from you by then, I’ll reveal everything to Chaewon myself.”

Letting out a sigh of relief hearing the other girl saying this, Hitomi continues

“Thank you Unnie. I promise to do what I said.”

“Okay, but I do think you should contact your mother and tell her you’re okay. She’s probably worried out of her mind right now.”

“But I don’t have my phone with me Unnie. I don’t remember her number either.”

“Okay, look for a piece of paper and a pen. I’ll give you the number to the commanding chief officer that’s the head of this case. Her name is Lee Chaeyeon. She knows where your mother is and is in constant contact with her.”

Scrambling around to look for the items, Hitomi proceeds to jot down the number the person gives her before thanking the person one more time and ending the call.

She takes a look at the number and right when she was about to call it with Chaewon’s phone, the owner of the house was heard opening the front door to the place.

Quickly putting the phone back under the pillow, Hitomi pretends to still be in her slumber as Chaewon walks into the living room with their dinner.

Seeing the girl still asleep, Chaewon lets out a smile before putting the bags of food down on the dining table. Walking back to the couch while trying not to disturb the “sleeping” girl, Chaewon sits down on the floor and faces Hitomi before whispering

“I guess this morning took a huge toll on you.”

Thinking the girl was still asleep, Chaewon slowly brings her hand up to caress Hitomi’s head and as her smile starts to grow wider, she brings her other hand to poke the cheeks of the resting girl.

“Yuri was right. Your cheeks are squishy.”

And with a continuous smile, Chaewon rests her chin on a small area of the couch while she continues to caress the girls head.

However, a minute into her doing this, the beauty that was laying down starts to slowly open her eyes. With their faces barely inches apart, the two lock their gazes on each other and Chaewon’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Hii-Hiichan.” she exclaims as she hurriedly retracts her hand back before standing up.

Sitting up straight, Hitomi awkwardly looks down as she tries to hide the huge blush that was showing on her face.

“I…uh…I…I…” the owner of the house stutters as she tries to make an excuse for her actions.

Reaching under the pillow, Hitomi grabs Chaewon’s phone before handing it to the owner to say

“Now that I’m awake, here’s your phone back.”

Trying not to make the atmosphere anymore awkward than it already is, Hitomi quickly gets up to head to the dining table.

“Hiichan…I-I’m sorry. I didn’t think you would wake up from that.”

With her back facing the owner of the house, Hitomi tries her best to hold in her smile before turning around to respond

“I-It’s okay. I sort of found it comforting. Thank you for that.”

Turning around Hitomi lets out the shy smile she’s been keeping in before looking over to the dining table.

“Chaewon-sshi. What’s all this?”

Not hearing a response from the other girl, Hitomi turns around again to say

“Chaewon-sshi?”

Noticing the girl frozen in her spot, Hitomi walks up to her before waving her hand in front of Chaewon’s face.

“Chaewon-sshi?!”

“H-Huh?” Chaewon says as she realizes what was happening.

“What’s with all this food here?”

“Oh…uh…this is going to be for the next few days. I have a meeting with the other teachers to attend to tomorrow and the day after that, so I thought I’d stock up some food for you.”

“Ah…thank you.”

“How have you been feeling? Does your head still hurt?” Chaewon asks to try to break the awkward atmosphere that was starting to happen again.

“No. Not anymore.”

“That’s good to hear. If it starts hurting again, tell me okay? I’ll take you to a doctor right away.”

“O-Okay.”

“Then let’s just start dinner early then. That way you can get some more rest.”

With a nod of the head from the other girl, the pair start plating their food. With the day continuing on, the both of them could be seen giving each other shy smiles while enjoying their dinners. And as they start to appreciate each other’s company, it seems like two hearts are starting to beat for each other.

 

 

Back in Daejeon, Eunbi could be seen pacing back and forth frantic as she tries to call Yujin on the phone. And with no response from her cousin, she closes her eyes to let out a sigh.

Walking up to sit on the couch, a phone call could be heard coming in and as she quickly looks at the caller ID, Eunbi shows a disappointing and nervous expression. The call was not from her cousin, but it was from her friend that trusted her in protecting the princess.

“Hello…Sojung-ah…”

“Hello…Eunbi-yah. How’s everything going over there so far?”

“Uh…everything’s great. Both the princess and her mother are safe. Luckily Yujin was able to get to them in time the other day.”

“Yes. I heard an attack happened a few days ago. Grandmother is starting to grow worried because of it as well. She started to get mad at the Korean police when she found out. Thankfully we had you and your cousin there to help save them in time.”

“Yea…Uh…No problem, but Sojung-ah. Is there a reason why you called all of a sudden? I thought you wanted to limit our contact until your people come here to pick up the princess.”

“Yea…I just wanted to call and tell you that there has been a slight change of plans. I’m going to be needing you and your cousin’s services a bit more than expected.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“We’re moving our pickup date up by a few days and I want you guys to be our personal bodyguards while we’re in Korea.”

“Wait…by a few days you mean…”

“I mean we’re going to pick up the heir in exactly one week.”

“Wait! What?!”

“Yea…kind of sudden, but someone suggested the family go pick up the heir ourselves so we could all take a mini-vacation before we prep her to take on the throne.”

“Wait. You guys are all coming?”

“Yep, but don’t worry. I won’t be letting only you guys take care of us. We have informed the Korean police about it as well. So you guys will be working with them too.”

And as if the situation with Yujin wasn’t enough, Eunbi facepalms herself as she realizes she now has to deal with the royal family and the Korean police when they get here as well.

“Looks like I’m going to see you again soon.”

“Sounds…great.”

“Something wrong? You sound a little…off.”

“Huh? Nothing’s wrong. Uh…hey something just came up. I got to go. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

“Wait. What –”

Quickly hanging up the call before the other person could say anymore, Eunbi lets out a long sigh before bringing her phone up to call her cousin again. And with no response from the latter, she lets out another sigh.

“I guess I’ll just inform the princess and Mrs. Honda first then.”

However, a few minutes into looking around the house, she suddenly wonders

‘Where’s the princess?’

 

 

Arriving back at her condo in Seoul, Yujin parks her car and as she takes a minute to rest from the long drive, she pulls out her phone to notice all the miss calls that were coming in from her cousin.

“Aren’t you going to call her back?”

Jolting from an unknown voice behind her, Yujin turns around to see the very person that has caused this huge mess. With her arms crossed, the person stares back at Yujin before saying

“You know for someone who has worked in the police force before, your senses kind of .”

“Princess…how did you get here?”

“I came in when you were putting your bag in the trunk. Surprised you didn’t notice when you started the car, and don’t you look in your rearview mirror at all?”

“Sigh…what do you want from me now? I quit already remember.”

“I’m not letting you quit.”

“You can’t force me to do that.”

“Well then, expect me to stick with you until you change your mind.”

“Fine. Do whatever you want.”

Getting out of the car, Yujin proceeds to grab her bag in the trunk and starts to head up to her condo.

Flabbergasted at what the bodyguard just did, Minjoo quickly trails behind the girl.

Sensing the other girl was following her, Yujin’s irritation grows.

Walking into the building Yujin stops before the elevator and as the doors open, she steps in. However, turning around the bodyguard notices the fake princess frozen in front of the doors.

“What. You’re not coming in?”

“I…uh…I…”

With fear from her past experience in it, Minjoo could only let out stutters.

“Sigh…well if you’re not coming in then, good luck walking up twelve flights of stairs.” Yujin says as she closes the elevator doors leaving the other girl behind.

Watching the elevator doors close in front of her, Minjoo takes a step back and looks at the emergency exit where the stairs were. Looking back and forth between the stairs and the elevator, she takes in a deep breath before thinking

‘They already fixed it. I-It shouldn’t happen again, right?’

Looking back at the elevator, she presses the up button and as she waits for the elevator to come down, she hears a ‘ding’ signifying the elevator arriving. With another deep breath in she sees the elevator doors open and slowly steps into it alone.

 

 

Entering her condo unit, Yujin throws her bag down to the floor and settles herself onto the couch. After a while she takes a look at the time on her phone and questions

‘Hmm…it’s been fifteen minutes already. Would she have taken the elevator or the stairs?’

Not wasting any more time as she remembers the fear the other girl had last time, Yujin quickly calls the front desk.

“Thank you for calling the front desk. How may I help you?”

“Hello, this is Ahn Yujin from unit 1205.”

“Yes, Yujin-sshi. How may I help you today?”

“I was wondering if the lady that came in with me is still there on the first floor.”

“Oh…I believe she followed you up the elevator a few minutes after you went up.”

“What? Do you know how long this was ago?”

“She probably followed you up no more than five minutes after you went up. Has she not arrived?”

“No, she hasn’t. Are you sure she didn’t go up the stairs or left the building already?”

“I’m sorry but there hasn’t been anyone who has left or entered the building as for the stairs, I will have someone check on it right now.”

As a few minutes have gone by, Yujin starts to grow anxious as she waits for a response from the people at the front desk.

“Yujin-sshi. I have confirmed from staff that there is no one that is currently taking the stairs right now.”

“Okay. I’m coming down right now then.”

Hanging up the phone, Yujin quickly rushes out of her unit and as she reaches the elevator, she looks up to see one of the two elevators stuck on the 11th floor.

“No…”

Taking the other elevator down to the 1st floor, Yujin dashes to the front desk to inform them of the elevator being stuck.

“There’s an elevator that’s stuck on the 11th floor. Is there anyone that has called for help from there?”

“I’m sorry?” the person at the desk says out of shock.

“There’s someone stuck in the elevator! Call the technician. Fast!”

Seeing the person in front of her scrambling to follow her orders, the bodyguard’s frustration only grows.

“Aish…”

Not being able to wait for a response or for another elevator to arrive, Yujin runs up the stairs. Struggling to get herself up to the 11th floor, she grits her teeth and pushes on. Finally reaching the place, a panting Yujin could be seen trying to get to the front of the elevator that was stuck. Still out of breath she falls onto the floor in front of the doors before she calls out

“Princess! Princess! Are you in there?! Do you hear me?!”

“Y-Yujin-sshi? I-Is that you?”

“P-Prin–”

Noticing there was staff that was also rushing up to check up on the girl, Yujin considers that it might not be a good time to call Minjoo by Princess as this could lead to uncalled attention. Knowing this, she starts calling the girl by her actual name.

“Minjoo-sshi. It’s me. It’s Yujin. Are you okay in there?”

While in the elevator, Minjoo quickly crawls to the doors as she hears a familiar voice coming through from it. Ever since she’s gotten in, the only thing she was hoping for was for the journey up to the 12th floor go out smoothly. However, reaching the 11th floor, the elevator makes a sudden jolt that brings all the memories from a few days ago back. And with no one by her side this time, she crumbles to the ground shaking in fear.

“Minjoo-sshi. Can you hear me?!”

“Yujin-sshi. I-It’s dark in here. I-I’m scared.”

“It’s okay. I’m right here now. Don’t worry. Someone’s already called the technician, they should be here soon.”

“H-How long? I-I don’t think I-I can last i-in here a-any longer.”

Turning to look at the staff, the person quickly asks for an ETA on the technician.

“They’re going up the elevators now. They’ll be there in a few minutes.” another person says over the walkie talkie.

“There almost here, Minjoo-sshi.”

Remembering how much the girl was panicking last time and with the girl’s speech starting to shake, Yujin tries to find a way to calm the girl down.

“Minjoo-sshi. Do you remember last time, I asked you to take in deep breaths with me?”

“Y-Yes.”

“I need you to do that again.”

“B-But last time you were here with me. I-I don’t think I can do it by myself.”

“It’s okay. Even though you can’t see me, I’ll be doing it with you. I promise, I’ll be right here with you.”

“O-Okay.”

“Alright. Let’s start. Breath in…breath out…breath in…breath out…”

And as Yujin tries her best to stay with the frantic girl, a technician rushes in to start opening the doors.

“Minjoo-sshi. The technician is here. Just give them a few more minutes and you’ll be out. I have to step back a little for them to work but keep taking in deep breaths.”

Taking a few steps back, Yujin lets the person do their job.

And as her bodyguard’s voice start to fade, Minjoo’s heavy breathing starts to come back.

“Wait. Where are you going? Don’t leave me.”

“I’m not going anywhere! I’m still here! Don’t worry! I’ll be the first person you see when these doors open! I promise!” Yujin shouts.

Being all alone, everything Minjoo hears inside starts to heighten. With the technician starting to pry the doors open, Minjoo hears every bit of it inside and as she grips onto the railings, she starts seeing light coming in from one side of the doors being opened.

With both doors finally open, Minjoo rushes out the door and into the arms of the first person she sees.

Seeing and hearing the other girl sob in her arms, Yujin’s heart shatters as guilt from what she’s just done overcomes her.

As Minjoo didn’t want to let go of their hug, Yujin quickly thanked the staff and technician with the girl still in her embrace.

With everybody gone now, Yujin tightens her hug and starts to pat Minjoo’s back while saying

“It’s okay. Everything’s over now. I’m right here. I promise I’m never leaving you in there alone again.”

Seeing how tense the girl still was, Yujin let Minjoo stay in this position for as long as the girl needed. This was her only way of support. Staying like that for a few minutes, Minjoo starts to relax as her tears stopped flowing out.

Loosening the grip, she had on Yujin, Minjoo pulls back. And as they face each other again, the bodyguard reaches up with her hand to wipe the girl’s tears away.

“Let’s go up to my unit. I’ll contact Eunbi unnie and tell her we’ll be going back later tonight.” Yujin says as she tries to lead Minjoo up to her place.

Fearing the bodyguard was going to take her up the elevator again, Minjoo stands still in her spot. Seeing this Yujin reaches for Minjoo’s hand and grips it tight while saying

“It’s okay. I’m not letting you take the elevators again. We’ll take the stairs.”

Slightly nodding her head, Minjoo lets Yujin take the lead as they slowly venture up the stairs.

 

 

Entering the place, Yujin brings Minjoo to sit on the couch and says

“Rest. Take a nap if you need to. If you’re not comfortable here, then you can go sleep in my room.”

Getting up to go contact Eunbi, Yujin gets stopped as she feels that the hand she’s been holding still hasn’t let go of her yet.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to call Eunbi unnie and tell her the situation. Mrs. Honda and her are probably really worried for you right now.”

“Call her later. Please.”

Seeing the girl still shaken up, Yujin sits back down and as she does so, she gets slightly stunned as Minjoo quickly wraps her arms around Yujin and leans herself onto the bodyguard’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Yujin asks as this was something so out of the ordinary for the girl.

“You told me to rest.”

“But it’ll be more comfortable if you lie down.”

“Okay.”

Pushing the other girl to lay down with her, Minjoo tries her best to snuggle up to the taller girl, leaving Yujin even more stunned. With the both of them laid down on the couch, Minjoo closes her eyes and utters

“If you’re going to ask me why I’m doing this, don’t. Cause I don’t know either. I just…I just want to feel safe right now.”

Starting to doze off, continuous thoughts of why she was doing this runs through her mind. It seems like she had almost forgot her actual job that she was actually assigned to. Minjoo was tasked to protect someone else, but why is she the one in need of protection right now. Her fear might have played a part, but she was able to get over it quite fast last time, but why is today different. Why was it that today she needed the person next to her more than anything else in the world right now?

‘I’m a police officer that can fight off multiple people at the same time, but I can’t even last a few minutes alone in an elevator. Sigh…why am I like this and why do I suddenly feel better when I’m with her?’

This was the last thought she had before dozing off.

However, the person that was still awake could only stay still in confusion. Noticing how Minjoo’s tense body start to relax as the beauty on her shoulders finally starts her nap, Yujin also tries to get comfortable but suddenly lets out a sigh as an old flashback comes back to her.

 

(Flashback)

“Wonyoung-ah, what are you doing here? I told you to stay at the safe house.”

“But I don’t like it there. I want to stay with you.”

“Wonyoung-ah, this isn’t a matter of whether you like it or not. The purpose of you staying there is for you to stay safe. I have to go see my captain today, I can’t take you with me. It’ll be too dangerous.”

“But I only feel safe when I’m with you.”

(End of flashback)

 

“Sigh…when can I get you out of my mind?” Yujin softly whispers as she closes her eyes and tries to erase the memories that are constantly playing in her head.

 

 

With the next day approaching in Jeju, Hitomi wakes up to see that breakfast was already made and was set on the dining table for her. With a note taped onto the cover of the food, Hitomi picked it up to read

“Good Morning Hiichan, I’ve already prepared breakfast for you. I will be in a meeting all day and won’t be back until dinner. I left you some money on the table just in case you need to go buy something. There’s a convenience store a few blocks down the street. Lunch is in the fridge, so heat it up whenever you’re hungry. Enjoy.”

Looking back at the meal, Hitomi lets out a soft smile as she takes a seat and starts to dig in.

 

 

On the other side of the island, Chaewon stares at her watch as she sits in her conference room waiting for all the staff to show up.

“Sigh…where is everyone?”

“What’s the rush Unnie?” Yuri who was sitting next to her asks.

“They’re all teachers. They should know that being tardy is not acceptable.”

“Yes, but it’s not even time yet. You can’t expect everyone to show up early like you. Are you okay today Unnie? The day hasn’t even started yet. Why do you seem so angry already? Did you not have your coffee this morning?”

“I’m fine. Just a little annoyed and yes, I did have my coffee. I even had it earlier than usual today.”

“You did? Why?”

“I had to wake up early to make breakfast and lunch for Hiichan.”

And as if a light bulb has just lit up in her head, Yuri lets out a huge smirk.

“What are you smiling at?” Chaewon asks slightly annoyed at the look the younger girl was giving her.

“Unnie. Did you perhaps want everyone to be early so that we can start the meeting early and end it quicker so you can go home faster?”

“What? What do you mean? Of course I want the meeting to end as fast as possible. Doesn’t everybody?”

“Well yes, everyone wants to go home early but it seems like your intentions are a little bit…different from everyone else’s.”

“Okay, quit it with all this nonsense. I know what you’re thinking and no, it’s not because of Hiichan.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re not in a rush to go home and see her.”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…okay. Then would you like to go grab dinner after our meeting before we head home then? Just the two of us.”

“But I told Hiichan I was going to be back by dinner.”

“But you just said you weren’t in a rush to go back home.”

“But Hiichan doesn’t have food for dinner. Why don’t the three of us just go get dinner together?”

“But the restaurant I want to eat is only a block away from here and they normally close early today. By the time we go pick up Hiichan and head back, the place might be closed already.”

“Then we’ll go to another place near home.”

“But that place is really good.”

“Sigh…then just order it to go if you want it so much!”

“They don’t do take out at that place.” Yuri continues to teasingly say.

“Fine. Then go by yourself. Find a ride home after as well cause I’m leaving right after the meeting.”

“Wow…harsh much.”

And with no other response from the older girl, Yuri could only shake her head as the smile she’s been wearing only grows bigger by the minute. She definitely knew what she was doing, and it seems like her plan to have Chaewon start to show her true colors for the girl at home is starting to work.

 

 

With other teachers starting to come in, all staff start their meeting on the upcoming school year that’s due to start in a little over a month. The meeting also included talks about the upcoming festival the people of the island was planning to hold. The festival would be in celebration of the island reaching another year in age and a lot of the kids from the school were due to have small performances as a voluntary summer project. With the school also opening up a food booth to fundraise for books and new supplies, all teachers put in their earnest hard work to make the best out of everything.

As everything wraps up and the meeting gets adjourned, Chaewon immediately dashes towards the door leaving a frantic Yuri chasing after her scared she was going to have to hitch a ride home from someone else.

“Chaewon unnie! Wait for me!”

Turning around to face the younger girl, Chaewon utters

“What? I thought you wanted to go get dinner first.”

Slightly panting, Yuri responds

“I…I was just kidding. I didn’t think you would actually believe me when I said that.”

“Of course I would. Why would I think you were lying?”

“Sigh…I was just trying to confirm something.”

“Confirm what?”

“Forget it. I’m tired. Let’s just go pick up Hiichan and grab dinner around your house.”

“Good.” Chaewon says as she gets into her car.

Slightly giving the older girl a glare, Yuri quickly hops into the car and both take off to Chaewon’s house.

 

 

Opening the door to her place, Chaewon calls out to the person waiting at home.

“Hiichan…Hiichan…”

“Why are all the lights off Unnie?” Yuri asks as she follows the older girl into the house.”

“She’s probably in her room?” Chaewon replies as she walks towards Hitomi’s room.

After a few knocks on the door, Chaewon starts to grow concerned. Reaching down to grab the doorknob, she notices the door was unlock and quickly opens it to see the room with the lights turned off.

“Hiichan?” Chaewon calls out again as she turns the light on to see the place empty.

Starting to panick from her guest disappearing without a trace, Chaewon scrambles around the whole house before rushing out the door to look for the person.

“Hiichan?!” she calls out as she dashes down the street.

As she lived in more of a quiet part of the island, the streets hardly had anyone walking around making it easier for her to spot the lost girl, but there were no signs of her.

Turning left and right to see if she had missed any spots, Chaewon stops as she starts gasping for air. Not being an athletic person, she had quickly grown tired and if it weren’t for her respiratory system starting to give in, she would have pushed herself even more. Still not giving up, she slows down her pace and tries to scan around for Hitomi.

It wasn’t until she heard someone’s voice calling her that she stopped.

“Chaewon-sshi?”

Turning around to face the owner of the voice, Chaewon freezes. Not really knowing what to do as the person she’s been looking for is right in front of her now, she just stands there starring back at the girl.

“Chaewon-sshi, what are you doing here?”

Then with a sudden surge of energy, Chaewon walks up to the girl before she lets out an unexpected outburst.

“Hiichan. Where have you been?! Why are you outside by yourself at a time like this?! Do you know how dangerous it can be, especially with your condition?! Why did you do this?!”

Shocked by the outbreak of questions she was getting, it was now Hitomi who was frozen in her spot. Trying to figure out why the girl seemed so mad, Hitomi calmly asks

“Chaewon-sshi…are you okay? I just went to –”

“No! I’m not okay. How do you expect me to be okay when I get home to see it empty and not even a message from you saying where you were?”

Seeing the girl show her aggressive side, Hitomi starts to grow scared as she looks down with an expression of guilt.

“I…I’m sorry.”

After letting everything out, Chaewon comes to realize what she’s been saying and as she sees the other girl with her head down apologizing, she also notices what Hitomi was carrying in her hand as well.

Looking at one of the girl’s hands, she sees a bag filled with grocery items.

“What is that?” Chaewon asks as she points to the bag in the girl’s hand.

“I…I went out to buy some stuff to make dinner for you.”

“What?” Chaewon utters as she starts regretting her actions.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know what time you were going to be coming back.”

“Sigh…then why didn’t you leave a note or something saying you were going to be out.”

“I did.”

“You did?”

“Yes, I left a note for you on the dining table.”

And with that said, an expression of embarrassment and guilt completely overtakes Chaewon.

“I…uh…I…” Chaewon stutters as she was now at a loss for words.

“It’s okay Chaewon-sshi. This was my fault. I shouldn’t have left the house like that. I’m sorry. We should head back now; you must be tired.”

And with a defeated look, Hitomi proceeded to walk back to Chaewon’s house with her head hung low as if she was a kid who just got in trouble.

Seeing the girl act like this, Chaewon facepalms herself as she mumbles

“What did I just do?”

Trailing behind the other girl, Chaewon tries to think of a way to apologize to Hitomi, but with no ideas coming up, she has already reached the front of her home.

Entering the home, Chaewon and Hitomi sees Yuri on the couch playing with her phone waiting for the pair.

“Hey Hiichan, you mind if I crash for dinner tonight? Someone didn’t let me try a new dinner spot after the meeting.” Yuri asks as the confused pair continue staring at her.

“So while I was running around looking for Hiichan, you were just chilling here on my couch?” Chaewon asks as she walks up to the seated girl.

“Yep. I saw the note Hiichan left on the table so I thought you guys would be coming back sooner or later.”

And with flames coming out of her eyes, Chaewon pulls the girl out of her seat before saying

“Get out.”

“What? Why? I didn’t eat yet.”

“Get out.”

“But Unnie, I’m hungry.”

“Go find your own food.”

“What? What happened? Why is she so mad Hiichan?” Yuri asks as she turns to face Hitomi.

“It’s my fault. I should have never left.” Hitomi replies in a sulking tone.

Turning back to face the sad girl, Chaewon immediately softens up and says

“No…it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have said all that to you. If I looked around more carefully then all of this wouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry.”

“Wow…that’s a big difference.” Yuri remarks as she notices the immediate tone change.

“You’re not helping.” Chaewon exclaims as she shoots a glare at Yuri.

“Will I get dinner if I help ease the situation?” Yuri cunningly whispers to the older girl.

And with another glare, Chaewon nods her head which causes Yuri to spring into action.

“Hiichan, you said you were going to make dinner. What were you planning to make?” Yuri enthusiastically asks.

“I was planning to make karaage but seeing as how everyone’s in a bad mood because of me, I guess I’ll just be in my room, so I won’t bother anyone anymore.”

“What? No, you’re not a bother. You never were. You said you were going to make karaage right? I’ve never tried it before. Do you mind making it for me to try?” Yuri continues.

“But…”

“If you’re worried about Chaewon unnie, don’t. She’s always like this. You don’t need to care about her. She usually gets emotional when she’s hungry.”

“Not helping Yuri.” Chaewon intervenes in with an angry tone.

“See…she’s already getting frustrated from all the hunger. Come on Hiichan, I’ll help you cook so we can eat faster.”

Getting dragged into the kitchen, Hitomi looks back at Chaewon and sees the adorable glare the girl was giving Yuri. And for the first time since the start of this, she lets out a small smile. This did not go unnoticed as Yuri saw the hidden smile that was starting to form on Hitomi’s face.

 

 

With dinner all ready and set up, all three take their seats with Yuri looking at the two people in front of her with a huge smirk. With both their focus on the plate of food in front of them, Yuri finds a way for the both of them to talk.

As an idea came into her mind, Yuri takes a bite of the food and to her surprise, once the delicious flavor of the chicken hit her tongue, her eyes widen in astonishment.

“Wow…this is so good.” she blurts out as she turns to the cook of the night.

Turning to face the other person on the table, Yuri continues to utter

“Unnie. Try it. It’s so good.”

Hearing this, Chaewon immediately takes a bite of the chicken and with one taste, the girl lets out a smile signaling satisfaction.

“Wow…this is really delicious Hiichan.”

Seeing the two people compliment her cooking, Hitomi lets out a huge sigh of relief thinking she did not let her mother’s cooking lessons go to waste.

“Where did you learn how to cook this?” Yuri asks while she continues to enjoy her meal.

Hearing this question, everyone freezes. Looking up at Hitomi, Yuri immediately notices the look of shock on the former’s face and quickly apologizes.

“Hiichan. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. I forgot…you still don’t remember.”

“I-It’s okay. I guess I had a great teacher that taught me well to the point where I couldn’t forget how to make it.” Hitomi responds back with a light smile.

Seeing this, Yuri lets out a sigh of relief.

Trying to change the topic, Yuri continues with another question.

“Hiichan…so now that you’ve been out for a little bit. How’s the island?”

“It’s great. It’s a lot more peaceful than I thought. All the sceneries and everything is really beautiful.”

“That’s great to hear. I’m glad you’re enjoying this place. I know I’m not the owner of this house but stay as long as you like okay?”

“Uh…” Hitomi utters as she wasn’t sure how exactly to respond to this.

“I agree.” a voice intervenes in that catches the attention of both girls talking.

With both Hitomi and Yuri turned to face her, Chaewon continues

“As the owner of this house and the person that brought you here, if worse comes to worse and you really don’t remember anything, I am more than happy to have you living here with me...permanently.”

Hearing this statement, Hitomi felt confused. The past few days she’s been trying to adjust to the new environment on top of having to fake a memory loss, but now that she’s had time by herself and with the warm welcome everyone’s been giving her, it seems like she’s actually enjoying the place more than she could ever imagine. It’s to a point where she can actually see herself living there permanently. However, there remained a few things that still linger on her mind that is making her question all these decisions again.

One was her memory loss. How was she going to break it to the both of them that she’s been faking everything all along? And the other was her mother. How was she going to leave her mother to face all the problems alone, especially when there was no way of contact with the latter. During the time Hitomi went out to buy groceries, the girl tried her best to find a place that would let her use their phone, but to no avail, she couldn’t find any.

With these thoughts still running through her mind, Hitomi could only let out a smile as she nods her head at both people in front of her before finishing up her meal.

 

 

With Yuri back at her place, this leaves Chaewon and Hitomi alone again. Both being awkward from what happened earlier on in the night, they decided to head to bed early.

Walking out of her room to use the restroom, Chaewon exits the restroom to hear a person calling for help. Knowing where this was coming from, she dashes to Hitomi’s room. Opening the door while rushing in, Chaewon sees Hitomi with her eyes closed scrambling in bed with her hands flailing in the air. Walking up to the sleeping girl, Chaewon tries to wake the girl up.

“Hiichan…Hii–”

And as she reaches over to grab Hitomi’s hand and tap the girl’s shoulder, Hitomi pulls the girl down into bed with her.

“Mom! Help! Mom! No! Don’t go!” Hiichan screams out as she hugs the other girl in her sleep thinking it was her mother.

Shocked from what just happened, Chaewon moves to the side and unknowingly hugs Hitomi back. Trying to calm the girl down, she tightens her embrace and pats the girl’s head.

With Hitomi starting to calm down, Chaewon notices how the girl’s mumbles have started to die down too. But as they were still in each other’s embrace, she loosens her hold and tries to lightly shake the other girl awake causing Hitomi to get scared again. And with the girl being even more frantic, Chaewon pulls her back into a tight hug and starts calling the girl’s name out loudly.

“Hiichan! Hiichan!”

As Chaewon continues to do all this, Hitomi opens her eyes in fear to hear the former saying

“Hiichan. It’s okay. I’m right here, it was just a nightmare.”

Taking in deep breaths, Hitomi comes back to her senses to notice she was rested on someone’s shoulder with her arms around the person’s waist. Looking up to see Chaewon’s face literally inches away, Hitomi jolts up to sit on the bed.

“Chaewon-sshi…how did you get here?”

“I heard you screaming for help, so I came to check up on you and tried waking you up but then…umm…somehow we ended up like this.” Chaewon answers as she also sits up.

“I’m so sorry Chaewon-sshi. I guess I was having a bad dream, so I reached out to grab for whatever I could for protection.”

“I-It’s okay. I understand.”

“Okay…then I won’t bother you anymore. You should head back to bed now. I remember you saying you have another meeting to attend to tomorrow, right? I think I’ve kept you up for long enough.”

“Are you going to be okay though? What if you have another nightmare again?”

“I-I’ll manage.”

“Hmm…alright then. But before I go, can I ask you a quick question?”

“S-Sure?”

“How comfortable are you sleeping with someone else in bed?”

“Umm…I guess I’m okay? As long as it’s not a random stranger.”

“I’ll take that as a yes then.”

And with no other response, Chaewon drops back down into bed and proceeds to pull the blanket over her body.

Seeing this, Hitomi gives the owner of the house a questioning look.

“I’m a bit too lazy to walk back to my room right now. So, let me borrow your room for tonight.” Chaewon says as she notices the look the other girl was giving her.

“Should we switch rooms then so that you’ll be more comfortable?”

Turning around to face the door, Hitomi tries to remove the blanket off of herself but was met with Chaewon pulling her back into bed.

“It’s okay. This is your room remember. Why would you have to be the one to leave? Stay. I’ve already gotten comfortable, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

“I…uh…” Hitomi continues to utter random words as her mind has turned completely blank.

“Plus, this could be used as a precaution just in case you have another nightmare. I can help wake you up from it.”

“But wouldn’t this be a bother to you.”

Letting out a sigh, Chaewon pulls Hitomi back into a hug to say

“If you don’t stop worrying about me, we’ll stay like this the whole night.”

“But Chaewon-sshi –”

“I am a person of my words Hiichan. So, if you don’t want to be hugged by me the whole night, you should stop caring about whether I’ll be okay or not and get some rest. Like you said, I have a meeting early tomorrow, I need my sleep too. So please, let me have my rest here.”

And with that heard, Hitomi kept closed. Without thinking anything, the both of them got comfortable in each other’s arms and as they slowly dozed off, they continued to stay like that the entire night without any complaints.

 

 

On the other side of the story, another pair has just woken up from their short nap. Waking up to see herself in the arms of the tall puppy, Minjoo looks around to notice her surroundings. Remembering all the past events that just happened hours ago, she sits up and tries to shake off the memories that are replaying in her mind.

In doing so, she also wakes up the person next to her.

“Princess?” Yujin calls out, as she sits up next to Minjoo.

“Are you feeling better now?” the bodyguard continues to ask.

And as Minjoo nods her head, Yujin looks at the time to notice that it was already early on in the night.

Getting up from the couch, Yujin grabs her phone to notice all the miss calls and messages that have been coming in nonstop from one person.

Not wanting to get yelled at, Yujin sends a message about the current whereabouts of herself and Minjoo before turning back to face the latter to ask

“Are you going to be okay to travel back?”

And with another nod, Yujin grabs her bag that she had initially set down when she got to the place and proceeds to take Minjoo by the hand to head for the door.

“Let’s head back now then.”

“W-Wait…right now?” Minjoo asks as she stops the girl from exiting the door.

“Yes, right now would be the perfect time. There’s no traffic and we’ve already had some sleep so I should be okay to drive the whole way there without any stops.”

“But…but…we would have to…”

“We’ll take the stairs.”

“What?”

“I’m not letting you take the elevator again. Not right now.”

With no other response, Yujin grabs Minjoo by the hand and interlock their fingers before walking out of the place.

Taking their time to walk down the building, both stayed quiet and only focused on reaching the first floor. While walking down, Minjoo glances down at both hands that have not parted and notices how tightly Yujin was holding onto her. Letting out a shy smile, she suddenly feels a sense of safeness.

Being a police officer, her job was to protect the citizens of her country, but it was nice knowing that when she needed to be protected, there was someone there to fulfill that job.

 

 

Walking down twelve flights of stairs definitely put a toll on the both of them but as they both constantly worked out because of their jobs, both girls were still okay to travel back to the safe house. With Yujin driving back, she looks at the time and suddenly remembers they haven’t eaten anything yet since everything’s happened and as a certain memory comes into her mind, she makes a slight detour before heading to their destination.

“Where are we?” Minjoo asks as she notices Yujin turn into a parking area by the streets.

“Daejeon night market. We haven’t eaten yet, I figured we should grab some food before heading back.” Yujin answers as she gets out of the car.

Following Yujin down the streets filled with food vendors, Minjoo’s appetite automatically appears. Going from stall to stall they both fill themselves up with as much food as their hearts desire.

After finding a place to sit down and rest from all the food they just ate, Yujin grabs the both of them something to drink and as they finally have some time to talk to each other, Minjoo starts the conversation.

“About what happened this morning with Eunbi-sshi. Please don’t blame her for telling me those stuff. She really wasn’t going to reveal anything at all, but I forced her into it. It was all my fault.”

“Sigh…Then why didn’t you just come and ask me?”

“Do you really think you would answer all my questions after all that happened yesterday?” Minjoo retorts back with a hint of anger in her tone.

“Maybe…” Yujin answers back as she looks down.

And with a glare from Minjoo, Yujin changes her answer to

“No…”

“Exactly.”

“Okay fine. Then what questions did you have? Why are you so curious about me?”

“Because you said you’re tasked to protect the heir to the throne of a nearby country. I need to be sure you’re actually who you say you are and are fit for the job.”

“What? Just this morning you didn’t let me quit and now you want to see if I’m fit for the job?”

“Sigh…this is more complicated than you think, okay? I just wanted to know who that person’s name you blurted out was and now that I know she has a part in you quitting your job, I want to know why.”

Hearing this, Yujin grew silent as her expression starts to show sorrow. Noticing this, Minjoo quickly says

“You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to and I promise I won’t push you anymore, but I really do think this is something I should know considering you are my bodyguard.”

Minjoo takes a scan at Yujin’s face and tries to read the facial expressions of the girl in front of her. It was obvious she was extremely curious of what happened in the past, but this was also something she felt like she needed to find out as this could maybe prove whether Yujin really is the person she’s claiming to be.

Taking a moment to process everything, Yujin looks away and slightly drops her head down. Seeing this Minjoo understands that her bodyguard was probably having a hard time.

“Okay, if you’re not ready then –”

“I was tasked to protect her.”

“What?”

“My ex-girlfriend. The name I blurted out was my ex-girlfriend, Jang Wonyoung. The last mission before I quit was to protect her and I…I failed. I couldn’t protect the person I love.”

With realization coming in, Minjoo heart drops.

“Don’t tell me she…she’s –”

“She died because of me. She died protecting me.” Yujin finally gives the answer that made Minjoo understand everything.

And with another moment of silence, Yujin makes another decision. The decision to reveal everything.

 

(Flashback)

“Wonyoung-ah…why are you here again? Why aren’t you at the safe house with Eunbi unnie?”

“I was worried for you, so I snuck out of the house without Eunbi unnie knowing and followed you to the police station. I saw you guys all leaving the place, so I followed your cars here.”

“Why are you following me? You know how dangerous this is.”

“It’s because I know how dangerous it is, that’s why I’m here.”

“Wonyoung-ah, my team is going in to arrest those people right now. You shouldn’t be here.”

“You shouldn’t be here too. Don’t think I didn’t know you offered to come help them. Your job is to be my bodyguard, not come here to join your team.”

“So you want me to just sit back and let them take this situation on all by themselves. I can’t do that. They need me here as well.”

“But the people in your team are more than capable of handling this themselves. Please let’s just leave. I don’t want you to be here. I just have a bad feeling about this.”

“Sigh…Wonyoung-ah I can’t. I’ve already agreed to everything. And I was the one who came up with the overall plan, I have to be here. Look, I’ll ask someone to take you back. Once all this is done, I’ll meet you at the safe house, okay?”

“No, I’m not leaving here without you.”

“Wonyoung-ah don’t be like this with me.”

“Please just let me stay here with you. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“But –”

“I promise I won’t bother you at all. If you want, I’ll even wait in the car so I’m out of everyone’s sight. But please just let me stay here.”

Seeing how stubborn the girl in front of her was being, Yujin lets out another sigh as she makes a tough decision.

“Okay. I’ll let you stay, but you have to wait in the car. I’ll have someone stay with you just in case. But no matter what, don’t step out of the car at all until everything is over. Understand?”

“Understood.” Wonyoung says as she goes into hug Yujin and while in the embrace, she whispers one last thing to Yujin.

“Please stay safe and promise me you’ll come back.”

Pulling away from the hug, Yujin looks into her girlfriend’s eyes before saying

“I promise. Once all this is over, we’ll go meet your father together.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

With those final words said, Yujin turns around to look for one of her subordinates. Calling out to them, she orders them to take Wonyoung to one of the cars parked not too far off from the scene and stay there with her until everything is over.

Focusing her attention back on her team who was going over the plans of how they were going to charge in and arrest the bad guys, Yujin ignores the constant look of worry Wonyoung was giving her as she was walking towards the car.

With everything all planned out, Yujin and her team were going to surround and ambush the bad guys in the warehouse they were currently hiding in. Throughout the week, her team had managed to arrest most of the people that were threatening Wonyoung’s father, causing the few people left to go into hiding. And now it’s time to catch the final boss.

And that’s exactly how everything went. Everyone in the warehouse was arrested including the big boss or at least that’s what everyone thought. Walking out of the warehouse, Yujin commends everyone for their hard work and as she was walking towards the car Wonyoung was in, she sees the girl opening the door and walk towards her with a smile. When suddenly…

“Yujin-ah! Watch out!”

Bang!

With the sound of a loud gunshot, all officers try to locate the person who shot it.

After going in to capture the bad guys, everyone was so focused on arresting the final boss, that they all hadn’t notice that one of the boss’s subordinates had manage to sneak away. With rage still overflowing throughout his body, instead of running away, the subordinate tries his best to take down anyone he can. And with Yujin being the person in charge, he takes his shot.

Not long after the first gunshot, another gunshot was heard as all officers manage to locate the person and landed a head shot on them ending everything once and for all, but it was still too late.

“W-Wonyoung-ah…”

After seeing someone aim their gun at her girlfriend, the first instinct Wonyoung had was to protect Yujin and that’s exactly what she did. Running up to tackle Yujin down onto the ground, Wonyoung was still unable to avoid the bullet.

With the both of them on the ground, Yujin quickly sits up to check on Wonyoung and immediately notices the gunshot on her girlfriend’s stomach.

“No…no…please…Wonyoung…no.” Yujin says as she has Wonyoung in her arms.

With tears starting to fill her eyes, she looks around to see everyone in her team look at her and Wonyoung.

“What are you guys doing?! Call an ambulance! Fast!”

Looking back down at her girlfriend, Yujin’s heart tightens as she sees the life that was slowly draining away from her girlfriend.

“No…Wonyoung-ah…stay with me…please…please…”

Looking at her girlfriend crying in front of her, Wonyoung lets out a small smile and reaches up to caress Yujin’s face before mouthing the final words…I’m glad you’re safe, I love you.”

(End of flashback)

 

“The ambulance arrived shortly after, but it was too late. She had lost too much blood and…”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to say anymore.”

“Once her father found out, he kept me away from saying a last goodbye to her. I couldn’t do anything at all after that. I lost focus in life and pretty much wanted to be left alone. I tried deleting all memories of her, but I couldn’t get all that happened out of my mind, so against my captain’s wishes, I quit my job.”

Silence overcame the both of them as hearing this tossed all the curiosity Minjoo had out the window. The only thing Minjoo was feeling now was guilt.

“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked this.” Minjoo frantically says as she notices the tears that were starting to form in Yujin’s eyes.

“No, this is something you should know. I shouldn’t have kept it from you especially since I am ordered to protect you right now. Hearing this now, if you feel like I am not fit for this job them I am willing to –”

“Why?”

“What?” Yujin utters as she starts getting confused.

“Look I don’t know how everything in the past was, but I do know you are doing a great job right now. So, why are you giving up so easily?”

And as Yujin was sitting in silence, Minjoo continues.

“You failed your job, but all that was not entirely your fault. The mistake was huge. A life was lost, and it shouldn’t have happened, but it already did. There’s nothing you can do to fix it now. But it doesn’t mean you should stop everything because of it. Take a break if you need to. But don’t just quit because you’re scared you’re going to mess up again. Because you will mess up again. There’s no one that can be perfect all the way through. Mistakes will happen whether big or small, it’s only a matter of how you deal with it. It’s time for you to finally move on.”

“B-But how am I supposed to protect someone, when I couldn’t even protect the person I love.”

“Well, you’re protecting me now, aren’t you? Isn’t me sitting here right now in front of you enough to prove that you’re doing a good job. Especially with the events that happened the first night we met.”

“I…I guess?”

“Please know that you’re doing a great job Yujin-sshi. I’ll admit, I feel safe when I’m with you. Well…except the time when you left me alone to suffer in an elevator for almost an hour. Other than that, and the part where you were ignoring me the whole day yesterday, you’ve been doing great.” Minjoo teasingly says as she tries to put a smile to Yujin’s face.

And it seems like it did its job, as Yujin lets out a grin and shakes her head at what she just heard.

“Seeing as you’re able to talk about the elevator now, I guess you’re back to normal.” Yujin responds back.

“I mean, I don’t think I’ll be able to take another elevator for a while, but yes I’m okay now.”

“That’s good to hear. Thank you for the pep talk then.”

“Your welcome and thank you for sharing your story with me. I promise I won’t bug you about it again, but I do have one last question about this.”

“What is it?”

“When we talked last night, what triggered you to say her name?”

Letting out a deep breath, Yujin takes a few seconds to gather her thoughts before answering

“When I was first assigned the mission, I wasn’t very fond of her. She knew how annoyed I was of her, so she kept teasing me until one day, I kind of blew up on her. I guess she didn’t expect me to yell at her, so seeing that for the first time, she started crying and asked me ‘Do you hate me that much?’.”

“That was the question I asked you yesterday.”

“Yes, that question was the thing that got me thinking of her again. It was the question that got me and her together.”

“It was?”

“Yes. When I saw her crying that day, I chased after her and when I caught up to her, this was the only question she kept asking me. I was sort of caught off guard, so I pulled her into a hug and when she finally calmed down, I apologized. After that, I started talking to her more nicely. I guess you can say, I softened up to her and well we started dating not too long after.”

Telling the story of how she got together with Wonyoung put a smile to Yujin’s face again, but the smile starts to fade as she finishes up her answer.

“This question was something she would always say whenever she gets mad at me. Every time we fought, it was something she used to get me to give in to her, because she knew I couldn’t stay mad at her for long. It was like a habit we developed over time in our relationship. It may seem stupid to outsiders, but for us it was a way to remind us of how we got together.”

“And when I asked you it yesterday, your reflex to it kicked in.”

Nodding her head, Yujin looks at Minjoo before saying

“Yes, even after a year. I guess it has become something that has been engrained in me.”

Hearing this, Minjoo could only nod her head in acknowledgement.

With silence overcoming again, Yujin stands up to say

“Now that I’ve answered everything, I hope you don’t bring this up again.”

“I promise I won’t.”

“Then let’s go. It’s getting late.”

 

 

Reaching the front of the safe house, Yujin notices the lights to the living room still on. Taking in a deep breath, she prepares for the storm that is about to head her way.

Walking into the house, the first thing Yujin and Minjoo hear is

“Ahn Yujin!”

Freezing in their spots, Yujin turns to face the owner of the voice.

“Eunbi unnie…”

“Where have you been?! Why haven’t you answered my calls?”

“I…um…I –”

“I was the one who told her not to pick up the calls.” Minjoo says as she steps into help Yujin out of the situation.

“Princess…how did you end up with Yujin? I’ve been looking all over the place for you. Mrs. Honda has been so worried about you.”

“I’m sorry Eunbi-sshi. I wanted to explain to Yujin-sshi everything that happened this morning. I snuck into her car without anyone noticing. Yujin-sshi didn’t even notice me until we got to Seoul.”

“Sigh…but Yujin should have told me after she found out. This is something serious. You are still in danger Princess; we can’t risk you going out on your own like that.”

“But I wasn’t by myself. I had Yujin-sshi with me the whole entire time.”

“Still –”

“Eunbi-sshi. Please, just let this go. It was all my fault. My curiosity caused everything to be like this.”

“This was not your fault Princess. I was the one that chose to reveal those things to you.”

“Then let’s all just take the fault and let everything go. Please.”

Hearing this from Minjoo, Yujin and Eunbi looks at each other before nodding their heads.

However, this night wasn’t going to end so easily. There’s still something Yujin and Minjoo needed to know.

“Yujin-ah…Princess…there’s something I have to tell you guys.”

“What is it, Unnie?”

“The day for the pickup of the heir…it’s been moved up.”

“What?!” Yujin and Minjoo utters in unison.

“That’s not all.” Eunbi continues

“The whole family is coming to pick you up, Princess.”

With both pairs of eyes bulging out from shock, Yujin and Minjoo look at each other before Yujin starts to ask

“So when are they coming?”

“In exactly one week.”

“What?!” Yujin and Minjoo says again.

Hearing this, Minjoo starts to panic as this means the time span she has to look for Hitomi has now dropped.

“But why did they move it up?” Minjoo asks.

“The royal family are planning to take a vacation here in Korea before they head back to your country. We’ll be working with the same police team that was tasked to protect the princess.”

“Wait, why do they need us if the police are going to be taking care of them.” Yujin suddenly asks.

“I don’t know. Sojung just requested us to be their bodyguards during the time they’re here. From what I heard; the princess’s grandmother wasn’t all too happy with the police after the attack that happened a few days ago. I guess she just wants us to be there just in case. I’ve already told Mrs. Honda all of this, so I believe you should talk to your mother about this as well Princess. It seems like she was a bit frantic finding all this out. It took me a while before I convinced her to go to bed.”

“Okay. I will. Thank you Eunbi-sshi.” Minjoo replies.

“Alright, it’s already late. I’m going to head to bed now, you both should too. We’ll talk again tomorrow. Goodnight.”

With all of them exchanging their final greetings for the night, Eunbi and Minjoo head to their rooms which were upstairs while Yujin headed to her usual spot in the backyard.

Sitting alone in the middle of the cold night, she brings her phone out and pulls the same picture with Wonyoung up.

“Is that her?” a voice was heard from behind.

Turning around, Yujin sees Minjoo looking down at the picture displayed on her phone, before taking a seat next to her.

“Why haven’t you gone to bed yet?” Yujin asks.

“I’m not that sleepy yet. I looked out the window and saw you sitting here, so I thought you’d want some company.”

“Thanks, but I’m okay.”

“So…my question?”

Looking back down at her phone, Yujin responds

“Yes, this is her. This is my ex-girlfriend.”

“She’s really pretty.”

“Not only was she pretty, she was also so caring towards me as well. She didn’t like how I was eating junk food all the time, so she tried to cook for me. She doesn’t even know how to, but she would wake up every morning to cook for me. It took a while for her to get better, but I remember how happy she was when I finally gave her my first genuine compliment.”

“She must have really loved you…”

“She did and I love her a lot too, too bad I couldn’t show it to her enough.”

“I’m sure wherever she is, she can sense that you still miss her.”

“I can only hope so.” Yujin says as she continually stares at the picture with an expression of sorrow.

Seeing the other girl look so longingly at her phone, Minjoo’s guilt starts to grow even more. She knows she shouldn’t have gotten curious about Yujin’s past. She knows she shouldn’t have gotten curious about the girl in front of her. She knows the kiss that happened between them meant nothing to the other girl.

“I-I’m going to head to bed now. You should too Yujin-sshi.”

Standing up to head back inside, Minjoo was stopped when she felt a hand grab onto hers.

“Thank you for keeping me company Princess and thank you for bringing me back to my senses. I think it’s finally time for me to move past this.”

And with a smile, Minjoo says

“Minjoo.”

“What?” Yujin utters looking confused.

“If you really are thankful then please just call me by Minjoo. I don’t really like it when you guys call me Princess. It just sounds weird to me.”

“But wouldn’t that be a little disrespectful. That is your title.”

“Oh please. After what we’ve been through you’ve been more than disrespectful to me. This is nothing compared to that.”

Letting out a chuckle, Yujin stands up to say

“Haha…I’m sorry about all that.”

“It’s okay, I probably wasn’t in the best behavior towards you as well.”

“It’s alright. I promise I’ll try to behave from now on.”

“And?”

“And I won’t call you Princess anymore…Minjoo-sshi.”

With their hands still held together, Minjoo brings her other free hand up to gently caress Yujin’s head before saying

“Good Puppy.”

Feeling the touch, the other girl was giving her, Yujin’s smile starts to fade as an indescribable feeling of warmth emerges throughout her body.

After realization hits her of what she’s just done, Minjoo slightly freezes and looks at her hand that was still on the bodyguard’s head. Quickly pulling it back she utters

“I-I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that.”

“I-It’s okay. We should head back in now.”

After saying that, the both of them looked away from each other and walked inside and as Yujin’s room was on the first floor, they both stopped in front of her room before Minjoo says

“Thank you and sorry again for today.”

“Your welcome and sorry for what happened in Seoul as well. Hopefully taking you to the night market made you feel better.”

“It did. Seeing all the food and being in an open space was a good way for me to forget about what happened. It’s been a while since I came back to Daejeon, so it was nice to go to the night markets again. Thank you for this.”

“You’ve been to the night markets here before?” Yujin suddenly asks as something in Minjoo’s statement seemed odd.

“Yes, I have. When I was little, my mom and dad use to love taking me to the night markets here in Daejeon.”

Hearing this, Yujin’s suspicions on the fake princess start.

 

(Flashback)

“Mrs. Honda…Have you and your daughter ever been to the night markets in Daejeon before?”

“Huh? No…We haven’t. This is actually my first time in Daejeon.”

(End of flashback)

 

‘I thought they never came here before.’ Yujin thought as she wonders why both statements from mother and daughter don’t match up.

“Yujin-sshi…”

Hearing her name being called, Yujin come back to her senses and faces the person calling her.

“Yes?”

“I’m going to head to bed now.”

“Okay. Goodnight Minjoo-sshi.”

However, as Minjoo tries to walk away, she stops in her tracks and continues to stand in front of Yujin’s room causing the latter to look at her puzzled.

“Are you not going to head up, Minjoo-sshi?”

“Um…I am but I’m going to be needing my hand back.”

Hearing this, Yujin immediately looks down and sees that their hands were still clasped together, and it seems like Minjoo didn’t even know too until she was about to walk away.

“Oh…Uh…yea. I’m sorry.” Yujin replies as she let’s go of the other girl’s hand.

Finally separating from each other, both head into their rooms with smiles that couldn’t be explained or contained.

 

 

With the next morning approaching, Yujin wakes up to her morning jogs and while on her run, a certain memory runs through her mind.

“This is actually my first time in Daejeon.”

“When I was little, my mom and dad use to love taking me to the night markets here in Daejeon.”

Stopping to take a break, Yujin mumbles to herself.

“Why aren’t their statements matching?”

With curiosity starting to grow about this topic, she senses there is something more that she doesn’t know about both mother and daughter that’s being kept hidden.

 

 

Waking up early in the morning, the first thing Minjoo does is head to Mrs. Honda’s room to explain all the recent happenings.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Come in.”

Opening the door to Mrs. Honda’s room, Minjoo walks in before handing something over to the older lady.

“Mrs. Honda, this is the pendant you asked me to retrieve the other day. I’m sorry I forgot to give it to you.”

Reaching over to grab the pendant, Mrs. Honda pushes the item back into Minjoo’s hand before replying

“Thank you Minjoo, but I think you should keep it for now. If the royal family is moving the pickup date up, I think its best if you keep it just as a precaution.”

Noticing how tired the older lady looks, Minjoo grows worried.

“Mrs. Honda, I know you’re worried about Hiichan, but I promise you my team is doing everything to the best of their ability to find her right now.”

“I know Minjoo…I know…”

“Then please rest assure. We will bring her back soon.”

And as Minjoo tries her best to comfort Mrs. Honda, they both hear someone knocking on the door.

“Come in.” Mrs. Honda utters.

“Princess? Mrs. Honda?”

“Yes, Eunbi-sshi.”

“The Korean police are here to see you guys.”

“The police? How did they know we’re here?” Minjoo asks as she has never told anyone in her team about her recent whereabouts.

“I was the one that called them here. With everything getting pushed up and the royal family coming here, I wanted to talk to the police about how we were going to ensure everyone’s safety. It’s better if we all stay on the same page.”

Saying those words, Eunbi leads the both of them down to meet a familiar person.

“Capt–…I mean Chaeyeon-sshi.”

Almost slipping up, Minjoo quickly corrects herself before Eunbi notices.

Reading the situation, Chaeyeon stands up to greet Mrs. Honda and Minjoo as if she they were of royal status.

“Mrs. Honda…Princess.” she says as she bows and signals the both of them to continue with the act.

“Um…Eunbi-sshi, where’s Yujin-sshi? I think it’ll be better if she was here with us.” Minjoo utters as she tries to find a way for Eunbi to leave the room first.

“She went out to do her morning exercise. I already called her, she’s heading back right now and should be here soon.”

“Then Eunbi-sshi, since we have time. Do you mind helping me with something?” Mrs. Honda asks as she can sense what Minjoo was trying to do.

“Sure…how can I help you Mrs. Honda?”

“Do you mind helping me in the kitchen? I want to make breakfast for everyone.”

“Huh? But Yujin should be back any minute now. If anything, I can cook for you guys myself.”

“It’s alright. I prefer to be the one to do it. Seeing as how you guys have been ordering so much take out, I’m assuming you guys don’t cook often. I think it’s time for you guys to eat healthy for once, considering you guys will be needing a lot of energy.”

“But you are our guests. It wouldn’t be right for you to do all this yourself.”

“It’s okay, I can let Minjoo help ag–”

“NO!”

With everyone staring at her from the response she just gave, Eunbi tries her best to recompose herself.

“Uh…I mean. The princess is our guest too, it wouldn’t be right to have you guys cook for us again.”

“I don’t mind Eunbi-sshi. It was quite fun last time.” Minjoo says as she tries to push Eunbi to leave.

“Um…you know what, your right Mrs. Honda. I think it’ll be better if I come help you instead.”

Finally having Eunbi agreeing to this, Mrs. Honda also continues to ask

“But I think we’re going to have to go out to buy ingredients, there isn’t enough stuff stocked up here.”

“Sure, there’s a market nearby, we can head there right now. It shouldn’t take that long.” Eunbi says as she tries to do whatever she can to not have Minjoo cook again.

And as they both take their leave, Minjoo and Chaeyeon can finally relax their stance.

“Captain, have you gotten any news regarding the Princess?” Minjoo quickly asks as she fears Yujin was going to come back soon as well.

“Yes, we have. I’ve kept in touch with their neighbor and it seems like the Princess is confirmed to be with the neighbor’s sister.”

“Then did you manage to find her location?”

“No. That’s the thing, her neighbor managed to contact the Princess but was unable to find out where she is.”

“Then with everything moved up like this, how are we going to find her?”

“Right now, I’m having people looking all over Jeju for her. But with so many small islands surrounding the place, it might take a while.”

And with silence from her subordinate, Chaeyeon continues to say

“But I did look into Yujin-sshi and Eunbi-sshi.”

“Is there anything out of the ordinary with them?” Minjoo replies in a way that seems like she already knows the both of them to be trustworthy people.

“No. Eunbi-sshi is close friends with a relative of the princess. I’ve confirmed it with one of the family members. As for Yujin-sshi, I had Hyewon ask one of her friends that worked for the same department Yujin-sshi claimed to be in. And it’s true, she was in the force before. Her last job was to protect the daughter of a well-known businessman, but something went wrong and the daughter ended up passing away. I guess she felt guilty from that, so she quit.”

Noticing Minjoo not showing any signs of shock, Chaeyeon asks

“You don’t seem surprised about this.”

“It’s because I’m not. I’ve been with them for a couple of days now. They don’t seem like people that would come and trick us. As for Yujin-sshi, she told me about her last mission yesterday.”

“She has?”

“Yes, and I think…I think we should tell them who I actually am Captain.”

Looking away to think about Minjoo’s suggestion, Chaeyeon looks back at the former before saying

“I know you don’t want to keep all this hidden from them anymore, but Minjoo-yah. You have to understand the less people that know about this, the better.”

“But we know we can trust them Captain. They might even be able to help us locate the actual princess too.”

“I understand but I don’t want anyone else to know about this yet. There’s just too much to risk right now. Having everyone think you’re the princess will be better since it can distract people away from the real princess when she returns. This will be safer for her in the end and that is our priority.”

“But the royal family is going to be here in less than a week now. What’s going to happen if we don’t find her?”

“If worse comes to worse, Minjoo. You’re going to have to continue playing the Princess when the family comes to pick her up.”

 

 

Opening her eyes to the sun shining through her windows, Hitomi looks around to see herself alone in her room. It seems that Chaewon had already left for her meeting leaving Hitomi at home alone again. Walking out of the room, she sees the same setting she saw yesterday on the dining table. With food prepped for her and some money on the table, Hitomi picks up the note that was written for her and reads

“Good morning Hiichan. Breakfast and lunch are all done for you. Money’s on the table just in case you need to buy anything, and I left my phone here for you as well. I’ll be with Yuri the whole day again so if you need to contact me you can just call Yuri’s phone. I’ll be back by dinner. Enjoy.”

And with a smile to her face, Hitomi picks up the phone that was left for her and suddenly remembers something. Rushing back to her room to grab the phone number that Chaewon’s sister gave her, she quickly dials the number and hits call.

Waiting anxiously for the person to pick up, Hitomi takes in deep breaths to calm herself down. And finally, she hears

“Hello. This is Commanding Chief Officer Lee Chaeyeon speaking.”

“Hello Chaeyeon-sshi? M-My name is Honda Hitomi. I believe you know who I am.”

On the other side of the line, Chaeyeon hearing this immediately looks at Minjoo before uttering

“Princess? Is this really Princess Hitomi?”

Rushing over to Chaeyeon’s side, Minjoo asks for the phone from Chaeyeon

“Captain, may I?”

Handing over the phone, Chaeyeon sees Minjoo continuing the conversation

“Hiichan? Is that really you?”

“Minjoo-yah…it’s really me.”

And as if a huge amount of weight having been lifted off her shoulders, Minjoo lets out a relieving sigh before dropping down to sit on the couch.

“Hiichan. Are you okay? Where have you been? Do you know how hard we’ve been trying to find you?”

“I’m okay Minjoo. I’m sorry for all this. I don’t have a phone on me, so I didn’t know how I was going to contact you guys.”

“It’s okay. The most important thing right now is that you’re safe. Do you know where you are right now Hiichan? I’ll have someone come pick you up right away.”

“I do, but…”

“Is something wrong, Hiichan?”

“I…I don’t think I’m ready to go back yet.”

“What? Hiichan? What are you talking about? Don’t you want to come back home?”

“I do, but not if it’s going to mean I have to become a princess.”

“So, you know.”

“Yes, I found out through the news. I don’t know what all this is Minjoo, but if me going back means I have to become someone I don’t want to be then; I don’t want to go back. The only reason why I’m calling now is because I want to talk to my mother. I want to make sure she’s okay.”

“Hiichan, your mother is okay, but please come back. You can’t run away from this forever. The royal family is going to be arriving here earlier than planned. Hiichan, you have to come back now.”

Suddenly remembering something, Chaeyeon mouths the words

“Minjoo-yah…try to stall for as long as you can. The team is currently outside, I’ll have Sakura come in with a tracker. We can locate her using the signal from the phone.”

And with a nod, Minjoo tries to continue her conversation.

“Hiichan, I know this is a lot to take in, but please your mother has been so worried about you.”

“Then tell her I’m okay. I promise I’ll come back when I’m ready, but not right now.”

“Hiichan. You always said you never knew anything about your father’s family. You always wondered who they were. This is the chance for you to find out. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for, isn’t it?”

“No. It’s not. If this is the reason why my father kept everything away from me then, I prefer to leave all this hidden. I rather not know anything.”

With Sakura and Chaeyeon entering the house, the former quickly sets up the equipment for the job.

“Then what about your mother. How do you think your mother is feeling right now? Do you how worried she is for you? She’s been so stressed thinking about you and wondering if you’re okay or not. If you don’t want to come back because of your duties for your father’s country then, come back for your mother.”

Hearing Minjoo say this over the phone, Hitomi pauses as continuous thoughts of her mother come to her mind.

“I…I…I’m sorry Minjoo. But I’m just not ready. Please tell my mom, I’m okay and that I love her. I’ll try to call again if I get the chance.”

Sensing that tears were starting to form, Hitomi quickly hangs up the call without waiting for any other response from Minjoo.

“Hiichan!” Minjoo shouts out as she hears the line cut out.

Trying to call the number back, Minjoo notices all the calls going to voicemail.

Giving up, she looks over to Sakura and Chaeyeon to ask

“Did you guys get anything?”

Nodding her head, Sakura answers

“We got a location. Udo island in Jeju.”

With a sigh of relief, Chaeyeon quickly orders

“Send people over there now. We have to bring her back before the royal family gets here.”

“Wait Captain.” Minjoo utters.

“What is it, Minjoo?”

“I…I want to be the one to talk to her. Is it okay, if I were the one to go?”

“What? Minjoo, you can’t right now. You know why.”

“But I don’t think she’s going to listen to anyone that easy. If anything, she might even run away if we have someone go get her. Maybe if I go, I can convince her to come back.”

Seeing how determined her team member was, Chaeyeon decides to trust her team member.

“Okay, I’ll let you do it. But we’re going to have to do everything right. I’m not letting you go there without a plan.”

“It’s okay Captain. I think I have one.” Sakura intervenes.

And with a nod, Sakura lets out a smirk signifying how she seems to have planned everything out already.

 

 

After hanging up the call, Hitomi quickly deletes the call log and blocks the number preventing Minjoo from calling back. As she sits on the couch, she lets the tears she’s been trying to keep in, come out. With all these problems dashing towards her at lightning speed, she’s stuck between having to approach everything head on or dodge everything that’s coming her way.

As she sits there contemplating on what to do, Hitomi suddenly hears a car driving up to the house. Quickly wiping all her tears away, she sees Chaewon entering the house.

“Chaewon-sshi, you’re back early. I thought you were going to be back by dinner.”

“We finished the meeting earlier than expected.”

“Ah…I see. And Yuri-sshi?”

“I dropped her off at home already.”

Walking up to the girl sitting on the couch, Chaewon sees the gloomy expression on her face.

“Hiichan, what’s wrong?”

“Huh? Oh…uh…nothing. I think something got in my eye.” Hitomi answers as she touches her eyes pretending there was something in it.

“There is? Here. Let me see.”

Rushing up to the seated girl, Chaewon gets on her knees and reaches for Hitomi’s face to look and see if there really was something in her eyes.

Startled by the sudden moment, Hitomi moves back a little but it was still not enough to prevent Chaewon from approaching her even more. Trying to focus on the girl’s eyes, their faces were only inches apart.

“Is it out already? I don’t see anything.” Chaewon asks as she constantly looks for the nonexistent item.

Without a response from Hitomi, Chaewon looks back and forth between both eyes and as she realizes how close they actually were, a slight blush develops on her cheeks.

Staying like that for a while, Chaewon’s focus drops down to the girl’s lips. Holding her breath, she brings her gaze back up to Hitomi’s eyes as if to read how the girl is feeling right now.

But as if life was playing a game with her, a phone call comes in and ruins their moment.

Pulling away, Chaewon looks down and lets out a deep breath as she tries to calm her fast beating heart. Not being any different, Hitomi turns her face away as she brings one hand up to her heart. With the phone constantly ringing, Chaewon looks over to see the caller ID being Yuri and a thought suddenly comes into her mind.

‘Yuri-yah…why?’

Reaching over to pick up the phone, Chaewon answers it in a disappointing tone.

“Hello…Yuri-yah. What do you want?”

“That took a while to answer. Did I call at the wrong time?”

“What do you need Yuri?”

“Looks like I did.”

“Cut to the chase Yuri.”

“I’m hungry. Can I come over for food?”

“No.”

“What? But I helped you yesterday, don’t you think I deserve a reward for that.”

“You already got it. Hiichan already cooked for you. That’s it. Your reward has been redeemed.”

“But –”

“Not going to happen Yuri. I took you home first for a reason.”

“Wow…so you had a plan all along.”

“I don’t have anything. Just leave me be for today, Yuri.”

“Sigh…okay. I’ll be a nice friend today, but you owe me dinner next time.”

“I owe you nothing.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll be coming over right now.”

“Okay…okay…pick a restaurant. I’ll treat you to it next time.”

“Haha…thanks Unnie, but I’m just messing with you. I just wanted to remind you to ask Hiichan about what we talked about in our meeting.”

“I know. I was going to ask her later.”

“Alright then. I guess I’ll leave you guys be then. Enjoy your time with Hiichan.”

With Yuri hanging up the call, Chaewon lets out a sigh as if she just defeated a tough obstacle.

“Is something wrong Chaewon-sshi? You seem kind of stressed.” Hiichan asks as she notices the frustrating tone the other girl had the entire time.

“No…Yuri was just messing with me as usual.”

Standing up and walking over to the kitchen, Chaewon turns around and utters

“Hiichan…do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Well there’s going to be a huge festival coming up in a couple of days, and the school was planning to open a booth there. We all decided that we were going to sell food and Yuri suggested for us to sell the karaage you made last night. Since it’s something different and it also tastes really good, we think it would sell quite well. Do you mind helping us make this so we can sell it at the festival?”

Seeing Hiichan contemplating her decision, Chaewon continues to say

“You don’t have to agree to it if you don’t want to, all of us are okay with you saying no.”

“It’s okay Chaewon-sshi. I’m okay with this. I don’t mind helping you guys out.”

“Really? You mean it Hiichan.” Chaewon utters as she rushes back to sit next to Hitomi.

“Yes. This would be better than me staying at home all day doing nothing.”

“But what about your condition?”

“I’m okay now. My shoulder doesn’t hurt anymore, and I’ve been taking all the medication as suggested and cleaning up the wound every day, I’m pretty sure I’ll be back to normal soon.”

“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about your memory; it’s been a few days already and nothing’s come to you yet. Do you want me to take you to see a specialist first? I’m scared the longer we leave this, you might not be able to find out who you really are at all.”

“I’m okay with that.”

“What?”

Slightly taken aback from Hitomi’s answer, Chaewon gives the girl a puzzled look.

As if she’s made a finalized decision, Hitomi looks Chaewon back in the eyes before saying

“If you’re okay with me staying here, then I’m okay with me having no memories of my past. I’m okay staying like this.”

And with a smile back at the girl, Chaewon brings one of her hand to rest on Hitomi’s hand and responds

“Like I said yesterday, your welcome to stay for as long as you like.”

 

 

As a few days pass by, Chaewon and the other staff at her school start finalizing preparation for the booth and other events for the festival. Hitomi would also tag along to help with preparations as well as prepare for the food stall that she was going to help run. With a new person joining the staff, all eyes land on the person, not only because she was cute, but also because of the nice personality that she had.

Every morning, Hitomi would greet all the staff with a smile and asked if everyone was tired throughout the day as if she wanted to cheer everyone up. She would bring everyone water when they looked exhausted and even helped some of them build the props used for the booth. With all interest on her, another person can be seen slightly irritated from all the attention she was getting as a lot of the other teachers could be seen smiling back at Hitomi and even going up to ask for her number or to go out for dinner at times throughout the day.

But with no phone, Hitomi had to politely decline any offers as well as tell everyone she has no phone.

“I told you Unnie, you better make your move fast. It seems like many people here are finding an interest in your housemate.” Yuri sneakily whispers as she notices the fire that was coming out of Chaewon’s eyes.

“What?”

“Just look right there, that’s the fourth person that’s asked for her number today. You’re really not going to do anything?”

“I told you. There’s nothing going on between us.”

“Really?” Yuri utters in a teasing tone.

“Yes, really.”

“Then you’ll be okay with me helping one of our staff to ask her out on a date.”

“Wait. What?” Chaewon says as she quickly whips her head to face Yuri.

“Yea. There’s someone that wants to ask Hiichan out for a date, but because she’s been declining everyone else, they came to me and asked me for help.”

“Who is it? And why did they ask you? Hiichan lives with me.”

“I can’t tell who it is Unnie. I don’t want you throw daggers at the person and have you seen yourself Unnie. Who in their right mind would want to ask you for help especially when you look like you’re about to kill anyone whose about to approach you?”

“Do I really look like that?”

“Not normally. But ever since Hiichan joined us, it’s been getting worse and worse each day.”

Shaking her head slightly, Chaewon tries to shake away all emotions that she was currently feeling.

“I really mean it Unnie. If you like her, just tell her. I mean it seems like she’s interested in you as well.” Yuri exclaims as she puts a hand on Chaewon’s shoulder.

“You think so?”

“Yea. Don’t you notice how often she stares at you?”

“She does?”

“Yes, and it’s quite obvious too. Now take this into consideration, with the festival coming up, why not tell her how you really feel there? Many couples have formed a successful relationship during the festival before. It might not be a bad idea to confess there.”

“Hmm…”

And without even realizing, Chaewon takes all this into consideration, not even denying the feelings she had for the other girl, making Yuri let out a huge smile as if she’s successfully paired up two of her friends.

“So Unnie…are you going to finally admit to everything now?”

“Okay…”

“Okay what?”

“I admit it…I don’t know how it happened, but I have good feelings for her.”

“And?”

“And I’m going to confess to Hiichan during the festival.”

 

 

With days gone by, it was time for the royal family to arrive in Korea. Waiting in a suite at a hotel in Seoul, Minjoo paces back and forth as she remembers the plan Sakura suggested to her and Chaeyeon.

 

(Flashback)

“What do you have in mind Sakura?” Chaeyeon asks as the three of them sit down and have their meeting in the living room of the safe house.

“You said the royal family was planning to have a vacation in Korea, right?”

“Yes and?”

“Didn’t they ask for recommendations on where to go?”

“Okay?”

“Well, why don’t we suggest them to go to Jeju? That way it’ll seem natural for Minjoo to be there and it would also give us more time to convince the real princess to come back with us.”

“But wait. That would mean I have to continue being the princess when the royal family gets here.” Minjoo exclaims as she realizes what she has to do.

“Yes. Unfortunately, that’s the only way this plan will work.”

“So…are you up for it Minjoo?” the Captain asks as she looks over to her teammate.

And with a deep breath taken, Minjoo responds

“I guess I have no other choice.”

(End of flashback)

 

Trying her best to stay calm, Minjoo tries to remember all the information she’s read up on the royal family and also the information Mrs. Honda has briefed her on the family. While going through all this data, she suddenly hears a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Minjoo orders.

Peeking her head through the door, Yujin asks

“Minjoo-sshi. Are you ready? The police have informed me that the royal family has already entered the lobby. They should be up here any minute now. Eunbi unnie and Mrs. Honda are waiting outside.”

“I…um…I…”

Noticing how anxious the fake princess was, Yujin walks up to the frantic girl, before taking one of her hands and saying

“Are you okay? You look so nervous and your hands are cold too.”

“I…I…”

“Hey look at me.” Yujin instructs to which Minjoo quickly follows.

“Deep breaths. Remember to take deep breaths. Everything’ll be okay.”

Following the orders of the taller girl, Minjoo takes in deep breaths to calm her uneasiness and as her body starts to relax, Yujin utters

“Alright, let’s go. Don’t worry. I’m sure your family will be more than happy to see you.”

Guiding Minjoo to the door, Yujin gets stop as Minjoo slightly tugs on her bodyguard’s hand as if to tell she wasn’t ready to leave yet.

“Do you need more time? I can tell Eunbi unnie you need to use the restroom first to stall.” Yujin asks as she turns around to face Minjoo.

“No…I just need…”

“What do you need Minjoo-sshi?”

“I need…I need a hug. Can you give me a hug?”

“What?”

Not waiting for an answer from the other girl, Minjoo takes a step forwards and wraps her arms around Yujin’s waist while burying her face into the girl’s shoulder.

Stunned from Minjoo’s action, Yujin brings her arms up to hug the girl back before saying

“I don’t know how this is going to help, but if this is what you need, then I’ll gladly give it to you.”

Closing her eyes, Minjoo embraces the warmth Yujin was giving her as the sense of comfort she always felt with Yujin in times where she needed it, comes back. With each second passing by, it seems like the pair showed no signs of breaking apart. It wasn’t until…

“Yujin-ah…what’s taking you so –”

Quickly pulling away, they both looked at the door to see Eunbi standing there shocked at the picture in front of her. Looking in different directions, Yujin and Minjoo could be seen avoiding any eye contact with Eunbi as the older continues to stand there stunned.

Finally breaking the silence, Eunbi utters

“Princess, your family has arrived. They are currently waiting for you in the suite we prepared. I suggest you head there now. Your mother has already headed there and has been waiting for a while now.”

“O-Okay.” Minjoo says with a slight nod before she walks out of the room.

And with Yujin trailing behind, Eunbi suddenly calls out to stop her.

“Yujin-ah.”

“Yes Unnie?”

“We’re going to need to talk after this.” Eunbi whispers before walking out of the room to follow Minjoo to their destination.

Hearing this, Yujin gets alarmed as she can sense what the older girl was going to talk to her about. Fearing the worse, Yujin follows behind the other two with an uneasy heart.

 

 

Standing right in front of the door, Minjoo takes a few seconds to recollect herself.

‘Remember Minjoo. Act natural. Let Mrs. Honda do the talking and play it as if you were Hiichan.’

“Are you ready Princess?” Eunbi who was behind her asks.

“Y-Yes.”

“Okay. The Korean police will take over for now. Yujin and I will be waiting out here.”

And with another confirmation, Eunbi opens the door to the suite and Minjoo walks into a small area where everyone was sitting. Upon entering the room, Minjoo notices the amount of guards standing in the room with the Korean police right by their sides. She also sees five people seated in the living area with Mrs. Honda being one of them.

Looking at each person, she tries to put a name to their faces as she recalls the information that was provided for her since the first day, she was assigned this mission.

With the first person her eyes land on being an old lady looking to be at an age of a grandma, she remembers

‘Queen Mother Honda: the mother of King Honda. Former Queen of Eito, before her husband passed and her son took over. People continue to call her ‘Your Highness’. Hiichan’s grandmother.’

Seated to the person’s left and right are two young ladies looking to be around the same age as Minjoo but as she focuses to the person on the left, she sees how tiny the girl was and immediately knows who it is.

‘Princess Nako: the only daughter to the King’s older sister. Hiichan’s cousin.’

Looking directly to the older lady’s right, Minjoo recalls

‘Princess Sojung: only daughter to King’s younger sister. Eunbi-sshi’s friend. Hiichan’s other cousin.’

Slowly walking up to everyone, Minjoo tries to recall more information.

‘No information on their parents but both were raised up by their grandmother and took part in helping run the country while the King was away and also after he passed.’

Shifting her gaze over, the fake Princess notices a young man sitting with everyone and staring at her in awe.

Continuing her recollections, she remembers

‘Prince Jungin: brought into the family at a young age by King’s father after his parents passed. Said to be the son of a family friend from another kingdom. Kingdom name is unknown and is now nonexistent. Also helped run the country in times of need.’

“Hitomi!” Minjoo hears as come back from her thoughts to see the older lady walk up to her.

“Is this really you?” the older lady exclaims as she reaches over to grab Minjoo’s hand.

“Y-Yes…Your Highness. It’s me. Y-Your granddaughter.” Minjoo awkwardly says.

Pulling the younger girl into a hug, the old lady could be seen with happy tears coming down her eyes as she exclaims

“Oh, how long I’ve waited for this moment. How long I’ve waited to see my other granddaughter and now that your finally in front of me, everything feels so surreal.”

With the embrace the person was giving her, Minjoo looks over to Mrs. Honda and sees her try to keep all her emotions within. Knowing how Mrs. Honda is thinking about Hitomi right now, Minjoo tries her best to not show any signs of uneasiness. And with the older lady pulling away, she leads Minjoo to sit next to Mrs. Honda before saying

“Your father must be so happy to have such a beautiful daughter like you. His last wish was for us to meet, but too bad…too bad he couldn’t live to see this day. If only he told me he had a daughter in Korea sooner, maybe if he didn’t keep all this a secret, he could have been even happier.”

Looking over to Mrs. Honda again, Minjoo’s heart drops as she sees the tears that were starting to form in the former’s eyes. Glancing back at her Captain, Minjoo sees Chaeyeon giving her a nod as to signify for her to continue her part.

“Your Highness…I’m sorry everything had to be this way, but at least we finally got to meet each other. I’m pretty sure Dad would be happy seeing all this from above.”

“I’m sure he will. And also, why are you calling me Your Highness. I am your grandmother Hitomi. You should be calling me Grandmother, not something so formal like how others call me.”

“Y-Yes…Grandmother.” Minjoo says as she gives the older lady a nod.

With introductions between the grandmother and granddaughter out of the way, Minjoo gets formally introduced to everyone else in the family. She also tries to get everyone to call her Minjoo as well, so that her story about her name change with Eunbi and Yujin would stay consistent. And with Mrs. Honda being her savior, they all try to catch up on their recent whereabouts and also plans for how the heir was going to be taking on the throne.

But with plans starting to be brought up about the throne, Minjoo quickly avoids all topics of it as she tries to explain that she wants everyone to rest up first before having to deal with all this.

Quickly suggesting a vacation in Jeju, Minjoo lets out a sigh of relief as everyone seems to be on board with her recommendation.

“I believe you guys have traveled for quite some time. I think its best if you all go rest up.” Minjoo says as she was starting to grow tired of all the convincing, she had to do.

And as everyone really was tired, they all agreed to this and quickly headed to their separate suites within the hotel with multiple guards following each of them.

However, before taking her leave back to her room, Minjoo gets approached by someone unexpected.

“Princess.”

“Prince Jungin? Right?” Minjoo utters as she’s trying to remember all the information she’s read up on this person.

“Yes. My name is Jungin.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“I just wanted to say…nice to finally meet you.”

Reaching over for a handshake, Minjoo looks down at his hand before returning the gesture. But as she tries to pull away from it, she feels his thumb gently caressing the back of her hand. Feeling uneasy from it, she forcefully tugs her hand away before looking up at the smirk on his face.

With a weird sense she was getting from the person in front of her, Minjoo utters

“It’s nice to meet you too. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

And with everyone having left, the Prince goes back to his room to which he quickly calls for one of his minions to approach him.

“Yes Prince.” the minion responds.

“Have you contacted the shooter yet?”

“Yes, he’s fully recovered and is planning to make a hit within these next few days. He’s guaranteed that this time, he won’t miss.”

“Hmm…”

“Is something wrong Prince?”

“Nothing, but just looking at our heir…I think I might have a change in plans and target.”

And as if a new idea just popped up into his head, the Prince quickly orders

“Contact the shooter, tell him there’s a change of plans and to hold off for now. Have him travel to Jeju and wait for orders there.”

With his underling quickly following orders, the Prince looks out the hotel window facing the city view as a smirk slowly forms on his face.

 

 

 

---

That ends it for this extremely long chapter. I was going to cut it into two parts but figured you guys waited long enough. Next chapter will definitely be a lot shorter. 

And as I said in my other story, I apologize for the late upload on both stories. I'm happy things are looking to be more positive for the girls and I hope to upload a bit more frequently when they officially return, so until then I hope you guys enjoyed.

Also, I'm sorry for what I had to do to Wonyoung's character. I was debating for quite some time about it, but I felt that I had to write it like that for a reason I cannot say right now. I promise this story will not be as dark as that again.

Adding to that, our main couples will be meeting each other very soon.

 

Previews:

"Yujin-ah...you know it can never be."

"Hiichan...I...I...I think I..."