The royal family was thrilled when little Sana was born. The Emperor and Empress were waiting for three years for a child to bless their house. They didn't care what it would be. All that matters was that they were parents. The situation was even more bright because their chef got pregnant nearly at the same time and the children could be friends. That's exactly what happened. Little princess Sana and the daughter of the royal chef were best of friends from the very beginning. They spend every day together whenever they could. All of their birthdays were celebrated together. They could call themselves sisters, even if not related by blood.
The princess's life was the best her parents could give her. They made sure Sana would learn everything about being a royal family member. She was homeschooled with the best tutors. But they made sure that their daughter had time to unwind. To be a kid and then a teenager. They didn't want her to grow sour. Though sometimes the young lady was causing some trouble, overall she was a caring person, with lots of affection. With a big heart and opened mind. She was an almost princess.
Sana was 20 years old already. Which meant that ideally she would get married in a year. Her parents were looking for the perfect candidate. They had scrutinized everyone thoroughly before they choose one. A son of a wealthy family, that spent a lot of their time helping people in need. Donating to charities and going to different countries to help the people themselves. They thought that a person like that would be nothing but a good husband and future Emperor. 
Well, her parents thought so. The young princess not so much. The Emperors were trying to arrange a marriage for her since she's turned 18, but she was dodging it with every possible excuse. She found this idea to be limiting. She couldn't fall in love on her own accord. What also played an important role in her disinterested and defensiveness was the fact she's not attracted to men. She could tell they're attractive, she guessed. But she didn't feel anything for them, with them. Sana had her first crush on a girl that was an apprentice in the kitchen. She spent some time in there as Momo's mother was the chef. But after seeing the girl, the princess's sole reason to come there was the pretty cook. She was flirting with the young lady. They were just 17 but Sana swore she's in love. Momo told her she's exaggerating. She doesn't know better. Let's just say that her best friend was right. When the apprentice left after a year, Sana's feelings faded in just a few months. That was it though. She knew she is attracted to women. She had crushes on all the pretty actress and models. Her favorite singers were female. She read stories about two girls falling in love and it was just what she wanted. 
Unfortunately, she's the Princess. She has to marry a man and be the definition of straight. What could she do though? She's part of the royal family. She's screwed.
"Sana, it came to my attention that, you're not doing so well with chemistry and physics. Your father and I decided to hire a tutor for you." Mrs. Minatozaki was looking at Sana, while Mr. Minatozaki was eating his breakfast, reading the newspaper. The young woman stopped her eating and glanced at her mother. She indeed had a hard time with these two subjects. But why does she even still needs to learn them? Momo is the same age and she doesn't have them. She's supposed to major in politics if she was attending Uni, and she's sure she doesn't need chemistry and physics for that.
"I don't understand why I still need to learn these subjects. I'm majoring in politics, not medicine." The older woman sighed. They've been having similar talks for a while.
"I told you. As a future Empress, you need a wide range of knowledge. You need to be educated in many ways. This way you will be a successful ruler." Of course, that's what Sana hears every time. She doesn't have to be that educated. Mostly because she hated chemistry and physics.
"Fine. I hope it's not an old lady or man. They will take everything seriously." Her tutors had always been older people. Some of them were fun and the princess found herself enjoying the lessons very much. The others, though we're harsh and thought that she doesn't take anything seriously. After she said one joke, one.
"Don't worry, honey. I made sure that your tutor would be competent yet young. She's actually your age. She's the daughter of the Minister of Health, you remember him, right." Sana nodded. She was surprised. She never expected her mom to find someone that would be close to her age. Her worries about a harsh tutor disappeared. She was excited even.
"She's extraordinary." Her father finally joined their conversation. "She's a spectacular ballet and contemporary dancer. But she has the brains as well. She's intelligent and speaks wisely. She's one of the best students at JYP University." Wow, so she's some prodigy child. How come they had never met.
"If she's Minister's daughter, why I have never met her?"
Her parents giggled a little. That definitely confused her.
"Mina is very shy. As a child even more so. She agreed to this after she learned you're her age. She said she'll feel more comfortable that way." Hana explained with a soft smile. She had met the ballerina before dozens of times. She was a sweet, kind-hearted, hardworking, talented girl. The woman knew she would be just the right person and that her daughter would like her as well.
"I see. I'm glad it's not another stack up person. I'll do my best. I promise."
Her parents smiled with gratitude. Sana was smart and knew what's the best thing to do. Now that the easy subject is out of the way, they opted to discuss something more important.
The Emperor cleared his throat.
"Sana, we had found a perfect candidate for your hand." The princess groaned internally. Did they really have to talk about it first thing in the morning? Outside she kept her cool and didn't let them know she was annoyed.
"That's great news. I can't wait to meet him." It was hard for those words to leave . 
"We are glad. He's a very admirable young man. He is good at politics but he didn't lose his heart. He's a very good person." She was glad to hear it. One thing caught her attention. How old was he exactly if he was good in politics already.
"But, can I know how old he is?" Her parents must've expected that question. Her mom looked at her reassuringly.
"He's 25. So not much older. Hidenori was well prepared and has a big heart. He will treat you as you deserve."
It was good to hear, really. Maybe they can have a good life. She'll tell him about her uality and he'll go along with it. After all, she can't lie to him and live in celibate. 
"Oh, thank God he's not like 60 years old or something. You really are considering my happiness. Thank you." She was sincere. 
The family finished their breakfast and went on with their everyday life. The Emperor went to work, the Empress had a little bit of free time until 11 and she had to work as well. Before that, she'll introduce Sana to the tutor. The princess was free until the new tutor arrives and then she'll start her day of studying. 
In the meantime though, she went back to her bedroom. Momo was at the academy 'till 3 and it . She could use someone to talk with. Now she was left with her thoughts. It was tiring. Half of her wanted to come out to her parents, tell them she wants to own a cafe and have a simple life with a woman she loves. But the other half kept telling her that she needs to stay and be the next Empress. Be a good daughter and not disappoint her parents. The other half always won. She couldn't do anything. She had to get used to this.
Her mind drifted to the last banquet. Where she saw a gorgeous girl. The daughter of the president of South Korea. Fancy, right? The lady was charming and funny. Sana didn't feel bored at all like she usually did. She found herself blushing and stuttering in front of the girl. Which was embarrassing but Jeongyeon was told her she is cute and she felt butterflies in her stomach. As she was thinking of it, she kept hiding her face in her hands. Her cheeks hot. She wished she could marry her. But she couldn't. 

Around 10:30 her maid came into her bedroom. She informed her that the new tutor had arrived and waits along with her mother at the entrance. She got up from her bed and headed downstairs. As she was nearing the doors the happy conversation was getting louder. 
When Sana stepped down, Mrs. Minatozaki faced her and walked up in her direction. She put her arm around her and lead the girl towards the very beautiful lady standing in the middle of the hall. With short hair, cut to her jaw, soft eyes and many miles that complimented her well.
"Sana, this is Mina. She will be your tutor for the rest of your education." The other girl bowed respectfully and introduced herself.
"Good morning, my lady. I'm Myoui Mina. It's an honor to finally meet you." She showed the princess a big gummy smile. What was definitely weird is that gummy smiles are not supposed to be this beautiful.
"Likewise. I was wondering why we have never met when our fathers work together." Sana smiled brightly and extended her hand for the tutor to take. That took her by surprise, but she took it in the end. The princess shook the hands enthusiastically. 
"I'll have to leave you ladies. I have work. Mina, please don't get Sana to persuade you with her sweet smiles. Don't go easy on her." Sana rolled her eyes and Mina giggled softly.
"I will, your imperial majesty." The young woman bowed again. 
"Thank you. Sana, please take Mina to the study room. Have a great day." The Empress took her daughter's face in her hands and kissed her forehead. The girl didn't complain, she loved all sorts of affection. Then the woman walked away, leaving the girls with the maid.
"The studio's upstairs. Come." She gestured with her arm and made her way to the second floor. The other followed her without a word. 

The study room was located in the right-wing of the house. The view from the windows was of a traditional garden. To help concentrated apparently. The short-haired woman stopped to observe it. She had a gleam in her eyes. She was in awe. The garden was magical. She wanted to go outside and wander around it. Sit under the sakura tree and write. 
Sana woke her up from her daydreaming.
"Like what you see?" that startled Mina a bit. She glanced back at the person she is going to tutor for the next two years. It all came rushing down on her. The two were alone, in a secluded room. She was with the princess. What if she screws up? She can be painfully awkward. The ballerina was doubting her choice now.
"What should you do if no one laughs at your chemistry jokes?
Keep telling them until you get a reaction." a deafening silence fell in the room. Mina was just staring at the other girl. Sana started panicking. Maybe saying a very lame joke wasn't a way to go with this. But then unexpectedly, the shorter girl started laughing heartily. The princess wasn't sure if it means that she liked the joke or that she found it so lame that she had to laugh, ridicule her.
"If that's how you've been with all your previous tutors, I have no idea why they left." Sana grinned. So the girl liked it. She was kinda proud of herself now. Her tutor put her bag on the desk, still giggling softly.
"I was. They were just harsh and hated having fun. Really, I said one joke and I was accused of not taking anything seriously and being a spoilt brat." She was half-joking. Those were the exact words she had heard before. Though she didn't mind them that much. She would waste her time if she did. She took one of the chairs and gestured for Mina to sit. The other smiled thankfully and sat. Sana taking the next one.
"I'm sad to hear that. It seems like you didn't have the best tutors." the short-haired girl unpacked her bag. Notebooks, pens, pencils, rulers, erasers, periodic tables and formulas. 
"Only for chemistry and physics. And it didn't help me like these subjects." she slumped on the desk with a pout. 
"I understand. I never liked business studies. But here I am a third-year management student." The future Empress looked at her new friend. Who was staring at the periodic table. 
"So we are both stuck doing things we don't want to?" it wasn't a question. She could tell by the longing look on the young woman's face, that it's not her passion. Mina, surprisingly, went wide-eyed.
"No, it's not like that, my lady. I do like doing this. We should start with chemistry. That's why we are here. May I see what was the last thing you did?" that was totally not suspicious. Sana figured that the reaction was caused by the girl's status. She was probably afraid, the princess would tell her family she doesn't want to do that. The long-haired girl put her hand on the other's shoulder. The tutor looking up at her.
"You don't have to worry. I won't tell anyone." the ballerina had a shocked expression again.
"No, my lady. I didn't mean it that way. I wasn't insinuating anything. Forgive me." Sana thought. 
"Only if you stop calling me *my lady*." she usually didn't mind people addressing her in such way. But Mina was her age and she liked her already. 
"I guess I can do that. How should I address you then?" the princess had a sudden urge to tease the short-haired girl. She opted not to after giving it more thought.
"Sana would be perfect. And so I will call you Mina." the girl nodded.
"So, will you show me your notes, Sana?" her tutor reminded. The squirrel-like girl jumped from her seat and grabbed the notebook from the cabinet. Put it on the desk and sat down. Mina grabbed it and started going through it, taking note of what was written on every page.
Sana just observed. When the girl was done she opened her books and notebooks on certain pages and turned to the other.
"We are going to start with the saponification. I hope that even if you don't enjoy chemistry, you've studied." she received an awkward laugh. So she thought.
"I did some. I can't really promise I will know everything though." she felt embarrassed. In a time like this, her past tutors would give her a lecture. But this time she was met with an understanding smile.
"I figured. It's nothing weird you don't give much effort to things you don't like. Don't worry I will explain everything. We'll start from the beginning." she moved the books closer. "You know what fats, oil, and alcohol are right?" the student nodded. " So it's not that bad." She teased and Sana pushed her a little. The giggle was the only answer.
"I'm not a dummy. Let's get further." 
"So you know what aqueous alkali and saturated monocarboxylic acids are?" okay, now she got her. 
"No." the princess replied quietly. Mina just smirked.
"It's nothing extra actually," she explained to her every term. Repeating several times, when the other didn't seem to understand fully. The ballerina tried to make it all simple and easy to remember. Sana found herself getting the hang of it with no major problems. She was surprised. She always struggled with chemistry but now she was moving smoothly from one exercise to another. Not to mention the two girls were having fun. Sharing small talks and laughter. The 2 hours that Sana was supposed to have every week passed incredibly quickly.
Mina was done putting everything in her bag. She faced the girl standing next to the desk.
"If you have any problem with your homework, just call me. I'll always help." she was ready to go and tell her friends about the experience.
"I don't have your number."
"Oh, your mother does. I mean her imperial majesty has my number." the princess burst out in laughter. That girl is really something. She's a total dork.
"Why are you laughing? I'm telling the truth." the tutor looked confused. Her student was really one of a kind. It was definitely a positive thing.
"You can call her my mom. Don't worry, I won't tell her. Though I think she likes you enough to let you drop the formalities." the Empress didn't like being treated as a deity or something. She didn't mind her close friends and other close people to drop the formalities.
"Okay, I'm sorry I'm this awkward." Sana waved her hand at this. 
"Don't worry. So I guess I have to take your number from her. Kinda too much work with that." she stated smoothly. The short-haired girl rolled her eyes. She took out one of the pens and wrote numbers on one of the papers on the desk.
"Don't overuse it. I'm not a delivery restaurant." the girl joked and the princess giggled.
"No promises."
"I gotta live with that." 
Sana walked her tutor to the entrance and waved after her. She waited in the doors until the other drove out of the driveway.

"I'm telling you. She's really great. I enjoyed learning chemistry, I think that says a lot." Sana told Momo all about her day after the dancer came back from the Academy. The raccoon girl shared some of her daytime. The interesting bits. Like Nayeon and she going to the Jumpin' Beans and watching the older have a gay panic when the barista she has a crush on was taking their orders.
"It looks you won't be suffering anymore. I'm happy. Though, I would like to see her. I'm not satisfied with just, she's beautiful." the dancer was munching on jellies. They were lying on the princess's bed. 
"I don't have her pics."
"But you know her full name, ." Momo took her phone and opened Twitter. Sana sat closer to her best friend and stared at the screen. The girl typed in Myoui Mina and got one result. Which wasn't surprising.  
"Oh . She's hot." The older exclaimed. They scrolled through her whole account. She only interacts with her friends and a lot of the photos were uploaded by them. "Now I understand why you had the best tutoring session ever." the younger hit her friend's arm.
"It's not like that. I liked her personality. I admit she's very attractive, but it doesn't have to do with anything. Besides, I have a crush on someone else." Sana crossed her arms over her chest and averted her gaze.
"Right. Yoo Jeongyeon. Did you have any contact with her?"
"Well, no. But she's President's daughter, she's busy." Momo raised her eyebrow. Her childhood friend's excuses were weak.
"You're literally a princess. How is she busier than you. You just freaked out instead of getting her phone number. I can't believe you're the same person that shamelessly flirted with our cook apprentice." the squirrel girl groaned and put her pillow over her face.
"I know. It's different now." the dancer cut her there.
"If you tell me you're in love again." Sana rolled her eyes and met eyes with the girl next to her.
"Of course not. It's too early for this. But I like. I think it could work out. If I could actually proceed with my feelings." she said defeatedly.  She directed her gaze to the ceiling. Getting lost in thought. Momo hated feeling helpless. She wanted her best friend to be happy and she knows that this royal life won't make her joyful. If only she could do something.
"Did they find you a husband already?" she asked instead. She was curious and she knew the princess needed to rant about it. Sana raised so that she was sitting now.
"Take a guess. 25 years old politician. Apparently, he's a good person so he will treat me the way I deserve. As my mom put it." the raccoon girl nodded. It's not the worst candidate. Maybe he really is a good person and it'll be alright.
"Maybe we should arrange a mission for you. You'll leave for years and would do whatever you want." Sana liked how it sounded. It was improbable, unfortunately. 
"That would be great."
The two spent the rest of the day together. Doing everything to get their thoughts off the impending doom. They watched some drama and ate snacks. Momo joined the dinner and then went with her mom to their home. Sana was alone with her thoughts. 

Mina drove to Jumpin' Beans straight after the tutoring session. All her friends waited for her there. Excited to hear about her experience. She was sure they will make a big deal out of this. Even though she's the daughter of the Minister of Health. The two of her friends were sitting on the stools by the counter. Chatting with the barista. The ballerina walked up to them.
"Oh, the nation's tutor arrived." Chaeyoung raised her hands and winked at the older girl. Mina just gave her a hug. Doing the same for the other two girls. She sat next to Tzuyu.
"How was it, unnie? We were worried if you're going to freak out in the end." the youngest looked at her with concern.
"I did, actually." Jihyo's eyes got big. She reached for her friend's hands and squeezed them.
"Oh my god. Are you okay? Did she say something to you?" the short-haired girl giggled softly. She shook.
"No, she's kind. She made me feel comfortable. I panicked a little at first. Then she said the lamest chemistry joke and I immediately felt fine." the tiniest girl perked up at the mention of a joke.
"Ah, I see she's a woman of culture." the others eyed her. The girl had the worst sense of humor. Only Mina laughed at her jokes. But the tutor is literally the most kind-hearted person, so she would do that.
"Don't tell me about waiting for a reaction." The tallest groaned when her unnie confirmed her prediction. Chaeyoung was amused by this.
"I guess it'll be fine after all." the barista sighed with relief. She was worried sick when the ballerina told them she will tutor the Princess. It seems that now her best friend will gain another friend.
"Yeah. I mean she made me enjoy tutoring someone. That's a very good sign." 
"Ugh. I said already that it was just a waste of time. Math is not necessary." The artist defended herself. The older tried tutoring her but it always ended with them doing something else. Mina just had a soft spot for the tiny girl and couldn't see her upset. They agreed to stop the sessions and find her another tutor in the end. 
"You were doing everything not to actually do the math, Chaeyoung. I think it was your fault." Jihyo scolded her friend and earned a whine from her. She had a motherly nature, so it wasn't anything new. 
"Whatever. I'm sure the princess would use Mina-unnie's kindness as well." Tzuyu slapped her over the head. "Hey!"
"Shut up. Or the royal guards will lock us up for decry."
Mina and Jihyo only shook their heads. It was like that between them. The four wouldn't have it any other way. They met at the beginning of Uni and now were strong. The two eldest were friends since middle school, though. They were like the mothers of the group. 
"When is your next meeting?" the short girl asked. They've never discussed it before.
"It's a weekly thing. Every Wednesday and Thursday I will go there for two hour-long sessions." sounded pretty easy. But well, Mina had studies and an internship in the marketing company. She was busy, very. The ballerina was sometimes exhausted. She couldn't sleep on many occasions. Having her anxiety at high levels for weeks. That's why the three were so concerned. This is another burden in her life. Sure, the girl loved helping others, the thing is she did it even if it didn't benefit her or had a negative influence on her. 
"If you teach her well, maybe you'll get some prize or something." Tzuyu wondered out loud. It sounded possible. Though they weren't sure what would they give her. Myoui's are billionaires and were happy. So money wasn't the best payment.
"Well, I guess we'll see. Now, what do you think about a movie night today?" Jihyo suggested and everyone was eager to do this. They planned the night. They'll meet at Jihyo and Mina's and Chaeyoung and Tzuyu will get food. The four spent a happy evening and night together. Relaxing before another day of studying and work.