“What is that supposed to mean?”

Hwasa and her daughters looked to Krystal as she came looming over, “What about Sehun? What miscarriage?”

Luhan frowned as he slowly trailed behind his sister. Nothing seemed to make sense to him as he wondered why Irene had a dark look on her face. The girl was always sweet.

“Irene?” Luhan started softly, “Did something happen?”

His half-sibling kept her gaze trained on her own mother. As much as she wanted to expose her of her wrongdoings in front of her brother, the King, she still had enough courtesy and respect for the woman’s role. 

“It’s nothing Your Majesty,” Irene almost hesitantly mumbled. She averted her gaze from her brother while keeping a strained smile on her lips, “Just wanted to remind my mother that some sins cannot be entirely hidden or stashed away forever.”

With a small bow, the princess turned her heels and left her mother’s discussion hall. She wanted to remind the woman of how much she and her sister knew about her secret dealings in the palace, but having Luhan and Krystal around to listen wouldn’t be wise. 

Not at the moment at least.

As she entered her room, Seulgi watched with intense eyes as Irene walked up to her full length mirror, examining her still burning cheek. 

“Tsk, she definitely put in a lot of strength.”

Seulgi frowned as she kept her eyes trained on her older sibling, making her way into the older’s room as she plopped on her bed. 

“...I thought you said that she was getting weaker— ow!”

Throwing a hard pillow to her younger sister’s way, Irene narrowed her eyes when Seulgi reminded her of the little remark she made against Hwasa. Well, she did get weaker. But that doesn’t mean it did not hurt. Getting disciplined by their mother wasn’t something unroutinal, so of course Irene could tell if her strength is getting thin.

“Oh shut up you.” Irene tutted, “Have you finished studying for the exam? I can’t let you become my assistant if you don’t score well.”

She sashayed to her drawers at the end of the room and pulled out a compact powder. Pressing the brush lightly on the product, Irene softly swept the powder particles across the reddening area before patting it in to reduce the redness that showed.

“And don’t expect leniency just because you’re a princess!”

Seulgi snorted and walked up to her sister’s mini fridge. She opened the small compartment and jutted her bottom lip as she thought over which soft drink to choose from. Grabbing a sparkling apple drink, the youngest princess cracked the can open and casually gulped the carbonated drink before sitting on the couch placed in the middle of Irene’s room. 

“I have been studying!” Seulgi argued, taking another sip. She didn’t know why she even had to sit for exams. Their governess shouldn’t have suggested to her late father that sitting for examinations for the royal family would be necessary. “Exams are such an unfair system, it depends on how much we remember, not how much we understand.”

Irene cocked a brow as she glanced at her sister through her reflection in the mirror.

“Well if that’s the case, let me ask you something then and we’ll see if you remember.”

Seulgi cleared and gulped nervously, “Aw, come on—”

“It’s simple Seulgi,” Irene told, walking up to her sister to snatch away the drink from her hands. “As a nurse, your patient has flatlined, so what do you tell the patient’s family?”

Seulgi sat quietly as her sister listed out her options.

“Option A, the patient has died. Or B, the patient is dead. C, the patient is deceased…” Irene took a gulp of the drink and pointed a finger to her sister to indicate that she wasn’t done, “Or D, the patient has passed away.”

Her sister’s jaw hung as she listened to the options Irene laid out for her. Were all the exam questions going to be formatted this way. Seulgi let out a sigh; does she even want to be her sister’s assistant anymore?

“Um… D?”

Irene swallowed what’s left of the drink before crushing the can and handing it over to her sister, “You leave it to the doctor.” 

Seulgi was left dumbfounded. 

“But that wasn’t—!”

“I told you, you’re a nurse.” Irene cocked her head to the side as she shrugged, “Which means you leave such things to your doctor.”

She brushed a strand of her sister’s hair behind her ear and stared into the younger’s eyes, “In other words, you leave such things to me.”

Seulgi didn’t have to think twice to understand what her sister was referring to. Her lips trembled slightly as she hung her head. “You noticed huh…”

Irene let out a sigh and shook her head, “Can’t miss your honest expressions.” She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her white pants as she settled herself down on the spot beside her sister. “You still get jittery around Kai.”

“I can’t help it. What if he finds out and we—”

“Relax. It’s been years.” She quickly hushed her sister. 

Irene wanted to believe her own words, that they were going to be fine and that Kai would probably forget about the incident that happened to his father years ago. But just as she reminded her mother, not all sins can be stashed away. Even if they remain hidden for years and years to come. 

“What happened left you mute for a few years,” Irene reminded the younger sibling, “We were kids, it must’ve been traumatising for you.” 

“But I really wish we wouldn’t need to cross paths with him anymore,” Seulgi fiddled on her thumbs anxiously, “He’s bound to find out what’s wrong and I don’t know how much longer I can keep my mouth shut.”

Irene patted her sister’s head, “That’s why I said to leave things to me.” She got off the couch and took off her outer coat to change into something lighter, remembering that she has another appointment in a lab at an external hospital. Giving a small but wistful smile in Seulgi’s way, Irene strode towards the door to leave but not without sending one last message to her sister.