Park Hyeju

 

In a kingdom far, far away, there lived a lonely princess. She was trapped in a tower, waiting for her prince to come save her. 

 

That princess… 

 

…was not Hyeju.

 

“Hyeju-noona, don’t you have etiquette class right now?”

 

“Mmmm, I’m taking a break.”

 

“You left a duplicate of yourself in class, didn’t you?”

 

“I can neither confirm nor deny~”

 

The youngest of the royal family, Jisung, shook his head as he watched his oldest sister, the crown princess of Kingdom Nelia, ditch her etiquette class to, no doubt, see what Jaehyung, the royal inventor, was working on.

 

“I’m bored. Let’s go see what Jihyo-nim is up to,” Jisung’s guardian suggested. 

 

“Bambam…I’m not going to find my noona just so you can flirt with her,” Jisung scolded with a disapproving shake of his head. 

 

Hyeju chuckled at the youngest duo bickering as she made her way to the laboratory. She hummed to herself in thought as she considered the best route to avoid all obstacles. Her parents should be in meetings at the moment on the other side of the castle. From the sound of the conversation between Jisung and Bambam, Jihyo was not from the direction they came from. That left Younghyun, who may very well be in the room she was off to. No matter, the younger brother wasn’t going to tell on her for not being in class. 

 

“You know…if you’re going to skip class, at least pretend like you care if you get caught.”

 

Ah, of course. The one true obstacle to escape from. Her own guardian. 

 

Hyeju turned around with a pout, “Etiquette class is boring.”

 

“You’re telling me. The only etiquette I ever learned was not to murder people.”

 

“Truly the only etiquette we really need in life.”

 

“Truly.”

 

Hyeju grinned as her most trusted bodyguard and friend dropped from the support beams above her, where she had been observing her this whole time. Even when it seemed she was alone, she knew Kira was always watching over her. The Vulpes landed quietly in front of her.

 

“Shall we see what Jae is up to?”

 

“Sure, why the hell not?”

 

~

 

A few hours later, the second oldest sibling, Younghyun, strolled into Jaehyung’s laboratory with his guardian, Mark, in tow. He found Hyeju tinkering with some gadget with Jaehyung’s guidance as Kira hung upside down from a beam above them.

 

“Why do I feel like this is how I always find you? You sure you’re not part bat?” Younghyun joked, looking up at Kira. 

 

“If I was, you’d be the first I dry of all your blood,” Kira deadpanned. That comment earned a disapproving look from Mark but Younghyun just laughed as Kira proceeded to let go of the beam, flip right side up, and land on her feet gracefully next to him. 

 

“I missed you in etiquette class today, Noona-nim.” Younghyun threw his arm around her shoulders. “You reaaally should consider a better cover than just a duplicate next time. It’s like you’re not even trying at this point.”

 

Hyeju shrugged, “What’s the difference? Maybe our parents will finally realize: you know what? She may be the oldest but she at being a princess.”

 

“I mean you have absolutely no leadership qualities so truly I agree with that statement.”

 

“See? Kira agrees,” Hyeju pointed at Kira, not even slightly offended at her blatant comment.

 

“Jaebeom and Jinyoung team,” Mark announced just moments before four imposing Lupuses walked into the laboratory. The two doors swung wide open with their entrance. 

 

“Hyeju-nim, the king and queen would like to speak to you,” Jaebeom announced. 

 

“Oh great. I’m so excited,” Hyeju huffed as she walked through the middle of the four guardians with Kira right behind her. She didn’t miss the slight glare Jaebeom sent Kira. The Vulpes held her head high, purposely ignoring Jaebeom’s burning stare and avoiding the other three Lupuses. He scoffed at her but followed after the two females with the others following thereafter. 

 

“I have never seen Jaebeom-hyung that tweaked before,” Youngjae whispered to Jackson. 

 

“Well he took it real personal when Hyeju-nim didn’t choose a Lupus from our pack,” Jackson replied. 

 

“Quiet, you two,” Jinyoung warned, sensing the silent rage from their leader in front of him.

 

The group walked the rest of the way in awkward silence. Once they arrived, Youngjae and Jackson opened the door for them to the throne room. Hyeju and Kira entered first and walked to the bottom of the steps. They both bowed immediately and waited for the king to allow them to rise. Jaebeom and YoungJae took their place next to the king while Jinyoung and Jackson stood next to the queen. 

 

“Hyeju.” She flinched at the clearly disapproving tone in his voice. “Fei informed me that you did not attend etiquette class. Again.”

 

Hyeju kept quiet, knowing it was better not to make excuses and just take her punishment. 

 

“Sweetheart, you’re turning 25 next week. I know how much you’ve been avoiding this but it is your duty to be the heir of our throne,” the queen chastised softly. 

 

“We will be holding a ball for you next week and you will choose your husband at that time,” the king informed. 

 

“HUSBAND?!” Hyeju finally exclaimed in shock at this news. 

 

“We’ve invited suitors from all around the world,” he continued, ignoring her outburst. 

 

“Abeonim…” she started softly.

 

“We have allowed your tomfoolery with your toys and spells. Now it is time for you to become who you are meant to be.”

 

Hyeju bowed, biting her lip, “Neh, Abeonim…”

 

“Good. That’s my girl. Now, all the information for all the suitors have been placed in your room. Review them so you can make a decision by next week.”

 

“Neh, Abeonim…”

 

“You are dismissed.”

 

Hyeju and Kira bowed once more before leaving the room. The walk to Hyeju’s quarters was silent and heavy. Once the princess entered her room, she plopped onto her bed, face directly into her mattress. 

 

Then Kira exploded. 

 

“A…HUSBAND?! ARE YOU ING KIDDING ME?!” All of the comments she had been withholding back in the throne room came out in word vomit as the Vulpes paced back and forth. Her rant continued about the ridiculousness of the whole thing and how narrow-minded the king was. 

 

“It’s fine.”

 

And then Kira stopped ranting. And then silence. 

 

“I’m sorry, crazy say what?”

 

“Yah.”

 

“No, don’t you yah me. What the hell do you mean it’s fine?! It’s not fine. None of THIS is fine.” And the rant continued. As if to prove a point, she held up one of the suitors’ resumes. “THIS…IS NOT FINE. NONE OF THIS IS FINE AND I CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU AREN’T MORE MAD ABOUT THIS.”

 

“Well, what am I going to do?” Hyeju shot back. “I’ve tried, okay? Honestly, don’t you think I’ve been selfish enough? Abeonim has let me have my way for pretty much everything as long as I promised to fulfill my duties in the end. As the heir to the throne.”

 

“No.”

 

“Kira, it’s not your decision to make.”

 

“No, you see this?” She picked up another piece of paper. Except this time the paper turned to ash from the fire in her hand. “Trash.”

 

“Kira, what are you doing?!”

 

“Taking out the trash,” she simply stated before taking the whole stack of suitors’ resumes and throwing it out the window. 

 

“KIRA!”

 

And then proceeded to light them all on fire.

 

“Oh my gosh, Abeonim is going to kill me…”

 

“You need a vacation,” Kira decided. 

 

“I’m sorry, crazy say what?”

 

“We’re going to Jae’s lab.”

 

“SERIOUSLY, CAN YOU SLOW DOWN?!”

 

And with her last statement, Hyeju was dragged very forcefully to the inventor’s lab, normally one of her favorite places in the palace. 

 

~

 

“I really don’t think this is a good idea…” Hyeju whispered as they snuck through the halls to Jaehyung’s lab. 

 

“It’s time travel. We can go wherever the hell we want and do whatever the hell we want and still be back by dinner time.”

 

“But the watches are still a work in progress! We don’t know if they really work!”

 

“Then we’ll explode together. It’ll be a great bonding experience,” Kira replied nonchalantly. 

 

“How reassuring.”

 

“It’s better than seeing you get stuck with someone you have no interest in for the rest of your life." 

 

Hyeju paused and stared at the back of Kira’s hooded head as the girl checked to make sure the coast was clear before moving forward. 

 

“Kira…”

 

“You know just as well as I do that it’s not easy to find someone who truly cares about you. So to hell with those suitors. I assure you that all of them are stuck up s who just want to be next in line for the throne. So no. that .”

 

Hyeju smiled warmly as her guardian opened the door to the lab and searched for the watches they had mentioned before. 

 

“Now how does this work?”

 

“You really need to work on your language. I don’t know if I ever told you that,” Hyeju commented as she took one of the watches from Kira and strapped it to her wrist. 

 

“Duly noted.” Hyeju shook her head as she placed the other watch on her own wrist. 

 

“I knew you would be trouble one day.”

 

A low growl interrupted the two as the four Lupuses led by Jaebeom entered the room, slowly surrounding the two. 

 

Despite Kira being Hyeju’s guardian, the princess moved protectively in front of the Vulpes, knowing very well the Lupuses would never dare harm the crown princess. Her guardian was a different story. 

 

“Hyeju-nim, I kindly request that you allow us to you back to your room while I have a…chat with your…guardian,” Jaebeom insisted as Kira growled, pinning her ears back, not allowing herself to be intimidated. 

 

“That won’t be necessarily, Jaebeom-sshi.”

 

Hyeju grabbed Kira’s wrist with the watch. 

 

“Because we’ll be taking our leave now.” 

 

Clamping her eyes shut and saying a small prayer, she spoke some words under her breath and held onto Kira for dear life. 

 

The next moment, she was falling from the sky.

 

Kira