They got escorted to their own rooms. The princess and the queen had their own rooms but Irene had to stay with Mrs. Gazel. That night, Irene took her diary to write everything she felt and what happened the whole day.

"I'm surprised you still do that. Don't you think that's too old?" Mrs. Gazel asked.
"It makes me feel better every time I write things on it, so no." Irene answered with a smile.
"I thought only Princess Seungwan does that, still." Mrs. Gazel mumbled.
"She has a diary too?!" Irene gets surprised.
"Well, yes. Ever since she was a kid, actually. She never stopped writing."

Irene closed her diary and hid it.

"She does it since she was young..." Irene thinks about it deeply. She remembered that her dad said they've met when they were young.


[FLASHBACK]

"I can't-- move" Irene struggles to get herself off the mud she stepped on.
"Hey, you don't look so fine." Someone behind her suddenly talked. She looked back and saw a cute little boy standing.
"I'm stuck..."
"Wait for me." He runs away.

Irene thought he'll be back with an elder to help, but he came back with a stick, instead.

"Here, hold the tip. I will pull you." He said.

Irene did what he said, but the stick just got broken.

"Don't worry, I got you." He winks at her.

He took a step on the mud.

"No, don't do that! We might both be stuck!" Irene gets worried.
"Don't be scared. I'm stronger than I look and I've done this a couple of times."
"I play here a lot", he whispered.

He took steps until her reach Irene's hand.
After a couple of minutes, they finally succeeded on getting themselves off the mud.

"Now you're all dirty. I'm sorry", Irene apologized.
"Well, I'm pretty sure mom's gonna kill me for this." He chuckles.
"But it's okay. At least I got to save you." He grins.

Irene blushes.

"But what kind of mom kills her own son?"
"Son? Oh..." He touches his hair.
"I didn't really mean she will kill me. She loves me so much so I'm sure she won't. She would just spank my for being such a naughty kid, as always."
"Are you happy being with your mom even if she spanks your ?" Irene asked.
"Well, yeah? She's the only person I could talk to about everything."
"I hope I also have someone to talk everything with..." Irene looks down.

"Why do you look so sad, suddenly?"
"It's just that--" Irene sighs.
"--my mom barely spends time with me because of her work. She works in the palace, that's why I hate royalties. I think they are just spoiled and nosy people like what I see on movies but they still get all the time my mom has."
"But I am a royalty..."
"You are?!" Irene gets even more amazed of him, thinking that a prince got himself dirty for a normal and unknown citizen.
"Do you hate me now?" He asked.
"No, I don't. I guess televisions lie", said Irene.
"Televisions, you say? Hmm... How do I explain this? The things you see there are fictions, meaning they were only written by people. A bad royalty on a movie doesn't mean that all royalties are bad." He explained.
"You're so smart. I'm liking you even more", said Irene.

The two of them talked, joked and laughed together for almost an hour.

"I'm getting sleepy", said Irene.
"Want me to sing a lullaby for you?" The prince asked.
"You can sing?! Wow! You're so perfect!"

The prince chuckled and started singing. His voice made her feel so much comfort.

"You are so amazing. I want to marry you." Irene told him, out of nowhere.
"The thing is--" The prince wanted to say something, but he suddenly heard a voice.

"Princess Seungwan, where are you?"

"I'm dead!" His eyes widened.
"You are?! Are you a zombie or a ghost?!" Irene asked.
"No, no! That's not it! I need to go now. If you are sad and you want someone to talk to but your mom isn't around, write here, okay? It's called diary." He leaves a notebook on her lap.
"I need to go now, bye!" He runs away.

[END OF FLASHBACK]


"Could that prince be actually--a princess?" Irene asked herself.

She thought of it the whole night that once again, she forgot about Seulgi.


[THE NEXT DAY]

"Wake up, Bae Joohyun" Mrs. Gazel woke Irene up early in the morning.

Irene turned around to face Mrs. Gazel with her eyes open. Seeing how big the bags under her eyes are, Mrs. Gazel got terrified and stepped back.

"We'll be having breakfast with the royalties. Make sure to show your manners", said mrs. Gazel.
"And make sure to fix up. You look.." Mrs. Gazel shakes her head.
"Yes, Mrs. Gazel" Irene answered.

"I just slept but she already woke me up. I bet I look like a zombie..." Irene sighs.

Even while having their breakfast, Irene was looking at no one else but Wendy, wondering if she was actually the prince she met when she was young.

"Why does it even matter? It's not like I still want to marry him. Why am I even acting like he's still so important?" Irene asked herself.


-----------------------

Irene was staring out of nowhere when suddenly, someone hugged her from behind. She looked back and found Seulgi smiling at her.

"Princess..." Irene steps back and takes Seulgi's arms off her.
"I don't think you should do that here. If someone sees us, we'll both be dead", said Irene.
"Should I take my mask off before doing it so no one would recognize me, then?" Seulgi asked.
"That's not it, your highness."

Seulgi sighs.

"I've been missing you for days now. I really really want to hug you so tight, you know?" Seulgi asked.

Irene smiled and said, "Let's just show how much we miss each other later when we're back home."

Seulgi nods cutely like a little kid and says, "I'll look forward to that!"

"She's the only one I should be thinking of. That's right. You're just getting confused because of a dumb past." Irene told herself.

Seulgi stands beside Irene and asks, "How were your days with your family?"
"Just normal. I don't really talk a lot with my family so I spent the days reading books until I receive a message from you."
"It feels good, hearing that you waited for nothing else but my message", said Seulgi.

Irene smiled and looked outside again. She felt so much guilt because deep inside, she knew that she's also been waiting for messages from Wendy. She didn't put any malice on it that time, since she thought she was just waiting because they've been close friends. But now, it's a different thing.

"Your highness..." Irene pauses.

"I need to do this. If I won't, then I might never be able to get over it." Irene takes a deep breath.

"Yes?" Seulgi asked.
"Do you have some childhood pictures? Together with Princess Seungwan, perhaps?" Irene asked.
"We have A LOT! Most were your mom's shots so I wanted you to see those too, actually. I'm glad you asked since I forget to show you all the time", said Seulgi.
"Really? Show me later, then", said Irene.

That afternoon, they both went back. The queen, Mrs. Gazel and Wendy went to the castle while Seulgi and Irene went straight home.
With only the two of them in the house, Seulgi had the chance to hug Irene really tight.

"Oh, I've been waiting for this chance!"

Irene chuckled and hugged her back.

"You're actually giving me a hard time to breathe but since it makes you feel good then okay", said Irene.

"Look at me, Irene" Seulgi suddenly talked with a soft voice.

Irene did as she said.
Seulgi closed her eyes and leaned closer to Irene. Irene did the same and kissed her.
While their lips were touching, Wendy suddenly came into Irene's mind, making her pull away.

"Can I look at the pictures now?" Irene asked out of nowhere.

Seulgi giggles and jokes, "You're excited to see how cute I was, aren't you?"

Irene fakes a smile as a reply.

"I will just get the photo album. Wait for me", said Seulgi.

She took the album and sat beside Irene.

"This is it!" Irene told herself.

With her heartbeat racing and her sweat slightly falling, Irene opens the album and sees a few photos of two kids.

"This is me while this is Wendy." Seulgi points at them.
"I can't really see Wendy, though."
"Well, yeah, she's either looking back or sideways. Too bad. Maybe on the next page", said Seulgi.

Irene turns to another page and sees the same poses from Seulgi.

"Why does it feels like destiny is playing with me?! Ugh!" Irene gets frustrated deep inside.

Seulgi laughs and says, "She's always facing back or sideways, really."

"But her hair is incredibly long", said Irene.
"Huh?" Seulgi asked.

"The prince doesn't have a long hair. If he had, I would surely think of him as a princess. He's too beautiful." Irene told herself.

"Her hair was long as a kid" Irene repeats it.
"Ohh, yes. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Irene turned to another pages, yet, failed to see Wendy's childhood face properly.

"This next one would be the last one. If I still fail to see her face here then I'm done." Irene gulps.

She was about to turn the album to its last page when suddenly, someone knocked at the door.

"Seulgi, are you inside? We're back", said the queen.

"I'll open it", said Irene.

She le