"Sheesh, that family is scary... I don't know how you survive a day in this castle", the blonde haired boy barges into the kitchen as he points his finger to – what was probably – the dining hall. His other hand was scratching his head as he tilts it to the side.

Seulgi and Sooyoung turn and stare at him in confusion, a single eyebrow raised each.

"Taehyung, what are you doing here?", the royal guard asks.

"I couldn't stay there anymore. It was so scary, Noona! I made eye contact with auntie! Eye contact!", Taehyung holds Seulgi by her shoulders and shakes her several times. He hugs himself as he thinks back to the piercing gaze of the queen and shudders.

Seulgi chuckles and shakes her head.

"There is a reason I didn't want to come here in the first place, oppa", Sooyoung says. "They're so far up their own . The only person I like in there is Seokjin oppa", she rolls her eyes and sighs, leaning against the wooden island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Yeah, well... he is our cousin. Of course we're gonna like him. Besides Joohyun noona is-"

"Yo..."

Hoseok walks into the kitchen and stops when he notices two people more than he anticipated to see. He looks around at each person before shrugging and walking towards the table. The royal guard grabs a fresh banana from the bowl and peels it, while turning around and sitting down on the edge of the table.

The other three stare at him in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time as the guard eats his banana.

The dark haired man sniffs and wipes his nose, shifting a little to find a comfortable position against the table.

"Mind telling me why the cousins of the royal children are sitting in a nasty and moisty kitchen?" he asks, staring at his banana as he peels something off of it.

Seulgi knows he is speaking to her, but before she could open to say anything, Taehyung beats her to it.

“Well, I was just peacefully eating my scone when they all suddenly looked my way and I got really scared, so I excused myself and left. I will never forget the feeling auntie gave me when I looked at her…” Taehyung shivers again as he stares at the floor with a disturbed expression on his face.

Hoseok shakes his head. "It's ok. They really are scary and that's coming from a guy who lives in this place", he chuckles. "By the way, Seulgi...", the older woman looks up. "Training tomorrow is cancelled, 'cause of the crowning ceremony preparations"

"Oh no! I was so looking forward to that!", Seulgi says sarcastically, chuckling when she sees Hoseok rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, the door opens and everyone turns their heads towards the sound.

Kim Seokjin, stepbrother of Joohyun and oldest son of the family, peeks his head inside the room. He takes a moment to look at each person before stepping inside the kitchen. He is tall and really handsome, with broad shoulders and long arms that probably gave the best hugs. His hair is neatly parted and shows off his forehead as well as his eyebrows - which were often hidden under his long bangs.

"Have any of you seen Jungkook?", he asks, his voice soft and gentle.

The four shake their heads.

"Oh..."

There is an awkward silence hanging between Seokjin and the other four as they shift around each other.

"Uhm...", Taehyung starts, wincing as his voice comes out a little loud and raspy. "I think I know where Jungkook went", he scratches his head.

"Where did he go?", Seokjin asks.

"He told me yesterday, that he was gonna visit a friend he made recently. Some girl he met at Joohyun noona's party"

Seulgi's eyes widen and she stiffens for a second as she looks at the younger man.

"What... girl?", she asks.

Taehyung shrugs.

"I don't know. Some commoner around his age. He said he was gonna play games with her, because she loved doing that"

There was a long period of silence as Seulgi and Seokjin stared at the blonde haired man. Only, Seokjin was looking at Taehyung in confusion while Seulgi was having an internal crisis.

"I... might know where he is", Seulgi says slowly. She avoids everyone's eyes as to not break her facade. "But it won't be the shortest trip from here"

The royal guard can see the prince nod out of the corner of her eye and looks up.

"Alright, let's go"

Seulgi pauses for a second and looks at Hoseok, who gives her a nod, and then back at the prince.

She doesn't want to go, actually. She is not ready to confront Wendy yet and she is definitely NOT prepared for it.

In fact, Seulgi's been getting a lot of notes through Namjoon, who often visited the castle in secret to send her some pastries Wendy made. The baker hid notes inside the baskets, but Seulgi hasn't read any of them.

Except for the first one.

It was a note asking about Seulgi and why she hadn't visited the bakery in so long. Seulgi almost cried, because of the little sad face on the bottom of the note and hasn't touched a single note ever since.

Seulgi exhales and turns around.

"Alright then..."

She walks away with Seokjin and Hoseok following close behind.

"H-hey! Wait for us!", Taehyung shouts as he and Sooyoung rush to catch up with the other three.