Wendy shakes her hands in an attempt to get rid of the wet feeling on her hand as she walks out of the bathroom.

She was heading to the stairs, when a sudden muffled noise makes her stop. Wendy turns around and looks around the wide space.

The blonde haired woman was about to turn back around, when she hears that noise again.

What the hell?

Wendy follows the noise. As she gets closer the muffled noise turns into soft sniffing. She slowly approaches the door and stops in front of it, leaning forward until her ear was pressed onto the cold surface.

___________

Joohyun is sitting in her bedroom, curled up in a ball as she holds herself tightly. Her chest is heaving as she struggles to breath steadily.

She doesn't know what's happening to her. Just a moment ago she was perfectly fine, excited to celebrate her birthday, excited to see her friends and family again and yet... the moment she looked down and saw all those people, eager to see her. It became too much for her.

She lost control over her breathing, feeling lightheaded and gripped the railing as tightly as she could, feeling her knees go week. She rushed upstairs, towards her bedroom and closed the door, sliding down against it immediately as tears started forming around her eyes.

Joohyun hugs herself tighter when she hears a knock on the door.

The door opens and the dark haired woman raises her head slightly.

A young woman steps into the room. The woman kneels down and puts a hand on Joohyun's arm, giving it a little squeeze.

"Your highness, please look at me", she says gently. "It's me. Wendy, from the bakery"

Joohyun looks up into her dark vibrant eyes. The princess has never seen such gentle eyes before. A small smile forms on the blonde haired woman's lips.

"Ma'am, you have to steady your breathing", Wendy says and Joohyun gives her a small nod. The blonde haired woman leans back to sit on her heels, never breaking eye contact with the princess. "Please follow me"

Wendy inhales deeply through her nose and Joohyun does the same. They keep looking at each other as they exhale together. They repeat the action a few times, until Joohyun is finally breathing steadily again.

The princess was staring at her feet, finally relaxing a bit as she leans back against the wall. She can feel the pair of eyes in front of her still on her.

"Why did you do that?", the princess asks softly. She hears the woman in front of her hum and looks up to see her tilt her head to the side with a smile.

This kid really loves smiling.

"It's your birthday. You shouldn't be sad", Joohyun raises an eyebrow. "It's not always nice to have so many eyes on you. It makes you feel suffocated", the princess notices the shift in the other's mood. "I apologize for ignoring your privacy. It was my mistake and I -",

Wendy pauses when she feels a hand on her, now lowered, head and looks up. Joohyun is smiling, her usual piercing eyes, gentle as if looking at a small child.

"It's ok. You did well. I'm very thankful that you helped me calm down"

Joohyun's hand slides down the right side of Wendy's head and stops at her cheek, letting it rest there. She's very warm, the princess feels.

When the princess's hand slid down to her cheek, it was then that Wendy noticed how close the princess actually was to her. She had leaned forward to reach for the blonde haired woman's head and stayed there.

Wendy gulps, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, the princess's hand still caressing her right cheek.

"W-we should go, your highness. Your guests are waiting for you. They're going to get worried", Wendy flinches when she hears her voice come out in a squeak.

She moves back to create some space between them and holds out her hand. The princess looks down at it and smiles, taking a hold of the small and soft hand as she gets pulled up. They walk out of Joohyun's bedroom and Wendy is glad Seulgi and Yerim didn't wait for her.

"I'll guide you, your majesty", Wendy holds out her left arm for Joohyun to take and the latter gently puts her hand on the other's arm.

The princess and the baker look at each other. They give each other a small smile before facing the front. With their head high, back straight and slightly puffed chest,  the two ladies walk down the stairs.

Wendy can feel the princess's grip tighten around her arm the closer to the crowd of people they get.

Just a few more steps, your highness

Once they take their last step, wendy lets go of Joohyun. Slowly creating some distance as she watches the older woman get used to her environment. 

It must be hard.

There is a lot of pressure on her this time around. The coronation ceremony is soon and princess Irene is next in line to the throne as the oldest in the family.

Wendy waits for a while and watches Joohyun talk to some people. She still looks uncomfortable, but the blonde is sure the princess will manage, so she turns to walk away, giving Joohyun one last look and nod before disappearing into the crowd of people.

Joohyun watches the blonde haired girl leave. She doesn't know why, but a smile makes it's way onto her already beautiful face. The princess gets a warm feeling inside her chest when she thinks about what had just happened a moment ago, in her bedroom.

She wants to be her friend.

She wants this girl by her side.

She wants this girl.

________________

Finally some action!

I was honestly so excited to post this chapter, cuz things are happening now!!!

We're starting to get the goods ;)