*Note - How Royals are addressed:

King/Queen - Your Majesty

Princess - Your Highness

Duke - Your Grace

Viscount - My Lord/Lord *last name*

---

 

----- 14 -----

 

Heejin was fourteen when she was told she would now be accompanied by a personal bodyguard practically everywhere she goes. She was furious when her parents told her as would any teenager at the stage where privacy and time alone was gold.

"I don't need protection, father!" A young and frustrated Heejin tells him.

"You're the heir to the throne, darling, and therefore you must be protected at all costs even if we aren’t aware of any threats yet," he responds coolly.

"If that was the case, you would've given me one ages ago! You're- You're only doing this because Sunwoo snuck in, right?!?" Heejin continued her tantrum, so enraged that she stupidly blurted out the name of her secret-but-not-anymore boyfriend.

"Hmm," the King hums, making Heejin start to fidget with her hands. "Actually, we only waited until now because we wanted to make sure your bodyguard was properly trained and ready, but I guess that gives me another reason to assign you one since it's apparently easy for someone to sneak into your room." The King glances at his head of security knowingly, wordlessly scolding them for allowing such a thing to happen before looking back at his daughter, whose face was now beet red.

Heejin knew she lost the fight after her slip-up, but that still didn't stop her from being mad at the new intrusion. She crossed her arms and looked away when she heard her father call for the bodyguard.

"Kim, come introduce yourself," he says and Heejin makes sure to keep her head to the side, refusing to look at her unwanted companion.

I bet he's a stupid, old, ugly, idiot-

"Yes, your Majesty."

Heejin's thoughts come to a halt at the sound of a feminine voice and she can't help but look at who the owner of the voice was. When she does, her jaw nearly drops.

The person now in front of her looked nothing like Heejin had expected. To start, she thought it was going to be a man, probably in his mid-20s. She never thought she'd be face-to-face with a girl who looks like she's the same age as her and a pretty one at that. 

The girl across from her bows first before speaking again, "Hello Princess Heejin, my name is Kim Hyunjin and I swear to honor my duty to ensure your safety and happiness. I will always be here to lend you a hand and protect you at any and all costs."

Hyunjin bows respectfully once again and the two lock eyes when she comes back up. A second or two passes before Heejin breaks eye contact to look at her father. 

"Father, you can't be serious," Heejin nearly laughs in disbelief. "She looks like she's my age and you're trying to tell me that my life is in her hands?!" She points to Hyunjin.

"As a matter-of-fact, she is your age," the King says simply. "Your mother and I thought it would be best for your bodyguard to be around your age so they would feel like your friend and so that you can be more comfortable around them too. We believe growing up together will strengthen your trust with one another as well. And if you're worried about her skills, she's been training for years and has even bested some of my strongest guards. She's more than qualified to protect you, my dear."

Heejin just huffs her chest in exaggeration, "Whatever." She sends a quick glare at Hyunjin. "Just don't bother me, okay?" As she leaves, she rolls her eyes at the new sound of footsteps that will follow her for years.

 

----- 16 -----

 

As time went by, her parents' hope of the two being friends never came to any real fruition. This was due to a mix of Heejin continuously rejecting the fact that she has a bodyguard and that Hyunjin was often way too focused on her job to ever let loose. It also didn't help that Heejin's request of not being bothered didn't hold up either. 

"AAAHHH GET OUT!" Heejin screams when the door to her room bursts open and Hyunjin appears with high alert etched on her face. Heejin was so caught up with her emotions switching from fear to anger that she forgot that she had pushed Sunwoo off of her bed. She silently starts to wish that the boy stays quiet.

"I thought I heard something, your Highness," Hyunjin says casually as she starts to walk, looking around to survey the room.

"What did I tell you about coming into my room?" Heejin questions, hoping to make Hyunjin stop moving around.

"To knock first, but-"

"Exactly! So, get out!" Heejin reaches back to grab and throw one of her pillows at her bodyguard. In the beginning, she'd never do such a thing, but she eventually realized that Hyunjin wouldn't be able to retaliate so being hit with a soft cushion was something that the bodyguard was used to by now.

"Hey!" Hyunjin pouts once hit, but as expected remained unfazed as she continued her check. "I'm just making sure you're alright and I'm not-"

"Leaving until it's all clear blah blah blah," Heejin mocks. Soon after, however, she starts to panic once Hyunjin begins approaching the other side of her bed.

"Hyunjin, it's all clear. You don't need to look anymore," Heejin tries after moving her eyes frantically as if conducting a search herself, but Hyunjin squints her eyes in suspicion and keeps walking. "This is an order! I order you to leave!"

"All due respect, I don't take orders from you, your Highness," Hyunjin smirks and Heejin hates it because she knows the girl was right. The Princess falls back on her bed with a grunt when Hyunjin finally takes notice of the figure lying on the floor on the other side of the bed. "Well, well, well. Fancy seeing you here again, huh Sunwoo?"

Hyunjin aggressively grabs the boy to make him stand and starts pulling him out of the room, making Heejin take notice, "Hyunjin, stop being so rough with him!" She immediately hops off of her bed and trails behind Hyunjin, yelling at her to let her boyfriend go as they make their way to the castle doors.

"Dude, c'mon!" Sunwoo genuinely tries to fight her off, but it was to no avail with Hyunjin's grip locked on tightly. It was moments like this that made Heejin realize just how strong Hyunjin was. (She wouldn’t say it outloud, but it also made Hyunjin look very hot every time.) Once they reach the doors, the bodyguard hands him to the castle guards.

"Look who's here again gentlemen. You know what to do," Hyunjin says and the two other guards bow to Heejin before giving the bodyguard respectful nods and leading Sunwoo out of the castle. 

"Goodnight, Heejin! I'll see you soon!" Sunwoo yells out as the castle doors close and Heejin waves just before the doors are completely shut.

"I'll you to your room, your Highness," Hyunjin says as she extends her arm for Heejin to hold. But Heejin just pushes it away with a scoff.

"I hate you," Heejin starts to walk towards her room. "I don't know why you keep treating him like this every time. He didn't do anything wrong."

"He snuck in after hours… again," Hyunjin follows. 

"Who cares?! We've been dating for two years now. We do this all the time so I don't know why you can't just leave us be!" Heejin stomps up the stairs.

"Considering that it has been two years, he should know by now that he isn't allowed in your room after curfew," Hyunjin challenges. "So, I don't trust him."

"Well, I do," Heejin turns to face Hyunjin as soon as they arrive at the door to her room, blocking her bodyguard from following inside. 

"Well, you shouldn't," Hyunjin holds her hands behind her back.

"And why not?" Heejin raises an eyebrow.

"Because you shouldn't be with someone who can't follow rules."

"So what? Are you saying that I should be with someone like you?" Heejin challenges in hopes to catch the slightly taller girl off-guard and to her amusement, it works.

"I-uh-of course n-not," Hyunjin stutters until she just clamps shut.

"Exactly," Heejin smiles devilishly. Then, to end off her revenge, she leans up to whisper in Hyunjin's ear, "And life would be boring if you don't break the rules every once and a while."

Once she pulls back, she has to hold in her laughter when she sees Hyunjin as pale as ever.

"Goodnight, Hyunjin," she says with a fake smile as she closes the door.

"G-Goodnight, your Highness."

 

----- 18 -----

 

Hyunjin was posted outside of Sunwoo's house when the door to her left was suddenly yanked open and Heejin ran past her towards the car. 

"Your Highness?" Hyunjin quickly catches up and opens the car door to let Heejin sit inside. "What happened?"

Hyunjin was confused seeing that the two of them had only arrived a few minutes ago since Heejin had insisted on coming to surprise her boyfriend the morning of his birthday.

"After f-four years… He's- He's cheating on me," Heejin sniffles with her head buried in her hands. "T-There was a girl in his bed when I w-walked in."

Hyunjin's grip on the car door tightened.

"Heejin! Wait!"

Hyunjin doesn't even have to turn around to recognize Sunwoo's voice. "I'll be back," she says coldly.

"Hyunjin, don't be foolish!" Heejin tries to grab her bodyguard, but Hyunjin easily evades her outreached hands and turns around, now approaching the boy with clenched fists. 

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, Hyunjin," Sunwoo starts as he holds out his arms to keep the girl from coming any closer. "Just let me talk to her-UGH!"

Hyunjin shakes off her right hand after connecting her fist to the side of Sunwoo's face. She leans down and hovers over the fallen boy, who is now holding his left cheek, ready to strike again when she feels someone lightly grip her arm. 

"Please, stop," Heejin's small voice seems to break Hyunjin's trance. "I want to go home."

At that, Hyunjin stands up slowly, her eyes never leaving Sunwoo's as if telling him to stay down. She flattens and dusts off her suit before Heejin, who is still holding on to her arm, drags her back to the car. The bodyguard's adrenaline was still pumping that it took her a few moments into the drive to realize that 1) she was sitting in the back with the Princess even though she normally sits in the passenger seat and 2) that Heejin had started to inspect her now bruising hand. 

"What were you thinking?" Heejin asks quietly as she gently holds Hyunjin's hand while looking at it.

"I'm sorry, your Highness. I don't know what came over me," Hyunjin gulps, her heart racing with the contact. 

"It's fine. He deserved it anyways," Heejin sighs. "I guess you were right."

"About what?" 

"I… I shouldn't have trusted him." 

Hyunjin immediately took notice of how Heejin's shoulders had slumped and that a small frown was now evident even though she could only see Heejin's side profile. The bodyguard wanted to console the Princess, but she wasn't exactly sure how to go about it seeing that their relationship had always been odd. So, she does what she thinks she can. 

"I'm sorry." 

“What ever could you be sorry for?” Heejin asks with no malice in her voice, but rather in genuine confusion.

“I wasn't able to uphold my duty of ensuring your happiness, your Highness,” Hyunjin says. It was fairly simple, but she hopes it got her message across. 

She can't tell if she said the right thing, seeing that Heejin didn't say anything for the rest of the trip. But she clearly wasn't completely off the mark since Heejin's finger began to lightly trace random lines on her bruised hand.

-----

"Whoever thought this was a good idea, I want them fired," Heejin complains as she throws down the metal tubes in her hand.

"It was your idea, your Highness," Hyunjin stifles a laugh as she sits on her lawn chair next to her fully built tent.

"I was being sarcastic, Captain Obvious," Heejin says irritatingly.

Technically, Heejin wasn’t even supposed to be here. Hyunjin and a few of the other fellow royal guards had decided to go camping as a way of team-building and just enjoying time off from the stressful life of being a guard.

So, how did the Princess find herself in this situation in the middle of the woods?

**

A few nights ago and well past her curfew, Heejin decided to sneak out after Hyunjin's shift was over. When roaming around the castle, she heard voices from one of the rooms and out of curiosity, she tried to subtly take a peek inside. However, what she completely missed was the fact that the room was filled with some royal guards who had a keen sense of awareness, so as soon as the door cracked, it didn’t take long for someone inside to tell the "peeping Tom" to enter. Embarrassingly, she slowly opened the door and was surprised to see that she had accidentally stumbled into a meeting between her parents and some of the royal guards including Hyunjin, who were all in an defensive stance at the "intruder."

"Heejin?" Her mother asks first as the rest of the room relaxes. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"

Heejin bows as she apologizes.

"Oh, it's alright dear," her mother says warmly. Then, the woman perks up, "Actually, now that you're here, it’s best we let you know that your father and I just approved that some of the guards will be having a camping trip. Therefore, you won’t be with Hyunjin for the weekend and instead your secondary guard will accompany you."

Before she could stop herself, Heejin blurts out, “Can I go too?”

“What?” The Queen, King and even Hyunjin all speak simultaneously. Instantly, the rest of the guards start to whisper to each other while Hyunjin just looks at her with wide eyes.

If Heejin were under any other circumstances, she would have never suggested such a thing because to be quite frank, she loves her royal lifestyle. However, after her recent heartbreak, a part of her just wants to get away for a while, even if that means having to go out in the darn awful woods and with Hyunjin no less.

“Just think about it! Don’t you think it would be good for me to experience life outside of the castle? You know, so I can appreciate the life and privilege that I have now,” Heejin tries.

“I don’t know, darling,” the King says skeptically.

“I’d be safe anyways! Hyunjin and the rest of the guards will be with me.”

Her father looked as if he was about to reject Heejin’s idea, but her mother touched his hand, making him pause. Then, the Queen speaks, “You know what? I think that would be a great idea! Not only do I think this experience will be beneficial, but this is a perfect opportunity for you and Hyunjin to bond! Don’t you think, honey?” her mother looks at her husband.

“Well.. I-uh.. I guess so,” her father concedes as he locks eyes with his wife. “That settles it then.”

**

So, now here The Princess is, with the sun winding-down and her tent still not properly set up.

"You know," Hyunjin trails. "We could, as your mother said, 'bond' if you'd just let me help you build your tent."

"Absolutely not. I don't understand why you couldn't just set up your tent where the rest of the guards are."

"Your Highness, first of all, I'm only here because you were the one who wanted to pitch your tent in a different spot than the rest of the group and the Royal Majesties would kill me if they found out I left you all alone."

"Well, at least those guards listened to my orders of wanting to be left alone- and save your breath. I already know you're just going to say that it's because 'you don't take orders from me.'" 

Hyunjin doesn't hold her laughter this time, "Exactly. Now as I was saying, secondly, the sun is setting fast. At this rate, you'll never finish in time, your Highness."

"Just you watch, Kim Hyunjin!" Heejin says with a new found sense of determination. "I guarantee that it'll be done by nightfall."

"Whatever you say, Princess," Hyunjin stands. "While you do that, I'll get our fire going."

--

"HAH! What did I tell you!" Heejin jumps in excitement when her tent manages to stay up for longer than five seconds.

"Well, I must say that I am quite impressed, your Highness," the bodyguard praises. "I think this calls for a celebratory snack, don't you think?"

"For once, I agree with you," Heejin plops down onto the second lawn chair next to Hyunjin with a bright smile. "What kind of snack?"

"Why s'mores of course! I mean, we are camping after all, your Highness," Hyunjin replies as if the answer was obvious.

"What in the world are s'mores?" Heejin's head tilts a bit.

"Please tell me you're joking," Hyunjin chuckles, but it soon fades when Heejin still has a lost look on her face. "Oh my goodness, you're serious. You're telling me that the one and only Princess Heejin has never had a s'more before?"

Heejin shakes her head.

"Well I guess it's your lucky day, your Highness, because you just so happen to be with the best s'more maker in the country, if not the world!"

Heejin gives a sarcastic, "If you say so," but three s'mores later she finds herself leaning back into the chair with content written all over her face.

"You're welcome, by the way," Hyunjin says smugly.

"Oh shut it," Heejin says and soon after she lets out a tired yawn. "I think I've had my fair share of Kim Hyunjin for the day. So, I'm going into my tent that I built," she stresses. "And have as good of a night's rest that I can muster in this environment."

Heejin stands to stretch, then makes her way inside her tent. Before she zips it closed, she makes sure the two of them share their routine goodnights. It would just feel wrong not to. 

--

She's not sure how much time has passed, but she has been tossing and turning in her inflated mattress ever since she had laid down. It also didn't help that she literally jumped at the slightest noise whether it be fallen leaves hitting her tent or branches swaying against each other from the wind. 

Heejin is in denial of it, but she's scared. 

And when she hears something that sounds like a twig being snapped in two, she immediately sits up and springs off her bed and out her tent. Her eyes stay locked on the tent across from hers with her blood pumping. 

She repeatedly mutters 'Hyunjin' frantically as she zips open the girl's tent. As soon as Heejin is inside, Hyunjin shoots up with alertness.

"Who's there?" The bodyguard tries to say in a serious manner, but her words come out groggy with heavy eyelids, a result from just being woken up. 

"It's me," Heejin says in haste as she quickly zips the tent closed. 

"Oh…," Hyunjin rubs her eyes and starts to lie back down, but then sits right back up. "Why are you in here?!?"

Suddenly, Heejin turns shy and her shoulders drop in defeat, "I got... scared," she mumbles the last word.

"You got what, your Highness?"

Still embarrassed, Heejin refuses to look at her bodyguard as she says the words again a bit more clearly, "I got scared, Hyunjin."

Hyunjin's mouth forms an O-shape. "Well then, I'll do a quick sweep and secure the perimeter-" Hyunjin starts to get up but Heejin places her hand on the guard's arm, making her stop.

"No!"

Hyunjin's eyebrows furrow, prompting an explanation. 

"I-...," Heejin shuts her eyes. "I don't want to be left alone..."

She expects to hear Hyunjin laugh at her, but when she doesn't and instead hears the sound of movement, Heejin opens her eyes.

Hyunjin was now on one side of the inflated bed, lying on her side while facing the side of the tent, leaving the other side empty and part of the blanket overturned.

Heejin was a bit confused at first, but then it clicked.

Oh….OH.

"Are you serious?!" Heejin asks in disbelief.

"You got any better ideas?" She hears the bodyguard yawn.

With that, Heejin closes and after a few seconds of wondering why has her life come to this, she slowly makes her way to lie down on the bed next to the girl.

To be quite honest, even with knowing that she's not alone, she still finds herself struggling to fall asleep for an entirely different reason. It just had to be Hyunjin of all people to be the one to provide her some sort of comfort.

And so, she's constantly going back and forth between lying on her back or facing away from Hyunjin, but her body freezes when she feels a hand on hers. Her heart rate picking up at the sudden contact. 

"You're safe, your Highness," Hyunjin's voice is just above a whisper, both calm and soothing. 

Heejin thanks the universe that it's practically pitch black inside the tent so Hyunjin couldn't see how her words made Heejin's cheeks turn bright red.

"I-," Heejin fumbles as she feels the guard clasp their hands together. "T-This stays between us."

"Don't worry, your Highness. That's an order I can follow."

When Heejin wakes up, she struggles to recall how she had fallen asleep so easily after that, but she does frown when she notes the warmth missing from her hand.

 

----- 21 ----

 

Ever since the camping trip, Heejin began to see her bodyguard in a new light and started to subtly accept Hyunjin's presence more and more. She wasn't exactly overt about it, but the amount of times she would ask Hyunjin to leave her alone lost frequency (not that Hyunjin would leave her anyways unless under a specific set of circumstances).

The bond that they were supposed to be building since they were fourteen years old was finally starting to take shape over the past three years as they had been opening up to each other little by little. So now, even their conversations flowed smoothly. 

While they still weren’t exactly friends, there was a sense of mutual respect. And whether Heejin realized it or not, her trust in Hyunjin grew and she eventually found herself quite comfortable whenever she was around.

As she began to acknowledge Hyunjin’s presence, Heejin even started to notice the little things that her bodyguard had been doing for her that she thought were done by her staff. Like the way Hyunjin takes Heejin’s coffee from a maid, but adds more sugar to it before handing it to Heejin. Or how Hyunjin always places a fresh bouquet of flowers in the vase in her room every week.

**

It was one of those rare Saturday mornings where Heejin was able to sleep in. Neither the King nor Queen had planned any event that would require her to wake up early and get ready, so she had more time than usual to sleep and stay in bed. And so, that was the plan.

Or at least it was.

To her dismay, her eyes opened due to the bright sunlight shining on them, so she turned to lay flat on her back. She thought she had closed her curtains enough the night before, but of course, luck hasn't really been on her side.

As soon as she closes her eyes again in hopes to fall back asleep, she hears her door creak open. For a moment, she was scared and nearly bolted straight up to yell out for Hyunjin. However, she soon realized who the person might be. She finally had the opportunity to find out who would replace her flowers every Saturday morning. They must not have knocked to make sure they wouldn't wake her up.

You see, ever since she was sixteen, Heejin would take a casual stroll at the castlegrounds flower garden every Friday. These strolls would often be her favorite moment each week seeing that it was a time in which she could truly clear her mind and just enjoy her surroundings. Nothing about the garden would remind her of her status as the royal heir as she was only in the presence of flowers. Granted, Hyunjin would be there as well, but during these strolls the bodyguard would typically stand a bit farther than usual so it was as if she wasn’t even there.

Each time she walks along the garden path, she would eventually choose a flower patch to spend a bit more time at. She would deem those particular flowers as her “flowers of the week” or in other terms, her favorite flower of the week. However, the title was a secret only kept to herself because she thought no one else would really care. She used to tell Sunwoo in the rare times when he decided to accompany her, but even then he never showed much interest. So, if he hadn’t, she assumed others would feel the same.

And yet within a few months of when she started this personal tradition of hers, on one random Saturday and each one following, she would wake to new flowers in her vase that just so happened to be the ones that she claimed to be her favorites. Initially she thought it was Sunwoo, seeing that he was with her on the stroll prior to the morning when it started. But as said earlier, he rarely tagged along and of course new flowers would still appear after they had broken up.

And so, she simply took it as a mere coincidence and never asked her staff about it. But now that the opportunity has arisen to which she may see the mysterious person who replaces her flowers, she had to take it. She could even ask them why they would choose the particular flowers.

So, as soon as she heard the rustling of flowers signaling that the person was at the vase, she slowly opened her eyes. Due to the placement of her bed she could only see their side profile, but it was enough to recognize.

There, standing with a fresh bouquet in her hands, was her bodyguard.

She felt her heart jolt at the sight.

She was about to sit up and pretend to have just woken up, but something within herself tells her not to. Heejin felt that if she were to confront Hyunjin now, the girl would stop bringing in new flowers and quite honestly she didn’t want to risk that to happen. She always felt such joy whenever she saw her favorite flowers in her vase every Saturday morning and although she now knows that this joy was caused by Hyunjin, it didn’t make her feel any different. If anything, it had for some reason made her even happier.

And so she stayed still, closing her eyes shut before Hyunjin would have the chance to notice that she was actually awake.

**

It makes Heejin wonder why it took her so long to finally notice seeing such things. Especially since Hyunjin was the only person who’d get an idea of what her new favorite flower was and thus be able to put them in her vase the following day. Not to mention that Hyunjin was the only person who knows that she hates bitter coffee (she would tell the maids, but then she knew that they would feel bad). She could only imagine what other things her bodyguard has been doing for her that she has yet to realize after all the years they’ve been together.

And without realizing it, she couldn’t help but compare not only the easiness of their conversations, but also Hyunjin’s attentiveness of her to that of her previous boyfriend who only seemed to care about making out.

Overall, it was unexpected for Heejin. To see that in the span of three years, their dynamic had completely changed and she wasn't bothered by it at all. 

At the moment, the two were currently standing outside the small hedge maze located not too far from the castle. Heejin would usually come here whenever she was bored and wanted to mess with Hyunjin. Her bodyguard absolutely hated it when they would go because Heejin would almost always dash into the maze without warning, leaving Hyunjin either panting from staying right on her tail or panicking after losing her for a brief moment. Eventually, it would end with Hyunjin grabbing her hand and leading her out of the maze or Heejin would end up getting lost and the two would start playing "Marco, Polo" until Hyunjin found her. (Hyunjin has done this so many times that she practically knows the maze like the back of her hand.)

“It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?” Heejin starts as she cruises around the entrance of the maze as Hyunjin simply stands still with her hands behind her back, watching her.

“It is indeed, your Highness,” the bodyguard takes a deep breath. “So, what is the plan this time? Should I have grabbed my running shoes?” Hyunjin asks sarcastically.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny,” Heejin pokes her tongue out. “You know, for someone who is merely a bodyguard, you seem to talk so carefree in front of a royal.”

“Well, for someone who is a Princess, you seem to lack etiquette and manners towards her people,” Hyunjin counters. If it were anyone else, Heejin would’ve had them fired immediately, but after so many years with the girl especially as of late, their banter had become a new norm between them and so she knows not to take much offense. If she were to be quite honest, she valued their back-and-forth. Knowing that she’s a royal, no one would ever dare to act in such a way towards her, so in a sense it was refreshing that Hyunjin does.

“You are so irritating,” Heejin responds. She’s not sure what compels her to say the next line, but it comes out. “Every time I talk to you, I start to feel bad for whomever you marry in the future.”

“Your Highness… Are you saying that you think about my love life often?” Hyunjin teases.

Heejin comes to a halt and her cheeks suddenly feel hot, That is not where I wanted this conversation to go!

“Don’t be preposterous! As if I were to ever think about such a-” Heejin huffs as she looks at her bodyguard. “You know what? It’s not like you have a love life anyways seeing that you’re stuck with me 24/7."

“Who says I don’t have one?” Hyunjin questions. “The King does give me a fair amount of time off even though it may seem like I’m always by your side.”

Hyunjin had a point. While she is Heejin’s primary bodyguard and with her majority of the time, the Princess does have a secondary guard when Hyunjin is given time off. And even when Hyunjin is working, she’s not technically with Heejin at every waking moment seeing that Hyunjin is sometimes called for backup security at other royal events.

But surely that doesn’t mean Hyunjin has time to be in a relationship. Or wait! Maybe she’s seeing someone on our staff!? That would make the most sense wouldn’t it?.... Hold on. Why am I even thinking about this!?!? I shouldn’t care about nor be interested in Hyunjin’s love life! 

“So, you are dating someone?” Heejin asks and she wants to facepalm herself. What is compelling her to continue on with this subject?

“While I don’t believe it is any of your business, your Highness, I will let you know that I am not dating someone per se, but I am talking to someone,” Hyunjin reveals and that answer just spurs Heejin more.

“Who is it?” The question comes out before Heejin could even stop herself, but she quickly recovers, “I’m only asking to make sure that whomever you say is a real person, of course.”

Hyunjin laughs heartily in response, making Heejin start to grow agitated, “Be careful, your Highness. One might say you sound jealous.”

“I’m not jealous!” Heejin snaps. “I’m only trying to prove that I’m right. I truly doubt you have time to properly get to know someone even during the time in which you aren’t working. You’re simply too busy focusing on me to avert your attention elsewhere.”

“Your Highness, with all due respect, you are my highest priority, but not my only priority,” Hyunjin’s voice turns delicate as if trying to not offend her.

The answer sends a mixture of emotions up and down throughout Heejin’s body. Afraid of what she might say or do next, she does what she wasn't planning on doing this time around. She runs into the hedge maze as fast as her legs can carry her, turning left and right in hopes to distance herself from her bodyguard.

The thing is, Heejin wasn’t exactly sure what she was mad at. Was she mad at the way Hyunjin spoke to her as if she was talking to her like she was a baby? Was she mad that Hyunjin doesn't prioritize her as much as she thought? Or was she mad that she wasn't Hyunjin's only priority?

How could I not be her only priority? She's MY personal bodyguard. She's protecting a royal for goodness sake! The only thing-no, the only person she should be concerned about is me.

Okay, so maybe she knows what she's mad at.

She's just slightly confused, angry, disappointed and lost all at the same time. So, she continues to run despite the more form-fitting dress she's wearing that's making it difficult. Even after a few moments, she can't tell if she managed to escape her bodyguard because her mind was all over the place, so she just keeps going. Or at least until a hand on her wrist reels her back.

Due to how fast she was running in one direction and then suddenly being yanked the opposite way, Heejin forcefully collided into Hyunjin. There was so much momentum that Heejin shut her eyes in preparation to hit the ground, but she suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her torso to keep her steady. She slowly opens her eyes, taking in the fact that Hyunjin was holding onto her with a grip strong enough to keep them standing, but gentle enough to make sure that she wasn't hurting the Princess.

Without breaking apart, the two pull back just enough in order to face each other directly.

“Your Highness,” Hyunjin’s voice was breathless. “Are you alright?”

Both of them were panting after the chase, but Hyunjin’s voice came clearly. And yet, Heejin doesn’t process it right away because she was too distracted at how close their faces were. She had never seen her bodyguard up that close, so she wound up observing the finer details and contours of Hyunjin’s face. Her eyes move slowly, starting with Hyunjin’s eyes, then to her nose, then to her lips and Heejin’s breath hitches.

From an outsider’s point of view, all one would be able to hear were the ragged breaths of a Princess and a bodyguard in a rather compromising position. Though for Heejin, there was a tiny voice in her head telling her to move. But, there was an underlying question.

Forwards or backwards?

To Heejin's own surprise, it didn’t take long for her to find the answer and so she moves.

“We can’t.”

This time around Hyunjin’s voice was so quiet, that for a moment Heejin thought she had imagined it. But even then, it was enough. Heejin hesitantly opens her eyes and sees that their lips were nearly touching just as Hyunjin spoke up.

The Princess felt like she was splashed with cold water as chills ran down her spine at the realization of what she had done… or rather what she was about to do.

She releases herself from Hyunjin's arms and starts to make her way out the maze.

“Your Highness…,” Hyunjin tries, but Heejin keeps going. “At least let me help you get out.”

“I can do it,” Heejin says in an unreadable tone and for the first time, the Princess escapes the maze on her own.

One would think that she’d be grateful when she didn’t hear footsteps follow her trail despite hearing them for so many years, but instead, all she felt was pain.

-----

"She's ruining everything, father!" Heejin complains as she points an accusatory finger at her bodyguard. The Princess is standing in front of her father with Hyunjin just a few feet away from her right side. "You know that this is a very important time now more than ever, so how am I to make any progress with someone if she constantly terrorizes them?!"

Seeing that Heejin was twenty-one, she was now of age to take part in the yearly courting season. Considering the fact that she was the heir, it was practically a given that she should find a significant other. Granted, it actually wasn’t required for her to be married in order to rightfully take the throne, but Heejin wanted someone she loved at her side. So when it was announced that she would take part in this year's courting season, it was no surprise that nearly every young man has shown interest in her. But to the Princess’ dismay, she struggled to keep one full conversation with someone during the first social thanks to Hyunjin. 

"I see," the King clasps his hands together. He appears to be deep in thought for a few seconds before clearing his throat. His eyes move to Hyunjin. "Hyunjin, I've known you for most of your life and clearly I have a lot of trust in you seeing that I've chosen you to protect my dear Heejin. And so, there is no doubt in my mind that you have a good reason for your… interruptions, correct?"

Hyunjin bows, "Your Majesty, I assure you that when I do intervene, it is for the Princess' best interest."

Heejin scoffs in disbelief, Who does she think she is to know what's in my best interest? 

The King looks back and forth between the two of them then sighs, "How about a compromise then? Heejin, dear, has there been any man who has held your attention?...Or maybe even a woman?"

"A woman?" Heejin asks astounded, her eyes quickly flicker to a particular bodyguard.

"Well, it is the 21st century dear, so who am I to assume you only like men? If you like women too, just know that your mother and I completely support you. As for continuing the royal bloodline, it shouldn't be difficult since you could have a donor-"

"Father," Heejin's face reddens as she interrupts to stop her father's supportive, but a bit embarrassing rambling. "There isn't a woman at the moment," she steals a glance at her bodyguard, "But thank you for letting me know where you and mother stand on the matter."

"So, I assume there is a man you have in mind, then?"

Before that question, a name had immediately come to her mind when her father had asked if there was anyone who had caught her interest, but of course it was one she wouldn’t dare say now. She even scolded herself for even thinking of her first. As for the current question, although the name of a man didn't appear in her mind as quickly, she does think of one, "Yes, there is someone. The Viscount of Incheon, Lee Minho."

For a second, Heejin thought she heard someone on her right scoff. 

"Well then, how about you just focus on Viscount Lee for now?" the King aims at Heejin, then looks to the bodyguard. "And Hyunjin, you can keep an eye on the Viscount, but may only intervene when it is absolutely necessary, else just let them be. However, if anyone else approaches my daughter and you deem them skeptical, you may interrupt as I trust your judgment."

"And of course, if my daughter changes her mind about Viscount Minho and decides to pursue someone else, the same rules apply to them. Does that sound fair enough?" the King asks them both. 

Both the Princess and bodyguard share a quick glance at one another before nodding in agreement.

-----

The second event of the courting season was the infamous Luna Regatta, a boat-racing event held by Lady Wong Vivi.

Although Heejin wasn't participating in the race, she was still in the sea on a luxurious boat. She had deemed it to be too boring if she were to watch it on land and after saying that, Viscount Minho immediately offered that they watch it together from his own boat. It was obvious that Hyunjin wanted her to decline, stating it was too dangerous especially since the Princess didn't know how to swim. In normal circumstances, Heejin would probably adhere to that advice knowing that it was a matter of safety, but the weather was beautiful and due to the compromise created by her father, Heejin was allowed to go on the boat without protest anyways. And so, an apprehensive Hyunjin went aboard the boat just behind her. 

At the start of the first race, the Viscount led Heejin towards the edge of the boat so they could get a better view and it was then when their conversation had begun. To be honest, Heejin had held out genuine hope for this moment as she was excited to get to know the Viscount on a more personal level. However, the Viscount's dialogue had been filled with cringey flirting and lacked any real mental simulation for the Princess. In simpler terms, the Viscount was disappointingly bland.

Now, as soon as they were out in the sea, the bodyguard had kept her distance from the Princess and the Viscount. Although, it was quite obvious to Heejin that Hyunjin was still close enough to observe them. To hear them. So, had she laughed and touched the Viscount at points that didn't garner such reactions at all? Maybe, but it wasn't because she wanted to make her bodyguard jealous. Rather, she didn't want to give Hyunjin the satisfaction that she may have been right to dismiss the Viscount as someone worth the Princess' time.

After a few more races, the waves had begun to pick-up and the boat started to sway more and more with each passing wave. The bodyguard noticed it immediately and so without hesitation, Hyunjin approached the pair, "Your Highness, I recommend that the two of you move towards the center of the ship. The waves are becoming stronger and the railings are quite low. You could fall into the sea if the boat were to be hit with enough force."

Heejin looked towards the edge in which she was standing by and it was only then when she realized that the railing was just below her waistline. Her eyes widened in fear just as a wave came in, rocking the boat slightly. Before she could say anything, she felt a hand on her back. 

"Hyunjin, was it?" The Viscount speaks smugly. "I assure you that the Princess will be safe as long as I'm here."

Hyunjin's eyes narrow at the sight of the Viscount's hand touching Heejin's lower back before locking eyes with Viscount Minho.

"Excuse me, my Lord," Hyunjin's tone is tight-lipped. "But I do believe it is ultimately up to the Princess if she would like to move to a safer area."

And just like that, she felt two sets of eyes on her. Her mind kept weighing her options. Either side with Hyunjin and feel safer, but then that means letting Hyunjin think she's in the right yet again or side with Minho despite her fear of falling in, but feel better knowing that she had bested Hyunjin for the second time that day. 

Just as she was about to give her answer, she felt herself suddenly jerk backwards. As she began to fall, she felt the touch on her back disappear and saw Hyunjin reach out to grab her, but it was too late. In mere seconds, Heejin was submerged in the cool sea waters and began to panic as she realized what had just happened. As if her life wasn't already one big joke, it was clear that a strong wave of water had hit the side of the boat, causing her to be in this exact position just like Hyunjin had predicted.

Heejin frantically started to swim upwards and she was moving her body as fast as she could, but she felt like she was getting nowhere. She couldn't swim. In the next moment, she felt an arm come around her waist and before she knew it, her head was above the water. Immediately, she wraps her arms around her savior's neck to gain more support while she gasps for air. 

"Breathe, Princess. You're okay," the savior soothingly says and she instantly recognizes it as her bodyguard's, making her unconsciously squeeze her arms around the woman a bit tighter. "I've got you. You're okay, just breathe."

Once back on the boat, Heejin sits down as Hyunjin rushes to find a towel. She hears her bodyguard tell Viscount Minho to order the boat driver to head back to the docks. Soon after, Hyunjin returns and wraps a towel around Heejin's shaking body. With the bodyguard kneeling in front of her, Hyunjin's soft and caring gaze was evident as she began to gently wipe the Princess' face with a hand towel. 

Their eyes eventually meet and in a flash Heejin breaks eye contact as she feels her face heat up.

"Your Highness-"

"Princess Heejin," a voice from behind her interrupts the bodyguard. It was Viscount Minho who was just leaving the boat's cockpit. "I greatly apologize that this has happened. I swear to you that I would've jumped in to help, but as you are a fellow admirer of fashion, I'm sure you'll understand why I didn't want to ruin my exquisite suit.”

This guy can’t be serious right now. He didn’t want to get his precious suit wet?!

“Of course, Lord Lee,” Heejin’s voice drips with sarcasm and although the Viscount didn’t seem to pick up on it, she does catch the slight smirk on Hyunjin’s face.

Stupid Hyunjin and her stupid smirk. 

-----

The third of the five social events was a masquerade ball, hosted by Countess Bae Joohyun and her wife Seungwan.

Heejin was in her room all alone, per her request, and had spent the last five minutes struggling to put her necklace on. To be honest, she's not even sure why she's putting her jewelry on already considering that her dress hasn't even arrived yet, but here she is. So, along with a grunt of frustration, Heejin drops her diamond-studded piece of jewelry on her vanity. 

A knock is heard soon after and her door opens by a sliver, "Is everything okay in there, your Highness?"

"Everything is just fine, Hyunjin," the Princess lies. "No need to worry."

"Are you positive?"

Heejin rolls her eyes, "Yes, Hyunjin."

"Alright, just had to double check seeing that I've heard you grunt at least nine times in the past couple of minutes so I thought that you were struggling or something. But if you say that you're doing just fine...," Hyunjin trails, seeing if Heejin will take the bait. "I guess I'll leave you-"

"Ugh-okay! Will you just come in here and help me?" Heejin's frustration finally boils over and concedes to getting help from her bodyguard.

"There it is," Hyunjin chuckles, then enters the room. "You know, your Highness, there's nothing wrong with asking for a helping hand?" She sees Hyunjin grin at her through the mirror. 

"You are so annoying," Heejin replies, but it only makes Hyunjin smile even more. Not letting the sight phase her, she grabs the necklace and holds it out behind her for the bodyguard to grab. "Put this on me, will you?"

"Of course. Your wish is my command, your Highness," Hyunjin teases.

As Hyunjin prepares the necklace in her hand, the room falls silent. Heejin can only watch from the mirror with how delicate her bodyguard starts to bring the jewelry above and over her head before softly landing on her neck.

Without Hyunjin having to ask, Heejin lifts her hair and brings it to lay across her shoulder. The tension in the room grows thick when she feels the bodyguard's fingers slightly graze her neck when placing the clamp, leaving a trace of tingles.

It had been quite some time since she had last felt like this when she was alone with Hyunjin. Where the world of royalty, safety protocols, expectations and pressure seem to have ceased to exist. As if they were the only two in the world like that moment in the maze.

"There," Hyunjin quietly breathes out, bringing Heejin out of her thoughts. Their eyes meet in the mirror and instead of either looking away, they seem to struggle to break their gazes. For Heejin, it was like trying to find something more than what Hyunjin lets on. 

"Your Highness?" Soft taps and a muffled voice breaks their trance and they look  towards the door. "Your gown and mask have arrived. Are you ready to get dressed?"

Heejin throws a glance at Hyunjin before clearing , "I'm ready, you may come in."

As her stylist comes in, Heejin looks to her bodyguard, "Shouldn't you go and get ready as well?"

Hyunjin's eyebrows come together at a loss, "For what, your Highness?"

"For the ball," Heejin responds as if the answer was obvious. "Don't tell me you're going in just your work suit. You're practically my and I can't have you next to me and not dressed for the theme."

"But, your Highness, I don't think that'll be necessary. This type of stuff really isn't my thing and I'm sure someone will whisk you away anyways so-"

"Don't be ridiculous. If anything, can you at least wear a mask? I'm sure my stylist Yerim here can find you a mask that can go with your black suit. Isn't that right, Yerim?" Heejin says almost giddily. She didn't know that Hyunjin had always disliked balls and was happy to find a new way to tick Hyunjin off yet again. 

"Why of course, your Highness! I already have something in mind," Yerim says happily. 

"Perfect! My things are already picked out anyway, so go head out with Yerim to make sure you're ready on time. And on your way out, please call in some of the maids so they can help me get ready."

"Fine," Hyunjin concedes with a slight scowl before turning to the stylist with a smile. "Lead the way, Miss Choi."

--

It was just about time for Heejin and Hyunjin to leave for the ball, but the latter had yet to come inside the limo.

Where is she?! Heejin’s foot taps in irritation. If she could, she would have left already since she hates being late, however due to protocol, she isn’t allowed to leave without a bodyguard.

At last the limo door to her left opens and she was about to bombard Hyunjin with questions about what had been taking her so long, but stays shut when she sees her secondary guard enter instead.

“Apologies, Princess Heejin,” the female guard pants out of breath as she sits across from the Princess. Clearly, she had sprinted here. “Miss Kim says she will meet you at the ball as soon as she can. She has ordered me to you for now, so I came as fast as I could, your Highness. And no worries, Miss Choi also told me that you wanted us to wear a mask and so Miss Choi gave me this one.”

Her secondary guard held up a plain black mask. Heejin wanted to express her disapproval at the sight of it, but she was too focused on the fact that Hyunjin had practically ditched her. It had only been an hour since Hyunjin had left with Miss Choi and seeing that all Hyunjin needed was a stylish mask, Heejin was confused as to why they were still together. Then suddenly, it clicked.

Aha! Yerim is the woman Hyunjin is talking to! That can be the only reason. I mean, Yerim did seem a bit too happy to help dress Hyunjin so clearly something must be going on between them.

Heejin’s hands soon formed into fists. “It’s alright, Jungeun. Let’s go,” she says with a false smile and the guard talks into her earpiece, signaling the driver to start heading to the Bae residence.

--

If there’s one thing that Heejin’s always disliked when it came to formal balls was having to wait in line for each invitee to have their drive-in and photoshoot moment with the paparazzi as they head inside. Her distaste in waiting was another reason as to why she was mad for not leaving on time. So now here she is, sitting in her limo for who knows how long already as the line slowly moves forward.

“Are we almost there yet, Jungeun?”

The bodyguard sits up straight, “I’ve been told we’re only two cars behind now.”

After a few more minutes, Jungeun gets the signal that they can get out of the car. Just before Jungeun steps out of the limo from the opposite side of the paparazzi, Heejin sees Jungeun hold her earpiece again, listening intently to whatever she’s being told. Once Jungeun’s out of the car, Heejin brushes off what she had seen and waits for the guard to open the door for her.

She places her mask on her face, flattens her dress as much as she can and then the door opens. She’s immediately hit with camera flashes from every angle, but after years of experience, she isn’t fazed. A hand is held out for her to grab to help her get out of the car which she takes without hesitation. She had to look downwards first in order to set her footing, but as her gaze rises to look at Jungeun, she’s taken aback when she’s not met with a plain mask.

“Your Highness?”

Even though the area around the person’s eyes were covered, Heejin could recognize that voice and smile anywhere.

Heejin couldn’t even react as she remembers that she’s surrounded by cameras at the moment so she had to pull herself together. Now standing out of the car, Hyunjin offers her arm and Heejin links them together. The Princess braves an award-winning smile, posing, waving and avoiding questions about who her "date" is as the two make their way from the pathway to the Bae residence. Once inside, Heejin immediately pulls Hyunjin to an empty hallway.

“You must have really enjoyed your time with Yerim seeing that you came here late!” Heejin lowered her voice but her anger was evident.

“Well, hello to you too, your Highness,” Hyunjin grins. “Okay, okay,” the guard concedes when Heejin stays quiet with her arms now crossed. “It’s just that Yerim..”

Yerim? What happened to addressing the stylist as Miss Choi?

“...decided at the last minute that she wanted us to match too instead of just giving me a fancy mask, so...,” Hyunjin gestures towards her outfit.

It wasn’t until now that Heejin actually had a moment to take in how Hyunjin looked. The guard’s normally tied back hair was in loose, cascading waves and her basic, black uniform suit was now replaced with one in the royal colors of white and gold similar to Heejin’s gown. Lastly, her white mask with gold details contrasted Heejin’s refined gold one. It wasn’t too flashy for a bodyguard, but still had the right amount of class and elegance to which one could argue that the two look like they were a couple. No wonder she heard all those questions about having a date.

The woman was gorgeous. 

Heejin finds herself in awe of how dashing Hyunjin looks and she feels her heartbeat begin to pick up at the sight.

“Well then,” Heejin straightens up. “I guess I can’t be mad that Yerim made sure you looked good.”

“Yeah, she did great!” Hyunjin says and instantly, Heejin’s mood becomes foul again.

“Mmhm,” Heejin mums. “Let’s head to the ballroom now before people start wondering where I am.”

“Hold on a minute, your Highness,” Hyunjin stops her. “I’d regret it if I didn’t say that you look very beautiful tonight.”

The two link arms again with Heejin not saying anything in response (but her now tinted cheeks were enough) and they make their way back to where the ball is at. As soon as they entered, all eyes fell upon them. This sudden attention, of course, wasn’t a surprising sight for Heejin seeing that she is the Princess after all, but what was different this time was that people were also taking notice of the person next to her. She assumes it’s because most probably don’t realize that it is her bodyguard.

Once their attention dies down, a few of Heejin’s friends come up to them.

“My, my, Princess,” her friend, Lady Kim Jiwoo, starts to tease. “I swore you never told us that you were coming with such a fine date. Now everyone is absolutely raving over the two of you.”

“Not a date! You probably couldn't tell because of the mask, but it’s just Hyunjin actually,” Heejin tries to clear up quickly and Hyunjin even takes off her mask to prove it. 

"Oh I wouldn't say 'Just Hyunjin,' your Highness," her other friend, Lady Park Chaewon, joins in after giving the bodyguard a once over. "Because you are quite the vision tonight, Miss Kim. Are you single by chance?"

Hyunjin coughs oddly at the unexpected question as she places the mask back on, "Why-um yes I am, Lady Park."

"Well, I'd watch out then because I'm sure there are some eligible people out here who have probably just taken interest in you."

Chaewon was directing this to Hyunjin, but it almost felt as if she was telling Heejin too, like it was a warning. 

Hyunjin just awkwardly laughs before turning to Heejin, "I guess I'll leave you to it then as I'm sure you'll be in good hands with your friends, your Highness. Just send the signal if you need me. It was a pleasure to see you both again, Lady Kim and Lady Park."

Hyunjin bows at them then leaves to post herself at the nearest wall. As soon as the bodyguard was out of earshot, the three friends began to chat and gossip amongst themselves.

"Heejin," Jiwoo looks at her pointedly, dropping the honorifics as it was just the close friends now.

"What?" The Princess asks dumbfounded.

"What do you mean 'what'? I don't know why it took me so long to notice, but your bodyguard is freaking hot! If it weren't for the fact that Chaewon and I already have dates, I'm sure the both of us would be going after Hyunjin at this very moment!"

Chaewon nods her head eagerly in agreement.

"It doesn't matter because she's my bodyguard and she's not my type," Heejin replies although her heart seems to tell her otherwise.

"Not your type?! y? Check. Strong? Check. Manners? Check. Good in bed? Probably! She hits all of your markers!"

"She just isn't, okay?" Heejin tries to re-assert. "Can we talk about something else, please?"

Both of her friends share a look, but Heejin tries not to think about it. Then, Chaewon leans in, causing the other two to do the same.

"Then if not Hyunjin, I think there might be someone here who is exactly your type," the woman whispers. "I'm not sure if you’re aware yet, but I saw the Duke of Daegu earlier and if my sources are correct, his eyes are set on our very Princess."

At that, Heejin's interest was instantly piqued. She knew of the recently appointed Duke of Daegu, but never actually got the chance to meet him in person. The most she's ever seen of him was through images in the newspaper and from what she could remember though, he did look quite handsome.

"Speak of the devil."

Heejin followed Chaewon's line of sight and with perfect timing, the Duke was making his way towards them.

"Hello, m'Ladies," he bows to both Jiwoo and Chaewon before facing Heejin. 

Unexpectedly, the Duke takes Heejin's hand then kisses it as he bows, "Your Highness."

Heejin can't stop herself from blushing as the man stands straight to properly introduce himself. 

"My name is Lee Hansol, the Duke of Daegu. I was told that the Princess was the one wearing the stunning gold and white dress, hence why I am here before you. And so, your Highness, I would be honored if you could spare a moment with me?" He asks with a warm smile while offering his arm.

"Why of course, your Grace," Heejin readily accepts without a second thought and lets him lead her to an empty area. As she looks back, she sees her friends giving her excited thumbs-ups and she even manages to spot Hyunjin only to see that the guard was now talking to Yerim before turning her attention back to the Duke.

--

It almost felt imaginative, the way her and the Duke had gotten along so well. As they talked, Heejin never felt a dull moment come their way and instead they played off of each other so smoothly as if they had spoken many times in the past. To be honest, after her experience with Viscount Minho, she didn't expect much with the Duke, but she was pleasantly surprised. It was almost comparable to how she felt about her conversations with a certain someone that she won’t admit. She could see herself talking all-night long with him, but the Duke had other plans.

"I love this song," the Duke admits as the quartet begins to play a new piece. "May I have the pleasure to have your hand for a dance?" He presents his hand towards her. 

Hesitantly, Heejin places her palm onto his. With each step to the dance floor, her nerves began to pick up. As to why? Simply put, one of the other very few things Heejin can't do is dance, or at least not confidently. She really set herself up for this one though. How could she not think to take dance lessons before coming to the ball?

Crap. Crap. Crap. I can’t- I can’t do this. 

"I'm sorry, your Grace" she says abruptly, causing him to stop and look at her. "I-I just remembered that my father wanted me home before midnight," she lies easily between her teeth. 

"No apologies necessary, your Highness. I'll abide to his rules as well," Duke Hansol says understandably. "I hope we can meet again soon. Good night."

So, he's a rule follower.

Heejin smiles, "I hope so too. Good night, your Grace."

Afterwards, she immediately looks for Hyunjin. When she finds her, she finds herself relieved to see the woman alone this time around and she beelines towards her with pace, grabbing her hand to start dragging them outside, "We're leaving, call the driver."

Hyunjin does what she's told without question and even remains quiet during the drive back to the castle. It isn't until they arrive home with the driver gone and Heejin sits down on the staircase that leads up to the entrance when Hyunjin breaks her silence. 

"Um… did something happen, your Highness? We left so suddenly and now you're sulking on the staircase. I know it's probably not my place-"

"It isn't."

Hyunjin holds her hands up in surrender, "Whoa, okay. Well, sorry for worrying-"

"Then don't worry." 

"But it's kind of my job-"

"Okay, you know what," Heejin looks at Hyunjin. "Since you want to know oh so badly, it's because I can't dance! Are you happy now? I practically ditched the man of any woman's dreams because I was too scared that I'd step on his foot while dancing. So I made up a dumb lie and the worst part was that he was even understanding about it! I threw away such a perfect night just because I thought I'd embarrass myself in front of him!" Heejin covers her face with her hands. “I’m an idiot.”

A few seconds of silence pass.

"Get up."

"Excuse me?" Heejin stares at her bodyguard in disbelief. 

"I'm going to teach you how to dance. So, with all due respect, your Highness, stand up."

Heejin scoffs. "Why don't you go teach Yerim instead?" She says without thinking, making her eyes go wide. 

"What does she have to do with this?"

"I- forget it," Heejin stands, trying to sway away from her slip-up. When she gets up, it wasn't so she could dance with Hyunjin, but rather to turn around and leave just to keep herself from saying anything else she might regret. 

"Your Highness, just let me teach you. I won't make fun of you, I promise. Do you want to impress the Duke or not?”

Heejin should know better. She doesn’t need Hyunjin to teach her when she knows she can hire someone else to do it. She doesn’t need Hyunjin to make her look like a fool as they dance in the driveway in the middle of the night. And she definitely doesn’t need to be spending any more alone time with the woman like this. Where it feels like it’s just the two of them and nothing else exists. She should know better.

But, when has she ever followed her mind?

And so, without a word, her eyes fall onto Hyunjin’s outstretched hand and soon finds herself reaching out for it. Hyunjin brings her towards the center of the dimly lit driveway.

Once in a good spot, the two let go of each other’s hands and Hyunjin straightens her form-fitting, gold and white suit. Then, the bodyguard starts to readjust her mask when she feels a hand on top of hers, stopping her movements.

“It’s better with them off, don’t you think?” Heejin's voice suddenly turns delicate, yet apprehensive and Hyunjin nods. The bodyguard was about to remove her own mask herself, but she was caught off guard when the Princess had begun to do it for her. Without a second thought, Heejin had gently placed her hands on the opposite ends of Hyunjin’s mask and carefully withdrew it off. Once finished, Hyunjin felt prompted to do the same with Heejin’s mask and so without a sound, she removed Heejin’s mask as well. The bodyguard then takes her mask from Heejin’s hands and then places them both on the ground before pulling her phone out.

“What are you doing?” Heejin asks.

“Why, your Highness, how could we possibly dance with no music?” Hyunjin smirks as she plays the song she had been looking for (Strange feat. Hillary Smith). After placing her phone on the ground next to the masks, she approaches the Princess.

“You know where to place your hands, right?” There wasn't a hint of any sort of mocking in Hyunjin's voice when she asks.

Heejin hums in affirmation and she tentatively rests her hands on the correct spots of Hyunjin's body. Soon after, she feels Hyunjin clasp their touching hands together and then the woman's right hand lands on her hip, just above her waist.

"We'll start simple. Lighten your shoulders and just follow my count, okay? 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1…"

Hyunjin's voice fades as Heejin places most of her focus on making sure she doesn't step on the bodyguard's toes. When she does accidentally step on Hyunjin's shoe, she profusely starts to apologize and wants to end their lesson there, but Hyunjin just gives a hearty laugh and keeps them going. The sound calms her down.

Heejin's eyes shift back to their feet, but Hyunjin draws her attention.

"Your Highness, you're going to have to make eye contact at some point, you know?"

"But what if I step on you?"

"You won't. I trust you," Hyunjin says sincerely, prompting Heejin to finally look at her. The song continues and the two begin again. 

They start off a bit shaky with Heejin trying to keep her head up while also trying to avoid making direct eye contact with her bodyguard. She eventually caves, however, when Hyunjin whispers, “Relax,” and their gazes become soft-locked as the music surrounds them. As they dance, Heejin never felt as though she was being forced towards one direction, but rather it had felt natural. Effortless. The Princess and her loyal bodyguard would soon develop a smooth rhythm and with each beat, they would move with ease.

It makes Heejin start to wonder why she ever thought dancing would be so hard. 

When it looked like Heejin was comfortable enough, Hyunjin led her to perform a twirl and the two shared a bright laugh in joy. As their bodies return to one another, it results with them being closer than before and yet, neither make a move to create space. Then, instead of Hyunjin’s right hand returning to Heejin’s waist, it was now placed near the center of her back, holding their closeness in place.

Their eyes and their now shy smiles never waver as they enjoyed dancing with one another. Heejin could easily envision them at the ball had they danced together. With their matching attire, any spectator would've thought that it was meant to be.

The two simply basked in each other’s company as the music fills the noise and the moonlight shines down upon them. The bottom of Heejin’s white dress is probably such a mess now, but quite frankly it was the last thing on her mind as she glided along the driveway in Hyunjin’s arms. 

She’s not sure how much time had passed, but eventually she hears the song fade and so does the little bubble that they were in together.

At last, the two pull apart. After Hyunjin picks up her phone and their masks, they silently make their way towards the castle. To no surprise, Hyunjin escorts Heejin to her room and they now find themselves in a similar position that they were in a few years ago as they stand at Heejin’s door frame.

“And here I thought balls weren’t your thing? Who knew you were quite the dancer,” Heejin teases first.

"Well, I couldn’t let these outfits go to waste, could I? And I must say that you're a pro at dancing now too, your Highness," Hyunjin smirks. "I assure you that the Duke will be in awe of you just as I was."

The Duke, Heejin suddenly remembers. She had completely forgotten about the man.

Pushing him out of her mind for now, Heejin knows she should thank Hyunjin for the lesson. And she's not sure what compels her to think this way and act on it, but she does it. 

"Thank you," she says quickly before leaning in to give her bodyguard a kiss on the cheek to show her gratitude. 

But a pang hits her chest when she sees Hyunjin flinch back before her lips could even reach the woman's cheek. 

...Not again. 

"I'm sorry-"

"Your Highness-"

"No no, it's.. it's okay. Thank you and I'm sorry again. So, um.. goodnight, Hyunjin," Heejin interrupts, embarrassed.

"Good night, your Highness," the bodyguard replies with a defeated tone and a bow.

When Heejin closes the door, she lays her back against it, brings her hands to her face and slides down to the floor. 

What am I doing?

-----

The fourth social event was a staple every courting season: the luncheon at the park hosted by the Duchess of Busan, Lee Sunmi. It was the one event that everyone would attend whether they were still single or were already being courted. No one would miss it because this was the event where people would announce their confirmed relationship since it was the penultimate event of the social season. By announcing it now, it would then make their first official event as a couple the prestigious Royal Ball and who wouldn’t want that?

So as expected, gossip was at a high during the luncheon with people guessing not only which couples will have their ‘coming out,’ but more excitedly, who will come out heartbroken. 

One unofficial couple in particular had garnered much attention: Princess Heejin and Duke Hansol. 

Trying to keep her head straight, Heejin had met with the Duke whenever possible over the course of the next few weeks leading up to the social event and it didn’t take long for everyone to notice. Their gatherings were always relatively simple as they began to learn more about each other, but Heejin will admit that she has actually been enjoying the man’s company every time. Or at least for the most part. Hyunjin’s typical presence wasn’t exactly helpful in building her relationship with Duke Hansol, so she always tried to make sure that the woman wouldn’t cause too much hindrance towards the progress that she and the Duke have been making. 

But to make matters even harder, when it comes to any individuals that were also in the spotlight, as it turns out, Lady Chaewon’s words appeared to have come true as some middle and lower ranked men and women were now talking to the Princess’ bodyguard. Of course, Hyunjin would do her best to politely decline each time (and Heejin is pretty sure she knows why as a particular stylist comes to mind), but persistence held.

Every time Heejin was out in public with Duke Hansol, she never failed to see someone approach Hyunjin too. There were even times when she and the Duke were out for a stroll and from the corner of her eye, she would see someone come up to Hyunjin and then suddenly she would find herself stealing glances at the two of them rather than keeping her entire focus on Duke himself no matter how hard she tried not to. 

What’s worse was that each time this would happen, Heejin felt like her stomach was tied up in knots. Heejin knows that she shouldn’t be feeling that way hence the fact that she always tries to ignore the woman whenever possible, which leads them to now.

“Princess Heejin?” Hyunjin asks as the two were at a park bench quite far from where all the commotion was at, with Heejin sitting and Hyunjin standing behind her.

“Yes?” Heejin replies begrudgingly.

“Didn’t you say that the Duke was meeting you here? The luncheon started an hour ago and he’s nowhere in sight.”

“Are you bringing that up to humiliate me?” Heejin turns slightly so Hyunjin was in her sight. 

“Why, of course not, your Highness,” Hyunjin responds. “I’m just pointing out just another one of his flaws.”

At that, Heejin scoffs, “Can you ever go a day without finding something wrong with the gentleman? Without fail you always have a negative comment about him.”

“Your Highness, all I am trying to do is make sure that you know exactly who you are involving yourself with.”

“And how would you know his true nature when you’re too busy talking to some flirtatious follower?” Heejin bites back.

"Princess-"

"Hyunjin, there you are!" A voice steals their attention, making their small fight come to a pause.

You've got to be kidding me, Heejin thinks. 

"Oh, pleasure to see you here, Yerim," Hyunjin gives a slight bow and smiles at the new company. "What brings you here?"

Yerim bows in greeting to the both of them before answering. And even though Yerim lowers her voice, Heejin can still hear her, "Why for you, of course."

“O-Oh,” Hyunjin stammers out.

If they were in front of her, they would've seen Heejin roll her eyes. Thankfully, she didn’t need to hear anything else as she spotted just the person she was looking for a few feet ahead of her. She stands from the bench, making Hyunjin straighten up and follow her line of sight.

“Duke Hansol,” Heejin greets once he’s in front of them.

“Princess Heejin,” the Duke takes Heejin’s hand and kisses it, just like when they had first met. “I apologize for running late. I was having some-um... wardrobe issues.” He lowers his voice at the next line, “I had ripped my pants when I had leaned down to pick up these flowers for you earlier.”

Heejin bursts out laughing as she takes the flowers from the Duke and brings them up to smell, “Thank you, your Grace.”

“Have you eaten yet, your Highness? I can grab you some food if you’re hungry?” The Duke offers and Heejin graciously accepts.

“I’m starving, a plate would be wonderful,” Heejin replies and the Duke heads towards the tables of food with a promise to try and not to take too long.

“Are you hungry too, Hyunjin? I haven’t eaten yet, so we can get some food together if you’d like?” Heejin suddenly hears Yerim ask.

“I appreciate the offer Miss Choi, but I can’t leave Princess Heejin’s side,” Hyunjin answers courteously.

“Oh, that’s alright,” Yerim says in understanding. “I’ll see you later then?”

Hyunjin nods and once again all that remained was the Princess and her bodyguard. After a brief moment, Hyunjin appears in front of her, “Your Highness, you should have told me you were hungry, I could have gotten you something ages ago.”

“What happened to not leaving my side?” Heejin perks an eyebrow.

“I-I meant we could have gone together,” Hyunjin hastily corrects. “You should eat when you want to and not wait for some man even if he’s a Duke.”

“This again?” Heejin says incredulously. “First of all, I didn’t wait for him. It’s just that I wasn’t that hungry until now. And secondly, my goodness, I swear you can’t help but mention him every five minutes. It’s always ‘Duke this’ or ‘Duke that.’ What do you have against him?”

“Well, what do you have against Miss Choi?”

“She- She has nothing to do with this!” Heejin can’t believe Hyunjin would even ask such a thing.

“Oh, I think she does, your Highness. You think I haven’t noticed all of the faces you make whenever she’s in the room or with us? Or how you scoff or roll your eyes at nearly everything she says? How come you’re allowed to have an opinion about my friend and I can’t have one about the Duke?”

'Your friend' my !

“Those are two extremely different scenarios!” Heejin stands as the two go head-to-head. Thankfully, they were far enough from the rest of the crowd to which no one could take notice of their heated back and forth even as their voices started to raise.

“How so?"

“Because I-” Heejin stops herself.

“Because what?”

Heejin just grunts out in frustration, “I can’t- I can’t do this with you right now. I’m leaving!”

She starts to storm off and she can hear Hyunjin follow behind her.

“Princess, don’t be ridiculous-”

Heejin turns around with anger, “You’re calling me ridiculous?! You want to know what’s ridiculous? You meddling into my love life! What’s ridiculous is you telling my father that you know what’s in my best interest!”

“Oh! So now I’m the bad guy for wanting what’s best for you!? For wanting… For knowing that you deserve so much more?!” Hyunjin starts getting riled up now too. “I understand that you like the man, but-”

"Don't you get it?!" Heejin finally reached her breaking point, so she speaks out in frustration. "I don't like him, you jerk! I like you!"

In an instant, Heejin covers . 

"Heejin-"

"Don't," Heejin's voice cracks and she starts backing away. "Don't follow me."

"But-"

"Call Jungeun to me home and tell the Duke that I'm sorry and I'll see him later. Just… Just enjoy the rest of the luncheon with Yerim, okay?"

Heejin finally turns away with tears starting to stain her cheeks.

-----

The time has finally come for the grand finale of the courting season. It was the day of The Royal Ball hosted by none other than the King and Queen themselves.

“Good morning, Jungeun,” Heejin greets when she’s met with her secondary guard as soon as she opens her bedroom door.

Over the past month, this has become Heejin’s new routine. Following their fight at the luncheon, Heejin was told the following morning that Hyunjin had requested time off. The Princess assumed that her primary guard would only be gone for a few days, but then days turned into weeks and now to a whole month. And honestly, Heejin wasn’t sure if she was relieved, sad or even mad about Hyunjin’s sudden absence.

“Good morning, your Highness,” Jungeun bows. “I was informed to let you know a couple of things before you start your day. First, Miss Choi will be arriving with your gown in a few hours. Second, the King and Queen would like to meet you later on to discuss your opening speech for the ball. And lastly, the Duke will arrive thirty minutes before the ball starts so the two of you will be able to enter together-”

“Has there been any news about Hyunjin’s return?” Heejin finds herself asking, maybe a bit too eagerly.

“Oh, um... Not that I am aware of, your Highness,” Jungeun replies awkwardly. When Heejin’s eyes fall, the guard clears . “Would you like to head down for breakfast now?”

“That sounds great,” Heejin puts up a smile and straightens herself up. “Let’s go.”

--

Heejin plops down on her bed even though she’s probably wrinkling her elegant dress. The ball hasn’t even started, but Heejin already feels worn out for the day and the bitter coffee she drank that morning hadn’t helped. The meeting with her parents went longer than expected, with her father constantly revising her speech to the point where it started to sound less like her and more like him. Thankfully, her mother often sided with her so Heejin’s glad she won’t sound like a complete robot when she has to speak.

Then, getting ready for the ball was a hassle in itself with putting on the gown, picking the right jewelry and getting her make-up and hair done. And to top it all off, the Duke was running late, again, with there now being only 15 minutes left before she has to make her entrance because, of course, the Princess cannot be late to her own event.

She props herself up on her elbows and her eyes unintentionally trail to her vase. Her empty-for-the-last-month flower vase to be exact.

Hyunjin begins to flood her mind and in reaction Heejin falls back into her bed for the second time with a groan. The longer she is left with her thoughts, she increasingly grows desperate to hear a knock on her door to signal the Duke’s arrival. Desperate for a distraction.

When the knock is finally heard, Heejin practically races to the door. She comes to stop, flattens her dress, and then opens the door calmly. 

"He is waiting for you downstairs, your Highness," Jungeun says first, then offers her arm towards the Princess to her.

Once at the top of the staircase, her eyes meet the Duke's who was waiting for her at the bottom and the two share a small smile. As she and Jungeun make their way down the stairs, Heejin looks to the Duke a second time. However, she's caught off guard when she had suddenly pictured Hyunjin in his place instead. Wearing her signature smirk that Heejin always found irritably charming. 

But with a blink, her fantasy vanishes and now she's standing in front of the Duke with a smile that she isn't sure is as genuine as it was before. 

They greet each other in polite swiftness and his apology is brief as they only have five minutes to spare. Soon enough, they reach the entrance of the ballroom and the royal trumpets sound off with a muffled voice stating their arrival. The doors open and the two share a smile in hopes to prepare themselves for the onslaught of attention they are about to receive. Seeing that they hadn't announced anything at the luncheon due to Heejin’s unexpected early departure, people assumed that tonight was the night to announce their relationship.

Heejin gives her speech, garnering much applause and approval, and afterwards she socializes with all the guests at the party with the Duke at her side. Each conversation seemed to circle around their relationship, nothing explicitly said, but always alluded to. All of which always resulted in red-tipped ears and shy glances between them. 

And as more and more people suggest that they would be a lovely pair, the Princess can imagine it. A life with the Duke. Their life would be easy. Simple. She likes the Duke, that she can very much say. And while she may not have such strong feelings for him now, she can see it happening. If she couldn't, why would she continue to spend so much time with him?

At the same time, she can practically hear Hyunjin tell her that she's settling. And she shouldn't settle on chances.

But she can't let that get to her. So, she continues to imagine her and the Duke attending future balls together, dancing just like they are now. 

"I'm glad I finally got the chance to dance with you, your Highness," the Duke reveals. "I must say you dance like a pro."

Heejin wants to laugh in irony at her fleeting moment of déjà vu as she recalls not only the person who she had last danced with, but also the one who last told her something similar. Instead, she continues the playful banter, "I'd say you're not so bad yourself."

They share a small chuckle and a smile as they continue to dance in tune with the music. And as they move, Heejin unconsciously compares him to her.

The way he leads is obvious, not natural like she was. 

His grip on my hand is tighter, slightly uncomfortable. Not as gentle as she was.

The way I feel when dancing with him, it's.. it's not like when I had danced with her.

"You know," the Duke meets her eyes, breaking her thoughts. "I'm also glad because I think this was the first time I've managed to get alone time with you ever since we came in. And well… there's something I've been meaning to ask you," he trails as the current song was about to end.

Heejin knew this moment of the Duke asking to make their courtship official was coming, but so soon? Would she even be able to answer it without doubt? 

"Princess Heejin, may I have the honor of calling you my-"

"Pardon me?" A voice cuts off the Duke.

The Duke looks to the person who had interrupted him while Heejin keeps her gaze on him. She didn't want to turn and confirm whose voice it was. 

"Apologies, your Grace. I was hoping for a dance?"

"O-Oh," he responds awkwardly as he is thrown off by the unexpected interruption. "While I am quite flattered at the request, unfortunately I must decline."

"Actually, I was asking the Princess for her hand."

At that, Heejin turns her head and in front of her is the woman who has invaded her mind despite the many efforts to suppress it. And seeing Hyunjin after so long, Heejin is instantly filled with emotion. 

For the second time, Duke Hansol was taken aback at the bodyguard's words."I-I see…," he tries to play off without seeming embarrassed and looks to Heejin, "I guess it's up to you, your Highness."

Her gaze with Hyunjin is locked as she tries to get a read at what could possibly be going through the guard's mind. Heejin knows she should decline, but something inside of her compels her to do the opposite. 

"Let's dance," Heejin tells her and she separates from the Duke. As he makes his way off the dance floor, Heejin and Hyunjin remain in a stand still. It wasn't until a new song had begun when they had finally approached one another with a bow and settled into proper position to dance. Just like all those nights ago, their hands connect and Hyunjin's remaining hand finds its way to the center of Heejin's back while Heejin's other hand rests on the guard's shoulder. Their touch, their closeness, elicits a rush of electricity throughout Heejin's body.

"You two make quite the couple, your Highness," Hyunjin breaks the tension first after a few steps. 

"The Duke and I are not a couple," Heejin clarifies, before later tacking on, "... yet."

"Yet?" Hyunjin raises a brow.

"Well, the night is still young," Heejin points out. "Plenty of time for just about anything to happen, don't you think?"

"I think that's something we can agree on," Hyunjin grins. "Just about anything…"

Heejin hates the way Hyunjin speaks and smiles at her with ease, as if the last month had never happened. As if Heejin had never confessed. And to be quite honest, Heejin had been angry the moment she heard the woman's voice. She hates it and she wants Hyunjin to know it. 

"Why are you here?" Heejin asks through gritted teeth.

"Isn't it obvious, your Highness?" Hyunjin tries to tease. 

"No, it isn't. Maybe it would be if you hadn't just left without a word," Heejin bites back with resentment.

"Princess-"

"No, Hyunjin. You don't get to come in here after disappearing for a month, make me dance with you and then try to talk to me as if you hadn't."

The two continue to dance as if nothing was wrong. 

Hyunjin opens to speak, but Heejin continues, "Sure. I confessed to you and I know it probably shocked you. It shocked me when I let it slip. But- But that doesn't mean I deserved the cold shoulder."

"Okay, I'll admit that I shouldn't have reacted that way. You didn't deserve that and I'm sorry," Hyunjin says. "It's just when you told me... you didn't even give me a chance to respond."

"Would it have even mattered!?" Heejin finally separates herself from the bodyguard with force, having had enough. "It's quite clear how you feel, Hyunjin. I may have ran first, but you ran away too. For a month. Hearing any type of response now would just be pointless since the message is clear. So, spare me this once."

Heejin, now feeling overwhelmed, makes her way out of the ball and she doesn't even care that everyone's attention has shifted to her for an entirely different reason now. High on emotion, she wipes the tears threatening to fall and storms away to wherever her feet take her as her only goal was to get away from Hyunjin.

Heejin eventually finds herself resting on a bench at the flower garden, her one place of true comfort. She's able to feel at peace for a few moments until she hears those haunting footsteps approaching her side.

"After all these years of asking, Hyunjin," Heejin looks up at the sky, her voice tired. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"You know I can't do that. It’s my-"

Heejin scoffs, "Please. You need not remind me of your job description."

Heejin thought she was done venting all of her frustration, but it turns out she had more to say, “I thought you hated balls so why did you even come tonight, huh? Of all the freaking nights, you ruin the one night where the Duke was going to ask me to be his girlfriend.”

“As if you were going to say yes,” Hyunjin says sharply.

In an instant, Heejin moves in anger to stand in front of Hyunjin and the two begin a stare down.

“You think I won’t?” Heejin challenges. “I could march right back in there and say yes!”

“But not because you love him!” Hyunjin stresses. “You want to know why I came here tonight? It’s to remind you that he isn’t good enough! That you deserve more than a guy who can’t show up to things on time!”

“Give me a break! How many times do I need to tell you that you have no right to meddle in my love life?!” Heejin’s voice starts to rise as well.

“My god, Heejin! Why can’t you just ever listen to the people who actually love you?!”

“Oh!” Heejin laughs in disbelief. “So let me get this straight! You have made it more than clear that you don’t like me, but somehow! Somehow you love me?!”

“Of course I love you, Heejin! I’ve loved you since we were sixteen,” the bodyguard admits, making the atmosphere freeze with only their heavy breathing from yelling to take up the noise. Hyunjin sighs, “And there’s nothing I can do about it because at the end of the day, you're the Princess and I’m just your bodyguard.”

Heejin turns mute at Hyunjin’s words.

“The moment you told me that you liked me, everything became real. I would tell myself that each time you tried to kiss me, it was because you were caught up in the moment. That you couldn’t possibly think of me that way. So when you confessed, it gave me hope for something that I- that we couldn’t have,” Hyunjin looks at the ground. “So I realized that I had to get away. I had to separate myself from you because it finally dawned on me that my feelings started to get in the way of how I conducted my job. And I can’t be reckless. Not when your parents entrusted me to protect your life.”

“Exactly,” Heejin finally says, her voice breaking. Heejin lifts Hyunjin’s head by the chin so they can look at each other again. “You’re already going to be in my life regardless, so would it really make a difference if you were still by my side… but as more than just my bodyguard?”

“But our statuses,” Hyunjin pouts. “It’s practically a given that a Princess shouldn’t be with a mere bodyguard.”

“So that’s what’s been holding you back all this time?” Heejin asks softly. “You know, a long time ago I told you something,” Heejin reaches up to caress Hyunjin’s face. “That life would be too boring if you don’t break the rules.”

Heejin takes a step back and offers her hand, “Break the rules with me, Hyunjin.”

 

----- 25 -----

 

“All rise for Her Royal Highness, Princess Jeon Heejin,” the priest says.

The music starts and Heejin begins her walk down the aisle arm-in-arm with her father. Heejin is anxious as she silently repeats to herself not to trip on her white wedding gown in front of practically all of Korea. She looks down the aisle to find a source of comfort and first sees her two best friends smiling brightly at her in happiness and encouragement. Then, she spots her mother sitting in the front row, wiping away the tears pooling in her eyes. And lastly, her eyes eventually land on her fiancé who wears an eye-crinkling smile while trying to hold in tears at the sight of Heejin. Just the thought of her fiancé suddenly bursting into tears and looking like a complete baby on national television calms Heejin down.

Soon enough, her father releases her and grabs onto her fiancé’s outstretched hands so they could face each other. Their eyes meet and they can’t hide their smiles at one another.

“You may now be seated. We are gathered here today to witness the love of…,” the priest’s voice begins to fade as Heejin starts to reminisce about the past four years.

She knew this day would come and was over the moon that it had finally arrived. The night of the Royal Ball had, as cliché as it sounds, completely changed her life. That night was filled with heartbreak and love, but it all seemed worth it as she stands in front of the person she’ll have by her side for the rest of her life. She was in love and the whole world seemed to have loved their love too.

Their vows are heartfelt and sincere to the point that there wasn’t a single person with a dry eye in the room just like herself and her fiancé.

The priest looks to her fiancé as she says the final words, “You may now kiss the bride!”

Heejin is pulled into the long-awaited kiss and she can’t help but melt into it. Even after all these years, each time they kiss, it feels like the first time as it makes her feel weightless as her heart flutters.

“I love you, Jeon Heejin,” she’s told as soon as they break apart.

“And I love you more, Kim Hyunjin.”

---

A/N: Can y'all believe I wrote all of this just because of one song? Song in question: Strange ft. Hillary Smith.

I recently fell back in love with this song (which is from the Netflix show Brigderton, hence the royalty theme) and everytime I heard it I would imagined a scene where Hyunjin was teaching Heejin how to dance. Which btw, I did mention it when they started to dance in case y'all wanted to hear it as you read that scene too.

Who would've thought it would lead to this long one-shot? LMAO

Anyways, I had a lot of fun writing this one and honestly, I definitely could've stretched the pining more but I really just wanted to get it done before I could overexert and then get discouraged to write.

So, I really hope you all enjoyed this one! Lemme know what you thought here or on twitter (@rv_twice5).

P.S. I was actually going to release this later this week, but in honor of Hyunjin's b-day I've decided to release it today!

- S