24 December 2021

It was early in the morning, around 7 AM, and Youngro could hear the noises from outside her house. Since the day the royal engagement news was shared to the public and her identity was revealed, various media companies and press were hunting her down. She didn't know how her address could be shared, but all of those people wouldn't come to the small neighborhood if it wasn't for Youngro.

"Youngro?"

That was Youngu.

The girl who was still half asleep grunted. Instead of waking up, she pulled her thick blanket closer to her body. Without having to check on the clock, she knew it was still early from her time to wake up. Youngu usually woke up really early in the morning since most of the days he would have to go to the village to get fresh fruits. However, that day the older brother chose to bother her sleeping time.

Youngro grumbled. Her words were unclear but she intended to shoo the brother away from her bedroom door.

"Go awaaay...."

"Youngro, wake up. Secretary Gong is here."

What?

At once, Youngro kicked her blanket away and sat up straight. Her eyes were still half opened, but her mind was already in a rush. She quickly jumped off the bed and checked her looks on the mirror. 

Her hair was messy. Her eyelids still looked heavy.

"Hah!" she placed her palm near to and sniffed her breath. "I need to brush my teeth." She mumbled with a hoarse morning voice. 

Carefully, she reached out to her bedroom door knob and pulled it open. There was Youngu standing outside the door. It looked like he was about to knock her bedroom once more. 

"Youngro, go prepare yourself. Secretary Gong said you have to come to the royal palace earlier than scheduled." He said with a concerned face. "It seems like the press outside our house are getting crazier. There are tons of people out there making a big crowd. Even the police closed car access to our neighborhood..."

"That's crazy..." the girl whispered.

Without further ado, the older man in front of Youngro grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her towards the restroom. "Now, go on. Prepare yourself quickly while I'm making some tea for Secretary Gong."

The middle aged man with a crisp black suit was sipping his tea calmly when Youngro finally appeared to the Eun family's living room in a rush. Since they didn't have much time, Youngro put on a simple sweater and jeans, and wore a long wool coat to cover her simple outfit. She made sure to dry her washed hair perfectly and combed it neatly. A bit of cushion, blush, and lip tint and there she goes.

"Good morning, Secretary Gong!"

"Miss Youngro!" the man exclaimed, stood up to his feet after putting back his cup of tea on the table. "My apologies. I didn't tell you sooner that we'll be taking you earlier to the royal palace today. It was informed that the media and press team were making a big crowd in front of your house early this morning. We're afraid, it would get even more crowded sooner and it would be hard to get an access for the transport."

"Ah, it's fine." Youngro said with a wide smile. In the back of her head, she actually wished she could get more sleep time...

Hong Aera suddenly came in to the living room with another tray of light snacks. 

"Oh, Mrs. Eun! Really, you don't have to serve this much!" Secretary Gong quickly helped the old woman placing the tray on the table. "We will be quick, we're afraid if we don't depart soon, the street would be more crowded..."

"Don't worry, Secretary Gong. I also got some more snacks prepared for takeaways. Youngu! Come quick and bring those packages for Secretary Gong!" she shouted to the kitchen, and Youngu finally came with two packs of box with home made snacks inside. 

"You should try these, Secretary Gong. These are home made sweet treats and rice cakes by our mother. We just made it last night for the royal family especially the Crown Prince," Youngu took a second to give a quick wink to his little sister which was replied with a death stare, and continued, "We also made some for you and your team! Hope you enjoy them."

Secretary Gong gratefully received the boxes from Youngu's hands with big smile. He then passed the box to his team members who were standing behind his sofa. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Eun, Mr. Youngu. We will enjoy it for sure!"

All of the people inside the room exchanged warm smiles, but Hong Aera's smile was shining the brightest. Youngro could notice her mother was wearing make up... look at those shiny lip gloss—

"Now, now, Eun Youngro, get your suitcase! Don't let Secretary Gong wait for you longer!"

After bidding her goodbyes with her mother and brother, Youngro walked out of her house with her head down, half of her face was covered with a black mask. Before she walked further, she made sure to greet the press outside her house fence first with a polite bow.

Secretary Gong was right. What would happen if they go out later that day? It was 8 AM and there were tons of people surrounding the front of her small house. Up in the air, Youngro could even notice flying camera drones recording her!

The girl nervously waited until Secretary Gong came next to her and ordered his team members to help carrying Youngro's suitcase. He then proceed to order s to push the crowd away from Youngro to make a space to the royal palace cars that were parked on the street near her house.

"Miss Youngro?" Secretary Gong politely offered his hand, "whenever you're ready. We'll be escorting you to the car. Please stay close to me. We will make sure to keep you safe from the crowd."

Youngro gave an awkward nod before gripping the older man's arm. Then, they proceed to walk further, outside the fence.

The press were shouting and throwing questions at Youngro at once until the girl couldn't catch what they were asking. Those were questions she could hear, though...

"Congratulations for being t