chapter soundtrack:
the manual - eddy kim

❄️

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

So slowly, Eun Youngro was waking up from her sleep. Her head felt so light, unlike yesterday when she felt as if her brain could explode any time soon. So did her body, she felt so light like a feather. Now that was what a good quality sleep could do for you and your body.

The girl stirred in her sleep, letting out a small squeal as she stretched her feet under the blanket.

 She felt warm and comfortable. What kind of beddings do this hotel use? She wondered.

Hold up. What is wrong with my hand...

She hissed as she noticed a weird feeling on her left hand. Her eyes weren't fully opened as she was still gathering her consciousness with her eyes closed. As she felt something— uncomfortably— sticking on her hand, she immediately opened her eyes. As the light inside the room filled her vision, her eyes squinted. She spent some seconds to adjust her vision with the light until she could clearly see her surroundings.

The first thing Youngro saw as she opened her eyes was an IV drip, hanging above her on a pole next to her bed. It confused her since she didn't remember getting herself injected with an IV catheter before she slept last night. Where did this IV drip come from?

Her pupils slowly moved around, exploring more of her surroundings.

Yes, she was still in her room, on her bed, and under the comfortable blanket. The only different things she noticed in her room were the IV drip next to her bed, the needle on her leftt hand, and the Crown Prince—

"Sooho-ssi!" The girl left out a small gasp as her eyes caught the tall man, on a formal white shirt tucked into a long black pants, sleeping on the sofa near the window.

What happened here?!

Youngro was about to jump out of her bed and check on the Crown Prince who was sleeping on the sofa. His back was rested on some soft pillows, and his long legs were rested on the sofa. Why was he sleeping there? His back might get hurt. He should had slept at his room, on his bed!

The girl finally managed to push herself up so she was then seated on the bed. The blanket was still covering half of her body. When she was about to move her legs down from the bed to get her slippers, the bedroom door was knocked, then followed by a familiar voice.

"Your Highness?"

It was Kangmoo.

The knocking sounds woke the Crown Prince from his sleep as well. The man then slowly shifted from his sleeping position, grunting as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Come in, Hyung." He said with a hoarse voice, as he proceeded to get up from the sofa and walked himself to the door.

However, the man stopped midway as his peripheral view caught Youngro who was already awake, sitting on her bed in her white pajamas with a wondering look on her face. The sight of her made him forget the older man that was waiting outside the bedroom. He immediately turned his back from the door, then walked his way to the bed, approaching Youngro.

"Youngro." He called, softly.

"Sooho-ssi," she said carefully. "What... what happened? What are you doing in my room? And wha— what happened last night?" She picked up her left hand that was connected with the IV drip above her.

"You had a high fever. We called the doctor in for you last night. She said the medicine you had weren't enough, so the doctor gave you an IV drip." He explained thoroughly. "How are you feeling? Are you still feeling dizzy? Do you feel hurt anywhere?"

"I'm feeling way better, Sooho-ssi. No headache. And my body feels so light, nothing hurts. I'm totally fine now." The girl grinned, showing the faint dimples on her cheeks.

Sooho didn't move his eyes away from her. The girl was smiling widely, showing him that she was truly fine. But the memories from last night, when Youngro was crying in her sleep and saying sorry to him, it somehow still worried him.

Carefully, his fingers reached out to touch some strands of hair that was covering the girl's face, then he placed his palm on her forehead. Her body temperature was normal already. That made him leaving out a long relieved exhale. At least, the fever had really gone away.

"Hm? Your temperature is normal, but why are your cheeks red—" Sooho frowned as he noticed both of Youngro's cheeks slightly turned red. 

He's so close to her. She could feel his familiar scent in her nerves. And from up this close, she could clearly see every single part of his handsome face. His dark eyes, sharp eyebrows, and the small mole on the corner of his lips...

Youngro tried her best to avoid his gaze, as she murmured, "It's... nothing. I'm fine. Really."

"Your Highness?" Another knocking sounds came from the bedroom door again. Youngro peeked through Sooho's shoulder, gazing at the door. "May I come in?" He asked once more from outside the door, this time he got his voice slightly louder.

"Breakfast is ready!"

"Do you want more scrambled eggs?"

Youngro smiled as she shook her head.

"Sausages?"

"I still have mine, Sooho-ssi."

"Baked beans?"

This time, Youngro stopped chewing the scrambled egg inside , and stared at Sooho who was sitting across her on the round table straightly on his eyes. Her lips were pursed together, holding back a cheeky smile. She was giving him a signal with her eyes, letting him know that she was really fine and she didn't need additional portion for her breakfast. However, the man didn't stop there. His right hand put down the fork he was holding, then he picked up the small bowl of creamy vegetable soup on his tray and placed it down in front of Youngro. 

"More soup for you. It's good to keep you warm." He said, then he picked up his fork again, scooping more mashed potatoes into his mouth.

Youngro couldn't say anything. When she opened to protest, Sooho gave her his playful smile. It was rare, even for her. And that was enough to make Youngro's heart fluttered.

He looked like an innocent kid.

"Okay. Thank you for the soup, Sooho-ssi."

As soon as Kangmoo entered the room to announce that the breakfast was ready for them, Sooho helped Youngro walking out of her bedroom to the middle room inside the suite so they could have breakfast together. As she mentioned, she could feel her body being so light like a feather that morning, so Sooho's hand was supporting her back all the time while she's walking her way to the dining table where the breakfast was served. His other hand was helping her pulling the IV drip pole along with them.

The menu was typical english breakfast: some hash browns and mashed potatoes, sausages, baked beans and tomatoes, scrambled eggs, and some creamy vegetable soup.

They continued eating their breakfast silently. As Youngro enjoyed the warm cream soup, she threw a glance outside the window in her bedroom where she could see the view of Hyde Park across the street.

It was 7 AM and there were already plenty of people walking around at the park. Most of them wore formal to semi-formal attires, some would have a cup of coffee on their hand while the other hand would hold their phone, some would walk in a rush while chatting with someone on a call across the line through wireless earphone, and some would run their way to the underground station or the nearest bus stop, chasing for a ride. It was still the first week of the new year, yet there were a lot of people there that were still busy with their works.

Youngro chuckled as she saw a woman strolled at the park with her adorable small dog with white fur. She guessed, it was a Maltese.

When she saw a couple strolled together at the park while holding hands, her gaze softened. They looked beautiful.

The girl scooped another spoon of cream soup as her eyes were still gazing out, admiring the London view outside their suite's windows.

"How many times have you been to London, Sooho-ssi?" Suddenly, she threw a question to the man across her who was drinking his apple juice.

"Hm?" Sooho cleared his throat as he put down the empty glass to the table. He tilted his head, trying to gather the memories in his head. "I don’t remember how many times. But it’s probably more than 10 times, less than 20 times. If I’m not mistaken.”

"Whoa." The girl stared at him with amazement. "Is it always for conference like this?"

"Well, there would be conference, political visits, or just a quick holiday with my father. He would attend some sort of events while I'm enjoying my free times here. It was short, but it was quite fun." He answered.

Another bite of scrambled eggs, and Youngro had already thrown ano