"Myung Soo..." she glanced over at him as she spoke, fidgeting nervously in her seat. He didn't take his eyes away from the road, but did grunt and nod to show that he was listening. "About what happened... between us... at the mall-"

"I thought we were going to forget about that?" Myung Soo interrupted, feeling his heart skip a few beats at the mention of what had happened. He could still distinctly remember every second of that moment, when he and Yeong Hwa had shared a kiss. "You're the one who said that-"

"I know what I said!" Yeong Hwa snapped, jerking her fingers away from her lips. She had been trying to rub away the feeling of Myung Soo's lips against her for days, but it just didn't seem to be working. That, along with Myung Soo's stubbornness on the subject, was really beginning to fray her nerves. "We can't just pretend that it didn't happen, though! You kis-" Yeong Hwa's voice abruptly cut off as she noticed Yoogeun and Seo Hyeon listening intently to the conversation. They probably wouldn't understand what was going on, but little kids had impeccable memories and big mouths, and the last thing either Yeong Hwa or Myung Soo needed was for the twins to start blabbing about the kiss.

Taking a moment away from his driving, Myung Soo glanced over at Yeong Hwa to see what had gotten her to shut up so suddenly. She was already facing forward again, though, her hands folded over her chest and a stormy atmosphere surrounding her. Sighing, Myung Soo returned his eyes to the road and watched from the corner of his eye as Yeong Hwa slid lower in her seat.

"We can talk about it another time. Right now, let's just try and enjoy ourselves. Okay?" Myung Soo asked, attempting to smooth things over with Yeong Hwa. Her temper had increased ten times since their trip to the mall, and Myung Soo was beginning to wonder if he had traumatized her with that kiss. Not that it should have a devastating effect on her. Kisses were no big deal, after all. Myung Soo had kissed plenty of girls, and for him Yeong Hwa's lips had been no different than the next girls.

"Liar," a traitorous voice in the back of his mind scolded. "Oh, right. Her lips are like a shark's skin. My bad," Myung Soo replied, rolling his eyes.

"Fine," Yeong Hwa agreed, resting her head against the door and sighing quietly. At first it had seemed like she could forgive and forget- or at least forget- but now that was proving to be impossible. She hadn't been able to think of anything but that kiss over the past few days, and if she didn't sort things out with Myung Soo soon then she felt like she would explode!

"That kiss with Yeong Hwa was not like any of the others. You felt something back there!" the voice in Myung Soo's head continued, growing more confident as Myung Soo grew more agitated. He knew it was ridiculous to be arguing with himself, but... that didn't stop him from doing it. "What are you talking about?! She's just a babysitter!" he snapped back, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. "You keep telling yourself that, bub," the voice chuckled, fading out of his mind as it did so.

"Happy birthday to Seo Hyeon!"

"Happy birthday to Yoogeun!"

"Happy birthday to you," Yeong Hwa joined in, a smile managing to appear on her face as she turned in her seat to face the twins. "Happy birthday to you!"

"Are we going to see bears?!" Yoogeun suddenly blurted out, standing up and bouncing on his seat. "Or monkeys?!" he added, now practically climbing on the table. Biting her bottom lip in worry, Yeong Hwa undid her seatbelt and began crawling through the space between the passenger and driver seat.

"What are you doing?!" Myung Soo exclaimed, his eyes flickering between her and the road. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I trust you," Yeong Hwa retorted, negotiating her hips through the small space. Behind them, the twins were cheering her on.

"How does that have anything to do with-"

"I dunno. I was hoping it would get you to shut up, Hero boy," Yeong Hwa sighed playfully, slipping her legs through the space. After a short burst of applause, and some embarrassed laughter on Yeong Hwa's part, Seo Hyeon and Yoogeun helped Yeong Hwa onto the bench. Well, at least as much help as a pair of four- correction, five year olds- can offer.

"Five... they'll be starting kindergarten at the end of this year!" Yeong Hwa thought, her eyes widening in surprise as she looked between Yoogeun and Seo Hyeon. They seemed so little, though. It was hard to imagine either of them in school uniforms, attending school just like she did. "Maybe I should corrupt Seo Hyeon into wearing the boys uniform," Yeong Hwa thought mischievously, glancing at the back of Myung Soo's head. He would definitely kill her if she even tried to taint his beloved younger sister.

"Noona?" Yoogeun asked, cupping his cheeks in his hands and looking up at Yeong Hwa with adoring eyes. Raising her eyebrows, Yeong Hwa waited to hear what he wanted. Yoogeun didn't do aegyo without reason, after all. "Can I have some banana milk?" he begged, clasping his hands and leaning against Yeong Hwa.

"You just had one!" Yeong Hwa sighed, pointing to the empty container that was sitting discarded on the table.

"But I need energy!" Yoogeun protested, attempting to use his logic against Yeong Hwa. Smiling, Yeong Hwa ruffled his hair and left her silence as his answer. Pouting, Yoogeun tried to sort out his hair while Seo Hyeon took her opportunity to speak.

"What is this?" She asked, gesturing to the vehicle around them.

"An RV," Yeong Hwa responded, slouching on the bench and propping her feet up on the table. Up front, Myung Soo let out a short snort of disapproval as he caught sight of this in the rearview mirror. Sticking out her tongue, Yeong Hwa made a show of making herself comfortable.

"And where are we going?" Seo Hyeon continued, resting her chin in her hands after propping her elbows on the table. Yeong Hwa was pretty sure that was about as rebellious as the little girl was going to be getting.

"The mountains," Yeong Hwa responded, not sure of the exact name. Seo Hyeon wouldn't care, though.

"Why?" Seo Hyeon asked. Yeong Hwa knew that the little girl knew exactly where they were headed, but the novelty of a camping trip just for the twins was still exciting for both twins. And Yeong Hwa couldn't blame them, either. It wasn't often a five year old got to have two entire days dedicated to them, just because they had managed to survive another year of living.

"Because it's you and- oof!" Yeong Hwa grunted as Yoogeun crawled over and made himself comfortable on her stomach. "Yoogeun!" she laughed as he snuggled down and mimicked Yeong Hwa's position; legs propped up on her own and head fitted comfortably just under Yeong Hwa's chin. Jutting out her bottom lip, Yeong Hwa let out a burst of air and pushed aside Yoogeun's hair, which was attempting to invade .

"That tickles!" Yoogeun giggled, his fingers wrapping around the top of his head. Forced to move or get clubbed in the nose, Yeong Hwa craned her neck as far up as she could in order to avoid Yoogeun's sudden intrusion.

"Me too! Me too!" Seo Hyeon announced, standing up on her seat.

"You can sit with Oppa when we get to the camp site," Yeong Hwa said, volunteering her partner in babysitting. Glancing at the rear view mirror, Yeong Hwa caught sight of Myung Soo rolling his eyes. Smirking in triumph, she wrapped her arms tightly around Yoogeun and gave him a quick squeeze. "Sound like a plan?"

"Yup!" Seo Hyeon agreed, bouncing over the back rest of the driver's seat. "Okay, Oppaaa?!" she asked, patting Myung Soo on the shoulder. Sighing, he nodded an affirmative. "Yay!" Seo Hyeon cheered, diving back to her seat and snuggling into a tight ball.

"Are we going to see bears?" Yoogeun asked, latching back onto his train of thought.

"Maybe. What do you think, Myung Soo?" Yeong Hwa asked, her eyes traveling to the front again. Out the windshield, she could see them pulling off the main road onto one made of packed dirt. "Shouldn't be much longer now," she thought, looking forward to the opportunity for the stretching of legs. It had been a three hour trip up here, after all.

"If you keep an eye open you'll probably see on," Myung Soo agreed, though his heart wasn't in it. Yoogeun was paying attention, though, being too focused on playing with Yeong Hwa's hands, which were still wrapped loosely around his torso.

"Up. Down. Up. Down." he chanted, lifting her hands and then dropping them in time with his words. Resigning herself to this treatment, Yeong Hwa tilted her head back and closed her eyes to try and get some rest before they 'hit land' and the twins were let loose. That was going to be some fun times.

After ten more minutes of driving, Myung Soo pulled the RV into a packed dirt clearing and shifted the vehicle into park. "Here we are," Myung Soo announced, undoing his seatbelt. Both twins let out a loud, excited cheer as they bolted upright. Fortunately for Yeong Hwa she had foreseen such an event and was able to move her head out of the way of Yoogeun's sudden movement, thus sparing he tongue a painful meeting with her teeth.

"Eunnie! Dooooor!" Seo Hyeon squealed, bouncing up and down as she tugged at the RV's door handle, which had been locked in case the twins decided they wanted to take a sudden plunge out of the vehicle while it was moving. Groaning playfully, Yeong Hwa rolled onto her side and lay limply with her eyes closed. "Eunnie! Wake up!" Seo Hyeon groaned, hurrying over to Yeong Hwa and shaking her shoulder. Working hard to not smile, Yeong Hwa kept her eyes tightly shut and tried to remain as limp as was possible.

Soon Yoogeun had joined Seo Hyeon, and the two were rhythmically bouncing Yeong Hwa up and down as they tried to get her to wake up. "Wake up! Wake up!" the twins chanted, loud enough to prevent Yeong Hwa from hearing when the door opened.

Poking his head inside, Myung Soo checked to see what was taking the three so long. "Yeong Hwa..." he sighed, shaking his head in amusement as he stepped inside the RV, leaving the door open behind him. Coming up behind the twins, he tapped the both of them on the shoulder to grab their attention. Glancing up, Seo Hyeon brightened the room with a broad grin as she caught sight of her beloved brother, while Yoogeun remained concerned with waking Yeong Hwa up.

"You guys go look for bears, okay?" Myung Soo whispered, gesturing for them to go outside. Nodding, Seo Hyeon took her brother's hand and led him out of the RV. After counting slowly to three in order to make sure they wouldn't be coming back, Myung Soo crouched beside Yeong Hwa. Her face was surprisingly peaceful, and he could almost believe that she had actually fallen asleep. Her shoulders slowly rose and feel with her breathing, which was steady and calm.

"You awake?" Myung Soo asked, reaching out and gently nudging Yeong Hwa's shoulder. The corner of her smile twitched upwards slightly, but besides that she showed no reaction. Smirking, Myung Soo retracted his hand and thought about what to do next. "She's good," he thought, watching Yeong Hwa for any further signs that showed she was awake.

"Yeong Hwa? Come on, you can't just leave me alone with the twins," he pleaded, shaking her shoulder as he did so. Still Yeong Hwa pretended to sleep, though. Frowning, Myung Soo decided that drastic times called for drastic measures. "Alright... but don't say I didn't try and warn you," he sighed, reaching under her shoulders and legs. Yeong Hwa stirred slightly as he did so, but it was too late for her to go back now. In one swift movement Myung Soo had lifted Yeong Hwa into his arms and was standing.

"Hey!" She squealed, caught off guard by the sudden movement. Instinctively, her arms wrapped around Myung Soo's neck, where she clung tightly for a few moments. Ignoring this, Myung Soo carried Yeong Hwa to the door and out into the great outdoors. "Myung Soo!" Yeong Hwa laughed, weakly pounding her fist into his chest so that it didn't look like she was enjoying this too much. Smirking, Myung Soo let go of her for a half-second, enjoying the little scream of panic just before he caught her.

"Idiot!" Yeong Hwa snapped, though her heart wasn't in it. Burying her face in Myung Soo's shirt, Yeong Hwa tried to hide her blush as Myung Soo spun her a few times. "Sheesh, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" she giggled as he set her down on the ground, thankfully feet first.

"I like the mountains," Myung Soo responded, shrugging his shoulders.

"No more fresh air for you. It makes you waaaay too weird," Yeong Hwa scolded, shaking her finger at him before dissolving into laughter. Even she was beginning to feel the effects of this change of scenery. She couldn't explain why she felt so happy all of a sudden, or tolerant of Myung Soo's somewhat childish behavior, besides saying that it was simply happening. Maybe because she had been cramped in the RV for so long?

It seemed like Myung Soo was feeling the same about the long drive. Glancing over at him, Yeong Hwa watched as he stretched out his arms over his head, the muscles rippling beneath his skin. "What?" she thought, violently jerking her attention away from Myung Soo as her thoughts began turning in a direction she would rather avoid. Turning her back on Myung Soo she nervously clasped her hands behind her back, playing with her fingers as she tried to focus on the beauty of the mountains.

"Strong arms, tall, beautiful dark eyes, kind, gentle, funny- oh ,-" Yeong Hwa crouched down on the ground and covered her face with her hands as her face lit up like a lighthouse at midnight. That was not the beauty of the mountain! "Why? Why? Why? Why?" she repeated, unable to think of anything else as her brain started experiencing a meltdown. Why couldn't she get her head screwed on straight ever since that ki-ki- "Why?" Yeong Hwa whimpered, her face growing even warmer.

"Yeong Hwa?" Myung Soo asked from behind, pausing long enough in his stretching to see that she was now on the ground. Dropping his arms, he crouched beside her and lightly rested a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, are you-"

"BEAR!" Yoogeun suddenly yelled from the opposite side of the RV, shortly followed by a scream from Seo Hyeon. Beneath his touch, Yeong Hwa tensed up in record time as her head snapped up, the color draining rapidly from it. Beside her, Myung Soo shared a similar reaction as he turned to look in the direction of the two's voices.

"Yoogeun?! Seo Hyeon?!" Yeong Hwa yelped, rising to her feet and running at a dead sprint to check on them. As she did so, she grabbed a fallen branch about as thick around as her arm to use as a makeshift weapon. Taking his cue from her actions, Myung Soo followed on Yeong Hwa's heels. As the two rounded the corner, Yeong Hwa was already brandishing the stick and opening to let out a war cry against whatever was threatening the twins.

Except, the terrible threat turned out to be, well, the twins. Abruptly halting, Yeong Hwa's war cry came out as a strangled mewl when she quickly stifled it, Behind her, Myung Soo rushed past a few steps before also coming to a halt, throwing his hands up into the air out of both relief and exasperation. Lying there on the ground in a tussle were Seo Hyeon and Yoogeun, with the latter apparently playing the role of a bear that was trying to "maul" his sister.

"Save me!" Seo Hyeon squealed as Yoogeun began tickling her side. Looking pleadingly at her "Oppa", Seo Hyeon reached out one small hand towards him before bursting out into a fit of giggles as Yoogeun's tickling got to her. Sighing, Myung Soo hurried over and swept her away from the "bear".

Roaring angrily at having lost his prey, Yoogeun reared up on his knees and waved his arched fingers at Myung Soo like claws. Laughing, Yeong Hwa covered with the back of her hand as she watched this cute display of ferocity. Growling, Yoogeun her and began lurching towards Yeong Hwa. Letting out a short, playful cry of terror, Yeong Hwa danced out of the way as Yoogeun swiped at her with his hands. Losing his balance, Yoogeun fell forwards and landed face first in the turf.

"Yoogeun!" Yeong Hwa exclaimed, trying not to laugh as she helped the shocked boy onto his feet. "Did that surprise you?" she asked, praying that Yoogeun didn't start crying.

Nodding slowly, Yoogeun rubbed at a smudge of dirt on his face. "Oops!" he laughed, though his voice betrayed that he was still unsure of how to react. Smiling, Yeong Hwa gave him a quick hug before grabbing his shoulders and turning him to face Seo Hyeon, who by this time Myung Soo had put down.

"I think the bear needs to go and get Seo Hyeon," Yeong Hwa whispered, gesturing subtly to the little girl who was shifting awkwardly as she warily watched Yoogeun. Nodding, Yoogeun marched towards Seo Hyeon and took her hand protectively in his own. Apparently something had changed without Yeong Hwa's knowledge, although both the twins seemed to know what was going on.

"I'll be your hero!" Yoogeun proclaimed boldly, grinning at Seo Hyeon. Returning his smile, Seo Hyeon allowed Yoogeun to lead her away from their babysitters, who at his words had been uncomfortably reminded of their previous ordeals. Glancing up at Myung Soo, Yeong Hwa's eyes met his for just a second before both teenagers quickly turned away from the other. Coughing awkwardly into her fist, Yeong Hwa tried not to read too much into the situation.

"Hey, Yeong Hwa?"

"Don't worry. You were a lot cooler than that," Yeong Hwa assured him, turning slightly so that she could look at Myung Soo over her shoulder. Rubbing at his neck awkwardly, Myung Soo shook his head. "That... isn't what you were going to ask," Yeong Hwa groaned, bowing her head in embarrassed shame.

"Well, no, but thanks all the same," Myung Soo admitted, managing a small smile at Yeong Hwa. Glancing up, she caught this and tentatively returned the gesture. "Actually, it wasn't really a question at all. More just a statement," he continued, walking over to Yeong Hwa and reaching out his hand to help her to her feet. Smiling gratefully, Yeong Hwa accepted his hand and allowed him to lift her onto her feet. It was amazing how effortless it was for him.

"So, what were you going to say?" she asked, patting invisible dust off her pants.
 

"Just that, even with all your strength, there is no way you could ever beat up a bear. Especially with a weapon like that," Myung Soo replied, gesturing to the stick Yeong Hwa was wielding. Sheepishly, Yeong Hwa chewed on her bottom lip as she lightly tossed the stick away.

"I know. But... well, you guys are like family to me. I'd do whatever I could to protect all three of you. Even if it means beating a bear with a stick," Yeong Hwa admitted, chuckling nervously as she rubbed at the back of her neck. A twinge of pain went off in Myung Soo's heart when Yeong Hwa referred to him as 'family', though he wasn't sure why. It wasn't like he found the idea that revolting or anything. A little weird, maybe, but hardly enough to make his heart hurt.

"But you know what would make you feel that way? If you L-O-V-" Myung Soo quickly clamped down on the annoying voice before it could bring to light any uncomfortable ideas. "I guess you got that from your mother's side," he commented, trying to turn his thoughts away and not really thinking about what he was implying. A flash of pain went over Yeong Hwa's face, but she quickly banished it with a bright- and obviously fake- smile.

"Yeah. My dad definitely doesn't care that much about family!" she laughed, though her voice choked up halfway through as though she were about to cry. "But, you know, we all have our crosses to bear. I guess mine is being abandoned like this. Honestly, I should have seen it coming a long time ago. The business has been failing for a while, and..." Yeong Hwa began growing hysterical as the stress of her life started beating down on the fragile wall she had managed to build up. "Who knows, maybe the next time I see my dad is in a jail cell, or dead, or-"

"Yeong Hwa!" Myung Soo exclaimed, grabbing her shoulder and shaking her lightly. Blinking away a few tears, she looked up at him and tried to muster enough strength to keep from crying. "You're dad will come back, alive and well," he told her, debating on whether or not to hug Yeong Hwa. It felt like the right thing to do, but knowing Yeong Hwa she might beat him up for trying something like that, especially so soon after he kis-

Yeong Hwa suddenly closed the distance between she and Myung Soo, wrapping her arms tightly around him and burying her face in his shirt. Surprised, Myung Soo awkwardly held her shoulders and waited for Yeong Hwa to be done. When she finally did pull away it seemed like she had managed to pull herself together once more, and this time her smile was genuine. "I know. Thanks," she mumbled, suddenly realizing what kind of an awkward situation she had put Myung Soo in.

"Noona!" Yoogeun squealed, ending the awkwardness with his appearance, gesturing for her to join him. "We've got to catch the bear!" he exclaimed, bouncing up and down and gesturing frantically for her to follow him. Smiling at Myung Soo, Yeong Hwa shrugged her shoulders and jogged after Yoogeun.

"Have fun finding an invisible bear!" he called after her.

"Say what you want, but I think we're having bear stew tonight!" Yeong Hwa retorted playfully, waving goodbye to Myung Soo before disappearing around the other side of the RV.

"Wanna play Truth or Dare?" Yeong Hwa asked, snuggling against the bench and trying to force her eyes to stay open. It was already midnight, and they had just gotten both the twins to stay in bed for longer than ten minutes. It finally seemed like they were going to be able to have some "grown up" time, something Myung Soo had been looking forward to all day. Yeong Hwa, on the other hand, was no longer feeling enthusiastic as exhaustion began settling into every inch of her body. It felt like she was filled with cotton, and that any nearby surface would make a nice bed.

"Alright. Do you want to go first?" Myung Soo agreed, drawing his knees up to his chest. Yawning, Yeong Hwa shook her head. "Really?" he asked, surprised that she wouldn't jump at the opportunity. Nodding slowly, Yeong Hwa's head slid to one side and nearly sent her onto the floor as her neck muscles suddenly relaxed. Sighing, Myung Soo rubbed at his shoulders, which had been stiff for most of the day, and watched as Yeong Hwa struggled to stay awake. He felt bad about making her stay up late, but he also knew that if he tried to get her to sleep then she would stubbornly fight it and stay awake even longer than she was already planning on.

"It seems to always be a no-win situation with this girl," Myung Soo thought, though what came out of his mouth was much different: "Truth or dare?"

Frowning thoughtfully, Yeong Hwa went over the pros and cons of both options. Not that she was psychic or anything, so it didn't help much. Really, she was just buying time and praying that Myung Soo would call the night off. "Um... truth? I guess?" Yeong Hwa asked, watching Myung Soo's face for any sort of gleeful, sadistic reaction. She was sure there were a million things Myung Soo would just love to worm out of Yeong Hwa, and now that he had the opportunity he would jump on it like a cat on a mouse.

"There have been a lot of rumors going around about how you first became the 'Warrior Princess'-"

"That isn't a question," Yeong Hwa interrupted, not wanting to hear a long-winded build up to whatever he wanted to ask her.

"I know. I'm working on that," Myung Soo replied, irritated that she had stopped him in the middle of his thought. Coughing into his fist, Myung Soo waited a moment before continuing. "I've never heard your side of the story, though. I don't think anybody has, in fact. So, 'Warrior Princess', how did you get the title? What's the story behind your ascent to the throne? And don't say that it's two questions, because they're the same thing worded differently," Myung Soo grunted when he saw Yeong Hwa about to object.

Slouching down in her seat, both from exhaustion and irritation, Yeong Hwa mulled over whether or not to answer Myung Soo's question. She knew that if she did then the story might be spread around the entire school, and there would go her two years of hard work. On the other hand, she had gotten to know Myung Soo a lot over the summer. If he promised not to tell, then he wouldn't. He hadn't spread those pictures of her, after all. Why shouldn't she trust him with this, too?

"You can't tell anyone," Yeong Hwa began, jabbing a finger in Myung Soo's direction as her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," he swore, crossing his finger over his heart. When Yeong Hwa still didn't seem convinced, he extended his pinky out to her from across the table. Rolling her eyes, Yeong Hwa did the same.

"I still don't get this," she muttered as Myung Soo sealed the deal.

"You don't have to for it to work," Myung Soo chuckled, unhooking his hand from Yeong Hwa's and folding his arms over his chest. "Now, go on with the game," he nodded in her direction while settling down to listen to the story. Sighing heavily, Yeong Hwa racked her brain for the details as she began to recall this particular tale.

"Let's see... It was when I- well, I guess we- were in our first year of high school..."

Believe it or not, I was actually a pretty quiet girl when I was growing up. I didn't speak to anyone, so obviously I didn't have any friends, and what friends I did manage to get ended up using me. Eventually I got enough backbone to ditch the idiots, but they weren't done with me and continued to harass me constantly. I was always the subject of the school bullies tormenting, but it didn't really bother me much and for the most part I could ignore it.

I mean, of course it bothered me, but I was good at not showing it. When I ended up with the fiery temper I have now it came as a real shock to a lot of people, but especially me. I used be a really icy person, since I was constantly trying to ignore the bullying.

Anyway, that's both off topic and kind of pointless background information. What's important is that in the second semester of our first year in high school, in December, I was walking home after a long day of ignoring the world and happened to come across some of the particularly nasty bullies and the new girl. Three guesses on who was being given a hard time.

One of these guys, I later learned, was the previous Warrior King. Yeah, not prince. Some rule about holding the "office" for three years in order to get your name changed, or whatever. He was a senior, so I guess he ended up with the title at the same time I did. Well... age. Ugh, I'm, getting off topic again.

Anyway, the girl was even quieter than me and didn't stand a chance against these guys. She was all blubbering and begging for them to stop, which of course the morons didn't, so I, as a fellow bullied individual, felt the need to step in and help her. Granted, at the time I thought my face was the one about to get smashed in, so I was obviously going to be scared. Probably why the King didn't take me seriously, at first. He told his buddies to go on home, and that he would show me my place. To my credit, I didn't pee my pants, but I did cry a little.

So, here I am facing a guy twice my size, with this whimpering new girl behind him, and I'm supposed to play hero. Just another day in the shoes of Nae Yeong Hwa, I suppose. Actually... I think this is the only time I've ever played hero, so scrap that last thought. Argh, off topic again. Alright, focusing. So the guy comes at me like a freaking bulldozer, muscles flexing and mouth fixated in a sneer that would curdle the blood of a demon, and me, being the idiot I was back then, swung at him with my fist.

As they say in Pokemon, it wasn't effective. Well, it wouldn't have been in Mother Nature didn't step in and give me a little help by slapping a patch of black ice down on the ground. The King didn't see this ice, so as he comes at me he slips on it and cracks his head real hard on the ground, knocking him out for the count. Me, not expecting this, also goes down after letting out a "oh-so-fierce" yelp of surprise. I landed on him, which probably wasn't much softer than the ground, and the whole thing was over in maybe ten seconds.

Definitely a battle of epic proportions, but that isn't even the best part. What really earned me the title wasn't the fact that I had just "defeated" the previous ruler, but that the girl who I was helping decided to then tell the whole school about it! She figured, from what she had seen, that I had heroically downed him in battle and that I deserved a recognition. Before I could stop her, the whole school knew and I was suddenly being crowned the Warrior Princess of Woollim High School.

When I realized that this meant people wouldn't bug me anymore, I let the title stay. I figured that, even if I had accidentally landed in this position, if I could hold it then I wouldn't have to worry about bullies, or any other pesky humans. "Thus, for the past two years, I've been holding on to the title and keeping people as far away from me as I can," Yeong Hwa concluded, finishing with a drawn out yawn that nearly swallowed up her entire face.

"And nobody has bothered finding out the real story?" Myung Soo asked incredulously. As the story had drawn him in, Myung Soo had leaned in closer and closer until now he was balancing precariously on the edge of his seat. He didn't seem to notice, though, as he was still intrigued by a story that he had thought would be much less interesting.

"Nope," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. Shaking his head slowly, Myung Soo let out a low whistle.

"I don't believe it," he muttered, staring Yeong Hwa down in an attempt to see if she was lying. Shrugging her shoulders once more, Yeong Hwa lay down on the bench and cupped her chin in her hands, propping her head up.

"People are stupid," she agreed.

"No, I mean I don't believe your story," he corrected. "I've seen you fight before. You took down someone twice your size just a month ago!" He insisted. It wasn't just a single instance he was referring to, either. Many times he had watched as Yeong Hwa defeated one wannabe usurper over and over again, and yet now he was supposed to believe that it was all one big scam? That the "Warrior Princess" of Woollim High was just some anti-social twerp who happened to get lucky?

It just wasn't possible!

"Well obviously I've learned a few skills in order to keep the title. You didn't expect me to calmly sit by and hope nobody figured it out, did you?" Yeong Hwa laughed, her face breaking out into an amused grin as she watched Myung Soo squirm awkwardly. "I'm not a fool."

"Depends on who you're asking," Myung Soo muttered, trying to get in one last jab in order to heal his bruised pride. Rolling her eyes, Yeong Hwa chose to be the bigger person and pretend she hadn't hear that little comment. "So what skills did you pick up?" He asked, a bit of a challenge in his voice.

He just wasn't going to let this one go, was he? "Well, if you must know, I perfected my massage skills," Yeong Hwa admitted, enjoying the look of astonishment on Myung Soo's face.

"Death by comfort?" He asked incredulously. Nodding, Yeong Hwa waited to see if he might put the pieces together. When it looked like that wasn't going to be the case, she decided to help him out.

"Acupressure. It works wonders for relieving tension, but it can also be pretty good in fighting," she explained, lying her head down on a nearby pillow. Slowly she was beginning to feel her brain slow down as exhaustion took over and tried to put her to sleep. She wasn't about to be the first one to conk out, though. She might not want to do this, but she certainly wasn't going to let Myung Soo know that!

Across from her, Myung Soo was still trying to digest this new information. Acupressure... that was the Warrior Princess' secret? Giving her enemies a massage?! It seemed ridiculous, but at the same time plausible.

"Truth or dare?" Yeong Hwa suddenly asked, peeking at Myung Soo over the top of the table. He had almost forgotten that they were supposed to be playing a game right now.

"Um..." what was he supposed to choose? After just revealing one of her secrets, Yeong Hwa would obviously expect him to say something as equally revealing it he chose truth. On the other hand, if he decided on dare... Myung Soo didn't even want to think about what kinds of dares Yeong Hwa was capable of conjuring up.

"Running through the woods, for example," Myung Soo thought with zero enthusiasm. His mouth wasn't taking instructions from his brain tonight, though, and simply spoke the first word that came to mind. "Dare."

Grinning gleefully, Yeong Hwa hurriedly sat up and focused intently on Myung Soo. He wanted to slap himself right about now. Why had he said dare?! Nervously, Myung Soo tried to avoid making eye contact with her as Yeong Hwa made a show of thinking about what dare to choose. It was obvious she would pick the most painful thing imaginable, so in order to prepare himself for the inevitable he began imagining the worst things.

"Let me give you a massage," Yeong Hwa settled on.

"What?!" Myung Soo exclaimed hopefully. A massage! That was hardly the hellish torture he had been imagining! From across from him, Yeong Hwa giggled and walked around the table to sit beside him.

"I could change it if you-"

"No! A massage is fine!" Myung Soo quickly interrupted, his relief turning to embarrassment as Yeong Hwa tried not to laugh at how nervous he was. Feeling heat creeping into his cheeks, Myung Soo turned his back to Yeong Hwa and crossed his legs. "Do you mind if I face this way?" he asked, listening to the seat cover rustle as Yeong Hwa adjusted her position accordingly.

"This works," she responded. "Want to take your shirt off?"

"What? No."

"Just trying to get you to relax. Sheesh," Yeong Hwa giggled, resting her hands on Myung Soo's neck. Instantly he flinched away and wrapped his hands protectively around the bare skin, wheeling on Yeong Hwa as he did so.

"You're freezing!" He exclaimed, shivering slightly in remembrance of her icy cold touch. Yeong Hwa, who seemed genuinely surprised at this revelation, held her fingers against her cheek experimentally. It only took half a second before she was pulling them away again, though.

"So it would seem," she agreed, rubbing her hands together to try and generate some blood flow. After thirty seconds, she tested her fingers against her cheek again. Frowning, she quickly pulled them away and tried rubbing her hands again. Two tests later, it seemed like Yeong Hwa's body heat wasn't going to get back to the norm of living people any time soon.

Eager to get this dare over and done with, Myung Soo reached out and clasped her hands in his. At first Yeong Hwa tried to pull her hands away, opening to protest at this sudden touch, but Myung Soo quickly interrupted. "I'm warming them up for you," he muttered, feeling embarrassed now that he was putting the idea into words. Surprised, Yeong Hwa managed to nod gratefully as she began to rub her fingers awkwardly together. Holding her hands more tightly, Myung Soo tried to ignore the chills that ran up his arms. It was like placing his hands on an iceberg.

"You know, normal people aren't this cold. You aren't getting sick, right?" He asked, looking over at Yeong Hwa in concern. If she got sick, then he was going to have to look after the twins on his own. That was a fate worse than any hellish dare Yeong Hwa could possibly imagine.

"I'm fine. I dunno why I'm so cold," she mumbled, beginning to shiver as her body remembered what it was like to be warm. Unfortunately, the warmth was spreading from her hands straight to her face, which was beginning to turn red. Why was Myung Soo concerned with her well being all of a sudden? More importantly, though, she didn't want Myung Soo to see her blushing like a school girl. Bowing her head, Yeong Hwa swallowed hard and hopes that Myung Soo hadn't seen her face. She hadn't moved fast enough, though, and Myung Soo had seen the beginnings of a blush on her cheeks.

Now also embarrassed, he quickly pulled his hands away from Yeong Hwa's. Knowing that he had seen her face, Yeong Hwa grimaced and watched as Myung Soo's feet disappeared from view when he turned to face away from her. "Let's hurry and get this over with," he mumbled, resting his arms on his knees and leaning forward slightly. It looked like he was getting prepared for a beating.

"Mmm," Yeong Hwa agreed, gently touching Myung Soo's neck. When he didn't instantly flinch away she surmised that her hands must no longer be deathly chilled, and proceeded to begin massaging the base of his neck. For a second Myung Soo tensed up against the unfamiliar feeling, but soon he was once again relaxed and allowing Yeong Hwa to work her magic.

The two sat in silence for a long while, Yeong Hwa focusing on the steady movement of her hands and Myung Soo relishing in the fact that his tension was disappearing in the blink of an eye. If this was the kind of thing Yeong Hwa came up with for truth or dare, Myung Soo would have to play with her more often!

"So, while I have your attention..." Yeong Hwa began, moving her hands further down Myung Soo's back.

"Yeah?" He mumbled as Yeong Hwa began working just beneath his shoulder blades.

"About that kiss-"

"Yeong Hwa-"

"Just listen to me!" She pleaded, never once stopping her massage. "I just have to know if you really meant it. I mean, if you feel that way about me..." her voice trailed off. What more was there for her to say? What could she possibly say that wouldn't just make their situation even more hopeless?

"Yes!" Myung Soo thought, knowing all the while that his little voice was acting up again. "Nae Yeong Hwa, I lov-" once more Myung Soo clamped down his thoughts and put a metaphorical muzzle on them. "No. There was a camera, and I was trying to stop them from catching your face," he explained, keeping his eyes riveted straight ahead. Yeong Hwa's hands faltered for a half-second, barely noticeably, but she quickly regained her momentum.

"O-oh... yeah, that makes sense," Yeong Hwa agreed, her eyes following the contours of Myung Soo's back. It was pretty easy, considering he had decided to wear a relatively tight fitting shirt. She was surprised at how familiar his back was for her. Of course, if she really thought about it, it was only natural that she be familiar with it. They had been living together for a while now, and spending practically every day of the summer together for even longer. Myung Soo probably knew her just as well as him, and yet... "He has no feelings for me? Not even a teeny, tiny little crush?" she thought, her hands gliding over to the other side of Myung Soo's back.

"Not that I want him to! Of course not! That would just be stupid! I mean..." Yeong Hwa's thoughts trailed off as she suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion hit her. Eyes drooping closed, Yeong Hwa fell forward slightly, resting against Myung Soo's back.

"H-hey. What are you doing?" Myung Soo stammered, twisting around to try and see Yeong Hwa. Shaking her head to try and clear it, Yeong Hwa sat back up and rubbed at the bridge of her nose.

"Sorry..." she mumbled, her voice trailing off as her eyes threatened to close again.

"Yeong Hwa? You alright?" Myung Soo asked, concern flooding his voice as he turned and wrapped one arm around her shoulders to help support her. "Hey, are you sure you aren't sick?"

"I'm fine. Just... kind of tired," Yeong Hwa chuckled weakly, rubbing at her eyes. She could barely keep her thoughts straight now. How long had it been since she last got a good nights sleep? One day, two? A week? She couldn't even remember. All her brain could focus on at the moment was finding a comfortable place to sleep, and unfortunately for Myung Soo it appeared that he was her pillow for the night. Sliding down his arm, Yeong Hwa rested against the inside of his shoulder as her eyes fell shut.

"Y-Yeong Hwa?"

"You've protected me from a lot of things," she mumbled, her brain throwing out whatever it felt like without any input whatsoever from Yeong Hwa. "That stupid demon cat, Mr. Lee, Pitbull, the camera... you really are like my knight in shining armor. I guess that's why I feel so safe in your arms. You've been there for me more than you can imagine, Myung Soo, so... thank you."

"What are you- are you drunk?" Myung Soo demanded, feeling heat rising to his face as Yeong Hwa went limp in his arms. "Hey. Hey! I am not your personal pillow!" he snapped, trying to shake Yeong Hwa awake. She was too far gone, though, and it soon became apparent that no amount of poking or prodding was going to get her to wake up. Sighing, Myung Soo tried to make himself comfortable without disturbing Yeong Hwa too much.

"Fine... just this once. But only if you promise to not say anything so embarrassing again," Myung Soo grumbled, reaching over and drawing a blanket over him and Yeong Hwa. He thought he heard a mumbled "I promise" from her, but it was so faint that it could just as easily have been his imagination. Sighing, he rested one hand on the back of Yeong Hwa's head and gently ran his fingers through her hair.

"Good night, Princess."

Author's Note: Aaaaaand.... I forgot. *insertstringofexpletiveshere* Not sure if anyone noticed, but I kind of spammed the Story Update feature a while back while trying to tell you guys something that I assume was of importance at the time... or maybe not, since my mind is drawing a total blank. *sigh*

Such a long chapter!!! 20 pg limit my buttocks! Normally I would be happy about writing a long chapter, but I don't want to bore you guys to death with my long-windedness... So I'm sorry if this chapter is really dull and slow. I was going to split it into 2 chapters, but I've already gotten all my planning for the next 4 chapters done, so moving all those notes a chapter over would be too much work for my lazy to handle. I promise to try and control myself in the future! (since there were also some- possibly- unnecessary moments of skinship in this chapter that are really just there for my own satisfaction, hehe Can't exactly say I'm sorry about that bit, though)

It's late and my brain is now dead... I'm going to shut up before I say something- *looks up at A/N* actually, I already look pretty weird, but I'm too lazy to edit it away, haha  Aaah bed, I look forward to meeting you!