- - myungsoo's pov

    I was used to beautiful people.

 

    Or that was what I liked to think.

 

    The first thought that came to my mind when I saw the princess was: Lovely.

 

    She looked so delightingly innocent that I didn't know what to say at first. I was speechless, you could say that. At my age, and having a huge empire to run, I didn't settle down with a woman yet. But a man who couldn't admire a woman was better off dead. So it was natural I'd developed my own tastes.

 

   My latest conquest, the delightful young Jung Soo Jung - Or Krystal, as she liked to be called - was an American socialite. She wasn't my type, exactly. The media thought we looked perfect for each other. In all honesty, her personality clashed with mine. She wanted to control me, to be able to boss me around. 

 

   I shook my head. I shouldn't think of Krystal. It would be an insult to the girl before me. Isn't the princess only 17...? Bewildered with what I was thinking, I hastily bowed and opened the door wider. "Come in, come in." I muttered hastily. I watched in mortification as her eyebrow raised in confusion. Damn it. I should be more composed. This isn't what a man of my age should be like. 

 

   "I apologize. My secretary is preparing our beverages. Please, do sit down."

 

   It was only then I noticed her companions. The male - her brother, perhaps? Oh wait. She was the only child. He was probably her cousin - was looking at me as if I were nuts. I wouldn't blame him. With my behaviour earlier, he might have thought I was mental.

 

   Which would be a given, since I was older than them and acting ridiculously weird.

 

   I smiled at them reassuringly. I hope that I manage to change the male's impression. I don't want to end up being pegged as a mental tycoon. That wouldn't fare well for my image, and my job, hmm? And possibly ruin my chances of winning the princess's favor... Damnit. I should really watch where my thoughts are going. Even if I'm silent, my thoughts do all the talking.

 

   "So, Mr. Kim...? What're you, ah, planning to do to the hotel chains?" The one on the left - my left, which is to the right of the male... I think her name's Ga In? - said rather seductively that I very nearly choked on my own saliva, which is a hard feat for me. I watched her as she twirled a lock of her short hair, and I resisted the urge to run away. Instead, I cleverly looked across the three of them and settled on looking at the princess.

 

   "Actually... I have nothing in store for the hotels. They are perfectly managed. It just needs financial help, something that the old owner couldn't provide anymore since his wife has cancer and he wants to be by her side always. I've heard that cancer treatment costs a lot, and it probably won't help the establishment." I answered, trying to make it feel like I was addressing all of them when I was only looking at the girl. If we were alone, I'd have embarrassed myself already.

 

   "Aaah... I do love the Japanese hotel branch. The... the... colors blend very well." Ga In replied. The words seem familiar. I glanced at the princess, who frowned. Hadn't she mentioned it in an article before? 

 

   "Well, yes. Though if I were to build a hotel fashioned after my taste, it would be - "

 

- - na eun's pov

   "Black?" I interrupted, forgetting my manners for a second.

 

    My eyes grew wide, and I covered my mouth in surprise. It was the first thing that I have said so far... Ga In stealing my view on the hotels really upset me. Maybe that was because she was using my words for the sake of her getting Myungsoo? In my opinion, someone like Myungsoo probably wouldn't appreciate being shackled to Ga In, as much as I love her and all.

 

   "Forgive me. It was a slip of the tongue." I said hurriedly. It was true, and he also seemed like the type to like the color black. I prepared myself for the shake of his head, saying that he didn't like the color black at all. Most people liked blue, brown or violet. I watched him with bated breath.

 

   He nodded.

 

   He nodded! It was like I won the lottery at guessing something. If I hadn't been trained to keep my feelings to myself, I would have leapt up and had done a little victory dance in front of them. Even Dongwoon looked like he knew what I was thinking. He was smirking at me, and looking at me knowingly.

 

   "Dance," He mouthed at me, and I narrowed my eyes at him before focusing once more on Myungsoo.

 

 

    "Your highness, are you - by any chance - a psychic? How did you know my favorite color when he haven't met before?"

 

   I peered down at my lap, trying to hold back an amused expression. "I'm not. It's just that you seem like you're the type to prefer black, and I'm right." (A/N: if you want to know what she looks like while doing this, just look at the gif above :3) 

 

   He laughed.

 

   And the conversation continued just like that. Dongwoon relaxed around him, and he started being his usual annoying self. Ga In constantly fought Dongwoon to claim Myungsoo's attention. Meanwhile, I was the unofficial referee for their sibling tug-of-war.

 

   Somehow, I ended up enjoying it.

 

   Especially when Dongwoon started laughing and choked on his drink after Myungsoo's secretary brought in our beverages. 

 

    When we were about to leave, Myungsoo bowed thankfully to the three of us and said with a smile on his face. "Please, call me L. And thank you for stopping by." I smiled - his eyes were just too irresistable! - and nodded.

 

   "Thank you for having us at a short notice." I answered, before turning to follow Dongwoon's retreating back. I hadn't taken two steps when I felt a hand on my arm. I turned to find an intent expression on Myungsoo's face.

 

   "You may think this is quite uncalled for, your highness, but would you consider going out for lunch with me while you are here in Japan? It would be an honor."

 

   I looked at him with my wide doe eyes. He wasn't kidding, was he? I nearly died on the spot. It wasn't exactly what I imagined when guys asked me out but the fact that I bagged one guy over a very experienced Ga In was a big reason for me to celebrate any day! Besides, he was attractive.

 

   "What about tomorrow? I have no appointment." I answered calmly, not betraying the giddiness that I felt.

 

   "Of course. I will go to your suite at thirty minutes past eleven tomorrow morning. Thank you, your majesty." He bowed.

 

   His secretary showed me out of the room, and back to my cousins' company.

 

   Dongwoon was smirking at me.

 

   "So? Did he ask you out?" He asked cheekily. I smacked his head gently.

 

   "We're going for a friendly lunch tomorrow." I answered innocently, while Ga In looked at me incredulously.

 

   "He was supposed to ask me out for lunch, not you! All you did there was sit and be... princesslike."

 

   Dongwoon and I giggled together. "You've lost your touch, sis." Dongwoon cackled.

 

   "It's nothing serious. I think he wants to tell me something about the hotels." I guessed, shrugging.

 

   "No, he's probably going to propose to you tomorrow."

 

   "Shut up, donkey kong." I muttered.

 

   "Yeah! Can't you see he's going to be my husband?"

 

   And just like that, me and Dongwoon ended up dashing down the hallway - laughing like insane people at the asylum. Ga In's comment was enough to set us off. Luckily, no one saw us. We'd have been in big trouble.

 

   Big trouble that involved having to take up more royal duties.

 

    And god knows how the three of us hate those duties with a vengeance.

 

   "Hey! Don't leave me!" Ga In called out from behind us.

 

   "Just go to your husband's room, Ms. Kim!" Dongwoon started cackling again and he collapsed onto the floor, clutching his stomach.

 

   "You buffoon, get up. She's going to kick our asses once she catches us." I was breathing deeply, trying to calm myself. Dongwoon's laughter wasn't helping.

 

   "YAH! Wait for me!"

 

   "MS. KIM! MR. KIM'S WAITING!" He yelled, laughing wildly again.

 

   "COME BACK HERE YOU IDIOT, I'LL STRANGLE YOU TO DEATH." Ga In shrieked, and I watched as Dongwoon scrambled to his feet and started running to the elevator, laughing manically as he did so.

 

   Family. They were always going to be insane.

 

-x-

 

So to anyone who noticed that I changed a few stuff in here,
kudos to you! I was thinking of rewriting this chapter because
of the crash, but since the old copy went up, I decided to do
some tweaking and merged the two chapters together. Hope
you guys liked it. And sorry that I can't update as actively
as I used to. School's back, and mom decided to pull the plug
on our internet since my sibs are glued to the computer 24/7.
So hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon :3