It was one of those days when the missing intensified.

Some days you thought you could live and tolerate with the absence and the emptiness. Somedays you thought you would die from it.

The fact that she wasn't here, wasn't anywhere near his side, it . It made his chest constrict and his mood gloomy.

Baekhyun stared out into the rain that was pattering down the roof and the trees. Heaven really seemed to understand him, even suiting the weather to his moods.

Baekhyun sighed softly. *Dahae...*

The thought triggered emotions that he thought were dormant and tamed. The feelings that he thought he could bear with that he now found as a ridiculous thought.

He missed her. Desperately.

He knew the princess didn't return his feelings but that didn't stop him from loving her any lesser.

He might play around with other girls and seem like the biggest flirt ever, but the one in his heart would always and always be Dahae. That was a thought that occurred to him so many times that it had now turned into a fact.

*Why must you go around the whole of Korea for your princess duties, Dahae?* he thought sadly. *I miss you.*

Baekhyun closed his eyes momentarily and remembered Dahae's face in his mind. His princess that he vowed to make his queen.

He would wait for her, no matter how long it took.

-----

The missing made Baekhyun a little grumpier than usual. He desperately sought for a way to get his mind off the feelings and the only way he could was to continue with his playboy image.

Baekhyun shot an irritated glance at Byul, who was pacing around outside his room in a bored manner.

She didn't understand why he needed the other girls, why he needed to prove himself either. She didn't understand a single thing and she goes listening to his mother like a stupid puppy.

"I'm going to escape this time.* he murmured to himself.

He scratched his head and wondered how he was going to do that. Byul always caught him. Always.

It seemed she had some sort of guide book to the way his mind operated and she always thought things a step before he did.

Baekhyun made a face and huffed to himself. He's not going to let stop him now.

He stood up and stalked out of his room. Byul blinked in surprise and looked at him suspiciously. "Where do you think you're going, Ddong-ha?"

"I'm just want to write poems by the lake." Baekhyun defended.

"In the rain?" Byul raised a brow.

"What do you know about writing poems?" Baekhyun snapped. "Rain makes a conducive environment to compose literary works."

Byul pouted and blew a raspberry. "Fine. Whatever you say."

Baekhyun kicked his robes a little before stalking off cockily. He walked out of his quarters and along the sheltered corridor.

They reached the pavilion beside the lake and Baekhyun stared at the water. To be honest, he didn't really feel like entertaining those maids and attendants either,  but this was a matter of pride. He couldn't let Byul think he would stop trying just because she's there.

Baekhyun made Byul take out his paper, ink and brushes and sat down on the stone table, pretending to think up of verses.

He closed his eyes for the artistic feel and could sense Byul's curious gaze on him. He smiled suddenly and scribbled some things on the paper.

They weren't even words. They were just mashes and swirls of the black ink.

"Ahhh. Well written." Baekhyun muttered to himself.

Byul blinked. "What is the poem about?" she asked curiously.

Baekhyun looked at his mashed of black ink and back at her. "Flowers and beauty of the nature." he lied easily.

Byul stared at his paper in awe. "Ahhh. Really?" she had no idea what he had written. She couldn't read and write, really. And she doesn't really bother because she had always been interested in martial arts instead of literary.

"Can you read it to me?" Byul asked, blinking at the doodles and imagining the verses that were typed on them.

Baekhyun stuck his nose in the air, trying not to laugh. "No. This is going to be a great work. I won't let you copy it."

Byul rolled her eyes and huffed. "Fine. Whatever." she poured and crossed her arms, going over to the corner of the pavilion to sit.

Baekhyun slanted a glance in her direction and bit his lip. He doodled on the paper for a bit more, writing things like Han Eunbyul you fat pig and all.

He pretended to stretch with his arms outstretched, still holding the brush. Baekhyun flung the brush across the river and it landed on one of the lotus leaves that were floating on the water surface like plates.

Byul's eyes widened when she heard the sound. "What happened?"

Baekhyun pretended to panic. "Oh no! This brush was given by the Empress dowager! I can't lose it!" he fobbed. He looked at it. "Can't you help me retrieve it, Han Eunbyul?"

Byul bit her lip and looked at him for a bit. It was still raining and raining rather hard too. "Arraso." she muttered. She shot him a hard glance. "Don't you dare to run off okay?"

She ran out into the rain and tried to find a tool to get the brush from the middle of the lake. Baekhyun bit back his laugh and smirked to himself.

"Wits, Han Eunbyul, you need wits." he murmured. Baekhyun snuck a look at where Byul was and quickly ran off into the rain himself.

He felt the exhilaration of doing something he wasn't suppose to, and hopped over puddles. Perhaps you would think him childish but being a Crown Prince was really rather dull.

Baekhyun grinned to himself as w reached one of the shelters and shook the water off him slightly. He smiled widely and headed straight to where his usual court attendants were working, in the Great Hall.

He was just about to remove his muddy shoes to get in, when a hand tapped his shoulder.

Baekhyun turned around and met a pair of seriously-not-amused eyes. "And where, do you think you're doing, Ddong-ha?" Byul asked with raised brows.

Baekhyun frowned. "How did you know I'm here?" he demanded, feeling angry and irritated. He wanted to punch someone right now, and the only thing that could make him happy was the news of Dahae's return.

"That." Byul pointed to the muddy foot prints from Baekhyun's boots that trailed a long way. He shouldn't have run in the rain, but should have stuck with the indoors so that his shoes didn't get dirty.

Baekhyun growled. "Aish!" he muttered. "Why must things be so difficult? To enjoy myself and take my mind of the trouble? To have such an irritating bodyguard? To wait for Dahae-" he caught himself before he said anything more.

Byul blinked. "Eh?"

"AISH!" Baekhyun growled and stomped back to his quarters. "This is a darn lousy day!"

Byul stared at him go. "Dahae? Who is that?" she scratched her head.

She rolled her eyes and mentally knocked herself on the head. "Duh it's one of those maids and court attendants he fools around with." she muttered. "This guy's one crazy fella."