Chanyeol smiled to himself as he walked out from his quarters. His father's stern warnings that were roaring just moments before in his ears to warn him to act as a better prince were instantly forgotten.

Chanyeol neared the small garden which he had accidentally met Byul the other day. He replayed their conversation a thousand times in his mind, knowing he was acting like a fool but he couldn't stop it.

Chanyeol had seen many lovely princesses and gisaengs before, all of them worthy of drool and attention. However, Byul was different.

It wasn't so much her beauty that set her apart from the rest. It was the look in her eyes when she talked to you, like she didn't think of anything else, considering how you're a prince and all and trying to get into your good books. She looked like she sincerely wanted to have this conversation, that's why she was talking.

She was direct, straightforward, and never hid her feelings.

The thing about her that was so attractive was that she just was Byul. Everything about her you could see with your eye was what you get even if you dug into her mind and heart. Byul was Byul, nothing more nothing less.

Chanyeol peeked from behind a tree and the smile widened on his face when he saw Byul already there, eating.

Chanyeol smiled and gripped his bento tighter as he approached her. He had took off from the other EXO-K princes for lunch just so he could see Byul. But he thought it was worth it.

"Hey." Chanyeol emerged from the trees.

Byul looked surprised to see him at first, but she soon gave him a heartwarming smile. "Chanyeol-gun." she grinned.

Chanyeol didn't need to ask and this time she shifted to let him sit on the rock beside her. Chanyeol took his place and caught her looking at his box.

"What's that?" she asked curiously.

Chanyeol smiled and opened his bento, revealing a series of mouth-watering dishes delicately prepared by the Imperial Kitchen. He had ordered the chefs to cook him a bento instead of his usual feast.

"This is my lunch." Chanyeol shrugged. Byul blinked in surprise. "Your food is stored in a box?" she scratched her head. "Don't the Palace have enough bowls?"

Chanyeol chuckled in amusement. "This is a bento." he pointed to the wooden box in his hands with several compartments for different dishes. "It's given by a Japan Minister the last time he visited. You can store your food like that if you want to bring it out, see?"

Byul nodded and she smiled. "What an ingenious invention." she commented. "Makes everything easier than bringing a whole lot of bowls."

She looked at him, finally realizing what he meant by that being his lunch. "But you're going to eat here? With me?" she blinked.

Chanyeol nodded, taking out his chopsticks from his sleeve. "But...won't the other princes miss you? Or your parents? Don't the princes usually have to eat in their quarters or something?" Byul asked question after question, her curious nature unable to be hidden.

Chanyeol bit his lip. *I can't exactly say I came because I want to see you right?* he shifted uneasily and looked at her. "It's fine." he told her vaguely. "I'm not missed."

He raised his brows pointedly. "You don't want me here?"

Byul looked at him for a moment and burst into laughter. "You're not going to trick me into professing my hidden desire of wanting you around, not that I harbor any." she giggled.

Chanyeol chuckled. This girl was really different.

Chanyeol and Byul chatted for a bit, until Chanyeol tried to give Byul some of his fried egg. "I can't finish this, and your plain rice and kimchi must be boring. Just eat it, will you?" he convinced.

Byul shook her head and used her chopsticks to bring the egg back to Chanyeol's bento. "I can't accept it, Chanyeol-gun. I'm fine with kimchi and rice, I told you so."

"But you won't get the necessary nutrients. Just eat the egg, please." Chanyeol convinced, picking the egg up from his bento and bringing back to Byul's bowl.

This went on for a few more times until an unexpected "MEOW!" made Chanyeol lose grip on his chopsticks.

Byul quickly snapped her chopsticks out and caught the egg just before it reached the ground, in an amazing display of her reflex.

Chanyeol let out a sigh of relief. "See? This is what happens when you keep rejecting the egg. It feels sad and it wants to die." he told her pointedly.

Byul laughed and smiled. "Then thank you. I'll eat it well." she beamed.

Chanyeol was momentarily mesmerized by the beauty of that smile, that he was definitely shocked when the sudden "MEOW!" sounded again.

Both of them looked up onto the tree and saw that a small kitten had managed to climb up to the top branches. And now it didn't know how to get down.

"Omo! We have to save it!" Byul gasped, putting down her bowl. "It'll fall down to its death!"

Chanyeol nodded and rolled up his sleeves. "I'll go."

Byul reached out to stop him and shook her head. "I'll go. Chanyeol-gun, you stay here." she rolled her own sleeves and began climbing the tree expertly.

"Byul, I'm the guy. I should do this." Chanyeol frowned, worried.

Byul looked down with a small smile. "Precisely. You're a guy so you're heavier. Has it occurred to you that the tree might not be able to take your weight?"

That shut Chanyeol up immediately. But it didn't mean he was happy seeing her climbing trees like a monkey. Not her demeanor that bothered him, it was her safety.

"And besides," Byul continued, still climbing up and making her way to the kitten carefully. "Don't forget I'm one of the best fighters from the Military Academy." she grinned

Chanyeol held his breath as Byul reached the top most branch, which was also the thinnest and most vulnerable. She her lips and carefully inched towards the kitten.

Chanyeol wanted to shout for her to be careful, but he was afraid it would startle her and consequences would be dire.

Byul reached out, extending her hands to her full length but was still unable to reach the kitten. And she couldn't go any further because he branch seriously looked like it was about to give way.

"Here kitty kitty," Byul cooed. "Come over here. Unnie will bring you down okay?" she gestured.

It was like the kitten understood what she was saying. It looked towards her and began climbing back towards her gingerly.

Once within reach, Byul grabbed the kitten and heaved a sigh of relief.

She looked down, a few meters away from the ground, and simply jumped down. She landed on both feet steadily on the grass and beamed.

Chanyeol finally sighed in relief. He gave her a grumpy look. "You almost scared me up there."

Byul chuckled and handed the kitten to him. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let it get hurt." she beamed.

Chanyeol shook his head and chuckled to himself. *Im talking about you, Babo. Not the kitten.*

"Hmm? The puppy Han Eunbyul isn't here?" Baekhyun looked around, his eyes lighting up. He had finished his lunch with his parents and when he went out, he didn't see Byul waiting for him as she usually did.

He grinned and rubbed his palms together. "Marvelous!"

He quickly darted away as fast as he could, hoping to escape into the capital city for some fun, until...

"Ddong-ha, you seriously think you can run away from me?"

Baekhyun slumped and turned around, disappointed. He blinked in surprise when he saw Byul with dirt on her face and leaves stuck in her hair. It was like someone tried to mix her in a salad bowl with trees as the other ingredient.

"Where the hell have you been to?" he blurted, staring her up and down.

Byul realized how she must look and picked out the leaves from her hair that was tied in a high ponytail. "Nowhere you would be interested to go." she shrugged.

"Darn right I'm not." Baekhyun muttered. He rolled his eyes as Byul stalked past him and made a face.

"Seriously, if there's a guy who falls for a girl like this one," Baekhyun muttered. "He's seriously blind."