Baekhyun stared into space blankly. Byul glanced at him, scratching her head. Ever since she came back from lunch late and Baekhyun had that panic attack, he had been behaving weirdly.

Byul walked over and waved her hands in front of the Crown Prince's face. "Yah."

Baekhyun blinked and snapped out of his trance. "Huh?"

"How was Egypt? I heard they had building structures called pyramids. Were they as majestic as they sounded?" Byul asked.

Baekhyun blinked and frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You were blanking out, Ddong-ha." Byul let out a breath and sat down beside him. Baekhyun grew instantly aware of how close her thigh was to his. "You could have gone to Egypt and back and I wouldn't be surprised."

Baekhyun swallowed, feeling the right side of his body heat up, the side that was in contact with Byul. He stood up abruptly. "I'm tired. I'm going for a nap." he announced.

He quickly darted into his bedroom and plopped himself on the bed, leaving Byul confused. "Okay, now I'm sure he went to Egypt and was frightened by those mummies." she muttered.

Inside the room, Baekhyun was burying his face in his bed and putting a hand to his heart. Darn, was it even healthy to have it beat so quickly?

Baekhyun flipped himself over and stared at the ceiling. He recalled Chanyeol's actions towards Byul, and how he had thought Chanyeol might like Byul.

"How can you forget about hat Byun Baekhyun?" he scolded himself. The thought that had always occurred to him now seemed frightening.

He imagined Chanyeol getting together with Byul. He imagined Chanyeol and Byul strolling around with their hands intertwined. He imagined Chanyeol and Byul getting married, the beautiful bride that wasn't his.

He couldn't control the automatic cringing of his heart and he swallowed hard.

"I can't let that happen." Baekhyun whispered urgently. "I don't want Han Eunbyul to marry Yeol. Or Kai. Or Sehun. Or any other guy...."

He trailed off, realizing what came next. His face paled and he pinched himself.

"Okay think it through again Byun Baekhyun." he muttered, shaking his head vigorously. "You don't want Han Eunbyul with Yeol. You don't want her with any other guy. You...." he gulped. "....want her for yourself."

Baekhyun hugged his wooden pillow, not minding the sharp and hard edges. He gulped. "I love her." he whispered in awe at the new revelation.

He stared at the ceiling, thinking.

He had felt so uncomfortable when Byul wasn't near him, rushing all the way to stay at her house. When Dahae left for her princess duties, he missed her, but something as crazy as chasing after her didn't even occur to him.

When he was near her, he felt giddy and happy for some unknown reason. She had been the only girl to be able to get under his skin to piss him off. And she was the only girl to be able to make him care about what she thought about things too.

He always thought he placed Dahae on the top of his list of priorities, but now that he thought about it, Byul had taken that top position for a long time now.

Dahae....he liked her because she had always been the prettiest of the princesses. She seemed demure and kind, but when he got to know her better he found her otherwise. Whiny, impatient and childish.

Unlike Byul. His Byul that looked and behaved like an angel. Who knew martial arts of course.

Baekhyun basked in the aftermath of the revelation. He loved her. A lot.

He looked out of the door, aware of her presence just outside. He wanted to go out there and take her into his arms or kiss her senseless, but as the hyung, as the future ruler of the country, there were some things he had to do that he deemed right.

-----

"Oh we're visiting Chanyeol-gun?" Byul asked.

After Baekhyun's abrupt nap, he had whisked her off demanding a walk even more abruptly. They arrived at Chanyeol's quarters shortly after and Baekhyun made her wait outside. "I want to talk to him alone."

He went in and found Chanyeol reading in his room. Chanyeol looked surprised when he saw Baekhyun. "Hyung. What are you doing here?" he smiled. Chanyeol's eyes immediately looked around behind Baekhyun. "Where's Byul?"

Baekhyun felt his heart sink. They were really in love with the same girl. God help him.

"Yeol, please answer this honestly." Baekhyun muttered in a serious voice that was different from his usual flighty and fun tone. "Do you....are you in love with Han Eunbyul?"

Chanyeol took a step back in surprise. Whaaaa hoooww woaahhh. Did he just ask that?

"Hyung I-"

"Answer me honestly Yeol." Baekhyun pleaded. "Please."

Chanyeol nodded meekly. "Yeah. I love her." he confessed.

Baekhyun swallowed hard as his dread was confirmed. "The thing is, Yeol." he murmured back. "I think I'm in love with Han Eunbyul too. No, I know I am. I'm sure of it."

Chanyeol stared back at Baekhyun in shock. "Y-y-you say what?" he stuttered, his worst fears coming true. "You love her? But Dahae..."

"Is over." Baekhyun finished for him. "I realize I haven't thought of her the way I think of Han Eunbyul for a long time now. I love Han Eunbyul, Yeol."

They looked at each other for a bit, and an understanding passed through them.

"Fair and square hyung. I'm already losing out because she's your bodyguard and not mine." Chanyeol held out his hand.

Baekhyun took it and shook it firmly. "Fair and square then. I won't give her up without a fight, just saying." he grinned.

Chanyeol nodded. "Me too."

"You're talking to a lot of people today Ddong-ha." Byul commented as she strolled beside him as he told her that he wanted to talk to another someone. "Who is it now?"

Baekhyun stopped in his steps and turned to look at her face. "I have to talk to Dahae, Han Eunbyul."

Byul faltered, paling just a tinge. She bit her lip and tried to smile. *What is he going to talk about? Is he going to confess? Ask for her hand in marriage?*

"I just want to talk to her about something important, Han Eunbyul." Baekhyun told her. "I won't be too long."

He nodded at her and walked off to the pavilion where Dahae was painting again. Byul stayed where she was, not knowing if she should follow.

Her heart was beating irregularly, her breathing fast and acute. Her heart was feeling unwell all of a sudden and she just wanted to burrow into a hole and cry.

Baekhyun walked a few steps and he turned around to look at her crest fallen face. "Yah Han Eunbyul."

Byul looked up, trying to control her expression but failing miserably.

"I'll be back. Wait for me." Baekhyun looked at her, an underlying meaning crafted carefully into his words. Byul blinked confusedly at him and he chuckled softly, turning to go.

Byul wrinkled her nose and pouted. "Of course I'll wait." she mumbled. "I'm not going anywhere." she retorted, plopping herself on a large rock.

-----

"Dahae." Baekhyun called.

Dahae brightened when she saw him and smiled brightly. "Jeonha! You're here to see me!" she grinned. "You haven't been coming for some time. I missed you."

Baekhyun bit his lip and sat down beside her. How was he supposed to do this?

"Uhm, Dahae." Baekhyun stared at the ground. The only motivation right then was that he was able to go back to Byul after this.

"I wonder if you heard the palace gossips and stuff..." Baekhyun mumbled. "That I'm in love with you?"

Dahae's face was lit up with a beautiful smile which Baekhyun would have fallen for in the past. *I knew it!* she clapped internally. *He can't forget me so soon! After all, I'm Im Dahae.*

On the outside, she was careful to let her eyes shine brightly. "So it's true?" she exclaimed in a delighted soft voice. "I didn't dare believe. I can't believe it, im so happy."

Baekhyun shifted on his seat awkwardly. Okay. This was awkward.

"Uhh about that..." Baekhyun mumbled. "It's partially true."

Dahae looked at him. "What do you mean partially true?" she asked.

"The thing is, I loved you, Dahae." Baekhyun mumbled. Dahae blinked.

"I once, loved you." He sighed. "I have for a long time. Since young actually, I was taken to you. But now that I see it, I'm not exactly sure if I'm in love with you. I love you, sure. I love you now. But I'm not in love with you, do you get what I mean?" he looked at her pleadingly.

Dahae trembled slightly. No. Just when she gave up hope on Chanyeol and embarked on her journey to become the future Queen, he can't do this to her.

"Haha.." Dahae laughed uneasily. "I don't see the difference Jeonha. You love me."

"I do. As a sister. As family." Baekhyun sighed. "I'm coming to see that I'm in love with the imaginary you that I've created. The you that I thought you were, crafted in my mind to fit my likes. But you aren't the you I thought you were, Dahae. I was never in love with the real you." he admitted.

"I can be the princess you imagined me to be." Dahae took his hands desperately. "I will do everything I can! Let's get married next month! I love you, Jeonha. Please."

Baekhyun shook his head and tore his hands away from hers gently. "You're not. Do you realize we don't usually have things to talk about. We're almost strangers in that aspect. You know me as the Crown Prince but there's nothing beyond that you know."

Dahae sniffled, wiping a tear away. "And what? That bodyguard girl is better than me?" she retorted.

A soft smile came onto Baekhyun's face. *Yes she's a million times better.* he thought.

He looked at Dahae. "Han Eunbyul is the one who knows the real me, whom I'm in love with. She's nothing like I've seen before, and she always takes me by surprise. I can't explain why I love her, but I do, from the bottom of my heart."

"I'm sorry if I gave you false hopes, Dahae. And I'm sorry that you finally noticed me after my feelings have changed." he mumbled.

"But the person I'm in love with is Han Eunbyul, and I've got a feeling that it's never going to change."