Baekhyun stole a couple glances at Aesook, who was quietly reading a book. They were both sitting at a table in the library, and he poked her cheek annoyingly, causing her to throw a glare at him. “Oppa, stop.” 

 

He grinned and continued to poke her cheek. “No, I’m bored. Why aren’t you doing anything to entertain me?” He puffed out his cheeks. 

 

“Because I want to read,” she deadpanned before turning back to her book. 

 

He pouted. “Aish, so boring.” 

 

He rested his head in his palm and gazed at Aesook. He stared at her nose, the way it twitched when something happened in the book. The way her eyes changed expressions according to whether something good or bad happened. The way she tucked her hair behind her ear. The way she her lips.

 

Her lips.

 

His gaze remained a little too long on her lips, and he inaudibly gulped. He tore away and felt his face getting hotter. *What’s wrong with you, Baekhyun? You’re not supposed to be liking her, remember? Forget about those feelings!*

 

He turned his head back to her and was startled to see her looking at him. “W-why are you looking at me?” 

 

*Because you’re still giving me the look.* Aesook frowned but merely shook her head. “Nothing. Your face is ugly,” she teased, sticking her tongue out at him. 

 

He feigned an insulted expression and placed his hand on his chest. “So mean to me!” He put the back of his hand on his forehead and pretended to faint. “I just can’t take it!” he cried out dramatically. 

 

She rolled her eyes before returning to the book again. But she was no longer paying attention to its contents. Her mind wandered off to thinking about Baekhyun. Her frown returned even deeper. 

 

She took a glance of him and saw that he was lying his head in his arms, eyes closed and facing her. She cocked her head curiously and started examining his features. *He’s handsome... He’s nice... He sings like an angel... Any girl would be lucky to have him.*

 

*’Any girl’ means you,* a voice in her mind rang out. 

 

Aesook gasped and dropped the book for her hands, letting it fall onto the table with a loud thud. Baekhyun opened his eyes and penetrated her with his gaze. “What happened?” 

 

“N-n-n-nothing,” she stuttered. She wanted to slap herself for stuttering just then. 

 

Baekhyun’s lips thinned into a straight line. “Okay,” he said, not believing her one bit. He closed his eyes again and let the matter slip from his mind. 

 

But the matter didn’t slip from Aesook’s mind at all. It actually started to remain rooted in her thoughts. She ran her fingers through her long hair in frustrations. *Get out of my head, you annoying thoughts.*

 

She looked at Baekhyun again, and her eyes softened. The voice came back. *There you go, Aesook. Why are you pining for a boy who you gave up? That’s incredibly stupid on your part.*

 

She shook her head furiously. *I’m not pining for ANYONE. Okay? I don’t like Baekhyun.* The moment she thought that, her heart started twisting. 

 

*Don’t lie to yourself, Aesook. Why are you denying this? What harm would come if you admitted your feelings?*

 

*I-I don't know...*

 

*Then what are you afraid of? Getting hurt? Baekhyun would do anything for you. He likes you too, girl.* 

 

*YES! I’m afraid! I’m afraid that I will get hurt! I’m afraid that once I start liking someone, they’re just gonna pull their feelings back, and then I’m going to be left with unrequited feelings and a broken heart!* Aesook felt tears starting to form, and she tried to blink them away. 

 

*Baekhyun would never hurt you.*

 

*How do you know?*

 

The voice never replied back, and Aesook waited for it. It never came. She wanted to fling her book across the library in frustration. *ANSWER ME!* She suddenly felt like the room was going to close in and suffocate her, and she started getting a bit antsy. 

 

She shot up, causing her chair to skid across the floor. Baekhyun looked up in alarm. “What’s wrong?” he asked. 

 

She looked at him with a calm expression, but her eyes showed her hurt. “N-nothing, oppa. I just find it stifling in here. I think I’m going to go outside for a walk.” 

 

“Oh, okay. Then I’ll come with you-” 

 

“NO!” she cried. Baekhyun froze at her sudden yell and watched her clasp her hand over . She cleared and tried to pretend that didn’t happen. “I-I mean, I wanna go alone. Ya know, P-PMS and stuff.” She wanted to smack herself in the face. *Stupid stupid stupid. Did I really just use PMS as an excuse?!* She looked up at Baekhyun and examined his expression to see if he suspected anything.

 

But as usual, Baekhyun’s face remained aloof and oblivious to the situation. “Oh, okay. Well, when you’re done PMS-ing,” Aesook’s face turned a deep shade of pink, “come back and read to me again?” 

 

He looked up at her with an innocent smile on his lips, and her eyes softened a bit. “Alright, oppa.” She ruffled his hair before scurrying out of the library door and shutting it behind her. 

 

 

 

 

 

A tiny man was running through the town square, accidentally bumping into people, who yelled after him, but he didn’t care. He finally arrived at his destination and walked through the front door. People around him looked at him and scoffed at his small stature. His lips thinned into a straight line as he marched through the room with his head held high. He found the man who he was looking for sulking in a chair by the fireplace. 

 

“Gaston!” the man yelled out. 

 

Siwon merely turned his head and looked at him with acknowledgement before sullenly turning his stare back to the fireplace. 

 

“Gaston!” the man yelled out again, but this time was straight into his face. 

 

Siwon continued to ignore the man’s calls and stared off to the side in deep thought. 

 

The man huffed in annoyance. “CHOI SIWON!” 

 

Siwon’s eyes flickered over to the man in anger and grabbed the man’s shirt, pulling him close. “What did I tell you about using that ing name?” he hissed venomously through his teeth. 

 

The man smirked. “Nice to see some emotion again, hyung.” 

 

Siwon rolled his eyes and threw the man on the floor. “What do you want, Le Fou?” 

 

His nose wrinkled at the nickname. “Ugh, just ‘cause you don’t like your real name, doesn’t mean I don’t like my real name. Don’t call me that god awful nickname ever again.” 

 

Siwon rolled his eyes again. “Whatever, Ryeowook. Just tell me what you want before I kick your .” 

 

Ryeowook sat up and dusted himself off. “I have some interesting news that I think you would want to hear.” 

 

“If it doesn’t involve Aesook, I don’t car-” 

 

“Oh, but it IS about her.” The small man smirked when he saw Siwon’s head whip towards him in interest. 

 

 

“RYEOWOOK, GET TO THE ING POINT!”

 

“Okay, okay. Geez, Señor grumpy. Well, anyways, you can assume that Aesook went back to the castle with that one boy, right?” 

 

Siwon’s face darkened at the memory of his encounter with Baekhyun. “That little twerp that got into the middle of my discussion with Aesook. What about him?” he snapped. 

 

“Well, here’s the interesting part. He likes Aesook. Romantically. And I can see that Aesook likes him back too.” 

 

Siwon’s expression turned completely venomous when Ryeowook finished talking. “Are you kidding me? ARE YOU ING KIDDING ME?!” he roared, catching the attention of everyone in the tavern. He jumped out of his chair and paced in front of the fireplace. “I could deal with her rejecting me ‘cause I know she’ll concede to me soon. And I could deal that she runs off to that horrible THING in that castle. But HIM? The Beast was enough competition for Aesook’s affection, but now I have ANOTHER man competing with me?! And he actually stands a chance at winning?! Oh, no!”

 

Ryeowook calmly watched Siwon pace back and forth. “So what are you going to do about it?” 

 

Siwon looked over at the rest of the people in the tavern, who were watching Siwon’s every move intently and now listening to their every word. He smirked as a plan started brewing in his head. “Men?” 

 

“Yes?” they chorused out. Some men were their lips with anticipation. 

 

“We set off to the castle by nightfall.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII. HAVE YOU GUYS MISSED ME? *cricket sounds* T^T Nope, I guess not.

 

Well, I'm DEEPLY SORRY that I haven't been updating lately. I just have NO TIME nowadays. And writing this chapter was awfully risky, considering I have midterms next week, and I have to be studying right now and doing homework and what not. But I wanted to write a chapter as a "I'm sorry for being a and not updating for like 3 weeks present" C: 

 

I hope you guys liked this chapter! I wrote it kinda fast, so it might not be satisfactory... T^T 

 

Oh, and if any of you guys are wondering, this story is not even CLOSE to being done. I have a LOT in store for this story. It might be a little confusing, but bear with me, okay? :33

 

And hello to those new subbies! I know you've been reading O u O

 

ADIOS, AMIGOS!!