I had accepted Dongwoo's necklace and gratefully wore it around my neck, only ever taking it off to shower and I would fasten it around my neck once again when I was dry. It hung securely under my shirt to prevent any dirt from getting on it and though I wished I could see it every second I knew it was better if it stayed clean and that I worked diligently as usual without having to worry about it. The plants were all in good health, I watered them as scheduled and ensured that they had the amount of fertilizer that they were supposed to for healthy growth.

        That was until the only entrance and exit double doors swung open and in walked the heir to the royal bloodline. Yes, in his nice suit and spectacular shining shoes, with his styled hair and flawless skin, Sungkyu was of course handsome and there was nothing about him that would suggest otherwise. I kind of anticipated his rule; he was smart, kind and cared greatly for his people. The only problem was that he's, for lack of a better word, an .

        “Ah, you are here,” he said rather cheerfully, a bright smile on his face as he approached me. I didn't know what to do, I thought he was there to do his regular rounds, checking up on people and their jobs as he was supposed to.

        “Yeah, every day from seven am, until seven pm.,” I said, not at all pleased that he was here to begin with but it was something I usually had to deal with every other month, but usually he didn't seem this happy nor did he go to me directly.

        “Busy schedule?” he asked while tilting his head slightly to the left. I had seen this before. He was acting cute (as if it made a difference on my feelings for him at the moment).

        “You don't seem to have too much of a schedule if you're wasting time talking to me.” I did my best to ignore him, looking at the plants. I pretended to inspect the leaves of one nearby.

        “Actually I was wondering if you would go to dinner with me tomorrow night?” He set his hand on the table we were next to and peered over at me. I involuntarily glanced at him and couldn't help but look into his soft brown eyes as he smiled at me. Curse his smiles; they're so enticing.

        “I have plans.” I didn't but I didn't want to go to dinner with him. I had Dongwoo and I wasn't about to start seeing Sungkyu behind his back – or at all.

        “Cancel them,” he said calmly, obviously he didn’t even care if my plans were important or not.

        “I can't and why would I?”

        “Because it's a formal dinner and I need a date.” He was starting to sound desperate as if I was the only person who would be willing to go with him. I knew that couldn't be true.

        “Ask some pretty girl in the street. I'm sure someone would say yes.” I looked away from him again, my confidence was fading as I knew his tricks and how they would come into play soon, but I would go down with a fight if I had to.

        “You know I can't do that, and I feel more comfortable with you.” I turned back to him and crossed my arms across my chest as I waited for a better reason. “Please, it's just as friends; I promise.” He really was desperate if he was going to ensure that it was just as friends.

        “Fine, what time should I be ready by?” My schedule didn't really permit for much down time between seven and eight though I still assumed that I should run home to have as much time as possible to get ready.

        “Uh, well I'm pulling you out of work at five and then you'll get ready at my place.” He scratched the back of his head while he said this, probably afraid of a negative response of some sort. I sighed and shook my head knowing tomorrow was going to be a long day if I had to endure that.

        “Fine, but you take full responsibility for the work I miss and destroy the dress I know you're going to make me wear.” It was as I feared then; he had already bought everything in my size and just assumed that I would go and then he would try to bribe me back into his life with those things.

        “I already have and fine it's to be burned – though, you might want to keep this one.” He was smiling again, his confidence up after I said yes. He turned around and left. I stared at the plant in front of me. Knowing it was wrong to harm life, I refrained from throwing it though I was angry that I had let him con me into agreeing.

        I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. It's just as friends, I have nothing to worry about. I thought to myself as I continued to stare at the plant, and I was almost calm until thoughts of Dongwoo popped into my mind and reminded me that Sungkyu would see the necklace and then would ask questions because I would refuse to take it off.

        “Hey, are you okay?” my coworker asked with a concerned hand placed on my shoulder.

        “Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you.” I tried not to look at them as I decided that I didn't have to say anything to anyone, the dinner would be fine and then I could continue with my life no worries.

        “Alright, I was just worried that you were going to glare the pot to death.” They patted my shoulder twice before walking back to their section.

        I laughed lightly, leaving the plant where it was so as to not raise anymore suspicions. Most people didn't really into others lives and that was good for me so that I didn't have to explain why Sungkyu was here and why he only talked to me and headed out of the garden. I just assumed since he said he took care of everything, but now my mind was drifting else where, I wondered who was going to come and get me at five o'clock.

        I returned home for the night and showered immediately. With a towel wrapped around myself I went to my room and dressed in comfortable clothing. I left my room and headed down the hall to the kitchen, wondering if I should eat or not since I wasn't really hungry. I was too worried about tomorrow and what it entailed. A deep breath put me at ease until a loud knock on the door startled me and I walked into the living room and straight to the front door.

        Upon opening it I saw the bright infectious smile of Dongwoo and he easily entered when I opened the door wider for him. All thoughts of Sungkyu disappeared as I closed the door and then wrapped my arms tightly around Dongwoo's waist, laying my head against his shoulder and closing my eyes to engulf myself with his scent. It was a natural scent and he always smelt like the outside which was refreshing because it consisted of everything that I loved most.

        “Hello to you too,” he said playfully as he wrapped his arms around me. “Rough day?” he asked and I nodded not wanting to talk about it. I just stayed silent and he understood. “So are you hungry?” he changed topics and that's when I noticed that he had a bag in his hand, letting him go, I took a step back and followed him into the kitchen.

        “What are we eating?” I asked. Suddenly, I was hungry and it was probably just the presence of good food, but it might have been my body's need to spend time with Dongwoo. He opened the bag after setting it on the table and pulled out containers of warm food, I could tell because of the steam condensation on the clear lids.

        “Well, mostly pasta.” He was being vague but it was cute as a smile lit up his mouth. I walked around to the counter and found two pairs of chopsticks, handing him one as I sat down and then he joined me. Opening the first one it appeared to just be pasta and we ate out of the container.

        “So, how was your day?” I asked after swallowing my first bite.

        “Well, we finished the reconstruction of the medical ward,” he stated. Dongwoo worked in building repairs; it always seemed like an interesting job to keep the city in good condition. “I think we're painting tomorrow so I don't know where I'll be.” He seemed content with the constant flow of changing areas day to day. I preferred my stationary garden job, but it would be nice to get to see more of the city.

        “Interesting,” I said. I thought I would have more to contribute to the conversation but I wasn't exactly sure what there was to be said. That was unless I wanted to mention to him how attractive he looked in his painting uniform as opposed to his repairs uniform.

        “What about you, interesting day?” He was making fun as he smiled up at me before immersing himself in the food once again. He knew how monotonous my job was.

        “I now have plans tomorrow night, but other than that not really. You know; same ol' potting and watering.” I laughed lightly, it was a consistent job and I loved it but, it didn't make for good dinner conversation.

        “So I can't stay over tomorrow?” he asked, it was normal for him to stay the night and it was happening more and more frequently. I wished he could but I knew that would just make things more difficult so I swallowed my mouthful of food and made sure there was eye contact before speaking.

        “You can stay tonight but not tomorrow,” I said and he nodded. He understood when I was serious about things and was nice enough not to ask questions that would make me uncomfortable.

        “So after dinner are we going straight to bed or...?” Dongwoo asked while raising an eyebrow seductively.

        “Just sleep,” I said firmly unable to control the smile on my face or the spreading red blush that made my face hot. “Just eat your food,” I finished the conversation with that and we continued the meal quietly.

        Dongwoo was gone when I awoke for the day, he had left a note on the night stand. I read it quickly with a smile before getting up and I soon placed my necklace on the night stand, not wanting it to be seen that night then I moved around my room putting on normal clothing. In the kitchen there was a container sitting upon the table with a small note on it that read “Breakfast”. I quickly opened it and ate it gratefully. Dongwoo is absolutely perfect, I thought to myself.

        I was making haste with getting to work on time. I slipped on my shoes and left my house to run down the street towards the greenhouse. It was a nice day out, white clouds in the sky and the sun was shining brightly overhead. I didn't have a worry in mind as I went about my daily routine, that was until five o'clock rolled around and a young girl walked through the greenhouse doors and straight up to me. I recognized her as one of Sungkyu's servants, she was nice and I enjoyed her company but she mostly reminded me that I would be spending most of the night with Sungkyu.

        “I'll be ready in a minute,” I told her with a smile on my face as I watered the last plant and headed towards my locker where I put away my gloves and apron. “Why did he send you?” I asked as we walked out of the building and through town.

        “He thought you would be more comfortable with me rather than a tall man in a suit,” she explained. I would never understand Sungkyu's logic for as long as I lived but that didn't really matter. She escorted me all to way to the cleansing room where I did the standard strip down and wait in the already prepared bubbly bath water. The young girl was gone, she was preparing the dress and jewelry I would be forced to wear as usual. An older woman entered with all the things usually used to wash my body and hair with.

        Of all the things I could miss about dating Sungkyu strangely the baths were one of them. I felt completely relaxed and refreshed afterward, not to mention I smelled nice and nothing like dirt, more like the flowers in a garden. It was a half hour long cleansing process and it was already six thirty by time I was done. Wrapped in a towel, I was completely dry when I entered a bedroom. I put on the dress that was laid out for me and strapped on the heels laying next to it.

        Now ready for the night, with perfect timing there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” I called already knowing who it was before Sungkyu entered.

        “I knew it would look much better on you than in a closet,” he commented as he looked me up and down with a smile on his face. “Are you ready?” Sungkyu asked as he held out his arm towards me. I placed my arm on top of his and let him guide me out of the room and down the corridor towards the dining hall.

        I smiled politely the whole time and nodded towards the people that we passed as we made our way to our seats. I sat on the right side of Sungkyu as I used to and went through the motions of the night. Having small conversations with the royal families associates while eating proportioned food wasn't exactly an ideal night but nonetheless I still enjoyed myself and didn't have to force a smile. Sungkyu was respectful and didn't even try anything during dinner which was a lot more than I expected from him.

        After dinner was when the real problems started, everyone gathered in the billiard room for further socialization until they would leave for the night. At least that's how it normally was, and I wouldn't mind staying to talk with a few of them except Sungkyu pulled me aside and out into a different room. “Tonight wasn't so bad was it?” he asked with a confident smile.

        “Of course not, but what are we doing in here?” I asked as I looked around the dark room. There was a small amount of light that allowed me to see the objects in the room and Sungkyu but I couldn't make out any real details.

        “I wanted to speak to you privately,” he confessed while taking my hands in his. We were facing each other and standing rather closely. I swallowed hard and waited for him to say something else. “I was wondering if you still loved me?” Now he wanted answers, but it was strange for him to bring up such a topic so I was slightly off guard.

        I thought about it for a minute not wanting to make him think that there was a chance of us getting back together, but I had to do it without lying. “I never meant to fall in love with you, it just sort of happened, you know,” I explained hoping that it was enough for him to at least realize the severity of his mistake.

        “Well, you might be unsure about it but I was always meant to love you. I think I always knew in the back of my head that we would end up together.” He seemed confident while saying this, as if he had practiced and my heart was racing just thinking about him. I did still love him but I loved Dongwoo more and there was nothing that would change that, not even words that I wanted to hear a few months prior to this moment.

        “Sungkyu, we had our chance and now we're not together,” I stated clearly while avoiding his small eyes. That was a mistake as he quickly grabbed my chin and pulled my face up so that our lips pressed together. His other arm was already on my lower back, preventing me from moving away from him. I tried not to kiss him back as he forced himself upon me, I futilely pushed against his chest with the false hope that I could get him away from me.

        He broke the kiss and looked into my eyes, a saddened expression on his face. “We should be together,” he sated in an almost inaudible voice. “I'm sorry about everything, it was a mistake and I wish I could take it back.” As much as I wanted to hear those words, he was too late and there wasn't a chance even though I enjoyed the kiss, despite my panic, I regretted it more than anything.

        “I have to go,” I said quickly as I pulled myself away from him. I exited the room and slid past the people in the billiard room till I reached the exit. From the corridors it was easy to find the main hall and the way out of the building. I only stopped to take off the heels and I left them next to the door before I made my way down the large stone steps that led out to the street.

        It was not the night I hoped for, but then again what was?