Suho was behind a line of crown princes, making their way towards the Imperial Palace. He couldn't believe his disguise was working - well, so far it was. As he glanced at the crowds of people on both sides of him, he was growing a bit nervous. "No, I have to do this. If I want to see her again, I have to take risks," Suho mumbled words of encouragement to himself as he continued looking ahead. Preparing for this disguise wasn't easy; he had to find all the right clothing in order to make it look like he was a crown prince.

"Yah, Suho, that's suicide right there! If Emperor Sooman finds out you're just a peasant, he'll have your head for sure!" Kyungsoo did not like Suho's idea one bit. "He won't find out unless I have all the right clothing," Suho replied, shaking his head, "I already have a hanbok in good condition. I think my Appa left it behind or something, but it looks really nice. I just need a myonryugwan (headpiece that looks like this) and nicer looking shoes," Suho explained. Suho and his best friends, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Kai, Baekhyun, and Sehun, were eating lunch at Baekhyun's house. "I think I have some shoes my Appa never used, hold on," Baekhyun rambled as he stood up to find a pair of shoes. He came back seconds later, presenting Suho with a clean pair of shoes that matched with his hanbok. "Is this okay? I think it's your size. Try them on," Baekhyun rushed excitedly, shoving the pair of shoes into Suho's hands. Luckily for Suho, the shoes fit perfectly. "What would I do without you guys," Suho chuckled, thanking Baekhyun as everyone went back to eating.

The day before the crown princes were to arrive at the Imperial Palace, Kai came to Suho with an appealing myonryugwan in his hands. "Jongin, where did you get this?" Suho gasped, taking the hat from Kai's hands. "I had to go through a lot of trouble to get that for you, but that story can be saved for later; after you go and marry that crown princess," Kai replied, giving Suho a thumbs up.

Suho saw his five friends on his right, waving at him and calling his name. He smiled cheekily at them before looking forward, heading into the Imperial Palace.

Suho's heart raced as soon as guards closed the wooden doors behind him. Suho had no idea what was going on, or what was going to happen. He never really knew how the process went. There were many crown princes there along with him, and he couldn't even estimate as to how many there were. As they were ordered to line up in single file, they were to give a guard their full name and what dynasty they were from. Suho got nervous and panicky the closer the guard was, and was almost shaking out of nervousness when it was his turn. "Imperial Crown Prince Kim Junmyeon, from Ilgimae," Suho breathed, looking at the guard. The guard frowned, but scribbled down what Suho had told him and moved on. Suho used the name Ilgimae from a former dynasty that used to exist, but disappeared without a trace; nothing was left in the area. It was as if the dynasty was never there. Suho exhaled deeply and looked down at the floor, "Keep yourself together, Suho!" He reassured himself in his mind as he stood patiently. The guard walked up the steps to the room where the Emperor had meetings in. Everyone then saw the guard walk back down and approach Suho.

"Emperor Sooman wishes to see you, imperial majesty," a guard said to Suho, "follow me, if you please." Suho followed the guard, confused as to why he was being called upon the emperor. After climbing three flights of stairs, he approached Emperor Sooman, who was sitting on a fancy, engraved throne. Sitting next to him was imperial crown princess, Park Soo Yeon. They exchanged a brief glance before Suho snapped out of it and bowed for Emperor Sooman. "Please explain to me how you are a crown prince. To my knowledge, Ilgimae no longer exists. How are you still alive?" Emperor Sooman asked, getting straight to the point. "I . . don't know, your imperial majesty. I am the son of Emperor Sungjae and Empress Hyosung. I am the only crown prince of Ilgimae," Suho explained, thinking that he would have to lie better in order to get Emperor Sooman to buy his explanation. Emperor Sooman thought deeply. Suho wasn't even born when Sooman took part in the selection. "If Ilgimae does not exist, your position as a crown prince does not exist either," Sooman decided. Before Suho could reply, Soo Yeon replied instead, "Appa, he is still a crown prince. His dynasty may be taken away from him, but it doesn't mean his position has vanished. Think about it, Appa." The emperor rubbed his forehead and sighed. He thought some more, and ended up excusing Suho, telling him to forget their whole conversation. "Phew, that was a close one," Suho sighed to himself as he followed the guard back down the stairs.

The crown princes were led into a big room full with tables and cushions. They were told that groups of ten would be taken out, but they would perform their power for the emperor one by one. Suho sat on a cushion to the table nearest to him, and sighed. This was going to be a long day. "I've never seen you before . . what's your name?" a friendly voice was heard from behind Suho. Suho turned around to look up at a young looking boy with eyes as big as a deer caught in headlights. "I'm Junmyeon, but you can just call me Suho," Suho smiled up at the boy as he watched him sit down next to him. "I'm Luhan! Nice to meet you!" Luhan chimed, "what's your power? Mines is telepathy and all the psychic stuff." Suho knew he had to be careful when he was around Luhan. He didn't want anyone to know who he really was. "Water," Suho replied simply, nodding his head. Luhan formed his mouth in the shape of an 'o' and was about to say something, but something distracted him. Five figures stood on the other side of the table, looking down at Luhan. "Oh hi guys! I couldn't find you so I decided to make a new friend!" Luhan exclaimed happily, looking at his friends, and then at Suho. 

"This is Suho. Suho, these are my best friends. That's Jongdae, Min Seok, WuFan, Yixing and Tao. WuFan likes to be called Kris, Jongdae likes to be called Chen, Min Seok likes to be called Xiumin, and Yixing likes to be called Lay," Luhan explained, pointing to each of his friends as he introduced them. They all waved at Suho as they seated themselves around the table. "So who's actually seen the crown princess? Is she hot?" Xiumin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Wait, didn't the emperor call for Suho? He must have seen the crown princess then! How did she look like?" Lay exclaimed, and all the attention was placed on Suho. "I think she's pretty," Suho said simply, "but she's sort of quiet." "I don't really like the quiet type," Chen said with a shrug as Lay and Xiumin nodded in agreement. "Well we'll just have to see her then; if we get chosen, that is," Kris replied without emotion. All talking in the room ceased when three guards walked inside the room. "May the following men please come with us," the guard announced. He then proceeded to list ten names from a scroll. Suho and his new friends weren't called, but they watched the group of ten line behind each other and follow the three guards out of the room. The room went back to talking, and Suho swallowed nervously. The selection process was about to take place.