[4] escape (part one)

»  “That’s Oh Hayoung,” Students whisper to each other as the female walks through the halls during lunch. “I heard she beat the royalists on the mid-terms,” Another murmurs as they all eye the tall beauty behind those black rimmed glasses.

“Did you know she’s friends with Princess Yookyung and Princess Naeun?”

“No way, but did you know she’s the sister of Jimin of second year?”

“I heard she was adopted though. No one knows who her real parents are.”

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Hayoung quickens her pace to Namjoo’s classroom. What is going on? As soon as she enters the classroom, she takes off her glasses and walks towards the seat. Her eyesight was quite blurry, but she was able to see just enough.

“People are starting to really know who you are,” Namjoo manages to say as is full of food. Naeun laughs quietly as she observes the younger one eating, “You’re probably getting popular, Hayoung.” She crosses her leg over the other and takes another bite.

“Hey, Yookyung,” A deep voice calls as the four girls’ attention turns toward the source. “Ah, Sehun,” Yookyung replies as she tilts her head to the side, “Need anything?”

The prince nods and takes a deep breath, “This weekend our parents are holding a dinner party. Can you tell your parents about it? My parents will give all the details later on.” Yookyung nods and smiles, “Sure. I’ll tell them. See you this weekend then.”

Sehun nods and glances at the other three girls. He already knew Naeun and Namjoo, but the last girl made him think. He stares at her for a few second and furrows his eyebrows. Hayoung glances back at him and suddenly feels intimidated, bowing her upper body towards him to show respect.

Noticing what he’s doing, Sehun clears his throat and turns his attention back to Yookyung, “Yeah, I’ll see you later.” He starts walking back and scratches the side of his head. Well, that went well…

“That’s Prince Sehun,” Namjoo whispers to Hayoung, “Cute, huh?” Hayoung blinks and nods, “I guess.” Suddenly, she remembers about the day a few months ago. She blushes lightly and slaps her forehead, “How could I have forgotten?” The three friends look at her in confusingly. Hayoung was so immersed in work that day a few months ago that she completely forgot to mention she had an encounter with him.

She tells them the story shyly and immediately her three friends start laughing. “Are you serious? I would have loved to see their face when they went in that classroom,” Namjoo laughs and claps her hands, leaning back in the seat. “Well, those two boys are technically the highest in the school,” Yookyung covers as she tries to imagine her cousin’s face.

Namjoo suddenly changes the topic and glances at the youngest, “Are you working tonight?”

Hayoung nods and takes a bite out of her lunch, “Mhm. I’m closing up today.” Namjoo blinks and shakes her head, “Well, you’re glad it’s Friday. If we had school, you’d have a hard time waking up the next day.” She nods again and sighs quietly.

-

At night, Sehun places on his black hoodie over his plain white t-shirt, bringing the hood over his head. He was yearning to go out of the house and venture on his own. He was—wanderlust.

He tip toes out of his room and makes that no one is up. None of the lights were on and he presses his hand against the wall as a guide. He did not want Jongin to come along as he wanted to go unprotected and be free.

It took merely five minutes for him to get out of the house. He jogs quietly away from the house and looks around for any other people. Feeling relieved, he smiles quietly to himself and starts walking with his hands in his jacket pockets.

After a very long walk, he starts getting deeper to the town and suddenly, a loud squeal echoes. His eyes widen and he looks back, seeing a small group of girls running towards him. Great. Real great. How can people notice?! He hisses and starts running away, hearing more footsteps travel behind him.

“It’s Prince Sehun!” The girls cheer as they hold their arms out, trying to reach for him. Bystanders  look at the running crowd, murmuring to each other.

“Someone get to their house and notify the guards,” A male orders as another man grabs his horse and starts going.

Sehun had to quickly go to safety. He looks left and right hastily, searching for any type of safe place. He comes across an empty and lighted café and he starts sprinting. He opens the door widely and slams the door behind him, locking the door. He breathes deeply and closes his eyes, one hand on the knob and another lying on the glass door.

“W-Who are you?” A voice shakes as she holds a pan in her hand, standing at a fair distance. His eyes widen as he sees a girl around his age. She had black rimmed glasses and her hair was down straight. Isn’t that the girl—

“Who are you?!” She repeats, this time more frightened as she holds the pan higher. Sehun immediately holds his hands out and brings his hood down, “I-It’s me! Prince Sehun!”

The girl sighs in relief and places the pan down, rubbing her eyes, “Phew. I thought you were a burglar or something…” She walks towards the kitchen and places the pan down, walking back outside, “Um…Oh!” She immediately bows formally and gulps.

Sehun bows in return and glances at her. That’s the girl from the beginning of the year. He watches her grab a rag and start wiping down the tables, not even caring that he’s in the building. Girls were still standing outside, staying in front of the wide glass window to stare at the royalty.

Sehun walks around the café and finds another rag, grabbing it and starting to wipe down the other tables. The girls gasp as the girl stands up straight, her eyes turning towards the Prince who’s cleaning. “A-Ah! Please, you don’t have to do that,” She starts walking towards him and shakes her head, placing her hand on top of the rag, “I-I can finish. Don’t worry.”

The male stops and looks at her. Behind those black rimmed glasses were deep brown eyes. If she took off her glasses, she would have definitely gotten attention from boys at school. Wait…Isn’t she Yookyung’s friend too? Feeling uncomfortable once again, the girl waves her hand in front of his eyes.

Sehun clears his throat and lets go of the rag, nodding, “Oh…Um, okay.” He continues walking around and crosses his arms, trying not to look at the girls outside the café. “Is there a way out of here than through that front door?” He asks as he rubs his chin.

The girl nods and finishes up the last table, “Through the back. There’s an alleyway right by this café, so you can escape from there.” Sehun nods and his lips, “Well, if I want to escape, you’re going to have come with me.” She stops and blinks, looking up at him, “E-Excuse me?”

“If I leave now, they’re going to know where I am. If you completely close down and we leave, then there’s less chance of them knowing. We’re going to have to escape together,” He beams with a small tug on his lips forming. She blinks and gulps, putting the rags away. “Well…I just finished up…Follow me,” She whispers as she walks towards the back.

The lights suddenly turn off and the girls start talking in confusion. Their heads turn left and right, wondering where they went.

In the back, the girl puts on her backpack and takes a deep breath, “Okay. Let’s go.” Sehun nods and starts leading the way to the alleyway. As they get towards the end, he sticks his head out and sees the girls still standing in the same place.

He smirks and leans against the wall of the alleyway. He glances back at the girl who’s holding onto the straps of her backpack with her back against the wall. “I forgot to ask, but what’s your name?” He whispers as softly as he can. The girl looks up at him and murmurs, “Hayoung…Oh Hayoung.”

Sehun smiles lightly and looks out towards the town, “Well, Hayoung, I hope you’re ready to run for your life.”

Hayoung blinks and chews on her bottom lip. Please help me… She looks up to the night sky and closes her eyes.