- Daeryong

“You haven’t been looking at me in the eye all day,” Hana commented as we ate dinner. The day had been full of fun; visiting shops, taking walks, trying foods.

“Mhm?” I asked, not looking up from my soup.

“Daeryong,” she said. “Why aren’t you looking at me?”

I raised my face, but looked a little bit past her face.

“Daeryong,” she said with more emphasis.

I finally looked at her, but then quickly looked away.

“If you’re not gonna look at me, then at least tell me why,” Hana said, sounding frustrated now.

I hesitated for a little bit, running my hand through my hair, then cleared my throat.

“I don’t know if you know this, but you can do this thing where…” I said, glancing at her face for a moment. “When someone looks into your eyes… I don’t know, they get kinda dazed. Mesmerized almost.”

Hana frowned and I continued.

“You really didn’t know?” I asked, exasperated. “You do it all the time to the other guys; Max, Noah, and everyone else. You put them in some sort of trance when you talk to them. Everything just becomes a little hazy and white.”

“What?” she spluttered.

“And I'm usually immune to it, probably since I grew up with you and stuff,” I said. “But I don’t know… today… you’re even prettier than usual, and I keep losing my grip when I look into you eyes.”

God, I couldn’t believe I actually just said that with my own mouth.

“Really…?” Hana frowned. Then a small smile appeared on her face, “Let’s try it out then.”

She reached over and cupped my face in her hands, making me face her. I closed my eyes, but I finally just gave up and opened my eyes.

Her black eyes were bright tonight, full of happiness and excitement. As I stared longer into her eyes, I could feel my heart speed up and my face get red.

“Oh ew, are you blushing?” Hana laughed, releasing me. “From looking face to face with me?”

“Seriously,” I insisted, trying to slow down my heartbeat. “It’s almost like magic.”

“Magic,” Hana snorted, continuing to eat.

“Oh yeah,” I said, changing the subject. “You’re going to come to my knighting, right?”

“Most likely,” Hana nodded. “I mean, the whole castle usually attends the knighting of the royal guard, right?”

“Speaking of the castle,” I said. “Nervous? Excited?”

Hana sighed, “Nervous… everyone keeps telling me bad things about the princess.”

“Try to be patient,” I smiled. “It’d be nice if we could both work together at the castle for a long time. If I’m at the castle and you’re here, we really won't be able to see each other.”

“Right,” Hana nodded slowly. “Patience…”

“But,” I added. “If you feel like it’s too much, that you really can't do it, then go home. Don’t stay there if you hate it.”

“I’m still going to try my best though,” Hana said with determination. “I owe it to all my mistresses and Grandma.”

I smiled, tussling her hair. This’s what I liked about Hana.

- Hana

“Grandma I’m home,” I announced as I walked in through the door.

“How was today?” she asked.

“It was fun,” I said, walking towards her. “Grandma, I have a question.”

“Mm?”

“When you look into my eyes, do you feel dazed or anything?” I asked, thinking of what Daeryong had told me earlier.

“Dazed?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Daeryong was telling me about it earlier. Apparently I have that effect on people when I talk to them. Isn't that ridiculous?”

“What’s ridiculous about that? It’s true,” Grandma chuckled. “Hana are you blind? Do you not see the way boys react when you talk to them?”

“Eh?” I frowned.

“Who’s that blonde boy that’s always with Daeryong?”

“Max?”

Grandma nodded, “Don’t you notice how excited and nervous he gets when he talks to you?”

“Maybe there’s something really weird about my eyes,” I said.

“Definitely,” Grandma muttered sarcastically. She held out her hand, “Hana, let me see your left hand.”

“Huh?” I asked, laying my left hand in hers. She turned it palm up and quickly pulled back my sleeve, revealing the now almost black mark on my wrist. It was a weird shape too, a thick, curved line, although it seemed to be changing shape gradually.

“I don’t know what it is either, okay?” I said nervously, trying to pull back my hand, but Grandma held on tightly. “I’m not sick, Grandma.”

“Sick?” Grandma chuckled quietly. “Hana, I know you’re not sick.”

She released my hand and went to her room, returning a moment later with something in her hand. A silver bracelet, about two fingers thick, with a few gems embedded on it.

“Let’s keep it covered until the right time, alright sweetie?” Grandma smiled, putting the bracelet on my wrist, effectively covering the mark.

“Grandma, this looks expensive,” I frowned. “Wait, until the right time? You know what this is? What is it?”

“Shh, you’re questions give me a headache,” Grandma said. “You’ll know sooner or later, don’t worry. Just listen to me and keep it covered.”