My gasp filled the silent air in the courtyard and I immediately lowered my face so that he could not see me. “I apologize for my ignorance, your majesty.” I said.

I heard a light chuckle and then footprints approach to where I was standing.

“Please, do not feel pressured by my presence.” He said. “And please, let me see your face.” Since I was looking down, I could see him motion his hands to have me raise my face.

I’m sure this was the first time any person that was not royalty was allowed in such close proximity to the crown prince. I was so uncomfortable and self-conscious in that situation, but I knew that one false move could make me end up in a prison cell. I slowly raised my head, avoiding any other movement but that one. I looked into his eyes for a split second, but didn’t dare to continue, so I looked at the moon instead. When I was in the presence of the king earlier, there were many people in the room, but now it was just us two and if anyone else saw us, I could just as easily end up in a prison cell.

“Lee Yeonhwa, correct?” He asked. From the corner of my eye, I could tell that he was smiling, which made me a little more comfortable.

“Ne, your majesty.” I answered.

He turned around to look at where I was looking, the moon, which honestly made me quite relieved that I would not be pressured to look right at him. “Do you even know my name?” He said in a softer tone.

In all honesty, I didn’t. Everyone around me had always referred to him as the crown prince, son of emperor Kim, our next ruler. No one ever uttered him name; in fact, no one dared. “I’m afraid I do not, your majesty.”

“You don’t need to continue calling me ‘your majesty.’ I’m not talking to you as a subject. I’m talking to you as someone who is around my age and someone who I might be able to relate to.” He sighed. “My name is Kim Jongin.”

Kim Jongin. I let the name linger in my ears before saying anything. “That’s a name suitable for royalty.” I said cautiously, recognizing the lack of the ‘your majesty’ in the end.

I heard the crown prince chuckle next to me. “You sound so uncomfortable without that ‘your majesty’ at the end.”

I frowned at the fact that I was so readable. He knew what I was thinking in a second.

“I’m sorry that you didn’t come here voluntarily.” He said as he put his hand on my back and motioned for me to sit down at the bench in the middle of the courtyard.

“Wait.” I said without thinking. He seemed a little alarmed at my sudden outburst. “Someone might see us if we sit in the middle of the courtyard like this.”

He laughed at my alarm. “I’m the prince, remember? They can’t do anything to you as long as you’re with me.”

I didn’t know what it was about those words, but it made me feel so much more secure. It made me feel protected. It made me realize that the palace wasn’t as scary as it was all those times my father talked about it. It wasn’t as scary as my mother warned me. It wasn’t as scary as what Yeonhee thought.

“Thank you.” I said quietly with a lack of words.

“Do you remember what I said to you earlier?” He asked, looking over to me. I, without instinct, turned my neck to look at him too, which might have been the biggest mistake I made this whole time. Once I looked at him, I felt like my eyes were glued to him. His amazing features that I recognized earlier today stood out even more when I looked at him up close. This time, it was another set of features that stunned me. His jawline was there, but not as prominent. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight, his full lips were pulled into a smile, and not to mention how the moonlight reflected off of his tan skin.

“So, do you?” He repeated, smiling even more.

His question snapped me out of my daze. “I’m sorry. You said that we were about the same in age and you could relate to me.”

“Yeah.” He said. “Why do you think us two would be able to relate?”

I knew the answer but I wanted to say I don’t know. I felt that if I answered the question, I would either humble him or promote myself too much. I didn’t want to answer, but what could I do?

“Please forgive my answer if it does not please you.” I said before continuing. “As the crown-prince, you weren’t allowed to be in the presence of other children, nor join them. You were continuously learning new things to make you a suitable ruler while they were running around with candied apples. As for me, I’ve been set apart from the rest of the girls around me because of my appearance. To avoid the public eye, I had to stay inside and find my own enjoyment. So, you can relate to me because at one point, or for all of our lives, we were isolated from everyone else.”

“You’re amazing.” Kim Jongin-sshi said as soon as I finished.

I blushed at his sudden praise. He turned his gaze away from me and back to the moon overhead. The sparkle in his eyes seemed even more apparent to me now.

“There were times, when my father would ask the children of his most trusted eunuchs to come join me when I was little but whenever they came, they refused to do anything. I wondered why. I wondered if I was scary. Can you imagine that? A six-year old having an identity crisis.” He turned back to look at me. I nodded. He turned back to the sky and continued.

“But I finally asked one of the eunuch’s sons. I asked him why he refused to play with me and his answer was so simple, so bland. He said it was because his father told him that one wrong move in the palace could end up killing their entire family.”

My eyes widened in shock, not because I was scared, but because that was what I learned as a child as well. All the children in Joseon grew up knowing that the palace was a scary place, where scary things happened that were not suitable for children. Only our dads belonged there, not even our moms. The king was scary, the queen was scary and their children were scary. Of course, as we grew up, we were aware that they were all people in charge of our nation’s decisions, but we never once forgot the amount of power that they had.

“So I decided,” he continued, “that when I was ruler, I would make sure that no one would ever doubt the kindness of their king.” He finished with a sense of responsibility in his voice, and in that moment, I was absolutely confident that he would be able to do that.

At the same time, a name came into my mind. The shadow prince. Was he not around? Where was he while the crown prince was having company with the eunuch’s children? I knew however, that no matter how much I wanted to ask about this topic, it was probably forbidden.

“I have confident that you will be able to make that happen, Kim Jongin-sshi.” I said without thinking, and then my eyes widened for the hundredth time that day. Why did I just call him by his name? Am I even allowed to do that?

He seemed to recognize my alarm. “You should continue calling me that.” He smiled at me. “I think it’s the first time I’ve been called by my actual name. You should continue it, Lee Yeonhwa”

I didn’t know what to say to him, so I just nodded. I wanted to crawl into a corner and hide.

“Just say what you want, Lee Yeonhwa. I already explained to you that I want to be able to talk to you. Feel comfortable around me.”

“Really?” I looked at him.

“I mean, probably not in front of my parents, but I think it should be fine other than that.”

“Ne, Kim Jongin-sshi.”

He groaned and I looked at him in alarm.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No, it’s not you.” He explained. “It just sounds like I gave someone an order.”

I stayed silent, since I figured he didn’t want to be disturbed.

“Lee Yeonhwa.” He said my name, but then his voice floated away.

“Ne?” I answered.

“Why are you so passive?” He asked.

“I…” I paused, thinking about his question. “I’m sorry, what?” I blurted out.

He chuckled. “When my dad told me about the young women coming to try to be the queen, he said that they would all be flirtatious and try to incite more contact. But you’re nothing like that.”

I sighed. “I’m one of many, but I happen to be the first. It might happen that the new ladies that come tomorrow will be much more flirtatious and looking for the kind of contact you’re speaking of. It just happens that that’s not the way I prefer to win someone’s heart.”

He looked at me, and this time, I decided to look right back at him. I wasn’t going to get glued to him again, but if he wanted aggression then I would be able to give it to him.

“I like that.” He said concisely. “I’m afraid I have kept you too late, Lee Yeonhwa.” He stood up, and offered his hand to help me get up.

I graciously took his offer as he helped me up. I expected him to immediately drop his hand, but instead he grasped my hand and walked me over to my quarters, where he let go of my hand.

“Good night, Lee Yeonhwa.” He said.

“Good night, Kim Jongin-sshi.” I said while bowing to him. When I lifted my head, I expected him to already be gone, but he was still standing there, staring at me.

“Good night…” he whispered. He whispered something after that, but I couldn’t hear. Instead of letting that bother me, I lowered my head and watched him leave the courtyard.

When I entered my bedroom as quietly as possible, to not wake up Yeonhee, I realized something.

I fell for Kim Jongin. I fell for the crown-prince, and I fell for him hard.  

a/n: annyeong readers! i actually had this chapter written out for a while... but i realized that it was on private. -____- sorry for the super long wait. >.< i had school and then i was traveling and then school and then finals and then blah. since it's summer i'll update about once a week, probably on WEDNESDAY. hope you enjoyed the chapter! things are finally going on between Yeonhwa and Jongin. :D also, if in the future you see stuff about Yeonhee and Sehun, ITS NOT A FILLER. i've always considered them as a side/second couple in this story and have a relationship just as worthy of your attention as the main one. ^^ 

hope you've enjoyed the chapter! don't forget to comment, upvote and subscribe ^^ 

also, does anybody know any especially good poster shops or would be willing to provide a poster (for one of my other stories)??