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Making his way to the Prince’s bedroom, he knocked on the giant white doors that were embroidered in gold.

“Come in…”, the Prince’s voice sounded from inside the room.

The guards opened the door and allowed Minho in. He walked in and saw the Prince had changed into a suit. With no blazer on yet, he adjusted his tie in front of the large mirror.

“Prince…I heard you were wounded. Where are you going? You should rest up.”

The prince chuckled and threw on his blazer. Then he told Minho, “I want to see her.” Confused, Minho asked, “Her?...Don’t tell me you’re still looking for her, Prince.”

“I met her, Minho-ssi. She saved me, you know?!”

He walked and sat on his bed excitedly. Then he added, “Her hands were so soft and she’s so much lovelier than before.”

“Prince, your erted side is showing again. Hahaha. Is it the same girl you’ve been looking for? Are you sure?”

Nodding, the prince smiled and answered, “Yes, I am sure. I even marked her as my bride.”

Aera sat in her room staring at the small box. Sighing, she slowly opened it revealing a ring. She closed it and set down on her desk. She picked up her pencil and continued with her homework. Marriage had only crossed her mind a few times, but she never concerned herself about it. As a girl, it was normal for her to think about her life as a wife and mother, but since she hardly dated anyone, she never considered marriage as something important.

Looking at her arm that had felt such a strange feeling, she gently touched it and stared at it. She couldn’t see anything there anymore.

The next day, she saw that she had to once again walk through the park. Since she encountered that swan, she wasn’t afraid because she wanted to see if the swan was going to be there again. As she walked through the same trail she took, she looked over to her right and saw the small pond. She remembered when she was 15 years old, she used to sit down near the pond to relax. Aera walked over to the same spot and looked over past the pond. She saw a couple of ducks swimming along the surface. Watching the ducks, she suddenly felt drowsy. She knew she had to go to school, but her legs felt weak. Resting her backpack on the ground, she slowly lay down on the grass and fell over; fast asleep.

Emerging from the water, he looked and saw her sleeping peacefully on the grass. He cautiously reached over hesitating to touch her hand.

“Prince…Is that alright for you to do this?” Minho asked startling the prince. His hand retreated as he got out of the water and sat himself in front of Aera. Turning to Minho, the prince said with a smirk, “She came back to the same spot when I first saw her…” He looked back at her and finally rested his hand on her hand. Then he lifted her body into his arms. Minho stood in front of him and asked, “Are you sure about this, Prince??” The prince moved Minho’s arm out of his way and continued his way back to the pond.

“Her body is also soft, like a pillow!” The prince’s face glowed as he ignored Minho’s question. Minho sighed, “You really should work on that erted side of you”, and followed him into the water.

Resting her body on the bed, he sat beside her and gazed down at her sleeping face. He reached over and touched her hand again. This time he held her hand in his. The warmth from her hand made it feel softer. He began remembering when she held him in her arms. The softness of her touch came back to his mind. Pulling her hand to his face, he brushed it against the side of his face. He smiled to himself in satisfaction from the soft touch of her hand. Stopping, he put her hand back and reached over to her face.

“Her face…looks soft too…” He said to himself. Tempted to touch her face, he stopped himself and walked away from the bed.

Slowly, her eyes opened and she saw herself inside a strange room. She quickly sat up and saw that she was sleeping on a huge bed that had golden embroidery on the blanket. Inside the huge room, she saw that the walls and floor was white. It seemed as if she was in some sort of mansion that wasn’t possibly found in Korea. She looked at herself and noticed she was wearing different clothing. It was a white chiffon night gown with long sleeves. Wondering if she was dreaming, she got up and quickly ran to the double doors. When she opened the doors, a warm breeze brushed by her face. The hallway was long and empty. The marble floor reflected the dimmed lights.

She walked out of the room and cautiously walked down the hall. It seemed like it was night time when she reached a garden that was in the center of the mansion she was in. Hearing water running, she followed the sound into the garden. Barefooted, she saw a water fountain that sparkled as water came out. As she got closer, she sat down on the fountain and stared at the sparkles. She wanted to see if she could touch the sparkles and reached out to the water. Once her hand touched the water, it suddenly splashed at her soaking her face.

A hand gently grabbed her arm pulling her up. She looked and saw a brown-haired boy that looked familiar. He pulled her close to him and with his handkerchief, he wiped her face. In his deep voice, she heard him say, “This soft beautiful face shouldn’t be touched even by water…” Aera quickly shoved him away. Stuffing his handkerchief into his pocket, he bowed saying, “Yang Aera, I am Prince Jinki. Please, treat me kindly. It took me very long to find you.”

“Where am I??” She demanded for an answer.

The prince chuckled shyly and glanced at her, “Don’t worry, I am not here to harm you. You are safe here with me.” Aera studied his face and remembered seeing him at the mall. Her eyes widened, “Y-you’re with that idol group, Shinee!” Speechless and confused, he snickered and replied, “Shinee? I don’t know what you’re talking…” Aera backed away and pulled her clothes saying, “Is this a joke?? Am I being pranked by Suhyun-ah??” His eyebrows furrowed as he asked, “Suhyun…?”

“This isn’t funny.” She began walking away from him, but he quickly grabbed onto her arm. “Please, don’t go…This isn’t a joke.” Aera looked back and saw his pitiful face staring at her. Looking up, she saw that it was a dark cloudy sky that sparkled. Suddenly, a white feather softly landed on her hair.

The prince reached out and took it off saying, “You might think this is a dream or you might not believe this is real, but to me it’s real.” He took a hold of her hand and lifted it up into the moonlight that had been shining down at them. Aera didn’t know what he was doing, but when she looked at her arm, she saw the crest glowing that she had seen yesterday. A strange feeling ran through her arm and to her heart.

“I’ve already decided…to make you my bride…you can’t leave me now.”

He brought her arm close to him. She was shocked and didn’t know what to say or do. His lips touched the crest, making it glow brighter. Letting go of her arm, he said, “My legs are still wounded from yesterday…Only a kiss from my bride will heal it…Please…lend me your lips.”

Aera watched as his face grew closer to hers. His hands rested on her tiny shoulders. His hair gently brushed against her face. Even though she felt so nervous and scared, her heart was calm. It was that strange feeling again.

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