I don’t want to believe it either but it seems like Jiyeon had just killed someone. I look at the dead body lying in the gazebo that’s in front of me. I walk up to it. 
“Daehyun! You idiot! We’ll get caught!” Himchan whispered loudly. I know what I’m doing is wrong, I shouldn’t be approaching the Princess at all, but my body seems to just move on it’s own. I see Jiyeon crying there, paining me to go comfort her, but yet, I don’t have the courage to. I walk past her and all the guards. The guards are shouting at me, warning me to step away from the body but all I hear are muzzled voices in the back of my head. I walk up to the body. It’s lying on it’s chest, face planted in a puddle of water. He was wearing a white silk tuxedo which is now stained with a mixture of blood and mud. Without thinking, I crouch down next to him and flip him over so that he’s lying on his back. His face is completely blue and his eyes were wide open when he died. But I still recognize him. He was the Blood I faced that night I saved Jiyeon. Behind me, I can clearly hear Jiyeon gasp and cry harder when she found out who it was. But when I saw the guy’s face, I wasn’t shocked at all. In fact, my expression remained blank. Then a guard walked up behind me and pulled me away from the body, but my eyes remained glued to it. I would’ve went a little further into checking his actual cause of death but I didn’t feel like it. I was partially in pain, shock and confusion. There are way too many thoughts running through my head, I don’t even know which one to pay attention to first. I look at Jiyeon as the guard dragged me away from the crime scene and then my expression softened. Seeing her like this is stabbing me in the guts, in my heart. It’s so painful to see her cry. She just smiles so much, it’s too hard to imagine her actually crying. All that I can think of now is Jiyeon. Her name is repeated in my head, over and over and over again. And they won’t stop, but I don’t want them to stop. I want to love her, care for her, comfort her, be there for her but no matter how close we seem, we are just too far apart. As these thoughts run through my head, I never realized that I stopped moving, and Jiyeon has been in my face this whole time, shouting my name. 
“Daehyun! Daehyun! Are you okay?” Her swollen eyes stare at me with delicacy as she shook me back and forth by the shoulders. All I could do was stare. “Daehyun? Daehyun! Stop scaring me!” she says with such worry that I can’t decipher her true intentions. She should be worrying about herself, not me. I finally snap out of it.
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine. Are you?” I ask. I want to sound more worried than I said it but I couldn’t bring myself to show her my true feelings. I just wasn’t meant for her. I feel so hopeless and worthless. Like I can become more and I’m just not bother to try, knowing that the inside of me wants to. I’m dying to just be straight up and tell her everything. How I feel, who I am, what I actually want, how I actually think. But I can’t. 
“I’m okay.” she tells me. But her voice is trembling, her hands are shuttering and her eyes are watering. She’s lying to me. Please don’t do that. Not to me.
“You’re lying.” I tell her. “You’re not okay. It’s okay because-” Because I’m here now. I’ll protect you. You’ll be fine. But I can’t bring myself to say what I really wanted to say, so I replaced all that with “because you’re a strong girl.” I look at her and faked a smile. That smile was hard to force so it ended up looking awkward and grimace. 
“Thanks.” she managed. But I can tell that those words weren’t what she wanted to hear. But like she’s said before, I don’t know how to talk to girls. I don’t know what to say to make feel safe without giving too much away. It didn’t take long for it to feel awkward between us so I just looked down to the soaking puddle beneath my feet and left. I felt the cold rain drip onto my hair, letting it soak through and make it’s way to drizzle out of my hair with some rolling onto my face. The rain flushed me as they replaced my tears with the tears of the sky. Why must this happen to me. I walk past Himchan, ignoring everything, ignoring the fact that he was ever there, and indulged myself with sad thoughts, emptiness  and depression. Jiyeon. I’m wet from head to toe, but I don’t care. I walk back into the palace, not realizing that I passed the gigantic chandelier, walking past it as if it was never really an obstacle or if it was ever blocking my path in the first place. The scene of Jiyeon standing there with a gun replays in my mind over and over again. It terrifies me to think that Jiyeon had just killed someone. It all seems too real. I don’t want to believe it, but what’s there is there. Death at midnight. Great just great. I see the fortune teller run up to me. Exhaling, I got my act together and stood up straight, hiding all the emotions that I had 2 minutes ago. She reaches me, breathing heavily. Before she could say anything, I shoved my hand in my pocket, scrambling for her car keys. I took her hand with her palm facing up and dropped it. She caught it and I went on my way. I don’t know where I was headed but I need to get out. I can’t stand being here anymore. It’s suffocating me. Then I feel something grab my shoulder. The fortune teller is standing behind me, trying to catch her breath. 
“What do you want woman?” I asked annoyingly.
“The king is about to make an announcement. I think you’ll be interested as to why.” she managed. But before I got a chance to answer her that I wasn’t interested, she grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the ballroom. The ballroom is already crowded with hundreds, making me feel uncomfortable. 
“Why did you drag me here?” I shouted as I flicked my arm out of her grasp. But she didn’t say anything. All she did was point to direct my attention to what she was referring to. Then I knew immediately, what she was talking about. A once beautiful white dress is now stained brown and is being tugged along on the red carpet. A once perfectly tied back hair is now messy, pointing in all directions. A once beautiful face is now smeared with blood and a once angelic smile has now disappeared from sight, probably to never be seen again. Jiyeon, the prettiest girl of all of Korea, the princess of New Seoul, the most wanted bride in the whole country, is now chained with metal cuffs that don’t belong and waltz down the hallway in embarrassment and misery. As always, she is surrounded by protective guards, but this time, for all the wrong reasons. Then she halts in her tracks. The king walks up in front of her, giving her a look of disappointment before turning around and clearing his throat.
“I have gathered you all here today, to give you all unfortunate news. Our princess, Park Jiyeon, has been made the prime suspect of a committed a murder.” He announces with hesitation. There was a synchronized gasp in the room and it only takes minor seconds for the room to be filled with quiet chatter and overlapped whispers. Then the room was silenced with another cleared throat. “I know that this is hard to believe,” the king continued, “but so far, most of the evidence found has been directed to my daughter. We’re going to be putting her captive until further evidence has been found. But until then-” he hesitated. I know what he was going to say next. But I can’t believe that he is really going to pin it on his own daughter. I gritted my teeth. Jiyeon. No. “Jiyeon will be labelled as the murderer of Choi SunHoon.” Then there was another gasp. “Until, further notice, everyone, please leave. The ball is over.” the king finishes.
“No! That can’t be!” I shouted without thinking. “There’s no way the princess is the killer.” I said with confidence. Jiyeon lifted her head and directed her eyes to me, full of hope. I bit my tongue. I said too much.
“Excuse me sir. I understand that you can’t believe this fact, nobody can. But there’s nothing we can do about it.” the duke next to the king said.
“Fact? You think that this is fact? That is your theory and there is always something you can do. You just haven’t looked hard enough. It’s just been a little under 3 hours since the gun shots were heard. You haven’t done enough of thorough investigation and you’re pinning everything on her, holding her captive. I thought you said that you didn’t want to believe this. Yet you’re not hesitating to hold her captive?” I spoke up not realizing that I just dissed the king. There was a synced “oooo…” that rang through the hall. 
“I’m sorry sir.” the duke snapped. “But this is no place for you to talk to his majesty like that. We can have your head for speaking with his majesty in that kind of tone. This is not your place to talk. Who are you? You’re a mere nobody. You’re just the same as everyone else in this room. Just another citizen of New Seoul. How well do you know our princess? How do you know what kind of person she is? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I bet you’ve never had a face-to-face conversation with her.”
“You’re right. I am a nobody. I don’t know the princess. But how about you? You do know the princess. You should know her better than I do. You should know what kind of person she is. I’m sure that you know yourself that she isn’t the kind of person to kill someone by her own hands without reason. Yet you put the blame on her after 3 hours of investigation? You’re not hesitating at all that you’re putting her behind bars for something that she didn’t do.”
“Daehyun. Don’t.” Jiyeon said. The duke raised up his finger, ready to protest but the king hushes him.
“You’re right young man. And I won’t deny that fact. But what you do to help her? Even I, the king of New Seoul, has tried my best. But many things, all evidence found so far, has been directed to my daughter.” the king says.
“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe all the evidence has been directed to her. But what if all the evidence was planted there? What if she is being framed? Did anyone see her physically kill someone?” I asked looking around the crowd. 
“How about this. You can go ahead to investigate yourself. I grant this young man permission to be involved with this case. You have until the end of next month, at midnight. If you are able to crack the case and find out who you think the real killer is, then you will be rewarded with fame and fortune. If not, I will have your head. Fair?” the king offered. I can’t believe this. He’s willing to risk his own daughter’s life on some stupid bet. 
“Deal.” I shouted without thinking. 
“Then the decision has been made.” the king announces.
~
I was given permission to see the princess in her cell. I was escorted downstairs into a stone basement under the palace. I look around me and see a variety of men and women with untied hair in blue jumpsuits with hands and feet chained against the wall, behind thick iron bars. Chains rattle as people scramble for breakfast that has been tucked under their cage doors. And there, I see her, in a more comfortable place than the others are in. She isn’t forced to wear a blue jumpsuit like everyone else is but she remains in her dirty dress. She has a proper bed and a toilet with actual stall doors and privacy. But she is chained the way everyone else is behind the same iron bars. She is curled up on her bed with her knees up to her face, hugging them and burying her face in them. Food has been tucked under her door as well but it looks more appealing. Clearly, she doesn’t want to eat seeing that she hasn’t touched it at all. 
“You’re given half an hour and you leave.” The guard reported.
“Thank you.” I nodded. He clicks his heels together, does a brief salute and marches off. I walk up to her gate and look at her with sincere and kindness. “Jiyeon.” I whispered. She lifts her head up, dazed and then snaps her head my way. With surprise, worry and happiness, she rushes over with the clacking of metal trailing her. 
“Daehyun!” she says loudly with happiness. Then I hushed her.
“Not so loud.” I whispered. I put my hand through the space between the bars and caressed her face. She feels so warm and gentle. I wish I can do this forever, but all I could do was grin.
“Why? Why are you such a fool?” she asked. But I didn’t reply. “What if you don’t find any evidence? No one has ever beaten my father. Not in a bet like this.” she whispers worriedly.
“I know. But as stupid as it is, I believe that you didn’t do it. I trust you.” I tell her.
“But, what if I did do it?” Then I look at her, not understand what she’s saying. “He wore a mask when he requested for a dance outside in the gazebo. When he unmasked himself, he threatened to abduct me. He carried me over his shoulder and then everything went black. I wake to find myself holding a gun and he was lying there in front of me, dead, with bullet holes through his back. I don’t remember what happened during that black out, but what if I did kill him? What if-”
“Jiyeon. You didn’t kill him okay? You need to believe that fact. I will help you.” She looks at me with hope and then looks down to the ground, avoiding eye contact.
“Why?” Then I look at her with confusion. “Like you’ve said before, you haven’t met me for more than 24 hours. You even refused my invitation to be my special guest at the ball. Why did you end up coming? Why did you decide to help me?” she says meeting my eyes again. Then my expression softens and I exhale heavily.
“Look. I came to the ball because I rethought about your invitation and I decided to come. I decided to help you because-” because I love you. Then I hesitated before changing my thought. “I can’t lose you.” Then she blushed. Cute. 
“Why can’t you lose me?” she forced out. Then I looked at her, tilting my head back a bit. Do I really have to spell it out for you? Then I heaved a sigh and braced myself for the worst. I’m going to tell her. I decided. I took a deep breath and in a really fast, gibberish sounding and quiet voice,
“Because I…. L..v….r” I managed.
“I’m sorry what?” she asked with all seriosity. Then I took one more deep breath in.
“Because I love you.” I told her. She blushed and looked away briefly and then turned back to face me.
“W-w-w-what?” she stuttered. I heaved one more sigh.
“When I first met you, I fell in love with you. Now I love you, I need you. That’s why I came. And since I need you, I can’t lose you. If I have to risk losing you, then I rather protect you with my life. No matter what it takes. I know that you may not feel the same way, because we do live in two different worlds. But, I know for sure that, I love you. And nothing is going to change the way I feel about you. Even if you reject me.”