xi
No More PrincessIt didn't seem to take very long when Jihyun was making an escape to Kai's town, but going back to Alcea felt like an hour. Maybe the distance was good, she thought when she got home. It would stop her from spontaneously driving back to Jongin.
But now, two days later, after all the squeezing hugs and kisses, Jihyun's moving like a robot. Kai keeps popping back in her head, and even though there's a good hour, maybe even more, between them, she still feels an urge to go back.
Baekhyun sat down with her the other day, wanting to know about where she went and what she did.
"Well what about you?" She had said. "You went somewhere, too."
He shrugged. "I just stayed at a hotel a couple hours from here and gave them extra money to not put me in their records and to keep their mouths shut. You, however, stayed with someone?"
"I found a very nice person that was willing to share his home."
"His?" Baekhyun's voice sharpened. "What the hell were you doing staying in a man's home for three weeks? You do realize he could have hurt you, right?"
"Yes, I realize." Jihyun snapped, her tone getting defensive. "But you haven't met him, Baek."
"That doesn't mean--"
"What it means is that you haven't met him and you probably never will because of this stupid life! I love him, Baekhyun, and whatever you say won't change that." She jumped from her seat and fled back to her room, Baekhyun trailing her.
"Jihyun," He called. When she didn't turn around, he jogged to catch up to her side. "Look, I'm sorry. I have no idea what happened during those few weeks, and I'm not sure I want to, but you're my little sister. I have an instinct to protect you."
They came to a stop in front of her bedroom. She looked up at him, "You don't have to protect me from him."
Her brother hasn't told anyone about her 'secret' since then, but Jihyun doesn't really care if he does or not. She's already stuck in her home again, now denied more than ever to go out. During her nights, she relives her days at the amusement park and Minseok's restaurant and Kai's living room and his lips on hers.
Jihyun dresses in simple but formal attire for the meeting her grandfather has prepared to hold. Everyone in the castle will be attending, but there isn't one person in the place that hasn't seen Jihyun dressed lazily, so what's the point in dressing up? There is none.
The members of the family are seated last, framing the king's chair when he finally sits down, signalling the meeting to start.
"I apologize that this meeting is starting so late, considering the event that started all the troubles, but now with the youngest returning we can finally begin. Our hiring process needs to be tweaked. Big time." He goes on to explaining how they're going to re-vamp the steps when they hire a new employee to ensure that the person being hired doesn't have a mental illness and won't set a bomb off anywhere. Everyone agrees it would definitely be useful.
"Each department will be getting the changes in writing by tomorrow. Any last questions or suggestions any of you would like to bring to attention?"
Around the table, there are small shakes of the head, murmured denies. The king is about to stand when Jihyun surprises everyone by speaking up.
"I have a question, grandpa."
All eyes are on her, especially extremely curious ones from her family. She ignores them.
"Do we have Blu-Ray?"
It catches everyone off guard, to say the least. Jihyun sees her father's quick shock at the question and Baekhyun's even more curious stare from across the table. She can feel more than hear her mother's stifled chuckle beside her.
"Sweetheart," Her father says, his voice firm. "I don't think that's an appropriate question to ask at a time like this. Be respectful and don't ask such pointless things." The look in his eyes is enough to make Jihyun drop her gaze, but she doesn't. She holds his stare with her own, and suddenly has the urge to slouch in her seat like Kai taught her.
"It's not pointless." She says, and feels her mother's hand on her thigh, praising her or telling her to stop, she doesn't know. The king's voice stops her thoughts.
"Now, now, my granddaughter's curious." He tells his son with an easiness in his voice that Jihyun wishes her father had. "What's wrong with that? No, we don't have Blu-Ray." He answers Jihyun, turning to her. "Would you like it?"
"Yes, and if it isn't too much to ask, there's a movie I'd like to get as well so I can watch it with Baekhyun."
"What movie?" Her brother asks, a hint of a smile on his lips.
"Avatar. I really would like to see the ending."
"The ending?" Yoona asks Jihyun as the two of them go back to Jihyun's office for another day of work. Everything's falling back into schedule again a little too quickly, Jihyun muses. "Why on earth would you just want to see the ending?"
"Because I fell asleep when Jongin and I were watching it." She answers. Right after the meeting she explained to Yoona the whole story behind why she wants Blu-Ray. Her reaction was quite opposite of Baekhyun's, gushing about falling in love and wondering how it feels. It was hard for Jihyun to explain how it felt to fall in love, so she didn't.
"And now it's your and Jongin's movie." Yoona smiles, her hands clasped in front of her chest. "How romantic."
Jihyun huffs a breath of laughter. "It doesn't feel romantic."
Yoona opens to say something, but Jihyun cuts her off by opening the door to her office and stopping in surprise. "What happened?"
"What do you mean what happened?"
"The mess is gone, and the applications . . . " She stares at the stack of papers she was working so hard on before completely sorted out and sitting in two boxes labeled Rejected and Interview.
"Well, when you're gone for as long as you've been, things get done." Yoona ushers her further into the room so she can close the door.
"Did you finish all the resumes?"
"Yeah. I was bored without you around, and I had to do something. That was right in front of me, so I thought, why not?"
A grin breaks out on Jihyun's face and she wraps her arms around Yoona. "Thank you, that's amazing."
She feels Yoona shrug. "It was no big deal."
"What about the field trip that was supposed to happen weeks ago?" She pulls back.
"They were understanding, but they still want to go."
Jihyun nods and walks to her desk. "Right. Then I better get started."
"Do you want any tea?"
"Coffee, please. Get some for yourself, too, if you want any." She smiles at Yoona and looks down to move some papers Yoona had left when she hears the door swing open and Yoona let out a small yelp, startled. Jihyun looks up and nearly falls back into her chair.
Kai's standing in the doorway, breathless and smiling at Jihyun.
Sorry this is such a short chapter! My next update is going to be a lot longer, so I'll make it up then^^
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