The Dragon Prince

Andy ran as fast she could after she heard the news. She was hanging out with her friends in the mall when her mom called and told her that her dad just died.

Truthfully, Andy was never close to her dad (and so was everyone else in the world). He was distant and Andy could have sworn that he hated her—he could not even look at her for Christ sake. As she grew older, her dad grew colder. But for some odd reasons, Andy felt more comfortable--- more attached--- to her dad.

As she arrived home, she immediately looked for her mom. She noticed that there was a noise coming from her dad’s study and so, she went there.

Before she even entered the study, she noticed a police line, just like what she saw outside their house (which she ignored).

She just stood outside of the study while the police officer talked to her mom. She took a peek and saw her dad’s lifeless body on the table. It was as if he just took a quick nap, but then, Andy knew that this time, he won’t wake up to all.

She wiped the corners of her eyes as she realized that it was getting wet. She was trying to suppress her tears, but somehow, she failed. 

Her mom might have seen her, for the next thing she knew, her mom ran towards her and hugged her. Andy felt her shoulders starting to become wet and she knew that her mom was crying silently as she hugged her. Andy placed her hands on her mom’s back and gently formed circles on her back, hoping that somehow, it would comfort her.

After a while, they stopped crying. Maybe they didn’t have enough water in their bodies that they couldn’t even shed any more tears. That was the police officer’s cue to talk with them again.

“We’re not still sure of what’s the cause of death. He had no wounds and there were no signs of struggle. But we can’t be too sure if he was murdered or he committed suicide.” The police officer reported.

Andy gasped before she repeated the last word that the officer had just said.

“Suicide?”

“Like I said, we can’t be too sure. IF we only knew what this mean, we could know what really happened.” The officer said as he held a piece of paper with his glove-covered hand.

Andy read the writings and it said, “We’ll meet again, my last love. –The Dragon Prince.”

“It could mean two things. One: he gave us a clue of who killed him or two: It was his dying message before he committed suicide. Now, do you have an idea about the Dragon Prince?” the officer asked.

‘The Dragon Prince?’ Andy asked herself. She remembered her dad telling her that story when she was really, really young (when she was 8). It was one of the moments where her dad actually talked to her and it was really memorable. There was a blackout and there was a storm. She was so scared because she was alone in her room. Her mom left to attend some party and they (Andy and her dad) were the only people who were at home. 

She was so glad that her dad finally talked to her that all she did was memorize his face. She didn’t really listened to what he was saying and she regretted not paying attention to it. 

She thought it was some fairytale and so for the next 12 years of her life, she tried to look for it. But then, she found nothing. Somehow, she had this feeling that her dad made it all up.

She saw her mom’s expression and after 20 years of being with her, she knew that her mom knew all about it. And she had this feeling that it would answer all her questions which were supposed to be intended for her dad.

“Mom, you knew something about the Dragon Prince, don’t you?” Andy said.

Andy saw the panic forming in her mom’s face and she almost regretted saying it aloud.

“Is it true ma’am? You knew all about it?” the police officer asked.

Andy’s mom didn’t even bother denying it, but she didn’t also confirm it.

“Mrs. Kwon, you know that if this was indeed murder, you’re the prime suspect, don’t you? If you don’t tell us about the Dragon Prince, then we’ll be having a hard time solving this case.” The officer calmly said.

Andy stared at her mom and she saw fear in her mom’s eyes. But, she didn’t know what her mom feared about—being the prime suspect or telling the story of the Dragon Prince.

Andy saw her mom took a deep breath before heavily sighing. She, then, noticed that her mom was walking towards the living room. And so, Andy and the officer followed her. As they arrived, they all took a seat on the couch.

There was an almost deafening silence before Andy’s mom started the story telling. 
 

Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, there lived 5 princes. The king was too old to continue ruling the kingdom and so, he decided to choose among the five princes of who would be his heir.

In their kingdom, age wasn’t part of the criteria of being the king. Unlike the other kingdom, being the “eldest” wouldn’t give you the title “heir” immediately. The king based his choice in the leadership skills and so, the Dragon Prince was chosen.

Even if he wasn’t the eldest, the Dragon Prince had the all the skills to rule and lead the kingdom. With his help, the kingdom grew richer even in just a short span of time.

But, they weren’t the only kingdom in the world. There was a great competition among kingdoms and so, the king decided that the Dragon Prince, who would soon become king, needed a queen to help him make the kingdom the richest and the best kingdom ever.

Among millions, the king chose 4 girls. But he had yet to know them well before he finally decided whom to choose as future queen for the Dragon Prince.

During one royal ball, the four princesses were introduced to the Dragon Prince. He danced with each one of them and during those times, he got to know each one.

Princess Spring was beautiful, but then, she was emotionless at some point. The Dragon Prince couldn’t read her sometimes and that scared him. And so, he wished that the king wouldn’t choose her to be his soon-to-be-queen.

The next one was the Little Princess. She wasn’t really little, but since she was the youngest one, they call her using that term of endearment. The Dragon Prince noticed that the princess was a great dancer and she was even the one leading him while dancing. And he didn’t want that. He made a mental note to ask...beg the king not to choose this princess too.

Princess Sky was next. Even just at first glance, the Dragon Prince knew that she had all the qualities of a leader. She was like the female version of him. And somehow, he liked her compared to the first two.

The last one was Princess Sandy. Dancing with her was like walking barefooted on the sandy shores while feeling the soft waves crashing on your feet—so calming. He knew that somehow, this princess complimented his personality. Yes, he did think that Princess Sky could lead but he could do that one his own right? He needed someone who could give him another point of view and only Princess Sandy could do that.

After the royal ball, Princess Sandy and the Dragon Prince grew closer. They were like 2 different poles of the magnet. Even though they were different, they were attracted to each other. And so, they decided to have a secret relationship together since they didn’t want the king to know.

As time passed by, the two fell even deeper in love. There secret meetings became frequent and longer. And somehow, the love they had for each other resulted to another life.

It was already midnight but the two lovers secretly met near the dungeon of the castle. Princess Sandy told the Dragon Prince that she was pregnant with his child. The Dragon Prince was delighted and so he told Princess Sandy that they would elope tomorrow after everyone in the kingdom would fall asleep.

The next day, the king announced that the Dragon Prince was now engaged to Princess Sky. Upon hearing it, the Dragon Prince wanted to complain. But even before he opened his mouth to say something, the king said that the kingdom was having a crisis. The king said that if the Dragon Prince and the Princess Sky would work together, the kingdom would be saved.

With no choice, the Dragon Prince told Princess Sandy the truth. She was hurt, she couldn’t deny that. But she knew how important the kingdom was and only the Dragon Prince could get them out of this problem.

That was the time when a lot of things entered the pregnant princess’ mind.

What if someone would know about their affair?

What if someone would know that she was pregnant with his child?

She knew that if even another soul would know about their secret, it would be the end of the kingdom. And so, without telling the Dragon Prince or anyone else, Princess Sandy left the kingdom.

The next day, the Dragon Prince found out that Princess Sandy was missing. He felt responsible for her disappearance and so, he started looking for her.

He explained the truth to the 4 princes and the 3 princesses and they all decided to help him find her. But then, you couldn’t find someone who didn’t want to be seen right?

After a few months, they were still unable to find the missing princess.

But one day, a prince from another kingdom visited. In his hand was a baby wrapped in cloth. He handed the baby to the Dragon Prince and he told everyone about his identity.

He was Prince Thunder, Princess Sandy’s brother. And he came to bring the child to the Dragon Prince.

Before Prince Thunder left, he said something to the Dragon Prince.

“You hurt my sister. And so, you have no rights to stare at her.”

Prince Thunder left without even telling them the whereabouts of the missing princess. The Dragon Prince’s heart grieved for he couldn’t find his love, but as the same time his heart was overjoyed because he finally saw his child...his daughter.

As years passed, the Dragon’s Prince heart was becoming more and more broken. He was still hoping that one day, the Princess Sandy would come back. He was too caught up grieving and thinking about the princess that he was ignoring his own daughter.

That was when the Princess Sky entered the picture. She felt bad for the child, and so, she decided to take care of her. She became the mother that the child never had. Even if she knew that she will get nothing in return, she sacrificed everything she had and took care of the child. 

Every single day, as she was taking care of the child, she would see the soul-less Dragon Prince. His soul was still searching for Princess Sandy and only she could bring him back.

End

“Sorry but, I really can’t understand how that story is related to his death.” The officer said.

Andy’s mom walked towards the study and the rest followed her. She took some books off the shelf and behind those books, there was a hidden compartment. She opened it and took the contents. She handed it to the officer and the officer began scanning.

“You’re... Lee Chaerin? The leader of 2NE1?” The officer asked.

Andy saw her mom blush a little before she nodded. “I didn’t know that people could still remember us. It’s been 20 years since our last performance.”

Andy was confused. Her mom performed? Her mom was popular? All her life, she knew that her mom was a professor in a local university near their house. It never occurred to Andy that her mom was a performer.

“And you husband... is G-dragon of Bigbang?” The officer questioned.

“I’ll be frank with you. Jiyong and I were not married. I just...took care of Andy since Da...” Chaerin stopped when she realized that Andy might be confused now.

“Andy, honey, listen to this okay? You’re dad was not songwriter only. He was the leader of the Korean boy group called Bigbang. They were really popular 20 years ago, well, until your dad decided to migrate here. Yes, I know, for 20 years, you’ve known me as your mother, but I’m not your real mother. The story of the Dragon Prince pretty much explained why both of our groups disbanded earlier than we expected.” Chaerin explained to the now confused Andy.

“That means... Princess Sandy is my real mother? But, why would she leave me? Does she hate me that much?” Tears were already flooding Andy’s eyes.

“Sandara.... that’s your mom’s name.” Chaerin said as she pointed a picture of Sandara Park.

Andy wiped her tears for they were making vision blur. She stared at the picture that her mom pointed. Andy gasped as she noticed that her real mom really looked like her.

“Prince Thunder told dad that he had no rights to stare at his sister. That’s why dad couldn’t look at me... because I look like her.”Andy murmured.

“Yes. Jiyong couldn’t look at you because you look too much like Sandara unnie. Everytime he tried to face you, his heart breaks into pieces because it reminded him of all the pain he caused to your mother.” Chaerin explained.

“But where is she? Where is my real mom?” Andy asked as she leaned on the wall for support.

“Andy, you’re mom died when she gave birth to you. That’s why Thunder didn’t want Jiyong to see her... because she was lying on the coffin already. But Jiyong wasn’t informed until yesterday.” Chaerin said as she tried to stop her tears from falling.

“So, you mean to say, he committed suicide because he wanted to be with his lover?” The police officer said.

Chaerin shook his head before she explained.

“Jiyong continued to live because he hoped that Dara unnie would come back. But after he found out that she’s been dead for the past 20 years, he just... died. He wasn’t murdered. He didn’t commit suicide. It was just... the right time to meet her again.”
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A/N. Wrote this 4 years ago... and decided to share it here. Hope you enjoy. :)