THE PAST

"Didn't I just clean it?" Minjung wrinkled her nose.

Kibum crossed his arms sternly. "Yeah. But you slacked off this afternoon with Jaejoong Hyung. This is payback."

Minjung scowled. "Petty." she muttered as she grabbed a mop and proceeded to clean the Crown Prince's room all over again.

Kibum stayed at his desk and watched her with a smirk. *Hah! Let's see how you're going to run off to your Jaejoong goon now!*

Minjung wiped and cleaned, cleaned and wiped. She cleaned the whole of his room thrice, with Kibum picking on her even if he saw a single speck of dust.

"It's either you're going through menopause or you're having your period." Minjung muttered.

Kibum scoffed. "And what? Jaejoong Hyung is much better?"

Minjung nodded. "Of course! What did you think? You can't even compare to him."

Kibum's face hardened. He strode out of the room and came back in a few minutes with a plate in his hands and two cups.

He shoved he plate in her face. "Sort these." he ordered.

Minjung's eyes bulged out when she saw that the whole plate was filled with black and white sesame seeds mixed together in a mixture of gray. "What?" she gasped in disbelief.

Kibum gave her a look. "You heard me. Sort them. By tomorrow I want to see them sorted."

Minjung scowled at him. "You're impossible."

Kibum smirked. "Thank you!" he snickered. "Now if you excuse me, it's late and I shall return to bed. Unlike someone who'll have to work through the night."

Minjung glared at him before stalking off with the plate in her hands.



Kibum bit his lips, lying on the bed. It was morning and he barely had any sleep the previous night.

*Do you think she's still sorting the seeds?* Kibum's brows furrowed. *Was I too harsh on her?*

He straightened up. "Well she shouldn't have flirted with Jaejoong Hyung in front of me anyway." he muttered.

He shrugged. "Maybe she's just going to get some white and black sesame from the kitchen to fake it off."

Soon it was time for breakfast and Minjung came into the room tiredly with his breakfast. Kibum sneaked a peek and saw dark circles round her eyes. His heart dropped. *Damn. I hurt her again?*

Minjung shoved him two separate cups of white and black sesame. "Here I did it. You jerk."

Kibum took the cups silently, guilt eating him up. He wanted to apologize for his childish behavior, but his pride was stopping him.

Just when he was having his internal battle, he heard a bump. His eyes widened when he saw Minjung's body on the floor; knocked out cold.

"Yah Meat Bun Girl!" he shrieked and rushed to her side. He cuddled her against his chest and patted her cheek. "Wake up! Don't scare me Meat Bun Girl!"

He looked around frantically. "HELP! SOMEONE GET THE ROYAL PHYSICIAN IMMEDIATELY!"

Maids flew into the room and Kibum carried Minjung bridal style to his bed and placed her down gently. He gazed at her worriedly as the other maid's wiped Minjung's sweat.

The royal physician rushed into the room, thinking it was the Crowm Prince who was sick. He frowned when be saw it was just a lowly maid. "Excuse me Crown Prince. But I don't think my presence is for serving lowly maids."

Kibum shot him a murderous glare. "She's my personal maid! What if she falls sick? I can't get my tasks done and I'll fall sick as well!" he roared. "Treat her now!"

The royal physician yelped and went to work immediately, feeling her pulse. Kibum bit his lip, his face pale.

"She's just exhausted." The royal Physician reported. "Just some sleep will do."

Kibum nodded and waved the old man out. Just as the maids were going out, he caught the last one. "Do you know if Minjung stayed up the whole night sorting the seeds?" he asked.

Sujin nodded. "She sorted them till it was 5am this morning. After that, she began reading some literary poems."

Kibum frowned. "What? Why didn't she get some rest?"

Sujin sighed. "She said if she wanted to be educated, every minute counts. So she read all the way till it was time for work."

Kibum glanced at the sleeping Minjung. *Babo.* he nodded to Sujin and waved her off.

He sat beside Minjung and brushed her loose strands of hair out of her face. "What were you thinking Meat Bun Girl?" he asked softly.

"Would it have killed you if you cheated? Would it have killed you if you just didn't do as I say? I wouldn't have killed you. Would it have killed you if you didn't read for one day?" he sighed, caressing her cheeks.

"Don't make me worry Meat Bun Girl." he whispered. "If not I think I'll be the first to be killed from the anxiety. I'm sorry Meat Bun Girl."