A/N: So I updated this story faster than the usual. I don't know why; I just felt like updating it and upon reading it, I thought that it was good enough to be read by others. I might miss out on some grammatical errors so I hope you overlook that (and tell me where I've omitted that unforgivable mistake in grammar and I shall edit it at once). Anyway, I have exams, so wish me luck! :) Btw, thank you to those who subscribed and commented. Your comments made my day--totally. This update is for you, guys. ♥ --Sab/--whisperbabe

c h a p t e r  f o u r ::

Talk about awkward.

Moments before sitting inside one of the rooms of the royal palace, I was stuttering in front of his majesty by the royal palace’s gates. I knew that I’d be serving royalty the moment I applied for the job as a maid in the royal palace (or should I say, Yoona applied me and I’m here to have my supposed interview, which is now moved to 10 in the evening), but I wasn’t expecting to see a prince this soon.

I glanced at the dashing man who’s seated at my left as he watched how the tea’s being poured from its pot to the cup in his hands. He appears to be easily impressed by this gesture, I think, or that meek smile of his means otherwise. Upon turning his head towards me, I immediately shifted my gaze from him to the room I’m in, and I could not believe it myself: I’m actually sitting inside a room filled with expensive stuff.

There’s a fireplace a few meters away from me at my front, which was lit just now by one of the royal maids. And upon turning to my right, I see two chairs with red, velvety cushions on the seats and the backrest. In between them is a coffee table that’s carefully carved, and on top of it is a ceramic pot, azure in color. On my left are more ceramic pots on top of a table that’s against the cream walls, and a huge mirror hanging in front of it. The walls are covered with paintings, and his ancestors are probably the ones on the pictures since they’re all wearing hanboks and they have the same serious look on their faces each time I turn my head to face one of them.

Lastly, I look at the wooden table before me, the legs finely carved and the top decorated with elegant flower paintings using a brown paint that’s a shade lighter than the table’s. The table’s short, so I had to sit on the floor with a cushion, my legs crossed.

I wrap my hands around the warm cup of tea in front of me, hoping that my fingers would get a little less cold than it is. Luckily, the fireplace is doing its job.

“So…” I turned my head to the prince at my left. “…what brings you here at the royal palace?”

I clear my throat before bowing in front of the prince. “My apologies for my behavior just now, agisshi. I came here to apply as a maid for his royal highness; however, the one who is supposed to me inside has informed me that I shall have my interview another time at the very last minute. I did not intend on bothering his highness.”

Just when I was about to lift my head to face him, I heard a chuckle coming from him, surprisingly.

He lays a fist near his mouth to conceal his laughter, which sounds quite strange because he doesn’t appear to be trying to hold it back. The way he laughs is comical on its own, the pitch of his voice sounding a bit higher than the tone he uses when speaking. I’d say his laugh reminds me of how a deranged person would laugh.

“Yes, agisshi?” I said, curious over why he just laughed out of the blue.

“You speak so formally. The maids in this household don’t even talk that way.” He throws his head back, and I don’t find it that funny though. I mean, it’s my first time encountering a prince. What does he expect me to do? Cuss with him like I do with my usual conversation with Yoona and Kibum? “I’ll stop now. I’ll stop now.” He says, his laughter finally fading. “It’s just that… I’m not used to talking to strangers with formalities, since most of them don’t know I’m a prince.”

I open my mouth, finally understanding why he was laughing just now.

“I would prefer it if you didn’t speak with any formalities.” he smiles before taking a sip of his tea. “So to sum it all up, you’re applying as a maid?”

I nod my head. “Yes…” I glance at him, undecided whether I should say it or not, “…agisshi?"

“You can drop the honorifics.” He takes another sip of his tea. Upon laying his cup on the table, he bows his head in front of me. “I’m Park Jungsoo. From now on, I’m under your care.”

“No, no, agisshi—I mean, Jungsoo-sshi. I’m supposed to be the one who should say that because I’ll be working under you.” I put out my hands before him, signing him to stop as I forced a smile on my face. This is getting more and more awkward.

Upon lifting his head to face me, he had this sly smile on his face that bothered me.

“Is that so? Well, may I know your name?”

Hearing his question, I made no hesitation with regard to introducing myself. I make a short bow. “My name is Choi Sooyoung.”

Prince Jungsoo sounded a hum in reply, and it sounded like an ‘okay’ coming from him. “So, you said that you were applying as a palace maid. Well, I’ll be the first one to bid you good luck then.”

“Oh, thank you, but I’m willing to do the job as long as I get paid.” I answered him, being optimistic towards the situation. This is the highest paying part-time job I could ever get, and I can’t let this chance just slip by. Plus, I have to act like I’m really determined to get this job—who knows; he might be testing me.

“It’s a good thing you have that fighting spirit motivating you.” Prince Jungsoo looks my way for a moment before he diverts his attention to the chandelier above us. “Well, I should inform you that this palace is a huge place, and the maids here make sure that everything is clean.”

“I can handle it.” I replied, hoping that I’d still be able to work here.

“You’d also have to water the plants every day, and the garden outside has different species of plants.”

“I’m sure that Yuri will teach me how to water them, so don’t worry.”

“But you’d also have to wash our clothes and dry clean them.”

“I’m fine with that! I used to work part-time at a laundry shop.”

“How about making coffee for the guests?”

“I used to work at Graze café near Kyung Hee University. I can also make you milk tea if you want me to.”

He then turns to me, smiling, although it looks a bit off. “Wow, aren’t we blessed to have you here, and applying as a maid? You seem to have undergone countless part-time jobs. Unfortunately, we have to check your records if you—,”

“That’s okay! My dad works at a police station, so I can ask one of the guys there to bring my records. But I can assure you that I don’t have any criminal records or anything. I mean, if your dad’s a policeman and he catches you doing something bad, your death is assured.” I jested in order to lighten up the somehow changing atmosphere between us.

“Actually, Sooyoung-sshi, I can—,”

One of our phones started to ring, and both of us immediately looked for our cellphones. When I found mine, I noticed that it wasn’t ringing and vibrating. When I faced Jungsoo-agisshi, he was already talking to someone over the phone. During his phone conversation, he was apologizing continually as he stood up from his seat.

“I’m sorry. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Bye.” Jungsoo-agisshi slides his thumb across the cellphone screen before putting it back in his pocket. He now faces me, “Sooyoung-sshi, when did you say was your interview with the head maid?”

“10 in the evening.” I told him, a bit unsure to why he’d ask such a question.

“You can wait here. I’ll be back by 9, but someone’s going to come here to keep you company, okay?” he now heads to the door.

“But, agisshi, I—,”

“Please don’t leave this room. I’ve thought of a better job for you. Just keep still, okay?”

Although I don’t know where this is going, in puzzlement, I agreed to his request to stay in this room. He smiles after letting out a sigh of relief, holding onto the brass door knob before exiting the room.

A better job, huh? No wonder. When he and I were talking about what a palace maid’s duties were, I had this feeling that he was taunting me just now. But then again, it might be a test to see if I’m eligible to work as a royal palace maid. Well, if he had a better job to offer me, I wonder what it could be.

A few minutes have passed, and I’ve become bored of sitting down and drinking tea. I was certain that he said that someone will be arriving soon to keep me company, even mentioning a better job than being a maid in the royal palace. It’s rather suspicious, but I decided to forget about it and look at the ceramics that are on display on the different tables inside the room intently.

Moments after that, I hear my phone ringing and upon answering it, I was able to hear Yuri’s voice.

“Sooyoung, it’s Yuri.”

I clench my free hand into a fist, gritting my teeth together as I try to the utmost of my ability to suppress the anger that was building inside me. “Yah, I have a lot of things to tell you about, like who schedules an interview at 10 in the evening!?”

“I’m sorry about that, but Yoona told me that this is urgent so I had no intentions of putting your interview on hold.” Yuri answered, and although her argument is quite valid, it wasn’t enough to bring justice to the rage that’s waiting to explode. “Anyway, where are you? Yoong gave me your cellphone number so that I can contact you at once and she mentioned that you still have to run errands at the police station your father’s working in, so I want to know if you still want to do the interview.”

“I’m actually inside the royal palace.” I replied nonchalantly, touching the cold ceramic pot with colors that resemble the sun setting in the afternoon.

“W-wait, you’re inside the royal palace!? But, how!?”

“The prince—,”

Noises were coming from the door leading to the exit, and I was wondering why it was taking the person a while to open it.

“Wait a second, Yuri.” I said, approaching the door and then realizing that it was locked, which is odd in a way. I sneak a peek through the peephole to see who the person was before opening it, only to have my mouth agape at the sight of the man whose figure is separated through this wooden door.

“M-man wi-with the s-s-scratched car.” I muttered in fear upon seeing the man whose car I scratched a few nights ago while he tries to open the door, his phone squeezed in between his shoulder and his cheek, talking. I take a step backward as silently as possible, but when I heard the lock open, I looked for a good place to hide immediately, my heart beating so fast that I feel like it will give out any second.

Trembling in fear, I eyed the huge curtains that were covering the windows, and I ran towards it in order to hide behind the huge, red curtains. I canceled my phone conversation with Yuri since he might hear her from the phone. I made a sign of the cross and held my hands together, mumbling, “God, please.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got that, Youngwoon-hyung. 5-11AM will be filming, and then I’ll go straight to school for my classes. Then, at 6:30PM, I have to perform at Music! Show right? Then from 8PM to 2 in the morning, I have to do a photo shoot with BoA and the next day, I have to fly to Japan for a fan meeting. See, hyung? I haven’t forgotten my schedule, so stop fretting over whether I will remember it or not.”

I cringed upon hearing the sudden shift in his tone, turning my head to face the window at my back. Strangely, I found a little girl wearing a school shirt and pants, clasping the straps of her backpack with a shocked look on her face, her jaw dropping upon seeing me.

I couldn’t think of a way to calm her down at a situation like this, so I put on this apologetic expression on my face, followed by a finger on my lips, mouthing a ssh sound, wishing that Mr. Cheapskate won’t find out about my presence in this room. I then waved my hand towards her, mumbling “Go!” with the hope that she won’t tell on me, but she later on runs away, calling her mom after seeing me. What great luck.

“Yeah, it’s okay. As far as I know, that girl hasn’t returned. What? You don’t have to empty my schedule this Sunday and Monday. Yeah, my grandpa will be arriving from the U.S. that evening, but I’ll only be paying him a visit for an hour to hear something from him and then I’m off.” I take a glimpse of the jerk that just entered the room, finding him seated on one of the red chairs with a leg bent, his foot lying on his other thigh. I can only see the back of the chair, but I can hear his words perfectly from where I’m standing. “Soori’s gone missing—that, I’m sure of. I just hope that grandpa realizes that sooner.”

“Soori?” I whispered to myself, trying to recall where I first heard that name.

“Anyway, I better get off now. I’m trying to look for something inside the palace while my grandfather’s away. Later.” He then puts the phone down before standing. Later on, he walks towards the fireplace—.

Oh shoot.

The fireplace.

It’s still lit.

Here’s hoping that he’ll ignore it.

He has started looking over the pots, the paintings, the tables; everything he could lay his eyes on. Most of the time, he’d stare at the floor, searching through the carpets and near the fireplace with eyes that convey the fact that he’s troubled. I felt a bead of sweat drop across my cheek, and when my phone rang all of the sudden, I ended up cursing in my place—Yuri called me again, and I was only able to cancel the call in three seconds.

Three attention-grabbing seconds, that is, since my ringtone is the three little bears song that’s sung by children with accompaniment.

Hoping that he wasn’t able to hear it—, ignore it, just look for your missing thing—upon taking a peek behind the curtains, I see him walking towards my direction. I leaned back against the window, wishing that it were penetrable so that I could escape my horrible fate all because of one stupid call from Yuri. Damn. Taking what seems to be my last breath, I gripped onto the straps of my backpack tightly, closing my eyes like these will help me become invisible in front of him.

The door opens all of the sudden, and a voice came out of nowhere.

“Kyuhyun! You’re here! You didn’t tell me you were visiting the palace again!”

An unfamiliar voice lingers throughout the room, the tone of his voice starting to lighten up the atmosphere that’s surrounding us that was once full of fright.

I take another peek at Mr. Give-Me-Ten-No-Twenty-Million-Won, my lips curving into a smile when the man who just entered ruffled his hair, which made him more irritated.

“What brings you here? Don’t tell me; you’ve finally come up with the decision to accept your role as the crown prince of this country! Wow, I’m so proud of you, Kyuhyun! But what about your fans? Won’t they be sad if they find out about your early retirement?” he playfully wrapped his arm around the grumpy man’s shoulder, something to which he responds by shrugging them off.

“I never said anything about quitting my job or becoming South Korea’s future king.” Kyuhyun, as what the lively man called him, replied him in a serious manner, his tone sounding more of like a warning to the smaller guy to stop acting the way he is doing so right now.

Kyuhyun starts to move away from him, but he pauses when the other guy voiced out, “When was the last time you’ve taken anger management classes, hmm? You seem to be more and more ticked off whenever I see you.”

“Lee Donghae!!”

“Alright, alright. Go ahead.” Donghae waves his hand at Kyuhyun, motioning him to go away and he does. “You should sleep more. Your skin complexion doesn’t look good.”

“So do yours!”

“At least I go to the dermatologist!” he cries out before Kyuhyun was able to close the door. When it was certain that Kyuhyun has already left, I let out a sigh of relief in silence, remembering that I should keep quiet if I don’t want to get caught. Donghae started laughing to himself while he shakes his head in amusement. “That guy… he’s become more and more of a stranger nowadays.” He then turns around his place, as if he were searching for something, or maybe someone.

“You can come out now.”

I gulped, my eyes widening in disbelief.

Does he know that I’m here? Because it sounds like he does.

“Come out now, Choi Sooyoung-sshi. That big, bad wolf won’t bother you now.” He smiled as he jested just now, giving off this certain calmness that made me step out from the place I’ve been hiding, and upon showing myself to him, his mouth just opens up and his eyes look like they’re about to pop out of their sockets. He was stunned to see me—the reason behind it, I don’t know.

“Are you S-sooyoung-sshi?” he stammered as his eyes start to blink faster than usual.

“Nice to meet you.” I bowed my head as I make my introductions. “My name is Choi Sooyoung.”

Looking at him once more, he mumbled a few words to himself that I wasn’t able to hear that much, but I’m starting to get the feeling that it has something to do with this “job” that Jungsoo-agisshi says is better than being a royal palace maid.

And it’s as if God hasn’t gotten enough of giving me surprises, the door opened once again. I panicked at that moment, yet I couldn’t even move to my former hiding place. However, I was relieved to hear the other man’s voice, knowing that it isn’t the Kyuhyun guy.

“Donghae-hyung, is it true!? Is it true that Jungsoo-hyung found someone who looks exactly like Soori!?”

Donghae shushed the man who just entered. "Be quiet, Minho!"

I heard him speak eagerly as he rushed to Donghae’s side, and when he was able to fully see me, he reacted with awe, his expression resembling that to Donghae’s.

“Omo, this is really mind-boggling.” Minho, the man beside Donghae, claimed in disbelief.

I don’t know why, but from what the man beside Donghae yelled out just now, it seems to have something to do between the way I look and this girl named Soori.

I don’t know what’s more awkward—their astonished faces or the fact that I’ve been standing in my place while they stare.