“Hey, little miss Princess, ever heard of the princess who got turned into a log? Eunhyuk asked.

               I stared at him, not sure if this was a trick question. “N-no?”

               “Well she was sitting right where you are now!” I squealed and jumped, tripping over my skirts and falling into the water. He doubled over in laughter.

               “You’re so stupid you actually believed me.” I tried to scramble up and chased after him. Stupid Eunhyuk. When had he gotten so tall? Just last summer, I could still hit him on the head.

               I’ve known him since we were young and our kingdoms had become allies in a war. He’s always been the annoying big brother I never had. Even though there were lots of other princes from nearby kingdoms, he never seemed to play with them, always choosing to torment me instead. I wrinkled my nose.

               He stuck out his tongue before screaming, “I have lessons! I’ll be back to prank you later, pighead!”

               I sighed and walked back into the castle. My mother patted my head and randomly started speaking as she was sewing. “Do you like Eunhyuk-shi?”

               I nearly pricked my finger. “What? No. We’re just friends. And not even sometimes.”

               She chuckled and gave me a knowing look. “Are you sure? You two are always together. It’s not like we’re sending you away to some stranger. We’re already planning your engagement party so you really don’t have much of a choice. Besides, he is a handsome young man.”

               I choked on my spit. “Handsome? He’s the most annoying creature on earth! Instead of playing with the other princes, he decides to come and bother me. That’s not very handsome and he smiles too widely. I can’t live the rest of my life with him. I’d be too scared he would try to play some random pranks. Mom, I’d die of a heart attack.”

               She rolled her eyes. “Always the drama queen aren’t you? Hush child.”

               The day of my engagement party was the same day as my thirteenth birthday. My mom fitted me into an elegant blue dress.

               “My baby girl’s growing up.” She raised the mascara wand to my lashes. “Eunhyuk-shi is lucky to have you.” She commented when she was done.

               I stared at the reflection in the mirror. I hardly recognized myself. “Now, when you get down there, you are to be as gracious as can be okay? No sulking and no causing a scene. We want this to go as smoothly as possible.”

               I closed my eyes and thought of the plan I had thought up. When they announced the engagement, I’m going to faint dead away. Maybe that would postpone things for a while. I shuddered, not wanting to know what would happen if everything fell into place. He didn’t love me and I didn’t love him. Well, not really at least.

               When I walked down the stairs, the entire ballroom was filled with princesses and princes from other kingdoms. Most of them were older than me but some were my age. Everyone was milling around and dancing. I searched for Eunhyuk and was relieved to have not seen his colors yet.

               A trumpet sounded and our announcer called out, “The King and Queen of Mokpo, and the Crown Prince, Prince Eunhyuk!” a familiar blue and silver coat of arms came into the hall and I groaned. So he has finally arrived.

               He walked in and I almost didn’t recognize him. His hair was up, exposing his forehead and he looked solemn and dashing in his cloak. His eyes, normally playful, were more serious now and he walked up to me, bowing deeply.

               “Hello, my lady,” he held out his hand to me and I took it, only to feel a slight squish between our palms. I stared at him and once more the impish grin appeared. “Gotcha,” he whispered. I looked down and saw seaweed between our hands.

               “Ugh!” I let go of his hands and stormed towards the dining hall. How could I think that he had changed?

               During the banquet, my father rang for attention and both he and Eunhyuk’s father stood. “May I have your attention, the good people of Korea. I have invited you here to celebrate the engagement between my daughter and the Prince of Mokpo. In these warring times, it is necessary for two allies to bind together in order to faithfully provide their alliance. And I have here a match that has been agreed upon and-”

               There was a shattering of the glass windows and suddenly chaos ensued. Arrows flew everywhere as guards attempted to shield their royal subjects from danger. My mother pulled me by the arm and we ran down to the cellar. When the enemies have been subdued, we realized that Eunhyuk was gone.

               Of all the people, he was the only one not to be accounted for. After a week of searching, it was only assumed that he was gone, departed from this world. As was the custom, even engaged fiancés had to mourn for two years before starting anew. But I felt a loss that day and had no interest in any other engagements.