(hhmm...go to previous chapter to refresh your memory about this story since my last update is almost three months ago...huhuhu...mian~)

Seohyun just spent a whole day in her room, crying, after she sent Yonghwa to airport. Her family didn’t bother to cheer her up because they knew it was useless. She refused to meet anyone that day too.

She knew that their separation was inevitable. She already prepared for this day since a long time ago too. But still, when the day came, she was so sad.

She knew that it was not like she couldn’t meet him at all, for two years ahead. She already had a plan to take a leave in November to go to London. But her fear took over her thought that day. She was scared of something that was not happened yet. People’s heart could change easily. That was the main reason of her fear. And she loved him too much. That was why she cried so hard

Seohyun cried until she fell asleep that day. And in the next morning, she suddenly felt her phone vibrated near her ear. She woke up right away and took her phone after that. She looked at the ID caller, and she suddenly became teary again.

But she wiped her tears as she answered it. “Yong~”

“Hyun-ahh, I just arrived…” his voice sounded so tired.

“Ne~ daenghida~” she answered him with a raspy voice.

“You must be just wake up, don’t you?” Yonghwa guessed as he giggled. “Then turn on your Skyp*, Joohyun-ahh. Let’s meet again in one hour, okay?”

“Ne~” she said weakly but felt so happy.

It might be so cliché, but she felt so content just by hearing his voice like that. She then walked fast towards the bathroom. She needed to look pretty when they met in Skyp*. She couldn’t believe that she just cried minutes ago. But then after she heard his voice, she forgot all her worries.

Ne~ I’m okay as long as I hear his voice…

The first month of their long distance relationship was hard. Nine hours time difference made them felt so difficult to find a way to keep in contact. Seohyun might be doesn’t have a difficult time to wake up at 5 AM every morning then talked with him via Skyp*. But it was difficult to do a phone call with him after lunch, because Yonghwa was not a morning boy. He often woke up late and just sent her message before he went to campus, Imperial College London (ICL). But they would talk again after she finished the dinner, because it was a lunch time in London.  

But after they entered the second months, they finally could manage this long distance relationship smoothly. It was true that sometimes they missed their schedule due to their busy schedules or their tiredness. But they tried to understand it. They really tried their best to make it worked.

And it was at the end of October, when Sooyeon asked Seohyun and Sooyoung to meet up. The princess continued her study in New York. That was why she wanted to meet Seohyun and Sooyoung when she was still in Seoul that day.

“How is LDR, Seohyun-ahh? It’s so hard, isn’t it? That’s why I broke up with Taec in the end.” Sooyeon said as she sipped her tea. She broke up with Taecyeon, just one month after she went to New York.

“Ne~, I admit it’s not easy. But we still try our best to keep in contact.” Seohyun replied calmly.

“Just be careful, Seohyun-ahh. The silly thing could make a big fight. But I hope you and him can get through all of this…” she adviced her in the end.

“Ne~ gomawo, Sooyeon-ahh…” Seohyun replied sincerely.

But suddenly Sooyeon chuckled. She tried to hold it at first. But she failed and laughed hard in the end.

“Wae?” Seohyun couldn’t help to ask after she saw the princess became so weird out of sudden.

“Ani~ I just remember him…” Sooyeon tried to answer her but she laughed again.

“Wae?” Sooyoung couldn’t help to ask her why too.

But it took several minutes for Sooyeon to stop her laugh. Her face was so red because of that. And she needed to sip her tea again to calm herself.

“I know I shouldn’t tell you this, but it’s so funny, Seohyun-ahh.” she started as she held her laugh so hard.

“Wae?” Seohyun became so impatient.

Sooyeon took a deep breath before she started explaining it. “It was right before I came back here. I flew to London to meet him first. But I came too early, and Mr. Ham asked me to wake him up.”

Seohyun held her own breath while she waited for Sooyeon to continue.

“…and then?” Sooyoung looked so impatient too.

“And then when I entered his room, I heard a strange sound. He was groaning painfully. I thought he was sick, so I ran towards him right away. But…then I heard he called your name, Seohyun-ahh…”

“Mwo?” Sooyoung exclaimed in surprise. “Jinjja?”

And Sooyeon laughed harder because of that, while Seohyun was suddenly felt so worried with the possibility he was sick.

“Yahh! You’re a Gongju, Sooyeon-ahh. You should maintain your image. You laugh too hard…” Sooyoung whispered as she laughed too.

“Jinjja? Is he sick?” Seohyun asked worriedly. And it succeeded making Sooyoung and Sooyeon laughed harder than before. Until Sooyeon’s personal bodyguard, Mrs. Lee Chayoung, needed to warn them.

“Seohyun-ahh, come on! He was groaning – painfully – in his sleep~ ” Sooyeon repeated her explanation, looked exasperated by Seohyun’s question.

“And he was calling your name, Seohyun-ahh…” Sooyoung added calmly but it made Sooyeon laughed again.

Seohyun frowned, before a sudden thought hit her sense. She suddenly turned crimson.

Oh My God…she screamed inwardly and felt so ashamed. She was not that innocent but she really didn’t think that it would be like that.

“Look! Look! She just realizes what that means!” Sooyoung and Sooyeon laughed again.

“Yahh! Seohyun-ahh, he suffers enough. Don’t play hard to get with him. And don’t torture him too much when you meet him next month, okay!” Sooyoung kept teasing her and didn’t give Sooyeon chance to stop from laughing.

Seohyun’s face turned crimson even more because of that.

They are jinjjaaa…she screamed inwardly again.

She thought about this matter a thousand times actually. She worried of him, but she didn’t know what to do because it was Yonghwa’s decision since the beginning. She just couldn’t share this problem with them. They talked too much. She wouldn’t get any solutions if she asked them. They would just nonstop.

Seohyun already searched about that matter in internet too. She tried to find any solutions. And most of answers led her to one solution. But it was so hard for her. And then she remembered Ahsung’s advise that she should talk it directly with Yonghwa if she wanted to find a solution for their problem. It seemed like she should brought this topic again to him in the end.

“Yong~” she was facing her laptop monitor that showed Yonghwa’s face who was munching his chips. She chose the time when Yonghwa just finished the dinner, and she just woke up. So, nobody could hear their conversation.

“Where is Joon?” she asked first to make sure he was alone in his room.

“He is in his room, talk with Ahsung maybe.” Yonghwa replied shortly.

After that, Yonghwa told her about his day in campus, while Seohyun still tried to find a good timing to bring that topic to him.

“I heard you met Sooyeon, yesterday.” Yonghwa suddenly said.

This is it…

“Ne~. She wanted to meet us first, before she goes back to New York this morning.”

Yonghwa then enjoyed his chips again after that, as he waited for Seohyun’s further explanation about her meeting with Sooyeon. But Seohyun silenced again. She didn’t know how to start that topic.

“Wae?” he asked worriedly in the end.

Seohyun took a deep breath, before she decided to tell him. “Sooyeon told me, about that morning.”

“That morning?” Yonghwa asked back.

“Ne~ the morning when she woke you up…” Seohyun explained it further.

Yonghwa just silenced at first, tried remembering ‘that morning’ that Seohyun meant, but then he chuckled. “Ohh please, not this topic again…”

“Yong!” Seohyun whined. “I’m just worried…”

Yonghwa still chuckled before he placed his chips and sat straightly after that. “Look, Joohyun-ahh. I’m okay. I mean – I’m not really okay, but trust me, I can bear it. So, don’t worry, okay?”

But Seohyun didn’t reply him right away. She was thinking of something else.

“…Yong~”

“Hmm…?” Yonghwa took his chips again and laid his back on the headbord.

“Let’s do that…”

“Do what?” he asked innocently as he munched his chips.

“…phone or webcam …”

It took several seconds for Yonghwa digested what Seohyun had said to him, before he choked and coughed heavily. He needed to drink a glass of water because of that. It was so fortunate that he prepared a glass of water near his bed before he his laptop.

“Yahh! Joohyun-ahh! You want me to die?” Yonghwa stated as he couldn’t hold his laugh after he place an empty glass on the table near his bed again.

“But I’m serious, Yong~” Seohyun argued back. “Phone or webcam won’t make me losing my ity. So, it’s okay for me, as long as it can help you…”

And Yonghwa laughed harder because of that.

“Yahh! Seo Joohyun! You’re jinjja…” he really lost his words and just laughed again in the end.

Seohyun suddenly felt so embarrassed.

Yahh, Seo Joohyun! Neo micheoseo? She started to regret it

“I know you’re worried, Joohyun-ahh. I’m so thankful by your concerns too. I understand that you really want to help me. But please, trust me. I’m okay.” Yonghwa then said it again to her gently after he stopped his laugh. “Beside, webcam …aigoo~ Seo Joohyun, are you out of mind? How come you think something like that?” Yonghwa couldn’t help to laugh again because of that.

Seohyun turned crimson even more because of that. She knew exactly that it was a crazy idea, but it was the main solution that she could find.

“Even if it’s only me here, do you think someone else can’t see us right now? Internet is not a safe place, Joohyun-ahh. So, webcam is a no no.” Yonghwa added.

But I’m so worried…and I’m scared you’ll find someone else to…

“Don’t worry, Joohyun-ahh. I admit that sometimes it’s hard for me too. But trust me, I can bear it. I have so many things to do, so it can help me forget everything when that urge comes.” Yonghwa really tried to explain it to her, as if he could read Seohyun’s fear. “Beside, I think Sooyeon already told you that it’s your name that I called in my sleep, isn’t it? So, don’t worry Joohyun-ahh, it’s always you who came in my dream…”

Seohyun looked at her boyfriend in the monitor who grinned cheekily towards her. It was true that she felt so relieved that the one who appeared in his dream was her, but still she was worried.

What if he can’t hold himself in the end and find another woman there? He is a normal guy after all. Seohyun asked inwardly.

She really tried her best to trust him, but still reality sometimes didn’t turn like she expected. She was so scared. But then again, Yonghwa insisted that he was okay. In the end, all she could do was trust him.

***

Yonghwa looked at his wristwatch then smiled widely as he sipped his Iced Americano. Seohyun would get mad at him if she knew he still drank it in autumn, it would make him catch a cold. But he couldn’t help it. He loved Iced Americano so much.

Joohyun’s flight will be landed in a few minutes. He said to himself inwardly as he walked out of the Starbucks towards Mr Ham who waited outside on a white bike. He then handed a cup of Iced Americano to Mr Ham and took his black-gold bike.

Yes, like what they already planned it, Seohyun took a leave for two weeks to spend her time in London. Yonghwa really missed her so much and he felt so happy that they could finally meet after almost three months from their last meeting. But something caught his eyes, the moment he climbed on his bike. And he turned upset again because of that.

He didn’t know why Korean paparazzi kept following him since his first day in London. He thought they would stop after a month. But it was already three months since he lived in London, and they still didn’t give up. He couldn’t pick up his girlfriend directly from airport that day because of that too. Fortunately, Seohyun didn’t mind at all. But still, he felt so upset.

It might be easy to use a harsh way to shoo them away, but he couldn’t do that. It was true that he felt so annoyed but they never crossed the line too. So, Yonghwa chose to ignore them in the end.

Yonghwa then rode his bike faster, with Mr Ham who followed right behind him. But suddenly his phone rang. He stopped to check it. And it was from Steffen.

“Yep?” Yonghwa asked right away when he answered his call.

“It’s okay, no one outside.” Steffen said shortly. “They followed Joon and Ahsung. So, tell your girlfriend to come here right away. I’ll go in five minutes to meet Sanne too.” he added.

“Okay then, thanks a lot, Steffen.” He ended their conversation in the end.

Actually, Yonghwa asked Steffen, his Dutch friend who shared a house with him, Joon, Jonghyun, and Hans in South Kensington, London, to watch around their house. paparazzi were still following them. He needed to make sure their mansion is clear from them, before Seohyun arrived. Yonghwa felt so grateful that Joon anda Steffen gladly helped him that day.

And then, his phone rang again. This time was from Seohyun.

“Hyun-ahh~” he greeted cheerfully.

“Yong! I just arrived!” she shouted excitedly.

“Whoaaa daenghida~” Yonghwa replied her right away. “But mian~, Hyun~. I can’t pick you up.”

“Gwenchana. I already told you that I came here often during my High School holiday. Trust me, I can find your address easily. Just wait me there.”

It was so fortunate too that Seohyun could understand their situation. He felt so guilty at first, she came all the way there to spend their time together, and yet they still couldn’t act freely because of paparazzi.

Ani~, it’s all because of me…Yonghwa concluded bitterly. If he was not a crown prince, they didn’t have to face this problem. But then again, it was their decision. They should go through all of this in the end.

“Don’t take off your sunglasses when you arrive, Hyun. Don’t look around too. Just act casually like you’re a resident there, ahrasso?” Yonghwa warned her worriedly.

“Ne~, I know. Don’t worry.” Seohyun giggled lightly. “Then see you in your mansion, Yong~” she ended their conversation cheerfully.

Yonghwa exhaled deeply after that, prayed inwardly that she wouldn’t be caught by paparazzi there.

“Let’s buy some groceries first, Mr. Ham.” Yonghwa said to Mr. Ham as he started riding back his bike towards the Waitrose, not far from his current spot, in Kensington High Street.

One hour later, Yonghwa finally arrived in front of his mansion. Paparazzi that followed him was already gone and he felt so relieved because of that.

Yonghwa and his bestfriends, plus Steffen and Hans, decided to rent a mansion from a British Professor. That mansion was almost a country house which was located not far from his campus, Imperial College London, in South Kensington. And it was hidden out of sight from any roads and cars. It had a spacious courtyard too, so paparazzi couldn’t bother them after they were in there. But still, the thought that it wouldn’t be easy for them to go out freely in London was upsetting him so much.

The moment Yonghwa entered the mansion, he found his girlfriend sat calmly on the couch in the living room as she read a magazine.

“Hyun-ahh~” Yonghwa called her right away.