"When reading, we don't fall in love with the character's appearance.

We fall in love with their words, their thoughts, and their hearts. 

We fall in love with their souls."

[-]

  The Crown Prince stood alone in his chambers with a gold cup of camomile tea pinched between his fingers. The palace is cold and it has always been, not just this night alone. The Crown Prince is used to it. Like tonight, he sometimes stares at the moon and wonder what life could've been outside these imprisoning palace walls.

  But he doesn't wish for the life outside these walls. There is no life for him outside these walls.

  A soft knock on the door broke his thoughts and he turned around, permitting the knocker entrance. 

  "Your highness." His servant bowed.

  "Any discoveries?" The Crown Prince asked quietly, taking a small sip from his cup.

  "You're right, your highness. The Ice Lord is really investigating the eldest prince's death. He roams around in black which renders him hardly visible at night." 

  The Crown Prince smirked softly. He knew it.

  "He still has his suspicion on me." Prince Taeil mused as he grinded the bottom of his porcelain cup on the edge of its saucer. "Any information about the girl we met at his manor?"

  "All we've managed to track is that her name is Park Dara. We couldn't find any relative of hers in Dal." Taeil's servant mumbled, his head hanging low. "However, the King had visited the Ice Lord two days back with the Pyul Princess."

  Taeil's smile froze. "What for?" He asked warily, hiding the fear and insecurity within himself that was erupted. Taeil had always hid his mortal fear of his father meeting Jiyong behind his back. He feels inferior to the latter, and distrusts his father. He always knew his father must've wanted his younger brother to be the Crown Prince instead of him.

  It haboured into hatred. 

  "The King plans to marry the Ice Lord with the Princess to strengthen ties between Dal and Pyul to gain a stronger stand against Taeyang, your highness." 

  "Why Jiyong? I am the Crown Prince." Taeil hissed, the knuckles of his fingers turning white from his grip on the cup. Anger bubbled inside him. It's always Jiyong. Jiyong, Seunghyun, Jiyong, Seunghyun. His father had never really trusted him enough. Taeil thought of it as a humiliation. For such a major and national affair, instead of sending the heir of the throne, he just had to give it to Jiyong again. 

  "The Ice Lord enjoys a vast amount of support from the civilians in the Fire City, and since that is the boarder city nearest to the land of taeyang, perhaps this is why the King decided to send the princess to him instead." Taeil's servant explained cautiously, fearing his master's wrath.

  "And that is why I need him out of the Fire City as soon as possible." The Crown Prince inhaled deeply. "That girl Dara Park, does Jiyong spend a lot of time with her?"

  "They do, but things have gotten a little strange since she caught wind of the Ice Lord's engagement."

  "Interesting." Taeil said. He might've just found the right way or weapon to tackle the situation. "Does he looks like he cares about her a lot?"

  "We are not sure."

  The Crown Prince turned away from his servant as he stared at the moon for a while, contemplating. The candles by the side flickered omniously.

  "Looks like we have to test it out."

[Dara]

  I've been eating my days off at the historian's residence a lot for the past two days.

  Being the old man he is, the historian lee had no doubt complained a bit when he sees me here again, but then hey, when I said I had some knowledge about helicopters, his eyes lit up and I am granted eternal access to his house. 

  I didn't told him that by 'some knowledge' I meant that I only know how it looks like and that it flies. 

  Oh well.

  I loitered around the library. In one section which was labeled "HISTORY" and sealed in glass was books that included a tattered looking reprinted version of a fairytale book of Hans Andersen in 1998 which included stories that were familiar to me like The Ugly Duckling and The Little Mermaid. On another shelf was two battered copies of comic books of Spiderman by Marvel, lying luxuriously on top of a plush velvet looking cushion. I chuckled unconsciously at the sight. Seeing these books is like meeting an old friend. The irony that these vibrantly coloured copies are being placed in the history section as compared to the calligraphy hand written parchment books being considered 'modern' ones now instead. 

  A thin book, 'Documentation of the royalties in the Three Kingdoms' caught my eyes and I picked it up. In it recorded an entire string of past rulers and their extended families of all Pyul, Dal and Taeyang. In it I learned that the current King of Dal had five sons, and that they all shared different surnames as they followed their mother's. The eldest, Choi Seunghyun, bore by the King and Queen Choi, had his name gingerly circled and crossed out in red ink. That must be the oldest brother that Jiyong mentioned who had passed on. Jiyong never really talks about him. I guess his passing must be a great shock and source of pain.

  The second prince is Kim Taeil, the current Crown Prince who seemed to have friction against Jiyong and Seungri. I have never heard of the third prince, Lee Donghae, and all I knew is that he is a magistrate somewhere in a prosperous district of Dal, information credited fully by Seungri. After Prince Lee, Jiyong and Seungri was listed respectively next.

  My gaze seems to linger on Jiyong's name. I haven't seen him for two days and I'm not sure if I wanted to, but that hammering inside still too hard to ignore. 

  "PARK DARA!"

  A loud yell almost caused me to drop my book. What is Lee Soohyuk doing, shouting in brightdaylight. True enough, he poked his head in the door and grinned as soon as our eyes met and I returned a wide smile. 

  "Ugh, this place smells like sleep, I didn't know you are such a nerd." Soo Hyuk didn't bother to hide his disgust. "Let's go for lunch, I'm having a break."

  Great. I'm starved.

  The cold noodles here in this... era.. is amazing and night fell before I knew it. Soo Hyuk always had an inexplicable ability to make the day pass faster than it does. Initially, I thought of him as a troubled and dark man but once he gets close to you, wham, all image is gone. He goofs around, acts like a kid and whines a lot. Although he can be a bit of a nuisance, I couldn't be more glad to be able to have friends here. I should let him know that someday. Maybe I've been being too mean to him, but that's only because when he's being excited my ears are constantly in danger of being ruptured, and I really don't want to return to my world deaf.

  "Take this." Soo Hyuk said loudly out of the blue, with a jade-made butterfly hairpin wedged between his fingers, his eyes fixed somewhere else. I took the pretty accessory from his hands gently, gasping in awe. It's so exquisite, where did he got the money to buy it?

  "Why're giving this to me?" I asked, flipping the small pin over in my hands gingerly. 

  Soo Hyuk shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't even know myself..." He mumbled, and when I tore my eyes distractedly away from the pin and looked at him, he added, "Since you're my first friend. Stop asking questions." 

  I grinned, slapping his arm with a thank you. Because my dad had told me (before he left the family with some other woman, that is.) that I didn't look like a girl and shouldn't wear these stuff on myself, I have never really had any nice hair clips like the other girls at school did. 

   I didn't know how to put it up on my hair.

  "Give it here, idiot." Soo Hyuk said as he grabbed the accessory from my tangling fingers.

  "Psh." I mumbled, standing obediently still as he tried instead.

  As I stood, a figure shifted in the alley directly infront of me.

  I held my breath and blinked. Clad in black with a mask and a hood, his eyes were staring straight at Soo Hyuk, who's back was facing him, before they turned to me, and as soon as our eyes met, I knew who he is.

  Jiyong.

  Of course, he must be out doing his work again, where he mustn't be recognised by people.  

  I always thought that the phrase "time seems to stand still" was an exaggeration. Maybe it was, but at that very moment it felt like the air had been knocked out of me.Jiyong winced but in the next second his eyes were platonic again, dully piercing into mine. My chest tightens painfully at the sight of him and I found myself wanting nothing more than to close up this horrible distance between us. I could almost smell that distinct smell of his hair. Almost, but I couldn't.

  1... 2... 3... 4... I counted silently. 

  Come and get me, Jiyong.

  8... 9... 10... 

  Please. 

  He didn't. Jiyong threw me one long hard look and disappeared before I had time to see how.

  "Done." Soo Hyuk smacked his hands together and pulled me away from him with my shoulders, smirking happily at his work. 

  He's gone. Of course, what else am I expecting?

  "What do you think?" 

  Soo Hyuk is talking to me, but his voice seemed so faraway. I haven't realise how tired I've been for this whole while. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to where I'm from. I wanted Bom. I wanted things I'm familiar with. I wanted comfort and I wanted the old me back, the old me who lived care-freely with the only stress source being my life-threatening best friend and the apartment rent.

  "Yah," Soo Hyuk's alarmed voice finally brought me back. "Why're you crying?"

  I blinked my tears away. I must be crazy already. 

  "I don't know." I confessed.

  He exhaled, pressing his lips into a thin line before gathering me into his arms. "Don't cry for other people." He said quietly, almost as if he could read my thoughts.

  I need to pull my together. With the way I'm acting now, it's sooner or later that I become one of those whimsy crying girls I hate in the dramas.

[-]

   Dara had a guest waiting for her as she reached the gates.

  "Hey!" Seungri yelled cheerfully, stunning his guard as Dara looked up from the ground and stopped walking. It's late, what did the youngest prince want?

  "Hi." Dara mumbled lifelessly.

  Seungri flashed Dara the usual perplexed glance whenever she starts speaking in alien tongue. He decides not to ask what a 'hi' is.

  "There is going to be a dance ball in the palace that happens only once evey two years-" Seungri began to yammer on excitedly to Dara, who wanted nothing more than to snuggle beneath her blankets and recharge her positivity and bubbliness. She wonders why on earth is Seungri telling her about royal parties that she has no concern in.

  Seungri pauses and clears his throat, straightening his back while giving Dara a look of supremacy. "I'm offdering you a chance to attend it with me." He said generously, expecting the girl's explosive reaction, but her blank face greeted him instead.

  "What about your other concubines?" Dara sighs.

  Seungri scratches his head sheepishly, "Oh them... The thing is, I've already brought them there at least once so... I needed a new face and you don't look that- Oh Hyung!"

  Dara stiffened and turned around. The Ice Lord, clad in his usual attire and his sword, showed up but did not look at her. The guard in his eyes that Dara had seen when he is in the presence of the Crown Prince is up again, but this time, it was against her. She feels a small part of herself shrivel up and wither away. 

  "Its dangerous for you to be roaming around, Seungri. Especially during this period." Jiyong said monotonelessly.

   "I know, hyung." Seungri answered, all previous playfully gone from him as he returned his older brother a serious look. There seemed to be something that Dara doesn't know. "I'll be careful."

  "I'll send you back." Jiyong said flatly, but Seungri declined. 

  "I have guards with me. I'll be fine." The youngest prince said before turning to Dara, whose eyes were fixed on the fourth prince who is so close to her but yet, so far. 

  "Remember what I asked, Dara Park!" Seungri grinned with a twinkle in his eyes before he left.

  Jiyong watches silently until his younger brother was safely out of sight before turning to return to the residence.

  "You were there in town just now, are you?"

  The meek voice behind him rooted Jiyong on the spot. It stunned him for a moment, but he shook it off and took his steps again.

  "Jiyong!" 

  The hurt in that voice at his ignorance was blatant now and once again the young lord finds himself immobile. His throat feels dry and he feels vulnerable even with his realiable sword right at his grasp.

  "I wasn't." Jiyong said coldly.

  Dara winced in pain. Why is he denying it?

  "You did, I saw you." She insisted softly.

  Jiyong turned around, "So what do you want me to say about it?" He snapped irritatedly. If she's so sure that she had seen him just now, what's the point of making him admit to it? 

  He regrets saying that as son as the words slipped from his mouth as the girl's eyes widen with hurt. He shuts his eyes in frustration. What the hell is he doing?

  "I.. I'm just asking." Dara said quietly, tears threatening to well up in her eyes.

  "Dara..."

  "I'm sorry." Dara blurted out, surprising Jiyong. What is she apologising for?

  "Dara-"

  "I think I'm in love with you." 

  The words escaped her before she could stop it, and she gasped in shock. Jiyong could feel his entire body freezing up as he stared at the girl who looks utterly horrified with herself, tears rolling out of her eyes. 

  "I'm sorry!" Dara sobbed, her mind still in a state of shock. How did that just blurt out of when she has never been sure of it herself? "I'm sorry!"

  Jiyong stared transfixed at the unconsobly confused Dara, her tears crumbling him down. She looks so small and so fragile in the night. He remembers how she felt against his chest that night she barged into his room, drunk. She remembers her mumbling about how she's afraid that she wouldn't want to go home anymore. for the first time in his life, he feels his chest constrict suffocatingly.

  He took a step foward and pulled her into his arms. Dara froze at his sudden gesture and stopped sobbing. Within a day alone she had been embraced by two different people, but how is it that it feels so different?

  Jiyong buried his chin into the girl's shoulder, who remained catonic. He breaths in the scent of her skin mixed with the cold night air.

  "Don't." Jiyong says softly.

  Dara stirred a little in confusion.

  Jiyong shuts his eyes.

  "Don't fall in love with me, Dara."

well, This took pretty long.