𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄! 김선우.

chapter six

soon enough, the sun had risen again, signalling the start to another tedious day of work. 

throwing on something quick, i hopped out of my room and to the study, only to find yet another giant pile of letters on my desk. i had assumed with the announcement of the ball, i had received letters from possible suitors, attempting to woo me through well-thought words and metaphors. sadly, it never worked. i was sure that if at least one of them sounded like an interesting person, the prospect of the ball would seem less dreadful, but to my disappointment, no letter seemed worth the time and energy of me reading it.

however, as i sorted through the pile, i came across a letter from jiwon. 

she said that she would be delighted to come and design me some pieces. she was going to come later at 5pm to take my measurements and find out what sort of clothing i was looking for. 

squealing inside, i jumped in my seat. finally, something interesting! the notion of bursting out of the usual mundanity of my routine spread my with an intangible excitement for her arrival.

i had also been sent a letter from this prince called bae joonyoung. he had told me to adress him by a nickname, namely jacob, and said that he was one of the princes that were going to be at the ball and wanted to clear up some things before meeting. apparently, he was friends with kevin so he had a rough idea about our situation. at this, i breathed out a sigh. if he was friends with my brother, he must be at least sort-of interesting. 

he was eloquent and understanding in his words, giving me the sense that he was more than just someone asking for my fortune, but rather someone asking for my heart. 

he intrigued me.

sadly, the thoughts of jiwon and jacob had to flee my mind as i rushed to my next schedule.

<3

after a while, it was nearing 5pm, so i went to my room and changed into something more appropriate for meeting jiwon. which was pretty much anything other than a big poofy dress.

while that was what i was expected to wear, i didn't want to make that sort of impression on her. i wanted her to see me as a regular person.

although it was proper for my to be dressed in my royal attire, i decided against it. i didn't want her to view me as a royal, but rather a friend. 

i changed into a combo of black cargo pants, a cute pink floyd band shirt kevin had brought from canada for me and a starfish shaped-necklace.

hearing a knock on my door, i mustered some confidence and called, "come in."

she slowly, yet tentatively opened the door, bowing as she addressed me.

"please, you don't have to do that. you're older than me after all." i joked, "i want you to feel comfortable around me. imagine i'm just you're friend. i tried to kind of be casual with the outfit today. did it work?" i asked.

"y-you look cool?" she complimented using lower speech, sort of sounding like a question rather than a statement.

"thanks." i chuckled, "should we get started?"

"ah, yes." she answered while getting out her tools so she that could check my measurements.

after this, she did as she usually would and recorded her findings.

"its an honour to be making you something. i am so grateful for this opportunity." jiwon smiled.

"i will come again in two days after evaluating what type of outfit i want to compose for you."

frowning, i realized she was about to leave.

"wait, please stay," i reasoned, "maybe we can hang out for a while? only if you want to of course."

grinning widely jiwon agreed.

internally, i sighed. with jiwon here, i would no longer be alone.

grinning widely, i asked, "so? what would you like to do?"

"anything i guess? not sure. what do you usually do when you're bored?" jiwon asked, curiously.

"well, i hang out with my brother and read books usually. reading is my favourite activity because it lets me travel to a whole new world without the problems i'm facing. it lets me see the world through a different lens and it shows me things i cant see through the window of my bedroom."

"woah," awfully, she responded, "that's deep." at this, i laughed hysterically.

what's she so funny for? i wondered.

this was a new experience for me.

nobody (apart from kevin) had actually ever made me laugh that much.

is this what friendship is like?

after a while, we just decided to aimlessly converse as it seemed like an excellent way to get to know each other as talking with jiwon was entertaining enough.

during our talk, i had found out (well, re-found out) that her biggest dream was to study fashion professionally, but her family didn't have enough money to send her to fashion school, that she had a brother called jisung and that she really liked singing.

i told her i wanted to hear her sing one day but she refused profusely.

shame.

she seems like a good singer.

having jiwon around was like having a very needy dog. cute, friendly, attentive and kind. with her, i felt freer. even just her presence invoked a new, more bubbly, side of me. i liked it. 

even for just a moment, i was able to escape the large void that surrounded me. from darkness, she lead me to a whole new world of light, a world in which i was free to express myself without the responsibility of being a royal. 

i wanted to feel it again. 

and with her coming back in a few days, hopefully, i would be able to.