A Royal Mess

Part 15

A week has passed in a blink of an eye.
For the past seven days, I've done everything I can to  communicate with Taehyung. I've tried visiting him at the garden, yet he's never there or he's managed to hide himself every time I come by. I've searched & waited for him near Jungah's room in the morning, in the hope of bumping into him, but he never shows up as well.
Right now, I'm already at my wit's end.
Should I give up on our friendship? Should I just let him be?
But then, I think back to the times we spent together. Taehyung is my first & probably only friend in this place. He genuinely cared for me & had helped me so many times.
No, Y/n. You have to talk to him & clear up the misunderstandings.
"Huh.. I should try looking for him at the garden again before I go to Jungkook's room this morning." I sigh as I wear my gown.
Court Lady Ji has stopped coming to help me ever since I started serving Jungkook again.
Nevertheless, I have no problem getting ready on my own now. I've grown accustomed to doing my hair, wearing the heavy gowns, & putting on some light make up as Court Lady Ji has taught me.
"Which necklace should I wear today?" I mutter to myself as I open the jewelry box on my dressing table.
Right then, I remember my mother's necklace, which I put away in the drawer that day I met the queen.
I quickly take it out & observe its dull glint.
"Hmm.. this used to be shinier. I don't think it'll match my dress. Oh well.."
The necklace falls with a soft clunk as I drop it back into the metal box. In the end, I choose a pearl-beaded necklace with a dark blue jewel pendant that Jungah gifted me & wear it around my neck.
As I head out the door, my foot steps onto something.
"Daffodils?"
The bright yellow flowers lie on the floor, tied together with a piece of twine. The blooms are so fresh that I can see morning dew glistening on the petals.
Tae must have placed these here. So does that mean that he's forgiven me?
I squeal internally in delight & run towards the garden with the bouquet in my hand.
As I expected, Taehyung is there, carrying the gardening tools out from the shed.
"Tae!" I call out.
He abruptly turns towards, his brows instantly knitting into a prominent furrow.
"What are you doing here?" He asks flatly.
I'm taken aback by his unwelcoming tone. He doesn't seem pleased to see me at all.
"Uhm.. Hi.. Do you have time to talk for a moment?" I hesitantly ask.
"No. I'm busy." He hoists the shovel onto his shoulder & walks away.
"Please. If you don't talk to me now, I'll keep coming back until you do." I snatch his wrist & spin him around.
He glances at my hand & slowly raises his eyes to my mine. I gulp as I try to hold his gaze to show him that I'm serious.
"No. I won't talk to a traitor like you." He says through gritted teeth & shakes off my grip.
"A traitor? Isn't that too much? All I did was ask the prince to apologize to you for his past action & I did it for you!" I exclaim in exasperation.
"For me? You did it for me? Oh jeez, how kind of you. Then should I say thank you?" He snickers.
"Taehyung! I'm trying really hard to salvage our friendship! Why do you have to make it so difficult?!"
"Because you've become one of them! Look at you! You even dress like them now. Do you know how much the people suffer to pay tax just to buy that necklace around your neck?" He spits.
My hand inadvertently goes to the pendant on my chest to cover it.
"And have you heard yourself? You're defending that bastard, who attempted to assault you, who tortured me for years! No matter how much he begs for forgiveness, I will never ever forgive him & so should you!"
"You don't understand. He saved my life! And after I got to know him, I realized that he wasn't as bad as I thought he-"
"That's enough. Leave." He cuts me off.
"Tae-" I step forward, but he raises his palm to stop me.
"Fine, if you won't leave, I will." He grabs the shovel & stomps away.
"If you walk away now, I won't chase after you." I threaten.
We stare at each other for a long moment before he turns away & leaves without saying a word.
My heart clenches watching his furthering back. I feel like a significant part of me is being slowly carved off. It's torturous, yet I'm still mad at him for refusing to listen to my explanation so my pride won't let me run after him.
I've tried so hard, but he doesn't even give me a chance to explain myself. Then, probably, I should stop trying.
Thus, I harden my heart, turn on my heel, & walk away.
-•-
I'm quite surprised that I don't shed a tear after the altercation with Taehyung. Maybe I will later, once it sinks into my brain that our friendship has officially ended. As for now, I feel numb.
I mindlessly wander around, letting my feet choose the direction for me. The conversation I had with Taehyung keeps replaying in my head.
Am I the one who's at fault? Am I a traitor like Tae said? Is it wrong to feel thankful towards Jungkook? If Tae was so angry at me, why did he send me flowers? That doesn't make sense.
Without realizing, I've reached Jungkook's room.
Huh.. Let's think about that again later.
I huff & press my palm against Jungkook's bedroom door, but someone pulls the door open from inside right before I push it.
"Your Highness?" My eyes widen when I see Jungkook at the door.
"I- I thought you weren't coming." He lowers his head & stammers.
"You can walk?!" I exclaim in surprise as my eyes scan him from head to toe.
He is indeed standing on his own two legs, without any support. Additionally, it doesn't seem like he's struggling at all.
"L-Let's talk inside." He swings his arm, signaling me to step in. So, I do.
I still can't believe my eyes. The man who could barely sit down on his own yesterday is walking next to me.
"Since when have you started walking again?" I ask, my tone accusing.
"Uhm.. since two days ago." He rubs the back of his head while still averting his gaze.
"Then why did you pretend that you had trouble to even sit on your own? Were you playing me? Were you even hurt at all?!" My voice rises with every word.
"I was! In all honesty, my back hurt like hell for the first few days. It's just- uhm.. the injury wasn't as bad as I told you."
"So you acted like you got heavily injured to make me feel bad. Is that it? Was it fun watching me suffer from guilt? Was it fun playing me?! Oh God, I can't believe I fell into your trap again."
Feeling deceived, I hastily retreat towards the door with an intention to leave.
"No! Listen to me. I didn't pretend to be sick to make you feel guilty. I did it- I did it because-"
"Because what? Because you enjoyed watching me pointlessly bending over backwards to help you recover from an injury that you'd never had?!"
"I did it because I like you!" He yells, his voice booming over mine.
My heart stops for a fraction of second.
This can't happen. He can't like me.
"N-No, you don't. You must be mistaken. You don't like me. I'm just a lowly peasant-" I frantically ramble.
He takes both of my hands & jerk them towards him, causing me to look up into his eyes.
"I know what I feel. I like you. A lot. I've never felt so strongly about anyone before. Never have I ever felt the urge to protect & be close to someone so badly. You are the first one." He says, his eyes tender.
It would be a lie if I said that my heart didn't flutter at all. However, the thought of the implications of him being romantically attracted to me crushes all the butterflies inside my stomach before they even have a chance to fly.
Seemingly noticing my concern, he abruptly releases my hand.
"Don't worry. I promise I won't force you to like me back. It's up to you whether you want to accept my feelings or not, but please give me a chance to prove myself to you. Don't reject my attempts to win your heart. Please?"
I should say no, especially after what happened with Taehyung. If I agree to this, then I'll truly become a traitor. I'll become one of them.
"Y/n? Are you listening?" Jungkook shakes my shoulder & searches my face.
"C-Could you give me some time to think about it?" I finally say.
"Of course. I'm not in a hurry."
"Thank you." I nod, not knowing what else to say.
"Btw, do you like the flowers?" He points to the tiny bouquet which I've been clutching without realizing.
"This?" I raise the bouquet & ask.
"Yes. Do you know what's the meaning of daffodils? It's unrequited love."
"W-What?" I stutter in shock.
Oh God. So, Tae likes me too?
"Yes. Do you know who placed it at your door?" He purses his lips, like he's stifling a smile.
I do. But I can't tell him that it was Taehyung, right?
"Uhm.. I don't know."
"It was me." He grins.