promise ↜ ljn

♕ thirteen

The whole kingdom congratulated her as a newcomer, they were glad, excited of her presence. The princess was indeed touched by the warm welcome. Throughout the night, the whole castle spent themselves enjoying the celebration.

It was her last night, her final time seeing her parents before they leave and head back to her previous kingdom. Haneul felt sad, but only a little. She was never attached with her parents in the first place so their separation barely meant anything to both of sides. Still, she had so much respect towards them.

"You'll do fine, won't you daughter?" Her father asked and she smiled, bowing her head a little. "You always do." He placed a hand on her cheek, the only affection she had ever received from her father ever since she was little.

Her parents might be rulers, but they were never good with words. She knew they loved her as their daughter but at times she wished they would say it to her. The princess wanted to say something, anything she could to her parents but as always nothing came out of her mouth.

"Cousin!"

A loud exclaim disrupted the family's conversation as Haneul turned to look around at the familiar voice. A young male was walking rapidly to their side. When she first looked at him, she couldn't tell who it was until he walked closer and she realised it.

"Donghyuck!"

"Forgive me, Your Majesty." He stopped next to her and bowed to her parents. The two of them then excused themselves from the King and Queen before she pulled him in for a hug. "Congratulations on your wedding." He exclaimed as he spun her around by surprise.

Haneul started laughing as she truly missed her only friend since childhood. "Sorry I couldn't make it to the wedding, you must've looked beautiful." He placed a hand on her head. "I always do." Haneul replied with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"So, where is the man who captured your heart?" If she could laugh, she would. Haneul wanted to tell him how twisted her life had become but her dear cousin didn't need to keep more secrets which they shared so much before. Instead, the princess chuckled bitterly. She took his arm and they headed to the centre where everyone was assembled.

The two started catching up on updates of their lives that they missed so much. They haven't seen each other for almost five years. "Would you like to dance? Like we used to?" Donghyuck suddenly questioned and Haneul couldn't be more happy to accept.

She remembered how the two of them would always use one another as dance partners. They were close since little, even now. Donghyuck was always that cheerful cousin, he was barely serious or at least she thought she acted so around her. He once tricked a princess by telling her Haneul was his fiancée because he couldn't find any other way to shoo her off.

The two waited until the next song played and they started dancing along with the rest of the people. Of course, some payed attention to them as the tiara on Haneul's head was quite obvious of who she was. They were curious of Donghyuck's identity.

As always, she would find a way to ignore them and in this case, she got through by the small chats she had with her cousin. "You don't look happy for someone who just got married." He stated. "Do I?" Haneul asked herself as well. "Did they force you into this?" Donghyuck asked, referring to her parents.

"No, it was my choice." Haneul said but she couldn't hide her feelings. "Was it one sided, then?" He asked again and the princess couldn't help to chuckle. "It wasn't." She replied. "It feels foreign for me, I'm worried." She gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll get use to it, you needn't to worry."

As they were absorbed in dancing, they hadn't realise the song had finally come to an end. Everyone else on the dancefloor stopped dancing and bowed to their respective partners. Haneul and Donghyuck were close to making their leave when someone placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping both of them on their tracks.

"Forgive me for interrupting, but may I ask my bride for a dance?"

Donghyuck wasn't hiding anything, he was scanning the male for any flaws he could pinpoint but there was none. He smiled at Yoon Oh before placing her hand on the prince's palm instead. Though Donghyuck might be playful, he was a prince as well. He bowed slightly before leaving the newly wed together.

The two of them started dancing as soon as the song played. Only this time, more people paid attention to them instead of joining them. Of course, Haneul tried not to divert attention to them but on her partner instead.

"Are you not going to ask who he is?" She suddenly asked as she realised Yoon Oh might've felt jealous at her cousin's presence. "I won't if you don't want me to." He replied. "He's my cousin." Haneul almost rolled her eyes at how arrogant guys can be.

"He seems feisty." At his comment, Haneul couldn't help but to laugh. "He's a great fighter, you can say that. He trained me." She admitted but she couldn't help but to hint the uneasiness coming from her spouse. "Perhaps I hinted some rivalry in you, my prince?" She teased.

"Perhaps I should be." Yoon Oh replied and the two broke into a laugh. He was kind, indeed he was. If she ended up falling for him, she wouldn't be surprised. No one would be.

〚 王 〛

"Take care of yourselves."

Haneul bid her parents goodbye as they got into their carriage. She was surprised her mother even kissed her on the cheek for the first time in her whole life. They weren't ready for this separation either. "Please care for her." Her father said, looking Yoon Oh directly in the eyes as the prince nodded and gave the king his words.

She ended up watching the horses riding away, taking her parents in the carriage. Haneul felt sad for this separation, it was her first time feeling such thing. She threw a smile a Lula who seemed to be noticing the fall in her expression.

As she turned around, she noticed both the King and Queen, as well as her groom was not there anymore. Jeno was the only one who stood behind her, the only one who waited for her. Of course, Haneul didn't want to cry in front of him. She pulled her lips into a smile instead.

"Will you be alright?" Jeno asked and again, his comments never fail to lighten up her mood. "I will." She stopped short. "Since you said you'll take care of me." Haneul grinned before walking next to him.

"We didn't dance yesterday." She mentioned as she recalled last night's party. The princess failed to find Jeno at all. "That's because another prince was all over you." He replied and instantly she thought of her cousin. At his reply, she laughed it off.

"Do I sense jealousy in you, my prince?" She teased as she peeked to see his expression. "I'm certain he's not my match." Jeno retorted, sounding arrogant as he wanted to. "Actually, he knows more about me than you do. In any case, he's winning—"

Her words were cut off when Jeno pecked her on the lips. "He certainly won't be able to do that, would he?" He grinned. "Victory is mine." He added before laughing it off. Jeno took her hand as they both headed into the castle. Unfortunately, they had to release their hold on one another as it was only appropriate for everyone else to not know about them.

It was disappointing, that they couldn't end up with one another. Haneul wanted a second chance, but that was just impossible.

〚 王 〛
🐾im dead
MC JENO JUST KILLED ME