*Note - How Royals are addressed:
King/Queen - Your Majesty
Princess - Your Highness
Duke - Your Grace
Viscount - My Lord/Lord *last name*
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The fourth social event was a staple every courting season: the luncheon at the park hosted by the Duchess of Busan, Lee Sunmi. It was the one event that everyone would attend whether they were still single or were already being courted. No one would miss it because this was the event where people would announce their confirmed relationship since it was the penultimate event of the social season. By announcing it now, it would then make their first official event as a couple the prestigious Royal Ball and who wouldn't want that?
So as expected, gossip was at a high during the luncheon with people guessing not only which couples will have their 'coming out,' but more excitedly, who will come out heartbroken.
One unofficial couple in particular had garnered much attention: Princess Jennie and Duke Hansol.
Trying to keep her head straight, Jennie had met with the Duke whenever possible over the course of the next few weeks leading up to the social event and it didn't take long for everyone to notice. Their gatherings were always relatively simple as they began to learn more about each other, but Jennie will admit that she has actually been enjoying the man's company every time. Or at least for the most part. Jisoo's typical presence wasn't exactly helpful in building her relationship with Duke Hansol, so she always tried to make sure that the woman wouldn't cause too much hindrance towards the progress that she and the Duke have been making.
But to make matters even harder, when it comes to any individuals that were also in the spotlight, as it turns out, Lady Nayeon's words appeared to have come true as some middle and lower ranked men and women were now talking to the Princess' bodyguard. Of course, Jisoo would do her best to politely decline each time (and Jennie is pretty sure she knows why as a particular stylist comes to mind), but persistence held.
Every time Jennie was out in public with Duke Hansol, she never failed to see someone approach Jisoo too. There were even times when she and the Duke were out for a stroll and from the corner of her eye, she would see someone come up to Jisoo and then suddenly she would find herself stealing glances at the two of them rather than keeping her entire focus on Duke himself no matter how hard she tried not to.
What's worse was that each time this would happen, Jennie felt like her stomach was tied up in knots. Jennie knows that she shouldn't be feeling that way hence the fact that she always tries to ignore the woman whenever possible, which leads them to now.
"Princess Jennie?" Jisoo asks as the two were at a park bench quite far from where all the commotion was at, with Jennie sitting and Jisoo standing behind her.
"Yes?" Jennie replies begrudgingly.
"Didn't you say that the Duke was meeting you here? The luncheon started an hour ago and he's nowhere in sight."
"Are you bringing that up to humiliate me?" Jennie turns slightly so Jisoo was in her sight.
"Why, of course not, your Highness," Jisoo responds. "I'm just pointing out just another one of his flaws."
At that, Jennie scoffs, "Can you ever go a day without finding something wrong with the gentleman? Without fail you always have a negative comment about him."
"Your Highness, all I am trying to do is make sure that you know exactly who you are involving yourself with."
"And how would you know his true nature when you're too busy talking to some flirtatious follower?" Jennie bites back.
"Princess-"
"Jisoo, there you are!" A voice steals their attention, making their small fight come to a pause.
You've got to be kidding me, Jennie thinks.
"Oh, pleasure to see you here, Roseanne," Jisoo gives a slight bow and smiles at the new company. "What brings you here?"
Roseanne bows in greeting to the both of them before answering. And even though Roseanne lowers her voice, Jennie can still hear her, "Why for you, of course."
"O-Oh," Jisoo stammers out.
If they were in front of her, they would've seen Jennie roll her eyes. Thankfully, she didn't need to hear anything else as she spotted just the person she was looking for a few feet ahead of her. She stands from the bench, making Jisoo straighten up and follow her line of sight.
"Duke Hansol," Jennie greets once he's in front of them.
"Princess Jennie," the Duke takes Jennie's hand and kisses it, just like when they had first met. "I apologize for running late. I was having some-um... wardrobe issues." He lowers his voice at the next line, "I had ripped my pants when I had leaned down to pick up these flowers for you earlier."
Jennie bursts out laughing as she takes the flowers from the Duke and brings them up to smell, "Thank you, your Grace."
"Have you eaten yet, your Highness? I can grab you some food if you're hungry?" The Duke offers and Jennie graciously accepts.
"I'm starving, a plate would be wonderful," Jennie replies and the Duke heads towards the tables of food with a promise to try and not to take too long.
"Are you hungry too, Jisoo? I haven't eaten yet, so we can get some food together if you'd like?" Jennie suddenly hears Roseanne ask.
"I appreciate the offer Miss Park, but I can't leave Princess Jennie's side," Jisoo answers courteously.
"Oh, that's alright," Roseanne says in understanding. "I'll see you later then?"
Jisoo nods and once again all that remained was the Princess and her bodyguard. After a brief moment, Jisoo appears in front of her, "Your Highness, you should have told me you were hungry, I could have gotten you something ages ago."
"What happened to not leaving my side?" Jennie perks an eyebrow.
"I-I meant we could have gone together," Jisoo hastily corrects. "You should eat when you want to and not wait for some man even if he's a Duke."
"This again?" Jennie says incredulously. "First of all, I didn't wait for him. It's just that I wasn't that hungry until now. And secondly, my goodness, I swear you can't help but mention him every five minutes. It's always 'Duke this' or 'Duke that.' What do you have against him?"
"Well, what do you have against Miss Park?"
"She- She has nothing to do with this!" Jennie can't believe Jisoo would even ask such a thing.
"Oh, I think she does, your Highness. You think I haven't noticed all of the faces you make whenever she's in the room or with us? Or how you scoff or roll your eyes at nearly everything she says? How come you're allowed to have an opinion about my friend and I can't have one about the Duke?"
'Your friend' my !
"Those are two extremely different scenarios!" Jennie stands as the two go head-to-head. Thankfully, they were far enough from the rest of the crowd to which no one could take notice of their heated back and forth even as their voices started to raise.
"How so?"
"Because I-" Jennie stops herself.
"Because what?"
Jennie just grunts out in frustration, "I can't- I can't do this with you right now. I'm leaving!"
She starts to storm off and she can hear Jisoo follow behind her.
"Princess, don't be ridiculous-"
Jennie turns around with anger, "You're calling me ridiculous?! You want to know what's ridiculous? You meddling into my love life! What's ridiculous is you telling my father that you know what's in my best interest!"
"Oh! So now I'm the bad guy for wanting what's best for you!? For wanting... For knowing that you deserve so much more?!" Jisoo starts getting riled up now too. "I understand that you like the man, but-"
"Don't you get it?!" Jennie finally reached her breaking point, so she speaks out in frustration. "I don't like him, you jerk! I like you!"
In an instant, Jennie covers.
"Jennie-"
"Don't," Jennie's voice cracks and she starts backing away. "Don't follow me."
"But-"
"Call Jungeun to me home and tell the Duke that I'm sorry and I'll see him later. Just... Just enjoy the rest of the luncheon with Roseanne, okay?"
Jennie finally turns away with tears starting to stain her cheeks.
-----
The time has finally come for the grand finale of the courting season. It was the day of The Royal Ball hosted by none other than the King and Queen themselves.
"Good morning, Jungeun," Jennie greets when she's met with her secondary guard as soon as she opens her bedroom door.
Over the past month, this has become Jennie's new routine. Following their fight at the luncheon, Jennie was told the following morning that Jisoo had requested time off. The Princess assumed that her primary guard would only be gone for a few days, but then days turned into weeks and now to a whole month. And honestly, Jennie wasn't sure if she was relieved, sad or even mad about Jisoo's sudden absence.
"Good morning, your Highness," Jungeun bows. "I was informed to let you know a couple of things before you start your day. First, Miss Park will be arriving with your gown in a few hours. Second, the King and Queen would like to meet you later on to discuss your opening speech for the ball. And lastly, the Duke will arrive thirty minutes before the ball starts so the two of you will be able to enter together-"
"Has there been any news about Jisoo's return?" Jennie finds herself asking, maybe a bit too eagerly.
"Oh, um... Not that I am aware of, your Highness," Jungeun replies awkwardly. When Jennie's eyes fall, the guard clears . "Would you like to head down for breakfast now?"
"That sounds great," Jennie puts up a smile and straightens herself up. "Let's go."
--
Jennie plops down on her bed even though she's probably wrinkling her elegant dress. The ball hasn't even started, but Jennie already feels worn out for the day and the bitter coffee she drank that morning hadn't helped. The meeting with her parents went longer than expected, with her father constantly revising her speech to the point where it started to sound less like her and more like him. Thankfully, her mother often sided with her so Jennie's glad she won't sound like a complete robot when she has to speak.
Then, getting ready for the ball was a hassle in itself with putting on the gown, picking the right jewelry and getting her make-up and hair done. And to top it all off, the Duke was running late, again, with there now being only 15 minutes left before she has to make her entrance because, of course, the Princess cannot be late to her own event.
She props herself up on her elbows and her eyes unintentionally trail to her vase. Her empty-for-the-last-month flower vase to be exact.
Jisoo begins to flood her mind and in reaction Jennie falls back into her bed for the second time with a groan. The longer she is left with her thoughts, she increasingly grows desperate to hear a knock on her door to signal the Duke's arrival. Desperate for a distraction.
When the knock is finally heard, Jennie practically races to the door. She comes to stop, flattens her dress, and then opens the door calmly.
"He is waiting for you downstairs, your Highness," Jungeun says first, then offers her arm towards the Princess to her.
Once at the top of the staircase, her eyes meet the Duke's who was waiting for her at the bottom and the two share a small smile. As she and Jungeun make their way down the stairs, Jennie looks to the Duke a second time. However, she's caught off guard when she had suddenly pictured Jisoo in his place instead. Wearing her signature smirk that Jennie always found irritably charming.
But with a blink, her fantasy vanishes and now she's standing in front of the Duke with a smile that she isn't sure is as genuine as it was before.
They greet each other in polite swiftness and his apology is brief as they only have five minutes to spare. Soon enough, they reach the entrance of the ballroom and the royal trumpets sound off with a muffled voice stating their arrival. The doors open and the two share a smile in hopes to prepare themselves for the onslaught of attention they are about to receive. Seeing that they hadn't announced anything at the luncheon due to Jennie's unexpected early departure, people assumed that tonight was the night to announce their relationship.
Jennie gives her speech, garnering much applause and approval, and afterwards she socializes with all the guests at the party with the Duke at her side. Each conversation seemed to circle around their relationship, nothing explicitly said, but always alluded to. All of which always resulted in red-tipped ears and shy glances between them.
And as more and more people suggest that they would be a lovely pair, the Princess can imagine it. A life with the Duke. Their life would be easy. Simple. She likes the Duke, that she can very much say. And while she may not have such strong feelings for him now, she can see it happening. If she couldn't, why would she continue to spend so much time with him?
At the same time, she can practically hear Jisoo tell her that she's settling. And she shouldn't settle on chances.
But she can't let that get to her. So, she continues to imagine her and the Duke attending future balls together, dancing just like they are now.
"I'm glad I finally got the chance to dance with you, your Highness," the Duke reveals. "I must say you dance like a pro."
Jennie wants to laugh in irony at her fleeting moment of déjà vu as she recalls not only the person who she had last danced with, but also the one who last told her something similar. Instead, she continues the playful banter, "I'd say you're not so bad yourself."
They share a small chuckle and a smile as they continue to dance in tune with the music. And as they move, Jennie unconsciously compares him to her.
The way he leads is obvious, not natural like she was.
His grip on my hand is tighter, slightly uncomfortable. Not as gentle as she was.
The way I feel when dancing with him, it's.. it's not like when I had danced with her.
"You know," the Duke meets her eyes, breaking her thoughts. "I'm also glad because I think this was the first time I've managed to get alone time with you ever since we came in. And well... there's something I've been meaning to ask you," he trails as the current song was about to end.
Jennie knew this moment of the Duke asking to make their courtship official was coming, but so soon? Would she even be able to answer it without doubt?
"Princess Jennie, may I have the honor of calling you my-"
"Pardon me?" A voice cuts off the Duke.
The Duke looks to the person who had interrupted him while Jennie keeps her gaze on him. She didn't want to turn and confirm whose voice it was.
"Apologies, your Grace. I was hoping for a dance?"
"O-Oh," he responds awkwardly as he is thrown off by the unexpected interruption. "While I am quite flattered at the request, unfortunately I must decline."
"Actually, I was asking the Princess for her hand."
At that, Jennie turns her head and in front of her is the woman who has invaded her mind despite the many efforts to suppress it. And seeing Jisoo after so long, Jennie is instantly filled with emotion.
For the second time, Duke Hansol was taken aback at the bodyguard's words."I-I see...," he tries to play off without seeming embarrassed and looks to Jennie, "I guess it's up to you, your Highness."
Her gaze with Jisoo is locked as she tries to get a read at what could possibly be going through the guard's mind. Jennie knows she should decline, but something inside of her compels her to do the opposite.
"Let's dance," Jennie tells her and she separates from the Duke. As he makes his way off the dance floor, Jennie and Jisoo remain in a stand still. It wasn't until a new song had begun when they had finally approached one another with a bow and settled into proper position to dance. Just like all those nights ago, their hands connect and Jisoo's remaining hand finds its way to the center of Jennie's back while Jennie's other hand rests on the guard's shoulder. Their touch, their closeness, elicits a rush of electricity throughout Jennie's body.
"You two make quite the couple, your Highness," Jisoo breaks the tension first after a few steps.
"The Duke and I are not a couple," Jennie clarifies, before later tacking on, "... yet."
"Yet?" Jisoo raises a brow.
"Well, the night is still young," Jennie points out. "Plenty of time for just about anything to happen, don't you think?"
"I think that's something we can agree on," Jisoo grins. "Just about anything..."
Jennie hates the way Jisoo speaks and smiles at her with ease, as if the last month had never happened. As if Jennie had never confessed. And to be quite honest, Jennie had been angry the moment she heard the woman's voice. She hates it and she wants Jisoo to know it.
"Why are you here?" Jennie asks through gritted teeth.
"Isn't it obvious, your Highness?" Jisoo tries to tease.
"No, it isn't. Maybe it would be if you hadn't just left without a word," Jennie bites back with resentment.
"Princess-"
"No, Jisoo. You don't get to come in here after disappearing for a month, make me dance with you and then try to talk to me as if you hadn't."
The two continue to dance as if nothing was wrong.
Jisoo opens to speak, but Jennie continues, "Sure. I confessed to you and I know it probably shocked you. It shocked me when I let it slip. But- But that doesn't mean I deserved the cold shoulder."
"Okay, I'll admit that I shouldn't have reacted that way. You didn't deserve that and I'm sorry," Jisoo says. "It's just when you told me... you didn't even give me a chance to respond."
"Would it have even mattered!?" Jennie finally separates herself from the bodyguard with force, having had enough. "It's quite clear how you feel, Jisoo. I may have ran first, but you ran away too. For a month. Hearing any type of response now would just be pointless since the message is clear. So, spare me this once."
Jennie, now feeling overwhelmed, makes her way out of the ball and she doesn't even care that everyone's attention has shifted to her for an entirely different reason now. High on emotion, she wipes the tears threatening to fall and storms away to wherever her feet take her as her only goal was to get away from Jisoo.
Jennie eventually finds herself resting on a bench at the flower garden, her one place of true comfort. She's able to feel at peace for a few moments until she hears those haunting footsteps approaching her side.
"After all these years of asking, Jisoo," Jennie looks up at the sky, her voice tired. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"You know I can't do that. It's my-"
Jennie scoffs, "Please. You need not remind me of your job description."
Jennie thought she was done venting all of her frustration, but it turns out she had more to say, "I thought you hated balls so why did you even come tonight, huh? Of all the freaking nights, you ruin the one night where the Duke was going to ask me to be his girlfriend."
"As if you were going to say yes," Jisoo says sharply.
In an instant, Jennie moves in anger to stand in front of Jisoo and the two begin a stare down.
"You think I won't?" Jennie challenges. "I could march right back in there and say yes!"
"But not because you love him!" Jisoo stresses. "You want to know why I came here tonight? It's to remind you that he isn't good enough! That you deserve more than a guy who can't show up to things on time!"
"Give me a break! How many times do I need to tell you that you have no right to meddle in my love life?!" Jennie's voice starts to rise as well.
"My god, Jennie! Why can't you just ever listen to the people who actually love you?!"
"Oh!" Jennie laughs in disbelief. "So let me get this straight! You have made it more than clear that you don't like me, but somehow! Somehow you love me?!"
"Of course I love you, Jennie! I've loved you since we were sixteen," the bodyguard admits, making the atmosphere freeze with only their heavy breathing from yelling to take up the noise. Jisoo sighs, "And there's nothing I can do about it because at the end of the day, you're the Princess and I'm just your bodyguard."
Jennie turns mute at Jisoo's words.
"The moment you told me that you liked me, everything became real. I would tell myself that each time you tried to kiss me, it was because you were caught up in the moment. That you couldn't possibly think of me that way. So when you confessed, it gave me hope for something that I- that we couldn't have," Jisoo looks at the ground. "So I realized that I had to get away. I had to separate myself from you because it finally dawned on me that my feelings started to get in the way of how I conducted my job. And I can't be reckless. Not when your parents entrusted me to protect your life."
"Exactly," Jennie finally says, her voice breaking. Jennie lifts Jisoo's head by the chin so they can look at each other again. "You're already going to be in my life regardless, so would it really make a difference if you were still by my side... but as more than just my bodyguard?"
"But our statuses," Jisoo pouts. "It's practically a given that a Princess shouldn't be with a mere bodyguard."
"So that's what's been holding you back all this time?" Jennie asks softly. "You know, a long time ago I told you something," Jennie reaches up to caress Jisoo's face. "That life would be too boring if you don't break the rules."
Jennie takes a step back and offers her hand, "Break the rules with me, Jisoo."
----- 25 -----
"All rise for Her Royal Highness, Princess Kim Jennie," the priest says.
The music starts and Jennie begins her walk down the aisle arm-in-arm with her father. Jennie is anxious as she silently repeats to herself not to trip on her white wedding gown in front of practically all of Korea. She looks down the aisle to find a source of comfort and first sees her two best friends smiling brightly at her in happiness and encouragement. Then, she spots her mother sitting in the front row, wiping away the tears pooling in her eyes. And lastly, her eyes eventually land on her fiancé who wears an eye-crinkling smile while trying to hold in tears at the sight of Jennie. Just the thought of her fiancé suddenly bursting into tears and looking like a complete baby on national television calms Jennie down.
Soon enough, her father releases her and grabs onto her fiancé's outstretched hands so they could face each other. Their eyes meet and they can't hide their smiles at one another.
"You may now be seated. We are gathered here today to witness the love of...," the priest's voice begins to fade as Jennie starts to reminisce about the past four years.
She knew this day would come and was over the moon that it had finally arrived. The night of the Royal Ball had, as cliché as it sounds, completely changed her life. That night was filled with heartbreak and love, but it all seemed worth it as she stands in front of the person she'll have by her side for the rest of her life. She was in love and the whole world seemed to have loved their love too.
Their vows are heartfelt and sincere to the point that there wasn't a single person with a dry eye in the room just like herself and her fiancé.
The priest looks to her fiancé as she says the final words, "You may now kiss the bride!"
Jennie is pulled into the long-awaited kiss and she can't help but melt into it. Even after all these years, each time they kiss, it feels like the first time as it makes her feel weightless as her heart flutters.
"I love you, Kim Jennie," she's told as soon as they break apart.
"And I love you more, Kim Jisoo."
-END-
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All Rights Reserved to the original author: rv_twice5 (on Asianfanfics)