"To think of it again, it is unreasonable. And childish."
Eunhee sighed at her youngest sister.
"Keeping him because father is guilty? That's ridiculous! He's led me into his trap, hurt Seungmin, and... and hurt me and Mina when we were kids, father is still not going to do anything? He's only mad when something happened to the economy but not safety!"
Eunkyung walked back and forth while her three sisters watched.
"Father is out of his mind."
"Hey," Eunji stifled a laugh at the remark. "You're stubborn just like father. Who goes fighting with her friend in the village?"
"At least I am helping them."
"And get injured." Eunji finished while nodding. "Understood."
Eunsoo lightly shook her head at the two. "How are we going to tell Yoongi oppa? The moment he knows the reason why he would come here and take action by himself."
"Just don't tell him." Eunhee muttered.
"It just doesn't make sense why he is guilty towards an enemy." Eunkyung, who was still not done with her frustration continued to pull her hair as if she was going to rip them out.
"They must be friends," Eunhee mumbled. "I remember Yoongi oppa telling me father used to have a friend but parted ways because of betrayal, something like that. Yoongi oppa doesn't know who, though. He heard that from mother."
"That must be Yunseo then." Eunji casually concluded. "Anything to add?"
"This is useless." Eunkyung said. "Really, really useless to talk about unless if we– no. Unless if I do something because it's not like you're going to do anything."
Eunhee shot her a glare, "Watch your mouth."
The younger scoffed, "No."
"You are acting like only you care about this whole thing."
"Isn't it true?" she taunted. "If I hadn't met Seungmin that night you would still be keeping secrets from me– you know what? I'm tired of talking about the same thing all over again."
Eunhee released her hand from the chair and approached her. "Then don't speak," she spat. "Don't speak like you have the authority to do everything when you have rebelled almost all of the rules here. Among us four, you're the odd one, you know that?"
The room fell silent.
Eunkyung stepped back when Eunhee stopped in front of her. The sister then continued, "All those unmatched behaviour for a princess, you realised you have put a bad image on our siblings yet you ignored it with the swording and fighting craps."
"Well, I don't intend to be weak like you."
Eunhee's eyes twitched.
"So now is taking a self-defense class for a princess is wrong? Sure. Help yourself when danger comes." Eunkyung coldly said. "And fight them on your own."
With that, she left the room ice cold.
༆
"You look really hungry."
Eunkyung looked up with her mouth full off the noodles she was savoring while Seungmin shook his head lightly. He gave her a tissue to wipe the corner of her mouth but she furrowed her eyebrows, telling him she was eating and wait a bit.
"Did you not eat?" he asked.
The princess munched and shook her head.
"Why?"
She hummed, "Like usual."
"Avoiding your family again?" he sighed. "What happened?"
"I started it." she shrugged and continued eating. Seungmin looked at her, feeling defeated. He couldn't count how many times he had sighed whenever he is with her. All the thing she does are questioning and sometimes dangerous and it seems like no one can stop her even her family.
The guy sipped his drink. He then noticed the cloak she wore. "That's a different cloak."
Eunkyung looked down to her wear and nodded, "I hung the one Sonia gave in my room. This one is... I don't remember when and how I got it."
"I've only seen you wearing that one." he remarked and put down the glass. He cupped the glass with both hands to earn warmth in the cold night. The princess replied nothing as she focused on his hand.
"And you no longer wear the glove." she just noticed it now. She didn't realise when did Seungmin take it off.
"I took it off long ago." he rubbed the scar with his fingers and hid it on the table.
"Why?"
"I thought I want to forget what happened years back so I hid it," he turned to her. "But you look so determined to repay what they did to Mina. Guess I'm here to help."
Eunkyung lightly nodded in understanding. "But you always prevent me from doing anything."
He chuckled, "I no longer do, do I?" the girl playfully rolled her eyes as she remembered how he always say her ideas are crazy.
"Also," Seungmin continued that caught her attention. "Because I got to know you in person, that I no longer have to know you just as a royal like everyone else do," he pursed his lips into a thin smile. "So why would I forget about it?"
—
After the dinner, they walked around since Eunkyung did not want to return yet. Yes, she blushed profusely when Seungmin said that but being here with him is better than staying home and facing her family.
The girl hugged her cloak tighter while looking around. There were stalls everywhere selling jewelries, fabrics and even handmade soaps. She took interest in wooden crafts that have paintings on it.
Seungmin took a look at a keychain she was holding, "Oh? I saw this the other day."
"You went here?"
He shook his head, "At the town with Minju a few weeks back."
Hearing the name, the princess put down the keychain and started to walk again, earning a confused look from him but he just followed her.
"Do you like crafts?" he asked and she shook her head. "Okay..."
"Everything here is boring let's just re-" someone bumped onto her rather hard. Seungmin quickly held her from any possible fall and frowned when the woman only bowed and yelled a sorry and left.
"Are you okay?"
Without replying, her girl grabbed his hand and followed her. The woman walked a bit slower than everyone around her yet she seems rushing. They trailed behind until reaching a secluded and a dark place. Seungmin began to pull his hand back to stop her.
"Your highness,"
"I know her," she said lowly, "She works at the castle."
Indeed, it was the old suspicious woman.
They peeked from behind a house when a figure appeared to meet the woman. Eunkyung squinted her eyes to see them clearly but could not make out their appearance. She dragged Seungmin closer to them and hid behind white fabric that was hung on a clothes hanger.
"....the king is putting... guards shift..."
Eunkyung was frustrated when she could not hear anything clearly. She looked up to Seungmin but he shook his head disappointingly.
"....nothing yet."
Eunkyung took out a recorder device. Seungmin had no idea why she brought it with her but did not bother to ask. However, as she turned it on the device emitted a sound that could be heard by people around. In a flash, Seungmin snatched the device and pulled her behind the wall to hide.
The old woman and the figure turned simultaneously to the sound to see no one near them.
"Give that." the princess whispered but he stuffed it in his pocket. "Hey–"
He covered her mouth with his hand and peeked out. He could see a figure approaching them. Seungmin looked around to find places to run but it was a dead end.
"Pretend."
Eunkyung tilted her head in confusion before she felt his big hands cupping her cheeks. Her eyes widened when he leaned in and said, "They are coming."
oh.
Without hesitating, she wrapped her arms around his torso to pull him close. The girl playfully pouted as if she was asking for kisses and grinned.
Which made him flustered just in seconds.
He unconsciously stared at the giggling princess who was hugging him. Her face looked so small in his hands that he felt like squishing them and maybe... kissing her. Frankly, it was tempting when they were at the close proximity and his heart almost jumped out of the rib cage.
The footsteps neared. Eunkyung hugged his neck and hid her face on his chest, hoping they will not get caught. But then they heard a man saying, "Tsk, kids these days." and he left.
Just like that.
Eunkyung looked to the side and unwrapped her arms. She peeked from behind the wall and saw the people were already separating ways. She went back to Seungmin and tugged on his arm, "They are leaving."
"Are you following them? It's still dangerous." he muttered.
"Why not?" she asked and then sighed when he gave a disapproving look. "It's already too late. Let's return home."
They walked out from hiding, finally getting some light from the stalls. "The food here is actually pretty good. Suddenly i'm hungry again."
Eunkyung kept on pulling his arm until he stopped walking right before they went out to the public eyes. The girl halted and turned, giving him a questioning look when he didn't speak a word.
"What's wrong?" she asked before Seungmin pulled her. The girl almost stumble on a pebble and held him as a support. She raised her head in confusion but then held her breath when realising he was staring, and not speaking anything.
She averted her gaze away. Suddenly the lips felt so dry that she had to subtly wetting them. Seungmin's gaze behind those bangs somehow made her nervous – the kind of nervous that you're excited to know what would happen next.
She couldn't believe she's actually anticipating for this.
What was Kim Seungmin doing to her? She had no idea.
Eunkyung cleared her throat and looked at him with an attempted normal face - when she was panicking inside. But before she could say anything, the guy beat her onto it.
"Can I kiss you?"
Her heart stop beating for awhile and the fact that he was holding her wasn't helping at all. His eyes seem so dim that she couldn't read anything. The princess grasped his shirt with her free hand and tip-toed to reach his level. He didn't look shocked or flinch which surprised her.
"A kiss..." she started as she wriggled her hand out of Seungmin's grasp and clung on his neck. The guy instinctively held her waist, waiting for her next word.
Eunkyung tilted her head to the side, "Pay for it."
He was struck with confusion.
"Pay?"
"It's not free for you to get a kiss from a princess," the corner of her lips curled up into a smirk. "Let's consider the first one was a free gift."
That made him giggle. He playfully rolled his eyes while snaking his arms around her waist, hugging her close. Eunkyung managed to maintain a challenging face on, interested in where this would go.
"How should I pay for it then?"
waIT IS HE SERIOUS–
Her smirk wavered a bit, flustered at the question. Seungmin raised an eyebrow, silently asking for an answer. Eunkyung wished she could slap the taunting look on his face and run away.
"Later."
"Hm?"
"I'm telling you the payment later," she smiled. "Until then you can't get any from me."
Seungmin chuckled before releasing her and ruffled the princess' hair. "I'm just messing around, Your highness."
Eunkyung blinked her eyes a few times, dumbfounded. M-messing around?!
"Let's return home now. Your family must be worried." he gestured her to walk first and she immediately left him. The girl silently grumbled with a pout and a sullen face.
"Don't lead him on."
"I'm not leading him on, Felix."
The freckled guy lightly scoffed, "Ever since he confessed you've never told him anything yet still keeping him close. Are you sure that's not it?"
"I'm not..." she muttered to herself as she remembered her conversation with Felix a few days ago. She glared at a dog passing by unintentionally. "I'm not leading him on."
"Watch where you're going." Suddenly, her cloak was pulled from the back. Eunkyung stumbled backwards until she felt a body pressed on her back and an arm slithered on her shoulder, hugging her from behind. Then two kids on bicycles passed by, laughter filling the air.
"They almost crashed on you." Seungmin remarked and let her go. Eunkyung could feel her chest was beginning to explode. She turned to him with an unsatisfied look.
"You cannot pull me just like that."
He raised an eyebrow, "Then should I push you towards them?"
"I mean–" she was lost of words. "What if this cloak is torn off? You'll have to sew it again."
"Oh," the guy nodded. He drapped both his hands on her shoulders and closed the gap between them. Eunkyung's fists clenched in front of her chest, surprised at the sudden gesture. The corner of his lips curled up into a smirk seeing her reaction.
"I should have done this instead."
By now, the princess has turned into a human sized tomato.
Send help.
༆
Days passed by. It wasn't long until they sat in the examination hall for the last day. During the whole week, Eunkyung visibly distanced herself from Jisung and sticked to Seungmin like a glue – even though Felix was not having it.
Fortunately, Jisung didn't do anything and did not even try to approach her. To say she missed him was an understatement but there's a bigger part of her fear him more than wanting to have him close.
Little did she know, he had been watching her from afar and raged inside whenever he sees her with Seungmin.
It was another day of Felix stopping the princess before entering the examination hall. The girl sighed as he opened his mouth.
"I couldn't find Arin."
This was unexpected.
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well, she..." he pursed his lips and looked away. "Since today might be our last day I want to tell her I forgive her but she wasn't here. I saw her in the morning though."
"Maybe she went somewhere else. We aren't in the same grade anyway." the princess shrugged. Felix looked around. His eyes were glued to a group of junior near the hall, revising the notes. Eunkyung sighed, "You haven't forgiven her yet?"
He shook his head, "I needed some time."
"Understandable," she said. "I would do the same if I was in your place. Just tell her after school ends. She must be gathering with her friends somewhere here later."
Felix remained silent. He slowly nodded his head and she left. It wasn't long until the speaker turned on, announcing everyone to get into the examination hall. The freckled guy however just waited in front of the junior's hall to see but he never saw her.
Weird.
༆
spoiler: we're not getting another kiss until the last chapter ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ