We enter the room and that's when I realize it's their palace morgue. I look at Chaeryeong and she has the same expression that I have right now, confusion. A part of me knows why we're here but a part of refuses to believe it.
"Why are we here?" I slowly ask.
Beomgyu snaps his fingers and two guys pull out a body from one of the cabinet looking thing.
Once the body is out, they uncover the face.
"We were too late. When we got her, she was already badly beaten and was bleeding internally. We tried our best to save her but we couldn't" Beomgyu says with his voice filled with sadness.
"You're lying" Chaeryeong says.
I look at the face and it is Ryujin. It's her body. Her face. Ryujin is gone.
"That's why I canceled our meeting from before" he says.
"She's gone" I whisper to myself, still in disbelief. I was willing to risk it all for Ryujin but she's not even here anymore.
"You're lying. Ryujin wouldn't die that easily" Chaeryeong states.
"I'm sorry" Beomgyu says with his head down.
Chaeryeong breaks down crying while I'm still frozen, staring at the lifeless body in front of me.
"Yeji, are you okay?" My dad places a hand on my shoulder.
"I-I don't k-know" I stutter.
"I don't know how I feel. I came here expecting to see Ryujin and tell her I miss her. I want to see where things go between us but instead I'm seeing her like this" I say.
"I'm sure you and Ryujin would have been good together" Beomgyu says and I frown at him. Why would he say something like that to me? It's like throwing salt at an open wound.
Chaeryeong faces my father, "Your Majesty, I'd like to request to bring back Ryujin's body to your kingdom. Please, I'd like her buried closer to us. She is still has her sister with us as well, please."
I look at him, "Please, dad." All I can really think about is what could have been and how is Yuna going to take this news.
"It's not up to me" my dad says so Chaeryeong and I both look at Beomgyu.
"I'm sorry but I can't let that happen. You can bring Yuna here and you can visit here anytime. My kingdom will be open to you" Beomgyu states.
"Why can't we take her? She actually has family with us" Chaeryeong says clearly unhappy with what Beomgyu said.
"Because she was a part of my royal guard. She will be buried along with my other guards that have fallen while in service" Beomgyu says in a bit of an angry tone.
"We understand. My apologies for my daughter and her friend" My dad says to him.
"Dad" I look at him with teary eyes.
I hate how this happened. I hate that Ryujin went back to the south when she could have been here. I would have been okay without seeing her for the rest of my life if she was at least somewhere safe. I hate that this stupid king won't let us take Ryujin. I hate that I feel heartbroken but never experienced being loved or love someone.
"We have to go" my dad then says to me.
"I'd like a moment alone with Ryujin, please" I say and surprisingly Beomgyu allows it.
They leave me alone and I walk closer to Ryujin's body.
I really don't know why I wanted to be alone. Now that I think about it, it's kind of scary. What if she suddenly comes back to life and I'm all alone?
I stop myself from thinking such thoughts. I think I need to limit how much movies I watch now because my imagination is starting to be scary.
I want to say something but would it be weird to actually talk to the dead? I've seen people in movies do it but I feel like it would be awkward because it's not like they can actually hear me.
"Ryujin" I ignore my inner thoughts and actually start talking out loud, "Was I the only curious how you and I would be like in a relationship? Am I crazy for thinking that?"
"Why did you leave so soon? I know you mentioned about being together in our next lives but I didn't think you would take it seriously. Should I pull a Romeo and Juliet scene and follow you?"
"You promised right? You and I will be together in our next life. I really hope you're at peace and I'll make sure Yuna is taken care of and even if I can't, Chaeryeong is there" I joke.
"I must be going crazy to talk to a dead person" I sigh.
After a few minutes, Beomgyu walks back in.
"I think it's time for you to leave now" he says and I just nod my head.
I walk out of the room to hug Chaeryeong. "Princess, we got a message that Prince Yeonjun is at the palace waiting for you."
"What? Why?" I ask.
"Since it didn't work out with Princess Minju and Ryujin is gone then you need to start getting to know Prince Yeonjun to see if you two are a fit" my dad is the one to explain.
"Dad, isn't it too soon?"
"You and Ryujin were never together" he says.
"But she's my first kiss" I whisper.
"Kissing someone doesn't mean you're in a relationship" my dad states.
"I never said we were but I wanted us to be. I don't get how it's so hard for you to understand. When I was with Minju, I never felt the excitement like I did with Ryujin. I thought maybe it was because she saved me but when I saw her at Southern Kingdom, all my feelings of excitement and curiosity came back. I was so worried about her. Seeing her all bruised up and beaten made me react recklessly, dad. For jolly's sake, I was willing to start a war. She's the first person I showed interest in to be in a romantic relationship" I cry out.
"I'm not saying you need to be with Prince Yeonjun but you need to at least for a friendship with him. He will be King of his kingdom soon. We need allies and I'm pretty sure Princess Minju won't side with us. If his Kingdom along with Princess Minju's Kingdom joins the south then were done for because this Kingdom will probably stay neutral like it always has been" he explains.
"What if Prince Yeonjun wants something more and I don't?" I ask.
"We don't know whats gonna happen. You might end up falling for him" he says.
I sigh, feeling defeated. There's no way I'll win against my dad regarding this matter.
The car ride home was quiet. I'm somewhat upset with my dad so I sat in the passenger seat up front next to Chaeryeong.
Once we got back to my kingdom, our friends starts asking questions so it was really hard to tell Yuna that her sister is dead. We did tell her that Beomgyu says she can visit and we will go with her so she's not alone.
Lia isn't affected much by the news since she doesn't know Ryujin but she's making sure that our friends knows she's there for them still. Karina and Winter are taking it hard too. Even though Karina and Ryujin are not together anymore, it doesn't change the fact that they were together and once loved each other. While Winter isn't really in a relationship with Ryujin, they still became close friends and it's still sad to hear your girlfriend is dead even if it's not real.
Yuna, of course, is taking it the hardest. She lost her only family. She still has Chaeryeong but it's still not the same.
While they're mourning for Ryujin, I had to leave to speak with Yeonjun since he came all the way here just to see me.
"Princess Yeji" Yeonjun greets me as I enter the room.
"Prince Yeonjun" I coldly say. I don't want him to think I'm actually interested.
"My deepest apologies. I heard about what happened to your friend" he bows a little.
"Why are you here?" I ask.
"Ahh, I'm sorry for the bad timing but I've already scheduled to meet you and your father actually" he says.
"You're not asking for my hand in marriage, are you?!" I gasp.
His eyes widen, "What! No! Princess, I'm sure you're amazing but we don't even know each other that well, still. Even our time with Princess Minju, we still haven't gotten to know each other well enough for marriage."
"Sorry" I awkwardly chuckle, embarrassed that I assumed he will ask for my hand in marriage.
"Why are you here then?"
"I will be taking the throne for my kingdom soon and before doing that, I'd like to form an official alliance with your kingdom" he states.
"What? Why?" I ask.
"Do you not want to?" He furrows his brows and I realize I suck at this kind of stuff with official businesses. First I almost started a war and now I'm refusing an ally.
My dad walks in, "We would love to be allies with you but why so sudden? Do you know something that we don't?"
"It's nothing official but there's been rumors about the south planning to take over all of our kingdoms" Yeonjun explains.
"How can we trust you then?" I ask.
"You can't but I heard you went to the south so I'm sure you've seen Prince Lucas' temper. Once he takes the throne then he will plan to attack and he will not play fair. I'm sure you will be his target as well."
"Why would I be his target?" I ask.
"You stood up against him. Threatened to start a war, knowing he won't win against your kingdom without help. You embarrassed him."
"So? I embarrass myself all the time. You don't see me wanting to attack other kingdoms" I roll my eyes.
Yeonjun laughs, "It's a shame that Princess Minju didn't appreciate you enough."
I feel my cheeks heat up so I look away because I don't know why that made me feel something.
"Give it some time to think. I'm not looking for a definite answer right now. Speak of it some more with your council or anyone. I'll be looking forward to your decision" he leaves us.