"The crowned prince has arrived."
The door opened. Yoongi walked in with two guards guarding behind him. He followed the red carpet until reaching the king who had a surprised look on while talking with one of the knights.
The oldest child bowed. He eyed the knight who was talking to the king and he immediately left. The king furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "What are you doing here?"
"To let you know it's time for you to take action, father." he stood firm on the floor. "I heard Eunkyung has been caught, and there's still no progress?"
"You cannot come unless if I tell you so, Yoongi!" the king raised his voice. Because of this, his daughters in the main office could hear the commotion. Eunhee quickly got out and ran down the stairs when seeing her brother.
"Oppa!"
"Get into your room, Eunhee."
However, the princess did not listen. She engulfed Yoongi in a hug and the brother did the same. It wasn't long until she pulled it away and stood next to him.
"You cannot hide me from Yunseo until the world ends, father. You are not going to take action towards him so I am here to change that."
Eunji appeared from behind. She had a wide smile on before hugging her brother, "Welcome back."
Yoongi nodded once as his attention was still on the king, "Any news about Eunkyung?"
"Yes, there is," Eunji chirped in. "Seungmin and Felix came earlier because yesterday two men raided the hospital to search for Seungmin. They went ten o'clock from the back of the hospital."
The king snapped his head towards her, "Why didn't they tell me?"
"I stopped them." Eunhee replied. "Because you would follow your guilt sense and let Yunseo go again, just like other times. He had put Arin in danger and now Eunkyung, but because of your guilt, he is still free out there."
"Min Eunhee," the king growled but Yoongi put an arm in front of her.
"Let me take care of this, father." he simply said before his voice echoed, "Knights!"
A maid shivered behind the pole when seeing the knights gather around and listened to Yoongi's command. She held the paper in her trembling hands tightly.
"I thought... the paper is still here? W-when h-how did the crowned prince come so f-fast?" she stuttered when knowing the paper she was holding was a command from Yunseo. She just got it around thirty minutes ago, but Yoongi is already here?
"Ah... should I give this?" she contemplated but then a hand snatched the paper away. The woman gasped when she recognised the tall princess with her signature blue tiara on top of her head, "H-her royal highness,"
"So you're the one who my sister talked about," Eunsoo calmly spoke while opening the letter. She read it with a glance and chuckled softly, "You must know where Eunkyung is right now."
The maid shook her head in fear. She instantly kneel down and rubbed both palms together as she whimpered, "P-please your highness I did not know m-much about his plan and where t-they are right now I swear! Please princess please,"
Her facial expression fell from smiley to void. The princess crumpled the letter and threw it next to the begging woman, "For how long?"
"Your highness, I promise I will not–"
"How long have you been working for him, I am asking you."
Her voice brought shivers. The calm and soft spoken princess she knew suddenly disappeared, replacing it with someone she did not know. For years she's been working at the castle, this was the first time she saw Eunsoo like this.
"F-five years."
"Get up."
The maid got up slowly but then flinched when the princess grabbed the back of the collar and brought her to the center, "Guards! Lock her up in the dungeon. She has been working with Yunseo for five years and this letter arrived today," she held up the crumpled paper and showed it to the king, "He wants to see Yoongi oppa."
"A-and Kim Seungmin." the maid added but then quickly slapped her hand over her mouth.
Eunsoo scoffed when she outed herself like that, "And Kim Seungmin. Lock her up."
"W-wait Your highness! Princess Eunkyung promised m-me not to do anything–"
"That's Eunkyung for you, lady," Eunsoo turned to her with a raised eyebrow, "She's good at swords but not at punishing people, unlike me. We are the total opposite."
Two guards came to bring the stunned woman away. A few moments later they could hear screams and it was shut along with the door. Eunsoo then faced her father who still could not do anything to stop the knights from listening to Yoongi.
"There might be a few more people in this castle that are working for him but you wouldn't realise it even until today," she said in disappointment. "Just investigate other workers here, father. We will take care of this."
With that, she followed Yoongi and the others into the meeting room, leaving the king standing there alone.
༆
Felix put down the cup on the table after taking a sip. He hoped for the girl to say something but she just blankly stared at the untouched drink. It was a good day to take an evening stroll and have tea at the café near the riverview, but knowing they were not really on a good term, she felt like burying herself in the ground.
"How are you feeling?" the freckled guy initiated the conversation again. This time, Arin nodded while timidly looking up to him.
"Better, I guess." she muttered.
Felix hummed. Arin could not say anything more so she drank a bit of her tea and looked to the side, admiring the riverview and the bridge a few metres away from her.
"Did you know about Eunkyung?"
"Princess Eunkyung, you mean?" she asked back. Felix nodded and she let out a small oh, "You're calling her just by the name. I assume you're close with her..."
"We are friends."
"I see..."
Felix sighed. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table, "Do you want me to repeat the question again?"
This was definitely not the Felix she used to know.
Arin quietly shook her head, "I know what you wanted to hear but I myself, do not know who were the kidnappers and where was I. I was blindfolded all the time. I thought they were dad's rivals but they didn't ask for anything."
He furrowed his eyebrows, "How did you get kidnapped then?"
"You told me you want to meet me that day."
"What?"
"The paper in the locker. It said to meet you during recess behind the school so I went there."
"I did not..." he suspiciously looked at her. "I mean, I did want to meet you but I didn't leave any notes in your locker, and I don't even know where was yours."
Arin's mouth was agape. "Then...?"
"Was it Jisung?"
"I don't know. All of sudden I was knocked out and found myself in pitch black. I didn't even hear anyone's voice. Just muffles from outside the room," she explained further with her shaky eyes. Just by remembering it scared her, "That was... traumatising, really. I thought it was you because of the thing that happened but I know you wouldn't knock me out and kidnap me like that. Then after days, I don't know how many days, they suddenly brought me to a forest and the next day, Princess Eunkyung was missing. Is this a kidnapping series?"
Felix fell silent at the girl's long speech. He blinked his eyes with mixed of confusion and shocked.
Well, he did not expect Arin would talk to him this long after a few days of zipping her mouth shut. The girl had already leaned forward as well as she anticipated for answers from Felix. Their faces were a few centimetres close; one blinking her eyes hoping for answers while another one tearing his gaze away.
"I... don't know."
Arin sighed. She leaned back and played with the cup's handle. "It makes me wonder until today. Why would they kidnap me all of sudden and Princess Eunkyung afterwards? Do I have some relations to her or what? All I know is the king is closing the border because of the killer but what do I have to do with all of this?"
Felix remained silent at the question. His mind went through all sorts of flashback, starting from his childhood until his current life. He knew Jisung since he was ten, but he wasn't sure if Jisung knew him.
and if he knew, did he take Arin because of me?
or he just randomly kidnapped other people?
His head hurts just by thinking about this.
or maybe he kidnapped people for fun to see if the king actually do something? just like what seungmin said?
The thoughts were killing him. Their motives were not clear.
"Have they found anything about Princess Eunkyung yet?" Arin asked with worry displayed on her face. Felix shook his head. "Why? Shouldn't they have since I was taken for a few days? They cannot be moving out to a new hideout in just a day."
The guy just gave her a sad smile. His heart ached at the thought of the people being blinded by the king's kindness. None of them realised his selfishness and guilt. If it were not from Seungmin and Eunkyung, he would be one of those fooled people.
Felix let out a small sigh, "The people in the castle didn't, but Seungmin and I found something," Arin tilted her head in curiousity at that, "That's why, Arin-ssi, even though there are knights everywhere around you keep your guard up still, because you cannot trust those people. Even the closest one."
"What are you talking about..." she muttered.
He got up, "Thank you for your time, anyway. I'll see you around."
Arin just watched as the guy walked away. She could feel her heart clenched ever so lightly at the somewhat cold demeanour.
"So he just meet me to interrogate me?" she asked herself as she got up to leave. "He said he wanted to meet me the other day, did he not want to tell me now? What a cold guy."
The girl silently groaned as she kicked a pebble out of her way. Arin looked to the front and expected him to vanish from her vision so that she could throw fists into the air, but otherwise happened.
Felix walked back towards her.
Arin stood there until he stopped in front of her. She blinked her eyes twice, "What?"
"Do you want to get some blueberry muffins? For your siblings as well."
Oh my, a butterfly was released in her stomach.
༆
Next to each other, the two walked awkwardly in silence.
Arin held her plastic bag that contained a few blueberry muffins tighter, as if someone from behind was tip-toeing to steal her food. She often glanced to the back and brought the plastic close to her chest.
This did not go unnoticed by Felix. He glanced every now and then and when she stopped to look back, the male stood in front of her. Arin almost screamed when realising how close their gap was but Felix's eyes glued to the front.
"What are you looking at?" he shoved his hands in the pockets and raised a brow.
"Nothing." she chirped.
"You look jumpy," the guy remarked and they continued walking. "There's no one spying on you so you can stop hurting your neck."
She looked down in embarrassment, "That's so easy for a guy to say."
Felix remained silent.
Arin let out a small sigh, "Aren't you supposed to search for the princess as well?"
He shook his head, "Other people will do it. I have other work to do."
"Like?"
Her question was replied by the wind.
"But you're here with me though."
"I know, thanks for pointing out the obvious." he gave her an insincere smile.
The girl pursed her lips and nodded her head nonetheless. She felt her blood boiling but how could she be mad when he just treated her five huge blueberry muffins? Arin had a feeling that Felix was still mad about what happened between them so she did not ask further.
Until they reached her neighborhood area, the sun was setting. People started to return to their home and turned on the lamps at the main door. Felix looked around and said, "There's no one suspicious, see?"
"I guess you're right," she kicked a pebble as a habit while walking at a slow pace. "I was being paranoid."
"Next time bring someone else if you're going out, at least until the king opens the border again."
Arin nodded her head. They arrived at her house. The window was still open so she went to close it from the outside. Just then she turned around, and found Felix talking to his walkie-talkie,
"My job is done. She's home now," he reported through it. Arin blinked her eyes in confusion as the corner of his lips curled up into a teasing smile, "Can I join you guys now or stay behind to look after her?"
"Stay behind, that's better."
Arin's face flushed red at the answer from the other line. Felix's smile grew wider. He took a step closer to her and spoke through the device, "Got it, Kim."
"W-what was that?" she stuttered nervously.
The male raised both his shoulders, "You heard that."
Furrowing her eyebrows, she asked again," Was sending me home the work you mentioned earlier?"
Felix just hummed, thinking, "Are you having dinner with your family or alone?"
༆