Author's POV:
"May I know why I've been invited for horse riding again?" You asked as Taehyung shrugged, "Mother wanted to apologize to you for the current commotion. It's also better if you don't scroll the internet."
"That's 2 day-old news." You said as he cleared his throat. His cold face shone without any sunlight. You wondered if there was a hidden sun within his beautiful face.
"Maria had missed you, I guess," Taehyung spoke, patting Maria as you smiled at her.
"Hey, Maria. Nice to see you again." You said to the horse, staring at her with the kindest smile ever. And Taehyung couldn't help but feel strange. The more he saw your smile, the stranger reactions occurred within him. At this point, he tried not to even look at you properly. He was becoming scared of being attached in any way he didn't intend to be.
So were you. You looked at him, feeling your heart beating faster and gulping. Should you have avoided this meeting? But you couldn't. You felt excited when he asked you about it.
"Let's go." He spoke, getting on Maria. He forwarded his hand again as you stared at it for a moment before holding his hand. It felt so right now. Your skin tingled at the feeling as he helped you up. Your back slightly touched his chest and you felt jittery everywhere. What the hell? You shouldn't like this contact.
For some reason, you felt as if he was closer to you this time than the previous one. His hands were touching yours slightly as he held the lead rope. You felt engulfed in his arms, his scent all around you, all over you.
You were sitting there all stiff when he spoke, "Maria is well-balanced, you saw it. Relax."
A soft sigh escaped your lips when he leaned in closer, his chin slightly touching your shoulder. You wondered what he was doing until your eyes went to his hands.
He was securing the rope properly. But so close to you. You could hear his breath.
You fiddled with your fingers, feeling uneasy. You squirmed a little when he backed away.
He noticed it and looked at the back of your head, and your fiddling fingers. He gulped, looking away. Just now, he could've just fixed the rope without leaning so close to you. Why did he?
Soon, you both were travelling around the forest and near the Palace's tracks. You smiled when you saw an adorable cat meowing at you both.
"That cat is so adorable!" You said as Taehyung hummed, "His name is Theo."
"Huh? You know that cat?"
"He lives behind the Palace... sometimes in my room when he succeeds to sneak in." He spoke. You turned your head around, looking up at him. He looked down at you, your faces so close it made you notice his lips even better.
He had a mole, a very small one on his nose. Another on his cheekbones.
But before you could notice further, he cleared his throat, causing you to look away.
Oh, he didn't frown this time.
You didn't realize when you both started talking again, this time, it was better than before. He spoke of different things in his life and you talked about yours.
"Are you sure you never had that food? You're a royal."
"I've only had the high-quality dishes our chef and famous chefs make. I never really ate street food."
"Considering that I'm more normal than you. Wow." You said.
"Are those good?"
"Very! Hmm, you know what? Let's go out one day. Wait, our engagement is still a month away. I'll take you on a street food hunt. There's so much you can do out there!"
He looked at you blankly as you smiled, "Trust me on this, it'll be great!"
He nodded, looking away. As soon as your head turned back, he smiled, feeling excited about whatever you said. He didn't know what it'd be like but he was excited. A feeling of ecstasy filled him as the scent of your rosy shampoo hit his nostrils.
—Next day
"Hello, your Highness." You smiled at Taehyung as he got out of his SUV. He wore a mask and you wore sunglass with a hat.
"Ugh... this is annoying." He spoke, seeing the ruckus around. You giggled and continued, "That's the fun in a commoner's life. Come, I'll show you!"
You would've held his hand, running around with him following you but you were aware of your actions. So, you didn't.
"Are the guards following us?"
"No."
"Thanks for taking a huge hint."
You grinned and turned around, ready to walk. Taehyung smiled underneath his black mask, knowing well no one would see him if he did smile now.
You brought him to food stalls, making him try out fishcakes, chicken balls and street tteokbokki. He seemed quite eerie about this at first. As if this was a haunted movie and touching anything was dangerous.
"Isn't this good?" You asked him who had his head hung low while he savoured the tteokbokki. He hummed, "This tastes nothing like what our chef makes."
You thinned your lips at his statement but he spoke further, "This tastes... better."
You let out a laugh hearing him. He noticed the crinkles around your eyes, the way your mouth was stretched into a huge smile.
"How do you know all these?" He asked.
"I've come here often with Mina... after I returned. I was abroad for a long time but Mina and I visited Korea sometimes. Mina is still in the US but I'm here so... I came here alone too. It was hard to remember at first but now it's quite familiar. So I brought you here too!" You smiled. He listened to you quietly as you bit your lower lip, feeling a little awkward.
"Did I talk too much?"
He looked at you, his mask down. And he smiled, again. This time, his teeth showed. He was almost grinning.
"It's okay. Even if you did." He said. You felt as if someone punched right through your heart when he smiled at you, just like that. God knew if you were hallucinating but bright shining stars and sparkles must've sputtered out of his smile because you could see floating glitters around him. Your head was nearly spinning.
This wasn't any ordinary smile. It made your heart wrench and at the same time, made you smile yourself.
He cleared his throat, looking away.
"Your smile is so beautiful.." You whispered. He raised his brows, looking at you quite baffled.
"Whatever.." He cleared his throat, not knowing why your words sounded so sincere. Of course, his smile wasn't as beautiful as you said. Maybe, you were just bluffing. But the way your eyes sparkled and your smile radiated pure admiration, he wondered if you meant it.
You realized how exposed you seemed right now, and you quickly looked away, "If we're done then let's go do something more! Come with me!"
He frowned when you ran towards a building nearby. It was a small building named 'Photobooth'. He followed you quickly, entering the building and into a room.
You turned around a few times, making sure he was there.
You both entered a room and stood in front of the machine, you took out some cash, and put it in the machine. Taehyung quietly stared.
"I've seen this in dramas." He said.
"Good for you. Let's click pictures now!" You grinned. He looked away as soon as he saw that happy face of yours. His heart was beating loudly. He coughed a little, feeling this heavy sensation deep in his chest.
You both stood together as you said, "If you don't want to smile, then... pose well. You're good at that."
You took the photo, clicked the remote and pressed the button, smiling widely. You looked at him to see his frown and sighed, "You can also not frown, that looks good too."
He gulped awkwardly, looking at the camera.
"Say cheese!" You smiled, leaning towards him a little as he looked at you, the photo clicking. He looked away, feeling himself smile. Why was he smiling so much today? He remembered your words, 'Your smile is really beautiful.'
'You'd look more approachable if you smiled.'
And unknowingly, his face lifted a little. He didn't smile completely, he still restrained himself but he looked quite happier now. He didn't even know it until the photos came out. In one, he stared at you deeply, with full concentration. You hadn't noticed it yet because you were busy keeping the remote back. He quietly sneaked the picture into his pocket.
He was a prince and whatever he was doing right now was very...
But he didn't want you to see this picture. It was obvious his eyes were looking so... full of emotion in a type of way he didn't want to interpret.
When you both went out of the photo booth, he suddenly took out some money from his pocket, making you frown.
"Mhm... so, you treated me today. Here... I'm a prince, you don't need to pay for my things." You raised a brow at him, looking at the money in his hands.
He forwarded the money as you let out a snicker.
"You're talented in pissing people off. When someone offers something, just take it quietly. Don't talk so much. And what if you're a prince? I'm rich too." You rolled your eyes, walking away.
"Hey. I don't like being indebted."
You turned around, stopping in front of him as you looked up, tilting your head.
"You're not. You treated me to breakfast one day... and took me to horse riding and archery. Only spending money doesn't mean doing something for someone. What matters is your actions." You said, watching his face turn a little thoughtful.
"Let's go." You both walked around for some time, grabbing some hot chocolate. You both played around for some time and a few times, while laughing, you didn't even realize when you hit his chest lightly. But when you did, you felt a little awkward. You wondered how his laugh would sound. You were curious.
He fixed his collar as you both sat inside the car, after hours of having fun. You stared at his neck veins, swallowing a lump. His scent was all around you and you didn't mind it one bit, you loved his scent. It was royale, high class and lush.
The car started as you looked at Taehyung, seeing his eyes closed. He was resting while taking calm breaths. You leaned in a little closer, noticing his face. A soft smile appeared on your face. He was so good-looking, it made your heart feel full. Yet, some sort of longing existed.
You leaned in really close, trying to notice how many moles he had. Was he asleep?
You kept staring at his face, many thoughts occurring in your head until you saw his eyes open. His eyes stared right into yours making you gasp. You tried to back away but he held the hem of your coat, his intimidating gaze straight at you.
You hiccuped once as he asked, "What are you doing?"
His voice was raspier than ever and made your stomach churn. You gulped, "N-Nothing... I was just... oh, nice moles."
He frowned a little, staring at your face. He noticed your dark eyebrows and then your nose. His gaze stopped at your lips as he licked his own. You gulped as he left your coat, letting you sit back. You moved away, smiling a little, feeling all sorts of emotions bursting within your heart.
Taehyung held his chest, staring outside the window. His heartbeat was so loud.
———
You looked at the emoji Taehyung sent for the first time. '😐' This emoji. Well, it did suit his behaviour. But it was adorable at some point.
By this time, your engagement was just a month away. You were already being pestered to go shopping and you heard invitations were being sent already. A royal engagement, of course, came with lots of extravagances.
And holy grail! Mina was coming back to Korea for the wedding.
You were absolutely in awe. Finally, your best friend would be here. She wasn't missing this royal wedding after all. You were excited that she was going to come.
And you were still confused about how you felt about the wedding. Were you really going to marry him? Was there any reason to? Why did he even agree?