"Clever as the Devil and twice as pretty."
Cause you made a little too much money to be twenty and sad.
-I Lost a Friend by FINNEAS
In the heart of Sykaria.
"SO, PRINCE, should I expect to be called for round two?" The girl who had graced the prince's sheets the night before asked, having finally put her clothes on.
"Aw, honey. I'm really sorry, but I don't hire the same girl twice. If it's any concession, you were amazing," he consoled the girl, buttoning his perfectly ironed dress shirt after a shower, "Jeongguk will show you out, alright?"
"Uh, your Highness, about the, uh—" the blonde scratched her head, adjusting the hem of the thin slip dress she'd come in.
"Jeongguk will compensate for your silence, don't worry. Just name your price," he ran a hand through his hair, holding his bedroom door open for the woman. He found this part of the entire affair the most awkward, even worse than sleeping with someone who's name he didn't even know.
Throwing on a coat to cover what should be left to the imagination of her customers, she scrambled out of the room.
He sent a quick text to his secretary-cum-bodyguard, informing the younger man of his work. Not like he needed to anyways, for Jeongguk was well versed with the prince's drill.
Hire a new girl every few days, pay her off to keep her mum and his reputation intact.
He wasn't proud of this, but didn't care. A man had needs, but he specifically didn't have the time to fulfill them. Especially the responsibilities that came along with it.
He was a prince, the face of Sykaria.
Surely not the average twenty-four year old.
He sat at the foot of his bed, scrolling through the latest news.
Prince Park Jimin's long awaited vacation update features a selfie taken at the Sykaria City Airport. His Highness expresses how much he has missed the ambience of Sykaria through his latest Instagram post. The entire caption was, "No matter where I go, who I meet, what I see, it's nothing compared to my beautiful country. I've missed the amazing smell of our June flowers, the cool breeze reminding us that monsoon is about to start. Most of all, I've missed my amazing people. Europe was great, but I'll always come back home, to my motherland."
Yet again, our beloved Prince has stolen the hearts of every Sykarian with his sweet words.
The last social media update before this was over a month ago, leaving us with no knowledge of our Prince's whereabouts. All that being said, we're glad to see our Prince again.
The most eligible bachelor in our nation, he is the sweetest prince we've ever—
The subject of the trending article couldn't read anymore. Tossing the phone away with a quick flick of his wrist, he fell backwards onto his king sized California bed.
He couldn't stand to see how amazing people thought he was. They didn't know that the prince they saw was barely the tip of a vast iceberg, one that stretched for hundreds of feet underwater.
If they knew the truth, they'd never look up to him the way they do now.
"My prince!" His loud-as-shit friend cut short his mental soliloquy.
"It's too early in the morning for your voice to exceed a hundred decibels, Jin," the prince groaned, sitting up on his bed.
"You grouch," his older friend sneered, "It clearly wasn't early enough to send girls flying out the window, was it?"
"What else should I have done? Ask the woman I paid to sleep with me to come to breakfast with my father?" He roared, annoyed at his nosy companion.
"Jimin, Jimin. You're too crabby," Jin shuddered, plopping down on the royal bed, "You're so much more skittish than usual. Are you sure you didn't do something stupid?"
The Prince of Sykaria internally scoffed.
He didn't just do something stupid, he did her over and over again.
And guess what? He'd do her again.
"I didn't," he got up and walked into his attached balcony, tracing the perfect bone white wall with his fingertips. He stared outside at what had been the most beautiful sight he'd seen in his entire life, until Greece.
"Oh, you lucky man. Snagged some Greek goddess, didn't you?" He gave him a slow once over before breaking out into a silly grin upon seeing his friend's faltering facade, "Hoseok's a flipping genius. He's never wrong. That's why you went off social media for a month too, right?"
Jimin sighed.
Probably for the first time in his life, he'd gone totally MIA for a whole month.
He couldn't help it.
That woman, Aphrodite had consumed his entire being with her stunning honey eyes, diverting him from what he loved most: his people. Somehow, she'd managed to reach deep down and pull out the Park Jimin who believed in himself.
He'd spent a whole month with her. A whole damn month. That was more time than he'd ever spent with one woman.
Even he didn't understand this sudden change of heart.
"Piss off, Seokjin."
"After all I've done for you, you ungrateful shit toad, you couldn't even get me a tan, ripped Greek god. I shouldn't even be talking to you right now," he humphed, turning on his heel and storming out of the room.
The platinum blond male shook his head, wondering where in the world his imbecile of a friend got such creative expletives. Probably in the same place he picked up the guts to speak to him in that manner.
Jimin didn't mind. Jin was probably the only person apart from his father whom Jimin would consider as family.
He'd practically grown up with him anyways.
The prince rested his hands on the metal railing of his balcony, staring at the gorgeous expanse of land that he'd gladly give his life for.
Taking a deep breath in, he admired the familiar landscape, the way the ring of hills surrounding the city sloped into the large dams and lakes. He specifically loved the greenery and painstakingly precise layout of the roads his forefathers had designed. He'd spent months, if not years reading about them.
He left his balcony, the most serene place in his room, to start with his duties for the day. It was ten in the morning, and he'd barely gotten out of bed an hour ago. Impending doom grew on the horizon, for he needed to complete his morning tasks before Jeongguk caught a whiff of his tardiness. He was a prince, he had more work to do than an outsider could imagine.
He sat at his mahogany wood desk, pulling out the checklist he'd made for the coronation. Rhythmically tapping his fingertips against the plastic board, he began to tick each task he'd completed.
Venue...check, booked six months in advance.
Transfer of assets...done.
Invitations...printed and ready to send out.
Hire an event planner...that was something his father was in charge of. He was yet to consult him regarding the status of that one.
He chucked the designer pen off to a corner of his desk, slammed his writing pad down and called for his secretary before heading to the king's private chambers.
"GOOD MORNING, dad," he called out as soon as he saw the king sprawled out on his favourite armchair, books, papers and empty cups of coffee splayed about around him.
"Morning, Jimin," his father gave him a toothed smile, beckoning him to take a seat, "What's that you have there?"
"It's for the coronation. I need a confirmation on the event planner. You spoke to him yesterday, right?" He asked, making himself comfortable on the sofa beside his father's.
"Her. She just landed in the Sykaria City Airport yesterday, so I gave her until today to read the contract. She ought to be here in about—uh, what's the time now?" He slipped his fingers under the heavy crown resting on his head, scratching the skin underneath. Jimin could only imagine how itchy the Royal crown was.
"It's ten-thirty, dad," he replied, gently lifting the crown off his father's head and cradling it in his lap. He chuckled at his father's nervous habit.
"Ten-thirty? Well then. If she's a woman of her word, she'll be here in half an hour," he smiled, ruffling his sons hair.
"Dad, you shouldn't have given her the contract before I got to meet her. How do we know if she's any good—" Jimin began, tone nasal and complaining.
"Trust your father for once, Park Jimin. I'm a decent judge of character," he stifled the boy's protest, "Plus, she planned that wedding in London. You remember CEO Moon, right?"
Jimin eyebrows nearly reached the celling.
CEO Moon's wedding was the single most beautiful event he'd ever attended, and that was saying a lot.
If this woman put together something that gorgeous, he had no doubt in her caliber.
"Exactly what I thought, son. Mark my words, she is amazing. If you still don't believe me, wait here until she comes," his dad shrugged, confident that the decision he'd made was a hundred percent foolproof.
Jimin knew his father was right. This woman was perfect, but his pride wouldn't allow him to admit that. Since the idea of the coronation arose in January, he'd spent every moment planning it up until his father had forcefully sent him on vacation. He'd protested, obviously, but had no choice in the end. This was very, very important to his motherland, and thus, to him too. The man breathed for his nation.
"Prince Jimin?" Jeongguk asked in an undertone, voice small enough for barely anyone to hear. He would've missed it if he wasn't as accustomed to picking up faint voices.
"I'm in here," the prince called out.
Jeongguk entered the king's chambers, announcing the arrival of the event planner.
"You're going to have to eat your words, son," his father snickered as the shiny wooden doors opened wider. Jimin was just about to snigger in reply when she walked in.
His jaw might as well have hit the floor.
It was her.
Aphrodite.
Enrobed in a white business suit, she looked formidable. The disparity was uncanny. He was used to seeing her in comfortable sundresses, swimsuits. Hell, the sight of her wrapped in nothing but linen sheets plagued his mind all the time. This, was a totally different version of his daydream.
This avatar of the woman he couldn't get out of his head had him enchanted. She looked regal and he was the royal one. Hair combed off her forehead into a high ponytail and upturned eyes gleaming with confidence, she seemed more elegant than ever. She hadn't noticed him shamelessly gaping at her yet, and was greeting his father.
Kang Ambrosia, on the other hand, had her thoughts strewn across the vast spectrum of stuff that could possibly go wrong. Ranging from coming off as incapable or having her incredibly uncomfortable skirt split at the seams in front of the king, she was a hyperventilating mess. Of course, no one could catch a hint of the storm raging inside, she was an expert at maintaining a poised demeanor.
"Good morning, Your Highness," she bowed down, tightly clutching her tablet to her stomach. She'd stayed up until three in the morning last night, preparing for her second meeting with the royals. She wasn't keen on messing this up.
"Morning, Miss Kang. It's a pleasure to meet you again," the king smiled at the young woman, gesturing for her to take a seat. Her eyes were trained on the ground, suddenly feeling inferior seeing the sheer power these four walls enclosed. This time, she was too anxious to even stop and gaze at the palace gardens.
"This is my son, Park—son, what are you doing there?" He frowned at a young man who'd dashed off to a corner of the room, back facing them. She squinted her eyes, realising that his back profile was something she was all too familiar with. Unable to place exactly where she'd seen that mop of hair before, she pushed it to the back of her mind. She had more important issues to deal with right now.
"Anyways, Miss Kang, I hope you've read the contract by now," the king began, in an attempt to divert the topic from his son to the matter at hand.
"I read the contract yesterday, and I'm more than overjoyed to take this on. Having the ceremony at the city chapel is a very good idea, for it has a lot of scope for innovation. The royal gardens is a great place for the celebration afterwards..."
As she spoke, her eyes travelled to the platinum haired man whose back was still to them. She picked up unmistakable hints of red in the skin of his translucent earlobes. He seemed to be communicating something to the man who lead her here, in exaggerated hand gestures. Bringing her focus back to work, she flashed a collected smile at the king.
"If it's not a hassle, Your Highness, I wish to discuss my working environment with you," she began, feeling sheepish the minute the words left her mouth.
"My work here ended as soon as I hired you, Miss Kang. Anything you need, ask my son here. He's in charge of this event," he turned around and shook the man's shoulder, who was still trying to send silent messages to the suit clad man behind him,"and quite frankly, knows much more about this than me. If you excuse me, I really need to get to the Royal court."
He stood up, bringing everyone to attention position. I got up and bowed down, mumbling expressions of gratitude.
"Jimin, I have no idea what's gone wrong with you today, but please snap out of it. You need to focus," he squeezed the unknown man's white cuffed shoulder, patting him slightly on the back before leaving the room.
"Prince Jimin?" Ambrosia leaned forward, once it was only the three of them in the room. His cold demeanor had made her incredibly self conscious. Maybe she'd not used enough concealer under her eyes and now her eyebags looked like they needed their own zip code. Or maybe her legs were riddled with unshaved patches and now looked undeniably like the surface of the moon. Or maybe, her skirt had indeed split at the seams.
Either way, he hadn't glanced at her even once. It must've been something she'd said.
"Jeongguk, clear my schedule for today," the man ordered, paying no heed to the girl. His hands were in his hair, pushing it off his forehead. From behind, she couldn't help but compare the little locks sticking out to the backside of a porcupine. The black suited man, who seemed like his secretary, left immediately with a sharp nod of his head.
She regretted not getting Yoongi along. More than a secretary, he was her literal ambrosia, a calming salve for her ever worked-up nerves.
"Miss... Kang, wasn't it?" He cocked his neck from side to side, as if he were preparing himself for something unpleasant. He walked to the large desk in the far end of the room and melodiously drilled his fingertips on the wood. She watched him with keen interest, perceiving his every move, yet unable to recognise them.
"Yes, Your Highness," she stood up, deeming it impolite to remain seated, "Forgive me if this comes off as rude, but have I done something to displease you?"
"Displease me?" He whipped around, leaning against the desk whilst clutching the trim of the wood tightly, "Displease me, Aphrodite? You never called!"
She met his eyes and everything rushed back to her faster than the winds blew over the Ionian Sea. Endless sleepless nights, counting the infinite stars in the inky sky, deranged drinking competitions, matching the freckles on his cheeks to form constellations more dazzling than the unpolluted skies of Greece had to offer.
It was as if the very breath had been knocked straight out of her lungs.
"Adonis?" She managed, her voice ten octaves higher than usual.
"Why didn't you call? I gave you my number, didn't I?" He repeated, slamming his fist onto the wood, eyes blazing in anger. Ambrosia wasn't scared. Not in the slightest. Just shaken up so badly, she'd lost the ability to form sentences.
"I-I thought it was just a summer fling—" she murmured, voice higher than the lead vocalist of the opera house she'd planned a few months ago.
He was a stark contrast to what she was used to seeing her summer paramour dressed in. Her Adonis was always clad in loose shirts or baggy monochromatic T-shirts. They truly brought out his mesmerising eyes and sharp features.
But this, this combination of a white button down with black dress pants, was killer. This ensemble did justice to his not-too-muscular upper body, pronouncing his sloping neck.
She pulled her eyes away from his body to finally meet his.
"I clearly remember telling you that this wasn't over yet, Aphrodite," he cut her off mid sentence, making her lose her cool. If there was anything she hated from the bottom of her heart, it was people who interrupted her. Especially when she knew she was right.
She steeled her nerves, gritted her teeth and balled her fists in preparation to call him in out for faking his name when she remembered. She'd faked her name too.
That wasn't enough to stop the surge of anger-driven adrenaline coursing through her veins. She opened her mouth to speak.
"I'm sorry, Adonis, uh, Prince Jimin, but this is my workplace. I'm not discussing my escapades here," she folded her arms across her chest.
His narrow eyes, glinting orbs on fair skin, darkened into two strokes of black ink, "So what if this your workplace? I'm not asking you to do anything to jeopardize your work. I'm simply asking you why you never called," he walked back to the couches, in the same agonisingly perfect stride she'd admired for a whole month, "I've gone crazy waiting for you, Aphrodite."
Painstrickingly surpressing a sigh, she clenched her fingers hard enough for her nails to form deep crescents on her smooth palms. She closed her eyes.
She couldn't sit talking to her summer affaire when it was time to work. Even if she was working with said liaison, she had to get back to it.
"May I discuss my working environment with you as His Highness requested?" She raised an eyebrow, completely evading the topic. She had no intention of revealing her true name to him anytime soon.
He didn't seem to take this well, for his chocolatey eyes had gone from deep brown to obsidian, "Miss Kang, if that's the way you want this to go, then so be it. Let's discuss the modalities of this commission," he shrugged, tone carrying a dangerous edge of satire.
Gulping loudly, Ambrosia began, "I have a few conditions, all of which are non negotiable. I hope we can come to an agreement on the same, Prince Jimin."
"Go ahead. I'd like to hear these demands," he gestured for her to take a seat, "And please, Miss Aphrodite, call me Jimin. We're close enough to establish a first name basis, I'm sure."
"Yes, uh, Jimin," she pronounced it slowly, savouring the taste it left, "I've mentioned them in the contract, in order of priority. Shall I read them out?"
His head tilted upwards, giving a sharp nod before sitting down.
She began to recite them, "During my work hours, I require complete privacy. No one shall enter the venue without prior notice of at least half an hour. For the first few weeks, I shall be running blueprints, caterers, flower arrangements, stage designs, seating layouts, sound effects, colour palettes and schemes, themes, menus, lighting and many other things by you and the king. I will provide a little form before each testing, which you will have to fill in so that I know what your preferences are."
"I think you already know what my preferences are, Aphrodite," he cocked his head to the left, supporting it's weight with slender fingertips. She caught sight of his thin silver bracelet again, eyes lingering on it a few seconds too long to understand his well hidden innuendo.
Matching his eyes with a baffled expression before getting the gist of what he actually meant, she snarked, "Save the crappy pickup lines for your royal showerhead, Jimin. I'm sure the toilet brushes would make a more receptive audience."
She recalled the time she'd caught him practicing cheesy pickup lines in the shower one morning with a grin. It was probably a couple weeks after they'd met and she needed some soap.
He narrowed his eyes, lips pulling up into a little smirk, indicating that his mood had lightened from before, "I accept both your conditions. Is there anything else?"
Mentally patting herself on the back, she continued, "I am a professional wedding planner with no interest in politics, administration and world issues. I have never been to Sykaria before or read about it, thus, I will need someone to give me a brief history of the country so that I can create appropriate themes for the coronation."
He nodded, "I figured you weren't well versed with world politics. You didn't recognize me at the bar, anyways," pointing at his chest, he continued, "I'll be your, uh, guide, per se, to our country. I've had to study our history, culture, our forefathers, administration and politics in detail, so I'm certain you won't find a better teacher than me."
"Thank you, Your Highness, uh, Jimin," she bowed, stuttering, "If it's alright with you, I'd like to start my tour today."
"That's great. Let's begin with a tour of the royal grounds," he stood up and trode over to her. Holding his arm out for her to take, he gestured towards his elbow with his head.
"Sure, Your- uh, Jimin," she sprung to her feet. Staring at his arm, she coughed muttering under her breath, "Ahem, ahem. Workplace, Jimin."
Quicker than the snap of a finger, he pulled his arm away, "Yup, sorry," he mumbled, the tips of his ears assuming a pinkish tone. With the iridescent luminosity of his skin, the colour on the tip of his nose stood out, looking more towards a bright fluorescent pink.
She smiled, an actual, genuine, straight-from-the-heart smile. The little grin grew into a giggle, one she didn't know she was capable of.
Surpressing it by pressing her lips together, she looked down, a glint in her eyes. This was going to be an interesting, if not a very awkward commission.
Author's note.
Here's....JIMIN!
I feel like I'm in Pokémon and I'm throwing secrets out at you like pokeballs.
(I really have no knowledge of Pokémon, correct me if I'm wrong. Please.)
Anyways, what are your thoughts on King Changmin? Personally, I really like his character. Drafting it was fun.
The beginning of this chapter was a whole ass journey to write, especially the whole prostitute part. I dunno, that was the best way to show how Prince Jimin is a just person, one who respects people from all walks of life.
But the ending though...yikes. That's gotta be awkward. Poor Jimin has no idea she faked her name. This is gonna be hella awkward, isn't i?
Tag people you think should read this book!
THEORIESSSSS!
Again, whose coronation is it?
Do you like Ambrosia's character? What do you know about her yet?
Do you think Ambrosia is going to tell Jimin her real name?
What do y'all think about Jeongguk? (Personally, I LOVE him in this bodyguard/secretary avatar. It's beyond sexy)
Thanks for reading! Do vote if you like what you see(especially after you see the upcoming pictures. They're the reason I'm considering changing my bias.)
Leave me a comment, everyone! I enjoy reading what you think.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: I will be updating this book every Saturday. I will try my best to be punctual, but I really do apologize if I miss a week or something. I have my first term papers starting on the 14th of September, and I have barely 700 words of chapter 3 written. Well see how stuff goes along, but I'm certainly hopeful that I will be able to keep up with weekly updates!
A token of my gratitude- bodyguard Jeongguk!
Ps: are you drooling yet? Cause I sure am ;)