Renjun was sitting at the table filled with sandwiches and other baked goods when Nara arrived. She thank the maids and asked for their privacy as she sat down. Renjun raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Nara asked as she placed a sandwich on her plate.
"I just wasn't expecting that." Renjun said as he did the same. "Tea?"
"Yes please." Nara answered. Renjun poured the tea into both their cups before placing the pot down.
"It seems like you wanted to talk to me about something private." Renjun noted. Nara nodded her head.
"You said it would be a shame if Jeno and I were on bad terms. Why?" Nara asked before taking a bite out of her sandwich. Renjun gave her a small smile.
"Nara, I'm sure if this wasn't broadcasted on television, you would be married already." Renjun pointed out.
"I don't know what you mean." Nara said, playing dumb but Renjun saw right through her.
"Sure. Everyone knows you're playing favourites here." Renjun said, sipping his tea. Nara gripped tightly to her cup.
"Renjun, what do you want?" Nara asked. Renjun leaned back in his chair.
"You should think a bit more about your choices, your highness. Not that I don't think that Jeno will make a good king, but there are other Selected that are just as fond of you." Renjun told her.
"Are you one of them?" Nara asked. Renjun simply smiled.
"No offence, but you're not exactly my type." Renjun confessed. "But I do enjoy talking to you."
"I'm glad we're on the same page." Nara said sipping her tea. Renjun's face suddenly changed into a concerned one.
"You won't eliminate me because I said that, will you?" Renjun asked. Nara chuckled.
"Depends, do you want to be eliminated?" Nara asked. Renjun shook his head.
"Not yet." Renjun admitted. "But I don't think I'll be the One."
"My mother is actually quite fond of you. She said you'd make a good king." Nara told him. Renjun let out a small laugh.
"Yeah, if all a king does is paint all day. Life here has taught me that this isn't the life I want." Renjun told her.
"I see." Nara sat there, thinking about what Renjun said to her. "Wait, you said there's more than one Selected interested in me?"
Renjun smiled at her. "Of course, you're just oblivious to it. But that's all I'll tell you, I refuse to snitch."
...
"Ugh, you're back." Nara said as Cai stepped out of the limo.
"Trust me, if Jaemin wasn't here, I would never come here." Cai retorted with a smirk. He and Jaemin did their handshake before he turned to Jeno and did the same.
Since when were they close? Nara thought as Cai's younger sister and Cai's friends came out as well.
"Princess Nara!" Cai's sister, Jia, cried as she ran towards Nara. She greeted the small girl with a hug.
"Jia, you've grown so much, I don't know if I can lift you anymore." Nara said.
"I don't need to be carried, I'm a big girl!" Jia said, shooting her arms to the side.
"Alright, then." Nara said with a chuckle as she held her hand, guiding her inside.
"Who are those boys?" Jia asked, pointing to the Elite. Nara smiled at her.
"Those are my new friends." Nara replied as they made their way inside.
...
"Whoa!" Jia exclaimed as she watched the dragon dance around the room. Nara couldn't help but stare in awe as well.
Jeno and Jaemin had selected a black silk gown with gold flowers, inspired by the New Asian style for her. She had her hair in a low bun, a golden flower pinned to the side of it.
"Do you like it?" Jeno asked the little girl. Jeno and Jaemin were seated with Nara and the New Asian royals while the rest of the Elite sat at another table with the King and Queen. Jia nodded.
"It's pretty." Jia said as she watched the dragon dance. "All of this is pretty."
The lotus flower centrepieces matched well with the golden tablecloths. The food was a traditional New Asian dinner, served on beautiful fine china. The orchestra played music with the instruments native to New Asia. It was clear that Jeno and Jaemin had went all out for this reception, and the black silk shirts with a dragon that they wore matched perfectly with Cai's and his friend's.
Nara watched as a smirk formed on Jeno's face. "That's good to hear."
Nara glanced at the other Elite, who all except for Renjun wore worried faces. It was clear that Jeno and Jaemin's reception was by far the best out of the three, putting them in danger of going home. Nara let out a sigh.
She felt terribly awful that she had to send two of them home but she couldn't go back on her words now. She decided to push away the thought, focusing on the current reception instead.
While Jaemin was laughing with Cai, Jeno was chatting with Jia, who was surprisingly very cheerful. It had taken a while for Jia to warm up to Nara but she seemed to be already fond of Jeno. Nara couldn't help but eavesdrop into their conversation.
"My favourite animal is a dragon, what is yours?" Jia asked him with wide eyes.
"Mine is a special dog called a samoyed." Jeno told her. "It's white and fluffy, and kind of looks like me."
Nara couldn't help but smile as Jeno gave her his signature eye smile, making Jia giggle. Suddenly, Cai and Jaemin got up.
"We're going to get some fresh air, we'll be back in a bit." Cai said, giving the rest of them a smile. As Nara glanced over, she noticed that Jaemin had a serious look on his face, a rare sight.
They're going to talk. Jaemin only has a serious face when he's about to start a serious conversation.
Curiosity got the best of her and she couldn't help but wonder what the two were going to talk about. It must have been something that they didn't want anyone else to hear as otherwise, they would have stayed in the room. Nara watched as the two of them exited the room through the set of white doors.
Once the two were out of the gone, she waited a couple of minutes before standing up.
"I must have drunken too much tea. Please excuse me as I use the bathroom." Nara said. Jeno simply nodded his head before smiling at Jia.
Nara tried to act as natural as possible as she left the room. Once she was in the halls, she heard Cai and Jaemin's voices around the corner, and hid so she was out of their sight.
"Jaemin, you can't keep going like this." Nara heard Cai say. Keep going like what?
"I don't know why you're acting like this, it's none of your business." Jaemin responded. She heard Cai let out a deep sigh.
"None of my business? You're my best friend Jaemin, I can't just sit back and watch you get hurt." Cai told his friend. Get hurt?
"Cai, it doesn't matter. You and I both know that I love photography too much to be King." Be King? Are they talking about the Selection?
"So you're just going to stand back and watch someone else take away something that could be yours?" Cai asked.
"It doesn't matter anyways, they clearly have better chemistry." Jaemin responded.
"You've known her since you two were babies, you two grew up together. You probably know her better than you know yourself." Cai retorted. Nara could tell they were both getting frustrated.
"Yeah Cai, I do. And I know that she's better off with Jeno." Jaemin told him.
"Na Jaemin, why can't you just admit that you've liked Nara since you two were children?"
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What's your favourite jeno era? Mine's boom era jeno :)