Nara had so many thoughts running through her head. Jeno must have noticed as he stopped playing the guitar.
"Nara, if you want me to leave, I can go." Jeno said. Nara shook her head.
"No Jeno, stay." Nara said, grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers. She felt a pit form in her stomach.
"Alright, but tell me what's wrong." Jeno said as he sat back down. Nara took a deep breath.
"Jeno, I just... I recently learned that other Selected like me." Nara told him but Jeno didn't seem too convinced.
"Like you? Of course they like you, Nara. Otherwise they would have been sent home." Jeno pointed out.
"No Jeno, I mean like me romantically." Nara said. Jeno was quiet for a moment before shaking his head.
"Nara, do you remember what the Selection is about?" Jeno asked her.
"Yes, it's about winning my hand in marriage." Nara said. Jeno nodded his head.
"That also means falling in love. It's only natural for us to fall for you, Nara." Jeno said, squeezing her hand.
"Does that mean that the other boys have fallen for me too?" Nara asked. Jeno's eyes darkened.
"I mean, probably." Jeno answered dully. Nara but her lip. "Nara, have you fallen in love?"
Nara was stunned by the question. She thought she had but now she wasn't sure. Her silence must have given Jeno his answer as he began packing his guitar.
"Jeno, stop, why are you leaving?" Nara asked, grabbing onto his arm. Jeno took a deep breath before looking at her.
"Honestly Nara, I think I need some space. I thought there was something between us, something special that you didn't have with any of the others. But judging by how you answered my question, that's not true." Jeno said bluntly.
"Jeno, wait. We do have something special!" Nara argued. Jeno stopped in his tracks turning to face her.
"Okay Nara, answer my question. Do you love me?" Jeno asked her.
"Jeno, don't put me on the spot like that!" Nara exclaimed. Jeno's eyes stared into hers.
"Nara, can you answer my question?" Jeno asked her.
"I..." Nara looked down of her feet, giving Jeno his answer.
She heard the door open and close as Jeno walked out of the room, not even bothering to look back.
...
Nara watched as the four boys in front of her were tested on the history of Illea, a vital part of their training, especially as the remaining four Selected. There were so close to becoming the next Prince of Illea.
The entire time Jeno was avoiding her eyes. Jaemin would occasionally poke him in the arm, getting his attention. Jeno would smile to his friend, pretending that nothing was wrong but the smile always faded in an instant.
Nara glanced at the scoreboard. Renjun was winning by a landslide, Jeno and Jaemin tying for second place. Yangyang was last, but he wasn't far behind the other two.
"Now for our last question, which countries were part of Illea's alliance in the third war?" Heeyoung asked. Renjun immediately tapped his buzzer.
"Renjun?" Heeyoung called upon the boy.
"England and France." Renjun answered, earning a groan from the others. Heeyoung nodded her head.
"That makes Renjun the winner of today's session." Heeyoung said. "His prize..." Heeyoung looked towards the princess.
"A walk in the gardens with me." Nara said, giving Renjun a small smile as she felt Jeno's eyes burning holes through the side of her head.
...
"Do you like this?" Nara asked as she walked around the palace gardens with her arm around Renjun's. Renjun took a glance around.
"To be quite honest, this is a bit too romantic for my liking." Renjun admitted. Nara chuckled.
"Well I wasn't exactly expecting you to win." Nara said. Renjun gave her a look.
"I'm a lot smarter than you think." Renjun told her. Nara nodded her head in agreement.
"And observant." She added. Renjun scoff.
"No offence your highness, but I'm a painter. A pretty darn good one too. Being observant and detail oriented is part of my job. Could you imagine a painted that didn't pay any attention to details?" Renjun stated, clearly offended. Nara patted his arm.
"No need to get all worked up." Nara said with a smile. Renjun shook his head.
"I honestly think we would make a terrible couple." Renjun said with a smile.
"I agree." Nara said as they stopped in front of the fountain. Nara took a seat on the stone bench and Renjun soon followed.
"I reckon you wanted to talk about something else?" Renjun asked. Nara nodded her head.
"You know how you said someone other than Jeno liked me romantically?" Nara said.
"Yes I remember." Renjun told her.
"I figured out who it was." Nara said to the boy beside her.
"You did?" Renjun asked. Nara nodded.
"It's Jaemin. I figured out during the New Asian reception when I followed them out to the halls since I felt that they were doing something suspicious and Cai exposed him." Nara said before looking up at the boy who had seemed to be frozen in place. "Renjun?"
"Huh?" Renjun said, snapping out of his trance.
"The Selected that likes me? It's Jaemin right?" Nara said but Renjun shook his head.
"No Nara, the person I was talking about was Yangyang."
...
There was a bit of guilt in Nara's body as she watched the trailer arrive, a race car located inside. She watched from the window of her study as the palace workers unloaded it in front of the palace.
Her head turned as a knock was heard from the door and Yangyang walked in. "You called for me, your highness?"
"Yes, I have a gift for you." Nara said. "Follow me."
...
"Oh my gosh." Yangyang exclaimed as he covered his mouth. "You brought my race car?"
Nara smiled as she nodded her head. "You did promise that you would take me for a ride, didn't you?"
Yangyang nodded his head as the workers passed each of them a helmet. "This is too good to be true."
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get in." Nara said, motioning to the car but instead, Yangyang opened the door to the passenger seat for her.
"After you, your highness."
...
Nara couldn't help but chuckle every time Yangyang cheered as he drove. She could tell that this was his natural element, the place where he was meant to be, not inside a palace performing royal duties.
Nara knew the reason why Yangyang was pushing himself hard as he studied to learn the ways of a Prince, Renjun had told her.
It's because he likes me, romantically.
Yangyang stopped the car in front of the castle, taking off his helmet. He wore a huge grin on his face.
"Did you like that?" Yangyang asked, anticipating her response.
"Yes it was very nice." Nara told him, earning a small cheer in response. "But I have a question."
"Yes?" Yangyang asked, staring at her face. Nara gulped.
"If you marry me, you'll have to give up racing forever. Can you do that?" Nara asked. Yangyang's smile fell off his face as he stared down into his lap.
"No, I can't." Yangyang admitted, a painful expression on his face. Nara gave him a small smile as she grabbed his hand, giving it a quick squeeze.
"I'm sorry Yangyang. But give the others a ride before you leave tomorrow." Nara said before exiting Yangyang's race car.
Three boys remained in her Selection.
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I'm so sleepy 😴