"Ugh. My head..."
I felt nauseous. The urge to hurl became increasingly strong.
"Bucket.... Bucket!" Placing my hand over my mouth, I rose from the bed with eyes searching.
Suddenly, a wooden bucket landed in front of my face. I quickly grabbed a hold of it and let out all the toxins from last night.
I wiped my mouth with my sleeve. Attempting to open my eyes wider, I hated the bright lights coming in from the windows. Covering my eyes, I fell back on the bed.
"It's too bright in here..." I moaned.
Looking up from the bed in a fetal position, I made out a figure pulling the sheer curtains closed.
"Xiao Yang? Is that you?" I asked lying back down to rest. "Can you get me some water? So thirsty."
My throat was craving water after purging everything from yesterday night. The cool ceramic cup touched my cheek. Using my hands to grip, I felt he warmth of a person's long fingers. Placing the cup to my lips, I swallowed gently as to not disturb the burning in my throat.
Glancing up at who I assumed to be Xiao Yang, my vision was cleared and I was shocked to see the last person I wanted exposed to my hung over state.
"Runze?!" I yelled, pulling the covers up to my chest. "What are you doing here?!"
He stared at me like I was absurd. "Think about what you're doing here."
"I-- How would I know?! I got so drunk yesterday..."
"I thought you were dying."
"What?!"
"It's passed noon, and you never woke. I didn't think your intolerance of alcohol was this bad."
"You--" I felt it again. Something was coming up my chest, wanting to crawl out my throat. "Look away, Runze! Look away!"
He rolled his eyes and did as I ordered by turning around.
I grabbed the bucket and let out the waste with the most disgusting sounds. Sighing, I placed the bucket back down on the floor.
"I didn't want you to see me like this," I cried.
I'm so embarrassed.
"Lucky for you my opinion of you couldn't get any lower," he said over his shoulder.
Dick.
"Where's my royal cousin?" I looked around the room.
Runze turned to face me and said, "He left this morning while you were still sleeping."
"I see..."
Averting his judgemental gaze, I stare at the ground and the atmosphere in the room got chillingly thick with awkwardness.
"You'll feel better after a bath." He broke the silence.
"Huh?"
"Wen Lu is preparing the bath for you in the room next door."
"Oh..."
Can I really get undressed here? What if I'm compromised?
"Go ahead. Wen Lu has prepared some clothes for you to change into. I'm sure Lord Hong will not appreciate you returning home smelling of liquor and vomit."
"Hey..."
"I'm leaving." He exited the room and shut the door behind him.
What was he doing here anyways? I thought he couldn't stand Hong Liumeng?
-- What Bai Miaoyu forgot about last night and what Li Runze remembered. --
"Hahaha!" He laughs obnoxiously, pounding the table with his small fist. "Dear cousin, you are hilarious! You're so much more fun drunk!"
The Fifth Prince cease his own laughter and replies, "Liumeng, you're not such bad company yourself!"
I shake my head at their shenanigans. Fifth Prince was only drinking because he felt overwhelmed. His marriage was unavoidable, but such an event is going to be a big part of his life. Getting married to the 7th Princess of the Western Empire? This political alliance is going to be something that will control his life forever.
"Hey, Runze. Have yourself some wine and join the conversation with us." The Fifth Prince gestures to my wine cup, still full. I nod and raise the cup to my mouth, drinking it all at once.
I feel Hong Liumeng's curious stare. I hate this little brat. This creature that I have to put up with because of the royal family. Although... he hasn't been as crude as in the past, but he is still a different level of annoyance.
"Runze, how is Liu Ying?" He asks.
"Why do you want to know?"
"I mean the last time I saw her, she was in trouble. So I just wanted to make sure she was okay."
Suspicious, I observe his face for a genuine expression. He becomes intimated by my stare and looks at his wine cup, refilling it.
"How about another one, cousin!"
"Sure!"
Hong Liumeng pours the wine into the Fifth Prince's cup. His wobbly aim spills a bit of wine onto the table.
"She's fine," I tell him.
"What?"
"I said she's fine."
The Fifth Prince asks him in a playful tone, "Who is this Miss Liu Ying that's gotten you so mesmerized, cousin? Is Wen Lu not enough?"
Hong Liumeng's face reddens and he retorts, "What are you talking about?! Wen Lu is just my friend. Besides this Miss Liu Ying is rather fond of Li Gongzi."
"Is this true, Runze?" The Fifth Prince asks.
"Young Master Hong knows not what he speaks of. Liu Ying... I just find her intriguing."
The Fifth Prince claps his hand. "That's how it starts! Love between a man and woman. You become curious about them, you want to learn more about them whether that means about their personality or... body!"
"Oh, cousin!" Hong Liumeng frowns disapprovingly but starts to giggle.
"I-- I can't talk to you when your highness is drunk," I say.
Every time he drinks, he turns into this babbling flirt. A very different, very opposite change in his demeanor.
"Come on, Runze. When are you going to settle down and start a family? Even my cousin here has found his match. What about you? Why don't you give Miss Liu Ying a chance?"
"I'm better on my own."
"You always say that..." The Fifth Prince throws his head back, drinking down the wine in his cup. He points his finger at me, about to unleash an unneeded lecture. However, his head hits the table and he falls unconscious.
I know what he was going to say. That I needed to move on. That my parents would have wanted me to start my own family.
But I'd rather be alone than to lose anyone else.
Something grazes my face, and I flinch. "What are you doing?!"
"Sorry! You just looked... so far away." Hong Liumeng covers his face with his hands, peeking at me through the gaps of his fingers.
"Don't touch my face."
His lips protude with his eyes closed tight. Tears emerges from the corner of his eyes as he silently sobs.
"Why are you crying?"
"Don't yell at me!" He hides his face behind his hands again.
Speechless, I'd never thought Hong Liumeng would be this type of drunk.
"Fine, I won't yell."
"Li Runze, you can be quite mean, you know?"
I laugh, "Me? Don't you remember when you and your crew of rich kids would chase me around and beat me? I'd hide, bargain, beg just so that you would stop. But you made a game out of it. Whoever delivered the most blows wins. Me sitting here and not beating the shit out of you is a courtesy to the Fifth Prince and your father."
The sound of sobbing is smothered as his hands covered his mouth. "I'm so sorry. Runze, I'm sorrrrrrry!"
Appalled by his ugly expression, I can't stop staring. Of course, his words mean nothing to me.
"What can I do to ease your pain? You want to hit me? Then hit me!"
"Don't test me," I warn him.
He stands and pushes my shoulder. "Hit me."
"Stop."
He pushes me again. "Hit me! Beat me up for being a good for nothing!"
My hands reach for his collar. Twisting the cloth with my fist. Pushing him with my strength, I press him up against the wall. "I told you not to mess with me."
He appears shocked by my brutal action of restraint.
"Fine... if this is what you want. You can use my body."
I step back, disgusted. "What?"
"You can be my first. I don't care. This is all fake anyway!" He begins to take off his belt.
"Hong Liumeng, are you demented?!"
"Yes! I am! Ever since I've come here, I'm going crazy! I'm not Hong Liumeng!
"Then who the hell are you? You must have hit your head hard during the Royal Hunt, huh?"
"I know nothing I do will make things right. Nothing I do will make the people of this world forgive me! I'm a piece of trash through and through! I'm--"
He takes a few step in my direction. The light in his eyes fade and he goes down. Catching him in my arms, we land conveniently on the soft padding of the canopy bed.
"Hong Liumeng, get off!"
He whispers, "I said I'm Bai Miaoyu..."
Bai Miaoyu?
"I know... you feel all alone," he mutters. "Like the world has taken away your light."
For some reason, I'm not offended by his sappy words and listen to what he has to say.
"And past me didn't make it any better for you. You were just a kid, and you lost your parents. You were all alone. I should have been your friend... I'll try my best to be your friend from now on."
I grimace at the thought of being around Hong Liumeng in a friendly manner.
"I wanna sing you a song I listen to when things get hard. It goes like ha--" He clears his throat.
~괜찮아 자 하나 둘 셋 하면 잊어
슬픈 기억 모두 지워
내 손을 잡고 웃어
괜찮아 자 하나 둘 셋 하면 잊어
슬픈 기억 모두 지워
서로 손을 잡고 웃어
그래도 좋은 날이 앞으로 많기를
내 말을 믿는다면 하나 둘 셋
믿는다면 하나 둘 셋
그래도 좋은 날이 훨씬 더 많기를
내 말을 믿는다면 하나 둘 셋
믿는다면 하나 둘 셋~
He finally stops singing the strange song and says, "You smell really good, Runze."
"Don't smell me."
"I can't help it!" Wrapped around me, his arms tighten. "It feels so nice to sleep while holding someone. I wished i had a boyfriend to hold like this."
"Boyfriend?"
I thought my eyes had deceived me that night. Underneath the moonlight, the glistening water dripped down from her pale face to her neck, following a path to the middle of her heaving chest. Now that I'm feeling this body lying on top of mine, I've concluded Hong Liumeng's secret.
Now, I'm curious.