[00bws] Kyuhyun's Story

Words: 12,195
Rate: PG
(Spin-off from the Beyond Words series.)


Kyuhyun's Story: From the First

It was cold.

It was cold and like the damned nice big-brother that he was, he was waiting for his sister. Granted, he could wait in the black town car, but he had been waiting close to a quarter of an hour already and he was growing restless. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he stamped his feet as a means to assure himself that they could still move.

He glanced at the university campus located past the cement gates where he waited with the car. He had stared up at the towering buildings over and over again in perfect intervals awaiting just a sign for his sister to appear. He let out a low, frustrated growl which formed a white puff of air before dissolving into the cold atmosphere.

At his back, the window rolled open, “Your Highness… Prince Kyuhyun… surely you should wait inside the car!” The driver insisted,

“If I do that, I’ll warm up and forget how damn mad I am at Taeyeon,” Kyuhyun – Prince, at that – replied, “I swear, this is the last time I agree to pick her up.”

“Um… Your Highness… would it be bold to point out that you’ve said that every other time you’ve come to attend your sister and she’s been late?” The driver inquired,

“Yes it is bold,” Kyuhyun muttered angrily, “You know… perhaps this is why I have two sisters, so I can kill off one of them.”

“I don’t think the King would appreciate sororicide,” The driver stated doubtfully,

“Yes well, my cousin will appreciate when he realizes how quiet the Royal House would be,” Kyuhyun replied, referring to his cousin, the King of Korea, and the house where they – and his two younger sisters – had lived all their lives.

Kyuhyun sighed heavily, wondering what he had done to be cursed by two sisters; the elder one constantly trying his patience since she became more extroverted three years prior and the younger sister constantly finding newer ways to annoy him. As he glanced once more towards the university buildings when he saw movement. His dark eyes immediately latched onto the figure running out of the building,

“About damn time,” Kyuhyun muttered as he pushed away from the car, straightening his posture.

The other person, however, made it halfway to the car before tripping and falling to the ground, the contents of her arms sprawling around her. Swearing under his breath, Kyuhyun sprinted over, reaching and grabbing her arm,

“You’re late as it is, no point in rushing to the point of clumsiness,” Kyuhyun admonished, just a slight edge to his tone. After all, his sister did just take a… this wasn’t his sister. Kyuhyun blinked down at the heart-shaped face of the young girl who stared up at him, startled. He tried to speak, to move, but he was transfixed. He found himself lost in the most peculiar pair of fox-like eyes he had ever seen.

“Sorry… I think you have the wrong person,” she pointed out,

Kyuhyun straightened, dropping her arm immediately, “Ah… yes, I thought you were my sister.” He blinked a moment before reaching for her arm against and helping her up, “Sorry, I was so surprised I forgot my manners.”

She stood her full height – which was still only to his nose – and brushed off her faded, loose-fitting jeans, “It’s fine.” She looked around and began to collect her books which she had been carrying in her arms prior to her fall,

“L-let me hold those for you,” Kyuhyun offered immediately.

She looked at him, blinked and watched as he took her books before she could even argue. She opened her mouth to speak when she paused and then looked down at her hands. Her palms were rubbed raw, drops of crimson appearing on her pale skin, “Damn it all.”

Kyuhyun watched silently as she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off her skin. Then he watched, surprised, as she pulled out several band-aids from her pocket and began to apply one to each of the heel of her palms.

As he watched her, he scolded himself for even thinking she was Taeyeon for a moment. For one thing, this girl was considerably taller than his pixie-sized sister. Secondly, Taeyeon was not clumsy. The moment she fell, he should’ve known it wasn’t his sister. Indeed, both of his sisters had the annoying habit of never getting hurt when they were children. Not that he wished ill upon either of his siblings, but whenever he took a spill from a bicycle, it would be nice to see either of his sisters get a bit dirty too. Thirdly, his sister most definitely never made him feel like this.

She looked up at him again, her bright eyes apologetic and Kyuhyun could swear that his heart stopped.

“Oh my… I’m such an idiot sometimes,” she immediately bowed, “I’m so sorry Your Highness, I didn’t mean to be rude or anything I was just a little disoriented about everything and it hit me a little late – well.. now actually – who you were… not that I don’t know who you are it’s just that –”

Kyuhyun stared as she began to speak a mile a minute. He couldn’t catch everything she said – indeed, he wondered at some point if she was still speaking Korean – but he heard everything she said. He heard the crescendos and decrescendos of her soft, soprano voice, the slight lilt as emotion was poured into each word. From the way she spoke, from the way he first saw her bursting from the doors and running as fast as her load allowed, he had a feeling that this girl, whoever she was, never did anything in half-measures.

Her jaw dropped, “And here I am making you carry my books! I’m so sorry!”

When she reached out for them, Kyuhyun took a step away from her, “It’s fine,” he was surprised at the growl in his town. When she blinked at him, confused and a little hurt, he amended gruffly, “You’ll just end up falling again.”

“I most certainly will not!” She argued, “I may have just fallen, but I assure you I will not fall again! I may not look it, but I’m quite strong!” She had the audacity to sweep her fox-like eyes over him as if sizing him up, “Why, I’m pretty sure I could even take you in a fight! Er… Your Highness.” Before Kyuhyun could even think of a way to reply to such an absurd comment, she continued in her fast-paced talk, “Wait, was that treasonous to say that? I didn’t mean to! Really I wasn’t even making a threat! I was just making a statement – a truthful statement, really, but not in any way treasonous! Please, you must –”

Kyuhyun shifted the stack of books to one arm so he could hold up the other to silence her, “It’s fine. Can you at least give me a chance to speak before you jump to conclusions?”

“Yes…” She said slowly before adding adamantly, “But then what if by then you had already jump to your own conclusions because of my wrongly-worded statement? Clearly, the only way to right some wrongs was for me to amend my statement – indeed, to clarify my meaning – before you had a chance to speak.”

Kyuhyun blinked. She was a whirlwind, this girl. When she finally stopped speaking, he waited a five-count before talking.

“Since you seem to know who I am –”

“Oh! I do!” She insisted immediately, “My parents follow the news most religiously! Not in the way that some do like vultures waiting for a piece of fresh meat, but as a way to keep up with the times. Naturally I was exposed to the news almost daily, so I know all about you and the Royal Family.”

Kyuhyun paused again before finishing his previous statement, “I think it only fair that I at least know your name.”

“Oh. That does seem fair,” she replied, tilting her head slightly as she peered up at him with her fox-like eyes, “My name is Sungmin. Lee Sungmin.”

He was no longer cold.

…

His hand clamped over her mouth the moment the door closed behind them. He narrowed his eyes at her, his voice a fierce growl, “I swear, if you tell anyone I’ll kill you.”

She tried to push him away, even tried to bite his fingers which covered her lips. However, he was immoveable and his digits were curved just enough to elude her teeth.

“Eunhyuk, please tell me we have not travelled back in time and that my two eldest children are not acting like they are six and seven again,” a drawl interrupted the two of them.

Scowling slightly at his sister, Kyuhyun stepped away from her to face his father and cousin, King Eunhyuk. Taeyeon threw him a triumphant stare before catching the none-too-pleased expression on her father’s face,

She sobered immediately, “Daddy…”

He raised an eyebrow as he and his nephew drew closer, “You only use that when you’ve done something I won’t be happy about…”

“Indeed you might not be happy about what I am about to say, but it’s not something I have done,” Taeyeon stated solemnly, shooting her brother a mischievous glance,

“Damn it, Taeyeon –”

Their father raised a hand to silence him, “Remember your age, Kyuhyun.” He scowled when their father gestured for Taeyeon to continue,

“Kyuhyun is in love!” Taeyeon exclaimed, immediately flying to her cousin’s side before her brother could grab at her again. Arms wrapping around Eunhyuk’s arm, she grinned at her brother as she continued, “When Oppa was getting me from school today, I found him talking to this girl and I could tell he was in love!”

Kyuhyun glanced at his father for some sign of disproval. All he received, however, was a blank stare. The two men stared at one another for a pregnant pause before his father cleared his throat, his cheeks tinged slightly with red, “There are times I truly wish your mother were still here.”

“She’s lying, Father,” Kyuhyun insisted, looking awkwardly away from him,

“Still… Perhaps I should go visit your mother… Haven’t been to the cemetery in weeks now,” he muttered, taking a few steps, glancing at his son and then continuing away.

“YOU ARE A BANE IN MY EXISTANCE!” Kyuhyun declared the moment their father’s footsteps had dissipated completely,

“He really must be in love to talk like that,” Eunhyuk commented casually to his younger cousin,

“Oh, he is Oppa!” Taeyeon insisted, smiling up at him, “You should’ve seen the way he was looking at her while she was talking like the wind! And we even drove her home!”

“Damn it, why am I even the one to pick you up from school!? Where’s your damn husband!?” Kyuhyun scowled at his sister,

“You know he’s busy at school,” Taeyeon defended, her big eyes narrowing at her brother, “And don’t you dare talk about Junsu like that!”

“I’ll talk about him any way I want! Disregarding his duty to you! I’m defending you when I say this!” Kyuhyun exclaimed,

“You are not! And he’s a dedicated student! Just because you decided not to go to school like a responsible person would, doesn’t mean you can condescend to those who have chosen to attend school! Junsu happens to be one of those people so you can just shut up right now,” Taeyeon defended fiercely, unknowingly tightening her grip on her cousin’s arm,

“If you’ve forgotten, our dear cousin – THE KING – also has chosen not to attend school!” Kyuhyun exclaimed,

Eunhyuk rolled his eyes, “At least acknowledge that I’m here when you talk about me… Damn, why didn’t I follow Uncle’s lead and escape before you two began to fight again. Really you two, you’re how old and you’re still fighting like this?”

“DON’T INTERRUPT!” Kyuhyun and Taeyeon exclaimed in unison before turning their glares back on each other.

As the siblings continued bickering, Eunhyuk glanced at a passing butler, “Would you consider it treason the way they spoke to me?”

“Most definitely, Sire,” the butler replied, his lips twitching in amusement,

“What do you think I should order this time, hmm? Beheading?”

“Oh, that’s too predictable Sire. Perhaps we should have a dungeon constructed in which you could throw them into?” The butler suggested lightly,

“What a wonderfully medieval idea. And if Princess Taeyeon’s husband comes along, we can throw him in too,” Eunhyuk grinned,

“Whatever did he do?” The butler inquired,

“Treason by association?” Eunhyuk chuckled when he noticed his cousins had finally stopped fighting. He turned his attention back to them, “Are you two done?”

“I’m not in love,” Kyuhyun stated immediately,

“And there’s no way I’ll let you jail Junsu!” Taeyeon exclaimed,

Eunhyuk opened his mouth to reply when the butler approached once more, “Phone call for Prince Kyuhyun. A Lee Sungmin –”

“I’ll take it,” Eunhyuk immediately disentangled himself from his cousin’s grasped and lunged for the handset the butler held. When Kyuhyun tried to rush at him, he held up his free hand, “King says stop!”

As his cousin raised the phone to his face, Kyuhyun turned to his sister, “Has he pulled that on you yet? I swear, if I knew he would pull rank on us, I would have kept him in a Hanbok longer.”

Taeyeon stifled a laugh as she watched with amused eyes as their cousin spoke on the phone,

“Er… No… No, this isn’t Kyu –” Eunhyuk glanced at his eldest cousin, “Does she ever stop to breathe?” At Kyuhyun’s head shake, he attempted to speak again, “As I was trying to say, I’m not Kyu –” He paused again to look at his cousin, “She seems very afraid of offending you,” he turned his lips back to the phone, “May I speak now? No – wait, don’t answer that and just let me speak. This isn’t Kyuhyun, this is his cousin… Erm… yes, the King.”

“Regret announcing who you are, huh?” Kyuhyun asked knowingly when Eunhyuk was cast into silence once more.

Eunhyuk was about to answer his cousin, when he caught his moment in the telephone conversation to finally speak again, “Come for dinner tonight and we can speak more! Okay, bye!” He hung up immediately, “If I gave her a chance to speak, I have the slightest feeling it would take another half hour to make her agree.”

Kyuhyun gaped at his cousin, “W-what are you doing? W-why did she call?”

“Apparently she forgot a book in the town car,” Eunhyuk explained as he gave up the phone to the butler, “So now she is coming to dinner to retrieve it!”

“Oh, Junsu can meet her too!” Taeyeon exclaimed happily, “And I don’t think Sooyoung has to work tonight –”

“Okay, okay… Junsu, fine; he’s you’re husband, but Sooyoung?” Kyuhyun swung his gaze to his sister, “Can’t you show some mercy towards me?”

Taeyeon rolled her eyes, “Sooyoung lives here, it’s not like you can ban her from dinner. It’ll be a big family affair, Oppa, so you might as well –”

“Damn it, Father will be at dinner too!” Kyuhyun exclaimed, flinching visibly before glaring at his cousin, “Damn you, Eunhyuk!”

“Ever since I became King I feel as if there’s this hostility between us,” Eunhyuk sighed, raising a hand to his heart in mock hurt, “What I would give for the care-free days of when I was still a Princess.”

“I’d rather strangle you with your own Hanbok,” Kyuhyun growled as he stalked towards the main staircase which led to the second floor, “The only thing good about you, Hyung, is that Donghae hasn’t moved in,” he stated, referring to Eunhyuk’s beloved.

“I told you he’s in love,” Taeyeon teased lightly, “He’s probably going to change five times before dinner!”

“I’m not in love!” Kyuhyun growled as he stormed up the stairs. As he escaped to his room, he continued that chant until it sounded hollow even to his ears.

…

Dinner was a peculiar affair to Kyuhyun. He had only spent a half-hour’s time with Sungmin that afternoon before they had dropped her off at home, but that was long enough for him to realize that she spoke while barely breathing. That was long enough for him to realize that her fox-like eyes lit up with her emotions and she expressed her thoughts about anything and everything freely. What was peculiar about dinner, however, was that she barely spoke. Indeed, if he had been watching correctly, she barely even ate.

Junsu, his sister’s husband, had not joined them for dinner. After coming to the Royal House to pick her up, instead of suggesting they stay to have dinner with the family, Taeyeon had taken one look at her beloved’s face and pulled him up to her old bedroom to sleep. Fortunately for his brotherly mind, she returned almost immediately.

Also fortunately, his youngest sister was also absent, something about being contracted to style the hair for an up-and-coming singer and that being her ‘big break’ in the hair world. Kyuhyun didn’t think hair was so important it have its own ‘world’, but if it meant his little sister would be away from dinner – and make her career more successful – then he wished her the best.

Unfortunately, his meddlesome cousin, traitorous sister and all-too-intimidating father were present for dinner. He glanced at his father who had said not a word during the meal. Indeed, his father had been silent since returning from the cemetery. He did not know if the conversation with his mother’s grave resulted in some revelation.

As the meal drew to a close, Kyuhyun threw his cousin and sister grateful glances. Despite their previous machinations, they had kept the conversation going during dinner, not allowing an awkward silence to fall upon them even for a second.

Kyuhyun laid his napkin on the table and stood from the table. He walked over to where Sungmin sat, holding out his hand. Almost automatically, as if she moved before she thought, she placed her slender hand in his, glancing up at him in silent askance,

“Let us get that book of yours. I believe it’s still in the car,” Kyuhyun said simply as he brought her to her feet, tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow as if they were in the middle of a royal ball. He glanced at the others, startled to see that his father gave him an approving look.

The moment they escaped into the corridor to head to the garage where the town car was kept, Sungmin visibly sighed. Kyuhyun looked at her, surprised as she began to speak without missing a beat, “I swear, I’ve never been so silent in my life.”

Kyuhyun felt his lips twitch as he murmured, “Oh, really?”

“Indeed. I’m usually much more talkative, cramming more words into a minute than I can think of and,” she paused as if his tone suddenly sank in. She threw him a suspicious look, “You were being sarcastic weren’t you?”

“Just a bit,” Kyuhyun admitted, “I’ll admit, I was surprised when you barely said a word during dinner. Is my family that scary?”

“No, indeed they’re not!” Sungmin insisted most adamantly, “Of course… your father is very silent and… very intimidating… and your cousin, even though he’s the King, is very friendly and your sister is very nice – no, no, they’re not scary at all.”

Kyuhyun considered prompting her about her silence, but knew she would answer even before he could attempt to vocalize his question; “But half the time when I’m talking, I talk before I can even think about the consequences of what I say. What if I somehow insulted them? Or said something wrong? Or spoken when I’m not supposed to?” She looked up at Kyuhyun earnestly, “Sometimes I really don’t know when to and when not to talk.”

Kyuhyun couldn’t help himself; he laughed.

“It’s not very nice to laugh!” Sungmin exclaimed, “I was being honest and telling you exactly how I felt during dinner and you laugh at me?”

“I’m sorry, really,” Kyuhyun insisted, “It’s just that you were never worried about such things when you spoke to me earlier this afternoon and even when you first arrived for dinner.” He paused and raised an eyebrow at her, “Aren’t you worried about insulting me?”

“No,” she replied bluntly and then immediately amended, “That is, not that I want to insult you, it’s just that when I’m with you I don’t feel like I’ll mess up or trip over my words; as if I don’t have to worry about saying something wrong because I can’t be wrong around you.”

When she grew silent, Kyuhyun looked down at her to find her looking away, her cheeks red. He swallowed hard, suddenly not trusting himself to say the right words.

When he did find his words, they were nearing the garage. He said simply, “We only met a few hours ago… how can you say such things?”

Sungmin felt her body stiffen immediately. She had insulted him, hadn’t she? She had said something wrong, hadn’t she? Her parents – even her brother – had told her over and over again that her mouth would get her into trouble some day and, unfortunately, that day was the day. Silently, she tried to fight the urge to pull away from the prince, to lose all physical contact with him.

He opened the door to the garage, turning on the lights immediately. Sungmin almost stumbled, so surprised at the vastness of the garage. It held five cars and in the far end was a motorcycle half-draped by a tarp. She looked around in awe as she allowed the prince to further drag her in until they were before a black town car (actually, it was one of three black town cars) and on the roof was a hardcover book that the driver had left out for them.

Kyuhyun picked up the book in his hand and turned towards Sungmin, disengaging their touch as he held the book out to her. She reached out, but when he refused to let go of the volume, she looked up at him in question, “When you’re around me, you can mess up and trip over your words all you want. You never have to worry about what you say because I’ll never feel that you’re wrong.” He leaned in, brushing a light kiss to her cheek, “And that’s what I’ve thought since I first met you.”

“Oh.”

“Ah, I’ve finally figured out a way to make you stop talking,” Kyuhyun smiled brilliantly at her,

“Actually, I’ve been wondering if you always kiss people who are engaged,” Sungmin stated. Kyuhyun pulled away immediately and Sungmin sighed heavily, “I think I can say something wrong, after all.”

…

The soft knock on the door barely broke through his thoughts. He glanced over at his bedroom door from his stance by his balcony doors. Arms crossed, a shoulder propped against the frame, he turned his face back towards the glass doors. He had no intention of inviting anyone in, indeed, he had no intention of speaking to anyone at all as he was wont to do for the past few weeks.

As the door opened, he sighed heavily and kept his stance.

“Oppa?”

The sound of his youngest sister relieved him – for the first time. Sooyoung had been quite absent lately since she was getting more and more requests for her to be a stylist. Despite not seeing his sister as often as usual, it meant that she didn’t meet Sungmin. Which meant that she wasn’t present to witness the silent, shocked state in which Kyuhyun had emerged when he watched the town car drive her away that even two weeks ago.

“I haven’t seen you in so long I’ve forgotten what you look like,” his sister’s bubbly voice announced as she walked across the plush carpet towards him, standing at the balcony doors as he did. “So… Why the seclusion?” She inquired bluntly.

For a moment, he was silent. He contemplated what to say and what not to say. For years now, indeed since they were children, he, Taeyeon and Eunhyuk had some unspoken agreement to tailor what they said to Sooyoung. She was too blunt, too forthright to say everything to. Besides, they realized early on that she was too perceptive and would find out on her own anyway.

Finally, he sighed, “I’m twenty-four and I have finally fallen in love.”

“Oh Kyuhyun that’s –”

Kyuhyun glanced at her, to silence her as he continued, “But I cannot have her.”

Sooyoung’s bright, open expression crumbled, “Why not?”

“I found out that she’s engaged to someone else,” Kyuhyun replied, “So you see, I seclude myself because I don’t know what to do… because I don’t want people to know that I don’t know what to do.”

Sooyoung chewed on her lip a moment before placing her hands on her hips and turning to full face her brother, “Well why the hell don’t you fight for her?” When Kyuhyun merely blinked at her, she continued on passionately, “If you love her – fight for her! For all you know she could be the one you’re supposed to end up with! For all you know you’ll never experience this again with anyone else!”

“But… what if she isn’t the one? What if I can experience this again?” Kyuhyun asked tentatively, not accustomed to asking his youngest sister for advice.

“Well, if you do everything you can with her and still you fail, at least you know you’ve exhausted all the possibilities. At least you have the answers to the questions concerning her,” Sooyoung answered with a wisdom beyond her twenty-two years.

“But… I don’t even know why I feel this way about her,” Kyuhyun admitted, “I saw her and the first thing I thought of was ‘I could spend the rest of my life with her’… I mean, that’s not enough to base a love on, is it? Isn’t love supposed to be more… tangible than that?”

“Yes… no… it really depends,” Sooyoung said with a shrug of her slight shoulders. She loosely folded her arms and leaned a shoulder against a glass pane, “Donghae-oppa insists that he was attracted to Eunhyuk when the two of you first hid in his grocery store but Eunhyuk says it took him longer to fall for Donghae-oppa. Junsu-oppa says he first felt a protectiveness towards Unni when he realized how mistreated she was at school. Unni, however, says she didn’t trust Junsu-oppa until he stayed with her in the hospital. It’s different for everyone, I suppose.”

“But… love at first sight? That’s a bit intense for a first meeting isn’t it?” Kyuhyun prompted,

“Perhaps… or perhaps that’s just how you are. Perhaps that’s how you’re meant to be,” Sooyoung stated, “You yourself claim you’ve never fallen in love before and it’s not like you grew up secluded in the Royal House like Eunhyuk was, so you’ve seen your share of the female populace. Maybe you’re heart saw something in her that it never saw in anyone else.” She quirked her lips, “Or maybe you’re just weird like that.”

“Brat,” Kyuhyun murmured as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing affectionately before walking towards the door,

“Where are you going?” Sooyoung inquired as she promptly fell into step with him,

“If I’m right, the driver will be leaving soon to pick up Taeyeon and I’ll be there too,” Kyuhyun said. When Sooyoung threw him a questioning glance, he explained, “I first met her when I went to pick up Taeyeon.”

“Oh! I want to come too,” Sooyoung exclaimed, practically bouncing down the hall with him,

Kyuhyun shot her a look, “No.”

“Why not?” Sooyoung demanded,

“You’ll scare her off,” Kyuhyun stated,

“Not if I don’t bring Joon!” Sooyoung insisted, referring to the very large man the family had hired as her personal body guard. Considering Taeyeon had spent years being bullied at school, they didn’t want to take anymore chances. “Oh, please Kyuhyun? Oppa? I haven’t met her yet!” He stopped abruptly to look at her; “Don’t think I don’t know about that dinner and she came!”

Kyuhyun narrowed his gaze at her, “Even if I said no, you’d probably convince Joon and another driver to follow to Taeyeon’s school anyway, wouldn’t you?”

Sooyoung nodded violently.

Kyuhyun sighed as he continued walking to the main staircase, “Fine, but you’re staying in the car!”

“I’m not a dog!” Sooyoung said, affronted,

Kyuhyun glanced at her, “You certainly yap like one.”

…

He was cold.

Again.

And there she was. Running. Books in her arms.

Again.

The window at his back rolled down, “Is that her?” Sooyoung asked excitedly.

Kyuhyun reached behind him to push his sister’s face back into the car as he stepped forward. He made it to the gates when she finally saw him, stopping before she could fall. Again.

“I… haven’t seen you in awhile,” Sungmin said as she slowly closed the distance between them, “I thought perhaps what I told you had scared you away.”

“It did,” Kyuhyun said bluntly, “But I realized that I don’t care.”

“So, we can be friends?” Sungmin looked at him brightly, hopefully,

“No,” Kyuhyun replied and added, “I don’t think I can be just friends with you. I knew from the first that I wanted you and you being engaged doesn’t change that for me.”

“But… I’m engaged to someone else,” Sungmin argued,

“Do you still want to be?” Kyuhyun asked, “Or have I changed your mind? Even just a little? If meeting me hasn’t changed your mind, then I’ll stop and leave you to your happiness with another man… but if meeting me has changed your mind even just the tiniest bit, then I cannot stop – will not stop – until I show you, prove to you, that I’m the one you’re meant to be with.”

“I don’t even know you,” Sungmin practically whispered, finding it hard to speak, to breathe,

“Then get to know me,” Kyuhyun persisted, stepping closer to her, cupping her shoulders with his warm hands,

“I haven’t even said if you’ve changed my mind,” Sungmin said, pulling away from his touch. She shifted the books in her arms, “Don’t be so presumptuous with me. Just because you’re a prince doesn’t mean you can just assume anything and just take control like that.”

“Then tell me to leave,” Kyuhyun dared, “Tell me to leave, tell me to never see you again… tell me that I haven’t changed your mind.”

Sungmin stared at him, her fox-like eyes wide with wariness. She swallowed hard, taking another step back, “I… I can’t.” She clutched her books like a shield, “You know I can’t.”

“Then give me a chance to change your mind completely,” Kyuhyun said, taking another step towards her,

“What if… what if I don’t want you to change my mind?” Sungmin asked, as if half-afraid of the words she said,

“Don’t you?”

“I… I promised another man to marry him… to be with him forever,” Sungmin stated, “I cannot renege on that promise –”

“Even if you fall in love with someone else? Even if someone else falls in love with you?” Kyuhyun challenged, “Because that’s what I’m offering, Sungmin… I’m offering you a choice to be with someone else who loves you.”

“You don’t even know me,” Sungmin stated, eyes wide with surprised at the sudden declaration,

“That doesn’t matter to me,” Kyuhyun said, “It sounds foolish and crazy and I don’t even understand it… but it doesn’t matter because that’s how I feel.”

“I’m… I’m not promising anything,” Sungmin stammered as Kyuhyun took another step towards her. He reached for her hand and she promptly dropped her books to the ground as she stared up at him, “No… No more kisses. I won’t be labelled a cheater… we’re… we’re just friends.”

“I was just going to shake your hand,” Kyuhyun quirked his lips, “That’s what friends do right? That’s how friends agree right?”

Sungmin stood still, silent when Kyuhyun dropped her hand and then got to his knees and began collecting her fallen books. She stared at his bent head as she murmured resentfully, “Why couldn’t you be like everyone else?”

Somehow, Kyuhyun caught her words and froze, looking up at her. He smiled brilliantly at her as he stood to his full height, her books in his clutches, “Because maybe I’m not meant to be like everyone else… not to you anyways.”

He smiled her way and she forgot it was cold.

…

Kyuhyun became the most attentive brother. Everyday without complaint and without having to be asked, he dutifully picked up Taeyeon from school. Granted, she knew almost immediately that it was because Sungmin attended her school and everyday they drove Sungmin home as well. Taeyeon, appreciative that her brother picked her up since that meant they didn’t have to hire another bodyguard, decided to stop teasing him, despite seeing quite well that her brother was in love with Sungmin.

She was walking through the Royal House one day when she heard music coming from the ballroom. She changed her direction and headed towards the ballroom. It had been years since either her cousin or brother had lessons there, indeed, it had been years since she last heard the piano being used despite the family having three balls a year. She was startled to find Sooyoung standing outside the ballroom, one of the double doors slightly ajar.

“What are you doing?” Taeyeon asked,

“Shh,” Sooyoung replied, her eyes alight, “Kyuhyun’s in there with Sungmin.”

“Is he giving her dance lessons or something?” Taeyeon asked, confused as she drew closer,

Sooyoung shook her head, “He’s playing… and singing.”

Taeyeon blinked, “Singing? Are you serious?” Sooyoung nodded as Taeyeon tried to peer through the open space of the doors; “He’s never sung for any of us.”

“Well, apparently none of us are Sungmin-sshi because he’s definitely singing for her!” Sooyoung whispered excitedly, “Wow… who knew that Oppa sang so good?”

“I did.” Taeyeon and Sooyoung almost collapsed out of fright. They turned to find Eunhyuk standing nearby, trying to see over them into the room. “Sometimes when we were waiting for the music tutor, he’d hum or sing softly to himself. I don’t think he ever realized how much the ballroom echoes despite how quiet one sings.”

The three grew silent, allowing themselves to be saturated in Kyuhyun’s voice. It was deep and soothing, warm and thick like delicious honey but fluid and easy like warm milk. As he sang, not a single beat was missed as his fingers played across the black and white piano keys. What they heard, however, was only half the story.

Kyuhyun sat at the piano, unaware that his body slightly swayed to the music as he poured all his effort and emotion into the song he sang. As he did so, his eyes were open, locked with Sungmin’s in an unwavering connection. He sang to her, about her, for her. He sang everything he felt and prayed that she understood what this meant. He had never sung for anyone – save his mother’s gravestone – and the fact that he sung for her meant so much to him. Singing left him vulnerable, open to criticism, emotionally exposed to vultures. He prayed he wasn’t wrong about her; prayed that what he did was right.

His fingers softly played the last notes of the piece and then he grew still as the remnants of his song dissipated against the ballroom’s solid walls. He sat still, eyes still locked with Sungmin’s. He silently asked her to say something – anything – and begged for it to be what he wanted.

For two weeks he spent at least half an hour by her side; fifteen minutes waiting for Taeyeon to finally reach the car, another fifteen to drive Sungmin home. For two weeks he listened to her soft voice, her bright laugh and watched her sparkling, fox-like eyes. For two weeks he learned more about her and hoped he told her enough about himself. For two weeks he held out his heart for her and waited for her to either accept it or break it.

“I’ve known him for years,” Sungmin said softly, quietly, “I’ve been with him for years… engaged for almost two… but why is after one month with you I’m ready to give it all away?”

Kyuhyun held out a hand to her and she automatically laid her slender hand in his. He pulled her towards the piano bench, but he knew she was also walking of her own accord. She sat down and he clasped her hand tightly as he stared directly into her eyes,

“I’ve lived my life being rational and yet from the first moment I saw you, I gave up on being rational. After one month with you I know that I never want to be rational again if it means not having you, Sungmin,” Kyuhyun replied slowly, steadily, placing emphasis and meaning into each word he spoke.

“I… I don’t know what I want,” Sungmin admitted, slowly tugging her hand from his, “But I do know I need to break off the engagement… I know that much.”

“Does that mean I get a chance?” Kyuhyun asked softly,

Sungmin sighed, giving him a small, rueful smile, “You always had a chance… since the beginning.”

Eunhyuk effectively pulled his two youngest cousins away from the door, “You two should be ashamed, eavesdropping like that.” Two sets of eyes glared at him. He rolled his eyes, “It’s not like I was listening to their conversation just now.”

“Oh really?” Sooyoung crossed her arms, “You were gripping my arm so tightly with anticipation I’m pretty sure I’ll bruise!”

“I was merely making sure that you wouldn’t fall through the door and interrupt them,” Eunhyuk scoffed,

“Ah, loving as always,” a voice stated. The three of them turned to find a young man approaching. Dressed in black slacks and a black vest over a white button-up, he stopped before them, another man standing just a few steps behind him, “I thought I’d have a problem locating any of you and all I had to do was listen for bickering.”

“Donghae,” Eunhyuk narrowed his eyes at him before turning his attention to the stranger, “A friend of yours?”

Donghae shook his head, “This young man came to the door and no one was nearby but me. He’s looking for a Lee Sungmin-sshi,” he explained, his gaze sharpening on Eunhyuk ever-so-slightly.

“Is there a reason you’d be looking for this person here?” Eunhyuk asked with all the solemnity of the King he was and a bit of the hauteur of the Princess he once was. With a hand behind his back, he gestured to his cousins to slip into the ballroom.

“I… um… have reason to believe that she’s been spending time with… erm… the Prince Kyuhyun,” the young man explained, his hands fisted at his sides, “So I thought the best place to look for her was at the Royal House… erm… Your Highness.”

“And how are you associated to Lee Sungmin-sshi?” Eunhyuk inquired, his arms folding over his chest in an intimidating stance, Donghae subtly stepping to the side to convey a neutrality between the parties which was not truly there.

“Sungjin?”

Eunhyuk looked over his shoulder to the ballroom doors where one was now opened, Sungmin standing there. The young man, supposedly Sungjin, attempted to get to the doors then stopped when he was a foot before Eunhyuk. He stood there, silent, head bowed. Eunhyuk glanced at Donghae who nodded at him, seemingly understanding the silent question in the King’s eyes. Eunhyuk stepped aside and Sungjin strode over to Sungmin,

“What are you doing here?” Sungmin questioned, crossing her arms over her chest,

“Me? What are you doing here? Have you forgotten the promise you made two years ago?” Sungjin demanded, eyes narrowed and seemingly forgotten about the royalty around him.

“I haven’t and in all actuality I have decided to break the engagement,” Sungmin replied coldly.

She opened her mouth to continue when she looked back over her shoulder at Kyuhyun. The prince stood with his back to her, beside the piano. His sister stood on either side of him, watching her curiously. She wished he was beside her then, or at least looking at her, giving her some kind of silent support. However, she knew that if she was ever to prove to him – and herself – that she was serious about breaking her engagement, she had to do it alone.

Inhaling deeply, she looked back at Sungjin, “I know he’s your best friend… and that you feel loyalty to him, but damn it, I’m your sister! You had no right to come here looking for me!”

“Loyalty to him? You think that’s why I’m here? I’m here because of my loyalty to you!” Sungjin exclaimed, “I’m here to make sure that you don’t make a fool of yourself!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her aside, suddenly aware that the King stood at his back; “Sungmin, you were with him for five years, engaged for two of those years. Now you’re breaking the engagement? He’s returning in a few months from the army and now… NOW you decide to break the engagement?”

“Yes,” Sungmin replied swiftly with all the conviction she could muster,

“What is the prince even offering you? Is he offering you a future? Is he offering you protection? Is he offering you anything that your fiancé offered you?” Sungjin questioned, desperately trying to reason with his sister, “Once you break the engagement, there’s no going back, Sungmin. He’s a prince, Sungmin – once there’s a public declaration, it’ll be too difficult to go back… to escape. If you’re going to break off your engagement for the prince, you need to understand the consequences!”

“If I break the engagement, does that mean losing you, too?” Sungmin inquired simply, her gaze locked with her brother’s,

Sungjin’s eyes narrowed immediately, “Of course not! How could you even ask such a thing?”

“Then that’s the only consequence that matters,” Sungmin replied easily, “If I can break the engagement and still have your support, then that’s all there is to it.”

“Will this prince stay with you? Will he stay by your side?” He ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair, “Damn it Sungmin, what do you even know about the prince?”

“Enough to know that I cannot go through with my engagement,” Sungmin answered, “There is no promise of a future, or indeed that we’ll be together… but I know enough that I cannot remain engaged when my heart is engaged elsewhere now.”

“Is your heart so weak that it switches sides so easily?” Sungjin asked quietly, hesitantly,

Sungmin looked at him with sad, pitying eyes, “Haven’t you realized it by now? I kept my promise to marry because of you. I didn’t allow my heart to get entangled elsewhere because of you and your friendship with him.” She paused, looking back into the ballroom where Princess Taeyeon now had her hand on her brother’s arm; “I didn’t allow my heart to get entangled with the prince either… but it did anyway.”

Sungjin watched his sister a moment before lowering his crossed arms, shoving his fists into his pockets, “Then let’s go and break this engagement of yours before it gets even more complicated.”

Sungmin’s gaze swung to her brother, wide with surprise, “Really?”

“If you’re sure you know the consequences?”

Sungmin nodded. Without a backwards glance, she followed her brother.

…

“Where the hell is my brother?”

The study’s doors burst open and Taeyeon strode in glaring at the three men in the room.

“Taeyeon, I believed I raised you to have better language than that,” her father scolded, standing from his chair before the desk.

Eunhyuk, who sat behind the desk merely raised an eyebrow at his cousin before turning it to the third male in the room: Kyuhyun.

He twisted in his seat to look at his sister, “What is it?”

“Where were you today? Better yet, where have you been the past week?” She scowled at him as she grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the study

He blinked at his sister, “Discussing a bill congress wants to pass with Eunhyuk and Father. What’s wrong, have you been bullied again?”

“Not me, Sungmin,” Taeyeon hissed when they were in the corridor.

Kyuhyun stiffened immediately, eyes narrowing, “What about her? What happened?”

“At first it was just one… and then two… today there was practically a mob of them!” Taeyeon exclaimed,

Kyuhyun placed his hands on his sister’s shoulders to focus her attention, “A mob of what Taeyeon?”

“Vultures! The press! The paparazzi!” Taeyeon answered, “All standing outside every gate at the university. They haven’t bothered with me because all it ever has been was me walking to the car, nothing impressive with that. But today they practically swarmed Sungmin.”

“Where is she?” Kyuhyun demanded immediately,

“I think Donghae took her to the kitchen for some ice,” Taeyeon answered. She yelped when Kyuhyun immediately strode off. She sprinted to catch up to him, grabbing his arm to stop him, “Wait, wait!”

“What is it now?” Kyuhyun practically growled as he glared down at his sister,

“I never pay attention to the tabloids, you know how stupid they can be. But when I realized they were starting to gather at the university earlier this week, I began picking up some papers… they’ve been saying the most terrible of things about Sungmin, Oppa,” Taeyeon said softly, “We’re used to it… we’ve grown up being the centre of attention. She’s… spirited and lively… I honestly don’t know how she’s taking it.”

They walked the rest of the way to the kitchen in silence. Upon entering it, Kyuhyun leashed onto his temper immediately. Sungmin sat on a stool by the kitchen island as Donghae handed her a bag of peas. She pressed it to the side of her forehead before pulling it away, flinching.

“Put it back on,” Donghae instructed, crossing his arms over his chest,

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Sungmin insisted as she put the bag on the tiled surface, “Truly.”

“Put it back on,” Kyuhyun said, stepping forward, “And that’s a royal command.” With one grateful look at Donghae and his sister, he dismissed them both. He came to Sungmin, raising his hands to cradle her face. He tilted her face away, his eyes focusing on the red welt forming over her right temple, “How the hell did this happen?”

“You know how clumsy I am,” Sungmin shrugged,

Kyuhyun turned her face back to his own, “Don’t lie. You’re clumsy enough that you keep band-aids on you, but you’re not this clumsy… it was the damn paparazzi wasn’t it?”

“One hit me with their camera. Accidentally… I think… I would’ve taken them all on,” Sungmin muttered, flinching when Kyuhyun brushed his finger tips over the welt, “But your sister grabbed me and hauled me into the town car and – stop touching it!”

Kyuhyun twisted his lips in a rueful smile, “At least I know they didn’t bring you down.”

“I’d like to bring them down,” Sungmin replied, “I swear, if I didn’t have my backpack and all my books I would’ve knocked them all down!”

“Ever the violent one,” Kyuhyun noted solemnly. He took her chin between thumb and forefinger, “But how are you?”

“Fine.”

Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow as he repeated, “How are you?”

Sungmin sighed, “I wish I could just… shut them all up.”

“Taeyeon said the tabloids have been saying things about you,” Kyuhyun commented lightly,

“None of it’s true!” Sungmin exclaimed, “None of it, I swear! They make me so mad sometimes! All their lies and –”

Sungmin let out a frustrated yell and Kyuhyun enveloped her in his arms immediately, her slight frame shaking like a leaf in a windstorm. She softened immediately in his embrace and he realized how much she had been hiding.

“They’re saying so many lies about me…” Sungmin said quietly, her voice breaking almost instantly. “Somehow they found out I was engaged when we first met and they’ve been saying that… that I… that I gave up everything because… because you’re a prince.” She looked up suddenly, clutching at the front of Kyuhyun’s shirt, “But it’s not true, I swear it’s not!”

Kyuhyun was startled to see the unshed tears in her fox-like eyes. He raised his hands to her face, brushing the tears away with the pads of his thumbs, “I know it’s not. If anything, I stole you away.”

“And then they said I jumped from one bed to another and how I… how I… I spread my l-legs so easily because… because of royalty,” she buried her face into his chest, clutching him to her. “But I never… we never…”

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, fiercely, protectively, “They’re vultures,” Kyuhyun said quietly, soothingly, “They’ll stop at nothing until they tear everyone down. Ever since my cousin revealed himself to be a prince, they’ve been commenting about his relationship with Donghae. They’re sole purpose in life, Sungmin, is to make everyone miserable… but we know the truth, right?”

“But it still… hurts to think that people will read and… oh God! What if my parents read these lies?” Sungmin shook even more violently in his arms,

Kyuhyun held her tighter, pressing his lips to her crown, “Do you want me to talk to them?”

Sungmin shook her head, “No… I just… I wish they would stop.”

“That’s the price of being connected to me,” Kyuhyun said softly, apologetically; “Do you… do you ever wish I had never approached you? That everything had remained as they were?”

He stilled, completely stopped breathing as he waited. Five heartbeats passed, perhaps even an eternity. Then, he felt her arms move from where they were crushed between them. They slipped around his waist, pulling him more firmly against her as she held him back. Immediately, he adjusted his footing to accommodate the stool she still sat on. He looked down into her fox-like eyes as she gazed up at him through a veil of hot, thick tears,

“No, never. If I let such petty things stop me, then I would never have been able to feel this way… to meet you…” Sungmin insisted, her voice soft yet stern. She turned and leaned her cheek against where his heart was, “Besides… if it wasn’t for your image as a prince, I would have beat up all those damn paparazzi.”

“Well, I’ll make sure they don’t hurt you anymore,” Kyuhyun promised as he hugged her tightly, “I’ll be there to pick you up everyday.”

“I don’t need you to protect me,” Sungmin insisted as she pulled form his embrace to glare up at him, “I need you to let me beat them up!”

“Ah, there’s my girl. As lively as the day and with a bite worse than a fox,” he chuckled softly as he wiped the last remnants of her tears away.

She scowled at him, “You’re lucky I lo-… like have you around.”

Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow, “Otherwise?”

She narrowed her fox-like eyes mischievously, “I’d have to beat you up, too!”

…

“The last time you glared at me so much was during my wedding. What did I do now?”

Kyuhyun blinked before straightening in his seat in the town car, “I didn’t realizing I was glaring. I thought I was merely staring.”

“Glaring, staring… it surmounts to the same thing to the brother-in-law,” Junsu scoffed as he crossed his arms, “So, what is it? What did I do wrong this time?”

“When you married Taeyeon… no, no… even before that, when you were just courting her –”

“Courting? Have we reverted back to the eighteenth century?”

“Damn it, she is a princess and it is courting if I,” Kyuhyun shook his head as if dispelling the excessive words. He inhaled deeply and continued on his main vein, “When you first started courting my sister… how did you handle the press? The paparazzi?”

“Those vultures?” Junsu scoffed, using the term he and his wife fondly used; “We were fortunate. When we began seeing each other, it was when Eunhyuk had just revealed himself and was trying to reinstate himself as King… I’m not saying no vultures were around, but most of the attention was on Eunhyuk… and even after he ascended to the throne, it was all that horrible speculation about Donghae.”

“So after three years of being with my sister that’s all you have to say about the paparazzi?” Kyuhyun slanted him a look, “Considering you both go to public schools, I highly doubt that.”

“Nothing too extreme,” Junsu shrugged, “It’s annoying when I’m outdoors, but how often is that? I’m sure Taeyeon has more trouble with the damn vultures, but she’s never complained… much.”

Kyuhyun shook his head, “No, she has me pick her up so late simply because she knows if she waits long enough the paparazzi will clear the gates… most of them anyway.”

Junsu nodded thoughtfully before glancing at his brother-in-law, “Why the questions? Is this about that Sungmin person Taeyeon’s always telling me about?”

Kyuhyun nodded, “She’s been slandered and torn down by the paparazzi this past week and I was completely oblivious because I was busy with Eunhyuk… I wasn’t even able to pick up her and Taeyeon from school and Sungmin ended up getting hurt.”

Junsu suddenly sat straighter in his seat, his hands fisted in his lap, “It’s a damn good thing I decided to skip classes today to pick up Taeyeon.”

As if on cue, the car slowed down by the curb of the school gates as always. Immediately, the car was swarmed with bodies. The driver glanced into the rear-view mirror, catching Kyuhyun’s eye, “Prince, the vultures seem more today than yesterday. If I may be bold… perhaps we should have availed Princess Sooyoung of her offer and taken Joon with us.”

“Then who would protect Princess Sooyoung?” Kyuhyun shook his head, gently dismissing the driver’s suggestion, “No, no… I’d rather be here myself and know Joon is protecting my sister.” He looked at his brother-in-law, “If we can make it inside the gates, the school security won’t allow the paparazzi in. Up for a quick run?”

Junsu cracked his knuckles, “I hope some of them get in my way,” he inched closer as Kyuhyun placed a hand on the door handle. Kyuhyun pushed the door open and slipped out, Junsu behind him immediately, “I have your back, Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun threw him a quick glance as he murmured, “Thanks… hyu… Junsu.”

Junsu quirked his lips as they began shielding their faces and pushing through the crowd, “One of these days, I’ll here you say the word, Kyuhyun.”

The rest of the journey to the gates was in silence as they tried to make quick work of the paparazzi. At one point, Kyuhyun had to grab Junsu’s arm away from pummelling a photographer.

Once within the safety of the gates, Junsu sagged his back against the inside-surface of the tall walls; “And we have to go through that again?” At the younger man’s nod, Junsu sighed, “Damn… ‘for better or for worse’ suddenly has new meaning to me.”

Kyuhyun threw him a wry look when he was suddenly grabbed by the collar, stumbling back a few steps before regaining his balance and steadying himself against the onslaught. He looked down into the eyes of Sungjin, “What the he –”

“Where’s my sister?” Sungjin demanded,

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened immediately as he pulled off the younger man’s hands from his clothes, “What are you going on about? She’s in school.”

“She’s not, damn it! She left her books at home and I’ve called all her friends – no one’s seen her today,” Sungjin hissed as he began to pace before the prince, spiking his fingers through his thick, dark locks, “Damn it… if you don’t know either… no… no, she’s clumsy, she’s not reckless.”

Suddenly, Kyuhyun felt a prickling sensation at the back of his neck. His hand clamped down on Sungjin’s shoulder, his fingers digging into the other man’s shoulder, “What are you talking about? What are you thinking?”

Sungjin linked gazes, “I found out that all the rumours… the main ones… the most hideous ones… came from the same source… that damn best friend of mine she was engaged to,” he practically spat the words, eyes narrowed, “If he had been anywhere else… if he wasn’t in... I would worry that she… but no… she wouldn’t because he’s –”

Kyuhyun’s grip tightened considerably, his voice a growl that even Junsu had never heard before, “Tell me.”

“The reason my sister was engaged was because the bastard asked her to marry him before he left for the army. They agreed to marry when he was done conscription. Any other time, I’d think she went after him because of the rumours… but considering he’s in the army she,” Sungjin shook his head vehemently, “No, she wouldn’t… she wouldn’t travel to the training camp –”

“Are you that fucking stupid?” Kyuhyun roared just as his sister appeared, Junsu immediately going to her side, “I’ve only known your sister for five weeks but even I know she would travel down to a training camp just to give him a piece of her mind!”

Kyuhyun swirled away as he went back to the gates, back to the vultures. He paused just before the gates, his eyes narrowed on the flashing bulbs. He raised his hand for some calm, some quiet as he inhaled deeply before his usual soft, deep voice boomed darkly, “Either step away or pray you don’t get in my way because I’ll take you all on if I have to and as my mother as my witness I will make you all meet her!”

The bodies parted like the proverbial red sea and Kyuhyun looked back at his companions, gesturing for them to precede him to the town car. As Sungjin walked ahead of him, Kyuhyun fought the urge to smile dryly when he heard him comment:

“I don’t know who that bastard should worry about more… my sister or the prince.”

…

When they arrived at the training camp Sungjin knew his best friend (“Ex-best friend!” He swore furiously several times in the ride there. ) had been located, Kyuhyun didn’t know what to expect. He half-hoped that Sungmin was there and half-feared they wouldn’t find her. What they came upon, however, in an open area of the training camp, was far from anything Kyuhyun ever expected.

Sungmin stood with her feet together, her hands supine and fisted at her waist. She inhaled deeply and her entire body relaxed, a wave of tension seemingly seeped from her. Around her was a circle of collapsed soldiers-in-training. She approached one, hands on her hips as she began talking to him, her fox-like eyes narrowed.

Kyuhyun and Sungjin immediately walked over to an older man who stood on the sidelines, arms crossed over his muscled chest. “What happened here?” Kyuhyun asked, startled,

“The little miss took on ten of my best soldiers,” the man, a captain Kyuhyun now identified, stated, “First the blighter she’s talking to now, and then one after another, they came at her. I swear, if I could, I’d sign her up immediately.”

“She took on… ten soldiers!?” Kyuhyun gaped,

The man nudged Kyuhyun, the older man’s gaze never leaving Sungmin, “And you see that circle around her? The pattern in the dirt? That wasn’t there when she came.”

“What… is it?”

“When she fought, she only moved one foot, continuously pivoting only on her left foot. I’ve seen some martial arts in my life, but that was damn skilled… and on her left, too!” The captain whistled low in appreciation, “Usually, in anything, you pivot around your dominant foot because it’s stronger, more steady, more balanced… but she was pivoting on her left foot.”

“That’s because Sungmin doesn’t have a dominant foot,” Sungjin spoke up finally. The captain and Kyuhyun looked at him in silent askance, but his gaze remained on his sister, “Sungmin’s strong on both sides of her body when it comes to her martial arts. She trained so she’d have no weaknesses.”

“That’s quite the little miss,” the captain chuckled softly, “I’m guessing you young gents know the little miss? You’ll take her before she beats up the rest of my trainees?”

Kyuhyun threw the captain a proud smile, “She’s mine.”

The captain blinked, jaw slightly dropping. Immediately, his arms dropped to his side and he bowed, “Your Highness! I didn’t realize… I… I’m sorry! If I had known she was with you I’d never let her fight!”

Kyuhyun chuckled softly, “You wouldn’t have been able to stop her, Captain.”

Just then, as if sensing his gaze – their gazes, really – Sungmin straightened and looked right at them. She looked down at the soldier at her feet, throwing one last scathing remark (Kyuhyun could only guess how much punch her words held) and then delicately walked over the fallen soldiers and came up to them.

Kyuhyun immediately stepped forward, holding out a hand. Automatically, she slipped her slender hand into his. His fingers curled around hers, squeezing affectionately, his eyes gazing down into her fox-like eyes full of laughter.

“Apparently you can protect yourself,” Kyuhyun murmured as he drew her close,

Sungmin placed her free hand to his chest, stopping him as she looked around him, “Captain, I’m sorry for the damage!”

“Any time, miss! You come and teach my boys a thing or two,” the Captain laughed softly as he gave another bow to Kyuhyun before walking by and going over to his fallen soldiers.

“Sungmin…” Kyuhyun said, trying to regain her attention,

“Sungjin! Oh and Taeyeon, too!” Sungmin exclaimed as she used her free hand to wave to them,

“Sungmin –”

“Oh! What your sister must think of me after seeing this display!” Sungmin shook her head ruefully,

“Sungmin!” Kyuhyun said exasperatedly,

She looked up at him then, her fox-like eyes narrowed and lips in a slight pout, “When you call me like that I distinctly think of Sungjin.”

Kyuhyun laughed gently as he brought up her hand to his lips, brushing his lips against the unmarred skin, “Then how about I call you Min?”

“Oh, that sounds so much better,” Sungmin smiled up at him, her cheeks pink from her exertion and from Kyuhyun’s kiss, “I shall have to ask everyone to start calling me that!”

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, “The point is that I’m different from everyone else.”

Sungmin tilted her head slightly, gazing up at him, “But you are, Kyuhyun… you always have been.”

“But if everyone else calls you ‘Min’…”

Sungmin reached up slowly, tentatively, forgetting that they were in the midst of a training camp and her brother, his sister and another male she assumed as his brother-in-law. She forgot about them all, her fox-like eyes concentrated on him and him alone, “But when I hear it, I shall look for you first. When I hear myself being called that, my heart will search for you first and foremost because that is who I truly want to see… who I truly want to be calling my name.”

He gazed down into her bright, fox-like eyes. He saw the sincerity, the honesty, the love. Kyuhyun knew immediately, that he’d never feel cold again.

…

Seven years later…

Kyuhyun should be happy. As he paced the linoleum floor, he kept thinking that, over and over like a personal mantra. His five-year-old son had been declared heir to the throne just a few months ago at his cousin’s thirty-third birthday ball. Heck, he should be jumping for joy because his wife of six years was having his second child.

Except he was not happy.

Because his wife did not love him.

He always considered himself to be rational. Calm, collected and always thought before acting. However, seven years ago he met his wife and that all went downhill. Now, all he could remember was her words slicing through him. He leaned his back against the wall, slowly sliding down until he was in a deep squat, his hands holding his head.

“Oh pull yourself together!”

Kyuhyun raised his head slightly, peering through the spaces in his fingers at his youngest sister who sat across the waiting room from him. Dressed in black pants and a white blouse that curved to her rounded stomach, she sat in a chair, her tall, foreign husband beside her,

“She didn’t mean those words and you know it!” Sooyoung snapped exasperatedly, waving away her husband’s attempt to calm her with a hand on her arm.

“But… but then why did she said she didn’t love me!?” Kyuhyun questioned, the words practically choking him on the way out,

“Because she’s trying to force a baby out of her – YOU try it some time and we’ll see what nonsensical things spill from your mouth,” Sooyoung exclaimed as she shook her head, “He just falls to pieces.”

“Regardless of what Min said, I still don’t think you should have left the room,” Eunhyuk said from his seat adjacent to Sooyoung’s. Dressed in slacks and a dark-blue button-up, it was the most casual the public had ever seen the King. Donghae sat down next to him, handing the King a cup of coffee, silently agreeing by nodding.

“But… but she told me to leave!” Kyuhyun defended, straightening immediately, no longer able to stand the onslaught from his family as he was down on the floor; “I like to appease the mother of my children by obliging in her requests!”

“When they tell you to leave, they really want you to stay,” Junsu counselled from his stance against the wall, hands in his pockets, “When Taeyeon was giving birth to LiNa she banished me from her sight at least thirteen times… and she meant forever not just for the rest of the day.”

“But Min was never like this when Kyu was born,” Kyuhyun stammered, looking at his family members; he really was falling to pieces,

“She was in too much pain to yell at you,” Sungjin decided from his seat beside Donghae, “And where is the little terror? Back at the Royal House?”

Kyuhyun nodded, “The nannies are there watching Kyu and LiNa.”

“He’s probably talking to the nannies about fornication,” Eunhyuk commented lightly, causing Sooyoung’s husband to nearly choke on the water he had been drinking.

Kyuhyun threw his cousin a scowl when the door to Min’s hospital room opened. Taeyeon peered out, her face flushed, “Oppa? Kyuhyun? Min’s looking for you.”

Kyuhyun rushed over immediately, entering when Taeyeon stepped aside to allow him entry. Sungmin was still in the bed, her legs propped up, but her torso was flopped against the raised bed, her head lolling on her shoulders in exhaustion. He closed the distance between them, holding out a hand to her. Despite her eyes being closed, she slipped a hand into his waiting one and he clasped it tightly, dearly,

“Min… Min… talk to me.”

“Taeyeon says you’ve been crying out there,” Sungmin managed to open her eyes and attempted a small smile, “You know I love you, Kyuhyun.”

“If I’ve been crying it’s because you’re in so much pain,” Kyuhyun half-lied, bringing her hand to his face, pressing it against his lips, “Min, I swear, we’ll have no more children! I won’t even touch you anymore! We’ll keep separate bedrooms and, and –”

Sungmin narrowed her fox-like eyes, “Are you publicly proclaiming a vow of celibacy, husband of mine?”

Kyuhyun, disregarding the doctors and nurses around, slanted her a look, “Well… maybe not.”

“I hate to interrupt, Your Highness…es…. But we need to start pushing again,” The doctor at the foot of the bed instructed, her voice apologetic but stern.

Sungmin looked up at Kyuhyun, her face flushed and sticky with perspiration, “I can’t do it anymore Kyuhyun… I can’t… I’m not strong enough for this…”

“Min, of course you are! It’s been over thirteen hours since this began – you can, my love!” Kyuhyun insisted as he drew even closer, allowing her to bury her face again his arm.

A cry was wretched from her small frame as pain sliced through her body, the doctor calmly urging her for more. However, as soon as it began, it ended and Sungmin collapsed back against the bed again, her head shaking against the raised mattress, murmuring that she could do no more.

“What if we do this together, Min?” Kyuhyun asked, her hand still clasped securely in his, held against his heart, “Hmm? We’ll do this together… since that day in the training camp, we’ve always done things together, so why not this too?”

“How?” She murmured, barely able to open her eyes as she tried to focus on his image in the bright room.

Kyuhyun looked over at the doctor who nodded at him. “I’ll sit behind you, Min, and I’ll give you my strength.” He pulled her up slightly and slipped in between her and the raised part of the bed. He straddled the bed, his calves hanging off the edges as his arms curved behind hers like armrests. He laced his fingers with hers, holding on tightly, securely, protectively. “Lean against me, Min… we’ll do this together.”

“Now,” the doctor instructed.

Sungmin bared down, clenching her teeth before a yell bubbled forth. She gripped Kyuhyun’s hands as if it were the last things that kept her sane, kept her conscious. She felt his warm, solid body behind her, beneath her arms and she used his strength, his resistance to propel her pushes, force them with what little strength she had left. She screamed and pushed and all the while, Kyuhyun chanted soft, soothing words in her ear, encouraging her, supporting her, loving her.

Her scream was coupled by the high-pitched sound of a baby and Sungmin collapsed into the arms of her husband. He wrapped his arms around her limp body, brushing wet tendrils from her temple with his lips before pressing a kiss to her heated skin,

“We have our daughter, love,” Kyuhyun said softly, reverently, humbled once again at the gifts his wife bestowed upon him, brought to his life.

The couple was silent, Kyuhyun refusing to move as the nurses attended to his wife and child, cleaning her, changing the bed sheets. It was long moments yet until the room was emptied and he was alone with his wife and newborn daughter.

“She’s as feisty as her mother,” Kyuhyun whispered. He had wanted to slip from behind her to just lie beside her, but Sungmin wouldn’t let him, wanting to be in the circle of his arms.

“More like she causes as much trouble as me,” Sungmin corrected affectionately as the small bundle was peaceful in her arms, held securely against her heart. She looked over her shoulder at her husband, “Shall we name her now?”

“Have you decided your part?”

Sungmin nodded, “I want to add ‘Jin’ for my brother. Are you still adding ‘Soo’ for your sister?”

“She did convince me to fight for you,” Kyuhyun nodded. He looked down at the now-peaceful face of his sleeping daughter, “SooJin. Do you think she can live up to the two terrors of our lives?”

“After what I just went through? I think she’ll live up to them just fine,” Sungmin scoffed before laughing softly, her soft, soprano voice slowly regaining its strength.

“I hope she has your eyes,” Kyuhyun said then, “It’s what made me fall in love with you.”

“You mean my ability to take down ten soldiers-in-training wasn’t what stole your heart?” Sungmin asked in mock-shock,

Kyuhyun nuzzled her cheek affectionately, “No, that made me decide that I should marry you. But it was your eyes, as you very well know.”

“Well, you could tell me again. You’ve only told me a few dozen times,” Sungmin stated solemnly,

“More like a few hundred times,” Kyuhyun murmured, his lips against her temple again, “But as you wish… The moment I looked into your eyes, I knew I could never love anyone else… you had stolen my heart in that moment.”

Kyuhyun raised one of his hands, a silent offer. She slipped her hand into his automatically. Always automatically. He curled his fingers around hers, squeezing affectionately. Instead of bringing her hand to his lips however, he curved their arms around the pink bundle in the crook of Sungmin’s left arm and brushed their hands against the soft skin of the daughter’s cheek.

Sungmin turned her head enough to tuck her head against his chin. She allowed her eyes to flutter close, her soft voice floating to his ears like sweet music, “I love you, Kyuhyun.”

He tightened his arms fractionally around his wife, turning his head to press kisses against her closed eyes, “And, since the beginning, you’ve had my heart, Sungmin.”




Thank you to Lily who suffered my tormenting and to Sarah who suggested ways to cause trouble for KyuMin. Although I doubt I'll ever be ready to write that scenario...

[song] To Smile Again

words: 3596
rate: PG
song: "Incomplete" by Sisqo


Kyuhyun slipped into one of the middle seats of the van, a hulky man coming in on the other side and sitting in the seat beside him. The driver looked over his shoulder at him,

“Crazy crowd today, Boss,” the driver stated, “How’d the concert go tonight?”

“The same as the other nights, I suppose,” Kyuhyun sighed as he slowly drew down the blind for his window, wanting to block out the hordes of people banging on his window and screaming his name; “But this was the last day of the concert and thankfully we all get a vacation.”

“After the past few months preparing for this concert, it’s a good reprieve,” the man beside him, his bodyguard, agreed, “What will you be doing, Boss? Visiting family? Friends? Ah – I know, that Chinese guy you met in Beijing six months ago! I’m right, aren’t I? He’s definitely in the country, I saw him at the concert two days ago.”

“Yes, Zhou Mi is in Seoul, and I did see him a few days ago. He’s actually at the same hotel we’re staying at,” Kyuhyun smiled briefly as the image of a handsome Chinese man flashed in his memory. He had a permanent smile on his face and he was adorably clumsy, all limbs. He was a famous actor in his country, but he was personable and humble and he loved to laugh; oh, how he loved to laugh.

They had been able to be together simply because, since he debuted, Kyuhyun had never lied nor hid about his gender preferences in his partners. The news had a field day with him for months after he debuted; his manager had been inconsolable and praying for their situation to get better – she was not a religious person. Kyuhyun knew it was risky to blatantly throw his orientation to the public, he knew he was making his country his enemy from the moment the words left his lips. However, he decided to make them come to his side and to see past the ‘gay’ sign hovering over him. So, he continued to sing. He sang and made them grudgingly admit that, gay or not, he was good. Really damn good.

Since he debuted over two years ago, Kyuhyun had never entered a relationship of any kind – casual or romantic – but not due to anyone not trying. Oh, they tried – men and women – and he was startled at how persistent some of them could get. However, no one caught his eye, let alone his heart, until he met Zhou Mi.

Someone cleared his throat, maybe his bodyguard, maybe his driver or maybe even both, but either way, Kyuhyun was pulled back to the present. He blinked at both,

“Boss, so what are you doing?” His bodyguard prompted,

“Ah, no, no… I won’t be seeing Zhou Mi,” Kyuhyun replied as his memory of Zhou Mi slowly faded from his mind, “We’re just friends, anyway.”

“That’s a shame, Boss,” the driver said as he started the engine and pulled away from the curb, trying hard not to hit any of the more enthusiastic of Kyuhyun’s fans; “Zhou Mi-sshi seemed really nice. And really, Boss, you need someone in your life.”

Kyuhyun laughed lightly, “I recall you damning me to hell the first month you were my driver.”

“I don’t remember such a thing,” the driver scoffed,

“I remember it!” A young woman climbed into the passenger seat, “Great concert tonight, Kyuhyun!”

“So, where to, Boss? Just back to the hotel?” The driver inquired,

“Um…” Kyuhyun leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms lightly, “Do you mind just driving around Seoul for a bit?”

“I don’t mind a bit, but it looks like we won’t be getting out of this crush for at least an hour, Boss,” the driver sighed,

Kyuhyun slowly closed his eyes, “Then wake me up once we’ve escaped the parking lot; I should have thought up a place by then.”

The soft murmur of his driver, bodyguard and manager began talking amongst themselves slowly swayed him into a deep rest. Not sleep, just a state of total calm and peace.

His mind drifted back to his time with Zhou Mi. He had become a good friend and Kyuhyun had been so happy to make his acquaintance. He had spent a ridiculous amount of time with Zhou Mi while he was in Beijing and, for three months, whenever he travelled to China, they would meet up. The press seemed to follow them everywhere, but there was never anything to report; he and Zhou Mi were just friends.

When his three companion’s voices drew him back, he could hear them softly bickering with one another.

“But he’s had a hard week! He should rest!” The high, lilting tone of his manager rang,

“But he told us to wake him!” The bodyguard argued,

“Well, whatever you two decide, just tell him we’re out of the parking lot,” the driver replied, “I won’t have anything to do with waking up Boss.”

Kyuhyun saved them all the trouble by, without opening his eyes, simply saying, “The Shim Jang café. It’s on the corner of Shim Jang Street and Kang Street.”

“Why does that sound familiar?” His manager wondered aloud as the driver began driving in the designated direction,

“Because,” Kyuhyun said as he turned his gaze to the still-shaded window beside him, “That’s where I was discovered.”

…

When the van pulled to a stop, Kyuhyun finally pulled up the blinds of his window. He sat there for the longest time, just staring up at the black sign and its pale blue writing that said “Shim Jang Café”. The other three in the van looked at one another, confused at what to do because Kyuhyun just sat there. At some point, the driver turned off the engine and they all fell in silence, just waiting for Kyuhyun to move.

Finally, he reached out and opened the door, he stepped out and three pairs of eyes followed him as he closed the door and slowly walked towards the café’s door. The passenger window lowered and his manager peered at him,

“Kyuhyun? Do… do you want us to wait?”

“I’ll be a few minutes,” He briefly stated before disappearing into the café. It was small and dim with paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Mismatched tables and chairs were scattered throughout the café. At one end was the front counter where the barista did her work. At the other end was a small stage where, currently, a young man sat singing, his guitar in his arms.

Slowly, Kyuhyun approached the counter and sat at one of the stools.

“What can I get for you?” The young girl asked, “Oh my – you’re – you’re-”

“Please… I don’t want anyone else to know I’m here,” Kyuhyun said, “Can I just get a small cup of coffee –” He glanced at her name tag, “Sooyoung?”

She nodded as she quickly began to pour him a cup, “I heard this is where you were discovered, that you used to sing here every night with Sungmin-sshi.”

Kyuhyun glanced up at the man who was still singing, his eyes shut as he played and sang a quiet, sultry song that lulled the few customers in the café. He knew, without any doubt, that when he opened his eyes, they would be dark and fox-like. He knew that when he stopped singing, his lips would twist in a small smirk. He knew that when he spoke, his voice was a few tones deeper than when he sang. He knew that it was because of this man that he and Zhou Mi were just friends.

“Yeah, we used to be best friends,” Kyuhyun replied,

Sooyoung placed a steaming cup before him, “Used to? What ever happened?”

Kyuhyun tore his gaze away and looked at the barista, smiling bitterly, “Me. I always said that fame wouldn’t change me, but somewhere along the way… a phone call every night turned to every other night… then once a week… once a month…” He glanced over his shoulder as Sungmin’s song slowly came to an end, “I want to see how he’s doing but… maybe it was wrong of me to come here.”

“No, no,” Sooyoung replied, “I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you!” She offered him a bright smile and Kyuhyun couldn’t argue. She called Sungmin’s name, waving him over the moment he stepped down from the stage and placed his guitar in its stand beside the stage. He made his way over and froze when he was just a few feet away.

“Kyuhyun,” Sungmin said softly,

“Hi, Sungmin… it’s been awhile,” Kyuhyun replied hesitantly, offering a small smile.

Sungmin didn’t reply as a customer approached the counter to order some of the baked goods the café offered. Suddenly, the customer gaped at Kyuhyun,

“Oh my-”

“No, please-” Kyuhyun began,

“EVERYONE LOOK! IT’S KYUHYUN!” The customer exclaimed.

Suddenly, the few people who were at the café turned their attention and began clamouring over towards him. Pleads for him to sing – just one song, please! – echoed throughout the café. A loud whistle broke through the chaos and everyone turned towards the barista.

“Okay, Kyuhyun-sshi is a busy guy, but if he sings one song, will that make everyone happy!?” Sooyoung questioned, her voice booming. As people replied in the affirmative, she looked towards Kyuhyun and smiled apologetically, “Just one song?”

“Sure,” Kyuhyun replied as he stood from the stool. He glanced towards Sungmin, who had become silent. When those fox-like eyes finally looked at him, Kyuhyun tried his best smile on him, “Could you… could you play the accompaniment?”

Sungmin was about to disagree – Kyuhyun would bet all he was worth on it – but Sooyoung cut him off, saying Sungmin would love to play while he sang. He caught Sungmin shooting her a hard glare before preceding Kyuhyun to the stage, picking up his guitar as he went.

When Kyuhyun stepped onto the stage, he noticed that Sungmin had already sat on the stool, mercilessly making Kyuhyun stand on the stage. He glanced at Sungmin briefly before walking towards the microphone stand. He looked out towards the small crowd and felt himself pulled back to a time over two years ago. He was younger then, but everything else was the same. He was standing on the stage to sing, Sungmin was accompanying him on the guitar – of course, he was more agreeable to the task - , the small populace of the café were watching with anticipation, and the only thing that was different was Sooyoung who was now the barista of the café.

He clasped the stand before him, “This isn’t one of my songs… instead, this is a song I haven’t sung in a long time… Actually,” he glanced towards Sungmin, “It’s a song I used to sing before I was famous, when every night I worked here as a barista to pay the bills and I sang to make work more tolerable. This song is called ‘Smile’.”

Sungmin suddenly raised his gaze from the guitar, his eyes flying towards Kyuhyun’s and shining with disbelief. Kyuhyun saw the emotions playing across his face – he was never good at hiding his emotions – and knew that Sungmin was fighting an eternal battle of whether to stay silent and play the song, or to leave that stage and never talk to him again. He felt a profound relief when Sungmin, gaze still locked with his, began plucking the first few bars of the song. It wasn’t until he heard the familiar melody wrap around him that Kyuhyun turned his gaze back to the small audience.

He allowed the soft, sultry music to pull him in and fill his mind with memories. Instinctively, his eyelids slid close and he began to sing, “Your two eyes look at me and smile sweetly. Even on the day we parted, you looked and smiled at me. I know it all: love can always approach you blindingly, making you dream until it takes everything from you… Forever.”

The distinct smell of coffee wafted to him, washing over him almost therapeutically as he remembered when he used to be the barista and Sungmin would smile at him from stage. He remembered the night when he looked up at the stage and a different light was in Sungmin’s eyes. It had warmed him, made his heart shake and made his soul quiver when he realized that what he saw in Sungmin’s eyes was what he felt.

“Your two eyes look at me and smile sweetly. Even on the day we parted, you looked and smiled at me…”

Sungmin continued playing the softly swaying, blues-like melodies of the song. During this short instrumental, Kyuhyun looked towards Sungmin who had shut his eyes once more, completely absorbed in his playing as his left hand moved along the guitar’s neck, his fingers instinctively knowing the chords of the song. He remembered a time when those fingers instinctively knew everything about his body and he fought the urge to shiver.

He looked back to the crowd as he began to sing again, “I know it all: love can always approach you blindingly, making you dream until it takes everything, forever, from me…” He looked back over to Sungmin, startled to find Sungmin was staring back at him, “Don't leave me, I need you. After you've shaken my mind, don't leave.”

The words felt foreign to him, the words twisted his heart as he remembered back once more. He remembered the soft hum of these words over a bad phone connection. He remembered when he would hear these words – a soft plead, a gentle prayer – every night, and then every other night, and then once a week, and then once a month… and then never again.

He turned back to the crowd, “Your two eyes look at me and smile sweetly. Even on the day we parted, you looked and smiled at me…”

His voice dissipated as Sungmin softly played the last bars of the song before, that too, was silenced by the loud clapping of the small audience. For some reason, the small amount of people in the café with their exuberant claps and cheers warmed him more than the thousands that cheered for him every night for the past week. For some reason, this small, dim café brought him more excitement than the flashing lights, moving platforms and fireworks of even the greatest of stages. For some reason, the man who joined him on that stage, affected him more than all the other people in the world.

He turned to that man now, but Sungmin was already placing his guitar on its stand beside the stage and making his way back to the counter. When Kyuhyun was walking towards the counter, Sungmin was walking around to stand behind it, joining Sooyoung.

Kyuhyun felt a painful jolt in his chest as he saw Sooyoung throw her arms around Sungmin’s neck just as he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. When she pulled away, she turned to Kyuhyun, smiling, “That was wonderful! Of course, my fiancé was brilliant as always on his guitar. I’m sorry to do that to you, but it’s the only way to get everyone happy.”

Kyuhyun forced himself to ignore her slender arms still hanging around Sungmin’s neck; ignored that he now noticed the simple ring on her finger; “Yes… happy.”

“Can you take over for a bit, Min?” Sooyoung asked then, “Just need to run to the washroom.”

“Yes, I’m sure I can pour coffee and put cookies on a plate,” Sungmin said dryly, despite smiling.

“I’d hit you for that condescending comment if I didn’t love you,” Sooyoung gave him a bright smile before dropping her arms from his neck and running off towards the washroom.

When Sooyoung had disappeared, Kyuhyun approached the counter. Sungmin barely looked at him as he grabbed a dishcloth and began to idly wipe down a spotless countertop. Kyuhyun stood there awkwardly and took a deep, steadying breath before breaking the silence between them,

“I… I never should’ve left when we got the offer to debut… I should have stayed when you refused to go,” Kyuhyun said quietly, feeling more nervous in that moment than when he stood before his first filled auditorium.

“It was our… it was your dream; I would’ve forced you to take the offer if you had refused,” Sungmin replied. He had stopped his ministrations, but his gaze was still down at the countertop,

“I should have called. I should have kept calling. I… I still… I still l-…” Kyuhyun clenched his fists at his side to stop his entire body from shaking as his heart was doing. Finally, he ended lamely, “I should have called.”

“Kyuhyun?” His manager peeked her head through the café’s door, “You said you’d be a few minutes and it’s been almost twenty-” When he threw her a dangerous glare, she immediately pulled her head back, the door closing after her.

“Yes,” Sungmin’s voice brought his attention whipping back to him, “You should have called, but you didn’t.”

Kyuhyun felt his words slash at him like no sharpened, jagged edge ever could and what was worse, what made the pain more unbearable, more palpable was that he knew he deserved those words. He saw Sungmin’s hand fist in the dishrag and was sure he didn’t imagine the slight shake of the older man’s body.

“You didn’t call,” Sungmin repeated, his voice lower and harsher than Kyuhyun had ever heard it, “And now,” he finally looked up, locking gazes with Kyuhyun.

He sharply inhaled, never seeing the scathing, angry and hurt look into those fox-like eyes he held so dear for so long; still held so dear.

“And now,” Sungmin straightened, “I never want to hear that song again.”

Kyuhyun couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think and couldn’t move. All he could do was feel and what he did feel rocked him, shook him and shattered him so completely that he had no idea how he could continue standing so still. It wasn’t until Sungmin turned his back to him, turned away from him, that Kyuhyun inhaled his first breath and oh, how it was cold and painful.

He forced his feet to move, forced himself to leave and, the hardest part, was to force himself not to look back.

His manager, who had been standing outside of the van waiting for him, saw one look at Kyuhyun and flung open the door for him. Kyuhyun had clamped a hand over his lips and somehow managed to get back into the van.

…

It was close to two in the morning when he heard the banging on his hotel room door. Glad he had decided for once to sleep with at least his boxers on; he clumsily worked his way to the door in the dark. Too tired and too irritated to bother with light switches. When he flung open the door prepared to yell at someone until they were quite deaf, he was surprised to find a petite young woman standing there.

He blinked, “Taeyeon-sshi? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Kyuhyun,” she stated, twisting anxiously a handkerchief in her hands, “I don’t… I don’t know what to do. He won’t stop crying… I’ve never seen him like this, even when the entire country was against him, I never seen him like this and… I didn’t know what else but he said you were at this hotel too.”

He nodded, “What room?”

…

When he reached the top floor, Kyuhyun’s manager, Taeyeon, let him into the penthouse suite. All was dark in the spacious quarters and he managed not to trip over anything as he manoeuvred around furniture. He heard the distinct sound of stifled sobs and followed it to the bedroom. With all of the windows covered, the bedroom was remarkably darker compared to the rest of the suite. As his eyes adjusted, he saw a silhouette form on the bed. With three strides, he made it to the bed, sitting on the edge as his hand reached out and stroked the soft hairs of Kyuhyun’s head.

“Kyu… Kyu what’s wrong?” He asked gently,

In one fluid motion, Kyuhyun lifted his head from his pillow and turned towards the other man, “I… I saw him tonight… I… He’s engaged and… Oh God, I never should’ve gone!”

His long arms wrapped around him, embracing him as one hand continued to stroke his hair comfortingly, “No, it’s good. You needed to see Sungmin again… you needed closure, Kyu.”

“But I loved him… I-I… I still love him,” Kyuhyun cried anew, his sobbing and shaking growing more violent, “Zhou Mi, I still love him!”

“I… I know,” Zhou Mi replied stiffly as his arms tightened around him protectively, “It’s okay...” He inhaled slowly before pressing his lips against the crown of Kyuhyun’s head, “You’ll be alright…”

But Kyuhyun heard none of it, wasn’t even completely aware of the arms that held him so steadily, so protectively or the voice that had been soothing him for the past six months whenever he remembered. No, the only thing he was aware of was what he remembered all those times. All he was aware of was that friend he left behind in a small, dim café and who turned away from him for the first time that evening. All he remembered was the love he turned away from years ago.

Kyuhyun heard none of Zhou Mi’s words that followed: “I’m here for you, Kyu… I’m here for you.”

[00bws] Sooyoung's Story

Words: 12,103
Rate: PG
(Spin-off from the Beyond Words series.)


Sooyoung's Story: His Princess


“Will you go out with me?”

Her gaze, which was fixated on the many people working to set up a set in the studio, suddenly shifted to the good-looking man beside her when something over his shoulder caught her eye. Eyes widening, she suddenly stepped around him, hands on her hips, “What happened to your hair!?”

The celebrity singer, whom Sooyoung was talking to, sighed heavily as she picked up a limp lock of hair, “Mob.”

Sooyoung shook her head, “I knew we should’ve waited to do your hair. C’mon, let’s go to your dressing room and we’ll fix your hair.” She began gestured for the singer to precede the way. She turned to leave, when a hand clasped on her arm, stopping her. She looked over, “Yes?”

The man blinked before stammering, “I just… I just asked… I just asked you to go out with me.”

It was Sooyoung’s turn to blink, “I’m really sorry, I’m busy with work. I really don’t have time for a social life.”

“But, you went on a date just yesterday,” he countered, his hand tightening on her arm.

“That was yesterday and this is today. I said no, so just remove your hand and leave me be,” Sooyoung said coolly, her usual winning smile scarce from her expression. When he made no move to listen to her, a dangerous glint entered her wide, dark eyes, “This is my last day here. After this I have other clients to attend to. I suggest we keep this as civil as possible.”

“Is it because I’m just some coffee guy and you’re a hair stylist? Huh?” He asked, his hand tightening even more on her arm,

“Get. Your. Hand. Off. Of. Me,” Sooyoung stated, her voice firm and stern, as she bit down hard to stop from flinching.

“I believe the lady asked you to let go of her.”

Sooyoung watched, intrigued as a foreigner stepped forward. Dressed in simple jeans and a polo golf-shirt, he laid his hand over the coffee guy’s and pried it off of her arm. He interjected himself between them smoothly, as if there was more than half a foot between them,

“Now, I believe the director is looking for you,” the foreigner replied.

Sooyoung was stunned as the good-looking coffee guy threw her a look but turned and left anyway. Suddenly, a rather large, bald man approached Sooyoung, “Is there a problem here, Sooyoung?”

She looked over at him and noticed he was eyeing the foreigner suspiciously. Immediately she smiled at the large man, “No, no, actually this man here-”

“Hankyung,” the foreigner supplied,

“Hankyung was just helping me,” Sooyoung explained, “Did you have a good break?” The large man nodded, “I’m sorry I make work boring for you, Joon.”

The foreigner was startled when the large man, who was at least a few inches taller than himself and about twice his weight in muscle, reached out and patted the woman’s head. “A boring day is a good day for me.”

“My hair, Joon,” she chided warmly as she ran her palms over her long, black hair. Suddenly she gasped, “I forgot I have to fix her hair!” She turned to leave before turning back to face Hankyung, “I really appreciate your help. Do you have dinner plans?” He shook his head, “My treat, then!” Before Hankyung could say anything, she turned and dashed away.

“What did you have to help her with?” Joon asked,

“Some coffee guy was holding her arm and she looked very… very… upset,” Hankyung stated. He saw the serious look on the large man’s face as he watched Sooyoung disappear through a doorway. He laughed lightly, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were her bodyguard.”

Joon swung his piercing gaze to Hankyung, “I am her body guard.”

…

“CUT!”

Hankyung let his arms drop from the singer’s svelte body as he smiled and bowed to her. She smiled at him, “Hankyung, thank you for being a part of my music video.”

“No problem,” Hankyung smiled, “You’ll pay me back when my next movie comes out, right?”

“I’ll be the first in line,” She threw him a wink as she walked off the set.

Hankyung turned to leave, the director smiling his way, “Thank you for agreeing to this. I know you’re used to bigger sets and more talking-”

“It was my pleasure, I assure you,” Hankyung bowed to the director. He threw a smile to others who turned towards him, but his eyes swept through the crew, trying to find a specific, pretty lady. When he broke away from the crowd of shifting crewmen and extras, he spotted her off to the side, the singer talking to her and the very large Joon standing just a few feet away from her. As he approached, he heard the singer talking amicably with the lady – he recalled the bodyguard Joon calling her Sooyoung. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay?”

The singer blinked, “Hankyung, you know my wonderful hair stylist?”

“I only met her before we started filming,” Hankyung answered,

“I’m just fine,” Sooyoung replied, throwing him a big smile. “Hankyung was nice enough to help me with a… problem earlier.”

“It was nothing,” Hankyung insisted,

“Well, at least he was dressed good while doing so,” Sooyoung grinned, when Joon suddenly came up beside her, holding out her phone.

“It’s your sister.”

Sooyoung excused herself and stepped a few feet away to talk privately. The singer turned to Hankyung, a grin her on her face, “Look at you, catching Sooyoung’s eye.”

Hankyung blinked, “What?”

“No guy has ever caught her attention longer than five seconds,” the singer replied, “Trust me, she’s been my hair stylist for over a year.”

“Jessica, I’m not looking to catch anyone’s attention,” Hankyung insisted,

The singer, Jessica, shook her light-brown hair at him, “You achieve what no other man has and you don’t even want it. Trust me, Hankyung, Sooyoung’s surrounded by celebrities every day and she doesn’t even bat an eyelash – many men covet more than a sentence from her.”

“Well I’m not one of those men,” Hankyung insisted, “If anything, I’d want to be her friend. After all, how else am I supposed to perfect my Korean?”

Before Jessica could reply, Sooyoung walked over, “I’m really sorry about dinner, Hankyung, but I completely forgot I’m supposed to go out to dinner with my sister.”

Jessica, immediately intrigued, watched the exchange with bright eyes and an amused smile.

“It’s fine, really,” Hankyung insisted, “Besides I helped you because I wanted to, not to get some reward.”

“Still,” Sooyoung chewed on her bottom lip,

“Will you be my friend, then?” Hankyung inquired, “I’ve only been in and out of Korea for the past year, so I don’t get that much practice.”

Sooyoung laughed melodically, “Of course you can have my friendship.” She turned to Jessica, “You’ll call me the next time you need me?”

“I do believe you accepted an invitation to my birthday party in two weeks,” Jessica prompted and added, “But you’re coming as a guest, not my stylist – okay?”

Sooyoung threw her a beautiful, winning smile, “Sure. I’ll see you two around.” She turned towards Joon, “We’d better hurry. The filming went longer than I expected.”

The large, muscular man nodded his bald head and followed her away.

When Jessica turned back to Hankyung, he had a slightly confused expression on his face. She tilted her head slightly, one perfectly shaped eyebrow rose, “Is something wrong?”

“She agreed to being friends but… she never gave me her phone number,” Hankyung stated, still watching her walk away,

Jessica laughed immediately, a hand covering her mouth, “Maybe you didn’t catch her eye after all.”

…

Sometimes, Sooyoung wondered why they even tried. She truly did. She wondered why she – and the rest of her family for that matter – even attempted to walk the ten feet distance from the curb of a street to the front doors of a restaurant. Most people, she assumed, could get out of their cars and casually, leisurely walk towards the restaurant’s door. She – and said family – had to mentally prepare themselves for battle prior to opening her car door. So, when the town car pulled to the curb outside of the restaurant, there was a span of five seconds before the vultures – as she thought of the many paparazzi, who seemed to always know where celebrities were – swooped around the car.

When Joon came to open the back door, she slipped out and stood just to the side to serve as another shield as her older sister slipped out of the back seat. For not the first time since she graduated university two years ago, she was grateful of Joon’s large and intimidating built. Most of the paparazzi were afraid to even touch Joon. Those who did venture to crowd the bodyguard, however, met with steel muscles and a not-so-subtle growl.

Once inside the doors, Sooyoung’s sister turned to Joon. She offered him a big smile, having to tilt her head back quite a lot to look up at the bodyguard, “I’m always so grateful to you for protecting my sister, Joon. But times like these you have to protect me, too.”

“It’s not a problem, Princess,” Joon replied.

Sooyoung, youngest princess of the Korean monarchy, rolled her eyes, one hand on her hip, the other hand rubbing the opposite upper arm, “You don’t call me ‘princess’.”

Joon shot her an amused glance, “Because you’re Sooyoung,” his large hand came to her head and patted it.

Sooyoung glared at him, the effect destroyed by the smile on her lips. She brushed her hair away from her eyes, flicking her long locks over her shoulder, “You really didn’t have to accompany us here, Joon; you’ve been off duty since six.”

“I’d like to see you get through the vultures without me,” Joon stated dryly, crossing his arms as he spoke. He looked out where half of the paparazzi had already dispersed, “I’ll be heading home now. It’s my daughter’s birthday.”

Sooyoung’s jaw literally dropped, “Joon! You should’ve said! You could’ve had the day off instead of working overtime!”

He waved off her words, “She’s a teenager. She’s probably still out doing karaoke with her friends. I’ll see you in the morning.” He slightly bowed to the princesses before leaving.

They headed towards the major-domo to get seated. Taeyeon laced her arm with her younger sister’s, “How was work today?”

“I was with Jessica today,” Sooyoung replied. After university it had taken her a year to establish herself in her profession, working hard to separate the public’s view of her away from her royal station. Then, after the first time she had been hired to do Jessica’s hair for a music video, she had become a much-demanded hair stylist to other singers and, eventually, actors as well. Jessica was one of her regular employers. “She had a music video.”

“Oh,” Taeyeon cooed as they were led to a private booth closer to the back, which gave them a perfect view of the rest of the dinning area. They both smiled at people who greeted and bowed as they passed. “A solo video or did she have another hot actor?”

Sooyoung laughed lightly as they sat at their table, “Unni! You’re married!”

Taeyeon rolled her eyes as she clipped back her long, dark, wavy hair; “You say that like I don’t know; our two-year anniversary IS in a few months. Besides, if he can look, so can I!”

“Oppa looks?” Sooyoung raised an eyebrow as she picked up a menu, absent-mindedly reaching with one hand to rub the opposite upper arm,

“He did the other day,” she narrowed her eyes even though before her was her own menu and not her offending husband; “A commercial came on and he said ‘she’s looking pretty’.”

Sooyoung subtly lowered her menu to gape at her sister, “That’s hardly looking… what did you do?”

“Punch him,” Taeyeon said simply, “His arm is hardly bruised, but he understood my thoughts.” Before Sooyoung could comment, a waiter came to take their drink order and promptly left. Taeyeon laid her menu down, folding her hands lightly atop the open menu, “So? Did Jessica have another actor?”

Sooyoung nodded absent-mindedly as she chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes perusing the items on the menu, “He’s a Chinese actor that came over last year. I can’t remember seeing him in anything – not like I watch a lot of movies to begin with – but he’s good looking.”

Taeyeon crossed her arms loosely about her torso, “Hmm… Is it that Hankyung guy?”

“That’s his name,” Sooyoung replied flippantly as she turned the page of her menu, “I’m so glad you picked this place; I LOVE this place.”

Taeyeon shot her a grin, “I know, that’s why I chose it.” She tilted her head slightly as she regarded her only sister, “I hardly see you anymore. First I got married and then you started becoming this famous hair stylist. Eunhyuk insists you’re only at the house at night to sleep.”

Sooyoung grinned at the mention of their older cousin who, three and a half years ago, ascended to the throne as the King. The house Taeyeon referred to, was the Royal House where they had all lived as children. Taeyeon had moved out when she married her husband. Their older – and only – brother, Kyuhyun, had moved out just a few months ago when he had married.

“Oh my – Sooyoung, isn’t that Hankyung over there?” Taeyeon asked, looking over her shoulder at the front door.

Sooyoung glanced over and, sure enough, there was Hankyung in all his sexy – did she really think sexy? – glory. Patrons either immediately whipped out their phones to get his picture or ran over to ask for an autograph. She shrugged and looked back at her menu, “Yup, that’s him.”

“Can you introduce us?” Taeyeon asked, her hands going to her cheeks, “I’ve never met a celebrity before!”

Sooyoung rolled her eyes, “That’s because you’re too busy to see your baby sister work.”

“I have a duty to my country to keep the peace with the rest of the world!” Taeyeon exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart. She smiled at her sister, “So? Will you introduce us?”

Sooyoung laughed lightly as she put down her menu, “I knew there was a reason why I never asked you to visit me while I work. Maybe after dinner.”

…

Hankyung had seen her almost immediately when he stepped into the restaurant. When his car pulled up to the curb, he had wondered why photographers were outside of the restaurant, aiming their cameras into the building. When he stepped up, they crowded him and he rushed into the restaurant. When he stepped inside, as people came up to him to ask for an autograph, he caught sight of her. She was sitting near the back of the restaurant in a private booth with another woman, presumably her sister.

As he was smiling for pictures and signing his name, which became an automatic process, his gaze drifted to that table often. The sister had turned and seen him. He saw Sooyoung glance over; he could’ve sworn she did. However, that was all. No smile, no wave – no indication at all that his existence registered in her attention. Was that why she had forgotten to give him a number, email or any way to contact her?

He was having dinner with another actor friend and, being the attentive friend he was, gave his friend his full attention. However, despite all better judgement, his eyes periodically wandered over to Sooyoung’s table. He was quite sure her eyes never wandered his way. When he saw the waiter bringing the sisters their bill, he was perplexed as the waiter took out a writing pad and held it out to both sisters with a pen. It looked like the waiter was getting their autograph, but why?

He picked up his glass to drink and watched as the sisters began making their way towards the doors. Hankyung knew that to do so, they’d have to walk by his table. The moment Sooyoung was almost beside their table, her attention directed completely to her sister, Hankyung called her name, his actor friend startled.

Sooyoung paused a moment. When her eyes fell on him, she bestowed upon him a big smile, “Hankyung! How good to see you so soon!” She turned to the other actor, “Heechul, how are you doing?”

Heechul stood up and bowed to both sisters, “I’m doing fine.”

“Please don’t,” the sister said almost immediately.

Hankyung blinked at him, confused, before asking, “You two know each other?”

“Besides his own lovely locks, I’ve styled the hair of a number of celebrities who dated him,” Sooyoung grinned at the other actor who rolled his eyes and slowly lowered back into his chair. She felt her sister not-too-gently nudge her in the ribs, “Hankyung, this is my lovely, older sister, Taeyeon.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Taeyeon smiled at him, extending a hand that he shook immediately.

“Guess who I saw the other day,” Sooyoung said to Heechul, a mischievous light in her wide eyes.

“I don’t think I want to know,” Heechul said dryly,

“I think you do,” Sooyoung grinned brightly as she reached with one hand to the opposite upper arm and rubbed it lightly.

Taeyeon looked at her sister, “You’ve been doing that all night; did you get a bug bite of some kind?”

Sooyoung looked at her arm, clad in her cardigan and dropped her hand, “No, no, it’s nothing,” she threw her sister a bright smile, but she felt Hankyung’s suspicious stare on her nonetheless. She instinctively knew that Hankyung was going to call her on the lie, when the young man who had been their waiter ran up to them,

“Princesses!” He huffed as he stopped before them, holding up a small, plastic rectangle, “Princess Taeyeon, you forgot your credit card!”

Taeyeon blinked, startled, when she took the card, a smile immediately infusing her expression, “Thank you so much!” She tucked it into her small purse, “My husband would have killed me if I lost another card.” She looked into her purse, “It’s why he doesn’t let me handle cash… Sooyoung, do you have cash? Our waiter just saved me from being murdered by my beloved husband.”

Sooyoung began to open her own purse when the waiter shook his head, holding up his hands, “Please, it’s fine, Princesses,” he insisted, “I did it because I wanted to, not for some reward.”

“If you’re sure?” Taeyeon said reluctantly as Sooyoung looked at Hankyung, the words mirroring what he said earlier that day.

“Yes, I am. I hope you both have a less eventful evening,” he bowed to them again before returning to his duties.

“Let’s go, Sooyoung, I’ll ask the major-domo to give it to him later,” Taeyeon looked back to the two actors, “Gentlemen,” and quickly added, “Please don’t,” when she saw Heechul moving to stand up again.

“Bye Hankyung; Heechul, I’ll be seeing you soon?” Sooyoung threw him a teasing wink.

“Not if you’re just going to throw my exes at me,” Heechul scoffed,

“But how will you ever get rid of those split ends?” Sooyoung asked innocently before following her sister back to the entrance.

Heechul watched as the princesses left before turning his attention back to Hankyung. “How do you know Sooyoung?”

“She was at the music video filming today,” Hankyung explained,

“The woman… I swear, she’s pure evil sometimes when it comes to hair,” Heechul shook his head. He caught the peculiar look in Hankyung’s eyes, “What?”

“She paid attention to you,” Hankyung stated,

Heechul blinked, “So?”

“I was told today that she doesn’t give any guy the time of day,” Hankyung explained as he looked over his shoulder just in time to see Taeyeon and Sooyoung re-enter the restaurant,

“She doesn’t,” Heechul replied, “And if it wasn’t for my hair, she probably wouldn’t give me more than a passing greeting. From what I’ve witnessed, Sooyoung’s always moving, always busy, her mind always jumping to one thought or another. I’m not saying she’s scatter-brained because you can tell just from her wit that she’s intelligent; what I mean is that nothing of great importance has ever caught her attention for too long. There have only been two exceptions.”

Hankyung, who had been listening with one eye on the sisters, slowly rose to his feet, “What are those exceptions?”

“Hair and her family,” Heechul said simply, “What are you doing?”

Instead of answering him, however, Hankyung walked over to the pair, “Is something wrong?”

Taeyeon, who was startled, jumped slightly, but immediately smiled when she saw who it was, “Oh, it’s nothing,” Taeyeon insisted with a wave of her hand, “We just thought we’d be able to make a run for our car, but the vultures swept in ridiculously quick this time.”

“Vultures?” Hankyung looked through the glass doors, not spotting any birds in the sky,

“The paparazzi,” Sooyoung explained who was still looking out the window. When she sighed and turned to face them, her hand was instinctively rubbing her arm again.

“What if I escort you ladies out there?” Hankyung offered, “Since it seems that large man you were with is absent.”

“Joon is off duty by six,” Sooyoung replied flippantly just as Taeyeon inquired hopefully, “Really?”

Hankyung turned his attention to the shorter, but older sister who actually gave her attention to him. He gave her a smile, “Yes. I love sacrificing myself for the sake of beautiful women.”

“Typical,” Sooyoung said bluntly before turning her gaze back outside,

Taeyeon looked back and forth between the two, not sure what to do. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself before pasting on her biggest smile and turned to Hankyung, “Shall we go then?”

Hankyung, whose gaze had sharpened on the younger sister, nodded stiffly and then held the door open for them. He did the best he could, making a path for them to the curb where a driver immediately ran to open the back door for them. Hankyung waved him away as he grabbed the door instead. Taeyeon was the first to go in. Before she did, she turned back to the Chinese actor,

“I am in your debt, sir, and I assure you, that almost never happens.” She subtly glanced to her sister before smiling at Hankyung, “If you ever need anything, just give me a call.”

She crawled in and Sooyoung moved to enter. She had one foot inside the town car when Hankyung grabbed her hand. She looked back at him, head tilted slightly and one eyebrow raised in question. He slipped a hand into his pocket before extracting said hand and pressing something into her palm. When she sat down in the backseat, he let go of her hand and she was able to see a small business card.

“What’s this for?” She asked, looking up at him,

“We’re supposed to be friends, right? Since you forgot to give me your number, I’m giving you mine. Besides, I feel as if I did something wrong, so call me whenever you want me to make it up to you,” Hankyung said before securely shutting the door. He turned to leave when the window rolled down and his name was called. He turned back to find Taeyeon leaning across her sister to look out the window,

“My sister is also in debt to you,” Taeyeon said with a genuine smile, “I’m sure if you ever need anything, all you have to do is give her a call.”

“If you shout out my number to Hankyung with all the paparazzi around…” Sooyoung’s voice was light, but the threat was there.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes, “I’m not stupid. Call at the Royal House; you can get in contact with either of us there.”

Hankyung watched, silently, as the window rolled back up and the town car immediately pulled away from the curb. He was immediately swarmed from all sides by the paparazzi. Sighing heavily, he turned and retreated back to the restaurant. When he got back to the table, Heechul was slowly sipping his glass of wine, one eyebrow raised in amusement.

Hankyung unceremoniously plopped back down into his chair, running a hand through his thick hair, “I didn’t know she was a princess.”

Heechul swallowed hard and barely contained a laugh. Slightly shaking his head, he smirked at Hankyung, “You, my friend, need to spend more than two weeks at a time in the country.” He cocked his head slightly, glancing towards the restaurant door, “Or perhaps that won’t be a problem this time?”

Hankyung picked up his utensils and said nothing. In his head, however, he was completely agreeing.

…

“It’s just another press conference. I don’t know why you felt the need to accompany me.”

Sooyoung grinned as she reached up and adjusted the sweep of bangs across the King’s forehead. Her eyes danced as she fixed her cousin’s hair, as it became instinct; “Press conference means cameras and if a relative of mine was seen looking less than spectacular… well, if you don’t look good, I don’t look good, Eunhyuk-oppa.”

Eunhyuk laughed as he straightened the blazer of his black suit with silver pinstripes, “I’m glad this is for my benefit.” He swept his eyes over his cousin, “You look ready to have your own conference…” He reached over to one of the short sleeves of her red, silk blouse and tugged it up a little, “Sooyoung, what’s this bruise?”

“I just fell the other day,” Sooyoung said, throwing him a brilliant smile, “You know how I can be.”

“Yes, I do and you’re never clumsy,” Eunhyuk stated.

“There’s a first time for everything,” Sooyoung countered, her voice slightly lowering to a more forced tone.

Eunhyuk opened his mouth to argue when one of the doors to the conference hall within Seoul’s city hall opened and a young man appeared in black slacks and a black button-up. He smiled immediately at Sooyoung, “I didn’t know you’d be coming.”

“Like hell you didn’t, Donghae. You left the house early just so she couldn’t get to your appearance,” Eunhyuk muttered,

Donghae shot him a look, “No mentioning where I live in public, remember?” He looked at Sooyoung, “Are you staying through the conference? We could get lunch after?”

“But I have a meeting after the conference,” Eunhyuk argued,

Donghae rolled his eyes, “Yes. ‘We’ as in Sooyoung and I. I do have a life away from you, Your Majesty.”

Sooyoung laughed melodically as, after pulling her sleeve back down, she stood with arms akimbo, “I’d love to have lunch with you, Donghae.”

“Great. Eunhyuk, the other advisors and your uncle are waiting for you inside to begin the conference,” Donghae stated.

Eunhyuk blinked, “You won’t be in there with me?”

“I have to get everything prepared for your meeting,” Donghae replied. His eyes locked with Eunhyuk’s and his ‘professional’ expression softened immediately to allow his affection for the King to shine through; “You’ve been crowned for three and a half years. You expected me to be there for all of your meetings?”

“Yes,” Eunhyuk muttered, resentment adding an edge to his words, “What’s the point of being king and having you as an advisor if not to have you around all the time.”

Donghae let out a hearty laugh before clapping a hand on Eunhyuk’s shoulder, “You’ll do brilliantly.” Then, his voice a fraction softer and just a fraction warmer, he added, “You always do.”

Sooyoung’s smile couldn’t have gotten brighter, but somehow, it did. She looked between the two, “Aw, look at you too, being all lovey-dovey after four years.”

Eunhyuk rolled his eyes as he turned towards the doors, “I believe we all agreed to keep this quiet in public settings. Or do I have to get Uncle out here to remind you?”

Sooyoung crossed her arms loosely, “You’re just jealous because you can’t come to lunch with us.”

Eunhyuk’s eyes narrowed as he opened one of the doors. As he entered the conference halls, both Sooyoung and Donghae heard him mutter, “I should just kick her out of the Royal House. I’m the King; I should just kick her out.”

“I have to head back to Eunhyuk’s office here to arrange things for the meeting after this conference, you’re welcome to join me, but it’s going to be a bunch of boring stuff like me talking on the phone and finding some files,” Donghae stated as he began to walk down the hall. As King, Eunhyuk had apartments in both the federal government’s buildings, as well as a smaller one in Seoul’s city hall.

“Ah, I’d rather not,” Sooyoung said as she threaded her arm with his, “Maybe I’ll go find Unni.”

Taeyeon, who was aiming to become a diplomat, was working in Seoul’s city hall under the Public Advocate in public relations. She had been working at city hall for the past two years and many say that, despite her tender age of twenty four, she was well on her way to becoming the next Public Advocate for Seoul.

“You might not want to go to her office right now,” Donghae said as they came to the main lobby of city hall and stopped their progress before the giant clock.

Sooyoung blinked, “Why not?”

Donghae laughed lightly, “Because Junsu has a break between classes everyday during this time for two hours… and the teacher’s college is a few blocks down.”

Sooyoung’s jaw dropped slightly, disengaging her arm from Donghae’s just so she could stand akimbo, “Are you kidding? Everyday?”

“Well, I do know that they are trying to get pregnant, but I’m not completely sure if it’s everyday,” Donghae conceded, “But it’s more than enough times that Eunhyuk specifically never even ventures towards the public relations area during this time.”

Bringing a hand over her mouth, she couldn’t conceal her growing smile, “Don’t tell me Oppa saw…?”

“I don’t know because he still won’t tell me. But there was about a month or so when he wouldn’t speak to Junsu,” Donghae threw her a lop-sided grin. He glanced past her before looking at her again, “Don’t be obvious, but there’s someone at the front desk who has been looking over here since we stopped.”

Sooyoung reached into her slacks’ pocket, pulling out a small, compact-mirror. She opened it under the pretence of checking her make-up when, in truth, she was trying to see this mystery person behind her. She closed the mirror and replaced it immediately, “I think… I think that’s Hankyung.”

Donghae blinked, “The movie star?”

Sooyoung nodded, “We’ve met once or twice.”

“You? Seeing someone a second time?” Donghae reached over, placing a palm on her forehead, “Hmm… no, feels about the right temperature.”

Sooyoung rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips again, “It wasn’t orchestrated or anything. The first time was when I met him and the second was completely coincidental. That was a week ago when I was out to dinner with Unni.” She linked her arm with Donghae’s, “Let’s go, I’ll come with you to Oppa’s office.”

As they began to walk, Hankyung approached them when they neared the front desk.

“Hi, Sooyoung,” Hankyung smiled, “I’m sorry I haven’t called you as your sister suggested.”

“Oh, hi Hankyung. What are you doing at city hall?” She inquired politely, keeping Donghae’s arm locked with her own, daring him to even try to escape.

“I have to update my working visa every year,” Hankyung explained,

“That’s actually in the building next door,” Donghae said,

“Ah, yes, the receptionist just told me,” Hankyung said, his eyes taking in everything of the other man, especially the intertwined arms; “And you are?”

“Well, it was good seeing you again,” Sooyoung interjected, “Oppa, let’s go; lots of work to do in the office.”

Hankyung said nothing as Sooyoung and the other man walked off. When he finally turned to go to the building next to city hall, he missed when Sooyoung looked over her shoulder to see him one more time.

…

It was a week later when Sooyoung was helped out of her car by Joon. She looked up at the big house before her, lit with warm light and the soft hum of laughter and music seeping into the dark, April night. Clad in a strapless dress that felt to just above her knees, the dark silver silk was fitted to her svelte form, the material swishing about her as she moved. She adjusted the material that wrapped around her upper arms, separate from the dress but made of the same material, which made it possible for her to enter the cool night without a jacket or shawl. Her long tresses were loosely pulled into a bun that was secured a few inches behind her left ear.

When she looked back at Joon, she caught the slight frown in his eyes. She gave him a bright smile, “I’ll be fine. A lot of the people here are clients and Jessica’s become a dear friend. If it makes you feel better, you can hang around the Royal House until I have to be picked up.”

Joon sighed, “If you say you’ll be fine… then I suppose you will be. I still think you should’ve worn some kind of jacket – it’s cold out.”

Sooyoung laughed softly, “Oh Joon, if you’re like this with me, I’d feel bad for your wife and daughter.”

“They listen to me,” Joon replied dryly as Sooyoung began heading towards the front door, “Take care, Sooyoung, or the King will kill me.”

Sooyoung raised her hand in a wave without looking back and then reached out to ring the doorbell. The middle-aged woman who appeared smiled at Sooyoung with familiarity. “How are you doing tonight?” Sooyoung asked amicably as she was let into the house,

“Fine as always, Your Highness. Although, I’m glad you came; Jessica’s up in her room and hasn’t come down yet,” the woman – Jessica’s aunt – replied and began leading Sooyoung to the second level of the large house,

“But, there are already people here,” Sooyoung blinked over her shoulder as she was led up the stairs,

“And not one of them has noticed their hostess is missing. I’m afraid Jessica’s a little… hysterical,” the aunt explained as they reached Jessica’s bedroom door. She knocked, “Jessi, Princess Sooyoung is here.”

Before she could even take a breath, the door opened, Sooyoung felt herself yanked into the room and the door shut after her. She found herself staring at Jessica who had her back pressed back against the door, dressed in a white, taffeta, baby-doll dress, a towel draped over her head and the singer’s eyes certainly shone with a kind of hysteria.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” She exclaimed, her eyes suddenly glassing over with tears. “I didn’t want to bother you today because you’re a guest and my friend today and not my stylist,” she said, her words rushed as she walked across her room to a vanity table, “So I went to a different stylist to do my hair for tonight and I don’t even know what she did to my hair! After she revealed it I was so distraught that I just left and locked myself in here since.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Sooyoung insisted as Jessica sat down at the vanity and she stood behind her. She lifted the towel and just barely suppressed the gasp that wanted to jump from her throat. What she saw was Jessica’s light brown hair teased, twisted, crimped and curled into some kind of monstrosity she believed to be some kind of messy bun.

Jessica’s eyes welled up with tears as she caught her reflection. Crossing her arms atop the vanity table, she lowered her head into the circle of her arms, “I tried taking it down at some point but that just made it worse and I think I ended up knotting it. Even Auntie doesn’t know what that hair stylist did; it’s almost as if she glued the damn bobby pins into my hair.”

Sooyoung slowly sought her way through Jessica’s hair with her slender fingers, “Umm… it looks more like wax.”

“WAX!?” Jessica cried,

“Don’t worry! Don’t worry!” Sooyoung said immediately as she grasped Jessica by her upper arms and pulled her up. She began guiding her to Jessica’s attached bathroom, “I’ll get it all out and fix your hair and you can forget about this experience.”

“I will never forget!” Jessica raised a fist in the air, “I will find that woman and KILL HER!”

“After seeing your hair, I’ll happily join you,” Sooyoung muttered as she brought Jessica to the bathtub and gestured for her to kneel on the ground. “We’ll have this all fixed in a quarter hour at most.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Jessica sighed, wiping at her tears, “It’s not like anyone downstairs knows I’m up here.”

“They really don’t,” Sooyoung said bluntly as she walked over and grabbed towels from where she knew Jessica kept them. She brought it over and began running water through the tub’s faucet. “Why are you friends with all those people?”

“It’s the business,” Jessica sighed again, crossing her arms atop the edge of the tub, “Sometimes it’s better to have fake friends than none at all when you’re in the spotlight.”

Sooyoung gave her the brightest smile she could muster, “Don’t worry. When I’m done, they’ll all be fighting to be your best friend.”

Jessica looked up at her gratefully, “That spot’s already taken.”

…

True to her word, within fifteen minutes, Jessica was sitting before her vanity, staring at her reflection with awe. After drenching Jessica’s hair in hot water, Sooyoung made quick work of the bobby pins and the wax that had been in her hair. However, some of the wax couldn’t come out and Sooyoung had taken a pair of scissors to Jessica’s hair. Now, her hair was a little shorter and layered beautifully. Sooyoung had dried her light brown locks and loosely waved the ends.

Jessica immediately stood up, turned and wrapped her arms around Sooyoung, “Thank you so much!”

“Not a problem,” Sooyoung grinned as they began heading for the door, “Excited for your party?”

Jessica nodded, “And you should be excited too! Hankyung said he was coming.”

Sooyoung blinked, “So?”

Jessica’s jaw dropped, “It’s so obvious you like him.”

Again, the princess blinked, “I do?”

Jessica stared back at her, the door already open, “You don’t? But… you talked to him for more than a sentence.”

“Yes, I did… why does everyone find that so amazing?” Sooyoung asked earnestly as they headed towards the stairs, music and chattered getting louder as they neared the top,

“Because you never give a guy your attention for longer than that,” Jessica stated matter-of-factly, “Haven’t you noticed?”

Sooyoung shook her head, “I really haven’t. But that just means they’re not interesting enough.”

Jessica laughed melodically as they began their walk down the stairs, “Half of the guys falling at your feet are celebrities and you don’t think any of them are interesting?”

Sooyoung shrugged, “No one’s enticed me yet. Besides, when all they talk about is either themselves or how good I look, I get bored. Honestly, the only males I can tolerate are my father, my cousin, my brother, my sister’s husband and my cousin’s best friend.”

“That is a select group of males.” Sooyoung looked ahead, startled to find Hankyung just inside the front door, Jessica’s aunt walking away and disappearing towards the kitchen. When Jessica stepped down from the steps, the Chinese actor stepped forward and greeted her warmly, “Happy birthday, Jessica. How old are you now?”

“I’ll never tell!” Jessica laughed, “C’mon you two, let’s make this a good night, hmm?”

They watched as the hostess finally joined her guests, melting into the crowd with a bright smile, soft laugh and beautiful hair.

Sooyoung turned back to Hankyung. From her stance on the bottom step, she was practically eye level with the sexy – did she really think that again? – actor. “Shall we join the party?” Sooyoung threw him a smile.

“In a second,” Hankyung said as he suddenly closed the distance between them. Sooyoung blinked, startled by Hankyung’s sudden closeness. She was about to talk, but found the words lodged in her throat as he began talking again, his voice as smooth as velvet, “I think you’re missing someone from your list of tolerable males.”

“I… I am?” Sooyoung stammered, her eyes wide and wary as Hankyung didn’t hide the fact that his dark gaze swept over her and took in every minute detail of her appearance. For the first time in her life – well, as far back as she could remember – Sooyoung began to doubt of how she looked and her hand itched to check and make sure her hair was still secured in its loose bun.

“Yeah, your boyfriend,” Hankyung said, his voice low and – could she describe it as this? – husky. He raised a hand towards her face and Sooyoung felt the air rush out of her lungs as her heart beat a rapid tattoo in her chest.

“I… I don’t have one,” Sooyoung – oh God, was that really her voice? – somehow managed.

“Then who was that guy you were with at city hall?” Hankyung looked directly into her eyes, his hand frozen just an inch from her left temple,

“M-my cousin’s best friend,” Sooyoung replied, “He’s like a brother to me.”

“Oh… I’m sorry I just assumed then,” Hankyung replied simply and touched his hand to her head.

Suddenly his fingers were at her temple. She felt the soft, warm pressure of his finger tips. She felt a shiver begin at her temple and sweep throughout her body as she felt a small, gentle stroke in her hair at her temple. However, it was over as soon as it began. She blinked, startled and confused.

“Sorry. You had something in your hair,” Hankyung explained as he looked down at his hand, “Looks like shampoo.”

Sooyoung suppressed the urge to shake her head to organize her rattled wits as his words slammed her back into reality. Taking a subtle, steadying breath, she threw him a smile that she hoped conveyed nonchalance – she was used to smiling big or not at all – and stepped around him to the floor, “We’d better join the others. Wouldn’t want whispers about something when there’s nothing to whisper about.”

As she forced herself to move, forced herself to keep walking away from him, she couldn’t shake the memory of his touch, of his gaze on her, of the almost palpable warmth that infused itself into her body just from his closeness. Subtly shaking her head, she pasted a bright smile on her face as she joined the other party guests.

She had met many other handsome people before, but Jessica and her family were right, none had ever captivated her so completely. What set this Chinese actor, Hankyung, apart from the rest? He was good-looking, she would never deny that, but she had seen men who were more good-looking. Others had attempted more with her than just touching the hair by her temple and yet his innocent, small caress was the only one to penetrate her resolve and shake her very soul. All others had either made her feel nothing or made her feel nothing but repulsion. With Hankyung she felt… well, she wasn’t sure, but it was an uncomfortable feeling, she was sure. What she wasn’t sure of was if she truly didn’t like that uncomfortable feeling.

So, she forced herself to talk with others, to practically ignore the actor who seemed to either always be nearby or to always draw her attention when he wasn’t. She tried to force his presence from her mind, but she was failing and she was finding out fast that she didn’t feel it intrusive at all. Instead, that uncomfortable feeling was creating a warm, comfortable feeling within her and settling in a place deep in her chest.

…

It was a few days later when Sooyoung found herself at the studio where Jessica had just filmed her last music video. It was early morning and, after getting a call from Jessica just an hour ago, she decided she was too tired to get dressed completely formally. So, she arrived at the studio dressed in black, boot-cut slacks and a simple, white, short-sleeved t-shirt beneath a black, leather jacket. Her hair, she pulled into a loose, side pony-tail that was secured near her right ear, the tail draping over her shoulder.

When she entered Jessica’s dressing room, both ladies exchanged a look of mutual sleepiness and resentment towards the director who – on a sudden spur of inspiration – called everyone to the studio to film one last shot for the music video. Jessica sat in her chair before the vanity mirror, loosely pulling back her hair into a pony tail as the make-up artist began setting up her equipment. Sooyoung unceremoniously dropped onto the couch in the small dressing room.

“Why are we here at six in the morning?” Sooyoung yawned,

“Something about only having the studio until nine,” Jessica sighed.

Both ladies grew into a sleepy silence as the make-up artist worked on Jessica’s make-up. When she was done, Jessica thanked her and suggested she take on break; she’d find her if she needed her again. Sooyoung stood from the couch, stretching her arms to the ceiling. She took off her jacket, tossing it onto the couch as she came towards the vanity. She picked up the small bag which Joon had dropped off while the make-up artist was still working, and began unpacking her hair equipment onto the vanity table.

“I’m guessing the director wants you to have the same hair as the last filming?” Sooyoung muttered as she dropped the empty bag back onto the ground. Jessica nodded, causing Sooyoung to sigh, “That’s going to be difficult now that your hair is shorter and layered. It’s a good thing I’m a pro. That, and your hair is gorgeous – if I do say so myself.”

“You know, I heard that Hankyung likes girls with long, dark hair,” Jessica grinned at her in the mirror.

Sooyoung rolled her eyes. She reached for the scissors, grabbed her own pony-tail and snipped all of her hair just above the hair tie. Jessica cried out suddenly,

“What are you doing!?”

“Showing you how much I care about what Hankyung likes. You’re lucky I don’t suddenly bleach my hair while I’m at it,” Sooyoung said dryly as she walked over and tossed her long locks into the garbage bin.

“I know you’re tired when you’re so grumpy,” Jessica stated with a shake of her head, “Acting so rashly without so much as a smile.”

When she walked back, she genuinely smiled at the singer’s scandalized expression, “It’s not the first time I cut my hair like this. Besides, now I can tell my cousin how liberating it feels to suddenly slice off one’s hair. I should apologize to him for taking that opportunity away from him.”

Jessica blinked, “You mean from four years ago?”

Sooyoung nodded. She placed her hands on her hips and peered at Jessica’s hair, trying to think of how to accomplish the same hairstyle with different hair. As Sooyoung was contemplating this, Jessica watched Sooyoung. She did remember when the Princess had short hair, but she had known her with long hair for some years now, that she had completely forgotten how it looked on her. Now that her hair was shorter, it revealed more of the princess to the eye. What it also revealed made Jessica’s eyes widen,

“Is that a bruise on your arm!?”

Sooyoung froze. Stiffly she looked at her arm, completely forgetting to cover it up as she had been for the past two weeks. She had never been clumsy, so she never realized she bruised for such a long time. It was still quite large on her upper arm despite already shrinking in diameter and it was still a deep purple even though it no longer hurt to touch it nor did it throb like it once did. In all honesty, she had quite forgotten its presence after Jessica’s party.

“Is it still bruised!?”

Sooyoung wasn’t sure how she found the strength to keep standing when she heard Hankyung’s voice. She slowly turned her head just as Hankyung stormed into the dressing room and grabbing her arm so he could see the bruise closely,

“I knew something was wrong,” Hankyung stated, “I knew it. For the past two weeks I just… I just… just-”

“Knew it?” Sooyoung offered, her tone dry and a single eyebrow raised. She barely suppressed the innate urge to roll her eyes when he shot her a dark look.

“For the past two weeks? What happened!?” Jessica demanded, twisting in her chair to look at the pair,

“It was that jackass, wasn’t it? The one who wouldn’t let you go?” Hankyung questioned, his voice deep with a dangerous edge,

“It’s nothing,” Sooyoung insisted, easily taking her arm from his grasp,

“Bruising is not nothing!” Hankyung argued, eyes narrowed angrily and fists clenched at his sides. “That bastard must be here.” He turned to leave.

Sooyoung suddenly grabbed his wrist, stopping him, “Why are you getting so angry over this? Why do you care so much what happened to me? Because I’m a princess? Because the bruise suddenly makes me ugly?”

Hankyung’s eyes gained a frighteningly angry glint in their dark depths. When he spoke, it was practically a growl, “No, because no one deserves to be treated like that. Princess or not, beautiful or not, you do not deserve that kind of treatment from him or anyone.”

She wasn’t sure why, but his words disarmed her like nothing ever had. For some reason, his words seeped into her and touched a painful truth she had pushed away long ago and had kept hidden for years. For some reason, this stranger walked into her life two weeks ago and was able to reach deep into her heart when no one else, including her family, could.

Her fingers grew limp around his wrist and then slid away. When she said nothing, he turned away and promptly left. Jessica, however, suddenly jumped to her feet, “Don’t just let him go,” she stated, grabbing Sooyoung’s hand and pulling her out of the room, “We have to stop him from killing whoever this guy is; although, I’d like to take a swing at him, myself!”

They stopped in their tracks when Hankyung suddenly grabbed a guy by the collar and yanked him away from whatever he was doing. As if instinctively knowing something was happening, Joon appeared at Sooyoung’s side. Sooyoung paid him no attention, however, because Hankyung started dragging over the fussing and kicking, good-looking coffee guy over towards them.

Hand still twisted in the man’s collar, Hankyung’s tone was low and quiet but as frightening as any yell; “Apologize.”

“I didn’t do anything,” the coffee guy spat, throwing Sooyoung a hateful glare as all the staff around them began to stop and stare at the scene;

“That bruise on her arm says otherwise,” Hankyung stated, reaching and gripping the collar with his other hand as well.

Joon, who had been silent up until this point, looked down at his charge and saw the darkened skin. Sooyoung knew the instant Joon prepared to attack, the calm and comforting presence suddenly becoming tense with built-up energy and anger. Despite her appearance of flippancy towards having a bodyguard, she did appreciate Joon’s company and on more than one occasion he had pulled an over-amorous pursuer away from her. She knew what Joon could be like when his protective streak was tested. So, before he pounced on the quickly-wilting coffee man in Hankyung’s clutches, she laid her hand on his shoulder. He looked down at her and she offered him her biggest smile,

“It’s okay, Joon. I’m fine,” she insisted earnestly,

“But Princess,” Joon began to argue. Sooyoung hesitated in repeating herself. Joon had been with her for so long that they had dispensed with the formalities long ago. However, whenever he grew overly protective or he felt she was in danger, he reverted back to calling her by her royal station.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” The coffee guy suddenly exclaimed, “You think you’re too good to go out with a guy who just gets coffee for other people huh? That’s why you said no? There’s no other reason than that! I have hundreds of women falling at my feet, but no – you’re too good for me, right Princess?” He spat the last word and never before had something – be it physical or verbal – cut Sooyoung so deeply.

Before the coffee guy could continue, Hankyung had released one of his hands from the man’s collar and made fierce contact with the man’s jaw. When he released his other hand, the coffee guy crumbled to the ground clutching his face. Towering over the man, Hankyung still had his hands fisted at his side, his entire face still contorted with such anger and Sooyoung was afraid to approach him. However, she knew that if she didn’t, Hankyung might very well kill the man.

Slowly, she pulled away from Jessica’s hold on her hand and went to Hankyung. She covered one of his fists with her hand and only then did he seem to break out of his angry spell. He looked down at her, anger still evident in his sexy – she really had no other words – face. She gave him a small, tentative smile,

“That’s enough,” she said quietly.

“Okay people, break it up, go do your jobs!” The director suddenly pushed his way through the crowd. He looked down at the man and then at Hankyung and Sooyoung who stood over him. “Security! Come clean up this mess!” He moved over to Sooyoung, “Your Highness, I swear – if I had known-”

“But you didn’t,” Sooyoung interjected, her winning smile coming into place, “No one did. It’s no one’s fault but my own for not saying anything.”

“I’m pretty sure since this bastard’s responsible, he should have all the blame,” Hankyung grounded out.

He still seethed all over. When he had seen the bruise on Sooyoung’s arm, he saw nothing but red before his eyes. Then, when the man had accused Sooyoung of being a snob, he caught sight of a change in the light of her eyes. He didn’t realize how angry or how violent he could get until that moment. When he had knocked the coffee guy to the ground, he had wanted nothing more than to continue beating on the guy until he felt every pain that Sooyoung was probably feeling. Only when Sooyoung had placed her hand on his did he feel himself become pulled back to reality. Only then did his anger get broken through.

Even now as the director was talking to the security guards who had run over immediately upon being called, Hankyung wanted to pick up the coffee guy just so he could knock him down again. As if sensing this, Sooyoung tugged on Hankyung’s hand, trying to pull him away. He glared at her, silently telling her that he was right to keep hitting the guy. She raised a single eyebrow, her own silent challenge given. Seeing the steel slip back into her, he felt himself relax a fraction; she was already recovering from the verbal abuse. Swearing not-too-quietly in fluent mandarin, he allowed Sooyoung to pull him back a few steps from the injured man.

Before the security guards dragged the coffee guy away, Sooyoung stepped forward, “And to answer your question, I said ‘no’ because I’m a pretty good judge of character.” When the coffee guy snorted his disbelief, she added in a tone that was like velvet over sharpened steel, “And you just proved me right.”

She watched as the security guards took him away and then, just like before, her attention slipped away from his insignificance. It was then that she realized her hand felt damp. She raised her hand away from Hankyung and saw blood. Picking up his hand, she examined it and saw that some of his knuckles had been split open from the force of punching the coffee guy.

She turned to the director, “Do you think we can push back filming another hour? Hankyung has some injuries on his hand and I don’t want anyone touching Jessica’s hair but me,”

“And, I don’t want anyone touching my hair but her,” Jessica chimed in, throwing a bright smile to the director.

The director nodded, “Yes, yes. I’m sure I can convince the studio people to extend our time to ten o’clock.” He was about to leave when he paused, “Your Highness… about that coffee guy… what are you going to do? I mean, he’s fired that’s for sure, but you have every right to press assault charges. Princess or not, that’s your right as a Korean citizen.”

Sooyoung shook her head, “He’s not worth the time and effort of the courts and lawyers needed to go through that.”

Startled and surprised, Hankyung let Sooyoung pull him back towards Jessica’s dressing room. She gestured for him to sit on the couch as Jessica and Joon hovered by the door. Sooyoung turned to her loyal bodyguard, “Can you find me a first-aid kit, Joon?” He looked at her worriedly but, after looking at Hankyung, he nodded and silently left. Turning to the singer, Sooyoung gestured towards her chair and Jessica quickly hopped back on to the chair before the vanity.

Silently, Sooyoung began to work on Jessica’s hair once more. Hankyung sat back on the couch, hands folded over his abdomen, careful not to touch the cuts on his knuckled hand. Sooyoung glanced at him in the mirror, “Is something wrong? I’m sure Joon will be back soon with the first-aid kit.”

“It’s not that,” Hankyung replied, his eyes narrowed slightly in thought, “Why won’t you press charges? He deserves it after hurting you-”

“It’s just a bruise-”

“I’m not talking about the bruise,” Hankyung interjected immediately. “Why won’t you?”

Sooyoung looked at him in the mirror before returning her attention to Jessica’s hair, “Like I said earlier: he’s not worth the time and effort. Besides,” she continued flippantly, “it’s much easier and less time-consuming to have him blacklisted.”

“You won’t need to do that,” Jessica stated as Sooyoung pulled her hair that way and twisted her hair the other way; “All those witnesses out there; I give it an hour before it’s released to the news or posted on the internet somewhere.”

Joon arrived then and Sooyoung took the kit from him. He only left after she let him pat her on the head. She turned to tell Jessica it would only take a few minutes to care to Hankyung’s wounds, however, Jessica already slipped out of the dressing room, closing the door behind her. Sooyoung brought the kit over to the couch, sitting down and setting the kit between herself and the actor. She opened it and took Hankyung’s hand.

“Jessica’s not subtle,” Hankyung stated as Sooyoung began to dab at the blood that covered three of his knuckles.

“She’s been trying to throw you at me for the past two weeks,” Sooyoung admitted easily as she began to cleanse the small wounds; “She’s pretty persistent despite telling her over and over again that it’ll never happen.”

“Why not?” Hankyung asked, his tone light and easy; “What did I do wrong?”

Sooyoung’s hand stilled in its ministration, her other hand loosening its grip on Hankyung’s. She raised her gaze to the foreigner and could feel her heart clenching painfully as she lost the ability to breathe, let alone speak. It seemed that the more time she spent with Hankyung, the more exposed she felt; the more vulnerable she felt. Somehow he had the ability to strip away all of her defences, all of her facades and leave her feeling painfully raw and exposed; all the while with just his words.

Hankyung saw the mix of emotions in her big, bright eyes; could see her fighting some kind of internal battle. Because she had been attending to his knuckles, when she held his hand, their palms faced one another. Now, he wrapped his fingers around her hand, his thumb stroking softly against her knuckles.

“What did I do now?” Hankyung asked, “What did I say to hurt you?”

“You. You. You;” Sooyoung stated, her voice strained, “You’re always talking about yourself.”

Hankyung blinked, “What? I don’t talk-”

“Every time something happens between us, you’re always apologizing, saying how sorry you are,” Sooyoung interrupted.

“And that’s bad?” Hankyung asked, truly confused. He was doubly confused when he felt her slender hand begin to shake in his. He watched her as she shook her head furiously, chewing on her bottom lip.

When she spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper and was trembling as much as her body was; “When you say hi, when you talk to me… You call me Sooyoung.”

“That’s your name,” Hankyung stated, his dark eyes sweeping over her face, trying to understand, trying to figure out why this young woman before him, someone he had quickly come to admire for her strength of character and confidence, was slowly crumbling, revealing someone who was very weak and wielded her confidence as a type of shield.

“You’ve never told me I was beautiful or gorgeous.”

“Did you want me to?”

“You’re the first to do that,” Sooyoung whispered, her bottom lip swollen and red from her biting it,

“Surely Jessica and your family-”

Sooyoung shook her head again, her jagged, short locks swishing furiously, “For as long as I can remember, whenever someone pursued me, whenever someone wanted to date me they were all arrogant or full of themselves. When they weren’t talking about themselves, they would talk only of my appearance, how I look…”

She gulped a breath of air before continuing, “T-t-they only… They would precede my name with ‘princess’ or… or call me ‘Your Highness’… I… I can’t explain it but I could tell w-who were trying to earn my cousin’s favour through me. W-when Eunhyuk was around… w-when any of my other relatives with greater sway were present; they’d immediately transfer t-their attention to them…

“When I said no, the tables would always t-turn… suddenly I became the bad one and they were the victim. Suddenly everything they praised about me, made me a-arrogant. With every ending, I-I-I was at fault…” Her eyes were pained with sorrowful expression, and her thin frame was visibly shaking. “I thought you would be like the others… thought you’d be typical like them… But with you… with you it’s…

“You don’t blame me… you don’t use my station against me… you have never… you have never called me ‘p-princess’,” Sooyoung stammered, pulling her hand from his grasp; “You don’t care about what I look like…” She tore her gaze away, trying to collect her thoughts as her chest grew heavier and constricted more painfully; “I… I couldn’t understand it. For so long, y-you made me feel so… I didn’t know why y-you were different from them… I… I always felt so… so vulnerable around y-you and I didn’t know…”

She hugged her arms against her stomach, her gaze focused on some spot on the wall, trying to stop her chest from hurting so much, trying to make her lungs breathe smoothly, trying to stop the defenceless feeling overwhelming her. Hankyung slid off the couch, coming to his knees before her when she grew silent and refused to look at him. He raised his hands to her heart-shaped face and forced her to look at him.

He stared directly into her eyes, “I have never called you beautiful or gorgeous because those aren’t the right words. I could use them if I were describing some small aspect of you, but I could never use them to describe all of you. I would call you blunt but witty, flippant but charming… But if you want to know what I think about your appearance, all I can say is that you take my breath away every time I see you.”

Sooyoung felt the air escape her lungs again and, this time, they refused to inflate once more.

“I call you ‘Sooyoung’ because that is your name. I call you that because we are supposed to be friends and that’s what friends do; you would never call me ‘Actor Hankyung’,” He stated, his thumbs brushing away the fat tears that began to trickle down her cheeks without her awareness; “I call you ‘Sooyoung’ because I cannot imagine you named something else. I call you ‘Sooyoung’ because I like when you reply with ‘Hankyung’.”

Her chest was constricting with an almost burning sensation. She felt as if her chest was being scorched and yet, it didn’t hurt. It was uncomfortable and painful, but in the way one feels when they’re excited, when they’re so tensed up from anticipation that their entire body aches for release.

With his eyes locked on hers, he simply stated, “I don’t blame you for anything, because you haven’t done anything. I don’t use your station against you because I didn’t know you were a princess until that meeting in the restaurant. I don’t care what your family does because they are not you. They’re not the ones I’m hoping to see everyday when I go out. They’re not the ones I want to get to know better. You are.” He cocked his head slightly, he offered her a small smile, “So, I’ll try this again: will you be my friend, Sooyoung?”

Hankyung was almost knocked over when she suddenly threw herself against him, her arms wrapping around his torso and trying to pull him closer as she buried her face into his chest. He sighed with relief as he carefully, but securely, wrapped his arms around her shoulders and just held her.

“By the way, Sooyoung… your hair is horribly uneven.”

She cried harder and he wanted to kiss her. He just held her.

…

Six years later.

Hankyung entered the crowded ballroom. The filming had lasted longer than scheduled so, he had driven from the set directly to the Royal House where a ball was being held for the King’s thirty-third birthday. He spotted her almost immediately amongst the hundreds of people crushed into the large ballroom. She wore a simple silk, strapless, ice-blue dress. It hugged her subtle curves, emphasizing their femininity as a high-waist was created by a string of pearls sewed just bellow the bust. Her dress screamed of elegant simplicity, the colour not rare in the ballroom. However, he spotted her nonetheless and it had nothing to do with the dress.

He made quick work through the crowd, quite positive that he had established himself as a rude, busy-body in the process. He appeared at her side, smiling immediately as she filled his vision. She looked up at him and smiled that winning smile that shone to him from even across the ballroom. He quickly made his greetings to the King, who – by the presence of the large-diamonded engagement ring on Sooyoung’s finger – would soon be his cousin-in law. Then, he turned to his fiancée, bending to brush a kiss on the apple of a cheek. He took one of her hands and raised it to his lips, his kiss lingering longer than proper. She looked at him brightly, but he knew the moment awareness filled those big, bright and beautiful eyes.

“Hankyung…”

“If I stopped to change, I would’ve been even later,” He defended immediately, “Now what would you prefer: me being late and looking impeccably dressed, or me being slightly late and looking slightly less spectacular than usual?”

Sooyoung slipped her hand from his hand and removed her hand from her cousin’s arm just so she could stand with her arms akimbo, “Obviously the former.”

Hankyung stared at her, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes; he couldn’t love her all these years and not anticipate her response. He glanced to her cousin, hoping to find some sympathy but finding only teasing amusement from the other man. Looking back at Sooyoung, he attempted his best smile, “Your hair looks gorgeous.”

One of her hands rose from her hips and came to rest on his cheek. She looked at him with that small smile of hers, almost as if she were telling him a secret, showing him something no one else was allowed to see; “Look at you, trying to make me happy.” She glanced at her cousin, “May I go dance with my handsome fiancé?”

Eunhyuk rolled his eyes, “You hardly need my permission.”

Hankyung took her hand and led her through the crush of people to the more open area of the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms and immediately swept her into the waltz that was already in progress. With one hand clasping hers and the other firmly, possessively on her waist, he moved through the motions easily. He had practiced hard to learn the waltz just so he could dance with her at the Royals balls which had only waltzes. It became so automatic to him, that he allowed his gaze to wander and to land on her, lock on her eyes which had always been watching him.

“Considering your brother hasn’t attempted to kill me yet tonight, I’m guessing he approves of the ring? Hmm, my Sooyoung?” Hankyung asked with a smile.

He never called her ‘my sweetheart’; rarely called her ‘my darling’; and only occasionally called her ‘my love’. He always called her ‘my Sooyoung’ and that was worth more to her than all of the other endearments combined. To her, it epitomized all she loved about him and all he felt about her.

Sooyoung nodded, a brilliant smile on her face, “He was very happy to see the ring on my finger.”

“And did you tell them about our other news?” Hankyung inquired lightly as he smoothly led her through a turn. His eyes briefly glanced down towards her abdomen before looking back into her happily lit gaze,

“No, I haven’t,” Sooyoung replied, “But it shouldn’t come as a surprise to them, we’ve been together for five and a half years… we’ve been living together for four and a half years.”

“You say all that, and Joon still watches me like a hawk from across the room,” Hankyung stated dryly,

Sooyoung laughed up at him, “And I love you for allowing him to continue as my bodyguard after all these years.”

Hankyung rolled his eyes, “Like I could get rid of that bear if I wanted to. Besides, he can watch after you when I’m not around.” His gaze drifted briefly to her abdomen once more, “You’re two months along, you can’t wait too long to tell the others before you start showing,” Hankyung reminded lightly as they waltzed flawlessly amongst the dozens of other couples.

“Despite it not surprising them, it’ll still shock them. I am the youngest after all,” Sooyoung stated as the music came to an end but Hankyung’s hands remained where they were for a moment longer than necessary.

His hand dropped from her waist, but the other merely brought her hand to his lips, his eyes glinting mischievously. He brushed his lips against her knuckles before he leaned towards her until his breath tickled her ear.

“What will they say when we tell them that we’ve been married for four and a half years and that ring is actually just my birthday present for you this year?”

“We just have to follow our plan and tell them after the baby is born,” Sooyoung replied readily,

“I’m surprised Jessica and Heechul kept the secret this entire time,” Hankyung admitted softly.

Sooyoung gave him a winning smile, “That’s because I threatened them with their positions as maid of honour and best man.”

Hankyung laughed as he pulled her into his arms, disregarding the hundreds of people around them and all calls of public decorum. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head with its perfect hair before brushing his lips by her left temple and whispering,

“That’s why I love you, my Sooyoung.”