#taeyong royalty au

[eurydicesflower]

speak now (lty)

Pairing: Taeyong (NCT) x Reader Tags: Royalty AU, Arranged Marriage Warnings: None Word Count: 10.4 k Summary: Nothing had seemed to prepare you for this moment when you realize you were standing in the middle of a wedding. It is not something you had planned inside your mind, but here you are. A/N: This was posted a month earlier on AO3, and I keep on forgetting I should post this here as well 😭 Also, this was supposed to be part of my entries for ficwip 5 k challenge but I got carried away. Anyways don't forget, FACT CHECK on OCT. 6!!!!!! Also posted on: Archive of Our Own

Nothing had seemed to prepare you for this moment since this is not something that you had planned inside your mind. Days before the wedding day, this only slipped inside your mind, but you never wanted to make this real but today, you are in the middle of the aisle, dressed in your pretend baker clothes— why you were dressed like that was not the main point— because right now, the wedding guests are peering, and waiting for you to speak whilst the blushing bride and the handsome groom stand there expectantly, a surprised look painted in their faces especially from the bride.

“What are you waiting for? Speak now— are you against this wedding?” The preacher asked you, snapping you back from reality.

So, what really had happened before this? How did you find your way all the way to a wedding uninvited? Because honestly you are not that type of person who would just barge in a white veil occasion without logical reason. 

So, for starters: the ballroom is not as memorable as you thought it was.  

The time where you two were dancing all alone was the day you have said you were deeply enamored towards the prince; he has his pretty smile and his brown velvet eyes boring in your own eyes, and the soft chuckle from your lips as he almost tripped on his feet which was merely intentional. The prince was well-versed with dancing, he only wanted to see you smile that night. He matched your joyful smile you had that night with an enamored grin. That night felt so wonderful, the butterflies inside your stomach could burst out with giddiness and flutter around the ballroom, soaring, but the difference was that instead, locusts might be the one bursting out because as of the moment, instead of you dancing with him, he was out in the ballroom dancing with the woman he was about to be married with. 

Oh, how you missed that feeling instead of the green-eyed monster eating all of your insides. 

Do you think he had said the same words he had whispered in your ear? Does she also get those warm and fuzzy feelings inside her chest as he says all those words? 

Maybe your mother was right. Men are the same. They always know how to make a woman swoon, no matter who and where they are. Because how in the heavens he was dancing with the woman when you caught his eyes focused solely on you. Not to indulge with your delusions, but you genuinely feel so bad for the lady. Yet of course, you love this attention that he was giving you in spite of it all.

Stolen glances, and longing stares in the ballroom should not be as hard as this. You had done this before and yet, the feeling of loving someone who wasn't destined to be yours crushing your soul as deep as the pits of the underworld. You should have known of this yet you still yearn to this day that you should love someone without the scornful looks from the public's eye. How could you even live and give in with secrecy?

The number one gossip you had remembered from one of the servants was that: The princes are not allowed to marry anyone below their status, and if they do, they are a disgrace to this kingdom, the One-to-Seventh of the Southern Mountain province. The conservative values that were instilled centuries ago were still preserved until the present times. Since then, no one has dared to defy those traditions except there were a lot of royal families in the province who had not taken part of the traditions. Take for example the Prince of Evening Cross Outlands, Prince Chen. The public had only known of his private affairs after one of the stewards had announced his wedding. Of course, the people were angry, a lot of the women who were head-over-heels were angry at him. And yet, the marriage went on. 

Thinking of that, the old servant lady who had relayed you the gossip might be shocked if he knew the prince of your kingdom is a rebel to their traditional values. He wasn't caught yet because he moves so quietly like a feline in the shadows. All of your hidden meetings were always calculated. Not one soul in the palace should know about it or else... Who knows what fate you could have? 

Besides, while you two aren't caught, yet , you two have the pettiest of excuses, and people would believe it all.

“Your highness, you wanted to see me?”

The prince’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw you in the room. Composing himself, he firmly nodded at you. 

“I am in dire need of assistance for this book I was reading, and I need your help, Miss Librarian.” 

A mischievous look in his eyes were only seen by your own while his loyal servant was too oblivious to know what he meant.

“Of course, follow me, your highness.” You stifled the giggle you had.

A soft chuckle left out of your lips as soon as you left the vicinity with the prince. There were soft kisses turned to heated moans as soon as you were led to his own chambers. Although you loved loving him in secret not until you slowly fell into his grace, there is that one morning when you woke up, you prop your arm to see him, peacefully sleeping beside you. How you wish one day you won’t be living like this behind the walls. How you wish you would never feel an afterthought, and will be permanently engraved in his heart and be shouted proudly around the kingdom. As selfish as it seems, you already knew that it might not happen unless the divines above would grant your wish.

“Do you really love me?” You then whispered as you traced his cheeks with your fingertip. You sighed deeply before you dressed up, and left his chambers quietly. You start to think what if the prince actually loves you but you wonder if that love you thought was real and not just a pastime during the night. You wonder if he would be like the prince of the neighboring kingdom, would Taeyong do the same for you?

“May I have this dance, milady?” Someone asked before you, snapping out of your trance. You almost jumped from your seat when you were surprised to see the General of the Green Knights was right here in front of you, dashing with his suit, and his styled hair.

“Oh, Sir John… you really don’t have to, I am fine in my seat, watching the party on the sidelines.”

The knight furrowed his brows as he looked you up and down.  

“You were dressed so elegantly suited for the ballroom, milady, but you quite have the long face. What had troubled you to sulk in the corner? Was it because of a troubling, young prince—?” 

You almost stood from your seat and swatted your hand fan on his arm, however, as scandalous and playful as it were, you decided to hold that thought. John was right. After all, John was one of your friends who you consider would not share your secrets to anyone. You even wanted to ask if John could read your mind, and know what is going inside your head, but you brushed that thought.

“Stop teasing, John. And do not address me like I am a noblewoman.” There was this cat-like smile on his lips as he watched you.

“I can stop addressing you ‘milady’ if you accept my request to dance with you, milady .” He keeps on teasing you until you eventually give in and extend your hand with a playful roll of your eyes. 

“Milord.”  You curtsied with a roll of your eyes.

“Milady.” He kissed the back of your palm before taking your hand. You ignore the fluttering feeling inside your chest which in your defense, John had done a lot of times but everytime he did it, it was an effective heart shaker. 

As John walked you in the middle of the dance floor, you could feel all the eyes staring through you. Murmurs from different ladies were heard behind your back. In spite of it all, you ignored them except for one prying eye— the young prince. You can ignore all the gossip that surrounds you as you dance with the dashing knight, however, what trickled up your spine was that the prince was preying on you like a hawk. 

“You seemed distracted, milady.”

“I am fine, John.”

“Fine? You mean you are seeing how Prince Taeyong was looking at you right now?” He smirked.

“Let's just dance, okay?” You then led him into a waltz in the middle of the ballroom. 

The orchestra played in a waltz where it opens where it starts sweet, and as mellow as the ocean waves, until your bodies sway like the currents. All the people were mesmerized at the way the two of you were dominating the dance floor. The ladies had their jaws on the floor as they watched you. You are not the quite the dancer you were, but you had a great mentor, Seulgi, and thanks to her, you can show how you gracefully dance with a beautiful man. You both successfully caught the attention of everyone including the person you wanted to impress the most. Applause was heard as soon as you two finished dancing. You and John took a bow, and smiled at each other

“Milady, that was an eye-catching performance, or may I say you are a show-stunner.” You were stunned as soon as you lifted up your head and saw the one who complimented you.

“Your highness, it is a pleasure!” You curtsied quickly at him, hiding your flushed face from the prince.

'Get it together!' You screamed internally.

“I must say she was a good dancer as well as you, sir John. You did well.” The woman beside Prince Taeyong was Lady Gwendolyn, his soon-to-be wife. 

The music started once again, and yet another round for dancing in the ballroom commenced. 

You and John excused yourselves away from the royal couple. When you were about to step on the grand staircase, you forgot to bring your hand fan with you so you told John he should go first before you. As you look around for your hand fan from where you last seated, it wasn't there. You were about to give up and head back to your quarters when you spotted a familiar figure in the corridors, holding the same fan you were holding earlier. 

“Your highness, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be out with Lady Gwendolyn?” 

“Lady Wendy says she was tired from all the dancing so I was out here, waiting for the owner of this hand fan to come back.”

“Oh, why thank you, your highness, I can now go back to my quarters, then.” You ignore his given nickname for the noblewoman. 

You were about to take it from his hand and yet he didn't give it to you, raising the hand fan above his head. He did it as if he was playing a game with you. You sighed defeatedly as you looked at him. 

“Your highness, I can't do this right now, we might get caught.” You said in a hushed tone.

“Oh, but when you were out with John, it was like you were tearing each other's clothes out in public. And, oh, the way you were looking into his eyes? What was that?” He sighed exasperatedly as his eyes darted out away from yours while his ears were turning red. And that's when it hits you.

“You're jealous? You're jealous of John?” You wouldn't believe what was happening right now, and good thing, there were no people around you who could witness this. You were holding your laugh out the way he is embarrassed and pouting right in front of you, you were so lucky to witness it and call him yours at first before he marries somebody else.

He was about to open his mouth for a witty retort, but he closed his mouth and sighed defeatedly. 

“Forget it, meet me back in my chambers, and we'll talk about this, Miss Librarian .” He gave your hand fan to you before he would be teased to death in the middle of the palace's open corridors.

…

Taeyong stays silent as he gazes up at the ceiling as you rest your head on his chest. You didn’t engage with your usual frolicking with the prince tonight, instead, you only wanted to feel his warmth even if it meant to be the last time you will be wrapped around his arms.

“You will be marrying Lady Gwendolyn of House Song next month… I don't think we should continue this anymore, Yong...” Muttering his nickname was not meant for this sad feeling lingering on your chest. You can’t even look him straight in the eye because you already knew that this day would come. Although you wanted what they called the 'happy ever-after' like the old tales of princes and princesses, you remembered that all of those were only myths and not meant for someone like a commoner like you. You don’t want to tarnish the prince’s reputation after all.

“But don’t worry you can still visit me in the royal library, and we can still be friends even after this you know—”

“I don’t want this to stop…” This time, Taeyong drops down his gaze to meet your eyes, and caresses your cheek so that you can look at him. 

“I know I sound foolish right now, and I know my ancestors would be rising from their graves right now if I attempted this one thing: loving someone like you. But I will promise you that I will never, ever, love anyone, even Lady Gwendolyn, but you. I know my engagement with Lady Gwendolyn has been already set in stone even when we were children and yet…” He took your hand in his own and kissed it before laying it down on his chest, having you feel the beat of his own heart. “I do admit that I am as uncertain with you for what's to come, but I am willing to commit, to the point of no return, bearing you my soul and my life, that I am bound to love you till the end.”

“Taeyong…” You were teary-eyed when he uttered those words to you. “I hope you are being true to your words, because I do not just simply give in with sweet words, Yong...” You tease him as you trace your hands on his chest.

“I know you, but you were here with me right now and I thank you for that, my love.” Taeyong chuckles softly as he resumes leaving small kisses on your wrist. 

“Yong…”

“Yes?”

“I love you…”

He smiles and kisses your temple. “I love you, too…”

Silence befalls between the two of you. You watch his breathing carefully, and trace your hand on his chest. 

“If you don't mind me asking, does Lady Gwendolyn already have suspicions about us?”

Taeyong falls silent for a moment. He sighs deeply and shakes his head with a smile. 

“I don't think Lady Wendy would find out about our relationship but if she did, I won't let her harm you… I promise you that.” He kisses your temple softly, and you match his smile with a breath of relief. 

Oh, you just wished you could just stay in his arms more than you wished for because the next day, you came unprepared. 

There was a small banquet in the palace hosted by none other than Lady Gwendolyn. You were staying silent from the farthest seat from the noblewoman, but of course,

“Oh, our lovely guest, the Miss Librarian, what do you think about my dress?”

You don’t know how or why, but you don’t seem to like the aura Lady Gwendolyn gives off. Yes, she seems nice with the way you had conversed with her the past few weeks since the engagement was announced, but the more the wedding comes closer, Lady Gwendolyn is slowly giving off some wicked vibes. Maybe it’s just your problem, so you just brush it off.

“Your dress looks good on you, Lady Gwendolyn and it does suit you well.”

“Of course, the royal tailor was the one who was assigned to cater to my tastes! And soon enough, when I get to be wed with the prince, I will lavish myself with everything the royal palace has to offer!”

“Speaking of Prince Taeyong, my what a pretty couple you are!” One of the lady-in-waitings, Giselle, compliments.

The lady of the hour giggles behind her hand. 

“I know right, however there is one problem… There is this that bothers me when I am with the prince…” 

“Tell us, Lady Gwendolyn!”

“Don’t be afraid to tell us!”

“What was it?”

“Don’t tell this to anyone but… I heard that the prince unfortunately had his heart on someone else that's why he remains distant to me.”

A wonderful heated gossip caused exaggerated gasps from the mouths of the ladies except from you. Lady Gwendolyn’s eyes deeply seep through you. Deep inside the back of your mind, you know she was talking about you but maybe it was just you. 

“Miss Librarian, are there any problems with that? Why didn’t you seem surprised about this?”

Were you that obvious? What face did you make in front of the women?

“I don’t get what you mean, Lady Gwendolyn, I’m pretty sure I am as surprised as Lady Aeri and Ning here.”

“Oh, anyway. As I was saying, Prince Taeyong had his heart on someone else. And I am quite nervous, girls. It seems he likes this cunning snake! What should I do?” The woman whined exaggeratedly as she wiped her eyes. 

“Don’t invite that, snake!”

“Prince Taeyong shouldn’t fall in love with a snake!”

“What about you, Ms. Librarian? Don’t you have anything to say?”

“I just say don’t invite whoever that is, Lady Gwendolyn.”

"Thank you for your input because I will do what you'll say, ladies."

You don’t want to jump to any conclusions when Lady Gwendolyn grins at you. You don’t want to paint her as a villain inside your mind. Maybe it was just you, but you definitely do not like the way she grins at you.

…

Later that afternoon, you went back to your work in the library like nothing happened. You were listing the things that you needed to stock for the library. Sometimes you head town with Donghyuck but since John insisted on assisting you, Donghyuck will be staying here so that he can attend his library duties.

“Miss Librarian?”

Oh… Lady Gwendolyn. Why was she here? You wondered as you eye the noblewoman walking around all by herself. Her lady-in-waiting wasn’t around following her for some reason, and the banquet had ended hours ago! Why would she want to meet you here once more? What was she up to?

“Good afternoon, Lady Gwendolyn. What are you doing here? Do you need any books to borrow? I can get it personally for you.” Donghyuck greeted her with a smile yet the noblewoman eyed him from head-to-toe and brushed him off so that she could get to your table.  

“I don’t need your help. Can you leave me alone with her?” She told Donghyuck when she had her back turned from him. Poor Donghyuck scurried away from the library, leaving you and Lady Gwendolyn in one room.

“Do you need to borrow some books, Lady Gwendolyn?” You asked, still as polite as possible.

“That is not what I am after, miss librarian.” She said with a hint of distaste. “You should be thanking me because I am too nice not to out you as the town whore during my banquet earlier.”

“Excuse me? How dare you—?!”

“I already know what you did so no need to defend yourself.” She raised her hand in the air, interrupting you in mid-sentence. “I already know about your secret affair with the prince and I knew about what happened last night. How long have you been entangling with my soon-to-be husband? You should be ashamed of yourself and stop pretending you're pure like everyone believes you to be!” 

You wanted to defend yourself. You wanted to yell at her and tell the truth that it was long before she and the Prince had been together. She may be engaged with him, but the Prince loves you, but you can't seem to move your lips nor open your mouth to speak against the ruthless noblewoman.

“The prince was already engaged to me, don’t you see?” She showed her ring to you. “Yet you acted like a brothel whore. I really don’t know why Prince Taeyong still wants you even after all this time when he and I were already engaged since we were both children. So, stay away from him, do you understand?”

You don’t know what you should do during that moment. Cry? No, you can’t, she’ll just taunt you even more. Scream at her? You will be causing a commotion and you know Lady Gwendolyn’s power. So, instead, you just chose to stay silent and nod your head.

She rolled her eyes at you and scoffed.

“You can act pretending you understand what I meant, but I am giving you a forewarning, librarian. The prince will know how to love me eventually but you? You will stay miserable till you age in the end knowing the prince DID love you, but, what did he do to his little whore? He didn’t choose you in the end.” She snickered at you with a smile before she left your station.

“Oh, before I leave, you can do everything that you want before this wedding, but you will never be the one smiling in the end. Hope you enjoy watching the wedding, because you won’t— Since you said it yourself that a cunning snake shouldn’t be invited.” She tossed the crumpled invitation to your table and bid a 'sincere' goodbye to you as if she didn’t humiliate your whole being.

You tried to salvage what was left of the crumpled invitation on your desk. Your name was crossed out multiple times yet, you saw even with a small glimpse of how your name was written delicately with the intricate design mixed with flowers. You held back the tears that were attempting to stream down your cheeks when you saw Donghyuck come back once Lady Gwendolyn exited the library.

“That Gwendolyn sure is something . I don’t know what her problem was but I really sense Prince Taeyong would have a hard time living with her! She is not a good fit for a queen!” He wasn’t paying attention to you when you were wiping away the stray tears in your eyes.

“Did she say anything absurd to you, ma’am?”

You raised your head as soon as you were done wiping your tears.

“To me? Oh, she was being nice to me actually.” You smiled, distracting yourself by organizing the papers that do not need  any fixing.

“I just hope Prince Taeyong could change his mind and not marry that woman because I know that there will be chaos once she steps in the palace, and lives here. Don’t you think, ma’am?”

“Well, let’s see what the prince can do.” You smiled despite the fact that you knew that there is only a small chance of that happening if one engagement is already set in stone but in the back of your mind, you wished he would choose the right decision  and not choose the former.

-

“You’re not invited?”

John asked you as the two of you took a stroll down the town streets. You decided to take a break by doing errands away from the library. Besides you need to stock up on some materials in the royal library and you are the one who knows the materials you need. Although usually it was Donghyuck who did these errands, since you wanted to take a break, and John just happened to be staying at the palace indefinitely, you are now away from the palace and from your thoughts.

“Like why of all the people in the palace, the royal head librarian wasn’t invited at all? Does it make sense? The royal librarian who happened to be one of the closest friends to the prince wasn’t invited! Did something happen? Did Taeyong exclude you?”

“Oh, God, no, it wasn’t his fault. I guess the guests were already full, so I don’t think whoever is the wedding planner might have seen a reason why they would invite me.”

“But your assistant, Donghyuck, will be present. But you aren't? Think about it! Maybe someone just misplaced your invitation or maybe someone messed it up. Don’t tell me… Was it Lady Gwendolyn, wasn’t it?” John frowned. 

There go your tears forming in your eyes when you remembered what happened earlier that morning. You tried fighting it back so that John would not see your eyes glistened with tears.

“I don’t think so— Oof!” You raised your head all too quickly and apologized at the person you bumped into. “I am very sorry, it’s my fault I wasn’t looking where I am going—”

“No worries, ma’am.” The man said as if he was in a hurry.

“Is there anything I can do for you? I am very sorry—”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” You didn’t even see a small glimpse of his face when he bid goodbye.

Beside you, John was holding his laughter before the man left. You looked him in the eye and there, he just burst out laughing.

“What was that for?” You huffed.

“Nothing, nothing. As you were saying? Weren't you going to treat me with that favorite bread of yours?”

“I'll treat you next time since you teased me today.” You stuck out your tongue and walked five steps ahead of him. You both acted like children but you were glad that you forgot that you had a heavy heart after what happened even for a moment. Maybe you should really give up and move away from the palace so that no royal nor noble blood could mess with your life ever again.

…

Feels like heaven welcomed you with the buttery smell of fresh bread wafting into the air even if you were still outside the bakery. You lead John inside your favorite bakery, and good thing, not a lot of people are lining up so you easily pick up the bread you wanted. 

“Welcome to Peach Bread and Pastries!” A handsome man welcomed the two of you, it seemed he was a new hire or something because you didn't seem to recognize him except for the older lady and her daughter, Joy, who already knew your order since you are their loyal patron. You wonder if Joy was there but it seems she may be out of town.

“Jaehyun!” John says all of a sudden.

You turn your head to who he calls out, and it turns out John knows one of the bakers.

“John.” He nods his head.

“By the way, this is my cousin, Jaehyun.” Johnny then introduces him to you. You try to think where you have met him. He is familiar! And when it hits you, you point your hand at John, and say, “Is that why you're laughing earlier because I just happened to bump into your cousin? Why didn't you say so?” 

You playfully glare at the taller man but John only cheekily grins at you as he chooses the bread he wants. 

“Well, at least you are acquainted with Jaehyun now.”

You huff with a pout and turn your back against him to choose your favorite bread among the display. You can’t seem to find it easily, so Jaehyun helps you find the bread you want. You faintly say ‘thank you,’ and lead you back to the counter.

“Thank you for your patronage, madame. I hope you can come back soon so I can serve you again.” The man smiles, dimples showing both sides of his cheeks, as he hands your orders. 

When you exit the bakery, you try not to swat your hands on John’s arm when he decides to tease you around his cousin. 

///

When you thought you could avoid Prince Taeyong, it was one of the hardest things you did in your life because you get to see him everyday inside the library  because that was one of his most frequent places to go to and obviously that’s where you work. Even if you wanted not to see him, he was just there. Donghyuck could see the frustrated look on your face, even if you deny that you weren’t agitated, he just continued to tease you when he knew the prince had arrived. 

“The prince is here, ma’am.”

“I know. You don’t have to remind me, Donghyuck.” You resort on not raising your head because for sure, the prince was not paying attention to his book.

“I thought you two were friends? What happened?” 

‘So many complicated things happen,’ you muttered defeatedly under your breath. You know Donghyuck already knows half of it, like you and Prince Taeyong but beyond that, you don’t want him to know the secret affair between you and the prince. It’s not like you don’t trust Donghyuck, what you just don’t like is his attitude because he was the type of person who will tease someone hard. And you know how mischievous he was especially towards his friend, Mark Lee, in the Green Knights who happened to be courting the lady-in-waiting, Yerim, so you rather shut yourself up. 

“Donghyuck, can you point me out where I can look at more of these types of fish?” 

“Oh, the head librarian knows a lot better than me, your highness! I think she can lead you there, right?” He looks at you with a cunning smile on his lips.

You glare sternly at Donghyuck, and the younger man shrugs with a nudge of his head towards the prince. You curse at the back of your mind before you head towards the prince. You fight the urge to stare at the young prince— make eye-contact, and the next thing you know, you are enchanted by him once again.

“Your highness, follow me here.”

The prince followed you obediently behind you. When you two had gotten away from the eyes of your assistant, Taeyong walks past you, and grabs your wrist.

“What are you doing—?”

“Just trust me.”

And you did trust him— like you always do. Taeyong leads you to a closet somewhere inside the library. You swear you haven’t seen this place even after working for like five years. He shows you a key, and you roll your eyes at him when he tries to open the door— which he was having a hard time opening.

“Did you conspire with Donghyuck or did you do this on purpose to have a private time with me?” You cross your arms on your chest, waiting for him to break in the two of you in the locked closet.

“What? I just wanted to see you, is there anything wrong with that?” He smiles cheekily. You almost bite a quick retort when he surprises you by dragging you inside the closet. Once inside, he presses his lips on yours but you resisted his kiss, pushing him away from you. His warmth never fails to soothe your aching heart, and you do want it so bad, yet times have changed and you do not want to get you both in trouble. 

“Please do me a favor and get us out of here, Yong... You don’t have to do this.” You tried to get serious, but he holds your hand, and presses it to his chest. 

“Just one last time, my love…” He kisses your forehead. “Please…”

“But you know we shouldn’t see each other anymore, Taeyong. Lady Gwendolyn already knew about us—”

“Did she hurt you?” He immediately lays his hand on both sides of your face. 

“Just please, Yong, let’s just stop this…” You shake your head. You don’t want to tell him what happened a week ago when Lady Gwendolyn threatened you and you know Taeyong. He would actually break his engagement in one snap, and you do not want to be the cause of all of it— even though a part of you wants it.

“But do you think that won’t stop me from wanting you? Do you really want me to stop?”

You would be lying to yourself if you didn’t want him as much as he does. If the circumstances were different, of course you would say yes to him. After all, you wanted to end up with him without worrying about the consequences of your actions. You do want to push him away from you again, but again, he was irresistible. He knows you too well. He knows how you couldn’t resist him despite pushing him away. That one last time is a lie, you know it. You know each other like the palm of each hand, and it both warms you all up all over again despite all of the sins you two commit in broad daylight.

“Let’s just stop this—” 

You lie to yourself once again but the moment he captures your lips, you want nothing more than anything but his warmth against you. You wanted to push him away, but your desire pulls you in and you still return his kiss with the same fervor and heat.  You are both hungry for desire, your hands intertwined with his own as it caresses your back.

“And even if you say no, I promise you that I will break this engagement, just trust me please… ” He pulls away from your lips, eyes gazing with your own. His eyes are mesmerizing as he stares at your own, one look from his, and you are once again trapped by him. 

“I love you…” He whispers those words that should have served as a declaration of affection towards you, but it left an opposite mark on you instead.

You try hard not to feel the pang, aching inside your heart, seeing him about to be parted away with you. And to you, it was one of the most bittersweet feelings you had in your life— he was your lifeline so are you to him. You wished everything was fine. You just wished everything was never like this. You just wished everything was simple for both of you, but in the end, it was never that easy. 

“I know…” You say softly before Taeyong kisses your temple once more. 

The moment he opens the door, you know that was the beginning of uncertainties, and probably the end, between the two of you, and you wouldn’t be able to do anything beyond that except to mourn for your loss— that breaks your heart into a thousand pieces and it’s hard to pick them all up all by yourself.

///

The days became weeks, when you realize that you hadn't even seen Taeyong for so long now. Though the talks of the wedding inside the palace were so frequent, you know how busy he was.  

Besides, the work in the library is not that heavy for the past few days. The prince hadn’t even visited the library, like you instructed him to. You wanted Taeyong so bad like you were before but in return, what you received was the price of loving someone too hard, and soon you will be left with nothing but grief and sorrow in the bellows of your heart and soul. You try not to further saddened yourself by lingering inside the palace, so you travel out of town.

The thought of him lingers in your mind especially the promise he made— you kind of hope it was true, yet, you are slowly losing hope for the two of you to be together like before. Either way, you stopped thinking about him, and just enjoy your vacation by the seaside. You bask in the salt air, brushing your skin, serenity wraps you in warmth and peace. You wanted this to set off your mind away

“What are you doing here all by yourself?” 

You were surprised to hear a familiar voice. When you turned your back, Jaehyun from Peach Bakery was standing right in front of you, there was nothing different like he was back at the bakery except he was wearing casual clothes, and nothing fancy like you used to see everyday in the palace.

“Jaehyun? What are you doing here?”

“My mother lives here around the plaza.” The man smiles at you, and the prominent dimples show up on both sides of his lips. He then stands beside you, and watches the sky on the horizon.

"This is peaceful, isn't it?"

You nod to him. "Yeah, and I am glad I am away from the drama in the palace. It was soooo exhausting."

"Yeah, I heard that the prince is marrying the daughter of the nobles from House Song, wasn't it?"

"Don’t get me started with Lady Gwendolyn…" You sigh defeatedly, and the man beside you laughs along.

“Do you want to take a stroll around here? I think that would be a long story, and it’s much better if we did it around nature.”

“Oh, it’s a pleasure, thank you, Jaehyun.” 

…

The two of you set off to a slow stroll around the town. The town was located in a rural area and you just wish that if you get to live in the palace, you hope you can live in a place like this— away from the drama, and you will just tend your lovely gardens when you go home after work.

“I didn’t know you lived around here. Seems peaceful to live here, doesn't it? Must be nice to stay here and just live far away from the kingdom.” You say with a dreamy far-off look. 

“I visit here from time to time, yeah, and I still love it whenever I go back home. And don’t mind me asking, John said that you are the royal librarian? Is that true?”

“Yeah, looks easy but it wasn't, especially if the prince was around.” You laugh half-heartedly. 

“Especially if the prince is around? I thought he was kind around people in the palace?”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I mean it in a good way, it’s just the prince could be playful and mischievous, but yeah, he was kind, don’t worry.” You chuckle lightly as memories flash around inside your mind. It is not the time

“By the way, I almost forgot, when you mentioned Lady Gwendolyn, one thing instantly made me remember what was the talk of the town before she stepped into the palace.”

“What was it?”

“I thought everyone knows it? Isn’t Lady Gwendolyn’s family responsible for what happened during the ‘Cherry Bomb incident’?”

“Cherry Bomb incident… Yeah, I remember that…” 

You recall that night where you heard that one of the palace guards found out that someone stole the Cherry Statue, and they said it was only a prank, but it was already returned. Silly as it may seem, but it caused a stir the next morning in the kingdom.

“But I thought that was just a rumor the palace addressed last month, and it turns out it was Lady Gwendolyn did it?”

“You know what wealth and power can do to wipe away these rumors, besides it was just a minor incident, but I still remember the look on her face when she was caught red-handed by one of those guards. I was up that dawn when they caught her along with the Cake girls.”

“Guess, can't a woman have hobbies, huh? Looking back, it’s funny, to be honest. I can’t actually believe Lady Gwendolyn would be like that.”

Jaehyun smiles along with you. 

You didn’t realize that it was already sundown. Time flies so fast, you presumed, in these parts. You excuse yourself from Jaehyun, but he stops you when you are about to leave him.

“If you want, I can treat you to dinner, my mom would be delighted to see a friend of mine.”

You cannot refuse a free dinner so you follow him along back to town, and his home is not in a faraway distance unlike in the kingdom when you will trek the hills just to go down the town proper.

Jaehyun’s mother is knitting a scarf in front of her porch when you and Jaehyun arrive. When she sees the two of you, she waves her hand, and greets you with a placid smile on her face.

“I didn’t know my son would bring his beautiful beloved to our humble home.”

“Oh, we’re not—” You wave your hand in the air, denying that you and Jaehyun are together.

“Mother, she’s my friend, I told you about the royal librarian, right? Here she is.” 

“Ah, the royal librarian who loves my son’s peach bread. Of course, of course, you are their regular customer. What brings you here? Why are you two together?” 

“I just happened to see your son in town. I was just taking a vacation for two days, and here I never thought that I would see a familiar handsome face.” You raise your head and smile at Jaehyun. Jaehyun avoids looking at you, but you see the redness building up in his ears.

“If I didn’t knew any better, I would think that you and my son is already together—”

“Oh, no, no, I have already promised myself to someone.”

Jaehyun and his mother look at you with your confession. His mother cannot believe this but she just smiles at you. Meanwhile his son, Jaehyun, is looking at you like you have told them the most elaborate lie, or, maybe you are just overreacting because you actually cannot decipher his face. His expression is quite unreadable, but the next few words from his mother shocks both of you.

“The prince? Prince Taeyong Lee? You know him, and you are engaged with him?! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” His mother stares at you like you won the grand prize from the lottery.

Hearing Taeyong’s name should have brightened up your mood but the reason you were in this town was to get away from everything royal— from the prince and his fiancee and to the library— You guessed that you couldn’t run away from the flow of life.

“Ma, that’s enough. How about we eat dinner now?” Jaehyun stops his mother before she asks tons of questions about you and the prince. Good thing, his mother was easy to talk to, and she ushers you both inside their home.

“Sorry for making you uncomfortable. My mother should have known better.”

“It’s fine, it’s just… I thought I would run away from anything palace related. I am here to take a vacation.” 

“So does that mean, I won’t stand a chance from the prince, then?”

You shoot him a playful look, and you roll your eyes at him. “As if I STILL had a chance with Taeyong.”

“I mean you can do something like, for example, speak that you are against their marriage during their wedding.”

“I would not stoop that low.” You counter him right away.

“I don’t know about you, but if you changed your mind, just tell me. Peach Bakery will always love to serve their loyal patrons.”

“Even if it means to crash a wedding?” 

“Yeah, even if it means to crash a wedding.”

You hold your chuckle, and he does follow along, so you both end up bursting out laughing. His mother probably wonders why you two are taking so long to come inside.

…

Even if you wanted to stay for more than two days, you have to bid goodbye to Jaehyun’s mother. She wishes you a great journey along with his son, Jaehyun, when you go home.  When you get back to your healing vacation, you already know that you will be facing familiar faces again, and here you see back at the palace, none other than the prince’s fiancee. You honestly wish you stayed, so, you can skip the day of the wedding which is seven days from now.

Lady Gwendolyn sees you in one of the corridors, but you only smile at her and bow on your way.

“I thought you would never be back.”

“Lady Gwendolyn, good morning.” You try so hard not to slap hard in the face, but of course, you fully restrain yourself. You know it would not only cause a commotion, but it would cost your life.

“Stop pretending nice, you know you are planning to sabotage the wedding.”

“Now you have given me an idea.” You whisper to yourself, but the noblewoman had heard you. 

“What is it? What are you planning—?!”

Just when she was about to claw her hands at you, the prince shows up along with his assistant, Doyoung.

“What is happening here, Lady Wendy? Is there any problem here?” The prince stands beside her. Lady Gwendolyn, on the other hand, shuts herself up but she still eyes you annoyingly.

“Lady Gwendolyn just told me that she wishes a recommendation from the royal library but I don't think she is fond of reading books as much as you do, your highness.”

You smile at the prince, and you already want to move away from him. Because the more you see him, the more you realize that there would be no other way but be worlds apart now that he was about to marry someone who is not you.

“If you may excuse me, I need to go back on my duties. No time should be wasted.”

When you leave them, you can feel the eyes boring behind your back, watching you go away.

…

You visit your favorite bakery once in  a while, and you always spotted John's cousin there along with your friend, Joy. You decide to talk with him, a small conversation starts up and then the next thing you know, you are closer to him. Joy noticed this and she teased the two of you but your heart remains loyal in the end even if it hurts you. 

“Will you order your usual?” Jaehyun asked.

You nod at him and he seems to notice the frown paint in your face when you sit by the window.

When he brings your order, Jaehyun sits across from you.

“If you don't mind me asking, are you okay?”

You shrug. You don’t even know anymore since what is the point now that in the next few days the love of your life is about to be wed with someone that is not you. You haven't even seen his face for weeks now. And you know you are bound to give him up anyway now that Lady Gwendolyn had confronted you again the other day. You knew it would come to the point that the noblewoman would have known about your relationship, so instead of retaliating, maybe it’s best to just give him up.

“Well… what do you think?” 

“What if I tell you should really consider what I told you last week?” 

You know where he is going with this. You almost forgot that you mentioned to Jaehyun about your relationship problem, and wow, it is really satisfying to let those out.

“But that’s just too much…”

“Don’t worry, as a way of gratitude for being one of Peach Bakery's loyal patrons, and a loving friend, I'll help you with the best that I can.”

You want to refuse but Jaehyun has this charm you can't resist, and the voices inside your head do want to get back onto Lady Gwendolyn. Crashing the wedding without an invitation? You hadn't done that before, but at least if you have the choice then you'll just see the prince for the last time he was not wed yet.

“So? Do you want to go dress up as a baker and stop the wedding?”

“You know I won't do that...”

“But are you willing to see someone you love be taken away from you?”

You consider his offer for a moment. You actually wanted to see Taeyong in his wedding suit (even if it would hurt to see you that it will never be you), but at the same time, you might cause a stir among the guests, and worst of all, you will be banished from the kingdom. 

“Then, I’m in,” You said firmly.

It was not what you dreamt of when you were a child, but there is nothing wrong with trying, right? Risking it for someone for the love of your life? You have never been so foolish with your whole life except you have already been foolish since you have been in love with the prince.

Jaehyun smiled at you. “This will take us a week, then.”

“Perfect for the day of the wedding.” You mumble under your breath. 

And a week had never been so fast to slip away. 

In those days, Joy and Jaehyun assist you with your plan. Joy even said that you can borrow her dress that you can wear in the wedding but you refused, you don't want to catch attention. Thus, when the day comes, you get in as a baker from Peach Bakery. When you arrive, you hear the organ play the wedding song, but to you, it sounds like a death march. You know Taeyong will make a joke out of it, and it makes you smile when it flashed into your mind. 

You are wandering around the premises to blend in but John is the first one to recognize you with your disguise. John looks at you with widened eyes when sees you.

“You told me you’re not going to the wedding? What the hell happened— Oh, wait, you don’t have to tell me…”

“You’re looking at a baker right now.” You proudly grin as you twirl around with your baker uniform. “And I made it, can you believe it?”

John shakes his head with amusement.

“So, what’s your plan next—?”

“Oh, about time one of the servers shows up.” You hear the prince’s assistant, Doyoung, show up to John’s direction. To your relief, he doesn't even recognize you while he is flipping through his logbook.

“These pastries are needed to be delivered to the prince’s quarters. He likes his sweets by the way.” Doyoung orders you before he walks to the organ player, who plays like it was for the funeral.

You wave a small goodbye at the knight as you beeline all the way to where the prince is staying before the wedding starts. Some of the guests aren’t able to recognize you and you hope it will stay that way because you don’t want to cause any trouble— although you know in the first place, crashing the wedding is already considered to be one.

You take a deep breath before you knock at the door.

“Your highness! Your pastries were here, I will leave this on the table beside your door.” You leave his door right away before he can see you. You release a deep sigh and pray to the heavens that he will not recognize your voice.

What was even running in your mind when you do this thing all for a man you know in the end that it might not be worth it at all?

When you are on your way back to see John, you then soon spot the blushing bride by the dressing room, not with glee, but with a face full of fury, because although she was dressed in a beautiful white gown shaped like a pastry, makeup full-blown, she is yelling at a bridesmaid because she happened to wear white that was supposed to be color of the bride's gown only.

“You should change your gown right away!”

And so her bridesmaid did. You pity the younger lady because of the humiliation she had just experienced but there's nothing you can do but watch from the curtains. 

What's the worst thing that could happen at all? 

And, as much as you don’t want to admit that you will not do anything you will end up regretting at the end of the day, it led you to this point where you were standing in the middle of the aisle. You actually forgot how the hell you found your way here when you were just looking for John. But all this time, when you heard the piano start, you knew to yourself that you were not that type of person who would just drop by a wedding without having any invitation brought with you. 

This was a foolish idea, your conscience screamed at the back of your mind, yet here you are, dressed in your pretend baker clothes, standing in the middle of the aisle with many eyes looking at you. 

You ignored the leering eyes from the guests as they watched every step you make. You also ignored the bride's agitated look because let's be honest, she was not even the one you were there for. You then spotted the prince donning a silver-studded suit, ivory white hair handsomely slicked back as he stood aghast, seeing you there.

“What are you waiting for? Speak now, are you against this wedding?” The preacher asks you, snapping back to your reality and it hits you, you arrive at the time when the preacher asks if someone is against or not in the wedding. You know to yourself that being here is already a scandalous move, people would talk about how the royal librarian crashed the wedding and stated her objections, so if it would come to this, then…

“Well, I am—”

“Wait.” 

Instead of fully speaking your objection to the wedding, you are surprised that you are interrupted by the prince. You looked at him with confusion, but you swore to yourself that he said, “I can handle this,” in his lips.

 His eyes land on yours then to the preacher.

“I am against this wedding.”

His response caused a stir among guests. Gossips and murmur surrounds them, and of course, his fiance pleads at him asking why would he do such a thing.

“Your highness, this is absurd! She was a commoner! I am your soon-to-be loving wife!” Lady Gwendolyn holds his hand in hers.

“I have been against this wedding ever since I have known that this is absurd!” He pulls away his hand, and steps away from her.

“I have been waiting for the right time, and I think now is the time that I state my objections. And I have never been so surprised to see that the love of my life was here with us and I am glad she was here.” His gaze lands at yours, so do the guests.

“I have never wanted to spend my lifetime, soon to be the king of this kingdom, in a life not filled with pure love and passion. And I was glad that I met someone like her, she had brought serenity to a life that I never knew would be as colorful as the painted skies, and as serene as the rivers. And as the prince, I should have the right to choose someone that I know that would love me till the ends of the earth, because I, too, would do the same. And that is why I know that it was her, and not Lady Gwendolyn.” His eyes never left yours as he walked towards you. “This wedding is not for my liking, and by the graces, my father and my mother, I come to you not as a prince, but as your son, your offspring, would you grant my wish? And if not, I would rightfully leave the kingdom and abandon my birthright as a prince and live with my beloved wife as common people if you do not agree with my terms.” 

The prince walks towards you and grabs hold of your hand and smiles fondly at you. His eyes twinkle as your eyes meet, face lighting up as soon as he gets to stand by you.

“Your highness, do not abandon me this way! If you step outside, this engagement ends now!” Lady Gwendolyn threatens. 

When you thought the prince would go back for her, to your utter surprise, the prince took your wrist and ran away from the wedding. You can't help but be giddy and nervous at the same time. The swirling feeling flutters inside your stomach now that you are reunited with Taeyong. It still feels surreal to you that your dream came true as uncertain as it can be. You briefly look back when you hear Lady Gwendolyn scream at the top of her lungs, knees on the floor as she was abandoned by her own groom. The pity was not apparent, and you only feel the happiness brought upon you.

However, it seemed you spoke too soon as it was cut short.

“Taeyong!” The king roared in anger when he followed you and Taeyong outside of the church.

“I did not know that this would come to this. I did not know that the prince of the kingdom of Evening Cross Outlands would influence you like this, my child! And you decided to abandon your marriage to the royal librarian? What kind of nonsense is this? Do you want to be a disgrace of this kingdom? Go back there, and marry Lady Gwendolyn, and leave this woman!” He directed his attention to the young prince then you. 

You shrunk to yourself. You almost want to die on the spot now that the king has his attention to you. You don't want any of this attention but here you are, the king addresses you like it was the day of your execution.

“That's because I do not love Lady Gwendolyn! And no other arrangement can make me fall in love with her.” Taeyong stands between you and the king, shielding you with his arm.

“You have not been asked to speak yet, Prince Taeyong.” The king pushes the prince aside, but he is stopped by the presence of the queen. The queen whispers something to the king, and he sighs when she is finished. His eyes still never left you, watching you with every step you take.

“How did Prince Taeyong fall in love with someone like you?” The queen speaks with a sincere heart as she stands in front of you. 

You can feel the pressure punch down your guts. The silence is too loud, you can hear every heartbeat inside your chest. You take a deep breath, and stand firmly on your feet.

“I may not have been born as a noblewoman like Lady Gwendolyn, but I have given Prince Taeyong with kindness when we started as friends, and comfort when we ended up as lovers. I do wish he would live a good life even if he and I part ways, but if fate permits us, then all I can say is that: I can't offer anything yet but I promise you your highness but my love is nothing but filled with honesty and truth, and I swear to the divines that I am speaking this with my whole heart.” You are unable to process what you had said to the king. Your words flow coherently as possible and you hope she understood what you meant, and it is not just a petty excuse of a confession, but a declaration of your true feelings towards the prince.

“I do not need you to grant me something impossible, but a woman can dream, and I will be forever grateful for your grace.” You bow down to her but the queen stops you.

“Then that is what I only need to know.” She says with a smile as she clasps her hands with yours. You are genuinely confused at what she had said. You even look at Taeyong who shared the same sentiment to you.

“I beg your pardon, but I don’t understand.” You ask her but she only laughs heartily before she takes her own son’s hand and links to yours.

“It's a pleasure to see my son's beloved in person, so it's an honor to wish you both love, prosperity and abundance.” The queen then ushers you and the prince to the aisle. “If anyone is against this wedding, just let me know because I will be the first one to be the one to push them away even if it's the king.” 

The king glances at your direction and sighs defeatedly.

“Now, where were we?” The queen links her arm in yours as you watch Taeyong go back standing by the altar.

You walk in the middle of the aisle along with the queen. You don’t feel any pressure at that moment, it actually shocks you as the events unfold so quickly.

Fortunately, there was no sight of Lady Gwendolyn in the premises; probably the royal guards escorted her outside. And it is a surprise that the guests are still around, and their faces were much better than when the noblewoman was present. You even saw Jaehyun, Joy and Johnny with the brightest smiles. You knew Johnny would be the first one to congratulate you, and of course, you silently thank Jaehyun and Joy for helping you even if you knew this plan was too risky.

When you almost arrive at the altar, the queen leaves you and wishes you with a faint good luck. 

“I’m sorry if I didn’t have the time to pick a dress and you will marry me in this.” You emphasize by pinching the sides of the hem of your baker’s top.

“It’s fine. You look beautiful no matter what, dress or simple baker’s clothes.” He squeezes your hand, tracing little circles on top of your hand. “At least you are here with me.”

The priest clears his throat, and you can’t hold your laugh even in a serious occasion. 

Who would have thought that in the end, you and Taeyong will be together? Of course, it’s definitely not you. But maybe the universe has the way of saying that everything will be alright in the end, and it is! Here you are, marrying the love of your life.

[justwritedreams]

Welcome to the Kingdom | Jeno

Chapter Seven: Wildest dreams

Prince Jeno x Princess Reader, enemies to lovers au!, royalty au! Word count: 2239 Genre: slow burn, smut Author: maari Warnings: MINORS DNI!! Mentions of masturbation and wet dreams. Note: IT'S HERE!!!! Well, I have to say that the dream I described it's something that I actually dreamed with Jeno so yeAH BYE short chapter because I kept you waiting too long, sorry! Summary: The princess and Jeno begin their truce at last, and wet dreams accompany them as well.

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⪢ NCT Masterlist

The princess angrily dried her own hair as she looked into the mirror.

As soon as she arrived completely wet in the room, the first thing she did was take a shower and she rubbed her loofah so hard on her body that she didn't know how she hadn't taken off three layers of skin.

And it's all because of Jeno, that idiot.

In her head, she cursed and beat the boy in every possible way.

She tried to get the scene out of her mind as the hot water splashed on her head but it was no use. It was true that Jeno had the power to make her heart beat faster but it was hateful!

As soon as she turned off the dryer, she took a deep breath, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She could no longer give up, falling for Jeno's tricks.

That wasn't why she had come to his kingdom, to indulge in his stupid jokes and show him how much he affected her.

No, she was the future queen. She needed to control herself!

And she would, even if she later had to find a bag of sand to punch until she exhausted her strength.

She needed to draw confidence from where she knew it would come so she turned her gaze to the dresser where she'd kept her clothes.

There was no faster way to gain confidence than that.

She wasn't going to dress casually like before, she was going to dress like a real princess. That's why she chose a dress a little below the knee, in a cream tone with transparent tulle sleeves with a V-neck, the dress marked her waist very well and, simple as it was, it was also elegant.

It was exactly what she needed, she wasn't going to ask her stylist or anyone else on her team for help for two reasons: she liked to get ready by herself once in a while, it was nice to do something for herself without having lots of people around her at all over, and because she had brought the team to set it up for official events only.

Dinner with the Lee family wasn't something that required glamor, although she wanted to clean up her "anti-social" image, she could do it herself.

She just brushed her hair and did a simple makeup, just to disguise her tired face and wore black high heel sandals, she took a few deep breaths before leaving the room.

As she walked through the corridors of the castle she felt her stomach turn with anxiety but she had a confidence that she didn't know where it had come from but was enjoying it, she didn't want to show nervousness to anyone and when arrived in the dining room, she had to hold back her laughter when saw the Lee family looking completely shocked, waiting for dinner to be served.

They certainly hadn't expected her to come.

“Y/N, what a great surprise!” Taeyong spoke, smiling slightly and getting up from his chair to greet her, being followed by the other family members.

Y/N smiled politely and greeted them too, going to the nearest chair and thanked mentally for Haechan being on the side and the Queen on the other, but the happiness quickly passed when she realized that Jeno and Mark sat on the other side right in front of her. But she just lifted her chin, trying not to show how that had affected her.

“I apologize for not joining you for dinner the last few times, I wasn’t feeling well.” she spoke in a friendly tone, looking at Taeyong who indicated for her to sit down.

He did the same and everyone else followed.

“We are happy to be able to enjoy your company now.” the queen replied, placing a hand on her shoulder quickly and the princess smiled gratefully.

“Apparently not just enjoy.” Haechan spoke quietly, averting his head so that only the princess could hear and it worked, as she looked at him confused at the same time. She received an amused smile from the boy and she wanted to roll her eyes playfully but stopped herself.

“Then we can have dinner!” Taeyong announced and without delay, the employees started to serve the food.

The princess felt more comfortable talking to the King and Queen during dinner, all the tension she felt disappeared, giving way only to the anxiety that took over her body every time she felt Jeno or Mark's eyes on her. She didn't reciprocate either because she still didn't know how to look into Mark's kind, almost guilty eyes. As for Jeno, well, she couldn't look at him and not remember what happened at the pool.

Not because her body was bubbling with rage at the childish trick she'd fallen for, but because the image of the wet prince roamed her mind without warrant. She couldn't look at Jeno and not direct her own eyes up to the boy's shoulder and down his chest, even though he was completely dry and in a black dress shirt, all she remembered was the bloody see-through white shirt clinging to his stiff body. The princess didn't notice that she had been staring at his shirt for too long, hoping that it would somehow get wet, and when she saw Jeno smirk and raise an eyebrow at her, she realized that she had been caught red-handed staring at him like he was the dessert.

She took a deep breath and looked away, staring at the queen who was happily talking to her and tried to pay attention to the matter.

Well, at least she tried. Because Jeno couldn't get out of her head and every time she remembered him wet, she took another sip of wine.

She would have gotten drunk if she kept drinking all night and she thanked when Taeyong got up, the others following him as well as Y/N, who took the opportunity to talk with Haechan a little longer in the living room while the King and Queen wished good night to the two.

Jeno and Mark were somewhere in the castle that Y/N wasn't interested in knowing.

“I hate it when they do that.” Haechan rolled his eyes and stretched out on the armchair he was sitting on, next to Y/N.

"What?" she asked, curious.

“They announce to everyone that they are going to try to make an heir in the least subtle way possible.” Haechan stuck out his tongue in mock disgust and Y/N laughed.

“They just retired to their own room.”

Haechan looked at her in disbelief.

“Yeah, and what do you think they're going to do? Play chess?" he asked matter-of-factly and it was her turn to roll her eyes.

"You are thinking too much about what you shouldn't."

"Don't forget that soon it's you." he recalled, smirking at her.

Y/N felt her jaw drop and got up from the chair, throwing a pillow in Haechan's face who started to laugh out loud.

She sure as hell didn't want to think about that right now.

"I won't even bother answering you." she said, angrily heading towards the door. “Good night, Haechan.”

“Dream of my brother.” he chuckled again and as she walked past him she smacked him on the back of the head. "Hey, this is an attack on royalty."

“Go complain to your Navy commander then.” she winked wryly and left the room, hearing Haechan complain.

The princess felt better, the infernal cramps had already passed and, incredible as it seemed, talking with Haechan and even dinner had done her good. That's why she felt partially sad that the night was over so quickly, she didn't think being there was so good, she could almost feel at home really.

She went to her room and got ready for bed, took off her makeup, put on a pastel blue nightgown and turned off the lights, then flopped down on the big bed and took a deep breath as she pulled the sheets over herself.

The princess looked at the ceiling while her mind wandered between Mark and Jeno's faces during dinner, she couldn't say that the situation between her and Mark was a little awkward and as much as she didn't want to seem like she was avoiding the boy, she knew that that's exactly what it showed.

And Jeno… she was tired of remembering the scene of him wet right in front of her, tired of her body warming up on its own just imagining the parallel between reality and the dream that one day she had with him. The deep kiss in the middle of the wild sea. Since then, she seemed to see him differently, she didn't know what it was.

Suppressed desire… maybe?

Y/N widened her eyes when she realized what had gone through her head and snorted, turning to her side and closing her eyes tightly in an attempt to fall asleep as quickly as possible before her mind started playing more tricks.

But that's exactly what happened to her, even unconsciously.

The princess woke up suddenly feeling her body hot as if it were on fire, that nightgown she wore seemed to burn her skin and the room remained the way it was when she went to sleep but her breathing was heavy and she stirred in bed, feeling something between her legs that prevented her from turning over and trying to sleep.

However, when she looked ahead, she came face to face with Jeno and all the breath she had was lost in the same instant that her eyes met his. Jeno looked like a cat, staring at the princess without blinking and in a way she had never seen before.

It was pure lust.

She wanted to ask what he was doing there but when she opened her mouth, the only sound that came out was a loud moan at the sight of what he was wearing. Black pants and an open red blazer, leaving his abs completely exposed.

The room was dark but she could see his perfect skin and it was then that she felt something caress her where she burned the most and she only now found out where it was, she saw Jeno smile mischievously and his eyes shifted from hers to face where he touched her.

The princess followed his eyes and bit her lip as she saw Jeno's long fingers stray inside her nightgown, touching her over her thin panties.

She didn't understand why he was going so slowly, it looked like he wanted to tease her, the room seemed to get hotter and hotter and she didn't understand what was going on but she just knew that she wanted more. Way more.

“Dressed like that, you look like an angel.”

Y/N almost came just listening to Jeno's low, husky voice, so she brought a finger to her mouth and bit down, trying to stifle the moans that continued to escape.

"But we both know you're too naughty to be so angelic." he chuckled and she just stared at him, watching him lift her nightgown to her waist.

She was exposed and she never thought she would like it so much because she knew what would come next, Jeno needed to end that discomfort that came from inside her warm body.

"Let's see if you taste divine." he spoke before parting the princess's legs and bringing his face to the middle, exactly where she needed it most.

Y/N closed her eyes and brought her hands to his hair, felt his breath so close and knew she would feel more… until everything started to get distorted and dark.

She woke up suddenly and completely surprised, she didn't seem to know where she was and made sure she was in the room. Alone.

She looked around and forward in search of Jeno, who wasn't there, it was then that the princess realized where her hand was.

About to touch what Jeno would start eating in her dreams.

Y/N still felt hot and worse, her panties were completely wet, it was embarrassing because the dream had not even been explicit for her to be in that situation. But as in the dream, the nuisance was there.

She took a deep breath and without thinking twice, let her fingers touch her intimacy feeling her whole face burn with shame but she needed that.

That was her dirty secret, she would never share it with someone that she was touching herself while she was thinking about Jeno in that red blazer.

She increased the speed of her fingers as she imagined him licking her until the last drop of her sweetness, the way it should have been if she hadn't woken up, she had to clench her teeth to keep the moan from escaping.

In her mind, Jeno did more than that, he took her to himself completely and when imagining the boy's member inside her, it was enough for her fingers to finish the job. She came, not like she wanted.

The princess looked up at the ceiling again, trying to catch her breath as she thought about how screwed up she was.

That was the first time she had masturbated thinking about Jeno, and by the looks of it, it wouldn't be the last.

But no one would ever know.

Taglist: @floweronacloud, @cookydreamam​, @travelleratheart101​, @ilvaussie​, @tyongf-sunflower99wer99​, @mings-cafe​,  @n0hyuck, @waltermitty97, @jihoonismydad

[ljxlj48]

My Duty As Princess

Chapter 07

Lee Jeno x fem reader

in collaboration with @urlocaltrash28

preview, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, epilogue

Genre: arranged marriage au! royalty au!

Warnings: none

Word Count: 5K+

Author's Note: I'm not back guys, honestly. To give a little update, I stopped writing because it stopped being fun. I only wanted to do this, if it continued to be fun and after a while it stopped being fun. Right now, I'm in such a better place that writing is starting to be fun again, but there's no telling if I'm actually going to continue to put out content. Thinking of something to write, is actually a lot of work lmaooo. I will say that, I will never delete any of the content I have out. This page and all the stories will be here for whenever you guys want to enjoy them. hugs and kisses to anyone reading <3

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When the Princess and I returned to the palace, night had already fallen.  We tried to quietly usher our way to my chambers, after entering did we notice a parade of people awaiting for us.  Father sat at my desk chair, Mother and Taeyong stood behind him. Mark, Haechan, and Jaemin sat on the couch, the three of them looked to be making themselves comfortable.  Grandma Lee and Grandmother Na sat on the two chairs that were on one side of the room.  There was more standing around, I spotted Chan, Hyunjin, Johnny was with them huddled in one corner, Lord Park stood lonely in another part of the room, Fei and Mei were in front of my bedroom doors.  Lord Na and Lady Na were also here, the two of them stayed near Grandmother Na.

“My boy,” Father said when he saw me enter the room. 

“What is the meaning of this?” I asked, looking around the room, full of people. 

“Now my son,” Mother started off making her way towards me, I took a step back when she came near, it felt like I couldn’t trust any of them.  

“Lord Park has asked to speak with the Princess,” Taeyong said, his tone was all business, Taeyong was never the type to sugar coat things.  Lord Park stepped forward at the mention of his name. 

“I would like to formally apologize to your royal highness,” He got down on one knee, lowering his head, arm over his heart, “for the actions of my children.”  I reached down for the princess’ hand, which she easily took. “I did not know of their plans or their intentions.” 

“Then why apologize?” The princess asked, her tone matching the one she used on me when she was angry.  She stood tall in front of the kneeling Lord. 

“Excuse me, your highness?” Lord park looked up at the princess, as did the rest of the room.  

“Why apologize for actions that you did not know about, and actions you could not have prevented.  Quite frankly, it feels like you're apologizing because you know it would save face, not because you really want to.  Don’t be ashamed, Lord Park, you would marvel at my death, the prince could go back to your daughter and you could have royal status after their wedding.  You are not sorry about the actions of your children, you are sorry they did not succeed, and you are apologizing to me because you need to save face.  Make yourself look like an innocent bystander in order to remain in power.” The princess paused, taking a deep breath, then she spoke again, “Lord Park, I do not despise you.  To be fair, I do not have room in my heart, nor time in my day, nor space in my mind to hate you, but I do feel absolute pity for you. Pure pity, for your son has committed treason against two kingdoms in a single night, and I do not know how your image will recover from such actions.  I do, however, trust that you will not take any more violent actions against me again, considering, should your family fail again, you could be faced with much more dire consequences.” 

“Of course, your highness, I can assure you no harm will come to you from my family ever again,” Lord Park looked down again, red rising to his ears.  I wanted to laugh, everything the princess said was the truth, that wasn’t meant to be spoken.  

“Is this all you had for us?” I asked my father. My tone, coming off more rude than I initially intended, I directed my gaze to my father, it felt as if he was a stranger ready to disrupt any little happiness I had with the Princess.

Father opened his mouth to speak, but Taeyong beat him to it,  “Hansol took a plea deal, he’ll get 25 years in prison for attempted murder,” 

“I want to see him,” the princess cut off Taeyong before he could continue on.  The attention of the room back on the princess, Taeyong's face was clear that he was not gonna let that happen, watching his reactions allowed me to remain calm. “General, will you please let me see him,” the princess let go of my hand, she stepped closer towards my brother, “I need to see the man that nearly killed me.” 

Taeyong’s face shifted, like he understood her request, he nodded.  “No,” my mouth opened to speak before my brain could form a reason, but I know she can’t see him, “no, you’re not stepping a foot anywhere near that man,” I felt tempted to shove Taeyong’s head through the glass balcony door, for even considering agreeing to the princess’ request.

“Jeno,” the Princess spoke, her voice soft. 

“No,” I know my voice came out too rude, she flinched, and I saw the minute fear flash before her, this isn’t what I wanted.  I took a breath before speaking again, “(y/n), no.” 

“Jeno,” Taeyong’s tone, I knew where this was going, his tone was the same one as when he scolded me for punching Haechan, after he stole my car for a joyride.  To be fair, I was aiming for the wall, Haechan just got in the way.  “This is the princess’ decision,” he took a breath, almost like he feared to say more, “you don’t have reason to prevent her from seeing him, should she choose too.” 

I let out a breath, turning my attention back to the princess, “you’re not going alone.”  She smiled and nodded, I felt like I couldn’t breathe for a second there.  

“The news of the attack has been kept within the palace walls, but the people will notice something is wrong, especially with the wedding approaching so fast, there’s more eyes on the two of you than normal.” Taeyong continued on and looked at me.  

“We think the Princess should make a charity appearance at the ladies luncheon for the war relief programs.  It would do good if the Princess attended, she can show the people that she is willing to help Northcy war victims as well.” Grandma Lee spoke, she was standing up from her chair, she looked at me.  They were all asking the princess of things, but they looked to me, as if I was the princess.  

“(y/n), if you’re not ready, you don’t need to come,” Lady Na, I should say Aunt Jennie, spoke, she made her way towards the princess, taking the princess’ free hand in her own.  Her eyes only met the princess’, I looked at the princess too.  The princess was looking back at me, is that why everyone was looking at me, because so was the princess?  I squeezed her hand and nodded.  

“I shall be there,” she let out a breath, looking to the room, “Queen Hye-young is right, it’ll be good to make an appearance.” Her hand started to shake, she wanted to do this, needed to do this, but it didn’t mean she didn't fear it.  

“Leave, all of you,” I wanted to relax, we needed to relax, to forget this just for a moment longer, “just leave.” I pulled the princess towards my bedroom, they started to file out of my room.  A few strayed, I stopped right in front of my door, watching them leave. I let the princess into the bedroom.  Mark was at the chamber door, Jaemin and Haechan on his side.  Chan, Hyunjin, Fei and Mei stayed behind as well.  “Why don’t you guys stay, I’ll be back out in a minute.” 

I entered the bedroom, seeing the princess sitting on the bed, typing on her phone. “Princess,” I reached out to pull at the princess, “there's people outside for us.” 

“More people?” She questioned, looking tired.

“Friends.” We both walked back into the seating area, seeing our friends standing and sitting around.  “Just relax,” I whispered in the princess’ ear.  

-

We sat there, and talked, and exchanged stories, and laughed, and relaxed. I looked at the princess, she was smiling, laughing, and relaxing. There were so many bad things that had happened. I just wanted her to calm down, I wanted her to feel safe.  

“Don’t forget the time Jeno almost got the princess to leave Northcy,” Jaemin laughed out, grabbing my attention.  I tried to signal him to shut up, but obviously he didn’t notice me.  There was a silence that fell over the room.  

“Huh? What are you talking about?” the princess questioned exchanging looks with Chan. 

“He didn’t…” Jaemin looked at me wide eyed, “I’m sorry, I misspoke.” 

“No I don’t think you did,” the Princess said, giving me a look. 

“Look, I am so so sorry, I was being selfish,” I’m scrambling for words, anything to make this better, pleading she's not too angry with me, “I wasn’t thinking straight, I just wanted out of this marriage.  You know how it was…”  The Princess was looking at me with a smirk, as she began to laugh.

“Jeno, calm down, I’m not mad,” she spoke, still giggling away.  I must’ve looked like a madman.

“You’re not?” Why isn't she mad, I would be mad, she should be furious with me, she has every right to be. 

“No, I probably would’ve done something similar if I was in your position, but now I owe Chan 5 mons,” she laughed more, shaking her head.  

“What?” I looked at Chan and he just smiled at me.  

“When we got back to the palace, after leaving the airport, Chan made the joke that he bet this was the prince’s idea to get out of the union, I said you’re on.” I don’t know if I should be relieved or worried, “your highness, I should, and would be angry with you, heavens know you deserve it” she took a deep breath, “but having nearly died," she paused, it looked as if her eyes became glossy for a second, blinking away any tears she continued on, "I don’t want to waste time being angry with you”  She smiled at me, her eyes were caring, filled with something.  We stared at each other for a moment, a time stopping moment.  I stared at her, I could hear the breath she let out, the calm beat of her heart, the flutter of her eyelashes, I never felt more captivated by another person.  

The rest of the evening went on, I don’t think I ever took my eyes off the princess.  I wanted to memorize every word, breath, tick she let fall past her lips.  I can’t recall a single thing that Jaemin, Mark, or Haechan said that night, but I could tell you that the princess covers her mouth with the back of her hand whenever she's about to laugh too hard.  Or that she tucks her hair behind her ear when she's being teased, or that she raises her ears when her name is mentioned, or that she sticks out her tongue, licking her bottom lip when she has something to say.  It seemed as if the princess had me under a spell where I could only pay attention to her.  I must say I don’t mind being spellbound to her.  

-

The next morning , when you awoke the sunlight was peering into the room.  You opened your eyes, and for an eighth of a second you forgot the events of the past two days, until you felt the arm draped over your waist.  Sleeping in the same bed as Jeno the past two nights has been more comforting than you could’ve imagined.  You slid out from Jeno’s embrace, grabbing your phone from the nightstand, and you called your mom.  You haven’t spoken to her since last week, the last thing she knew was that you and Jeno were getting along nicely, and you didn’t think this marriage was gonna be that bad.  

You wore another pair of Jeno’s sweats and an old shirt, his old clothes being more comfortable than any couture pajama sets you had.  You slipped on one of his hoodies, exiting the bedroom, to call your mom.  As the phone rang, you sat on the couch, staring out the glass balcony doors, watching the snow, the kingdom has been covered for nearly a week now.  The palace being in the mountains, the snow was always falling, never melting, you were finally getting adjusted to the cold, but still always wearing long pants and long sleeve tops.  

When your mom finally answered the phone, the sound of her voice moved you to tears.  You weren’t the closest to your mom, but after your sisters died, you two became more dependent on each other.  You were her only child left, and she was the only one that could tell you more about your siblings.  You explained everything that has happened since you last talked to her.  Not a single detail escaping your retelling.  Your mother listened attentively, asking questions far too often for the average storyteller. By the time you finished, she was almost convinced that she needed to hop on a jet to come up there and save you.  You laughed, telling her that you’re starting to feel better.  You’re ready to move on past the whole event, you need something new to focus on.  Your mother reminding you that a wedding should be a good distraction, especially considering her and your father are to be arriving in exactly one week.  

“I should just come up there now, say I’m there to help you prepare for the wedding,” your mother stated from the other side of the line.  

“Mother,” you laughed out, “I will be okay for another week without you or daddy.  Not to mention Queen Jaeyeon really took care of everything for the wedding, all I really need to do is show up.” 

There was a knock at the chamber doors that took half your attention, “are you sure there’s everything you wanted?” Mother questioned you, you opened the chamber doors to see Mei and Fei on the other side. 

Moving out of the way to allow them to enter, “in all honesty mother, I don’t know if there’s gonna be anything I like or want.”  

“What do you mean? You had a say, right?”  Your mother questioned from the other side. 

“I did mother,” you placed one hand over the mic, now looking at Mei and Fei, “what are you guys doing here?” Lifting your hand from the mic, “but I didn’t really use my say,” you spoke to your mother. 

“You have a final dress fitting this morning,” Mei responded back gently.

“Why didn’t you use your say?” Mother barked into your ear at the same time. 

You nodded at Mei, “Mother I was too busy trying to find a way out of my wedding to focus on making decisions for it,” covering the mic again, “I need you guys to go to my chambers and find me something more appropriate to wear,” you say, this time speaking to Mei and Fei. 

“Why can’t we use the clothes you have here?” Fei asked, making her way to the bedroom, your mother scoffing in your ear at the same time.  

“Well did you get your surprise yet?” Your mother questioned you, you were signaling at Mei to get her sister.  

Covering the mic still, “Fei, No, the prince is still asleep,” Fei stopped the door slightly ajar.  Quietly closing the door, again, Fei turned around bowing in apology to you.  “What surprise, mother?” you question your mother on the line. 

“We’ll find you something,” Mei whispered, dragging Fei out of the chambers behind her. 

“Oh,” was all your mother said before rushing to end the call.  You looked at the phone, seeing the line going dead.  You sighed, but truly feeling better that you talked to her about everything that had happened.  

The bedroom doors open up to Jeno standing on the other side, “good morning,” you speak up gently. He smiled a soft gummy smile at you, causing a fit of giggles to come up. Coming up to you, holding you into his embrace. 

“Good morning,” his voice the exact opposite of his smile. He was still tired, you could hear it in his voice.  

“I spoke to my mother this morning, she asked if I got my surprise yet,” Jeno threw his head back and groaned, you couldn't help but giggle a little, “what’s my surprise?” 

“Don’t you have somewhere to be this morning?” Jeno let go of you walking away.  

“You’re not answering my question,” you watched Jeno’s back, as he pulled off the shirt he was wearing, making his way into the closet.  You never quite took notice on how physically fit Jeno was until this moment.

“You didn’t answer mine,” Jeno responded back, still in the closet, you sat on the edge of the bed waiting for him, to walk back out

“I asked first,” you and Jeno moved about each other as if this was how the two of you have been living for a lifetime. Something so routine, you could only hope this is exactly how life would play out after the wedding.

“You’ll see your surprise soon enough,” Jeno came out of the closet in a new dress pants, shoving his dress shirt in.  The top buttons still undone, as he was zipping up his pants, your eyes raking over his body, pulling your lip in between your teeth.  “Princess,” Jeno said, grabbing your attention, his face having a knowing look.  He came up to you, pulling at your chin forcing you to look at him, but the top few buttons of his shirt remained undone.  

“Let me help you,” you said softly, pulling your face out of his grasp, you stood from the bed, now doing the buttons for him.  You could feel him watching your fingers move, slightly brushing against him, you were overly focused on doing the buttons. Jeno cleared his throat grabbing your attention, you stepped back, the blush dancing across your cheeks. “What is your schedule like today?” you asked, turning back around to walk into the bathroom, stopping yourself from helping anymore. 

“I have a meeting with Taeyong and Father this morning about the Parks, then after that I have a council meeting to attend.  The acts of Jisung are considered treason, they need to be brought to the entire council's attention,” Jeno followed after you into the bathroom, no wonder he was dressed so formally you thought.  

“What's going to happen to him?” You looked at Jeno through the vanity mirror.  You could see Jeno adjusting a tie around his neck in the mirror.  

“Currently there’s a formal investigation conducted by the palace guard unit, from there he will be taken to court before the council, privately because of his family’s power.  His crimes being of a higher regrade, Father will carry out sentencing personally.  You will be asked to make a statement.”  You felt your breath hitch, you didn’t like this.  You just wanted this nightmare to disappear already.  Jeno fixed his watch on his wrist, checking the time, “I’ve got to go princess,” Jeno came up beside you kissing you on the cheek, you leaned into his touch.  The act felt routine, but foreign at the same time.  Jeno pulled on a vest, buttoning it, before grabbing his jacket,  “I’ll see you tonight at dinner,” it looked like he wanted to say more but opted not to. You nodded watching him leave, from your position in front of the vanity mirror. 

You sat there for a minute just examining your neck, the bruises were in full bloom, you began to cover them up, trying to erase any memory of them.  There was a knock on the door signaling that Fei and Mei were back.  You just shouted for them to come in. The two of them bringing you a more than appropriate outfit, they stayed with you escorting you to everything through the day.  

-

“I’ll see you tonight at dinner,” ‘I love you,’ I should say it, I’m going to say, I have to say it.  I don't say it, opting to just leave instead.  I made my way to my father's private drawing room. What I didn’t tell the princess was that the investigation is over, sentencing will be tomorrow.  The question is not about who did the crime, but more of who aided and abetted the crime. 

When I entered the room, Father and Taeyong were already talking amongst themselves, I sat down across from Taeyong. The two of them exchanged a look, “we showed Jisung the video footage of the Jisoo when she was talking to Johnny and when she was talking to Mark, he,” Taeyong paused giving father a glance, to which father just nodded, “he confessed to Jisoo being the one behind the plan, and he just hired the attacker, however he refuses to put it on paper. He’s refusing to turn against her, both of them will be brought forward in trial.  However, there isn't any hard evidence against her, everything at the moment is circumstantial. It will be difficult for the council to unanimously agree to convict.” 

“Majority of the council is aware there is something going on through the whispers of everyone but the official ruling will be held tomorrow, the princess will be expected to give a statement.”  Father spoke, I internally groaned at the thought.  

“I assume the princess’ own maids  have been keeping her informed of everything that has been discussed by everyone, but you will still need to go over everything with her.  She can not be surprised by anything that is said tomorrow.” Taeyong said, looking at me, I could tell that he cared, he always did what he could to protect those around him.  “Jeno, we’re trusting you to go over the evidence with her, emotionless.  The council is prepared to rip her story apart piece by piece.  If you can’t make sure she’s prepared, let us know now.” 

“I will go over everything with her, she knows she will be asked to make a statement,” I let out, I would do anything to go back to yesterday when I didn’t have to deal with this.  I would much rather deal with that priest than having to walk the princess through the steps of a trial.

“We have to go through everything front and back, we need to make sure that we cannot allow the council to misinterpret anything,” I nodded my head, Taeyong pulled out the files, the three of us going through every piece of information. 

-

You stood in the middle of a room that was turned into a salon. There was a panel of mirrors, and a platform, like one would use for dress shopping. There was a section divider for one to change, as well as a seating area, you looked around the room. There was no one here except you, Fei and Mei. 

Suddenly the doors opened to reveal Queen Jaeyeon, Grandma Lee, Grandmother Na, and a team of people just swarming in. You felt the energy leave your body, the swarm of people filling you with exhaustion, you exchanged a look with Fei.  Fei just shrugged and shook her head. 

“My daughter,” Queen Jaeyeon called out, you still cringed at the nickname.  She pulled you into an embrace, she was so much smaller than her son, but the embrace held so many similarities.  You had been away from him for less than a quarter of the day but you longed for him and his calming presence.  “Are you ready to try on your dress?” 

“I am,” you answered.  Queen Jaeyeon had insisted you wear her wedding dress, there were certain design changes made to try to replicate your perfect dress, but it just wasn’t it.

Queen Jaeyeon signaled to someone, they brought forward a box. The person, the seamstress, showed you the contents of the box, it didn’t look like Queen Jaeyeon’s dress at all. The seamstress and two other girls pulled the dress out, it was your mother’s dress.  The sight bringing tears to your eyes, never in a million years did you think that your mothers dress was your dream dress.  However now, seeing it before you, you couldn’t imagine anything more perfect.  

“What a beautiful dress, but that’s not Jaeyon's I thought she was gonna wear yours Jaeyeon?” Grandmother Na said examining the dress, neither her or Grandma Lee attended your earlier dress fittings.  

“She was, but Jeno had another idea,” Queen Jaeyeon answered, looking at you, gauging your reaction.  She was initially resistant to the idea of you not wearing her dress, however Jeno already made the arrangements before informing her.  Now watching you almost being brought to tears by the sight, she knew Jeno made the right call.  

“This was Prince Jeno’s idea?” This is what your mother was talking about, your surprise.  

“He said that it was unfair to you.  You were forced to have a wedding in a foreign place, surrounded by foreign people, so to offer some semblance of a wedding you would have liked, he got your mother to send her own dress.” Queen Jaeyeon looked at you like one would to their own daughter, and you so much longed for your own mother, you opened your mouth to ask ‘how.’  “He made the called about a month ago, finding it, sending it to the seamstress to be altered, and some details were added based on what you said, it arrived just a little while ago, in time for the last fitting,” Queen Jaeyeon answered all your questions, and you couldn’t stop the smile spreading across your face.  

“Thank you,” you bowed lowly to Queen Jaeyeon, you felt so much gratitude, it overwhelmed you.  

You changed into the dress, standing on the platform looking at yourself in the mirror, you felt like a bride.  The compliments flowing from everyone were endless, you glanced at Fei and Mei, both of whom nodded in approval, but it didn’t calm your nerves nearly as much as you thought.   Everything was perfect in every way, but it still didn’t feel right, you needed something else, something more.  “Fei, Mei,” you whispered to call their attention, the two of them ushered over to you, “I want everyone to leave, and I want Chan, please.”  The two nodded their heads and made quick work of it.  Before you even turned back around, everyone was leaving, you don’t know what lie Fei said to get them to leave but you were thankful, and Met set off to get Chan. 

You waited a mere 10 minutes before the door opened again, this time, Mei was accompanied by Chan and Hyunjin.  The two boys ushered in looking around confused, not entirely understanding the reason for their presence.  You smiled at the sight of confusion, it reminded you of times long forgotten.  

“Princess,” Hyunjin bowed, and you grimaced, he looked up to you, “(y/n),” he apologized.  It was an unspoken thing between you and Hyunjin, he would call you ‘princess,’ if you nodded along, he was your guard, if you flinched, he called you ‘(y/n)’ as an apology and he was your friend.  “What’s wrong?” he plopped down onto the couch casually, you enjoyed seeing him relax, it put you at ease to remember he was still a friend.  

Chan stood further back than you would like, taking in all of you in that dress.  You had no idea how many times Chan imagined you in a wedding dress, he just hoped that when it became a reality he was standing at the end of the aisle, not in a salon.  “My princess,” Chan finally let out a breath.  

“What do you think?” The question was meant for everyone, but it was directed to Chan. The rest of the group turned to Chan, watching his every move.  They held their breath, waiting for either of you to make a move. 

Chan took a deep breath, reminding himself you were not his fiancée, “you look absolutely stunning,” he smiled at you fondly.  

“Do you really think so?” You turned back around examining yourself in the mirror, it seemed as if every imperfection was circled with a red marker. 

“(y/n),” Chan looked at you through the mirror, “it looks amazing on you,” you turned back around facing him, “you are an embodiment of beauty,” Chan took your hand as you stepped down from the platform, pressing against him, “and you look nothing less than perfect in this dress.”  There was a moment, you just stared at Chan and he stared back at you.  Just a moment, where it was just you and him again, and everything you wanted to say was said.  “Prince Jeno is very lucky, and he will think the same as I when he sees you,” Chan said, taking a step back away from you.   

Chan’s reassurances made all the previous nerves disappear, almost vanishing into thin air.  “Thank you,” you pulled Chan in for a hug, that probably lasted longer than it should have.  “What do you guys think?” you turned to the rest of your friends, all of them holding big smiles.  The outpour of compliments came again and this time, you believed them.  

You had Mei bring in Queen Jaeyeon and her team of people, while Fei sent Chan and Hyunjin away.  You felt undoubtedly happy about the dress, about the wedding, about your friends, even about Chan.  You felt like even without being intimately with him, he was still in your corner, he was still your friend.  That reminder puts you at ease more than anything anyone could say. 

After measuring some readjustments with the seamstress, you changed out of the dress, and back into your original outfit. Queen Jaeyeon reminded you of this afternoon’s luncheon, which was to be held in the city, at one of the resorts that the Na noble family frequented.  You were to ride with Queen Jaeyeon down to the luncheon. She reassured you that even though there was gonna be lots and lots of press, that you weren't required to talk to anyone, all you had to do was show your face.  “All you need to do is look happy to be there, that's all we need,” was Queen Jaeyeon’s exact words.  

You had exactly an hour, before you had to be back downstairs to ride with Queen Jaeyeon.  You made your way to Jeno’s chamber, since the majority of your stuff was there.  When you entered you were greeted by Jeno sitting behind his desk, he was writing something down, his eyebrows knitted together in what appeared to be frustration. His fingers pushing in on his temple, he was so deep in thought not even noticing you standing on the other side of the room.  You turned to dismiss Fei and Mei, the two understanding seamlessly, your gaze traveling around the room.  

Jeno’s jacket was tossed onto the couch, “you know,” Jeno looked up to see who, relaxing further into his seat when he realized it was you, picking up the abandoned jacket, “if you just toss this around, there's going to be wrinkles.” You tried for a stern look but failed desperately as the prince smiled at you.  

“My apologies Princess,” Jeno watched you enter the bedroom, pulling a hanger from the closet, hanging his jacket before gently laying it on the couch, ensuring there weren't any unnatural bends.  “Did you like your surprise?” He asks with his infamous head tilt and smirk. 

“I did very much,” you smiled, remembering, “did you meet with the council already?”

Jeno groaned at your question, “No,” he glanced at his wrist watch, “I have to be downstairs to meet with them in half an hour,” he went back to the papers on his desk, before going back to look at you, “I just came up here you look at some paperwork.”  He started to flip a few papers over, not wanting you to see the images of your bedroom, on them.   

“I have to leave in an hour to attend the charity luncheon,” you said to change the subject, Jeno nodded along.  

“Come, sit with me for a moment,” you looked at Jeno as he pushed away from his desk, turning his chair and patting his thigh.  The red that danced across your cheeks became very noticeable.  Jeno smirked seeing you become flustered with the suggestion.  Nevertheless, you sat, Jeno’s arms sliding around you, finding purchase on his waist, your arms going up around his neck.  

The two of you sat there in utter silence just enjoying each other, you felt the urge to kiss the prince.  Your gaze shifting between his eyes and lips constantly, you allowed yourself to lean in.  Jeno did the same. 

“Jeno!” The chamber doors barged open, walking in, Jaemin and Haechan, Mark being nowhere in sight.  You jumped, pulling away from the prince, standing up.  You willed the blush to settle, as Jeno let out a slight audible groan at the interruption.  Jaemin’s mouth made an O-shape, while Haechan’s eyes went wide, “didn’t mean to interrupt.”  Jaemin’s expression changed into a knowing smirk, as Haechan hung his head to stifle a laugh.  

“Then leave,” Jeno’s face screwed with irritation. You cleared your throat, in a way to reprimanded the prince, “what do you want?” Jeno asked, with a much annoyed look. 

Jaemin plopped down onto the couch, rested his feet on the coffee table and whipped his head to look at his cousin, “just wanted to see you.”  Jeno’s expression became more irritated, and Jaemin let out a laugh not taking his cousin seriously, he turned more to look at you now, “my apologies if I embarrassed you princess.”  

“No apology needed Jaemin,” you smiled at the boy, “If you boys don’t mind I need to get ready for a luncheon.” You looked at Jeno, and he smiled at you, nodding his head.  You made your way into the bedroom, closing the doors behind you.  After a few seconds you heard the commotion of a fight, but before you went back out it was followed by laughter. You smiled to yourself, your smile growing as you remembered what could've happened.

----------------------------

Taglist:@floweronacloud@cookydream@nctstrawberrycow@marklexleaf@jvjsssnaa@thejeongjaehyun@thejungjaehyun@jackyeongljin@terjeno@tyongf-sunflower99@tgnctzen131@gooreumic@jenotation@nctdom@ficklehoe@itsveronicaxxx@actually-vl@her33n@tomorrowbymoa-together@bangtan-jam@sweetsubakk @onlyoursol-ace

[blush-boulevard]

𝓡𝓸𝔂𝓪𝓵 𝓡𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓼𝓸𝓭𝔂

𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑- Lee Taeyong, the lead vocalist of NCT, 127 finds his world intertwined with Y/N, a member of the Korean royal family, at a secret palace concert.

female reader/ Lee Taeyong x reader/ fluff/ romance/ idol au/ Royalty AU/ NCT 127/ Lee Taeyong

word count: 2363

~ @nikisgirl15 ｜𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬｜𝑅𝒰𝐿𝐸𝒮 𝒜𝒩𝒟 𝒢𝒰𝐼𝒟𝐸𝐿𝐼𝒩𝐸𝒮｜𝕮𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘｜𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽 ~

Lee Taeyong, the charismatic leader of the internationally acclaimed boy group NCT, stood in the shadows of the grand ballroom, his heart racing like a caffeinated rabbit. He had never been to a place like this before—opulent chandeliers casting a warm glow, the faint scent of fresh flowers permeating the air, and a floor so shiny it could give a mirror a run for its money. His bandmates were rehearsing and doing sound check, their laughter echoing faintly across the vast, empty space. This was a secret gig, a rare opportunity for them to perform in the most unexpected of venues—a royal palace in Korea.

Y/N, a young member of the Korean royal family, peeked through the curtains of the royal box. Her curiosity had been piqued by the whispers of a surprise concert. She had heard of NCT, of course, but had never had the chance to see them live. Her heart fluttered at the sight of the stage, anticipation swirling within her like a soft summer breeze. She was always so proper, so reserved, but here, in the solitude of the velvet-draped balcony, she allowed herself to feel a hint of excitement. Her siblings and cousins were elsewhere, busy with their own royal engagements, leaving her with a rare moment of solitude.

The sound check wrapped up, and the band disappeared backstage, the silence descending like a velvet shroud over the ballroom. Y/N took a deep breath, smoothing the wrinkles from her elegant gown. She knew her family would not approve of her attending a concert, let alone one by a group of commoners. But she was tired of always doing what was expected of her. Tonight, she would indulge in something just for herself.

As the first notes of the opening song wafted through the air, Y/N felt a strange pull towards the stage. Taeyong emerged, microphone in hand, his eyes scanning the room. They locked onto hers, and she felt as though he was singing just for her. His voice was like a gentle caress, soothing her soul. In that moment, she knew she had made the right choice to sneak away from her duties. She watched, entranced, as he moved with a grace that seemed almost otherworldly, his voice a siren's call to a weary sailor.

The concert was a whirlwind of lights, music, and emotions, and before Y/N knew it, the last song had ended. The applause was thunderous, and she found herself standing, clapping along with the rest of the invisible audience. As the band took their bows and the lights dimmed, she realized she had never felt more alive. And she had no idea that her life was about to change forever.

Days turned into weeks, and Y/N couldn't shake the memory of Taeyong's performance. She found herself humming their songs during her royal engagements, her mind wandering to the way his eyes had met hers. Her family noticed the change in her demeanor but wrote it off as a phase. Little did they know that her quiet disposition had been cracked open by the power of music and the charisma of a boy from a different world.

The next time NCT performed at the palace, Y/N made sure she was there. This time, she waited for Taeyong after the show, her heart hammering in her chest like a drumline on steroids. She watched from afar as he signed autographs and took photos with the palace staff, his smile never wavering. When the last fan had left, she approached him, her voice quivering. "Your Highness," he said, bowing slightly. "I had no idea you enjoyed our music."

Their conversation was awkward at first, two worlds colliding in the deserted ballroom. But as Taeyong spoke of his passion for music and the stories behind the lyrics, Y/N felt something unfurling within her—a sense of belonging she had never experienced before. He was kind, genuine, and seemed to see beyond the crown and the title. He saw her. The girl who just wanted to feel something real.

Their secret meetings grew more frequent, stolen moments in the early mornings before her duties began, and late at night when the palace was asleep. They would sit in the moonlit garden, sharing stories and dreams, their laughter mingling with the soft whispers of the wind. Taeyong became her sanctuary, the one place she could be herself without fear of judgment.

But the castle walls had eyes, and soon enough, their secret was out. Her family was furious, their scorn palpable in the cold, stony silence that greeted her at dinner. "You can't see him," her mother said, her voice as sharp as a knife. "It's not proper." Y/N felt the weight of her title pressing down on her, a heavy crown that seemed to grow heavier with each passing day.

The tension grew as Y/N struggled to balance her royal responsibilities with her burgeoning love for Taeyong. Her family's disapproval was like a dark cloud over their every interaction, casting a shadow on their happiness. Yet, every time she saw him, she felt a spark of hope, a flicker of light in the darkness.

One night, after an especially tense dinner with her relatives, Y/N slipped out of the palace and into the warm embrace of the night. She made her way to the secret garden, where she knew Taeyong would be waiting. The moon was high, casting a soft glow over his features as he sat on the bench, his eyes searching for her. "You came," he said, his voice a gentle whisper.

They talked for hours, sharing their fears and dreams, their hands entwined like the vines that climbed the garden walls. It was there, under the watchful gaze of the moon, that Taeyong leaned in and kissed her. It was a kiss that spoke of love and defiance, a promise that no matter the obstacles, they would find a way to be together.

But as they parted, Y/N knew that their path ahead was fraught with challenges. The public would not accept a royal falling in love with a commoner, especially not one as high profile as a member of NCT. Her family would do everything in their power to tear them apart. Yet, she felt a strength she had never known before, a determination to fight for what she wanted, even if it meant going against centuries of tradition.

And so, as the night grew late and the first hints of dawn crept over the horizon, Y/N made a decision that would set in motion a series of events that would either lead to their happily ever after or shatter their worlds like fine China on a marble floor. "I don't care what they say," she whispered, her voice steady. "I choose you."

Taeyong's eyes lit up like stars, and he pulled her into a tight embrace. "I choose you too," he murmured into her hair. "We'll find a way."

And with that, their secret love story began to unfold, a tale of two hearts daring to beat as one amidst the rigid confines of royalty and the glitz of stardom. They stole moments in the early dawn, their whispers echoing in the empty halls, and in the quiet corners of the sprawling gardens, their hands joined in silent rebellion against the world that sought to keep them apart. Taeyong's bandmates caught wind of their romance, offering knowing smiles and discreet nods, understanding the gravity of their situation but also the power of love that seemed to surpass it all.

Y/N's family grew increasingly cruel, their barbs aimed at her newfound spirit. They criticized her every move, hoping to extinguish the fire that Taeyong had ignited within her. Yet, she remained steadfast, her resolve only growing stronger with each snide remark and cold shoulder. In the face of adversity, she found solace in Taeyong's music, his voice a beacon of hope that guided her through the storm.

The palace buzzed with rumors, the whispers of their love affair growing louder. The palace staff, once loyal, now watched her with a mix of pity and curiosity. Y/N knew that the inevitable confrontation with her family was approaching like a freight train, but she had made her choice, and she wasn't about to let go. Taeyong, too, faced his own battles, his management questioning his dedication and his bandmates concerned for his well-being.

One evening, as they sat side by side on the bench in the garden, Y/N took a deep breath. "We can't hide forever," she said, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and determination. Taeyong nodded, his gaze unwavering. "We'll tell them," he said firmly. "They need to know."

The day they chose to come clean was like stepping into a lion's den. The royal council was called, and the air in the grand hall was thick with tension. Y/N's parents sat on their thrones, their faces like chiseled ice sculptures. Taeyong, dressed in a suit that somehow made him look even more like a prince, stood beside her, his hand in hers.

"Father, Mother," she began, her voice shaking, "I wish to introduce you to someone who means everything to me." She turned to Taeyong, her eyes full of love and hope. "This is Lee Taeyong, and I love him."

The silence that followed was deafening, the only sound the ticking of the ancient clock on the wall. Y/N's heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest, but she didn't let go of Taeyong's hand. She knew that she had to fight for this love, even if it meant losing everything she had ever known. Taeyong squeezed her hand, a silent promise that he would stand by her no matter what.

Her parents exchanged a look that spoke volumes—disappointment, anger, and a hint of something else that Y/N couldn't quite place. But she knew that she had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed. The future was uncertain, but she had made her choice, and she was ready to face whatever came next.

The king's voice, when it finally came, was like a crack of thunder in the silence. "This is unacceptable," he boomed. "You will break this off immediately, or you will be stripped of your title and responsibilities."

Y/N's eyes filled with tears, but she didn't flinch. "I understand," she said, her voice strong. "But I won't give him up."

The room erupted into chaos, her family's voices rising in outrage. But amidst the cacophony, Taeyong's voice cut through, clear and firm. "Your Highness, I am not asking for your crown or your title. I am asking for your daughter's hand. I will do anything to prove my worth to you and to this family."

The king's gaze softened, ever so slightly, and the room fell silent again. Y/N felt a flicker of hope, a candle in the dark. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way for them to be together without losing everything.

The days that followed were a blur of meetings and negotiations, with Y/N's family laying down ultimatums and conditions. Taeyong's bandmates rallied around them, offering support and encouragement. And through it all, their love remained a constant, a gentle flame that flickered in the face of the raging storm.

Finally, a compromise was reached. Taeyong would be granted the title of 'Honorary Noble', allowing him to stand by Y/N's side at royal engagements. In return, he would have to keep his identity as a celebrity a secret and limit his public appearances. It was a heavy burden to bear, but for the chance to be with the woman he loved, Taeyong would have agreed to walk on water.

Their relationship grew stronger in the confines of the palace, a sanctuary where they could be themselves. They cuddled in the royal library, reading to each other by the fire, and snuck out to the hidden spots in the vast gardens to steal kisses under the moon. Every moment together was a secret treasure, a rebellion against the rigid expectations that had been placed upon them.

But the outside world waited with bated breath, eager for any sign of scandal. The paparazzi lurked at the palace gates, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive royal romance. Y/N and Taeyong knew they had to be careful, but the pull of their love was too strong to resist.

One evening, during a royal ball, their secret was almost exposed. As they danced together, lost in their own world, a flash of light reflected off a camera lens, catching Y/N's eye. Panic set in, and she pulled Taeyong closer, her heart racing like a wild horse. But he remained calm, his eyes never leaving hers, whispering sweet nothings that only she could hear. They danced until the danger passed, their hearts beating in sync, the music of their love drowning out the waltz that played around them.

Their relationship was a dance of secrets and stolen moments, a delicate ballet performed under the watchful eyes of the court. Yet, amidst the whispers and the glares, they found refuge in their shared passion for music. Taeyong began to write songs about her, their love woven into the lyrics like a secret code. And Y/N, once so quiet and reserved, found her voice, joining him in the makeshift studio they had set up in the palace.

Their music became their escape, a language that transcended the boundaries of their worlds. They sang of love and hope, their voices echoing through the corridors of power. And as they grew bolder, so too did their dream of a future together.

But fate had one more twist in store for them. A political scandal engulfed the palace, and Y/N's family faced a crisis of loyalty. In the midst of the chaos, a choice had to be made—would they stand by their daughter's love or cling to the outdated traditions that had kept them in power for so long?

The tension grew to a crescendo, each day more fraught with danger than the last. Y/N and Taeyong held each other tightly, their love a beacon in the tempest. And as they waited for the storm to pass, they vowed to face whatever the future held, together. For in the grand ballroom of the heart, where music and passion reigned supreme, they had already found their forever.

[epinebleue]

𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍𝐍𝐘 𝐒𝐔𝐇

love me now (established relationship!au)

a series of drabbles depicting life with your hot-ass boyfriend.

we are all fools in love (friends to lovers!au)

tba

𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐆

maniac (horror!au)

when you try to summon your older brother, things don’t go as expected.

who do you love (bad at love!taeyong’s pov)

tba

𝐍𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐔𝐓𝐀

for him (rich kids!au)

after a year abroad, you think summer back home can’t get any better. then, a charming ginger boy catches your eye.

bad at love (cheating!au)

Yuta has got morals, of course. He knows that stealing is wrong and that one should help others in times of need. In his defense, he didn’t know you had a boyfriend before having sex with you. Therefore, he hasn’t done anything wrong and he’s not a bad person. Calling you up on Sunday morning does make him a bad person, though.

wicked (mafia!au)

tba

𝐐𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐊𝐔𝐍

adore you (brother's best friend!au)

tba

𝐊𝐈𝐌 𝐃𝐎𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆

afterglow (model!au)

tba

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐉𝐀𝐄𝐇𝐘𝐔𝐍

for the rest of our lives (royalty!au)

not every little girl dreams of being Queen one day.

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐋𝐄𝐄

pretty boy (summer vacation!au)

tba

No reposting or translations allowed.

© epinebleue 2023-2024

[ace-angel-judas]

MarkJin vampire au?

To be considered a pet to a vampire was like marrying royalty. The humans would submit their daughters and sons, the vampires taking their pick at whoever they thought the most beautiful.

Or the best tasting.

Hyejin had to thank her lucky stars everyday, as Yuta wasn’t a horrible master like others had told her about. In a way, she was spoiled. The best dresses, the best food, anything she wanted, Yuta gave her.

All he wanted was companionship from her, like now, as he sat, brushing her hair while she knelt on the floor.

“A few of my old friends are visiting,” Yuta explained, “From my coven, Johnny will be with them,”

“I haven’t met anyone from the coven,” Hyejin spoke softly, “Except for Johnny, that is,”

“They’ll like you,” Yuta grinned, “Everyone likes you, I picked you myself,”

It was later in the evening, after the sun had set, that the group of three had arrived. Yuta had dressed her in a simple pink dress with a low cut, her hair platted in braided bun.

The group of three, she recognised Johnny as the tallest male with long brown hair. The other was a skinny male in a black suit, white hair and a scar next to his eyes. The last male looked closer to her age, although you could never tell with vampires.

He had bright red hair and golden eyes, it made Hyejin shiver.

Yuta held her in a close embrace, arm wrapped around her waist and chin a top her head.

“Welcome,” Yuta chuckled, “I don’t think I really need to show you around, you all know your way here,”

“Perhaps not but you have yet to introduce us to your pet,” The white haired male spoke.

“Yes, Taeyong, this is my sweet Hyejin,” Yuta smiled, kissing the top of her head, “Touch her and you die,”

Taeyong held an amused look, Hyejin looked at him with her head tilted to the side. Her eyes drifted to the other male, who was staring at her.

She could see the outline of his fangs behind his lips, his golden eyes staring at her.

“This is one of our younger coven members,” Taeyong introduced.

He stepped forward, nodding slowly, “It’s nice to meet you, I am Mark,”

Hyejin nodded slowly, turning and looking up at Yuta. He simply cupped her cheek, kissing her forehead and smirking.

“She’s quite attached, my little Hyejin,”

[cosmiclatte28]

Escape (Prince!Taeyong x guard!you)

a/n : hey this scenario is back into your homescreen! in case you haven’t read the previous works (which actually doesn’t connect you can read this without revering to them, but it makes more sense to read the previous one and this. first and second) 

taglist : we gotta thank @princessyongie because I feel like continuing this since after seeing the tags 🥺🙌💖

Five more laps and you're done. You're proud of yourself for always waking up in the morning to take your morning run with the other guards. Though it is tiring and hard to wake up in the early morning, you feel your body freshen up and awake to start the day as the royal guard of the young prince.

“So, what are you going to do today?” Your fellow guard, Jeno, asks you when both of you have finished running laps and already take a breather to talk.

“Hm, I'm not sure, but I heard the prince has some guests to see today.” You retie your hair into a pony tail, ooh time to cut them.

“oh another sets of royal ladies?” asks Jeno while both of you walk to the washing rooms to clean yourself up.

You nod “I guess. His prince friends only come on the third weeks right? Today is not the third week yet.” You hide a smile, someone in the circle of friend has a sweet smile that you can never not stare at.

“I see, you miss that prince huh?” Jeno playfully elbows you and you chuckle “Who? I don’t know them!”

“the one with the sweet smile, you said. Prince Jae-” He teases you more. You punch him and he yelps

“What smile? Who are you talking about?” a stern voice greets both of you and you quickly fix your posture, so does Jeno

“Good morning, your highness prince Taeyong “both of you bow down to him and he bows back in politeness.

“Morning,” he replies back.

“What are you doing here in the shower room?” you pull your towel higher to your chest, though you are still completely covered with proper clothes. Just something about him being in the shower room makes you feel a bit shy.

“I was looking for you, because apparently you were lounging here with Jeno talking about a smile.” He sounds joking but you know this will be a long day.

“I am sorry, I'll quickly change and see you in your study room.” You wait for him to dismiss you and when he turns his body to leave, both Jeno and you let out a great sigh.

“Yak mind your words. That was creepy.” You shudder.

“Sorry, just go shower. See you!” he waves and goes into the male bathroom while you to the other side.

You run through the field into his study in a dash and after composing yourself you knock on the big door.

“Come inside,” Taeyong knows it was you from the knocking pattern.

You come inside the room and stand on the door.

“Do you know your schedule already?” he asks you without looking away from his book.

“Yes.” You gulp. You received your schedule for today already and Taeyong has guests to entertain today.

“Prepare my horse,” He closes his book and stands up from his chair.

“Let's go for a quick runaway to the beach.” He winks and you shake your head

“How? You're supposed to prepare for-"

“my toast speech when the royal ladies come to sit with me in the garden for tea.” He finishes your sentence in a mocking tone and you keep your mouth shut. What is wrong with him and you today? Why are you pissed by his cockiness?

“I have enough time. This is still early, we can ride our horse and then come back by lunch. No one will know-" he skips to the window and opens the curtain “Because we won’t use the front door.”

Your smile blooms once you see his eyes sparkle with joy from the idea of escaping with you and you're suddenly on a good mood when you see his plan includes jumping out from the window.

“Now go, take your horse and mine. I'll lock the door from inside and meet you in our usual secret place!” Taeyong pushes you through the door and you only grin at his secret plan. Dang today is not that bad, he probably forgives what happened earlier.

--

You meet him with two horses on the back door. He already has his prince outfit shimmied off, only wearing a loose white shirt and a tight pants, his shoes are replaced with his boots and his hood is already hiding his face nicely.

“Where’s your crown?” you notice that first thing first after going closer to give him his horse and saddle.

Taeyong takes your help to jump on his horse and he smiles “I left them in my room, why? We don’t have to wear that right?”

You shake your head, he was always asked to wear them, but Taeyong prefers his head light. “Anything the prince says!” you shrug your shoulder and jump onto your own horse.

“I’ll lead the way!” he excitedly hit his horse and you follow him soon.

Just like that you are now on the empty beach, it’s mostly empty because the village is too far from the coast and it’s almost like a private beach. Nevertheless, you love this beach because of the memories.

Taeyong already neglects his hood on a reef stone and his shoes are also neatly tucked there. With his barefoot, he runs through the waves and you mentally slap yourself for forgetting the towels or dry clothes. You step down from your horse and choose to have a look out still for any danger. Duty comes first right?

The wind blowing your loose hair to your face makes you grunt and fix your ponytail. Oh you really should get them cut short again! Despite you, loving how your hair looks better long. But before you feel your face free from the tingles, you felt someone grabbing your hair tie and a dash of shadow runs before your eyes.

“Catch me if you can!” Taeyong is already several feet ahead of you with his right hand shaking your hair tie in the air.

You scoff and take the queue to catch him, did he know he choose the wrong girl to play with? You take your shoes off and make a dash to catch him. He runs away, laughter clearly resonating through the morning crispy air. Taeyong never looks this happy in a regular day.

Your fast movement catch him without a hustle, with one swift motion you have his wrist and you’ve turned his body to face you, “Told you, you picked the wrong girl.”

He was astonished by the view he sees.

A rare sighting of your hidden beauty, black short hair dangling with the wind and your smirk on your face when you catch him in your hand makes Taeyong grows weak. His right-hand falls and the hair tie was dropped to the sand only to get washed away by the tides. Your eyes widen and you quickly drop him to catch the tie, only to see it lifelessly gone with the waters. You close your eyes, controlling the rage bubbling inside your heart, no that hair tie doesn’t matter, just that you’re confused how will you tie your hair now?

“You’re prettier this way.” He blurts out nervously and that catches your attention

You turn your head to face him, “I am sorry I lost your hair tie. I can get you more.”

You shake your head “Don’t be sorry. I have to cut my hair anyways.” You run a hand smoothly through your growing hair, oh you miss this feeling too.

Taeyong’s eyes widen in surprise “No! Don’t!” he is surprised with his own action when he pulls you closer to him as the waves almost crash through your ankles and maybe wet your pants.

You raise your brow, clearly confused by his remarks. “Have you seen yourself?” he holds your shoulder and you shake your head.

Taeyong sighs and closes his eyes before opening them again “You’re beautiful,” he mutters that one more time

You feel heat rising up to your cheeks and you feel your voice crack “I- Can you let go off me?”

He is bewildered as he quickly lets your shoulder go and you nervously distant yourself from him.

“I should not be slacking, let me focus back on guarding you.” You nervously snap your fingers to focus back but the young prince is not helping you at all.

Taeyong steps closer again to you and tucks a strand of hair away from your face, “I can take care of myself (y/n), you don’t have to be on guard all the time,” he smiles softly to you.

Your lips tremble “I did not want to make the same mistake,”

He shakes his head and runs a smoothing hand on your hair “Come on, I forgave you for that already,”

You feel your eyes wet “I- not with the kingdom Yong.”

He sighs and pulls you to his side, “Hey, let’s not grieve over that! You’re wasting my precious escape time.” He grins and you wipe a tear “Ah silly me, sorry for ruining your day.” You push a smile and Taeyong giggles “I should be the one sorry, for making you sad.”

You tense suddenly when he pulls you into a hug, “You’re pretty, you’re amazing, and you’re always doing your best to keep me save, but for once I want to you to enjoy your day too.”

“Come on, let’s catch the waves, and we can go sneak for some brunch in the kitchen.” Taeyong pulls you into the wave and you put a smile back on your face.

“Oh, and if you hate your hair falling to your face, here.” Taeyong hands you his handkerchief

“Huh?” you hold on to it with big question mark on your face.

Taeyong laughs “You really don’t know things other than sword, archery and combat?” he takes back the handkerchief and gathers your hair together before “tying” it with the expensive linen.

You’re amazed he can tie your short hair nicely with that handkerchief, but Taeyong always has his own way of making things work. Oh! prince things!

“Hey I should keep you dry!” you pull him back before a big wave can soak him.

He giggles “Now that is more you! I don’t care if I come back soaked, I’ll sneak in to dry myself.”

You groan “Oh but please, you’re not riding a horse in a wet clothes, you’ll fall sick.”

He smirks “And if I am sick, will you take care of me? I’m sure you’ll be put on guard duty in my room.”

You snicker “Yeah coz you’ll put that as a command and I can’t do anything against it.”

He nods “So tell me, do you want me to tell the chief guard that you can keep your hair?”

You grin in amusement but laugh afterwards “You and your prince things! Nope, I’ll cut them short again. I don’t feel like running with hairs all over me.”

Taeyong nods gloomly “Ah, alright. Anything that’s best for you is best for me. I guess I’ll have to stop saying I like long hairs.”

You blush and bump his shoulder “Stop being cheesy. Let’s go back to the castle, I’m hungry and lunch time will be over for me if I don’t come back now.”

Taeyong almost forgot about the fact that your lunch time is different than his, he can eat anytime he returns but not you. So, he picks up his things and with your help once again, he is seated on his horse and so are you.

“Thank you for accompanying me today!” Taeyong bids his farewell when you and him separate ways into the castle. You reach your hand to take off the handkerchief, but he was faster “Keep them, until you find a rubber band or you cut them,” he sounds sad at the end of the sentence. He tried hiding it but you heard his heart.

“Okay prince, see you!” you quickly leave while he waits for you to disappear into the stables.

“How I wish you can forgive yourself for that incident. It was not your fault, never your fault but why do they keep blaming you for it?” Taeyong walks back to his window and sneak into the room again. Right in time when he hears a knock on the door and his butler comes in to deliver his letters and news.

His prince duty is back!

end

next : probably we’ll get to see what is this “incident” or maybe not. I’ll see where my head brings me to 😂

[honeyhuii]

When Roses Bloom

idol au, soulmate au, royalty au, modern au, strangers to lovers

Genre: Fluff, Slowburn

Lee Taeyong x Reader

Wordcount: 6k+

Warnings: Swearing, kissing, mentions of food, Markhyuck ( I don't ship them irl, it's purely for the plot)

Rating: PG13, some cursing and kissing

A/N This is for the love of my life. @mhyori1117. I hope you enjoy Taeyong as your soulmate. <3

You sighed. Everyone around you has been finding their soulmate. They get to experience the magic of seeing flowers bloom when they accidentally bump into their soulmate on the side of the street. Or passing by a classmate in the halls and suddenly tulips blossom out of the ground and lockers are filled with lilies. Maybe that cute coworker from the office “accidentally” bumps into you just to see if flowers bloom beneath your feet.

All of your friends have been getting swept off their feet by their gorgeous soulmates. Some of them have known their soulmates all their lives and have finally accidentally bumped into each other. Not that you aren’t happy for your friends, because you are, you just wish you would finally meet yours. You wish you could finally feel that magic. Finally getting to look in the eyes of the one meant for you. You know your soulmate won't ‌be a prince on a white horse from a faraway kingdom. But you could care less if he did have a major kingdom title or not. As long as your prince was meant for you. That was good enough. But when? When will you get to meet him?

You sigh again for the umpteenth time. Currently, your best friend was telling you about his newfound soulmate. Again, it’s not that you aren’t happy for him. It just gets annoying to hear that one of your friends has found their soulmate. Plus, he’s been rambling on about this guy for literal days. It feels like you know him more than you know yourself and you haven’t even met him yet! “Mark..Dude. It’s not that I don’t care, but you literally won’t stop talking about him. I love you and love that you are so in love with your soulmate, but I seriously feel like I know him more than I should. I haven’t even met him yet,” you set your coffee cup on your desk, “it’s not helpful when I’m trying to work on this new draft that Mr Nakamoto is requiring me to do and I can’t focus.”

“Sorry. I forgot that the boss is making you stay extra late for a new draft that he just assigned to you today,” Mark rolls his eyes, “I can’t believe he’s requiring you to finish it by tonight.”

“I know, I don’t know why he’s so up my ass about it,” you pick up your coffee cup again, take a sip, and notice it's gone cold. You frown, your evening has gotten even worse. “I’ll be back Mark. I gotta get another cup of coffee if I want to manage to finish this stupid draft before the sunsets.”

Mark waves and turns back to his desk, “can you get me a cup too?”

You wave in response as you you exit the office into the hallway. You greet the other office workers who also have to stay late to finish whatever projects they are working on. You turn left to head towards the break room to get a fresh cup of coffee. However, you bump into a rough chest. You looked up and weren't expecting to see him.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't see you there Y/n," his deep voice escaped his pretty pink lips.

"It's okay Johnny. I should've watched where I was going. Was just super lost in thought," you reply, looking away from the tall man. Johnny Suh, a man every woman dreams of being with. He's super tall, gorgeous eyes, and has all the charms in the world. Every female coworker (even males) have tried to bump into him, hoping that he is their soulmate, but so far none of them have had any luck. You? You don't really care trying to bump into attractive coworkers in hopes they are your soulmate, too complicated. Johnny, however, has tried to bump into you on several occasions, hoping that you are his.

"Boss having you work late again?"

"Mmm, he's making me work on this draft and wants it finished by tonight to be ready for the presentation tomorrow. What about you? Why are you still here this late? Didn't Jaehyun leave hours ago, thought you would've gone with him."

"Yeah, he did. Told him to go home without me. I have this merger I got to finish by tomorrow and I'm only halfway through. Looks like it'll be a long night for the both of us. You getting more coffee? I'll walk with you," Johnny turns around and starts heading towards the break room, even though it looks like he's just got a fresh cup of coffee already.

You trail behind Johnny trying to figure out his motive. Does he not believe in the soulmate system? Why has he been so adamant about trying to get you to go on a date with him? If you didn’t have so many hopes in wanting to meet your soulmate, you would consider accepting his pursuit.

“So, I was thinking…you want to go to a concert this weekend? One of my close friend’s is performing this weekend and I think you’d like his music,” Johnny asks, pouring himself and you a fresh cup of coffee.

“I need one more cup, Mark’s staying late too,” you take your cup out of Johnny’s hands and wait for him to pour a second for Mark.

“Ah, I see. So, what about the concert? You want to go,” Johnny hands you the second cup and you graciously take it.

“Thanks. I’m not sure if it’s something I’d want to do…Plus Mark and I have our movie night this weekend and he’s inviting his soulmate over so we can finally meet,” you take a sip of your coffee and follow him out the break room.

“Why don’t you invite them both? It’d be a lot of fun, plus I think Mark would get along with my friend that’s performing. You guys would be allowed backstage to meet him and hang out after the show is over. I got front seat tickets and everything,” Johnny says, holding three tickets out in front of you, “Will you at least take the tickets and ask? If neither of you wants to show up, that’s okay. At least give me some hope that you’ll come.”

“Alright,” you take the tickets out of his hand, “I’ll ask Mark and see if he’s up to going. It would be a nice change instead of our weekend movie nights. Well, I need to finish this draft so I’ll be getting back to work,” you wave goodbye and head back to your desk and let out a deep sigh.

“Johnny ask you out again,” Mark asks when he hears you sigh?

“Yeah, that’s the 3rd time this week. He can’t get a clue when I keep denying him,” you rub your forehead, feeling a migraine coming on.

“Where’d he invite you to this time?”

“To some concert, his friend is performing at, some group called 127? He invited you and your soulmate to go with. Here,” you pass him two tickets and his coffee.

“127?! Dude, I love 127! We have to go, it’ll be so much fun,” Mark practically jumps out of his chair, trying to give you his best puppy dog eyes, “Please. It really will be a lot of fun, my soulmate loves this group too! Apparently, all of the members keep their identity hidden and don’t allow pictures at performances. They are really hush hush about it.”

“Really? Johnny says he knows one of the members and that he got us backstage as well as front stage seats.”

“Johnny knows 127? Really? Dude, we have to go now that you told me there are backstage passes. I’ve always wanted to meet them and see them perform live.”

“Will your soulmate wanna go?”

“Definitely, we listen to them together all the time.”

“Alright. It will be nice to do something different this weekend. But what shocks me is that they even sell backstage passes. Aren’t most idols and celebrities royalty? Like super high royalty? Because I know we all are some type of royalty, but in order to be able to do a job like that, they have to have a higher status. Why would they even let crazed fans near royalty?”

“I don’t know. Probably. I don’t know about you, but I can flash my royalty card and get a free coffee,” Mark brags…again.

“Mark, you say that at least once a week. I don’t care that my royalty card doesn’t get me a free coffee. It’s not my fault that my royalty card doesn’t get me anything, blame my parents for not having a higher royalty status. Anyways, leave me be and let me finish this draft before Mr. Nakamoto yells at me for slacking.”

You knock on the door to Mr. Nakamoto’s office, holding a stack of paper in your right hand. You hear a faint “come in” signalling for you to enter the office. You enter the office and see your boss sitting at his desk, typing on his computer. His black hair dishevelled from him constantly running, his fingers through his hair, glasses perched on his nose, and his tie undone.

“Hi sir, I have the draft that you wanted by this evening. I’ve finished it and printed it so you can look through it,” you walk up to his desk, holding out the stack of papers for him to take.

“Thank you, just set them on the desk. I’ll look over them when I’m done. You can go home now,” he doesn’t even look up from his computer and continues typing.

“Thank you, sir. Goodnight sir. I’ll see you tomorrow,” you place the stack of papers on his desk and exit his office. “Alright Mark, drive me home.” Mark nods and you both walk to the elevator in silence.

The week flew by, and before you knew it, it was ‌Saturday, the day you were meeting Mark's soulmate and the day of the concert. You were getting ready, making sure you looked your best. You were looking over your choice of clothes when there was a knock at the door. You look over at the clock, Mark was supposed to be picking you up around now, so it was probably him. You walk over to the front door of your spacious apartment and open it.

“You ready to leave,” Mark asks, walking into your apartment.

“Yup, let me get my shoes on, real quick,” you walk over to your shoe rack that’s by the front door and sit on the bench to slide your shoes on. “Alright, I’m ready. Is he in the car?”

“Yeah, he’s driving so I told him that I’ll go up and see if you were ready.”

"What's his name,” you both walk out the door and shut it behind you. You lock it and follow Mark down the steps to his soulmate's car.

"Donghyuck, Lee Donghuck is his name," Mark walks up to the car and opens the backseat for you.

You sit down and buckle up, "Hey I'm Y/n! It's nice to finally meet you, Mark literally never shuts up about you."

"I can say the same about you, he's told me so much about you I feel like I've known you forever," Donghyuck laughs. He looks super dressed up for the concert, no wonder Mark has him as a soulmate. They really were made for each other.

"Are you excited for tonight's concert? It's my first time hearing about 127, so I'm really curious as to why Johnny thought I would enjoy their music. Mark is a really big fan of them," you try to make conversation with Donghyuck as he drives you to the place that the concert will be held at.

“Mmm, I know he is. He made me listen to their entire discography on our fourth date, not that I minded, I really like their music as well. Speaking of Mark, can you put on our playlist? That way Y/n can hear some of their songs before we get to the stadium,” Donghyuck drives out of the apartment complex and you make your way to the concert. Mark puts on their playlist and music starts blasting from the car speakers.

By the time you arrive at the stadium, you have learned the entire discography for 127 and learned Mark and Donghyuck personal favourites, and have found out yours. No wonder Mark was such a fanboy over them, their voices were really attractive and the songs were really catchy. You could definitely see yourself becoming a fan after this concert is over. But right now, you need to text Johnny and find out where he is.

You:

Where are you at? We just arrived at the stadium.

The tall Johnny:

I’m inside, meet me backstage and come meet the guys.

You:

Heading over now.

You put your phone in your pocket, “Johnny says he’s inside. He wants us to meet him backstage. Let’s get going.” The two boys nod and follow your lead. You walk to the end of the line and some of the other’s in the look at Donghyuck with a strange look, like they’ve seen him somewhere before. You brush off their odd behaviour, he must go to a lot of concerts or he’s a popular prince.

Once it was your turn to give the lady your tickets, you did so, but the way the lady acted when she saw Donghyuck was even stranger. It was a look of surprise, like she didn’t expect him to show up there. What is up with everyone’s behaviour… I’ll have to ask him about it.

You three get led inside of the stadium and were guided backstage. How did they know that we were going there…or that we even had backstage passes? Did Johnny say something to her beforehand?

As you’re walking to the backstage, you accidentally bump into someone because you have this habit of not watching where you were going. You look up to find the most gorgeous eyes staring down at you with a look of concern. What you didn’t expect was roses to start blossoming out of the floor and vines to start flowing down the ceiling as you two made eye contact.

It was as magical as Mark said it was. You felt butterflies erupting in your stomach as you two continued to stare into each other's eyes. Neither of you dare to break it, fearing that once you look away, the beautiful pink roses blooming behind the stranger will go away. It made him look ethereal. Like he was sculpted by the gods themselves.

“I’m Y/n…it’s nice to finally meet you, soulmate,” you hold out your hand for him to shake.

“Taeyong, Lee Taeyong. I’m sorry you had to wait so long to meet me,” he takes your hand in his and kisses your knuckles, “I agree though, it’s great to finally meet you. I guess my timing was always off because I swear I’ve seen you before. Perhaps my dreams?”

Lee Taeyong? Why was that name so familiar? “I’m surprised this is how fate chose us to meet. Backstage to a concert someone invited me to. I think your timing couldn’t have been any better,” you give him a soft smile, which he gladly returns.

Someone clears their throat behind you, knocking you two out of your daze. “Ah right. This is my best friend Mark and his soulmate Donghyuck. Both of them are big fans of the artist’s that’s performing tonight.”

“Ah, fans of 127? You must be the coworkers Johnny was telling us about, follow me, I’ll take you to meet the rest of the boys. Johnny’s been waiting for you guys to arrive as well,” Taeyong doesn’t let go of your hand and drags you along with him. Wait…What?

“Ah, wait. I think it’s time for the concert, why don’t you head to your seats, I’ll have Xiaojun show you to your seats,” Taeyong gestures to a man in a security guard uniform who smiles at Taeyong, he must be Xiaojun.

“Actually, I need to use the restroom, why don’t you guys head to our seats without me. I’ll meet you there when I’m done,” Donghyuck stops Xiaojun in his tracks.

“Are you sure Hyuck? I know how much you love 127,” Mark questions his soulmate.

“Yeah, I’ll probably only miss the opening act, I’ll be back in time, don’t worry.”

“If you’re sure. Alright, Y/n, let’s go,” Mark says, following Xiaojun out of the hallway.

You shoot Johnny a quick message telling him that you would be heading to your seats since the concert was starting soon and that you would meet him there. He replied with a simple okay and that was the end of the conversation.

When you finally arrived at your seats, which were located near the front of the stage (how Johnny was able to afford the tickets was still beyond you), you sat down at the perfect time because music started to blast through the stage speakers. A young man walked onto the stage and started the opening act. The opening act was a new and hot artist by the name of Xuxi and everyone was astounded by his amazing performance. You couldn’t believe that this one guy could hype up the crowd this much, if Xuxi was this amazing you wondered how amazing it would be to see 127 on stage.

The lights started flashing with the beat of the music, the first song was about to start and both Donghyuck and Johnny had yet to arrive. You were starting to get worried, you looked over at Mark to whisper something into his ear, but you stopped mid sentence when shock took over Mark’s face. Confusion filled your face, you looked back over to the stage and not only were you shocked to see who was up on stage, but you were completely confused.

“Is that Mr Nakamoto? And Donghyuck? What the fuck? Johnny?!” You are beyond confused and it looks like Mark had no idea that his favourite group was so close to him. He had no idea that his soulmate was a member of 127 and no idea that a coworker and boss was also a member of 127. You had no idea how you were going to be able to go to work and face them.

Taeyong makes eye contact with you as he raps his verse and winks. That causes an immediate blush to spread across your face which Mark starts to tease you about until Donghyuck blows a kiss in his direction. You began to tease him about it since he teased you, it was only fair.

The concert was half way over and you were glad that Johnny invited you to go. The initial shock and surprise is over and you would definitely agree that Johnny, your flirty coworker, Yuta, your mysterious boss, and Donghyuck, Mark’s soulmate, belonged on that stage. Johnny was a very talented rapper and he could dance too. Yuta’s vocals were off the chart. And his dancing skills? Absolutely blew you away. Donghyuck’s vocals were absolutely breathtaking. You couldn’t believe how high he could see. Not to mention that he was also a very talented dancer. But no matter how amazing they were, you kept your eyes trained on Taeyong. The way he could move and dance along to the song was hypnotising. The way his voice would rasp when he would rap his parts of the song, kept you on the edge of your seat. His entire aura was hypnotised and had you under a spell. Maybe it was your soulmate bond that caused you to feel the way you did or maybe you were just magnetised by him.

Once the concert was over, Xiaojun led you two back to the hallway where you met Taeyong, and followed the long corridor. The three of you arrived at a door that had a piece of paper taped to it saying, “127”. Xiaojun knocked on the door and you heard a faint “come in” from the otherside. Xiaojun opens the door and you trail behind him. You see the six boys lounging on the couches taking a break after the hectic concert. Taeyong sits up straighter once he spots you and his gaze never leaves yours as you walk closer to him. A smile spreads across his lips as you walk over to him. “Hey, I thought you were amazing up on that stage,” a smile spreads across your face. The other’s in the room look at you two in confusion and Taeyong notices.

“This is Y/n, my soulmate,” Taeyong introduces you to the others with a proud smile on his face.

Johnny doesn’t look the least bit surprised and neither does your boss or Donghyuck. It’s like they knew before you even found out he was your soulmate. “About time,” Johnny pipes up.

“What do you mean,” you look over at him in question.

“I had a strong feeling that Taeyong was your soulmate, you’re both basically carbon copies of one another. I told Donghyuck, Jaehyun, and Yuta about it. That’s why I was constantly asking you on dates because I was trying to get you to run into Taeyong. I probably should’ve told you the reason for the dates but at least my plan finally worked. Didn’t I tell you guys they were soulmates,” Johnny responds, throwing a look at both Yuta and Jaehyun which causes them to roll their eyes in response.

“Yeah, yeah whatever Johnny. Don’t make me give you extra hours for that look you gave me,” Yuta responds, crossing his arms.

“Wait wait. I have several questions,” everyone turns to look at you, “if you knew about it Donghyuck, why didn’t you tell Mark and why didn’t he know that you were a part of 127? Johnny, why were you trying so hard to get Taeyong and I together? Yuta, can I call you Yuta? It feels weird to call you Mr Nakamoto outside of work. Anyways, why were you also in on it, I’m your coworker and you're my boss, isn’t that a little weird. Jaehyun, I don’t really have questions for you because you live for this type of thing. Lastly, if you guys are all in this amazing band, why do you work in an office with a 9 to 5 job?”

Donghyuck is the first one to chime in, “Well I remember Mark constantly talking about you and then Johnny would do the same. I thought it was weird at first when both my soulmate and bandmate would talk about one person so much. Then Johnny told me that he thought that you might be Taeyong’s soulmate and from the things I heard from Mark I thought he might be onto something. I wanted to help, but I didn’t want to tell Mark about the plan because he might accidentally tell you since he is quite the blabbermouth. Especially with the secret of me being a part of 127, I wanted to surprise him with that factor. Though, I’m surprised he never caught on because you can very clearly hear my voice in the songs.” Mark rolls his eyes at the last comment about him, but still grabs Donghyuck’s hand and intertwines their fingers.

“Well, I saw how you would always be so passive aggressive when someone mentioned soulmates, I could feel how sad you were whenever you saw yet another person meeting their soulmate and yet you still didn’t. I wanted to help my friend, even if it was a shot in the dark. Plus, it was pretty funny watching you get flustered anytime I asked you on a date,” Johnny adds with a smug smirk as he watches you get flustered yet again.

“Yeah, call me Yuta. Anyways, Taeyong’s one of my good friends and just like Johnny I felt like it was finally time to do something. He’s been complaining about how single he feels whenever Donghyuck tells us about the recent date he went on with Mark. I’ll answer your last question about why we work a 9 to 5,” Yuta uncrosses his arms and leans in, “It gives us a sense of normalcy. We don’t let anyone know about our identity outside of our concerts to keep that secret and feel normal. Everyone knows who Taeyong is because of his status in the world of royalty, but when he’s on stage, he’s just Ty. Not some world famous prince. Same goes for us who work at the office. If we let people share our identity then we won’t be able to do anything normal without getting swarmed by rabid fans of both those who are fans of 127 and those who are just obsessed with royal status. Plus I just know it would get worse for those of us who don’t have a soulmate. But that basically sums up, does that answer your questions?”

You nod your head, "Yeah, it does. Thanks and I guess that does make sense. Thank you Johnny for looking out for me, same with you Donghyuck, even though you didn't know me, you still wanted to help me just because I'm your soulmate's best friend. That's really kind of you."

Donghyuck shrugs his shoulders as if it wasn't anything to him, "Of course I would. I had a feeling we would get along from all the things I heard about you. I guess I was right about that too." He winks at Mark. Looks like there's something else he knows, you'll have to interrogate them both later.

"I'm just glad I finally found you, even if it was with the help of our friends," Taeyong brings you into a hug and warmth surrounds you. You smile and wrap your arms around his neck pulling him in close.

"Thank you for finally finding me," you hear a gag behind you and you roll your eyes. You didn't have to guess who that was, "Donghyuck, as if I haven't heard you say worse things to Mark." Everyone laughs as Donghyuck tries to deny it but no one believes him because everyone knows how whipped he is for Mark.

The night slowly ends, one by one everyone heads home. Taeyong happily holds your hand as he walks you to Donghyuck's car, the boys following you, but keeping a slight distance so that you can get to know one another in private. And that you did, you both basked in each other's company, just enjoying each other's presence. You talked and talked as much as time would let you, until the four of you eventually arrived to Donghyuck's car. Johnny honks his horn,signalling for Taeyong to hurry up and get in the car. Taeyong waves him off, basically telling him to give him a second to talk to you. "Uhm, Y/n. I'm really glad I met you. I was wondering if I could get your number? So I can ask you on a date, that is if you want to," Taeyong, the usually confident man on stage, seems to be feeling a bit of shyness overcome him. He fiddled with his jacket as he waited for an answer.

"Of course Taeyong. I would love to go on a date with you," you respond with a smile, you take his phone and make a contact for yourself. Once you finish typing your number, you hand him back his phone, which he takes with a smile.

He gives you one last hug, "I look forward to our first date," and hops into Johnny's car. He waves goodbye and Johnny takes off down the road. You let out a sigh when Johnny's car is no longer in view. You turn to the boys, "We have a lot to talk about on the way home, don't we?"

Saturday has arrived and it's time for your first date with your soulmate, Taeyong. It's been a few weeks since you first met him and you've both been constantly texting back and forth getting to know one another before Taeyong decided to officially ask you out on your first date. Currently you were putting on last minute details, making sure your outfit was to perfection. You hear a ping from your phone and you look over to see a message from Taeyong.

Yongie💞

Hey, I'm parked out front

Just come down when you're ready.

You

Alright, I'm heading down now.

Can't wait to see you💞

Yongie💞

I can't wait to see you either babe 💞

You smile at the message and lock the phone.You set it in your purse and lock your door on the way out. As you walk down the steps of your apartment you see Taeyong quickly rushing up the stairs to meet you halfway. He's slightly panting and holds something behind his back. You look at him confused, "Taeyong? Everything okay? I thought I was meeting you at your car?"

"You were, but I forgot that I wanted to give you these," he pulls out a bouquet of roses, just like the ones that bloomed at your feet when you first ran into him.

You take the flowers out of his hands and pull him into an embrace. You kiss him on the cheek and a light red hue spreads across his face. "Thank you Yongie, I just locked my door, but I want to put these in some water so they don't die. Come on," you grab his hand and drag him with you. The blush on his face darkens at the endearing action. You quickly unlock the door again and drag him inside, "Go sit while I put these in a vase, it'll be a minute then we can go on our first date." Taeyong nods and sits down on your couch.

You go to the kitchen and pull out a vase you made with Donghyuck and Mark when you crashed their soulmate date. It was ugly, but made with love, especially since Donghyuck and Mark decided to get handsy with your pottery vase and "help" you with it. You put some water in the vase, silently hoping it doesn't leak, and trim the rose stems to fit in the vase. As you're dumping the food packet into the vase, Taeyong walks into the kitchen, he leans against the counter and watches you do the finishing touches on the bouquet he gave you. The look he was giving you, anyone could tell that he was a man who finally met his soulmate, he looked so in love.

You finally finish and turn around to see Taeyong leaning against the counter, staring lovingly at you. You raise your eyebrows in confusion, "Yongie, do you need something?" "Mmm, no I'm good, just watching you," he quips.

"Alright, I'm done here so we can go and start our date," you walk out of the kitchen with Taeyong following you.

You and Taeyong arrived at the restaurant, it didn't look like a 5 star restaurant, which you were thankful for, you didn't really dress for the occasion. Instead it was a quaint little diner, one that fit nicely on the corner street. As you both walked in, the waiters and waitress turned to look at you two, to greet the new customers, but when they saw Taeyong they all smiled and greeted him like they were old friends. You looked up at him expecting him to explain, but he grabbed your hand and dragged you to a booth.

An older lady, who was more than likely the owner, handed both of you menus, "Hello Taeyong, it's been a while since you've visited the diner and I see you've brought a friend this time."

"Hey mom, I know it's been a while, but work has been busy. This is Y/n, my soulmate," Taeyong reaches across the table and laces your hands together.

"Ah, hello Mrs.Lee, if I knew that I would be meeting you today I would've dressed for the occasion, but Taeyong was being really secretive about where we were going," you say with a small blush dusting your faces as Taeyong squeezes your hand in reassurance.

"Oh don't worry dear, you look just fine. Anyways, I'm going to let Chenle know that you're here. He's going to be your server for this evening," Taeyong's mom walks away to the staff room and you look over to Taeyong with an exasperated look.

“Taeyong, you didn’t say anything about meeting your mother! What if she doesn’t like me? What if she thinks that you deserve a prettier soulmate? What if-” you were cut off by Taeyong when he covered your mouth with his hand.

“Shush baby. She loves you, I can tell by the way her eyes lit up when I introduced you as my soulmate. Plus, I think you’re the prettiest soulmate, so who cares whether or not she thinks you aren’t, she won’t be the one waking up next you every morning,” he winks at the last part of his statement. You roll your eyes, but a smile blooms upon your lips.

Chenle arrived at your table with two water glasses in hand, “Hey Tae, long time no see. So this is the infamous soulmate you’ve been telling me about,” he smirks and sets down the water, Taeyong resists the urge to splash the water in his face for ratting him out meanwhile a blush spreads across yours. “Anyways, you guys know what you want?”

“I’ll have a burger and fries and a chocolate milkshake,” you pass Chenle the menu and take a sip of your water.

“I’ll have the same,” Taeyong replies, handing the menu over.

“Alright, it’ll probably be about 15 minutes,” Chenle writes down your order and walks away towards the chef.

While you're waiting for the food to arrive, you and Taeyong make small talk, getting to know each other and just enjoying each other’s presence. Even when the food arrived the both of you couldn’t help but get lost in conversation with one another. Smiles never left either of your faces and minute by minute, you further fell in love with one another. Occasionally, Taeyong would reach over and steal a fry or two even though his plate was full of his own fries. You’ve never thought stealing food from another’s plate was so endearing, but when Taeyong did it, you just felt so comfortable in his presence that you didn’t even mind. And once you both finished your meals, you said your goodbyes to the staff, with your stomachs and hearts full. And in all these moments, your favourite has to be when neither of you could say goodbye at the door, with light kisses being pressed to your cheek and then you returned it by kissing his. In the end, he left pressing one last kiss to your lips with silent promises of more in the future.

“Taeyong, have you seen my box of clothes? I can’t find it,” you ask searching through the several closed boxes in the brand new bedroom.

“I think it’s in the living room, one of the movers accidentally put it in there,” Taeyong replies, opening another box of his.

“Okay, I’ll go look, thanks babe,” you walk out of the bedroom and into the living room to look for your missing box. Several movers come in and out of your shared apartment, bringing in furniture and boxes of both your and Taeyong’s stuff. Your heart swelled seeing the ugly couch, that belonged to Taeyong who had begged you to keep much to your dislike, shoved against the wall in the centre of the room on top of the rug you kept from your apartment. 

You spot the missing box, it was shoved on top of a box labelled “kitchen” in your messy handwriting. You grab the box, not realising that it was super heavy, and accidentally drop it onto your foot. Taeyong immediately comes rushing out of your shared bedroom to make sure you’re okay.

“Baby? You okay?”

“Yeah, I just dropped the box with my clothes and shoes onto my foot.”

“Awh baby, let me get that for you,” Taeyong picks up the box with ease, bringing it into your bedroom. As the day turns into the night and with a gentle breeze blowing onto your faces, you cuddle into Taeyong’s side and watch the sunset while sitting on the balcony to your new shared home. Taeyong presses a kiss to your temple and right then and there you truly know what it means to feel loved by your soulmate. When roses bloom you feel lighter than air. When roses bloom you feel like everything finally makes sense. When roses bloom you finally meet your other half. And roses did finally bloom for you, both inside your heart and at your feet. Taeyong gently grabs your chin and kisses you on your lips, you feel the roses bloom on the floor as you melt into the kiss. You finally met your soulmate and know roses will forever bloom.

Taglist for nct works: @mhyori1117 @enhasfever @kkooongie

[justwritedreams]

Welcome to the Kingdom | Jeno

Chapter Six: A cupid among us?

Prince Jeno x Princess Reader, enemies to lovers au!, royalty au! Word count: 4127 Genre: slow burn, almost fluff? idk lol Author: maari Warnings: mentions about death, teasing, reader having her nipples erect (like i really don't know how to put this in better words lol) Note: This is waaay to shorter that i planned i'm so sorry but i hate making you wait so long so i thought i should post this part before things start to get interesting 👀 it's not proofread so sorry if there are any mistakes Summary: Now that the princess has to face the Lee family, it looks like someone is lending a helping hand.

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⪢ NCT Masterlist

Y/N came out of the trance she was in when heard a stronger and more insistent knock on the door, she blinked a few times before brushing her hair away from her face.

"You may come in!" she spoke and when the door was opened, seeing the Queen enter she moved away from the window she was leaning against.

“Y/N. Good Morning!"

"Good Morning!" the princess smiled cordially and saw the Queen point to the bed, she sat on the edge while the Queen sat a little further in front of her.

“Did you get breakfast? The maids said you weren't feeling well, so you didn't come down to join us at the table."

Y/N gulped, not wanting to make a bad impression on the royal family on her first day at court, but the shame she felt, along with the headache, from last night was eating her alive.

She wouldn't know how to react in front of Mark and Jeno being in the same room, so like the coward she felt, just declined the invitation to have breakfast with the family and stayed in her room. She was working up the courage to get together with the others.

Not that she thought she'd done anything terrible like Jeno had said the night before but she couldn't explain it, she felt so confused.

“I did, thank you very much!”

The queen smiled, lowering her head as she swayed and Y/N frowned.

“You know, you and Jeno are very different but you have one thing in common.” the princess remained silent, waiting for the answer. “When words are not true, the eyes do not reflect them.”

That left the princess speechless.

Was it really that obvious that she was lying?

All she gave in response was a tired sigh.

She didn't know how to explain to the queen the confusion that had been in her head since she found out about the agreement between the kingdoms, she didn't want to be inconvenient or ungrateful.

If a better future between both kingdoms was being built, it was thanks in part to the queen and Taeyong.

"Although I understand, Jeno is a very private guy. It's hard to decipher him."

Y/N smirked, emotionless. She couldn't disagree.

"He was also restless at breakfast, which is unusual. I thought he was concerned about your well-being but now I see there's more to it."

The princess didn't know why she felt her heart sink at the thought of making the Lee family's breakfast worse.

And by the looks of it, she wasn't managing to hide it as well as she'd thought.

"You know him better than I do." Y/N looked down and started playing with the comforter on the bed.

"But it took me a long time." The queen admitted and continued to stare at Y/N that wasn't bothered more than uneasy. "Do you know the story of Jeno's mother?"

The princess lifted her head, staring at the queen curiously, just shaking her head.

"I don't remember exactly, I was little when she passed away." and it wasn't as if the kingdom's newspapers were going to emphasize the subject, she thought.

“Haechan and Jeno are twins, you probably know that.” Y/N nodded in agreement. They were the exact opposite of each other but they were twins. “The Queen Mother has always personally taken care of social projects. With people from the deaf community, work in hospitals and orphanages. Even when she became pregnant with the twins, she kept her entire schedule. Against the king's wishes, he wanted her to rest in the palace. As you can see, stubbornness runs in this family.” the queen chuckled and Y/N smiled. Not that it was news to her. “After she gave birth to the boys, she stayed away from social projects for a few months but she felt useless, she thought she wasn't fulfilling her role as queen so when she saw that the boys didn't need her so much, the queen mother went back to social work.” the queen sighed, looking away for a few seconds and the princess prepared herself for the tragic point of the story. “When the boys were about to turn one year old, she participated in an event at an orphanage in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the kingdom. The place went up in flames with the Queen Mother and the children still inside.” Y/N felt her eyes fill with tears just imagining the scene. “The Queen Mother was able to help evacuate the entire building and saved most of the children on her own but she…did not save herself.”

The princess swallowed hard, looking away from the queen's sad expression. The only thing she knew was that her parents had gone to the funeral, it was the only truce that lasted more than 6 months between the kingdoms.

But she didn't know the seriousness of that situation.

“How did the…fire happen?” Y/N asked quietly.

“A group of anarchist rebels who did not agree with the king's public policies learned that the queen would be there and decided to place a bomb near the official car. But the bomb went off before she could get out and ended up setting the whole building on fire.”

The princess felt a strange shiver through her body that passed through her neck and she tried to pass her hand in that region to make it stop. She was not easily impressed with this type of subject, she watched police series and documentaries with darker themes, she didn't know why that story had moved her so much.

"Were arrested?"

The queen nodded quickly.

“Maximum security prison, life sentence.” the princess shook her head. It was fair, an attack on the queen was a direct attack on the monarchy. The list of crimes was huge, starting with treason. “Jeno was the only one who, when turned 18, went to visit the killers.”

Y/N looked at the queen instantly, completely shocked.

"What?" she asked in disbelief. “Did Jeno visit the men who killed his mother? Why?"

He's crazier than I realized, she thought.

“He said he needed to understand why they had done it.” Y/N frowned so hard, not understanding, that her eyes practically closed.

“And he went and came back? That simple?"

Jeno didn't seem to be violent but the princess couldn't imagine that he would have gone there just to talk to his mother's killers, because if it were her, she knew she wouldn't control herself.

“Whatever answer he went looking for, maybe he found it, he never spoke. Jeno is a person of peace.”

Y/N instantly raised an eyebrow.

Jeno was a person of peace, except with her.

"This pet peeve of yours is literally going to end in marriage." the queen laughed.

“Not for the reason you think.” Y/N countered.

“Isn’t?”

The princess faced the queen who maintained a calm and… experienced look.

“You speak as if you know how I feel.” she said, curious.

The queen got up from the bed and Y/N looked confused, not wanting her to leave now.

“I didn't like Taeyong at first either.”

"No?"

The princess couldn't believe it, they had envious chemistry.

“He was always so intimidating, and our marriage was arranged too, I always thought I would never love him.” she shrugged and Y/N was surprised at the sincerity in the queen's words.

“And what changed?”

The queen smiled widely, her gaze lost in memories she wouldn't share but which the princess knew were good.

“Our marriage, I started to see him for what he really is. A good man, a great leader and a fantastic husband.” she approached Y/N and placed her hand on the princess's shoulder. “You will be queen soon Y/N, you two need to deal with maturity in order to be able to lead the people. You must have confidence in each other and in the mission entrusted to you since you were born. Put your weight on Jeno too, he'll be on your side of the throne no matter what. You need to let him carry that with you.”

The princess took a deep breath, taking into consideration everything the queen had said and pondering, in the end she nodded in agreement.

Maybe she needed to have heard that advice from someone who wasn't so connected to her history of enmity and hatred with Jeno, someone neutral.

The queen smiled knowingly at her and left the room in silent steps, not even the slamming of the door Y/N paid attention to because the queen's words echoed through her head.

One thing she needed to start admitting, she needed Jeno. As much as he needed her.

[...]

“Haechan, no!”

“Oh come on, Y/N, stop being sedentary.” Y/N glared at him.

It wasn't laziness or a sedentary lifestyle as he said, but the princess still had cramps. The pain had lessened considerably but she still felt a bit of an itch from time to time, it had nothing to do with the fact that she was avoiding Jeno or Mark.

No, she was mature enough not to be afraid of bumping into one of the two.

Or at least that's what she tried to convince herself.

“You asked me what you could do in the castle, I gave you an option.” he complained.

"Swim in the pool!" she replied in disbelief.

“It will do your head good, it will cool your… thoughts.” Haechan gave her a suggestive look and she snorted.

She wasn't going to take advice from him, not at all.

"Get out!" she pointed to the door and Haechan rolled his eyes theatrically but had a crooked smile.

"I'll be in the garden if you change your mind." he hummed before slamming the door behind him and Y/N sighed loudly, putting her hands over her face.

She could hear the voices of her parents in her head saying that this was not the attitude of a future queen, hiding in her room until this week was over was not an option.

She was being cowardly.

And the fact that Haechan had dropped by to see how she was feeling had made it clear that she was arousing suspicion.

Though she was thankful it hadn't been Mark or Jeno who'd come there.

The first one, because the castle had eyes and ears everywhere, rumors would start echoing through the halls the moment Mark stopped at her door, and because he was probably just as embarrassed as she was.

As for the second, the princess was sure he wouldn't show up in her room so early to be nice, not after Jeno made it clear that he was angry with her.

Y/N sighed loudly and took her hands off her face, staring at the ceiling and then at the room she was in. Mentally debating with herself whether she should even consider Haechan's idea.

"Have courage, no one will send you to the guillotine." She told herself and convinced, got out of bed before she could give up.

She decided not to change now, first would take a walk around the castle and talk a little with the royal family so she didn't seem more antisocial than she already was, and then when she felt comfortable swimming, would go back to her room and change into her bathing suit. 

She greeted some servants on the way and explored corridors of the castle that she hadn't seen until now. She noticed a certain resemblance between her own house and the Lee family castle and it almost felt like home.

Unconsciously or even fate, the princess reached the pool that Haechan insisted so much for her to go to. The crystalline water of the pool that was a little bigger than her own caught her attention and Y/N moved closer to face the water better.

She liked to reflect as she watched small waves form and if she took off the shoes she was wearing, she could get her feet wet before swimming.

She had changed her mind but hadn't gone to meet Haechan in the garden. She needed a moment alone but apparently that would be impossible even in a castle as big as this one.

As she approached the pool, noticed that on the other side black shoes were standing near the edge, her gaze went up to the also black pants and the white button-down shirt that had the first 2 open, leaving the neck free for Y/N to recognize in the same minute, she swallowed when her gaze went up to Jeno's face and eyes were already fixed on her.

Though his hair fell over his eyes, she could still see how serious they were, it was impossible to miss. Mainly because his lips were pressed together in a thin line and his nostrils were flared.

Excellent.

Of all the people she could have bumped into first in that place, it had to have been Jeno.

If she knew Haechan, she'd say he did it on purpose.

Y/N wanted to hide her sweaty hands in her pockets but her dark pants didn't have any and once again she noticed that they were dressed the same, as if they were siamese twins.

It was funny, it was so pathetic, they were even unintentionally acting like a freaking couple. Again.

Only this time, the princess didn't know what to do. Should she approach Jeno? Talk to him? But if she did, what would she say?

The way he was staring at her wasn't helping her figure out what to do, so all she did was start to walk away from the pool, turning her back on Jeno as her stomach fluttered with anxiety.

She wasn't going to act like a coward, but she wasn't prepared to run into him right away!

“Decided to leave the room, princess?” she heard Jeno's voice echo through the room and it stopped her, not only because his tone was firm but also because it was cold.

Yeah, he was still angry and she couldn't understand why.

Y/N took a deep breath, trying to control the urge to give him a rude retort, and turned to face him.

“Haechan told me that I would like the pool here.” she replied, trying to soften her tone but Jeno's expression of pure mockery was irritating her to the core.

He laughed wryly and nodded in agreement.

“Scheduled another date with one of my brothers.” he raised his eyebrows and the princess blinked, trying to understand if she had heard right.

But Jeno's expression didn't change, so she knew he was serious, so she crossed her arms and took a few steps towards him, still keeping a safe distance.

“If I had known you and your bad temper would be here, I would have gone to the library or somewhere far away from you!” she snapped, feeling her blood begin to boil with anger.

"Of course, and why don't you go there now?" he pointed forward and Y/N rolled her eyes. “Mark usually studies at the library at this time.” he completed sarcastically and the princess got irritated.

“I don't want you to make that kind of insinuation, Lee!” she pointed her finger at him, making him chuckle.

“And you want me to do what? A round of applause?" he asked and then did as he was told, clapping his hands together twice in a loud sound, turning his back on the princess who felt her whole face burn with rage.

She exhaled slowly through her mouth and wrinkled her nose in anger, her heart was beating too fast and her hands itched.

“I want you to drown.” she replied before taking two steps forward and pushing Jeno's back into the pool.

Before he could even understand what had happened or complain, he had already fallen into the pool in a jump that splashed water everywhere and Y/N didn't even care that she got wet, she was too happy to see Jeno rise to the surface with his face in pure shock.

He smoothed his hand over his face, brushing the hair out of his eyes and searching her with his gaze, the princess laughing at the edge.

"Are you crazy?” he asked and she just raised her eyebrow as she focused on looking only at Jeno's face.

The impulse made her forget that he was wearing a white shirt and now his shoulders were showing thanks to the transparency of the fabric.

“Did you really need to do this?” he pointed at himself and the princess hesitated for a few seconds as her eyes fell on his wet body.

"Maybe, you now cool your hot head." she replied in the same ironic tone that Jeno had used before and she almost laughed for having used the same train of thought as Haechan.

Jeno snorted and held out his hand to Y/N who stared at him in confusion.

“Hurry up, help me out of here, this water is freezing.” he asked and she laughed out loud.

“I will not help you, you will pull me.” she replied, watching Jeno stare at her in boredom.

“How old do you think I am?” he asked seriously and approached the edge, still with his hand outstretched. “If I wanted to pull you into the pool, I would have done it already.”

Y/N bit the inside of her cheek, wondering if she really believed what he was saying. Jeno had his other hand leaning on the edge of the pool, if he really wanted to throw her there, he just had to pull her legs.

She sighed and gave up, she had already made him shut up and anyway, she extended her hand to help him and when Jeno held her palm, in addition to the difference in temperature between them making Y/N's skin crawl, she caught a glimpse of his grin before she felt him pull her hand hard.

The princess only managed to scream his name before and fell into the pool, still under the water she heard Jeno's laugh and climbed up as quickly as possible to catch her breath. With her mouth open in surprise, she could tell that she had felt betrayed, by Jeno and her own head.

He'd said he wouldn't pull her and she'd believed the cheap trick.

"You idiot!" she splashed her hands on the water to make it splash on his still laughing face, and then brushed her wet hair from her face as her body began to shiver.

Jeno was right, the water was very cold.

“We are even, princess.” she glared at him and slammed her hand into the water again. Once, twice, three times… until Jeno raised a hand to block the water.

"You're just not more of an asshole than you already are due to lack of space" Y/N spoke louder and her eyes automatically followed Jeno's raised arm.

Well, she wouldn't have noticed the way the veins were standing out if the shirt sleeve hadn't been so tight against his body. She had never noticed how big Jeno's hand was, the long fingers practically covered his entire face and the only thing she remembered with that vision of him wet in front of her was the dream she had the other day.

Okay, it had only been a dream but his warm palm still felt like it was burning her skin as she held onto his body and a voice in the back of her mind told her that she should make the dream come true.

The scenario wasn't so different after all.

She had already caught a glimpse of Jeno's chest a few times, when he insisted on not wearing decent clothes, but now she could get a better view. Of course, the transparent cloth still got in the way a little but there she was, staring at Jeno's broad and strong chest like there was no tomorrow.

As if she wasn’t even mad at him for pulling her into the pool.

Suddenly, the water in the pool didn't seem so cold anymore.

“Take a picture, princess, it will last longer.” Y/N heard Jeno's voice in the distance and she blinked a few times when he lowered his head enough for her to see his smirk.

Y/N looked back at his face, her brow furrowed, and didn't understand the glint in his eyes.

"What?"

“Clearly you are liking what you see!” pointed at himself and Y/N felt his pretentious tone run straight to her cheeks.

"No I'm not." she denied it, of course, so as not to lose her habit.

It wasn't like she was going to admit out loud that she was finding the guy super hot.

"No?" he asked, raising his eyebrow without taking the smile off his face. “Then why are you excited?”

The princess felt her face sag and her mouth drop as her voice was lost in her own throat.

What?

"Huh?" was all she could say and Jeno laughed, so much so that he tipped his head back and she had the privilege of a wide view of his neck and Adam's apple.

Why did she feel like her whole body was suddenly too hot?

Jeno wasn't even all that, duh!

Bad liar, that's what she told herself.

“Are you going to laugh or are you going to explain to me where you got that absurd idea?” Y/N raised her hand, waiting for an answer.

But all Jeno did was point to the princess's chest, who uncomprehendingly looked down at her own body. Y/N was even more shocked when she saw her nipples showing, bristly. Because of the cramps and pain she was feeling, she had stopped wearing bra. Although her shirt was white, it wasn't transparent so that someone would notice that she was without a bra. Well, until now.

Her instinct made her cross her arms in front of her body in order to cover her wet body that seemed to be on fire, as well as her face.

She shook her head to herself and looked back at Jeno, he kept the same expression and the same little smile that kept annoying her, if she stayed there any longer she would go crazy.

"I hate you!"

"It's not what your body is saying."

“I'm not excited!” she responded louder and Jeno laughed again, cocking his head to the side as if he didn't quite believe what she was saying. "I'm cold and it's your fault."

“But I bet you're burning up inside.” he blinked one eye and Y/N felt her throat go dry.

Okay, that was getting too much for her!

Without having anything to say, she just turned her back on Jeno and headed for the pool ladder with her arms still covering her chest, she just pulled away to get out of the pool, huffing as she felt the heavy pants on her body.

She got out of there listening to Jeno laughing still in the pool and almost went back to stick his head in the water. If she wasn't so embarrassed, she could have grabbed one of the towels that were nearby but all she wanted was to get away from Jeno and that vision of his chest that flooded her mind in a way that she didn't even understand why.

Okay, he was strong so what? That wasn't why her body should have reacted that way.

But she could blame the temperature of the pool, it was freezing, after all, the nipples were bristly because of it. It isn’t?

Even her own body denied what she said.

The princess tightened her arms against her body more and more as she thought about what she had just witnessed, Jeno would never leave her alone again, not that she had had the illusion that he would ever do that but now the game had become much more interesting for him.

Her troubled thoughts were interrupted when she saw Mark's figure standing on the other side of the castle as she prepared to climb the stairs, she swallowed hard the urge to talk to him about last night, if there was anything to be said, and when he looked her up and down silently questioning what had happened, she just grimaced and shrugged, heading upstairs shortly after.

She didn't want to avoid Mark, but right now she wouldn't be the best company for him.

Mainly because the image of wet Jeno wouldn't get out of her head and the idiot was right, she was burning up inside.

Taglist: @floweronacloud, @cookydreamam​, @travelleratheart101​, @ilvaussie​, @tyongf-sunflower99wer99​, @mings-cafe​,  @n0hyuck, @waltermitty97, @jihoonismydad

[nuoyipeach]

You Are My Queen

Lee Taeyong X Kang Seulgi

saw a tweet talking about this specific move of Taeyong in Gimme Gimme & kinda inspired me

hope you like it(^ω^)

7/4/2021

"Your highness, it's time."

Taeyong took a deep breath and sighed. He dreaded this day more than anything, much to others surprise. Normally a king's children would be at each other's necks for the throne. But not Taeyong. He couldn't care less about the country, not when he knew for a fact the people did not see him in a good light. It's not like he did anything wrong, the crown prince simply lived his own life unbothered.

But his unbothered personality was what caused people to start horrible rumours about him, to the point the prince almost left the palace if not for his half siblings forcing him to stay.

"Why me? You three exist, there's no reason for me to be here when people clearly don't want me around, let alone rule them."

His half brother, his practical twin, sighed. "But they're wrong Taeyong. If all that isn't true you can't leave, you should stay and prove to them you're not as they say you are." Yuta pleaded holding his arm tight. "Besides, you’re the only one legitimate for this place, you know that, we have to keep traditions an-."

"Screw it Yuta!" Taeyong screamed pulling his arm away. "Who cares about traditions now? You're as much the crown prince as I am. Your mother being from another country doesn't make a difference. If anything, one of you being king would strengthen the power."

Sicheng looked at Yuta and shook his head at his brother's failed attempt to console Taeyong, realising Taeyong wasn't wrong. He sat next to him and tugged his arm. "Taeyong the only way you can rebel this is by taking your place when time comes, not running away. Don't give up, remember what dad said, a king doesn't give up, he fights even if it kills him for what's right."

Taeyong scoffed and got up. "Yea, well I'm not king am I. He can use the logic all he wants, and whoever follows him after."

Taking another deep breath, he stood in front of the grand doors as his servants tugged down his robe once more to smooth it down his back. The doors opened and Taeyong swore he never felt this nervous before, all unfamiliar eyes on him.

At the front of the hall he could see his mother, the now former queen, accompanied by his two step-mothers, who smiled at him just as motherly. He was glad that all the wives of his father meant well, three of them becoming closest of friends ever since they each came to this palace, and raising their children together with love.

Beside them stood his siblings. Yuta, Sicheng, Yerim, Hina, Jeno, Shotaro and Yizhuo, five of them half but to them that word meant nothing. They looked at him with slightly sad smiles, knowing he absolutely hated this day. The day he'd become king, taking place of their late father.

He tried hard reasoning that Yuta or Sicheng could take the throne next too, being eldest child of their mothers from another country hence bringing more unification to their lands too. Or Jeno who was his direct younger brother, hence also considered "eligible".

But no, it had to be Taeyong. Despite the rumours, their father still persisted on him as did the rest of their family, knowing him letting go of this position over a few baseless talks would only make the royal family weak.

"Taeyong did you bully Yizhuo?"

"Of course not! In what mind would I bully my sister?"

"Exactly!" everyone went silent at their father's sudden shout. "Then why are you falling back? You know they're all false, yet you're acting as if they're true! If you want to prove yourself innocent then do the opposite of what a criminal would do. Why hide when you've done nothing wrong?"

Taeyong grunted and dropped onto his chair. "None of you get it..." he grumbled. His step mother, Sicheng and Yizhuo's mother, watched him and sighed, patting his head.

"Sweetheart you know you're innocent. You know they're all fake, words of jobless people on the streets who are jealous. So why are you giving into them?"

No one understood, not his parents, siblings, even his friends.

He now looked to the other side of the hall, where his friends stood. They all gave him reassuring smiles, trying their best to uplift his spirit.

He turned back to the front, she was there, standing on the other side of the altar, a little further than his mother. Seeing her smile immediately lifted off any weight on his shoulders, and he lifted his head up, taking steps forwards towards the altar.

He remembers everything clearly like it just happened yesterday.

The day they met

Doyoung invited the three elder brothers for dinner, and Taeyong noticed a new face. "Who's that Eun?" he asked Doyoung's sister.

"Kang Seulgi. She's came not too long ago and studies at the same place as Doyoung."

At some point during the event their eyes met, and the two sent smiles at each other before Taeyong made way to her to make small talk, finding they have much in common and befriending the young lady himself.

The day she heard the rumours

His friends surrounded him on another day of the rumours going around like crazy. Doyoung and Yuta sat on either sides of him as he sat under a tree in the palace garden, grabbing his hair on frustration.

"What's happening?" Seulgi asked in a whisper to their friend Sooyoung.

"Rumours. The people are always talking about it, and it came back as a hot topic again."

"What rumours?"

Sooyoung frowned and pulled her away from the group to talk alone. "Well, to begin with, Taeyong has a slightly naïve yet unbothered personality. But he's the nicest man you'll ever meet. I mean, not that the others are bad, but he's just not how you'd think a crown prince would be. Not an ounce of arrogance found in him you know. And once he opens up to you, he's the softest person ever."

Seulgi listened intently, noticing the smile on Sooyoung's face. "Do you like him?" she asked softly causing her friend to chuckle.

"I'm with Yuta, didn't you know? But of course. If you know Taeyong, it's inevitable that you'll fall for his charms. Everybody here loves him." she stopped and sighed, her face suddenly gloomy. "But, and we don't know how, people have been talking about him, all false. Somehow people seem to think he bullied his younger siblings, and was rude to the servants at the palace. Some servants have tried to clear it among the commoners, but they still talk. Today another one came up, that he tortured Yizhuo so much she left to her mother's country, when really she just went to visit her other family."

The day she caught him crying

She had taken permission from Yuta's mother to go to the palace garden, wanting to sit amongst the flowers and relax. However a crouched figure caught her attention instead, and she went ahead to see who or what it was.

As she neared, she heard whimpers, someone crying. And once she came to the person, she could tell who it was. She squatted next to him and softly pat his head. "Taeyong... What's wrong?"

His cries didn't stop as he choked out his answer. "Everything. My life is wrong. It's a mistake. I- I shouldn't even exist. I wish I didn't. I want the Earth to just swallow me up now itself."

Seulgi let him talk. She didn't want to interrupt with empty words of positivity, knowing they'd be of no help in this situation. She sat herself next to him and gently pulled his arm, letting his head fall against her shoulder while she warmed up his hand in hers.

"I won't say everything will be alright, because I know everyone says it already. And by the looks of it, it definitely doesn't help." she sighed and leaned her head on his. "But don't be so harsh on yourself. Why should you lose your life. It's all empty words Taeyong, lies. Whoever started these, they're jealous of you. Why bother stressing about it in the first place? I know you've probably heard this before, but really you should just ignore them."

"How..." he said through tears. "How can I when that's all I hear around me?"

Seulgi held his hand tighter trying to comfort him. "Distract yourself. You need something to keep you busy. Something unrelated to your life as the crown prince. I haven't been here long but I know that all you do revolves around your life in the palace and the position you hold. Maybe you should venture out. Go hunting, learn a new skill, do anything at all unrelated to royalty."

The day he realised she was the one

It was another day of the friends hanging out, heading towards the field where they playfully showed off their sword skills. Seulgi laughed her heart out when Sooyoung's technique caused Sicheng to fall back on his butt, a scowl on his face as he claimed how unfair that was.

Whilst the rest laughed, Yuta patting his younger brother's butt claiming to clean off dirt, she noticed something felt off. Looking around them Seulgi caught on that there was one less person than they came as, and knew immediately who it was. And after a few more turns, she could see his figure laying in the grass further away from them. Sighing, she strayed from the group and simply sat beside the person, looking at his face, his eyes closed as he seemingly tried to relax.

"What are you thinking about so deeply?" she asked softly. Taeyong let out a sigh before opening his eyes, looking directly at her.  "I can tell something’s bothering you."

"You..." he said as he sat up, Seulgi looking at him confused.  "Ever since that night you told me to distract myself, I did... But I don’t know if how I did is good or bad, because all I could think about was you."

As he spoke, the same images flashed through his mind. Seulgi. Her smile especially, the way her eyes turned to crescents, how her cheeks would round up making him want to pinch them. The sound of her laughter resonated through the back of his head, and all he could think was wanting to kiss her lips.

Seulgi sat silently unable to think of what to say. Was this a confession, or another counselling session?

Truth be told, she did fancy Taeyong quite a bit herself. Ever since that night, the two have gone out together as she wanted to help distract him from his life as the prince, and they ended up opening up a lot to each other. From talking about their families to their hobbies and likes, Seulgi realised what Sooyoung said was true. Once you know Taeyong well it’s a granted you’ll love him.

Although Seulgi knew hers was more. Through the days they’d spend time together alone, she started noticing Taeyong’s true personality. From his playful demeanor with a puppy to the small pout when it ran away, to his contagious laugh when she tripped over the same puppy running towards her. But she knew her chances were really low.

The crown prince and a village nobleman’s daughter? It’s almost impossible.

The day they proclaimed their love

"Marry me." his words cut her off and Seulgi stared in shock at the sudden phrase. She was telling him about the plants in the field which she had been studying, and this was not at all something she'd expect to hear.

But, she didn't mind. She just wanted to know if they were honest words.

"I... Excuse me?"

Taeyong moved closer and held both her hands in his, staring at her intently, but with love. "Marry me, Seulgi. I want you as my woman for the rest of my life. I want you to be the one standing next to me in the palace. I want you to be the one I wake up next to, and have my children. I want you to be the one I die for. I want you to be the one I grow old with."

Seulgi wanted to say yes, but she knew there were many things between them that she could see as a set back. "Taeyong, you are crown prince, soon to be king. I'm just the daughter of a nobleman from the villages. It... It doesn't sound like it would work."

"I'll make it work." he said right back, and did something Seulgi swore she'd probably never see in her life again after today (though she was wrong). "I'll do everything for you to make it work, my queen." he said kneeling.

Seulgi's head quickly turned any and all ways to make sure no one was around. The crown prince kneeling to just a nobleman's child and calling her queen, this was a definite sight to see, but not a very good one either. She turned back to him and tugged his arms to make him stand, but he refused. Giving up she simply kneeled too, and the two sat on their knees as she grasped his hand in hers this time.

"Taeyong... I love you too, very much." she replied, not missing the glint in his eyes. "But, you're going to be king sooner or later. I don't know anything about the palace or royalty life. I don't know if I can be there for you during situations I am not taught. I don't know if I can make a good queen for the people. And what if you marry again like your father did? Your mother accepted, but I know I couldn't. I'm... I'm selfish. If I was to have you to myself, I'd make sure no one else ever could. Would you want someone like me holding you back from your duty as a king?"

Only when she finished did Seulgi realise he looked dazed, frowning upon his expression. "Did you even listen to anything I said?" she asked annoyed. Taeyong chuckled, and suddenly leaned in giving her a peck on the lips, much to her surprise as her cheeks blushed red.

"All that you said, I didn't grasp a thing." he said a bit too nonchalantly, causing her to pull her hands away. But he held them again and kissed both. "Seulgi, I thought about all that even before I met you, about my life in the future. You know I'm not the crown prince everyone hoped I’d be, and I'd definitely not be the typical king people are used to. I could care less about royal traditions, why else do you think people spread rumours about me? You won't have to worry about another wife, because you're the only one for me, and I plan on keeping it like that. Royalty life? Please, it's nothing that glamorous. It's basically how you live, just more expensive. And if you don't like that either I'll change the way we live for your comfort, I wouldn't care." he moved closer, pulling her into his embrace and inhaling the scent from her hair. "You don't have to be the queen of the people and country Seulgi. You just have to be my queen."

The day they gave their all to each other

He gently laid her on his bed beneath him, and Seulgi looked away shyly, his eyes drinking in the view of her bare body. He slowly came closer to her and laid soft kisses against her cheek down to her collar, slowly going even lower down her body. Of cours he looked up a few times to see if she was alright with this, not wanting to seem like he forced it.

She suddenly grabbed his face and pulled him up to her own, their lips colliding in a passionate kiss as Taeyong took this chance to enter.

"So beautiful. A work of art. My priceless miracle. My queen."

And he didn't seize to stop his words as they made love that night.

"My queen, my ruler... I live to serve you..."

That was a name he will never refrain from using for her.

His queen.

As he finally reached the steps to the altar, he gulped and went up, slowly turning around to face the audience. His mother then came up, took the crown from its casing and stood next to him. Taeyong turned to face her this time, and dipped his head down slightly for her to place the crown on his head. He then stood straight, feeling the weight of the crown already pushing him down into Earth. All the responsibilities he must take, it didn't feel real until now. His mother then bowed down to him, something he didn't like very much.

"Why must she bow to me? She's my mother." he asked his father as the king taught his son the ways of a coronation. "Shouldn't I bow to her in respect for giving birth to me and raising me?"

The king sighed at another of his son's rebellious talks. "Yes son, you can bow to her for that. But once you're king you are above all in this country."

But of course he knew Taeyong wouldn't listen.

"Up mother." the elder lady peeked up in confusion as she stopped midway of bowing. "Stand please." he said loud enough for everyone to hear. Murmurs began amongst the audience as they questioned their new king's actions.

And we're shocked to say the least once he bowed instead to his mother. Even his step mothers gasped, and his siblings and friends only sighed at his actions, knowing there's no stopping him.

"Tae- Your highness, what are you doing?" his mother asked holding his shoulder trying to get him to straighten up. But he continued and got up slowly as she would have done, and smiled.

"You're my mother. You carried me in you for almost a year, gave birth to me, fed me and raised me. You don't bow to me, I do to you. If not for you, I wouldn't be in this world would I? And please mother, don’t use your highness to me. I’m still your son, just call me as you always do."

His words touched her heart, and the other women's, but they still remained silent knowing this wasn't the usual tradition. Taeyong could tell exactly what they were thinking, but he didn't care.

"What's next?" he asked his mother in a whisper, who composed herself after the odd occurance.

"You’re married, so I must pass down my position now to Seulgi." she whispered, and Taeyong nodded motioning her to continue. He stood back while his mother called up Seulgi to the altar, unable to peel his eyes away from his wife. He loved her the same way since the first day he fell for her, two years ago, months after they first met. And he knew his love for her would never change.

Never in her life did Seulgi think she'd become friends with royalty, or even marry one of them, let alone the crown prince. She gulped as she lowered her head and her mother in law placed the queen’s crown on her. And just like Taeyong, she felt the weight push her into the Earth. She then bowed to her like Taeyong did and went to stand next to him. His mother now brought out the royal sword, letting Taeyong swear the oath before handing it to him, finally officiating his place as King.

As night came, the couple started winding down in their rooms. Seulgi sat on their bed massaging her feet, tired from wearing the fancy heels throughout the coronation and after party. Taeyong had just came from the bathroom and chuckled at how cute his wife looked pouting. He walked up to her and sat by her feet, pulling both onto his lap and massaging them himself. You would think she’d be used to his actions by now, but no. Seulgi’s eyes widened as he continued, the thought that the newly proclaimed King massaging her feet terrifying her.

And it’s something Taeyong was always hurt by. Whenever he did something for her, the first thing Seulgi sees him as is the king, not her husband, and stops him all the time. Though slowly she held back from doing it anymore, it was still hard to get used to.

After having massaged both her feet, Taeyong moved under the covers and snuggled up next to her. Seulgi stared at him, still sitting half up, as he threw an arm over her waist and nuzzled his face into her body. She smiled and finally laid down, taking him in her arms the way he loved being. He was almost always the small spoon as some say, and when finding out his brothers obviously didn’t hold back from making fun of him. But they were happy too, that their eldest finally found his own peace and happiness in his own privacy.

It was a week later when the two strolled the streets of their kingdom, wanting to see how everyone was doing and being a small kingdom, it was easy to remember faces. While walking across and greeting the people, Seulgi's heeled slipper came off causing her to trip, Taeyong's arms immediately around her to prevent her from falling.

Her maid gasped lightly, but just as she was about to bend down to fix it, she was shocked. The king bent down to the ground, in public, and helped his wife put her slipper back on, kneeling still as he looked up at her with a chuckle. "Maybe we wear shoes next time on the road." he said to which she scoffed in reply. Her hand was still held onto his shoulder for balance as he let go of her foot and stood back up, taking her arm and wrapping it around his own before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Should we keep going?" he asked reassuring to which she nodded.

Of course Seulgi didn't miss the shocked stares of the people around them. Never in their lives have they heard or seen of a king kneeling in front of anybody, let alone in public. But she could tell Taeyong noticed it too and chose to ignore as they continued their rounds, though it didn't help for her to overhear some of the women's talk.

"Was he always a gentleman?"

"Maybe to his wife? Remember the story about bullying his sister."

And so, Seulgi devised a plan.

Ok I'm just gonna stop here & make a part 2 cuz it's getting long😅

[jenosglassofmilk]

Sometimes we all need a Prince!Jaehyun in our lives

Not my face, not my palace, not my pics

[starry-satoru]

Despite having a million other things to write, I really want to start a Royalty AU for NCT. I used to not be too fond of AUs in general, but I’ve had a recent change of heart. So, I have 3 questions for you all because I can’t make a decision:

1. Should the reader be a princess from a neighboring kingdom or should she be a regular citizen, either a part of the royal staff or a “peasant” so to speak?

2. Who should the prince be? (Can be anyone from NCT, minus the Dreamies/YangYang because of some of the stuff I have planned)

3. Which other member do you think should play a major role of some sort? (Same limits here)

I would really like your all’s opinions please! Just shoot me an ask and I’ll keep a running tally. I’ll let you know the results on the 16th, but until then you can send your opinions in!

[neowinestainedress]

our gentle sin ; jeong jaehyun

title: our gente sin | final part of amami ancora

pairing(s): jeong jaehyun x oc | side members: lee donghyuck, lee taeyong, kim doyoung, lee mark, nakamoto yuta, huang renjun, qian kun / mentioned: na jaemin, lee jeno

genre: royal au, parents au, established relationship, smut, fluff, 

warnings: smut, unprotected sex, fingering, public sex, rough sex, dirty talk, religious language and imaginary in a pretty blasphemous way in one scene, worshipping, praise kink, oral sex (f receiving), breeding kink, switch!jaehyun, switch!oc (tbh they don’t really have dom/sub dynamics but there’s some power play, so I put it like this), pregnancy sex, breast play, minor lactation kink | minor character death, minor mentions of antepartum depression

summary: an unexpected meeting leads to an unexpected proposal. It takes just one decision to change forever the ending of their story. Can they grasp both love and power, or will they lose everything they fought hard to get? Will they rise from the ashes of their past like a phoenix, or will they stain their reputation with sin even more?

word count: 51.730

taglist: @adorejaehyn​ @pinkyzae​ @hopefulchick

a/n: so here we are with the last part (for real this time) of amami ancora. I had a request asking for some more and I admit I’m not sure it’s what they wanted but I couldn’t find the motivation to write plotless scenes, so I gave their story a twist. I’m sorry for the anon that wanted a background story for the other members but I couldn’t come up with much. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll write some spin-offs about them after this, but I can’t promise anything. I wrote this mostly for myself because the main reason why at the start I didn’t want to write a sequel for amami ancora and I made it end that way, was because I wanted Scarlett to don’t give up her throne, but I guess you can choose this or part three to be ending that you want.  Also, keep in mind this has no intention to be accurate. I researched about how it used to work but it’s set in a fantasy world and in the future, so I changed a lot of things to my pleasure. I never planned for this story to come so far so I didn’t think about a true setting when I wrote the first part, it was just for the aesthetic of royalty and the illicit relationship between them. Let’s pretend everything’s realistic and possible.  Hope you’ll like it.

Scarlett sighed loudly before closing Eunbi’s bedroom door behind her. It was rather late, past eight, and she was alone at home. Eunbi was good, never complained about anything, but putting her to bed without her dad to the side was always a struggle. And now Jaehyun wasn’t home, and he wasn’t going to come home before three days. 

Moving to a new house was a big step, probably bigger than what they could’ve afforded, but they didn’t have much choice. Eunbi was growing, Johnny had moved out, so did Mark and Yuta, Taeyong and Doyoung needed their spaces, and so did they. Setting their own rhythms to raise her was necessary, not only for her but also for them as a couple. 

So here they were, in a small house, just a street away from the old one. It had just the essential rooms, and a small garden surrounding it. 

And even if it had been a year since they moved there and they were overall doing fine, Jaehyun had to start going abroad often to bring more money home. They weren’t struggling, but they still had a three-year-old baby to look after and bills to pay. 

Scarlett stretched her back, feeling exhausted after the long day, and then walked down the stairs, thinking about preparing some tea to cool off before trying to sleep too. 

But her plan for the night blew up. She almost felt her heart drop to the floor when she noticed that she wasn’t alone. Her lips quivered, trying hard to push out some words, and she felt so close to passing out when she realized who was standing in front of her.

“What – what are you doing here?” She asked as her eyes focused on the figure in front of her, hoping that her brain was messing with her, that she had completely gone insane. 

“It’s nice to see you again,” he smiled, standing up from the chair and walking toward her. “What a nice house you’ve built.” 

She felt trapped in her spot, terrified of what was coming next. She had spent the last three years – almost four – being sure, they were done with her. 

“I don’t know who you’re looking for,” she played dumb. She looked a little bit different from when she left, maybe he would’ve fallen for it. 

But it didn’t work. Donghyuck chuckled loudly and then shook his head. “I’m looking for you.” 

She sighed, getting that there was no point pretending anymore. “It’s been years, aren’t you married by now? Didn’t you move on?” 

“I’m not here for myself,” he started explaining, now standing in front of her. They were so close it almost felt uncomfortable. “Your father, His Grace, is dying.” 

She stared at him, not knowing what to say or what to do. She emitted a low huff while she tried to look for honesty behind his face and process the news. 

“I’m not coming back there for his funeral so you can finally have my head hanged on a wire.” 

“I don’t plan on killing you,” he said, completely serious. And looking at him, she almost dared to swear that nothing of that old Donghyuck she despised was there anymore. 

“How did you find me?” She asked, changing the topic of their conversation. She was more than sure she had hidden well, and if he knew, why he didn’t get to her before? Why wait so long? 

“I never believed in your death,” he shrugged, walking around, eyes wandering around the place as if this conversation was totally normal. Maybe he was still the same old Donghyuck she couldn’t stand. The one that didn’t take things seriously, the one that thought that everything was a game because power could fix everything with no consequences. “But I guess it was easier to declare it than to come to look for you wherever you were. You know, in the little time we spent together, I think I got to know you. You would’ve never let anything stop you, not even death. You could’ve easily killed yourself in the castle, but you did not.” 

She snickered, eyes rolling up to the sky, he was still a pretentious brat… but he was also right. “Then why you didn’t tell my father? I don’t think he knows me that much.” 

Donghyuck stilled, and turned around to look at her, “It was easier. I would haven’t been able to reign, to wield so much power.”

She raised a brow, truly not understanding his point, “What do you want then?” 

“I want you to come back and reign. Your mother is shattered by your loss, and soon the one of the King, I’m sure she won’t be able to take it.” 

She snorted, staring at him in disbelief, and then said, “Take the reign.” 

“I could, truthfully, that’s what your father wants but I think it is fair to give you another chance. I grew to understand what loving blindly means, and I must admit I do understand you.” 

She shook her head, walking around him, getting closer to the front door, hoping he would follow, but he stood right where he was. “No, you don’t. You have no idea what I felt when you started treating me like a mere trade commodity while I was carrying the child of my only love, knowing he was gone without a goodbye.” 

Donghyuck nodded, wetting his lips swiftly before speaking, “I am sorry, deeply. I was a dumb boy blinded by success. Trust me, I could easily grab everything your parents will leave behind and have the biggest reign on the land, but I want you to have everything that is rightfully yours.” 

“And what assures me that now that you finally found me, you don’t want to give me the justice you want and surely, also crave for?” 

“I have a wife; I now know what love means. I am a father, too. Blind revenge would only stain my honour and pride as a man of high ideals.”

“I can’t,” she replied, drifting the gaze from him. Because his words sounded genuine and also tempting, she missed home like crazy sometimes, and it wasn’t for the material things. It was for her mother, her handmaids, for all the years of her life she had spent in anticipation of a future that never came. “I’m… I’m a mother, and I can’t even think about raising my child how I was raised. I have friends, I have a job, I have love and I’m happy.” 

“I understand,” he said. “However, if you’ll change your mind, here’s an invitation to the first ball of the season. It’s special, they will lead you to me directly.” 

“You really think I trust you? You think I’d come back there after running away? You think I’d let you take all the happiness I created away from me so easily?” She said even if she knew that in the depths of her heart, those words were partially a lie. He had changed; it was clear as the sky that he wasn’t the selfish Prince she was bound to marry, but she still had other duties, other things and people she held dear to her heart.

“I do not mean to trap you,” he said, once again, serious and composed. “Read the journals, hear the rumors, the King is dying, and I have little to no interest to deal with two reigns like this.” 

“Wouldn’t it have been the same if I had married you?” 

“No, if I had married you, I would’ve loved to love that land, and its flowers, and its people, but I’ve only come to hate it. No offense, but your father’s not so good at dealing with things, and everything I thought was gold, turned out to be the one of the fools.” 

She knew it was in fact true; her father completely lost track of things in the last years, but she wasn’t so sure she could trust him. This wasn’t only about her, not anymore, it would’ve dragged Jaehyun and Eunbi in it too, and she couldn’t do that. 

“I know our relationship started in the worst way. I know I backstabbed you, and I can only imagine how hard it must be for you to trust me, but please, at least think about it. Your country will fall into foreign hands if you don’t come back, and so will the people you care about that you left there,” he added before walking over to her and opening the door. “I always admired you, and if I came back here, started to search you desperately one year ago behind the King’s back, it’s because I know how much you’re worth, and I believe in it. You were meant to be a Queen.” 

When he closed the door without giving her the chance to talk back, she had to lean against the closest wall to start breathing again. She closed her eyes, feeling hot tears start rolling out, and she immediately wiped them away. Her hands clutched the letter tighter, feeling her skin burn when her fingers grazed the wax stamp with the symbol of her family on it and walked to the kitchen, pushing the paper to the back of a random drawer. 

That was most likely a trap. 

She tried to convince herself. 

He simply couldn’t kidnap her, or it would’ve drawn a scandal, so he wanted to make it look as if she was turning herself in. 

She wasn’t going to come back. 

As the day went by, she tried to push that conversation out of her mind. Focusing on her job and Eunbi luckily was enough to keep her mind off of it.

But when Jaehyun came back, it was harder to hide it. It was like he knew something was off, always creeping deep and studying her closely.

“Are you okay?” He kept asking her every time he had the chance, just like right now, they were sitting on the couch watching a movie while Eunbi was playing on the floor with some toys. 

She nodded, lips sealed together, as she shifted closer to him. No, she wasn’t okay. She couldn’t scroll the idea of what Donghyuck had told her out of her mind, but at the same time, moments like this reminded her that, if his words were honest, life in the royal palace was going to be completely different. She still had all the tight rules marked on the back of her brain for how long she had to repeat them when she was a child to know how to behave in high society. And as she looked at her daughter play, so wild and free, she wondered if she could ever do something like this to her. 

“I can take some days off to look after her,” Jaehyun proposed, right hand caressing her shoulder over the fabric of the dress she was wearing. 

“No, it’s not her,” she admitted after taking a long breath. “I’m fine, don’t worry.” 

Jaehyun hummed, deciding to leave it there, and then his head fell on top of hers, inhaling her scent deeply. And even if she couldn’t see him, she knew he had his eyes closed and a smile on his face. 

And she wondered if she could ever give up this for something else. She had never seen her parents be so intimate. She had never seen her father get lost in the scent of her mother. She had never seen them hold hands or lay on the couch together as she played in front of them. And she wondered if it was a problem of their marriage or something that came with their life. Have they ever been in love? Or was that lifestyle that made them drift away? 

But one thing she knew for sure, was that she didn’t want to lose Jaehyun or Eunbi. She didn’t fight so hard to have them both, just to lose them again to run after something that was so… superficial. 

So, she searched for his hand and dragged it over her waist, making their fingers intertwine while her attention was focused on the little girl that was playing teatime with a doll and a teddy bear on the floor. 

No, she couldn’t lose all of this. 

She was also more than sure to keep it a secret from him. Jaehyun tended to get quite apprehensive, and there was no need to make him panic about something stupid. But so caught up in everything, she had forgotten she never got rid of the invitation. 

And that Friday night, when it was usual for the boys to come over to have dinner together like they were used to when they lived together, Jaehyun found it out while he was going through the drawers to look for something. 

“Where is the –” he screamed from the kitchen before a weird paper caught his attention. A letter? What was a letter doing there? They didn’t keep documents there. He furrowed and then grabbed it, turning it around to study it, and his eyes widened when he saw the stamp that sealed the flap. “An invitation from the royal palace? The royal palace of your reign? For the first ball of the season?” Jaehyun asked, lifting the beige envelope in the air as he walked out of the room and stared at Scarlett that was holding Eunbi’s hand next to the table to help her sit. 

Scarlett froze on the spot and didn’t lift her head to look at him. “Leave it there, you might as well just throw it,” she said, lifting Eunbi and sitting her on the highchair, waiting for everyone to reach the table, hoping he would listen and pay it no mind.  

“Did you receive it too?” He asked the others, still holding the paper in hand. 

“Jaehyun, please,” she whispered, walking to him to take it from his hand but he lifted his arm up. 

“No,” he replied, voice stern as he pushed down the bitterness. She knew about this. Why would she keep this a secret? “Where did you get this, Scarlett?” 

She sighed, “Donghyuck…” she whispered, drifting her gaze from him and wrapping her arms around her body, hands rubbing against the exposed skin of her arms. 

“Are you joking?” 

She shook her head, swallowing hard.

“He knows where you are?” His voice almost broke coming out, more than sad now that she didn’t tell him. “He knows where we are!” 

“I had just put her to sleep for the night and when I came downstairs, he was there, sitting at the table.” 

“He entered our place, and you didn’t tell me anything?” 

“Jaehyun, please,” she begged, not in the mood to fight in front of everybody. 

“Please, what? He’s the reason I didn’t get to see our child grow inside of you, he’s the reason I had to leave you without a word, he’s the reason we’ve been through so much hell.” 

“I know, but he found me, and he…” 

“He?” He urged her to talk, what was there more to hide? 

“He wants me to go back…” she confessed in a whisper, so low that he could barely hear, and the others could only guess what she had said by Jaehyun’s expression, hurt, bitter, and even scared. 

Jaehyun scoffed, looking at his friends to see if he had imagined those words to come from her mouth or if he heard right but the others’ gazes weren’t on them, trying to act as if they weren’t interested in the matter.  

“This is a joke, right? He came here, asked you to go back there, he knows where you live, where we live and the idea of telling me didn’t even cross your mind? I could go to bed tonight and some soldiers will slam through the door and take you and Eunbi away from me again and you didn’t tell me!” 

“My father’s dying,” she snapped. “My… he’s dying and my mother too, she’s… she’s heartbroken because of me and him and I’m sorry. I don’t want to go back there but I thought that pushing it out of my mind would help me carry on without the heavy thought of them leaving.” 

Jaehyun blinked twice, trying to convince himself this was all a dream, but when his eyes opened again and met Scarlett’s face, he realized it wasn’t. “I thought you hated him.” 

“I do. But my mom, she’s… she loved me. Despite him, despite how disappointed he was of me, despite me being the reason he didn’t love her anymore. I was her greatest joy, her biggest happiness, and only now I can imagine what it must be like to be deprived of the very being you love the most,” she said, briefly looking at Eunbi, feeling her heart clench at the mere idea of having to lose her for whatever reason. She didn’t want to think about what her mother must’ve been through, and she felt so guilty now. Only now able to understand that nothing could come close to the loss of a child, no matter how grown they are. 

Jaehyun sighed, glancing at Eunbi that was mindlessly playing with Taeyong’s hand, and then brought his attention back to Scarlett. 

Another sigh left his lips while his mind was running a thousand miles per hour. But that wasn’t the place to discuss it, he just wanted to put his heart at ease, and then they would’ve started again tonight, alone, in their bedroom, without bothering the others and the baby. “Do you want to go back?” He simply asked, hoping that the words coming out of her mouth were going to be negative. 

She sniffled, “No, I don’t plan to. And I didn’t mean to keep it a secret, I’m sorry.” 

He nodded, pulling her into a hug. “Don’t worry,” he reassured her. He knew that leaving everything behind had been harder than she wanted to admit, she never talked about her past for a reason, and it wasn’t because she was afraid, but because it was part of her. “Should we eat now?” 

The dinner went on smoothly as they talked about their future plans. How Johnny and his girlfriend, Juliet, were to get married. How Mark felt he had a special connection with kids and was ready to have one – resulting in making everybody laugh. Or how Yuta thought that he needed to travel the world and see more than just these lands. 

But when the conversation fell on them, Doyoung spoke before they could. 

“I think you should go back there, isn’t this what you’ve been taught for your entire life?” He said, obtaining a menacing gaze from Jaehyun who wanted to avoid that topic. 

Scarlett coughed, cleaned her face with the napkin, and then smiled shyly at her friend. “Yes, but I don’t think it’s what I want,” she replied, staring at the table before raising her gaze, “I have all of you, you taught me things all those years there didn’t teach me. You are like family to me, and I can’t leave you behind.” 

“We might come and meet you during special occasions,” Johnny proposed, shoulders lifting as if it was that easy.  

“It doesn’t work like this,” Jaehyun replied, suppressing the want to roll his eyes at their naivety. 

“I thought the princess was her not you?” 

He rolled his eyes, “I’ve been by her side for years, I’ve been trained hard to know how that world works. And it’s not for people like us, never been and never will be.” 

“Yeah, but you will be in command, and you two –”  

“She and her husband,” Jaehyun replied sternly, fit tightening against the table. “She will need to marry a respectable noble man from the high society and be the Queen. She will also need to find a Lord or a Prince that will accept the child of a love affair with her bodyguard outside of marriage.” 

“Yeah, if her father’s alive,” Doyoung said. “But when he’ll… mhh, perish, she will be in command. Does somebody care for these rules anyway?” 

“People might not care inside of the reign, Do, too worried about their own problems, bigger than to care for a sinful Queen, but it is a shameful act committed by me. I’ve been reckless and now I must pay the price. Even if I ruled, the other nobles, the Lords and Queens and Kings from other reigns will look down on me.” 

“For loving?” Johnny asked, nose turning up in a mix of disdain and surprise. Damn, so he was right about hating those kinds of people. 

“It’s not that easy,” Jaehyun replied. “It’s a world with set rules to follow and prejudice and gossip as fast as the wind.” 

“Nobody knows you were pregnant, though?” Mark said with a cheerful voice, happy as if he made the cleverest of affirmation. 

And both Jaehyun and Scarlett glared at him. “And what about her? Do I push her back inside and pretend she didn’t come out of there almost three years ago?” 

“Oh, right… Well, you could say she’s the Prince’s…” 

“I’m not going around pretending our child is somebody else’s,” Jaehyun cut him off, glaring at him, mad he could even think about something like that. 

“I won’t go back, anyway,” Scarlett reassured him, placing her hand on top of his, caressing it softly. 

“What if you proved yourself to be a valuable Queen?” 

“I don’t think this will be enough. I ran away, left my people behind when I was so close to marry for their sake and to bring new light in our country, faked my death, and… this is, unforgivable, for the high society and for the commoners.” 

“But you lived among commoners for years. You worked with us, you now know our struggles, more than any other ruler before. Wouldn’t it be enough?” 

She sighed, shaking her head, “It’s not that easy,” she replied, and then coughed, “Can we change the topic? What about you two? Are you still going to live in the old house?” 

When the night came and everybody went home, they finished cleaning up and then put Eunbi to bed. Nobody said a word about that again and Scarlett thought everybody pushed the thought out of their minds. 

But Jaehyun couldn’t stop thinking about it as he watched her clean the dishes at his side, as he watched her sing Eunbi a sweet lullaby, and even now that she was putting her hair in a loose braid after changing into her nightgown. 

He had seen her covered in gold. He had been by her side the few times she held public speeches. He had listened to her rants about how her father should’ve solved certain problems. 

He knew her, more than anybody else. Maybe even more than herself considering how much she pushed herself behind everything and everybody just to make others happy, often forgetting herself in the way. 

And the reason why she was pretending now, was them. Probably terrified of losing them again or losing what they had. Because he knew she had always been honest when she said that she loved this even if they had nothing, even if it meant sharing the place with five other people, even if it meant that some days they had to work longer to bring more money home and they couldn’t afford many luxuries. She loved this, but she also loved that. And he was wondering if the key to everything was them, or if it was all meant to fall down if they stopped being what they were now. 

“Is that what you wish for?” Jaehyun asked, standing near the window, eyes shifting from the city to her. 

“What?” She asked, twisting the braid into a bun and clipping the hair to keep them still while she walked toward their bed. 

“To go back there.” 

“Are you still mad?” 

“I asked you a simple question, Scarlett,” he sighed, walking to sit next to her. “Is that what you wish for?” 

“I – I don’t wish for it,” she replied, voice shaking. And once again she didn’t hold eye contact with him for more than two seconds.  

“You do.” 

“What? You can’t ask me a question and then be against my answer.” 

“I know you. I know how dearly you cared about that world. I know how badly you wanted to be a different Queen compared to your father. I was there by your side when you walked between the people, your people, with the only desire to offer them hope and change for the future. I was there when you spent hours practicing how to host parties, how cheerfully you would chat with your ladies insisting on helping them, excited about everything. I know how much this costs you. I know how much you lost for me and Eunbi. I was the one who told you that you deserved to reign, to be the Queen, to hold the power that always belonged to you.” 

She tried to push back the tears because he was right; that was what she wanted but in the past. In another life, if that didn’t mean losing the two people that made her the absolute happiest. 

“But I’m also happy now,” she replied, it was the truth, she was happy. “We won’t be able to take care of Eunbi as we do now, she’ll be sent to caretakers, and she’ll have lessons and…” 

“Just like she soon should’ve started going to school?” 

“But I love this place, I love the boys, and I love the way I can just feel normal.” 

“But that belongs to you. Maybe Johnny’s right, if Donghyuck’s not mad anymore you may have relations with him to help with external politics and then nobody would dare to say a word about their Queen. I know that for you it had never been about the high society anyway, but I know how you wanted to make it right for your people. And they’ll love a Queen like you. You could completely turn all the rules over, you already did, so why not do it now? Shock them even more, show them how strong—willed you are, how much passion you put into what you love.” 

“Why are you pushing me in this?” 

“Because I know your potential. Because as somebody that grew up poor and spent more than half of his life in the streets I would count on you, I know I’d be in good hands. Because I never believed it was fair for you to choose between love and power. I told you countless times, and now, you can have both. Your father won’t decide for you, you will decide for yourself.” 

She sighed, it was tempting, it was all she had worked hard on but… “What if the Prince’s not being honest? What if this is all a sick plan to get to me?” 

“Is there not a way to test it? I mean, he’s married now, happily even, or it seems so, he has a son of his own, why would he still come between us?” 

She nodded, and her mind replayed the conversation she had with Donghyuck, he did seem honest. But then she stared at Jaehyun, this wasn’t just about her, but their family, and him. He never loved that world much, she knew he was only interested in her endless talks because she was talking. And she didn’t want him to force himself into this. They were doing fine, they could’ve pretended Donghyuck never found her, and that letter never arrived. “What made you change your mind?” 

“I told you, Scar.” 

“I’m not sure that’s the life for me anymore. I don’t even remember what my duties would have to be like, it’s… too much.” 

“But you’ll have me by your side, and Eunbi. Didn’t you say you were your mother’s strength? Why can’t we be yours? I don’t want to force you, but you did want to rule and by yourself. So what’s different now?” 

“I spent three years away from there, I don’t even remember all the etiquette rules I have to follow.” 

“Then screw them. Be revolutionary, be the people’s Queen. Be like them, not like the ton that would judge you. Be the Queen you always wanted to be, the Princess you’ve always been. People loved you, and I’m sure there’s still a place for them in your heart.” 

“But what if I let them down?” 

“How could you? You have a heart beating inside your chest, unlike your father, that was what was missing. If you want to get back what it’s owed to you, just go for it.” 

“But if I do, I want the boys to come with us. I want them to have honorary titles. I want Renjun to be the best tailor in town, finally not being paid dust anymore. I want Johnny, Mark, Yuta, and Jeno to take care of all the crown jewels and I want Taeyong and Jaemin to have the biggest bakery ever existed.” 

“As you wish, my Queen. I doubt anyone could stop you.” 

She chuckled at the title, but then turned serious again and stared at him deeply in the eyes, holding his hands in hers, “And I want you to be my King.” 

Jaehyun scanned her face, brain trying to process her words and understand if they were a joke or not. “Is this…?” 

“A proposal, yes.” 

“Are you proposing to me? Like this? In this bed?” 

“Yes,” she smiled. “Jeong Jaehyun, Lord of my heart and soul, would you accept to become my husband?” 

Just when he was about the answer, the door opened, a sleepy Eunbi was standing next to it before walking inside. “Mama, Papa,” Eunbi mumbled, fist tight around her favourite blanket that now was just a bit more than a napkin, “I can’t sleep.”

“Oh, look who’s here,” Jaehyun cooed, watching as she ran to them before lifting her up in his arms, “just in time to help me with a big question.” 

“Me?” She asked, looking between her parents, index finger pressed against her chest. 

“Yep, my Princess,” he smiled. “Should I marry Mama?” 

“Marry?” She asked, clearly confused. 

A soft chuckle left their mouths, “Have you ever seen those big white events? The flowers, the tall cakes, the balls.” 

She nodded, lower lip trapped into her teeth, “Yes! You want to marry Mama?” 

“I asked him to marry him, Mama’s waiting for an answer.” 

“Say yes! Say yes! Please!” She begged, happily jumping up and down in Jaehyun’s hold. “I want to be a princess for a day.” 

They looked at each other, smiling tenderly. “I’d be delighted to be your husband, Queen Scarlett,” he replied, kissing her as Eunbi let out happy squeals, not knowing that soon, she was going to be a princess for real. 

“I’m so nervous,” Scarlett whispered, holding Jaehyun’s hand in her right hand and Eunbi’s in the left. 

“It’ll be fine,” he reassured her before leaning toward and glimpsing at Eunbi, that was looking around in awe. “She seems quite excited, instead,” he chuckled, and she smiled after briefly glancing at the kid.

“Yeah, I was like her too the first time they let me walk these corridors,” she mumbled, trying to keep her composure and don’t let panic take over, but she still couldn’t put her heart at ease. Everything went fine for now, they arrived at the palace for a while now and they were waiting for Donghyuck to welcome them. They had arrived from the back of the palace, and only a few people saw them, mostly the guards and some maids that were walking in the corridors, hurrying to their rooms for their duties.

“Oh, why did they leave you here… the three of you?” Donghyuck opened the door, gaze moving back and forth between them, surprised to see them all. “Come in,” he said, letting them inside the hall of the first floor, leaving the garden and the arcades behind. 

“Thank you for having us,” she said, bowing slightly at him. 

“Well, technically this is your place, not mine,” he replied, walking toward the King’s chamber. 

“Wait, I have to see him right now?” She asked as soon as she realized the direction they were taking. She thought she was going to see her mother first, or he was going to make them settle for a while in her old room. 

He turned around, looking at her, “he’s dying. I thought you wanted to have one last word with him.” 

“Is it serious this time or is it just like when he wanted to run away from his responsibilities?” 

“It is serious. This might be your last chance.” 

She turned around, looking at Jaehyun and Eunbi, eyes communicating with him with silent words. 

“Go, I’ll wait here with her,” he reassured her. “There are many paintings on the walls that I can show her.”  

“No,” she said, “you two are coming with me. I want to show him that nothing, not even his wickedness, could stop me from loving you.” 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Donghyuck chimed, still standing next to the door, hands behind his back and head high.  

She looked at him, not convinced of leaving them alone, but left with no other option, “if you hurt them, I’ll do the same to you.” 

“You still think I’ll betray you?” 

“Sorry if I can’t trust anybody here,” she said, opening the door ajar, but she stopped and turned around. “But I do want you to come in after. I want him to see that he couldn’t take away my happiness from me.”

When she stepped inside, the room was dark, only lit up by a dim lamp next to the bed. And her father was laying in the bed, sleeping, or seemingly so. She walked closer slowly, feeling her heart twist in her chest. No matter the hatred she felt for him in her heart, seeing him in those conditions after so many years still shocked her. There was nothing of the man she knew, just a hollow face, grey hair, and broken brown eyes. And he was all alone. Maybe what he deserved for all the pain he had caused people over the years.  

“Sca—Scarlett…” he mumbled, opening his eyes fully. “No, this can’t – it can’t be,” he huffed, chest panting heavily, struggling in his place, trying to drift further from her but with no strength anymore. “Are you a ghost? Are you here to haunt my last breaths?” 

“I am very much real, father,” she replied, not feeling a hint of compassion run in her veins. “I came back to take what I’m owed, my reign, my crown, my throne.” 

“I – I thought – you were dead,” he breathed out between coughs.  

“Surprise, I guess,” she joked, laughing coldly and shrugging. “Even if you wanted me dead so bad, I’m not.” 

“I – never wanted you dead,” he retorted, voice low and broken.  

“Right, you simply never wanted me. You wanted a boy, a boy you could raise as King, as the perfect heir my mother never could give you because she almost died giving birth to me. This is why you stopped loving her, this is why you never, not even once, looked at me with a glimpse of love or pride in your eyes no matter how perfect of an heir I was.” 

“You put shame on me.” 

“You put shame on yourself. You were the worst King that ever ruled over this reign, focusing on superficial matters instead of serious ones. What is most shameful? Love or greed?” 

“You know nothing,” he coughed, “about what you’re talking about. You can’t come back here and put more dishonour on our family.” 

She rolled her eyes, chuckling at his words. “And why? As if you’ll be here to see it, anyway. And if it won’t be me, it will be Donghyuck that, trust me, doesn’t care about this piece of land as much as he probably made you believe.” 

“He never loved you.” 

“I don’t truly care about that. I have love. The love of my life.” 

A mocking laugh rolled out of his lips, “still attached to that bodyguard buried six feet underground?” 

She snickered and then turned around, walking toward the door. And when she came back with Jaehyun and Eunbi by her side, her father almost felt his heart give up once and for all. 

“Are you talking about the next King and Princess?” 

The King felt his heart lose another beat when his gaze landed on the man in front of him and the child he was holding in his arms; the proof of the scandal that happened between them and stained their family forever. He truly believed Jaehyun was dead, that thought made him sleep at night, putting aside the need to kill him with his own hands. But he was alive, and so was his daughter and the child that was just another mistake, and he had no strength to get rid of him, or them. “He cannot be the King.” 

“Are you sure? You will not be here anyway; I do not need your blessing for this marriage.” 

“Your mother will never let you marry him, nor will Donghyuck or anybody else. Aren’t you ashamed?” 

“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Of never being a father to me? Jaehyun might not have royal blood in his veins but trust me, he is a better father than you’ve ever been. Eunbi has the love I’ve never, ever, received in my entire life. Not from you, at least. He is a man of honour and values, he knows the court rules, and he has always been by my side, never putting me or my intellect and my will down. He will be the best King that could ever stand beside me, and you will be in your grave with a heavy heart, full of bitterness and regret and anger, furious about my choices once again. But I’ll prove your ghost wrong. I’ll prove to you I can, and I will be better than you. This is my vow to you.” 

“You – you won’t.” 

“I will. This is a promise, an oath. And weren’t you the one telling me to always be true to what you promise?” 

When his father tried to retort once again and his voice struggled to come out, she grabbed Jaehyun’s hand and said, “let’s go,” before spinning on her heels.  

“Scarlett!” Her father shouted but she was already out of the door, feeling her heart beating faster than usual. 

“Mama,” Eunbi called, a worried expression on her little face. 

“Hey, baby,” she replied, lifting her head to stare at her. “I’m fine, Mama’s fine.” 

“You don’t seem to be,” Donghyuck said, standing next to them. 

“I want to see my mother,” she changed the topic after grabbing Eunbi from Jaehyun’s arms. “I want her to know she’s not alone anymore.” 

“Sure. I think she will be happy to see you again.” 

“What happened there?” Jaehyun whispered close to Scarlett’s ear when they started walking toward the morning room where her mother was staying. 

“The usual for him, the only thing he can do when it comes to me, my life and my choices.” 

“Pretty,” Eunbi exclaimed, staring at the paintings on the walls, index finger pointing at them. 

“Yeah, do you like it here?” 

She hummed as her head kept moving around to don’t lose a single frame on the wall. 

“Well, at least she’s happy,” Scarlett noted, intertwining her fingers with Jaehyun to search for some kind of comfort. She didn’t want to regret this, but facing her father was harder than she imagined. 

“It’s going to be alright,” he said, holding her hand tighter, leaving a small peck on her forehead and she smiled, squeezing his hand back. 

“Here we are,” after a few moments they arrived in front of the big room, “let me go in first,” Donghyuck said, opening the door. “Your Majesty,” he greeted, bowing politely. “There’s a special guest, well, three special guests that would like to see you.” 

“Oh, dear, could you please send them away? I do not wish to see anybody right now.” 

Donghyuck sighed, briefly looking back at Scarlett that was tightly holding the baby in her arms, silently imploring him to convince her to let them in. 

“Your Majesty, I’m sure you would be delighted to meet them. They are very dear to you.” 

The Queen chuckled bitterly, probably mixed with a choked sob, “I lost what I had dearer to me three years ago all because of that vile man and… I’m sure nobody can fill that hole left in my chest.” 

Hearing her words, Scarlett pushed Donghyuck to the side and entered the room, the Queens’ guards immediately cornered her. 

“Mother,” she said, looking at her through the swords in front of her. 

“Oh my,” the woman mumbled, covering her open mouth with her hand and standing up, legs shaking, incredulously looking at her, just like everyone else in the room did. 

“Her Highness, lady Scarlett,” the handmaids mumbled in whispers, looking at each other curiously to make sure none of them was imagining things. 

“You died,” the Queen cried, walking toward her, waving the guards away. “You… you.” 

“I’m here, mother. I’m safe and sound, always have been.” 

Her mother broke down crying, knees giving up, falling to the floor. Scarlett kneeled too, letting Eunbi stand on the floor, staring at the scene with curios, confused eyes. “The pain I felt all these years knowing you were gone without saying a word. Disappeared, killed by the waters as your father kept telling me half—truths and hiding what truly happened from me. The hollow I felt in my chest every time I passed by your chamber and you simply weren’t there, or when I had to host balls without you by my side. It’s a pain I wish for you to never feel, my dear,” she mumbled in the hug, a moment so intimate, so rare to see in the royal court. And Donghyuck swiftly ordered everybody to leave the room to talk to them and warn them to keep it a secret until things weren’t official. 

“I’m here, mother. And I am so sorry for all the pain I put you through, but I had to. They left me no other choice.” She helped her stand up, fixing the dress and then looking down when she saw a little hand touch the pearls on the gown. 

“Eunbi, don’t. It’s rude,” Scarlett scolded her that looked up in surprise. 

“But it’s pretty,” she whispered, unwillingly removing her hand from the fabric. 

“Oh, she’s your daughter? So, it was true? That’s why he urged to move the marriage?” 

Scarlett nodded and then stretched her hand back to signal Jaehyun to move closer. He didn’t have to stand behind them anymore, that was in the past. 

“Eunbi,” she called once again when she tried to climb on the sofa to see the tea pottery. 

“Oh, please, let her,” the Queen said in a light tone. “She’s just like you.” 

“Yeah, I guess we can agree on that. She’s very nice, just curious. I think it’s because of all the stimulation she gets from her uncles. They carry her everywhere, she’s wild.” 

“Uncles?” The older woman asked, turning back around, only now focusing on Jaehyun. “You... you are back? You already picked a bodyguard again?” 

Jaehyun coughed and Scarlett chuckled. “If I told you I need your blessing for a wedding?” 

“Sure, but with who? We should do all that again and,” she stopped, her stare finally falling where Jaehyun and Scarlett’s hands intertwined, and then she looked back at Eunbi that was sitting on the sofa, turning a golden spoon in her little hands. “You two? You had to run away because she is your daughter? I thought your father was simply mad because you consumed before the wedding with Prince Lee but you, oh…” 

“Mother, I know, but you can’t control love, can you? Your father too was against you and the King, but in the end, you married him anyway. We love each other, a bond so strong I know I’ll never feel it with anybody else. And Jaehyun’s so valuable, you know him. He was only twenty when you and the King decided to take him to court because you trusted his abilities and his morals, and you put my life in his hands. You saw him walking these halls and act no worse than any other nobleman with a title. You loved him back then, and so did every other lady from the ton. People thought he was a Prince from a faraway land for the way he carried himself, and for his composure, his way with words, and his intellect. He is the best man that could ever stay by my side in this.” 

Her mother smiled, holding back a smirk. “You sacrificed everything for your family, and you think I still need to hear all of this to give you my blessings? You think that as a mother I didn’t see the way you two looked at each other, dear? I couldn’t swear there was something going on, but the level of trust and friendship you had was far beyond a working relationship. Though, I must say, I believed you two would be able to put the flame down, especially you, Jaehyun.” 

“It was my fault,” she chimed in. ���He always tried to respect the limits between us, but I couldn’t and eventually he gave in. But you’re not mad, right?” 

She chuckled, “Mad? And for what? Because you found love? Because you bloomed into an amazing, brilliant woman who fights for what she wants? I truly loved your father, dear, but I would’ve never done what you did for him and her. How could I come between a love so strong if not even the Gods above did?” 

They both smiled, looking at each other, and then looking at Eunbi... or where she was before. “Where is she now?” Scarlett almost screamed, panicking when she saw she wasn’t on the sofa anymore. 

“Book!” Eunbi screamed on the other side of the room where the small library was. 

“Yes, baby, a book, so many books but you can’t read them yet,” she reminded her, walking toward her with hurried steps. Walking was a blessing and a curse at the same time with her. Scarlett had hoped that she was going to stop being so active, but nothing changed over the years.  

“Johnny teaches me,” Eunbi complained, standing on her tippy toes, trying to grab one. 

“Yeah, but those are books for you.” 

“Does she know how to read?” The Queen asked Jaehyun as they stared at the scene in front of them. 

“A little bit, not full phrases but she occasionally can guess some easy words.” 

“Well, that’s impressive for her age.” 

“It is, but she mostly enjoys hearing those stories. Taeyong and Johnny love reading them to her.” 

“I feel like I’m missing something,” the Queen chuckled, feeling her head getting dizzier and dizzier with everything they said to her. 

“Oh, yeah, at the start we used to live with some friends of mine. They are her uncles.” 

The Queen was about to ask for more, wanting to catch up on how they lived during those years away, but Scarlett preceded her. 

“About them,” Scarlett chimed in after finally finding an old book with drawings to keep Eunbi occupied. “I would need another favour, Mother.” 

“Everything for you, dear,” she reassured her, holding her hand. “We should also celebrate to have you back.” 

The King’s chamber was quiet, with the guards standing straight at every corner. Not that they were needed anymore. Death didn’t knock on the King’s door through criminal hands, She gently walked in and decided to take him with Her. 

Slowly and painful. For him, at least. 

Because right now that Scarlett was standing at the feet of his bed, looking up and down at him, just like he had always looked at her, she felt an unexpected, thrilling pleasure rush through her bones. Somehow that felt to be exactly his place. 

That was the end he deserved, in her dreams with only fewer people mourning for him. 

She looked around and saw the ladies and noblemen shedding tears, and she chuckled lightly before turning back and siding next to Jaehyun. 

“You don’t seem sad,” he whispered, looking at her, the black veil shielding her face from being seen, the only sign of mourn she carried around along with her black dress and black gloves. 

“He didn’t mourn for me when I died,” she replied, crossing her arms while her eyes scanned the room, landing on her mother’s hand tightened around the King’s one, his hold weak; it was just a matter of seconds. And she wondered if her mother still loved him. She wondered how her mother could still love him, or feel any ounce of compassion and empathy for a being like him. She wouldn’t have held Jaehyun’s hand on his death bed if he only dared to treat Eunbi how her father treated her. If he did, she probably would’ve been the very reason why Jaehyun would’ve been on that bed. And yet, her mother was there, at his side until his last breath. Nevertheless, she had no idea if it was to keep up to the oaths on their wedding day and what the ton expected from her, or if it was her heart begging her to once again kneel beside a man that wasn’t worth it. 

“We can leave if you want to,” Jaehyun whispered, hoping for a yes because he didn’t want to stay there longer, but Scarlett shook her head. 

“I want to stay,” she answered, shrugging. “I don’t want to lose his last show. I’d very much love to be the last thing he sees before passing away only to make sure I will haunt his eternal suffering.” 

Jaehyun nodded, crossing his hands behind his back, studying the other people in the room. He too wondered how real their tears were, and how many of them had waited for this day to come, praying hard at night to the Saints and Gods. He wasn’t one of them, no matter how much he hated him, but now that death was seeping into the room, biding time before snatching the King’s soul away, he couldn’t help but feel relieved. 

And it seemed like death truly wanted to take Her sweet time, making him contort and cry in pain, playing with the clock that kept turning. Hours passed by before She finally snapped, grabbed Her axe and cut the string of his life, making him exhale one last breath, probably of relief, considering the pain of his last hours. 

And the smirk that curled Scarlett’s lips felt peculiarly cruel and bloody. Yet, she didn’t leave. She stayed there, watching people come and go, waiting for the maids to carry her mother’s body away from the dead one of her husband. 

And only once she was left alone, her feet dragged her close to the bed again, but this time at his side. 

A tender smile formed on her lips as her eyes scanned the relaxed, yet still pained expression on his face. “How much have I loved you, trying so hard to make you love me back,” she chuckled bitterly. “Only to think we could’ve had it all, if only you didn’t hate me so much for a stupid belief that women can’t be enough to reign,” she huffed, and then pushed the black veil out of her face, a grin on her lips, “It’s a shame you won’t see me in a crown.” 

“I can’t believe I’m at the royal palace, have you ever thought you would find yourself here?” Johnny exclaimed, trying to fit into the suit they were given to wear. 

“If the King wanted my head on a silver plate, maybe,” Yuta replied, hating the way the clothes hugged his body. “You wore those every day, man?” 

Jaehyun sighed, rolling his eyes, and then adjusting the buttons. “You can survive for just one night, maybe you’ll even find a Lady of your liking. If somebody can stand you.” 

“Yeah, and what kind of money do I offer her?” 

“The money you’ll be making to be the jewellery that creates the crown jewels,” Scarlett answered, entering the door. 

“Hey! What if we were naked?” Doyoung complained, covering his already covered body with his hands. 

“The first time you saw me, I was leg spread on the couch being split in two. I think we can say we left the concept of privacy far behind, also considering every single one of you have seen my boobs probably more than Jaehyun did.” 

“Fine,” he replied as the other chuckled under their breaths.

“Can we still court them if we’re not nobles? Wouldn’t they be looking out for somebody with a background family of some importance?” Yuta asked, going back to their conversation. 

“You don’t need a high society woman, Yuta. You wouldn’t last a second with someone raised like they are.” 

“I get along with you, you’re next to be Queen. How can I not get along with a Duchess?” 

“I am the last person you should compare to them,” she replied. “Also, get ready swiftly and put these badges on your coats.” 

“I thought you weren’t giving us honorary titles?” 

“It’s all up to you. My mom says she would be very glad to, but I suggested we could wait. Let all of you open your shops, do something for the society and then give you, and some other shoppers, a title. Or something like that.” 

“Is a title necessary? Doesn’t it come with a lot of responsibilities? I don’t think I want them,” Mark replied, looking at himself in the mirror, loving the way the expensive fabric felt on his skin. “We’re here, we won’t have to fight for fine materials anymore. And we’re best friends with the Queen and the King.” 

“Calm now,” Scarlett told him. “We’re not Queen and King yet. But yes, if you don’t want titles then we’re fine like this.” 

“Can we come to visit you even without that?” Taeyong asked. 

“You will see Eunbi, yes,” she replied, smiling at him. “Actually, I was thinking, we could find somebody else to help Jaemin with the bakery and you could be her main caretaker. I would feel much safer knowing she’s with you than anybody else. And also, you’re the only one that knows how to keep her calm.” 

“Are you serious? You want me to be there with her?” He stood up from his seat, eyes sparkling while he stared at her in surprise.

“Yeah, are you okay with —” 

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes, I want to,” he exclaimed, rushing to hold her in a tight hug.  

“This is so unfair, he will become her favourite soon,” Johnny whined. 

“Oh, please, she loves you. Also, when it’s the time you’ll have one yourself with Juilet?” 

“No, thanks. Watching other kids is fun, having one of your own is not. Juliet and I are perfectly fine like this.” 

She smiled and then said, “We should also plan for your wedding.” 

“You? I thought you became a Queen, not an event assistant.” 

“Shut up, I won’t plan it. But I’ll give you the palace for free and I could pick things with her.  Maybe even design her dress. I want to design mine, would it be a bad idea, Jaehyun?” 

“I think you should relax, is the wedding such an urge?” 

“Well, no, but also, yes.” 

“Are you once again thinking about what the ton will think? They know, we have a three years old baby running around the palace, she will be at our side during events. A wedding now won’t make us go back to being saints. And you also know damn well nobody crossing these halls is holy, married or not.” 

“I have a feeling he knew all the spicy things that happened back then,” Mark joked but agreed with him.

“Everybody knows them, they just make less rumours than us.” 

“Are you fine, dear?” The Queen asked, staring at her daughter’s face as the maid finished fixing Scarlett’s hair in a beautiful hairstyle. 

“Yeah, it’s just weird having so many people doing things for me again,” she confessed and one of the youngest handmaidens smiled at her through the mirror. 

“Your Highness, I know it shall not be my place, but I admire you so much,” she confessed, making her turn around in stupor. 

“Oh, and what for?” 

“The way you fought for love and then came back to save your reign and the people from falling into stranger’s hands. I’ve always known I could count on you when the throne was to be passed. I was truly saddened by the announcement of your passing, the whole town mourned you for days, we felt hopeless. But now, knowing that for years you had been one of us doesn’t make us feel so lonely anymore.” 

She smiled softly at her, “It is my duty, and I hope I will not let you down.” 

“I am sure you will not, Your Highness.” 

She beamed, and whispered, “You may call me Scarlett if you want to,” making them giggle and then walk back when the Queen glared at the three. 

“Your Highness, your daughter is giving us trouble falling asleep,” another maid entered the room, exhausted look on her face, or well, something more than exhausted.  

“Oh, I will come and see her.” 

“The jewels,” her mother called, pointing at the set of pearls that she still had to wear. 

“I’ll wear it later,” she replied, walking out of the room, not paying mind to her mother’s annoyed expression.  

“I’m sorry, but she keeps calling you and her father and she says she does not like us,” she explained, and Scarlett sighed before humming lowly. 

“She doesn’t mean it like that. We are used to spending some time together before bedtime, and she’s simply not used to you. I also think this place is so big it can get overwhelming for her.” 

The maid nodded and then opened the door of the nursery. “Eunbi, baby,” Scarlett cooed, walking to her as soon as she saw the state she was in, screaming and crying, sitting on a chair as other women were around her trying to calm her down. “Mama’s here,” she tranquillized her, lulling her in her arms. 

“Where were you?” She asked, trying to talk through the sniffles and sobs. 

“I was getting ready, little bird.” 

“I want to be with you and Papa,” she cried, clinging her small fist around her dress, afraid she was going to leave her again with people she didn’t like. They were all strangers and, as nice as they were, they weren’t her parents or her uncles and aunt.

Scarlett sighed, before looking at the maids that were shaking their heads, already imagining what she was proposing. 

“Why not?” 

“With all respect, my lady, but she’s a little too energetic. It’s the first ball of the season, the royal ball, and we are not allowed in the hall.” 

“That’s right,” she agreed, waving her hand, “you are dismissed, a night of rest, you must have your own things to do. Some cakes won’t be served tonight, you can go in the kitchen and eat them and have a party together or whatever.” 

“Your Highness, you shall take care of the guests tonight, you cannot think about the baby.” 

“I traveled two countries while I carried my baby. I gave birth in a home with just one doctor and my two dearest friends. I took care of a house and worked in a tailor shop while thinking of my baby, so I’m more than sure I can take care of her and some guests while hosting my ball.” 

“We didn’t mean to,” one of them started apologizing but she stopped them right away.  

“No need to apologize. But I don’t want you to think that she’s a weight for you. I put her in this world, and I will take care of her with her father. You are here to help if it’s needed, and I can assure you, right now, it’s not. Take care of yourself for tonight,” she said with a smile on her face, grabbing a bag with everything necessary to fix her for the night. “And I’m sure she’ll grow to love you, right, baby?” 

Eunbi nodded against her mom’s shoulder and then they walked out of the door, leaving the other women speechless. 

“If you wanted a fancy dress, you could’ve told me this afternoon,” Scarlett joked, walking toward her room again. 

Eunbi chuckled, “I wanted a lullaby, they don’t know how to sing.” Her nose turned up at the memory of one of them trying to sing to convince her to sleep, but nothing could come close to the sound of her father’s voice and her mother harmonizing together.  

Scarlett laughed, “Oh, you won’t get a lullaby but I’m sure grandma called the best orchestra in town to play for tonight. Would you like it anyway?” 

Eunbi nodded happily, clapping her hands while smiling brightly at the idea. She had no idea of what exactly was going on around her. She didn’t know why they didn’t live in their small house anymore and she had no idea for how long they were going to stay there, but she liked it. It was new, it was exciting, and it was full of sparkling things. 

“What is she doing here?” The Queen asked, eyes wide open after she blinked repeatedly to make sure she was seeing right. 

“Guess why? I think this will be her first public appearance.” 

“But Your Highness, she doesn’t have a proper dress, she doesn’t know how to behave,” a maid replied and then Queen nodded. 

“I have designed a dress that can fit for tonight, I’m glad I bought it with me when I packed. And I know that she’s joyful, but she is polite, she’s just three, let her be. I can take care of her.” 

“You are back in society after everything that happened, you know things can’t go wrong,” The Queen reminded her, walking toward her that was already changing Eunbi into the new dress. 

“It won’t go wrong, mother, please, trust me.” 

The Queen sighed and then stared at Eunbi that was actually letting her mother dress her up, closing the back of her baby blue dress, fitting perfectly the theme of the night. 

“You made it?” 

“What?” 

“The dress.” 

“Yeah, I worked in a tailoring, discovered I’m pretty good at it.” 

“Your Highness made it?” A maid asked curiously, and she nodded. “You sure are a rare gem, so gifted in every aspect.” 

“Oh, I am flattered, thank you.” 

“May we help you with her?” Another one asked, smiling politely at her. 

“Could you do her hair?” 

“Sure, we could give her the same style we gave you,” they replied. “You’ll look amazing.” 

“Yes, like Mama!” Eunbi chanted, looking at the two maids with a wide smile, making their hearts melt. 

“Should we walk to the vanity table, Princess?” They proposed to her, reaching out a hand which she grabbed immediately, walking to the table with small jumps, trying to climb on the chair alone, and succeeding soon. 

“Oh, you’re so strong, honey,” a maid praised, and she gifted her a smile full of pride. 

“Thank you, I work out,” she replied, leaning closer to the table amazed by the shiny object. 

“Do you?” A maid asked as they started to work on her hair, and she nodded.

“With uncle Johnny,” she explained cheerfully. “He’s stronger than me.” 

“And what do you do with him? Push—ups?” 

Scarlett chuckled, at ease that Eunbi seemed to be comfortable enough with them compared to the other maids.

“She’s a lot,” her mother said with a smirk on her face. “Be careful of uncomfortable questions she might ask tonight.” 

“I’m sure she will be more mesmerized by the lights and flowers and all the shiny things. She mostly loves to talk about the things that she knows, and she also has a vivid imagination, she might entertain people with her weird made—up stories.” 

The Queen chuckled, “She also has a heart of gold, you two did an amazing job raising her.” 

“I thought you were going to criticize me,” she giggled. 

“How can I? I wasn’t half as present for you as you are for her. I’m proud of you, Scarlett.” 

“What is she doing here?” Jaehyun asked, he was waiting behind the wooden door that led to the stairs of the main hall, fitted in his new suit, not the one of the bodyguard, but one made just for him.  

“Papa,” Eunbi screamed, running to Jaehyun, hugging his leg. 

“She was supposed to stay inside,” he said to Scarlett that just shrugged and reached his side. 

“She’s here,” she replied, running her hand over her corset, not used to wearing these types of clothes anymore. 

“Yeah, I can see.” 

“Papa,” she called, looking up at him, “two beautiful ladies made my hair.”  

“Styled, honey, they styled your hair,” he corrected. “And I see they did an amazing job, you look beautiful.”  

“Thank you, Dada. You look beautiful too.” He smiled at her, watching as she kept touching the pearls that decorated her hair, and then turned to Scarlett. 

“Is this a good idea?” 

“She was screaming like crazy, she doesn’t get along with her ladies.” 

“Oh, nice. Well, does she knows about Yong, yet?”

“Not, yet. I think we should tell her after she starts to get along with at least one of them,” she joked. “What if he can’t be here for other reasons? We won’t be able to always have free time to look after her,” she explained, making him hum in agreement, and then she kneeled to talk to her directly. 

“This is a very important night, honey. I know you’re not used to all of this, and I know this isn’t the life you expected to have but this is our reality now. We’ll meet so many people, welcoming us into the society again and,” she stopped, trying to form the words and Jaehyun kneeled next to her. 

“Just know that you have to smile at them, don’t make any bad remarks, and well, no jumping or running around.” 

“Okay, I’ll be good, like a princess, right? The one we see in the movie.” 

“Yeah, just like them.” 

“Scarlett, Jaehyun,” the Queen called them. “They are all here. I shall go first, and then I’ll invite you in. Are you ready?” 

They looked at each other and then nodded. 

When the trumpets played and the doors opened, Scarlett felt her heart drop for a second but Jaehyun’s hands intertwining with her made her relax for a moment. 

“It’ll be alright, love,” he whispered, straightening his back and looking forward. And she couldn’t help but smile back while also holding Eunbi’s little hand in hers. 

“Dear guests,” her mother chanted, “We’re very pleased to have you all here. This is surely not the first ball of the season we were expecting to host with the sudden, unexpected and saddening passing of the King. I am deeply sorrowful by the occurrence, but we must move on. We must celebrate life, new beginnings, and new comebacks. In the darkness of these past days, a newfound light shined on us and will shine on all of you. Brighter than ever before. I am delighted to let you know that this reign won’t fall into foreign hands. I am pleased to announce the return of the very honourable heir that this reign ever had. The future Queen and King of Havenglow.” 

The trumpets played again as the Queen stepped aside and people murmured, curios and thrilled just as surprised as they were. 

Scarlett tightened the hold around both of their hands and then they all stepped inside. 

The room went quiet immediately and for a moment she felt like passing out, regretting having accepted what Donghyuck proposed, not even finding him in the crowd, and feeling that having the people she loved the most at her side wasn’t enough. But then her father crossed her mind, that was what he wanted, to see her fall apart. So she smiled and straightened her back; that was what she was made for. 

“Good evening, everybody,” she greeted with a welcoming smile on her face. “I could repeat what the Queen said about the sad news about the parting of the King, but I do believe this night is not made to mourn the death but just as she said to celebrate life. I am very aware of the surprise on your faces and more so in your hearts. I disappeared and was declared dead, so surely seeing me here now, was the last thing any of you expected. Even more with a man and a child by my side. I am, in fact, also aware of all the rules I did not respect, of the sins, as most of you might want to call, I have committed. But I am also aware that none of us in this room is certainly a saint,” she chuckled, looking around, purposefully laying her gaze on the people she remembered sinned the most. “I do believe, however, that expecting perfection from human beings is quite an absurdity and I think we shall focus on the present good things that life has to offer, as wrong as they may seem. I do hope you won’t judge me for the love I gave and fought for, but I do hope you will trust me, knowing I will fight for my country just as much as I fought to be free of loving who I truly wanted and the child of what bonds us together. This new season will also bring new couples together and I hope you won’t let a rank come between you and the person you love. I know that darkness fell on this country a long time ago, even before my sudden department, even before the King’s illness. I am sure that I do have all the ability to take the throne and reign with the right strength and will to make the sun shine again and bring prosperity to our land. I hope you will not look back at my past with shame or judgment, but I hope you will carry me through the future that I have planned for all of us.” 

The room broke out into a wave of claps and cheers, and she finally breathed again before looking back at her mother that seemed rather surprised at the outcome of her first public speech. 

“May the ball begin,” she declared, waving a hand to the orchestra before turning around to reach the Queen and make their way down the stairs. 

“You are insane,” her mother whispered next to her, making her giggle lowly. 

“For being honest? Isn’t that what a Queen should do? If I hid something from them it would’ve made it worst.” 

“I guess the rhetoric classes came to be useful,” Jaehyun joked. “You were amazing.” 

“Thank you,” she whispered, still holding his hand tight. 

As soon as they reached the floor they were crowded with people politely bowing to them and asking for a talk. 

“Your Highness,” they bowed as she smiled back at them, nudging Jaehyun that was about to bow too, and holding back a laugh at how he surely wasn’t used to the reversed roles. 

“Lady Miyamoto, am I right?” 

“Yes, Your Highness, it’s an honour you still remember and it fills me with joy to know you are safe and back to lead our country.” 

“I’m glad to hear it, hope you can support me in this journey.” 

“Is she your child?” The lady then asked, looking at Eunbi that was busy glancing around. 

“She is,” Scarlett smiled at her. “She was actually supposed to be sleeping by now but what can I say, balls are tempting even at such a young age.” 

Lady Miyamoto smiled fondly at the kid that looked up at her and waved. “Hello,” Eunbi greeted, waving her hand. “Your dress is beautiful; lilac is my favourite colour.” 

“Oh,” the woman almost gasped, surprised at how chatty she was. “I will surely wear it more often when I’ll be invited at the royal’s events, then.” 

Eunbi nodded, and then the attention was back at the room. 

“I shall take her with me,” the Queen proposed, reaching out her hand to the kid that grabbed it swiftly, excited to see more. “Go chat with the guests, honey.” 

“I shall let you talk with others, Your Highness, it was an honour meeting you.” 

“It was nice to talk to you, Lady Miyamoto,” she greeted before moving around the room to meet other guests. 

“Your highness,” Lady Fernsby smiled at them. “I always said you were to make an amazing King, definitely your face and your composure much more elevated to be only a bodyguard.” 

Jaehyun smiled, bowing his head before Scarlett coughed. “Oh, yes, I think I’m going to drag this with me for a long time,” he joked, making everybody chuckle. 

“You have always been such a nice man; I remember when you pulled me out of the lake in the country house and didn’t say a word to save my reputation.” 

“The less I could do for an amazing lady like you,” he replied, lips pulled in a polite smile. 

“You two are indeed the brightest diamonds that ever crossed these halls. I feel blessed to know you will be the one leading the country, I am sure you will do exemplary.” 

“Thank you so much, Lady Fernsby, you always had nice words for me.” 

“It is what you deserve. May life only bring happiness to the three of you. I glimpsed at the little lady, she seems joyful.” 

“She sure is. Not much different from her mother, I still remember all the chaos I caused when I was young before Irina came and finally taught me how to be a proper lady.” 

“It was funny, you cheered all of us quite often.” 

“Glad to hear it, hope she will bring just as much happiness as I did.” 

After what felt ages, they had greeted everybody and Jaehyun sighed, walking to an empty corner. “God, I had forgotten how exhausting this was.” 

“Oh, come on, it won’t be like this at other events. It was our first public appearance, we made an amazing impression,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “You’re not regretting this, right?” 

He shook his head, “No, I just was overwhelmed, well, positively, considering they all seemed accepting. I hope they mean their nice words for real and this is not just fake niceties.” 

“I’m sure it’s not, they all saw me grow up, they know I am better than my father. It was just shocking at first, we are quite an unusual thing. I can’t wait to read what the journal will write about this.” 

Jaehyun laughed, “You still love gossip, don’t you?” 

“Yeah, especially about this first night. They decided the best dresses and the worst, and you have no idea about the ladies breaking down crying for their low ranks.” 

“And you were always at the top.” 

“As it should be.” 

“Maybe it was because they didn’t want to get in trouble,” he joked. 

“Or because I look good even in a bedsheet,” she winked with a teasing smirk on her face.  

“True.” 

“Isn’t it weird?” 

“What? That you look good in everything?” 

“No, silly. How the last time we’ve been here it was the end of our story. How I danced with Donghyuck as the realization hit us both. How we thought we were over.” 

“Indeed, it is. I never imagined I was going to hold your hand in public and be called Your Highness, but life’s unexpected.” 

She smiled and moved a little closer to him. “Are you sure you truly want this? Are you sure I’m not asking you too much? That I’m not forcing you into a role you don’t want?” 

“Scarlett, I would follow you everywhere. If I could’ve, I would’ve married you three years ago. I never wanted anything else but to be by your side. I’m simply not used to this life, not from this point of view. I just need time to adjust to this new role but I’ve been adjusting to so many things, I can promise you this won’t take much time.” 

“I don’t want to rush you, I just want you to give yourself value. I know it must come natural to bow at them but you are next to be King, brag about that,” she winked at him, swinging her hips against his before walking toward the centre again, mostly looking for Eunbi. 

“You know what’s also different, now?” He asked, reaching her, and she hummed, waiting for his answer. “That we can’t sneak out of this room anymore.” 

She laughed, lowering her head to don’t show it, and then coughed to gain back her composure. “Shut up and don’t tempt me, I am still very much unhinged.” 

“Maybe the next ball where we’ll have less attention on us,” he proposed with a playful smirk. 

“Oh, dears, you are here. How was it?” The Queen asked, turning around with Eunbi in her arms. 

“Fine, they were all so nice,” she replied with a smile on her face. “Aren’t you getting a little too spoiled, little one?” She asked, bopping the kid’s nose that chuckled at her. 

“I saw my uncles, Yuta was talking with a pretty lady,” she whispered, scrunching her nose. 

“Oh,” Scarlett gasped, pretending to be surprised, “Was he? Are you getting another aunt before the end of the season?” 

“She’s smart, she told me she speaks five languages,” she added. 

“It’s lady Heroux’s second daughter, she definitely is a smart lady.” 

“Oh, I remember her, we used to play together when we went to the countryside. When are we hosting a ball there?” 

“Midseason, don’t you remember?” 

“Oh, not really. Shouldn’t you put her down?” 

“I want Johnny,” Eunbi said as the Queen put her down again. 

“I don’t know where he is, oh, here you are,” she said when Johnny placed a hand around her shoulder. 

“Am I allowed to do this or should I be escorted away from you?” He joked. 

“If you did it when I was her bodyguard, I would’ve already stabbed you,” Jaehyun replied with a low chuckle. 

“Thank God, you’re not anymore.” 

“Don’t show that you’re so close, though,” the Queen warned him, almost rolling her eyes, feeling they were going to make her go insane one of these days. She had got the chance to know them during the first dinner when they arrived there and they were very nice men but surely not used to the court rules at all. And had no limits between each other, she was speechless to find out how her daughter had given birth. 

“Not to go against the Queen’s words but won’t this be useful to bring clients to our jewellery store? How are we going to create the best jewels for the crown if we don’t have money?” 

“We will give enough money to you, darling, no need to worry.” 

“Oh, let it slide, mother. He is engaged, I am too, a little hand on the shoulder is definitely not the scandal of the night when we exist.” 

“Whatever, I am going to entertain the guests, leave you with the little devil.” 

“Come here to Johnny, little devil,” Johnny chanted, kneeling to grab Eunbi. 

“We carry her up more now than when she was a little kid.” 

“Now she’s a woman,” Jaehyun joked. 

“Oh, please, you know what I meant.” 

“I couldn’t find you,” Juliet said, finally reaching them. “Of course, holding her.” 

“Are you jealous?” Johnny smirked. 

“No, but I do wonder sometimes if you love her more than you love me,” she chuckled. 

“You have to forgive him, like he and Taeyong love to say, they birthed her with me.” 

Juliet laughed and then said, “I’ll let this slide just because I too love her so much, right baby?” She cooed, sending her a flying kiss that she caught giggling. “By the way, you were amazing during the speech. I don’t know how you didn’t panic, and you were so convincing, you surely will be an amazing Queen.” 

“Thank you, Jules, it was nerve—wracking, but the silent judgment was even worst, so…” 

“Can I talk to you after I fed you and your kid for three years or are you unreachable already?” Renjun’s high voice reached them making her turn around. 

“Where have you been? I couldn’t find you,” she exclaimed, hugging him.

“I was busy spreading the word of my business, fueling the rumours about you working with me in the past, hope it works since I gave up my first shop in my hometown to come here with you.” 

“As if you can live without your two best friends. Jaemin and Jeno packed their bags faster than the wind when the offer was given, you wouldn’t have stayed there without them.” 

“Caught, but I still hope this will be successful. Also, I’ll miss having you around,” Renjun confessed with a sad smile curling his lips.  

“You’ll surely find somebody else, maybe Juliet. You looked interested in the matter, right?” 

“Oh, I did, but I never worked in a similar place,” she confessed. 

“Neither did I when I first arrived. You should try. Well, unless you don’t have other interests, I don’t want to force you to work with him.” 

“No, you’re not forcing me. I wouldn’t want to be a burden for him.” 

“Maybe for now you might help with the front desk and then we’ll see,” Renjun proposed. “And you will send me design ideas sometimes.” 

“I’ll be busy with my duties, Junie, I can’t,” Scarlett replied. 

“Talking about duties,” The Queen intervened, now standing behind the small group. “Your first dance of the night and the season. A waltz.” 

“Sure, I almost forgot,” she whispered. 

Jaehyun walked past her and then leaned out his hand, “May I have this dance?” 

She smiled, grabbing his hand, and then answered, “I’d be delighted, my King.” 

Walking to the middle of the room while people made way for them and they had no need to hide in the corridors room, felt new and never imagined before. They didn’t have to hide anymore. They could dance for real and not only do that in the gardens with the faint music playing from the windows. They could hold hands, talk with each other freely, and more. 

She felt her heart jump in her chest when his hand placed on the small of her back as the other stayed tied with hers in the air. “This feels surreal,” she whispered, sparkling eyes looking up at him. Chest warming up at seeing how relaxed he was, it wasn’t like back then when he was terrified of being found with her and his hands would shake and his steps skip. 

Jaehyun smiled fondly and then said, “But luckily for us it’s real. Can’t believe the practice we used to have together in your room after the dance classes turned out useful.” 

She chuckled, “Or the dancing in the small kitchen back at Seashore.” 

“I’m kind of sad we had to leave that house, we spent weeks putting it back together.” 

“My mother said we can redo some rooms here if we want to, we could do it ourselves.” 

“Maybe this time around Eunbi can help with something instead of just crawling around and making us panic over the smallest things.” 

“Yes, sure, she’s going to run around this time making us panic,” she replied with a giggle, briefly looking back and seeing that she was dancing in Johnny’s arms as they playfully imitated the waltz movements. “We should redo the guests’ rooms for the boys, customize them based on their likings. And maybe also the hall, it’s kind of old, isn’t it?” 

“If we look at how old the place is, we should redo everything, love,” he replied, eyes drifting from her face to look at the room for a second. It had been years, and nothing had changed, probably it only worsened. “But yes, we can surely add a breath of fresh air starting with some rooms.” 

“I don’t want our room to be my parent’s one,” she confessed, leaving in her brain the fact that, if she could’ve, she would’ve burned it. “Can we use my old room and decorate it together? Maybe we could make it bigger and tear down the wall that divided our rooms.” 

Jaehyun smiled, oh how much he had dreamed to do that back then. He couldn’t even describe the hate he felt toward that mass of bricks that separated them. “Like a symbol of victory?” 

“Yeah, also. You have no idea how much I hated that wall between us back then. You were just on the other side and yet you could never be close to me. But now it’s not like that anymore.” 

He beamed at her and then said, “We’ll definitely do it.” 

“And I also want Eunbi to be closer to us until she’s little, then we can change her to whatever room she likes but for now I want to have her close.” She wasn’t paranoic but she couldn’t understand how her mother slept knowing that the nursery was so far away from their chamber. Oh well, thinking about it, it was because she had been raised by maids. If she cried there was a maid wiping her tears and feeding her milk, if she had nightmares there was a maid singing her a lullaby or reading her a story. And as much as she knew her mother loved her, she wondered why she didn’t love her just as much as she loved Eunbi. 

Scarlett wouldn’t ever be able to sleep at night, knowing that her kid was probably crying and calling her name and some other woman was there instead to dry her little face. She was her mother, she had decided to put her in this world, even if she wasn’t expected, Scarlett wanted Eunbi with every cell of her body, so what was the point of wanting her and then not taking care of her? And for a moment the thought that not even her mother really wanted her hit, but Jaehyun dragged her out of her thoughts…

“You’re already thinking about when she’ll be a teenager?” 

She shook her head, trying to focus on the music and their conversation and not let sadness take over, “I’m just saying. Not even a teenager, maybe, when she’s eight?” 

He nodded, nose scrunching up at the idea of her being so big… eight years old, that was just four years away, and considering how fast the past four years passed… “I don’t want to think about it, let me enjoy that small troublemaker.” 

She chuckled, and then went silent, thinking about something that was going on in her brain for a lot of time now. And Jaehyun got it from the way her eyes were looking at him, daydreaming about something she wanted him to know but yet was too afraid to confess. 

“What’s running in that mind?” 

“Nothing, I mean, not something we can have right now.” 

Jaehyun raised a brow, and then knitted them together; didn’t they already have everything they could ask for? “What’s something we can’t have now? A horse? Another house? What’s missing?” 

“No, it’s not about the economical stability, it’s just that it will be a worry and we can’t add it to the list. There’s our wedding to think about first, the coronation, Johnny and Juliet’s wedding, and our new roles.” 

“Are you thinking about what I think you’re thinking?” He asked, a smug smirk on his face curling his lips and making his dimples pop out. 

She sighed as they kept moving with the music. “It’s been more than three years since we had her, and a part of me wants to focus on her but a small, small part wants another one. I want you to be by my side this time around, I want to live a tranquil pregnancy, for what it can be, and I want to make our family grow,” she confessed, staring into his eyes. This wasn’t a talk they had the chance to have for Eunbi, at least not with a sober mind, not in between dirty sheets and lust—hazed brains. Back then it was just a game, a joke. 

Jaehyun smiled, ears turning red as he tried to hide it by lowering his head.

“You were thinking about this too!” She squealed.  

“Shh, don’t scream. But yes,” he admitted, “I didn’t want to pressure you. Also, things just started going well, I thought that adding another family member was dumb and reckless.” 

Scarlett let out a sigh, and tightened the hold on their intertwined hands, “I thought I was going crazy for how badly I wanted another one.” 

Jaehyun shook his head to reassure her. If he had to be honest, he wanted another one far before then just some months ago, not being there for her during the first one had killed him. “Well, after the wedding and everything, we could try.” 

“But what if it’s too soon for her? What if we can’t love her the same? Or even for us, she’s still young and she’s a lot to take.” 

“She’s showered with love, I’m sure she won’t miss any. And if everything goes well at the first try, which I doubt we’ll be that lucky again, she’ll be fourth and a half old.”

Scarlett hummed, “It’s so weird to plan it, though. Is it how people normally do?” 

“You’re not planning it, you’re just making sure everybody’s okay with the possible arrival of a baby. Don’t stress yourself over this. It will be fine,” he reassured her, the hand on her back doing small circles and then the music stopped. 

They pulled apart, small smiles on their faces, and bowed at each other before walking to the side again. 

“You are good dancers,” Eunbi cheered as soon as they came back to her. 

“Do you want to dance with Daddy?” Jaehyun proposed, asking for her hand, smiling when she grabbed it and dragged him to the dance floor. 

“Uh, uh, the journals are going to be filled with gossip tomorrow,” Johnny sang, siding Scarlett that was looking at the scene, while he was busier watching the looks on the others’ faces. 

“I think the ton will be filled with things to talk about for a long time,” she replied, smirking and then turning to him as they laughed way too loudly for the occasion. “I seriously need to go back to being serious. You are a terrible company, Johnny.” 

“You loved my company in the past years, and I was the best person that could’ve been by your side,” he replied. 

“You were,” she agreed, “I mean, you are. Maybe not very fitting for this place, but it will do. People will get used to it.” 

“I can’t believe that this is scandalous,” Johnny confessed. He totally got why it was, but he didn’t get how it was a problem to start with. “Your father never danced like this with you?” He asked, eyes now focused on Jaehyun that was bent, trying to dance and at the same time hold Eunbi’s hands while she moved to the rhythm and laughed loudly at every missed step of her father. 

Scarlett pursed her lips together, pushing down the lump in her throat at his words, “No. He never even said he loved me,” she confessed, a small, bitter chuckle rolling out of her lips. “He had never been proud of me in any way. He never held my hand while I was struggling on my feet to take my first steps, he never rushed to be back here afraid he would miss my first words. And nothing changed when I was big enough to truly understand how much he couldn’t stand me,” she whispered the last words while her head faced the marble floor for a split second before looking again at Jaehyun and Eunbi. “I spent my entire life trying to change him, trying to be the best daughter he could’ve ever wished for. I even thought that maybe he was right at being so stern with me, I had to be good enough to be a Queen and he just wanted me to be my absolute best but now,” she had to stop to take a deep breath, and then went on, “now I know that I wasn’t the problem. I look at Eunbi and I’m so proud already and I do not really care what she’ll become as long as she’ll be happy. And you have no idea how glad I am to know that I ended up with Jaehyun and life didn’t tear us apart because she won’t ever have to fight for his love, she won’t have to get on bleeding knees and beg for him to look at her with kindness instead of disgust. She is loved, deeply, and I hope she can feel it.” 

Johnny’s arms wrapped around her shoulders, not caring that people could see, “I’m sure she knows,” he reassured her. “You and Jaehyun are amazing parents, and I’m sure that even this new thing won’t change that for her.”  

She smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder for a moment before the other two reached them once the orchestra finished playing the song. 

“Honey, are you trying to put us through more scandals?” Jaehyun asked, raising a brow at where they were united. “He looks like he could be your new bodyguard, you don’t want people to say you have a thing for them, right?” 

Johnny rolled his eyes and then moved back, letting Jaehyun take her side, while Scarlett winked at him, “But I do have a thing for bodyguards,” she whispered in his ears. 

“Careful, I’m not one anymore,” he reminded her before Eunbi called for their attention and she simply smirked at him as a reply. 

“Mama, did you see?” She asked, looking up at her while her hand pointed at the dance floor, “Was I good like you?” 

Scarlett smiled tenderly, “Oh, sweetie, you are so much better than your Mama,” she replied with a sweet tone.   

Eunbi smiled brightly, rocking her body around while her hand played together in embarrassment. “I told you I was better than her,” she said to her father and Jaehyun raised his hand in defence. 

“I think that too, but I was trying to be nice with Mama,” he said. 

“You two are always so cruel with me,” Scarlett played along, pretending to be offended, chin up and placing her fists at her sides. 

“You do have a beautiful gown, Mama,” she said, running to hug her, face smashed against her leg. “And, don’t tell it,” she whispered, looking around to make sure nobody was listening, “but you are the prettiest lady in this room,” she smiled smugly, hiding her face in her dress again, making her parents laugh. “The prettiest lady in the whooole world.” 

“Thank you, little bird,” she replied, kneeling at her height. “You are a very beautiful young lady too; I wonder where your parents are, I suppose they look amazing.” 

She giggled, throwing her head back laughing, showing her small teeth. “They are also very kind, and they love me so much. You should try my Mommy’s Sunday cake, and my Daddy’s lullabies.” 

Jaehyun kneeled too, and smiled at them, “maybe we could start with Daddy’s lullabies tonight, don’t you think so?” He proposed, eyeing the big clock in the middle of the ballroom. It wasn’t late for them, but for her, it was definitely past bedtime. 

“Do I have to go to sleep?” She pouted, lower lip out and sweet doe eyes trying to corrupt them. 

“Eyes closed, you’re not fooling Dada, baby,” he said, lifting her and tickling her. 

“But dad!” She squealed between laughs, doing grabby hands to ask her mother to help. 

“Dad’s right,” Scarlett told her when Jaehyun stopped the ‘torture’ and she calmed in his arms. “It’s way too late for you, Princess. You shouldn’t have even been here.” 

“But here is pretty, everything shines,” she complained, still pouting. 

“How are you not tired?” Jaehyun asked as they started walking out of the door while Scarlett informed the Queen they were going to put her to bed and then come back as soon as they could. 

“Because I have this dress that gives me aaalll the energy in the world,” she said, spreading her arms in an exaggerated description.

“Really?” He pretended to be surprised. “So, it gives you superpowers?” 

She nodded, smiling, and he almost melted when he saw his dimple pop out on her cheek and Scarlett’s wrinkles show under her eyes. 

“Then we’ll have to take this beautiful dress off and get into your comfortable pjs with teddy bears, don’t you think so?” 

“But that doesn’t have powers,” she whined, and then looked at her mom that reached them. Ballroom now long gone behind them as they kept walking down the corridors to reach the nursery. “I don’t want to sleep.” 

“But you have to,” Scarlett said. “You’ve been up all day, and you danced all night, and you know that even superheroes must sleep, right? How do you fight if you’re tired?” She told her, having heard the conversation since the palace was silent in the halls. 

“Fine, but will we ever come back there? I really like dancing,” she said, resting her head against Jaehyun’s shoulder, first sign that maybe she had decided to give in to sleep. That had always been her favourite position to fall asleep since she was little, an arm wrapped around his neck, the other hand flat against his chest and head against his shoulder. 

“You can go there every time you want from now on,” Scarlett told her. “I don’t think you got it, but this will be our new home.” 

And sleep was long gone when at those words she jumped up, staring back and forth at her parents with wide eyes. “This?” 

“Yeah, we moved in here. And I know it’s big and I also know you won’t get what all of this means but this is our new home.” 

“I love this,” she exclaimed, clapping her hands and Jaehyun put her down once they arrived in front of the nursery, opening the door to let her in. It was nice to see all the enthusiasm, and Scarlett hoped that she wouldn’t have cursed them once reality hit her, realizing how big this truly was. 

“And what about my uncles and auntie?” She asked, running on the bed, climbing on it before sitting on the edge to remove her shoes, not gently at all. 

Jaehyun chuckled, not even caring that she was overhyped once again and probably getting her to fall asleep would’ve taken more than one song. And Scarlett rolled her eyes, rushing to help her open the button on the back of her dress; she wanted to do way too much even when she didn’t have the ability to. 

“They won’t go back, right?” 

“No,” Scarlett replied, “You probably will see them a little bit less, but they all will be here.” 

“It will be just like at home. When we moved out in our place you would see them occasionally, right?” 

Eunbi nodded, standing up on the bed to push down the dress, and then started to jump on it. 

“This bed is soft,” she said. 

“Stop doing that,” Scarlett warned her, “what if you fall?” 

“Dada will catch me,” she chuckled, still jumping up and down, laughing loudly. 

“And Dada got you,” Jaehyun said, catching her midway. “If you fall back on the pins in your hair you’ll get hurt,” he warned her, sitting her on the vanity table chair to remove the pins from her styled hair. 

Scarlett smiled at the scene of Jaehyun delicately taking care of her hair, removing all the ornaments, and then brushing them with his hands after dropping some droplets of oils on it. This weirdly felt like home, from the other side of the world, in a place that was twice as big, but it felt like home. Nothing had changed, and she hoped that things were going to stay the same with time. 

“Can I put the pink bonnet on tonight?” Eunbi asked her mother, looking at her through the mirror while Jaehyun tied her hair in a big braid. 

“Sure, it matches with your pjs,” her mother smiled at her, going back to the closet to grab another one. “Wear the clothes first. Come here,” Scarlett encouraged her to get up so she could put on the shirt and short pants of the nightwear. 

“I can put it on alone,” she said, reaching for the silk bonnet and trying to push her hair in, but leaving the tip of the braid out and she huffed. “But I’m a big girl, now.” 

Jaehyun smiled, “you are a big girl, but even big girls need help,” he reassured her, fixing the cap on her head, and gently kissing her forehead after. 

“Right,” she smiled, kissing his cheek before raising her hands to her mother. “Kiss goodnight,” she asked doing kissy lips and Scarlett leaned so she could meet her cheek before kissing her back. 

“I like this,” Eunbi said, jumping from the chair and running to the bed again, lifting the covers and laying down, waiting for her parents to sit next to her. “Do you like it here?” She asked, as much as she felt sleepy, she also felt excited about all of these changes. She couldn’t understand, in her heart, it just felt like a new exciting adventure but as long as she had her parents at her side, she knew she was going to be fine. They had many adventures in the past years and nothing went wrong, so, even if this felt bigger, it didn’t look scary at all. She found a grandmother, she had her uncles and aunt, her parents, and even some nice ladies that helped her get pretty for a dance. She felt loved as always. 

“Yeah, we like being here,” Jaehyun replied, grabbing a chair to sit next to her, and signalling Scarlett to sit on his lap. 

Eunbi smiled, “I’m happy. I can still read books with Johnny?” 

“Yes, honey, you can do whatever you want. Nothing changed, not for the people that love you. We just moved to a bigger place,” Scarlett reassured her, caressing her hand, while Jaehyun started to caress her cheek. 

“This room doesn’t have my things,” she noted, a small pout forming on her lips and a frown on her face.  

“Not yet. Those things were mine, you know?” 

Her eyes widened and so did her mouth, “Really? Even the shaking horse?” 

“The rocking horse,” she corrected, laughing at the way she was convinced at saying that. “It’s a rocking horse, and yes, it was mine.” 

She furrowed, “But it shakes.” 

“Well, yes, but shaking it’s more like moving something with no direction, a little bit more no sense compared to rocking.” 

“Can’t we call it shaking horse?” 

“Yes, we can call it however you want,” she replied, smiling fondly. 

“I like it better if it’s yours,” Eunbi admitted, smiling, wanting to talk more but feeling drowsy. 

“Your things will come here, by the way. I know you’re not letting go of your toys,” Jaehyun reassured her. It wasn’t like she had many, unfortunately, they never could’ve afforded to spoil her, but she was quite good at not breaking them, so a lot lasted, and she ‘piled’ them over the years. 

She hummed, smiling at them before letting her body slump back into the soft mattress and snuggle her head against the pillow, still holding her mother’s hand. “Song, please,” she whispered, so tired she had no strength to elaborate a full phrase. 

“Your favourite?” Jaehyun asked and when she nodded with a sleepy smile on her face, he started singing.

It did take only one song, fortunately, for her to fall asleep but the idea of going back to the ballroom didn’t seem appealing to Jaehyun at all. Maybe he did hate those events a bit, especially when they were so full of people not only, he barely knew, but also couldn’t stand. 

“Maybe we need to work on her being a little more delicate, especially if you’re going to dress her up like that,” Jaehyun joked as they closed the door behind and stayed there, leaning against the door. 

“My mother will probably soon start the etiquette courses I had to take part in. Don’t worry, she will calm down.” 

“I don’t want her to calm down, just to don’t hurt herself. Do you see her sitting prettily at a table or not talking even to walls?” 

Scarlett chuckled, “Not really, but maybe with time,” she shrugged, grabbing his hand, and moving to head toward the ballroom, but Jaehyun pulled to the other side. “What?” She asked, turning around with a furrow. 

A smirk crossed his face, eyebrow lifting teasingly, “Remember what we used to do back then?” 

“Oh, no, we can’t do this now,” Scarlett replied, shaking her head.  

“Oh, please, you could drag me out of those rooms when my head could’ve ended in the King’s hands and now I can’t?” 

“We were… I wasn’t a Queen,” she muttered, trying to pull back. 

“You are not one, yet, technically,” he corrected, pushing her close to him, chest to chest. “Come on, want to roleplay a little bit?” 

She giggled, lowering her head from shame, “you want to be a bodyguard so bad, maybe you liked it?” 

“I did. I mean, I liked being your bodyguard. Knowing I had to protect your life with mine made me feel like loving you made a little more sense.” 

“But now you can have me.” 

“Right here?” 

“Not like that,” she cursed. “We’ve been missing for a long time.” 

“We can blame it on her,” he insisted. “Isn’t it better to be there for the end of the ball? If we sneak out after, it’s going to be worst.” 

Scarlett thought about that for a moment but then gave in, “Fine, but this is the first and last time we do that.” 

Jaehyun laughed, “You also said that when we started,” he said before he started running to the other side of the corridor. 

“Where are we going?” She asked through laughs, trying to don’t be too loud, knowing that probably some maids were still up, and holding up the dress to don’t fall miserably on the floor. 

“Shh, you don’t want them to find us,” he reminded her, coming to a stop to take a breath. 

“Where are we going?” She asked, but her eyes widened when Jaehyun only looked at her smirking. “He—here?” She asked hesitant, looking around. They were far from the ballroom, in one of the corridors of the castle with big windows letting the moonlight shine through and lit up torches on each side. And yes, no other people were awake, well except for the guards… but now that she thought about it, they were much less than before, she should’ve investigated that further… 

“Are you with me?” Jaehyun asked, lifting her chin up. 

“Y-yes. Do you know why there are so few guards around?” 

Jaehyun rolled his eyes, “Are you seriously thinking about that, right now?” 

“I mean, what if they see us, what if –” but he shut her up with a kiss. 

“You never cared about this before, now, did you?” 

She hummed, shaking her head, breathing heavily because she wanted him so badly. She missed feeling this type of rush running in her bones but right here, in the open corridor was such a bold move. But it had also been so long since they did something together, they never really had much time back at home, busy with work, Eunbi, and the general stress. Most of the time, their moments together were just falling asleep in each other’s arms or trying to make the best of the tasks to take care of the house together. 

“If you keep quiet, nobody will hear us, love,” he said, lips running on the skin of her neck, slowly making her let her guard down, starting to drag her against the nearer wall. Why was she even acting as if that was the first time they did it? Once she let him fuck her almost right outside the ballroom door and they almost got caught. 

“But don’t mess my hair, they can’t find out.” 

He snickered, “Don’t worry, I plan on messing something else,” he whispered before his lips collided with hers and his hands moved under her dress, thankful she wore something that didn’t have much volume and he could easily push it up to have access. 

Scarlett threw her head back while her hands tried hard to don’t intertwine in his hair and instead focused on his body, too, running over it as if it was a new land to explore and she didn’t already have it written down by heart. 

“Come here,” she whispered, urging him closer to her so they could keep kissing. 

“Got in the mood quickly,” he teased as he let one of his hands slip between her legs, rubbing against her sensitive core. “I love it when you get eager for more,” he whispered against her neck, kissing and nibbling her skin, “eager for me.”

She moaned, feeling a strangely pleasurable sting as the pins in her hair dug a little deeper into her scalp as her head pressed back into the marble wall behind her. And a shaky whimper slipped out of her lips when Jaehyun’s slid two fingers into her after moving the panties to the side, and started to pump in and out. 

“Fu – fuck,” she moaned, squeezing her eyes shut, nails digging in his forearms. 

“You like this, don’t you?” He asked, voice low, and eyes staring at the way her body was already squirming under him. And his cock throbbed harder at the sight of her being so vulnerable. He had missed this; her, perfectly dressed up, in her Princess clothes, with her Princess duties, turning putty in his hands. And even if right now it was different because they were the same, at least in their hearts, he couldn’t help but get turned on at that thought. It was his guilty pleasure to know that he was still the only one that could see her like this, the only one that ever got so deep into her skin, into her heart and bones. 

“Yes, yeah,” she replied, forcing her eyes open, looking at him, hips bucking against his hand, shaking when his palm pressed hard against her clit while his two fingers kept pumping into her. “Need you,” she begged, letting her hand run in his hair, not caring about messing it up. “Take me, now.”

Jaehyun snickered, “You are still so greedy for a Princess,” he mocked, adding a third finger, ignoring her words. “But don’t you think it’s worse now?” His voice got lower as his movements sped up; he was going to make her come twice, there was no way he was pulling out right now. She shook her head, whimpering, trying hard to ground herself against him. “You are soon to be Queen,” he snickered, drifting his eyes into hers, making her heart skip a beat for how much this all felt like in the past. But this time it was funny, because it was just a game, their different status couldn’t push them away. 

She gulped, parting her lips to try to let out words that made sense, and said, “Fuck me hard, then. Don’t treat me like a Queen, not now, not tonight, please,” she begged, moving a hand to wrap it around his wrist. Jaehyun smirked, “I didn’t plan on treating you like a Queen. But I do want to make you come until you are melting, so come,” he ordered, quickening the speed, cum dripping down his hands and her legs. 

And she did, trapping her lower lip between her teeth to don’t let out any sounds, she came around his fingers, squeezing her eyes shut and biting so hard she could taste blood in her mouth. 

Jaehyun smiled, pulling out of her and moving his hand quickly on the buttons of his pants to pull out his throbbing cock, but right when he was about to lift one of her legs up and push his tip against her entrance, she stopped him. 

“Ta-take me from behind,” she mumbled, skin heating up and eyes not looking at him. A small laugh rumbled in his chest before he lifted her chin and forced her to look at him. 

“No, Princess, it doesn’t work like this,” he replied and then ran his tongue on his lips. “Ask politely while you look into my eyes, come on,” he ordered. “Tell me you want to be taken hard and rough with your pretty face against the wall.” 

His words sent her brain into a spiral and she almost moaned at how sinful it all felt, but gathering the courage to say those words out loud, to be this dirty, was harder. 

“Cat got your tongue? It’s very rude to make people wait, and right now you’re not only making me wait but,” he leaned closer to her ear, “do I have to remind you about your people waiting for you during your first ball?” 

Those words made her realize they didn’t have all the time in the world. It was a miracle if nobody was looking for them already, and she wondered just for how long the excuse of tucking Eunbi in bed was going to last, they weren’t even close to the nursey. 

“Please, sir, fuck me hard against this wall, please,” she begged. 

“Your wish is my command, Your Highness,” he replied with a smirk on his face, feeling his heart much lighter now at calling her with those honorifics. He was quick at turning her around and lifting her dress again before aligning against her entrance, slowly making his way in. 

She moaned when Jaehyun bottomed out, resting a hand flat against the cold wall and pushing her ass back against him. And she imagined he was going to start picking up speed, but he kept moving slowly, dragging all the way out and then pushing back inside. 

“You’re so delicate with me since I’ve had her,” she huffed, thinking back at how, the few times they had the chance to do something, he had changed completely and never gave it to her as hard as he was used to doing. “I want it hard,” she demanded. “Remember how you used to take me when we would do this? How much you loved seeing me a mess underneath you? How you loved knowing nobody knew how much I loved being manhandled and being ruined by you.” 

“Is that what you want? I thought you demanded not to ruin you, I thought people couldn’t know,” he replied, but his hips started slamming harder against her, still pulling almost all the way out but with a faster speed. 

“I changed my mind – fuck – I, I want them to know. I want the ton to know I belong to – shit – to you,” she cried out when one of his hands wrapped around her waist and squeezed, “I want them to know you’re the only one that gets me like this.” 

“I’ll give it to you, then, my Princess,” he said, other hand moving up to graze her neck and pulling her back to kiss her harshly. 

“Fuck,” she moaned, closing her eyes, struggling to keep her whines of pleasure into her mouth as she could feel him deep and hard inside of her, the veins of his dick dragging against her wet walls and his girth stretching her just how she wanted. “Just like that.” 

“Yeah, you like that?” He asked, pressing his forehead against her, consequentially pressing her face more against the wall. “And I bet you’ll like it even more if I do this,” he said with a smirk, moving the hand on her hips between her legs. 

She gasped, pushing back against him, and couldn’t keep in her sinful sounds. 

“No, no, Princess,” he cooed, “keep your pretty mouth shut, remember? Anybody could hear us, or worse,” he lowered his voice, “see us.” 

Her eyes fluttered behind her lashes, and her walls clenched around him. And Jaehyun snickered, “Maybe that’s what you want, an audience. How scandalous do you truly want to be, my Queen?” 

And this time the thing that fluttered in her body was her heart, for some reason, the way the words my Queen rolled out of his lips, and in such a moment, made her knees buckle and her heart beat faster. It sounded so good, so wrong somehow considering this was the last thing a Queen should be doing, but she couldn’t mind. 

“You don’t mind, don’t you?” He teased, quickening the pace on her clit, kissing her shoulders, and pushing her more against the hard surface. “You still are my dirty little girl, aren’t you? This royal blood is not enough to let you control yourself, to know how to behave.” 

“Maybe I deserve a punishment,” she mumbled, smirking, nails dragging against the wall.

“I should scold you,” he moaned against her ear. “Do you know how dangerous it is to be out here at night?” 

“Fuck,” she whimpered, “Is it?” 

He laughed lowly, making her moan louder and close her eyes once again, “You are lucky I was the one finding you, or else you have no idea what could’ve happened. The future Queen shouldn’t – fuck – stay here,” he whimpered, “with no one to protect her.” 

She pressed her lips in a thin line, feeling that she couldn’t be silent for more when he started to set a brutally fast speed, knocking the breath out of her, cock sliding into her so right she couldn’t remember when it was the last it felt so good, so needed. 

“Maybe that was what you wanted, being fucked hard and rough like any commoner,” he teased, “and if only you didn’t have a ball to run to because you – shit – have to you would let me take you even harder, right?” 

She mumbled a broken answer, back arching further into him, “yes,” she gasped, “’d let you do – fuck – anything.” 

“I know, Your Highness, I know,” he smirked against her ear, getting drunk in the sight of her, only now truly realizing just how much he had missed her like this, puffy lips getting tormented as she struggled to keep it all in and at the same time craved for more, how her eyes fluttered from pleasure, how her boobs were beautifully pressed up in that dress and panted heavily against the wall as she tried to catch her breath. “Would you do something for me, Princess? Would you follow an order from your subject?” 

“Yes, yes,” she mumbled. 

“Good, then come for me,” he ordered, “come undone where anybody could see you melt in my hands. Come on, let these walls see the mess you can make of – shit – yourself.” 

And it was all too much when his fingers on her clit sped up and his thrusts kept the same fast pace that made her head spin around, moans spilling out loudly that Jaehyun had to cover her mouth with his hand to muffle the lewd sounds as he filled her to the brim, not caring about the mess. Both forgetting that just two corridors away a ball was going on and the Queen was panicking, trying to calm the guests and give an explanation for their disappearance, trying to pity the ton saying that for Eunbi it was all too new, and they had to take extra care of her. 

“Are you alright?” He asked, leaving small kisses on her face as he slowly pulled out, fixing her panties, smirking at the thought of her having to walk around with that mess for at least one hour – if they were lucky. 

Scarlett smiled weakly, turning around to rest her back against the wall, trying to calm her breathing. “I’m too old for this, but yes, I feel alright.” 

Jaehyun chuckled, “you wanted me to go hard on you, there’s a reason if I treat you with extra care.” 

“Oh, shut up, I can take it, I just need more time to recover after,” she joked.

“Shit, I fear there’s somebody,” Jaehyun muttered, shushing her with a finger, sharpening his hearing and listening to footsteps approach. “Follow me,” he told her, grabbing her hand and walking a few steps before he pulled a candle hanging on the wall, opening a secret passage. 

“This has always been here?” Scarlett asked surprised, not convinced to get in, but when the steps got louder, she stepped inside, the thick wall closing behind them again. 

“Always,” he replied, starting to walk through the channel after lighting up a candle. 

“How do you still remember everything?” 

Jaehyun snickered, “I had spent nights up studying this place, it was one of the tests I had to pass to get the job. Being good at defending you physically wasn’t enough, you always need to know where you can run and hide, and well, where your enemies might hide as well.” 

Scarlett hummed. She knew he had this place impressed in his memory, but she imagined that after more than three years he would forget about it, and yet, he still knew, it was impressive. “And where will this lead us?” 

“Right outside the ballroom if we go this way,” he said, turning left. “This way we can simply say that we were already heading back when they came to search for us.” 

“I know we shouldn’t have done that,” she paused, “but I missed having you like that,” she confessed, holding his hand tighter. “It’s exciting, don’t you think?” 

Jaehyun smirked, “I wouldn’t have dragged you there if I didn’t think so.” 

“But I truly think this should be the last time of reckless fun,” she added. “I hope it hadn’t been so much to make them get suspicious.”

“We’ve been quick,” he reassured her, pushing another brick, opening the wall on the other side, and they both stepped outside. “Ready to face the ton again?” 

“Always ready if I have you by my side.” 

After the ball, life had been pretty erratic, and Scarlett often wondered if she could truly keep up with the rhythms of the court. But in answer to every intrusive thought that would cross her mind, there was Jaehyun reassuring her everything was going to be alright. 

‘It’s hard because there are many big events to prepare for, and you also need to catch up on everything you missed in the past years,’ Jaehyun had told her a few times, and she agreed but still cursed Donghyuck for calling her so late and damned herself for having accepted. 

There wasn’t a rush for the enthronement. Her mother was still the Queen, and she could’ve been elected Queen for now and then followed the ceremony of coronation later. But, seemingly, it was more pressuring than she imagined. Her mother had no strength to follow through with her duties, not that she had ever done that, considering the one ‘taking care’ of everything was the King. And the country needed a leader, a strong one, and considering the whole situation, she needed an iconic arrival on the scene. Being nominated Queen in private just wasn’t enough. They needed a show, people needed to love her, honour her, truly trust her and see how devoted to the role she was. 

All the excitement that rushed in her veins was slowly slipping away at the thought she wasn’t enough. Maybe her father was right, she wasn’t made for this, she was a disappointment. But then her hate for him took over. She had promised him she was going to be everything he didn’t think she could be, so she tried. For revenge, for Eunbi, for Jaehyun, for the boys that gave up everything and followed her with the promise of a better future. She needed to start from her very own people so she could also be good to her country. 

And luckily, Donghyuck had been kind enough to offer to help her, at least at the start. He would go with her at the first meetings with other countries. He also assured her to side with her Queendom and maintain the relations he already had with her father. And his support made her sleep at night a little more. 

But what was pressing the most was the coronation day. And now that only two days were ahead, she couldn’t help but panic. 

There was no turning back. 

The moment the crown would’ve touched her head and she would’ve sworn to fight and protect her land with her own life and would’ve been proclaimed Queen, her life would’ve been marked forever. And even if power felt thrilling, and that was exactly what she had longed for her entire life, right now, that it was so close, it felt terrifying. 

“You will not survive another day if you don’t calm down,” Jaehyun whispered, bringing her out of her thoughts again, she had lost count now of how many times if it wasn’t for him, her brain would’ve started travelling way too far and pushed her deeper into that misery. 

“I am calm,” she replied, but the way her feet were tapping against the ground and she barely touched food all dinner said other things. “Why can’t my mother still reign just for a little bit more?” She snapped, dropping down the fork on the floor. “It’s fine,” she dismissed a maid ready to pick it back up. “Honestly, you may leave, we’re fine. You’re dismissed, all of you, thank you,” she said, talking to everybody in the room. 

“But, Your Highness, we are the security,” a guard said, not following the reluctant maids out of the room. 

“Nobody’s going to kill us while we’re eating. You can wait outside if you really feel it’s needed, thanks,” she insisted, waiting for everybody to leave them alone.  

“Scar, are you okay?” Jaehyun asked, worried, once everybody was out, placing his hand on her shaking one. 

“No,” she admitted, trying to hold in the tears, she didn’t want to cry in front of Eunbi that was still finishing her dessert. “I’m so nervous, and I know you keep telling me I can do this, but…” she had to stop, feeling like she could break down right there at any moment. “Let’s not talk right now, alright?” 

Jaehyun hummed, not convinced, but decided to drop the conversation until Eunbi was done. It was an adult talk anyway, and there was no need to have it with her in front. 

“Honey,” he called Eunbi when she had finished her sweet and was cleaning her face with a napkin, “Daddy needs you to go to sleep with Nana Maria tonight. Can you do me this favour?” She had grown close to Scarlett’s maid women, still wanted to have nothing to do with her supposed to be maids, but it was something, at least. 

Eunbi hummed, nodding happily. “Are you sad Mama?” She asked when, leaning on the table to get closer to her to kiss her, she noticed her expression. 

“A little tired, sweetheart, but don’t worry, alright?” Scarlett replied, caressing her soft cheek. “I’m calling Maria and —”  

“No, I’ll carry her to the nursery and tell Maria to look after her for tonight. Wait for me in our room, I’ll be back immediately,” Jaehyun stopped her, grabbing Eunbi’s hand after she kissed her mother goodnight and walked out of the diner room. 

Scarlett got up soon after, walking to their room, and then starting to get changed for the night, thankful she had dismissed her maids from doing it for her. It was nice having them around, but she was so used to being alone now, that she couldn’t stand so many people around doing so many basic things for her. Why couldn’t they just come and help when it was needed and during the rest of the time go back home and have their own family? Why did they have to stay there and waste their lives for somebody capable of taking care of it by herself? 

Also, she enjoyed much more being in that room with only Jaehyun, and Eunbi when she whined to fall asleep and begged for them to let her fall asleep between them. Maybe the hype was waning a bit even for her. 

“Hey,” Jaehyun called, making her turn back from the dresser. 

“Was she alright?” 

He nodded, walking next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, she’s fine, you know she doesn’t whine much if you talk it through.” 

Scarlett hummed while she dipped the tips of her fingers in the cream and started massaging her face with more anger than was needed. 

“Can you explain what is going on?” He asked, sitting next to her, watching her movements and how much she was shaking. 

She sighed, starting to collect her hair in a braid but giving up halfway, so Jaehyun got up and positioned behind her to it instead. She smiled at him through the mirror and then started talking, perhaps if she let it out it would’ve been easier. “I’m thrilled and nervous at the same time. I want this so badly, and deep down I know I’ll be good, but what if the good feedback was fake? What if somebody truly wants us dead? What if because of my greed I will lose you?” 

“Your greed? Wanting love and power is greed? Why is it never questioned to Kings? Why are they never asked to choose between those? Why would leading your country, the land you were born and raised in, and being an amazing mother and wife would be greedy or wrong?” 

“I don’t know, but people don’t think like us,” she explained, getting up and standing in front of their bed, once again tapping her feet nervously since she couldn’t ruin the perfectly cured manicure of her nails. 

Jaehyun sighed, “I know I will never understand the weight you carry on your shoulders because what people expect from you is nothing compared to what they expect from me. But you saw them, you saw your people, crying and thanking the Saints for having sent you back again to save them. You are their saviour, you are the good they have been asking for, for ages. And they wouldn’t have hesitated to pull out a knife and push it down your flesh if they hated you, but they didn’t. Two days after you have been represented to society, you were between them, and they all worshipped the ground you walked on. This is the place where you belong, this is where you were always supposed to be. Proud and tall, a reigning Queen, capable of anything. Never doubt that.” 

“And then I am the one good with words,” she joked, smiling at him, feeling the tension loosen up a little when his hand cupped her cheek and caressed her softly. 

“Queen Scarlett Aloace of Havenglow,” Jaehyun whispered, “it sounds so beautiful,” he beamed, thumb caressing her skin. 

“It will sound so scary when it won’t come out of your lips tomorrow,” she replied with a light chuckle. 

“But for now, it can only come out of my lips,” he reassured her, getting closer, leaning down to let their noses touch, “and the thousands of people cheering it, chanting it, vowing for you, praying the Gods up high to light up your road headed. People are devoted, deeply, even scarily, but this will assure you what you had asked them to do; to walk by your side as you will bring the light on this country for the first time in years.” 

“But I am no Saint, I have no Gods by side,” she replied, shivering as she thought about the trust people were putting in her hands. How fondly they truly believed she was going to be their saviour, and she feared she couldn’t have been able to live up to those expectations. People not only were devoted, but they were tired of years of mistreatments, abuse, and poverty, just one mistake, and that would’ve been the final straw. 

“Then be your own God,” he stated, lips brushing together, “be who you truly are destined to be.” 

She chuckled against his lips, “a Goddess? I don’t think that is my destiny.” 

“You do look like one,” he replied, fingers slipping behind her neck and pushing her closer. “I want you to be loud as a tornado when you walk the halls and take back everything you were destined for. I want you to be the only one people will look at. I want you to shine bright as the star you are meant to be. Do not hold back because that is what your father told you your entire life. Do not hold back because he taught you to stay quiet, silent in a corner as people walked all over you and your will. Do not think that only because you share half of his blood you are the same as him.” 

She felt her heart beat harder at his words, feeling sensitive to the point of crying. 

“I am capable of doing this,” she whispered, looking into his eyes, searching for that kind of comfort only he was able to give her, grounding herself into his golden—brown depths to seek more confidence. 

“You are,” he repeated, kissing her, small touches, lips that seemed almost shy, but full of intentions as if he wanted to imprint that thought into her deeper. “I can’t wait to see you covered in gold, sitting on your throne, wearing your crown, and holding your sceptre.” 

She chuckled, head falling back at the tickling sensation of his lips against her skin. “You do know you might fuel my darkest desires with your words?” 

“Do you have them?” He asked, pulling apart for a second, raising a brow. 

“I may have them, who knows,” she played along, letting her finger trail against his jacket. “May I confess to you? Will you swear to don’t let them slip past your lips?” 

“I would do anything for you, my Queen,” he confessed, dropping to his knees. She felt her breath falter for a moment when seeing him like this, hearing his words, made her realize how good power felt, how she wanted to have it all, to prove everybody she was capable and worthy and deserving of everything she had. She wanted to prove there was no reason to doubt her because she could have both, love and power. 

And maybe that was the last night of what felt normal, but what felt normal wasn’t what was written in her destiny. 

Jaehyun was right, she was supposed to be great, and she was going to prove it. 

“Then love me,” she whispered, lifting his face with two fingers under his chin. Power was ahead, but love was what she wanted to feel that night, love that only Jaehyun could give her. And love was what she wanted to hold on to, selfishly and greedily like they always did, when they spent hours burning between these sheets pretending what they had was right. Because nothing much changed, only when she was rolling in that tangle with him, only when his fingers grazed her skin so gently and his lips brushed against it like the softest summer breeze, she felt human again. He was good at that, protecting her from the weight of the world, and the weight of her own brain. He was good at making the world stop spinning around so fast and cage their bodies in a limbo where nothing could hurt them, not in the past, not now, and not even in the future.

And the rush of power she felt as his hands moved on her legs, pushing the silk nightgown up, and going up on her stomach, lips trailing on her skin, made her lose her mind. 

She wanted more.

Scarlett stared at her reflection in the mirror while her fingers ran over her dress; the red and the golden embroideries made her look regal, and she loved the way the big gown fell on her hips and then dragged on the floor behind her. Her eyes drifted on her face, her eyelids were painted gold and a sharp line of black lifted them, while her lips were shiny. Her hair was styled in an intricated hairstyle and then pulled together in a medium-low bun. Her hands were wrapped in red gloves with gold patterns running from her fingers and then fading the closer they got to her arms. 

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let her hand brush her dress to fix the crease. When she opened them again a smile curled her lips as her eyes made eye contact with Jaehyun from the mirror. 

“You look stunning,” he whispered close to her ear, leaving a small kiss on her temple. 

“We look stunning,” she said, turning around to fix his deep red jacket with the same golden patterns she had. “I was right,” she smirked, looking at him, brown hair pulled back in a comma hairstyle, elegant suit, royal posture, and his same old familiar face she loved so much. 

“About?” He asked, raising a brow. 

“You would be an amazing King,” she smiled, caressing his cheek, observing how much he looked like all the other men they tried to set her up with. 

“Easy now,” he chuckled, taking her hand in his, “this is your coronation, remember.” 

“I know, I cannot forget it easily when I’ve been pampered all morning to be absolutely perfect for this event.” 

“They did an incredible job,” he said. “Are you ready?” 

She hummed, taking one last brief glimpse at the mirror and then intertwining their arms together. 

“You can walk with me, right?” 

“I would’ve had to do that if I was your bodyguard, surely not intertwining our arms.” She grinned, pushing the door and walking to the throne room. “I will leave your side when we enter. You will walk alone to the throne and then the celebration will start. I will be behind you.” 

She nodded, they had tried it before since her mother insisted nothing could go wrong, but she imagined the Queen wanted somebody else to protect her, probably Jaehyun had convinced her to let him stay by her side. 

And now that they were standing right in front of the doors, she felt her heart falter for a moment, and cold over her, even more, when Jaehyun’s arms slipped out of her hold. 

“You are made for this,” he reminded her, moving behind her. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too,” she replied, smiling at him before the trumpets started playing and the doors opened. The golden light of the room washed over her as she tried to adjust her eyes to see and look at the insane amount of people that were in the throne room, waiting, politely standing, ready to welcome her and accept her as their new leader. 

This had a completely different feeling than all the practice she had. These were real people. The ones she had to guide through the future. 

But somehow, seeing them, felt less pressuring than it was in her imagination. So, she lifted her chin, hands in front of her, and started walking toward the throne where the Queen was waiting, naked of her own crown. 

The celebration started, and it felt like hours to her before they arrived at the vows. 

“Scarlett Aloace of Havenglow, do you solemnly swear to rule according to law, exercise justice with mercy, lead your country with the intent to put the people first, and maintain high the name of the Crown?” 

“I solemnly swear to rule according to law, exercise justice with mercy, lead your country with the intent to put the people first, and maintain high the name of the Crown,” she repeated. 

The Queen turned around, grabbed the crown and the sceptre, and then looked at the sky, “Hear our prayers of peace and prosperity, and look, Almighty Gods, with a serene gaze on this, and may you let your light shine on our beloved Queen, giving her the power to carry through and lead us toward a new beginning,” she recited, taking the golden crown and lifting it up, so everybody could see it. “Scarlett Aloace, receive this crown and sceptre by my hands, delivering it to you, with my blessing, to serve for the defence of our Land,” she concluded, placing the crown on top of her head and handing her the shaft. “By the power vested in me, I declare you Queen Scarlett of Havenglow.” 

And only when her mother’s words shut down, and the crowd erupted in loud applause with cheers and cries and the heavy jewel touched her head, Scarlett realized what had happened. She turned around, finally facing her people, seeing children, mothers, workers, and the ones she loved the most, and realised that there, was exactly where she was supposed to be. 

When the feast died down and the throne room was empty, Scarlett wandered around, only now focusing on how majestic the room truly was. With no people inside it looked even brighter, the chandeliers and the golden from the trimmed walls making the moonlight reflect everywhere. The big red carpet ran from the doors to the altar. The paintings on the walls of the previous monarch, standing proud in the golden frames, and she gulped, thrilled to think that they were both going to be there. She had already discussed it with the family painter, she wanted both of them to be there. 

“I know I told you repeatedly today, but,” Jaehyun whispered, “you look majestic this way,” he finished, standing behind her, hands running over her waist, crossing right in front of her belly. 

“All this golden makes me shine,” she replied, turning her head around, and nuzzling her nose against his, making him smile at the tender gesture. It felt intimate being able to see this cosy side of her after he had watched her stroll around all day, standing high and proud as she met the people and the ton.  

“You do not need gold to shine, but yes, it does help,” he chuckled. “Although, I’d love to see you sit on the throne,” he whispered against her neck, eyes looking over her, where the big, shiny, golden seat was, high above the carpeted stairs in the middle of the room. 

“We need to add another seat for you, you will be crowned King too,” she said as they started walking toward it. 

“I can wait,” he reassured her. “I am already King by your side.” 

She giggled shyly, looking down to don’t slip on the stairs. “You are the most hopeless romantic person I have ever met.” 

“I take it as a compliment,” he chuckled as he followed her movements on the throne. And even though the crown wasn’t adorning her head anymore and no sceptre was in her hand, he was still mesmerized by the sight and how much she belonged there. She fit perfectly and he couldn’t believe she had been willing to let all of this go for him. He didn’t feel deserving of so much love, devotion, even, he dared to call it, because what united them was stronger than love for sure. Possibly it could’ve even been considered wrong, but he couldn’t care. 

So he kneeled right in front of her, surprising her, eliciting a gasp of surprise from her. 

“Do you feel alright?” She asked, worried. 

He smiled at her, “never felt better.” 

“Then why are you there?” 

“I need to show you some things,” he said, moving closer to her on his knees, letting his hands travel under the dress, up on her legs, “Need to show you I can praise you and worship you better than the people that were chanting your name just a few hours ago.” 

Scarlett shivered at the contact of his cold fingers and the tone of his voice, breath already faltering in anticipation. 

“Here?” 

A smirk curled his lips, “you always ask me the same question.” 

“You always pick the worst places to have me.” 

“Does Your Majesty require better?” 

She gulped, feeling electricity rush through her at his words, his tone, his eyes staring straight into her in that position, hitting straight to her core. She briefly looked around, to take in where they were, who she was, simply hoping nobody was going to come in – nobody was allowed there, technically. Because she loved this in a way she never imagined she could. 

“Show me,” she ordered, regal tone, firm and confident. “You may show me how devoted you are to me, to your Queen.” 

And Jaehyun obeyed, pushing the fabric of the dress up for what was possible and then pulling her laced undergarments down, letting them lay on the floor, having her on full display for him. He smirked at the sight of her wet folds, glistening and dripping for him only. And in a second his lips were on her, dancing on her sensitive spot, making her throw her head back and grip tighter around the throne armrest. 

Jaehyun looked up at her, the light falling on her and then reflecting in a circle around the crown of the throne, the golden spikes making her look like a Goddess, like an angel exploding with light of her own. A strong contrast compared to the blissful contorted look on her face and the not so sacred words spilling out of her plump lips. 

And the thought of serving her never weighed on his shoulders. He wouldn’t have complained if that was the only purpose in his life. Only existing for her, to serve his Queen, his Goddess. He would’ve given her his life if he had to. 

“More,” she whispered, voice low and filled with lust, but it didn’t come out like a beg, it was an order. Another one. As her ass slid halfway off the seat and her legs wrapped on his shoulders and his grip tightened on her hips and thighs, keeping her from falling. 

“Fuck,” she cursed, letting her fingers intertwine in his hair, holding tight, making him moan against her as his tongue kept working miracle on her, drunk in love, drunk in her, drinking her off like wine from the most precious grapes. 

And she couldn’t help but push him harder against her, getting high at the sight of him. Feeling her stomach twitch for how devoted he was. 

“Need you,” he whispered, pulling away from her, but she put him back in his place. 

“And I need you here, between my thighs,” she ordered, sultry voice coming out so harmonically Jaehyun felt his head spin. “Pray for me, love.”

And he obliged again, sucking her clit, licking her, slipping past her entrance, making her writhe and squirm. Feeling power slip from his reach more and more, letting himself go at her orders and hands guiding him into sinful perdition. It did feel like a religion, an unholy one, a religion that would’ve led them both to hell as sinners as they always have been. Daring the most powerful Gods, rising against them, and somehow always winning. And adding more immorality wasn’t going to make the pain of their eternity worse. So, they kept sinning. 

She was his religion. 

And right there, on his knees, between her legs, he was praying. 

He was devoted to her and her only because no other God ever looked over him like she did. Nobody else would’ve sacrificed so much of themselves for him. Nobody else would’ve given up their lives for him. 

Only in the crease of her body, he could find his redemption. Only in her sacred wine, he could get drunk. Only in her voice, he could find eternal forgiveness. 

He was, since ever and for eternity, her most devoted believer.  

Her hips started trembling, moving uncontrollably against him, and in a moment, she was boneless in his hands, crumbling apart as pleasure washed over, but it didn’t make her feel tired, it felt like a weird rush of power, of strength, of guilty pleasure, or probably pride. So much she truly felt like a Goddess at that very moment. 

“Did I prove it to you?” He asked when she let him go and his eyes locked into hers, chin still stained with her fluids. “Is this how you should treat a Queen?”  

A smirk curled her lips, “but I’m not a Queen, I’m a God,” she replied, cupping his chin and forcing him up, making him sit at her place, pushing him down with no grace. “A Queen is pliant, silent at her King’s side, she tends to submit more than to control,” she whispered against his ear. “Don’t you think so?” 

He hummed, “not you, not by my side.” 

She smirked again, pulling away from him. “Strip,” she ordered, looking down at him. 

Jaehyun gulped, shaky hands moving to unbutton his golden embroidered jacket, letting it fall to the side before he did the same with his pants. 

“Naked,” she said, eyes pointing at his underwear. “I want to see all of you.” 

And only when he was fully naked, she walked to him again, hands placing against the throne, lips close to his, breath fanning against them as she spoke, “how far can you show me how much you love me?” 

“As far as you want,” he replied with no hesitation, fighting the urge to touch her, to strip her naked too, slightly taken aback by this unexpected aura that surrounded her, she truly felt untouchable, like an outer being he simply was not worthy of being with. 

“Do you think you can satisfy me? Bring me to heaven and don’t let me fall?” 

“I can. I’d do anything for you,” he answered, moving forward to let their lips meet, but she pulled away. 

“Prove it to me,” she said, lifting her dress just enough so she could sit on top of him. “After that, maybe, you’ll get a taste. You have to earn a place in heaven, baby. Show the Gods just what you would do to get eternal safeness.”

And maybe they both needed to be saved from this hell they created, for the wrongfulness of their lives, for the sinful abyss they let their souls get dragged in, for putting love – a false god, sneaky, and dangerous – before the real one up there. For adding more sin on their judgment day. But that wasn’t coming anytime soon, so they were going to still worship what they had, cherish it with their hearts and love, mixing sacred and profane. Because dying in each other’s arms didn’t sound so bad, and not even spending eternity together, even if it meant burning in the pits of hell. 

So they were there, bodies intertwined, a tangle of flesh and skin and blood slamming hard against each other in that holy room that had seen hundreds of royals pass from those doors to consecrate their Highness and their power but never to let those shiny walls witness something as unholy as this. 

And the sounds rippling through their throats were even worst, moans, whimpers, chants of the Gods they were just profaning, begging for forgiveness that was never going to come, or probably, even more shamelessly, calling each other that. 

“Fuck,” Jaehyun muttered, letting his hands wrap around her covered waist, and his head fell back before he forced his eyes open to look at her. “I am crazy for you,” he confessed, moving closer to her, begging her to let him kiss him, to let her subject get a taste of those precious, soft lips that reminded him of the most tasteful cherries. And she let him because she didn’t need him to show how much he longed for her, how far he would’ve gone for her. She knew it. It was in the way he still stayed a step behind her. It was in the way he was her first supporter in everything. It was in the way she knew he wouldn’t have hesitated to stab somebody if they dared to hurt her. 

And Jaehyun didn’t particularly feel in a position of control that night, but he still dared to ask, beg her for something so big, a thought that now was tormenting him, “need to give you a child,” he whispered, looking straight into her eyes, feeling her breath falter and her walls tighten around him. Brain spinning at the sick idea of a being so high and graceful like her to let someone like him fill her womb with sacred life. “Yeah, you want that?” 

She nodded, letting her forehead collapse against him and her nails dig into the blades of his shoulders, sinking so deep she drew blood and made him hiss. 

“Want to let everyone know that – fuck – you let the commoner put another baby into you?” He teased, thrusts getting faster for what he could. “Such a generous Queen letting anybody take you, getting – shit – your blood stained with the most unworthy.” 

“You are not,” she replied, shutting him with a kiss, ravenous, eager, “you are by my side. You gained – fuck,” she whimpered when he hit particularly hard right where she was most sensitive. “You gained your spot in heaven, right next to my side.” 

He kissed her again, one hand slipped on the small of her back, pushing her closer, cursing she didn’t take off her dress because he wanted to feel her, mark her, stain her even more, with sin, with love, with the madness that their passion was. Somehow, he wanted to sink even deeper into her skin, not caring he already knew so much of her and had her impressed in the back of his mind. He needed more. 

“Need to see you full of me,” he muttered, “Need to see you walk around with my baby, round and full of our love. Need to – fuck – give you another one.” 

“Do it,” she screamed, “I’m yours,” she wept, “And yours only. Shit. Yours to keep. Fuck. Yours to lose,” she whimpered. “I’m yours, every inch of me,” her breath faltered, hands clasping in his hair, pulling him closer, standing eye to eye. “All of me, is for your eyes only.” 

And Jaehyun felt his heart lose a beat. This wasn’t one of their wishful thinking at night back in her chamber when he would have to go back into his room. These were the words of a Queen, his Queen. These words were real, she was his, and he was hers. In people’s eyes. In the fruit of their love. And soon even on papers. He was worthy of a Queen’s love. His Queen, the only one he could ever care about. The only one that truly felt deserving of that spot in his heart. And that was the last thing he needed. He was going to be by her side this time. He was going to be able to walk tall by her side, not behind. He would’ve seen her raise their love child and cherished her every day. 

And at that moment he truly realized how deep he was into her.

“I’m close,” her voice came out in a whisper as her head rolled back and she struggled to lift her body on him as the knot in her stomach tightened and her brain felt hazy. 

“I know,” he replied, “I can feel you tightening around me. I’m going to fill you up, fuck,” he moaned, hand reaching her neck and forcing her to look at him. “Will you take it? Will you carry the – ohh – the fruit of our love?”

“Yes,” she replied with no hesitation. “I will take anything from you.” And it was true, and she would’ve wondered when and how she became so vulnerable to him, what made their love become like this, but her brain wasn’t in the condition to think a single thought that made sense. 

“Then take it,” he moaned, making their lips meet again in a heated kiss as his hips kept thrusting hard against her. “Take my child.” And in a few seconds, he started spilling his seed inside of her, triggering her orgasm that exploded, vision blinding and ears buzzing as their sealed mouths muffled the high moans and screams that were being pushed out by their lungs. It felt so intense that everything around started to spin and yet, they couldn’t stop. 

It wasn’t enough. 

And greed sure wasn’t a virtue, but that night, they decided to put their morals behind them and keep burning in the flames of ruins. 

And they kept fucking, marking each other, not even thinking about the possibility of anybody walking in front of those doors and hearing them. Too lost in a world of their own, where all their fantasy came true, where everything was possible. 

Because it was good to be a Queen, but it was better to be a Goddess. 

The wedding preparations followed soon after. Jaehyun and Scarlett had no problem with wanting some more, but sealing a marriage as soon as possible was better for possible deals with other countries and also to legalize their relationship. And they weren’t complaining, they wanted this to happen too, but it was thrilling and scary at the same time. 

It was big, an event for the whole country to see. A celebration. Not just an intimate sealing of promise between them. And it would’ve also crowned Jaehyun King.

“It needs to be absolutely perfect,” Renjun said as he frenetically kept measuring her body, writing down her sizes and the ideas for the design of the wedding dress. He had spent the entire morning doing the same with Jaehyun, and now it was Scarlett’s turn. 

“It will, you have hands made of gold,” she tried to calm him down, but it served a little because Renjun was too caught up in all the things he had to do to try to calm down. He couldn’t. This couldn’t go wrong. It would’ve been such a big exposure for his tailoring shop, and also, he cared a lot for her, so he wanted to gift her the best dress he could create.   

Renjun hummed mindlessly, checking her once again. “Do not dare to get pregnant again before the big day, or I will kill you,” he warned. “Wait, can I? Will you go to jail if you kill your Monarch?” 

She laughed, “you’ll go to jail If you kill anybody, Jun.” 

“You would sentence me if I did?” 

“I’d have to,” she replied, shocked. 

“I imagined we would gain some kind of privileges knowing you,” Yuta chimed, diverting his attention from the book he was reading as he was – supposedly – looking after Eunbi that was also reading on the floor, in her case, watching the pictures on the pages. But it was the only thing that would keep her calm as she tried hard to comprehend the words written, so Yuta was fine like this. He wasn’t like Taeyong, or her parents, dealing with her peaks of hyper—activity drove him insane. 

“Not those kinds of privileges, you can’t kill people.” 

“Anyway,” Renjun bought her attention on him again, “no cake in the oven, got it?” 

“What makes you think I would?” She asked embarrassed, lowering her face and scratching her neck.  

“You will!” They replied together, screaming, staring at her with eyes wide open, making Eunbi turn over but her attention on her mother didn’t last long since she got back to her book immediately. 

“What are you talking about?” She asked, shaking her head. 

“You got embarrassed,” Renjun explained. 

“Are you trying for another one?” Yuta asked, walking closer to Scarlett, staring at her with a stunned expression. 

“What are you…” she huffed, jumping from the stool in the middle of the room. “Don’t say that, I don’t like to say that we are trying,” she explained. “Let’s say that we wouldn’t mind if it happened.” 

“Oh, wow, another one?” Yuta didn’t want to sound so… disgusted, but kids weren’t exactly his thing, and one was already more than enough for him. 

She rolled her eyes. “She’s three, almost four.” 

“But she’s a lot.” 

“We will be fine. I think I deserve a peaceful pregnancy with Jaehyun by my side,” she said, grinning at his traumatized expression. 

“Fine, I am very happy for you but please, not before the wedding,” Renjun still begged, he was booked with the modiste and now the preparations for the Queen’s wedding were just adding up, changing the dress last minute was the last thing he needed. 

“Don’t worry,” she replied with a calming tone, “it won’t grow big in three weeks.” 

“I hope so,” Renjun replied before widening his eyes. “Wait, you aren’t yet, right?” 

“No, I’m not,” she reassured him. “Well, I don’t think so.” 

He rolled his eyes and huffed loudly, “you two can’t be left alone for two seconds.” 

“Please, we had no time to be alone back then, let us live.”  

Yuta snickered. “The wedding is close, Renjun. I’m sure she will fit in the dress anyway.” 

“Exactly,” she agreed. “And since we are tight with time, can you please carry her to Taeyong?” She asked Yuta. “I have to plan things.” 

“Sure, also because I don’t think she will survive with me any longer,” Yuta said, walking toward the baby, reaching for her hand to walk out of the door. 

“A kiss to Mama,” she said before going out, running to Scarlett and jumping in her arms. 

“Be good with Yong, alright?” She warned, caressing her cheek and giving her another kiss. 

“Yes, Mama, I’ll be good. Bye,” she waved to her and Renjun before running to Yuta, grabbing his hand, and walking outside. 

“She’s lovely,” Renjun commented, tenderly staring at the door before turning back around. 

Scarlett hummed and then placed her hand on his shoulders, resting her chin on it, “and you’re coming with me, I need help.” 

“What about the dress?” 

“I’ll help you create it when you will start working on it,” she promised, doe-eying him. “Please, Injunnie.” 

“Fine, fine,” he gave up, waving her off and starting to pack his things. “I hate how unable I am to go against you.” 

She smiled. “We worked side by side for so long, do you think I will let this go?” 

“Enough,” he stopped her. “I would’ve helped you even without this tooth-rotting stuff.” 

Three weeks passed with more preparations for the great day and also new meetings with ambassadors and councillors. And now that the night before the big day arrived, they felt like they could finally breathe. They were so close to making this big step, something that they never imagined was possible, not between them at least. 

“Our last night as fiancées,” Scarlett joked, closing the door behind her, and walking toward Jaehyun that was looking outside of the balcony from the terrace. “Eunbi is quite thrilled at the thought of being our damsel,” she chuckled, leaning her head against his arm while Jaehyun wrapped it around her waist. “I think I’ll let her sleep with me tonight, it seemed she had no intention to calm down, not even with Taeyong.”

“Today the maids couldn’t convince her to get out of the dress,” Jaehyun giggled at the memory. It took her grandmother to convince her to take it off, only because she told her it had to be perfect and clean for the big day. 

“At least we know she’s getting used to this new life,” she breathed out, holding him tighter, feeling tranquil. This could’ve set her off completely but instead, Eunbi was getting used to the place and people pretty easily. Maybe it was her curious nature, for her this was just another occasion to take more from life and learn and discover. And Scarlett hoped that the news of a new child wasn’t going to be a terrible thing for her. 

“Don’t you think we should’ve asked her before?” 

Jaehyun furrowed, tilting his head to look at her. “About what?” 

“The other baby,” she whispered, pulling away to stare at him. 

“You think she won’t welcome a sibling?” 

She shrugged, crossing her arms on her chest, “I don’t know. What if it will get too much? What if she will feel pushed out of our lives? She has so much love and…” 

“You said it,” Jaehyun interrupted her, taking her hands in his and kissing them softly, “she has so much love, it won’t disappear. But if you feel safer, we can always ask her.” 

Scarlett hummed, looking down at the floor, squeezing his hands tighter. 

“Unless you are the one who’s not sure about this anymore,” he inquired, quirking a brow, trying to study her face, but he couldn’t see much of her until it snapped up. 

“What? No. I do want it. I want it with all of my heart. As scary as it is, I know I can do it another time with you by my side. I don’t think that I ever felt so much love as I did those months with her in my womb. It was terrifying, but also soothing, and warm. And I know that this time can only be better because I will have you.” 

“We can wait, we can…” 

“I don’t want to wait,” she stopped him. “I just think it would be fair to let her know. It will be a change in her life, and I cannot be sure she will accept it easily.” 

“Should we do this now? Before she goes to sleep with you?” 

When they opened the door of the big living room, they found Taeyong on the floor and Eunbi running around wearing a crown on her head and a fake wooden sword chasing after Doyoung. The eldest looked at them with a wrecked face and they laughed. 

“You are free to go,” Scarlett relieved him, walking toward him. 

“Mom look!” Eunbi screamed. “I’m a warrior princess and he’s the bad dragon.” 

Doyoung rushed to her parents, trying to hide behind them but Eunbi easily slipped between them and succeeded in her mission of ‘killing’ him. 

“No, you got me,” Doyoung cried, falling on his knee, pressing the sword against his rib with his arm. 

“You will never terrorize our lands ever again,” she declared, placing her feet on his thigh and her closed fist against her waist, looking proud with her head up. 

“You should go with your mother to her meetings, I’m sure other leaders will listen to you,” Jaehyun joked, kneeling at her side. 

“I only like to fight dragons and ride unicorns. Johnny Oppa promised to build me one soon,” she said, clapping her hands excitedly before she started running around again, playing with herself this time. 

Scarlett laughed, following her for a moment before her eyes got back on Taeyong’s wrecked face. “Tell me you’re not regretting being her main caretaker.” 

Taeyong smiled, finding the strength to stand up. “I will never regret it, but let’s say that I do hope the thrill of this new thing will fade with time because she had never been this excited over anything.” He was used to her, he had seen her grow, she felt like a daughter to him and Doyoung especially. He was always there, her first crawls, her first steps, her first dance moves, and he knew how energetic she could be, but she had never been this energetic. 

“She will calm down,” Scarlett reassured him. “You can go, we’ll deal with her from now on.” 

“Good luck,” Doyoung said, sending them a flying kiss before waving and walking outside with Taeyong, being grateful they all had a personal room to stay over for the night. 

“Little bird,” Scarlett called her, pretending to don’t see the tulle of her dress picking out of one of the armchairs where she was hiding. “Do you see her, Jae?” 

“I have no idea where she is,” he played along, starting to walk around the room and they had to suppress a laugh when they heard her chuckle. 

Eunbi peeked her head out to look at them and then jumped out, scaring them. 

“Oh, my,” Scarlett exclaimed, holding a hand on her chest, “you scared us. Where were you hiding, princess?” 

“A princess should never tell her secrets,” she played along before running to her and doing grabby hands to ask her mother to lift her up.

Jaehyun reached them and pocked her cheek playfully, making her throw her head back, giggling. “Should we go to sleep, now?” 

She whined, “but I’m not tired.” 

“But remember what day is tomorrow?” Her mother asked as they started to make their way to their chamber, Jaehyun would’ve slept in another room for the night so they could’ve gotten ready in the morning and then meet each other at the altar. “You can’t be tired, you have to walk down the aisle and throw the petals on the floor, and then we have to dance all day and eat delicious food.” 

“I know but I am excited,” she pouted, holding tight around her mother’s shoulders. “You look so pretty in the dress; Daddy doesn’t know how beautiful you are.” 

Jaehyun smiled, holding the door open to let them in first, and then closed it behind them. 

“That’s why we need to sleep and let the night pass fast,” he said while Scarlett put her down on the bed and he walked to the closet to hand her the clothes for the night. 

“I sleep with Mama?” She asked, only now realizing they weren’t in her room. 

“Yes,” she replied. “Are you happy?” 

“Yeah,” she cheered, swinging her feet on the mattress happily. “Then I… I can’t wait to go to sleep. I never sleep with you,” she said, trying to reach the buttons behind her dress to unlock them but Jaehyun was quick at helping her since she couldn’t arrive with her arms. “We don’t do that anymore.” It was rare, but occasionally, when Jaehyun was away and they both missed him too much, Eunbi would sneak into their bedroom and spend the night hugged to her mom. 

Scarlett stared at Jaehyun, her eyes letting him know all her fears, but he had always been better than her at dealing with these situations without letting emotions take over completely.

“It has been a rough time, honey,” he explained, lifting her dress up and then pushing her cotton camisole on her body to cover her up. “We can set one day of the week where we can do that. We can cook together like we used to do and then we can watch movies together in this big and soft bed.” 

Eunbi smiled brightly, crinkles of her eyes showing up and dimples popping out. “I love it!” 

Scarlett let out a small breath of relief and then moved closer to them, sitting on the bed right next to Jaehyun. 

“We need to ask you a thing,” Scarlett said, holding Jaehyun’s hand for support. 

“For tomorrow?” Eunbi asked, tilting her head to the side while her hands played with the soft fabric of the sheets in front of her. 

“More for life,” Jaehyun replied, making her furrow even more. 

“Would you mind to don’t being alone anymore?” Scarlett asked and Eunbi’s eyes drifted from her to Jaehyun, clearly confused. 

“But I am not alone,” she said, scratching her leg where she had a mosquito bite and Scarlett had to move her hand away so she wouldn’t have bled.  

“It’s not about the people that surround you, it’s about having another friend a little bit younger than you,” she tried to explain. 

“Will I go to school? Taeyong told me that. In kinder… kindergarden? Is it?” She asked, jumping on her spot, eyes lighting up in anticipation. 

“Also, maybe, we still have to think about that. But no, it’s in the family.” 

“Would you mind not being our only daughter?” Jaehyun got straight to the point when he understood that Scarlett couldn’t push those words out. 

Eunbi gasped and Scarlett almost felt like passing out but then breathed again when Eunbi’s lips curled in a smile, and she got up. “Like — like me being a sister?” 

“Do you know what a sister is?” 

Eunbi hummed enthusiastically, “Juliet is the big sister, she has many siblings.” 

“Oh, I missed that. And would you be fine with that?” 

“Yes!” She cheered. “Aunt July says it’s like always having a friend with you. Will I have it too?” She asked, starting to slightly jump up on the mattress. 

Scarlett turned to Jaehyun smiling at him. “Well, we are hoping to be gifted with another baby soon.” 

“Yes! I want one, I want to be their best friend. How are we calling it?” 

“Calm now,” Scarlett chuckled, “the baby is not here yet, we don’t even know when we’ll have it.” 

“Can I have a sister?” She still asked, ignoring her mother’s words and jumping happily on the mattress trying to keep the balance on her legs. 

Jaehyun chuckled, she was always so enthusiastic over everything, he only wished she was never going to lose that sparkle. 

“You can’t pick that, what will come will come.” 

Eunbi pouted but then hugged her mom. “I can’t wait to meet them.” 

“We can’t wait either,” they both replied, squeezing her in a tight hug. 

The garden of the royal palace never looked so intimidating, and yet, breathtaking, in Scarlett’s eyes. Her heart was thudding loudly in her chest, so loud that she could feel it more than the march that already started playing. And having Johnny’s arm around her, wasn’t enough to make her feel supported to take the first step forward and start to walk down the open—air aisle. 

“Breathe in and breathe out,” Johnny whispered, squeezing her hand in support and making her do the step of no turning back. Somehow, she felt more anxious now than four weeks before when she had to swear to protect her land and people. 

Seeing Eunbi walk in front of them, throwing petals in her little lilac dress with purple calla lilies adorning her curls and watching her skipped steps as she couldn’t control hopping instead of walking, and seeing Jaehyun waiting for her at the altar, made her breath get stuck in her throat. 

She couldn’t even be bothered by how public it all was, how many people they didn’t know were there, and how this was more than just a love vow but also something political. It mattered on papers, but it didn’t matter in her heart. 

And Jaehyun couldn’t help but smile, eyes glistening as he stared at her. She was walking gracefully toward him, small steps, insecure even, and he could imagine that she was leaning on Johnny more than she should’ve. Her manicured hands wrapped around the cascading bouquet with roses, calla lilies, and daisies, and if she held just a bit tighter, she would’ve ruined the stems. Yet, even with the small clumsy acts only he knew, she still looked angelic. The white dress hugged her chest and then fell soft on her round hips, the details in lace on the corset and the puffy shoulders were extremely complex with flower patterns and diamonds sewed on them. And he couldn’t see her face, hidden behind the white veil, but he knew that she looked amazing as always. 

Eunbi reached the altar first, sending a flying kiss to her father and then sitting with her grandmother and half of the boys on the other side. 

When Scarlett reached him, and Johnny lifted her veil and bowed to him before sitting on her side of the aisle, Jaehyun fell in love again. That day, just like he did by now five years before during one of those nights where their love was cursed and impossible. And he surely never imagined being able to love her in plan daylight, he never imagined standing by her side on the altar as her future husband and not as her bodyguard. But here they were, and he felt his heart so full of joy, love, and even incredulity, that it could burst. 

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, making her lower her head to hide a shy smile. He had spent nights and days reminding her that, and yet, those words still sounded like the first time, they made her heart flip in her chest and shivers run down her spine. 

“You too,” she replied before they both turned around, facing the priest. Scarlett handed the bouquet to Eunbi and then the ceremony started. 

And when the time for the vows arrived, they faced each other, holding their hands together and looking into each other’s eyes. 

“I, Jaehyun, take you, Scarlett, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I will love and honour you all the days of my life.”

“I, Scarlett, take you, Jaehyun, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I will love and honour you all the days of my life.”

Eunbi shily got up and walked to the altar, handing the wedding rings to the priest so he could bless them and then offered them to Jaehyun. He grabbed one with shaky hands, beaming at the sight of their names engraved in the band and the small diamond in the middle, and then placed it on her finger, saying, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Take and wear this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness.”

Scarlett held her breath, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to run down her cheeks, and then grabbed the other ring, gently held his hand, and let it slide on his finger, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Take and wear this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness.”

“You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. That God has joined, man must not separate. Amen,” the priest declared. “And by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” 

“I imagine I can kiss you now?” Jaehyun chuckled, leaning closer to her, and she hummed before leaning in completely, letting their lips meet in a chaste kiss that only lasted for a few seconds as the crowd erupted in cheers and claps and a march started playing, signaling the ending of the ceremony. 

They turned around, hands tightened together, and Scarlett reached out to signal Eunbi to reach them and carry with her the bouquet as they walked back down the aisle, waving at people. 

“I’m so glad you never stopped fighting for our love, you know, right?” He whispered, the world fading for a moment. 

“It was the best choice I have ever taken in my entire life,” she replied, smiling brightly, feeling full, feeling like this was finally the place where they belonged and nothing, absolutely nothing could tear them apart.

“I’m wrecked,” Scarlett huffed, slumping on their bed, kicking the shoes in a corner, the dress falling all around her. 

“It must be tiring to be a Queen,” Jaehyun joked, walking toward her, standing at the end of the bed. “Guess you are too tired to have our first time on our wedding night.” 

“Oh, my Lord, you do have to know I am very scared since this is my first time,” she joked and they burst out laughing as she turned around and crawl toward him. “I had to hold back a laugh today when the priest asked If we were willing to accept children. What does he think we did with Eunbi?” 

“Shut up, I heard you snicker, that was so unprofessional.” 

“But it was just too funny, imagine if he knew I’m probably already knocked up with the second one.” 

“I don’t think we will be this lucky this time,” Jaehyun chuckled before raising a brow. “Wait, do you feel it?” 

She shrugged, fixing the dress and sitting in the middle of the bed, the pompous fabric taking all the space around her. “I didn’t feel her for six months I won’t lie to you and say that I feel a potential peas—sized fetus now.” 

“Then I guess we will have to try so hard to be sure we will accept children,” he cooed, leaning down to kiss her. “I promise first times are not so terrible if you have somebody loving you, my lovely wife.” 

She chuckled, pushing him off playfully and falling back on the mattress, “do you want me to confess to you something?” 

Jaehyun hummed, starting to unbutton his suit. 

“You were my first time.” 

“Well, do I have to say I am surprised? It is not like you had many boys to sneak around with.” 

“Yeah, but I never told you. You should be grateful for that,” she pouted. 

“I am grateful for having you by my side,” he replied. 

“I was trying to get in the mood of getting you excited over the fact no man ever touched me like that,” she teased, lifting his chin and kissing him.

He smiled, snickering before he pushed her down again, trapping her with his broad body. “You don’t want me to be jealous on our honeymoon night.” 

“You have nothing to be jealous about,” she said, letting her hand travel on his toned chest, “but you have something to brag about. I’m sure there are a few men that wished to be in your place, today even,” she smirked, referring to all the Princes, Dukes, and Kings that were invited to their wedding and mostly all of them had been in the list of her proposed husband. 

“Trust me, I know,” he smirked, starting to trail kisses on her neck. “They would come to me,” he confessed, lips traveling in the hollow of her chest, “asking for advice. Asking me what would’ve made you fall.” 

“And I hope you advised them wrong.” 

He chuckled. “It’s not a very wise thing to do. I was honest,” he confessed, pulling away for a moment to let his hand move behind her and undo the strings of her corset. “I would tell them how much you loved irises,” he whispered, unfastening the strings and pulling the dress off of her body slowly, “I would tell them how much you enjoyed playing the piano and singing with your ladies,” he pushed it off, folding it for the better before placing it on the closest armchair before going back to her. The white laced lingerie the only thing covering her body now. “I would tell them that you could talk about philosophy all day long and never get tired of it,” he whispered, hands running over her bare legs and lips doing the same. “I would tell them you loved strolling in the park and go the small lake with the ducks,” he stopped, right over her core, “I didn’t tell them you named each one of them, though.” 

She giggled, she had completely forgotten she did that. “We picked them together,” she exclaimed, remembering the afternoon when instead of strolling with the ton where her father wanted her to be, she escaped as always with Jaehyun and made ‘new friends.’ 

“We did,” he replied, smiling and then picking up his path on her body. “They also don’t know about your collection of poems, the ones you used to write when we would travel for hours, or at night when you couldn’t sleep.” 

“So you did keep secrets.” 

“I had to keep a little piece of you all to myself,” he confessed, coming close to her face again. “I was more than sure they would’ve found it out soon by themselves when I would’ve lost you completely.” 

“But you didn’t.” 

“I didn’t.” 

Her breath faltered when his lips started kissing her mound, soft and wet over the see—through pattern of her panties before he slowly pulled them off of her, leaving her bare, and his nose nuzzled against the soft short layer of hair before moving down to her lips. 

“Jaehyun,” she breathed out, rolling her head back and moving a hand in his hair. 

“They don’t know how good you taste,” he whispered, breath fanning against her wetness, the contrast making shivers run down her spine and spread her legs wider. “They don’t know how much you love this,” he added, starting to move his mouth on her again, slow, not leaving out a single patch of sensitive skin, bringing her closer and closer to heaven. 

“They will never hear your pretty moans,” he said, pulling away again, leaving her whimpering and whining at the loss, hips bucking up, trying to meet him, wanting to feel him again. “What do you want, darling?” He asked as his fingers traced up on her thighs to her belly and then down, so close to where she was pulsing just for him. 

“Need you, please,” she begged, eyes open, staring at him, and hands daring to reach out and move his fingers there, and Jaehyun let her, watching attentively as she guided him on her dripping pussy and their hands started moving together. 

“You want this so slow?” 

“Yeah, I don’t want to rush tonight,” she confessed, still looking at him. “This is our night. I want it to be – fuck – special.” 

“Let me do it, then,” he smiled, moving her hand away, placing it at her side and picking up the movements on her as he leaned down and his lips attached to her wet folds again. His lips moving on her, dancing to a rhythm that drove her insane, following steps he knew by heart. And he kept going for so long, getting intoxicated by her until all her walls came falling down. 

They weren’t close to being done, and she already felt on cloud nine, eyes rolled in the back of her head while from her lips low pitched moans rolled out of them as the first orgasm washed over her. 

Jaehyun smirked as he slowly pulled away from her body, licking his lips and staring at her. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, meeting her eyes before leaning in and making their mouths meet in a slow but needy kiss. And just as needy were their hands that swiftly moved to get rid of the last pieces of underwear they were wearing, marking each other’s skin as they rolled in the bed. 

“I know this is, hmm, not our first night,” he panted through their kisses, “but I want to, want to make it special. Want to take it slow.” 

She hummed against his lips, wrapping her legs around his waist, and her hands in his hair, “Love me like you never loved me before,” she whispered, caressing his cheek with her thumb. “Love me like you would lose me but knowing that nothing will tear us apart.” 

So, he did, easing himself inside her with no struggle he let their bodies intertwine, and surely that wasn’t the first time, but it still felt special. It was special. After all, it was the sign of a new beginning for them, a new life, a new era where they were equal not only in their hearts but also on paper and in people’s eyes. 

“Fuck,” he mumbled, looking at her face contorted in pleasure, “I’m so lucky to have you.” 

A warm smile curled her lips as her eyes forced open slightly to stare back at him, but she didn’t say a thing back, just letting the compliment comfort her and his love fill her up. 

“Are you truly mine? All mine?” He asked, still in disbelief. 

“Yours, always and forever,” she replied, kissing him, muffling their moans, as she let go even more in his warm embrace and the way his cock was dragging in and out of her body increasingly faster, so good to get her head spinning. 

And more praises and promises rolled out of Jaehyun’s tongue, sealing into the night, writing themselves down with only the stars and moon to testify. Promises of forever. Promises of a bond that was never going to break. A bond that neither time, or sickness, or death could do apart. It wasn’t til death but beyond death.

“I’m, I’m,” the words died in her throat as her glossy eyes stared up at Jaehyun but he didn’t need her to say anything to know she was close, it was in the way her body was shaking underneath him like a leaf in winter and the way she was clenching hard around him.  

“Yeah, love?” He smiled, thumb caressing her cheek and the fingers of his other hand digging into her waist as he pressed her body more against the mattress, hips slamming hard against her ass as his cock filled her up perfectly. “You’re close, right? Want to come already?” 

“Yes,” she breathed out with a shaky voice, legs pushing him closer to her body, hips bucking up to meet him mid—way and nails dragging against the skin of his back, marking him. 

“Come, but know I’m nowhere done with you,” he said. “Gonna fuck you all night,” he groaned against her lips, “gonna fill you up until you can’t take me anymore. Will make sure I’ll be the only one in your mind once I’m done with you.” 

And those words send her over the edge, the possessiveness, his need, his rawness, always drove her crazy, no matter how much she knew there was nothing to prove and nobody that could ever take his place in her life.

And the only thing she could do was to writhe under him and take his first load. 

But he didn’t stop. Jaehyun kept his promises of going on and fuck her over and over again, turning her brain into nothing, turning each other into nothing but a mere extension of the other, blending into one another, becoming a mess into each other’s hold, not knowing where one started and the other ended. 

And they lost count of how many times they came, the remains of their passion on the mess they made on the sheets and their tired bodies.

But it didn’t matter, nothing mattered anymore if not them. 

That was only the begging. 

July had been filled with plans. Taking care of a reign in shambles was hard. Scarlett could’ve never imagined her father let it go so badly, but slowly, she was pulling pieces back together with new policies, laws that protected workers and their economy, more exchanges with some other neighbouring reigns and so on. 

“You should spend some time at our house in the countryside, sweetheart,” her mother had told her one day, entering the war room and watching her stress out over some documents she couldn’t find. 

“No, we can’t,” she replied, head between papers as she silently prayed her father didn’t lose anything. “Maybe you, Jaehyun and Eunbi could go. She needs a break.” 

“She?” The ex—monarch asked, raising a brow. “She’s doing more than fine. Sure, spending days stressing the maids because she follows them everywhere and wants to help with everything, but she’s fine.” 

Scarlett chuckled for a moment, thinking about her daughter and then how little she was seeing her lately. And it wasn’t because she was busy, not only for that at least, but because it was true that Eunbi became friends with anybody there. The other day she even started talking with the master of horses and had already asked him if she could learn how to ride. 

“Maybe you can take her downtown,” she added, opening another folder, and skimming through it. “She needs somebody her age to play with, can’t stress everybody here.” 

Her mother sighed, walking closer to her, helping her to look through the files once she told her what she was looking for. “Talking about other kids,” she started, a small smirk curling her lips, creating more wrinkles on her tired face. “Jaehyun’s not so good at keeping secrets.” 

Scarlett huffed, rolling her eyes, slamming a folder close, infuriated she still didn’t find what she was looking for. 

“I’m not pregnant,” she replied, looking at her. Her warm brown eyes, her grey hair styled in five neat cornrows wrapped in a low bun behind her head, lips tinted of a deep red still pulled in her usual smirk saying, ‘I am your mother, I know.’ 

“Don’t give me that look,” she said. 

“I am not giving you any look, I am just saying that is not recommended for a pregnant woman to be this stressed.” 

“But I am not,” she complained, trying to put the scattered papers in place to at least don’t have more mess on the table. 

“Are you sure? You look tired.” 

“I am, and not because of a baby. You cannot feel it, you didn’t realize it with Eunbi.” 

“I had no idea you did anything physical. Sorry, I imagined you a vir–“ 

“Enough,” she stopped her, lifting her finger up. “Mom, I am fine. Thank you for your concerns, but they are not necessary.” 

She hummed, and then lifted a paper, “is this what you were looking for?” 

Scarlett looked over, eyes squeezing to read better the writing on it. “Yes, how did you find it? I’ve been looking for it for hours.” 

Her mother smiled, shrugging, “It’s a mother thing.” 

She smiled and then hugged her without thinking. It wasn’t something they were used to doing, probably they only hugged three times their entire life, but it was nice. 

“If you find out, let me know this time.” 

“I didn’t mean to hide it from you. You know who you have to blame.” 

“I know,” she replied before walking to the other side of the door. “My offer still stands, think about it. Maybe you and your lovely husband want to try in more… peace,” she winked and before Scarlett could curse, she went out of the door. 

But Scarlett sighed, letting her body rest against the long oval wooden table, placing a hand on her side before her hand unconsciously moved on her stomach. 

“No,” she exclaimed out loud, standing up straight, and shaking her head. She wasn’t tired because she was pregnant. The headaches, the fatigue she felt, the bloating, nothing was related to another kid, right? Her last period arrived, but she also got it meant nothing, and also that was by now a month ago, so if this month skipped… “it’s not the time and place to think about that,” she scolded herself, turning her attention to her papers again. 

Her mind, though, couldn’t keep the same focus for the rest of the day, always drifting on something else, thinking that the idea of taking it with more calm wasn’t so bad, but that meant she needed to get things done now. So, she had decided to leave, deal with some outer problems now that she could and then come back, and if it was needed take some time to rest.

Seeing Eunbi cry tore her heart in two, it was bad even when Jaehyun had to leave, but she had never been without her mother, not for so long at least, and it hurt her a lot too, but it was necessary. But it made her think for the whole ride if maybe Eunbi got too excited over things without thinking them through. Sure, it was natural for a baby, but maybe she did that too much. And once again she wondered if the idea of adding another member to their family was a smart thing to do. 

“You look terrible,” Donghyuck pointed out midway to another reign. 

“And you are always nice.” 

“No, I am saying that you look stressed, worried. Is everything alright?” 

“Yeah, I am just thinking about these meetings that we have. I’m not really sure how I am going to win some people back after what my father had done,” she lied, forcing a smile on her face and then looking out of the window. 

She just wanted these two weeks to pass fast, seal those deals so she wouldn’t have to worry about those other countries anymore, and then go back home to her family. 

Little did she know, she wouldn’t have come back alone. 

“Why are you walking back and forth like this?” Jaehyun asked her. They were outside, enjoying an afternoon tea while Eunbi ran around with some of her maids and occasionally showed them some flowers she picked up or ranted about some insect she caught. But Scarlett seemed off, she seemed off for a while now, but she shrugged it off with work any time he would bring the topic up. 

“I have a weird feeling,” she confessed. Turning around to sit next to him on the white chair. 

“Weird as in bad or good?” He asked, raising a brow, placing the journal he was reading on the table next to him. 

“Good… I guess,” she replied. “I feel weird.” 

Jaehyun stared at her, he wanted to ask her if it was related to a possible pregnancy but didn’t, for some reason, he was terrified of touching the wrong buttons and setting her off. He didn’t want to seem too apprehensive over the thing. They already fucked enough in any possible occasion they had, so he truly didn’t think it was necessary to remind her about it and point out that nothing still happened. More anxiety was the last thing she needed.  

“We can call the doctor.”

She huffed, rolling her eyes. “I’m not sick, not for…” she sighed, waving him off and starting to walk again. “My period skipped,” she confessed with no hesitation and Jaehyun almost risked a heart attack, slamming his flat palm against his chest while he coughed. 

“What? And what were you waiting at telling me that?” 

“I don’t know. I wanted to be sure but I’m like four weeks late now, so unless my hormones are messing with me for other reasons…” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked again, voice weirdly high. 

“I was waiting for other signs; I don’t want to give your hopes up. I feel weird but not... I don’t know how to explain,” she clarified, running a hand through her hair. “I don’t feel extremely bad but I do feel different but I don’t know if it’s all in my head because I want it so much. I’ve read somewhere that one of the reasons some women find out later that they’re pregnant, as had happened withEunbi, it’s because the body rejects it and what if the opposite is possible too? That I’m simply going crazy and sensing things?” 

“First of all, don’t stress about it,” he comforted her. “But you are always sleepy lately, isn’t that a sign?” 

“But I also work a lot, it may mean absolutely nothing.” Tearing apart the symptoms of pregnancy and all the anxiety she felt due to the rhythm of being a newly set Queen was hard. She had come back from the trip and was beyond tired, not being able to sleep a lot in other countries. And even when she came back she had many things to set up and Donghyuck’s help wasn’t enough, and he also had his kingdom to deal with. 

Jaehyun quirked a brow, trying to think about something more that had happened during the past days. He was keeping a closer look on her, not to sound like a psycho but considering how much they were doing it, and for how long, they had to have fit a fertile window. And, considering they didn’t have problems with conception and fertility, it was just a matter of time. He didn’t want to be paranoic, he simply wanted to make sure she was alright. 

“You are moodier,” he dared to say, hoping she wouldn’t get mad. “And didn’t you scream the other day when Eunbi accidentally hit your boob?” 

“And?” 

“Sore breasts? Isn’t that another sign?” 

She nodded and then chuckled, “how do you know all those things?” 

Jaehyun shrugged, he wasn’t going to tell her he had asked around and informed himself just to be ready. Pregnancy was a painful thing, it wasn’t only rainbow and roses, and since he wasn’t the one going through that, the least he could do was try to help her as much as possible, and being informed was the only way. 

“Should we call a doctor? Or should I take a test?” Scarlett asked, fumbling with her fingers nervously.

“It’s up to you, love.” 

“What if… what if I am not?” 

“That would be fine anyway. Nobody’s running after us.” 

“But I…” she sighed, running a hand on her face, giving up on finishing the sentence. “Let’s take a test then.” 

“Great, but no tears if it’s negative, alright? We are already blessed with one, and then we can always keep on trying. I surely do not mind having so much fun with you,” he joked, winking before pulling her close in a kiss. 

Some days later they were walking back and forth in their bedroom, impatiently waiting for the result to show on the test sitting on the windowsill.

“Can you look at it for me?” Scarlett asked when enough minutes passed. 

Jaehyun hummed, gathering the courage to walk toward it, never feeling so scared in his entire life. Yes, he truly believed what he had told her, they were young and had so many other changes, but a part of him just couldn’t wait. He wanted to meet their new baby as soon as possible. 

So he picked the test up, closed his eyes, and scrolled it from the fluid before taking a deep breath and lifting it just enough so he could see the results. 

And his heart skipped a beat as his body stilled mouth open, eyes incredulous and hands shaking. 

“So? Is it negative?” Scarlett asked from behind him, worried about his reaction. “Babe?” 

Jaehyun turned around, moving his lips to speak but he couldn’t find the words, tears starting to fall from his eyes before he could stop. 

“Babe?” Scarlett asked rushing to him. 

“We’ll be parents again,” he breathed out, snapping from his block, making her stop in her tracks, now being the one in utter shock. 

“I’m… I’m pregnant?” 

“Yes, babe. You’re carrying our kid again.” 

Scarlett brought her hands to her mouth in disbelief and started crying too before running the few steps that divided her from him and falling into his arms. 

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Jaehyun whispered, voice muffled against her hair as he held her tight. “I’ll be here with you. I’ll watch you change and do something so brave for us.” 

She smiled, more happy tears running down her cheeks, snuggling closer to him, inhaling his scent deeply. 

This was how it was supposed to go. 

With him by his side. Feeling safe and protected. Feeling in the right place in the world. 

This time nothing bad would’ve happened, she wouldn’t have had to walk miles with a heavy heart and mourn him, and she wouldn’t have to give birth to their child in a small living room risking her life. 

“Are you happy?” Jaehyun asked and she nodded against his chest, hugging him tighter. 

“I can’t wait to do this with you and Eunbi by my side.” 

It turned out that having Jaehyun by her side was probably more stressful than helpful considering how paranoid over everything he would get. Rarely leaving her side, always making sure she was feeling fine, proposing to take some matters into his hands since he was the King too and he didn’t want her to overwork herself. 

But it was fun, seeing him so considerate. 

And what was nicest was the way his hand always found a way to wrap around her stomach. 

He was obsessed with it, caressing her on any given occasion, or walking two fingers on her covered skin when they were laying in bed, making silly voices. He couldn’t care that there wasn’t a bump yet, he knew their baby was inside and that was all he cared about. 

But his obsession was exactly the giveaway for other people to be suspicious. Nobody knew officially, Scarlett was superstitious and wanted to keep it a secret until the risk of miscarriage started to lower, and considering she was at the th week it was just a matter of time before they could’ve made it official, but everybody could see it anyway from the way they changed. 

How she was much more careful. How she cut off some foods from her diet. How she was more tired, and also how much Jaehyun insisted for her to sleep when she felt the need to, assuring her he could take over for a while. How Jaehyun always prepared tea for her in the afternoon. 

When they delivered the news, it was a Saturday night in late August, they decided to do a cosy dinner all together with no other people around. 

“So, I guess there’s a reason behind this?” Johnny said when they were almost done, the cake was the only thing left to eat – much to Eunbi’s happiness. 

“What?” Scarlett played dumb. “We always used to do this back at home. We’ve simply been busy.” 

“Yeah, busy fuck—” Yuta started before Taeyong slapped a hand on his mouth. 

“There’s a kid,” he reminded him, glaring at him. 

“Sorry, Jesus,” he whined, rolling his eyes and head back. 

“Well, he is correct, though,” Scarlett chuckled, placing her hand on Jaehyun’s, making Taeyong’s gaze fall there.

“No,” Taeyong whispered in shock, mouth open. “For real?” 

“We are waiting for another baby,” Jaehyun announced, eyes running over his friends. 

“Oh, thank God we don’t have to pretend we don’t know it anymore,” Johnny exclaimed, clapping. 

“You knew?” They exclaimed with Taeyong. 

“Why was I the only one who didn’t?” Taeyong asked, head snapping left and right to glare at all his friends.

“Yeah, and how you knew it,” she asked, turning around to look at Jaehyun but he raised his hands. 

“I kept my mouth shut.” 

“We could feel it,” Mark explained, a big smile on his face, “he’s always next to you and he always has a hand around your tummy. Remember that this is how I found out about Eunbi?” 

At hearing her name, Eunbi raised her head, furrowing as she tried to understand what they were talking about, she wasn’t really listening, too busy eating the cake and playing a story in her mind between the small fork and spoon. 

“Me?” 

“Yeah, the first one in this room that knew about you was uncle Mark,” her mom explained and she smiled widely. 

“And Daddy?” 

“I wasn’t there, unfortunately,” Jaehyun said, a bitter smile on his face. A new baby was never going to replace the fact that he never felt her kick in Scarlett’s belly, couldn’t sing her songs and didn’t live it by their side. He knew it wasn’t his fault, he also knew that it was a miracle that they found each other again, but it still hurt him, nonetheless. 

“But you were always there with me, Dada.” 

“Once you were out.” 

“Out? Out of the door?” 

They all laughed, shaking their heads at her cute, confused expression and her cream—stained lips. 

“Tell me we won’t have that talk right now?” Yuta asked and Scarlett waved him off. 

“Before being here in the world, every being spends some time in their mom’s tummy,” Scarlett started explaining. 

Her mouth opened. “You had me there?” She asked, pointing at her tummy and Scarlett nodded. 

“And right now, there’s somebody else here.” 

“Inside you?” 

“Yeah.” 

“It moved in?” 

They all burst laughing, she was so innocent and yet curious it was funny how she tried to come up with a solution even if she had no idea what they were talking about. 

“No, baby, it doesn’t work like this, you can’t get back there,” she said. 

“Then who’s there? Do we know them?” 

“Not yet,” Jaehyun said. “In around five months you’ll meet them.” 

“And remember what we said some time ago? About you not being alone anymore,” Scarlett asked. 

Eunbi’s eyes lightened up, only now starting to realize where this was going. “There’s my sister!” She screamed, letting the spoon fall and standing up on the chair, making Jaehyun wrap a hand around her so she couldn’t fall. “You made my sister! I didn’t know you can make them in your belly.” 

“Yes, let’s say it works like this,” Scarlett cut that short, reaching for her to stop her from jumping on the spot – damned habit when she was excited. “And we don’t know if it’s going to be a sister. You can’t decide, remember?” 

She furrowed again, “But you made her, you can make her how you like. Can she be shorter than me? I want to be the tallest.” 

“Okay, let’s not start, now,” Scarlett chuckled. “It’s not that easy, you decide to have a baby but how it comes out it’s all up to destiny.” 

“Who’s destiny? Do we know her?” 

“Bibi,” Jaehyun chuckled, trying to make her understand but it was just too funny to keep a straight face, especially when the others were all bent in two laughing. 

“No, we don’t know her. We know Désirée, Yuta’s girlfriend,” she said, placing a hand under her chin trying to think if she met anybody named destiny. 

Yuta choked on his saliva, “Hey! That’s not true.” 

“You were with her the other day downtown,” she retorted. “They spent all the time talking about travels and she said she wants to see the rest of the world.” 

“That doesn’t mean that... ugh. Why is she so nosy?” He asked her parents and they shrugged. 

“Going back to the baby,” her mother said, bringing Eunbi’s attention to her again to leave poor Yuta to breathe. “You have to be patient. With time, we’ll find out if it’s a boy or a girl and in some years, we’ll see who will be the tallest, alright?” 

“I will be. Look, I’m so big right now. How tall is she? How can she fit in you if she’s big? Oh my,” she gasped, “is she pushing you?” She asked worried, reaching forward to touch her mother’s belly and caress it. 

“No, she’s too small to move for now,” she replied. “Wait, stop saying she, we don’t know. We’ll use them, fine? Do you like it?” 

She hummed, happily. “If she hurts you tell me, I’ll tell her that noooobody can touch Mama.” 

They all chuckled affectionately at her words, smiling tenderly when she made grabby hands and let Scarlett take her in her arms. 

“When they’ll start moving you can always singe them a lullaby, or caress the belly, it will calm them,” Jaehyun said, caressing her cheek. 

“Can I sing her our song?” 

Scarlett dropped her shoulders at her using ‘she’ again but chuckled. It was clear that she really wanted a sister. 

“You can sing them everything you want, baby,” Jaehyun said. 

“Then can we go to bed, now? You can sing us the song so we’ll both fall asleep together,” she asked, pouting. 

“Is this what we have to do to make you go to sleep early?” Taeyong asked, shocked she was the one proposing to go to bed. 

“I’m good,” she huffed, crossing her arms and pouting at him. 

“But you always put up a scene when it’s time to sleep,” he sang, wiggling his head, making faces at her, making her laugh. 

“But we have so many things to do,” she whined, placing her hands on the table and lifting the weight of her body on them to get closer to Taeyong. “I was chasing butterflies and you made me go to bed.” 

“You’ve been chasing butterflies?” Jaehyun asked, gently caressing her back. 

“Yeah, they were all so… so…” she stopped, thinking of the word, “with colours and pretty.” 

“They were colourful, was that what you were trying to say?” Scarlett asked. 

“Yeah, colourful!” 

“We’ll put her to sleep and then we’ll come back,” Jaehyun said, signaling her to jump off her mom’s lap.

“Oh, you’re back already,” Doyoung noted, eyeing the clock and seeing that had passed just ten minutes since they left. 

“Well, she was tired for the day and said she was trying to meet the baby in her sleep, so,” Scarlett explained, giggling, before sitting back on her seat. 

“We’re all very happy for you, by the way,” Johnny said, smiling at his friends. “We couldn’t wait for you to drop the big news, suspecting it but not being able to say anything was kind of killing us.” 

They smiled, holding hands. “I just wanted to be sure to be over the big risks of miscarriage, you know... the other one is not the news you want to tell people after you gave them this one.”

They hummed, getting her point. “But talking about happy things,” Mark said, leaning closer to her, “How do you feel? Have you picked a list of names yet? Would you prefer a boy or a girl? Come on, tell us how it’s going.”

Jaehyun rolled his eyes and Scarlett chuckled, “God, you haven’t changed a bit.”   

Taking advantage of the baby’s bump not being so big for now, they had decided to do the changes in the palace as soon as possible. Her mother proposed to call somebody else, but they didn’t want to. They basically built an entire house from scratch, their first place, so they could surely adjust two rooms. 

“We’ll bring you closer to us, but not too much, so if the baby screams or cries at night you won’t hear a thing,” Scarlett said, explaining to Eunbi why they picked the room at the end of the corridor to be hers and not the one right next to their chamber. The walls were thick, but a baby was still a baby, and even if they were just born their lungs were so strong you could hear them from miles. 

“I like this,” she said, looking around; it was bigger than the other she had and had a big balcony that let a lot of light wash in even if there was a fence that didn’t let her have access outside. 

“This was the room where I used to play the piano and study,” Scarlett reminisced. It was now empty, ready to move Eunbi’s things in, but it was still filled with memories. 

“Your mom spent her days here,” Jaehyun said as he pushed her bed against the wall, fixing the light lilac drape that fell from the structure of the bed shaped like a house. “She always played the piano and sang.” They looked at each other, smiling tenderly, thinking back at their past days spent there. 

“And you listened to her?” She asked, running to him to give him some pillows to place on her already made bed. 

“I was there to protect her, but yeah, I used to get lost in her voice. Don’t tell her,” he whispered, “but she had the most angelic voice I’ve ever heard.” 

Eunbi giggled, and Scarlett smiled, “I heard you.” 

“Oops, and wait until she finds out that made me fall for her.” 

“Can you sing for me, Mama?” 

“We have your room to decorate.” 

“We sing and decorate,” Eunbi proposed, already walking to the pile of boxes with her things. “There’s no shaking horse,” she whined, looking around and not seeing it. 

“I told Johnny she was going to find out immediately,” Jaehyun said. “Remember that you wanted it to be a unicorn?” She nodded. “Johnny’s making a miracle, that’s why it’s not here.” 

“Oh, I knew he would, he promised me,” she cheered happily, now calm, knowing nobody took it away from her. 

“Why don’t we take care of your playing corner?” Scarlett proposed, walking to the other side of the room. “We’ll hang that drape and then we’ll put that big, fluffy, round cushion right under it.” 

“Here,” Eunbi said, giving her the pink drape, “Don’t fall,” she warned when her mother climbed on a ladder to insert the tent around the round wire hanging from the ceiling. 

“Scarlett,” Jaehyun called her, “what did we say about you doing those things?” 

“I’m fine,” she huffed. “Here, it’s hanged,” she reassured them both, climbing down and pushing the ladder to the side. 

“You’re going to be the death of me,” Jaehyun muttered, going back to the other side to assemble the small heart—shaped library. 

“Daddy’s too paranoic,” she chuckled as Eunbi placed the pink pillow under it, fixing the curtain around it.

“We don’t want you and baby to hurt,” she replied with a pout.

“I know, Mama and baby are fine,” she comforted. “And now the pillows, and the plushies.” 

Eunbi smiled, rushing to grab the last things missing and then started placing them how she liked them the most.

“And we’re down with this,” Scarlett cheered. “You can pull the curtain all around you or leave it open,” she explained, showing it to her. “And soon we’ll also hang a small lamp if you want to read, but try to do it in the light, alright? It’s for your eyes.” 

She hummed. “Can Dada put the library here?” 

“Yes, wherever you want it.” 

“I want this corner to be for… uhm… things I like?” 

“Why don’t you grab those big boxes and take them here? We can put them against the wall and order all your toys inside.” 

“I love it,” she exclaimed, rushing to take them. 

“Order them as you like. I’ll help dad, fine?” 

“So, any help?” 

“You can sit and play with Eunbi,” he replied, dismissing her.

“Jae, I’m not about to die, I’m fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m only always hungry and I have a disgusting amount of vaginal discharges but I assure you it’s something I can survive with.” The baby was starting to grow, it was almost the end of the fourth month, and she could see a faint highlight of a tummy, but she didn’t have any bad symptoms. Actually, the terrible nauseous of the first months disappeared.

He giggled, “is it given to hormones?” 

“I guess, they are always the ones to blame, right?” 

“I know I’m annoying at times but… I want to make sure you’re safe,” he said, placing down the hammer to look at her. 

“I know, but I’m not dumb. I know my limits, I would never push myself past them, so I will keep me and baby,” she chuckled, making him giggle too, “safe.” Not really liking to keep it gender-neutral, Eunbi came up with the solution of calling it baby because, apparently, it helped her to be reminded less of the 50% of possibility of having a brother. 

“We need to come up with a name, maybe sooner than we did with her. I don’t know what were you waiting exactly to name her.” 

“Hey, I was a broken-hearted widow,” she joked, pushing his arm playfully. “And also she came out of me before the due time, I wasn’t expecting her.” 

“Fine, but this time we’ll have a name before the seventh month.” 

“As you wish my King,” she kidded, kissing his cheek. 

“Mom, Dad, I put them in place,” Eunbi screamed, happy about how she had fixed her toys in the boxes. “Can we decor the outside?” 

“Yeah, I’m coming.” 

After Jaehyun was done with the library, he sat down next to her, helping them decorate the boxes, gluing glitters, and attaching stickers and wooden crafts they had painted together. And little by little, the whole room came together. The canopy bed was at its place in the middle of the room with pillows, her plushies and her comfort blanket, at its side there was a small bedside table where she could keep the essentials. On the other side of the room, there was her play corner, with the curtain and pillow and all the boxes with her toys, the heart—shaped library, and her dollhouse. And what took most of the wall was the closet. The only things missing to decorate were the shelves on the walls and the small vanity table next to the balcony. 

“Do you like it?” Jaehyun asked Eunbi. 

“I love this soooo much,” she exclaimed with a big smile on her face, “it’s just how I wanted it. It only misses the shaking horse and my little sister.” 

They chuckled, “your little sister?” 

“Or brother,” she shrugged, pouting. “Can they play with me?” She asked, entering the shelter in the corner. 

“Babies are delicate when they are born,” Jaehyun explained. 

“But look!” She exclaimed, touching the pillow under her. “Here is so soft.” 

Scarlett giggled. “They will play with you but not immediately, you have to wait some more.” 

She furrowed, tilting her head as she stared at her parents with a confused expression. 

“And what can we do together?” She asked, pouting, crawling out of there to reach her mom that was sitting on the rocking chair and asking her to grab her, struggling to find a place on her leg since she didn’t want to press against the belly, even if for now it wasn’t extremely big.  

“You can hold them in your arms and lull them, sing them a lullaby, and then you’ll give them your first toys. Just wait three months and your little brother or sister will play with you.” 

“And baby won’t sleep here?” 

“No, honey,” Jaehyun said, caressing her hair, “baby will be very loud, and you want to sleep at night, right?” 

She hummed. “And baby’s room will be my old one?” 

“No, we’ll move the nursery on our right, so we’ll have each one of you at our side,” he replied, smiling at her. 

“So, we will all be close to each other.” 

When they started decorating the nursery for the new baby, she was halfway through the fifth month. Her belly had grown a lot, and so did the back pains. 

And the back pains were the only thing that made her sit down and simply watch Jaehyun fix everything. Eunbi was out with Taeyong, he had brought her to the bakery because Jaemin had called him for help and he decided to bring her along. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked, furrowing. 

“You’re cute,” Jaehyun explained, pushing the mattress in the white crib, and diverting his gaze from her. 

“I’m just eating,” she mumbled, pushing down a bite of the fruit she was devouring. 

“It’s baby, isn’t it?” 

“Well, baby is the reason I’m craving so much food, but fruits are good for the both of us,” she explained. “You know that I like calling it baby? It’s soft.” 

Jaehyun chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about letting her choose a name. She will make something up from her fantasy’s worlds.” 

Scarlett laughed. “No, but can we pick it with her?” 

“Yeah, once we’ll have the names and she can have a normal list to pick from.” 

She smiled, getting up, helping him push the armchair next to the crib, and receiving a glare. 

“I thought you had back pain.” 

“I have them but it’s just a chair, don’t worry. Instead, do you have something in mind?” 

“How to call it?” 

She hummed and then started passing him the pack of diapers to put in the drawers of the changing table. 

“We don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl,” he said, pausing for a moment to think. “Wait, you’re 19 weeks in, we should know it at your next control, right?” 

“Yeah…” she said, “I’m not sure I want to know.” 

“You don’t?” 

She shrugged. “We can have a surprise or something.”

“This pregnancy is too calm for you, isn’t it? You really do love the thrill of things.” 

She laughed, “Stop it, now. I don’t know if I want to find out.” 

“You are terrified it’s a boy, you don’t want it just like Eunbi.” 

“I don’t care, I wouldn’t mind a little you walking around,” she smiled, bopping his nose.  

“What if their twins?” 

“They’re not,” she almost screamed, voice strangled in her throat, already panicking just at the possibility of carrying two instead of one. “You saw the echography, it’s just one, a small bean.” 

“Can we have a third one then?” 

“Oh, Lord, let me get through this one first, please,” she laughed. 

“I know, it’s just,” he pulled her close, kissing her lips softly, “I think that three it’s the perfect number.” 

“I’m fine with that but not in one single pregnancy.” 

“Have I told you that you look beautiful like this,” he said, hands caressing her tummy. 

“It’s starting to show a little,” she smiled dumbly, pulling up the shirt, “I can’t wait for it to be so round I can’t even see my feet.”  

“Eunbi was big, I think you should be grateful she came out before, or else it would’ve been even worse.” 

“She was, I felt like a big balloon going around,” she giggled. “What will you do baby?” 

At that moment the baby kicked, making them still. 

“It kicked! Did you see the little feet,” she exclaimed, looking at him with wide—open eyes. 

“It did, I want to feel it,” he said, placing a hand on her and almost crying when he finally felt their baby move. 

“It’s so strong,” he whispered in awe. 

“Oh, no, another one running around just like her?” She chortled but her eyes were watery. 

“Are you crying? It has never done it before?” 

She shook her head. “This is the first time.” 

“I’m so happy right now.” 

“I think baby’s happy too.” 

“Does it hurt?” He asked, still amazed as he kept his hand there. 

She shook her head. “It’s weird, I haven’t felt something move in me in ages but no, it doesn’t,” she explained, still smiling widely. “Is it weird if I say that I already want to meet them?” 

Jaehyun smiled, pulling her closer, gently caressing the bump, “I think it’s more than normal.” 

“But not because I want them out,” she explained, “like not for now, I’m still not heavy and round enough to want the belly to go away but I’m just so eager to know what it will be like this time.” 

“Yeah, I agree with you,” he smiled, caressing her cheek. “I can’t get you on the round part but for the rest…” he chuckled. 

“I want to see our kids play together. I know Eunbi will be such a great sister, she loves the baby so deeply already.” 

“I want that too, but you know what,” he whispered, leaning closer, “I think we should enjoy these months, not only because they will be the last of sleep for a while,” he joked, making her laugh, “but because I want to walk this path with you slowly, and let’s be honest, time will fly.” 

She hummed, nodding. It was true that time passed in the blink of an eye, so there was no need to wish it would rush up even more. 

“I truly want to be here with you this time, and I want to savour every moment of it, Scarlett.” 

At the end, they did find out the sex of the baby. They told the obgyn to don’t tell them and write it down in the envelope with the echography. 

And now Eunbi was excitedly sitting on her parent’s big bed with the letter in her hands, waiting for them to give her the signal to open it and be the first one to discover what it was. 

“Are you ready?” Jaehyun asked her, keeping his arms around Scarlett and feeling the baby kick hard, caressing her tummy hoping it would calm down. 

“Yes, I open it now,” she said, sweaty hands fumbling with the tongue of the package before she pulled the paper out and closed her eyes. She was a little bit nervous because she had spent days trying to learn how the words ‘sister’ and ‘brother’ were written and she was terrified she would forget, but then remembered that if it was a girl it would have a small purple heart and green if it was a boy so she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. 

She furrowed for a moment to read the letters and her heart jumped in her throat when she read the first one.  

“It’s a sister! I was right! I was right!” She jumped up, crawling to her mother to show her. “Look si-sis-ster! You made me a sister!” 

Jaehyun and Scarlett looked at her tenderly, almost crying when she hugged the tummy and started leaving kisses on it.

“Are you happy?” She asked, turning around to look at Jaehyun, caressing his face when she saw his teary eyes. 

They were expecting another baby girl. 

“Never been happier,” he said, “can’t wait to add another amazing woman in my life.” 

“Shut up, you’ll make me cry,” she whined, already feeling emotional. She didn’t care much about it being a boy or a girl but she still felt her heart fill up with joy. Probably it was because Jaehyun had stayed with her at the first daughter and now even at the second, unlike her father. Or maybe it was because she only cared about the joy in Eunbi’s eyes, and now it was overflowing. 

“We’ll have another baby girl,” Jaehyun said to Eunbi when she pulled away from her tummy. 

“I’m so happy,” she exclaimed, struggling to walk on the mattress to rush in her father’s arms, letting him lift her up and make her spin in the air. 

“You can make us the flower crowns,” she said, “and then I’ll give her aaall my dresses and we’ll play princess and I’ll teach her how to read.” 

“You were so good at reading before,” he praised her, swinging around. 

“I can be a big sister now, I can make you so pride of me,” she chanted, moving her eyes from him to her mother.  

“We are already so proud of you, little bird,” he reassured her, moving her hair back and then starting to play with her again, making her do the airplane in the air, their laughs mixing together. 

And Scarlett didn’t move, knowing for sure that, if she dared touch the ground, her knees wouldn’t have supported her, and simply watched the scene after looking down at the 6 centimetres baby inside of her and holding her belly hard. Tears falling silently on her face but from happiness. 

She had never felt fuller of love in her entire life. Her daughters were never going to have to fight for love and respect because they were so loved. And that was all she needed to know that she had made the right choices years before. 

Sisterhood was a beautiful gift, a rare gem to protect, and knowing that Eunbi was already cherishing it so much, made her heart jump with joy. 

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Eunbi! Happy birthday to you!” Eunbi smiled before blowing on the candles on her big cake, marking another milestone of her life, her fourth birthday. 

Scarlett and Jaehyun were standing behind her, hugging each other as they tried to push back the tears seeing how big she had gotten. Their baby was four. An amazing, strong, intelligent four years old little girl. 

“Did you make a wish?” Scarlett asked, leaning closer to her, and caressing her shoulder. 

“Yes, but I can’t tell it,” she replied. “I also made one for us.” 

“Oh, did you?” She cooed and Eunbi hummed. “You’re so kind, baby. I hope all your wishes will come true.” 

“Thank you, Mama,” she smiled. “And now cake,” she said and started chanting ‘cake’ with her two kindergarten friends that came to the party, Fei and Amelia, the son of one of the maids whom she got close to, Ben, and Donghyuck’s son, Sungmin.

“Alright, time to eat this delicious cake uncles Jaem and Yong prepared,” Jaehyun said, grabbing a knife and starting to cut it. “First slice to the birthday girl, shall we?” He asked, looking at the other kids in line that nodded in agreement. “And here you go, princess,” he beamed, handing her a plate full of cake. 

“Thank you, Dada,” she smiled. “I’ll wait for you at my table,” she told to her friends, starting to walk toward the smaller kid’s table with her plate in hand, a fake tiara on top of her head and a puffy dress swinging around. 

Once everyone was served, they sat down at their table, chatting with the others. Eunbi wanted a party outside, but considering it was the 13th of November that surely wasn’t the smartest idea. But opening the ballroom and setting it up how she liked it the most (lilac everywhere — at this point it was an obsession that didn’t seem to pass — balloons, flowers and tents they made up with chairs and table), made her happy anyway.

“She’s so big now,” Taeyong whispered, leaning against Scarlett’s arm while his gaze was on Eunbi that was eating the cake and talking with her friends. “I remember when I held her the first time in my arms.” 

Scarlett hummed, “sight? It seems yesterday and it’s been four years.” 

“All the times I had to prepare your favourite soup because you had cravings, and all the songs we sang to make her calm down.” 

“Yeah, and what about all the help you gave me with all the disgusting aspects of pregnancy?” 

“I wouldn’t call them disgusting, more painful and annoying for those going through that, but a little help while puking didn’t kill anybody,” he answered, smiling at the memories. “I was so excited to meet her, I admit, I was happy when your water broke before the due date.” 

“You were happy? I was literally terrified. She never gave me time to mentally prepare for anything.” 

Taeyong laughed. “She loves a surprise entrance every time,” he joked. “Guess she will do great things in her life. She either goes big or goes home.” 

“Yeah. When she started crawling so soon and climbed everywhere and as soon as she started talking she never stopped.” 

“She wants to learn how to read so bad,” he said. “The other day she made me redo the lesson schedule because I didn’t put in reading time.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, she’s my boss. She takes care of me.” 

“It’s the revenge because you still make her sleep in the afternoon.” 

“Maybe, but she still needs it. And I don’t get why sleeping it’s such a big thing, I’d pay for someone to force me in bed and don’t do anything all day.” 

Scarlett chuckled. “I agree. But she has so much to discover,” she smiled, moving forward to ask Jaehyun, that was talking with Johnny at their side, to cut her another slice of cake. “She remembers the name of every single maid and I think that at this point she even talks with the walls.”

“Here’s your cake,” Jaehyun interrupted them, handing her the plate. 

“Thank you,” she said, smiling at him. “I don’t know what you and Jaem put in this, but I’m addicted,” she hummed, grabbing a spoonful and then eating it. 

Taeyong giggled, “I think the cravings are altering your taste but thanks.” 

“No, seriously,” she said after swallowing, “You outdid yourself, it’s so good.” 

“She’s enjoying it too, I guess,” he joked, pointing his head at the tummy where Scarlett was lightly tapping, he guessed, to keep her calm. 

“Yeah, she woke up at the second bite,” she replied, looking down for a moment, smiling tenderly. 

“How are you keeping up?” He asked, he saw her every day but their main focus was Eunbi’s progress or other things that had nothing to do with her. “I’m kind of sad I’m not as present as the last time.” 

“You won a kid and that’s Eunbi,” she joked. “By the way, I’m doing… fine, I guess.” 

He quirked a brow, “Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, I’m just more tired. I’m very happy, don’t misunderstand, but everything happened so fast. Moving here, becoming a Queen, getting married and I’ve been pregnant with her basically since then. I wanted another baby but none of us was expecting our tries to be this lucky on the first round.” 

“You didn’t assimilate everything…” 

“Yeah, I feel so high and it’s good, but I’m older now, and it’s also tiring. The rush of good things hits different now than when you’re in your early twenties.” 

“And a pregnancy, too,” he added, holding the now empty plate for her and passing the napkin to clean up. 

“I feel so good and even hot in my skin some days but then some others I feel so wrong, all the marks, and the bloating, and the swollen feet and hands. The other day I had to take off the wedding ring,” she sighed, playing with it. “And then I crave so much fruit, I’m obsessed with it just as much as Bi’s obsessed with light purple.” 

“Don’t call it that, she gets offended,” he joked and then imitated her, “Lilac, even the name is pretty.” 

Scarlett laughed, watching as the kids got back playing and smiling tenderly when she saw her mother loosen up a little and play with them. “I get offended if someone brings me red grapes instead of white, we’re both annoying.” 

“If it makes you feel better,” he said, grabbing her hand and caressing the palm, “you do look amazing. You have a glow when you’re pregnant that makes you look so radiant, especially when you’re also with Eunbi. Motherhood looks great on you.” 

Damned, hormones, she felt like crying now. “You are my number one supporter even for this now,” she replied, leaning closer to hug him. “I love you so much, Yong. Thank you for taking care of her just like you did when you didn’t even meet her yet.” 

Jaehyun was beyond anxious, the more months passed the more it seemed like he couldn’t calm down, and that also included sex. He was incredibly delicate, terrified of doing anything. Treating her so, so carefully. 

Scarlett didn’t feel extremely aroused, but the hormones sometimes picked up so bad that lust filled her brain completely, yet, Jaehyun seemed terrified of her and she was getting tired of it. 

“Am I ugly? Do I don’t live up to your pregnant body expectations?” She asked one day. They were done getting ready to sleep and Jaehyun didn’t even spare her a glance as she was getting undressed. The six months belly was already pretty round and showing in all glory. “I thought you couldn’t wait to see me full of you and what now? Is it because I also gained weight? Are the new stretchmarks the problems? Is it my breast? What?” 

“What?” He asked, turning around with wide eyes, not understanding her random rant. “You think I don’t find you… beautiful like this?” 

She chuckled bitterly, “You hesitated, you find me repulsive.” 

“Repulsive? Are you insane? I always tell you that you’re glowing,” he replied. He did because how could he not. She was glowing like that, not only for the way her body looked but also for the confidence she radiated. Luckily the pregnancy was going on with no complications and this time around she was surrounded by love and it reflected on her. “I always touch you, hug you, kiss you. How could I hate you ever but how could I do it now?” 

“Then,” she sniffled, “then why don’t you want me?” 

He hesitated, only now getting what she truly meant, “You… you want to have sex?” 

“You don’t want me,” her voice broke.  

“No, I — I find you hot, alright? Incredibly hot. But you are a pregnant woman, the mother of my kids, how is that not wrong?” 

Scarlett scoffed, throwing her head back, not understanding why he was so taken aback by it, “How is that wrong?” 

“The fact that if I’d look at you like you want me to look at you, I’d go crazy because your body like this drives me insane. Because if I let that part take over, I’d tell you that I’d never, ever, find you hotter than now. And that is surely wrong.” 

“No, I like it. I want you to want me. I want you to be crazy for me. I need to know that my body going through these enormous changes it’s not a bad thing or a big deal,” she replied. “And I am incredibly horny, Jae. I need you. The hormones are driving me insane. You are driving me insane.”

“But… can we do this?” 

“Yes, my pregnancy is not at risk. You can’t hurt her,” she reassured him, she would’ve never done anything that would’ve compromised the safety of the baby and herself. 

“But are you sure? I don’t want to sound weird, I don’t want this to be uncomfortable for you,” Jaehyun checked in again, not because he didn’t want to, but because he wanted it too much and he needed to make sure she was into this just like him.  

“If it will get uncomfortable, we’ll stop, but about the rest, I don’t care.” 

After her words, he was on her in a moment, lips kissing her hard and hands cupping her face before he swiftly moved them to lift her nightgown over her shoulders, leaving her bare at his eyes and then gently laying her on the bed. 

“Fuck,” he moaned as his eyes travelled on her naked body, her round boobs had grown in size, sitting prettily on her chest, swollen and tender. Her belly was now round, and quite big, not at the fullest but just enough to leave him in a haze at the amazing things she, and her body, were going through. “You’re so hot.” 

“Want to see you, too,” she said, reaching out to get him out of his clothes. “You’re making me forget what your body looks like.” She was always naked at his eyes since he always offered to bathe her and help her get in her clothes, not that she couldn’t by herself, but the baby was big, bigger than Eunbi, and a little help didn’t hurt. And how could she say no to all the attention? But on the other hand, he never let her help. 

“I’m not glowing like you, you’re not missing anything,” he said, swiftly getting rid of everything too and trying to stand on top of her but the tummy got in the way, making her laugh as he tried to find a way to kiss her. 

“Maybe we can find another position?” 

“I just wanted to kiss you,” he whined, “she’s not even here, and she’s already keeping me away from you.” 

“Here,” she whispered, lifting her back up and kissing him. “I think it was my fault for arching my back, also.” 

“I want to make you feel good,” he whispered, hand traveling down on her tummy, reaching her wet core and starting to move in circles. 

“Ah,” she whimpered, letting her head fall behind and arching her back. “Shit,” she jolted, and he stopped. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah, she moved, sorry, I wasn’t expecting it,” she chuckled. 

“Do you think she feels something?” He asked as he picked up the movements again. 

“I guess, probably she feels the – umm – the contractions of my body.” 

“I can sto—”

“Don’t you dare,” she stopped him, pulling him closer to kiss him. “I need you, Jaehyun. Need you so much.” 

And he didn’t let her repeat it twice, moving away from her to reach between her thighs and bury his face against her pussy. 

“Yeah, just like that,” she moaned, trying to hold his hair but finding it difficult so Jaehyun moved his hand to intertwine it with hers. 

“You’re so wet,” he noted before picking up a rhythm against her, tongue moving slowly on her clit and occasionally teasing her entrance. “Do you like this?” 

“Yes. Please, more,” she mumbled, moving his hand on her belly when she felt the baby kick again. And Jaehyun caressed it gently while his other hand was busy making its way inside of her, middle finger prodding at her entrance, slowly pushing in, testing the waters before he started moving it faster. 

And he probably should’ve found this weird, finger fucking her and eating her out while he could feel their child move inside of her, but it was oddly romantic – and hot – in his head. It was a level of intimacy that reached no other, nothing could come close to that. And she looked breathtaking like this. He couldn’t really see her since the bloated belly was dividing them from the position he was in, but he had her impressed by heart and knew every wrinkle on her face, the way her lips were twitching, and how her long lashes rested on her cheeks. 

“I’m going to come,” she breathed out, holding his hand on her belly tighter, and bucking her hips for what she could. “It feels so good,” she cried out and, before he could do anything else, the orgasm broke out of her, stronger than ever before, it felt a little bit different, but it was good, so, so good. 

“Fuck, you’re amazing,” he whispered, gently kissing her knee, and making his way up to her thigh and then her belly until his lips reached hers and started kissing her gently. “How do you want to do it?” 

“I don’t know,” she whined, trying to kiss him again, just wanting to feel him, letting her hands wander on his body, and kiss him over and over again because between a thing and the other they could never really be intimate, and sure, she loved the other small intimate gestures but this was something that she loved just as much. It was more than falling asleep in each other’s arms, it was more than holding hands, it was more than doing a kind gesture to the other. This was getting deep into each other’s skin, merging together for a small bit of time and pretending that nothing outside of them existed. 

“We can maybe try sideway,” he proposed through one of the thousand kisses, moaning when her hand reached his hard dick and started pumping, “it should be easy.” 

But she shook her head, “Want to see you,” her voice was breathy, and she turned flat on the mattress again, bringing him with him. 

“I’ll weigh on her,” he said, trying to don’t make their stomachs touch. 

“You won’t crush her, you can always don’t lean on me,” she said. “I’m fine. We are fine. She’s having a party down there,” she joked, kissing his worries away again. And so he gave in, hands wrapping under her thighs to pull her closer to him before he started to brush the tip of his cock against her slit. “You will be the death of me,” he whispered in a haze, mesmerized by her beauty. Years had passed and she still had him hooked on her. She was always going to be the most beautiful being he had ever seen. 

Scarlett smiled, reaching for his hand again and gasping when his cock stretched her full. It had been six months since something penetrated and she felt her breath get snatched away before she started laughing and made Jaehyun still. 

“Are you okay?” He asked worriedly but without pulling out.

She nodded, covering her face with an arm as she tried to calm down, “I’m sorry, shit, sorry, sorry,” she mumbled. “I was just thinking how,” she stopped again, laughing, “if the stretch from you feels so much after all this time I’m worried about when I’ll have to push her out.” 

Jaehyun giggled, rolling his eyes, “You have a talent for ruining hot moments.” 

“I’m sorry,” she apologized again. “Can I be worried, though, since it’s my body doing all the work again?” 

“Sure,” he said, smirking, “guess we’ll have to help your muscle to stretch out,” he joked, pulling out and slamming in again slowly. 

“Mhh,” she hummed, eyelid fluttering close and then open again, “I love to exercise like this.” 

And soon, they found a way to work it out, even with the bump ‘getting in the way’ and his fears of hurting her disappearing more and more until another thought sparked in his mind. Jaehyun couldn’t don’t pay attention to her boobs. How much fuller they had gotten again. How beautiful they were and how perky her nipples were. Was it so bad, so depraved, to want to taste her? 

And Scarlett didn’t get it immediately, when she saw him furrow his brows and shake something out of his brain, trying to concentrate on his thrusts and squeezing her hand tighter. But she knew him, it was weird he didn’t ask her anything of that kind when she was breastfeeding Eunbi. She knew how much he loved her boobs and she knew how amazed he was by what they were doing right now. 

So since he seemed so shy to ask, she moved their hands on one of them, making him snap up in surprise. 

“Don’t want to hurt you,” he mumbled, trying to pull away, but she firmly held him in place. 

“They’re so sore,” she cried. “Can you suck on them, please?” 

Jaehyun’s eyes snapped open at the request, gulping hard as he tried to don’t look so excited but his body was betraying him, she could feel his cock throbbing inside of her, and she could see his eyes shine with lust. 

“Are you – shit – are you sure this is not weird, I – fuck –,” he cried, really trying to fight it back. 

She rolled her eyes, cupping his face to force him closer, “I said, help me out. You don’t want to leave your baby mama unsatisfied, right?” And he finally listened, nodding and then latching his lips around one of her sensitive nipples. Now, she never really thought about something like that but fuck if it was relieving, how painful they felt sometimes and how good she was feeling now with all the stimulation. 

“Fuck, it tastes good,” he moaned against her skin, changing sides as he kept moving in and out of her at a steady pace. “Dripping when I don’t pay one attention?” He teased, looking with a smirk at the white liquid dripping down the nipple and running on her breast. 

“They’re so hard,” she moaned, “don’t stop please. My boobs are so – fuck – full,” the words died in her mouth again when he started sucking again, and she could feel the orgasm approach once again. Head rolling back and lips parting open to let out low moans. 

And Jaehyun started sucking and fucking harder, hearing those pretty little sounds, getting lost in pleasure too because it just felt so good and he felt like he was about to go crazy right there and then. 

“Close,” she mumbled, spreading her legs wider, trying to buckle up and feel him even more. 

“Going to come?” He asked, pulling away for a moment, looking for her hand again and intertwining it with his. 

“Yes, fuck, it’s so, so good,” she cried, wanting to wrap her legs around him but not succeeding and Jaehyun got the message that she wanted to feel him closer, so he tried to lean in some more and keep one of her legs close with his free hand. 

“Needy, you’re so – mmph – needy, fuck,” he teased, squeezing his eyes shut when her pussy clenched tighter around him. “Going to fill you up. Come around my cock, baby, make a – fuck – a mess,” he moaned, letting go of her nipple and kissing her, muffling the higher moans that were coming out of her mouth. 

Scarlett threw her head back, nails digging into the skin of his back and in the palm of his hand as the second orgasm hit her harder than the first one and made her feel lightweight. 

“Fuck, fuck,” he cursed, throwing his head back and hips stilling against her ass as they both came undone, high pitch moans rippling past their mouths. “Shit, I had missed you so much,” he said, shaking his head, leaving small kisses on her collarbones before pulling out slowly, and then laying down next to her, caressing her face. 

“Need you,” she whispered, turning to the side. 

“Again?” He asked, taken by surprise. 

“Yes, please, one more. I don’t think we can do it again, I’ll only get bigger with time.” 

“If that’s what you want, I’d never say no to you,” he said, sitting to get back in his old position but her hand on his chest keeping him still stopped him. 

“Want to ride, want to feel you closer.” 

“Ride me?” He asked. “Babe, I don’t think that’s –” She stopped him, kissing him and then climbing on his lap, starting to straddle him. “Fine,” he mumbled against the kiss, he loved when she was on top, and like this, with her beautiful round body and boobs, how could he say no, now? 

“Good,” she smiled, hand reaching between their bodies to take his cock again and line it against her, slowly sinking on him, head lolling back as she enjoyed being full again. “You always fit so perfectly in me.” 

He hummed lowly, letting his head fall back for a moment as he enjoyed the way she clenched around him before he straightened again. “You look like a Goddess,” he whispered, eyes adjusting at her frame in front of him, hands wrapping around her waist for what he could to help her move. 

Scarlett smiled, leaning in to kiss him, giggling lightly when her bump crashed against him. 

“Are you sure you’re comfortable?” He asked, he knew she loved riding him, it gave her more control and it was one of the most intimate positions but like this, it was surely more difficult. 

“Yes, I love this,” she replied. “Do you like this? Do I feel good?” 

“Yes, you always – shit – feel amazing, love,” he replied, his forehead resting against hers as he took the chance to delete the distance completely and kiss her again while his hands were all over her body, touching and squeezing, causing shivers to form on her skin. 

Low hums of appreciation came out of her mouth, getting trapped against his, while her hands rested on his shoulder, trying to push her body up and down as best as she could and at the same time roll her hips for more friction. And surely it was harder, but damn if it felt so good. 

“I love you so much,” he whispered, barely pulling back from her lips, his hand wrapping around her waist to help her movements. “Don’t ever – ah – don’t ever think that I don’t find you attractive – fuck,” he cursed, kissing her again, and again, squeezing her flesh harder. “Don’t ever think that you’re not the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” and he kissed her again, hips slamming hard up against her. “I’m madly in love with you. So fucking much it’s scary.” 

Her heart flipped in her chest, while her hands crept in his hair and pushed him close again, needing to fill the silence with something bigger than words.  

“I love you, and every – fuck – inch of you. Promise you will never,” he stopped, breath faltering as he could feel both of their orgasms approach, “Promise you will never doubt what bonds us.” 

“Never,” she whispered, “I’ll never doubt us.” 

And with that thought, their orgasms struck, releasing hard as they melted into each other’s arms. 

When the holiday passed, Scarlett was on her 32nd week and it was by now just a matter of time before the birth. She felt like she was exploding, and she honestly was starting to fear how she was going to push the baby out. But overall, everything was going fine, just some usual back pain, more stretches on her body, and the usual repulsion for certain food. 

“Do you think Eunbi will have jealous outbursts?” Scarlett asked. It was early in the afternoon, and they were in their chamber as Jaehyun helped her braid her hair. With the labor approach, she wanted to protect her hair and scalp, avoiding keeping them natural like it happened the first time. All the complications between and after, leading her to keep them in a terrible bun for days and fight with a dry scalp caused by all the sweating of the pushes. And now that her hair almost arrived at her waist, it was way too long for her to be dealing with it. So, box braids were the best options for her – with only thirteen sections so it would’ve taken too long, also considering that Jaehyun had little to no experience, and she had no strength to do them herself.  

“I’m pretty sure she won’t,” he said, starting to work on the first section on her nape. “She looks more excited than us.” 

Scarlett chuckled, relaxing back in the chair and caressing the belly, luckily the baby was sleeping and not kicking as always. 

“Do you think we did a good thing sending her to public school?” She then asked, trying to don’t move her head up and let him finish the first braid. They had discussed it a lot. Her mother was pretty much against it, telling them how it was better to go for private education, but Scarlett didn’t want Eunbi to be lonely like her and grow up with no friends her age. Eunbi was way too outgoing and extroverted to be locked up in a fancy palace all her life and don’t discover the outside world. Also, they presented themselves as the ones that wanted to change things so they had to actually do it. Being a hypocrite was the last thing Scarlett wanted.

“You’re thinking about it now? It’s been months since she started school,” he said. “And this first week after the holiday went fine.” 

“I was asking if she maybe told you something about it,” she explained, playing with her fingers. “Does she has friends? Don’t normal people hang out in their houses? Can they come here? Will they come here?” 

Jaehyun furrowed, raising a brow. “Why do you stress over nothing?” 

“But it is something,” she huffed. “We want her to be like the others but she’s not, she will never be. What if people will use her? Or what if… I don’t know, what if she won’t fit?” 

“But she invited some friends over for her birthday party and they seemed nice.”

“She invited the whole class and only two showed up,” she pointed out, trying to push the tears back. Knowing that she couldn’t protect her tore her apart, and yes, it was life, but Eunbi was still so young and innocent to be hurt that bad. 

“Did she tell you something?” Jaehyun asked this time, worried she knew something he didn’t, while he worked on closing the braid, no hair was added so he needed an elastic band and cursed under his breath because those damned things broke in his hands. 

“She was very happy about the party, you know how she is, small things make her happy. But she did confess she was expecting more friends to show up.” 

“Do you think the family didn’t let them or maybe they were just busy?” 

“I have no idea. Taeyong drops her by and then takes care of her other lessons here, and he tells me that she talks about many kids, and not in a bad way, so I don’t get it…” 

“The parents don’t know her,” he said, trying to come up with a reason why, “maybe they think she’s snotty?” 

“But she’s not. How can your kid don’t tell you when they show you an invite? And is it possible that nobody was born in these months? She received no invitation.” 

Jaehyun sighed. “Do you want to make her drop out and take private lessons?” 

“I don’t… I don’t know,” she replied, feeling on the verge of tears. She hated her messed up hormones, and also being such a sentimental mother. Probably that was why her mother didn’t want to spend much time with her as a kid, the sadness you can feel for your kids is incomparable to anything. Not caring about them is so much easier. 

“Why don’t we talk to her?” He proposed. Sure, they were the responsible ones, but often parents can get too invested emotionally and see problems where they aren’t, and Eunbi was mature enough to talk comfortably with them if something went wrong so that was a conversation they could have. 

And right at that moment, they heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” Jaehyun said, stopping his fingers but keeping the strands of hair in hand, both of them turning toward the door. 

“She doesn’t want to nap,” Taeyong said, leaning against the door with Eunbi’s hand in his. She was pouting and holding in her hand the blanket he had made for her when she was born, still her comfort possession. 

“I’m a big girl, now. I’m four. Can you tell him, mom?” 

Scarlett chuckled, “You know he just wants you to relax, didn’t you have gym today at kindergarten?” 

“We had a dance class,” she lightened up. “Can I go to them? I already told you what we did. Dodo was looking for you.” 

Taeyong chuckled, rolling his eyes, “Yes, I’ll let your recharge your parent’s love battery and go to Dodo.” 

“Thank you,” Eunbi said, signaling him to kneel so she could kiss him on the cheek, “I love you when you don’t force me to sleep.” 

“Thank you, Tae,” Scarlett waved at him. “Take the rest of the day off.” 

“Yeah, the little princess already ordered that. She is my boss,” he winked before closing the door behind him, leaving the family alone. 

“What are you doing?” Eunbi asked, reaching her parents, curiously looking at them. “What are those?” She asked, pointing at the small buns to keep her mother’s pre—parted hair in place. 

“Daddy’s braiding my hair, so I’ll have less trouble when the baby will come,” she explained. 

“I want them too,” she whined, running to the corner of the room to grab a chair and push it next to her mother’s seat in front of the vanity table. “Space, please.” 

Jaehyun laughed. “Wait, let me help Mama stand up so we can pull her chair back.” 

“Thank you,” she greeted when they moved back, and she could position her chair in front of her mother. “Can you do it to me?” 

“Right now?” Scarlett asked, tilting her head, obtaining a nudge from Jaehyun that pushed her head back in place. 

“Yes, please,” she pouted, undoing her ponytail, and shaking her head around to let her curls come down. 

“Careful, you’ll hit your head,” Jaehyun warned, moving his fingers faster to finish the last braid on her nape so Scarlett could raise her face and do them on her too. 

“I won’t part them like mine, we’ll do something easier,” Scarlett said, and Eunbi hummed, smiling happily. “Do you want beads on your ends?” 

“Yes, can you put them on?” 

“I don’t have the energy to crochet them, but we can use these pretty elastic bands,” she showed her the colourful beads, “do you like them?” 

“I love them. Will you put them too?” 

“Nope, they’re for you only,” she said before she signaled her to turn around and started prepping her hair. 

“What happened today at school?” Jaehyun asked, hands still moving on Scarlett’s hair, gaze moving back and forth from the mirror to look at Eunbi’s and the strands in his hands to don’t mess it up. 

“We danced all morning,” Eunbi replied cheerfully. “A dance teacher showed us the steps and we had to copy her,” she explained, moving her arms to imitate what she had done that morning, making Scarlett hiss a ‘stay still’ as she tried to part her hair the best she could but soon giving up making square parting and just trying her best to don’t make them look a mess. Instead, Scarlett lifted her gaze to Jaehyun, hinting at what they said before and Jaehyun nodded. 

“Did you dance with your friends?” He asked, making eye contact with their daughter in the mirror.

And when Eunbi’s face dropped, they both stopped what they were doing. “Bibi? What happened?” 

“I don’t think some of them likes me,” she confessed, fingers playing with a small mirror on the desk and avoiding her parents’ gaze on the big one in front of her. “Yongie says it’s nothing, that they simply knew each other before but…” 

Scarlett wanted to say something, but Jaehyun shushed her, Eunbi wasn’t done yet, and he wanted to know what she felt before starting to conspire with their ideas. 

“I think they don’t like me, they didn’t invite me to their party,” she said, still a small sad frown on her face, “but Fei invited me, Amelia and Ben, to her place. Can Ben come too?” 

“She invited you?” Jaehyun asked, smiling at her, showing her that was a good thing. He always thought it was better to have a few real friends than a fake army of people that truly didn’t care for you, but sure, that mindset came with time and experience, for a little kid not being friendly with everybody was a big deal. 

“Yeah, it’s not a party like mine, but she really likes me. She defends me from the other kids,” Eunbi said, smiling. 

“Defend you? Do they tell you something?” Scarlett asked worriedly. 

“They just ignore me. And if I try to play with them, they say it’s not my place.” 

Scarlett sighed, looking up at Jaehyun, and then groaning in pain, making them worry. “Are you okay?” Jaehyun asked, immediately leaning forward. 

“I’m fine, she just kicked unexpectedly,” she said, but in reality, she had felt a cramp in her lower abdomen but they didn’t need to know. As much as she appreciated how much they took care of her, sometimes it was too much and just added more pressure and anxiety. Her body was probably just getting ready, or whatever. “Can we focus on her, instead? Why do they do it?” 

“Because I’m different,” she said, so casually that their heart broke. 

“You’re not different,” Jaehyun said. 

“Yeah, I am. But I want them to be my friends, or at least to talk to me.” 

“Maybe you should start taking private lessons here,” Scarlett proposed, making Jaehyun furrow. 

“No, I won’t see my friends anymore,” Eunbi complained, turning around, making Scarlett huff when a strand of hair slipped out of her hold. 

“But the others treat you badly.” 

“They don’t talk to me a lot,” she said, turning back around. “But I have my friends, Fei and Amelia,” she explained. “And with Fei’s help, some other kids are getting close to me, mom. Feifei and Lia say it’s just about time, I’m a nice girl, they say there’s no way other kids can hate me,” she reassured her. Eunbi felt a bit disappointed every time she tried to start a conversation, show a drawing, or tell a story and they would push her away, but she also had two amazing friends, and they were enough to make her enjoy her stay at the kindergarten. She also really liked her teachers. Sure, they weren’t Taeyong or Maria, her favourite maid, or her uncles and aunt, but they were nice and taught her many things. And she truly liked to learn. 

And Jaehyun caressed Scarlett’s shoulder to tell her to relax. 

“And as Yongie said not everybody can like us, so it’s fine. If they’ll want to play with me, I’ll be there. If they don’t want to, I’ll have my other real friends by my side.” 

Scarlett let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you’re much more mature than me right now,” she said, caressing her puffy cheek. “Mama’s just paranoid, I have to take care of you getting big and her, and I wish the world will never hurt you. I guessed public school was the best option for you and your curious mind, I grew up all alone here and I couldn’t do that to you and I’m sorry people see you differently but –” 

“Shh, mom, I know,” she stopped her, smiling tenderly, “I’m your little bird, remember?” 

“Yes, you are, but what does it mean, now?” 

“Little birds learn to fly, one day. And I’m flying sooo high,” she giggled, imitating wings with her arms. “I’m not hurt, I was just sad because the others changed partners like… wait… five times,” she explained, counting on her fingers, “but I only did it three times because some didn’t want to dance with me,” she reassured her, “but like uncle Tae said, it was their loss for not dancing with a princess.” 

Scarlett smiled fondly at her and breathed deeply. That was growth. That was all part of growing up. And if she didn’t hurt herself in the outer world, she was still going to get wounded in those walls, so at least, giving her the freedom she needed was the best thing they could do. 

“And Yong’s right,” Jaehyun said. “Wait until they see us dance at our next ball how envious they’ll be,” he joked, making her laugh. 

“You are my favourite person to dance with,” she said in a hush, pretending to be confessing a secret with a hand covering her face. 

“You are my favourite too.” 

“Hey! What about me?” Scarlett whined with a fake pout on her face.  

“Oh, no, she heard us,” Jaehyun joked, and Eunbi threw her head back, hitting the pump by mistake. 

“Sorry, Mommy!” She apologized immediately, turning around, once again making a halfway done braid fly out of her mother’s hand. 

“Don’t be,” she reassured, “but please, stay still and look in front of you, I’ll be done soon.” Soon maybe was too optimistic but she was fast with her fingers and the parting was wide so maybe in fifteen minutes they were done, it was only five short braids in the end. 

“She’s so big. Why is her house so big?” Eunbi asked, fighting the urge to lean back into her mom. She loved feeling the curve of the belly and how soft and yet hard it was. And she also found it funny when she heard the baby kick and move. Once she even saw her small feet peek against the skin. 

They both laughed at her wording but then Jaehyun answered, “because she needs to be strong when she comes out, so she needs much space to grow.” 

Eunbi’s mouth widened in shock. “She won’t be taller than me, right?” 

“No, she won’t,” Scarlett reassured her. “Why are you so afraid of that?” 

“Because I want to be tall as Johnny Oppa,” she said, pouting. 

“Tall as Johnny? Don’t you think that’s a little bit too much?” Jaehyun asked, chuckling. 

“No, he can see so much more than me from there.” 

“Why not as tall as me?” He pretended to be offended.

“He’s taller,” she laughed, sticking her tongue out.  

The hours passed while she told them more about some things they’ve done at school during the week, how excited she was for the end of the year to come so she could bring all the drawings home, and that the teacher told them they’ll have a show so they needed to prepare a choreography. They also talked about Fei’s invitation, Eunbi told them her mom wanted them to stay over even at dinner. And then they discussed the baby names but without coming up with anything, too unsure about picking another name that started with the letter ‘E’ or going for something completely different. 

“I love them, love them, love them,” Eunbi kept chanting, swinging her braids, running around the room since her mom was done with her before Jaehyun was done with her. She was so excited to show them to everybody that she even offered to run downstairs to the cooks and grab some fruit and water for her mother. 

“Bibi,” her mom called, “she’s moving, come feel her,” she said, waiting for Jaehyun to finish the last braid, pointing at her tummy. 

Eunbi giggled, hand flat against her stomach. “She’s dancing just like me,” she exclaimed. “We can have a party once she’s out.” 

“I think that might need some time, but yes,” Jaehyun replied, lips curled in a soft smile as he looked at her happy face. 

“Once she’s out,” Scarlett told her, “we will have the biggest and best ball of our life.” 

When it was time to go to bed Eunbi fell asleep easily, since kindergarten started again, she was more tired and didn’t find the strength to pull up a fight and complain about her bedtime, and also the life there wasn’t so new and exciting as it used to be. It had been more than eight months since they’d been there now, and Eunbi had gotten used to everything. Her new room, her new toys, her new clothes, her maids and everybody who worked there. 

So, they had decided to take some time for themselves before going to bed, too. 

“Are you crying?” Jaehyun asked when he was done boiling the water for the tea, they had decided to go for a hot drink before going to bed and, when he turned around, he saw Scarlett looking like a mess. “Are you hurt?” 

“No,” she said, “I’m fine… physically. They are happy tears, I guess.” 

Jaehyun sighed, he hated being so terrified of everything, but he couldn’t get when she was hurt or it was just the emotional aspect of the pregnancy. “For?” 

“She’s such a big girl, have you heard her today? I was there, panicking, being a crazy mother and she had the maturity to see the situation so… so clearly. And I feel like a terrible mother for so many reasons, I wanted to take her out of there while she wants to go, and at the same time I… I don’t know, I feel like everything I do is wrong. And yes, she’s getting bigger, but I’m terrified for when we’ll also have this one, what if I can’t give her love? Not so much at least.”

“Hey,” Jaehyun called, “come here, let’s sit and talk.”

And she did, dragging her heavy body on the small table of the kitchen, the one that was used mostly just to place stuff and only workers used to eat. “If she was able to analyse that situation like this, it’s because we taught her that. Remember how we always tried to don’t react before her to let her deal with her emotions without our lens? That’s why she can see things so clearly, we were the ones teaching her to accept feelings and deal with them this way.” 

Scarlett hummed, reaching for his hand to hold it. 

“How much we encouraged her into anything she liked. Do you know how confident it made her? Her confidence doesn’t shake when somebody attacks her on something she knows she’s good at. And sure, you’re right, the world it’s cruel and it has all the time to break her apart, but she’s off to a pretty strong start, don’t you think so? And no matter how hard we try, we’ll never be perfect parents. You told me that, remember? The only thing we can do is love her and teach her what we think it’s right, but we will make mistakes and that’s fine as long as we’ll accept to grow and learn too.” 

Scarlett sniffled, lowering her head, hearing his words, and agreeing even, but not really in the mood to let them affect her. 

“And Scar,” he said, caressing her cheek to lift her head up, “you risked your life for her, you walked miles to keep her safe, you would’ve died to protect her, how can you don’t love her? How can she don’t feel your love? She loves you deeply, she sees you so high, you have no idea about how many times she runs to me and tells me you’re the prettiest lady in the whole world and how lucky we are to have you. You don’t know how many times she tells me that she wants to be like you when she grows up. She’s so proud of you for taking care of your Queendom while you’re being the house of her little sister,” he said, a hint of joke on the last phrase, making Scarlett chuckle too. “She has no idea what this truly means but she cares for you so much.” 

“I’m just a little afraid,” she confessed. She had never told him because it felt so dumb, and incoherent and she couldn’t truly put a name to what she was feeling. “I feel like there’s something wrong with me. I… I want her deeply but at the same time I… I feel like I…” the words died in her mouth, feeling too guilty to let them out. 

“You feel like you don’t,” Jaehyun finished for her, and she nodded before breaking down in a loud cry. “No, baby, come here,” he opened his arms and pulled her in. “Sit sideways so you can fit.” 

“How are you not mad at me?” She asked, surprised he was lulling her and caressing her back instead of screaming at her for thinking such things about their child. 

“How can I be mad at you? It’s depression, isn’t it?” 

“I don’t know,” she cried out. She had heard something about that but always avoided the topic, thinking she had no reason to don’t want the baby, especially now. But apparently, antepartum depression hits like a wave at any time and any person, no matter how deeply wanted the kid was. “But I hate this, because I swear I love her but, ugh,” she groaned, sniffling, “I’m so scared this time and I don’t – I don’t understand why since I have you here and I’m so full of love but I look at myself in the mirror some times and I wish it wasn’t there and then I feel even more guilty and I panic so much when she doesn’t move because I’m afraid my thoughts hurt her and I don’t want to lose her.” 

Jaehyun couldn’t get it. He could never get what was going on in her body and brain and how all those changes affected her. She had confessed she felt more afraid because the baby was bigger, but he was sure that wasn’t the reason for all of these. But he wasn’t even a doctor, so all his ‘maybes’ weren’t going to lead anywhere. 

“I don’t know why it’s happening, I wish I could tell you but I’m not a doctor,” he said, caressing her back in circles. “I guess you lost a little bit of control over your thoughts, you are stressed, overly stressed. And I can help you only a little if you don’t decide to give up a little bit of control. You are not alone, I will never leave your side. If we raised a kid in those conditions we were in four years ago, what makes you think we’ll do wrong now?” 

“I don’t know, I didn’t think that until two weeks ago, I guess. I was doing fine, I felt so good with myself and then… it all fell apart.” Probably it was the weight of all the responsibilities she had. When she had Eunbi she was a simple tailor and her boss was one of her dearest friends, but now she was a Queen and she didn’t want to dip out of her duties just like her father did. But it was the second, she should’ve been more prepared, right? And yet, she felt like she was starting from zero. And then all those thoughts she didn’t even feel like she was thinking were piling up on each other and they were making her go crazy. 

“Then why don’t we do a thing, we go talk to the doctor and see what’s wrong, I’m sure they can help,” he said. “And in the meanwhile, you know what we can do?” She shook her head. “Start to love ourselves again.” 

“You want to fuck?” She asked, stunned. 

“No, baby,” he said, shaking his head. “But I want you to remind yourself that you are an amazing woman before being an amazing mother, wife, and queen.” 

“You say it just because…” 

“I say it because it’s true,” Jaehyun stopped her, leaving a peck on her lips, caressing her wet cheek. “But I’ll take it that tonight’s like this, your brain’s not in the mood to listen.” 

“Are you mad at me?” She asked with a small pout on her lips. 

“No, I’d never be mad at you. This is not your fault, it’s something that can happen during pregnancy and it’s something we will solve together. I can’t take your pain and make it mine, but I can walk by your side, and I��ll always will.” 

“And what do I do when those thoughts get too much?” 

“You come to me and I’ll shower you with praise.” 

“Can you do it now, I think I need it.”

And Jaehyun did that, trying to distract her with all the amazing things they managed to do during those past years, trying to remind her how strong she was alone and how strong they were together. He tried to make her think about all the beautiful adventures the future held for them, how they could’ve kept it easy even if they were in this new big experience now and how she didn’t have to stress herself over the smallest things. 

And it worked, just for that night, listening to him talk always put her in a good mood, and it seemed that baby loved to hear her father talk just as much. And with his hand on her belly, the big bump and the way she was moving didn’t terrify her that much anymore. And sleeping in his arms, dozing off as he whispered gentle words and praises in her ear, made her feel a little bit better.  

When they talked to the doctor, and with Kun, since Scarlett wanted him to be there and wanted his advice too, they came up that taking antidepressants at this point was more dangerous than useful and to try other methods since the case didn’t seem severe. And digging a bit further, it had come out that her thoughts were mostly related to her father and the anxiety of not being enough for him. 

So she was trying to change her point of view for real and see her life through the lens of what she loved and loved her. And it was working, slowly, with some falls and fears, but it was getting better. At least she didn’t hate her body anymore with Jaehyun that kept repeating even more how much she was glowing and how beautiful she was even if for her she looked like a big balloon floating around. And Eunbi’s extreme excitement for the new soon-to-be arrived made her have fewer fears about them and the love they had to share. She had also decided to stop dealing with affairs regarding the country and leaving things into Jaehyun and Donghyuck’s hands – not without the fear of them jumping to each other’s throat but for now, it was going quite well, much to her surprise. 

So walking around the garden enjoying the few warmer hours during the day helped her free her mind and come in contact with nature, discovering a new peace of mind. Playing the piano while her maids sang with her brought her back to times she had missed. And reading books to Eunbi helped her escape with her imagination. 

It was going back on track, little by little, the finish line didn’t seem so far and not even so scary. 

And once again the finish line came a little bit unexpectedly. 

They were all enjoying the first warm sun rays of March out in their garden when Scarlett felt a weird cramp on her lower abdomen. 

“Are you fine?” Jaehyun asked her, turning his head slightly around to look at her better, a hand under her belly, frowned expression and the other hand leaning against the closest white table that was set in the little covered area from where they were watching Eunbi, Johnny, Yuta and Mark play soccer. 

“Uhm, uhm,” she moaned, squeezing her eyes shut and starting to breathe normally again. “I’m fine. You know, just her usual jokes,” she chuckled before letting out another moan. She was feeling these irregular contractions, but they have been happening more frequently in the past few days, so she wasn’t paying much attention. “Uh, uh, baby’s happy today.” 

At that, three heads were turned to her, Jaehyun’s, Taeyong’s and Doyoung’s. 

“Babe, not to get in between this again but you do not bend in two when she kicks,” Taeyong commented, staring at her with a furrow on his face. 

“It’s just my body playing games with m – ah,” she screamed. “Oh, shit,” she cursed, pursing her lips together, “I should know what’s going on, but I don’t really know. I do, shit, think that, haha,” she panicked, looking around, “probably my body is very much not playing games to me, fuck,” she mumbled, throwing her head back when she felt a stronger contraction. 

“Are you giving birth right here?” Jaehyun asked, panicking, not knowing what to do, looking back at the others that weren’t even paying attention. 

“Not here,” she screamed, “not in a freaking garden. This time I’m lying on a bed at least. Where’s Kun? I’m not pushing her out if I don’t have him here.” 

“Did your water break?” Taeyong asked. 

“No, but, fuck, why does it hurt so much?” She asked, lifting her gaze, feeling tears stream down her face. “Am I losing her?” 

“No, God, no,” Jaehyun said, kneeling next to her, and caressing her hand. “Fine, we are walking inside until you can, alright?” She nodded, biting her lips. “And you will call Kun, ‘right?” 

“Yes,” Taeyong answered. “It will be fine,” he said, smiling at Scarlett. 

“No, actually I might need you here with us,” Jaehyun said. 

“Why would you bring me with you?” 

“You were there the first time, come on,” he whined, helping her stand up from the chair. 

“But you are here now.” 

“I need you, too. C an you please, come?” Scarlett pleaded, now breathing better again, the contraction coming to a stop. “Please, you were really nerve soothing the first time, please.” 

“Fine. I don’t know if I’ll be there for the next one, though.” 

“No next one, not for – fuck – fuck, Jae, it hurts.” 

“Where is Mama going?” Scarlett stopped when she heard Eunbi’s voice and saw her ran toward her. 

“Hi, love, Mama’s in a little bit of, uhmm,” she pressed her lips together to don’t curse in front of her. 

“Mama’s in pain,” Taeyong replied. “The baby’s coming and it’s a difficult thing to go through.” 

“I want to help.” 

“You can’t help her,” he replied, signaling Jaehyun to carry her inside. “I’ll deal with her, go.” 

“I love you,” Scarlett screamed to Eunbi before she tried to walk inside again. “I don’t want to go up the stairs,” she cried. 

“You can do it,” Jaehyun encouraged. 

“No, I cannot,” she cried, clenching around him. “I want Taeyong.” 

“Worry about the stairs first. I’m sure Tae will come to be by your side.” 

“It’s not like I don’t, I don’t want you – shit – my water – fuck,” she whined. “I’ll give birth here.” 

“On the stairs?” He exclaimed. “Babe, come on, let me carry you.” 

“You can’t, the belly’s too big,” she stopped, gasping when a contraction hit. 

“Oh, shit, they’re starting for real, aren’t they?” He asked, worried and she could only nod. “I’m carrying you upstairs, let’s go.” 

The walk to the setup room felt like a lucid dream but in pretty decent time she was laying on the bed with Jaehyun and Taeyong by her sides. 

“I’m scared,” she said. “I’m so terrified.” 

“It will go well. You did so well the first time,” Jaehyun said, trying to calm her down. 

“No, I, can you breathe with me? I can’t keep the tempo. I, I can’t do this, I’ll fail, they’ll have to cut me, I’ll—”  

“Alright, now, will you stop being so negative?” Taeyong snapped. “You know what you too need? A little time alone.” 

“No, don’t leave,” but it was already too late because he was already out of the door. 

“I love that I have you – have you here,” she said, breathing hard as she tried to fight nausea, smashing her face against his broad chest, “but he’s more like a – fuck – superstitious thing. I… I’m afraid because this isn’t home, and this isn’t, this is different and I hate changes and I felt like I was more prepared the first time and I’m sorry because I love you, you do know right, I love you and I fucking hate those – shit – those, ugh, contractions,” she screamed the last words when she felt they were getting more intense and more frequent.  

Jaehyun smiled, caressing her back, and pushing her closer, “I know, you don’t need to explain, babe. We’ll make Taeyong come back in a second, but listen to me,” he said, waiting for her to raise her head, “you’ve got this. This is home, even if it’s bigger, this is our place. This is different because it’s better, you have me, and all your friends, and your daughter, and your mother. Isn’t it great?” 

“Uhm,” she hummed. “It’s great, it’s, fuck,” she cursed, “but it’s not enough, it’s, I can feel her, I need to push.” 

“Kun’s not here yet,” Jaehyun said panicking. “Isn’t it too soon?” 

“It doesn’t have to be an even more excruciating pain, you know, love?” 

“I don’t know how it works, I wasn’t there,” he defended, hoping that somebody else was going to come into the room and take the matter in their hands because he hated seeing her like this, hearing her cry and scream, breathing hard, skin pearled in sweat.  

“Okay, I’ll breathe. In and out. And give me your hand. Your hand and call Kun, call somebody, call my mom, she knows. No, I should know, I did it a few years ago, she did it ages ago.” 

“I’ll go see where —”

“Don’t you fucking dare leave me alone,” she warned, scarily threatening. 

“He should be here any moment,” Taeyong explained, entering the room before Jaehyun could answer her. “How are you?” 

She glared at him, letting out another loud scream as she felt everything happen ten times faster than Eunbi, and if it was supposed to be a relieving thing, at that moment, it only looked scarier to her. 

“Aaalright, wrong phrasing but like how do you feel? Is any of you keeping track of the contractions?” 

“No, I, uhm, we’re not unless she is.”  

“I’m not, I want to push her out. Out.” 

Jaehyun and Taeyong looked at each other, “Wear the gloves just in case,” Jaehyun said before they moved to the end of the bed. 

“Remember the last time?” Taeyong asked, opening her legs again. “Do the same.” 

“Are you two going to do that?” She asked, head snapping up, chin moving away from against her chest. 

“Well, it’s not like Kun did something, you did all the job yourself,” Jaehyun explained. “We’ll just catch the baby.” 

“Fine, I’ll try, I’ll, ugh,” she cried, sinking her nails in the sheets under her. “I need Johnny.” 

“You don’t need a crowd every time you give birth, honey. You can do it,” Jaehyun said, trying to talk some sense into her. 

“He only brought sheets to clean the mess, you don’t need him,” Taeyong assured her. “And now push.” 

“Push,” she whispered, chest heaving and cheeks wet, as if she wasn't already doing it. “It’s not coming out,” she cried when she kept pushing for what felt like ten minutes to her but, it had only passed three. “I’ll die this time. You’ll dig a hole for me and the baby and I will…” 

“You will stop with these words,” Kun said, barging into the room. “Oh, great, a crowd once again.” 

“It’s just us, we wanted to help,” Jaehyun explained. 

“Fine, help by holding her hand and giving her comfort, I’ll take care of the rest.” 

“Can you drag it out of me?” 

“You just have to relax and push.” 

“It’s so easy for you,” she yelled. “Need you,” she said, looking for Jaehyun’s hand. “Push with me, please?” 

“Yes, I’ll push with you,” he replied, not even getting what she meant with that but glad he could help, at least in her mind. 

And after that, everything went blank, she couldn’t really pinpoint what was going on around her, the only thing she could remember being Jaehyun’s hand holding hers, faint chants of Kun’s and Taeyong’s voices, her unbearable pushes, and then finally a loud scream followed by cries. 

Their second baby was there. 

And when Kun gently placed the baby in her arms, and she immediately reached for her, she once again felt like everything was worth it. 

“She’s beautiful,” Jaehyun whispered, resting his head against Scarlett’s caressing her gently. 

“And we gave birth to another baby,” Taeyong exclaimed, interrupting their sweet moment. “Welcome to the world…” he stopped, realizing he didn’t know the name. 

Making them realize they didn’t pick one. 

“Not again,” Jaehyun huffed, rolling his eyes. 

She chuckled, immediately regretting it when she started feeling the contractions to push out the placenta, but it didn’t really matter, that was just a painless plus. So, she looked up at Jaehyun and then back at the baby in her arms, a smile curling her lips, “I have one, actually.” 

After a few hours passed and both of them were clean and moved to another room, the others finally got to see them. 

Eunbi was the first one to enter the room, her hand wrapped tightly around Johnny’s fingers as she took small, intimidated, and yet excited, steps toward the bed. She was dying to meet her little sister, but she was also afraid of doing something wrong. Everybody kept reminding her how delicate she was. 

“Hi, little bird,” hearing her mother’s voice made her heart calm down a little and seeing that she seemed fine, made her finally let go of the breath that she was holding. She was too young to understand what was going on, but she still sensed everybody’s tension. 

“Hi, Mama,” she whispered, waving her hand, letting go of Johnny’s, turning around one last time to smile at him, and then walking to the bed alone. 

“Why are you so calm?” Scarlett asked curiously, not used to seeing her move around so calmy.  

“Baby. They say she’s delicate,” she replied, playing with her fingers, “But… can I see her, mom? I’ll be good, I promise.” 

Scarlett smiled, feeling on the point of crying again for how considerate she was being. “Sure, you can, come here. Ask Papa to place you next to me.” 

When Jaehyun lifted her and sat her next to her mom, she gasped. The baby was sleeping in her arms, folded in a white blanket and with a small hat on her head. 

“She’s…” she paused, sitting on her knees to see her better, “she’s small,” she whispered, furrowing, causing everybody in the room to laugh under their breaths to don’t wake her up. “She was in your tummy?” 

Scarlett giggled, wrapping the arm that wasn’t holding the new-born up around her eldest daughter. “She very much was in me.” 

“Dad, see! You were right, she’s not taller than me.” 

Jaehyun chuckled, sitting next to her, wrapping an arm around her too. “You always have to trust me.” 

“Can I touch her?” She asked, shily lifting her hand up. 

“Sure,” Jaehyun said, “just be gentle.” 

And the way Eunbi’s hand placed so gently on her little cheek made everyone in the room skip a beat. The baby’s eyes opened, but no cries rolled out of her lips, she simply stared up at her big sister and moved her hand around, placing hers on top of Eunbi’s. And it surely was an involuntary muscle movement, but that didn’t stop Eunbi’s heart – and everybody else’s – from beating faster at the cute gesture. 

Eunbi’s lips parted and she looked up at her mom and dad with almost teary eyes. “She loves me! She touched me.” 

“It’s obvious she does,” Scarlett said, “who was the one singing all those songs and reading all those stories?” 

“She remembers? She remembers me!” She exclaimed, voice rising up just a little, but not too much to scare her little sister. “I love you so much,” she said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “And you’re the prettiest sister I could ever ask for.” 

Scarlett looked at Jaehyun, smiling tenderly, their hands brushing against each other on Eunbi’s back. 

“Wait, if I am Eunbi, who is she?” 

They giggled, and then Scarlett replied, “So, we were thinking of calling her Aisha. How does that sound?” 

“I love it! It’s so pretty, just like her,” she exclaimed before looking at her sister again. “Aisha,” she repeated. “It suits her.” 

“Glad you love it,” Scarlett said. “We also think it suits her very much.” 

She smiled, nodding happily and then fell back, squeezing into her parents’ hold. “Eunbi and Aisha. I think we sound great together.” 

“You do,” Jaehyun agreed, caressing her cheek. “I’m sure she’ll think that too.” 

“Now that I have a sister can I have a brother?” She asked so nonchalantly that everybody in the room froze for a moment. 

“Oh, hell no, baby. Not now that I just finished pushing her out,” Scarlett replied in utter shock. 

“But don’t you think a baby boy it’s the only thing missing?” She asked, turning around and batting her eyes. 

“When does this suddenly come from?” She asked, confused, considering she had been begging for a sister for months until her eyes moved to Jaehyun that was visibly holding back a laugh. “It was you!” 

“No,” he stated, lifting his hands in defence. “It comes from her but, who am I to say no?” 

“Not now,” Eunbi said, reassuring her mom, caressing her face. 

“Oh, great, thanks for the pass, honey,” she joked, shaking her head. 

“We need to take care of you and Aisha first, and Mama needs time to recover,” Jaehyun explained, turning serious again. 

“I know,” Eunbi smiled, turning back around, placing a hand on the baby. “I need Johnny to give me a cousin first.” 

Everybody laughed again, well, except for Johnny and Juliet that went pale and stared at her in disbelief. 

“Yeah, sorry to disappoint but for now the only thing we can give to you it’s your shaking horse turned into a unicorn,” Johnny said, pulling his girlfriend close to him. 

Eunbi smiled, “That’s fine, I love that too. I think I want to keep as the cool uncle and aunt for a little more.”

The first three months after pregnancy flew by. Having a small kid wasn’t easy, but Aisha was overall pretty good, just like her sister. She slept at night, didn’t have problems eating, and no health problems happened. 

And now that it was late June and Eunbi just finished going to kindergarten, they spent their days at their place in the countryside, enjoying the quiet of nature. Jaehyun was mostly taking over their duties since Scarlett was focusing on the kids and herself, but he still did his best to spend time with the family, especially during weekends. 

“You know,” Scarlett said, fixing the white hat on Aisha’s head while she was jiggling a toy in her hand, “my family never used this house,” she confessed, smiling bitterly. She fixed the white dress around her legs and looked up at Jaehyun that was keeping an eye on Eunbi that was playing in the small circular pool in front of them. 

“If I say I’m not surprised, do you get offended?” He replied, chuckling, turning around to smile at her. 

She shook her head, moving a little to let the baby sit better against her. Being almost four months old she managed to keep her head up, but still needed support to sit completely. “I know, but I was just thinking about all the things I missed.” 

“Your father surely wasn’t great at managing a kingdom and a family,” he replied, passing the small toy to Aisha again after she dropped it too far from her while shaking it. “But look at us, we’re doing a great job.” 

“We are. Are we superheroes or was he just so damn selfish?” She asked. “It’s not even about this place, but… all those small moments, you know. How can we find time to stay with them, play with them or read something, but he could never do it with me? I was just one.” 

“Because we care,” Jaehyun replied, caressing her hand with his thumb. “And are you finally over the idea of not being able to love them enough?” 

“I am,” she reassured him. “It was just a stupid fear. It could’ve been too much to take.”

“But it’s not. There are two of us. And as heavy as ruling a reign is, we are doing it well. We have Donghyuck’s help, your mother’s too. And we are taking time with them, everything’s going well.” 

“Yeah, I think I need to stop trying to find answers to justify him, he simply was evil and full of himself.” 

“I’m not one to judge usually but, I agree. Put him in the past, you have good things now. The memories you didn’t create with your past family, you will create them with us.” 

She smiled, snuggling closer to him and wrapping a hand around Aisha to pull her close to her, “Yeah, I love this.” 

“Mama! Dada!” Eunbi screamed, a towel badly wrapped around her body as she ran toward them to sit on the blanket on the grass, under the shadow of the tree. “Got baby a pretty flower!” 

“Oh, be careful she won’t eat it,” Jaehyun said, smiling while Eunbi leaned closer to her sister to hand her the big daisy she had found. Her small hands dropped the toy and grabbed the stem, making her giggle at the contact with the surface. 

“She likes it,” Eunbi clapped, sitting better in front of her, discharging the towel to the side carelessly. 

“Achoo!” Aisha sneezed when she brought the flower close to her nose and then stared at it with a confused expression but instead of crying, she started chuckling, making everybody laugh too. 

“She’s so weird,” Eunbi said through laughs. “Was I like this too?” 

“Yeah, you used to laugh at the word cheese,” Jaehyun told her, causing her to start laughing again. 

“Oh, and you didn’t stop,” Scarlett joked. 

“No, but it’s funny, why?”

Her dad shrugged, “just weird things little kids do, right?” 

“She wants to play,” she said when the baby started doing grabby hands to the toy that fell close to her. “Here, little one,” she cooed, passing her the toy into the hand that wasn’t holding the flower, smiling back at her when she smiled and babbled something. 

“You two have nice conversations,” Jaehyun joked, grabbing the towel and drying Eunbi’s hair more, making her huff and squirm. 

“Can she bath with me?” She asked, pouting.

“Yeah, but let’s see if she wants to,” Scarlett replied, “and be careful to don’t splash her, she might get scared.” 

“Yeah,” she exclaimed, getting up and rushing to the pool. “I’ll wait for you.” 

“We should get a bigger one and enjoy a bath, too,” Jaehyun proposed, helping Scarlett remove the leotard from the baby’s body and passing her the sunscreen cream. 

“We totally should,” she agreed. Luckily the day wasn’t extremely hot, but a fresh bath was always a good idea. “For now, we’ll get our hands wet and this will do,” she chuckled, getting up, carrying the baby and then they started walking toward Eunbi that was already waiting inside the water. 

The first meeting with water that didn’t imply getting cleaned was very nice, but the thing that interested Aisha the most were all the colourful toys and especially the way Eunbi’s orange duck splashed out water from her mouth. 

The afternoon passed pretty much the same until they got back inside to clean up and get ready for dinner, deciding to eat outside under the porch. 

“I’m so happy that we can be all together like we used to do,” Eunbi confessed mid—dinner, reaching out her hand to grab her sister’s hand that was laying in the stroller seat next to her. 

“Were you scared when we moved?” Scarlett asked, tilting her head to the side. 

Eunbi pressed her lips together, the same expression of Jaehyun’s face on hers. “I little bit,” she admitted. “I didn’t really understand what was going on. It was nice, new, but scary.” 

Her parents smiled, grabbing her free hand, and caressing it. 

“Whatever happens,” Jaehyun started saying, “just know that we will never leave your and your sister’s side.” 

“We are not going anywhere, little bird,” Scarlett reassured. “No matter how hard life will get, and how many things may change, we will always be able to count on each other.” 

Eunbi smiled widely at her parents’ words. She knew that. She had seen proofs of their love for each other, for her and her sister every single day of her life. She never doubted that what held them all together was stronger than anything. 

And as her little hand squeezed tighter around their hands and Aisha’s one, she felt like she never wanted to be anywhere else in the world. 

And even if she didn’t say it out loud, both Scarlett and Jaehyun, knew what she was thinking. They knew that after all the hardship, and the pain, and the fear, they managed to build up their own castle, with their own King and Queen and Princesses, that went beyond the fact they went back to where their story started. 

They succeeded in writing their own story. Their cursed fairy tale wasn’t written on a scarlet letter anymore, but the ink of what bonded them together was marked in the pages of a beautifully hardbound book. And their story, magical, beautiful, and tragic but with a happy ending, was going to be passed down forever. 

In the end, committing their gentle sin was worth it all. 

If you arrived here, thank you! ❤️ I hope you enjoyed it. Consider supporting me with comments, reblogs, asks and if you want, you can also donate here! 

[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

NCT Masterlist

Last Updated: 9 October 2023

Mini Key:

Fluff = [F] Angst = [A] Smut = [S] Comedy/Crack = [C] Drama = [D] 🔏 = Completed Series 🖋 = On-Going ⏱ = On Hiatus ╳ = Discontinued ♀︎ = Female Pronouns ♂︎ = Male Pronouns ⚧ = Gender Neutral/Non Binary Pronouns  ⚲ = No Pronouns Used * = Just Added as of last update

Please refer to #crys updates tag to see if I’m currently working on the series you’re reading! As my priority changes monthly and I often ask my followers at the end of the month to see what they would like me to prioritize for the upcoming month!

[Other Groups Masterlist] | [Timestamp Masterlist] | [AMMs Masterlist]

Reactions/Scenarios/Headcanons/Imagines

⚲Headcanons - As your college boyfriend | {University AU} (OT23) [F]

♀︎ Reaction - The Infatuation Boys reacts to you trying to escape | {Infatuation AU} (Jaemin, Jungwoo, Sungchan, Johnny) [A/D]

⚲Headcanons - Cuddling with the Infatuation Boys | {Infatuation AU} (Jaemin, Jungwoo, Sungchan, Johnny) [F]

⚲Headcanons - From Home Unit as Long Distance Relationships | {No Specified AU} (From Home Unit) [F]

♀︎ Reaction - The Infatuation Boys React to You Breaking Up With Them |  {Infatuation AU} (Jaemin, Jungwoo, Sungchan, Johnny) [A/D]

♀︎ ^Part 2 | {Infatuation AU} (Jaemin, Jungwoo, Sungchan, Johnny) [A/D]

♀︎ Reactions - The Infatuation boys react to being your first | {Infatuation AU} (Jaemin, Jungwoo, Sungchan, Johnny) [S/F]

♀︎Headcanons - With their Kids | {Infatuation AU} (Jaemin, Jungwoo, Sungchan, Johnny, Renjun) [F]

One-Shots/Drabbles

Collection of Drabbles - ♀︎🔏 23 Days of NCT (Year 1) | {Christmas AU?} (NCT x Reader) [F]

Collection of Drabbles - ⚲🔏 22 Days of NCT (Year 2) | {Christmas AU?} (NCT x Reader) [F]

*Drabble - ♂︎ I'm Not the Girl Next Door! | {No Specified AU} (Sungchan x Reader) [A, F]

*Collection of Drabbles - ⚲🖋 NCT Spooky Season | {Various AUs} (NCT x Reader) [F, C, A]

Series

⚲╳ Glitched | {Hacker AU} (Unknown x Reader) [A] | In which you score an internship at a prestigious lab that many can only dream of but, soon, you find yourself in the middle of something sinister.

���︎🔏 Prominence Season 1 | {Social Media AU; Idol AU; Added NCT Unit AU} (NCT x Reader; Park Seonghwa x Reader)  [C, F, A] | In which you’re part of a new NCT unit and you try to navigate the confusing and fast-paced career of being an idol, and you juggle a relationship with Park Seonghwa on top of  it.

♀︎🔏 Prominence Season 2 | {Social Media AU; Idol AU; Added NCT Unit AU} (NCT x Reader; Park Seonghwa x Reader)  [C, F, A] | In which you continue to question your career choices, but, hey, at least you’re having fun!

♀︎🖋 Infatuation | {University AU} (Suh Johnny x Reader; Kim Jungwoo x Reader, Na Jaemin x Reader, Jung Sungchan x Reader) [A] | In which you’ve suddenly become the center of a stranger’s love, one which develops into a full blown obsession.

Reactions/Scenarios/Headcanons/Imagines

♀︎Scenario - Prince!Jaehyun tries to win over your heart but you’re shy | {Royalty AU} (Prince!Jaehyun x Princess!Reader) [F]

♀︎Scenario - The 127 Members argue about who is (Y/N)’s Favorite | {Mafia AU} (All Members) [C]

⚧Scenario - You failed an exam and you’re sad about It but the 127 boys think someone hurt you | {Mafia AU} (All Members) [C]

⚧Scenario - The 127 Members have been working hard for a while now, and you figured that the best way to pay them back is by making them food! | {Mafia AU} (All Members) [C]

♀︎Scenario - You knew there would be some negative aspects to dating an Idol, but it never really got to you until now, good thing your boyfriend is one of the most caring Idols out there | {Idol AU} (Idol!Taeyong x Non-Idol!Reader) [A, F]

⚲Reactions - NCT 127 Reacts to their S/O Being Really Clumsy | {No AU Specifed} (All Members) [F]

♀︎ Scenario - You’re an Idol in a Secret Relationship with your Manager and Mark’s a Staff Member | {Shifting Towards You AU} (Staff!Mark x Idol!Reader ft. Manager!Yangyang) [A/D]

⚲ Reactions - NCT 127 Reacting to the Date Night Prank | {No Specified AU} (WayV x Reader) [F/C]

⚲ Scenario - Idol!Taeyong and Idol!Reader Finally Meet After Being Fans of Each Other | {Idol AU} (Taeyong x Reader) [F]

One-Shots/Drabbles

♀︎ When the Clock Strikes Twelve | {Royalty AU} (Prince!Jaehyun x Princess!Reader) [F] | In which you have created a bit of a reputation of being “insatiable” when, really, you’re just too shy to reveal your true feelings.

⚲ It’s Saturday Night | {Mafia AU} (Mafia Boss!Johnny x Reader) [F, A] | In which you find out who your best friend really is after a series of unfortunate events.

⚲ Shifting Towards You | {No Specified AU} (Mark x Reader) [F, A] | In which you have a relationship with the famous Mark Lee but somehow, together, you both make it work.

♀︎ Lavenza | {Scientist AU} (Taeyong x Reader) [F, A, D] | In which you are the wife of the once renowned scientist Lee Taeyong who seems to be harboring a secret from you, after all, science has been long outlawed.

⚲ Crescendo | {Rock Band AU} (Jungwoo x Reader) [C, R] | In which you and your two best friends attend a concert for an opening act barely anyone’s heard of, but somehow you still have a night to remember.

♀︎ Photograph | {No Specified AU} (Platonic! Mark and Yangyang x Reader) [A] | In which your two best friends reminisce and regret a time long past.

⚲ Thrill Ride | {No Specified AU} (Mark x Reader) [F] | In which you meet someone who’s equally as terrified of roller coasters as you and it oddly becomes rather comforting.

⚲ My Universe | {Non-Idol AU, Villain AU} (Mark x Reader ft. Taeyong) [A, F] | In which you don't think you deserve a man as perfect as Mark.

⚲ (Friendly) Competition | {Non-Idol AU, University AU} (Doyoung x Reader) [F] | In which you and Doyoung are academic rivals.

Series

⚲🖋 Midnight Coffee | {Coffee Shop AU} (Platonic!127 x Reader) [F, A] | In which you run a coffee shop that’s only open from midnight to sunrise, a café where you realize that the only thing more peculiar about it’s operating hours is the people who frequent it.

⚲🖋 Witch for Hire | {Witchcraft AU, Magic AU, Supernatural AU} (Multiple Groups x Witch!Reader) [D,C,R] | In which you’re a witch for hire who takes on jobs that are of your interest, although, some of these travels may prove more perilous than you anticipated.

Reactions/Scenarios/Headcanons/Imagines

♀︎Scenario - You’re dating Jaemin and you just moved in to a new apartment, luckily the rest of the Dreamies have arrived to help build your Ikea furniture | {Idol NCT Dream; Non-Idol Reader} (Na Jaemin x Reader ft. the Dreamies) [F, C]

⚧Scenario - Chenle’s just a little jealous about the fact that you get along well with the other Dream members | {Established Relationship AU} (Chenle x Reader) [A, F]

⚧Scenario - You and Renjun broke up back when you were sixteen since he decided to join SM, and now that you’re both twenty, very little has changed | {Exes to Lovers AU} (Renjun x Reader) [A, F]

⚧Scenario - Dream argues about who (Y/N)’s favorite is | {Mafia AU} (NCT Dream x Reader) [C]

♀︎ Scenario - Yandere!Jaemin reacts to you running into Renjun while you’re both out | {Infatuation AU} (Jaemin x Reader) [F/D]

⚲ Reactions - NCT Dream + Shotaro and Sungchan as Blind Dates | {No Specified AU} (NCT Dream, Shotaro, Sungchan x Reader) [F/C]

⚲ Headcanons - What Dating Super Hero!NCT Dream is Like… | {Superhero AU; Locked and Reloaded AU} (NCT Dream x Reader) [F]

♀︎ Blurb - Soft!Yandere!Jaemin Things | {Infatuation AU} (Jaemin x Reader) [F/D]

♀︎ Blurb - More Yandere!Jaemin Things| {Infatuation AU} (Jaemin x Reader) [F/D]

♀︎ Scenario - Slow Dancing with Yandere!Jaemin | {Infatuation AU} (Jaemin x Reader) [F]

One-Shots/Drabbles

One Shot - ♀︎Lion Heart | {Bad Boy AU; Mafia AU) (Mafia Boss!Dad!Jaehyun x Daughter!Reader; Bad Boy!Jaemin x Reader) [F, A] | In which your long time crush has a bad habit of dating around, and you can’t for the life of you figure out what his intentions with you are.

Drabble - ♀︎ Photograph | {No Specified AU} (Platonic! Mark and Yangyang x Reader) [A] | In which your two best friends reminisce and regret a time long past.

Drabble - ⚲ Thrill Ride | {No Specified AU} (Mark x Reader) [F] | In which you meet someone who’s equally as terrified of roller coasters as you and it oddly becomes rather comforting.

Drabble - ⚲ Break(ing) | {University AU} (Renjun x Reader) [F] | In which you and Renjun are top of the class and he's stressing over finals and you're not.

*Drabble - ⚲ "The gods must be angry. I sense a storm brewing." | {Medieval AU} (Jaemin x Reader) [C] | In which his rival challenges him to a duel.

Series

♀︎⏱ Locked and Reloaded | {Marvel AU} (NCT Dream x Reader) [Action, Light Comedy] | In which you and your team of misfits are recruited from another dimension to build a machine that can traverse the multiverse, the only problem is that apparently you didn’t come alone.

⚲⏱Dinner for Two | {Non-Idol AU; Chef AU} (Na Jaemin x Reader) [Fluff, Romance, Light Comedy] | In which you meet a disgraced chef who is looking for nothing more than to perfect a certain dish, one that you’d apparently and unknowingly mastered yourself for the sake of your older brother(s).

⚲🖋 Witch for Hire | {Witchcraft AU, Magic AU, Supernatural AU} (Multiple Groups x Witch!Reader) [D,C,R] | In which you’re a witch for hire who takes on jobs that are of your interest, although, some of these travels may prove more perilous than you anticipated.

Reactions/Scenarios/Headcanons/Imagines

♀︎Scenario - Sicheng’s ex fucked him over when she broke up with him, and the rest of the WayV frat’s been trying to get him to hook up with someone, which was unsuccessful until you came along | {College AU} (Winwin x Reader) [F, S]

♀︎Scenario - You’ve just moved into your new apartment, which was a total score since rent was so cheap, little did you know that the reason for that was because of your neighbors | {Non-Idol AU} (ft. One Night Stand!Kun x Reader) [C, A]

♀︎Scenario - You’re best friends with Xiaojun and the rest of the Members keep teasing you two about dating, but you like things as they are | {Idol WayV AU / Non-Idol Reader AU / Best Friends AU} (Best Friend!Xiaojun x Reader ft. Yangyang) [C, F]

♀︎Scenario - You and Hendery are both mentors for a Produce 101-esque show, and while he’s gone you hear some of the trainees bad-mouthing him | {Mentor AU} (Hendery x Reader) [F, A]

♀︎Scenario - BestFriend!Yangyang Introduces you to the rest of WayV, but Ten, who came in late, isn’t convinced of who you are | {Idol!WayV / NonIdol!Reader AU} (Yangyang x Reader) [A]

⚧MTL - To Date/Befriend a Wheelchair User  | {No Specified AU} (All Members) [F]

⚲ Scenario- Languages of Love | {No Specified AU} (Yangyang x Reader) [F]

⚲ Reactions - WayV Reacts to Accidentally Walking in During Your Zoom Meeting/Class | {No Specified AU} (WayV x Reader) [F/C]

One-Shots/Drabbles

Drabble - ♀︎ Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing | {Mafia AU} (Kun x Reader) [A] | In which you find out your perfect boyfriend hasn’t been completely honest with you.

One Shot - ♀︎ Covalence | {University AU} (Kun x Reader) [F, A, S] | In which you meet the love of your life in the most unexpected of places, and with each passing day you fall harder for him as he falls harder for you.

One Shot - ♀︎ How to Keep a Promise | {University AU, FWB AU, Aged-Up AU, Office AU} (Yangyang x Reader ft. Jeno) [F, A, C] | In which you and your best friend make a promise to each other one faithful day in college, one you didn’t think either of you would remember, and you both do your best to keep it.

Drabble - ⚲ Stuck at Home | {No Specified AU} (Hendery x Reader) [F, A, C] | In which you and Hendery are, unfortunately, stuck at home.

Drabble - ♀︎ Photograph | {No Specified AU} (Platonic! Mark and Yangyang x Reader) [A] | In which your two best friends reminisce and regret a time long past.

Drabble - ⚲ Off Road | {Non-Idol AU} (Kun x Reader) [A] | In which you try to find a shortcut out of the woods.

Drabble - ⚲ Hooked on a Feeling Pt. 1 | {Marvel/Guardians of the Galaxy AU} (Yangyang x Reader) [F, C] | In which you and your regretful boyfriend have to figure out how to escape a prison.

Drabble - ⚲Hooked on a Feeling Pt. 2 | {Marvel/Guardians of the Galaxy AU} (Yangyang x Reader) [F, C] | In which you and your newfound crew have to find out how to deal with the strangely handsome stowaway.

Drabble - ⚲ In My Shoes | {Soulmate AU} (Hendery x Reader) [F, C] | In which you switch bodies with your soulmate for a day

Drabble - ⚲ Code Heart Breaker | {Hacker AU} (Hendery x Reader) [F, C] | In which Hendery asks you to watch over a game he's playing with his friends for a moment

*Drabble - ⚲ "Glad to see you haven't become food for the vultures" | {Medieval AU} (Yangyang x Reader) [C] | In which your friend finds you after being trapped in the forest

*Drabble - ♀︎ "I know how to keep my life and my crown. And I will" | {Medieval AU} (Yangyang x Reader) [D] | In which you reunite with your best friend after finding out you're a royal

*Drabble - ⚲ "I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth" | {Medieval AU} (Kun x Reader) [D] | In which the king finds you out

*Drabble - ⚲ "Truly, a flawless plan" | {Established Relationship AU} (Yangyang x Reader) [C] | In which you and your boyfriend want to match kicks

*Drabble - ⚲ "Can you bail me out of prison, please?" | {No Specified AU} (Yangyang x Reader) [C] | In which you get a call from your best friend late at night

*One Shot - ⚲ Sweet! | {University AU} (Yangyang x Reader) [F, C] | In which your crush joins your study group

*One Shot - ^♀︎ Sweet! Part 2 | {University AU} (Yangyang x Reader) [F, C, S] | In which your crush teaches you how to fuck

Series

♀︎⏱ Your Vision | {Non-Idol AU} (All Members; Choose Your Ending) [ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY @fandom-meanderer​​] [F] | In which you slowly come to realize how thin the veil between dream and reality is.

♀︎🖋Zemblanity | {Prison AU; Space AU} (All Members; Choose Your Ending) [A, Thriller] | In which you find yourself trapped in the inescapable Sector V with your only companions being the inmates who reside in it. Curiously enough, you somehow have some kind of connection to all of them.

♀︎🖋Lapis Love | {Nobility AU; Fantasy AU} (Liu Yangyang x Reader, ft. Renjun) [R, C] | In which you, a noble, escape a political marriage and who was supposed to be your husband sends a mercenary to find you. Chaos ensues. You don't know each other's true intentions.

♀︎🔏Covalence | {University AU} (Kun x Reader) [F, A, S] | In which you meet the love of your life in the most unexpected of places, and with each passing day you fall harder for him as he falls harder for you.

[lattaeyongs]

a collection of all my works! includes those made on my other blogs.

[BLURBS]

[all]

[most popular]

sorted by: member

taeil, johnny, taeyong, yuta, doyoung, ten, kun, sicheng, jaehyun, jungwoo, yukhei, hendery, xiaojun, yangyang, shotaro, sungchan, mark, renjun, jeno, donghyuck, jaemin, chenle, jisung

[FICS]

Johnny Suh

two tickets to paradise | best friend!johnny, vacation (resort)!au, summer!au, fake dating!au, best friends to lovers!au, fluff, slight angst

↳ word count: 14.8k

↳ after your fiance leaves you at the altar, you’re devastated – but not devastated enough to cancel your honeymoon. instead, your best friend johnny accompanies you, and you start thinking that your fiance wasn’t right for you after all.

Mark Lee

reunion | barista!reader, exes to lovers!au, angst, fluff, smut

↳ word count: 7.4k

↳ Suddenly Mark Lee, your high school ex-boyfriend, is back in your life, and you’re not so sure that it’s a bad thing.

Huang Renjun

the trojan horse | royalty!au, historical (late 1700s)!au, arranged marriage!au, heavy angst, fluff, smut

teaser (unofficial; 100+ words) teaser (official; 1.7k words)

↳ word count: 19.6k

↳ In which the boy you fall in love with isn't who you think he is.

Lee Jeno

summer of love | ‘90’s!au, brother’s best friend!au, summer!au, neighbor!au, slice of life(ish)!au, fluff, slowburn

↳ word count: 15.2k

↳ The summer of 1997 was a weird time. As a person living in the modern era, you’d completely forgotten what it was like to live in the ‘90’s. In May 1997, you listened to the Backstreet Boys, flipped through TV Guide, and had an answering machine which seems so archaic now. But that isn’t the only reason why the summer of 1997 was weird. That summer was the time you fell for your brother’s best friend.

[SERIES]

sugar | ceo/single dad!jaehyun, secretary!reader, fluff, slight angst, smut (in some parts)

pt. 1 | 4k words, fluff pt. 2 | 14k words, fluff, slight angst, smut

↳ They say it’s lonely at the top, especially for Jung Jaehyun, owner and founder of Jung Industries. As a single dad who just wants to be the best father to his daughter, he realizes that you make his life a little sweeter when you’re by his side.

[EDITS]

eclipse: the first mini album | taeil & haechan, edit, mini album!au

ridin' as a netflix movie | edit, netflix!au, streetracer!dreamies

markhyuck as james bond films | edit, james bond!au, movie!au

nomin as james bond films | edit, james bond!au, movie!au

nct 2020's resonance as a netflix tv series | edit, netflix!au, mystery

random (but cute) texts with boyfriend!jaemin | text au, edit

boo's and spirits | paranormal podcaster!renjun, spotify!au

[MOODBOARDS]

johnny & dark blue | johnny & pink | johnny & cream | jaehyun & green | jaehyun & pink | jaemin & silver | sicheng & purple | jeno & black | hendery & green | haechan & yellow | renjun & baby blue | mark & brown | yuta & gray | ten & red | taeyong & sky blue |

[neonacity]

MASTERLIST

* Donations appreciated! Ko-Fi account

All donations will be a 100 percent donated to the charities I support catering to stray cats and dogs.

Black Daisies | NCT OT23 | Mafia AU

Pairing: Taeyong x Reader (sub-pairs: Johnny x Reader, Jaehyun x Reader)

Genre/Theme: Violence, Action, Romance

Chapter: 1/ First Stage | 2/Overture | 3/The Conductor | 4/Crescendo | 5/Canzona | 6/Rapture | 7/Proem | 8/Ophelia | 9/ In Memoriam | 10/ Clytemnestra | 11/ La Morte | 12/Judas | 13/En Passant | 14/Queen's Gambit | 15/Cadenza | 16/Epilogue

Hyacinthe | Black Daisies Side Story | Mafia AU

Pairing: Jaemin x Reader

Genre/Theme: Violence, Action, Romance, Mafia AU

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2  | Chapter 3  | Chapter 4  | Chapter 5 (END)

Tsubaki | Black Daisies Side Story | Mafia AU [On-Hold]

Pairing: Yuta x Reader

Genre/Theme: Romance, Violence, Enemies to Lovers, Mafia AU

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

PAUBAYA |

Pairings: Doyoung x Reader, Johnny x Reader

Genre/Theme: Angst, Single Parent AU, cheating themes

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4   | Chapter 5   | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7  | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 [END]

LUCID | NCT DREAM 00' LINE

Pairing: 00' Line x Reader, Jaehyun x Reader

Genre/Theme: Yandere, Horror, Suspense, Mystery-ish (?)

CH. 1 | CH. 2 | CH.3 | CH.4 | CH.5 | CH.6 | CH.7 | CH.8 | |CH.9 | CH.10 | CH.11 | CH.12 | CH.13 | CH.14 | CH.15 [END] 

| Afterglow > [JENO’s ENDING]

| Daybreak > [JAEMIN’s ENDING]

| Iridescent > [RENJUN’s ENDING]

| Limerence > [HAECHAN's ENDING]

ARCANE | NCT Dream

Pairing: Various NCT Dream Members x Reader

Genre/Theme: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Supernatural, Yandere themes, Suspense, Violence

CH.1 | CH.2 | CH.3 | CH.4 | CH.5 | CH.6 | CH.7 | CH.8 | CH.9 | CH.10 | CH.11 | CH.12 | CH.13 [END]

ARCANE: INIZIO | BOOK 2 

CH.1 | CH.2 | CH.3 | CH.4 | CH.5 | CH.6 | CH.7 | CH.8

ARCANE: Index of Masters

ELYSIUM| NCT Dream

Pairing: Various NCT Dream Members x Reader

Genre/Theme: Demigod AU, Fantasy, Supernatural, Adventure, Romance

Elysium | NCT Dream x Reader | Demigod!AU

CH.1 |

Son of Shadows | Jeno x Reader | Demigod!AU [Elysium Special]

Of Love & Lust | Jaemin x Reader | Demigod!AU [Elysium Special]

ONE SHOTS ● SHORT SERIES

Shift | NCT 127 x Reader | Hybrid!AU

Cruel Summer | Haechan x Reader | Angst/Unrequited Love

August | Jaemin x Reader | Angst/Unrequited Love

Nighted | Jaemin x Reader | Vampire!AU

Orphic | Haechan x Reader | Royalty!AU

Hiraeth | Jeno x Reader | Hunter/Werewolf!AU

Nocturne | Renjun x Reader | Incubus/Fairy!AU [On-Hold]

> Ch. 1 | Ch.2 | Ch.3 | 

Blood Red | Haechan x Reader

> Ch. 1 | Ch.2 | Ch.3 | Ch.4 [END]

------

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