'Friends?' Yeona snorted at the thought.
Did she just ask Prince Dojin to be friends with her? Really?
'What is wrong with you, Yeona?' she thought and rolled over to the cold side of the bed.
They can never be just friends.
Because truth to be told, Yeona had already started developing a teensy-weensy crush on the Prince, and asking to be 'just friends' with someone who was going to be your husband (and for whom you have started developing those kinds of feelings) was nothing but a blow to her heart.
"Seriously Yu… Why did you act like that?" Yeona groaned aloud as pushed her face against the pillows.
But she had no other options left.
That was the only way she could get to know Dojin.
When she stumbled upon their conversation this morning, she never expected to hear Dojin burst out like that. Dojin always looked so calm and well maintained but when she heard him yelling like that when she realized how pained he sounded, Yeona could not help but felt guilty. She felt guilty because everything was happening because of her.
This morning when she heard their voices, she was about to stop listening to their private conversation. But when Dojin mentioned her name she could not help but listen and that was where she heard the words, she never imagined hearing.
"I don't want to get married..."
"I don't want to get married to Yeona! I don't even know her!"
"What do you mean?"
"I do not even know her, Mother. Why should I marry a stranger when I love someone else?"
"Who is that?"
I love Shin Soomin. If I am getting married to anyone then it has to be her. I do not want to…
"ENOUGH!"
Yeona had broken out from her trance as soon as she heard the ringing voice of His Majesty. And when she did, suddenly everything, the weight of the entire conversation hit her in full force. Prince Dojin does not even like her. He was getting forced into this marriage even though he loved someone else.
He loved Shin Soomin.
Shin Soomin.
Yeona does not even know what she should feel about her or in fact, this whole situation. She does not know whether she should feel angry and betrayed at Dojin for loving Soomin or hurt about the fact that Dojin does not want her in his life.
She really does not know.
Because at the end of the day, she does not have any right to Dojin.
∞
The next morning, Yeona woke up to the sound of Areum screaming at the top of her lungs. The scream was so sudden and so shrill that it completely surprised her to the point where she fell from the bed.
"What the…" she groaned in pain as she rubbed her sore spot.
Suddenly, Areum barged into her room and flopped down on her bed.
Seeing Areum like that first thing in the morning surprised Yeona a lot. "What…Are you doing here?" she asked, feeling a little out of it.
"Yeona Unnie…" Areum whined like a baby as she pouted her lips. She looked incredibly adorable but Yeona could not appreciate it as she had just woken up.
"What?" Yeona asked, standing up from the ground. She moved her hair away from her face and rubbed her eyes. She needed more sleep.
"Areum I told you she is sleeping…." Dojin also barged in after a minute but stopped when he saw Yeona was standing there awake. "Oh, you're awake..."
"Unnie…Why are you getting married to this giant oaf?" Areum pouted, pointing at her brother who looked extremely displeased with the statement.
"I'm sorry," Dojin apologized as walked towards Areum and pinched her cheek, "but there's something absolutely wrong with my baby sister…"
"See Unnie…he is so mean…" Areum grumbled, pouting like a child as she rubbed her reddened cheek.
"Oy! Who are you calling mean huh?" Dojin questioned, his hands on his hips as he stared at his little sister.
"You! You giant oaf!" Areum snickered, rolling her eyes.
"You little brat!" Dojin chastised as he pulled Areum's ear.
As soon as he did, Areum screamed once again and soon enough they started bickering like little kids. Areum would say something to get on Dojin's nerve and Dojin would reciprocate by pulling Areum's hair or ear.
Yeona sat down on her bed as she watched the two of them fight like kids. It was adorable but Yeona felt tired. She was tired to the point where even sitting up straight like that listening to their bickering was making her headache.
She quietly got up from her bed and separated the two of them and before any of them could ask her anything, she quietly pushed them towards the door and said, "I still feel tired. So, if none of you have anything important to discuss, can you please leave me alone?"
Yeona saw how shocked Dojin looked at her behavior but she did not know why she felt that exhausted. She really needed some rest but with the way these two were bickering it was extremely difficult. Before any of them could respond to her, Yeona bowed slightly and closed the door behind her. She then slipped into her warm comforter and drifted off to sleep.
∞
"Woah… Yeona Unnie looked totally different…" Areum stated, feeling astonished.
"I know." Dojin agreed to her statement as they walked down the corridor to go towards the study room. "You shouldn't have woken her up though. Really Aru, sometimes you act so carelessly" he chided his little sister but Areum did not really pay her any heed.
"But Oppa, don't you think Unnie looked really cute right now? I just felt like wanting to pinch her cheeks because of how adorable she looked." Areum giggled to herself as she rambled about Yeona's cuteness.
Dojin let out a sigh as he tried to distract himself from Areum's stupidity.
Yeona was cute.
It was true and Dojin did not deny it (although he won't ever admit it out loud). But that was the only thing he knows about her. Yeona was cute and shy. She was totally different from Dojin's type. But what he saw in her today definitely surprised him a lot. Yeona looked sharp and authoritative. There was a dominating aura surrounding her that he only saw in her mother.
'That's refreshing though.' Dojin mused although he would not prefer to see that side often.
∞
The next time Yeona woke up, it was to the sound of her phone ringing. She moved to the side and grabbed her phone to see it was. A smile spread across her when she that it was Woobin who was calling her.
"Woobin?" she answered groggily, picking up his call.
"Yeona – ah," Woobin begun, his tone incredibly gentle, "do you have time today? I wanted to meet up with you."
Yeona slowly got up from her bed and stretched her limbs. "I have time today. What time should we meet?"
Woobin hummed before saying, "How about 12'o clock, usual place?"
Yeona smiled and nodded her head before agreeing to it.
She then hung up and decided to get ready. She freshened up quickly and wore the only jeans she had somehow managed to keep safe. She then put on a hoodie quickly and made sure to wear a face mask to not get recognized. Lately, her face was everywhere and if she stepped out without the mask even for a minute, the paparazzi's go crazy.
She sneaked out of the palace and rode a taxi to the café that was near their university campus. She got out of the car and walked towards the place. As soon as she stepped in, she saw Woobin sitting in their usual place. She felt herself smile when she saw his face but did not understand why she felt like something was bothering him.
He looked like he was devasted.
She quietly walked up to him and took the seat in front of him. When he became aware of her presence, he looked up and smiled at her warmly. Yeona did not understand why she felt like Woobin was faking it. He never lied to her. So why was he putting up a front in front of Yeona?
"You look tired." Woobin pointed out.
Yeona chuckled at that statement. "We meet after weeks and that's the first thing you say."
"It is true though," Woobin said with a sheepish smile. "Are they making you work hard?" he asked with worry.
"Well, the weeding's in like five days so it is kind of hectic," Yeona sighed as she leaned back on her seat. "But that's not the only reason."
"Why?" Woobin questioned, looking more worried. "What's wrong?"
"It's him," Yeona muttered quietly. "He is getting forced into this marriage."
"What do you mean?" Woobin inquired again.
"He loves Soomin, but they won't accept her," Yeona explained as she let out another sigh.
Woobin grabbed her hands to comfort her. Why does Yeona have to get married to someone who does not even like her? She was the most amazing person Woobin has ever known and hearing about this just ripped his heart out. Seeing Yeona unhappy like that hurt him.
"It will be alright Yu… I'm sure Dojin will l-love you one day… I'm sure…No one can resist your charm." Woobin assured with a smile even though his heart felt like it was getting shredded into pieces. Why was the world so cruel to her? Why was it so cruel to them?
"How do you know?" Yeona asked, gazing at him.
Yeona looked so beautiful at that moment that Woobin felt like he could get lost in those eyes forever. But he controlled his emotions and smiled at her warmly. "I know Yeona… I know…"
After that, they spoke about menial stuff and just gossiped in general. Yeona laughed a lot and she finally felt the stress seeping out of her bones. Being in the palace made her forget how simple her life was before. But now that she was enjoying it again, even for a bit, she could not help but appreciate it.
By the time Yeona snuck back into the palace, she was feeling a lot lighter than she did before.
∞
There were only three days left before their marriage and Yeona was wrecked with nervousness. She had no idea why she felt so nervous but that feeling made her anxious and restless. It was because of the responsibilities she will have to take in the future or maybe it was because of something else. But whatever was causing her this feeling, sure left her disturbed.
Napjing (ritual for exchanging gifts between the two families) was supposed to take place today. Therefore, Yeona's family was invited over to the palace and Yeona just could not wait to see them. It had been a month since the last time she saw her family and she could hardly wait.
She was pacing around her room restlessly when Dojin walked in.
"Your family is here." He informed and instantly a smile broke out on Yeona's face. Dojin looked stunned for a few seconds before he regained his normal composure. Yeona was so happy to hear the news of their arrival that she did not pay any heed to him and ran towards the main entrance. When she saw her mother, she embraced her immediately.
"I missed you all so much…" she whined like a child as she wrapped her hands around them.
"It's okay, Yu," her mother comforted her by rubbing her back. "We are here now."
Yeona hummed quietly as she moved to hug her father tightly. They stayed like that for a while before the palace staff requested them to move the guest room. They chatted along the way and finally settled inside the guest room as Yeona told them stories about her training.
They chatted for a long time before Their Majesties entered the room along with Prince Dojin and Princess Areum on their toes. Yeona and her family bowed deeply before them and sat down when Their Majesties requested them.
The guest room that they were in, was filled with various kinds of stuff. There were different household items along with different accessories. There were even several types of clothing placed neatly. After a while, a priest walked in and they all bowed to the elderly man before they took their designated places.
Since the date was already set, the Priest handed the scripture to the King and Queen and in return, Their Majesties handed them to Yeona's family. Yeona's parents scanned the scripture carefully and then gave a gentle smile. Yeona glanced at the scripture and saw that it was written in Hanja (Chinese). She could not understand what was written but she had an idea of what it was about. But still, it would have been better if she had tried learning Chinese from Jia. At least, she could have understood what it actually meant.
The parents spoke for a while about the date and the formalities that they all needed to fulfill and discussed various guests that would be attending the wedding. The Queen called out for staff and ordered something for her. Soon the staff returned with something that was wrapped up in a red cloth. Her Majesty took the item and unwrapped the cloth. She then motioned Dojin to step forward and when he did, she handed out the items to him.
"Now, give these items to Yeona." Her Majesty ordered and Dojin did as he was ordered to. He handed her the gyomyeong (written instructions) okchaek (jade investiture book), geumbo (gold seal), and myeongbok (mandate robes).
"This has been passed over the generations. These items are for the investiture ceremony of the bride or the chosen crown princess." Her Majesty informed with a warm smile. "You are now officially and royally accepted as the Crown Princess. Welcome to the Royal Family, Yeona." Her Majesty announced she embraced Yeona gently.
∞
After the ceremonies were over, Yeona's parents resided in the guest bedroom and Yeona went there to greet them good night. When she was returning to her, she saw Dojin standing on the balcony. He looked like he was lost in his thoughts.
In any other scenario, she would not have disturbed him. But today, she did not know why she felt like she should talk to him. Hence, she followed her gut instincts and walked up to him before standing beside him quietly.
He spared her a glance before looking back at the lake again. They stood there quietly without saying a word to each other. Yeona did not know why, but standing there silently beside him, comforted her a lot. It felt like the silence they shared was more than any words could ever explain.
Sometimes being just friends was okay.