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EYES ON ME | anton lee

IN WHICH you need to do your assignments, but anton wants your eyes solely on him. A 300 milestone’s special

FEATURING: Riize’s Chanyoung Lee and you (non-idol au)

WARNING: none

NOTE: thank you so much for 300 follows! It’s such a big milestone for me and I can’t explain how happy and thankful I am for all of you. I hope to continue giving you works and I hope you enjoy! Love you guysss 💗💗

MORE WORKS: navigation | riize!masterlist

THE CLOCK HITS 7pm as the sounds of your calculator echoed, filling the silence of your apartment. Papers were strewn all around your desk, one unfinished equation to the next.

In the midst of your concentration, the clicking of your door and the 6-foot-something man was left unheard and ignored. That was, until you felt a hand tug the hem of your shorts.

You stiffen for a second, before loosening up as familiarity washes over your body. Warm, big hands that touched you with the gentleness of a chick; it was your Anton.

You hummed in acknowledgement, but still focused on finishing your equation. Gosh, do you have a love-hate relationship with the subject.

He didn’t answer, only tugged your shorts again before putting his heavy head on your lap.

You didn’t think too much of it until he tugged the hem of your shirt this time. Looking down, you see a pouty man nestled under the warmth of your stomach.

What was it this time? you thought to yourself as you could just feel his sulky mood radiating from miles away.

“Anton..?” You whispered in confusion, your hand finding its way home in his hair, messing it up.

He stared up at you, his mouth pursed in a line that screamed at you ‘I’m not happy!!😾’, yet his eyes softened and you could tell that he was just pretending to get your attention.

You sighed before putting down your pen and putting both hands on his face.

“What does my big baby want, hm?” you teased with a playful grin before pinching his cheek, eliciting an ow! from him.

He took your hands in his before spilling the beans, “You promised me you won’t miss dinner today.”

“It’s not past dinner yet, it’s 6–”

“It’s 7.”

“Oh. Well I can still eat dinner now, 7 isn’t too late yet—“

“You also promised me you’d give me attention today.”

”Ah…” you answer awkwardly as you just remembered, “Sorry about that, baby, but the workload’s a lot lately.”

Anton sat up before looking at you deadass AND even more sulky than before, “You’re literally already early, I know this is supposed to be due in a week.”

Yeah, you weren’t winning this one. You sighed once more as your mind gears up in making a plan to redeem yourself.

Putting your hands on both his cheeks, you put on your best doe eyes.

“I’m sorry baby,” you said before peppering his face with kisses, “forgive me..?”

In an instant, all the frustrations in your Anton’s face immediately ran away. He put his (gigantic) hands on your waist before kissing you on the cheek.

“Okay,” He mumbles.

He was about to kiss you some more but you interruped him.

“Right, I should eat dinner now,” You spoke, standing up. You were about to walk to the kitchen, but his hands pulled you back. Surprised, you landed back with an oomf.

“What was that for—“

“Later,” he says as he puts his hands around your waist, “I want your eyes on me right now, we can eat later.”

Knowing that you aren’t getting out of this, you just gave in to your fate.

TAGLIST. @ja4hyvn @flwoie @sulkygyu @xiaoderrrr @ineedaherosavemeenow @lonewolfjinji @teddywonss @taerae-verse

NETWORKS. @k-labels

© astrae4 2024 | please don’t copy, translate, or plagiarize my works on all platforms!

water prince // leehan

When you receive a wedding proposal from the Water Kingdom, you are set on making Prince Donghyun change his mind about marrying you. At least, until you actually see him for who he is.

➳ Characters: prince!Leehan (called Donghyun in the story) x princess!female reader/you

➳ Genre: royalty au, arranged marriage au, magical kingdom au, elemental powers au, fluff, comedy, a bit of angst too

➳ Words: 13.7k

➳ Warning: mentions of food, reader almost drowning and being seasick, Leehan's father in the story is quite hostile, Leehan feels insecure about not being loved by his father

➳ A/N: Happiest birthday to the loveliest person on Earth @dat-town❤️ So happy for everything you've achieved and so excited to see what you will continue to achieve! May you have the best year ever, and stay healthy and happy all throughout! ❤️

➳ Taglist: @s00buwu, @dat-town, @emmylksblog

“You are to marry Prince Donghyun.”

You literally choked on your water when your father announced the big news he had assembled the family for. Your little sister patted your back, trying to be helpful, while your mother shot you a surprised look as if she couldn’t decide whether you were appalled or delighted by the news, and that’s why you were so taken aback. Your brother, Sungho, sat in his chair in a calm manner as usual, quietly analysing the situation while cutting his meat into tiny pieces in the quietest way possible.

You couldn’t blame him. You were in the middle of your regularly scheduled dinner in the dining hall of the palace when the King finally told you what he had been hiding from you for sometime. Before that, you couldn’t even know whom it entailed - your little sister, Sunghee, your brother, Sungho, or you -, the only thing you knew was that your father had been in talks with other kingdoms. Which was nothing new, really, it was one of his duties as the King of the Fire Kingdom.

“Why him,” was your first question after you managed to stop coughing, and you couldn’t tell who was more shocked by your question: your mother, your father or your little sister. Sungho seemed rather amused, his lips slightly curling upwards. No wonder he knew you the best.

“Because they offered a wedding proposal?” Your father half-asked, half-answered, and as you put down the glass of water onto the table, you were trying to rationalise his words, but there was nothing you could rationalise about this. From a young age, you knew that this would be your fate, you just didn’t know how to face it now.

“I would rather know why I am supposed to be marrying a prince from the Water Kingdom, if it has to be Prince Donghyun out of all people.”

“They say that he’s really handsome,” Sunghee chirped in, her eyes already forming hearts at the mention of the prince. Then again, she was 15, and she had heart eyes for every prince that she saw at formal events.

“You should feel grateful that he chose you. Princesses from other kingdoms are all lining up for him,” your mother weighed in, nudging you in the side, and you felt like a kid being reprimanded for something that she had done, not a princess who didn’t want to marry a prince who had once tried to sweet talk her into dancing with him at a royal wedding, only to trample on her feet multiple times. That guy was full of mischievous ideas, and you wanted nothing to do with him and his troublemaker ass. Besides, he was said to be full of himself, and you hated nothing more than smug princes who thought that a few compliments would make a princess fall for them.

“Prince Donghyun’s birthday is coming up, and he is supposed to find a bride for himself after his 20th birthday. They sent out the offer on his behalf, but before they expect an answer from you, you are invited to his birthday celebration to get to know him better,” the King explained in detail, and you wanted to evaporate right then and there. Really? You were even invited to his birthday celebration? Was he really that enchanted by that clumsy dance you had had at the wedding, or did the Water Kingdom had ulterior motives behind this decision?

You let out a sigh in return, clearly against the whole thing, but it’s not like you had a say in it. However, you had a say in how you behaved around Prince Donghyun, and actually, this birthday celebration would be the perfect chance to make him change his mind about you - or his family or whoever came up with this stupid idea of being his bride. You could be on your worst behaviour, and make him hate you, or worse, make him disgusted by you, and that’s exactly what you needed.

“When is this celebration?” You inquired from your father who gave you a satisfied smile in return, and told you that he would tell you all of the details and show you the wedding proposal after dinner. Sungho narrowed his eyes at your sudden change of behaviour, but when you turned towards him, you merely mouthed “I know what I’m doing”, and he seemed to believe you, going back to his fig jam-coated meat.

Whenever you attended a formal event in another kingdom, at least two members of your family had to be present. Before you and Sungho had turned 20, you had always needed to be accompanied by an adult - mostly your mother because the King had other duties to attend to. Since you were both deemed responsible adults when it came to age and appropriate behaviour, the two of you could go together to Prince Donghyun’s birthday celebration since your mother was to attend one of her sisters’ wedding with Sunghee the day later you set out to the Water Kingdom.

Since travelling on a ship would have required more people to accompany you (and since you were often seasick when out on the sea), you travelled by carriage, and you were supposed to arrive the day before the actual birthday celebration as per the Water Kingdom’s request. That left you with plenty of time to tell Sungho all about your plan of changing the prince’s mind starting from your choice of dress for the day of your arrival - a beautiful, knee-length black dress with puffy sleeves and a V-neck that highlighted the pretty necklace brightening your pale skin with little diamonds in the shape of a flame. It was an appropriate dress in style and length, maybe the V-line was a bit steep according to some, but it was its colour that mattered. In the Fire Kingdom, black represented the end of something - just like how flames turn to black ashes when they can no longer feed on oxygen -, and usually, you wore black clothes at the seasons’ farewell ceremony. You had a farewell ceremony for all four seasons when you bid goodbye to the previous one and welcomed the new one, gathering around a huge fire and giving your blessings to the kingdom and the royal family.

You highly doubted that Prince Donghyun would be aware of such traditions in your kingdom, but that was the best part of it: that he didn’t know about it, but you knew why you dressed like that. You had other tricks under your sleeve, and whilst Sungho didn’t disapprove of your plan, he was partly worried about your feelings.

“Will you be able to handle that? You hate nothing more than embarrassing yourself,” he pointed out gently, in his own big brother way, when you mentioned that if you had to embarrass yourself for your plan, you were ready to give it your all. The goal was to make Prince Donghyun go back on his words - or beg the one who came up with the idea of you having to marry him to change their mind  -, and the journey getting there might not be all rosy, but it would be worth it.

“I’ll make sure I do it subtly enough to not bring embarrassment on myself in front of others. Plus, I think he will want to speak with me in private, so that’s when I need to strike for real,” you announced with a triumphant smile as you tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. The ladies all dolled you up at the palace, but if you were going to a battle, you needed to go in style.

Sungho didn’t show it if he was against your plan, and instead, he directed a topic elsewhere but your looming marriage proposal. This way, at least you didn’t feel like crawling out of your skin until you arrived, and guess what, Prince Donghyun just had to wait for you at the entrance of the palace when the carriage halted and the servants helped you down.

You tried hard not to stare at him because he did look… different. Of course, he looked different, he had been around 16 when you had last seen him; it had been a year after that ominous wedding, and you had seen him in passing in the circle of princesses who cooed all about his beauty and his deep voice and whatnot. Years had passed by, and he grew taller, his shoulders were broader, and his hair was longer, it reached his shoulders already. His features were less boyish, but there was still that mischievous spark in his eyes when you walked up to him after waiting for your brother to get out of the carriage.

You even forgot to look behind him to take in the grandiose palace walls and huge rose windows because he was the main view for you. The way the fading sunlight - late afternoon flowing into early night - shone onto him made him seem like someone from another world, or rather, someone from those fairytales your sister still believed in. If someone embodied royalty, it was him, and you had no idea how he had such an effect on you when you had come here to destroy his plans to marry you.

Alas, you could not let yourself sway just because he was pretty. Beauty could be deceiving, beauty could hurt, and if anyone, you knew that. Being praised for being beautiful, but never being praised for being smart or reliable or kind made you see this whole thing in a new light. So you kept your compliments to yourself, and focused on the boy’s cheeky smile instead.

There was a round of formalities with bowing and courtesy, the servants already hustling-bustling around you, carrying your luggage and gifts, and you heard two ladies from your own kingdom whispering about Prince Donghyun’s angelic smile as they passed by.

You rolled your eyes at their antics, but the Water Kingdom prince either didn’t seem to notice, or he didn’t mind. Instead, he posed a question that made you furrow your eyebrows.

“Did you come in black because you’re putting an end to your life without me?”

“Pardon me?”

“I read that black symbolises the end of something in your kingdom,” he pointed out in a casual manner, and you needed to hold yourself back from commenting that you didn’t expect him to do some reading on the Fire Kingdom and its traditions. You could clearly see Sungho’s facial expression though, he was visibly impressed.

The prince gave you a crooked half-smile as he took one step closer to you, closer than before, but not close enough to call it inappropriate. You had a feeling that he was playing at just that;  dancing on the fine line of being playfully flirtatious and a bit too much in general. 

“But did you know that it symbolises deep love in our kingdom? It’s a metaphor because if you love someone deeply, you would be willing to swim to the bottom of the ocean for them and the bottom is always so dark, almost black,” he continued equally joyfully, but you needed to gulp down the profanities that were threatening to leave your mouth.

Just how could you mess this up so badly? Not only had you chosen a black dress that symbolised deep love in their kingdom, but you had also failed to consider Prince Donghyun actually looking up the meaning of the colour in the Fire Kingdom. Well, you had to give it to him that he won this round, but you wouldn’t have said it out loud for all the money in the world.

So you let Sungho ask about the palace instead while you were ushered inside, and if Prince Donghyun had any itinerary planned for the rest of the day since you were supposedly the only ones who were invited to come a day earlier. Prince Donghyun explained that you would have dinner together and he could show you around the palace afterwards if you were up for it.

“Excellent idea! I would love nothing more than to spend more time with you,” you announced in an overzealous manner, hoping that it could make the prince falter in his good boy role. On the other hand, he seemed rather amused, not weirded out, and suggested that you could check out the lighthouse and the docks if you were that interested. You had no idea that they had such places on palace grounds, but sure, you were in the Water Kingdom after all.

Hoping to direct the topic to something else, when you spotted a bouquet of flowers in a huge vase, you acted oh so innocently as you asked:

“Ah, are these fake?”

“My mother picked them from her garden in the morning. She likes tending to her flowers,” the prince pointed out casually, and you bit down on your tongue in response. Damn it, why couldn’t you get a hold on him? 

Sure, you might have been the only kingdom that had fake flowers placed in the palace corridors because they just didn’t grow as exuberant as the ones in the Earth Kingdom, for instance, but you had different climates as well. You would think that the colder, rainy climate of the Water Kingdom didn’t necessarily help flowers flourish, but well… maybe you were wrong about more than just one thing.

You pressed your lips into a thin line, forcing yourself to shut your mouth, while you were following the prince and the servants down the corridors that were full of paintings of the royal family. The amount of paintings about Prince Donghyun from a very young age to present days was overwhelming: him with a book in his hands in what seemed like a library when he was a child, him in the garden surrounded by flowers, him standing by the sea, him standing by a fish tank, him holding a rose and the list goes on…

You weren’t sure whether looking at the actual real-life prince or his painted features was more unsettling, so you did neither and just stared ahead of yourself. Which was a mistake on your part because you managed to walk into the prince’s chest when he halted in front of a room.

“Are you alright, princess?” He inquired with wide eyes as he held you by the shoulders to steady you. You immediately stepped backwards, making him yank his hands away from you.

“I’m alright. It was just a bit dizzying with all the floors and corridors.”

“You will get used to it,” he said naturally, but there was a slight hint of nervousness in the way his eyes darted from your face to Sungho’s when he said the words out loud. Your brother, on the other hand, merely stayed still, calmly listening to your conversation. You were sure that you would hear his opinion on it later on, but for now, he didn’t seem fazed by the boy’s behaviour and flirty remarks.

“So will these be our suites?” Your brother asked to break the silence, and indeed, Prince Donghyun took this opportunity to show you to your rooms. Yours was fully equipped with a bathroom and a restroom, a huge wardrobe, candles by the double bed and a wide wooden desk by the equally wide full-length windows that led to a balcony. What took you by surprise was that the fluffy blankets, the luxurious curtains, the welcoming pillows and the walls of the room were all in different shades of blue, but it was done in an elegant way, so no colour overshadowed the other. However, the sight made you feel as if you were close to the sea, and you didn’t necessarily like it since the sea always reminded you of those boat travels when you got seasick.

Prince Donghyun said that a servant would come by when dinner was ready, but until then, he would let you unpack and settle down. When he got out of sight, you let out an aghast sigh, and fell into the bed, silently screaming into the pillows.

This was so not going as planned.

Dinner was passing by excruciatingly slowly. You literally checked the huge clock on the wall - which had a different type of fish painted by each number of the 12-part circle - every 5 minutes, hoping that time would go by faster, to no avail. You might have been able to spark a fire or put out one as a Fire Kingdom princess, but your magic didn’t involve meddling with time.

Alas, you had to sit through the forced conversation with Prince Donghyun’s parents (his older brother was away for a trade talk or something like that), and while his mother was a lovely woman, and her smile, at least, seemed genuine, his father was the definition of a politician. Which wouldn’t have unsettled you so much if you had not known his type, and how all of his sentences were well-calculated, carefully practised and being a part of a bigger plan. Even when he complimented his son, you could see that the prince was taken aback for he was smiling so coyly, you had a feeling that he scarcely complimented his children without an audience around.

You were thankful that Sungho was good at reading the room and changing topics in a polite enough manner, so that the King wouldn’t deem his action rude. It was difficult to displease them because while playing a foolish girl who always finds something to complain about and acts all so erratic was all fun and games with Prince Donghyun, when you tried to do the same in front of the royal couple, the King’s comments made you retreat. He was borderline misogynistic, saying that your honesty would be “cured” by having a husband, and that you should be lucky someone was willing to marry you with your reputation of being a fiery princess who always rejected princes.

It got to a point that you needed to excuse yourself to head outside because he started putting down your own parents for raising a princess like you, and you could not stand that. Even though you told them that you would go to the restroom, you had no place in mind, so when a servant left you by the closest restroom, you just stood there for a minute, completely frozen.

“Do you need anything, princess?” A familiar voice spoke up beside you, and you actually jumped back when you heard his voice. You were totally lost in thought, trying to process what you had been told, you didn’t pay attention to anything else.

Prince Donghyun noticed your shaken state, and his lips quivered slightly when you didn’t speak up. This was the first time that you saw something apart from mischief flash across his orbs when he looked at you, he looked genuinely concerned this time, and suddenly, you had no idea what to do with it.

“I’m so sorry about my father. He isn’t the best with…”

“You don’t need to apologise on his behalf. He needs to do it himself if he wants my forgiveness.”

The moment the words rolled off your tongue, you knew how naive it might have sounded, but you didn’t care. You kept your chin up high, kept the eye-contact, and the boy did the same. You had a feeling that he was afraid that if he looked away, you would run away. Which was incredibly close to what you actually wanted to do right then and there.

Even though you were usually good at keeping your composure in check, or at least acting like you didn’t care what people said about you, you didn’t have it in you to continue acting that night. So you were about to say that you would head back to your room to avoid having a conversation with the prince in your state, but he beat you to it.

“How about that walk to the lighthouse? That's the furthest place from the dining room,” he suggested out of the blue, his words carrying a certain gentleness. You couldn’t decide whether this was the perfect, kind prince role that he wanted to play, or whether it came naturally to him.

Nevertheless, you didn’t have the luxury to ponder over it, you just wanted a change of scenery - as much as the situation allowed, at least. So you gave in to the prince’s suggestion, and followed him outside the palace through a few unfamiliar corridors, walking through his mother’s garden to get to the docks. It didn’t resemble the docks for trading that you had been to before, it was a much more sophisticated one. It was more like a pier with only two ships waiting by the riverside, probably the ones the royal family used for travel.

For starters, the path was lit up by lanterns that glowed joyfully with the last few patches of the sunset still present on the horizon, like little fireflies in the night. The wharf itself wasn’t very well-lit, but the brightness coming from the lighthouse made up for that, illuminating the wooden structure leading up to it periodically. Even though there was mud where the water licked into the ground, the palace’s garden was connected to the shore with a little bridge, so you could walk on it as soon as you stepped past the fence separating the two sides.

Prince Donghyun held his hand out to help you step onto the wharf, and you would have objected fervently if it had not been for your dress - which seemed quite impractical for this kind of movement -, but alas, you accepted it. His grip was strong enough to hold you yet gentle enough to not crush your hands, but you didn’t hold onto him longer than needed.

“Oh no,” you said as soon as you stepped onto the wooden structure, realising that there was no railing on the sides. Even though the pathway was wide enough for two people, maybe even for three, in the momentary light the lighthouse provided when it was its turn to shine onto the wharf, you weren’t sure that you could cross it without getting panicky about it.

“What is wrong?”

“I don’t like the fact that there’s no railing here,” you announced as you pointed at the obvious lack of added safety, to which he merely gave you an amused smile.

“You can hold onto me if you want to,” he offered with a playful wink, and you were anything but impressed by his idea.

“I get seasick easily, and even though we are not on a boat, just the idea of being this close to water without an extra barrier makes me feel odd because I can’t swim, so…”

You were not one to talk about your weaknesses so easily, but the sight frightened you more than you would have admitted, and the words just rolled off your tongue without thinking ahead. It was too late to go back on your words though, you could already see how the prince was trying to make sense of the situation.

“I have an idea,” Prince Donghyun announced, mischief no longer evident in his voice as he turned his back to you and stood still.

You blinked, confused, and the thought crossed your mind that this would be the moment he would scare you or push you into the water, and you would have every reason to hate him then because you couldn’t swim. Not to mention that you were seasick often, so you absolutely detested anything that was related to water.

“You know, if you are trying to make a joke out of this whole situation, I wonder why-” You started as you took a step back in case he really did want to trick you. Instead, he raised his hands around him in a circular motion, and a few seconds later, a literal bubble formed in front of him. Then, he directed that bubble to hover between you two as he turned around.

“How did you do that?” You breathed, bewildered, as you looked at the water bubble in front of you, moving at his will. The boy couldn’t hide the smile that was creeping onto his lips at your awestruck expression that turned even more surprised when he started expanding the bubble. You were about to open your mouth to say that you didn’t want to get wet when it started getting so big that it almost touched you, but the collision never happened. What happened was that the bubble grew around you without touching you at all, so ultimately, you found yourself insead it, the world around you suddenly quiet and dim.

“It doesn’t burst with human contact or with objects. At least, I can now control it,” Prince Donghyun explained with a bit of a giggle as he stood inside the bubble with you.

You shook your head, trying to recover from this daze, but gosh, it was such a mesmerising sight. The prince looked to be in his element as he was talking about how he had learned to create bubbles and then to control them, all wide-eyed affection and enthusiasm pouring off his gorgeous features. Even if you had moments before when you questioned just how genuine he was, you couldn’t question it now, it was enough to look at him. He was dazzling, maple-brown shoulder-length hair tucked behind his ear, big doe eyes filled with stars, while he was showing you how you could touch the bubble from the inside, but it wouldn’t budge.

“I am good, aren’t I?” He quirked an eyebrow after his monologue, a proud smile tinting his lips. You looked back at him, rolling your eyes at his antics, but you had to try hard to sniffle your smile.

It felt like being inside a separate little island as you were walking inside the bubble, walking towards the lighthouse. You had to be close to him though, or else, he would need to expand the bubble even more, so you followed him diligently, and only halted when you reached the end and stood beside the beacon. This part of the wharf had railings, but you almost didn’t notice because the bubble kept out not just the outside world, but also your worries for a while.

“I didn’t know you could do something like this.”

“I’m glad to hear that I could surprise you,” he flashed you an even wider grin, if that was possible, but there was something coy about it now, as if he couldn’t believe that you could see him in a different light. Well, what could you say? You definitely didn’t expect this either.

The prince seemed curious at this point about what you could do with your powers, so you told him that you could make anything related to fire - you could create a spark, you could light up a fireplace, you could burn objects if you got your hands on them, and you could also put out fire if needed. There weren’t a lot of uses to your power, to be honest, but you didn’t mind. You always had a feeling that the reason war didn’t break out between the kingdoms was because you could only practise your magic in your own kingdom, meaning that you couldn’t do anything with fire here, even if you wanted to.

Prince Donghyun was attentive and curious, his eyes still having that bright spark to them, and for a short while, you even forgot why you ended up there, inside a bubble he created. Yet, when the next strike of light shone onto you two, and you felt your throat closing up at the sight of him - so boyish, so gentle, so affectionate -, you told him that you wished to go back.

He did seem a bit disappointed, but an understanding smile replaced his momentary pout in a bit, and he walked you back without a word. When you stepped off the docks, the bubble didn’t actually burst around you with splashes of water, it merely disappeared. You attempted to seem disinterested, but you were impressed, even if you tried to divert the topic elsewhere.

When you reached your suite, Prince Donghyun offered that you could let him know if you needed anything anytime, he would assist you. You could even knock on his door at the break of dawn - he had shown you where his suite was located on your walk back from the lighthouse -, he would be ready to help.

“Shouldn’t I notify a servant instead?” You raised an eyebrow, challengingly, but the boy either didn’t seem to take note of it, or didn’t deem it as an act of challenge.

“Well, I’m a man of many charms, and I can do a lot more than you think I’m capable of.”

“A man, pff. You’re not even 20 years old,” you pointed out cheekily, and he let out a deep, long laugh before his features went back to their previous state.

“But I will turn 20 tomorrow. I will be a man,” he retorted as he took a step closer to you, his eyes not leaving yours. Your heart betrayed you because when your eyes locked, that traitor decided to skip a beat. You had never been this close to him before, not even inside the bubble, and instead of feeling like you had to keep your guards up, you wanted to destroy the walls you built around yourself, and in that moment, he looked like he wanted to do the same.

“Good night, Princess!” He wished with a widening smile, shattering the serene moment into tiny little pieces, before he turned around and walked away.

The birthday celebration officially started the next day at noon, but guests started arriving from early morning. You didn’t even finish breakfast, you were notified that the first carriage pulled into the court, and Prince Donghyun dutifully followed his mother outside to greet the guests. The King was supposedly in his study, but you actually preferred it that way, especially after the previous night’s conversation at dinner.

So that left you and Sungho enough time to finish the rest of the breakfast while discussing the day ahead. Your brother even brought up the events of last night, and where you had been with Prince Donghyun.

“Nowhere scandalous, trust me!” You justified more fervently than needed, and Sungho held up his hands as a peace offer. He looked like he was conflicted whether he should be amused or concerned by your dramatic reaction.

“I would have been surprised if you had been anywhere scandalous, especially with your plan to make him change his mind,” he pointed out reasonably before reaching for his mug of tea. One of the reasons why you liked your brother was because he could keep his cool, and he knew you well enough to not jump to stupid conclusions. His question was probably more out of curiosity than teasing either way.

Hence, you decided to be honest with him, though you didn’t want to talk about Prince Donghyun creating a water bubble around you, so you would dare to walk the wharf with him. You didn’t know why, but it felt like a rather affectionate reaction to your seasickness, and you didn’t want to bring it up.

“He showed me the lighthouse, and we talked about our magic, and what we can do with it.”

“Seems pretty ordinary to me. Where did you leave your over the top acting?” He inquired with a playful smile, and you gently pushed his shoulder with your own.

“I didn’t feel like doing it last night. The King’s words got to me more than I would have thought so,” you admitted feebly, suddenly finding your empty plate more interesting than anything else in the dining room. You were usually not one to be swayed by others’ opinion, you weren’t a naive and scared teenage girl anymore. On the other hand, you had never even met anyone as hostile as the King of the Water Kingdom, and you had met a lot of royalty, so that said a lot.

“I’ve heard that he’s like that with everyone; he’s never truly satisfied, and doesn’t agree with anyone even if he’s wrong. So it wasn’t directed at you,” Sungho reassured you softly, and when you looked up at him, you directed a grateful smile at him. He always seemed to know what to say, and you appreciated it more than ever.

You didn’t have a lot of time to yourself afterwards because the servants notified you that you should get ready for a bath before they would do your hair and make-up. So you followed them and let them take care of you from head to toe. Sometimes it felt cumbersome to be all dolled up for an event, but you enjoyed being pampered after the previous day, and you didn’t want to let it show that you had been affected by the King’s viciousness.

Red was the trademark colour of your kingdom, so you picked a cherry-red dress for the event, one that you always felt so powerful in. The bottom part was a widening skirt in wine-red with a thin, more translucent layer covering the silky one underneath that had such a nice fall to it. From your waist up, the material switched to lacy with pretty embroidery making it more intricate on your chest and on your arms alike. Golden beads dotted the middle line that ended in a V-cut that revealed an appropriate amount of skin before it closed up underneath your neck which was covered in beads again. You had matching burgundy high heels to top the look, though they would be covered by the wide skirt either way.

The ladies curled your hair and made the locks resemble the waves in your dress, letting them fall over your shoulders elegantly, with the exception of your front locks which were held back and secured to your temple with a ribbon. Your eyes were covered in a mixture of sparkly silver and burgundy, your lips the colour of ruby-red apples.

You were of the opinion that if you were forced to attend such events, you would do so in style, and you were thankful that your parents let you choose your outfits and consult the tailors yourself, they didn’t really meddle with your preference in dresses. Same went for Sungho who showed up in a burgundy-black outfit with delicate embroidery on the chest of his long-sleeved shirt, and an exquisite pair of cotton pants.

As always, you didn’t fail to compliment the other’s look, and when the beginning of the celebration was announced, you made your way to the ballroom, your arms resting on your brother’s. Since he was by your side, you were more reassured that you barely knew anyone here, though you saw a few familiar faces from other kingdoms. It was easy to tell who came from where because apart from a few different colours, everyone chose to dress in the trademark colour of their own kingdom - blue for the Water, green for the Earth, white for the Air and red for the Fire Kingdom. Since most of them wore some kind of blue, you assumed that quite a lot of relatives of Prince Donghyun showed up, and judging by the older boy by his side, you guessed that his brother also came back from the trade talks in time for the celebration.

The King started his toast with a historical lesson on the Water Kingdom which bored you to no end, so you rather chose that time to examine Prince Donghyun’s flawless outfit. What you expected from such a flawless visual, though? Sure, he would have not looked as dashing in a stable boy’s clothes as he looked right now in his light blue shirt dotted by silver pearls that resembled tiny little water drops, tucked into midnight-blue cotton pants, his shoulder-length hair partly tucked behind his ear, but he had a certain aura to him that was hard to beat.

You might have been staring at him for quite some time because he caught your eyes, and suddenly, you felt exposed. Not only because you had been quite obviously checking him out, but also because he didn’t seem smug or teasing, he seemed rather in awe, his lips slightly parting. Could it be because of your dress? He was clearly looking at you, so it couldn’t be because of someone else, and yet… oh that traitor heart of yours betrayed you again.

“Am I interrupting something?” Sungho mumbled quietly, so only you could hear him, but even his hushed voice was enough to turn your cheeks ruby-red.

“What are you talking about?” You turned to him, trying your best to put on an act, but your brother knew you well enough, he knew that you were lying.

“You seemed to have a moment there with Prince Donghyun, and I suddenly felt like an intruder. Come to think of, yesterday evening, you also left with him, leaving me behind, which implies that despite the fact that you claim that you want to change his mind, you have also fallen-” He started up on a whole monologue, and you had never been more thankful in your whole life that the crowd cheered and clapped, so their loud voices covered up what he was saying.

“Oh yey, it’s finally over!” You clapped enthusiastically with the crowd when the King finally ended his speech, and people started dissolving from the middle of the ball room. Sungho would have probably continued teasing you if it had not been for Prince Donghyun walking right up to the two of you because then, he shut his mouth, but his eyes were telling a different tale.

“May I have this dance?” The prince inquired as he motioned towards the people who started dancing in pairs not far from you which made you realise that you and Sungho just happened to stay at the exact middle of the ball room. Which was awkward in itself, but the way your brother bit down on his lower lip to prevent himself from saying anything made it even more awkward.

You felt the need to clear your throat before you answered.

“Only if you’re better than you were at 15.”

Prince Donghyun let out a joyous laughter hearing your proclamation, probably remembering that memorable dance from years ago all too well.

“I can assure you that I’m way better than I was at 15. I’ve taken dance lessons since,” he claimed proudly, puffing his chest out, and Sungho chose this moment to leave you two behind, stating that he was not in the mood for dancing, so you two go ahead. You tried to sear holes into his back while he was leaving you two behind, but to no avail. He didn’t even look back.

“Sure. Let’s see how much you improved. But if you step on my foot, I will step on yours too, and trust me, you don’t want to encounter these high heels closely,” you threatened half-jokingly as you turned back to Prince Donghyun, but he merely laughed off your warning. He seemed pretty confident in himself, so you wanted to give this a chance, and indeed, he did the right thing by immediately extending his hand to you, so you could reach for it. Then, he escorted you further into the dance floor, expertly manoeuvring around already dancing couples.

If the beginning wasn’t enough to convince you, the rest of the dance sure was. The boy knew what he was doing, and he did it confidently. You could tell that he had taken those dance lessons seriously because there was only slight hesitation in his movements when he first touched you - your hand, your back and your waist -, afterwards, he overcame his coyness, and continued on like nothing happened.

He held himself like a prince, a delicate prince, and you were bewitched by the twinkles in his chestnut-brown eyes, as if stars were truly dancing in them, he was glowing, his endeared smile crowning his look. He held you so steady that you knew, you could tell that if you were to fall down, he would be able to catch you, and you had never felt so taken care of during a dance. It wasn’t about him showing off - despite how he introduced his dance skills -, it was about elevating your dance experience to something you had never had before.

“I’ve told you I got better,” he stated matter-of-factly after swirling you around, and when he closed the distance next, you found yourself mumbling something along the lines of:

“Yes, I can tell.”

“Excuse me, I couldn’t catch that. Could you say that again?” Prince Donghyun teased you, flashing an all too boyish grin, and you rolled your eyes, not believing his antics. Fine, two can play this game, you thought, before you leaned closer and tiptoed on your heels, so that you could be at eye-level with him.

“You can really dance like a man now, Prince Donghyun,” you whispered into his ears, and when you leaned back, you could see a pinkish hue colouring not only his cheeks but also his ears. You got him flustered, and you called that a win.

The song the musicians were playing came to an end, so you let go of his shoulders, and sank back to your heels. The boy was so dazed that he didn’t let go of you for a few more seconds, only when you thanked him for the dance and wished him a happy birthday. You knew that other girls would be lining up to dance with him or other royalty to have a word with him since it was his birthday celebration, so you let him enjoy his day, and got lost in the crowd of royalty.

You ended up having a talk with a princess from the Earth Kingdom, then two of Prince Donghyun’s cousins - Prince Jaehyun and Prince Woonhak - who chirped your ears off about how excited they were to meet you, and shared embarrassing stories about their cousin without flinching an eye. You were sure that it was a way to show you that Prince Donghyun was more than meets the eye, but you got the most surprised when they claimed that the prince had been harbouring feelings for you ever since that dance all those years ago, and he had not stopped talking about wanting to meet you again.

“Why would he do that? I reprimanded him for dancing so poorly,” you pointed out matter-of-factly, but that just fuelled the boys’ chattering even more.

“Oh yes, he did say something about loving the fact that you dared to put him in his place.”

“And that you weren’t afraid to speak your mind since most royalty wouldn’t do so,” Woonhak added to Jaehyun’s answer, and their words just made you wonder even more how much say Prince Donghyun had in this wedding proposal. It should have definitely gone through his father, which made you question why he had even agreed to it if you could not appease him at all, but was the choice ultimately the prince’s? Or did he have as much say in it as you did?

You were about to ask the cousins about this matter when the King announced that it was time to slice the five-tier cake, but he wanted to say a few words before. The princes beside you got all too pumped up at the mention of dessert, and excused themselves to get closer to the cake, so they could be one of the first ones to have their share.

“I would like to start by saying that we are very grateful to have all of you here to celebrate the birthday of our younger son,” the King started with his best neutral smile as he gave Prince Donghyun a side-eye who tried hard to appear more gentle than his father. You could feel from the moment you were here that their relationship was quite strained, but what his father said next just went beyond anything you could expect.

“But we have more to celebrate today, and I would like to hereby announce that our first-born, Prince Donghee, is going to marry Princess Dayoung from the Air Kingdom. Our son has just returned from finishing up on the marriage talks, and the wedding will take place in two months’ time.”

The claps came on quietly at first, then they appeared thunderous in the vast dining room, echoing back from the walls in a mocking tone while Prince Donghyun tried his best not to seem affected. You could tell that his small smile that didn’t reach his ears was anything but joyful, and he clapped like he was a mere shadow of himself. His father didn’t seem to take note of it as he asked Prince Donghee - the older brother you had seen by his side when they had started the celebration - to step forward and say a few words as well. It was all too perfect, all too practised, you felt sick to your stomach as you watched the scene unfold in front of your eyes.

“Marriage talks are underway with princesses for our second-born as well, but it looks like we have to put them on hold to prepare for the wedding day,” the King concluded after Prince Donghee was finished with his own speech, the room filled with roaring cheers once more.

You should have felt relieved that your possible marriage with Prince Donghyun was put on hold, and you should have felt a bit enraged that there were other princesses in question since they had not told you that you had competition. It shouldn’t have mattered, really, but you didn’t like the way the King was playing this game, and you felt anything but triumphant over the news. The prince seemed gutted, to say the least, and the way his eyes were searching for yours told you that he hoped that you wouldn’t take his father’s words the wrong way.

No wonder you didn’t feel like having a slice from the cake when they finished their speeches, and when you saw Prince Donghyun quietly walking away from the crowd, you decided to go after him. You met your brother in the meantime, and told him that you would be back. You didn’t know where you were going, and for a moment, you thought that you lost sight of Prince Donghyun, only to find him leaving through the garden, heading towards the lighthouse.

You tried to catch up to him, but he was a few metres ahead, and didn’t seem to notice you following him. However, when you stepped onto the dock, and realised yet again that there were no railings in sight, you came to a halt.

“Prince Donghyun!” You shouted after him, trying to gain his attention. He immediately turned around, his eyes widening in surprise when he caught sight of you standing still at the very end of the wharf.

“Princess, what are you doing here?” He inquired, his tone neutral, as he stood there, standing still a few metres ahead of you. You felt like there was a distance between you two both physically and metaphorically, and to hell to all of your plans of changing his mind, you would feel awful if you didn’t check on him after how he had checked on you last time following the King’s derogatory remarks.

“I wanted to see if you’re okay,” you blurted out, surprising yourself with how confident you sounded, but how couldn’t you? The prince in front of you never looked more vulnerable, more humane and more in need of a heart-to-heart talk - a mere 20-year-old boy who was hurt, and everyone decided to turn a blind eye to him and his feelings. The way his eyes were full of sorrowful stars instead of the joyful ones you usually saw swimming in them, and the way his lips quivered, full of emotion, but they looked as if they had never learned how to curl into a smile clenched your heart, not just a little.

“I’m not sure this is the right time to talk,” he dismissed your confession, the look on his face betraying his own words, because he looked like he wanted to talk, he just didn’t want to admit it out loud. He was ready to walk away from you when you finally broke from your frozen state, and took a step closer to him.

Your heart was in your throat as you took one step after another, focusing on the prince’s frame instead of the obvious lack of railings by the sides. You pursed your lips in concentration, remembering all those etiquette classes when you had learned how to walk in a straight line. Yet now, your steps were wobbly, your high heels clicking on the wood underneath your feet, and your long skirt didn’t help either.

However, when Prince Donghyun heard that you were indeed walking after him, he turned around, and started walking towards you. It crossed your mind for a moment that maybe he would walk by you, so that you wouldn’t come after him, and when he halted beside you, you held in your breath nervously, more nervous than you had ever been around him before.

“Why did you start walking after me? It’s dangerous,” he pointed at your dress, but there was no malice in his voice. Instead, he sounded as gentle as if he had been talking to a child. For a moment, you couldn’t find your voice, and when you did, you were all just a jumble of words. Gosh, this boy…

“I am… I just… I thought…” You started, inwardly cursing yourself for ever putting yourself in this situation. You hated nothing more than embarrassing yourself, and he knew that, he knew that all too well.

“I’ve never thought I would make you speechless,” he mused out loud, the side of his lips curling upwards, and you felt the need to punch him in his chest for teasing you like that. You were ready to do just that, raising your left hand, but he reached out for it instead, and laced his arm with yours, as casually as if it had been the hundredth time he did that.

Now you were actually speechless, blinking up at the boy whose side profile was enough to tell you that he was feeling rather shy himself, both his cheeks and ears were turning red after his gesture. He guided you towards the other end though, holding your arm safe and steady, as you were walking side by side towards the lighthouse.

May it be because you were more awestruck by Prince Donghyun’s gesture than your own fear of the open water around you, but you were at the other end before you knew it, and you didn’t even think about falling into the water, not even once. Or may it be because he was holding you like he wanted to protect you from all the bad in the world, but there was gentleness in his grip, something that didn’t go unnoticed by you (and that traitor heart of yours).

“I’m sorry about what my father said. It’s true that he has been in talks with other kingdoms regarding marriage proposals, but I haven’t been in talks with anyone other than you. I’ve wanted to tell you sooner, I just-”

“I know, I could tell,” you cut the prince off before he could feel even more guilty about something that wasn’t in his control.

“Really?”

“Yes,” you nodded seeing his bewildered expression. Well, you couldn’t blame him since you definitely looked like you wanted to find anything you could criticise about him or his kingdom the day before, but this - standing beside the lighthouse with his arm around yours, watching the setting sun on the horizon - was different. “And I know we don’t always have a say in what we want when it comes to the matters of our own kingdom. Plus, marriage is a serious topic, and it’s understandable that your father looked at other options, too,” you added matter-of-factly, but you could feel a little bit of a lump in your throat.

Prince Donghyun didn’t say anything for some time, so you hoped that you didn’t cross any boundaries. You could feel him tense a bit beside you, and since you didn’t know why, you let go of his arm, so he could have his own space if he wanted. He looked at your retrieving arm for a few seconds before he spoke up again.

“I’m not sure how to word this, but I feel like my father… he doesn’t love me the way he loves my brother,” he confessed, raw and vulnerable. He was staring far ahead, but you could tell from the way he was clenching his jaw that even this was hard for him without looking at you. “I don’t know why because I’ve tried everything my brother can do, and still… I always get that I’m only good for my looks, and I should marry someone who could bring more to our kingdom.”

You felt your heart drop at his confession because it resonated with you so much, especially the last sentence. Even though you weren’t pitted against each other with Sungho, you were also told by distant relatives and royalty from other kingdoms that you were so beautiful, but nothing else, and that you should marry someone who could make you someone. As if you weren’t already someone just by being born into your family. You weren’t perfect, but you tried to learn how not to let it get to you since as a princess, you had to deal with such comments all the time.

On the other hand, you would have never thought that Prince Donghyun might be going through the same thing because everyone had been gushing about him, and not just about his looks. Yet, you could never know what goes on in a palace unless you live there yourself, so you would never have the heart to question his words. You could tell that he was telling the truth.

“I know it might sound naive given that we are royalty, but the only person you should be good enough for is yourself. Trust me, you will feel a lot lighter if you know that you live your life for yourself, not somebody else,” you shared honestly, looking at him, and that’s the moment he turned his head to look at you, too.

When your eyes met, you thought that he would ask you about your experience, and you would have told him. Something in you shifted since last night, and you weren’t trying to undermine his efforts and see him in a bad light anymore. In fact, what all that bravado showed you was that he still accepted you, and he was willing to put up with your behaviour no matter what.

However, instead of asking about your side - though you had a feeling he understood you even without saying it out loud -, he said the next few words that truly put everything in a whole new light:

“But I want to be good enough for you, too.”

Sunset reflecting in his eyes, painting his locks in shades of chestnut-brown and statice-purple, his tall frame towering over you as if he wanted to shelter you from the outside world, your heart skipped a few beats before it picked up its pace, and started thumping against your ribcage, electrifying your whole body from head to toe. Your throat was dry, your words non-existent, and you unknowingly took a few steps backwards, as if to detach yourself from this perfect moment… only to step on the insides of your two-layered skirt, and fall - very far from elegant - into the cold water.

Your body was in survival mode immediately, your arms flailing around wildly as you tried to keep yourself up in the water. Your lungs were on fire, and despite the fact that you tried to pacify your breathing, telling yourself that you would be okay, your brain didn’t listen to you, and made up worse and worse scenarios of you drowning there. Even when firm arms took hold of you, all you could think about was that there was no air, no air, no air… drowning, drowning, drowning…

It could have been mere seconds, you couldn’t tell, before you got to the shore, and Prince Donghyun helped you push yourself upwards, so you could cough up the water. It felt so violent, your lungs and your throat seemed to battle each other while your eyes were on fire due to the salty water, and your whole body was shivering in your cold, damp clothes. In the meantime, you could subtly feel his gentle pats on your back that turned to circles when your coughs easened up, and your breathing wasn’t stridulous anymore.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now. It’s okay. I’m here,” Prince Donghyun said as a mantra while you were trying to pull yourself together. Yet, the moment you felt your shock fading away, you found yourself tearing up, your body starting to shake with the sobs.

Prince Donghyun looked alarmed for a moment, not knowing what to do with you, but you didn’t let him decide. You threw your arms around his equally wet body, and sobbed into the crook of his neck.

“Thank you… for saving me,” you mumbled between ragged breaths, and an intense wave of sobbing came over you when you said the words out loud. You could have died, you could have died just a few minutes ago, and he had jumped in to save you. He could have teased you that the water wasn’t that deep or he could have forgotten that you had told him that you couldn’t swim, and let you drown there, but he had jumped in without hesitation, and pulled you to shore so swiftly, you wondered if he had used some kind of magic just now. For you.

Prince Donghyun didn’t say a word, he let you cry as much as you wanted, while he was holding you safe and sound, while you were holding onto him.

A whirlwind of events followed your unfortunate fall. As soon as you entered the palace, the prince called for servants to help you undress, bathe and help you get warm, and he also notified someone to send a royal medic over to your suite after everything else was taken care of. You were trying to say that he himself should do the same, but he looked more worried about you than his own wet clothes and dripping locks, and you didn’t find the right words to say, still a bit under the influence of the past events.

You followed what the servants asked you to, and you liked that you were being told what to do for a change because it helped you to focus on something else other than the near-death experience. Whenever your mind was trying to replay the scene from when you had been in the water, you pulled yourself back to reality, holding onto the bathtub or the side of your fresh gown a bit more tightly, so as to keep you grounded. It was difficult at first, but the more you practised it, the easier it became, and when the servants tucked you into bed, you felt like you were close to being okay again. The medic also stated that you didn’t have a fever, there was no sign of a creeping illness, your heart probably beat faster than usual due to the shock, and prescribed some calming herbal tea.

Sungho visited you as soon as he was allowed to, and of course, he came with all those “I should have been there for you” monologues, the ones you quickly dismissed because you could take care of yourself, you didn’t need his supervision all the time, but mostly because it was your fault that you fell (and your dress’), no one else could be blamed for it. You also asked him not to blame Prince Donghyun, but he seemed more offended by the fact that you dared to assume that he would hold the prince accountable than by the way you were so quick to take the prince’s side.

“How could I blame him? He saved you, after all,” he declared simply, and let out a long sigh after his words. It was rare that you saw him so concerned, you usually didn’t give him any reason to worry about you, so it warmed your heart yet again just how much he cared under that otherwise teasing brother surface.

“I’m sorry for making you worried.”

“If you’re really sorry, you should get better soon, and listen to the medic,” he reprimanded you as if you had been a child, and maybe he thought the same because he let out a deep laughter afterwards. “Huh, I sound like a real big brother, don’t I?”

“You do, and it kind of scares me a bit. When did you grow up?” You mused out loud playfully, and the effect was immediate. The boy’s furrowed eyebrows smoothed out, and his features easened, softened, his shoulders sagging at ease. He crouched down to toss an unruly lock to the side that was falling into your eyes, and patted your head.

“I remember I did the same when you fell into that pond on our trip to the meadows,” he reminiscenced with a soft smile, and you didn’t need to be told twice what he meant by it. You remembered that day as if it had been yesterday. You had been 12 at the time, and your family had already known that you didn’t know how to swim, so it had been Sungho who had jumped after you. He was already an excellent swimmer, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been shaken by that experience. You remembered how he had stayed by your bedside for the whole night afterwards, afraid that nightmares would haunt you.

“Will you stay by my side for the night this time, too?” You elevated an eyebrow challengingly, and he let out a bewildered huff in relief.

“Do you think I don’t know that you wouldn’t let me?”

“Fair point,” you agreed wholeheartedly, but let him pat your head a few more times before there was a knock on the door. You both turned towards the visitor when he opened the door, and when it turned out to be Prince Donghyun, Sungho gave you a knowing look before telling the boy that he should come in, he was about to leave anyway. It didn’t slip your attention that on his way out, he squeezed the younger prince’s shoulder in an affectionate manner, and even though you didn’t see it from that angle, you had a feeling that he said thank you to the prince, and that’s why he seemed so coy all of a sudden.

His hair was extremely fluffy (now that it was freshly washed like yours), the locks curling elegantly around his ears and neck like soft little tendrils, his doe eyes shining in the dim lights of the room, all bright and fond. He was wearing more casual attire than at the party, so you deemed that him jumping into the water after you meant that he had no desire to go back to his birthday celebration that was soon coming to its end either way.

You felt awfully exposed with your hair still wet at the ends, lack of concealing touches and make-up on your face, and being tucked into bed in a nightgown was not at all how you wanted Prince Donghyun to see you, but he didn’t seem fazed by your appearance. Nor did he make a comment on it when you beckoned him closer, and he could see for himself that you were fine.

You wouldn’t admit it for the world, but it warmed your heart how worried he was, and when it was the fifth time you had to reassure him that you were fine, you had a feeling that it was more out of guilt than anything else, hence, you felt the need to emphasise:

“It wasn’t your fault that I fell into the water, so don’t be sorry. What’s more, you saved my life, so I couldn’t be more thankful for you,” you admitted genuinely, and the blush that crept onto his cheeks was adorable. You had to bite down on your tongue to hold yourself back from smiling at his shy state.

“Still, I’m sorry that you had to experience it.”

“It wasn’t the first time, actually,” you justified, and continued telling him about that time at the pond Sungho had just talked about, and one time when one of the royal teachers had tried to teach you how to swim, but you had nearly drowned. It hadn’t been a super important requirement for a princess to learn how to swim, but since you travelled by ships to both the Air Kingdom and the Earth Kingdom, it was a weakness that possible enemies could take advantage of if things went south. So they had tried to teach you, but to no avail. Your panic always kicked in as soon as water surrounded you.

The prince stayed quiet, and you couldn’t tell whether it was because he didn’t know if he was allowed to ask questions, or he didn’t have any. On the other hand, you had questions, so you inquired if he knew how to create bubbles underwater, and his eyes immediately lit up when he started talking about his power. He did know how to create bubbles both outside of water and underwater, so he could breathe in there without oxygen, and he shared that sometimes he used these bubbles to watch the fish and crabs underwater because he had always been fascinated by them.

His whole demeanour changed when he was talking about the sea and the creatures living there, sharing both stories of his childhood days when he had been collecting shells alongside the shore, and interesting facts about sea life that he read books on. At one point, he was so into talking about his favourite type of fish that he didn’t even notice a servant coming into your room and placing some food and another mug of tea on your bedside table. He only realised that the lady was in the room when she pushed a chair beside your bed, so he could sit down on it while talking. Then, he giggled, a heartwarming mixture of excited and embarrassed, and thanked her for the gesture.

“May I?” He asked before he would have sat down on the chair, and you nodded immediately. It’s not like you weren’t the visitor here, but you appreciated the gesture.

The prince was definitely interrupted because now he didn’t know where to continue or where to start, and he just looked around, his eyes darting between different parts of the room until they settled on the steaming bowl of food and the mug of tea on your bedside table.

“Oh, you should have it while it’s still hot,” he suggested as he pointed at the steaming bowl. “Since there was mostly heavy food for the celebration, I’ve asked a chef to prepare something more nutritious to prevent you from coming down with something,” he explained as he averted his eyes from the food to you.

You blinked rapidly at him, your suspicion kicking in, but then you remembered what he had said just a few hours before:

“But I want to be good enough for you, too.”

And it all made sense now. Not just his kind actions, going above and beyond to make sure that your stay at the palace was comfortable from offering to help with anything to checking up on you the first night you had that awful dinner with his parents, but also the way he was different to you than with other girls. Even if you wanted to deny it, you could see that the prince didn’t dance with anyone else at his birthday party other than you, and Prince Woonhak and Prince Jaehyun also said that he had been harbouring feelings for you, and now it made sense. He had even learned how to dance properly because of you, and he had created a water bubble, so you could cross the wharf with you.

“What’s wrong?” Prince Donghyun’s concerned voice brought you back to the here and now, and you just shook your head with a smile. You weren’t sure that you could ever look at him the same way after knowing that he liked you.

“Nothing. I’m just thankful,” you admitted, and reached for the bowl of steaming soup. You could feel the boy’s eyes on you when you took the first spoonful of the soup, but it was delightful, and when the prince asked about it, you said so. He seemed very happy to know that you enjoyed it, and went over what was in the soup, or at least, what he remembered the chef telling him.

“So…” You cleared your throat after the first few bites, feeling silly for wanting to bring up the topic, but also feeling silly for not wanting to bring it up. In the end, you thought better of it, and just blurted it out. “Did you have a say in the wedding proposal you sent me?”

“Yours was the only one I had a say in. My father sent out two inquiry letters to other kingdoms, and he was the one who chose the possible brides in those cases,” he answered immediately, and you saw heat returning to his cheeks when it dawned on him that he basically confessed that he was the one who had chosen you.

“Oh,” you found yourself saying, but the boy’s expression was quizzical upon your reaction.

“Oh? Oh as in ‘oh, I’m so disappointed’, or oh as in ‘oh, I didn’t expect that’ or… ‘oh, I’m so happy to hear that’?” He listed out the options, and furrowed his eyebrows, totally clueless. It was a cute look on him, you had to admit, especially in comparison to his usual confidence demeanour.

“Oh as in ‘oh, I didn’t expect that’, but it makes me feel kind of… good?”

The moment the last word rolled off your tongue, you knew that you were done for. Yet, the boy’s smug smile just confirmed that he wouldn’t let you live down afterwards, so you braced yourself for his teasing. Instead, his proud smile softened, his big doe eyes turning to little crescents as he watched you eat, and didn’t say a word. You found yourself smiling back at him, letting the silence embrace you, and it was so crazy that a day before, you would have done everything to change his mind about you, and now, you just admitted that you were glad that he was the one who had chosen you. Now, you had a better idea why he would have done so, and it made you feel fizzy and warm and a bit enchanted.

You were the only guests who stayed for two nights, but it was the Water Kingdom’s request, so nobody could blame you for it. However, staying for the night after having a heart-to-heart conversation with Prince Donghyun in your room felt odd, as if it was an invitation for something more even though you were perfectly aware of the fact that the King of the Water Kingdom would most probably do anything in his power to choose someone over you when it came to his second-born son’s marriage. The fact that the prince had been the one to choose you as a potential bride - and you had been the only one he had a say in - made you feel somewhat special, but it also made you feel slightly competitive.

It was laughable, really. You had come here to destroy Prince Donghyun’s plans to marry you, and now, you wanted to destroy his father’s plans to outrule you. You weren’t a petty loser, you knew how to lose, but still… with the way the prince cared for you and went above and beyond to assist you and keep you company during these days made you feel almost compelled to make a better impression on his parents. Not to mention the fact that he had also saved you from drowning.

However, nothing was certain for now, especially not with Prince Donghee’s upcoming marriage that would take the spotlight either way, so you didn’t want to pry about the matter on the day of your departure. On the other hand, you managed to bump into Prince Woonhak and Prince Jaehyun - also having stayed for the night after they had eaten through the whole menu for the celebration - when you left your suite, and they insisted that they wanted you to come back again.

“That isn’t my choice to make, I’m afraid,” you broke it down to them with a friendly smile, and Prince Woonhak pouted as if he would never ever see you again. You had seemed to make a good impression on them, and it warmed your heart since you had only had one conversation. Though that was a very important conversation given that they had spilled the beans on Prince Donghyun having a crush on you for years.

“You should invite us to your birthday celebration then. When is it?” Prince Jaehyun suggested with a wide grin, and when you let them know about the date and that you would keep his words in mind before organising it, he looked like an overzealous kid, all smiles and bright eyes. Gosh, they were so cute, it made you miss your ever-so-bright little sister even more.

“We’re rooting for you two, you know,” Woonhak beamed, not letting silence fall over the three of you, his unruly locks falling into his eyes.

“For who?”

“You and Donghyun. It’s obvious that you like him, too,” he continued with a smug grin, and you were about to open your mouth to decline him, but you were unable to form words. That just seemed to confirm everything in their eyes because their smirks grew even wider, their eyes even brighter.

Thankfully, you were interrupted by a servant who notified you that your carriage was ready, so after a few bubbly words and wishes from the two boys, you were guided outside. Sungho was already there, talking to the Queen of the Water Kingdom by the carriage while you caught sight of both Prince Donghee and Prince Donghyun bidding farewell to other guests. When you halted beside your brother, the Queen inquired if you had a good night’s sleep, and apologised for the inconvenience the day before. You reassured her that you weren’t inconvenienced, you were rather grateful for Prince Donghyun’s assistance, and she smiled a genuine smile, one that made your erratic thoughts calm down a little bit. The King might have been hostile towards you, but the Queen had never been openly critical of you, so you hoped that it could stay that way.

“Excuse me, I have to bid farewell to the other guests,” the woman announced after having a few words with you and Sungho, then, she reached out to squeeze your hands. The gesture took you by surprise, but only in a positive way. “Please, make sure to visit us again. Donghyun might not say it out loud, but I could see how happy your presence made him,” she shared with a secretive smile, and despite your bewilderment, you reciprocated it, squeezing her hands once before she let go.

“With pleasure, Your Majesty,” you bowed respectfully as both an answer and both a farewell. You watched her leave before turning back to your brother who had that amused half-smile playing on his lips that told you that he really wanted to call you out on something, but he tried to hold it in. Sighing, you raised an eyebrow in question.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing, really. I’m just amused by the fact that you came here, set on not wanting to come here ever again in your whole entire life, and now, you just got invited again,” he blabbered as if his words weren’t teasing at all, but you didn’t want to admit anything, so you merely pointed out, trying to keep your voice as confident as possible:

“She meant ‘us’, not just me.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Your Water Prince is likely walking towards us because he also wants to meet me again,” Sungho gestured towards Prince Donghyun who was indeed coming up to you, elegance radiating off him while he was taking one step after another. It was unfair how vividly he stood out, and how perfectly the morning sunlight bathed him in its glory, drawing a halo around his chestnut-brown hair. It was also unfair how much your heartbeat picked up its speed when he halted beside your brother, and how much you had to try to sniffle a smile when your eyes landed on his ethereal features.

“I truly hope you enjoyed your stay with us,” he started politely, probably as a matter of courtesy, and he was about to continue when Sungho spoke up.

“Oh, I certainly enjoyed my stay,” he said as he gave you a not at all subtle side glance, and you felt the need to roll your eyes at his antics. Gosh, did he have to call you out like that?

“Thank you again for the invitation, Prince Donghyun,” you spoke up as if nothing happened, and the boy beamed, a smile blooming on his lips at your words. Unbeknownst to you, your lips also curled upwards. Staring at him felt both so wrong and so right at the same time, and seconds passed by with the cacophony of the surrounding noises fading into the background.

At least, until your brother decided to clear his throat and announce that he would let you two proceed while he would check on the insides of the carriage. A lame excuse, you could tell, but you appreciated his gesture because while you wouldn’t do anything inappropriate with the prince that he should not be a witness of, you felt like you could say a proper goodbye to the prince if it was just the two of you.

“I hope you also enjoyed your stay despite my father’s words on the first day,” Prince Donghyun mused out loud, his eyes searching for yours, something akin to concern flashing across them. You bobbed your head, reassuring him that you were doing better than on that first day.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he noted, letting a small smile invade his lips as he looked down at his intertwined fingers for a few seconds. You had never really mastered the art of saying goodbye to someone, let alone someone like him… someone who made you feel so many things in such a short span of time.

Maybe he was the same for the silence stretched a bit too long, but before you could get discouraged again, you spoke up.

“Thank you for everything. My stay was more enjoyable… thanks to you,” you blurted out, your voice cracking a bit by the end. The prince looked up right in that moment, and his cheeks flushed, tinting his pale skin in the shade of cherry blossom-pink. You could also feel your cheeks heating up, and it was so unlike you that you felt like running away and throwing yourself into the carriage right away.

“Thank you so much for coming, and if it’s up to me, it won’t be the last time we see each other. If you let me, of course…”

The prince let his words trail off by the end, curious and contemplative, while his eyes never left yours. You felt another rush of heat going through your body at the implication behind his words, but even if you wanted to deny it, even if you didn’t, there was only one right answer.

“I’d love to see you again,” you confessed feebly, but in the next moment, you pointed a finger at him warningly to mask up your anxiety. “But only if you keep practising your dancing.”

Laughter bubbled up the prince’s throat - airy and carefree - before he promised you that he would keep practising, so that he could continue dancing like a man. Then, he flashed one of those boyish grins of his that made princesses’ knees go weak, and now you kind of understood why that was the case.

“See you again, Prince Donghyun!”

“See you soon, Princess!” He bid his farewell when the coachman came up to the two of you, letting you know that you could leave whenever you wanted to. You smiled back at the waving prince as you made your way to the carriage, and the coachman helped you inside.

Once you took a seat and looked up at your brother who was sitting in front of you, you warned him:

“Not a word, Sungho.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“That’s your luck,” you stated playfully before looking out of the window and watching Prince Donghyun’s waving figure getting smaller and smaller until he was out of sight.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this story of mine! Let me know what you think!

If you want to read more stories of mine, let it be for BOYNEXTDOOR or for other artists, consider signing up for my taglist here.

Hope you have a lovely day/night! Take care! ❤️

Something for sungho coming up soon 😼

I will post smth this week mark my words

ONE LESS LONELY GIRL

PAIRING idols riki x fem reader

WARNINGS profanity, + more to be added

GENRE fluff, humor, mild angst, workplace romance

SYNOPSIS fans always point out the chemistry between you and riki, and it only continues to grow after you become mc’s together on music bank. but as your feelings rise, so does the tension. and people begin to notice, so you try not to let riki know how you feel. but unbeknownst to you, he feels entirely the same way.

STATUS august 10 2024 - tba

taglist is open <3

PROFILES hypen not hyphen | bunnygirls

TRACK 001 : the left side

TRACK 002 : inconveniently convenient

TRACK 003 : my nervous babies

TRACK 004 : loveyloveyloveydoveydoveydovey

TRACK 005 : big balls and lots of courage

+ more to be added

a/n this smau will be kinda short, maybe only 15-20 episodes. also there will be a lot of written parts