Chapter Text
You, a princess of a known kingdom, is about to celebrate your coming of age. Your parents, the king and queen, have told you that in your birthday, you are to meet your fiancé from another kingdom they have close ties with. This is the first time you have heard of this. It got you quite frustrated but, your parents deemed otherwise.
Now frustrated but curious, you began to ask your servants in the palace, to search for information about this said fiancé of yours. With your orders, they did so. You then waited in your room, on your bed, laying down, pondering over what kind of man he would be. What disrupted your thoughts was the sound of a knock reverberating throughout your whole room. With your permission, your servants then opened the door and let themselves in, bringing with them a number of boxes.
“Princess, here are the things you have requested.” One out of the many servants spoke as they all lowered their heads in respect.
You then left your bed and approached the boxes placed on your carpeted floor, eyeing on it for a brief moment then responded, “Thank you. I am sorry for the trouble I have put you all through. You may now go back to work.”
“Yes, princess.” The servants all responded in unison, and then exited your room.
Now left all alone in your very own room, you sighed at the numerous boxes by your side. You never really expected there would be a lot. You sighed but, still pushed through with it. Opening one of the boxes, inside were a collection of portraits and Polaroid shots of the family of your fiancé.
Looking at these photos, you got to see how your fiancé had look like though, the photos were not as vivid as you thought out it would be thus, not really giving you a clear image of his face. Not to mention, the photos and portraits seemed really old and monochromatic. In your time, colored photos were now invented.
“Ah, great. So I don’t even know how my own future husband would look like.” You sighed, one hand massaging both sides of your temples while the other held a photo, “Oh my, what if he’s unseemly? I mean… I should have rights to choose a perfect husband, right? Geez, I’m getting really scared now, too.”
You then walked back over to your bed and crashed. You then lifted up the photo in your hand, “Maybe I could go visit their kingdom in secret. Yes, let’s do that.”
Determination filling you up, you then stripped off of your home clothing and began to wear something normal to fit in and of course, not to reveal your identity to the people outside the town. With that, you also took a hat and wore it upon your head and you also kept the photo inside your dress pocket. All set and done, you then managed to leave the palace without getting caught, well you were but you begged your servants to feign a blind eye about it.
You took a carriage to go to the said kingdom. Luckily, it wasn’t as far as you thought it’d be. Reaching the kingdom, you stepped down from the carriage as it eventually drove off, leaving you in the middle of the town. The town was filled with bright and happy people, seeing such sights made you happy as well. It was a happy town. A happy town means the rulers are cordial.
“Thank God… They don’t seem scary…” you spoke to yourself, a sense of relief washing over you.
You then began to tour the town, seeing different kinds of things as well. Eventually, you made your way to the palace grounds. To your surprise, the palace had open doors, a number of people were going inside the palace as well.
“Lucky! I won’t get easily caught!” you thought to yourself with a grin on your face as you happily skipped, entering further in the palace grounds.
Inside the palace, you began admiring the whole place. You couldn’t help it. You were in a new place, after all. Not to mention, you were sheltered almost your whole life that you barely left the palace thus, you sneak out often.
You then ended up outside of the palace; in front of your eyes was a magnificent and exquisite maze garden. It was full of blooming vibrant flowers and the grass walls had a robust shade of green. Being charmed by this sight, you ended up entering the maze. You had no idea where you were going; you were being lead by your own feelings, your own heart.
Seeming to have reached the center part of the maze, you then stopped where you were as you saw a statuesque kind of man with long, flowing silver hair, and had an alluring shade of red as his eyes just standing beside a fountain.
Thump. Thump.
You then placed your hand over to your chest, “Why am I feeling this? I haven’t even got to know him and my heart is pounding quickly…”
Finally having a grip back to reality, you then found yourself inside the maze garden and you have no idea how to exit the place. “God, why am I so foolish?” you sighed to yourself in frustration.
“Why are you sighing?” a smooth and sweet sounding voice spoke out.
You then stiffened; you knew who that voice came from. Since you both are the only ones there, you immediately knew it was from that pulchritudinous, statuesque man. You then looked over to where he was, finally having a clear view of his features. Your mouth slowly parted open in awe.
“Oh my God,” you spoke to yourself in awe, “Why is someone so beautiful and charming as you, here?”
“Hello?” he spoke out once again.
“Ah… His voice is really nice to listen to…”
You then began to see him approach you, “He’s approaching me…”
It took you a few seconds to finally know what was going on. “Oh my God, he’s approaching me! What do I do!?”
Too late. Before you could even move, he was already in front of you. You stiffened up.
“Alright self. Let’s try not to be a laughing stock in front of this beautiful person, got it? If you do, you don’t even deserve to live.”
“Hello?” spoke up.
“H-Hello.” You stuttered back, an awkward smile etches across your face while on the inside, you already wanted to kill yourself. “Oh God… You already botched it!”
The silver haired man let out a small chuckle, “You stuttered, how adorable.”
“Please don’t make this harder as it already is for me, beautiful person.” You sobbed to yourself though, only ending up lowering your head in response. Clearly, you were embarrassed.
“Ah, I’m sorry. That was a strange thing to say to someone you have just met, isn’t it?” the silver haired male chuckled once again.
“Oh my God, how are you so beautiful?” you spoke out of impulse.
“What?” the silver haired male spoke.
“What?” you repeated as well.
Taking another few seconds to process what had happened, you wished that you disappeared from your spot. You then covered your face with your hands, “Oh my God. Kill me now. Please.”
The silver haired male, he laughed, “Ah, I get that a lot. Thank you.”
Slowly pulling your hands down, revealing your eyes, “You’re… You’re not insulted?”
The silver haired male hummed as he shook his head, “No, I’m not. Should I?”
“Oh, no! No!” you spoke, waving your hands out in front of you, “I’m glad you aren’t! Most men don’t really like being called ‘beautiful’ after all.”
“True.” The silver haired male nodded, “I sort of got used to it and appreciated it.”
“Well, you are and you have every right to.” You mumbled.
You hear him chuckle once again, “You’re quite an eccentric woman. It’s nice to see something new in the palace for a change.”
“Something new?” you repeated.
He nodded, “When most women come to me, they tense up and is unable to speak. Not to mention, they try to get their way with me as well.”
“Who wouldn’t tense up in front of you!?” you exclaimed to yourself, “I see. You must be well-known in the area.”
The silver haired male chuckled, “You can say that. Anyways, what bring you here to this maze?”
You let out an awkward laugh, “Would you laugh if I said that I felt that I was just brought here?”
The silver haired male blinked, he then placed a hand over his mouth, small chuckling sounds escaping his lips. You sighed. He then placed his hand back to his side, “No. I don’t think so. I find it quite romantic. It was as if, it was destiny.”
With his words, you felt your heart beating fast and heat rise up to your cheeks. My God, he was smooth. You couldn’t say anything in response to that.
“Shall I escort you out of this maze?” he questioned.
“I… I don’t know…” you answered.
“Why?”
“Part of me wants to leave but…” you then bit your lip, “Part of me doesn’t want to, as well…”
The silver haired male let out a gentle smile, “You’re really adorable, you know that? Too adorable to resist.”
You then pouted at his words, “How can you be so smooth?”
“Did you slip?”
You hesitantly nodded, “Hard.”
“I’ll take responsibility then.” he chuckled, “By escorting you around the maze and the palace. How does that sound?”
You smiled, “Lovely.”
The two of you then began to walk around aimlessly at the maze; your eyes never seemed to have left him. When he talks to you, your heart skips, you feel warm as well. You adored him dreamily with your eyes. How he looked, how he acted, how his voice sounded. Everything was perfect.
In the garden, he then stopped over at a certain flower, picked it and handed it over to you. It seemed to be a fully bloomed rose.
“For me?” you questioned.
He nodded, “It took me a while to finally find one that matches your beauty.”
You bashfully chuckled as you took the rose in hand, “Wow. I don’t know what to say. Thank you. Maybe I should search for a flower you as well but, I don’t think I can find one.”
He then chuckled, “Thank you.”
“So until I find something in return for your rose…” you then bravely took his hand and placed the rose back, “I’m giving this back to you. This rose resembles you more than I do, after all.”
You both spent countless of minutes together, talking about anything random, clearly enjoying each other’s company as you both shared smiles and laughs together. Though, of course, as the saying goes, time flies quickly when you’re on a cloud nine.
“And this concludes the end of the tour.” The silver haired male spoke towards you with a smile.
“I’m surprised…” you admitted, “I never knew you’d know the whole area.”
The silver haired male chuckled, “Well… You can say I sort of like this place.”
“Me too.” You smiled back, “I had fun.”
“Yes, likewise.” The silver haired male smiled back, “I had fun talking to you. I hope to see you again.”
“I will make an effort to.” You remarked and bowed your head lightly as you turned your heel and began to make your way out of the vicinity.
Inside the carriage, you looked out the window, a smile dashing across your face as your mind plays the scene wherein you two were just together, smiling and laughing, over and over again.
Pulling you back down on Earth was when you hit your head on the window itself. You yelled in pain. “Geez… The path must be really rocky.”
You then shifted yourself to a much more stable position to prevent the same thing from happening again. As you did, you then saw something white on the floor. You then picked it up, turning it over, recognizing it was the photo you had in your pocket. Then, it hit you.
“I completely forgot to search for the guy in the photo!” you screamed as you ran your hands frantically on your hair, “God! That guy was just really breath-taking that I—Ugh! Shame on you! Shame! Shame! Shame! Not to mention, you didn’t even ask for his name! My God, why am I still even alive!? I just blew my chances to seeing that angel again!”
You finally returned to your own home, to the palace. You were then welcomed by your servants and your two parents with furious faces clearly drawn over their faces. You knew you had it coming and so, you just stood still and let your parents scold you.
“Geez, [name]! You had us worried!” your mother spoke, “Your birthday is in a few days and what would we do if we couldn’t find you!? What if you got kidnapped?!”
“Your mother is right, [name]. If you want to go out, you have to inform us. Take our palace carriages.” Your father added in, “We won’t let this slide. Do you understand?”
“Yes mom and dad.” You responded.
It was finally the day of your birthday. The palace was completely busy. The servants were all around the place, tending here and there for the preparation for your birthday. It took several hours to get the whole place decorated but, the party just started in time.
Night had fallen over the land; the palace was filled with guests as well. With the cue of the master of ceremonies, you then began to make your way down the stairs, slowly and elegantly, just like in the lessons you have learned. You wore a pale pink ball gown and your hair cascaded beautifully around your face. It was your night.
Being the pearl in the sea, you had a task to greet and thank your visitors for coming. Only then, you could be at ease. Once you were done, you took a glass to drink and went outside, to the garden area to escape from the festivity and noises.
As you were walking your way there, inside your mind, you still remembered the male you met a few days ago. When you think of him, your heart pounds. You missed him. You don’t even know him that much and yet, you want to be with him. You end up sighing and chanted to yourself ‘I’m going to get married. I have a fiancé,’ in hopes that you would forget. But the more you tried to forget about him, the more you longed to see him.
Reaching your destination, you then started to walk aimlessly around, occasionally sipping from your glass as you looked up the dark, velvet sky studded in diamonds. You smiled, “I wonder if he’s looking up at the sky right now. It’d be nice if he did.”
Taking a few more steps, you then ended up in the open area of the garden, there, under the moon light, you saw a figure standing at the center of the place. You squinted your eyes, looking side to side, trying to make out who this person was. Finally, the person moved and from there, your eyes widened.
Under the moon light, there stood the same pulchritudinous, statuesque man you saw days ago. He wore white and what stood out in his outfit was this red rose. You then began to approach him, you started with walking but you ended up running towards him. With your shoes echoing at the stone pavement, it caught his attention and he finally noticed and began to run towards you as well. Without any words being spoken, you both embraced each other tightly.
“I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you again…” the silver haired male choked.
You smiled, tears seeming to prickle the corners of your eyes, “Me too. I really wanted to see you again.”
Both pulling away from each other’s embrace, you both smiled at one another. You both got a good, long look at each other. The look on your faces was different. While you looked happy, he looked sorrowful.
“Why are you sad?” you questioned.
“It’s because I don’t think I should be with you.” He responded.
You felt your heart sink at his words, stuttering, you spoke, “W-Why?”
“I’m engaged to someone…” he answered, “And I’m about to meet her today.”
A gush of wind then blew over the two of you. Your eyes widened in surprise. “Y-You’re here to meet your fiancée?”
The male nodded, his tone filled with sincere sadness, “Yes. We’ve been engaged since the age of three and I haven’t seen her nor know how she looks like. But, when I saw you, I feel like I don’t want to see her anymore. I feel like… I’ll end up wanting to be with you instead.”
You smiled. Your smile could not get any wider. You couldn’t contain yourself from the happiness you’re feeling. You then began to slowly move backwards, you placed your hands behind your back, you asked him, “How would you feel if I were to say that I am the one you’re engaged to?”
You saw his face melt to a tender and charming smile, “I would be the happiest man alive.”
With his answer, you then stopped in place and smiled, “Well, I am! I am that fiancée of yours!”
His crimson eyes widened, he blinked, “Hey, hey. You’re not supposed to be joking around about this. I’m serious here.”
“And I’m serious as well.” You responded, pouting. You then began to take out something from your pocket and placed it in his line of vision.
“T-That’s a family photo of me and my family…” he spoke, his eyes wide, “How do you have that?”
“I am the princess of this kingdom and I am engaged to the prince here in this photo.” You spoke with a smile as you pointed over to him on the photo. “We’ve been engaged to be married since we were three but this is the first time we’ve met and your portraits really don’t do you justice. I couldn’t recognize you at all!”
“T-Then… T-That means that I… I’m…”
You nodded, “You are! And I couldn’t be happier that it’s you!”
He then walked over to where you were and pulled you in for a tight embrace. You could hear his heart pounding. You felt warm.
“I’m so glad…” he choked, “I’m so glad that it’s you…”
You then closed your eyes, “Likewise.”
With that tender moment shared, you both pulled away from each other. This time, you noticed how he had a rose on his outfit. You couldn’t help but smile.
“Is that the same rose…?” you questioned, looking up at him. You only realized now as well that he was taller than you.
He nodded in response as he then placed a hand over to your cheek, “I just couldn’t bring myself to let go of this rose.”
“Ah… I’m sorry.” You apologized, “I… I still haven’t found something in return.”
“You don’t have to. Since I already have the best thing right in front of me.” He remarked with a smile. He then leaned in towards you and placed his lips over to yours, “That’s you.”
Your face began to exhibit a magnificent shade of red, “D-Did you just—?”
He tilted his head, “You don’t like it?”
“N-No! I do!” you exclaimed. You then brought your hands to your face.
He let out a hearty laugh, “Haha! How adorable! Come on, don’t hide your face from me! I want to take a good look at my rose!”
“No!” you exclaimed.
“Come on!”
He then placed his hands over to both your hands and began to gently move it away from your profile, getting a clear view of your eyes, nose, and lips. You smiled, “I just remembered now that we didn’t speak of our names and yet we already kissed! Ah, the power of love is indeed strong, isn’t it?”
You pouted still but ended up chuckling, “True.”
“I’m Hyun Ryu.” He spoke, “You?”
“I’m [First name] [Last name].” you answered.
He shook his head, “No, I don’t think that isn’t going to be your name anymore.”
“Why do you say so?” you questioned.
“Since you’re going to be Mrs. [Name] Ryu in the future.”