𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 - 𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐨𝐧

(thirty-three)

I drop everything once I see the sun dipping below the horizon. I can't be late and upset the Princess even more, so I sprint out to the garden, nearly falling several times. Scrapes on my hands would be nothing, however, compared to whatever the royal family has planned for me now.

"Kim Bora, you're here." She stands up and faces me. I can't read her expression.

"Listen," I start, "I know last night was incredibly unprofessional of me. I just felt like you were pushing me away. I'm sorry for kissing y–"

She interrupts me with a quiet, "Would you do it again? Will you do it again?"

What the hell is happening right now? "Earlier you were mad at me. What changed?"

Princess Siyeon rolls her eyes. "Did you forget the plan? I pretend to be mean to you to get those other girls off your back," she reminds.

"I... didn't realise that's what that was." I'm embarrassed by how much her actions affected me, to the point that I forgot about our scheme. "Your fiance isn't angry at me for kissing you? Are you angry at me for kissing you? I know you and he have been getting closer lately, and I'm sorry for getting in the way of that."

She giggles. "I don't know what you're talking about, Kim Bora. I don't like him like that at all. You should know that!" She takes my hand and stares at her fingers delicately wrapped around mine. "Forgive me for this, but you're a little dense."

"What?"

"You can't seriously have missed the hints," she deadpans. "I literally said you're my type and that I would marry you over him."

I shoot back, "If I were a man, you said."

Suddenly she seems a lot less confident. "Tell me if I misread things, Bora. God, I hope I got this right– do you like me, too?" She drops my hand and begins wringing hers together. "I just thought, we're so close, you know, and I've liked you so much for so long and I overheard a conversation you had with your mom..." She sighs. "You never told her yes. But then you got in bed with me and I slept easier. And I wasn't worried. And I thought maybe you felt the same – maybe you felt different with me than with anybody else."

"Of course, I do," I chuckle. "There is no one else who I would risk flogging for by kissing them right before they're supposed to get married."

Her hands find their way to my hips and she leans close to whisper in my ear, "You never answered me, sweetheart, when I asked if you'd kiss me again. Don't get my hopes up. Yes or no."

Rather than answer, I take a step closer and brush her hair out of her face. She impatiently leans in and kisses me, her hand tangled in my hair as mine hold the back of her neck. She keeps an arm around my waist and pulls me even closer. I gasp at the sudden movement, and Siyeon seizes this opportunity to attack my mouth with her teeth and tongue, as if trying to show the weight of every unvoiced confession, and I respond eagerly.

This is new and frightening territory, but I refuse to shy away from someone I've longed for for such a great amount of time. We've been this close before, fallen asleep in each other's arms, showered together, but this is a different kind of closeness, a kind that I can't find words to describe aside from feeling dizzy and overwhelmed with joy.

"I... thank you." She rests her forehead against mine, breathing heavily and giggling. I can't help but laugh along with her; her lively charm has always been contagious. She wraps both arms around me and picks me up, spinning around and squealing. She suddenly stops and stares right at me, slowly setting me back on the ground. She kisses me again, much softer this time, and smiles as she pulls away. "Goodnight, Bora," she whispers.

I just stand there in the garden, dumbfounded with a stupid smile on my face and a warm giddiness in my veins.