When Jarim woke up, she had realised that Hyunjin had already left.
The pillows he had placed the night before to separate them were strewn across his side of the bed, and for some reason, Jarim felt lonely.
Ignoring the thought, the girl yawned, stretching her arms that had gone slightly limp from having shaked the many hands of the last of the dignitaries who had been invited to the wedding.
Slipping out from the warmth and comfort of the duvet and blankets, Jarim waltzed into the bathroom, taking care of what she needed to do, before choosing an outfit to wear for the day as well as making the bed.
Her slender fingers skimmed the clothes racks that hung evenly in her wardrobe, picking out a pair of plaid pants and a white shirt with a dark blue jumper to go over it. She combed her hair out of the mess it was in, letting it loose before proceeding to make-up. Jarim wasn't particularly fond of caking her face with various creams and cosmetics, but that didn't stop her from putting on a little mascara and some lip balm.
Sliding on a pair of shoes, Jarim exited Hyunjin's (and now her) room, and stood, rather puzzled in the hallway.
She could scarcely remember the way in which Hyunjin had brought her to his room, the memory being a vague fuzz.
Just as she was about to walk in the wrong direction, an attendant hurried towards her.
"Your Highness!" She called. "The King, Queen and Prince are in the Breakfast Room. I'll show you the way,"
"I- thank you," Jarim offered a warm smile, receiving one in return as the two walked towards the Breakfast Room.
Your Highness?
The attendant dipped her head towards the Senior Royals as Jarim slid into the seat opposite her husband, quizzically looking at the various dishes that were on the table.
"Good morning, Jarim-ah," Gowoon greeted warmly. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, I did, thank you," The student answered softly, taking a spoonful of rice into her pot.
"We need to think about your honeymoon," Taeho said casually as Hyunjin and Jarim almost choked on their food at the mention of it.
"I was thinking Paris?" Gowoon offered. "No, that's too cliché. What about Italy? They have beautiful vineyards and the tuscany is a sight to see!"
"America?" Taeho tried.
"I think Italy would be fine," Jarim glanced at Hyunjin who gave a single, firm nod.
"Then Italy it is!" Gowoon grinned. "Taeho and I went off to Dubai for ours,"
"I love Dubai," Taeho sighed dreamily, as though wishing he was there. "Nothing like racing your cars on a private track,"
"You have a private race track?" Jarim asked curiously. "In Dubai?"
"Dad's fond of cars and racing," Hyunjin didn't look up from his food and his tone was emotionless as he answered. "We have a few race tracks, including one in Italy,"
"I'll show you my car collection after breakfast if you like, Jarim-ah," The King said eagerly. "I have motor wonders!"
"That would be wonderful," Jarim smiled towards her father-in-law.
...
"Welcome to my beloved museum of cars!"
Jarim's jaw dropped as she eyed the amount of cars that sat in little garages, all of them in pristine condition, sparkling under the sunlight. Some attendants were cleaning the vehicles as the two admired the cars that were displayed for the inhabitants of the palace to see.
"How many- "
"34," Taeho answered with a proud grin. "Currently, we have 34 antique vehicles,"
"And they all work? Like, you can drive in them and stuff?"
"Of course you can!" Taeho beamed at his daughter-in-law, whose expression mirrored that of a gaping fish. "In fact, let's take a ride around the palace,"
Calling over one of the attendants, the King ordered to be given the key to one of the cars, the Hyundai Grandeur Azera, to be precise, and the two took their seats in the vehicle.
"Let's go,"
...
Jarim's eyes were settled upon the vast expanse of the palace, blossom trees being in full bloom as the King drove the pair in a relaxed drive around the area.
Jarim had never seen the man look so relaxed. Even on TV, when Jarim had watched certain royal events, her father-in-law always looked so strict, tense almost.
She couldn't blame him.
He was the King of South Korea, he had a whole country to rule and he needed to keep things in check.
"How did you get into cars?" Jarim asked as they passed the Royal Gardens.
"Well," Taeho hummed thoughtfully. "My father loved vehicles a lot as a child, and I suppose he wanted his kids to find a passion in them too. He would take me, Hyunwoo and Soyeon to races, in secret of course, and he would tell us the models of the cars and how fast they would be able to go,"
"As we grew up, we raced each other and our father designed tracks for us so we could race when we had the time," The King smiled wishfully towards Jarim. "I would love to go and race again, but I suppose I could do that after I pass the crown to Hyunjin, eh?"
Jarim chuckled lightly. "I'm guessing that's why Princess Soyeon has a thing for cars? And Yeji?"
"Soyeon loved cars. She preferred flashy, trendy models which could go faster than the speed of light. On the other hand, Hyunwoo liked more practical but stylish cars. I'm much more fond of classics, like this one here," Taeho tapped the side of the Azero, fondly. "Yeji likes practical cars, but she's more into flashy ones like Soyeon,"
"And - and what about Hyunjin?" Jarim found herself asking, curious as to what he preferred to drive. "What does he like?"
"Hyunjin likes a bit of everything," Taeho smiled wistfully. "In fact, he owns that Porsche 911,"
Jarim followed the direction at which Taeho was pointing, towards a blood-red car that sat proudly in the garage, sunlight bouncing off its roof,"
"I'm guessing he likes the colour red," Jarim mumbled.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
just to clarify, prince hyunwoo is yeji's father. he is the middle child of hyunjin and yeji's grandparents.
the age order goes like this : taeho, hyunwoo and soyeon.
because taeho is the oldest, he got the crown and became king
hope this clears things up if you had a doubt :)
take care and stay safe
xx
