❛ 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 ❜ | jsc

28

aera stood up, stunned, at the dinner table. the entire royal family looked at her in shock, appalled that she would shout so loudly at a formal dinner. the queen had always taken family meals seriously and she clicked her tongue, a signal that aera should sit down.

only aera didn't sit down, she turned to sungchan and glared at him, "what did you say?"

sungchan tugged on her sleeve, willing her to calm down. he had just told her about the fight with renjun and that the other boy was now locked up. he had did it in an attempt to start a conversation with his soulmate, but it had backfired because he failed to explain the situation fully.

aera was currently under the impression that sungchan had beaten up renjun unprovoked and had locked him up for no reason.

"why didn't you tell the guard not to lock him up!" she practically shouted and the queen slammed her fork down.

"moon aera! this type of behavior wouldn't be tolerated even if you were a member of the royal family. allowing you to sit with us is a privilege i extended solely because you are my son's soulmate. apologize and sit down so we can eat!" the queen reprimanded.

the words hit aera hard. she turned to the queen, "i knew that you looked down on me, but i didn't think you would vocalize it like this. i apologize but a mere girl like me shouldn't eat with the royal family at all. excuse me, please continue to enjoy your extravagant meal," aera threw her napkin cloth down on the table and left the dining room.

"i don't even like those stupid tiny dishes they eat," she muttered as she tried to find her way to the dungeons.

along the way she ran into haechan, who was patrolling the corridor. she stopped in front of him but didn't have the patience inside of her to return his bright smile, "will you show me the dungeons?"

haechan's smile faltered. although he had been out on a mission all day, the other guards had told him of renjun when he got home.

"i don't think that's a good idea," he slowly brought out, "sungchan will be upset if you go to renjun right now."

aera gave him a look, "haechan. the dungeons please."

haechan couldn't deny her, not when she was staring into his soul with a glare like that. he led the way and immediately scurried back out so he wouldn't hear the conversation between renjun and aera.

"aera?" renjun asked, looking up from the corner of his cell. when he confirmed that it was indeed he, he stood up and rushed the bars separating them.

aera frowned, she held out her hand and he held it for comfort, "i'm sorry," she told him.

"it's not your fault. sungchan just needs to understand that i'm your soulmate too, and i deserve an equal chance of winning your heart," he told her.

aera avoided his gaze, unable to find the correct words for the situation, "i hate it here. i hate the castle and the people here. i feel suffocated."

"then let's leave," renjun squeezed her hand, "let's run away aera. you know i'd drop everything for you. you just need to say the word."

"aera isn't going anywhere. this is her home now but if you'd like to leave, renjun, i'll unlock this cell right now on the condition that you never appear here again," sungchan told him sternly. neither of them had noticed him descending into the dungeons.

aera self-consciously pulled herself away from renjun, "this isn't my home sungchan, not anymore. home is where i feel comfortable and happy, but the castle isn't doing that anymore."

"you've lived here your entire life, what changed?" sungchan asked the girl.

"she met you," renjun offered and the boys engaged in a staring contest. renjun wasn't wrong and they both knew it.

"aera stays. she's not going anywhere," sungchan gritted his teeth together to make a point.

"and who are you to decide that?" renjun raised his eyebrow.

"her soulmate."

"me too."

aera rolled her eyes at the both of them, "both of you please stop. sungchan do you even love me?"

sungchan was taken aback by the question, "of course i do, the mark is still on our arms is it not?"

"then why don't you act like it? i was willing to pick up and leave when you wanted to run away from the wedding. i came back here because of your father too. i haven't been able to properly live my life ever since i met you because i'm willing to compromise to be with you. but you give me a backseat to your life and treat me like a last resort for your time and attention," aera let out.

"is that what you really think?" sungchan asked, "i left an entire princess for you aera."

there it was again. the subtle comparison to princesses and royal families, "then go. find your second soulmate and hope that she's a princess. then it wouldn't be so complicated, would it? i'll never be the princess that your mother and you want and i'm tired of trying to live up to your family."

sungchan stepped closer to aera, he finally understood why she was so angsty when around the castle nowadays, "aera... i don't want to meet my second soulmate. i don't even want a princess, i want you. you don't have to live up to anything because i fell in love with you for you."

"but you're going to be a king. and every king needs a queen," aera was crying now.

"no. i'm not a king, i was never made to be one," sungchan said.

"what do you mean?" aera sniffled.

"aera, i'm not going to be king. i won't need a queen, i just need you. so stay here please, stay with me," sungchan pleaded, cupping her face with his hands.

renjun cleared his throat, "how can you promise to love her when all you've done in the past is hurt her. i've had to pick up the pieces of her broken heart every single damn time. aera, please don't live like this anymore, i can't stand to see you getting hurt. leave with me."

aera looked in between the two boys, feeling her heart getting torn in half.