Not Quite a Prince || Eric Sohn

~ 57 ~

"I have news for you." 

"What is it?" Dayeong asked, picking up two different dresses and holding them to her body. She'd spent the last ten minutes going through her clothes and trying to decide what to wear. She was pretty sure she wore everything already, and was worried that the royal family would look down on her for wearing the same thing twice. Or maybe they wouldn't, and she was just overthinking. Either way, she was suddenly glad that Eric and her had decided to leave their clothes in their respective rooms. A week had already passed since they'd moved into the same room, but somehow they both still spent most of their time in their respective rooms, which she was happy about. She didn't want to bother him with all her questions and rants, but Juyeon was a different story. Juyeon had to hear it all. "Do you think I could make these look... different? Different than last time? Like a whole different outfit?" 

"I don't think you wore that one," Juyeon said, pointing to the red dress in her left hand. 

"I haven't?" she said in surprise, looking down at the dress. "Are you sure?" 

"Pretty sure," he said. "Believe it or not, I've noticed you since the start. I've been paying way too much attention to you," he told her with a smile, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Anyway, the news is..." he said, trailing off as she started looking through her jewelry, trying to decide if she should wear a necklace or a bracelet, or both. 

"Why'd you stop?" she asked, looking up at him. 

"I got distracted by you," he whispered. 

Dayeong laughed, leaving the jewelry on the table and walking into his arms. "Stop getting distracted and tell me," she said, kissing one of the buttons on his shirt. 

"Why not here?" he complained, tapping his lips. 

"I would," she sighed. "But I'll need to go find some heels, or I'll need you to lean down. I'm not tall enough for that." 

Juyeon grinned, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against her lips. "Okay, here's the news. Your brother is getting married." 

"What?!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening as she took two steps back, placing her hands over her heart. "Are you serious? It's about time!" she squealed, thinking about her brother and his fiancée. They were also in an arranged marriage, but they'd fallen madly in love. It was adorable. The kind of things one would read about in fairytales. 

"That's not all," Juyeon said excitedly. "We'll be going over for the wedding." 

"Yes!" she cried out, bouncing up and down on her feet. Then she paused, looking at him. "Wait, we? Are you coming too?" she asked, rushing back over to him and gripping onto his arms. 

"I am," he said, grinning at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. "I'm the only one of your guards that's going, since I'm your personal guard. The whole team will be passing you over to your guards at the airport-" 

"You mean I'll see Chan at the airport!" she squealed, pulling herself out of his arms and jumping up and down before running to grab her suitcase. "When are we leaving?" she asked, beginning to pull clothes out of her drawers. "I have to go pack." 

"Are you that excited about seeing Chan?" Juyeon asked. He was probably trying to sound playful, but she could hear hints of jealousy in his voice. She turned around, smirking at him. 

"Yes, why? Are you jealous?" 

"No," he mumbled, looking at the floor. 

"You seem jealous," she teased, turning back around and shoving clothes into her suitcase. "But for real, I am excited to see him. Chan's like another brother to me. And of course I'm obviously excited to see Hyunjin, and Minyoung," she said, which was the name of her brother's fiancée. Princess Minyoung, a person that Dayeong admired very much. The person who held the key to her brother's heart. "So, when are we leaving?" she asked him, closing her suitcase and turning back around to face him. 

"You packed fast," he commented, cocking his head to the side as he looked at her. "But why pack in the first place? Don't you have more clothes there... it is your home after all." 

Dayeong laughed, shaking her head at him. "Obviously. But I want to take these back and replace them with new clothes that I'll bring back over here. Maybe I'll bring another suitcase with me too. Who knows how long I'll be staying here," she said airily. "So, when are we leaving?" she asked again, growing impatient. 

A smile played on Juyeon's lips as he watched her. "Tomorrow." 

She didn't think it was possible to be smiling more than she already was, but somehow it felt that her smile would never leave her. 

"Tomorrow," she whispered. "So soon. But it seems like today is going to take forever now."