Swords in My Heart 《p.s.h》

Chapter 12: So Close, Yet So far

The princess teleported with ease to her room, tears at the cliff of her eyes. And as if it couldn't get worse for the poor girl, her mother was in her room, putting away a few dresses that she bought for Misun's upcoming birthday.

Thankfully, the queen was in the closet when Misun arrived, so it was impossible for her to see Misun perform magic.

The princess let her tears fall in quiet sobs, her knees dropping to the cold wooden floor, catching the attention of her mother.

"Misun? When did you get back, my dear?' the queen asked while walking out of the closet. She spotted her heartbroken daughter and immediately ran over to her with open arms. "Shhh, it's okay, Love. It's okay, I am right here," she comforted, running her hands through her daughter's hair.

In the warm arms of her mother, Misun cried even more. She didn't know why she felt this way, or how she let Sunghoon get to her, but all she knew was that she needed someone, anyone, to assure her that everything was okay.

After a couple minutes of empty, quiet sobs and the calm hushes of the queen, the weeping came to an end. Misun looked up into her mother's eyes, stilly sniffling her nose. Her mother gave her an affable smile and wiped at her stray tears.

"Tell me what's on your mind when you are ready, in the meantime, do you mind if I leave for a minute to pour you a hot cup of milk tea?" the queen asked, and Misun shook her head.

"No, I don't mind. You may leave, but please return quickly," Misun murmured, playing with the ends of her skirt.

Her mother nodded her head in response and got up from where she was previously soothing her daughter. She walked a few steps towards the door before Misun stopped her.

"Actually, I really need to get this off my chest. Sorry, but could you stay a bit longer? We can go down and get milk tea together when I am done," Misun croaked, her throat dry from all the sobbing.

"Of course. I'll be listening," her mother walked over to the princess' couch and patted the spot beside her.

Misun explained her situation as she sauntered to the couch and sat down, "There is this lad I met recently, Father has probably told you about him. But, if not, his name is Sunghoon. We met when I was in Ansford," she lied, "We talked often, almost every day, and today I brought him with me to accompany me while I visit a friend of mine in another village. And so we went, and when we got there, he acted discourteous towards my friend, whom I haven't seen in a while, and I guess my friend became upset and left. So, I was upset and argued with Sunghoon and I left him there. But, I don't know why I'm feeling more hurt about the argument between him and I than him making my friend uncomfortable. I mean, I do feel bitter that I barely talked with my friend, but for some reason, Sunghoon is the only one on my mind."

She met eyes with her mother, pleading with her eyes to help her.

Her mother sighed, "Perhaps you like Sunghoon, and arguing with him, someone you like, probably hurts you more than not talking to a friend, whom you can always visit again."

Misun gnawed at her lip and stared at the ground, thinking to herself.

"I don't like Sunghoon, Mother. If I'm being honest, I don't even know what liking someone feels like. So, how would I know?" she questioned.

She had never gained feelings for anyone before. Jaeyun was the only guy friend she had, and she viewed him more as a brother than someone she could have feelings for.

"You know you are in love when around him, you feel a funny feeling in your stomach. You know you are in love when around him, your cheeks feel heated to the touch. When you can't restrain yourself from admiring his every feature. When you catch yourself smiling widely to yourself when thinking about him," the queen explained.