Lost ↹ Yang Jungwon

.Thirty-Three.

HAEYUL WATCHED as the centaurs jumped around while loud effervescent music played in the background, wide smiles shown in every centaur's faces. Even toddlers were running around the campfire, singing- or shouting along the traditional music. Some centaurs were distributing their dinner, the smell of cooked meat filling the air. It was a sight to see. 

"Oi!" A female centaur exclaimed as she pointed her sword at her friend. "That is my meal you baboon!" Haeyul knew her as Lala. A gentle name for someone who loves to duel. 

Lala's friend laughed at her reaction as he proceeded eating her food, leading him to receiving a harsh hit on the head. Haeyul stifled a laugh as her hand hid her smile, the scene reminded her of her and her brother. They would always fight for the smallest things whether it was about food, clothing, the bathroom and so on. Needless to say, they wreaked havoc for their parents.

"Aggressive, aren't they?" A presence sat next to her. Haeyul faced the centaur, chuckling. "Quite." She said.

Haeyul's eyes followed the small centaur in front of her as she asked, "Are they always this aggressive?" Oale's lips curved upwards, the creases in the corner of her eyes appearing as she answered the question.

"For outsiders, we're aggressive but to us, this is how we show our love—by dueling, hunting for each other's meals, the list goes on. This is my family. We have vowed our loyalty to each other. It's convoluted but,"

"But it works." Haeyul completed, replicating the smile Oale was wearing. The centaur turned her head towards her direction and laughed, agreeing to the human's words. "You, human, are not as bad as I expected you to be." 
"Was that an insult or a compliment?"
"A bit of both."

Oale stood up from her seat and shook her hooves. "I'm going to sleep, you should to." She said, "It must have been a tiring day for you." Haeyul nodded as a response and the female centaur bowed her head, before entering her tent. 

Haeyul lightly frowned. Why would Oale bow to her? She is not a royalty or someone with a high status. "When centaurs bow their heads to you, it means you have gained their respect." A voice startled her as Jungwon took the seat which was previously taken by Oale. "It's something to be proud of." He told.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Haeyul asked, confusion painted her expressions. 

The prince bounced his shoulders upwards as he avoided answering her questions. His actions only made the girl more curious as she leaned towards him, her brows pulled together. "Tell me." She demanded, her breath fanning his face. Jungwon felt time stopped as his eyes met hers. His gaze flickered down where her lips was. 

Jungwon cleared his throat as he diverted his attention back to her eyes but to his surprise, Haeyul's gaze were on his lips. He felt blood rush up to his cheeks as his heart palpitated. The prince cleared his throat in attempts to snap the girl out of her thoughts, but it went in vain as Haeyul was too mesmerized by the man seated in front of her.

She has seen Jungwon's face up close many times before however this time it was..different. She felt sparks fly in her stomach whenever their hands graze or when they made eye contact across the field. Her hands reached to cup his face as she bravely dissipates the space between them. She noticed the light freckles dusted over his face and his rosy cheeks. For the first time, she found the stoic Jungwon adorable. 

"Haeyul..." 
Her gaze was brought up to his eyes as he stared at her with an expression she had never seen before. Before she knew it, Jungwon had pressed his lips against hers. Haeyul's eyes widened in surprise before she shuts them close, wrapping her arms around his torso as she embraced his warmth. Jungwon pushed her back, deepening the kiss as one of his arms supported her back. It was passionate and full of desire. 

As their lips parted, the two of them were in a deep silence, both processing what just happened. Fear grew in Haeyul's heart as she observed the prince's facial expressions, his face was blank as the silence became deafening. Maybe she shouldn't have kissed him back. Maybe she shouldn't have gone so close to him, yet she felt his lips still lingered on hers causing butterflies to erupt in her stomach. 

This is wrong.

Haeyul stood up from the piece of log, catching the vampire's attention as she felt hot tears brimmed her eyes. Why was she crying? She should have known better. Jungwon's heart was already taken by another girl, a princess who can love him better than her. With that, the tears cascaded down her face, alarming Jungwon as he cupped her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" He wiped her tears away as Haeyul compressed her emotions, her breaths were unstable, "I'm sorry for what I did, I should have asked for your consent first." He apologized which caused the girl to cry harder.

"How can you be worried about that? Y-you have a girl back at home, who you wi-will soon marry!" Haeyul spoke between hiccups as her shoulders heaved up and down. Jungwon held her shoulders gently as he processed her words. 

He blinked in confusion. "Wait, did no one told you?" 
Haeyul paused, facing the prince. "About what?" She asked harshly.

Jungwon sighed, "I don't love Aene. I never did." He told her, his tone assertive as if he wanted it to pierce into her brain. "We were set into an arranged marriage because everyone thought it would be benefiting. I never had any problems following the marriage- that is until I got close to you. I hated the idea of you enjoying your time with someone else. Whenever Jay gets to cook with you, I began wondering whether I should start cooking too even though I have no interest in it."

"I found entertainment in the smallest things because of you. And that day when I found you in the garden, I got angry because you resembled so much like my mom." Jungwon revealed. "Mother would always walk in the garden whenever she had the time, and she would always pluck a flower for me every time I accompanied her."

Haeyul continued listening to him, voice was like a melody in her ears. His eyes filled with happiness as the moonlight reflected in his eyes, his dimples appearing whenever he broke into a smile. A soft chuckle left her lips when she finally understood why her heart always beats so hard around Jungwon. It wasn't hate, it was the opposite.

"Jungwon." Haeyul spoke and the said vampire stopped in his sentence.
"Yes?"

"You annoy me." She stated as her lips stretched widely into a smile. Jungwon blinked a few times until he smirked, taking his hands off of her shoulders as he crossed them. "That's nothing new, darling." He said.

Haeyul hit his chest, "Darling? Since when was I your darling?" She asked in a challenging tone as she crossed her arms, mimicking his actions. "Until you're not in an arrange marriage with Aene, then you can call me darling." She huffed, both serious with her statement yet a sense of jest coated her smile.

Jungwon nodded, "Okay," He snaked his arm around Haeyul's waist, pulling her towards him, "darling."

THAK!
"I told you to not call me darling!"

So..
it's too late to say enjoy, isn't it...?

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