Be My Pride

Chapter 23: Call for Answers

"Still haven't heard from him?"

"...no, I still have not."

Silence falls.

It has been a few days since the news spread over the country. The news that their emperor has found his empress finally.

Finally, after all those years of Kim Taehyung being a difficult teenager and refusing any person his father would try to match him with. He was a monster of a prince, that person Taehyung. He did whatever he liked to do and made his own rules. Now of course the only person who could tame him was his late father. But he is no longer alive.

People believe the late emperor hadn't even wanted for his son to become the emperor after himself. All his own bad luck for having only one child.

Seohyun and Sangbin are convinced it is also bad luck for Jeongguk.

Yes they learned the truth about the boy's background. Do they care? Not at all. Whoever he may be, no matter who his parents are, Jeongguk's friends only care about him, not the story of him.

"Dang it!" Sangbin yells in frustration and messes up his hair. "They can't just do that! Does Gguk's opinion matter to them at all!?"

You ask anyone, they all would answer the same: "no."

No of course does Jeongguk's opinion not matter to their emperor.

The truth is a little different. But who would know? Through the common people's eyes, Jeongguk's future is similar to that of a bird in a golden cage.

"Sangbin... stop it." Seohyun is also frustrated to the core. She doesn't really show it however. Maybe because Sangbin, Chaeri and Minji need her to stay calm, or maybe it is because she is yet to truly understand what is going on. Whatever the reason may be is far from important though. The only thing that matters is Jeongguk.

"Do you think they confiscated his phone?" Minji asks in a silent voice. So quiet it cannot even be called a whisper. The others still catch it, the silence surrounding them just being that suffocating.

Chaeri shakes her head. Although the look on her face is very contradicting. They didn't. Right?..."

Looking at her with troubled eyes, Seohyun would like to give her a hug. Sometimes hugs make things better. This time a hug would only add sadness to the pan though, and nobody needs that. All Seohyun can do is stand there and keep her friends calm.

As calm as they could possibly be, that is.

"Have you tried?"

"What?" Chaeri looks up a little surprised and locks eyes with Seohyun, who just asked.

"Did you try calling him?" Seohyun asks again. She receives a shake of the head from Chaeri, who only then realises the stupidity of her question. Nobody is about to point her out for it.

"Then try," Seohyun encourages, "call him."

"Oh..." For a moment, Chaeri sits there and stares at her smartphone blankly. But then she follows her friend's instruction and opens her contacts to look for Jeongguk's number. She calls him once found.