Till the End of Time [Bbangsaz & Daerin]

03 | Blossoming Love

| In the Past |

"Let the concubines in so that we can pass judgment," a stern, deep voice echoed through the room. The monarch of the House of Kang ordered the servants to bring the new girls in. He sat on his throne, with his eldest son and two other sons standing to his right. To his left stood his wife and right next to her the royal Princess Haerin. This event happened quite often, many of their concubines were changed again and again to provide variety, as Haerin's elder brother always said.

No sooner said than done, the large door opened and about a dozen women entered, bowing respectfully as they lined up and presented themselves in front of the royal family. Haerin scrutinized each of them with a critical eye until her gaze lingered on one in particular. Suddenly she froze on the spot, what a beautiful sight, this woman immediately captivated her. Unconsciously, Haerin raised an arm and pointed a finger at her, attracting the attention of her family. "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this lady?" the monarch spoke up, but Haerin needed some seconds before she got her voice back: "Wha... no. I just think she would be perfect for my brothers."

Haerin's father looked very insistently at her, but gave in and waved a fan in his hand to encourage the lady in question to take a step forward. "Well... it seems you have impressed my daughter, something not many manage to do. What is your name?" His gaze now fell on the concubine, who cast her eyes briefly at Haerin, surprised, but immediately lowered them again. "D-Danielle, my liege," she bowed again to show her respect for the royal family. The royal princess kept her eyes on Danielle, all the other women were suddenly completely uninteresting. The beautiful long hair, plaited into a braid that was thrown over her shoulder, her deep brown eyes, in which one could lose oneself far too quickly, and her lips. . . Haerin was head over heels for this woman.

| The present day |

"Haerin? ...Haerin? Haerin!" A slap against her forehead brought the 23-year-old back to reality and she looked directly into the eyes of her best friend, who perhaps looked slightly annoyed. "What's wrong with you? I'm telling you, you're really retarded today," Hanni sat back down in her seat, they were in the university canteen and were about to eat when Haerin got lost in her thoughts in the middle of their conversation. "I just can't help it, haven't you seen how pretty she is?" Haerin poked around in her food with her fork, pouting a little again. How could Hanni not understand? She was head over heels in love with this barista. "You saw her for the first time today and, if I may say so, you embarrassed yourself badly."

Haerin left her fork stuck in the food and ran both hands through her hair, she shook her head and messed up her hairdo only to bury her face in her hands, "Help me Hanni.... I can't do this alone, please, pretty please?" Hanni raised a brow, shook her own head and turned her attention back to her own food, "You're really out of your mind." But Hanni suddenly flinched in surprise when Haerin slammed her hand down on the table, her iron gaze literally piercing Hanni's eyes: "Love at first sight! Of course you don't understand anything about it, you've never dated in your life!" Haerin seemed to be in a real huff, but this statement hurt Hanni a little.

"Besides, who's the crazy one here? You were the one who suddenly started crying like a toddler!" Haerin crossed her arms and Hanni slammed her hands on the table herself: "Bro! Just shut the fuck up." Haerin grinned confidently and relaxed her posture again as she returned to her boring meal. But before she did, she actually had her say again: "When we're done here, we'll go back. I really need to see her again." Hanni let out a heavy sigh, why exactly was she friends with her again? Well, it looked quite comfortable in the café and she liked the name. Then she would just play the wingwomen... even if Hanni wasn't really confident with her skills in that regard.