15 princes and a princess

15 princes and a princess 44

It was all too soon when Jonghoon Oppa came to tell us about the conference. It was two days after I had my cast removed. We had all (Kearra included) been sat on the sofas in the living room when he strolled through the door.

"Joh-eun Achim boys, Rayn, Kearra." He greeted. The boys and Kearra bowed slightly but I stood up and gave him a hug. He was startled at first but quickly hugged me back. "What was that for?" He asked, bewilderment written on his soft features. I grinned.

"I'm British, we're a huggy group of people." I explained, shrugging as I returned to my seat. He raised an eyebrow but his lips pulled into a smile as he leaned on the back of the sofa between Hangeng and Siwon.

"Now. Kearra, I don't mean to be rude but I would appreciate it if you returned to your dorm for a while; we have some things to discuss that I need not drag you into, although I realise you have already seen the effects of it." He said politely, motioning to my leg as the word 'effects' left his mouth. I shifted awkwardly as a few people glanced over at me.

"Oh, alright. Well, I'll see you later guys..." She mumbled, standing up. Zhoumi tugged on her hand and she turned to him. He stood up and kissed her cheek gently, making her turn the most brilliant shade of tomato I have ever seen. She then quickly exited the room, giggling like a high schooler that just got winked at by the school hottie.

I smirked at the look of victory on Zhoumi's face but it quickly disappeared when Jonghoon took the, now empty, seat beside me. He sighed deeply and held the bridge of his nose, making his glasses shift up to his forehead. It looked funny but I suppressed the laughter that was trying to bubble up inside me for fear of aggravating him.

"Jonghoon Oppa, are you alright?" I asked, gently placing my arm around his shoulders and squeezing him slightly. He sighed again but let his hand drop to his lap. He nodded slowly but I didn't withdraw my arm and he didn't object to it. He stayed quiet for a while before standing again, when he did so I dropped my arm and leaned sideways so I was closer to Yesung.

"We, you, need to talk to the fans. Explain to them that nothing is going on with you guys and Rayn..." He started. I quickly cut him off.

"But, me and Yesung are dating. And now Zhoumi and Kearra.... And Henry and Myst.... And..." I was about to say 'Wookie and Teddy' when I noticed the petrified look on Wookie's face. He shook his head silently and I silenced. Jonghoon didn't know about that yet and I wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

"And... Yeah. I don't want to lie to the fans." I explained, covering for my slight pause. He faced me and nodded blankly.

"I see what you mean. If they found out that we lied, it would make everything worse. We just need to find a way of telling them that will not make them angry at you." He said thoughtfully, tapping the side of his glasses with his forefinger.

"Exactly. Plus, if they think I'm a single girl in a dorm with fifteen single guys.... No wonder they hate me! At least now they wouldn't need to worry so much about me 'stealing their Oppas'... Just one of them." I laughed slightly, curling up to Yesung who wrapped his arms around me, they were warm and comforting.

"Hmm.... What can we do? No matter what we say, they will still hate Rayn." Donghae said after a few moments of nobody saying anything. I frowned, I didn't like to think I was hated, although I knew he was right, it just seemed harsh that fans thought so badly of me, including my own.

"I have an idea." I spoke up. The guys turned their eyes to me and I sat up straighter. "Think; compared with 'single girl and 15 single boys', 'I'm dating Yesung' doesn't seem that bad. If we ask them whether they would rather think I'm with one of you but not know which one or whether they would prefer knowing who I was with.... Maybe that would work?" I mumbled.