Sacrifice || ENHYPEN FF

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 118

~15 VOTES for the next ch!~

-Start of Chapter 118-

Isla's breath stutters. For a second, she just stares at him, as if waiting for him to take it back. To laugh it off. To say he's joking.

But Jungwon doesn't.

His eyes remain on her—steady, unwavering, yet nervous in a way he can't quite hide. His fingers flex slightly at his sides, his shoulders tense as he waits for her answer.

"I..." Isla glances down at the bouquet in her hands, the petals soft beneath her fingertips. It's not perfect—some of the flowers are slightly uneven, the paper a little crumpled—but it's beautiful in its own way. And more than that... it's something he made for her.

Her heart races.

"Your Highness..." she starts, voice barely above a whisper. "Are you sure?"

Jungwon blinks. "What?"

She bites her lip, hesitating. "I mean... I am just a gardener. A commoner. You—you're a prince, and—"

"I know what I am" Jungwon interrupts, his voice firm. "And I know what I feel."

Isla's breath catches again.

Jungwon shifts slightly, glancing away for a second before forcing himself to look back at her. "I... I tried not to" he admits, almost shyly. "I tried to ignore it. Push it away. Tell myself it was nothing. But every time I see you, every time I hear your voice, it just... it never goes away."

A pause.

"I like you, Isla."

The words hang in the air between them, fragile and uncertain.

Jungwon clenches his fists slightly, as if bracing for rejection. "So... if you'll allow it, I'd like to court you. Properly. The way you deserve."

Isla feels her face heat up.

She should say something. Anything. But her mind is a mess, and all she can do is look at him—the normally reserved prince, standing before her, flustered and nervous and waiting.

Finally, she swallows, gripping the bouquet just a little tighter.

"I... I think I'd like that."

Jungwon blinks at her response, barely processing the warmth spreading through his chest.

"Thank you" he murmurs, his voice softer than he intended.

A silence lingers between them—shy, charged, uncertain. Neither moves. Neither speaks. The distant hum of the evening fills the space where words should be, but for once, Jungwon doesn't mind.

Isla shifts, gripping the bouquet a little tighter. "I-I have other work to get to..." she stammers, her voice almost too fast. "Excuse me, Your Highness."

She bows quickly—too quickly—before spinning on her heel and rushing off, almost tripping over a stray flower stem in her haste.

Jungwon watches her disappear around the corner, still frozen in place.

Then, after a beat, his lips slowly curl into a smile.

A soft chuckle escapes him as he looks away, shaking his head.

"...Unbelievable." he mutters under his breath, but there's no annoyance in his tone. Only quiet amusement. And something else—something warm, something light.