𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 | ᵃᵗᶻ

VIII

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lunch was as successful as it could get.

the couple continued to converse amongst themselves as the everyone sat silently in their seats, wanting to finish as soon as they could.

there was something that wooyoung noticed, though. se-ri couldn't keep her eyes off of the crown prince. it was as if he was a magnet, attracting the attention of everyone in the room. but se-ri couldn't help it. he had looked so exquisite in his all black attire, his inky black hair parted in the middle, a few wispy strands dancing above his mysterious eyes.

a small smirk started creeping it's way onto wooyoung's face, but he wiped it off, not wanting to be obvious about what he had just discovered. he decided that he would take se-ri for a walk when she wasn't busy to see if anything really was up.

but even if there was something there, just what would she do about it?

♞

se-ri plumped down onto the bed with an exhausted huff.

her short moment of relaxation ended as soon as it started, when someone pushed her door open abruptly, storming into her space.

se-ri jolted up in shock as she looked at the intruder.

wooyoung stood at the foot of her bed in all his innocent glory, a grin eating away at his face.

she sighed in relief as she placed a small hand in the middle of her chest, "wooyoung! what were you thinking?! you had me so scared!" she exclaimed after a solid few seconds of calming down.

he simply laughed in her face, his high pitched voice sounding like music to her ears. despite being frightened a couple of minutes ago, she couldn't find it in herself to be mad at someone as innocent as wooyoung.

"let's go on a walk together." he said.

and that was how they both had ended up inside the garden once again.

the garden had become se-ri's safe spot, even if other people would come by every once in a while.

"why didn't you tell me you liked the prince?" wooyoung said quietly, not wanting to make their upcoming conversation to obvious.

se-ri halted in her steps, as she looked into his eyes, almost as if she was in a panic mode.

"n-no i don't, who said i liked the prince?" she giggled, but anyone who knew her could tell how awful that lie was.

he crossed his arms across his broad chest and sighed, "don't play games with me, se-ri."

quickly figuring out that her friend wouldn't give up until he got the answers he wanted, she craned her neck downwards as she distracted herself with a small patch of peonies.

"i...don't like him, i just— i don't know. i've never felt this before, its really quite annoying. i don't know what i want, but even if i was looking for anything, i believe it would be too late." she confessed.

despite their rather awkward and unexpected first encounter, se-ri couldn't ignore the pull of her heart strings every time the crown prince was nearby. her body could already sense his presence before she even noticed him, and she didn't know how to feel about it.

wooyoung scoffed, "trust me, there's no way he actually likes that princess. they may look like they get along, but i know my seonghwa hyung well enough to know that he wanted to get the whole meeting done and over with."

now se-ri couldn't help but be even more confused now. if he really despised hanging out with the princess that much, then why bother?

"he's forced to go on these meaningless dates in hopes of finding someone to be by his side. the king doesn't have much time left for his reign, and it's time seonghwa stepped up to take his role as king. he has prepared for it his whole life, now he just needs a wife." he explained with a gentle tone.

she sighed, but felt a wave of relief wash over her.

"i know that, but how do i approach him? wouldn't that be...weird? me coming out of nowhere explaining that i want to get to know him. is that even allowed?" se-ri asked.

but before wooyoung could answer, another voice interrupted him.

a deeper, smoother, velvety rich voice. a voice that cause shivers to run up and down se-ri's spine, one that caused her knees to feel like jelly.

"why wouldn't it be allowed?"

se-ri froze.

it was him. the crown prince. she turned around slowly, so slow until she looked up and made eye contact with him, tempted to run and hide and never come back.

he just stood there, waves of confidence and power rolling off of him, with a smirk on his face.

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💌

okay my lovelies!

sorry it's been so long since i've updated, i've been quite busy hehe:)

what did you guys think about this chapter? i hope you enjoyed it! i know it's quite short but the plot only thickens;)

stay safe and stan ateez<3