WHEN THE MARRIAGE COLLAPSE

twenty-six - "I'm too afraid to love you."

Yeonbyul collected the photo albums before putting them into an empty box. She looked through them, seeing her baby pictures with her father. Sunghoon was helping her sweeping the floor, humming a soft melody. She smiled and took out a picture of her and her dad on a vacation.

Dad, I miss you.

Sunghoon looked at it from behind and smiled, "He's a great father."

"He was. He managed to raise me alone without help from others."

She put the album into the box and looked around the office, thinking of selling the house. The prince smiled, "You don't have to sell the house. It could be your escape place. Whenever you feel like you have to escape from the place, come here."

She turned around to look at him, "That's a great idea."

She walked out of the office and went to her bedroom, seeing the familiar pink wall. Her bed was at the corner of the room, decorated with fake flowers. A study table was near the window and there were picture frames on it.

One of them was a picture of her and Heeseung. She frowned and picked it up before throwing it into the trashcan. Sunghoon watched as he leaned against the wall, folding his arms.

"I can't remember the last time I came here. There are so many pictures of Heeseung. I must be so in love with him, it's making me sick."

"Are you sure you're gonna throw all of them away?" He asked.

"I have to. If I'm still in love with him, it would kill me slowly. I must learn to move on because I know it's already impossible for him to love me."

Sunghoon gulped before approaching her, grabbing her hand gently. Her eyes widened as she looked at him with confusion. He sighed, "If you moved on, will you be able to love me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can you love me?"

Yeonbyul chuckled and turned around, her heart felt like it was going to burst at any moment. Her legs were melting because he looked so handsome that time. His eyes were looking at her deeply.

"Your Highness, do you have feelings for me?"

He nodded and let go of her hand before turning around. He laughed and exhaled heavily, "Forget that, Your Majesty. Forgive me for being rude."

He was about to leave but she pulled his arm, stopping him. She let go of it and cleared her throat, "We could give it a try. Who knows if the relationship would work out?"

"What?" Sunghoon's eyes widened. She turned around, "Do what you're doing right now. Love me. And I'll try to love you."

What am I saying? I'm just embarrassing myself right now. The reason why I'm too scared to fall in love with you was that I was too afraid our relationship would end up just like how I was with Heeseung. You're handsome, wise, smart and of course, a lot of noblewomen and princesses better than me could win your heart. And I'm confused, do I love you?

When I'm with Heeseung, my heart starts to beat quicker than usual. I would feel nervous, just like how girls are around their crush. But with you, I felt comfortable and I felt like I wanted to be with you more because you gave me warmth and comfort.

So the question is, do I like you? Am I supposed to feel like this? I'm scared that I will end up hurting you just like how Heeseung did to me.

"You know what? Just forget it. Didn't Jake say that he'll visit us here? I'm going to make some tea," she changed the topic before leaving the room.

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Jake sipped his tea as he looked at Sunghoon and Yeonbyul. He noticed that both of them were sitting awkwardly, avoiding each other's gaze. The King sighed and took out a document before putting it on the coffee table.

"Here's Mr Kim's list of crimes that he did. I also have a few copies at home so don't worry about losing them."

"Thank you, Jake. I couldn't thank you enough for your help," Yeonbyul lowered her gaze and smiled before taking the document.

"The South Kingdom has helped the West for generations already. How could I not help you back? If it could save the royal family from danger then I'm willing to do the best I can."

Jake stared at Sunghoon who was fiddling with his fingers under the table. He smirked, "Sunghoon, I need to talk to you."

With that, they both went outside of the house. Jake held the prince's shoulders and shook him back and forth, "Pull yourself together! Is that how you act in front of your crush?"

"She told me to love her."

"What? Then what did you say?!" The King asked excitedly. Sunghoon frowned, "It got awkward so she left me in the room."

"Why didn't you kiss her? If it got awkward, you have to fix the situation! Be a man! Step up!"

"How? I feel like she's too afraid to love me because she's a married woman. What would the people say if they find out she's having an affair? I can't let her reputation be ruined."

Jake tried to hide his smile but failed, "You're a grown man now. I feel like a father watching his son being mature for the first time."

"Shut up. You were too scared to approach Soeun. You're a coward too."

"But I still got the woman. How about you? Is she yours yet? No. I've won."

Sunghoon frowned and walked back in, offering to help Yeonbyul cleaned the table.