"We may not have birthed you but you will be our daughter, one way or another. Start with a scholarship and end as the Queen, any path you take is your choice to make."
In a modern-day monarchy, Ari is every bit a struggling student as any other. T...
Joshua was on his feet the moment the plane landed. He had been fiddling with the strap of his bag, stepping into his suede shoes as the wheels rolled onto the concrete in jaded anxiousness. Joshua glanced at the army stationed for their arrival, armed and alert to receive the rightful Princess of Korea. While she was their celebrity, his anxiousness was the sacrifice. "We have the full audience," Joshua whispered, informing Ari that the country in mourning still held an official welcome for her.
"It is the power of trade, Oppa," Ari spoke, her eyes too trailing outside the small window. "The most important man in the country was murdered on the streets not too long ago yet here they are, waiting at our hilt with a full military welcome because they can no longer ignore our presence." Ari scoffed, the horrors of their history on the land flashing across the blackness in her eyes. The door opened and she rose, the creases on her pants softening, "Korea when put together is no one's choice of enemy."
Joshua's feet paused their fiddling when Ari put out a hand. Squaring his shoulders and letting his palms hold onto hers, the Princess's secretary escorted the high lady out of the aircraft with security in tow. He was worried but he was not ignorant of his duties, his formalities, and the Princess he served.
Setting foot onto foreign soil, Ari was greeted by the minister of tourism and foreign affairs, secretary of state, and the military, shaking hands and nodding heads until she was escorted to their minister's funeral. Ari's phone rang in her pocket and with limited people having the reason to ring her up, she carefully peeked at the name of the ringer. Choi Seungcheol, Ari beamed at the thought of him.
"Are you jealous or are you proud?" Ari asked the man she'd kissed, her rival for the throne.
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Seungcheol thought about it briefly, sitting in his office with the latest reports in hand, "Both?" He answered finally, glancing at the pictures of Ari that had already made it to the media, "I'm proud of myself for arranging the perfect airport welcome for you and jealous that they get to see you in that red suit."
Ari looked out the window of her car surprised, "You did?"
Putting the papers down, Seungcheol explained, "The strings don't pull themselves, Ari-ssi. There was a risk they could treat you differently since you're... New. I'm just following Dad's orders."
"Huh." Ari let the new information sink in, "So, what did you do to eliminate this risk?"
Seungcheol snickered to himself at the confusion in her voice. Getting to know she wasn't all that she imagined herself to be, and that she still needed the support of her rival was fun to hear. "What did I do? Hmm..." Pretending to think, Seungcheol teased her. He was glad he couldn't see Ari then because the way she scrunched up her face every time she was deep in thought, would only make him want to kiss her again.
