Your Wish is My Command - SEVENTEEN (Prince Mingyu x Reader)

Chapter 4: my haven

"Prince Mingyu! How on earth did you..." I could not believe it. How did he manage to find my hiding place so quickly?

"Please, Your Highness, call me Mingyu," he said, crouching down so that our faces were on the same level. "When the maids and servants showed me around the palace, I took an interest in this beautiful garden and decided to explore it. You see, I love nature and enjoy painting. Finding a comfortable spot to paint, I noticed that this oak tree had an empty patch of grass beneath it." Mingyu explained, pointing at a flat spot of grass that had been seasoned from my frequent visits. "Secluded and a relative distance away from the rest of the palace, I deduced this would have been a nice place to run away to. Wouldn't you agree, Princess?" he concluded, giving me a playful wink.

At first, I just stared blankly at him in disbelief, but thankfully, I quickly came back to my senses.

"Well, that's all the luck you're going to get Prince Mingyu, because I'm not planning to head back to the palace any time soon." I huffed, turning my head away from him. At least, I had initially planned to head back until he somehow managed to miraculously sleuth out my sacred hiding spot. Mingyu chuckled and shook his head, making me frown. What was he laughing at?

"May I accompany you, Princess?" he asked. His tone was gentle and sweet, making me feel slightly guilty for trying to shoo him away.

"Do as you wish," I said grudgingly.

Delighted, Mingyu plopped down beside me. There was not much room for two people under this tree, so sharing my small spot inevitably caused his shoulder to graze mine. As soon as he was beside me, a faint smell of Vanilla wafted through the air. I could see that his hair was dishevelled and slightly damp from what I assumed to be a morning shower. His beautiful tanned skin glowed softly in the orange morning light, while his cotton shirt fluttered lightly in the cool breeze.

"It's rude to stare, Your Highness." he teased. I felt my cheeks grow warm.

"Your Highness, why did you run away?" he probed not long after, trying to get me to speak.

I kept silent, averting my eyes.

"Do you not like to dance?" he tried again.

Nothing.

At that moment, his playful grin disappeared as a crestfallen look washed over his face. Deep in thought, Mingyu stared at a rock in front of him for a while, before finally turning to face me.

"Your highness... Why do you despise me?" he asked, his tone serious. "NO! That's not true!" I blurted out.

The air was still.

"I don't despise you, Mingyu. I just..." I stuttered, my words trailing off. I was at a loss of what to do. Moving myself to face him, I tried desperately to connect with Mingyu and get him to look at me, but he simply ignored me, continuing to stare at the rock. I sighed.

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way, Mingyu... I... just can't bear the idea that I'm not ready to be queen. I've been hearing that my entire life, and I can't stand it any more. You being here to guide me or whatever isn't helping. I have been spending the past eighteen years of my entire life preparing tirelessly to become queen. I don't need you to babysit me." I confess, my voice quaking.

Mingyu's eyes finally locked with mine.

"Rest assured, I'm not here to babysit you, your highness."

"Then what are you here for?"

He remained quiet.

I scoffed, standing up. "Hah. So you do think that I'm not 'ready' or not 'good enough' to be a queen too! Just like everyone else!" I yelled, throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation. Disappointed, I quickly stormed off before he could say another word.