Court of Chaos

2. Not Today

Serena was nervous.

After Minhyuk had dropped her off at the royal gardens he left, claiming he had another message to deliver. She had hoped that the message was to himself from her bruised ego after having tripped over her own dress on the way there, telling him to screw off for having laughed so much. The sound of the cascading water rumbled in the background, filling the air as the chirps of crickets started to sound, an indication that the evening was on its way. Now she sat at on a bench by the fountain, twiddling her thumbs looking like a sitting duck, waiting for her supposed guest to appear. She ran through all the scenarios in her mind.

Was she going to be surprised by her father with a pet? Serena had always wanted a hunting dog.
Unlikely.
Maybe meet his secret mistress that he'd plan to marry?
No, too wild. Try again. The man's single.
Perhaps the rare and impossible gift of a Soul Animal of her own?
You're delusional Serena, only members of the royal family can have those; an animal representation and foil of their human's character to protect and keep them company. Strike two girl, but the idea of it is cool.
Or she could have been led here for one of Minhyuk's pranks. Serena looked around again briefly, half expecting Jackson and Taehyung to jump out from behind the bushes to scare the shit out of her.
Nah, Jackson's on duty by the South Wing, and Tae's definitely being tied to a chair to prevent him from ditching one of those lessons that the young nobles take.
A planned murder maybe? What if her father was tricked into sending her right into the waiting trap of bloodthirsty criminals who'd ransom her for money only to kill her once they got paid?

Suddenly, a branch snaps nearby, almost like a crack of lightning in contrast to the thundering force of the fountain behind her. Serena's heart starts to pound at a million miles per hour.
I am most certainly going to die. She thinks to herself.

Bracing herself for the worst, the girl stands to her feet and assumes a fighting stance that Jackson taught her last week, eyes flickering back and forth like a cornered bear. She is taken by surprise when a deeply rich voice sounds out from behind her, almost causing her to jump out of her skin and 10 feet into the air.

"Hello."

That doesn't sound like Taehyung.

Serena whips around and winds her arm back, ready to strike a hard left hook that Jackson would be proud of.

"Woah there! Don't punch don't punch! I won't hurt you!" A tall man with cocoa brown hair and eyes like chocolate throws his hands up in defense. He seems unarmed and doesn't appear to be a crook. Serena's panic dies down as she realizes the guy doesn't pose a threat. She exhales deeply but stays in a stable stance, lowering her fists.  He is still a stranger, she must still be wary as the adrenaline washes through her veins.

"Who are you?" She questions firmly.

"I'm Namjoon, Kim Namjoon." He smiles, extending an outstretched hand to take Serena's. A well placed and deep dimple comes out to greet her. Oh my god that dimple is so cute. She mentally squeals, shyly giving him her trembling hand, still shaking with adrenaline. Namjoon gently raises her still white knuckles to his full and soft lips, planting a most delicate kiss on her skin. Serena's never seen a man so charming before and feels as though she'll swoon at any moment despite almost attacking him a minute ago.

Why are you acting like this? You've just met the guy and you don't even know him. What do you think you're doing? You're acting like you've never seen a man before. Get your shit together. The voice of reason and common sense hissed in the back of her mind, trying to ground her. But this guy was nothing like the boys she'd grown up with over the years. He wasn't loud or mischievous like Jackson and Taehyung were. Nor did he seem to be as easily distracted and energetic as Minhyuk was. He wasn't as expressionless as Shownu or as stoic as Changkyun; the personal guards of the Crown Prince. Namjoon was nothing like the Crown Prince either, whose presence could drop the temperature of any room he walked into by 20 degrees.