𝐊 𝕺 | k.th

Fool me Once

"Hani!" you yell at the short girl while skipping over to her. "Hani! I've been looking for you!" You breathe heavily and clutch your stomach.

With an alarmed expression, she replies, "What is it, my lady?"

"Do you know where Nayun is? The girl that came with me a few weeks ago?" you chirp happily, grateful to see Hani always around the palace.

"Oh! Yes," she announces while giving the basket in her arms to another maid. "She was over by the front gate a while ago! I saw her leaving."

That stupid littleㅡ

"Thank you, Hani." You turn to the other maid. "Hi! What's your name?" you ask the darker-skinned girl with innocent eyes.

Her short figure looks up at you at smiles brightly. "I'm Ijoo, my lady." And she bows with her black maid dress. "I'll be serving you soon, as well, right?"

You press your tongue to the inside of your cheek. Everyone just had to mention that you were to live in the palace soon... "Yeah, I guess," you laugh.

"I can't wait to have you stay here!" she beams, and you're slightly taken aback. Hani simply looks fondly at her and smiles. "You're so pretty and nice."

This makes your heart swell and a pink tint invades your cheeks. By the way she was talking and how Hani was treating her, you knew Ijoo was very young and innocent, and this made you want to crush her in a hug even more.

But you hold yourself back as that might be a bit awkward for a first meeting. "That's very sweet, Ijoo. I'm happy that you two are here," you mumble honestly. "It makes everything more bearable."

A beeping sound comes from the basket held in Ijoo's arms, and you take this as cue to wrap up. "One more thing; do you guys know where Jungkook is?"

Hani thinks for a second before the shorter girls answers enthusiastically, "He was alone in his room just a few minutes ago."

You sigh and part ways with your two favorite maids.

...

"Nayun," you growl at her comfortable figure eating on the couch. "Where the hell were you all day?"

She doesn't look up from her food and talks through chews. "I was at a friend's house."

At this point, you want to rip your own hair out. Not only did she disobey you and your parents, but now she's lying about it? "How stupid do you think I am?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nayun, I asked a maid at the palace and they said you were there! Don't play dumb," you yell while she remains calm and bored with her plate of food. "Mom and dad were angry at me for your stupidity; when the hell are you going to grow the fuck up?"

She rolls her eyes. "I am grown up. That's why I don't need you to take me to the palace anymore."

You grit your teeth and step back, realizing that she's a lost cause and that she's going to do whatever she wants, no matter your warnings. Especially if your parents, who actually have power over her, make zero attempt at stopping her. "Do your disgusting and irresponsible deeds. You'll turn out like all those other girls who magically turn pregnant and can't even admit to sleeping with a prince. At least your child will have royal blood in it," you lash out and insult her for things you don't even know about.

But Nayun remains silent and acts like the mature sibling for once in her life.

...

"Ah, Sooyun!" Lua pulls you over to her while all the other girls eye you. "Sit next to me."

You give her a dirty look, not caring about the many curious eyes trained on you, and you're forced to sit in the one open seat beside Lua. "Wow. I have to be next to my most hated person on planet earth."

She laughs in a fake manner and looks to her side quickly before touching your arm and smiling. "You should come over once in a while, I haven't had a proper conversation with you in too long!"

You mentally barf and physically force a smile. "Yeah."

And then all eyes focus on the big doors, where Prince Taehyung enters with his mother. You get up and bow, and the others follow you like sheep.

While keeping your head down, you notice your fingers shaking slightly. This was your first time meeting the Queen, and you were worried. What if she didn't like you? What if you said something stupid? What if you were still bowing while everyone else had gotten up already?

Ah! You look around discreetly but the others are still bent over, and you sigh. Stupid.

...

"Is this the girl who's to live in our palace in the upcoming week?"

"Yes, mother," Taehyung turns to you, and smirks. "Introduce yourself, Lady Sooyun."

You nearly drop your fork in surprise. You weren't paying attention to the conversations around you, and now you have to speak directly to the queen!? "I'm Sooyun of Seoul, Your Majesty. It's an honor to be here."

She smiles outwardly, but she's truly picking you apart under her innocent gaze. She wanted to know the girl that interested her son after so many years and what was so special about her. What made her different from all the others? So far, she found no reasons. "Why do you think my son has developed a liking to you, dear?" she says bluntly, and you try not to choke.

"M-Me?" You blush in embarrassment, and you can't seem to find an answer. "I-I'm not sure," you stutter while shaking your head.

She nods in her seat before taking another bite of food. Now, Taehyung comes at you with another statement that you don't have an answer to. "You're eating quite slowly, my lady. There are only a few minutes left for dinner to finish."

And you mentally cry, clearly understanding his implication: he's not going to let you get away with eating only half of your food again.

You frown at the arrangement of meats and greens on your plate and force them in. You were so used to the special privilege that it was even harder to stuff yourself now.

You sigh before taking the last bite and nearly throwing up, not noticing Taehyung's evil grin across the table.

...

"Lady Sooyun will be continuing in my Harvest, making today her fifth and final feast. Lady Lua will continue as well for her third feast next week. Please wish our young girls well, and hope for a quick and successful ending to our Harvest."

Flashing lights and loud reporters pass by you in what seems like a short, dizzy second, and you're left alone with Taehyung and Lua.

You laugh awkwardly while pointing to the door. "Guess I'll leave now."

"Lady Sooyun," Taehyung's deep voice stops you in your tracks. "You have three days to pack your belongings and move in. If you have any questions, the maids are always here to help."

"Yeah, okay."

Before Taehyung can speak again, Lua is running up to him and clinging onto his arm. You cringe, not knowing where to look and visibly disgusted by the gesture. "U-Uh, me. I-I'll go?"

"No," he takes a step toward you and forces Lua away. "Stay with me. I've hardly seen you in the past week."

Your cheeks burn as his eyes examine you thoroughly and he licks his lips.

But your pettiness stops you from fawning over his beauty, and you turn away. "Sorry, I'm tired. You can spend time with Lua."

Behind your back, the girl smiles and bites her lip with excitement. Another day alone with Prince Taehyung!

But before you can take a step forward, a strong hand pulls you by the wrist.

To be Continued...

(A/N I have a 'being pulled by the wrist' fetish. I'm sure you can tell 😽💦)