Etiquette

Lesson 9

SATURDAY

You sipped your tea quietly as you glanced at the prince across from you. He had barely spoken a word since you arrived. The prince had been typing on his laptop the entire time, and it was beginning to annoy you. You tried to remain patient, but it was nearing on thirty minutes since you arrived. You truly didn't understand why he was doing this. The other girls had spoken of sweet meetings with small conversation and nice pastries, outings to museums and parks, why was yours seemingly just a way to pass time?

You had your phone in your pocket, but taking it out at the table would be a major break in your morals of etiquette. As hard as you tried, sending the raven-haired prince a cold stare, your patience running thin. The repetitive clicking of the keyboard made you grow more and more aggravated by the second. You sighed softly through your lips, setting your cup down with a clink.

It was a few more seconds of tapping before you stood up, placing your hands on the table, "Excuse me, your highness, I think it's about time I take my leave."

-

EARLIER THAT DAY

You yawned, rubbing your eyes as you blindly searched for your phone to silence your alarm. You had learned over the course of the competition that many of the girls in your dorm were extremely deep sleepers, so you had grown accustomed to being one of the first girls awake whenever someone's alarm went off. Not that you minded, because you never objected to an early day.

You weren't sure how to feel about today. This was supposed to be the last meeting before the first set of official eliminations. That would be when those who have been eliminated by every prince would be sent home, and the brothers would deliberate on who else they think should go. After that, many of the girls would no longer be meeting with all seven princes. The contestants from that point on would only be meeting with the princes that chose not to eliminate them.

You had heard from the girls in your dorm and those in a few other dorms that Yoongi was by far the hardest prince to get close to. You found that speculation slightly unfair. While he had been deemed the sort of "cold prince" of the game, you figured that if he were anything like you, it probably just takes him a while to open up to others. Even after your slightly surprising first encounter with him, he didn't eliminate you, so you must figure that he could at least see a possible future with you or one of the girls competing.

You carefully ran a hand through your hair and stood up, stretching your limbs before walking to the bathroom to get ready for the day. From what you gathered from the other girls, almost every "date" with Prince Yoongi was different from the rest. That was quite astonishing considering the sheer number of contestants this year, you wonder if the prince ever has time to sleep.

After completing your morning routine, you walked to the kitchen, greeting the chefs who were preparing all of the food for breakfast at eight. You asked if you could grab an apple or something to tide you over while you wait for the meal. You thanked them when it was handed to you on a small platter, a tall glass of juice accompanying it.

You ate quietly in the dining hall, reading the book Prince Namjoon had traded with you a few weeks prior.[1] It was a tale of a young man, in his late teens, living with his mother and younger brother. The author had quite the style, it was almost bland, but the way they used this fit both the story and the main character very well.[2] You were about three-fourths of the way through, the book being somewhat short, but you had been spending more time with the girls in your dorm instead of reading. Carrying books around all day was no easy task, you know. You had become accustomed to having all of your newfound friends around all day, but you feared leaving this competition and going back to your secluded ways.