royal contrast. | 지민 √

15

"Who did you fall in love with, Jimin?" - Lee Eun-Byul

Eun-Byul couldn't help but feel her heart thump faster against her chest as the two made contact, Jimin's stare only giving her more anxiety.

"What first rule, Jimin?" She asked in a hushed tone, the silence coming over them. Jimin only stood there, taking in the view of what he thought was an angel.

After a few minutes, Jimin smiled and sighed sadly.

"Nothing, Eun-Byul. Thanks for the food." He changed the subject, grabbing the water and the churros from her hand. He sat back down, leaving Eun-Byul to sit down as well.

She turned her head away from him, biting her lower lip in confusion. 

'What could it be? What rule?' She thought, letting out a silent sigh as her face was still a slight tint of red. Jimin turned his head, seeing her focused on her own thoughts, her face showing some kind of sign of distress.

Jimin put down the things he had gotten from her, glancing back at Eun-Byul before grinning softly. He tapped her shoulder, making her step out of her trance.

"Yes?-" She asked as she turned to him, only to be engulfed by Jimin's embrace. Her eyes had widened, her hands were frozen by her sides.

"Do you really want to know?" Jimin cheekily asked, making her gaze up at him and grin back.

"I do." She replied, moving her arms up slightly and giving him a gentle pat on the back before letting her limbs rest there. Jimin felt her arms rest upon his back, his eyes turning into half-moon crescents in delight.

"I broke the first rule of my kingdom, Eun-Byul." He told her, making her gasp slightly. She wasn't very aware of the rules of his kingdom, only knowing that you can't have the best of jobs unless you're rich or wealthy. 

"Why did you that? It's your kingdom and you should still respect it, especially if you're going to become the next king." She scolded him. "Besides, what is the first rule of Busan?" She asked him, making him chuckle cheekily.

"Remember back at your Academy, your teacher was reading this big, cyan book and you all were following along?" Jimin asked, making her hum in response as they still stayed in their position.

"The first rule was that-"

"No love is involved in the Royal Family Of Busan; no matter the circumstances..." Eun-Byul interrupted, her eyebrows furrowing as she recalled the rule in big, bold text. 

She took a deep breath, her words finally making her come to a realization. She fixated her stare, again, back onto the prince, seeing him staring right back at her, but with a very serious gaze.

Eun-Byul averted her stare, looking down towards her lap. 

"Then, who is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who did you fall in love with, Jimin?" She asked, uncertain of how he felt. More importantly, how he felt about her. Yes, the two would become married, then Jimin's coronation would come along, and soon enough, the pair would become king and queen.

But if Jimin had fallen in love with someone, she'd rather have his lover become queen. Eun-Byul may like the prince, but she'd feel even worse if Jimin couldn't have his significant other ruling Busan by his side.

But she also was curious. Who could he have fallen in love with? Of course her, but in her brain, she was suspecting a maid or another woman living in the castle other than her. However, Jimin had never interacted with any other female in the other parts of the kingdom, so she had very limited options.

He saw the curious but dejected and sad look on Eun-Byul's face, knowing only from her expression that she was clueless about his feelings towards her.

But also at that moment, he knew that the feelings were definitely mutual.

"It's y-"

"Jimin!" Someone interrupted in a quick manner, making Jimin stop and groan silently.

"Oh, Namjoon!" Eun-Byul exclaimed, making Jimin snap his head towards the boy who had interrupted his almost-confession-scene.

Namjoon cheekily chuckled, strolling over to the pair before lightly tapping Jimin's shoulder in a gesture to make him stand up.

"Family calls. You guys can finish your date some other time." Namjoon chuckled, making the other two become flustered from his remark. "But anyways, Jimin, you have a meeting at our kingdom at the moment, so I'll escort the future lady home," Namjoon stated, making Jimin give the stink eye over at the other prince.

"Uh, n-" Eun-Byul put her hand on Jimin's shoulder, making him glance over at her. She gave him a warm smile as she started to stand.

"I'll be okay. I trust Namjoon. Tell me what happens at that meeting sometime, alright?" Eun-Byul brushed along the boy's outfit before letting go of him and linking arms with Namjoon.

Jimin sighed as the two entered the carriage, another carriage appearing behind them. 

"You always like to ruin everything, don't you Namjoon," Jimin grumbled, walking sadly over into the carriage and sitting next to his father, who waited for him to say something.

"Hey, Jimin." King Park stated, making Jimin only hum in response as he looked at the empty park, imagining of all the fun things they could've done if Namjoon hadn't interrupted them.

"Hi, dad."

"Why didn't you make a move!?" Mr. Park cried out, making Jimin flinch.

"Because Namjoon hyung ruined the moment! Why did you have to schedule a meeting!?"

"I didn't know Namjoon would tell you!" 

"Well, you should've told someone specifically!"

"My gosh, you could've made a move though!"

"I'm not fighting with you on this."

"Fine."

"Fine!" Jimin exclaimed, the two moving away from each other.

What a family this is.

Jimin started to think. 

'If Namjoon and Eun-Byul can get close, why can't I get close to someone else?' Jimin thought, smirking to himself before they went off to the meeting.