03 Chapter - THEIR LULLABY

03 CHAPTER – THEIR LULLABY

     A few weeks had passed after the WOC competition, as well as the engagement of the King of South Korea to Kim Hang Ah of the North. Of course, Lee Jae Ha resumed being King and Lee Jae Shin was back to being a Princess. 

     It was one of those very peaceful days when everybody at the palace was going about their usual routine, when the unexpected news broke out about Eun Kyu Tae’s dismissal by the King himself. 

     “MWO?!” Lee Jae Shin was clearly surprised and deeply puzzled upon hearing that his brother had dismissed Eun Kyu Tae as Chief Secretary. Inarguably, the man has been serving the family for decades and has been instrumental to the rule of the three previous kings.

     “Jae Shin-ah, don’t do anything rash or even try to castigate your brother for his actions. He is King now and whatever reason he had for doing such a thing, I’m pretty sure he’ll tell us in the near future…” 

     The Queen Dowager looked at her daughter with pleading eyes. Personally, she was confounded herself, but she refused to meddle with her son’s affairs as King. She would chastise him when the time came, but for now, she was willing to wait.

     Jae Shin sighed and internally worried about Eun Shi Kyung. The news about his father’s dismissal probably affected him like no other. And so, without much choice, Lee Jae Shin retreated to her room. 

     Worried and unable to relax, Lee Jae Shin had called for Eun Shi Kyung to talk to him regarding his Father. However, while waiting, she tried to force herself to listen to the song which triggered her panic attacks. She forced herself to be brave, but in the end, she still couldn’t do it. She was still afraid.

     “You called for me?” Eun Shi Kyung entered through the door after a series of brief knocks.

     Still a bit trembling, she forced herself to stifle the panic and face Eun Shi Kyung. “Is the Chief Secretary alright?” She asked.

     “Neh. He seems to have gone to the mountains.” Eun Shi Kyung answered curtly.

     “Ah…” Lee Jae Shin momentarily paused, unsure of what to say next. “I-I hope you don’t hate my brother for this. He probably has his reasons which we can’t understand right now.”   
  “I understand.” Eun Shi Kyung said quickly and bowed his head. “There’s probably some hidden secret.”

     Seeing Eun Shi Kyung’s troubled face, Lee Jae Shin couldn’t help but feel so worried, and so, she tried to divert the topic into something else: her therapy.

     “I-I’m also putting effort into my treatment. Soon, my memories will probably-” She tried rambling on but Eun Shi Kyung cut her off.

     “Singing.” He suddenly said. “You’re not going to sing anymore?”, he added. 

     She looked affronted with him but took it lightly. “I just learned to stand, and now you expect me to run?”

     A small smile played on Shi Kyung’s lips. “Isn’t that what you always wanted to do? Although, recovering your memories is important, you should also choose your own path.”

     “Fine.” Lee Jae Shin conceded. “I’ll let you off this time. I’m trying to suppress my temper these days.” She playfully spoke and thereafter turned towards the keyboard nearby.

     “I-I… I’m not really telling you to play now.” Shi Kyung awkwardly spoke while Jae Shin was steadfast in front of the keyboard.

     “That time, the first time I sang a song to you. What song was it?” Ignoring Shi Kyung, Lee Jae Shin was determined to play a song, just to distract him from his father’s predicament even for just a little while.

     Without much choice, Eun Shi Kyung answered, “You can start from the A chord.”

     “A?” Lee Jae Shin proceeded to press the keys on the keyboard for the A chord but she still just can’t seem to remember. “That’s right, but then what’s next? Wait a minute… Ah, I really can’t remember.” She looked at him with a confused expression on her face while trying to remember the song she first sang to him.

     Of course, she didn’t expect that Eun Shi Kyung would sing the first few lines of the song like he knew them by heart.

     “At the beginning, you were a friend…” He sang softly, taking Lee Jae Shin by surprise. “It starts like that.”

     “And after that?” She asked, looking up hopefully at him.

     “Like a precious lover…” Eun Shi Kyung sang again, and this time, Lee Jae Shin’s fingers moved on their own to play the accompaniment. “From that moment your heart intertwined with mine, my heart started beating, telling me this is fate… I believed in it, wholeheartedly… My first love.”

     After singing, Eun Shi Kyung looked embarrassed and awkward, but chose to ignore his discomfort. “You remember the rest, right?”

     Lee Jae Shin, on the other hand was smiling, a fond smile dangling on her lips. All the while, as she was listening to Eun Shi Kyung singing, her heart was warmed from all corners and she couldn’t help but feel touched by his voice.

     “Follow me.” 

     “Mwo?” Eun Shi Kyung wanted to confirm.

     “I said follow me.” Jae Shin repeated with a smile.

     Lee Jae Shin ended up leading Eun Shi Kyung to another room with a microphone and recording equipment. She wanted to record his voice, more for her consumption than for his sake. He simply had no idea how much his voice warmed her and gave her strength, so she wanted to record his singing voice – to be able to hear it whenever she wanted.

     “The speakers in this room are the best.” She said while picking up the microphone. “Just sing it once. I’ll record it so I can listen to it.”

     She handed Eun Shi Kyung the microphone and he received it adamantly, with a hesitant expression on his face.

     “With such great voice, how come you’ve hidden it all this time?” Lee Jae Shin continued to fuss and prepare the recording equipment. “Please sing. If you sing really well, I’ll allow you to debut.” She pleasantly coaxed.

     “T-There’s no need.” Eun Shi Kyung replied curtly.

     “Don’t worry. I won’t make you an idol.” Jae Shin even added. “Ah! How about a duet with me?”

     Eun Shi Kyung sighed, looking very uncomfortable. He wordlessly placed the microphone at a nearby table and curtly said, “I’m leaving.” 

     He was unwilling to give into Jae Shin’s demands because he felt like she was making fun of him. He felt like a toy being played with because his awkwardness amused her.

     “Eun Shi Kyung-sshi!” She called out to him and he stopped dead in his tracks. “Do you really hate me that much?” She paused and looked every bit crestfallen. “I’ve already confessed how I feel for you, and I’m working really hard for my therapy. Why are you being like this to me?”

     Looking back at the Princess, Eun Shi Kyung had an unyielding expression on his face. “Princess, I think you’re just infatuated.”

     “Yah, I know my own feelings very well.” Jae Shin helplessly tried to reason out but Eun Shi Kyung was inflexible. He heart was slowly being torn into pieces inside her chest.

     “Those feelings you feel for me – it’s like that feeling you have when you get a new toy. Just like you’ve said before, I’m an uninteresting person. You might fancy me now, but after a while, you’ll get bored with me.”

     All those things that Eun Shi Kyung said, those were just plain reasons to shield his heart from heartbreak. Lee Jae Shin was the first woman who had ever held his defenseless heart in the palm of her hands, and if she simply toyed with it, Eun Shi Kyung knew that he would be deeply crushed.

     “Eun Shi Kyung-sshi, I’m not the type to play around and do whatever I like.” Jae Shin defended but it was to no avail.

     “Princess, I hope that you don’t use me just to amuse yourself. I don’t want to become your toy.” Eun Shi Kyung finally said. 

     His words spoke volumes of where he stood when it came to her. He didn’t want to be a temporary amusement, because when it came to Princess Lee Jae Shin, Captain Eun Shi Kyung became a pathetic witless idiot.

     “I already said you’re not. Why do you still…” Looking away from him, Lee Jae Shin’s eyes started to water but she tried her best to stop them from falling. “Let me ask you one thing. Eun Shi Kyung-sshi, do you not like me because I’m a disabled person?” She asked unable to meet his eyes.

     Upon her question, Eun Shi Kyung’s feet shuffled back to face her completely, wanting to ease her worries about such things, but he stopped himself in time. “Absolutely not, Princess. I-”

     “If you really don’t like me, there’s nothing I can do about it.” A tear fell as she felt her heart breaking into a million pieces. “Then let me ask you another question. That song you just sang, I only sang it to you once, but how could you remember it? Are you a genius?”

     “It’s because it’s a song you sang…” Eun Shi Kyung’s voice was barely more than a whisper but Lee Jae Shin heard it. 

     It was amazing how one single line, even though they’re not words of love, could say a thousand things all at once. 

     Confused, embarrassed and very uncomfortable by his indirect admission, Eun Shi Kyung quickly bowed his head low, shuffled his feet and was out the door in seconds.

     Once out the door, however, he didn’t immediately leave. He stood outside, trying to calm his rampaging heart and at the same time, listen to the soft sobs coming from inside. As Lee Jae Shin’s sobs grew louder, Eun Shi Kyung felt guiltier. 

     He internally berated himself for being such a coward. And yet, even if he wanted to go back inside to undo whatever emotional damage he had done, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

     In the end, even if he was the one who caused the Princess’ grief, what could he do? He was still, through and through, a mere royal guard. 

     That night, as the princess was lying in her bed trying to go to sleep, an email message was sent to her phone. It was from Eun Shi Kyung.

     The message said: “All I ask is for your voice in return. Good night, Princess.”

     The message contained an attachment, an mp3 file. Curious, Lee Jae Shin downloaded the attachment to her phone and opened it. The moment she opened the file, a pleasant shiver ran down her spine and the hair in her arms rose out of appreciation to Eun Shi Kyung’s unrestrained voice as he sang the first stanza of her song.

     That night, Princess Lee Jae Shin was lulled to sleep by Eun Shi Kyung’s voice looped on repeat in her phone.

     -To Be Continued…

Author's Note: Yes, I'm still determined to give these two a happy ending.