04 Chapter - THE SAD PRINCESS

(Tegoshi Yuya as Prince Toshi of Japan)

04 CHAPTER – THE SAD PRINCESS

Author's Note: Princess Jae Shin is already able to walk.

(Present Time, 5 Years after Eun Shi Kyung’s Death)

     “Jae Shin, I’m not making you do this to make you go out with the Prince of Japan.” Lee Jae Ha, South Korea’s crowned King, explained. He was trying to make his sister see where he was coming from.

     “Then why do I have to attend another banquet in Japan?!” Jae Shin sulked, acting like the spoiled princess that she was.

     “It is the Emperor’s birthday and he has requested our presence, but I can’t come because Hang Ah’s pregnancy is delicate and I have prior arrangements to attend to, so you will have to represent us.” Jae Ha explained for the nth time. “Besides there’s the fact that Prince Toshi insisted that you be invited. You can’t simply ignore the humble request of a royalty when he asked so nicely for you.”

     Jae Shin still pouted. “I really need to shake that Toshi off.” She muttered under her breath and sighed. “Fine, I have to make things clear with that annoying Prince anyways.”

     Princess Jae Shin stood up to leave but King Jae Ha suddenly called out her name. “Jae Shin, about Eun Shi Kyung…” His tone was cautious and hesitant.

     “What about him?” Jae Shin asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

     He sighed. “I-It’s nothing, never mind.” He smiled reassuringly at her. “Just make sure you behave at this banquet, arasso?”

     Jae Shin rolled her eyes but nodded nonetheless. She got the feeling that her brother was keeping something from her. But then again, the thought of meeting the Prince of Japan annoyed the hell out of her to even really care.

     The very next morning, Princess Lee Jae Shin of South Korea flew to Japan to attend the Emperor’s birthday at the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

     “You came!” Prince Toshi, the younger brother of the Emperor, enthusiastically beamed when he saw Princess Jae Shin arrive at the Imperial Palace. It was obvious from the way he ran to meet Jae Shin that he couldn’t contain his excitement.

     “Your Highness, of course I would never think to refuse your brother’s invitation for his birthday party.” Princess Jae Shin was on diplomatic mode as she smiled pleasantly at the prince, completely in contrast to the annoyance she felt for him.

     To be honest, Prince Toshi wasn’t exactly bad looking. He was handsome in a sort of boyish way.  Unlike his older brother, Prince Toshi was more open and more humane. He was tall and lean, and he excelled in baseball and soccer.

     In fact, Prince Toshi was considered a heartthrob in all of Japan. He also hasn’t been in any scandal with any woman so far, which was a surprise given that he’s a handsome prince.

     When Jae Shin arrived at the Imperial Palace, there was a brief welcome from the Kunaicho or the Imperial Household Agency before she was led to her quarters. Of course, the reporters camping outside the Imperial Palace did not fail to take note of the overt interest shown by Prince Toshi to the Princess of South Korea.

     “I’ll walk you to your room, Gongju-nim.” Prince Toshi offered with a warm smile, acting every bit the gentleman that he was.

     “Ah, you remember our Korean lessons. Very good, Wangja-him.” Princess Jae Shin remained polite, smiling tightly in response to the eager prince.

     When they finally reached the quarters reserved for Lee Jae Shin, Prince Toshi turned to the members of the Kunaicho and told them to take their momentary leave.

     “We can’t do that, your Highness. It would be improper to leave you inside a room with the princess unattended.” One of the Kunaicho personnel replied, looking uncomfortable at the Prince’s request.

     Finally, it was Princess Jae Shin who took the initiative to negotiate for the prince.

     “Then, how about you and your co-personnel leave and the head of my security stays? Don’t worry, Officer Dong Ha will keep watch so that we won’t be unattended.” Princess Jae Shin bargained. She was getting good at these diplomatic negotiations and she wasn’t afraid to use it to her advantage.

     The Kunaicho personnel remained hesitant.

     “Officer, Prince Toshi and I have a lot of catching up to do. And some things need to be discussed urgently than others so we need a bit of privacy, but we won’t be long. I swear it on my brother’s name.” Princess Jae Shin even gave the personnel a winning smile just to get him to agree.

     “Um, alright, your Highness. We will be right outside the door.”

     “Thank you.” Jae Shin continued to smile.

     As soon as she heard the door click and the Kunaicho personnel safely out of sight, Lee Jae Shin turned to Prince Toshi with menacing smile on her face. She grabbed him by the collars with both hands and pinned him to the wall with her right elbow on his neck.

     “Yah, you really aren’t going to make this easy for me, are you?” Jae Shin asked with a menacing tone.

     Prince Toshi merely smiled as if he was enjoying Princess Jae Shin’s outburst.

     Officer Yeom Dong Ha, on the other hand, merely looked away and pretended not to see anything. (keke)

     “I love it when you get rough on me, Gongju-nim.” Prince Toshi grinned, looking every bit as boyish as he was.

     It was then that Prince Toshi and Princess Jae Shin dropped their facades and truly showed just what kind of relationship they had. Well, it was more like Prince Toshi loved provoking Princess Jae Shin, while the latter continually threatened his life due to sheer annoyance.

     “Listen, boy, you would do both our families a favor by staying away from me. I’ve told you over and over again that I just don’t like you. Get that through your thick skull already!”

     It was an insult calling Toshi a boy because he was five years younger than her but Jae Shin didn’t care. She was irritated after a long flight and she wasn’t in the least bit scared to vent out her anger, even if it was against a prince.

     Truth be told, Prince Toshi originally didn’t like Princess Jae Shin. Sure, she was beautiful, but that was it. Princesses have always been beautiful because they were pampered brats. He always thought that Princess Jae Shin was no different from the others, except when he saw first-hand how she was able to ditch her bodyguards and stroll along Akihabara like an ordinary person when she visited Japan a year ago.

     It wasn’t a problem for him to ditch his bodyguards and escape because he was a guy. He could protect himself just fine when things went awry. But for a princess to do such a daring thing, that took serious guts. It was then that he decided to watch Princess Jae Shin closely, and he wasn’t disappointed.

     The princess was a free spirit. Sure, she was formal and proper when the situation called for it. She was even known to be a great speaker and diplomatic negotiator, but these things and her status did not seem to deter her from doing things she loved… like singing anonymously in a club while wearing a wig to hide her identity.

     The first time Prince Toshi heard Princess Jae Shin sing, he was seriously smitten. He was in Korea for a diplomatic visit at that time. The moment he heard her sing, he couldn’t help but think how can a princess, who had everything she could ever want, sing so forlornly. He remembered thinking about how he wanted to make her happy and erase whatever it was that saddened her. It was then that he decided to pursue her.

     “And I’ve told you over and over again, Princess, I like you. I’m determined to have you like me back. And I won’t give up until you give me a legitimate reason why you don’t want to at least try to go out with me.” Prince Toshi was determined and he wasn’t backing down without a fight.

     “A reason? So that’s all you need?” Jae Shin asked. She immediately thought of Eun Shi Kyung.

     “Well, yes, and it has to be a valid reason. What’s valid is entirely up to me, so if I don’t consider your reason as valid, I’m not going anywhere, Gongju-nim.” Prince Toshi grinned.

     Slowly, Lee Jae Shin released her choke-hold on Prince Toshi. The thought of Eun Shi Kyung significantly affected her mood more than she’d care to admit.

     “T-There… There’s no reason at all.” She stuttered. “I just don’t like you.” This time however, as she spoke those words out loud, they didn’t seem like she meant them at all. And Prince Toshi did not fail to notice this.

     “So there is a reason.” He declared, noting how quickly Jae Shin’s mood changed.

     “I’m tired. It’s been a long flight and I need to rest.” Jae Shin turned her back on Prince Toshi, not allowing him to see the pained expression on her face as Eun Shi Kyung’s memories flooded her thoughts.

     “Gongju-nim, I don’t know why you suddenly looked so sad when all I asked was a reason why you wouldn’t go out with me. But I think that if that reason is making you sad, it’ll probably be best if you forget about it so that you’ll be happy.” Prince Toshi unknowingly made a legitimate point. “I’ll take my leave now, Princess. I’ll see you tonight.” Without waiting for a response, Prince Toshi got out of the room.

     As soon as Prince Toshi was gone, Princess Jae Shin heaved out a deep breath. Once again, the memory of Eun Shi Kyung left her incapacitated and out of wits. Seriously, even after five years, the man still left her out of sorts.

     “Your Highness, are you okay?” It was Yeom Dong Ha who asked.

     “I’m alright, Dong Ha.” She smiled, trying to mask out the inner turmoil inside her chest. “I just need to rest.”

     After dealing with Prince Toshi and dismissing Dong Ha from her room, Princess Jae Shin finally had some time alone. She slumped on the bed and heaved out a deep and frustrated breath.

     Unconsciously, she picked up her phone and dialed Eun Shi Kyung’s number. Like always, the call remained unanswered and was transferred to his voice mail.

     “Yah, Eun Shi Kyung…” Jae Shin whispered, closing her eyes as she lay on top of her bed, trying to control her emotions.

     “Remember when I told you that I won’t die old and alone only thinking of you?” 

     She chuckled bitterly.

     “I lied.”

To Be Continued…

“I can’t say that I’ll die old and alone only thinking of you.
But you’ll always be in a part of my heart. Like a shadow.”
-Princess Lee Jae Shin

(MY FEEEEELSSS~! huhuhu!)

-xoOox- 

Author's Note:

Do forgive me if I don't update often. The truth is, my main priority is my SoEul Fanfic. It's nearing it's ending, that's why.

But don't you worry. I have everything planned out for this fanfic. The only thing left is to put my ideas into words and I need about three to four hours per chapter for that. I'll try my best to post another chapter sooner.

Also, I know it's hard to keep track when I post new chapters for this story so if you want to be notified when a new chapter is out, please drop me a comment with your email address in it. I will send you an email for when a new chapter is posted. =)

P.S. As always, comments are loved. <3

xoxo

S. Teardrops