CHAPTER FOUR.
synopsis: once in a convoluted entanglement, prince sunwoo and lady royal y/n detest each other. but as they are fond of what used to be, will they stand together in love, choosing to hold on even with the barriers they have been destined to face?
warnings: alcohol consumption
pairing: kim sunwoo x female oc (kim yujeong) | all tbz members (+hyunjun)
genre: fluff, angst, enemies to lovers
w/c: 2.2K words
see me in a crown masterlist.
fic playlist.
kyu is listening to ... spell by niki
Sunwoo’s incessant giggles are a telltale of the three empty bottles of soju, working his way to the fourth one, shared with Hur Hyunjun—his friend and estranged cousin. To the royal family, at least.
“My dearest cousin, how do you do it?” the Prince asks Hyunjun as he swings his leg on top of the table and leans his head back on the couch.
“Do what?” Hyunjun asks, waving his hand against Sunwoo, trying to stop him from pouring another shot.
“Live your life.”
The clock reads half past one in the morning, two hours since the Prince came running to his cousin’s bar. It’s not often that he comes, maybe once or twice a month in order to catch up on each other’s lives, but hurrying here to drink? Quite unlikely.
Hyunjun looks at the ground, flashing a small smile. He glances up at his reflection, then back to his buzzed cousin, who’s still wearing his semi-formal attire for the early morning meeting he had with his father. Hyunjun’s hair and his outfit may have become disheveled after the day’s work and the night’s alcohol session but compared to Sunwoo’s appearance, clean and somehow still pristine. It was evident that he was cut from the cloth fit for the palace, for royalty.
But, the difference between them was never the problem. In fact, Hyunjun understood Sunwoo’s question well, implying that living one's life outside of the throne’s borders is truly where it starts.
“I was never meant for that.”
“And you’re saying I am?” Sunwoo scoffs. He takes a swig of 소멕 (somaek), a mixed drink of soju and beer, and rolls his eyes at his cousin.
Hyunjun didn’t answer that question. However, Sunwoo wonders if it was because there are things better left unsaid, or because he also did not know how to answer.
The Prince is searching for that truth, as well.
Sunwoo stands up but was too late to gauge how fast he got on his feet, seconds away from plopping down to the ground.
“Woah, easy there tiger!” Hyunjun catches him before he plunges forward, pulling him back down to his seat. “God, you need to pull it together.. you are so lucky I managed to own this place now.”
“Or what?”
“Or else the press will have a completely different page one headline to talk about than your Selection announcement.”
“..way to add insult to injury,”
Hyunjun ruffles his cousin’s hair affectionately. Sunwoo scrunches his face in response. He always turns like a baby under the influence which makes the gesture feel almost brotherly, not considering the fact he is only months older than the Prince.
“Are you sure about your decision?”
“How can I not be sure? Well, you did it,” Sunwoo sighs, “You made it work.”
“No, no..” Hyunjun immediately replies, “it’s different.” His voice thinning away when he claims it.
“How?” Sunwoo sits upright, looking genuinely confused, facing his cousin.
“The decision to leave my title would have been made for me if I hadn’t done it first.”
The room becomes quiet for a short while. Hyunjun slowly gets up and starts tidying up the bottles and snacks they have had—gently setting Sunwoo’s leg down on the floor from the table. The Prince covers his eyes with one hand, massaging his temples to ease his dizziness.
Talking about their different lives won’t be complete until Hyunjun explains the reason why he’s no longer part of the royal family; no matter how many times Sunwoo has heard it, he always listens.
“Not a mother, not even a father in sight. For goodness sake- Sunwoo, I have a different surname and for all I know, that’s more than enough for them to hate me. We’re a few years removed from the Joseon era, but the values we hold in this culture is deeply rooted in the monarchy driven by pride and honor. A child out of wedlock like me are one of the ones that unfortunately falls through the cracks.”
Hyunjun still wears a badge of sadness on his face from time to time, but he smiles apologetically, “But you know, I’m lucky to find a purpose outside of those walls.”
While I’m searching for ways to break down my own.
The thought came to Sunwoo’s mind right away, though he chose not to say it out loud.
Then, the two stay still for a moment, hearing faint but hurried footsteps approaching their room. The Prince’s guards standing in front were ready to face whoever was coming and opened the door without hesitation.
“I thought this was a private room?”
“You told me not to call Eric—“
Sunwoo turns around.
“—but you didn’t tell me not to call her.”
Yujeong.
He immediately glares at his cousin, shaking his head. Sunwoo takes another gulp of his drink, almost doing so to spite Yujeong, knowing he is about to receive yet another earful from her.
“Your Highness.” There was an edge to her tone.
The address comes out of respect but it was evident that Yujeong’s only purpose at that moment in time was to chastise the Crown Prince.
“No- I don’t need to hear it.”
Sunwoo expected her to lay it all down to him, explain how every single decision he has made eventually led to the mess he can’t seem to get out of. Ready to take it all in one ear and out the other. It took a couple of seconds of silence from her to urge him to finally face her directly. Yujeong’s face was filled with urgency.
“Please..” her voice falters, “we have to leave.”
“Why?”
“Word got out- they are searching for you.”
“You see—that’s only a problem if the ones out to get me are my father’s men or the paparazzi,” Sunwoo chuckles, perhaps a little louder than it ought to be.
She hesitates. Quietly shifting between them and the door, Yujeong avoids the Prince’s eye contact and takes a deep breath.
“It’s both.”
He laughs, which was a reaction that truly fits Sunwoo. He runs his hand across his face and rubs the crane of his neck. It was obvious that he isn’t quite sober but even in this state, he knew he had to get out of here. An invisible weight pulls his shoulder down like he couldn’t even think about getting back on his feet. Hyunjun gets up and helps Sunwoo out of the couch.
“You parked by the VIP exit, right?” Hyunjun asked Yujeong. They both struggled to keep Sunwoo walking in a straight line, as they walked towards a second exit in the room, leading through the path out from the back that has been largely hidden from the public.
Yujeong nodded, “Just as you asked me to.”
Hyunjun makes sure his cousin is set and ready, comfortable in the passenger seat. He gives the Prince a sad smile, a look that sees through all the boy had to carry. It crushes him, not knowing how to help him from everything he has to face—and wishing that Sunwoo could at least not face it alone. Hyunju looks to Yujeong, who has been patiently giving them some time. That alone says a million things to her, including his gratitude towards the lady.
He did not need to say anything more.
…
The sky looks exceptionally pretty—calm even.
That fact was not of any particular interest if it wasn’t Yujeong’s desperate measure of searching for something else to notice, to think about, as the alternative had been facing the reality that she is now driving the Crown Prince back to the palace, discreetly, in his glorious drunken state.
Still, the task alone didn’t bother her. In all honesty, the silence and the serenity were the most unusual on top of it all. Stolen glances towards Sunwoo, catching a glimpse of his expression against the window reflection, and being aware of every subtle movement he makes pushes her to the edge of her seat. To spend the whole drive without a single word of exchange between the two was a rarity on its own.
Yujeong is beginning to realize that other than to bicker and argue, they don’t know really know how to interact with each other.
It was clear that given the circumstances, albeit polite, she was not in the position to initiate small talk. His cousin’s favor and the unspoken message that Sunwoo’s glassy eyes relay told her everything she needs to do—even if it wasn’t exactly everything she wished to know.
Before they entered the palace’s private garage, Yujeong points to the bag underneath the seat’s compartment.
“What’s this?” Sunwoo asked.
“It’s a hoodie, Your Highness,” she answered, keeping her eyes on the road, “Excuse my words, but you reek of alcohol.. sir,” a hint of hesitation enveloped her words as if she was testing the situation on whether it was appropriate to address the matter while inflicting the smallest degree of damage possible.
And to her surprise, Sunwoo smiled. “You need not put it so.. Gently. I smell like shit if that’s what you mean—”
“I apologize, that was not what I meant, I simply..” Yujeong immediately refuted, in which her response trailed along quietly when she turns to finally look at the Prince directly.
Who is, in the process of unbuttoning and taking off his shirt, half-naked in the middle of the parking lot.
“Especially from you, please, the formality..” Sunwoo mumbles the rest of his words, oblivious to the shock he had just put Yujeong through, and continues to change his clothes.
The woman takes a breather, careful to calm her face and nerves, and safely lands her composure before addressing the Prince again. “As I said, it was merely for your convenience, Your Highness. We’ve arrived.”
Sunwoo blinks as he looks out the window and adjusts to the change of scene. His head starts spinning once again, taking a long time to ground himself and reach for the handle. Before he pulls on the knob, Sunwoo hears a click and the door opens with Yujeong waiting to assist him out of the vehicle. Oh, how the roles reversed. He wanted to tell her how pretty she looked under the night sky, but words were an option he couldn’t grasp at the moment.
In Yujeong’s eyes, the Prince’s dumb smile was a bewildering sight to see. Surely, an understatement to what happens next—when Sunwoo pukes his guts out on her shoes.
…
“–no trouble, Your Highness. Before they had the chance to..”
Yujeong opens the door as two servants that had finished tidying up curtsied in a hurry and left the room. The past hour has been a blur to Sunwoo, like a jumpcut in a movie where he had been hurling on one moment and resting on his bed on the next.
Sunwoo softly groaned, hearing Yujeong’s voice by the door while he looks up to see her end the call on the phone. He makes a mental note to apologize and show his gratitude to her to no end from here on out.
“Was that Yujin?” Sunwoo asked, sitting up to take a sip of water.
“Yes, I had to let her know where I was heading, and that you were safe.”
He relished on the faint implication that Yujeong came to his rescue alone, without his sister’s orders, but afraid to be wrong, Sunwoo chooses to keep quiet and believe it wholeheartedly.
“Is she disappointed?”
“No, she’s worried.”
“Were you?”
They froze.
Yujeong met Sunwoo’s eyes, only to dart her gaze down without skipping a beat.
“I-... I was. I am.”
The Prince lets out an empty laugh, “Didn’t know it would take disappointing the whole country and drinking my liver away for you to look my way.”
“Your Highness, I do not—”
“Do not what? Ignore me? Act like I don’t exist?”
Yujeong bites her tongue. It always comes down to this. Without fail, he had to be the one hurting, the one with the last word. She takes a deep breath and flexes her hand—as her eyes, stinging with emotion, finds their way towards the Prince, intoxicated and strangely, vulnerable. She’s conflicted, for the lack of a better word. The anger that gradually seeped into her thoughts, an ever-so-present companion in almost all of their exchanges, was met with concern.
Concern that, too, has always been there.
“I’m sorry- I’m... I don't know what’s got to me,” Sunwoo coughs, perhaps to break the silence. He wipes away beads of sweat on his temple that were never there, in order to mask the tear that eventually had betrayed him in the end.
“I never meant to make things complicated. Just a little room to breathe, it’s all I asked for.”
Yujeong wonders to whom he meant to say that.
She supposed she could try to ask but all she mustered up to do was nod, deciding there was nothing else to add. Yujeong takes one last look at him, making sure it wasn’t long enough to arise suspicion. She wanted to say something else, searching for the words and for the courage to but to no avail and starts walking away instead.
“It’s been a long night… Rest well, Your Highness.”
“Call me by my name."
Sunwoo tugs at her sleeve.
“Please, Yujeong, my name,” he repeats.
“Good night, Sunwoo.”
.--- -.-. --
njyl qryprq
npmnmqyj zcuypc
yar osgaijw
qfc lccbq rm ilmu
-. . .--
(hint: deobi day)
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a/n: three months later........... ha ha uhh it doesn’t get any better with the sporadic updates now hmmm.. i hope you guys have been good thoo,, i’m back in campus after such a short spring break and i know i can’t make any promises with working on the fic through the quarter, i did end the chapter with a coded message i wish for oyu to figure out. we are leaving the story at a really exciting point :)))) so many enigmatic scenes, oh my what do the mean ;)))))
taglist: @haylo4ever @hyunjaethereal @deobi-pabo @sunwoowuvbot @zyoumeval @nyuwings @haechanhues @nanadreamies @bacardihs @sanniescat @gughoul @hhjvlogs @owlieee @sellefics @lovecn @silent-potato @pimpnameyannie @nayuyeons @cloudskyu @itsdnguyenxoxo @bbangsoonie @suzy-rainbow @bloom-bloom-pow @theloouiisee @sunlightwoo @flwrtbz @neo-deobi @stealercore @itsdnguyenxoxo
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