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"It takes more courage to let go,

than hold on."

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"Let's start with introductions, shall we? I believe it's the second time I initiated this and I hope I won't get any other answers than the ones I am asking." Taehyung placed two glasses of cold water on the coffee table and switched on the television and he kept it on a deficient volume to make them not feel that they were alone and make the situation more awkward than it already is.

He changed it to a random historical drama and threw the remote on the farthest sofa from him. Taehyung ruffled up his almost-dry hair and pivoted his neck to his left to start a conversation with her but her eyes were glued to the television.

"What is this, Your Majesty?" She nudged her chin towards the device. Images flicked in front of her irises as a blank expression was overpowering her emotions, masking them.

"A television?" Taehyung uttered out stupidly.

"Ah, I see. It's very pretty." A smile, almost sad, carved on her pale lips. Taehyung couldn't help but notice that and something within him shifted when her eyes blinked with so much longing. Maybe she was missing her home? Maybe a person?

"Anyway, what did I say about 'Your Majesty'-"

"I can't." She replied abruptly, cutting him off. Her sharp reply caused Taehyung to shut up immediately. He was so used to her polite tone that the harsh one caught him by the wind.

"I can't," She repeated her words, this time more slowly as if rephrasing her sudden outburst, "It's a sin to call the emperor or the king by his name and I won't do that, as much as you want to convince me to do so." Words spurred out on their own as her eyes remain stitched towards the screen. The drama was now showing a scene of a royal court and all the courtiers were bowing down to the man clad in red, walking towards his throne with grace and dignity.

"Who said that I was the emperor? I don't even look like one for strawberry's sake!" Taehyung protested as he made himself comfortable with a bunch of stolen pillows from the other sofas.

"Her Highness did, Your Majesty." Her answer made Taehyung almost roll his eyes.

"And I'm assuming that you're not going to expose her and tell who she is, isn't it?" He stated the obvious to which she nodded her head very briefly.

"It is not a practical sin to name the other nobility by their names but it must be kept to the most minimum and as I'm going to be an empress, it's better that I keep my mouth shut. But one hint, Your Majesty, you know her." She replied as she reached for her tumbler.

Taehyung pressured his brain to think hard about who she might be. The woman who put the wrong idea of him being an emperor. In no way he could be an emperor, even in his previous lives, he's too stupid for that position.

"Whatever, I will hear it from your mouth one way or the other. For now, let's just focus on what you must address me and it's certainly not 'Your Majesty'," For the first time in the night, she averted her attention away from the screen and onto the male perched beside her.

"How about...Mister Kim?" He suggested after thinking for a while.

"Is it a formal title addressed to the high ranked, here?" Bewilderment rushed to her soft features to which Taehyung vigorously nodded his head in agreement.

"It is indeed."

She seemed to contemplate for a while over the choices. The single flare of fear in her heart was now a full raging fire. She was afraid that there could be a spy, waiting for her to disrespect the emperor and have her hung because there are a lot of women in the nation that want to have the emperor's hand in marriage and they'd do anything to achieve that.

"I...agree but on one condition, no one should know about this." She whispered so slowly that Taehyung had to bite back a laugh but a traitorous smile escaped on his lips. 

"Okay, I won't say a word. Anyway, how about we play Ten Questions? You know, to get to know each other more. I still haven't caught your name." He suggested to which she grew confused.

"What's Ten Questions?" She asked so innocently that Taehyung couldn't help but act in exaggeration to scare her.

"You don't know the game?" Taehyung faked a gasp earning a panicked look from the female. Her features morphed from of confusion to fear real quick and this sudden change of emotions was just pushing him to laugh.

"I'm so sorry Your Maje- Mister Kim. It's my fault that I don't know this, please forgive me for my ignorance-"

"Relax, I was just messing with you." Taehyung finally let out his long-awaited chuckle to which she glared at him in ire. She absolutely detested being lied to, rather joked on. She had always recieved noting else but the truth so it annoyed her very much when someone joked or lied to her.

"Tell what this is, then." She demanded earning another grin from the male.

"We take turns in asking each other questions specifically about each other. As simple as that. Say, you want to have a go first?" He asked and she turned her head away from him to the television.

"No, you go first." She gritted her teeth as her sole focus was now on the television. Another scene of the king standing by the lake alone was shown and a new female character pops on the screen as she sauntered to the king.

"Okay. First off, what is your name?"

"You should know about it!" She protested, an angry glare shot towards his way, "It's Lee Younggeum." She murmured under her breath and averted her attention back to the drama.

"Favourite colour?" A lame question but Taehyung couldn't form any other questions on the spot and he was not that stupid to not notice the butt-obvious annoyance skyrocketing within her.

"Lilac."

"Is that even a colour?"

"Yes it is!" The second time Taehyung recieved a death glare.

"Uh... favourite flower?"

She seemed to ponder over that question but finally answered after a few minutes of contemplation. However, her answer wasn't as firm as the before ones, "Carnations."

"If you were to given a choice of doing your favourite thing for the rest of your life with continuation. What would it be?" At this point, Taehyung himself didn't know what type of crappy question was he asking.

"Study." She replied without a fail and Taehyung scrunched up his face at that. He never preferred studying but he had to because to turn independent and not inherit the family buisness. He has his other brother for that and truth to be told, even though he doesn't like him much, Taehyung wouldn't stir up a war within the family for that silly reason.

"Where are your parents?"

A sickening silence fell over once more and it seemed to last longer than any of the questions. Her face was still away from him but Taehyung noticed a slight tinge of hesitance building up slowly in her. At last, she sighed, "Somewhere I wouldn't want them to be seen before me."

Taehyung eventually nodded his head even though he didn't understand where they quite were. He asked this questions to find about their whereabouts and send her away but it seems like he has to do some more digging as she didn't want to tell him much.

"Favourite thing to eat?"

"Do berries count?"

"Yes they do." Taehyung nodded.

"Then, wild berries."

"Weird choice but onto the sixth question, how did you end up here?" Frankly, Taehyung was itching to ask this but he had to wait for a few questions to ask this.

This made Younggeum turn to Taehyung in a haste. Frankly, she didn't know it herself. She didn't know how she magically appeared in this very living room. The only difference being that, she was drenched, confused and helpless back then and she is now warm, a little less confused and helpless.

"I don't know as well, Mister Kim. The first thing after I...after I, I don't remember— oh god I don't remember! I don't remember how I got wet Mister Kim! I don't—" Younggeum began to panic as she clutched her head and got up. Taehyung, not knowing what else to do, got up as well as his hands hover midair, contemplating if he should comfort her or not.

But he let his fist fall limp beside him.

"It is okay if you don't remember, we can try again later. Just, tell me how much you can remember now." Taehyung smiled gently. That is what he could do at the moment. Smile.

Younggeum hesitantly removed her hands from her head and eradicated all stray strands of hair from her face. Her eyes were bloodshot and fear was evident in those black irises. She was so scared that she wouldn't make a good empress for the nation or rather a wife is someone. After all, who would have someone as their wife who forgets everything?

"I...I just remember waking up in this room. My head was hurting so badly and my whole body was shivering to the bones. And a feeling of forgetting something very important came to me at that time. Like—like, I was meant to remember a very important thing but forgot it somehow and I was so furious at that time...but you came at the same time and I took it all on you. I apologize, Mister Kim."

"It's okay. I guess it's enough questioning for now. We'll do the rest later." Taehyung smiled at her and she nodded in acknowledgement. She hastily bowed her head and left for her room even before he could stand up. He heard the struggling of the door knob from behind before it crashed close with a loud sound.

Sighing, he looked at the the television in front of him. Only blue light raided his features as he was left alone, once again.

He fished out his phone from his pocket and texted a person before he headed to the bed as well. It was a long day and he couldn't be more glad than hit the sack.

Taehyung:
you might want to come at my house later ._.
>12:48 am

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A/N: *readers trying to find me with weapons because I didn't update in a long time haha-*