"Since this morning, I prepared top of the line clothing and used the finest of fragrances." Hak and Ji-ah had finally reached the place where Yona was currently sulking after Soo-won had left. "I even used the highest quality cosmetics and makeup..."

"All that hard work has gone to waste." Hak took a bite out of one of the steamed buns that he and Ji-ah had nicked from the kitchens, and he leaned against the railing casually even as Yona began yelling.

"You be quiet!!" She shouted, clearly irked before she became downcast once more. "Stupid Soo-won..."

Ji-ah reached Yona and placed a hand on her shoulder, sending the girl a gentle smile while she was at it. "I'm sure that everything will turn out fine, Yona. Things may not happen the way you expect, but know that there are many people, including myself, that will always fight for your happiness."

Yona's eyes watered at her sister's words. Ji-ah always seemed to know exactly what to say in moments like these. Without a word, Yona tackled Ji-ah into a hug.

Once her face was out of view, Ji-ah let her soft smile fall into one that was much sadder as she gripped her sister just a little tighter in their hug.

Ji-ah only wished that there had been someone to tell her the same.

****

Hak watched the two sisters with a frown.

More specifically, he watched the sad smile that had slid into Ji-ah's face once she thought that Yona was no longer looking.

He couldn't help but sigh as he once more tried to figure out the strange princess. One second she was saying that she didn't think Yona and Soo-won were a good match, the next, she was reassuring her sister with falsities that everything would turn out fine. Of course, he hoped for the same thing, but somehow, he had a feeling that the elder princess' words had an entirely different meaning that was yet to be seen.

With one final look at the pair, he sighed and he left.

****

It was the next day, and there seemed to already be plenty of excitement.

"No fair, Hak!" Yona whined from her place on the balcony overlooking the archery range where both Hak and Soo-won were. The two boys were both seated on horses and had bows on hand. "Stealing Soo-won to play with him while I'm not looking."

Ji-ah shook her head with a fond smile as she took a seat on the railing. She had been dragged out of bed before dawn to help Yona make some sweets for Soo-won only to find out that he was hanging out with Hak. Though, that didn't stop Ji-ah from snacking on the sweets as the two sisters and their father watched the two boys below.

"Now now," Ji-ah couldn't help but notice that the king always seemed to say that when he was trying to placate Yona. "Those two haven't seen each other in a while, too. Since they're the same age, they can probably relate easier."

Hak and Soo-won began riding and shot the target, one after the other.

"I want to do archery with Soo-won, too!" Yona suddenly proclaimed, no doubt just wanting to spend more time with Soo-won rather than actually learn how to shoot with a bow and arrow.

"Wh-what?!" The king sputtered out, clearly flustered before his face set into an expression that wouldn't accept any arguments. "Not a chance!" He told her. "I could never let you hold a weapon. Actually, I don't even want those two to use them."

"Then why don't you do it, father?" Yona asked suspiciously.

"I might get hurt, right?" King Il said simply.

"Agh! You coward!"

Ji-ah raised a brow at Yona's response.

She really wasn't sure if that was true. Certainly, there were moments where their father played the part of a coward, but he had his moments that surprised even Ji-ah. That's an issue for later, though.

She ate yet another sweet.

"Yona! Ji-ah!" Soo-won himself called to the two with a smile. "Why don't you come down and try to ride the horse?"

"Soo-won!" King Il called out in a scolding tone as Yona immediately replied with an excited 'okay!'

"They'll be alright," Soo-won tried to assure the king. "They'll just be riding the horse."

Yona was quick to rush down to her beloved, but Ji-ah ate one more sweet before turning to her father.

"Don't worry," she told him. "I'll make sure nothing happens."

King Il sighed resignedly. "Thank you, Ji-ah."

With that, Ji-ah dropped herself from the balcony, ignoring a few panicked shouts as she landed with ease on the ground below.

"One day, you're going to give all of us a heart attack," Hak, who had already dismounted his horse and made his way over to Ji-ah, told her. "You realize that, right?"

Ji-ah only lightly laughed. Her laugh was admittedly a soothing sound, but it did nothing to quell the rapidly beating hearts of those around her. Honestly, they should be used to her absurdity by this point.

"I apologize for the scare," she smiled. "But I believe that my sister and I were promised a horse ride?"

The men all sweat dropped.

She didn't sound apologetic at all.

While Yona went to Soo-won's horse and received help from both of the young adults, Ji-ah headed towards Hak's horse, giving the adorable steed a few head pats before she swung herself onto the saddle with ease.

Unfortunately, getting Yona on Soo-won's horse took a bit more effort.

"It's high!" She trembled a bit. "I'm scared."

"Relax," Soo-won told her with a kind smile. "Hak and I will support you."

"But-"

"Hak will die under the princess' weight soon~" Hak himself teased with a straight face as he tried to lift Yona onto the horse.

"It's alright," Soo-won extended a hand. "You love horses, don't you?"

"Yes..." Yona blushed.

Ji-ah sighed. Everywhere she went, she was surrounded by oblivious dorks. She honestly wasn't sure how Soo-won had yet to notice Yona's obvious crush on him. She knew that he was smart and observant despite his unassuming appearance, so his obliviousness never failed to exasperate her.

Yona was finally sat properly on the horse, and Hak headed over to Ji-ah to help only to let out his own sigh of exasperation when he noticed her already on the horse. He wasn't even going to waste any energy being surprised.

Hak just went ahead and jumped on the horse so that he was sitting behind her, and the two ultimately made the decision to just listen to the mess that was Yona's and Soo-won's conversation instead of conversing themselves.

"I'll lean in close to support you," they heard Soo-won tell Yona.

"Isn't this a violation?" Yona flushed.

"Hm?" Soo-won looked genuinely confused.

It was at that moment that Hak and Ji-ah shared an understanding nod and sigh. There were kinsmen among lovable idiots.

"I just- I mean, it feels like you're used to handling girls." Anybody could tell that the red head was beating herself up on the inside, but she still continued. "As if you've brought women over to your house frequently."

"..."

Soo-won's awkward smile did nothing to reassure Yona, whose own awkward smile had dropped.

"No way!" Yona shrieked, her face turning pale in dread.

"Ah, well, no..." he sweat dropped with an awkward laugh. "Don't get the wrong idea. We've only been discussing the possibility of an engagement."

"I didn't know that..."

"Well, it hasn't been decided yet," he told her. "But let's stop talking about this. I can't talk to you about this sort of thing."

Soo-won apparently chose the wrong words as Yona pouted and immediately rebutted, "I- I'm about to be engaged, too!"

"Huh? To whom?" This time, everybody was confused.

"To Hak!"

Hak immediately turned his dead, suspicious eyes onto the princess that was currently doing her best to avoid eye contact with the man.

"Wow, Hak~" Ji-ah smiled at Hak while Soo-won congratulated Yona. "Why didn't you tell me sooner~ I would have prepared a gift~"

"Oh, shut it."

****

"You're so cruel Soo-won!" It was later that day, and Yona was once again pouting in a gloom thanks to Soo-won and his obliviousness. "To think you'd believe such a lie!"

"The cruel one is you," Hak told her simply, still a bit annoyed at being used as a scapegoat. "You're also annoying," he added offhandedly.

Yona didn't even get the chance to rebuttal before the king spoke up, looking far more serious than his usual bubbly personality.

"You getting married might not be a lie," he told her.

"What?" Yona asked, clearly not having expected that.

"Naturally, we must choose an appropriate partner..."

"Father?"

"You'll be sixteen soon," King Il explained. "Being engaged wouldn't be such an odd thing, right? I've wanted to discuss it anyway."

"No!" Yona protested, not really believing her ears. "Soo-won is the one I-"

"It can't be Soo-won!"

Everybody looked at the king in shock. They had never heard him raise his voice like that, much less to Yona of all people.

"I don't want you telling me who my lover can be!" Yona argued. "Besides, Ji-ah is eighteen and she still isn't engaged yet either!"

King Il hesitated. "Ji-ah is a special case..." he told her before letting out a weary sigh. "Yona, up until now, I have given you everything you've asked for, whether it be beautiful hair pins, earrings, a villa, a flower garden, and anything except a weapon. But I cannot give you Soo-won. You are the princess of Kouka Kingdom, and since Ji-ah has given up her claim to the throne as eldest, the person who becomes your husband will become this nation's king."

Everybody stood shocked, not only because of the king's refusal to allow Yona and Soo-won to marry but also because nobody had known that Ji-ah had personally given up her claim to the throne.

Everybody knew that Ji-ah didn't have much interest in the throne and that Yona had been proclaimed the heir, but most people had assumed that it was the king that had made the decision. People were also under the assumption that this was probably because of Ji-ah's eyes. No matter how capable Ji-ah was, there were still many that had doubts that she would be able to perform her duties as queen. Though, nobody had the balls to actually say this out loud.

These assumptions were also probably in part due to the fact that the average person would never willingly give up their right to the throne.

"Soo-won is the son of father's brother, Yu-hon," Yona whispered, looking down in the direction of her shoes and gripping the skirt of her dress as she broke the silence. "He is of royal blood."

"That is indeed true," Il admitted. "But it is my duty as king to choose my heir."

"Why?" Yona asked. "Soo-won is a fine man while you're a cowardly king who is too afraid to even touch a weapon."

"I am indeed a cowardly king. Your mother was killed by insurgents," Ji-ah's hands clenched at the reminder. "Such dangers go hand-in-hand with being part of the royal family. That is why I have found no desire to find a new wife... Yona, you want Soo-won to be happy, do you not?"

Okay, even Ji-ah had to admit, that was a bit of a low blow on the king's part.

"I don't understand," Yona answered. "I don't understand at all, father."

****

After the fiasco of the conversation that Yona and the king had, everyone had gone their separate ways. Yona wanted to be by herself. The king had more paperwork to finish, and Hak had gone off who knows where.

In any case, Ji-ah found herself sitting on a bench next to her favorite koi pond all alone.

"Ji-ah?" Or, well, she had been all alone.

Not anymore apparently.

"Soo-won," she greeted with a smile, tilting her head in his direction as he sat down next to her.

"It's been a while," he smiled kindly. "We didn't get to speak for very long this afternoon."

"Well," Ji-ah started. "The conversation did start to take a bit of an awkward turn there near the end."

Soo-won let out an awkward laugh. "That's one way of putting it. Though, it's wonderful to know that Hak and Yona may end up engaged!"

"It would certainly be interesting," Ji-ah agreed, deciding not to inform him that it was technically a lie. "If those two were to get together, I would wish them nothing but happiness."

She wished she could say the same for Yona and Soo-won.

"Mhm."

The two went quiet after that, just enjoying one another's company. They did this quite often, especially when they needed a break from just about anything and everything, even if that anything happens to be themselves. The two had a mutual understanding of sorts, and they knew that the other would never judge the other if they let their masks slip for even a second.

It was like a breath of fresh air.

"Ji-ah?" Soo-won broke the silence after a few minutes.

"Mhm?"

"What do you think of this country?" He avoided looking at her as he asked, keeping his eyes locked on the koi pond in front of them.

Ji-ah tilted her head in his direction once more for just a second before also turning to face the koi pond.

"That's a very broad question," Ji-ah acknowledged, pausing to think for a few moments. Soo-won let her think, not having expected an immediate answer in the first place. "I suppose... I quite love this country... It's beautiful, and there are so many people here that are important to me, but... I think that if this country continues in the direction that it is heading, the kingdom will fall, and the people are likely the ones that will have to pay the price... and I find that very sad... There was once a day that the Kouka Kingdom could have boasted about being one of most prosperous nations on the entire continent, and now, it is nothing but a former shell of itself."

"I see." Soo-won frowned even though his resolve only became stronger with her words.

"I do not."

Soo-won blinked.

He couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up.

*****

2482 words excluding A/N

Finished - November 10, 2021

Bye ~