♤♡◇♧♧◇♡♤

Yisun walks out of the room, shivering.

She stands still, replaying it all in her head, the Prince's confession. Her mother would kill her is she finds out her daughter rejected an heir to the throne.

She hears footsteps, and looks up. Prince Seokjin stops not far from here, his posture straight. It's silent for a while, Seokjin trying to make eye contact with her as she looks away.

None of them know when it happened, but they grew apart. They are standing in front of each other, but in fact, they're very, very far.

Maybe it was when they stopped talking for unappearant reasons, or when sheㅡYisunㅡstarted doubting his genuineness towards their friendship. Maybe it was when Seokjin started avoiding her out of nowhere, adding more to her doubts, or when she found a more genuine, more trustworthy, friend, Namjoon.

"What were you doing in Namㅡ"

"I believe it's none of your business," She cuts him off, not sparing him a glance.

The atmosphere is thick and dark. The coldness of her voice makes it thicker, and his blank gaze makes it darker.

She walks away, and he doesn't stop her, his heart only missing a beat when she passes by him and he catches a sniff of her lovely scent.

The next day, it's a chaos in the castle.

The next year, it's a chaos in Yisun's mind.

♤♡◇♧♧◇♡♤

The bedroom door bursts open, and Yisun stands up, turning to look at the door.

Seokjin rushes in, shutting the door behind him before he takes long strides towards Yisun.

He stops in front of her, panting. He scans her confused face, then steps back, shaking his head.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

He licks his lip, and runs a hand through his hair, now disheveled. He holds up a hand, showing a folded paper.

Yisun realizes it's a letter, and it looks like as if it was crumbled then someone tried to straighten it again.

She takes the paper from his hand, and furrows her eyebrows at the words written on it.

She looks up at Seokjin, confused as ever.

"This... " She trails off, looking at the handwriting again.

"Did you know about it?" He asks, and Yisun shakes her head.

Her hands shiver against the paper, and she tightens her grip, then slowly unfolds the paper, and reads.

My Love, Yisun

How cowardish of me to write you a letter because I'm incapable of saying these words out loud. Today, I gathered all what is in me to confess, and I don't know if you'll accept or not.

I don't even know whether I'll give you this letter or not, whether you'll read it or not, because you might not accept my feelings for all I know.

Love? It has been always a confusing word for me. So shallow, yet so deep. So obvious, yet so mysterious. Its meaning has always been something I've been working so hard to find. Now that I found you, however, I suppose I don't have to work hard anymore.

Speaking my feelings out was never something I'm good at, maybe writing them down would work, even though I still may be unclear.

In simpler words, I have found love in you, and I hope you find love in me, too.

I can't assure you that I'm the best, but I can assure you that you'll live the best with me, or at least, I'll try my hardest to make it the best.

Yours truly, completely, and forever,
Kim Namjoon

Tears that Yisun can't hold back stain the letter. One after another, they fall on the neat handwriting.

Her hands shiver more violently, and she inhales a sharp breath.

"Namjoon and you... " Seokjin's voice is shaking as he speaks. "You both... "

Yisun shakes her head, and even though almost inaudible, she speaks in a very low voice. "I said no."

Her words are almost incoherent between her sobs, but Seokjin catches them. He watches her who is sitting on the bed, the letter still tightly clutched in her hands, settling on her lap.

"All this time," He says, "It wasn't only because of me. Why you despised this marriage, it wasn't only because I was a horrible friend, it wasn't only because you think I married you for the throne."

"All this time," He repeats. "You knew he loved you."

Seokjin falls silent, and only listens to Yisun's muffled cries, her shaking hand now covering her mouth.

He thinks it over and over again. His brother... would he want this? Even though dead, is he stealing his brother's love this way?

Would this make Namjoon upset?

Seokjin had no idea, but only if he knew...

He's looking down at his wife, and she's still crying, her whole body trembling. He gulps and looks away, thoughts running in his head.

Dark clouds hover over the palace, and rain starts to fall, incessantly ticking the glass windows.

One window is open, and the curtain is flying, water now wetting the floor. Cold breeze soars in, sending a shiver down the prince's spine.

Yisun's straight hair flies and falls over her face, and she doesn't bother to push it away since her tears-stained cheeks make it stick anyway.

She gasps for air and looks up at Seokjin. Her tears stopped, but her eyes were puffy and red, like her nose, and tears left trails on her soft cheeks.

She hiccups once then looks away, her eyes landing on the opened window. It's getting colder by the moment, but none go to close the window.

A hurried knock is heard, and they both turn to look at the door. It's opened quickly, and the Queen stands in the doorway, her face pale.

"Seokjin," She says, looking at none but her son, "Your father... "

Yisun stares at the Queen, who doesn't seem to even notice her presence, but her unexpected appearance is very apprehending.

"The King wants you," She says, then turns around and walks away, and Seokjin rushes after.

Yisun turns to look at the opened window, and at the wet floor. She slowly stands up, the letter in her hand, and walks to the window.

She passes the fluttering curtain and stands on the wet floor, the water slowly wetting the hem of her dress.

She looks up at the dark sky, unimpressed. Like everyone in the palace, she knows...

Something much darker is yet to come.