POV: Hae Na Ri
Captain Kang's hand flies to his gun at his waist, and he glances around, probably to detect the threat that made me scream. The maids have jumped away from me in alarm.
"Sayo oppa!" I squeal, slapping a hand to my mouth. That face, the chiselled jawline and sharp cheekbones. "The idol I used to worship when I was a teenager!"
Both men exchange baffled glances.
"How can I not recognise Sayo oppa with that mask," I creep closer and Captain Kang steps back as if I might attack him. "I have failed as a fan." I wail, switching to English at the last sentence.
How disappointed Jieun will be.
Ryu Hajoon clears his throat. "That's not your Sayoo oppa, whoever that is."
"I am Captain Kang," Sayoo oppa–Captain Kang says, body alert as though he might have to jump away from me again.
"I know," I say, back to Korean. Of course it's another doppleganger, just like Jieun's. "Sayoo oppa is in Thailand, settled down after marrying some non-celebrity woman." I say sadly. I still keep up with his news from time to time. "But you look exactly like Sayoo oppa. The same beautiful features, the same smooth skin, the same jawline sharp enough to give anyone paper cuts, the same height–"
"Yeah yeah, but not the same person," Ryu Hajoon cuts in abruptly, seeming annoyed.
I ignore him.
I thought I was over this silly fangirling stuff. Thought I had grown older. But now seeing this face reignites an ache inside; The longing to have those years back
"I was one of your–I mean his first few fans," I tell Captain Kang, smiling as nostalgia blooms inside my chest. "Jieun–my best friend–and I used to wait outside his agency to catch his one glimpse. We would watch repeat telecasts of his interviews. We purchased his T-shirts, ran away from home to attend his concert. When his scandal with Park Hae Young came out, we went to her agency and threw eggs at her van and cried outside his house to break up with her." I wipe away the tears from my eyes. "Such beautiful memories."
"Probably not beautiful for him," Captain Kang murmurs.
"Put that mask back on!" Ryu Hajoon snaps suddenly at Captain Kang, annoyance crackling in his voice. "How can you violate rules? The Captain of the Royal Guards can't take off his mask around–around anyone!"
"Your Majesty, there are no such rules," the other man replies.
"I make the rules, my words are the law. Do you want to be beheaded?"
Oh no!
"Your Majesty, look at that face!" I point at Captain Kang desperately. "It shouldn't be hidden behind a mask."
Captain Kang brushes back his slightly long hair, standing a little taller. He is still so photogenic. The uncomfortable looking bullet proof jacket, the gun at his waist and his black army boots, all suddenly appear immensely charming.
I don't understand why Ryu Hajoon moves in front of him and looks at me rather coldly to say, "It should be."
"How will I eat?" Captain Kang asks from behind him.
"Well, don't."
Footsteps come up behind me.
"Is everything alright here? What displeased His Majesty?" Mrs. Kang comes forward and senses something.
"I am not displeased." The man in question puts his hand behind his back, turns away and glowers at some spot on the wall, like a child pouting after having his toy taken away.
I think he might be a little displeased.
"You didn't give our guest comfortable clothes for the night?" He says suddenly.
"It must have missed my mind." Mrs. Kang always appears solemn, as though even trivial matters mean life and death. "Come with me, Hae Nari'sshi."
I reluctantly part with Sayoo oppa. This king is unreasonable.
☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
POV: Ryu Ha Joon
Mrs. Kang leads away Hae Nari with a sour look on her face, the maids following behind. Nothing misses her mind. She deliberately didn't give her anything comfortable to wear. As far as Hajoon can remember, other than his late mother, no woman has sat at a dining table in the palace in a night suit. Not even his girlfriends.
They all definitely had some conversation Hajoon wasn't a part of.
"Why do you seem irritated?" Jae Hyuk studies him curiously.
He scoffs, feeling wronged. "She didn't react that way when she saw me."
"That's what irritated you?" Jae Hyuk's eyebrows rise.
Hajoon also has fanclubs. Women fill up the seats whenever he is the guest speaker or lecturer. He has fan pages, and on special occasions under certain conditions, fan meetings are also arranged. MeTube is full of his edits made by fans. Women stutter, blink rapidly, get quiet or get too loud, they do all sorts of nervous, fluttery and even dramatic things in his presence.
So usually it's him who receives such girly-squealy reactions from women.
"Well, she didn't know me, she's from another world so that explains it," he adds, presenting excuses on his own and feeling lame about it.
Hajoon has never felt lame. Maybe only sometimes in childhood.
Jae Hyuk shakes his head and sighs dramatically. He's starting to enjoy this and it shows. "We were worried for nothing. You aren't even her type. Her type is me. I am the one everyone should be worried about."
"You haven't had a girlfriend in ages."
"That's because of my job. If I were to take off my mask, women would ignore you and flock to me." He grins, further irritating him. "I wonder if Hae Nari'sshi is single?"
"Put that mask back and don't get any ideas." Hajoon takes the mask and aggressively thrusts it on Jae Hyuk's face, nearly poking him in the eye.
"Ouch! That's petty, Your Majesty!" He pulls it off. "You told me to take it off and relax."
Hajoon snatches the mask again and before he could try putting it on that pale and the most average looking face ever, Sunwoo appears in the hallway.
"What are you doing?"
Jae Hyuk throws the mask aside, behind a cushion. "His Majesty is being petty! Think of his ancestors looking down at this behaviour."
Hajoon scowls and points a finger at him. "Why did you throw that away? I told you to put it on."
"I can be petty too," Jae Hyuk jerks his head, flicking back his hair like Sunwoo. Though his are much shorter than Sunwoo's bob. In fact, that haircut looks quite ugly. Why didn't Hajoon notice before?
"You!"
Sunwoo gets between them. "Stop it! You two are grown ups. Adults! Imagine if someone else saw you like this. Your Majesty," she turns to him. "Especially you. Please maintain your dignity. This is not like you."
"That's because His Majesty is jealous of me." Jae Hyuk tattles on him standing behind Sunwoo as if she is his loving, protective mother who will defend him.
"His Majesty is never jealous of anyone," Sunwoo says, and Jae Hyuk scoffs in response.
Hajoon clears his throat and smoothes out his shirt non-chalantly. One must act like something is not a big deal to make into a small deal. "You are acting like we were having a wrestling match in the mud. Calm down." He looks at Jae Hyuk. "I am not jealous. Fine, don't wear the mask. That's it, right?"
He doesn't give them the time to answer and as Sunwoo wanted him to do it, he walks away with dignity.
But Jae Hyuk should watch his back.
No, he should watch his front. Because Hajoon will not attack from the back. Attacking from the back will be petty, right? And Hajoon isn't a petty person.
But wait… His feet come to a stop at some paces from the dining table. The maids stop whatever they are doing and bow and greet him.
He doesn't move, everything else has moved to the background. At the forefront, it occurs to him, he is jealous.
But why?
Why does it matter that Hae Nari, a woman he just met this morning squeals at the sight of some other man and not him? Hajoon has never cared for the opinion or reaction of any woman. He's not one to feed on validation and attention.
This straight-haired, doe-eyed woman has managed to ruffle him in just a day.