one of the FOURTH TIER ROYAL candidates, KWAK AHYOUNG: a 22 YEAR OLD born on SEPTEMBER 28TH, 1998. some may know them already but with a face like that, it’s hard not to admit they look a little like JO HASEUL. curious to know more? apparently, these are words they live by: “she’s like a rose that’s forever in bloom.” intriguing, aren’t they? only time will tell if they’re suited for the throne or not.
( PROFILE. ABOUT. CONNECTIONS. )
HELLO! what a delight it is to be here! i made sure to submit my app right before acceptance time and i’m so glad i made it before the clock and was able to get accepted with everyone else! as i like to believe, last is best! LOL IM JOKING
anyways, i’m clem (they/them, est, 20) and this is my baby ahyoung, a clover royal who refuses to go any tier higher (but she probably will because i want to work hard) because she wants to be a musician more than she wants to be a princess. think of her personality as a mix of ayaka kamisato, eleanor shellstrop, and a mix of both annaliese and erica from the princess and the pauper (i’ll give u bonus points if you recognize the references on her blog).
i’ll list a tl;dr on who she is under the cut!! in the meantime, if you would like to plot, leave a like and i’ll head my way over to your ims! i am also reachable on twitter (@/intro_crown) and discord (thomalovr#7170) if you prefer going over there for plots!
biography!
born into a family with a noble mother and a father who used to be a musician. has given up his musician dreams to follow his life into this life of nobility. also has a little sister who comes much later down the line!
as a young kid, never wanted to be a princess. but her mom’s side of the family expect her to be a princess, so in turn her mother basically kept on trying to force her into that lifestyle.
made a promise with her dad that when she gets older, they’ll travel the world as musicians. as a result of that promise, dad tried his best to stall mom from forcing ahyoung into a life of royalty so that he wouldn’t disappoint her.
(TW DEATH) dad ended up dying because ahyoung and him got in a car accident! she survived, but was super distraught that he didn’t. (END TW)
after the funeral service, ahyoung’s mom basically looked at her daughter and said “ok well since your dad is dead, you have to be a princess now. make it up to him because he went through so much effort to try and convince me to not make you one.”
and has been in the palace for about a few months to a year already. still wishes she was a musician.
personality!
(TW: SLIGHT ABUSE, NEGLECT) hates her mom has mommy issues. her mom seems to only see her as a way to get closer to the queen. basically doesn’t see her as a daughter besides that.
when ahri (her little sister) came into the picture, that’s when mom decided to switch up her behavior but solely for ahri. ahyoung still is treated like shit and forced to be a princess. (END TW)
besides the fact that she fully intends to not be a princess, she is also the least princess-like person she knows. she’s clumsy, aggressive, loud, sloppy, and kind of messy. she also has a temper! i’d like to imagine she also snorts when she laughs. she’s basically “not like the other girls”. a bit of a fixer upper, if you will.
despite that, she’s smart!! most of the time
loves music! knows how to play the piano, which gives her points for elegancy. she also keeps a guitar pick around her neck and she refuses to remove it no matter what, as it is the one thing that keeps her dad with her.
she will cry over her dad BUT SHE WILL NOT SHOW IT.
loves sweets! if you give her any desserts, she will love you
despite being hot-tempered and easy to rile up, she is actually very sweet and friendly! the type to invite you to sit with her at lunch or make you a friendship bracelet (with your permission, of course)
wants to travel the WORLDDD she wants to travel to jeju island for the fun of it.
there’s probably more, but i’ll add them along the way.
hi everyone! i’m super sorry for my inactivity!! i’ve been so busy juggling two jobs and also dealing with school but now that i’ve quit 1 of my jobs and have a better grasp at my classes, i have a lot more time to work on replies and stuff!
that being said, to make up for my inactivity and also to get ahyoung to enjoy the festivities of the event, reply to this post with a random word for a starter related to either the harvest or the masquerade and i’ll get to it asap! <3
there was amusement in her eyes as the ball continued. ahyoung’s attention was on anything but what was currently going on. and honey, despite a few asking her to dance, was more amused with ahyoung than anything at the party.
you see, ahyoung wasn’t doing anything. that was the point. despite everything going on at the party, ahyoung seem fixated on the window or the door every time someone passed or entered. it was fairly obvious that ahyoung was waiting for someone. honey (and most everyone) can make a guess who.
“you know,” honey says, a small knowing smile on her face. “you can just text her and ask her if she’s on her way.” she gives the princess a knowing look, sipping on her own drink that she hopes to god gets her fucking blasted to deal with this dumb party. what happened to the tier 1′s throwing ragers to let off some steam? all of these stuffy balls are making her want to rip her hair out.
at least ahyoung was mildly entertaining. “aren’t you dating yet? or have you been too nervous to ask that hearts girl out?”
» with: @cwnahyoung
she wonders if it’s obvious that she was being antsy. it’s no surprise that ballrooms were not her preferred place of scenery. though she’s grown accustomed to it, thanks to months (and years, if you count the parties that her mom had to drag her to) of ballroom etiquette training, she has gotten the hang of it. but even so, there was one particular person who she was hoping to see tonight.
and she hasn’t seen her yet. she wonders if she’s even coming and even if she went to that much training and has proper etiquette so that she can behave around others, she feels that she would not be able to survive the party without nabi’s company. she’d at least make the night enjoyable. she’d get rid of the nerves and let ahyoung be her true self.
her attention breaks from the door when she hears a sudden voice, jumping slightly from surprise. she looks over at the speaker and her face heats up at her words. fuck. it is obvious, isn’t it? at least to one person it is. ahyoung knew honey to be very intelligent, especially since the both of them shared the sentiment of hating the royalty life (thank god she wasn’t alone on that), but with how the girl was teasing her about her crush? holy heck.
“i don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says bashfully. of course she does. she’s pretty sure anyone who was eavesdropping in on their conversation could also recgonize that ahyoung was speaking utter bullshit right now. “w-why would i ask her out? we’re just friends. i just don’t want to be bored out of my mind at a party like this... you know what i mean.” that was definitely a bullshit excuse, but it was better than staying silent and shocked like a doofus.
a simple envelope arrives at your room, so nondescript you may wonder if it’s actually meant for you — until you notice your name written on the front in black, cursive letters. there is no sender but the envelope has been closed shut with a wax seal you know to be from THE SEER. it seems you have a message of upmost importance… but will you open it?
“a young child who appears to be of lower class notices an amulet you’re wearing. with eyes full of wonder and admiration, they bashfully ask if there’s any possibility that they can have it. however, the amulet was specially gifted to you as recognition of your talents and skills by the king and queen themselves. what is your response?”
—————
it was certainly interesting to see an envelope so suddenly. ahyoung never really got mail. if there were a reason for her to receive it, it’d most likely be because her mother had sent her a letter from back home. but that wasn’t possible, considering her mother would usually just call her up on the phone. besides, if she did receive an envelope from her mother, she’d simply ignore it.
but she couldn’t ignore this, especially with that wax seal on it. when she closes her room door and take a second to observe the envelope, she debates on whether or not she opened it. of course, it’d be rude if she did not. but if this was sent to her, it must be because of something dire. and if she were not to respond to it, who knows what would happen to her?
as she opens the envelope and pulls out the letter, she quickly reads it over and is left a bit confused. was this supposed to be a sort of prompt? something that she was supposed to respond to? if that was the case, she wonders why the seer would send such a message. was it supposed to be a test of some sorts? or a way for the seer to understand her more, with her few months and lack of experience in this castle?
she thinks back on the question: an amulet given by the king and keen. it most certainly does sound like an important gift if it’s given by such people. majority of ahyoung’s life was simply being aware of the impact that the queen of clovers had, as her mother refused to let it be forgotten while the girl was growing up. so while there was a clear answer to this question that she figured would be the one she should write, there was the other option: giving the amulet to the boy.
it was clearly the obvious choice for the girl. given the fact that he was in a lower class, that had to have meant that ahyoung, with her mother in consideration, had more privileges than he did, meaning more "wonderful” things than he did. she wondered that if her father had still been alive, he would help her interact with said people often. in fact, if they had both decided to travel the world and perform together, she could befriend such people and even live amongst them. and even if she was starting to get familiar with this new life of hers, she still found herself longing for that simplicity. a life with no restrictions and no responsibilities… it sounded so much like heaven to her that she takes every opportunity to gain that even as a “princess-in-training”. perhaps, in a way, doing something as taboo as giving a commoner a “royal souvenir” would do just that for her.
not to mention, no necklace could hold much more meaning to her than her father’s guitar pick that hung around her neck with the help of a black string.
with a pen and paper, she quickly scribbles her response. as she finishes up writing it, she goes to get it sent to the seer. should the seer open the letter, it will read:
though i am most grateful for the king and queen’s generosity towards me, especially with giving me such an extravagant gift such as this amulet, i prioritize my morality over my pride and reputation with higher-ups. though i give them much respect and do not wish to disappoint them, i feel that my heart will not let me allow to reject a plea from someone who is suffering more than i am.
i may not know of this boy’s intentions, nor may i know of whether or not he truly desires the amulet in all of its honor. but i believe that kindness is powerful, and so is compassion. though the amulet is a gift for me, i may not see it as much of a necessity as opposed to this boy. in fact, if he were to ask me so politely for it, that comes to show the possibility that he will appreciate it much more than i will.
so, to answer your question, gentle seer, i will have to say that i would give the amulet to the boy. i do not need physical recognition for my talents and skills, as i have myself to prove for that. if the queen and king were to ask of its whereabouts, i would simply answer that i have given it to someone much more worthy of it than i.
... this is certainly a first impression, huh? @sooincwn
ahyoung certainly didn’t visit the spades kingdom as she should. with all her favorite people residing in the hearts kingdom and most of her time being spent back in the clover kingdom for her training, she rarely got to visit the third kingdom. it’s not like she disliked it because she certainly didn’t. rather, it was the fact that she rarely had time to go. not only that, but even when she was able to visit, she’d use that time to do something else.
however, she wished to visit the spades kingdom today. she felt like she owed her good friend yurye a visit, after all. with his assistance back at the hearts castle (along with her naïve ass thinking he was on the fourth tier with her rather than the actual prince of the spades kingdom), she felt it was necessary to pay him a visit. they were essentially friends now, right? she’d like to think they were.
though it’s not her first time here, she still finds herself wandering around the grounds aimlessly. truth be told, she wasn’t planning on meeting the prince. she was just planning to arrive to the kingdom and possibly run into him, but that’s it. she just wanted to make sure she spent as much time around other kingdoms and not leave the spades feeling left out of her attention (not that they would care... but she still wants to make it fair). as she walks to the garden, she looks around herself to see if there’s anyone there who would notice her. fortunately, the garden seemed off limits...
which was a relief. because these shoes were killing her. deciding to take a break of her walking around like a lost soul, she took off her heels and walked into the grass, sighing in relief now that her feet finally felt free. “ahh... this feels so nice,” she says with a eased smile, stretching her toes out freely as she decides to sit down on the grass, not at all minding what kind of dirt or grass would get on her gown. that is... until she spots a girl in the corner of her eye, approaching the garden. with wide eyes, she quickly stands up and tries her best to put on her shoes, but it was too late. she’s been caught... barefoot.
“a-ah... i’m not a dangerous person, i swear,” she says with nervous laughter. “i’m just... relaxing... while on a visit...” which was true... but she sounds suspicious with how nervous she is. good going, ahyoung.
have you heard? there was heavy smoke seen billowing from the seer’s tower. not long after that, the carriage of the seer was seen leaving the gates of the country. it seems they have an urgent message to deliver personally.
“you can be honest, you know. i can take it if you don’t like it.”
with: @cwnahyoung
the last few months of being a princess weren’t all too bad, really. in fact, though she’d hate to admit it, they’ve been less of a pain than she thought they would be. sure, there was still some discrepancies that she could live without if she had the chance. she still missed her old, “normal” life in which she wasn’t training to be some sort of priss on the throne. and if she could live without certain people (cough cough hyunsu cough cough), she’d definitely enjoy the clover kingdom a little more solely for the fact that her best friend was here.
but if she had to be honest... she thinks the reason why she hasn’t had much of an issue with living this princess lifestyle is because of none other than kwon nabi herself. and depending on the person she’s talking to, she would proudly admit that.
it’s no secret that they’re close. in the few chances that ahyoung has the opportunity to meet with the older, she’d take that chance in a heartbeat. though it sounds rather cheesy, she would be able to say that out of all the people she’s met on her princess journey so far, nabi was most definitely her favorite. each interaction with her somehow had become precious to her and she finds herself looking back on each of them after spending time with the other, sighing fondly over each little moment. and if she were forced to say that she didn’t think of becoming a little more intimate with the other, she’d certainly be lying.
but she does not want to admit that. not yet, anyways. for all she knew, nabi would only see her as just a friend. sure, they spent a lot of time together and whenever nabi told her that she missed her, ahyoung felt like the most special person in the world. but for all ahyoung knew, that could just be because nabi saw ahyoung as a dependable friend. that being said, if nabi only saw her as that rather than anymore, then she’d be 100% find with that. she was willing to put her feelings aside for the sake of their friendship. so long as the other was still in her life and bringing her joy, that was all that mattered to her.
and on the topic of bringing her joy, she was certainly filled with it on their little picnic in the hearts garden. as an avid fan of sweets, ahyoung was always at her happiest whenever nabi presented her with a new dessert to dine on. so when the other presented the jelly donuts to her, the smile on ahyoung’s face felt almost automatic as she took the plate in her hand and eyed her little tower of donuts from top to bottom, practically drooling from the sight and smell. and she already knew without a doubt that as soon as she’d eat them, she’d literally be on cloud 9.
ahyoung listens to her express her troubles on baking these and it makes her even more grateful that she went through all that effort to make so many... and give them to her. it makes her heart feel light. “i can imagine how tough it’d be to make these.” of course she would. the girl was so clumsy that if she were to step into a kitchen, there’d somehow already be an egg shell in a dish. or worse... a glass shard! “i’m proud of you for getting through that challenge though! they look absolutely amazing!”
as ahyoung takes a donut off of her plate, setting the other donuts to the side, she smiles at nabi’s words. “i promise you that i’ll like it. you always make the best pastries, nabi. it’s quite literally impossible for me to dislike anything you make because you’re so good.” after she says that, she takes a bite of the donut, her eyes immediately lighting up as soon as the fluffy bread and the sweet jam reach her tongue. after swallowing the bite, she immediately looks at the other with a big smile. “this is AMAZING! i think this is the best pastry that i’ve ever had in my entire life.”
that was definitely an exaggeration... but anything for kwon nabi.
even a full well sprint wouldn’t have been enough to save her from collusion but the fast walk was enough to reach to her once the princess hit the ground. one hand on her shoulder and the other under her chin to keep her in place as she knelt down and examined the injuries. “ i really don’t understand how you don’t understand. ” the exasperated tone only barely laced with worry as their gaze finally meets. “ seriously ahyoung , it’s as simple as watching where your going… i don’t even… forget it. ” because who’s more sick of this be careful speech , we’ll never know. “ do you feel okay or do i need to ask one of the other knights to take you to a doctor? – if your head really hurts , it could be a concussion. ”
you could count on the other for being very dimwitted. it would not be the first time she’s had that realization, as it was practically a known fact that everyone will get to know upon meeting her for the first time. of course she is intelligent! she’s just careless to an extensive amount. should she look into that and find ways to fix that? yes. will she? no. she’ll lose her “sparkle” if she does!
instead of sparkle, she does lose more of her dignity in this exact moment though. maybe memories, because it was quite the hit. as she balls onto the marble floor, she is introduced to more pain on her backside but it still dulls in comparison to the pain she feels mostly in her forehead. she winces as she puts a hand over that spot, hissing in pain to herself as she finds herself regretting so many of the actions that led up to this.
“oww...” she says in a small voice. she isn’t going to cry over this. this has happened way too many times that she doesn’t have to cry over this to let others know she’s in pain. plus, she’d never cry in front of people. only babies cry over pain as trivial as this. and kwak ahyoung is not a baby.
she’s not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse that someone had witnessed her foolish actions. but as soon as she saw a familiar face approach her and the familiar voice ask her if she’s okay, a wave of relief washes over almost instantly. “jiah-unnie~ my knight in shining armor~” she says with a bright smile through the pain, her hand slowly getting off her forehead. she listens to the other lecture her and she tries to make it look as if she’s listening to her. not a single word was going through her head, mainly because she already knows the gist of what she’s saying, as this is something that regularly happens... to ahyoung’s dismay.
“it hurts a lot. i feel like i bruised my forehead. please don’t tell me i did. the clover kingdom will make me get bangs to cover it,” she says with a little pout. “i... my head feels like it’s pounding. or ringing. i don’t know. it hurts, but i think i’ll get over it...” she finds herself laughing slightly. “i think... an ice pack will do. or maybe a kiss on the forehead will heal it~ hehe~” now was obviously not the time to be a cheeky little shit to her friend, but who is kwak ahyoung if she is not a nuisance to this poor knight?
one of the privileges of being in tier 4 is how ahyoung was able to go to whichever kingdom she wanted whenever she wanted. and with that in mind, she makes sure to take any and every opportunity to go to the hearts kingdom... not at all because of a particular someone. it’s solely because of the fact that she had many friends there who were either at a higher tier or chose not to leave the hearts kingdom often.
she as might well be a resident of the hearts kingdom. it’ll keep a certain clover pest off of her mind... then again, there was jaejin...
no matter. that was not the issue! as much as ahyoung would love to visit the one person she usually has in mind whenever she visits the kingdom, she decides against it and instead decides to wander. if she were to come across her by chance... then ahyoung would be dumb to not think it was coincidence. she decides on walking outside and exploring more of the gardens. if she was to wander around somewhere, she should at least make it a place where it made sense to do so (besides the museum that they had). as she walks out of the castle to the front yard, she inhales deeply to smell the outside of the castle, sighing with a pleased tone as a way to exhale.
she intended her exploration to be peaceful, but she spots a person—who she thinks she’s seen around the castle before, yet has never interacted with due to the fact there was no reason to—who stands outside the castle. thanks to help of her lessons on body language, ahyoung was able to sense that something was very much wrong for this particular boy. with nothing else better to do (and also the fact that she’d feel bad if she just walked off while he was clearly going through something), the girl walked up to him. sure the stark height difference is a little intimidating (she was surprised there were people who were this tall, but she digresses.
“hi, i hope i’m not much of a bother,” she starts with a polite smile. “i just noticed that you looked a little gloomy on such a pretty, sunny day. obviously our mood doesn’t have to match the weather, but it is a little concerning to see you like this. are you okay?”
as he enters the palace, he winces slightly at the sting of his cheek, thumb gently rubbing against it. the blood had dried up by now, but that didn’t mean the pain was gone. quickly, he thinks, i need to quickly take a shower and pull myself together. as he walks towards his room, he comes across a more than familiar face. someone he most definitely did not want seeing him in this state. “ahyoung,” he says, waving a hand at her –– maybe she wouldn’t be able to see him so well. or maybe he could just lie, and tell her he’d fallen on legos. “what are you doing? haha,” he attempts to lighten the mood.
she didn’t really expect much to go on today. having now grown accustomed to this life of being a royal (which is way better than being anything higher, in her opinion), she’s gotten used to the usual routine depending on the day of the weekend. she’d wake up, do some sort of weird princess training, some free time, eat lunch, more weird princess training, dinner, and then getting ready for bed. sometimes it changes for special events, but it all feels the same to her regardless. every now and then, she’d get a call from her mother to check in on her and if ahyoung wasn’t in a bad mood, she’d answer just so she could be put back into reality about how this was essentially torture for her.
granted, with the fact that time has passed, ahyoung’s learned to appreciate some small things about the new life. she’s definitely made... connections. knowing her, she’d want to make more, but more for the sake of her enjoyment rather than getting to the top of the food chain. even if she’s doing the bare minimum so that she doesn’t get kicked out and hollered at by the horrible witch in her former home, she wants to make it clear that she does not plan on advancing any higher. she’s fine with looking up at her friends in higher ranks from the bottom. it’s cozy not having as much expectations and having a little bit of freedom.
today had gone normally as usual, the only new thing being the fact that she got to spend her free time traveling to the hearts kingdom to see nabi (and her other friends in the kingdom, but she was mainly there for nabi). it’s really a damn shame that she had little to no idea about the hearts kingdom and really only went with the kingdom that her mother forced her to choose. had she had some say in it, she’d choose that kingdom solely for the fact that all of her friends were there. she may have heard gossip about the queen that makes her a little grateful to have the clover queen, but still!
she’s in a happy mood when she returns to the kingdom, making her way to her room with a little skip in her step. she had received a notification on her social media about some important event today, but she was too busy (and too focused on her crush on the hearts princess) to even notice it. perhaps if she had read it earlier, she would’ve been a little more aware of what day it was.
but it doesn’t matter anyways. it wouldn’t change the shocked reaction ahyoung gets when she sees none other than son junyoung himself in the halls, looking absolutely dreadful. ...okay, that’s an exaggeration. but he certainly did not look like his usual clean, “princely” (blegh! she hates that she used that as an adjective for him now) appearance with the bruise on his cheek and... a cut on his lip? “oh my god! what the hell happened to you?” she asks, voice filled with concern as she quickly makes her way over to him to get a better look at his wounds. “you look awful!”
“hey, twinkle toes!” he shouted out from behind her, “put your hazard lights on if you can’t move in those things, some of us are trying to walk here.” there was clearly space in the hall for hyunsu to manuver around the princess, but then again, hyunsu was never one to keep his mouth shut when he had his complaints. “come on, you’ve got this. left, right, left, right.“
she’s clearly trying to make her way around the castle as graceful as she could, but it’s so hard when it feels like she was balancing herself on a tightrope with these shoes on. one wrong move and she could immediately fall on her face and, with ahyoung’s lack of grace, she was guaranteed to face plant on the castle’s floors again. she did not want to meet the already familiar fate that she’s met before.
however, she can’t help but feel embarrassed, especially over the fact that she should be good at this. maybe her mother had a point in getting into the kingdom ahead of time earlier on. maybe then, she wouldn’t be a grown twenty-two year old walking around in the castle with heels almost as if she was a circus act. even if she didn’t want to be a princess in the first place, she at least wanted some of her dignity by the end of this experience.
so when she hears that familiar, irritating voice shout from behind her, her face of fear and carefulness drops to irritation as she turns back to confirm that it was indeed him, perhaps the biggest douchebag in all of the clover kingdom: han hyunsu. she’ll admit that upon meeting him for the first time, she thought he was quite attractive. but the moment he opened his mouth to acknowledge that she was a fourth tier ranker and how he was way above her, she suddenly lost interest in him. granted, he still looks fine as hell... it’s just a shame that his looks were wasted on such an awful personality.
not only that, but he’s calling her a childish nickname and mocking her while she’s clearly struggling? she was already aware that she looked ridiculous. but the fact that he out of all people was witnessing it right now... clearly, she was cursed the moment she stepped onto the grounds of the clover residence. because now, she has to deal with him when she could be doing something more beneficial to her.
“swerve to another lane then, dickswab. there’s clearly enough room in this hallway for the both of us,” she says, rolling her eyes at the other as she takes the moment to stop. if she were to keep on walking while keeping her attention on him, she’d probably fall over. “what the hell do you want? are you here to try and make me feel like a baby? because if so, i’d be glad to take off these shoes and try to throw them at you to let you know i don’t have the time.”
“excuse me.. you’re not from around here, are you?” the princess’ sweet timbre fills the void left by the other’s silence, her words with no intentions to sound judgemental and, instead, meaning to satiate her need for answers, as she carries a small and welcoming smile on her lips. “i didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but i heard something about you getting lost..? is there somewhere you need to be and can’t find?”
though she knew that there were many people who lived in these castle walls, she never really had the thought come across her mind on how any of them could hear her as she spoke her thoughts aloud. of course, the girl’s main characteristic was that she was quite careless. but another one was how she was a bit... oblivious to her surroundings. she still is that curious girl that she proclaims herself to be. it’s just that sometimes... or really most times, she doesn’t get to showcase that side of hers enough. she always shows her foolishness at the wrong moments and she, unfortunately, has witnesses to it.
and she was so certain that no one would listen in on her conversation. no one could possibly be aware of what she’s saying in this moment right now and watch as she embarasses herself more and more. how foolish of her to be so careless, really. because the next thing she knows, she hears a voice call to her and she turns to see another girl make her way closer to her. that’s a bit humiliating, she must admit. but at least she’s nice enough to offer her help!
knowing ahyoung, she definitely needed some right now. especially now that both of them are aware that she’s definitely not a hearts kingdom resident.
“ah... no,” she responds sheepishly. “i’m a new clover royal. i just got here a few days ago and i wanted to take the opportunity to familiarize myself with the kingdoms and... i wanted to explore the hearts before spades.” she gives a nervous laugh. “but i’m a bit of a wanderer when i’m looking around on my own, so i don’t exactly have a definitive plan or like... idea of where i’m going? and i’m definitely going to need that in the future when the time comes but...”
she wonders if now was a good time to shut up, as she’s obviously rambling her mouth off at this point. she clears her throat. “um... i don’t mind to be a bother, but if you’re familiar with the castle, could you... help me out? i have no clue what i’m doing.” another shy laugh. clearly, she’s very charming.
Soobin wasn’t clumsy, but today specifically, her long dress didn’t help her walk quickly. – “I don’t know, I think I broke my nose, arm and foot.” - She said, with a comical tone in her voice. Soobin stood up carefully and ran a hand over her dress, leaving it clean. – “Thank you for helping me, my lady.” – Soobin bowed briefly to greet her, even though she was a princess, she was sweet and humble to others. – “She’s beautiful, don’t you think?” – She said, referring to the jewel.
The girl find herself chuckle slightly at the girl’s response to her, but at least she knew that the other was alright. It’d be a shame if she had gotten hurt and there was nothing Ahyoung could do about it. As she watches the other able to stand up, she feels more relieved that the other is okay and bows back at the other. Thankfully, with the help of all her training, she’s able to look graceful while doing the action regardless of what she was wearing. She looks over at the jewel and nods her head with a small smile. “She is. I’m not much of a fan of jewels, but I can’t deny that this one looks magnificent.”
hi everyone!!! i am super sorry for getting late to messages and replies!!! procrastination’s already kicking my ass in the beginning of the school semester and i need to not let that happen to me @_@ as soon as i think i have a good grasp on them (which is probably soon bc i’m gonna grind tonight), i’ll get back to everyone and will be posting replies and starters asap!!! thank y’all for ur patience and i love u guys <3
someone like ahyoug, he thinks, shouldn’t be here. she should be out there, doing what she loved –– she shouldn’t be living the life that junyoung had forced himself to lead. the thought that ahyoung might have been forcefully placed in this situation pained him more than anything had in a while.
he takes a step forward, and before he can reach out to hold her, he stops himself. he tilts his head downwards, so that his eyes are able to meet hers. “are you alright?” he asks, voice soft. it’s been so long, and if someone had told junyoung years ago that he’d be with ahyoung in the palace, he would’ve laughed at them. now though, he feels as though the unthinkable has happened. “i thought… you hated the idea of being a royal. i –– sorry if i’m over stepping,” he shakes his head, but it’s in his nature to worry about ahyoung of all people, even after all this time. even after not having seen her in years. “i just, i don’t know if i should be happy or not… that we’ve met here.”
she isn’t surprised that the other is shocked over the fact that she was here. in fact, if anyone knew that she didn’t want to be a princess, they’d question why she was here to begin with. why would this girl, who has explicitly talked about how much she didn’t want to be involved with this life whatsoever. kwak ahyoung, the girl who’d always be the least enthusiastic guest at one of her mother’s friend’s “noble parties”, is standing in property located in the clover kingdom.
if the younger her looked at her now, she knew she’d be so disappointed in her. but it’s not like she can help it. after all, she herself is the reason why she’s here even if she refuses to admit it.
and despite how the two left on... bad terms, ahyoung found herself a bit relieved to see him—a familiar face. someone who knows how much she doesn’t want to be in this situation. she misses him, even if she doesn’t want to admit it, given the state in which their friendship was at. (could she even call it that? she hasn’t referred to him as a friend in almost six years at this point.) as she hears him rephrase how their last conversation ended, she couldn’t help but laugh lightly. she’s impressed that he’d even remember that. all this time, she had thought that conversation might have been a relief for him. after all, he essentially betrayed her by picking power over her.
as he steps closer to her, she wonders if he was going to hug her. she doesn’t know why she thought that. it took her months to get over the fact that someone she once considered her “best friend forever” had broken her heart for his own selfish reasons, so she had long forgotten the cold feeling of not being warmly embraced by him. even now, she doesn’t want to think about it. she doesn’t even want to be reminded of how tall he is by looking up at him.
god. if only her thoughts could shut up for just a second so that she wouldn’t come off as an idiot. the last thing she’d want to do is make a fool of herself, especially in front of him after all she’s been through.
she forces a smile when asked the question. “of course. why wouldn’t i be?” she replies with a sarcastic tone. “after years of basically letting the whole entire world know that i don’t wish to be in this situation, i get forced into this life because of my beloved mother while i was still grieving for my only other best friend.” she sighs as she runs a hand through her hair in frustration. “and just when i think it couldn’t get any worse, i run into the best friend who ditched me at a festival because he suddenly decided that some impressive chair made of gold and silk was more important than someone he’s known since he and i were kids.”
she looks up at him again, forced smile gone as her true emotions of frustration and irritation are shown on her face. he should know out of all people that when she is tired, she is tired. “so yeah. my life’s been pretty fucking peachy, son junyoung. six years away from you has really done a lot of good for me.”
her smile only grows. “you’re pretty fucking beautiful yourself,” she whispers in response so they wouldn’t be overheard. she laughs then, feeling a kinship to the other. it made her want to protect ahyoung, pull her closer — hold her hand and kiss her cheek. nabi tucked her hair behind her ears. she hasn’t felt this way before. it was new. she wanted to dive head first into the feeling.
“i have muffins here. freshly baked. there’s blueberries. would you like some?”
half a decade in these walls. somehow, those words leave ahyoung in a bit of awe. here she was, standing as a royal who has been in her kingdom for only a few weeks, standing in front of someone who’s been here for five years. but it feels a little comforting to know that she’s not the only one who could be completely fascinated with how this palace looked, especially with the fact that she’s definitely not new around these parts.
she’s surprised that her foolish behavior seems to impress the other, making her smile at her in a kind manner. usually when she was acting like a jester, she’d be laughed at and she’d feel her temper rise up as she tells the person mocking her to mind their business (and recently, han hyunsu’s been the receiver of such behavior). it brings her a little bit of comfort, knowing that someone doesn’t point out how “informal” she’s being. she still has a long way to go in order to find her place in the clover kingdom. then again, she’s not even sure if she wants to find her place there.
but for now, she won’t contemplate that. there’s something else grabbing her attention right now and she wants to focus on it—her all she wants.
whomever you’re here to see must be pretty lucky. with her soft and cute voice coming into play, those words do not fail at making ahyoung’s heart flutter. it was practically threatening to fly through her chest in the most gentle way possible. she finds herself giggling a little in response to the compliment. “ah.. no. i feel like i was being kind of a burden to them. they were just really nice to show me around, since i’m still pretty new here and all.” of course she can’t learn to take a compliment. but, to be fair, she did feel like she was wasting both tsuki and yurye’s time with having them basically take her all around the hearts castle.
baek nabi. what a beautiful name for an even more beautiful girl. and when she sees the smile grow right before the girl silently curses herself, her smile begins to widen as well as she giggles with the other in response to hearing it. was it wrong to say that... she sounded hot when cursing? of course you could count on kwak ahyoung of all people to get riled up over little things. but she can’t help herself, especially when she’s finding herself practically melt over this angel right now.
upon hearing her invitation to try some of the freshly baked blueberry muffins, ahyoung nods her head excitedly. “oh yes! i’d love some!” she says enthusiastically. when she realizes how her voice rose so quickly just from the mention of them, she clears her throat and tries her best to “revert” back to her calm self. “sorry. i uh— i got excited over desserts. i have a huge sweet tooth,” she admits bashfully. god, her ears practically feel like they’re on fire now.
