Hide and Seek

Walking up the stairs to Kyo SeolJu's seat, the old man had tears in his stern eyes. Being six foot ten inches, the general had to kneel to be at Kyo SeolJu's height.

"Little doe, I am glad you are safe."

His deep voice sounded relieved as he tousled her hair. With quivering lips and red-rimmed eyes, Kyo SeolJu hugged the old man. She had felt guilty, having not kept her promise to the old general.

"I'm sorry! I had to leave!"

Kyo SeolJu's remorse-filled voice sounded like she was in tears. The older man's bear hug swallowed her tiny quivering frame. Her gentle fingertips brushed over his scar and lightly traced it.

"Does it still hurt?"

Kyo SeolJu shut her eyes tight with a shaky voice as if she was afraid of his answer.

"No. It stopped hurting soon after it happened."

The general effortlessly appeased Kyo SeolJu even when the boys knew the truth. The general would still have a dull ache when the weather turned cold or when the weather was bad, but no one was going to tell her.

"I never got to say thank you. I would be six feet under right now had you not stopped that car. Thank you so much for saving my mother and me."

While kowtowing on the floor three times, there was no masking the thankfulness in Kyo SeolJu's voice. The old general was so moved by what she did that he had to clear his throat several times to hide his tears.

"Girl, I will accept you thank you, just this once. From now on. You bow to no one. Can you promise me?"

Although admonishing her, his voice still held a certain degree of adoration for the girl. Giving him her word, she gave him a salute and a hug, then sat down. As he strode down the stairs, the general chuckled at the turn of events. The rest of the boys in the room went on as though nothing had happened. They dove into their tests with hidden smiles, continuously glimpsing at Kyo SeolJu. The three hours passed steadily, and General Park called everyone to his desk. Chuckling, Kyo SeolJu decided to go along with whatever their crazy plans were.

"Alright, boys, we need to get the little empress to the break roo-"

General Park started to lay out the plan before Kyo SeolJu interrupted,

"The music studio!"

The boys focused on her as she nervously bit her lip,

"I-I need to go to the studio."

Kang SeoMin felt his world stop when he saw her pearly white teeth bite her plump, blood-red lip. The boys snickered when they saw the entranced Kang SeoMin forgetting they were the same as him just a moment ago. The old man's amused smile said everything as he continued.

"We need to hurry. No one has access to the little empress music studio, however, we must be mindful of the people surrounding the studio and in the hallways. We have to prepare for any-"

Once again, the old man interrupted, but now it was due to the commotion outside the classroom. In an attempt to get a glimpse of Kyo SeolJu, dozens of boys tried to get into the room. Bewildered by the number of boys trying to get to her, Kyo SeolJu, laughed after thinking they looked like her siblings in America. Giving the boys a salute and disarming smile, she waved goodbye and started to the classroom's back door.

"Come on! I have things I need to do!"

She turned back for just long enough to stick out her cute tongue. Rolling their eyes, Kang Seojun and Cho HaYun quickly caught up to her and put their arms over her shoulders. It swiftly got around that the empress had left her classroom and was on the move.

"Whoa! It's the biggest game of hide and seek that I've ever played."

Kyo SeolJu let out a cheeky laugh while dodging behind a pillar. The general and the nine boys looked like spies as they ran around the school, trying to keep her hidden. Slowly but surely, the other boys had gone ahead to leave Kyo SeolJu with Kang SeoMin. The two of them were in perfect synchronization as they ran through the halls. Kyo SeolJu was about to turn a corner when Kang SeoMin pulled her back and kabedoned her. Stunned, Kyo SeolJu stared at Kang SeoMin, who was busy checking their surroundings. After making sure everything was clear, he took notice of Kyo SeolJu's blushing face. Her hair fell softly on her face, and his hand over her mouth. His ears and cheeks turned a deep shade of red.