Vaid6

"We can’t go back now, can we?" the Prince asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Dan-Bi stared at him, feeling the magnetic pull between them, the unspeakable truth that had been buried deep inside both of them for so long. The unspoken bond.

He didn’t reply immediately. There was nothing to say. He just stepped closer, and in that moment, all the walls they had built came crashing down.

Without thinking, the Prince reached out, his hand brushing against Dan-Bi’s. It was subtle—an accidental touch—but it was enough to spark something neither could ignore.

Dan-Bi’s breath caught, and for a brief moment, he wanted to pull away, to push the Prince out of his life before it went any further. But he couldn't.

Instead, he leaned in, his lips brushing against the Prince’s in a kiss that was soft at first. But then, the kiss deepened, and everything that had been left unsaid, everything that had been buried under the surface for so long, came to life in that one moment.

It wasn’t just a kiss; it was a declaration. Of something neither of them had been ready to admit, but something they both knew was inevitable.

UNHIDDEN BLOSSOM

For the next few days, Dan-Bi kept her head down.

She followed the academy's strict schedule—attended lectures, practiced calligraphy, studied Confucian classics. She ignored the noble sons' taunts and, most importantly, avoided the Crown Prince.

But the prince made that impossible.

Dan-Bi would enter a room only to find him already there, watching her with that calculating gaze.

During strategy lessons, he would deliberately challenge her, forcing her into debates before the entire class.

At meals, he would sit nearby, throwing out sharp remarks, waiting to see if she would respond.

And Dan-Bi was running out of ways to escape it.

One evening, as she finished copying texts in the academy hall, she sensed someone behind her.

She turned—only to see the prince leaning lazily against the wooden pillar.

Dan-Bi stiffened and bowed. "Your Highness."

"You're avoiding me," he said, his tone almost amused.

Dan-Bi kept her expression neutral. "I have been focused on my studies."

His smirk didn't fade. "So focused that you refuse to look at me?"

Dan-Bi forced herself to meet his eyes.

The prince tilted his head, studying her.

"Most people fear me, flatter me, or hate me," the prince continued, his voice casual. "But you…" He gave her a slow, knowing smile. "You treat me like a man who has nothing worth envying."

She had seen real rulers—ones who had lost everything and still stood tall.

This prince, for all his arrogance, was not yet one of them.

Instead of answering, she bowed deeply. "If Your Highness has no further need of me, I will take my leave."

She turned to go, but before she could disappear, she heard him chuckle under his breath.

She had only wanted to survive the academy.

Instead, she had caught the attention of the one person she should have avoided.

Chapter Five: A Game of Shadows