Chapter Text
Sitting up quickly as he wakes up in a panic clutching the bed sheets, struggling to breathe properly for a moment, he only starts to breathe properly when he puts his hand over his chest and feels his heart still beating, knowing it was just a bad dream and he’s alive.
“Ju-just a bad dream. just a bad dream, tha-that’s all.”
He says to himself quietly as he looks around the dark room. Only the light coming from the moon prevents it from being pitch black. He gets himself out of bed and wraps the blanket around him before walking over to the window and staring out at the sky, looking at the stars. He always finds this view peaceful, no matter the time of day.
Sighing, he walks away from the window to the door. He slowly opens it, peaking out to see where exactly Haesol is. He sees she isn’t right outside the door, so she must’ve gone to bed. Closing the door gently, he tosses his blanket back onto his bed and changes out of his sleeping clothes.
After he changes, he makes his way out of his room and down the hallway of the castle. He knows he should go back to sleep instead of walking around, but he doesn’t feel like sleeping after the nightmare. Haesol would probably tell him to go to sleep if she caught him, and his parents would do the same.
As he gets close to the exit of the castle, he debates if he should take a walk around the city even though it’s late, but he eventually decides he could take a short walk; he probably won’t run into anyone this late.
He slowly opens the door and leaves the castle, feeling the chilly air and regretting not putting something warmer on. He sighs and continues anyway. He’s glad he can walk around without attention late at night since most people are asleep. He doesn’t always like all the attention he gets from being the prince. It can get overwhelming for him sometimes, but ever since Haesol was hired as his bodyguard, people don’t come up with as much.
He smiles, thinking to himself about how Haesol can scare someone away with a simple look. She’s done it a few times now.
Walking for a little bit, he finds a bench, sits down, and sits there for a few minutes, then looks around, spotting a bunny in the distance, hoping he can pet it.
“Sooo cute.”
He says quietly with a smile, then gets up and slowly walks over to it, but right as he gets to it, it runs off, and he pouts.
After getting tired of the cold air, he walks back to the castle and towards his room, trying to be as quiet as possible. He slowly opens the door to his room, only to be greeted by Haesol sitting on his bed, clearly waiting for his return with a stern look on her face.
“Yeonwoo, what were you doing up this late?”
She asks him as she gets up and walks towards him, staring into his eyes. He looks away from her intense gaze.
“We-well, uh, I-I couldn't sleep.”
She gently grabs his chin and lifts his head, so he has to look into her eyes. She knows he can’t lie when she makes eye contact.
“So you decided to walk around at night unguarded?”
“Yes, I had a nightmare, and well, walks help me relax.”
A small look of annoyance appears on her face as she looks away momentarily before looking back at him.
“What if something happened? It’s dark out; someone could’ve just taken you to who knows where, and I don’t even want to think about what else could’ve happened.”
She stops herself from going off on him and sighs, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Next time you do that, just please wake me up so I can be with you in case something happens, and then I could be there to protect you.”
“O-okay, I will.”
She lets out a sigh of relief and sits down on the edge of his bed, patting the spot next to her, and he goes over and sits down next to her.
“Is it the same nightmare as last time?”
She asks, knowing about his recurring nightmare shouts the day someone tried to assassinate him. Sometimes it’s a whole new attempt that his brain makes up, and he simply nods, confirming it’s the same nightmare as usual.
“You know I won’t let anyone hurt you, right? I’m your bodyguard, remember?”
She puts her hand on his head, messing with his hair as she speaks in a calm tone.
“Yes, I-I know I feel safe when I’m with you... Very safe.”
He says this quietly as he glances up at her with a light blush.
“Okay, good. Now, do you want me to stay in till you fall back asleep?”
“Yes please.”
A small smile forms on her face as gets up, watching him lay back down on his side, and she pulls the blanket over and pets his hair before leaning down and whispering into his ear.
“Don’t forget, my room is down the hall if you wake up again. Sleep well, and tomorrow, how about we take a walk down to the lake?”
He nods, wanting to go to the lake tomorrow. She tucks his hair behind his ear before sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for him to fall back asleep, which doesn’t take very long. She’s always noticed that he seems to fall asleep very easily around her.
After she watches him sleep for a few more minutes, she quietly gets off the bed and leaves his room, shutting the door gently, walking down to her room, and lying down with a sigh, knowing tomorrow is an easy day with not much going on.
“So pretty.”
She quietly says to herself, thinking about Yeonwoo as she falls asleep. She's glad he agreed to go to the lake; she enjoys spending time alone with him, especially at the lake where nobody ever comes. It’s almost as if Yeonwoo isn’t the prince when they are there.