Chapter Text
"Miss Sana! Miss Sana!" a young girl in uniform peaks out of the classroom to greet Sana.
"Hello to you too Emma." Sana greets her student as the school bell signals the start of their day.
"Have you seen the pictures they posted? She's so beautiful."
"What pictures?"
"The princess."
Emma flipped her phone to show her teacher the prenuptial photos posted on the social media account of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Korea. News of the marriage of the Her Royal Highness Princess Park Jihyo to the first son of the Minister of Justice, Kang Daniel has filled domestic and international headlines for weeks. The supposed marriage of the century was scheduled to happen next week, and it was all everybody could talk about.
Unlike the rest of the world, Sana couldn't say she was excited about the marriage, in fact, she's been avoiding anything about the princess ever since their breakup six years ago. But when your ex is a princess, you can't really avoid such news. Her students would probably freak out if they found out that she, an English teacher in the outskirts of Obwalden, Switzerland once dated the future queen of Korea.
But that was all forgotten history. She moved on. She's happy.
(Jihyo left. Jihyo gave up. Jihyo lied. Jihyo broke her heart)
But wow, Sana couldn't deny that Jihyo looked like a character of fairytales in the photos. Her heart even leaps a little. Jihyo looked unreal wearing a white wedding gown with the same smile Sana fell for. The next few photos were of Jihyo wearing a traditional hanbok in front of the royal palace. She really is the princess.
(She looks amazing – but she's prettier in my memories.)
Emma scrolls down to show Sana more of the pictures. Sana could hear her own heart shatter as Emma reveals more of Jihyo's pictures
"They're perfect for each other." Sana could only nod at her student's remarks. She's staring at a photo of Jihyo holding hands with her fiancé while they were gazing at each other's eyes. It was a photo full of love – and heartache for Sana.
(She looks happy – but I've seen her happier)
Sana couldn't shake the fluttering feeling in her stomach after looking at Jihyo's photos. She pushes those feelings down and continues towards the classroom where her 30 students were waiting for her to teach English.
After her class, Sana could feel her phone vibrate in her pocket as she walks back to the teacher’s office. She was confused when she saw an unknown international number calling her.
The number is of Korean origin -- she knew a handful of people it could be, but she hasn't heard from any of them in years.
(What could this be about?)
Sana takes her phone and moves to the empty staircase. She answers the call and listens to a few seconds of silence on the other line. Whoever was calling was taking their time, so Sana spoke first.
"Hello, this is Minatozaki Sana speaking. May I ask who is this calling?"
"Hi Sana unnie." Sana heard a familiar voice -- one she hadn't heard in years and missed dearly.
"Dahyunie?"
"Unnie, I wish I was calling you under better circumstances." Sana knows the girl on the other line well enough to know that she's nervous and hesitating. This must be serious, so she gives her time to pause and continue. "But I need your help."
"Why? What's the problem?" Sana was more than perplexed she had absolutely no idea what this could be about. She hasn't seen Dahyun in 6 years and she's 9,000 km away on a different continent. What could she possibly do to help her?
"It's about her majesty. She's missing."
(Of course. How could I forget. There is only one reason important enough for Dahyun the Chief of Staff of Her Majesty Princess Jihyo to look for me.)
"She's missing how?"
"We arrived in Paris two days ago to shop for jewelry, clothes, and gifts for the wedding but when I went to wake her up yesterday her room was empty. Nayeon, Momo, Tzuyu, and Princess Mina are helping me look for her, but France is too big for the five of us. Much more if we have to search the rest of Europe." Dahyun explains.
"Sorry Dahyun but I missed the part where this is my problem. I haven't seen nor talked to her majesty in years." Sana didn't want to be a bitch to her friend, but Jihyo stopped becoming her problem 6 years ago.
"Sana unnie, I know you owe me nothing. But please, if you have any idea where she could be, I'm begging you to help us. If we don't find her today, I'll be forced to report this to the palace. This will become a major unprecedented security issue for the royal family and the country. You don't have to join the search. I would greatly appreciate any clue as to where she could be. You're the only person who knows her more than I do. Please help me." Dahyun pleads her voice faltering as she says the last two sentences in a whisper.
Sana heard her and the desperation in her voice. Things may have been rocky between them but they were once friends, so she feels bad for the band of women frantically searching for the princess.
"Okay, Dahyun. I'll try to think of places she could be. For starters, have you checked the academy in Switzerland?"
"No, but Momo is en route to Switzerland at the moment. When we found out you were in Switzerland, we also thought she might be there too."
"If you're wondering no, she didn't come to see me. She doesn't even know where I live.
"Of course. Thank you unnie. Please call me if you have anything."
"Don't thank me yet. Good luck to you too. I hope you find her."
Sana would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little worried about her friends and ex-lover. But she barely knows the princess anymore. The Jihyo she knew would never do something as reckless as this. It's duty above everything else with that girl.
The brightest idea she could come up with is to drive up to Bern to their old boarding school. They met and spent their childhood at that place. If Jihyo wasn't there, she could at least meet Momo there.
Sana thought she must be crazy. She moved to Switzerland 5 years ago to forget and move on from Jihyo but here she is now, driving around the country to look for her.
Sana is lost and drowning in a sea of memories that she locked away and avoided for years. Her heart breaks with every door she opens. Until it finally hits her. She didn't want to be right, but she might know where Jihyo could be. She texts Dahyun to have Momo call her when she arrives in Switzerland.
The universe must be watching. The moment Sana turned to drive back to Obwalden the rain begins pouring hard.
"Your Highness where are you?"
"Princess please answer your phone."
*68 unread messages*
*187 missed calls*
Her phone rings one more time before the battery finally gave up. She pockets it with a sigh. Any hesitations she had about running away, have finally gone out of the window. Now she has no way of contacting Dahyun not that she intends to unless leaving her work phone at the hotel wasn't a clear enough indication she didn't want to be disturbed.
She doesn't regret running away but that doesn't mean she doesn't feel bad for Dahyun who was probably pulling her hair from the stress she caused. She probably pulled their other friends into this mess.
(I guess I'll just apologize. Apologizing is considerably easier than asking for Dahyun's approval. That girl would never even entertain the idea of me walking around a foreign country without security.)
Jihyo herself couldn't believe she made such a reckless move. This was something very unbecoming from the future queen of Korea. But circumstances changed. She needed a break -- from the palace, from the wedding, from the responsibility, from everything.
When she found out they were going to Paris, she took this as the perfect opportunity for her royal runaway. After making sure that Dahyun was asleep, she grabbed her forged passport, wallet, and personal phone and took the earliest train to Zurich.
Yes, the princess of Korea has a forged passport courtesy of the President of Im Electronics. Nayeon once had passports made for her and Mina so that they could travel together without alerting the authorities. It was hard to travel undetected when you’re with the heir to the Korean throne and 5th heir to the Japanese one.
(Nayeon must be both congratulating and kicking herself for such a great idea.)
A few hours and several bus stops later, she found herself staring into the pristine waters and majestic view of Lake Lungern pondering on her life's biggest questions.
This was a special place for the princess and a certain other Japanese woman., although she's not sure if Sana would remember this place as fondly as she does.
(Fuck!)
Jihyo shivers as the cold rain pours and soaks through her clothes. The gods must feel her sorrow as the rain pours harder, she was dripping in a matter of seconds. Instead of running to shelter, she takes a seat at the dock and listens to the rain pattering as it hit the lake.
An hour must have passed when Jihyo heard a car driving towards the lake. The beam of light and rumbling from the engine became more and more prominent breaking the silence and peace of the night.
Feeding her curiosity, she stood up to check on the intruder. A familiar silhouette emerges from the opened driver seat. Six years is not enough time to forget the person walking toward her.
(I must be dreaming. Am I that desperate to conjure you to this lonely plane tonight?)
"Jihyo?"
(Damn, how long have I wished to hear her voice calling my name again.)
"Sana?"
Jihyo is both in awe and delightfully surprised by the appearance of her ex. She didn't know Sana was in Switzerland. The last time she heard about Momo said she moved back to Japan, bt that was 5 years ago.
(Really Sana? Switzerland of all places? How could you live here with all the memories we left here? I know I couldn't. It would break me every day. Just like how it breaks me to see you today.)
"What are you doing here?" Sana shouts as she takes another step toward her.
(Isn't it obvious? The first hint of freedom I had in years and the first thing I do leads me back to you.)
Jihyo has a million thoughts running through her brain but all she could say is "I'm sorry."
Sana screaming her name was Jihyo's last memory before everything turned black.