Optimist

After the game with his mum, Kim Minho took the elevator to his room. Once he reached his room, he took a shower and changed into his ash colored pyjamas, before laying down on his king sized bed. As he lay there, his mind wandered off to her again.

He didn't know why, but he had been feeling restless since she told him that she hated him. It wasn't like it was his first time hearing that. In as much as he had so many people that loved him, he also had so many people that despised his very own existence, some of which were even his own distant relatives. He even had friends that disliked and envied him a lot. They only pretended to care about him because of his status as a Kim, meanwhile their hungry eyes were always on standby waiting for the exact moment he'd slip up. He knew because he was good at reading people, he wouldn't be a capable king one day if he could easily be deceived by their pretences after all.

Some people had even told him that they despised him to his face before, so why was he so disturbed now when he didn't even give a damn before. He was looking up at the ceiling as he remembered the manner at which she'd told him she hated him. Why did she hate him so much?...maybe it was because he was a royal?, but then he remembered the intensity with which she had said it, and wasn't convinced it was simply because of that. Or maybe because he wasn't just a normal royal but a high profiled one?....but that didn't fit in either.

'Why do I even care this much?', he thought with a sigh. She literally compared him to his worst nightmare, and here he was literally immersed in the fact that she hated him. Perhaps it was because he was strangely interested in her, he didn't know why but something about her seemed to pique his interest. He let out a deep sigh before closing his eyes. He then remembered her face when he nonchalantly picked up her bag and put the flash in it before leaving. She looked furious but also very confused by that and he couldn't help but chuckle unconsciously at the memory.

He thought that her annoyed and irritated face was somewhat amusing. And the anger in her eyes.....those eyes....those oddly familiar eyes, he tried hard to remember where he had seen them before, but he just couldn't remember. After a while, he opened his eyes again and stared at the ceiling with eyes brimming with determination. It didn't matter why anymore, one thing was for sure, he wouldn't let her hate him for too long. Even if they wouldn't end up being friends, he was going to make her hate him a little less. And then he slept off like that, since he felt really drained especially from the incident at the auditorium, but with a small smile on his face.

Ayra came into his room later on to check on him, and was surprised to see him smiling slightly like that. 'Was he having a good dream?', she couldn't believe it. Her son who hated the night time a lot back then because he was scared that his father would try to harm them, was sleeping so soundly after what happened today. Things were different now of course, but her son had only slept because he knew his body needed it. The only time he'd slept soundly like this was when he was with her and now he was smiling like that on his own. She could only thank the Lord silently in her mind for it, before she bent to plant a good night kiss on his forehead.

...

Astrol was already dressed in her nightwear and was now sitting on her bed. She was still dialing Nari's line, but Nari had refused to pick up. After some time, she decided to give up, and was about to put her phone away, when Nari video called her. She hesitated a bit because she didn't want to see Nari's disappointed face again, but since it was better than not talking to her at all, she answered the call. As soon as the call got connected, Astrol instantly started to explain everything to Nari. She told her what had happened to Bora and why she'd come to the conclusion to make the video.

Nari just listened with wide eyes, she couldn't believe what Astrol was telling her. Astrol even showed her some of the nasty things written on the letters, and some pictures of her locker. All of which was supposedly done and signed by Kim Minho. Nari could only smile and let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want to believe that Astrol had gone to that extent just because he was a royal. She didn't really care about Zane's because she felt that the latter deserved it, but when Kim Minho's father appeared on the screen along with him all of a sudden, she became really upset, especially after seeing the extent she went with it. "Gosh Astrol, why didn't you tell me about this earlier?", Nari asked smiling. Astrol only stared at her confused but she was happy Nari was smiling at her again.

"What I mean is", Nari began to elaborate, "Is that we could've solved this together and found the real culprit behind it", she stated and the frown on Astrol's forehead only deepened. "You mean Kim Minho didn't do this?", she asked, and her eyes slowly widened in disbelief on seeing Nari nod. "I mean the handwriting on the paper isn't even close to his. He helped me with an assignment recently, take a look at this", Nari uttered showing her his writing on her study book. It was indeed completely different. The one in Nari's study book was more organized and neater than the one she found on the notes in her locker. "Plus, from the dates you're giving me about all this, Kim Minho wasn't even in the country at the time when most of these things were happening to you and__", Nari continued to explain, and Astrol eyes could only widen more and more.

What had she done?...What had she done?!, she thought as she suddenly realized that she had really crossed the line, and he was innocent this whole time. He didn't even say a thing even after he found out it was her who made the video. She thought it was only because he wanted to use it to blackmail her later on, but now her whole being was being thrown into confusion. The only thing she felt was guilt as it ate her alive.

After the call ended, Nari started feeling troubled. It was because of what Astrol had told her about Bora. Nari was confused at why Bora made Astrol believe that Kim Minho had broken her necklace, when Bora had already broken it before by accident. Plus, Bora of all people should know just how good and kind Kim Minho was, after all, that was the reason why she had a crush on him before. Nari then decided to brush off the thought and ask Bora about it the next day at school.

...

The next day at school, it was already lunch time. Nari and Bora had gone somewhere, and Astrol couldn't find Xander either, so she ended up sitting by herself at a table in the senior school cafeteria. She had already started eating, when she felt someone join her on the table. Thinking it was one of her friends, she rose her head only for her eyes to slowly widen on seeing that it was Kim Minho who had sat down. 'What the hell is he doing?!', she thought as she already felt the eyes on her, along with certain daggers being thrown at her. 'What's with all this bad energy?, it's not like I asked him to sit with me', she huffed silently. "I never said you could sit", she said coldly returning her attention back to him. "I know, but I never asked if I could either", he stated casually picking at his food, and Astrol could only raise her eyebrows at him. She then remembered what Nari had told her last night, and she felt the guilt slowly start to engulf her again. She wondered why she was still so rude to him even when she knew she owed him an apology.

Kim Minho just kept on sneaking glances in her direction every now and then, when he heard her speak. "I'm sorry", she said looking straight at him, and Kim Minho was stunned. He noticed that she wasn't as angry with him as she was yesterday, but he didn't expect her to apologise to him all of a sudden. 'She's apologizing, why?', and as if reading his thoughts, she spoke again. "I'm sorry about what I did the other day, I realise that I went too far and you didn't deserve that....so I hope you can forgive me", she said and Kim Minho remained silent for a while as he digested everything she had just said.

"Okay, but I'll only forgive you if you agree to become my friend", he stated and Astrol could only blink multiple times at him. Was he serious?. She didn't know how long she could put up with a royal. Royals always meant trouble, and he was definitely trouble. But, because of her guilt, she reluctantly agreed. "Fine, but only for the term", she stated and Minho thought about it briefly, before agreeing to her condition. "Mm, okay, but you have to treat me really nicely as a friend or else I'll end up bugging you through out the session", he said, and although speechless, Astrol could only helplessly nod in agreement.

"By the way, how did you know it was me?", Astrol asked. "Well yesterday, I got to school late since I'd just arrived at country Z, so I happened to see you at the hallway sneaking out of the IT room. That's when you dropped your flash. And after watching the video, it just made sense", he explained and Astrol nodded in understanding. "Why did you decide to make the video anyway", he asked. Astrol didn't see the need to explain everything to him. It was probably someone that disliked royals as much as she did that decided to bully her into making that video or to simply change her view on him if she already liked him as a person. "It's because I really don't like royals, I detest anything that has to do with royalty or your kind. So, I decided to make the video to prove my point. Zane's not really known for his kindness, so he was an easy target. And you, everyone thinks that your such an angel, so I thought I could make a stronger point if I could find dirt on you. Zane's part wasn't hard but I had to dig a lot into you", she explained as she forked a vegetable. Kim Minho stared at her for some time, before nodding in understanding as well.

"Why didn't you report me?", Astrol asked after some time. "Because we're friends, and friends don't do that to each other", he replied nonchalantly, making Astrol let out a frustrated sigh. 'The heck prince! What's with that reply?, we weren't friends yesterday', Astrol thought, and Kim Minho could only laugh at her crumpled face. He actually hadn't figured out the answer to that question himself yet. He didn't know why he protected her that day, all he knew was that he didn't want to get her in trouble. "Why are you asking?", Minho questioned. "Because I'm a pessimist, so I don't expect you to do that simply because you're a nice person", she answered straightforwardly. "I see. Anyway, now that you've agreed to be friends with me, does this mean you no longer hate me that much?", he asked next a bit hopeful.

"No it doesn't. I'm simply doing this because I feel I'm indebted to you", she responded. "That's okay. Don't worry, you'll soon grow to like me", he stated confidently, and Astrol could only scoff at his confidence. "How are you so sure?", she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because I'm an optimist, so I'm positive about the outcome", he replied, and Astrol fell speechless at his reply as she watched him continue to eat. She didn't expect him to counter her words from earlier on like that. "If you keep staring at me like that then I might choke, and you don't want to be indebted to me again, do you?", he teased with a mischievous smile, and Astrol puffed her cheeks in frustration, before picking up her cutlery and continuing to eat.

'It's only for a term', she chanted inwardly as she continued to eat. Kim Minho just smiled at her reaction. He could hear the other students whispering and gossiping. Their attention had been on them from the moment he casually sat with her, but he couldn't care less at this point about what they thought. He was happy that she'd agreed to be friends with him, even if it was only for a term. Moreover, he would surely find a way to make it longer than a term. He was Kim Minho after all, and he always got what he wanted no matter how hard it was or how long it would take.