Since the day that So had met Hae Soo, there wasn't a single day that went by where he didn't think of her. Everything he did, everything he saw, reminded him of her. Even after nearly twenty years since the day he met her, he could still remember it as clearly as the day the met. She had invaded his world years ago and even though she was gone, every breath, every step he took, was filled with the longing he felt to see her once last time.

And on this particular day, he let this grief consume every fibre of his being. He let the grief and anger fill every pore and cover every inch of him as he stood before the lake that had always been their place. This was the lake where they had given each other everything. This lake played witness to all their memories. The confessions, the break ups and make ups, the place where they would go just to escape from the world, this was his and Soo's place. He stood for hours replaying those moments over and over again as he let it sink in that it had been six years to the day since Soo had passed. Her broken promise to not leave him in such a dark and lonely place was repeated over and over again in his head as he wept tears of regret and anger.

It wasn't until he heard the sound of yelling and footsteps pounding against the ground did he finally break from his trance. He turned around to see a little girl running at full speed straight into him. Before he had time to prevent it she had already barrelled straight into his legs. He looked down and was met with a pair of big brown eyes staring up at him. She met his stare and immediately feigned injury.

"AI AI AI AIIII" the girl said as she clutched her head.

Normally, Wang So was not a man that was very receptive to kids. Having been literally thrown to the wolves to die and fighting through numerous battles, there wasn't much of a soft side to the man but when this little girl pulled this stunt he found himself amused by the girl and a smile immediately tugging at his lips. This almost exactly mirrored the time that Soo had run head first into him and deflecting blame onto him, not long after they had met. The little girl reminded him so much of Soo when she was young, with her big, bright eyes that were full of wonder and joy and the clear mischievousnes in her. Without even thinking, So uttered the exact same words that he had said all those years ago.

"You were the run that ran into me."

So felt a wave of fatherly affection towards the young girl as he bent down and stared into her big doe eyes and placed his hand on her cheek. A sort of affection that he had never felt for any of his sons. So had been indifferent to his sons at best but he felt oddly connected to this little girl.

"Who are you?" So said as he rubbed the little girl's cheek affectionately. He wasn't sure where this was coming from but he suddenly felt a strong need to protect her. The little girl was about to answer when she turned her head to the sound of footsteps coming from behind her.

"Father!" She said as she jumped up and ran into her fathers arms. So looked up and saw the little girl, whose eyes were wide with curiosity, holding Jung, his brother, the fourteenth prince. His smile disappeared as he gave one last look to the little girl.

"Hello your majesty." Jung said as he bowed his head slightly.

"You're not supposed to leave Chungju yet you're here in the palace?" So says as he stands to full height.

"It's the anniversary of Soo's death today. I'm sorry. I was out of my mind, I will never make such a mistake again." Jung says as he stutters over his words.

"Is this your child?" So says.

"Yes."

"I do recall giving you permission to remarry. But, she's a bit big isn't she? How old is she?" So asks. Jung was being awfully suspicious and if he could recall correctly Jung

had only gotten remarried three years ago. This child seemed to be around six years old.

"You must be busy with running the country. Why worry about my child?" Jung says. There is no malice in his words. Instead there is angst and fear.

"Let's go." Jung says as he lifts the girl up in his arms. As he lifts her the reflection of her hair pin catches So's eyes.

And just like that, his suspicions were confirmed and all the pieces fell into place. It all made sense. That same lotus hair pin that So had given to his lover. He understood why he was so drawn to this girl and why just the mere sight of her brought a smile to his face. She looked like a carbon copy of her mother and So was suddenly reminded of how beautiful Soo had looked in that pin. So felt as if his heart was about to burst. Something that So could only dream of all those years ago, a product of his and Soo's love, before his eyes. And with just one glance, Jung knew that he knew too.

"Leave the child." So said without even a second thought.

Jung looked at the child once more and placed her on the ground before dropping to his knees.

"Not unless you kill me." he said.

"Is that right?" So replied. He was barely able to contain his emotions and keep it all together.

"She begged me to not send this child to the palace. It is such a scary and lonely place and she did not want her child to be here. Hae Soo worried about this until the moment she died." Jung says as his voice trembled. He was visibly trying to contain his emotions as he pleaded with the king.

To this, So had no response. Any little bit of anger that he felt towards Soo dissipated because he now truly understood how hard it was for her to give everything up to protect this child, their child. She gave him up to protect their child and he had shunned her for it. He had resented her for it.

He looked at his daughter and he could feel what little was left of him die inside. He wanted desperately to hold her tight and tell her that he loved her and to be a great father but he knew he couldn't. Soo gave everything to protect this child from this dark and scary place and she was right in doing so because the palace was a terrible place where nobody would be safe and especially not this child. He had no right to bring her to such a horrible place, especially as her father.

"Fourteenth prince, Wang Jung... I release you from your exile... I'd like it if you could visit the palace once in a while." So said. And with one more glance at his and Soo's daughter, he walked away before he could regret anything.

So walked and walked until the skies grew dark and his legs grew weak as thought about all the anger and resentment he had felt towards Soo over the years and how sorry he was. He regretted all the curses he had sent away and just how much he had hurt even though she had given up everything for him and for their daughter. He hadn't known anything and he had hurt her time and time again and she had died thinking that he hated her. When he finally arrived back in his royal chambers that were so big and spacious and beautifully decorated, he had felt suffocated. All he saw was that it was somewhere that Soo wasn't.

So had given up everything for the throne but in the end, he had nothing.