DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters!

Chapter One: Save your breath, your heart has spoken

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As he slowly approached, a cold wind passed by embracing the people who stood by watching. Tension engulfed the atmosphere, most didn't dare to take even one breath, frozen in awe due to his dignified new appearance.

Hae Soo arrived late but took advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was placed on the 4th prince, managing to silently find her place among the Damiwon ladies. Only then she rose her eyes to watch the scene that passed, not being surprised in the least. After all, this had all been her doing.

"I've found a way to make you get rid of that mask!" she'd told him in the tower quarters just 30 minutes before this and had kept her promise.

Thus there he came, serious and confident in his white robes, no trace of mask or scar could be found, taking one slow step at a time, wetting and moving the leaf on his hand as the rain ritual demanded.

His eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he took note of every single shocked expression. This would be an unpaired moment he would never forget: the first time people looked at him as something worth seeing.

He'd been looked down upon all his life, being often treated worse than a dog. Feeling important like this left such a sweet taste in his mouth, he couldn't help but throw huge condescending grins to those who watched, his cruel mother being the main destination of those.

And then, there was no sun. Clouds covered the sky coloring it gray, making the once blue firmament no longer the same. The temperature dropped and, as he climbed the grand stairs, he felt something coming that would change everything once again.

Nevertheless, he continued his way. Nothing would ever stop him from feeling as if he belonged anymore. This moment right now was his reason for being born. He'd started to believe he might have actually been chosen by the heavens.

As soon as he placed himself before the ceremonial altar and took a bow, cold little raindrops started falling from the sky, and suddenly there was a downpour.

The slave had actually become a king.

He'd brought rain.

Cheers could be heard in the distance, the commoners jumped and danced in awe, gladly welcoming their salvation. They screamed his name in gratefulness.

Among the palacers, though, reactions were divided. There were those who stood still shocked but grateful and happy for the 4th prince's achievement. Rain would save the country after all, it didn't matter who had brought it.

There were those who weren't happy at all. A great opportunity to make her family gain power had been missed for prince and Queen Yo, and since they'd never considered the 4th prince one of their own, it felt like he'd stolen the family's moment.

There was one person though, who didn't really care about rain, power or anything other than So's moment of glory. And that was Hae Soo.

She had watched firsthand how he'd been mistreated and misjudged. She knew how lonely he was, how everything it took for him to come your way was a stretched hand. He'd been hurt so much but still believed in people.

Hae Soo or, better saying, Go Ha Jin herself had put a much greater barrier inside her heart after having being betrayed only once by her friend and ex-lover… How had the 4th prince managed to become such a good person despite having suffered so much for a period of a lifetime she had no idea. And that's what she admired about him.

He was genuinely good. And he deserved this. He was her friend and she would stand by him whenever he needed her, knowing he would've done the same for her.

When Wang So turned around to face everyone, his eyes searched for Hae Soo first, and he discovered her eyes were already on him. Her clean brown eyes shone brightly as they met his, and he thought they had a secret conversation that moment. She told him through them that he had done well. That she was proud.

His heart jumped. If he had actually been born as a dog, his tail would be wagging like crazy that moment. He wanted to get down from there and run towards her. To take her in his arms, raise and spin with her in joy.

Wang So started to climb the stairs down, walking towards her general direction. First, though, he stopped before his father, the King, as the tradition demanded. He was to be carried around town in a palanquin soon afterwards, but all he could think about was that he had to speak to Soo.

Before he could get closer though, Baek Ah got to him first.

"You did it, So!" he said with a huge smile, seeming so happy as if he'd been the one who had brought rain himself. Baek Ah, the 13th prince, and Soo were the only people in the world Wang So trusted. They were his only friends. Beside them, So had only managed to befriend trees. That's the amount of loneliness he'd had before returning to the capital.

Smiling back to his brother in response, So accepted his praises with humility, while his eyes continued to search for Hae Soo's. She, on the other hand, had started to go back inside the palace with the other Damiwon ladies for they had to prepare for the feast that followed the success of the rain ritual. With this, So realized he'd lost his chance to speak to her.

Baek Ah had noticed this, and so asked matter-of-factly after making sure nobody else was paying attention:

"Were you on your way to Hae Soo?"

The 4th prince froze and remained silent, and since he didn't deny it, Baek Ah took it as an yes and continued:

"You can't speak to her so openly, So. She's only a court lady now—"

"That doesn't matter to me", So interrupted, but Baek Ah insisted:

"I know that it doesn't matter to you. It doesn't matter to me either, she's my friend too. But you're going to receive lots of attention from now on, and if you act carelessly towards her, you're going to bring her trouble."

The thought hadn't crossed So's mind until Baek Ah mentioned it. While being carried in the palanquin, he finally stopped to think about what it really meant to stand in the position he stood on that moment, being treated as the Nation's hero. All eyes were on him. Now he was, more than never, expected to become a great strength to the Crown Prince. He would then, inevitably, involve himself in the struggles for power.

That wasn't what he wanted.

Sure, it was great to feel important. For the first time in his life, instead of being feared, he was being adored, being seen as a human being, not as a disposable object.

But if making everyone treat him like this meant he had to keep himself from being with the first person who had seen the man behind the mask – literally and figuratively - , then he didn't need it.