A\N: The beginning of the chapter might be a little mess, sorry. Just keep in mind that the following is a collection of moments that happened during a long period of time. Then, by the ending, it all comes down to a single moment. Hopefully, there will no problem to understand.

Enjoy your reading!

Freedom is refreshing. And so is a nice and warm bath to relax the sore muscles. The refreshing feeling that comes with it, after thoroughly washing the hair and cleaning her skin with the proper oils almost, makes her feel like a noble woman once again.

Soo has just stepped out of the hot tub, and now is dressed in her under robes. The vapor remaining in the room a welcome source of heat in the chilly spring morning, as she starts to run the comb through her hair, when the doors open.

Her smile grows as big as her face when she sees the King, closing the door behind him and walking to her, a grin plastered on his lips.

"I was told you were taking a bath," he says with a hint of defeat, as he watches her completely covered figure turn around to better see him.

Soo laughs heartily, and he is by her side before she has to stand to greet him, "Why do you look disappointed?"

"I'm never disappointed to see you."

Her heart melts when he kisses her forehead, then her belly, and finally her lips. His eyes gaze upon her adoringly, and Soo feels like her soul is out of her body, and she has been dissolved into the wind.

He moves around and sits behind her, taking the comb from her hands and a towel to dry her hair.

"Be gentle," she warns him as he gets ready to untangle her knots, wincing in anticipation, and he chuckles.

"I'm not you," So says casually, earning a smack at his knee for his teasing. Both of them smiling as she leans her head back, closing her eyes, and lets him work in silence. Back at the palace, in the Damiwon, she would never allow So to do that. But since they're far from prying eyes, she does not find the need to be cautious.

"Have you come up with more names?" His voice takes out of her reverie, and she looks back to see his eyes set on her disheveled hair.

Soo sighs and shrugs, her eyes getting drowsy at his hands touch on her scalp.

"I already told you we should decide on something, instead of thinking about more," she chastises him a little, "At this point we will have hundreds of options and the child will be nameless for life."

"I could only stay for the evening last time I came," he excuses himself, pouting a little after her scolding, "We need to sit down and decide this with calm."

"How long will you stay this time then?"

"Not much either," he takes a deep breath, his eyes glinting with frustration, as it seems that they can never spend too much time together, "There are only so many times I can skip meetings and send word that I'm sick."

"You wouldn't want the ministers to think you're in bad health," Soo agrees, "How is the palace, by the way?"

"The usual nest of snakes. People trying to manipulate me, people trying to flatter me. There are some who still try to take me out, but most still value their lives."

So practically tosses the comb on the small table next to the wall, and it makes all of the other utensils over it shake. And although Soo understands his exasperation, she has decided that she wouldn't let any negativity hover over them, and uses the moment to tease him.

"Look!" She gasps, in a fake horror, "The scary Gwangjong!"

Soo can only laugh when he stares pointedly at her, his brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Weren't you the one who said it was better to not refer to me as a king?"

"Weren't you the one who said it didn't matter?"

"But now I'm used to it," he complains, pouting and nudging her shoulder, "It's your fault."

"Well, then please forgive me, So-nim."

Soo has no idea what she makes him feel whenever she calls him by his given name. But he always blushes just as much as he did when she first tried it, and her grin always takes over half of her face, and Soo doesn't think she'll ever have enough of the sight.

"Did anything happen while I was away?" He clears his throat, trying to dodge the topic to something else.

Soo shrugs, "Nothing out of extraordinary."

"Feeling pain?"

"Not right now."

"Have you been eating well?"

"Your child won't let me forget to eat, don't worry," Soo clarifies, placing a hand over her now way too big belly, wondering how much longer she can fit in those clothes, "I had to ask Baek Ah-nim to buy a few clothes yesterday. I always heard stories of people getting really fat, but this is ridiculous."

"I don't know, I think your belly is not that big."

"You don't have to reassure me."

"And you don't have to blame our baby."

"Just finish with my hair already."

At her snap he puts the towel down, his hands raised in a sign of surrender.

"How do you want it?" So asks as he starts to fumble with ribbons on the table, trying to pick a color, and catching her by surprise.

"Eh? You just have to comb and dry it. No need to make any complex hairdo."

"I'll just make a simple one, then," he shrugs and takes out two yellow ribbons, walking to his former position behind her, "Why would you let your hair down if you're going to feel hot and bothered later?"

So is not very knowledgeable in such things, but his hands move with ease as he parts her hair in two parts, tying the upper part as a ponytail, and then pulling all of her hair together at her nape in a simple and only knot.

The hairdo is indeed simple, but he also takes her flower hairpins, and decorates it carefully, as if he's painting a piece of art.

"Don't you feel like a queen?" He says softly and she smiles.

"Still trying to marry me?"

"You know me too well."

"I think I'm better than a queen," Soo says wistfully, looking back to him, and taking one his hands to bring it closer to her face, "I feel like the owner of the world."

"Shall I give it to you then?"

"Maybe later," she smiles and uses his arm as a support to stand up, her stomach roaring in protest, "Your child demands to be fed."

"I told you to stop blaming the baby."

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Her sleep is disrupted by the faint movement of someone sittings next to her. But before Soo can complain, his voice hushes her and his arms pull her back to her pillow.

"Sorry," he apologizes softly, but she doesn't mind the disturbance, "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"So-nim?" her groggy mind tries to catch up with what's happening, but she remains confused, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm with a small party, heading to Silla," So explains, laying down beside her, caressing her hair softly, "We're camping nearby so I slipped out to see you."

Soo smiles, but grumbles in a low voice through the mist of sleep.

"You just can't stay away, can you?"

"Of course I can't," he smiles as well, wrapping his arms around her, while she does the same, "Now say, are you happy to see me?"

"Of course I am," she really is, even though her exhausted body seems to tell the entire opposite, "But I really can't stay up to entertain you, I'm way too tired."

"That's okay. You need to rest," his lips grasp at her hair as he speaks, "I'll just stay here for a while and I'll be gone when you wake up."

Soo sighs, pulling him closer, grunting in comprehension. It's not like she wanted him to be gone, but she knows better than to complain and argue.

Before sleep takes over her, however, a sudden memory takes over and she starts to speak, despite the weariness.

"I was having a dream," she says in a low voice, her fingers drawing shapes on his chest, "A really nice one."

"Really?" He asks and she smiles, nodding with her head.

"You were there. The little one too, I think," she frowns, fighting to grasp the details of her already fading dream, "But I remember that I was under a tree, and you were trying to sleep in the shadow. The weather was really nice. So I just watched you in silence. We were married and had our own house. It wasn't as big as the palace, but it was nice and comfortable." The truth was that they were back to her time, in a modern house, wearing modern clothes, but she can't possibly tell him that, so she focuses on the other aspects of the dream, "It had a lovely backyard, full of trees you planted, and a few herbs for myself. The walls were high and made of stone, and there were plants climbing it," she sighs, as she remembers the sweet illusion it was, "I don't remember much, but I do recall wishing over and over that it wasn't just a dream."

The King doesn't say or do anything for a while, but then he kisses her forehead softly, wistfully.

"It sounds wonderful," he whispers and she can sense the sad smile on his face, "Sorry for waking you up."

"Don't be," she kisses his chest tenderly, "The real you is better than any dream."

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"Was I dreaming, or did you really pass by last week?"

"Spent the night. You told me about your dream."

"Right, the dream."

"We should build a house like that one, run away and hide in it for the rest of our lives."

"It would be hard to do so. The house wasn't exactly conventional, you know?"

"Why? Was it too extravagant to be built?"

"It just was too peculiar. Like it was from a whole different world."

"An underwater world, perhaps?"

"An overwater world, actually."

"You know, I always wondered something about that story you told me."

"What is it?"

"Why did the woman fall in the lake?"

"Didn't I tell you to decide that on your own?"

"I'd say she tried to save someone from drowning. I have the impression she would do something reckless and selfless like that."

"Too bad we can never know for sure."

"If one day I meet that woman, I'll be sure to ask her."

"She's a character of a story, where could you possibly find her?"

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"What did the 14th Prince have?" Soo asks Baek Ah during a meal, and he winces.

"Why are you asking this now?" The 13th Prince's voice is exasperated, as if he's not used to this kind of behavior coming from her, "I thought we had decided we wouldn't call him."

They had indeed. But even though Soo is now free to have her baby out of the palace, there are other worries plaguing her mind. She wanted to make sure everything was set and ready, should the worst happen during childbirth.

"We might need his help," It's all she says. He knows what she means, and that's enough, "We have to think about every option."

"I told you already. Jung's way out cannot help you now. We have to think about something else."

"We still need him. If not him, then who?"

That makes Baek Ah pause. It's at moments like this that they realize how utterly alone they are. How so few of them have survived, and how so many changed so much. He pauses, trying to come up with someone, just one single person who can help them to get out from Soo's insane plan, but he ends up giving up and sighing long and deeply.

"We might have to redesign part of Jung's plan," he gives in and starts to brainstorm with her as well, "You know, like, most of it. And hyungnim might not like it."

"We'll talk to him. He'll see the reasoning behind it."

Soo smiles, finishing the rest of the meal with a clear mind and a confident posture. They would have to wait for So to arrive until everything is decided, but she is sure he will agree.

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"Why would I agree with such a stupid idea?"

The King's undignified scream makes Baek Ah wince and look at her as if to say I told you so, but Soo doesn't back down.

"Because you love this baby," she retorts, livid as well, "Because you want our child to live."

"There are better options…"

"Then tell me one." His mouth hangs open, as he tries to come up with something, anything, that might change her mind, but in the end he can't, so he grunts in frustration, "So-nim, we've been talking about it for so long now, if there was another way, we would have found it already."

"I don't like it."

"Neither do I. But it's necessary."

So looks at her desperate, as if she's asking him to stop breathing for the rest of his life, and try to keep living so.

Maybe she is.

"We still have time," he says weakly, and Soo decided to not push him further than his breaking point.

"Alright," she concedes, placing her hands on both sides of his face and making him face her directly, "But we should at least be prepared for it."

"Yes, we should."

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"I really shouldn't be here," Jung argues for the nth time, finding it hard to break the habit he formed when they left his residence in Chungju.

Riding by his side, Baek Ah chuckles sardonically before retorting.

"When did that stop you?" He says without looking at him, "We're almost there, so hang on a little more."

True to his words, a little while afterwards, his 13th brother slows his pace down, taking a side path hidden by bushes and tree branches.

"Where are we going?" Jung calls out to his brother, but doesn't get any answer, "Yah, hyungnim!"

The silence is all there is, so he decides to just keep on until they arrive wherever they are going, never mind that they are way too close to Songak and the palace.

Their destiny, Jung soon finds out, is a house. Big enough to not be labeled as a deposit, but small enough to not draw too much attention. Even though it is the only residence in the clear that opens on the side of the mountain.

"Why are we here?" he asks as he climbs down from his horse, eager to understand his brother's behavior, but failing before he even tries.

"Go in," it's all that Baek Ah says, and Jung is way too curious to not follow his command.

He walks up the short stair that raises the house just above the ground, carefully touching the handle of the door his brother indicated. He draws it open and enters the building before the wind blows out the candles spread around the room. And then dread fills his entire being when he sees the King sitting down on the other side, wearing commoner clothes, but still acting like the ruler of the nation.

"What is this?" he hisses, unable to control his anger towards his brother, "You haven't done enough? What could you possibly want with me?"

So's face is unbothered, as if he's indifferent to anything Jung says. He closes his eyes, and then opens them, completely at ease and free of worries.

"I'll ask you to forget any grudges you hold against me," he speaks in that cold, formal and distant tone that always sets Jung off, "Hae Soo needs you."

At the mention of Soo, Jung's cold anger turns into a hot wrath. His mind is filled with different possibilities of why would she need him, even though her lover was the King, and all of them have the same source, "What? You have caused misfortune to her again?"

"Sit down," the King's command resonates firmly, as he evades his question, "And listen."

"I don't want to listen to you," Jung remains standing up, stubbornly, "If you're really thinking about Soo, you should just let her go freely, and not resort to smuggling me here to ask a favor. I'm leaving."

He turns around, walking away from his brother and towards the door, marching as he muses if he should yell at Beak Ah or just jump onto his horse and go back to his house. However, before he can reach the handle, So calls him out behind.

"I'm afraid that's not an option."

Jung still doesn't return, nor does he look at him when he speaks, impertinent, "So you'll kill me too?"

"If that's what it takes to stop you from leaving," So's retort shows how easy killing someone is for him, "I'd be willing to try that."

He doesn't have his sword with him, so he decides he's going to face the King with his fists alone. Whatever punishment comes over him later will be worth it.

"Are you that confident in…" Jung walks back to the man sitting calmly at the center of the room, but before he's halfway to reach him, the side door opens, and he freezes.

"Hello, Wangjanim," Hae Soo speaks softly, smiling as she bows to greet him, "It's been a while."

Any other day, Jung would have smiled and greeted her back, or at least answered her properly. He would have given any sign that his mind is present and that his head is not about to erupt from the shock and surprise, so they could engage in some kind of conversation.

But unlike any other day, there's something different with Hae Soo this time. She looks a little tired, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Her complexion is somewhat pale, but he's sure that wasn't exactly new for her, who was always in the insides. Her clothes are not as rich and elegant as the ones she wore back in the palace when he last saw her, but that wasn't concerning.

What made Jung shock, was the clear and prominent belly she carried. An obvious sign of her condition.

"Soo-yah… You…" He tries to find his words as she walks closer, fumbling to balance the weight of the advanced stages of her pregnancy, but none come to him.

"I'm sorry for calling you here like this," Soo speaks, and he knows she's trying hard not to laugh about his reaction, "But can we talk?"

"You…" Jung's eyes are still set on her stomach.

"Yes, you're going to be an uncle soon," She chuckles, but when Jung's eyes dart to hers, dumbfounded, it turns into an apologetic smile, "Sorry for letting you know this way."

An uncle.

The words seem to lose meaning to him. He can only notice the movements around him, but can't make sense of anything.

Jung sees So helping Soo to sit down, and when he notices it, he's sitting as well, keeling down right in front of her, watching her try to accommodate her body on the small pillow on the floor.

"So-nim, please," Soo speaks looking up and his brother nods in agreement.

"I'll be waiting outside."

Jung doesn't see him leaving. He continues to watch the woman before him, and the only sign that they're alone is the sound of the door closing.

There's a moment of silence, as he tries to assimilate the sudden revelation. But she interrupts his reverie and tries to bring him back to the conversation he was having with So before she jumped in.

"You're the only one we can trust," she says, no longer smiling, but he's still trying to grasp reality.

"Where is Baek Ah-hyungnim?"

"Probably making tea? He hides in the kitchen whenever there is too much tension here."

Jung takes a deep breath, certain that leaving to the kitchen sounds like a much better option right now. But he doesn't move from his place.

"How long have you been here?"

"Two months? Maybe? I keep losing track of time." Soo's gaze is wistful and her small caress at her belly doesn't go unnoticed by him, "Things are peaceful here, unlike the palace."

For the first time in years, Hae Soo looks free. Just like he always thought she would be the second she stepped out of those cage walls. She looks more like the girl he first met at his 8th brother's residence, and he's happy.

But an irrational part of him also feels jealous, because she's been here for two months, and never even tried to contact him.

"If you wanted to leave, you could have just asked my help." He's still not telling her what his way out was. He didn't want her to feel pressured by the idea of marrying him and ended up in the palace out of sympathy for him or fear.

"I'm not leaving," she shakes her head and speaks as if she's talking about the weather, "I'll return to the palace after the baby is born."

Jung blinks at the absurdity of what she says, his voice going up again, before he can control it, "Why? Soo-yah, you hate that place, why would you go back?"

"Because I love him," Soo says simply, and it shouldn't shock him, nor surprise him, but he still winces. Even now, years later, it still hurts him to see her talking like that about his brother, and she knows it, "Sorry."

"It's alright." And it is. It hurts, but it's alright for him, "I'm just worried about you."

"As long as the baby's fine, I can't ask for anything else. That's why I asked Baek Ah-nim to bring you here," she says it all in a single breath, and it shows how desperate she is. But then Soo hesitates, and her voice falters, "I'm sorry. I keep hurting you, and yet I shamelessly keep asking favors."

Her face shows just how much Soo needs him, so Jung puts all of his sorrow aside. He ignores his antipathy towards his fourth brother, and his disapproval of her choice to return to the palace. He forgets all about the world and focuses only on her, not because of his romantic feelings, but because of who Hae Soo is.

"You're my friend, Soo-yah," he says softly, but reassuringly, "You can tell me or ask me anything."

"Very well, then," Soo takes a deep breath, her hands clenching and her fingers fidgeting, and suddenly he feels that his guard is up again, "But first, I have to tell you something else."

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Time seems to drag for Wang So, as he waits for his brother finish his conversation with Hae Soo.

He stands far enough from the room they are in so he won't eavesdrop on what they're saying, but still close enough to barge in if Hae Soo has another crisis. At least, that's what he tells himself, but the truth is that he's still jealous of Soo with his 14th brother.

He still remembers the night he spent just outside of her room, eager to kick down the door and barge in. But just like that day, he doesn't do anything. So just waits.

After what it seems like an eternity, Jung finally walks out. He pauses next to the door when he sees So standing there, and then marches up closer to him. His eyes are red and still teary, and So doesn't need to be told what he just heard, and what he has decided.

"I'm only helping because of Hae Soo," Jung's voice is shaky, but it still shows confidence, "You don't need to thank me."

"I'm still thankful," So says truthfully, "When I return we'll decide what to do."

There are pressing matters waiting for him back at the palace, so he can't stay the rest of the night and have a nice family dinner with his estranged brother. But before he can leave to his horse, Jung speaks out, making him halt in his tracks.

"I still don't support your rising to the throne."

"But that doesn't matter, does it?" So retorts, turning around slowly to face him, "If I am not king, then who will be? You? Wook? Maybe Won or Baek Ah?"

Most people would just abandon the conversation at his intimidating glare and pointedly question. But Jung was a general of 300.000 men, and he doesn't back down easily.

"The higher the position, the more you should care about justice, isn't that right?"

So scoffs, remembering when he first those words come from Hae Soo, and then when he repeated them for Jung not too long afterwards. So much has changed for them since those days, and he wonders what Soo would say now about the things that happened in the past.

Maybe if he could find an underwater kingdom, he would finally see the utopia she preached around. But for now, ever since he decided to sit in the throne, he has given up on protecting a corrupted law.

"There is no justice in this world. Only the one we create in order to judge men," he explains, but does not hope his brother understands him, "If people are suffering because of this so-called justice, shouldn't we change it with our own hands?"

His brother looks at him like he has gone mad, and So wonders if he really hasn't. If Soo's vision wasn't just a glimpse out of context, but the prophecy of a harsh, relentless and ruthless tyrant.

Then he holds on to that part of him that wants to make her proud, to make this world a better place for his child, and he's sane again.

"After the baby is born and you return to the palace, I'll go back to Chungju," Jung says pointedly, setting his position down before walking away, "I have no wish to be part of your justice."

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"I never wanted any of this to happen."

Soo's voice reach him just as he's about to climb on his horse, and he turns around to see her one last time.

"None of us did," he says, trying to reassure her worries, smiling to give her confidence, "We only wanted to sit under trees and watch over our children."

She smiles, but it slowly fades as sadness takes over her.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, reaching out to adjust his robe, using his disarranged clothes as an excuse to touch him.

"So am I," he whispers back, placing a hand over hers, "Jung is partially right, forgive me."

"Jung-nim is completely wrong, ignore him," she retorts and a tiny laugh escapes from his chest, "He's still bitter about what happened in the past. Even before what happened to your mother."

So knows what she means, as the moment his last bond with his 14th brother was severed is still clear and vivid in his mind. He can't blame Jung for that.

"It was my fault."

"I'll hit you if you say that again."

And because a pregnant Hae Soo's hits actually hurt a little, he changes the topic.

"He said he'll return to Chungju after the baby is born."

"He might, we haven't decided it yet."

"But he has to be ready. In case we follow your plan," Her insane plan, but that had a better chance of success, "He might not accept."

"He will. He just needs time."

"We all do."

So is tempted to bring her closer to his chest and ravish her lips, but he feels Jung watching them from a distance, and since he needs his brother on the best mood before Soo drops her next request to him, he settles with a soft kiss on the top of her head, and a light touch to her belly.

"I'll try to convince him not to despise you so much," she tells him after he's on the top of the horse and he scoffs.

"Don't bother."

"I love you."

"I loved you first."

"It's not a competition," she screams undignified and he can't stop teasing her.

"Of course it is."

So laughs and rides away, his heart heavy with worries and troubles.

Rito Dey
We're not at the ending yet, so don't worry. I never thought about them having twins, and that's actually really interesting. Also, sorry for taking rather long to write such a short chapter.

...

Clavel
So, you were talking about Jung? Maybe that's why he showed up? How will that be for everyone?
And yeah, SoSoo is a heartbreaker...