Chapter 17:

At the steps outside her sleeping quarters, Ha Jin sits, yawning. It is early in the morning and Ha Jin didn't sleep well. She went to bed around midnight, last night and had been dreaming of the girl who looks like her. The dream wasn't particularly scary or unpleasant. The girl is only being taught to shoot an arrow but there was something disturbing with the person who was teaching her archery though Ha Jin couldn't point it out. She still only remembers the face of the girl who looks like her and the rest of everyone's face is blurry or lost in her sub consciousness. She never thought of telling anyone her dreams but she wishes she could tell someone about it now. Maybe someone could explain why she keeps dreaming of the girl who looks like her.

Wook walks towards the ladies quarters about to check on Myung Hee and Hae Soo when he sees Hae Soo sleepily sitting in the steps.

"Hae Soo-ya, you're up early. Did you sleep well last night?" Wook asks, greeting Hae Soo.

Ha Jin stands and bows in greeting to the 8th prince, "Ah yie, an-nyeong-i chu-mu-syeoss-eo-yo (Good morning your highness)."

The two of them sits on the steps again.

"I was going to check if both of you have awaken." Wook tells Hae Soo.

"Myung Hee unnie is still asleep." Ha Jin answers.

"I see. Ah before I forget." Wook takes a small ceramic from the pockets inside the sleeves of his jeogori "As promised, I got you an ointment for the wound in your neck."

Wook hands the ceramics to Hae Soo. Ha Jin takes it and says thank you for it but instead of opening it she was more excited to inspect the ceramics rather than what's inside. She brings it closer to her eyes and turns it over and under, examining it.

Smooth and thin glaze. A little brownish? Oh this one is a Yue ware.

"You really like ceramics huh. Where did you learn about it anyway?" Wook comments as he watches her amused.

Ha Jin stills, nervous that she made a mistake again. "Keu-nyang."

She suddenly pretends to become interested at what's inside to distract Wook from asking her questions about her knowledge of ceramics. She starts untying the cloth in her neck. Wook looks away at first, feeling like he shouldn't be watching but he can see her at his side, having a hard time untying the knot. Wook turns back to her and reaches to free her hair from her coat and proceeds to helping Hae Soo untie the cloth. Ha Jin freezes, feeling her personal space crossed. She wanted to move back but the 8th prince arms is around her, there's no space to move to. With no choice, he lets Wook finish untying the cloth for her.

Ha Jin dips her hand to the ointment and pats around her neck, having difficulty in finding her wound. After a few minutes of watching Hae Soo miss her wound, frustratingly, Wook takes the ointment from Hae Soo and dips his fingers in it. He then puts the ointment at her neck, leaning in closer. The movement flusters Ha Jin. She casually moves backward, away from Wook. Wook places his left hand in between Hae Soo's neck and shoulder, preventing her from moving away. He inclines his head to get a better look of her neck. Hae Soo looks away, unconsciously baring her neck to Wook. Wook swallows, suddenly becoming aware that he is only inches from Hae Soo's skin. His heart skips as he stops breathing. He carefully pats the ointment in her neck, feeling her soft skin burns his fingers. He finishes putting the ointment and smoothly pulls back from Hae Soo's space.

"Kam-sa-hab-ni-da hwangjanim." Ha Jin ties the cloth back to her neck patting to secure it.

"Do you want to visit the apothecary of this temple. They have the best concoction of medicine here. You see they have their own garden where they grow their own plants." Wook changes topic to lift the sudden awkwardness between them.

"Kue-reol-kka-yo? (Shall we?)" Ha Jin readily answers, springing in her feet, dismissing the awkwardness between them.

Wook smiles and together they walk to the south of the courtyard where the apothecary is.

The apothecary is a 75 square meter hanok divided into two. The first room, which is the receiving room, displays hundred of dried herbs and plants in open wooden boxes neatly arranged side by side on shelves and tables. The next room is for stacking, hanging and drying of some of the plants that would be used for concoction.

"Wah!" Ha Jin marvels at the stacks of dried herbs and plants, quickly walking into the shelves to closely look at the stacks.

The place had that authentic feel of homemade herbal concoctions. The complete opposite of her lab in present times but she loved it nonetheless, finally finding a place where she feels at ease. She goes around looking and touching the boxes of dried plants.

"Do you know this dried plants and herbs?" Wook asks standing beside Hae Soo.

Ha Jin nods, "I'm glad to see familiar things for once. Do you know you can make amazing soaps from this?"

"Soap?" Wook asks baffled.

"I mean, like aroma oils used for bathing." Ha Jin quickly rights her mistake, "I'm really good at making them."

Wook nods thoughtfully, an idea forming in his head.


Yo and So arrive at the hidden monastery that the Chunju Yu clan maintains. They alight their horses to take the stairs far up leading to the small courtyard. The temple houses at least more than 20 monks skilled in fighting. Yo is nervous as to how they would get rid of everyone when there are only two of them.

So walks steadily, looking ahead. So might be his younger brother but he lets him take the lead now, trusting his brother's skill. Even though Yo was the one who gave the orders to kill his own assassins, he had never once taken an innocent life before by his own. He had experience leading a battle in a small-scale battlefield when his father sent him to learn the situations in their borders. He had killed in the battlefield but what they're going to do now is different. These monks are mere collateral damage. They are all innocent. A reluctance at the back of his head nags at him.

The two of them stand in the middle of the courtyard. So demands to talk to whoever was in charge of the place. The fallen monks gathered on all sides of the courtyard, armed, in response to So's question. So and Yo exchange looks, understanding passes in both of them. Yo drops his reluctance as the fallen monks swarm at them.

So exchanges parry with three monks all at the same time while Yo takes on two. They succeed on crushing the first round of attacks. The two of them now stands with their back at each other, calculating. Yo side-glances at So, he knew his brother is good at sword fighting but he didn't know he exceeds expectation. Both of them charge at the fallen monks, taking each side of the courtyard. Yo runs up the balcony, to gain higher ground. He takes the bow behind his back and shoots an arrow to the monks in the ground, careful to wound them only but not to kill. When he runs out of arrow, he throws his bow away and uses his sword instead. He is having a hard time defending his self since he doesn't strike to kill. As Yo becomes overwhelm by three monks, So sees him falling to the ground. He rushes to save his older brother, in time to parry back the sword slashing at Yo.

"It's a kill or be killed situation, you can no longer afford to hesitate." So takes the time to help Yo up.

Yo looks at his younger brother, getting his point. He slashes at the next monk with an intention to kill this time. Together they clear the whole temple.

By the time they get rid of everyone, the sun is high above the sky, casting a harsh sunlight in the courtyard. The two of them is soak in someone else's blood as they stand in the middle of the courtyard back to their original positions. The monk in charge of the temple finally comes out to face the two of them.

"Yo hwangjanim, what have you done? Isn't it enough that we had pledged our loyalty to your mother's clan? Why have you laid waste in a sanctified grounds of our home?" The monk ask angry but compose.

In one swift motion Yo slashes at the fallen monk, killing him at once, "Ib damul-eo-ra! (shut your mouth!)"

Like a mad man, Yo laughs and cries as he falls to his knees, crushed by the overwhelming blood in his hands.

So watches his brother, understanding how he feels at the moment. He had reacted the same way when he was first forced to kill at the battlefields that the lady consort had sent him to.

After a while, he drags his older brother out of the temple and burns it to the ground, making sure that nothing would be left of the evidence. They ride back into the forest as the seja's party arrives, missing them by an hour.


Wook and Baek-Ah rides back to the forest below the mountains of Mt. Songak, with the two ladies as their passenger. Myung Hee with Wook, Hae Soo with Baek-ah. They take a break within the borders of the town.

A herd of refugees and slaves make their exodus to the town. Baek-Ah and Hae Soo watch them as they alight their horse and find shade under a tree. Myung Hee had fallen asleep at Wook's arm so he took her well into the forest first so she wouldn't be disturbed by the noise coming from the crowd.

"Baek-Ah-ya, who are they?" Ha Jin asks in a low voice

"Them?" Baek-Ah discreetly points with a nod of his head, "They are families and people from fallen kingdoms around our border."

Ha Jin takes a minute to think about what she'd read about Goryeo during this time.

It's the year of 942 under the rule of King Taejo. Goryeo had been established by more or less 25 years now. Although there are insurgence and small scale uprising in their borders, the kingdom is quite stable. How long did this exodus of people lasted anyway?

"What happens to them now?" Ha Jin asks as they both sit under the shade of a tree.

"Hmmmm… some of them are sold to slavery while the others became servants in aristocratic families or the royal palace." Baek-Ah answers matter of factly.

"You mean, they're not free people?" Ha Jin follows-up not liking the idea of slaves even in this period.

Baek-Ah nods as he brings out his sketchpad to draw, unaware of a change in Hae Soo.

"Don't you think something is wrong with that system? It wasn't their fault that they happen to be born on the other side of the border where their rulers are not of ours." Ha Jin voices her concern.

Baek-Ah stops drawing at Hae Soo's words. He suddenly grabs Hae Soo's arm and puts a hand on her mouth.

"Hae Soo-ya, please don't ever utter those words again. You might be comfortable with me and I might allow you to say your opinions and grievances but other people will not be lenient or forgiving. Your words can be considered treason. Do you understand?" Baek-Ah explains seriously.

Ha Jin suddenly becomes nervous at Baek-Ah's seriousness. She nods, deciding to drop the matter but she hates it nonetheless. Baek-Ah takes out his hands from Hae Soo's mouth and gives her a rice cake to snack on instead. Baek-Ah starts drawing again while Hae Soo watches the people pass them by.

As Baek-Ah completes a page, Ha Jin takes a look at his drawing, "Oh! Baek-Ah-ya you're really good at this. Wah, daebak!"

A smirk escapes Baek-Ah's lips as he continues to draw. A few kids from the walking crowd approach them to take a peak at what they're doing. The kids sit in front of them and watch. Ha Jin takes her rice cake to give it to the kids but one of the kids had taken the food and run away with it. Ha Jin goes after the kid, thinking of reprimanding him while Baek-Ah stays seated, laughing amused.

From nowhere, a hand grabs Baek-Ah's sketchpad and tears the pages of his drawing. It's a lady dressed in a peasant clothes.

"Ya!" Baek-Ah calls at the girl, reluctant to grab his sketchpad back.

"Isn't it enough that we were forced out of our homes to become your people and now we are being subjects to your lowly art. How rude of you." The unknown lady angrily tore at Baek-ah's drawings. "We are not pigs that you can just use as your subject!"

Baek-Ah is at a loss for words. He doesn't know what's wrong with the lady. He was just drawing quietly in his seat.

The lady walks away as Ha Jin comes back, drawn by the shouting.

"Mu-seun ir-i-e-yo? (What's wrong?)" Ha Jin asks as she looks at the lady passing over.

"Keu-nyang, some crazy lady taught ill of what I'm doing." Baek-Ah picks up his sketchpad that the lady had just discarded.

"What's wrong with art?! It's not like I'm forcibly taking anything away from you. It's just drawings!" Baek-Ah shouts to the lady who managed to walk far away for such a short time.

Ha Jin laughs at Baek-Ah's irritation, finding Baek-Ah like a kid, thwarted to get his own fill of candy.

"Ay Wae?!" Baek-Ah asks Hae Soo irritated. "She tore my drawings."

"Keu-nyang. Ka-ja. (Nothing, let's go.)" Ha Jin pulls Baek-Ah by the sleeves preventing him from starting an argument with the girl. "You can just draw again. Leave her be."

The four of them arrives at Myung Hee's household around dinnertime. Jung and Eun are waiting for them at the main gate, missing Hae Soo already. They had planned to have dinner with the four.

Wook carries a sleeping Myung Hee to her quarters while Baek-Ah shakes Hae Soo awake.

"Did you have a good rest at the temple, Hae Soo-ya?" Eun asks as Jung helps Baek-Ah put a sleepy Hae Soo down the horse.

Jung catches Hae Soo as she stumbles to the ground, walking groggily. She shakes her head holding on to Jung until she finally wakes. Baek-Ah puts his arms around Eun's neck jokingly choking him. He manages to take Eun with him, leaving Hae Soo and Jung walking discreetly together behind them.


Queen Yoo is getting ready to sleep in her quarters when So and Yo arrives at her room. So is supporting Yo, still not lucid. Yo stumbles in front of their mother's bed, mad.

"Eomonim, did you know what me and my little brother did for you?" Yo asks like a drunken man, laughing maniacally. "We killed everyone in that temple for you."

Queen Yoo hurries to his eldest son putting her arms around him. So feels a pang of jealousy as he sees his mother cares for Yo.

"What have you done to your brother?" Queen Yoo glances back at So full of hatred.

So wasn't prepared to see the loathing in his mother's eyes. He doesn't understand why his mother is angry at him when all he did was help his older brother get rid of the evidences that she and his son had planned.

"Eomeonim" So calls at his mother, desperate to hear her approval.

"Did you think I'd commend you for what you did. Look what you've done to your brother!" Queen Yoo shouts at her 3rd son. Her every word, a crushing blow to So.

"I've only helped Yo hyungnim get rid of all the evidence that will lead back to you." So falls to his knees, unable to hold up against the misery that is crashing him.

He had firmly believed Hae Soo's words about what a mother should be. So is shocked to find that his birth mother is turning up to be truly the opposite of what Hae Soo had argued with him.

"And look at what have become of your brother! How can you do this to him? You're like a wild animal, untamable and no manners." Queen Yoo tightens her arms around a laughing crying Yo, worried.

"Eomonim, can't you at least acknowledge me just once?" So asks as a thick lump starts forming in his throat. His despair is starting to show in his lonely eyes.

"When I was adopted by the Kangs at Shinju, I was hoping I would only be there for a few months. I kept believing that somehow you still longed for me and that you just couldn't find a way to get me back yet so I'm still there. Everyday I've waited. days, weeks, months, years and all I've ever wanted to hear from you is to ask me if I'm alright." So couldn't stop the tears falling. "I am your son too, eomonim."

"Eomonim, eomonim, eomonim. A mother can only acknowledge a son that brings honor and glory to her. You are not mine, not anymore. You are a Kang of Shinju." Queen Yoo disowns So out rightly.

So's expectation plummets to the ground. He couldn't believe what he had just heard from his mother. He doesn't understand why his mother couldn't take him back. He did everything for her.

"Is't because of the scar?!" So asks, his anger mixing with his desperation.

"You are a reminder of my shame, disgrace and flaw that's why I've sent you away." Queen Yoo strokes Yo's head now resting on her lap. "Thanks to you I 've felt a sense of love and justice. Kue-re I'll thank you for that."

So's heart breaks at his mother's dismissal of him. He looks at his older brother who had quieted at his mother's touch. He had long to be cared for like that too but his dream of coming back to his family had been easily crashed by his own mother. He stills in his knees, composing his self.

"Eomonim, today is the day you will remember, you threw me away. However, I will not leave. From now on, you will only have to look at me." So stands, as a few tears course down his cheeks. He turns his back and leaves.


The bright full moon illuminates the whole courtyard as Ha Jin walks, arranging her white coat over her five layers of white sokgot (undergarments) keeping herself warm. She had fallen asleep on the ride back from the mountains a while ago so now she couldn't sleep anymore. She had wondered around Myung Hee's quarters checking on her but she is asleep already, tired from the trip. As she turns the corner of So's quarter she saw someone standing in the middle surrounded by the stone prayer towers. She stops to watch. It's the 4th prince, in all black hanbok that looks like it was soak on a darker liquid, standing with his back to Ha Jin.

Hmm is he praying?

So pushes the stone tower, destroying it. He takes the candle and throws it away, releasing his anger at those little innocent towers that mothers assemble for their children.

Yaiish this kid! What's wrong with him now?

Ha Jin saunters towards the 4th prince intending to tell him off, failing to see that So is drowning in fits of anger and misery at the moment. As So, attacks another tower, Ha Jin puts her short arms around him, pulling him back.

"Ku-man-hae hwangjanim! (Stop your highness, stop.) Why are you doing this?" Ha Jin pulls at So.

So stills for a moment surprised to see Hae Soo out of nowhere. He shrugs Hae Soo away and turns to look at her. Ha Jin is about to tell So off when she finally notices that something is wrong with the 4th prince. Anger, madness and desperation dance in his eyes. His whole bloody demeanor looks scary but defeated. Ha Jin instinctively takes a step back but that's a mistake. So grabs at the collar of her coat, stopping her from moving away.

"You lied to me!" So shouts at her pertaining to their conversation about what mothers should be. His anger misdirected at Hae Soo.

"About what?" Ha Jin holds on to So's arm that has grabbed the collar of her coat, confused.

"Look at this towers, they come here to pray for their children." So roughly directs Hae Soo to look at the towers, "She should come to me and ask for forgiveness! I did everything for her!"

Ha Jin doesn't want to panic but the 4th prince is being scary at the moment. She had seen him lose control before but it was never directed to her. She shuts her eyes and calms herself.

So pulls Hae Soo closer to him, her face only inches to him. "Are you scared of me now. Are you going to run away from me too?"

Ha Jin opens her eyes at the reminder of her promise the other night. She looks at So straight in the eye and calmly say "A-ni-yo, I'm not scared of you."

Ha Jin is only giving the correct answer to So because the situation is calling for it. If she's honest enough, some part of her is scared of the dangerous side of the 4th prince but she stands her ground anyway and decides to keep her promise, finally recognizing that the promise she made in haste is actually real to So. "I will never run away from you, so please stop."

The confirmation of her promise momentarily sobers So. He releases Hae Soo and pushes her away, afraid that he had hurt her.

"Ka-gu-ra, oe-seo! (Leave, now!)" So tells her to leave yet badly wants her to stay. "Ka-ra-go! (I said leave!)"

Exhausted, physically and emotionally, So falls to his knees unable to hold-up against the crashing misery.

Ha Jin looks at the 4th prince on his knees. She doesn't know what's he going through but everyone needs someone to stay with them when everything gets tough.

She steps closer to So, a few inches away from him. She tentatively touches his hair, drawing him to her. So freezes at Hae Soo's warm touch, the touch that he had been seeking lately. He looks up at her as she gently strokes his hair.

"I will never leave you so you can tell me anything and I will listen." Ha Jin gives the 4th prince a soft smile, looking straight at his eyes, making another dangerous promise.

So leans his head at Hae Soo's touch, melting in it. He lets his tears flow freely in front of her, laying his vulnerability at her feet. Ha Jin softly wipes the tears on So's cheeks over and over, like a mother caring for her kid. So then rest his forehead on Hae Soo's stomach, soaking in her warmth.

"Are you alright, are you hurt anywhere?" Ha Jin asks, addressing the blood all over So, worried.

So puts his arms around Hae Soo's waist, pulling her, closing the space between her warm body and his cold form. He hides his face on her stomach, snuggling closer.

"I killed people today." So confesses as he holds on to Hae Soo.

"These were the blood of the people I killed today." So follows-up, trying to sense if Hae Soo would be shocked. Ha Jin tries hard not to fidget, nervous of offending So.

"Why did you kill them." Ha Jin continuously brush So's hair with her left hand while her right arm encircles at So's back, holding him.

"Because I had too." So answers scared that Hae Soo might run anytime. He tightens his arms around her, desperate for her to not leave.

"Alright." Ha Jin answers feeling So's anxious hold on her. Her right hand, holds on to him, assuring him that she would never leave no matter what he tells her.

Ha Jin knows that the act of killing is morally wrong in any given period, whether it's the present or in this past but the line drawn that defines what is wrong and what is right becomes blurred depending to the intentions behind it. Right now, it's easier for Ha Jin to accept So's transgression because he looked defeated, down on his knees, crashed by the heavy weight of his conscience but what she fails to see is that So isn't being crashed by his guilty conscience. So cries for the love of his mother that he will never have.

So positions his head so his right cheek rests on Ha Jin's stomach, content with Hae Soo's tender touch. Ha Jin arranges her coat so it would enclose So, surrounding him with her warmth. Her scent, a comforting reminder of a promise made, protecting and hiding him from the world.

Under the watchful light of full moon, So's dark defeated demeanor finds comfort on Hae Soo's white maternal form. He lets Hae Soo's care wash over him as Ha Jin waits for him to be all right.

Pretty soon as the night deepens, a cold flake drops at Ha Jin's cheek. She looks up to see the first snow falling. Ha Jin smiles wide.

"Wah! So-ya, it's the first snow." Ha Jin tells So, dropping honorifics. She then raises her left hand to catch a flake.


In the morning, the princes and yeonhwa, gathers at the sarangchae to have a late branch. Yeonhwa has called for Hae Soo to help serve tea in the room. Heedless as to why she has to serve tea when she's also a lady of the household but she goes in anyway because Yeonhwa had commanded it.

Wook and Won sits at their usual place at the end of the table while Baek-Ah, Jung and Eun stands on their window. Yo is missing, sick since last night. Yeonhwa stands in the middle of Wook and Won.

Ha Jin enters and greets everyone with a bow. She holds a tray with a teapot and a few cups in it. Jung takes three cups from Hae Soo's tray to give it to Eun and Baek-Ah.

So comes in at that moment bowing to everyone in greetings. Ha Jin turns around to smile at So but So completely ignored her again.

Wah, why does he keep doing that? Last night, he was holding on to me like he's whole life depended on me and now he's ignoring me again.

I can't believe him!

Annoyed, Ha Jin turns back to Baek-Ah, Eun and Jung continuing serving tea for them.

So sits a space from Won while Yeonhwa leaves Wook and Won to sit beside So.

"Orebeonim, where have you been for the last two days? It seemed like you didn't come home the other night." Yeonhwa asks curios as to why she hasn't seen So for a while.

"I took care of some business." So answers curtly, folding his hands over the table.

"Hae Soo-ya, what are you going to study? Do you want to learn archery? Perhaps swimming? I can teach you how." Eun volunteers as Hae Soo pours tea for him.

So watches Eun's group while Yeonhwa converses with him. Wook listens in the background as Won talks to him.

"Eii Eun hwangja, where would we teach her to swim? It's too cold to dip in the lake. It snowed last night." Baek-Ah points out.

"At the Damiwon. The pool there is big and the water flows from the hot spring, so its warm enough." Eun answers.

"Kue-re! At the Damiwon. We'll give you access in it." Jung agrees looking at Hae Soo.

Ha Jin nods thoughtfully, thinking about it.

"When do you want to start?" Eun excitedly steps closer to Hae Soo, entering her personal space.

Jung puts his hand on Eun's chest while Baek-Ah puts his on Eun's forehead. Together, they playfully push him away from Hae Soo.

"You're too close to the lady." Baek-Ah jokingly admonishes Eun but was serious at keeping watch over Hae Soo. "Hae Soo-ya, you ask for your Myung Hee unnie's approval first."

Ha Jin steps back laughing at the playfulness of the three prince, "Yie, al-gess-eub-ni-da! (I got it!)

She turns away, unaware at the seriousness of Baek-Ah and Jung. She serves tea next to Wook and Won, greeting them.

"When are you going to join us in our study at the palace?" Won asks smiling at Hae Soo.

"Ah, she's not joining us in the palace any time soon. Myung Hee and I had agreed to let her relearn cheongjamun (thousand character classic) under me first before letting her move to advance studies." Wook answers for Hae Soo.

"Ei cheongmal? (seriously?) I was looking forward to seeing a new face in our class." Won acts disappointed.

"Wae? Have you gone tired of seeing us already?" Yeonhwa turns to her brother.

"A-ni-yo, I would never get tired of seeing you my dear little sister." Won answers Yeonhwa placating her. He then turns to look at his brothers "But them, it's too tiring to even see them on everyday basis."

"Ya hyungnim!" Eun calls at Won, laughing with Baek-Ah and Jung.

"I'm sorry that our faces are not to your liking Won-ah" Wook engages Won's joke. "Shall we ask our father to send you away?"

"A-nim-ni-da hyungnim. Choe-song-hab-ni-da. I very much enjoy your company." Won answers nervously. "Please don't do that, we can't have my wives alone in my household."

"A-ra-seo, a-ra-seo. (Alright, alright)" Wook answers smiling. "I was only playing around."

Yeonhwa turns to So again, continuing their conversation. Ha Jin walks to Yeonhwa next, looking at So.

"Oreabonim, what happened to your hand?" Yeonhwa asks noticing So's swollen knuckles.

So takes his hands from the table but Yeonhwa takes it in hers instead and looks at it closely. Ha Jin doesn't miss this. She doesn't know why she's annoyed but she's irritated all the same. She puts one of the teacups beside Yeonhwa, pounding it hard against the table, making Yeonhwa jump.

"Hae Soo ssi, can't you do this one task correctly? You don't need to be literate to serve a tea." Yeonhwa reprimands Hae Soo still holding So's hand.

Ha Jin can only see red as she looks at Yeonhwa holding So's hand. So takes his hand from Yeonhwa uncomfortable with her touch.

"Leave the teapot in the table then go." So dismisses Hae Soo, not wanting to hear Hae Soo and Yeonhwa have a go at each other again.

Jinjja?! (Seriously?!)

Ha Jin can't believe So had just dismiss her. She takes a deep breath and bows in greeting to him and Yeonhwa. Ha Jin walks away with a straight face but is quite angry in the inside.

Everyone watches as Hae Soo leaves then turns their attention to So, wondering what his problem with Hae Soo is.

A messenger in the palace comes in and asks for the 4th and the 8th prince to enter the palace. So and Wooks stand to leave at once.


Inside the Hoegyong Hall (throne room) Wook, Yo, So and Mu stands in front of the king. Queen Yoo stands nearest to King Taejo's left while Ji Mong stands a stair below her. Tension abound in the atmosphere.

So side-glances at Yo, seeming to be back on his normal self.

"We found the temple where the assassins had been housed but when we reached the place, every last monk were dead and the whole place is burning to the ground. There are no more leads after that but," Mu reports but stops at the middle of it, reluctant to share the next information they found.

He and Ji Mong knew that the next piece of information would incriminate the queen. Mu doesn't care about the queen but he's worried how it would affect his 4th brother.

"The temple that houses the assassin is owned by Queen Yoo." So finishes the sentence for Mu.

Queen Yoo looks at So, anngry, wondering if she had made a mistake in throwing her 3rd son away. "Are you saying that I have planned to kill the seja?"

"Anyone would assume so," So answers looking at his mother.

"Sung-go-hab-ni-da pyeha, (Forgive me your majesty) It is not Queen Yoo but I who is the benefactor of that temple. I wasn't aware that the temple houses such lowly people. It is not the queen's fault but mine." Yo throws himself in front of the king taking the blame.

Though he seems to not be lucid last night while So and their mother was having an argument, Yo was following every word they had exchanged. He had seen how cruel their mother is. He would never want to be discarded like his younger brother. He takes the blame now, hoping that their mother would see his loyalty behind it.

"A-nim-ni-da pyeha, if a son made a mistake then the mother should take the blame." Queen Yoo exasperatingly takes the fall to protect his eldest son.

"It is I, pyeha, who have done the killing and burning at the temple. I was afraid that the queen might be wrongfully accused, should it ever be known that she's the benefactor of the temple." So takes the lead from his mother, protecting Yo.

Even when his mother had chosen to throw him away, So still remembers to keep his promise with Yo of helping him clean this mess.

Ji Mong makes an eye contact with Mu, anxious that the king might punish So. This is what they were afraid of that So might take the blame if they ever find an evidence that would incriminate his birth mother. He and Ji Mong had already foreseen this but So wouldn't accept any help from them. They could only stand still and watch now.

"Pyeha, the assassins live in the temple that the queen owns. They've impersonated princes and killed the assassins that night. This is most definitely a trick to make the royal family turn on each other." Wook kneels beside Yo.

Wook carefully words his sentence trying to save his 4th brother. He is confused of what's happening but he definitely won't let his 4th brother get casted out again for a mistake, he's sure the queen did behind his back. Living with So in the east palace before and now having him in his household, Wook, like Yeonhwa, had come to understand his 4th brother's coldness as just a façade to hide his longing to be part of his family again.

"Just as Wook had said, I was afraid that mother might be framed so I did a hasty decision. Forgive my poor judgment pyeha." So kneels beside Wook.

King Taejo observes his 4th son. He already had this talked with the seja and his astronomer-advisor. This was a test to see with whom does So's loyalty lies and his 4th son had just failed it.


At the balcony at of the sky tower, So is quietly observing the palace grounds. He watches everything on the courtyard, memorizing it. This might be his last few days here so he might as well fill his heart with the sight. Ji Mong is sitting at the table watching the 4th prince, worried with what would happen to him now.

"I understand that you wanted to win the love of your mother but did it really have to be at the expense of the king's given trust on you?" Ji Mong walks to stand beside So.

"It's already done." So answers, thrifty with his words.

"Kue-re, we can only wait now. Kuen-de hwangjanim, could you at least trust me and your brother, Mu? We are only looking-out for you but we can't help you if you alway keep secrets from us." Ji Mong explains, frustrated to reach So.

So refuses to answer, seeing no point in it. His brain wanders at his memories of last night instead; Hae Soo holding him, conscious for once.

"Are you also trying to look-out for Hae Soo too?" So glances at Ji Mong, "Is that why you're denying you know her?"

Ji Mong freezes at the mention of his little queen.

What does he know about her? Did he find out anything?

"Of course I know her. Everyone knows about the girl who drowned twice and came back to life." Ji Mong dismisses it but So has other ideas in his mind.

After Hae Soo had taken care of him last night, he had resolved to protect the girl from now on. If his mother had discarded him, well then he would freely give his life to this girl who have accepted him with no judgment. Another reason as to why he doesn't want to leave the palace now.

He advances at Ji Mong, intent to get answers as to how Ji Mong seemed to know the girl.

"You know her more than that." So tells Ji Mong in a dangerous tone.

Ji Mong steps back from So, sensing the possessiveness in him.

"I know her just like anyone else..."

So doesn't let Ji Mong finish. He pushes him in the wall and puts his right arm at Ji Mong's neck, trapping him. "Geo-jit-mal! (You're lying!)"

Mu arrives at the top of the stairs hurrying. Drawn by the shouting from So.

"I've never been outside of the palace." Ji Mong is nervous now.

No once can know that Hae Soo isn't really Hae Soo. His little queen would be in danger. Yes this is So, his little queen's prince but he doesn't know if he can trust him at the moment.

"Ku-man So-ya. Ku-man-hae-ra! (Stop it So!)" Mu runs to pull So from Ji Mong, confused as to why So is at Ji Mong's throat, ready to tear it. " Ku-man! Myeong-ryeon-eub-ni-da. (By royal mandate, I command you to stop)

So stills at the seja's order. He takes himself out from Mu's grasp and straightens his jeogori.

"Please believe… that… I am only… looking after you…." Ji Mong massages his neck as he tries to assure So of his intentions.

"Then tell me how you know her." So repeats.

Mu looks from So to Ji Mong, "What is this all about?"

"It's nothing, our 4th prince here must have been worried about the girl." Ji Mong answers covering for So. He tries to wrap their conversation now that the seja had gotten involved too.

"What girl? Hae Soo?" Mu asks "What about her?"

"Ji Mong is lying about not knowing Hae Soo." So answers not taking his eyes from Ji Mong.

"Why do you keep saying that? I told you I know her like everyone else knows her. She is your 8th brother's wife's cousin. Three years younger than Myung Hee Ssi. She drowned twice in a month. She doesn't remember her life after she had woken up from her first drowning." Ji Mong lists the general things people know about Hae Soo to convince So.

This is what he likes and hates about So, his one track brain. Once he puts his mind into something, there's no stopping him.

This is also what's going to kill us all in the future. Your's and my little queen's stubbornness.

"Do you remember what Hae Soo said about where she met you?" So asks.

"I've never been outside of Songak let alone in a quarry, where would I meet her?" Ji Mong answers defensively.

"Kue-re, Ji Mong had never left Songak for the last one year." Mu testifies, thinking about this past year, sure that Ji Mong had always been beside him or the king.

"Hae Soo never said anything about a quarry." So points out what's wrong with Ji Mong's sentence. "She said it's a picnic place near the water but you kept insisting you've never met her in a quarry."

Ji Mong and Mu recalls Hae Soo's sentence, there really was no "quarry" in it. He tries not to fidget finally understanding what's wrong with his statement.

"So-ya it's just a play of word. Calm down." Mu tries to appease So. "Why are you so work-up about it? Ji Mong never left the palace ever since he became an advisor to our father. I can attest to that."

"Ah my apologies for the word I use, hwangjanim," Ji Mong tensely laugh trying to dismiss So's on point observation with his connection to Hae Soo, "It is my fault that I have confused you. Please be assured that I've never met the girl other than the two times I was with you and the seja."

"And the cocoa drink you kept giving to her? How do you know she would like it?" So asks starting to waver but not convince.

"Ah, every lady likes that drink, even my wife does." Mu answers for Ji Mong recalling the time that Ji Mong had prepared two concoctions of that drink. One was given to Hae Soo, the other one was for his wife.

Ji Mong straitens his jeogori and dusts the hems of it. He then poses seeming like in deep thought, "You see I'm not just an astronomer but I'm also a love guru."

Ji Mong dares to play a joke, leading their conversation to a lighter one. Mu strains not to laugh but fails, finding Ji Mong's joke ridiculous. So looks at Ji Mong one last time and walks away.

"Ay wae! I'm really a love guru. I can tell you what the girl likes." Ji Mong follows So, walking beside him. He takes a peak at So, playfully raising his eyebrows. "So are we pursuing the girl now?"

So looks at Ji Mong scarily. "Keo-jjeo! (get lost!)"

He shrugs Ji Mong away walking down the stairs. Ji Mong continues to tease him as he leaves.

After So was gone, Ji Mong and Mu stand back in the balcony, seriously watching the 4th prince cross the courtyard.

"We can't let him be sent back to Shinju." Ji Mong tells Mu.

"It won't be easy to convince my father." Mu answers, looking far away.


Under the fear of having to leave again, casted away by his own mother and now a possibility of being separated by the one person he doesn't want to be parted from, So comes home to his 8th brother's household feeling despair. He walks mechanically, putting one foot forward one at a time, lost in thoughts.

He sees Hae Soo seemingly sitting alone in the balustrade of the pavilion looking attentively at something. He stops to watch her, taking a few minutes before he decides to approach her. A few steps near the pavilion and he suddenly hears Hae Soo burst into laughter as Eun stands from the ground, mimicking something a while ago. It turns out she wasn't alone. Baek-Ah is standing beside her, hidden in view by a post while Jung is sitting in the floor beside Hae Soo's dangling feet.

So stops as Hae Soo glances his way. Ha Jin looks at him for a second and went back watching Eun again. She was surprised to see the 4th prince there but is pretending she didn't see him, still angry at him for his cold dismissal of her this morning. So walks pass the pavilion, looking grave.

"Ya! Hae Soo-ya, you're not listening." Eun calls at Hae Soo.

"A-ni-yo, duet-go iss-eo-yo (Of course, I'm listening.) Please continue" Ha Jin covers her inattentiveness with a smile.

"...and I can drink better than any of my brothers." Eun continues boasting about his drinking habits.

Baek-Ah and Jung laughs loud at Eun's preposterous claim.

Baek-ah whispers at Hae Soo's ear. "He passes out after 3 bowls of makgeolli."

"Ya! I'm telling you I am." Eun insists, "Baek-ah-ya stop whispering at the lady's ear."

"A-ra-seo, A-ra-seo (alright. Alright)" Baek-Ah answers still laughing.

"How about we have a drink then, I'm pretty sure I can best you in it." Ha Jin answers making a mistake.

The three princes look at Hae Soo surprised.

"Wae-yo? (Why?) Have you never seen a girl drink? No one survives college without learning how to drink?" Ha Jin slips again.

"Hae Soo-ya, what college?" Eun asks baffled.

Ha Jin stills in her seat, "I mean school… no one survives… a school without learning how to… drink."

Her voice grows quieter as she explains.

"Did you go to school in you hometown?" Jung asks curious.

Ha Jin nervously laughs, "Gi-eok-i an na-yo. (I don't remember). I just hear it around."

Baek-Ah looks at Hae Soo, a crease forming in his forehead. After learning that Hae Soo doesn't have any recollection of her life, her sudden outbursts of specific knowledge is a puzzle to Baek-Ah. He wonders if she really is similar to Ji Mong like what his 3rd brother had pointed out in their dinner last week.

"Kue-re, I'm sure you've had a taste of liquor before. Every one does at your age. I was 14, when I learned how to drink." Eun nods thoughtfully. "Kue-reom, sul han-jan hal-kka-yo? (Shall we have a drink then?)"

"Dang-yeong-ha-ji! (Of course we should!)" Ha Jin answers, missing the burning feel of soju on her throat.

"Yaiish jin-jja! (seriously?!)" Baek-Ah pinches Hae Soo's cheek annoyed, "No proper lady would readily accepts a drinking invitation from a boy!"

"Ahhhhh! A-pwa, a-pwa (it's painful)" Ha Jin tries to shake Baek-Ah's hand off her cheeks.

Ha Jin looks at Baek-ah with resentment like a kid.

"Eoh?! You stop looking at me like that! Lower your gaze!" Baek-Ah reprimands Hae Soo.

Jung laughs at how Baek-Ah and Hae Soo fight, resembling siblings, "Kuen-de hyungnim, let her go. You'll be there anyway. You'll make sure she goes home."

"Ne, Baek-Ah-ya, let the lady be. We'll go at her convenience." Eun assures Baek-Ah.

"Ya! you better not leave this house without taking me with you or Myung Hee would kill us both." Baek-Ah tells Hae Soo, his annoyance still at peak.

"A-ra-seo! A-ra-seo!" Ha Jin answers, making face at Baek-ah.

From the entrance of the pavilion, Chae Ryung bows, greeting the four.

"Agassi, lady Myung Hee is asking for you at her quarters." Chae Ryung informs Hae Soo.

Ha Jin springs from the balustrade and bows to the three princes, saying her goodbye.


The dusk settles over Damiwon as the court ladies light lanterns around the place. Ji Mong takes his time to reach the entrance, walking with a purpose. A gungnyeo (court lady) greets him as he steps inside, looking for the one person who can help him. He was directed to the Sanggung's private office, the room at the end of the corridor underneath the second floor balcony.

Lady Oh Soo-Yeon, upper 5th rank gungyeo and a royal concubine to King Taejo, is just about to leave for the king's nightly ceremonial tea when a gungyeo announces Ji Mong's presence at the door. She puts down her coat at the table and goes back to sit at her chair behind a simple desk.

Ji Mong smiles widely as he enters, hiding his uneasiness. He bows to give his greetings to the lady in charge.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of my nephew's visit?" Lady Oh Soo-Yeon greets Ji Mong as she directs him to a sit in front of her desk.

She doesn't know if she's going to be annoyed or happy to see her one and only nephew but she greets him nonetheless.

Her older sister died of illness 18 years ago and had left her only son to her care. Ji Mong became her own son after that, taking him inside the palace and had him educated along side the princes. Ji Mong was only 10 then, a kid too insightful for his own good. By the age of 20, with his incredible intelligence and uncanny skills to predict the future, he had risen to a rank of king's advisor. She seldom saw him after that. He is always running around, busy with something. In the few times he had visited her, it was about asking her for help. She had even come to associate him with the bearer of bad news because every time Ji Mong calls upon her, it usually spells trouble but she loves him anyway, as much as a mother will for her own kid.

She looks at him now, wondering what brought him here again.

"How's my favorite aunt?" Ji Mong starts, greeting her cheerfully.

"I'm your only aunt. What do you need this time?" Lady Oh asks directly, picking 'amused annoyance' as her mood for her nephew.

"Quite direct, my dear aunt. Can't I visit you because I miss you?" Ji Mong jokes around hoping his aunt is in a good mood.

It's not that Ji Mong forgets to visit his aunt. He was just busy with surviving and re-writing the course of this lifetime and is embarrassed that he can only gift her with worry, every time he sees her.

"Your presence usually means trouble in our beloved palace. What have you gotten yourself in to this time?" Lady Oh asks feeling her stomach cramps, a sign of stress.

"Do-wa-ju-se-yo, je-bal (please help me) I wouldn't ask, if I…" Ji Mong answers directly now, anxiety creasing his forehead.

"…If you could have found another way, yes my nephew, what is it you need this time?" Lady Oh finishes Ji Mong's sentence for him.

Ji Mong looks at Lady Oh, taking a few seconds to word his sentence. His aunt had always been perceptive and understanding, believing in him when everyone else thinks he's a mad boy.

"Can you please help us convince the king to not send his 4th son away again?" Ji Mong asks Lady Oh, his voice tinge with a little desperation.

Lady Oh have heard of the latest developments in the palace concerning Queen Yoo and hers sons. She was not surprise to hear that Queen Yoo was the one behind the seja's assassination.

"The king is of no fool, he knows his 3rd and 4th son is only taking the fall for their mother." Lady Oh answers.

"That's the problem, it was a test to see where his 4th son's loyalty lies." Ji Mong argues.

"And he failed, of course he will. The boy is eager to please the mother who had thrown him away, any son would do the same." Lady Oh feels bad for the 4th prince. She might have hated the queen dowager but she envies her for having children like them.

"I don't know why you want the 4th prince to stay but if you truly care for that boy, you wouldn't let him enter the palace. No one enters this place and leaves." Lady Oh warns her nephew.

"It is his place to be here." Ji Mong answers with conviction, "Please help me make him stay."

Lady Oh looks at her nephew, Ji Mong had always been strange as a kid but his predictions were never wrong. She wants to trust him but her instinct tells her that her nephew is playing a dangerous game in the palace, where he might find his self and everyone involve, six feet under the ground.

She touches her stomach, massaging it. Ji Mong notices it.

"Ah, I brought you a medication for your stomach cramps." Ji mong takes out something from the pockets inside the sleeves of his jeogeori. "Please don't forget to see a doctor afterwards. This is only meant to relieve you of the pain."

With everything that has been going on in the palace, Ji Mong had forgotten to look after his own aunt, feeling the worst for neglecting her.

Lady Oh takes a look at the small pouch of medication in front of her, making-up her mind. "I'll see what I can do but I can not promise you anything."

"That's alright my dear aunt, whatever you can think of is fine." Ji Mong gives his aunt a genuine smile.

"Ji Mong-ah, please be careful. I don't know what or why you're doing this things but let's not have you end with a noose tied in your neck, alright." Lady Oh reaches to Ji Mong's hand on her table.

Ji Mong looks at his aunt, ashamed for knowing how this lifetime would end for her. He couldn't stop her from entering the palace nor can he change everyone's fate but now that the girl had managed to affect everyone's actions and thrown the loop into disarray, he begins to hope that maybe he can change a few of their fate, if not everyone.

"I'll be sure to hid your words, my dear aunt. Kam-sa-hab-ni-da." Ji Mong stands up, "well then, I won't be keeping you long. The king is waiting for your company."

He bows to greet her and takes a look at her one last time before he turns to leave.

"And the girl, is she alright?" Lady Oh calls at Ji Mong as he nears the door.

She never misses anything that happens inside her Damiwon.

Ji Mong stops in his tracks and answers without looking back to his aunt, "She'll be fine. Everyone is looking after her for now."

Lady Oh observes her nephew as he leaves, uneasy of what he's turning into.


Editor's note:

So is beginning to be possessive of Hae Soo and Ha Jin still doesn't understand how dangerous it is to give away promises that easily.

I also don't like Yeonhwa and So married. I'm sure our Ji Mong here doesn't like it too. I'll kill him if he doesn't do anything about it. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ