(Gyeongchun Palace, Songak)

~Yo's POV~

Today was going to be a long day for me. I had to meet with my father the King in the morning, and after that have lunch with my mother the Queen. In the afternoon, we'd have our final rehearsal for our dance performance at the exorcism ritual. Mother and I had planned something additional, but of course it couldn't be rehearsed. Then I'd have dinner with my Uncle Shikryeom, and at night I had to get work done. I really needed a nutritious breakfast to give me enough energy to get through the day, especially since I didn't get much sleep these days. I would never utter a single word of complaint though. I could cope with this workload. When the time would come for me to be King, I'd be even busier. This right now was nothing.

By the time I'd finished my breakfast and was about to leave for Cheondeok Hall, my son Woongdo had only just got up from bed. He was still sleepy, but once he saw me, he let go of his mother's hand and ran to me.

"Appa!" He called out loudly. I smiled and crouched to pick him up. I could spare a minute for him in spite of my packed schedule.

"Woongdo, be good. Say goodbye to your appa," said Moongong sternly to our son. My lady wife was trying her best to be a good mother to our kids. I might not say it aloud, but I knew that she was doing her best, and I appreciated that, but I didn't make it a priority to show her my gratitude. These days I felt that she just wanted to keep her distance from me anyway. If space was what she needed...the least I could do was give her that.

Woongdo, however, didn't think he needed to say goodbye. "Appa, play," he tugged at my sleeve.

I sighed. It wasn't that I didn't want to play with him. I really couldn't make time for that.

"Woongdo-ya, your appa is busy. But Appa will play with you when he gets home tonight, isn't that right?" Moongong said as she petted our little son's head softly, glancing at me.

"I'm sorry. I won't be home tonight," I said curtly.

Moongong didn't give me any response, but a lack of response, in and of itself, is already a response. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was disappointed.

Although she didn't say anything in reply, she placed the back of her hand on my forehead, which made me frown but I didn't flinch nor I would tell her to back off.

"I don't have a fever," I insisted.

"I'm just checking," she stated plainly. "Your Highness wasn't feeling well yesterday."

It was true that I wasn't feeling my best yesterday, but Moongong didn't know why, so naturally she thought I was sick. In truth, it was because I didn't know what was to become of me and Hyeong now that she was betrothed to Jung. Actually, it didn't matter that it was Jung, only that she was betrothed to another. I thought she and I could have been something more, because if she weren't interested in me, why would she flirt with me? Why would she allow me to tease her?

I only needed one arm to carry Woongdo so I used my free hand to grab Moongong's. She made a half-hearted attempt to withdraw her hand from my grasp but didn't verbally protest. This meant that she wasn't eager to have physical contact with me, but it didn't repel her. I looked her in the eye and said, "you still care about me, don't you?"

"No, Your Highness. I just don't want you to pass it on to our son in case you really are ill," she explained monotonously.

Oh, well. I handed Woongdo over to Moongong, but not before tapping his nose to make him giggle and saying to him, "appa has to go to work. You're the man of the house now. Be good to your eomeoni. Don't bully Younggi," I instructed seriously, yet he pouted at the mention of his infant sister. "Appa will see you tomorrow."

With that, I got on with the rest of my day. I hoped that by the end of the day, Lady Hyeong would come to me and tell me that she wanted to be something more with me.

(Assembly Chamber, Cheondeok Hall, Songak)

~Chronicler's POV~

"Your Majesty? Are you alright?" asked Choi Jimong urgently. The King was barely able to adjourn the meeting with the council this morning. He was visibly paler than usual today.

"My headache is back again," King Taejo mumbled faintly. "I can't concentrate anymore. Cancel all the plans for the rest of today."

"I'll send word to inform the 3rd Prince that Your Majesty is indisposed. Perhaps Your Majesty would feel better to lie down for a while," he suggested, and helped the King back to his chambers.

"Jimong," King Taejo uttered worriedly, staring at the ceiling. "Is it my time?"

"No, Your Majesty! Of course not," the astronomer answered hastily.

"I don't want to leave this world yet," King Taejo grunted faintly. "Last time I collapsed, one of my concubines went to a temple to pray for me."

"Yes, it was Lady Dongsanwon, Your Majesty," Jimong nodded.

"I recovered quickly last time," King Taejo's voice was a weak whisper now and Jimong had to lean closer to hear what the King was saying. Luckily the King didn't have to express himself explicitly for the astronomer to get it.

"I'll ask Lady Dongsanwon to pray for Your Majesty," Jimong replied, but the King had already fallen asleep.

(Yeondeok Palace, Songak)

~Baekah's POV~

Since Myunghee was going to be leaving Songak for Hwangju with my 8th brother Wook and her cousin Lady Soo tomorrow, I decided to pay her a visit.

"Make sure you've brought your thickest and warmest clothes with you, Myunghee," I said seriously. "It could be much colder in the countryside."

"Certainly," she nodded, smiling. "You take care too, Prince Baekah."

"I will. And you'll write to me often while you're in Hwangju, won't you?" I asked, even though deep inside I knew that it might not be convenient for the two of us to exchange letters directly.

"I'll make sure to send my regards to you through my husband's letters to you and your other royal siblings, Your Highness," she promised.

"Good. Because I'm going to miss you...and you know that, right?"

"I'll miss you too, my Prince," she replied warmly, but not with the same kind of affection that I had for her.

I smiled anyway, since I knew she couldn't give me what I could give her. I guessed I was largely at peace with that. It wasn't stopping me from loving her.

I decided to show her the drawing of her I'd done last time before she had a coughing fit and needed to lie down. It was such a horrible memory. I didn't want her to have to relive that, whether or not it was when I was around. I'd never tell her that, but I did get nightmares, and whenever I'd wake up from one of those, I'd just hope and pray that Myunghee would be getting the sleep and rest that she needed. That was what mattered to me.

"You draw me prettier than I actually look, Prince Baekah," she commented.

No, my drawings don't do your beauty justice, I wanted to say, but didn't. If she understood that if she could see herself through my eyes...it would be totally different.

"I'm not that good," I ended up saying that, lightheartedly.

"But you keep getting better and better at portraits, my Prince," she pointed out. "That's very good."

"You're proud of me, then?" I asked cheerily.

"I am proud of you, yes," she nodded and beamed. "And you should be proud of yourself too, Your Highness."

I grinned. "I've been playing the gayageum more often these days. After some practice, I hope I've improved. Perhaps I could play something for you right now, if you'd like that?"

"If it pleases Your Highness, I would be delighted," she smiled. What a cheerful and graceful smile she had. And it was for me. It made me so happy. She made me happier than anybody could.

In the middle of the tune I was playing, however, one of the strings snapped, and cut my finger. I hissed and withdrew my hand.

"Your Highness!" Myunghee gasped and worriedly inspected my wound, handing me her handkerchief. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's nothing," I answered, trying to reassure her as I attempted to stop the bleeding. Luckily I had been the one playing when the string had snapped. If it had been her instead…

"This gayageum is so old already. I should've just kept it here as something to look at, not to play. I am sorry, my Prince," she said sadly.

"No, no, you don't have to apologize. It's not your fault anyway," I replied hastily. "I know this gayageum means a lot to you because it was what your late parents left for you. But, Myunghee, I think I can fix the string. Would you mind if I brought this back to my residence? I know you're going to leave Court soon but I can deliver this to your residence in Hwangju as soon as I get it fixed."

She hesitated. "I wouldn't want to trouble Your Highness."

"Myunghee, it's no trouble, I want to do this for you," I emphasized. "Will you let me?"

"I thank Your Highness for that. But it's too much to ask for you to bring this all the way to Hwangju for me. Actually, the doctors said that as soon as my coughs cease, I will be fit once more to return to the royal court. By then I'll come back and go to Seongmok Palace to collect it myself. How does that sound, Prince Baekah?" She counter-offered.

"It's decided then," I agreed, smiling. "I will be waiting for you, Myunghee."

(Dongsanwon, Songak)

~Moongong's POV~

After Woongdo and Younggi had had their breakfast, I left them with my younger sister, Moonsung, while I was invited to go to our elder sister Moongeum's residence. As Lady Dongsanwon, she was just one of the King's many concubines, and she had no children of her own, she was often bored if it weren't for the poems that she read. I'd visit her as often as I could, when my kids would give me a break. Though of course I would rather entrust them to their young aunt's and nursemaids' care than leave them alone at home when Lady Sinye was there. A woman should know to never trust her husband's concubines.

"Sister dearest," said Moongeum to me as we sat down and had some tea. "I've been so bored. I'm so glad you can find the time to pay me a visit. How have you been?"

"Recovering, thankfully," I answered somberly. Giving birth to Younggi had left my body permanently damaged. The physicians told me that even though I'd have no problem conceiving another child, I would never be able to give birth again. Prince Yo knew about this and so ever since Younggi was born, he had been hesitant to touch me or bed me. It frustrated and pained me to know that I could never give him any more children. Just one son and one daughter was not enough. Even though Queen Yu had never expressed that she was expecting more, nor had my father, and even if I weren't constantly stressing over the possibility that His Highness would divorce me, personally I had wanted to have more children.

"Then how come you still don't look that good?" She inquired worriedly. She reached for my hands and rubbed them with hers. "Your lips shouldn't be this pale. It's getting cold. Are you sure that cloak is enough? I made a pair of gloves for you last month."

"I'm fine, sister," I said tiredly. "I've just been staying up late these nights."

"Moongong-ah, you know that's not good for your health. I know Younggi always cries in the night, but it's better to leave it to the nursemaids."

I tried to explain myself. "I stay up because I want to wait for my husband to come home. But some nights...he doesn't. Even when he said he would. The feeling of having to wait from sunset to sunrise...just to get loneliness and emptiness in the end...you might not like being married to someone thrice your age, but at least you'll never have to wait hours upon hours for the King."

"I'm sorry that His Highness has failed you time after time," she said sadly. "Still, if you can't get enough rest, how are you supposed to get better? Your well-being is what I'm concerned about."

"I can't possibly spare any thought for my well-being when I've just heard some bad news. I can't stop worrying about it," I sighed.

"I might not be able to do much to help, but I'm willing to hear you out," she replied.

"You know that I hate Lady Sinye. It already hurts me to see Prince Yo treating her so well and thinking so highly of her. The last thing I need a reminder of is how much he trusts her and how willing he is to confide in her. The other day, I happened to have overheard His Highness telling her that he is not happy that the King has arranged a courtship for Princess Yeonhwa. And you know why that is? It's because he intends to marry Her Highness himself, to consolidate his power and strengthen his claim to the throne," I huffed. "But the Princess knows full well she is the future of her Hwangbo clan, and is just as aware of the fact that she is the King's favorite daughter. Do you really think that Her Highness would settle for being a concubine? There's no way she would agree to it, without demanding that Prince Yo give up what he has now, and that means me and my children. I really can't go a day without feeling that my position is threatened, and everything that I have could be taken away from me in the blink of an eye."

"Moongong," said my sister gently. "If you only ever think about the worst case scenario, you'll get wrinkles all over your face before you even turn 20. Our father will absolutely not allow Prince Yo to divorce you. His Highness needs our clan's support anyway," she pointed out. "From what I can observe, the 3rd Prince is an affectionate father and he loves Woongdo and Younggi with all his heart. It's a lot more fatherly affection than the King shows his children. I don't think he would give you or them up so easily."

"He agreed to marry a woman he's only known for an hour," I groused, thinking of Sinye again. "He can cast me aside without qualms. But I can't allow that to happen. If Woongdo and Younggi lose their legitimate status, can you imagine what would happen to our family's reputation?"

"You keep telling me about how concerned you are about your children, and I don't blame you for it, but at the end of the day, I'm convinced that you don't want anything to get in the way of your marriage to His Highness, not because you want security for your kids' future, not because you're thinking of Father's ambitions, but because you love your husband," she concluded.

"I do not!" I denied vehemently. For goodness' sake, I tried day and night to maintain this facade and I was beginning to believe in my own lies, but now my sister just had to point out the painful truth to me.

She shook her head. "Why lie to yourself…"

"I'm not lying! The truth is, I don't love him! I've never loved him, and I never will!" I insisted, loudly and adamantly. "Please, sister, don't argue with me on this." It was like picking at a scab, making it bleed over and over again, so that the wound never healed.

"Fine," she said promptly. "Let's hope the Prince will change his mind about it then. Or maybe the Princess won't want this marriage."

"I hope this courtship is just a precursor to an imminent marriage," I griped in frustration. But when my sister said nothing, I suddenly realized that what I said might have sounded insensitive as I recalled that the Princess was arranged to court Lord An Geolha, to whom Moongeum was very close when they were younger, before she was chosen to be the King's concubine. I quickly apologized. I was about to ask if she still had any feelings for her childhood sweetheart. But then, the door opened and her personal attendant Joomae came in.

"My Ladies, I'm sorry to interrupt. The King's astronomer, Choi Jimong, has a message for you, Lady Dongsanwon," said the maid Joomae.

My sister frowned. "Has the King had another collapse?"

Choi Jimong bowed at us and said solemnly, "Lady Dongsanwon, it is the King's wish that Your Ladyship go to a temple and pray for His Majesty's health."

A/n:

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! I'm really excited about this chapter because I get to write about & you get to read about Yo's relationship with his first wife and with their kids, and there's a fatherly side to Yo that obviously the drama didn't show either!

Especially Moongong; imagine how she'd feel if she were ever to find out about Yo's feelings for Hyeong...

Moongong was mentioned a few times by Yo in the drama when he was talking about divorcing her to marry Yeonhwa, but she never got any screen-time. Here, however, she'll be popping up every now and then.

Readers, will you tell me in your comments what you think of Moongong's character? \^o^/