Secret of the Red Lotus Flower (빨간 연꽃의 비밀)

Chapter 5

She paused when she stepped through entrance and caught sight of the Crown Prince. His back was to her as he stared up the stars. She saw that he did not have a bow in hand and clearly had been waiting for her to arrive. Gathering up her courage, she moved forward to come up behind him.

"You're actually here," she said. "I mean, obviously, you are here. I thought that maybe you wouldn't come."

"I told you that I would be here and I always keep my promises," Ha-neul said as he turned around.

"I don't see a bow anywhere. Was the story about coming here to practice your archery just a ruse?" she teased. "You actually came here to see me?"

"Would you have come if I had used those words?" he replied, taking a step towards her. "I didn't want to scare you off and not see you again until our wedding day."

"Perhaps. Or maybe I would have arrived here sooner if you had," Soo-yun said in response.

His lips were curled back with a hint of a smile and Soo-yun felt her heart skip a beat. She was shocked at how forward she was being. She had never flirted with anyone before but wanted to show her fiancée that she wouldn't be intimidated by him either.

Ha-neul raised his hand towards her cheek and Soo-yun's breath hitched in her chest. She closed eyes and waited for the feel of his touch. She could smell the intoxicating scent of his sandalwood cologne. However, a moment passed and he had yet actually touch her.

"I see you got my gift," she heard him say. She opened her eyes to see that the Crown Prince had reached past her head to touch her binyeo instead. Soo-yun flushed in embarrassment at her mistake and stepped back to give herself some space to breathe again.

"Y-yes, it was quite beautiful," she stammered. She could feel herself start to lose confidence again and decided to press forward instead. "I will admit that I was a little disappointed by your honseoji and this present made me feel a lot better."

"True, the letter was probably not the finest example of my writing ability," the Crown Prince laughed. "However, I didn't want to risk it getting intercepted or someone discovering our meetings. This was a chance to meet you again and I wanted to keep it private away from prying eyes. Was I being too greedy?"

"No, not at all. I wanted to meet you again privately as well," Soo-yun confessed, her heart racing at his admission.

"Then let us continue our discussion over there," her fiancée said as he directed her towards the nearby bench again. Soo-yun nervously smoothed her skirts as she waited for him to sit as well.

"What did the Left State Councilor think of the wedding gifts?" the Crown Prince inquired as he sat next to her.

"My father?" Soo-yun asked, confused by the sudden shift in the conversation. "He wasn't there when the hamjinaebi arrived. He said he had urgent business back at our ancestral home and left the day before."

"Does he go there often?" he pressed.

"Only when court is not in session," she responded. "He makes it a point to be at every one of the King's assemblies in order to 'properly advise the King', as he puts it."

"Does he get a lot of visitors while at home?"

"The occasional State Minister or government official, I supposed. He typically tells me to stay in my room whenever one of his friends comes over," Soo-yun told the Crown Prince. "He doesn't like it when I ask too many questions about the people that come to see him.

"What about you? How is your father taking the whole marriage thing?" she asked. Soo-yun hoped that he would open up more about her future family. She would be seeing more of them in the days to come than her own.