After bidding her parents farewell, Jungseol returned back to the Flower Palace the next morning. She felt happy and relief, knowing that they were doing fine without her around. That although they worked really hard, they were still healthy and okay. She left home when she was just twelve years old to serve the Crown Princess, so she didn't have much time going home. In results, she was grateful Yeonhwa gave her permission to go home.
On her way to the Flower Palace, she noticed how the family of dark clouds were reuniting in the sky. It looked a bit cloudy, but she wondered if it would soon be rainy. Hopefully not.
When she arrived at the Flower Palace, she went to her Quarter to change into her maiden clothes. After she finished, she rushed over to Yeonhwa's room. Because she was moving a bit quick, she accidently bumped into someone. She winced a bit at the hardness, then looked up to find Dongil in front of her.
"I'm sorry, Dongil-ssi." Jungseol apologized, lowering her head. "I wasn't watching where I was going. I was just in rush to the Princess's room. I'm really sorry."
Dongil released a small laugh. "It's alright." he said. "It's okay."
Still, Jungseol had her head down.
The bodyguard sighed. "You went home yesterday, right? How was it? How's your parents?"
"They are fine." she looked up at him a bit. "If you don't mind, I have to go serve Princess Yeonhwa."
As soon as she was about to walk away, Dongil's voice stopped her. "Actually... Can I ask you something? About Princess Yeonhwa?"
Jungseol turned to him again. He cautiously observed around them and luckily found no other maids, servants, or guards present. If they were, he wouldn't be able to talk to her about what he was curious about.
"Has Princess Yeonhwa been seeing someone?" Dongil brought himself to ask.
In response, Jungseol blinked curiously at him.
After the birthday celebration, Dongil couldn't resist thinking about what Yeonhwa told him last night
"I guess I have been thinking about someone."
As much as he didn't want to make a big deal out of it, curiosity was eating him. He didn't want to get his hopes high, but he wanted to know. However, if he knew, what was he going to do? He was just a bodyguard. The Crown Princess's bodyguard.
"No." Jungseol replied. "Princess Yeonhwa hasn't been seeing anybody."
"Are you sure?" Dongil asked again.
The maid nodded. "Why are you asking, though? Did something happen?" She began to wonder if others inside the palace might have overheard her and Yeonhwa talking about Hwayang. If they knew, then it would not turn so good.
"No. At least I don't think so, but..."
"But what?"
Dongil sighed sadly. "Last night, during Yeonhwa's birthday celebration, she kind of said something strange. She mentioned how she'd been feeling nervous and this kind of emptiness these past few days, and... I don't know. I just feel like maybe..."
"What do you feel like?"
He looked at Jungseol with defeated eyes. 'I feel as though Yeonhwa may like someone...' he mentally answered. But he couldn't tell her that. If he did, then she would only assume that he was worried about her feelings or maybe that he possibly liked the Crown Princess. Which he did. So he couldn't say anything.
Dongil shook his head. "Nothing." he said. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."
Jungseol still wondered what he was thinking about, but not wanting to make things awkward and uncomfortable, she only nodded at him. She took his last sentence as her cue to leave and spun around, taking a step ahead.
"Oh, I forgot."
Jungseol turned back to Dongil.
"The King and Queen took a trip with Prince Chanwol to the Royal Yung family to visit his soon-to-be wife. Since it was Princess Yeonhwa's birthday yesterday, they didn't want to bother her. Also, they might not be back until late evening. Make sure you notify her of their whereabouts, okay?"
"I will." Jungseol said.
In the middle of writing her stories, Yeonhwa heard the doors of her room opened. She stopped moving her brush and looked up before seeing her maid.
"Jungseol." Yeonhwa said with a smile. "You're back."
"Good morning, Princess Yeonhwa." Jungseol greeted as she bowed.
"You returned pretty early. I actually didn't expect to see you until noon."
Jungseol sighed and knelt down to sit. "It's okay. My parents didn't mind. I am your maid, after all. I need to be there for you when you need me."
Yeonhwa sighed. "You're such a good daughter." she praised.
Jungseol smiled. "Thank you." she replied.
"So about yesterday."
The maid's eyes sparkled with excitement knowing that the Princess was going to bring up the farmboy.
"Were you able to deliver the letter Hwayang?" Yeonhwa quietly asked.
Jungseol nodded. "Yes, I was, Your Majesty."
The Princess looked at her with a mix of relief and surprise. "Really? You were?"
"Yes, Princess Yeonhwa."
A faint blush was painted on Yeonhwa's face, and she tried to lower her head and hide it, but her curiosity of how the letter delivery went yesterday kept her busy.
"How did you find him?" Yeonhwa asked.
Jungseol sighed. "My family and I were heading to the farming field to work, and I just happened to see him there." she answered.
"Was he suspicious of anything?"
The smile on Jungseol's face froze a bit and slowly faded as she recalled how Hwayang confessed to knowing about their royalty. She really wanted to let the Princess know, but she also gave the farmboy her word that she wouldn't say anything. Plus, she somehow agreeingly thought maybe she shouldn't. This wasn't her love quarrel anyways.
Jungseol shook her head and gave her best smile again.
"No." she regretfully lied. "He doesn't know a thing." 'Forgive me, Princess Yeonhwa. Hwayang has asked - no, told me - not to tell you that he knows about who you are. Please don't be mad at me.' She mentally screamed a bit in nervousness just thinking about it.
Yeonhwa nodded in relief. "That's good to hear then." she said, making Jungseol squirm a bit nervously. "Did he... Did he ask about me?" She had been thinking about Hwayang nonstop ever since their meeting. Other than maybe, possibly liking him, she wondered how he thought of her.
"Not necessarily." Jungseol replied. If she recalled, he didn't really ask about her. He just accepted the letter, then she left.
Yeonhwa unknowingly pouted. "Oh, okay."
"But I'm sure he was happy to hear from you."
The Princess looked at her. "Are you sure?"
"I know, Your Majesty."
A small smile tugged on Yeonhwa as her mind came across Hwayang again.
"Dongil-ssi told me to tell you that the King, Queen, and Prince Chanwol aren't home."
Yeonhwa blinked curiously at her maid. "Where did they go?"
"Dongil-ssi said they went to the Royal Yung family to see Prince Chanwol's future Queen. They won't be home until late evening."
"Why didn't they tell me they were going? I could be there with them right now while getting to know my future sister-in-law."
"It was your birthday yesterday, and they thought about how you might have wanted some time to yourself, so they didn't bother to say anything."
Yeonhwa wasn't upset that her parents and brother didn't notify her about the small trip, but she also wasn't surprised. They always did most things without her notice anyways.
She inhaled softly as she gazed outside the small window that was opened in her room. Unusually, there was no sunlight shining through today. Although, it did look a little dim. Like dark clouds had covered up the sun.
As she kept staring outside, she thought about Hwayang again. She wondered how he was doing. She wondered when she will see him again. Possibly.
Then, she blinked in realization. She smiled warmly and turned to Jungseol, but the maid only looked at her with confused eyes.
Yeonhwa only continued giving her her angelic smile. And Jungseol fearfully had an idea of what she was thinking.
"The weather doesn't look really good. Are you sure you want to go to the farm?"
Hwayang wore the small basket strapped to his back, also putting a small cutting tool in it, before turning to his mother.
"A weather like this is a better advantage for farm work," he said. "No one will be there because of the cloudiness. Plus, I can get things done much faster."
"It looks like it's going to rain, though," his mother said in concern.
"Don't worry. I'll be back before the first drop hits the ground."
His mother chuckled a bit. "Just be back soon, and don't get into any trouble."
"I won't, Mom." he smiled. "I'll see you later."
He walked out the house with his materials, but then stumbled upon Jooyang running to him.
"Hwayang Hyung." he said. "Can I go with you to work at farm?"
Hwayang bent down to his level and pat his head. "No, you better stay home." he said. "The weather isn't good today, so I will go to the farm alone."
"But what if it rains? What if you catch a cold? What if-"
"Aish, don't worry. Your Hyung will be back before the first drop of rain even hits the ground."
Jooyang pouted. "Promise?"
"I swear it."
"Okay, then. Be back soon."
Hwayang smiled and ruffled the little guy's hair before standing up. He told him to go in the house and help their mom with the chores since their dad went fishing for dinner. After Jooyang obediently went in the house, Hwayang made his way to the farm despite the gloomy weather.
Although he was expecting the awry weather, he wasn't expecting for something else.
It wasn't easy convincing Jungseol to stay behind and cover for her, but in the end, the maid finally gave in.
After thinking a lot, Yeonhwa decided to go out and find Hwayang to meet him. Her parents and older brother weren't home, so if she went and come back on time, they would never suspect a thing. Jungseol thought this was a risky idea, but she couldn't disobey her orders.
Jungseol had told and described the location of the farm where she found him, so that Yeonhwa was aware of the destination. While that happened, Yeonhwa explained to Jungseol what to do if anyone asks for her. She was to tell them that the Princess didn't want any disturbance today because she wanted some quiet time to work on her stories. And if the servants bring in her meal, Jungseol was to gladly take it and finish it for her. If she didn't, then they would be suspicious.
Yeonhwa secretly and luckily exited the Flower Palace through the emergency back gate without anyone seeing her. The big risk was that she was going alone. If anything happened to her, then she was done for good.
The only thing she was capable of now was getting to the farming field without stumbling across any trouble. And hopefully, make it to her destination before the weather starts getting worse.
King Han, Queen Shim, and Prince Chanwol bowed down to the Royal Yung spouses sitting in their thrones. After they arrived, they quickly made their ways to meet their future in-laws.
"Greeting to you, King Han, Queen Shim, and Prince Chanwol." King Yung said warmly.
"Greetings to you, King and Queen Yung," the other three Royals replied.
"It must've been really early for you all to come here," Queen Yung said. "You all must be tired."
Queen Shim slightly smiled. "It was worth breaking the sweat to come see you." she said. "Besides, I'm sure Chanwol was really energetic and excited to come see his future Queen."
King and Queen Yung laughed lightly in unison.
"Well, you can't blame the kids for falling in love at this age." King Yung said.
"Tell me about it." King Han replied. "They are already at that age of longing for another's touch."
"Father." Chanwol embarrassingly whispered as a faint blush appeared on his face.
"Princess Inhye is by the pond." King Yung told the young prince. "Why don't you go find her and have a chat?"
Prince Chanwol bowed to his future father-in-law, thanking him for his permission. "I will be taking my leave then." Then, he exited the Main Hall to go find Princess Inhye.
"Kids grow up so fast," Queen Yung said. "I can't believe our children are going to marry each other in just a few days."
"Just wait until they have kids of their own," Queen Shim said.
"Where's Princess Yeonhwa?"
King Han smiled warmly. "Princess Yeonhwa is at home." he answered. "We just celebrated her birthday yesterday and didn't want to bother her, so we let her stay behind. We are deeply sorry she couldn't make."
"That's alright." King Yung said. "You didn't want to distract her special day. It's completely understandable."
"How old is she now then?" Queen Yung asked.
"She turned seventeen yesterday." Queen Shim answered.
"Well then, she's eligible for marriage. Your Highnesses should start searching for young princes for her to choose."
Queen Shim smiled. "To be honest, I am still in process of searching for the perfect son-in-law."
Hearing her answer, King Han mentally sighed in discomfort. He understood what and why his wife was looking for a husband for their daughter, but he thought it wasn't right for it to be forced. His mother, the late Queen Dowager, had always told him that marriage should be performed because of true love. Not because of family image or wealth. But unfortunately, Queen Shim had other plans.
"Since you're searching for a Princess Yeonhwa's future husband." Queen Yung said. "Why don't you have a talk with King Lee? They live in Gyeongju, and they also a have son who's looking for a bride. He's a bit older than her, but you know, age is just a number."
"Really? Is that so?"
"Yes. King Lee is actually an old friend of mine, so I'm sure he wouldn't decline you giving his son your daughter's hand. Especially if it's from the Royal family of Joseon."
"Hmm." Queen Shim thought deeply. "I will think about it. If King Lee's son is willing to marry my daughter, then I'll gratefully hand her over to his care."
King Han knew what his wife was thinking now, but he didn't say anything. Because if he did, there might be a loud ruckus.
Yeonhwa amazingly made it through the city and to the farming area. There weren't any people present, though. No one was around working, and it made her worried. What if Hwayang wasn't here? What if he was at home? She didn't know where he lived. If she couldn't find him like how she planned, then she would have to return back to the Flower Palace.
A faint cry of thunder made her jump a bit as she looked up at the dark clouds. She huffed a breath in frustration, mentally criticizing herself for not bringing an umbrella or her coat with her. She was too excited to come find the farmboy that she didn't even bother bringing anything to cover herself. She mentally claimed to take fault in this because she was too selfish to realize the reality. Now, it was just her luck.
"Please don't rain yet." she muttered to the skies. "I still have to find someone. Let me find him first, okay."
She continued walking down the pathway of the farming field as her eyes wandered for a specific someone. But all she could see was the long stems of wheats moving back and forth because of the light wind. She was in the right farming field, right? Just like Jungseol told her, it wasn't far. It was just past the city and down the trail. Right? But what if Hwayang really wasn't here? What if today she was just thinking too much?
"Maybe he's not here today." she said to herself. She was honestly a bit upset she didn't find him like how she thought. She couldn't do anything about it anyways. It wasn't her doing for him not being here.
She sighed in defeat and turned around to make her way back home, but then she heard a noise that made her stop. The noise was very faint, but if one was quiet enough, they could hear it. She bravely turned back around to see where the noise came from, but she still saw no one. But being the curious person she was, her feet started picking up after one another again.
Her head turned from here to there as the strange noise started to get sharper. She took two more steps forward, trying to locate the faint commotion. Then, her eyes came across something. Someone.
Hwayang.
Yeonhwa froze in her steps and stared at familiar farmboy.
Hwayang wasn't aware of her presence at all. He stood not too far away from her with his sharp sword-like tool cutting some wheats from the ground, doing farm work. And he was alone. He was so busy working that he didn't even hear the footsteps from before.
A tiring breath broke out of him as he stopped cutting the wheats and stood up more straight. He wiped the small sweats around his head with his arm, trying to cool himself down. When he brought his arm down, he unintentionally looked ahead to find a figure in his sight. He squinted his eyes to get a better view before he clearly saw who it was. He widened his eyes in shock and froze, just like her.
He mentally asked so many questions to himself. What is she doing here? And why is she alone? Did she come here by herself? She wasn't even supposed to be here. He didn't mean it in a bad way, but he was curious. Confused too, but... He also felt happy seeing her... The familiar warm, tingly feeling formed in his chest again.
A smile made its way to his lips unknowingly, and it also made her grin back.
"Yeonhwa."
"Hwayang."