•|•|•
"You. Who are you?"
Hae-nim ignored the man as she glanced around, finding a way to escape. When she started backing away, the man narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion and slowly stepped closer to her. Before he could reach her, he heard something behind him. He turned around and blocked a sword lunging at him with his own, but missed two more swords coming his way and pierced his waist and his already injured shoulder.
Hae-nim saw that it was Jinheung, Liwen and Lu. Her eyes widen and accidentally dropped her dagger as the man wrapped his arms around her waist and pushed her to safety from the three. She locked eyes with Jinheung and saw his eyes widen as well at the man's actions.
Jinheung stood beside Liwen and Lu, and glanced at them. "Get her out of here. " he said sternly.
Liwen and Lu nodded and swiftly jumped pass the man. Jinheung looked at Hae-nim before running away as the man followed after him. Hae-nim removed her mask and she slumped down to the ground and breath out a deep sigh of relief. Liwen and Lu knelt beside her with a worried look on their faces.
"Your Majesty!"
"I am fine." Hae-nim assured the two before remembering the man's face. "He was no assassin, but someone who was trying to avenge the death of his friend."
•••
Jinheung and Hae-nim were sitting across from each other inside the tea house, Sutabaksu while Liwen, Lu and Pa Oh sat on another table beside them, keeping an eye on them.
"Are you saying you lost your bracelet?"
Hae-nim quirk an eyebrow as she stared at Jinheung, who looked completely calm for someone who just lost something important.
"That bracelet signifies that you are the King." Pa Oh added.
Jinheung glanced at him and sighed. "If they say I am not King because I do not have it, I will not bother." he told him.
Pa Oh bowed to him. "I deserve to be struck dead. I did not protect you properly. I deserve to die." he said seriously.
Hae-nim chuckled, while Liwen and Lu exchange amused looks as they took a sip of their tea.
"He was nowhere to be found when we were at that room full of doors. Indeed, he did not protect him properly." Hae-nim said, teasing Pa Oh.
Pa Oh turned to her and bowed. "I failed to protect you both. I deserve to die."
"If you die, what will happen to us, to me?" Ji Dwi asked him and took a sip of his tea. "If my mother will not state that I am King, no one will know that I am."
Pa Oh glanced around before leaning towards him. "Must you do this?" he asked.
Jinheung stared at him in confusion. "What?"
"Scaring me?" Pa Oh told him.
Liwen and Lu burst out laughing while Hae-nim chuckled when she saw Jinheung's frowning face and comfortingly patted his hand that was resting on the table.
"If Jiso will not state that you are King of Silla, I will." Hae-nim said, quietly.
Jinheung chuckled as he shakes his head. "Do not trouble yourself. I'll be fine." he assured her.
"With all due respect, Your Majesty." Liwen said as the others turned to her. "If there is nothing left of you here in Silla, you are very much welcome in China."
Lu frowned as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What? No!"
Jinheung nodded, thoughtfully. "Maybe that is a good idea, Liwen." he agreed.
Liwen bowed to him before looking at Hae-nim, who smiled at her. Lu's frown deepened as he looked at Jinheung.
Jinheung glanced at Lu and smirked smugly. "What? What are you looking---"
"Do you know why the King doesn't show his face?"
Jinheung and Hae-nim froze as their eyes widen in surprise. They exchanged looks before glancing at the two men behind them and eavesdropped in their conversation.
"I hear he is a eunuch and the biggest moron in the world."
The two men laughed. Hae-nim frowned as she turned to them, unamused while Jinheung smirked mockingly as he looked away.
"No wonder. So, that is why the Queen does everything."
Liwen and Lu turned to the two men with irritated looks as they placed a hand on the hilt of their swords.
"My fear is that the moron will show up one day and try to act like the King."
"I totally agree."
The two men laughed again, unaware that the King of Silla was listening with the Empress of China.
"Ah, so noisy." Lu muttered as he and Pa Oh angrily stood up.
Jinheung looked at the two. "What? You two will not do anything anyway." he said, nonchalantly.
Pa Oh glared angrily at the two men. "I shall kill them."
Lu smirked at Jinheung. "I will kill them in Pa Oh's stead, as well as yours." he said, confidently.
Hae-nim sighed softly. "Li Lu." she sternly called out to him.
Lu's eyes widen and turned to her as he bowed. "They were disrespectful, My Lady. No one should behave such a way to their King." he explained.
Hae-nim smiled understandingly at him and glanced at Jinheung, who smirked mockingly. Liwen grabbed Lu's and Pa Oh's sleeve and pulled them back to sit.
"I wish I were a eunuch and a moron." Jinheung told them and looked at Hae-nim.
"Jinheung!" Hae-nim whispered angrily at him.
Jinheung looked away from her. "That is correct. Hiding cannot become a habit."
•••
Hae-nim walked inside her room inside the estate, and abruptly stopped when she saw Jinheung lying on her bed.
"Jinheung, you are here?"
Jinheung hummed in response as Hae-nim walked over to him.
"You know what day tomorrow is, right? It is your-"
Jinheung interrupted her by suddenly coughing. Hae-nim stared at him in surprise before realizing what he was doing and decided to play along.
"Oh! Are you sick?" she asked.
Jinheung groaned in response and closed his eyes as Hae-nim quirk an eyebrow and loomed over him.
"I am unwell. Give me some medicine. Something hot and bitter, but good for you." Jinheung said.
Hae-nim sighed as she crossed her arms. "Who is more knowledgeable in medicine here? You or me?" she asked in annoyance.
Jinheung opened his eyes and groaned in annoyance as he sat up from the bed. "I have a fever." he complained.
Jinheung grabbed Hae-nim's hand and pulled her to sit on the bed with him before placing her hand on his forehead. Hae-nim narrowed his eyes at him and flicked his forehead, while Jinheung yelled in pain and stared at her in disbelief.
"That hurts, Hae-nim!"
"You are not sick, Jinheung. If you are, I would know." Hae-nim said and nudged his shoulders. "I would also know if something is troubling you. What is it?"
Jinheung sighed as he looked away. "The King is a moron who cannot show his face. Why does he need a parade?"
Hae-nim stared at him as she grabbed his hands with hers. "Just as it is not a sin to be ill, it is not a sin to be young and weak." she said sincerely as Jinheung looked at her. "The feeling of being unable to step forward, being unable to show yourself to your people, being unable to do anything yet, I understand that feeling very well."
"Hae-nim." Jinheung mumbled.
Hae-nim smiled warmly at him. "Young and weak? We have to overcome that state for us to be strong enough to stand up for ourselves. Can we not decide on our own and face the consequences for us to learn without anyone telling us what's supposed to be right and wrong?"
Jinheung sighed as he leaned on her shoulder and making himself comfortable. Hae-nim chuckled and placed her head over his.
"I will choose a nation with happy subjects and a suffering ruler who worries for them, than a nation that the people would worry over and a ruler who does not care." Hae-nim said as Jinheung's eyes widen. "Yes, that is what I will do once I'm strong enough to rise alone as the Empress. It would not be easy, but what choice do you have? You were born as a ruler."
Jinheung lifted his head up from Hae-nim's shoulder and stared intently at her.
"If we cannot rely on others, we should rely on ourselves. If we know it is the right thing to do, we should act on it with confidence. If we doubt someone or something, we should think it through before taking action. If we feel, we know we are still living." Hae-nim added.
"You always know what to say, Hae-nim."
Jinheung smiled warmly at Hae-nim as he placed a gentle hand on top of her head before ruffling her hair to a mess as he laughed wholeheartedly.
"Sam Maek Jong!"
•••
The birthday parade of the King of Silla began as Jinheung, Hae-nim, Liwen, Lu and Pa Oh stood at the side watching the parade.
Pa Oh warily glanced around before looking at Jinheung and Hae-nim. "There are too many people here." he said with worry in his voice.
Jinheung looked away from his empty palanquin. "Who would even think that the King would be walking around on his birthday?" he asked mockingly and looked at Hae-nim, who looked back at him. "You said that being weak and young is not a sin. I will not, not anymore."
Hae-nim smiled proudly as she jumped in Jinheung's arms. "Happy Birthday, Jinheung."
Jinheung's face warmed up as he shyly looked away. Lu scowled, while Liwen and Pa Oh smiled.
•••
"So, it is an empty parade yet again?"
"Why are we doing this when the King is not there?"
"I just cannot understand what they are thinking."
Hae-nim continued to watch Jinheung's birthday parade from a balcony with Liwen and Lu leaning behind the wall beside her with their masks on. Her eyes moved from Queen Jiso to Jinheung's empty palanquin.
She knew one day that Jinheung will seat on his palanquin without fear of who he was, but with a happy smile on his face.
Hae-nim looked at Queen Jiso and their eyes met as her palanquin past by the balcony. Queen Jiso's eyes widen with mixture of shock and horror when she saw the phoenix embroidered mask of Hae-nim and recognized who she was immediately.
'What? She is here? Why? Why is she here? What are you doing here? This cannot be.'
.
.
.
"Someday, I will be more than I am today."