Miyoung does not sleep that night. Instead, she sits up in bed and strains her ears to listen out for any signs of rescue. At the same time, she chides herself for wishing to hear any sound, knowing that a successful escape is one that goes completely undetected. But she stays up nonetheless, sitting in the darkness all alone. And suddenly, she feels five years older, as though she has gone through a major phase in life, as if she has entered a new stage of life where reality seeps through the sugary sweet dream world and introduces the new flavour of adulthood—bitterness. And bitter she is as time passes and the night is dark as ever. There are many things to be bitter about. But she remembers what Taenggu said once and decides to let her bitterness go.

“Coming from where I’ve been, I would be content with a life like yours.”

She shall not complain. She shall not whine. She will pray for Taenggu’s escape and painful as it may be, she shall be glad to have known such a beautiful romance, as short-lived as it was.

“I love you, Taenggu . . . and thank you, Taeyeon . . .” she whispers, in the dead of the night.

=

There is pandemonium the next morning. Barely a moment after the sun’s rays reach into her room, Miyoung’s maids come scurrying into her room like a couple of terrified mice. “It’s bad. It’s bad news. Master Hwang is furious. The artist and his agent have escaped!”

Miyoung almost shouts in relief but she hides behind the drapes of her bed and manages to fashion a gasp. “What?”

“The artist and his agent have disappeared!” says the other maid.

“They’re gone? Really?” Miyoung sits up, showing her face at last.

Her maids nod. “Master Hwang has never been so angry before.”

“Where is Dayu?”

Her maids look at each other. “Actually, Lim Dayu is the real reason for Master Hwang’s anger.”

A sense of dread creeps into Miyoung’s young heart as she asks, “Why?”

“Lim Dayu . . . he has disappeared with them. And they have taken our horses.”

Miyoung’s hand flies to . “Dayu is gone? With our horses?”

Her maids nod. “Most of his things are still in his room but the jade pendant his mother left him is gone. Not only that, Kwang Ben, Hei Jiang Jun and Da Hai are gone too. That’s why Master Hwang is certain Lim Dayu is the culprit.”

Lim Dayu . . . is gone.

Miyoung is unable to wrap her mind around it. Lim Dayu, her childhood friend, gone forever. Gone with her first love. Never to be seen again. The pain cuts deep into her heart and she clutches her chest. Dear heavens, what had she done? Dayu would be homeless because of her. Dayu, her faithful companion and trusted protector had made his last and greatest sacrifice for her. Oh, Lim Dayu . . .

Tears fall uncontrollably as thought after thought flood her mind with a sense of loss she had never felt so deeply. She had thought she could not stand losing Taenggu but really, the loss of Lim Dayu hurts more than she ever thought it would. She should never have asked him for such a favour, knowing that he would pull through and do it for her. She should not have asked this of him. And she should have known when he called her Miyoung for the first time. She should have known.

“Miss . . . don’t cry . . . your eyes will be red and swollen.”

Miyoung takes no heed of her maids’ frail attempts at consoling her. Her heart is bleeding doubly hard and the cut in it, so d