She was running.

Or at least, she thought she was.

Her whole body felt like it was on fire and her breath came out in uneasy gasps. However, when she caught sight of her dusty shoes from the corners of her teary eyes, they were unmoving.

She could feel a name rising up in . If she screamed it aloud, her cover would be blown.

But it didn’t matter.

Everything was already lost when Byung-yeon hit the ground with a lifeless thud unlike anything she had ever seen. Her cover, her safety, her life… everything would be gone along with him.

And when she finally said the two syllables that had become the most important name in her heart, it was more of a gentle whisper, a kind of desperate plea to call him back to her.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

9 Years Earlier

“Can’t you go today, father?”

Hye-ri kicked her uncovered feet into the sand. She was sitting on the step at the back of their countryside home, digging her tanned toes into the mud that lingered from the previous night’s rain. Her mind was elsewhere, as it often was, and she did not realize her father coming up to hit her.

“Kang Hye-ri!” Kang Bang-won hand gently pushed the side of his daughter’s head in an attempt to get her attention. She was his pride and joy, and it was the most violent he could ever allow himself to be with her. “When are you going to learn that these things aren’t an option? When are you going to learn that money only comes from hard work and patience?”

Hye-Ri adjusted the long braid that rested on the small of her back. She hated when her father touched her hair. Being the daughter of a farmer, it was the small trace of femininity that she still acquired. “I understand that, father. But tonight I have Salpuri lessons and I know that I’ll be too tired to impress the teacher if I walk all the way to the palace.”

“The fields are flooded.” Bang-won gestured to the open green space before them. “I have to stay here and clean up the mess that your mother in heaven gave us.” He scoffed beneath his breath. “She’ll never leave us alone, will she?”

Hye-ri smiled at the mention of her mother. They had lost her nearly ten months before, but her father often teased that she was still around, causing chaos in the real world in as an attempt to capture their attention from the skies.

“Hye-ri, please don’t argue with me today. You’re ten years old now. It’s time you started doing what I said rather than trying to argue your way out of everything."

Hye-ri could hear the weariness in her father’s voice. She glanced up at the white rag wrapped tightly around his receding hairline. It was stained yellow from the sweat of the hot Korean summer. If she could ever make enough money, she would buy him a brand new outfit. She would make him look like a Scholar of the Royal Palace. Or maybe she would buy him one of those regal Chinese robes she had heard people whisper about in the market.

“Yes, father.” She said it simply and sweetly. The sigh of relief from her father’s mouth was almost audible, but she was already turning her back to make her way towards the palace.

The palace of Joseon Korea was somewhat far. And being a young lady, her skirts were always full despite their lack of shape and elaborate design. Therefore, she wouldn’t make it to the palace with any physical charm whatsoever, but she had her wheelbarrow of vegetables. That was all the King really needed, and then she would be set free to return home to her father and baby sister.

It would be an entirely uneventful day.

Or at least, that was what she had assumed when she entered the palace thirty minutes later.

She had been going to the palace since her mother had died. After ten months of routine, she even felt somewhat obligated to look the guards in the eye and offer them a smile. Of course, they never smiled back. Or perhaps the large rim of their hats drowned the curl of their lips in shadow.

Her feet crunched along the gravel, an unpleasant feeling as opposed to the grass and dirt that lined her way there.

How interesting, she thought to herself as her strong arms continued to roll the basket forward. You would think that the grounds of the palace would be all soft carpets or plushy grasses. Instead, I feel like I’m walking on shells near the beach.

When she finally approached the doors near the kitchen, her smile almost entirely disappeared. She could feel the sweat lining her upper lip, the childish hairs on the side of her head sticking to her face like a plaster. The door was closed, and with the guards nearly five minutes behind her, she was unsure of what to do next.

She let the barrow fall from her hands with a thud. Brushing her tired palms against her dress, she allowed her mind to wander for a moment. The palace walls were so big, and she thought that her secret fantasies of running around and causing mischief were sure never to escape over them and fill up her father’s head.

“How inconvenient,” she grumbled.

Just off to the side was a much smaller door with only a miniature roof to shade the guards from potential rain. Its bright red and green paint wasn’t entirely welcoming, but it seemed to be her only option for delivering the food.

I can go inside and circle back to the kitchen. After all, how big could the palace really be?

She nodded firmly. Her plan had been made and there was no going back. Pushing the vegetables through the small doorway was somewhat of a challenged, but she was grateful that nobody inside stopped her from her mission. When she finally made her way through and took a few more steps forward, time itself must have stopped, because she suddenly couldn’t believe where she was.

About twenty feet before her stood three hay targets. They were ringed with circles of berry ink, their stomachs and heads marked with beautifully crafted arrows. Standing at the end of the shooting range, and not entirely far from herself, were three young boys with their arms still partially raised. One of them donning an elaborate headress couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her.

“Who are you?”

There was no malice in his voice. In fact, Hye-ri was somewhat relaxed by the mere sound of it. She blinked twice, unable to answer. All she could stare at were the cranes at the end of his head ornament. Once again, if the stories she had heard in the market were true, then this was the last person in the palace she wanted to run into.

Bowing deeply, Hye-ri finally snapped to attention. “I’m Kang Hye-ri.” She paused momentarily. “My Lord.”

“This is the Crown Prince,” another boy replied. He stood to the Prince’s left side, but his status seemed little more than a politician’s son. “You should bow more deeply the next time you see him.”

“I’m not supposed to see him at all, I think. It wasn't meant to happen this time, so it probably won't happen again.” Hye-ri spoke casually. The boys were her age, and despite their appearances, it was difficult for her to view them in a hierarchy. “Technically I’m only supposed to be delivering this to the kitchen, but somebody shut the door on me.” She bit her lip after another second of silence. “Your Majesty.”

“We’ve noticed you before,” the Crown Prince said with a small smile. “Only for a second. We wondered when a girl started bringing food here, but you were always so quick to come and leave.”

“I’ve only started delivering food here since my mother died.” She dabbed at the sweat on her lip. "Your Highness."

The only one who hadn’t spoken was a boy standing further off to the right. Hye-ri could feel his dark eyes on her, but it took her quite some time to finally turn to him. Why had it been so difficult? There was no answer for it. However, when she finally made her move to acknowledge his presence, out of fear of insulting him and getting her father fired, her heart froze around the coils of her ribs.

The boy’s hair was tucked into a headdress as well, but his face was much more relaxed. He didn’t smile, nor did he seem to care about her presence there. If he looked interested in anything, he seemed to simply want to get back to his shooting.

“I think I should go find the kitchen.” Hye-ri nervously chuckled whilst she picked up the barrow once more. She nodded to the second boy that spoke, and nodded deeply to the first. “My Lord; Your Majesty.” She finally turned to the last boy, whose eyes seemed more black with each glance. “My-”

“Byung-yeon.”

Hye-ri lifted her head. The Crown Prince and the young Lord also snapped their gaze in his direction. She thought their jaws may have dropped.

The third boy had given her his name.

It was entirely inappropriate considering their classes in society, but he didn’t seem to care. Instead, he lifted his bow to the sky, pulled back the taut string, and sent an arrow straight into the centre target.