So quickly brought Soo back to Songak, and had Arang and Eun Bi prepare their quarters so Soo could rest peacefully. As they cleaned Soo up and changed her out of her dirty robes, So watched over Seol. Although he had checked in on her before finding Soo, it still amazed him that she had grown in the 2 weeks he was gone. True to Soo’s words, children did grow quickly. He found himself wondering how much more of Seol’s growth would he miss in the future, and vowed to be there for her and Soo as much as he could. He would also have to get Baek Ah to paint another portrait of her...

Night fell and Soo still slept, but So simply continued to watch over her and Seol as he waited. Two nights in the forest without much food, and trying to escape took a toll on her body. 

He found himself worrying about her health again, but was glad he had the royal physician visit. The royal physician confirmed that although Soo was indeed tired, her health did not deteriorate over the past two days. With a lot of sleep and bed rest, she would be up on her feet in no time.

He had just tucked Seol to sleep when he heard some rustling. Turning around, he saw that Soo was slowly awaking, and he quickly made his way to her side.

“Soo ya, how are you feeling?”

“I think I’m okay. How long have I been out?”

“Been out...oh you mean asleep. You have been sleeping this entire time.”

Soo giggled softly as she looked at So. Reaching out she pulled So closer until she could hug him fully, sighing as she took in his scent.

“Welcome home, So ya. I didn’t get to greet you properly this time, but I promise I will do it next time.”

 He returned her embrace, engulfing her small frame and holding her tightly against his own.

“Having you here is enough. You are my person, after all.”

Hearing So say that line brought Soo back to earlier times, when she had run into So after he had saved her from Yeon Hwa’s punishment.

She had been pacing at the stone bridge, thinking about the previous day’s events, and her feelings toward Wook after he checked in on her. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had turned around and abruptly ran into someone’s chest. 

“Oh my!”

Looking up for a brief second to see the 4th prince, she immediately began to complain.

“Ouch! Aiyahhh...aigooo...aigoo!” The 4th prince didn’t seem to be impressed.

“You bumped into me,” he said matter-of-factly. She cut the act immediately and looked up at him indignantly.

“She belongs to me? Why would you say that and create a misunderstanding?”

He looked almost offended.

“Don’t you know how to say thank you? I saved you from a beating.”

She thought about it and reluctantly had to agree. Then again, Wook would have stopped it right? He was there wasn’t he? If so then why didn’t he…?

“Before you argue about that, you should thank me for saving you.”

The 4th prince had interrupted her train of thought, but she frowned slightly.

“You were always acting like you wanted to kill me. I am curious about why the winds changed.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she quickly mumbled a ‘thank you’. She kept her gaze on the ground, but saw his lips turn up in a smile from the corner of her eyes. He cleared his throat soon after, as if trying to hide his satisfaction.

“Why did you even have that hairpin? Where did you get it?”

She looked up at him in surprise, wondering how he didn’t realize it until now.

“You dropped it at the bath in the palace! This is all because I was keeping quiet about seeing your face.”

She saw a threatening look begin to form on his face, but she quickly finished her words.

“...so I didn’t say I saw your face. I kept my promise,” she said sullenly.

Why was this all wrong? She was just trying to obey his commands, and attempted to return his hairpin, yet she got tangled in all this mess. What was wrong with Goryeo?

“Aren’t you even scared of me?”

She glanced up to see him again as he asked that question. His voice had a tone of slight disbelief.

“You talk back to me every single time,” saying it almost begrudgingly.

Soo let out a sigh.

“You don’t seem like a person I should take lightly,” she said before sizing him up again, “but I’m not scared of you anymore.”

He was looking away from her at first, but as she finished speaking, he looked over at her again in surprise. She saw that as a sign to redirect the conversation to her original intent.

“However, do not say I ‘belong’ to you ever again.”

“Why not?”

“I’m a person, not an item or animal. How can you say I belong to you or anyone else?” she said her voice rising near the end in slight anger.

He was expressionless for a bit before his face slowly morphed into a smirk, and he slowly walked closer to her before leaning down to meet her gaze. She leaned away in response but kept their eye contact. She would not back away!

“Then...should I call you my person?” he said with a smile

Soo found herself holding her breath for a few seconds before gathering her wits. She gave a laugh of disbelief before breaking his gaze and turning away from him.

“That’s not it either! Let’s refrain from those burdensome titles!”

Shaking her head resolutely, Soo continued: 

“Think of something else,” before giving a quick bow of her head, skirting around him and running back to her quarters.

“I thought I told you not to call me that,” she said jokingly, not really meaning to scold him.

“Is it wrong to call you that? I am your person as much as you are mine.”

“I told you it was a burdensome title back in the day, but now I quite like it. Who knew that things would change?”

“You were quite impertinent when you were younger.”

Soo couldn’t help chuckling in response.

“I suppose I was, wasn’t I?”

“I’m glad though. I don’t think you would have achieved as much as you have without it.”

She pulled back to look at him, a questioning eyebrow raised.

“Are you saying that I am still impertinent, your highness?”

“Oh? Are you doubting my judgement of your character Hae Soo?”

They both kept each other’s gaze before Soo gave up and broke down in giggles. So soon followed with his deep chuckles and Soo snuggled back into his warmth. They sat in silence for some time before the memories of earlier that day came back to Soo.

“How did you find me?”

“I was investigating when I received a lead.”

“A lead?”

“Someone appeared at the palace that looked suspicious, so I followed them. The chase led me into the woods, and while I lost the lead, I managed to come upon the cottage. That was where I found you...or rather, I found where you used to be. You had already broken your way out and lay hidden in the leaves to wait.”

“Your dagger was useful. And perhaps I had the luck of negligent captors. It was only one man who came to give me food, and then he left. There was no one to guard even at night.”

“They made the mistake of underestimating you.”

“That certainly came in handy.”

“You mean it was advantageous to you?”

“Yes, that.”

Soo wondered if it was the same man who had been giving her food. Did he listen to her plea, and gave himself away willingly? Or was it someone else who happened to travel down that path that lead So to her location?

“What should we do now? The lead is gone, and so are the captors. How will you find out who is behind this?”

“The only clue I have is the forged document requesting the change of guards. I only found out when I arrived today, and managed to obtain my original guards.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice sooner! I knew you had personally picked our guards, but when I saw different people I didn’t think anything of it. I thought perhaps you had changed them before you left.”

“Whoever made the change did it for a reason. Our original guards would have never fallen that quickly. They purposely posted newly hired guards with little experience.”

The thought of someone changing their guards from within the palace sent a chill down her spine. Truly, this was what people in the palace were capable of. They may have succeeded in taking her this time, who knows what else they will have planned now they know she is capable of escaping?

So must have felt her shiver, and he held her even closer.

“It will not happen again, Soo ya. I will make sure of it.”