(970 AD, 21^st year of Gwangjong’s reign)

As Soel rushed back towards the palace garden, she still couldn’t believe that she got permission to go to the market to enjoy the festival, with her cousins. Well, not exactly, but almost. Her father had looked like he wanted to say no but Uncle So had forestalled him with a disinterested, “Let her go“. Soel had thanked him and rushed out of the room before her father could recover from the shock and respond. When she got to the appointed spot, Soel was surprised to see not 3 but 5 of her cousins waiting for her. Princess Mun Deok smiled brightly as she explained, “Since this is your first time going to the Songak market, I thought you could use some help. I’m very good at shopping and I know all about the latest fashion. I also convinced Ju oraboeni to go with us. That way, we don’t have to trouble Chi oraboeni to escort us back to the palace.” At that, she tugged at the sleeves of her brother, who was leaning against a pillar, arms folded in front of him, seemingly disinterested in the conversation. The princess looked so excited by the idea that Soel did not have the heart to tell her that she’d been to the Songak market before. “Now that we are all here, let’s get going”, Wang Chi said with an exaggerated sigh.

Soel looked in awe at the wide array of hairpins, ribbons, bangles and a whole lot of other accessories spread out before her. She nodded her head, her eyes as big as saucers, as Mun Deok explained the names and uses of some of the more exotic ones. Soel didn’t dare to tell the princess that there were so many others on display that she had never seen or heard of before. She looked around her happily, having realized very quickly that a trip to the market with her cousins was nothing like the trips with her father or Uncle So, whose attention tends to get drawn towards weapons and martial arts performances despite their best efforts. Wang Chi knew where all the best sights and sounds were, Princess Mun Deok was an expert on which shops to visit for the best clothes and accessories, and Ju seemed to be friends with most merchants and bought them the best sweets and savories. While Mun Deok helped the Hwangbo sisters select bangles to go with their new skirts, Soel walked around, inspecting the ribbons. A red ribbon embroidered with a gold pattern caught her eye but when she picked it up, she realized that it was one of those very long ones used in intricate braids that she had never had the courage to try. Ju called out to her from a nearby stall selling leather products. Soel quickly dropped the ribbon and rushed off to join him. As soon as she left, Wang Chi walked up to where she had been and picked up the ribbon tentatively. But before he could decide what he wanted to do with it, it was snatched away from between his fingers. “I think I’ll take this. You do have a good eye for women’s accessories. No wonder all the girls swoon over you”, Mun Deok said with a bright smile as she folded the ribbon. Wang Chi refused to return her smile. Instead, he smirked at her exaggerated explanation as he turned to the rack and picked out a pink ribbon the color of cherry blossoms, showed it to the stall owner and placed a coin on the rack. “That one’s not your style. This one is”, he said in a low monotone as he wound the ribbon around Mun Deok’s arm. By the time she looked up from where the ribbon lay on her arm, he was gone.

At the leather stall, Ju showed Soel a small strip of leather with strings attached at the end. “You can tie this around your fingers when you use a bow. Let’s check if this one fits you”, he said as he took her hand and tied the leather around her fingers. Soel opened and shut her hand to check the fit. “It’s perfect”, she said. When he turned around after paying for the finger protector, Ju found Soel picking up a broader piece of leather used to protect the hand while climbing with a rope. He raised an eyebrow as he asked, “Why do you need that when you are learning to climb without a rope?” “Because I haven’t finished learning how to climb without a rope”, she responded. “You haven’t been practicing at home like I asked you to, have you?”, he snapped. “Ha…. easy for you to say. I can’t just sneak out and practice wall-climbing when I’m at home. Lady Munhye keeps tabs on me to ensure that I don’t skip my classes.” “You have classes? What do you learn?”, Ju asked in surprise. “The same stuff as Mun Deok, I guess”, Soel responded, not wanting to go into detail. “And what exactly are those?”, Ju asked, feeling slightly ashamed that he knew so little about his sister’s classes and interests. “Well… history, languages, sewing, embroidery, cooking…..” “You know how to cook?” Ju asked suppressing a snigger. “Of course, I do. I’m not as good as Lady Munhye but I can….” As she elucidated on her cooking skills, Soel looked up from a leather pouch she was inspecting to see the amused expression on Ju’s face. “Why? What’s wrong with me cooking? Is there some rule that says clumsy girls cannot be good cooks?”, Soel exploded, the unspoken barb from Ju hitting too close to the mark. “Of course not. You should certainly cook”, Ju responded quickly, attempting to put out the fire. “And what gives YOU the right to decide whether I should certainly cook or not?”, Soel struck back, still simpering. “I’m not saying you should. I meant that you can, if you wanted to.” “I already know that. I don’t need your permission to do what I want to do”, Soel shot back. Ju threw his hands in the air, unsure of how to salvage the situation. “Oh come on….. stop being so sensitive. I wasn’t trying to disparage your cooking skills. I’m sure you can cook a delicious meal if you wanted to.” “I don’t really care what you think. It’s not like I was inviting you to taste the food I cook”, Soel said with a shrug of her shoulder but in a much calmer tone. “I would love to come.” Both Ju and Soel turned around to see Wang Chi standing behind them with a lop-sided grin. “In case you want to invite ME, I’d love to come”, he told Soel, completely ignoring Ju, who was glaring daggers at him.

As they made their way back to the palace, Princess Mun Deok bombarded Soel with a million questions about her likes, dislikes, her friends and family, and her life in Chungju. Ju smiled to himself as he watched his sister go out of her way to get to know Soel. While she seemed to be genuinely interested in Soel, Ju knew that the questions were more for his benefit. After all, she had no idea that all that information would come in handy in the near future, when she gets married and moves to Chungju. Once they reached the palace, Mun Deok insisted that they drop her first. In front of Queen Daemok’s palace, she bid Soel good night and secured a promise to meet again the next time Soel was in the palace. Then she poked her brother in the ribs and muttered something before walking gracefully up the stairs leading to the doorway. Too curious to follow propriety, Soel asked immediately, “What was that about?” “Uhmmmm….. she wanted me to give you this”, Ju said as he handed over the red ribbon. Soel’s eyes opened wide in surprise as she looked at the ribbon that she had admired at the market. But her face deflated the next instant as she remembered why she had abandoned it in the first place. “You shouldn’t have. I won’t be able to use it because I can’t handle braids”, she said softly. “That’s okay. I can show you other hairstyles that use a long ribbon.” Ju and Soel looked at each other in shock before turning around and noticing Mun Deok peering out from behind one of the pillars. “Unbelievable”, Ju said with a shake of his head as she walked out of her hiding place, bowed primly while holding her skirt lightly with her fingers and disappeared into the palace, giggling like a little girl. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her. She never behaves like that”, Ju explained, still shaking his head. “She’s perfect…… no matter what she does. I’m so jealous. I wish I had such a wonderful sister”, Soel said with a smile, as her eyes lingered on the doorway where Mun Deok had disappeared. “You should be careful what you wish for. Might just come true”, Ju replied with a smile as he led her to her quarters.