Hae Rin's POV

I ran aimlessly and skidded to a stop when I see a figure destroying the mountain of rocks that mothers build, wishing well for their children. I gasped, remembering that Lady Hae builds it for me and Soo unnie, and that man was destroying the mountain that Lady Hae built for us. I ran towards him and pulled him away from the rocks, "Stop it! How can you do that?!" I yelled, and the person turns around to shove me away.

I fell onto the ground with a thud, "Do you want to die?!" He shouted at me, I widened my eyes when I realised that it was Prince So, his face stained with blood. His angry expression, too, changed when he realised it was me that he shoved onto the ground. "Hae Rin..?" I nodded, he then pulled me up, "I-I'm so sorry, if I had known it was you, I wouldn't have--" I cut him off by placing my hands on his cheeks, "Why is there so much blood? Are you hurt? What happened?" I bombarded him with questions.

He pulled my hands off his face and looked away from me with a bitter expression, "I killed those men, Rin-ah... I killed them for her, but she still hates me... Why is it so hard for my mother to love me? She gave birth to me herself, but why..?" He muttered, painfully as tears streamed down his cheeks. My heart clenched at the sight of his tears. 

I had no idea of what exactly he was talking about but I wanted to comfort him, despite myself suffering heartache as well, "I don't know either, Prince So... You see, I never had a mother. She died after giving birth to me... Now, all I have is Lady Hae, she was like a mother to me, and even she is going to leave me soon... I guess it's good enough that your mother is still alive and well." I whispered in a small voice as tears threatened to fall.

He slowly looked at me in shock, "W-what..? Lady Hae is going to leave? You mean, she's going to die..?" He asked, cautiously. I nodded and broke down. Prince So slowly approached me and pulled me into his arms, having me cry into his shoulder. "Oh God, I'm so sorry..." He said and patted my back, comforting me. After my sobs died down, I pulled away and wiped my tears, laughing slightly, "I was going to comfort you, why did it become the other way round?" He, too, smiled at what I said and patted my head.

"I guess what I can say is that, no matter what happens, life goes on..." He said as I chuckled, "I guess the same goes to you, too, your highness." He smiled gratefully at me, "Alright, I'm going to head back to my room and get some rest. Should I you back to yours first?" I shook my head, "No no, it's fine. I'll return by myself just fine." He nodded, "Alright then, Rin-ah, I just want to say, stay strong. You still have a lot of people who care about you, like your sister and all the other princes as well as me." 

I softened at what he said, "Okay, Prince So, don't worry about me. Good night, your highness." I bowed as he did the same, "Good night to you, too, Rin-ah."

I stayed back and slowly stacked the rocks back up into the mountain that it was before. I heaved a sigh and stood up, looking at the mountain in satisfaction. I placed my hands together in a praying gesture and wished well for Lady Hae. As I was about to leave, I saw something sparkle on the ground. Curiosity got the best of me, I bend down to look closely and realised that it was a hairpin. 

It must be Prince So's, I think he wanted to give it to his mother. I pursed my lips and held the pin close to me, I'll return it to him tomorrow