“Heavens are smiling upon our young lady,” a maid clasped her hands in front of the beautiful wedding gown Sunji had finished sowing. Despite following the traditional patterns required when creating such a dress, the colours were so vivid that the maiden wearing it looked like the legendary bird ready for its eternal flight.

“Would it be too late to ask you to create the dress for me as well?” The mother of the young bride turned to Sunji with a gentle smile. “Having two new dresses would be a luxury, but seeing your work makes me want to look beautiful as well.”

“You’re too kind,” Sunji smiled while adjusting the long sleeves of the wedding gown. “But if you really wish, it’ll be done. All I need is some measurements if you will,” she then showed the way to a private room where she kept her metre and needles.

“Not many women would have the courage to do what you’re doing, you know?” The woman’s eyes roamned around the room. There were sketches hanging from ropes and pieces of fabric everywhere, showing the determination of their owner.

“We all have courage, madam. Courage to wake up each and every day, courage to wait for our loved ones to come from the battlefront, courage to carry on. I’m nothing different,” Sunji assured the tired mother while taking her measurements.

“Yes, but still, you had the courage to earn a living for yourself while us –”

“From that perspective I would tend to disagree,” Sunji stopped to look at the mother. “You are courageous enough to let your only daughter marry even though her future is unknown with all the war. You call me courageous for picking up the needle to fend for myself and my household, but to be truthful, I think I’m a coward. I don’t have faith inside of me and the thirst for life is too great to let myself stand idle.”

The woman looked at Sunji and remembered sunny days when her daughter and her would play around with no care. Now one was getting married while the other was slowly becoming an outcast because she had chosen life.

“Your dress will be done in a three days, just in time for wedding,” Sunji’s voice brought snapped the woman back to reality. “I think a deep brown and mellow yellow would look gre –”

“I wish I were more like you and less like I was taught to be,” the woman whispered while gently hugging the young. And with that she left as if embarrassed of admitting the being a woman was a tough path to walk on.

››۝‹‹

“Be brave,” she whispered to herself while her eyes followed the carriage leaving the yard on a foggy March day.

“If you fail you can always start all over again,” Jungkook said while his eyes watched his mistress.

For some kind of reason his words fueled a strange fire inside Sunji, fire which made her raise her chin up and frown at him. “Who says I’m going to fail? You’ve never seen needlework like mine!”

“Indeed, I haven’t,” he bowed his head apologetically while secretly smiling.

“Oh, whom am I kidding?” The young woman’s sigh made him attentive once again. “I bet there are dozens of talented tailors in the capital, people with numerous clients. There is no chance anyone would look at my designs, no matter how great the merchant is!”

She was afraid of failure. She had taken great risk to start a business and laid down everything she had: her pride, her status as a member of the aristocracy, the life she knew. If everything was to fail –

“You hired the best salesman in the entire kingdom,” Jungkook pointed out the obvious. “He’s able to sale anything to anyone. And if he fails…” His fingers squeezed the grip of his sword to prove his point. He was convinced the merchant knew better having taken that he had already ‘talked’ to him about what exactly was going to happen if Sunji’s designs weren’t sold properly.

“Even if he is successful in selling them, who’s going to come back for more once they find out it’s a woman designing their clothes?” She frowned at the sky, cursing her fate.

“The why don’t you become a man?” Her bodyguard laughed from his place, while shifting his legs underneath him into a more comfortable position.

“If you’re so smart, why don’t you come up with a back-up plan instead?!”

Jungkook repressed his smile in front of her fiery self. When he returned he had no expectations other than that of meeting a member or the aristocracy and all her frivolous demands. Instead he met a child forced to grow up too much during a very short period of time, a young woman who chose to give a chance to the young heart inside her chest rather than allowing it to wither.

While on his way to the Hwang residence he was hoping for someone just like Mrs. Hwang, but was now more delighted with what he had in front of him: fiery, lively, fighting for her right to live.

“Why don’t we make a bet?” Jungkook said inocently.

“A bet?” Sunji frowned while her attention was diverted.

“Yes. If this comes out as successful to us, you give up those horrible clothes and go back to wearing something more… fitted for your status,” he frowned as well, pointing at her mourning clothes. Made of white cotton and ugly to the sight, reminding him of the day he was chased out. And it didn’t suit her at all, because he was sure she was no longer mourning – after the fire died out in the front yard, so did all her feelings towards the dead man.

“And if it’s a failure, what will you do?” Sunji cocked an eyebrow, slightly amuzed by his request.

“I will go out and sell them myself then.”

“Yeah, because people would actually dare approach you,” she laughed, picturing him surrounded by her silky designs. “Although you’d look pretty good in some fresh green silk,” her fingers drew a window while her imagination dressed him up in rich colours which she knew would make him look less threatening.

“It’s not my place to wear silk, young lady,” he looked at the gray sky above and quickly jumped on his feet as the household came to life with the breaking of the dawn.

She only took her cup of tea and sipped from it while looking at him. From what she could figure, he was a man with numerous talents. Even the tea that he had brought her managed to impress her with its flavour and sweetness which chased away the cold digging in her bones. Sunji was sure he had secrets – of his own and maybe some of her family too.

“Well, when I’ll be famous and rich, you’ll have to wear silk,” she stood up from her pillow and smiled while straighting out her clothes. “Women would flock around you with your good