“He is trying to catch the ministers. Our king is trying all by himself to get rid of corruption starting with the highest level. His birthday party will be the place where they will unknowingly fall into his trap and oh, the blood this hunter will spill! So wouldn’t be appropriate for him to wear robes that will allow him to shine in all his glory?”

Those were the words that lured her into creating the insane plan that was putting into action and rolling like a rain of rocks down a mountain. And it couldn’t be stopped. So she bit her lips and clasped her hands tighter on the heavy basket full of wet robes, keeping her eyes lowered as the guards looked at her papers. It was a pass under the name of Yi Suah, royal maid, a bribed member of the royal court’s personnel who disappeared over night so that Sunji could take her place.

“You’re good to go,” the guard motioned her to enter the gates without sparing her a second look. She had smeared her face with fresh pollen mixed with some light brown cloth dye to give her otherwise white face a new look. Although unrecognizable and yet she was still trembling while stepping inside the first yard of the palace, glancing around just so she could make sure no one was looking at her.

“From the first court you’ll have to take it left and keep left till you reach the are of the wells,” Jungkook had instructed her using the rudimentary map he had drawn. “There will be a lot of maids around there, so you should change your outfit with the one in the basket before you enter that court or you risk being mistaken for a real maid and you won’t be allowed to leave so easily.”

And left she kept, creeping around the walls when encountering groups of officials and court ladies who couldn’t care less about them. And when her ears picked on the sound of water splashing, she hid behind some bushes and quickly  turned her blouse inside out, the red leaving room for the jade green of the uniform of a court lady. The simple hairpin kept her hair up, so after double checking everything she decided to dump the basket right there behind the bushes and casually walked away.

“What’s with all this noise?” She snarled at the young maids, startling them. “You are inside the palace, behave yourselves!”

“Yes, ‘mam!” They all bowed their heads not quick enough to question her sudden appearance.

“Back to your work,” Sunji motioned them before walking right past them with confident and slow-paced steps. It was close – the water maids’ court was just before the one of the Royal Tailor’s and as the sun set behind her, Sunji slipped inside the crowded court to feast her eyes on the busy maids tending to the tailors’ every little request as they cut and sew pieces of fabric together. Just past them there was a royal embroidery sown by the agile hand of an old man that held his eyes closed – the Royal Tailor himself, chief in charge of the royal tailoring.

“May I help you?” One of the maids cut in abruptly with suspicious eyes.

“His Majesty the king requires he sees Chief Tailor Kim before sun sets completely,” Sunji relied the same words she had rehearsed hours in her room. The pace was calm, but firm, her words were polite, but demanding.

“I will let the chief know, thank you,” the maid quickly bowed, but still keeping her ground so the intruder wouldn’t be able to see much.

“Then I rely on you to make sure the chief will not be late and displease the king.” And with that Sunji walked away, taking the same stony path she had walked on. However, few meters away, checking she had not been followed, she swiftly snuck behind a pillar and waited.

And not long later, she heard the steps of what sounded like an entire court hurrying down the same stony path, having the Royal Tailor leading the path with a frown digging between his brows. Sunji had triggered something similar to landsliding, as everyone was rolling out towards the king’s main court. And as they rushed their steps towards the heart of the palace, she snuck inside the deserted court, the few maids left behind too busy to notice her entering the tailoring hall.

Ah, the wander! The beauty of the designs, dashing with their simplicity – it was like Buddha appearing in front of her eyes! Sunji just couldn’t help but look around more and more, until her eyes fell on these gorgeous, crimson robes hanging on a wooden stall, half embroidered with a golden dragon that stared her down.

“The booklet,” she mumbled to herself, the embroidery making her snap out of her disbelief. It was all up to her to find what she needed. For while Jungkook’s knowledge led her through the palace safely, it stopped right at the tailoring hall’s entrance.

She looked and looked, making sure not to move things or disturb their disorder as she knew the royal tailor would have noticed, but came to no result. And as she approached the one cabinet left untouched, her ears picked on steps sneaking down the wooden floor, just