“Yujin!” Taehee ran over to her sister. Aiko and Hana followed her. Taehee knelt down and picked up Yujin by her shoulders frantically. She placed Yujin’s head in her lap and patted Yujin’s face. “Yujin!”

Aiko and Hana had knelt down on the patio floor in their gowns, just like Taehee. They didn’t care that their dresses might get dirty; all they cared about was Yujin. Aiko was even more worried than Hana. She had noticed that Yujin hadn’t been well.

Yoochun had run into the ballroom to alert the emperor, the empress, and Junsu. Sora, Yujin’s other bodyguard, was making sure that the crowd that had formed around Hana, Aiko, and Taehee, stayed back.

Yujin opened her eyes. Her vision wasn’t clear, but she knew Taehee was holding her head. She reached up towards Taehee’s face. “Unni,” she said softly.

“Jinnie!” Taehee called out Yujin’s childhood nickname.

Yujun’s eyes slowly closed again and her hand fell limply down to the side.

“Yujin!”

---

Dr. Han, a man with a head of white hair and a pair of thin-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, checked Yujin’s pulse and her heartbeat. He had been the royal doctor for thirty-five years. He had delivered all four of Emperor Sangjin and Empress Haeyoung’s children. He had cured colds and the sniffles, helped heal broken bones, and given medicine to the royal family. He had watched Yujin and her siblings grow up.

He sat beside Yujin’s bed and clicked his tongue. He took notice of how frail Yujin’s body was.

Yujin stirred and Dr. Han watched as she opened her eyes.

“Ahh, you’re finally awake, Your Highness.”

“Dr. Han.” Yujin slowly got up. She recognized she was in her own bed in her own room. The familiar lavender walls of her bedroom surrounded her. “I’m home?”

“Yes, Your Highness. You were brought home immediately.”

“I see.” Yujin twirled sn emerald and diamond ring around her left ring finger.

Dr. Han placed his stethoscope around his neck. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay. What happened to me?”

“You fainted.”

“I remember feeling dizzy and my vision blurring.”

“That happens.” Dr. Han pushed his glasses higher on his nose. “You’re stressed and exhausted. You haven’t been taking good care of yourself, have you?”

Yujin shook her head with embarrassment. “No.”

“And you haven’t been eating very well?”

“No.”

“You need to think of your health, Your Highness. A princess should only faint in front of her prince charming.”
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