Everyone in the Kingdom of Merland is busy preparing for a grand celebration. You can see all the mermaids with smiles plastered on their faces. The salons are all full, the malls are crowded, and everyone is doing their job.

"What should be the flavor of the cake?" Hyolyn, one of the coordinators of the celebration, asked the king.

The king sitting on his throne thought of it: "Chocolate will do. Soojung likes them." He smiled at Hyolyn and dismissed her.

The king is now very stressed because everyone is asking for his opinion, and he is frequently visiting the people to see how they are doing.

"Now, where is Soojung? It would have been good if she were here helping me." He sighed and summoned one of his right-hand men.

"Amber, are you not with Soojung?"

"No, my king, but she said she'd be back before the party starts," She explained, and the king nodded.

"Please go look for her. She must help in this celebration." He ordered Amber, and she complied.

The king released a heavy sigh and looked at everyone who was in a hurry. Today is the 12th death anniversary of his lovely wife, Yu-mi. He does not like to celebrate this occasion of mourning, which is why every year he throws a celebration in honor of his dead wife. Amber, on the other hand, was busy finding Soojung.

"Aish, where could she be?" She looked everywhere in the kingdom, but no signs of Soojung were found.

Suddenly, she remembered that Soojung's hobby is to collect seashells on the beach. She got fond of it because of her mother. This is what they always do. Amber went onto the shore, where the big rocks are, and heard a humming voice.

"Yah, Soojung," he called out, and Soojung looked at her with a shocked expression on her face.

"What brought you here?" She asked him, placing all her seashells inside her bag.

"Your father needs you in the kingdom. He's doing all the work where you could help him." She stated the obvious.

Soojung frowned. "Yah, I told you, I'll be back before the celebration, and I'm not yet done collecting." She crossed her arms and glared at her.

"Yes, I know, but you should help your father. It's your mother's anniversary, and I think it'll also make your mother happy if she sees you helping for her celebration." She encouraged her, and she just sighed, grabbed her bag, and went back into the ocean. Amber just followed her.

They arrived at the palace. Everyone greeted the princess, and she greeted them back.

"I'll get going. I still need to check on other things." Amber said so as soon as they arrived at the palace gate, and Soojung bids her farewell.

"Abeoji," she called out to her father, who was staring at their family painting.

"Soojung." His father hugged her.

"Where have you been?" When his father asked her, she smiled innocently and showed him a bag of seashells.

"I collected some of these at the shore." When she said shore, her voice grew thinner, and she smiled very widely. His father just shook his head and crossed his arms.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to go there?"

"But, Abeoji, this is what we always do with Eomma." She reasoned herself out.

"But it's more dangerous now that you are alone. You should've called Amber to be with you."

"But everyone's busy preparing for the celebration, and since I don't know what to do, that's why I collected some to place on the tables. You are aware that you should include more designs than just flowers."He smiled sweetly, and Jung