Lee Yeong was restlessly pacing in the gardens of the Royal Palace, feeling like a tiger behind the lock of his cage, unable to escape. He was tired and anxious. For an entire week he had been having nightmares, waking up sweating and feeling like he was suffocating. He had also been having a hard time focusing, which hadn’t gone unnoticed by his officials trying to use the fear for his sister to their advantage.

,,How could this happen?” he thought again and again, frustrated, angry and hopeless.

He didn’t know how, nor did he know who had taken the most precious person in his life away from him. He feared the worst though. He thought of the Baekwoon Group, of the organisation of ruthless bloodthirsty rebels trying to overthrow the monarchy.

If Lee Bora was in their hands... no, he didn’t even want to think of that possibility.

Suddenly he heard steps behind him and turned around, wanting to angrily reprimand anyone who has just distracted his thoughts. But when he saw a familiar face, he all of a sudden didn’t want to send that person away. Maybe he really needed someone to talk to, despite the fact, that throughout the previous week he did his best to make sure everybody would avoid him. When someone in the palace had seen him, they cleared the way as quickly as possible, hoping he wouldn’t notice them, since his mood was colder and his words more bitter than ever before.

Yet this man dared to approach him and somehow, he was happy about it, as happy as he could get under the shadow of recent events.

,,Kim Yoon-sung,” he greeted him with a faint yet genuine smile.

,,Your Highness,” the man before him bowed his head.

,,What brings you here?”

,,I hope I’m not disturbing you, Your Highness. It has just occurred to me that you might need some company. Perhaps you would like to talk about... that incident concerning Her Highness,” he said in his gentle melodic voice, that would manage to calm down even the angriest and most nervous person in the world.

,,Thank you, Yoon-sung,” Lee Yeong replied, ,,maybe you’re right. You of all people must know the best how I feel right now. You probably feel a very