Trial

1919

Inside the room where all eight women were staying for the time being was enveloped with silence. All of them found their own space in the room and distanced themselves from each other. 

Taeyeon, who was pretending to be Kim Min Hee, was staring at the moon through a small window. The other women were doing their own thing, looking at their hands and nails and fiddling with the material of their clothes. 

But the silence was soon broken when one of the girls suggested that they should get to know one another and ease the tension and awkwardness between all of them. 

“Well, I’ll start. My name is Hyuna, Kim Hyuna. I came from the Gangwon region,” The girl who broke the silence introduced herself to the rest. She was beautiful with full lips, long black hair, and fair skin. She gave a warm yet small smile to everyone who was looking at her.

Then each woman took their turn in introducing their selves.  After Hyuna were two girls that came from the region of Hwanghae. Their names were Lee Ji Eun and Seolhyun, and they were the two youngest women out of the eight. 

Then there was Park Sandara who had striking features that made her stand out even though she was the oldest out of everyone. She was born in the Gyeongsang region. After her, Hwang Mi Young and Im Yoona were both from the Gyeonggi region. They both radiated a positive and youthful aura around them. The last girl who bore the name Han So Hee came from the region of Chungcheong. She was the quietest one out of everyone and she kept on glancing at Taeyeon who also kept quiet throughout the time. 

After introducing their selves they did not say anything else to each other, and they went to sleep afterward. But Taeyeon and So Hee were the only ones that were awake the whole night. They were both deep in their thoughts, wondering what will happen to both of them individually. 

The following day, the eight girls were informed that they were to meet the king once again and the rest of his family. The king’s current wife, mother, father, and younger brother were also going to be there. 

The king wanted to see what hidden skills each girl has. He wanted to narrow the number of girls as fast as possible as he was itching to feel some pleasure from his future concubine. 

When the girls arrived, they were all seated in front of the king and his family with quite a bit of distance to show each of their talents. 

Jiyong looked at the girls one by one but his gaze lasted a little longer on a particular girl. His wife, who did not support this idea and was strongly against it, was watching her husband the whole time and had caught him staring longer at one of the girls. 

She turned her attention to the girl who had her husband’s attention and wanted to have a good look at her. But the girl was looking down so her face was not very visible to her. 

Then she looked at the daebi, the previous queen, who was seated to her right. The previous queen had as much disdain as her about the idea of having concubines. The previous queen was the one who introduced Lee Joo Yeon to her son, Jiyong. 

She supported Joo Yeon, as she came from a very wealthy and high ranking family. She introduced her to her son to not only strengthen the position of the current king but eventually make his son fall in love with her. 

But to her knowledge from the current queen, Joo Yeon, her son does not give Joo Yeon any attention other than the reason to bear him an heir to the throne. In order to secure the position of Jiyong as a king. 

Before every girl can demonstrate their talents, the previous king who was seated to the left side of Jiyong had no qualms about the decision of his son to have concubines as long as he secures his position as the king. Any measures necessary is accepted by him. He rather chooses his eldest son to be the rightful king than his youngest son, who paled in comparison against Jiyong when it comes to knowledge and skills in battle. 

His youngest son, Baekhyun, who was seated next to the previous king had as much interest as his older brother in the idea of having concubines. He was looking at every girl presented in