“I don’t want to die before meeting my grandson!”

I sighed. Here we go again! “Father, you won’t die soon. Trust me,”I smiled over the pile of papers that I had to check for the students. “And it’s not like we don’t wish for children! It’s just that…maybe God is punishing us for our sins,”I shrugged.

“Here you go again with that ‘God’ of yours!” Father sat in front of my table, looking at me under his long eyelashes. “Maybe Mi Ru’s at fault here. Maybe she can’t have children. How about you get a second wife?”

“Father! Bigamy is not allowed in my religion and you know that very well! And there’s nothing wrong with Mi Ru! Have some patience, will you? It’s been only three months since we got married! You had me after 6 years of marriage!”

“But this time is different! I’m old, Jong Woon! I’m old and I would like to meet my grandson. It’s been quite some time since I last heard a baby’s cry or laughter.”

“Oh, father! Just have some patience!”I sighed as I placed the papers one over the other. “Now I have to go. Came by for dinner,”I rested my hand on his shoulder for a second.

I left him there, looking so old as he stood on the wooden chair. I felt sorry for him. He was happy for my marriage, but he knew nothing about the reality were living in. Mi Ru and I decided to keep it low with the skinship. We weren’t in love with each other so it was difficult to do any of the things that normal, married couples would do. Our marriage was more like a… friendship. We were friends. Best friends, if I may say so. We were sleeping in the same bed, we were eating together, talking about things that we saw or heard over the day, but that was pretty much all. And now our parents were insisting on seeing their ‘grandson’… …

“Teacher Kim is here! Salute!”said the doorman as I stepped inside the room that was swarming with talking students.

“Sit!”I took over my role of the cold and bad teacher once again. “Your papers were lousy! These essays were lousy! Who taught you such things as ‘cleanest feelings surrounded by a wall of bricks’?!”I frowned at the figure of speech that one of the students used.

“Teacher Cho.”

Why was her name popping out of nowhere?!

“Open your books at page 50 and prepare to analyze the text written there!”I cleared my throat, refusing to let my mind linger around her name. But it was something impossible. Even after three months of being away from her with both mind and body, I could always turn back to her and ask myself in the middle of the night if I was really that easily to be played.

I sighed. There was really no way out for me, huh?

“Alright, class! Close the text book and begin to recite the text you’ve just read!”

♃~✵~♃

I watched the falling snow that was covering the path in our garden while the servants were struggling to keep it clean. Should I have stepped out and help them?

“Jong Woon? Dinner is ready!”Mi Ru’s voice came from inside.

I smiled and entered her room, letting myself being swallowed by that warm light that was surrounding her room.

“What’s with the smile?”she placed one dish in front of another.

“Nothing. Just…it feels good to be here sometimes.”

She eyed me in a strange way and then sighed. After searching for something in a wooden box, she returned to her place, holding a red envelope with a golden seal placed on it.

“What is that?”

“This came today. I’m sorry, but I took the liberty of opening it,”she handed it out as I let go of the chopsticks. “It’s from them.”

“Them?”

But that’s when I saw it. The letter bore a official seal that I was almost impossible for me not to recognize it. The golden seal of the royal family, or better said, of the king himself.

“Oh! It’s an invitation…”

My eyes followed the lines written with black ink, focusing on the most important words: ‘Crown Prince Seung Ho’, ‘royal ceremony’, ‘marriage’, ‘future queen of the nation’, ‘beloved daughter’, ‘attenting the royal ceremony’. It was clear to me. The letter was just an excuse. They were forcing every single official to attend the royal wedding just to show them that the power was remaining in the family and that no one was going to interfere with their plans whatsoever. But still, why was I on the list?

“What are we going to do?”Mi Ru poured some tea in my cup.

I sighed. “We have to attend it since we received the letter,”I put away the letter as I let my thoughts wonder all around the place.

“But where will we get the money to get them a gift?”

“Can’t see any hidden meaning behind all of this?”I looked in her eyes and saw that she was waiting for this question to come out. “That’s it, isn’t it? They are trying to show off, right?”

She snorted. “They? More like her! This is her doing here! Can’t you see that Ae Ri’s behind this letter?”she eyed me strangely.

“Why are you accusing her when it’s bearing the royal seal?”

“Why are you defending her when she calling you there only to show off? Only to show you what she got by marrying the Crown Prince? Only to hurt you? Why, Jong Woon?!”

Mi Ru was right, so I had to look the other way, fixing the flowers painted on the wall. “Because it’s only legit for her to do so,”I muttered.

“I don’t understand you, Jong Woon!”she shook her head.

“I wa