"Why are you back so soon?" Mrs. Kim looked shocked to see me standing at her door. Luhan had told me she wasn't feeling well but now that I looked at her, it seemed like she merely had a lot running through her mind.

 

I showed her the poster. "What is this?" My voice was barely audible as I panted.

 

She took a second to look over the poster before quickly pulling me inside. She locked the doors and pulled out a chair for me. A cup of tea was placed on the table in front of me and finally, she took a seat herself. But she still didn't say anything.

 

"What's going on, Mrs. Kim?" I asked.

 

She rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath. "I don't understand either, dear. Last night, criers from another town came to tell us that they saw the princess and her captor. Then this morning, there were reports that the captor was in this village."

 

This morning? That was when Jongin had come to grab some medicine for me. "But I'm not kidnapped."

 

"Are you the princess?" Her voice was soft. The old lady looked at me in the eye and I knew I couldn't lie.

 

"Yes, but Jongin didn't kidnap me," I pleaded his case in a desperate voice.

 

She tapped the poster between us. "Then why is your father saying that you're missing?"

 

"I don't know." I shook my head and stared at the portraits. "Jongin said he's a spy working for my father. I'm hiding from the enemy and Jongin's helping me."

 

"Is Jongin his name?"

 

I nodded fervently. "His name is Kim Jongin. He's helping to protect me until my father sends word..." I stopped for a second. "Is this my father's way of telling me to go home?"

 

Mrs. Kim shook her head. "I don't know but we've been dealing with this Kai person for a long year. He'd stolen princesses from up north last winter but we never got his face until now."

 

"Huh?" My head spun with this new information.

 

She took a sip from her tea and heaved a grave sigh. "None of those princesses were ever seen again."

 

I staggered out of my chair and gulped nervously, convinced that this woman must've been wrong. "But Jongin takes the princesses to protect them. He's...he's like an undercover knight." I tried everything to defend him.

 

"You've never heard about Kai before?"

 

I shook my head and picked up the paper. "I'm from the far west. We don't get much news unless it's urgent."

 

Mrs. Kim nodded in understanding. "Too many mountains in the way."

 

I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. "What am I supposed to do?"

 

"If I were you, I'd talk to Jongin about it. He doesn't seem like a bad guy and, from what I can see, the two of you trust each other."

 

I nodded, keeping back my words. I couldn't tell her how much I didn't know about Jongin. Maybe he was bad and I had walked right into a trap.

 

-

 

I found my way back by following the smoke that had billowed out from our campsite. When I got closer, I hid behind a tree as I saw Jongin stirring something in a pot. I wondered where he had gotten the small metal cauldron but my mind was more occupied with formulating a plan. How was I supposed to bring up the topic?

 

"You're back." Jongin glanced up from his cooking and our eyes met for a brief second. I tried to hide myself behind my cloak but I knew it was useless. "Did you have fun?"

 

My eyes widened for a second. He had known where I went. "I did." I stepped forward and took out the box of rice cakes. "This is for you," I said, holding it out with both hands.

 

Jongin stared at the box for a few seconds before smiling and accepting it. Except the smile didn't reach his eyes; he was thinking about something. "Thank you."

 

I sat down across from him with the fire in between us. If I found out that he was a bad guy, I'd have to run. I knew I couldn't outrun Jongin but I had to try.

 

"Umm," I started off shakily. "Sorry for leaving without telling."

 

"It's okay." Jongin continued to stir what I thought was soup. It smelled delicious but I had other matters to worry about.

 

"You're not angry?"

 

"No. You're back, right?" He wouldn't look up and I leaned my chin on my hand. It would've been easier on me if he was mad at me. I could feel the poster crinkle under my cloak, prompting me to talk.

 

"Jongin," I tried. "Could you tell me about those two princesses again?"

 

This time, I got his attention. "Why? You already know about them."

 

"What happened to the first princess? The talkative one?"

 

Jongin's eyebrows came together. "I took her back to her castle after her father found me."

 

"I see." I chewed on my lip and watched Jongin ladle out two bowls of soup. He pulled out a packet from his bag and shook the contents into my bowl. "What's that?" I asked.

 

Jongin put the paper envelope away and stirred the powder into the soup before handing it to me. "Salt. You're still sick so I figured you needed more flavour to get your appetite going."

 

I set the hot bowl on my lap and stared at it. When Jongin had poured in the salt, it didn't look crystalline. The white powder looked too fine to be salt.

 

"You eat. I'm going to look for some more kindling for tomorrow." He stood up and walked into the darkness and I was left to study my soup. I had to trust my gut.

 

I put the bowl down and ran into the tent. Pulling out the paper that I had stuffed into my cloak, I read through it again under the dim light of the fire. Jongin couldn't have been this Kai person. They must've gotten a wrong picture.

 

So why was I arming myself with knives and pushing bread and dried meat into my dress?

 

My throat closed up as I thought about running away. I wasn't going to be safe anywhere until I got back to my father. And by then, Jongin would've probably found me.

 

But I needed to run. I couldn't stay here anymore.

 

"Eun Kyo?" Jongin was back. "Why didn't you drink any soup?" His voice was laced with suspicion and I frantically worked faster.

 

I didn't trust my voice as tears stung my eyes so I sent a message through my mind.

 

I'm not hungry.

 

Jongin's footsteps approached the tent and I struggled to squeeze everything I needed under my cloak and into my dress.

 

Don't come in! I-I'm changing!

 

I let out a low breath in relief as I saw Jongin's shadow stop midstep. He went back to the fireplace and I folded the poster neatly. I would need it as evidence.

 

The flap of the tent opened and I stared wide-eyed at Jongin stepping in with the same paper envelope he had earlier. I couldn't see his face but I could tell he wasn't smiling.

 

"Wait, I'm—" Jongin didn't listen as he dumped the rest of the powder onto his hands and scooped it into his mouth. I backed away until he cupped my face with his fingers.

 

Before I could react, I felt his lips on mine. I froze under his touch and my nails dug into his arms. But then his tongue was shoved against my mine and I could feel the strange powder. I tried pulling back but Jongin pushed forward. The bitter taste of the "salt" made me want to choke. I finally managed to break free and wipe my trembling lips.

 

Jongin sat in front of me, panting. He stuck out his tongue and wiped it on his sleeve. I could barely make out the powder that trailed on the fabric of his shirt. Then he watched me with what looked like pure hatred shielding his eyes.

 

"What is—" I tried asking but my breath caught in my throat. I clawed at the burning sensation under my jaw before black filled my vision and I fell back.

 

I hate you, Kim Jongin.

 

---

 

hehehe ^^