“And here, my lady, is your own private garden. A special gift from your father, the Emperor for your tenth birthday,” one of our court advisors showed me the small but charming space where flowers were already blooming and a running water fountain decorated the center.

            There was a rustle and we both glanced at the bushes. “You can’t escape me! Urgh!” there was another grunt and then a boy and his dog rolled out from the bushes.

            I gave a gasp and the advisor jumped in front of me in a protective stance. The boy looked up at us sheepishly, still clutching onto the puppy. The puppy was now barking excitedly and at its owner’s face. When he saw it was us, he jumped up and scrambled to courtesy. I could feel the advisor before me, breathe in, as if ready to lecture him.

            “Jongup? Jongup! You can’t be here when the Princess is,” the gardener, a man I’ve only seen twice, shot me an uneasy look and quickly bowed before yanking his son by the arm and that was the end of the spectacle.

            The next time I saw Jongup was a few weeks later. He was in the garden with his father, learning how to shear the rose bushes. “You need to make sure it’s not prickly and won’t hurt the princess. Jongup, are you paying attention?”

            I watched them from my balcony and giggled a little when he jumped up and saluted. “Yes sir!”

            He was fun to watch at work. The boy would trim the bushes, get distracted, dance a little to himself before continuing again. I laughed a little whenever he would straighten to attention and work when his father would narrow his eyes at him. Jongup was always smiling and I realized that he would be fun to talk to. 

            While I was staring, my nursemaid called out to me. “Princess, you need to prepare for tonight’s dinner! Princess!”    

            I startled and turned to look at her and she let out a tiny frown. I looked back and saw that Jongup must have heard the loud calling too because he too looked in my direction. I blushed, ducked my head and quickly left. Had he thought I was looking?

            I avoided the balcony and the garden for days. I could hear him talking with his father, his voice carrying once in a while but kept myself concentrated on my sewing. I had work to do and I couldn’t be distracted. I knew that it would be embarrassing if he caught me looking again.

            But one afternoon, the sun was bright and I had finished. I heard excited yelps and knew that he must have brought his puppy with him. I ventured out to take a look.

            “Yeah! Go fetch that stick! Come on, boy. You can do it!” he nodded encouragingly and the dog shook its tail before letting out an excited bark and leapt into the air, catching it between its jaws. He clapped when the dog trotted back to him. Jongup started to hum a funny tune and did a little dance with his feet. He flipped and twisted before jumping straight and bowing at the rose bushes. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.” He said. Without realizing, I clapped and he looked up.

            Our eyes met for a second and he grinned broadly. “Hello, Princess!” He waved.

            Mortified, I ducked my head and I heard him laugh again. “Why are you hiding? There’s nothing to hide about. I’m Jongup! I work your gardens and if you ever wanted to play, you can just come down!”      

            I buried my face in my hands and avoided his look. This was too much. He was asking me to come down to play. I gulped and looked at him again. He cocked his head to the side. “If you’re shy, don’t be! My father always says not to talk to you, but you seem really friendly.” He was smiling again.

            I gave him a quick wave. “I, uh, I have to do work.”

            He shrugged and waved. “Maybe next time!” And I ducked inside my corridors to avoid further embarrassment.

            The next day when I went out on the balcony, I found a flower resting on the railing. The gardens were quiet today, just the babbling of the fountain and the occasional chatter of courtiers as they strolled the nearby courtyards. I picked up the pink flower, still blushing from fresh bloom and wondered who could have placed it there.

            I kept the flower pressed between my books and prayed nobody would see to ask questions. Hard as I tried to not think about it, I always found my head wandering to who may have given it to me. I had a niggling suspicion but there was no way, no reason.

            The next morning, I found another flower, a blue one this time. There was also a beautiful rock next to it. When I peered over the railing, I saw Jongup. He smiled at me and waved. “Did you like the flowers, Princess? They’re from the newly bloomed bushes. I saw them and thought of you. I hope you like them!”

            I gave him a shy smile. “Thank you! How did you get it up here?”

            Jongup laughed and ran suddenly towards the wall. I looked at him and saw him jump onto a vine and started to climb diligently up. He came up to the balcony and swung over, landing in front of me gently. He bowed deeply and curtseyed.

            “Your Royal Princess, Moon Jongup at your service,” he introduced himself.

            I jokingly gave out my hand and he kissed it reverently. “I am much honored,” he smiled at me.

            There was a shout from below and we both saw his father shaking with rage. “Jongup! You’re disgraceful! How dare you! Apologize to the Princess at once!”

            He looked at me and I waved. “It’s quite alright, sir! He was just providing me with some companionship.”

            His father huffed and walked away and Jongup looked at me. “I know you’re the Princess but if you ever want to play with me, I’ll be here, working your gardens. I’ll pick more flowers for you in person too.” He grinned broadly and held out his arms.

            I shyly reached out a pinky and he hooked it. “That’s a promise. I’ll see you tomorrow at the grounds.” 

This is for venni_abovethesun

I sort of changed a bit of what you had with this and I hope you still enjoy.

I know it's a bit rushed but I need to help my mom cook