Sungmin had a hard time waking up the next day. He slowly sat up while trying not to move as much muscles as he could, for they sore too much. He also tried to open his aching eyes, but they felt puffy and heavy. He cried a lot yesterday to lessen his emotional pain, but now, it was taking toll on his body. He sat still with his eyes closed for a while, not knowing what to do.

His peacefulness was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. He tried to respond, but he gave up answering, when he realized that his throat was dry. After the third set of knocks, the person from the outside let himself in.

"Morning princess," the person greeted.

"...Chul"

"Whoa! You look like a pumpkin." Heechul teased to lighten up Sungmin.

Sungmin glared weakly. He was not in the mood to play with Heechul, but he was still tired to counter.

"In speaking of pumpkin, I made you a pumpkin soup." Heechul showed the food on the tray he was holding. Sungmin moistened his lips on the sight, which made Heechul grin. "I know this is your favorite," Heechul said. "Everyone in the kingdom knows", he added to himself. He didn't need to add heartache to Sungmin by reminding him that he was a princess.

Sungmin slightly beamed. He really loves pumpkin, especially if it's a soup. It was his comfort food for as long as he could remember

 He almost forgot his sore body because of the anticipation of eating his favorite dish. He immediately reached for the bowl and giddily took sips. Heechul was quiet as he watch Sungmin stuff himself with soup. The man was not paying attention to his surroundings and not letting his mouth go empty even for a second.

Sungmin looked at Heechul then swallowed. He stopped his next spoon just to speak to Heechul.

"Please don't look at me like that." Then, he continued gulping down the soup.

"Look like what?" Heechul asked. Sungmin didn't want to stop the motion of the spoon from the bowl to his mouth, but Heechul was waiting for his response.

"Like someone died. Don't worry about me. I'm fine now." Sungmin lied. He's still hurting physically and emotionally, but he did not want to be pitied. Hangeng's help yesterday was more than enough.

"Me?" Heechul pointed to himself. "I don't look like that." He immediately changed his expression to hide his concern. "I was just imagining the princess topless like you. It's not hard to do so with that chest of yours." Heechul teased.

Sungmin looked down and saw himself still half-dressed with the gown. He was taken aback. He showed Heechul a scandalized face since he did not want to let go of his food to cover himself up.

"Remind me not to ever sleep on your bed again." He said.

"You could sleep there anytime you want. I'll still tease you anyway." Heechul then stood up and headed to the door. "I'll continue with the translation before I see you swallow the whole bowl."

Heechul was fast enough to avoid the flying pillow directed to his face. He did not take any chance, so he dashed out of the room. Sungmin smiled as he continued his breakfast in peace. He was glad that Heechul could comfort him in his own ways.

Heechul leaned on the door as he successfully evaded Sungmin's attack. The happy smug on his face faded once he was alone. Sungmin suffered and still suffering because of his actions, yet he's being selfish by putting his interest first when he agreed to hide his relationship with Hangeng.

"He'll understand... I hope he understands." He mumbled.

Hidden on a corner, Hangeng wondered who was the one Heechul was talking about.

After consuming every drop of the soup entirely, Sungmin braced himself to go out. If he wanted to forget about what happened last night, isolating himself alone should be the last thing he needed to do.

He tried to divert his attention with work and more work to avoid thinking about Kyuhyun. However, his feet kept walking to the lobby, his eyes always searched for the statue, and his heart yearned for Kyuhyun.

It was the twenty-eighth time that day that he had to prevent himself from going to the lobby, but when he saw a suspicious person lurking around Kyuhyun, he finally had a reason to go near the statue. As he was walking, he realized that the visitor was a female. She was observing Kyuhyun meticulously while trying to hide her identity. However, she's doing this spying thing in a wrong way. If she really wanted to stay hidden, wearing a head covering and sunglasses inside a close building is a bad idea.

"Excuse me?" He asked the stranger.

"Oh my god!" The female shrieked.

Good thing Sungmin was with her, so no staff reprimanded her loud voice. She realized what she had done, so she clasped with both hands. Wanting to scold the person who surprised her, she turned around and looked at the culprit.

"Oh, Minnie oppa." She almost exclaimed. She removed her disguise and smiled warmly at Sungmin. "It's me, Sooyoung."

"Sooyoung what are you doing here?" Sungmin asked, not really wanting her back shortly after what happened.

Sooyoung looked behind Sungmin and put back her costume.

"Can we talk in a different place? I don't really want to see that Heechul man."

"Why?" Sungmin asked, intrigued.

"I'll explain to you everything if you come with me outside." She offered.

Seeing nothing wrong with it, Sungmin agreed. Sooyoung walked out of the library almost immediately when she got a positive response from Sungmin.

"My brother is always busy with work. He always leave me alone since I came back from America. I just came to visit to confirm something." She explained.

"Confirm?"

"Uh-huh! This is quite a long and exciting explanation. We better go somewhere comfortable."

"I know a near coffee shop."

"Great! Your treat Minnie oppa."

Sungmin and Sooyoung preferred to walk to their destination. While walking, Sooyoung kept looking around like a first time tourist. Sungmin, on the other hand, just kept observer her. She did not look dangerous, nor bad at all. It goes the same with Heechul, but it seemed like they were not fond each other.

They arrived at the place and went inside. Sooyoung wanted to hold the door for Sungmin, but Sungmin insisted on being a gentleman. She just decided to go ahead and order for both of them.

"How did you know I like triple chocolate cake and chrysanthemum tea?" Sungmin asked.

"I really don't know. It just came to my mind when I see you. Maybe I've known it my whole life." She replied.

They sat down across each other on a booth by the window as they wait for their drinks and snacks. Sooyoung placed her hand on the table and leaned closer to Sungmin.

"So, Minnie oppa, about Kyuhyun," she started.

"What about him?" Sungmin cut her sentence. "You," he hesitated before continuing. "you know Kyuhyun?"

"Not really, but they way you speak about him, you must be hiding something." She asked with narrowed eyes.

Sungmin's eyes widened, and he was speechless. Should he tell her the truth or wait for it to be revealed eventually to her? Seeing Sungmin's surprised state, Sooyoung smirked.

"I knew it! The statue and the man who pushed you yesterday is the same, isn't it?"

"Uh..." Sungmin didn't know what to say.

Sooyoung leaned to her seat, giving back Sungmin his personal space.

"Don't worry oppa. Your secret is safe with me." She said then motioned her hand to zip shut. "So oppa," she said leaning on the table again. This time, she rested her elbow on the table and cupped her face, trying to appear adorable in front of Sungmin. "what do you look for a girl?"

"You don't really know Kyuhyun? You don't remember him?" Sungmin wanted to clarify. He was surprised that he didn't even heard Sooyoung's question.

Sooyoung pouted as she recall anything from her memories. She cutely shook her head when nothing popped up.

"I just know that he was the man from the legend. Siwon oppa and I looked it up yesterday."

Sungmin nodded. This information made Sungmin a little bit calm.

"So, what do you think of Kyuhyun." He asked once again.

"Him? Hmm... I think he's a cold-hearted bastard who hurt the princess." Sooyoung answered straightforwardly.

Sungmin almost dropped his jaw if their food did not arrived on time. While the waiter was serving their orders, he had a time to breathe and think.

"Why would you think that way?"

"Who would push anyone without reason? Besides, you were wearing heels that time." She replied angrily. "I also did my own research about the princess. She was not bad at all. I bet she was really the one who sent all those letters to that dense and stupid person." She furiously crosses her arms to convey her anger more. "I truly hate him and that other maiden."

To calm the fuming lady in front of him, Sungmin presented Sooyoung her own dessert. She smiled gladly at the offer. She was happily munching while Sungmin looked at her disbelievingly.

"I thought I was the only one who hated myself in the past." He thought.

"How about you Minnie oppa, what do you think of him?"

Sungmin sipped his tea. He did so to fight his blush and the smile forming on his lips.

"I think he's not that bad. He was just showing how loyal he was to his lover. Besides, that push yesterday was unintentional." Sungmin explained.

"He's still dumb for not listening to the princess' side. If I were you, I won't get too close to him."

"How did you know he did not let the princess explain?"

"I don't know. I just feel like it, and my hunches are always right."

"Don't you remember anything from the past?"

Sooyoung looked at Sungmin. She looked back at her plate and stopped eating as she contemplate her answer.

"The doctor told me to forget everything that could trigger my suicidal thoughts. He said I was lucky enough to survive every attempt I did to end my life." She smiled and looked back at Sungmin. "I may not remember anything from the past, but I'm happier now."

Sungmin felt bad. He didn't know that Sooyoung experienced something horrible like that. The legend says that the princess cursed her maidservant. He knew he did not do it. Minsung could never curse anyone like that.

Sungmin felt sorry for all of them who was affected by the cruel curse. Unconsciously, he reached for Sooyoung's hand on the table. Sooyoung was surprised, but she accepted the hand willingly. She even gripped it to show her appreciation. Whoever put them in that mess, Sungmin could not see himself forgiving that person.

a/n: I apologize for the previous chapter. I felt really terrible.

Now, let me confuse all of you again with another conflict and a little bit of revelation.