"You got it!"

Bom tousled Hana's light brown hair. Hana smiled lightly and looked at the fish that were flopping around, alive, and put the both of them in the bucket full of the other live fish.

"That's the fourth time you were able to do it today. I think you've finally gotten it. See, wasn't that hard right?"

Hana nodded. "Once you get it, it's not so hard the next few times."

Bomgrinned. "Seems like I can go home earlier than expected today. I was worried that you weren't going to be able to use your powers properly this time either."

"What do you take me for," Hana muttered.

"I'm just kidding. By the way, where's Donghae? I'm surprised that overprotective mystery isn't with you today."

Bom looked around the ward and put her hands on her hips. Hana sat on a chair and stretched her legs to relieve the soreness after standing on them for so long. "He had some important matters to attend to outside of the palace apparently."

"Huh. I saw him before I got here though."

Hana raised a brow at her. "Wait really?"

Bom paused for a moment and tapped her hip impatiently. "Yeah he was with the king."

Hana  crossed her arms. "Huh, that's weird." She recalled the time when Sungyeol mentioned that Myungsoo and Donghae had met with the king once.

Bom noticed her uneasy expression and stretched her arms out and scratched her head. "You mind if I take a nap before I leave today? I'm tired from all the yelling."

Hana stifled a laugh and bowed in thanks. "You can stay in the guest room for as long as you like, Aunt Bom. Just fetch me whenever you're ready so I can see you off."

Bom waved goodbye and Hana walked out of the ward and clenched her hands happily, feeling much confident about her powers. She was finally able to control how much energy she could use when healing someone. It was tough but with enough practice, she knew she could get the hang of it. On the way to her room, she found some maids cleaning around. She thought of Sora and frowned. Sora really did leave the palace after the incident with Myungsoo.

Right before she arrived to her room, she saw guards running past her. She had never seen them looking so excited and curiosity got the best of her as she followed them. They led her towards the stairs leading down to the first floor and the entrance hall. The guards ran down and she peered over the stairs and saw a man with dark black hair entering with plenty of other guards following behind him, greeting him. Shivers went down her spine as she felt something uncomfortable coming from him. She saw the king and Myungsoo meet the mysterious man but she noticed that Myungsoo's face did not look happy.

"Welcome back," said Fang, Myungsoo's father.

"Good to see you, brother," the man replied. He then looked at Myungsoo and smiled at him. "Good to see you, my dear nephew."

Myungsoo looked at him expressionlessly. "Welcome back, uncle."

His uncle looked around excitedly. "Been a while huh. What, eight months, I think? Sorry I couldn't attend your pretty little wedding."

Myungsoo rolled his eyes in annoyance and Fang frowned. "You're riling him up, brother."

"He's a big boy. It's fine if I bully him a little." The man grinned and patted Myungsoo's head, but Myungsoo only flicked his hand away and turned around to leave.

His uncle chuckled and Fang furrowed his brows. "Myungsoo. Don't be rude."

"I'm not going to give some special treatment to a murderer."

Hana watched Myungsoo leave the hall and felt disappointed since she was unable to hear any of the conversation. She sighed and walked back to her room. When she opened the door, she almost shrieked.

"Donghae!"

Donghae whipped around, walking towards her. "Hana-shi...I was wondering were you were since you weren't at the ward."

She put a hand on her chest and sighed in relief. "Damn don't scare me like that." She sat at the edge of the bed and crossed her legs. "What did you do today?"

"Nothing interesting..."

"When was having a meeting with the king not interesting?"

Donghae froze for a moment before heaving a deep sigh. "Who told you?"

"Aunt Bom told me she saw you with him earlier. You should do a better job with keeping these meetings a secret if it's something you can't tell me."

"It's not supposed to be secretive."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"I just didn't want to worry you."

Hana rested her elbows on them on her knees, looking at him curiously. "Are they threatening you, Donghae?"

Before he could answer, there was a knock on her door and Myungsoo walked in. He made eye contact with Hana and she looked away, not knowing what to say.

"Father wants our presence at the grand dining hall in five minutes. There's a special guest that he wants to introduce to you. Wear something nice."

Hana nodded and Myungsoo kept his gaze on her for a brief moment and left.

"Well that was quite awkward. How long are you guys going to keep this up, I wonder?" asked Donghae.

"I'm just trying to get my head together." Hana groaned as she looked through her closet. "Dressing up is no habit of mine and I really miss my Seoul cloak..."

"Just make do with what you have."

"Alright..."

After finally finding a suitable dress, Hana and Donghae hurriedly walked over to the dining hall. They stopped at the entrance and saw a long table seated with very important royal officials.

"Ah! Princess Hana ," said one of the maids, walking up to her. She bowed to her and showed a hand towards the head of the table. Hana saw Myungsoo's parents at the very end and saw Myungsoo sitting along the side with an empty seat next to him. "The seat next to Myungsoo-shi has been saved for you."

The maid then looked at Donghae and gulped. She then stood on her toes and whispered into Hana's ear. "I'm sorry but he can't sit at the table."

"It's fine. I know this is an important lunch."

Hana looked at Donghae whose eyes were looking far into the room. She followed his gaze and saw Sungyeol who was standing against the wall keeping guard. Even though Sungyeol had a quirky sense of humor, he was always attentive when it came to work and would even go so far as to killing someone for Myungsoo's sake.

Hana stayed poise and walked to her seat. There was an intense aura in the room and she could feel the animosity from some of the generals and other commanding officers. It felt like forever walking to the end of the table with the silence in the room. When she made it to her seat, she bowed to King Fang and Queen Mi-Young to greet them.

Mi-Young kindly smiled at her and Fang tilted his head downwards, acknowledging her presence and lending out a hand, telling her to sit. She met eyes with Myungsoo who eyed her dress before turning away. She slowly sat down and looked at who was sitting across from her. Her eyebrows raised in the slightest as the man in front of her was the man who Myungsoo and the king had met earlier. The man smiled at her and Hana smiled back politely. Myungsoo glanced at her and then at his uncle as he took a sip from his cup.

Fang stood up and raised his glass. "Well then, good afternoon everyone. Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedule to make it here this afternoon. As you all know already, my brother has returned from his journey and we are here to celebrate his return and our finally, our expansion into the east."

Hana's eyes widened and she looked at the man in front of her in shock. The man smiled at her once more and she awkwardly looked away to focus her attention back on the king. Usually, expansion meant war.

Myungsoo furrowed his brows as his father sat down and his uncle stood up to continue.

"Very nice to see you all again. It was quite a battle but yes, we claim our victory and our expansion into the east. I don't want to talk much about it since we are about to indulge in this feast. Seems like lots of things have changed while I was gone." He glanced at Hana. "Lots of things. But I'm glad to be back home and to see you all here once more."

Fang stood up again. "And now a toast to my brother, Manse."

Hana froze at the name and claps rung out in the hall as officials drank from their cups. She recognized the name clearly. Manse was the strongest general in the land of Busan. Not only was he strong and intelligent, but he was also known for having a heart of stone for he was notorious for declaring war against Seoul back when Seoul tried declaring peace. Some say it's his way of rebelling for not being able to get the throne despite being the eldest.

Myungsoo glanced at Hana and saw the uneasiness in her expression as Manse and Fang sat back down.

"So!" Manse said, looking at Hana. "Nice to finally meet you."

Hana furrowed her brows. "You're Manse."

"So you've heard about me?"

Hana nodded and he sighed. "Then you must have ill feelings towards me."

"...I don't judge someone without getting to know them first."

Manse smiled at her. "How kind of you. Now, less talking and more eating yes? Go ahead and eat."

The way he asked her to made her feel very uncomfortable and Hana poked at her food. Myungsoo glanced at her plate and took a stab at the chicken. Her jaw dropped as he took a bite without a care in the world.

"...Mm. It's good," he said, chewing loudly.

Mi-Young covered her lips in shock and Fang furrowed his brows at his son. Manse silently watched and chuckled. "How noble of you, Myungsoo. Were you checking the food for poison? Quite the husband, aren't you?"

Hana looked at Myungsoo, stunned that Myungsoo had those kinds of intentions. She looked at Manse and shook her head. "I doubt that was the reason, general..."

Manse stifled a short laugh before taking a bite out of his own food. "I wouldn't blame you, Myungsoo."

The mood fell grim and Manse put his elbows on the table, crossed his fingers, and rested his chin on it. "I wouldn't blame you because after all, I'm not particularly fond of Seoul."

"Manse!" Fang snapped.

Hana glared at Manse. "You're quite unpleasant, sir."

Manse's eyes widened and Myungsoo snorted, trying to hold in his laughter. Fang and Mi-Young were surprised that she snapped at him, but couldn't really blame her.

"You're a feisty one," Manse said quietly. "I wonder what your kids are going to be like."

Fang almost choked on his food and Myungsoo dropped his fork. Hana didn't make any reaction.

"Kids?! Don't say such things so soon!" Myungsoo snapped.

"It has to happen eventually. We're going to need an heir someday."

Fang patted the corners of his mouth with his table napkin before speaking. "Manse. This isn't the sort of conversation that we should we having right now."

Manse ignored his brother and tapped his finger on the table. "Imagine what would happen if you mixed Kim and Park blood...that child would be pretty amazing...anything would be -"

"That's enough," Fang said, slamming his hand down on table. Manse  raised his hands in innocence and went back to eating his food.

Hana furrowed her brows. She's only heard of the Kim power once but no one has ever fully explained it to her as it was kept top secret. Even the generals in Seoul who had been at war with Busan in the old times had no idea what it was. All they knew was that only certain people of the Kim possessed and it was a rare power.

"Let's go. This is getting uncomfortable," Myungsoo said, grabbing Hana's hand and standing up. Hana's eyes widened as he bowed to his parents. "I'll see you guys later."

"But Hana hasn't eaten yet..." Mi-Young muttered.

"It's fine." Myungsoo looked at Manse. "I can't stand to sit one more minute with this man."

Manse smirked at his nephew and Myungsoo felt angrier but stopped to do anything stupid as his father gave him a warning glare. Myungsoo pulled Hana along with him and Hana turned her head and gave a small bow to his parents before he led her out, leaving the other guests at the table confused.

Donghae and Sungyeol who had been watching the whole scene were surprised to see them. Donghae instinctively stepped away from his position to follow them and Sungyeol stopped him. Donghae looked at him and Sungyeol huffed.

"I think it's time we leave those two alone, right? You've been getting in the way too much."

Donghae glared at him and Sungyeol shrugged. "I'm just being honest. It's affecting them and you know it. They need to work this out."

"I don't care. I don't trust him."

Sungyeol's raised a brow at him in confusion. "You're doing too much for a guard you know that?"

Back in the hall, Myungsoo and Hana quietly walked on hand in hand. She looked at their hands and felt the urge to let go. As she tried to, Myungsoo's grip only got tighter.

"Don't try to let go."

"I still don't trust you one bit."

Myungsoo didn't respond.

"Honestly, stop it and let me go already."

"You're one stubborn girl."

"YOU ARE TOO!" Hana fumed and huffed angrily through her nose.

Myungsoo chuckled and glanced behind her before gripping tightly. Surprised at the gesture, Hana quietly followed.

"I'm sorry if my uncle made you feel uncomfortable."

Hana's eyed widened. "You're apologizing for him?"

"Honestly, I hate him. More than I've ever hated anyone from Seoul. He's the absolute worst."

Hana furrowed her brows as she stared at his back. "Wait, can you let go and can we talk about this like normal people?"

Myungsoo turned around and looked at their hands and let go. Hana looked at her hand and then at Myungsoo as he waited for her to walk alongside him, which she did.

"So...why do you hate him?"

"...I have my reasons."

"Hm..." There was a quick silence, but that wasn't surprising since they were fighting just yesterday. But he was different again today and Hana knew it was that cycle of mean-nice all over again. "Did you really check my food for poison?"

Myungsoo shrugged. "Who knows?"

"That was reckless. What would you have done if there really was poison in the food?"

"You worried about me?" Myungsoo asked smugly, his eyebrow raised as his mouth displayed a smirk.

Hana scoffed. "No, you should've eaten more."

Myungsoo furrowed his brows and she laughed lightly. "I'm just kidding."

They continued on walking and Hana glanced at him occasionally, trying to figure out if this was the same Myungsoo from the day before. He was unexpectedly calm but he was once again defending her. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"He's so ing annoying, man...what's this talk about kids..." He then glanced at Hana who was already looking at him and they both looked away surprised.

Hana didn't respond and Myungsoo looked at her again before looking ahead. "You know, you didn't have much of a reaction when he mentioned it. I feel like I was the only one who freaked out."

"Well...he's not entirely wrong."

Myungsoo's eyes widened and he stopped to look at her, arms crossed in disapproval. "Are you serious?"

"It has to happen one day, Myungsoo."

Myungsoo held his hands up. ". No."

Hana's jaw dropped. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Would you really be okay with that?" Myungsoo  scoffed and Hana opened to speak, but no words came out. "Do you seriously see that happening? Be honest with yourself."

Hana groaned and waved her hands around in annoyance. "Damn it, this is just going to lead into another fight isn't it."

"You just don't look like the type of girl who'd sleep with just anyone and I'm not about to force you."

Hana looked at him awkwardly. "That's what you were worried about?"

"Like I keep saying...and I don't care if you get upset with me again...but you have someone else in your eyes. Even if I don't really like him much, I can't just ignore your feelings."

She quietly looked away. "...There has to be an heir someday. You can't deny that."

Myungsoo furrowed his brows angrily and grabbed her shoulders. "What kind of answer is that?! Be selfish for yourself, for once!"

Hana's eyes widened in shock as Myungsoo huffed angrily. He hung his head low and looked into her eyes again.

"Have you ever done something for yourself ever? I hate that pushover attitude of yours. You can't make everyone happy if you yourself can't be. What good is a country if its ruler is unhappy? It pisses me off when you put up that good girl attitude."

Myungsoo released his grip from his shoulders and looked down at her pitifully. However, Hana was lost in his eyes once again and she peered deep and hard into them. Myungsoo furrowed his brows and watched her draw in closer just like she did before. It was those eyes of curiosity that had led him astray in the first place. He frowned and put a hand on her face, snapping her out of her daze, and pushed her away.

"Ow! What was that for!"

"You completely ignored what I just said and watch your distance." Myungsoo grumbled. "You're getting way too close for comfort...AGAIN."

Hana sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Crap...what the hell."

"Why do you do that?"

Hana looked at him again and then thought for a moment before bringing a finger up to her lips. "Your eyes...remind me of someone's."

Myungsoo flinched and he slowly clenched his fists. "That kind of pisses me off."

Hana didn't respond but then she spoke up. "...I'm sorry for getting really upset with you yesterday about your maid. Especially after you tried making amends."

He sighed, somewhat flustered. "Yeah."

There was an awkward silence and Myungsoo cleared his throat. "You look nice in that dress, by the way."

Hana raised a brow at him playfully. "Smooth. I really wanted to wear my cloak though. Freaking aunt Bom forgot to bring one back from Seoul..."

Myungsoo recalled the time when she ripped out a piece of her royal cloak to make bandages for the dying man at the market and...Donghae. He felt himself tinge in anger but he calmed himself down as he took in a deep breath. He glanced at her and noticed her somewhat solemn expression. That cloak must have meant a lot to her and it showed that she really did cherish her country and her people.

"What's the deal with that cloak?"

"Well...it was given to me when I turned 16. It was a big deal back then."

Myungsoo listened quietly.

"Well, of course that was two years ago so I guess it was time for a new one...Oh well." She looked at Myungsoo. "This is good."

Myungsoo raised a brow at her curiously. "What?"

"Talking like this. I like it when we can just talk like this. When we're not trying to claw each other's eyes out."

Myungsoo scoffed. "Quick turnaround from yesterday after you walked on me."

"I apologized already. Well...you did try to check my food for poison..." Hana looked up at him and smiled. "I guess I do trust you a little and I don't know if that's what you were really trying to do since you keep denying it...but thank you anyway."

At that moment, his eyes wandered down to her lips and she continued to look up at him, waiting for a response like 'You're welcome' or 'Yeah no problem'. But he was quiet and he looked at her. Hana saw his eyes moving around as he examined her facial features curiously. She gulped, trying not to make any weird faces before looking away.

"I'm going to go check on my aunt now. She's leaving soon."

Myungsoo blinked, realizing what he just did and tried to keep his cool and faked a stoic expression. "Alright. I'll...see you later then."

Hana  nodded and left, but not before turning back to glance at him once more. He was such a different person when he wasn't acting like a totally demon towards her. She looked back head and looked at the hand he held and chuckled to herself. She hoped that this cycle of him being mean and nice would just come to a stop. She liked him so much better when he was nicer.

Myungsoo turned back around to go to his room and looked at his hand. He closed and opened it a few times, rubbing his thumb on the side of his hand before clenching his hand completely.

"Seems like you had a nice conversation."

Myungsoo looked up and his smile turned into a frown instantly.

"Why the do I keep running into to you at the worst times?" Myungsoo remembered when this also happened that time he tried to bring Hana back to her room.

"Where's Hana-shi?"

"You were following us again, weren't you?"

"I wasn't for a while for the sake of your friend Sungyeol but then I got worried. Seems like you really have taken a liking to her."

Myungsoo glared at him. "Seems like I'm not the only one."

Donghae ignored him and walked past him. "I'm going to check up on her. Walk back safely, your highness."

Myungsoo turned around and grabbed Donghae by the shoulder and turned him around.

"How long are you going to keep this up? Are you really going to go through with this?! She trusts you and she really cares about you!"

"It's my duty."

"Are you ever going to tell her?"

"Are you?"

Myungsoo didn't answer and Donghae smacked his hand off his shoulder.

"So you really don't care about her? For all those 12 years you've watched over her?"

"...Just stop. It's none of your concern."

"But-"

"Back off, little brother or I will tell uncle Manse and father that you're trying to spoil everything."

Myungsoo's eyes widened and he glared at Dongahe  as he turned around to head towards Hana's room. Donghae then stopped and turned his head to look at Myungsoo.

"You will not speak a word of this to her or to anyone. Not like they'll believe you or anything anyway."

Myungsoo quietly but angrily watched his brother walk away. He turned to go to his room as he clenched his stomach in disgust.

---