Prince Kyungsoo had never been in love before but he remembered the day his older brother, the Crown Prince, had described it to him.

“Falling in love, Kyungsoo, is no different from drowning,” the Crown Prince had once told him. “We fall into the depths of love the way we would fall into the depths of a river. There is initial surprise and there is panic. However, as time passes, there is acceptance as we become one with this feeling, as we become one with the water.”

“Isn’t that awful?” the younger prince had asked.

“It depends on how we look at it. I believe that there is a difference between the two, though. When we are in love, we have the choice to hold onto that hand forever or to let go. Drowning has no option – death is the inevitable fate.”

Kyungsoo found that his brother’s words kept him deep in thought for many years after.

Taken by surprise as one falls into a river, panicking as you struggle to resurface… How can one accept being engulfed and suffocated by the waters that gradually pull life away from their grasp? Was that love?

If that truly was the feeling of love then Kyungsoo never wanted to know anything like it ever again. The day that he had experienced that feeling was when he almost drowned; it was also the day that the Crown Prince lost his life to save him.

Kyungsoo survived but he wished he hadn’t. He wished he had died with his brother that day. He should have died instead of him. Being a child with weak health, Kyungsoo had always been shunned by the king and queen who deemed him worthless, pitied by the palace attendants who served him, and loved only by the Crown Prince who died for him.

“I cannot allow you to bring further misfortune to the palace.”

All it took was one sentence from the queen and Kyungsoo was sent away to live in a manor on the city outskirts. The queen could no longer stand the sight of the sole person she blamed for the tragedy that had befallen the Crown Prince. Fortunately, Kyungsoo had no objection to a relatively simple life away from the palace. He may have been living but as far as he was concerned, he had died with his brother that day.

“My health has decided long ago that it has no intention to improve,” Kyungsoo said to himself one day whilst he lay down in the middle of a forest not too far from the city. “When will be the day I meet you again, Crown Prince? Your fate was too cruel, too ironic, too soon.”

It was the first time Kyungsoo had taken a walk in this forest and although he often had to stop to prevent dizzy spells, he carried on because nature reminded him of his late brother. Still lying down amongst the fallen leaves, he closed his eyes and listened to the tranquil sounds around him. Birds chirping from branches, the wind blowing through the trees, waters gently crashing against rocks… Kyungsoo opened his eyes and slowly stood up. Was there a river near here?

He followed the direction of the sounds made by the flowing waters until a sparkling river came into sight and for the first time in a very long time, a smile found its way onto Kyungsoo’s face. It was the River Lei and oh, how he yearned to feel the cool touch of the waters with his fingertips.

Climbing atop the large boulders by the river, he had just stepped onto the rock closest to the water when his foot slipped on a wet patch and with a strangled cry, Kyungsoo was falling through the air and into the depths of the river.

Surprise is the feeling when you accidentally fall into a river for the first time and escape a near-death experience.

Panic is the feeling when you accidentally fall into a river for a second time, not knowing if this will be yet another near-death experience or simply inevitable drowning.

It was happening all over again; Kyungsoo had passed the surprise, he had passed the panic and he had passed the futile attempts to resurface. He was falling through the waters, eyes closed as the water dragged him farther down and down… Kyungsoo could not no longer distinguish what was real and what was not when he felt a pair of arms pulling him away from the water’s embrace.

He could not be certain anymore but a part of him believed that he saw the fuzzy outline of a girl as his consciousness slipped away from him.

The following morning, Kyungsoo awoke with a start. He gazed around at his bedroom, slowly taking in the surroundings before he buried his face in his lap with a sigh. Once again, he had narrowly escaped death and returned to the reality where he was living the meaningless life that his brother had sacrificed his own to save.

All of yesterday was a haze and when the young prince appeared in his courtyard, the servants were quick to explain what had happened.

“A young lady saved me?”

“That is correct, Your Highness. We did request for Young Miss to stay but she insisted that she had prior engagements."

“Of course, I am indebted to her. Did you ask her name?”

“Yoo Jihye, Your Highness.”

Kyungsoo doubted that he would be able to find his saviour, Yoo Jihye, by the River Lei again but since that was the only lead he had, he decided that it was worth an attempt in any case. He set off for the forest late in the afternoon, the same time that he had the day before, and did not stop to rest until he had reached the River Lei.

As expected, there was not a single trace that anyone, let alone a lady, had been present. Kyungsoo sighed inwardly and gazed longingly at the tempting waters. Since he had been unsuccessful last time, he thought that he would try once more to touch the river waters today with extra precaution, of course. His fingers had barely skimmed the river’s surface when he heard a graceful voice speak.

“Young Master is daring.”

Kyungsoo whirled around in surprise at the sound of the voice behind him, accidentally splashing water onto the person who had spoken. He froze when he saw a young lady sitting on a nearby rock glare at him in bewilderment.

With an embarrassed face, he withdrew a handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to the girl with a shaky hand. “I apologise, Young Miss.”

The Young Miss shook her head and raised a palm to reject the handkerchief. “There is no need, Young Master.” She set her gaze on the river and when Kyungsoo sat down on a rock in front of her, a small smirk appeared on her face. “Is there a reason Young Master continues to disturb me?”

“What did you mean by your earlier comment?” Kyungsoo asked. “‘Young Master is daring.’”

“To trespass into my favourite spot of Guangjing makes Young Master most daring,” the Young Miss answered. “However, I will be forgiving for it seems that Young Master does not know of my identity.”

This surprised Kyungsoo even more. “Certainly it is you who seems to not know of my identity.”

“Young Master is quite amusing,” she chuckled. “Perhaps you would care to enlighten me?”

“My name is Kyungsoo.”

He saw the girl freeze for a moment before she returned to her cool composure as though her facial expression had never panicked. “It appears that I was right about you, Young Master Kyungsoo.”

It was Kyungsoo’s turn to freeze. Did she know that he was the prince?

“You are daring indeed to share a name with the young prince of Guangjing. We shall keep your name a secret so as not to evoke unwanted attention from the palace,” she said as she stood up to sit beside Kyungsoo who was curiously watching her. “May I ask why Young Master stares at me so?”

“Are you a courtesan?” Kyungsoo asked.

The Young Miss rolled her eyes at that. “Does Young Master believe that every beautiful lady he comes across is a courtesan?”

“No, no. Do forgive me,” Kyungsoo replied quickly.

“Ah, so Young Master does not find me beautiful.”

“I did not mean that! Young Miss is a lady of extravagant beauty.”

The Young Miss had a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she scooted closer to Kyungsoo. “Then does that mean to say you are interested to spend a night with me?”

“I-I did not say anything of the sort!” Kyungsoo stammered with flushing cheeks.

The Young Miss giggled at Kyungsoo’s shyness. “Oh, how adorable. Young Master indubitably has a strong eyesight.”

Kyungsoo smiled sadly. “If only I had strength elsewhere. My health is actually rather poor.”

It was not something he usually dropped into an introduction however, he felt comfortable telling the mysterious girl this. Kyungsoo could not quite put his finger on it; there was something about her company that he really enjoyed.

“Oh, I believe that that is quite the contrary. Young Master appears to be a man of adequate strength. Would you like to put my theory to the test?”

“Young Miss is too blunt,” Kyungsoo said with a little chuckle. “Although you have powerful words, I wonder if your actions are as much so.”

“Such indecent words, Young Master. Nonetheless, isn’t it so much nicer to show your true colours?” The Young Miss pointed her finger towards the direction of the sunlight. “Do you see the position of the sun in the sky? That is when I have to return to the Courtesan House.”

“So you are indeed a courtesan. Were you afraid to tell me the truth?”

The Young Miss, or rather the courtesan, leaned in close to Kyungsoo’s ear and whispered, “Secrets have a cost, Young Master Kyungsoo. They are never for free.”

“What is the cost of your secret?” Kyungsoo asked, turning his head to meet her. His breath hitched in his throat at their proximity.

“Friendship.”

She drew back from Kyungsoo with a small wink and stepped down from the rock they were perched upon. “Young Master Kyungsoo, do you also have a secret to share with me?”

“Much like your secret, mine is hidden in plain sight. You have plenty more time to discover it…if you wish to.”

Kyungsoo watched as the courtesan sunk down into a low bow; she was about to walk away but then she stopped and looked at Kyungsoo with brightly lit eyes.

“Young Master, you are daring in more ways than one. You almost drowned here yesterday in an attempt to touch the River Lei yet you had the courage to return and try again to feel these waters.”

“How do you know about that?”

“How could I possibly not know? This is my favourite spot of Guangjing, after all,” the courtesan replied. “Although it is not the place of a lowly courtesan to say this, I wish to do so, regardless. You are daring in the face of death because rather than fearing it, you welcome it. But, Young Master Kyungsoo, dare I ask why you are not content with living? Life has such beautiful aspects to it and these special moments ought to be cherished yet you look upon life with soulless eyes.”

Silence fell upon them and all that could be heard were the sounds of nature as Kyungsoo thought about the courtesan’s words. Could it possibly be that she was right? Was she suggesting that he was alive but not necessarily living?

Perhaps the courtesan had taken Kyungsoo’s lack of response as a cue to leave because she was bowing again however, right before she disappeared between the trees, Kyungsoo regained his senses and called out to her.

“Wait! What is your name?”

He did not want to let her go. He wanted to continue conversing with her because he truly enjoyed her company and he knew it was not simply due to the fact that entertaining was what she did for a living.

“Yoo Jihye,” was the reply and then she was gone before Kyungsoo could ask her anything else.

It was the first time someone had genuinely wanted to be his friend and before Kyungsoo blew out the candle on his bedside that night, he promised himself that he would definitely meet her again – Yoo Jihye, his saviour.

When Kyungsoo arrived by the River Lei the next day, Jihye was already there, sitting close to the river’s edge. He did not make his presence known and instead, watched as she wrote out a quote on a flat rock using only a damp finger.

Somewhere beyond right and wrong, there is a garden.

Jihye leaned over to wet her finger in the flowing river again but when she returned to her previous sitting position, Kyungsoo was beside her. She trailed his face from his deeply concentrating eyes all the way down to his lips which seemed softer than pillows; he was truly a magnificent sight to behold. Her eyes finally travelled down to his hand in time to see him writing the final line of the quote.

I will meet you there.

Kyungsoo turned to look at Jihye but this time, he remained calm despite their proximity. Their shared gaze seemed to last centuries although only a few seconds had passed and then it was Kyungsoo who was first to break the peaceful silence between them.

“This is my favourite quote.”

“It is mine, too,” Jihye said with a small smile. “I wonder, Young Master Kyungsoo, which is it that you enjoy: the meaning of poetry or merely the sound?”

“Why not enjoy both?” Kyungsoo replied. “However, I believe that the meaning is certainly where the beauty of the words lie. And yourself?”

“A young courtesan knows neither the way of the world nor the true meaning behind poetry. Therefore, I prefer the sound for I am not always able to comprehend the meaning.”

Jihye began to write on the rock again and when she was done, she glanced expectantly at Kyungsoo.

Love means never having to say you’re sorry.

“What is your interpretation of this quote?” Kyungsoo asked.

“That lovers are not ever required to apologise to one another,” Jihye replied. “That in love, forgiveness is a gift that is always given.”

Kyungsoo shook his head in a good-natured manner. “I dare to disagree. My understanding is that in love, one ought to refrain from actions that would require apologies. Have you been in love, Jihye?”

“Young Master Kyungsoo, a courtesan’s heart is an encaged flower.”

“Every lock has a key,” Kyungsoo said. “Where is the key to this cage?”

“Down a well, perhaps.”

“What if… What if someone were to retrieve this key? A prince, perhaps?”

“That prince is certainly most daring,” Jihye answered, “and sincere. A courtesan’s heart yearns for freedom that only sincerity can grant.”

This caused Kyungsoo to pause to collect all of the many thoughts that had seeped into his head; he liked how Jihye often said and did things that would captivate his mind for prolonged periods of time. It made Kyungsoo wonder how she would react if she knew that he was the prince. He watched as she crouched down beside the River Lei, perhaps to run her fingers through the flowing waters, and then he spoke.

“Yoo Jihye never mentions her life as a courtesan.”

Kyungsoo saw Jihye freeze and without taking her eyes off the river, she responded to his statement.

“Is Yoo Jihye speaking to Young Master as a courtesan at this present moment? Here, I am not a courtesan. Here, I am not limited by a low status. Here, I am free. Do you not feel at peace with the River Lei, Young Master Kyungsoo?”

“I feel at peace with you,” Kyungsoo whispered, his voice barely audible. He was unsure of whether or not Jihye had heard him since her gaze was still on the water’s surface so he went on. “When you are at the Courtesan House, you may not be content but are you safe?”

Jihye hesitated before replying, “Of course. They cannot do anything to me until I come of age.”

“What happens then?”

“Time shall pass…and I with it.”

There was something about the way Jihye’s mind worked that mesmerised Kyungsoo. “I did not think it could be that I would be in love with the thoughts of another.”

“You can love my mindset,” Jihye said casually, finally turning to look at Kyungsoo. “Just do not love me.”

Those words prompted Kyungsoo to take a seat beside Jihye on the edge of the riverbank. “What is the difference?” he asked.

“The difference?” Jihye repeated. “It is the difference between the position of the sun in the early hours of the morning as opposed to in the late afternoon. It is the difference between a lowly courtesan,” she continued, gesturing to herself and then to Kyungsoo, “and a high-ranking noble. It is the difference between the waters that flowed in the River Lei moments ago and the waters that flow now.”

For a second time, Kyungsoo shook his head with an amused grin. “Incomprehensible indeed, Jihye.” He then proceeded to plunge his hand into the depths of the river before withdrawing it and turning to Jihye who was stifling a giggle.

“Whatever do you mean?” she questioned in the midst of her tinkling laughter.

With a free hand, Kyungsoo wrapped his fingers around Jihye’s wrist and repeated his earlier action. “There is no difference at all between any of those things. Jihye, would you like to know my interpretation of this rather odd behaviour?”

Jihye nodded, her curious eyes shining brightly as she gazed intently back at Kyungsoo’s smiling face.

“The position of the sun in the early hours of the morning or in the late afternoon do not matter; it is the same sun that rises on a day where I can look forward to meeting you again.” Kyungsoo raised his hand up in front of himself and nodded encouragingly so that Jihye would do the same. “And do you see, Jihye? I am one with the water and so are you. There is no difference between us or the water that has wet our hands.”

A slightly confused expression appeared on Jihye’s face which was quickly replaced with one of surprise when Kyungsoo’s hand reached forwards to high-five hers.

“It is not any different, Jihye,” he said softly.

It was there, in that moment with their palms pressed together, that Jihye came to a most enchanting revelation – they were equals.

Time passed by like the gentle wind that blew through the branches of the trees surrounding the River Lei. The riverbank was a sanctuary to Kyungsoo and Jihye; it was there that their friendship had begun and it was there that it blossomed into something more beautiful than words could ever explain. At one point, Kyungsoo asked Jihye to drop the honorific and call him by only his first name which took a while of getting used to but she was eventually able to comply. The two of them met on a daily basis by the flowing river, blissfully spending hours on end in each other’s company, until one day Kyungsoo found himself alone with the setting sun – Jihye had not shown up.

It was right before the sun had set that Kyungsoo decided he could not sit and wait any longer; his fear and concern had manifested out of control and he was determined to find Jihye. Whether his health would be an obstacle or not, Kyungsoo did not care. He would not rest until he knew that Jihye was safe.

The chill night air did Kyungsoo no favours and in spite of his chest pains, he frantically wandered around the lantern-filled city of Guangjing. He questioned countless citizens to no avail and then finally, on the verge of collapsing, he stumbled upon the entrance of the Courtesan House. A courtesan dressed in an attractive red and black hanbok was waiting there and the moment she caught sight of Kyungsoo, a wide albeit false smile tugged at the corners of her lips and she linked an arm around Kyungsoo.

“Courtesan Taehui greets Young Master!” She dragged a flustered Kyungsoo up the stone steps leading to the Courtesan House. “You are in luck, Young Master. There are many available rooms and courtesans at your disposal! What are your interests tonight?”

Without waiting for a reply, Courtesan Taehui pulled Kyungsoo along a hallway and stopped outside a room a few doors down from where it sounded as though a party was in full swing. Kyungsoo’s staring was hard to miss however, Courtesan Taehui batted her eyelashes in an attempt to gain his attention back. “A minister is in that room and well, things can get a little exciting at times. Why don’t you wait in here? I will send in some courtesans shortly.” She slid the doors open for Kyungsoo and waited for him to enter but he did not.

“I am looking for someone,” he finally said in an exasperated voice. “Her name is Yoo Jihye. Can you tell me where I can find her?”

“Courtesan Jihye?” Her smile faded and her eyes briefly darted down the hall but then she returned to her original expression as though nothing had happened. “I am afraid that being our most popular courtesan, she is unavailable tonight. Worry not, however! There are many other courtesans here who will surely suffice, Young Master. I will bring them in a moment. Would you care to wait here?”

Kyungsoo reluctantly agreed and sat down on a floor cushion in the extravagantly furnished room, using the time to regain his breath.

That was when he heard her.

Amidst the sounds of drunken men’s chatter, courtesans’ flattery and fake laughter, musical instruments playing, and cups of wine clinking together, Kyungsoo heard Jihye’s voice.

“What are you doing?”

Getting up at once, Kyungsoo slid the room’s doors open and followed the direction from which he had heard Jihye.

“Your Excellency, please do not come any closer.”

Kyungsoo headed towards the minister’s room in an instant. He paid no care to the fact that of all people, a minister occupied the room; without any hesitation, Kyungsoo barged in. He heard the minister bark, “How dare you come in here!” at him but there was only one concern on the young prince’s mind: Jihye.

The girl was seated uncomfortably close to the minister and she was visibly irritated; her gaze was casted downwards and she had still not seen the abrupt arrival.

Ignoring the threats of the drunken minister, Kyungsoo wrapped a caring arm around Jihye and escorted her out of the room, loudly sliding the door shut behind them. Her curious eyes glanced to the left and fell open in surprise when she realised that it was—

“Kyungsoo…”

Before the named boy had a chance to answer, Courtesan Taehui reappeared and when she caught sight of Kyungsoo and Jihye exiting the minister’s room together, she gaped at the pair in astonishment. She wanted to hiss at Jihye but that would be improper in the presence of Kyungsoo, a noble. Then again, Courtesan Taehui really did not want to hear an earful from Courtesan Mother.

“Is—is everything all right?” Courtesan Taehui asked at last.

Jihye nodded her head in a dismissive manner and after another fleeting glance at Kyungsoo, Courtesan Taehui turned to the other courtesans behind her and gestured for them to enter the minister’s room. “Well, if all is in order, I shall attend to the minister and