Chapter Seven   “What good is a wealthy government if there are people in poverty? What good is a monarchy when we are not receiving enough benefits? How can the people trust a government ruled by one dynasty for thousands of years? It is now time for our government to keep up with the trends of the present time. It is now time for the wealth of our nation to be distributed amongst the common people! Monarchy is an outdated institution! The key to alleviating the people to poverty is democracy!”   “DEMOCRACY!”   “What would be the fate of our nation if the next leader is incompetent? The monarch can be the sole responsible person for the tragedies of our economy, because leadership is not open to everyone not even to people with better abilities than those in the royal family! We cry for democracy!”   “DEMOCRACY!”   This demonstration of a group propagating the anti-monarchist movement has been on-going since 6PM KST yesterday night and is expected to go on for another day before the group intends to culminate the rally with a peaceful prayer and candle lighting ceremony. It is being held in Seoul Blvd. in front of the Imperial Gardens, which spans approximately 520 hectares before the Imperial Palace itself. The Royal Guard is now deployed around the perimeters and the police are tasked to monitor the situation outside of the Imperial Gates in order to make sure that the demonstration is proceeding according to permission.   The activists all cry for ‘democracy’ in which they believe is the answer to poverty. With these protests and movement, the credibility of the monarchy is being put to question; is it an outdated institution and will Korea alleviate itself from poverty if we open the doors of our government to the common people?   The integrity of the next monarch is also being probed. If Crown Princess Yeona succeeds to the throne, she will become the very first female sovereign of the country in its long years of history under a monarchy. Yet these people are asking, can the Crown Princess do what her father, our current King, has done?   If we all remember, King Taejong, served the military when he was still a crown prince, he was posted at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the north-south divide and witnessed first hand how our borders are being protected by our soldiers. The current king is also an accomplished foreign ambassador as exhibited by the multiple defense and economic treaties he made with other nations that helped prosper the Korea that we know today. During the younger days of the king he was also famously dubbed as “The People Prince,” not shying himself from his subjects and was always seen interacting with the common people, even until now when he already holds the throne.   Will the next monarch be able to uphold the demands and duties of a head of state and head of government or will Korea finally see itself in the hands of a tyrant? Is it really for the betterment of the greater good that leadership be offered to the less wealthy but more capable people?   This has been Kim Haneul, reporting for SBC news.   “Enough of that newscasts, Yeona.” Said my mother, the queen. She was informed that I had terrible cramps all throughout the night and visited me first thing in the morning for I can’t even help myself to stand. She immediately asked for the television to be turned off.   “Good morning to you too, umma mama.” I answered or more like groaned. I wasn’t actually watching the news for I am still crouched in a ball under my sheets but I heard everything that that reporter has said. Kim Haneul, was her name. She shall have her answers sooner or later.   “Don’t listen to them, you haven’t yet given the chance to prove yourself and they are already judging you.” Said she. “Remember that the people outside the gates are only a few, not even a percent of the Korean population. There could be a big chance that this heedless rally is being orchestrated by some greedy politicians from behind the curtains, so don’t trouble yourself much with them. The country is fine; your father is a good ruler. You need not worry.”   “Yes but, umma mama, my father has done everything in his power to rule this country the best he could, but what did I do?”   “You can’t do anything, you still don’t have the throne—”   “That’s the point.” And I groaned some more. “I can’t just do nothing anymore. I need to attend more functions, to interact with my people more, to exercise my role as early as now. In order for me to rule just like my father, I need to know my subjects and not just by reading through reports and listening to class in politics but first hand. I need to meet them and to get to know them.”   My mother fell silent for a few moments before she said, “How are you supposed to accomplish that when you can even barely walk?”   “A few advils would do the trick.” I answered, forcing myself to sit up. “I’ll ask permission from father if I can skip school for the rest of the weekend.”   “But it’s still a Wednesday, you have lessons to learn.” My mother insisted.   “I think I’ll have more lessons to learn outside my classrooms, umma mama.” I answered respectfully. “Starting today I’ll double my usual schedule of appearances and I plan to call on a press conference. I’ll ask my teachers to send me my modules and homework here in the palace and I promise I’ll still make it up to the cut offs and deadlines. If I want the people to stop judging me then I have to double the amount of work that I do.”   I heard my mother heave a heavy sigh before she reaches out for my hand and squeezes it tight. We then seek the permission of my father who was strongly against it at first but later on was convinced and gave me his word, on the condition that I will still do good in school and I will be keen enough to keep my health in check. I thank him before I started on with my day.   “Secretary Kim, kindly call the school headmaster and inform him of my absence for the rest of the week. Also tell him to inform my adviser that I will still be needing all modules and homework and that all deadlines will be met, they have my word.” Said I.   “Yes, your highness.” And Soojin went on to do what she was told.   “Kindly check my schedule for the rest of the day and adjust them to fit in the forum with Yonsei University. They sent me a letter of invitation last month to appear as guest speaker, we decided to send an envoy instead but since we can scratch off school now, I think we can make room for it.”   “Yes, your highness.”   “Make sure the press conference will go as planned and don’t forget to invite a certain reporter named Kim Haneul. She asked me a few questions, it will just be too rude for me not to reply.”   “Make sure my private meeting with the benefactors for cancer patients is also scheduled. I don’t want their donations to be delayed any further.”   “Yes, your higness.” Answered Soojin. “I’m afraid you are also scheduled to have tea with the Minister of Education this afternoon but it will coincide with the cancer-benefactor meeting, should I just cancel it?”   “No, move it for thirty minutes. We can make it.”   “Of course, your highness, so first up we have the meetings with the ambassadors from France, Italy and United Kingdom.” Said Soojin while she was busy jotting down notes in her iPad.   “Remind me again why we’ll meet them?” I asked.   “They just wanted to meet you, your highness, and talk about politics I supposed, over breakfast.” She answered.   “Do I have any other schedules with other foreign ambassadors?”   “Not quite, but tomorrow and on Friday your highness, you are scheduled to convene with the newly ratified diplomats to be posted in Tokyo, Moscow and Prague, and we have one justice to be sent at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, you are also scheduled to meet up with him.” She answered, furiously scrolling through my schedule.   “Scratch ballet and gayageum practice, I won’t be able to do any of those anymore.” I said with a heavy heart and sigh. “Adjust my day again, I need to congratulate that newly elected justice. He surely brings honor to our country and a feat like that cannot be ignored.”   “Yes, your highness.”   — —   I am a busy person, but in most times not exactly as crazy as I am for the past two days. I usually have a minimum of five appearances in one week, maximum of ten during busy days, but now even in my common day schedule I’m having an average of six attendances a day. If I have to convince my people that I can do the job entrusted to me, I know I have to work my hardest.   With that I have been ignoring my stomach cramps as well, taking advil one after another to alleviate the pain. By Saturday I was scheduled to attend our monthly club meeting—horseback riding club back at school—but decided to pass with it since I was so busy and I still have homework to be done, and also because I’m pretty sure Jaehyun will be there and my mother already instructed me not to have any communication with him so I best decided not to show up in the end.   For the sake of my protection, my personal mobile phone is turned off in order to avoid any unnecessary communication with other people, including my best friend. Hence Yuju and I have been communicating through Secretary Kim. My ever-sweet best friend didn’t forget to remind me about my health every single day and is keen enough to tell m