"Your Highness, Lord Park Jungmin is asking to seek your audience." The princess will be lying to herself if she says she isn't worried about her plan. Yes indeed, she told Kyujong of her plan but she never exactly told her at what time she's initiating it. Kyujong explained that he has an out-of-town trip that would took less than two weeks before he comes back and asked her to postpone her proposed meeting with the Park Jungmin, in which she just responded with a smile. Probably trusting her, Kyujong contently left their chamber not until he had a deep kiss from her which he almost turned into something more; if not for that eunuch who knocked himself out of it, to Kyujong's dismay.

If it wasn't a blessing in disguise, it took more or less an hour after Kyujong left before she gets the request for her expected guest to see her. She immediately answered back positively before she was graced by the presence of her good old friend --- and suitor.

"Good day, your highness. I'm here answering your invi--"

"Stop it, Park Jungmin. You know I don't want you to address me like that."

"But our social ranks speaks differently, your highness. The palace servants are just a door away from us, I dare not to do anything imprudent or else it might take toll to my parents and my family."

"Your parents... are your family? Or perhaps---"

"I got married, you see." He showed his left hand and there rests on his ring finger a green wedding ring. "My parents are getting older and after... what happened to us--- and the fact that I have a pretty stabilized career already, they deemed me ready to handle my own family. I got married to the second daughter of the Jung household." He then gave a soft smile to her.

"I see... I'm happy for you."

"And same for you. The rumor overlaps the palace walls you know? And every appearances you made during public events, even the commoners won't be mistaken with what they see in you. You're totally in love with the Prince." He nudged a little bit forward as if giving her the idea that he's interested to know more.

"It wasn't that easy you know. True, that rumors have its own wings, but nonetheless, there are lot of happenings that the palace has to kill down before reaching the public's knowledge--"

"Well if it was the former minister's plot against you, I'm pretty sure everyone of us outside the palace knew wha--"

"It's not just that, Jungmin oppa." She noticed him squirm uncomfortably over her statement, or maybe it was the good old way she addressed him? "A lot happened before and after it, which even me would not want to hear from a princess, given if I was just a commoner living outside these stiffening palace walls." The princess then let out a deep sigh.

"So, you're not happy here?"

"I... I may have felt a bit suffocated, perhaps. But I'm happy..." She then took a hold of her own wedding ring hiding underneath her large hanbok sleeves. "Kyujong never fails to make me happy."

Unknown to her, something is brewing behind the brilliant mind of her old friend. Something which should be buried deep down the wells of the past.

"Then let's run away? Just like we planned to do, if not for your brother Youngsaeng