"Eun ah!"

Wangeun turned around and smiled to see the pretty girl, his crush. "Haesoo." He ran childishly towards that girl as she called him to come. "Haesoo ah, we haven't meet for a long time. How're you?" He greeted first.

Haesoo smiled prettily and lowered her soft shy gaze. "I'm good. Yes, it has been so long." She looked up to the prince in front of her again. "I miss you."

Wangeun now was dead mute, heart skipped a bit seeing how beautiful that girl he once liked a lot. He gulped later and cleared his throat. No, he couldn't feel this way anymore. He was now married to someone else. He slightly shook his head. 

"When will you going to come back to castle? Don't you miss me and the rest? We're all waiting for you." Haesoo slightly pouted and sighed. So adorable, so pretty, so soft, so delicate, so--- oh don't! Wangeun shook his head again to remove those thoughts out of his mind.

"Of course I miss everyone, but I feel safe and happier with my life now, Haesoo ah. Don't worry about me." Wangeun replied nicely with friendly smile.

"But do you think your wife is happy and feel safe?" Haesoo pointed the questions and Wangeun furrowed his brows questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, don't you think about  her? She perhaps look fine, but do you even know anything about her nightmare she has to face every night? She doesn't feel safe, Eun ah. Death images of every person she loves keep appear in her dream because king and shaman already did 'something' on her. It'll haunt your wife until you two come back to castle and surrender yourself."

Wangeun gulped, shocked at Haesoo's explanation. Is this even real? King and shaman? "How do you know?"

"I... accidentally heard their conversation and plan. King... and those four shamans." Haesoo sounded serious in her tone, no sense of joke or playful. Wangeun looked down, still tried to digest what he just heard from this castle lady. Haesoo stayed in castle everyday, so of course accidentally listening to king's conversation is possible. If that so, can he believe her words?

"Are you doubt on me, Eun ah? We've been good friends, I won't tell you lie." As if she could read the prince's face at this moment.

Suddenly, a loud hopeless scream came from somewhere. That familiar voice....

"Wangja-nim!!! Wangja-nim, w--wangj--ja-nim--aahhhhh!"

Wangeun immediately turned around to search for that loud crying voice. He was dead panicked. "Soondeok ah!!"

.

.

.

 "...Deok ah!"

Wangeun snapped his eyes open, breathed heavily after what had happened in his dream. Sunlight slipped into the bedroom, through the gap between curtains. It was morning already....

He turned his head to his side and only saw the half empty bed. Then, he sat up to see his wife nowhere in the room. "Soondeok ah." He called, began to panic as his dream earlier played back in his mind. That prince got off from the bed and went out from the room, searching for Soondeok everywhere before his eyes laid on the familiar female in kitchen. He sighed lowly in relief and quickened his step (still could barely walk using his injured leg though) towards his love who was preparing breakfast in kitchen. "Soondeok ah." Wangeun called lowly, panted somehow.

Soondeok who was washing a cup she used earlier now startled when a pair of arm hugged her from behind. A chin rested on her shoulder, a familiar nice voice called her name softly. She smiled, greeted back. "Good morning, wangja-nim." She got a low brief hum as respond. "You sound tired.. are you running in your sleep?" She teased and chuckled playfully.

"Hm... kind of."

"Did you get nice sleep, wagja-nim?" Soondeok placed the cup on its previous rack.

"Yes but not after you screamed." Wangeun merely replied before his wife released his arms around her waist and turned around to face him. Not to mention, a small frown on her forehead.

"I screamed?"

She asked and Wangeun didn't sure what to tell or how to explain about it. Soondeok did screamed.... in his dream. He sighed and chuckled lowly, "Forget it. Oh btw, Soondeok ah."

"Hm?" Soondeok hummed shortly as repond while placing their breakfast she just made earlier in a tray, along with warm milk and tea.

"I take a day off today. Let's spend time together." Wangeun said and Soondeok stopped her work, looked up to the prince. "We've planned to celebrate your birthday properly today, aren't we?"

Ah! Right. Soondeok broke into a smile. A soft yet pretty one. Prettier than Haesoo's, Wangeun thought. "Nae, wangja-nim." Soondeok replied.

And Wangeun smiled back.

.

It was a nice morning, cold calming breeze, under the blue sky, on their house rooftop, they spent a lot of time together. It had been so long since Soondeok last went up there, because Wangeun didn't let her to go up to rooftop by herself as she was now pregnant and anything bad could happen if she walked upstairs without inspection. Many things had changed since she last saw the empty space months ago. Wangeun had decorated the rooftop with soft pastel colored balloons, a couch, a table, a cute painting of birthday cake and messy 'Happy Birthday' wish. So adorable. Flower plants alongside the rooftop railing made the place became brighter and prettier. Wangeun sure very creative and had worked hard to prepare all of these. Did he even slept last night? Soondeok thought.

"What do you think?" He lifted up eyebrows playfully before grinned proudly when Soondeok seemed so touched.

"This is.... really nice, wangja-nim. When did you prepared all of these?"

"Last night, when you slept. Do you like it?"

Soondeok nodded eagerly with a wide pretty smile. Wangeun chuckled and led her to a couch. He asked her to sit there and she did obediently. Then, the prince went to somewhere else to take something, and Soondeok just watched him with clueless expression. Later, he came back with a sword in hand. A sword? A sword! Soondeok cupped , surprised as what she knew, 10th prince really hated to fight and play with any kind of weapon.

Wangeun stepped onto a mini stage that he had set up, tightly holding the sword in his hand. "I've practiced this a lot, so don't worry. Just enjoy my performance~" He announced a bit too proud. Soondeok couldn't help but giggled.

.

"Isn't that 10th prince?" Little Soondeok who was walking back home after watched a fighting competition stopped her step abruptly. Eyes grew wider as she ran and hid behind a tree, peeked at the prince who was sitting behind bushes alone. She grinned happily and decided to approach him.

"Uwaah! Kkamjakiya!" Wangeun flinched, startled when suddenly someone jumped out from nowhere, to his front. "You--?! What do you want? I'm not in a good mood right now!"

Yes, that prince grumpled a lot and seemed really in bad mood. Soondeok felt hesitated now, but took a seat beside him, on the ground though. "10th prince, what're you doing here?"

"None of your business."

"Are you hiding from anyone?"

"I said it's not your business."

Soondeok bit her lower lip, sighed lowly while still looking at the small prince who was still hugging his own knees and now hiding his grumpy face. "Are you crying, 10th prince?" She only received a shake of head as respond instead. "Okay, I got it. You just want to be alone for now." Soondeok nodded to herself and about to stand up and leave when Wangeun lifted up his face and cried out loud in sudden.

"I hate them!!!"

Soondeok was shocked at that sudden explosion though. She canceled her decision to leave and started to worry by seeing the prince cried. "W-- W-- Whyyyy are you crying, 10th prince?" Soondeok asked panickedly. 

"I hate them! I've told them that I hate to practice but-- BUT THEY STILL FORCE ME TO PRACTICE AND PLAY WITH SWORDS. I HATE WEAPONS!!! IT SCARY!!! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY THOSE SCARY THINGS!!!! I-- I-- I--"

Ah... so that's the reason. Soondeok sighed and smiled hopelessly. "So, this is why you're hiding here?"

Wangeun nodded sadly, wiped his wet face using his sleeve. "I skipped the practice halfway and run out from palace."

"They just want what the best for you, 10th prince. Don't you think so?" Soondeok spoke again and gained attention from the childish prince now. "Look. Do you think they force you to practice and enhance your fighting skill for no reason? You're namja, 10th prince. You need to be strong and know how to fight cuz you'll soon to get married and want it or not, you'll still need to protect your--"

"You're so loud! You're just the same as others!" The prince angrily barked before stood up and leaved the place while grumbled childishly. Soondeok who watched him ge