"Where in the world have you been?"

Ha-jin was greeted by the princess' voice the moment she had stepped inside the study, having had followed in meekly behind Chae-ryung under the guise of bringing the princes' refreshments in. She had hoped internally she would go unnoticed and sneak out afterwards, with the excuse that she did come. But Princess Yeonhwa's sharp eyes spotted the hiding girl the instant she set foot inside the room, singling her out with a snarl.

With her cover blown, Ha-jin expelled a resigned sigh and shuffled forth, keeping her head down. "There wasn't anything much for me to do, so I thought–"

It was cut by the woman's scoff. "I should've known. You skived off the minute you're left alone."

"No, I didn't–"

"She was with me." Her retort was interrupted yet again by a voice behind her and Ha-jin's head turned towards the door, watching Wang So enter through the threshold.

The room descended into a grave silence immediately, the chattering ceasing the moment the prince sauntered inside.

"Orabeoni." The princess acknowledged her half-brother with a shrewd smile, the earlier animosity dissipating and left no trace of the woman's malice in its wake.

Wang So nodded curtly in response, jutting his jaw out towards Ha-jin before pulling out an empty chair, taking a seat.

"That child was helping me with some errands."

Princess Yeonhwa glanced between the two of them with a glare, her lips forming a stiff grimace. Ha-jin winced under her scrutiny, twisting her face to escape the dirty looks being directed her way.

It was a terrible mistake – it appeared – when a figure stepped in front of her, eyebrows tightly knitted together. "Have you seen me before, by any chance?"

The voice belonged to the first person she saw when she had landed in Goryeo. The man in the princes' private bath, only now he was dressed in the finest robes – signaling his imperial status – as he swallowed the last bit of snack in his mouth.

Ha-jin's eyes quickly averted, turning her head away to avoid recognition. "No, I haven't."

"You look familiar."

"No."

The man was unconvinced by her admission, stepping closer to inspect her features and Ha-jin cursed mentally at his resilience.

"You're the one who spied on us bathing!" His eyes bulged to have finally made the connection, an accusing finger pointed straight in her face.

"That's impossible." Ha-jin tried to deny, but the man grabbed her wrist and zeroed in, a firm expression in place.

"It is you!" He persisted, a childish whine coating his voice.

"It wasn't–"

A hand was placed on the man and both of them turned, only to quieten instantaneously to discover it had belonged to Wang So. He had managed to stride across the room with effortless grace that they hadn't notice his presence until that very second, surprising the two of them.

"It's not her." The prince murmured simply, but Ha-jin felt the pressure he exerted into his brother's arm through the hold on her, the insistence clear. "Let her go."

Her hand was dropped to her side in a silent surrender and she rubbed at the reddened skin gently.

"Hyung-nim, it's her. I remember–"

"Are you insinuating that I couldn't recognize the intruder?" An ominous voice returned, the dangerous edge laced with the proclaim sending a chill down her spine.

The reaction was immediate. Harsh breaths were drawn across the room and the other prince's lips quivered, cowering in front of his older brother.

Ha-jin laid a hand upon Wang So's forearm – a gesture that earned a scowl from the nearby Princess Yeonhwa, which she ignored pointedly – despite the tension hanging in the air.

"You don't have to do this…" She murmured quietly by his side, knowing only he could hear her.

"Are you?" The prince repeated challengingly, in complete disregard of her words.

His younger brother snapped to attention, his frame rigid. "N-No, Hyung-nim. I wouldn't dare."

"Good." Wang So's lips curved into a satisfied smirk before turning to Ha-jin. "You're dismissed."

Ha-jin gulped, her eyes darting around to find a roomful of grim expressions, unsure whether to comply.

"It's fine." His voice cut through her thinking, the earlier smugness softening into an earnest smile. "Go."

The sincerity seemed to have soothed her inner turmoil and she returned a tentative smile, quickly following Chae-ryung and the other servants out of the study.

Only when she was alone to her own thoughts did she realize her heart was pounding against her chest.

He said it's fine. I'll be fine.

Ha-jin chanted mentally to herself, attempting to calm her racing heart.

"I'm sure it's her…" A grumble was heard from the corner and she ducked for cover quickly, seeing the younger prince stomp outside, huffing indignantly. "I'll prove them wrong."

She hissed under her breath, slipping behind a nearby column when he came storming her way.

"Where did she run off to?"

Despite her fear of getting caught again, Ha-jin couldn't help following the direction of his search, lifting pot covers up as if she could fit inside such a tiny object.

Until she saw him pass by the maidservants' chambers and come to a halt, peering around gingerly.

The careful action caused a frown to form between her brows and she approached quietly to gain a better view.

What she had not expected was him tiptoeing to the door, squinting his eyes through a tear.

"You little–" Ha-jin rolled her sleeves up, about to march up to him when a cry was heard from within the chambers.

The prince startled, staggering backwards a few steps before spinning on his heel, proceeding to flee from the scene.

Not on my watch.

Ha-jin held both arms up, effectively blocking his path when he almost ran into her, narrowly missing the collision by swiftly coming to a halt. "Stop."

A young girl came rushing out of the room, barely having the time to cover herself up in her state of distress. "Who's there?"

"You're spying, aren't you?" She narrowed her eyes scornfully at the prince, watching the realization dawn on the servant that the peeping tom was none other than a royal member.

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing?" The annoyance was evident, but it was clear through the sway in his voice that he was not entirely convinced himself.

He turned to the young servant, who had her head lowered the entire time.

"Are you certain it was me?"

"I– I can't be absolutely…" She peered up fearfully at the prince – towering over her by a head – before gasping at the intimidating stance he had adopted. Her eyes fluttered shut, shaking her head with resolve.

It was apparent that she did identify the culprit despite her claim, but she was seized with apprehension to accuse the imperial family of any crime, however guilty they may be.

This did not apply to Ha-jin, at all.

Nope.

"Heard that?" He declared gleefully, brushing past her blockade to leave the scene.

Moving back in front of him, she gestured to her own pair of hues. "She may not have seen you, but I did. Apologize to her, right now."

The young servant shook her hands hurriedly, trying to dissuade Ha-jin from behind the prince's back, but she would have none of it and continued glaring at him.

"Are you telling me to lower myself and apologize?" He sputtered the last word out, unable to fathom her demand. "Move, or you'll regret it."

Ha-jin scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. The prince was undoubtedly powerful in the past, but the threat didn't come as menacing as it had meant to be to her ears.

"Apologize and I will."

"Why, you insolent–" He seethed, shoving her aside and stomping off.

She huffed out a breath, about to chase after him when a small hand tugged her back. "Don't trouble yourself, miss. I'm fine."

"This is not alright." Ha-jin peeled her arm off gently, patting her on her head. "I'll see to it that he apologizes."

Before the young servant could protest further, she balled up her dress – which had slowed her down considerably with its long fabric dragging across the ground – and ran off in the direction he was headed.

How dare they treat people as such, just because they're royalty? Is there no justice in this world?

The resent building in the pit of her stomach lashed out once she had finally located him. "Apologize, right now!"

The prince twirled around to hear her voice, scrunching his nose. "You, again? Are you not done?"

"Never." Ha-jin declared, pulling him back by his cloak.

He grabbed her by her shoulders, contempt all over his face. "I'm not wasting my time on you." With that, he jostled her to the ground. "Let this be my final warning."

Her determination spiked, she grabbed him by his ankles to trip him when he begun to walk away. "Didn't you hear? I won't stop until you apologize."

A groan was heard and both of them stood up quickly, Ha-jin launching forth to haul the prince back when he attempted to flee again.

"Where are you going?"

His childish features contorted into a cringe, refusing to look her in the eyes. "I'm not going to fight with a girl."

"Who taught you to undermine females, anyway?" She admonished, using every bit of strength she could muster to tug him backwards. It proved a small success, given how he seemed to be deflated.

"I'm not going to fight with a girl." He replied simply, maintaining his stubborn refusal to give up.

The reiteration was really getting on her nerves and she couldn't help rolling her eyes in disdain, huffing out a breath.

"That doesn't mean I won't." Ha-jin growled through gritted teeth, rolling her sleeves even further up her remaining free arm, causing the prince's eyes to widen in alarm.

"W-What are you doing?"

"People like you need to have some sense beaten into you." That was all she offered him when her hand pulled back, ready to land the gratifying blow.

But her moment of victory came to a screeching halt when a hand grabbed her wrist, pausing her mid-slap.

"Let me go!"

"Are you sure?" Her head snapped to hear Wang So's voice, the same tickled look on his face from each of their encounter. "Because the last time you said that, you got yourself into some serious trouble."

The memories of their first meeting flooded her mind and she pushed them aside, glaring at the fingers wrapped around her wrist instead.

"I won't be doing that today."

His eyebrows rose questioningly before granting her the benefit of doubt, loosening his grip on her wrist.

"Hyung-nim…" The other prince interrupted with a whine, having taken the moment of distraction to push the hand on his cloak off.

"I won't be pursuing this matter, since the fault seems to be both ways." Wang So stated simply, cutting off the protests threatening on his brother's lips with a harsh glare.

Nothing left to say, the younger prince merely huffed indignantly and flounced away.

"He still needs to apologize." Ha-jin muttered next to him, smoothing her crumbled robes as they watched his figure disappear out of sight.

"I just saved you from being charged with assaulting a royal and that's what you chose to say?" Wang So countered with amusement, glancing down at the petite girl.

She hummed pensively, tucking the strands of hair that had fallen during her squabble with the prince behind her ear.

A low chuckle rumbled from the back of his throat and she resisted the urge to peek, acutely aware of the way his eyes would crinkle whenever he laughed.

"Hae-soo?" Ha-jin lifted her head up to see her cousin approaching them, the worried expression not lost on her.

"I'll leave you be, now." Wang So's voice had dropped low enough that only her ears could pick up, breathing down her neck. "We'll be seeing each other soon."

She barely had time to respond when he straightened his posture, nodding in greeting when her cousin reached them, before walking away.

After Lady Hae had brought her to the temple and showed her the prayer stones set up for her, Ha-jin couldn't help the longing in her heart for her own mother, who surely would be distraught over her missing daughter.

What am I doing, thinking I could leave my old life behind and start afresh as Hae-soo?

A solitary tear trickled down her cheek and she hugged her knees close to her chest for warmth, long after the sun had set.

She had been a misfit, causing nothing but trouble for both herself and the family she had found herself in the short period of time spent in Goryeo.

It agonized her endlessly that she had nowhere she truly belonged to.

Not in her original timeline, nor here in Goryeo.

But at least she had an actual home to return to in her own time, where her mother would wait up patiently as her shift ended after each day. It was saddening that she had once neglected her in favor of her cheating boyfriend, abandoning her familial ties for someone who had stabbed her in the back with her best friend.

I miss you, mom. I want to go back.

As though epiphany had struck, Ha-jin's eyes lit up with a glint to remember arriving in Damiwon, after drowning in the waters back in the twenty-first century.

That's right, I could return the same way I came here.

A smile delighted her features and she quickly gathered herself, slinking out of the temple in the direction of the bathing pools.

Chae-ryung had divulged the fact there was a hidden passage to the said waters, concealed by the entrance of the public bath. The same route her doppelgänger had taken before she had entered her body.

It had taken her no time at all to arrive at Damiwon, following her directions to exact precision.

The moonlight was shrouded by the dark clouds, illuminating the tea-house enough for Ha-jin to breeze through with relative ease.

She tested the temperature of the waters by dipping her toes experimentally, thankful to find that it was relatively cool to touch, despite the freezing weather.

Without further ado, Ha-jin went inside the pool and inhaled sharply, readying herself both physically and mentally for the inevitable.

A splash into the waters, and her mob of raven-black hair disappeared beneath the surface.

For a brief second, nothing seemed to happen.

She waited and waited, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to hold her breath for as long as she could manage.

Then it occured.

The exact sequence of images flashed before her again – watching her boyfriend kiss her best friend, their confrontation, lugging her suitcase by the empty streets and being so unfocused at work that her manager had fired her on the spot.

Do I want to go back to these? Having to deal with this pain again?

Her breathing caught in , having had used up the last ounce of air.

Overcome with panic, Ha-jin broke through the waters once again, indulging herself in a fresh inhale of air to fill her lungs.

"What–"

A shuddering breath was heard and she rubbed at her eyes in attempt to clear her vision – only for to fall agape at the sight of Wang So, the shock being mirrored perfectly on his features.

In her resoluteness to return to her time, Ha-jin had failed to realize the other addition in the waters until they were staring dumbfounded at each other, too shell-shocked to utter a single word.

"What are you doing here?" He asked after regaining his composure, stepping back to place some space between them.

""I–" She started, before noticing for the first time that the prince was unmasked, revealing to her what had been hidden beneath the disguise.

There was a jagged line split between his left eye and nose – faded with age but wounded deeply enough that it had stayed prominent – even after all the time passed. In spite of the marred eye he had kept carefully concealed under his mask, the prince's beauty prevailed against all odds, almost glistering in the moon-speckled darkness.

Her startled gasp alerted him to the fact she was staring transfixed at his scar, causing him to recoil and slap a shaky hand over the blemish.

"Did– Did you see?"

It wasn't the teasing voice Ha-jin had been accustomed to hearing whenever she had bumped into him. Nor was it the unfeeling tone he had applied when he dealt with his younger brother.

There was a vulnerability in his tone, making the almighty prince seem fragile in the instant those words left his lips, quaking with trepidation.

When no response came, Wang So in another breath.

"M-My scar." It sounded as if it had physically pained him to have said that one word. "Did you see it?"

Ha-jin simply nodded in lieu of an answer, unable to dignify her discovery with a coherent sentence.

However, it was misinterpreted by the prince, who had turned his back to her in shame.

"Forget it. Forget about the ugliness you just saw. You weren't supposed to..." He trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Not you."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she begun to reach for his arm, wanting nothing but to comfort the agony that had consumed the man. At the last moment, Ha-jin thought better and paused, deciding to extend the respect he had just shown her.

"You don't have to be ashamed." She murmured softly, closing the gap between them with a tentative step. "I'm not afraid."

Wang So turned to watch her, an unshed tear illuminated on the corners of his eye. "Why?"

Her gaze fell, withholding the urge to wince when her eyes found his back to covered in multitude of scars, the cuts seemingly worsening with each scar she located.

"It's not your fault."

It was a simple, yet heartfelt, confession but Ha-jin knew with the tear that finally rolled down his cheek, he had understood.

"Can I ask the reason why you're trespassing, again?" Wang So had asked for the umpteenth time in a row, his playful demeanor resurfacing when he nudged her shoulders.

They had long left Damiwon and after much insistence, Ha-jin had agreed to let him walk her back to her residence.

His mask was once again on the left of his face, covering up the scar. Rather than acting as a defense mechanism to conceal his insecurities, he had shared that it was more attributed to preventing people from actually seeing it, having believed that a flawed prince signified a curse upon the kingdom.

She tried to dissuading him from believing the nonsensical rumors but he had simply shrugged it off, telling her it didn't bother him in the most unpersuasive voice she had ever heard of in the entirety of her life.

Ha-jin had accepted the change of topic when he spoke again, deciding not to push the matter just yet.

"Nope." She shook her head with a small grin, tugging the cloak he had given her up to keep it from slipping off her shoulders.

He chuckled and it didn't go unnoticed how he had stepped closer towards her, providing her the warmth her damp clothes couldn't.

It resulted in another flush of heat in her cheeks, apart from the radiating body warmth beside her.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" Ha-jin asked after a moment of comfortable silence, rubbing her palms together.

Wang So raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Why do you ask?"

"It's the festival tomorrow night." She merely shrugged, recalling how Chae-ryung had chirped about the liveliness of the capital during that one night. It made Goryeo feel a little more real, a little more closer to home.

"Ah, civilians' entertainment." The prince stated with nostalgia, a hum on his lips. "I've missed that."

"What do you mean? Didn't you have this sort of pleasure back where you came from? Shi– or something."

"Shinju." Wang So corrected with an amused chuckle, before his jaws tightened, shaking his head. "That's a conversation for the future."

Ha-jin was puzzled when he had digressed again – this time at the mention of Shinju – but she didn't voice her thoughts.

Instead, she steered the conversation back to what she had been asking prior to the shift in subject. "So... What are you doing tomorrow night? You haven't answered."

"You're stubborn, on top of being feisty. Did anyone tell you that?"

"Only too many times. Answer me."

"The princes will be putting on a performance for the king. It's the reason why I was needed back in Songak, anyway."

Ha-jin felt her energy drain away, muttering a defeated 'oh'.

Noting the change, he had stopped in his tracks, pulling her back to a halt when she had continued walking, barely paying any attention.

"What's the matter? Is there something going on tomorrow?"

"Well..." She twirled her ornament absentmindedly around her finger, not meeting his eyes. "I wanted to ask you if you're going, but if you're too busy..."

Wang So burst out laughing, earning a pout from her lips, as he tried to stifle his sounds. "Here I thought I had done something wrong, when the only wrong I've done is fulfill my duty."

She huffed out a breath indignantly, crossing her arms across her chest at the same time, trying to not let his cloak fall off her shoulders. "Are you going to keep making fun of me?"

Without waiting for a response and refusing to let him see the effect he had on her, Ha-jin stormed forth in the direction of her residence.

It had continued for the remainder of their journey – her fuming in the front and him grinning away manically in the back – until they finally reached the Eighth Prince's residence.

"You're still mad?" The prince asked when she slowed down, having had noticed her cousin's anxious pacing from the distance.

He sighed after a moment, seeing how she didn't respond to his continuous prodding. "I'll tell you what."

Only when her interest was piqued – raising her eyebrows quizzically – did Wang So elaborate further. "I'll meet you at the festival once the performance's over."

Ha-jin's eyes brightened momentarily, before narrowing them warily again. "This isn't a prank, is it?"

"What? No." The prince seemed mildly offended that his words were not taken to their utmost seriousness. He expelled a soft sigh, taking her hands in his gently. "I promise you."

She allowed him to see the blush on her cheeks without turning away, nodding with a bashful smile. "Okay."

"O– Okay?" Wang So's eyes bulged to hear the foreign word, repeating it with caution.

"Yeah." She chewed on her bottom lip shyly, pressing her index finger against her thumb in order to hold up the yet-to-be-invented sign and nodded again in reaffirmation. "Okay."

His own lips curled into something reminiscent of fondness, rubbing his thumb across her knuckle in soft before letting go reluctantly. "Go on, now. Your cousin's getting awfully worried."

All Ha-jin could manage was a quick murmur of goodbye and dashed inside, beyond excited at the prospect of the festival.