Integrating into her Goryeo life had been fairly easier once she had accepted herself as Hae-soo, not that it meant Go Ha-jin would be wiped from existence entirely.

But it did not mean the transition would be easy.

Leaving behind everything she had ever known and ing herself into her new life was nothing but tough – having to deal with overwhelming responsibilities, learning how to read and write, and on top of every challenging obstacles laid the most vicious among all – Princess Yeonhwa.

Ever since the encounter in the study room, the princess seemed to be bent on making her life as miserable as possible – starting with picking on her relentlessly whenever she was in the residence, forcing her to run excessive errands which she would later deem unsatisfactory in addition to less-than-subtle mockery that were especially harsh in her brothers' presence.

Hae-soo barely refrained herself from jumping Princess Yeonhwa's throat every time she even tried opening , if only there wasn't the worry about implicating Lady Hae and causing a rift between her relationship with the Eighth Prince holding her back.

Strangely enough, Wang Wook hadn't been the one defending her whenever his sister lashed out mercilessly at her but Wang Eun, the young prince she had almost hit the other time.

She could understand the Eighth Prince's reasons for not intervening – they were blood siblings, after all, in addition to his usually reserved nature – what she really didn't comprehend was the other prince's motives for helping her, when every of their interactions had not been the best ice-breaker between them.

When she gave in to her curiosity and pestered him for an explanation, Wang Eun's face had flushed a furious shade of red that baffled her immensely and mumbled how he was simply repaying her for not exposing the little misunderstanding they had.

Finding him endearing – in spite of their previous disagreement – Hae-soo had stuck her hand out in a cordial gesture and prompted him to shake, when all he did was stare disbelievingly at her for a second, marking the start of their friendship.

And with the Tenth Prince came along the Fourteenth Prince – Wang Jung – just like a package deal, when the two brothers practically stuck together like glue. Wherever his fun-loving hyung-nim went, there was no doubt that the youngest prince would follow dutifully as well.

It was especially prevalent after their 'make-up', Wang Eun started looking her up more often than not – with or without Wang Jung tagging along – and brought her out of the suffocating residence to escape their sister's wrath even for the briefest moments.

They had taken her sightseeing, showing off Goryeo's wondrous features through fun and games – the three of them quickly forming a tight bond, being so identical in their characters and the like.

The company gave her the slightest bit of comfort, making her life in Songak a little less lonely and a little more bearable.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing that had kept her from crumbling.

After bidding farewell at the night of the festival, she hadn't been able to see the Fourth Prince, let alone rearrange their promise.

The assassination attempt on the Crown Prince's life had shocked the entire palace, with the king pulling in each and every resource he could find in order to punish the wrongdoers. There were rumors that it was the works of another prince and hence, the additional emphasis on all imperial members. Wang So had been placed in charge of investigation, given how his contributions had eliminated him from suspicions.

Hae-soo was delighted on his behalf, knowing how much it had meant to him that his efforts were being recognized, though it didn't ease her uneasiness at being unable to see him for a prolonged period of time.

Almost as if the prince could read her mind, a letter was delivered to her a day after the decree was announced.

"I'm unable to fulfill my promise any time soon, but don't forget me. We'll go on something even better, once everything's over."

Baek-ah finished reading with an exaggerated sigh, letting a dramatic shudder run through his frame. "I didn't know So hyung was capable of such emotional words."

Punching him playfully against his shoulders – to which he let out an 'ouch' and pouted childishly at her – Hae-soo reached over and snatched the paper from his hands. "That's none of your business, anyway."

"It is, if he's going to force me to deliver a letter every day." The prince retorted with a loud groan.

Her eyes sparkled delightfully, a familiar rush of heat forming in her cheeks. "Every day? He's going to write to me every day?"

Narrowing his eyes at her before folding his arms across his chest, Baek-ah huffed out a breath and glanced away. "I didn't say that. And I'll pretend you never said that, either."

"Oh, don't be like that. Tell him I–"

"Wait a second." He held his hands up, effectively silencing her rambling. "I'm just a messenger for my hyung-nim, that's all. Isn't it enough I read the letter out to you? Do you have to enslave me to delivering your love letters back and forth?"

The choice of wording made Hae-soo's cheeks flush embarrassingly pink, not that she acknowledged it in the presence of his prying eyes. "Please? I'll tell him myself, but I can't write or see him..."

He remained impassive, still keeping his gaze averted. "No."

"Please?" She her best aegyo, blinking her eyelashes at him when he tried to turn away. "Just do me this favor."

Finally looking her in the eyes, Baek-ah expelled a long sigh before conceding. "Fine. One time and–"

"You're the best!"

It didn't stop at just one time.

Wang So seemed to have either read her mind or his younger brother conveyed the message despite his protest, and had a letter delivered to her daily in his absence.

Every time after arriving at the residence, Baek-ah would read the letter out loud to her and proceed to squirm exaggeratedly at the increasingly affectionate choice of words – but Hae-soo could tell that it was all in the name of teasing her, not that he actually minded doing them the favor.

Though she could also infer that from his letters, the prince appeared to be clueless about the fact his brother was the one reading to her, given how he included overly devoted words, causing Baek-ah's eyes to bulge and Hae-soo's cheeks to burn scarlet.

Her letter responses to him had similarly been composed through Baek-ah, whose reluctance seemed to be depleting with each delivery.

Unwilling to trouble the prince even more than she should, Hae-soo focused every waking moment – when she wasn't busily swooning over Wang So's poems – to pick up the language quickly.

She tried concealing her giddy grin when the prince showed up on schedule, like he had done for the past few days, cocking his eyebrows quizzically when he was close enough to notice her gigantic smile.

"I hope you're not planning to murder me, because you'd no longer have a love letter servant."

Rolling her eyes, she refused to dignify his accusation with an answer and instead, held her hand out. The gesture made his brows raise even further – to the point of his hairline – halting him in his track and stared at her wide-eyed.

"What?"

"Give it to me."

"What?" Baek-ah queried again before he clued in, letting out an understanding gasp. "This?"

The letter he had been holding behind his back was waved in front of her, almost as if tauntingly.

"Yes. Give it to me."

He shook his head and chuckled in amusement when she tried to grab it from him, lifting his hand above his head.

"Go ahead and try." The prince challenged, sticking his tongue out. "If you can, that is."

She huffed out a breath, pushing the loose strands of hair out of her face before narrowing her eyes. "You're so juvenile."

"If I was immature, you–"

The retort never had the chance of finishing when she took the moment of distraction – his hands dropping low enough that even her petite stature wouldn't prevent her from reaching – and snatched the letter from his clasp, releasing a victorious cry.

The surprise seemed to have rendered the prince to the state of speechlessness that he simply gaped at her incredulously, before letting out a scoff. "That was your genius plan?"

"It worked, didn't it?" She countered, mirroring his playful expression from earlier with ease.

"I– I–" He stuttered – lacking a decent comeback – before a glint sparkled in his orbs and he crossed his arms over his torso, jutting his jaws out. "You can't read it without my help, so it's useless, anyway."

Hae-soo rolled her eyes. "Who says I can't?"

Before he could protest further, she unraveled the paper to a string of unfamiliar words in front of her eyes.

The look of bafflement was not lost on Baek-ah, when he beckoned her over with a smug smile. "Told you so. If you apologize, I might help you."

Ignoring him completely, she dug through her memories, of the books she had read repeatedly throughout the nights, of the words she tried so hard to understand.

"I said–"

"Meet or part, live or die, we've made oath, you and I." Her voice cut his chattering off, murmuring the words softly under her breath. "Give me your hand I'll hold, and live with me till old."

A silence fell between the two of them and Hae-soo took the opportunity to read his letter again, searing the beautiful poem into her memory.

"He writes so well." She muttered mostly to herself, a small smile curling on her lips. The words staring back at her seemed to assent and she traced them with her fingertips, committing his handwriting to her heart.

For so many days Baek-ah had read the letters to her, never once did she feel overcome with emotions at finally being able to appreciate the words dedicated to her herself. Not that his poetry hadn't been exquisite before, but hearing from another person never quite match what she felt at interpreting using her own effort.

"There's so much you don't know about him." The prince broke through her trance, a gentle smile tugging on the corners of his lips. "But you will. That I'm confident of."

She glanced back at him with matching fondness before nodding, clutching the letter with as much tightness as cautiousness – afraid that with every bit of strength she mustered to hold on, she could also exert too much force and crumble it.

Though Wang So's promise was a tremendous reason why she hadn't broken down under all the stress, the ties she had formed with the other princes were equally comforting, especially without the warmth of her prince.

Author's notes: No interactions between the couple here since I've wanted to establish some of their friendships before going into depth in the next chapter. And Wang So will be making his appearance again by then! FYI - the poem is titled Beating the Drum《诗经.邶风.击鼓》, if anyone is curious.