(Soondeok wakes up at the sounds of water dripping down echoing in the cave – the rain has stopped; the sun is up and the cave starts to get a bit warmer. Soondeok lifts her head up a bit to see what situation she’s in for her body feels heavy. Eun has his legs wrapped around her – obviously he’s cold, so Soondeok slowly sits up without waking him up and pull the blanket up for him.)

‘And you said you won’t be cold…’

(Soondeok whispers. She needs to get dressed now, but that’s not going to be an easy job. She must first escape. Slowly, ever so slowly, she pulls on of her legs out, everytime Eun moves she’d freeze for a minute before continuing. But just as she was about to break away with another leg almost free, Eun turns towards her, pulls her back under the blanket and has his arms wrapped around her shoulders, not allowing his ‘heater’ get away)

‘Oh great. Now what?’

(Soondeok’s resolved to a simplier method – waking him up.)

‘Oppa, happy birthday…’

(No response from Eun. Soondeok looks closely at her husband. She smiles as she runs her finger down his face, from his forehead to his nose then his lips…oh how she had wished her husband would fall asleep last night, but now she wants him to wake up just as bad)

‘Oppa…’

(Nothing but a twitch in the nose. He’s still asleep. Soondeok reattempts in her escape, she tries to lift Eun’s arm up, but it won’t budge. She tries again, no good. He’s awake, Eun’s faking it.)

‘Ya, Oppa. Let me go, I need to get changed.’

(Silence)

‘Oppa, open your eyes. I know you’re awake already. Come on, just let me go already.’

(Eun snores – well, at least he tried pretending)

‘Nice try, but I won’t fall for that, Oppa. So let me go now or should I tickle you until you’ll do so?’

(At last, Eun grins – but his eyes are still closed. He’s not going to let her go, instead, he’s going to bring her closer)

‘Umm~ My darling…come closer.’

‘Oppa!’

‘Who said you can go?’

‘I’ll come back if you want, after I dress up that is.’

‘I like it like this. Nothing between us…your skin feels nice, just like this.’

(Eun holds her tighter and rubs his face on her arm)

‘Oppa-’

‘Stop squirming…’

‘You’ve had enough fun last night, let’s go back…mother will be worried sick.’

‘Enough huh? Who said I had enough.’

‘I do! And enough is enough. Aren’t you hungry? Let’s go back and eat.’

‘Okay, let’s go then.’

‘Finally-’

‘After one last time~’

‘What?’

‘Deok ah, it’s not like we’ll get to sleep in a cave like this often. Since we’re here already, why not make the best of it? I loved the sound effect we had in here last night. The echo-’

(Soondeok smacks his forehead)

‘Aigoo! No way! Last night was crazy enough.’

(Eun whines a bit)

‘But…but…but it’s my birthday!~~~’

‘And you opened your present already.’

‘I’m going to protest if you don’t let me.’

‘Oh yeah? What are you going to do, dear husband? Don’t forget, though I haven’t trained for a while, I can still dislocate your arm without any trouble-’

(At that very moment, Eun lets out a fart – a very loud one.)

‘OPPA!’

‘Ah~ Oh~~~ Uh, that feels nice.’

‘Oppa! Oh gosh the smell! Ya! You’ve gone nuts?’

(Soondeok tries even harder to leave but of course she can’t, forget about leaving, she can’t even move)

‘You’ve never said I can’t fart~’

‘Dear me! Your highness, you’re such a kid! Childish! Let me go! Oh gosh the smell, I think I’m going to get sick.’

‘It doesn’t smell at all, Deok ah!’

‘Since when do people find their own fart smelly?’

(Eun giggles hard, he loves seeing Soondeok mad at him for things as such)

‘Honey, I thought you said you love me.’

‘Oppa, I do, but this-’

(Eun tries to sound serious)

‘If you love me, you’ll love my fart too. You know what they say, a true relationship doesn’t start from the first kiss, it starts from the first fart~’

‘What nonsense is that?!’

‘Well, at least something like that.’

(Eun’s hands starts to mess around, now that he’s got his wife ‘paralysed’)

‘Wife~ Please? Please darling? Just once, I promise, just once more.’

(Eun kisses her on the cheek and attempts to hover over his wife)

‘Aigoo, look, hear me out! Stop! Just stop for a second, Oppa! If we go back home now, without fussing about, I’ll let you do whatever you want tonight.’

(Eun stops, the deal sounds tempting, he eyes her suspicously)

‘Rrrrrreally?’

‘Really!’

‘For as long as I want?’

‘Y…yes.’

‘Hmmm…there’s something fishy about your suggestion.’

(Soondeok pretends not to care. She softly touches his lips.)

‘Take it or leave it. You can choose to enjoy once here or...you pick.’

‘You think I’ll fall for that?’

‘It’s your choice.’

(Soondeok gives a smirk – Eun sighs)

‘Urgh, fine…let’s get up and go back.’

‘That’s my good boy!’

(Soondeok bounces up to get dressed, she’s digging up her own grave, she knows, but at least she can have some moment of peace for now. Eun walks up to her as she’s changing and gives her a backhug)

‘O…Oppa…’

‘Did you sleep well?’

‘Aigoo…now you sound all innocent…Not! At! All! Because of SOMEBODY.’

‘Why? Did you dream about me?’

‘No.’

‘At times like this you should at least try to lie and say you did, Deok ah. It’s my birthday after all…’

‘And because its your birthday, I gave you a present. Oh please don’t have me start again. Oppa, pass me my pants please. I’ll help you tie up your hair after I’m done. Thank goodness it’s all dry now.’

(Both getting change when Eun suddenly remembers something.)

‘Deok ah. Last night…’

‘Stop talking about last night already, it’s embarrassing-’

‘No, that’s not what I meant! Last night, what…what did you say?’

‘I said a lot of things last night. Here Oppa, here’s your top. Oh whatever, let me tie it for you…’

(Eun holds her hands and have her look at him)

‘You listed the places! The places we…we…how did you know those places?’

(Soondeok thinks for a moment)

‘You…you’re right, Oppa. How…how did I list them out?’

‘Deok ah…your memories…those memories…are they…are they back?’

‘I…I think so.’

‘WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really?! Deok ah! Really?’

(Eun pulls her to his embrace)

‘I knew you’d come back! I knew it!’

‘Are you really that happy, Oppa?’

‘Of course! Oh boy, we need to go back now! We need to tell mother!’

‘But I still can’t remember everything…not yet…’

‘WHO CARES? Oh, we better hurry! Deok ah, why are you so slow? Hurry up now! This is the best birthday present ever! Hurry up!’

‘Me? Slow? You were the one who…ya! Oppa! Come back! I still need to do your hair! And your pants! You’ve forgotten to put on your pants! You can’t run around pantless like that!’

-----------------------------------------

(Both of them at the front yard of their house, the butler comes running out)

Butler: ‘Your highness!!!! Where have been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you!’

Eun: ‘We’re fine, just got caught in the rain and spend the night outside, that’s all. Is mother in?’

Butler: ‘Oh yes. But-’

(Eun turns to Soondeok)

Eun: ‘Deok ah, you greet mother first, I’ll take the horse to the stable and tell them to get the bath ready for us.’

Soondeok: ‘Yes, your highness.’

(Soondeok enters the room and sees her in bed – a towel on her forehead)

‘Mother! Mother, are you sick?’

(She opens her eyes a bit as she hears Soondeok coming in)

‘Mother! It’s me! Soondeok! Did you worry about us? Is that why you’re sick? I’m so sorry I-’

‘Darling…’

‘Mother, don’t worry now, we’re back, we’re fine. The rain was too heavy so we spent a night in a cave and-’

‘I see my sister’s right.’

‘W…what?’

(At that time, Eun’s mother comes into the room, Soondeok turns around)

Soondeok: ‘M…mother? Why are you? How?’

(Soondeok looks back at the lady in bed then back at mother)

Soondeok: ‘How…mother…there are…two of you…’

Mother: ‘Aigoo, my dear, you look surprised. Sister, did you scare her?’

Aunt: ‘Onni, I barely said a word.’

Mother: ‘Deok ah, I guess Eun never told you, his aunt is coming over.’

Soondeok: ‘He did say a guest will be coming…and I know he has an aunt, but-’

(At that moment, Eun comes in)

Mother: ‘Eun ah, look at your wife! Look how startled she is! Did you not tell her that I’m a twin?’

(Eun scratches his head)

Eun: ‘I didn’t? I…I guess I forgot to tell her that little detail…’

Soondeok: ‘Mother…you’re a twin?!’

Mother: ‘Do we not look alike?’

Soondeok: ‘Very…very alike…oh dear…’

(Eun slowly walks up to the bed and kneels beside it, holding his aunt’s hand, who looks very very sick)

Eun: ‘Aunt…It’s me, Eun…’

Aunt: ‘I know…’

(Aunt puts her hand on his cheek)

Aung: ‘My my my, look how big you’ve become, my little nephew. You’re a man now, very much like a warrior. How have you been? Mongryong is in your room, thank you for letting him stay with me for a while…’

Eun: ‘Mother told me that you’re sick, I thought it’d be just a cold or something…how…’

Aunt: ‘I guess it’s time I leave this world.’

Eun: ‘Aunt! Don’t say such a thing. We’ve got the best doctors here, they’ll treat you.’

Aunt: ‘You won’t say that after seeing me in this condition.’

(Eun’s aunt sits up, with Soondeok’s help, but even such a short movment caused great pain to the woman)

Eun: ‘Aunt…you’re…’

(Eun and Soondeok both got their eyes fixed on her body)

Aunt: ‘Eun ah, you’re thinking so loud I can hear you. You must be wondering why my tummy’s so distended, no?’

Eun: ‘Aunt…are you…are you pregnant?’

(Aunt laughs a bit)

Aunt: ‘Me? At my age? Did you forget my husband died 5 years ago? Ha, no…no Eun ah, no…I’m not…’

Eun: ‘Then…why’s it like that? I could hardly tell the difference!’

(Aunt smiles bitterly as she rubs her tummy)

Aunt: ‘That’s my illness…liver problem, they say. My liver is dying, and so am I. And till the day I die, my tummy will only grow bigger…and bigger…until it gets too hard for me to breathe…’

Eun: ‘This can’t be happening.’

Aunt: ‘Doctor said it’s a rare disease…oh well, that’s just life! I knew I should’ve dieted when I had the chance to slim down, now it’s a bit too late~’

(Eun tries not to cry as his aunt laughs her pain away)

Eun: ‘You should’ve told me earlier…I would’ve come visit you.’

Aunt: ‘Eun ah…it’s nothing to be upset about…people come and go…like the birds…no need to make a big fuss about it. And if you miss me, you can just look at your mother – she looks exactly like me after all!’

Mother: ‘Sister…’

Aunt: ‘It’s a bit selfish for me, but I’ve asked if I could stay here till that day comes. I’ve been lonely these couple of years, I don’t want to leave this world like that as well…at least at the end of my days, I’d like to have some noise around me. I need people to laugh at my lame jokes even as I’m lying on my death bed.’

Eun: ‘Aunt…you really should’ve come earlier…we could’ve found you a doctor-’

Aunt: ‘No doctor can help, and I don’t want to spend my last days having false hope…’

Soondeok: ‘Aunt, still we should try.’

Aunt: ‘Thank you for your concern honey, but you’ll understand when you reach my age. Aigoo, look at me, I sound like an old woman already. Ha!’

Mother: ‘Eun, Soondeok, you should give her time to sleep now, she’s tired. Come talk to her some other time, okay?’

Eun: ‘Yes mother…’

Aunt: ‘Eun ah. Happy birthday…I’ll find you a present when I’m a bit better…when I can leave this room…I’ll get you a gift.’

Eun: ‘Thank you, aunt. I’ll wait for that day.’

(Eun and Soondeok leave mother’s room – Eun feels weak, he lies on the pillar)

‘Oppa…’

‘Why her? Out of all people, why take her away?’

‘Oppa…’

‘She’s like my mother…only funnier…she has never failed to make me laugh, but today…no matter how hard I try, I fail to even smile…’

(Eun remains silent for a moment then tries to throw that thought away)

‘I’m fine, Deok ah, don’t look at me like that. I’m not the one that’s dying.’

‘Are you sure you’ll be alright, Oppa?’

‘I’ll cry some other time, at least not today, it’s my birthday after all…I should at least try to be happy. At least after having a meal with my friends this evening…’

(Eun takes her hand)

‘Honey, I’ve told them to prepare our bath, let’s go.’

(The servants are all hustling about, now that the prince is back, they’ll have to catch up with their daily duties plus getting ready for the prince’s special lunch. Just as the couple are on their way to the bath house, the ‘careless’ maid – or should I say, Eun’s second-wife-to-be – come running towards them)

Maid: ‘Your highness! Are you alright? Are you hurt? I was so worried about you!’

(Eun takes a step back)

Eun: ‘How dare you look straight at me?’

Maid: ‘You weren’t back last night, we thought…I thought…’

(Then the maid stood in front of Soondeok and slapped her hard)

Maid: ‘YOU! First you can’t give the prince any child. Now you’re putting him in danger? You should be ashamed of yourself!’

(Eun’s tolerance has reached its limit, it hasn’t been a pleasant day to begin with, but this just made him blew up. He pushed her away and made her fall to the ground, hard)

Maid: ‘Your highness…’

Eun: ‘HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO MY WIFE? BUTLER! COME OVER HERE AT ONCE!’

(The butler, having heard the prince’s first yell, came running instantly, as did all the other servants and maids)

Butler: ‘Y…yes, your highness.’

Eun: ‘Roll her up in a rug and beat her 30 times! Then throw her out of my house! She’s no longer welcomed here! If she ever sets foot here again, make sure to take her to the palace and tell them how she slapped the Prince of Goryeo’s wife. She ought to be put to death for this!’

Soondeok: ‘Your highness! Please don’t-’

Eun: ‘Shut up, wife! You have no say in this! Slapping you means slapping me, and I’ll make sure she’ll get the punishment she deserves!’

Maid: ‘But I wasn’t wrong, Your highness! She-’

Eun: ‘ARE YOU ALL DEAF? What are you all standing here for? I told you! DRAG HER AWAY!’

Soondeok: ‘Oppa, give us a moment alone, I’ll take care of this.’

(Then without waiting for Eun’s reply, she grabs the maid’s hand and runs to the maids’ dorm, locking the door behind them as they enter)

‘Let go of me! Why are you doing this, my lady? You should’ve just let me be!’

‘I can’t have them beat you to death, can I?’

‘So you can do it yourself? So you can beat me to death yourself?’

‘What?’

‘Oh stop pretending to be nice and all, I know you hate me, as I do to you.’

‘Why do you have to be like this? Why do you have to think of me as your enemy or something? I’ve done nothing to harm you. For the record, I saved you, twice.’

‘Did I ask you to?’

(Soondeok is disappointed)

‘I thought you’re cleverer than this. I thought your heart is better than this.’

‘Don’t pretend you know me, Soondeok. You know nothing!’’

‘And now you’re calling me by my first name…I thought you’d be the perfect person for the job.’

‘Fire me! All you nobles only care about yourselves! You don’t care what we maids go through! I don’t care about working here anymore!’

‘You of all people should know better not to use this argument against me. Indeed, because you’ve already grabbed the prince’s attention, and you’ve slowly come to like him, you really can stop working here. Guess all you have to do now is go back home, relax, and wait for 2 more months before you come back again, only this time, it’s as his second wife.’

‘You-’

‘Stop pretending I know you? I wish I could too. But what can I do? I do know you. Yes, I know. I know who you are, why you’re here and what you’ll do after marrying him. For future note, you shouldn’t expose yourself that easily, say, spilling everything out in the kitchen. I was going to bow out of this competition nicely, but after what happened today, I think I’ll have to change my mind.’

‘Bow out nicely? You think I’ll believe in you?’

‘Choose to believe it or not.’

‘Whether you leave the prince or not, it doesn’t really matter, Soondeok, because my father will take care of it. And let me clarify one thing, I’m not going to be his second wife, I’m going to be his wife. One and only wife. If you treat me nicely now, perhaps I’ll let you stay and be his maid or spare your life.’

‘By sending people after us and try to kill me like what they did before…so that you can be his wife… Really. Can’t your father think of a better way to deal with me other than that?’

‘What? Are you cursing my father now?’

‘Rather, I’m giving him a fair warning. Tell him, he can hurt me, he can even send people to kill me, but if you dare touch a single piece of hair on the prince, I swear, even if I turn into a ghost, I’ll hunt you and your family down.’

‘You sound tough now, but wait till that day comes. Don’t say I didn’t warn you – I’ll make sure your 3^rd anniversary will become the most painful day of your life. I guarantee it.’

‘And I guarantee, every time you look at the prince afterwards, you’ll think of me. Every time the prince talks to you, you’ll think of me. That’s how you’ll live, if everything goes your way, which I doubt.’

‘You seem to have a lot of confidence in yourself now. But let me tell you something, all men are the same, once they get to know someone new – they’ll forget about everything else. The way he forgot about Haesoo after marrying you, so he’ll forget about you after marrying me.’

(Soondeok smiles)

‘As your ex-fiance have forgotten about you after meeting someone new?’

‘You!’

‘Your revenge should be targeting him, not someone else. You really think he’ll like you back after knowing you’ve decided to marry the prince? Revenge doesn’t work like that.’

‘That’s for me to decide!’

(Then the maid grabs her belongings and leaves the place, for good.)

-------------------------------------------------

(Soondeok enters the bathhouse – Eun’s been siting on the bench facing the door for a long time, waiting for her)

‘Looks like you let her go.’

‘And looks like you’ve been waiting for me.’

‘What were you thinking, Deok ah? How could you just let her go like that?’

‘Because if I don’t, she’ll become too dangerous.’

‘Dangerous? She’s a maid.’

‘I’ve got my own way of doing things.’

(Eun kicks the air)

‘AISH! She ruined the mood – my day is ruined! Darn it!’

‘Stop pondering on that and get over here, got lot of scrubbing to do today.’

(Soondeok says as she takes off her clothes and sits in the scrubbing area. Eun reluctantly walks over and takes off his clothes as well, mumbling along the way.)

‘Turn around, Oppa. Aigoo…look at the mud behind your ear. My, and your hair! Gosh…guess I’ll finish using this bar of soap today.’

(Soondeok starts scrubbing her husband)

‘Deok ah, you alright?’

‘Of course!’

‘Did it hurt? She slapped you quite hard.’

‘I’m fine. This is nothing to me…’

‘It hurt me…my heart…it’s like she stabbed me when I saw her do that to you.’

(Soondeok stops)

‘Ya, if you keep talking about it, Oppa, I’m going to have to bath by myself.’

‘Okay, I’ll shush.’

‘Good boy. Gosh, look at the water, look how muddy it is! Aigoo…now, your hair…I think we’ll have to do this three times today! Oppa, pass me that please.’

.......................to be continued