Soondeok’s diary

My prince…my wonderful prince, organized a birthday party for me last night. I had no idea, that time when he promised me he’ll make one on my birthday, I thought he was just joking. He really has become a mature guy…one I can rely on…oh dear, now can this happen? How is it possible for me to fall deeper and deeper in love with him day by day? He gave me lots of gifts – one of them is Eun being my husband instead of Oppa till midnight tonight. It feels awkward now, thinking the prince as my husband, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing him as my Oppa already.

We went shopping this morning, he bought me new clothes, hairpin, shoes…when it comes to fashion, he definitely has better sense than I do. We ate lots of hot snacks sold along the streets as we strolled in the market and I was full by the time we finished shopping. Eun got a bit upset when he saw that I put on Bogum’s hairpin this morning, that’s why he bought me a new one saying, ‘Ya, Soondeok ah, from now on, wear my hairpin.’ I think he’s jealous…he gets cute and does funny things when he’s jealous. I kinda like it. Maybe I should make him jealous every now and then, just to be able to see that side of him.

Snow kept falling today, but I don’t feel cold. Eun’s been holding my hands the entire time we were outside, to keep them warm. When he saw my ears red from the cold, he breathed into his hands, rubbed them to make it hot then placed them on my ears to warm them. I realize that it’s these little things the prince does that makes me love him more, that makes my heart leap – gosh! How deep in love can one be? Is there a limit to it? Is it like a cup which could be filled? Or is it like the ocean that has no bottom?

We talked about what might happen in our next life last night. Will we be able to meet each other then? Will I still like martial arts like now or will I become a girl who loves to sew and stuff? Will we still remember each other when the prince and I meet in our next life? Will Eun be a prince at all? Will I be able to have a mother…unlike in this life? All these questions…with no answers, and frankly, I’m not sure I want to know them.

Eun’s diary

She loved it! I’m so glad she loved it! The party, the gifts, everything! We had some sweet chat last night – I told Soondeok that I’ll be her ‘husband’ till midnight tonight. It feels awkward hearing her calling me ‘honey’ and ‘your highness’ again. My my, she gets shy easily – cute. She thanked me over and over again for this year’s birthday – both the party yesterday and the date today. I bought her new clothes, I hope she can wear dresses more often – it suits her, more than her boyish outfit. She didn’t want to at first, saying how we’re short on money and stuff, but I bought them for her anyway – that girl needs to learn how to enjoy herself! She’s too…too stressed out by the rules, she does what she should do and never what she knows she shouldn’t do. Sometimes, we just need to shake it off I think, like that time we raced on the beach and got all wet – we need more moments like that. I’ve bought her a new hairpin too, I swear if I see her wear Bogum’s hairpin gain, I’ll throw it away for good! Something smells fishy, that Bogum guy, I just don’t like him – he better not appear in front of me again!

Next life…I’ve thought about it before but never as seriously as I had last night. If I’m born a prince again, I’ll march up to heaven in protest! I wish I can be a musician in my next life, unlike this life when mother won’t let me even touch an instrument! I want to be like Chanyeol, to be able to travel around the country, playing for folks – I’d like that. Music shouldn’t be something that belongs only to a certain group of people. Royals should learn how to play it while commoners should learn how to enjoy it. If only I can play in my house freely! I’ve been practising, the innkeeper lets me play with the instruments when the musicians are resting and by now, I can proudly say, I’ve reached mastery level. Will Soondeok like to hear me play? Come to think of it…she still doesn’t know about my passion for music, should I tell her? Or should I surprise her? Yes, that’d be nice. I hope we can meet again in our next life, I want to love her, I want to live with her, I want to be good to her and make up for what I couldn’t do in this life. Will that happen? Will I be able to recognize her?

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‘Soondeok ah!! Bedtime!!!’

‘Just let me finish reading this page!’

‘Aish! Ya! Drop that book already!’

‘You made me halt for months, your highness, shouldn’t you let me catch up?’

‘Aigoo aigoo…fine, whatever.’

(After a while)

‘Where…where are my blankets?’

‘Deok ah, you’re sleeping with me on bed tonight.’

‘Again?’

‘What do you mean “again”? Couples ARE supposed to sleep together, you girl.’

‘Just saying…’

(Soondeok gets in)

‘Feels nice? I warmed the bed for you, Deok ah.’

‘Yes, Oppa, it feels nice.’

‘Hey! Stop calling me Oppa today!’

‘Sorry, it’s just that…I got used to it.’

‘This won’t do, Soondeok ah. Maybe we should have “husband” day more often then.’

‘You serious? I mean…I’d be glad, but you’re the one who said you wanted to be my brother instead of husband.’

‘I’ll do it when I see fit.’

‘That’s not fair! Why is it only you can decide? What about me?’

‘Ya, I’m the husband here, you should listen to me.’

‘Yes yes yes…I get it, Your Majesty.’

‘Your Majesty?’

‘You’re trying to act like the king of this house, aren’t you? Doing whatever you feel like to.’

(Eun moves closer to Soondeok)

‘Can’t I? Are you saying I can’t?’

‘No…nothing…’

‘King, huh? I guess I really am a king, because you’re already the queen of my heart.’

‘Why…why are you being cheesy suddenly?’

‘Soondeok ah, what say we do something tonight? Something that only can be done between husband and wife, hmmm?’

‘What could that be?’

(Soondeok looks at the prince innocently, Eun smirks)

‘Making l-’

(Knocking on the door)

‘Oh, someone’s knocking, I’ll go get it, your highness.’

(Soondeok answers it)

‘Mother!’

‘Soondeok ah, I’ve brought you some wine and some night snacks for you two to enjoy.’

‘Thank you, mother, would you like to join us?’

‘Oh, no no no. No thanks, my dear, I’ve prepared them for you two. Here, take it, enjoy it! Good night!’

(Mother leaves hurriedly)

‘Uh…mother? Mother!’

‘Deok ah, who was it?’

(Soondeok gets back into the room and puts the snacks on the table)

‘Wine!!! Your highness, let’s drink!’

‘You’re not tired?’

‘Of course not! Here, what say we have a drinking contest?’

‘Na…don’t do it, Deok ah.’

‘Why not? Ahhh…I see, you’re scared that I’ll beat you in this too? Then I’ve pretty much beaten you in everything, honey! Are you scared? Are you, are you, are you?’

‘Of course not! You’re gonna regret it, teasing me like that… I’ve never lost a contest in my life!’

‘Well, we’ll see about that, your highness.’

(Eun gets out of bed and sits at the table)

‘Ja, Soondeok ah, let me pour a cup for you. One for me. Cheers!’

(Both drink)

‘Ahhh~~~~ This wine is nice. Did mother warm it herself? How thoughtful of her.’

‘Deok ah, you know what goes well with warm wine in winter?’

‘No, what?’

‘Cold noodles!’

‘But it’s winter! Cold noodles are meant for summer.’

‘But the thing is, Deok ah, the contrast really hits the spot! Warm wine versus cold noodles and this warm room. Wa…awesome! I can feel it as I talk about it now!’

‘Enough talk, here, your highness, let me pour you a cup.’

‘Woo…a haste contest we’re having, are we? You’re gonna be sorry you did this, Soondeok ah.’

‘Second cup, cheers!’

(Both drink)

‘You feeling dizzy?’

‘Of course not! Why? Your highness, you’re dizzy already?’

‘Nope. Ah…this wine is so nice.’

‘Your highness, try this snack, say ah.’

‘Ahhh….mmm…MMMM!!! This…this is really delicious! Very sweet.’

‘Is it?’

‘Here, Soondeok ah, try this one – open your mouth. Aigoo, good job. How’s it?’

‘Mmmm, it’s too sweet!’

‘Nonsense! This is not that sweet!’

‘I guess I’m just not used to eating sweet things. I…I need water, any water?’

‘Ha! Water? Here, have some wine.’

‘You too.’

‘Yes, me too, a cup for me. Ja, cheers!’

(Both drink)

‘Woooooo!!!!! That did its job.’

‘Your highness, what does drinking wine remind you of?’

‘Me? You know…parties…dinners…friends…that night…’

‘Which night?’

‘The night at your father’s place…when I stole all your drinks.’

‘Ahhh, that night. Come to think of it, dear, why WERE you like that that night?’

‘Soondeok ah…there’s this thing for men…that will make us go crazy. This…how do I put it? This…urge, that’ll make us do things we don’t usually do.’

‘Like?’

‘Like…hugging…kissing girls, things like that.’

‘Ahhh! So that’s why! I get it now…wait, so will you tonight? After drinking this?’

‘I hope not! I don’t want to hurt you, Deok ah.’

‘Kissing and hugging doesn’t hurt, honey…’

‘Yes…well…kkkmmm…phew! Is it getting hot in here? E-Enough about me, what about you? What does drinking reminds you of?’

‘Hmm…stories…love stories…’

‘Oh? Really? Like what? YOUR love story?’

(Soondeok shakes her head)

‘Not mine…Bogum’s.’

‘That guy again?’

‘He’s got a sad one…his first love.’

‘I’m not interested.’

(Eun pours another cup of wine for himself and drinks)

‘Oh? You’re not pouring one for me? You’re so confident in yourself this time, nice…’

(Soondeok pours a cup for herself then drinks)

‘Aigoo…his first love got married…poor guy. I mean, why can’t he tell her that he likes her earlier? Maybe they have a chance if he did…’

‘Bogum?’

‘Yeah…he still worries about her now…when I asked him if that girl is happy…he looked sad. Seems like the girl didn’t marry a nice guy…Oh, what to do with him? He looks like he’ll never get over it…he sounded like he’ll never marry anyone else…’

‘Ayy...he’ll get over it soon.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘I did so myself, didn’t I?’

‘I don’t think so…your highness. You still like Haesoo, I can see that.’

‘What are you saying? Of course I don’t!’

‘Your highness, you can lie with your mouth…but you can’t lie with your eyes.’

(Silence.)

‘Aish…I told you to stop bringing Haesoo between us! Aish!!!’

(Eun grabs the entire pot and drinks)

‘Honey!!!!’

(Soondeok snatches the pot away and drinks it all)

‘Soondeok ah!!! I was drinking it!’

‘Ahh!!! Nice!!! Honey…just think of this as us getting even, you drank my wine last time. I’m NOT going to let you do that again.’

‘Still…how can you?’

‘You didn’t want other people see me being drunk because I look y, you said. Well, now I can, can’t I? There’s only both of us here.’

‘Aigoo…you girl…don’t say I didn’t stop you. Look at you, you’re drunk already.’

‘The bed’s right there, you won’t have to worry about carrying me…hahahaha, like last time when I was drunk…Bogum have to carry me back…hahahaha…I drank 2 full pots with him that night, impressive huh?’

(Something suddenly pops up in Eun’s mind, his face changes.)

‘Tell me, Soondeok. That Bogum guy…per chance…did he stare at you when he told you his story?’

‘Sure he did! We were drinking together.’

‘No, not that kind! Like…staring at you as if…he’s got something he wanted to tell you but couldn’t.’

‘Oh! Now…now that you’re bringing it up…he did look like so, maybe he’s wondering if he should tell me her name or not. I can’t remember much though, I was too drunk then. Honey, there’re still many snacks left…should we save them till morning?’

(Eun fists the table, shocking Soondeok)

‘That punk!! I ought to break his bones!’

‘Gosh, you scared me! W-Why? What’s wrong? Wait…did…did you just call my friend “punk”?’

‘Soondeok ah, are you a fool? How can you not sense it, who his first love is?’

‘Oh my! Do you know? Do you? He wouldn’t tell me…I know his first love is someone I know…do you know? Who’s she? Tell me tell me tell me tell me!!!’

‘You fool! Soondeok ah! Aigoo, never mind…I warn you, Deok ah, stay away from him!’

‘It…it’s not like I see him often anyway…why are you overreacting? Hold on. Wait. D-Don’t tell me…hahahaha! I see! I get it now! You think…oh man this is funny! You actually…you actually think I’M Bogum’s first love? Oh my gosh, this is hilarious!!’

(Soondeok tries to hold back her laughter)

‘How more obvious can it be? He said those things to you and gave you that hairpin! He even carried you back! God knows what he did to you that night! Tell me! What did he do?’

‘How am I supposed to know?’

‘And that hairpin! I ought to throw it away! You know what it means when a guy gives a hairpin to a girl? It’s the same as putting a ring on her finger!’

 (Soondeok laughs)

‘Honey! I can’t believe you actually thought I’m his first love! No way! Oh my gosh, my stomach hurts…B-Bogum and I are just friends, JUST FRIENDS, alright?’

‘That’s what YOU think, idiot, what about him, huh? And last time when you fainted he called you…Where is he now? The north border? The east border? Tell me where he’s stationed at, I’ll…I’ll find him tomorrow and ask him myself!!!’

‘Are you not confident in yourself, your highness? You afraid I’ll start liking someone else? Ay…honey…I’m telling you, it’s not what you think…and it’ll never happen.’

‘How can I be so sure?’

‘I’ve loved you for 15 years already, haven’t I? If I didn’t change when you’re being mean to me, do you think I’ll change when you’re being nice to me like what you’re doing now?’

‘Really?’

‘Really really. The only man I love, the only man I have in my heart, the only man I can die for, is you, your highness.’

‘Prove it then, Park Soondeok.’

‘H-how?’

‘Kiss me here.’

(Eun points at his lips and smiles)

‘This? Do I have to?’

‘Is that even a question? Of course you have to! Come on, prove it! Kiss me here~~~ Here~~~’

(Eun sticking out his lips with his eyes shut – Soondeok places her hands on Eun’s face to bring it closer)

‘You…your highness really mean it? You won’t regret it?’

‘Wife. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. Where in the world can we find another couple that haven’t even shared their first kiss after being married for almost 2 years?’

‘You’re right on that…I…I love you, your highness. I really do.’

(Eun grins)

‘Here…here I come…’

(Eun closes his eyes, Soondeok quickly puts her thumbs over Eun’s lips, kisses her thumbs then dodges onto the bed, pulling blanket over her)

‘Goodnight, honey!’

‘YAAA!!!! PARK SOONDEOK!!!! That’s not the kind of kiss I want!’

‘You said to kiss you there, I did!’

‘You kissed your thumb! What joke is this?’

(Eun jumps on top of Soondeok and starts to attack her with kisses on her forehead, cheeks and neck while tickling her)

‘You dare do that? Huh? Who do you take me for? Deok ah.’

‘Your highness…hahahaha, it tickles! Let go!’

(Eun’s hands start to get naughty)

‘Looks like I need to teach you a lesson, Soondeok ah.’

‘Ya, your highness! Where are your hands at? You ert!’

‘You started it first! Feels nice? You like it don’t you?’

(Soondeok giggles like mad – then she burps.)

‘Aigoo, Deok ah…your smell...aish…look at you, you smell like you’ve taken a bath in alcohol!’

(Soondeok explodes in laughter)

‘That’s a good one, dear!! Why are you so funny tonight?’

‘It’s not me being funny tonight, wife, it’s you being crazy.’

(Both stares at each other, panting, Eun sighs then gets up)

‘You…you need to sleep now, Deok ah.’

‘Uh? Suddenly? You’re gonna stop? That’s strange, anyway…this…honey. Take this blanket away…I’m hot!’

‘You’ll catch a cold if I do. Listen to me and be good, Soondeok ah, hm?’

‘I hate it! I don’t want any blanket!!! I’m boiling now! You want to see me melt?’

‘That’s because you drank the entire pot! Gosh! I really should’ve stopped you… You’ll cool down after a while, go to sleep now, Soondeok ah.’

‘I can’t stand it, your highness…just let me…’

(Soondeok unties her top but Eun stops her)

‘W…what…what are you doing now, Soondeok?’

‘What can I be doing? I’m HOT!’

‘Don’t tell me you’re going to take it off! Ya, Park Soondeok, stay calm, alright? I’ll open the window or something.’

‘Why can’t I? You did that last time and I didn’t complain! You wanted to see it too, don’t you? I don’t care. Aish! This top is so annoying!!’

(Soondeok takes off her top and throws it on the floor, Eun covers his eyes)

‘Ya! Soondeok ah! Put…put it back on!’

‘Ah…much better…much cooler now…should I take off my skirt as well?’

(Eun hurries to pick up Soondeok’s top from the floor but when he returns, he sees Soondeok throwing her skirt at him – the skirt lands flat on his face. Eun turns his back towards Soondeok.)

‘S…Soondeok ah…you’re just fooling around, right? You didn’t really strip yourself… did you? You’ve still got something on…right?’

‘Uh…It’s winter now…why is it so hot in this room? Your highness! Blow out the candle please!!! The candle’s making this room hot!! I…I…I want to sleep…but it’s too hot to sleep…I need more wine! Cold wine this time!!! Bring…bring me more…please…’

(Silence. Eun slowly turns around and sees Soondeok on the bed, with nothing on but her underwear. Eun sighs.)

‘At…at least she’s covered what there is to cover…barely…’

(Silence. Eun shakes his head to kick out the thoughts he’s been having, slowly walks towards the bed and tries to pull a blanket over Soondeok without looking. Soondeok opens her eyes and sees Eun, she pulls Eun down then rolled over, sitting on top of him.)

‘S…Soondeok ah! What…what on earth are you doing? I warn you! Don’t…don’t…’

‘Tell me…your highness…that urge you said earlier…do girls have them too?’

‘I…I…Soondeok ah…’

(Soondeok gave Eun a y smile, Eun swallowed hard)

‘S…Soondeok ah…you’re drunk, you’re definitely drunk, you need to sleep. It’s all mother’s fault, she probably added something into the wine again. Come on, be a good girl and get off of me…please…’

(Soondeok pins Eun’s hands down then leaned closer)

‘You scared?’

‘Me? Of course not…it’s just that…Deok ah…’

‘You do this to me all the time. Let’s get even tonight, your highness. Let’s see if you can handle it yourself, I’m doing it my way.’

‘D…Deok ah…you’re not yourself now, you’re acting weird, you’re getting mad! You’re drunk…Deok ah…Soondeok ah…don’t…’

(Soondeok slowly leans over and kisses Eun’s neck – yet unlike Eun, she pecks it bit by bit, deep then soft, then deep again – with no haste, taking her time, torturing the prince as she runs her hands upon Eun’s chest.)

‘Soondeok ah…this is not funny…you might make me do something I…don’t want to do…to you…’

‘Like what? Impress me…’

(Eun runs his hands slowly down Soondeok’s . Soondeok lowers herself and whispers in Eun’s ears as she kisses it.)

‘I love you, your highness…I love you…’

(Then gently, Soondeok falls into deep sleep. Eun laid there motionless for a long time, his heart thumping hard, any harder it’ll jump right out of his chest! He slowly turns and looks at Soondeok’s face.)

‘Ya…Ya…Soondeok ah…Are…are you sleeping? Seriously? Ya, Soondeok, how could you do this to me? You like this then falls asleep? Wow…you’re really something, my wife…who would’ve thought. Hul, I’m speechless…Wa…really, I thought for a second there…wa…that was close…phew, that was close…’

(Eun looks at Soondeok who’s sleeping peacefully on him, he brushes her hair with his fingers)

‘Looks like you’re not as innocent as I thought, huh Soondeok ah? Aigoo, our little dove’s sleeping well…’

(Eun helps Soondeok lie on her back then stares at her for a long, long time, appreciating every inch of the girl beside him – his woman, his wife, his person. The midnight bell rings.)

‘Soondeok ah, sleep well, my angel. I’m…I’m back to being your Oppa now…’

(Eun helps Soondeok dress back in her pajamas, pulls a blanket over Soondeok then pats her softly, as if putting a baby to sleep)

‘Sweet dreams, Soondeok ah. I look forward to the day we can finally become one…the day I can say the words “I love you” and really mean it…’