01 : NAMELESS

Jieqiong was told to shut up and never reveal what their oldest sister did that day to their parents. To her response, the thirteen-year-old girl only nodded and ran away as if nothing really happened. 

Something did, though. 

Joo Jieqiong, the youngest daughter of the Joo family, third lady Joo, was born into a wealthy family. Her father had connections with someone who worked with the emperor and her mother (not really, that woman didn't even allow her to call her mother) was the queen's younger sister. Even though she was supposed to be treated like a princess, no one cared about Jieqiong and she dressed not much different than an ordianary servant. It was because her biological mother was a gisaeng who got pregnant by her father by accident. 

After finding out, they wanted to keep her because they weren't that much cruel to the point that they would kill her off but her father's wife was really mad at the fact that her husband was no longer interested in her. Eventually, they took the outsiders in but not long after, Jieqiong's mother fell sick and deceased when she was only five. Ever since her death, no one really took care of Jieqiong anymore and she was just alone and lost between a crowd of cold-hearted people. Her father didn't care about her, his wife despised her, their two daughters bullied her, the maids looked down on her and to other people, the Joo family only had two daughters. 

Joo Sejeong was the oldest daughter, only older than Jieqiong for two years, though. She had the brightest smile and an outgoing personality but she had a big mouth and a hot-headed side which really pissed her off sometimes. Sejeong always mocked her and picked on everything Jieqiong did. The second daughter of the family was Joo Tzuyu, beautiful and elegant, reserved yet was not much different from her sister as Tzuyu never stood on Jieqiong's side when she was blamed for everything even though she knew the truth, that Jieqiong had done nothing. She was slapped, hit, left to starve sometimes. It was terrible, Jieqiong only wanted her mother and father but since mother was gone and father was too scared of his wife to protect Jieqiong, the only thing she needed was a will to live. 

Today, it was Sejeong's fifteenth birthday. Her father invited people from all over to join them and celebrate the eldest girl's birthday and obviously, Jieqiong was not allowed to come out in case someone saw her so she went to the back of their house, where the beautiful garden was and just had fun by herself there. She counted stars then got bored so started dancing on her own then got bored and started singing a song that her mother used to sing her to sleep every night. "When the moon drops his shadow on the river, when the river flows her tears away, you know it's love...." but then, she heard a rustle. Jieqiong startled and turned around, frowning her eyebrows. 

"Who's there?!" she could hear someone giggle. "You called that singing?" Jieqiong saw a handsome young boy, probably older than her a little, dressing like a rich boy walking towards her with a fan on his hand. 

It was her first time meeting a boy around her age and he was so handsome, to the point that it made her blush when he was standing in front of her, every perfect features was shined by the dim moonlight. 

"Woah, you have such a pretty face... What a waste, you're a servant only." she bit her bottom lip. No, she was not a servant. Jieqiong said nothing, only turned away and walked off, wanted to run from him but the boy called her back. "What's your name, servant girl?" 

After a few seconds, she answered. "Jieqiong. Joo Jieqiong." still turning her back to him. 

"Joo...? Your surename is Joo...?" he sounded surprised than ever and Jieqiong faced him with her face full of anger. "Third daughter of the Joo family, Joo Jieqiong." four eyes locked, his heart skipped a beat and her brows remained furrowed. Of course he wouldn't believe her, after all, she was non-existent to everyone... She sighed. "I know that you won't believe me. Forget it, no one ever listens to me."

Just when she felt like crying alone again, the boy spoke with a natural voice. "I'm Ong Seongwoo. Son of the head general of the army. Nice to meet you, lady Jieqiong." he then lowered his head, one hand put behind his back and the other hand still holding the fan elegantly. Jieqiong was taken back by what he did, she didn't say anything because she was surprised by that. Seongwoo saw her dumbfounded face and let out a small chuckle. "Lady Jieqiong, why don't you go out and eat dinner with all of us?" 

Ah.... So he believed her, then? Jieqiong grabbed the her dress, avoiding his gaze. "I'm not allowed to. I'm a disgrace to this family, it's better if no one knows about me." "That's not true." Seongwoo said. "I want to know who you are. I want to know more about you." he had a small smile on his face. "I'm sure there's a reason to why they want to hide you but even so, why are you all dressed up in that servant's outfit? Shouldn't you wear a beautifully designed dress?" 

Ugh... She didn't know how to explain the feelings she had inside her heart right now. In front of her was a boy, who looked better than any other guy she had met, mainly because she had never been outside before and never met a boy around her age before. He was just simply handsome and there was something charming about those three moles on his cheek. Jieqiong hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I'm not lady Seja's daughter, I'm just mistake, that's why no one wants me." her voice sounded like it was about to crack at any moment but she remained firm. 

Seongwoo grinned. "Lady Jieqiong, you're really beautiful." she was freaked out by that smile, her heart was beating like crazy inside and on the outside, her face turned red like a tomato. 

Jieqiong hid her face behind her palms as she turned away so he couldn't see what kind of expression she was making. "Lord Seongwoo, you... Should come back to the dinner. If someone finds out you're here with me, it's not gonna end well." his eyebrows furrowed, feeling annoyed at how she kept building up a wall between them. He didn't mean to make her like him but he just wanted to be friendly. Besides, he and everyone never expected the Joo family to have a third daughter that no one knew about. 

Seongwoo's voice sounded distant as he asked her. "Why are you afraid? If everyone knows the family has a daughter that's beautiful than the others, won't they do everything to arrange a marriage between you and their son? If so, you'll have a chance to escape." 

Arranged marriage? She shook her head. "I don't want an arranged marriage, lord Seongwoo. I want to marry the man I love and until I meet him, I want to live in peace so please... Don't tell anyone." Jieqiong didn't cry but her eyes had something sad about it which made Seongwoo stop pressing for more information. "Lady Jieqiong, you..." 

"Lord Seongwoo, why are you with that filthy servant?" they both looked behind Seongwoo's back to find Sejeong, Tzuyu and their maids giving them a horrified look. Sejeong looked furious but Tzuyu looked rather... Frightened. Jieqiong was speechless as Sejeong approached her in a few seconds and the next thing she knew, there was a red shape of a girl's hand printed on her cheek. Jieqiong felt sore, she hugged her cheek that had been slapped as she widened her eyes at Sejeong. Seongwoo was shocked, too. He quickly grabbed Sejeong's hand and stopped before she was about to hit Jieqiong another time. Sejeong was mad, she screamed. "Dirty , you think you can seduce lord Seongwoo? Leave him alone, you witch!" 

Jieqiong bit her bottom lip, trying to hold the tears. She was upset and hurt, she found it hard to speak back. Seongwoo stood out to protect her. "Stop it, lady Sejeong! I approached her first because I wanted to ask where the bathroom is, that's all." Sejeong was still irritated, she put her arm down slowly and looked over Jieqiong. "Don't... Don't you dare say anything..."

Jieqiong didn't say anything. She only stared at Sejeong with that emotionless gaze which worried the oldest sister. Sejeong rolled her eyes and walked away along with her maid. "Jieqiong, you better go back to your room and stop wandering around." Then she left, leaving the three kids left.

Seongwoo looked over to Tzuyu, who was having a sad look on her face and he narrowed his eyes. "Lady Tzuyu, will you please keep this a secret and stop lady Sejeong from whatever she's intending to do? I really don't know her, I'm just asking for help because I'm lost, that's all." Tzuyu blinked then lowered her head, she had a small smile on her lips as she looked at him. "Yes, lord Seongwoo, I'll try my best to not let you down. You have such a kind heart." 

Seongwoo smiled at her and they both went back to the party, leaving Jieqiong alone in the garden. Jieqiong then sat down on the green grass, staring at an unidentified zone as she thought about what happened and what was going to happen to her. He protected her, but it was useless when be asked for Tzuyu's help. 

Later that night, her step-mother called her in along with the whole family. They were all standing in front of her as Jieqiong had to kneel down and keep her head low. Her knees hurt and her entire body was trembling, she had been sitting in the same position for nearly an hour. 

"Joo Jieqiong, what did you say to lord Ong Seongwoo earlier?" Seja raised her voice, sounded not pleased. She held her fists tight. "M'lady, I didn't say anything. He asked for help, I helped by telling him where that bathroom was, that's all." 

"You kids are bad at lying. Did you know lord Seongwoo kept wanting to see you for the last time before he left with his father?" Seja frowned. "You're trying to seduce him so he could marry you and get you out of this house, right? What a disgrace, lord Seongwoo can't marry an ugly kid like you, he suits the daughter of the kim family better. In facf, those two families have been talking for a while so if they know the Joo family's ruining everything, what would happen to our reputation then?" Jieqiong wanted to laugh, she knew nothing good would happen to her jn this house. 

"But m'lady, I really had nothing with lord Seongwoo." 

"Maybe because you're beautiful?" Sejeong crossed her arms. "Beautiful but is a gold digger and a fox-like girl, you are your mother are the same." Seja laughed at her daughter's humor, meanwhile Tzuyu and father remained silent. 

Jieqiong looked over Tzuyu to find help like how the older girl promised to help her with Seongwoo but Tzuyu avoided her gaze as long as Jieqiong looked into her eyes. Feeling betrayed and disappointed, she looked over her father. She knew her father loved her mother, he could do something about this, at least he couldn't let those women talk about her mother like that! But... But all she received was a cold shoulder. Her father left, saying that he felt tired. Tzuyu excused herself and left first. Seja and Sejeong stayed inside, glaring at the kneeling rat. "I hope you never existed but it's inhumane to kill a soul so we can't do anything. Jieqiong, if you make Seongwoo love you, we won't let you live." 

So she stayed inside her room for a lot of days, skipped a lot of meals and one day, lord Seongwoo came by again. He wanted to meet her and she could hear Seja's voice from her room and the footsteps were getting louder; someone then opened the door and there, she saw the family face of the charming prince. Ong Seongwoo looked over Seja. "M'lady, would it be alright if I talk to her?" Seja had no choice but to agree. Door closed, it was only her and him inside the room. Seongwoo looked around, fanning himself with the artistic designed fan.

"Your room's so small, I feel uncomfortable here." Jieqiong didn't say a thing and walked outside to open the door. "Then you should let some air in, lord Seongwoo. But why do you want to see me? Is there something you want to tell me?" 

Seongwoo stared at her lonely back from behind. "Ever since we met, I couldn't help but think of you so often to the point that I want to meet you to make sure that you're okay." 

Oh... Jieqiong sighed. He was such a nice guy... Too bad, they couldn't develop a thing for each other. "Because of you, I've been in a lot of troubles lately so lord Seongwoo, I'd appreciate it if you stop seeing me from now on." Seongwoo was shocked for a few minutes and he couldn't say anything. He then heaved a heavy sigh. "Did they hit you because...?" Jieqiong said nothing and it meant yes, I was hit because of you. 

"Jieqiong, I have a present for you." she walked towards him and sat beside him, worriedly looked at the dress on his hands. 

"This is for me...?" she asked, to his response, Seongwoo smiled gently. "I don't know your size but assuming that you have the same size as Tzuyu does, I asked Tzuyu to help me get the measurements of her body and I ordered a dress of the best tailor near where you live." Jieqiong was about to refuse because of obvious reasons but he then in. "I only want you to wear this dress when you come out with me. You don't have to show it to anyone. Since your outfit is so ugly, I think you need something beautiful to wear once in a while, for a special occasion, you know." His grin was boyish and she couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Lord Seongwoo, you think that hanging out with you is a special occasion for me?" 

Seongwoo looked kind of annoyed. "Is it not? Anyways, you better hide it well. I didn't tell Tzuyu that I made it for you so don't worry. And I did ask the tailor to make a dress for her but it's just a simple one, yours is much more beautiful." Jieqiong was handed the dress and she looked down at the colorful outfit she was holding, the cute red ribbon and everything about it was beautiful. 

She smiled happily at him and Seongwoo was blown away by that smile. "Hopefully I'll get to go out with you one day." But before that could happen, Sejeong already found out about the dress. The thing was, she had the same size as Tzuyu's so Sejeong was wuickly convinced that the dress was hers and Jieqiong stole it. 

When Jieqiong protected herself and claimed that Seongwoo made it for her, Sejeong got even madder and got her mother involved. That day, Jieqiong was hit and kicked, received hateful lines from the female members of the family. When everyone left and it was only her crying on the floor, she saw Tzuyu kneeling down in front of her. Tzuyu was a pretty girl, doe eyes just like hers and looking down at Jieqiong with a guilty look and she gave her a handkerchief. Jieqiong shoved her hand away, made Tzuyu almost fell down. 

"You told Sejeong, didn't you?" Tzuyu said nothing, like always. Jieqiong stood up, her legs were in pain but she managed to get away from the house. 

She ran away.