7th August 2018, 127A, Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu [19:45]

"Hyun-kyung! You take care of the kids tonight," Aunt Choi said as she walks out from the house. Hyun-kyung who is relaxing in the living room, sighs heavily and sits on the carpet. The children are running around and Hyun-kyung said, "Come here children."

One by one, the children approach her and sit in a circle. Hyun-kyung supports a 2-year-old girl named Chae-yeon and gives lots of attention to her too, and not to forget to the other kids. She asks the children, "Do you want to listen to a story?"

"A story?" Areum, a 9-year-old girl wearing a pink dress asked. Jaemin, a 8-year-old boy wearing casual asks with curiosity, "What story?"

"Who's it from?" James, another 8-year-old boy asked. Hyun-kyung smiles and replied, "You'll see."

"Don't tell me another boring story, aunty," Yuexiu, a 13-year-old girl complained. Hyun-kyung chuckles and said, "My stories aren't boring. You don't listen to the story carefully."

"Aunty, tell us the story!" Sarah, an 11-year-old girl wearing a green dress said in an elated tone. Hyun-kyung nods and starts her storytelling:

Once upon a time there are two, beautiful little girls named Kim Eunhae and Jang Mina.

"Catch me if you can, Your Highness!" Mina teased and Eunhae runs to chase Mina. Eunhae is the youngest daughter of King Kim, while Mina is the only child of a concubine. They run around the castle garden and they grow up together, being with each other's side. As the years pass by the wind, they become one of the most beautiful ladies in the palace.

Mina gets to promote into higher ranks and become the Noble Consort of Joseon Kingdom. She is not only beautiful but she has a kind and wonderful, friendly personality.

Eunhae frequently go out for official meetings with kings and queens of other countries and she rarely hang out with Mina. Both of them are bored with their lives. They wish for a change. They want to be like how they used to be. Well, fate has other plans.

One day, Mina is cleaning Eunhae's bedroom. She arranges the fluffy pillows and changes the bedsheets. She hears the door open and looks behind. She turns around and bows as Eunhae walks inside the room. Eunhae closes the door and Mina continues cleaning the bedroom. Eunhae let out a heavy sigh and asks, "Do you want to follow me to watch the moonlight festival tonight?"

"I'm afraid that I couldn't go, Your Highness. I have other duties to do in the Royal Palace," Mina replied as she walks to Eunhae. She bows and said, "I should take my leave, Your Highness."

Mina walks to the door and opens it. She leaves the bedroom and Eunhae let out a heavy sigh as the door closes. She sits on the bed and lays on her bed before saying to herself, "I should get ready for tomorrow."

 

"Why didn't she go to the festival herself?" A little boy named Gyeom asked. Hyun-kyung replies, "Her friend didn't go. So what's the point?"

"Glad I have a friend," Areum said as she hugs James. James laugh and hugs her back, receiving awes from Hyun-kyung. Hyun-kyung ruffles their hairs and continues:

The next day, Eunhae receives a scroll, delivered from the Prince. She opens the scroll and reads it before asking herself, "Shall I get married with him?"

Mina looks on her feet and replied, "True love is important. This marriage will help you to rule Joseon. You two will be blessed by the country, Your Highness."

Eunhae chuckles and looks at Mina. She stands and replied, "You are quite an expert about it, Mina."

Mina avoids eye contact and Eunhae asks, "Do you want to follow me?"

"Follow you? Where?" Mina asked as she looks at her. Eunhae smiles and hold her hands before replying in a cheerful tone, "We are going to walk around the village."

The two girls walk out from the bedroom and head to the entrance. They leave the palace and Mina follows Eunhae from behind. Eunhae looks around in joy and Mina said, "Your Highness, be careful."

"I'm having so much fun!" Eunhae said as she walks around. Mina groans before following her. She taps her shoulder and said, "Catch me if you can Your Highness."

"Hey!" Mina runs and Eunhae chases her. They run, passing by the village people and Eunhae catches her from behind. They roll on the ground together and laugh loudly. Mina looks at the sky and said, "I miss the old days."

"I miss it too," Eunhae replied. They get up and dust themselves clean and look at their left. A court maid approaches them and bows before saying, "The Prince has arrived. Everyone is looking for you."

Mina looks at her and Eunhae nods before looking at her best friend and companion. She leaves and Mina walks around the village by herself. She heads to a river and sits on top of a giant rock. She takes pebbles and throws it one by one into the river, feeling bored.

On the other hand, a young man is walking around that particular area. He saw Mina playing by herself and approaches her. He asks, "Are you alone?"

Mina looks at him and replied, "Sort of."

The male sits on the grass and asks, "Are you a Noble Consort?"

"You could say that," Mina replied. The male let out a chuckle and said, "You're quite pretty for a Noble Consort. So, do you plan to become an Empress?"

"Not really. If the Emperor wants me to become the Empress, I just accept it." The male hums and said, "I'm Luhan."

"That is a nice name." Luhan nods and replied, "Well, I can make you the Empress."

"What do you mean about that?" Mina asked as she looks at him. Luhan stands and leans to Mina's left ear. He whispers, "I'm the Emperor's younger brother and I want to get the throne."

Mina's eyes widened and Luhan smirks as he moves away. He asks, "How about you and me, work together to get what we want?"

"What do you want?" Luhan replies, "I want the Emperor dead. Flirt with him, make a child and poison him."

 

"Oh my gosh! Is she going to do that?!" Suzy, a 10-year-old girl asked. Hyun-kyung replies, "Maybe."

"Let's continue!" Hyun-kyung nods and said, "A few weeks later..."

"Long live the King!" A male eunuch said and everyone follows. Mina peeks in front and a mischievous smirk plasters on her baby pink lips as she made eye contact with the Emperor, Eunhae's husband.

"I'm going to take everything you have, Eunhae," Mina thought. All of them stand and leaves. Mina heads to her bedroom and stops her tracks. She turns around as a maid approaches her. Mina asks, "Is there anything wrong?"

"Her Highness wants to have a word with you," the maid replied. Mina nods and walks to Eunhae's bedroom. She looks at the guards and said, "Open the door."

The guards open the door and Mina walks in before bowing to Eunhae. The door is closed and Mina looks at her. She asks, "Is there anything you want, Your Highness?"

"I want you to accompany me for tomorrow night's trip. Then we can have our fun night!" Mina smiles and claps before replying, "Sure thing, Your Highness."

"Call me Eunhae when we are there, alright?" Mina nods and bows before leaving the bedroom. She let out a sigh and walks to her bedroom. She walks in and closes the door before locking it. She turns around her eyes widened before asking in a hush tone, "W-what are you doing h-here, Your Majesty?"

The young, extremely handsome male who is the Emperor, sits on the bed and pats on the empty spot. Mina hesitates and asks, "What do you want, Your Majesty?"

 

"Hold up! Are they going to do something?" Yuexiu asked. Hyun-kyung replied, "Yes."

"Sit here, Mina," the Emperor said. Mina walks and sits on the bed. She looks on the floor and asks, "Did I do anything wrong?"

"No, you didn't," the Emperor replied. He makes her look at him and Hyun-kyung looks away before saying, "I think the Empress is looking for you."

The Emperor shushes Mina and demands her to look at him. Mina looks at him and the Emperor said, "Call me Jaehyun when we are alone."

"W-why?" Immediately, the Emperor plants his lips onto Mina's lips and...

 

"Such a cheater!" Areum exclaimed. Jaemin nods and said, "He makes me pissed for some reason."

"Playboy!" Suzy shouted. Chae-yeon laughs and Hyun-kyung looks at her before kissing her forehead. She replied, "Could be."

Mina tries to process everything and the Emperor breaks the kiss. Mina blinks a few times and asks, "What was that for?"

The Emperor stands and said, "You will accompany the Empress tomorrow. Have a good night's sleep."

The Emperor leaves the bedroom and Mina looks at the door. She touches her own lips and asks, "Did he just kissed me?"

 

"Ah it's so cute but I hate her at the same time!" Sarah exclaimed and huffs. The door is opened and they look at the door. Tae-hyung walks in and said, "I'm leaving 127A."

"Why?" Hyun-kyung asked in a serious tone. Tae-hyung looks down and replied, "I found a house to live."

"Young-min made you become his slave right?" Tae-hyung looks at her and Hyun-kyung scoffs. She replied, "I'll talk to him. Just stay here."

Tae-hyung nods and walks to the kitchen. Hyun-kyung looks at the children and continues her story:

The next day, Eunhae is getting ready to go for the trip. The Emperor walks to her and hugs her from behind. He puts his chin on her left shoulder and asks, "When will you come back?"

"It's only a few days. Don't worry. Noble Consort Jang will take care of me," Eunhae said. The Emperor nods and let go of her. Eunhae kisses the Emperor's left cheek before leaving the bedroom.

"Your Grace, isn't it dangerous to be with the Emperor?" A female servant asked as Mina packs her things. Mina chuckles and replied, "No it isn't."

"What if the Empress found out?" Mina could only scoff as she heard that statement. For her, nothing is impossible.

"I will make sure that he will be mine, even if it means to betray Her Highness," Mina said as she looks at her servant. She walks out from her bedroom and heads to the royal court. Her servant brings the bag out and follows Mina. All of them arrive at the court and the servants are loading the gama with the bags. Mina bows at Eunhae and the Emperor before saying, "I will take care of the Empress. If she got hurt, I will take whatever punishment to pay back for my sins."

Eunhae chuckles and said, "Let's go."

The two ladies get inside separated and a group of trustworthy warriors carry the gamas before leaving the palace. Mina looks through the window and waits for them to arrive to their destination.

After hours travelling, they arrive at their destination. Eunhae and Mina get out from the gama before Mina said, "We're here."

Eunhae nods and replied, "At least we get some time going back like the old days."

Mina nods and Eunhae walks to somewhere. Mina follows her and Eunhae asks, "Do you want to see how fast you are right now?"

Mina shakes her head and replied, "My legs are tired."

"Since when? You never complained before," Eunhae pointed out and Mina let out a sigh. She replies, "It's just that I was really busy yesterday."

"Ah... well let's go and buy food then," Eunhae suggested. Mina could only nod and they walk to a nearby village. There are a lot of food, entertainment and quite... everything that you can imagine. Eunhae's eyes glistening in excitement and walks around as she saw there are a variety of food to munch on. Mina could only laugh before following her. The village people didn't know the empress is there because Eunhae wears a jeonip and a black neoul (hat and veil) to cover herself. She stops by a store and Mina stands next to her. Eunhae points to the food she wants and Mina pays for the food. Eunhae takes the food and runs as she hears cheering.

Mina walks to find Eunhae and she looks around. She couldn't find her! Mina mutters, "She should be around here."

She continues walking to find Eunhae and eventually found her watching a performance. She approaches her and asks, "Do you leave some for me?"

Eunhae looks at her and gives the last snack to Mina. Mina laughs and takes it before eating it. They watch the performance and suddenly, ninjas in black appears out of nowhere. Mina quickly holds Eunhae's hand before getting up. The ninjas attack and the two girls quickly run as fast as possible.

The villagers are going everywhere and Mina drags Eunhae behind a wooden house. They stop and take several breathes before a blade is placed at Eunhae's throat. Mina gulps and- "Run away. Abandon Her Highness."

Mina looks at Eunhae and replied, "Never." She pushes the young man away and elbows him before dragging Eunhae to escape. They follow the sandy, rocky trail and Eunhae asks, "Who dare to do such thing?!"

They reach at a cave and quickly get in as rain starts to pour from the sky. The two girls sit and Mina gathers some things before starting a small fire. Eunhae looks at her and asks, "Are you cold?"

"I should ask that to you, Eunhae," Mina replied. She sits on the ground and takes out a box. She opens it and looks at Eunhae before saying, "We can enjoy grilled meat."

A few days later, the girls finally arrive back at the castle. Nothing unusual has occurred in the castle, until one day...

Eunhae is getting ready for bed. She removes her makeup and combs her long hair before tying it properly. She hears a knock and looks in front before saying, "Come in."

The door is open and guards walk inside the room. Eunhae stands and looks at the Emperor before asking, "What's going on?"

"What's going on, you say?" The Emperor looks at her with his cold eyes and slaps her. Eunhae gasps in shock and looks at him with teary eyes. The Emperor said, "Starting tonight, you are dethroned from being Empress. Starting tonight, you're no longer my wife."

"Then who will be the Empress?" Mina walks inside the room, dressing like a real empress. She looks at her with a cocky smirk and bows. She said, "I am the new Empress of Joseon, Jang Mina."

"Mina!" Eunhae snapped. Mina approaches her before giving her a hard slap. Eunhae gasps in shock and Mina said, "You betrayed His Highness by meeting and having an affair with the 7th prince."

"You set me up," Eunhae muttered. The emperor looks at the guards and commands, "Banish her. I don't want to see such woman in the Palace."

The guards approach and hold Eunhae firmly. Eunhae laughs a bit before looking at Mina. She asked, "Why were you nice to me in the first place?"

Mina smiles cunningly and replied, "You betray the palace rules, and you shall not be staying here. No, you should had be hanged instead."

Eunhae gets dragged out and Mina looks behind. She waves before walking to the door. She closes the door and said, "I'm tired. Let's go to sleep."

 

"I want to hurt her seriously," 10-year-old Amanda said and Jaemin looks at Hyun-kyung. He said, "I want to join her to hurt that girl who never appreciated all the things she got."

Hyun-kyung could only chuckle and Tae-hyung walks to them. He sits next to James and Chae-yeon starts crying. Hyun-kyung looks at her and stands while holding her up. She said, "Uncle Tae-hyung knows the story too. I'm bringing Chae-yeon to sleep."

The children nod and Hyun-kyung walks to her bedroom with Chaeyeon. Tae-hyung looks at them and- "Uncle Tae-hyung! Continue the story."

Tae-hyung laughs awkwardly and clears his throat. He looks at them and said:

Eunhae gets kicked out from the palace with nothing accompanying her. She looks behind and the door is slammed shut. Eunhae let out a sigh and said to herself, "I am going to make you eat your own medicine, Mina. For all these years, you're so daring to bite your own owner."

"Woah, woah, woah. Milady, you are so rebellious." Eunhae looks around, trying to find the sound. The ninja appears behind her and pokes her shoulder. Eunhae turns around and the ninja quickly covers . Eunhae's scream are muffled and the ninja brings her away.

As soon they arrive at a gazebo, the ninja makes Eunhae sit. He removes his hand and Eunhae slaps him. The ninja sits on the floor and takes his mask off before saying, "I'm Moon Eun-min, the son of the rebel."

"What makes you come and take me?" Eunhae asked arrogantly. Eun-min rubs the back of his neck and replied, "I want to apologise in behalf of my father's wrongdoings."

"Ridiculous!" Eun-min looks at the sky and said, "You have quite a harsh night. Getting kicked out from the palace."

"You could say that," Eunhae replied. Eun-min looks at her and asks, "Do you want to stay at my place? Don't worry, my mother's there. Plus, my father's dead thanks to your men."

Eunhae stands and replied, "Fine. Let's go."

The next day, everyone is waiting around the palace. The maids are getting Mina ready. Mina stands properly and looks at her new, different self. She finally get to know what is it to be in Eunhae's position. The maids excuses themselves and leave. Mina walks out and heads outside to meet with her subjects. She stands in front of a door and take several breaths before she recalls the deal with Luhan, "Remember. As soon you become empress, in 100 days, you must make sure the emperor is dead or else, you will die."

"I will make sure that will happen," Mina thought inside her head. The emperor arrives seconds later and looks at Mina before asking, "Are you nervous?"

"Never been nervous in life," Mina replied. She gets inside the gama and the emperor goes to the gama behind her. Mina lets out a long, heavy sigh and-

"Introducing Her Royal Highness, Empress Jang Mina." The door is open and Mina looks in front with a proud smile form on her lips. She thinks inside her head, "It's time to shine, Jang Mina. You're an empress now."

 

"I can't believe the emperor likes her," Yuexiu said as she eats the snacks. Sarah said, "He is blind with love."

"But how he will get killed?" Tae-hyung replied, "You'll see."

Eunhae is sitting inside a wooden house. She looks around and Eun-min come back with food. He sits and Eunhae eats the food. Eun-min asks, "Now you're not the empress, what can you do?"

"I hate doing chores," Eunhae replied. Eun-min claps and replied, "Mom! Eunhae will help you with the chores."

"Hey!" Eunhae hits Eun-min's arm and said, "You disobeyed me."

"Hello, you're not the empress who can do anything she wants. This is my house and my house, my rules. No objections."

"You're treating me like I am your slave." Eun-min nods and replied, "You are one. Starting today."

Eun-min leaves and Eunhae curses under her breath before she hears Eun-min shouting, "I'm going to work."

"Be careful dear."

Eunhae stands and walks out from the house. She walks to an old lady and sits at the pavilion. She looks at the old lady and- "Eun-min is a very nice boy. He listens a lot."

"He's more of a kidnapper," Eunhae said. The lady uses a wooden spoon to hit Eunhae's head before continuing stirring. Eunhae winces in pain and said, "You hurt me."

"No wonder the palace woman make you leave and got you dethroned," the lady said. Eunhae rolls her eyes and the lady said, "Rude, arrogant kids like you will never get back what they want."

Eunhae stands and said, "I will get back what I owned, old lady. I'm sick of this!"

Eunhae leaves the pavilion and walks to the village. The village people stop doing whatever they were doing and throw things at her, mainly eggs. She quickly fasten up her pace before running. As she runs, she bumps into someone and falls to the ground. She groans and looks up.

"Need some help? Oops, but I'm not touching a peasant who's cheating for another man," Mina said. Eunhae gets up and said, "You."

"Quit chit-chatting and move out of my way," Mina said while exaggerating her expressions. She walks away and Eunhae walks to the river and jumps into the water. She gets up on the surface and gasps in shock before getting pulled up. Eun-min pushes her to the ground and Eunhae shouts, "Watch it!"

Eun-min roll his eyes and starts to fish. Eunhae stands and tries to dry herself. Eun-min catches several fish and puts them inside a rattan basket. Eunhae said, "I'm hungry."

Eun-min stands and carries the basket. He walks and Eunhae follows him. They stop at a pond, quite far from the river and they sit on the ground. Eun-min takes a fish and cuts it before saying, "Make the fire."

"How?" Eun-min looks at her and asks, "You don't know? What Empress were you? Ah! Cut the fishes, take the organs out and push it on a stick."

Eunhae takes the fish and knife before replying, "It's easy."

Eun-min gathers some dry leaves and uses sticks to start a fire. Eunhae is struggling to cut the fishes and Eun-min finally manages to start the fire. He sighs heavily and looks at her. He asks, "Why are you so slow?"

"Keep quiet." Eun-min takes it back and said, "You're taking a year to finish it."

Eun-min does the work and puts them into long sticks. He roasts them and Eunhae looks at him. She said, "I'm getting my throne back."

"You want to get back your throne? It's impossible!" Eun-min said as he looks at Eunhae. Eunhae throw pebbles inside the pond and replies, "Nothing is impossible. I will get it back and I need your help."

Few weeks has passed. The emperor fell sick for a week and the palace is a bit chaotic. Mina is accompanying the emperor and said, "Please get well soon."

Well, it does not really go as plan. Suddenly, there is an attack happening at the castle. Everyone is running like everywhere and-

 

"Tae-hyung, they already fell asleep," Aunt Choi said as she walks in. Tae-hyung stands and bows at Aunt Choi before looking at the children. He smiles and slowly pick up the children before bringing them up to the bedrooms. He tucks them to sleep and leaves the room. He closes the door and walks to Hyun-kyung's room. He opens the door and saw no one. He walks to his room and saw Hyun-kyung sleeping with Chae-yeon. He chuckles and closes the door before heading to the bed.

He sits on the bed and ruffles Hyun-kyung's hair before lying next to Chae-yeon. He goes to sleep after taking care of the children.

The next day, Hyun-kyung wakes up and saw Chae-yeon and Tae-hyung sleeping. She sits properly and looks outside before letting out a sigh. Not long, she lays back on the bed before she moves her body to look at Chae-yeon. She snuggles close to Chae-yeon and- "Morning."

Hyun-kyung looks at Tae-hyung and asks, "What?"

"You look tired." Hyun-kyung brings Chae-yeon closer before saying, "She is adorable. She looks a lot like me."

Hyun-kyung saw Chae-yeon waking up and sits properly. She smiles as she looks at Chae-yeon who cracks a small laughter. She carries Chae-yeon and tickles her before playing with her. Chae-yeon giggles and Tae-hyung sits properly. Hyun-kyung said, "I'm taking my bath."

"Okay." Hyun-kyung leaves the bedroom and Tae-hyung sighs heavily. He gets up and walks to the bathroom to take his bath. He then walks out with black T-shirt and matching sweatpants. He walks out from the bedroom to eat breakfast when sudden he hears singing. He walks to the door located at the back and opens it quietly.

"You will bloom like the royal flower, and we always love you just the way you are." Chae-yeon chuckles and Hyun-kyung pecks her lips before saying, "You're so cute, Chae-yeon ah."

Hyun-kyung brings Chae-yeon close before feeding her with a bottle of milk. She said, "I still can't believe that you're Min-jae's daughter."

She looks at Chae-yeon and said, "It's her fault for not being a responsible mom. I feel bad to be honest."

"Guess the concubine story is quite true in some parts," Hyun-kyung mumbles. She hears knocking and looks at the window. The window is open and Byeongkwan gets in before closing the window. He asks, "How's Chae-yeon?"

"Like usual." Byeongkwan nods and glances at the door. He saw Tae-hyung and quickly looks at the two. He sits on the pink bed before saying, "You made quite an effort to decorate the room for her."

Hyun-kyung hums and replied, "She's our princess now, right? We need to give the best for her. Your mom takes good care of her. I'm taking care of her from now on."

Tae-hyung closes the door and said, "I'm not going to give up. I'll never lose to her."

He walks downstairs and heads to the dining room. He sits with the children and eats with them. Aunt Choi looks at them and asks, "Do you want to listen to the ending of the story?"

The children nod and Tae-hyung finishes his food. He looks at them and continues the story:

Mina quickly leaves the bedroom to get help, or so they thought. Luhan approaches her and drags her out before hiding behind the palace. The situation becomes chaotic and Mina asks, "Now what?"

"Run, run."

 

"Basically Mina ran and got killed because Luhan broke the promise. The emperor died and he becomes the new emperor. Eunhae... that's another time," Tae-hyung concludes. The children clap and Hyun-kyung walks to the dining room with Chae-yeon before sitting on another chair. She looks at them and said, "I'm going to work in ten minutes."

"Aunty, is Chae-yeon staying with you?" Amanda asked. Hyun-kyung nods and looks at her. She rubs the tip of her nose with Chae-yeon's tip of her nose before they laugh. Hyun-kyung takes the baby food before feeding her. Tae-hyung stares at her and Aunt Choi said, "She looks like you a lot."

"But how?" Tae-hyung asked. Hyun-kyung looks at him and replied, "She acts like me."

Hyun-kyung smiles and nods before using a napkin to wipe Chae-yeon's lips. She makes her daughter burp before standing up. She said, "Grandma Choi will send you guys home. Okay?"

"Okay aunty." Hyun-kyung walks to the door and put on her shoes before walking out. Tae-hyung asks, "Who is that kid?"

"You don't know?" Areum asked. Tae-hyung shakes his head and Areum replied, "She is aunty's daughter."

Tae-hyung stands and leaves to follow Hyun-kyung. He runs to her and stops her by standing in front. Hyun-kyung asks, "What do you want?"

"Who is that kid?" Hyun-kyung looks at Chae-yeon and asks, "Why do you care about it?"

"Is she your child?" Hyun-kyung rolls her eyes and asks, "You think I can give an offspring?"

"You were . It's possible," Tae-hyung said and receives a slap. Hyun-kyung said, "Pack your things and leave 127A. Young-min needs your help that's why he wants you to go there."

"You want me to move there because you don't want me to find out that she is your daughter, right?" A black car arrives at the road side and they look. The door is open and Byeongkwan opens the window. He said, "Hurry up. You're late for the meeting."

"Okay." Hyun-kyung opens the door and gets inside before closing the door. Byeongkwan drives the car and Tae-hyung said, "Fine. I'll get the DNA test to find out."

---

A/N: Very short chapter. Sorry in advance and I hope you enjoy!