"Say, unnie." Nancy said one day in Jeonju. "Can I break one teeny rule?"

"Which rule?" Yeonwoo asked, though she already knew.  

"The one saying that I-can't-ask-who-were-you-before rule." Nancy pouted. "I want to know."

"Really?" Yeonwoo asked. "Why?"

"Because I am curious." Nancy replied. "I want to know who and where were you in the past."

"Okay." Yeonwoo agreed. "Though I won't tell you all of the story."

"Fine." Nancy said, sitting on a bench.

"My original name was Lee Dabin." Yeonwoo began. "I was something of a talented girl."

"Really? Do tell me what did you do." Nancy clapped her hands.

"Sure."

The wind blew around the two girls, and Yeonwoo recalled her youth.

"Dabin ah." A four year old Hyebin pushed open the door. "What are you doing?"

"Unnie." Similarly, a four year old Dabin greeted her. "I'm solving these math questions."

"Let me see." Hyebin's small hands flipped the book. "What's a hypothenuse?"

"It's the line which is opposite to a right angle in a - well - right angled triangle." Dabin explained. 

"Hold on." Nancy interrupted. "You were four?"

"Yes." Yeonwoo replied. "Don't interrupt me. Now, my parents found me too hard to handle, because of my superior intelligence. I could beat the so-called masters of chess in six moves. When I was five."

"A prodigy." Nancy murmured.

"Indeed I was." Yeonwoo's eyes sparkled. "Thus far my brain is the largest in Joseon."

Nancy snorted. She doubted it.

"Then, when I was older, I brought my sisters to a nearby village. I saw and heard things I couldn't experience before, and so I requested that I leave home and go explore. Ironically, my first destination was Ganghwa."

"Where you met me."

"Indeed. I noticed your compassion, and your vivid feelings, and so I decided to let you come with me."

"Okay." Nancy nodded. "Though I prefer Yeonwoo more than Dabin."

"Me too."

"Now, to repay you for your story, I'm going to tell you mine." Nancy offered. "I was born to a fleet of trading ships. My father ran this fleet with other Westerners."

"Dad." A six year old Nancy said. "Where are we going this month?"

"China." The man grunted.

"Yay! Can I see a panda? Please?" Nancy blinked her cute face.

"Nancy, the pandas are not our priority." The man explained. "When we have unloaded these crates."

"Okay." A sad Nancy replied. He had been saying this excuse for the past four trips to China.

"Pandas." Yeonwoo snorted.

"I saw one though. It was furry and large."

"Though I don't suppose your name is just Nancy."

"Yes." Nancy replied. "My name is Nancy Jewel McDonie."

"Long name." Yeonwoo commented. "Did you know Korean names are much more simpler than English names?"

"Oh, I've got a Korean name. Lee Seungri."

"Hmm." Yeonwoo droned. "I think I'll still call you by your English name."

"Ditto for me."

They got up from their bench, only for a girl to sweep past.

"Who's that?" Nancy whispered.

"Beats me."

The teenage girl was certainly remarkable. Her hairdo was littered with different jewelry, her clothes a simple shade of arsenic green, her belt made out of jade.

"Let's follow her. I suspect she may be an important character."

They tailed her for three alleyways and rounded some corners, and they were just beginning to tire. When suddenly some thugs dressed in matte black jumped them from behind.

"Not goons again." Yeonwoo groaned when she was cuffed and blindfolded.

The girls were drugged and then carried to a (secret hideout) house, where they were treated with a dim chamber and tied hands.

"Such a pleasure to have visitors." The girl twittered. "And who might you two be?"

"Who I am is none of your business." Yeonwoo spat. "Whoever might you be?"

"Oh, I'm surprised you don't remember me." The girl's face hardened to a mask of contorted fury. "Think harder. After all, you gave me this hair pin." She pushed a delicate pin made of silver, with an emerald top. This simple design triggered an inner memory...

Sejong strolled across the royal garden.

His seven year old daughter was certainly proving to be difficult.