Unrelenting feline eyes stared back at her, daring her to make a move. She hated how it made her momentarily stop in her tracks, how for some reason it made her speechless. She had this annoying smirk on her pristine face that unnerved Lisa, she looked like an angry cat ready to pounce on a helpless rat, except… Lisa was no rat. She was far from being one. 

“You have this strange habit of bumping into people you try to kill off. It’s kind of cute.” Lisa tried to mask the trembling in her voice with a laugh, matching her gaze. Two can play this game. She scoffed at Lisa’s banter and gave her a crooked grin. The other girl has caught up to her by now and gave them both a curious look. Looking at Jennie and then looking at Lisa, finally giving life to the saying about tension in the air being too thick it can be cut through with a knife.

“You’re the girl that went to Chaeyoung-ah right? The one with the odd clothes?” 

Lisa nodded, she was beginning to hate the fact that they kept bringing up the way she dressed. It wasn’t her fault she had a futuristic sense of fashion for the time period. 

“Have you two met before?” 

“No. She must have mistaken me for someone else Jisoo-eonnie” Jennie gave both of them a sweet smile. 

Hearing those words made Lisa go off. She was hungry and pissed off, not the best combination when you walk up to someone who just gave you an ugly looking bruise and a stab wound. She was lucky enough to move away just in time, it would have been nastier and needed stitching if she hadn’t. She could feel her face go red, felt how the acid made go sour. 

“You tried to effiing kill me! Don’t act as if you don’t remember! Hell, this is why my shoulder’s limp and encased in a stupid, uncomfortable bandage!” 

Everything moved in slow motion as she found herself closing the distance between them. Jennie looked even smaller as Lisa towered over her, she could feel the blood rush to her ears, making them go red and pulse with every deep breath she took. Trying her best to control the surge of anger that slowly enveloped her, making her shake. She was trying her best not to strangle the smaller woman and wipe that smirk off her pretty face. 

“Forgive me however I don’t ever recall trying to kill anyone, you must have mistaken me for someone else. To be perfectly honest, I don’t remember ever meeting someone as uncouth and as ill-mannered as you.” 

That’s it.

Lisa heard Jisoo scream, saw Jennie close her eyes in anticipation at the blow. There was no impact however, as she realized her hand was suspended mid air with a strong grip. She scrunched her face as a new wave of pain coursed through her body as her arm was twisted roughly, whoever it was, made sure  her arm was kept securely against her back. The wound stung as it brushed against the rough wool of the bandage. 

“Daegam!” Both Jisoo and Jennie gave a short bow. 

“You need to take note of your place in this palace, hitting the daughter of a renowned public official serving the King could cost you your head for such a foolish act.” She could barely hear the words whispered against her ear. “Now… I believe an apology is warranted.” She was pushed to the ground, released from the grip he had over her. 

“There’s no need for that Kai, she’s at no fault. Seeing as she’s injured, she may be having a delusional fit from the pain. She seems to be a foreigner as well, I do not expect her to know who I am.” Lisa looked up to a smiling Jennie, she was spewing out lies as fast as she changes her mood. She was holding out her hand for Lisa, her eyes clouding over with an unknown emotion making it look darker.

Lisa took what she was offered, not wanting to make things worse for her. Her shoulder muscles quivered , demanding another visit to Chaeyoung. She held on to it, massaging the tender spot to relieve the pain. The man looked regal in the same bluish hue hanbok as Jungkook. He had sharp looking eyes that made him look cold and arrogant. He went to stand beside Jennie, looking at her briefly with an affectionate look. They called him daegam which meant he was the grand prince, if her memory of her history lessons served her right -- which means she just made a fool out of herself. All because of that woman. 

Jisoo was the first to break the awkward silence between them. “Were you looking for something or someone?” Trying her best to give her a friendly smile. 

“Yes, I was planning on visiting Chaeyoung, I … uh… wanted to ask for help. I don’t know where the kitchen is.” The mention of Chaeyoung’s name brought out a genuine smile from Jisoo, prompting her to take Lisa hands and dragging her towards the other direction. 

“If that’s the case, let me join you. I’ll show you the way to her clinic and accompany you to the kitchen after.” 

“There’s no need I can look for it on my own.”

“Lisa!” The familiar voice made them both stop. “I’ve asked Yong-Min to take you to my library, but you were nowhere to be seen in your room. Do you need anything?” 

Lisa gave a small bow before shaking her head to answer. 

“She was looking for the kitchen Jeoha,” Great, Jisoo, just great 

“Ah! How foolish of me, I forgot to tell Yong-Min to prepare a meal for you, you must have been famished. I’ll have one made for you at once.” He looked back at one of the servants who was following him, giving him orders for the meal.

 “Make haste and have it delivered to my study.” The servant bowed and excused himself. Jungkook looked back at her and smiled. “I need to show you something, if you may accompany me back to my study?”

“Brother…” Kai walked up to Jungkook and gave him a tight hug. “We were not aware you have a guest over.” glancing at Lisa briefly before addressing Jungkook. “I may need to apologize, I mistook her as one of the Abanim’s Goongju.” 

Abanim… Goongju, she can’t seem to remember what those mean, but from the way Kai looked at her, she could tell it was a lowly way to address someone in the palace. 

“Jong-In, no… she’s… she’s here for a reason. I can not tell you now but in time I will.” A brief look of anger flashed in Kai’s eyes, it went unnoticed by everyone as he smiled. Trying his best to bite down his response. 

“I understand, let me have the liberty to introduce myself then. We may have started out in bad terms. I am Kim Jong-In, grand prince of Joseon. Half brother to the crown prince; Jeon Jungkook. These lovely ladies you’ve had the pleasure of meeting are the daughters of Kim Yang-Hwan, an esteemed member of the palace Yangban. My father’s council is nothing without the guidance provided by their father. You’ve met his eldest daughter; Kim Jisoo and his youngest daughter; Kim Jennie.”

“Thank you, this is Lisa Manoban. She’s from Bangkok -- I apologize, what was it again?”

“Thailand.”

“Ah yes, from the kingdom of Thailand. She is here under my care and it would please me to ensure she is provided with the same respect as I am given.” 

“Of course.” Kai gave him a small bow and gave Lisa a tight smile. 

Lisa can’t help but look at how Jennie looked from being annoyed to surprised to looking as if she was happy with the news. The girl was so good at hiding behind her repertoire of masks it made Lisa wonder who she really was behind those walls. Jennie caught her eye and Lisa could swore she saw a hint of a smile ghost her lips before being met with a cheshire smile, Jennies gums visible making her look more like a child than the fierce cat that she was a while ago. 

“If you can excuse us, I need to discuss something with Lisa.” Jungkook went and took Lisa by the hand and led her. 

They bowed as they left. Taking a quick glance back, she saw Kai take Jennie’s hand as he gave her a wide smile with Jisoo standing by laughing at something he said. Jennie looked back affectionately, showing them her gummy smile. Lisa felt weird, whatever it was -- made her sulk and grit her teeth in annoyance. 

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

Jungkook has taken her through multiple hallways, each looking the same as the one before it, each painted blood red supported by columns that glistened from the sunlight. They took what seemed to be their eleventh left turn, Lisa wasn’t sure-- she lost count along the way, and reached a hallway that led to an open area with a single building in the center. It's doors were open and Lisa could see scrolls of various thickness occupy the shelves that went from one end of the interior to the far end. There was a table and chair cushions at the far center, nestled comfortably by an open window, cluttered with open scrolls. 

Jungkook waited for Lisa to settle down before taking his seat. He was looking at a certain passage from an open scroll and looked up at her. He kept silent for a while, looking at the scroll with a serious expression. 

“My father… the king,” he looked anxious, trying his best to avoid looking at Lisa. “he’s … he’s ill. It all started many full moons before. We’ve had the best physicians around the kingdom look into finding the antidote to whatever malady has struck him…” he trailed off, his eyes glazed with unshed tears.as he took a deep breath before continuing where he left off. “Sabu-nim, has talked to me in private regarding what may help…” Jungkook took the scroll, opening it and reading off a passage silently. “Joseon, does not believe in the occult. Everything that comes from the unknown is frowned upon by the confucian scholars in my father’s council. They believe in a strict form of conduct that revolves around logical reasoning. Do you understand how I must keep this a secret between my teacher, Yong-Min and you?” 

Lisa nodded slowly, the atmosphere in the study has shifted. Lisa suddenly felt claustrophobic, Jungkook was looking at her intently, waiting for her to voice out her opinions. Clearly, a nod wouldn’t suffice. 

“If you meant, to have me keep quiet about whatever it is we’ll be discussing here,..” Lisa looked away, “then yes, I can keep secrets your Highness.”

“I meant no disrespect Lisa, I just… need to make sure that what is said within these walls stay within these walls. The throne and my succession hangs in the balance if my father’s council finds out.”

“I understand, there is nothing to be sorry about. You are only doing what you think is best for your father as a son. Plus, I do not have friends here, I know no one to that extent to tell your precious little secret to.”

“Thank you,” Jungkook stood up and went towards the open window. Looking at the scenery outside, he continued with a soft voice “The scrolls we studied talks about a flower, hidden within this kingdom that could cure any malady. Yong-Min, one of the few that knows about this has accompanied me from village to village looking for this flower. It’s said to have white petals that bloom in the cold, small white flowers that live among weeds. Beautiful against the harshness of this world. I’ve searched every village in this kingdom and yet … have found nothing of that sort. Two winters have come and passed and the king grows weaker by the day and yet … I stand by, doing nothing -- all because… I’m foolish enough to believe that such a flower exists.” He went back to sit and pick up the scroll and gestured for Lisa to take a look. 

“My teacher has spent many moons trying to study these and decipher if the passage meant something else, you see… you came here just before winter. You have… bright yellow-white hair, relentless and unbudging against the cruel way my soldiers have approached you. Lisa… I think no such flower exist, because… I think the passage speaks of you.”

Hearing those words Lisa’s jaw dropped in shock. Me? Why the hell would that passage meant me?

A/N: Sorry it took me a while to update. Had to study the archaic terms used in this period. if I made a mistake, please let me know if in the comments -- I'm trying to make the historical part as authentic as possible. If you liked or not like it let me know about what you think of this chapter as well :). Thanks for reading, and have a great day ahead reader!