THE woman before me smiles sadly at me as I sigh deeply, "I was just outsourced to work at that gallery, all of us who worked that night actually."

I close my eyes briefly at the news, Heechul hyung came through when he gave me the contact information of one of the gallery's art curators. There's a part of me that can't even explain my reason for wanting to own that tiger, but I have a feeling that the inanimate thing will make me feel a little bit better.

When I saw the sculpture for the first time, my entire being felt at ease. Just by looking at it, I felt like I was transported to a place where all my worries, and pain disappeared.

Maybe I really am going crazy, but before I Iose my mind completely, I have to see that tiger again. "So you're saying no one will be able to tell me how to get in touch with the artist?"

She shakes her head at the question, "even the drivers who delivered the pieces during the set up phase has no relation to the artist. I hear that when the artist was in Paris, he used the same methods for each of his art shows."

I furrow my eyebrows, "he?" She sips on her coffee, "I thought no one knew this person's gender?"

She nods her head as she places the cup on the table. "It's just an inside joke between my friends and I. The artist goes by the mononym Wen, a few persons has speculated that the artist got the name from Wen Zhengming, a painter from the Ming Dynasty."

I sigh deeply, "and I'm guessing this is why you think the artist's a man?"

She smiles softly, "which is quite fascinating when you think about it. Wen Zhengming was a member of what's called the Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty. The other three members dabbled in different art styles, but our very own Wen has mastered all of these styes and more. It's obvious that he was confident in his skills when he gave himself that name."

I nod my head, taking everything in. History has never been a subject I was interested in, but since the Crown Prince memories have been haunting me lately, I'm beginning to find every new thing I learn a bit intriguing.

"Thanks for your help," I look around the coffee shop, "please don't post anything about our meeting on the internet."

The curator giggles at my plea, "don't worry. I don't find celebrities interesting." I nod my head once more then stand to my feet, "ah, I'm not sure if this will help. But the gallery gathered Wen's pieces owned by a few prominent people in the literary world."

I watch silently as she reaches into her bag and pulls out her phone, and with a few taps she shows me a picture of her smiling brightly. "The poet currently teaches at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. She's my favourite actually, and I was glad to see her name on the list."

I take the phone from her to get a closer look at the list, "Lee Min Joo?"

The curator nods her head eagerly, "the piece that she owns is one of Wen's earliest works. According to Lee Min Joo, the piece was painted in Luxembourg after Wen visited the Auschwitz-Berkenau Memorial. The only way Lee Min Joo would know this small detail, is if she happened to meet Wen herself."

MY smile quickly falls from my face as she takes a seat before me, I watch silently as she places her bag on the chair beside her then sighs. "What are you even doing in Gyeonggi-do?"

I scratch the back of my neck nervously, "I'm here to meet someone."

She leans closer to me, "have you finally found the Princess?" I shake my head and she rolls her eyes at me, "yah, do you want to haunted by your memories forever? What's taking you so long anyway?"

I sigh miserably, "do you know how many Yoon Ri Na's there are in South Korea?" She blinks mindlessly at me, "a lot, I can't believe I've been let down by both Naver and Google."

Ji Hyun noona rolls her eyes at me, "this is going to take you forever. Tell me, who are you here to see?"

"Her name is Lee Min Joo, she teaches at the Institute of Arts." She furrows her eyebrows, "you still haven't told me why you're here."

"I gave a special lecture at the Korea Aerospace University," she beams at me, "it's my alma mater." I nod my head at her as she stands to her feet, "let's go."

I too mirror her actions, "where?"

She s her bags in my arms, "I know you haven't set up that meeting yet." I bit down on my bottom lip, "what would you even do without me, Byun Baek Hyun?"

It turns out that Ji Hyun noona has a friend who teaches at the Institute of Arts, luckily for me, I didn't have to jump through hoops to meet Lee Min Joo. Even though I had to sit through her Poetry Creation Study class, I found that it wasn't that boring once I started to pay attention. 

And as I looked around, I began to wonder if this would've been my life if I had chosen a different path. Would a normal Byun Baek Hyun have the guts to handle all of what's happening to him? 

I quickly approach the front of the lecture hall as the last student exits, "how did you find the lecture Mr Byun?"

I smile at her, "it was really interesting, I'm not much of a poetry fan, but some of what you said will really help with my songwriting."

She nods her head as she gathers her material, "so, what is it that you wanted to ask me?"

I take a deep breath, "a curator that I know, told me that you're familiar with the artist Wen?" I watch as recognition covers her entire face, "I was wondering if you have any way to contact this person?"

"Wow," she takes a deep breath, "I met Wen a while back, it was 2008, and I was introduced to her by a close friend of mine." She looks at me closely, "she would be around your age at this point. But I was indeed fascinated by her, and while it puzzled me that she was living alone so far away from home, she seemed to be able to take care of herself just fine."

I widen my eyes, "Wen's a woman?" 

Lee Min Joo chuckles softly, "not many people who are familiar with her work would believe that." She sighs deeply, "women have always faced hardships in the art world, and that's simply because society assigns us into one category."

I nod my head in understanding, "so I'm guessing you don't know how to get in touch with her then?"

She shakes her head sadly at the question, "at the age of sixteen, Wen was able to draw people in with just her artwork. It's now that I understand how adamant she was to remain a bit anonymous. I'm sorry that I wasn't of much help."

"SO what did the poet say?" I sigh dejectedly at Ji Hyun's question, "that bad, huh?" I sip on the iced coffee before me as I begin to think about what to do with this rotten luck of mine. "Why are you looking for this artist anyway?"

I reach into my coat pocket for my phone, "there's something that I want to buy from her." With quick taps of my finger, I locate the picture of the tiger and sh