Shin Hye woke up and saw that she was in a strange but beautiful room. The little pool that she was in was too small to be a body of water, but at least, there was water.

"What... what am I doing here?" she asked.

The door was left slightly ajar, so she was able to get a glimpse of a part of the room outside. She caught sight of a sword in its scabbard, and then she felt her neck. 

Her coral sword, which she had used as a pendant to her necklace, had disappeared. 

"Where... where is it?" she asked. "Where am I?"

She did not want to shout because she thought that it might capture the attention of an enemy who might foil her plans. She looked around and looked at the curtain hanging near the tub.

"I can use this to escape," she thought as she pulled the curtain aside.

To her dismay, all she saw was a prison apparatus called a window, and she saw that it was dark outside. She cringed and thought that she had to really plan a good way to get out of this prison. She maneuvered herself to kneel and touched the window for any sign of opening. But the window was closed, and she was trapped.

"Eotteohke?" she thought.

As she was about to pound on the window, she heard the door of the room open.

"Ah.... what a day that was!" a husky, deep, yet gentle voice of a man said as he closed the door.

Shin Hye began to wonder if that man was the main hostage taker. There was some noises made, and the man sighed. Then, she listened to the man tuning some instruments.

"What... what is he doing?" she asked skeptically.

Later, the man took satisfaction on his tuning, and he began strumming his guitar. Shin Hye listened, and her heart felt move to hear his voice. She touched her chest, then pounded at it.

"What... what is this I am feeling?" she asked herself. "I felt so uneasy, I felt like... What is this?"

The man began singing to Richard Marx's "Now and Forever."

*****

The man who was singing was no other than Prince Yong Hwa himself. After the song, he felt satisfied that he placed his guitar on its case, and placed it inside a cabinet. Then, he took off his clothes, wore a bathrobe, then stepped into the bathroom. When he saw a lady on the bathtub, his eyes went wide open, and he took a step back and leaned on the wall in fright.

"Nu...nu...nuguya?" he asked.

Shin Hye looked at him.

"I am Princess Shin Hye," she introduced herself.

Yong Hwa went to her gingerly and took a look at her. Her hair was neatly tied, her golden mane coiled well. A long strand of seaweed was wrapped around her chest until it took the form of a tube top. He saw her bluish tail.

"Shin Hye-ssi....ineo-ya (You... are a mermaid)?" he asked her.

Shin Hye nodded and smirked, as usual. He moved and inspected her tail. There seemed to be no break between the skin of her tummy and the tail, so it was evident that she really was a mermaid.

"Can... can I touch your tail?" he asked.

Shin Hye flipped her tail and made a splash, and Yong Hwa was taken a back.

"Jinjja shirheo!" she exclaimed.

"Mi...mianhae..." Yong Hwa said.

He felt he had been disrespectful in asking to touch her tail. It was like asking to touch a lady's legs.

"Mianhae..." he said again. "Geureom... I... I will go now..."

She crossed her arms around her chest and looked at him boredly.

"I found it odd that you understood every word that I speak," she said.

"O?" Yong Hwa asked. "Why? Am I not supposed to understand you?"

Shin Hye nodded her head.

"We have different tongues, but you understand me very well," she said in amazement.

Yong Hwa smiled.

"I won't let it bother me anymore," he said. "By the way, I am Prince Yong Hwa."

Shin Hye look at him extend his hand, and she took it firmly for a handshake. She found it quite odd that, for a prince, he was acting casually. Do all princes on land act like he did?

"Bangawoyo," she said to him.

Both of them let go of their hands, and the prince declared that he'd take a bath first. Shin Hye looked at him as he walked to a small room ahead of her. For Yong Hwa, he was thankful that the wall of the shower room was made of cold tiles. If it had been made of translucent glass, he feared that Shin Hye might see him.

~~~~