The morning was still as warm as the day before, perhaps even warmer. Jaera could never tell. It was still cold to her.

Junmyeon’s personal maid was kind enough to prepare her a noblewoman’s outfit. It fit her perfectly. The maid was excited to dress Jaera up, considering that she was serving a man, and the both of them had fun choosing hairstyles and brooches.

The guard outside Junmyeon’s room didn’t hesitate to let her in and she was greeted by the sight of the prince in normal clothes. He too was decked out in a nobleman’s outfit, his colours matching with hers. He was trying to figure out how to put on his belt when they arrived.

“Good morning,” she greeted, dropping into a curtsey. “Need any help with that?”

“What are you planning to do today?” he asked, walking towards her with the belt in his hands. He passed it to her and turned around so she could put it around him.

She looped the belt around him, delicately tying a knot. She could feel him stiffen. “I was thinking of going to the village today.”

“And we have to dress up as a married couple?”

“Your maid said it would be a good idea,” she said. “And you will be able to see the village through the eyes of a commoner. Different perspectives, you know?”

“I have snuck out before in normal clothes,” he revealed. “The village is nothing special.”

He must have snuck out of the castle with Juhyun back when they were together. Jaera quickly shook the thought out of her head. Juhyun was no more, and the present was to focus on healing Junmyeon.

After adding finishing touches to their headpieces and brooches, they bounded down the stairs. A few guards gave them strange looks but did not question anything. After all, to them, he was still the Ice King.

They travelled on foot to the nearest village. With the Water Kingdom’s state of economy, not many could afford horses any longer. Only the wealthiest of the noblemen had proper transportation.

Junmyeon led her with surprising ease. He was familiar with the road that they were taking, and even brought them to a shortcut through the woods. Jaera, on the other hand, was freezing. Despite being wrapped up in layers over her tunic, the cold was biting. She kept as quiet as possible, trying not to sneeze. She did not want to kick up a fuss, and Junmyeon barely noticed as he was in front of her.

She attempted to warm herself up by using her firebending. After learning how to produce a small amount of heat, there was barely any time to practice. She mustered all of her focus into the palms of her hands. A small wave of heat peeked out from her gloves.

“Oh!” Jaera yelped as she tripped over a branch. It was covered in snow, camouflaged to the ground. The heat from her hands promptly disappeared.

Junmyeon swiftly moved in to support her by the shoulders. She was still as her chest heaved against his, breathing hard at the sudden movement.

He quickly straightened up, smoothening his tunic. “Watch your step. The forest has a lot of fallen branches.”

He continued walking forward before she could answer. However, she noticed that her path had significantly less snow from then on. She also noticed how his right hand could not stop tapping against the side of his thigh.

“You seem very familiar with this path. Usually, royalty are not allowed outside the palace.” She tried to break the ice, and also to keep her mind off the cold.

He looked back to face her, quirking a brow. “Does Chanyeol stay cooped up in his castle all day, then? I used to come out here when I was a child. My friends and I would play here and after that we would all go to the village nearby for refreshments.”

So the sneaking out was with his friends, and not Juhyun. That was reassuring.

“When I started seeing my ex-fiancee, there was not a lot of privacy in the castle so we came out here,” he continued. That was not reassuring. “Of course, that was when we were younger. As we became older, we grew to have our own responsibilities.”

Jaera could only imagine what sort of things they were up to away from the confines of the castle. She personally had never had a lover, but she was not a fool. Hot-blooded teenagers were the same no matter the kingdom.

He caught the look on her face. “Are you jealous?”

“No!”

Junmyeon smirked. His hand continued moving against his thigh. “If I told you that I am completely over that part of my life, would you believe me? My friends and I do not keep in contact much, other than the occasional birthday greetings. She is in the past too.”

“Why did you lose touch with your friends? Was it because of Juhyun?”

“You know her name.”

“I know a lot of things. Answer the question, please.”

He sighed. “It was mostly my fault. I neglected them a lot when Juhyun came into my life. We drifted apart.”

“Juhyun sounds like a .”

Laughter bubbled out of him as he whipped his head back to stare at Jaera. She merely shrugged in response, as if to say, well, I’m not lying.

Before the conversation could continue, they arrived at the village. She wanted to find out who his old friends were, and what they thought of Juhyun. It occurred to her that no one really spoke of the ex-fiancée, as if she was only someone that Junmyeon knew. She wanted to know what Juhyun had that made him stick to her enough to neglect his friends. She would have to dig it out of him later.

The morning market was set up, with villagers manning the stalls, a few families shopping and children running around despite the snow. Despite all of that, Junmyeon frowned.

“The market is much smaller than usual,” he told her. He pointed to a distance away. “It used to take up the entire stretch right till the end over there.”

They both knew it was most likely due to the never-ending winter.

Jaera spotted a stall selling scarves. She smiled to the stall owner as she dragged Junmyeon along. Her nose was running again as she greeted the owner a good morning.

“Oh, are you from the Fire Kingdom?” the stall owner asked, intrigued. She was an old lady, with wrinkles and age spots on her face. “You have their kingdom’s lilt when you speak. Are you here on holiday?”

“No, I’m here for work, actually. Do you get a lot of tourists here?“

“The people who come to visit only stay a short while because of the cold.” She gestured at the snow around them. “That is how I came to sell scarves. Our fields couldn’t grow anything and my husband fell sick, so we had to start knitting.”

Junmyeon tensed beside her. She pointed to a red scarf at the end of the table. “How much for that scarf?”

“Ten thousand won will do.”

Before Jaera could do anything, Junmyeon reached into his tunic and revealed a small coin bag. He retrieved a fifty thousand won note and passed it to the old lady.

“You can keep the change.” They could not help but stare at him. For the stall owner, it was not everyday that they had big spending customers. For Jaera, it looked like the prince was actually showing some sympathy for the villagers.

Flustered thanks spluttered out of the old lady’s mouth, handing the scarf over carefully. She offered a bag, but her words died as Junmyeon wrapped the scarf around Jaera’s neck. His cold fingers brushed against the nape of her neck, making her shiver.

“Both of you make a lovely couple,” she commented, stars in her eyes. “Thank you again.”

The two of them continued their walk in the market. Their steps were slow as they observed the state of the village.

“Thank you for the scarf.”

He stopped walking. Looking at her, his face twisted into a half-smile. “It was nothing. Besides, I don’t think any amount of layers will be able to keep you warm.”