"I'm sorry, Naeun, really," Taemin and Naeun were sitting in the kitchen, Tae kept saying how sorry he was for leaving his closest friend without saying a word. "I'm angry because you didn’t tell me, not because you ran, believe me, I would let you go, you just had to say something." "Oh," that's all the pirate said before Naeun changed the subject completely. The two sat and drank tea while they talked and Taemin told her about his experiences on board the pirate ship but when he started telling her about what he went through with Minho it seemed she was more interested.

"So you're saying you're going to meet him tonight?" Naeun asked. "Yes," Tae replied. "To give him back something that does not belong to you, but to him?" "Yes." "Even though you're a pirate and you're supposed to be a thief?" "This is different." Naeun looked at him unconvinced. "Okay, so you’re in love with him and technically you go to him to see him because he won’t want what you return to him back." "Whatever." Naeun grabbed his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes causing him stress from her seriousness. "Keep saying that to yourself, Lee Taemin, I'm always right."

After the conversation and tea, Naeun took Taemin to change his clothes into comfortable and lighter clothes. Taemin who wore his heavy and warm travel clothes thanked her for the set of clothes she gave him. The same set belonged to her father who no longer looked as young as he was in the past. Three layers were put on the pirate, a red shirt with a high collar that ended under his thighs, a fancy dark red pants, and a layer of cloth resembling a short black robe over everything was tied a crimson ribbon. To his friend’s advice, he left his hair long as it was and she helped him arrange it in a low ponytail also tied in a crimson ribbon. "Looks good." "do you think?" "Keep those clothes, I'll put your extra set in Sagwa's bag."

"Can you watch him for me?" "But what will Dad say?" Naeun worried, what if her father found out she was hiding a noble horse in the family stable, after all, they did not have enough money for a new horse, what if he asked her questions she could not answer? "Tell him it's a gift," Tae suggested. "But he would recognize the horse and then he’ll know you were here." "It's your job to take care of his horse, isn’t it?" Taemin asked her. "Yes," she replied. "Then I'll try to find a place that can keep Sagwa while you make sure your father doesn't find out about him," the pirate suggested. "For how long will you be there?" "I don’t know, but I will return here before The Shining Devil comes to pick me up," he promised her. "Take the clothes with you, they’re yours." "I promise."

Tae left the Son family home when sunset had already passed and the sky was painted a dark color that cast a shadow over the dark city. Taemin watched people return to their homes and close their stalls. Lamps light in the doorways and giggles were heard from the pubs. With his sword in his hand, the pirate walked over to the palace where he had already been two times before, they were so different from each other. Soldiers roamed the city, torches in hand, they toured the main streets so Taemin managed to dodge through the narrow alleys, his dark clothes keeping him from being seen in the dark.

Silla's guard's clothes were blue and red but the new and younger guard’s clothes were white and purple. Taemin got to know some of those boys who came from families that sent them to serve in the royal house while others got into a situation where they were scolded by the guards for doing things they were not proud of, those boys were taken to learn manners as well as fighting and hunting. Tae knew the names of some of them but never spoke to them or intended to talk to them. A couple of soldiers stood by one of the gates talking about how they wanted to go to sleep. "These pirates," one of the guards said, "because of them we work overtime.”

"We don’t have time for anything anymore," a taller guard added and leaned against the wall behind him, "I have family and a girlfriend and I've been here so many nights and not a single pirate has been seen." "Neither did anyone found who to hand over, with this award and everything that you can do with it," a low shorter guard said, the others nodded in agreement.

While hiding in the shadows the pirate thought of a way to get around the soldiers and might even find a place where he could climb the wall to get to its inner part. He noticed some guards making a turn around the wall which means that for a few minutes a certain area of the wall would be empty and dark, and with his dark clothes not so visible, he waited for an opportunity where the guards passed at least twice. He recounted the minutes it took them to complete a turn so he could run, climb and jump to the other side of the wall without being caught. 

As they pass the place with their torch the pirate notices grooves in which use, he will think about how to get to the prince's room afterward. After finishing calculating the route and the third round of the guards, he ran to the wall, on the way counting the seconds and minutes, when he reached the top of the wall he jumped down and landed on the ground softening the fall with a roll.

Taemin clung to a wall, hiding in his shadows. He looked at the environment he had reached, and indeed recognized it, the large yard of the palace was not far from where he stood, the yard was full of groups of guards talking among themselves, the army minister standing there on the small stage watching the area and shouting orders. Taemin knew that if he entered the palace from the ground floor he would be caught, then inside too there was guarding, not like outside of course. The pirate looked up at the wall in front of him where there was a window on the first floor, if he’ll climb on the wall in this darkness there is a chance he wouldn’t be seen, so that is what he decided to do.

The palace had three floors, between the wings of a building it was possible to pass from the ground floor or through bridges built on the top floors to make it easier to pass between the wings of the palace. It was smart mostly because there were observation posts to cover the whole ground and even further. 

To Tae's favor, the wall and the building's wall were so close to one another and even with his attachment to the wall, the observation posts couldn't see him climb. Taemin, even with the help of the grooves and bumps in the wall, climbed slowly but that was because it was hard to see in the dark and because if he had done it faster there was a chance he would have lost grip and fall, and no one wants to fall from such a height. The window appeared and Taemin used it to stabilize himself and then crawl through it inside the royal building.

The room he entered was empty of people but it was obvious that it belonged to someone because there was a bed at the end and a dresser, although he was surprised to find that even if someone lived in that room there was nothing like curtains or bedding. Taemin decided not to stay in the room for too long and walked towards the door seeing that there were also piles of baskets with fabrics in the room, just fabrics with no shape or purpose.