Tae Yeon stirred awake from the commotion happening at the door.

She scrambled to get up from the chair and stretched her back to relieve herself from the sore pain in her back, glancing around the dark room to realise that it's already night time.

Yawning, she ran to the door to check who is knocking and shouting her name outside the door.

"Mi Yeon-a, I knew you were here!" it was Doo Na, her neighbour from this morning. "I brought some treats, you didn't come back home so I figured that you would be here."

"Oh, thank you Doo Na! They look delicious," she said as she grabbed the basket from Doo Na. "Is my uncle back yet?"

"No, but I will continue to keep a look out for you and tell him that you are here once he comes back."

"Thank you so much Doo Na, I have a patient here tonight so I can't stay out for too long. But thank you for bringing me some food."

"No need to thank me, after how you saved my son last week, I have been looking for ways to repay you," Doo Na chuckled as she started to walk away. "Take care!"

"You too!"

Tae Yeon smiled and closed the door as gently as she can. The sun is already down, she should light up some lamps to brighten up the room.

"Hmm... I wonder how he is doing," she mumbled to herself as she went back into the room.  Putting down the basket on the floor, she started to light up the lamps in the room one by one.

As soon as she lit up all the lamps in the room, she jumped when she saw a pair of eyes staring back at her.

The man has woken up.

She was about to ask if he's okay when he suddenly drew out his sword, latched onto her arms and pinned her down onto the bed with his free hand, putting the sword dangerously close to .

"Who are you?"

The voice that came out from him was croaky and Taeyeon almost wanted to offer him some water to drink if her life wasn't being threatened at the moment. Everything just happened so quickly that she couldn't even think straight.

She stared back into his eyes, not daring to blink in case he suddenly decided to slice open. His eyes looked deadly, it sent her shivers down her spine by how different he looks now that he is awake.

"Answer me before I kill you," he threatened, his sword inching closer to . Taeyeon squeezed her eyes shut, she could feel the cold steel resting against the surface of her skin and that it was just a hair's breadth away from killing her.

"I, I found you, in the forest," she squeaked.

Taeyeon thought he would withdraw the sword after she answered him, but it appeared that he wasn't satisfy with that answer and continued to push forward. She let out a small cry of pain when she felt the sword cutting through the first layers of her skin.

"Who are you really?"

The man was very strong for someone who was barely breathing a few hours ago. Taeyeon knew she was weak, but she didn't know that she was this weak against an injured man.

"You, you were hurt. I saved you," she replied, trying to keep her cool. He looked her square in the eyes, as if he was trying to detect if she was lying. Taeyeon let out a sigh of relief when he slowly withdrew the sword and sat back down on the bed.

Once he was off her, she quickly got off the bed to put more distance between them. Pulling the chair from behind her, she slowly sat down to calm her racing heart down. She watched him winced as he leaned his back against the wall.

"Don't. Don't move too much. Your wound isn't completely healed yet."

He glanced at her and looked down at the bandage wrapped around his waist.

"You did this?"

"Yes..."

"Are you a physician?" he asked, looking up at her.

"I... I am a practicing physician," she replied nervously. Droplets of sweat had formed on her temple as she broke into a cold sweat. She just performed surgery on a dying man that could potentially take her life with a simple swing of his sword, what had she done to deserve this?

She held onto her hands that were resting on her lap tightly to stop the shivers. She relaxed when he didn't ask any more questions. But stopped when he started to grab his clothes from the side of the bed and dress himself.

"You aren't well. I advise you to take a long rest. Your wound will easily open up if you aren't careful enough," she said softly. Although she was scared for her life, she still has the responsibility to make sure that her patient survives through this.

He ignored her and tried to get up, but it hurt so much that he fell back against the wall.

She stood up and cautiously held onto his elbow to help him lie back down on the bed.

"Where is this place?" he asked after a while.

"My uncle's infirmary. You are in Yang Dong village," she replied, rubbing her neck nervously just to wince at the sharp pain across her neck. She looked down at her bloody fingers and quickly grabbed a bandage from the table to wipe the blood off. "Take a rest, I will go and cook some porridge."

Once she left the room, he tried to get up again, but the pain was too much for him to bear so he gave up on that. He reached over for his sword instead and placed it beside his thigh. The girl might look harmless, but he could never put down his defenses in case it was just an act to put his guard down.

He gently ran his fingers up his sword and stained his fingers with the blood of the girl. He glanced in the direction the girl just headed to, feeling slightly guilty for hurting her. He probably left her traumatised as well, he does that to a lot of people.

After a short while, Taeyeon finally came back to the room with a bowl of porridge and a cup of warm water balancing on the tray in her hands. She was surprised to see the man resting his eyes when she came in, because he seemed so alert of his surroundings, that she thought he would never dare to take a break.

"You must be hungry," she said, putting down the tray beside him as he opened his eyes.

"No. I am not."

"Let me help you," she helped him to sit up higher on the bed and placed a hand gently on his wound. Her warm hand seemed to burn when she touched his bare skin, and Baekhyun didn't like that. He moved away from her and tightened his grasp around his sword.

"I will not harm you. Are you afraid that I might have added something to the porridge?" she asked, half jokingly. But when he regarded her with a solemn expression, she realised that he actually believes that. She grabbed the spoon and fed herself a small spoon of porridge. "See. It is safe."

Although that didn't convince him, he didn't stop her when she started to feed him the porridge. She gently blew on every spoon before feeding him, and she was relieved that he didn't make a fuss over it.

Now that they are in close proximity and her life isn't being threatened, she finally got a good look of his face.

He actually looks quite handsome. He had the kind of face that could stop you in your tracks.

His face was strong and defined. Although his eyes were cold and deadly just a moment ago, she now sees the softness in his dark brown eyes and gentleness in his lips when he looks completely relaxed. His soft lips look naturally pink and glossy, and it makes him look more attractive because it was cutely shaped.

Taeyeon recoiled in shock when their eyes met and she quickly cleared , embarassed to be caught staring at him.

He looks like he was brought up in a noble family. But what are those scars that cover his body? 

Who is he?

She decided not to ask any questions as she didn't want to do anything that would provoke him to use his sword again. She wasn't expecting him to talk, let alone to be the one curious about her when he suddenly spoke to her after she fed him the last spoon of porridge.

"Why are you practicing to become a physician?"

She glanced up at him in surprise before putting down the bowl. "My dream is to become a herbalist. I watched my uncle practice medicine when I was just a little girl and grew an interest in it."

When he didn't say anything else, she silently carried the tray and left the room. He watched her as she left and wondered whether she is a daughter from a noble family. From the way she walks, her rich knowledge in medicine and her eloquent way of speaking, she must belong to a prestigious family.

He glanced around the room and noticed a book sitting on the corner of the table. He recognized that book because he has the same book in his room back in the palace.

She reads profound literature. Who is she really?

When Taeyeon came back into the room, he sank back into his bed. She smiled when she noticed the sword has been let go, a great step that shows that he is finally letting down his guard in front of her.

"Is reading your hobby?" he asked, without looking at her. She raised an eyebrow at the random question and realized that she had left her book on the side table.

"Yes. I like to read in my free time," she replied. "My uncle has a lot of books, so he borrowed me some of them. He used to be a Royal physician in the palace," she continued. The mention of the palace caught his attention, causing him to finally turn to look at her.

"What is your name?"

She bit down on her lip nervously, pondering on how to respone to that.

It was a simple question, but she can never disclose her real name to anyone. The reason why she went by the name "Kim Mi Yeon" was to prevent her family from finding her.

"Kim Mi Yeon."

Her last name is Kim, her uncle must be Royal physician Kim Jang Geum.

He nodded slowly, sneaking a glance at the thin scar on her neck, still feeling guilty for hurting her.

She's Royal physician Kim's niece, no wonder she is good in medicine.

"What is your name?" she asked in return, hoping to get to know him since he's asking all these questions about her. It was only fair to ask him the same too.

But he didn't say a word, instead, he pulled the blanket over his face, hinting that he doesn't want to be disturbed.

She pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Who does he think he is? The Prince?