The Eastern palace is in chaos.

Everyone is panicking because of his Royal highness' absence. The news hasn't gotten out of the Eastern palace yet because Eunuch Nam gave strict orders to all the servants to keep their mouths shut until the Crown Prince comes back.

But now the sun has set and the Crown Prince still isn't back yet.

Eunuch Nam paced back and forth around the main entrance nervously, biting on his fingers to ease his nerves. He stopped when he noticed Soo, the Crown Prince's bodyguard, standing at the side of the door with a calm expression on his face.

"Soo, how are you so calm? What should we do? His highness isn't back yet!" Eunuch Nam asked him. "What if he got hurt?"

"Calm down. His highness can protect himself," Soo replied.

"But why isn't he back yet?" Eunuch Nam snapped his head to the door when he heard the faint galloping sounds of a horse. "Can you hear that? It must be his highness!"

Eunuch Nam quickly rushed to the door. His smile faded when he saw the Crown Prince's horse, but there was no sight of the Crown Prince himself.

"Oh no! This is bad. The Crown Prince must be in danger."

Without any hesitations, Soo went to the stables to get his horse. "I will go out and look for the Crown Prince," he said as he hopped onto his black horse with ease. "Keep a look out and cover for his highness until he gets back."

After Soo rode his horse out of the Eastern palace, Eunuch Nam could only sigh and pray that the Crown Prince will return soon. "Aigoo... I won't be able to live long if his highness continues to do this."

***

"What an ungrateful bastard?" Taeyeon mumbled to herself as she tidied up the room by herself. "The least he could do before leaving is to leave a thank you note."

The man she spent all her time and energy in saving yesterday has left before sunrise, leaving nothing but a few silver coins on the table. Although she was sleeping in the room beside his, she didn't hear him leave because she was very deep in her slumber.

"Who cares about him anyway? I should go and finish my unfinished business. And because of him, I need a new basket," she continued mumbling as she went and grabbed a new basket.

Although she wanted to tell herself that she shouldn't worry about him, she couldn't stop worrying about how he was doing with that serious injury on his side abdomen.

What if he fainted somewhere else? All alone?

As she walked through the market, she spotted Doo Na and a few other women, selling the baskets they weaved together yesterday. She decided to greet Doo Na and thank her for the treats she gave her last night.

"Good morning!"

"Oh! Mi Yeon-a!" Doo Na greeted her happily. "I thought you went up the mountain yesterday."

Well, if it wasn't for a certain prick, I would be resting at home right now.

"Yeah, but I realised what I picked wasn't enough," Taeyeon chuckled as she rubbed her nape nervously.

"Omo, how did you get hurt? Did you fall?" Doo Na asked, noticing the scar on the side of Taeyeon's neck. Taeyeon quickly raised her hand to cover up the scar when the other nosy women beside Doo Na also tried to take a look.

"I tripped and a branch scratched me. It's just a small scratch."

"Be careful. Why don't you just wait for your uncle to return so that you two can go up the mountains together?"

"Ah, it's fine. I was just unlucky," Taeyeon laughed awkwardly and continued, "Anyways, I have to go now. Bye!"

As she started to walk away, the other women started to gossip about her again. "See, that's why a young lady like her shouldn't go up the mountains alone. I heard from my husband that there are wolves up there."

Taeyeon rolled her eyes at that. She guessed she can't blame them for being that nosy. Nothing huge really happens in this village, so the aunties always take the chance to gossip about anything.

It took her a while, but she finally reached the mountain. She hummed happily as she started to collect the herbs she didn't manage to find yesterday.

She smelled the herbs she had collected so far and smiled to herself, satisfied with the fresh herbs she collected today. As she started to happily skip down the path with the basket on her back, she slowed down when she passed by the stream.

The stream she found the man from yesterday.

I wonder how he's doing. I am sure that his wounds aren't fully healed yet...

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't hear someone approaching her from behind. She screamed when two people suddenly emerged from the bushes and grabbed her arms from behind.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw two men dressed in black from head to toe, each armed with weapons.

"Who are you?" she tried to shrug them off, but to no avail.

"Agassi, please come with us," one of the men said from behind the mask. When she heard that title, she frowned, knowing that she has been found and that means everything she worked for is going down the drain if she doesn't do something to stop them from taking her away.

"No! Get away from me!"

She elbowed one of the guys in the chest and tried to get the other guy's hands off her. But they were too fast and too strong for her, they easily secured her to the ground. "Please don't make this difficult and just go back with us."

"I am not leaving with you guys! Let go of me!" she shouted at them, using all her energy to kick and punch out of their grasp. "If you bring me back, I will make sure that you two get punished for hurting me."

"Agassi, please stay still," one of the guys said as he started to tie her hands together behind her while the other guy circled his arms around her and lifted her halfway into the air so that she won't be able to run as easily.

Kidnapping her sure is easy. She might be feisty, but her petite figure lets her kidnappers carry her with ease without breaking a single sweat. At times like this, she just wish that she is taller.

She cried when she felt the ropes tightening around her wrists, knowing that it was over and that she is going to be forced to go with them back home.

When she was about to give up struggling, an outsider came out of nowhere and swiftly knocked down the two men with the handle of his sword. It all happeend in a blink of an eye that Taeyeon didn't realise that help has arrived until she felt the ropes around her wrists break.

She fell onto the ground once she was free and quickly crawled backwards, away from her saviour. She stopped when she saw who it really was.

"You!"

He flashed her what looked like a half-smile as he reached out his hand to help her up onto her feet. Once she was up, he then turned around and tied the guys up against a tree with the ropes he found in one of the guys' sack.

When he wasn't saying anything, she quickly followed after him. "Why are you here?"

He glanced at her as he pulled on the two ends of the ropes to tie a dead knot. "I was retracing my steps," he grunted, making sure that the knot is tight enough to hold the both of them off.

"Thank you for saving me."

"Consider this my debt paid. A life for a life."

Taeyeon grinned at him. She was just thankful towards him for coming to her rescue. He probably doesn't know how he helped her escape from the home she doesn't want to return to.

"Why did these two try to kidnap you?" he asked at last after he finally finished tying the guys up. Turning around to look at her, he then asked, "Is someone after you?"

Her smile faded as she glanced at the two men and back at him. "I... am not sure. I don't know them at all."

He could tell that she was hiding something by the way she avoided his eyes when she replied him, but he just nodded at her, understanding why she isn't willing to share, because he wouldn't be totally truthful to a stranger either.

Taeyeon smiled in relief when he didn't ask further and quickly picked up her basket before going after him as he started to walk towards the stream.

"Are you okay? How is your wound?" she asked as she walked beside him. He completely ignored her, as if he couldn't hear a single word that just came out of . "Hey, I am speaking to you!"

She pouted as she silently followed behind him.

Ever since last night, she had a feeling that if she is seen saving him, her life could be in danger.

They are total strangers. She doesn't owe him anything, she saved him and he saved her, they no longer have any reason to talk to each other. She could have just turned around and leave after thanking him for saving her, but for some reason, she followed him knowing what he was capable of doing.

Perhaps she is afraid that the men would come back to kidnap her so she wants to stick close to him for protection. Or another side of her is simply curious about him and wants to get to know him as person like what he does for a living and how he ended up injured.

Whatever the reason was, she felt safe just walking beside him.

They finally stopped near the stream where Taeyeon found him. "You found me here?" he gestured towards the pile of rocks.

"Yep."

He squatted down and started to rummage through the grass and small piles of dried leaves that are on the side of the stream. Taeyeon squatted down beside him with her arms crossed above her knees, wondering what he was looking for.

"Did you drop something? I can help you look for it."

She stared at him in silence, waiting for his reply. But when he ignored her once again, her lips settled into a straight line and she continued to stare at him, knowing that it would make him uncomfortable.

"A bracelet," he spoke at last stop her from staring into his head.

"What does it look like? What colour?" she grinned, happy that her tactic to break him worked.

"Gold beads," he replied shortly.

She nodded and stood back up, walking further away from the stream and towards a tree nearby. "Here is where I dragged you."

He frowned as he looked at her, clearly offended that she dragged his body across a filthy trail.

She chuckled nervously and continued, "So maybe the bracelet slipped off your wrist when I was dragging you up here."

They both started to look for the bracelet in silence.

Taeyeon ran her fingers through the grass a couple of times just in case the bracelet was hidden among them, but after searching through the grass for a while, she still couldn't find it.

"This is hard," she stood up to stretch her lower back, cracking a few bones. She looked at him and noticed that he hasn't given up on searching although he looks exhausted. "It must be very important to you."

She was again met with silence which is something she is starting to get used to.

"It belonged to my mother."

"Oh."

He's unexpectedly, human.

"Well, we can never give up then," she squatted back down and resumed her search.

He glanced at her direction before he slowly made his way to Taeyeon and quietly squatted down beside her. Taeyeon jumped when he appeared beside her because he was so quiet.

She was so focused that she didn't notice his gaze on her.

He watched her eyes trail over the muddy path, determined to help him find the bracelet. He smiled, feeling grateful towards her for helping him.

"I think... I think I found it!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down with the bracelet in her hand. "This is your mother's bracelet, right?"

She excitedly shoved the bracelet in front of his face, giddily looking at him. He grabbed the bracelet from her hand and wiped away the mud off its surface with his sleeve.

"Yes."

Maybe it was the excitement bubbling inside her, but she swore she heard his reply in a friendlier tone. Her grin grew wider when she saw a small smile across his lips.

He looks completely different when he smiles, and it somehow filled her with warmth.

"Thanks," he said as he wore the bracelet through his left wrist.

"Oh right, I think you need these more than me," she said as she rummaged through her pockets to reveal a few silver coins on her palm.

"No, take it as my payment," he declined.

"You are probably a long way from home," she insisted and grabbed his hand to place the silver coins in his hand. He looked at her before finally giving in and dropping the coins into his pocket. "By the way, how is your wound? You look slightly pale."

"I'm fine."

Taeyeon wasn't convinced, she could tell when someone isn't feeling alright. "Let me check."

"No," he said stubbornly.

She frowned and checked anyway. When she pulled on his robe, he placed his hand on top of hers to stop her. That touch brought a faint blush to her cheeks for some reason. Brushing that feeling away, she looked up at him and said, " Don't worry, I'm a professional."

When he pulled back his hand, she gently lifted up his robe to take a closer look at his wound. She grimaced when she saw blood bleeding through the bandage and flashed him a look of disapproval.

"It's bleeding through. Come, let's get back to the infirmary to change the bandage," she said as she started to walk away. When she noticed that he wasn't following her, she looked at him over her shoulder to see him standing at the same spot. "You found your bracelet, come on, you need to get treated."

The wound probably started to hurt because he was crouching down as he held onto his abdomen.

She sighed and walked back to him. "See? I told you to be careful."

"I know. Stop nagging," he grunted.

She smiled and gently looped her arm through his. "Let me help you."

He reluctantly grabbed her hand and let her lead the way back to the infirmary.