Taeyeon leaned back to take a better look at him.

“Hyun?”

He stared at her, eyes widened in shock.

He wasn’t expecting to see her again, let alone in the palace. How many times do they have to bump into each other?

“I am so glad that it was you,” she sighed in relief. She seemed glad to see him, which Baekhyun found was a refreshing reaction in the palace. No one in the palace is ever glad to see him, well aside for Soo and probably Eunuch Nam.

Baekhyun eyed her up and down before asking, “You are a palace maid?”

Taeyeon panicked, quickly pushing him away and standing out from the dim moonlight. She took half a step back away from him and replied, “No?”

She fidgeted uncomfortably at the spot, trying to think of an explanation while Baekhyun silently stared at her. Finally getting a good look at her, the sight almost took his breath away.

He had thought that she looked fairly pretty when they were spending their time together back in the clinic, but now that she is standing under full light, he found her ethereally beautiful.

He cleared his throat and averted his eyes to the ground, realizing that he was staring.

It was probably the effect of the moonlight, he thought to himself.

“So you aren’t a palace maid. What are you doing here then?”

“Are you a palace guard?”

“No,” he was offended. Glancing down at his outfit, he understood her confusion, because it had the same colour as a palace guard’s outfit. But he still felt offended by that because there was a huge difference in the material he is wearing compared to the palace guards’.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“What?” he was confused, he thought he was the one questioning her. “You should be answering my questions. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I need to know who you are first before telling you that,” she said. “My life is at stake here.”

Baekhyun was about to argue when he heard footsteps marching towards their direction. He quickly glanced over his shoulder before reaching out to grab her hand and pull her along with him.

“Let’s hide first,” he whispered.

“Why? Are you not supposed to be here?” she asked but received no reply. He brought her to a shed at the back of the field. After making sure that no one saw them, he gently closed the door. “I can’t see anything,” he heard her whisper in the dark.

He shushed her when he heard people walking past the field, they appeared to be looking for someone while trying to keep their search discreet at the same time.

“She couldn’t be here, the Crown Prince is always here training at night,” he heard one of the guards say.

“His Royal highness has probably gone for a walk. So let’s do a quick search before he returns.”

Taeyeon tapped Baekhyun on the shoulder to get his attention. He glanced back at her and placed a finger in front of his lips to tell her to keep quiet. Taeyeon nodded and held her breath, trying to calm herself down.

Taeyeon’s heart was racing, she knew that if they found her, it was over for her. She knew the moment she escaped the room, it would be the only chance she would be able to escape the arranged marriage. And now the guards are so close that she wouldn’t know what to do if they decided to check the shed.

“She’s not here. Let’s do a quick sweep there and leave,” she heard one of the guards say as they pointed at the shed they were hiding in. She started to panic and glance around the room, but the doors were the only exit. And the shed was filled with weapons, there were no cupboards for her to conceal herself.

Sensing her panic, Baekhyun gave her shoulder a small squeeze, causing her to look up at him. “Just keep quiet and let me deal with this.”

She nodded at him obediently. She somehow trusted him more than anyone although she still wasn’t sure what he was doing in the palace. He could be a thief trying to steal from the palace or an assassin sent to assassinate the King or the Crown Prince.

But for now, she will entrust her life in his hands.

As the guards approached the shed, she hugged Baekhyun’s arm tightly and squeezed her eyes shut, praying for them. Baekhyun locked the door as they tried to push it.

“It’s locked,” one of the guards said.

“Who dares to disturb the Crown Prince at this hour?” Baekhyun asked as he raised his voice. Taeyeon opened her eyes and blinked at him, she was surprised by his stern tone. His voice contained so much authority when he spoke that it scared her slightly.

The guards outside the shed started to panic and quickly kept their heads low as they bowed. “We apologize for the disturbance, your highness, we were searching for a thief.”

Taeyeon smiled sheepishly at Baekhyun when he looked down at her and shook her head at him, assuring him that she isn’t the thief.

“There is no thief here. Leave.”

“We will leave immediately, your Royal highness,” said the guards. After the guards left, Taeyeon let out a sigh of relief, she really thought that she was going to be captured. Baekhyun frowned as he glanced down at her hands that were still latched around his arm.

When she didn’t let go, he placed his finger at the centre of her forehead and pushed her away from him. She realized what she was doing and quickly let go of his arm, her cheeks heating up from the embarrassment.

“Wow, can’t believe they believed that you were the Crown Prince,” she said. “How did you know the Crown Prince speaks like that?”

He shrugged as he unlocked the door and stepped outside. Taeyeon followed him out and hid behind him just in case the guards were still lurking around.

“Coast is clear, you should leave,” he said, turning around to face her.

“You aren’t even curious about what I am doing here?” she asked him.

“No.”

She smiled up at him and said, “I still can’t believe I bumped into you when I am escaping for my life.”

He raised an eyebrow as he glanced down at her. “Who in the palace is after you?”

“I thought you weren’t curious.”

“I am not,” he grumbled slowly. “Just wondering how you ended up here when you said that you were escaping from your family.”

“Well I failed. They found me and brought me here.”

“Why here and not back home?”

“Oh this is so embarrassing,” she mumbled to herself. “I am getting… married.”

Baekhyun widened his eyes and stared at her with a surprised look on his face, an expression Taeyeon had never seen appear before on his stoic face. 

She chuckled nervously and asked, “What? Why are you so surprised?”

“The Crown Prince or Prince Jung?”

“Of course it's Prince Jung,” she laughed. “I was brought into the palace to marry his excellency in a few days for my family’s political gain,” she explained. She watched as Baekhyun nodded slowly, staring at the ground, unmoving and unblinking. Taeyeon wasn’t expecting any reaction from him when she said that, so it got her curious about what was currently going on in his head.

“And you agreed to it?” he asked after a silent moment.

“No, hence the escape,” she gestured to her maid disguise. “I have to get away from the palace as far as possible, I don’t want to marry someone I don’t love.”

“But getting into marriages for political gain happens often.”

Taeyeon frowned at that and said, “Well, I want to choose my own path, decide things for my own. It’s my life.”

“You are born into a noble family, isn’t it your duty to marry for connections?”

Baekhyun had always lived his life exactly the way his father wanted him to. He accepted the marriage to the chosen Crown Princess because he knew that it was his duty to marry and produce an heir. That’s what he had always been told.

“Not my duty,” she spoke. “My duty is to my heart. And I will follow that.”

Taeyeon grew nervous when Baekhyun just silently stared at her, as if she said something revolutionary. She squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze and cleared to snap him out of it.

“I know a place you can escape from,” he finally spoke.

Taeyeon wasn’t expecting Baekhyun to offer her his help, so she stared at him with slightly agape. Baekhyun simply shrugged his shoulders and started walking, Taeyeon followed closely behind him as they made their way through the darkness.

“You seem to know your way around the palace. I literally got lost a couple of times finding my way out,” she said. “Are you like a guard for the Crown Prince or something?”

He ignored her question, not wanting to waste any time denying that. He decided that she didn’t have to know that he is actually the Crown Prince, that piece of information wasn’t necessary to help her escape. They reached a more lit up area and that’s when someone recognized him from his back.

“Your highness!”

Baekhyun stopped in his tracks suddenly, causing Taeyeon to bump into his back. He spun around to see Eunuch Nam running towards him.

“Stay here,” he took her hand and pulled her behind a corner. “Don’t come out until I say so.”

Eunuch Nam was confused and surprised at the same time to see the Crown Prince running towards him, an unusual gesture from the Crown Prince. He was caught off guard when the Crown Prince clamped his hand over his mouth before he could say another word.

“Come with me,” he murmured, dragging Eunuch Nam with him to make sure that Taeyeon can’t hear what they are saying.

“Your highness,” Eunuch Nam said when the hand was finally off his mouth. “Who was that servant with you?”

“No one. Listen, I am in the middle of something right now, so whatever it is you want to say to me, wait till I get back to my chambers.”

“Your highness, the King requested for your presence. It’s important,” Eunuch Nam relayed his message. “Prince Jung is already there and I have been looking for you.”

“Did Eunuch Hong explain what it is about?”

“No. But he mentioned that it was urgent.”

Baekhyun placed his hand on his forehead for a moment before saying, “I will be there. Go to Eunuch Hong and tell him that I will be there as soon as I settle something first.”

“Your highness, may I know what you are doing right now? Perhaps I can help–”

“No,” he snapped as he started to jog away. “Just relay my message.”

He heaved a heavy sigh, not looking forward to seeing his father later. What was so important for his majesty to request for both him and Prince Jung this late at night?

He’s used to escaping from the palace in the middle of the night and avoiding all the guards, so it should be easy for him to help Taeyeon escape quickly and make it to the King’s chambers on time.

“I have chased him away, let’s–” he paused when he turned into the corner and found her missing. He glanced around the area and whispered her name, but there was no sight of her. He then walked further away to look for her but she was already gone.

He failed her.

***

Taeyeon struggled and kicked with all her might until they finally reached her room. Throwing her to the ground, two of them untied her and took the cloth out from . She glared up at them as she took a moment to breathe.

The guards immediately left the room afterwards and her brother, Kim Minjun walked in, scowling down at her. “I warned you to not try anything. Didn’t I?”

“And you are a fool to think that I would listen to you.”

“You thought I was kidding?” Kim Minjun sneered and ordered the guards outside to come in. Taeyeon watched as the guards dragged two of the maids in, their faces were bruised from the hours of beating they received.

Her resentment grew inside her like a tumor as she glared at her brother.

“This is the consequence you will be facing if you try to escape again.”

“You are despicable,” she seethed.

Her brother simply smirked down at her and turned around to leave, bringing the two maids with him and leaving her alone in the room. Once the doors closed behind him, she stayed grounded on the floor and slowly pulled her legs close to her chest, hugging them close.

There are no other ways to escape this marriage. She just couldn’t do it, not this time.

Is she going to stay in this palace forever? And become the wife of someone she doesn’t know or love?

After crying by herself for a while, she suddenly remembered how she was found and forcefully brought back to this room. She started to wonder how Baekhyun was doing after he left her there, did he come back for her and panic when he couldn’t find her?

She still hasn’t figured out who he really is, but she wished she could see him again in the palace, if she ever gets to leave the room before the wedding.

***

“Your majesty, the Crown Prince has arrived,” Eunuch Hong reported. The servants opened the door for the Crown Prince and let him into the King’s chambers. The Crown Prince crossed the room in a couple of strides without glancing at Prince Jung. Greeting his father, he took his place in front of his majesty.

The King casted the Crown Prince a disapproving look for his tardiness, but decided to dismiss it and get straight to the point of summoning him.

“Prince Jung will be getting married in a few days, which means,” the King said as he turned to look at Baekhyun. “The selection process for the Crown Princess will be pushed forward. So after the Crown Prince’s marriage, Prince Jung can get married two days afterwards. So that the dates won’t clash.”

“But your majesty, I have decided on the date a few days prior,” Prince Jung protested. “The Crown Princess hasn’t been decided yet. Isn’t it faster if my marriage is settled first as I have already found a partner?”

“The Crown Prince’s marriage should be prioritised. And I only know about the news of your marriage today, if you had told me about it sooner, we wouldn’t be pushing the dates forward,” said the King. “Hyun, I heard from Court Lady Jo that you don’t have any objections so far, so I am guessing that you agreed with this plan.”

“But father–”

“Silence!” the King snapped at Prince Jung. “As I have said earlier, your brother is the Crown Prince, his marriage should come first.”

Prince Jung clenched his jaw and glared at his brother who had been sitting there silently all this while. The Crown Prince glanced between Prince Jung and the King and decided to finally interrupt the discussion by clearing his throat.

“Your majesty, I have no objections,” he replied. He could see his brother glaring at him from the corner of his eyes, but he ignored him and continued. “But I have one simple request.”

“Yes, what is your request?” the King asked, glad that the Crown Prince had no objections unlike his other son.

Baekhyun glanced over Prince Jung and back at the King before replying, “May I add another candidate to the list of potential candidates for the Crown Princess position?”

The King raised an eyebrow at his son’s request. His son had never shown any interest in women. He didn’t even intervene with any of the affairs of the Crown Princess selection process, so the King was surprised by that odd request.

“Alright. You can just give Court Lady Jo her name and she will arrange everything,” the King said.

“Her name is… Kim Taeyeon,” he said as Prince Jung started to react. “She is arranged to wed Prince Jung in a few days, but I have decided that it would be better if she joins the Crown Princess selection process instead.”

Prince Jung stood up and charged towards his brother as anger overtook him. Baekhyun had quick reflexes and easily dodged his brother’s attacks.

“Your majesty, you cannot allow this!” he turned to the King.

“Jung, quiet down and let me think,” the King said sternly.

“What? The Crown Prince already has so many noble ladies on his list, he is clearly doing this to provoke me!”

“Your majesty, please consider my request,” Baekhyun didn’t care if his brother wanted to kill him. He felt like this is the least he could do after failing to help Taeyeon escape. 

She trusted him and he let her down, this is his only chance to make it up to her. Getting her to join the selection process of the Crown Princess could help her get out of the arranged marriage with Prince Jung, as for what to do next after the King granted his request, he believes that Taeyeon can come up with a plan herself.

“If this is what you really want, Crown Prince, then I shall grant your request,” the King finally said, ignoring Prince Jung’s protests.

“Thank you, father,” the Crown Prince bowed down before the King.