“Prince Jongin, son of Grand Prince Joonmyeon and Grand Princess Consort Hyunjoo, who made the headline two years ago for his decision to give his service for the country through enlisting in the military, despite the fact that royal members can be exempted from the mandatory service. Not long ago, he also made another shocking decision to prolong his enlistment to twenty three months in total.

Once again, the prince made it to the headline for his elopement at the age of twenty with an unknown woman. The royal family has not released any statement, and details of his wife is not yet known. Could this mean that the King would be expecting another great-grandchild soon?”

Grand Princess Consort Areum turned the television off, “They said never judge a book by its cover,” she sneered and stared at Grand Princess Consort Hyunjoo. “People were praising Jongin Gun for enlisting in the military, now we can finally see his true face. How could a prince knocked up some girl and married her without asking the King’s permission?”

Grand Prince Jongdae hissed at his wife, “Watch your language!”

Meanwhile, a car containing the focus of the scandal was swarmed by reporters as they neared the palace gate. Royal guards were deployed to guide the car inside. Unfortunately, due to the lack of scandal of the royal family for decades, reporter’s excitement would be hard to be contained.

Jongin put his body around Seyeon to avoid reporters’ camera from taking a picture of her. He finally let her go when the car passed the gate, and he was sure no one was following them. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Seyeon nodded, “I’m sorry that I brought you all this trouble.”
Jongin brushed strand of hair covering Seyeon’s face, “I don’t think of this as a trouble at all. I think of this as necessary step for you to be my wife. Whether we eloped or not, you will still be the center of attention when you’re marrying me anyway. So, wife, let’s face this together.”

Seyeon smiled and gave Jongin a quick smooch as the car arrived in the lobby of the King’s Residence.

After the couple paid their respects to every senior royal in the room, the crown prince and crown princess entered the gathering room. “Donggung, Bingung, what brings you here?” the Queen asked.

“Forgive us for being late Eoma Mama, Bingung was not feeling well, so we hesitated if we should come or not,” Crown Prince Minseok answered. “We have an emergency family meeting, do we not?”

“Yes, we do, but Bingung is heavily pregnant she should have plenty of rest and not to be stressed,” the Queen responded.

“Thank you for your concern Jungjeon Mama, we have consulted with the imperial doctor, and he said I was well enough to come to the main palace,” Crown Princess Chaerin added.

When all members of the family were seated on their respective seats, the King started “Jongin Gun, please explain to the rest of the family your situation, and introduce the lady sitting beside you.”

Jongin cleared his throat, stood up from his seat, and walked to the middle of the room, “I think it would be better if I start from the beginning. Eleven years ago, a new exchange student walked into my classroom. At the time, I was very glad that my seatmate had the flu, because the only available seat was the one beside me. The moment I saw her, I knew, there is no one else for me but her,” Jongin stared at Seyeon lovingly.

“Years of courtship and persuasions have proven to be fruitful, she agreed to date me. She was also the one who gave the idea for me to enlist in the military, to prove of my loyalty to Halba Mama and our country. Not only is she beautiful inside and out, but she is also smart, kind hearted and sedulous. As a prince, I am aware that I cannot marry into just any family, therefore her admirable family also what made her perfect for me, to say that she, is mine.”

Jongin pointed to Seyeon, “She, is my wife. She, is Choi Seyeon,” Jongin walked back to his seat.

“Jusang Jeonha and I have given blessing and permission despite the complicated situation. Far before the sudden wedding, Joonmyeon Daegun had also mentioned about Seyeon Gunbuin,” the Queen added.

“Is it true, that we will have a new addition to our family?” Grand Princess Consort Areum asked.

“If Bubuin Mama means my new wife or the baby in Sejabin Mama’s womb, the answer is yes,” Jongin answered.

“What about in hers?” Grand Princess Consort Areum pointed at Seyeon, Grand Prince Jongdae put her hand down forcefully and glared at his wife.

Not liking Grand Princess Consort Areum’s accusation, Jongin’s tone became harsher, “No, those are baseless rumors people said to bring down the royal family.”

“Seyeon Gunbuin,” Princess Jungah tried to break down the tension, “I think you should introduce yourself.”

Seyeon stood up but stayed in place, “My name is Choi Seyeon, I have the same age as Jongin Gun. I am currently a student studying international studies,” Seyeon finished, as no one seems to talk she added, “I have a new hobby I developed during Jongin Gun’s service, which is embroidery.”

Crown Princess Chaerin clapped, “I also started embroidering in my twenties. You should come to the Crown Princess' Residence and we can do a project together.”

Seyeon nodded, “It would be an honour for me.”

“Jongin Gun said you have an admirable family. Could you please tell us about them?” Crown Prince Minseok asked.

“He was exaggerating,” Seyeon covered her face shyly. “My father and brother work for the Navy and my mother is a painter.”

A scoff could be heard from a certain someone, Jongin added “I was not exaggerating, her father is the vice admiral, her mother has her own gallery, and her brother is a junior lieutenant.”

“As Jongin Gun said, the perfect wife for a prince,” Grand Prince Jongdae smiled, “However, I think their action still have consequences.”

“Jongdae Daegun is correct. I have decided, for contravening the Royal Marriage Act, Jongin Gun and Seyeon Gunbuin will have to engage in 600 hours of community service” the King announced.

The rest of the family members responded, “Your grace is immeasurable.”

“Due to the fact that all misunderstanding has been solved and Seyeon Gunbuin has been introduced to the rest of the family, I announce this meeting to be adjourned.”

The King turned to Grand Prince Joonmyeon and his family, “Joonmyeon Daegun, Hyunjoo Bubuin, Jongin Gun, and Seyeon Gunbuin, please prepare yourself for the press conference. It will be held in one hour.”

❧ ❧ ❧ ❧ ❧

Camera flashed without any rest, fingers rapidly typing the current situation, mutters of possible questions, all stop the moment the press secretary announced that the King was arriving.

The King entered the room, followed by Grand Prince Joonmyeon, Grand Princess Consort Hyunjoo, Prince Jongin and his new wife Princess Seyeon. Despite the nature of their job to take pictures of every second Princess Seyeon was seen to the public, everyone in the room stood up and paid their respect to the monarch. <