Yong-sun grip tightly on Hye-jin’s skirt and followed her through the evening crowd in the street. Seeing the town after a long time scared her a little. She felt sneaky eyes staring at her and quickly stuck to Hye-jin. 

Hye-jin whispered, “You need to relax. You will make us suspicious.”

The two sisters have arrived in the town and were headed towards their friends’ place. Yong-sun was both nervous and excited to be finally there. If they had the chance, she wanted to get a glimpse of her village too. 

When the sisters reached their friend’s neighborhood, Yong-sun was taken aback by the condition they were living in. Hye-jin pulled her to a particular house and knock on the door. Yong-sun fixed her dress waiting for the door to open.

Whee-in opened the door and when the three of them met their eyes, she burst into tears. The two sisters were confused by the sudden outburst. Whee-in then told them that she had a bad day and Moonbyul hasn’t returned yet too.

“Maybe she is still at work.”, Yong-sun replied. However, it was past the time Moonbyul usually return home and Kwon always let her go before sunset. 

“Have you checked her workplace?”, Hye-jin asked and Whee-in shook her head. Hye-jin suggested that they go to Kwon’s and check there first. 

“Whee-in and I will go there. Hye-jin, wait here in case Moonbyul returns.” Yong-sun added.

Hye-jin eyed Yong-sun and answered, “Shouldn’t that be the other way around?”

Yong-sun ignored her and headed for the door. Whee-in tapped on Hye-jin’s shoulder and requested her to wait for Moonbyul before catching up to Yong-sun.

On the way to the Capital, Yong-sun asked Whee-in if this has ever happened. Moonbyul was always punctual and she made sure Whee-in knows of her whereabouts so that she did not have to worry. 

When they reached the workplace, Whee-in called for Kwon to open the door which didn’t take long to respond. 

“What? She left early today?”, Whee-in uttered to Kwon. 

“She only told me that she had some work. She didn’t say where she was going.” Kwon regretted that he didn’t ask about it to respect Moonbyul’s privacy. However, he did not want to make Whee-in worry so he further assured her that it must be something important and to wait for her at home. 

“Is this your friend?”, Kwon looked at Yong-sun and smiled. Yong-sun greeted him and introduced herself. 

“Alright. Please stay with my dear Whee-in while I look for Moonbyul. She must be somewhere in the town.” Kwon then sent the two women back and set out to search for Moonbyul.

Meanwhile, Hye-jin was out in the street looking around at every lane and corner. She could not sit still and wait for either of them to return. She did leave a note in the house in case they come back. 

Hye-jin walked into the rich noblemen’s neighborhood. She did not expect Moonbyul to be there yet she did not want to miss a spot. She jumped and peaked over the walls to get a glimpse of every house. She stopped in front of one of the many houses, “How will I find her like this?”

And as if a wish is granted, the gate of that house opened and a maid came out to greet her. “Miss, our master wishes to speak with you.”

Hye-jin stared at her suspiciously and asked why. 

At that very moment, Hoseok walked out and greeted Hye-jin. “Welcome to our place. I am Jung Hoseok.”

“What did you do to Moonbyul?”, Hye-jin yelled and ready herself to flee if he moved closer.

Hoseok widened his eyes at the unexpected question. “I didn’t do anything to anyone.”

“Then, why do you want to talk to me?”, Hye-jin fired another question.

“Well, that I can answer”, Hoseok smiled. “It’s because you are one of us.”

Hye-jin squinted her eyes in confusion. 

“Aren’t you one of the great white witches?” Hoseok whispered and grinned.

.
.
.

Hye-jin sat down in one of the rooms of the huge house. Hoseok poured the tea and place it on her side of the table. 

“May I know your name?”, Hoseok asked.

“Hye-jin.” Still staring at Hoseok in confusion, she added, “Kim. Kim Hye-jin.”

At that very moment, Hye-jin turned around when the door opened and saw the tall buffed man clothed with the finest silk walking in. Her eyes followed Namjoon till he sat down. 

Namjoon did not beat around the bush and told her who they were and how they were linked together. They were the survivors of that fateful night. When their identity could be the end of their existence, they had been living in the shadow. 

It was too much for Hye-jin to swallow in one go but she was excited to know that there were more like them.

“I am here with my sister. She will be happy to hear about this.” Hye-jin beamed. 

Namjoon granted her permission to come there anytime they want. “So, where are you staying right now?”

“At my friend’s”, Hye-jin replied.

“Well then, you can bring your friends too.”

Hye-jin thanked them and happily hurried off with the good news to share with Yong-sun. 

“Are we not telling them of the plan?”, Hoseok asked.

Namjoon sipped his tea and replied, “We cannot act hastily. Do you think they will co-operate if we tell them everything? Just see the naïve girl. Instead, get ready to send them to the palace.”

>>>

Kwon raised the lantern to check at the silhouette approaching him and it was only a man going back home. He has looked at every place that Moonbyul could have visited and it was almost curfew time. 

“Sir?”, the night patrol team called. “It’s curfew now. Please return back to your home.”

“Yes, yes.” Kwon bowed and walked back to his place. He could not stop thinking of Moonbyul’s whereabouts. He halted when the thought of something could have happened to her crossed his mind. He quickly turned around to look for her even if he could get caught. 

Kwon got off the main street and started searching for Moonbyul in the alleys and narrow lanes in the Capital. With no signs of Moonbyul in the Capital, Kwon decided to go to the town. 

He bribed the Capital gate’s guards and hurried into the town. 

And it didn’t take long for Kwon to find Moonbyul. Right before his eyes, three men in masks drop a body in a narrow alley and swiftly disappeared into the darkness. Kwon carefully moved towards it and when he saw who it was, his heart shattered and slowly move in to check the pulse. He held the cold body tight and restrained himself from making any noise.

>>>

[The next day]

“Moonbyul! Are you hurt? Where were you last night?”, Whee-in worriedly check Moonbyul’s face and body while she stood there looking dead and staring at the two sisters behind Whee-in. 

Whee-in cupped her face and asked once more, “Are you okay?”

Moonbyul stretched her lips to form a smile and replied, “Yes. I went to help a friend of mine and there was too much work that we couldn’t finish early. So, I stayed at Kwon’s last night. Here, he gave us some kimchi.” Moonbyul handed the small wooden tiffin to Whee-in.

Moonbyul greeted the sisters and went in to lie down.

Everyone assumed she was tired and went about with their day. However, deep inside, Moonbyul was fighting with herself. She wanted to tell the sisters to hide away in their forest yet she couldn’t say a word because of the red thread that was binding her to the Queen.

On the other hand, Hye-jin told Yong-sun about Namjoon and the surviving members of the clan. Since their existence was a secret to the world, Yong-sun decided to not inform Whee-in and Moonbyul. The less they know, the more it was safe for them. 

Yong-sun proposed visiting their old village, Manyeo-maeul, and as planned, Whee-in refused to tag along to the spooky place without Moonbyul. So, Yong-sun and Hye-jin left only to visit their people in the Kim household.

----

Whee-in was in the marketplace to buy groceries after the sisters left. With the vegetable basket on her arm, Whee-in strolled in the street as she brooded on what job she should take on while the flower shop was closed. Before she could realize it, she was already standing in front of the shop.

“Excuse me, miss.”

Whee-in swiftly turned to her right and glared at the rude man who pushed her down the other day, now calling her miss. “Have you been stalking me?” Whee-in scanned the man.

“I just want to apologize about the other day. I was clearly not in my right mind. Were you hurt?”

“Hurt? Who…are you?” 

“Pardon me. My name is Taehyung. K- Kh…” Taehyung pursed his lips tight and cursed his over-confident self for babbling out his real name. “You can call me Tae.”

Whee-in stared at Taehyung, looking up and down. ‘Dress of fine silk, jade beads, confident. Noble. Tall, broad shoulders, and a sharp jawline. Hmm. Beautiful eyes. Overall- above average.’ Whee-in nods to herself.

Whee-in exhaled, then walked away playing hard to get. 

Taehyung quickly followed her, stopping her to ask her name. Whee-in hesitated for a second before telling her real name. Upon hearing her name, there was a slight smile on Taehyung’s face. 

Taehyung walked alongside Whee-in through the market. Though Whee-in was walking with a straight face, she was barely able to control her feeling and excitement. The people were looking at them, mostly at the handsome man next to her but it was the whispers of the jealous young ladies that made her want to pretend Taehyung was hers. 

Whee-in stopped at the herbal shop and asked for lemongrass and ginger. She picked up the herbs on display, taking a sniff and examining them. Taehyung interestingly gazed at Whee-in, not knowing it was overwhelming to her. 

“If you have something to say, speak or you are going to kill me,” Whee-in spoke without looking back at Taehyung. 

Taehyung cleared his throat as he thinks of a way to bring up the topic. “Well…,” he took a deep breath and continued, “My mother is sick. There is…a… I was looking for herbs that day. I was a bit frustrated and I took it out on you. My mother will not tell me anything and I want to help her.”

“What do you need?” Whee-in asked. “This shop has all the varieties.”

Taehyung was delighted to hear it and quickly took out a piece of paper which has a list of herbs. Whee-in looked at it and her expression quickly changed. The owner of the shop came out with Whee-in’s things and handed them to her. She nervously stuffed it in her bag and grabbed Taehyung’s wrist. 

The sudden change in behavior startled Taehyung and while his mind wondered what was happening, he was being dragged by the woman who has now clearly intrigued him and he willingly let her take the lead. 

By the border of the pond, they finally stopped. There was no one around, yet Whee-in whispered. “How long has your mother been suffering?”

Taehyung did a quick check for people and asked, “Why are you whispering?”

Whee-in sighed and demand the answer to her question. 

Taehyung snatched his list from Whee-in’s hand and safely put it away. “You don’t have to scare me like this. It’s not that bad. Once I get all the ingredients, she will be better again.”

How could Taehyung expose that his mother has drastically changed since she got sick and had him worried about her that he had to threaten the Queen’s physician to tell him about his mother’s sickness? And then he consulted a mere local physician who said it was common among the poor people and that he has cured it multiple times. Taehyung could not bring his mother outside the palace walls to examine her. So, he planned on making the royal physician test it first but some of the ingredients were not in the royal medical house. 

Whee-in eagerly offered to help him find all the ingredients. She kept doing the unexpected and leave the man in confusion. But in return, he must tell her what was the sickness. 

Taehyung suspiciously stepped back at that moment and declined her offer. 

Whee-in did not want to shoo Taehyung away and quickly replied to her defense. “I have seen that composition before. So, I thought I could help. I am sorry I dragged you all the way just to say this.”

“It’s a…skin irritation. It started sometime back. Is it the same as you have seen?” Taehyung enquired. 

“It might be,” Whee-in replied. “Let’s get the things in that list first and see if it works. If not, I think I might know what could be the problem.”

Somehow, Taehyung was convinced that Whee-in sincerely cared. They bought everything and decided to meet at the same pond after a span of a week, at the same time. 

“Before you leave, can you tell me where you live?” Whee-in shyly asked.

Taehyung smiled and replied, “I will take you there when you show me yours.”

Instantly, Whee-in takes back her words. There was no way, even if the sky falls, would she take a nobleman to her shabby place. How could she even dare to think that a man like him would be interested in her? 

Disheartened by her own wishful thinking, Whee-in came back to her so-called house. She made tea for Moonbyul and sat by the doorstep, waiting for the sisters to return from their trip.