The princess was exhausted. She had been in Gaya for two days, each day being spent in Gaya’s great hall, as she was made to discuss their proposal for the confederacy. The princess centered her ideas on trade, trying to convince the court by talking about which goods were exclusively found in either kingdoms. Consistently, however, she had been met by criticisms from the ministers saying that more natural resources were found in Gaya compared to the manufactured goods coming from the kingdom of Silla. In this case, Gaya would be on the losing end economically, as they would be trading cheaper goods compared to Silla, who could determine the barter price for manufactured items due to their subjective value.

Unfortunately, the princess was unprepared for this, so she opted to insist that there were also natural resources that were native to Silla. However, this argument was only met with explanations that these resources can also be obtained through Gaya’s trade with the Tang and the empire in Japan.

To make matters worse, she did not have much time to discuss, as the court of Gaya adjourned their meetings by midday. Insung had explained to her that a crucial part of life in Gaya for noblemen was spending their afternoons and evenings in other activities other than work. 

The princess felt utterly helpless, and usually looked to Jongkook everytime she was met with hindrances during their meetings. The commander, however, could do nothing but to guard the princess and throw in encouraging smiles here and there. At night, he helped her draft and practice her speeches, but he was also losing patience, unable to figure out what they needed to do to convince the court of Gaya to strengthen diplomatic ties.

That night, Jongkook had been doing his usual patrol outside of the princess’s assigned room. He had been walking around the small courtyard in front of her room, a book in his hand as he tried to open his mind to new ideas on how to argue their case better in court. He was startled to see the door open, and even more startled to see the princess walk out. The candle to her room had already been put out several minutes ago, and he thought she had finally gone to sleep. He looked at her, the question clear in his eyes.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she simply said, wearing her shoes and walking outside towards Jongkook’s side.

“You still have an early day tomorrow, your highness. You must go and rest,” Jongkook chided.

“Please, Jongkook. It’s just the two of us. We can do away with the formalities,” she reprimanded him, before moving towards the bench where Jongkook left the rest of the books he wanted to read that night. She took one in her hand, and lazily flipped through the pages, “What’s all this?”

Jongkook took a seat beside her, taking the book from her grasp, before admitting, “I’ve been trying to read up. Perhaps there are other arguments we can use to get them to agree.” He set the books aside, before looking back at her.

Jihyo’s eyes softened, silently thanking the heavens that Jongkook had been her companion on this trip. She was truly at wits’ end, and she could not sleep that night out of worry. “I’m starting to think I shouldn’t have volunteered for this. Perhaps the Sangdaedeung would fare better in this situation,” she began to say, playing with the ends of her sleeves. Jongkook didn’t miss the way she fidgeted as she gazed at nothingness. On another day, he would tell her she was wrong - that she was brilliant, creative, and resourceful - just the perfect person for this job.

But he knew better than to placate her with empty words at this point. He stood beside her during all her meetings, and he understood the challenge ahead of them. He still trusted her ability to handle it, but he knew that they both had to figure out how to convince the court before succeeding in this mission.

He probably was too silent for long, because the princess looked at him. “You’re awfully quiet tonight. I’m not used to it,” she softly chuckled, but he knew it was anything but full of mirth. “What do you honestly think?”

Jongkook calculated his next words. He turned towards her, before beginning to explain, “We’ve definitely hit a slump, and it doesn’t have anything to do with your abilities. I think the truth is we have not figured out what are the interests Insung and his men are trying to protect. I don’t think we’ve established enough rapport as well with them, save for the fact that he seems to have an interest in you.”

“He doesn’t have an interest in me,” Jihyo immediately corrected him, and it amused Jongkook that, out of everything he said, this is what she chose to address. She continued, “But, as for everything else, I agree with you. I’m not sure how to remedy that though.”

Jongkook himself was unsure, but he knew he would do everything in his power to help - not because of her,