After Jihyo and Jongkook were done buying some produce for the kids to take home and supplements for their ailing mother, the day ended with a puppet show in the town square. Jongkook was excited to bring the children as he personally enjoyed the performance, and Jihyo was curious to find out what the fuss was all about. The place was b with people, and kids were seated in front. 

Jongkook instructed Hyeonsik to find a spot up front, promising that he would carry Hyeonae so that both of them could see the show. The little boy ran ahead, and found an empty space right smack in the middle which gave him a great view. The commander carried Hyeonae on his shoulders, and with his other hand, he sought out Jihyo’s, and led all of them towards the middle. 

Soon enough, the curtains of the mobile theater opened, and the puppets came out. The story was a classic Korean fairy tale of a mole, who wanted to find the perfect husband for his daughter. He talked to the great entities - the Sun, the Moon, the Cloud, and the Great Stone Statue - only to be told that the perfect husband lay underneath the earth. Eventually, he married off his daughter to another mole, and they were a perfect match, as they suited each other.

The kids didn’t understand the lesson of the story; they were innocently amused by all the characters, and the way the puppeteers changed their voices to suit their puppets. Hyeonae giggled merrily as she sat on Jongkook’s shoulders, and, despite his distance, Hyeonsik could be heard guffawing at the presentation. But, as adults who understood the underlying moral of the story, Jongkook and Jihyo found themselves glancing at one another in the end, a knowing yet helpless look on their faces. Jongkook didn’t wish to dwell on it though, so instead, he brushed his thumb against Jihyo’s hand, as his way of giving her comfort and asking her to forget everything they had to face when they got back.

The night was ending, and the people were all going home. The village had been lively in the morning, but, as the moon shone brighter, the stalls started closing down. The merchants and performers were leaving with their carts, and the villagers were moving back to their houses. Jihyo and Jongkook also made their way out of the town, letting Hyeonsik lead them to wherever they lived.

It was quite a walk away, and they walked for about half an hour. Their group of four had to walk through the fields to reach a small hut, just a stone’s throw away from the forest. There was a man outside, sitting in front of a small fire, pacing around. He was quite a short man, just a bit higher than Jongkook’s shoulder. He had a round face, but his body was quite built and tanned, likely from hours of working under the heat of the sun. His eyes matched Hyeonsik’s almond eyes, and he rubbed his callous hands together as he waited.

“Abeoji!” Hyeonsik shouted as he ran towards the man. Hyeonae moved her legs, signaling Jongkook to put her back on the ground, and she followed her brother. The man opened his arms, drawing both kids into a tight embrace, lightly kissing the top of their heads.

“Aigoo, where did my little ducklings go? Your mother and I were so worried,” their father gushed, before remembering that they were not alone. He quickly stood up and bowed towards Jihyo and Jongkook, “Oh, good evening. My name is Ko Himchan.”

“This is my father, Agassi, Samchon!” Hyeonsik enthusiastically revealed. He turned back to his father, “Abeoji, Agassi and Samchon took us around the village today. We went to the bathhouse, Samchon bought us these clothes, they bought us new toys, we ate a lot, and we watched the puppets. It was the best day, Abeoji!”

The father smiled at his child, but he was definitely sheepish, upon seeing the kite Hyeonsik was retrieving from the ground and the doll on Hyeonae’s hand. He looked back at the couple and bowed low, “Agassi, Doryeongnim, my sincerest apologies. These items must have cost a fortune...”

Jihyo smiled at the man, and immediately answered, “Please, Abeonim. Don’t worry about it. It was my first time visiting the festival, and Hyeonsik and Hyeonae really helped us enjoy it. It would probably have been boring with just the two of us.” It was a lie; they would have fun either way, but there was a different edge to having the kids around.

“I am still ashamed. You must be betrothed, and wanted to enjoy your time together, but my kids had to be under your care. Please, come into our hut. It is small, and we have only a small meal. But it’s the least I can do out of gratitude for taking care of our children,” he led them into the hut.

Indeed, it was small, and Himchan had to move aside some items on top of a trunk, before putting a piece of cloth over it so Jihyo and Jongkook could sit down. The room was probably less than half of Jihyo’s quarters in the capital, but it had a makeshift kitchen on the corner opposite them. Himchan put a table in front of Jongkook and Jihyo, before putting a wooden bench on the other side for himself and the kids. Further into the house, Jihyo saw a curtain separating the back area; she presumed it was the sleeping area, and the coughing sounds that came from there confirmed her thoughts.

“That is my wife. I apologize she cannot greet you and join us for our meal,” Himchan apologized, when he saw Jihyo and Jongkook glance at his wife’s direction.

Jongkook answered, “It is alright, Abeonim. The children told us their mother was sick.” 

Himchan silently nodded, before glancing at his children thankfully. “She's been bedridden since the start of spring. She caught a cough last winter, but she never recovered from it. We thought it was just the weather, but it’s summer now, and she’s still too weak. She used to love going to the festival, even before Hyeonsik was born, and it was always tradition for all of them to go. This was the first year she couldn’t take the children, but I couldn’t do anything about it because of the harvest,” Himchan explained, his eyes downcast as he recollected the unfortunate events.

Jihyo’s heart reached out for the family; Himchan was obviously struggling with their situation, but the kids just innocently continued eating. It was a small meal of vegetable stew along with rice and corn coming from the fields, but they still ate with gusto. “Abeonim, would you mind if I examine your wife?” Jihyo asked.

“You are a nurse, Agassi?” Himchan asked, his eyes quite wide, b with hope.

Jihyo sadly shook her head, before explaining, “I’m not, Abeonim. But I did receive training in medicine. I cannot treat your wife, but I may know how we can remedy her from her cough.”

Himchan agreed; a woman trained in medicine was better than nothing, and he was truly becoming more and more worried about his wife. He led Jihyo into their sleeping area, and the princess saw the children’s mother. The first thing Jihyo noticed was that beneath her heavy eyelids were her big, round eyes, which matched Hyeonae’s. She was lying on the bed, a blanket covering her from the chest down, and her face was very pale. Her hair was fanned out on the pillow, and she was drenched in cold sweat, which she had been wiping away with the cloth she had on her hand. She tried to smile at Jihyo, slightly scrunching up her small nose. Jihyo knew where Hyeonae’s beauty came from, but the sickness was quickly wearing off this mother’s appearance.

The princess approached the woman, checking her temperature by pressing her hand on the woman’s forehead. Then she moved to check the woman’s pulse; it was faint, and she seemed to have difficulty with each breath she took. Jihyo watched the way her chest heaved as she breathed in, often heaving into a cough. She asked the woman a few more questions, which the latter tried to answer with her husky voice. Upon examining her, the diagnosis was quite clear for Jihyo.

She went out the curtain to approach Jongkook, asking the commander to watch over the children for the meantime; it was a request that he immediately accepted. Jihyo then invited Himchan to step out, before she told him, “Abeonim, I believe it is consumption.” 

When he looked at her blankly, she proceeded to explain, “It’s a sickness in the lungs, that people often get in bad weather conditions. She will need to find relief for from all the coughing, so making sure that she is always kept warm, and has food that’s easy to swallow would help.” She then passed on a bottle to him, and instructed, “I wasn’t sure what eomonim’s sickness was when we were in the village, but this is a ginseng supplement. It should help to strengthen her, Abeonim.”

Himchan looked helpless, and his eyes were still downcast even as he held onto the bottle Jihyo gave him. He pulled himself out of his daze though, and bowed once again to Jihyo, “I am indebted to you Agassi. Thank you for examining my wife, and for taking care of my children. I hope I will be able to repay you for your kindness one day.”

Jihyo smiled warmly at the man, softly closing her eyes as if to insist that he had nothing to thank her for. They moved back within the house, to find Jongkook laughing with Hyeonsik and Hyeonae as they recalled the events of the day. Jihyo and Himchan took their seats, and continued on with the rest of their meal.

The smell of incense was pungent and palpable in the air, and the smoke lilted through the air as the sound of a gong rang in everyone’s ears. On the day after the festival, Jihyo decided to visit the temple a bit before midday. She was in the main hall of Buddha, her legs folded on the floor as her hands were clasped together with two sticks of incense in between. She closed her eyes in earnest prayer, thinking of the kingdom, her brother, her sister, Jongkook, and, eventually, the family of Hyeonae and Hyeonsik.

After Jihyo and Jongkook left the small hut that night, she clutched onto Jongkook’s arms, finally letting some tears fall. Jongkook looked at her worriedly, wondering what was suddenly wrong, but she simply explained that she had been holding back her feelings the entire night. “She has consumption, Jongkook,” she said, and his eyes softened upon realizing what that meant. “The physicians don’t have a cure for consumption yet. She could be dying.”

Jongkook felt helpless, cho