Jihyo didn’t know what to think. Jongkook was standing in front of her, and he looked both familiar and unfamiliar to her. His hair was quite longer than before, and he saw traces of a stubble on his usually clean-shaven face. But the same handsome features were there - his chiseled jaw that seemed to clench as he stared back at her, his tan skin mired with traces of what was probably a long journey, and those small eyes she had always been in love with.

She mentally chided herself for hallucinating again. This wasn’t the first time she had visions of him coming back to her, but the changes in his features that she had never seen before made her heart sink. Were her hallucinations getting worse? Was she conjuring variations of his image? she thought as she continued to stare at Jongkook.

But all her doubts vanished when she heard him call out her name, “Jihyo-yah…” He walked up to her, and drew her into an embrace. That was the moment Jihyo knew it was real. She tried her hardest in the past months, but she could not replicate his distinct scent from memory. She could not find the same warmth she felt only when she was in his arms. But, above all, this was a love she would never find elsewhere.

Here he was. Here was Kim Jongkook, finally back in her arms.

She felt his big arms gather her up, his hands sprawled on her back as he held her tightly to his chest. He showered her with kisses on her head, and Jihyo might have been dumbfounded at first, as she drowned in the realization that Jongkook was indeed alive and had indeed come back to her, but eventually, her own arms reached around his waist, and she let her head rest upon his chest. “You’re here,” she murmured repeatedly, as tears of relief fell from her eyes.

He drew back from her, and cupped her face, and Jihyo wanted to protest the loss of Jongkook’s warmth. But her heart was too stunned, when Jongkook planted a kiss on her forehead. Jongkook closed his eyes, basking in the feeling of finally having Jihyo back in his arms. This was truly home, and suddenly everything he suffered in the war, and all the doubts he had about coming back were washed away. He almost lost his life in battle for the sake of honor, but this - love - was irreplaceable.

He looked at her, as his hands brushed her cheeks. She stared into his eyes, as her own hands slowly made their way to his face. Her touch was tentative, as if she was still convincing herself that he was really here. “I thought you were dead,” she whispered. 

“Would you rather I was?” he teased, just before chuckling. Jihyo wanted to slap the wits out of him, considering everything she had gone through, thinking that he was gone. She narrowed her eyes at him, but she couldn’t muster any energy to even feign annoyance at the horrible joke. She was too entranced by his return.

Jongkook’s hands moved to her waist, as Jihyo continued to cup his cheek with her hands. She felt the stubble on his face, and she lightly brushed her fingers on his eyes, then his nose, followed by his jaw. “You have a stubble now…” the words came out of before she even knew it.

He laughed at her observations, “We have not seen each other in a long time, and you’re telling me things I already know?” She was still staring at him, wide-eyed, so he asked, “Is the stubble really that bad? Is it not a good look on me?”

She didn’t know how to answer the question. It was completely useless, compared to all the important things she wanted to know. But he was sporting his boyish smile, the one that made her weak in the knees and the face that she missed dearly. So she thought about it hard, before saying, “I like your clean face better.”

He smirked, and nodded slowly, “All right then. Your wish is my command, of course. Let me go find something to clean my face.” He tried to peel himself away from her, but Jihyo held onto his arm.

“Let me do it,” Jihyo said. “Let’s go to my chambers.”

They walked hand-in-hand, sneaking around the eastern palace. Jihyo knew it was going to be difficult to explain to people how the commander was alive, and why he opted to visit the princess first before reporting to the general. Jongkook let himself be dragged along by Jihyo, and he followed her lead, as they ran around until they reached her chambers.

She asked him to wait for her, while she proceeded to the servants’ quarters to retrieve a blade and a basin of water. Jongkook looked around the room, as he realized it was his first time here. It was a humble abode, with only necessities filling the room, save for a treasure chest that was adorned with gold ts, and an artwork that featured a familiar scene. 

The painting featured a white tiger, with two cranes flying above it; it was the same scene embroidered on Jongkook’s durumagi, the one that he had given to Jihyo. But there was something different in the painting. Just across the tiger was a phoenix, the fiery bird opting to stay on the ground, while the cranes flew above it.

The door to Jihyo’s chambers opened, and the princess came in with all the tools she said she would get. Jongkook was still staring at the painting, and Jihyo realized what he had seen. She stood beside him, and. she explained, “I had this commissioned after you left.”

Jongkook nodded, almost solemnly, his heart feeling warm from the sweet gesture. “I don’t recall my durumagi having a phoenix though,” he said. Jihyo smiled sheepishly, and Jongkook chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest, flinching a bit when he felt a bit of pain, “What’s the phoenix supposed to be for?”

Jihyo smiled at the memory, before sharing it with Jongkook. She told him of how her father had always about her insufferable temper, and had given her the moniker of phoenix as a result. “He said I always was a fireball when it came to my temper, but eventually, it was my father’s wish for me. He always wanted me to be a woman of virtue, and I just felt that the phoenix belonged with the white tiger,” she said.

The masterpiece was the conglomeration of all their wishes and aspirations. Jihyo had the artwork commissioned to manifest all of them together, and, in the first few weeks after Jongkook’s departure, looking at the artwork comforted her. Now, looking at the artwork together felt like a silent pray