Chapter 4:

1990:

            The red sun rose slowly, and eventually its rays touched all of the Earth. It fell like a spotlight, on Yeonhae’s limp body, lying in front of the imperial palace. She was still in her blue and yellow hanbok, whose patterns were hand stitched by the Queen Dowager. Yeonhae’s fingers twitched as she felt the dirt ground under her body. She wanted to speak, but instead burned like the Shaman described. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing those honey brown orbs that completed her face. When she opened her eyes, she only could see the face of the young man, whom she rescued. *No, this can’t be true, this is surely a mere dream.*

            “Are you alright?”  His voice echoed through her ears.

            Yeonhae shyly nodded, and stood up. However, because of the potion, she had no strength, so she fell back down. Yeonhae looked down in embarrassment, fiddled with her fingers. The young man didn’t hesitate, and lifted her lightweight body. Surprised, Yeonhae grabbed his neck, afraid of falling.

            “Don’t worry, you’ll be ok,” The boy smiled, seeing that Yeonhae was nervous and scared.

            He felt her body relax from its earlier tenseness. The boy called the maids of the palace to help Yeonhae, and placed her in a room.

            “By the way, my name is Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun.” With that, he left the room.

            *Byun Baekhyun. What a handsome name! This place looks almost like the palace back home, but why is everything outside of it so different?* Yeonhae easily changed into another hanbok, which was more simple than at the palace. She shyly stepped out into the main room, earning gasps because of her beauty.

            “Well well well, look at the treat our Baekhyun has brought us!” The King smiled.

            “What a beauty!” The Queen agreed as she motioned for Yeonhae to come up. “What is your name, darling?”

            Yeonhae tried to say something, but she forgot that she couldn’t talk. Looking around in panic, she found brush, ink, and some paper. She took the brush, and started to write in complex Chinese characters. The problem was, they didn’t use Chinese characters anymore.

            “Oh my, what kind of writing is this?” The Queen asked.

            “I believe it is Chinese calligraphy. I seemed to have forgotten how to read this type of writing. Nevertheless, what a brilliant child!” The King complimented Yeonhae.

            Just at that moment, Baekhyun walked through the doors of that room. His eyes softened when he saw Yeonhae.

            “What is her name?” He asked, his eyes smiling.

            “It looks like she is unable to speak. For now, let’s call her ‘Little Princess’.” The Queen suggested. “Why don’t you show her around, Baekhyun?”

            “Yes, your highness. Come with me, Little Princess.”

            Yeonhae’s eyes lit up at the mention of her name. She loved how the words sounded as it came out of Baekhyun’s mouth. It was music to her ears. *If only I could respond* Baekhyun firmly took her hand, and led her to a garden, where millions of flowers, plants, and trees grew. Yeonhae was amazed by the sound of nature, and went to go look at the lotus in the pond.

            “I see you admire the lotuses?” Baekhyun asked with sincere eyes.

            Yeonhae nodded and took one in the palm of her hand. The petals were barely pink, and dewdrops rolled down the leaves. She was fond of the lotus in the palace, and would often stare at them for quite a while.

            “A lotus symbols pureness and rebirth. Do you know why?” Baekhyun asked.

            Yeonhae knew this very well. The Queen Dowager had made her study flowers and their meanings. *Because a lotus arises from the bottom of a muddy pond, into an object of beauty.* Yeonhae’s eyes glimmered.

            “A lotus grows from the bottom of the muddy ponds, into something more beautiful. I reckon you have never heard this before.” Baekhyun nodded as he took the lotus from Yeonhae’s hands, and placed it gentally back inside the water. “Wait for it to grow and blossom into something more beautiful, and then you may take it.”

            Yeonhae looked at the lotus that was now floating in the pond again. It amazed her that such a simple object of nature could bring such joy to her. The two of them headed out into the next area, which was a peaceful, green field. From there, they saw the sun set and rise, and they could relax with no disturbances. Baekhyun told her that it was one of his favorite places to go whenever he needed a peace of mind.

            “One day, I’ll take you horseback riding,” Baekhyun laughed heartily.

            This brought a smile onto Yeonhae’s face. She loved the fact that she was able to cherish many moments with Baekhyun in her curious heart.

            As he promised, Baekhyun took Yeonhae out for horseback riding the week after. Yeonhae was dressed in a boy’s clothes, just to be more comfortable. Baekhyun lifted her easily on top of the white horse, and climbed on after. Yeonhae had never ridden on this beautiful creature before, and she was very excited that her first time was with Baekhyun. His gentle eye’s looked at her with so much care, that her heart would melt every single time. They rode out into that grassy field, where the horse could run freely. Baekhyun and Yeonhae watched as the horse ate heartily from the fresh green grass, and climbed back on to go home.

            Pretty soon, Yeonhae had mastered horseback riding, and could now ride the horse by herself. She and Baekhyun would ride out to the field every other day to enjoy the peacefulness, with Yeonhae on the white horse, and Baekhyun on the brown horse.

            “They are the prettiest couple I have ever seen,” Baekhyun said softly as he the brown horse’s mane. 

            When they rode together side by side, the horse’s colors complimented each other, like they were yin and yang.

            The first time Yeonhae tried riding by herself; she had lost her grip and fell off the horse, onto a patch of grass. She wanted to tell Baekhyun that she was alright when his face went paler than the moon, and he rushed over to her. But she could only give him a small smile, along with her pleading eyes. He insisted that she had to ride with him. Yeonhae only had a few bruises, but for some reason, she thanked the bruises, because it only gave another reason for Baekhyun to care about her.

            “I really like you, Little Princess,” Baekhyun had once told her. Yeonhae had spent so much time thinking about how those words slipped out of his mouth, as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

            The weeks went by, and soon it was almost 7 days until the next sunrise. Yeonhae had grown fonder and more attached to Baekhyun than ever.

            Baekhyun had been summoned to the King again, this time with Yeonhae trailing behind him.

            “We need to choose your bride soon. There is a daughter of a close friend of mine, who would like to meet you. You will be heading on your trip tomorrow.” The King explained.

            Yeonhae’s smile vanished from her pure face, and her heart burned a little bit. *The words, ‘like’ do not mean an ounce to him then?*

            “But I definitely will not marry someone whom I do not love!” Baekhyun exclaimed in frustration.

            “At least go and see her. A prince must show courtesy!” The Queen pleaded.

            “Fine, however I will not guarantee that I will agree to marriage.”

            Yeonhae’s heart fluttered with hope, but there was still a hint of selfishness that sparked inside.