Ilhoon sat by his desk, his hand trembling as he held onto the brush. He dipped the brush into the ink and tried to write. However, his hand wouldn't stop shaking. He sighed in frustration.

"You know, you should wait for a few days for the wound to heal before you start writing again," you said. 

He glanced up, "Yes, I am fully aware but I don't have a few days to wait."

"Why not?" you asked.

"Because I have things to do that require writing," he said.

"Can't you ask someone to write it for you?" you asked.

"This is top secret, I was trusted with this. The least I can do is do this correctly," he said as he tried to write once more. 

"Top secret, huh?" you said as you sat onto the chair. "What about the rest of BTOB? They are trustworthy aren't they?"

"Yes, but this is between the Emperor and I," he said.

"Alright, alright," you said. "I get it, top secret, father and son. Okay," you said. He rolled his eyes and continued to 'write'.

"You did not just roll your eyes at me," you said.

"And what if I did?" he challenged.

"Then-Then I," you paused and thought. **What can I even do? My threats are limited**

Ilhoon grinned, "Still trying to threaten me with your empty threats?"

Your eyes wandered around and spotted the closet that held the basket. You quietly headed towards his direction with a smile.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Jeon-ah, I want to tell you something," you said with big, round, seductive eyes.

"Y-Yes?" he asked, his face turning a bit red from the close contact.

"I will be taking that basket," you said as you snatched the basket from the closet.

"Y-yah!" he shouted. You giggled and ran away, "So I guess I win right? Admit it!"

"Give me the basket!" he shouted.

"Not until you admit that I win," you said.

"When did this turn from top secret to winning?" he said as he tried to catch you.

You stopped and thought, "I'm not sure, but I will still win."

"Win what?" he shouted as his eyes followed the basket.

"Nothing, just say I won and I'll give the basket back," you said as you hid behind the chair.

"No, and this is childish, give me back the basket," he said.

"No," you said, "Mehrong!" You ran around the chair and quickly ran towards the door. However, Ilhoon had beaten you there. He quickly grabbed you-wrong move. You tripped over your his foot and fell onto the ground. Ilhoon didn't have enough time to react, causing both of you to fall. 

*Thunk*

"Oww," you groaned. Your eyes widened as Ilhoon stared back at you. Both of you didn't move, well, partially because you couldn't and partially because you some what didn't want to.

"Oppa, please? Can we-omo," Eun Kyung stopped as she stared at the startled couple. You gasped as you quickly got up.

"Eun Kyung, Minhyuk, beautiful day isn't it?" Ilhoon said as he cleared his throat.

"Did we come at the wrong timing?" she said.

"NO! Not at all," he said with a forced smile. "She just, she was-"

"I tripped and accidently tripped him too," you said. You looked at the mess of soup and porridge. "Well, if you would excuse me, I would appreciate it if all of you would get out of the room so I can clean this up."

"Y-Yeah, let's go to the balcony," Ilhoon said. He led Eun Kyung out of the room as you began to clean everything up. Minhyuk carefully took the broken glass and dumped it into the basket. 

"You okay?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah, perfectly fine," you said.

"..."

"You're not going to ask me?" you asked.

"Ask you what?" he said as he got up. You got up and followed him, "Uh, what-what you just saw?"

"I don't question things," he said simply. "If you say that the reason was that you tripped,  then that's that." You stopped and nodded, "Okay."

Minhyuk smiled and said, "I'm going to throw these away." He headed towards the garbage **What were you two doing?** he thought. He shook his head, **Don't question it, probably an accident**

----

You stood 20 feet away from the two 'couples.' **Déjà much?** you sighed as you looked around, bored. You straightened up as you saw the Empress heading in your direction. You quickly bowed as she gave a small nod of acknowledgement. She walked briskly and headed towards Ilhoon. Ilhoon immediately stopped talking and looked up with a serious expression. Eun Kyung bowed and quickly stepped away from hearing distance. 

You couldn't hear them but you could see his face darken. He nodded and bowed as the Empress rubbed her temples.

**What's going on?** you thought. You gasped as you saw a familiar figure heading towards the Empress. **What is Ajumma doing here? She knows the Empress?** You frowned, **I'm missing a lot of things here...something isn't right**

----

"Ajumma," you said as you caught up to her.

"Oh hello Eun Mi, are you feeling better?" she asked. "Has Ilhoon been treating you harshly again?" she said with a teasing smile.

"No," you said. "And yes I have been feeling better."

"Something in your mind? Speak," she said as she slowly wheeled the bucket down into the well.

"I-Uh, have you?-Do you?-" you paused. "How should I say this?"

"What is it?" she asked.

"How do you know the Empress?" you blurted.

Ajumma stopped wheeling the bucket as she paused. She looked at you and smiled, "What do you mean? Everyone knows the Empress."

"I know, but you were speaking to her, today, at the balcony," you said. She looked at you and sighed. "Come and sit, my dear. This is a bit of a long story." You sat beside her on the bench.

"I met the Empress when she was a little girl," she said. "I was her nurse so I knew her very well. She grew up to be a beautiful, strong, smart Empress," she said with a happy sigh of relief. "I have always been her assistant, and even took care of Ilhoon when he was one years old." She looked at you with warm eyes, "Then you came." She paused as she gave a sigh. "You appeared during the strangest time," she said with a laugh. "The Palace was going crazy about attacks from another enemy. I was running an errand when I heard your cries. I quickly ran to see where it was coming from, and found you in a basket near the bank of the river. I looked around, but no one was there so I quickly took you in and brought you back to the Palace. After that, I decided to raise you. I told the Empress that I would like to raise you without any special treatment."

"Why though?" you asked.

"Because, I wouldn't want you to grow up to be one of those spoiled brats," she said as she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "And I'm glad I raised you this way, taking the harder path. Now look at you, you turned out to be such a beautiful, kind, lady." You smiled, "Thank you...So will you be her assistant again now that I am all grown up?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "I did tell her I was going to join by her side some time, but I'm joining little by little."

"Why can't you officially join?" you asked.

"Because if I do," she said as she grabbed your hands. "Then that means that I won't be able to see you anymore. I'll be running around doing errands, always by the Empress's side." You looked down at her hands. They had become rough, and she had been getting skinnier each month. You smiled, "Go and join her then," you said.

She looked at you with shocked, but curious eyes. "You have always been there by my side, and I am truly grateful for that. But, the Empress has been waiting for 17 years now. I think it's time that you take her side again."

"But-"

"I'll be fine," you said with a smile. "If Jeon-ah bothers me again, I'll be sure to report to you right away," you said jokingly. She looked at you with a sad smile. You smiled and patted her hands, "I should go to sleep now. Jeon-ah might wake me up at 4 in the morning again. He's unpredictable," you said with a teasing smile. "Good night." You gave her a quick hug and walked away, "Good night," you heard her say. When you were out of sight, your lips trembled as tears spilled out of your eyes.

"This is better for Ajumma, she won't have to do labor work anymore," you said with a smile. "She'll be well taken care of with food and clothing. You'll get to see her now and then..."   

I am so so so so (X infinity and beyond) sorry for not updating for almost two weeks! My exams have been coming up and my teachers have been loading me with homework and tests to study as practice /: Just two more weeks TT^TT

Hope this will make up for the other missing updates...and explain a little for the confusion? Sorry, I'm trying to explain everything with spoiling anything >< Bear with me D:

-iHartCupcakes (:

SPOIL ALERT: READ ONLY IF YOU DON'T MIND HAVING YOUR EXPECTATION RUINED! Press the heart to see the spoiler ♥