Nicole's POV

"Who are you?!" I overheard Woohyun growl.  Damn guy's like a vicious attack dog rearing its fangs...  I struggled within the net to take a look at the mysterious person who called me the "oddest looking rabbit [he'd] ever seen" before a sword whizzed inches above my head and cut through the net.  I closed my eyes, expecting impact with the hard ground below, when-

"Hup!  Caught ya,"  No hard, painful impact with the ground.  Instead, I had been caught by a tall, muscular man who seemed the same age as the ice prince.  I peeked an eye open only to be met with smiling eyes in return.  I blushed as he gently released me to stand on my own.

"U-uh, thank you, sir..." I stammered out as I bowed slightly in the stranger's direction.

He looked amused for a second before scratching his head.  "Well, I don't think you should thank me, princess...  That was my rope trap after all; it's only natural that I take responsibility if random travelers get caught within it."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense - Wait, did you just call me princess?" I gawked at the smiling stranger as he simply hummed a tune to himself.

"I'm surprised he could tell you were a princess..." I overheard Woohyun mumble.  Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Seungyeon hold back a giggle.

I stuck my tongue out at both of them.  "Maybe I'm more princess-like than I look, eh?  Sheesh!"

The stranger coughed.  "Actually, uh...  I just know that you're Princess Nicole of the Han kingdom."  He then turned to my sister.  "And that this lady is Princess Seungyeon of the Han kingdom." He then turned to Woohyun. "And this is Prince Woohyun of the Nam kingdom...  Who also happens to be engaged to Princess Seungyeon over there."  He then turned his focus back to me.  "That's about right, isn't it?"

The three of us stared at him as his eyes crinkled into crescent moons again.  We then took a step back and huddled together to whisper.

"Maybe he's a mindreader..." mumbled my older sister as she quickly glanced back at the man in question.

"That's highly unlikely," scoffed Woohyun.  "Have you ever seen a psychic dressed in armor?  Maybe he's a knight that worked for one of our kingdoms." he suggested.

"That's the closest guess so far," interrupted the smiling stranger as he had somehow made his way over to our little group huddle.  I felt my heartbeat quicken the slightest bit at the fact that he was so close to me.  I think I ate something bad earlier...

I quickly shook my head before pointing a finger at him.  "YAH!"

"Yah?" The young man raised an eyebrow.

"Yah, um, who are you?"  I gulped.  "How do you know so much about us?" Seungyeon stood behind me and Woohyun readied his hand on the hilt of his sword.  The stranger noticed this and backed away slowly.

"Woah, woah...  Hold on there, big boy..." He laughed.  "I'm not a threat and trust me - you don't want to swordfight with me.  I'm probably better trained than you are, pretty boy."  Woohyun scowled but kept his hand on the blade.  "Anyways...  The name's Jung Jinwoon.  I'm a traveling knight working as a freelancer, doing odd jobs here and there.  Since I do so many odd jobs in different places, I've grown knowledgeable of different kingdoms and their rulers."

"Ohhhhh..." chorused my sister and I in unison.

"So you're on an 'odd job' at the moment then, I take it?" spat out Woohyun.  Geez, the guy must have gotten offended at Jinwoon's "pretty boy" comment...

Jinwoon frowned.  "Honestly, no, I'm not...  I'm actually looking for my mentor at the moment.  He's a guy a little shorter than me and a little stouter than me...  He's tanned..." Jinwoon's frowned deepened.  "He's also a bit of a player..."

I shrugged.  "We haven't seen anyone fitting that description around...  We've been traveling ourselves, so we can assure you that we haven't seen any sign of human life in miles..."  Seungyeon nodded in agreement next to me.

"That's a shame...  I really wonder where my mentor could be right now..." Jinwoon's eyes glazed over as he seemed to be looking far off into the distance.  "... He just up and left one day...  Out of the blue..."

"Jinwoon-sshi?"

Jinwoon's eye smile returned when I interrupted his thoughts.  "Ah, yes?  Anyways, where are you three traveling to?"

Woohyun glared at the taller man.  "Why do you want to know?  It's none of your business!"

"Woohyun!" scolded my sister.  "Stop being so rude to him!"

"Be quiet, woman!  He's a stranger!  Haven't you ever heard of 'stranger danger'?"

At Woohyun's comment, Jinwoon chuckled.  "Prince Nam, you're right about being wary but...  That's no way to talk to a lady." Jinwoon beamed.  "If there's anything my mentor has taught me, it's to always treat a lady with respect."

I blushed, suddenly remembering him catching me earlier.  I sighed before interjecting, "Ignoring the ice prince over there...  We're currently on the way to the Matsu kingdom."

"Oh?"

"We're meeting my sister's husband-to-be~" replied Seungyeon in a sing-song voice.

Jinwoon smiled (or was that a smirk pasted onto his face?) before nodding.  "That sounds fun...  Count me in!"

Woohyun's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.  "WHAT?"

"I'd like to travel with you guys, if that isn't a problem." Jinwoon opened one eye and winked at me.  I felt my face heat up, yet again.

"Of course it's a fuc-"

"It's not a problem!" I interrupted the ice prince before he could let loose a string of profanity.  I attempted to wink back at Jinwoon but failed miserably; I merely twitched my left eyelid.

Jinwoon laughed.  "Ahaha, you're cute."

I felt my face flush... Yet again...  Seriously, how could that guy say something like that with a straight face?

"You must be BLIND as a BAT, man..."

Oh right...  Because he's not a rude dude like Woohyun over there...

I subtly smacked Woohyun on the shoulder, unbeknownst to Jinwoon's line of vision, and then returned my focus to the freelancer.  "But wait...  Aren't you searching for your mentor?  Wouldn't traveling for us get in the way of your search?"

Jinwoon seemed to ponder this for a moment before shining a smile at me again.  "No, I don't think so...  I honestly have no clue as to where he could have suddenly left to...  Traveling to the Matsu kingdom with you guys might actually lead me to him." He shrugged.  "Anyways, it's as good a place as any for a freelancer...  We work anywhere, anyways."

And with that said...  We (excluding a very stubborn and irate Woohyun) welcomed Jinwoon to our little trio.

---

???'s POV

I put down my binoculars and sighed.  "And then there were four..." My voice trailed off before I sighed again.  "Aish...  Now there's just more people that I need to get rid of..."  I frowned before grinning to myself.

"Well...  Anything is okay as long as I can protect my Jun-sama~"

Author's Note: And so, Jinwoon is introduced~  Huzzah!  Sorry if this chapter was a little slow and boring, but I needed to get Jinwoon into the picture and this sort of introduction was necessary.

Comments and criticisms are always welcome~~~ ^^