Nearly two hours had passed before they reached a cobbled pathway leading to a small cottage enclosed behind a sturdy wooden fence.

Min Ho’s exhaustion coupled with the constant dull pain in his leg rendered him unable to remain awake during the long trip. While he slept, Shin Hye’s father worked diligently to clean and treat his injury.

As she watched her father wrap Min Ho’s leg, Shin Hye asked, “Is he going to be okay?”

Shin Hye’s father nodded to indicate that there was a positive prognosis. But before he could respond to his daughter’s question, a frenzied pounding came from the front door.

“Physician Park! It’s an emergency!!!” bellowed a familiar sounding voice.

Shin Hye ran to the front door and opened it to allow their guest to enter. She recognized the middle-aged man as Dae-Gam (first rank official) Cha’s head servant Kim Sungmin.

Seeing the worried expression on servant Kim’s face, Shin Hye’s father asked, “What has happened?”

“Agasshi... has been severely ill and has even coughed up blood. Dae-Gam Cha has called for you to come immediately!” replied servant Kim.

Without wasting any time, Shin Hye’s father grabbed his out-patient satchel and provided succinct instructions to her regarding the care of Min Ho’s injury.

Shin Hye reassured her father that she understood his instructions and that she would look after Min Ho properly while he was away.

“If I’m not back before your mother comes home, tell her to come to Dae-Gum Cha’s estate immediately” instructed her father right before he followed servant Kim out.

Once left alone, Shin Hye looked over towards Min Ho and wondered how he could sleep through such commotion. Seeing him deep in slumber, she decided that it would a good idea to start preparations for their supper.

After a short while, Shin Hye returned with a few dishes that she balanced carefully on a wooden tray. When she finished setting the dishes onto the table, she soaked a cotton cloth in a small basin of water, wrung out the access fluid and proceeded to wipe Min Ho’s dirt smudged face.

The sudden cold sensation on his face caused Min Ho to awaken with a startle. Having never been disturbed during his slumber, Min Ho swatted away Shin Hye’s hand and yelled gruffly, “How dare you enter my chambers without permission!”

Shin Hye didn't take offense to Min Ho’s overreaction when she saw the disoriented expression on his face. In a calm tone, she explained that he was not in his chambers, had hurt himself earlier this morning and was now in her home.

Shin Hye’s explanation quickly jogged his memory and Min Ho looked slightly uneasy about his brash behavior.

To relieve the awkwardness between them, Shin Hye smiled and said, “I made you some food, after I finish up here, I’ll bring it to you."

“Finish?” asked Min Ho curiously.

“You don’t look like the type that likes to be dirty, so let me finish up cleaning your face” replied Shin Hye before she continued to wipe the wet cloth over his face.

Min Ho stared intently at Shin Hye’s face as she cleaned away the smudges. He took note of her milky white complexion, huge eyes and delicate mouth. Despite having countless servants at the palace care for him in a similar manner, Min Ho’s heartbeat quickened and his breath became increasingly shallow.

“Are you feeling okay?” asked Shin Hye when she noticed his flushed complexion. After she placed her hand on his forehead, Shin Hye continued to inquire, “Are you feeling feverish?”

Backing away from her, Min Ho tried to regain his composure before telling her that he was feeling fine.

“That’s good” noted Shin Hye as she got up to retrieve the porridge bowl from the table.

When she returned to his bedside, Min Ho looked into the bowl and asked, “What's that supposed to be?”

“Porridge” replied Shin Hye before she asked him if he was strong enough to eat on his own.

After a slight pause, Min Ho shook his head and answered weakly, “I think I can but I’m not so sure.”

Shin Hye eyed him doubtingly thinking that his response was rather strange. Regardless of his weird response, she reminded herself of her pledge to care for him. With that in mind, she scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it to ensure that it was not too hot and moved it closer to his mouth.

Trying his best to suppress the urge to smile, Min Ho opened his mouth and ate the first spoonful of somewhat tasteless porridge. Having only eaten the finest food, Min Ho’s face scrunched up showing his obvious disdain.

“Don’t say anything about the food” warned Shin Hye as she scooped up another spoonful.

Without saying anything about her food, Min Ho draped his arm over his stomach and said, “I’m full; I don’t want to eat anymore.”

Shin Hye’s eyes narrowed and her expression became somewhat annoyed before she replied plainly, “You’re sick; so you have to eat food like this… stop being a little baby.”

“How can I eat that? It tastes like dirt…” he began to complain before she abruptly interrupted his rant by shoving another spoonful into his mouth.

Looking unfazed, Shin Hye asked him playfully, “How do you know how dirt tastes? Do you eat it often?”

Knowing that his protests were useless, Min Ho resigned himself to the having to consume the subpar meal and changed the subject by asking, “Where’s your father, I'd like to thank him for his hospitality.”

Shin Hye blew on another spoonful and offered it to him before she informed him that her father was away to care for a patient in the city.

Min Ho nodded his head to acknowledge her response as he continued to eat; after he forced down the food, he continued to ask, “When will he be back?”

Shin Hye shrugged her shoulders as she gathered the last bit of porridge and fed it to him. As he had finished his meal, Shin Hye walked over to the clay pot on the table and poured a dark liquid concoction into a small porcelain bowl.  The steam from the medicine pot seemed to irritate her eyes as she opened and closed them in quick succession.

“Are you okay over there?” asked Min Ho in a slightly concerned tone.

Although, she found his concern slightly surprising, Shin Hye replied that she was fine. Handing him the bowl, Shin Hye said, “This is a little bitter, but my father said you have to drink this twice a day or else your mobility might be affected in the future.”

Without a single word of protest, Min Ho grabbed the bowl and quickly gulped down the bitter medicine. Shin Hye smiled, thinking that it was just as easy to get Min Ho to drink his medicine as the other children who her father treated.

Noticing her smile, Min Ho asked, “What are you smiling about?”

Shin Hye was about to respond when she noticed her own disheveled appearance in the reflective mirror on the table. Without answering Min Ho’s question, Shin Hye helped him recline back into bed and said “I need to get something in my room but I’ll be right back.”

While she was gone, Min Ho tried to get comfortable on the coarse bedding. Knowing that it was a lost cause, he just remained still and thought of his plush bedding back at the palace.

Min Ho’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard Shin Hye ask, “Are you thirsty?”

“I’m…” Min Ho began to reply when he suddenly was rendered silent by the sight of Shin Hye with her hair unbraided and loose over her shoulders.

Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Shin Hye chided him by saying, “Don’t look at me like that… I’ll have my hair fixed in a minute. I was going to braid it before I came back but I didn’t want to leave you alone.”

Min Ho averted his eyes but then quickly glanced back at her before he asked, “Did I say anything?”

Shin Hye thought about it for a little while and was then resigned to say, “I guess not… but…”

Not wanting it to become awkward, Min Ho changed the subject by asking, “Where’s the rest of your family?”

Shin Hye continued to brush the slight kinks out of her hair and then proceeded to intertwine the silky strands into a tight braid. When she finished up, she replied by saying, “My brother is taking the military exam in the capital and my mother is accompanying him.”

Min Ho became slightly nervous as he continued to ask, “So when are they going to be back?”

“In a few days” replied Shin Hye after figuring out when the exam was scheduled to have concluded.

Min Ho stared at Shin Hye as she began to eat her dinner heartily and continued to ask apprehensively, “So… we’ll be here alone?”

Shin Hye looked over at him and stated reassuringly, “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to take good care of you while everyone is away.”

Min Ho cleared his throat and forced a smile as he thought to himself, “Yeah, that’s what I’m beginning to worry about…”