The next morning, all the ministers gathered in the palace’s main hall to do their daily report to the King. However, they have a more important matter to discuss unlike any other day.

“Good morning, ministers! What do you have for today?” King Jiseok smiled as he gestured Minister Pyo Jihoon to start.

“The village marketplace is still booming. The wealth of the people in the kingdom is increasing, together with the palace’s wealth. In relation to that, a lot of merchants from other places, especially China, are gaining interest to trade with us. We will be expecting some Chinese representatives two months from now to discuss about trade and partnership.”

“That’s good to hear. Thank you, Minister Pyo.” The King then nodded to Minister Lee Taeil.

“Last night, I got reports from the guards in the northern boundary of the kingdom that rebels are trying to trespass. I already sent soldiers to double the defense in the boundary. Six were killed in the rebel side, and ten are already imprisoned. No one got serious injuries in our side.”

“Thank you, Minister Lee. However, please don’t let the villagers know about this. Try to protect the boundaries without the knowledge of the common people. They should not worry about the rebels. I don’t want my people living in fear. I trust you and your soldiers that you can protect us.”

“Yes, I will.” Minister Lee bowed to the King.

After hearing the other ministers, King Jiseok looked at Minister Park. “I didn’t hear your voice, Minister Park. Is there something wrong?”

“Ah, yes, Your Majesty.” He bowed. “I was waiting for all of them to finish before saying this.”

“What is it?” The King scrunched up his eyebrows.

“All of us, the ministers in this kingdom, discussed last night about your 25th birthday as well as the selection of the new queen.”

“I thought, we already talked about it, Minister Park?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I met up with the ministers after that since there was also a small birthday celebration in my house last night, but like what I have said, we can’t accept Lady Lee Minhee to be the new queen.” Minister Park argued.

“I like her and no one else captured my heart that easily. I will marry her and she will be the new queen.”

“But… Your Majesty! The new Queen should be from the noble families of this kingdom. We should not let the blood line end. In addition, if the noble families become aware of it, they might form a coup against your current rule.” Minister Lee added in the argument.

“But we still don’t know if she came from an aristocratic family in other places, right? It can be possible that she also has royal blood. Don’t judge easily.” King Jiseok contended.

“If you really like Lady Lee Minhee, we have a better suggestion for you.” Minister Pyo said.

“Really? What is it?”

“Your Majesty, you can have Lady Lee Minhee as your second wife, as long as you choose the new queen from our kingdom’s noble families.”

“I will think about it.”

All the ministers bowed. “Your Majesty, we have trust in you to make the right decision.”

“Jiho!”

The prince groaned from his sleep. He opened his eyes, completely annoyed at the person who woke him up from his deep slumber.

“Jiho!”

“WHY?” He sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“Can we have breakfast together?”

Prince Jiho looked at the person staring at him, with eyes begging for him to agree.

“No.”

“Come on. I feel so lonely eating alone. The servants, even Areum, don’t want to eat with me. They told me that it is not right for them to eat with me. Why is that?!”

“Because you’re treated like a royal here. Just… get used to it.” Jiho lied down again and closed his eyes. “And why are you here? My servants are not supposed to let anyone inside my room when I’m still sleeping. Also!!! How many times will I tell you to call me Prince Jiho, and not just Jiho?”

“Please?” She begged. “I miss my brother. We always eat our meals together.”

“I don’t care. Leave! You’re ruining my sleep, Minhee!”

“No.”

“Aish! This girl!” The prince sat up again, completely annoyed with Minhee.

She smiled as she went closer to him. “Come on, Prince Jiho. Wake up, wake up! The sun is already up!” Minhee tried to open Jiho’s eyes using her fingers. “I don’t know if your eyes are already open or not.”

As Jiho opened his eyes, Minhee’s face greeted her. It’s so close to him, and he couldn’t resist staring at her lips.

“You have eyes like slits, unlike King Jiseok. He has bigger eyes than you.”

The prince frowned at the mention of his brother coming from Minhee’s lips. “Don’t criticize my eyes. He has bigger eyes? So what? You like him, don’t you? Why don’t you bother him instead of me?” He pushed Minhee’s hands away.

“No.” The girl shook her head. “I actually like how small your eyes are.” She mumbled, but Jiho was able to hear it.

The prince smiled, but made sure not to show it to Minhee. She stood up and called the servants to bring the food inside. That’s when he realized that she is now wearing a hanbok, and already ditched her weird clothes. She looks prettier. He mentally noted.

“Eat.” Minhee ordered the prince as soon as the breakfast was served.

“I see that you’re now wearing a hanbok…”

“Oh, yeah.” She chuckled. “They gave me some clothes, so why not wear it, right?”

“Good choice. You look… pretty.”

Minhee blushed at the prince’s comment, but thought of something to come back with. “You also look good in my brother’s clothes.” She laughed.

“Yah! I was giving you a compliment earlier! I will change to my royal hanbok later.”

“That’s also a compliment.” Minhee smiled. “You look cute.”

Silence came after that, and some thoughts started clouding in his mind. “Minhee…”

“Yeah?”

“You told me earlier that you miss your brother.”

She nodded. “That’s true. He became my best buddy since he’s always protecting me. He promised our parents that he will take care of me when they needed to go to the States to work there.”

“Where is the States?” Jiho asked curiously before putting kimbap in his mouth.

“It’s America. If you haven’t heard that yet, or if Christopher Columbus hasn’t discovered it yet in this time, just think of it as a faraway place.”

“Oh. So… do you know how to go back to your brother? You know, if he promised to take care of you, he is surely worried right now as to where you are.”

“I… I really don’t know how to go back.” Tears started forming in her eyes. “I don’t even know how I ended up here. It’s my entire fault. I planned to go to Nami Island for a five-day vacation since our summer break in the university has started. I went out the house in the middle of the night without his permission, telling myself that I will just call him when I reach Nami Island so he wouldn’t be able to stop me. However, some creepy old man chased after me, I tried to hide from him, and I ended up here in your palace.”

Prince Jiho scooted near her when he saw the tears rolling down on her cheeks. He wiped them with his thumbs. “You’ll figure out how to go back. I’ll help you.”

“B-But… what if there’s no way to go back? I will be stuck here forever.” She continued crying, their breakfast long forgotten.

“I will find a way. Trust me.” Jiho hugged Minhee, but still questioning himself why is he doing this for her. All he knows is that his heart flutters when he’s beside the girl.

yaaayyyy!!! 33 subscribers! I love you all <3