~~~

Jung So Yeon is still standing in front of a huge antique wooden door, which is her own house's door. She must get in, but her heart refuses to. The weather out here is getting more extreme. Her socks inside her shoes have already been so wet. There is nothing to be waited for, she really needs to get in her house.

Or modern palace.

Time is ticking. How much time has she been spending doing nothing at the terrace but letting her mind, her body and her heart to compete against each other. She doesn't care the ten minutes, or fifteen minutes she has passed. She doesn't even count. She doesn't even want to count.

The door unexpectedly is opened by an old man in black and white suit. So Yeon knows that he is in his 50s but he is still as health as people in their 30s. The old man bows in front of So Yeon,"Welcome, Miss Jung So Yeon." he greets her. So Yeon nods a bit to respect him,"How do you know that I am here already?"

"There is a hidden camera at the corner of the ceiling, Miss. That is its function."

"Oh..." So Yeon has just known that there is a camera there at the terrace ceiling. She comes in and a female houseworker in white uniform bows,"Welcome back, Miss Jung So Yeon." she greets So Yeon. So Yeon nods again.

She is still freezing. Even inside this house, the cold doesn't fade away. She looks back to the old man next to the door. He must be feeling so cold there. So Yeon worries about him a lot. She remembers her late grandfather in Mokpo. She knows that the old man is as weak as his grandfather but he tries to be strong. So Yeon rapidly heads to her room, but on the way, a man surprisingly appears right in front of her. She almost bumps with him,"Miss Jung So Yeon, I would like to cook some warm dishes for you. What would you like to eat?"

"Ah, that is good."

"What would you like to eat, Miss? Chicken stew?"

"No, don't! Not chicken, please. Umm... seafood!"

"I will bring the dishes to your room once it has been ready -" So Yeon cut his words when he was about to bow,"Wait for me! We're going to cook together! I need to change first."

"But, Miss -"

"Just, wait!" So Yeon quickly rushes to her room.

~~~

"Still can't get used to it, Miss?" he, Yoon San, asks So Yeon while preparing the ingredients for the seafood stew. Yoon San is a young professional chef in this house. He is in the same age as So Yeon. So Yeon replies,"Absolutely." she sighs,"I think this is too much."

"Excuse me?" Yoon San stops taking some prawns from the refrigerator,"No, I mean, not the prawns. But, the situation here." So Yeon helps Yoon San closing the refrigerator and put the prawns on the cooking table.

Yoon San continues their conversation,"It must be hard at first. I understand that."

"Well, it is not about tired holding many jobs in one time. Because, I'm a hardworker. I can handle that." So Yeon starts chopping garlics as she continues speaking,"I miss my family in Mokpo."

"Your family is here, Miss -"

"They are not my family if they abandoned me when I was still a newborn baby! Argh!" So Yeon almost accidentally cuts her own finger. Yoon San quickly checks her finger then he sighs in relief,"Thank God, everything is fine. Miss Jung So Yeon, you have to be careful. I have told you that you should not be here."

"I miss cooking for my own. Plus, you need to know my mother's secret recipe!" So Yeon lifts up her knife and it quite frightens Yoon San. She puts down the knife after mouthing 'Sorry'.

Yoon San wants to say that So Yeon's mother didn't have secret recipe. Even she never cooked by herself. But then, he understands that what So Yeon meant was her step mother in Mokpo.

He knows it must be difficult for So Yeon. Since she was a baby, she had lived with her step family who adopted her from an orphanage. They were just an ordinary family. Not really rich, but not poor. But it was a perfect family for So Yeon.

When two people in tidy suit kidnapped her, she never thought that she was a part of a royal family. Some people might be amazed or proud, but not for So Yeon. She hates the stiffness in this house. People call it palace, but whatever its size or shape or style, once you stay there for living, it is a house.

Things were getting more complicated when her younger brother - biological younger brother - told her,"Noona, do you know that you were unwanted?"

"Excuse me?"

"Noona, you were an accident. You were an impact from an 'accident'. That is why they put you to an orphanage to clear up everything from a dirt like you that may ruin our family name."

"Yeong Seo, you were born after me. How do you know about that?"

"I live in this palace for my whole life. People here know that. So, of course I know it too. Even I was surprised that I had an older sister. But you were born before our parents' marriage -" So Yeon cuts Yeong Seo's speech,"Shut up! Get out of my room!" Yeong Seo bows,"My task to tell you everything has done. See you at dinner time, my sister Jung So Yeon." as he headed to the door, he gave a smirk to his sister.

~~~

The seafood stew is ready to be served. So Yeon prepares two bowls on the table. Big question mark pops on Yoon San's head,"Miss, why do you prepare two bowls?"

"Because you are going to eat with me."

"I musn't do that -"

"Do what I told you, Yoon San." So Yeon puts a spoon on Yoon San's lips in order to make him shut his mouth.

Yoon San tastes the stew. It is good. It is perfectly good. It is not just a stew. He catches a glimpse to So Yeon. He sees her smiling as if she is giving a code,"It is great, right?" but Yoon San keeps tasting the hot stew.

The old man who usually stands next to the door comes in to the kitchen. After bowing he starts speaking stiffly,"Miss Jung So Yeon, did you order some food from a restaurant?"

"Oh! The galbi has arrived! Come on everyone let's gather in the dining room!" So Yeon rapidly rushes out from the kitchen. Leaving Yoon San and the old man.

~~~

All the houseworkers, security guards, butlers, plus Yoon San as the one and only chef in the house gather in the dining room. Twenty five people in total. So Yeon starts a speech before all the workers having a good time. Whether is it the first time for them or not, So Yeon doesn't care. She wants to break the stiffness between the workers and her, also the workers and workers. Since in this time the only part of the family in this house is only So Yeon, she thinks it is perfect. Yoon San stands beside So Yeon in shock,"Miss, why did you take so long while paying for these?" he whispers,"I gave the man who delivered this tips. He was surprised when I gave him the tips."

"How much did you give him?"

"The half price of the galbi." that is extremely too much,"...I should have just invited him to be here too. The weather out there is dangerous. He would get in a blizzard." So Yeon regrets.

One security guard asks So Yeon what is happening,"Miss Jung So Yeon, what are all these?"

"Galbi."

"I mean, why did you order so much galbi then tell us to gather here?"

"Because we are going to have fun! I order these from my sister-in-law's restaurant nearby and this is the best galbi in town! So, let's eat together!" So Yeon's long speech is replied by a quite silence. One female houseworker asks her,"Miss Jung So Yeon, is it for real?"

"So you think I'm lying?"

"I know that you are not that kind of person -"

"Let's eat!" So Yeon yells to make the situation warmer in this cold dining room. All the workers bow,"Thank you so much, Miss Jung So Yeon." they start eating. They look so happy. Some of them are laughing, some of them are focusing on the taste of the food. So Yeon pats Yoon San shoulder,"Won't you eat?"

"I have had seafood stew."

"It is alright to be fat. Skinny man is too mainstream." So Yeon smiles. She is happy to see all those workers are smiling for real. They usually fake a smile.

Yoon San points at one butler and one female security guard who are sitting together next to each other,"Miss, do you know that they are actually a couple?"

"Ah, that is so sweet of them. It is like a drama."

"See those rings? Those are their engagement rings." the rings are not so pretty. She thinks that it may be because they couldn't buy the expensive one. So Yeon thinks that she should have been here before their engagement so she could help them buying the expensive ones. Although the most important thing is their love is priceless.

So Yeon, without consideration, said,"Yoon San we must have better ring than those!"

"Eh? Pardon?" Yoon San looks around in order to make sure no one is listening So Yeon. Yoon San pulls So Yeon back to the kitchen,"Miss Jung So Yeon, we need to talk about it somewhere else."

~~~

Yoon San makes So Yeon to sit on the chair next to the refrigerator. So Yeon tightens her grip on Yoon San's arms,"Sorry. I'm sorry."

"It is okay, but later on, you need to think before talking. We were almost in danger." Yoon San caresses So Yeon's hair.

So Yeon peeps a little from the kitchen to the dining room,"You know what? Seeing them like that is like seeing my family in Mokpo while having a party for New Year's eve." So Yeon misses them so much. She really does. Tears starts falling. She just can't hold it. Yoon San wipes her tears,"Ah... Rain is pouring down."

"What rain? This is winter. It should be snowy."

"This rain falls down as water, not ice. And it is beautiful. Would you like to see?" Yoon San pulls So Yeon to the mirror so she can see herself. Yoon San points at her tears,"There it is. Rain in winter. Beautiful, right?"

"Why is it beautiful? It looks awful."

"It is beautiful, because it signs that you are missing something precious for you. You are crying, because you love them. That is what makes it beautiful." Yoon San ends his words. So Yeon turns to face Yoon San,"You should meet them. They are nice. They are great."

"Why not? I want to see them too." Yoon San smiles. So Yeon tries to smile although it is still tough for her,"However, they are going to be your family too." Yoon San sighs after listening to So Yeon. They know, the bond that they have is complicated and challenging. It is nearly only a dream for them to spend their whole life together. Nevertheless, they must be sure, that they can turn a fiction into a fact.

Yoon San walks out,"Come on, have fun with the galbi again. Don't make us look more suspicious." So Yeon follows Yoon San walking out from the kitchen.

Her parents and Yeong Seo are going back tomorrow. So Yeon is now thinking what should she do to make this house even warmer.

~~~

*Galbi : rib