Han thought that kissing a cursed prince while he was coughing to death was awkward. She took that back. Traveling with the said man was much more awkward. She couldn't help but throw sideway glances at him as they hiked though the mild terrain for the next several hours. Each time she attempted to make conversation with Jiyong, he always responded in a single word format unless the situation proved otherwise.

Take one of their breaks for instance. Han was rinsing the sweat from her face with a worn hankerchief at a stream when her stomach growled for some sustenance. As she scanned the environment, her eyes alighted upon a bush carrying juicy red berries. Han's mouth watered at their plumpness and deduced by their firmness that they were ripe enough for consumption. The first bite elicited a neutral flavor but, once she rolled the berry over her tongue multiple times, she could detect a slightly sweet and bitter aftertaste. After popping in the second berry, Han decided that she should pick a small sack worth of them to bring along. She couldn't go on hiding her stomach pangs from Jiyong any longer. Curse my fast metabolism.

"What are you doing?" Jiyong roared several feet behind her. He stormed up to Han and swatted the seemingly lush berries out of her hands and the moderate sized gathering she had in the pouch of her tunic. 

Confused and partially hurt by the rude gesture, Han placed her clenched fists on her hips. "I was trying to make sure we don't starve, Jiyong."

"Starve? You could've killed us both before we reached Daesung's castle."

"Oh." Deflated, Han rushed to the stream to rid her hands of the close encounter with death. 

"Wait," Jiyong stooped over her hunched figure and hooked his finger under her chin to bring her face towards him. "Please tell me you didn't eat any."

Han silently held two fingers in the air and kept her eyes downcast. She never realized what aesthetic rocks there were near the stream, which were perfect for the backgrounds of portraits. How she missed holding a brush in her hand instead of a sword.

She was thrown out of her reverie when Jiyong splashed some water on and started scrubbing her teeth with some sage leaves.

"Hold still and let me wash away the remants of the berries." Han remained still. This entire conversation was the longest they had spoken since this morning. Although his grip at the base of her neck was strong, his touch upon her lips was light as a feather's touch. She almost closed her eyes in anticipation of another kiss, but Jiyong announced that he was finished and assured her that two holly berries shouldn't be potent enough to poison her system. Han apologized for her inability to recognize the threat and swore to learn from her ignorance, but Jiyong brushed her worries aside by excusing her for not being a native of the area.

Since then, all they shared between each other were grunts of exertion and quick gasps of breath as they walked.

The silence gave her more than enough time to think about what had transpired over the past couple of days. Was she too upfront? Should she have been more kinder in letting him know about her feelings? Then again, what were her feelings? Another peripheral glance of Jiyong produced nothing she didn't already know. 

Somehow, he had already opened the walls into her heart, and he was going to stay.

Jiyong was not oblivious to Han's eyes darting at him every other moment. It almost pained him having to ignore her subtle signal to talk to her. He internally sighed. He wished that they could return to the days when Han was focused on making sure he was accustomed to his new life right after escaping that retched tower. He secretly basked in the motherly care she provided him as she tended to his wounds and fed him proper meals. He still laughed at the time when they stopped at a local town in order to purchase new clothing for him:

"You must think me mad if I'm going to wear that rumpled flour bag." 

Han fixed a stern glare at him. "Jiyong, would you rather get robbed by bandits every time we near a road?" He humphed. "Besides, this maiden is getting tired of having to save the knight all the time."

Jiyong perked up. "You really think I'm a knight? Like the one with a shining armor?" 

Her response was to throw the earth colored tunic at his face and pronouncing five minutes to change into the new attire before leaving. Han fanned herself but decided to practice parrying her sword instead. If Jiyong asked why her face was so flushed, she had a reason for it now.

"This thing is itchy." Jiyong complained minutes after returning with his former apparel in hand. 

"Good," Han retorted. "That means the wool will keep you warm at night. Give me that suit." 

Jiyong held his arms higher so that it was out of Han's reach. "Why?" He warily asked.

She rolled her eyes out of exasperation. "Because what use would they be? Besides," She muttered. "It would only remind you of your time in that tower anyway."

Jiyong pretended that he hadn't heard her and exclaimed that if they ever ran out of provisions, they could sell his clothing for cash. He went into extreme detail about every fiber and stitch that went into his suit, stating that only the finest material went into this creation. Rolling her eyes yet again, Han relented and told him to stuff it into his knapsack fo