"Hana, are you going to ignore your mother forever? She is incredibly hurt that you are the only one who hasn't congratulated her yet, you have not even checked up on her once." "Why should I? Who told you to have more daughters when you already have me by your side?" "So that what this is about? Your petty jealousy?" "Father, I am your daughter forever but I am no longer a little child; do you think I wouldn't notice the timing of it all? That you got my poor mother pregnant as soon as we all left the village?" "Watch your tone with me girl, it sounds like you are accusing me of something." "You blame me for not being attentive enough to mother then you do not like it when I say something in her defence; I truly have no idea what it is that you want from me Father." "I want you to stop wasting your time here in the kingdom and come home to stay by your mothers side!" "Father, I can sure you that I am nit wasting my time here at all, I know you think I am just hanging around Kim Yeong but trust me, this family needs her more than you think we do!" "For what! Why won't you tell me anything? Why has my own daughter stopped talking to me and confiding in me and..." My father wasn't the type to get emotional, but I could sense longing and desperation in his voice; as if he was a child that had been left behind in a playgroup or something. And what was breaking my heart even more was the fact that he had traveled over 2 hours to come to see me in the morning especially with such a sad look in his eyes that I could hardly look at him.
"Father, please do not put me in a difficult position and just come inside to have breakfast with us all. I will make something especially for you and draw you up a bath as well. Please?" "What is the point of coming inside when both you and your brother will not talk to me at all?" "Father! Look, let me feed you and we can spend the whole day together, I promise you. Just me and you, alright? Father?" "Let us spend it here, where your brother is; that ungrateful brat hasn't even sent me so much as a letter since his departure, he has also forgotten all about me it seems." "Father! Look, when you had me and my brother, you had great plans for us, isn't that right?" "Of course I did." 'So why don't you let us just get on with it and surprise you with it? We are not little children that need to be constantly monitored, do we?" "You will always be my little princess, no matter what age you reach!" "Alright, let me put this in a way that you will understand; if Uncle Hwi kept this close of an eye on his sister, would you both have even courted each other at all?" I knew that would keep him quiet and put his never ending sulking to an end, but it still ended up taking both myself and my brother to drag my father by his arms to take him inside his own home that he owned and treating him to an unusually big breakfast, just as my father preferred.
"How is mother, father? I plan to visit her soon, but it might take a while." "And I wonder what you could possibly be so busy with here in the kingdom that you cannot spare your parents a single visit, Seo Hyuk!" "As always father, I am but a servant to my sister's schemes, so if you want answers, then you ask her." "Let me see your work Hyuk." I have never heard my father being as angry as he was now; but apparently all of the men around me was much used to it then I was, and my brother's cool and calm attitude was not helping matters in the least. It always provoked my father to no end, but this time I was the one that was going to have to save him form my father's wrath in the only way that I knew how. "Father...I am ready to share my plans with you now..." "Do not even think of saving your brother from this Hana, and don't you boys think of interfering in this matter either." "Father I am being serious; Hyuk just said it himself that he was acting on my behalf, and we both know that he doesn't lie and he does not come to my side easily." "Hana, if you are in some sort of trouble-" "What trouble can I possibly get into father when nobody behind my family knows of my existence at all." I replied to him softly as I made my way towards him to take off his shoes and his outer robe. "What are you doing my daughter?" "I am getting you comfortable in your seat father, as you might be here for a while. Geom, can you pour my father some tea please? And I want everyone apart from Kim Yeong to stay on this table as I have some news to share with you all. Forgive me Yeong, but this is a family discussion; if you should really catch up with your reading in the meantime..." "What are you thinking about, wife? And why are you lying down with the girls in their beds? Do you not feel uncomfortable?" "I am just thinking about the time when father broke the news of mother's pregnancy, which was around the same time that I had to break the news to him about us." "My goddess, please do not bring up that awkward breakfast ever again. I still cannot get our brother's horrified faces out of my mind." "You are only saying that because everyone idolised you up until that point, but you do not see that they still do. Just because we have an unusual relationship, it doesn't not mean that we can expect everyone and anyone to understand it. My brother had a right to be angry back then, but he has gotten over it now." "Do you think that is why he is running away from me now? With this whole counterfeit business?" "Come over here my love; everything that Geom does is for you and you know it."
My poor husband; he had indeed put up with a lot on my behalf and so did my entire family. This marriage between my cousin and myself did not come about easily at all, especially where the family was concerned. My father seemed to be the only one who believed in us and rather suspiciously at that, although he did need me to convince him of how this could work out in the family. "Father; as you know, you were a public official in your prime in the palace and it is only a matter of time until the other palace officials start looking into our family to satisfy their curiosity about why you haven't yet sent your son to work in the palace. Won't they eventually find out about my identity then, no matter how hard you try to hide me?" "So what are yo suggesting daughter? And what does this have to do with Kim..." "I will send her in my place in The Imperial Harem under a similar alias to your's, father. And the best way to hide my identity for as long as Hyuk is in the prime of his scholar career is to get me married off as soon as that happens..." "Marriage? You are barely 16 years of age girl, and you already want to get married! First you run away from home and now you speak of marriage! Have you taken leave of your senses!" "Father, I am sorry for upsetting you so, but you know that it is the only way to keep me safe and I will alway get married eventually, so I would rather get it out of the way now....and I will only marry Seo Chul, or I shall never marry at all. And do not talk to me of my age father when we all know how old mother was when you first courted her..." "Do not throw that back in my face! Your mother was the most mature woman in our entire kingdom, despite her age!" "I am sorry if I have disappointed you father, but Kim Yeong is the only one who can save me in my predicament and we all know how long you have been suspicious of her family, so why not put them to good use? Uncle Hwi cannot argue against that if you do it that way..." "Sister! Just what the hell are you talking about? Marrying your cousin? Not even a distant cousin, but a first cousin! Do you have any idea..." "I am perfectly away that it is a peculiar thing, but I cannot help how I feel and you all know that I may be young but I am nothing short of naive." "Geom, how you feel about this?" "I...sister, I am so confused..." "I cannot explain the feelings that I have with my own cousin, but I know that they will never falter either, and I will not endure miserable life without asking for what I want fairly..." "Your father was suspiciously quiet as was Geom; only Hyuk took it the hardest out of anyone, but he knew that there was no talking us out of it, although you could have given me a heads up wife instead os taking me by surprise also." "Forgive me husband, but there was just no way that I was going to let anyone in the village know of our plans lest they all get involved and scolded and everything goes beyond our control. What did my father talk to you about then, after that breakfast?" "I would much rather not relieve that moment thank you very much. But it didn't take him much to be persuaded at all, which I find rather odd; he definitely was not happy about you getting married so soon, but what choice did you give him I guess? At least we did it the right way instead of doing anything shameful beforehand that could have resulted in a much bigger disaster..." "That is exactly why I did it husband, because I myself was getting dangerously close to sneaking in and out of your room even during the first week of my stay here in this home." "Oh were you now? I doubt that you would have known what to do even if you did come to my room." "Oh really? And what makes you think that, husband?" "Are you telling me otherwise, wife?" "All men should take the lead on the first time, but I bet we both know quite a lot due to our parents active life..." "Enough wife! Goodness gracious, I thought that I had left those memories behind a long time ago." "Do not worry, we can do it better than them." Obviously, since you got pregnant after the first time. Come, let the girls sleep in peace and spend some time with me before I go back to the palace and..." "My Lord? Noble Lady Nam has sent back a servant with a rather important message for you, she is currently awaiting your presence by the door as she needs to return to the palace urgently."