𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇. enhypen

eleven

JIHYE SWORE TO HERSELF THAT SHE WOULD NEVER ALLOW A DROP OF RAIN TO TOUCH HER BODY EVER AGAIN.

It had given her too much trouble in a single day for her to have vengeance with for the rest of her life. Jihye hated having colds and having to see the elderly doctor that resided within the castle at all times. While their herbal remedies always did the trick to clearing up a cough or headache quickly, they never took the extra step to make their medicine pleasurable to taste.

But weirdly enough, before Jihye and Sunoo could even reach the Royal doctor yesterday evening, Jihye's headache and nausea completely vanished as if she had never felt sick in the first place. Jihye found it completely abnormal that she had miraculously been cured without any type of remedy whether homemade or medically brewed.

Though, she didn't want to waste the time Sunoo gave to take her to the Royal doctor, so she feigned she was still ill and even drank the god awful cold medicine the doctor gave her. After, she was told to go to her room, rest for night, and to her distaste, she was ordered to drink another chug of cold medicine in the morning.

The next morning, Jihye was greeted with Sunoo and both boys from the West Kingdom outside her door. All of them had awakened earlier to check up on her and her condition. She appreciated their concerns but she wasn't a big fan of being interrogated first thing in the morning while still in bed and her nightgown. Sojung had fortunately shooed the boys out of her room as soon as Jihye confirmed to them she was alright and healthy.

Sojung truly showed no sign of remembering speaking with Sunoo yesterday afternoon and was even confused as to how the Princess arrived late to dinner if she herself had arrived at her door ten minutes before six o'clock. Though Jihye made no effort in clearing her confusion for obvious reasons.

Without Jaeyun's quick thinking, Jihye would have surely been figured out and for that she was incredibly thankful- even indebted to a degree.

Jihye still felt the need to further show her gratitude to Jaeyun in the way she knew best- sweet baked goods. It took some investigation to find out what was Jaeyun's favorite dessert and she was able to get the information out of Heeseung later that morning. And she wasn't really expecting the answer she got.

"He's told me once when I joined him on an afternoon jog that he really likes plums. Doesn't care what shape or form as long as it's plums." Heeseung explains as he continues to pick out books from the castle's library, eager to read more.

"Really?" Jihye asked as she trailed behind him, wanting to make sure she had heard him right.

"Yup." Heeseung nods. He spotted a book whose title had seized his interest and added it to the collection in his arms. "Now that I think about it, he also said that the thing he misses most is eating some fresh plums from his plum tree."

Although Heeseung had been extremely useful to tell her this fact about Jaeyun, there was a teeny predicament that came up with Jaeyun's choice of favorites.

Plums weren't a common fruit in her Kingdom and it was only available scarcely through seasonal market trading with the South. But even if they were so limited at this time of year, a servant from the castle was able to get their hands on a full sack of ripened plums. Then it took much brainstorming and hours with the bakers in the kitchen to figure out how to implement the fruit into some type of baked good. But ultimately, Jihye was able to walk out of the kitchen with a basket of freshly baked sugar plum scones.

And now she was making her way to Jaeyun's room which was on the other side of the East Castle to give him the warm scones. As she walked, Jihye thought of ways to hand him the basket without making the interaction awkward.