Secret of the Red Lotus Flower (빨간 연꽃의 비밀)

Chapter 5

All afternoon, Soo-yun agonized over what she was to wear as she prepared to meet the Crown Prince again. She wanted her outfit to be perfect because this would be the first time that she would meet Crown Prince Ha-neul alone on purpose. She wanted him to see her, not as the candidate chosen by the royal family to be his bride, but as a woman that he would want to wed.

In the end, she chose the plum-colored jaju jeogori jacket and the bright violet chima skirt for her ensemble. The embroidered top was elegant in its simplicity with no additional decorations or flourishes since Soo-yun wanted to keep her appearance understated for now. Perhaps, if things went well tonight, she might start wearing brighter or more elaborate outfits if they meet again before the wedding. Soo-yun couldn't help but blush and giggle at that thought.

"Hold still!" Yeo-jin ordered as she pulled her mistress's hair back to comb it. Soo-yun could tell that her maid was upset with her since she was being rougher than usual combing and tying her hair back into a simple daenggi meori braid.

"I'm sorry," Soo-yun apologized. "I am keeping you up another night and ordering you to not tell another soul. I wish I could tell you why this tonight is very important but it has to be a secret for now."

"I know you don't have to tell me anything since I am just a servant," Yeo-jin replied as she ran the comb through Soo-yun's hair, "but we have known each other for years now. I thought you knew that you could trust me."

Soo-yun turned around and grabbed her maid's hand. Yeo-jin had served Soo-yun's family her entire life and there was no one that Soo-yun was closer to. The young woman was nearer to a sister than a servant.

"I do trust you, Yeo-jin," Soo-yun said. "You are probably the person that I trust most in the world. I wouldn't be asking this of anyone else. I swear that I will tell you everything someday but this isn't a decision that I can make alone. For now, I need your silence and your strength for tonight."

"Very well, mistress," Yeo-jin sighed. "I will keep this a secret as long as you promise me that you won't do anything that will upset your father."

Soo-yun reassured her maid and Yeo-jin was gentler in brushing her mistress's hair after that. Once her maid was done braiding her hair, Soo-yun went to her jewelry box to find something to complete her ensemble. She opted not to wear her mother's baetssi daenggi and chose instead two small silver dwikkoji hair brooches shaped like tree branches with red or green stones for flowers to put on either side of her head.

"I don't think I'll use the neoul tonight. Can you get the blue jangot jacket?" Soo-yun asked Yeo-jin. "I think I left it in the other room."

Once her maid had left the room, Soo-yun took the bongjam out of jewelry box and slipped it into her jacket sleeve. She felt bad hiding the binyeo from Yeo-jin. However, if Yeo-jin saw her mistress take it, she would have a lot of questions that Soo-yun didn't feel ready to explain. As far as her maid was concerned, this was a simple walk to the archery field to get some fresh air and back.

As the three left the Detached Palace that night, Soo-yun draped her jangot over her head so that no one would see her face as they walked through the streets of Hanseong. The walk this night was more uneventful than the first night. Since he had advance warning about the trip, Kwang-Sun had taken the opportunity to find a more circumvent route to the archery field. It took longer but there were fewer risks of running into anyone else.

"Please wait here," Soo-yun told her servants once she saw the entrance of the archery field. "I won't be as long this time. I promise."

Soo-yun made no effort to hide her urgency as she quickly walked towards the archery field. Looking over her shoulder and seeing that she was out of sight of her servants, Soo-yun removed the binyeo from her sleeve and slid the hairpin horizontally into the base of her braid. She knew it was presumptuous to wear it before her coronation or her wedding but she wanted to show the Crown Prince that she appreciated the gift.