The Unknown History

25

Sunoo furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of his best friend rubbing his bum in pain. He averted his gaze at his sister, seeing her giving him a nervous smile. "What were you guys doing?" He asked.

"Jungwon was harassing me!" She blurted out as she pointed her finger at the poor nobleman. Jungwon was taken aback by the sudden comment and put up his hands to defend himself, "No! I didn't!"

"Her Highness stole my book!" He defended himself. The King rubbed his temple and closed his eyes, "Whatever, I came here because Mr Bae told me you're here," he said as he faced Jungwon.

Yeonseo cleared her throat and bowed, "If you'll excuse me, I have to go to the lake and jump into the water."

Sunoo nodded before widening his eyes. Her words finally made him realise. "Yah! Kim Yeonseo!" He was about to chase after her but stopped as Jungwon held his arm.

"I'm sure she's fine."

"I don't understand why she hates you so much. She always starts a fight with you. I don't even know how she lost her mind after a week's coma."

Jungwon laughed nervously before mentally cursing at himself. Sunoo eyed him up and down before motioning him to take a seat across from him at the table.

"I wanted to ask you something," the king said, earning his best friend's full attention. "What does Lady Hwang like?"

Jungwon couldn't help but smile, "You like her, huh? I thought so."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No."

"She prefers gentlemen who respect her father just as he respects her. She said to me before that the man she marries will be the first person that she loves."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that the first person she falls in love with will be the person she'll marry. She reads love stories a lot."

"Okay! Thanks for the talk," the king said before sprinting out of the library.

🌷

Yeonseo sighed as she took slow steps to the garden. She stopped walking and turned around to look at Baekhee.

"Jungwon is going to be fine, right?"

"I'm sure His Majesty is just going to talk about work with Lord Yang," the court lady answered. "But I accused him of harassing me!" Yeonseo said again, feeling anxious.

"You're anxious about him, aren't you? First, you hated him and even cursed at him and now you're all worried and anxious for him. I'm sure he'll be fine, Your Highness."

Baekhee gave her an assuring smile as they both entered the garden. Yeonseo's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of an unfamiliar woman standing near the pond.

The woman jumped out of surprise at the sight of her and immediately bowed, "You must be Princess Yeonseo. Forgive me, Your Highness, for entering your private garden."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Hwang Heejin, daughter of the war minister, Hwang Junbok."

I've heard that name before...

Oh right! She's the East Kingdom's queen consort! Sunoo described her as smart, wise and beautiful in his memoir. He's not wrong after all.

The King was so in love with her since it was love at first sight. And she even became the princess's best friend.

Is she interested in women? I wonder.

"Ah! It's okay! I don't mind. The garden is too beautiful for people not to visit," Yeonseo said.

I can't believe I get to meet her when she was still a noblewoman! She is beautiful after all.

"The workers here said that you often come here to clear your mind. It is indeed a peaceful place, Your Highness," Heejin remarked.

Yeonseo was about to comment when Sunoo came running to the garden. He widened his eyes at the sight of his crush standing next to his sister.

"You're here," he mumbled and stood still nervously. Jungwon followed behind him and gave a wink at the princess, making her grin.

"Your Majesty," Heejin bowed. The princess couldn't hide her excited smile any longer.

She looked at the king and then back to the noblewoman, imagining how their wedding would be, how many kids would they have and so on.

"Lady Hwang, I would like to invite you to the palace's upcoming ball. Would you like to come? I would love to see you there," Sunoo asked as he rubbed the back of his neck shyly.

"Since when are we going to have–"

"Since I said so," Sunoo interrupted his sister's words before averting his attention back to Heejin.

"I would love to. I'll ask my father about it but I'm sure he'll be going. Thank you for inviting me, Your Majesty."

Sunoo chuckled and plucked out a tulip next to him before giving it to her shyly, "For you."

"It's lovely! How did you know I love tulips?"

Yeonseo clenched her fists and was about to hit him for plucking out her favourite flower from her garden.

You piece of shit.

Baekhee noticed and held her arm, pulling her back. "Calm down, Your Highness," she muttered.