"Why are you staring intently on the throne? Do you want to sit on it?"
Hae Soo looked behind her and gave Prince So a sad smile. The sorrow in his eyes was enough to tell her that the king had already died. He was grieving yet there he was, teasing her, lightening up her mood. She should be the one comforting him.
"What are you thinking?" he asked, standing beside her.
"I am thinking how scary and hateful that seat is," she answered, looking back at the throne.
"You hate that seat? Everyone risks their lives to sit on it."
"The king threw Court Lady Oh away to protect that seat," she said, looking sadly at Prince So. "And you will have to fight your brothers because of it. How can I not hate it?"
"It is the same for me," Prince So said and his eyes were filled with sorrow and rage as he stared at the throne. "Ever since I was a child... that seat only brought me misery."
"Tomorrow... can you promise not to kill your brothers?" she asked not wanting Prince So to kill his own blood and add more misery into his life... because of that seat...
"Are you worried about Wook?" he asked and he seemed unhappy with that. "You still consider him a relative? Then why did you come to me? You could have just stand by and watch."
"I can't watch you fight each other," she explained. "Prince Wook was not like that before. He changed because he wanted to protect me. He was angry at himself that he could not do anything when I was wrongly accused and punished. He had no choice but to leave me alone and he hated that."
"I also felt that way back then..."
"But you did not change," Hae Soo quickly said before any other thoughts came to his mind. "I also don't want Prince Wook to change. I want him to go back to his old self. That is why I came to you. I know how much you value your family. I know you would never kill them, right?"
"I can't be confident with that," Prince So said with a hesitant smile. "But I will try. I don't want Wook or even Yo to die in my hands."
Hae Soo smiled, a bit relieved.
"I could die too," he said and he seemed to be teasing her again. "Are you not worried about me?"
I am... but not for your life but for your soul... You are Gwangjong. You have a long history ahead of you.
"I know you will be fine, Prince So. You are always saving me. I know you will also save your brothers."
Prince So sighed and looked back at the throne with grief in his eyes.
"The people you thought would never die... eventually die..."
"Your father's death will never be in vain," Hae Soo encouraged him.
"Yes, it will not. I will make sure that Crown Prince Mu will be the next king."
^###############################^
The sun had set and Baek-Ah was getting frustrated with himself because his wound kept on hurting and was giving him difficulty staying upright on his horse. It was the horse who was running but he was the one getting exhausted and running out of breath.
Woo Hee suddenly stopped her horse and jumped down.
"We need to keep going," he reminded Woo Hee.
"You will not fulfill your mission if you die right at this moment," Woo Hee said.
"I'm fine," Baek-Ah insisted.
"You are not," Woo Hee countered. "If you keep on going like that, your wound will open up and we will only be delayed further. You don't want that, right?"
Baek-Ah could only sigh and let Woo Hee helped him get down his horse.
"Sit here," Woo Hee said when she found a huge log lying on the ground. "Don't move."
"Where will you go?" Baek-Ah asked, holding his painful midriff.
"I'll find something to start a fire," she said, surprising Baek-Ah. "Wait here."
He would have followed but his wound would not let him move without threatening to worsen the pain and made him dizzy.
He took the small package So had given him earlier. He said that was medicine. He unpacked it and a bunch of medicine and bandages were revealed to him. He smiled at his brother's thoughtfulness but was worried right after.
His father's condition was making his brothers fight each other and the thing that surprised him most was Wook. Yo was after the throne a long time ago but Wook... he thought Wook was different. He thought Wook was content with his life.
Why is he after the throne now?
"Are you worrying about your brothers?"
Baek-Ah nodded.
Woo Hee put the firewood she collected in front of him and made a fire within a few seconds. Baek-Ah was mesmerized.
"When did you learn to do that?"
"Give me that," she said, ignoring his question and taking the medicines and bandages from him.
Baek-Ah only smiled and stared at Woo Hee.
"Stop staring," Woo Hee snapped at him. "Take your clothes off."
"What?"
"How can I clean your wound with your clothes on?" Woo Hee snapped at him again and she smiled when he blushed.
Embarrassed, he took a part of his clothes off, just enough to make Woo Hee dressed his wound.
"You don't have to be embarrassed anymore. I was the one who treated your wound yesterday," she said with a teasing smile that only worsened Baek-Ah's embarrassment.
"I'm sorry," Woo Hee suddenly said as she was cleaning his wound. She even carried a lot of water with her. "Sorry for hurting you... for not believing you when you said that you are a prince... but I will not apologize for trying to kill your father."
"At times like this I wish that I am a simple musician and that you are a gisaeng," Baek-Ah said. "I wonder what it would be like for us if that wish had been granted. Would we have a different relationship?"
"Rest up a little," she said, ignoring his fantasies and busied herself in covering his wound. "We only need to cross one more mountain. Then... we will be... in Hubaekje. My hometown..."
"We will have to part ways tomorrow..." he said understanding why Woo Hee was avoiding that conversation. Why would they waste their time imagining things like that when they were bound to separate soon? That would only make things difficult for them.
