◆
Gunshots cracked through the air, echoing again and again along the mountainside. The forest, peaceful only moments ago, was instantly swallowed by an eerie tension.
Crazy woman.
Bang.
Without a shred of fear.
Bang.
How dare she.
Bang.
Birds that had been soaring through the sky with their wings spread wide suddenly went limp, tumbling down onto the snow-covered ground.
Dirt, snow, and blood mingled messily beneath them.
I replayed the conversation from earlier in my mind.
"You're looking for the girl who used to attend you, aren't you?"
Hong Yeonhwa seemed to have her entire attention fixed on me. Even the slightest shift of my gaze was enough for her to read my thoughts with uncanny precision.
"There's something I entrusted her with."
"I see."
A faint smile touched Hong Yeonhwa's lips.
"I heard she took two days of leave. I suppose keeping pace with me has been rather exhausting for her."
"It's probably not that you're making things difficult for her. That girl has a habit of making things difficult for herself. She'll stubbornly choose the harder path even when an easier one is right in front of her."
"Even so, it seems Master Chaeha has been helping Miss Seonmi quite a lot."
The moment I heard the three syllables of Go Chaeha's name, something inside me twisted, my nerves sharpening instantly.
"I heard the reason for this outing was to search for her mother. It was the first time Master Chaeha had ever come to ask me for a favor, so... I must admit, I was rather surprised."
What?
That was impossible.
Seonmi's mother was already dead.
I had confirmed it in the records.
The financial support for her living expenses, the residence that had been provided for her, the payment of her medical bills—
all of it had stopped at a certain point.
There could only be one reason.
Death.
My brows drew together.
Then how the hell was Go Chaeha supposed to be searching for that girl's mother?
There was no chance that bastard, with all his sources inside the palace, didn't already know the truth.
Unless...
Were the two of them planning to run away from the palace together?
The moment the thought crossed my mind, a sickening sense of foreboding surged through me.
Ha... I've truly lost my mind.
I clenched my fist, but the trembling wouldn't stop.
Only after squeezing hard enough for the veins to rise sharply along the back of my hand did I finally manage to hold my emotions in check.
Bang.
Another gunshot tore through the sky.
Birds scattered with frantic beats of their wings before disappearing into the darkness above.
I pulled the trigger again.
This time, there was no metallic rattle of a bullet catching inside the chamber.
I gestured toward the Captain of the Royal Guard.
But he simply remained where he was.
I caught the slightest change in his expression.
Concern.
Unease.
"Your Highness. You have been hunting for far too long. I believe it would be best to return now."
"These days, every dog and his master seems desperate to offer me their opinion."
"My apologies."
The Captain of the Royal Guard immediately lowered his head.
I was in a foul mood.
Whenever I felt like this, I hunted.
I had done so for as long as I could remember.
Until my lungs burned with every breath.
Until the feeling disappeared from my fingertips.
Until there was nothing left in my head at all.
It was the fastest way I knew.
"Bring me more ammunition. Enough to kill every last one of those that got away."
◆◆
Warmth beside me stirred me awake.
Morning sunlight had already slipped through the gap in the curtains, stretching in a long golden line across the bed.
I narrowed my eyes and slowly turned my head.
Go Chaeha was still asleep.
Light spilling in from the window scattered softly across his tousled hair.
The mischievous eyes he usually wore, the unreadable smile that always seemed to hide something—
both were gone.
In sleep, his face was astonishingly peaceful.
For a while, I simply watched him in silence.
There had been times when I genuinely wondered whether he might be a demon.
A demon who had taken on a form more beautiful than an angel simply to enchant human beings.
A man who could place another person's heart in the palm of his hand and examine it for his own amusement.
Someone with whom it was impossible to tell where sincerity ended and deception began.
But when he slept, he was different.
Not a trace of wariness remained.
His lashes rested neatly against his skin.
His chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm.
Looking at him like this, he seemed almost as innocent as a child.
Before I realized it, a faint smile had spread across my lips.
So he can make a face like this too.
Perhaps...
I had only ever thought the worst of him.
I was still studying his face when—
without warning, Gowon appeared in my thoughts, like a sharp shard of glass flying into the empty center of my heart.
The smile slowly vanished from my lips.
Why now, of all times?
I closed my eyes, then opened them again.
But once his face had appeared in my mind, it refused to disappear.
Those eyes looking down at me with feigned indifference.
The hand that had seized my wrist and pulled me along.
The voice that had scolded me, yet always ended up worrying about me anyway.
And the way his gaze had begun to change, little by little, whenever he looked at me.
A cold ache sliced through one side of my chest.
It was strange.
Gowon and I were nothing to each other.
He was a man who would soon become engaged to another woman.
And I was lying beside another man now.
There was absolutely no reason for me to feel guilty.
And yet...
Slowly, I turned my gaze away from Go Chaeha, like someone who had been caught doing something forbidden.
As though I had betrayed someone to whom I had never promised anything at all.
More than anything else, that confused me.
With every step we took, our footprints stamped themselves into the freshly fallen snow.
At last, Go Chaeha and I stopped.
"This is it."
Snow was falling softly.
A thin layer of white had settled over the old tiled roof, while half-melted snow clung to the edge of the eaves in glistening droplets.
For a long moment, I stood before the gate without saying a word.
"This is..."
The last place my mother had lived.
I had imagined this moment countless times.
What if I knocked on the door and Mother came out?
Would she be surprised to see me?
Would she resent me for taking so long to find her?
I knew those hopes were foolish.
And yet, throughout the entire journey here, one tiny flame of hope had stubbornly refused to go out somewhere inside my heart.
With a trembling hand, I knocked.
Knock, knock.
There was no answer.
I knocked again.
Knock, knock.
"...Is anyone there?"
My voice scattered into the silent courtyard.
"Is anyone there?"
This time I called a little louder.
Still, no one came.
Go Chaeha silently reached for the handle.
Creak.
The old gate opened with almost no resistance.
It wasn't even locked.
From that moment on, an uneasy feeling began to settle over me.
There wasn't a single footprint in the courtyard.
Untouched by anyone, the snow had blanketed the entire yard in white.
Several old flowerpots sat beneath the eaves, their plants long since withered.
Beyond the windows, there wasn't even the faintest trace of human warmth.
"Mom...?"
The word slipped out before I could stop it.
There was no answer.
I opened the door to the room, and a bitter chill brushed across my face.
It was empty.
A few pieces of furniture.
A dust-covered dresser.
Faded curtains.
A wall clock that seemed to have stopped long ago.
That was all.
I stared blankly into the room.
"...She's not here."
My voice sounded strangely calm.
"No one is..."
I couldn't finish the sentence.
My lower lip trembled.
I had thought something would change once I made it here.
I had thought that maybe, this time, I would truly be able to see her.
And if not that, then at least I believed I might find some small trace of the life my mother had lived—the parts I couldn't remember.
But there was nothing.
My vision slowly blurred.
I forced myself to smile.
"To be honest... I was a little hopeful."
Go Chaeha said nothing.
"I thought maybe she might still be here."
My voice shook at the end.
A tear fell.
And with that one tear, everything I had been desperately holding together collapsed all at once.
"Just once..."
I couldn't breathe properly.
"Just once, I wanted to ask her why she left me."
I lowered my head.
The tears kept falling.
Go Chaeha didn't ask me anything.
He didn't tell me it was all right.
He didn't tell me not to cry.
He simply stepped closer.
Then, quietly, he offered me his shoulder.
I hesitated for a moment before resting my forehead against it.
He was warm.
And with that warmth, the last of my strength gave way.
Go Chaeha's hand slowly came up to cradle the back of my head.
"You can cry."
"..."
"No one is going to say anything to you today."
I clutched the front of his coat.
And I cried like that for a long time.
The snow continued to fall in silence.
Onto the roof of the old, abandoned house.
And onto the place inside my heart where my mother still remained.
Then—
Crunch.
The sound of tires rolling over snow came from somewhere nearby.
At first, I didn't lift my head.
But when I felt Go Chaeha move, I slowly looked up.
A black sedan had stopped in front of the open gate.
It was far too pristine—and far too familiar—to belong in such an isolated place.
The rear window began to slide down without a sound.
Slowly.
Little by little.
And behind the dark glass, a familiar face came into view.
My heart dropped.
Gowon.
He didn't say anything.
He didn't get out of the car.
He only looked at us through the open window.
More precisely—
at me, leaning against Go Chaeha's shoulder.
And at Go Chaeha's hand, still resting against the back of my head.
Only then did I realize how we must have looked.
That strange guilt I had felt when I woke beside Go Chaeha returned, stabbing sharply into my chest.
I tried to pull away.
But strangely, Go Chaeha's hand didn't leave me right away.
Instead, he lightly drew an arm around my shoulders once more.
In that brief instant, Gowon's eyes turned cold.
His face remained completely expressionless.
That made it even more frightening.
Our eyes met.
And the moment they did, even the tears that had been falling only seconds ago came to a stop.
"Bring Master Go Chaeha here."
Gowon's low voice came through the open window.
The moment the order left his lips, the doors of the black vehicle following behind opened.
Men in black suits stepped out and headed straight toward us.
It happened in an instant.
Two of them moved to either side of Go Chaeha and seized his arms.
"Wait."
Go Chaeha's brows drew together in irritation.
He looked down at the hands gripping him, then let out a humorless laugh.
"I can walk on my own. Don't drag me around like a criminal."
His tone was easy, but unmistakable displeasure edged his voice.
The attendants hesitated.
Go Chaeha calmly straightened his clothes as though nothing had happened, then held out a hand toward me.
"Seems we have no choice. Let's go."
I hurriedly wiped away my tears.
After rubbing at my face several times with the back of my cold hand, I took his hand without really thinking.
I could feel a burning stare against my back.
I didn't need to look to know whose it was.
I deliberately refused to turn around.
Still holding Go Chaeha's hand, I walked toward the second vehicle.
One of the attendants opened the rear door.
Go Chaeha got in first.
I was about to follow him when—
"She rides here."
The low voice cut through the falling snow.
My feet stopped.
The surroundings went silent in an instant.
Slowly, I turned my head.
The rear door of the car Gowon occupied stood open.
He was still seated inside.
His long legs were crossed loosely, one arm resting near the window.
His expression was the same as always.
Indifferent.
Cold.
Not a trace of disturbance on his face.
"I'll go with Master Chaeha—"
"Didn't you hear me?"
His voice sank lower as he cut me off.
I closed my mouth.
Gowon's gaze moved slowly over my face.
My reddened eyes from crying.
My wet cheeks.
And finally, the hand that had been holding Go Chaeha's only moments ago.
The muscle along his jaw shifted almost imperceptibly.
"Get in this car."
It was an order.
Then Go Chaeha's voice came from inside the other vehicle.
"She can just ride here."
A brief silence followed.
The air seemed to turn inexplicably colder.
Gowon was the first to speak.
"Did I ask your permission?"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Go Chaeha's lips.
"Not permission. But shouldn't you at least ask what she wants?"
I stood between the two of them, unable to say a word.
"What she wants..."
In an instant, Gowon's eyes went icy.
"That's something you ask people who stand on equal footing with me—or above me."
"..."
"Do I need permission even to decide which car one palace maid rides in?"
The instant his words fell, something inside my head snapped.
The guilt I had been carrying only moments earlier vanished so quickly it almost felt absurd.
In its place, heat surged through my entire body as though my blood were flowing backward.
One palace maid.
Right.
That was all I was to Gowon.
Someone beneath him.
Someone whose opinion didn't even need to be asked.
Someone who couldn't decide for herself where she would sit, where she would go, or who she would be with.
And yet I had been feeling guilty just moments ago.
For crying against Go Chaeha's shoulder.
For holding his hand.
As though I had somehow wronged Gowon.
I suddenly felt pathetic.
"Why are you just standing there?"
Gowon's voice came again.
"Get in."
That final command was enough to shatter what little patience I had left.
Slowly, I unclenched my tightly fisted hand.
"No."
Gowon's eyebrow moved almost imperceptibly.
Even the attendants standing nearby stiffened.
I knew exactly what I had said.
I had dared to refuse an order from the Crown Prince.
"What?"
"I said no."
I stared straight at him with reddened eyes.
"I'm going with Master Go Chaeha."
From inside the car, Go Chaeha silently watched me.
Whatever warmth had remained in Gowon's face disappeared completely.
"Seonmi."
It was the first time.
The first time he had called my name that low in front of other people.
I knew it was a warning.
But I didn't look away.
"You said you had no intention of asking what I wanted."
My lips trembled.
Even so, I forced the words out to the end.
"Then at least allow me to decide which car I get into with my own two feet."
"..."
"Or is even that something Your Highness has to decide for me?"
Silence fell.
Gowon stared at me for a long time.
Then, slowly, he stepped out of the car.
Bang.
The sound of the door slamming shut made my heart jolt.
Only the falling snow drifted quietly between us.
That was when I began to regret it.
He walked toward me.
Then, stopping close enough that only I could hear him, he said,
"Your insolence has gone too far."
"..."
"Fine. I'll make sure you remember, very clearly, exactly who it is you're supposed to serve."