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A few moments before, Jin Heung had lain down next to Eun Sook to rest his eyes.  But they flew open now as he sprang up, sitting straight up on the bed.

“What?!” he roared as he stared at his marvelous author-nim.  “She’s not the councilman’s daughter?  I did not see that coming.”

“I hope nobody did,” she mumbled.

He stared at her as a thought occurred to him.  “Why did you want to tell me this story tonight?”

“Because it’s time,” she whispered.  Not looking at him.

“Sookie,” he breathed.  Then he reached out one long finger and used its tip to lift her chin up until her eyes met his.  “Are you trying to tell me something?”

His heart began to race.

“Will you just let me tell you the rest of the story?  Right now?”  She blinked rapidly several times. 

And that’s when he realized that she exercised that quirk when she was nervous.  Not just when her eyes spasmed.

“Don’t you want to know who she is?” she asked.

“Very much,” he declared.  But they both knew that he wasn’t talking about Su Bin.

Eun Sook cleared her throat before she picked up her tale where she’d left off.

“‘Whose daughter are you?’ Yong Joon queried.

“‘That’s not important,’ she insisted.  ‘What’s important is that I know what it is to live among the peasants.  And I want to see a compassionate king rise to power.  A man who isn’t out to make himself comfortable while his subjects suffer.’

“‘I agree,’ he murmured, but he was still wondering who she was.  ‘Why do you call the councilman Father?’

“‘Because he married my mother when I was eleven years old.’

“He furrowed his brow.  ‘Is Yun Seo your stepbrother?’

“She nodded.  ‘He’s his child from a previous marriage.  Yun Seo’s mother died when he was tiny.’

“‘Ah,’ he nodded in understanding.  Still curious about her origins.

“But she wasn’t going to enlighten him.  Not today.

“Of course, he was hiding his own secret, so he decided not to press her about hers.

“Just then, another hwarang jogged up to them and informed Yong Joon that his presence was required on the training ground.  He glanced at her.  ‘Will you be coming tomorrow to check on your brother?’

“She nodded. ‘Yes.  Is four o’clock a good time?’

“‘It is.  The perfect time.  Shall he meet you here?’

“She bobbed her head again.  Fairly sure that she would find a certain tall and gorgeous hwarang here tomorrow.  And not her younger brother.

“She watched as that charming hero strode away, following the other hwarang.  And she sighed.  For she wished she could spend much more time basking in the presence of the kind man.  He was just the sort of man whom she was hoping to marry someday.

“She met him the next day under a cherry blossom tree that had bloomed long ago.  All that remained were its lush green leaves.  They sat and talked to each other for the next hour.  They would repeat this lovely time daily for the next few weeks.  Getting to know the other’s heart, thoughts, and motives.  On their last afternoon together, she promised to return tomorrow at the same time.

“However, she did not see him the next day.  Her father wouldn’t let her leave the house.  He told her that he had important guests coming, and she must be prepared to entertain them.  That was the afternoon that she discovered that he planned to marry her off to another hwarang.  They weren’t announcing any engagement yet, but it was quite clear that he and the boy’s father had come to an agreement.

“She fled to her room that night as soon as their company left.  She lay in her bed, crying her heart out.  That tender heart was bent in the direction of Yong Joon.  She had no room in it for another man.  No matter how noble or handsome he might be. 

“She hadn’t met her intended husband yet.  He was still busy training with the hwarang.  Today she had met his parents and his sister.  She had behaved prettily towards them.  She had nothing against his family.  Or him.  She simply wanted another man.  Yong Joon.  Her hero.

“But she couldn’t see any way she’d ever be with him now.  Discouraged, she wept quietly in her bed until the whole household was still.  She waited until her parents went to sleep, and then she crept quietly outside.  Where, at least, she could draw a deep breath.

“For his part, Yong Joon had appeared promptly at four o’clock at their rendezvous point and waited an hour for her to arrive, but she never had.  He became concerned, wondering if some evil had befallen her.  He knew she was prone to accidents and scrapes and troubles.  The more he thought about it, the more worried he became.  He had to find out if she was all right. 

“He returned to his room.  A room he shared with four other hwarang.  Her brother wasn’t one of them.  The room was empty but for the lonely, young king.  Yong Joon threw himself across his bed.  His friend, Min Jun, wandered into the room a few minutes later.

“‘What’s wrong?’

“‘I’m worried about a friend of mine.  She was supposed to meet me today, but she never showed up.’

“‘A girl?  She probably forgot.’

“He shook his head in worry.  ‘No.  This girl isn’t flighty.  But she is prone to getting into scrapes.’

“His friend studied his troubled brow.  ‘Is this Yun Seo’s sister?  I heard she nearly fell to her death a few weeks ago.  And flattened you in the process,” he added with an upward twitching of his lips.

“Yong Joon sighed.  ‘Yes, that’s her.’

“‘She’s ravishing,’ the boy remarked with an upward quirk of his lips.  ‘How did she even get in here?  They’re not letting most women through the gates.’

“The king grinned.  ‘She’s friends with the cook.  She’s been bringing him unusual ingredients.  And sharing recipes with him.  Apparently, she’s an amazing cook.  And doesn’t mind telling her secrets to our chef.’

“Cagey girl.

“‘Is that why our food has suddenly started tasting so much better of late?’  Min Jun paused as Yong Joon nodded, then the boy surmised, ‘I may have an explanation for her absence today…I heard a rumor yesterday.’

“Yong Joon wrinkled his brow as his eyes collided with his friend’s.  ‘What rumor?’

“‘That she’s to marry a hwarang.  One of Yun Seo’s friends.’

“Yong Joon sighed.  What did it matter?  He couldn’t marry a councilman’s daughter anyway.  Still, he wanted to see her again.

“‘I’ll help you sneak out tonight,’ Min Jun suddenly offered generously.

“The king’s eyebrows shot up.  ‘You will?’

“Several hours later, the king climbed the wall and escaped into the outside world while his friend distracted the guards.  Min Jun would be waiting for him in three hours to help him sneak back in too.

“Yong Joon had asked Yun Seo where he lived, so he made a beeline for the boy’s house.  The question was…how to get Su Bin’s attention without alerting her adoptive father that he was there.  It was a needless concern.  For when he arrived, the king found her sitting outside gazing up at the stars.  Completely accessible to him.

“Such a sense of relief flooded him at the sight of her.  He hadn’t realized how worried he’d become until he saw her sitting there whole.  A tidal wave of affection for her suddenly swamped him too.  And he recognized just how very dear she had become to him over the past few weeks.

“‘Su Bin?’ he whispered.

“She gasped and glanced up in surprise. 

“He stepped closer.  ‘It’s me, Yong Joon.’

“She jumped up.  ‘Yong Joon?  What are you doing here?’  She looked around, but he was obviously alone.  ‘Did you get a break from training?’

“He shook his head.  ‘I snuck out,’ he whispered.

“‘Why?’

“‘To check on you.’

“‘You were worried about me?’  He heard the astonishment in her voice.

“With a chuckle lacing his, he responded, ‘You have a tendency to get yourself into trouble.’

“She grimaced.  It was true.  ‘I’m sorry I didn’t come today.  I couldn’t.  Father needed me here.’

“He heard sorrow in her tone.  ‘What happened?’

“‘Apparently, he’s marrying me off.  To one of the hwarang.’

“‘You’ll be married to a man of honor.  An esteemed one,’ he murmured.  Mostly because he didn’t know what else to say.

“She glanced up at him.  ‘I know.  I just…I was hoping to marry someone else.’

“His dark eyebrows jumped up.  ‘Were you?’ he asked with sudden interest.  ‘May I ask whom?’

“She simply stared at him.  ‘A man who I think isn’t indifferent to me,’ she whispered.

“He quirked one midnight eyebrow.  But he didn’t say anything.  So she continued her line of thought.

“‘He saved me from danger several times.  Caught me when I was falling.  And skipped out on his sacred duty to check in on me.  I’m thinking maybe he feels for me what I feel for him.’

“She was forthright; he’d give her that.

“‘But you barely know him…yet you’re prepared to marry him?’  His heart was racing now.

“‘He views the world as I do.  And he has a compassionate heart.  And a ready sense of humor.  And that makes him a rare man indeed.  I doubt very much I’ll ever find one finer.’  She didn’t mention how absolutely gorgeous she found him to be.

“His heart thundering in his ears, he stood staring down at her.  It was too dark to discern the green depths of her magnificent eyes, but he could tell that she was returning his gaze.

“He murmured, ‘You’re not wrong.  He isn’t indifferent to you.’

“She caught her breath.  ‘What are we to do?’ she asked in despair after a moment.

“‘I don’t know,’ he mumbled.  ‘Would you consider running away with me?’

“He couldn’t believe those words had left his mouth.  He couldn’t give up his kingdom for her.  Could he?”

Jijin stared up at her.  She’d done it again.  Discerned the motives of his heart.  It was downright scary how accurate her assessment of his character was.  He grinned suddenly.  It was the thing that made her so absolutely perfect for him.  Now he was thankful that Ah Ro had rejected him.

Eun Sook spoke on, “But as she continued to stare up at him, he was fairly certain he could.  So he took advantage of the moment and leaned towards her, slipping his arm around her waist, and he drew her near to him.  Believing that the cover of darkness cloaked them from anyone’s view.  He bent his head and brushed his lips softly across hers.  Then he murmured against them, ‘I love you, Su Bin.’

“She startled him a moment later.  ‘Are you free?’ she whispered.

“He drew back.  ‘What do you mean?’ 

“‘I…I just wonder if there is anything that would stop you from marrying me?  You’re not betrothed to another?  You don’t have any sacred duty that would steal you away from me?’

“He gazed down at her, a series of wrinkles piling up on his brow.  Was she hinting at his true identity?

“‘What do you think you know about me?’ he asked suddenly.

“‘I might have overheard a conversation between you and your guard yesterday,’ she began haltingly.  Well aware that she might have just put herself into harm’s way.

“Alarmed, he intoned quietly, ‘What conversation?’

“‘Maybe I misunderstood.  But it sounded like he referred to you as your majesty.’

“He stared at her as fear spiraled through him.  ‘Did anyone see you?’

“‘What?’

“‘Does anyone know that you overheard our conversation?’

“‘I don’t think so.  I left as soon as I heard him say that.’ 

“Her heart had been thundering.  She’d instinctively known that if anyone protecting the king discovered she knew his identity, her life would most likely be in danger.  She’d fled in sudden terror.  But after a while, she’d realized that no one was following her, and she’d decided that nobody was aware that she now knew who the king was.  She’d spent last night marveling at this newfound information.  Her beloved Yong Joon was the king!  And now he was admitting to her that he loved her and wanted her to be his wife.

“He sighed with relief.  But didn’t say anything.

“‘Would you consider your secret safe with me if I shared my own with you?’ she queried suddenly.

“His eyes riveted to hers.  ‘What secret?’

“‘The identity of my true father.’

“His ears perked up.  Her true father?  But how could her secret even compare to his?

“‘Do you truly love me?’ she whispered.

“‘Yes!’ he cried out.

“And she believed him.  So she told him her deepest secret.  ‘My father was a king.’”

Jijin sat straight up in the bed.  “Her father was a king!”

Eun Sook nodded. 

Jijin gaped at her.  “She’s been a princess this whole time?” he asked, shocked.

She bobbed her head.  “Yes.”

“A princess in hiding…”  But then he remembered the purpose of this story. 

He narrowed his eyes at her.  “Sookie, what does this story have to do with you?”  His brow wrinkled deeply.  “Are you trying to tell me that you’re…a princess?” he gasped.  “Is that why you began to tell me this story the night we met?  Were you leading up to telling me the truth?  That you are a…”

“I’m a sacred bone,” she whispered.

“What?”  He bent towards her.  “I must have misheard you.  I thought you said that you were a sacred bone.”

“I did.”

He furrowed his brow.  “I don’t understand.  You mean…are we related?”

She shook her head.  “No.  I’m from a different royal house.  Just like the girl in my story.”

He caught his breath and simply stared at her for a moment.  “What?” he gasped.  “What royal house?”

“Goguryeo.”