Heart Race

the night before

Despite growing up in a noble house, with its many privileges, one thing Eon-jin never likes is transporting in a carriage. Riding a horse, that she loves, but carriage— it confines her, limiting her movement and reminding her about her own limitation set by society. So, whenever she gets the chance, she chooses to walk and enjoys her surroundings.

She plans to do just that on this supposedly lovely morning. Already in her imagination is her running freely toward the palace for the Master Chef, the first challenge of Heart Race, with the bird chirping in the background and the wind blowing gently around her.

Obviously— her waking up late is not on the plan.

"Of all days. Of. All. Days." Eon-jin mutters endlessly as the carriage eats more distance between her house and the palace. She opens the side window and calls for her lady-in-waiting. "Hye-ji-ah, are you sure you've brought everything?"

Do Hye-ji, running lightly beside the carriage, has been blaming herself for their tardiness and she appears ready to receive any punishment calls upon her. "Please punish me to your heart's content, Agasshi. I should've knocked your door when the cock began singing in the morning."

"Nonsense. It is not anyone's fault but me. I didn't fall asleep until the wee hours of morning." The young lady massages her forehead lightly, willing the persistent headache to go away. If she can blame someone, she will blame the Crown Prince for her predicament for she couldn't stop her thought of going back to him the night before.

All because of what he said to be— a remedy for their postponed meet.

For days, Eon-jin had been imagining the kind of great time she would share with the Crown Prince in their allotted session. The disheartening news her father brought home a few days ago, though, ended her daydreaming. The Queen, seemingly out of nowhere, had just issued a decree prohibiting any of the lady on the race to meet the Crown Prince three days before each challenge.

As it was, she was the only remaining lady – out of twelve of them – who hadn't gotten a chance to spend alone time with the heir to the throne. And based on the decree, she wouldn't get her turn until after the first challenge, should she pass it.

She had no right to be disappointed, of course, for she had spent hours with him every day unbeknownst to others. But still– she couldn't shake the disappointment off her chest when she retreated back to her room. Not only she wouldn't get her allotted time, but she would also lose their precious time at the library, a place where she was the only woman he welcomed in.

She stopped her train of thought at the memory and a smile naturally bloomed on her beautiful face.

In recent days, Eon-jin couldn't count how many times Yi Hyun made her heart race and rendered her speechless with his alarmingly sweet words, but that moment, the moment he uttered that sentence in their haven — "Only you, and no one else." – was forever etched in her heart.

The Crown Prince himself had told her that he put her in a very special place in his heart, she shouldn't be so upset about a— postponement. Surely, she would pass the Master Chef challenge with flying colors and their time would soon come.

Eon-jin tried to go about her day as usual since then; listing down every ingredients and steps to her manduguk recipe, perfecting it with beef broth after the latest insight from the Crown Prince, and finishing another book transcription for her father. Yet— she undoubtedly felt something was missing.

Or was it that she missed a particular something? Or— someone?

She let go of her hand holding the upper left part of her hanbok and muttered solemnly. "Stop thinking about unimportant things, Son Eon-jin. You want tomorrow to be perfect, let's going through this list once again."