Byulyi slipped the folded message at the bottom-most part of the drawer where it joined other folded messages from the past months, where it can;t be seen by anyone else. She sat up to peek at her sister's sleeping form on a nearby mat, buried under the thick blankets of the rival kingdom they've been calling home for 6 months now. Only when her sister remained sleeping as the minutes passed did she let herself breathe a sigh of relief.
Gathering her quilted skirts, Byulyi walked on her tiptoes and slipped outside their temporary chamber to meet Jin at the gazebo by the lake. As she stepped on the perfect snow, her breath escaped her pink lips in puffs of white smoke, the only sign of life in the dead quiet of the cold December night.
Byulyi saw Jin for the first time on a hot summer's day. He was sitting on the edge of the pavement just outside the courtroom, prodding the ground with a stick. She remembered how oddly out of place her dark blue robes were against the red thick pole beside him, how the fabric looked as if it would swallow his body whole. Still a boy in every sense of the word, forced to wear the clothes his father expected him to.
She remembered peeking a little more behind her sister's shoulder so that he could see the boy with his other hand propping his chin up, eyes watching the words he wrote on the ground.
'That must be him,' Byulyi thought that day, tugging on Yongsun's pink silk sleeve to whisper to her of the boy wearing a blue hanbok.
The second time was outside the courtroom.
Even at the tender age of 19, the desire to lead was palpable with Yongsun. She always followed their father around, always an uninvited guest to hearings—a fact that both infuriated and endeared their father. Out of the four princesses of the north, Yongsun was the one destined to be queen and not even their father could stop her scheming ways to learn more about it.
So, when the meeting came on the 4th day of their stay, it was no surprise that Yongsun slipped inside the chamber to hear what the north and the south kingdoms would agree on, leaving both Byulyi and the Kims' oldest prince outside.
"So, you're the second princess?"
She nodded meekly, uncomfortable with the presence of this stranger in front of her.
Jin didn't seem to be feeling the same discomfort with his shoulders rolled back and his chin held up. He tilted his head away from the courtroom doors.
"Do you want to get away from here?"
6 months have passed since then.
Drops of snow slowly cascaded down from the dark night sky, making her nose tingle with coldness. They perched on Byulyi's hair, decorating her head in a gentle halo as she left small footprint after small footprint in the snow. She shivered occasionally as she walked but the thought of meeting Jin again warmed her all over again.
As she slowly approached the small structure, cheeks blushed, fingertips freezing, chest alight, her eyes started making out a figure leaning on the railings. Though the surroundings were enveloped by darkness, she knew that figure anywhere.
"Why are you just standing there like an idiot?" she asked out loud, the laughter in her voice still audible even as she stood some steps away from him.
He turned around wordlessly and Byulyi could just imagine him rolling his eyes as a response. She walked to stand beside, mimicking the way he leaned on the railings with a flourish.
"From what do I owe the pleasure of you asking of my presence here?" she asked as she pointed her nose upwards, an air of dramatic arrogance to her.
The jovial energy Byulyi had was not reciprocated by Jin who raised his hand to rub the back of his neck, the faintest signs of frown on his face.
