𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 | 정원

35

Once the princes dispersed, Ji-ah followed Jungwon as he walked away.

"Ji-ah, make sure you don't go anywhere alone," Jungwon said, turning to face her briefly.

"I know, I won't," Ji-ah replied softly.

Jungwon gave a small nod, but the faint concern in his eyes lingered. The warmth she'd felt from him yesterday seemed overshadowed by a heavier, unspoken worry.

Ji-ah hesitated, a question forming in her mind as Jungwon turned to leave.

"Wait, Jungwon," she called out.

He stopped and turned back, his eyes expectant, laced with unease. "Yes?"

"They said she died near the cliff, right?"

Something shifted in Jungwon's expression—something guarded—but he answered calmly, "Yes. Why?"

Ji-ah studied his face carefully. "Is there something... special about that cliff?"

Jungwon's hesitation was brief but telling. She could see the weight of whatever he was holding back.

"What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"There's something you're not telling me, aren't you?" Ji-ah pressed, her gaze steady.

Jungwon let out a slow breath, his shoulders sagging slightly as he avoided her eyes. After a moment, he met her gaze again.

"That's... where Ae-ra died."

Ji-ah froze, her thoughts going silent.

"She fell from there—into the river. Her body was never found."

A sharp ache bloomed in Ji-ah's chest. Hearing Ae-ra's name from Jungwon's lips felt like a stab she wasn't prepared for.

"But... I thought she was stabbed," Ji-ah said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Her memories of those fragmented dreams resurfaced—the blood, the anguish. Yet, she had never seen a cliff.

Jungwon's expression remained pained, his silence heavy with unspoken words. Ji-ah's mind raced, piecing together fragments of a puzzle that refused to fit.

The truth, whatever it was, felt closer—and yet still out of reach.

"Maybe, but she fell from the cliff in the end," he said, painful memories from a hundred years ago reflected in his eyes.

Ji-ah's chest tightened at his words, but before she could respond, Jungwon spoke again.

"Ji-ah, I want to tell you something."

Her stomach fluttered with unease. Is there more? "What is it?"

"I found a way to stop your dreams," he said softly.

Ji-ah blinked, taken aback. Relief and hope flickered in her chest. She hadn't expected this, but the fact that Jungwon had been trying to help her stirred something warm within her.

"Oh?" she managed to say.

"But..." Jungwon hesitated, his expression clouding over. "It might be... uncomfortable. If you don't want—"

"I want to," Ji-ah cut in firmly.

"I haven't even told you what it is yet," Jungwon said, his lips twitching slightly, though the concern in his eyes remained.

"Then tell me," Ji-ah pressed.

"It's hypnotherapy. I know someone who can help you. An acquaintance of mine."