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"Wha--" Joy is so surprised and shocked that she had lost the ability to form any proper words. Her whole body stiffened up and she is struggling to breathe properly. "I--"

Did he know? But how? And since when? So..that means I'm caught?

Millions and millions of questions filled her head. Joy looked at the expressionless face of Minister Min. The silence hovered over them. One second passed, then two, then three... The only thing that she could hear now is the loud thumping sound of her heart. It is so loud that she's sure she can still hear it even if thousands and millions of noise sounded together at the same time.

Think, she told herself. Come up with an excuse! Any excuse!  

Yet another part of her felt that it's useless to come up with any excuse now. Maybe confession is the only way out now. But before she could do anything or said anything, Minister Min suddenly broke into a smile. Joy looked at him, completely confused.

"It seems like you are good at politics. You did well in that court meeting, Your Majesty." Minister Min praised. 

Hearing this, Joy heaved a sigh of relieve. Minister Min didn't know the truth yet. Then again, there's no way he would think of that. It's too absurd after all. Joy smiled awkwardly and thanked him for his praise politely.

"Alright, I need to go now," Minister Min said. "Take good care of yourself." Not forgetting about his daughter's status, he bowed and dismissed himself.

Joy stared at the back of her 'father'. Now that she thinks about it, this is the first time Minister Min had looked at her so dearly. All these while, she had always regarded him as someone cold and strict. Though it's clear he loves his daughter, he is someone who does not show it easily.

As Joy got lost in her thought, the King joined her from behind. "What did you and Minister Min talk about?" He asked curiously. 

The sudden voice behind her startled Joy, but she quickly regained her composure. Joy turned and looked at the King. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Not telling you. Let's go get food, I'm starving!"

***********

Joy looked up at Little Choi, who is serving the food on the table. Little Choi did not notice Joy's gaze initially, but she finally noticed it when she placed down the last food to be served on the table. Little Choi raised her eyebrow. Since the King is also present at the table, Little Choi dared not voice out much.

"Do I have any schedule for today?" Joy asked, smiling cheekily.

Hearing this, Little Choi wanted to glare at Joy but bearing in mind that the King is still with them, she didn't. Joy knew and tried to hide away her laughter. 

Of course, there is schedule planned for her today. Today is supposed to be the most packed day since she needed to check on the different departments in the internal palace. She is fully aware that she should fulfil these duties as the Queen of the nation, but somehow, she felt like skipping everything today.

Talking about skipping, this suddenly reminded her of her times as a student. Back then, as a young actress, she has to balance both work and studies at the same time. It's tough and she barely survived. Hence, usually, after long hours of filming, if there's school the next day, she would beg Manager Hwang to let her skip school -- much like what she is doing to Little Choi now. Joy smiled and tilted her head as she awaited Little Choi's reply. The King also glanced up at Little Choi.