MY CROWN PRINCE | JEON JUNGKOOK

Episode 5: Secrets and Schemes

Jimin read Min Ha's letter aloud:

"Anneong Eonni,

I read your letter and was so happy to learn I have a sister! When Aboji told us, I was shocked, but your letter made me really happy. I feel like we can be friends. I don't usually make friends, just Kim Taehyung is my best friend. He says you're intelligent but teases me that I'm not, so I beat him! I always stole swords from the boys of Silla; it's funny, right? You didn't tell me about your likes and dislikes. Please include that in your next letter, and I'll tell you about me too. Now I need to escape because it's time to read Silla history books, which I don't want to study. Anneonghaseo, Eonni.

Your sister, Lee Min Ha."

Min Ha glared at her brother, who was struggling to control his laughter. "Oraboni!" she shouted.

"Mianhe, Mina-ya. But this girl can't be your sister," Jimin said between chuckles.

"Wae?" Min Ha asked, confused.

"She's so childish and different from you," Jimin explained.

"Aniya, Oraboni!" she protested.

"Kim Taehyung, swords, History of Silla," Jimin teased.

"Oraboni, jebal!" she pleaded.

Under a tree, Taehyung asked, "Don't tell me you wrote that?"

Min Ha, munching on an apple, replied with her mouth full, "Hmm, what's wrong?"

"Yaa, eat first, then speak," Taehyung said.

At the training grounds, General Min greeted the young Jungkook, who had just arrived. "Anneong Jeoha, welcome. I'm General Min."

"Gamsa habnida, General Min," Jungkook said.

"I'll train you to be strong. You can rest now; your tent is the royal one," General Min instructed.

"Ne," Jungkook replied and went to his tent. He sat quietly, feeling a void. "Eomma, please be strong. Bogo shipeo," he mumbled, holding a hairpin.

Flashback

"Min Ha, we should go. Kaja!" Jungkook called out as they left. He spotted a hairpin on the sand, took it, and smiled. "Min Ha, you're really cute. Will you be my queen?" he whispered to himself.

End of Flashback

One day, he thought, he would give her this hairpin and pin it into her hair.

Another Flashback

As Jungkook left Silla, he saw Min Ha at the lake, throwing stones. "Shin-shi, can you stop here?" Jungkook asked.

"Wae? What's wrong, Jeoha?" Shin-shi replied.

"Just wait here. I'll be back," Jungkook said, running to Min Ha.

He approached her, said goodbye, and kissed her cheek. "I'll be back soon and marry you," he promised before running away. Min Ha, surprised and angry, shouted after him.

End of Flashback

Jungkook smiled as he reminisced and then fell asleep.

In a heated moment, Taehyung confronted Min Ha. "Yaaa! Stop ruining my room! Eomma will be furious!"

Min Ha fixed Taehyung's loose scarf and warned, "First, fix this. And beware, Kim Taehyung, I'm really aggressive this time!"

"He said he'll marry you?" Taehyung asked.

"Didn't you hear?" Min Ha replied.

"Umm, I think he's mentally ill. Don't worry, Min Ha; he won't ruin his life," Taehyung said.

Min Ha sat down, puzzled. "Ne, that's what I'm saying."

Taehyung burst into laughter. "You're such a dumb Min Ha."

"Wae? Mwoeyo? Yaa!" she shouted, confused.

Three years later, Min Ha wrote another letter:

"Anneong Eonni,

I miss you so much! You always told me good things. I wish Eomma hadn't died. Eonni, when will you come? I talk about you to everyone. We're twelve now, and I can handle this huge hanbok!

How are you? And Oraboni Jimin? Does he still make fun of me? Aboji is fine but always busy with King Jeon. Oraboni is busy too; he's seventeen now. Aboji says he should marry, but Oraboni hasn't said anything. I think he's unhappy but doesn't share with Aboji.

Take care and don't forget to reply.

Your loving sister,

Lee Min Ha."

Mina smiled as she read the letter and saved it in her wooden box. "I'm really missing you, Min Ha-ya," she whispered.

During sword practice, General Min noticed Jungkook's lack of focus. "Jeoha, please concentrate. What's wrong?"

"Mianhe, General Min. I'm trying," Jungkook said, exhausted.

After losing the match, Jungkook requested a break. He went to his tent, feeling the weight of his loneliness and missed his mother on his birthday. He cried silently, thinking of the letters he sent but never received replies to. The King rarely visited and never spoke of his mother, while his father's harshness was something he endured in silence.

He opened a beautiful box and smiled upon seeing Min Ha's hairpin. "I wonder how you are now. Your teeth must be thirty-two by now!" he mumbled with a bittersweet smile.

In the palace, Queen Eun Mi received an unexpected visit from the King. "Your Highness, you've surprised me. What brings you here?" she asked.

"It's been three years, but you haven't contributed to the palace. Remember, you're not just Shin Eun Mi, but the Queen of Silla," the King said.

Queen Eun Mi walked to him. "You know I'm the mother of Jeon Jungkook. How could you forget? I told you three years ago that I can't live without my son."

The King frowned. "Is my existence not enough for you?"

Queen Eun Mi smirked. "Your Highness, my apologies, but you don't need me."

The King left angrily, and the Queen, smiling weakly, cried. "Jungkook-ah, eomma misses you. Do you forget me? Why don't you reply to my letters?" she mumbled.

In a cold room, Soo Min and her brother discussed their plans. "I must say, the Queen's days are numbered," Soo Min said.

Her brother, smirking, asked, "How?"

Soo Min revealed a small box containing poison. "It's a slow poison. Over time, it will destroy her health, and then I can become—"

"Queen," her brother completed the sentence.

They both smirked, knowing their plan was in motion.

End of Episode 5