“So she said to come after Shinsi (3-5pm)?”

“If you have other engagements, I’ll send someone to reschedule.”

Jihyuk, who had just returned from a short absence from the palace, was surprised by the news. He hadn’t thought he could avoid it forever, but he hadn’t expected that Yeocheong would be the one to seek him out first.

“Go find out what happened at the Empress’ palace.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Thinking there must be a reason, he sent someone to investigate. It turned out that Hee had apparently been whining about wanting to go boating.

Come to think of it, a few days ago he’d mentioned taking a boat out on the lake near Wolha and playing together.

“I completely forgot.”

It had been a decision he had made after much thought, but with everything that had clouded his mind these past few days, it had slipped completely from his memory.

When he remembered how happy Hee had been when he said they’d go together, Jihyuk felt a pang of guilt.

“Should I send someone to the Empress’s palace to ask for the meeting to be postponed?”

“No, leave it.”

Right. It’s a conversation that has to take place anyway – better to get it over with sooner.

Wasn’t he the one who had decided to just be thankful that Yeocheong was alive and well and not to expect anything more from her?

Jihyuk reminded himself and tried to stay calm.
‘Don’t let it show. Don’t burden her unnecessarily. Just act like usual.’

There wasn’t much time left before Shinsi was completely gone. Taking a deep breath, Jihyuk straightened his perfectly neat clothes, though nothing was out of place.

“Her Majesty the Empress is here.”

A short time later, Yeocheong entered the reception hall of Taerok Palace. Jihyuk did his best to keep a neutral expression on his face as he sat down.

“Are you learning the procedures for selecting concubines well?”

“Yes. Everything is going smoothly, so there’s no need to worry.”

Yeocheong replied, avoiding Jihyuk’s gaze.

Of all things, he had to bring up the subject she least wanted to think about when they saw each other again.

“I’ve been busy the last few days and completely forgot about my promise to Hee. I will apologise to him personally -“

“Have you been busy… choosing your concubines?”

Yeocheong interrupted without meaning to.

She knew that showing her displeasure would only make her look pitiful, but she couldn’t help it.

“The process of receiving the name cards and choosing the concubines is…”

Jihyuk hesitated slightly, caught off guard.

The authority to choose concubines lay with Yeocheong – she knew that. Then why did she look so angry? Her voice had clearly taken on a sharp edge as well.

‘Could it be…’Could it be that she wasn’t happy with the choice of concubines?’

It was a foolish thought, but Jihyuk found himself hoping that this was the case.

“…Of course. That was my mistake.”

But as if the expression he saw earlier had been nothing more than a misreading, Yeocheong’s face quickly returned to its usual calm.

She felt pathetic for having reacted so sharply without thinking.

‘It’s nothing that can be undone now anyway. What’s the point of being bitter? Besides… if he’s asking about it the moment we meet, then it must be really important to him.’

“I thought that might be the case. I told Hee that Your Majesty might be too busy with official duties to take a few days off, so there’s no need to worry.”

But while she managed to hide her expression, there was no helping the stiffness in her tone.
‘Should I just keep my mouth shut instead?’
Yeocheong barely held back a sigh and forced herself to speak.

“She was pretty excited about going on a big boat.”

“I’ll keep tomorrow afternoon free, then. It might be nice to have lunch in a pavilion with a good view of the lake. Just having lunch where he can see the water will make Hee happy.”

But unlike Yeocheong, Jihyuk seemed completely unfazed.

The more composed he seemed, the heavier Yeocheong’s heart became.

‘Am I the only one shaken by this?’

‘…He said he loved me.’

Maybe it was just guilt all along.

Maybe what was left wasn’t love at all – just another feeling.

Overwhelmed by sudden fear, Yeocheong bit down hard on her lower lip.

“Wait.”

Seeing this, Jihyuk unconsciously furrowed his brow and grabbed Yeocheong’s face.

She hadn’t bitten her lips or nails for a long time.

Worried that her pretty lips might get hurt, he instinctively reached out and touched them lightly.

“Don’t do that. You’ll hurt your lips.”

His touch was so gentle, so full of concern, that Yeocheong stopped for a moment and looked up at him.

When their eyes met, Jihyuk quickly withdrew his hand in confusion.

“……”

A moment ago, she had thought she was in the worst possible mood.

Yeocheong touched her lips lightly where the warmth had lingered and then faded.

Strangely enough, she felt a little better.

“If things are difficult, tell me anytime. It’s only a formality, after all, if you don’t want to deal with it directly, you can leave the duties to the Chief Attendant and only attend the final selection…”

His voice was full of concern, and the chaos of emotions inside her began to calm down a bit.

Yeocheong stifled the words she wanted to say.

‘Then… if I said I wanted to stop the selection of concubines, would you let me?’
But that would be too selfish—wouldn’t it?

Yeocheong pressed her lips together, then barely managed to lift the corners of her mouth into a smile.

“Hee will be happy. There’s still time before the name cards arrive, so it should be fine. There’s nothing difficult about it.”

Getting upset will only hurt me in the end.

Yeocheong told herself and pretended to be fine.

But the longer the conversation dragged on, the more she couldn’t help but think that the warm hand that had touched her lips would one day be extended to someone else.

And the comfort she’d begun to feel began to fade.

“…Then I’ll let Hee know as well.”

In the end, neither of them asked or spoke about why they had avoided each other.

The conversation ended in an ambiguous silence.

After exchanging a few more meaningless remarks, they went their separate ways.

***

“Mother! The boat is huge!”

The next day, Jihyuk and Yeocheong took Hee to the lake near Wolha.

Their efforts to get the largest boat out of storage paid off – Hee was overjoyed and jumped up and down at the sight of the large and luxurious vessel, incomparable to the one they had used in Hwayang.

“If it’s this big, mother, father, grandmother and even Seon could all ride on it and there’d still be room!”

The boat, complete with a canopy for shade, was perfect for capturing a child’s attention.

The one they had used in Hwayang was small – barely big enough for two adults and a child. It must have seemed magical to Hee.

“I didn’t know there was such a big lake in the palace.”

It had been a long time since Yeocheong had visited this place.

So much had changed in the palace during her long sleep, and Wolha was now quite far from the new empress’s quarters.

‘…Now that those memories have come back, I can’t say this place feels ordinary to me either.’

It was where her first life had ended.

A place she couldn’t say held good memories.

But seeing how happy Hee was made it bearable.

Maybe it was because of her experience in Hwayang – this second time didn’t feel so difficult.

“Let’s go together!”

But the thought of getting on the boat and facing Jihyuk was something Yeocheong wanted to avoid.

‘What if Hee, who notices things so quickly, asks me what’s wrong?’

She didn’t think she could pretend that nothing was wrong.

‘About something like this… And I’m the only one affected – how frustrating.’

While she felt so conflicted and uncomfortable, Jihyuk looked as if nothing was wrong, and that made her resent him a little.

Without realising it, Yeocheong’s lips curled into a small pout.

“Alright. Let’s ride it together.”

Not wanting to show her feelings to Hee, Yeocheong swallowed her disappointment and stepped onto the boat.

It felt much more stable than the one they had used in Hwayang.

“Father, come up too!”

Hee called happily, laughing as she waved to Jihyuk.

But even as time passed, there was no sign of movement.

When Yeocheong turned to look back, she saw Jihyuk hesitating at the front of the boat, unable to bring himself to get on board.

They had been on boats together many times, but now he looked as if he was afraid to get on.

‘I thought it would be fine…’

Even as they approached the lake, Jihyuk had remained calm.

But when he saw the boat again – and Yeocheong on it – his heart began to race.

So much so that he wanted to break his promise to Hee and run away.

He thought that having overcome it once, it would be easier the second time.

But it wasn’t.

Just getting on the boat made him feel like everything could go back to the way it was – and that overwhelming feeling of unease drained the colour from Jihyuk’s face.

“Father?”

“Just… give me a moment…”

“Shall I call the royal doctor? You don’t look well.”

Worried by the pallor on Jihyuk’s face, he started to get off the boat.

Yeocheong noticed this and gestured gently for Hee to stay, then approached Jihyuk.

“It’s okay. Nothing will happen.”

“……”

“If even I can get on the boat without a problem, what reason do you have to hesitate, Your Majesty?”

Maybe it was because she had been in a bad mood for days, but the words came out sharper than intended.

Jihyuk jumped at her remark, then gave a small nod.

“You’re right. If you say so, it must be true.”

He smiled faintly and stepped onto the boat.

Yeocheong pretended not to notice the emotion behind the smile as she gave the order to leave.

The boat rocked gently as it began to move, guided by the oarsman’s strokes.

Unlike in Hwayang, where they had merely floated with the boat tied up, this was a real ride across the water.

“Wow!”

Hee exclaimed, tapping the water with her fingertips.

But Yeocheong and Jihyuk weren’t enjoying the ride at all – instead they sat staring into space, their eyes never quite meeting.