~5~ Reminiscence

Outside the Park Manor, the nightwatchman struck two bamboo sticks together.

Taehyung awoke by the sounds of the struck bamboo sticks. He heard the nightwatchman signal it was the time from 1 am to 3 am. He watched Seorin who was sleeping peacefully next to him for a while. Then he parted the beaded curtains, got out of bed, and stepped toward the table.

On the table, incense sticks were burning, giving off a faint scent. Taehyung's eyes darkened. The last time he met Seorin in the palace, he had smelt the same faint scent on her body. At that time he thought the scent was familiar and didn't think too much about it. It wasn't until he lay in bed next to Seorin did it occurred to him that the scent was eerily familiar. He didn't want to make Seorin anxious so he kept quiet about the scent. It was the same scent his adoptive mother, Consort Lee used that year.

His birth mother, about whom he doesn't have any knowledge, died after giving birth to him. When his mother died, Consort Lee didn't have children. Consort Lee asked his father to let her adopt him and his father consented.

Consort Lee was a very gentle and kind person. She had a healthy body and was become pregnant after adopting him. But during her pregnancy, her health slowly declined. The imperial physicians who examined her reported the same outcome, she had a mysterious illness.

Consort Lee was isolated in the farthest chamber of the palace and a rumor was spread that someone cursed her, whoever was his mother wouldn't survive a pregnancy. Consort Lee died when she was four months pregnant. Before she died she gripped the incense sticks in her hand, cried, and told him that someone poisoned her.

Taehyung became ill after Consort Lee died. But a young physician entered the palace and examined him. The physician told him that the incense sticks were poisoned. After he recovered, the physician resigned and left the palace. He hid the incense sticks and studied medicine under the guidance of the imperial physicians to secretly find out what was the poison added to the incense sticks. The incense sticks he hid didn't have wings, but still, they flew away. He searched for them but he didn't find out who had taken them.

Taehyung regretted that Consort Lee's death was still unresolved. Unexpectedly twelve years later the incense sticks reappeared in the Park Manor, inside Seorin's chamber. His eyes narrowed while thinking about who wanted to harm her. His intuition conjured an image in his mind of the haughty and cold face of Seorin's stepmother, Princess Ji Hoon.

Princess Ji Hoon and the empress' relationship was good whereas the Princess and Seorin's relationship was bad. His heart pounded endlessly, luckily he discovered the incense sticks before they could seriously harm Seorin.

Taehyung contemplated for a while and decided to take the incense sticks away to show someone at his manor. He searched for fabrics around the chamber and found Seorin's garments that she wears in the daytime. He smiled, picked up her one garment, and wrapped the incense sticks. But when he look at those garments again, he found them quite ugly and didn't want Seorin to wear them, so he take all garments with him.

Taehyung was about to leap out of the window when he remembered the purpose of his visit. He took out a jade pendant, walked to the bed, and carefully put it on Seorin's palm.

"This is something I won from an elder in Southern Busan," Taehyung whispered. "I thought it was a fake jade but it turned out to be a rare jade pendant. I was going to sell it but I thought about you. Apart from the toy drum I gave you, I haven't given you anything else. This will be my love token to you. It took a long time to carve the jade pendant for you, forgive me for my amateur craftsmanship."

Taehyung gently stroked Seorin's head and quickly leaped out the window.

The nightwatchman signaled it was the hour from 3 am to 5 am and Taehyung couldn't wait until his and Seorin's wedding ceremony.

Seorin awoke from a nightmare. In the nightmare she was a six-year-old again, the first time she met Taehyung. That year she heard Taehyung's adoptive mother, Consort Lee who was four months pregnant had died. Taehyung's teacher resigned but asked the emperor if he could take Taehyung to stay with him in his country home while Taehyung was grieving. The emperor could see Taehyung's grief and agreed.

Unfortunately, Taehyung's teacher's country home was in Daegu, next to Shin Hye and Seorin's home.

In her nightmare it was that afternoon she was on her way home after a fight with other children, she saw Taehyung standing with the sunset behind his back and staring at the sky.

Seorin thought Taehyung was a handsome boy. But she was curious why he was staring up at the sky.

"Orabeoni, what are you looking at?" Seorin asked.

"I'm looking at the rice cakes fallen from the sky," Taehyung said.

"Liar, only bird poop falls from the sky," Seorin said.

"Little sister, I'm not lying," Taehyung said. "I caught this rice cake from the sky."

Taehyung showed her the rice cake in his hand and ate it.

Seorin saw the serious expression on Taehyung's face and she believed him. Afterward, she tilted her head back and stared up at the sky.

"Little sister, you can't stand here, then I won't get any" Taehyung said. "You need to stand over there."

Seorin walked to the spot Taehyung pointed to then she fell into the hole he dug and concealed!

She sobbed loudly. Taehyung's teacher heard the commotion and ran outside his home.

"Taehyung, what are you doing?" Taehyung's teacher asked.

"Teacher, I saw a little girl fall into a hole," Taehyung said. "When I walked to the hole, this little sister was crying. I wanted to give her the rice cake that the teacher's wife made to console her. But I don't know how to pull little sister up from the hole."

Seorin's body shook with anger while she sobbed. She didn't know how Taehyung maintained a serious expression while lying smoothly. She cried louder, she was fooled by the liar!

Luckily her nightmare ended at that moment. She looked at her surroundings and sighed in relief when she saw the spot next to her on the bed was empty. The morning sunlight shone through the window and she reluctantly sat up on the bed.

"Oh, God!" Seorin shouted.

The six-year-old Seorin fell into a hole but was quickly pulled out of the hole. Unfortunately, fourteen years later she fell into a hole for life. There wouldn't be an escape even after death.

Seorin cursed that prankish boy. What danger? What grieving? That mischievous boy was allowed to leave the palace because his teacher feared his life was in danger and didn't want him to grieve deeply by himself. But she saw his real personality behind his grieving mask.

Seorin didn't know how that boy could deceive other people. What gentle fifth prince? He was a deadly liar! She reasoned that other people must be blind if they believed he was capable of being gentle and kind.

Seorin felt insanely angry. She wanted to break apart her bed but when she fisted her hands, she felt something hard. It was a beautiful jade pendant. She looked closer at the jade pendant and she almost spat out blood. 'Little tigress' was engraved at the top of the jade pendant. She didn't need to think too deeply to know who the owner of the jade pendant was.

Seorin got out of bed and searched everywhere in the chamber for the garments that she wears in the daytime but it was missing.

"Orabeoni, why did you take my garments?" Seorin mumbled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The emperor held a wedding banquet for Taehyung and Seorin at the palace.

The emperor wasn't close with Taehyung, but the emperor ordered the palace servants to prepare an extravagant banquet worthy of a prince.

Everyone was captivated by the fifth gentle prince's handsomeness in his wedding attire and many unwed women were envious they weren't the bride.

But everyone understood that both the handsome groom and the bride were unfavored children in their families, which made them the perfect pair.

The crown prince and third prince's supporters were relieved that the gentle fifth prince married someone with no family connections that had power in court. They were happy that the gentle fifth prince truly didn't want to be emperor.

All the wedding guests were curious why there was a bruise on the groom's forehead.

"I was too excited about marrying Lady Park that I walked into a door," Taehyung explained to the wedding guests.

The wedding guests believed the groom's explanation without suspicion. But the bride's mouth frowned under the veil.

The sounds of firecrackers thundered throughout the palace.

The bride and groom kowtowed to the heavens, their parents, and to each other. Afterward, the bride was brought to the bridal chamber.

Seorin kept silent and was unhappy throughout the wedding ceremony. But the moment she sat on a bed, her nervousness surfaced. That boy didn't follow tradition and stood in front of the bed for a long time instead of immediately leaving the bridal chamber to drink congratulatory wine with the wedding guests.

Seorin wanted to pull her veil off to see what the boy was intended to scheme. But there were still other people inside the chamber so she didn't want to shock them by not behaving like a virtuous lady.

Taehyung didn't want to leave the bridal chamber. He stood silently thinking of a way to discreetly look at his wife's face. A while later he smiled.

"Something fell on the floor!' Taehyung cried out.

Taehyung crouched and his wife's veil 'accidentally' fell. He stood up and whispered in his wife's ear. "Wait for me, I'll return soon."

Seorin saw the fake apologetic expression on his face and she used all her will strength to suppress her anger.

Taehyung was satisfied he got to see his wife's face and happily left the chamber. The little tigress was indeed beautiful on their wedding day.

After Seorin was left alone in the chamber, her pained body collapsed on the bed. Unfortunately, her back landed on countless red dates. Her stomach rumbled, at least this was edible and she quickly ate the red dates.

Taehyung kept his promise, Seorin didn't get to blink many times before he returned to the chamber. She hurriedly put her veil back on and sat upright on the bed.

"No one needs to support me," Taehyung said. "I'm not drunk! fifth prince? Who is the fifth prince? I'm not the fifth prince. Are you Gentleman Han? No? Who are you? Third brother? Perhaps I'm drunk. I'm not a good wine drinker, forgive me. Today is such a happy day and I drank too much wine... don't need to support me. I can walk on my own. Everyone can continue drinking... where is the door? There's the door... no? Why is the door so high?"

"Fifth prince, that's a window!" a wedding guest warned.

Seorin almost laughed loudly. Of course, he would climb through a window. She remembered that year he drank many wine jars yet he was still sober. What not a good wine drinker? What a liar!

A sober Taehyung entered the chamber, closed the door, and rushed to the bed. "Wifey, did you wait for long?"

Taehyung pulled off the veil. Under the lit candles, he stared at the soft glow of Seorin's beautiful face.

"Orabeoni, what are you looking at?' Seorin asked impatiently.

Taehyung raised his hand and touched Seorin's lips.

Seorin's body stiffened at the warm touch of Taehyung's fingers on her lips. She looked at his intense gaze and her heart pounded.

Suddenly Taehyung laughed. "Look at how nervous you are. I was looking at what was on your lips."

Seorin looked at Taehyung's fingers, it was the skin of dates. Oh, God! She received a deadly scare.

"Someone was thinking too much before," Taehyung teased. He sat on the bed and took off his shoes. "It's alright to think too much, sooner or later it will help. Wifey, come here and we can perform the main event together."

"What main event?" Seorin asked in a panicked tone.

"What did you say?" Taehyung teased and took off his outer robe.

The words 'wedding night' echoed in Seorin's head.

Taehyung saw the anxiety on Seorin's face and he laughed loudly. "What other main event is there? Of course, bathing then sleeping."

A while later the wedding guests that were eavesdropping outside the bridal chamber were smiling slyly.

"Orabeoni, be gentle!" Seorin cried out.

"Is this spot more comfortable?" Taehyung asked.

"It hurts!" Seorin said.