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Once the official duties within the palace were finished, the palace grounds became quiet. Aside from a few individuals, everyone was heading toward the dormitories.
"Where are you going?"
"I still have some work left."
"You can just do it tomorrow."
"I don't want to get on the head maid's bad side for no reason. You go ahead."
"Alright."
Jeong Najeong turned away as she walked, muttering to herself that it was pitiful how I had been singled out by the head maid.
I'm sorry to say this, but today I lied.
There is somewhere I have to go.
That place is not the palace, but outside.
Right now, I am going to trace my mother's whereabouts.
A few hours earlier.
"Have you been well, Seonmi?"
At the sound of someone calling my name, I turned my head. The man waving cheerfully at me was reporter Kim Sasu from Cheonil Daily.
His visit was far from pleasant. No one looked kindly upon someone working in the palace being close to an outside journalist.
I deliberately turned my head away and moved to another spot.
The reporter's footsteps quickly followed after me.
"Just listen. I'm not asking you to speak."
"If even listening could get me arrested, I'd rather not listen."
Covering both ears firmly with my hands, I walked forward quickly without even looking back.
"This is about your family, Seonmi."
The word family was enough to make me stop in place.
I turned around and looked at him. Hearing my family being mentioned from his mouth was anything but pleasant.
I didn't say a word. I only gave him a cold stare.
"You're looking for your mother, aren't you?"
"How do you…?"
As my gaze began to waver, the reporter smiled as though he had gained the upper hand.
"I heard that before entering the palace, you visited a detective agency and had a consultation. You only asked about the cost and left."
"How far have you been following me?"
"This is simply an occupational habit. When I find someone interesting, I get excited and dig into them persistently."
"That's disturbing."
"From your perspective, that would be natural. But what if I could help with that?"
"Help…?"
"I found traces of the mother you're looking for."
At the word mother, my heart dropped sharply.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. If she hasn't moved, she should still be there. Fortunately, it's not far from here."
"Where is it?"
The reporter pulled a business card out of his wallet as he spoke.
"Seonmi, do you remember the proposal I made?"
I recalled the day I first received Kim Sasu's business card.
'You know those secrets too…'
In the end, everything circled back to the beginning.
Kim Sasu of Cheonil Daily. A man who never missed even the smallest detail, gathering everything, then setting clever traps with what he collected, and when the time came, locking people inside with no escape.
I was trapped inside it, and now he stood there smiling, pointing the tip of his arrow at me.
"Judging by your expression, it seems you remember."
"…."
He handed me another business card. This time, he flipped it over so the map drawn on the back was visible.
"If you follow this address, you'll be able to meet your mother."
I hesitated before taking the card he offered. But he didn't let go easily.
"If you take this card, our deal begins, Seonmi."
Right. The reason I entered the palace was all because of this.
If I can meet my mother, it doesn't matter. Even if I hand over the Crown Prince's secrets… it doesn't matter.
I tightened my grip and pulled the card away.
"…Alright."
The sky had already darkened. Even though the season was shifting toward summer, the night was still cold.
I put on the gray hooded jacket I had hidden in the grass beforehand. Pulling it all the way up to my neck, I covered the ribbon and frilled decorations.
Near the eastern wall close to the detached palace, I climbed up.
Though I wore flat shoes, they weren't suitable for climbing. Hanging from the wall with just my arms, I scraped the wall repeatedly with the soles of my shoes like a cat sharpening its claws, finally trying to push myself up with my toes—
"What are you doing up there?"
Startled by the voice from behind me, my foot slipped.
"Ah—!"
As my body tilted backward and I fell, someone caught me lightly.
"I wasn't planning on letting you fall. Are you alright?"
"Chaeha…"
Unlike usual, Go Chaeha had his hood pulled down low. Only a few strands of blond hair peeked out, and only by looking carefully could I see his eyes.
"…Where are you going like this?"
"That's what I should be asking you."
At his words, I realized my mistake, and cold sweat ran down my spine.
"If you're sneaking out for a night stroll, would you like to come with me?"
"What?"
"Do you think I'm not frustrated being trapped inside the palace? I also sneak out from time to time."
He crouched down in front of the wall, placing both hands together.
"Come on. Step up. I'll lift you."
"No matter what, I can't step on you…"
Go Chaeha smiled faintly.
"It's night. Do you need me to beg you to step on me?"
"…."
"Hurry. At this rate, we'll both get caught."
Holding onto his shoulders, I carefully placed my foot onto his hands. As he stood up, my body easily rose above the wall.
Go Chaeha crossed the wall effortlessly, as though he had done it countless times before.
At that moment, a low humming sound passed overhead.
A patrol drone.
Its small light swept across the wall as it passed by.
He lightly grabbed my wrist—not pulling, but guiding the direction.
"This way."
Without any chance to resist, I followed him out of the circle of light from the streetlamp and into the shadows of the wall and tall trees.
The light shattered between the leaves, and we held our breath beneath it.
His hand remained on my wrist.
Strangely, it didn't feel unpleasant.
Perhaps the meaning of that touch was different.
After the drone passed and the sound faded, he let go. But the warmth of his hand lingered faintly on my wrist.
"Good thing I met you today. If you had run like that, you would've been caught."
"Thank… you."
He simply smiled.
We stepped outside the palace. The cold night air brushed against my face. The sound of cars passing in the distance and the electronic signals changing mixed together, forming the breath of a city that felt both familiar and unfamiliar.
Under the streetlights, convenience store lights spilled out. People crossed crosswalks, walked alone with earphones, whispered to lovers while holding hands.
No one paid attention to us.
And so, the night of the city continued without pause.
"To think we have to be trapped inside a decorative cage while this world exists. I can finally breathe. Don't you think, Seonmi?"
Go Chaeha could enjoy this kind of world freely. If he hadn't been summoned into the palace, perhaps he would have lived a life consumed by women and hobbies.
"So where were you heading, Seonmi? Now that we're outside the palace, it's no longer a secret, is it?"
"But… you're still part of the royal family."
"Haha. Does someone from the royal family climb walls in the middle of the night like this?"
"That's true…"
"Don't worry. I won't report that you snuck out. In fact, I'm more afraid that you might report me."
"What? Do I look like that kind of person?"
Go Chaeha burst into laughter. He seemed to enjoy teasing me.
"I'm joking. Just joking."
"…."
Then he smiled again, more seriously this time, and spoke.
"I want to spend tonight with you."
"Not here!"
"I don't mean that. I mean I want to walk like this."
He naturally took my hand. His skin looked pale and cold, but it was surprisingly warm.
"You don't have to tell me where you're going or why. Let's just walk the path you were heading on together. The night is dangerous."
With his characteristic gentleness, Go Chaeha swayed me. Whenever I slowed, he slowed with me. Whenever I turned the wrong way, he silently guided me with just his fingertips.
At last, we arrived at the place where my mother was supposed to be.
My throat felt dry—whether from the walk or from nervousness.
My mother's supposed home was a proper house. Not the cramped one-room place in the hillside slums where we used to live. The fact that someone who left me behind was living well made me both resentful and relieved.
Through the large window, I could see the silhouette of a woman moving back and forth.
My lips loosened without reason, and my heart was already racing ahead.
The long-dormant expectation within me raised its head.
Finally… I can see my mother.
I pressed the doorbell carefully.
Ding—
The short, polite electronic sound echoed through the alley.
Footsteps approached. The door opened.
And… a stranger appeared.
A woman in her fifties, dressed in pajamas, hair tied loosely, holding a phone. Her eyes were filled with suspicion.
"Who are you?"
My lips didn't move immediately.
"…Is Sunyeojeong here?"
Her eyebrows lifted instantly.
And in that moment, everything ended.
"There's no one like that here."
I tried to breathe, but the air wouldn't come in.
Words like maybe it's a mistake, maybe I came to the wrong address circled in my head, but my body refused to move.
"Maybe she moved? If she did, where—"
"Miss, we've lived here for over ten years. I think you've come to the wrong place."
That final answer pierced straight through me.
I checked the card the reporter gave me. The address was correct.
Someone that meticulous wouldn't make a mistake.
"…I'm sorry."
I barely managed to say it.
The woman said nothing more. The door slammed shut.
I stood there, unmoving.
My fingertips frozen, staring at the closed door. It was just a door closing, but it felt like something inside me had closed as well.
What had I been believing?
The reporter's card crumpled in my hand. The more I suppressed my emotions, the tighter my grip became, leaving nail marks in my palm.
I sensed movement beside me.
I couldn't lift my head.
Because I wasn't sure I could endure the expression that would appear on my face the moment I did.