The guard immediately bowed.
"Your Highness."
Ji-ho's gaze moved briefly toward him.
The man was young.
Far too young to understand the weight of the corridor he had been assigned to guard tonight.
Far too young to understand why the Crown Prince came running towards the residence of a foreign woman the night before his wedding.
Yet the guard said nothing.
Asked nothing.
Because wisdom within the palace often came from silence.
Ji-ho gave a small nod.
The guard the guard stopped following him.
The corridor beyond stretched ahead beneath dim lantern light.
Quiet.
Still.
Dangerously still.
For a moment, Ji-ho remained where he was.
The Queen Dowager's words lingered in his chest.
The palace does not kill with swords first.
It kills quietly.
With whispers.
With alliances.
With jealousy.
With love.
Love.
The word followed him like a shadow.
Perhaps that was why he continued forward.
Because he was tired of pretending it did not exist.
Tired of acting as though every glance meant nothing.
Tired of carrying her name silently inside his chest while the entire palace prepared to place another woman on it.
Tomorrow.
Everything would become permanent tomorrow.
The thought made his chest tighten.
His feet continued moving.
Behind him, another pair of footsteps suddenly slowed.
Poong-yeon.
Ji-ho did not need to look back to know it was him.
His most trusted guard had followed from a respectful distance.
Not intruding.
Simply watching.
As always.
Poong-yeon's eyes lifted toward the direction of Bella's residence.
Then toward the Crown Prince.
Then back again.
Understanding settled immediately across his features.
A quiet understanding.
Not surprise.
Not judgment.
Only concern.
The kind that came from years of loyalty.
Several palace guards stationed nearby straightened.
One began moving forward.
Poong-yeon intercepted him immediately.
"I will take over."
The guard blinked.
"Captain?"
"His Highness requires privacy."
The man looked uncertain.
"But protocol-"
"I am aware of protocol."
His voice remained calm.
Firm.
Final.
The guard hesitated.
Then bowed.
"As you command."
Poong-yeon watched until the remaining guards gradually withdrew from the corridor.
One by one.
Their footsteps faded.
Their presence disappeared.
Until only silence remained.
A dangerous silence.
Poong-yeon exhaled slowly.
He should stop this.
He knew that.
Every instinct screamed that this was a mistake.
Dangerous even.
Tomorrow was the royal wedding.
Tomorrow ministers would watch every movement.
Tomorrow noble families would begin calculating their advantages.
One rumored tonight out could become disaster by morning.
Yet when he looked at the Crown Prince…
He did not see the future king.
He saw a man who had not slept.
A man who had spent days looking as though he were slowly drowning while everyone congratulated him for it.
Poong-yeon lowered his gaze.
"I will remain here, Your Highness."
Ji-ho looked back briefly.
Their eyes met.
No explanation passed between them.
None was needed.
Poong-yeon stepped aside.
Giving him the choice.
Giving him the chance.
Giving him the one thing the palace rarely offered anyone.
A moment that belonged entirely to himself.
Ji-ho inclined his head.
Then continued forward.
Bella's shoulders ached.
Good.
Pain was easier to understand than everything else.
The training grounds had emptied hours ago, but she had remained long after everyone left.
Again.
The guards had stopped questioning it days ago.
At first they had tried convincing her to rest.
Then they had tried convincing her to eat more.
Eventually they simply accepted that the foreign guard apparently enjoyed fighting the air beneath moonlight until exhaustion claimed her.
Bella preferred it that way.
Training required focus.
Focus meant not thinking.
And not thinking was becoming increasingly important.
The wooden practice sword rested across her lap as she sat on the floor of her quarters.
Her guard uniform was still half on.
The outer armor had been removed.
The heavy shoulder guards sat discarded nearby.
But she had not yet changed completely.
She lacked the energy.
Or perhaps the motivation.
Hye-jin sat nearby, carefully pouring tea.
Not royal tea.
Bella had banned royal tea from entering her room after declaring it tasted like "leaves of sadness boiled in death."
The girl still laughed whenever she remembered it.
Bella stretched her sore shoulder.
Immediately regretted it.
"Ow."
Hye-jin looked up.
"You trained too much again."
Bella snorted.
"I trained the exact right amount."
"You could barely lift your arm at the moment."
"I can lift both arms."
To prove her point, Bella raised one.
Halfway.
Only to feel a sharp pain as she winced.
Lowered it again.
Hye-jin sighed dramatically.
"You are being impossible."
Bella pointed at her.
"I know that's right."
The younger girl shook her head.
A smile threatened the corners of her mouth.
For a while they sat quietly outside until the retired indoors.
The room felt peaceful.
Not happy.
Just peaceful.
A rare thing lately.
Moonlight spilled through the paper windows.
Silver light stretched across the wooden floor.
Bella stared at it silently.
Trying not to think about tomorrow.
Trying not to think about red wedding robes.
Trying not to think about crowns.
Trying not to think about Ji-ho.
Trying not to think about a bride who wasn't her.
Failing miserably.
Hye-jin seemed to notice.
Because she immediately launched into another story.
"And then Captain Ru slipped into the fish pond."
Bella blinked.
"What?"
"He slipped."
"No, he didn't."
"Yes."
"He did not."
"I saw it myself."
Bella laughed.
"You're lying."
"I am not."
"You are."
"He fell directly into the water."
Bella's laugh escaped before she could stop it.
A real laugh.
The first one all day.
Hye-jin smiled triumphantly.
"There."
"What?"
"You laughed."
Bella rolled her eyes.
"Don't make it weird."
The younger girl grinned.
Then hesitated.
"Eonni?"
"Hm?"
"Will you teach me someday?"
Bella frowned.
"Teach you what?"
"To fight."
Bella stared at her.
Then burst out laughing.
"Hye-jin."
"What?"
"You weigh less than my sword."
"I do not."
"You absolutely do."
The girl folded her arms stubbornly.
"I want to learn."
Bella's smile softened slightly.
"Why?"
Hye-jin hesitated.
Then answered quietly.
"Because I want to be brave like you."
The laughter disappeared.
Bella looked away immediately.
As though the compliment made her uncomfortable.
Because it did.
Very much.
Before she could answer,
The door slid open.
The room fell silent.
Bella froze.
Hye-jin froze.
The air changed instantly.
Every instinct she possessed as a guard came alive.
Her head snapped toward the entrance.
And there.
Standing beneath the moonlight.
Was Ji-ho.
Bella's heart dropped so violently it almost hurt.
No.
Definitely not.
What was he doing here?
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow was the wedding.
Tomorrow changes everything.
And he was standing in her doorway.
Looking at her.
As if he had nowhere else in the world to be.
"What are you doing here?"
Her voice came out sharper than intended.
Ji-ho stepped inside saying nothing.
His eyes remained fixed on her.
That somehow made everything worse.
Bella immediately looked toward the door.
Then toward the windows.
Then back at him.
Panic rose in her chest.
"No."
She shook her head.
"No, no, no."
Another step backward.
"You cannot be here."
Ji-ho moved forward.
One step.
Slow.
Deliberate.
"Bella."
"No."
Her voice sharpened instantly.
"Do not do that."
His brow furrowed.
"Do what?"
"Say my name like that."
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Silence followed.
Heavy silence.
Ji-ho swallowed.
His voice dropped.
"I wanted to see you."
Bella laughed.
A bitter sound.
Disbelieving.
"See me?"
Another step backward.
"Tomorrow, you are to be marryed to a lady worthy to be by your side."
The words struck the room like broken glass.
Ji-ho flinched.
Bella saw it.
And hated herself for noticing.
Hye-jin stood a few steps away, her hands clasped tightly before her.
The tension between the Crown Prince and Bella hung so heavily in the air that it felt difficult to breathe.
She should leave.
She knew she should.
Yet her feet refused to move.
It felt wrong witnessing something so private, watching emotions neither of them could hide any longer. But all she could do was stand there in awkward silence, her gaze lowered as the storm unfolded before her.
Beside her, Bella remained equally still.
The atmosphere had become dangerous.
Fragile.
One wrong word away from breaking completely.
"Tomorrow," she repeated.
"Not next year."
Her voice trembled.
"Not next month."
Another step backward.
"Tomorrow."
Ji-ho's jaw tightened.
"I know."
"You know?"
Bella stared at him.
Something inside her finally cracked.
"You know?"
The anger arrived suddenly.
Violently.
Weeks of pain.
Weeks of pretending.
Weeks of watching him disappear further and further into a future she could never follow.
"You know and you came here anyway? For what? "
Ji-ho stepped closer.
"I couldn't sleep."
Bella laughed again.
This time tears almost followed.
"Then drink wine."
His eyes widened slightly.
"What?"
"Drink wine."
Her voice broke.
"Read a book."
Another step.
"Walk around the palace."
Another.
"Talk to Poong-yeon."
Another.
"Not here. Not to me."
The final words came out almost as a plea.
Ji-ho stopped moving.
For the first time uncertainty crossed his face.
Only then did Ji-ho seem to realize they were not alone.
His gaze shifted past Bella.
Toward the corner of the room.
Toward Hye-jin.
She had been standing there the entire time.
Silent.
Awkward.
Watching a battle she should never have witnessed.
The moment their eyes met, she immediately lowered her gaze.
"Your Highness."
Ji-ho's expression hardened.
"Leave us."
Hye-jin hesitated.
Just for a second.
Her eyes darted nervously between them.
Between Bella's trembling shoulders and Ji-ho's rigid stance.
The tension in the room was unbearable.
One spark away from becoming something neither of them could control.
She opened her mouth to speak.
Then thought better of it.
"Yes, Your Highness."
She bowed.
But before she could take another step.
"No."
The word cut through the room.
Bella immediately looked away.
Because if she looked at him she would lose this battle.
And she could not afford to lose.
Not tonight.
Not when tomorrow waited for them both.
"No. You need to leave."
Silence.
"You need to leave right now."
"I shall excuse myself."
Neither Bella nor Ji-ho acknowledged her departure.
Their eyes remained fixed on one another.
Hye-jin slipped out quietly and closed the door behind her.
The sound echoed through the room.
And suddenly they were alone.
Ji-ho's voice lowered.
"I don't want to."
The honesty nearly destroyed her.
Bella squeezed her eyes shut.
"Please."
The word barely escaped.
"Please don't make this harder than it already is."
Ji-ho stared at her.
She could feel it.
Feel his eyes.
Feel his presence.
Feel everything.
And she hated it.
Because no matter how hard she fought…
Part of her wanted him to stay.
Part of her wanted him to close the distance.
Part of her wanted to forget tomorrow existed.
That was the problem.
That was always the problem.
Ji-ho took another step.
Bella immediately stepped back.
Then another.
And another.
Until her back met the wooden wall behind her.
Nowhere left to go.
Neither of them spoke.
Moonlight spilled across the floor between them.
A silver line.
A final barrier.
Ji-ho looked exhausted.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
The exhaustion of a man losing a battle nobody else could see.
"I tried."
Bella blinked.
"What?"
His voice cracked slightly.
"I tried to stay away."
Silence.
"I tried so hard."
Another painful breath.
"I told myself it would make things easier."
His eyes glistened.
"But every time I closed my eyes…"
Bella's heart stopped.
"…I saw you."
The room became unbearably quiet.
Bella looked away instantly.
No.
No.
Don't say that.
Please don't say that.
Because she wanted to hear it.
Because she had imagined hearing it a thousand times.
Because even though this is what she wanted to hear didn't make it hurt any less.
"Stop."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Ji-ho ignored it.
"I saw you in the training yard."
A tear escaped before Bella could stop it.
"I saw you laughing."
Another
"I saw you avoiding any matters related to me or the royal wedding."
His voice broke.
"And for a little while… I believed I too could avoid it."
Bella lowered her head.
The tears came faster now.
Unwanted.
Uncontrollable.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Bella."
"Stop."
Her voice shattered.
"I said stop."
The first sob escaped.
Small.
Broken.
Humiliating.
She immediately covered her mouth.
Too late.
Ji-ho froze.
Bella turned away.
Ashamed.
Furious.
Shaking.
Barely standing.
Everything emotions at once.
"I hate this."
The words tore out of her.
Another sob followed.
"I hate every part of this."
Ji-ho's chest tightened.
Bella wiped furiously at her tears.
More appeared.
"I hate that tomorrow exists."
Her shoulders shook.
"I hate that you're a prince."
Another tear.
"I hate that I met you."
The lie hung between them.
Ji-ho looked devastated.
Bella laughed through tears.
A broken sound.
"And I hate…"
Her voice failed.
Completely.
For a moment she couldn't continue.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Then finally,
"I hate that I love."
The confession shattered the room.
Bella closed her eyes.
"…and no matter how much I give, it's not enough for me to have you."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Ji-ho stared at her.
As though the world itself had stopped turning.
And for the first time since entering the room.
A tear slipped down his cheek.
Then another.
And another.
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them looked away.
The distance between them suddenly felt impossible.
And yet not nearly enough.
Ji-ho finally closed the gap.
Not as a prince.
Not as a future king.
Just a man hopelessly in love.
"Bella."
His voice trembled.
"My grandmother once told me of an old poem."
Bella looked up slowly.
Ji-ho's eyes never left hers.
"In the oldest stories…"
His voice softened.
"They say the moon belongs to the heavens."
A step closer.
"The sea belongs to the earth."
Another.
"And neither should ever touch."
A faint, broken smile.
"And yet every night…"
His fingers trembled slightly.
"…the sea spends its entire life reaching for the moon."
Bella felt her heart shatter completely.
Ji-ho reached her.
Close enough now to hear her breathing.
Close enough to hear his own.
"And if that isn't fate…"
A tear slid down his face.
"Then I would rather fight fate itself than spend the rest of my life pretending you are not the woman I love."