The King watched his three sons from a distance, happy at how close and loving they were to one another. He was especially proud of the crowned prince, witnessing how he showered his younger brothers with care and compassion. Smiling, the King silently made his way back to his palace.
Like a fleeting wind, a week has passed since the night the three brothers had their time together. Prince Young-sik after hiding and losing his escorts was sitting along the banks of the great Quan River, dipping his feet in the cold water as he ate his favorite honey biscuits.
The youngest prince gorged himself with too many honey biscuits, that when it came to the last one, he could not even take a tiny nibble of the delectable pastry. The prince looked at the golden-brown circular dessert in his hands, and after contemplating that he could not eat it anymore, he stood up and raised his arm to throw it away.
"May I have that leftover cookie?" A voice from behind the prince asked.
Young-Sik lowered his arm and turned around, to see who that may be. "A court maiden?" the prince thought to himself "Who are you? What is a court maiden doing outside the palace grounds?" he callously asked the young girl
The girl's face etched a surprised reaction at the question "Oh my…are you blind? Can't you see I'm picking firewood?" the girl said, showing the pack of firewood she had strapped on her back.
"Firewood? Has the firewood from the royal kitchen run out, that they need a thin girl like you to gather more?" The prince asked her without tact.
The little girl laughed at the question, which puzzled the prince "Don't you know anything? This firewood is for the court lady's residence, those in the kitchen are only used for cooking." The little girl explained.
"How dare you talk down on me? Don't you know that I…" the prince stopped his mouth from revealing himself. He remembered that he was in disguise, so he could roam the capital freely.
"Look all I'm asking is if I could have the biscuit that you intend to throw away." The girl said to the prince
"Why would I give this to you?" The prince arrogantly asked
The little girl stepped closer to the prince and smiled at him "It would be a waste to throw it away. Plus, there is a hungry girl right here, that can use a little bit of kindness"
Young-Sik scoffs at the girl's reason, he crosses his arms and says "I made these, so it is my right to decide what to do with them. The last thing I will do with them is to give them to some rude girl who doesn't know how to use honorifics"
The little girl tilted her head a little to the right in bewilderment "Why would I use honorifics to someone my age?"
The prince was dumbfounded by the girl's response "She's right, we are the same age, and she doesn't know I'm the prince" he sighed, refusing to accept defeat, she challenged the girl for the last honey biscuit "If you can tell me my name, I will give the last biscuit to you"
The little girl grinned, then she bowed to Young-Sik "You are the youngest son of the king, Prince Kim Young-Sik!"
The prince quickly ran to the girl to cover her mouth "Shhhh! Nobody knows I'm here; someone might hear you" Young-Sik turned to his left and right, scanning the area for any signs of people. After ensuring nobody heard the girl, he asked her "How did you know who I am?"
The girl forcefully removed Young-Sik's hand that was covering her mouth. The prince distanced himself from the girl and waited for her explanation.
The girl started by stating something obvious "You may be wearing rags, but your skin and complexion are not that of a commoner" She paused for a while "My first guess was, you might be of noble birth or at least from a rich family" the girl extended her open hand asking for her prize.
Hesitantly, the prince placed the honey biscuit in the girl's open palm. She took the biscuit and immediately took a bite. Her face lit up as she tasted the sweet honey biscuit. "One more thing. I helped to bake these, and I was the one who brought them to your room this morning Your Highness"
The girl bowed to the prince again and started to make her way back to the palace. "Wait!" Young-Sik shouted. The girl stopped and looked back at the prince "What is your name? So, the next time I see you, I won't have to call you stick girl"
"Go Eun-Ae, Your Highness" She responded, turned around, and continued to the palace grounds. The prince smiled while he shook his head and started to walk to the palace as well.
The next day, Young-Sik escapes his escorts again and plays with some wooden blocks in an old building within the palace grounds. The prince tries to build a miniature palace, but it keeps toppling. The prince grumbles loudly and, in his frustration, forcefully brushes the blocks away.
Some of the blocks landed near the feet of Eun-Ae, who was passing by and could hear the prince grumbling from frustration. She crouched and picked up some of the blocks. She brought the blocks she picked up back to where Young-Sik was huddled. First, she places the blocks for the base, using a circular pattern with a small gap between the blocks. Once satisfied with the base, she did the same for the second level, the third, and so on, until she made a tower. She proceeded to build the miniature palace, Young-Sik was in awe, and when Eun-Ae was done she marveled at the toy palace.
"Why do they have gaps?" Young-Sik asked, puzzled by the design and wondering the logic behind it.
"You don't have enough blocks and I have to distribute them equally or the structure will not be completed" The little girl replied "It kept toppling over, because there are not enough blocks in the base, making it weak and unbalanced"
"So what if there are fewer blocks at the base?" Young-Sik asked callously
Eun-Ae slapped her forehead with her open palm "Oh my… You Highness, If the base is weak, it cannot support the structure" She then pointed to the base of the toy palace she made "Look, since it has more blocks at the base the structure is more stable"
The girl toppled the structure, reducing it to a pile of blocks "Here You Highness, you try" The prince looked at the pile of wooden blocks and pondered for a while.
He then arranged the blocks in a square pattern, using the same configuration, that was thought to him, and he was able to make a tall square structure, he then used the remaining blocks to erect four towers, one for each corner of the first structure he made.
Eun-Ae clapped when she saw what the prince made "Well done You Highness. You learned fast"
The prince smiled at the praise he received, he was about to express his gratitude to the court lady, but he was interrupted by a councilor's daughter, Lim Ji-Hye, along with two others, all three of them were the same age as Young-Sik and Eun-Ae.
"Prince Young-Sik, why are you playing with a lowly piece of dirt?" Ji-Hye asked the prince, furious at the fact, that the prince found a court lady interesting enough to play with.
The two other girls shoved Eun-Ae away from the prince. They shoved her so hard; that she fell and gashed her right arm on a rock, causing a long wound.
"Serves you right for talking to the prince, be grateful we don't behead you this very moment," Ji-Hye said "How dare you mingle with nobles like us, you can't even read or write your name" she added. She and her friends then left that place, while pulling Young-Sik with them.
Eun-Ae huddled herself where she fell and began to cry. At that moment, Young-Sik forcibly pulled his hand away from the trio "Why did you do that?" He asked the girl Ji-Hye.
"You Highness…you are of noble status like us, you should not lower yourself to the level of a servant," Ji-hye said answering his question.
"So, what if she is a court lady…she is still my friend!" Young-Sik bravely declared and he then ran back to where they left Eun-Ae. He saw the little girl slumped on the ground, crying while nursing her wound.
Ji-Hye scoffed at the way the prince thought and with a glare directed at Young-Sik, she said "Let us go…let that stupid boy get dirty if that is what he wants"
Young-Sik pulled out a gold embroidered handkerchief, he kneeled in front of the crying girl and gently dabbed the wound, making Eun-Ae's face grimace in pain. He then wrapped the cloth around the wound to stop the bleeding. Using his index finger, he started to draw something on the ground. "What are you doing?" Eun-Ae asked the prince
After he finished, Young-Sik dusted his hands and said "That is how you write your name"
Eun-Ae smiled at the prince's kindness and started to draw on the ground as well, imitating what the prince did. After she finished drawing, she asked the prince "Is that right?"
"You can now at least write and read a word, they can't call you illiterate anymore" Extending his hand to the girl, he helped Eun-Ae stand and supported her while walking. When they were heading out of the old palace building, the eunuch in charge of Young-sik came running.
"You Highness…where have you been we were looking all over for you," he said as he and the other court ladies surrounded the two children
"She's hurt, please help her," The prince told them. The eunuch gestured to the court ladies to take Eun-Ae to the infirmary.
Eun-Ae bowed to the prince "Thank you, Your Highness" She then removed the binding on her wound, but the prince stopped her.
"No, don't take it off, your wound might bleed again, keep it, it's yours" The prince was led away by his escorts back to his royal residence. Eun-Ae watched as the prince was led away by his servants, but when the prince looked back at her, it made her smile and she felt a slight heave in her chest. She was led in the opposite direction by the court lady to the infirmary.