Hyun-ki slowly blinks his eyes and yawns, drifting asleep to the sound of his mother’s soft voice. Soyong can’t take her eyes off of her precious boy as she hums the lullaby for him. It is a song her nanny used to sing to her when she was little. A song about a place where dreams come true and troubles melt like lemon drops¹The lullaby is “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. You can listen to it here in Meet me halfway fanmix..

Way up high
There’s a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

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  The lullaby is “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. You can listen to it here in Meet me halfway fanmix. ↩︎

Jo Hwa Jin lost her title of being a noblewoman in Hanyang, but she never lost her grace. She learned to walk with her head held high and turn a deaf ear to any criticism from the aristocratic families. There is nothing wrong with being a divorcee or being remarried. Her first marriage was a mistake and she’s happy now after wedding the man she genuinely loves. Happiness can’t be shameful.

It is already dark when Wonbeom and Soyong arrive at the village. His Queen is exhausted from the journey, and when he helps her reach the ground she holds onto him a bit longer, which only makes him happier. They are both too tired to do anything in the late evening, so Wonbeom decides they need to find a place to sleep, some tavern with guest rooms.

Soyong leans on the edge of the bathtub with both hands and tells her story. They send everyone away so only her closest friends will know everything. Predictably, Court Lady Choi grumbles that Soyong doesn’t take her well-being seriously enough, while Hong Yeon looks at Soyong with admiration and a wide smile. Neither of her friends are surprised with her actions, as if it is a natural thing for the Queen to pretend to be someone of lowborn status.

Hwa Jin’s head rests on Gyeong-eung’s shoulder, his cheek lying against the top of her head. To her joy, he is sleeping with her tonight now that he and his men are no longer searching for the Queen. The stillness of the night feels surreal after such an eventful day.

Today had been the most interesting, and perhaps even the best, day she had had in the past year: first her adventure at the royal villa with the Queen, then this evening with the deliberation in their gazebo. Hwa Jin feels trusted, as if her opinion is valued as it used to be a long time ago before the royal wedding. Now she’s a part of a team again and maybe she could even participate in the mission later.

Soyong is not particularly surprised with the turn of events; it was expected at some point. Her heart is full of contradictory emotions and she feels like she’s going to explode from them. She had wished for the King to move on and find his own happiness. She wanted him to let go of her, to let go of them. But her heart apparently has a different opinion about it.

Going into the ministers’ estates to meet with their daughters whom he has no interest in is a real torment for Wonbeom. He hates every second of it: the way the ministers and members of their families fawn over him, the fake smiles and compliments he receives. But what he hates the most is having to play the game too and pretend he is at least interested in the women who try so hard to look cute and seduce him. And he has to endure it instead of doing really important things, like participating in a search party for his missing wife.

Wonbeom is alone.

His study is illuminated by a few candles, and in the dim light he sits completely alone with alcohol and snacks in front of him. Darkness is more suited for him now than the light. After losing family members all his life, he has become accustomed to being lonely. He had thought it would never happen to him again.

What a fool he had been. How did his sincere concern for his wife turn into this nightmare?