⤷ the bailey

@♧ yoo yunho ᵏᶦⁿᵍ His embrace only made her cry even more, out of relief now instead of grief. It felt good to finally tell someone in her family and it was her brother especially. His words of regret made her pull away for a moment to look at him properly and she gently shook her head. “None of this is your fault, Yunho.. and you didn’t neglect me at all, you have a whole kingdom to run. I.. never told anyone because I did not want to burden anyone about it.” She wiped the tears that followed suit while trying to compose herself. “I made sure to keep it together for you, Minjeong and our siblings.. who else was going to take care of this family while you two were taking care of the kingdom?” She chucked lightly and gave him a soft smile. “I plant them at night so no one would see me until you did.. not that there’s anything wrong about that of course.

@♧ yoo sana ᵖʳᶦⁿᶜᵉˢˢ Wait. Hold on. what?

He was sure that he meant his last words as a joke, but was she serious? Yunho was so shocked and even more so when Sana started to cry and that snapped Yunho out of his reverie. Taking one long step, he stepped closer to his sister to engulfed her in a tight embrace. "Oh dear sister... I am so sorry for being so neglecting to you... it must be really hard on you to handle those tragic loss. Why didn't you say anything? I could've given a proper burial service for your baby... I have no one to blame but myself for not noticing your pain, sister. Please forgive me."

@♧ yoo sana ᵖʳᶦⁿᶜᵉˢˢ "Be a good girl while I meet the King and The Duke, okay princess?"

A rare soft, full of love smile appeared on the face of the usually stoic Byeon Wooseok. The Marshal was known for his icy and straight face, even when he led the army to the war, but only when his daughter, Byeon Woori, is around; the warm and living figure that usually hidden appeared. Wooseok eyed his daughter, noticing a striking resemblance of her to his late wife. His heart was still clenched painfully whenever he remembered her. The late wife who brought so much happiness in his life. A baroness who he met when he was attending a royal ball. It was a love at the first sight and after few years building up his courage, he finally made the move to court her. It took him another two years before Han Gyuri accepted his proposal and they got married. But just like any kind of happiness, it never lived long. After Gyuri gave birth to Woori, her health started to deteriorate. Worrying Wooseok to no end but when she needed him, the royal order came, the King needed him to lead the army to the war. After such heartbreaking goodbye to his wife and newborn child, Wooseok headed out to the war, promising to return as fast as he could.

Fate was indeed such a cruel thing. Just a few month after he left his family, a letter came which shattered Wooseok's heart. In the letter, he was informed that his wife had passed away, leaving behind their daughter with no mother who would look after her. Once the battle ended, Wooseok wasted no time to return to his land, finally letting the grief consumed his whole being for almost a whole month before he vowed that he shall be the best parent for Woori, even if Gyuri was no longer with them. And for the last five years, Wooseok had been dutifully carrying that promise. Giving all his attention and affection to his only daughter whenever he had no official duty, resulting the two grew so close to each other. Usually when Wooseok had something to take care in the palace, a nanny would come to look after Woori but today the nanny was ill so he had no other choice but to bring his little daughter to the castle.

"No need to worry father. I'm a big girl!"

The reassurance from Woori made him smile, a gloved hand rested on her black hair as he gave it a little ruffle of affection. Even though she was still pretty young, Woori was pretty responsible and he knew he could trust her to not wandering too far, especially in the castle ground. "I believe in you, princess. Can you wait for me while playing and reading in here? You bring your favorite book, don't you? Find somewhere cool enough so you won't get a heat . I will come back here once the meeting ends. I love you princess." Wooseok said as he kissed his daughter's forehead before resuming his journey to the meeting hall.

Now all alone, Byeon Woori, being the curious kid that she is, started to wander around the bailey, admiring the flowers that painted the garden so beautifully. She then stopped when there was a spot which secluded enough for her to sit down and to read. "Father will give me presents if I'm being a good daughter!" She chirped happily before sitting down, next to what looked like a freshly planted flower. Her big doe eyes set on those flowers "I hope you don't mind my company, pretty flowers! My name is Byeon Woori, daughter of Byeon Wooseok. Pleasure to meet you!" The girl introduced herself to the flower, giving a playful curtsy to them just before she opened her book to read.

@♧ yoo yunho ᵏᶦⁿᵍ Perhaps it was time to come clean. He'd eventually pry it out of her anyway but maybe she could buy some time as no one knew about her loss, apart from Gayoung, her best friend. She sighed softly and glanced behind her briefly. It was time.

"Well.. it's not technically a body? At least not anymore.. uhm.." she started before clearing and straightening herself up again, this was difficult for her to say. "I... I lost.. the baby a few months after Jiho passed. I never.. told anyone after it happened." She said all this while staring at her feet on the ground. She felt ashamed. She wouldn't be surprised if Yunho looked at her differently now. Sana failed to notice the tears falling down her cheeks until she buried her face in her hands, muffling her cries before crouching down as if waiting for the ground to eat her up there and then.

@♧ yoo sana ᵖʳᶦⁿᶜᵉˢˢ Okay. He did not expect this.

There, stood his sister, the one who was always being so put together. The one he had been relying to seek any advice when he needed them. Yoo Sana. Yunho had a great respect for her and not just because she is his older sister, but more because of her ability and skill. Yunho waved off his sister's curtsy as right now, they weren't in any formal situation. Despite having his question answered by her, for some reason, that didn't completely satisfy him.

Planting flowers. Why would someone with a high rank as her do something like that, not to mention almost in the middle of the night nonetheless. His eyes involuntarily drifted towards the freshly dug soil and the tiny flower on it. Well, at least she didn't lie about planting somwthing but still, there was this...nagging feeling on the back of his head.

"You can always plant them tomorrow, so why bother going out at this time? And besides, we have a huge garden for you to comfortably plant anything you want. Are you secretly hiding something from me? Is there any body under that soil?"

@♧ yoo yunho Sana, the older sister who did her best to keep together was completely vulnerable at this very moment. Since returning to Aerion, she's been keeping herself busy between advising her siblings, the king, and queen, and attending to their home's needs, she had not found the time to mourn someone other than her husband. Her baby that she had miscarried that she's never told anyone. Shortly after returning home a few years, it had taken a toll on her and this, in turn, caused her to lose the baby she was once excited to meet. The piece of her late husband she had left and wished to raise in memory of him alas this was not her ending. Every year since then she'd been planting flowers in a small spot she had found in their humungous courtyard to honor the supposed child.

Her body froze when she heard a familiar voice. It was Yunho. She quickly wiped her tears and dusted the soil from her coat as she got up to offer a brief curtsy. "Yunho, good evening. It's nothing, just planting some flowers. I didn't have time earlier today." She was panicking internally now. How on earth was she going to explain this to her brother without exposing the real reason for the odd activity and in the evening no less? He was quite the curious bean too so he would surely ask until he got the answer.

@♧ yoo sana The gentle breeze greeted the young king as he made his way to the courtyard, the moonlight shining his path and a soft smile on his face as he enjoyed the perfect weather. Not even one guard followed him as Yunho had clearly stated that he wanted to take a stroll alone, and it wasn't like anyone would be stupid enough to assassinate him within the palace where he could detect every movement through the air. 'The perks of being the ruler of the wind, I guess.' He mused. His steps faltered, however, when he saw a silhouette between the bushes. Yunho frowned. Who would dare to sneak around in the royal's courtyard? He just hoped no one would be crazy to do indecent acts there. Quietly, he made his way toward the shadow and stopped right behind the figure, he still couldn't tell who it was. "What are you doing?"