.five. 

quick a/n: yes, i added a new prince to the line up. i will explain why at the end of the chapter.

Minji followed Jung around the village market as he ran his errands. As a prince of Goreyo, it was his job to make sure that things in the village were peaceful, though he was only fifteen and a lot of the time he was the one causing trouble. They stopped at one of the tents where a merchant sold all kinds of trinkets and toys that had been brought over from China.

Minji stopped as something caught her eye, a colorful silk ball that she picked up in her hands. The soft fabric felt nice to her touch and she marveled at its beauty. Jung had already moved onto the next little shop nearby, keeping a close eye on any people that might appear suspicious to him. He paused in his stride when he saw that Minji was no longer following him. He returned to her side just as she was placing the ball back in its place. 

She turned and bumped into him suddenly, as she had been distracted for a moment.

"Sorry, Jung oppa." She bowed her head slightly.

"Did you want that object?" He gestured to the ball which she had placed back on the counter with all the other trinkets.

Minji shook her head just as the merchant at the stand informed them with a warm and encouraging smile that was directed to the two teenagers. "Girls really like those little silk balls. They were brought in from China just last week and that one is the last one I have left. Legend has it that if a boy gives one of those to a girl that he likes, she will fall in love with him." Minji felt herself go red in the face. Seeing them together, walking around the market, he must have been mistaken and thought that they were a couple.

Jung scoffed at the story. "I don't believe in those things anymore."

Instead of moving on as she thought he would, he instead grabbed the silk ball and placed it in her hands. He reached into a satchel that he had brought with him and produced a few coins from it. 

"This should be enough for the ball." He handed them to the merchant, who nodded in agreement.

But Minji quickly shook her head. "You don't need to buy me presents, oppa." 

She motioned to place the ball back in its place, and Jung gave a shake of his head. "Keep it. I already paid for it and you looked like you really liked it." He stepped back towards the counter where all the different toys were displayed, now mumbling to himself. "I should probably get something for Eun too, since he likes toys so much. What do you think Hak Soon?" He asked a little louder, turning her way.

She observed the objects for a moment and saw a slingshot. "What about that one?" She pointed at it.

Jung picked it up in his hand. "This does look like something Eun would like. I'll take this too." He got more money out to pay for the other toy and the merchant nodded, taking the sling shot from Jung and placing it in a cloth bag which he handed to the prince.

They spent a longer time than expected at the village market. Minji got to see all the shops, which she was impressed with because she hadn't seen anything like it in modern Korea. Jung bought some snacks for them, which they ate together and they visited a booth where hair pins of all kinds were being sold. 

The prince asked for her help in picking out one for his mother and they ended up choosing a magnificent gold one, which was placed in a beautiful wooden box for the Queen as a present.

As they climbed back on his horse to return to their homes--she with her sister and mother, and he at the palace with his siblings--Minji remembered to ask him something she had been wanting to know for days now. "Jung oppa, I was wondering if you knew where your brother, the eighth prince lives?"

"I do." He nodded, and eyeing her with confusion he added, "Why do you want to go there?"

"I need to talk to Lady Hae Soo." Minji replied.

Still full of confusion, he asked her, "Since when do you know Lady Hae's cousin? I thought you returned home just the other day."

Right, she remembered. 

She had been out of town for two years visiting with her uncle and aunt, and was known to have returned the day she resurfaced in the palace. Quickly thinking up a lie, she told him, "I met her while I was away. Her hometown is the same town where my uncle lives.

"I'll take you to his house with me if you want." He offered, having believed her lie. "I was just about to go there to have lunch with my siblings, since two of my brothers will be returning after being away for several years."

She nodded and he turned the horse around to follow an opposite path. He had thought to drop her off at her house and then visit his brother Wang Wook at his residence near the palace. But now that Hak Soon wanted to go with him, he had to turn back and head in another direction.

They arrived within a half hour and some of the workers at the house helped him tie up his horse. Jung offered to help Minji find her friend, but she insisted she would be okay on her own. He left her to go meet up with his siblings, assuring her that he would find her once he was done so that he could get her back to her house. She watched him disappear into the house while she remained outside, looking out for her friend. 

She remained in the courtyard of the house, waiting under the shade of  tree when she finally saw Hajin emerging from the house, looking agitated and embarrassed. Not long after she saw Prince Eun emerge from the house as well, his head turning in every direction as though he were looking for someone.

Minji got back on her feet and hurried to her friend's side. "Hajin!" She said, and her friend jumped back, startled.

"Geez Minji, don't sneak up on me like that." She huffed, and hid behind wooden pillars as she walked. Her eyes were trained in the direction where Eun was now standing in the middle of the courtyard, still looking around with his hands on his hips. Hajin stopped as an idea came to her. "Minji please go and get rid of the little prince." She pleaded, pushing Minji forward slightly.

Her friend quickly shook her head. "Why me? He hates me." 

"He knows I was at the hot spring that day." Hajin whispered, "And I heard you got away with it because you're the general's daughter and the princes know you. Please go deal with him."

Minji rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. "Fine."

Hajin gave her a grateful nod and watched from behind a pillar as Minji stepped forward to talk to Eun. When Prince Eun heard footsteps, he turned in her direction, ready to scold. But instead he huffed out a sigh when he was met with someone else. "You're here too? What are you doing here?" He asked her, voice filled with displeasure. There was a part of him that was surprised as he added, "I almost didn't recognize you without your heavy metal armor. You almost actually look like a girl." His words managed to come out in a teasing, yet insulting way.

"My friend lives here." Minji replied simply, her words undertaking a sharp tone, retaliating to his comment about her looking like a girl without directly saying anything to him about it. From the first moment, she and Prince Eun hadn't gotten along to the point that she almost considered him her enemy. He felt the same way about Park Hak Soon. There was nothing but hostility between the two teenagers. "What are you doing here, shrimpy?"

"Are you trying to say I look like a shrimp?" He asked her with annoyance and confusion, not understanding her insult.

She sighed, realizing that people's way of speaking was different in the past. "Its an insult. I'm trying to insult you by comparing your height to a shrimp because they're puny and weak." This was a clear example, since he had been unable to understand what she meant.

"I don't understand." He replied, even though she tried to clarify for him.

"Never mind." She told him, not wanting to bother any further with explanations since it would defeat the purpose of her insult. "What are you doing here?" She repeated her initial question.

"I don't owe you any explanations, I'm a prince. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want." He shot back, nose in the air filled with pride. But replied to her anyway. "My brother lives here."

At that, Minji remembered what Jung had told her. He was there to meet up with his brothers because two of them were returning after years of being away. The house where they were meeting up belonged to the eighth prince, who was Wang Eun's older brother.

"Congrats, now run along." She waved him off dismissively.

"I'm looking for a wench." He ignored her words, and continued speaking coldly towards her. He quickly clarified. "Not you. A different wench, a specific wench. Your friend from the private bath."

Minji crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a glare. "She's not here."

"I just saw her a little while ago." He countered.

"You saw wrong." She insisted.

Frustrated with her, he informed, "I'm going now because I can't be burdened with bothersome wenches like you."

"Alright. You go then." Minji said, uncaring.

Eun stormed off once more, in search of Hajin and her friend walked up from behind her. "Thank you, Minji. That should buy me some time. Hopefully he'll get tired of looking for me and he'll go away."

"Well, I need to talk to you so hurry and finish this ridiculous game of hide and seek with his majesty, the shrimp prince." Minji said to her, having been left in an annoyed mood after her encounter with Prince Eun. 

Hajin grabbed her by the hand and dragged her along as she continued to hide along the courtyard. They had been hiding behind a tree when the two of them spotted Prince Eun near one of the servant shacks. It was the place where the servants washed up or changed clothes. There was a small opening which served as a peep hole and they watched with anger and disgust as the prince looked inside.

There was screaming coming from inside as he was caught watching and he turned, hoping to disappear from the scene. But Hajin and Minji stepped forward, both girls shooting an arm out to stop him in his tracks. 

"Where do you think you're going, shrimpy?" Minji asked him, voice dripping with venom.

"Out of my way, you dumb girl." Eun hissed, trying to escape.

From the shack emerged the girl Minji remembered from the hot spring, the one who had helped Hajin escape. She was tying her robe around herself and yelling about someone spying on her. But her crying ceased when she saw the two girls with the prince and she figured what was going on.

"Just as we thought." Hajin looked from Eun to the servant girl.

"You were spying on her." Minji stated.

Eun's jaw dropped as he feigned being offended by her words. "How dare you say such things about me? I'm a prince. I would never spy on anyone, and even less a servant wench like her."

Minji rolled her eyes at him. Wench must be the word of the century, she thought to herself.

From beside her, Hajin spoke up in a scolding tone. "We saw you spying on Chae Ryung. I understand you're young and curious and would like to look at women. But that doesn't mean its right to spy on them." As he was being scolded by Hajin, he appeared irritated, and he looked everywhere but at them. He wasn't used to being reprimanded by people of a lower class than him because he was a prince.

"Apologize to her." Minji demanded.

Eun stared at her wide eyed, as though he had been asked to do the unspeakable. "Are you telling me--a prince of Goryeo--to apologize to her when I know I've not done anything wrong? Are you suggesting that I should lower myself in front of a servant?" Turning towards Chae Ryung, he took a few menacing steps towards her and stared her down, asking, "Did you see me peeping at you? Are you certain that it was me?"

Chae Ryung held her head down. "I--I didn't see properly..."

"Of course she'll say no!" Minji protested, after Eun made a face at them which said I told you so. "You're a prince and she's a servant. She's afraid of you. But we saw you clearly. Now apologize." She demanded once more.

He huffed angrily, seeing as though they weren't going to let this go. When he tried to get past them again and they stepped in his path, he became frustrated. He shoved Minji down to the ground with ease. "You're as small as a grain of rice. I'm not scared of you." Shoving Hajin down next, he added, "You too. How dare you demand things from me when it was you two who started with the spying on other people? I'm a prince and I don't have to deal with you two wenches."

He tried to walk away from them. But Minji was the first of the two to recover, and she stomped towards him, returning the shove. "I said apologize right now!"

The prince knocked her down for a second time and made another attempt to storm off. This time he was stopped by Hajin, who crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around his legs to prevent him from leaving.

That gave Minji enough time to get back on her feet and she tackled the prince to the ground. He fell a few feet away from them and picked himself up, now full of anger just like Minji and Hajin were. "Alright." He huffed at them, his expression formed into a scowl. "You want to fight me? I'll fight you right this moment and I won't hold back even if you are women."

"Come at me then, shrimpy." Minji challenged.

He nodded his head, a threat in his dark tone. "I'll take you on, and when I'm done with you, I'm going after your friend." He gestured towards Hajin.

Both teenagers let out something of a war cry and ran in the direction of their opponent, ready to start their fight.

-

this chapter ended up being a bit longer than i expected, so no long author's note today. 

i just want to take this space to inform you all that i added a new prince to the line up. his name is wang han *names after luhan, no shame* and he will be portrayed by taehyung. he is the eleventh prince of goryeo, and is the same age as his brother wang eun. 

wang han likes spending time on the battle field and has spent the last almost three years, since he was fifteen, aiding general park on the battle fronts. he will be formally introduced next chapter probably. i didn't just make him up for fun. his existence will serve an important part in the story's plot.

thank you all for reading and supporting this story.

-clary xx