All eyes shifted from the earring Hong Yeonhwa had been holding to me.
"Why is this…." "It came out of your pocket. Are you shamelessly pretending not to know?"
Kim Sera's sharp voice rang through the hall. The maids standing outside the banquet hall glanced over, quietly assessing the situation.
"I truly don't know anything about this. I didn't even know what kind of earrings the lady was wearing."
Hong Yeonhwa lifted her gaze to Go Won with an unreadable expression, and an unexpectedly courteous remark left his lips.
"I apologize on her behalf."
At Go Won's attitude, Hong Yeonhwa quickly withdrew the gaze she had been holding on him.
"…I'm fine. There are jewels scattered all over my house. Even if I lost it, it wouldn't have upset me that much."
"Still, stealing is wrong."
He looked at me and spoke firmly.
"Apologize."
At Go Won's words, I shot him a resentful look, but he had long since turned his eyes away from me. Kim Sera stared only at my aggrieved face. I read her gaze. The reason she had made me work in the banquet hall and why she had suddenly told me to leave was written clearly across her expression.
"I'm sorry."
In front of everyone watching, I bent at a ninety-degree angle. What expressions were they wearing as they looked at me with my head bowed? Did they pity a child unfamiliar with precious things, stealing out of ignorance? Or were they looking at me with disgust, thinking someone lowly had dared to covet something that sparkled?
"That's enough. Let's stop here. I'll consider the apology accepted."
"Thank you for your generous forgiveness in such an unfortunate situation."
Go Won escorted Hong Yeonhwa back into the banquet hall, courteous yet keeping a certain distance between them. I watched their backs as they disappeared. When the door closed, my heart sank heavily.
Kim Sera gestured for the whispering maids to disperse, naturally putting distance between herself and me. I watched her walk away before quickly turning on my heel, hurrying after her and grabbing her wrist, dragging her into the storage room in the corner.
"Are you crazy? Let go!" "It wasn't me." "Was causing a scene in the palace not enough? Now you're going to harm me too?" "I never caused a scene. I was the one who was wronged." "Do you even realize what you just did? Lady Yeonhwa let it pass quietly, so I'm letting it go just this once as well." "But it wasn't something I did in the first place. What do you mean letting it go?" "Given your circumstances, stealing isn't exactly strange… You should have knelt from the start and begged. Said you were sorry." "You're pretending not to know until the very end. Was it fun, framing me as a thief?"
At my last words, her expression slowly hardened. She let out a short sigh.
"From now on, any incident that happens in this palace will be your fault. Even if it happens because of someone else's mistake, the culprit… will be you." "Why are you doing this to me?" "Why? Because you're different from us!"
Kim Sera was finally honest in front of me. She must have wanted to say this from the very first moment she looked at me with disdain.
"You're a parachute hire to begin with. But I've never seen someone come in on such a worn-out parachute before."
"I'll say this once and only once. I don't like you. The mere fact that someone like you stays in the same palace as me is a disgrace."
The door opened and closed. Left alone in the dark storage room where she had exited, I wondered if this was the only space in the palace I was allowed to occupy. My legs gave out and I sank to the floor, staring blankly at the thin ray of light streaming through the small window. Dust floated within it, existing without purpose, drifting along the afternoon light.
"I miss you. Mom."
I quietly wiped away my tears with my sleeve. To find my missing mother, I needed money. That meant I had to remain in this palace. Things like today would repeat countless times. I just had to endure—at least until I found her.
Realizing I had wasted too much time, I hurried out of the storage room. When I opened the door, the banquet had already ended. People were leaving one by one, and the murmur of voices gradually faded. In the distance, I saw Hong Yeonhwa and Go Won. He wore a faint smile, and she was laughing brightly. A world different from mine. Though we had clearly been in the same space, the distance between us felt impossibly far.
When everyone had left, I went outside to gather the carpet laid over the palace steps.
"Hello."
I turned at the unfamiliar voice.
"You're the one who was in quite a difficult situation just now, right? Oh, don't look at me so frighteningly. I'm not a strange person."
The man held out a business card to me. Looking at it, I saw he was a reporter from Cheonil Daily.
"I saw it earlier. That sly woman dropping Lady Hong Yeonhwa's earring and picking it up." "If you saw it, you should have said something earlier. That I wasn't the thief." "I couldn't possibly intervene. I couldn't suddenly stride in and, in front of the real prince, rescue you like some prince in a story." "I suppose that's true."
I didn't want to continue the conversation. I was already exhausted from my exchange with Kim Sera.
"Wasn't there someone there who could have helped you?" "What do you mean?" "The Crown Prince must have known. Didn't he take any other action?" "I don't understand what you're saying…." "Even if he doesn't memorize every name, His Highness is aware of all the staff within the palace. Someone as perceptive as he is couldn't have failed to notice the lie of a maid who has worked here for years. At least, that's what I know."
I quickly masked my surprise with a prompt reply.
"So you're saying he knew and still did that."
The reporter smiled as if to show he was not a threat.
"Ha. The palace isn't an easy place, is it? And yet everyone wants to enter. Did you know most applicants don't even pass the document screening?"
"Judging by your expression, you didn't. That position you hold now is extremely difficult to obtain. His Majesty is very strict when selecting palace staff."
He glanced around.
"Everyone working here now not only has guaranteed status, but they're all children of prominent families who hold positions elsewhere. Truly remarkable people. And yet…."
He paused, smiling faintly.
"I heard you entered with a letter of recommendation. Not from a well-known family either… Ah, what I mean is, even exceptionally talented people fail to enter the palace. So for a girl from the slums to make it in—well, you must be quite lucky. Don't take it the wrong way. I only mean I'm envious."
"You seem to know a lot about me. Is this an interview?" "It's something more important than that."
He leaned slightly toward me and lowered his voice.
"The palace is very closed off. There are many things ordinary people don't know. For example, things they shouldn't see."
"What are you implying…?"
Even as I stepped back, he remained unhurried.
"The royal family isn't clean. You know that too, don't you? Those secrets—one day, they'll come out. Ah, don't worry. Names won't be revealed. Just as always."
So this was why he approached me. A reporter who wanted to dig into royal secrets. Proposing a deal by using my situation and status.
"I don't know anything."
He nodded as if he had expected that answer.
"Yes, I understand. You've only just entered. It must already be overwhelming enough to adapt. It doesn't have to be now."
He slipped on the jacket he had been holding, as if wrapping up the conversation.
"When someone who knows something stays silent, that silence is worth the most. I don't want an accusation. Just confirmation. I'll pay generously. If anything comes to mind, contact me here."
As he left, I gave a polite bow. He added one last remark.
"Miss Seonmi, the truth is always just."
I looked again at the business card.
Reporter Kim Sasu, Cheonil Daily.
Later, while finishing up the banquet hall, someone bumped my shoulder and passed by, followed by suppressed laughter.
"Seonmi, you finish up and come out."
They tossed the mop they'd been using onto the floor and left.
As I picked up the discarded mops, a wave of misery washed over me. Kim Sera's words lingered longer than expected. 'I don't like you. The mere fact that someone like you stays in the same palace as me is a disgrace.' Then the reporter's words surfaced. 'Everyone working here has guaranteed status… Even exceptional people fail to enter. So for a girl from the slums to make it in—well, you must be lucky.'
Perhaps it was only natural that they didn't want to mix with someone like me. I couldn't easily grow angry at their ridicule.
As I gathered the mops and stood, the once-bright banquet hall was swallowed by darkness.
"Did the power go out?"
Since cleaning was already done, I didn't find it strange. I turned the handle to leave.
Click. Click.
What?
The door was firmly locked. I walked to the door at the opposite end and tried that handle as well. Useless. All the doors to the banquet hall were locked.
An hour passed. No matter how much I pounded until my hands turned red, there was only silence outside.
"Is this a dream? Am I having a very long dream?"
I crouched beside the door. In the vast, silent darkness, alone in this large and empty space, only negative thoughts filled my mind. Life is an endless hardship. It might have been better never to have been born. But since I was born, I couldn't return—I simply had to live. All I wanted was to be free. But for that, I needed money.
I pulled out the reporter's crumpled business card from my pocket again.
"I want to be free."
Growing drowsy, I closed my eyes.
Bang! Bang!
Someone pounded on the door. Then I heard a voice calling for me.
"Are you in there?"
It was Jeong Najeong shouting. I lifted my head.
Bright light streamed through the crack in the door, soon flooding the room.
"I was wondering why you weren't coming! Were you trapped in here the whole time?"
Jeong Najeong scolded loudly. Go Chaeha, who had been standing beside her, walked over, bent down, and extended his hand to me.
"Seonmi."
Just hearing him say my name made tears fall.
He wiped them away with his sleeve and pulled me to my feet.
"What happened?" "It's nothing." "If it's nothing, why are you crying like this? Let me see your face."
In his grasp, tears poured uncontrollably down my cheeks.
I saw his expression subtly tighten.
"Who did this to you?" "No one did anything wrong. I was just careless and got locked in." "Why do you keep pretending to be fine!"
I had never seen Go Chaeha raise his voice like that before. My eyes widened, and he seemed to calm himself.
"Najeong, could you clean up here? Seonmi's hands are swollen. I think I should take her to the infirmary." "Yes. Leave it to me."
Go Chaeha took me to his room. After closing the door, he asked,
"Now that no one's here, tell me. Who did this?" "I don't know. I don't even know who it was. Maybe… maybe it was my fault."
He fell silent for a moment. His clenched fists trembled with restrained anger. This expression was unfamiliar. His eyes were cold, stripped of emotion, and every muscle in his face seemed rigid.
"No. You did nothing wrong. They did. We… we did nothing wrong."
He said nothing more. Instead, he stepped closer and pressed his lips to mine.