Jin arrived at the palace to find it eerily quiet. He walked into the private living room and the scene he witnessed was unwelcoming. His father was by the fireplace, seething in anger. His mother was stirring her coffee, the spoon making angry sounds against the cup. Joon was at the far end of the living room, by the window, reading a magazine. His unaffected countenance irked Jin.

"What do you have to say, Crown Prince Lee Jin?" Lee Seok roared.

Jin shuddered. He could not bring himself to look at his father in the eye. "I..." he tried explaining himself, but no more words left his mouth.

"It was the King's command." Kyungae said, placing her cup aside. "How could you defy it?"

"The defiance is not the problem here. He did not consider us worthy of discussion, and went out to propose to the girl who could not keep her mouth shut. Now all nobles think that Crown Prince Lee Jin wants to marry Gu family's daughter Semi. The entire country knows this. The Ju family might think we knew everything about this." Seok paced around. "I have been awaiting an answer from Ju family's Rawon, but she is nowhere to be seen."

"Ju Rawon has no choice but to obey the King's command. However, we cannot announce their marriage right now." Kyungae said. "We must allow the people to forget all of this."

"People want to see the Crown Prince getting married, and here he makes a joke out of himself as well as the Royal household. Why would you do that, Crown Prince?" Seok grimaced.

"She wouldn't have spread the rumour." Jin replied meekly. "She isn't a person who would stoop so low."

"You broke up with her all those years ago, and people knew about it. And now you want to marry her. Do you think the public is blind? You are tarnishing the reputation that we have tried so hard to maintain." Kyungae said through gritted teeth. "Why would she not spread the rumour? One would do anything to become a Crown Princess."

Then came a knock at the door. Rawon entered, holding her head high. She saluted the King and the Queen. Joon kept his magazine aside and adjusted himself to be able to look at Rawon properly.

"Ju Rawon, have a seat." Seok said, indicating an empty spot.

"I am fine, Your Highness." Rawon said with a warm smile. "I thought of paying you a visit since things have come to this."

Lee Seok shook his head. "We are issuing a statement refuting the rumours. It will be out in half an hour. Your marriage with Jin-"

"My apologies for interrupting you. I do not think I and the Crown Prince would make an ideal couple. There are tremendous differences between us, and now considering that he has someone else in his heart, I dare not think of marrying him. Even if it brings me punishment, I decline the Royal order." Rawon said.

Joon smirked at Rawon's argument. "She's right in a way. The Crown Prince could have done things quietly, but now with all the noise around, pulling another person into this mess is injustice." Joon said, winking at Rawon who merely looked away.

Seok and Kyungae glared at Joon. He was used to it by now. He ignored their stares and shrugged.

"The families have agreed upon this marriage." Kyungae said.

"But we have not, Your Highness." Rawon argued.

"Back in the day, the parties involved had little to no say in matters of their marriage. This has especially been the case for the Royal family and the nobles." Kyungae explained.

"These are not those times. And these arranged marriages are the main reason nobles as a group are still stuck in the past- unwilling to progress, nor letting anyone else progress. We are too unhappy, and our fake plastered smiles don't help. I don't consider myself a nobility, and I hope you see me as a commoner too." Rawon inhaled as she said this, unwilling to relent. "You cannot let our esteemed Crown Prince marry a commoner."

"Just because," Seok said "You do not consider yourself as one of us, it does not erase your noble origins. You were born as someone, and that is in your blood. How would you refuse that?"

"I am not erasing my origins, nor am I denying them. However, I want you to see me for who I am right now."

Kyungae looked at Seok and then at Rawon. "If I see you for who you are, then you are the perfect choice for a Crown Princess."

"Let's stop this conversation." Jin intervened. "I will deal with it myself. I will take responsibility and marry Gu Semi."

Rawon, who was standing pretty close to Jin, chuckled. "After getting rejected?" she muttered.

Jin heard it and turned to look at Rawon, aghast. Her smirk was all-knowing. He sneered in disbelief. He was trying to wrap his head around the entire situation, but what he suspected here was worse.

Just then, Rawon's phone rang. She removed herself to a corner to answer the call and returned after a while. "I am needed at the police station. Please excuse me." Giving nobody scope for further argument, Rawon turned and left.

Jin balled his fist as his jaw hardened. He was shaking in anger. Seeing this, Joon got up and headed in Jin's direction. He placed his hand on Jin's, making Jin turn to face him. Joon-- the calmest person around-- shook his head in concern. Jin gulped. He freed his hand from Joon's and headed straight in the direction of his room.

Doksoo started following Jin. "Find where Ju Rawon stays." Jin commanded.

Doksoo sighed, but got to work nevertheless.

***

Rawon finally headed back home the next day, all because Yulhee somehow convinced her that she needed a change of clothes. She had been wearing the same clothes on rotational basis since the past two weeks and Yulhee was tired of seeing Rawon that way.

"The Crown Prince is now involved with Gu Semi or whoever she is." Yulhee had mentioned, sipping their usual vending machine coffee. "They won't bother you now."

Although Rawon had felt some degree of assurance back then, as she drove back home, she felt an uncertainty rising within her. As much as she wanted to believe Yulhee, something told her that her plans might go awry.

Rawon knew that the news of Crown Prince Lee Jin's proposal to Gu Semi would spread like wildfire. It would bring with it its backlashes- from the public as well as the family. Rawon had looked up Semi and found out that she did not have a great reputation among the masses. It was nothing new in light of most nobles being disliked by the public. This gave her the perfect idea. Upon digging up further, she found out that the nobles were having a party- that too at the Gu family's mansion. Sneaking in through the backdoor, Rawon had lurked around the kitchen, and pretended to be loud enough for the chefs and servers to hear that Crown Prince had proposed to Gu Semi. The rest of it spread through grapevine as Rawon took pleasure in it. She had made it look like Semi was the one who seeded the rumour, and had succeeded. She had attacked the very reputation of Lee Jin which was dear to him. That was the most satisfactory part- showing Lee Jin his place.

She parked her car, but something felt off. There were luxury cars around, and her beaten car looked a mess amidst them. Nevertheless, she headed to her rooftop room. She punched in the passcode and stepped in. As she took off her shoes, she saw Jin sitting on the sofa, flipping through TV channels. He looked up at her upon hearing her footsteps and smirked.

Jin stood up and threw the remote on the sofa. The news on the TV kept playing in the background. Hands thrust in his pockets, he looked at Rawon- his expression bearing an unnerving calm. Rawon's smirk from the previous day kept mixing with the smile she was giving him right then. "Ju Rawon." Jin said, "What gives you the right to spread rumours? And who gives you the right?"

Rawon acted all innocent. "Which rumour?"

"About me proposing marriage to Semi."

"Semi. You talk about her very casually. The proposal is the truth- a verified one at that. Coming to the rumour, I am sorry to bring it to your notice that I have a lot of work other than spreading lies. And your business does not concern me." Rawon shook her head and went to the refrigerator, taking out a bottle of water and gulping down some.

"Not even when your own interests are involved?" Jin asked. He was perplexed by this woman who was so unaffected by everything around her. She seemed to not care about anything- herself or those around her. For a moment, Jin suspected his own judgement of her. Even then, he convinced himself that Rawon was responsible for all the mess. The Royal family's PR Team had worked round the clock to track all communities and forums, as well as news reports. The discussions had been intense, keeping Jin on his toes for the entire night. An announcement had already been made refuting the claim just after Rawon had left the palace, yet, the internet was abuzz about him and Semi. They were trending on search engines and social media, and the palace agencies did everything to bring them off. It was a tough night for everyone but one person- the one who was brazenly standing in front of him.

Rawon knew better than to react to Jin's accusations. She had interrogated people far too long to know what to do and what not to do in such cases. She wasn't going to give herself away. Not to this man. His sight was slowly becoming repulsive for her. She had hated the Crown Prince anyways, but the more she saw him, the more she began to detest the sight of him. Rawon wanted to arrest Jin for housebreaking, but he was above the law, and she couldn't do anything about it.

"My bathroom," Jin said, "is bigger than your house." He turned around as he inspected every nook and cranny. "You are a noblr and you live in a shack."

It was a condo, livable for just one person. And the rent was cheap, which was the biggest advantage. For someone who spent half the week at the station, Rawon didn't want to spend too much money on rent. "Then grace your bathroom with your esteemed presence instead of polluting my house." Rawon barked at him. She crushed the bottle in her hand and threw it on the counter. She stormed in Jin's direction and stood dangerously close to him. She hissed, "I want to have nothing to do with you, Crown Prince. The sooner you understand that, the better."

Jin's face was inches away from Rawon. From where he stood, with some advantage of being about three inches taller than Rawon, he saw her face up close. It was brimming with both innocence and vengeance. "The more you avoid it, the more they will come for you. Don't you remember what my mother told you yesterday?" he said.

Rawon raised her eyebrow. Her stiffness reduced as she took a step back. She entered a state of daze only to be brought out of it through her ringing phone. She took it out from her pocket, but Jin snatched it and ended the call.

"Your calls never allow us to complete the conversation." Jin said. As Rawon tried getting her phone back, he raised his hand high up, causing Rawon to jump to get her phone. Wobbly as his legs were, Jin stumbled while going backwards, falling on the sofa. He had grabbed hold of Rawon for support, but had merely pulled her on top of himself. He could feel Rawon's hair tingling his neck, and her warm breath landing somewhere near his ear.

"The Royal Family has issued another statement this morning." the anchor on the TV said. "It is good news for the people of this country. The Royal family had kept this secret well-guarded for six months. Crown Prince Lee Jin is all-set to marry the first daughter of Ju family- Ju Rawon. The very detective who saved him twice."

Rawon looked at Jin. She stood up, straightening herself. All her plans for nothing. She was doomed. She went to her wardrobe and dumped some clothes into a backpack. Rawon left the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

Jin kept lying on the sofa. For once, he wished that the rumour had worked.