The King's Affection (연모)

LIST OF COURT MAIDS

YEAR OF IMJIN

"Year of Imjin."

And your stance must be wider.

Who are you?

It's me, Hyun.

Hyun?

YANG SUN-JI

DEOK-HUI

DAM-I

DAM-I

DAY 21 OF MONTH 4, LEFT THE PALACE DUE TO ILLNESS

She left due to an illness?

Does the record specify the illness?

This is all we have on a girl named Dam-i.

Usually, the illness is specified.

But for some reason, there is no record of it.

If I may, can I ask why you wish to know?

Never mind.

DAM-I

The Crown Prince had the book I gave to the girl.

The Crown Prince?

No one can match his anti-climactic ways.

Was that the reason, Your Royal Highness?

I thought it was a dream.

However…

it wasn't…

STAY, LONGING

…a dream.

I will believe you if you say the feelings were momentary.

But…

it wasn't for me.

It wasn't admiration from a subject.

I thought it was my loyalty to you.

But it was affection.

I have a deep affection for you, Your Royal Highness.

Although you're a man and the Crown Prince of this nation,

I…

love you.

Royal Tutor Jung.

We…

cannot be together.

I am the Crown Prince of this nation,

and you are my subject.

I will endure it.

Whatever people say… No.

Whatever you say,

I will…

endure it all.

I don't…

feel the same way.

Whatever you think you felt from me, I ask you to please…

forget about that night.

-Your Royal Highness. -We never…

had this conversation.

EPISODE 10

JASEONDANG

Perhaps,

it might have been better if we had never met again.

If we hadn't,

we wouldn't have had to be in such pain like this.

YEON-SEON

Ji-un!

You should come on out!

Hurry!

What is it?

What…

What brings you here?

You're a late riser.

Can't you see that the sun has fully risen in the sky?

What do you mean His Royal Highness isn't at the palace?

He must know that the Queen Dowager is expecting to see him this afternoon.

He does know. He is aware,

but something urgent came up.

How could you let this happen?

Where did His Royal Highness go?

I must go now and escort him back to the palace.

The Crown Prince went out in disguise to look around.

Naturally, he didn't have a destination.

His bodyguard went with him.

So you don't have to worry.

And I told the bodyguard, Kim Ga-on,

to stay very close to the Crown Prince.

He does everything I ask of him now.

You cannot enter the Crown Prince's quarters today.

Better yet. You should go home for the day.

You went to the market with the Crown Prince today.

Do you understand?

If Court Lady Kim sees you, you and I are dead meat.

What is this about?

Lord Jaeun.

Did the Crown Prince leave the palace?

Well, it's not what you think.

Enjoy.

Aren't you going to eat?

I will.

Right. Hold on.

It's ready now.

But…

what really brings you here?

I doubt you came out for a mere bowl of soup.

I did.

I couldn't stop thinking about this soup.

Do you mean that?

The soup will get cold. We should eat now.

A bag of that, please.

Can you buy this for me?

Sure.

I see. He's grinning from ear to ear.

He looks just like you.

Is that so?

How is your hat today?

Oh. I think it's all right.

I'm glad to hear that.

The flowers have bloomed beautifully.

Yes, indeed.

All right. Does anyone want to try it?

Who wants to try?

-Come on, man. -No way.

-Your Royal Highness. -Hold on!

Come on, everyone. Let's give him a round of applause!

-One, two, three! -Two, three!

Let's give it up for him!

Are you all right?

Everyone, give him a round of applause!

Here I go!

I'm good.

Would you like to try it?

Pardon?

Gosh. That's only for women.

Over here! Someone wants to try out the swing.

What are you doing?

Who says it's only for women?

A fun activity belongs to everyone.

My lord, try it. It's very fun.

-Come on. -Wait. No. I…

Try it.

He's good.

Goodness. I can't believe I got to ride a swing thanks to you.

What a strange experience.

Thanks to you, I got to use up my energy today.

It really was strange.

Must you really have the last word just because we're outside the palace?

Gosh. How could I do that? That's a misunderstanding.

Look.

I see a big bird over the mountain. Over there.

We should stay under the roof over there for now.

Okay.

Your robe is all wet.

You shouldn't catch a cold.

I can shake off the rain myself.

Your Royal Highness, please tell me

the real reason why

you came to visit me today.

Sometimes, I think about how it would be to live a normal life like them.

Laughing as they please

and crying their hearts out whenever they want to.

It's impossible to be true to myself

when I'm in the palace.

I've lived my whole life competing.

I lived to meet expectations.

And I will

have to keep doing so in the future.

People may envy me for being the Crown Prince.

But I envy the people out here.

They enjoy life to their heart's content…

without having to worry about what others think of them.

Why don't you do the same, Your Royal Highness?

You can laugh like today

and cry at times too…

at least with me.

Thank you for everything.

Thanks to you,

I was happy even if it was just for one day.

Your Royal Highness…

I found a better position for you.

I believe taking that position

will be a good opportunity for you.

Are you…

ordering me to leave?

You can criticize me for being selfish.

I will…

soon get married

and have a wife.

This is…

my answer…

to your feelings for me.

It must have been a tough day.

Hyun.

There are days like this.

I know…

because today has been tough for me too.

I suspect you'd have more use for it.

You should give it to the lady that steals your heart.

Did you just arrive at the palace?

Yes, Your Royal Highness.

You were caught in the rain yesterday. Are you all right?

Yes. I'm all right.

Are you headed somewhere?

I must meet with my father to talk about the royal marriage.