However, her maid kept her lips sealed. She walked ahead and pretended she hadn't heard the last line. Laughing, Eun-bi shook her head but did not press the matter.
Numerous shophouses lined up on both sides of the lanes and the girls walked through the lively street, taking their time to look at the items on sale. They stopped by a stall selling vegetables and Da-hee got right to work.
"Good evening ladies, would you like some radish or carrots?"
"Yes," Da-hee answered the stall owner instead while Eun-bi was busy fiddling around with a leek. "Do you mind throwing in some peppers, sir?"
"That won't be a problem at all, Miss!"
As he wrapped up their purchases, Eun-bi accidentally overheard a conversation coming from a group of customers at the next stall chatting about strange news. The words that spilled from their lips caught her attention and she stepped a little closer to listen carefully.
"Did you hear? Minister Park has donated a hundred sacks of rice to the villages down the south. Such a generous man, isn't he? The heavens will bless him for helping the poor."
Hearing this, Eun-bi started frowning.
Minister Park? As in the very same man who was working as the Minister of Taxation? 
And he did...WHAT?
Assuming that he was the same old man she had met yesterday as they didn't even exchange names, she soon realised that he did what she had asked him to. He managed to complete the difficult task that she had given him.
And now, it was her turn to take up his challenge.
She muttered a string of colourful words under her breath, surprised that the minister had held up his end of the bargain. She had thought it was a joke but he was honestly taking this whole thing a lot more seriously than she had thought. The old man wasn't just wrinkly, weird and insanely rich. There was something mentally wrong in his head somewhere...
Fine. 
She shall just go along with his delirious plans this once. If she failed, she would back out of it right away.
Besides, who could resist the chance of receiving a small island? Even her parents couldn't afford that. Eun-bi could stay there for the rest of her life - living in a small, humble hut, growing her own flower beds and riding on her horse across the soft, honey sand and grasses until she grew old. But that would have to wait until she finished her job. For now, she would have to wait for the minister's son to appear before her so that she could carry out her plan of annoying him till death.
How many donkey years was he going to take anyway? Surely, he would have realised by now that his precious jade charm was missing?
"Knock, knock." Da-hee tapped a knuckle against her temple, jolting her out of her thoughts. "Snap out of it, my lady! You have this weird grin on your face and it's making you look ugly."
Eun-bi whirled around instantly with shock. "Such insolence! Didn't you just tell me yesterday that I look as beautiful as a butterfly?"
Da-hee gave her a casual shrug. "Did I? Hmm, I don't recall. Must have been your imagination."
Eun-bi gasped loudly. "That can't be happening. You shouldn't be having a poor memory at this young age. If you can't even remember this, how can you remember the name and face of the man who has been secretly courting you? He's going to be so disappointed."
"Lady Eun-bi!" Da-hee exclaimed, her nostrils flared slightly in annoyance. She readjusted the basket of vegetables on her arm. "You're not letting this topic rest, aren't you?"
"No." Eun-bi's response only made her maid sigh loudly. She laughed and gave Da-hee's cheek a light pat. "So, Da-hee, who is he? Is he the man that has been following us for some time now? Because he's actually quite the looker." 
"What?" 
Seeing her maid's confused face, Eun-bi jabbed a thumb in the direction of their tall, mysterious stalker. He stood a good distance away and was pretending to be immersed in the shoes that were selling at one of the stalls. Da-hee snuck a glance back and when she finally noticed him, her body stiffened with a troubled expression.
Her voice dropped into a low whisper with a hint of fear laced in her tone. "Lady Eun-bi? I honestly don't know who this man is." 
"What?" Eun-bi's face creased into a confused frown. Clearly, she wasn't expecting this sort of answer from Da-hee and she didn't even seem to be joking. If this man wasn't her maid's suitor, it couldn't possibly be hers either.
Well then, who was he? 
"Da-hee..." she drawled. "Remember how many sweet rice cakes we ate for our late-night supper? I say it's time for a little run."
Da-hee stared at her with worried eyes. "Hang on, my lady... You're aware that you tend to trip a lot while walking, right? And you want to try running now?"
There was a brief pause as Eun-bi felt greatly offended. She shot her maid a serious look, barely suppressing a snort of incredulous laughter.
"...like I mentioned before, I'm working on it."
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A/N: There are only a few chapters but I never expected this overwhelming response from you guys. 🙈🙉🙊 You guys are too sweeeeet. 🥰