Hidden Secrets in the Palace

My name is Jae Mi-Sun & I live in a crystal castle on the top of Min, which is a mountain. I love living in the castle, but sometimes it can get slightly boring just talking to the servants & or maids. Which do not get me wrong, I love talking to Min-Ji Yun, & plus, she makes the best Korean food. Which, yes, I live in Korea. My mom is a lawyer, & doesn't spend much time with me, along with my dad, he’s a lawyer as well. Yes. I do go to school, just a private one. A private girls only school. & they do not know me as the princess, because I have a fake name & personality. My fake name is the maid’s name, that’s only because no one rarely ever visits, except if it’s the news reporters. 

It’s been at least 20 minutes, & I got myself up & went to the bathroom & ran me a warm bath, which Min-Ji usually does for me, but she’s busy right now, so I’m running me a warm bath today. I go back into my room & look through my closet & only see dresses, dresses that are long, dresses that go to my knees, dresses that are shorter, so they show my knees. I looked in my draws & looked in the back & grabbed my favorite sweats & grabbed my  other favorite T-shirt. I go back into the bathroom & change. 

30 minutes later, I’m out of the bathroom wearing my T-shirt & sweats. I walk down the stairs, pass the living room, & walk into the dining room, & go into the kitchen where I see Min-Ji cooking my favorite Korean food, her famous rice. “Min-Ji”? I say. “Yes, dear”? She replies. I look down, & she looks at me & says, “What is it you want to tell me, dear”? I’m starting to bite my lip & I guess she noticed because she takes my hands in both of hers & looks at me. “Sweetie, there is nothing in this world you cannot hide from me, so what is it”? I’m considering it, & I say, “Can we go to Blossom Park today”? I look at her. She puts my hands down & focuses on the rice she is making, & what seems like forever, she says, “Of course, darling. We may, but you need to change, remember? Or do you want to be the kid you are at school or do you want to be the princess you are?”  I’m standing here thinking, when the window opens & it startles both of us, I go to the window & close it. I say, “I just want to be me, I want to wear what I have on right now, not caring about what everyone else thinks or if my parents see me, I just want to be me. I really do not care if they send me to a boarding school, at least then I can be myself, without news reporters or kids just wanting to be your friend because you're the princess”. She looks at me with those kind eyes of hers & she says, “Of course, darling, but you must eat so you have your energy”. I nod, smiling. 

After 10 minutes of eating Min-Ji’s rice, we get up & I put my sneakers on & we head outside into the nice beautiful day of April. When we get outside there are news reporters everywhere! The two guards are kind enough to say, “If you do not get off of our property, we will contact the police”. We get into the taxi & head off to Blossom Park, which is never really that busy on Tuesdays, which is a Tuesday today. We got to Blossom Park in under 15 minutes, & when I looked out the window I immediately ducked down, because I saw Dae Jung, a kid I always see hanging around here everyday when I walk home. Sometimes I walk home, sometimes a Taxii picks me up, everyday is different from the others. He looks about 16 or 17, I’m 16. Me & Min-Ji get out & when he immediately sees me, he comes over & takes Min-Ji’s hand, kissing it. “What a sweet gentle man” Min-Ji whispers over to me. He then comes over to me & picks me up & twirls me around. Min-Ji whispers over to me again, “Is he your boyfriend”? I whisper-shout, “No! He isn’t”!  He puts me down & leads both of us to the bench underneath the pink Blossom tree.

We're back home, & Min-Ji is cooking supper. My parents are going to be a bit late tonight because they have an important meeting, & Dae is over helping Min-Ji around the house, & whatnot. I am in my bedroom right now, on my computer looking up ‘Makeup tutorials for beginners’ because Min-Ji always does my makeup sometimes, so I thought I’d teach myself. I hear Dae ask Min-Ji, “Is Jae always like this”? There was silence, then Min-Ji asked, “Like what”?  Again, silence. Then Dae says, “I feel like she is bottling up her emotions, her true feelings about what she feels, like what she really wants to do with her life”. More silence. Min-Ji says, “You got to ask her, Dae, I can’t just go around here & there telling everyone I know Jae’s secrets”. Tears are now streaming down my cheeks, I’m sitting here, crying in my prom dress, makeup is running down. Dae says, “Where is her room”? Silence. Min-Ji says, “Up the stairs, go to the next floor & down the corridor & keep going straight & that is where her room is”. He walks up the stairs & to the next floor, & I hear him coming closer so I hurry & run to my bathroom right across from my walk-in closet. He knocks on my bedroom door & I tell him to come in & he sits on my bed, & I know he is looking around. Dae says, “Darling, I know you are in the restroom, what for”? Silence. He asks again, “Darling, please tell me”. I come out of the restroom, with makeup stained on my face, & he comes over to me & takes my hand gently & brings me to the bathroom & grabs a rag & puts water on it & wipes the makeup off of my face. “I’m sorry” I say. “Sorry for what, Darling? You have no right to be sorry, Dear”.  I hug him, & he hugs me back. 

For the past hour or so, me & Dae have been talking about everything & everyone, just the lies keep spilling out, & there is so way to stop them. “Darling”, Dae says. “Hmm”? I answer. He looks at me when he says this, “I know you are lying to me, I see the dresses, don’t tell me I don’t. I saw the crowns in the corridor”. I stand up, but he lightly grabs my wrist. “Let me go, Dae”. He lets go, & I run down the corridor, down the stairs, pass the living room, & walk into the dining room, into the kitchen, & hug Min-Ji from behind, tears swelling in my eyes. She turns around, hugging me, asking, “Dear, what happened”? I say nothing, there is nothing to say. She asks again, “Dear, please, I need to know”. I hug her even so. “Dae knows I’m the secret. He knows the secrets in the palace. He knows about the dresses, the crowns, me lying to him, Min-Ji! He knows!”  Tears are falling down my face now. She hugs me, saying, “Darling, do not fret, I believe he will understand if we just tell him the truth that lies in this palace”. I do not know what to say now. Dae walks in, “Tell me what”? I look at Dae & back to Min-Ji, she nods. I go over to Dae, & he takes my hands, I say, “Dae, I am the secret that lies in this palace, I am the Princess, the princess who is lying to everyone outside of this palace”. “I know, I know, dear”. He says. I look at him & say, “You do”? He nods, & the clock strikes 12;00 P.M. & he kisses me.