To continue.

8. The sword

I liked how the camera shifted focus from foreground to background to remind the viewers of the pending doom. The sword obviously prefigured the bloody sword that WonDeuk would be pointing his bloody sword at HongShim.

We all remember the shaman’s words but I’ll post them again. I wonder if it’s too late for our couple to leave and run south. But I don’t think it would be in LeeYul’s character and HongShim’s too (ha!) to run away. We already know from the beginning of Episode 1 that he asked for his horse because he was going to ride in battle to face death.

SHaman: Not to the West side. Head to the south side if you are leaving. You are leaving far away soon, are you not?
HS: Are you shaman? Do you see that kind of stuff?
SH: Of course, I see it all.
HS: Let us ask her. What about in the south? Where should we go to live happily forever?
SH: Be good to your dear husband. He’s a man like no other in this world.
WD: (looking pleased) You have a discerning eye for people. (you know, the WonDeuk/the actor’s nose widens when he’s proud and pleased). You may continue.
SH: Since when he was this little, and up until now, he has loved only one woman all his life. No other man in the world will be noble and pure like him.
WD: I do not think that is right. It hasn’t been a while since we first met.
SH: What are you talking about? It’s the same for you, too.

Her look! lol.

SH: Let me see. It’s a day with strong winds. Is it snow or flowers, coming down from the sky?

lol. Of course, HongShim knew what the snow and flowers were all about.

Hongshim and WonDeuk glanced at each other, and she patted his arm to get up.

HS: Let us get up.
SH: Run away quickly. Otherwise, you’ll be dead.
HS: That man is holding a sword in his hand. (pointing at WonDeuk) Red blood is dripping down from that frightening sword. The tip of that sword is after you. (pointing at HongShim)

WonDeuk grabbed her away from the shaman.

WD: Let us go. Her fortunetelling is ridiculous.
HS: Okay.
SH: (shouting after them) Run away so that you can survive.

Good advice. I wish she had run away instead of standing her ground when she met with Minister Kim.

WD: Do not be swayed by her nonsense.
HS: I do not care. She did not get anything right from the start. We never met when we were little. That old lady is a sham.
WD: But she got one thing right. That I am a man like no other.
HS: (cheekily) Everyone in the world is like no other. There is only one of each. (then she leaves him to stew on that)

If HongShim wasn’t a palpoongie herself for forgetting about LeeYul, and if she had known all along who WonDeuk really was, I would interpret this scene as a denial. She was denying that WD could be LY because she was already comfortable with THIS WonDeuk. But when WonDeuk bragged that he was a man like no other, she became all snippy again because she was reminded of that old Crown Prince LeeYul.

That remark of hers, “Everyone in the world is like no other. There is only one of each.” is a double-entendre. You can take it at its face value or its literal meaning. Or you can interpret it as a cryptic. Like, “Yeah sure! You’re a man like no other alright. And I KNOW that you’re not Lee Yul either (haha!).”

I see it as the writer being witty. We know that WonDeuk is LeeYul so there may indeed be only ONE person but there are definitely TWO unique personalities now.

9. Why did she stop WonDeuk and hesitate to cross the gateway?

Here was their conversation that night:

WD: Why did you risk yourself and come alone at this hour?
HS: To find my brother.

I don’t think she was telling him the 100% truth here. Remember she already FOUND her brother earlier that night and her brother told her to go to a safe house. She was following her brother for something else.

WD: I will find you your brother so you —
HS: Are you showing off for being the Crown Prince? You should not use your power for personal affairs.

Awww… she’ll really make a good queen. But if she followed the shaman’s advice and run away, the nation would lose one good queen-in-the-making here.

HS: (continuing) Come to think of it, you used to abuse your power. I knew this ever since you ordered single young people to get married.
WD: Oho! How dare you talk to your husband like that!

Uncomfortable silence because they both KNEW that he was not her husband.

HS: (changing topic to diffuse the awkward moment) Let my hand go now.
WD: Don’t you like to hold hands with me?
HS: No. If we keep walking side-by-side like this, when will get to see your face?

(he smiles)

WD: Then again, it isn’t easy for a Crown Prince to come out of his palace in disguise alone. It’s a rare opportunity so appreciate it all you want.
HS: Okay, I’ll do that.

HS: There must be a lot of delicious food in the palace, but you look more haggard than you were in Songjoo Village.
WD: Because you aren’t in the palace
HS: I looked at you all I wanted, so I will let you go now. Return to the palace.
WD: No.
HS: I’ll take you to the palace gate. That way we can stay together for one hour. Follow me.

(She lets go of his hand. He frowns then follows and goes up to walk in front of her, facing her.)

WD: If we walk like this, we can see each other that much longer.

(She smiles at him. Then stops him.)

HS: We should take another route.

(He looks behind him)

WD: I heard about that. Couples that pass through together never part forever. Is that why we cannot go through that doorway together?
HS: Yes.

I can see two possible reasons for her thinking that they couldn’t walk through the doorway. 1) She was going away with MooYoon, so they couldn’t be together forever. and 2) If she stayed, she wasn’t going to accept being his concubine and thus, they couldn’t be together forever either.

Everybody in the village thought she was going to be one. But that wasn’t HER way. She was tacitly telling him that IF the only way for them to be together forever was to be his concubine BECAUSE HE HAD a wife already, then they shouldn’t go through the gates.

And that was why he dragged her past the gate.

Now, HE was the one telling her that that when they were children and when she turned 20, he had always been there loving her EVEN when they weren’t married. He would continue doing the same for the rest of her life. That was his FAITHFUL VOW to her. For all intents and purposes, he said his marriage vows, too. lol.

(Marching her past the gate)

WD: I liked you from the moment I first saw you. I loved you when you turned 20 even though I did not see you then. And from now on, I will love you for the rest of your days.
HS: Cherish those good memories only until tonight. I also will cherish these good memories, Your Highness.
WD: The man standing before you is not the Crown Prince. It is WonDeuk.

This whole midnight stroll could have been awkward and remained awkward. After that joke of his, “Oho! How dare you talk to your husband like that!” they knew that the state of their marriage…or union was their stumbling block. It was problem that they were repressing or avoiding to discuss.

HongShim skirted around the issue by talking about hands.

But when she stopped again at the sight of the couple gateway, he knew that it couldn’t be ignored anymore. He was telling her that their hearts were connected already.

Later on, she’d smile and tell her fake father exactly that. They didn’t break up and they didn’t need to break up in the future because they have always been linked.