News spread faster than the spring wind.Within a single night, every noble in Joseon had heard the story:Lord Kang Jun-yeol had defended his servant — in front of Lady Im herself.
To ordinary people, it might have been a sweet love story.But to the nobles… it was a scandal and a threat.
The main hall of the Kang residence was heavy with silence.Lord Kang's father sat in the place of honor — his expression calm, but his voice as sharp as steel.
"Your son has gone too far," he said quietly. "Joseon has no place for men who defy its order."
Jun-yeol bowed respectfully. "Father, I only—"
"Enough," his father cut him off. "You are not a child. Love is no excuse to defy the world."
Behind them, a few relatives whispered among themselves."The boy's blinded by a commoner.""Lady Im was far more suitable to be the mistress of this house."
Jun-yeol heard every word — yet not once did he lower his gaze in shame.Instead, his eyes held steady.
"Father," he said calmly, "if loving someone means defying the world, then yes — I'm guilty. But I do not regret it."
The room fell utterly silent.Some gasped, others stared as if he had gone mad.
His father rose slowly. "You think the world will change just because your heart did?"
Jun-yeol smiled faintly. "Perhaps not. But I can start by changing this house."
Meanwhile, in her small room, Eun-bi sat before her wooden pen.Every time she tried to write, the letters wavered — as if the ink itself refused to stay.
"Even my pen's confused about my life," she muttered gloomily.
Jo-an, the cheerful little maid, entered with a bowl of porridge. "Unnie, everyone in the kitchen is talking about you."
"Yeah, I can guess. 'The cursed servant of love,' right?"
Jo-an blinked innocently. "I think it's romantic.""Romantic? How?""Because Lord Kang took the blame for you."
Eun-bi froze.Her cheeks warmed as she looked away. "He's just… too kind, that's all."
Jo-an grinned mischievously. "Too kind to you, you mean?"
"Jo-an!" she snapped, blushing furiously.
Later that evening, Eun-bi slipped quietly into the back garden.The place was silent — only the sound of running water and the distant song of birds.She gazed at the pond and whispered,
"If this world truly has its own script… I need to know when to stop writing mine."
But before she could continue, a calm voice spoke behind her.
"And who said the story's over?"
Eun-bi turned.Jun-yeol stood there, dressed simply in black — without the crest of his family.He looked calm, yet there was weariness in his eyes.
"Tuan…"
"You plan to leave, don't you?"
She froze. "How did you—?"
"I once thought the same," he said softly. "That leaving would protect the person I loved."He stepped closer."But it doesn't. Leaving only lets the world win."
Eun-bi bit her lip. "If I stay, everyone will blame you. Lady Im… your family…"
Jun-yeol took another step closer, his voice steady."Let them blame me. I've lived long enough for others. Let me live for myself now."
Her eyes glistened. "Tuan, I'm nobody. Just a mistake that happened to be written into your page."
Jun-yeol smiled gently."Then let me be the fool who chooses to love that mistake."
He reached out his hand — slow, deliberate, honest.But before Eun-bi could respond, heavy footsteps and urgent voices echoed from the gate.
"Lord Kang!" a servant shouted. "An envoy from the royal court has arrived! They demand an explanation for the tea incident!"
Eun-bi and Jun-yeol exchanged a look —and in that brief glance, both understood one thing:their quiet days were over.
That night, the city of Joseon felt unusually still.Eun-bi sat by her window, the wooden pen trembling in her hand.She wrote one short sentence:
Sometimes love isn't about daring to defy the world — it's about daring to stay when the world defies you.
She stared at the words, then smiled sadly."Maybe… I need to write a new ending."
Outside, Jun-yeol stood by the lantern-lit path, watching the faint glow from her window.And silently, he made a promise —no matter what happened next, he would never let the world rewrite their story.