Rain, rain, come again.

As the couple kisses each other tenderly, it starts raining. While Won Deuk drags Hong Shim to seek shelter, the villagers rejoice and dance in the rain. What a beautiful sequence. I also like this scene because sometmes, I even forget that the whole reason why Hong Shim had to marry was to bring the rain. And there’s something rather poetic in that it rained not when the two got married, but when they started liking each other.

Of all places to hide, the couple finds themselves in the water mill. The infamous water mill haha. Won Deuk asks gently about Hong Shim’s family and she replies that they died in the coup. She however, doesn’t tell the whole truth about Moo Yeon coming to bring her away. Won Deuk also ends up lying that he didn’t recover any memories in Hanyang but Hong Shim recalls Goo Dol saying the exact opposite. Won Deuk professes to having to come back to SongJoo (and here Hong Shim’s face light up)…so as to pay the little boy his reward for helping him the other day. When Hong Shim’s face falls and she looks away, you can see Won Deuk gazing at her in amusement and love.

She stands up and looks at the rain, and Won Deuk hugs her from behind. Wow wow, Won Deuk is learning so quickly, proud of you my boy.

Meanwhile, the King celebrates the rain but is told that the Queen has fallen ill. He quickly rushes there and the Queen tattle-tales on the fact that the Vice Premier threatened to kill her and Seowon. She cries that he’s a sly animal who will covet the throne, and the King promises to protect her and Seowon.

Back at home, the couple keeps pushing for each other to bathe first so as not to catch a cold, and Won Deuk hilariously goes, “Well there’s no choice then, let’s bathe together.” Which does the trick as Hong Shim quickly scuttles into the shower. Won Deuk recalls his meeting with Moo Yeon, who told him to stop finding his memories as he’s already dead to everyone else. If he recovers his memories, he will cause countless others to die. Moo Yeon suddenly attacked Won Deuk, who easily defended himself and left Moo Yeon behind. Back to the present, Moo Yeon lies unconscious in the rain but is thankfully picked up by his two sidekicks. Once again, who are they and why are they so loyal to Moo Yeon? They can’t possibly be part of Moo Yeon’s family in the past right?

One of the sidekicks, Beom, confesses to Vice Premier that he was the one who shot Moo Yeon because he didn’t want to leave the Vice Premier’s side. He was hoping that Moo Yeon would change his mind while being treated and had intended to shoot his arm but missed.

Won Deuk wears the new clothes Hong Shim made for him but adorably puts out his two arms, “Why is the right sleeve longer than the left sleeve?” Hong Shim insists that she cut them the same length, and it’s his arms that’s of unequal length. Hahaha. She fusses over Won Deuk and he nonchalently calls her out that she must have missed him a lot,  “You must have wanted to see me, touch me, talk to me and sleep with me, but if you are not going to stay here tonight, please go back to your room.” Hong Shim immediately runs over the other room and indignantly protests initially but ends up grumbling, “What’s the point of kissing me?”

Deep in the night, the Princess takes care of Moo Yeon and checks his pulse. She tells Beom to run away but he knows that escaping will only worsen the problem. He’s just worried that Moo Yeon will leave once he’s well, and the fact that he’s informing the Princess of this makes it seem like it is the Princess who ordered Beom to shoot Moo Yeon.

Meanwhile, Official Jung checks with Seowon whether the Princess’s love letter is meant for him. Seowon warns him to leave the Princess and the child alone, and that he will not covet the position of the Crown Prince if he has to resort to dirty tricks. I can’t tell if he’s a genuinely nice guy or that he cares for the Princess.

Hong Shim’s dad is touched that Won Deuk has returned from Hanyang and Won Deuk is grateful that the dad saved his life. When Hong Shim wakes up, she finds Won Deuk learning how to weave straw ropes from the dad. The Dad updates Hong Shim privately that it seems like Won Deuk has decided to live on as Won Deuk; he has since early morning asked the Dad for countless advice on how to do tasks like weaving and chopping firewood.

Je Yoon recalls his times in Hanyang with Hong Shim and smiles subconsciously but is caught by Officer Park. Je Yoon asks him about the Hong Shim Solution Agency, which he reads from the records, and Officer Park reveals that she had to set up the agency to solve the monetary problems created by her troublemaker husband.

While on the way back from cutting fodder, Won Deuk runs into the little boy who demands for his two pun in return for his earlier help. Je Yoon sees the boy crying and judges Won Deuk for not paying up. The moment Je Yoon walks away, the little boy warns Won Deuk that Je Yoon spoke with Hong Shim privately and that the adults say he’s hitting on her. Won Deuk’s eyes open in shock. When he rturns home, he sees Je Yoon whispering into Hong Shim’s ears and mutters, “Am I the only one feeling uncomfortable here?”

Hong Shim quickly bids Je Yoon farewell and brings Won Deuk into the house. She notes in amusement that he’s jealous and nonchalently replies to his question that she would not feel anything if the reverse has happened. Haha. She tells him to lie down so that she can apply treatment on his face for his sunburn. He stares at her intensely and she mutters that it will be good if he closes his eyes or else it will sting. She quickly covers his eyes and when she brings her hands away, he is still gazing at her. Hong Shim’s fluster is rather adorable to watch, as was Won Deuk’s reaction, when he closes his eyes obediently after Hong Shim covers his eyes a second time.

She finds herself touching his thick eyebrows and he tells her she’s the only one who can touch him even without asking for permission. I find this so sweet because I can hear the Crown Prince Yul in that statement.

Later, Goo Dol gets jealous when he sees Kkeut Nyeo being all coy and envious seeing Won Deuk cutting fireword in the bright daylight. Hahaha. Anyway, the couple is here to ask Hong Shim to help gut the carp they caught. Won Deuk tells them to give the fish to him, “How hard can it be? It’s just a fish,” but swallows when he sees the living, breathing fish. “Let’s wait for Hong Shim.” Ahaha. I love it that Hong Shim is such  wonderwoman.

Upon Je Yoon’s request, Hong Shim peeks into Master Park’s household and scoffs at him feeding beef jerky to his dog. She asks if she can swear and Je Yoon’s like sure, but can you do it on the ground cos my back is about to break. Hahaha. He tells her that there’s two things he wanted to achieve when coming here – one is now impossible because the woman he likes is married. He apologises for making the villagers carry water as he had the feeling it was going to rain, so he thought they wouldn’t have to suffer for long. Turns out, his back always aches when it rains. Hong Shim quickly points out, “Your back isn’t so good.” I like the cute little banter between characters, even if they are not important to the plot.

As the two walk off together, Won Deuk emerges from his hiding place as he had earlier gone out to find Hong Shim to gut the fish.

After some consideration, the King passes a secret order to Official Jung, “I need you to kill Vice Premier Kim.” Okay kudos to you for trying to cut off one poisonous leech but it’s just quite sad because the king is either a puppet of the Vice Premier or the Queen.

Turns out, Je Yoon’s request for Hong Shim (and her solution agency) is for her to kidnap Master Park’s dog, which she did so handsomely by luring it with beef jerky. She runs literally straight into Won Deuk and the dog runs off in the confusion. Master Park immmediately goes to Je Yoon to ask for help in finding the dog and confesses that the dog wasn’t a gift; he was merely babysitting the dog of another master. Je Yoon is so hilariously dramatic in promising to solve Master Park’s problem.

Je Yoon later finds out that the dog has disappeared. Won Deuk insists that Hong Shim returns home and that he will look for the dog with Je Yoon. He sets up a trap and whilst waiting for the dog to appear, he chides Je Yoon for trying so obviously to curry favour from Master Park. “How can you be a great leader when you only listen to those in power and ignore the weak?” The way he speaks is so familiar that Je Yoon starts questioning whether they have met before. But before they can pursue this line of thought any further, the dog runs straight into the trap (LOL). Je Yoon tells Won Deuk that his ultimate aim is to find the top person in the rotten hierarchy, and if this means he has to be Master Park’s dog, so be it. He asks to be friends with Won Deuk because he likes him a lot and Won Deuk replies that he doesn’t want to become friends with a fool, for Je Yoon is a fool in trying to get the person at the top with such a shallow scheme.

Back in the palace, the Vice Premier’s sidekick worries over the ability to smuggle in premium goods since it has now rained and there’s no need for a rain ritual. Another sidekick runs in to inform the Vice Premier that he has found the source of the horrendous rumour in the palace that the Crown Prince is alive. Ironically, this turns out to be the Vice Premier’s own son who has been spreading his theory to the palace maid.

Je Yoon sets up a shooting contest for Master Park, where Won Deuk has to hold up a plate and stand in front of the target. Won Deuk’s confused face surprises me a little because I’m quite sure this is a scheme he himself proposes. Je Yoon tells Master Park that whoever shoots the butterly pattern on the plate wins. Je Yoon intentionally misses and the arrow flies over his head. Master Park, however, whether intentionally or not, lets the arrow fly in between Won Deuk’s head and his upright elbow. This is exactly the angle at which the maid was killed in the first episode, which caused Won Deuk to suddenly recall the attempt at assassination. He collapses to the ground in shock.

Vice Premier slaps his son for spreading such a rumour and the son confesses that he saw a man from the Songjoo village who looks exactly like the Crown Prince. The Vice Premier rushes off and asks Beom if the Prince has really been killed. I’m not sure what he answered, but the next thing we know, the Vice Premier tells the other sidekick that he must immediately set off for Songjoo.

The contest ends there because Master Park is so happy that he will grant Je Yoon anything he wishes. Later, he promises to set up a meeting between Je Yoon and Vice Premier. Won Deuk quietly observes the bows and arrows and remembers being presented gifts of bows. He even remembers vague scenes of his father and the Princess.

Hong Shim asks if her father is that happy to be with Won Deuk and he smiles that if his son was alive, he would be around Won Deuk’s age. The Dad asks if Hong Shim is planning to leave with her brother without Won Deuk, but before she can answer, Kkeut Nyeo rushes in to tell him that Won Deuk has been used a human target.

Hong Shim angrily confronts Je Yoon for looking down on the commoners and Ae Weol appears to scold her for raising her voice at the governor. Hong Shim scoffs at  Je Yoon calling in a gisaeng and leaves. Je Yoon sighs and wonders why Ae Weol has to turn right up at that moment. I can’t be annoyed at Ae Weol though because I think she’s a genuine and fiesty girl who will be good for Je Yoon. Anyway, she’s here to update Je Yoon that first, there’s a rumour the Princess’s baby is not the Crown Prince’s. Second, that this rumour was stopped by the sidekick who told on the Queen. And third, that the Prince is alive.

At that moment, Officer Park comes into the office to submit the investigation results which have to be verified by Je Yoon before it can be officially recorded. Je Yoon realises that the ‘Won’ in Won Deuk’s signature bears striking similarlity to the Crown Prince’s previous riddle where he used the same character. I know now why they chose that particular chinese character for Won Deuk’s name. Je Yoon immediately puts it together, especially since Ae Weol just told him of the rumour.

We see Vice Premier setting off hurriedly for the village, along with the other sidekick, but they face an ambush once they enter the forest.

Hong Shim rushes home to find Won Deuk quietly weaving straw ropes. He is now determined to earn money through this type of work rather than writing books. She realises he’s avoiding her and knows that something has happened in Hanyang. She’s also angry that he stayed still while being shot at, knowing that he’s not that type of person. But Won Deuk replies, “Because that would be a natural thing to do as Won Deuk.” This doubly confuses me because it creates the false impression in Hong Shim’s mind that he was made to stand as a shooting target by Je Yoon. But I guess the other way of interpretation is that while he was the one who proposed the scheme, he knew the scheme would work precisely lowly commoners like him are good punching bags for people like Master Park.

Won Deuk confesses to not wanting to gain any memories, “Because…I want to stay by your side.” Hong Shim tears up and tells him that she was going to leave him behind after her brother comes to fetch her today, “Once I meet my brother, I will have to live my life in hiding. If you are still okay with a woman like me, do you want to leave with me?”

As the music plays, Won Deuk hugs her tightly and she cries into his shoulder.

-the end-

I like everything that has happened in this episode, but at the same time, I was a little caught off guard when the episode ended because it also kind of feels like nothing has happened. The couple was great, the banter was cute, the King did something, the arrow did something but both Episode 9 and 10 felt like a set up for the last stretch of the drama. I’m okay with a more extensive build up so long as it materialises in something satisfying, so here’s really hoping that the drama doesn’t fizzle out. Even Moo Yeon and the Princess had so little role in this episode – although yeah granted, Moo Yeon is out and almost dead, but the Princess appears for perhaps 3 minutes in total.

I’m glad however that we were shown the tension in Won Deuk’s mind manifesting itself – whether to regain his memories or to stay oblivious by Hong Shim’s side. I like that the more he finds out the truth, the more he’s thinking of stepping back, and this makes sense especially when Moo Yeon’s words are etched into his mind. I’m also happy that ultimately, Hong Shim has reached a stage of wanting to bring Won Deuk with her because it would be so saddening if the father and daughter left him behind. However, I just can’t help but be amused thinking of the shock and frustration Moo Yeon would be in if he had turned up and seen Hong Shim lugging a Crown Prince along – because boy, that would take living in hiding to a whole new level of meaning.

Let’s see how the rest of this drama pans out!

<3thoughtsramble