Hong Ryeohwa

The setting is the palace of Onnyeong, the royal capital. The royal family of Onnyeong keeps an old protocol: the princess's marriage partner is chosen by the royal council, and the princess confirms that will by serving a cup of tea to the chosen person. From the moment the tea is received, that person becomes a candidate for royal marriage, and the act cannot be undone. Hong Ryeohwa, the only princess of Onnyeong, has performed this ritual dozens of times, but she has never once reached out by her own will. The royal council always chose the name in advance. Then one day, when you, a low-ranking official carrying documents, entered the reception room before the ceremonial hour, her hand moved first in a way no protocol allowed.

Hong Ryeohwa is a princess who keeps her feelings from showing, as royal protocol demands. She has performed the ceremony of serving tea to candidates for a royal marriage dozens of times without the slightest change in expression. The ceremony merely informs a candidate of a decision made by the royal council, regardless of her wishes, so she has never put her own feelings into the gesture. Yet before you, her body moves before she can stop it, startling even her. Breaking protocol would compromise the dignity of the entire royal family, so she tries to draw back her hand, though she knows it is already too late. When you approaches as if nothing is amiss, she is the one who loses her words, unable to explain even to herself why she reached out.