Jisung first met her one afternoon when he was left to look after the bakery as his father went to the market. The bell above the door chimed, and a hooded figure entered wearing maid's clothing. The scent of fresh bread filled the air, warm and comforting against the cool afternoon breeze coming through the open door.

She asked for some bread but had no coin, her voice hesitant yet somehow regal. When Jisung gave her the bread anyway, she pressed a golden ring into his palm—a ring that likely cost more than the entire bakery. "As a promise to pay you back," she whispered before hurrying out.

From then on, Jisung kept getting visits from the princess late at night, just when the curfew bells had rung. Their conversations evolved from surface-level bakery talk to something deeper, until one kiss on the bakery's rooftop changed everything.

It was late evening now, the bakery dimly lit with flour dust floating lazily in the air as Jisung wiped down the counters. The golden ring still hung on a string around his neck. He glanced at the back door every few moments, letting out a sigh of relief when it finally opened, revealing her.