- Overview
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Kotbi, a palace maid who keeps her tender feelings hidden in her heart, and Yong, a prince who realizes his feelings for her after many years, try to find their way into a world free of class divisions.
- Book Intro
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Kotbi, Flower Rain
Kotbi becomes a palace maid
One day, a young girl named Kotbi enters the palace as a maid. Her family ran away in the middle of the night. Her new master is a bad-tempered prince. She can’t leave the palace until she dies. But the irritable Prince Anpyeong turns a blind eye when she sneaks out of the palace, suffers punishment in her place for her wrongdoings, saves tasty foods for her, and teaches her how to read. Prince Anpyeong, whose name is Lee Yong, becomes the reason she has to stay in the palace.
An impossible dream
Kotbi’s feelings for Yong deepen into love, but Yong falls in love with a woman named So Yeongsin. But both of them face heartbreak when Yeongsin is sent to Ming to serve the emperor, and Yong has an arranged marriage to a different woman. The time comes for Yong to leave the palace after getting married. He feels disappointed when Kotbi refuses to move with him to his new residence but respects her decision to stay in the palace.
I realized too late that you matter the most to me
Kotbi is now a palace woman in her 20s. Reports arrive that Hamgil province villages have been raided by Jurchen bandits, and Yong and Kotbi set out north to resolve the conflict. The negotiations go smoothly, but Yong is then betrayed. During a Jurchen attack on the military camp, Kotbi finds Yong’s tent on fire and jumps in to save him. After commanding his men, Yong returns to his tent and finds out what has happened. He runs into the burning tent to save Kotbi.
A journey in search of love and freedom
Yong manages to escape from the tent with Kotbi and becomes aware of his feelings for her. However, Kotbi is a palace woman who cannot marry someone other than the king. It was a time when a love affair involving a palace woman would scandalize the nation. Kotbi keeps her feelings buried in her heart, as always, and Yong struggles with the internal conflict between his duty as a prince and his desire to be with the woman he loves.
- About the Author
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Lee Eun-So
(English) Lee Eun-So made her literary debut when she won an award at a genre novel contest by Kakao Page. She was also granted an excellence award for her work Yu Sei-Poong the Psychiatrist of Joseon at the Korea Story Contest. This novel is currently being adapted for television. Her works also include Gotbi GGotbi and A Spy Who Came to School. Her latest work Gui In Byeol the King’s Warrior is a remake of Gui In Byeol, which won a prize at a genre novel contest by Kakao Page.