Chapter Two: Into the Private Room
"Ah! What to do… what to do…" Jan Di murmured to herself as she anxiously chewed on her soggy nails.
It was the tenth time she passed by this door, pressing her right ear intently on the wooden door before peering through the miniscule cracks. However, the rowdy crowd drowned out all other forms of sound, and the crevice next to the door only revealed the silhouette of the people inside.
She stretched her neck, suspiciously checking behind her shoulders. If someone found out she wasn't at her post, then she would get in deep trouble. She didn't dare think about the consequences of getting caught – the idea of losing 3 poons was too much for her to bear. On that thought, she conspicuously lowered her body, eyes still focused on the staircase, and picked up the tray with the teapot and cups. As she stood up, the ceramic lid made clanking sounds against the teapot body as Jan Di's frail arms shook to the weight of the tray, and some tea spilled onto the tray and her silk sleeves.
"Aish!" Jan Di whispered loudly. Who would have thought a teapot and some red bean pastries would be so heavy, but then again, she was in a hurry and overfilled the pot just a little bit.
The red stains on her white sleeve stood out like a sore spot, and with Madam Jun Hee gone, she would definitely be punished by the haengsoo. She cradled the tray with her left arm and licked her right thumb to rub on the stain, hoping she could turn it into some sort of innovative flower pattern. The red bean pastries suffered a similar fate as Jan Di's sleeves, covered in a light layer of red tea with a hint of ripe orange flavoring. It was impolite to serve spoiled dessert to guests, and Jan Di strolled down the hallway for the stairs to the kitchen.
"No! How many times do I have to tell you I want to go home? I, Gu Jun Pyo, am above this place." Jun Pyo crossed his arms in annoyance and haughtily spoke to his friend, treating him like his servant even though they were from the same social class. Despite his stubborn words, his eyes nervously ran along the walkways, looking for a specific person who could render his back to pit full of bruises.
"Don't worry my friend, I checked with three different servants and they all confirmed your sister was out of town. I don't know why you're afraid. I think your father would be proud of you for becoming a real man so you can take over the family business sooner. Just enjoy and see what you've been missing the last eighteen years," advised Jun Pyo's friend Woo Bin, whom stood just a few centimeters shorter, although he possessed ten times more bravery than his taller friend.
Jun Pyo definitely needed more than words to convince him, and Woo Bin took it upon himself to give Jun Pyo a hard push through the red door frame into the realm of pungent smells and raucous laughter. Jun Pyo turned around to face Woo Bin and then shielded his face with his sheer headgear.
"Woo Bin-ah! What do you think you're doing?!" Jun Pyo hissed. "Get me out of here before someone recognizes me and tells my sister!"
"Just relax." Woo Bin gave the nearest maidservant a big smile, and stood tall as if he owned the place.
"Song dulyeonnim!" Woo Bin turned his attention to a gisaeng with a yellow vest and magenta skirt and big braids wrapped around her hair.
"Ah, if it isn't our favorite performer Mi Sun. How have you been my sweet?" Woo Bin snaked his left arm around the gisaeng's waist as he spoke.
"Lonely without dulyeonnim of course! Why haven't you visited me in so long? I miss your…" Mi Sun placed her arm on Woo Bin's shoulder and tip toed to Woo Bin's ear to deliver the latter part of her sentence, which made Woo Bin snicker a little, but after he caught the sight of Jun Pyo's aggravated look, he straightened his posture and cleared his throat.
"I'll pay you a visit soon, but tonight I want to show my friend what it means to be entertained," Woo Bin said with a wink, and ducked down to whisper in her ear. "By the way, do you know anyone who is easy to get along with but also knows how to give a good time? My friend isn't the most friendly person."
"Then you should have him see my most beloved dongsaeng! She's very amicable and knows quite a few moves too."
"You have a sister? How come I didn't know about it?"
"It's because dulyeonnim hasn't visited me in so long. My dongsaeng just became old enough to be a gisaeng, so she's relatively new, but she has quite a few regulars lined up for her already. If you send your friend her way, I'm sure he won't be disappointed. Do you have it?" Mi Sun lifted her arm to be at the same level as Woo Bin's hand, and he slipped her a silky bag filled with coins. After she bounced it in her hand for a few seconds, silently calculating the value, a smile erupted on her face. "I'll go tell the haengsoo, you can take him up. She's in the Ocean Suite."
"I don't want to go to the ocean or sun or whatever suite it is! I can't believe I let myself get talked into coming here," Jun Pyo complained as he ascended the stairs, getting random pushes here and there from Woo Bin.
"Jun Pyo-yah, you can lie to me but you can't lie to yourself. I know deep inside you crave the company of a woman too." Woo Bin brought his right index finger and thumb up to his jaw, as if contemplating something. "You're not into men are you? Because that's the only reason why you would reject women."
Jun Pyo sent another stern "I am going to kill you if you don't shut up" look at Woo Bin, and Woo Bin waved his hand and smiled. "I got it, I got it. The Ocean Suite should around the corner."
"I don't even know this girl's name!"
"It's called introduce yourself. You don't want to disappoint your future wife with lame moves do you?"
A blush crept upon Jun Pyo's face, and he didn't talk back to Woo Bin anymore in fear he would embarrass himself in a public place. He didn't need the news of him beating up a yangban or getting beaten in a gisaeng house to get out, considering his family background. They walked in silence until Woo Bin pointed his finger to turn at the corner, and came face to face with a girl who was half carrying a tray of food and half furiously rubbing at her sleeves. Although they have stopped to let her through, her eyes didn't take notice of her surroundings, and in an attempt to balance the teapot on the tray she dashed to her left, and crashed into Jun Pyo.
Jan Di watched the teapot, which stood steady when she changed directions, tipping over and splashing its contents onto the stranger in front of her. She let out a loud gasp, and saw the red liquid dripping down his light turquoise hanbok, leaving a trail of red all the way down to the hem. She could tell the hanbok material was very expensive because her owns a fabric store, and he explained the different types of fabrics to her whenever she went with him to deliver the goods.
"YAH!" Jun Pyo roared. "Look what you've done! It's my favorite hanbok! It's the finest silk only found in China! Aside from me, only the Emperor of China is royal enough to wear this fabric!"
"Sorry, I'm so sorry!" Jan Di apologized, bowing her head repeatedly. However, something about Jun Pyo's words made her wrinkle her brows in confusion. Did he say royal enough? Does this mean he's the Prince or Emperor of Korea? That can't be, because they both have many concubines and wouldn't need to come to a gisaeng house. Jan Di's curiosity motivated her to tilt her head up to look at the person in front of her.
He was very tall, at least a full head taller than she was, and although he wore a nonchalant expression, his anger was fuming through his nose. His eyes were distant, almost hidden underneath the partially transparent horsehair hat, and a hint of curls was confined within the straps.
"If saying sorry is effective, then why do you need the constable?" Jun Pyo retorted, looking down at Jan Di.
"If I can't apologize, then what would you like me to do?" Jan Di responded in the politest tone possible, but the desire to lash out at him was increasing the more she heard from him.
"Suck all the liquid from the fabric."
"What? That's not possible." Jan Di shuddered thinking about what she would have to do, especially to someone as rude as Jun Pyo.
Jun Pyo ignored Jan Di's comment completely and turned his head towards Woo Bin. "Is there a wash bin somewhere? I want to look presentable in public." He enunciated the word presentable and gave Jan Di a glare.
"There should be one in the Ocean Suite. Come on, let's go."
The loose strands of hair that hung on the sides of Jan Di's head flew up when the men dashed past her, and Jun Pyo made an extra effort to run into her arm, causing her to lose her balance for a second. Jan Di closed her eyes and blew air towards her forehead, stirring the tiny pieces of hair that broke free from her braids. If only he weren't an aristocrat, Jan Di would show him how her feet tasted like, but for the present she could only curse at him silently.
"This is why commoners are so troublesome," Jun Pyo dictated loudly. "I don't know what their parents teach them. Do they just let their children run around wild? So preposterous."
"What?!" Jan Di mouthed to herself. They could talk about her in any way they want, but they did not just deride her parents. "Hey you!" Jan Di exclaimed, but of course, none of them answered her. She grabbed her skirt and rushed to stop them, coincidentally right in front of the Flower Suite where she was twiddling her thumbs minutes ago.
"First of all, you shouldn't be talking about me. Where did your manners go? I have never met someone with as rotten manners as you, and you are dragging the aristocrat name through mud! My parents have raised me well because I was polite enough to apologize, where you only ridiculed. I think I should be the one asking how your parents raised you." Jan Di raised her voice at Jun Pyo, and she changed to the informal speech.
"What? How dare you speak to me that way? Don't forget about our social status difference. My parents taught me to treat commoners like how they're supposed to be treated – inferior to us yangbans. It's your fault you didn't take my offer to suck the spilled liquid from my hanbok. If you did, I may not need to comment on your family's parenting style. Now that I think about it, maybe you are the one who needs behavior adjustments. I'm done wasting my time with you." Jun Pyo turned to face Woo Bin, and shook his head disapprovingly at Jan Di. Woo Bin simply shrugged at his friend's short temper, but he didn't cut in because they provided much amusement for him.
Jan Di's hands formed a fist, clutching onto her skirt very tightly. She could feel her cheeks hot with fury, and the veins on her forehead were beating so fast they could pop at any second.
"YAH!" Jan Di shouted, and Jun Pyo rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Now wha-"
When Jun Pyo turned his body towards Jan Di, he was welcomed with a kick in his torso strong enough to send him flying through the wooden door, gliding on the concrete floor before stopping beneath the table. Jan Di had wanted him to taste the wrath of her feet, but he was too tall and the skirt was too constricting, therefore she got his belly instead. Nonetheless, she got her message through.
Yi Jeong had his hands on Ga Eul's warm cheeks, slightly moist from the tears that half dried. Her eyes were fixated on his own, her smoldering gaze causing the butterflies to reawaken in his stomach. He leaned in, her eyes closing in response, but he stopped when the emotions overwhelmed him. His heart felt like it was beating his throat, and he had to take more breaths to diminish the almost suffocating feeling.
Is this how first kisses are supposed to feel like? Yi Jeong wasn't sure, and he never had any experience in this field. Some of his classmates had described it as natural or even meaningless, but somehow his heart told him otherwise. He took one final deep breath, gulped, and closed his eyes to kill that final distance between them.
Their lips were so close that they could feel their breaths on each other and sense each other's warmth, but as the result of two short tempered friends, their intimate moment had to be put on a temporary delay.
Jun Pyo turned to his side slowly when he finished sliding, clutching his stomach and crying in pain. For such a fragile looking girl, her kicks were sure killer. If his belly wasn't hurting enough, his back was also killing him from breaking through the door and gliding across the room. He groaned at the pain that afflicted both sides of his body, and he silently cursed the girl who stood victorious at the door.
Ga Eul jerked away from Yi Jeong immediately, taking the blanket next to her and draping over her back and hiding her body completely underneath. Even though she had her inner white gown on, it should never be seen around strangers. Yi Jeong blinked awkwardly, not knowing what to do next.
"This will teach you to never talk about me or my parents again!"
Ga Eul's ears perked up when she heard that familiar voice, and slowly edged her head into view.
"Ga Eul!" Jan Di called out, followed by a glare at Yi Jeong, and he inconspicuously scooted away from Ga Eul.
"Jan Di?" Ga Eul didn't know why her friend was there nor how she was connected to the person yelping in pain on the floor.
"Jun Pyo-yah! Are you okay?" Woo Bin hurried to his friend and tried to help him sit up.
"Jun Pyo?" Woo Bin looked up hearing Yi Jeong's words, and they both raised an eyebrow in confusion at the same time. "What are you… ah, I see." Woo Bin gave him a wink when he saw Ga Eul covering herself.
"No, no, no…" Yi Jeong tried to justify his presence in a gisaeng house, but stopped when he realized his initial intentions.
"Come and help Jun Pyo. We'll have to take him to Ji Hoo… we don't want his mom or sister finding out," Woo Bin suggested.
Yi Jeong took one last long and yearning gaze at Ga Eul. Despite the suffocated feeling, a part of him almost felt happy, and she definitely helped him divert his attention from his brother's wife. It was a shame they had to be disturbed, but at least it gave him a reason to see her again, to finish what they started. Ga Eul only caught the last second of his gaze, but her eyes were burning onto his back as he helped his friend up, and the three of them helped a limping Jun Pyo out of the room.
"Ga Eul-ah!" Jan Di rushed to the bed. "Did he do anything to you? If so, tell me and I'll break his neck."
"No, no he didn't." Ga Eul gave Jan Di a nervous smile. Jan Di was usually weak, but when her anger peaked she really could break someone's neck.
Yi Jeong shot Jun Pyo a look, and Jun Pyo nodded through the pained expression. This gave Yi Jeong much apprehension, and he could feel the cold sweat on his back already. If he saw Ga Eul again, would that also mean he could be dead at the end of the day? He shook the thoughts away and hoped carrying Jun Pyo to safety would distract himself from Ga Eul, the second girl that plagued his mind this evening.
