Mianhaeyo, there was a problem with the site last night so I couldn't post
Chapter 34:
"Let me go, please. Baek-Ah-ya!" Ha Jin struggles out of Baek-Ah's arms as Eun opens the door of her quarters and lets them in. They keep Hae Soo away from the commotion she had caused.
"Andwaeyo!" Baek-Ah deposits Hae Soo to her bed, blocking her path. "Kueman hara Hae Soo-ya you're only going to make it worst if you keep meddling with my brothers. How many times do I have to warn you not to dip your hand at the matters of the court?!"
"But it was just a matter of our household." Ha Jin reasons out, "I need to talk to So wangjanim, he needs to hear me out!"
"It is not! The moment any of my siblings becomes involved, it becomes a matter of the court. We maybe your friends, my brothers maybe fond of you but when they start drawing lines, you do not step in the middle and get caught!" Baek-Ah screams at Hae Soo out of frustration.
"Then what do you want me to do?! Let Chae Ryung be taken away?! She's a person, you can't just give her away or have her hauled off like some kind of possession?!" Ha Jin clearly doesn't understand how the caste system works in Goryeo. Her brain refuses to process the idea of slaves and servants.
"They can and they just did! Do you know the rankings of my 4th and 8th brother? Doesn't the number give it away?! No forget the number. Let me tell you how high up the two of them are. Do you know why your Myung Hee unnie is betrothing you to my 8th brother?" Baek-Ah loses his composure and slips.
Shocked, Eun's brain refuses to processes what he just heard, "You're betrothed to my 8th brother? What are you two talking about? When did this happen?"
The two only look at Eun.
"How would I know?! No one tells me anything!" Ha Jin matches Baek-Ah's anger, on the verge of tears.
Baek-Ah tells Hae Soo the reasoning behind Myung Hee's decision and explains further, "My 4th and 8th brother are now the highest holders of power in the court. NO. Actually So hyungnim is the highest holder of power in the court right at the moment and that is why when he ask my 8th brother to give him your servant, my 8th brother could only yield. So hyungnim outranks every one of us, saved the seja. Even then Mu hyungnim cannot go against So hyungnim because he holds the militia and has the backing of the richest clan in our kingdom. By kneeling to him, you undermine both of their authority. You undermine my 8th brother by not letting him deal it on his own and you undermine my 4th brother by questioning his decision. Do you get it now?!"
"Then what do you want me to do?!" Ha Jin repeats, her tears finally escaping her eyes while her chest is racked by sobs, "I... gave Chae Ryung... the Gyuls... She refused... me but I forced her… So wangjanim will not punish Chae Ryung will he? I'll talk to him. He'll hear me out."
"Weren't you listening to what I have just said?! Hae Soo!" Baek-Ah shouts some more, his hands trembling from frustration.
"Kueman hara Baek-ah-ya!" Eun commands, "Hae Soo had enough."
He turns to the table and fetches water for Hae Soo.
Baek-Ah breathes and lets Eun give the water to Hae Soo. He sits beside her, keeping still. He wants to comfort her but he also needs Hae Soo to understand so she wouldn't repeat it again. She can't cry her way to every mistake she does, lives are being lost because she doesn't know her actions are affecting people.
"Hae Soo-ya, I am your friend and I'm trying to protect you so please listen to me carefully. Yes it was your fault for forcing those Gyuls to Chae Ryung's hand and yes you shouldn't have meddled with Yeonhwa gongju. If you didn't my sister would have stopped with the beatings after she was satisfied but because you intervened and questioned her authority, she would have turned Chae Ryung to the royal court after she's done with beating her. Because you intervened, my two brothers couldn't just let you be punished. Now my 8th brother loses a servant and my 4th brother gains one. Let's hope it stops there because you've just sparked a tension between the two princes and in extension, their clan."
"How will I solve it then?" Ha Jin asked in between sobs.
"Just… I don't know, stay still and keep your head low. Maybe you should go back to the north? You'll be safer in your parents' household."
In all honesty, Baek-Ah also doesn't know. The tension between his 4th and 8th brother is bound to happen anyway. It's just a matter of what will start it.
"I don't know anyone in the north. I don't even know Myung Hee unnie's parents." Ha Jin admits.
"They brought you up, why wouldn't you know them?" Eun points out the obvious without knowing that Ha Jin doesn't really know Myung Hee's parents because she's not Hae Soo.
Baek-Ah and Ha Jin doesn't answer.
"If you're betrothed to my 8th brother then what about Jung?" Eun asks an unexpected question throwing the two off guard.
Baek-Ah and Ha Jin had never talked about Hae Soo's relationship with Jung after Jung came home. Baek-Ah only knows Hae Soo had sent a poem of confession to their 4th brother that Jung intercepted. After Jung came home, he started seeing Hae Soo again and Baek-Ah watched from a far. Eun had stopped hanging out with them and the three didn't even notice it.
"Wae? That's cruel of all of you. Did you really think I wouldn't know?" A hurt plays on Eun's eyes, "Why would you keep it from me?"
Guilt forces the two stay quiet. It's not that they were keeping it from Eun but they were keeping it from everyone, afraid of the consequences the relationship might merit if the queen finds out about it.
"Couldn't you trust me even a little?" With the secret out in the open, resentment in Eun's part surfaces too. He balls his hand, directing his anger to the ground. In a low resigned voice he admits, "Johanikka, cheongmal johahaeyo Hae Soo-ya. (I like you, I really do) But I'm not stupid to force myself to a girl who doesn't want my affection. I would have understand if you told me you like someone else. The three of you didn't have to keep it from me like I'm a liability."
Eun's face reddens, embarrassment and anger mixing together. He walks away unable to stand looking at the two.
The two remains silent, no words even apology would come out of their lips. Eun's resentment is added to the piling list of secrets and lies all of them are caught.
By the afternoon, the sky is made of heavy clouds and thunderstorm, as chaotic as Wook's mood. He, along with Yo stand by the foyer of his study chamber, watching the rain form a continuing drip from the ceiling to the ground.
"How does it feel to be put in your place in your own household? It's only the beginning." Yo coolly comments, his eyes reaching far ahead. "If the argument happened in the court, you would have lost more than a servant."
Wook remains stoic, raising his hand to catch the dripping rain upon his palm, "So hyungnim is not being unreasonable."
He understands that his 4th brother only wants to save Hae Soo from Yeonhwa but So did it without so much as respecting Wook's authority on his own household.
Yo couldn't help but smirk, "Are you saying that you'd let him cross you every time? He already has the control of the court, will you hand him the control of your household too?"
Conniving with his 9th brother, Yo catches-up with the second queen's plan through Chae Ryung, finally learning about his 8th brother's betrothal to Hae Soo. Now everyone is playing on the same page.
"There are places for each and everyone of us and I intend to keep mine." Though Wook displays a stoic face, the anger can't be missed in his tensed jaw, his voice controlled and low.
"Shall we balance out the power in the court once again? We can't let him turn our court to his playground." Yo proposes an alliance with Wook.
"Kuereul kkayo? (Shall we?)" Wook lowers his hand and looks at his 3rd brother. With their gazes meeting, Wook enters a dangerous pact with Yo.
Having finished her lunch alone, Soon Deok paces by her foyer waiting for the rain to stop. Her father had sent her letter informing her that he's coming home in a few days to answer a summon from the king to join the royal family for the festival. With all the rain coming down lately, Soon Deok thinks it would take longer than the usual three days for her father to arrive. She denies it vehemently to herself but she misses her father a lot and is very much looking forward of him being home.
Running under the steady rain, Eun arrives by Soon Deok's quarters, wet and fuming. He stomps around, unmindful of the water accumulating around his feet, "Nan keu-deul-ri silh-eo! (I hate them!) Jeon-bu! (All of them!)"
"Who are you talking about? Jam-si-man ki-da-ri-se-yo (Wait here for a second.)"
Soon Deok runs inside her room to get some towel and comes back outside to attend to a soaking Eun.
"Silh-eo! Silh-eo! Silh-eo!" Eun whines like a kid as Soon Deok puts a towel around his back and dries off his hair.
"What happened? Start from the beginning." Soon Deok appeases Eun, worried that the prince might catch a flu for running under the rain.
"Baek-Ah and Hae Soo! How could they keep it a secret from me?" Eun narrates what happened a while ago. From Chae Ryung's punishment to Hae Soo and Baek-Ah arguing inside her room. "Am I not that trustworthy? Aren't we supposed to be friends? They've already kept Jung and Hae Soo's relationship a secret to me and now I find out that Hae Soo is betrothed to my 8th brother? What else are they not telling me?!"
"Mwo?! Hae Soo and Jung are seeing each other?" Soon Deok didn't know that or the part that Hae Soo is already betrothed. When she asked Hae Soo on why the servants of their household were looking for her the other week, Hae Soo only said that she went out to the market and was trapped in one of the shops due to the heavy rain. "And she is betrothed? When did this all happened? She can't be seeing Jung. She's So wangjanim's woman."
"Eh? Mu-seun mal-sseum ha-si neun keo-ya? (What are you talking about?)" Eun steadies Soon Deok's hand around him. "Hae Soo is seeing, no wait, was seeing Jung. No, I don't know anymore. It's so complicated!"
"Aniyo! Hae Soo is not seeing Jung wangjanim." Soon Deok strongly disagree, "She's So wangjanim's woman, I even call her that from the beginning. When So wangjanim left for the north, Hae Soo came to give him a gift. Everyone in the courtyard saw it and then when he came home ill and was brought to the Damiwon, Hae Soo couldn't stay still. She run the second she was called for. So no, I'm pretty sure she's not seeing Jung wangjanim."
"Mwo ya?! But I was there, at Hae Soo's birthday." Eun explained what he heard that night. "They were seeing each other before Hae Soo drown and lost her memories. She doesn't remember anything but Jung does and he pleaded with her then they started seeing each other again after that."
"Eh? That's going to be a problem." Soon Deok is lost, "Maybe I should ask Hae Soo first and keep this as a secret for the meantime? But what about this betrothal you were talking about? To the 8th prince? He's married to her cousin. What did Hae Soo said?"
"Eops-eo-yo. She and Baek-Ah tell me nothing." Eun answers, angry once more, "My 14th brother is coming home in a few days, what do you think will happen if he finds out?"
"Chal mol-la-yo. (I don't know.) Everything is so problematical." Soon Deok continues with toweling off Eun, attending to him unconsciously.
Eun naturally raises his arms sideward, waiting for Soon Deok to derobe him of off his wet clothes. Soon Deok reaches around him about to untie the string of his belt when she suddenly realized what she's doing. She abruptly stops and pulls back, blushing.
"Wae? Aren't you going to change my clothes? I might catch a cold if I stay wet." Eun innocently asks, finding nothing wrong with Soon Deok attending to him.
"I… I should… let our servants… do this…" Soon Deok stammers, looking everywhere but to Eun.
"Kuere?" Eun pouts, lowering his arms, "Then call upon your servants already. I'm getting cold."
"Yie… Yie… wangjanim." Soon Deok shuffles in her feet, thinking for a few seconds and then runs under the rain to call for her servants on her own household.
Up in the sky tower, So stand by the foyer looking at the half waning moon. His back to Chae Ryung, whose shivering kneeling on the floor. The sky tower is empty save to the two of them. The scene at his 8th brother's household was contained to the walls and the witnesses only, the people in the palace still unaware. A black pouch full of silver sits atop the table, waiting to be given out.
"I do not have a household Chae Ryung ssi, shall I make a court lady out of you or shall I send you to my mother up north?" So asks, his intentions hidden well from view.
With no choice in the matter, Chae Ryung sobs as she answers, "Whatever you deem fit of a lowly servant like me wangjanim."
'The north then, to my mother, I guess?" So tests Chae Ryung's resolve.
"Wangjanim, please have mercy on me, let me stay by your side." Chae Ryung doesn't want to be sent to Lady Shinjuwon. She and her family will not survive once the consort finds out she had been taken out of the 8th prince's household without completing the task she was given. Since that day Guen Sun led her into the Kang's household, her life and her family's had been threatened well to follow Lady Shinjuwon's command.
After Hae Soo's short stint in the court that resulted to people being hanged, Lady Shinjuwon had instructed Chae Ryung to serve tea to Myung Hee with a small dosage of poison, making it look like her health is failing her progressively. Pretty much the same deductions So had concluded just yesterday.
Out of guilt and love for her masters, Chae Ryung didn't want to do it but had no choice. She sometimes missed out in serving Myung Hee the poisoned tea. If she had it carried out for three months, Myung Hee's health would have steadily deteriorated and would have been gone by the end of winter. In time for the apprenticeship to close by Spring, leaving Hae Soo vulnerable and clan less, easy to put on the Kang's registry by then.
"I do not trust people who spies for someone else." So let's Chae Ryung become aware that he knows what she is and like Lady Shinjuwon, he's also blindsided of the fact that Chae Ryung's loyalty lies in the person that she loves, the 9th prince and not the person who holds her family hostage.
"Sungohabnida wangjanim. Chal mot-haess-seub-ni-kka." Now Chae Ryung is truly afraid for her life and her family, sobbing. Thinking that So, as Lady Shinjuwon's son, would be in in the plan with his mother, "Please show some mercy. I only did what your mother has or..dered… je.."
"Insolent servant!" So cuts off Chae Ryung's sentence not because he cares about Lady Shinjuwon but Chae Ryung would certainly be killed by his mother the moment she realizes Chae Ryung had betrayed her, "Do not talk so easily of my mother or you will be put to death."
Chae Ryung could only cry, keeping her forehead on the floor.
"There are silvers on the table, enough for you to leave with your family. Take it and never return here again. Algessniya?" So unexpectedly frees Chae Ryung, sending her well away from Hae Soo and Myung Hee.
"Eh?" Chae Ryung lifts her head to look at So's broad back, her mind taking a few minutes to process what the 4th prince had just said.
"I'm freeing you from my servitude. Go and take the silver and live well away from here." So repeats once more, "Ileonago kagura (Get-up and leave,) I forbid you to say any of this to anyone nor will you meet another person after this. Leave Songak quietly and fast."
So extends her protection to Chae Ryung by freeing her and giving her a way out.
Looking around, Chae Ryung slowly stands-up, still bewildered and shocked. Just this morning she thought her life would end already and now she finds herself a free person. She couldn't believe it. The 4th prince is never known as merciful but Chae Ryung reveres him now.
She looks at the black pouch at the table and takes it with trembling hands, expressing her gratitude, "Kamsahabnida wangjanim. I do not deserve such benevolence from you."
Chae Ryung bows 90 degrees, the highest form of bow she could give. So doesn't even turn. With a last look, she warmly smiles at the 4th prince, owing her freedom to him.
With her black hood drawn upon her head and hugging the black pouch well hidden in her jeogori, Chae Ryung steps outside the palace, hurrying to see her mistress one last time before leaving Songak. She wanted to express her gratitude to the 4th prince by straightening first the misunderstanding between her mistress and him. As she walks by the plaza, a man in dark clothes shadows her, following her every move.
Shortly she arrives by the 8th prince's household, silently knocking by Hae Soo's quarters. She opens her mistress' door and finds Hae Soo asleep, her dinner untouched by the table.
Chae Ryung sits beside a sleeping Hae Soo, shaking her to wake. She puts her hands on Hae Soo's mouth the moment she opens her eyes, "Shhh… agassi, cheo-yeo Chae Ryung-ibnida."
Ha Jin sits up taking Chae Ryung's hand form her mouth. She abruptly pulls Chae Ryung for a hug, anxious, "Mianhae Chae Ryung-ah, I swear I didn't know about the Gyuls. Mianhae jinjja. Gwaenchanha? Gocheong hajima, I'll talk to the 4th prince as soon as I see him. He's reasonable, he'll listen to me."
Chae Ryung returns Hae Soo's hug and assures her, "Agassi, cheon gwaenchanhseubnikka. Please don't worry anymore."
Ha Jin breaks their hug and look at Chae Ryung.
"You were right about the 4th prince. I guess he isn't as unmerciful as everyone thinks of him." Chae Ryung smiles, explaining, "The 4th prince had graciously freed me of my servitude to him and even gave me silver to leave with my family."
"Jinjja? I'm so happy for you Chae-Ryung-ah! But I have to apologize to So wangjanim for doubting him. Eotteohke?" Ha Jin exclaims, her eyes full of trust. "Jamkkan, (Wait,) Does that mean you're leaving?"
Chae Ryung nods, "Joesonghabnida agassi, in exchange of my freedom, the 4th prince had asked me to leave the capital and never return and it's all good. I wanted to live down south with my family anyway."
"I see. You better write to me then." Ha Jin pulls Chae Ryung for a hug once again. "I'll miss you."
"Agassi, please listen well to your unnie from now on, she only wants the best for you. Take care of her well. Don't let your arguments come between the two of you." Chae Ryung wants to warn Hae Soo of the threat looming above her head and Myung Hee's. "If you could trust someone, you can trust the 8th prince. He will surely protect you."
Viewing her masters as someone she owes her life to, Chae Ryung puts forth a good word for Myung Hee and Wook too.
"The 4th prince, in as much as merciful and dependable, has the worst mother you'll ever know. Please stay away from his adoptive mother. You never want to meet her. She's dangerous. You can never trust her." Chae Ryung gives her last warning, holding herself from trembling from the horrible memory of Lady Shinjuwon. "I thought the 4th prince is scary but you'll never know what fear is until you look into the lady consort's eyes and see madness."
Ha Jin breaks their hug to look at Chae Ryung, "You sound like you've met her. Have you?"
"Anibnida!" Chae Ryung is quick to deny any ties with Lady Shinjuwon, lying, "I only hear a lot of things about her."
She hastily grabs Hae Soo's arm, "Agassi, please promise me you'll never come near her at all."
"Araseo, araseo."
Chae Ryung's sudden action makes Ha Jin nervous.
"Keureom, I'll need to leave now. I have to go and see one more person before I leave." Chae Ryung releases Hae Soo's arm, regretful for spying on her and Myung Hee, thankful for being treated as a friend in spite of her being just a lowly servant. "Please take care of yourself well. Agassi haeng-bok-hae-yo (Please be happy.)"
"Ne, neo-ddo! (Yes, you too!) Na-e-ge pyeon-ji-reul sseoya handa. (You must write to me.)" Ha Jin makes Chae Ryung promise.
"Yie, kkuk hal keyo. (I will.)" Chae Ryung agrees, smiling at Hae Soo before tucking her in and leaving.
The last person Chae Ryung sees is the 9th prince. She came to his household using her connection with another servant to pass along the message that she is waiting outside. Won hurries to meet her, worried. They stand by the wall, the dark part where a lantern is not casting even a dim light.
"Chal chinaeyo? How did you escape my 4th brother? Did he hurt you? How are your lashes? Doesn't it hurt?" Won asks one question after another. He would have examine her himself if only they weren't meeting each other secretly outside his own household.
Even when there's no light and Won can't see her, Chae Ryung smiles with adoration to the 9th prince, "Yie, chal chinaego issseubnida. Sajil (The truth is,) there is nothing to be afraid of the 4th prince. Your 4th brother had just freed me."
"Mwo rago? He freed you?" Won repeats, shocked.
"Yie wangjanim, he freed me with the condition that I would take my family, leave Songak and never return again. He's very merciful to a lowly servant like me." Chae Ryung explains happily.
"But you can't leave me. What about me?" Though Won feels relief that his 4th brother did not punished Chae Ryung, his first instinct is to hold on to his possession, his spy inside his 8th brother's household, unaware that Chae Ryung had been forced to spy for Lady Shinjuwon too, "You can't leave me."
"Eh? wangjanim…"
Won doesn't need a light to see that Chae Ryung is blushing and her heart is skipping. He knows her well enough to know how she responds to him.
He advances at her, backing Chae Ryung against the wall. Chae Ryung breathes carefully, controlling her heart and failing. She hopes the pounding in her chest isn't too loud as it bangs against the pouch of silver she had kept in her jeogori.
"Kaji ma jebal. (Please don't leave.) I cannot not see you. It was hard already to send you to my 8th brother's household and now you're truly leaving me with no hope of ever meeting me again. Na-e-ge i-leo-ji ma jebal. (Please don't do this to me.)" Won tries to convince Chae Ryung to stay, not wanting to lose his spy.
"Joesonghabnida wangjanim... You're 4th brother have commanded for me to leave. I can't go against his will, he will…"
Chae Ryung wasn't able to finish her sentence as Won captures her lips with his, shutting her up. He pins her arms by the wall, kissing her forcefully. With no knowledge of men or of love and a lowly servant her whole life, Chae Ryung doesn't see what's wrong with the kiss. It's forceful, bruising and violating of her body. Won sucks on her lower lip, biting and shoving his tongue inside her mouth. His hand starts roaming down her arm, to her waist, up to the side of her chest while his other hand keeps her pinned.
He breaks their kiss only for his mouth to wander in her neck, "You can't leave me. I forbid you to leave me. If my brother freed you then that means you can enter the Damiwon by choice and become a gungnyeo."
Chae Ryung breaths heavily, catching her breathe, "Wangjanim, this is my only chance to be freed, if I'm going to become a servant again, can I at least stay in your household?"
Won withdraws his self completely from Chae Ryung, making sure Chae Ryung see how disappointed he is, "You can't come back to my household, my 4th brother will punish me for enslaving his freed servant. You can only stay beside me if you enter the Damiwon. Besides, you're not just going to become a lowly servant there, you will be serving the king, my father, and be compensated for it. Don't you want to be able to send money to your family? Think about it some more, I don't want to lose you."
With her heart hopelessly lost to the 9th prince, Chae Ryung doesn't need time to decide. She agrees easily, momentarily forgetting how dangerous it is for her and her family once Lady Shinjuwon finds out about her betrayal, "Arass-seubnida wangjanim,"
"Johda! That's my Chae Ryung!" Won pulls her into an embrace, "You won't regret it."
Chae Ryung could only hope in the 9th prince's words.
Shortly thereafter, Won tells her to stay in her family's house for the meantime until he puts a word for her to become a gungnyeo inside the Damiwon. He dismisses her and sends her home.
As Chae Ryung walks by the end of a secluded block not far from the 9th prince household, the man who was shadowing her all this time make himself known.
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. The 4th prince frees you and the first thing you do is run to his 9th brother and betray him." Geun Sun leans by the wall, watching all this time.
With the hairs at her neck standing, Chae Ryung recognizes the chilling voice of Lady Shinjuwon's right hand. She taught the man went back to the north with his mistress already.
Chae Ryung is paralyzed with fear.
Guen Sun comes in front of her, looking at Chae Ryung with such disdain. "I knew I was right not to trust you. Now I see your loyalty doesn't belong to your family but to the 9th prince."
He smirks, enjoying Chae Ryung's shaking.
"But my child, haven't you learned anything for the past few months you've been serving us?"
Chae Ryung could only swallow, she throws herself to her knees to plead but Guen Sun catches her mid kneel, pulling her up and coming closer to whisper at her ear, "Do not bother to kneel, I am not a god to grant mercy."
Taking the knife by his belt, Guen Sun swiftly stabs Chae Ryung just below her ribcage, grazing her heart with the cold knife but not fatally wounding her so she won't die quickly but bleed to death painfully instead. The same way So had killed the spy who was following him before.
The pouch of silver in Chae Ryung's jeogori dislodges as Guen Sun pulls the knife out and lets her fall to the ground.
Come next day, the court assembles on time, with So taking his place next to Mu, his 3rd brother's place before So had taken over Lady Shinjuwon's Chancellery Seat. Yo doesn't take kindly into it, having feel that his 4th brother did not work to earn his position but had only been bestowed of the seat by pure luck.
So maintains an emotionless face, devoid of anything. Ji Mong and Mu had already oriented him on the issues that had been discussed for the past six months that he was gone.
Wang Gyu minister, Eun's grandfather, reports upon the preparation that the palace had undertaken for the past week. Now that his alliance with Yo had fallen out, he lines up before the second queen and is thinking of changing it to the 4th prince once he finds out what the 4th prince is planning to take over the court. "It has been announced to the people that the festival in the palace will be open for public and the 4th prince will be heading the ritual this time. However…"
Afraid of offending So, Wang Gyu minister could end his sentence hanging.
"However, there seemed to be some restlessness among the people upon hearing that the 4th prince will be leading the Spiritual Cleansing Ritual. A few rumors have sprung and is inciting distress in the population." Yo finishes the sentence for the minister, gauging where his loyalty lies.
"And?" King Taejo seemed unconcerned. The Kang's household, with all their power and treasure, had always roused baseless rumors and fear among the population. The 4th prince being adopted to the Kang household is by extension a victim of these countless rumors since he was kid. By now So had learned not to care.
"They were asking for the 4th prince to be replaced and the position be given back to the seja instead." Yo explains.
King taejo turns to Mu, "Do you want to take back the position from younger brother Mu-ya?"
"Anibnida pyeha, we all know my 4th brother is as capable as I am." Mu will not fall into the trap of going against his 4th brother. So had pledge to protect Mu's seat with his life, thus Mu trusts So no matter what, unaware of the deal So had made with Lady Shinjuwon.
"So-ya," King Taejo addresses the 4th prince next, "Do you want to step down from heading the ritual."
"Anibnida pyeha. It's mere words. It can't hurt me." So answers next, curt and short.
"It can't hurt you but it hurts the reputation of the royal family." Yo points out.
So sighs. He had forgotten that his 3rd brother has a tongue as sharp as their mother. He thought that after he had cleaned up Yo's mess, their relationship would have taken a turn for the better but as its stands, in So's perspective, Yo hadn't changed at all.
"Truly, the royal family's reputation should be protected first. After all, the kingdoms around us might see us a weak country ripe for conquering if the royal family couldn't even suppress a small trouble among its people." Queen Shinjeong explains siding with Yo. She, too, plays for people's opinion.
"If we leave the rumors growing, it would cause unrest among our people and they might stop trusting the royal family. Soon, we might find ourselves pushed out and forgotten like the once mighty royal family of Silla, whom everyone thought will never fall."
Yo looks at his 13th brother, drawing people's focus on Baek-Ah and his clan's past. "Now only an estrange relative to the royal family, some even call them a beggar relative."
Baek-Ah holds his self from speaking, having been humiliated well. He's aware of how precarious his clan's stand on the court, the weakest and least powerful. Hence, Baek-Ah doesn't even dream of coming close to the throne. Nevertheless, Yo's jab, cuts painfully at his ego.
So smirks, covering for Baek-Ah and returning the insult to Yo, "Aigoo, hyungnim kamsadeurilkeyo, (Let me thank you my older brother,) I never knew you cared so much for the reputation of your younger brothers but don't agonize. There is nothing to suppress. The rumors will die down on its own if left alone and the people would still come to the palace on the festival itself. Free food will be served and an opportunity to brush elbows with royalties and other aristocratic families, I'm pretty sure, they'll forget their fear as the night wanes and everyone gets drunk."
So puts a period in the discussion, "Let's make sure the drinks flows on that night. I hear you are good at throwing this kind of parties? Please take the lead at drinking then, I wouldn't mind."
Everyone holds their self from laughing over So's jab on Yo. Baek-Ah catches So's eyes and smiles at him, thanking him silently. He'll remember to ask him to drink with him later, a beginning of a bond between the two brothers.
Entering the palace secretly, Guen Sun waits for So in one of the secluded corridors going to the sky tower, knowing So would come that way as soon as the court adjourns.
Guen Sun addresses him without so much as a greeting, "Wangjanim."
So doesn't need to turn to recognize the owner of the voice. He too, thought his adoptive mother's contingence all left the capital since last week. Hiding his surprised well, he stays rooted in the ground.
"Look at me." Guen Sun commands.
The moment So turns to obey the command, the black pouch he had given Chae Ryung comes flying directly at him. He catches it easily and notices the caked blood all over it.
"Your insolent servant betrayed you to your 9th brother the first chance she got but don't worry I have taken good care of it already. Watch your back or do I really have to stay and do it for you?"
Guen Sun abandons leaning by the wall, "Careful So wangjanim, your mother might have went back to the north but we have eyes and ears everywhere. Lady Shinjuwon does not take kindly to betrayals even if you are her precious pet. Remember to keep your end of the bargain or your woman might just end up in someone else's hands as a toy like you."
So doesn't answer, his hand tightening around the black pouch, controlling his anger.
Won waits a few days before putting a word for Chae Ryung at the Damiwon. After Lady Oh accepts, he sends a servant to Chae Ryung's family but the servant didn't find Chae Ryung or her family at their household. The whole meager hanok was emptied in haste. Won feels betrayed, thinking Chae Ryung had skipped out on him.
So will not come to the Damiwon for the next few days avoiding Hae Soo out of guilt. Ha Jin misunderstands So's absence as him being angry because she failed to trust him.
By the end of the week, Ha Jin's impatience is wearing thin, unable to stand So's silence anymore. So when Baek-Ah turned up in the Damiwon, she secretly pulls him into one of the empty rooms to ask a favor.
"Where is your brother?" Ha Jin asks, "Why doesn't he come to the Damiwon to see me?"
"What brother, I have a lot of them?" Baek-Ah knows who Hae Soo is talking about but wouldn't answer easily.
"So wangjanim." Ha Jin folds her arms against her chest, defensive.
"Why are you looking for my 4th brother?" Inclining his head Baek-Ah, examines Hae Soo's reaction, remembering her letter for So. It seemed the poem was really intended as a confession though Hae Soo doesn't look like the kind of person who would do a confession up front.
"Kuenyang…" Ha Jin shuffles in her feet, "I wanted to apologize. Will you do me a favor?"
Baek-Ah bows his head, unbelievably shaking it and looking sarcastically amused, "Please tell me you're not thinking of making me a bridge between you and my 4th brother."
Ha Jin tries for a sweet voice, persuading Baek-Ah, "Baek-Ah-ya please do this for me, I'm going home later and I haven't seen him. Just tell him to come and see me."
Baek-Ah squints playfully, mistrustful of Hae Soo, "What are you planning to do?"
"Kuenyang…"
"Ya! A lady shouldn't be seeking a man on her own." Baek-Ah reprimands Hae Soo.
"That's why I'm asking you to tell him to come and see me." Ha Jin fidgets some more, getting more defensive by the minute. "I want to apologize... nothing more…."
"I told you to stay put didn't I? Did you even listen to me?"
"I did listen!" Hae Soo tries for an awkward smile, "Please do this for me, han beon man (just this once.)"
She puts her hands together, pleading like a kid. "Please… please… please…"
"Yaishhh! I'm not playing bridge between the two of you." Baek-Ah wouldn't succumb.
"Fine!" Ha Jin is now annoyed, nothing is working on Baek-Ah, "Don't ever think of asking me any favor in the future"
She starts walking away.
"Araseo." Baek-Ah calls upon her as Hae Soo touches the door to open it. "Malhae- jul-ge (I'll tell him).
Ha Jin instantly smiles tuning to Baek-Ah, "Komaweoyo Baek-Ah-ya."
"Kuende, what does you and my 4th brother have? I've asked you several times already. Don't bother telling me you don't know. I need you to be honest with me." Baek-Ah is more than just curious, he's worried that there's three of his brother about to fight over her now.
"Bok-jap-hae (It's complicated). One moment he's promising me things and making my heart flutter and then the next he disappears on me without a word." Ha Jin rants, annoyed with So, "I mean isn't he the one whose suppose to do the DTR?"
"Mwo? What's a DTR?" Baek-Ah looks dumbfounded. He had never heard the acronym before.
"DTR, Define the relationship." Ha Jin unconsciously slips of what she had been ruminating for the past few days.
Don't they do DTRs in Goryeo?
"You know… men should be the one initiating to define the relationship. I mean… isn't he supposed to be the one pursuing me?" Ha Jin feels exasperated and stupid to explain what everyone calls 'complicated' in the 21st century. After all, it's termed complicated because as the word implies its too complex to be defined just yet. "He's so good with playing push and pull. Has your brother seen a lot of women before me?"
Baek-Ah looks at Hae Soo strangely, "Go-baek-hae? (Is that a confession?) So you do like my 4th brother?"
Ha Jin finally catches herself but it's too late to take it back. Masking her embarrassment, she changes topic, "Ani… Just tell him to come and see me already!"
Baek-Ah finds Hae Soo's slipped shocking but what's more surprising to him is that somehow he had seen it coming, that he was only waiting for a confirmation from the two.
At once, everything clicks on his head, the seja and the astronomer having that incredulous smiles on their faces as they insist that So saved Hae Soo as if telling him there's more to it than So just jumping after Hae Soo; the seja putting Hae Soo and So in one class; Hae Soo telling them that she and So had always been in a good talking terms; Hae Soo disappearing with So before he left; the gift in the courtyard; the letter. The clues were all there. He was only too focused on preventing a dispute to arise between Wook and Jung that he neglected what Hae Soo had been telling him from the beginning. Hae Soo chose So a long time ago. She's only not admitting it because she, herself, is not aware of it but she did and she had been unconsciously choosing him over anything since then.
"Araseo. You owe me one."
Now Baek-Ah understands the guilt on Hae Soo's eyes when she looks at Jung and in as much as he cares for Jung and wants him to be happy with the woman he loves, it is futile to force Hae Soo to have a change of heart. Baek-Ah knows all too well, a heart can't be change just because another person wills it to.
"Ne. Ne. Ne." Ha Jin answers in a sing song. "I'll see you next week then."
With the mention of next week, Baek-Ah remembers it Eun's birthday, "Ah matda! Eun wangjanim's birthday is coming-up and he's not talking to me. Does he talk to you? I think we also owe him an apology."
"Kuere? Onje? (When?)" Ha Jin asks,
"Daum chu. (Next week.)"
"Arasseo, I'll look for a gift and apologize before his birthday comes." Ha Jin answers thinking of enlisting Soon Deok's help in getting Eun a present.
By the end of the day So comes in the Damiwon, taking Hae Soo home before Wook arrives. Though the clouds are accumulating and getting heavy, they walk slowly at the palace grounds with Hae Soo's durumagi (overcoat) neatly folded by her arms, ready for the rain. They take a different route by foot to avoid the plaza and stay together for a little longer.
"Baek-Ah tells me you wanted to see me?" So walks with his hands behind his back, ever quiet.
Ha Jin trains her eyes on the ground, embarrassed, "Joesonghaeyo for causing you trouble. Chae Ryung had came to see me before she left. She told me you freed her and even gave her some silver to start a new life with her family."
So tenses and Ha Jin lifts her eyes to him, smiling warmly, "Kamsahabnida, your show of mercy to Chae Ryung means a lot to me."
And So couldn't tell Hae Soo that that particular mercy had caused him her life. Turning his eyes to the road, So avoids Hae Soo's smile, knowing he didn't deserve it.
"Hae Soo-ya, in the future, please remember my promise well." So reminds Hae Soo of their promised by the Donji lake, "I do not raise my sword carelessly, nor do I wield my power unreasonably. I do not kill for fun or hurt people of my own choice. People might talk about me as cruel and cold but I am anything but that to you and only you. Please trust me on this."
So's pledge of loyalty is a little unsettling to Ha Jin. She wonders if she heard it correctly. So's loyalty is only to her, just her.
Continuing with their walk, So releases his hands on his back, unconsciously lowering his guard down in front of Hae Soo and talks about himself. Something he had never done before, "Since I was young, I was accused of bringing misfortune to my family and was sent away. I never understood why my own family shunned me while my adoptive family treats me like a plaything. Everyone hates me and fears me but not you. You are different. You refused to see me as dangerous even when I warned you that I am. You opened your arms and held me when I was abandoned and thrown away by my own mother. You willingly seek me and ask for me when no one wants to trust me. I have never known care but the inside of your warm embrace taught me otherwise…"
Stepping in front of Hae Soo, So momentarily stops both of them, gazing intensely on her eyes, "Never look at me with fear again nor bend a knee so easily in front of me. I do not wish that from you. I only breathe because you are in the air that I take. I only live because you exist in this world. My Soo-ya."
He strokes her cheek tenderly, his fingers sliding down to her chin. He tips it up to him, lowering his eyes on her lips. Tentatively he leans in, covering Hae Soo's sight of the dark sky. Ha Jin stills, anticipating. She had been thinking about the kiss So had planted upon her palm this past few days, pondering whether it was only an innocent show of respect or does the 4th prince intended it to be more than just that.
With her heart pounding hard on her chest once again, Ha Jin's eyes naturally flutter to a close, intending to see where this intimacy is going and have So clear their relationship once and for all.
So's other hand, reaches upon her's, interlacing it with her fingers.
Pitter. Patter.
The rain comes down in a drizzle, touching down on Ha Jin's face faster than So's lips on her. She automatically draws her head down and So pulls back, the spell broken by the rain coming down upon them.
So couldn't help but chuckle by the bad timing of the rain. He tugs at Hae Soo's hand and together they run into the rain, there misunderstanding ironed out.
Soon, they come by a waiting shed, where the designated wooden wall for announcement is put up. They stand by the corner as a few people, by threes, take shelter inside it too. So's back is turned from the strangers, isolating him and Hae Soo by the corner. With nothing to do inside but wait, the three read the announcement behind their backs.
"It really is true? The scary 4th prince, the shame of the queen's clan will be heading the Spiritual Cleansing Ritual?" The first old lady asks out loud.
Ha Jin tenses as she observes So's face reddens.
"I guess so? It's up here in the announcement." The other man answers, "Aigoo, I wouldn't want to attend the festival inside the palace then, I might be bestowed with curse instead of blessing."
"I heard he was born with a hideous face that the nain whose supposed to take care of him run away." Another person adds.
"No wonder, the marriage among his brothers skipped him. No lady would have the confidence to look upon that ugly face even if he's a prince."
So's hands tremble, balling into its own accord. He doesn't normally pay attention to how people perceived him but he does get hurt at times, especially if the insult was done in front of the only person he cares about.
As he turn to the three people who were unaware that he was there, Ha Jin steps closer to him and lets her durumagi surround So, covering them both. She smiles warmly, drawing him to stay underneath her blanket of protection.
Even without physically touching So, Ha Jin steadies him with her gaze, calming him down. So closes his eyes, listening to her voice. He breathes her nearness, a reminder of his home, "Run away with me?"
"Anywhere with you."
Ha Jin holds her durumagi around them both, leading him out into the rain once more.
Baek-Ah hurries to the sky tower that evening, running under the rain too. He brings with him bottles of Yagyongju, making good of his promise to invite his 4th brother for a drink.
"So Hyungnim!" Baek-Ah calls upon his 4th brother as he nears the tops of the stairs.
Mu and Ji Mong turn their head to the direction of a new comer, welcoming Baek-Ah.
"Oh! Baek-Ah-ya, what brings you here? Have you had dinner? So-ya hasn't come home yet." Mu greets his 13th brother.
Baek-Ah renders a bow and sits in one of the vacant chairs, putting his bottles of wine upon the table, "I came to thank So hyungnim for having my back at the court assembly the other day. It was nice of him to protect me without me asking."
"Our 4th brother has his own warm side too, you just have to get close to him to see it." Mu assures Baek-Ah. He then leans in further to whisper in a low voice, "And an innocent cute side too."
Mu pulls back laughing with Ji Mong. Ji Mong takes one of the bottles and asks if he could serve it and Baek-Ah lets him.
"Cheongmalya?" Baek-Ah sports a dumbfounded look. He'd like to see that even just once. "Ah hyungnim, back then when you were telling me that So hyungnim had saved Hae Soo in the cliff, you and Ji Mong seonseangnim looked amused. What were you smiling about that made So hyungnim drag Ji Mong seonseangnim away?"
Ji Mong and Mu catch each other's eyes, remembering So's red face. They both laugh again.
"Let's just say, that's one of those moment when the 4th prince is all innocent." Ji Mong answers for Mu, pouring a glass for the three of them.
"Huh?"
"Nothing." Mu changes topic before he slips and So gets angry at him," By the way, Ji Mong-ah where did So went? He did not disappear on us again? Did he?"
"Hae Soo asked me to tell him to fetch her at the Damiwon a while ago. I guess the rain is keeping him from returning yet." Baek-Ah answers this time.
"I see, I guess the two made up already." Mu sports an amused smile, "Then he should have brought Hae Soo here instead of home. We could have had dinner together. That kid! I hope his having a good time."
"Wangsejanim!" Ji Mong exclaims, his fatherly instinct coming out.
"Wae?! Are you Hae Soo's father? Why do you keep looking scandalized whenever the two spends time alone? They're old enough to do so." Mu finds Ji Mong reactions odd and amusing at the same time.
"I'm just saying they get married first before spending time alone." Ji Mong explains.
"What are you two talking about? They're not even in a relationship?" Baek-Ah is lost, he's pretty sure Hae Soo wasn't lying to him a while ago when she told him she doesn't know if she and So are a couple.
"They're not?!" Ji Mong and Mu asks together. "They are!"
"Hae Soo spent nights in So's room when So came home. They were fighting like married couple, no wait. Hae Soo was screaming at So like a wife does to her husband. She even threw him out of his room." Mu recalls the weekend Hae Soo spent at the sky tower. He is definitely sure the two is more than just friends.
"Mwo?! Hae Soo spent the night where?" Baek-Ah is shocked, he's rethinking his decision of not shouting at Hae Soo once more. "I'm going to kill that girl… how can she spend the night in a man's room?"
So unfortunately arrives at the moment when the three are having an argument about the status of his relationship and is automatically pulls to a seat and subjected to rounds of questioning.
"Tell us, you and Hae Soo are a couple right?" Mu asks a direct question to clear it up once and for all.
So is used to Ji Mong and Mu interrogating him about Hae Soo but there's another person sitting on their table, watching him with accusing eyes, "Baek-Ah-ya, wae yeogi isseo? (Why are you here?)"
"Joseonghaeyo hyungnim," Baek-Ah suddenly becomes aware that he and his 4th brother are not in that level of closeness for him to be participating in the questioning. "I came to… to… ask you for a drink."
He pulls at the bottle of wine at the table and pours another glass fro So. "Here. I wanted to say thank you for the other day."
"You don't have to, it's nothing." So stands-up, trying to get out of the interrogation.
"Anjhara. (Sit down!)" Mu commands. He takes the glass of wine and pushes it to So, "Masyeo. (Drink-up.)"
So does what he is told to do, having his throat warmed by the wine.
"You and Hae Soo are seeing each other officially and exclusively right?" Ji Mong asks this time.
"Why am being asked about this?" So doesn't want to answer.
"Keunyang dae-dap-hae (Just answer the question.)" Mu insists.
"Have you done the DTR?" Baek-Ah repeats what Hae Soo told him a while ago. Though he hasn't decided if he's going to help the two since it feels like a betrayal to Jung, Hae Soo is right, So can't just leave their relationship undefined. It confuses everyone.
"Mwo?! I-ge mwo ya?! (What's that?!)"
"What's a DTR?" So and Mu ask together dumbfounded.
Baek-Ah proceeds to explain what a DTR is, looking all-knowing but is only repeating what Hae Soo had told him a while ago, adding a few of his experiences and Hae Soo's preferences as he expounds it further.
By the end of the night, the four would be too drunk to get out of the table and pass out right there. Baek-Ah sees a different side of his 4th brother and warms towards him from then on.
Come Eun's birthday, the apprentices were given a reprieve out of their classes and celebrate with the 10th prince. Ha Jin asks Soon Deok and Woo Hee to help her prepare a surprise for Eun at the pavilion, her gift and apology.
The day starts with the brothers lining up with their horse at the open space oval where they play Gyeokgu (Korean Polo). Since Eun loves playing this game, the brothers agree to do a match even when the weather doesn't look great.
Unlike the great fun fare at the beginning of Spring, this match is relatively smaller and quieter with only the royal family in attendance and some gungnyeo(s), eunuch and soldiers. The three apprentices were also present.
The seven line up with their usual teams; Mu has So, Eun and Baek-Ah on his side while Yo has only Wook and Won. Eun runs to the soldiers looking for a substitute since they can't play with an unbalance number of players. The soldiers train their eyes everywhere but the 10th prince, not wanting to play with the princes for fear that they might be put to death if they made a mistake. Eun stomps, throwing a tantrum when no one volunteered.
Happily whistling atop his horse, Jung arrives a little late holding a new mogu (wooden ball), "Mianhaeyo Eun wangjanim, the rain had kept the road a little harder to navigate. Saengil chukhahaeyo. (Happy birthday)"
Jung hands the mogu to Eun smilling widely. In truth, Jung had been inside the palace since last week. He was only staying at the soldier's barracks and avoiding his family.
Eun had already forgotten his resentment towards Jung and is just happy to have all his brothers back, celebrating his birthday with him.
The two walks back to their brothers with everyone welcoming Jung back with cheers and hugs. Baek-Ah tenses as Jung greets So, looking as normal as he is with no trace of hatred on Jung's face. If anything, Jung bestows a quick hug to their 4th brother and smiling at him warmly. With the two standing together, the resemblance on how they dress and move is uncanny.
"Eoh?! Ya! Did you time your arrival on my birthday so you could have everyone's attention?" Eun jokes.
"Keureomyo!" Jung engages with the joke, chuckling "But don't worry, there's only one pair of eyes I'd want to look at only me."
Jung winks and laughs, glancing at his 4th brother every now and then.
"Aigoo, let's talk later on the feast and have this game started before the rain comes down upon us." Mu proposes putting his arm on Eun's shoulders.
"Let's go then!" Yo agrees taking his team with him while Mu takes his.
Yo gathers his team to talk about their strategy. In truth, the three of them Wook, Won and Yo, had already made their plan last night, having contemplated the possibility of the 4th prince getting injured enough so he can't lead the festival. Jung has his own plan up his sleeves.
As the referee blows his whistle, the mogu flies in the air and Mu catches it as their usual first round. Yo's team let's Mu's team run away with the mogu but not really exerting effort since they all know that the real games starts after Mu's first score.
Using the new mogu that Jung had given Eun, Mu feels strangely unsettled by the unfamiliarity of the new mogu. He throws it at So, who quickly passes it to Eun. All three of them felt the change in the mogu's weight. They all attribute it to the ball being new so the ball feels off in their hands. Jung easily lets the mogu in to let Mu's team score and have the real game start.
The second round was scored by Mu's team and so is the 3rd and 4th. Yo, Wook and Won are not interested in winning the game but disrupting So's balance out of his horse to cause an accident. They make sure two people guard So all the time.
The first try, Won had accidentally hit the back of So's horse making it rise up in surprise. So held on his horse easily and steadies it after the initial shocked. Won apologizes and they continue the game.
After the score becomes 3:2 in favor of Mu's team, Yo tries for the accident the second time and also fails.
Mu asks Eun to shadow behind So's since two guards are always riding close behind So. Eun happily complies unguarded.
For the 7th round, Mu's team are on offence with So running his horse towards the goal post holding the mogu. He passes it to Mu as soon as the two of them come near Jung. Mu tries for the goal post but Jung intercepts it. He catches the mogu and readies to throw it to Won for a fast break.
Mu, So and Eun, race with the other team to position their selves on the other side. Eun follows behind So. As Jung raises his stick to throw the ball, Eun turns his head on his direction and sees the ball coming fast to unsuspecting So. Eun thought of intercepting it with his stick but with the rate the ball is flying in the air, his stick won't be able to catch it. He leads his horse closer to So's back and miscalculates, intercepting the ball squarely on his chest, knocking the air out of him and dislodging him from his horse. He falls with his back hitting the ground first and loses consciousness after.
When Eun awoke, he finds himself in one of the rooms in the Damiwon. His chest and head wrapped in a bandage, his back aching and he when he breathes, his ribcage hurts. Jung is siting beside his bed, sleeping.
"Jung-ah, Jung-ah." Eun shakes Jung weakly.
Jung lifts his head, rubbing his eyes off, "Eun wangjanim, are you alright? How do you feel? Does it hurt? Mianhaeyo, I didn't mean to cause the accident."
Eun smiles, "Can you give me some water? I'm a little thirsty."
Jung quickly fetches a glass of water from the table and gives it to Eun.
"Anything else? Jam kkan, I'll call a gungnyeo and have the royal physician informed that you're awake."
A little later, the royal physician comes in with Lady Oh's apprentices. The three were assigned to play nurse for Eun, taking turns in looking after him. The royal physician checks at Eun and explains that he had been unconscious for days but he is out of danger already. He confines him to a strict bed rest for the next 6 weeks, so his fractured ribs would heal correctly.
Soon a few visitors arrive, Yo, Wook, Won and Yeonhwa come in, finding Hae Soo and Soon Deok at middle the of arranging pillows for Eun. Jung is keeping a constant apology for Eun even though Eun had easily forgiven him already. The princes gather by the foot of his bed asking how he is doing.
"If I have known that you would all come running to me and be treated with this utmost attention, I would have injured myself sooner." With a silly smile on his face, Eun enjoys the attention being showered to him by Hae Soo and Soon Deok, "I think I could get used to this."
"How can you joke about this? Do you know how worried we are?" Yeonhwa lightly admonishes him,
Eun pretends to cough and everyone moves to ask what they can do for him, the nagging instantly forgotten. If Eun could laugh loud, he would have done so already.
"Ja! Our 10th prince is quite a hero, catching the ball for our 4th brother. Pak-su kal-che (Let's clap)" Won rides the light mood by following up with a joke.
Everyone claps and laughs while Eun nods, proud of himself. They put their gifts to his bedside, paying tribute as if he's a king.
Soon Deok and Hae Soo give way and stand by one side of the bed, "Well then, our 4th brother owes his life to our Eun here." Yo smirks, his brain quick to think of another way to humiliate their 4th brother, "Make sure you ask him a favor only he could give you."
"Favor only he could give?" Eun nonchalantly asks, "I suppose since he's the one controlling the court now, I could ask to be exempted from all the rituals, it's boring and hard work."
"Eiii, with the condition you are in right now, you wouldn't be able to participate in any rituals anyway." Yo gauds Eun into a different direction. "Ask him one you are curious about, one he can only grant. He wouldn't fret giving it, right Hae Soo Ssi?"
"Huh?" Ha Jin looks up surprised to be suddenly addressed, "Ah yie, the 4th prince is known to stand by his words once he gives it, I'm sure he wouldn't break his promise."
Jung listens by the corner, remembering that he also saved So from a poisoned arrow once, that means his 4th brother also owes him a favor, heavier than the one he owes Eun.
"One I'm curios about and that he can only grant?" Eun inclines his head thinking.
A gungnyeo announces the presence of Mu, So and Baek-Ah by the door, the three adding to the people already crowding the room. Jung gives his space and so are the two apprentices by Eun's sides. He, Hae Soo and Soon Deok stand a little closer by the door with Jung smiling at Hae Soo. They had been acting civilly towards each other since Jung came back, their last conversation hanging unsaid.
So slightly nods at Hae Soo in greeting, hiding it from everyone. If Jung weren't paying attention to Hae Soo, he too would miss it. Hae Soo lowers his gaze, holding herself from blushing, remembering their last walk in the rain.
Another round of greetings begin and Wook explains Eun's situation.
"Mianhada Eun-ah, I didn't mean to put you in danger." So apologizes and expresses his gratitude, "Komawoyo, if there is anything you want, please let me know, as long as it's under my power, I will grant it to you."
"Anything?" Eun's face lights-up, remembering his 3rd brother's advice.
So nods, trying for a smile that he doesn't usually give.
Yo makes eye contact with Eun, encouraging him.
"Kuereom, I'm really curious, since there are a lot of rumors going around the plaza, I'm sure it's not true anyway so you wouldn't mind taking off your mask for us to see?" Eun asks innocently, missing all the social cues of respect, his favor turning the atmosphere from light to a tensed one.
Everyone stills in their feet.
"The people were calling for a change of Fangxiangxi (the prince leading the ritual), saying they don't want a monster with a disfigured face to lead the ritual, wouldn't it be nice to prove them that they are all wrong by showing everyone your bare face?" Yo adds.
"Ne, hyungnim, let's prove them that you are just like us underneath your mask." Eun is not just asking for So to take off his mask for them, he's asking him to lead the ritual with a bare face. "It's just a scar, how bad can it be?"
Caught with his own favor, So wouldn't be able to answer.
"Eun wangjanim jam simanyo…"
"Ya inom!" Yo cuts Hae Soo, "Haven't you learned yet not to meddle with a royal family's discussion?"
Soon Deok pulls at Hae Soo's arm and Ha Jin is forced to step back remembering what Baek-Ah told her about lines being drawn.
"Hyungnim, just ignore Eun, he doesn't mean it." Baek-Ah whispers beside So.
"Do you really want me to perform the ritual without a mask?" So asks devoid of any reaction on his face,
"Kuereomyo. You'd be wearing the mask of Fangxiangxi all through out the ritual anyway. You only need to take it off after the performance. It would definitely silence the people's trouble after, wouldn't it?" Eun explains, finding nothing wrong with his request.
"Kueman hara Eun-ah, our 4th brother is leading the ritual to exorcise the spirits. He is not a spectacle for people to enjoy looking at. You should be ashamed of yourself for wanting such thing." Mu admonishes Eun, trying to diffuse the situation.
"But he said he'd give me anything I want for as long as it's under his power. He's just going to take off his mask, what's so hard about it?" Eun reasons out once more, "Besides even Hae Soo said a while ago that our 4th brother does not go against his word."
"Eh?" Ha Jin shuffles in her feet, she did say those words, "I… I didn't mean it… that way…"
Eun carelessly uses So's favor against him, "Are you going back in your words hyungnim?"
"Eun wangjanim," Even Yeonhwa steps up to tell off Eun.
"Dwaesso," So observes everyone's face that are either feeling sympathy for him or curiously looking at him like he's some kind of an exhibition. With his pride on the line, he slowly reaches to the back of his head, untying the thin string holding his mask in place. He puts down his mask, baring his face for everyone to see.
Bake-Ah, Mu, and Wook trains their eyes somewhere while the rest looks at So freely.
"I'll perform at the ritual with a bare face, just us how Eun requested it."
Ha Jin is at a loss on what to do, she lifts her eyes to look at So and silently apologizes but the sympathy in her eyes is more humiliating than the curious stares of his own siblings.
So walks away, disgraced and hurt.
Editor's note:
Chae Ryung T_T
Baek-Ah is now moving towards So. Yay! After 14 chapters, that outtake of drinking session finally had a use.
Preview:
We go to the festival proper, Wook asks for Hae Soo's hand officially, So gets unmasked, the two goes on a lantern festival date :) yes?!
Other things:
Hello my avid readers, regarding the comment section, as a rule I don't really moderate comments because I believe everyone is entitled to their opinions regardless of it being negative. I know my characters are frustrating most of the time so I understand :) you can swear, get angry or even curse but if you're starting to offend other readers please be more considerate. I write for fun, you guys read for fun, let's keep it that way ;)
My sched during weekends will be taken over by shoots so I won't be able to write or post during that time anymore. I'll find a different schedule for posting but its going to be trial and error for a while. I'll try to keep the sched of posting once a week. :)
Fighting!
The site formatting is driving me crazy, I'm so sorry for the wrong format a while ago.