It was a warm night.
The air inside the Aeryonjeong was stifling, the swarm of people walking about the dimly lit compound only added to the humidity. The discomfort caused by the rising temperature did not show on the faces of the entertainers lined up beneath the decorated arches and staircases. Their smile was bright and inviting, desperate to attract at least one well dressed patron.
Ae-Wol was no different. She was propped against the wooden rail that separated the main structure from the garden below, fanning herself lightly. She was dressed in bright colors, vibrant shades of pink and red, small, delicate flowers scattered over the fine silk.
Despite her calm demeanor, her heart was restless, eyes darting from each patron to the next, hoping to catch the familiar face she was waiting for.
He came to the Aeryonjeong on nights like this, when the weather was too humid to be comfortable or when his heart was too heavy, unable to bear the dull ache alone.
Her mood dipped a little at that thought, a shallow sigh escaping her mouth, almost unheard. In her moment of distraction, the man occupying her thoughts passed by. It took her a few seconds to register, he was already a few paces ahead by then, hands clasped behind as he walked leisurely.
Ae-Wol snapped the flower etched mirror open, checking her make up and hair for the last time. Well, it did not really matter if her make up was smudged or her hair skewed, it wasn't like he could actually see it. Despite knowing that, she carefully fixed that one unruly strand of hair, tucked the small mirror back in her sleeve and chased after him.
The mirror was a gift from him, even though it was one he used to trick her.
"You promised to go watch the flowers with me!"
"Here," he said as he handed her the small mirror, "why go anywhere far when the most beautiful flower is right here?"
As one of the most sought after gisaengs, she herself had received gifts a hundred times more expensive than this, the emotions behind them more sincere. But the mirror had become her most treasured possession.
The tea-house was a store of all things expensive, from women to silk to jewelry. There was no risk of a small, useless trinket like this to get stolen. Yet she carried it everywhere with her, afraid to leave it unattended at any time.
"Nauri!"
He paused at the voice, turning his head in her direction, scanning the sea of faces to locate the source. She saved him from the trouble, walking close to him and shamelessly grabbing onto his elbow.
"Nauri! You are late! I have been waiting for you for so long!"
Her high pitched voice wasn't entirely fake, she was genuinely happy to see him.
He grinned at the mock displeasure in her tone, prying her arms off his elbow gently. He allowed himself to be led to one of the more elegant private rooms. The room was situated at the furthest corner of the Aeryonjeong, providing a false sense of tranquility in the busy district.
Ae-Wol poured him a drink as he settled down on the cushion and a few minutes later, gisaengs in training humbly walked in to set a number of his favorite dishes on the low table.
Sometimes he thought that Ae-Wol knew him too well. Better than anyone else he knew, or anyone that knew him. The wine that he was sipping, was just the kind he liked and he never asked how she found out what would meet his taste. She had been giving him the most expensive service, even back when he was just a seventh grade official with mediocre salary.
Had she been paying out of her own pocket?
"Ae-Wol-ah?"
He called out absentmindedly.
"Yes, Nauri."
He was slightly flustered with the weight of her undivided attention. Her face was blurry, but he could feel that her entire self was focused on him. Suddenly , his throat felt dry and he gulped down his drink rather hastily.
Ae-Wol was naturally observant, that's how she came this far in a business of backstabbers and gravediggers. But when it came to Jung Jae-Yoon, she was hundred percent attentive to every detail.
She caught the sudden change in his demeanor, from relaxed to mildly uncomfortable. And as always, she slipped into the role of easing her patrons .
"Nauri," her tone was flirtatious . She reached for his cup and refilled it. "If I told you I prepared one of this dishes for you myself, could you tell me which one it is?"
Jae-Yoon's eyes roamed over the table once, a large number of snacks arranged over the well decorated table. From fruits to pickled vegetables ,rice balls and meat pancakes and beautifully shaped desserts : which one could she have made?
His confusion was evident , his brows furrowed and eyes calculating. Gisaengs were trained in the art of entertainment – singing, dancing, poetry and conversation. Were they taught cooking skills too?
The sound of her laughter broke his chain of thoughts and he looked up. He couldn't discern her facial features but he imagined her eyes were bright and mouth parted in a joyous laughter behind her palm.
"Joesonghamnida, Nauri." She apologized in between her laughter. " You don't have to dwell so seriously on such a frivolous question. I did not cook any of it."
Jae-Yoon released a breath he didn't know he was holding, albeit exaggerated.
"Yaaaa." He berated her in good will. "I was so afraid that it was going to be the most humiliating moment of my life. Jung Jae-Yoon, the King's most trusted advisor, unable to win against a gisaeng's game of wits!"
For all his smartness and quick wit, the King's most trusted advisor failed to notice the shift in his companion's mood at his silly, little quip. It was only when her voice reached his ears, solemn and low, he was aware that she was upset.
"Would you like to hear about my most humiliating story, Nauri?"
And he was afraid.
Afraid because she was a courtesan and their hearts were filled with thousands of untold stories that would make any man uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, Nauri." She assured him. "I am a gisaeng by profession, stories of man touching me without permission doesn't humiliate me anymore."
Jae-Yoon was unable to meet her eyes.
He remembered the time he included her in a scheme of fooling the Vice-premier and she complained to him about being touched inappropriately by the spy, he had brushed it off.
"Joesengeyo, Nauri," She bowed, "I have made you uncomfortable."
She reached for the cup. "Let me pour you another drink."
"Tell me." He insisted, his hand covering hers as he accepted the cup. This much, he owed to her for all the burdens he had shared with her. "I want to know."
Her eyes darted to meet his eyes, unprepared for the sincerity in his words.
"Nauri…I…"
"Please."
After a moment of consideration , she caved in.
"Remember when you were sent to Songjoo as the Magistrate and I went there to deliver a message personally?" She began , busying herself with arranging a plate for him to eat.
Her attempt to divert his attention from her did not go unnoticed.
She picked a side dish and dropped it, put another and pushed it around with the chopsticks. Her eyes darting everywhere but meeting his.
"Ae-wol-ah." Jae-Yoon pried the plate and chopsticks from her hand and placed it back on the table. "Yes, I do. Did Master Park do something to you?"
His voice had lost his warmth, his jaw tightening. How dare he insult his guest under his roof and…
"No, he didn't do anything." She quickly replied, not wanting to anger him.
"Then?"
"Your lady friend came to see you and saw you with me."
His eyes narrowed, his lady friend? Did she mean the present Queen?
And suddenly he remembered.
"It hasn't been even a day that you've been posted here and you've already called for a gisaeng?"
He was embarrassed to be caught flirting with a gisaeng in broad daylight, that too by the woman he loved . Too busy to defend himself, he did not care much for how someone he often acknowledged as his acquaintance would feel at being on the receiving end of his words.
"I did not call for her. She came on her own accord."
"Ae-Wol-ah, I…."
"I have been training to be a gisaeng from a very young age." She cut him off, no longer hesitant. " I was born into a poor family, Abeoji sold me here for 3 months worth of rice."
Her laughter was bitter. Jae-Yoon opened and closed his mouth, letting her finish what she started.
"And I've done all sorts of work and been called all sorts of names. Met men and women who despised me for just being a courtesan, but I've never felt more like a gisaeng in my entire life till you were embarrassed to be seen with me under the sun."
Her voice had lost it's pitch, he could hear the tears she had bit back for so long.
"Is it so wrong to be a gisaeng, Nauri? Was it my fault that I wasn't given a chance to live a life with dignity?"
She had turned her face away, desperate to hide her tears from him. He reached over, his hand holding hers as he apologized sincerely. Had he hurt her that badly?
"It is not your place to ask for my forgiveness, Nauri. I am of the lowest social class, you should not have to consider my feelings or feel obliged to return my emotions. I am just a giaseng, Nauri. It is my profession to serve you, it was my audacity to think that I could ever have the chance to win your heart."
"Don't say that, Please, don't say that." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "You are important to me. You are one of the very few people I trust and care for and you know, you know, that I care for you."
Ae-Wol sniffed back her tears and pulled her hand from his grasp.
"Nauri, to you, I am just a face in the crowd, if you passed me by in the street , you wouldn't be able to recognize me in broad daylight, even if I was standing right in front of you."
It hurt Jae-Yoon to hear her say that. He did not choose to not recognize her face, it was a disease he suffered from.
As if she could read his mind, she asked her next question.
"But you recognize Her Majesty's face. Do you not?"
Jae-Yoon was unable to answer that and once again, she saved his grace.
"Nauri," she stood up and walked around the table to sit next to him. She suddenly dropped into an elaborated bow, the silk of her hanbok hallowed around her.
"What are you doing?"
He grabbed her arm to pull her into a seating position on the cushion and just for a moment, he thought he saw a beautiful face with dark eyes staring back at him before it blurred into a blob of flesh.
"Joesengeyo Nauri. I did not mean to cause you any discomfort. I do not know what came over me."
He looked at her downcast face, it was hard to make out the outlines of her features, but he tried. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, had her eyes been always so hauntingly beautiful?
He sighed and picked up the cup again. Ae-Wol was someone he considered a constant in his life. Perhaps it was the reason he had overlooked her presence for so long. He tried to imagine a day when he did not have her to cheer him up after a long day, the mere thought caused his heart to ache.
"Nauri…."
He left that chain of thought for another time. For now, he needed to fix this stale environment they brought upon themselves.
"Ae-Wol-ah. You have caused me great grief tonight."
He heaved a sigh and Ae-Wol dropped into another full bow.
"Nauri, I am really, very sorry. I…."
"As your punishment, you will cook at least two of my favorite dishes when I come to visit you next time."
It took her a good while to detect the humor in his admonition and she rose from her bow, the flirtatious gisaeng taking over her.
"Will Nauri stay longer if the dishes tasted good enough?"
Jae-Yoon peeked at her face from behind his cup, trying hard to catch a glimpse of her features once more.
"May be."
Her laughter rang out the through the Aeryonjeong.