1388, Gaegyeong

Han Hee Jae ignored the leering men – all high-ranking court officials – as she strolled past the main hall of Ihwaru, the biggest and most popular giaseng house in Gaegyeong. Hee Jae may have been born and bred in Ihwaru all her life but she was not a gisaeng; she would never be one even if her late mother had been one. Hee Jae never knew who her father was and predictably, her mother confessed she did not know either. She heard whispered rumours that her father could have been a nobleman or a travelling merchant. Hee Jae did not care nor was she interested. She would never attract a decent marriage with her background even if she was not a gisaeng. She could be at most a woeful concubine of a nobleman and if she had any offspring, they would be labelled as slaves or bastards, and scorned by society. Thus, Hee Jae had no interest in men or romance. Her only interest was surviving and finding a way out of Ihwaru. She would lead her own life one day.

Seo Hwi and Nam Seon Ho stared at the sketched portrait of a young man plastered on the wall in the main marketplace, wanted for putting up posters criticising the current king. "That looks like half the young boys wandering the street, "Hwi snorted in amusement. Seon Ho was too busy looking at the notice beside the portrait, "You'll apply for the state examination, won't you?" Hwi shrugged, "Winner gets 10 sacks of rice. That would feed me and Yeon for almost a year if we are frugal. I'll do my best. What about you?" "Nothing but coming in first would satisfy my father," Seon Ho answered dryly.

"Hmph. Such trivial reasons. This is why our country is in turmoil." Hwi and Seon Ho spun around at the caustic remark. A scrawny young boy was eyeing them derisively. Hwi looked over his shoulder at the portrait on the wall, "Now he does look a little like this fellow…" Before Seon Ho could reply, the boy suddenly dove in between them and flung his arms around them, "Well, trivial reasons are still reasons and I – "

"You! In the blue bandana!" someone shouted behind them. Hwi and Seon Ho glanced at each other in bewilderment as a group of capital guards ran towards them. Before the guards could reach them, the boy threw Hwi and Seon Ho aside and yelled genially, "I'll meet you guys there later!" He took off like a shot. The guards pointed at the two men, "They are with him! Get them!" Flustered, Hwi and Seon Ho broke into a run as the guards chased them. Hwi spied the boy in front of him and doubled his pace. That sly thing was the person in the portrait. He was going to teach him a lesson for dragging him and Seon Ho into this mess.

Hee Jae panted as she dashed down a row of shops. Darn. She could not get caught. If she was thrown into jail, Seo Seol, the mistress of Ihwaru, would skin her alive for involving the establishment in her personal anti-court campaign. She could hear the guards shouting and their pounding footfalls as they followed her. Hee Jae swore at her bad fortune. She needed a place to hide. She reached a barn and was going to squeeze behind a haystack when someone shoved her into a tiny storeroom and stumbled in after her. She whipped around with her fist raised, only to have it snagged in mid-air and held fast above her head against the wooden wall of the storeroom. She jerked her head up. It was of the young men in the marketplace. The tall one with the wild hair and worn clothes. The pretty boy in the peacock blue silk robe was nowhere to be seen. That one was obviously an aristocrat – why were they hanging out together? It was unheard of for noblemen to mingle below their own kind.

"You!" the wild one hissed, glaring down at her. Hee Jae used her free hand to slap his chest, "Get away from me!" However, they both froze when they heard the sound of guards bearing down the barn. The man pulled her tighter towards him and ducked his head closer to her in an attempt to prevent himself from seen. Hee Jae's caught in her throat as she stared right into his eyes. They were dark brown and sparkled with intelligence. Hee Jae realised he smelled… nice and clean despite his shabby attire. His fingers around her wrist and on her shoulder was strong and callused. A few strands of his hair tickled her nose and she fidgeted. "Shhhh." He warned in a hushed undertone and pushed her face into his shoulder. His shoulder felt… nice, too. Firm, muscled and warm. So warm. What was wrong with her? Why was she noticing such things of a stranger? Of a man? She had never been interested in men; growing up in a gisaeng house meant she encountered men every day of her life from birth.

As the soldiers continued to the other side of the barn, he muttered, "The posters are of no use because no one can read. Your complaints against the king fighting a losing war, are valid though." Hee Jae blinked at him in astonishment. He could read. As she carefully perused him from head to toe, she discovered the only things uncouth about him were his clothes and shoes. He was no destitute, uneducated peasant. There was an inscrutable dignity to his bearing, his speech was gentle and articulate despite his annoying habit of speaking to her informally even though they did not know each other. Granted, she groused, she had spoken to him and the pretty one informally first.

He peered at her face curiously, "You are worth quite a bit of money. If I turn you in, I'll get 100 pieces of silver." He was so close that she could see the faint stubble on his chin, the light sheen of sweat that dotted his tanned skin. Again, he could not be some aristocrat with his sun-bronzed complexion and rough hands. He obviously had experience with hard labour… yet he spoke like a well-mannered gentleman. Hee Jae was intrigued. As he held her gaze unflinchingly, his her heart skipped a beat and her hands grew clammy. This was ridiculous. She had to get away from this man. Figuring the guards had given up on them, she wriggled away from him and snapped waspishly, "I hope we'll never cross paths again!" She leapt out of the storeroom, furious at him and herself.

"Stop!" he yelled but she ignored him. Suddenly, a spear cut through one of the colourful blankets hanging in the yard, missing her nose by mere inches. The next second, an arrow whizzed past her ear and her companion growled angrily, "Get away if you don't want me to shoot through you!" Hee Jae immediately scurried to the side as he shot arrow after arrow at the few guards who had returned to the barn. She noted that his arrowheads were blunted with cloth-covered stones and would not kill. However, getting hit at vital points at such close range produced enough force and pain to temporarily knock one out. He started to fight with the guards, using his fists and kicks, all the while ensuring Hee Jae was behind him. Hee Jae stared at his broad back in confusion. Why did he bother protecting a stranger? Someone he met just minutes ago?

She was startled out of her thoughts when he grabbed her arm. She realised all the guards except one lay motionless on the ground. The one who had managed to get away was blowing his horn frantically, signalling for reinforcement. "Let's go our separate ways from here," he barked as he gathered his arrows from the ground. Hee Jae was about to agree when she saw the long slash on his arm, blood seeping through his sleeve. She quickly undid her bandana and tied it around his wound, "Follow me if you want to live." He chortled, "I thought you said you didn't want to see me again." "That was before you saved my life. Why didn't you turn me in? You need the money, don't you?" she retorted. He eyed her for a long pause before he replied evenly, "You shouldn't be arrested and tortured for just putting up posters." This wild one was silly… yet compassionate. Brash… yet honourable. Hee Jae had never come across such a confounding man like him in her whole nineteen years. "Let's go," she uttered irritably. They both knew the guards would soon catch up with them.

Hwi gaped at the sign hanging on the entrance, "Ihwaru?" The arrogant boy beside him rolled his eyes, "Is this your first time at a gisaeng house?" At Hwi's nod, the boy sighed loudly, "Welcome then. We better hurry." Hwi followed the boy through a maze of pavilions before coming to a large room, decked out in fresh flowers, expensive porcelain and silk embroidery. Hwi had visited the royal palace a few times as a child and this gisaeng room was as grandly decorated as those he had seen there. "Dress him!" the boy ordered and to Hwi's surprise, the gisaengs in the room scrambled to obey him. Who was he? Was he some son of a nobleman who sponsored the gisaeng house? Before Hwi could mull further, three gisaengs started pulling off his grimy outer clothes, giggling all the way. The boy swaggered over to the other side of the room, going behind a translucent curtain, where another group of gisaengs waited. They started undressing him, too.

Hwi fought the urge to pull away as the gisaengs threw on a beige silk outer robe over his inner clothes and pulled his hair into a top knot. He twisted his head towards the corner of the room, wondering about the strange boy. He choked when he saw the gisaeng remove the boy's outer robe to reveal a silk undershirt that only women wore. "He" was not a boy but a woman. A flesh-and-blood woman. Her hair was loosened from the top knot and long, silky waves tumbled down. A gisaeng expertly swept the sides of the woman's hair up and slid in a flower pin. The woman finally turned and snagged his astounded gaze with a proud tilt of her head, her eyes sparked with challenge. Hwi swallowed as he took in her delicate features, wide, soft mouth and glittering eyes. Her lustrous mane glided sensually over her shoulders and back. She was beautiful and not a gisaeng. Hwi had not encountered many gisaengs but at that moment, he knew the strong-willed, poised woman in front of him was not one. He had no idea how he had mistaken her for a boy earlier.

She dared him to think of her a gisaeng. Hee Jae kept her posture ramrod straight as she met his eyes across the room. It irked her that she was bothered about his opinion of her. Hee Jae admitted to herself that she wanted him to be able to tell that she was not a gisaeng though she obviously lived in a gisaeng house. She eyed him warily as he kept staring at her. He was too far away for her to detect his expression.

He cleaned up well. Very well, in fact. With his hair pulled into a top knot and his face scrubbed from dust, she could see him facial features clearly. He definitely was not a peasant… and was handsome. Extremely, ruggedly so. She approached him haughtily, though her heart was racing nervously. Did he think her pretty? Did he think she was a gisaeng? Could he tell she was not one? When she finally stood before him, he regarded her solemnly from head to toe. Hee Jae could not endure his silence any longer, "What?" His eyes held hers and he issued quietly, "I'm sorry." Hee Jae was dumbfounded. There was no censure or rebuke or disgust in those deep, probing eyes. All she saw was kindness, curiosity and traces of warmth. He was truly an oddball.

"I should not have treated you how I did at the storeroom. If I had known…" he continued in an apologetic tone. "You didn't," Hee Jae rapped out shortly, unsettled by his reaction. She had not expected him to apologise for treating her non-so-gently in the storeroom. It was not his fault since he thought her a boy then. When he did not reply, she reluctantly raised her eyes. Her breath quickened when she noticed his undisguised interest and genuine admiration as his gaze roved slowly over her face – he thought her attractive. Hee Jae was absurdly happy – a first for her when it came to attention from the opposite sex. Blushing, she gestured abruptly to the set table, "Sit down and pretend you are having a wild night out. The guards will soon be here." He obediently took his place at the spot she pointed while Hee Jae positioned herself the head of the table.

The guards did find them eventually but the pretty boy turned up in the nick of time and used his noble superiority to send them packing. The trio were out of the woods – for now. Hee Jae discovered the pretty boy was Nam Seon Ho, the only son of a court official, Nam Jeon, who was known to be close to Yi Seong Gye, the most powerful general in the nation. The wild one simply introduced himself as Seo Hwi. Hee Jae offered to host them for the night since they had saved her life. Seon Ho eagerly accepted her invitation while Hwi grudgingly agreed after some nagging from his friend. As they drank, feasted and danced, Hee Jae covertly observed Hwi. He seemed carefree and easygoing yet there was a heavy sense of weariness and responsibility behind that bright, boyish smile.

Hee Jae could feel Seon Ho's eyes on her throughout the night – she knew he desired her and purposely kept her distance. Hwi was another matter altogether. Hee Jae was unexplainably drawn to him. She wanted to find out how he ended up in poverty when he was obviously educated. She wanted to know why he was best buddies with a son of a high-ranking court official. She wanted to know why he was so bloody obsessed with taking the state examination just because of that 10 sacks of rice. Her growing interest in Hwi did not bode well since she had promised herself she would never get involved in a man until the day she left Ihwaru.

"Snap out of it, Han Hee Jae." She muttered to herself. Gathering her wits, she stood up and declared loftily, "Think I've paid my dues adequately. Let's call it a night." Seon Ho rolled to his feet and drawled, "Let's do this again soon. It will be my treat next time." Hwi flicked them a bemused grin, "I can't afford all this. Count me out of the next round, you two." Hee Jae was miffed at the casual way he dismissed a future meeting between them and bit out, "There will be no next time." Seon Ho looked disappointed while Hwi regarded her thoughtfully. Hee Jae stomped out of the room without a backward glance.

Hwi watched as Hee Jae marched out of the room, her silk skirts swirling around her. She was angry with him, he instinctively surmised, though he had no idea why. They barely knew each other yet he had managed to stir her discontent many times throughout the night. "You think she's a gisaeng? I was trying to figure that out the whole evening," Seon Ho remarked as he straightened his robe. Hwi recalled the pride and vulnerability that had flashed in her eyes when he first found out that she was a woman while they had been changing clothes earlier. "No. She isn't. She isn't a gisaeng," he stated succinctly with conviction. "There will be no next time." Her last words echoed around his mind. Hwi felt oddly bereft but figured she was right. There was no reason for them to meet again.

"No. She isn't. She isn't a gisaeng." Hee Jae had heard Seon Ho's question and wanted to hear Hwi's response. Immeasurable relief flooded her instantly. Hwi didn't think her a gisaeng. He knew she was not one. He had sounded so sure when he answered Seon Ho. Hee Jae hesitated, fighting the urge to run back to the room. She had meant it when she said she did not want to meet the two men again. Seon Ho had no official rank in court while Hwi was a commoner without connections. Hee Jae earned her keep by diligently collecting and selling intel of aristocrats and royal courtiers. She was saving for the day she could leave Ihwaru for good. The two men were of no use to her.

Hee Jae girded herself mentally and continued on her way. She had no business getting entangled with the two men. An image of Hwi's playful smile danced at the edge of her mind. She definitely had no business thinking of Hwi.

Author's Note

So… this new story obviously isn't about Alice and Uncas. The couple, Seo Hwi and Han Hee Jae, are featured in the Korean drama, My Country. Though the drama mainly focused on the tumultuous friendship between Seon Ho and Hwi, I really loved the understated, quiet romance between Hwi and Hee Jae, which spanned over ten years. They didn't have many scenes together but when they did, they were lovely and moving. However, their story had a devastatingly sad ending, which was why I decided to write this fanfiction. I also wanted to fill in the gaps with what I imagined had happened between them because many of their scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. My Country is available on Netflix if you are interested in learning more about the drama, and Hwi and Hee Jae. Or you could just take this story as it is. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it either way.

Gisaeng: courtesans who were educated and highly trained in the arts, and entertained the upper class during ancient Korean times.