After being tended to by Eun Soo, the pain subsided and throwing up helped to reduce nausea. Although he drank for her sake, he did not intend for her to see him like this, yet there was not much he could do about it. She did not seem to mind and kissing his hair, she took care of the bucket and returned with more tea to soothe his stomach.
"Have some more, it will help. Also take another aspirin." She covered him with a blanket and laying next to him, hugged him from the back. "I appreciate what you have done today, I know it was all for me. My parents can be a handful sometimes, but they mean well and they like you. So the hardest part if over. Now get some sleep." She continued to caress and kiss his hair till his breathing indicated he was asleep. "I will hold onto you," she whispered into his ear and pulling the blanket around her, closed her eyes.
Mr. Yoo was holding his sword, aiming at his chest. Choi Young met the eyes of the scorned father, shining with murderous determination, and ugly grin of satisfaction at drawing the blood of the man, who shamelessly took advantage of his innocent daughter, was etched on his face.
Choi Young heard the final "DIEEEE," and raising his own sword for protection, he deflected the killing blow, while moving to the side.
"Aboji, please spare him", was begging Eun Soo, for some reason wearing Goryeo clothes on top of her surgical scrubs.
Choi Young woke up in a cold sweat from a horrible nightmare. Looking around him terrified, he saw Eun Soo sleeping peacefully next to him, she was smiling, probably having a nice dream.
He shook her shoulder till she opened her eyes. "What time is it? Can I sleep more?"
"No, you have to leave now!" and Choi Young attempted to lift her up on her feet.
"Hm?" Sleepy and confused, her body was too relaxed to hold her up and she drooped back on the mattress back into a snuggly position.
"You have to leave now." Choi Young panicked. "You father will kill me. I know he will. I had a premonition."
"What, you can see the future now? What am I wearing? Is it pretty?" murmured still half asleep Eun Soo, blissfully unaware of the danger waiting for her beloved.
"He can not see us sleeping in the same room, you have to leave now!"
"But why?" Eun Soo's body was lifted again and dragging her feet, she was pushed by Choi Young into the living room, the door closing behind.
"Hm? Choi Young-shi? What is going on?" her eyes found a sofa and she managed to slump onto it and putting a soft pillow underneath her head, she continued a rudely interrupted dream, whatever it was, it was nice.
Mrs. Yoo got up early and was busy in the kitchen preparing a hangover soup remedy for the victims of last night's "drinking test." When the food was ready, she knocked on the door of Eun Soo's room, "Children, time to get up."
She turned, smiling to herself, imagining all kinds of naughty things, when she heard a familiar smacking sound. She could not have mistaken it, it sounded like her daughter, ever since she was little, she made that sound waking up. She turned around and her eye caught a curled ball with a red top in the corner of the sofa.
"Eun Soo-ya?" Yes, it was indeed her daughter; her body shrunk to the smallest possible unit, she probably got cold without a blanket at night.
"Baby, what is wrong? Why are you sleeping here?"
"Oma?" a red haired ball unraveled into a woman. She did not have the time to explain as they both heard some noise, a groan and a man's body appeared in the doorway.
"Good morning, Omoni."
"Morning," she responded coldly. "Why is my daughter freezing on the couch while you are sleeping in a warm ondol room?"
"Omoni, I … am …" Choi Young hung his head, like a little kid. He deserved the most severe punishment. He was willing to stay in a half bow for a day, if it would redeem him.
"Oma," Eun Soo came to his rescue. "He was really sick and felt embarrassed, so I came to sleep here."
"Really?" she raised un untrusting brow. "Do you like him that much?"
"Yes," simply answered Eun Soo, with her mind still half asleep, she responded without thinking.
Both Choi Young and her mother smiled. "Well then, it's settled." Eun Soo did not protest; at this point it was painfully obvious to everybody, most of all to her parents. It actually felt kind of good to say it and get it off her chest.
"What about you?" Mrs. Yoo managed to stare him down, while looking up since he was a tall man.
"What about me?" Choi Young was now scared of her as well. He already had a nightmare about the father, and now this. It was unexpected. And he thought things were going so well with Eun Soo's parents!
"Do you like my daughter?"
"I do, very much so, Omoni, I swear on the honor of my name and the name of my father," proclaimed whole heartedly Woodalchi General, making the most sacred vow a Goryeo warrior can.
Two women stared at him, breathless, suddenly transported in a magical place of lost times when a man swore on his honor and would lay his life for it.
Mr. Yoo, woken by the loud conversation, sat up silently in his corner.
This man WAS really special, he was different, and his daughter was lucky.
"Breakfast?" he asked, bringing the women out of the trance.
The family gathering was interrupted by a phone call. "Sorry," and Eun Soo ran out.
"Why does she always do that, as if keeping a secret?" noticed Mr. Yoo.
"I know, always," agreed Choi Young, but his enthusiasm quickly diminished after the look from the father.
"How do you know what she does ALWAYS?"
"Well, I do not know about always, it's just a figure of speech, Abonim," he decided to keep his eyes down from now on. You never know when the tables could turn with this family – they hate you one minute, they love you another, then they hate you again. He could not drop his guard.
Eun Soo returned to the table quietly to finish the meal. She looked pale and her face bore a particularly worried expression.
"We have to return to Seoul after breakfast. Something urgent came up at the hospital, it can't wait."
"But I had plans!" screamed out disappointed mother.
"We'll come back as soon as we can, I promise."
"Choi Young-shi, can you help me gather our things?"
In a room, she rushed to him, tightly weaving her arms around his neck, and he held her, not understanding what was wrong.
"There is something very wrong, I can feel it. This phone call, it is very strange."
"Tell me, please."
"OK", she released him and they both sat on the mattress.
"The nurse just called. She said that your uncle came by the hospital this morning, asking to see you. Since I never gave them your name, they did not find you in the registry, but he showed them a picture of you. Anyway, he explained that he was your relative and that he was looking for you for week now at all area hospitals. They told him about the amnesia, and he offered to help with your recover and left his contact info. He also paid for all the bills with a personal check. He asked for my number and told the nurse that he saw me with you at the park and was hoping that I would know about your whereabouts. The nurse asked me, I, of course, denied. Choi Young – shi, how does this man know you and why would he be looking for me? If he saw us in the park, then it means that he was there when we went to the Hwata's gate… I'm scared. I think you might be in danger."
"Come here," he hugged her, putting her head on his shoulder. "There is only one person who knows who I am besides you, the assassin."
Eun Soo gasped.
"If he saw you with me, you are no longer safe. I will return to Seoul myself. You will stay with your parents while I take care of him." There was something very different in his voice, calm and cold calculation, no fear or anxiety. He was now back to a warrior, who crossed into this world by mistake. And now, he needs to rectify it and protect this woman at all costs.
"No, I won't let you go alone. You are still hurt and you don't know your way around the city, furthermore, you have no money."
"Will you provide me with money then? I will find away to pay you back later. You have the coins I gave you. They must be worth something."
"I'm not worried about money, I'm worried about you. You are not paying attention."
"No, YOU are not. You do not know the kind of man he is. I have seen his eyes, he kills for a living, Imja. This is not something you can deal with, but I can. I do it every day, I've been facing men like him for many years. And I will kill him before he touches a hair on your head."
"Kill him? You can not go around killing people in my world. It does not work that way."
"I'll find a way. I will not allow you to be in danger because of me and nothing you can say can stop me."
"Please, let me at least talk to him first. I'm in no danger if I meet with him at the hospital. It is well guarded, there will be plenty of people around, I will pretend I do not know where you are and may get information out of him."
"No. Absolutely not."
Arguing with Imja usually proved futile. Somehow, at some point, whether it was her eyes, her voice or her constant touching him when she talked, that confused him and tangled his mind; he was losing clarity and with that, the simple plan to find the assassin and kill him, changed into something completely new and Imja worked her way right into the middle of it all.
"How do you do that?"
"What?" she looked at him rather innocently.
"Change my mind."
"You are the one who does, I just show you other possibilities," and to further the impact of her mind - numbing presence on him, she reached out and kissed him.
"Imja," he touched her face, regulating his KI to share a light burst of warm energy. "You have got to stop kissing me when we talk about serious things."
"Then when can we kiss?"
This woman was incorrigible and his mind was now a complete mush.
The parents walked them out to the gate. Mrs. Yoo hugged both of the children and Choi Young allowed this affection more readily, starting to get used to her ways. Mr. Yoo kissed his daughter and firmly shook Choi Young's hand. "Take care of her for me."
"I will, sir." "Thank you for your hospitality, I have never been to such a welcoming home before," he addressed both parents and bowed. Who cares, if this was too polite, he wanted to show proper respect and that was his way of doing so.
The parents waved as the couple exited and embracing, watched their daughter walk away with a man.
"He will make a fine son-in-law."
"Yes, mother."