Disclaimer: The SKKS-verse belongs to the creators of Sungkyunkwan Scandal.

Author's Notes: Thank you very much to ChocolateandRoses for the review! :) I'm glad you like the story so far. I'm actually supposed to post a chapter a week, but got a little busy with my day job. I hope to make up for that and get back on track soon!

Chapter Four

Professor Jung Yak-yong had changed very little in the years since Jae-shin and In-soo had been his students. Perhaps his hair was a little grayer and his face had some new lines in it, but his eyes still twinkled with keen intelligence, and he remained one of the finest minds in Joseon.

"Well, gentlemen," he said pleasantly as the two detectives were admitted into his presence, "to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I'm afraid this isn't a social call, Professor," In-soo replied. Although he and Jae-shin were decked out in their police uniforms and clearly not students anymore, they were still ranged before his desk like scholars appealing their exam grades. "It's about the Blue Messenger case."

The older man nodded. "I figured as much. How may I help you?"

The former Sungkyunkwan student body president laid a sheaf of blue leaflets on the table. "These are samples of the Messenger's work," he began.

Professor Jung spread them out and found that most had been marked and edited in a familiar hand. "I see you've been working hard on this case," he remarked, grinning. Jae-shin couldn't understand what the older man found so amusing. Who else had taught him to have such exacting standards?

"We have a theory that the Blue Messenger is a Sungkyunkwan scholar," In-soo told him. "After all, no one else in the area would be educated enough to write such things."

Jae-shin put on his most innocent expression as his partner sent a particularly pointed look in his direction. In-soo was one of the few who knew that Jae-shin and the infamous Red Messenger were the same person, and he had never been able to prove it. Of course, the issue was now moot and academic: the Red Messenger was no longer active, and nothing that Jae-shin did put him in conflict with his position at the Ministry of War. (It was the things he didn't do — like apprehend the Blue Messenger when he had the chance — that would probably get him in trouble.)

They watched as Professor Jung inspected the messages closely. "You may be correct," he concluded. "The type of sentiments and level of writing in these messages appear characteristic of an educated person, most likely a student at this school.

"Further," he added, "I'm not entirely sure whether this handwriting is masculine. Your Blue Messenger could be a woman."

"A woman!" In-soo exclaimed in surprise, and Jae-shin was relieved that he didn't have to tell his partner something that Jae-shin wasn't supposed to know. "Then it should be easy to find her!"

"Not necessarily," Professor Jung told him. "Ever since the birth of the new Joseon, there has been a massive influx of students into Sungkyunkwan, both male and female. The student body is now four times as large as it was when you left. However, if you leave some of these samples with me, I promise you that I will compare it with the writing of all the students here. If the Blue Messenger is a Sungkyunkwan scholar, we'll find him... or her."

The detectives bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Professor."

"I'm always happy to help my former students." The older man smiled at them, and then turned to Jae-shin. "And how is married life, Officer Moon? It's been a month, hasn't it?"

Jae-shin shrugged. "It's all right, I guess."

The only thing that had changed, really, was that he was now sharing his bedroom with another person, and that was neither good nor bad. He certainly wasn't enjoying any of the benefits of the marriage bed, but then he wasn't in any hurry to get to that point, either; and while Ka-hai had moved into his quarters and was basically everywhere when he turned around at home, she was careful not to crowd him and actually didn't demand any of his attention.

(There had been one disturbance, though — recently, Ka-hai's father sent her a half-wild horse along with the last of her belongings. On Jae-shin's last day off, she seemed to have spent all her time with it and it seemed a little irresponsible to him, but since meals were still served regularly, he hadn't run out of clean clothes and he didn't have to share his room with the animal as well as his wife, he supposed that he didn't really have grounds for complaint.)

"She's cluttered my room with all her things," he added with a small chuckle, "but at least she bathes regularly."

"And how about you?" In-soo snickered. "Maybe the reason why your married life is just 'all right' is because you don't clean up more often?"

"At least someone agreed to marry me," Jae-shin retorted.

Professor Jung chuckled. "Well, as your teacher and friend, I wish I could offer you some helpful advice," he said, "but I'm afraid marriage is one subject I know nothing about."

While Jae-shin and In-soo visited their old teacher at Sungkyunkwan, Ka-hai went shopping in town accompanied by her maid Kwan-sook, and Kwan-sook's son, Sang-hun, who now worked at the Moons' as a kitchen boy. The eight-year-old's eyes were wide as they walked through the bustling streets. He had spent all his life on the Cha estate out in the country, and had never seen so many kinds of people and things all together at the same time.

"Do you see anything you like yet, my lady?" Kwan-sook asked.

"No," Ka-hai replied irritably. She could understand why Sang-hun was so fascinated by the city, but all she could think about were the crowds, everything she needed to do at home and all those annoying blue papers that persisted in sticking to her shoes. "Why don't we just go home?"

"We're not going home until you've bought something nice—for yourself," the maid told her, tacking on the last bit before her mistress could offer to buy the sweets that Sang-hun had been eyeing. "You've been shut up in the house ever since you got married."

"I've been busy observing how things are done there," she explained. "If I don't know what's being done wrong or right, how will I know what improvements I need to make in the running of the household? Besides, I need to exercise Chul-moo today." Chul-moo was the name of the colt her father had sent her.

"All of that can wait," Kwan-sook said impatiently. "It's about time you enjoyed some of your money and the town is practically at your doorstep! You should take advantage of it, my lady!"

Sighing, Ka-hai stopped at a shop selling ladies' accessories and obligingly inspected the wares. A fan stayed her hand just as she was reaching for a bright yellow hair ribbon. "I wouldn't recommend that one with your coloring, my lady," a voice said.

Both fan and voice belonged to a handsome, flamboyantly dressed young man standing at her side. "Hello," he greeted her with a charming smile. "Do you remember me?"

Ka-hai nodded and smiled back politely. "You're one of my husband's friends. I remember meeting you at the wedding," she admitted, "but I'm sorry, I can't remember your name right now."

"I'm Gu Yong-ha," he supplied. "I went to school with Geol—I mean, Jae-shin."

"Right. I beg your pardon for not remembering. I was... very preoccupied that day."

He laughed. "I'm sure you were," he said easily. "It was a very big day for the both of you. Congratulations again, by the way. How long has it been now... a month, right? So, do you already know whether I am going to have a nephew anytime soon?"

She stiffened even as she blushed to the roots of her hair. Not only it hardly appropriate to discuss the intimate details of her marriage (however little there were) with a virtual stranger, but she was sick and tired of being asked whether she was breeding already, especially after being married for such a short time. All her mother could talk about during her first visit home as a married woman were grandchildren that didn't exist yet, and Kwan-sook had been going around looking worried ever since the onset of Ka-hai's menstrual period last week.

"I'm afraid we're all going to have to wait a little while longer to find out," she answered frostily. "If there is nothing else, then please excuse me. I would like to continue with my shopping."

"No! Wait! Please!" Yong-ha darted after her, pleading earnestly. "Please forgive me, my lady, for speaking so directly. I do that with all my friends, and since you're married to one of them, that makes you my friend, too, right? You must take some tea with me and allow me to beg your forgiveness. I won't be able to live with myself if we parted like this."

At this point, Ka-hai wanted nothing more than to be done with this pointless shopping trip, but he sounded so contrite and, from what she had observed at the wedding, he was one of Jae-shin's best friends, so she reluctantly agreed.

They took tea in the back room of a women's clothing shop next door, sitting surrounded by bolts of sumptuous fabrics while a servant brought tea and snacks. After making sure that Kwan-sook and Sang-hun were provided for, Ka-hai turned back to the young man sitting across the low table from her. "You own this shop?" she asked.

"Every blessed inch," Yong-ha replied, surveying his domain proudly.

"But I thought you were a yangban." His clothes were certainly rich enough.

"Don't we all wish we were," he said, toying with his fan. "Sadly, I'm not. I'm just a humble shopkeeper who can afford to dress the part. And I truly am sorry about my crude remark earlier," he added earnestly. "It wasn't my intention to offend you."

"I know that it wasn't," she said. "I reacted badly. I'm sorry, too."

"Well, I shouldn't have asked you about that." Yong-ha sighed in despair. "I forgot that Moon Jae-shin wouldn't know what to do with a wife when he got one."

"It's nice to know that there's at least one person out there who doesn't think that this is all my fault," Ka-hai said, laughing in spite of herself and shooting her maid a sidelong glance.

"My dear — I can call you that, can't I? — your husband and I have been friends for well over half our lives. I know what he's like around women."

"Has he been around many?" she couldn't help asking. She didn't want to sound like she was jealous (because she wasn't), but as his wife, she had a right to know, didn't she?

"Not that many," he assured her, smiling and patting her arm, "and not by choice. But on those rare occasions, I learned that while my friend is a brilliant man, he's the type who needs to be helped along a bit. All right, a lot," he amended. "Fortunately for you, I'm an expert on such matters."

She frowned. "What does that have to do with me?" she asked blankly.

"Are you serious?" Yong-ha exclaimed in disbelief. "I'm offering to help you help Jae-shin get over his shyness with women. As his wife, you stand to directly benefit." He gave another despairing sigh. "Don't tell me you're one of those women who doesn't know what to do with a husband!"

"If I am," Ka-hai said with a dry smile, "then I suppose that makes me well-suited to a man who doesn't know what to do with a wife."

"And a fat lot of good that does the both of you!" He took a deep breath. "Never mind that," he went on in a calmer tone of voice. "Just put yourself in my hands, and we'll have your husband at your feet in no time."

She made a face. "I don't think I need him underfoot all the time."

"You know what I mean."

The Blue Messenger's last leaflet made a reference to yangbans who didn't do enough to uphold the rights of tenant farmers. Although this was the new Joseon, there were still a number of possible targets, which meant the police force was split up to keep watch over the homes of several powerful landowners, including the Minister of Agriculture.

Jae-shin, along with In-soo and others, was assigned to patrol the Minister's house, and he was once again lounging on a rooftop when the Blue Messenger arrived one night to wreak havoc. "You still need to tone down the hysteria," he told her, holding out another marked-up leaflet. "Your subtlety is improving, though. At least, you didn't pinpoint exactly where you were going to go this time."

"Glad to know I'm getting something right," she said, coming near to take it from him.

He smirked. "We'll make you worthy of arrest yet."

"You mean you're going to let me go free again?"

"Going through all that red tape for writing like that—" he looked derisively at the paper in her hand "—isn't worth it." He waved her off. "Go scatter your messages. Hopefully they're better than this last one."

However, the Messenger didn't move. Instead, she said, "Congratulations on your marriage."

"Thank you."

"Is she pretty?"

Jae-shin shrugged. "I guess."

"Words to warm a girl's heart," she said dryly.

"I'm not saying she's ugly," he explained. "She just doesn't look like the girls that other people say are pretty. But..." His voice trailed off as he thought back to the morning after their wedding. "I suppose she's pretty in her own way."

She nodded approvingly. "That's better."

He scowled. "What are you talking about?"

"Hey, if you can criticize my writing," she told him, turning to leave, "I can criticize the way you talk about your wife. Trust me, you'll thank me for it later."

Since her husband was on duty, it was just Ka-hai and her father-in-law at dinner that night. "He's working on an important case," Minister Moon explained. "It's keeping him very busy."

"Does he work on many important cases?" she asked.

"Yes. Jae-shin is a very smart boy — I suppose he should be, after all the time he spent at school," he added dryly. "It's a shame, though, that his work is causing him to neglect his new bride."

Ka-hai smiled indulgently. Here was another person who was obsessed with whether or not she was breeding, but she reminded herself to keep her patience because not only was her father-in-law kind to her, but the man also had good reason to be interested. "Please don't fret, Abeonim," she assured him sweetly. "We must be supportive if Jae-shin is going to advance in his career.

"Besides," she added, "there's no need to worry about me being bored. I have plenty to keep me busy here at home. I'm still learning everything about how you like the house to be run and trying to figure out where I might make things better."

"Well, you're doing a marvelous job so far," her father-in-law praised her. "I'm often busy so I hardly ever notice these things anymore, but I think that tonight's dinner is the best I've had in this house in years."

She smiled. "I'm very glad you're enjoying it, but the credit should go to Master Jeung, the cook. If you don't mind, could I send for him so that he can hear it from you himself?"

Minister Moon agreed, and the cook was summoned from the kitchen. "Is anything wrong with the food, my lord?" the red-faced, sweating man asked as he stepped hesitantly into the dining room.

"Not at all," his employer assured him, smiling. "I just wanted to tell you that this was a very fine meal, possibly the best you've produced in years."

Master Jeung smiled, clearly relieved as well as pleased. "It's my honor to cook for your house, my lord," he replied, bowing so low that Ka-hai thought he was going to pitch forward into Minister Moon's lap.

"Thank you for indulging me, Abeonim," Ka-hai said when the highly gratified man had departed. "The staff in your household is very well-trained—"

"It's your household now, my dear," he corrected her gently.

Blushing, she nodded. "Our staff is very well-trained," she repeated dutifully, "but I think it's very important for them to know that we appreciate their efforts. It keeps them motivated to do their work well."

Her father-in-law nodded approvingly. "See, we definitely need someone like you around the house to point out these things," he said, and beamed. "It's so nice to have a woman's touch in the house again."

Jae-shin finally came home after Ka-hai had already retired for the night. She was sitting at a low table in their bedroom, going over the household accounts, when the door opened and he entered. "I'm home," he said quietly, to alert her to his presence.

She looked up and gave him a polite nod. "Good evening, Jae-shin. Have you eaten? I can ask someone to get you some food."

He undid his topknot, which she noticed was the first thing he always did when he got home, before answering. "Don't trouble yourself; besides, the servants might already be in bed. I'll get myself something to eat."

It turned out, though, that one servant was still awake, because Kwan-sook hurried inside after Jae-shin had gone in order to prepare her mistress for bed. "Why don't you sleep with your hair loose tonight, my lady?" the maid suggested as she ran a comb through said hair, which had just dried from Ka-hai's bath. "Who knows, it just might catch the young lord's eye...?"

Ka-hai blushed. As much as she liked having her hair loose instead of being confined in a braid all the time, she didn't want to leave it down for that reason. "If I do, then it will be all tangled in the morning and I'll never hear the end of it from you. Just braid it, please."

Grumbling, Kwan-sook did as she was bid, but got her revenge by dabbing some perfume (which hadn't been expressly forbidden) on her mistress' neck. "You're ready for bed, my lady," she chirped as Ka-hai's husband returned, and smiled sweetly at him. "Good night, my lord."

"Good night," he replied politely. Giving her mistress a warning look from behind him, the maid bowed herself out of the room.

A heavy silence fell as the door closed. "Are the numbers adding up?" Jae-shin asked conversationally. Hearing the pad of his bare feet across the floor, she glanced up to see her husband fetch a book and sit down near her so that he could read by the light of the candle she was using.

Ka-hai made an affirmative noise as she ran a finger down a row of figures. It was easy to understand where the household's funds were being spent and there didn't seem to be any pilferage, but she needed to consult with the steward and the cook about certain ideas she had to save money. She hoped she didn't forget them; sharing a bedroom with another person was proving to be quite distracting, especially if that person sometimes snored at night and otherwise just seemed to take up so much space that she couldn't help but be conscious of his presence.

"How was your day?" she asked him.

"Uneventful," he replied, which was the answer he always gave. "Yours?"

"I inspected bed linens today," she said, like a child recounting a particularly exciting lesson at school. Taking inventory was not her favorite thing to do, unless she was counting horses, so she couldn't help poking a little fun at it. She hoped she didn't sound like she was complaining, though.

Jae-shin chuckled. "Abeonim tells me you've been inspecting the house from top to bottom," he said. "Have you seen anything you want to change? Not that I'm planning to interfere, of course," he added. "I'm just curious." He was curious because frankly, he hadn't seen any changes being made at all.

"Oh, I'm still thinking about them," his wife replied. "It's not as easy as telling the servants to do this and that differently, you know."

"I see," he said, even though he didn't, not really. If there was something you wanted done differently, you just told the servants to do it that way. What in the world was she talking about?

The rest of the night passed in silence. Ka-hai finished her accounting and, apart from wishing her husband good night, wordlessly went to bed. Some time later, Jae-shin lay down as well, keeping his back to her just as she was doing to him.

As Ka-hai drifted off to sleep, she wondered just how Gu Yong-ha was going to help improve her marriage when her husband was clearly married, first and foremost, to his work.