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

Technical Notes: Ka-hai's advice re: how to fall properly is true. At least, that's one thing I picked up during my one semester of PE 122 (Judo for Women) :-p

Chapter Seven

Idiot. Moron.

Ka-hai strode through the house, scowling. She ran a finger over the top of a folding screen and, when it came up clean, gave a quivering pair of maids a brief nod of approval. Their relief at having passed inspection was obvious, but she didn't notice because the expression on her face had little to do with housekeeping.

Fool. Half-wit.

Her mother had always said that she was too impetuous, tending to say and do whatever she wanted without giving it any thought. Well, Ka-hai had definitely spoken without thinking while quarreling with Jae-shin that night, and all but dared him to consummate their marriage.

She still wasn't completely ready for that, but since she hadn't made that clear, it was very likely that he thought otherwise. Much to her relief, he hadn't made any moves towards that end thus far, but that didn't mean he wasn't waiting for a good time to strike.

Imbecile. Ninny.

"Please, my lady, you mustn't frown so." Kwan-sook had caught up with her mistress and was now trying to smooth the little wrinkle between Ka-hai's eyebrows with a finger.

The servants who had attended the couple and their guest hadn't missed the young lord's increasingly surly demeanor during the visit, and wasted no time spreading the story among the rest of the staff. The sounds of a heated argument coming from the couple's bedroom not long afterward only served to reinforce the notion that he had erupted into a jealous rage over the visitor.

The staff had to admire their lady for not backing down, but for all her capabilities as a chatelaine, she seemed to have no idea how she was supposed to sweeten her husband's sour mood, so both of them now went around with faces like thunderclouds. Those who remembered the years when the young lord was estranged from his father trod very, very carefully; and those who didn't were similarly nervous because it turned out that his wife liked to vent her frustrations on dust, dirt and clutter.

"It was all just a misunderstanding," the maid went on as Ka-hai pushed her hand away and scowled even harder. "You have to remember, you're a married woman now. You have to be more conscious about how you deal with men. Of course the young lord would get jealous if he didn't understand what was going on!"

"He's being an idiot."

"My lady, you have to make amends with the young lord. How would it look if he thought that you were too shrewish to be his wife and decided to cast you aside?"

"Let him," she said in a coldly indifferent voice. She spied a cobweb fluttering innocently from a doorjamb. After a single look from her, the maid assigned to clean that room jumped to attend to it, cheeks red with mortification.

Just then, Sang-hun appeared. "My lady? This just came for you." He held out the bulky parcel in his arms. "The man who brought it said it was from Professor Kim Yoon-shik. Do you know that person?"

Ka-hai wanted to glare at the parcel — which probably contained the books she had asked to borrow, back when she had stupidly believed that her husband was a good man and she was starting to like him — but didn't want to frighten the boy. "Yes, I do," she replied, managing a small smile. "You did well, Sang-hun."

She would still read them, of course, because she truly did want to learn more about medicine, but she would do so later, when looking at those books didn't remind her of her silly mooning over her hateful husband.

"Please take it to my room," she instructed Sang-hun. "I'll attend to it later."

Much later.

To Jae-shin's relief, the disagreement with Ka-hai occurred just as his father became busy reviewing the draft of a new law for King Jeong-jo. Not only did the work distract Minister Moon from any domestic disturbances, it kept the servants quiet as well. They clearly knew about the argument, judging from the way that they whispered among themselves whenever either Jae-shin or his wife walked by, but they also knew better than to disturb their lord when he was attending to important matters of state.

The only danger, then, came from the other party involved in the incident. Ka-hai didn't seem the type to run crying to anyone at the first sign of conflict, but it didn't hurt to make sure that she stayed quiet as well.

"How is the review coming along, Abeoji?" Jae-shin asked casually over dinner one night. "Does everything seem in order?"

"It does so far," Minister Moon replied, nodding gravely, "but the new law will affect many areas of the government, so it's taking us a lot of time to make sure that it won't conflict with the others already in place."

"You should make sure that you get enough rest, Abeonim," Ka-hai observed, looking sympathetic. "You can't do a very good job if you're sick in bed."

He patted his daughter-in-law's arm with a smile. "I'll be all right, my dear," he assured her. "The review will be finished soon and I'll definitely take a rest afterward. In the meantime, though, I need to work hard."

Jae-shin caught his wife's eye and sent her a warning look. While she seemed to understand that Minister Moon was very busy, the point of the whole exchange was to emphasize that she shouldn't add to his cares.

Ka-hai raised a sardonic eyebrow in reply. Another of Kwan-sook's reasons for making peace with Jae-shin was in order to keep her father-in-law, who was so good to her, from worrying. The argument had failed to convince Ka-hai, but she also had no intention of tattling on her husband like a child crossed by a playmate. The issue was between herself and Jae-shin, and they would resolve it privately once he came to his senses and apologized. However, if word of the matter did reach Minister Moon's ears, then she would repeat her offer to provide proof that she was still chaste. She trusted that both he and her husband understood the importance of evidence, and in this particular case, the facts were firmly on her side.

Suddenly, her father-in-law chuckled. "Oh, you two," he said jovially. "I know that you can't wait to be alone, but this old man hasn't finished with his dinner yet."

"But Abeonim—" Blushing, Ka-hai was about to protest that she and Jae-shin weren't looking at each other in that way, but she cut herself off. She didn't want to give her father-in-law any indication that there was trouble in her marriage. "I-it's so hard to take my eyes off him even for just one moment!" she blurted out, her cheeks burning even hotter. She heard her husband choke, perhaps to stifle his laughter. "Surely you're not so old that you've forgotten what it was like when you and Omonim were newly wed."

"No, I haven't forgotten," Minister Moon replied, smiling fondly, "even though we were together for such a short time. I could tell you stories — but, on the other hand, perhaps my stories are better suited for Jae-shin's ears."

Ka-hai couldn't help smiling with cool satisfaction as said ears turned red. That should show her husband that he had nothing to worry about from her end; if her father-in-law was ever going to catch on that they were on the outs, then it would most probably be Jae-shin's fault. "Well, perhaps you can tell him some right now!" she chirped. "I'm done with my dinner, anyway, and should be preparing for bed."

She put down her chopsticks and bade Minister Moon good night. On her way out of the dining room, she paused at her husband's side. "Listen carefully to your father, my lord," she told him, bussing him noisily on the cheek, "but pray don't take too long."

Jae-shin knew that it had all been an act purely for his father's benefit, but Ka-hai's last words to him and the brush of her lips on his skin haunted him anyway.

He rubbed his cheek absently as he sat and brooded on Young-shin's rock after dinner. Yong-ha would have probably disregarded it, but that kiss had been Jae-shin's first. With the exception of his mother (who didn't really count because she was his mother, and he had been too young to remember if she had done it at all), no other woman had ever gotten close enough to kiss him before.

Had theirs been a happy marriage, like Sun-joon and Yoon-hee's, then those words would have been an invitation, the kiss a sample of things to come. He would have smiled, maybe whispered a racy reply in her ear, and made excuses to his father so that he could follow his wife to their bedroom.

However, Ka-hai had said and done those things in anger, and it left him cold. Though his marriage wasn't a love match, he still wanted it to work well enough to create a peaceful home where his father could enjoy his golden years and his children could grow up happily. That wasn't going to happen if his wife felt herself too grievously insulted to go along with the plan.

Jae-shin sighed. "I've really messed up, haven't I, hyung?"

Thanks to the entertainment provided by his son and daughter-in-law, Minister Moon was the last to finish his dinner. He shook his head as he finished one last cup of tea and had the steward summoned. "Keep an eye on those two," he instructed. "If this quarrel of theirs goes on any longer, I want them locked in their bedroom for as long as it takes for them to make up."

Unlike her husband, Ka-hai thought little of the kiss. She used to annoy her brothers by giving them loud, smacking kisses on the cheek when they were younger, so as far as she was concerned, what she had done that night didn't really count. Besides, there were more important things to think about other than the idea that she had finally given her husband a kiss, albeit a fake one — things like training Chul-moo to accept a rider.

Apart from getting Chul-moo used to the bridle, Ka-hai had spent the past week or so laying an old skirt of hers across his back to accustom him to her scent and the idea of carrying something that smelled like her. After days of leading him around the courtyard without incident, she thought it was a good time to see whether the chestnut would allow her to ride him.

She was glad when he allowed himself to be bridled and led to a mounting post with the usual skirt draped over him. Ka-hai tended to forgo saddles during first rides, because getting horses accustomed to a saddle was, well, a horse of a different color. Besides, it was easy enough to take care of herself in case she got thrown.

Chul-moo stiffened and pranced nervously when she lowered herself on his back. "It's all right, Chul-moo," she assured him in a low voice. "This won't hurt you. We're just going to take a little walk, just like always."

He calmed down somewhat at the sound of her voice, but he was more restive than most of the other horses she had worked with, so despite her best efforts, it was a rather bumpy first ride. He would take a few steps as long as she spoke to him, but would shy, buck or otherwise try to throw her off. Reminding herself that a horse followed its rider's lead, Ka-hai held on to the reins and gripped the chestnut's back firmly with her thighs, continuing to speak to him in a calm tone no matter how agitated he became.

Suddenly, an angry shout rang across the courtyard. "Hey!"

Chul-moo reared at the noise, whinnying in fright, and Ka-hai felt herself slide off his back. Instinctively, her muscles tensed, bracing themselves for the fall and preparing, once she was on the ground, to get out of the horse's way. To her surprise, something plucked her out of the air and she fell sideways, tangling up in something as she rolled.

It was always a plus to fall on something soft when a horse threw her, but this particular something wasn't very soft at all, and it was yelling at her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ka-hai blinked when she found herself looking down into her husband's angry face. "Are you crazy?" Jae-shin demanded, glaring up at her. "That horse is uncontrollable! You could have broken your neck!"

She scowled back and tried to hit him, but he was holding her too tightly and she couldn't move her arms. "I was doing just fine!"

"Falling off is 'just fine?'"

"I've been thrown before and I know how to fall without seriously hurting myself," she retorted. "This is the first time Chul-moo let me ride him and you've spoiled it! I hope you're proud of yourself!"

She wriggled in his grip, trying to get free so that she could hit him, and Jae-shin released her abruptly. Ka-hai smacked his shoulder, heedless of the strange expression that had crossed her husband's face, and scrambled to her feet, looking around for the horse.

He had galloped away after throwing her, but now he came trotting back, the abandoned reins dragging on the ground. She grabbed them with one hand and dusted herself off with the other.

Jae-shin also jumped to his feet. Unfortunately, this startled the horse, who would have bit him if he hadn't danced out of the way. He glared at it, still annoyed, and for once Ka-hai took his side, speaking sharply to the beast. "He's sorry," she explained when it hung its head.

It snorted. "He's mostly sorry," she amended, trying and failing to suppress a grin.

"I'm sure it is," he said, eyeing the pair skeptically as he bent to retrieve his hat, which had fallen off during the commotion. To his annoyance, one of the plumes had bent; he would have to trim it.

"He," Ka-hai corrected him. "Chul-moo is a colt."

"Whatever."

Presently, one of the grooms walked up and his wife handed him the reins with some brief instructions. After dispatching the horse, she turned back to Jae-shin and helped beat the dust off his uniform with, he noticed, a little more energy than was strictly necessary. "If you're going to help, could you do it a little more gently, please?" he asked.

He must have winced in pain a little more than he thought when she started on his right shoulder, because she stopped and peered closely at him. "What's wrong?"

"I just hurt my shoulder a little, that's all."

"From when we fell?" she demanded, alarmed.

"No," he replied. "It happened while we were chasing down a thief earlier today. But," he couldn't help adding, "what happened a while ago may have something to do with it, too."

"Well, you brought that down on yourself," Ka-hai told him tartly, but preoccupation with his injuries took most of the acid out of her words. "Does it hurt very badly?"

Jae-shin shook his head. This was nothing compared to the wounds he had received during his Red Messenger days. "It just aches a lot right now, that's all. I'll feel better after getting some rest."

She sighed and dusted off her hands. "Let's have a look."

"I said it'll be fine," he insisted as she hustled him into the house. "I've been hurt before."

"I once heard Ka-sar say the same thing, and it turned out he was hiding a dislocated finger." Ka-hai herded him into their bedroom and went straight to the washstand to wash her hands. "Take off that shirt," she ordered.

"I'm not taking anything off in front of you!" he exclaimed, turning red.

"Don't be such a baby," she said impatiently. "I've already seen what you have under there, remember? Of course, if you just want to forget about it, then you can go to work tomorrow feeling terrible. Maybe the damage is so bad that your arm will eventually have to come off. It's your choice."

Well, there was no arguing with that. Grumbling, Jae-shin checked to make sure she wasn't staring before unfastening his belt and the armguards securing the sleeves of his outer tunic. He had hoped to shed his clothes quickly, before his wife turned around, but the hurt shoulder hampered his movements and she had to help him remove his jeogori.

Ka-hai's cheeks grew hot as she tried not to stare at his bare back, marred here and there with small, jagged scars. Of course, she had to look and maybe touch, but purely for medicinal purposes. Stop acting so silly, she ordered herself. He needs you to help him, not ogle him! "I don't suppose you've lost feeling in your fingers?" she asked, prodding gingerly at his shoulder and fighting to keep her voice brisk and businesslike. "Can you rotate your arm?"

"I hate to disappoint you," he said dryly, "but my fingers feel fine, and I can rotate my arm, except that it really hurts when I do it."

"That's not what I meant at all," she said, stung. As much as she liked the idea of her husband miserable and in pain because he deserved it, it was better if he were whole and healthy so that she could fight with him without feeling guilty. "I was just checking to see if you've seriously injured yourself."

"I've broken bones before. It doesn't feel as bad as that."

"Then that's good. I guess you've just strained or pulled a muscle in your shoulder, that's all." She hesitated. "I suppose I could try to do something about that... if you want."

He paused as well. "I guess you might as well," he agreed finally, "since you already have me like this."

"All right." Keeping her eyes studiously averted from him, she unrolled one of the sleeping mats, laid a sheet on top of it, and turned briskly to one of the chests that held her things. "Lie down on your stomach, please."

Jae-shin hiccuped and did as he was told. He heard the clink of porcelain behind him and, moments later, she was touching him. He jumped and yelped, "Cold!"

"Sorry." Behind him, he heard her breathe hard, probably on her hands, and soon they were on him again, warmer now and working on his shoulder. They were rough for a yangban woman and there was nothing seductive about the way she was touching him — in fact, she seemed to have a knack for going after the particularly painful spots. However, perhaps the fact that she was his wife was what made this whole thing, well, disturbing.

Pretend it's Professor Jung, he told himself, squeezing his eyes shut. You're at Sungkyunkwan, you got hurt playing jangchigi and he's curing you.

He hiccuped again, then immediately launched into a coughing fit as a pungent odor assailed his nostrils. "What in the world is that smell?" he sputtered.

"Horse liniment," she told him briskly. "I make it myself."

"If it's for horses, why are you using it on me?" The smell was making his eyes water, but despite that it was a welcome distraction. He had been having a very hard time trying to think of an excuse for why the Professor Jung in his imagination sounded like a girl.

"It works on people, too. I use it all the time."

"It smells terrible."

"If a horse can withstand the smell, you can, too." Ka-hai concluded her ministrations by giving his shoulder a final pat. "All done," she announced. "You can—"

"That's not all of it," he blurted out before he could stop himself. "Part of my back hurts, too."

"Really? Where?"

Reaching behind him carefully, he indicated a spot on his lower back, on the same side as the hurt shoulder. "Here. I definitely hurt that when we fell down earlier."

She hummed disapprovingly; but before he could add that he wasn't just saying that so she would keep touching him, she began to work on the (truly, genuinely) injured area. "Next time you fall backwards, try to fall flat on your back," she lectured. "It helps to distribute the impact."

"I'll try to keep all of that in mind the next time I'm in mid-air," he replied dryly.

Jae-shin grinned even as she responded by digging a knuckle into a tender spot. It wasn't nice to annoy her after she had tended his injuries, but the situation with his wife had been spiraling out of his control long before he saw her start to slip off that horse's back. He had needed to bring things back onto familiar ground.

He was congratulating himself on succeeding when her braid fell over her shoulder and swung against his arm. It brushed gently over his skin as she worked, as if tauntingly asking him whether everything was truly safe and familiar again.

He buried his face into his pillow and groaned.

Above his head, Ka-hai sighed impatiently. "Look, I'm sure it hurts and the liniment smells terrible, but I'll be done in a while," she said. Her hair stopped brushing against him, indicating that she had flipped it back over her shoulder. "After this, you can put your shirt back on and you don't have to bathe tonight. Just keep warm and rest, and you'll feel better tomorrow, I promise."