**** This chapter gets a bit mature! You've been warned!****
The following week was full of ups and downs. Yoon Hee did excellent on her Analects test thanks to Sun Joon's pestering, her ankle was healed enough for her to walk without the stick, and Yong Ha had given her a new set of yellow robes to replace the ones ruined by her disastrous mountain trek. She should have been on cloud nine, but Jae Shin was being distant and unusually absent.
Officials had been called in from around the country to attend the appointment ceremony of the king's newest advisor. With scores of high-powered, temperamental Norons and Sorons clogging the city, a scummy uneasiness hung over Sungkyunkwan.
News of another charged letter from the Red Messenger spread through campus like wildfire. There were rumors that the Red Messenger had killed innocent people. The students spent all of their time trying to figure out the identity of the masked man. In a fit of pique, the professors had outlawed the topic of the Red Messenger in their classes.
Yoon Hee tossed and turned on her futon. Where was he? Once again, Jae Shin slept elsewhere. True, it had been a rest day, and many of the students had gone out drinking, but he usually just passed out in their dorm room.
Her heart leapt into her throat and her stomach burned. What if he was with another woman?
Sun Joon let out a loud snore and she decided a walk might help her clear her head. She quietly pulled on her robes and crept from the room.
The moon was just a sliver against the starry sky but it was enough for her to navigate by. She paced slowly around the perimeter of the campus, wondering where Jae Shin could be, praying he wasn't ensconced in the arms of a gisaeng.
A sharp crack echoed behind her and she whirled around. In Soo, Byung Choon, and Go Bong stood behind her carrying menacing wooden bats. "What do we have here? Out hunting the Red Messenger and we find a find a scuttling rat," In Soo drawled as his goons formed a circle around Yoon Hee.
"I'm just out for a walk. Please leave me alone," Yoon Hee said as forcefully as possible. She made to walk around Go Bong but was stopped by a warning shove with his bat.
"I'm not finished with you, rat. Why are you out here this late at night? Could you possibly be…meeting the Red Messenger?" In Soo asked, his tone darkening with foreboding.
She snorted, trying to keep her voice firm. "That's ridiculous. I'm just taking a walk."
They began circling her like hawks. "Boys, the Red Messenger has quite an impressive poetic style, doesn't he?"
Byung Choon nodded quickly. "Oh yeah, he does."
"Kim Yoon Shik here is quite good with words. Took second place in the last poetry competition, didn't he?" In Soo continued.
Go Bong adopted an evil smile. "Sure did."
In Soo let out a low, evil laugh. "I think you need to come with us for questioning, Kim Yoon Shik."
He grabbed her arms and wrenched them behind her back. She cried out in pain and struggled in vain. "Let go of me!"
"He's resisting, boys," In Soo said, holding her firmly. "You know what to do."
Byung Choon raised his bat and brought it down towards her head. Yoon Hee squeezed her eyes shut.
But the bat never hit her and she cracked open a lid. A masked figure dressed in black was holding the bat inches from her face. In Soo's eyes widened and he threw her to the ground. "It's him! Get him!"
Yoon Hee watched as the Red Messenger skillfully took on all three of the students at the same time. He dodged a bat swipe from Bo Dong, kicked him hard in the knee, and stole his weapon. He then used it to counter In Soo's strike while kicking Byung Choon in the gut.
In Soo attacked with a yell and the two men used the bats like swords to parry and thrust across the grass. The Messenger got in close, locked up In Soo's arms, and head butted him. In Soo's eyes rolled back in his head and he joined his unconscious goons on the ground.
Yoon Hee still sat on the grass, transfixed. The Red Messenger sauntered up to her and held out his hand. "Come on, Daemul, before you get into more trouble."
Yoon Hee was in shock. She numbly waited on top of the campus wall while Jae Shin pulled himself up and over. He grasped her waist and set her on the ground next to him before lowering his mask. "Why are you out here alone?"
She frowned at his harsh tone. "Why are you the Red Messenger!"
He looked around uncomfortably and grabbed her hand. "We need to go somewhere private."
They made their way through the streets, avoiding pools of light and gangs of drunken men. Jae Shin stopped abruptly outside a stone wall covered in vines. His arm, then his body disappeared into the thick vegetation. Yoon Hee's eyes widened in confusion as she was pulled through a secret opening in the wall.
The other side revealed dark, well-appointed buildings and a neatly manicured garden. He led her around for a few minutes before gently easing open a trick door in the siding of one of the buildings.
"That's better," he said, removing his mask completely.
They were in a small pocket of space created by the wall of the building and floor-to-ceiling bags of rice and wheat. There was a futon, shelf, and low table in the space.
Jae Shin lit a small candle and placed in on the top shelf. He gestured for her to sit on the futon while he divested himself of his sword and various weapons.
"Where are we?" Yoon Hee asked, settling.
"My father's house. This storage building is rarely used." He looked around ruefully. "My little home sweet home."
She shook her head. "I still can't believe that you are the Red Messenger. I mean, the sword wound did make me wonder but…it's you! You're so," she searched for the word, "apathetic."
Jae Shin cocked a brow at her. "I'm not sure if I should be insulted by that."
She laughed nervously as he came to sit disturbingly close to her. "I'm quite sure you don't care."
"Coming from you, I do care," he said quietly.
Fueled by reckless adrenaline, he gently grasped her chin and pressed his lips to hers. Yoon Hee's eyes fluttered closed and she leaned into his touch, slightly opening her mouth to allow their lips to fit better together.
Jae Shin groaned and grabbed her shoulder with his other hand. This put her off balance and her upper body fell forward. He lowered himself to his back so she lay partly on his chest.
Yoon Hee broke the kiss and Jae Shin started to rise but she pushed him down. Tentatively, she trailed her hand down the side of his face, his neck, his chest. She licked her lips anxiously. "I want to see you," she whispered.
Jae Shin swallowed hard but began to untie his robes with shaking fingers. When the tie came apart, Yoon Hee took over, spreading the robes until she could see his golden torso gleaming in the candlelight. She explored hesitantly at first, smoothing her hands down his pectorals, trailing fingers down the contours of his abdominal muscles.
Jae Shin bit his lip but couldn't stifle a moan of sheer pleasure. Yoon Hee started. "Did I hurt you?"
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Definitely the opposite, Daemul."
She smiled a little, feeling emboldened, and stretched up to place a shy kiss on his mouth. He took control, deepening the kiss. His hands gripped her tiny waist, pressing her to the length of his body, relishing the feel of her curves against his bare skin.
He rolled her to her back and trapped her greedy hands above her head. His tongue met hers with hesitant flicks and she responded by arching beneath him. "I want to see you," he grated against her mouth.
She nodded and he let go of her hands long enough to fumble with her robe ties. The material parted to reveal her slender stomach and ample breasts tightly bound with cloth. He just stared at her perfection, skimming his fingertips along her creamy white shoulder. He drew in a rattling breath, hating his inexperience.
But Yoon Hee gazed at him with trust and he felt like the most powerful man in the world.
"Yoon Hee, I-"
The sound of hoof beats and men shouting came through the storage room walls. Jae Shin bounded to his feet and grabbed his sword. "Stay here."
Yoon Hee sat up and retied her robes, heart pounding with terror as the trick door clicked shut. It seemed like a lifetime before the door opened again and Jae Shin entered.
"In Soo woke up so the entire city guard is out looking for the Red Messenger and Kim Yoon Shik." He hung up his sword again and knelt before her. "You're in danger. In Soo will tell them you are working with the Red Messenger. We need a plan to discredit him."
Yoon Hee touched his cheek. "Please, stop this. It's too dangerous. Promise me you will give up the Red Messenger. Please."
Jae Shin turned away from her hand. His voice was heavy with pain. "You don't understand. I can't let them tarnish my brother's memory. It's the reason I live. People must know the truth."
She placed her hand over his. "Maybe you can find a new reason."
***
With a few carefully placed clues, Yoon Hee was found a few hours later by the city guards, tied to a tree. A note from the Red Messenger was tucked into the V of her robes.
The note was a taunt designed to prove In Soo a liar and to dispute the claims that the Red Messenger had killed.
The next day after the final class, Yoon Hee was surrounded by her fellow classmates, all excitedly asking questions about her kidnapping. "It wasn't all that scary. He fought In Soo, Byung Choon, and Bo Dong, then he tied me up and covered my head in a sack. He took me to the forest, tied me to a tree, and told me to give the note to the captain of the guard."
"Wow," breathed one scholar. "You really are Daemul to consider an abduction by the Red Messenger 'not scary'."
The questions continued until Sun Joon came striding up, scattering the gossiping students with his thunderous glare. Yong Ha came up behind him and clapped a hand on Yoon Hee's shoulder. "Daemul, you truly are magnificent. This occasion deserves some drinks!"
Jae Shin strolled up, stretching as if he'd just woken up from a nap. "I could go for some soju."
Yong Ha grinned at him. "Spoken like a true glutton! Let's go, gents!"
They ended up at Yong Ha's favorite watering hole just outside of the West gate. The night grew dark as they polished off jugs and jugs of soju. Sun Joon drank little, spending most of his time glaring at Yoon Hee and Jae Shin. Yong Ha drank enough for them all.
After Yong Ha stumbled into another patron, and spilled soju all of him, the owner asked them to leave. Sun Joon and Jae Shin dragged a chatty, bleary-eyed Yong Ha back towards Sungkyunkwan while Yoon Hee followed behind.
"Wait, wait!" Yong Ha groused. "I gotta pee!" Jae Shin quickly jumped back, leaving Sun Joon to support the drunken man and lead him to the back of a restaurant.
Sun Joon leaned Yong Ha against a wall while his friend fumbled with his robes. "Hey, Sun Joon," he slurred. "Do you think Jae Shin loves Yoon Shik?"
Sun Joon frowned and crossed his arms. "What are you talking about? That is absurd. They aren't," he struggled for the word, "gay."
Yong Ha giggled and swayed. "But it's not gay when one's a girl, my dear Sun Joon."
