3

Life is Full of Whimsical Happenings

Nokdu blinked., not sure if he heard Dongju right.

"W-what?"

"Ever since you mentioned that you thought I was born in the Year of the Snake –" She began.

"That was just a good guess…"

"- I began to think," she ignored him and continued. "I wondered when the last time was that I had spoken about my age and that's when I remembered… the man I met in town."

"You were in town?" Nokdu avoided her eyes. "What are you on about, Madam Cheon should hear about this –" Before he could go on, Dongju suddenly reached out... and swiped her finger across his chin.

His stubbled chin.

She gasped, seeming to have gotten the confirmation she needed.

"You're… you are that man!"

"I… I don't know what you're talking about!" Nokdu tried to argue, raising his voice higher than usual in an attempt to refute what she was saying when she raised the pair of scissors in her hand and pointed right at his crotch. "Wait!" Nokdu yelled on impulse and Dongju glared at him.

"Did you… follow me here?" She growled.

"No! Of course not," Nokdu sighed, there was no way he could deny it anymore, not if he needed her help right now. "It's a long story but I need you to help me hide," Nokdu spoke in his normal voice for the first time and Dongju gasped like she was now clear of any doubt that he was a man. "Please," Nokdu requested.

"And why should I do that? If you really are the pervert who broke into the village –"

"I'm not a pervert! I…" Nokdu knew he needed to come up with something if he wanted Dongju on his side, something credible and just believable enough to buy him a few days to get the information he was looking for. "I'm waiting for my mistress!" He blurted out.

Dongju narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?"

"I was supposed to meet her but we ended up going in different directions trying to escape her angry father-in-law after the death of her husband."

Wow, I can't believe I just came up with that.

"Really?" Dongju narrowed her eyes at him. "And you really needed to be dressed up like this in order to do so?" She waved the scissors at him, referring to his outfit.

"I promised her we'd meet up in four days," Nokdu continued, trying to sound convincing. "And I just needed to stay hidden till then." He gave her the most pitiful look he could and she groaned.

"Argh, fine. But you make one wrong move and –"

She snipped the scissors at him, making him jump.

"Well, if you tell everyone my secret, I'll just tell Madam Cheon you were out in town dressed as a man…" Nokdu grumbled.

"Ugh, you're so annoying!"

x-X-x

It wasn't too long ago that Premier Yoon had started having secret meetings at the abandoned temple on the outskirts of the Widow Village with a selected handful of his close colleagues. Thanks to his friendship with Madam Cheon from the Kisaeng House, he had been able to obtain the help of the Muwoldan to keep things hidden so that he and his team could safely plan for one thing: to overthrow the current King.

Despite being someone who had a close connection with the King, any feelings of betrayal he may have had were no longer there. He had lost hope for the King a long time ago… possibly since the time his Majesty had had his own child killed to keep the throne.

Or at least he had tried.

The time for him and his team to revolt was getting closer and they had urgent matters to discuss tonight; which is why when he heard a commotion outside, he had decided to go and check it out himself.

Yoon walked through the gate of the Kisaeng House wondering if his suspicions are true.

Had someone seen us?

He knew the Muwoldan were in the shadows with the place surrounded so he wasn't too worried about anyone escaping; however, he had to be prepared for the worst. His mind was in the midst of coming up with a back-up plan when he saw Madam Cheon walk up to him.

"He's here," she informed him and he nodded in understanding, following her into a hallway lined with hosting rooms. He spotted Kim Ssook of the Muwoldan, standing in front of the last room at the end of the corridor and Madam Cheon led him there.

This must be the only remaining room to check. He must be in here.

He looked at Kim Ssook and nodded towards the door, giving her the go-ahead. She acknowledged his order and pulled her dagger out while he stood back to let her do her thing. She swiftly slid the door open and that's when he saw her stern expression turn to that of surprise.

Kim Ssook glanced at Madam Cheon in confusion and the latter stepped ahead.

"Dongju? Lady Kim?" She questioned someone. Yoon leaned in slightly to get a view of the room; he could see two women sitting on the floor and one was holding a pair of scissors.

Where is the intruder?

"Dongju? What are you doing here?" Madam Cheon asked. "And you, Lady Kim?"

"Oh, I just thought it would be nice to give Dongju here a haircut," The woman with the scissors explained with a smile. "Especially after that dreadful incident, I just wanted to make sure it was even."

"… In the storage room?" Yoon saw Madam Cheon frown in confusion.

"We found scissors here so…"

"We suspect the man who broke into the village is here at the Kisaeng House," Kim Ssook now addressed them. "Did either of you hear or see anything?" Yoon saw the two women glance at each other and shake their heads. "You should go to your rooms; it could be dangerous," she advised them. They simply nodded and she slid the door shut.

Yoon stepped outside along with Madam Cheon and Kim Ssook joined them soon after. She bowed to him and he realized he needed to confirm one thing.

"Are you positive it was a man?" He asked in the hopes there was nothing he needed to worry about.

"I'm not sure," Kim Ssook's answer came instantly, even though he could sense slight doubt in her voice. "He had covered himself with a dark cloth of some kind."

"It's bad if he saw something," he reminded her.

"It's not possible for him to get into the shrine so I'm sure he saw nothing," she assured him. Yoon then turned to Madam Cheon.

"Keep your guard up. He may hide out here again." She nodded in agreement and gestured towards Kim Ssook, who lightly bowed to the two of them and marched straight to the gate. He heard her instruct the guards and could only hope that the man would be apprehended before it's too late.

With that, he headed back to the temple to continue his meeting.

"What's wrong? Is everything alright out there?" One of his colleagues asked, looking worried.

"It's fine," Yoon assured him. "But we need to act soon."

The King was getting nervous and charging everyone around the crown prince with treason and punishing them. They were running out of time.

"We need to move up the revolt," he announced to the team, who looked back at him in surprise.

Little did Yoon know how right he was to worry; in the palace not too far away, a guard was currently informing the King about having come across a Village full of Widows while in search of the man they had been ordered to look for.

And the King was very curious to know more.

x-X-x

Back at the kisaeng house, oblivious to all the chaos unraveling around him, Danho hummed to himself feeling completely relaxed. He stretched his hands behind his neck, nestling comfortably into his soft pillow.

"Had a long day, darling?"

Danho let out a short huff of amusement as Kim Yeo-wool's silky voice drifted its way into his dreamland. He opened his eyes to see the beautiful man sitting up next to him on the bed and eyeing him curiously.

"Don't worry," Yeo-wool continued. "You know no one can bother us in here." He gently waved his intricately decorated fan across his face. "Cheon Hae Soo is a kind woman."

Danho sighed; he couldn't disagree. Considering those of his… nature and his actions were considered perversions that were prone to be punishable by law, he was eternally grateful to Madam Cheon for keeping his meetings with Yeo-wool a highly safeguarded secret, even though he knew it mostly had to do with protecting Yeo-wool, not him. He was sure that she knew what the repercussions on his life would be if the truth came out but regardless, Madam Cheon didn't judge even when he began visiting often. Instead, she continued to make sure they had their privacy even without him having to say a word.

"It is fortunate she doesn't condemn people for being themselves," was all Danho could think of saying. Yeo-wool flashed him a coy smile in response and reached out, sliding his delicate fingers up along Danho's bare chest. "Hajima," Danho warned, flicking Yeo-wool's wandering hand away.

"I can't help myself when you're being so articulate with your words," he teased in his flowery tone. Danho sat up and began to put on his clothes, ignoring Yeo-wool's little squeal when his blanket fell off and exposed much more of his bare chest.

He was used to getting attention for his looks and he couldn't care less anymore.

He stood up and tied his head band, finishing setting his hair. He slid the door open slightly to make sure there was no one around when he suddenly felt Yeo-wool grab his hand. Danho's eyes snapped to him.

"Stay a little longer, darling," Yeo-wool pouted.

"What?"

x-X-x

Dongju shook her head as she cautiously watched 'Lady Kim' digging through the clothes in storage to change 'her' outfit.

"Why are you so desperate to go back out there anyway?" She asked, genuinely incredulous at the man's behavior. He groaned, not seeming to have heard her.

"Aish, I can't change into any of these," he muttered. Dongju saw him pull out a piece of fabric and use it to mask his face. "This should do for now," he said and slowly peeked outside the room so he could sneak out, to Dongju's continued puzzlement.

What exactly is this man planning to do?

x-X-x

"I'm leaving," Danho said firmly, stepping out and moving to slide the door shut behind him like he always did. Except this time Yeo-wool had his foot at the entrance and was giving him a longing look.

"Come on," he said, walking closer and to Danho's horror, wrapping him in a heartfelt hug. "It's late and everyone's probably gone home or too drunk to remember anyway."

"Yah!" Danho scolded under his breath and lightly pushed Yeo-Wool away who was determined not to let go. "What's gotten into you? Why are you so clingy today?" Danho asked incredulously when the sound of a sliding door caught his attention. He slowly turned and to his horror …

Someone was standing at the end of the corridor and staring right at him.

Someone who was now looking at him in Yeo-Wool's arms.

"Danhoya, what's –"

"You!" Danho called out to the stranger. He could see the woman was in a Widow's outfit and began to panic. "Don't move," he spoke in a softer voice, trying not to scare her away.

She was in all likelihood someone from the Widow Village and he really didn't want to have to kill her to keep his secret.

But before he could start to rationalize with the woman, she ran.

"Stop right there!" He adjusted his uniform and chased after her, leaving a love-struck Yeo-wool behind.

It was when he got to the entrance of the kisaeng house that he sensed something was off. He spotted other Muwoldan women ready with their weapons in the area.

Something was definitely going on; he would have to be careful looking for the woman who had run away.

Luckily his sharp, trained eyes caught sight of her among the bustle of people as she smoothly scurried out through the Kisaeng House's entrance gate.

Got you.

He continued to head in her direction and lucky for him, she didn't have much of a lead and he was able to spot her before she ran out of his sight. When they were beyond earshot of the Kisaeng house, he called to her again.

"Hey, wait!"

He saw her head flip back to him for a second before she continued to run. He grumbled in annoyance but had only taken a few strides before he stopped in his tracks as he saw the woman had stopped too. Slowly, faces of people began to appear from behind the trees and he could see four surly looking men now standing before them. Danho knew there were barbarians living in the forest; he had encountered them a few times before and they usually came out at night to steal from people who were alone. One of them came forward and addressed both him and the woman.

"Look at this," he drawled. "I think we are lucky today, men!"

'Just walk away," Danho warned. "You are messing with the wrong man." The thief seemed unrattled.

"Someone thinks highly of himself; sounds like he could be from the palace, which means he probably has enough money for all of us." Danho was starting to get impatient and watched as the man then turned to look at the woman. "And this one needs to remove her mask so we can… take a better look at her."

They really think he's going to let them hurt her? She was his to deal with.

She looked like a person who could fight if she wanted to, though. Come to think of it, she did have quite the solid build…

Danho shook his head, unable to believe he was ogling someone at this moment, a woman no less. That was when his gaze caught her eyes, the only part not covered by her mask, and he saw the worry reflecting back in them. An idea struck him.

I possibly can turn this around to my benefit, he realized. He turned to look at the guards.

"You're not getting anything from us so stop wasting our time," he stated firmly, with a light nod towards the woman who responded with one too. Danho figured that if he helped her out, she would possibly be more considerate in keeping his secret.

Maybe then he wouldn't have to kill her.

His attention was snapped back when the thief waved his axe at him.

"I'm warning you," the man growled. "Don't make us have to force you." Danho scoffed, slowly pulling out his sword.

"Is that how it's going to be?" He narrowed his eyes at them for a second before both of them had their weapons clashing.

"Run!" Danho yelled at the woman. He was willing to bet she wouldn't get that far before he could finish the men here and catch her again. In the meantime, if she got the impression that he was trying to help her then maybe…

CLANG! Danho heard the sound of another pair of swords in combat which he was strange because he was already taking on two of them.

Wait, who's fighting the other two?

With one quick swipe he overpowered one of the men and threw a quick glance to check on the woman and see if she was alright.

Huh?

Unless his eyes were deceiving him, the woman was now using the knife of the man she had kicked down and was in a fight with another guard, blocking his moves as she easily weaved around him.

She fights?

WHISH! Another blade swept past his face, barely missing his shoulder as he returned to face his attacker. He swung out of the way and the woman was now behind him back to back as they fought off the group like a perfectly coordinated team. Before he knew it, Danho and the woman were standing over the defeated enemies writhing from injuries on the floor, with their heavy breathing the only sounds floating in the air.

"Miss…" Danho started, hoping to finally talk to the woman as they caught their breath but as soon as he began, she dropped the weapon in her hand and began to run. "Seriously?" he groaned and followed her.

I just want to talk!

This time he easily caught up and grabbed her by the arm but she pulled away hard, dragging them both down to the ground. Danho's face was now looming over hers and without a second thought, he promptly pulled away the mask covering her face.

What's this…

He was instantly struck by how her skin seemed to glow. A pair of bright eyes looked up at him even as she batted her thick black eyelashes in surprise. Her face was flushed from all the running and fighting but her pink, supple lips looked so soft he was tempted to reach out and…

"Areumdaum…" Danho breathed out and all of a sudden, the woman sat up pushing him.

"Ah!" She gasped, with a hand on her chest. "How dare you touch a woman like that!"

"W-what? I didn't –"

Danho didn't get time to respond before the woman suddenly grabbed his shoulders – with an oddly strong grip for a woman her size – and rolled him over to the side till she was now on top of him.

Ba-dum ba-dum. Ba-dum ba-dum.

Danho swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable with their close proximity and wondered if she could hear his inexplicable racing heart through her hands that were pressing against his shoulders. Before he could question her actions, he heard the fwick of an arrow… and the two of their heads turned to see it landing exactly where he had been a few seconds ago.

She was simply moving him out of danger's way, he realized.

Wait, what did I expect? And why am I feeling… disappointed?

"Who's there?" A voice rang through the darkness of the woods and Danho turned back to the woman looking down at him. She immediately let go and ran away, disappearing into the woods.

This time, Danho didn't bother to follow her.

He dusted himself off and was just getting to his feet when he saw Kim Ssook from the Widow Village come into view.

"Park Danho?" She asked, frowning. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't you see?" Danho muttered, pointing at the arrow next to him. "I'm trying not to get killed by your team."

He wasn't sure why he was covering for the mystery woman but he wasn't really in the mood to share.

"We heard noises from over here," Kim Ssook stated. "It can't be helped if you looked suspicious to us." Danho let out a short laugh and took a step closer to her.

"I'm going to pretend this didn't happen and just leave," he growled and began to walk away. "Try not to murder any innocent people."

"Funny thing for someone like you to say," he heard her yell at him but he chose to ignore her. He was conditioned to those kinds of accusations; it was part of what made him good at his job and not liable to exposure. He walked home, thinking of what he was going to do about the woman who knew his secret. He wondered if he could trust her not to tell anyone.

He couldn't forget that face.

He had to find her.

x-X-x

Nokdu was exhausted by the time he took a roundabout in the woods to throw Danho off. By then he realized it was pointless to follow the Muwoldan anymore that night, especially since had a new set of questions on his mind.

Why was that Park Danho following me? Was he also an unofficial member of the Muwoldan?

He returned to the quarters at the Kisaeng House and slid the door to his room open, nearly jumping when he saw Dongju sitting there awake and waiting for him.

"You…" she started, wagging her finger towards her. "Come here."

"Miss… I told you..."

"You really think that after finding out you're a man, I'm going to let you just roam around free in the kisaeng house?"

"It's just for a few days…" Nokdu urged, hoping his fake mistress story would soften her scrutiny of him. "Please? After that, we will never have to even see each other again."

Dongju stared at him and Nokdu noticed she was still holding the sewing scissors in her other hand. "Okay but I'm locking you in here while you sleep and I will be right outside the door making sure you don't do anything stupid."

"Sure, if you say so," Nokdu agreed, too tired to argue.

The next morning, Nokdu rose early to go back and explore the hidden temple he had seen last night, thanking the stars that Dongju was a deep sleeper. To his disappointment, there were no signs of anyone having been there or what had been discussed.

Why were those men here? Are they planning a revolt? And what did all this have to do with my family?

He thought back on the conversation he had first seen the Muwoldan exchange; Kim Ssook had mentioned a 'Sponsor' who had given them orders.

Nokdu sighed. He knew what he had to do next.

He had to join the Muwoldan.

x-X-x

Danho casually paced near the entrance to the kisaeng house. Fortunately, there was no reason for anyone to find his loitering suspicious; Lord Yulmu spent so much of his time there and he was expected to be wherever his friend was.

He had to find the woman from last night. He was nervous, his life was on the line. He had no idea who she was and if she let his secret out… he didn't want to imagine what the consequences would be.

Based on the woman's outfit, she had to be from the village or at the very least working there or at the kisaeng house. And to access either she had to come through the Kisaeng House's gate, exactly where he was waiting right now.

Many faces had passed by since he had gotten there and he began to regret not arriving earlier.

What if I missed her?

There was no way he was going to forget that face. And the more he thought about it, the more he felt like he had seen it somewhere before, at least once.

As if on cue, he spotted the woman walking his way towards the gate. He was confident about how he planned to confront her – firm but just friendly enough to not scare her away, which was probably being optimistic considering he was known for having a very intense look.

She approached the gate, seeming to be lost in her own thoughts. Danho took a step towards her and cleared his throat.

"Err… You?" The words just tumbled out on seeing her.

Maybe I'm not as confident as I thought.

She stopped in her tracks as if she had only then noticed he was there. She threw him a quick glance and continued to walk as if she didn't know him but Danho could have sworn he caught of flicker of recognition in her eyes. He rushed in front of her and she frowned.

"What? Do I know you?" She spoke awkwardly, attempting to continue walking past him while Danho kept blocking her path and tried to get her to at least look at him.

"You're the woman from last night," he said simply and she let out a short, dry laugh.

"W–What? You must be mistaken," she started to explain. "I'm not that kind of woman…" This time, she tried to move around him but he was too fast for her.

"What? No, you're the one who –" For a brief moment, her words made him question his judgement and he paused. If by some chance, this was not the same woman, he didn't want to end up mentioning his meeting with Yeo-Wool to yet another stranger. He needed to be smart about this.

"You're the one who I saved from those goons yesterday," he said, watching the woman carefully. She scoffed at him.

"Saved? If anything, I was the one who –" She groaned in annoyance and Danho smirked knowing the woman had just admitted who she was. "Alright, that was me. What? Are you going to kill me?"

That accusation took Danho by surprise.

"What?"

It was true that the village people knew he was not just Yulmu's bodyguard; the rumors were rampant about him being a hitman on hire.

Sure, as a skilled assassin he couldn't deny his first instinct was to kill her and be done with all problems. His secret would be safe.

However, he was trying not to be that person anymore; someone who thought murder was the instant solution to solving problems, as dire as the situation was.

He supposed he couldn't blame her for coming to that conclusion.

"More importantly, why are you trying to kill me?" She continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Is Yulmu your boss? Did he give you orders?"

"What does Lord Yulmu have to do with –" Danho scowled and shook his head in disbelief. "What do you mean why, you saw me with –"

Danho held his tongue and she hissed at him, continuing her barrage of questions.

"One minute you were with Yeo-Woolssi and the next minute you see me and start to chase me down, what was I supposed to think?"

Danho froze.

So she did see us together.