A shaft of current with power more intense than the torrents that roared through the mountain gorges ripped through him at the contact of her warm, pliant body.

Seung inhaled her deeply. Her unique feminine scent hit him like a cloudburst, settling deep in his soul.

Seung was hallucinating.

He had to be.

The woman in his arms should have been Choi Jina. Yet all his senses could see and feel was - Kim Minjae. Her images flooded Seung's mind as the lips under him opened to his hungry invasion—her flushed cheeks, dark lashes, and the graceful curve of her throat. She tasted so saccharine and feminine, so like the woman who haunted his waking hours and tormented his dreams that his blood thrummed.

Unaware of the confusion that had taken hold of Seung's senses, Minjae sighed against him. Her frame shook with an onslaught of emotion and desire. The agonising anticipation that had smouldered within her now fanned into a flame that demanded to be quenched.

While Seung shook with the force of his craving, his heart recoiled, a pulse of shame mingling with the sharp, intoxicating thrill of longing for her.

Earlier, when Choi Jina entered the chamber, Seung had been preoccupied with the words he intended to say. His mind was so consumed that he paid little heed to anything else. It wasn't until he was near her that the faint but familiar scent of lavender and patchouli struck his senses like a lightning bolt. His pulse roared as the depth of his obsession hit him in the gut.

Is this what he had been reduced to? Fantasising about one woman while being with another?

Seung had closed his eyes, seeking control, but the erratic rhythm of her breaths had flooded his senses, the hitch in her breath amplifying the fragile spell that enveloped them, fearful of shattering it.

When she pressed herself against him, reason abandoned him, swept away by the flood of her closeness.

A small pragmatic part of him, still alive with some vestige of honour, kicked and roared at him. If his mind had to conjure up Minjae's feel and taste for his body to respond to a woman, to feel this alive and exhilarated, then he needed to stay the hell away from them!

Seung could not take Choi Jina pretending she was Kim Minjae, even though all his senses clamoured to scream Minjae’s name. He owed that much decency to his wife.

"No, Jina, we must talk..."

Minjae froze. He had called her by her name. Did he already know? Did he already solve the mystery? Or did someone tell him?

In her heightened state, with her body reacting viscerally to each touch, the train of thought in her mind became an entangled mesh of confusion.

Her heart jumped even as she felt him stiffen, her mind torn in directions of love, wonder and disbelief.

Minjae's sudden stillness hit Seung like a cold splash of water. He paused, breath catching, awareness pressing through his foggy mind. He tried to pry her fingers from his neck.

"How..."- she whispered in wonder. "Why did you call me Jina...." she asked, this time louder.

Her voice cut through the fog in Seung's mind like a blade.

Clarity struck him, sharp and undeniable, quickly followed by shock and disbelief.

Minjae.

The dam broke.

How could he have been so blind? The realisation that he had almost mistaken Minjae for Choi Jina made his stomach churn.

Seung cradled her small face, her ears soft between the web of his fingers. His eyes breathed fire in the dark as they followed the path of his thumb, tracing the edges of her cheekbones, the delicate line of her jaw, her full, succulent lips.

"Minjae!" The name slipped from his lips like a prayer.

Minjae's hopes doused. He didn't know. She must have misheard him earlier. Her anxious mind was playing tricks with her.

She pulled away, pushing at his chest with trembling hands.

"No! Don't go!" The words were torn from him, rough and ragged, as he tightened his grip on her, needing to feel her warmth, to believe this was real.

How had she come to be in his arms? Seung didn't know and no longer cared. His arm snaked her waist, pulling her closer, borne out of a desperate need to anchor himself at that moment: Minjae was here in his arms. It was the only truth he could hold onto, the only thing that mattered.

Every dark thought melted away, every worry washed away with the force of his unbridled joy.

Seung crushed her to his body, his fingers revelling in the coarse fabric of her thick woollen hanbok. But it wasn't enough. He needed to feel her. All of her. He felt her half-hearted attempt at a struggle and tightened his grip, pouring his feelings into the vapour of the night.

"I thought I had lost you forever," the ache in his heart intensified. 'I love you so much, Minjae; I have died inside a little every day that we have been apart," he softly kissed her forehead, another at the tip of her nose. "I don't care who you were and what you did. We will fight your demons together."

Songbirds larked in her heart at his words. But Minjae needed to tell him the truth.

"I have something to say to you -" she gasped as his lips suckled on her earlobe.

"Shhh! I surmise you are here to tell me about your past," he said.

Her white of her eyes widened in the dark, eliciting a chuckle from him.

Seung shook his head. "I don't want to know," he said.

"You must -"

He covered her mouth with his, the kiss a plea for love and nothing else.

She resisted for a moment, her body stiff against his, but then she surrendered. Arching into him with a soft, pained sound, her resolve crumbled under the weight of her love and desire for this man. His touch was so gentle that she disintegrated like the iridescent mist of a butterfly wing.

Placing an arm under the hollow of her knee, he swung her up. He navigated the ombre shadows of the room effortlessly.

Like a silk scarf, she slid down his body in a whisper, her feet sinking into the satiny cocoon of the mattress below.

"No, wait," she tried again, her mind whirling from the sensations her body was always too quick to generate at Seung's touch.

"Minjae," he splayed his fingers on either side of her face, "We started a game, remember? We still play it by your rules. It's on me to find out. But, tonight, I want to prove to you that your past does not matter to me. And," he paused, his voice husky, "to show you how sorry I am for taking you to that hilltop. There is not enough room in hell for me to atone for that."

She shook her head. "You were always right. I should have told you. But I am done with being afraid -"

"I know," he kept a finger on her lips. "If I can find out about your past and don't like it, it will be my weight to bear. But if I don't, I free you from all obligations to tell me."

Minjae felt the telltale pressure behind her eyes at his words. The songbirds nested in her heart with nestlings.

"Stay with me tonight," he said huskily.

She could only nod as they sank into the bed.

The darkness settled like a sensual blanket around them.

His lips imprinted her in a trail across her skin, leaving fire whorls behind. Impatient for contact, he tugged at the ties of her bodice and dragged her bindings down, freeing her glorious breasts, rolling and kneading her hardened peaks between the vee of his fingers, eliciting wild tremors from her body. She clutched at the tapes of his hanbok, tearing them open, her hands slipping beneath to caress the smooth expanse of his back, his muscles flexing in delight under her satiny fingertips.

His lips blazed down the silky column of her throat to the soft mounds as he feasted on her. She was exactly as he remembered, fitting flawlessly into his hands, just perfect. Her nails scored long bars of passion on his skin, the sensation building intolerable pressure of release at the base of his spine. He buried his fingers in her hair, the tight braids resisting his touch. Minjae winced at the sharp pull, the pain heightening her pleasure. Their awareness condensed to their lips, teeth, and tongue, warring, loving, tasting, and nipping.

He couldn't wait any longer. He lifted her chima, tearing her undergarment with an impatient tug, the fabric giving away like a dry leaf. His fingers found her core. She was so drenched for him that he shivered.

"Did you miss me?" He asked.

She moaned in answer and threw her head back, arching against him desperately, seeking the elusive high only he could give her.

Seung closed his eyes in bliss as she rode her tremors. She was close to coming apart, but he had to have her now before he burst like a green lad.

"I need you now, Minjae," Seung cried hoarsely, losing all sense of time as urgency took over. He was trembling so hard that he fumbled with the dratted loops of his ties in the dark.

But suddenly, Minjae started struggling as if pushing him away. His hands automatically went to her waist to steady her against him, but she twisted frantically, pulling away to the farther side of the mattress.

"Stop, Dari!" she cried, her voice breaking, panicked.

To his shame, he was past caring. He was so aroused his mind blanked.

Seung pulled her to him and found her lips to calm her down. Lee Seung had never made love to a resisting woman, but he had never been out of control for one. "Please, Minjae, don't deny me -" he pleaded hotly against her mouth.

"There is someone -" she warned.

It was too late.

A cold blast of air hit their entwined bodies as the door slid open, bathing them with a blade of light emitting from a lantern turned to its lowest.

Shock poured like cold water down his spine as reality hit, and he realised why Minjae had asked him to stop. Seung didn't have to look behind him to know the depth of his blunder.

But he turned his head around anyway.

Choi Jina stepped into the chamber and stood immobilised, disbelief etching her face into harsh lines as she stared at the scene before her.

He shifted his gaze from Choi Jina to the woman he still held in his arms on the satin spread, her hands trembling as she tied her bodice, each frantic movement reflecting the growing horror in his own eyes.

Instinctively, Seung moved to shield her, but Minjae pushed him away, scrambling to get up and almost losing balance as the soft surface beneath her feet resisted her pressure.

Seung's mind scrambled with need and incredulity as he tried to make sense of the scene. The exquisite face of his dreams looked back at him, filled with desire—and humiliation.

Her face flamed a deep red as she pulled down her skirt with shaking hands. She looked so heartbrokenly beautiful and shattered at that moment that his heart crumbled to dust.

Reluctantly, he stood up and stepped back.

Before he could react any further, Choi Jina moved.

"How dare you sneak into my husband's chamber, you wretched whore!"

Thwack!

The resounding sound of the slap echoed around the walls, the unexpectedness of it dousing any remnants of desire coursing through his body.

Minjae stood still, cradling her cheek, her graceful form stiffening with shock.

Choi Jina went at her again, and Minjae raised her arm and turned her face away to ward off another blow. "You shameless harlot! How dare you! I will teach you a lesson—"

Seung recovered enough of his senses. "Enough!" His voice rang out. Quiet. Deadly. His eyes burned with anger. "Lay another finger on her, and you will never have a bed to sleep in this house again."

Choi Jina paled. "but Dari, I - you -"

"I am sorry. Minjae did not sneak in. I called her," Seung lied, his voice hollow at the heartbreaking sight before him.

Choi Jina's night rail, a flimsy wisp of white silk, clung to her form, leaving little to the imagination. Yet she could have been wearing a jute sack for all he cared. His senses were completely overpowered by the fully dressed, dishevelled woman clenching and unclenching her hands around her rumpled skirts.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Minjae was staring at Choi Jina, her lustrous eyes wounded as she took in Choi Jina's embarrassingly flimsy night attire. Seung saw her arriving at the erroneous conclusion as clearly as spilt ink spreading on parchment, blotting everything in its enraged rampage.

Seung had thought his life could not get worse. At that moment, he realised how many layers of hell existed in the world, and he probably was staring at the bottom of the purgatory chasm.

"Choi Jina, can you please give us some privacy -" he began.

"No!" The cry wrenched from somewhere in Minjae's gut.

Seung started at the viciousness in Minjae's tone. Trust her to dictate him in his own chamber! The gall of the woman.

"Minjae, it's not what -"

"I came on my own," Minjae interrupted, her eyes still trained on Choi Jina. "Dari didn't call me." She licked her lips and raised a shaking hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I am sorry I came unannounced, Dari. I don't know what I was thinking. But it's not relevant any more. I was mistaken.'

"What do you mean?" Seung asked sharply.

The sting of the slap had faded quickly, but the force of jealousy it left behind stunned Minjae, followed by an ugly realisation.

She had not misheard Seung at all!

She was such a fool!

With her eyes still on Jina, Minjae ignored Seung as if he had not spoken. "Thank you for the slap, I needed it. You have every right to be angry, My Lady. I have no right to be here, in this chamber. My behaviour is unforgivable. But you do not have to worry. He didn't realise it was me. It was dark. When I came in, he thought it was you. He kissed me thinking it was you!"

No!

Seung had to be made of stone so as not to read the grief in her voice.

Ironically, she had it the other way around, but he didn't attempt to correct her. The surreality of this conversation was staggering. If someone told him he was dead and had entered another dimension, he would believe them.

Choi Jina sneered in disbelief, her narrowed eyes darting from Minjae to Seung, her chest heaving with indignation and fury.

A choking knot formed in the hollow of his chest. "Minjae, please don't," the look on Minjae's face twisting the knot further.

Minjae still had not removed her eyes from Choi Jina, but now her gaze addressed Jina's midriff. "He was expecting you and didn't realise it was me because it was dark. Dari called your name and said you were d-desirable..," Minjae lifted her chin, "and he thought it was you when..when...we embraced." Then she turned to him, "Am I correct, Dari?" Her voice cracked.

Choi Jina gasped with shock, the unmistakable glitter of epiphany flashing in her eyes.

Bile rose.

"Minjae -" Seung called, resisting the urge to wipe the cold sweat beading his forehead.

"Please forgive me; I shall never bother you again." Minjae bowed deeply, then turned and crossed to the door before he could finish drawing a tortured breath.

"I command you to stop, Kim Minjae," he ordered.

She paused at the threshold, bent to pick a cloak from the floor and looked back at him, shadows rippling across her face. "Do not worry about me, Dari. Instead, why do you not tell My Lady about the 'arrangement' you had in mind?"

Her betrayed look at the top of that blasted hill paled compared to the one swimming in her furious coal eyes. She turned and vanished down the short flight of steps leading to the dark compound.

Seung started after her before the cold blast of air on his skin made him realise he was frightfully undressed.

Cursing under his breath, he grabbed the nearest wool tunic from a chest close by, shoving his arms into the sleeves.

Choi Jina blocked his path. "Is it true, Dari? Did you think it was me?"

Seung paused. Regret coiled in his gut.

He searched for the right words. How did one explain that even in his confusion, his subconscious mind had known the woman in his arms had been Kim Minjae?

"Yes, I mistook her for you," the words felt rotten coming from his mouth. Seung expelled a shaken breath. He rubbed his fingers on his forehead. "But I knew who she was when I took her to bed."

And I forgot all about you.

Choi Jina looked like he had slapped her, but she didn't move.

"You would be disrespecting Omoni if you leave tonight. You cannot go to her," she said.

"It's too late for her to travel the roads alone. We will talk tomorrow," he said. He loathed the impatience in his voice.

Choi Jina's eyes hardened into slits. "If she can come by herself, she can get back too. I can bring you happiness and comfort. You like poetry, Dari? Dance? Playing instruments? Tell me how I can please you. Perhaps even make you forget her."

Wrong words.

Seung could see she had realised her mistake before completing the sentence.

"You are not a kisaeng. You need not please me," he said quietly. "And don't speak of Minjae in that tone. Ever."

Choi Jina lowered her head. "I apologise. A virtuous wife is expected to prioritise moral conduct over personal feelings, including jealousy," she quoted the Analects. "I overstepped my boundaries."

The light from the lantern accentuated the grey pallor of her face.

With a curt nod, Seung threw a leather cloak over the crook of his arm and strode out of the room, the floorboards groaning under his unforgiving footfalls. This time, she made no effort to stop him.

Seung ran out.

"Where did she go?" he asked the guard at the gate.

"Physician Kim?" He pointed to the woods. "Sir, she was walking very fast. I asked her why she didn't have a palanquin. It's dangerous to go into the woods without a light..."

Cursing, Seung didn't let him finish. He grabbed the lantern and rushed towards the forest.

"Commander Lee, should I send help?" The guard called after him.

"No, stay and guard the house," Seung threw back over his shoulder as he raced towards the woods.

The blasted woman would freeze before she reached home unless the overzealous Royal guards prowling for victims on the island beat her to it by seizing and throwing her in jail for violating curfew.

Thankfully, she had not gone too far. His strides were twice her size, and he fell behind her as she stubbornly navigated the narrow path in the dark. The path was well-traversed. Still, it was foolhardy to travel without a lantern, especially on a moonless night. However, as Seung neared her, he was relieved to see she wore a thick jangot that she huddled under.

The one that he had bought her in Hanyang.

She looked so angry and forlorn that his stomach hollowed with an acute pang, knocking out his breath.

She quickened her steps.

His long legs ate up the ground between them effortlessly. Grabbing her by the arm, he forced her to halt.

"I asked you to stop," he said forcefully.

She shrugged her arms violently to shake him off. "Do. Not. Touch. Me."

His arms fell to his side. "I just want to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you! I am such a fool. I can't believe I set myself up for such humiliation!" She pushed past him.

"I am sorry, darling, it was terrible on my part." He circled her and blocked her path, forcing her to face him, and said, “But it's not what you think!”

"What do I think?" Minjae's voice trembled with fury. "She was," she paused, her eyes widening wildly at the memory, "she was in your chamber, dressed in practically nothing! Where did she even get something like that! You took me into your arms thinking I was her, she came into your chamber dressed indecently in this freezing weather....you-you.." Minjae spluttered with indignation and jealousy. "....having her come to your chamber and kissing her.." she trailed off as she realised she wasn't even making sense any more.

"Aish! I wasn't kissing her!" He growled.

"You thought it was her!" She accused.

"I was confused!" He defended.

"About what?" She snapped.

"If you remember, you kissed me! I admit I was taken aback and, for a moment, lost my focus because she felt so different from last time.." Seung's voice skidded to a stop, and he felt a cold dread wash over him as he realised what he had said. He wished he could crawl into the smallest, stinkiest hole he could find.

Or better still, hang himself with the silken thread of the spider web swaying from the branch behind Minjae.

"Last time? Last time?" She was so angry at his betrayal that a crimson haze clouded her vision. "You deceive the whole world, pretending you care nothing for her while sharing her bed all this time—you are nothing but a debauchee of the worst order!"

"I have not been sleeping with her!" Seung burst out in frustration.

"Don't you dare lie!" She spit. "You said she was beautiful, that all men desire her - you- whatever happened wasn't her fault. Don't lie! No wonder she didn't knock!" For some reason, even though insignificant in the larger scheme of things, that simple lack of etiquette chaffed Minjae the most, hitting it home how she had been robbed of her rightful place.

At that moment, as Seung caught the pulsing hurt in her eyes, something struck him. His normally reticent woman was scarcely letting him get a word in. It was the first time he'd seen Minjae so unravelled, her emotions spilling out in raw, unfiltered honesty. That she could be so ferociously jealous, that she cared this much, was almost too much to take in. His chest tightened as the truth blazed in his mind - she loved him. Him. Lee Seung, and no other.

Relief gurgled in his chest, threatening to appear in the form of an ill-timed laugh, and he pulverised it down like a madman squashing ants under his boots, focusing instead on the woman he now knew loved him as fiercely as he loved her.

"Unfortunately, for no fault of mine, she is my wife," He gentled his voice so as to not rile her further. "A wife may enter without knocking, but it bears no meaning—"

"She is not your wife!" Minjae shouted, her voice cracking. "I am!"

Seung seized her shoulders, his hands sliding down her arms in a vain attempt to soothe her. "I know, my love, I know—you are my true wife in every way that matters. She means nothing to me. I will banish her from my chambers, from my household, if it pleases you. I will send her away," he promised, trying to draw her into his arms.

She looked at him, the incredulity in her eyes at his barely controlled delight burning a hole in his forehead.

"You are laughing," she said, more a statement than an observation.

"No, no, of course not," he lied, trying not to look as pleased as a thief who stumbled upon a cave of treasure.

The absurdity of the situation crashed over Minjae like a tidal wave.

She had told him the truth, and he had dismissed it as a mere outburst. And found it amusing.

Because who would ever believe her?

The rage, the despair, the countless injustices life had heaped upon her, all coalesced into a single, throbbing pain of helplessness.

"Please leave me be!" A dry sob broke as she shook his arms away.

Minjae broke free of his grasp with a sharp push, and he resisted. The lantern slipped from his fingers and crashed to the ground. It flickered and then plunged them into darkness.

They both stared at the poor instrument. For a brief moment, she hesitated, her thoughts tangled between wrath and sorrow. Then, without looking back, she slipped past his outstretched arm into the shadowed woods, her legs carrying her away with no clear destination.

Seung allowed her to take the lead, hoping the walk might alleviate some of the fury that had rendered her incoherent. The forest swallowed them both, dark as a well and cold as the grave, the chill biting deep into his bones. He ached to pull her into his arms, to share his ardour, and warm her into trusting him.

Minjae was keenly aware of Seung's presence behind her, but she stubbornly kept going. She knew these woods like the lines on her palm and feared nothing within them, yet she could not deny the comfort in knowing he had not abandoned her.

A subtle shift in the air caught her attention—a rustle, faint as a whisper, yet sharp enough to slice through the silence.

Minjae's steps faltered. The night seemed to close in; the silence was no longer a comfort.

They were not alone. The thought penetrated her mind with a start.

Before she could react, Seung's hands gripped her arms, spun her and pinned her against the rough bark of a towering tree. The gnarled knots bit into her back as his body pressed against hers, his hand clamping over her mouth.

Her eyes widened in shock, meeting his intense gaze. He shook his head ever so slightly, signalling her to stay still. Every muscle in his body was taut, ready to spring like a coiled rope.

Something cut through the darkness with a woosh, embedding itself in the tree where they had stood just moments before.

An arrow.

Another arc glinted in the faint light of a lantern before lodging itself in another tree barely a few feet away. Seung moved closer, his body a solid wall between her and the unseen threat. Minjae turned her head so her cheek was now plastered to his chest that hammered like a wild, untamed horse. But other than that, he could be a statue, his boots braced on either side of her feet, his hands tightly wrapped around her shoulders.

Voices drifted through the night, faint but unmistakable in the stillness.

"Must've been an animal," a feminine voice said.

"Leave it be," a man replied, his tone louder, with a deeper baritone, betraying a hint of irritation.

Seung stiffened, a subtle movement that did not escape Minjae's notice. What were people doing in the forest at this hour, losing arrows at creatures in the dark? Hunting was done by day, not in the dead of night.

"It was dark, but it looked like a woman," another man said, uncertainty lacing his words.

Minjae's heart pounded as Seung pressed her further against the tree, her mind reeling from the sudden shift. Fear mingled with confusion, her breath catching in her throat as the realisation of the danger set in.

"What lady would dare venture into the forest at such an hour? You've listened to too many of your grandmother's ghost tales," the woman replied with a sharp edge of sarcasm.

Minjae strained to place the voice—familiar, yet elusive.

"Let's finish what we came for. We don't need any unintended witnesses," the woman commanded, her tone brooking no argument.

"Yes, Your Highness," the first man responded promptly.

Highness?

Minjae's breath hitched as she strained to hear more. Seung tightened his grip on her shoulders, his fingers digging into her with urgency.

"These are the copies of the new plans, Your Highness," the baritone said.

A faint rustling of paper followed.

"We cannot permit the dispatch of this," the woman said, her voice regal, each syllable enunciated with refinement.

"Why so, Your Highness?" the baritone asked.

"The network has already been compromised," the woman spoke gravely. "Though I cannot say with certainty, I sense we are being observed. I place no trust in that vile spawn of evil, Bongrim."

"It is only a matter of time before his father is dethroned, Your Highness. The Barbarians abhor the king and his children," the baritone said. "It will be in their interest to restore the throne to His Majesty, King Ghwanghee."

"I shall ensure that the traitor pays dearly for his treachery against our revered King," she vowed, her voice laced with the venom of vengeance. "Leave this matter to me. However, henceforth, all communications shall be delivered by word of mouth alone."

"We might not even need it, Your Highness. The attack could be any day now. As I mentioned before, Ganghwa is no longer the fortress it used to be. Not with the New Commander of the island," the baritone said derisively.

"Nevertheless, we must not leave anything to chance. Should this plot unravel, we shall need someone to take the fall," she said, her ominous tone sending a chill through the spines of Minjae and Seung. "We cannot afford loose cannons. See that Ka is contained."

"Yes, Your Highness," the baritone replied reverently.

"He has been uncharacteristically silent, and I trust him no further than I can throw him. He must cease his pursuit of Kim Minjae. Do you comprehend?" she demanded with vehemence. "Otherwise, I shall see to it that he is made a eunuch before he has time to blink, should his avarice jeopardise our plans."

Seung's grip tightened on Minjae's shoulders painfully. Minjae clutched her skirts, trying not to inhale in response.

They held their breath as the footfalls of the conspirators faded away, the absence of golden lantern lights returning the night to its ebony drape.

Seung placed his finger on his lips and pressed his open palm towards her, motioning her to stay still. Without a sound, he slipped away and peered around the trunk.

After what seemed an eternity, he stepped away from the tree, and pulled her with him.

Her eyes fixed on the arrows stuck in the tree ahead, and a deep tremor rocked her frame, her teeth clattering against each other.

Seung drew her into the warm fold of his arms, holding her tightly as she shivered. He gently stroked her head soothingly. None of them spoke for a long time as they drew heat and comfort from each other.

“Are you all right?” He asked.

The tremors had finally subsided. She nodded.

“We must go somewhere right now. Can you trust me on this?”

There was a long pause. “Yes,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest.

"How long has that bastard Ka been troubling you?" He asked softly, his tone achingly gentle, though she had no trouble detecting the barely suppressed fury.