Minjae brushed her fingers lovingly through the thick mane of the horse she was coming to care for deeply, her mind in turmoil. What did KA mean? How could that be? A month after Jo Sung Ha left Ganghwa Island, threatening to return for her, Kim Seo Jun received a divorce petition for Kim Minjae from the Governor's office.
Technically, all divorce petitions had to go through the King, but the Governor's office acted as liaison. Once the man's family initiated it, there was little the woman's family could do about it. However, mediation was often called upon, but only if the woman's family objected. Her father had been more than happy to sever ties with the abusive man and had stamped his approval on the divorce decree. They had never heard from Jo Sung Ha again.
However, if Jo Sung Ha truly had vanished, as KA claimed, the Royal Investigation Bureau would have come to investigate.
Unless they did, and her father never told her about it? She had assumed her father said she did not have to worry about Jo Sung Ha because he had ensured the divorce had come through. But what if....
Kim Minjae would not believe KA's lies. She would not think about it. She could not.
"A nyang for your thoughts?" Seung asked from the other side of the horse. He was tethering the muscled four-legged beauty to the thick trunk of a small but confident-looking tree, having chosen the smaller one just in case a lightning bolt decided to strike the ground through the crowning point of an unfortunate timber. Were that to happen, one could safely assume the bolt would unerringly choose a taller pine peak jutting into the clouds.
Minjae became aware of his scrutiny and flushed. She shook her head, admiring the silky black tresses her fingers sifted through. The black muzzle poked her palm, looking for treats.
"I don't have any! I didn't know I would meet you today," she smiled at the horse. The horse looked at her serenely, and she was almost sure she saw disappointment in its intelligent brown gaze.
"I will get some to you next time, I promise," she said, transferring her gentle caress to the ridge of his handsome snout.
Seung walked around the back of the animal and extended his hand to her. An oblong, small, juicy orange vegetable sat in his palm.
"Oh! You are carrying carrots for him?" Minjae gushed.
"I should hold on to this, so you must meet us again to keep your promise," Seung said teasingly.
Minjae made a face and reached out to grab the carrot from his palm. Her fingers closed on empty air as Seung raised his arm, holding it out of her reach.
Planting a fist on her waist, she squinted at him. "Don't you find it rather pitiful to resort to such underhanded ploys to manipulate a woman? I expected better from you, Commander Lee."
"As you know, I am a Yangban scholar, a particularly shameless breed of human specimen trained to prevail at all costs. No scheming is too dishonourable when it comes to achieving our goals," Seung said, smugly holding the carrot higher. "If meeting again does not sound appealing, you are most welcome to figure out a way to get it from me," he invited with an outrageously audacious smile. "From what I remember, when you set your mind to something, you have no dearth of tricks up your sleeves either."
She crossed her hands across her chest and looked so adorably vexed that he wanted to pull a cheek. He leaned forward and said deviously, "I promise I will not hold it against you."
Narrowing her eyes, she gave him a look that said all the words her mouth would not utter. She was too classy for that.
Abruptly, her expression changed. Her pupils gleamed. For no good reason, Seung suddenly had second thoughts about provoking her.
The corners of her mouth lifted into a slow smile that could only be defined as dangerous. She stepped closer. He looked at her warily.
Then, she kicked him in the shin.
"Ouch!" Yelping in disbelief, Seung grabbed his leg, and Minjae happily plucked the carrot out of his hand and let the horse munch it from her palm.
He made a show of hopping and soothing his shin, which was hurting a bit. "You are bloodthirsty, Physician Kim! And just hit an officer of the King!"
"You tried to cheat a horse of its treat, and as you rightly pointed out, I do not back down from employing any tricks to achieve my goals. Also, Dari, did you not say you would not hold it against me?" She retorted sweetly.
Despite her audacious act, Seung could not help but smile. A small surge of pleasure rippled through him at the sight of her delighted face, triumphantly feeding the massive animal. She was bewitchingly lovely and so innocently sweet. He curbed a sudden desire to pull her into his arms and bury her face into his chest.
He would probably get pushed off a cliff if he tried that antic.
But he could not just let this slide. Unaware he had moved closer, Minjae turned and found him beside her, his hand resting lightly on the horse's flank. A gasp whooshed in between her parted lips.
"You, too, cheated me of a forehead flick," he said mildly, an eyebrow corked sardonically. Trapped between the gigantic horse and Seung's impressively tall body, Minjae raised her incredibly luminous eyes at him.
And Seung was lost. He felt he was drowning in those magnetic sooty pools. Seung meant to intimidate her a little, but he didn't expect his heart to kick like a trussed mare fighting to break free of ropes.
She broke the contact, averting her eyes. "All right, you can do it." A pale blush stained her cheeks.
She flapped her eyelids close and turned her face up to him. Seung found himself frozen and short of breath, his gaze luxuriating on her porcelain skin and scrunched-up eyes. He felt something foreignly tender stir inside him. He didn't want to flick her. He wanted to kiss her.
Seung cleared his throat. "It's not enough. Seeing how long you have held off, I need something additional."
Her eyes flew open. "W-what do you mean?"
He wished she had kept them closed. The need to touch her was so intense that he locked his hands behind his back.
"In place of the flick, you must show me a place that is your favourite."
Surprise flickered the cinnamony depth of her eyes.
Seung turned and walked to a barely visible path leading up the hill and said brusquely, "We should hurry before the rain gets worse."
As if on cue, a roll of thunder clapped somewhere above the thicket of pine trees that sheltered them from the worst of the storm's noisy tantrums.
"Yes, of course," Minjae said, her legs feeling like they were made of soft clay about to fold over. She hoped he could not hear her heart that vied with the roaring thunders above them. She decided being polite was her best defence against her melting heart, so she added, "I apologise for hitting you. That was juvenile and won't happen again."
Seung nodded, not trusting himself to look at her. Minjae followed him. Seung held back and let her pass him, falling behind her.
"It is a bit of a climb from here. Will your ankle hold?" Seung asked with concern.
"I have walked more difficult terrain on that ankle when it was far worse than today," she replied, glancing behind her, her chin a bit too high. A half smile was the reward for her trouble and much to her dismay, it made her heart flip, and her hand itched to touch that jaw. What would it be like to feel those lips on her?
Where did that come from?
It was all Han So-Ye's fault for planting un-lady-like thoughts in her mind. Embarrassed at her lewd thoughts, Minjae increased her pace to distance herself as much from Seung as her sudden unchaste thoughts, only to whimper when her injured foot landed on an uneven patch of the unbeaten path that divided swaths of green shrubbery.
And, of course, she had to lose her balance and wallow in the indignity of her derrière pointing up to the sky as she grappled for purchase on all fours on the upward slope.
She craned her neck around to see how far Seung was and found he had moved right behind her. Scandalised, she scrambled to straighten, and her hands failed to grasp anything substantial on the grassy floor and slipped. Seung's hands reached out to her hips to stop her from sliding down, holding her against his thighs.
"Watch your step," Seung exclaimed.
Her head swivelled backwards on its own accord. For a moment, they stared at each other; she bent on all fours while he was positioned where the cheeks of her tush ended, their body oddly joined, almost fitting like an erotic puzzle. Every drop of blood in her body pooled in her cheeks. The warmth of his fingers burned holes in her hips. Her lungs constricted and jammed against her spine. She dropped her eyes, uncomfortably aware of her flaming cheeks.
Seung sprang back as if burned, took a wide step, grasped an arm and a shoulder, and pulled her up. "Are you all right?" His voice sounded strangely hollow.
Flustered, she nodded and stole a look at him. A red stain ran up his throat onto the strong bones of his cheeks. He turned his head away, and his ears grew redder by the minute. Seung cleared his throat and stepped away but did not release her arm. Instead, he transferred his grip to her wrist.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"Allow me," he said gruffly, guiding her up the hill with the slightest pressure around her wrist that she found oddly reassuring.
Droplets of rain had started penetrating the thicket around them. The barely noticeable path, dressed with lush undergrowth of ferns, wood anemones, and white trilliums, soon meandered to flat pieces of rocks fashioned into steps leading up to the top of the hill that was now visible from their vantage point. Uncomfortably aware of the man beside her and the warmth of his fingers seeping through her skin, Minjae kept her focus on climbing the ancient steps scarcely visible under centuries of dirt, so when they came upon a clearing, she was unprepared for the view that greeted her.
They stood atop the flattened surface of a hill that rose from an elevated plane. A stone embankment lined the outer rim of the mountain, its flat, jagged stones layered in descending order down the slope, disappearing into the forest of a neighbouring mountain. Although the hill was not large, its elevation from the ground gave it a clear scape to the sights below.
So awed was she that Minjae almost dragged Seung to the edge for a better view.
A crescent had cut inward from the sea into an inlet that shimmered and rolled in the blustery wind that lapped its water. The escarpment fell into a sharp ridge, merging into the inlet, and opened to a panoramic view of the ocean further away.
Minjae breathed in the stunning sight in front of her. The wind gusted, and the jangot she held on to by her other hand threatened to fly off. The rain droplets were growing thicker, and she could feel them slap against her face.
"Come," Seung motioned her, still holding her by the wrist.
"Is that a shrine?" Minjae asked, almost yelling to be heard above the howling wind. They were walking towards a small hut-like structure, dilapidated and old but still standing strong against the elements, sitting at the far end of the hill.
"It is a guardhouse."
Beyond it, an opening yawned into what looked like a cave. A curtain of lush emerald moss draped the outer walls while wild tendrils of vine and fern played hide and seek at the entrance.
Seung led her into the shelter of the cavern. The inside of the cave was smooth like clay. It was not strictly a cave. It was a large chamber formed by a massive slab of rock delicately balanced upon two gigantic but irregularly shaped rectangular pillars that looked more like walls, holding the weight of the overhead rocky capstone effortlessly even though they stood curiously out of symmetry in both thickness and height, giving the space a sloped ceiling. An unshaved part of the imposing hill shielded one side of this formation while the other opened up to a spectacular panorama. Three rectangular, smooth wood stumps were placed strategically, obviously designed as a seating arrangement.
Seung finally released her hand and drew her attention to their right. "A mountain God is supposed to have erected the chamber to appease the sea God during a particularly tough period of famine. The mountain Goddess blessed the island with rain and created this waterfall."
A wall of rocky outcrops rose into a steep cliff several feet behind on the side of the sheltered space to its right. Water gushed over the jagged boulders of the ridge in a cascading waterfall that danced into the inlet. She could smell the damp earth as the rain intensified while the wind settled down.
A mist rose far away into the sea, and the rain made a sparkling torrent that gurgled into the undulating water of the bay.
It was magical.
"How did you find this place, Dari?"
"This is a fortress island, and a part of my job is to know every inch of the terrain."
"You can see far into the sea as well," Minjae noted.
"Yes. Especially in ancient days. Now we have better ways to keep watch, so no one has used this for a while," Seung said.
"I have never heard of the villagers coming here," Minjae reflected.
"Villagers are creatures of habit, and unless a climb like this produces something to enrich their livelihood, I do not think it's worth their effort," Seung said perceptively.
"But it's the perfect place for someone who does not have to worry about productivity and wants to spend some time in solitude without disturbance," Minjae quipped.
Seung threw back his head and laughed at the barb. A soft smile captured the corners of Minjae's mouth at his lack of conceit.
Seung nodded, a reminiscence of the laugh still tilting his mouth upwards. "It's also a good place to practice lunging into water without the fear of being sucked in by ocean currents."
Minjae whirled to face him, her eyes bulging in shock. "You jump off these cliffs to the water below?"
Seung pressed a lazy shoulder against one of the strangely shaped rocky walls, crossed his hands across his chest and gave her a blazing smile. "Do I detect worry there, Physician Kim?"
Minjae bit her lip. "I would be concerned for anyone considering jumping from this height. It's madness!"
"Not if this is the only way to escape from men chasing to erase you from this earth," Seung said dryly.
She paled. Her heart squeezed as a sudden image of a bloodied Seung running from men and jumping off a ledge, then going down under the water and not surfacing, flashed in her mind.
"Do all soldiers have to do it?" She asked haltingly. The grip on her jangot was so tight that her knuckles had turned white.
A frown crossed his forehead as Seung looked at her intently.
"No. Keeping the head immersed underwater for a long time does constitute part of such training, but I do this for myself, and so do my men. It can save lives, and not just ours."
Naked fear laced her eyes, and Minjae quickly tried to veil it by lowering her face and, turning away from him, nodded.
But not before Seung had caught it. Taken aback by its intensity, that look tore a piece inside him, suspending it painfully. He forced his shoulder away from his lounging spot and moved closer so he was standing inches away from her. He caught her wrist, forcing her to turn back to him. "I don't jeopardise my life, Minjae," he said huskily. "My men are stationed down there, and we take turns watching out for each other."
She was still pale, anxiety etched on her face. "Can you be sure it will never be dangerous?"
"Minjae..." her name fell from his lips in a deep sonor. "I am a soldier. Anything I do will always have some level of danger involved. It's a part of who I am."
Minjae bit her lip and tugged at her hand. He let her go.
"I didn't mean to scare you. It's not as hard as it looks. I can teach you too if you want," Seung said gently.
The rich timber in his voice sent fissures of awareness shooting down her limbs. It made her want to lean into him. Instead, she turned toward the opening that faced the waterfall. The thick torrential droplets splattered and vanished into the gushing water. A heavy mist floated beyond it, enveloping the edgy ridges like a blanket.
She pulled the edges of her jangot together and secured them under her chin with her fists. "I don't see a scenario where anyone will chase me to jump a cliff," she said.
Seung looked far into the mist, hooking his thumb in his belt. "I hope you never have to either, Minjae."
Something in his tone made her look up at him. "Do you think we might have the barbarians attack us?"
Seung looked down at his boots, his face set in ambivalent lines of someone torn between telling her the truth or saying something that would ease her mind.
"My friends tell me if His Majesty does not recognise Hong Taji as the Emperor, there could be war," she said.
"Kim Minjae, I would not speculate lightly about something as serious as war, especially with the barbarians, and I would instruct your friends to do the same," Seung said harshly, suddenly every inch of the Commander who bore the weight of the island's safety hinging on his young but capable shoulders.
"I apologise. I overstepped," Minjae said.
"I just hope we never come to that, Minjae. Never. The barbarians are...." He shook his head, troubled. The lines on his face were hard.
His tone sent a shiver down her spine.
Minjae dared a glance at him and found him studying her, something unfathomable stirring in his ebony eyes. Unnerved and too much of a coward to ask anymore, she decided to change the topic.
"Did you just happen to come up here by chance?"
He shook his head. "I found the inlet first. The origin of the waterfall made me curious. The stone wall is not visible from down there, so it was quite a surprise."
A sprinkle of water needles assaulted their faces as the wind drove the rain towards them.
She raised her face to the misted downpour. "You really like being near water, don't you, Dari?"
Seung studied the beauty in front of him. Seung liked uncomplicated trysts with experienced women. Being a very physical man, he outright rejected the double standards that most of his peers believed in. Seung had never judged women on why they would want to veer from the traditional behaviour of chastity and want to experience the much frowned upon carnal pleasures in secret with someone they were not married to. Once they found their way to him, he accepted them without reservation.
He did draw the line at getting involved with young girls and anyone who had an existing husband, but those were his only condition, and that too because he did not like complications. He never emotionally tangled with women - the only Confucian principle he upheld with scrupulous regard. Considering he had no desire for concubines or plans to remarry, even if his divorce ever came through, he saw no reason to hold himself back from living a life he deemed most suited him.
Kim Minjae fulfilled every requirement perfectly.
Hence, for the life of him, he could not fathom why he felt so irrevocably drawn to Kim Minjae and why he felt no trepidation in effortlessly discarding every principle of non-commitment where she was concerned.
Granted, she was by far the most beautiful woman he had seen, but then he had met many beautiful specimens of the opposite sex. Women, who were far more alluring and versed in the language men like him understood the most - the language of seduction and non-commitment.
His initial interest in Kim Minjae might have stemmed from that, but as clearly as the sun in the sky, he knew the feelings swirling inside him for Kim Minjae were too powerful to qualify for fleeting passion. If anything, he had never been more sure of something. What he felt for her was not something he could easily put into words. He longed to see her smile, watch her eyes sparkle, revel in her throaty laugh, and share what went on in her mind. She exhilarated his spirits, invigorated his mind, piqued his interest and delighted his senses. But even more powerful was the connection he felt with her as if he somehow knew her. She seemed familiar in ways he could not explain.
Whenever he drew close to her, it felt like he had come home.
It was a burning enigma he could not unravel. And much like before, words tumbled from his mouth before he could stop himself.
"Yes, I do like being close to water, but I like being near you more," Seung said softly.
Seung watched the myriad of expressions fleeting across her effusive face. Glistening droplets lent a sensual sheen to her butter-smooth skin. She flicked a tongue to her lips to lick the drops of water or, perhaps, to wet them; he wasn't sure which. Her gaze was liquid, hinting at unmistakable embers of reluctant desire. Seung felt himself stir, a familiar heat pulsing through his body. He watched her breath hitch. He raised a finger and traced the thin ribbon of water running down the side of her parted lips to her jaw, collecting the drop on his fingertip.
Minjae stilled. She lifted her face to him. Seung wondered if she could feel the heat or breathe the musk of his body mingled with the rain-kissed air within the small chamber.
He stepped forward. Minjae gasped and took a step back. His darkened eyes met her wide ones, and he could feel a tremor passing through her, searing his finger. His hand fell away.
She wiped the lower part of her face with her fingers.
"I apologise," Seung was instantly contrite.
She shook her head. "No, it's just that....it was unexpected." She threw him a glance.
"Minjae, I have feelings for you," Seung said huskily.
"I-" She swallowed, veiling her eyes with her thick lashes. "Dari, what do you want from me?"
A long sigh escaped him. "Kim Minjae, I know we have only known each other for a very short time, but I have already told you how little that has mattered to me about how strongly I feel about you. I will not lie I am not surprised. I am. I have not felt this way for anyone."
Seung locked his hands behind his back and walked a few paces away with his back to her. The rain was slowing down. She followed his gaze as he looked up, the dark clouds starting to lighten up, a hint of purple beginning to peek from behind them. He studied the overcast grey and lavender hues in askance for clarity he seemed to be seeking for his thoughts.
"Minjae, I am a married man with a wife who wants nothing to do with me. I do not have concubines, nor do I plan to take one. I have always had passing relationships that have had no meaning for me. I have never sought anything long-term with any woman." Seung studied the stone floor sheltered from the rain by the overhead capstone and thick walls around them. "And that is how I thought my life would be until I met you."
He turned and faced her.
"I want to know you, be with you, spend time with you. I want you to be by my side, and I want you to include me in your life. I do not know if I have the right to ask you any of this because I cannot promise you my name or anything other than a lifetime of affection and loyalty," his throat thick with an emotion he could not name. "And despite knowing all that, will you let me hold your hand and allow me to walk with you?"