Pre-dawn hours, Ganghwa, 22nd March, 1636

Nothing penetrated the fortress of her solitude, not even the insistent rays of the moon that consistently struggled to find their way in. She had shuttered the windows, just like her heart, mind, and life.

The wounds of her past, recriminations, remorse and anger, swirled like a vortex in her heart.

What were the chances? What were the chances that Lee Seung would come back to her life on a remote island? He was supposed to be a scholar, amongst the top learned elite of the country. He should have been wearing an official cap and serving the King's court, not commanding the army on a godforsaken piece of floating land where time always seemed to stand still.

Choi Ji-na ached with despair.

Their divorce must have been through by now. Did he now have a new wife? Children perhaps.

Hot tears dropped from the corners of her eyes.

For his sake, she hoped he was happy.

She doubted it.

"I would like to share a drink and start to know each other better," he had said that first night.

His eyes had followed Kim Minjae the entire time he was at the inn.

Was he, perhaps, interested in her?

Kim Minjae. She closed her eyes in misery. Choi Ji-na would never stack up favourably against the phenomenon that Kim Minjae was. At times, how she hated Kim Minjae and everything she stood for. Lee Seung's eyes would never see her the way they had seen Minjae at the inn.

Lee Seung. Her husband. For her, the dried petals of time fell away. It did not matter if they were divorced. He would be the only one for her for the entirety of the wretched life she had left on this earth. A smile touched her lips through her tears as his face materialised in her vision. His flawless skin still shone, and his endearing smile still melted her insides. Now, he looked even taller; his face was fuller, his shoulders broader. He made her knees turn to mush. He had changed, yet he was the same man she had seen standing by the rock that afternoon, tugging at the stem, deep in thought, or laughing with a carefree abandon with his friends at their wedding table. She remembered the tenor of his voice that had now grown even deeper. She realised she had never seen his eyes before. Beautiful, edged with black, with fathomless depth. Eyes that didn't see her. Eyes that would never recognise her. And even if they did, he would not acknowledge her. She meant nothing to him.

She hoped he hated her. At least that would mean he still sometimes thought of her. It would be better than seeing the 'nothing' in his eyes if the day ever came that he recognised her by some miracle.

Choi Ji-na looked up at the ceiling of her dark room and wondered what excuse her father had made about her disappearance, as if it could give her an answer. Lee Seung would never have thought to check on her. It would never occur to him. He would never know that she was dead to the world, that her own father had killed her.

But Choi Ji-na would not be defeated. A strange excitement fluttered in the pit of her stomach. She would make the best of the life she now had. And one day, perhaps one day, show her father, Choi Si wan, how he failed her, and find it in her heart to forgive herself for everything.

* ───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Evening of 22nd March, 1636.

A deviant! A fiend! A debauchee!

Kim Minjae fumed as she marched away - or at least as close to marching as she could get on her throbbing ankle - from the kite flying field that evening, engaging distractedly in monotones to the surrounding chatter out of habit.

It had been a terrible morning, and the entire day passed without making her feel better.

How could he look at her with those melting eyes last evening and this morning and then find the time to spend the night with another woman in between?

How could he?

But then, why did she ever think he would be any different from other Yangban men? Just because he had been kind and honourable about treating her in distress didn't mean his conduct extended to other facets of his life.

She should have known it was too good to be true. Even if she forgot the pesky little fact about him being a Yangban, there was no way a commoner like Kim Minjae could hold more than a passing interest in a high-borne, accomplished man like Lee Seung. Then there was the fact that she had never believed herself to be pretty. From a very young age, she had been told in no uncertain terms how 'unattractive' she was. The reaction of the village people started changing about some three years ago, when all of a sudden her 'beauty' became the talk of the town, but she had never bought it. It was a combination of her youth, independence, her talent as a uniyeo and the money she made that made people look at her differently.

"Minjae, can you hold the basket for a moment?" Jeon Suji jogged to her side, breaking her reverie. Minjae squinted at her and took the basket.

Suji held a pouch that she drew open and retrieved two rice wine ginger cookies. She shoved one into Minjae's mouth.

"Whammm armm you doing..." Minjae mumbled as she bit and started chewing automatically, annoyed. She averted her face as Suji tried to make her take another bite.

"You look like an elephant has been sitting on your chest the entire day," Suji observed as the other half of the cookie disappeared into her mouth.

Nothing escaped Jeon Suji's watchful eyes. Gossipy eyes.

"You seriously think I would tell you if anything was bothering me so half the town would know it before they went to bed?"

Suji giggled. "You know I only talk about the spicy stuff. And hey, I never betray a trust, you know that."

"You are too much of a big mouth to trust with anything."

Someone started singing a loud, out-of-tune version of Arirang amidst the chatter and the giggles that accompanied the noisy footsteps of the villagers on the narrow, dusty, unpaved path of the hill. "You have changed, you know Jaeya?"

The wind that had been whipping the kites fluttered their dresses. Minjae removed a single piece of hair from her eyes that seemed to have left the company of the braid sitting snugly on the top of her head. 'We all grow up."

"Jo Sung Ha was terribly cruel to you, wasn't he?"

Minjae's steps faltered. "Suji-" she warned.

"Yes, yes, I know you don't like talking about it. Your husband was a bastard. I say good riddance. You used to be such a chatterbox, though, and I miss that."

"It was in another lifetime."

"Do you remember climbing up that hill with So Ye?"

Minjae looked over the small hillock, covered with green, yellow and some hints of pink. A flat, shaved plateau topped it, with the escarpment graduating into a twin flat-topped hill much smaller but rockier.

"Why? Do you want to fly your kite from there tomorrow?"

Suji laughed. "As if! Can you be my spool assistant?"

"So that's what this is about. I would be if my ankle weren't killing me. I already overused it today. I am going to skip coming here tomorrow." Her ankle was uncomfortably stiff, but she had been too angry to pay heed, stubbornly coming to the field, hoping it would take her mind off - unimportant things. However, Minjae now wondered if she had come because she knew she would see that uncomfortable thing and use it as another opportunity to freeze it out.

"Oh, I am sorry, I completely forgot Minjae!" Suji immediately tried to snatch the basket back, but Minjae refused, holding on to it. Everyone knew Minjae had twisted her ankle by stepping onto her night clothes, thanks to a well-timed complaint to Suji, who had forgotten it over the day but remembered to put it in everyone's ears before she did.

"You did well, Suji. The Yangban flyer was good, but you had him in no time."

Suji was their best kite flier and kept their hopes alive in the competition for at least a chance at second place, if not the first, especially as the children were the best kite hunters, achieving the highest tally for the day.

She was also the gossipiest resident of the town. Tall with slanted eyes, full lips, narrow shoulders, and wide, inviting hips, she was a proud mother of three sons, all under five. With a sunny disposition and a ready smile, Suji was intelligent, had an elephant's memory and believed in sharing everything with everyone: food, money, home and, of course, all the linen, dirty or otherwise - theirs and everyone else's. Her husband was the local blacksmith, and they lived happily with her equally gossipy mother.

"Is Da-mi avoiding you?" Suji asked chattily.

Minjae frowned. "I don't know."

"Which means she is. Jaeya, Da-mi is jealous of you."

"Don't be ridiculous. Why would she be?" Minjae refused to recall the angry expressions on Da-mi's face the previous evening.

"People are sometimes like that. Sometimes, it's because you have helped them, and they don't like to be in your debt because it makes them feel burdened in the absence of the ability to do something in return. Sometimes, it's because they want something you have. And then there are those times people are jealous of you just because you exist. Which one do you think it is?"

"And you are being a preacher because -?"

"You are not giving me fodder for gossip."

"I don't remember you being this shameless."

Suji released a gust of air from her mouth. "And I don't remember you being such a yawn. By the way, did you see the new Commander?"

Minjae set her face into an uninterested expression. "Yes, I have eyes."

"Captain Park is handsome, but this man is something else. What an improvement from the old grouse they had previously. I could look at him all day," She sighed longingly.

"Suji, you have a husband who thinks the sun and the moon shine out of your eyes.."

"What can I do when rays from the sun and the moon illuminate men like Commander Lee so deliciously," Suji said incorrigibly.

"Not much of a commander to his men, I bet. Such a terrible kite fighter! Lost his within minutes, that too against the Yangban men," Minjae pointed out tartly.

"Hmnn. You weren't here, but he was their best yesterday. I wonder what happened today.....could it be because his eyes never left your face even once?" Plucking the basket out of her grasp, Suji smirked playfully at her frazzled expression.

"Jeon Suji!" A rush of blood pooled in Minjae's cheeks. Who else had noticed?

∞

Seung didn't know how she had trekked across the vast distance, over rickety bridges, uphill narrow roads and down the ragged hills on that injured limb, but Minjae had changed into a sunny yellow hanbok and looked like a miniature sun standing amongst an excited group of children and women, spanning an assortment of ages from three to some who looked like they were one hundred and three.

The competition had heated up on the second day. Divided broadly into four groups - the soldiers comprising the army and navy, the local men from the village, Yangban men from the northern part of the island, and then a group where women and all children under thirteen could participate - their flying frenzy blew up through the clouds as the colourful squares with fancy tails of paper soared. The furious fingers manipulating the strings had started showing nicks and cuts from the starched twines. Those with money could make better kites and strings, and those without banded together and pestered the one-eyed butcher of the village to help them, as he was touted to be the best kite maker Ganghwa had ever seen. But on the field, it was the skill that truly mattered.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Commander Lee, I fetched something for you, Sir," It was Wang Jung, holding a smooth, spherical, vibrant green outer husk of a coconut. Seung didn't realise how thirsty he was. He gulped down the refreshing water and then used a wooden spoon to dig into the encased, soft, creamy white flesh.

The Yangban men were up against the local Ganghwa team. A giant of a man with silver-flecked hair spooled the thread, while a much younger man, shorter in comparison but tall by average standards, lean and robust, flew a purple kite.

"That's Cha Moon-Sik. The champion for the last three years. Our local medicine man, Kim Seo Jun, is holding the spool."

Seung sat up with interest. That must be Kim Minjae's father.

"I don't know why these Yangban scholars even compete. They don't even hunt the kites," Wang Jung chuckled.

Each team had designated 'kite-hunters', which afforded the teams one point for each kite they collected. As the kites took a dive, they ran to collect the fallen windblown trophies. People had started spilling over the hills and the surrounding plains, looking like a swarming army of colourful dots all over the landscape.

The Yangban team was always the first to lose out because their kite hunters found it below their dignity to run and collect kites. The last kite up in the sky afforded the most points, but the team that collected the one it defeated also earned half the maximum points. The women and the children group often ended up with the largest tally of the kite hunting points.

Each team flew their kites within a boxed area. They could not encroach on each other's territory, or they would forfeit the kite to the team they encroached upon. In fact, most of the teams lost because their fliers kept expanding their flying area and shortening their stockpile of kites and points.

Seung's eyes were drawn back to the sunny figure across the field, who was now standing, clapping her hands.

The Yangban kite flyer had stepped outside his designated area into the empty soldiers' boxed area. The whole field erupted in cheer as the local men and the soldier's team added valuable points to their tally.

"It's so different here, Dari. It's nice to see the families celebrating together like this."

The competition would start just as the afternoon sun headed to its resting place, slowly climbing down the western sky, and the matches would stop as soon as the sun dipped a quarter of its glowing orange body into the horizon. Though the competition was only for a handful of hours, people would start filling the ground in the early morning, bringing food and drinks to share. Some would even get trinkets to sell, even though it was frowned upon.

An unexpected pang of nostalgia hit Seung. He missed his mother and sister. It would be nice to bring them to the island.

Perhaps he would.

"Cha Moon-Sik is good. No one has been able to cut his kite so far. What do you think, Dari?"

Seung's eyes drifted to the sky. Kite flying didn't hold particular interest for him.

Each group played each other in the first three days. The fourth day would have the final two teams competing, and the competition would get their Team champion. On the fifth day, their teammates would vote for one kite flier from the final two teams, and the winner would be crowned the champion kite flier.

"You should at least try it for the soldier's team, Dari. You are our best kite fighter."

Seung shrugged uninterestedly. Sporting battles meant little to him.

Soldiers had started with a bad first day but made up for many of the lost points today. Seung, of course, had not helped. He had caught Minjae looking at him across the field, and their eyes had met. An awareness had crackled through the air. Seung's team went up against the Yangban team, and he lost his red kite to the yellow distraction within minutes.

A disappointing wave of gasps rippled through the soldiers while the Yangban and the local men booed. Seung could have kicked himself for being so irresponsible. Once his kite was cut, rules didn't allow him to return to the ring for the day.

Not that he minded, as he sat on the ground, keenly following Minjae's every move. She had laughed at him when he lost the kite. But instead of making him angry, it aroused his interest. Kim Minjae would die before admitting it, but she was as aware of him as he was of her. She was too far away for him to see her expressions, but he envisioned her eyes sparkling when she cheered her friends and the children, nipping at her lower lip thoughtfully if someone asked her a question, worrying her fingers if something bothered her or her eyes turning warm, liquid cinnamon if something made her happy.

"If you don't try Dari, no one can beat that man. He has a woman to impress, after all." Seung sighed as Wang Jung's incessant yapping intruded upon his much more interesting thoughts than the love lives of the villagers.

"How do you know so much gossip about the village people, Wang Jung? No, don't bother to answer that," Seung shook his head in disgust.

"You know the woman you were ogling at the inn last night?"

"I wasn't ogling. What about her?" Seung asked warily, flushing, trying his best not to sneak a look at Minjae's slim, yellow-clad form across from him.

"Yes, you were, Dari. It seems Moon-sik has asked Kim Seo Won for his younger daughter's hand in marriage."

What?

"Kim Minjae apparently has turned him down, and her father is not keen on her remarriage as of now."

"Remarriage? Is that even allowed?"

"Technically not. But then most of them don't have to worry about their children appearing for state exams, so widows and divorcees marry all the time amongst commoners."

Seung's eyes narrowed as they followed Cha Moon Sik's exalted exit from the field. He stabbed the soft flesh of the coconut so hard that an entire side came off and fell to the bottom of the cavity inside the husk.

Well, he, too, had a woman to impress, thought Seung, grinding his teeth.

Then, a thought danced in his mind, and his face broke out into a grin, revealing an elusive dimple that softened his face like that of a teen.

∞

Minjae was acutely aware of the piercing gaze on her from across the field, just like the previous night in the inn, stuck to her like a needle to a magnet. His soft, remorseful gaze had followed her in her dreams in the fitful slumber she had managed between waking and sleeping after the fiasco in the woods. The excitement to see him again early in the morning had overpowered the shame of the terrible loss of control over herself before him and trampled down all trepidations that had kept Minjae from opening herself up to anyone emotionally.

Her stomach had bottomed out when she had first laid her eyes upon him at the hill. Thrown into sharp relief by the lantern light, his face had jumped at her, rooting her to the spot. Her heart had already been in turmoil after her skirmish with Inspector KA, and Lee Seung's visage had knocked the breath out of her body. She had not expected to see him so soon after at the inn.

Then Minjae overheard their conversation and realised he was the one who had spent the night with Han So Ye. She had been very disappointed, but she had recovered immediately. After all, who was she to judge the Commander of the island, a virile young man she should not be even thinking about, let alone feel anything about?

When she started serving in the inn, Minjae had severe anxiety and fear of the men she served. But she was her father's daughter in many ways. Failure was not an option. So, she had developed a shield. She looked at a spot between their eyes and nose, which made them think she was looking at them, but they could never connect with her.

Then she broke the rule. She had met Lee Seung's eyes, connected with him through his dark, deep pools of magic that seemed to have drawn her in like a drug.

This morning, she had felt special. His eyes had made her feel special. A hope she had never allowed herself sneaked into her heart like a tiny ray of light from a cracked pane of a shuttered window.

Kim Minjae had also inherited another of her father's talents - to put people in place with the least number of words. When he had smothered that tiny ray of light so heartlessly, she had cut him cold, wanting to hurt him as much as she hurt.

She was Kim Minjae, very different from who she used to be - the soft, trusting, timid girl who only wanted to make everyone around her happy. And she had paid the price. She had vowed never to let anyone do that to her ever again.

Not even Lee Seung, the only man who had made her heart flutter so wildly. So she had steeled herself when she felt his eyes follow her again in the field. He lost his kite almost immediately after walking into the box with five other men. His eyes had been fixed on her instead of the red kite he was supposed to be flying, much to the chagrin of his assistant, who held the spool to feed the string.

A deviant! A fiend! A debauchee! How dare he!

"I saw you looking at him, too," Suji was saying.

"Everyone was looking at him. It's human nature to look at pretty things which also happen to be very tall and wear a Commander's uniform," Minjae retorted.

Suji giggled. "You noticed him all right. He was the only one you laughed at for losing his kite," Suji's gaze was probing.

Minjae tightened her jaw, trying hard not to flush.

"It's a beautiful day. We did well in the competition, and there were so many pretty men to swoon on. Aunt In-ha brought such great food to feed us, so why do you have this look like you have swallowed a beehive?"

Minjae shrugged. She knew she had to give something to shut her up. "I had a client, and she said something hurtful, so I, too, said something hurtful to her, and I should not have. I can do better. I am upset with myself."

"How do you know what you said hurt them? Upset their ego maybe, but hurt? They don't have enough affection for that. What makes you think these pompous people care about the words of a lowly physician?" Suji snorted.

Minjae's steps faltered.

True. What had made her so sure that what she said would hurt Lee Seung?

She had been sure. She wasn't sure how, but she had known. Instinctively. Naturally. Like she knew how to breathe.

The turmoil in his eyes as she had left him in the morning was etched in her mind. "Physician Kim, we are not done yet. I will send you word when I need to meet you next." His words had followed her as she exited his chamber.

She knew she had neither the right nor the luxury to feel this erratic thing inside her, this palpitation whenever Lee Seung's eyes sought hers or the heat of his gaze pricked her. She had never been so aware of herself as a woman. She mentally berated herself.

She had to get a grip on herself.

Commander Lee Seung would never belong to the world she inhabited. And she better remember that because nothing good could come out of it.

"Physican Kim!" A familiar voice called out, sounding a little out of breath.

It was Cha Moon-sik. Minjae suppressed a groan while Suji smirked.

"I hear you hurt your ankle?" He fell by their side without invitation, a lantern hanging by his fist.

"It's nothing serious," Minjae assured him.

"How will you walk this long a distance? Let me carry you on my back."

Speechless, Minjae stared at him dismayed and looked around to see if Im Ji-Won was within earshot. She didn't need another friend glaring at her disparagingly. Thankfully, Im Ji-won was walking far ahead with a bunch of excited children matching their vocals with the out-of-tune singer.

"Thank you for your offer, Cha Moon Sik, but I prefer walking. It is good for my ankle," Minjae lied straight-faced.

"But it will be painful. Please use my back." To her horror, Moon-Sik hunched in front of her.

She stepped past him. "No. Cha Moon-Sik, please get up," the warning in her voice was unmistakable.

"Moon-Sika, she does not want the ride. Stop embarrassing yourself," Suji admonished him.

His face fell. Cha Moon-Sik was a simple man, and Minjae adored him. But at times, her frustration showed because he didn't get the hint. And as if on cue, Im Ji Won looked back.

Minjae could have screamed in frustration. "Please get up, Moon-Sik, and out of our way."

He stood up. "All right, I will walk with you if you need help."

"Aww, Moon-Sik, aren't you a lovely boy!" Suji smiled at him and then winked at Minjae.

Footfalls distinct from the usual shuffle of straw shoes of the villagers approached them from behind. Minjae, Moon-Sik and Suji instinctively turned to find a soldier hurrying toward them. The crowd parted to make way.

"Physician Kim Minjae?"

Minjae nodded, infinitely grateful for the distraction. The villagers looked at them curiously before filing past them, their chatter subdued but uninterrupted. Everyone was used to Minjae being stopped or addressed by everyone and their mother on the island at the most unexpected times and places.

Bowing, Minjae answered. "Yes, Dari?"

The soldier handed her a scroll. "The Commander has asked to see you, Physician Kim. Please accompany me."

Minjae grimaced, holding the scroll like a fly-ridden stick. Suji poked her in the side, rolling her eyes dramatically. Minjae made a face at her.

"Dari, her ankle hurts. How can she see him now?" Cha Moon-Sik immediately objected.

Minjae bit her lip to stop the instant dressing down hovering on her tongue. Instead, she turned to the solder. Much as she disliked the idea of seeing Lee Seung, getting away from Moon Sik was more urgent.

"Dari, I will come with you," she said.

"But Physician Kim-"

"It's all right, Moon-Sik. You must get back and get a good night's sleep. The local team has to win this year," Minjae smiled at him, hoping it took out some of the sting from her curt behaviour.

Grabbing the lantern from Moon-Sik's hands, Suji pushed it into Minaje's. "Don't be too late. Come Moon-Sik, let's go home."

The yellow of her skirt shimmied like a golden flame in the young evening glow, her every step increasing the pace of his heart.

"You asked for me, Commander Lee?" Placing the lantern gently on the ground, Minjae presented a most respectful bow, her face a mask of politeness, her eyes freezing polar twins.

Seung unmounted his horse. He had ordered the rest of his men to leave for the barracks.

He acknowledged her nod and motioned the soldier to leave them alone. "Thank you for coming, Physician Kim. I have heard good words about you from our garrison physician Ahn Ji Soo, and I have a few questions for you," he said aloud, for the benefit of the ears listening to the conversation that he had no doubt would be repeated at some point. "I would like you to accompany me to the garrison hospital for a young patient."

A surprised frown puckered her forehead. Seung bit his cheek to stop himself from smiling.

"I see. Can it wait till tomorrow morning?" She was not pleased.

"I would like your opinion on his wound tonight," he said with a straight face.

"Oh!" She bit her lip in that delectable way that started doing something to Seung.

"Unfortunately, I do not have a palanquin. Can you ride a horse?"

"No, I cannot ride a horse, Dari." She looked back at the throng of people who now looked like a moving dot up the hill. The detour meant she would be traversing the distance to the town alone. "It will take me about an hour and a half to reach the hospital."

"It will be dark soon. The villagers have already moved ahead. I cannot have you travelling alone."

"I have a lantern. I assure you, it's quite safe, and I am used to it, Dari," she said with undue stress. Inspector KA's face rudely intruded, making her shiver in distaste.

"Nevertheless, you are coming with us," Seung had no intention of letting her walk alone.

Perplexed, she looked around. It was just Seung, his horse, two soldiers and their horses. She wasn't sure where he had been planning to get a horse for her.

As if reading her mind, he said, "I had considered you riding one of those horses. Since you cannot ride, we will walk. The army road is much shorter and has a smoother way. I can see you have hurt your leg, and it will be easier for you." The path was built for the horses, and villagers were not allowed to walk so the horses could ride fast through the road.

She pondered on that for a while and looked over her shoulder again at her companions, who were now out of her vision, no doubt crossing the bridge by now. "All right."

A small bubble of relief burst inside him. He turned to his soldiers. "You both go ahead and join the rest of the men. I will walk with Physician Kim."

The soldiers bowed, kicked their horses' flanks, and rode away, leaving Minjae, Seung, and the horse in the soft glow of the dusk.

Minjae rubbed her hands down her skirt, a slight apprehension palpable in her downcast eyes. "If this is a continuation from the morning, I have nothing more to add, Dari."

The gentle breeze swayed the sides of his orange and gold tunic of his dongdari while Minaje bunched her skirt in her hands to stop hers from fluttering too much. Seung watched her bowed head for what seemed like a very long time. So many words jumped to his tongue: inane, mundane, conversational, conciliatory, reassuring.....but none rolled off it. For, if tact were shoes, he would have been rendered shoeless. In fact, by now, the blisters would have devoured the soles of his feet, a preferable fate to the imprudent words he never meant to utter that tumbled before he could stop them.

"I want us to know each other better, Kim Minjae."

Her head snapped up, her eyes latching onto his in shock. Her face blanched, and then colour matching the orange and pink swathes of the mostly lavender sky flooded her face, and a strange emotion filled her eyes - a look of something he could not put his finger on.