Seung's eyes stared into the darkness. The grey of the evening had bled into night, but he didn't feel the cold or notice the stars appearing like scattered thoughts across the sky.
He sat frozen, memories flooding him, unstoppable, as if he were watching a tragedy unfold—a tragedy he had unknowingly been part of his whole life. The very young Minjae refusing to be his wife, and he still didn't know why..... Minjae trying to save him in the magistrate's court....Minjae cooking for him.....Minjae in his arms, knowing the truth...
His mind had now descended into cold fury, piecing together a puzzle he had never known existed. It made sense—why Choi Si-wan wanted Minjae dead, why she fled in terror, always looking over her shoulder, or the reason why Ko Yoon had tried so desperately to save her.
His jaw was clenched with enough force to pulverise it. Choi Si-wan had replaced her in his twisted game; the man who had murdered Seung's father was the puppet master behind her terror.
His own daughter.
Intellectually, he could justify Minjae's web of lies. Minjae had lived in torment, fighting for survival. She had no choice. But emotionally, the betrayal ran too deep, crushing him with pain so fierce it felt as if his ribs might break, a nightmare he couldn't escape.
It was Hanyang all over again—the mole on her back, the lie she had carried. Only this time, it was unbearably worse.
Because she did not believe in him.
Never had. Never would.
And that burned deeper than all her lies combined, destroying him from the inside, like wood hollowed by termites.
The bitter taste of his vomit coated his tongue.
Did she think so little of him? That he would fail her? The thought made his insides twist, sharp as a blade carving deep into his core. Didn't he tell her they would face her demons together? Only he hadn't known that she had stripped him of that right long before.
Left him powerless.
And then there was Choi Si-wan. What twisted logic had led him to place Minjae in Seung's home, knowing the blood on his hands? Had Choi Si-wan married her to him as a final act of control? A sick satisfaction in knowing the man he had killed could never be avenged because the relationship would cover his murderous footprints? But then, why spare them? Was it on purpose? Or had their absence on that fateful day thwarted his plan to kill them all? Choi Si-wan had murdered every servant in the house—so that seemed more likely.
It felt like there were people with hammers inside his head, nailing his thoughts in a twisted game.
That was not the end either. How could he forget that Minjae had erroneously led him to believe that his father's killer was dead? It was ironic how he could effortlessly chisel away at her lies, like peeling back the clay plaster that concealed a wall, revealing the splintered timber beneath—raw, unprotected, and painfully exposed. The truth sifted through like chaff from rice.
Her misguided thought that keeping him in the dark would spare him from the storm she had faced alone twisted his heart, but the anger burned hotter. She had been wrong—so terribly wrong.
Who else was she protecting? Her father? Her brothers?
And why did she push him away that night?
He slammed his fist into the wall, the cold surface bruising his knuckles into numbness. The pain radiated up his arm, sharp and immediate, but it was nothing compared to the dull ache twisting in his chest.
What now? What was he supposed to do with this knowledge? His mind screamed for justice, for revenge, for answers. But his heart ached with the weight of everything stolen from him.
Strangely, while he was trying to make sense of his life, the mundane knocked. Lost in the cataclysm of his emotions, Seung barely registered the soft knock at the door until Gil-ae entered, wrenching him from the depth of his thoughts to inform him that the ondol floor in Choi Jina's and her chambers was causing trouble and their rooms were freezing. "I have sent for the gyeoljeongbu, but we have to wait until tomorrow," she said before noticing his pallor. "Oraboni, are you alright?" The absurdity of her words crashed over him like a tidal wave. Seung had a strange urge to laugh. Life didn't care for the abyss he was in. It went its merry way, leaving devastation in its wake.
∞
Seung knew it would be another night of hidden truths. He understood the pattern. It didn't matter why; she would change her mind again. Like always.
Seung had left a light burning in his room. He stared at the flickering glow, each moment dragging through time like a stone.
Across the courtyard, Minjae paused, her gaze catching the light. It glinted in the cold night, a silent invitation, yet she shook her head and turned away, her footsteps soft as she tiptoed through the shadows. She had no idea that Seung was watching her every move from the darkness.
Minjae's silhouette glided across the courtyard, only to vanish unexpectedly into a small garden by the pond. From the direction of his mother's chamber, another figure rushed out.
The imposter, the woman who had usurped his real wife's place. How fitting was it that she didn't even have a name? Why did it not surprise him that they not only knew each other but were somehow colluding?
Minjae had shown her hand to the imposter and continued her deceit with him.
The icy air wrapped around them like a vice, the scent of winter frost blending with the gentle rustle of fabric. Seung quietly trailed behind, taking cover behind a small stone wall that allowed him to listen without revealing his presence. Seung steadied his breath, exhaling into plumes of soft, frosty whorls, careful not to make a sound, while the chill stung his ears and quickened his heartbeat.
He heard a rustle like that of paper.
"Is that all?" Minjae whispered, unaware that her words bladed through the darkness, sharp and dangerous.
"Gil-ae won't allow me to check the boxes," the imposter whispered.
Another sound.
"What is this?" The imposter, a little louder.
"Shh! We can't be here for long. Someone will see. This is the best I can do for you. I can't help you anymore," Minjae said.
He frowned behind the wall, wishing he could see what they were doing.
"You won't tell him then?" The imposter asked.
"No," Minjae said. "This is the only way to keep everyone safe."
"But-"
"Bear Dari a child as soon as you can. And if you ever cheat on him, I will carve you like a carrot," Minjae threatened.
There was a gasp and then a silence.
"Yes, my lady. And you?" The imposter asked after a while.
My Lady. Seung clenched his hand so hard that even his palm's cold-numbed skin felt the pain.
"Nothing will come out of me being here anymore," Minjae said.
Seung straightened, trying to keep his fist from making a hole through the stones.
The imposter sighed. "What do I have to do?"
"You asked for an elixir to - to make Dari be with you...to..." Minjae cleared her throat. "Well, this should work. I have never used it on anyone, but it works to make men want to be with...women," Minjae whispered, and Seung could almost see her face turning red.
His face turned red, too, but it wasn't from embarrassment. Anger replaced reason with the force of a ship slamming into a rock before snapping into millions of pieces.
∞
Was this truly the answer? To push him into another woman's arms? To be complicit in Soo Hyun's attempt to bear Seung a child? Minjae felt the crushing weight of that thought as though she were breaking apart piece by piece.
Minjae waited until Soo Hyun went inside before stepping out of the shadows. The chill bit into her flesh. She gathered her hanbok tightly around her.
The tears threatened, but she refused to let them fall.
Why did it hurt so much?
Feeling as if she were being watched, she looked around. Across the courtyard, a faint light burned in Seung's room.
Was he waiting for her? For the 'talk' she had promised two nights ago?
Her hands shook, and her mind spun faster than her body could handle, the Governor's warning echoing relentlessly.
If you have thoughts about reclaiming your identity, perish the thought. No one will ever rise against him. I certainly will not.
Yet Kim I-On's voice fought for space as well. You not only assumed he was lacking, but you also thought he would endanger you and would not stand by you in adversity.
She was at a crossroads, not knowing where to go.
Was the Governor right? Aside from the selfish aim of reclaiming a name that had given her so much grief, what did anyone stand to gain by knowing her real identity? Se-min was leaving, and the Governor would forbid Kim I-On from ever revealing the truth.
And Seung? What would he gain? More than hatred, he would gain betrayal—the deepest kind.
The truth sat like poison in her throat, burning every word she wanted to say. Her heart clenched at the thought of him uncovering everything.
I should have asked you outright, but I felt you had been lying to me all this time, and I couldn't take it. Seung's words mocked her.
She pictured him standing there, fists clenched, eyes cold and distant as it all came crashing down. Would his love shatter, turning to contempt?
Minjae had witnessed his fury once and felt how betrayal carved into him like a blade, crumbling trust. Once he uncovered the full extent of her father's sins, would his love turn into something far darker?
Either way, she knew one thing with certainty—he would not let her leave. The realisation struck her like a sudden blow. Seung would never simply let her disappear. His need for answers would consume him. He would follow her across the seas if he had to, dragging the truth from her, whatever the cost.
However, once he had his answers, what then? Would he forgive her? Or would he chain her to him in punishment, silent, letting the void between them grow until she became nothing more than a shadow in his life?
She had no way of knowing. And with Lady Ryu's disdain, she knew she'd have no allies.
The Governor had been right. She had a good life, and to want more—to want the unattainable—was greedy.
She was right to push Soo Hyun into Seung's arms. If Seung could move on, if he could find peace in someone else's arms, then maybe—just maybe—she could live with that. Perhaps she could accept the impossible truth that she would never truly belong to him, and he would never be hers. Not as long as her secrets hung between them like a heavy curtain that refused to be pulled away.
Maybe, over time, Seung would come to accept the hand they had been dealt with. And perhaps, if nothing worked, she would depart the island and face the consequences when fate demanded.
She gripped the fabric of her hanbok tighter, one thought gnawing at her mind: Even if she left, would she ever truly escape?
She forced her feet to move. For now, she would have to think of something to soothe Seung's doubts, something convincing enough to keep him at bay.
But not tonight. She was too raw. Giving that elixir to Soo Hyun had fractured her heart, and she needed to crawl somewhere and lick her wounds. She made her way toward Lady Ryu's chamber, hoping somehow to avoid Seung.
Stolen novel; please report.
She couldn't.
As in, Seung was waiting for her on the covered porch adjacent to his mother's chamber. His long legs made short work of the steps. It wasn't a moonless night, but it was still difficult to read his face.
"Are you well?" he asked.
Minjae nodded, a slight smile lifting the corners of her mouth. "I just needed a few hours of sleep."
"I will be waiting for you in my chamber after you are done with Eomoni," he said.
Under her sleeves, Minjae's nails made small welts of worry on her skin.
"I-I don't think I can tonight," she said truthfully. "Perhaps tomorrow?"
"Can't, or won't?" Seung said, his voice suddenly dropping to match the chill around them.
Minjae looked around. She wondered why she suddenly felt colder than before. Was it going to snow? Or was it simply the ice of dread seeping into her blood?
"It's nothing like that, Dari."
His eyes glittered.
"Time is running out, Minjae."
Unease flickered in Minaje's eyes. His anger was baffling. He sounded nothing like the man who had come to her the night before or had tenderly carried her home at dawn. She shifted on her feet, unable to meet Seung's eyes.
"M-my past life is of no importance now, and you said you had freed me from all obligations to tell you."
"I was wrong. I want to know," he said softly. "So tell me now."
"I don't want to," she rushed, grateful the dark hid her flush of guilt.
"And what about accepting my protection?" He asked.
Minjae's fingers curled into the fabric of her sleeves, pulling them tighter as if the coarse wool could shield her from the storm she felt brewing between them.
"I still need time," she said, trying to soothe him. "In any case, I heard Lord Se-min is leaving the island, so I do not think there will be any more danger now."
"I see," His voice was quiet, cold. He stepped closer, his eyes never leaving hers. "You enjoy toying with me, don't you?"
That was so far from the truth that Minjae almost choked out a denial but caught herself.
Perhaps it was for the better.
Why was she such a coward?
"I am sorry I made you feel that way, Dari. I do not understand you. One day, you are fine with me making choices about what I want to share; on another, you try to force it out of me."
"You do not understand me? I am not the one who has been a tease!' His laugh sounded ugly even to his ears.
"Tease?" Minjae injected an ire into her tone she was so far from feeling that if it were a path, it would reach the other end of the earth. "How many times do I need to tell you I cannot be your concubine? It's you who has refused to take no for an answer!"
His hands flexed open, then balled into fists, over and over, like a relentless cycle of fury. He stepped closer. "Minjae," his voice was silk gliding over the glass, "Is that why you gave that elixir to Choi Jina?"
Suddenly, his anger made sense. He was not only angry at her refusal to meet him tonight, but he had also witnessed her giving the elixir to Soo Hyun. Her guilt hung in the air like smoke from a fire, impossible to hide and choking her.
"You heard," she said dully. "Yes, I did. She asked for help, and I gave it to her. She is your wife; she has more rights over you than I ever will," Minjae reasoned.
"I see," was all he said. "You plan to leave me."
"Nothing can come of this. I am a mere Physician and not the kind of woman you should associate with."
"And you alone can make such decisions," Seung said, a statement, not a question.
"What do you even want from me, Dari?" Her pulse threatened to burst a vein. She wanted to delay him, not alienate him, but if this was what it came to be, so be it.
She was tired.
"I want you to be honest," Seung said, his voice hoarse. The faintness of the night sky drew harsh lines across his face.
"You have been a spy, Dari. Have you always been honest? Have you never had a part you want to keep hidden?"
"That's different. I didn't profess to love them," he said.
Minjae lifted her chin. "I never professed anything to you."
"No? Then what did we have in this past year? In Hanyang? Or the night in your bedroom? Or in the woods? Why did you come to me that night, Minjae?" Seung's desperation gnawed at her.
"What do you think? You are a persuasive man. Is it wrong to seek pleasure?" She had never been coarse, but her time for subtlety had run its course.
Something withered in his eyes. "Careful Minjae. Poison should only be tasted in small amounts. You crossed a line you should not have. I might never be able to forgive you."
"I am sorry, Dari," she inhaled a tortured breath.
His hand twitched as though reaching for her for a fleeting moment, but it stopped mid-air. The storm brewing behind his eyes held her captive. Then he turned and left her alone.
She had managed to raise the beast in him again. She shivered, goosebumps welting her skin from the top of her head to the toes.
Drawing a shaky breath, she stopped outside Lady Ryu's chamber, where a maid waited to usher her in. Reaching into her backpack, she took out the blue and purple hanbok with its green jangot—the one Seung had given her atop the hill when the criminals had torn her clothes on that fateful day their journey began. Her fingers lovingly traced the silk as memories flooded back.
The dress symbolised the day that had ruined her, but it also represented the greatest treasure of her life: Lee Seung.
One last thing to do—to return this to its rightful owner.
Minjae steadied herself with a deep breath.
However, no sooner had she stepped into the chamber than Minjae knew her plan had failed.
Soo Hyun and Gil-ae looked at her from the two unrolled mattresses by the walls.
Minjae clasped the hanbok in her hands in dismay.
Gil-ae was the first to react. "What is that, Physician Kim?"
Belatedly, Minjae remembered to bow. "This—um—Lady Kim I-On asked me to return this to you," she said, sending a silent apology to her unsuspecting friend. "Lord Lee left it at Lord Jo's house by mistake."
Soo Hyun stepped closer, admiring the hanbok. "It's beautiful."
Gil-ae examined it with a frown. "Isn't this the lace Father brought from Ming?"
Lady Ryu nodded, inspecting the chima briefly.
"I thought it was lost."
"Maybe it turned up again," Soo Hyun suggested. Gil-ae held it up with a faint smile. "It's small. Oraboni must still think I'm the same size I was during your marriage," she looked at Soo Hyun, who laughed in return before sending Minjae a guilty look.
Sighing, Minjae turned her attention to Lady Ryu.
Except for a disapproving line on her mouth, Lady Ryu didn't object to Minjae's ministrations while Gil-ae and Soo Hyun watched patiently. Apparently, they were both here because the ondol in their rooms was broken.
"My Lady, I see that the swelling now is almost gone. If you continue to take the tonic as directed, you no longer need my nightly ministrations," she said.
Lady Ryu curtly nodded. Minjae wished her mother-in-law didn't hate her this much.
A soft scrape echoed as the door opened, and Minjae felt rather than see Seung walk in. Minjae's pulse quickened, and porcupine needles made holes in the nape of her neck.
"Why are you here?" His question was directed at Gil-ae and Soo Hyun.
"We are sleeping here tonight, Oraboni," Gil-ae said.
"The guest chambers are not ready, My Lord," Soo Hyun added.
"What is that?" Seung asked, shock lining his voice.
Minjae knew by his tone he had spotted the hanbok. She knew she had done nothing wrong. She was simply returning the hanbok to where it belonged. Still, a cold dread settled in her stomach as guilt poured into her veins. It was their secret. She could feel the tentacles of his wrath coil around her.
"Physician Kim brought this in. She said you had left it at Lord Jo's house," Gil-ae said.
"That was..." Seung paused, his voice giving away nothing, "a long time ago. I must have forgotten it at his place."
"But I thought you gave it away," Gil-ae said. "You thought you lost it, didn't you? And made up the story about giving it away." She wriggled her brows at her brother playfully.
"I guess my secret is out," he replied mildly.
Minjae risked a glance at Seung and saw him watching her, his mouth drawn in a thin line. She felt her ears get warm under his scrutiny. She patted herself on the back for turning the loving, caring man from previous nights into a furious one.
Seung felt a familiar longing stir in him as he watched her graceful movements while Minjae cared for his mother, but this time, it was tempered with something feral. A possessiveness that threatened to squeeze his heart until the pulse stopped.
His wife.
Why had the thought never crossed his mind? He might not have seen her face, but she was the most graceful woman he had ever seen, her movements like a mellifluous stream flowing down a lush mountain meadow.
She was also the most well-read woman he knew. His wife was everything she had been lauded for.
Choi Jina was a rare combination - extraordinarily beautiful and exceptionally clever.
He yearned to grab her, kiss her, and never let her go.
He longed to shake her hard until sense rattled into her obstinate brain.
He wanted to distance himself from her, just as she had pushed him away, for trapping them both in a prison of deceit.
She turned it into a sick game, and he had unwittingly fallen for it.
But you didn't have to stick to the rules if you didn't know them in the first place, did you? Seung thought to himself humourlessly.
Who was he to disappoint her? But this time, they would play by his rules.
The pressure inside him grew, but he forced himself to stay composed, a malevolent thought muddying his mind.
Well, it was high time you stopped deciding our future all by your mighty self, Kim Minjae! Seung thought to himself as the tensile strength of anger holding him upright threatened to collapse.
Sitting closer to his mother, Seung said, "Until the ondol system gets fixed, Choi Jina can move into my chamber."
Seung's jaw clenched with satisfaction when Minjae's fingers trembled for a flash of a second.
A cry of surprise drifted from somewhere behind him.
"Dari, I don't wish to cause any trouble," the imposter said, but the insincerity in her voice was hard to miss.
Seung carefully weighed his words. "I must see to the safety and well-being of my wife. Don't you agree, Physician Kim?" Sarcasm dripped from his voice like sap from a wounded tree.
Pale, Minjae focussed on the needle, the cold metal anchoring her to reality. She nodded feebly.
It was ironic how, at times, he was attuned to her every movement, and at other times, it was like he didn't know her at all.
"Moreover, I believe Eomoni, you are right," Seung addressed his mother this time. "I have been remiss. Choi Jina and I should work on giving you a grandchild. And I don't need any talisman," he paused again, gored Minjae with a hooded stare, and dropped his voice so only she could hear it, "or elixir to be a competent husband."
Minjae almost poked herself with the needle. However, a sharp intake of breath was the only reaction she gave.
But Seung knew his barb had hit home. Even though Minjae didn't look up, the scarlet hue blooming along her slender neck gave away her distress.
The lines on his mother's forehead smoothed to resemble polished river stones.
"You mean it?" she sat up, forgetting that Minjae was treating her.
"Yes," Seung humoured her. "It's time, my esteemed father-in-law, and you had some grandkids to carry on our family name. You -" Seung paused for effect, "chose the most virtuous and accomplished woman in the country to be my wife for a reason, didn't you?"
Seung watched his mother closely. Minjae wore a wall for a face. The nameless impostor rose and sat beside him, her hands animated under her long jeogori, her eyes speculative as they flitted between him and Minjae. Seung wondered to what extent Minjae would use the woman to push him away.
Interestingly, his mother gave Minjae a keen look, her lips pursed. Seung frowned, and he felt a stone sink in the pit of his stomach.
A memory jolted his mind. His mother's hysteria, her wild eyes as she shook him. "No! Seung, forget what you saw. Promise me! Erase it from your mind. You will never speak of it. Never!" Her words, as urgent as the day she spoke them, were imprinted on him like iron seared into flesh.
Had his mother recognised Ko Yoon from Seung's description?
All this time, had his mother carried this secret, letting him live a lie? Had she seen him suffer, watched him grow in the shadow of his father's murder, all while keeping the truth hidden? Could she have stopped it? Did she know that the man who had taken everything from them was plotting his next move right there? And why—why had she stayed silent?
More pressingly, did the bastard still have a hold on his mother? He recalled the letter. His fingers clenched until they balled by his knees.
His mother's eyes flickered, meeting Minjae's, before she averted them. It only took a fraction of a moment, but it was long enough to confirm his mother knew Minjae's identity.
"Yes. My son is also the most accomplished man in the country, so only the best would do," his mother replied.
"I am sorry for the pain I caused all of you," the woman with no name beside him said. "But I promise I will spend the rest of my life atoning for my mistakes."
Seung's friendly tone belied the cold in his eyes. "Yes, and you have a lifetime to do it. You have a lot to answer for," he turned back to his mother, ignoring the sound of Minjae's shallow breathing.
"Mother, I want to thank you for choosing such a beautiful wife for me. I am sorry if I have not conveyed my appreciation earlier."
Lady Ryu blinked in confusion. The imposter beside him almost swayed in - ecstasy? Disbelief? "I will move my things to your chamber, My Lord," she said.
Seung watched his imposter wife hurry out with a maid carrying her rolled bed with a wry twist to his lips.
Minjae's breath snagged, a barely audible hitch that caught in her throat, but her honed gaze on her hands as she tended to his mother didn't falter.
"Oh, and Physician Kim, I believe I heard you say my mother does not need these late-night treatments any more?" He asked, taking care to keep his tone polite, almost casual.
"Indeed, My Lord," she said, her tone clipped but perfectly respectful.
"In that case, please keep to your morning visits starting tomorrow. In fact, I am asking for the royal physician's help going forth, so after tomorrow morning, you may terminate your visits."
Was he letting her go?
Her tongue felt thick, a foreign object in her mouth as she swallowed the shock, her mind racing to piece together the meaning behind his words.
Minjae knew he was hurting her on purpose. Yes, she eventually had to let him go, but this felt like severing an arm, the pain excruciating. "Lady Ryu needs some more time with my medication, My Lord -"
"I'm sure other physicians can take care of it. We no longer need your assistance, Physician Kim," he said.
The words came out colder than Seung had anticipated. He watched her body go still as if bracing for impact. A part of him—a very small part—wanted to take it back. He hated how her shoulders hunched and the resignation in her posture.
As he followed her out, he could almost touch Minjae's heartbreak and wrath, and for a moment, his chest tightened, satisfaction slipping away. She was too late to hide the sheen of tears in her eyes as she set her jaw to prevent them from falling.
But she had handed another woman an elixir to seduce him, didn't she? He reminded himself vengefully.
Seung was not a man who forgave easily.
Minjae was adamant about shutting him out. Well, he would oblige her by showing how it felt.
One thing was as clear in his mind as a mirror reflecting bold, reversed text. Like all reversed things, it had misled him, twisted reality into something unrecognisable, but the deception had run its course. If Minjae thought she could shut him out forever, she was in for a rude awakening. And underestimating Lee Seung would be the biggest mistake Choi Si-wan had made in his life. Minjae had tied herself to him the moment their paths crossed, and nothing would change that. And Seung took care of what belonged to him.
She would soon learn how unforgiving he could be when wronged.
And for that, he would have to confront her with something so irrefutable that she would never be able to deny him again.