Nature disbursed light and dark willfully, whimsically, and never in equal proportion. Thus, it was not all silvery everywhere. Two obscure silhouettes sheathed within the shadows of the wooded trees eluded the lunar glow.
"They spoke about the Coronation of the Barbarian King in three weeks. From what I could glean, some of His Majesty's people will attend it. However, I also heard His Majesty and his court are actively opposing it, " the woman said, her hands tightly clasped together.
"That is old news," KA Min Kyu said coldly.
"They did not allow the servants in there, Sir," the woman said, trying to suppress the slight quiver in her voice.
"How is that my problem, wench?" He sneered. Inspector KA Min Kyu raked the woman from top to bottom. "You have other ways to find out."
Even the shaded darkness of the forest could not conceal the look of distaste that crossed her face.
"So, is it beneath you now?" He mocked.
"That is not true. You have taught me well. I have never shied away from what I must do, Dari," she lifted her chin defiantly.
"Ah! Such fire," he murmured. He grabbed her by the jaw, his fingertips forcing the skin inside of her cheeks to grind into her teeth, her lips forming a forced pout of discomfort. "What are you hiding from me?" He asked.
"N-nothing, I tried to get as much information as possible, Dari. Please believe me," she gurgled.
He let go of her jaw.
"Dari, I am doing everything you asked me to," she pleaded, wringing the hands she kept clasped under the front of her long blouse.
He stepped closer. His thumb traced her lower lip, toying with it. "Are you worried? You don't have to, little bird. KA Min Kyu always keeps his word. I will give you a new life away from here."
A gleam of excitement entered the woman's eyes. Her mouth opened, and his thumb slid in. She placed her hands on his chest and tried to step closer to him. KA Min Kyu glanced at her hands pointedly. Then he twisted her hands away from his chest and flung them down. He grabbed her by her shoulders and roughly shoved her up against the tree trunk behind her. Bunching her skirt around her waist, his hands roved around her thighs. His fingers pushed inside the inlet of her underpants and penetrated her warm, wet flesh. She closed her eyes and moaned, her pelvis gravitating towards him.
"Who else did you see?"
"Only the Minister of Defence and another man, but I d-don't know who it was," she struggled to get the words out, her hips moving, helplessly responding to his invading digits. "I heard the servants...." she stopped, gasping, her head falling forward.
His busy fingers squeezed and pinched her delicate flesh savagely. Her eyes flew open, and another moan escaped her lips, this time a cry of pain.
"Make a sound again, and I will make you regret it."
"Please....I'm sorry," she begged, a sliver of fear glazing her eyes.
"What did you hear from the servants?" His eyes were cold as a dead fish.
"I heard them discuss that we might get a new g-governor soon."
"What else?"
"N-nothing, I swear.."
She clasped the rough bark of the tree behind her until her fingers scraped and her nails cracked.
He smiled, moving closer. KA Min Kyu was a master at dictating everything under his purvey, including his own aroused body that fed off her fear. His fingers and thumb moved masterfully, controlling her pleasure like a puppeteer pulling the strings of his puppet.
"You are so greedy," he leered. His torture continued, a predator playing its helpless prey. Her hips jerked back and forth. The woman sank her teeth into her lower lip until they drew blood, trying to stifle her guttural moans. KA Min Kyu observed her keenly as her vision gradually glazed under his expert manipulation of her swollen nub and flooded canal, her breath coming faster as she rode the wave of her lust, and his lips curled in a grimace.
A movement far away in the periphery caught his attention. He looked over his shoulder toward the town border. Two figures atop a horse had stopped.
Even from a distance, he could make out the uniform—the new Commander of the island. KA's mouth twisted in contempt. Interestingly, the other figure was of a woman.
KA Min Kyu wiped his wet, dripping fingers on the woman's tunic and left her panting under the tree, moving to the edge of the bushy growth of the forest around him to get a better view.
Silence shrouded them as he keenly watched the figures through the maze of bony twigs and lush spring leaves. The Commander helped the woman get off the horse, holding her close for a few minutes before stepping back. Taking the horse's reins in his hands, Lee Seung led the way while the woman followed. KA Min Kyu could not hear what they spoke but could make out they were conversing earnestly. He saw the Commander throw back his head, the wind easily carrying his laughter across to the wretched darkness shrouding them. A knife of rage twisted his innards.
Kim Minjae. He could recognise that form blindfolded. Blood rushed to his eyes, his veins throbbed painfully and his erection swelled uncontrolably. He ground his teeth and spit.
"She is a lowborn, too, and yet treats everyone as if she is above them," the woman behind him said scornfully.
KA took his time to face her. The darkness did little to hide the venom in his eyes. "You dare compare yourself to her?" He snarled.
The woman stepped back, her pupils dilating, a visibly trembling hand pressed on her chest. "N-No, Dari, that is not what I meant. Please forgive me for speaking out of turn. I...I can make you happy, too; please give me a chance."
His palm made contact with her cheek in a slap that jolted her head sideways.
"How dare a lowly woman like you dream of receiving my seeds in your womb, you wench!" His lips curled in distaste and a morbid self-denial. His hands lashed out and latched onto the hair at the nape of her neck. Twisting the thick base of her braid, he dragged her close to him, his face inches from her bloodless one. "Find out what she is doing with that bastard and report it to me in three days. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand," her voice was hoarse as she cowered within his merciless clasp, her scalp burning in agony.
"Along with everything that happened behind closed doors at the Governor's house," his fisted hand shook her by the hair.
She nodded wordlessly, trying not to whimper.
"If you please me, I might reward you next time," he said. He pushed her away with such force that she fell against a tree, the rough surface grazing the skin of her back through the cheap cotton hanbok. He tossed five coins at her feet and left the safety of darkness. The woman folded over to the ground. She rocked herself, tears of frustration and rage spilling over.
Icy hatred coursed her veins as she thought of Kim Minjae. She would pay. One day, Kim Minjae would pay for all the suffering she had caused.
∞
"T-thank you for telling me, but whether you are faithful or not is of no concern to me," Minjae tipped her head up to meet Seung's eyes, her hands resting on the sleeves of his muscular forearms while his hands seared her flesh through the thick cotton hanbok on her waist. The night whispered sweet nothings into her ears. The cool, heavy, salty mist drifted against her warm cheeks."You are wasting your time, Commander Lee."
"Wasting my time on what, Physician Kim?" Seung didn't move his hands from her body, his hold feather-light, his eyes keeping hers captive.
"I lead an elementary life. Nothing about me would interest you, so let us end this here. I don't want to play any more games," She tried her hand at sanity through the throat that seemed deprived of moisture.
"I don't either. Come on, Physician Kim, you undersell yourself. You should leave it for me to decide what interests me." His eyes were warm and inviting. The gravelly road crunched under his boots as he stepped back. "And you owe me a flick," he said.
Her waist lost warmth by several degrees while her temperature rose at the feeling of deprivation. She shook her head with a resolute "No."
"Kim Minjae, you cheat without reservation!" They fell into an amble, with Seung leading the horse. The path was a ribbon, stretching out before them, winding and twisting as it always had, narrow and unkempt, a far cry from the paved horse pathway they had left behind. The tiny gravel littering the path skittered and jumped around their feet, the crispness of the crunch from their footsteps creating an odd symphony with the horse's steady hooves.
"This silly game was your idea," she quipped.
"I do not recall you objecting too loudly either. You forget the flick was your idea," Lee Seung said, quirking his lips in a half smile. He could almost read the thoughts of alarm in her head.
"You went into the game with an unfair advantage," Minjae said darkly.
"It was you who said you know me," Seung teased.
"I did not. You deliberately chose to misinterpret me. I said I know enough to understand I don't need to know more," said Minjae, her face set in acrimonious lines.
A sound of crackle and pop came from a distance. Someone had lighted a fire somewhere to chase away the cold. A smattering of seashore noises wafting through the air reached their ears. The fishermen must have sailed inshore.
"I am afraid I have reasons to doubt the accuracy of that statement, Physician Kim," Seung said.
"And those reasons would be -?" Minjae raised her eyebrows.
"I will tell you one day, but now it's not the time," Seung said, his voice soft, carrying itself like floating snowflakes caressing her ears.
Minjae tried to squash her rioting emotions under her placid demeanour. Lee Seung affected all her senses. She wanted to run away from him. She wanted to run to him. It felt like a giant ball of woolly cotton had replaced the cavity where her brain was supposed to be.
"Then I am afraid I have to wait for a very long time," she said in her most disdainful tone.
Seung threw his head back and laughed.
Kim Minjae thought it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.
"Kim Minjae, are you in trouble?" Han So Ye peered at her closely.
You could say that So-Ye, Minjae groaned inwardly. Outwardly, she kept her face calm, her eyes following her fingers that diligently applied the salve to So-Ye's fast-recovering bruises.
"Not that I know of," Minjae didn't raise her head.
So-Ye leaned back, the tap-tap sound of her fingers drumming the table between them filling the ensuing silence.
"For the first time, instead of driving business to me, I felt you drove it away," So-Ye drawled.
"How so?" Minjae asked nonchalantly, carefully keeping any expression of curiosity out of her voice.
"I saw the officer again," So-Ye said.
Minjae kept her head lowered, busying herself by snapping the lid shut on the salve bottle. She carefully picked up her backpack and took her sweet time opening the flap, withdrawing a pouch with an assortment of such bottles.
"Aren't you curious?" So-Ye asked.
Minjae methodically dropped the salve bottle in the pouch. "I am sure you are going to enlighten me anyway."
"He came here the night before yesterday and spent most of it asking questions about you," So-Ye informed, her gaze unwavering from Minjae's face.
So-Ye was intelligent and calculating, with a brain that could outsmart most men in robes. She was born in the wrong body at the wrong time. Had she been a Yangban nobleman, she would have eaten and spit every state exam thrown at her. Minjae valued her acumen too much to fool her for too long.
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"Commander Lee caught me and Yoon in the woods that evening," Minjae stated matter of factly. She watched So-Ye take that in, her lips curving in a shadow of a smile.
Minjae looked away. "He overheard our conversation. He knows what we do, but so far, he has not pursued it further or tried to know who else is involved. He probably wanted to know more about that."
"How interesting." So-Ye pulled the socks up her ankles and drew the hanbok hem to cover her feet, her knees now folded sideways. "He didn't mention a word on that. Not that I would expect him to. If he does not know the rest of the players, he would not know of my involvement either. But he wanted to know every little detail about you. I am sure he was positively heartbroken that I could not tell him anything about the day you were born. Unfortunately, I was born too late to witness -"
Minjae threw a cushion at her, and So-Ye ducked, her sounds of delighted cackle spreading across the room.
"I have never seen you blush, Kim Minjae. Not once!" So-Ye widened her eyes dramatically.
"Do you want to die?" Minjae hid her flaming face in her backpack, pretending to search for something urgently.
"You won't find the route to escape in that backpack," So-Ye erupted in laughter. "You did not seem surprised he came here, nor were you surprised that he spoke about you. Care to enlighten me?"
Do In Ah, the faithful maid who followed Han So Ye as a shadow, came in with a tray laden with roasted meat, flaked fish and rice gruel. So-Ye loved her food and made most of the perks her circumstances provided her.
"He fancies himself fancying me. There is nothing really to tell." Minjae prevaricated.
"And you don't?" So-Ye asked shrewdly.
Minjae's thoughts strayed towards the powerful connection she felt with Seung the previous evening and wrenched her mind from it. She shook her head vigorously.
"Why do you deny yourself so stubbornly, Kim Minjae?" Han So-Ye asked gently.
"I don't know what you are talking -"
"Oh please, Minjae. Can you accord me some intelligence, at least? You are attracted to him. My walls, these plates, even the spoons can see it," So-Ye waved a spoon under Minjae's nose exaggeratedly.
"What if I am? What difference does it make? You forget he is a Yangban, and I am a commoner, that too, a divorcee. He is so far out of my reach that even dreaming about it is a foolhardy sandcastle. And even if he wasn't, I will not give up my independence and hide away behind the walls erected by any man."
Han So-Ye rose, walked around the food-laden table, and lowered herself beside Minjae. Her violet hanbok gleamed in shades where the morning sun kissed it. "Minjae, you are a young, vibrant, beautiful woman. I understand you do not want to give away your independence. We both know he cannot marry you. But you both are adults. Perhaps you can reach an agreement that suits you both?"
Minjae almost choked on the piece of meat she had just inserted in her mouth. "What are you saying?" She sputtered between chewing, swallowing, and focusing on not dying of mortification at So-Ye's words.
So-Ye tilted her perfectly coiffed hair adorned with little pink embroidered flowers, took her restless hand, and patted it. "Kim Minjae, take your pleasures while you can. There is no shame in it."
Minjae snatched her hand and wrapped it against a cup of hot tea in a death grip. "Are you out of your mind? How can you even think of saying something so utterly shameless?"
So-Ye sighed. She got back up and walked to the window. The sun streamed on her soft, upturned face. "You are sitting in a kisaeng house, far away from the Confucian mores that very few of those hypocritical men follow. You are not a green, fresh maiden, Minjae. You cannot be completely unaware of the delights of the body. Sometimes, I feel you have never experienced the pleasure of being in a man's bed. You were married for fifteen years. Do not tell me you feel obligated to tie yourself to chaste thoughts for that sod of a husband just like those poor Yangban women cursed to a life of piety by the foolish men whose ego blinds them to reality?"
Minjae flushed a scarlet red. "So-Ye, I know my marriage was not perfect. I don't have any good memories, but I am still a married woman."
"The hell you are!"
"- and I prefer to live the life I have now."
So-Ye turned to face her. "Even though I know your husband treated you pitifully, you must have experienced something good at some point. And if you didn't, then there is more reason to think about it. And, it pains me to say so, there is no one better than Commander Lee to share such affections with. And he can provide you with the protection you need. How long do you think you can hold off someone like Inspector KA?"
Minjae shook her head. "I am not afraid of the likes of KA Min Kyu. I can take care of myself. But I will not indulge in frivolous pursuits."
"But would it hurt if you tried it? What do you have to lose? Half the people in town already think you take your pleasures without any baggage of commitment."
"I do not care what people think of me. It is not who I am; I cannot give in to base desires. It will only deviate me from my path, " Minjae whispered. Especially not with Lee Seung, because I am afraid I cannot control my heart, Minjae thought dejectedly. She could not afford to have it shattered all over again. "I do not want a man to complicate my life."
So-Ye contemplated her friend while taking a dainty bite of a soft rice cake. Kim Minjae had been beseeched by men from all walks of life as soon as she had broken out of her shell almost four years ago. Initially, Minjae had been scared and then detached. She had learned to laugh at it over time and even made friends with a few, leading to hushed rumours about her relationship with them amongst those who didn't know her better. But she had never shown interest in any of them, ever. Her marriage had perhaps scarred her. But somehow, So-Ye felt that Minjae was not even in touch with her feminity. Men simply didn't interest her.
Until Commander Lee Seung. The furious blush that had spread on Minjae's face at the mere mention of his name was novel. The interest Lee Seung had shown that night in Minjae had been novel, too. It was as if he was in a different world. He did not even see So-Ye that night. It had rankled, but it also made her smile.
So-Ye was a romantic at heart.
The truth was, there was nothing remotely base or ignoble about what Lee Seung felt for Kim Minjae. She was not sure what she was more surprised with - her friend's surprising attraction to a man and the stubborn refusal to act on it or the complete lack of lust she had seen in Lee Seung's deeply enigmatic, concerned eyes that night.
So Ye gave her a lazy grin and spooned the bowl of rice gruel. "Take it from this kisaeng, Kim Minjae. It has already been complicated. Now it depends on how soon you accept it."
Thunder clapped, followed by a streak of white line zigzagging, forking and flashing menacingly, lighting up parts of the dreary, inky expanse as the darkened sky shuddered with another ominous rumble. Minjae pulled her jangot closer to her face. The weather had suddenly turned from a radiant sunny blue to an impending storm's murky, threatening grey. The slight ache in her ankle returned, though it did not protest much as she forced it to steer her quickly through the dusty, narrow road. A small stretch of the path leading from the Kisaeng house to the village was secluded, surrounded by dense woods and tall grass, and while she had never felt any danger, it did make her nervous at times.
Her mind wandered to the conversation with Han So-Ye. She forced it on things mundane.
There would be no kite flying today, Minjae reflected.
She made a mental list of the things she had to complete by the end of the day. The order for the cattle's fodder had to be placed with the farmer. Her sister was busy assisting her husband in storing the fresh catch from the sea while the seamen repaired and prepped their fishing boats for the forthcoming open-sea trips. Minjae would have to helm the kitchen along with Kim Da Mi and Yi Hu Ri, their resident cook. She wondered if Im Ji Won had returned from delivering the fresh supply of herbs to the small pharmacy north of the town that catered exclusively to the nobles. But first, Minjae had to stop by Aunt Ko Jin's house and check on her knees.
Her mind refused to stay tethered to the mundane, winding itself back to the morning conversation.
What do you have to lose? So-Ye had asked.
Everything! Minjae had wanted to cry out. Every stone that she had carefully mounted to salvage an almost-lost life would topple and bury her if she was careless.
Would it truly be that bad to let go of her fears just this once, to embrace her desires and grasp at that elusive happiness, even if it proved fleeting? Heaven knew how desperately, in the deepest recess of her terrified mind, she had yearned a look of tenderness that would quench her thirsty soul. Yet now that there was a whisper of it becoming a reality, she wanted nothing to do with it. Such was her fate. Her mind became a blur of noise that boomed and cracked around her confused, agitated mind.
A shadow fell before her, forcing her to stop and raise her head.
"You seem to be in a hurry, Kim Minjae," a gravelly voice said, the ugliness of his tone sending pinpricks of repugnance down her spine. She bowed as respectfully as possible and said her greetings, "Inspector KA."
"Kim Minjae, I am disappointed in you. You lied to me," KA Min Kyu said.
She gripped the straps of her backpack tightly and replied in as neutral a voice as she could muster, "I am certain you are mistaken, Sir. I have hardly met you enough times to have spoken about anything, lies or otherwise."
He made a clucking sound as he stepped closer, invading her space. Minjae put all her effort into focusing on not recoiling from him. She doggedly planted her feet and returned his stare.
"You told me that day on the hill that you were out to get fresh air, and you had nothing to do with the new Commander on the island at the beach," he said.
"That is indeed true, Sir, not that I need to give you any explanation. As I told you that evening, I had not even met our Commander."
"Yet you were gallivanting with him last night, unchaperoned, letting him touch you," he sneered. His eyes held a strange light of depravity that turned Minjae's blood cold.
Minjae knew her face lost colour, but she would never show this slimeball her weakness.
"Commander Lee very kindly gave me a ride to the hospital as I had to visit a patient," she said. "Now, if I can take your leave, I have work to do."
"Have you shared your body with him already?" A side of his lip curled.
A pure cascade of revulsion slammed through Minjae's body at his disgusting words. Minjae would be a fool to discount that KA Min Kyu was dangerous, and his obsession with her only worsened by the day. She also knew he had been stalking her. The quiet of the forest rang like a death bell, mirroring the terror of her heart. But she would never give him the satisfaction of showing any fear.
"As expected, Inspector KA, your vileness always touches new heights. I cannot even dignify that with an answer. Have a good day, Sir."
"I have maintained immense patience with you, Kim Minjae. I can pick you up, throw you down on the forest bed and take you. No one can stop me, you lowly woman. I have held back because I had hoped to win your affection. But if you choose to discard my wishes and be a shameless whore, there is no reason why I should hold back anymore," he bared his teeth, the snarl giving his gaunt face a macabre look.
Kim Minjae had learned a few valuable lessons in her life. The most important one was never to feed brutality by showing it your nervousness. Retreat was the most prudent course of action. Unfortunately, sometimes, that only delayed the inevitable because timidity bred violence and violent people who targeted the weak were always cowards.
She stepped closer.
A flicker of uncertainty crossed his eyes at her unexpected move. He was so used to everyone trembling, bowing and scraping to him that even a little sliver to the contrary threw him off.
Minjae deadlocked her eyes with him. "Inspector KA Min Kyu, Sir, listen to me very carefully. Touch me, and I will paralyse you. It will not last too long, so you do not need to worry," she said conversationally, "but it will be long enough to turn you into a eunuch. The best part is you will not feel a thing as I am great at making it painless unless you prefer the more painful method."
Something akin to fear flashed across his eyes, and the skin around his mouth paled.
She bowed and stepped by him.
A hissing laugh followed her.
"I had sent some men to Tosan with a specific work. They came back with some fascinating news. Your husband, Jo Sung Ha, has not returned home in almost four years. Interestingly, he was last seen leaving this island in the afternoon hours. And if my memory serves me right, I had seen your father and brother-in-law leave the island by a boat that night."
Minjae's heart slammed like a hammer to a rock, her head feeling light. She slowly turned around. "I do not know what you are driving at, but that is a despicable insinuation to make."
His reptile-like eyes beaded. "If I were to take this insinuation to the Royal Investigation Bureau, who would they believe? A fifth rank officer of the King or a commoner at the lowest rung of the society?"
I can only assure you that you at least do not have to worry about Jo Sung Ha ever again....Is that what her father had meant the other night?
Minjae felt as if leeches were sucking her dry. She tried to command her features into a stony silence, frantically regulating her breath to hide the gnawing fear churning her stomach.
It could not be. It had to be another of this vile man's deplorable attempts to cow her into submission.
"Inspector KA, I am very well aware you have been tarnishing my reputation to anyone who will listen. But implying that my father and brother-in-law might have somehow harmed my husband - this is low, even by your standards. Don't you agree?" Minjae wore the most condescending air that she could conjure.
Loathing coated his debased eyes, but he did not attempt to close their distance.
Her threats had found their mark, Minjae thought with satisfaction.
Pounding hooves disturbed the still air around them, the powerfully sharp, metallic sound of horseshoes drawing closer.
They both spun automatically towards the source of the sound. A familiar figure in military attire of red and yellow dongdari on a black horse turned the corner, followed closely by four guardsmen.
Relief washed through Minjae like a burst dam flooding a parched land.
Lee Seung reared to a stop as his eyes fell on Kim Minjae. He dismounted.
"Physician Kim? What are you doing here? The thunderstorm looks dangerous."
His eyes sized up KA Min Kyu.
KA bowed deeply. "I have not yet made your acquaintance, Commander Lee. I, KA Min Kyu, Royal Inspector of the goods arriving on the island by the sea and river route, present myself at your service. I met Physician Kim and offered her company to the village as the storm will be upon us soon, and it's quite secluded here."
Minjae shivered at his words, not sure if Seung caught the sleazy undertone that she did.
Seung studied the man, his eyes inscrutable.
"There is no need, Inspector KA," Minjae said. "I can return to the village myself. I am sure you have duties to return to. Let me not keep you from them."
"If you catch the storm, you both can get hurt by the fallen limbs of trees around you," Seung said. Turning to a guardsman, he added, "Guardsman Kang, please drop Inspector KA to his official chamber. The rest of you proceed to my office. I will meet you there."
KA gave another deferential bow. "I am grateful for your graciousness, Sir." He tilted his head towards Minjae. "I shall take your leave, Physician Kim. Do give my words a thought," he said politely while his eyes dripped with naked hatred.
Minjae watched the man leave on the back of a horse of a guardsman and almost slumped with relief. She turned to Seung and found his eyes watching her closely.
She coloured under his intense scrutiny. "Khamzahamnida, Dari."
"Was that man bothering you?" Seung asked.
Despite herself, Minjae found a small smile playing on her lips. "No more than a certain someone who keeps giving me unwanted attention, Dari," she said impishly.
Seung raised an eyebrow at her, his lips curving in a half smile. "Does that certain someone also have a black horse you seem to like a lot?"
Minjae felt her heart lift in a flutter. "What if I said yes?"
"Then that certain someone will try his best to prove to you that his attentions are not unwanted," Seung tilted his head back and gave her a hooded look, his smile widening.
Minjae gave in to a smile. "How does he propose to do that?"
Seung stepped closer until he was upon her. His hands closed in on her waist. Minjae swallowed at the sudden proximity, blood rushing to her head, her eyes widening. Automatically, her hands curled on his chest.
Seung stood there, looking at her intently. Minjae could feel his heart speed up under her palms.
"He-" Seung left the sentence incomplete, his eyes dropping to her lips. He bent his head, and she felt his breath in her ear.
Minjae's head swam with expectation. Unwittingly, she closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt her feet leave the ground and her body lift. Her eyes flew open, her hands clutching him for purchase as she felt the ground increasing its distance from her. Seung deposited her on the horse's back.
"He plans to do that by taking you somewhere special," he looked up, his eyes alight with humour.
She didn't know if she felt disappointed or elated. Seung swung up behind her. "It looks like you are making a habit of riding with me, Kim Minjae," he laughed.
Surprisingly, Minjae experienced no fear as she sat atop the magnificent black creature. Its sleek coat felt silky beneath her touch, and its majestic black mane danced as it flexed its muscles. She marvelled at how alike the man and the beast were. Strong, gentle, magnificent. She sighed. Seung pulled the reins, his arms encasing her in their warmth, the left side of her back snug against his powerful chest. She held her jangot around her shoulders, feeling safe and imperilled simultaneously. She could feel the heat coming off his taut body, and she wanted to lean back into him. Her pulse jumped at the thought. She took a deep breath to calm her jittery nerves and clamouring senses.
It took her a moment to realise they had turned towards the woods.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked in surprise.
"To a place I love to visit, and it's most beautiful when it's raining. Is that all right with you? We can head to the village if you want."
Minjae paused momentarily before she looked over her shoulder at him, meeting his eyes. "Please take me to that place, Dari."