Sweat ran down his spine like free-falling streams. Saline rivulets dripped from Seung's forehead and temples, running into his eyes. He irritatedly wiped the salty moisture with the back of his hand, ignoring the burn in his eyes.

How was it possible? What happened? Was the woman kidnapped?

Seung pushed his muscles, the wooden rod's thunderous clash with the punching bag resonating around the arena.

A slave missing from such a powerful household would cause commotion in the offices across the country, with her face plastered everywhere. Joseon men were nauseatingly possessive about their slave population in direct service to them.

Another sandbag burst under his merciless assault.

Did she run away, or was she punished for coming to him that evening?

He didn't wait for the sandbag to be replaced. Instead, he turned his ire on a subak wooden stand, slapping and punching it with precision. His fingers and palms moved with a practiced rhythm while the cords of his arms rippled angrily in response.

Dari, I am Woo Sa-ri, Lady Choi's maid. I must speak to you...

Seung could still recall his curiosity when Woo Sa Ri appeared in his modest house that evening, looking terrified. Another elderly woman who accompanied her stood outside. Yet when Woo Sa Ri had stammered and stuttered to say her piece, it had only succeeded in repulsing him. She told him nothing new, and he had wondered why she had even risked the visit in the first place. He tried recalling her exact words but failed. She had blabbered something on the lines that Lord Choi Si-wan adored his daughter to the exclusion of all his other children because she was the only child of his beloved late wife. Spoiled and selfish, Choi Ji Na successfully duped everyone with her model behaviour while planning to escape with her lover but was caught. However, her father refused to believe she could do such a thing and blamed her half-brother for leading her astray because he was jealous of the attention Choi Si Wan gave his daughter.

She pleaded with him not to visit Lord Si Wan anymore because he punished his son Choi Se-min whenever he was upset. Seung had not been surprised to learn that her mistress, Lady Jina, was selfish and only thought of herself. Lady Choi would never divorce him because it granted her freedom. What bothered him, though, was the maid's allegation that Choi Jina actively sought ways to punish her brother. Even back then, it did not agree with the peripheral image he had of the woman in the court. But he had been so enraged with the entire situation that he gave it little thought when she pleaded with him to consider Lord Choi Se Min's plight. It had been the strangest request. "Please help him, My Lord. Please forget about her. She is not fit to be your wife. And Lady Jina must never know I have come here. She will make life unbearable for me."

He might not have liked Choi Jina, but for some strange reason, it had angered him to have a maid speak so disloyally about her mistress. Disgusted, he had shown her the door with a strict warning never to come back again. Woo Sa Ri left his chamber so fast it seemed she was being chased by demons.

Eventually, he deduced Choi Se-Min might have sent the maid. Seung shook his head, trying to clear his memory. Was there something else that he didn't see? Who had sent her to him? It was clearly to dissuade him from returning to the Choi household. But why would a maid take such a risk only to say something so inane and disloyal?

While living the life of an undercover spy with his life at stake every moment, Seung had learnt to distrust everything. If it didn't fit, his hound-like senses became overactive. Woo Sa Ri's picture didn't fit.

Seung tried to recall if something else was missing from his memory.

All that crowded his mind was the strange, dejected look Kim Minjae had given him in the morning.

Despair underscored his mental exhaustion, so he continued to punish himself physically. Seung kicked and pounded more sandbags and burst the seams of another few.

His men watched him from the sidelines with concern.

"How long has he been here?" Sargeant asked.

"More than three hours now, My Lord," Wang Jung replied, scratching his wispy-haired chin.

When Sergeant Han entered the arena with his wooden sword, Seung was ready for him. His muscles howled with fatigue but didn't stop him from attacking Sargeant's sword with rare viciousness.

"I thought it was your day off today," Sargent observed as he warded a blow from Seung.

Seung jabbed. Sargent parried.

Seung made a slash. Sargeant was well aware of his style and successfully averted it.

"Did you perchance have a quarrel with our esteemed Physician?" Sargeant pondered.

No amount of practice could leave anyone standing when Seung was a wounded bull. He leapt and brought his sword down in one sweep, breaking Sargent's sword in half.

Sargeant looked sorrowfully at the broken end of the sword in his hand. "I hope your thoughts are a little more charitable towards me than they were for this poor piece of wood," he lamented in his understated tone.

"Then you should keep your nose out of places it does not belong," Seung retorted in a clipped voice.

"Ah! So a quarrel it is," Sargeant said with the slightest hint of a smile. "But Commander Lee, it's unfair to make it personal in swordplay."

Seung expelled a breath. "Everything is personal here," he retorted, gesturing at the expanse of the arena, and then turned on his heel.

"We have news, Commander Lee," Sargeant said to his retreating, sweat glistening back.

Seung paused, turning slightly, a questioning look in his eyes while he towelled himself dry.

"I was going to come to you tomorrow, but seeing you are here, it might be better if we discussed it today," Sargeant said somberly.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

∞

"She is losing the baby," Minjae said. Her face was grey, her lips pinched.

Captain Park Hyun Ki showed no emotion outwards, but his stomach lurched. Nam Dami sank to her knees, and a painful cry escaped her lips.

"You both must return. I have to stay back. Send Ko Yoon tomorrow morning with these supplies," Minjae handed him a small scroll.

"Will she live?" Captain Park asked.

"I don't know," Minjae looked at him bleakly. "She is malnourished, injured and is losing too much blood. Even if she lives through this, she has infected lacerations that might still kill her."

"I will stay with you," Nam Dami whispered.

"No. Abuji has not yet returned; we have folks to medicate on the island."

"Yes, we will return home," Captain Park said quietly, his expressive eyes deep with understanding. He looked at Minjae thoughtfully. He had seldom seen her so distraught, even though there was not much she had not seen as a physician.

∞

Later that night, as he knocked on Seung's work chamber, he couldn't help but wonder if Seung knew about the stark contrast in Minjae's behaviour when she was in his presence compared to who she used to be before Seung's arrival on the island.

Commander Lee Seung welcomed Captain Park with an expressionless face.

"How is the woman doing?" Seung asked, his voice resigned.

"Not well. She might not make it, My Lord."

Seung nodded, looking down. His fingers played with the edges of a page in the book he had been reading.

Captain Park studied the man.

Even as a man himself, Captain Park could appreciate that Lee Seung was among the most handsome men he'd ever seen or that he had accomplished remarkable feats when men his age were still trying to secure a government job. But it was that certain air about him, a particular vulnerability, that gave him depth and made him irresistible. It was no surprise why even someone as reserved as Kim Minjae would be captivated by his charm.

Captain Park curled his fingers until his nails dug into his flesh. He disliked Lee Seung viscerally but also felt sorry for the man. However, as a soldier, he knew his pity would only earn him a punch in the face.

Seung asked after Minaje on a formal note until Captain Park handed Seung the scroll from Minjae. Seung sat up straight. Hope flashed in his eyes before Seung schooled it.

"It's a supply list for soldier Ko Yoon," Captain Park said helpfully.

The ungrateful man summarily dismissed him without another thought. So much for feeling sorry for the ass, Captain Park thought sourly as he determinedly strode towards his final destination for the night.

Han So Ye wasn't pleased to see him either.

"You need not have inconvenienced yourself, My Lord. Nam Dami has already conveyed the details. I will be sending some extra dresses and money tomorrow."

"I am not here to talk about others," Park Hyun Ki said softly.

"I cannot play for you tonight, My Lord. I am sorry to disappoint you," she said, bowing extravagantly before turning her back towards him and facing the window. "I am not in a mood."

"I paid good money, so I better get the return I seek," he drawled to her shapely, elaborately dressed back.

"You can take it back. With interest," Han So ye said snarkily.

The silence stretched, suffocating them.

"You let that bastard sleep with you," Hyun Ki said, dropping all pretense.

"So you still have snitches on your payroll," Han So Ye said in a brittle voice.

Park Hyun Ki closed the distance between them, yanking her against him. "Did you? Did you sleep with the Commander?"

Han So Ye pushed at him, struggling to loosen his hold. Failing to make any difference, she raised her chin. "Yes, I did. What is it to you?"

His mouth twisted. "I want to kill him for being near you. Did it not even matter that your best friend likes him?"

"She did not know him then," Han So Ye defended herself reflexively. Then, she closed her eyes in disgust. "I don't need to explain myself. Please get the refund on your way out."

"You could not wait for me?" He was pale around his mouth.

She glared at him, her eyes lined with a film of unshed tears.

"Why?" His cry was hoarse. He roughly palmed the back of her neck. "Why?" His hand tightened.

"Why not! Did you think I was jesting when I told you I did not want to be exclusive to anyone? I am free to do my bidding. No one holds a sway over me, My Lord. I do not belong!" Han So Ye said, her tone defiant, but the soft sheen in her lotus-shaped eyes spoke of a different story.

"Why him?" his jaw was locked, his rage in his eyes palpable. His hand snaked around her, trapping her against his hard body.

"Because he is rich and the best looking man I have seen. Because he is powerful."

His hand shifted, his fingers running small circles on her lower back. "Why, Han So Ye?" He asked again, his voice low and husky.

Han So Ye struggled in his grip. "Because I could. Because he made me forget the poisonous thoughts in my head for a night. Because I didn't have to risk my heart! So let me go."

"Is that why you made him bruise you? So you could forget me?" His gaze shredded her bare to her soul.

"You give yourself too much credit, My Lord," Han So Ye said acidly.

"I can make you forget every man you have ever laid your eyes on," Park Hyun Ki's voice cracked as he caught her hips, grounding her against him.

"You cannot afford me," she retorted bitterly.

"I will make it happen, Soyea," he clung to her desperately.

"I am one of the most expensive Kisaeng in Joseon, My Lord, way beyond the reach of a struggling Yangban naval Captain with no money to speak of," she said cruelly.

"Then you don't know me, Kisaeng Han. When I set my mind to it, there is not much I do not achieve," he gripped her head, angling it towards him so her lips were inches from him. He let his fingers glide over the buttery angles of her cheekbones, wet eyelids, the pert ridge of her nose, his touch featherlight. His thumb ran across her full lower lip.

She turned her face away. "The state does not pay me for this. You need to pay extra," she spat at him.

Park Hyun Ki's grip loosened so suddenly that Han So Ye stumbled. Revulsion contorted his face. "You are right. I cannot afford you. I don't even think I want to anymore. I have been hoping and praying I would find the woman who gave me her heart all those years ago. Yet, I only see a woman who is but a mockery of who she used to be. You might want to call back that rich bastard again. That poor sod is mopping over the Ice Queen. He might benefit from some thawing."

Han So ye's palm connected with his cheek with a crack.

"Careful, Kisaeng Han. You dare raise a hand on a Yangban?" His eyes glittered dangerously.

"Get out," Han So Ye heaved, her red and yellow silk handbok rippling down her slender form like a gentle stream.

"With pleasure. I hope your nights of debauchery are enough to fill the empty shell that enclosed my heart once," his voice had so much grief and revulsion that it hit her like a gail.

Han So Ye watched him leave through the wet film of her blurry eyes. Talons of pain clawed deep within her insides. She sank to the ground as his angry footsteps faded.

You are the reason our family has been unable to have an heir? How dare you lure our son into your filthy life, you whore! Killing you would have been an easier option, but your death will create too many questions. Turn him away, or we must strike him off our family registry.

Han So Ye locked her hands around her knees, brought them to her chest, and rocked herself, trying to stem the plough of anguish that raked her.

∞

"The bleeding has stemmed," the weathered, leathery face of the old man relaxed a little, his eyes reflecting the light of wisdom collected through decades of observing the world through the seraphic gaze of a monk. "Her fever has broken. You should rest for a while, My lady."

Kim Minjae wiped the girl's forehead, which looked like parched paper. Minjae watched her closely. Her breathing was soft and rhythmic, and her forehead felt cool to the touch.

Minjae dropped the towel in the water dish and dipped her head back, creaking it to ease the tension. She gently patted the girl's forehead and unfolded herself.

Cold hands gripped her warm one. Minjae's eyes snapped to the girl, who was looking at her with a pain-dimmed but clear gaze.

Her mouth moved, and sounds came out, almost indecipherable. "Irr wzzz nrr in weyzn...uii err rive.."

The girl struggled to form the sentence, but to Minjae's ears, her words were as clear as a rainbow in the sunny, moist sky.

Minjae looked up at the ceiling, trying to stem her tears.

"...rakn uii...drrn reve me."

"I won't," Minjae broke down, her tears spilling over like a restrained river breaking the crack of a dam. "I won't leave you. Please sleep. Please....Woo Sa Ri, please, I need you to get well."