Distant wind chimes echoed softly through Seung's hanok, blending with the gentle sizzle of hot soup being ladled into bowls by expert servants. The warmth of freshly brewed barley tea lingered on their tongues, easing the cold morning chill seeping through the walls.
Choi Se-min, Seung decided, was a man of few words, his handsome face pensive but polite through most of the meal. The gentle slope of his broad forehead curved into an elegant, narrow nose and a full mouth, which softened the edged lines of his carved jawline and cheekbones. Crossly, Seung conceded that the man was unnaturally handsome. Seung himself was a fine specimen of a man if he could say so himself. Still, he couldn't help but notice that standing next to Se-min was like placing a well-aged wine beside a freshly picked grape. Both had their merits, but one was clearly more... youthful. Closer to Minjae's age.
The thought made him scowl into his barley tea.
Moreover, did Choi Se-min chance upon Minjae? The thought killed his appetite. "Did you meet anyone else you know today?" Seung asked conversationally, trying not to sound too obvious.
"No, I did not," Se-min said, sounding a little perplexed. "The maid in her room, I have never seen her before." There was no guile in Se-min's eyes.
He had not seen Minjae. Appetite restored, Seung looked at him speculatively. "I remember she used to have a servant she grew up with. What happened to her?" Seung wondered if Se-min remembered Woo-Sari. He had forgotten Se-min might recognise the former slave.
"She died a few months after Noonim and you were married. Noonim was, um, sent away for some time, so we didn't get to see her for a long time," he replied, throwing Seung a quick glance.
Seung would have to remind Minjae to hide Woo Sari well.
Picking up a piece of gim, the toasted seaweed crisp under his fingers, Seung placed it atop a spoon of rice, savouring the subtle blend of sesame oil and salt with each bite. "You should visit your sister more often, Choi Se-min," he said between mouthfuls. "You must be lonely without your family here."
Se-min's brown silk eyes were mirrored with unspoken thoughts when he looked up. Seung's heart skipped a beat for no reason as a flicker of recognition stirred in his memory. It was strange how familiar Se-min looked; it was as if he had seen these features before, perhaps in a distant memory he could not recall with any precision, which was understandable as he had met the man only a handful of times and had interacted with him even less.
A puzzle. Something was staring at him, but he could not recognise it. Seung shook his head to clear the bizarre thought.
"I do not want to trouble you," Choi Se-min responded, his composed tone at odds with the emotion flickering in his gaze.
"Do not worry about that. Families should be together; you always have a place at the table in our home," Seung said gently, topping his barley tea cup.
Choi Se-min shifted uneasily on the wooden floor as they sat cross-legged before the low lacquered table. "Noonim was not very happy to see me," he finally said.
Seung focused on the delicate banchan dishes on the table—a colourful mix of kimchi, namul, and jangajji—and used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of namul. "Why is that?"
"She thinks I will again get her into trouble," Seung said, a self-deprecating tone lacing his voice.
"Trouble?" Seung raised a brow.
He nodded. "Father thinks I am a bad influence on her," he said sadly.
Seung felt an irrational urge to comfort the younger man. "Irrespective, I am sure she cares about you," he said kindly.
"I believe so, too. Otherwise, Noonim would not have been so troubled over my injury," Choi Se-min said, a faint smile gracing his features. He set his chopstick aside and picked up the spoon. "The rumours about her are not true," he said suddenly.
Seung paused. The subject veered into a territory he had no intention of exploring. "It's all right. I don't hold anything against her," he said truthfully.
Se-min brightened. "Did she already tell you why she left the marriage chamber that night then?" The hopeful tone in his voice brought a shine to his eyes.
"We have not spoken about it," Seung said curtly.
The shine disappeared, replaced by a guilty look. "It was not her fault; please believe me. She was too naive. I have never met anyone with more integrity than Noonim," Se-min said, his face opening up earnestly.
Seung suppressed a mocking laugh. Choi Jina was cunning, shrewd and emotionally cold, while Se-min seemed open, honest and warm. He seemed to have great love for his older sister, who didn't seem to care for him much.
Despite himself, Seung found himself liking the man, even though he still resented his presence in Minjae's life, however obscure it might be.
"So why did you think she left?" Seung decided to humour him, though his thoughts darkened. He wondered what stories had been fed to the younger siblings.
Se-min's face fell. "It's not my place to tell. She would be furious if she knew I had even mentioned that night. Please disregard it."
"We do not need to discuss it. However, you are always welcome here."
"If it is all right, I would rather not, Brother-in-law. Noonim has always been stubborn and unwavering in her duties despite the lack of kindness shown to her while growing up. Yet, if she has resolved not to see me, no force will sway her."
Seung absorbed the information, uncertain if they spoke of the same woman. Choi Jina was dutiful enough, he supposed. He opened his mouth to question further, but the distant look in Se-min's eyes gave him pause. Moreover, while he did not wish to disrupt Choi Se-min's nostalgic reflection, he recognised it wasn't just nostalgia—there was a deep-seated reverence there, something Seung hadn't expected, so he kept his thoughts to himself.
Choi Se-min shook his head. "She didn't even accept my gift."
"Gift?"
Se-min nodded.
Seung stretched his hand. "Do you still have it? I will speak with her and give it. I have a sister. I know how it feels."
Choi Se-min looked at him hopefully. He retrieved rolled paper from his peach hanbok. "She didn't even look at it. Father frowns upon it, but she always encouraged me to draw." He unrolled the paper. It was a sketch of a woman holding a young child's hand, standing on a stone path that wound through a lush garden, leading towards a pavilion. The child gazed up with curious innocence while the woman looked down, nurturing and gentle, their love transcending the charcoal lines. The scene was shaded with soft, lively contrasts.
Seung recognised the sketch as similar to those in Se-min's room before.
And the sketch that Minjae had.
"Who are they?" Seung asked, genuinely curious.
"The little girl is Noonim, with our grandmother. Noonim lived with Halemoni until she passed away. Noonim was the happiest then and missed Halemoni terribly when she was gone."
Seung stared at the sketch.
"This house -" he pointed to the pavilion. Something pricked at the nape of his neck.
"Halemoni's. Now yours. It's deeded to Noonim's husband," Choi Se-min said.
A distant memory of a girl tugging a doll to soothe his sister flickered in his mind again.
Was it Choi Jina he had met as a child?
The possibility unsettled him more than Seung cared to admit.
"Noonim used to take care of it diligently before she was married. Have you not seen the house? She visited it when she came to Hanyang last month."
"What?" Seung's chopsticks hovered mid-air, the bite of rice forgotten, sure he didn't hear it right. Visited Hanyang? "Choi Jina didn't go to Hanyang." Blinks of confusion flickered Seung's eyes.
Choi Se-min flushed and stammered. "Oh! I-I have not been there in a while, so I must have been mistaken," he said, not meeting Seung’s eyes.
"Where? Weren't you in Hanyang before you came here with His Highness?"
"I mean, I have not been to the house," Se-min squirmed nervously.
There it was. Seung set the chopsticks down slowly, almost unhurriedly, as if giving himself time to absorb what he had just heard. The lie. Seung's mouth thinned.
Se-min had been open and honest until the conversation turned to the night of Minjae's meeting. Why?
Lies had a way of festering, poisoning everything they touched. But was the lie told to protect or to deceive?
"I might have heard it in passing, but do you have someone in the family who knows medicine?" Seung asked with deliberate intonation.
To his surprise, Choi Se-min's face opened up with relief. "Halemoni was a healer. She learnt it while tending to our sick great-grandmother as a young girl in the village." His eyes shone as he spoke about his grandmother. Clearly, memories he cherished, though he must have been very young when she passed. Seung thought she sounded like a remarkable woman. "At one point, they had to escape to the mountains during the Imjin War. She lived under the protection of the monks and learnt more about healing. We were told she met our grandfather while nursing him for an injury. Noonim wanted to be a healer like Halemoni. She had this rag doll that she used to 'treat' for wounds constantly. The doll had more stitches than fabric; she wouldn't part with it for anything, though she gave it away to soothe some child once."
Seung closed his eyes.
"Brother-in-law Lee, has she ever fed you her famous concoctions?" Se-min asked, his voice laced with amusement.
Seung only shook his head. His mind went blank as he tried to reconcile Se-min's image of a young Choi Jina with the woman he knew.
"She learned it from Halemoni. It tasted awful, but it was quite effective. After Noonim came to live with us, she'd make that brew for all the servants whenever they had aches or cuts. They started avoiding her like a plague if they were hurt because she insisted on making the brew for them," Se-min laughed nostalgically.
A memory pierced through Seung.
It had been their third day of bliss in Hanyang before all his suspicions tainted the memories.
"It tastes awful, Minjae," Seung grumbled, eyeing the brew with distaste.
"I saw you wince in pain last night, and there's a bit of swelling on your arm," she scolded gently.
"It's just a scratch," he muttered.
"I've seen worse infections from lesser wounds. Drink it. It's never failed."
"Whoever taught you this abomination should be made to drink this every day," he grumbled, but he drank it anyway.
"My grandmother taught me. I wish I could make her drink this," there was so much pain in her voice that his breath hitched. He felt like a cad for disparaging her efforts.
"I will drink it all, Physician Kim," he said gently and downed it in one gulp.
"Wait, it's hot!..." she laughed, shaking her head at the empty bowl. "It's magical, you will see. Even Abuji's mixtures are not this effective. I only make it for people I am close to."
"Aunt Yoo Joo wrote down many of Halemoni's healing methods in her books," Se-min was saying, wrenching Seung's attention back from his memories. "I used to bribe Noonim with those books. She would...." Se-min's voice faltered as he suddenly stopped, a strange, tortured expression flickering in his eyes.
Seung's ears picked up two words. "Yoo Joo?"
Choi Se-min nodded. "My Aunt. Noonim's mother. Our mothers used to be best friends while growing up," he explained.
"What do you mean, bribe her?" Seung asked.
Choi Se-min stared down unseeingly at the bowl in front of him. "I wasn't always a good brother to Noonim, Brother-in-law Lee," he said, his shame so tangible Seung could touch it.
"Those books you mentioned, do you still have them?" He decided to press on more urgent matters.
Choi Se-min blinked, shadows darting across his face before he settled for, "Um, yes, they must be somewhere back at home," burying his head in the soup bowl.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The prickle on Seung's nape was back.
Books. Grandmother. The clandestine meeting. Yoo Joo. My Lady. Choi Si-Wan's slaves.
The sketch.
'...no matter what you uncover, it should never reach his ears.' Minjae's quiet plea disguised as a condition.
What was Se-min's connection to Minjae?
Why did Se-min's father want to kill Minjae? Why did Minjae go to the gambling den five years ago? Especially when she was about to be married? Who were the two people who knew about her?
Who was her husband?
Driven by jealousy and possessiveness, Seung had deliberately kept the thought of her husband buried permanently in the murky recesses of his mind. But what if that was the key?
"So, we know His Excellency is aware of your gambling habits. Who else besides your father knew about your gambling?" Seung knew the question would throw Se-min off guard, so he watched closely for his reactions.
As he expected, Se-min froze, his spoon hanging mid-air.
"Brother-in-law, how do you -" he choked.
"That was the reason you were under suspicion of being a spy in the first place. But was there anyone else who knew of it and perhaps could be of danger to you?"
Se-min swallowed and shook his head. "Only my family. The men who I borrowed money from all died mysteriously. I never gambled after that."
"I see. Are you sure?" Seung asked.
Choi Se-min raised his eyes, tortured. "Please believe me, I have never been near a gambling den since -" he faltered.
"Since?" Seung proded.
"Since Noonim was married," Se-min said.
What were Choi Se-min and Minjae hiding from him?
There was a distorted image floating in and out of Seung's mind. It was as if clues were floating around, slipping out of his reach. Clues that would coalesce into the image that continued to elude him.
'The one I know will be wounded by the shadows of my past.' Minjae had said. What was it that she thought would hurt him? What was she afraid of?
In a moment of vulnerability, with Minjae in his arms, Seung had assured Minjae he didn't want to know her past. But in daylight, he knew he desperately did.
Whatever Minjae was hiding, it was something that could shatter the fragile world they had built. And Se-min might be the key to unlocking a truth that Seung wasn't sure he was ready to face.
Seung pushed away the bowl of rice, his appetite suddenly gone.
∞
Minjae departed Seung's house, a torrent of emotions swirling her insides into painful knots. To her relief, the tasks of stocking, cataloguing, and cleaning the supply storage along with Nam Dami and Im Ji-won consumed the remainder of her day, allowing little time to dwell on her unsettling encounter with Soo Hyun, though it felt good that her dart in the dark had found its mark and the woman now had a name.
Her adopted grandmother's condition had worsened, and Minjae lingered by her side, smoothing the old woman's wrinkled forehead, her thoughts troubled. The meeting with Se-min had unbalanced her, stirring a deep longing for her own late grandmother and leaving her to wonder what Se-min might have sketched for her. Woo Sari brought her the rice gruel that the twelve-year-old Pyo Yeri fed the older woman, who barely moved her lips. Minjae gently wiped her chin. She took the bowl from Pyo Ye Ri and asked her to go and play with the pups a stray had recently birthed. Pyo Yeri had a special relationship with all neighbourhood animals. Beaming a smile, the child dashed out joyfully, making Minjae smile.
Aunt Jung In Dah had clucked disapprovingly at her irregular hours and insisted on piling her plate with rice and a generous portion of the day's fish catch. In Dah had also chastised Kim Seo-jun for neglecting to bring the specific leaf she had requested, complaining that he never heeded her words. As always, Kim Seo-jun ignored his sister-in-law's rants.
Kim Da Bom complained about everything from the weather to the pall of war looming upon them and launched a diatribe on the lousy quality of help her inn was suffering from. Jeon Suji had more gossip than Minjae cared to hear—the new governor was kind, and the new Commander was a sloth with a penchant for punitive punishments and eyeing village women, forcibly making a villager's fiancée his concubine.
It was just another day in the mundane yet lively life Minjae had grown to cherish on the island, among the family that had shown her more love in five years than she had ever known in the gilded cage of Choi Si-wan.
Reality intruded when Minjae returned to Lady Ryu at night.
Seung insisted on sending his men with his family palanquin to fetch her at night. The guard opened the gate for her wordlessly, giving her a quick bow.
Seung was waiting for her in the main corridor, pacing impatiently. It was just after the hour when everyone should have gone to bed.
She could not see his expression too well, but she felt his energy piercing through the night, connecting to hers, pulling her towards him.
The moment his eyes lay on her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his chamber.
"Were you waiting for me? What if someone saw you?" she asked in a whisper loud enough for him. "The guard knows I am here for Eomonim. I have no doubt everyone in the servant quarters knows."
Seung didn't reply. He slipped the straps of her backpack off her shoulders, the bag falling in a thud next to their feet. The inviting lights from the lanterns washed over them, drawing her gaze to the banked heat in Seung's eyes.
"We still have some unfinished business from last night," Seung said huskily.
A hand flew to Minjae's mouth. "You can't be serious! Lady Ryu is waiting for me. I am here on a real errand. And—and this feels improper—"
"Not that!" Seung expelled a breath. He looked down at himself, and her eyes followed, taking note of his attire. He was in his official dress, which meant he was soon going out for work. "I must ask you something before I leave."
She nodded, surprise coating her expression.
"Did your husband have anything to do with you being in danger? Have you ever met Lord Choi directly?"
"My husband is not responsible for me being in danger, but the answer to your other question is yes," Minjae said.
Seung studied the tip of his shoes. "There was a moment this morning when the house where you met Lord Choi was mentioned. Even though he is aware we know about his previous gambling habits, he still kept the meeting with you in Hanyang secret. Yet you don't want him to know you are here. You both are protecting each other from something."
The unspoken questions hung heavy like raindrops clinging to the edge of a leaf before the fall.
Her heart thudded; she wondered how long before he caught on to the truth. She wasn't sure if she felt relief or trepidation at the prospect.
"If Lord Choi Si-wan knew you were on this island, he would come after you, correct?"
Minjae nodded.
"Why?"
The ties of Seung's green hanbok were tied unevenly. She pulled the stands. Her brows furrowed as she focussed on retying them into even loops. "Because I know something that can cause a scandal that Lord Choi can't afford. Not if he wants to send his young daughters to the Palace and hold on to his position." She met his eyes. "Maybe it's better if we sat down and spoke about this when you return."
An emotion close to relief flickered across Seung's face. He grasped her arms, his fingertips light but firm on her through the coarse sleeves of her woollen blouse. "About last night - I have not been with any other woman since I met you. But I want you to know—" He averted his gaze for a heartbeat, then met her eyes again, a resolute look in his eyes glinting in the soft, warm shadows around them. "I tried once to fulfil my duties as a husband." The grip of his fingers tightened a fraction on her arms. "I was drunk and angry at you. I tried, and I could not." Seung bowed his head, his eyes closing. "I failed as a husband to Choi Jina because all I could think of was you."
Despite the tension that surged through Minjae at Soo Hyun's false name, Seung's confession stole her breath. The guilt gnawed at her, even as delicate gossamer wings fluttered in her belly. For a man, it must have been devastating not to be able to perform duties that came with his station as a husband, a son, and the man who was responsible for carrying his family name. In another life, as a typical wife, she would have not only given him her body but also resigned herself to sharing him with other women, gathering concubines for him, in a role fitting for a successful and virile Joseon officer's wife.
But that part of her was gone forever. While Minjae could no longer go back to who she was raised to be, she vowed she would spend the rest of her life making up to him.
Kim I-On had been right. She had been foolish and hoped she was not too late.
She lifted her hand and caressed the blade of his jaw. "Go for your duty, Dari. After I finish my work with Eomonim, I will come and wait here for you," she said.
Seung clasped her hand in his and brought it to his lips. "I don't want any more secrets between us."
She nodded, a tremulous smile transforming her face.
Seung stared at her and blinked. Then, he placed his lips swiftly on her, his lips firm, full and promising so much more. She focussed on his muscular arms enveloping her, which kept all hurtful images at bay. His palm lifted a tightening breast, a thumb worrying the burgeoning peak through layers of fabric in a familiar motion. A hand splayed on her back, pressing her against his furiously pulsing heart while his tongue stroked the caverns of her mouth leisurely. Heat pooled, hips undulated, with gasps of desire and longing sharpening the air.
It was a long time before either of them surfaced for a breath. He placed his forehead against hers. "Promise me you will be here when I come back," he said, his breathing uneven, laborious, mirroring hers.
She nodded.
"We still have many positions to try," he teased.
Her eyes widened, and she playfully pushed at him. "Go!"
He grabbed his gat while she exited. She looked back at him and smiled, the wings fluttering even harder at the radiant smile he returned.
Soo-Hyun was waiting for her in Lady Ryu's chamber with an odd smirk that paused Minjae's steps. Minjae wasn't surprised - underestimating the woman would be a mistake. But given the shock Soo-Hyun had faced in the morning and the dangers it represented—knowing Seung's feelings for Minjae—Soo-Hyun's boldness bordered on recklessness. Or perhaps it was sheer brazen confidence, revelling in the fact that her deception was orchestrated by Minjae's own father, rendering Minjae powerless to challenge it.
The woman was playing with fire.
But Minjae couldn't be certain if the flames would consume Soo Hyun or if they would reduce her own world to ashes.
Lady Ryu was dozing. Minjae quietly went to work, extracting the needles she needed to ease the constant pain in Lady Ryu's knees. Although Minjae knew that justifying her late-night visits to Seung's home would be crucial in any future questioning, she was fortunate to have a legitimate reason that could explain her presence there at night. Her ministrations would help the older woman sleep more peacefully.
"Choi Jina, you can leave and go to your husband's chamber and wait for him," Lady Ryu said without opening her eyes. "Close the door behind you."
The air shifted.
An inexplicable foreboding washed over Minjae at Soo Hyun's smug face as she left.
Lady Ryu was looking at her, her gaze intent, and so like her son that Minjae almost lost her nerve.
"Is there something you need, My Lady?" Minjae asked.
"What would you have done if you were in her place?" Lady Ryu asked softly.
Minjae felt a rush of ice prickle her spine down to the tips of her toes while her ears felt like they were being singed with iron rods.
Lady Ryu knew.
Her hands shook too much to hold the needles, so she dropped them on the holding plate.
"Don't blame her. She is too scared." Turning her head, Lady Ryu looked at door. "And she has little to lose."
Minjae's fingers curled around the fabric of her skirt, the nails almost tearing through the fabric.
"When I first saw her, I thought my memory might have been faulty. But then I saw you. Meeting your brother today erased any doubts I might have had." Lady Ryu looked away. "You look so much like Im Yoojoo, even Im Nabi."
"Someone told me you made a deal with the devil," Minjae said, masking her shock.
"I did, didn't I?" Lady Ryu smiled sadly. "So you know the truth." Her smile hardened. "That murderer now proclaims a stranger as his daughter and foisted her on us."
Pallor replaced her skin as Minjae rose and bowed, her voice steady but edged with steel as she addressed her mother-in-law, "Please forgive me, Eomonim. I have suffered my fate, but I shall not suffer injustice. I will bring Father's sins to light no matter the cost."
"His sins are so great they will take down powerful people. You are just a pawn, and acknowledging you will serve no one. How ironic that my son loves his true wife, yet the world insists on forcing an imposter upon him."
"Whose side are you on, Eomonim? Your son or the world?" Minjae asked, even as her heart started crumbling like a mud cake crushed by fingers of guilt and loss.
"I chose to protect my son, even if it meant accepting a murderer's blood into our family." Lady Rye pushed herself up to a seating position. "I've lost three sons before I could see them walk. I could not lose Seung, too. So I am on the side that keeps my son safe."
"I promise I will not let any harm befall him," Minjae promised quietly.
"And how do you plan to keep that promise, Lady Choi?" Lady Ryu's accusing tone serrated Minjae like a blade, and the indifferent use of her title made it all the more painful. "You deserted and shamed him, ruined my daughter's life. I was relieved when the decision not to have you in my home was taken out of my hands. But now? I do not want you back," Lady Ryu's voice shook with emotion. "You ran away and left us in ruins. You might have realised your mistake, but I will never forgive you. Moreover," Lady Rye paused, her voice cracking under the strain, "it pleases me that my family bloodline will not be tainted with my husband's murderer's blood. My son spent his youth obsessed with finding his father's killer. Pray that my son never finds out, either. So leave my son and never come back to this house."
Minjae clenched her jaws, fighting against the lack of hope consuming her. Lady Ryu's harsh words crushed her, bringing her to her knees. "Joesonghamnida Eomonim, for causing you so much anguish. Your words shall be my commands. There is no greater punishment for me than letting go of Dari," Minjae said, her soul plunging defencelessly to the floor, "but you must help me get to the bottom of this. Unless Lord Lee Seung has a child with Lord Choi's daughter, the danger does not disappear." Minjae didn't react to the shock on Lady Ryu's face. "I read the letter to you from Father, joesonghamnida. He is holding you hostage on something. Please tell me what it is. You must know about the letters Father is searching for. It's not my marriage that kept all of you alive, but the threat of those letters. Who has them? What do they say to make Father so afraid of them? Who else knows of the terrible things that happened thirteen years ago?"
A terrible silence followed her entreaties.
"Please, Eomoni," Minjae begged, the warm drops of her eyes burning the back of her hands as she kneeled on all fours.
Lady Ryu lay down and turned her face away, effectively dismissing her.
-
Minjae's hands trembled as she placed the note on Seung's table by his bed.
"I must leave. Forgive me, Dari, for breaking my promise. I disappointed you again."
The succinct words on the note felt hollow and cowardly, almost insulting Seung's trust in her. She had promised to wait, to finally tear down the veils of untruths between them. But Lady Ryu's command rang in her ears. She had to leave for tonight until she could speak to her mother-in-law, convince her of her integrity and honesty, and soothe her justified anger. Her breeding was too ingrained to disobey her mother-in-law, yet she could not help but mourn at yet another opportunity that slipped away from her fingers.
The door slid open with a soft creak, and Minjae turned to see Soo Young standing in the doorway, the lantern's glow casting an ugly, crowing gleam on her face.
Anger nudged under Minjae's skin, the blisters threatening to pour out in a fiery outpouring of rage. Yet Minjae knew her triumph lay in not giving anything away to the woman who had usurped her place.
"I asked you to stay away from Dari," Minjae said, calm and controlled.
Soo Young stepped forward, stopping inches from Minjae's face, looking down at her with a sneer. "I don't take orders from a lowly physician. Did Eomoni not order you to leave?"
Minjae pulled herself to her full height, refusing to back down, wishing to claw the smug expression away.
"Are you instigating me to disobey Eomoni, Soo Hyun?" Minjae asked her silkily.
Something flickered in Soo Hyun's eyes. Anger? Fear? Minjae couldn't tell.
"Please give the note to Dari when he returns," Minjae said.
Soo Young stepped closer, her smirk widening. "Why? You don't have the courage to face him any longer?"
Minjae balled her hands beneath her sleeves, nails drawing blood from her palms, refusing to give an inch. "Courage, Soo Young, is knowing when to retreat, to understand how far you can run before your shadow defeats you. It is but one preservation step away from ruin. You may do well to remember that," she replied, her tone edged with quiet steel. Minjae stepped closer, her pulse quickening with satisfaction as Soo Hyun involuntarily stepped back. "And pray do not forget your honorifics when we are alone," the ice in her voice could freeze vapour.
Soo Young flushed an unpleasant red of consternation, but dropped her eyes, stepping aside to let her pass without another word.
Minjae swept past her, stepping out of Seung's chamber and raising her chin to the moonless sky.
It was just a hitch and nothing more, she promised herself.