Disclaimer: I don’t own DotS.

 

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Chapter 3: Admission

 

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“Yoo-champan, we brought an extra horse for you to ride on.”

 

Dae Young turned to look at Si Jin, whose gaze was still fixated on the young woman beside him. Lady Kang was tightly gripping at her now clean clothes and blatantly ignoring the stare that his best friend was currently giving her. One would think the deputy-minister was trying to bore a hole through the young woman’s skull, what with they way he was looking at her. Dae Young sighed and shook his head inwardly at his friend.

 

“Yoo-champan.”

 

Dae Young’s voice finally seemed to snap Si Jin out of his stupor as he gave the inspector general an absentminded, “Oh?”

 

“Your horse. It’s been prepared for you. We are ready to depart any time now.”

 

Si Jin blinked and cleared his throat. “Right. Of course.”

 

Dae Young then shifted his attention towards the young woman, who was bowing her head down and looking every bit mortified and abashed, which he thought was understandable considering what had transpired a few moments ago. He was surprised that she was still able to maintain her composure after two young men had seen her adorned with nothing – though, he supposed he could not count himself – he had tried his absolute best not to let his eyes wander any lower than what would be considered inappropriate, unlike his ert of a best friend who had shamelessly gaped at the young woman’s .

 

“Lady Kang,” Dae Young started, the awkward tension shrouding them was as tangible as the coldness of the evening, and he continued stiffly, “Perhaps it would be more convenient for you to ride with Yoo-champan since the two of you are already acquainted—“

 

“No!”

 

Her cry startled scared the living lights out of both Dae Young and Si Jin, with the latter frowning after hearing how horrified she was at the prospect of sharing a horse with him.

 

“Why not?” Si Jin scowled indignantly.

 

Mo Yeon ignored him and looked at Dae Young.

 

“I-I would like,” Mo Yeon swallowed and tugged at his sleeve, pleading, “I would like to ride with you instead. If...if that is okay with you, of course, Seo Dae Young-ssi.”

 

Dae Young was conflicted because he could see the desperation in Lady Kang’s eyes, asking him to say yes, but he could also feel the death glare that his friend was shooting at him.

 

Say no. Si Jin shook his head at him.

 

Dae Young frowned. But she has no desire to ride with you.

 

But I do!

 

The inspector general seemed to ponder his decision for a few more seconds before he gave his friend his best blank stare.

 

…I’m sorry.

 

Si Jin knew what that look on his friend’s face meant and seethed silently. Ya, ya, ya. Seo Dae Young!

 

Dae Young broke eye contact with him, thus ending the internal conversation between them, and offered his hand to Mo Yeon who accepted it gratefully. He gently helped her to mount on top of their horse, while Si Jin’s scowl deepened at his so-called best friend, who turned his back against him (that traitor) and therefore blocking Mo Yeon’s small back from his view. Si Jin sulkily grabbed his own rein, positioning himself over his horse, and let out an irked sigh as they finally journeyed back to the capital.

 

The ride was silent all the way back and extremely uncomfortable for the three – especially for Mo Yeon who felt like she was stuck between a wall and a hard place – it’s either a ride with her cousin’s betrothed or her own, and she had to get a ride from either one of them if she wanted to get back home before the sky turned completely dark. It was easier to avoid conversation with the former since they hardly knew each other anyway, meanwhile with the other man, Mo Yeon did not know what make of their current relationship – was there even a relationship in the first place? If there were one, it would have been something that was made out lies, and she was too humiliated by what had conspired between them to even mull over the situation; too angry and frustrated, both at him and herself.

 

Dae Young pulled his rein back as they reached in front of the gate of the Kang household – the two guards standing in front of the gate looking at her and her two companions in bewilderment – but before any of them could make a move to help her down, Si Jin had swiftly got down from his own horse and strutted to where she was, offering his hand to her. Mo Yeon accepted his hand – the warmth coming from his fingers was unexpected – but she quickly snatched her hand away from his once she was stationed properly on the ground and realized whom exactly the hand belonged to.

 

“Agassi!”

 

Mo Yeon turned towards the source of the voice and saw her attendant running across the courtyard with all her might, her expression a mix of fear and relief. She stopped in front of Mo Yeon, panting, and flailed about her arms like a mother hen fussing, “Agassi! Where have you been! I was so worried – everybody was so worried! The mistress even asked the police to send out a search party—“

 

Mo Yeon’s eyes widened. “E-Eomeoni did?”

 

“—and how many times do I have to tell you, if you want to make a trip to the town at least bring somebody along with you—!”

 

“Min Ji, calm down.” Mo Yeon gave the younger woman a reassuring smile. “I am alright.”

 

Her attendant let out an aggravated breath, “Calm down? CALM DOWN—?“

 

“Mianhae.” Mo Yeon tugged at Min Ji’s hands. “Mianhaeyo, Choi Min Ji. I promise I will not do this again, oh?”

 

Si Jin’s ears perked up at the name and he looked at the huffing young girl chastising her mistress. Choi Min Ji. Then he trailed his gaze to Mo Yeon’s face, watching her laugh sheepishly as her servant berated her over the danger of a young lady going on trips on her own, and mused. So you were lying to me about your name.

 

After placating her fuming servant, Mo Yeon walked towards both Dae Young and Si Jin and she dipped her back into a polite bow. “Kamsahamnida, Seo Dae Young-ssi…” She shifted her eyes to briefly glimpse at the other man, squirming internally at the look he was giving her – it was that look again.

 

Please, don’t look at me like that.

 

“…and Yoo Si Jin-ssi. I will make sure to repay the two of you at another time.“

                                                                                                

He didn’t say anything after that and Mo Yeon thought the conversation was over, so she gave another bow and was about to follow her servant into her house when all of a sudden, Si Jin grabbed her wrist.

 

“Jamkkanmanyo, Aga—animida…” Si Jin loosened his hold slightly. “…Lady Kang.”

 

Lady Kang.

 

Mo Yeon’s heart beat faster and she pulled her hand away from his, trying to break free from his grip again, and pretending not to see the hurt that crossed his face when she did so.

 

“I…” She bit her lips. “Please let me go.”

 

Si Jin paused at the discomfort in her voice and acquiesced to her plea, sighing dejectedly as he released her wrist.

 

“Won’t you…” He began in a low voice. “…Won’t you at least tell me your name?”

 

Your real name.

 

There was no use in hiding it any longer, now was there? He would find out about her name sooner or later, and while she was still furious at him for lying to her, a part of her was also remorseful for lying to him. They were both equally guilty here. And yes, she was still confused, her head was spinning at what a twist of fate it was – who would have thought that this man was actually her betrothed? Of all people, and of all places and times they could have met – why back then? But regardless of it all, at least right now, Mo Yeon thought he deserved to hear her real name coming out of her own mouth. She owed that to him.

 

“…Mo Yeon.”

 

Her voice was so quiet and faint that he thought he had imagined it, but then she repeated, more firmly this time, and looked at him in the eye.

 

“My name is Kang Mo Yeon.”

 

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“Do you know what others would have said about our family should they ever found out about this shenanigan of yours?”

 

Mo Yeon dug her fingers into her chima and muffled a cry as she felt another whip to her calves. She could feel her skin burning in pain and she was sure those hits had left bright, red marks on her pale skin.

 

“The only daughter of the Kang family – seen with two young men and wearing a different set of clothing after she supposedly escaped into town to play.” Her mother rubbed her temples. “You are a smart girl, Mo Yeon-ah. You should know what your actions would have led other people to believe. If the Yoo clan ever got wind of this…this shameless behaviour, they would have broken the engagement between you and their young lord and your father’s effort in trying to protect you would have been for nothing!”

 

If only her mother knew about the identity of the ‘two men’ that she was talking about, Mo Yeon cringed inwardly. And it was also for the best that her mother knew nothing about her being seen – as bare as a newborn babe – by those two men. Mo Yeon was sure she would have suffered at least thirty more beatings before she would be let off for the night.

 

Mo Yeon bit down on her tongue as the stick made another contact with her skin, and winced when she could taste blood in .

 

“Will you promise not to do that again?” Her mother’s voice was weak and tired and she was looking at Mo Yeon with a torn expression, wanting to console her daughter but at the same time, having to uphold her responsibility as the matriarch of the house and seeing through everybody’s punishment – her daughter’s included. Mo Yeon understood how much her mother hated using force and only did so when necessary – for an instance, occasions like this – and a part of her felt guilty for having to make her mother raise her hand against her when she knew how much it killed her inside.

 

“Ye…eomeoni, jeosonghamnida.” Mo Yeon murmured under her breath, and when her mother finally set the stick away, she let her knees buckled under her weight, her legs worn from both the beatings as well as the wound that she had inflicted on herself that afternoon in the village, abruptly collapsing to the ground.

 

Min Ji, who was watching her mistress getting punished from the corner of the room, quickly rushed to Mo Yeon and helped her stand so that she could her back to her room. The servant bowed at Lady Kang, who only shook her head at Min Ji and signaled her to treat Mo Yeon’s wounds.

 

They arrived at her chamber in no time and Mo Yeon lied on her bed, her stomach pressed against the white cover. She sighed in contentment when Min Ji covered her calves with ice-cold cloth, the coldness a welcomed sensation, but not too long after, her attendant applied a dab of some mixed herbs and she breathed out a strangled moan at the onslaught of pain, scalding, a sign that the medicine was starting to seep through her skin.

 

“Agassi,” Min Ji reminded her mistress in a soft tone, “Please stop doing such reckless things from now on.”

 

“I know,” Mo Yeon replied, grasping onto her bed cover tightly.

 

“Next time, if you really, really wish to go somewhere, please tell me beforehand. I will come with you.”

 

Mo Yeon nodded, feeling her guilt returned tenfold after she took note of the amount of people she had troubled from her antics today. Her reflection was cut short when she heard a sliding of her chamber’s screen and she craned her neck to see who was it that had just entered her room unannounced. Mo Yeon almost scrambled to her feet when she saw her father standing near the entrance to her room, and she was about to reposition herself on her mattress when she saw him raising a hand at her, telling her to stay where she was.

 

“I heard everything from your eomeoni.”

 

The servant excused herself to let the father and daughter talk before Mo Yeon looked down, her face painted with shame and regret. “Jeongmal jeosonghamnida, abeoji.”

 

“Look at me in the eye, Mo Yeon-ah.” Her father instructed impassively. She gulped at the sound of his voice, but obeyed nonetheless.

 

“Do you know how much trouble you have caused the people around you today?”

 

Mo Yeon nodded again. “Ye.”

 

“I could have cared less about what other people think, but your safety is something that should not be taken lightly.” Kang Seung Ri placed his hand on her daughter’s shoulder and squeezed it. “I understand your desire for freedom. And I am sorry abeoji cannot give you that. But please think about the people who will bear the weight of your actions next time you choose do so such a juvenile act again. Your servants would have to be punished for letting their eyes off you. And they would have to be dismissed from their jobs should anything ever happened to you.”

 

“I understand, abeoji,” Mo Yeon said quietly, “I will apologize to them again tomorrow.”

 

The Minister of Justice let out a tired sigh and patted her on the head. “As long as you understand. Abeoji is just glad you are safe and sound.”

 

Mo Yeon stole a long glimpse at her father and noticed that the tear troughs running from the corner of his eyes were now deeper, more pronounced. She had not paid attention to it before, but her father looked so much older – more tired, wearier. Streaks of gray coloured his sideburns and there were more folds of wrinkles underneath his eyes than she last remembered.

 

The father that she loved so much – who did everything that he could to protect her, and a small mistake on her part could blow everything that he had carefully planned for her out of the water.

 

“Abeoji…why did you…” Mo Yeon played with the hem of her sleeve and peered at her father. “Why did you choose the son of the Yoo clan as my intended?”

 

Kang Seung Ri paused at his daughter’s question and inquired. “Why are you curious?”

 

“Because…” Mo Yeon tangled her fingers together in uneasiness. “One of the two men that escorted me back home today…he said his name was Yoo Si Jin.” She gulped; unsure whether or not she should tell her father about the whole story. “…Yoo Si Jin – that is the name of the man you have chosen for me, right, abeoji?”

 

But Mo Yeon was taken aback by her father’s reaction when he only relaxed his shoulders and chuckled to himself. “Geurae? So that lad is one of the gentlemen who have made sure my daughter got home safely.” Kang Seung Ri shook his head and stared at the night sky in amazement. “Such a funny thing, fate is. I did not think the two of you would have met so soon. Perhaps I wasn’t wrong when I decided to trust in my intuition and concluded the match between the two of you.”

 

“But abeoji…” Mo Yeon started weakly, “I am afraid he will no longer be interested in marrying me.”

 

The minister arched an eyebrow at his daughter. “Why do you think so?”

 

 “I might have sort of…done certain things…that would be deemed as inacceptable.” Like climbing over a wall, talking back to him, and reciting Confucius at the top of my head. Mo Yeon pursed her lips. And let’s not forget that he has essentially seen me . Will he still want me as a bride?

 

The head of the Kang family pondered over what might have happened between his daughter and the heir to the Yoo clan. The young man was not an unreasonable person – Kang Seung Ri had seen first hand what the boy was like during his observation of him as one of the prosecutors in the imperial exam. Yoo Si Jin was the pride and joy of the Yoo clan, a so-called genius that would only appear once in a century, the youngest person ever to place first in the literary exams at the age of eighteen.

 

But Kang Seung Ri was not interested in the young man’s achievements – no, he was more attracted by the man’s humility and dedication. Even though he was born into nobility, not once had the head of the Kang family seen Si Jin flaunting his status in front of his fellow officials, and the boy would always give his best when doing the works entrusted to him. He did not flinch when he had to clean the boots of other officials, and he never complained or made any remarks when he was given the job of cleaning the toilet. Such tasks would usually wound a man’s pride, especially that of a yangban, but the man did not seem to mind. The training period to become an official was a rough journey that it could even bring the toughest of men to their knees, but the Minister of Justice had seen the way the young man persevered and believed he would one day grow into a capable official – and he had now – and become one of the backbones that would support this nation in the future.

 

“Whatever it was that you did, as long as you straighten your thoughts and be honest with him…” The minister smiled and rested his hand on top of Mo Yeon’s. “I am sure he will be able to understand.”

 

His daughter did not seem to be convinced by his words, so he proposed to her a different idea. “How about this. If you truly believed you did something wrong to him, you can write him a letter of apology.”

 

Mo Yeon blinked. “…A letter?”

 

Her father smiled. “The two of you are going to become husband and wife in the future, after all. You can use this as an opportunity to get to know him a little bit as well, right?”

 

Mo Yeon trailed off a faint laugh and nodded absentmindedly.

 

If only you knew, abeoji, that the two of us have known more than just ‘a little bit’ about each other.

 

Mo Yeon sighed inwardly and fixed her gaze outside, watching as the moon hung majestically in all its glory and knowing nothing about the brooding and misery of the people below. It made her a little bit annoyed at how shamelessly beautiful it was.

 

Life is simple…but why do we have to insist on making it so complicated?

 

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“I have asked somebody in the Investigation Bureau to steal a copy of the financial records from the Office of Taxation. It should not take too long before we can reveal the discrepancy between how much has actually gone out to help the people and the state of the village. We can file a petition to the king with that as evidence. He will continue the investigation by appointing our office as well, and that person’s schemes would have to come to the surface…”

 

Seo Dae Young paused in the middle of reading his report and looked up from his scroll. He blinked at the sight of his friend, propping his cheek with an arm as he lied on one side on the wooden floor, the other hand clutching a paper of some sort while he perused the content with an occasional twitch at the corner of his mouth. His perplexity grew when the other man’s expression suddenly turned dark and he was now sporting an impressive frown, no longer amused at what was written on the paper.

 

“Yoo-champan.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

Dae Young tapped his fingers a little bit impatiently. “What is your opinion regarding the current state of the village of Nobu?”

 

“Not good.”

 

Dae Young felt a vein popped on his forehead after hearing his friend’s half-hearted answer. “What about your side? Have they found anything helpful that can help uncover the Left Minister’s plot?”

 

“A report will be coming in two days from now.”

 

Dae Young furrowed his brows. “That is a little bit pushing it, isn’t it? We are pressed for time. Three days from now it will be gongju-mama’s birthday – he will most certainly be there for the celebration at the palace and we have to be prepared for any attacks that he might have…”

 

The inspector general felt the urge to bash his head against the wall when his friend showed no signs of paying any heed to his saying whatsoever and ended up knocking his hand on the floor, trying to get the deputy-minister’s attention.

 

“Yoo Si Jin.”

 

Si Jin replied. “Oh?”

 

“Are you angry at me?”

 

Si Jin sounded neutral and nonchalant but Dae Young knew better. “Of course not. Why would I be upset that you have seen my fiancée —“

 

Dae Young sighed. “I told you, I did not see anything.”

 

Si Jin snorted in disbelief and turned to face the inspector general. “What normal warm-blooded male would stay honourable when they are gifted with the sight of a woman—“

 

“A normal warm-blooded male that is already betrothed to somebody as well.” Dae Young retorted dryly.

 

Si Jin sniffed. “Still.”

 

Dae Young could not find it within him to scold his young friend – even after Si Jin’s baseless and ridiculous accusations at him – when he looked genuinely agitated by something, and Dae Young wondered what was it that had him so bothered. It was very unusual of him. And he was sure there was something more to the source of his turmoil than the small incident at the village a few days ago.

 

“Perhaps we should continue this conversation sometime tomorrow.”

 

Si Jin sighed and shuffled a little in his position before he turned to sit cross-legged beside Dae Young. “I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s fine.” Dae Young eyed his friend who was now staring wistfully at the dark sky. “What is it that got you all distraught since a while ago? If talking about it will lessen your worry, I will be glad to lend you an ear.”

 

Si Jin cracked his neck and massaged his sore shoulder, breathing out another sigh that seemed to take years off his age.

 

“Do you think…” Si Jin glanced at Dae Young. “What does it mean if a woman asks you to ‘forget everything that happened’?”

 

Dae Young considered his words carefully. “…Doesn’t that simply mean she does not want to have anything to do with you anymore?”

 

Si Jin froze and his face turned hilariously pale. “W-What? I-Is that so?”

 

Dae Young nodded in all seriousness, like he was some sort of expert in the matter of understanding a woman’s feelings. “It is a subtle way of saying that she is tired of you. Has she perhaps found another man?”

 

Si Jin sputtered. “What other man? She is betrothed to me! How can you say such a thing!”

 

The inspector general paused at the information. “…Betrothed? You mean this ‘woman’ you are talking about is…Lady Kang?”

 

Si Jin scowled in annoyance at his friend’s seemingly cluelessness. No, dense was more like it. “Who else can it be?”

 

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