idwi sighed as Raina left the room to fetch some more ink. He had hoped to see the word 'King' immediately. While pacing, he noticed a bag, probably belonging to Raina. Wondering what the resident physician of Hwarangdo had in her bag, he riffled through its contents and came across a notebook. Flipping through the pages, his eyes widened as he came upon a particular page. Barely able to believe it, Jidwi fished a book out of the inside of his robes. Comparing the symbols on both books, he was in shock. The symbol of the Lustful Student which was inscribed on Raina's notebook was exactly similar to the one that the Lustful Student had signed her book with, the book that he carried around with him.

 

Just then Raina entered the room. Placing the ink on the table, she knelt down and picked up her belongings which were on the floor and put them in her bag. Standing up she remarked, "You could have picked them up if they fell, you know." 

 

 

Jidwi had walked front so now, he was right behind her. When she turned around she was met with his towering figure causing her to take a few steps back in surprise and hit the wall. 

 

"Are you the Lustful Student?" Jidwi asked, quietly. Ignoring her widened eyes, he pointed at the two identical symbols before placing them on the table and taking a step forward. 

 

"TELL ME! Are you the Lustful Student?" he asked desperately. 

 

"So what if I am? What are you going to do?" As she retorted, Jidwi took another step forward, effectively cornering and trapping her. He couldn't wait anymore, The urge was over-powering his self-control and before he knew it, he was kissing her.

 

The kiss was desperate. It was needy yet at the same time, grateful, thankful. As he slid his arm around her waist, he didn't know how long they had been kissing. He then broke off the kiss, the need for air being too great. Breathing slightly faster than normal, he stared into Raina's chocolate eyes, leaning his forehead against hers, nose to nose. "Thank you." he uttered before attempting to kiss her again when they heard a noise caused by the unseen Seonu, who had witnessed the whole exchange from an adjoining room, his fists clenched in contained fury.

 

The noise caused Raina to snap back to her old-self. After ordering him to wait for Seonu and tell him that the tutoring session was over for the day, she left, leaving Jidwi staring after her in longing. His heart which had been aching with an irrepressible need had finally calmed down after he kissed her. He unconsciously smiled as he remembered the feeling of kissing her, one he was sure he'd never forget, before he was confronted by Seonu.

 

 

////////////////////////////

 

A couple of minutes after Raina had safely arrived at her quarters, the door opened and Seonu entered. "Jidwi told me that today's session was canceled. Are you all right?" he asked. "I'm fine." replied Raina. Seonu stared at her as she sat at the table before wiping her lips with his sleeve. "You had something there." he said. Raina smiled at him in thanks and bid him goodnight. After Seonu had left, Raina who was getting ready for bed, tried her best not to think of what had happened with Jidwi but failed abysmally. Her thoughts were muddled.

 

'Why the hell did he kiss me and then say thank you? What was the 'thank you' for? For being naive and gullible enough to think he actually liked me, stupid enough to let him kiss me?'

 

//////////////////////////////////

 

The next day, Raina was bustling around her room, tidying it up, focusing on not thinking of him when he walked with a cheerful and bright smile which for a second, dazzled Raina. 

 

"Why are you here?' she asked, discreetly grabbing a acupuncture needle as she backed up so there was quite a bit of space between them.  "To see you, of course."

"Who's to say I want to see you?"

"Not who but what and in answer to that, maybe the way you kissed me last night?"

"Let's not forget who initiated the kiss. About that kiss, if you're here to apologize, no need. I already accept your apology so you can leave."

"Who said anything about an apology? It's not like I kissed you mistakenly."

"Well, then did you kiss me to assert your dominance and make a fool out of me?"

"What?"

"I already know what you meant by that 'thank you' and I know that it was my fault for believing you so forget the apology. We're even." Raina who noticed Jidwi about to corner her, quickly stuck the needle in a paralysing point and as he froze, unable to move, she left the room to meet Sooyeon.

 

On seeing her, Sooyeon immediately asked, "What happened?"

"What do you mean what happened?"

"Your cheeks are red and your eyes hold a steely a gaze and your general expression tells me that you're pissed and would want nothing more than to curse at whoever pissed you off."

"What kind of a guy, kisses the girl and says thank you?"

"Who kissed you and said thank you?"

"Someone who thanked me for falling for his lie by being so naive."

"Did he actually say that or did you interpret it that way?"

"I'm positive that he meant that. It has to mean that."

"When are going to fully let down the walls around you and start trusting people?"

"Some people can't be trusted. Especially men."

"Then what about that gorgeous hunk of a brother of yours?"

"With the exception of him. But what am I going to do? What if that guy just randomly grabs me and kisses me?"

"Then you flip him over shoulder like you've always done to people who trouble you."

"I want a way to take care of this permanently."

 

Sooyeon sighed as Raina headed back inside, her mind already made up. She was going to interfere and boy, was it going to be a interesting love story to see, only if she knew who the person who had kissed her friend was.

 

///////^^^^///////

 

Raina walked slowly, lost in thought when she was grabbed by somebody into a headlock. Reacting instantly, she flipped him over her shoulder and was shocked when she saw the pained face of Seonu staring up at her. Crouching down next to him, she helped him stand up as she asked, "what were you trying to do?"

"Nothing, just treating you like my sister."

"Did Suho tell you to grab me into a headlock like he does with his sister?"

"I don't know. He might have?"

"And that's why they fight like cats and dogs. I like our relationship as it is. You don't have to worry about being a good brother because you already are."   Smiling at Seonu, Raina tiptoed and lightly kissed his cheek before leaving, a shocked Seonu staring into space, a hand touching his cheek.

///////////////

 

The next day, Raina was in the kitchen with Pi Jooki. It was the day of Seonu's first test and she was nervous which could be seen as she was performing acupuncture for Pi Jooki.

 

"Obviously Seonu's going to pass. Why wouldn't he, with such a great teacher like me?" She exclaimed, wildly waving the needle about, unaware of Pi Jooki attempts to doge her brandished needle with a scared expression on his face.

Then she changed from her confident attitude to a downcast and gloomy persona. "He'll fail, right? He can barely read or write properly, how's he going to relate the king with water and base it on Tao Tei Ching?" Pi Jooki's face was pained due to the needle that Raina was dragging slowly across his bare arm. Finally reaching his limit, he snatched the needle out of her hand.

"Will you stop already! You nearly blinded me with your 'he will fail, he will pass' act, not to mention almost killed me!"

"Did I really do that?" Asked Raina, shocked.

"I'm sorry, it's just that... What if he fa-" she was cut off as Pi Jooki grabbed the needle that she took from her needle box, gifted to her by her mentor, along with its casing.

"Enough already!"

////////^^^///

 

Raina stormed out of the kitchen, in search of Master Wehwa with two papers in her hands. Jidwi's and Seonu's. Confronting the instructor of the Hwarangs, she brandished the two papers and then proceeded to give him a long lecture on how it was wrong to practice favouritism and such blatant inequality wasn't right along with a long and complicated warning to never let such an incident reoccur in her presence, fully aware of his desperation to relieve himself, which caused her to lengthen her lecture until she finally ran out of things to say, in an effort to extract revenge. She then left, satisfied at her payback.
 

//////////////////%////
 

Walking around aimlessly, Raina bumped into none other than Jidwi. She attempted to side-step him when he spoke. "What must I do to make you look at me?" 

 

Raina looked at him in confusion. "Now you look at me."

 

"You're not making any sense."

 

"Love doesn't make sense. You make me crazy because when I'm around you, I feel like I'm nothing, unaware of who I am or what I'm doing. You stir these feelings in my heart and it drives me mad because it hurts when you don't look at me, when you look at another man. It hurts when you don't acknowledge me and it hurts even more when you avoid me." Jidwi confessed.

 

Raina did the only thing she could do, the only thing she knew how to do. She walked away from him, ran away from this confession just like she had ran away from her past all her life.

 

///////////////////

 

 

Walking around aimless, Raina didn't notice when Seonu joined her, matching her footsteps. 

"What are you thinking about so seriously?" asked a deep voice that startled Raina. Looking to her right, she saw that it was Seonu.

 "Nothing, just daydreaming."

"Did you hear about the test results?"

"I know you failed but given the circumstances, it's more than alright. Besides, I heard your answer from Hansung, who by the way, thinks it's amazing, and I agree. Everyone failed and failures are the stepping stones to success so don't be too sad."  

 

Seonu smiled as he gently patted down Raina's tousled hair due to the wind. Staring into his warm eyes, Raian felt safe. "Go home safely." he said before walking away when Raina called out, "It's your-, I mean, our mother's memorial day. I think she'd like if you came. She must have missed you all this time."

 

Seonu who had turned back to face her, nodded. Smiling at him, Raina her heel and walked back to her quarters. She had something important to do before the memorial, something as the Lustful Student.

 

 

///////////////////////

 

 

Raina swore under her breath as she ran, the capital guards on her tail. She had been caught while distributing the latest book of her newest series, titled; 'Hwarang: The Beginning'. Running for her life, she was glad for her black mask that hid her identity. Nearing Okta, she scaled the tree near the wall that separated the backyard of Okta from the road, moved through the branches, after removing her outer robe and chucking it behind a bush below her, when she slipped and fell.

 

Staring at the face of Banryu who looked up at her, shocked, she internally groaned but she couldn't move from her position of straddling him because just then the guards burst in. Thankful for her hair that acted like a curtain and shielded her masked face from their view, she leaned in until they were nose to nose, aware of Banryu's widening eyes. Her hand which was on his chest, steadying herself, could feel his erratic heartbeat when she moved in. Thankfully the guards retreated and Raina was about to get off him when she felt his hands holding her by the shoulders and the next thing she knew was that she was lying on the grassy floor with Banryu straddling her, their positions switched.

 

 

This time, it was her eyes widening and her heart racing as she faced him, fully aware that their lips had brushed against together when he had flipped her over, before headbutting him and mustering her strength before she pushed him off her, stood up and grabbed her robe from where it was lying behind a bush and ran.

 

 

Spotting Sooyeon who she ran towards her, putting on her outer robe as she went however she forgot to tie it. Sooyeon's eyes widened when she saw Raina's revealed cleavage through her translucent inner robes. Quickly she covered Yeoul's and Suho's eyes as she desperately gestured fro her friend to cover herself up even though the two Hwarangs had already seen what Sooyeon had seen. Realising this, Raina tied her robes together as Sooyeon removed her hands from the two men''s eyes.  "I gotta go, bye Sooyeon, see you later," said Raina before running off to reach home in time for the memorial. 

 

Suho and Yeoul who had been staring at where her chest was even though she had left, suddenly felt incredibly thirst and Suho grabbed a nearby pot from a passer-by and gulped it down, almost finishing it before it was grabbed out of his hand and drained by Yeoul. Sooyeon watched as her brother became incredibly drunk due to downing nearly a gallon of alcohol followed by Yeoul, who at least looked the slightest bit sober, when the trio heard an interesting conversation. 

 

"Don't lie."

"I'm not lying. I saw it all with my own eyes. Banryu-rang took advantage of a girl when she accidentally fell on him."

"I can't believe it."

"And that's not all, the girl that Banryu ually assaulted and kissed is none other than the girl that is rumoured to be Suho-rang's woman."

"Impossible. The two may be rivals but everyone knows of their agreement not to involve their woman in their rivalry."

"There's going to be a hell of a fight once Suho-rang finds out."

"I know."

 

The two men walked away and Sooyeon's eyes widened as she realised what this meant. And what was worse was that Banryu was approaching them and Suho had heard all of it. She watched as a murderous gleam appeared in her brother's eyes as he spotted Banryu and grabbed a nearby candlestick.

 

"BANRYU! YOU!" 

 

Suho who collapsed onto the ground due to his sister tripping him, the candlestick falling next to him, passed out due to the copious amount of alcohol he had drank. Yeoul who was still conscious, ordered Banryu, who had been confused when a drunk Suho decided to charge at him with a brandished candlestick before collapsing, to piggy back Suho to the dorm while Sooyeon internally sighed. She had to have a word with her friend. 

 

///////////////////////////////////

 

Raina walked side by side with Seonu after they had held the memorial. Walking through the bustling town, they were heading back towards Hwarangdo when Raina asked, "How did you get out?"

 

Seonu looked down at her before replying. "I just came out for the memorial, not forever."

 

"We actually didn't know when she died so we hold it on her birthday. I'm sure she was very happy because you were there."

 

"Do you remember her?" she asked all of a sudden. "Do you remember her presence. When growing up, you loved the nature's lullabies." Seonu smiled before replying, "I guess that I didn't like Mother's lullabies. Was she a bad singer?"

 

They were nearing Hwarangdo when he said those words causing Raina to stop in her tracks. Automatically Seonu stopped as well and looked at he with a questioning expression. 

 

"She wasn't a bad singer... because she was a mute who couldn't sing." Said Raina slowly in disbelief, wondering why he had forgotten that huge fact when she asked herself.

 

'Are you really Aro's brother?'

 

 

/////////////////////////////////////////

 

And Dayum... Hope you like my changes and plot twists. I sadly didn't get to watch ep 15 or 16. Have to wait till Sat. to watch the repeat. Comment if you don't understand anything and I'l try my best to clear the confusion up in previous eps or upcoming ones. Also comment if you feel taht anyone of the Hwarangs are not getting any 'screen time', with Raina.

 

Till the next update.

Andrianna2016