CHAN YEOL

We got to the village in record time and went down from the carriage by the edge of the market place. Shinhye and I talked the whole trip going there and I was glad that she was loosening up, laughing at my jokes. It was enthralling to hear her laugh. It sounded like music to me and I wish she would be that way always. I helped her and Chin to get down from the carriage, but she shrugged my hand off and hopped off, reasoning that she was used to being independent. I wonder what men were like in her world. I just let her be and walked with her towards the crowded stalls.

“Wow. This looks like a trade fair,” she said, looking around her. The sights and sounds seem to be fascinating to her. “This is cool.”

My brows furrowed slightly. I didn’t understand what she was saying exactly, but she looked excited. “I’m glad it’s to your liking.”

“I’m glad you brought me here,” she said then shifted her gaze to Chin who was holding a basket while bargaining with the fruit vendors. “Madame,” she called after Chin was done buying. “Where are we going next?”

Chin flashed her a fond smile, probably noticing the excitement in her tone as well. She was smiling all the time. “You two can go and take a look around. I will pick up the garments from the seamstress and we can just meet by the carriage stands.”

“For real?” She giggled. That was something new.

Chin nodded. “Just be careful.” Chin eyed me austerely the way Baekhyun did before we left. I knew what they meant. Shinhye had been receiving stares since we got out of the carriage. People were probably wondering what she was wearing.

I nodded at her while Shinhye waved at her. “See you~!”

Chin disappeared into the crowd while we both stood there. Shinhye looked up at me then and smiled. “So where are we going?”

“Let’s take a look around. Maybe you’ll find something you like.”

“Yay!” She clapped her hands twice.

I offered her my arm to hold on to, but she shook her head. “I won’t get lost, I promise.”

I chuckled at her gaiety. It was a whole new side of her that none of us had seen. I doubt it if Baekhyun had even see such mirth dancing in her eyes and projecting through her movement. I considered myself lucky to have seen that. We walked around and she kept pointing at things, asking me what they were. I patiently told her about them when we passed by the stall that sells sweetmeats.  I promised to buy some for Sehun and Baekhyun so I stopped by.

“Wait here,” I told Shinhye and she nodded. I was about to pay the items I’ve bought when I saw an old man in a dirty cloak talking to her. He was showing her a small bag, probably offering it to her. She was speaking to the man with such interest, bringing out her purse. I guess she finally found something she wanted. I approached them.

“You get the whole bag for a sapphire,” the old man said to her in that strange gravelly voice.

“A sapphire for the whole bag?” she asked. “I see.”

“What’s that?” I asked and the old man eyed me, his eyes straying to the emblem of the Flame Nobles I was wearing.

“Picham jinju,” Shinhye told me happily.

Oh no. I stared at the old man with contempt. What was he thinking offering such items to a lady? Those pearls were made by dark sorcerers to transfer one’s misery to the one who swallows it either for malicious intent or healing. I was afraid she might stumble into such things. I glared at the man and grabbed her by the shoulders, veering her around.

“I think you should look for something else. He’s selling tainted goods,” I told her.

She chuckled. “No, he’s not. He explained to me what those pearls do.”

I shook my head at her. “Don’t come near those things. They harbor nothing good.” I frowned then.

“Alright, I get it. Loosen up, will you?”

I smiled at her and walked ahead while she followed. 

“I’ll go look around,” she told me.

I nodded hesitantly. “Don’t go far.”

“Sure,” she said and skipped away.

I continued walking, trying to keep her in my line of vision, but I was keeping distance in case she gets suspicious that I was actually following her. It had been like that for some time. She just roamed around, looking at items when she suddenly disappeared. I looked around, calling her name, but she wasn’t answering.

They’re all going to kill me if I lost her or if she gets into trouble. I frantically ran around, looking for her, reaching the backstreets, but she was nowhere to be found. I was already panicking, my heart racing in my chest. For a girl like her who didn’t know the market place, she was bound to get in danger. My last resort was to ask around for her.

I went into one of the lanes inside the market and asked around. “Have you seen a girl wearing strange clothes?” I asked the man at the last stall.

“The green eyed one?”

“Yes.”

He nodded. “Yes. She went that way.” He pointed at the alley going to the backstreets. My eyes widened as morbid thoughts began running through my mind. “I didn’t know that half-bloods still existed,” the man droned on.

I just nodded and murmured my thanks, taking the trail she took. I just hope nothing bad had happened to her. It took me a while to find her, but when I reached the outer part of the alley, I saw a crowd of people gathered around a table by the wall. I craned my neck and sure enough, she was there, seated on the table, holding cards, facing burly men that looked like hooligans. The table had a heap of gems in the middle. They were gambling! My temper rose when I saw that. It wasn’t illegal, but the thought of Shinhye sitting with them like she was one of them made me cringe inwardly.

“You’re a fast learner, half-blood!” the man roared, definitely impressed.

Shinhye chuckled. “I know,” she said smugly.

“Don’t be too sure,” the man eyed her darkly with a grin on his face.

“Back at you,” she said with all the bravado the man used on her. She wasn’t only stubborn, she was also arrogant. I watched them, waiting for the right time to get her. They all laid down her cards while she just held hers, pressing it on top of the table under her palm. 

“What seems to be the problem, little girl?” the man rasped. I would have burnt him to ashes that very instant for insulting her, but there were just too many people around.

Despite that, Shinhye stayed calm. “I’d bet I could make my diamond yield tenfold,” she told him.

A diamond?! What on earth was she thinking gambling with the money that Baekhyun gave her? It would have been fine if she was betting with gold coins!

“Your confidence is too much. Show us your cards.”

She laid it down and everyone gasped. 

“Great one, half-bl