chapter thirteen; 
                                     trance

“I and my sisters are here to bestow upon the new prince a wish, a wish of beauty and grace; for him to see beauty in the world despite of all the hardships that he may encounter in the future and for him to face every war and every problem with grace. ”

Chosun said as she courtly bowed before pulling out her two swords from the ground.

You were nervous. It was the prince’s first birthday and everybody was watching your every move along with the king that seemed to have aged with grace. You tightly gripped the swords in your thin hands and then glanced at the musicians, looking for Chanyeol. He was there looking at you. He pulled his hands that were carefully placed at the strings of his gayagum to give you a thumbs up with his signature smile, showing you a single dimple. You returned with a slight smile on your face and then loosening the grip around the weapons. The grip on the weapons should be moderately tense to be able to maneuver them properly throughout the dance.

The drums began to beat and your arms began to move to the beat like they were an instinct. Your late night practice with Chosun had done you well. The sound of the gayagum dominated your ears. It was Chanyeol. His skilled fingers had always made a distinct sound than the others but his skill was probably not the reason for the case but maybe because you had heard him play a million times.

Your heart was beating fast as you took a step to you right, following your sisters that were now making an intricate circle that has an inner and an outer ring. A series of intricate combinations of hand and feet movement followed.

“Look at that kisaeng. Doesn’t she look too young?”

Said a servant girl who had just served the food to the royal family that was intently watching your performance.

 Yoonshik, an attendant dressed in a bright shade of green had folded his yellow paper fan and took a set of silver chopsticks from his clothes and tasted every dish that was served by the girl to check for any poison, ignoring the question that he had just heard. The task was risky but it showed his loyalty to the king and the whole family but his loyalty for the family was a little partial to the prince, not the crown prince Joonmyeon but to the son of the concubine, Yifan.

Yoonshik had a special bond to Yifan’s mother. It was a one-sided love. The woman was very beautiful and had mastered the art of seduction that helped her catch the heart of a royal. She was ambitious and manipulative. Even though he had the feeling that she was using him to meet her objectives, he still gladly obliged to every favor and order that slipped through the concubine’s mouth and his loyalty remained with her until she left the palace to be with another man. His heart felt like it was broken into tiny fragile shards. Nevertheless, he knew that it was just one of the lady’s tactics to rise into greater power. Unfortunately, her lovely throat had been sliced, leaving her to be unable to put her plans into action.

Upon returning from his reverie, he looked at the kisaeng that the servant girl had mentioned. It was you; right there at the outer circle, moving with intricate hand and foot movements and bearing a far more youthful appearance than the others.

You were nervously looking at your sisters for guidance. The sound of the playing music was blurring due to your anxiousness and it feels like you were getting tired. Your movements were becoming less fluid than before and sweat was already forming on your forehead. The sun was dazzling but it was not at the degree that you liked. It was too hot and it scorched your skin. The drum was beating faster and faster and had left you confused. Still, you danced, leaving everything to your instincts.  

The cheering of the crowd blared your ears and the music stopped, ending the misery that had seemed to last forever. Finally, you can breathe. You looked at Chosun who gave you a proud and gentle smile. Her efforts in teaching you didn’t go to waste. It was the main highlight of your lives as kisaengs, performing inside the palace and being cheered by people that were higher than you class; being awed and cherished.

Meanwhile, two pairs of eyes remained focused at you as you followed your sisters in a neat line; one belonged to Chanyeol and another one belonged to Yoonshik.

-

“We’ll probably have more patrons after everyone hears about our performance at the palace”

Yura, another one of you sisters said as she was looking at the vast of ribbons at the merchant’s stall.

“Hmm?”

You nonchalantly replied. You didn’t like the marketplace that much an you wanted to return to the kisaeng house as quickly as possible but you knew that a lone kisaeng would probably get into trouble because of the attention she’ll get so you stood by her side, pretending to look at the stall.

“Yunhee. You’re not listening, are you?”

She looked at a ring, taking her attention away from the colourful array of ribbons and placed it on your right ring finger.

“I am listening.”

You lied, you haven’t been listening to her since she first opened but the cold sensation brought by the ring definitely caught your attention.

“Very well. It doesn’t matter.”

She took your hand and looked at it.

“Your hands are really pretty, any ring would suit you. I envy you. Come on, let’s buy this ring.”

“Yura, you know I don’t have enough money for this.”

“Fine, I’ll buy it for you but please play for me the next time I meet my clients.”

She snapped her fingers and smiled, her lips forming into a delicate smile before she pulled out money from her purse.

“Wouldn’t it be better if a man gives something like that to me?”

You pouted and gave her a teasing look. The ring was probably expensive and judging by its rich green color, it was made out of jade. There’s no way you would let her buy something like that for you in exchange for a simple favor. You slipped the ring off your fingers and returned its proper place, lying in the soft velvet.

“Buy me strings for my gayagum instead, okay?”

“Are you sure? That ring really looks good in your fingers.”

“Absolutely, let’s go?”

“Ajussi, is this the ring that the lady just fitted?”

The young man asked and the merchant nodded.

“It’s pretty. “

“Isn’t the size of the ring a little too small, young man?”

“I think she has fingers that were as thin as my lover’s. I’ll buy this.”

-

The combined smell of expensive liquor and perfume filled your nostrils as your sisters danced to the tune made by your hands. The faint red color of the walls was lit by the blaze of the warm yellow and orange flame within the multitude of lamps that were residing at the venue. A waterfall of dark blue was covering the light yellow underneath that was daintily wrapped on petite body and a sheer touch of bright orange covered your narrow shoulders at the top, allowing your pale skin to reflect the gentle light of the crescent moon ever so gently. Your fingers moved faster as the dance had come to a tense.

“I’m sorry, I’ve come late. I had important matters to attend to.”

A man tall man wearing luxurious clothes came in. His face was bearing a calm demeanor and you could easily mistake him for a noble if you didn’t know that this was a gathering for merchants and their land lords. He was younger than the most if not, all.

“Isn’t he just handsome?”

Yura almost squealed. She was carrying liquor encased in pure white porcelain bottle and had just put the cork to preserve the spirit.

“He’s Roh Jihoon, the youngest landlord here.  He’s also the brother-in-law of the prince, the one who used to live in this district.”

You didn’t respond as you were too fixated on the melody you were trying to create, luckily Yura knows that and didn’t bother to distract you. The talkative kisaeng knows almost half of Joseon and has sources of information from a couple of odd sources; of course she’d know the young and dashing landlord.

“Ah! Roh Jihoon! The brother-in-law of the prince!”

A familiar voice boomed at the backround. It was shaky and it was easy to tell that its owner is already drunk.

“Ambitious. Very ambitious! You’re just like my old wife.”

No!

Your hands were starting to shake.

“You’re very cunning. She was supposed to marry me and then you exchanged her for a kisaeng that looks like a man.”

The man laughed.

Trying to fulfil your curiosity, you looked at the man. A multitude of lines stretched across his face. You were sure that you know that face.

No!

Your hand was misplaced. You played the wrong note.

No!

“Chosun, you said that the girl was your best gayagum player?”

Distracted by the sound your instrument made, the man came near you then looked at your face and laughed. His breath reeked of alcohol and you can see his yellow teeth peeking out from his mouth.

Please don’t come near me!

It was the yellow teethed drunkard, your master and owner. Tears started to fall from your eyes as you covered your ears with your two hands, neglecting your precious gayagum. You continued to shake.

“Indeed she is our best player but please consider that it is already late at night and the lamps don’t give much light. It was her first mistake. Forgive us, my Lord.”

Chosun placed her hands on your shoulders and was surprised at your reaction. You had never made a mistake in your performances and she was sure that there was something wrong with you.

“Yura, take her home. I’ll play for your sisters.”

Being the eldest, she had to take the responsibility and no matter how tempting it was to go with you, she is needed at the gathering. She took your instrument and placed it on her lap.

“I’m sorry for the interruption. Let’s resume the festivities.”

-

“Yunhee! Talk to me. Why are you like this?”

She looked into your eyes. Her eyes were starting to form little tears.

“What happened?”

You couldn’t speak. You don’t have any power to do so.

“Yunhee... Please.”

She held your hands and then wept.

You can’t talk about it. You didn’t want to talk about it. You just continued to stare at your hands that were intertwined with Yura’s.

A little girl’s silent scream echoed on your head. The sensation of running in the rain barefoot returned. The cold mud stained your feet and the sharp rocks had tainted your skin with scarlet blood. Your feet were numb and thin hair had been sticking in your face since the last minute.

Save me! Please!

“Yunhee!”

She shook your shoulders then had put her palm in your forehead. It was hot. You were having a fever.

“Yunhee, I’ll call the others. Hold on.”

There was black everywhere, your vision had ceased.

 AUTHOR'S NOTES

Finally~ I updated!

I really missed writing~

What do you think about this chapter?

To stop all confusion, may I remind you that Yunhee and Chanyeol's story takes place a year after the ending of Kris and Jieun's story as that part ended in a time where the new prince (Suho and Minyoung's child) was born.

Suho, Kris and Chanyeol's stories are very much inter-connected so you'll see a lot of characters that had already made thier appearances on the other stories.

Yunhee's trance was caused by the high fever that she was experiencing and I do not intend to imply that she had gone insane.

What happened to Kris' mother? Why did Yoonshik looked at Yunhee that way? The answer will unveil itself in my next chapters~ Can you guess?

Please comment, vote and subscribe ^^ Your ideas keep me going.