>_____<;;

Namjoo knew that Luhan’s heart ached for those he had to leave behind. He was sad and maybe wanted to cry, but he couldn’t because she was there. And she was being a burden. She was the fault for this. She couldn’t help, but feel that she’d brought this fate on him. And because of her, Luhan had been forced to sacrifice everything. Guilt crushed her so heavily.

Her sorry eyes slipped down to the hand tightly holding hers and wondered why he’d chosen her. He could have been spared this fate if he had never minded her on the street that day. She was so sorry toward him, but she didn’t know what to do.

“This way,” the servant led them toward a small inn and told them to stay outside while he went in to pay for a room.

Her eyes darted down the road they’d come from. While the others were being tortured to death, they were well and alive. It seemed…so unfair. Namjoo then recalled the kind servant who’d asked her if she wanted to eat and felt like crying for her death. Such nice people had met such death…and it was all because of her. Why…had everyone died for her?

Namjoo’s body jerked back when Luhan tugged at her hand.

“Don’t look back,” he warned. “Don’t you dare think of going back there.”

Tears perked her eyes and she wondered again why he was so determined to protect her when she couldn’t provide anything, but her useless feelings in return.

“I’m sorry,” her voice cracked, “because of me…”

“Don’t talk to me,” his eyes hardened, “if that’s all you have to say.”

And he turned away to watch out for his servant, who later walked out and gestured for them to head toward the back.

After opening the door to a room for them he said, “I’ll stand out here to keep watch for anyone suspicious.”

When the door closed after them Namjoo stared at the old bed, the saggy pillow, and the thin blanket neatly folded at the end of the bed just in front of them. Luhan had lived in such a nice home, but she’d brought him to such a despicable place. She should be ashamed of herself.

She felt Luhan pull her forward, but she wouldn’t budge from where she stood.

“Namjoo,” he called.

“Why…are we here?” a tear fell down her face so pitifully.

From when she’d been ridden of her home after her parents were killed she’d ventured the streets as a young girl, stole after setting fire to shops, and hurting others for her own good. She had always been pitiful and now she’d caused the downfall of Luhan’s good life.

“If you’d never met me, you wouldn’t have to be here in such a place,” Namjoo sobbed. “I’m so sorry, Luhan, for bringing you here. You should have never met me.”

He watched her cry for a few seconds before putting a hand on her head and pulled her over. Her face landed against the soft cloth that made up his clothes as he patted her back.

“Have I ever told you that I never regretted a single moment after meeting you?” he asked. “Yes, I’m sad we had to leave the others behind, but there’s not anything we could have done about it. We had no control over what happened. Lets not cry and just live well, so that their deaths won’t be meaningless. Everything will be ok.”

His voice was so calming and his words eased some of the pain out of her heart. Exhausted from the shock and the run she slipped into sleep for a few hours before waking up in the dead of the night. For a second she didn’t know where they were and she felt cold sweat slip down her back before eventually sitting up. In front of her she saw a thick cloud of fire and a crowd of men carrying their gardening hoes and rakes. They were coming after her because she’d killed the prince and they weren’t going to stop until she was dead.

“No! Go away!” Namjoo tossed her hands over her eyes.

Namjoo woke up with a jolt and realized she was sitting up in bed. Heaving a sigh of deep relief she leaned her head forward wrapped her hand around her face. She couldn’t sleep anymore. Pulling the blanket off she started to get up, but was stopped when Luhan’s hand shot out to grab her wrist.

“Where are you going?”

Namjoo turned to look at him surprised. She had thought he’d been deep asleep, but she’d been wrong. In the end, she assumed he’d been awake the entire night worried she’d leave.

“I…was going to take a breath of fresh air,” she answered.

He pulled himself up to sit beside her and they remained quiet for a few seconds.

“Don’t go outside,” he said quietly. “If they see you, they’re going to hurt you.” When he turned to look at her she saw all the worry encapsulated in his eyes. “I can’t live without you at this point.”

Namjoo stared back at him at a loss for words. He was so sincere about everything she felt her heart melt.

Reaching her hand out to touch his face she promised, “Ok.”

And she felt his warm lips kiss her before he shifted to face her. As his hands roamed down her sides her back touched the wall. Namjoo tilted her head downward to pull her lips away when she felt his hand pull the ribbon of her top loose.

“Wait…”

His eyes rose up to meet hers. “It’s ok. There’s only the two of us here.”

Her hands tightened around his shoulders before they relaxed around him. Their lips merged again and she felt him pull her close. When they shifted to lie down he entwined his fingers through hers as their bodies fell in sync. After breathlessly kissing and unclothing the other he pulled the blanket over their heads to block out the light of the moon.

Namjoo awoke again when dawn broke out and saw Luhan sleeping with his face turned toward her. He really looked like a happy child asleep after a tiring day. The sight of his face was breathtaking and Namjoo wondered how long they’d be able to remain like that. Forever? Or did the word not exist for them?

Pulling her hand out from under the blanket she lightly ran the tips of her fingers over his face and watched his face twitch at the strangeness of it. A smile crawled over his lips before he opened his eyes. They sparkled when they landed on her. She saw the happiness resonating in them.

“Good morning, handsome,” she smiled.

Luhan pressed his lips together to form a smile before he leaned forward to give her a peck on the lips.

“No honey?” he teased.

Namjoo tapped his cheek with her hand playfully. “Next time.”

After dressing Namjoo walked to the door clutching onto his hand and watched him poke head out cautiously.

“I’ll be back,” he promised and gave her hand a quick squeeze before running along the road with his servant.

For a few days Namjoo survived on the food that Luhan brought back for her. As promised she never once stepped outside, but that was what probably started the gossip about the strange woman who never showed herself. Namjoo wasn’t aware of it and neither was Luhan or his servant. The women were careful to keep their mouths shut, especially since their servant had an expression of a wild rogue.

“For how long do you think we’re going to have to stay here like this?” Namjoo asked one evening.

“Not forever,” Luhan promised holding onto her hand tightly. “I want to have a nice home someday, a house smaller than the manor; a comfortable home. And we’re going to have kids and watch them run around.” Then he turned to her with a smile so precious Namjoo felt her heart race. “We’re going to have 4 or 5 kids, because I say so. And we should probably find a wife for Lee Hyun too. They can live with us. And then we’ll have our grandchildren run around and watch them run around while we grow old.”

A dreamy smile crossed his face before he leaned his head on her shoulder. And everything seemed so perfect even if they were in hiding. Everything was always perfect with Luhan and she always had this feeling that he would always be right.

“Sounds nice, doesn’t it?” he asked. “I want…a life like that, where our children won’t have to become orphans and struggle on their own. And most important, I want us to always be together.”

Namjoo smiled. She also hoped for the same thing, but as much as they wished for a future together something in their line of destiny had already gone wrong.   

And then one day during the afternoon when Luhan and Lee Hyun were out for food, it happened. There was a soft knock at the door and Namjoo almost hesitated to open it. She listened as the hand knocked again and assumed that it was a woman because of the soft knock. her lips nervously she slowly stepped toward the door and opened it. A fresh glow of sunlight sunk into the room and she saw the scrubby face of a middle aged woman. Her graying hair was dead dry of moisture and her clothes were ragged compared to Namjoo’s.

“Yes?” Namjoo asked.

A famished smile hesitantly crossed the woman’s face before she held out her shaky hand to offer Namjoo a piece of freshly cooked bread. This woman looked innocent and harmless, but Namjoo had thought wrong when she reached out to take it with a thanks.

Suddenly grabbing her hand the woman shouted, “She’s here! She’s here!”

And Namjoo saw four solders run from around the corner. The crests on their armors told Namjoo that they were from the palace and she saw that they were carrying a portrait of her with them. She’d been found out!

A squeal left Namjoo’s lips as she tried to pull out of the woman’s strong grasp. Too late. Namjoo could no longer escape. One of the soldiers pulled her out from the small building and shoved her to the ground. The middle aged woman was also chucked to the ground like her and Namjoo watched them throw a bag of money on her.

“Take it and leave, hag!” the shouted.

Namjoo stared up at them with her heart racing inside her chest and shrieked when they pulled her up by her hair.

“This the little witch that killed the prince?” the soldier whose face was full of a scrubby black beard asked.

“Careful, the King wants her alive,” another one cautioned.

She realized she’d die in their hands if she didn’t make her own escape, but then what would happen to Luhan? Would they go after him too? Should she just submit to her fate and let them kill her then? But then they’d just talked about their future together last night…this was unfair…

Namjoo felt her heart ache heavily before she squinted her eyes  and one of the soldiers flew into the house, which immediately caught fire. Her eyes immediately shifted over to the soldier who had pulled her up and his clothes immediately caught fire. With a scream he dropped her to the ground and the crowd that was now surrounding them shrieked and shouted in horror.

Understanding that it was now too late, Namjoo scurried to her feet and scrambled away with the other two soldiers coming after her.

>_____<;;

Luhan turned around the corner holding onto the food he’d bought from the market wrapped in bamboo leaves. A smile that said he was excited to see Namjoo again after an hour wrapped his lips into a daze, which immediately disappeared when he heard loud voices coming from the direction of their hut. Lee Hyun almost bumped into him from behind when the food dropped from his hand to the ground.

His heart raced and his eyes wandered around the crowd for his important person.

“No…” he first mumbled when his eyes caught the fire that was eating the hut hungrily. “No! Namjoo!”

Luhan lurched forward, but Lee Hyun quickly caught him and held him back.

“No! Let go!” Luhan screamed from the top of his lungs. “Namjoo! Namjoo! No! She’s still in there! Namjoo!”

His body almost doubled over it if wasn’t for Lee Hyun. Luhan’s hands turned into hard fists as he bawled. He dropped to his knees helplessly as he imagined Namjoo crying to herself helplessly inside the burning hut and at the thought that he wouldn’t be able to get to her. He’d lost her…he’d really lost her. That thought alone was so devastating. His future immediately became black and he couldn’t see himself living anymore.

The tears slipped from his eyes like a child crying over a lost fight. Something black stopped before him…it was leathery…a pair of feet…and when he tilted his head up he saw a young girl. She had long hair which she’d braided back with much effort.

“My aunt told on her,” the young girl confessed, “I’m sorry.”

No…that wasn’t helping. It only made it worse and Luhan sobbed even more for the person he’d lost.

“She escaped.”

Luhan’s sobs ceased and he immediately grab the young girl’s hand before crawling back up to his feet. His shins were dirty with speckles of dirt, but he could care less.

His eyes widened and the rest of his hopes would lie on her. “She…what?”

“I saw her attack them and she ran.”

Luhan’s eyes darted over to the hut and suddenly understood that it was Namjoo who’d started it on fire. His heart began leaping in his chest.

“Where!?” he clutched the girls hands so hard that she winced in pain.

“Toward the woods.” The girl pointed to her left and Luhan immediately ran.

>_____<;;

Namjoo was panting heavily and the new hanbok she was wearing made it harder. She had to grip onto the dress to hold it up in order to make it easier for her feet to keep running. She’d tripped over the ends of the dress too often, which had slowed her down and she could hear the men coming on horseback after her.

Honestly, she was too scared that she was just running wherever. It was bad enough that she had no destination in mind. Luhan would be able to think in these kind of situations, but she couldn’t. She missed him already and she felt like crying again. She could see the future they’d talked about floating farther and farther away and knowing that hurt her the most.

Namjoo turned whichever direction and knew she wouldn’t be able to stop to hide. The trees in the forest were too thin to cover her whole body and there were no bushes around. There was too many foliage to help her. Why on earth had she run to such a place!? She was such a screw up!

A shout fell out of her as she tripped over her own feet and landed face first into the dirt. She was too tired and couldn’t breathe right. What if she just died right here?

“Over there! I see her!” one of the man shouted in the far distance.

Twisting her head back she saw one of the horses quickly catching up before pulling herself back up. She had to escape if she wanted to see Luhan again. She couldn’t die here, she wouldn’t die here.

Quickly getting to her feet and grabbing her dress she continued her run. Her stomach was empty by the time the sun had dropped from the sky and Namjoo was certain she was circling her way around the forest. She was lost and wouldn’t be able to find her way out.

For a moment she turned around to observe her surroundings, but the voices she heard made her run again. By now she couldn’t tell whether they were near or not anymore. She’d lost all sense of direction and it was difficult to see in the dark with only the moon’s glow as a guide. Her breathing became heavy and she turned her head back to check for any shadows. It was sloppy of her because she ended up tripping over her own feet again. By now she was certain the dress Luhan had bought for her was now full of grime and animal droppings.

Exhausted and too absorbed in thought she was unable to hear the soft steps of the horse nearing her.

“You can’t stop from me now!” a voice boomed and when Namjoo looked up she saw a spear fly at her.

A loud gasp poured out of and she doubled over as the pain edged itself into her stomach and blood spilled.