Chapter 18; Gisaeng House

“You should be very afraid, Huang Zitao,” Su Min hisses as she strides out, her face laden with stark white powder and her lips painted a cherry red. He winces and smiles, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Aside from the scowl she wears on her face, Su Min looks like your average Gisaeng. “I swear to god, if I somehow get put to bed by some guy--”

“That won’t happen.” Kyungsoo interjects.

Su Min looks at him out of the corner of her eye before gathering up the fluffy hanbok and striding towards the doors. Reaching a callused hand up, she grabs the wide brass knuckle and slams it against the oak doors a few times. Eventually, someone opens it up--a servant. Seeing her get up, he lets her inside, and she casts a short glance at the boys before entering. “Here’s what I don’t get,” Xiumin sighs. “Why didn’t we all just scale the wall?”

Tao smiles sheepishly. “Su Min is the scapegoat--the distraction.” he answers.

Xiumin frowns and hits the younger boy’s head lightly before setting his jaw and turning towards the tall wall. Kyungsoo laughs and cracks his neck before stepping into line with Xiumin. “Hyung,” he begins, the title scaring the older boy slightly. “I bet I can get up this thing faster than you.” Kyungsoo bets, casting a haughty look at Xiumin as he does so.

“Doubt it,” Xiumin retorts, flexing his fingers before turning away from Kyungsoo and starting towards the wall. Kyungsoo follows, and the two quickly begin to climb it, only to slip down seconds later. Tao and Kai laugh behind him, and the two older boys send them angry glances before beginning once more. Kai rubs the back of his neck and starts towards the corner of the wall, where thick green vines slither up the side. Grabbing hold, he quickly pulls himself up the wall and perches on the top.

“Need help?” Kai asks, eyebrows raising as he stares down at Xiumin and Kyungsoo. Tao follows suit and after much debate, so do the older boys. None of them are particularly fond of Kai’s accompaniment, but what can they do at this point? Su Min insists on helping him. Muscles contracting, he hops off of the wall and rolls as he reaches the ground, standing up seconds later and brushing off his clothes.

The setup inside is large and spacious--buildings sprawl throughout the enclosure, only separated by small courtyards and the like. “We should split up,” he sighs, running a hand through his hair. The loss of his sister has taken a toll on him already. She’s all he has, after all. The other three boys look wary, Kai could very well be conspiring with someone else, and they could be in deep trouble.

But deciding to take a chance, they agree. Each of them strides off to a separate corner of the building, with Kai at the southernmost one. His slim, languid body allows him to slip through the shadows unseen. Eventually, he reaches his post, a dark corner covered in thick grass. Lilacs climb the nearby wall, petals closing out the pitch black night. A stillness hangs in the air like smog, nearly choking Kai in the process. The silence is alive with tension and something else. ?

Who knows.

A flash of yellow fabric catches his eye and he watches as Su Min is lead into an unoccupied room by a bearded man. Her eyes flash darkly as she scowls, struggling not to snap him in half. Su Min would never lower herself to the likes of a house , and to be treated like one is a disgrace. But it gives her a new perspective, and she has realized how strong these women are.

Kai’s breath catches in his throat as the light in the room goes out, bathing the area in darkness. Lunging towards the open window, he hoists himself up, holding back a grunt all the while. Seconds later, he slips inside, unheard by the inhabitants of the room. Sliding past the curtain, he narrows his eyes in an attempt to see through the vale of darkness. There’s a soft grunt and then a light thud. The olive-skinned boy’s heart seems to stop beating for a second, and then the room is filled with light as smoke tickles his nose.

Standing there, eyes half-lidded as she glowers, is Su Min, standing right above an incapacitated male. He’s half-, his robes nearly all pulled off. “Can you believe this sage?” she scoffs, shoving her thumb towards his limp body. “He tried to get the best of me, Bang Su Min!” Su Min cries, throwing her hands in the air as she sends his body a look of distaste.

“Good thing he didn’t,” Kai sighs.

Su Min pushes past him, growling. “Like you care!” she hisses before blowing the candle out and exiting the room. Kai follows behind obediently, ducking and rolling in time with her. Her eyes narrow as she glances back at him. And then she pauses. “Do you really think I’m easy to manipulate? Well, I’m not. I was trained to kill, remember that!” she snaps, her pointer finger digging into the soft skin beneath his chin.

With that said, she twists around and continues on. Her hanbok is spotted with dirt, her face speckled with sweat as she struggles against the heavy fabric. It wasn’t until she entered the Gisaeng House that she realized that Tao had used her as a scapegoat. As if that boy wasn’t dead enough already. The duo reaches a large barrack-like room, and Su Min presses her finger to her lips as they creep ever closer.

Inside, people mill about carrying fabric, paint, dye, etc. Su Min’s brows furrow as she thinks. “They must be preparing for her Gisaeng initiation,” she concludes, looking over at Kai who seems a bit weak in the knees. Lifting a hand, she hits him in tune with each word. “Pull. Yourself. Together! Your sister is in trouble, now is not the time to lose your masculinity!” she scolds.

Kai gulps and nods, looking back into the room with Su Min by his side. The focused girl quickly pulls Kai closer to herself as movement catches the corner of her eye. The younger boy’s eyes widen as his face remains inches from her own--she doesn’t seem to notice their close proximity. He can feel her hoarse breaths on his cheek, something that doesn’t seem intimate until you’re in that position.

“Kyungsoo,” she breathes, relieved upon seeing the clumsy boy stumbling about. Xiumin and Tao tip-toe behind him. She ushers Kyungsoo over, and he obeys, his eyebrows furrowing upon seeing her together with Kai. “I have a plan.” Su Min whispers feverishly, smiling at the thought. Being prepared--or rather, knowing what her next move will be--is an exciting feeling.

“If it involves me dressing up as a Gisaeng, I’m out.” the owl-eyed boy retorts.

The corner’s of her lips tug upwards but she quickly slaps him. “Stay focused,” she scolds. Kai seems pleased by this, but he doesn’t dare to let his joy show. “Joomin is inside there. They have her wrists tied with rope.” Su Min begins. The strange thing is, Kai hadn’t even noticed the rope around his sister’s wrists. But, of course, Su Min has a keen eye. “You three will make a distraction to draw all of the people out of there. Meanwhile, Kai and I will slip inside and brief Joomin before cutting her wrists free and escaping. Xiumin should be hidden by the time everyone gets out there. You and Tao will draw the group away while he goes inside and helps Joomin escape.”

Kyungsoo frowns. “What if we get caught?”

Su Min rolls her eyes at this. “Don’t get caught.”

He opens his mouth to retort but stops upon receiving a short glance from Su Min. He nods before slipping back to the other boys and briefing them. They both stare, their mouths open, at Su Min. She shrugs and ushers them to start. Su Min prays silently that everything will go on without a hitch. Because if someone gets left behind, she knows that it’ll be her fault. The three boys let out loud wails as they initiate the plan.

This is just the beginning.

- - -

“Idiots,” Su Min curses as she places her hands behind her head and kneels on the ground. The guards growl in response and each grab one of her arms and lead her inside. The others are escorted by one guard, but everyone knows that Su Min can’t be trusted. The plan was a success, that is, until they all got outside. Sending angry glares at each of the boys, she curses their stupidity.

The whole event was quite a trainwreck, and how they carried it out was fit for amateurs. Bang Su Min has disgraced her father by participating in this event and getting caught. But it can’t be helped, really. Frowning, she accepts her punishment and acts obediently as the guards lead her to the governor’s throne room. Something that, honestly, she finds a bit excessive. He’s the governor, not the king, after all.

She’s sat down in front of a small stage of sorts, with her friend’s lined up behind her. The throne room, although gaudy, is rather spectacular. Hard wood painted elegant emerald and ruby colors frames the doorway and makes up the majority of the archways. The throne is embossed with gold and made of dark cherry wood. Vaulted ceilings are laced with wood beams, and hanging from those beams are lanterns made of brightly dyed paper and the like.

Eventually, the governor comes striding in. Punctuality is obviously not his forte. A loud grunt escapes his thin lips as he settles into his throne, the high back of the seat towering over him. He leans forward, a sickly smile painted on his bearded face. “So pretty,” he announces, calling all of his men to marvel at Su Min. Tired and annoyed, she spits at him, her nose wrinkling in distaste. Doing so is practically a death sentence, and she knows that well. “Too bad she’s such a mongrel. If not, I’d have made her my wife!”

“I’d rather die!” she retorts, fists clenching.

The governor shrugs and smiles crookedly. “Your loss,” he sighs, leaning his head on his hand. A servant brings him a glass of fine liquor, and he sips it daintily before offering it to his guests, who decline. “Again, it’s your loss. Now, tell me, what happened at my Gisaeng house that brings all of you here to my palace?” he asks, a hint of distaste in his tone. Su Min thinks for a second, wondering if she should keep silent. Eventually, she decides against silence and lets the story fall out of . Starting from the distraction, that is.

The boys had been wailing incessantly for what seemed like forever. Kai and Su Min peered through the window occasionally to see how the inhabitants were reacting. At first, they pushed it off as nothing, but as it continued, they grew tired and decided to investigate. One man stepped towards the window, forcing Kai and Su Min to duck--had they made a sound, he surely would have caught them.

Luckily, Xiumin had found a hiding place somewhere unknown before the man could spot him. His eyes caught sight of Tao and Kyungsoo though, and he became enraged, calling everyone to action seconds later. Both men and women piled outside and went in search of the intruders, they ran about in a frenzy as Kai and Su Min slipped inside wordlessly.

“Noona!” Kai exclaimed as he dove towards her. Silent tears fell from his eyes as his sister held back sobs of anguish. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna get you out of here.” he promised as he looked to Su Min, who stood above them, conflicted. While she wants to be happy for the now reunited siblings, she can’t help but feel a ceaseless sense of betrayal. They had tricked her--she was sure they could do it again.

Pushing such thoughts away, she knelt down and pulled a slim dagger out from her hair. The absence of it caused her hair to tumble down her neck and cascade around her shoulders. Su Min looked pretty, even with a blade in hand and a cool scowl on her face. She always has an undying sense of purpose emanating off of her. The frightened girl moved to stand up as soon as her wrists were freed but Su Min placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to continue kneeling.

“You can’t leave with us,” she sighed. “Someone might be outside, and then we would all get caught. If the coast is clear, Xiumin will come get you.” she promised. The older girl nodded and held her hands behind her back as Su Min and Kai stood up to leave. The two paused as footsteps approached the door. in her breath, Su Min grabbed Kai and dove behind an opaque curtain of sorts. The curtain provided just enough shelter for the two to hide.

Kai sighed loudly, attracting Su Min’s attention. “Can’t we just take my sister?” he asked, deep eyes pleading with the cold Su Min. She shook her head shortly as her grip on her blade tightened. The woman’s footsteps were getting ever closer.

“You betrayed me once,” she hissed back. “I don’t know if I can ever trust anyone.”

At this, Kai rolled his eyes. “Really? We’re on a mission and you’re going to talk about this? Not very professional of you.” he scolded. Su Min scoffed and opened to retort, but stopped as the curtain was aside, revealing an enraged Head Gisaeng. Always one to act rashly, Su Min grabbed a nearby vase and smacked it against the lady’s head, sending her whirling. She soon toppled, laying spread eagle on the floor. From closer inspection, though, she was still breathing.

Xiumin ran in seconds later, urging Kai and Su Min to leave as he and Joomin slipped through the open window. Loud footsteps pounded towards the door, telling Kai and Su Min that they now have no escape as people surround the stout building. Something seemed to click inside Kai’s head as he threw his arms around Su Min. Ready to fight a dozen people, Su Min turned towards him, about to shout about how this is not the right time.

But then they were gone.

The next thing Su Min knew, she was outside, Kai’s arms still wrapped tightly around her. Turning to him, eyes wide, Su Min didn’t know exactly what to say. Yes, this boy betrayed her. But he’s a Divine Force. The Force of Space, as he’s called. “How long have you known that you’re a...a Divine Force?” she asked cautiously. His eyes widened as he shook his head from side to side.

“I didn’t know,” he claimed. “I swear!”

Footsteps pounded towards them as they stared blankly at each other. “We made it!” Xiumin cawed, glad to have gotten out alive. Kai didn’t even acknowledge his exhausted sister as he stared at Su Min. “What happened?” Xiumin asked, confused. “Did he do something wrong?” he continued, taking a threatening step forward. Su Min held him back, casting a wary glance at Kai before turning to Xiumin.

“He’s a Divine Force,” she proclaims. “He must come with us.”

No one spoke for several minutes as the reality of it sank in. And then Kyungsoo and Tao seemed to materialize out of thin air. “Su Min,” Kyungsoo breathed, attempting to catch his breath. “You’ll never believe what happened with Tao and I!” he exclaimed, hands resting on his knees as he breathed in deeply. Her eyebrows rose inquisitively, telling him to continue. “Tao is one of us.”

Su Min shook her head, palms pressing against her temples. “This is unbelievable,” she exclaimed. Everyone stared at her, concerned for her mental stability. “I am good! I can find you guys without freaking trying. But, why are Tao’s powers only appearing now? This is really wei--” she began, but stopped upon being seized by two burly men in heavy armor. “Oh hell no!” she retorted as she kicked out, luckily hitting one of them in the knee.

Back-ups soon arrived, and the group was surrounded and told to get down on their knees.

“So, your royal , that’s how we got here,” she sighs, casting an annoyed glance at her companions, who hadn’t checked to see if they were being followed. The governor’s eyes widen and then narrow, disbelief clouding his better thought. He stands up and pads around the group, seeing nothing spectacular about any of them--nothing that could possibly make them stand out as ‘Divine Forces’.

His arms fold over his chest as he clucks his tongue. “Thought you could lie to me and get away with it, did you?” he begins, raising an eyebrow at Su Min. “Show me.” he demands, hard eyes boring into Su Min as he imagines the terrible things that will happen to her and her companions during torture time in the dungeon.

“That’s not safe,” she retorts. “They can’t control their powers.”

The governor shrugs and turns to look at his guards. “Take them away,” he orders, waving his hand dismissively. Su Min stands up, outraged.

“You can’t do this!” she protests. Reaching into her pocket, she withdraws a pouch filled with gold coins her father had given her. “Take all of this!” she says, tossing the money towards his feet. He opens the bag and peers inside, eyes widening as he stares at the bounty. It’s a lot of money. “That should be plenty to bail all of us out, pay Jongin and Joomin’s debts, and cover any damages.”

Su Min laughs as he debates the issue.

“Declining would be ludicrous,” Su Min notes. “Plus, we’d get out of your hair right away. Oh, and if you really don’t believe me about the Divine Forces, you could always have my father come here.”

“I don’t want any more of your kind near my town!” the governor protests. He pockets the gold and then turns to his guards. “ them out of the palace. Supply them with food, water, horses, and anything else they might need.” he sighs before exiting the throne room, one hand rubbing his forehead. If the money didn’t convince him, then the presence of her father surely would have. Su Min knew that well. Smiling at her companions, she heads for the door.

“Let’s go,” she tells Kai. “Time for your punishment.”

Author's Note;

► Why does Su Min sound so ual at the end...Like, really. TWO MORE DIVINE FORCES. Woah, that's crazy. You'll hear about Tao's experiance next time, guise. Meanwhile, I just keep fueling the KaiMin ships. Way to go, Peyton. Well, remember to comment, subscribe, and upvote as well!

► Peyton

P.S.

Hello, my name is Kim Jongin.

But you can call me Kai.

My main goals in life are to:

1) Destroy your ovaries

2) Fool you into thinking that I'm cool

3) Ruin your expectations for all men

-winks-