Yoon ShiYoon looked at me for a long moment while my heart pounded. I sent him telepathic waves pleading him to tell me the truth.

“You are here, Kim MiYoung-ssi,” he finally said, “because I had a promise to keep.”

“And is this your last chance to fulfill it? Is that why I’m here now?”

“What do you mean by that?” His gaze was sharp.

“ShiAhn told me,” I cleared my throat to remove the emotion in it. “ShiAhn told me that you intend to propose to Park ShinHye during your time here.”

He said nothing.

I shifted my weight from side to side. “Is it true? You’re going to propose?”

He studied my face for a long time before answering. “It’s a possibility.”

I inhaled, exhaled, and inhaled again. “I see.”

“Now it’s your turn. Why didn’t you come downstairs for dinner? Did you not want to join us?”

I took a deep breath. “Your mother didn’t want me downstairs. ShiAhn told me to stay in my room so I. . . wouldn’t distract you. Of course, you more than anyone understand how strongly I feel about--about being cooped up in a tiny space.” My voice shook at the end despite my attempts to control it.

ShiYoon moved his head just enough so that a strand of moonlight from the window showed the anger in his eyes.

I looked away. “I’m not crying about it. I promise. Honestly, I’m glad I got some alone time to explore the house . . .”

“MiYoung,” his voice was gentle a tugged at the fragile strings keeping my heart together.

I stooped down to put my slipper back on that had fallen off with my fidgeting. “I should leave you to entertain your important guest,” I murmured as I moved away from him. I crossed to my room and opened the door. I turned to see ShiYoon standing very close to me.

“Listen Kim MiYoung,” his voice was hushed but intent. “You are my guest just as much as Park ShinHye is. You are my guest. Understand? This house is my inheritance, not my mother’s. She has no power here.”

I loved the sound of his words, but what ShiYoon didn’t was that his mother did have power here. She had power here in spades.

“Now that you know that, you can come downstairs whenever you want,” he said. “You can explore every nook and cranny of this house to your heart’s content.” He lifted his hand and gently brushed his thumb over my cheek, wiping off a stray tear that had slipped out without my notice. I caught my breath in surprise. “And as for my mother. . . Just. . . Just ignore her as much as possible.”

I smiled a little. “Thank you.” My heart reached out for him, but I made sure to pull it back before I gave away anything. I looked down to better try to hide my feelings.

“So, Kim MiYoung-ssi, will you come down and play a game of go-stop with us?”

I shook my head. “No, thank you. I’m actually pretty tired.”

“Must have been the trot tunes.”

“What? You mean you knew about her humming trot tunes and never warned me! Ya! Yoon ShiYoon!”

He just grinned that boyish smile of his. “I refuse the answer the question.” He then looked at the room behind me. “And you’re sure you’re fine staying here by yourself in the west wing?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine. I really like this room. So don’t worry about me.”

“I think I will always worry about you Kim MiYoung,” he murmured. He looked like he wanted to say more, in fact his mouth opened slightly as if words were going to come out.

Then from the direction of the stairs came the voice of Park ShinHye. “Oppa? ShiYoon oppa? Are you up here?”

At the sound of her voice instead of saying what he wanted to, ShiYoon turned away to leave.

“Yoon ShiYoon.”

He turned to face me but kept his distance.

“I just wanted to thank you for keeping your promise. Thank you for bringing me here.”

He smiled but continued to back slowly away down the hall as he replied, “I will always keep the promises I make to you Kim MiYoung.” Then with a few short strides he was gone.

From the stairs I heard Park ShinHye exclaim, “Oppa! Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you everywhere! It’s time to play go-stop with ShiAhn and omoni.” Their voices soon faded and I was again left alone in the west wing.

I closed the door, completed my nightly routine, then hopped into bed. After a long time, the crash of the ocean waves lulled me to sleep.

The next morning I slept longer than I had planned, but didn’t mind because I was on vacation. And what’s vacation without some extra sleep? I showered, dressed, and made my way downstairs to the smaller dining room, pointed out to me by one of the servants. Sitting at the table were ShiAhn and Park ShinHye.

I took a deep breath to collect my composure and my good intentions. I reminded myself that Park ShinHye had never personally wronged me in any way. It was just the fatigue of travel that made me think she was irritating and presumptuous. I’m sure she was a perfectly decent human being and would make a good wife for ShiYoon.

“Good morning Kim MiYoung-ssi,” she called as I crossed the room to sit. “I hope you slept well last night.”

“Yes, I did sleep well. Thank you.” A servant placed a tray in front with a variety of breakfast sections from the ones I was used to (like rice, ribs, and soup) to ones I’d only ever seen rich people in dramas eat (like donuts and eggs and bacon). I used the food as an excuse to bite back other less polite words about how I was ShiYoon’s guest and not hers. I struggled to think of something polite to say to this intruder, this young woman who had come to ruin my long awaited trip to Jeju with just ShiYoon and ShiAhn. I thought hard while stuffing my mouth with the food in front of me. Finally, one kind thought came to mind: Park ShinHye was at least a polite intruder.

“You are very interested in Spain I understand,” Park ShinHye said to me. She looked very pretty in the soft morning light. Her hair was very deep and glinted when the sunlight shone on it at just the right angle. Her elven eyes were a force to be reckoned with.

“Oh? And who told you that?”

ShiAhn spoke up. “I did. ShinHye-ah and I spent a lot of time together in Seoul.”

I tried not to resent this fact. It was only natural that ShiAhn would make new friends after living in Seoul for so long. But I did not like this stranger knowing things about me. I looked over and saw Park ShinHye was looking at me, eyebrows up, waiting for my answer.

“Oh, yes. I’ve always been interested in Spain and learning Spanish. In fact, I’m going to move there soon with my aunt.”

She shook her head while making a gentle tsking sound. “I don’t understand why anyone would want to leave their native country and live in another! How long is the flight?”

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