Seulgi sighs in relief as they finally manage to get into her room without hassle, and she falls onto her bed. As she does so, she grunts in pain as her leg gives a final pang - a final reminder - before relief washes over her body, and she finally relaxes. As the pain in her leg subsides, she begins to become aware of the sweat on her forehead and the back of her neck, along with the stickiness of the rest of her body.

    “Are you okay?” Joohyun’s timid voice weaves through the silence instead of breaking it, and Seulgi waits a few more seconds before sitting up on the bed.

    “I’m fine. I’m just feeling a little disgusted at the moment and I’m really craving a nice bath right now.” Seulgi lets a smile play on her lips as she makes eye contact with the dark haired girl, and then heaves herself up, nearly falling over - she hears an alarmed squeak from Joohyun - but manages to catch her balance by leaning against the bed. Joohyun’s suddenly at her side again, and Seulgi gratefully grabs a hold of the girl’s shoulder - when Joohyun suddenly flinches and gives a yelp of pain - much akin to that of a kicked puppy. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you somehow?” Joohyun gives firm shakes of her head, and Seulgi narrows her eyes at Joohyun before letting her gaze move towards the area that she had grabbed. Suspicion beginning to make its way into her mind, Seulgi carefully grabs a hold of Joohyun’s forearm and then leads her back to her bed.

“W-What are you doing?” Seulgi looks up at Joohyun, cocking an eyebrow.

“You’re hurt.” The girl’s eyes widen, and then she averts her gaze from Seulgi’s.

“No I’m not.” Seulgi observes Joohyun’s expression, unable to keep back a smile, before amusement dances behind gentle words.

“You’re a horrible liar. Now let me see.” Joohyun bites her lip before speaking quietly.

“It’s-It’s nothing big. I’m fine.” Seulgi’s amusement quickly dissipates and a frown replaces her teasing smile.

“You denied it first, and now you’re saying that it’s nothing big. I just want to check that you’re okay, alright? So please, just let me check.” Irene looks terrified - though she tends to look like that most of the time - but Seulgi ignores it, and gives her a gentle look. Finally, Irene’s tense muscles relax, and she looks away. Irene’s wearing a dress as usual, and Seulgi carefully undoes the bow that holds Irene’s dress together, and then gently pulls down the right side of it. The milky skin of Joohyun’s neck comes into view, and then - Seulgi practically sees red. Yellow, purple, blue, and red mar Joohyun’s porcelain skin, beginning from her shoulder and down to the middle of her upper arm.

“What. Happened.” Seulgi’s voice sounds harsh - even to her - and she feels Joohyun flinch under her grip. Seulgi can’t pull her gaze away from the bruises, though, and without a second thought, she reaches out and gently runs her fingers against Joohyun’s fragile skin. She tries to ignore how soft the girl’s skin is, or how close they are - this isn’t the time for thoughts like that. Joohyun clearly stiffens, and Seulgi hears a sharp intake of breath as her fingers trace the ugly blemishes down her arm - they’re hot and swollen, and Seulgi’s worry becomes greater at this realization. This time, she manages to look away and look up at Irene instead - though the latter doesn’t return her gaze. “What happened? Who did this to you?” Seulgi’s calmer now, and Irene doesn’t flinch this time.

“I-I fell.” Seulgi lets out a frustrated sigh and runs fingers through stray strands of dark hair.

“No more lies, Joohyun.” Seulgi sees the other girl clench her teeth before finally turning her head and meeting her eyes. Seulgi’s surprised to see a steely look in the usually soft-eyed girl, and she raises her brows.

“There was just a little fight with the other servants. I got hurt. That’s it.” After her abnormally blunt confession, Joohyun’s eyes return to their usual soft, timid look. Then, suddenly, her eyes widen, and her face goes bright red. Seulgi’s confused for a second before she slowly looks down to Joohyun’s exposed flesh, and the piece of garment between her fingers, and she knows that she’s mirroring the color of Joohyun’s cheeks as she hurriedly lets go of the other’s clothes and clears . She hears the rustle of clothes as Joohyun fixes herself. Momentarily - from anger - Seulgi had forgotten that she’s known as a man to anyone else other than her, and that a man shouldn’t be doing what she had been doing moments before, to a girl. After collecting herself from the bout of embarrassment, Seulgi grunts as she pushes herself up.

“No, stay here. I’ll be right back.” Joohyun had been about to help her, but Seulgi doesn’t need it. She’s lived with her handicap for years now, and a she can survive a short walk to get something.

“O-Okay.”

~~

    When Seulong walks - limps - out of the room, Joohyun practically collapses onto the bed. She can still feel the sensation of the man’s soft fingertips tracing down the aching bruises on her arm, and can still see the way his dark eyes had looked at her softl