Yoo had finished buying the medication as he walks back to the mansion. His steps stops as he remembers something, a hazy image.

Him drunk dancing around while Ji Hyo jumped around with him. Their arms link and danced in a circle, singing horribly.

Yoo shook his head and tried to keep calm. He hurried back to the mansion. He hands the medication to the maid, instructing her to bring the medication to Lady Kim.

He turned around and continue to walk out until he sees someone covered in a straw mat walking out of the mansion.

Wary, he quickly runs over, pulling the person around. His eyes widen, seeing that it Ji Hyo.

“Lady Kim,” he whispers her name. She was frighten as she pulls away and runs out of the mansion, still covered in a straw mat. He runs after her as guards sees her running out with a straw mat.

Not trying to raise suspicion and attention, Yoo ran after her. She ran outside as the mat gave her little views of the path and surrounding. She ran through the crowds and bumped into many people.

Yoo grabs her and pulls her back to the corner of the mansion, taking off the mat.

“What are you doing???” he questions her.

Ji Hyo stares back at him and holds onto the mat but her hair was in a messy braid. Her eyes were slightly pink and scared.

He looks around to see if there were anyone staring at them as he puts his arms around her and covered with the mat, leading her back to gate entrance of the mansion.

“Let’s go back inside,” he says. But Ji Hyo stops and pulls away. “Lady Kim,”

She shook her head as the mat fell around her. “I- I don’t want to.”

“Why?”

Ji Hyo’s eyes wander around, looking for an answer then back at him. “I’m… I’m afraid.” she said in a mere whisper.

“I don’t know why but… but I’m just,” she breathes heavily. “It just feels so strange. Something keeps telling me to leave, that feeling, crawling over my skin, making me feel suffocated and small.”

He looks at her state of mind. She’s not crazy, she’s just lost. That was probably how she felt all along. Living in a place like this, being stuck like this.

He steps up, trying to be confident. “You’re just, you’re just afraid my lady.” He smiles thinly. “This is your home. Everything is just new to you.”

Ji Hyo stares at him with tears in her eyes. He took another step forward.

“You are the daughter-in-law of Minister Kim, the daughter of Minster Song, and the wife of General Kim.”

Ji Hyo continues to stare at him.

“It will all be better. Trust me,” he smiles. “You probably don’t remember me, but we were friends.”

“Friends?”

He nodded.

“H-How do I know that?”

He raises his hand towards her, “Trust your instincts,”

Ji Hyo froze in the same place, contemplating every answer and question. Yoo stepped closer, closing their distance.

He put his hands on her shoulders and he pulls her into a light hug, then pats her head. Ji Hyo was wary but a familiar feeling came back. This touch was familiar. Her heart started beating fast.

Yoo breathes in and out as he tried to control himself, telling himself he is doing the right thing, gaining her trust. Then he pulls back as Ji Hyo stares at him blankly.

“Can you feel it?” he asked. Ji Hyo slightly nodded. “Do you trust me now?”

Ji Hyo looks back and forth at him. “No.”

His smile faded away. “Why? I thought we were friends, Song Ji Hyo. Or is it because I’m not as handsome? Huh? Did I scare you last time?” He scratched his head. “You even threw a shoe at me, made my nosebleed, and you even punched me.”

Ji Hyo stares at him blankly.

“Aigoo,” he puts his hands on his hips. “I don’t just let anyone hit me and get free with it. You even made food for me,”

Ji Hyo drew a thin smile as she sees him joking around. Unknowing to her, she just smiled.

Yoo sees her smile and smiles bigger. “Why are you smiling?”

Ji Hyo tried to hide her smile but he just raises his hand at her. “Let’s go inside. I’ll explain more things to you.”

Ji Hyo hesitantly looked at him as he nodded and offered his hand once more.

“Oh, my hand is getting so weak now.” he pretended to be in pain. Ji Hyo finally gave in and handed him her long sleeve. Yoo chuckled at her gesture, instead of her hand it was her sleeve. He took it anyways and left her back into the mansion.

She didn’t know why, it just came to her. His back that walked away from her, flashing in her head. His hair blew with the wind as he turns to look at her and smile. As if it happened before but instead of fear, it was relieving.

They reached the doors to her quarters as he opened the door. “This is your room.”

Ji Hyo nodded. “I know…”

He nodded. “That’s good then. Stay in here and they will take care of you.”

“Who’s ‘they’?”

“The servants.”

“What are servants?”

Yoo scratched his head. “Servants… servants are people who serve you…?”

Ji Hyo looks around at the people. “How do they serve you?”

Yoo deeply exhaled then chuckled to himself. “You must have really lost your mind. For example, if you want to eat, they will cook for you if you’re hungry. They will give you water for your bath, pour tea for you to drink and wash your clothes.”

Ji Hyo nodded as Yoo wiped away his sweat. “I still don’t get it.”

Yoo tried to be patient as he chuckled more. “Let me show you,” he took her inside the room, opening the doors wide, then sitting them by the table.

“Are you thirsty?” he asked as he grabs the pot of tea.

“No,” she answered flatly.

He rolled his eyes and continued showing her. “Here is your tea, my lady,” he takes a cup and pours in the tea then hands it to her.

Ji Hyo stares the cup in his hand. He gestured again. “Here is your tea,”

She decided to take the cup of tea and hold it. He smiles but she only held it and stares at it.

“Aren’t you going to drink it?”

She takes the drink up to her lips and took a sip without blowing it, making her spit it back out. She stick out her tongue, “It’s hot~”

Yoo chuckled as Ji Hyo started whimpering as she stick out her tongue. “You have to blow it first.”

Ji Hyo glares at him for laughing.

“Look at that, look at that,” he points at her making that face. She turns away and curls her tongue back in , pouting.

He sits beside her and pours her another cup of tea. He hands it to her.

She looks at him, almost irritated, “I’m not thirsty.”

“I poured it for you,”

“I didn’t tell you to.”

He snickered and takes the drink and blows it before drinking it. He face grows sour immediately. He looks at the teapot again and realized that it wasn’t tea. It was her medicine. He looks back at her with his scrunched up face.

“What?” she asked cluelessly. “It the tea not good.”

He shook his head and forcefully gulped it down. He almost gags but keeps up his poker face. “It is really good~.”

Ji Hyo looks at him then back at the half empty cup. “Are you going to finish it?”

He looks back at the cup then at her. “It’s okay, I’m thirsty anymore.”

Ji Hyo looks at him suspiciously.

Yoo sees Jong Kook at the door. “Jong Kook hyung,”

Jong Kook has just gotten there as his cousin called him. He steps inside as he sees them seated at the table.

“What are you two doing?” he asked as he sees the tea cups, Ji Hyo’s messy braid with straws and Yoo in his same uniform.

“You came just in time.” he gets up and hands the cup of medicine to Jong Kook. “I was teaching Ji Hyo how to drink tea. Here, you can show her too.”

Jong Kook looks at Ji Hyo who sat with her puppy eyes looking at him. He finally takes the cup from Yoo as Yoo smiled.

“Blow the tea generously,” he told her, “then drink it with sips,” he took a sip of the tea. To his dismay, the ‘tea’ was terribly bitter, making him shot a look right back at Yoo who turned away and smiled to himself. “Are you crazy?” Jong Kook whispers at Yoo, glaring. “What kind of tea is this?”

Yoo looks back at him and whispers, “It’s Ji Hyo’s medicine.”

“What?”

“I didn’t know it either.”

Jong Kook was so close to pouring the ‘tea’ for Yoo.

“You so similar.” Ji Hyo’s voice brought back their attention.

“I-“ Jong Kook was about to speak but couldn’t find the words to say. Did she remember something?

Ji Hyo raises her hands to the end of her eyes and pulls it back, making chinky eyes. “Your eyes are so small.” She smiles.

“What are you saying?” Yoo almost raised his voice then looks at Jong Kook, “Mines are bigger,” he breaks into a smile.

Jong Kook made a face, “Yah,”

“What?” Yoo mouth, “Isn’t it right?” he turns back to Ji Hyo and she nodded in agreement, making Jong Kook upset. “I’ll be on my way then.” Yoo smiled. “Take care of yourself, my lady.”

Jong Kook shot another look at him as Yoo ignored him. Ji Hyo nodded.

“W-what’s your name?” she asked as he was about to turn away.

He smiled to himself as he remembers that moment. “You would jump in fear,” then he walked about after lightly bowing to Jong Kook.

Jong Kook witness the aura between them, as if it had happened before as Ji Hyo breaks in a curious gaze, staring at him until disappeared.

***

Ji Hyo sat at the table as dinner is brought to the table. Many dishes were made and she felt so small at the big table. Her mother-in-law came in with the tray of food as Jong Kook stands by.

“My dear, eat a lot alright?”

Ji Hyo felt a strong attachment with this woman that she doesn’t even know. “Nneh…”

“Call me mother,” she smiles warmly.

“Yes, mother…”

His mother pats her hand. “I’ll leave you two to eat together.” then she left them alone.

Ji Hyo take the chopsticks but doesn’t know how to use them.

Jong Kook sees her fiddle with them as he closed the door. He walks over and sits by her.

“Let me help you,” he asked as he raised his hand towards her. She hesitantly gives them to him. He puts the chopstick in her right hand and over with his own.

“Hold one chopstick, like so, with your pointer, middle finger, and thumb. You should be able to move the chopstick up and down.”

Their fingers moved the chopstick back and forth. Ji Hyo could hear his breath but something makes her heat skipped a beat as she felt his warmth.

“This is correct. See, how only the pointer, the middle finger and the chopstick are moving?” he turns and asks her. She nods but continue to fluster with that weird feeling.

“For the second chopstick, you hold it like this between your thumb and your palm. This chopstick does not move while being used.”

They both turned to look at each other and their lips almost brushed against one another. Jong Kook quickly moves back.

“Got it?” he smiles.

Ji Hyo nodded but looks back at him. “I’m not sure…”

He almost nags as he gives her the spoon. “Just use this for now then.”

Ji Hyo sits by the table as she eats her food.

“I have a question…” she whispers, making him look up. “Who are you again?”

“I’m,” he tries to find the words. “I’m your husband Kim Jong Kook.”

“My husband…. what is a husband?”

Jong Kook was takenback by the question. What is a husband?

“A husband is someone who cares for his wife… cherishes her and makes her happy,” he tries to list them as he thinks of the things he does for Ara. That’s when he remembers it. He never treated Ji Hyo that way.

Yet he is explaining to her about what a husband does.

“How does a husband care for his wife?”

He was a bad guy, he didn’t even care for her that way and he is here telling her that he is her husband.

“He makes her smile, hugs her, and stays with her…”

Ji Hyo stopped eating. “What about a wife?”

He gulps. What does wife do?
“A wife is… understanding,” he tries to think but then he remembers Ji Hyo, “cares for her husband, doesn’t get angry, always helpful, and supportive…”

Ji Hyo nodded. “What do they call each other?”

“Umm… I’m not sure.”

Ji Hyo took a look at the food then back at him. “What did I call you?”

He stares at her innocent eyes. She was really curious and for that he is guilty.

“You called me Sir Kim.”

“What did you call me?”

“I-“ he had never call her anything other than Lady Kim of Song Ji Hyo.

Ji Hyo stares at his blankness, how his gaze suddenly turned gray. She looks away and continue to eat her food, making him uncomfortable. He wanted to tell her a lot of good things but he wasn’t able to do a lot of good things for her.

“Sir Kim, I have another question but I don’t know if I should ask,” Ji Hyo bit the end of her spoon.

“What is it?” he asked through meals.

“Are you really my husband?”

“Why do you ask that?” he stops eating.

“Because you don’t seem to be like one.”

He stops eating and looks at her, making Ji Hyo stop. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Why do you think so?”

“You said that a husband is someone who cares for his wife, cherishes her, make her happy. But then… I barely see you,” she almost whispers and played with the food in her bowl.

“I…” he couldn’t find the words to say. Has he really ignored her? “It’s not like that.”

She stares up at him. “Are we really married?”

“Ji Hyo…”

“Are you hiding something?”

“What?”

“You’re not my husband right?” he gulped at her question.

You are my official wife but someone else is my actual wife. I married you based on duty, not love while you did both.

“Someone else is my husband right?” she asked again. His hands curled up as he clutching onto his clothes.

“Is it him?” she asked seriously.

“Who?”

“You know… that man earlier…” she thinks back to Yoo. “He hugged me… and held my sleeve…”

She breaks into a thin smile. “I don’t know but it was relieving… I felt better after he hugged me…”

Jong Kook felt his heart skipped a beat as he grew infuriating. No answers or comments. Ji Hyo looks back at him then smile.

“It’s not right is it?” she felt a tug on her chest as she looks at him. Her lips spoke words without her control. It was confusing.

That man made her felt comfortable but this man here makes her heart tug and yearn for him. His explanation of a husband made her think that other man was her husband but Jong Kook makes her rethink that assumption.

What is this? She looks at his eyes, trying to make out why she is feeling this way.

Jong Kook looks back at her and whispers an answer. “No, it’s not true.”

*****************************************************************************

Sorry about the lack of updates... >< thank you for still reading