"What is on the other side?" Sanghyuk asked, looking over the meadow. "There is a large estate on the other side. It's the one you see on the road in from town" Minah told him. "The big estate the Duke once owned?" Sanghyuk asked. "Used to. Now someone else lives there" Minah told him. 

"Who stays there now?" he asked. He had boundless energy today, quite contrary to how silent Haneul had become. "A gentleman with a family. A merchant by trade. Not noble as far as we know" Minah told him. "Not noble indeed" Haneul agreed. "Hannie are you tired?" Sanghyuk asked her. "A little" she lied. "Do you want to go back?" Minah asked worriedly. "No. I'll just walk a little slower I suppose" she told the two.

"This seems like a fairly large ground. Do you want to play tag Minah?" Sanghyuk asked her. "Yes!" she agreed instantly. "Okay!" he exclaimed.  He counted till ten lazily, giving Minah a headstart to run while Haneul strolled around aimlessly. She eventually stopped, having some handle on her emotions. 

"I thought it was you" a soft voice told her. Haneul started and turned to see Taekwoon standing in a distance. "Pardon me Mr Jung. I didn't notice you approach us" she told him. "I didn't mean to startle you my lady" he replied. Haneul shook her head and walked up to him.

"I leave to London tomorrow" he told her. "So soon?" she asked surprised. "I've overstayed my visit I'm afraid. I was to leave a fortnight ago" he confessed. "Will you visit again?" she asked. "Perhaps. Nothing is certain" he told her. Haneul nodded in understanding. 

"I was hoping I'd run into you here" he said after a while. "Mr Jung?" Haneul asked, not understanding why he had sought her out. "You seemed quite distressed the other day. I wanted to apologise" he said. "It was never your fault Mr Jung. I was the one in the wrong" Haneul protested. "You couldn't have known" he said quietly.

"Would you mind a stroll around the field Mr Jung?" Haneul asked, noting how he had fallen silent. He nodded hesitantly and Haneul started walking around, keeping an eye on Minah and Sanghyuk. "What was she like?" she asked him. "Beautiful. She was the life of any party. She was adventurous. She couldn’t stay still. No one believed we were engaged even after the formal announcement. We weren't alike you see" he said with a small smile.

"She sounds like a wonderful woman" Haneul smiled. "She was" he agreed. "Two years has been such a short time." "Time waits for no man Mr Jung. A mere month couldn't have been enough to see Derbyshire either! You must return, will you not?" she asked him. "I suppose I will" he said thoughtfully. 

"I suppose I will take my leave. Will you do me a last favour Miss Kim?" Taekwoon asked her. "Yes?" she replied, wondering what it could be. "Please call me Taekwoon" he told her. "Only if you call me Haneul" she replied with a smile. "Wish farewell to your cousin for me" he told her as he left. "I will" Haneul called out. She waved as he walked away, back into the manor. She moved to call Minah and Sanghyuk to return. 

"Was that Mr Jung?" Minah asked, walking up to him. "Yes indeed. He wanted to say goodbye as he departs tomorrow" Haneul explained. "He was really tall" Sanghyuk piped up. "He's a nice gentlemen. Maybe we'll meet him someday" Haneul told him. "An unusually long goodbye" Minah noted raising an eyebrow at Haneul. A calling card would have done the trick. A letter even. But it seemed like the gentleman had sought her cousin out in person.

"Let me introduce you to my extended family" Hyunshik said. Minjun smiled, not showing any traces of their morning fight. Jaehwan nodded as Hyunshik explained. "This is Minah, my brother's daughter. And Sanghyuk is her brother" he explained. "Charming to meet you" he told Minah. Sanghyuk frowned when Minah giggled a little but he didn't say anything. 

"This is Park Soojung. She's their governess for the while" Hyunshik put in. "I believe we met at lunch the other day" Jaehwan said. "We did indeed" Soojung replied. "It was a lovely affair despite the rains ruining our plans" Younhee frowned. "As long as you had a good time my dear" Jaesuk consoled her.

"Where is Haneul?" Jaehwan asked. "She should be here. And speak of the devil" Hyunshik laughed when Haneul knocked on the door. "Where were you my dear?" Hyunshik asked her. "In the garden. There was no sign of rain so I thought we could have lunch outside. I do apologise for the time it took" she said regretfully. "No worries at all dear. It's a wonderful idea" Jaesuk assured her. "Indeed. Haneul is as thoughtful as ever" Younhee told Jaehwan. 

"I don't believe you have met Jaehwan yet. Did you even recognise him for I didn't" Minjun said happily. "I didn't at first I'm afraid" Hanuel confessed. Jaehwan chuckled. "I didn't think it was you either" he put in. "Perhaps you'd like to catch up. Maybe Haneul can give you a tour of the garden. We have lovely flowers blooming after the rains" Hyunshik suggested. "Indeed. It will be a wonderful idea" Jaesuk agreed. 

"If you don't mind my lady?" Jaehwan asked. "Not at all" Haneul said, surprised at the encouragement from all the elders. She shared a look with Minah who looked at her unsurely. She led Jaehwan outside and the conversation in the room resumed.

"I'm surprised Jaehwan wasn't jumping up and opening the door for her when she entered. He has been asking about her ever since he came back" Jaesuk laughed. "Jaehwan has good manners. What a perfect gentleman he is!" Minjun gushed. "Haneul has grown up to be a beautiful lady too. One would hardly believe she is a child anymore" Younhee said out loud. "Children grow up so fast" Minjun agreed. "Indeed. My elder son has a family of his own now but I can only remember the times when he was a child himself" Younhee agreed.

"What are they talking about?" Sanghyuk asked Minah in a whisper. "I'm not sure either" Minah told him. She had a nagging suspicion that something was at play but she couldn't put her finger on it. It irked her that Soojung was on the game as well and could comprehend the discussion perfectly. 

"You've grown to be more beautiful than I remember you were" Jaehwan told her, leaning in to whisper it as they strolled the ground. "You flatter me but are you implying that I wasn't as beautiful before?" Haneul asked him playfully. "You were a sight better than a bushy squirrel I'm afraid" he told her honestly. She exclaimed and walked ahead crossly causing him to run after her.

"I was not a bushy squirrel! You were a lanky giraffe!" she said out of spite. While Jaehwan should have taken offense, he could only laugh because it was true. When he had met Haneul he had been tall and graceless about it. It had been a topic for her to on incessantly in their letters. 

"But I wasn't lying earlier" he told her. "I suppose I could admit that you look handsome as well" she relented. "Thank you" Jaehwan said with an exaggerated bow. "Would you give this overtly handsome man permission to meet you some times?" he asked her playfully. "You don't need permission Jaehwan. You are my friend. You are welcome here any time" Haneul told him sincerely.

"I don't suppose I could reserve your first dances at the next ball, could I?" he chanced. "As it is your own, you should know that your first dances are with your mother" Haneul reminded him. "But I am free to have the rest with you" he insisted. "Just one dance" she relented. "Two. The baroque and the quadrille. Or perhaps the waltz in place of the quadrille" he laughed. "The waltz! Do you wish to cause a scandal?" she asked him. The waltz was a new form of dance, one where partners had to be scandalously close. While it was purported to be quite the rage in London, the country societies still had to take to it.

"I'm glad I'm home" he said with a small smile. "There's no place like it, I suppose" Haneul agreed. "And no people like the company I keep here" he said, looking directly at her. Haneul blushed and looked away. She wasn't blind to his affections. But did she feel the same way? He was a close friend. She hadn't expected him to intend on courting her and being so open about it. How was she to respond to this new attention?

Suddenly there was a lot to think about.