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“My lady, please tell me you are not doing what I think you are planning to do,” the maid pleads. Her lady merely glances over her shoulder and replies, “I am simply going out for a walk, don’t worry about it. If father is to ask of me, tell him I have returned to my study.”

The maid watches helplessly as her mistress walks out and into the busy streets towards the markets, dressed up in the disguise of a man. It was no use trying to stop her. The girl was as stubborn as a mule. Growing up as the only child, the daughter of a rich merchant, her father had shielded and protected her from the public. He wanted no harm to be brought to her, because as a successful man in a highly competitive business, he had quite a few competitors who would love to get their hands on his beautiful daughter as leverage to seal a few deals with him.

“Ah, Sir Byun! I haven’t seen you in a while! Have you been well?” a shopkeeper asks when she comes up to his store. She smiles at him and nods. She has her fan in her hand, fanning her to cool her down under the summer heat.

“I have been very well, good sir. I hope your store has been selling well. Do you have any precious little treasures you would recommend to me?”

The shopkeeper laughs heartily. “Everything at my store is to be recommended, my good sir. However, I did receive a new shipment of material that I set aside for you that I do believe you will most definitely appreciate.” The shopkeeper disappears into the back of the store for a while before emerging with something that she did, indeed, agree was one of the most beautiful fabrics she has ever seen in a long while.

Laying it down carefully on the table counter, the shopkeeper unrolls some of it so that his regular customer could get a better look. “Fit enough for royalty, if I dare say so myself,” he says proudly, “Do have a feel, Sir Byun. Feel how extravagant it is. We are very limited on the amount of fabric that we have, I’d say about 2 outfit’s worth and that’s it.”

She steps forward and examines the fabric, running her hands across it to feel how silky it feels underneath her fingertips. She is tempted. “How much for two dresses?” she asks, eyes glancing away from the fabric and up to the shopkeeper. His eyes brighten immediately.

“For a valued customer as yourself, it will definitely be a very favourable price!” he exclaims instantly. She hums and nods as she peers down at beautiful cloth in front of her. She’ll probably get a scolding from her father later, but she thinks it’ll be worth. She might even be able to convince him that she was doing it out of the consideration of him, since she recalls her father telling her of an important event they were to attend at the end of the month.

“I’ll take them,” she proclaims, much to the shopkeeper’s delight.

“Are they with the usual measurements, Sir Byun?” he asks. She plays with the edge of the fabric and nods. “You’re always ordering these measurements and asking for dresses... Are these for your female lover, perhaps?”

She merely grins and taps the edge of the table counter with her fan. “I ought to get going. I leave the designs up to you, just ensure they are lovely and extravagant,” she tells him. It's not like she's able to tell him that the dresses are actually for herself. Definitely not. “Is it possible to get them in before the end of the month?” The shopkeeper nods at her before his eyes wander to somewhere behind her.

“Ah, good afternoon, my Lord!” he greets, hastily walking around the counter to greet the person that had just entered the shop.

‘Lord?’ she wonders to herself. She turns her head to take a look at the person. Indeed, the man’s clothing was extravagant, indicating his social status and wealth. What catches her attention, however, is the sword strapped to the side of his waist.

“My Lord, it is a pleasure to see you once again. Are you here for some new clothing?” the shopkeeper asks.

“Yes, I am. I’ve got an important event held at the end of the month and I was hoping if you could prepare one for me,” the man answers. As she watches them interact and discuss details, she notes the appearance of the new customer.

His back is facing her, since the shopkeeper had led him away to show some other fabrics, so she is unable to see his face, but he is tall, much taller than her and many other men that she knew. She can tell that his back is broad, even under the broad design of the shoulders of his outfit. He has a large hat on, covering his head, the type that the rich often wear to keep the sun off them. She is also wearing one herself. She would be damned if she were to get sunburned and found out by her father.

As the customer takes off his hat, the shopkeeper suddenly turns their attention to her. “Oh! My Lord, pardon my rudeness. My good sir over here has also another regular customer of mine for quite some time.”

When the customer turns around, she wills for her heart to calm down because the man before her is unbelievably handsome. With his skin fair and his features looking like they have been crafted by the gods themselves, from his tall nose, his sharp jawline, his piercing eyes, and his dark eyebrows, she wonders how such a man is roaming this Earth.

“My Lord Sehun, this is Sir Byun,” the shopkeeper introduces her, “And my Sir Byun, this is Lord Oh Sehun.”

Her eyes fall on the jade emblem that dangles on a carefully designed thick red thread. She rummages through her memory, desperately trying to remember the specific design she had been taught during her tutoring lessons. Her eyes widen when she finally realises the family emblem. She bows down low out of respect.

“Please, lift your head up. There is no need,” the man tells her. She slowly straightens herself, avoiding his eyes. “He says you are from the family of Byun,” the man comments. She nods. “I see.”

She takes a chance and glances up the lord. His eyes are piercing, filled with suspicion and judgement. Eager to be free from his gaze, she turns to the shopkeeper. “I must take my leave. I trust you can have the orders done by the end of the month?” she checks, unable to stop herself from glancing at the lord.

The shopkeeper lets out a hearty laugh. “I have never done you wrong, my good sir. Be assured that I will have them done as soon as possible for you to pick up in two weeks’ time,” he tells her. Satisfied, she turns to leave, thanking the shopkeeper and bowing to Lord Sehun, before she leaves the store.

Trying to remain calm, she strides out of the store and paces herself. As soon as she reaches the end of the street and turns the corner, she’s ready to pick up her pace into a jog, desperate to get home. Only as soon as she turns, she bumps into something hard. She squeezes her eyes shut and holds onto her nose, which is aching slightly from the impact. Her other hand, she pats the space in front of her to determine what she had bumped into.

It is strange. Hard, yet soft. Firm. Toned. She feels across the area and realises she is feeling up a person, and a man at that. She jumps away from the person and finally looks up.

“Lord Sehun?”

He doesn’t answer, merely taking a step towards her. She takes a step back. He continues his advance until he’s able to back her into an alleyway, away from civilians. As soon as they are alone, he reaches for his sword, ready to draw it if necessary.

“Identify yourself immediately,” he growls.

“What?” she blurts out.

“Do not act oblivious, imposter. The Byun family has but only two sons in their family. Any man who dares use their name for his own amusements is punishable by death.” This time, Lord Sehun begins to draw out his sword. Panicking, she holds out her hands to stop him, dropping her fan in the process.

“Wait! No, I am. Truly. There are multiple people who can have similar surnames, no? I’m sure the names are written differently!” she hastily tries to explain. “In fact, the shopkeeper doesn’t even pronounce the name properly, my name is more of a… Bi-yern…?”

Lord Sehun raises an eyebrow and stares at her for a moment. He rolls his eyes and then, took quick for her to react, he draws his sword and holds it to her neck. “You think I would fall for such lies?”

“But it’s true!” she desperately tries to convince him. The man stares at her for a while longer before saying, “Fine. Guide me to where you live.”

“What?”

“Prove to me you are no thief. Guide me to your family home immediately,” he demands. She tenses when she feels the sword against her neck move ever so slightly.

“If I’m going to guide you out in the open streets, it might be best to do it without the sword, don’t you think?” she tries to convince him. Lord Sehun narrows his eyes at her but eventually removes his sword and returns it into its scabbard. She lets out the breath she didn’t even know she was holding.

“Get going,” the man tells her, grabbing her tightly by the arm. He turns her around and before he guides her out to walk out on the streets, he quickly bends down to pick something up.

As they make their way into the busy streets of the marketplace, he glances down at her. “Frail for a man,” he mutters to no one.

She doesn't hear anything, for her eyes are constantly looking around to see any ways to aid her escape. Just as she’s about to just try and make a run for it, there’s distant cry for help in the distance. Lord Sehun instantly spins towards the direction of the cry and before he can pull you along with him, you’re running towards the sound already.

When she arrives, there’s already a group of people surrounding the scene. Peering over the crowd, she can make out a group of men surrounding an old lady. There’s no doubt that they’re the typical village gangsters, probably trying to bully someone weak for extra cash or ownership of land. Before she can step in and help, Lord Sehun places his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“Stay here,” he instructs her before making his way through the crowd. She watches from a distance as he tries to handle the situation.

“Listen, I’m giving you a chance right now. I will not tolerate any act of harassment to our people, especially not by a bunch of idiots,” he declares. The group of men shout in anger, their voices overlapping with one another. One of them steps forward to attack Lord Sehun but he’s able to dodge.

Lord Sehun removes his sword, still inside his scabbard, from his side and uses it to defend himself against the group of men. Knocking them out with the grip of his sword, rather than using the sharp blades, it ends with a heap of men on the ground, groaning in pain.

Seeing that most of the situation is controlled, she takes her chance and quickly makes a run for it. She doesn’t look back, keeping her mind focused on running home has fast as possible. Her father will definitely scold her if he ever finds out what happened.

Just when she sees the large entrance of her home up ahead, she’s yanked back by the arm and pressed up against the brick walls of her home.

“I thought I told you stay,” the lord says, unimpressed. She’s unable to say anything, all her focus on the sheath pressed against her. “I assume you live here, then,” he states, looking around. His eyes fall on the entrance of the home and frowns.

“Is this your home?” he asks. She’s barely able to nod. Lord Sehun’s frown deepens. Looking down at her, he studies her features carefully for a long time before backing away. “I see,” he mutters before he removes his sword off her and silently guides her a small distance away from the front doors of her house. “Be on your way,” he tells her.

Confusion sets in. He was just going to let her go? After it seemed like he was seconds away from killing her?

“If you don’t get going, I’m taking you to jail for identity theft this instant,” he adds with a raised eyebrow when he doesn’t see her moving. Immediately, she runs off without a second thought. Down the paved path, up small number of wide stairs, she runs through the doors, past the guards that stand on the sides of the entrance.

“Welcome home, Milady,” they announce in union.

Watching after her as she disappears past the large wooden doors and out of sight, Lord Sehun sighs as he reattaches his sword to his side. A low chuckle escapes his lips, eyes dancing with amusement. Taking the fan that she had dropped earlier on from inside his clothes, he opens it and fans himself. The corner of his lips tug upwards forming a smirk.

“Definitely too frail to be a man.”

A/N: After almost 3 months of nothing, here is finally something. I swear the cross dressing thing will only last this chapter. It's not really my cup of tea :) Thanks for reading.

Much love, aekcso