"My-my-my first kiss?!" he stammered, his eyes as wide as saucers. "What? When? How?"

"When Gyuri revived you," he explained, "she had to perform something she called 'Cardiovascular Pulmonary Resuscitation'."

Taehyung looked at him, puzzled. "What now?"

Namjoon merely shrugged. He was too ashamed to admit that he didn't know a lot about CPR. "I saw it with my own eyes, cousin. And the fact that you are in front of me right now is the living proof that her method of revival works."

"But what has that got to do with her..." his cheeks reddened as he continued, "with her kissing me?"

"It seems that this method of revival requires mouth-to-mouth contact."

Taehyung's cheeks continued to redden further. It still felt surreal to him that, not only did he almost die from drowning but that, he had also lost his first kiss while he was unconscious. Inadvertently, his hand reached up to his lips and he traced them slowly, casting his memory back as far as he could. Why couldn't he remember anything?

Suddenly, his conversation with Gyuri, moments before meeting the orphans, surfaced from the back of his mind.

"Babies are made through kisses."

Taehyung froze.

"Cousin..." he mumbled with a dazed look about him. "How... are babies made?"

Namjoon was taken aback. "Why do you ask?"

"Because... I just need to know."

Namjoon scrutinised Taehyung's nervous expression. What was eating him up? "I-I told you before how babies are made—"

"Yes," Taehyung interrupted. "But you failed to tell me with detail."

"Cousin, I do not think this sort of conversation is something you want to be having with me."

Taehyung watched as his cousin rubbed his neck to show his discomfort. Seeing Namjoon act so awkwardly further confirmed his suspicion that what Gyuri had told him was right.

"It's the men who give birth to children."

Taehyung instinctively stared down at his stomach. The thought of a baby growing inside his abdomen frightened him. He wasn't ready for fatherhood, let alone becoming an adult. He still felt it was too soon and that he was too young.

Namjoon peered at him curiously when Taehyung suddenly cried out, "I do not want to be a father!"

"Huh?"

"Cousin" Taehyung said once he had collected himself. "I think I might be... pregnant."

Namjoon blinked at him. "Wha-what?"

Taehyung averted his gaze ashamedly as he wrapped his arms around his abdomen. "You said it yourself, cousin" he whispered. "Gyuri and I... we kissed."

Namjoon shook his head in disbelief as he attempted to internally grasp what Taehyung was on about. "Cousin, I think you are mistaken. You are not with child. In fact, there is no way that you can be."

"Really?" Taehyung asked keenly. Namjoon watched as Taehyung jolted up from his resting position as if he was about to climb out of bed. "Are you certain about this?"

"I am very certain" Namjoon reassured him. "There is no way you can bear a child unless you are a woman and you have had..." his voice trailed off and Taehyung observed how his cousin's cheeks were rosy. "You need not worry about it. Just trust my word when I say that you are not pregnant."

"But... I have had my first kiss."

Namjoon was confused. "How is that related to being with child?"

"Are babies... not made through kissing?" Taehyung asked uncertainly. "And is it not the men that carry the child?"

Namjoon's mouth was ajar. Oh, cousin... "That is false. Where did you hear such lies from?"

Taehyung's eyes rounded either from shock at being lied to or, because he was relieved. That stupid Gyuri... he thought inwardly. "It matters not where I heard it from" he replied. "But if babies are not made from kissing... how are they made?"

Namjoon shuffled on his feet. "Er..."

"Cousin," Taehyung prompted. "Will you not tell me?"

Namjoon met eyes with Taehyung, who was searching his dark eyes with curiosity. He knew that there was nothing to be ashamed of when explaining how mankind procreate but having to do so to his younger cousin made him shy if not, embarrassed. After all, it was such an intimate and sensitive topic.

He sighed. "Fine, I shall tell you."

In response, Taehyung sat up attentively.

Namjoon took a deep breath before finally revealing to Taehyung the truth behind what happens when a man and a woman spend 'the night' together...

~*~

Namjoon's train of thought was interrupted as he noticed a few of the maids passing by. He was currently ambling across the courtyard to return to his quarters when, from the corner of his eye, he suddenly observed movement. He glanced up briefly and spotted the maids looking at him before masking a giggle which unavoidably escaped their lips. As they neared him, he acknowledged their presence by giving them a quick but friendly smile which, without fail, made the maids giggle even louder.

Namjoon couldn't help feeling a little bored by the maids' reactions. He was getting tired of the attention he was receiving, not because he disliked the source but, because it made him feel like all women were the same.

And whenever he started thinking like that, he ended up comparing every woman to her.

Namjoon shook his head to disrupt his current stream of consciousness. Here I go again, he thought, why am I always thinking about her? He couldn't understand why he was still so shaken up by the painting and why his mind couldn't let her go. It had been five years already. He had succeeded in forgetting her temporarily but something stopped him from burying his memories of her again.

"Gyuri!"

Namjoon abruptly stopped. He glanced towards the direction of the maids' quarters where he could hear voices overlapping. Oh, yes. I wonder how Gyuri is faring... Namjoon thought as he changed his course and started heading for the maids' quarters. He had almost forgotten about how she had saved Taehyung's life and how she was somehow well versed in revival techniques which were still a new concept in Saim.

Curiously, Namjoon pondered about Gyuri. Who was she exactly? When he met Gyuri, he believed she was just a normal serf, one that desired a better situation than the one she was currently in. Namjoon was impressed by her bravery and so decided to reward her but little did he anticipate how fond Taehyung would grow of her as time went by. But that wasn't the only thing he didn't anticipate. Namjoon didn't realise how he too, would be affected by her presence.

"Gyuri, where have you been all day?" Madam Zhou asked sharply. "I have been searching for you everywhere."

Namjoon watched from the entrance as Gyuri replied, "I was with the Young Master."

"The Young Master?" she repeated dubiously. Madam Zhou inspected her appearance with one brow raised. "But why are your clothes wet?"

"Erm..." Gyuri struggled to reply.

From behind the wall, Namjoon watched her worriedly. Before they had parted, he had made Gyuri swear that she will not say anything about what happened earlier that day. After all, what good would it do for the rest of the household to know that Taehyung had almost drowned?

"I accidentally fell into the lake" Gyuri responded rather convincingly.

Namjoon breathed a sigh of relief.

"The lake?" Madam Zhou stated, still not believing her. "Why were you near the lake in the first place?" Madam Zhou continued to interrogate Gyuri who, somehow, managed to evade every one of her questions.

From afar, Namjoon couldn't help being impressed by Gyuri's skilful acting ability which, he consequently reminded himself to be wary of. It appears Gyuri was quite artful in deception.

"I do not want you to go near the lake again" Madam Zhou finally instructed her. "Especially if you are with the Young Master. He is not an accomplished swimmer so it is very