In just a matter of days, Miyoung felt the nuisance of her monthly moon completely gone. She didn’t feel any discomfort or cramps, which were always her big complaints about her monthly period, nor bloating or headaches. Not only did Taeyeon's miraculous tea mitigate her symptoms, the period was gone entirely. No blood, no stains, nothing. It was like Miyoung was a different person.

Juhyun did feel the tea was a strange beverage of its own, as in her mind, no drinks should be possible to make a woman not suffer the symptoms of her own monthly moon, but Taeyeon stated the tea was a healthy drink from Ironstow and a very common choice of tea from women who were somehow inside his social circle. That was something that Miyong wasn’t entirely happy to know. Especially considering the boy grew up in a brothel, Miyoung was a little bit jealous that Taeyeon could have had experiences with women that she could potentially never share with him.

It also didn’t help that Miyoung was feeling her affection towards Taeyeon growing stronger every single day. She had the idea in mind that if she and Taeyeon finally got themselves together, the feeling would be easier to bear and wouldn’t make her go crazy like once did when they were at the Gisaeng House. But every single day, the feeling just got stronger and stronger.

Miyoung actually spent a couple of days thinking about that. Of course she loved Taeyeon. And of course her feelings wouldn’t become less once they started dating. But somehow, she felt like there would be a stable feeling. A safe feeling. A trusted feeling between them that both would be able to handle alright. But there wasn’t. Miyoung felt like there was something missing. Something incomplete. As if Taeyeon wasn’t really that much interested in her. Or that he didn’t really share the same feelings. She wondered if she felt this way just because their whole relationship was happening behind everyone’s backs, or because holier-than-thou Taeyeon really didn’t permit himself to have feelings for Lady Miyoung and was just accepting Miyoung due to “circumstances”. This idea became even more real when Miyoung, now completely free from her monthly period, felt that Taeyeon was a little aloof. He’d been quiet for the past few days, and he even postponed some of her sword-fighting classes. He’d been spending his day all out-there, in the city of Gwangju, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’s seen him with Heechul or along the other boys’ company.

Or maybe, staying indoors without much interaction with Taeyeon was making Miyoung hallucinate things up.

When Miyoung decided to leave her room and the hostel they were in, she decided to look after Taeyeon, wanting to know where he could be going all those past few days. If it was a brothel, Miyoung had to do something to make him stop going to those places, as she felt like they were affecting their relationship. She didn’t want to sound bossy though, so she was a little unsure if calling his attention would be the right thing to do in that situation.

But her eyes found Taeyeon chilling at the herbal store. Apparently, he was having a good conversation with an older man, while playing a board game. Once she approached them, Miyoung was able to tell they were playing Go. Miyoung’s own brother, Liu, taught her how to play the game once when she was younger, but she found the game rather boring. Miyoung was always more fond of exterior activities such as horse-riding and mountain climbing than strategic board games such as Go, backgammon or chess.

“I was looking for you…”

Taeyeon glanced over her. “Yeah? Something in particular you need as of right now?”

“Not really.” Miyoung answered. “I guess… just talking…”

The older man chuckled. “You shouldn’t leave your friend waiting, young boy. We can resume our game later.”

“Are you sure, Mr.Lee?”

“Of course, my shop won’t move from its spot. And you and your horse won’t move from Gwangju, so you can come back any time. If you are still having doubts about his offer, maybe your friend can help you find the answer to your questions.”

Miyoung didn’t understand a single word they’ve just said. Whether she was so alienated from the world in the past week she was suffering the symptoms from her monthly moon, or Taeyeon really forgot to tell her things he wouldn’t hide if they actually were together and united as a couple.

“Okay. Thank you.” Taeyeon nodded his head, and rose up from his seat, putting himself at Miyoung’s side. “What you wanna talk about?”

Miyoung actually felt like he was a little too impatient with her. Something she never really felt that way coming from him. “Are you okay? Why are you like this?”

“Like what?”

“Kid…” Miyoung looked over the man, who had just called Taeyeon’s attention. “The truth will always prevail. So there is no need to rush it. Don’t mistreat your friends over your needs nor neglect them over your personal affairs.”

“Am I mistreating you?” Taeyeon asked her, and Miyoung wasn’t sure what to say.

“I feel like you’re a bit different with me. Don’t know if I can call that mistreatment.”

Taeyeon sighed, nodding his head. “I’m sorry.” He said, taking Miyoung’s hand and holding it tightly. “Thank you, Mr. Lee. I’ll see you later.”

“Take your time, kid.”

Taeyeon pulled Miyoung to walk at his side, leaving the herbal shop behind.

“What was that about?” She asked, curiously. “Who is that man?”

“He is the owner of the herbal shop. He is very fond of Go, and after meeting him, I decided to come back to his shop to play with him.”

“Hm, but why do I feel there’s more to this than just you wanting to play Go?”

Taeyeon sighed. “Yeah… I’m sorry, I don’t want you to worry… I’m just…a little confused.”

“About what?”

Taeyeon turned his head to Miyoung. “The very first day I found his shop, I was able to meet someone. A friend of his. Very fond of Go as well. And a member of the military…”

“And…”

“And everything traces him back to Master Kim…”

“Your Master Kim?” Taeyeon nodded his head. “Like member of his family or something?” Miyoung asked, curious.

“No. More like a soldier that was his subaltern during the war.” He answered. Miyoung felt like that was a big thing for him. “And… I don’t know, I feel like I’m lost.”

“Lost?”

“I could potentially ask him about Master Kim, right?” Taeyeon brought it up. “His past, and his family, and whatever he was doing in Hanyang before everything… But, I don’t know if I should.”

Miyoung reached her hand to touch him, trying to give him some support.

“I feel like I shouldn’t know that stuff.”

“Taeyeon…”

“But I want to know. I want to ask him everything. What Master Kim was doing in Irosntow? Does he know who my real father was? Does he know Park Minshik? Is he from the military as well? Is Park Minshik even alive? But I’m afraid.”

“Of what?” Miyoung asked him, lowly. “You’re so brave, you shouldn’t feel afraid of asking questions.”

“What if those answers are not what I want to hear?”

“Are you afraid of the truth?”

“It can hurt sometimes.”

Miyoung smiled, squeezing his hand tighter. “It can. But it is what it is. And you can’t really live a lie. Even if it’s comfortable.”

He sighed, feeling oddly heavy with that. Miyoung pressed her hand against his shoulder, trying to give him some moral support. “What’s his name?”

“Kim Mun-Sae.” Taeyeon replied, recalling the name of the officer he’d met.

“I think it’s amazing that you’ve found someone who could tell in first hand who Master Kim really was. He is part of you. And if you feel like you need answers for a couple of questions, I think that you should have the right to ask him those.”

“Mr. Lee says the same thing.” He said. “Mr. Lee is sure Master Kim did everything that he did for a reason, and that Officer Kim could answer those questions for me, as even if he is not sure of the answers himself, he could ask other men in his military wings and other superiors, thus, essentially discovering the truth.”

“And where is this Officer Kim?”

“Out of town on duty. But Mr. Lee told me he is about to be back in one week or so, where his crew will need to sail out to Mokpo Island.”

“Mokpo Island?”

“Yes. And Officer Kim offered me a place on his ship to go with him to Mokpo Island. He said that if I needed to, he could find me a boat straight away from there to Busan.”

Miyoung raised her eyebrows. “Even with our horses?”

“Even with our horses.” Taeyeon said. Miyoung smiled.

“That is amazing!” Taeyeon didn’t seem so overzealous about it though. “But you don’t seem to find that so amazing, do you?”

Taeyeon was clearly in doubt. The boy shook his head. “I don’t like the military. And I don’t know if it’s a good idea to be around military men for all that while. And if any of them finds out you’re Lady Hwang Miyoung, they might deliver you to Master Shin without much thought.”

“I see.”

“But if I don’t take his offer, I don’t really know for how long we are staying in this city. No cargo ship will take us and our horse freely. So it could take us a while ‘till fetching a boat to Busan.”

“Take it.” Miyoung said, firmly. Taeyeon looked at her. “Take the offer.”

“But…”

Miyoung stopped walking, and placed her hands over his shoulders, looking at his eyes. “This is a chance in a lifetime, Taeyeon. Whatever Officer Kim has to say about your own Master Kim, you have the right to know. This is part of your story and couldn’t be hidden from you forever. For all purposes said and done, Master Kim is your father and nothing will take that away from you. So take this shot and accept his offer. Not only you’ll know more of your own father, he will lead us to Busan, where we’ll be one step closer to Riversvale.”

“What if they figure out you’re Hwang Miyoung?”

“We’ll have the chance to make one wing of the Military know the truth about the Hwangs and their assassination. If Officer Kim takes you well with profound respect due to Master Kim’s affiliation, he could be an ally more than an enemy. And I think it’s about damn time we find some allies in our journey for a change.”

Taeyeon chuckled. “Kim Changmin wasn’t enough?”

“One ally is never enough in politics, Kim Taeyeon.”

“True.” Taeyeon nodded. He sighed. “Okay. We’ll accept his offer. We’ll board his ship and sail us out to Mokpo.”

“Sounds fun to me.”

Taeyeon smiled. “I’m sorry I’ve been… absent these past few days.”

“It’s fine.” Miyoung said, understanding his behavior. “I can see why you’re so eager to talk to someone who could potentially be a close friend of your Master Kim.”

“I’m sorry if I mistreated you anyhow.”

“No, you didn’t. But you got me wondering what was wrong with you.”

“Yeah, Heechul asked me the same thing.”

“Don’t forget that we’ll always be on your side, Taeyeon.” Miyoung said, firmly. “Not matter what happens or the decision you’ll need to take. We’ll support you and follow your lead.”

“Honestly, Lady Miyoung…” Taeyeon blinked. “Sometimes, I wish you didn’t.”

Miyoung smiled, feeling a little bit of relief after their conversation. She was also curious to know who Officer Kim really was as well. If he was a good friend with Master Kim, would he really believe in their story and be on their side against Shin Yunsuk? Would he potentially protect Miyoung and Taeyeon through that journey towards Riversvale?

Miyoung could only hope for an affirmative answer.

~~*~~

When Officer Kim caught notice of the whole band that was following Taeyeon, Miyoung knew he wasn’t entirely sure if his offer was indeed a good idea. There were 11 people in total, plus 3 horses to accommodate on his ship. It was a military ship so Miyoung knew there was enough room to accommodate the whole crew, but nevertheless, it was quite a large amount of people there.

“You’ve got 10 people following you around, kid?” He asked, a little curious as to how that boy managed to get that many f