"...I know but we mustn't get caught..you know what I mean..", just as Byulyi pulled Yongsun behind a huge stack of boxes and signalled for her her to stay quiet, her father's voice echoed a little in the room beyond. They saw his feet shuffling around towards the desk on the opposite side of the room and then the lock clicked back into place, a second pair of feet crossed the room quickly and with purpose. As they watched the feet, like an odd puppet show, she had to hold Yongsun so close just to make her stay quiet, pressing a finger to her lips as they heard Yongsun's father respond, his feet facing her own father's but only inches away now. His voice was barely louder than a whisper and they had to lean a little closer to hear him, the boxes hiding them were already teetering on the brink of crashing to the ground.

"How long will you let yourself suffer with her?, you know I don't want to cause any problems but it's killing me knowing you have to live a lie. I'm not asking you to declare your true feelings and i'll never ask to replace her but please..for your own happiness, leave her..", both girls turned to each other and had to fight the urge to burst forth and ask what exactly was going on. The sound of feet moving across the dust strewn floor, made them jump a little and they watched again as Byulyi's father unlocked the door and marched from the room without another word, leaving Yongsun's father stood alone near the desk. After a few seconds, they heard him sniff and assumed he was wiping tears before he too left, the door clicking shut behind him. Finally they could breathe, looking at each other for the longest time, neither one of them saying a word, they didn't have to. Some time passed and they didn't dare move, what if their fathers came back?, they couldn't risk it. With a burst of impulsiveness, Yongsun seized Byulyi by the waist and pulled her into a new embrace, this time she wanted the whole kiss, she wouldn't settle for any more close calls and almosts. Their lips met in a crash of passion and she felt her heart beat out of her chest as her tongue worked it's way around this new space. A small moan interrupted ragged breaths as they inexpertly moved hands over each other, keeping their eyes closed all the while, it was like finding their way around a darkened room but it was excitement they had never been allowed to feel before. After a while, they broke slowly apart and caught their breath, Byulyi smiling and caressing Yongsun's flushed but somehow blushing cheek. Once again no words were needed as they stood in each other's company, this time with Yongsun's arms wrapped around her neck and her own fingers interlocked as her arms felt the smooth silk and soft cotton of her dress, Byulyi's head swam with the mixed memory of what they had overheard and what had just happened between them, she frowned a little and Yongsun pecked her lips comfortingly.

Dinner was a silent affair, aside from Yongsun's mother whose incessant jabbering was on the brink of giving her a headache and would suffice as conversation for everyone. Only now did the two young women start to observe everyone around them with new suspicion, they already knew the darting looks between the fathers was a result of an affair neither one wanted aired but there was something suspicious about the way Minseok was looking at them too, he caught his sister's eye and smirked, she covered to disguise the swear word she mouthed in response. Yongsun smiled to herself and beneath the table, her free hand found Byulyi's and they linked fingers where none would be the wiser. A clatter of silverware and Minseok was picking up a conveniently dropped knife, Yongsun hadn't noticed but Byulyi had and she let go of her hand quickly, but had it been quickly enough?. As he came back up from retrieving his knife, her brother apologised to the table at large for the disturbance (it had earned him a scornful look from his mother) and he returned his smug gaze to his sister who flushed and wouldn't link fingers with Yongsun's searching ones.

There had been a polite yet passive aggressive argument of sorts between the two mothers as to whether it was wiser to travel at this hour or stay the night. Each woman was formidable in her own right and neither looked willing to back down any time soon so Yongsun stepped forward and suggested that staying the night was the best option, especially if the discussion would take much longer. Everyone agreed with a slight chuckle at her words and Yongsun's mother directed everyone to their own room. There were plenty of spare rooms and as a result, nobody had to share. Yongsun and her family of course already having their own rooms, chose which spare rooms to house the Moon family in. Mr and Mrs Moon would share a room close to Yongsun's parents and Minseok chose his own room furthest away from everyone else's, he was always solitary if he could be so none of his family were surprised by his choice. Yongsun walked with Byulyi to her own room after everyone had said goodnight and she had stared down a nosy Minseok, who closed his door with a snap, she wouldn't put it past him to be spying through the keyhole. As they arrived just outside Yongsun's room, she lowered her voice to a whisper and stepped a little closer, not close enough to be suspicious but close enough to not be overheard. "I'm sorry we can't share a room, but you're only next door so maybe we could meet in the middle later?", the gas in the lamp nearby hissed almost menacingly and she took it as a sign to step into her room. Byulyi smiled and gave her hand a quick squeeze before entering her own room next door, it wasn't the most spacious but it was big enough to stroll around and the large bed looked so inviting that she felt herself yawn in the most exaggerated way. As she walked around the room, she lit the lamp nearest to the bed and looked through the books on the shelf nearby, they were mostly fairytales and such, she smiled to think of a young Yongsun having these stories read to her as she fell asleep. Her hands played along the walls, a tapestry was fixed on the one opposite the foot of the bed and she admired it for a moment, then she heard a sound from the room next door and she started. She had almost forgotten Yongsun was only the other side of this thin wall. As she kept moving, she felt the surface beneath the tapestry give way a little to a sort of shallow alcove and her heart skipped a beat as she felt a handle about halfway down the newly discovered door. She stepped between the tapestry and the door and pressed her ear to it, the sound had stopped and she frowned a little, she had the sudden impulse of trying the door handle but she wouldn't push her luck, what if it didn't open?.

Yongsun stood next to the door and pressed her ear to the solid pine, it was warm, she closed her eyes and imagined what Byulyi must be doing just beyond it. Her face grew hot as she imagined the wood being removed from her corset, the lace at the back threading back through it's loops as it was undone, the swell of her s finally free, her newly loosened hair falling softly over the tender skin...how could she resist any longer?. With her hand on the door handle, she took a deep breath and turned it slowly.