Jae Hwa sat on the tiny, uncomfortable wooden chair and waited for Young Guk to return. She kicked her feet and smiled to herself. She had not yelled in years. Such an outburst of emotions was looked upon like leprosy by the upper sectors. She had been taught to bottle all emotions until she was alone. Even then, she had schooled herself to silence when she did emote. It felt good, almost freeing to holler and bang on things, like she had when she was little.

“Here.” He said and she looked up, slowly taking the rag from him. Surprise had died a slow death, once she had been introduced to a world of silent servants. They were always hovering, just out of sight and quiet as death until summoned. It had taken a few years, but she had learned to accept the surprise appearances as a part of her world.

She went to the mirror, in the back of the room and looked at herself. Her face was splattered with blood. She frowned at herself, wondering how she had not felt the uncomfortable stickiness. She hated blood. As she began to slowly wipe it away, the holder came up behind her and snatched the rag out of her hand. “You are far too worried with appearances. Cleaning blood doesn’t have to be delicate.” He said, turning her around by her shoulder.

He grabbed her chin and lifted it, taking the rag to her face. She stiffened and froze in place. His hands were stronger than she had thought. They were also roughly calloused as they pressed into her delicate skin. She supposed he had gotten those from working without the aid of a sufficient healing factor. His fingers pulled the rag across her face and she smiled a little. It felt good, having someone take care of her like this. It hadn’t happened since she was very, very young. He was surprisingly gentle for someone who appeared so rough.

He wiped her nose delicately with the last clean spot of the rag and let go of her chin. She could still feel the pressure of his hands on her chin, firm, but not rough. She looked at him and something felt weird. Her pulse was beating unusually fast. She tilted her head and looked at him. Androgyny was the standard for beauty in men. It produced beautiful children of either gender. Young Guk had probably never been androgynous. However, he was very visually pleasing, in a rugged, handsome kind of way. He wasn’t delicate and androgynous like Min Ki.  It was strange, but she liked it.

“You’re staring.” He said, with a devilish smirk and she looked away. He placed his hands on each side of her head and she gasped, looking up. He his lips and pressed herself against the cold stone wall. “I don’t mind if you stare.” He said, his voice