A/N: Hi! We're back! Thanks for your comments, subscriptions and votes... We planned to update this fic once a week around Monday...because it's written and edited by three authors we need more time than usual... Hope we won't disappoint you all...:D

His silk robe danced gracefully along the rhythm of the night breeze as he was standing alone near the small pond at the gibang’s courtyard. His task for the day was finished after sending off Lord Kim, and now Hyesung was allowed back to his room, wrapping up his day. However, today, he was still in the mood to look at tonight’s autumn sky—in spite of the coldness that managed to seep through his robe and the stillness of nature humming in his ears.

When there was no one to accompany nor anymore task to be done, every once in a while, Hyesung would spend the rest of his time just staring blankly at the stratosphere. Pulling his robe tighter around his body, hoping to get a little more warmth, he looked up at the dark sky. His mind was empty and it almost felt like his soul was nearly floating out of his body. The night sky was clear without any cloud, but surprisingly he couldn’t find any twinkle of stars. Only the lonely crescent moon was hanging up there, shining so brightfully on its own. It was a mesmerizing sight, but a lonely one too...

Just like him.

Everyone called him beautiful.

Everyone looked at him with those longing eyes, their desire reflected so clear in the irises. Everyone adored him to no end, they wanted to touch him, spoil him. But at the end of the day, he was still alone with no one beside him.

Hyesung was always alone.
 

A deep sigh came out from his thin lips, yet it was engulfed at once by the faint sound of singing and instruments from afar, mixed with laughters and giggles every now and then. It was a common situation which happened every night at this gibang. Everyone was having fun, both the clients and the girls. Such a temporary happiness, but at least they were happy at the moment—well, mostly the clients.

In a flash, he recalled that particular young master who had kept staring at him while he was sending off Lord Kim. Of course, to have other men staring at him was nothing extraordinary. It was just a part of Hyesung’s life—from young masters born in influential families to filthy rich merchants and even some high-powered officials, he had been leered at by many longing and lustful pairs of eyes. And after so long since it had become a part of his life, he had reached the point where he didn’t even bother to feel those people’s presence, neither was he obligated to look back at them—and that ignorance was blissful.

That young master though, was different.

His gaze was different. It wasn’t longing nor it was needy. It was, quite simply, curiosity—it was almost as if he had never seen someone like Hyesung before. Well, he had to admit that a male kisaeng was rare, even in a big city like this he was the one and only. But still, he was quite amazed at how those dark eyes had been filled purely with intrigue. Not once did they change into something else, even as their eyes met with each other.

Such an interesting young master… And a handsome one too—if he had to be honest.

Perhaps contradictory to his work as a courtesan who had always been surrounded by men—both old and young and in varying height and fitness—it was not very frequent for him to meet a handsome guy like that particular man. The young master had seemed to look so out of place, standing and walking stiffly and glancing around nervously. He was not playful like the other young masters—actually, he didn’t even look pleased to be at the gibang, which was really a rare sight for Hyesung. Everybody who came to the gibang had always come with an intent to have ‘fun’, but the young master almost look like he wanted to run away instead. Maybe that was why he noticed him on the first place, out of all the people who were going back and forth at the compound. Something about that young master’s air just attracted him that he even bothered to look back.
 

“Hey hey. Did you hear that Lord Kim go back?”
 

“Really? He is not sleeping here?”
 

His thoughts were ruined by the small murmuring voices behind him. He realized at once whose voices those were, the result of having sharp ears which had been trained for 15 years by living at the gibang, where nothing went by unseen or unheard.
 

Instinctively, he knew that the rumours about him were beginning to spread—again. Meanwhile, those girls had no idea about his existence nearby to where they conversed. They were obviously assuming that he had gone back to his room, having no thoughts that he would be standing alone at the compound, in the middle of a chilly autumn night .
 

“No. It’s strange, right? He’s always stuck with that Hyesung whenever he comes here…”

“Well, maybe he got bored with him. I mean, what do you expect from a guy? No matter how pretty a man is, he’s still just a man. From the start, it’s ridiculous that that b*tch is more popular than women.”

“I know right? He might be prettier than us, but at he has no s and all, how could he satisfy...”

“Omo!”

Just then he realized he had been found out by those girls, that they knew he had been standing beside the pond all along and had heard all the things they said. After a few gasps and more whispering from the pair, the sound of footsteps running away from him echoed in the night air. In a short moment later, all he could hear was, again, the faraway instrumental sounds and muffled laughter and giggles.

He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel anything after listening to people talking about him as if he was just a piece of trash. No matter how many years he had spent living his life as a kisaeng, enduring all those mean whispers meant to hurt him and the dirty rumours about him spreading around the house was still something he couldn’t easily get used to.

Along with all the adoration and expensive presents from the patrons and all the favors from the guardian of the house, he also received a proportionate amount of jealousy and hatred from his so-called female colleagues. Young kisaengs would slander him behind his back, while the kisaengs who were at the same level would circulate trashy rumors about him, intentionally trying to get the nasty words spread until they reached his own ears. It was always one way or another, but he would always pretend as if he could not hear anything they said, because it was an impossible fight of one man against rest of the house. He could not win anyway, and therefore it was better for him to stay silent instead.

Other than that, he simply didn’t want to waste his time fighting against women. He, after all, was a man. No matter how many times had he spent his nights with other men, he was still a man. He did not want to squabble with women over petty things, he still had more dignity than that. Even without the fights he tried so hard avoid, his life had already become a gigantic mess and he could not afford having even only one more problem being added into it. All he wanted to do was trying as much as possible to lead a calm life, even if had no idea on how to fix his life after it started to break down beyond his control around 15 years ago...

*****

It was winter. A particularly harsh and unforgiving one.

“Pilkyo-ah... Look at Mommy. From now on, you’ll be living here with these pretty sisters. So you have to listen to them well, understand?”

“Ehh? But, I want to live with you and Dad. Don’t leave me here... I don’t want to live here…”

“Pilkyo, listen to me. It’s all for your own good. You’re a strong boy. Boys don’t cry. So stop crying, okay?”

“Noooo!!! I’m scared, Mom. Don’t le-leave me here. Please… I’ll listen to you. I’ll eat all of my food... I won’t… won’t play again. I-I’ll stay home. I’ll be a good boy. Please, Mom… Don’t leave me here…”

“Son, you told me you’ll be a good boy, right? So be a good boy and stay here for a while, do you understand? Just for a while. We will come back to pick you up later.”

“Re-really? Mom and Dad, a-are you really... Coming back to p-pick me up?”

“Of course. We will come back.”

“Promise?”

“Promise, my dear.”

Yet, no matter how long he had been waiting, they never came back.
 

*****

“Pilkyo! Sing that part again! You need to sing with emotion. If you sing without any soul, how could you be a kisaeng? Do you think just with your pretty face, you can attract clients? Your face and body are not everything for a kisaeng! Understand?! Now sing!”

“Yes, Ma’am… I-I’ll try …”

*****

He spent all the days of his childhood undergoing several trainings, from singing, dancing, drawing, writing poetries and every other skills that he needed to be a kisaeng. His parents’ initial intention was to sell him as an errand boy for the gibang, but his delicate features had attracted the Madam’s eyes. Without his consent, because his body was no longer his own, and without even realizing what he would be going through in the future, he was dragged into the courtesan world.

“You are the one called Hyesung? Are you really a boy? How could a boy be this pretty… So beautiful and fair...?”

He could still remember his first night as an official kisaeng; it was terrifying and he was only 16 years old at that time. As if it happened only yesterday, he could still remember how afraid he was although he had been trained and prepared for nearly a decade—how much he had been trembling in front of the client. He was sure that his eyes were filled with nothing but fear, being all alone with a stranger in one of those grand looking private room.

His first client was a merchant, he was not a very high-class one nor was he the richest man around, but he was still quite well-known around the city. Hyesung remembered the amused and lustful glint his first client had in his beady eyes—amused over his nervousness, lustful over his figure. It was an uncomfortable situation for the young boy, but as young as he was Hyesung knew that there was no way out of this.

“Come closer, Hyesung-ah. Don’t be afraid. We will have a great time together.”

Until now he could still retrace those memories—how slowly the man had roamed his hands on his bare arms, creating the goosebumps that made his body shivered. How his nose was placed on top of Hyesung’s head, basking himself in the scent of the young boy’s silky hair as he tangled his hand in the long strands. And finally, how the client had pushed him down to the mattress, undoing his robe and trapping his slender body under him on the soft bed. Beyond that, although his body remembered, everything else was only a messy blur. Since then, days had gone by, weeks, months and even years—and now he was a haengsu with 6 year experience under his belt.

Although perhaps, along with all his experience, he had come to hate himself—because unlike that young boy, the present him had been so used to this lifestyle that he could not feel anything anymore.

Junghyuk let a deep sigh escaped his lips—failing to concentrate, he put aside the book he was reading. Looking out of the small window in his room, he was welcomed by the sight of setting sun, coloring the sky in orange shades. Glancing back to the book, another a sigh slipped out the man’s lips without him even noticing. He had been reading that book for days, and still he could not finish it yet. Reading had always been Junghyuk’s favorite pastime, but when his mind was being agitated by something, Junghyuk simply could not bear to concentrate on his books.

More like someone, rather than something.

That beautiful kisaeng named Hyesung, whom he had met, seen, just a few days ago.

His delicate and elegant figure kept lingering still in Junghyuk’s mind. But more than his looks, the one thing that kept looping in his mind was the touch of sadness in those eyes. The glimpse of sorrow that had been unearthed only for a short moment, and only when the long-haired courtesan thought that nobody was looking.

But he had seen it.

And it had created so many questions that kept popping up in Junghyuk’s head. It had woken up all these perks of curiosity inside him. It was an irony—all his life he had never been this intrigued about anything, yet now he was taking an interest in a kisaeng, a male one at that.

He had told himself not to ever get involved with any kisaeng after he found out that his mother was a kisaeng before his father made her his concubine. Knowing that getting in a relationship with a kisaeng could cause a family to end up broken and dysfunctional, Junghyuk had made a promise to himself that he would never let it happen to him. That was why he had persistently avoided kisaengs in his whole life, trying so hard not to get anywhere close to a gibang. Then suddenly, in a moment of weakness, he had found himself being distracted by an unexpected meeting—barely a locked gaze between the two—with a kisaeng.

He was trying to tell himself to cut his growing interest on Hyesung—but still, he could not. He wanted to meet the other again and he wanted to know what secrets he kept behind those sorrowful eyes. He wanted to explore what was hidden beneath his dazzling outer layers—and beyond his physical beauty, what kind of person he truly was.

And to be honest, he was just curious—there was nothing else, no hidden reasons.

However, he did not want to step into the gibang again—once was already more than enough for him. Beside that, he knew that even if he would like to go there again willingly, Hyesung was not somebody he could easily meet. Actually, it was more realistic to say that he had no chance of meeting Hyesung again—because Junghyuk himself knew that he was a nobody. Minwoo did say that only top merchants and high-powered officials could request to buy some time with Hyesung, so there was no doubt in his mind that it was impossible for him to request for a meeting with such high-tier kisaeng.

Junghyuk sighed again.

Hyesung—even his name was of shooting stars, so rare that it could only be seen purely due to a coincidence.

“Will I be able meet him again in this life?”