A/N: Update again! Thanks for your comments, subbies and votes! Hope you can enjoy this update too! ^^

“Found you! I know you’d be here…”

A shadow fell upon him along with the familiar, cheerful yet sly voice. It caused Junghyuk to lift his head up, stopping him from focusing on the book he was reading. With his trademark eye smile, a man in a blue robe was standing in front of him. Minwoo showed him his wide cheeky grin with hands resting on his hips—and from that pose alone, Junghyuk realized that his wish to enjoy his unfinished book in one lazy autumn afternoon was coming to an end.

I really need to find a new secret place soon… Seriously…

Junghyuk was relishing his alone time in a small forest, not far away from his house. He had found a patch of empty land on the higher grounds, with only a lonely big oak tree on the open grass, giving him the shade he needed when the sunlight was particularly harsh. He had made it his secret spot ever since he found it 3 years ago—it was his fortress of solitude, the place for him to run away from the tension and rumors inside his own home. There, he could do whatever he wanted to do in his leisure time, be it just reading or simply resting. The young master was indulging in his own imagination, mostly projected from the novel he was reading just a few moments ago. But now, he was complaining silently in his mind, questioning himself why did he tell where his secret spot was to his two childhood friends—especially the one who was standing in front of him right now.

“What’s wrong, Minwoo-ah?”

At the end of his half-hearted question, he felt the latter slumped down on the grass beside him. He nudged Junghyuk’s shoulder with his, “Junghyuk-ah, haven’t you had enough of reading already? You always read everyday anyway... Come on, let’s go to the market! It’s been so long since the last time we went around. We can go and check out all the pretty girls in town…”

Although Minwoo himself knew very well that Junghyuk was not the type to check out random girls, he still used that particular reason to persuade the nerdy young master to go out with him. Junghyuk himself was not sure if he was joking or simply too naïve that he kept using that ineffective tactic again and again for countless times already. However, Junghyuk would always end up giving up and let himself be dragged along by Minwoo—not because he wanted to look for random girls in the market, oh no, big no. It would be because of the other would never stop his endless nagging unless he agreed.

“It’s not like you’ll accept a ‘no’, right?”

As soon as his defeated words and annoyed sigh came out together, Minwoo radiated so much happiness—showing his charming eye-smile, he nodded enthusiastically like a cheerful puppy.

“Of course! I knew it, Mun Junghyuk is not going to leave me alone. Come on, let’s go~”

Along with his sing-songy voice, the shorter male literally pulled up and dragged the taller man towards downtown area. Rolling his eyes, Junghyuk tucked in the book he was reading inside his robe where it would be rested unread for a good few hours. During the journey, Minwoo’s bubbly talks and unnecessary comments on everything he found interesting along the way filled Junghyuk’s ears nonstop, and he couldn’t do anything but listen.

In no time—thankfully for Junghyuk—they had found themselves in the middle of the crowded market. Even in the dull afternoon time, the market was packed with people going back and forth, filled with shouts of people bargaining and lots of chatterings in between. As he passed a group of children playing amongst the crowd, a smile appeared on Junghyuk’s face. He had to admit, in a carefree way that rarely occurred to him, the place had brought him reminiscence of his childhood memories. And despite the amount of crowd, the market was still the fun place to be.

It was then when his eyes caught sight of a group of kisaengs from afar, donned in their flashy attire. A spark rose in his mind as he was reminded of one particular male kisaeng whom he had seen around a month ago. Because he had no willingness to go back to the gibang, despite the curiosity lingering in his mind, he had never seen him anymore ever since. Of course, he was not actually expecting to see him outside the gibang. It was not like the courtesans could freely go in and out, especially not a haengsu like Hyesung and surely not to a place as crowded and noisy as this one.

But still, his eyes wandered—almost as if he was so desperate, the way he kept looking at the kisaeng group, searching for that particular someone. Thankfully it was over after just for a moment, because his common sense finally kicked in and scolded himself in the back of his mind for expecting the impossible.

“Eh? Uhhh… Minwoo?”

It wasn’t long before Junghyuk noticed that the culprit who had dragged him here was no where to be found, it seemed that he had been lost in his thoughts for quite some time after all. Scanning through the crowd, he let out a sigh because there was no trace of the short male—and his height had only made it harder for him to be found. When he was in the middle of contemplating whether he should go back or hang around a little bit more to search for his friend, something caught his attention—an old book shop, just around the corner of the street.

I’m going to wait for him there. At least it’s better than wandering on the street… Junghyuk thought, as his legs carried him to the old but tidy looking book shop.

As soon as he entered the shop, his mood instantly became better. The smell of brand new paper engulfed him immediately—he definitely felt much more comfortable here compared to the crowded streets out there, because he had always liked being around books more than people anyway. He could spend hours and hours here, in the middle of sea of books, without getting bored. Books have always been the thing he turned to ever since he was able to read. Whether he was happy, lonely, mad or sad, during the days when he was trapped inside his own family’s messed up situation, he would always come back to the books. It soothed him in ways that human couldn’t, an irony in itself because books were written by human—but then again, books could not patronize him or look at him with disdainful eyes.

Junghyuk picked up books that looked interesting to him, turning the pages to skim through the content before moving on to another one. He walked around the shop searching for book that suited his taste, until he stopped at the sight of a book—the title caught his attention at first glance. Not waiting any longer, he reached his hand over to pick it up, not expecting a fair hand grabbing the other side of the book.

“I’m sor…”

“Oh…”

Both hands instantly let go of the book as if it was a withdrawal effect due to touching some kind of hot object. Junghyuk paused his apology in the middle as soon as he saw the person who had grabbed the book—the person who had been lingering in his mind ever since the day they their eyes accidentally met.

Hyesung.
 

It was pretty easy for the young master to recognize this particular kisaeng. Although his long hair was now tied in ponytail, and a hat, commonly worn by female kisaengs, covered his face, Hyesung still looked distinctly beautiful. Unlike last time, when he could only see the figure from afar, this time he could see him up close. The kisaeng had a fair and flawless skin, his hair was as black as starless night sky—his features were indeed too delicate for a man and his face was smaller than most girls. He was even prettier than some women Junghyuk had met, maybe even more beautiful than a majority of them.

Hyesung was wearing a light beige robe which complemented his skin tone—it didn’t take a genius to notice how expensive the robe was, it was obvious that it cost quite a fortune from the first glance. Well, Junghyuk did not expect any less from such a high-class courtesan—whose clients were only top of the crop merchants and high-ranked officials. The abundance of gifts that the other had gotten, it was probably beyond his wildest imagination.

“Oh... I’m sorry young master. You can have it...”

The male kisaeng only stole a glance at him while talking softly, hastily lowering his eyes again before their eyes could meet. It looked like a habit—a habit made out of status. It was a common knowledge that despite the glamorous and sometimes even influential role they played in the high-society, the kisaengs were actually of the lowest status in this country. Hence it was no surprise that Hyesung would not dare to look at other people straight in the eyes, especially not outside of gibang.

By his reaction, Junghyuk also understood that the other did not recall their brief gaze that they exchanged a month ago. Understandable though, he did not expect Hyesung to remember him. He was sure that Hyesung had already met countless people since then, and he was not even a client of Hyesung—their eyes just met for a few seconds, that’s all there was to it.

And yet I can still remember him... How pathetic of me.

Junghyuk was going to disregard their meeting, knowing that he should not be filling his mind with the other’s presence anymore—he had been thinking about him enough already as it was. He should just take the book, pay for it and leave without a second glance. However, while his brain was still gearing up, his hands had already betrayed him by picking up the book and handing it over to the other man, who was still standing with his eyes fixed on the floor.

“No. Please have the book. You must have been searching for it for a while.”

There was a moment of silence, before the other’s pair of slender hands pushed the book back to his direction, gently but firmly.

“Thank you for your kindness, but I think young master was the one who found it first. Please do take the book,” along with his voice, soft yet firm stare could seen from under his hat, a sign that the kisaeng was not going to back off either.

“No, no. It’s fine for me as well. I was just browsing books here, I wasn’t really searching for this particular book. So, please take it,” he ended up handing the book over to Hyesung again, this time with a firmer tone of voice.

Junghyuk was not lying—he really was just browsing. Yes, he was interested in the title, but it was not like he would have bought the book after seeing it.

“I was doing the same thing as well, young master. Please, you can have it.”

He had to admit, in contrast to his delicate appearance, Hyesung was quite a stubborn one. Moreover, even though he was talking in a gentle and well-mannered way towards Junghyuk, he could sense the firm attitude behind his politeness—indicating that he was not simply a pushover. Strangely, a flame of competition sparked inside him and he lightly pushed the book back to the other. He was not giving up—two could play the game.

“No, I insist. You can have it.”

“I insist all the same, young master. You can have it… Please.”

“I told you, it is yo-...”
 

“What are you doing, Junghyuk-ah?”

Both Junghyuk and Hyesung were startled by the sudden appearance of a short scholar between them, almost dropping the book in the process. A heavy sigh slipped out from between Junghyuk’s lips, it was so Minwoo to find him in the middle a complicated situation—and with the pretty haengsu nonetheless. He sighed again, knowing that he would be having a long long talk with Minwoo later… Unless he could force the book on Hyesung and drag his best friend out of the shop.

Yes, it wouldn’t be hard, would it?

*****

“What are you doing, Junghyuk-ah?”

Hyesung was startled when another young master popped up between him and the one who was as equally stubborn as him.

Junghyuk...

Before he knew, he had already noted down the name of the young master in front of him. Thanks to the skills which he had learnt through his years of experience as a kisaeng, it had become a habit to him to easily remember people’s names and faces at first meeting.
 

“Oh, actually we reached over to that book at the same ti-...”
 

Before he could finish it, Hyesung’s sentence was cut midway and he felt the book pressed onto his palm—very firmly—once again. “It’s nothing. I was just going to go. Here, it’s final. The book is you-...”

“No! It was yours young master…  Please have the book.”

He could hear that his own voice had risen over this petty matter. Not wanting to lose, Hyesung pushed the book back to Junghyuk again. It was really hard to be polite when you were arguing with someone, especially of a higher status, and Hyesung kind of regretted that he had become agitated so easily.

“You’re really a stubborn one, aren’t you? I said, this is yours.”

“No, it is not. It is yours, young master.”

Hyesung pondered on how many times he had to push the book forward, only for it to be pushed back again into his hands. This kept on going, until a minute later the book was taken away from both of them—they turned their head to the side, seeing the book was robbed off by the short scholar.

“This is getting ridiculous. It’s understandable if you two bicker because you want to get this book. But you want to give it away to the other?! This is ludicrous, okay, Junghyuk-ah? And as for yo-... Wait. Aren’t you…”

The scholar was about to give his lecture towards the kisaeng, but then he suddenly stopped and his face showed a completely baffled expression for quite some time—as if he was thinking seriously about something while staring deeply at the later. Meanwhile, from the corner of his eyes, the courtesan saw that Junghyuk still looked a bit surprised—although he was not sure if it was due to the scholar’s preachings or because the short man was now standing very close to Hyesung. All the pretty male could do was to glance away, trying not look at both men, remembering his social standing—he needed to be as unobtrusive as possible.

“M-Minwoo-ah… “

“AHA! You’re Hyesung! That Hyesung! Right, am I right?”

Despite the quiet atmosphere of the bookshop, there were still several people in there and right now they were all turning their head towards the three, surprised over Minwoo’s loud voice. The shorter had literally shouted so excitedly, as if he had found a 100-year old ginseng. Too shocked to give a decent reply, Hyesung could only give a soft nod as an answer—yes he was Hyesung, and he didn’t know that meeting somebody like him could cause such reaction on someone. On the other hand, Junghyuk could only let out a very heavy sigh, watching desperately as his failed attempt to avoid having Minwoo getting involved in this matter crumbled into dust.

Then, Hyesung suddenly remembered that he had seen the scholar’s face before—the shorter man had come to the gibang several times now, although Hyesung had never greeted him himself.

“Oh...”

A soft exclamation came out from his thin lips—he also remembered that he had met the other young master once. Well, it was not a proper meeting, but Junghyuk was that young master whom he had locked eyes with a few weeks ago. He was the young master who had kept looking at him with those interesting dark eyes filled with nothing but curiosity. Seeing Minwoo had made him recognize Junghyuk as well, the person who had been tagging along with the scholar only that one time, for he had never seen him around the gibang again ever since. He stole a glance at Junghyuk and found out that the other was looking at him too. Being caught off guard, he quickly shifted his eyes to the overly excited man between them.

“I can’t believe it. I’m seeing Hyesung in the bookshop, among all places. Lucky. I’ve never seen you this close before. You’re really pretty indeed…” Minwoo was practically ogling over the male kisaeng with his hand still holding on to the book—the source of all this mess.

“Ah, thank you for your kind words, young master.”

Those words were just a common compliment he had heard from many men for far too often, but even he had to admit he was quite flustered, seeing how the other could be that excited to meet him.

“Let me introduce ourselves. I’m Lee Minwoo, from the Lee family. This is my best friend, Mun Jung Hyuk, from the Mun family,” after Minwoo’s smooth introduction, Junghyuk gave a soft smile and an awkward nod, which Hyesung replied by giving him a slight bow.

“It’s such an honor for me to meet you, Young Master Lee… Young Master Mun…”

At his polite reply, Minwoo just waved the hand which was holding the book with a soft laugh, “Ah no, we’re not that great. We’re not even in the level of meeting you. You know… Privately...” the shorter young master whispered the last word conspiratorially, hinting the naughty nuance behind it.

At loss, Hyesung lowered his head, he could only stare at the floor because he did not know how to respond. It was maybe the first time he had been this speechless—although he was accustomed to being in the receiving end of amorous advances, this was certainly an awkward situation—because the young master seemed to think that he was some sort of idol instead of just a lowly e. Again, stealing a glance from the corner of his eyes, he saw Junghyuk harshly nudged Minwoo at the elbow, earning him a muttering of complaints from the shorter man. It was then followed by an apologetic look towards the kisaeng for putting him in an uncomfortable situation, and it looked truly genuine that Hyesung couldn’t help hiding a small smile.

“I’m sorry, but I think I have to go young master. It was really nice to meet both of you.”

Hyesung tried to excuse himself politely, time had passed for quite a while since he left the crowd of kisaeng girls in the fabric shop. However, before he could actually step away and quit the bookshop, Minwoo immediately walked past him.

“I’ll buy this for you. Don’t you worry,” the scholar said over his shoulder as he kept walking towards the owner of the bookshop, still holding the book. Hyesung did not even have time to stop or refuse the man, all he could do was looking back and forth from Minwoo to Junghyuk.

“I’m sorry. Minwoo is just too happy to see you,” Junghyuk finally had the chance to converse alone with Hyesung. He spoke in a low and calm voice, after staying silent for a long time—never once had he shifted his eyes away from him.

“No, it’s fine. It’s an honor to talk with the two of you, young master.”

Silence then fell between both of them, neither man knew what to talk about. But when Hyesung started to feel a bit suffocated by the awkwardness, Junghyuk softly called his name. However, before Hyesung could properly reply, Minwoo had already come back with a wide smile, handing over the book to him.

“Please accept this, think of it as a gift from my heart. Although it’s not that great of a gift,” he said with the brightest smile.

After hesitating for a moment, Hyesung decided to take it. ”Thank you young master. I’ll treasure your gift,” he replied with gratitude, followed by a deep bow at the end.

Minwoo replied cheerfully, “It’s nothing! It’s nothing really… But I would really love to meet you again. More preferably in private… You kn-...” However, before he could finish his words, Junghyuk had started to drag him out of the bookshop—not without Minwoo’s adamant protests. A weak smile blossomed on Hyesung’s lips as he watched the two young masters bickered with each other—how nice must it be to have such a close friend whom you could squabble with, without any hard feelings. After only several steps, the taller man turned around and gave the courtesan a slight nod and a faint smile.

“It was nice to meet you. We will leave first,” he said quietly, before turning his attention back to his friend and pulled him away before the short man could do or say anything else to Hyesung.

In those split seconds, the kisaeng could swear he saw something familiar, along something new in the young master’s eyes—his dark eyes were now not only filled with curiosity, but also kindness.

Why did you look at me like that, young master Mun?