A/N: Long overdue chapter finally posted! If you are still reading this, thank you for waiting! <3

“I’m not that great of a person that you need to always be so respectful around me Hyesung-ssi…”

Those words kept echoing in his mind ever since the last time Hyesung had the miraculous chance to meet Young Master Mun again, even getting the honor to have a small chat with him. He had to admit that he hadn’t been able to get over the kindness and sincerity that overflowed from the young master’s voice when he called his name. The name that had slipped through the lips of so many men, said with different emotions and tones—but yet, it was the first time he had ever felt something like this after being called with that name. This something that tugged his heartstrings and made him flustered.

Hyesung should not have felt anything, he knew. Feelings were the enemy of a kisaeng—he had that phrase ingrained to the bone by his seniors, the older kisaengs who taught him the arts and crafts when he was young.

But he had felt it anyway, hadn’t he? He failed to stop it.

He had been feeling nervous ever since he felt it started growing inside him after that night. The silhouette of young master, who didn’t shift his soft gaze away from him even after they had parted, was still lingering in the back of his mind. The worst thing was that he could still recall how madly he had been blushing that time—and it scared him. He thought he knew how to control the flush on his face perfectly, how to entice men with this expression at the right timing with a seducing shy smile—this thought, however, was apparently wrong. He had never guessed that it was possible for him to be like this, to have the warmth that rose on his cheek rush out of control—all due to a single man.

And it frightened him to no end.

He knew that these feelings would eventually drown him, that attachments were strings which would only strangle him, squeezing his life out. He knew perfectly that this desire and the wishes that he kept making were not helping to make his life easier at all.

After that meeting, often times Hyesung caught himself having imaginations that he knew he should not have—he had gone too deeply, too badly. A deep sigh would come out unconsciously when he was reminded of the person involved in his thoughts. The forbidden one. He who lived in a world completely different from his.

After years of living this way, Hyesung had trained himself not to expect anything, not to nurture any wish because all of them would just end up as countless disappointments. Honestly, his face and body were the only thing he had, and he only had them for this line of work. They were not even going to be eternal, beauty would not last forever—one day, like every flower, he would wilt. In the present a lot of people longed for him, he was adored and showered with attention. But one day, when he retired from this line of work and no longer be useful to anyone, everyone would leave and forget him. Who would want to take in and care for a male kisaeng who had slept with countless men and fulfilled their dirty desires behind closed doors? That was the biggest reason for why he had restrained himself to not to expect anything from anyone.

But now, Hyesung could see the little glimmer of hope and expectation breaking through the total darkness of his soul.

And even such a weak hope was dangerous.

He found himself longing for someone to comfort him. He began wondering how it would feel to truly be embraced and loved, despite of all the tainted pieces of his past. He found that his resolve to be alone and stay alone had weakened—he wanted someone, he needed someone.

And to think it all started just because of a man, who had called his name so gently, who had given him such soft gaze that no one had ever shown to him.

Hyesung kept thinking that he must be completely insane to be shaken up so easily by those mere ‘polite’ actions, in which there might be no deeper meaning attached. Young Master Mun was just being polite, he told himself over and over again, just as how the young master would have always acted around everybody else.

“...Sung-ah?”

Nothing more, nothing less…

“Hyesung-ah?”

No. He was not just being polite. Didn’t you see how he acted around the other kisaengs? In the back of his mind, Hyesung felt like he could hear a tiny voice of his own heart screaming—arguing against the dominant voice of his logic. But right now he just really wanted both voices to stop.

“Hyesung-ah, what are you thinking about?”

The calm voice came alongside an arm softly circling around his slim waist, stealing him away from his dangerously wandering thoughts. Reality hit Hyesung back, and he was instantaneously ashamed of his unprofessionalism. He had neglected the person he was supposed to entertain—only because he had been so lost in his own crowded thoughts.

Quickly forming a faint smile on his lips, Hyesung sweetly gazed at Lord Kim who was now caressing his hair, staring at him with a questioning eyes. He was lucky that it was Lord Kim—if it wasn’t, he would have had much more difficulty in appeasing the client for his lack of focus.

“It’s nothing my Lord,” he said, moving closer, fingers slowly caressing the older man’s jawline. “Please forgive me for my rudeness,” he continued, submissively leaning his forehead on Lord Kim’s chest.

“How could I not forgive my beautiful Hyesung? I’m just… Curious. You’ve never acted like that before… Losing yourself so deeply in your own thoughts, while blushing even.”

Hyesung’s fingers trembled, and he could feel his face slowly warming up after hearing what Lord Kim had said. Had he been blushing for real? Even worse, it was not for the person who was sitting beside him at the moment... But for a person whom he wasn’t even sure he would ever have another chance to see again...

“See? Your cheeks are pink again…” Lord Kim grinned and rubbed his cheeks softly, “Ehh… Interesting. This really makes me curious, you know? I’ve never seen you blush this madly before, not even when I blurted out a lame adult joke to you on our very first meeting. But today I’ve already seen it twice...” he continued, still staring at Hyesung with curiosity plastered all over his expression. Feeling embarrassed, Hyesung pulled himself away from Lord Kim and started pouring the wine placed on the table beside their seats.

“Hyesung-ah… What are you thinking about?”

Still trying to avoid the older man’s question, he simply answered by shaking his head while wishing that Lord Kim would drop the topic soon. His daydream was not an appropriate subject to confide to the other, no matter how close they were—no matter how kind and understanding his Lord was. From the start, it was his own mistake that as a kisaeng he dared to think about a different man, not the one who was holding him tight at the moment—the one whom he should have poured all his concentration and energy to entertain.

“Or should I ask... Who are you thinking about?”

The haengsu swore that his heart skipped a beat at that question. Trying to calm down the erratic beatings of his heart with a deep breath, Hyesung forced himself a gentle smile.

He looked up at the older man whose fingers were drawing circles on the back of his own hand, long eyelashes fluttering, “Why do you think I’m thinking about someone else? I dare not to think about another person while I’m with you, my Lord.”

As soon as he ended his words, Hyesung realized that his feeble cover did not work on Lord Kim. A faint smirk was so apparent on his lord's handsome face, knowing and teasing.

“Liar," his smirk was getting wider, but he squeezed Hyesung's hand softly when he felt the other's body stiffened, "Well... It's just you have that look on your face, Hyesung-ah. You can’t even hide it. It’s too obvious.”

His eyes widened at Lord Kim’s statement—was he that obvious? He could feel that his blushing cheeks were getting warmer by the second. Lord Kim could not even hide his amusement at seeing his flustered face, his eyes glinting with mirth.

“Wha-… What kind of look… on my... f-face?”

This time, Lord Kim could not hold his boisterous laughter anymore.

“Oh my… What’s wrong with my Hyesung today? My Hyesung, who has never failed in filling my ears with his sweet voice and eloquent words, just stuttered? You didn’t even attempt to avoid my question, Hyesung-ah,” lightly chuckling, he patted the kisaeng’s long black hair.

He immediately turned his head away, feeling embarrassed for stuttering in front of his loyal client. Without even having to see it, he knew that Lord Kim was still grinning at his clumsy mistakes.

"Now I’m starting to get jealous of this someone in your mind, Hyesung-ah. Who is this mystery man who can shake even our best haengsu’s heart?” his Lord asked in cheery sing-a-song tone.

Hyesung had never been this embarrassed of himself in his whole life. Although he was always being teased by Lord Kim, he had always managed to just shrug it off with a smile. This time however, he could not even manage his facial expression. It was especially shameful to stutter when it was his job to entice people, much more because he did that when he was trying to hide his thoughts from the other.

“Look at me, Hyesung-ah…” Lord Kim gently lifted Hyesung’s chin to look into his eyes.

“You have that look…” Lord Kim started, tucking Hyesung’s hair behind his ear gently, “...the look of when someone who is starting to realize that they are on the edge of falling in love. Endless daydreaming and being embarrassed by their own thoughts. Your twinkling eyes, blushing cheeks and out of focused mind are tell-tale signs. You have exactly that look, Hyesung-ah…”

Despite garnering all his willpower to keep the eye contact with the lord, Hyesung’s pupil shook. He wanted to look away, nervous about how easily he could be read. No matter how kind-hearted Lord Kim was, it was his mistake to think about another man instead of entertaining his Lord. Moreover, he couldn’t even avoid his Lord’s question about it, unintentionally letting the older man to know that he was incapable of separating his private life and professional mindset.

Getting no answer from the haengsu, Lord Kim lowered his hand to touch Hyesung’s lips. His devilish grin turned into a calm and serious smile. “Well? I’m really curious now. Who is that guy?”

Hyesung’s heart skipped another beat. It was an unpleasant feeling, especially after hearing his Lord using a serious tone in his enquiry. What if… What if because of his carelessness, Lord Kim found out who the man in his daydream was? Despite being a merchant, Lord Kim had a huge influence among the high ranked officials in the government. Even after years of having him as his patron, he still didn’t know how far the arms of his lord could reach.

What if he… What if Lord Kim knew that Young Master Mun was the one who messed up his focus during work? What if Lord Kim decided to sever any connection he had with the young master or his family?

Catching the worry in the younger man’s eyes, Lord Kim let out a soft chuckle. Hyesung closed his eyes when he accepted a soft peck on the tip of his nose from the lord, who also whispered in his ears, “Don’t worry, Hyesung-ah. You should know by now that I’m not the type to do petty things just to chain you down beside me.”

The older man gave him another soft peck, on his forehead this time, before he continued to reassure the courtesan in his arms, “I’m truly just curious, that’s all.”

Hyesung let out the breath that he unknowingly had been holding. Opening his dark eyes, he saw those reliable deep brown orbs staring at him warmly. With a small but grateful smile, he leaned for a kiss which would lead them both to another long night—but one question did not stop echoing in his head...

Have I already fallen for Young Master Mun?

*****

“Mun Junghyuk, you’re so dead!”

He mumbled furiously while stomping towards the place he knew for sure where his so-called best friend was. Minwoo could hear the weak protests from Choongjae, who had been following him since he stormed out of the gibang.

“Minwoo-hyung, just slow down.”

“Choongjae-ya, think about it. How come that Mun Junghyuk didn’t even tell me? I have a reason to be mad!”

Before even entering the Mun family’s huge compound, Minwoo had already known where exactly to find that traitor. As usual, the young master of the house had rejected the scholar’s offer to go out, saying that his father’s requested him to do something in the study room as an excuse. Being friends ever since their childhood days, he knew the large house like the back of his hand. His feet automatically moved, directed towards the quiet study room located in the furthest corner of the compound.

Not bothering to warn the host, Minwoo slid the door open along with his fury greeting. “Yah! Mun Junghyuk!”

The man he was looking for immediately looked up from the piles of books on the table with surprise. But barely a second after, Junghyuk redirected his eyes towards the text once again, “Oh. It’s you, Minwoo-ah.”

The scholar’s eyebrows twitched over the nonchalant greeting his childhood friend gave. He deliberately walked inside with his feet still loudly stomping on the wooden floor. This particular action, finally, shifted Junghyuk’s focus to his best friend.

“Minwoo-ah? What are you doi...” sensing that he was mad at him about something, Junghyuk questioned the man in front of him before being cut mid-sentence.

“YAH! Why didn’t you tell us about it? Are we really your best friends?”

Despite his short stature, Junghyuk thought Minwoo’s existence could become a bit overwhelming when he was furious like this. Even so, he really had no idea what had made his friend looked so angry

“What? What didn’t I tell you about?”

With his usual blank face, Junghyuk looked indifferent—complete contrast to Minwoo who looked so intense.

“Aish, I really hate that face. Look at him feigning innocence, that bastard…” the shorter man spat out a curse, his fists were ready to throw a punch or two on his friend’s face.

Fortunately for the young master, Choongjae was ready to stop Minwoo before any unnecessary incidents could happen, “Hyung, no violence here, okay? Calm down first! Let’s talk slowly…”

After hearing Choongjae’s pleading voice, Minwoo decided to follow his younger friend’s advice. He took in a deep breath to maintain his own sanity—seriously his best friend could be so infuriating. All this time, Junghyuk managed to maintain his indifferent facial expression, looking back and forth at the two other men.

“Well… If you’re fine again, will you please finally tell me why you were so worked up? Did I do something you don’t like?”

This time, before Minwoo started getting into another outburst, Junghyuk took the chance to speak first—calmly asking for an explanation.

“It’s not that you did something I don’t like. It’s that you didn’t do something that I would like, you moron!”

“Ha?”

That was the only response he received from the other. Minwoo swore—he was very close to exploding and flipping every single thing in this room upside down. Slapping his palms on the table, the scholar inched forward, leaning closely to Junghyuk to make his statement.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Hyesung came to your house?!”

Minwoo’s loud voice echoed in the study room, the quiet that followed seemed to emphasize the graveness of the situation—even Choongjae flinched at his hyung’s outburst. Junghyuk, however, just raised the corners his mouth—lips forming a faint smirk as a sign of finally understanding the reason why his friend was so mad.

“Ahh, so it’s about that…”

Minwoo’s anger level kept rising, especially when he saw that his best friend switched his attention back to the books, as if he had heard nothing of significance. He presented his next question in an even louder voice, hoping to make Junghyuk see that this matter is extremely important to him.

“Yah! How come I heard this from the girls in the gibang instead of you? You know what? You’re a hot topic there now!”

Just thinking back about how the girls had gone crazy over that bastard really made Minwoo’s blood to boil...

*****
 

Flashback

It was a usual day for the certain scholar, lounging around in the gibang with Choongjae and their pretty companions. Minwoo was about to the first sip of his wine, when one of the kisaengs asked him a question that caught him off guard.

“Young Master Lee, that young master you took here last time... Why didn’t you tell us that he’s the son of the Minister of Taxation?” she pouted cutely, “You’re so mean, Young Master Lee.”

Frantically trying to catch the wine cup he nearly dropped, Minwoo threw a sharp, interrogative stare at the girls around them as he straightened his posture.

“How did you girls know who he is?! Did you meet him somewhere?”

He could not even control the anxiety in his voice. Seriously, how could these kisaengs find out about Junghyuk? Nobody was supposed to know his status. This was bad. Minwoo racked his brain, trying to recall whether he had accidentally spilled the secret out while he was drunk. That childhood friend of his would definitely beat him to pulp if he did—Junghyuk normally didn’t have much temper, which made him scarier if angered.

“We went to a banquet at the minister’s house a few days ago…” Minwoo exhaled a relieved sigh when he heard the answer. So at least, it wasn’t my fault the secret is out.

“We were introduced to him there, young master. Omo… He looked even more handsome dressed in that mahogany robe, didn’t he?” one kisaeng said with dreamy eyes, while the others nodded vigurously in agreement. Giggling excitedly, the girls started to reminiscence among themselves about the young master, temporarily forgetting about Minwoo and Choongjae who was with them in the room.

“Banquet?”

Lifting one of his eyebrows, Minwoo repeated the word—questioning himself whether Junghyuk had ever mentioned about a banquet in his home. The scholar was positive that his friend never mentioned a word of it.

“Yes, young master. It was quite a feast, bigger than the usual banquets we went to,” the girl who sat next to Choongjae chimed in, “There were so many high-ranked officials as well.”

Another girl stepped into the conversation, “Because it was very big and seemed very important, Madam Jung even made Hyesung to go there too.”

“WHAT?!”

Flashback Ends

*****

“Yah, you mikkulaji!!! Why didn’t you tell us about Hyesung coming to your household?! You know how much we want to meet him! How come you didn’t… Ahhhh, this Mun Junghyuk!”

After the outburst, Minwoo noticed that he was the only person in the room who was fired up. Choongjae was just standing quietly behind him, not knowing how to mediate between his hyungs. Junghyuk did not even bother to look up from the book he was reading since a while ago.

“Minwoo, I didn’t know that he was coming either,” Junghyuk finally said, lifting his head towards the raging man in front of him—face still as passive as ever, “I just found out when I coincidentally stumbled upon the party in the hallway. Even if I told you, it’s not like you can meet him. For your information, he was here to serve the guests and neither you nor I were invited. That's it.”

Even though he hated to admit it, everything Junghyuk said was right. But the fact that he had not bothered to tell him even a single indication that Hyesung came to his house still made Minwoo sulk. He could have easily told Minwoo when they met up, but it took this long for the scholar to know. Not to mention, he got that bit of information from strangers instead of his own best friend. It was not an understatement to say that Minwoo felt betrayed.

Seeing the sour look on his hyung’s face, Choongjae finally made an attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere, "Junghyuk-hyung, I think you did wrong this time. Just... Please apologize to Minwoo-hyung and make up quickly? It’s too awkward for me to be stuck between you two. And I really hate seeing my favorite hyungs fighting over something like this. So... Please?”

With a tired sigh, Junghyuk awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Well… I’m sorry for not telling you," he said, looking at Minwoo, finally neglecting the books and giving him the attention. "I really did forget about that, okay? Satisfied?” Although the young master looked sincere with his apology, this was not what the scholar wanted at the moment.

A brilliant idea suddenly popped up in Minwoo’s mind. There was no way he could let Junghyuk escape his wrath with only a simple apology—he better used this chance to steal his best friend’s time, making him do something he always refused to.

“Mun Junghyuk…” pointing his forefinger at his friend’s face, Minwoo declared, “I hereby command you to attend your best friend’s congratulatory banquet next week. And I definitely won’t take a ‘no’ for an answer!”

The scholar looked at Junghyuk’s startled expression at the mention of the word “banquet” with a satisfied smirk.

“Mun Junghyuk, you thought I’d let you go easily? Never.”

Just like that, Minwoo turned away and walked out of the room before his friend even got the chance to react. Choongjae tailed his shorter hyung, knowing that the word ‘banquet’ and his Junghyuk-hyung could never get along. As he trod along the hallway, pride swelled in his heart for taking revenge against his best friend, especially when a surprised shout from the young master could be heard from afar.

“Wait… Lee Minwoo! WHAT?!”

*****

“Lee Minwoo. I swear to God you were born to make me kill you.”

Junghyuk could only mumble to himself when the culprit that caused his desperation winked at him too cheerfully, truly enjoying the discomfort that his best friend was feeling at the moment.

It was common to hold a banquet to congratulate the winner of a public contest. In this case, it was a poetry contest—in which Minwoo had won. It was around 3 months ago when the scholar decided to enter the said contest. Apparently, he was bored at that time. There was nothing that could excite him, he said—until the announcement for the national poem contest reached the scholar’s ear. It was a great opportunity for Minwoo to challenge himself, to see whether there were others who  could beat him.

“This contest too was boring. The theme and the contestants were too easy. I thought national level would be harder.”  

Minwoo was smart, Junghyuk could admit that—but humble he was not. He remembered trying so hard to contain an eye roll when he heard Minwoo’s overbearing comment, feeling that it was a mistake to ask the shorter man about the result of the contest. As annoying as Minwoo’s reply was, Junghyuk knew his best friend was indeed a genius. And the fact was Minwoo did win the contest, so Junghyuk could not refute his statement.

The contest was supported by one of the most highly regarded merchants in town, Lord Kim Dongwan. With his reputation on the line, it was no wonder that the man would go all out for this banquet—and of course, it included inviting some of the finest kisaengs to entertain the guests.

Junghyuk noticed that Minwoo and Choongjae were looking too delighted over Lord Kim’s little announcement, their grins were just too wide and too happy. On the other hand, Junghyuk was still feeling miserable that he was forced to come—really, this whole situation was starting to become very hateful. The young master Mun swore he would strangle his best friend for getting him stuck in this event—maybe sometime later, when he became too consumed by bliss.

Glancing at Minwoo who was actively chatting with Lord Kim, he sighed again. Junghyuk wondered why he was even here, his time would be better spent napping or reading the books he bought yesterday. For a revenge, Minwoo sure planned this very quickly with barely any consideration—but it was a torture for him indeed. He was thankful to be invited, but there was nothing that would make Junghyuk even be more grateful than being excused.

Spending time observing the room while wishing that time would pass by more quickly, Junghyuk’s focus was drawn back to the host. On first impression, Lord Kim seemed to be a nice person—his smile was warm and looked genuine. He had a charismatic aura around him—after all, he was one of the top merchants in town—but he looked friendly and approachable. Junghyuk had heard the rumours that the lord had a huge influence in the government, he certainly could remember his own father mentioning him a couple of times when he talked to him about work.

“My Lord, the kisaengs have arrived.”

With the short announcement from the chamberlain, the room was filled with cheerful murmurs all of a sudden. Not long after, a group of courtesans dressed in their colorful attire entered. Junghyuk quickly looked down, pretending to take a sip from his wine cup—suddenly getting very interested in its design. Hopefully, by pretending to be busy, no kisaeng would want to sit beside him. He still did not know what to do if one of them sat beside him, he was not sure how he could chase them away without being offensive.

“Hyesung-ah, come here…”

A familiar name made its into Junghyuk’s ears, forcing him to lift his face up.

It couldn’t be…?

When he directed them towards the source of the voice he just heard, his eyes met with the dark orbs that belonged to that person—sitting next to Lord Kim who had his arms around his slim waist.

Why do we keep meeting unexpectedly like this?

This distressful night would be a very long one...