It was a bit of a struggle to drag Jiyong back home just now, and he wouldn't calm down, yelling about why would I stop him if Hyuk was forcefully taking advantage of me. The servants in the household had probably never seen him this flared up before, and they hid inside rooms to watch the show. It was only after about a million "No, it's okay, I swear he didn't mean anything harmful" that finally got Jiyong to sit down. Now, he's off for duty again after the sun had set, but not before warning me not to leave the house until he's back.

 

  I can't describe the feeling inside me now. Anger. Of course there's anger. I'm angry because Soo Hyuk wouldn't let go of me even when I tried telling him I didn't want to. I still didn't understand how can this be, we never had anything close to romance all the while, how am I supposed to believe what he said? I would've told myself that it's another sick joke he's pulling on me, but I know well enough that that wasn't one of them. He retaliated when Jiyong punched him.

 

  He retaliated. That was another mystery I can't figure out. I don't understand- Soo Hyuk was known in town for being the worst fighter. He couldn't even stand when the hooligans beat him up in the alley. We even ran away like losers together! But today, it seems so different. Jiyong was on the upper hand, of course, but Jiyong's combat skills were well known for being strong. How did Hyuk manage to give Jiyong a bruised cheek? How did he even manage to fight back at all??

 

  There's definitely something he's hiding.

 

  A hand gripping a bottle of soju appeared out of nowhere and I looked up to see Jisoo with her hand outstretched, nibbling on her lips nervously. Confused, I took the bottle from her hand.

 

  "You look troubled." Jisoo said, twisting her fingers together while giving me a small, uneasy smile, as if she feels that she is being rude. "You always drink this when you're troubled."

 

   I beamed at her. "You're right, thanks, Jisoo."

 

  Jisoo blinked for a moment, then nodded meekly before leaving for her quarters. 

  

  "Don't.. be sad, Miss Dara." Jisoo chuckled timidly as she turned back after a few steps, flailing her arms a little before running quickly into her room. She looked adorable. I wonder how free and happy she would be if she was born in our time, a world where there's no more servants and masters in our society. 

 

  I sighed to myself as silence enveloped the night again. The darkness was illuminated with the moonlight and the lanterns hung around yard. Everything seemed so peaceful but there's a war going on in my mind. How am I supposed to continue my friendship with Soo Hyuk from now on? I am still disturbed by the events today, but I should actually blame my own stupidity for what has happened, should I not? I should've stopped when he asked me to. I should've just stayed quiet and let him leave instead of trying to make things better. Of course, since when did I ever made things better? 

 

  I groaned in frustration. I know I don't want to lose a friend. But am I in any position to decide that now that things had turned out in this way? He can be an awful friend, maybe most of the time, but he is one of the only people here that cared. And I'm sure I'm one of the only people that actually care for him back- that guy doesn't even have friends before me! It's not right to just leave him like that.

 

  "Aish!" I muttered as I twisted the cap of the soju open.

---

[-]

 

  A soft knocking from somewhere jerked Dara awake. She surveyed her surroundings and realised that she must've dozed off because she is still at the pavillion by the yard. Rubbing her eyes, Dara stood up to get back to her room to sleep and that's when she heard the knocking again. 

  Perplexed, Dara approached the brick fence where the sound was coming from. 

  'Dara?" 

  A voice called out in a hushed tone from the other side of the fence which made Dara freeze in her spot. She can't be drunk right? She only had a mouthful of soju. 

  "Dara!"

  The voice called out again, a little louder. She is perfectly sober and all the sleepiness had fled her. The voice no doubt belongs to Soo Hyuk himself. Dara stood rooted in her spot, unsure of what to do or whether to respond. She vaguely remembers telling Hyuk to knock on this side of the fence that surrounds the Kwon residence should he ever finds a place that's fun to go at night so that she can sneak out, because the part of the manor that's the nearest to this side of the fence is her room.

  "Dara, are you awake?" Soo Hyuk asked, rubbing his hands together from the chill of the night.

  Dara swallowed, and shuffled her feet to the wall. 

  "Yeah." She answered softly.

  Soo Hyuk exhaled in relief and shut his eyes. He didn't know what made him run all the way here in the middle of the night either, but somehow he just wanted to hear her voice. He knows that he is despicable and hatable to forcing her to kiss him like that, and he just wanted to make sure that she's still by his side. As much as he hates it, as much as he wanted to be alone too, he didn't want to lose her, someone who's stupid and nosey enough to barge into a fight that she can't win just to get him safely out. 

  "Look, I just want to say that I'm sorry, Dara." Soo Hyuk said."I know what I did was stupid, and crazy, and you probably think that I'm a bastard, which I am, but that what I said was the truth, I like you, Dara Park."

  Dara stayed silent, not knowing how to reply to that. But he knows that she likes Jiyong instead, so how can he fall for someone who has already given her heart away? 

  "Are you hurt while trying to break us up just now?" Soo Hyuk asked.

  "No." Dara whispered. She didn't know if feeling hurt to see them beating each other up like that counted.

  "Good." Soo Hyuk sighed, turning his back to lean on the wall. "I know you can't like me back since you have your eyes set on that git." Soo Hyuk said humorously, with a dash of bitterness in his voice. "That's why you shouldn't have been nice to me in the first place. I told you no one ever was like that to me before, so what am I supposed to do, hate you instead?" 

  "I'm sorry." Dara said, despite her friend's attempts at making things sound more lighthearted. 

  "Stop apologising, you weren't the one that forced kissed a girl." Soo Hyuk remarked, and Dara smiled a little at his efforts to cheer her up, despite being the one who's having his feelings silently rejected. "Don't forget you saw me though, you'll still have to take responsibility for that." 

  Dara chuckled softly and a smile immediately appeared on Soo Hyuk's lips at the sound of that. He didn't know why he was trying so hard to be the usual sarcastic scumbag he is when the pain inside his chest was unlike any physical injuries he has suffered before.

  "I can't.. return your feelings though." Dara muttered as the smile on her face faded away to guilt again. 

  "I know." Soo Hyuk grimaced, his voice a little softer than before. "I'll settle for you not hating me for this then." He forced himself to laugh. 

  "I forgive you." Came her reply from the other side of the wall.

  "Still friends?" Soo Hyuk asked, and for quite a while there wasn't a response. Right, maybe she needs some time to think about it, or maybe she doesn't even need to think about it at all.

  "Here, take this." The voice rang out quietly from the other side of the fence again, and Soo Hyuk got up and turned around, to see a bottle of herbal remedy on the top of the fence. "For your wounds."

  Soo Hyuk felt a lump in his throat as he reached up shakingly to take it. He would rather her scream and shout and give him a good beatin for what he did to her, but here she is, as stupidly nice to him as always. Till when is she going to be like this to people that don't deserve it? 

  "Thanks." He said in a low voice, dropping his pretense of trying to sound absent minded and light-hearted. "When are you free? I er- want to apologise to you properly." 

  "I'm okay." Dara sighes, and its her turn to press her back on the wall instead. The conversation was awkward, but it had lifted a heavy weight off her chest, making her feel better than just now. "Besides, I'll be going to the capitol in two days."

  "With the Ice Lord?" Soo Hyuk asked, his heart sinking.

  "No, but he'll be there too."

  "Is it a formal event?"

  "I don't know, but everyone important seems to be going."

  "Oh." Soo Hyuk replied. "Anyway, sorry again."

  Dara smiled. He's forgiven by his second apology. At least they're still friends.

  "I'm sorry too."

---

 

  Soo Hyuk set off again after Dara had went back to sleep. In the obscrunity of the darkness, he got past the populated part of the asleep town and into the outskirts of the city. He continued past the poorest slums and huts all while remaining silent,  until he reaches the edge of the bamboo forest. Security has been tight recently, but he managed to sneak in. After all, the Dal army didn't expect anyone to step into the forest with the forecast of their certain death. But Soo Hyuk did not share the same ill fate as the usual trespassers. He knew his way. He knew how to get past the y traps ambushing and waiting for the outlaws.

  Swiftly, he navigated through the trees, making as little sound as possible. All that was heard was some occasional rustling of the leaves, but it could've been anything. It could've been a wild beast or merely the wind. It didn't take long before he was at the other side of the woodland. 

  A figure was already waiting for him. He turned around at the quiet footsteps and one can immediately tell the similarities between the two. Equally tall with equally handsome, sharp features, the two shared an almost uncanny resemblance to each other.

  "Hyung." The one who had made his way through the forest greeted first, his head bowed.

  "What happened, Soo Hyuk? You have never failed in your tasks!" The older one, dressed in robes that were of a different style than that of Dal's said, cutting to the chase. As compared to his younger brother, he looked more well fed and maintained, and had an aura of authority around him.

  "I apologise, hyung." The younger one said quietly.

  "Forget it." The older one snapped in annoyance, throwing his thinner, and dirtily dressed counterpart a belittling glare. "What happened to your face?"

  "It's nothing much." Soo Hyuk answered, keeping his eyes on the ground instead of his brother. Nobody knew he had a brother.

  "Useless. Going around injuring yourself instead of getting things done." The older one said in disgust, and the younger one bit his jaws together tightly. "Have you found out when the Ice Lord will be away from the Fire City?"

  "What are you intending to do, Hyung?" Soo Hyuk asked, lifting his eyes to meet his brother's cold ones.

  "Since when can you question my authority." The older guy snapped, folding his arms together. 

  Soo Hyuk clenched his fist up tightly. His older brother had never treated him seriously. 

  "How is father?"

  "Still there, breathing. You know something, don't you, tell me when is the Fire City vulnerable!" The older one said, stepping forward agitatedly.

  "You have to tell me what you are going to do with the information first." Soo Hyuk said in a quiet tone, his eyes not wavering from the strong glare of his brother's.

  Realising that Lee Soo Hyuk might really know something, the older one softens his stance at once. "Look, the people here are starving." He whispered. "There was a flood that killed the crops and we're short on food. We're just going to go in and take some of their harvest."

  "They don't have enough for themselves."

  The older one raised a brow. "You can't grow to love the people there already, can you?" He said skeptically, and Soo Hyuk tightens his jaw, turning his face away. "Know where your loyalties lie." He growled aggresively, jabbing his fingers at the younger's chest.

  "Swear you're just going to steal the crops." Soo Hyuk said firmly.

  "I swear." His brother smirked. 

  "In two days. The Ice Lord will be out of town, along with his generals." Soo Hyuk said, remembering what Dara had told him earlier on.

   The older one nodded, looking pleased with himself. "You can go." He ordered, and Soo Hyuk didn't wait to be dismissed again. As he turned around, he felt something arising inside him that he haven't felt before.

  He's just doing what he has to do. It can't be guilt.

 

---

[-]

 

 

  Dara stepped out of her room the next day and was met with a small shock. In the yard the maidens were surronding a small boy and at one glance she knew that it was the same little one who had been following her around for the past few days. The boy stood looked a little scared as he stood with his hands knitted together, seeming no more than 4 years old. He wore a loose fitting sleeveless coarse-fabric shirt with a few small holes here and there and his hair was characterised by locks of small curls.

  "We don't know either, he only said that his name was Doodoong. He seems to be looking for the young master, the Ice Lord." Jisoo explained, shrugging as Dara approached them. 

  "He's not back yet?" Dara asked, frowning. Was that why the boy was loitering around this area for the past few days?

  "No, but he should be back soon."

  Dara nodded and stepped forward. The boy looked around and found Dara, immediately walking over to her. Dara bend down and smiled.

  "Hello Doodoong, do you know me?" She asked. The little boy nodded.

  "You live here. I always see you." He answered in his imperfect korean, his bright, round eyes twinkling.

  "Why're you looking for the Ice Lord?" Dara questioned, patting Doodoong's head. "Tell noona so that noona can help you."

  "Noona can help me?" He asked hopefully, and Dara nodded, smiling unconsciously at the bell-like voice of the child. She wonders why the child had wanted to hide from them.

  "My noona told me that the hyung living here is the biggest hyung in town." Doodoong said innocently. "But I can't find my noona now. Can you help me find her?"

  "What is your noona's name?" Dara asked.

  "Doomin."

  "Where did she go?"

  "I don't know, Doodoong woke up and noona is not at home. She left a letter but Doodoong cannot read it." The young boy said sadly. "I was hungry and I ate the buns at home for a few days but noona did not come back." 

  "Where is the letter?" Dara asked, and Doodong pulled out a paper from his sleeve.

  As Dara read it, a frown started to appear on her forehead. 

  It says: Please take care of this child. We don't have parents. I've decided to get married off somewhere else. 

  Dara pursed her lips together before turning her gaze to the child, who's waiting anxiously for her to read it to him. 

  Dara forced a small smile at the poor boy.

  "Your noona told you to live with us for a while while she goes somewhere far to buy something." 

  

---

Sorry for the late update!

More mysteries are going to unfold! Stay tuned!!

Meanwhile, I have updated the character page in the introduction, so you may want to check it out~