Chapter 5: Seon-Ho

I just smirked as I saw her climb up the tree and over the wall a few days later. The sight of her hoisting up her skirt wasn't a bad view at all...I found out recently that she was doing this when I had a female servant assigned to her service rat her out to me but I just figured that the restrictions my father placed on her were getting too much for her. But honestly? I wasn't angry; I couldn't blame her. In fact, it was all rather entertaining. And it opened up a new side of her, she always did what she was told so to see her go through all this effort was really funny to me. It had actually become something to look forward to at home and away from the palace as I was isolated from her brother. And I hadn't had the chance to keep her company in my room since my plans in the palace were amping up.. I was too busy trying to come up with ways to get the Seo's out of this mess alive.

I didn't have much to do today so I decided to follow her myself again. The last time I did, she left off at a prank she pulled on her employer at the bookshop, a set-up from a college of her's that she managed to backfire just in time without my help and working on her own studies next to the river with her feet in the water...and her blouse off...her hair out and sticking her writing brush in between her teeth whenever she was stuck on something...

The first time I found out she was doing this I was absolutely outraged...more than I thought I would be. I followed her myself and what I saw...well it definitely left a strong impression on me.

I'm pretty sure that my jaw hit the ground when I saw her sneaking into the kitchen to fetch refreshments for the guards as soon as my father left...and saw her put some sort of substance in it. I...well I...I didn't know what to say or think. Just where on earth did this girl get her fearlessness from? Certainly not her brother, he kept his nose clean.

That wasn't the only surprise she kept from me. I was left in shock when I saw her hoist up her skirt to climb up the only tree we had in the whole courtyard...and she wasn't wearing trousers. I had to hold swallow hard when I saw her long fair legs...no! No! I grew up with the girl! She was Hwi's sister...and that's it. And I was only putting in so much effort to follow her...to protect her. Not because I was interested in what that little girl did...I wasn't.

I tried to convince myself of that over and over again as I watched her make her way through the market into the fields...and change her clothes in full view, unaware that I was completely frozen in my spot unable to move as I saw a body on her I never expected her to have...well...not that I thought about it...or her like that before...this was my first time seeing a woman's body. The things I saw and felt...I couldn't even describe it...but I had to admit that I...i didn't turn around even once.

Once I got over shock after shock I returned to my senses and followed her as she made her way to meet a man...for lessons? She was educating herself? Well it wasn't a complete shock...when she wasn't chasing me you could always find her at home with her nose shoved into a book. She always went on about women's rights and how they should be educated a lot more and take full advantage of it. To see her...the new bold and daring version of her fulfil the wishes of the old version of her...it kind of touched me...on the old Yeon's behalf.

Women hardly worked any jobs apart from being servants or maids...in fact they were not even allowed to play outside under confucian ideals, they could get beaten over it. But Hwi never placed any of those restrictions on his sister, she was already going through enough, though I wonder how he would react if he knew his baby sister was...well certainly not a baby anymore and if she was educating herself and working in a book store. Maybe he wouldn't mind her being educated so I couldn't really say anything about it but working? I just sighed to myself, this girl was a serious handful, more than even I knew myself and I was around her since she was 5! But before I was able to made a decision on what to do I was recognised in the market by someone I used to study with. I almost flew to him and I clamped my hand around his mouth as I knew she had already turned around at the mention of my name...who knew what she would do then? What if she knew I was following and I had seen her...change her clothing?

I went back home, still unsure of what to do until I thought I would just wait for her to come home so we could talk about it. But that god-damned brat was so easily able to slip home without anyone questioning her...so I just left her to it, keeping in mind that any contact I hadn't with her anyways I was always interrogated about later, so why bother with more inconvenience?