Chapter 65: Seon-Ho

Hwi was waiting for me as we both looked all over for her until I came across a girl in the market that seemed familiar to me. I've definitely seen her around more then once whenever I went to the market with Yeonnie. Now that I think about it...she was always hovering around her as well, every chance she got. I told Hwi this and told him to approach her instead; had a feeling she would also recognise me and would run away. But before he got the chance to she walked away and we decided to follow her instead...until she lead us to some kind of...family ranch. We stood outside while we watched her run inside like her feet were on fire...and who else would she be welcomed by at the door apart from Yeon.

My jaw almost dropped to the floor when I saw her...her new transformation. She had her long hair out in a loose style with minimal makeup once again...she was wearing a skirt and a...a top that only accentuated a very slim figure I had not noticed before. I had to quickly sort myself out before her brother noticed of all people. I looked over at him and he looked just as perplexed as I did. We both watched them for a while at work; tending to the home like palace maids, working on the fields outside and all the workers children ran to Yeon for comfort and playing around with. She fed them and watched over them meticulously and fondly like they were her own, especially the weaker ones. This went on for a while until it was the end of her shift; Hwi then walk up to her and threw her over his shoulder without saying a single word while I hid behind them. She put up her usual childish fuss just like she used to when we used to drag her to the pharmacist...just that memory alone...and all the others before she lost her memories made me laugh into hysterics, she was so adorable then.

He made her sit down and confess to everything she had been up to; all the jobs she worked out, how she got in and out of my father's mansion and how many jobs she had. She tried to avoid his questions with her usual childish tactics for a while before he stared getting angry and making his way towards her work but she stopped him. She sat him back down and tried to calm him before confessing that she would drug those stupid guards before climbing up the small tree in the eastern courtyard of all things! Just like my dream! I didn't even explore that part of the mansion yet and I had been there for years. I was getting angry; who knows what could have happened to her? And who knows what else she was hiding from us? She might...she might've taken on workers punishments like whipping or kneeling too much. I was getting angrier at the thought...angrier still at the thought os anyone bullying her...even more angry at the thought of anyone approaching her in general...and she still managed somehow to wrap her brother around her finger and to let her continue working and living independently, especially as he couldn't shake Bang-Won off despite their little tussle. He walked away, worried about her living space, but I assured him that I would handle it, and all her other living expenses whether she liked it or not. She still had to respect her brother's choices after all. Hwi still hadn't officially given me his permission but I knew that I was at leats wearing him down but I couldn't do more than that at the moment, we still needed to talk about our issues. But I had been with them long enough and I knew how to wear them both down. But he at least gave me permission to look after her when he couldn't, which was a start knowing him. But I know it was because he agreed with his sister and he was just trying to keep me safe...after everything I had done to him...

I couldn't help but get heated when I saw her note not to tell me anything in case anyone she messed with in the past came after me. She told him that for her loved ones safety it was for the best that she stays somewhere near her work, at least until her brother cuts ties with the Prince. As devastated as we were we knew she was right. And with the the Hwi left things with him, it probably wouldn't take long for him to do it either. But she rebelled hard; she went out of her way to work publicly, eat, study and leisure publicly, she played outside with children- everything that women were forbidden to to. We knew she was doing all of this to rebel against Prince Bang-Won; Yeon was a lot fearless than I had ever imagined. Sh even went as far as to undergo kiseang training although she promised us that she would never become one. As much as the very notion of it made my blood boil; men and women indeed have to use different tactics to protect themselves, she even did a few public dances in Ihwaru and took shelter there most of the time under Hui-Jee's guidance.