Chapter 78: Seon-Ho

As I feared, she did keep pulling disappearing acts over a long period of time. I tried to keep up with her as much as I could but I could actually tell for a while that she kept looking over her shoulder at work. A lot of people tried to interact with her but she kept a respectful distance...actually she was ok with girls but when I realised that a lot more men had started to approach her in the market and her work...I started to feel things I had never felt before; jealousy, possessiveness, and an anger towards anyone who laid there eyes on the one thing I wanted more than anything...and the one thing I had a right over anyone else. It was at this point I started watching her but I didn't want to approach her yet. I wanted to see what she was doing before I spoke to her again and honestly I was adjusting to my new promotion....and I suddenly had a horde of women who refused to acknowledge my existence or even...laugh at me even if accidentally got too close to them before, but were now throwing themselves at me. I tired to distance myself away from them, but I felt that something was off from the beginning. I had looked into it myself as I didn't want Sung-Rok to know about this although he was getting suspicious.

I took note of theses girls and I quietly followed them one day...all the way to Yeon's job! I soon realised that this was one of the reasons why she kept trying to distance herself from me. I was angry and upset; how could I not be? Yeon still hadn't approached me or tried to find me but I had a bad feeling why, apart from it being her little rebellion again myself and her brother working in the apace after everything she had painstakingly revealed to us. The apprehension was completely getting to me but I couldn't do anything since I had an informal meeting at a party that I found out was actually being thrown at Yeon's workplace! Her employers were a relative of the host and their ranch was indeed wide and spacious. At least the thought of seeing her would put me at ease. I got dressed in the few clothing I had left; I had been promoted by the King himself so the days of looking down on me and making my life difficult were long gone. I had actually gained respect ever since my father's death just like I had imagined...and it was all thanks to Yeonnie who made my birthright clear to all the important members in the palace.

The minute I arrived I couldn't help look out for Yeon...and the dress I had sent her for tonight's occasion. But of course I had the usual girls throwing themselves at me and following me everywhere, evermore so tonight than usual. When I finally looked over at Yeon clothed in the dress I had sent her, she really did almost take my breathe away. She had a new dress sense that no parent in their right mind would let their daughters wear unless they were high class, but Hwi finally accepted that she had grown up now and let her get away with a lot already...and this time I couldn't be more grateful. Women usually wore more...billowing outfits so it couldn't show their figure. Yeon on the other hand...I remembered watching her in my father's manor and I thanked Buddha under my breathe that she had retained her figure...she was the only girl I was close to from the beginning so she was the only one I could learn and experience these things from.

I took another look at her and I realised that the girls who were following me everywhere had dumped all of their work on her when I noticed she hadn't even seen me. It looked like she was the only one working; this annoyed me greatly as I asked one of the girls to bring their employer to me. Within seconds I had a marital couple before me; looking to fawn over me and tend to my every whim. I despised this behaviour most of all so I didn't want to give anything away about our relationship in case it made things harder for her, although this was very hard for me as well. Thanks to her I had more than enough connections to ensure she had a comfortable life wherever she went, but I knew she didn't want that yet. Her work kept her busy from myself & her brother and that was what she was counting on right now.

As I had suspected, they had scrunched up their faces as if they had come across a bad smell when I pointed her out to them before asking for information about her. The wife went on a tirade about how their ranch was supported by children of noble families who all wanted work experience. Yeon, on the other hand, was a lowborn girl who was only taken in by the recommendation of a friend of their husband, who turned out to be Jeong-Beom. I couldn't feign my interest in her though, especially with how she looked tonight. They instantly saw this an dtried pushing their niece on me; that girl called Park Hyo-Sonn who I knew for a fact was anything but her friend. I asked them curiously if Yeon had any suitors calling for her and they made her out to be loose of character! They spun me stories like how she had a man approach her everyday, which I knew it was from work and not like how they made out at all.

The moment I tried to walk away towards her, I saw from the corner of my eye that the husband had actually grabbed one of the random girls that had been following me all night and pushed her in my direction so we could initiate contact. This was a common trick usually initiated by women when they wanted to talk to the opposite sex. I recognised this instantly but I knew it was the only thing that could get Yeonnie's attention. I caught the girl only momentarily, long enough for their to be collective gasps and for Yeon to finally notice me...and the look she gave me was everything I had hoped for; pure joy and excitement...but when she saw what had happened, she kept her eyes to the ground. She sneaked a look at me again, only to be shocked at the smirk I gave her, showing her that I didn't give a damned about her fears as I would fall for non of the nonsense that came with the side of her that she had hidden from me. I let the girl fall to the ground as I walked away and integrated myself in the party as I should. But I kept my eyes on her and she knew it, she averted my gaze as much as possible while she actually reached out to find the girl and pulled her to the side "what the hell are you doing? Why did you play that common trick on him?" She hissed at her. "What? What woman doesn't want a rich husband that can provide her with a comfortable life? What exactly did I do that was wrong in your low-born eyes?" "Almost knocking an innocent man on the ground is your way to climb up the social ladder?" The disbelieving tone in Yeon's voice was something I had never heard before. And honestly? I had to restrain myself from doubling over in laughter while savouring her jealousy at the same time "well, why can't I do that?" "He is a nobleman indeed who must have seen hundreds of beautiful women in his lifetime. Just by relying on your face alone do you really think you will get his attention?" The girl raised her hand to slap Yeon but thankfully she caught it in time "you low-born brat! I have a higher social standing compared to you and you dare to keep me from him and question me so? I want to be someone's wife; not a concubine just because I have an older sister!" Yeon finally backed off and muttered about her stupidity "all these noble girls have pig's brains. If you are caught fraternising with a palace inspector do you really think he will take responsibility for you? He's...he's done this before! A lot of girls throw themselves at him but he's never taken them seriously" "and how the hell do you know that? How can someone like you even stand next to someone like him!"