Chapter 87: Seon-Ho

I had barely arrived before I saw the crowd round Ihwaru, which was really odd. I made my through with my seal, trying to find out if something else had happened, but no sooner had I gotten to the front that I heard Yeon's voice, in a tone I had rarely heard her use. I saw everything that took place in awe; she always enamoured me the most when she was protecting someone. She was just about to close the doors on everyone, but I couldn't help but noticed she was looking for someone in the crowd. My heart soared at this; in fact she did this every time I went away and came back, even though she was supposed to be 'rebelling' against myself and her brother. And of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease her. I made my way in front of the crowd so I could grab her attention and sure enough; her face lit up when she saw me. I saw the longing in her eyes that she couldn't hide any longer and she ran to me in the crowd. I saw clues that the whole gang was inside and I wanted to be alone with her for a while, so I took her by the hand when she got close enough and we ran into the fields. When we were alone she literally jumped into my arms exactly like how children ran into their parents embraces. I caught her in time but she literally knocked me into the ground; and we soon started rolling down the hill next to us, still in each other's embraces.

I had honestly never felt such warmth in all of my life. I had a whole new family thanks to her, but it was only her who truly cared about me; from my work day to my meals. She asked me about my day's and really took an interest in what I did, despite her grudge against the palace because she knew what I wanted to achieve. We were still in each other's embraces when I teased that I should leave her more often if she was going to greet me home like this every single time. She pinched me in reply, clearly showing her displeasure at this suggestion. I just chuckled as she asked me if I got the hints or not from the ranch. At this point she was sitting on my lap with her arms around my neck as if she was melting in my embrace as I lay against a tree. I nodded and recounted everything that had happened in my last mission and at the ranch. She looked genuinely happy for me and her smile only widened when I told her of my promotion and she clung onto me again, telling me that we had to celebrate. I do not know what made my shy in that moment; maybe it was because no-one had ever acknowledged my achievements before. Before I could get a single word out she had pulled me to my feet and started dragging me into town. I looked over at her in confusion until she smiled at me back and told me that she had better be the first person to enjoy the v.i.p. treatment that only I could give her. I looked a little surprised at her before I teased that she did have a little nobility in her after all. And we had a fantastic time, a real date that even I couldn't come up with by myself. We weaved in and out of each other's world; from noble boat rides, to common food and liquor, horse rides...we actually stayed up all night along hand in hand until I it was time to part.

But she indeed had a lot of suitors that always either followed her around or would send her notes and gifts outside of her door. She even had some that would find her in the market or around Ihwaru; some people actually started coming to the gibang for her as if she was a kiseng herself! I also had my fair share of women trying to seduce me, especially that servant of mine. As soon as I reconnected with Yeon I left her somewhere in one of my old worksites and I didn't bother looking for her again. She had annoyed me more than enough, and she could never do a better job than Yeon or even be anything like her, which she was starting to do. I noticed she had started copying her habits and mannerisms a long time ago but I was so disgusted that I couldn't say anything. She had also started a weird obsession obsession with me and she wouldn't let any women approach me, even in my work which I got lectured for. But the situation with Yeon was getting far out of hand, so much so that I had to have a conversation with her brother about allowing me to take Yeon to live with me. He was even less happy with the situation as I was but he wanted her to stay in the village. He only conceded when I told him that even I wanted to stay there alongside them, and I probably would end up making a home there myself. Because of the meeting they were still waiting on to happen it wasn't really a good idea for her to settle in there just yet, so we agreed that she could live with me short-term until the situation was stable again.