Chapter 105: Seo Yeon

I returned back to the palace, exhausted and broken. In fact I was so...shattered that I took some time off of work as I stayed in my brother's home in bed for almost a week, shocked beyond belief. I could not believe that I was being harassed by the same bitches who were related to the women who had murdered my mother. My father never really told us how she died...but I remember how broken he was over it...until they day he died. I could barely sleep or keep any food down, neither could my brother. It was Chief Park who held us down and took care of us as he knew my father well for years...and even my mother as it turns out. And my brother...my poor brother who tried to take in everything well for my sake, we just ended up in bed together most of the time, trying to keep the other from doing something stupid. But luckily soon he was called away on business to keep his mind off of things. I really didn't want him to hover over me and worry about me anymore, I stetted getting up for his sake as I continue my old routine of taking care of him, cooking for him, keeping his clothes washed along with Jeong-Beom's since he was the only one without a woman to take care of him. But I couldn't hide for long, I had to return to the palace whether I liked it or not and finding what I started.

I questioned Chief Park for as long as I could until he took pity on us and told us everything he knew; my father was indeed engaged to be married since childhood to a noblewoman who had in fact chosen him to be her groom. They grew up together side by side unit he got sick of the noble world and wanted to make his own mark into the world. He abandoned his studies to become a doctor and started training with his weapons every moment he could spare. His parents couldn't make any sense if it and when he made it clear he would not continue onto the path they had chosen for him he was disowned. He travelled a much as he could; his skills earned him a good reputation all over until he was called into a gibang for a business deal and set his eyes on my mother who was causing a scene about how unfairly a customer was treating a kiseng after she had serviced him. In fact; my father was infatuated from the first moment he laid eyed on her, not unlike my brother and Hui-Jee. But the girl he was engaged to in childhood did not take it well...and it turns out that Nam-Jeon was equally as infatuated with my mother! The very thought of it made us sick, but luckily she knew what kind of person he would become so she always rejected his advances. She was not unlike myself when it came to my intellect, but she did indeed fall hard for my father shortly after crossing paths in the gibang. And when he found out that she was only there when her family had incurred some heavy debts due to her spoiled mother and that she wasn't actually there for long at all he got her out of there quickly before courting her. It actually made sense why Nam-Jeon bothered to put up with me at all...and the look h used to give me...

I made my way to my room in a sleepy trance...only to enter my room that had been completely ransacked and destroyed.

I couldn't believe it; all my clothes were torn to shreds, my accessories and mirrors had been shattered, my makeup destroyed and my notes...all my evidence and information I had collected over the year had completely disappeared....luckily I had kept copies of my findings to all the people helping me but still...who on earth knew where they were? Who had any reason to destroy all of my things? I ran around like a man woman, trying to salvage what I could but everything I had was damaged...as if someone had the passion to ruin every single item I owned and knew about it. Nothing of mine was spared, not even my bed! But I was still a little out of it as I booked an empty room in the nearest inn to stay overnight, but not before I got Jeong Beom's help to look into what happened.

Barely a week had passed before I began to feel like I was being...stalked. No matter what chore I completed or even in my own free time both inside and outside of the Palace, I felt like someone was close to me, following me all the time and watching me...even in my sleep. More than once did I feel something touch me under my blanket; I would even get sent my favourite foods, clothes, accessories...everything that had been destroyed in my room I was now receiving as gifts from an anonymous source, but no mater how much I got Jeong Beom's help in the matter as I was far to busy in my work like he could not come up with anything at all; it was as if I was being watched by a ghost.

Jeong Beom had recently written to me after another few days that I suddenly had a sponsor who he was aquatinted with who was responsible for my room and board at a Gaya home that the sponsor had ready for me. unpacked my thing in my new accommodation with Jeong Beom in tow helping me out. I was not ready to deal with what had happened last night, although I couldn't stop crying over it. I was just so confused and hurt, but I also knew that I had to carry on until I figured out who was onto me.

The home...actually looked suspiciously brand new. After spending the whole day unpacking I finally looked around a little. There were actually some servants coming in, something I wasn't made aware of...including some girls I had actually worked with in the past!

I had no idea why she was recruited to work under me but I could tell things were not going to be easy with her around for anyone. I tried to ask them if they knew anything about this mysterious sponsor but they were told not to say a word. The one I was closest to was coincidentally tasked to serve me personally and was also responsible for handling me my monthly allowance which was way more than I needed. I was a frugal person and didn't really need much but when I tired to ask her to return more than half of it to the sponsor, she replied that he was one of the most wealthiest in town and the amount he gave me was nothing to him. I got more and more curious about him but he was my brothers friend from god knows where and I didn't want to cross any boundaries. It was actually the biggest Gaya home I had seen and I was comfortable and grateful. I decided to write this sponsor a letter thanking him for everything he did for me and for his friendship with my brother...and I sent him some food we had all cooked together along with a general embroidery piece I was working on as a thank you gesture. Before I retired to be I found a tray of multi-coloured ribbons and some perfumes as a welcome gift, also from my sponsor, before meeting up with my brother and his girlfriend who had still had no idea where I was really working as I had banned him from visiting my previous work places as my colleagues liked to follow him around and flirt with him; thankfully Hui-Jee helped me out with this. The only thing my friends couldn't help me out with was with my man; no one had heard about him and I missed him more than I was able to cope with.