Chapter 148: Confrontations 1 (Daegyeol)

"Yeon, look at me. If I told you that I have never even touched her, would you believe me?" "No I would not." "That is your loss then. I can d nothing if you want to live in your own delusions, but you will live under my roof Seo Yeon. As an unmarried woman, you will have no independence until you..." My goodness, he really was telling me the truth after all. Myself and my brother heard everything when we hid ourselves behind the door per his instructions. But I couldn't help but to worry more about my brother in that moment, who looked like he was truly over the matter, but that was only the expression that he was forcing himself to make, and most likely for my sake. Seon-Ho already had a room set up for him and he looked like he needed all the sleep that he could get, in fact they both did. And now that I had come home from school, I had some time to tend to them both before I carried on with my embroidery work that I had restarted when I was locked in this home under Seon-Ho's command.

Myself and my brother were close, but we still had some boundaries between us and we never talked about each other's lovelies, not that we had much of one ourselves. Luckily enough, I myself had more than enough time to prepare him for this situation with his ex-lover actively chasing Seon-Ho himself and throwing herself on him now that he wanted nothing to do with her at all. But her kidnapping Ae-Cha and torturing her over nothing was a new side to her that we had never seen before and I was honestly glad now that my brother also saw her true colours in time to just get over her already and find someone else more suited to him.

"Brother..." "I have heard enough sister, please take me to my room where I can get some sleep. And bring some food up to me soon..." "Do not worry brother, I shall take care of you for the duration of your stay here. Get some sleep and I shall fill up your bath for you as soon as you wake up with some nice hot food and sweet tea for you, just how you like it. And brother..." "Yes?" "None of this is your fault and you know it. Do not be sad over an opportunist like her, burn everything that she gave you and just move on." "I know sister, but I really do not wish to talk about it anymore..." "Brother? Shall I...." "I need to do this on my own sis, after some hours of rest and good food. And sis?" "Yes?" "Tend to me only and keep to your quarters, do not seek out Seon-Ho unless you have to." "I know my conduct here has been nothing but respectful and you know that yourself." "Good, now focus on your work and tend to me when I call for you."

My brother was in a quiet mood, but so was Seon-H since I didn't believe him about his relationship with Hui-Jae and I was starting to feel really bad about it. As soon as I tucked my brother into bed myself, I quickly ran down to see Seon-Ho just aimlessly wandering around his home, lost in thought. He also needed some sleep and I had a hard time trying to convince him to rest in his quarters. I had to throw myself at him and hug him from behind him for a while and drag him to his bed by the hands and tuck him in myself. "I am so sorry that I didn't believe you..." "So what are you going to do to make up for this?" "What do you want me to do? Is there anything you want me to make for you?" "Do you think that food can fix this?" "Then what do you want from me? Tell me?" "You need to marry me, and you need to beg for me on your knees to make up for everything that you are putting me through with your secrets and your plans that you do not trust me with." "Seon-Ho...can't you just rest already? Yourself and my brother have both been through so much already, and we are all busy with our individual plans. What does it matter to you what my plans are? Please just pace yourself, look after yourself and..." "you have to look after me. Only you, when you marry me, that is." "Seon-Ho..." "Yeonnie, I am sorry that I will never be able to give you the true love and devotion that you deserve, but as long as I am living and breathing, you are my only lifeline in this world in every single aspect, more than marriage. I am sorry, but that is just how it is. But if you give me a chance, a real one, then I will never let you regret it. This is the one and only time that I will ask you sincerely. And if you reject me now, then I shall not be responsible for my actions."

I still had a hard time believing all of this to be true and genuine, despite him doing everything that he possibly could to show me that he was faithful to me now. For his own grand plans, he could sacrifice anyone and cross any boundary to get what he wanted. He already did it with my own brother and he had me almost competing for him with another woman. I still couldn't get pass everything that he put me through and for someone who was so starved of love himself, he really didn't seem to know what it was apart from possession, exactly like his father. But on the other hand, his small gestures were really woking their way through my heart and I was beginning to melt, just like before when we were in his father's roof. But there were still so many things that he didn't know about, that I was hiding not just from him, but from everyone in my life.

"Yeonnie." "Yes?" "Where do you think you are going?" "I am going to make food and..." "I have been assigned a chef from the palace for a reason. Take a break and join me in bed...and take your clothes off."

*********************

I had to take a walk around the village to cool down since I was on my own and Hwa-Wol had mysteriously disappeared as soon as we entered the premises of Seon-Ho's home that I was apparently banned from entering. He wouldn't even put me in a room for a short while, in fact, he wasn't willing to accommodate me at all for his beloved Yeon. If only she knew about the plans that he had in store for her before he tossed her aside before his biggest promotion in the palace that he could realistically get before we planned for an even brighter future together, full of the wealth, fame and good reputation that we had both been denied due to our birthrights. We...well I never really took the time to realise that we really had so much more in common with each other than I did with Hwi and Yeon had with Seon-Ho. We really were the perfect match together; we were both angry, fiercely ambitious, unnaturally thirsty for revenge and justice and we just waned to be recognised for our talent and abilities just like everyone else. Seo Hwi would always be my one and true love but...but if I had remained with him, then I could now see that our relationship really would't have progressed anywhere at all. He would have always been a lowborn with no real aspiration in life to progress anywhere in life. For his sister's sake, he would have remained a lowborn for his entire life if it meant to secure her safety and well-being. I would have always been no more than a second thought to him, even in my most desperate times. Unlike Seon-Ho, who really did always put me first no matter what...

"Madame! I have finally found you!" "What is it?" "Just look over there! I have never seen such green chrysanthemums before!" "Green chrysanthemums symbolise good fortune, rebirth, renewal and good health. Who is picking out so many of them at once? They are quite rare, special and expensive..." "It is the Young Master Nam! He has his own men buying every single stem that he can find in the village. They must be in a rush to deliver gifts for you to makeup for your fight earlier on! There is no other noble lady around him to appreciate such special flowers!" "Indeed, you must be right! Hey! You! Servant! Come over here! Are my green flowers too heavy to carry? You can place them directly in the carriage that I arrived in and..." "The Young Master Nam has picked these our for the Young Mistress Yeon." No, no this couldn't be happening at all. I have fought with Seon-Ho before, and it has never gotten this bad. He never would have dared to throw anything back in my face and tossed me out onto the streets like this before. \

"Madame! Please forgive me!" "Slap yourself 100 times! Do it! And when you are finished, write a letter to the brothel to expel all of our flower decorations from there at once! I do not wish to lay eyes on another chrysanthemums ever again in my life!"

I was so full of rage that I couldn't help but to feel a sharp pain coming from my stomach, it was so sharp in fact that I couldn't help but to feel my knees buckle from under me and I collapsed right onto the ground before I could even open my mouth to call out for Seon-Ho to help me, just like I knew that he would.