Chapter 153: Confrontations 6 (Daegyeol)

Witch? Liar? Conspirator? Gossiper? What on earth was going on here? What was he up to? Why was he accusing me of being a spy? What had he heard about me? Or had he seen something with his own eyes? Or did he…send people to spy on me? But when? Why? And for how long? What did he know? What did he think that he knew? What on earth was going on? I…I had made some advances to him in the past when I was too lonely, but he….he never accepted it. He never took the initiative to touch me at all and he had never even kissed me. What sort of lovers were we if he didn't initiate anything at all and he didn't accept me, didn't that typically mean that he was getting his attentions from elsewhere? He and Yeon were so close now, beyond their platonic brother and sister bond that they had for over a decade now. Either he always followed her around outside of this manor or she was always following him inside of it. No, it wasn't possible for him to find out anything at all. His cruel and twisted sense of abandonment and neglect had given him a rather twisted sense of petty justice. If he had ever found out that I had betrayed him, more than once, then even I knew that he would have killed me long ago.

"Shouldn't people make alliances in the palace? Don't you need support? Contacts? Wasn't that what you wanted from me in the first place!" "You do not spy on me! You do not write about me to random and unknown contacts! Who knows what you have told them about me and my plans!" "Nothing! I haven't said anything about it because you have never discussed it with me! I don't know a single thing about what you want, other than power!" "And that should show you how very little I trust you." "You say that with such a strong sense of righteousness. Clearly I cannot do anything right in your eyes, unlike Seo Yeon! Is that what this is about? Is that why you got so close to her? Did you start…grooming her when she lost her memories? Did you train her to become your perfect pawn? Is that why you want to marry her? So you can also protect her? Or do you feel guilty for using your dead friends little sister to satisfy you in all ways? Do you…think about her when you are with me? Since when? And for how long? And how long will you keep comparing me to her? And nit-pick at all of my faults! Why am I not good enough for you, but she is? Why!"

"I will keep comparing you both until they day you stop living in your delusions and stop following me around everywhere! Do you have any idea how much you are harming my reputation by following me around! Just leave me alone! How can you be in love with Hwi and chase me around! And for what! My wealth? That you have to pay back? Or my support, that you have never given me in return? Or do you wish to use me for other means? I only tried to support my friend's lover, how could you possibly twist my good intentions? I have given you everything that I possibly could and now? It seems unlikely that I can continue if you keep on misunderstanding me like this. I know that you can only be released from the brothel if you get married like your friend Hwa-Wol but…I have no intentions to marry you at all and just give you half of my father's wealth after that. And now? Every time that I see you, I will only remember tase cruel and bloody hands of yours." "What about Yeon! I may have tortured a girl, but she killed your father! What sort of twisted sense of logic is that!" "Yeon did what she did for me! Everything that she has done since her memory loss has been for me and me alone! And she has never hurt anyone before who was innocent! She alone shares my values and morals, unlike you! And you! In a moment of jealousy, you ruined someone's life! Now just leave us alone!"

"No! Why should I be the one to leave! She must leave! I haven't done anything wrong and I am the only woman who can be by your side! Only me! Because I am the beauty of the village and the only woman that you have ever loved! And still love! You are just…punishing me for a short time, I know that. Because you can never leave me, never…" "you can never even compare to Yeon. Your viciousness and maliciousness completely disgust me." He didn't even give me a chance to defend myself as he actually grabbed me by the hair and dragged me outside of the yangban himself where Yeon was waiting for him. I had never been treated in such a way, so I couldn't help but to freeze in shock as I was once again thrown onto the ground. But I still couldn't accept this; I had worked so hard and compromised so much just to get where I am and I will eventually get my revenge on everyone who put me in this position that I am in right now. I couldn't give up, no after all of the grief and betrayal that I had been through. I had to try at least one last time to regain what was rightfully mine before I was forced to take it from Yeon and switch places with her, because I was never going to be a lowborn living in poverty ever again.

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"Seon-Ho…" "Yeon, go inside and focus on your work whilst I keep your brother company tonight. This mess with Hui-Jae will end tonight and I need to explain everything to him before I…" "before you what?" "Ask your brother for your hand in marriage. And I will support you from then on; both in your studies and your business." "And what do you want in return? Apart from my help with your plans?" "I will discuss that with you later, you just try to butter him up so I have a better chance of him agreeing, I know that he will never deny you anything." "You…are you really being serious about this? You really want to marry me?" "Yeon, I have made myself perfectly clear to you that I have 100 reasons to marry you, including being true to my feelings for you. And if you doubt that, then I can meet you in bed later and…" "Good god man, haven't you had enough of me already, you spoilt brat?" "Oh Yeon, I haven't even had my fill of you yet. Now give me a kiss before heading upstairs and do not go to bed too late. I want to escort you to school and work from now on."

I watched her turn away from me with flushed cheeks before I made my way to Hwi, but it was odd that I couldn't see Sung-Rok anywhere. I always ended my nights with meetings with him and that scrounger would always raid my kitchen halfway through. I had been through a lot today and I just wanted to sleep, but I know that Hwi heard everything that Hui-Jae had said today and now was the time for him to reveal himself to her since she clearly wasn't going to listen to me and just leave me in peace.

But I had some last minute things to clear up in my office before I retired for the night. I really didn't want to, but my OCD that my father instilled in me wouldn't let me rest until I got my affairs in order and ready for the next day. And now that I had so many unplanned guests in my home, I needed to devise a plan to take care of everyone whilst moving forward in my own plans, which unexpectedly indicated itself with Yeon's schooling….but how was I going to do this without harming her?

"Is that why you got so close to her? Did you start…grooming her when she lost her memories? Did you train her to become your perfect pawn? Is that why you want to marry her? So you can also protect her? Or do you feel guilty for using your dead friends little sister to satisfy you in all ways? Do you…think about her when you are with me? Since when? And for how long? And how long will you keep comparing me to her? And nit-pick at all of my faults! Why am I not good enough for you, but she is? Why!" I couldn't get those words out of my head as soon as I sat down. What was going on with me? Did I really…love Yeon? Like properly and purely…in love with her? Or was I just functioning off of my own selfish desires and lust for the young girl who was ripe and ready for me whenever I wanted her? I mea, she had good hostess skills and she was kind, emphatic, patient and loving and…detailed, through, firm and wise and she…my god, she had the heart of a child, the body of a woman and she had me like I was already her husband from the very first time that I…had her. She was so innocently curious when it came to sex ad finding out what pleased her any myself, she rarely denied me anything and…I just couldn't get enough of the girl. But wasn't that just lust? She had become an intricate part of my plans and I was in lust with her, but wasn't that all? I even had a marriage plan ready for her with our future mapped out but…love? What the hell did I know about love? Or Yeon for that matter? Or even Hwi? We were all orphans and my mother…did love me on some level I suppose? But love…what did that have to do with anything at all? I liked whatever it was that I had with Yeon and I had gotten to the stage that I would do almost anything to keep it that way. I wanted her mind for work, her body on mine and her heart…her heart had to belong to me. For our future to work out. For my plans and maybe even hers. Yes, that was it, that was the only reason why I wanted- needed to marry her. Out of necessity. And because I felt guilty about taking her chastity before marriage like a decent gentleman, I was going to make up for it by giving her the position of the main wife that I had previously promised to Hui-Jae, and that was why she was…struggling to let me go. It wasn't an easy decision, but I couldn't keep both women around and I had to make some sort of sacrifice that I knew Yeon was going to make up to me sooner or later, as long as I treated her well and I was faithful to her…

These same thoughts kept rolling around in my mind when I felt a pair of freezing cold hands twisting themselves around my waist as I almost jumped into the air due to the mystery of it all. Yeon knew that I hated surprises, so why would she do this? Did that make sense to anyone else? Or just me?