Chapter 13: Harvest Festival pt.2

Music graced the festival with a lively atmosphere, and there were sounds of chatter and laughter from the growing crowd.

In the crowd, a trio of young people maneuvered through the sea of festival-goers. Yunho's hair shone under the festival lights, making him stand out in the dull crowd. Particularly bright hair and eye colors were mostly seen in those of noble birth. Most commoners were brunettes with dark eyes, so Yunho was drawing attention. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Yunho pulled up the hood of his coat.

Nym looked back at the other two and pointed to a nearby stand that was emitting an especially sweet aroma.

"That stand is selling candied fruits!" The boy said, excitedly. Hearing his words, Aris also shared the expression of anticipation but quickly lost it as she turned to Yunho. Nym also froze.

"How could I be so stupid? Why would the young master want to eat such lowly food?" Nym thought, his hopes dashed. Though he knew that Iris had had quite a change of heart recently, there were some things that nobles just were, right? Even though Iris agreed to go to the festival, Nym didn't think he'd want to eat food from "some untrained commoner".

Yunho looked at the two, now silent servants. He made a confused expression. Why did they both have such a drastic change in attitude? Unless…they didn't think he also wanted to go to the stand. Iris was of noble birth after all, and it was already uncommon for him to be here at all. Yunho let out a small chuckle. His gem-like blue eyes curled into pretty half-moons.

"Why don't we go check it out, then?" Yunho said, smiling. He walked over to the stand, the stunned Aris and Nym behind him. They quickly regained their senses and shared a surprised but excited look. The two quickly followed Yunho to the stand.

The vendor was an older gentleman with greying brown hair. He was operating the stand and making the sugar-coated fruits which looked like common fruits like grapes and oranges stuck on a thin wooden dowel. There was a thin, glassy sugar coating wrapped around each fruit. The man had handed a parent and child two sticks of candied fruit when he spotted them.

Yunho looked at the stand, and his blue eyes glittered with expectation. He hadn't ever tried candied fruits before. But looking at the ones in front of him, his mouth was starting to water.

"Are you young people interested in buying a stick?" The vendor said. His eyes lingered on Yunho whose face, though lightly obscured by shade, still showed longer than the rest.

Yunho gave the man a smile and nodded. He took out a small pouch, looking back up at the man.

"How much is three?" He asked.

The man answered, still taking furtive glances at Yunho's face, "Only two bronze coins. I'm giving a bit of a discount to everyone. Festival spirit, after all."

Yunho nodded and paid the man the two coins. The vendor handed him the three candied fruit sticks which Yunho quickly gave two of to Aris and Nym. Both servants grabbed the treat as if it was a treasure.

The group walked off, and Yunho gazed at the good in his hand. Nym immediately bit into it, letting out an appealing crunch. Aris followed, her expression showing how much she was enjoying the candied fruit.

Yunho looked at the two then back at the skewered fruit. He thought he'd seen something like it on the hospital TV, but he hadn't ever eaten candied fruit before. Especially as his condition grew worse in his previous life, his meals at the hospital would only consist of easy-to-digest food which didn't exactly include many treats.

His fruit stick consisted of what looked like the green grapes he was used to but with a hard, glassy layer on top. Yunho edged it towards his mouth before finally biting it. There was an audible crunch as he bit in and chewed. The youth's eyes lit up. It was…good.

Yunho took another bite. The glassy layer was actually hardened sugar which melted in his mouth once he took a bite. His eyes sparkled. This was his first time eating street food in both this life and the previous one, but this tasted so good. Yunho happily continued eating the treat, not noticing Aris and Nym were now looking at him. The two servants shared a look before laughing. They shared the same thought: "So this is what the young master is really like?"

—

About 30 minutes had passed since the festival had started.

The trio had been hopping from stand to stand and walking around. More people had arrived since they came, and the atmosphere was even livelier.

They had just left a stand selling honey cakes, and Nym was happily munching on one. Aris was looking around excitedly. They both had given up the "this is for young master" act and openly showed their giddiness by now.

"Where should we go next?" She asked, scanning the festival for another activity.

The sky was a rich blue now with clusters of glittering stars. Yunho was looking around when a certain stand caught his eye. The vendor was wearing a dark cloak. Yunho, of course, found this suspicious and clearly wasn't the only one since the stand was pretty isolated.

But what caught his attention were the things for sale on the stand's counter. The stand was selling jewelry and other fine accessories. It stood out against the typical food and cheap good vendors in the festival.

"How about we head there?" Yunho replied, pointing to the lone stand.

Aris and Nym turned to him with a vague look of surprise on their faces. They also noticed the stand but thought it was shady and didn't want to go. Aris rubbed her arm.

"Young master, are you sure? It's a bit…" She started.

"I'm aware. I just want to check it out," Yunho said, stopping her before she could finish.

Aris looked at Nym who shrugged.

"We'll just leave if it's no good. This is a public space after all," the servant boy said.

The trio approached the isolated state. Yunho could get a better look at the goods for sale. It was just what he thought he saw from far away.

There were gemmed bracelets and earrings, but the thing that caught Yunho's eyes was an embroidered blue handheld fan. It had fine details and lace, making swooping vines and bird patterns on the edge. It was a bit too delicate for a man. But one just had to have eyes to see the craftsmanship that went into it. Plus, considering his current appearance, Yunho had to admit that the fan suited him.

The vendor seemed surprised that someone finally approached their stand. They looked up, adjusting their cloak so as to not expose their face. They looked at the fan in Yunho's hand.

"Are you interested in that fan, young man? I'll sell it for 8 bronze coins," They said. Their voice was high and had the lilt of a woman.

Yunho's eyebrows raised. The fan was obviously worth more. He wouldn't even mind paying a silver coin for quality this high.

"8 bronze coins? Are you sure?" He said.

The cloaked woman hesitated.

"I'll take 6…" she said in a lower voice.

There was an audible gasp from Aris who, with Nym, was watching the interaction. She also could see the quality of the fan Yunho was holding. A price of 6 bronze coins was absurd. Yunho's slight fingers brushed against the fabric of the fan, feeling the embroidery. He looked up.

"May I ask why you're selling these, especially for such a low price?" Yunho asked, a bit suspicious.

The woman hesitated before reaching a hand up and taking off her cloak hood. Once her face was revealed, Yunho's breath hitched, but he made no audible sound.

The woman's face was covered with burns from her forehead to her neck. One eye was white and blind, and the other's eyelid drooped. She fidgeted with her hand.

"My home caught on fire with my husband and I in it. We were sleeping, so we couldn't control the flames in time," the woman started, "He's still not well, and I need to pay for his treatment. Such precious items belong to those of adequate beauty anyways…"

Yunho's lips turned down into a downward curve. He thought about the woman's words. She was selling such valuable things to pay for her husband's treatment, so she had to take any money a customer would give. Yunho sighed and reached inside the pouch he brought with him. He placed 3 silver coins into the woman's hand.

The woman's eyes widened and she gasped. Every silver coin was worth 50 bronze coins. It wasn't considered much money to wealthy people like merchants or nobles, but to her, it was a fortune.

"No…I can't. You can take everything here! I'm so grateful!" The woman said, clutching the 3 coins in hand.

Yunho shook his head.

"No, you can keep it. I'll just take the fan. You also deserve nice things," Yunho said, taking the fan and turning around.

Aris and Nym followed him. They were still recovering from the shock of the whole scenario. Aris couldn't help looking back at the stand as they left and returned to the town's main pathways. Nym was with her. The once spoiled, selfish young master just gave 3 silver coins to a commoner for only a fan in exchange for it?!

Aris and Nym turned back but went dead silent as they realized what had just happened. Their young master was no longer in front of them, and the crowd was too dense to see very far in front of them. In their shock, they had forgotten to keep going and ended up falling behind then becoming separated.

The two servants shared a "we're so screwed" look.

They had lost Iris!!!

—

End of Chapter 13-

Harvest Festival pt.2