Desert • Flower | TaeJin || BOOK 3#

IX. Fear of a possible error

More than a week has passed and all Jin has done is stay in his room, eat, sleep, bathe and nothing else. Jin is worried about the lack of orders he receives from the owner of the house, he is the only one who is treated like this. The servants treat him very well, Jin has no complaints, however, he considers that the situation is too abnormal. Jin is not used to being treated well just because... Yes? there must be some kind of trap. On the other hand, he has had enough time to recover and feel better, let Eunji get completely better and perhaps continue on his way to wherever it is they may go.

Daring to go and talk to Taehyung scares him, Jin has the feeling that something bad might happen; that he is going to demand him to do things for having taken care of him, for having allowed him to stay in his house. Jin has thought about escaping, he can leave the room and go to the stable to take his horse; go wherever he wants, far away from here to avoid being found; as if he didn't have enough people looking for him already. Out of respect and that maybe he's being too paranoid, he decides to talk to Taehyung directly and tell him he's leaving.

Jin spruced up a bit, just enough to be presentable and heads to where he knows the master of the house is. Jin knocks on the door and soon receives an indication that he can come in. Jin stalls for a moment before speaking, Taehyung has a bright look on his face almost excited that he has come.

"Good morning, my lord." greets Jin.

"Good morning!" exclaims Taehyung rising. "I see you are feeling better already. I guess you came here to talk about it." he speaks hurriedly and tongue-tied, as if he was very excited.

"Yes, yes I do feel better, my lord." replies Jin tersely, Taehyung has trouble understanding what he is saying. Jin continues to speak in a very low tone of voice.

"Good! I'm glad to hear that. I was worried that you would be sick or it would take longer for you to recover. No one likes to be sick," Taehyung comments eloquently and laughingly. "On the other hand, and being that you are already healthy I need to ask you for a favor and in return you can stay here as long as you wish."

Jin looks at him with suspicion and some panic while he shakes his head.

"I'm very sorry, but I have to be on my way. I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you or caused expenses of any kind." Jin keeps rubbing his hands together under the long sleeves of his hanbok. Taehyung tilts his head to one side with a confused gesture.

"Go? Do you have anywhere to go?"

"No... Bu-but-"

"Listen to me first and after that consider whether to stay or not" Taehyung proposes. Jin continues in rubbing his hands together with an anguished expression on his face. "I need you to do something for me. It's very important and it's going to be simple. Like I told you before: if you do it I'm going to let you stay here with everything you need."

Taehyung doesn't know what's going on in his head that has him this upset, he looks close to tears. Taehyung makes Jin walk to the back of the house where the entrance to one of the larger gardens is, it has bright green grass and the occasional dog running around, playing. Seok is in charge of shooing them away and that they don't come through here they must. They are the smaller ones that have grown up a bit and he doesn't recognize them well anymore.

Jin doesn't understand what this garden has to do with whatever Taehyung might ask. He thought it would be something else, he hoped it would be taken by his room and if it had been, he would have punched him in the face to run away.

"I need you to make flowers, lots of flowers. You see, even though I have an earth dragon, I can't make them grow. Only fruit trees come out, some bushes with berries and vegetables, but no flowers have ever come out" The nobleman explains and the kisaeng looks much more confused. "You are a flowering dragon, so you must be able to make flowers no."