𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐋𝐄 ♕ 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐊

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲

Gaeun's eyes followed Mu Deok as the maid stomped around the room, visibly frustrated that Wook refused to speak even after two weeks had passed. She had tried everything she could to rile him up but not a squeak escaped him.

"Stubborn bastard," Gaeun heard Mu Deok grumble as she cleared away the breakfast table, "Wasting time that could've been used for training."

Wook was out of hearing range, sitting idly on Gaeun's bed as he stared out the window. For the last few days, he had holed himself up in her room and taken his meals there, only stepping out when he wanted to bathe or spend time trying to manipulate the water in the bath.

Once Mu Deok was gone, Gaeun twisted in her seat in front of her dressing table and said to Wook, "As much as it pains me to say...she's right. You should be training."

"I am," he replied in a bored tone, pinching the leaves of a rosemary plant on her window, "I am training my breath."

She went back to adjusting the grand hairpin in her coiffure, "I meant swordsmanship. You need to maintain a steady breath while fighting and not just while sleeping."

"I've read up about it."

"Theory is different from practical usage, Wook. I can be your sparring partner if you want."

Gaeun liked the large red lilies on her hairpin. They looked lifelike amidst the golden leaves and covered much of the back of her head. It had been a present and an apology from her eldest brother who had been away on her seventeenth birthday. She was restricted to the desolate Winter Palace under the orders of the Dowager and had received a measly book and a long letter from her father and second brother respectively. There had been no celebration, of course, until Ren managed to sneak in their colleagues and a crate of the finest wine stolen from their Master's lodgings.

Nodding in approval at the shade of her lips, Gaeun turned to find Wook already scrutinizing her. "We can practice in the yard in my family's compound and you can surprise your Master by showing off your skills."

Instead of answering her, Wook leapt to his feet and stood up along with her. He frowned at her choice of clothing. "You hate wearing embroidered jackets," he said suspiciously, pointing at the bamboo leaves and cranes sewn into the ends of her maroon robes in gold and black. "You said they're heavy."

"The situation calls for it." She adjusted her hairpin once more and spun in front of the large mirrors with satisfaction.

Wook peered out of the room for any eavesdroppers before demanding in a whisper, "Who are you meeting?"

"A friend."

"Hyun Seok? Yoon Haneul? Jin Choyeon?"

Shooting him an unimpressed look, she interrupted his list of names by repeating firmly, "A friend."

He blocked her path stubbornly, "Tell me who it is. Is it that guy? The one you waited for in the forest?"

"Jang Wook," she tilted her head curiously and fought back a smug smile, "Jealousy isn't a good look on your face."

He moved his mouth wordlessly before scoffing. Crossing his arms over his chest, he said, "Please. I just don't want to be caught off-guard if someone tells me that you were seen somewhere you weren't supposed to be."

She stared at him without moving, suppressing a sliver of annoyance at his rude tone and implication. "I'm meeting a man whom I've been seeing behind your back," she told him, "to accept his proposal of escaping with him."