The Love They Never Had: The Nam Mansion

Chapter 87: Pyolyu (Drifting Away)

Even if I was set on being with Hui-Jee whom I liked a lot, I still expected Yeon to wait for me by the gate like she always did, no matter how late it was. I was supposed to meet up with Hui-Jee as she had sent me a letter that she had a surprise set up for me and I was fully intending to go, but not having Yeon in my sight was putting me on edge, and I could not rest until I at least saw her with my own eyes. I didn't know what I was going to do when saw her, but I knew that if I didn't see her soon then I was going to absolutely loose my mind. I was tired, but she still didn't approach me to tend to me like she used to and she hadn't even cooked for me at all, which really vexed me. There wasn't a single maid in this residence who could cook like she could or could tend to me like she knew how to. Instead, I got a bumbling ugly maid who had messed up every order she was given and it just set me on edge even more. Where was Yeon? What on earth was she playing at? Why was she cutting me off like this when I was the one who was supposed to do that? I already had a woman who took me out no matter how expensive the places were and how many gifts she wanted on top of the allowance I was giving her for daily necessities.

Since I didn't have any decent food and my father was nowhere in sight, I did end up going to Ihwaru three hours later in stony silence. It turned out that my 'surprise' was a stone cold barely cooked meal paired with a liquor that really didn't suit it at all. Hui-Jee was angry at me for being late, but that was the very least of my problems right now. I couldn't even focus on what Hui-Jee or any of her friends were saying until they mentioned my father's visit and the the young girl that he bought with him.

"You know, I am pretty sure that I have seen that girl from the marketplace. The one who comes out only once a month." "The pretty and short one? Didn't she always have a chaperone?" "You know what? She looks a lot like the one who used to have her fits and always had those 2 men follow her everywhere. But how do you know she went to the palace today?" "I saw her on the way back from visiting the third prince. The second prince pulled her out of the temple where she was being punished, right around the time where the Lady Min was found dead outside of the third prince's residence." Eve if I wanted to ask questions, I couldn't for fear of Hui-Jee asking me questions about Yeon. To protect the Seo's I had to tell her that they both died and she had no idea that I was harbouring Yeon under my own roof. She did keep looking over at me and I was having such a hard time keeping my composure. But with every sentence that her friend was telling us about Yeon in the palace, I had to keep balling my fists to keep my temper under control.

"The second prince? Why would she be with him rather than any other prince? He is a man that likes other men and she is a woman..." "She really is a woman. I do not know if she really is the girl who had those fits, but she has grown up very well. She really is the most beautiful girl that I have seen in this village, no girl in this brothel can certainly match up to her, not even Hui-Jee." "She must be younger than any of us right?" "About 18 years of age and at the peak of her beauty. Marble white skin without a hint of makeup, high cheekbones, pink full lips and breasts and a slim waist to match. And she has unusually thick hair, it must be so heavy. If she really is that poor girl, then it is no wonder why she had to wear pigtails even as a teenager. Can you imagine doing our intricate hairstyles with hair 3 times as thick as ours?" "Is she really that slim? She would get all the customers here if she ever set foot here." "Really?" "She looks as pure as any virgin I have seen...." "A girl like that will never end up in a place like this! She deserves a husband and a family! Not this crap!" I finally exploded and snapped at everyone before I stormed off to the palace with my anger levels flaring dangerously high. But Hui-Jee ran after me and tried to stop me, which was the most reckless thing that she could do in the mood that I was in.

"Where are you going! Can't we spend the night together? I have waited for you all along and I have missed you! You show up late, you barely touched anything I made for you and you were rude to my friends! What on earth is wrong with you? Why do you care about this girl so much? Is she...is she who I think she is?" "I BURIED THE SEO'S TOGETHER! THEY ARE DEAD! THEY DON''T EXIST ANYMORE, SO YOU SHOULD MOVE ON!" Why? Why couldn't Hui-Jee tend to me like Yeon did? We were supposed to be in love, but she just didn't understand me like Yeon did. I could be in the worst of moods and not say anything at all, and all she needed to do was to take a single look at me and tend to me quietly, but not without giving me something to console me, like extra dessert or one of her sweet teas. Even the food that Hui-Jee cooked for me was something similar to what the maids in my home made and...and no one did a better job of looking after me than Yeon, so I needed to bring her home right this minute or her brother would never forgive me, never mind myself.