Fate

Chapter 178

Mina's P.O.V.
"You're going to the palaces? I didn't think of sunbae as a public space romantic."

I hadn't heard Leedo's voice in weeks! "You'd be surprised!"
I certainly wasn't. We might be light on PDA, but he was the one who was less worried about our relationship being depicted in articles.
"We didn't get the chance to go together, and I believe that we're going to have an interesting talk on their history."

I could FEEL him rolling his eyes at me. "History? Couple of nerds! You're supposed to enjoy the view, the beauty, how grand they are... Not wars and politics."

That was his point of view. "I think it's the reason why they're so grand!"
I took a glance outside of my room. "I'm gonna have to hang up, but we will text later. Okay?"

A laugh. "Sure thing. Have a good time. I'm glad that you sound happier than the last time I called."

Trust me, I am too. Crying over the phone wasn't a good look. "Hopefully, it stays that way! Bye!"

When I ended the call, my boyfriend entered the bedroom, hanbok untied, while I was still trying to put it on the proper way, like Joonie's mother had shown me. The one I bought with Meg was already tied and the skirt had an elastic waist. It wasn't the real thing.. I only practiced once with the garment his mother kindly brought to teach me that day. The traditional one was more intricate, more delicate, and I wanted to do it honour. "Having trouble, Kitten?-... That's beautiful.."

How could he say that? I only had the skirt on and a tube top she suggested I put before the actual top. "I'm not even half dressed."
I looked and motioned at him through the mirror.
"Need help with that?"

He smiled. "I do, but I've been thinking that you might need a hand as well."

A sigh escaped my lips. "Shows that much, huh?"
I put the top on and fumbled with tying it once on.
"I'll get the hang of it eventually, right?"

"Of course, you will. That little piece just goes in here, not there. See?"
Right! Right.
"It's no big deal to ask. I came to you."

I fixed what he asked me to. "I know, but your mom took time to show me how, so I can do it by myself at your cousin's wedding. I'm gonna need a lot more practice than I thought."

"Min, it didn't take you that long."
Did he not catch it?
"You.. saw my mother again?"

"Well.. Yes. I do need to be on her good side, no?"
And learn how the ceremony goes, what the etiquette is. I can't embarrass you. Besides, she's been kind.
"What about it?"

A chuckle. "Keep this up and she'll be wrapped around your finger."
He took a better look.
"Was the purple subliminal messaging?"

"No, it wasn't." I mean.. I do love a nice lilac, indigo or violet like any random person. However...
"It's blatantly obvious! Can't be more in your face than this, can it?"

I made him laugh. "Unless there's an ARMY or a BTS logo hidden somewhere, I think not."

Namjoon's P.O.V.
That got me curious.. "What's the color of the other?"

"Do you really have to know?"

Please? "Like that, I can see if we're going to match or not."

She gave in. "It's pink, more like coral. It DOES have navy blue accents. Happy?"

Very! I'm sure it's as stunning. Wait.. Did she?.. "Did you check with my cousin? For the colors."

Min seemed offended I'd think she didn't. Her little glare was endearing. "How dare you? Of course, I checked! She said it's perfect."

If she had no objections, I didn't either! "Great, then let's go show that one off. I have a few pieces of history I doubt you know."

"Oh, do you now?"

"Yes, I do!" I offered her my arm.
"Willing to hear them?"

She laced her arm with mine.
"I could listen to you talking all day."
.
.
.
"After the fall of Goryeo and the establishment of Joseon in 1392, the Sunheung Ahn clan still remained one of the most powerful and famous noble families, and was known for being one of the Six Greatest Clans in the Kingdom."

"Really?" Min frowned as we made our way into the first palace of the day.
"I always thought the main three clans were Kim, Seok, and Park. Was it not?"

"Well, noble clans and families do get mixed up in English textbooks. They're not synonyms. The three you named are the royal clans, but there are six noble families: Yi, Jeong, Cho, Sohn, Bae, and Seol."
My partner truly didn't have a poker face.
"What's wrong, Foxy? We can probably see that face and confused head tilt from the other end of the palace grounds."

"That doesn't make sense." She looked up at me.
"The Sunheung Ahn clan wasn't in the list you gave me just now."

"You're right. It'll make sense when I tell you that the Sunheung Ahn clan lost its power in the mid-15th Century, because of its support of King Danjong. Do you know what happened to King Danjong?"

History lover, that woman. "Wasn't he overthrown during some political conflict?"

I smiled. "You're right about that. It was a big deal! After that, the clan led the movement to restore Danjong back to the throne, which is one of the many tragedies in the history of the Joseon Dynasty. Once the plan failed, the Sunheung Ahn clan lost its status as one of the most prestigious clans."

"Wow.. Talk about a high price to pay, but it does fit the crime."
The crime?
"Don't give me that look. Any revolution comes with a price. Sadly for them, they were not aligned with what most wanted. We forget that not every revolt is for a good cause. Remember January 6th 2020 in the US. It was depicted like a foolery instead of a revolt because the people that showed up who weren't happy with the newly elected officials were a slim margin of the population. The one leading the revolt wasn't the brightest either."

That was quite the burn there. "Careful with that sharp tongue, Beautiful!"

She stood in front of me and did quotation marks with her fingers. "Allegedly."

I couldn't hold my snickers. "Yup. That's it, cover your ass in case someone else heard you!"

Min nudged me before taking hold of my arm again. "This isn't 1984 the CCTV's don't have ears."

"They could! You never know!"

"Joonie!" After a good laugh and a walk to our next destination, she was eager to pull at my sleeve.
"Ouh! Can we look at that market? It smells so good and it looks like there's cute stuff in there too."

"Am I gonna have to carry a bag of things home?"

She pouted. "No.. I'll be reasonable. Promised?"

With me? Never. "Fine, but we get a snack."

"Perfect!"
I wonder, does she notice? Does she see how often she smiles? Does she notice that she's much more of a hugger than she was when we met? Does she see how happy she looks? Did she realize that I could pick her out in a crowd simply by the way she walked and stopped to look at things? Did she understand how happy it made me to see her enter our place every day?
"Moonie, look! There's a hotteok stand! I'll get us one, okay?"

"Sure!" Whatever you want, Foxy.. Whatever you want.