Two White Roses

Chapter 2

Min So Hwa looked on as Eun Hee ran to get the ball. They were playing outside, and a ball wasn't the usual play toy of a young girl, but So Hwa was a bit of a tomboy. Eun Hee was weaker, more respectful, but she had no choice but to agree with So Hwa. Her mother had made it clear about the class difference in Joseon. Min So Hwa was the daughter of a nobleman, and she was a slave. It was the kindness of So Hwa and her mother Lady Min that let her to even be friends with her.

Eun Hee was sweet, her innocence was charming. She looked dazzling in all the hanboks mother brought for her. Now all the neighbourhood boys had eyes for no one else. Even her own mother, Lady Min, brought lovely hanboks for her. And she was a slave, she had no right to receive those.

Around So Hwa, Eun Hee acted obedient, like she knew nothing. They were still just twelve, and the attention Eun Hee gained was already threatening her.

In the afternoon, the two children walked hand in hand. So Hwa looked at Eun Hee. She had promised herself not to hate her best friend. She remembered what her mother said. Eun Hee was weaker than her, poor, and she deserved being pitied. She was her friend, who shared everything with her, her mother had said. So Hwa hadn't been convinced. She had remained as stubborn as ever. Then her mother had said something different.

Eun Hee was sick, so sick no one knew how long she would live. Her life was like a candle near an open window. No one knew when the wind would blow, when the flame would extinguish. So Hwa had felt tears welling in her eyes. At that moment, she promised herself to make things better for Eun Hee. She was her friend, and friends stick together till the end.

The two children were walking to the bookshop. It was a bit of a weird hobby for girls, but Lord Min always encouraged them to do something different. The nobleman had been much nicer after the children had entered his life. He enjoyed telling them stories, and it made him happy inside. He shuddered when he thought of the crime he had almost committed years ago. Every night he thanked his wife, for the wise decision she had taken. Lady Min was also impressed at her husband's improvement. Now she wondered how life would have been without these two sweethearts, they were both her daughters in one way or the other. Life would never have been the same.

So Hwa smiled at the owner of the bookshop. He smiled back at the two of them, a twinkle in his eyes. The two children were regular visitors to the bookshop, and he remembered the past, when he had lifted the two onto his shoulders and took them around the shop, helping them reach for the books on high shelves. Now So Hwa was too grown for that. Eun Hee was still as light as ever, but he understood that So Hwa would be hurt if he lifted only Eun Hee.

The two children walked between the bookshelves, searching for a book they hadn't read yet. So Hwa picked up a new book, and soon sunk into it, not even noticing the time. She was surprised to see the sun, red and half sunk as she stood up. It was close to the evening. She should go now. She went to the bookshelf to keep the book she had been reading. She placed the book on the shelf, and suddenly felt someone standing beside her.

She thought it was Eun Hee and turned around, suprised to see it wasn't. It was Kim Nam Yoo, the son of nobleman Kim Sang In. He was also the boy every girl was trying to please. Even So Hwa. She looked at him, unable to remove her eyes of his amazing face, and felt a pile of books drop from the hand she was holding them with.