Noir

Chapter 2 - Friends

I stared at the room full of men, all staring at me in complete shock. Yixing was the closest to me, next to his father, and the governor was in the center. A cluster of young men and their presumable fathers were all staring at me, and I felt my face burn red.

"Li Yuen," Yixing frowned, stepping towards me. "Let her go. Jikyung is my wife."

I pulled away from Yuen roughly, scowling at him, and Yixing's father spoke up, his voice placating. "What is wrong, Jikyung?"

"I was walking by, I heard your conversation," I explained, flustered and distancing myself from Yuen. "I couldn't help but overhear - "

"This is not a discussion for a woman's ears," The governor said, frowning at me, and I scowled back at him. "Zhang Yixing, if you wouldn't mind escorting her out of the room."

"Of course," He bowed and took my arm. "I'm sorry you had to hear that." He said as we walked out of the room.

"Why were they speaking about enlistment?" I asked, as we stopped in the room where we had eaten breakfast. "Is there a war?"

"The emperor is asking for a member of each family to enlist in the army from this region. It's something that periodically happens when troops are low," Yixing explained. "I may or may not need to enlist. We're still working things out."

I frowned, looking away from him. Then, a horrible thought crossed my mind. If Yixing were to perish in battle, I could go home... I pushed it away quickly, because wishing for anyone to die was a horrible thing, especially one's spouse.

"Who were the other men there?" I asked.

"Family friends and other nobles from the region, Wu Yifan, Xiumin, Lu Han, Chen, and Huang Zitao," Yixing explained. "There was a regional meeting of the different nobles and their sons. I'm sorry that you had to see this. I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure."

"It isn't your fault," I said quietly.

"I'll come back for you when the meeting's over," Yixing said, leaning in, and it was only too late when I realized what he was about to do. He planted a light kiss on my lips, and I stared at him in shock, wanting to pull away in disgust but not wanting to shame him at the same time. When he broke the kiss, I bowed my head so that he couldn't see my face, and waited for him to walk away.

~~~~~

It was an hour or so before Yixing had returned, and by then, I had already immersed myself in a game of mahjong with three other servants to pass the time. I heard him and his friends speaking loudly in the courtyard before I saw them, and heard one of them in particular say, "You haven't yet?" There were gales of laughter, and Yixing sheepishly replied.

"No. I don't want to force her - "

"You're her husband!" The same man said. "You can do whatever you want to!"

"I don't want her to hate me!" Yixing laughed. "I have to spend the rest of my life with her, I want us to be happy."

"And do you want to stay a virgin forever?" Someone else said in a low voice, and there was more laughter. I felt my blood boil with anger, knowing for certain that they were talking about me. I hated that, and I hated him.

Yixing and his friends entered the room, and I looked up from the game of mahjong, fighting to keep my anger from showing.

"Jikyung-ah," Yixing smiled warmly, and I wanted to punch him. I was a human being, not an object. "These are my friends - " He gestured to the man on his left, and the two on his right. "Wu Yifan, Huang Zitao, and Chen."

I bowed respectfully, and Chen spoke. I recognized his voice as the man who was teasing Yixing outside, and I instantly disliked him.

"A pleasure to meet you," He said, bowing low with the others.

"The pleasure is mine," I replied in Chinese, and Yifan smiled.

"Your Chinese is excellent, Jikyung," He complimented, and I smiled wanly at him, trying to conceal my anger.

"Thank you," I smiled, and Yixing turned to his friends, bidding his goodbyes. I stared at them in anger, especially Chen, because he had been the one instigating this entire thing.

A thought came to me just then, a wicked thought, and most certainly, a forbidden one. If tonight, I could somehow sneak out when night fell and run, run away from Yixing and this whole mess. I had no idea were I would go, but I knew that I couldn't stay here any longer with my dignity intact.