NEFARIOUS

7 / 일곱

  Eun Jae couldn't find his his twin sister anywhere.

  She should have been working at the tea house since dawn came, yet her presence remained unknown. It had always been like this, she disappeared without any traces behind, left Eun Jae with questions that would not be answered. But when he stepped into the cabin, there she was, sitting on the wooden chair with her hands dancing around her crossbow.

  Eun Hye let her shoulder-lenght hair fell over her pure white jeogori, and underneath the table, her joggy pants- baji- shared the same color as her upper garment. Women did not usually wear those garments, but the sight of her sister wearing them was familiar in Eun Jae's memories.

  He had warned her to wear chima like any other women so that she would not be an attention in the crowd, yet his sister simply said,That skirt isn't made to fight. It was the truth. But the risk was too high until Jung-Hee told her to simply wear gat continously. And she did. Now she only wore women hanbok when she worked in the tea house.

  He had been standing near the door, but she did not react at Eun Jae's attendance.

  "You disappeared again," said Eun Jae loudly to reach Eun Hye's attention. He darted toward her. Yet she still did not look at him.

  "So?"

  "So," repeated Eun Jae. "Where did you go?"

  Hye shrugged lazily. "A place where I don't have a lousy brother who can't shut his mouth close."

  Eun Jae glared at her. He tried to reach her mind, but only to be received by her blazing look. A Masulsa would sense if their fellow, especially the mind controller, trying to get into their head. And it surely pissed him off.

  "Nevertheless," Eun Jae added calmly, "this lousy brother does not want to see you hang in public."

  Eun Hye only grinned childishly. "You become more amusing when you care about me."

  "I do not want to see you die."

  "That is another synonym of 'I love you so much, my dear sister. Please don't leave me alone.'"

  "I wouldn't want to waste my three million mun if I were you."

  Hye's grin widened, but soon vanished as she looked at the wooden door.

  Eun Jae focused his mind on the entrance, preparing for an enemy. Their eyes, Eun Jae reminded himself. It's always been their eyes first. Hye snatched her bow and put an arrow on it, pointing at the door in ready.

  The door was opened with a low groan, revealing a shadowed figure with gat hanging around his head. Eun Jae met the eyes of smoky quartz and sharp jaw in the flickering of torchlight on the either side of the door. It was Jung-Hee.

  Eun Jae heaved a low sigh, but his twin sister only stared at the assassin.

  "You make sounds when you walk," announced his twin sister, lowering the bow toward its origin place. Of course, Eun Jae did not hear anything at all. It was no surprise. "It's rare of you. Do you bring something?"

  Jung-Hee flashed a smirk. "Aware as usual, Hye?" he patted his pocket, some goods in them made a ruffled clink sound. "I've crossed an opportunity on the way here. Fortune is in love with me."

  Eun Jae narrowed his gaze. The image of Jung-Hee, watching in the dark, preying on a rich lady passing by flashed in his mind, as if the memory itself became his. "I don't think it's worth your time."

  "A jewel?" asked Hye. "You must be in a very dark mood then."

  "No. Care to tell your little sister here, Eun Jae?"