Sung Hyun

제 |11| 장

Dedicated to Nyra Hills, who has fueled my hope to finish this story. Thank you!

'When forbidden without plausible reason, at first, you crave to find out why, then once all hope is lost, you stop questioning and you eat the apple with a smile, yearning for a little sugar before the poison .'

The small mirror reflected the bright morning sunlight into Sung Hyun's eyes making the darkness of her chocolate irises appear hazel, a dark circle surrounded them, a symbol of youth, enhancing her large dark pupils.

She had stolen her mother's makeup box. Intrigued by the thought of appearing beautiful. An image that Sung Hyun wasn't used to seeing. In fact it's one she had been prohibited from seeing. She opened up the box revealing several strange items. All she knew about them was that they are meant to make her look pretty.

The past seventeen years of her life she spent as a male.

First her father had tried to convince her that she was a male but at ten years of age she knew well enough that she was none of what he said to her.

Sunghyun swum yet again in the dark sea of her mind. She didn't know what she was thinking about exactly, she just knew her mind was trapping her again in the catastrophe of overthinking her tragic life. She was an exceptional swimmer. She never drowned in her sea, but once in a while, she would accidentally gulp down some sea water.

Sunghyun shakes her head fiercely trying to get her mind back to the current moment.

Her eyes land back on the box in her hand as the corners of her lips threatened to touch her ears, "New let's see!" Sunghyun's hand hovered over the strange items in front of her, with the same wide grin on her face, struggling to pick one, until she grabbed the tiny jar with a red substance inside. "This is probably for the lips." she reluctantly placed her index finger in the red substance, inspecting her finger before rubbing the red on her lips.

Using the mirror to guide her, she carefully placed the red hue around her chapped plumb lips.

Once she outlined her lips, practically dipping them in crimson she grabbed the mirror once again, studying her own face as if she's staring at someone else.

Even with her slightly chapped lips, dark spots and light freckles, she felt gorgeous. She took pride in her double lidded eyes, she got her mother's greatest features, her eyes and her nose, the rest was a blend of her father and mother together. If it wasn't for her dad who made her practice swordsmanship all day in the sun she'd have fair skin which was so deeply desired by the people. If I weren't for him, she could've been openly feminine.

"What are you doing?!" a thick gravelly voice roared through the air. All the hairs on Sunghyun's neck stood up in unison. Her father was here.

A ghastly feeling dwelled in her stomach. Knowing what was coming made her whole body ache, "A-Abeoji..." she stuttered. Her face becoming paler by the second.

Her fathers eyes protruded and his nostrils flared with each quick enraged breath he took.   "You're a male! What do you think you're doing?!" His voice thundered.

Despite his extreme rage, Sung Hyun's couldn't hold it in anymore, pretending to be her fathers son, just so he has someone to pass his legacy down to as a swordsmanship.

"Abeoji! I'm not foolish! I know who I am. You can't change the fact that I am not who you want me to be."

"How dare you?! Go outside right this instant."

Sung Hyuns eyes fluttered open. A dream. A memory of the past.

Chills were traveling through her veins like the freezing water of the river at night. The last time she felt this way was when she was eight. She had came down with a cold that was so bad they thought they were going to lose her. Her parents searched for physicians day and night, discarding of any doctor that said she was not going to make it. She managed to over come it but it left her with a body much more sensitive to the cold of the night.

Arms wrapped around Sung Hyun's fragile body, careful not to touch her wounds. The heat radiated to her back which helped keep her warm.

She opens her eyes just as Chin-Hwa walked into the room.