The Flower Among the Flames

Chapter 34

"So you went to see her again, eh?"

Seulgi froze in mid-stride at the sound of the voice. Crap. He forgot that other people were awake at this time. To be fair, he wasn't exactly quiet either and was humming to an old folk song right past the family shrine. Seulgi should have known better. With a nervous chuckle and a hand rubbing the back of his neck, he turned to face the owner of the voice.

Sitting cross-legged and facing away from the young man, was an older fellow robed in brown. Though Seulgi could not see his face, he could tell the man was smiling.

"See who?" Seulgi decided to play the innocent card and see if he could get away with his meeting with Fanhua. But there was no beating around the bush.

"You can't fool your father, Kim Seulgi," the man barked in laughter. "I know when you are trying to keep a secret."

"Me? Keeping a secret?" Seulgi gasped in mock surprise. "Father, why would even suspect me of such a thing?!"

"I'm happy for you, son," his father replied, stepping into the light. His smile was broad, complementing the twinkle in his brown eyes. "She's a good girl. Respectful, polite, honest, and pretty..."

He wiggled his eyebrows in amusement, chuckling at Seulgi's flushed reaction. Despite Seulgi's best efforts to hide his relationship with Fanhua, his father knew from the very beginning. It was a small town though. Everyone knew but not everyone was happy about it. Some people wanted to strike a broom over his head just by the mere sight of him.

"But her father doesn't approve," Seulgi murmured, rubbing his neck with an air of unease. "You remember the last time–"

"Everyone remembers what happened last time," the man interrupted with a roar of laughter only to quickly stop himself. His wife would kill him if he was too loud so early in the morning. He squared himself with his son and laid a gentle firm hand on his shoulder. "Look– leave Master Wang to me. I can win him over for you."

Seulgi quickly lifted up his face in surprise. "How?"

"This old man still has some tricks up his sleeve, my boy," he answered. "One doesn't become an Ambassador without picking up new things after all."

"You mean...."

"Business." He winked mischievously. "For the past few months, I've been meeting with him in private. It's been good for the both of us, and I have plenty I can offer him in exchange for his blessing."

That answered an ongoing question for the boy. Ever since the Wangs came to their little town, his father's side project, a trading business, had profited significantly. Seulgi had assumed a partnership had been formed or something, but nothing was really confirmed. His father was very secretive about what he did, and his mother didn't talked about it either. Although, she did seem disapproving of it all.

"Your mother is also good friends with Lady Wang," his father continued. "I'm sure we can come to an agreement. She's very persuasive."

"I don't know," Seulgi muttered.

"Trust me, son," he insisted with a warm grin. "You two will be together in no time."

Before Seulgi could say anything in return, a crash like thunder roared from behind the shrine. Both men froze in their thoughts as a second crash followed.

"Master!"

A servant garbed in white ran frantically to the bottom of the white stone steps, hands clasped in front and his head bowed. He stammered, "I tried to reason with them, sir, but t-they would have none of it!"