Chinese Trumpet Creeper || extraordinary you

[5] The Second Mistake

"My Lady! My Lady! Please wait for me!"

Ha Ru watched from a distance as Eun Dan Oh's servant tried her best to catch up to the lady. She seemed very eager to explore the marketplace as she ran from place to place.

Thankfully for the servant, Dan Oh stopped at a table adorned with many ornaments. She picked up a norigae, a decorative pendant with a long white tassel. Although Ha Ru was too far away to hear them, the servant set the pendant back down on the table and pulled Dan Oh away, who didn't look too happy about it.

Ha Ru's eyes widened when he realized they were headed towards his direction, and he quickly turned around, pretending to look at another set of pendants, as Dan Oh was pulled off complaining loudly. When he turned back to see if they left, Dan Oh promptly pulled her hand back, causing the servant to fall, leaving the lady free to run away.

"You are the only one who's loyal to me." Suddenly, Gyeong's words from the previous night popped into Ha Ru's head. "Therefore, I will make sure Eun Moo Young takes my side. Go and find out more about Eun Dan Oh."

With his head down, he briskly walked past the servant, who was only just starting to stand back up, towards the direction Dan Oh had run off to.

"Oh, where did she go?" The servant ran past Ha Ru, only to stop a few feet in front of him when she came to an intersection. After a few moment's hesitation, she ran to the left side, screaming, "My Lady!" as she disappeared.

Ha Ru, on the other hand, chose the right path. He knew there was a shop that sold colorful cloth, and he figured the lady might go there. He ran to the shop quickly, but when he arrived, Dan Oh was nowhere to be seen.

Was it possible that he had been incorrect in his assumptions? It was not impossible, but he rarely made the wrong judgement. Still, he entered the shop, sure that Dan Oh was in there.

Sure enough, once Ha Ru entered the inner parts of the shop, he saw the lady tiptoeing on a stool, going through the fabric on the top shelves. He stepped closer, wanting to see what she was looking for, when she suddenly turned her head in his direction.

Immediately, Ha Ru turned his own gaze away to the floor, praying she did not notice — or worse, recognize — him. As he didn't hear any sudden movements from her position, he wondered if it was safe to look up again, when he suddenly heard her crying out.

Without a second's hesitation, Ha Ru ran past the hanging cloth to wear Dan Oh was falling off the stool. He leaned down just as she was about to fall to the ground, so that her back hit his. He then turned around quickly, arms extended to catch Eun Dan Oh as she fell into his arms.

For a while, the two remained in that position, both unable to move or speak, until the shopkeeper came by.

"What is going on over here?"

Suddenly, Ha Ru could move again. He gently placed Dan Oh's head down on the cloth that had fallen to the floor before running off. 

It wasn't until he was far away from the shop as possible, when he realized that Dan Oh had seen his face. This was the second time he had made such a grave mistake, the first time being when he almost gave away his position when spying on Lord Eun. Gyeong would be displeased if he heard that Dan Oh saw his face.