Journey Into the Knight

Chapter Sixteen

The morning light attacked the back of YongSun’s eyelids. She lifted one hand to cover them but it was too late, she was awake. She sat up in bed, slightly confused, then she remembered that she went into the spare room last night and passed out as soon as she hit it. Perhaps this is why TaeOh chose the other room, it was not facing the sun. She slid out of the bed, her feet touching the cold wood floor, her head was throbbing. It had been going non-stop since yesterday when she woke up, too many things to think about, to try and not think about. “But I asked you ONE TIME to just leave YongSun alone and make her own choice and you just did what you pleased...again.” Byul’s words echoed in her head from the memory, she shook them away, she wasn’t ready to deal with Byul’s possible feelings for her, TaeOh’s feelings for her, her feelings for them…

She wanted nothing more than to just scrub away all of theses thoughts and start new, focus on her powers now that she seemed to know what triggered them… but that in itself was something she didn’t want to face. With a large sigh she pushed up from the bed, she needed a shower, she was going to try and scrub her thoughts away, even if she knew it wasn’t going to work. 

No one was in the living room. YongSun looked to the second bedroom, the door was closed, she could hear TaeOh’s snoring through the wood. She wondered if Byul was in there as well, she stepped out last night to talk to WheeIn but YongSun fell asleep before she got back to the house. YongSun grabbed a piece of paper and scribble a note on it, in case either of the warriors woke up and she was not there. Gone to the baths, be back soon. -YS

She left it on the table where they were sure to see it and she left the house.

YongSun thought most of the village would still be asleep but she was wrong. Scents of fresh baked goods and meat wafted through the air. Groups of mothers and children were already on their way to the gardens to tend to them. She could already hear the forges of the blacksmith roar through the village, she wondered if they ever slept in this village. 

The bathing house was one of the furthest points of the village, YongSun at first wondered if it was for privacy, but then she figured it was because it was the location of the waterfall and body of water they used. The waterfall was something of magic, the beautiful cascading waters were always hot, and the outside light always shone off of it, she wondered if magic protected it from the elements. That was exactly what YongSun needed, a dip in the waterfall, it would be sure to wash away all of her worries. 

YongSun went into the woman’s side of the bathing house, she wondered why they even bothered to make sides, especially since WheeIn and HyeJin were a thing… perhaps it was just the standard thing to do. She opened the door and stepped into the bathing house, fresh scents of water washed over her, as well as a few floral ones. One thing she noticed about this building was that the smells were never the same, it changes every day to a new one. She could hear the steady rhythm of the waterfall from behind the the small wall that covered it from the door. She set her things on the hook in the hallway and slipped into a robe that hung nearby. 

She turned the corner, eyes finding the small bathing units that were offered to them. Slowly her eyes flicked over to the waterfall, her heart stopped in her chest, she was not alone. Pale, almost white skin, a slim, muscular figure. Their back was turned to YongSun, medium blonde hair falling covering almost half of her back. A mixture of scars ran along her skin, telling the story of her travels. YongSun could hear her own heart in her ears as she finally clued in to who was standing in front of her, though she kind of knew all along who the person was, afterall she had seen the body before. Byul had not noticed her yet, she was washing her hair, arms lifted up as she massaged the soap into her hair, arms muscles flexing as she did. YongSun was frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Should she make herself known, should she leave? Her eyes were too transfixed on Byul’s body, her mind was blank, she was unable to think. Slowly Byul started turning around. YongSun could not help but trail Byul’s body with her eyes, they moved along the curve of her hips, over the hint of her abs that were now showing, stopping dead at her chest. YongSun swallowed hard, Byul’s arm was covering enough of herself but YongSun noticed a good majority of the side of Byul’s breast, now they it was not compressed under cloth it was easier to see. “YongSun!” Byul’s shock voice rang out in the room. Startled, YongSun’s eyes darted to Byul’s wide eyes. She stood there, half turned for another moment before she squatted down in the water, everything but her shoulders covered. “I didn’t hear you come in.” Her voice waved with embarrassment.