The Truth Untold

Chapter 9

"My lady, are you not able to sleep?" Doyun, Eunjoo's maid, asks.

"I did not get to see my brother today." Sorrow spins through Eunjoo as she gazes up at the ceiling. "Could you go out tomorrow and see yourself if he's alright, Doyun?"

"Were you not able to make it in time, my lady?"

Eunjoo contemplates whether she should tell her maid that she met a young man and had no time to visit her brother as her father had already reached home or should stay quiet about it.

"Yeah, Father reached home before I could." She tells skipping the reason she got late.

"I've been telling you I can go and check on him, but you wouldn't listen. You wanted to see him yourself." Doyun pouts. "I will go tomorrow, so you should rest."

Eunjoo doesn't respond as she thinks about how she could have been in trouble again had the second prince not come to her rescue.

While entering the palace, one of the guards spotted her and asked her to identify herself. But the second prince had come before the situation escalated and saved her from getting caught. He had tricked the guard in believing she was a maid at his palace, and it was her day off.

She has known the second prince for quite some while now. Although a prince, he's the most down-to-earth man Eunjoo's ever met.

"Court Lady Jeong has already checked if all the candidates are sleeping. She'll start questioning you if you don't sleep, my lady." Doyun whispers.

Eunjoo closes her eyes, wondering how her brother is doing.

~~~

"Aigoo, you shouldn't be getting up so soon. Rest some more." SungHo looks at the boy, worried. It's morning already, and no one has come to check his bar for this boy. "Jimin, right?"

The boy looks at SungHo, confused.

"Your name. Jimin, right?" SungHo asks again.

Jimin's eyes widen, horror evident on his soft face. "Wh- how- I-"

SungHo looks down at Jimin, pitying him. "Don't worry. I won't hand you over to the soldiers. You can stay here as long as you want."

Jimin looks at SungHo warily like a kid looking at a stranger offering him candy with ulterior motives.

"Of course, you won't be staying here for free. That pretty face of yours would attract more customers for my bar," SungHo talks dramatically, making a dorky face, frightening the boy even more than he already is. "Jimin-ah," SungHo starts talking informally, trying to be loving, "Think of me as your big brother from now on. Work for me, okay?"

Jimin's eyes stay wide the whole time as SungHo talks through his ass.

Employees have been leaving SungHo's bar. No one wants to work for him.

SungHo is only partially to blame, though. The soldiers are mostly to blame. And the thugs. And the drunk bodies that sleep at his doorstep.

And now that he's met a helpless wanted boy, SungHo does not want to let him go. Although the boy could have been a criminal, what could a boy of his age do? He might have stolen from someone rich. SungHo has nothing that the boy can steal. Jimin can work for SungHo and get to eat and drink every day. Right?

SungHo does not wait for Jimin to accept his offer or decline it. He makes him fall back, "You should sleep now. And you can pay me back for my hospitality once you get well by working for my bar." He smiles cheekily at Jimin. "I will not ask you what crime you've committed for the soldiers to look for you if you work for me."