Seoul-Strings (Haitus)

Chapter 5

Yay! I drew a new cover! I like this one much better! The other one was nice but I was a tad lazy so it didn't have such nice color composition.
—————————————————————————————————————————

The streets were quiet and so was Yu-Jin. She walked quickly through the empty city. The sun had begun to rise, letting its rays sit upon the rooftops. It was magical. Light trickled down the leaves and flooded the ground where she walked.

She slowed her pace at last and decided to practice imitating her brother. She had years of experience spent in mimicking and copying him under her belt and yet she didn't feel prepared at all. Putting her hands behind her back, she straightened herself and stood tall. She didn't feel confident. Maybe the pressure was getting to her, maybe she finally realized that she could be put to death for impersonating a male, or maybe when she saw the gates of the Palace, she realized that not only was she putting her life in danger but also the lives of those who would be fooled by her.

Yu-Jin didn't back down when she saw the gates. She stood taller. She took a deep breath. She smiled.

Walking towards the gate, she held the letter with a death grip. Her hands trembled. If her family were to know what she was doing, she would surly be shunned. They were good parents but they would never approve of her lying, posing as her brother, and most of all, choosing to be surrounded by people who not only feared and respected the king but would do anything to defend him. If they had any suspicions about where your loyalties were placed, they would stop at nothing to get rid of you permanently. Yu-Jin feared the people in the Palace. She would not deny that, however, she had a duty. Her goal in life was to make others happy and keep her own spirits up. That was not something she could do if her brother was dead. She kept walking. When fear began showing itself in her—by means of her walk or her facial expressions— she commanded herself to push those thoughts away. She did.

She cleared her throat and approached the guard. He stepped in front of her and held out his hand.

"Name?" He asked curtly.

"Nam Jeong-Eun." Yu-Jin said confidently. Her hands trembled slightly as she handed the man the letter. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. He simply stamped the letter and handed it back to her.

"Take one left, then a right, and you'll be at the training courtyard." He said as he opened the gate. "You know, you didn't have to come so early."

Yu-Jin laughed awkwardly. "Better early than late." She had to stop herself from gathering her Hanbok and walking like a lady. She cleared her throat and gave a slight bow to the guard before quickly going through the gate.

Once the guard shut it behind her, she took a long look around the Palace. It wasn't her first time but she couldn't help gawk at the beautiful buildings. They were complemented by stunning lush gardens and small koi ponds. The grounds themselves were quite large and she knew there were many houses and villas that were not shown to the public.

The last time she had been here was for the Crown prince's 13th birthday. Her family had been invited by her brother's late wife's family, basically her in-laws. They worked as ground keepers for the queen's personal garden. It was a rare opportunity. She wore a beautiful red Hanbok that she had long since outgrown and she got to meet the crown princess for about half a minute. Thinking back, it wasn't the most amazing thing, but at the time she couldn't stop gushing about it to Minny afterwards.

Yu-Jin smiled as she took the path the guard had mentioned. She walked slowly, not just because she was early but also because she enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere that filled the whole courtyard. On any other day she would've loved to stop at each flower and take notice of all the small details, like the Ladybugs that loved resting inside the cherry blossoms. Today though, she had slightly more stressing things on her mind.

Just as she arrived at the training courtyard, she could begin to hear the voice of other men behind her. Trying not to tense up, she sat down on the steps near one of the western buildings. After only a moment of sitting alone, men began filing into courtyard.

Tall men, short men, strong looking men, and even a few that looked like they had no idea what they were doing—Yu-Jin guessed that those were the ones she would chose to be friends with—they were all there. As she scanned the crowd, a few different people stood out. She could recognize the faces of those who lived near her and those who worked at shops in the center of the city. They saw an awful lot of each other and so she prayed and hoped that they wouldn't recognize her.

As she continued looking, a few men came to sit near her. She tried to look busy and aloof so they wouldn't talk to her. It didn't work.

"Hi, what's your name?" Said a boy who looked as though he couldn't be any older than her.

Her mind went blank. The one thing she forgot to practice, how she would talk. Yu-Jin didn't have a extremely squeaky voice—which she thanked the Lord for—but she definitely didn't sound like a man.

She coughed trying to lower her voice a few octaves. "Uhh Nam Jeong-Eun."

"How old are you?" The boy asked.

Yu-Jin nearly slipped and said 17 but caught herself. "22." She answered plainly.
She tried acting uninterested so they might leave her alone, but they persisted in asking all about her. She answered shortly each time. Eventually they left her to sit alone again and she went back to people watching.

Her eyes looked over the few extra tall men a few times. They stood out. She couldn't help but notice. Suddenly, her brown eyes met another set of brown eyes. These eyes were lighted by the rising sun. Like amber, they stared back into her own, and they were accompanied by a smile that walked the line between that and a smirk.