Seoul-Strings (Haitus)

Chapter 7

"Which one would you prefer Miss?" The two young girls said in unison. They held out two Hanboks. "Red or blue?" Yu-Jin looked at both colors and immediately knew that blue was the color for her, yet she had a strange pull to the red one as well.

"Uhh," she stammered. "Let's go with," she randomly chose a number and counted back and forth between the two. "And you are not it," She finished under her breath. "Okay! Let's go with blue!"

The girls handed her the dress and left without a word.

Yu-Jin stared at the door. She guessed they wanted her to put it on but dear lord, did they have to be so cryptic? She unfolded the dress. A rich blue fabric made up the skirt and the top had blue embroidery to match. "What a beautiful color." Yu-Jin said to herself.

After admiring it for a bit, she quickly changed. The two girls came in as soon as she was finished. It was almost to soon. They looked at her and smiled.

"It looks lovely on you!" Said one of the girls. They wore reddish pink Hanboks, much like the other one they had offered her.

Yu-Jin smiled in return. "Thank you."

Both girls nodded and then looked around shyly. "Miss, Master Dasan looked very happy to find you, do you know why?"

She gulped. "I honestly have no clue, I was expecting him to resign me to a tortuous death." At this, both girls laughed.

"Master Dasan would never do that! He is the wisest and kindest soul in this Palace. He will always find a way to solve problems in the most ideal manner." Yu-Jin was relieved to hear that but her thoughts still raced. They were interrupted by a knock at the door and Dasan entered a moment later.

Yu-Jin stood at attention and gave him a slight nod. He cleared his throat and fidgeted with his robe.

"Please follow me," he said suddenly. "We are going to see the King."

"What!" Yu-Jin said louder than necessary. "So you try to make me feel better only to bring me in front of the King to be sentenced to death?!"

"Calm down Miss." The two girls said in unison.

"Miss Nam Yu-Jin, I have no intention of sentencing you to death, at the very least I will make sure you leave this Palace unharmed. The King has put upon me the responsibility to choose men who can protect him, but I am still beneath him so when it comes to a matter that may be the most controversial issue the kingdom has seen in many years, I must have his approval."

Yu-Jin gulped. "You know my name?"

Dasan sighed. "Miss, I am nearly second to the king himself, there are not many things that are hard for me to find out." He handed her a white mask similar to the black one she had earlier. "Put this on and do not say a word to anyone who questions you."

She nodded and lowered her head. Dasan motioned for her to follow him and she did so tentatively after adjusting the mask.

The doors to the throne room loomed over her head. She stood behind Dasan, nervously picking at her cuticle.

"Do not be afraid." Dasan said softly. "No harm will come to you today."

Yu-Jin tried to feel relieved but found herself thinking about the following days. Safe today, maybe, but tomorrow? Her morbid thoughts were cut off by the sound of the large wooden doors opening. She followed Dasan as he stepped inside.

"Dasan!" The king said warmly before noticing her standing beside him. "Dasan," he said again lower. "Why have you brought a woman into my throne room?"

Dasan quickly bowed to the King and Yu-Jin did the same.

"Your Majesty, I have come to you today to ask for your approval of training this woman to be part of the Changyongyeong." (Kings royal bodyguard program)

The King laughed. "You want a woman to be trained in fighting? Dasan, you can't be serious."

"Your Majesty, you yourself have said that I have wisdom beyond my years and surpass even your own understanding. I have firm faith in this woman. She demonstrated far more courage than any of the other men. If you had seen what she did, I'm sure you would feel the same way."

"Tell me then, what did she do that is so worthy of your praise?" The King asked skeptically.

"She was paired with a man twice her size and who stood over a foot taller than her. Yet in ten minutes she managed to overtake him. Using solely her wits and agility, not even the stick that was provided, she stood triumphantly over her opponent." Dasan bowed his head and waited for the King's response.

Yu-Jin waited in the silence. Finally the king spoke.

"You may train her Dasan. It is true that I have faith in your judgment and you are one of my closest confidants, however I cannot shield you from all the effects of this decision. Many of the court officials will be highly displeased. They will no doubt look for any mistakes you make, so keep your hand at the level of your eyes and be vigilant."

The King then waved his hand and a guard escorted them out.

Yu-Jin heaved a sigh of relief. "Is he always so quick to make decisions?" She asked as they walked towards the training courtyard.

"When it comes to things I suggest, yes." Dasan replied. "It is a great privilege to be trusted by his Majesty."

Yu-Jin thought about this. "What will I do now?" She asked

"You will train under me with the other fifty young men that are chosen today."

"Sir," Yu-Jin said heavily. "What about my family?"

Dasan stopped. He turned to her. "Didn't you think of that when you came disguised as your brother?"

Yu-Jin looked at the ground. She hadn't done anything. She had left no note or trace, they probably thought she had been kidnapped.

"I can see from your answer that you didn't do anything." Dasan said after a moment.
He started walking again. "Don't worry, I will take care of everything."

She nodded and thanked him.

Author's note: Okay so... Im so sorry that this took longer to update than the other chapters but I might have had a breakdown because of the whole Corona situation so I took a bit of a breather.

One thing I'm trying to have in my book is not only the main climax but also smaller ones along the way to keep the reader interested and captivated. I tried to do that in the last chapter but idk if it worked or not. Do y'all have any suggestions on how to do that?
Also did you guys catch the reference I made to my new fanfic? Prolly not, it was kinda cryptic... but if ya did :) yay 😁