Chapter Text
Thirteen Years Ago…
“Seonghwa dear,” the kindly old woman sing-songed from her perch at the spinning wheel. “Come here.”
“Coming mother,” the little boy called in return, wiping the wet sand from his hands onto his trousers. Seonghwa knew his mother would probably scold him for being so careless, but better to have dirty clothes than dirty hands, he mused, especially since his mother hated messes.
“Oh my,” she cried when she caught sight of her son’s disheveled appearance. “Have you been playing down at the shore front again?”
“Yes, mother,” he replied excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I saw a fish that was this big,” he stretched his hands out to twice the size of his head. “It was massive!”
“How exciting,” she chuckled before continuing to humour her son. “What else did you do?”
“Well,” Seonghwa took a deep breath before hurriedly spilling all the details of his adventure to his mother. “I saw something shiny glimmering in the sand, and when I went to uncover it, I found this wonderful golden coin. I’d never seen anything like it before!”
“You found a coin?” she halted her actions at the wheel and frowned. “What did it look like?”
“Here, I’ll show you!” he dug around in his pockets before pulling out a lustrous, circular piece. Just as Seonghwa had said, the item glimmered under the sun, so much so that it almost blinded his mother. More notable than it’s sparkling appearance, however, was the emblem on the front. Etched within the gold was the outline of a skull - the insignia of a pirate.
“Go bury that where you found it, Park Seonghwa,” she scolded, a sudden fear lingering behind her eyes. Seonghwa missed the panic, too busy focusing on one thing.
His mother only ever used his full name when he was in trouble.
“Have I done something wrong?” he choked, meeting his mother’s gaze with glassy eyes. “I promise I didn’t steal it, I just found it!”
“Oh, Seonghwa,” his mother deflated at the sight of her teary eyed son. She brought her voice back down to its usual gentle timbre before continuing, “I never meant to accuse you, dear.”
Seonghwa felt some of the weight lift off his shoulders.
“That coin is just very dangerous,” she continued in a hushed whisper, almost as if she feared they would be overheard. “You must return it to where you found it.”
“Oh,” the young boy frowned. “I don’t understand. I thought it might fetch you a new spinning wheel. It looks valuable.”
“Perhaps,” she hummed. “But only to the wrong people. It is useless to us.”
“I’m sorry, mother,” he pouted, shoving the coin back into his pocket. Too busy kicking at the ground, Seonghwa did not notice the way his mother relaxed as soon as the item was out of sight. “I thought I had found something that would truly help us.”
“It’s okay, my boy,” she reached out to ruffle his shaggy dark hair. His mother had meant to cut it, but Seonghwa insisted he liked it on the long side. According to the child, he liked the feeling of wind blowing through his locks while he played outside - a feeling that couldn’t be achieved with cropped hair. “Just return it to where you found it, and all will be well.”
“Now?” Seonghwa looked at his mother with puppy dog eyes. “But I’m hungry!”
“How about this?” she negotiated, standing up from her spinning wheel and replacing her work frock with her kitchen apron. “If you go now, there will be a nice hot bowl of stew waiting for you when you return.”
If there was one way to Seonghwa’s little ten year old heart, it was through his mother’s delicious cooking.
“I’ll be back before you even realized I was gone!” Seonghwa called as he frantically rushed out the front door, already eager to return and fill his belly.
Seonghwa’s mother watched her son’s retreating form through the window with a regretful smile on her face. Her son was truly something else - adventurous and filled with excitement, just as his father had been. Usually she would be proud of Seonghwa’s fervor for adventure - after all, it made him a unique and exciting child - but a tugging feeling buried itself deep in her chest. As far as that coin was concerned, perhaps it would be best if she stamped out that spark… just until she knew they were safe.
*
“You’re back already?” Seonghwa’s mother startled at the sound of the wooden front door catching in the wind and slamming shut. “That was quick.”
“I ran the whole way,” he panted, hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.
“You must’ve been hungry,” she laughed as she turned back to the stove and stirred the pot. The aroma carried throughout their humble home, reaching every nook and cranny, which only made Seonghwa’s stomach grumble louder.
“Starving,” he replied dramatically before making a beeline towards the washing room. “I could probably eat the whole pot,” he called over the sound of running water.
Seonghwa’s mother suppressed a proud smile. Although she would definitely have to wash those trousers two or three times to get the sand out, at least her son had the common decency to tidy himself up before he made a mess of their dining area. She taught him well. Despite her struggle in raising him alone the last few years, Seonghwa turned out to be a son she could be proud of - good manners, intelligence, and all.
Shortly after Seonghwa disappeared, he returned in clean clothes, not a trace of dirt or sand marring his appearance. He sat expectantly at the table; outwardly the bastion of patience but inwardly dying of hunger. After such a long day of running around on the early November beach, Seonghwa firmly believed that a hot bowl of stew was more than well deserved.
When his mother placed the steaming pot on the table, Seonghwa had to stop himself from lunging for the ladle, ready to fill his bowl with the hearty mix of beef, potatoes, and vegetables.
“So I was thinking,” his mother eventually broke the silence between spoonfuls of stew. Seonghwa had been so hungry that he hadn’t spoken a word, too busy shoveling food into his mouth as fast as he could without being impolite. “How would you like to become my assistant?”
“Pardon?” Seonghwa spluttered, almost spilling his hot meal onto his lap. “You want me to help you spin?”
“No, no, no,” she shook her head with a chuckle. Her son was awful at spinning - they had tried once before when he was nine, and the poor child had somehow ended up entangled in the wool. “I was thinking you could make deliveries for me.”
“Deliveries?” he inquired, swirling his spoon around in his bowl uninterestedly.
“Oh come on, don’t look so down,” she poked at her son from across the table. “It could be fun! Think of it as a new adventure every day.”
Seonghwa frowned, “But I don’t like the city. It’s too crowded and you can’t even see the ocean from there.”
Seonghwa’s mother cringed internally - this was exactly what she had been afraid of. When she had come up with this idea, it had served as a foolproof way to keep her son away from the shore. Unfortunately, she didn’t account for his stubborn attachment to it.
“I’m getting older these days,” she tried the pity angle. “And making deliveries is getting harder on my body. Please, Seonghwa, do this for your mother.”
Seonghwa was a good child. His mother was his only remaining family and he understood how difficult it was for her to raise him as a widow. He was grateful to his mother every second of every day for being such a wonderful parent, which is why he begrudgingly agreed.
“Alright,” he sighed, looking at his mother’s hopeful eyes. “I’ll do it.”
“Wonderful,” she clapped her hands together. She reached over to lovingly pat her son on the head, “I have the perfect job to be your first.”
*
When Seonghwa agreed to run deliveries for his mother, he expected to be sent into the heart of the city to the market, or to the outskirts of town to the farm from which they received their wool. He certainly did not expect to be sent to the Governor's estate.
His mother had told him that the Governor's daughter was celebrating her eighth birthday, and as a gift, His Excellency had ordered a customized set of mittens which she could use in the coming winter season. Mrs. Park typically didn’t receive requests from clients of such a high caliber, but according to the gossip on the streets, the Governor liked to reach out to small business owners as a thank you to the people he ruled over.
He was a kind and respected leader, one with very few enemies, and many many allies. As far as politicians were concerned, the Governor of their modest portside city was among the best - not as though many of the townsfolk had any grounds for comparison, of course.
Despite the Governor’s reputation as a humble and kind leader, there was one avenue where he spent lavishly - his estate. In all of Seonghwa’s ten years, the child had never seen property that rivaled the Governor’s estate in size or design.
From the outside, the home itself was a grandiose fortress, painted a pristine white, and adorned with marble archways. A double door with a knocker larger than Seonghwa’s head served as finishing touch to tie the building’s aesthetic together.
More notable than the architecture, however, was the garden; as flamboyant as the exterior of the home was, the garden exceeded its extravagance ten fold. The front yard was home to the greenest grass Seonghwa had ever seen, clipped to perfection. Atop the turf, several gardens - each with a variety of colourful flowers - drew the eye from as far away as the road, the largest of the bunch embellished by a sizable stone fountain containing a detailed sculpture of a mermaid.
In Seonghwa’s opinion, the most extraordinary feature of the estate was the pond. Despite only a small fraction peeking beyond the backyard of the home, Seonghwa could tell that the body of water was ginormous, probably spanning the entire width of the building. As someone who loved to swim and play around in the water, he was envious.
Seonghwa huffed a bitter sigh. From his vantage point at the end of the walkway, he could just barely make out a figure splashing about, presumably having a grand time, while he was stuck running deliveries for his mother. Who knew working would be so much work?
Suddenly, the distant figure’s movements became more frantic and Seonghwa squinted to get a better view of the situation. Barely visible from the distance at which he stood, Seonghwa caught sight of a tiny head of brunette hair bobbing up and down in the water, punctuated by flailing arms.
Without thinking, Seonghwa dropped the package he was delivering onto the stone walkway and sprinted to the back of the estate. He acted on instinct, all regard for manners and due procedure disappearing in an instant.
When he arrived at the pond, the boy wasted no time, not even bothering to toe off his shoes before swan diving into the crystalline water. Submerged, Seonghwa stretched his limbs out blindly in an attempt to find purchase on anything that could be used to hoist the stranger up.
Eventually, his small arms settled around a slim waist and he heaved. Luckily the stranger was light, weighing just little enough that even a ten year old could pull them out with minimal struggle.
The duo gasped for air upon surfacing, and Seonghwa finally opened his eyes again. Treading in the water a few feet away, was a little girl, no older than himself, spitting up a mouthful of pond water.
Despite her ungraceful hacking, she was pretty - very obviously put together in a way that Seonghwa had never seen from his classmates or neighbours. She wore her light brown hair in two long french braids, both of which undoubtedly looked pristine before her foray into the water. Accompanying the girl’s beautifully styled hair was her extravagant looking dress. From what Seonghwa could see both above and below the crystal water, the frilly baby blue piece likely cost more than a year’s worth of his mother’s profits, yet there she was, swimming in it.
“Thank you,” she cried, flinging herself at Seonghwa. “You saved me!”
“Um,” Seonghwa tried to pry her arms away when he felt them both slowly starting to descend in the water. “I’m afraid we're sinking.”
“Sorry,” she detached herself and wiped the water out of her eyes. Without the added weight of the stranger, Seonghwa could comfortably tread in the pond. He wasn’t a bad swimmer - he was actually very skilled having spent a lot of time at sea with his father before the accident- but supporting another person’s weight would be a hindrance to anyone, especially a child.
“It’s okay,” Seonghwa’s annoyance dissipated at the girl’s apologetic smile. “Are you alright now?”
“Yes, I am,” she replied with glimmering eyes. “And it’s all thanks to you.”
“I just did what anyone would do,” Seonghwa blushed at the praise. Too embarrassed to listen to the girl’s claims, he swam closer to the edge of the pond. As he hoisted himself out, he replied clippedly, “No need to thank me.”
“There absolutely is,” she looked up at him petulantly from her place in the water. “You must come in to meet father. I’m sure he will pay you handsomely for your heroic act.”
“It’s quite alright,” Seonghwa replied, wringing out his clothes. “I have a delivery to make and then I must be off.”
“A delivery?” she furrowed her brows.
“Yes,” he frowned as he poured water out of his shoe. “And I would like to hurry so I can go home and change.” He looked at the stranger and her disheveled appearance rivaled his own. “You should too, those wet clothes will make you sick.”
“But what about your reward?” the girl pouted, placing her arms on the edge of the pond. Her teeth were chattering from the early winter water, yet she defiantly stayed submerged from the chest down.
“I don’t need a reward,” he shrugged. “I just need to deliver some mittens. Mother said they were for a very important person.”
The girl in the water suddenly stopped shivering, chattering noises replaced by a soft giggle.
“What’s so funny?” Seonghwa frowned, feeling left out. He could not, for the life of him, understand why she was laughing.
“Those mittens are for me,” she wheezed between hysterics. “ I’m the Governor’s daughter. Don’t tell father I know about my gift though - he would be so disappointed that it's not a surprise. Although I don’t know how he expected me not to know, he was practically shouting about it down the corridors- ”
“Wait, you’re what? ” Seonghwa gasped, suddenly forgetting all his manners and cutting her off. “But-but-”
“But what?” she pulled herself out of the pond just to roll her eyes up close. “You didn’t expect the Governor's daughter to play outside?”
“I didn’t think-”
“You didn’t think it was the proper thing for a lady to do?” she crossed her arms and huffed but her expression softened almost immediately. “Well, you’re probably right. Father disapproves of my playing habits and would much rather have me inside sitting through boring lessons, but I am my own person. I can play however I want.”
“How old are you?” Seonghwa pondered in disbelief. Never in his life had he met someone so straight forward, yet she appeared younger than himself.
“Seven, almost eight,” she replied with a proud smile. “But the servants tell me I have the attitude of an adolescent. All that talk and they better watch out for when I come of age.”
“Please forgive my bad manners, I didn’t realize-” Seonghwa spluttered, partially hoping to placate the young heiress but also feeling genuinely regretful for his impoliteness.
“Bad manners? You are one of the nicest boys I’ve ever met,” she scoffed in response. The young girl flipped her wet braid over her shoulder before nonchalantly adding, “Plus, you saved my life.”
“I would have-”
“Done it for anyone, yes, you’ve said as much already,” she rolled her eyes good naturedly before softening her features. “Please, come inside, I insist. You have to drop off my gift anyway, so I might as well introduce you to father.”
Between the long journey to the estate and his fiasco in the pond, Seonghwa’s energy was slowly dwindling. The child no longer had the strength to argue and truthfully, he was headed inside anyway. As such, he reluctantly agreed to follow the young lady to the entrance of the estate, picking up his discarded package along the way.
“You never told me your name,” she suddenly called behind her shoulder when they had almost reached the huge double doors.
“Park Seonghwa,” he responded with a polite bow of the head, but the girl had already turned around and continued walking. Luckily there was nobody around to witness Seonghwa’s mistake, so the boy inwardly let out a sigh of relief.
“It’s nice to meet you Hwa,” she giggled from up ahead and he blushed at the unexpected nickname, only used to his mother calling him that. “My name is Kang Eunji but you probably already knew that. Most people in the city know of me and my family.”
Seonghwa did not know how to respond so he settled on another polite nod of the head. Forgetting that she had her back turned, Seonghwa startled when Eunji abruptly spun around to face him.
“How stuck up of me,” she admitted, interpreting his silence as disapproval. “I’m sorry. Father says I need to work on humility, but I’m still not quite sure what that word means.”
“It means that you view yourself as equal to all other people,” Seonghwa replied without thinking. He was so accustomed to helping his neighbours with their schoolwork that he forgot to whom he was speaking. His chest tightened in fear, but Eunji simply smiled in response.
“Wow, you’re smart and heroic. Father will love you!”
Eunji ushered Seonghwa inside and the young man had to force his jaw not to drop. The inside foyer was equally as extravagant as the exterior of the home, the only difference being the hustle and bustle of dozens of staff.
“Please forgive the chaos,” Eunji squeezed between two uniformed women carrying a large wreath of flowers and Seonghwa followed suit. The employees briefly took their eyes off the task to watch the children and one nearly slipped on a puddle left behind by Eunji’s dripping dress. Seonghwa sent the woman an apologetic grimace but Eunji carried on without a second thought, “My brother had a violin recital today and the celebration will be held here.”
Seonghwa wracked his brain, trying to remember what his mother had told him about the Kang family before he set off on his journey. She had briefly mentioned a boy around Seonghwa’s age, but he could not recall a name.
“Eunji,” someone let out a scandalized gasp, snapping Seonghwa out of his reviere. “What’s happened to you?”
Eunji’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she silently begged Seonghwa for back up, but the young boy had no idea how to help, especially without knowing the identity of the newcomer. Whoever she was, she was extravagantly dressed, layered in fancy furs, with an updo that reached halfway to the heavens.
“Mother,” she forced out between gritted teeth and spun on the balls of her heels to face the speaker. “What are you doing home so early?”
“Yeosang-ie performed early so we left before the recital ended,” she narrowed her eyes in disapproval upon spotting Seonghwa. “Who is this and why are you both leaving puddles on the linoleum?”
Seonghwa bashedly looked down and true enough, there were two large puddles forming where the pair stood. Before he had the chance to stutter out an apology, Eunji spoke.
“This is Seonghwa,” she replied with an air of finality. “And he rescued me from drowning. We need to reward him.”
“Drowning?” she gasped and lifted a heavily jeweled hand to her heart.
“It’s in the past now, mother,” Eunji shrugged. “There’s nothing we can do about it now... except reward Seonghwa.”
“Well, we wouldn’t have to reward this…” she scrunched her nose as she looked for the right word. “Stranger,” she settled on before continuing. “If only you just obeyed your parents and stopped playing in that wretched pond.”
“I fell in?” Eunji performed an exaggerated shrug but her clear excuse fell flat.
“I don’t think so,” she tsked raising her pointed nails, one finger directed at either child. “Now, both of you, to the office.”
The office, unlike the rest of the home, was draped in warm tones. Red velvet curtains blocked out the sun from entering through the floor to ceiling window, yet the room somehow still felt warm. Between the large mahogany desk littered with dozens of loose papers and the assortment of knick knacks lining the bookshelves, this was the first area of the home that truly looked lived in.
There was one indication, however, that most aptly proved this office was a place that gained a lot of use: the man sitting comfortably behind the desk.
“Eunji, dear,” the man - presumably the Governor - looked up from his papers at the sound of their entrance. He frowned. “Why are you wet?”
“She fell in the pond again,” Eunji’s mother asserted disapprovingly.
“As long as you’re alright,” he shrugged before returning back to his work.
“I almost drowned,” Eunji replied and her father dropped his papers on the ground. He shot up from his chair and rushed their way to fuss over his daughter. Between squeezed cheeks Eunji just barely was able to utter, “I didn’t though, and it’s all thanks to Seonghwa.” Her father dropped his grip in confusion and as soon as she was free, Eunji gestured at Seonghwa like one would present a prize winning steed. Seonghwa couldn’t tell whether or not to be offended.
“Thank you, young man,” the Governor squeezed Seonghwa in a crushing hug. The ten year old boy cringed in his grip but refused to shrug him off out of politeness, instead counting down the seconds until he inevitably let go. At around the count of fifteen, the Governor finally released him and pulled back to get a better look at his daughter’s saviour.
“How can I repay you?” he suddenly whipped around to fumble for something at his desk. Soon enough, the Governor returned with what Seonghwa could merely guess was a cheque book - after all, only the rich could afford to write out cheques and Seonghwa’s family was anything but.
“Are you daft?” Eunji’s mother cried. “What is a child going to do with a monetary reward? Spend it all at the sweet shoppe?”
“I get the feeling your mother is not fond of me,” Seonghwa whispered to Eunji out of the corner of his mouth as her mother and father bickered about a suitable reward.
“Don’t take it personally,” she replied, equally as hushed. “Unless you come from an effluent family, you stand no chance with her.”
Seonghwa side-eyed Eunji and suppressed a giggle. “Did you mean affluent ?”
“Affluent, effluent, it’s all the same,” the seven year old shrugged, yet despite her cool composure, Seonghwa could see the red on her face from her mistake.
“It’s really not,” Seonghwa’s tutoring instincts unintentionally kicked in. “Affluent is the word you were looking for. Effluent means liquid waste.”
“Oh,” Eunji blushed even deeper. “I suppose there is a big difference.”
The ambiance of the bickering adults disappeared and the two children halted their private conversation to look at the Governor and his wife. Both grown ups were staring at the duo with wide eyes and jaws agape.
The Governor suddenly mumbled something inaudible under his breath.
“What did you say?” Eunji tactlessly asked her father.
Seonghwa fake coughed and nudged Eunji in the ribs.
She hurriedly corrected herself at Seonghwa’s subtle coaching, “I meant ‘pardon’!”
“This is a miracle!” the Governor threw his hands into the air in praise. He directed his attention towards Seonghwa. “Our Eunji never listens to any of her tutors but you just taught her literacy and manners!”
“Earlier he taught me what humility means too,” Eunji reentered the conversation with a cheshire grin.
“By god!” the Governor threw his head back and laughed a hearty chuckle.
To say Seonghwa was uncomfortable with all this attention would be an understatement. Between Eunji’s grin, the Governor’s gracious eyes, and Lady Kang’s scrunched nose, there were far too many people focusing on him.
“I’m sorry your Excellency, I did not mean to step out of place,” he cracked under the pressure and bowed to the Governor in apology. “I often tutor the younger kids in my neighbourhood and I suppose it was a reflex.”
“Sorry?” the Governor scoffed good-naturedly. “You just might be the best thing that’s ever happened to our Eunji!”
Lady Kang let out a scandalized gasp but her husband ignored her, instead drawing closer to the pair of children. With a friendly pat to Seonghwa’s head, the Governor made a startling preposition.
“How would you like to be Eunji’s private tutor?”
Eunji nearly squealed in excitement as she clapped her hands together and jumped up and down.
“Oh, will you please?” she practically pleaded to her slightly older companion, with big round eyes. “You are so much better than my other teachers!”
Eunji lowered her voice to a whisper and continued secretly, “They were all old and boring, no wonder I didn’t listen!”
Seonghwa was at a loss for words.
“I- I-” he began with a shaky voice. “This is a wonderful opportunity but… what about my mother?”
“Your mother?” the Governor furrowed his brows.
“Yes, your Excellency” Seonghwa gulped. “My mother is the spinster you commissioned. In fact, I am only here today because I was sent to make a delivery on her behalf.”
Seonghwa timidly opened his satchel - out of Eunji’s view - to allow the Governor a glimpse at the slightly battered paper box within.
“Oh,” recognition sparked in his eyes. “I see, you’re Mrs. Park’s son.”
Seonghwa nodded in confirmation and the Governor hummed. The portside city’s leader raised a hand to his chin in faux ponderance before turning his attention back to the delivery boy.
“How about this,” he negotiated. “If you agree to visit every weekday for a three hour tutoring session, I will send your mother triple what I paid in commission for this gift,” he pointed to Seonghwa’s satchel. “As one day's salary.”
The ten year old forced down a gasp. Triple the commission would be enough to live comfortably for a month! Seonghwa could not imagine making that much in a single day.
“So,” the Governor urged as Eunji bounced excitedly on her tiptoes in Seonghwa’s peripherals. “What do you say?”
“I will not have to leave my home?” Seonghwa double checked.
“Of course not,” the Governor confirmed. “We only ask of three hours out of every weekday.”
Truthfully, this would be a good opportunity for Seonghwa as well as his mother. He would be a fool to turn it down, but something stopped him from accepting right away - the same something that caused him to hesitate at his mother’s proposition.
Seonghwa was deeply and irrevocably attached to the sea. As his only connection to his late father, Seonghwa had a hard time parting from the shore. Luckily, the Park’s lived just off the beach, so Seonghwa had ample opportunity to run off and play in the place he felt most at ease.
Spending all this time in the city, however, would change things. Seonghwa would no longer have as much time to breathe in the salty ocean air, splash about in the waves, catch fish, or even find mysterious golden coins.
He suddenly remembered his mother’s words: “Think of it as a new adventure every day.”
If Seonghwa viewed his sessions with Eunji as an adventure, perhaps they wouldn’t be so bad. Although studying could never possibly amount to adventure, Seonghwa did feel as though every moment since he met Eunji had been quite the ride.
Even though it would never match up to the rush of playing on the shore, Seonghwa supposed he could use a little imagination and make his father proud.
“I will do it,” Seonghwa agreed with a firm nod.
“Are you serious about this,” Lady Kang, who had been strangely quiet up until that point, turned to her husband and finally made herself heard. “He’s not qualified to teach our daughter.”
“Hwa seems pretty qualified to me,” Eunji chirped.
“You heard her,” the Governor shrugged. “If Eunji likes him and will listen to him, he is our best chance.”
“But-” Lady Kang tried to argue but the Governor cut her off.
“No buts,” he asserted. “This is final. You are all dismissed.”
The Governor waved everyone out of his office and returned to his desk but Seonghwa lingered behind.
“Here is your package, sir,” Seonghwa placed the wrapped mittens to the side of his workspace.
“Thank you,” the Governor smiled but did not look up from his work. “Give my regards to your mother.”
“Of course,” Seonghwa bowed politely, turning to depart when the Governor made no further comments. His hand had just barely grazed the doorknob when the man suddenly called out.
“Seonghwa?”
“Yes, your Excellency?” Seonghwa spun back around as gracefully as he could manage.
“I will see you tomorrow at 3pm sharp for your first lesson,” he stated.
Before Seonghwa had the chance to respond, the wooden doors opened from the opposite side and a tiny hand poked through to grab Seonghwa’s wrist and pull him out of the office. Finally, out of the Governor and Lady Kang’s scrutiny, Seonghwa felt himself relax.
“We’re going to be the best of friends,” Eunji cried as she dragged Seonghwa away. “I can’t wait!” she babbled. “This will be so much fun! And oh, Yeosang is going to love you!”
*
“Who is this?” Yeosang scrunched his nose in an oddly familiar disapproval when he met Seonghwa the very next day.
Alongside his mother’s signature sneer, Yeosang shared many resemblances with his family: He had the same light brown hair and delicate features as his sister, as well as the same upright posture and sharp jaw as his father - the perfect balance between feminine and masculine beauty. The only notable characteristic that did not appear to come from his relatives, was the tiny reddish birthmark by his left eye. Despite his quote on quote flaw, Yeosang’s appearance certainly suited his position.
“This is my new tutor!” Eunji explained, yet again showing Seonghwa off like a prize steed - the older filed this away as something they would definitely need to work on later.
“Isn’t he a little young to be a tutor?” Eunji’s older brother sneered.
“He’s older than you,” she immediately jumped to Seonghwa’s defence. “He’s smarter than you too.”
“How dare you!” Yeosang prickled.
“My apologies,” Seonghwa practically grovelled, sending Eunji a grit toothed smile. He turned back to Yeosang. “My intelligence is probably incomparable to yours. I hear you are quite the prodigy in most things.”
“At least he’s polite,” the eldest Kang sibling poked his tongue out at his sister. “Unlike one little gremlin I know.”
“Hey-” Eunji tried to protest but her cry fell on deaf ears.
“Say,” Yeosang spoke over her as he took a step closer to Seonghwa. “Do you like the violin?”
“I think it is a beautiful instrument,” Seonghwa bowed his head forlornly. “It is a shame I cannot play.”
“Perhaps I could teach you!” the eldest Kang sibling suggested with a smile. “Maybe I could give you a quick lesson before you head out for the day?”
“I would enjoy that,” Seonghwa returned his smile. The mood flipped in an instant, all of Yeosang’s previous distaste for his sister's new tutor slipping away. With the introduction of music into their conversation, the two boys had much to talk about - so much so that Eunji’s presence quickly fell unnoticed.
“I knew they would get along,” she rolled her eyes as the two similarly aged boys strolled down the corridor towards Yeosang’s practice room.
“Wait for me!” she called as she rushed to join them.
That afternoon marked the beginning of Seonghwa,Yeosang, and Eunji’s shared adventures.
But something was still missing.