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“You must have felt pressured,”
“Not really. But I was in a dilemma,” He revealed. “I did not know if I should reply as your young master or pupil. Or just reply based on what I read,” He slowly smiled as he thought about what Mudeok gave him.
Mudeok slowly realized what he was talking about and looked up to him.
“What did you read?” She asked, trying to feign ignorance. ‘I can’t have him find out about my feelings,’ was what she thought.
“Then should I also reply based on what I read?”
“Also? What do you mean?” She started panicking on the inside.
“It is written here.
“I will go this far just to see you,”
“I can do anything if it means being able to see you,”
And this is my reply..”
He caught onto her feelings that she tried so hard to hide.
‘I should have braced myself before letting him get this close to me.’ Mudeok told herself.
Uk handed her the small poster she had given him when they caught a glimpse of each other when he ran away from the training center.
“I also missed you,” He admitted.
‘Again with that also. Why does it sound like he knows how I feel about him? I tried my hardest to hide it. Was it not enough?’ Mudeok grew frustrated and scared.
She was frustrated that he caught onto her stupid feelings for him.
She was scared that he would abandon her, since a young master and maid could never be together.
‘What I gave him should not have been read or delivered in the first place. It was my foolish and pathetic love letter,’
Uk smiled at her, completely oblivious to how she felt at his “confession”.
Mudeok abruptly stood up, ready to walk away. Uk"s hand on her wrist stopped her from doing so.
“Where are you going? You need to rest a bit more,” He said as he stood up to face her.
“I need to get back home,” She tried to come up with an excuse to get away from him.
“What do you mean? You’re a servant in Songrim now. I’m sure they have your room ready,”
‘I forgot that I passed the test,’ She remembered.
“Let's sit here a bit more. I haven’t seen you in days. I want to stay by your side for a few more minutes,” Those words came out of his mouth as if it meant nothing to him. Or at least that's what she thought.
Sometimes a famous shadow assassin could also be dumb and slow at picking up hints.
“No. I need to g-,”
“Are you acting like this because of what I said earlier?” Uk asked. He noticed how weird she was acting ever since he brought up the love letter Master Seo Gyeong wrote for his lover, comparing it to what she had given him a few days ago.
“No. It’s nothing,” she tried to lie to him, but that didn't work.
“What do you mean no? I can clearly tell it’s because of that. What’s so wrong of me saying I missed you? I miss you first thing in the morning, all throughout the day-”
“Stop.” They can’t be together and she knows that. She can’t be swayed just by a few words.
“Why can’t you just let me love you!” He confessed. “Just why, why won’t you let me express my feelings?” He looked her in the eyes and Mudeok could see how desperate he was.
“You know we can’t be together. What will others think?”
“I don’t care about what others will think. I just want to know what you think,” He took a step with every word he said, leaving him right in front of her.
Mudeok could finally understand his feelings. He opened up to her and now he was an open-book for her to read.
With every line she read, the more she understood his feelings.
His hand slowly came up to her face, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Mudeok couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
“Only I can come this close, remember?” his hoarse voice whispered into her ear causing her to look at him.
Only now was Mudeok able to see how much he loves her.
His eyes were telling her that
‘I love you and only you,’
‘I need you in my life,’
‘I can’t live if you’re not here with me,’
*Drip* *Drip*
It started pouring heavily, breaking Uk and Mudeok out of their trance. They quickly ran back to Sejukwon and sat inside the treatment room.
“Do you know where they store the towels?” she asked, brushing off what just happened.
“Yea. Just sit there and I’ll bring it to you,” He told her and he walked to the back of the treatment room.
Mudeok sat down and waited for Uk to come back with the towels.
“Here they are,” he said as he walked back to her. Mudeok reached out expecting him to give her one. Instead, he walked closer and took one towel into his hands and began to dry her hair himself.
Mudeok couldn’t bring herself to stop him. She just sat there as he dried her hair, getting closer and closer by the second.
“I’m done,” He said, taking a few steps back to make sure her hair was fully dry.
“I want you to do mine now,” He ordered her as he took a seat right by her.
Mudeok couldn’t reject him because she knew he’d pull the “I’m your master” card on her.
She began to dry his hair, trying her best not to get too close. Mudeok didn’t want to bring the topic up again but she was just too curious.
“Do you really love me?” she asked in a low, shy voice, which was the opposite of the Mudeok he knew.
“Why? Do you think I’m lying?” He asked.
“I do. You’re the type to pull many pranks,” She told him.
Uk didn’t look very pleased. ‘Are my feelings just a joke to her?’
His hand made its way to her waist and pulled her closer. “Does it seem like I’m pulling a prank right now?” He asked her, eyes moving from her eyes to her lips.
Mudeok could barely let out an answer due to their close proximity. She slowly shook her head ‘no’ while her hands let go of the towel.
“Good,” he voiced out before pulling her in for a kiss.
His lips clashed perfectly with hers. Her arm wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.
His tongue traced over her lips causing her to open up. Her tongue felt warm against his as they danced around each other. Uk’s hand moved from her waist to her face. He cupped her face and pulled her closer if that was even possible.
He waited way too long to finally get a taste of her lips. Now that he has, he doesn't intend on stopping.
They slowly pulled away, catching their breaths. Her forehead rested against his, both their eyes closed. His breath ran across her face, giving her shivers.
“I love you too,” She confessed. She couldn’t deny her own feelings anymore. She needed him to know that she, too, loved him.
He slowly drew his body apart from hers, taking in what she just told him.
He looked at her in silence, admiring her each,and every feature, “Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?”
“No,”
“Your eyes,”
“Your nose,”
“Your lips,”
“They’re all so beautiful,” he whispered as a kiss followed after each feature he mentioned.
A smile grew on Mudeok’s face. She was Uk’s bird egg and he was there to protect her at all times. Maidservant Kim was right. He was truly in love with someone. And that someone was Mudeok, herself.
“Didn’t you say you could teach me in other ways too, Master?” Uk asked in a teasing tone.
“Do you want me too?” She barked back. ‘How dare he tease me on this topic?’
“Let’s see if you can,”
“ As you wish ,” She said as she softly pushed him back and taught in many other ways.