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“i thought you’d never come see me here” master lee grins, “it’s been so long, jang uk”
“i have something to ask you” jang uk says, cutting right to the chase. “do you know about the woman locked up in jinyowon?”
“jin buyeon?” master lee asks. if he’s surprised that jang uk knows anything, he’s good at hiding it.
master lee had heard about soulmates and fate but this was eerie, even for him. not even locking her up could keep the two souls from meeting once again.
“she has no memories” master lee states. he doesn’t say anything else, he doesn’t elude that he knows it’s not jin buyeon, but naksu. he wants to know just how much jang uk knows.
“you know” jang uk chokes out, “you knew all this time!”
“jang uk.. i wasn’t trying to keep anything from you” master lee says calmly, “jin hogyeong does not want anyone to know about her daughter, i have to respect her wishes as a mother”
considering that she had no memories at all. master lee was not willing to risk triggering her. how would he tell jang uk that if jin buyeon regained her memories first, naksu would disappear.. forever. it’s the reason he didn’t tell jang uk about her in the first place. he wouldn’t watch the young man go through that pain again. even if there was a possibility that naksu could survive, he wouldn’t take a chance unless he knew for sure.
“you can’t tell her anything” master lee says, “it’s dangerous”
“because she’s in jin buyeon’s body?” he asks
“that and people will want to kill her if they knew she was powerless right now” master lee says, “promise me jang uk”
“i can promise this much” jang uk says, “but i can’t stay away from her, that would be asking too much”
“i need to know…” he adds, “i need to know why she did it”
“is it necessary to open old wounds?” master lee asks. “somethings are better left unknown”
jang uk doesn’t know what to say to that. it’s been something that has haunted him for 3 years. something must’ve happened. he knows she loved him. she would not have killed him unless she had a reason to.
“i should go..” jang uk says, “it’s late and maidservant kim will be worried again”
he leaves before master lee could say anything. he needed to clear his head.
jang uk has become well acquainted with the wraiths that plague him every night. the air is dark and his room, much like his life now, is cold.
as he takes a large sip of his alcohol, he can’t seem to get her face out of his head. jin buyeon, naksu.. was alive and so close yet so, so far. it almost felt like he sick dream and that he’d wake up any moment now and she’d still be gone.
it felt like a nightmare to her. why was she getting married to a man she didn’t even know? she made sure to return to this room every time, obeying the rules her mother had given her but surely this was too much?
“he will be married into the family” jin hogyeong says, smiling as though she wasn’t delivering horrible news, “ once your husband arrives for the wedding, you will continue living in this room”
it seems as though her mother would never let her go. she would live like a prisoner, forced to have a child by a man she had no interest in.
what was the point of marriage if she wasn’t allowed freedom? this would not do. she had to find her future husband before he arrived in jinyowon. this was not a life she was going to accept.
the crown prince and his title meant nothing to jang uk. he would never forget the betrayal and it wasn’t like anyone would try to go against jang uk. not with his power. there was still a lot for him to figure out and ruining his day by being around the crown prince was not apart of his plan. he had to figure out how to approach jin buyeon without being caught by jin hogyeong.
“well then, we will meet again once i kill the next soul shifter” he says, standing to leave. bowing his head slightly, jang uk leaves. he had no reason to stay and talk to the prince.
jin buyeon knew she didn’t have much time left. she had to hurry or else they would eventually track her and force her back to jinyowon and back to that room. she would be forced to marry a stranger and have a child with him to create a heir.
aside from her mother and sister, she hadn’t had much outside experience and making friends was difficult for her. she hoped she didn’t look like an odd one out.
“a man from the seo family, who will come from seoho fortress?” ju wol asks, slightly amused
“that’s right” buyeon smiles, “i heard he will be staying here”
“yes. we do have reservations” ju wol says, “there are two of them. which one are you looking for?”
she hadn’t thought this far ahead. how would she even begin to describe a man she wasn’t familiar with. the only man she knew was the one from last night. the one dressed in all black and touched her face like she was made of porcelain.
now wasn’t the time to be thinking about him. he probably forgot all about her, considering he refused to take her with him.
“a man who is excellent husband material” she says instead
perhaps that was vague but she had nothing else to work with. she was lucky in the sense that she was shameless, to a degree.
ju wol laughs.
“ah! then it must be young master, seo yul” ju wol grins
“seo yul?” jin buyeon says
“have you ever heard of him?” ju wol asks, “you must not be from daeho, everyone woman here knows about him”
ju woul sizes her up suspiciously. she would’ve remembered a face as pretty as this strange woman. why was she asking such odd questions?
why would she be looking for seo yul if she didn’t even know who he was?
“i cannot reveal a guest’s information to a stranger” ju wol says, raising a brow before bowing.
jin buyeon was no fool and she knew bribery often worked wonders for her in the past. she always got what she wanted.
“can you tell me more, in detail?” buyeon smirks
the lady steps aside for a moment, whispering something to a man nearby before she returns. jin buyeon doesn’t bothering dwelling on that.
“there are four men in daeho whom all the women want to marry” ju wol grins
ju wol begins by speaking about the prince. a prince? he’d be a good candidate if he has so much power and say. her mother wouldn’t be able to force him to stay in jinyowon or marry into their family.
buyeon has heard about park danggu, her sister was a lot more talkative about the leader of songrim when intoxicated. she would sneak in to speak to buyeon whenever their mother wasn’t around. he was off limits.
seo yul seemed interesting. if he lived that far away from jinyowon, surely he wouldn’t agree to permanently stay in jinyowon. he was someone important. that could work in her favour.
“and lastly is jang uk” ju wol says, “he is probably the strongest man in the world right now”
and that peaks jin buyeon’s interest immediately. she doesn’t pay register much else that’s being said. a strong man could protect her and perhaps guarantee her freedom right?
she didn’t find him intimidating, despite ju wol’s warning.
jang uk …
“so amount these men, you’re here to meet seo yul, right?” ju wol asks.
“i believe so” jin buyeon says, “when is he coming?”
ju wol tells her that the boat has departed from seoho and should arrive soon. it could give her enough time to meet him before he reaches jinyowon.
she knew that she was beautiful and not many people could match up to her so she was confident she could win over whoever she wanted.
she barely had time to wait, the tracking device would be the end of her sooner or later. she needed a better escape plan, one where she wouldn’t be tracked so soon. she gave up trying to wait for seo yul and rushed to find a place to hide.
she tried to stay positive but what was the use? she would have to return eventually. she say on the small boat, weighing all her options. was this really the end for her?
“look! over there” the owner of the boat points, “is he not jang uk?”
“yes, the ice stone man, he is young master young from the jung family”
ice stone man?
jin buyeon glanced up at that.
“is that man over there jang uk?” she asked
“yes”
jang uk … the fourth candidate and the man from last night. she could never forget a face as handsome as that and if he was the strongest man alive, he could save her.
jang uk glanced sideways and saw her. he hadn’t expected to see her so soon and it was jarring, the fact that she really was there. even if no one knew who she really was or that she was jin buyeon, he knew.
perhaps he should stay away. if she had no recollection of him or who she was, it must’ve been fate. she was jin buyeon, the eldest daughter of the jin family. he had no business interfering.
but as he looked down at the boat, he knew he was lying to himself. that was the woman he loved. his wife .. the only woman he would ever love. how could he stay away? how could he ignore the fact that she was locked up as if she were a prisoner?
he sighed and headed into a restaurant. he needed something to drink and then he would head back to his house for a quick bath. if he had a moment alone, he could gather his thoughts. he didn’t know what to do and he hated feeling helpless.
he should’ve known she would follow him. a strange little thing she was. even without her memories, she didn’t seem to be weary of him like everyone else was.
“i heard that people avoid you” she says, looking around the restaurant. “so it is true”
“you’ve successfully escaped” he says, “right, you said it was just an outing”
“yes, thanks to you” she smiles and he tries not to look affected by that. he’d give himself away too soon.
she paused and sniffed the air before glancing over at the now empty table. she really was shameless.
“i smell something delicious” she says, “can i have one of those?”
he looks at her as she deflates.
“never mind. i have no money” she says awkwardly
as the waitress returns with his drink, he sighs and orders the food for her. he won’t admit that he notices her sweet smile almost immediately.
“thank you, jang uk” she says, smile even brighter. hearing her say his name shouldn’t cause his heart to stutter and he shouldn’t be willing feeding and sitting with the same woman that killed him.
maybe he was a fool..
“how do you know my name?” he asks
“i learned it by accident” she says, “while searching for my betrothed”
marriage? he’s surprised at his own self control. did he still have a reason to feel jealousy when it came to her? … he doubts there would ever be a time where he wouldn’t be.
“betrothed?” he asks
“i will get married soon” she explains, “he will move into jinyowon”
arranged marriage?
“even regular priestesses husbands move in there?” he asks, pouring his drink. avoiding eye contact was easier for right now.
“of course not” she looks offended, “only the heir of the jin family bring in her husband”
“wouldn’t that be jin cho yeon” he says, trying not to smirk at her.
“she is the second daughter” buyeon says firmly, “the future leader of jinyowon will be me, the eldest daughter. jin buyeon”
he knew it but hearing her confirm it was something else entirely.
“what… who are you?” he narrows his eyes at her, “she died ages ago”
“i told you already that i died a long time ago” buyeon says
she explains how she had been locked up in there because she shouldn’t have existed. it makes him uncomfortable thinking about that but he doesn’t say anything. he promised master lee that he wouldn’t say anything about her memories. he certainly wouldn’t bring up naksu either.
he can’t say he’s surprised to hear that jin hogyeong wants her to remain a secret or that she’d have a secret wedding.
“so you’re jin buyeon and you want to run away and not get married?” he asks
“i cannot flee” buyeon sighs, “so i wanted to ask my betrothed for his help.. but i just came up with a great idea”
“i should find a husband that suits me instead” she says while staring at him suspiciously. he doesn’t want to know what that look means. jin buyeon was trouble.
“speaking of which, jang uk… will you marry me?” she asks. she looks so serious and he’s sure that if he had been sipping on his drink, he might’ve choked.
this must be a sick and twisted fate for the two of them. had he not asked her to be his wife and then she killed him and supposedly died?
now she was back, without her memories, as jin buyeon and asking to marry him? the gods must enjoy these sick games.
“what!”
“i want you to be my husband” she grins
apart of him wants to readily accept. he would gladly take her hand in any life time, over and over again but this was still too much, even for him.
“we only met once and you want me to marry you?” he scoffs because the whole thing was ridiculous that it was funny. “you must be out your mind”
“i should have never helped you escape” he adds
“i am not out of my mind” she says, defensively, “you are strong enough to go against my mother and you have bad blood with jinyowon”
when she spoke this way, it reminded him so much of how she used to be. maybe she was crazy and he was too in love to notice it.
maybe he is crazy.
“if we got married, she might kick me out” buyeon explains. “this is exactly what i want”
and she looks far too pleased with herself. he should take her home and lock her in a room for her sanity (and his own)
“i cannot believe i ran into the perfect potential husband” she smiles, all too pleased
“i cannot believe i ran into a crazier potential bride” he says, leaning forward on the table. “when we only met once”
“so you see me as a potential bride” she grins because of course she’d latch onto that.
“no!” he lies but she bangs the table, shocking him.
“look me in the eye” she demands, “look at me and reconsider”
and he wants to say yes. her eyes are the most beautiful thing about her but he can’t give in. he doesn’t know what trouble that would cause for everyone. he can’t risk it.
he hates to say no to her or deny her anything but he has no choice. this would end up hurting her and he wasn’t sure he could live through it, even with the ice stone.
“do you not want to marry me?” she asks
“why?” he asks
“because… my beauty is unmatched” she tilts her head, a little too smug. she wasn’t even wrong and it had nothing to do with physical beauty although he could admit, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.
“you’re driving me crazy” and he means that in every sense.
“you cannot deny the fact that i turn heads wherever i go” she leans back. “i am sure you can see for yourself”
he can. he definitely can…
“yes, you are beautiful” he says because he can’t help himself. “i hope you find a better match with that beauty of yours”
he doesn’t mean that. he likes to believe he’s not crazy but he wonders what he would do if she actually did marry someone else. he would throw jinyowon and the whole of daeho into chaos.
she didn’t need to know any of that.
“enjoy the chicken” he says, reaching for his… her sword
he knows he’s going to give in to her eventually. he had so many unanswered questions too and it was still an open wound for him. he hadn’t been able to move on and mourning her had been one of the hardest things for him.
how was he meant to come to terms with her being alive and well?
it helped that she was crazier than he remembered her being. she seemed to be carefree and childish and he wanted her to be able to hold onto that for as long as she could. he would protect her, there was no doubt about it.
they would just have to keep her true identity a secret once she regained all her memories