The Innocent Rookie (3)
"!!!" Startled by the breath brushing against her ear, Yeol Hayun jumped. Her hand and the hem of her robe slipped past the eaves, getting drenched in the rain.
"Why are you so startled, my lady?"
"..."
Yeol Hayun looked left and right in a panic. Keep your distance at all times, and never speak to him. That was the strategy she had devised. But how was she supposed to keep her distance in these deep mountains with the rain pouring down? The hermitage was tiny. If he intended to follow her, fleeing would be utterly pointless no matter where she went.
In the end, the only thing Yeol Hayun could do was pull off her outer robe and drape it over her head. If he spoke to her again, she was fully prepared to cover her ears with both hands.
And yet... No matter how long she waited with her hands hovering near her ears, Han Seojin's voice did not come.
...? She didn't know why, but it was a relief. It seemed he had no intention of drawing closer to bewitch her.
"...Whew." Relief washed over Yeol Hayun's body. The tension that had been wound tight for days finally began to unravel.
Was there anyone in the world who could let their guard down physically while keeping their mental defenses perfectly intact? Perhaps. But at the very least, Yeol Hayun was not one of them. As her body relaxed, her wariness toward Han Seojin dissolved along with it.
And then... the curiosity she had suppressed all this time reared its head. From beneath her draped robe, she stole a glance.
Han Seojin was quietly watching the rainy scenery. Even his profile was breathtakingly beautiful. Fearing that her heart would do strange things if she kept staring, she hid beneath her robe once more.
"..." And then, once more... she peeked. This time, their eyes met.
"!!" Yeol Hayun flinched and hid under her robe again. But this time, only slightly. Far less than before.
Ssssshh. Sssssshh.
"The investigator is resting her eyes inside for a moment, my lady."
Hearing it from so close, his voice was incredibly beautiful. This time, Yeol Hayun did not flinch.
"..." She didn't answer. But she remained standing right where she was. It wasn't as if she could run away anyway, right?
Sssssshh. The sound of the rain. The distinct scent of wet earth that rose with the downpour had a way of softening a person's heart.
"..." Yeol Hayun looked to her side again. Her eyes met Han Seojin's.
...What truly beautiful eyes. This time, she did not look away. It was the first time since they had met.
Slowly, a smile bloomed on Han Seojin's face. The corners of his eyes and lips curved into soft, elegant lines. It was a truly beautiful curve.
"..." Yeol Hayun did not look away. She couldn't.
Sssssshh. Sssssshh. A gentle fragrance drifted through the misty rain and the scent of wet earth. It was Han Seojin's scent. Did this man eat flower petals instead of rice? How could a human body exude such a fragrance?
Suddenly, Yeol Hayun felt incredibly embarrassed. She didn't even know why, but she was so flushed that she buried her face in her chest. Her face and the tips of her ears burned hot.
"Lady Kwonji," Han Seojin whispered beside her again. "You are wet."
Gently, his hand caught the hem of her robe. If he wrung it out with a clenched fist, it would leave unsightly wrinkles. To prevent that, he pressed it between his palms as if in prayer. Water squeezed out from the fabric.
They brushed. Han Seojin's fingernails, slipping slightly inside her sleeve, grazed her forearm. Just a touch. A tantalizing, fleeting graze.
Yeol Hayun's head suddenly spun. A wave of heat surged through her body.
Ah, ah... Their eyes met. With a soft hum, Han Seojin smiled. Yeol Hayun could not tear her gaze away from that smile. The rain continued to fall, soaking them in its damp warmth.
"..." Glancing back at Yeol Hayun, who was trailing behind them, Oh Jayeon asked Han Seojin, who was riding behind her. "...You didn't do anything weird, did you?"
Oh Jayeon had been resting with her eyes closed inside the hermitage. However, she hadn't actually fallen asleep; she had been listening to the conversation outside the entire time. And the exchange that reached her ears had been entirely mundane.
As far as Oh Jayeon knew, the most dangerous part of Han Seojin was that wicked tongue of his. His silver-tongued eloquence could seize control of a conversation in a heartbeat and leave the listener's emotions in utter disarray.
Yet, even as she strained her ears inside, the words Han Seojin had spoken were completely ordinary. Why are you so startled? Investigator Oh Jayeon is resting inside. Your clothes are wet. That was about the gist of it. Just mundane, everyday remarks. Thus, Oh Jayeon concluded that, for some reason, Han Seojin hadn't tried anything at the hermitage.
"Indeed, I did nothing of the sort, my lady."
...How strange. The man himself said so, and to Oh Jayeon's ears, nothing had happened either. So why did Yeol Hayun's attitude seem subtly different now?
He is a truly impossible man to read...
In truth, the heart Oh Jayeon understood the least was her own. What was the point of being with this man anyway? He belonged to the King. Whether he succeeded in becoming the official consort or remained a mere concubine, Han Seojin was ultimately the King's man. An untouchable man. A man who would bring ruin to anyone who dared lay a hand on him.
Oh Jayeon was also reaching marriageable age. Before she fell any deeper for this bewitching man, shouldn't she just hurry up and get married?
"...Sigh."
"What worries weigh so heavily on your mind, my lady?"
"You. You are my worry and the source of all my anguish."
"Anguish and worry? How can a scholar utter such Buddhist terms? Do you intend to shave your head and enter a temple?"
"I would rather become a packhorse carrying Buddhist statues than continue carrying you on my back."
"How tragic." Han Seojin chuckled, as if he could see right through her true feelings—that she didn't actually want that at all. Oh Jayeon felt a strange sense of grievance.
"If I end up unable to marry because of you, will you take responsibility?"
"Why would a noble lady like you be unable to marry because of a mere gisaeng like me?"
"That's..." Oh Jayeon shook her head. He was teasing her, fully aware of the answer.
"...What do you plan to do?"
"About what, my lady?"
"Going around bewitching this woman and that woman. Doing things you can't possibly take responsibility for."
"Who knows? Perhaps I might be able to take responsibility."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"If His Majesty only permits it, perhaps the reverse of the usual arrangement might be possible, no?"
Oh Jayeon realized what Han Seojin was implying. A harem. Not the normal kind where a woman took multiple husbands, but a harem where a man took multiple wives—even while holding the position of Queen.
"Do not say such dangerous things, even as a joke...!!" Oh Jayeon looked around, genuinely horrified.
"Heheh." It was only natural for her to react that way. But... who really knew? In his original world, King Yeonsangun loved stealing other people's wives. Perhaps the King of this world had a taste for watching her own man fool around with others. Extremes often met. What kind of extreme did the King's fierce jealousy and possessiveness reach?
"And as for you, my lady, can you not simply find a decent man and marry him? If you dislike commoners, you could always fetch a Ban-ma-in man from the northern regions."
"...It has already been hundreds of years since my clan submitted to Goryeo from the Hanhai."
"Is that not even better? There is no need to worry about mixing bloodlines."
"A man like you..." Oh Jayeon clicked her tongue. "I envy you. Life must be so easy and comfortable when you can wag your tongue like that. Sitting still, acting cute, and having food and wealth practically fall into your lap."
"That is a misunderstanding, my lady," Han Seojin replied self-deprecatingly. "Rather than a tongue like this, I would much prefer to have the martial strength to carve out my own path. I envy military officials like you more than anyone else in the world."
Oh Jayeon let out a dry laugh. "Ha. Right, as if." She was a military official to her bones. Detecting subtle shifts in emotion was not a soldier's forte.
"...Heheh."
"..."
"..."
"...?" Just as even Oh Jayeon began to think the silence was stretching on strangely long...
"Excuse me..." Yeol Hayun approached from behind and bowed deeply toward Han Seojin.
"I-I am Y-Yeol Hayun. I passed the civil service exam last year and am currently serving as a Kwonji Seungmunwon Bujeongja. As for what a Kwonji Seungmunwon Bujeongja is—"
Han Seojin's voice rang out clear and melodious.
"A Kwonji is a temporary post assigned to those who have newly passed the state examinations."
In modern terms, an intern.
"The Seungmunwon is the Office of Diplomatic Documents, which handles diplomatic correspondence."
In modern terms, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"And a Bujeongja is the lowest-ranking post of the Junior Ninth Rank."
In modern terms, a Grade 9 administrative officer. Putting it all together, she was roughly equivalent to a newly hired intern at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who had just passed the civil service exam. At least, that was the general idea.
Yeol Hayun's eyes went wide. "How is a beautiful gentleman like you so knowledgeable about government affairs?"
"Because I frequently received guests from the government. The last person I served was... the current Vice Minister of Rites, if I recall correctly."
"Oh..."
"Is she perhaps a relative of yours?"
"She is my second cousin."
"Ah, so she is your cousin once removed?"
"Yes, exactly!" Yeol Hayun's eyes sparkled as she began chatting with Han Seojin.
Oh Jayeon's tail gave a sharp, brief flick.
"I thought you said you didn't do anything..."
"Pardon? Ah, Investigator Oh, you should join us—"
"It is fine. You do not need to drag me into your conversation. I am not offended, so do not worry and carry on speaking with this bewitching man."
"Uh, uh, no, that's not... ah..."
"Heheh."
"Haaah..."
Even without looking back, the scene was all too obvious. Oh Jayeon let out a long, heavy sigh. Kaesong was now right before their eyes.