A Rival Appears
In a guest room of the Zhejiang Yu Family, Namgung Ha-ryeon and her bodyguard were changing out of clothes soaked clean through.
Ha-ryeon, however, could not have cared less whether she was wet or not.
What is this... His face keeps coming back to me. My heartbeat feels strange, and my head is a little hazy.
"Young lady, why are you standing there in a daze? Change your clothes at once."
"Huh? Oh... right. I should change."
She said as much, yet Namgung Ha-ryeon remained thoroughly dazed.
"Are you unwell, young lady?"
"Yeah. I think I am. One person keeps surfacing in my mind, and he's all I can think about. And whenever I think of him, my heart aches."
Her bodyguard let out a soft, knowing laugh.
"Is it Young Master Yu I-hyeon you can't stop thinking of?"
"Yes! That's my bodyguard. You really do know things!"
"That's what happens when you like someone."
At those words, Ha-ryeon's thoughts came to a dead stop.
...I like him? That can't be.
"You're lying. This is just guilt over what happened today. There's no way I'd sincerely like a boy I met for the first time today."
Unable even to recognize that she liked someone, Namgung Ha-ryeon denied reality outright.
"Mother said she called for me, so I should go to her first."
Ha-ryeon changed in a hurry and made for the room where her mother waited.
"Yes. Come in."
The door slid open. Even as Ha-ryeon entered, Hwi-gyeom only gazed out the window and did not turn.
"I hear you were fooling around and dropped Young Master Yu into the water."
"I'm sorry. I got excited for no reason..."
Ha-ryeon bent at the waist and apologized to her mother.
"Your apology isn't owed to me. It's owed to Young Master Yu. And when you fell in, I hear the young master went so far as to save you. Did you thank him?"
"...I'll take care of both when I see him."
The moment Ha-ryeon finished, Hwi-gyeom let out a sigh.
"When I told you it was an important occasion and to conduct yourself well, I did not mean for you to disgrace yourself."
"I'm sorry..."
A bitterness lingered on Ha-ryeon's tongue. She had only acted out of a wish to do well, and it rankled that things had refused to go as she intended.
"If you understand, then go."
And so Ha-ryeon left the room where Hwi-gyeom waited.
All right. I'll apologize to I-hyeon properly, and then I'll do better.
Yet even after a scolding from her mother, she was not downcast in the least.
First, find Young Master Yu! If I go outside, he'll be somewhere!
She stepped out with that resolve—only to lose her way inside the vast Zhejiang Yu estate.
"What are you doing here?"
But then, like a savior, someone appeared. None other than I-hyeon.
"Ah... I got lost..."
Thump.
"It's fine. Nothing to be embarrassed about. I only go where I usually go, so if it's somewhere I don't pass through much, I get lost too."
"Pfft—hahaha! What kind of excuse is that?"
Is he going out of his way so I won't feel awkward? What a kind heart.
Thump.
"Then follow me."
I-hyeon caught Ha-ryeon by the wrist and broke into a run.
Thump. Thump.
Why is my heart doing this? Guilt. Right—it's guilt. If I apologize, it'll be fine.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I was showing off and dropped you in the water. And thank you, for saving me when I fell in."
"Oh, you were still worrying about that? I'm fine!"
I-hyeon smiled and glanced back.
Thump. Thump.
In that instant a halo seemed to blaze from him, and Ha-ryeon squinted against it.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Wait... wait, let's rest...!"
Ha-ryeon shook off his hand and gasped the words out. She dropped her head and braced both hands on her knees.
Wh... why am I like this?
Thump! Thump! Thump!
She clutched her chest against a heartbeat that felt ready to burst.
"Hey, what's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Ha-ryeon realized that every word from I-hyeon drove her heart faster still.
It hurts like my heart's going to explode...
"Hey, I asked if you're all right!"
I-hyeon seized her by the shoulders and pulled her upright.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Their eyes met, and the words spilled out of her.
For a moment, silence hung in the air.
Aaaah!! What did I just say!
Shame sent Ha-ryeon's hands flying up to cover her face.
She looked sick, so I got worried, and now she's talking nonsense. Before she gets any worse, I should drag her to the medicine hall.
I-hyeon, for his part, carried on as if nothing of consequence had happened.
"Hey, you can walk, right?"
Ha-ryeon nodded.
"Then follow me."
I-hyeon started down the path, but Ha-ryeon did not follow.
"Honestly. You said you'd come."
In the end he lost the fight with his temper, caught her hand, and started walking. To Ha-ryeon even that brief contact felt like a dream—as if she might lift clean off the ground.
And so the two of them made it safely to the medicine hall, where the physician waited.
"Young master, what brings you here?"
"She seemed sick, so I dragged her over. Please take a look at her, Physician."
"Understood. This way, young lady."
The physician laid Ha-ryeon down and began examining her from head to toe.
"Hey, get a proper examination."
I-hyeon said it while looking her straight in the eye. Ha-ryeon immediately looked away.
"My bodyguards will bring yours soon."
The physician set about taking her pulse in earnest, and Ha-ryeon began whispering something to her.
"Mm... I see. There is a medicine for times like this. It will take a little while, so please wait a moment."
With that, the physician left to fetch it.
"What did you say?"
"It's a secret."
Even as she answered him, Ha-ryeon stared only at the wall.
"So it's contagious. That's why you won't look at me."
"Yeah. So stay far away."
The truth is, I want him to stay... Why do I keep saying the opposite of what I mean?
Just then I-hyeon's bodyguards and Ha-ryeon's arrived where they were.
"Young lady!"
Ha-ryeon's bodyguard, sick with worry, ran straight to her.
"Looks like what my bodyguard said was right."
"You're not ill, are you?"
"I'm fine... I'm not fine."
"Then please rest a little."
She looked Ha-ryeon over, then offered I-hyeon a fist-and-palm salute.
"Thank you, Young Master Yu. Thanks to you, the young lady could receive the physician's care."
"No. I only did what needed doing."
"Then I'll go report to the clan lord. I'll be back shortly—could you stay with the young lady until then?"
"Yes, I'll stay. She says she's fine, but I think we ought to keep an eye on her."
"Thank you. Then I'll take my leave."
And so Ha-ryeon's bodyguard left the medicine hall.
"I'm fine, so you go too."
"No. I at least want to see you take the medicine before I go."
Worry running ahead of him, I-hyeon failed entirely to read Ha-ryeon's heart.
"Young master, it would be better to let Lady Namgung rest."
Myo-ryeong said.
"I'll watch over her, so please set your mind at ease."
"If even Myo-ryeong says so, all right. I'll head in. ...Hey. Take your medicine properly, and I'll see you at dinner."
With that, I-hyeon left the medicine hall, and only Myo-ryeong and Ha-ryeon remained.
"So you've come to truly like the young master."
"H-how did you—!"
Ha-ryeon shot upright in shock.
"Ha... so another rival has appeared."
"Then you too...!"
"Yes. Of course I nurse a one-sided love for the young master."
Myo-ryeong smiled with her eyes.
"You're a bodyguard. Is that even allowed?"
"Even if the fallout hits, I'm confident I can endure it."
"And you ought to stay on your toes, you know. It isn't as if those two are the only ones you're up against."
"Don't tell me that white-haired woman as well?"
Myo-ryeong's smile turned sly.
"Yes. To us, she is the greatest obstacle. The person the young master likes most—and the one he relies on."
"Then why tell me that? What are you trying to do?"
"I'm telling you to give up."
For a moment Ha-ryeon was too flustered to answer.
"That woman and I are stuck to the young master all day long. Even when we sleep, we share one bedchamber under the pretext of guarding him."
"Th-that's...!"
"But what about you? You only met today. You even made a spectacle of yourself. And how many more times do you suppose you'll see the young master from now on? Once a year? Once every two years? Or perhaps even less than that."
Ha-ryeon pressed her lips shut.
"Thinking of giving up now?"
Ha-ryeon sank into thought. Then she came back to herself and spoke.
Myo-ryeong's eyes went wide at the sheer spirit of it.
"Aigoo, young lady, I've decocted the medicine. It should help settle the heart."
The physician returned with it just then. Ha-ryeon gulped the dose down and glared at Myo-ryeong.
"Very well. Let's have ourselves a proper match."
Myo-ryeong reluctantly acknowledged her and marked her an enemy.
The door slid open.
"And your bodyguard has arrived right on time. Shall we head to dinner, then?"
Myo-ryeong smiled slyly and gestured toward the door.
Ha. With this, I have one more enemy. But it's fine. In three days, the rite's effect will show.
"Hmph. Let's go."
This was the true beginning of the three women's fight to claim I-hyeon.