Two For the Price of One, Prologue
Fandom: Sungkyunkwan Scandal
Title: Two For the Price of One
Pairings: Yong-ha/OFC, and otherwise consistent with Taming the Crazy Horse
Rating: R for mature themes
Disclaimer: The SKKS-verse belongs to the creators of Sungkyunkwan Scandal.
Author's Notes: And we're back in business - sort of. I'm still reconstructing what I lost following the hard drive crash a few months ago, but think I have enough written for monthly/semi-monthly updates. In the meantime, enjoy :)
Prologue
Unlike his hyung, the little boy found it impossible to sit still.
His father tried everything: extra lessons, extended naps, even punishments; but the boy was a quick study and made short work of his lessons, he refused to sleep when he wasn't tired, and his notoriously softhearted mother put a quick end to the punishments. It wasn't that the boy was bad, she rightly pointed out. He was just active and curious about everything, as many children were wont to be.
That day, he sped through his arithmetic lessons as he usually did (getting everything right, of course-a good head for numbers ran in the family), drove his tutor to distraction by asking one impossible question after another, and ran away to hide once his studies were over for the day. His lessons were normally followed by nap time, and he knew that the servants couldn't force him to take a nap if they couldn't find him.
He took refuge in one of the seldom-used rooms in the house, but that quickly lost its appeal when he found that there was nothing to do in there. Besides, he reasoned as he stole out of his hiding place, they wouldn't be able to catch him if he kept moving.
Eventually, the boy found his way to a room near the servants' quarters. It was usually empty, but someone was in there that day. He listened for a moment to the humming and, not recognizing the voice as belonging to any of the maids, cautiously peeked inside.
An old woman sat beside the window, rummaging through a jumble of brightly colored threads in the basket next to her. From where he knelt by the door, he could see that instead of doing boring old sewing, she was making a picture of what looked like a flower on the cloth on her lap.
He watched the old woman cut a length of orange thread and, eyes narrowed in concentration, attempt to thread her needle. After a few moments, he could tell that she was having trouble accomplishing the task.
"I can do that, Halmeonim," he blurted out.
For a while, he feared that she would shoo him away like the kitchen ahjummas did whenever they found him underfoot, but the old woman looked up and smiled. "Oh, could you? That would be a very big help." She held out the needle and thread towards him. "I'm afraid these old eyes aren't what they used to be."
The boy scrambled inside. He took the needle carefully and had it threaded in moments. "Thank you, young master," the old woman said when he returned the prepared needle to her.
"Maybe I should stay here for now," he suggested. "You might need to thread more needles." Besides, he really wanted to see that she was doing.
She laughed when she saw that he was already making himself comfortable beside her. "If you like."
"Oh, I do like!" he answered, favoring her with a brilliant smile (a weapon that he already knew how to use with devastating effect, even at his tender age) now that he got what he wanted. They couldn't make him take a nap now. She said he could stay, and she was old and probably needed a lot of help.
The old woman's heart was light on her journey home that evening. She had accomplished a lot, even with the little boy watching over her shoulder practically the whole time-he was indeed helpful in threading the needles, and provided amusement with all his questions. Besides that, the lady of the house paid well, which was important now that she and her husband had two more mouths to feed.
Her smile faded slightly. Of course, there had been no question about taking their daughter, Seol-hee, and Seol-hee's infant daughter in to live with them, but she couldn't help wishing that Seol-hee had returned under happier circumstances.
The old woman and her husband had had serious misgivings when their only child announced that she wanted to be married. Though well-to-do, her intended was much older than she and had been married twice before. The girl had been adamant, however, fancying herself in love; and now she was back, sent away in disgrace after her last futile attempt to give her husband another son.
Seol-hee's daughter, barely two years old, had paid the price, too. Her father already had a number of grown children, all but one of them daughters, from his other wives; what use did he have for another girl?
The old woman set her jaw at the thought. She and her husband had vowed to do right by their daughter and granddaughter from the moment when mother and child turned up at their door. Someone had to do it; and with Seol-hee eating little and spending her days sitting by the door as if waiting for her husband to come and fetch her home, it was clear that she was unable to contribute.
Fortunately, there was still a lot that the old woman and her husband could do. It had been easy enough for them to add the baby to the family registry; and not only were they still strong enough to make a living, but their work allowed them to help look after the child. They were getting on in years and definitely not as wealthy than the baby's father, but others had gotten by with less.
They would manage, the old woman told herself as she trudged the rest of the way home.
One way or another.
Title: Two For the Price of One
Pairings: Yong-ha/OFC, and otherwise consistent with Taming the Crazy Horse
Rating: R for mature themes
Disclaimer: The SKKS-verse belongs to the creators of Sungkyunkwan Scandal.
Author's Notes: And we're back in business - sort of. I'm still reconstructing what I lost following the hard drive crash a few months ago, but think I have enough written for monthly/semi-monthly updates. In the meantime, enjoy :)
Prologue
Unlike his hyung, the little boy found it impossible to sit still.
His father tried everything: extra lessons, extended naps, even punishments; but the boy was a quick study and made short work of his lessons, he refused to sleep when he wasn't tired, and his notoriously softhearted mother put a quick end to the punishments. It wasn't that the boy was bad, she rightly pointed out. He was just active and curious about everything, as many children were wont to be.
That day, he sped through his arithmetic lessons as he usually did (getting everything right, of course-a good head for numbers ran in the family), drove his tutor to distraction by asking one impossible question after another, and ran away to hide once his studies were over for the day. His lessons were normally followed by nap time, and he knew that the servants couldn't force him to take a nap if they couldn't find him.
He took refuge in one of the seldom-used rooms in the house, but that quickly lost its appeal when he found that there was nothing to do in there. Besides, he reasoned as he stole out of his hiding place, they wouldn't be able to catch him if he kept moving.
Eventually, the boy found his way to a room near the servants' quarters. It was usually empty, but someone was in there that day. He listened for a moment to the humming and, not recognizing the voice as belonging to any of the maids, cautiously peeked inside.
An old woman sat beside the window, rummaging through a jumble of brightly colored threads in the basket next to her. From where he knelt by the door, he could see that instead of doing boring old sewing, she was making a picture of what looked like a flower on the cloth on her lap.
He watched the old woman cut a length of orange thread and, eyes narrowed in concentration, attempt to thread her needle. After a few moments, he could tell that she was having trouble accomplishing the task.
"I can do that, Halmeonim," he blurted out.
For a while, he feared that she would shoo him away like the kitchen ahjummas did whenever they found him underfoot, but the old woman looked up and smiled. "Oh, could you? That would be a very big help." She held out the needle and thread towards him. "I'm afraid these old eyes aren't what they used to be."
The boy scrambled inside. He took the needle carefully and had it threaded in moments. "Thank you, young master," the old woman said when he returned the prepared needle to her.
"Maybe I should stay here for now," he suggested. "You might need to thread more needles." Besides, he really wanted to see that she was doing.
She laughed when she saw that he was already making himself comfortable beside her. "If you like."
"Oh, I do like!" he answered, favoring her with a brilliant smile (a weapon that he already knew how to use with devastating effect, even at his tender age) now that he got what he wanted. They couldn't make him take a nap now. She said he could stay, and she was old and probably needed a lot of help.
The old woman's heart was light on her journey home that evening. She had accomplished a lot, even with the little boy watching over her shoulder practically the whole time-he was indeed helpful in threading the needles, and provided amusement with all his questions. Besides that, the lady of the house paid well, which was important now that she and her husband had two more mouths to feed.
Her smile faded slightly. Of course, there had been no question about taking their daughter, Seol-hee, and Seol-hee's infant daughter in to live with them, but she couldn't help wishing that Seol-hee had returned under happier circumstances.
The old woman and her husband had had serious misgivings when their only child announced that she wanted to be married. Though well-to-do, her intended was much older than she and had been married twice before. The girl had been adamant, however, fancying herself in love; and now she was back, sent away in disgrace after her last futile attempt to give her husband another son.
Seol-hee's daughter, barely two years old, had paid the price, too. Her father already had a number of grown children, all but one of them daughters, from his other wives; what use did he have for another girl?
The old woman set her jaw at the thought. She and her husband had vowed to do right by their daughter and granddaughter from the moment when mother and child turned up at their door. Someone had to do it; and with Seol-hee eating little and spending her days sitting by the door as if waiting for her husband to come and fetch her home, it was clear that she was unable to contribute.
Fortunately, there was still a lot that the old woman and her husband could do. It had been easy enough for them to add the baby to the family registry; and not only were they still strong enough to make a living, but their work allowed them to help look after the child. They were getting on in years and definitely not as wealthy than the baby's father, but others had gotten by with less.
They would manage, the old woman told herself as she trudged the rest of the way home.
One way or another.