Goo Yong Ha/Moon Jae Shin fic - Silken Ties
Sungkyunkwan Scandal
Title: Silken Ties
Spoilers: whole series
Summary: Set at the ending of ep. 20. Yong Ha is plotting. A gisaeng and Jae Shin are involved, though hardly in the same way.
Pairing: Goo Yong Ha/Moon Jae Shin
Word count: ~3000 words
Rating: PG-13
Warning: /
Other01: Epilogue to Hunter's Knife
Other02: Apologies for any possible mistakes, inaccuracies...
Other03: gisaeng = courtesan
It was late evening, and the market was bustling with life.
Yong Ha’s hands placed another piece of the flimsy silken fabric on the bare shoulder of the woman in front of him. After three evenings of fruitless endeavors, finally something promising.
He calculated how many people had seen him with a half-undressed gisaeng and smiled. It was a satisfying number, well worth the price, regardless of any other outcome.
There was nothing one couldn’t buy here. Books - the street on the left for the forbidden ones and those with suggestive content, but the racy novels had lost their luster in Yong Ha’s eyes lately. Yong Ha titled his head and wondered why.
Food - nothing Yong Ha would be interested in now.
Silk - some of the sheets in front of him were imported and of excellent quality, but the owner tended to mix in a few cheap ones, hoping that nobody would notice.
Of course Yong Ha had noticed - he scowled, releasing the fabric, and grabbed a new one.
“Will this take long?” said the gisaeng, lowering her eyes in a flirtatious gesture. “Perhaps you’d like to go somewhere else?”
Favors, one could buy an infinite number of favors here, just as well as information.
Yong Ha smiled at her. “And where would you like to go? Finding the right clothes demands patience.” He tapped on her nose with his index finger. “Patience.”
The gisaeng seemed smart enough to follow his instructions and naïve enough to fail at understanding them. She smiled, though her smile lacked the enthusiasm it had before.
Her face was suitable, but her apparel was not befitting of Goo Yong Ha at all.
He picked another veil of silk and sighed. Keeping up appearances was such a difficult thing to do, when your name was Goo Yong Ha.
And opinions, one could buy opinions. That was perhaps the most valuable merchandise one could buy after information.
Truly, one could buy anything here as long as he knew what kind of coin to pay for each, and as the son of a merchant, Yong Ha knew that well.
He was buying more than his own amusement this evening; he was buying at least three different things, the noble justifying the less noble ones.
The king’s token was safely tucked in his clothes, and Yon Ha hadn’t needed it tonight to enforce his words yet, but he began to wonder if he had been buying silk for the wrong gisaeng.
“But tell me more about that rumor you mentioned before,” said Yong Ha.
The gisaeng shrugged her bare shoulders and smiled. “It’s just a silly rumor…”
Yong Ha narrowed his eyes, waiting for a name.
“Well, someone mentioned for fun,” finished the gisaeng. “Why is it so important?”
“One of your patrons?” Yong Ha bit into his lip. Perhaps he was after something after all, a trail. “Your patrons must have such great sense of humor. Or was it one of the girls? I need to meet more people who have a better sense of humor than the scholars and the officials. Tsk. All bores, they’re all bores.”
The woman giggled. “I don’t remember anymore, the room was full of people.” She placed a hand on
Yong Ha’s shoulder and began moving her fingers lower. “If you changed your mind, we could go somewhere.”
Gently, Yong Ha drove her had away and put on an ecstatic expression. “Didn’t you say you wanted something nice to wear? Do you know how rare it is that anyone can get advice from me? I’m the best dresser in the whole capital. I’ll make you even prettier.”
He plucked a new sheet of silk and silently sighed in frustration. Keeping up appearances was difficult indeed.
In any case, there was nothing wrong if he got a bit of reputation while doing his duty, was it? Yong Ha chuckled at himself. He had been known to make women blush, and lately it seemed his reputation had been paling. Again he calculated the number of people who had seen him with a half-undressed gisaeng.
It was vanity as much as necessity, and any suspicions were best kept at bay.
These dreams of a new world that they were incited to grow inside their hearts and minds, a world of equality and fairness, they would take a lot of time to become reality. Perhaps they would turn into reality during their lifetime, and perhaps never, but Yong Ha could not look back anymore. With friends like his, one could look only forward.
Although Yong Ha knew of nobody with sufficient interest or brains to guess anything compromising about him and Jae Shin, he still wasn’t too fond of the idea of one hundred bludgeons in case of exposure. He shuddered at the thought. That would be such a misdeed toward his skin.
His eyes spotted a figure in the royal guards’ uniform trying to make his way through the crowd. His mind flared up instantly.
“Geol Oh,” Yong Ha called through the market. “Geol Oh!”
The figure halted and turned around, seeking for the owner of the voice among the stalls.
Yong Ha smiled. “Here!” He waved his hands high above his head.
Even in the dusk of night, it was clear that Jae Shin’s lips pursed in embarrassment. Jae Shin looked down, brows knitted as if deciding what to do for a moment, and then he walked toward Yong Ha in a determined stride.
Waiting, Yong Ha placed his hands on his back and shifted from one foot to the other.
“I told you not to call me that way in public.” Jae Shin thrust out his chin as if to accentuate his words.
Yong Ha intoned his voice teasingly. “Ah, yes, I think you did.”
He scanned Jae Shin from toes up to the tip of the hat.
The uniform suited Jae Shin well, and Yong Ha hadn’t tired of seeing him clad like this; the neatly tucked robes were shining with red and scarlet, while the bulky beads and colorful feathers were hanging from the hat.
Yong Ha put his hand under Jae Shin’s chin and moved Jae Shin’s face slowly from one side to the other to have a better look.
Jae Shin’s eyes flicked up and down, and he moved away as if scorched by fire. Then he elbowed Yong Ha in the ribs.
“Ah,” said Yong Ha, his body contracting with the unexpected twinge of pain. He pursed his lips in a pout. “You’re so unfriendly.”
For an instant or two, Jae Shin’s face turned into a confused dance of twitching muscles and trembling lips. Yong Ha took a breath, and in that time Jae Shin’s face went calm again.
If he hadn’t known better, Yong Ha would have tried poking around Jae Shin’s face with his fingers just to see that expression again.
Jae Shin lifted his right hand, shook it as if to threaten Yong Ha, and dropped it immediately.
“What are you doing here?” he said, hinting with his hand toward the gisaeng.
“Oh, that?” said Yong Ha. He glanced at the gisaeng and back at Je Shin. “I’m choosing my new favorite, haven’t I told you?”
He took a moment to gloat at the way Jae Shin’s lips went thin and his palms clenched, and then he picked two pieces of silk and laid them on the gisaeng’s skin. “Which looks better? This? Or this one?”
With contracted brows, Jae Shin followed Yong Ha’s hands with his gaze, and he hiccupped as they landed near the gisaeng’s neck.
Yong Ha released the silk and giggled into his hand.
“What we’re doing? I wonder that too,” said the gisaeng, covering one shoulder with her hand. “We’ve been here for so long. Perhaps I should leave by myself.”
Yong Ha shook his head. “No, you can’t leave yet, we’ve barely began to know each other.” He reached with one hand into his robe. “And besides, I will make it worth up to you.” He winked and offered a hair ornament with semi-precious stones. It was a nice example of craftsmanship in the Qing dynasty.
“Hm?” he said to the woman.
As she reached for the ornament, Yong Ha caught her hand and pulled her closer.
“And don’t forget about our agreement. You’ll spread the word that you’ve spent an unforgettable night with me,” he whispered to her. “In bed.”
The gisaeng glanced at him in mild surprise, but she smiled and took the ornament almost right away.
It must not have been that unusual for men to ask courtesans to embellish their manly deeds or, as it was in Yong Ha’s case, lie about them entirely.
“Of course,” she said.
Yong Ha turned to Jae Shin and winked.
Jae Shin stood as still as a stone, his jaw rigid, and his eyes dark under the brim of the hat. His fists were clenched at his sides.
Yong Ha gulped. Perhaps he had carried the joke too far. Did Jae Shin truly believe that Yong Ha had been with the gisaeng? Would he now hit Yong Ha or run away?
Yong Ha felt his knees go weak. Quickly, he waved his hand, urging Jae Shin to come closer.
Jae Shin stood in his place.
Yong Ha beckoned again, hoping that Jae Shin would come to him this time, or Yong Ha would have to go to Jae Shin instead and beg forgiveness and explain. He’d probably end up weeping in a very unmanly manner as well, and that would ruin all his meticulously prepared plans.
He looked at Jae Shin, and perhaps Jae Shin saw some of Yong Ha’s thoughts in his eyes, for he moved forward, albeit reluctantly.
Yong Ha felt his muscles relax again. He grabbed Jae Shin’s back and move closer to speak. The beads hit his cheek, while his lips bumped into the cold skin of Jae Shin’s ear. Yong Ha moved away slightly. To anyone else, this would be an accident, a small miscalculation and not a kiss. To anyone but Yong Ha and Jae Shin.
Yong Ha brought a hand close to his lips, and though he wanted to say something that would clarify what he had been doing here, his mouth sputtered out only, “I like it when you’re jealous like this.”
Before Jae Shin moved, Yong Ha grabbed the pale blue silk and pressed it on the side of Jae Shin’s face and neck. It wasn’t a bad match, this color.
Although he tried to keep a cool face, Yong Ha fad a feeling that his desire and amusement were seeping through, and that Jae Shin had more than noticed that.
The expression on Jae Shin’s face was betraying anger, and he was staring as though he wanted to say, ‘You’ll pay for this later, Goo Yong Ha.’
Yong Ha drew closer in response. A tingling sensation was spreading inside his belly as Jae Shin’s gaze grew only more intense and Jae Shin’s breathing was becoming uneven.
It looked like Jae Shin was about to drag him into a dark corner and tear all their clothes away, but instead he pushed the silk away.
He opened his mouth and let out an irritated sigh through his teeth. “Don’t you have anything better to do, Yeorim?”
“Have you been after the Cheong Byunk Seo?” Yong Ha said instead of answering.
“Yes,” said Jae Shin, his mood still sullen, and moved to leave.
Yong Ha narrowed his eyes. “Is it true that the Cheong Byunk Seo is a woman?”
Jae Shin turned around swiftly. “How do you know?”
Yong Ha shrugged. It had been merely a suspicion until now, but he was not going to tell that to Jae Shin.
The streets of the capital, its inns and the gisaeng house were like a mirror to the whole Joseon; they reflected every secret of the country, from the most trivial to the most important.
If that weren’t so, Yong ha would not have been given the task to investigate around them. Not to mention that the writing on the blue pamphlets was clearly done by a woman’s hand.
“I’m Goo Yong Ha,” he said and allowed himself a triumphant smile.
Jae Shin’s surprised face broke into a laugh. He shook his head and tapped Yong Ha on the shoulder, but before he began moving up the street, he shot another irate look. Yong Ha knew he still owed a good explanation, and luckily for both, a good explanation what was he had.
It seemed like a good time to join forces now, especially if Jae Shin had seen the Cheong Byunk Seo with his own eyes. Perhaps they’d have to ask Garang and Daemul for any news from Sungkyunkwan and see if there’s a link to this new rogue.
Riddles and mysteries.
Yong Ha clapped his hands. This was becoming more and more exciting. Plus, it’s been a while since they had met like that, all four of them.
Yes, it was about time for the true reunion of the Jalegum Quartet.
“Like the good old times,” he murmured, following Jae Shin’s back with his eyes.
Jae Shin glanced back once more, and Yong Ha refrained from sending a kiss after him. He settled for a jump to his toes and a wave with a hand. “I’ll meet you later!”
He giggled at Jae Shin’s exasperated face and winked twice, though he was quite sure Jae Shin was too far to see it in the dark.
Jae Shin sprung into a run, disappearing in the crowd.
“Ah,” said Yong Ha. He lifted the blue colored silk. “As I thought, this one is the best.”
“Do you think that color suits me?”
Startled, Yong Ha looked at the gisaeng - he had almost forgotten she was there.
“No.” He pinched her cheek and plucked the yellow sheet. “This one suits you. It exalts your beautiful face.”
She looked down and smiled.
“It’s become so late, isn’t it,” said Yong Ha. “And chilly. Brrrr.” He raised his hands and shook them vigorously. Then he covered the giseng’s shoulders with her robe. “It’s time to go home. We wouldn’t want you to catch a cold.”
“Home?” said the gisaeng. “In that case, you’ll offer me these as well.” She grabbed two more sheets of silk.
“That’s not what we agreed upon,” said Yong Ha, pulling the silk away.
She chuckled. “Do you think that just because we lower our gaze…” The gisaeng fluttered her eyelashes and looked down with false modestly, as any decent gisaeng would. “Do you think that it makes us blind?”
Yong Ha didn’t have a good feeling about this. “What do you mean?” he intoned jokingly.
“I mean that you will buy these too,” she said. There was hardly any naïveté to her countenance now, merely a gisaeng’s shrewdness. “My shoulders have gone cold waiting for you, and it’s only right you provide me with something to warm myself with, since you’re obviously not fain to warm me up yourself.”
Yong Ha made a wry smile and looked at the woman again. Had he underestimated her? Perhaps he had.
While Yong Ha was fairly sure that she couldn’t have made any threatening deduction in this short time, he knew better than to test it.
“Yes, I was planning to buy as much from the beginning.” His attempt at laugh was unconvincing even to his own ears.
“I’ll have your silk and jewelry, and you’ll have my silence and any kind of help a woman like me can provide, if you wish so.” She tapped Yong Ha’s nose as he had done to here earlier.
“And our meeting tonight…” began Yong Ha.
She nodded slowly. “It was an unforgettable night, something only the poets can describe in their songs. Many who come to visit our house will soon hear that you can satisfy a woman’s heart and body like nobody who has visited me before. Is that what you wanted to know?”
“Y-yes,” said Yong Ha. “But don’t overdo it, because that would be suspicious.”
No doubt, he had misjudged her.
“There is a lovely brooch I’ve seen, Master.” She clung to Yong Ha, and when he shook his head at her, she added, “Next time, if we meet again, that is.”
“We’ll have to come up with a fixed price, or you’ll cost me a fortune,” said Yong Ha.
She smiled. “I’m sure we can come to an arrangement.”
Yong Ha tilted his head and smiled back. “It seems I found a favorite after all.”
Then he reached for the coins with one hand, and with the other hand he took the pale blue silk he had pressed to Jae Shin’s face before.
He brushed it against his own face now. “My favorite indeed.”
A few more hours and he’d meet Jae Shin. This silk… Before the dawn would have come, if Yong Ha had his way with it, he would have a band of this tender silk wrapped tightly around Jae Shin’s wrists. Jae Shin’s sighs and every patch of his skin; once more it was all going to be for Yong Ha alone. Soon, in just another hour.
Remembering the expression on Jae Shin’s face just a little ago, Yong Ha thought that perhaps it would not play out that way.
Geol Oh would be angry, wild as an untamed horse, wild enough to leave bite marks and suck Yong Ha’s skin into red blushes that would stain Yong Ha’s neck for days. Tonight that band of blue silk would most likely end on Yong Ha’s wrists instead of Jae Shin’s.
Yet that would be fine too; Yong Ha wasn’t that finicky. It would be fine either way.
He half-closed his eyes.
Of course, he’d have to tell Geol Oh what he was doing here, and that would turn into a lengthy planning and debate. Should he tell Jae Shin as soon as they meet or only later on? The wait for which was more difficult to bear? The waiting for Jae Shin’s understanding or the touch of his naked flesh?
Decisions, decisions.
The silk was soft on lips, and Yong Ha felt how his pulse quickened to match his reverie.
Ah, if only time could move more quickly too…