Taming the Crazy Horse, Ch. 10
Previously:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Disclaimer: The SKKS-verse belongs to the creators of Sungkyunkwan Scandal.
Technical Notes: [EDIT 02-07-2016] Cho-sun now has a given name, but I continue to call her by her gisaeng name in her scene with In-soo (and other canon characters) so that it's clear that it's her and not some random OFC.
Also, I apologize for inserting In-soo and Cho-sun rather abruptly into this fic. Chapter 1 does mention that he was courting her, but we don't see anything else of the pairing until this chapter. I wish I could have written more of them throughout the fic so that we could track the progress of their relationship, but I had my hands full with Jae-shin and Ka-hai so we just have to assume that it all happened off-screen.
Author's Notes: Thank you to min7girl, Anonymous 1 (Thanks for always reviewing!) and 2, cesiaj, kensnonno and takenoko for reviewing! I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter as much as I did writing and rewriting it ;)
Also, my mom finally saw SKKS (she generally doesn't watch dramas set in historical times, but I think I talked this one up pretty well) and she loved it. Unfortunately, her nickname for Jae-shin is taong grasa, a Filipino slang term that roughly translates to "homeless/street person" :-p - Yong-ha is her favorite.
I hope we all have a good week ahead!
Chapter Ten
The next time Jae-shin saw Ka-hai, it was in the stables right after he arrived home. Despite last night's exertions, she appeared to have felt well enough to exercise Chul-moo; and, judging from the fact that his wife was calmly brushing the horse's mane instead of sliding off his back, this session had gone better than the one he had witnessed.
Nevertheless, he approached the pair with caution. "Chul-moo seems quieter now," he observed, knowing well enough to speak quietly to avoid startling the skittish animal.
Instead of the horse, it was Ka-hai who jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned, her cheeks pink, and they smiled shyly at each other. It had been easy enough to go about their workaday routines when they were apart, but seeing each other again was a stark reminder that things between them had irrevocably changed and they would have to figure out how to move forward from there.
"He doesn't try to throw me anymore," she told him as she put down the brush and offered Chul-moo a carrot. "He still gets restless when he thinks he's carried me long enough, and he doesn't seem ready for a saddle yet, but we're getting there."
She laughed as the horse, having made short work of the treat, nuzzled her hand, looking for more. "There's another carrot in the bucket," she said to Jae-shin. "You can give it to him if you like."
He offered the carrot to Chul-moo, who accepted it even though it wasn't his mistress who was feeding him. "Good boy," he praised, patting its nose before allowing Ka-hai to start leading the animal to its stall.
He about to remark that Chul-moo seemed to like him better now when the horse suddenly stepped sideways, knocking her off-balance. She bumped into Jae-shin, and husband and wife ended up in a heap on a nearby pile of straw.
"I guess he still doesn't like me much," he said instead.
The straw rustled as she removed his hat, which had been knocked askew by the fall, and set it aside. "Oh, I don't know...." Ka-hai said, her cheeks turning pink. "Maybe Chul-moo was trying to give me to you as a thank-you for the carrot."
He glanced up at the horse, who walked the rest of the way into his stall with a disinterested snort. That didn't tell him much, but given the situation he was in, he supposed he couldn't really complain. "If that's true," he replied, grinning and looping an arm around her waist to pull her closer, "then I suppose he really likes me now."
She giggled and he kissed her, only to pull away when he heard footsteps. They looked up in time to see one of the grooms chuckling and beating a hasty retreat. "It looks like someone saw us," Jae-shin remarked uselessly, feeling his face grow warm.
"Well, we aren't exactly in private," Ka-hai said, glancing away.
It was probably a good idea to get up or at least move apart, in case someone else came along, but he didn't budge. The straw was vastly more comfortable than the hard-backed chair he had been sitting in all day, and his wife felt very nice in his arms.
She made no move to leave, either. "How was your day?" she asked in a conversational tone, as though she were facing him across the dinner table instead of lying half-atop him, brushing straw from his clothes. "Did anything interesting happen?"
"Nothing at work," he answered, "but we did get invited to a wedding. Do you remember my partner on the force, Ha In-soo? His sister's getting married."
"That's nice for her."
"She's marrying a classmate of ours from Sungkyunkwan," he went on, "so the guests will be mostly school friends. Yoon-hee, Yong-ha and Sun-joon will be there, so you won't have to worry about not knowing anyone."
"I'll go shopping for a present tomorrow," Ka-hai promised. "Oh, and since you mentioned him, I got a letter from Yong-ha today."
He stiffened. "Why would he be writing to you?" he demanded with a scowl. As attractive as he thought his wife to be, he didn't think she was Yong-ha's type; but then he supposed he could never be completely sure about that, given the way that his friend flitted from one woman to the other like a gaudy butterfly.
"He wrote me about you, actually."
"Me?" Jae-shin asked, puzzled now instead of irritated.
She nodded and gave him the naughty smile signaling that she was up to another one of those things that was bound to make his life interesting. "Now I know all about your hiccuping habit."
"Oh, that." He cleared this throat and tried to assume an unaffected air that was marred by one of the aforementioned hiccups. "And I suppose you're going to take full advantage of that knowledge now."
"Not right at this moment," Ka-hai told him, coloring as she glanced at their surroundings, "but eventually."
"Why in the world did my father ever agree to a match between you and me?" he asked with a long-suffering sigh, although it was obvious that he was trying not to smile.
"I think it's because he has a sense of humor."
The marriage of Ha Hyo-eun to Lim Byung-choon, which took place later that week, was a small but happy affair. The close personal ties between the bride's brother and the bridegroom meant that, apart from a handful of relatives and Hyo-eun's small group of friends, most of the wedding guests were former Sungkyunkwan students. This gave the occasion a relaxed, informal air, which was welcome considering that the bride's father, the former Minister of War, was unable to attend due to a long-term engagement at the state prison.
While the negotiations were admittedly tamer than those at Jae-shin's wedding, In-soo nevertheless put on a good show while haggling with Byung-choon's representatives, Seol Go-bong and Kang Moo. With their former classmates calling out suggestions (some of which were actually helpful) and heckling from the sidelines, the negotiators argued loudly with each other before eventually striking a bargain to tumultuous cheering from their audience.
"Maybe In-soo sunbae should have sat on both sides of the table," Sun-joon remarked as they followed the negotiators back into the Has' house.
"Then the negotiations wouldn't have been as much fun," Yong-ha sniffed.
"I don't know," Jae-shin snickered. "It might have been entertaining to watch In-soo try to cheat himself."
They had located Yoon-hee and were giving her the highlights of the negotiations when Ka-hai appeared from another room. She spotted them and, smiling, began to make her way over.
Jae-shin watched his wife come towards them. Whether she was cutting a swath through a yangban wedding party or tidying up their bedroom, she moved with an intriguing combination of grace and purpose. Some men might be attracted to a pretty face or a beautiful figure, both of which he believed Ka-hai had in spades, but it was the way she moved that did it for him.
It took him a while to realize that his friends were snickering. "Sa-hyung is clearly smitten," Sun-joon remarked with a grin.
"What?" Jae-shin asked blankly.
"If you stare at your wife any harder, you're going to melt the clothes right off her," Yong-ha added, and gave him a little nudge. "But that would save a lot of time, won't it?"
"Shut up," he muttered, turning red and giving his friend a little shove. "By the way, thanks a lot for telling her about the hiccups."
"I just thought it was something that your wife, of all people, should know."
"Well, now she knows, and she says she's going to put that information to very good use."
"Good girl."
"Hiccups?" Sun-joon and Yoon-hee repeated, puzzled.
Fortunately for Jae-shin, there was no time to enlighten their scholarly friends, because that was when Ka-hai joined them. "My dear lady!" Yong-ha greeted her with a brilliant smile. "Have I told you that you look simply ravishing? The person who designed your hanbok is an utter genius."
"He is indeed," Ka-hai agreed with a laugh. Clearly, her clothes that night were more of his handiwork. "And thank you, kind sir."
"I must also compliment you on the miracle you wrought with Geol-oh, here. Usually, he looks like a...." He gazed thoughtfully into space, gesticulating as he groped for the right word.
"Haystack?" she suggested before she could stop herself. Then, fearing that the remark might cause him to lose face in front of his friends, she quickly added, "But a handsome haystack!"
Yong-ha laughed, but didn't let up on his teasing of Ka-hai's husband. "Actually, the word I had in mind was 'beggar."
"But 'haystack' has a certain charm about it," Yoon-hee said brightly.
"I think we should trust Ka-hai's opinion on this matter," Yoon-hee's husband remarked. "She is Geol-oh sa-hyung's wife, after all."
Stodgy Sun-joon getting in on the act proved to be the last straw for Jae-shin. "If all of you are done making fun of me," Ka-hai's husband said testily, "I believe the ceremony is starting."
"Oh, yes!" Yoon-hee said, distracted by the sight of the wedding guests drifting towards one of the front rooms of the house. "Come, let's go so we can get a good view of the action."
"Haystack, huh?" Jae-shin murmured to his wife as they joined the crowd.
"Yes, but a handsome haystack," Ka-hai corrected him, blushing but managing a saucy grin. She had never told her husband that he was good-looking, although she privately thought so; and she felt quite bold finally saying it out loud, even though she had couched it as a joke.
He gave her a look that promised vengeance, but she knew he wasn't truly angry by the suspicious twitch of his lips. "That makes it only a little better," he told her. "I still think I deserve compensation for the insult."
That sounded like the kind of thing that Minister Moon mentioned when the menfolk talked about work at the dinner table, so she supposed she could try responding in kind. "You can plead your case when we get home." She paused and gave him a coy look. "In fact, I'm quite looking forward to it."
Judging from the number of ladies who cried, it was a lovely wedding. The bride, as the center of attention, was in her element; and the look on the groom's brutish face as he gazed at his new wife was enough to tell everyone that he was going to adore her as she deserved.
Still, Byung-choon's new brother-in-law couldn't help issuing some final warnings even after all was said and done. "If you ever make her cry, you're going to answer to me," In-soo threatened as he and a group of former scholars in various stages of inebriation escorted the newlywed towards the bridal chamber.
"That means you have to be gentle," Go-bong advised.
"But make it good!" added Bae Hae-won, gesturing with the bottle in his hand and sloshing makgeolli on the floor.
"If you want to talk about being good," Ahn Do-hyun declared, "maybe you should ask Geol-oh here for tips. Judging from that glow on his wife's face, he must know some really good secrets!" He began to laugh uproariously, but stopped short when no one else joined in.
Jae-shin waited, his dark face inscrutable, for his former classmates' faces to take on the fearful expressions they had always worn in his presence. Then, suddenly, he broke into a wide, cocky grin. "Sorry," he said, "but the reason for that glow on my wife's face is something I can't teach. After all, you didn't start calling me 'Geol-oh' simply because I was crazy, did you?"
"I did, actually," Yong-ha murmured to him as, the tension broken, the others felt free to burst into ribald laughter.
"Let me have my moment, will you?"
His friend laughed. "Yes, my Lord Haystack."
Fortunately for Jae-shin and his classmates, the lady in question was well out of earshot. She had not been among those who helped the bride prepare for bed, and was currently very busy observing a group of the bride's flibbertigibbet friends whisper and glance at another of the party guests.
The woman they were eyeing was not dressed any differently from them (although, perhaps, her colors were a bit more bold, indicating that she was one of Yong-ha's customers), but there was something about her demeanor that set her apart. She seemed to be aware that the other women were talking about her, but unconcerned that the things they were probably saying weren't very nice.
Her mind made up, Ka-hai strode over and planted herself at the lone woman's side, giving the others her best imitation of Jae-shin's expression whenever he was displeased about something. She turned to the stranger with a smile when the group of silly girls subsided. "Hello," she said conversationally. "I was just wondering who designed your hanbok. I think I recognize Gu Yong-ha's work."
The other woman smiled. "His style is rather distinctive, isn't it? I can see you're wearing one of his creations as well. I don't think any other merchant is bold enough to carry that shade of lilac."
Ka-hai laughed and nodded. "My name is Cha Ka-hai."
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Il-hwa."
"I take it you're not a friend of the bride's."
Il-hwa looked mildly surprised at the straightforward remark, and then she laughed. "No, I'm not, and it was nice of you to come and keep me company."
"I saw them looking at you and thought it would only be fair to even up the numbers a bit," Ka-hai said, shrugging. "Why were they doing that, anyway?"
There was the surprised look again. "I suppose it has something to do with my former career."
"Which was?"
The other woman's porcelain skin turned a fetching shade of pink, but she raised her chin defiantly. "I was a gisaeng," she replied. "The best in Joseon, even if I do say so myself."
"Really?" No wonder she had that kind of bearing, and no wonder those girls had pointed and whispered. "How interesting."
"That's a diplomatic way of putting it."
"Well, it is. I've never met someone who worked as a gisaeng before." Sometimes, they were hired to help entertain at her parents' parties. Even though her mother never let her Ka-hai mix with them because of their low status in society, she knew that they were primarily artists and performers, not prostitutes. "What do you do now?"
"This and that," Il-hwa said with a graceful shrug. "Some of the younger gisaengs still consult with me on certain things, and they pay me for my advice; but for the most part, I can afford to live comfortably without working."
"Good for you," she answered, nodding in approval. "I know that it can be very difficult for a woman to live on her own. At least you have the means to take care of yourself. I mean," she added quickly, "I'm, uh, assuming you're not married."
"No, I'm not married, and I am quite fortunate," the former gisaeng agreed smoothly. "But enough about me. What about you? I assume you're not one of the bride's friends, either?"
Ka-hai laughed. "No, I'm not. My husband works with the bride's brother."
"Indeed? Who is your husband?"
At that moment, Jae-shin appeared at his wife's side. "Sorry I was gone for so long. Is everything all right?"
"Everything's fine," she assured him cheerfully. Besides the occasional amazed or nervous look she received whenever she introduced herself as Moon Jae-shin's wife, and those silly girls looking down on Il-hwa, she was having a nice time.
"Where's Yoon-hee?"
"She had to speak with someone about his brother at Sungkyunkwan or something like that, but Il-hwa and I were having a nice chat." She turned back to the other woman. "This is my husband, Moon Jae-shin. Jae-shin, this is-"
"- the lady Cho-sun," her husband finished for her, bowing politely. "I know."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Ka-hai said stupidly. "I didn't know you knew each other." She was just an entertainer, she told herself. And even if she wasn't, remember what Yong-ha said-
"I know your husband only by his towering reputation, my lady," Il-hwa (formerly Cho-sun, Ka-hai supposed) assured her with a smile, then returned Jae-shin's greeting. "It's nice to see that you are well, my lord."
"Thanks; same here," he answered in a coolly polite tone that sounded wonderful to Ka-hai's ears, and immediately shifted his attention back to his wife. "People are starting to head home now. Are you ready to go, too?"
"I suppose-" Ka-hai began.
He peered at her intently. "You look sleepy," he declared. "We should go home."
Ka-hai blushed. Despite his best efforts, it was clear that her husband was eager to go home (and, presumably, to bed, where it would be a while before either of them actually got any sleep). "I am starting to feel a bit tired," she said demurely, figuring that he would push the issue if she didn't agree, and gave Il-hwa a bow. "It was very nice to meet you," she told the other woman, meaning it.
"Likewise," the former gisaeng replied, and regarded the couple with mild amusement. "Something tells me you're quite an interesting person, too, Lady Cha. I do hope that our paths will cross again."
Cho-sun didn't stand alone for long after Jae-shin and Ka-hai's departure. With his duties as host more or less fulfilled, In-soo was now free to join the person at the party whom he most wanted to see.
"You look lovely as always," he said, smiling as he approached. "I'm so glad you could come."
The biggest change in In-soo's behavior since leaving Sungkyunkwan had occurred in his treatment of Cho-sun; where he would have once demanded her time with a young, powerful nobleman's sense of entitlement, he now approached her diffidently, like a man not completely sure of his welcome. Due to the end of her career and the scandal that befell his family, they were on more equal footing now compared to those days - in fact, one might even think that despite their continued difference in social status, she had him at a disadvantage simply because he was the one doing the wooing.
"Thank you," Cho-sun replied. "It was a lovely wedding. Congratulations."
"There was a time when I would never have considered Byung-choon as a possible husband for Hyo-eun," In-soo admitted, "but he's a good man, and he truly loves her."
"He has for a very long time. I'm sure that he will make your sister happy."
He paused, collecting his thoughts and his courage. "Don't you envy them?"
"Not particularly... but then I've never considered Byung-choon as a possible husband for myself."
"That's not what I mean," he told her, chuckling. "I mean-"
She laughed, too; a soft, low sound that made him think of flowers in the moonlight. "I know what you mean."
In-soo supposed that was a sign that he could take a more direct approach to the discussion. "Cho-sun, I've been asking you to marry me for two years now. You know how I feel about you, and you must feel something for me to put up with my courting you for so long."
"Maybe I just like making you suffer."
"If you wanted me to suffer, you could have just rejected my suit from the very start."
"My rejection of you never stopped you before," Cho-sun remarked, arching an elegant eyebrow. One thing that hadn't changed about In-soo, she thought with some amusement, was his tenacity. Although she had tried not to see it, she knew that as a student he pursued excellence as doggedly as he had her. Today, he applied that same singleminded sense of purpose to proving his worth as a police officer and, in doing so, rebuilding his family's reputation.
"By 'rejection,' I mean disappearing from my sight," he clarified, "or, even worse, marrying another man and living a disgustingly happy life with him until the end of your days."
"I spent most of my life crushed under your father's thumb," she said, some of the deep-seated bitterness still coloring her voice. "What makes you think I would willingly subject myself to the same treatment at the hands of another man, so soon after gaining my freedom?"
"It wouldn't be like that with me. He used you for his own gain, while I simply just want to be with you. I don't even want a dowry," he went on earnestly. "Just you."
"Marrying me will cause a scandal," Cho-sun warned him. As sweet as his devotion was, she feared that it and his privileged background may have sheltered him from the harsher realities of life, including the possible backlash of a marriage between the heir of a yangban family and a woman who was not just a commoner, but a former gisaeng to boot.
"I doubt if the scandal will come close to the one that was caused by my father's arrest. I can survive anything after going through that."
"Nevertheless, people will talk," she insisted. "Not just about you and me, but about Hyo-eun, too. Do you really want to risk undoing everything you've done to restore your family's reputation?"
"If people will talk, they won't talk for long," In-soo said, his eyes turning cold and flat at the thought. "Byung-choon will take care of Hyo-eun's honor, and I will take care of yours." He took her hands, his fingers warm and strong around hers. "I would never let anyone speak ill of you, Cho-sun - whether or not you become my wife. I promise you that."
Her heart fluttered at his impassioned declaration, just as it had that day when he took a stand against his father, her long-time tormentor, and physically placed himself between her and the Minister's guards. Although she prided herself on being an independent woman, she still wanted to share at least part of her life with another person, one who would respect and cherish her. She had once thought that she found that person in Scholar Kim Yoon-shik, except he turned out to be a woman and deeply in love with someone else. Now, it seemed that that person had been by her side the whole time.
"Of course," In-soo went on, determined as always to push the issue, "I would infinitely prefer it if you did me the honor of becoming my wife.
"But it's all right with me if you still want to think about it," he sighed when she said nothing. "You know I'll always respect your wishes. I just thought I would seize this opportunity and ask. Again."
Cho-sun tried hard to maintain her inscrutable facade. Years of living as a gisaeng had taught her that betraying emotions could be fatal. This time, however, she failed. The aftereffects of witnessing a wedding, the idea that marriage would help her attain at least some of the respectability she craved, and the fact that she had finally grown tired of fighting the affections of one very devoted, endearingly obstinate man all conspired to breach her defenses and caused a shaky laugh to escape her, like a long-cherished wish whispered to the wind.
"All right, Ha In-soo," she told him softly, blushing and squeezing his hands with hers. "I'll marry you."
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Disclaimer: The SKKS-verse belongs to the creators of Sungkyunkwan Scandal.
Technical Notes: [EDIT 02-07-2016] Cho-sun now has a given name, but I continue to call her by her gisaeng name in her scene with In-soo (and other canon characters) so that it's clear that it's her and not some random OFC.
Also, I apologize for inserting In-soo and Cho-sun rather abruptly into this fic. Chapter 1 does mention that he was courting her, but we don't see anything else of the pairing until this chapter. I wish I could have written more of them throughout the fic so that we could track the progress of their relationship, but I had my hands full with Jae-shin and Ka-hai so we just have to assume that it all happened off-screen.
Author's Notes: Thank you to min7girl, Anonymous 1 (Thanks for always reviewing!) and 2, cesiaj, kensnonno and takenoko for reviewing! I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter as much as I did writing and rewriting it ;)
Also, my mom finally saw SKKS (she generally doesn't watch dramas set in historical times, but I think I talked this one up pretty well) and she loved it. Unfortunately, her nickname for Jae-shin is taong grasa, a Filipino slang term that roughly translates to "homeless/street person" :-p - Yong-ha is her favorite.
I hope we all have a good week ahead!
Chapter Ten
The next time Jae-shin saw Ka-hai, it was in the stables right after he arrived home. Despite last night's exertions, she appeared to have felt well enough to exercise Chul-moo; and, judging from the fact that his wife was calmly brushing the horse's mane instead of sliding off his back, this session had gone better than the one he had witnessed.
Nevertheless, he approached the pair with caution. "Chul-moo seems quieter now," he observed, knowing well enough to speak quietly to avoid startling the skittish animal.
Instead of the horse, it was Ka-hai who jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned, her cheeks pink, and they smiled shyly at each other. It had been easy enough to go about their workaday routines when they were apart, but seeing each other again was a stark reminder that things between them had irrevocably changed and they would have to figure out how to move forward from there.
"He doesn't try to throw me anymore," she told him as she put down the brush and offered Chul-moo a carrot. "He still gets restless when he thinks he's carried me long enough, and he doesn't seem ready for a saddle yet, but we're getting there."
She laughed as the horse, having made short work of the treat, nuzzled her hand, looking for more. "There's another carrot in the bucket," she said to Jae-shin. "You can give it to him if you like."
He offered the carrot to Chul-moo, who accepted it even though it wasn't his mistress who was feeding him. "Good boy," he praised, patting its nose before allowing Ka-hai to start leading the animal to its stall.
He about to remark that Chul-moo seemed to like him better now when the horse suddenly stepped sideways, knocking her off-balance. She bumped into Jae-shin, and husband and wife ended up in a heap on a nearby pile of straw.
"I guess he still doesn't like me much," he said instead.
The straw rustled as she removed his hat, which had been knocked askew by the fall, and set it aside. "Oh, I don't know...." Ka-hai said, her cheeks turning pink. "Maybe Chul-moo was trying to give me to you as a thank-you for the carrot."
He glanced up at the horse, who walked the rest of the way into his stall with a disinterested snort. That didn't tell him much, but given the situation he was in, he supposed he couldn't really complain. "If that's true," he replied, grinning and looping an arm around her waist to pull her closer, "then I suppose he really likes me now."
She giggled and he kissed her, only to pull away when he heard footsteps. They looked up in time to see one of the grooms chuckling and beating a hasty retreat. "It looks like someone saw us," Jae-shin remarked uselessly, feeling his face grow warm.
"Well, we aren't exactly in private," Ka-hai said, glancing away.
It was probably a good idea to get up or at least move apart, in case someone else came along, but he didn't budge. The straw was vastly more comfortable than the hard-backed chair he had been sitting in all day, and his wife felt very nice in his arms.
She made no move to leave, either. "How was your day?" she asked in a conversational tone, as though she were facing him across the dinner table instead of lying half-atop him, brushing straw from his clothes. "Did anything interesting happen?"
"Nothing at work," he answered, "but we did get invited to a wedding. Do you remember my partner on the force, Ha In-soo? His sister's getting married."
"That's nice for her."
"She's marrying a classmate of ours from Sungkyunkwan," he went on, "so the guests will be mostly school friends. Yoon-hee, Yong-ha and Sun-joon will be there, so you won't have to worry about not knowing anyone."
"I'll go shopping for a present tomorrow," Ka-hai promised. "Oh, and since you mentioned him, I got a letter from Yong-ha today."
He stiffened. "Why would he be writing to you?" he demanded with a scowl. As attractive as he thought his wife to be, he didn't think she was Yong-ha's type; but then he supposed he could never be completely sure about that, given the way that his friend flitted from one woman to the other like a gaudy butterfly.
"He wrote me about you, actually."
"Me?" Jae-shin asked, puzzled now instead of irritated.
She nodded and gave him the naughty smile signaling that she was up to another one of those things that was bound to make his life interesting. "Now I know all about your hiccuping habit."
"Oh, that." He cleared this throat and tried to assume an unaffected air that was marred by one of the aforementioned hiccups. "And I suppose you're going to take full advantage of that knowledge now."
"Not right at this moment," Ka-hai told him, coloring as she glanced at their surroundings, "but eventually."
"Why in the world did my father ever agree to a match between you and me?" he asked with a long-suffering sigh, although it was obvious that he was trying not to smile.
"I think it's because he has a sense of humor."
The marriage of Ha Hyo-eun to Lim Byung-choon, which took place later that week, was a small but happy affair. The close personal ties between the bride's brother and the bridegroom meant that, apart from a handful of relatives and Hyo-eun's small group of friends, most of the wedding guests were former Sungkyunkwan students. This gave the occasion a relaxed, informal air, which was welcome considering that the bride's father, the former Minister of War, was unable to attend due to a long-term engagement at the state prison.
While the negotiations were admittedly tamer than those at Jae-shin's wedding, In-soo nevertheless put on a good show while haggling with Byung-choon's representatives, Seol Go-bong and Kang Moo. With their former classmates calling out suggestions (some of which were actually helpful) and heckling from the sidelines, the negotiators argued loudly with each other before eventually striking a bargain to tumultuous cheering from their audience.
"Maybe In-soo sunbae should have sat on both sides of the table," Sun-joon remarked as they followed the negotiators back into the Has' house.
"Then the negotiations wouldn't have been as much fun," Yong-ha sniffed.
"I don't know," Jae-shin snickered. "It might have been entertaining to watch In-soo try to cheat himself."
They had located Yoon-hee and were giving her the highlights of the negotiations when Ka-hai appeared from another room. She spotted them and, smiling, began to make her way over.
Jae-shin watched his wife come towards them. Whether she was cutting a swath through a yangban wedding party or tidying up their bedroom, she moved with an intriguing combination of grace and purpose. Some men might be attracted to a pretty face or a beautiful figure, both of which he believed Ka-hai had in spades, but it was the way she moved that did it for him.
It took him a while to realize that his friends were snickering. "Sa-hyung is clearly smitten," Sun-joon remarked with a grin.
"What?" Jae-shin asked blankly.
"If you stare at your wife any harder, you're going to melt the clothes right off her," Yong-ha added, and gave him a little nudge. "But that would save a lot of time, won't it?"
"Shut up," he muttered, turning red and giving his friend a little shove. "By the way, thanks a lot for telling her about the hiccups."
"I just thought it was something that your wife, of all people, should know."
"Well, now she knows, and she says she's going to put that information to very good use."
"Good girl."
"Hiccups?" Sun-joon and Yoon-hee repeated, puzzled.
Fortunately for Jae-shin, there was no time to enlighten their scholarly friends, because that was when Ka-hai joined them. "My dear lady!" Yong-ha greeted her with a brilliant smile. "Have I told you that you look simply ravishing? The person who designed your hanbok is an utter genius."
"He is indeed," Ka-hai agreed with a laugh. Clearly, her clothes that night were more of his handiwork. "And thank you, kind sir."
"I must also compliment you on the miracle you wrought with Geol-oh, here. Usually, he looks like a...." He gazed thoughtfully into space, gesticulating as he groped for the right word.
"Haystack?" she suggested before she could stop herself. Then, fearing that the remark might cause him to lose face in front of his friends, she quickly added, "But a handsome haystack!"
Yong-ha laughed, but didn't let up on his teasing of Ka-hai's husband. "Actually, the word I had in mind was 'beggar."
"But 'haystack' has a certain charm about it," Yoon-hee said brightly.
"I think we should trust Ka-hai's opinion on this matter," Yoon-hee's husband remarked. "She is Geol-oh sa-hyung's wife, after all."
Stodgy Sun-joon getting in on the act proved to be the last straw for Jae-shin. "If all of you are done making fun of me," Ka-hai's husband said testily, "I believe the ceremony is starting."
"Oh, yes!" Yoon-hee said, distracted by the sight of the wedding guests drifting towards one of the front rooms of the house. "Come, let's go so we can get a good view of the action."
"Haystack, huh?" Jae-shin murmured to his wife as they joined the crowd.
"Yes, but a handsome haystack," Ka-hai corrected him, blushing but managing a saucy grin. She had never told her husband that he was good-looking, although she privately thought so; and she felt quite bold finally saying it out loud, even though she had couched it as a joke.
He gave her a look that promised vengeance, but she knew he wasn't truly angry by the suspicious twitch of his lips. "That makes it only a little better," he told her. "I still think I deserve compensation for the insult."
That sounded like the kind of thing that Minister Moon mentioned when the menfolk talked about work at the dinner table, so she supposed she could try responding in kind. "You can plead your case when we get home." She paused and gave him a coy look. "In fact, I'm quite looking forward to it."
Judging from the number of ladies who cried, it was a lovely wedding. The bride, as the center of attention, was in her element; and the look on the groom's brutish face as he gazed at his new wife was enough to tell everyone that he was going to adore her as she deserved.
Still, Byung-choon's new brother-in-law couldn't help issuing some final warnings even after all was said and done. "If you ever make her cry, you're going to answer to me," In-soo threatened as he and a group of former scholars in various stages of inebriation escorted the newlywed towards the bridal chamber.
"That means you have to be gentle," Go-bong advised.
"But make it good!" added Bae Hae-won, gesturing with the bottle in his hand and sloshing makgeolli on the floor.
"If you want to talk about being good," Ahn Do-hyun declared, "maybe you should ask Geol-oh here for tips. Judging from that glow on his wife's face, he must know some really good secrets!" He began to laugh uproariously, but stopped short when no one else joined in.
Jae-shin waited, his dark face inscrutable, for his former classmates' faces to take on the fearful expressions they had always worn in his presence. Then, suddenly, he broke into a wide, cocky grin. "Sorry," he said, "but the reason for that glow on my wife's face is something I can't teach. After all, you didn't start calling me 'Geol-oh' simply because I was crazy, did you?"
"I did, actually," Yong-ha murmured to him as, the tension broken, the others felt free to burst into ribald laughter.
"Let me have my moment, will you?"
His friend laughed. "Yes, my Lord Haystack."
Fortunately for Jae-shin and his classmates, the lady in question was well out of earshot. She had not been among those who helped the bride prepare for bed, and was currently very busy observing a group of the bride's flibbertigibbet friends whisper and glance at another of the party guests.
The woman they were eyeing was not dressed any differently from them (although, perhaps, her colors were a bit more bold, indicating that she was one of Yong-ha's customers), but there was something about her demeanor that set her apart. She seemed to be aware that the other women were talking about her, but unconcerned that the things they were probably saying weren't very nice.
Her mind made up, Ka-hai strode over and planted herself at the lone woman's side, giving the others her best imitation of Jae-shin's expression whenever he was displeased about something. She turned to the stranger with a smile when the group of silly girls subsided. "Hello," she said conversationally. "I was just wondering who designed your hanbok. I think I recognize Gu Yong-ha's work."
The other woman smiled. "His style is rather distinctive, isn't it? I can see you're wearing one of his creations as well. I don't think any other merchant is bold enough to carry that shade of lilac."
Ka-hai laughed and nodded. "My name is Cha Ka-hai."
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Il-hwa."
"I take it you're not a friend of the bride's."
Il-hwa looked mildly surprised at the straightforward remark, and then she laughed. "No, I'm not, and it was nice of you to come and keep me company."
"I saw them looking at you and thought it would only be fair to even up the numbers a bit," Ka-hai said, shrugging. "Why were they doing that, anyway?"
There was the surprised look again. "I suppose it has something to do with my former career."
"Which was?"
The other woman's porcelain skin turned a fetching shade of pink, but she raised her chin defiantly. "I was a gisaeng," she replied. "The best in Joseon, even if I do say so myself."
"Really?" No wonder she had that kind of bearing, and no wonder those girls had pointed and whispered. "How interesting."
"That's a diplomatic way of putting it."
"Well, it is. I've never met someone who worked as a gisaeng before." Sometimes, they were hired to help entertain at her parents' parties. Even though her mother never let her Ka-hai mix with them because of their low status in society, she knew that they were primarily artists and performers, not prostitutes. "What do you do now?"
"This and that," Il-hwa said with a graceful shrug. "Some of the younger gisaengs still consult with me on certain things, and they pay me for my advice; but for the most part, I can afford to live comfortably without working."
"Good for you," she answered, nodding in approval. "I know that it can be very difficult for a woman to live on her own. At least you have the means to take care of yourself. I mean," she added quickly, "I'm, uh, assuming you're not married."
"No, I'm not married, and I am quite fortunate," the former gisaeng agreed smoothly. "But enough about me. What about you? I assume you're not one of the bride's friends, either?"
Ka-hai laughed. "No, I'm not. My husband works with the bride's brother."
"Indeed? Who is your husband?"
At that moment, Jae-shin appeared at his wife's side. "Sorry I was gone for so long. Is everything all right?"
"Everything's fine," she assured him cheerfully. Besides the occasional amazed or nervous look she received whenever she introduced herself as Moon Jae-shin's wife, and those silly girls looking down on Il-hwa, she was having a nice time.
"Where's Yoon-hee?"
"She had to speak with someone about his brother at Sungkyunkwan or something like that, but Il-hwa and I were having a nice chat." She turned back to the other woman. "This is my husband, Moon Jae-shin. Jae-shin, this is-"
"- the lady Cho-sun," her husband finished for her, bowing politely. "I know."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Ka-hai said stupidly. "I didn't know you knew each other." She was just an entertainer, she told herself. And even if she wasn't, remember what Yong-ha said-
"I know your husband only by his towering reputation, my lady," Il-hwa (formerly Cho-sun, Ka-hai supposed) assured her with a smile, then returned Jae-shin's greeting. "It's nice to see that you are well, my lord."
"Thanks; same here," he answered in a coolly polite tone that sounded wonderful to Ka-hai's ears, and immediately shifted his attention back to his wife. "People are starting to head home now. Are you ready to go, too?"
"I suppose-" Ka-hai began.
He peered at her intently. "You look sleepy," he declared. "We should go home."
Ka-hai blushed. Despite his best efforts, it was clear that her husband was eager to go home (and, presumably, to bed, where it would be a while before either of them actually got any sleep). "I am starting to feel a bit tired," she said demurely, figuring that he would push the issue if she didn't agree, and gave Il-hwa a bow. "It was very nice to meet you," she told the other woman, meaning it.
"Likewise," the former gisaeng replied, and regarded the couple with mild amusement. "Something tells me you're quite an interesting person, too, Lady Cha. I do hope that our paths will cross again."
Cho-sun didn't stand alone for long after Jae-shin and Ka-hai's departure. With his duties as host more or less fulfilled, In-soo was now free to join the person at the party whom he most wanted to see.
"You look lovely as always," he said, smiling as he approached. "I'm so glad you could come."
The biggest change in In-soo's behavior since leaving Sungkyunkwan had occurred in his treatment of Cho-sun; where he would have once demanded her time with a young, powerful nobleman's sense of entitlement, he now approached her diffidently, like a man not completely sure of his welcome. Due to the end of her career and the scandal that befell his family, they were on more equal footing now compared to those days - in fact, one might even think that despite their continued difference in social status, she had him at a disadvantage simply because he was the one doing the wooing.
"Thank you," Cho-sun replied. "It was a lovely wedding. Congratulations."
"There was a time when I would never have considered Byung-choon as a possible husband for Hyo-eun," In-soo admitted, "but he's a good man, and he truly loves her."
"He has for a very long time. I'm sure that he will make your sister happy."
He paused, collecting his thoughts and his courage. "Don't you envy them?"
"Not particularly... but then I've never considered Byung-choon as a possible husband for myself."
"That's not what I mean," he told her, chuckling. "I mean-"
She laughed, too; a soft, low sound that made him think of flowers in the moonlight. "I know what you mean."
In-soo supposed that was a sign that he could take a more direct approach to the discussion. "Cho-sun, I've been asking you to marry me for two years now. You know how I feel about you, and you must feel something for me to put up with my courting you for so long."
"Maybe I just like making you suffer."
"If you wanted me to suffer, you could have just rejected my suit from the very start."
"My rejection of you never stopped you before," Cho-sun remarked, arching an elegant eyebrow. One thing that hadn't changed about In-soo, she thought with some amusement, was his tenacity. Although she had tried not to see it, she knew that as a student he pursued excellence as doggedly as he had her. Today, he applied that same singleminded sense of purpose to proving his worth as a police officer and, in doing so, rebuilding his family's reputation.
"By 'rejection,' I mean disappearing from my sight," he clarified, "or, even worse, marrying another man and living a disgustingly happy life with him until the end of your days."
"I spent most of my life crushed under your father's thumb," she said, some of the deep-seated bitterness still coloring her voice. "What makes you think I would willingly subject myself to the same treatment at the hands of another man, so soon after gaining my freedom?"
"It wouldn't be like that with me. He used you for his own gain, while I simply just want to be with you. I don't even want a dowry," he went on earnestly. "Just you."
"Marrying me will cause a scandal," Cho-sun warned him. As sweet as his devotion was, she feared that it and his privileged background may have sheltered him from the harsher realities of life, including the possible backlash of a marriage between the heir of a yangban family and a woman who was not just a commoner, but a former gisaeng to boot.
"I doubt if the scandal will come close to the one that was caused by my father's arrest. I can survive anything after going through that."
"Nevertheless, people will talk," she insisted. "Not just about you and me, but about Hyo-eun, too. Do you really want to risk undoing everything you've done to restore your family's reputation?"
"If people will talk, they won't talk for long," In-soo said, his eyes turning cold and flat at the thought. "Byung-choon will take care of Hyo-eun's honor, and I will take care of yours." He took her hands, his fingers warm and strong around hers. "I would never let anyone speak ill of you, Cho-sun - whether or not you become my wife. I promise you that."
Her heart fluttered at his impassioned declaration, just as it had that day when he took a stand against his father, her long-time tormentor, and physically placed himself between her and the Minister's guards. Although she prided herself on being an independent woman, she still wanted to share at least part of her life with another person, one who would respect and cherish her. She had once thought that she found that person in Scholar Kim Yoon-shik, except he turned out to be a woman and deeply in love with someone else. Now, it seemed that that person had been by her side the whole time.
"Of course," In-soo went on, determined as always to push the issue, "I would infinitely prefer it if you did me the honor of becoming my wife.
"But it's all right with me if you still want to think about it," he sighed when she said nothing. "You know I'll always respect your wishes. I just thought I would seize this opportunity and ask. Again."
Cho-sun tried hard to maintain her inscrutable facade. Years of living as a gisaeng had taught her that betraying emotions could be fatal. This time, however, she failed. The aftereffects of witnessing a wedding, the idea that marriage would help her attain at least some of the respectability she craved, and the fact that she had finally grown tired of fighting the affections of one very devoted, endearingly obstinate man all conspired to breach her defenses and caused a shaky laugh to escape her, like a long-cherished wish whispered to the wind.
"All right, Ha In-soo," she told him softly, blushing and squeezing his hands with hers. "I'll marry you."