The first thing Raon noticed were the pitch black eyes. Like a flying arrow, it was cold and chilling as it gazed back at Raon's eyes. Raon, pierced by the cool gaze, was not in a position to act surprised. The silence seemed to last an eternity.
"Who.....are you?"
Raon asked.
"Then who are you?"
Lee Young gazed peculiarly at the young man before him. In a way, his face looked like a girl's or that of a boy that had stopped maturing.
"Are you the one that asked to meet?"
"I am. Then are you the one that received my request?"
"......."
At Young's question, Raon remained silent and turned her head. Whether she was the one that received the request was not important. The important matter was that the person before her was not a maiden but a young man.
A man! How could it be a man?!
She would have never guessed that the Kim's youngest son had this preference. She was the one that had written the letters, but she had never asked the young master if the recipient was a maiden. She assumed if a young man was in love, it was definitely with a woman. That was the mistake. At this unexpected revelation, Raon was dumbfounded. At that moment, Young Master Kim's words floated into her mind.
'We would not have ended well anyway. The mountain of an obstacle ahead of us is too high to overcome with just my yearning heart. That is why we must part now.'
Having not known this, a flustered Raon approached the gorgeous young man.
Aha.....
Everything made sense now. Young Master Kim's face, which had been so in love, had looked so pained. The reason why this love was doomed from the start was now apparent. That the young master had loved this young man was a fact. The young man certainly looked beautiful, so the reason why the young master had fallen for him was not surprising. However, as Young Master Kim had said, this was a love that could not be fulfilled. This love that could not bear fruit made Raon's heart turn.
"How are you doing?"
This young man's heart was no different from the young master's. Raon unconsciously patted the young man's back.
"What are you doing?"
Raon paid no attention to Young's fierce glare.
"That is.... You do not have to be so guarded. You can show me your true heart."
What was in his heart was obvious. No matter how much he feigned ignorance, how black and burned was his heart? How unendurable was it that he had to ask to meet like this? To see each other's faces like this?
Raon looked at the ink black eyes looking down on her and spoke.
"I also wanted to meet. I also had a deep longing. However...."
This was not meant to be. An unfulfillable love. Raon's large eyes began to fill with tears. She felt as if she was truly Young Master Kim.
Ah, she had too much empathy.
Raon raised a fist and wiped away the tears. As she wiped away the unnoticed tears, Raon began to laugh as if she hadn't been crying and spoke.
"Let's not stand here like this and go out."
"Out?"
"Truth is.... I first came here hoping we wouldn't see each other's faces. That we would just share a few anecdotes and part ways. However, since it has turned out this way, why don't we go out and do something?"
"Do what?"
"My grandfather always said..."
Raon held up her finger and continued.
"Humans survive by eating memories. Since we have met like this, making a few memories doesn't sound like a bad idea. If one has memories..."
The parting will be less painful.
Raon swallowed these last chilling words and gestured to the door as she exited. She wanted to leave joyful memories for this lovely person as Young Master Kim. She wanted to gift him with memories of spending the day together.
"Please come out."
Raon waved her hands as she walked to the middle of the yard.
"You're an odd fellow."
Young's gaze fell on Raon's back and his facial expression seemed to crack.
It was at that moment.
"What should we do?"
A soft voice was heard from the back yard. Without averting his gaze, Young responded.
"I don't think observing him is a bad idea."
"What?"
"Having the courage to dare to send our Yun a love letter... I want to see just how much courage this fellow holds."
Young, not knowing that Raon had misunderstood their situation, followed her as she left the yard.
<b>---</b>
After a while, Raon and Young looked at each other with opposite expressions.
"Do you mean you want to eat here?"
"This place is very famous for its rice soup. That grandmother over there is the one that makes them, and they say that she used to be a cook at the palace.
Raon said this in an excited tone of voice as if she was sharing amazing news. However, Young's response was apathetic.
"Really?"
"I said she used to be a palace cook."
"So?"
Raon beat her chest at Young's indifference.
This young man in front of her, did he not know how amazing a palace cook was?
At that moment, a grandmother approached the two men seated next to them.
"You sickening rascals, stop coming over here. How is it that you always come over here? Don't you even think about the wife and kids waiting for you at home? You little sons of b*tches, if you have time to eat at a rice soup restaurant, just go eat your fill at your own homes."
The cursing of the grandmother spilled onto the young men sitting at the table. Even though they only came to eat some rice soup, these young men weren't offended and laughed explosively.
"Those men, do they enjoy being cursed at?"
This place was famous as 'Cursing Granny's Rice Soup House' by the residents of UnJongGa. Not knowing this, creases formed on Young's forehead.
"My goodness, who in their right mind would enjoy being cursed at?"
Raon quickly shook her head.
"Then why do they laugh so gaily like that even though they were cursed at?"
"How should I put this... They come for the vague memories of childhood?"
"Receiving curses bring vague memories of childhood... If what you say is true, then if one had been hit, their throbbing bodies would leave behind a clear memory."
This man! It was just a figure of speech.
Raon glared at the man that was like a cold splash of water.
"That's not exactly what I meant... I mean, don't you have memories of your grandmother cursing you out like that when you were little?"
Raon linked arms with Young as she countered solemnly.
"My grandmother doesn't do something like cursing."
"Then maybe your grandfather?"
"My grandfather passed away before I was born."
"Maybe the grandmother next door?"
"I never had anything like a neighbor before."
No neighbor? Did he live in the middle of a remote mountain?"
"Then when you accidentally wet the bed, hasn't your mother spanked you with a broom? That kind of memory... Don't you have it?"
"I've never made a mistake like that. Even if I did, no one would dare to lay a hand on me."
"I-is that so?"
What the heck? Were noblemen like this? Grandmothers don't curse at their grandchildren? Mothers can't even spank their children for wetting their beds? Ah, these families were not close at all.
"I'm afraid you, young master, are a Flower Scholar."
"Flower Scholar?"
Young raised his head and asked. He had never heard of that before. It was a poetic title, but not fitting for a man. More so, to have that title addressed to him... his curiosity was peaked.
"You don't know?"
"I don't."
"To put it simply, it's this. Like a noble maiden within sturdy walls living elegantly, you were raised like a houseplant flower. Therefore, you are a Flower Scholar."
Having never heard a curse, and having never been spanked... this man in front of her was definitely a Flower Scholar if she ever saw one. Raon looked at Young with an assured expression.
Young's forehead creased even more.
"So you're saying that, in your eyes, I look like an elegant person? A young man who was raised like a houseplant flower?"
"Am I wrong?"
"You are wrong."
Young responded in a clear, short voice. However, even at his certain voice, Raon's reaction was uncaring.
"Yes, I'm sure you're not."
"I'm definitely not."
"Yes, let's just leave it at that."
He must not want to admit it.
Out of all the Flower Scholars she had met, every one of them had the same reaction. Raon looked as if she understood him. Young, who looked at Raon coldly, was just about to say something.
"Enough with the chattering and stuff yourselves with this."
The cursing grandmother approached the two. Young looked at the grandmother with an indifferent expression.
"What are you looking at like..."
The cursing granny opened her mouth to continue. However, because of something she saw, her eyes went wide. That young man's gaze directed towards her... it was chill-inducing and cold. Of course, she was not the type of person to be overcome by a look such as this one. Even thieves respected her and her brutality. However, whatever the reason, her piercing curses were sucked back into her mouth.
T-that person is.....
As if she saw a ghost, the granny was wide-eyed. Like a new bride, she quietly placed the bowls down on the table and silently left, walking backwards.
"Huh?"
Raon, who was looking forward to the granny's curses, was disappointed by her stone-faced behavior.
Why was she acting strange?
She looked over at Young and his cold composure and shook her head. There was no doubt that that cold young man's glare had stunted the granny's jolly curses. Raon spoke in admonishment.
"Don't you know of 'Elders first'?"
"'Elders first'?"
"Yes. If an elder gives you food, you respond by thanking them, not glaring at them."
Young didn't waver at Raon's words.
"If you're trying to discipline me, go no further. Everyone has their own circumstances. Furthermore, I don't believe a young man impersonating a nobleman has the right to discipline me."
Raon coughed up the water she had been drinking. She looked at Young as if she were seeing a ghost.
W-was she caught?
<b>---</b>
Was she caught? Was she really caught?
Raon, now drenched in cold sweat, let out an explosive laughter as she tried to cover up her situation.
"What do you mean 'impersonating a nobleman'? Haha, what is this all of a sudden?"
Raon averted Young's sharp gaze and began to think. How did she get caught? Was it her manner of speech? Whatever the reason, this was a dire situation. Raon was caught impersonating Young Master Kim and coming out here. No, that wasn't the worst problem. A lower-class person impersonating a nobleman was not only punished, but their family was also ruined.
Cold sweat ran down her back. It was still early spring, so it wasn't warm enough for sweat, but Raon began to fan herself with her hands. She knew that in moments like these, she had to go out even stronger. However, those eyes..... It was as if those eyes could see right into her. Raon's lips began to tremble.
"F-flower Scholar, your jokes are a bit too much."
Young didn't ease up on his gaze at Raon's disconcerted composure.
"Your impersonation was pretty good."
"What do you mean by i-impersonation?"
Disturbed, Raon began to stutter like Young Master Kim.
"The only problem was that it wasn't perfect."
"It wasn't perfect? Gah!"
Idiot, if you talk like that, you're finished.
Raon raised a fist to her lips.
But how did he know? She paid so much attention to detail.
Young began to speak as if he read her mind.
"It was your habit."
"Habit?"
"You asked me to spend some time together and started towards the direction of UnJongGa. It wasn't your fault. Whenever someone meets another for the first time, they instinctively go to the place with which they are most familiar."
"......."
"That was just the beginning. You also made several mistakes you would never have made if you were truly a nobleman."
"What mistake do you mean exactly.....?"
Young replied in one breath as if he were reading it from a book.
"First, your forward conduct. Second, your walk. Third, your attitude when addressing someone. Fourth, your low discerning eye for choosing where to meet."
Raon's face paled.
She thought it was perfect, but everything was wrong? Weird. She thought even Young Master Kim wouldn't have thought any of this was strange. More so, this person... He saw all this in that short amount of time?
Unfortunately, Young wasn't finished.
"Everything seemed unnatural, but the most unnatural aspect was this location."
"This place?"
Raon hurriedly looked around. It was the average rice soup restaurant. What did he find unnatural about this average place?
"It looks like you still haven't realized what's unnatural about this place."
"Even if I washed my eyes and looked again, I don't think I'd find anything unnatural here."
Young lightly tsked.
"Like you said, there is nothing wrong with this place. The problem lies in the fact that you brought me to a place like this. A nobleman that chooses a place like this for an important first meeting? That would never happen. Now, I wonder why you chose a place like this?"
"......."
"If you come here often, I'd understand. Now, if you come to this shabby rice soup restaurant often, you are probably not a nobleman."
Raon quietly let out an 'Ah!'. If she were a nobleman that cared about appearances, there was no way she'd pick this place for the first meeting. No, even if it wasn't important, she had never seen a nobleman here at this rice soup restaurant. Because of the impossible love shared by Young Master Kim and Flower Scholar, she was so agitated that she unconsciously came here. That was a mistake.
"Now, let's hear it. You rascal, what is your identity?"
Young folded his arms and languidly gazed at Raon. He thought it was strange from the start. From daring to pat him on the back to asking him to make memories. The Young Master Kim that Young had looked up wasn't like this. He was known to be a cowardly man. Therefore, Young assumed that he wouldn't come out at his request to meet. Even knowing this, Young still came to the meeting place in case he did come out.
Also he was curious about the man who was able to win his sister's heart with a few pieces of paper. His sister was so brilliant, it was a shame she was born as a maiden. She refused to even consider many men who came vying for her affections. She had said many times that she would not marry in her lifetime. However, a man had been able to transform her so completely that Young could not overcome his curiosity. Therefore, he impersonated his sister, made the request, and came here in order to meet this young man.
But it was disappointing. No, it was infuriating.
"A peasant dares to impersonate a nobleman?"
"That's not......"
Young's gaze became colder at Raon's fidgeting.
How could a man be such a wimp? He did not like Raon at all.
"If that's not true, then what is it?"
"I'm just....."
Raon began to shake her head as she tried to think of a way out. Her companion was an intelligent man. He wouldn't believe her lies. Raon got up from her seat and bowed her head to Young.
"I am sorry. I did not want to trick you from the beginning. Somehow, the situation became like this."
"......."
"As you said, I am not the Young Master Kim that sent the letters. I am..... I was sent as a messenger to relay Young Master Kim's intent."
"The crime of impersonating a nobleman... Don't you know the punishment isn't light?"
"I know. I will gladly accept whatever punishment is apt."
Words were words. Half of her heart was frozen in fear at the thought of the punishment. Receiving the punishment wasn't what scared her. In fact, she was more afraid about what this would mean for her mother and DanHee.
Young gazed blankly at Raon's bowed head.
A moment went by... then two. As seconds ticked by, Raon became more restless. In her restlessness, as her lips began to turn white, Young opened his mouth.
"Were you the author of those letters?"
"What?"
"Those letters..... Did you write them?"
Putting the pettiness of one not writing his own love letters aside, the writing was impressive. From the handwriting to the words full of spirit, the skill was incomparable.
"N-no. I-it's definitely not me."
Raon desperately shook her hands. Young became stiff like ice and reminded her of the angel of death. If he knew she wrote the letters, he would call the police and she'd never be able to escape.
"Is that true?"
Young's facial expression became cold again. Raon, who found it harder to look him in the eye, slowly averted her eyes.
"....It is me."
Young snorted as if he knew all along.
Now she really would die.
Waiting for the furious scolding, Raon lowered her head. However...... it never came. Raon slowly lifted her head and examined Young's expression. Huh? For some reason, his expression, which had been as cold and fierce as the northern winds, had become slightly warmer. He even unfolded his arms.
Putting his hands on his lap, Young leaned closer to Raon.
"What should I do about your crime in impersonating a nobleman?"
"Would you let it pass?"
"What would you like me to do?"
"My family consists of my mother, who can only rely on me, and a sick sister."
Raon gave Young a desolate look. Her large eyes began to water as if she would cry at any moment. Raon's miserable expression was so pitiful it could induce compassion in anyone. However, the only thing that appeared on Young's face was a cold smile.
"Every criminal seems to say the same thing."
"It's not a lie. It's the truth."
"I have no interest in your personal life. I only asked you what I should do in terms of your crime."
Raon bit her lip.
It was almost as if he wasn't human.
Still, she couldn't just accept it calmly and go with the flow. She couldn't get taken away for the sake of her mother and sister. She had to do whatever it took to persuade this person.
"Flower Scholar, please think of me as a younger sibling and be considerate. I will never forget the grace you show me."
"I don't have a younger sibling like you."
As if he didn't want to hear any more nonsense, Young spoke sharply.
"Then, what should I do? I will do whatever it takes. If you don't tell on me, I'll do anything...."
"Anything?"
Young thought for a moment and spoke.
"Become my person!"
"Yes, I understand. I will do as you ask. I will become Flower Scholar's perso-...... What?"
Raon, who had been repeating Young's word with a downcast voice, quickly raised her head.
"What did you just say?"
"Are you going deaf? I told you to become my person."
(T/N: Young means "my person" as in "my ally/confidant/support", but Raon took it as "my significant other")
The ability to capture his sister's heart with his words, the huge courage in daring to impersonate a nobleman... Although he was from humble origins, if he was utilized well, he could be of great use.
Young's expression, which seemed as if he was pondering how to cook a caught fish, made Raon extremely nervous. Flower Scholar seemed as if he knew everything. His eyes seemed to pierce through your deepest thoughts.
By any chance......
Raon wrapped her arms around her waist.
By any chance, did he know? No, no way. That's impossible. Even if she was easily caught impersonating a nobleman, there was no way everything was uncovered. Then.....? That's right. Flower Scholar was someone who favored men. Then that meant that he thought that she was a man and asked her to be his person.... If he somehow found out about her identity, that was truly the end. She mustn't be found out.
"Can't you ask anything else of me? Please request something that I can truly do."
Didn't Flower Scholar have Young Master Kim? Did his heart change this quickly?
"Did you not tell me you would do anything?"
"I'll do anything other than becoming your person."
"The guilty party seems to have so many conditions."
"That's not it."
"Don't beat around the bush. I will call for you soon. When I do, you must do whatever I say. No matter what. Do you understand?"
"Whatever you say?"
Raon could think of only one thing. YoungChunGak's gisaeng (geisha equivalent) MaeChang had shown her an erotic book. The obscene pictures within that book crawled into her head and didn't leave.
"Then what about the young master? What about Young Master Kim..."
Raon reminded Young of his forgotten thought.
"You're right. I had forgotten about him. Tell him this. He has committed the crime of loving someone he has no right to love, the crime of attempting to fool me. He has committed a crime punishable by death, but I will let him go just this once. So tell him to keep his feelings within his heart and continue to live on."
"You're too much."
Did love change this quickly? This easily? To the point where he could just abandon him like this?
Raon had been watching over Young Master Kim's love.
She remembered Young Master Kim's expression as he explained how his love was never to be and that they must bid each other farewell. Young's coldheartedness grieved her. Feeling betrayed, Raon burst out in anger.
"Young Master Kim told me he would cherish the good memories deep in his heart. Even though he was unable to say them aloud, he said he would remember his heart that loved deeply. Because the mountain of an obstacle in front of him was too tall, he must bid farewell.... However, he said that he would continue to cherish these feelings for the rest of his life."
If Young was human, even he would be moved by these words. She thought that if he was human, he would feel some sympathy, but.....
"I see."
Young was, as always, cold. Seeing his heartlessness, Raon raised her fist in anger and glared at him.
"What? Do you have something left to say?"
"You, you.... beast!"
Young stared blankly as Raon angrily left the rice soup restaurant.
What was that?
<b>---</b>
"He's quiet the eccentric."
Standing on one side of the Supyogyo Bridge, Young's mouth stretched into a smile. His gaze lingered on Raon, who was underneath the bridge.
As the saying went, the one that farts is the one that gets angry. Just like Raon, the guilty party, who ran off in a huff.
Raon, who seemed to have fled when she left the rice soup restaurant, had waited for Young to leave and returned. She creeped back as if she was trying to avoid being caught by Young. However, she was unable to avoid his eyes.
He saw her frugally taking the rice soup she hadn't laid a hand on since they had ordered it. Wondering what she was going to do, he followed her. She had gone underneath the bridge and began handing out the rice soup to the beggar children living under the bridge.
Young languidly kept an eye on Raon. The image of Raon, smiling brightly like sunshine, handing out the rice soup to the dirt-ridden children burned into Young's eyes. Raon's smile seemed to have been stamped onto his eyes. The sweat rolling down her forehead left a deep impression on his mind. Her arms, embracing the beggar children, left one in his heart. This rascal was truly strange. Miraculously, his eyes kept being drawn to him. Young, who had been observing silently, suddenly spoke in a low voice.
"Yul!"
At the low call, a young man in black appeared. Young turned his face to the young man.