Chapter Text
Chapter Summary: The Crown Prince went on one of his adventures again but failed to return on the same day. Lee Hyun always worries whenever Hwi sneaks out of the palace without his knowledge or when the Crown Prince wants to prove something to the King but always ends up in chaos. Kim Ga-on had never thought that he will make the boldest decision of his life until the Crown Prince's life was threatened. Noh Ha-kyung had been unsatisfied and bored of living as a noblewoman and found an occupation that interest her but will shock her father.
***
He was naturally a calm and cool person with a big heart and zero tolerance for injustice. But when it comes to the Crown Prince's safety, Hyun can slaughter anyone who attempted to hurt his beloved cousin.
Simmering with anger and boiling with frustration, Hyun marched towards the Crown Prince's quarters after receiving a message from Court Lady Kim that the Crown Prince was nowhere to be found since this morning.
Jaws clenched, brows furrowed and fists balled Hyun stepped inside the Crown Prince's quarters like an angry tiger about to meet his foes. The maids that gathered by the door of the Prince's chamber were disturbed and opened the door right away making way for him.
"Tell me where he is?" Hyun snarled upon entering as he strode towards the frightened eunuch that stood at one of the dark corners of the chamber. Court Lady Kim bowed to him at once while standing beside the shaking eunuch. "I know that you're the only one who knew it, so speak!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Prince Jaeun," Bok-dong bowed and tried to hide his face from the furious prince. He made an oath to Hwi that his loyalty would always remain with the Crown Prince.
"Look at me!" Hyun ordered, and even Court Lady Kim flinched from the unexpected raising of his voice. If looks can kill, Bok-dong would have died now from the daggers that he was shooting at him. "If my grandmother finds out that her favorite grandson had been missing, she will all behead us!" He barked to all of them, the court maids outside nervously kneeled and bowed their heads lower. Then he pointed at the adamant eunuch, who was now trying to hide behind Court Lady Kim. "And I will tell her that you withheld the information of the Crown Prince's whereabouts."
Bok-dong cringed at the comment. He knew the wrath of the Queen Dowager was worse than the King; Hwi's father had always been cold towards his son. But since the day Hwi's mother died, his grandmother had been extra protective of the Crown Prince, treating Hwi like he's the only grandchild existing in this world, when in fact; she had three other grandsons that sought her attention.
"The- the Cr-crown Prince joined the b-battle early this morning," was Bok-dong's careful remark but when he saw Hyun's face reddened with fury and the intense eye contact, all his thoughts suddenly came spilling out… "The Crown Prince disguised himself as a warrior, like Ga-on and the two sneaked out of the palace before the troops can leave so that nobody will notice. He told me that he wanted to show His Majesty that he can lead an army of soldiers on the battlefield without yours or Royal Guard Yoon protecting him."
"Aaaarggh!" Hyun swallowed down his frustration and stormed outside. He promised himself that he will always protect his beloved cousin from anyone who will hurt the Crown Prince, but sometimes it's hard to protect Hwi from his own self. His cousin had always been seeking perfection and validation from the King that sometimes it gets him into trouble, like now.
***
"I'm sorry that you have to stay longer today."
"It's alright, I told you I'm happy to stay and help," Ha-kyung returned not wanting Young-ji to worry further. "Goodbye, and see you tomorrow." She dried her hands and removed the apron that she used as part of her working clothes and hung them on the hook on the wall, before opening the door of the clinic and stepping outside. After five months of wearing it together with the plain pale blue cotton dresses she made, she was already used to leaving her jewelry, hairpins, and other accessories behind in their house and seldom used cosmetics on her face nowadays.
Disguising as a commoner and interacting with them had been part of her life now, which she always looked forward to. She never imagined that a woman can do so many things, let alone work as men do. There were so many opportunities noblewomen missed in life because they were not permitted to work, go out alone, play outdoor games, go to a feast or even ride a horse. The only thing she was taught was to be chaste. When it comes to education most of the girls her age learned simple texts and Hangul. And the most important thing of all, they should be experts in domestic skills such as cooking, weaving, embroidery, and stitch work, the latter was among her favorites though. The focus of the noble young girls’ education was to inspire them towards becoming good housewives to their husbands, but not to cultivate their skills and talents that may be helpful to society and their countrymen.
That's why she admired the Bang sibling's dedication and commitment to the small humble clinic they managed on the other side of the capital, which nobles rarely go to. She had been helping them for months now and was thankful to discover this kind of life, where she had a use for her skills. And not just stay in their house or visit other noble family's houses and do nothing but gossip till they were married off.
While most of eighteen-year-old girls were busy improving their talents as future housewives, she on the other hand had found her father's books and was taught to read and write like her two older brothers.
"Are you ready, my Lady?"
Her maid, Yu Gong, and the one who introduced her to the Bang siblings whispered from behind.
"Yes, I am done for the day," Ha-kyung replied and put on the jangot over her head before they stepped out of the gate and walked down towards the road.
"We need to hurry, it is almost dark," Yu Gong suggested growing a bit nervous.
Ha-kyung nodded and hurriedly turned right to the next corner that she forgot to look ahead and before she realized it she already bumped in with someone!
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to" Ha-kyung quickly apologized for her clumsiness as she was assisted by her maid after falling from the ground. When she managed to rise from her feet and face the person, her eyes widened with surprise when she saw who she collided with.
Not just one but two. And they were wearing black clothes like warriors wear, and had swords on their waists and both faces were concealed by black face masks, with only their eyes exposed. They looked intimidating up close and personal. The taller one seemed to be stiff and strong. But Ha-kyung's eyes fell on the shorter one, who seemed to be struggling on its feet and was being supported by the taller one. "What happened?" was her curious and worried query.
"I don't think it's a good idea to talk now," her maid mumbled from behind and held her arm, encouraging her to step back and let the two strangers go on their way.
But before Ha-kyung can protest the taller warrior looked into her eyes.
"My companion here is badly wounded, I would be grateful if you can help us," he said in a humble gentle tone.
She did not need to think twice, she reached for her jangot and turned around, "I am a healer, follow me, quick!" they strode back towards the clinic. She did not care who they were, but she made an oath to help all sick and wounded.
It did not take long before they arrived in the clinic and the Bang siblings were already meeting them and opened the door to their humble clinic.
Jil-geum was about to help the two warriors upon arriving inside, but he was stopped by the taller warrior from touching the wounded companion of his.
"Get your hands off," he warned, pointing his dagger towards the older Bang, while supporting his wounded companion. He paused and glared at him, before switching his eyes to her. "I want only you to help us, not him."
"A-alright," Ha-kyung nodded, her heart beating fast from that display of aggression. These people seemed to have trust issues, she thought. She went to the other side of the wounded warrior and helped them go down the stairs, while her maid and the younger Bang stood in the background, afraid that something bad might happen again.
Jil-geum raised his hands as if showing he did not want trouble and walked down the stairs never tearing his eyes off the two warriors. "Bring him here," he said, once his feet touched the lower level of the clinic and pointed to the wooden platform in the middle of the room that served as the examination table and bed too.
There was blood on the floor as they made their way to the examination bed and put the patient carefully.
"What happened?" she asked right away.
"Stabbed at the back. Deep cut under the left shoulder," was the taller warrior's laconic reply.
"Young-ji, boil some water," Jil-geum called across the room and his sister ran outside at once. "I will get the supplies and herbs," he said to her and ran off to the other side of the room where their stocks and materials were located.
Ha-kyung was about to take the patient's clothes off to examine the wound, but a hand stopped her.
"I will do it," the taller warrior said and released her hand carefully after she quickly withdrew from his grip. "I apologized," he said, realizing his mistake and bowed.
Ha-kyung's heart was pounding like never before after being touched for the first time by an unknown man. Right now she had every reason to slap him for his misbehavior, but then she realized that she cannot act like the noblewoman that she was, if she did not want to expose her disguise. So she just nodded to him and controlled her temper.
But before he can do it, they were both interrupted by Jil-geum's arrival followed by Young-ji carrying a bowl of boiling water and Yu Gong. The Bang siblings placed all the materials they needed for the wound treatment on the table.
"We will be outside, waiting, if you ever need help," Jil-geum said and motioned for his sister to follow him and walked out of the room quickly.
But then Ha-kyung suddenly panicked at the sight of her maid and realized that she was in a peculiar situation. She reluctantly left her patient, and led her maid towards the upper floor and right to the door.
"Go home now-" she said but was cut off at once.
"But I can't leave you here," was her maid's worried reply. "I will wait outside," she insisted.
"No, I will just stay here overnight, and you can pick me up tomorrow," was Ha-kyung's adamant reply, as they whispered to one another. "Do whatever you can to hide my absence, and don't tell this to anyone. Do you understand?"
Yu Gong had no choice but to nod in approval.
"Now, Go! I have to save someone's life," she whisper shouted to her maid and the girl ran off, leaving the three of them in peace.
When she went back to check on her patient, she almost missed the last step of the stairs when she laid her eyes on it and found the almost naked torso of her patient.
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened.
How can this be possible?
Completely dumbfounded, Ha-kyung was frozen in total shock to find a beautiful wounded woman instead of a man. For a minute she gazed at the blood-soaked binder that covered the chest to confirm her suspicion, the elegant handsome face, and the curtains of long loose hair that slightly covered it. And she thought… was she dreaming?
She slapped both her cheeks lightly and managed to take her eyes off of her and then shifted her gaze to the taller warrior that was standing on the right side corner of the bed. As if reading her mind, he just nodded to her in confirmation and then walked towards her.
"Please do the best you can and not a word to anyone," he said in a serious and worried tone before leaving her.
She took a deep breath and quickly started to treat her patient's wound even if her hands were still shaking and had not yet recovered from the shocking revelation.
Now she understood why he did not want Jil-geum to touch his companion.
There were so many questions running through her head right now, but she shoved them aside and focused on saving this person's life first.
She was thankful that Jil-geum and Young-ji had taught her early how to treat these kinds of wounds since most of their patients were bandits, butchers, and warriors. And he praised her needlework after stitching up their wounds, she was grateful for all the times she spent perfecting stitching at home.
After seemed like forever, Ha-kyung managed to stitch up the large cut and the bleeding fortunately stopped. She wrapped the wound with a clean bandage, washed her patient, and then changed the binder and upper clothes. Thankfully, Jil-geum supplied her with clean man's clothes.
She picked up the basin full of clothes soaked in blood and gathered the rest of the materials she used and made her way outside. The taller warrior met her immediately once she stepped out in the dark daecheong of the clinic.
"Is it done?" he asked and limped slightly with his right leg.
"Your companion will survive," Ha-kyung said confidently and eyed his injured leg. "Do you want me to check on that?"
"No, I'm fine," was his stubborn reply, and went inside.
Usually treating those kinds of deep wounds was both physically and emotionally draining, but right now she felt also mentally exhausted. She was baffled as to why her patient was dressed as a man?
Suddenly, she remembered the dilemma.
Ha-kyung carefully put down the washbowl that she carried and went to the two siblings that had already fallen asleep by the bone fire in the front yard.
"Jil-geum, Young-ji, wake up," she shook them lightly and the older Bang stood right away.
"Do you need help? I'm coming now," he said half awake.
While Young-ji slowly opened her eyes and looked at her with worry, "Did he make it?"
She smiled to both of them and humbly nodded, "I think so, because the bleeding had stopped after I stitched it up, and the fever is gone."
"How many stitches?" Young-ji asked, suddenly curious.
"Oh…, I think more than ten," was Ha-kyung's fascinated remark.
"Wow, this is so far the biggest wound you treated," Jil-geum said, impressed. "Shall I take a look?"
"Oh, umm, there's a problem," she said and put her hand on his upper arm and stopped him. "He doesn't want anyone to see the patient except me."
"Why? Are they trying to hide something? We haven't even seen their faces, and they are staying in our clinic," was Young-ji's irritated comment, looked at her brother and rose from her feet. "And we saved his life."
"Calm down…" the older Bang put his arm around his sister and consoled her. "We have to remember that there are certain people that do not like to be exposed and these warriors are one of them. Our life would be at risk if we saw their faces or knew their identities. So, it's better to respect their wishes, so that they would leave us alone because they knew that we haven't seen them."
"I agree with your big brother," Ha-kyung added, feeling guilty that she had to lie with her friends. But she knew that their minds would be distorted too if they found out the truth, and she was not sure if the Bangs were capable of keeping a secret like that. She on the other hand can take a secret to her grave. "By the way, I like to ask your permission if I can stay overnight and monitor my patient."
"Of course, you can, this is your home too, you don't need to ask," Jil-geum answered with a smile on his face. "And I will not let you go home alone at this hour."
"Thank you," Ha-kyung returned with a big smile on her face.
"Wouldn't your family worry about you?" Young-ji asked.
And Ha-kyung was suddenly caught off guard. She did not know if her maid managed to find a way to hide her absence. But she will face that problem tomorrow. Right now her priority was to be by her patient's side and make sure that she was comfortable.
"I will deal with them tomorrow," was all she can say before they all decided to call it a night.
The Bangs were already on their way to the little house at the back while she made her way back to the clinic.
"Ha-kyung, wait!" Young-ji said and ran towards her and handed her something hard that was wrapped in a cloth.
"What's this?" she asked furrowing her brows and was about to open it. But Young-ji stopped her.
"For protection, in case… you know," the young woman said and motioned for the direction of the clinic where the warriors were.
"Thank you so much, and good night," she nodded and smiled at them, grateful for these people and their kindness.
Once she reached the lower level of the clinic, she caught the taller warrior standing and staring at his companion as if guarding. He quickly approached her as soon as their eyes met.
"Can we leave now?" he asked and glanced at the sleeping figure on the examination bed.
Ha-kyung cannot believe what she heard, "No." was her strong reply, and faced bravely the taller warrior, she did not care what he would do to her with this confrontation that was about to transpire. "I have done everything I can to save her-"
"Him." He corrected and glared at her.
Ha-kyung exhaled and paused for a moment, suddenly distracted, but eventually understood what he meant. "Alright, him," she said and continued with her litany. "As what I am saying, I used all my energy, skills, and sweat in order to save your companion, just to make sure that she- I mean, he, is…" this use of referents was making her head spin. "Alive. And now, you're just going to tell me that you will take him away just like that… so, no. You can't take her… I mean him. It will be dangerous for the patient to move when the wound was not even healed."
"We cannot stay here, it's dangerous," he stubbornly replied and crossed his arms over his chest.
"It's more dangerous out there!" she whispered shouted. This man was getting on her nerves. She moved closer to him and invaded his personal space. That made him step back and lose a bit of his composure and uncrossed his arms. She did not know where this boldness of hers came from, but she felt overprotective of this person that she saved. She glared at him and said, "I won't let you take him. Over my dead body," and with that, she turned around and snatched some blankets from the opened chest beside the examination table. She removed her shoes and crawled beside her patient and put a blanket over the sleeping warrior before she put the other blanket over her and lay there too.
It did not take long before the taller warrior understood the situation, left the room and she heard the door to the clinic open. Ha-kyung released the breath that she was holding for so long and dried the sweat on her forehead. Whatever she did a while ago, she had no idea how and why she did it. But these emotions that she had right now were making her confused.
She carefully took out the knife from her lower sleeves and put it under the bed, before making herself comfortable.
Before she closed her eyes, she made sure that her patient was still sleeping on the right side and had a pillow that supported… she was thinking 'her' but corrected her brain and whispered, "Him. It's a 'him'," and then she tried again. "Him."
When she was satisfied with the patient's safety, she laid on her back and tried to close her eyes one more time. But the hardness of the wooden examination bed was making her uncomfortable. It was her first time to sleep on a hard surface. She turned to her right and faced the wall instead, and closed her eyes again.
But after a while, her eyes opened and she took a deep breath.
It was probably midnight but her brain was too active and there were a lot of things going through her mind that kept her awake. And she knew that it was not the wooden bed.
So she finally turned to her left and she came face to face with the most elegant face that she had ever seen in her life.
Ha-kyung suddenly found herself gazing at the sleeping warrior in front of her and was now fully awake.
"She- he's very good looking," she thought and felt more drawn to her patient.
For someone who was a warrior, this person surely had nice skin and good complexion, she thought and wondered what made this person disguise himself as a warrior, and his companion insisted for her to refer to the woman as a man. What were their motives that drove them to do this? Was it poverty? Revenge?
There were so many questions that she was dying to ask and she hoped that she could do that when this person woke up. Because her curiosity was killing her and she knew that she would never forget this... him.
As of this moment, she cannot take her eyes off him and she was beginning to grow worried.
Never in her life had she been so captivated by someone. It's like something inside her had awakened by the sight of this female dressed as a man. And not only that, the woman was handsome and if she had not known from the other warrior that this was a woman, she would have thought that they were both men.
Because the woman wore those male clothes perfectly like this person had been wearing them all the time. And it suited surprisingly 'him'.
Ha-kyung felt like she was taking advantage of her patient because she was gazing at this person like a possessed madwoman.
What's going on with her, she wondered.
She never felt like this before. Not to anyone, and never to a boy.
Why did all of a sudden she have this sudden attraction and fascination with this person in front of her?
Was this because she admired 'him' as a warrior and fighting those strong men and that 'he' was a female or the fact that she had never met a female dressed fittingly in a man's clothes, or both?
Whatever it was, it was making her heart beat like a drum and her body temperature rising.
Not contented, she carefully moved closer to the sleeping warrior, reached for the warrior's face, and cleared the loose hair blocking it.
She gasped and saw fully how handsome 'he' was up close even if the warrior had some bruises and small cuts on the face.
"Oh my," she whispered totally in awe.
There was something by the look of this warrior that was driving Ha-kyung towards 'him' like a strong force and she did not know how to stop herself, it felt bizarre and out of this world. There's this wanting feeling she needed to satiate but did not know what the hell it was, and it's making her thirsty and hot, and dying for a pee. Ha-kyung unconsciously parted her lips and a low prolonged inarticulate sound came out of her. Surprised, she jerked away carefully and slapped her cheeks with her hands.
'What happened!?'
She panicked in her thoughts totally dumbfounded at her strange behavior.
She decided to get up and fetched another blanket and put it over her patient to make sure 'he' won't freeze.
Afterwards, she took another blanket for her and settled on the corner of the room. She put the blanket on the floor and laid there instead not trusting herself anymore to sleep beside the warrior.
Ha-kyung closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep even if she can still hear the hammering of her heart.
Growing up as a noblewoman, she was taught to suppress her feelings, and practice modesty, obedience, and virtuousness.
There were many things that made her excited and interested, and she managed to control herself, but this one, whatever this thing happening to her right now, it's definitely out of control and driving her insane.
She frustratingly exhaled and forced herself to sleep.
TBC