The Love They Never Had

"Husband? Are you really here?" I had no idea which one often residents in this place drugged my drink, but I was sure as hell going to make them pay when I could barely form a single sentence properly to converse with my most precious man that I had lost contact with for more than a year now, even if he was hiding in the dark. "I was wakened by the thunder, thunking that you must be scared on such a stormy night, my love." "You…shouldn't have walked through the wind and the rain…" "I wouldn't leave you alone on a stormy night…" "I thought that you didn't care about me anymore. You shouldn't worry abut me when I am out of your sight." "My heart sees what the eyes do not." "Will you still always be so good to me? Even now when I have clearly let you down? You always bring peace to my mind…" "If the Northern wind can hear the plum flowers, spare the blooming wishes for a peaceful spring. Your memories feel like home to me; whenever my mind wanders, it will always find its way back to you. And the sad part is that I will probably end up loving you without you for much longer than I have loved you when I knew you. Forgive me." "What are you saying? You are en expert at apologising and keeping the lines blurry about it…" even in my wrecked sate of mind, I could tell that he sounded completely off to me, just like when we were back under his father's roof and he would come back from wherever it was that he went after his work in the palace in my first year of staying there and he would just connately stare at me, even when he was doing his best to push me away from him. And now I could feel the same intense stare burning into me before he lay down right next to me and placed his head onto my chest and covered us both up with a blanket for now.

"…do you remember the fort in my father's yangban that I took you to once a long time ago?" "Husband, are you drunk right now? Why won't you let me see your face?" "…I used to go up there all of the time. To see the lights of the capital at night that twinkle brightly like stars do, excuse I couldn't see them from my windows in my mother's quarters, because I was quite short back then. I had to scale the walls after sneaking out from my bed at night completely in the dark. It was then when I had he desire to take one of the bright stars in the sky and own it for myself. But do you know what your problem is, Seo Yeon? You shine too brightly and now everyone wants a peace of you, even more so with this brothel business that you have gotten yourself into. I know you, and there is probably more to the story, but you should have let me handled it instead of doing things yourself. If it wasn't for that, then we both wouldn't be suffering as much as we are now today." "Forgive me…" "I like you a lot, I really did; I like how freely you spoke to me, it really did make me happy at one point. I even liked how you do not fear power or hardships; especially when you were the one who stirred my heart first. You know me and you know that I do not one up easily, you even seem to know me more than your brother does. And once I open myself up, there is no turning back for me." "But I didn't…" "But training in the army recently gave me all of the discipline that I needed to know when to retreat. So I bid you farewell my love, and hope that you stay out of my way from now on. And as for your brother; he is safe in my hands, so do not even think about provoking me."

"…you coward! I told you no to approach me and keep your distance, but you just wouldn't that that happen right? I should have just run away with Dal on that boat when I had the chance to!" "So what are you saying? That you regret…us?" I knew this man inside out since our childhood, including how easily proved that he could be. He was a terrible liar when I was his hostage and he had barely changed after that damned war that had separated us this time.

"Forget it, just crawl back to your Lady Min or whatever woman you have crawling on your arms now, and I shall return to brothel work." "What did you just say? You will return to do what exactly?" "You heard me, and we have nothing to do with one another now, so I can do what I want to do, which is everything that you restricted me from." After a few hours of sleep, I was finally able to regain my senses, including my ability to speak and I wasn't going to hold myself back this time. "I shall carry on my mother's work whilst you carry out your father's since I never wanted to be a part of your twisted plan anyways! I shall stay in the brothel from now on so I won't have the chance to harm your precious reputation, so I do not want to see you anywhere near there for the rest of my life!" "Is that so? And how are you going to stop me?" "I will indulge our entire relationship to The Lady Min and have her watch your every single move." "Is that so? And will you be able to handle it, Seo Yeon? Seeing me with another woman?" The jerk was ably giving me a chance to respond since he had started walking right up to me with a look on his face that was so similar to his father's that I couldn't help but to falter a little. "And I wonder why you are so quick and angry with your responses? Unless you are…disturbed with my decision?" "Do you have any idea what I have been through here! Have you even cared to ask me at all!" "And whose fault is that exactly! Nobody asked you to stay there! You could have escaped and…" "…and what? Tell me? How could I have escaped with The Third Princess Consort watching my every single move! It was her brothel that I was stuck in! That I was…" that you were what? Well? Don't just stop there." "Forget it, I can tell that you don' even care, so what is the point in telling you anything? Now get out of my room and…" "or what? Who are you to order me around? Who are you to say what I can or cannot do? Why so bitter? Unless…." "Unless what?" "Unless you have truly fallen in love with me girl, and you are just being bitter and angry because I have someone else better waiting for me? Someone who can do a lot for me, more than you ever could." "I knew it. I knew that you could never love me, no matter how much you tried. You only used me like you have used everyone in your entire life…!" "You are right, and now as I part from you, I will take up the last and final use for you that I have." "Do not even think about it! Don't touch me! Keep away! Someome help me…!"

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"We would like to thank our guests from coming here to celebrate our official union and…who is this that is approaching us so late into the banquet?" "Husband, I would to introduce to you, The Lady Min, the sister of The Third Princess Consort." "Is that so? Greetings to you, My Lady." "And to you, I didn't really want to come here, but your wife insisted on my presence as if that would do something for your already dodgy social status, but here I am. Seeing is indeed believing that a slave such as yourself would rise above the ranks of your Master Nam, but your arrogant and bold demeanour of hosting such a banquet in private has only proved me right. Only the rude and unruly can enjoy such luxuries without having a signal merit to put towards such a promotion, but I see that my brother-in-law has indulged in his charity works once again, so I will have n choice but to see you again in the future."

I could hear Dal's manhood, pride, dignity and honouring crushed into pieces as I made my way to the end of the banquet in my new dress that dal had bestowed onto me. It was an elaborate and expensive thing that was distracting me from the unpleasant recent events that I had just dealt with, including trying to hide the fresh set of marks that I had just received from a beast of a man who continuously treated me how he wanted…and had just broken my heart completely. But I was not out of enemy territory yet and I had to continue to keep on living for my loved ones who were also trapped in the palace an I needed to free them all before I could even think to deal with this new pain that I had been handed.

I hated Dal more than anyone, but if I wanted Seon-Ho off of my back to continue with my plans, I needed to drive him away for all of our sakes. And that could only happen by me defending that slime ball of a man until the very end. "Master Dal, you must be my witness; for the same woman who speaks in noble tones and looks down upon those who works hard has herself caused so much trouble to her own family to the point where her family clan is on he brink of collapse herself. At least Dal worked to get where he is now and you yourself? I wonder what grand merits that you have continued to your own grand title? Unless you retained such a title, monies and land my simply leeching off of your sister's advantageous marriage? Some people really like to call others out on how they act themselves. Talk about being arrogant and bold, so I wonder what exactly brings you here instead of supporting your sister? Because if Master Dal really wasn't worthy of your attention at all, I wonder why you chose to grace us with your presence here at his banquet?" "So, this unruly and uncouth girl must be the orphan of Seo Geom himself; Seo Yeon?" "That I am." "You really are quite a beautiful girl, no wonder you have managed to seduce every single man around you, including the rising star of the palace.""That may be true that I have managed to capture your attention, but that is more that can be said for you." "What do you mean by that?" "I am a woman of inferior birth and fortune, and yet I have been engaged more than once in my lifetime. And you? I do not recall of any news of your many suitors proposing marriage to you? They all seem to end up dead instead, just like your infamous Royal Advisors who have all met their death at your hands."

"My my, you seem to be rather well informed of myself, I wonder if The Young Master Nam told you any of this?" "It is The Master Dal who keeps me updated with palace news. Seon-Ho never told me anything about it when I asked him." "What do you mean, asked him? Have you already seen him?" "Of course I have; he is an old childhood friend of mine, how could we avid each other at all? He even gifted me his familial jade pendant so that I could always find my way back to him." "And pray tell me where he is now?" "I am afraid that he fell quite tired from his travels, so he fell asleep in my bed…" "In your bed? Seo Yeon, i do hope that you realise what you are saying…." "I do, like I said we are childhood friends and I was his hostage for some years…" "His father's hostage you mean." "Sure I guess, but we happened to establish our own relationship in the years and he was always in his mother's quarters that he bestowed onto me, soo he often slept in my bed. And if you think I am just provoking you, you may ask Dal for his account since he served us both back then." This Lady Min was just as easy to provoke as her so-called man was, and since I could not vent my anger out at he man who seemingly refused to let me go whether he loved me or not, I had just found a new target to lash out to, especially when she was now as powerless than ever and simply relying on the power of the men who couldn't stay away from me to help her. And for everything that my family had been through with the palace, I was going to make sure that she was going to be held responsible until I could personally put and end to her sister myself.