This time, the four girls were in the washing area together. There was no time for a full shower, even though Iseul had never felt sweatier. Chul-seok was an excellent teacher, she really felt she learned a lot today. With her wash cloth she practiced the routine he taught her and she ended up accidentally swatting Whan-wook against her chest.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Oh, sorry, please forgive me." Quickly Iseul moved back and finished washing up. When she walked past Ae-cha, the girl halted her.

"Iseul, you were amazing on the practice field. I don't know where you found the nerve." Ae-cha folded her arms over the edge of the partition she stood behind.

Ha-neul joined her and asked: "And who was that handsome guy who didn't want anyone else to teach you? Is he your betrothed?"

Iseul nearly choked in her haste to deny it. "Absolutely not. He's the brother of my best friend. I guess he felt he needed to watch over me or something, but I don't need his help."

A simple no would probably have been enough, because half of her words were discarded and the two friends eagerly began to discuss which of the young men were fine husband material. Iseul shook her head and left the area.

🌸

She was one of the first ones to arrive in the dining hall and when she saw the Jee brothers, she sat down with them. They both had equal expressions of surprise on their faces, so she asked: "Is it alright if I sit here?"

Immediately they both insured her it was fine. "More than fine," Chul-yeo added. "How could we say no to the granddaughter of the prime minister?"

Was that a sneer? She couldn't tell. Perhaps he blamed her for the way his brother was treated earlier. So she said: "I'm sorry about Jae-sung, I don't know what came over him. I'm perfectly able to fend for myself."

Chul-seok waved his hands in front of him. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm used to being pushed around." As an example, he gave his older brother a shove, causing him to drop his spoon on the floor. Iseul bit her lip to keep from grinning. But Chul-yeo caught her anyway and jutted his bottom lip. This made her burst out laughing.

"What's so funny over here?" Du Ho sat down beside her with a huge smile. His tray was filled to the brim. "Tell me," he continued, addressing the brothers, "that move you made the day before yesterday, can you teach me?"

As the boys immersed themselves in a lively conversation about various fighting styles, Iseul looked around. She was halfway in lifting a spoonful of rice to her mouth, when she caught Jae-sung staring at her. As soon as their eyes met, he looked away, but not before she distinctly saw his cheeks turning red. What was that about?

Usually, Iseul went straight to bed after evening meal, but this time she didn't feel as tired, so she ended up lounging with the boys she sat with at dinner. They relocated to the pavilion closest to the practice field they were at earlier and when Chul-yeo offered Du Ho to show him the move they talked about, Iseul created a nice spot for herself to sit and watch.

She tried to pay attention at first. Chul-yeo made a short run, jumped high in the sky, turned his body and sliced the air with his sword. He landed neatly on one knee and when he looked up, straight at her, he winked.

A giggle escaped her, which she quickly hid behind her hand.

After a while, however, she felt her eyelids grow heavy. The voices around her faded to the background and with a content sigh, she allowed herself to be taken by sleep.

🌸

She was being carried. She knew the feeling, her father had often carried her when she was younger. This wasn't her father though, she knew that for a fact. For one, her father was smaller, his chest had never been so broad. He also smelled different. Her mother always bought soap made from rice and black sesame seeds. This person who carried her, vaguely smelled of sandalwood. The third thing that made her acutely aware that she was being carried by someone that shouldn't be carrying her, was a low voice that softly said: "It's fine, just open the door."

Her eyes flew open and she nearly fell in her haste to be let down. She clung to an arm that steadied her and when she finally made eye-contact with the person who apparently brought her to the women's dormitory, she gasped.

It was Jae-sung. What was he doing? "What are you doing?" she practically yelled in his face.

"My lady," Nari whispered, appearing from behind her, "you fell asleep and master Go was kind enough to carry you here."

Lowering her voice, still glaring at Jae-sung, who now crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive position, Iseul hissed: "Couldn't you have woken me? I'm not a child that needs to be carried anywhere. What will people say? How can I face them again?"

"Nobody saw you, my lady, everyone is already asleep. I've been looking all over for you." Nari replied with a slight scowl on her face.

Realization dawned when Iseul moved her gaze away from the young man in the doorway, to the sky behind him. It was pitch black. She blinked a few times. What was she doing outside? Where had she fallen asleep? Fragments of a sword-fight entered her mind and all of a sudden she remembered. She had been looking at Du Ho and Chul-yeo. Had she just fallen asleep in the pavilion? Heat rose in her cheeks.

Nari explained: "When I finally found you, you were covered with a blanket, but I figured I couldn't just leave you there. I saw master Go when I searched for someone to help me and he was kind enough to bring you here."

Iseul heaved a deep sigh to calm herself. It wasn't Jae-sung's fault. In the morning she would berate Du Ho for leaving her outside. Blanket or no blanket, he should have awoken her.

Begrudgingly she refocused on Jae-sung and said: "Thank you ... for your concern. Goodnight." She turned around before he could say anything and ran to the bedroom. Her heart was hammering in her chest and in front of the door she halted to catch her breath.

"Are you alright, my lady?" Nari whispered, causing Iseul to jump slightly.

She exhaled and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry if I worried you. I will make sure those boys know never to leave me outside again."

"They did give you a blanket, I thought that was very sweet," Nari giggled.

Iseul scoffed and moved inside. She quickly undressed and slipped under the covers, but it took a long time for her to fall asleep again.