With lead in her shoes, Iseul entered the dining hall. She was early, but not the first. The ones who had been on the archery field were already sitting down, Du Ho was among them, and to her surprise, none of the boys treated her any differently. It was as if they didn't even know what had transpired.

A little weary, she sat down next to Du Ho, who was boasting about his hits to two of his friends. When he didn't stop to interrogate her, she released the air she was holding and began to eat. Maybe if she finished quickly, she could be out of here before the others would enter.

Halfway through her bowl of rice, voices announced the entry of the rest of the Hwarang and nervously she swallowed her bite. There had been only twelve witnesses to her embarrassing display and the instructor didn't eat in this hall, so there were only eleven pairs of eyes she needed to fear. That was, unless they had told the other sword-fighters, who had been practicing on a nearby field. In that case, the whole dining hall would soon be laughing at her.

She kept her eyes fixed on the doorway and the moment the first of the eleven walked in, she cringed. Whan-wook, as usual, didn't pay attention to anyone. She looked tired, but bore her exhaustion well. Ae-cha and Ha-neul shuffled in, loudly complaining about sore muscles, they both threw her a pitying look, but went to stand in line to fetch their dinner as usual.

The moment Jae-sung walked in, Iseul's heart skipped a beat. However, he didn't even look at her. He walked right passed her on his way to the kitchen and ignored her completely.

Her lips fell apart as she followed him with her eyes. Then, when she realized she looked foolish, she quickly turned back and began to shuffle food into her mouth.

When the Jee brothers took their seats, the table was full and Iseul exhaled. She scoffed at herself. What was she afraid of, that Jae-sung would join her? To do what? Laugh at her? From beneath her eyelashes, she followed his movements until he sat down a few tables away.

A small smile appeared around his lips. Was it due to a joke from one of his friends? She couldn't hear. Did they look at her? Did he tell them about how she flung herself at him like a mad person? Were they having fun at her expense?

Carefully she observed the Hwarang at the table, but none of them so much as looked her way.

"Iseul." Chul-yeo's voice shook her out of her musings. Right before she turned, she saw Jae-sung's head swivel her way.

"Nobody said anything."

Iseul blinked. "What?"

Chul-yeo smiled. "About how you lost it back there," he continued in hushed tones. "He told us to keep it to ourselves. You don't have to worry. Besides," he leaned back, "you were pretty awesome and walked away like a bad-ass, all dignity and such. So don't worry, alright? And if you want, come to the field tonight, I'll teach you some moves."

She blinked again. Hé told? Who was hé? Chul-yeo couldn't mean Jae-sung, right? He probably meant the instructor. Yes, that must be it. She frowned to get her thoughts back under control and nodded. "Yes, please, thank you."

A little while later she dared to glance to her right again, but Jae-sung was busy eating and seemed to have forgotten all about her. A sad feeling washed over her and her appetite dwindled. Still, she made herself finish every last bowl. If she had a sword-fighting lesson later this evening, she needed every bit of energy she could get.

🌸

They didn't have a lot of spectators that night. It was late and most of the boys and all of the girls went to bed or relaxed in the common rooms.

"Alright, now show me what you've learned so far." Chul-yeo was standing with his hands on his back and his brother held a sword to play the part of opponent. Outside the make-shift ring sat Du Ho and the two Hwarang who had joined him after dinner.

Iseul closed her eyes for a brief moment, steadied her breathing and then lifted her hands, while keeping her eyes fixed on Chul-seok. When he lifted his sword as well, she advanced. The whole routine went fine, like it had gone the previous time she had practiced with the boy. Her movements were even more fluid than before. She didn't understand. Why had everything gone wrong this afternoon?

Chul-yeo was frowning when she looked his way. He scratched his chin and pursed his lips.

"What am I doing wrong?" She lifted her sword again and held it in her right hand, while holding her left stretched out in front of her. Then she pulled her left hand back, stabbed the air with the tip of the blade, pulled it up in front of her and swiveled on one foot. When she landed she slashed her imaginative enemy neatly in half.

Du Ho applauded and Chul-seok said: "Very graceful. That's what you should have done this afternoon."

Iseul felt a blush creep up and lowered her head. It was true, that's what she should have done. Then why did it seem like she'd just forgotten everything when she stood in front of Jae-sung? Him of all people. Her heartbeat sped up when she remembered the look of disappointment on his face; the shame she felt.

The lesson didn't last long, since it was getting late. When she said goodnight, Chul-yeo insisted on escorting her back. Out of reach of the others, he halted her and asked: "You like him, don't you?"