On her way out, she saw the day off wasn't only for the women. Every man she met in the courtyard was dressed casually and they all left the school. Most still pretended not to see her, but some smiled. She recognized Du Ho from a distance and as she waved, the young man trotted over.

"Good-morning, my ... Sohn Iseul," he smiled a little embarrassed. Then, as if he just remembered something, his eyes lit up and he asked: "Is it true what they say? Did more women come last night?"

Iseul motioned Nari to go ahead and said to Du Ho: "Yes, they did. Three ladies arrived in the night. I'm sure you'll meet them tomorrow. Are you going home, today?"

The young man, actually a boy still, grinned in a happy way and he seemed to relax the more they talked. "Yes, my mother always cooks all day when I come home. You are lucky, we only get days off once every two weeks." His teeth shone in the morning sun and she noticed there was a curl in his black hair, now that it wasn't tied together.

"Shall we walk together?" he asked, a little shyly.

"Sure," Iseul said and when Du Ho started walking, she followed him. He turned right outside the gate and walked in the direction of her house. "Do you know where I live?"

He shrugged. "Yes, I do. Everyone knows the location of the house of the prime minister."

That figured. Iseul heaved a sigh and looked around. It was market day again and the streets were full of people. Bright colors cheered up the brown hues of the shops, and sometimes she stopped to gaze at a particularly nice piece of jewelry. Du Ho waited for her, each time she did that and after the third time she offered: "You don't have to wait for me, I'm sure your mother is eager for your return."

He shrugged again. "Don't worry, she'll expect me to hang out with my friends first."

"Then, am I not keeping you from that? This is your free day as well, you mustn't spend your precious time standing idly by to watch me peruse trinkets."

When his cheeks turned slightly red, Iseul frowned, but quickly turned away. It wasn't the first time she'd been courted, but it bothered her to think this nice young man might only spend time with her because he hoped to gain something.

However, when he asked, his voice a lot less cheerful: "Do you want me to leave?" she quickly shook her head. He was, after all, the only person inside the school who had talked to her. She didn't want to loose his recognition.

"Of course not," she put on a smile, pondered a few seconds and then added: "I'd like to think we are friends as well. After all, we're in the same school." Her eyebrows rose when she suddenly wondered about the few names that have entered in the selection. Du Ho wasn't one of them.

"Why didn't you enter the selection for the position of crown prince?"

Immediately his arms shot up. "Oh, I wouldn't dare."

"But the selection is open to everyone. Don't you want to at least try?" Was she prying too much? Du Ho was a quiet boy, but he was friendly and anything but condescending. She'd rather have him trying out than someone like Hojin.

Nevertheless, he fervently shook his head. "I've entered Hwarang to improve my fighting skills, and my mother thought it could help me for whatever job I will find later in life. My family isn't that influential and I don't stand out in any way. I'd rather live a peaceful life outside the palace."

His eyes lit up and he swung his arms forward, almost knocking over an old lady who came to buy fabric. "Of course, I will cheer for you and help you in any way I can. Just think of me as your younger brother and don't hesitate to call if you're ever in need."

Surprised, Iseul nodded before fully registering what he said. He wanted her to think of him as her brother? Then was she mistaken before? Was he merely shy when he blushed before? His teeth were showing now, as he threw her an exuberant smile and without thinking twice, she grinned back at him.

🌸

Du Ho dropped her off at her place and bowed before he left to go home himself. Nari was waiting for her and cocked an eyebrow when they stared at the back of the boy walking away. "Did you make a conquest?"

With a scoff, Iseul shoved the girl inside. "Of course not, he merely offered me his aid. He told me to think of him as a little brother." Fondly she gazed at the street one last time, then she closed the gate.

"Aw, that's so sweet. What's his name? Who's his family?"

They were paused in their conversation by Iseul's mother, who came running from the house when she heard her daughter's voice. "Iseul, is that you? You scared me. When Nari showed up, I thought you had been sent home. I'm so glad to see you. Is everything going well? They wouldn't let me visit you."

Iseul was pulled in a tight embrace and laughing out loud, she threw her arms around her mother. "I missed you too, mom."

Mrs. Sohn took a step back and looked intensely at her daughter for a while. "You have a tan, oh, they're ruining your fair complexion. Can't you wear a hat or something?" She placed two hands on Iseul's cheeks and wiped them with her thumbs as if she could get rid of the color.

"It's nothing to worry about, mother. I spend I great deal of time outside, of course I'd get a tan."

Looking at the sun as if it were the culprit, Mrs. Sohn quickly ushered her daughter inside. "There, sit down. Nari, get us some tea, will you? Iseul, tell me everything. Did the king visit? How are the boys treating you? Why are your hands so coarse?"

Iseul smiled. Where should she begin? Her mother wanted to know everything. And apparently she wasn't the only one, because as soon as she told her mother about how she spend the last week, her friends stormed inside and begged her to tell everything all over again.

Mrs. Sohn wasn't very happy when she heard about the sword fighting and how they ignored her the first days. Neither was she pleased about the three ladies who'd arrived the previous night. There was however, nothing she could do about it and when Iseul asked to be excused to go strolling the market place with her friends, her mother gave permission.

🌸

The questions Do-yun and Binna asked were somewhat the same, but their intention was completely different. They mostly wanted to know about the Hwarang and were very disappointed when Iseul couldn't think of one interesting thing to tell them.

"You mean to tell me you haven't learned one single juicy piece of gossip about any of them?" Do-yun looked extremely frustrated. "I wanted you to be our eyes and ears in that place. I knew it, I should have nagged my grandfather harder. If I had been in there, I would have learned a whole bunch of things."

"Like what? Like how well they can ignore you? How perfectly capable they are of pretending you don't exist?" Iseul crossed her arms. "The first five days were horrible. I had to run every morning until my legs fell off and in the afternoon I had to wave around a sword that was so heavy I feared I could never use my arms again." A little exaggeration was well earned, she decided, and she finished with: "And all that time, not one person spoke to me. Not one!"

Both friends had equal expressions of shock on their faces when she ended her rant. In Binna's eyes glistened tears and soon Iseul found herself the center of a group-hug with two lamenting girls.

"Oh you poor thing. I will hit Hojin for you and order him to treat you better," Do-yun cried, patting her on her back a little too hard.

Binna wiped the tears from her eyes and asked: "Did my brother do the same? Did he ignore you like the rest?"

Iseul wanted to say he did, but she feared it might hurt her sensitive friend and so she said: "Jae-sung did look out for me, I guess." Although it wouldn't have bothered her to sit next to the blacksmith's sons. She was actually pretty curious about them. And agreed with herself to go and talk to them as soon as she got back.