Water Containing The Moon

Dangchil looked into Wei Jeokmyung’s eyes and made up his mind. He thought it would be better to act shamelessly this way. He is the one who is trusted by the governor, who knows what kind great things he will be trusted with in the future. Above all, marriages between family members are very common, so if Hyun had the heart, even his master, Wei Jeokmyung, would not be able to stop it. Dangchil smiled at Wei Jeokmyung and disguised his intent.

“I- I was out of my mind for a while because I couldn’t overcome my overflowing heart. Please forgive me.”

– What kind of bullshit are you talking about?

Hyun, who had regained his senses, unknowingly made a loud noise, but Dangchil didn’t care.

“I love Hyun with all my heart. So please, allow me to marry Hyun. I will cherish him for the rest of my life.”

‘What is that pervert bastard talking about now?’ Hyun exhaled harshly and clenched his fists. ‘Is the way he treats someone he longs for by forcefully pushing himself onto that person if they don’t even like him?’ Moreover, he directly appealed to Wei Jeokmyung. Dangchil did not even care about Hyun, the other party who was directly involved. With an unhappy heart, Hyun lifted his gaze and looked at Wei Jeokmyung. Hyun was so angry that he couldn’t even speak out. Fortunately, Wei Jeokmyung did not turn away from his injustice.

“How could it be a mistake to harass someone forcibly? If you like Ah Hyun so much, you won’t treat him so roughly even if he doesn’t like you.”

A cold voice penetrated Dangchil’s ears.

“H- Hiiyy! I- I didn’t mean that.”

Dangchil trembled and begged for forgiveness. His body felt like it was going to collapse at the intangible energy that was pressing on him.

“I am not the one you need to apologize to.”

“Hyun ah, I- I’m sorry. Master, forgive me. Please have mercy on me.”

Dangchil, who was now having a hard time even just to breathe, cried and begged. But, Wei Jeokmyung was not moved.

“How dare you wag your tongue recklessly to deceive Hyun and me. Seungjo!”

A black shadow suddenly appeared at Wei Jeokmyung’s call and bowed down in front of him. On the man’s back was embroidered a large inscription Wei (委).

“Did you call, my lord?”

“Take him away and beat him with 50 lashes. Put him in a pit and starve him for 3 days. Not even a drop of water should be given.”

“I- I was wrong! P- Please forgive me!”

“Silence! Carve your sins deep in your bones.”

Realizing that there was no way out of Wei Jeokmyung’s severe sentence, Dangchil wept like a child. Since he was raised dearly, he had never been properly beaten in the calf even by his mother. 50 lashes of whip might break his flesh, or perhaps break a bone. This punishment was too harsh for just teasing a young servant. But Wei Jeokmyung was a cold-hearted man who had no mercy for anyone other than Hyun.

“Take him away.”

“As you command.”

Seungjo lifted Dangchil, who was crying under Wei Jeokmyung’s feet. After suppressing his struggle, they disappeared somewhere.

‘Serves you right for speaking nonsense.’

For a brief moment, Hyun thought that the punishment was excessive, but then he shook his head. Considering the fact that Dangchil has been harassing not only himself but also other people, this punishment was appropriate.

“You look unhappy. What’s wrong?”

Hyun slightly shook his head at Wei Jeokmyung’s question. He felt uncomfortable showing him such a bad look, but what more could he do?

“Why are you lying to me when your beautiful eyes are drooping?”

Hyun avoided his gaze at Wei Jeokmyung’s soft voice as he gently stroked his cheek. He couldn’t fool Wei Jeokmyung’s eyes either.

Wei Jeokmyung suddenly took something out of his sleeve and put it in his mouth. Hyun’s eyes widened as it entered his mouth. It was candy.

Although he was sick of Wei Jeokmyung’s meals, which include seasonal ingredients, fruits and sweets, to eat. Hyun liked him for taking care of himself like this every time. He even felt that those foods had changed his taste buds, as he originally did not like them.

Wei Jeokmyung, who was watching Hyun as he happily rolled the candy in his mouth, said in a sarcastic tone.

“It still hurts to see that one candy makes you feel better.”

“It’s not like that. I’m just smiling.”

Hyun stuttered as his hand touched the corner of his mouth. Well, it’s true that he was feeling better.

“You didn’t even greet this master who just returned from the palace. You like candy better than me.”

Hyun immediately tried to bow his head at his teasing, but Wei Jeokmyung stopped him. “Heh, you can’t even joke around,” the words that followed filled Hyun with embarrassment.

“Did you get sick all night? You look worn out.”

“It’s okay.”

“It looks like there’s still low fever.”

There was a slight feeling of weakness and slight throbbing all over his body, but it was better than last night. Above all, he didn’t want to worry Wei Jeokmyung anymore. When Hyun resolutely said that it was okay, Wei Jeokmyung brought up a sentence that would appeal to his ears.

“Then why don’t we go outside for a while to refresh ourselves?”

“Outside? Now?”

“I heard that today is the last day of the Spring Lantern Festival. If we prepare and go out now, it will not be too late. Unless it’s hard on your body. So, what do you think?”

The Spring Lantern Festival was the most grand and splendid of the spring festivals held in Gyeongwi, in which flower lanterns containing wishes were sent to the gods above. In particular, it was famous for lovers to confess their love while enjoying the river scenery. As a servant, who couldn’t go out often, there was no reason to refuse such a good opportunity.

“Okay.”

Wei Jeokmyung grinned at Hyun’s reply.

He reached out and grabbed Hyun’s hand. Hyun quickly blinked his eyes a couple of times at the warmth of his touching hand. His heart fluttered at the thought of an outing with Wei Jeokmyung.

***

A red light spread across the sky, and the soft light descended calmly on the faces of people who were filled with excitement and anticipation. Hyun grabbed hold of Wei Jeokmyung’s sleeve and stared blankly at the surrounding scenery. Behind the scenery gently painted by the sunset, people’s voices tangled up in a loud noise. The wind was blowing gently.

On one side of the road, a wandering musician sings loudly while playing pipa, and on the other side, a street performer spouts fire from his mouth and solicits. The surrounding area was quite noisy with an old woman selling various sweet snacks, and a merchant selling cheap trinkets and calling on young women to buy. The trees near the spring river were already lit one by one.

Wei Jeokmyung protected Hyun through the crowd as if he knew the way well. After walking for a while, he stopped and made eye contact with Hyun. His eyes were very kind. As the rare handsome man smiled softly, the pace of passerby slowed and the number of glances at him increased. Many women covered their faces with their sleeves, cooling their reddened cheeks.

“What do you want to see first?”

“Ehm…”

“Are you going to walk as your heart leads?”

At Wei Jeokmyung’s words, Hyun licked his lips and hesitated. In other words, walking ‘at will.’ How could he dare drag Wei Jeokmyung around? Hyun was very used to his position, because the world was especially cold for orphans without money. The only thing he gained in life was the patience to endure scorn and insults. So it was very difficult for him to assert himself against someone like Wei Jeokmyung.

Wei Jeokmyung, unaware of Hyun’s hesitation, continued to look at his eyes at the same eye level. Hyun wiggled his hand inside his sleeve and bit his lip slightly. It’s impossible to keep Wei Jeokmyung bending down on this crowded riverside.

“Hmm, I must have troubled you.”

Wei Jeokmyung slowly straightened his back. He was tall and had a strong stature, so his head stood taller than the others.

He smiled with a rare smile, the corners of his mouth widened as if he was pleasantly surprised by the troubled young servant. Hyun stared at it, lost in his mind. The gorgeous smile of the handsome man with the beautiful colored sunset behind him was difficult to bear. Like those people who were gasping and squealing around them, Hyun felt dizzy and was on the verge of collapse. His heart was beating as if he was running. If it hadn’t been for the spring breeze that just passed by him, his cheeks would have been burned out sooner.

“Fine. Then we will do what I want. Are you okay with it?”

Wei Jeokmyung asked affectionately while pulling the hair from Hyun’s cheek with his fingers. Hyun nodded his head.

“Where would you like to be? Oh, right. Let’s go to the night market. There must be a lot to see there.”

Wei Jeokmyung said in a more cheerful tone than usual. It was different from his usual dignified appearance. Hyun then realized that he was only a young man of twenty-nine years old. He was too young to be considered a leader of a large family like the Wei family.

Wei Jeokmyung. His surname is Wei (委), name Jeokmyung (赤銘), and alias Baekmi (白尾).

Danguk’s single sword and most handsome man. Wei Jeokmyung, who had been rolling around the battlefield since he was 10 years old and being called a demon by his enemies, was truly a cold-hearted man. He did not tolerate anyone approaching him, and he made reward and punishment clear with an overly fair attitude, which earned the fear and respect of his subordinates at once. Even the prince who was close to him, rated Wei Jeokmyung as an extremely cold-hearted being that could freeze others.

Every time Hyun heard the rumor, he was puzzled. Wei Jeokmyung, who was reflected in Hyun’s eyes, often stroked his hair tenderly, as well as his troubles.

He was a kind man who took care of everything, so he wondered if the rumors outside were only made up because he was reluctant to let people close. To his eyes, the demon of Danguk didn’t have a frozen heart like in the rumors.

Wei Jeokmyung reached out and grabbed Hyun’s little hand. Warmth came from his large hand. Hyun glanced at the man and slowly followed him. The tall man, with a large body and very long legs, had a stride similar to that of a young child that barely reached an adult’s waist, allowing Hyun to admire his surroundings with great ease.

So Hyun was unaware that Wei Jeokmyung was barely enduring the noisy environment instinctively, wriggling his fingers several times a second. Nor did Hyun realize that the muscles of Wei Jeokmyung’s back were tense as if they were going to stretch out every time someone passed by behind him. The person who had just passed by roughly, almost hitting Hyun’s shoulder, was knocked over by a tanji ball secretly shot by Wei Jeokmyung. Hyun was also not aware of a thief getting dragged by a person who was escorting them from afar, as he tried to pickpocket them.

He didn’t even notice that someone was staring at Wei Jeokmyung and himself from the high hall up there. Also, what was contained in that gaze was surprise and low curiosity.