Page 23 of Gumiho Kiss (Realm of Eternal Blossoms #1)

The Letter

C hin Sun paced back and forth on the wooden floor, her soft white socks barely making a sound.

A slip of paper lay on the low-legged desk nearby, covered in scratched-out ideas.

Dinner was already long past and it was almost time to turn in for the night, but sleep was the last thing on the noblewoman’s mind.

“It’s in your best interest to retrieve the bead in the next eighteen days. Otherwise, you’ll be the one getting dragged off to Jeoseung.”

The grim reaper’s threat loomed, reminding her of how important it was to kiss Mr. Park. Not only was his life at stake but hers as well.

She had nine days left now, having spent the last several trying and failing to convince Mr. Park to train her again.

He’d claimed he was too busy, something about needing to search for clues about Gwishin, but she’d gotten the distinct impression he was avoiding her.

Especially since he’d asked Pyung Ho or Ah In to come along the few times he’d escorted her into town.

Their almost-kiss in the clearing must have frightened him off. Did he suspect that she’d slipped intentionally?

If he did and was avoiding her because he didn’t think of her in that way . . . The thought made something sharp twist in Chin Sun’s belly that she couldn’t identify.

She’d asked Min Joon if he had any other ideas to reclaim her bead, explaining that it was even more important now since a grim reaper was planning to check up on her, but her friend was just as stumped as she was.

And even if she did come up with a good idea, how was she supposed to execute it if Mr. Park wouldn’t be alone with her?

Frustration mounting, Chin Sun balled up her paper and threw it against the wall. She collapsed to the floor in a similar fashion, covering her face with her hands.

“I hope that wasn’t important,” Sang Mi said as she stepped inside.

“Sang Mi-yah.” Chin Sun’s smile was tired but genuine. She stood and took her cousin’s hand. “I’m sorry I haven’t spent as much time with you lately. I’ve been . . . distracted.”

Sang Mi’s eyes were sympathetic. “Because of what happened with Gwishin?”

Chin Sun winced. “No, it’s—it’s not that.” She let go of the girl’s hand and turned away, wishing she could confide in her like she used to when they were younger. Before all her secrets had come between them. Back when their hearts beat as one.

She knew Sang Mi felt it, too—the distance. She saw it in every downward turn of the girl’s mouth, every hitched sigh when Chin Sun refused to give her a straight answer.

But Sang Mi—kind, sweet Sang Mi—never wavered in her affections. She didn’t push. She didn’t pry. She just accepted it with a sad smile that broke Chin Sun’s heart.

Chin Sun spun back around, meeting her cousin’s patient gaze. Perhaps it would be all right to share one small piece of her dilemma. A fresh perspective could be helpful. And Sang Mi did have some experience with this.

“I’m struggling, Sang Mi-yah.”

She retrieved her paper and smoothed it out. She offered it to her cousin, cheeks burning.

Sang Mi took the sheet, examining it silently.

Chin Sun didn’t watch as she read it over, but the contents danced in her mind’s eye.

How to kiss him without him knowing that was my intention:

1. Wait until he’s unaware

2. Make it look like an accident

3. Get him drunk - too much potential for embarrassment to even attempt

4. Kiss him while in disguise - too risky

5. ???

Chin Sun was grateful she’d only written “him” at the top; it looked like she was trying to work up the courage to kiss her betrothed, something Sang Mi would heartily approve of.

“Well?” Chin Sun finally asked.

Sang Mi set the paper on the table and grinned. “Unni, I had no idea you were so interested in this. And before your wedding, too.”

Chin Sun glared despite the heat in her face. “Are you going to help me or just tease?”

The mischief vanished from Sang Mi’s gaze, snuffed out by a confident determination. “Oh, I’m going to help you. And you’re going to get your kiss; I guarantee it.”

Chin Sun’s muscles relaxed. Finally, some good news. “Do you have an idea then?”

Sang Mi nodded, then held up a finger. “But first, I have a question: why are you trying so hard to think of a way to kiss him ?” When Chin Sun gave her a confused look, she giggled. “What you need to do is get him to kiss you .”

Chin Sun’s eyes went wide, her mouth opening and closing like a fish’s. “Wha—you—you think I should?—”

She shook her head. No. Mr. Park would never?—

Her mind flew back to his arms around her in the clearing. In the split second before he’d set her on her feet, something had flashed in his dark gaze, something that had made her knees go weak and her eyelids close.

She’d thought about it so many times, telling herself it had been her imagination. They’d only just agreed that they were friends. He couldn’t have been about to kiss her. He couldn’t have. . . .

But no matter how many times she reasoned with herself, she couldn’t erase the desire she’d seen in his eyes.

Sang Mi clapped her hands together, startling Chin Sun so much that she jumped. “What perfect timing this is.”

Chin Sun pressed a hand to her racing heart. “What do you mean?”

Sang Mi’s face was impish. She pulled a letter out from one of her wide sleeves. “I was actually coming here to give you this. It’s from Young Master Kang.”

Chin Sun’s forehead scrunched, but then she remembered Sang Mi thought the kiss was intended for Kang Dol Sam. She feigned a look somewhere between eagerness and anxiety as she grasped the missive and slowly unfolded it.

My dearest Lady Lee,

I hope this letter finds you well and fully recovered after the vigilante attack. I?—

Chin Sun clenched the paper a bit tighter. How many times did she have to say Gwishin hadn’t been involved in the murder?

She went back to reading.

—would like to meet with you tomorrow night. I know it’s improper, but I have to see you. Park Hyun Soo knows the place and will escort you there safely. Please come.

Kang Dol Sam

Chin Sun’s arm fell to her side. He wanted to meet her? Before they were married?

Sang Mi was watching her as if she could barely hold back a squeal. “I told you the timing was perfect.”

Chin Sun started to speak, but her cousin cut her off. “I know, I know. I shouldn’t have read something so personal, but I couldn’t help it.” She put her hands over her cheeks. “It’s so romantic I could swoon.”

“Romantic?” Chin Sun scoffed. “If anyone were to see us, it would be a scandal. His father might even rethink the wedding. I don’t understand why he would ask me to do this. . . .”

Sang Mi’s expression was incredulous. “How could you not understand?” She snatched the letter. “It’s so obvious. Why else would a man ask to meet a woman secretly except because he’s in love with her?”

Chin Sun staggered back a step. “In love? You think that’s why? But the letter doesn’t say anything of the kind. For all I know, he could want to meet to end things.”

Her cousin shook her head as if Chin Sun were stupid. “Trust me, Unni. I’m right about this.”

Kang Dol Sam, in love with her? The idea seemed far-fetched at best, even if they were engaged. Marriages between nobles were about establishing connections, expanding power, not about love.

She thought back to the day Young Master Kang had eaten at her family’s house, the hurt on his face when she’d tried to reject Mr. Park as a bodyguard.

Had it been love driving his actions? At the time, she’d assumed it was a token of goodwill, a gesture to show he took his responsibilities as a future husband seriously.

But if his feelings toward her were more than that?—

Guilt gnawed at her. Kang Dol Sam deserved to love someone who loved him back. Someone who wasn’t plotting to do something untoward with his friend.

Sang Mi set down the letter, then waltzed over to Chin Sun’s clothing chest and threw it open. “Now, what should one wear for a romantic tryst?”

Chin Sun swallowed. “I’m not going.”

Her cousin continued perusing the clothes. “I thought you wanted the chance to kiss him. This is that chance.”

“I can’t. He . . . if what you said is true and he really is in love with me . . . I’m not worthy to be his bride. I . . . Maybe I need to talk with Uncle, call the wedding off.”

“What?” Sang Mi’s eyebrows flew up. “You can’t be serious.” She crossed the room and took Chin Sun’s hands in her own. Her stare was hard, penetrating, almost angry. “There is no one in all of Joseon worthier than you.”

Tears pricked at Chin Sun’s eyes, and she pulled out of her cousin’s grip. “I wish that were true.”

Sang Mi’s shoulders drooped. Her expression went vacant for a few seconds before she gave Chin Sun a wicked smirk. “Well, if you don’t believe me, I’ll just have to get Mr. Park.”

“Mr. Park?”

“He’s the one who delivered the letter, and the one Young Master Kang asked to escort you. Surely he knows his friend’s plans.”

Sang Mi moved toward the door.

Chin Sun’s hand shot out. “Wait!”

Her cousin turned back, frowning. “What?”

She grimaced, then lowered her hand. She couldn’t exactly explain the awkwardness of asking the man she’d tried to kiss about his friend’s feelings toward her. The very thought made her neck unbearably warm.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Cousin.” Sang Mi laughed. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll do the talking.” She slipped out, leaving Chin Sun to wonder if talking to Sang Mi had been a grave mistake.

The hanji doors slid back open a few minutes later, but Chin Sun couldn’t look up as her cousin came inside, Park Hyun Soo in tow.

Park Hyun Soo. It was the first time she’d addressed him that way, even in her head.

Chin Sun’s eyes widened, her pulse hammering in her ears. All she could think about was their dizzying almost-kiss the other day. His strong grip on her middle, his unnerving gaze, his pounding heartbeat beneath her palm.

“My cousin and I would like to know the meaning behind this letter.” Sang Mi retrieved the note and held it out to Mr. Park.

Chin Sun peeked at him, desperate to know his thoughts. Was Kang Dol Sam truly in love with her? And if so, how did Mr. Park feel about it?

He didn’t take the proffered letter and instead addressed Sang Mi. “He wants to meet with Lady Lee tomorrow night. I’m not sure what else you want to know.” His posture was rigid, suspicion gleaming in his eyes.

When he turned to Chin Sun, she lowered her gaze.

“What’s the purpose of this meeting?” Sang Mi pressed. “My cousin could get into a lot of trouble if anyone saw them. The gossip would be terrible, and Father—well, it wouldn’t be good.”

“Dol Sam has . . . something to give her, that’s all.”

“Oh?” Sang Mi tilted her head. “A gift he couldn’t send to the house?”

“Yeh.”

“I wonder what that might be. . . .” There was no mistaking the suggestive note in her voice, let alone the kiss she blew Chin Sun’s way.

Chin Sun glared in return, but before she could apologize for her cousin’s indecency, Mr. Park turned to her.

“Lady Lee, why did you need to speak to me about this? Are you having second thoughts about marrying Dol Sam?”

His hawk-like stare was searching, nervous, as if he were afraid of her answer.

“I . . .”

What was she supposed to say? If she admitted that she didn't want to marry Young Master Kang, would Mr. Park take it as a sign that she was interested in him instead? Would he give her the kiss she needed?

“You couldn’t have wished for a better person to marry.”

He’d spoken of Young Master Kang with such admiration—swaying him wouldn’t be easy. She’d have to convince him to betray his friend’s trust, a thought she hated to consider.

And even if she was successful, what then? She’d have destroyed a friendship and left Mr. Park with nothing.

But if she lied and said she wasn’t having second thoughts, would she lose her chance to get the bead back before it stole the rest of Mr. Park’s lifeforce?

He hadn’t been in her life for long, but she’d glimpsed enough of his character to know he didn’t deserve such a fate.

He may be frustrating and stubborn, but he was also brave, disciplined, self-sacrificing.

And the only man who made her feel capable of anything she set her mind to, even without her powers.

“Of course she isn’t,” Sang Mi cut in. “She just wanted to know if there was a good reason to put her reputation on the line.” She wrapped an arm around her cousin’s shoulders. “And a present is certainly a good reason.”

Chin Sun watched Mr. Park closely, trying to gauge his reaction. He didn’t speak at first, but his jaw tightened, almost like he was holding back anger. But why would he be angry? Because Sang Mi had butted in, or . . . because he wanted Chin Sun to be having second thoughts?

He turned to Chin Sun with a stony expression. “Make sure you’re ready tomorrow evening at sunset.”