Page 36 of Gumiho Kiss (Realm of Eternal Blossoms #1)

The Spy

K ang Dol Sam stared at her slack-jawed, as if he couldn’t comprehend the words that had just come out of her mouth. “What?” he finally stammered.

Chin Sun’s heart swelled with sympathy—and no small amount of guilt. He’d been nothing but good to her. She hoped he’d find someone else who could love him better. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m?—“

Footsteps interrupted her confession, and the two turned as a middle-aged servant hurried up to them.

The man bowed, body quivering all over. “Master, I need to speak with you.”

“Couldn’t you have waited until I returned?” Dol Sam barked, his voice harsher than Chin Sun had ever heard it.

The servant kept his gaze on the ground. “My apologies, Master, but you’ll want to see this.”

Young Master Kang huffed, but he motioned for the servant to come closer. He snatched the missive from the frightened servant’s grip. His expression darkened as he read the message, the muscles in his jaw straining.

Finally, his head snapped to Chin Sun, and she resisted the urge to flinch at the maelstrom swirling in his gaze. She’d never seen him so enraged.

“We’ll discuss this more later,” he stated, his sharp tone leaving no room for argument. Without waiting for a reply, he dipped his head and strode off, his servant scuttling after him.

Sang Mi strutted over to her cousin and gathered her in a warm embrace. “I’m so proud of you, Unni. What did Young Master Kang say?”

Chin Sun pulled back and shook her head. “He didn’t really get a chance to answer before his servant interrupted him.”

Sang Mi’s forehead bunched together. “I wonder what could have been so urgent that he’d leave in the middle of such an important conversation.”

Chin Sun glanced up the road at Young Master Kang’s retreating form, his blue robes billowing behind him like rain clouds. She bit her bottom lip, an unmistakable dread pulling at her core. “So do I.”

Sang Mi looped her arm with Chin Sun’s. “Well, let’s go home and see if we can come up with a good excuse for you to visit the capital.”

Chin Sun’s cheeks swam with heat. “What are you imply?—”

Her cousin silenced her with a perfectly arched eyebrow.

Chin Sun swallowed, then gave her a sheepish smile. “Yeh, that sounds good.”

The pair made their way back to the Lee manor, but upon reaching Chin Sun’s quarters, they stopped short.

Someone in a blue uniform was waiting inside.

“K-Kim Min Joon?” Chin Sun managed.

The police inspector rose to his feet and gave a quick bow, then addressed Chin Sun. “I apologize for the intrusion, Lady Lee, but I need to speak with you alone .”

Sang Mi gasped, hands fluttering at her sides. “Chin Sun, did something happen?”

Chin Sun shook her head, flabbergasted. Min Joon hadn’t come to her home before, not since he’d returned from Ming, at least. She peered at her friend, noting the anxiety etched into his face. “Sang Mi, leave us please.”

Her cousin didn’t answer, so Chin Sun spun around and gave her a sharp nod. Sang Mi looked torn, but after glancing at Kim Min Joon one more time, she excused herself and sashayed down the corridor.

Once she was certain they wouldn’t be overheard, Chin Sun turned to her friend. “What’s going on?”

Min Joon relaxed his stance, but his mouth remained tight. “I just received word of an army stationed a few days’ walk north of here.”

Chin Sun’s eyes bulged. “An army? For what purpose?”

“Supposedly it’s to restore order to Sokju because the police haven’t been doing their jobs properly.”

Chin Sun didn’t answer at first, simply gestured for him to sit back down while she took the seat across from him behind her low-legged table.

Once they were both situated, she placed her hands on the table and leaned forward. “Tell me everything.”

Min Joon’s tone was grave as he explained what he’d learned this morning from an informant.

Apparently, the yangban had lost the last of their faith in the police and Magistrate Hong after the fire in the merchant neighborhood last week.

Everyone knew Gwishin had been there, and the common sentiment among the yangban was that the vigilante was behind the destruction.

But that wasn’t the only reason the nobles were angry. The magistrate’s methods of suppressing resistance hadn’t just failed—they’d made things worse. The commoners were more rebellious than ever, and there was even a rumor circulating that some of them had fled to start a colony in the mountains.

This was nothing new to Chin Sun; she’d heard that same rumor, though she didn’t know how much truth there was to it.

And she’d witnessed firsthand the sangmin’s growing anger toward the governing authorities.

This year, there had been more attacks on patrolmen, as well as accounts of peasants refusing to pay their taxes, than ever before.

But she hadn’t realized it was bad enough to warrant usurping the magistrate.

“And that’s not the worst part,” Min Joon continued, dragging his hand down his face. “My informant tells me Kang Dol Sam is the one who commissioned the army.”

Chin Sun went cold. “What? Why would he—are you sure it wasn’t his father, Lord Kang Ki Yong?

That sounds like something he would do. He’s been trying to take control of Sokju for years now.

” Desperation colored her tone, but she couldn’t help it.

She may not love Kang Dol Sam, but she knew him well enough to believe he wasn’t capable of something like that.

It had to be his father. “All those police bribes and the extortion—you know we’ve nearly caught him a dozen times.

If only his influence didn’t go so far, he’d have been executed already. ”

Min Joon shook his head sadly. “I have spies watching the Kang estate, and there hasn’t been anything to suggest Lord Kang is involved in something like this.

His son, on the other hand . . . He’s left the city many times over the past several months, and no one seems to know where he’s been going.

I have a strong suspicion Kang Dol Sam has been using his father as a smokescreen, and the villain we’ve been fighting all this time has been your future husband. ”

“He’s not my future husband,” Chin Sun snapped. “I broke the betrothal off today.”

Her friend’s eyes widened, then a slight smile formed on his face. “Oh, well, good. I’m glad to hear it.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Chin Sun put her elbows on the table and folded her hands together, thinking back through the many run-ins she’d had with Lord Kang’s men. She didn’t want to believe Min Joon was right, but she had to admit it was possible. How well did she really know Young Master Kang?

Kim Min Joon watched her intently, a question burning in his eyes. He opened his mouth, then seemed to change his mind and shut it again.

“Is there more I should know?”

He dropped his head and fidgeted with the string of beads on his hat.

“Yeh. Even though the army is ready, Kang Dol Sam hasn’t yet finalized how and when to have it march on Sokju.

This works in our favor because my source has also written to the governor to inform him of the situation.

If luck is on our side, the governor’s forces will reach the army before Kang Dol Sam has a chance to mobilize it. ”

A wave of relief came over Chin Sun, but something about the way her friend continued playing with his beads felt .

. . off. Why was he nervous if everything was taken care of?

And why had he felt the need to tell her about this?

Normally, he only shared information when he needed her help.

Was it just because of Kang Dol Sam’s involvement?

Somehow, that didn’t seem like the right answer.

“Min Joon-ah,” she said gently, “are you hiding something from me?”

He grimaced, then reluctantly met her eye. “My informant is planning to observe the army for now, though he also stated he’ll be looking for opportunities to infiltrate the base and sabotage its operations.”

Chin Sun frowned. Why would that be something he didn’t want to tell her? If the spy could get inside the base undetected and steal weapons or burn supplies, that would lessen the risk of an attack on Sokju. The only downside was that the spy might get caught.

And it wasn’t like she knew the spy personally. . . .

“What’s your informant’s name?”

Min Joon blanched, then closed his eyes with a deep sigh. When he opened them again, he said softly, “That’s why I came to tell you. The letter I received this morning was from Park Hyun Soo.”

Chin Sun’s heart dropped to the floor. “But that would mean he’s spying on his friend’s . . .”

Min Joon nodded. “I was shocked when I read the letter, too. I wouldn’t have expected him to turn Kang Dol Sam in like this.”

Tears pricked at Chin Sun’s eyelids. She sat quietly for a moment, then whispered, “But he would if it was the right thing to do.”

Min Joon didn’t argue with her, simply took in her words with a somber look. She’d known Hyun Soo was a good man, but to choose justice over loyalty to his friend . . .

Her fingers dug into the fabric of her chima, anchoring her in the wake of emotions flooding over her soul. Heartache for what Hyun Soo must be feeling, anger for Kang Dol Sam putting him in such a position, shame for not recognizing her betrothed’s true character sooner . . .

But the strongest emotion that came, the one that overwhelmed her senses, was the love burning in her chest. A love that went beyond fear, and distance, and even self-preservation.

Her head swiveled to Kim Min Joon. “Did his letter tell you exactly where to find the base?”

“Yeh, I’ve got it right here.”

As soon as he pulled the paper out of his sleeve, Chin Sun swiped it from his hand. She scanned the letter, homing in on the part where it stated the base’s location.

“What are you planning to do?” Min Joon asked, voice full of suspicion.

A ghost of a smile passed over Chin Sun’s face as she stood. “Do you even need to ask?”

Min Joon jumped up, head shaking. “Chin Sun, this is a military base with trained soldiers. If they spot you, you might not make it out of there.”

“That applies to Park Hyun Soo, too,” she pointed out.

“But—”

“If you’d had a chance to save your betrothed’s life, would you have taken it?”

Min Joon looked away, crestfallen, but when she tried to walk past, he blocked her exit.

She scowled. “Get out of my way, Min Joon.”

Her friend gave her a wry smile, his dark eyes twinkling as they often did when he’d done something he knew got on her nerves.

Before she lost her temper though, he said, “You may be a gumiho, but that doesn’t mean I’m letting you go alone.”