“Shall we sit down for a moment?”
I perched myself on a rock behind me and spoke to her.
“……”
“Not on the cold stone floor, but here.”
I gestured to my side after preventing Ha-yeon from sitting next to me on an odd spot.
“On your lap?”
She asked with a slightly surprised expression.
“Is my lap not good enough?”
“Uh, no. That’s not it. …Huh?”
I cheekily pulled the blushing Ha-yeon into an embrace and set her down on my thigh.
Her body trembled. An array of emotions—anger, sadness, injustice, and embarrassment—caused her to shake, making it impossible to define her feelings.
What should I say now? No words I could offer would bring her comfort.
“Ugh?!”
“Let’s just stay like this for a bit.”
I wrapped her in silence, knowing that sometimes a person’s warmth is more soothing than a hundred words.
I waited patiently until my loving warmth melted her heart.
“Feeling a bit calmer?”
As her trembling subsided, I cautiously asked.
“A little…,” Ha-yeon replied, swallowing her tears.
Though she appeared mature on the outside, she was just a sensitive girl not yet of age, carrying the weight of the world’s storms while holding back tears.
What should I say to her now? The answer was simple.
“Go and return.”
“You…?”
Ha-yeon turned her head, astonished at my words.
My heart was breaking. I didn’t want to part with her. But I mustn’t show it. As her lover, and as someone who must be strong, I had to show composure.
“Ha-yeon, did we fail?”
We gazed into each other’s eyes.
“……”
“You’re no longer a courtesan, and our tormentor, Do-mun Hyang-ju, is gone.”
I reminded Ha-yeon of our current situation that she was struggling to grasp.
“The result is separation.”
Ha-yeon lowered her head and mournfully muttered, which ached my heart.
“It’ll only be a few years at most. It could be even shorter. How long can they keep the reigning lord of Hubei Province from ruling?”
It was my fault. Originally, Do-mun Hyang-ju would have become the reigning lord, and the useless Ha-yeon would have lived as an escapee courtesan. Buying the miracle of Im Ha-yeon, the top courtesan of Hubei, would have been the original strategy.
I solved that issue by making Ha-yeon the reigning lord. I saved her, but the unorthodox method led to this consequence. But I didn’t care. After all, it would only be a few years.
“Are you okay, at least?”
“Not one bit. How could I not be hurt when my woman is leaving me? Listen to my heart. How is it?”
I gently took her head and placed it against my booming chest.
“……It’s racing.”
“I’m feeling unjust and angry too. But I’m holding on. Just a little longer, and it’ll be over.”
“Over?”
Ha-yeon seemed to ask, confused by my words.
“I’ll spend the rest of my life with you. It’s only a few years, right? It’s just a momentary separation in the grand timeline of our lives.”
It was only natural for her to be pained. It truly would be a long goodbye.
Yet, at the end of parting, a reunion awaited us. And when that reunion comes, a few years of separation would be nothing compared to our life together.
“……!”
“I surprisingly have a talent for waiting. By writing a novel, running a business, and being busy, you’ll suddenly show up at my side, complaining about how I’ve piled up so much work and didn’t organize my surroundings. Won’t you?”
One day, without a doubt, Ha-yeon would be fussing and scolding me. I could hardly wait for that day.
“Y-Yes, I should do that…”
Ha-yeon nodded, a blush creeping onto her face, as if imagining her future self.
Compared to our long lives ahead, this brief separation was insignificant. So, let’s not feel too sad. I would wait, and our love for one another wouldn’t change.
I said sincerely,
“So go. You’re handling this annoying task to help me.”
The pounding of my heart began to calm. The angst and fury that filled my mind gradually settled.
It wasn’t a long goodbye, just a brief task to address annoying matters, so we could be together for a lifetime.
Im Ha-yeon felt the worries she carried all day melting away as she cuddled closer into his embrace.
“When will you leave?”
“Soon. I’ll set off once the officials accompanying me are decided.”
“You mean you didn’t want to tell me that? Wow… That’s more hurtful.”
Kang Yoon-ho pretended to be wounded in an exaggerated tone.
“I-I was going to wait a day or two before telling you.”
“You’ll have earned a whole two days of time.”
“Wait, really?”
As Ha-yeon looked up, she saw her lover grinning widely.
“Let’s throw our work aside and dedicate some time just for ourselves. Anything you wanted to do, let’s do it.”
“Anything I wanted to do?”
“Things I couldn’t do because I was too busy with Do-mun. Let’s partake in those things. Don’t you have any?”
“N-No.”
“Then tell me, and I’ll grant every wish.”
Ha-yeon thought for a moment before speaking up.
“I want to roam the streets of Wuhan during the day.”
“I haven’t experienced Wuhan properly because I was sneaking around. Sounds good.”
“I want to cook three meals a day just for you.”
When her lover happily nodded, she shyly admitted her secret.
“I’ll need a disguise potion.”
“What did you say?!”
“Haha. Just so I can eat a lot.”
“Ugh… Really?”
Ha-yeon lightly hit Kang Yoon-ho’s chest in frustration, but he held her tighter, unable to resist her charm.
“What else do you want to do?”
“I want to go on outings, take boat trips, and visit scenic spots. And… ”
There were so many ideas. So many thoughts crowded her mind that they jumbled her words. She wanted to become an ordinary woman, away from being a courtesan, and do everything she’d ever dreamt of with the one she loved.
“Let’s do everything. While dealing with these annoying tasks, I want us to create memories together.”
Before long, these bothersome tasks would end, and they’d be back to making new memories. It was a simple conversation, but already, Im Ha-yeon felt the excitement of reunion, not parting.
“And…”
“And?”
“I want to be with you, no matter what.”
Im Ha-yeon shyly confessed to the one she loved most.
“You just have to wait a little longer, and we’ll keep doing that.”
Their eyes met.
From their fateful meeting at the start of the new year until today, they had lived quickly, overcoming numerous obstacles as if they were one.
Though they began in quarrels, they had become a couple who knew how to reward one another.
It didn’t take long for them to feel each other’s breath.
