Ahyun
I did not understand what was happening.
My heart still raced as I rushed down the long corridor. My fresh undergarments already clung in places they should not. I had scrubbed between my thighs until the skin felt raw. I had splashed cold water on my face. I had even pressed a damp cloth to the front of my hanfu, desperate to erase any trace of that shameful scent.
It still followed me.
Every hurried step made my heavy breasts bounce and pull against the cotton. My nipples were still stiff. The memory of his hands on my ass would not leave.
I bit my lip hard enough to taste copper and forced my legs to move faster.
I was late.
The main pavilion already glowed with lamplight when I slipped in through the side entrance. Steam and the rich smell of braised meat hit me at once. Other servants moved in practiced silence, pouring wine, uncovering dishes, keeping their eyes low.
I took my place behind Young Master Jinhae.
Close enough to refill his cup. Close enough to catch the faint scent of his skin beneath the formal silk. My fingers trembled as I lifted the wine pot. I almost spilled.
He sat differently.
Straighter. The dark blue robes with silver embroidery made him look like someone else entirely.
I kept my gaze fixed on the back of his neck and tried to breathe normally.
Then I heard his voice.
"No, I'll go."
My hands froze on the wine pot.
Across the table, Young Master Seojun laughed. That ugly, mocking bark I had heard a hundred times in the training yard. Patriarch Daewon's face turned to stone. Lady Seo's eyes narrowed by a fraction.
I stood frozen behind him, heart slamming so hard I was sure they could hear it.
A fight.
He had challenged his own brother to a fight.
The first thought that crashed through my head was simple and terrified.
How is he going to fight?
Young Master Jinhae had never thrown a punch in his life. His left leg barely carried him across a courtyard. He had no Qi. No techniques. No strength. Seojun could break him with one strike.
I wanted to grab his shoulder. I wanted to drag him out of that seat and beg him to take the words back.
I did none of those things.
I stood there like a proper servant and listened.
The rest of the meal passed in a blur of clinking chopsticks. Seojun's voice dripped with cruelty. The Patriarch gave his cold permission. One week. The courtyard. Everything permitted.
When the family finally rose, I almost sagged with relief.
I followed the other servants out into the covered walkway.
The others clustered in small groups beneath the lanterns. Their voices dropped to careful murmurs the moment the family was out of earshot.
"He must have lost his senses."
"The Patriarch should never have allowed it."
"Perhaps Young Master Jinhae has some hidden backing."
"No. If he had it, wouldn't we know by now?"
"Seojun will be restrained. He is still family."
An older kitchen maid gave a bitter little laugh.
"Restrained? The second young master has been waiting to put him in the ground since he was old enough to understand birth order. That boy has hated the eldest since the day he could walk and Jinhae could not."
I could not listen anymore.
Every word twisted the knot in my stomach tighter. I turned away from them and started walking.
"Ahyun," one of the older women called after me. "Where are you going?"
"To check on the young master."
I did not wait for their answers. I hurried along the wooden corridors, past the quiet courtyards, past the moonlit gardens, until I reached the familiar door of his chambers.
It was shut.
I knocked once.
No answer.
I knocked harder.
"Young Master?"
Still nothing.
My hand closed around the door handle. I had entered without permission a hundred times before. Bringing tea, fresh ink, clean robes when he forgot to change for days.
I pushed the door open.
"Young Master Jinhae—"
He sat at his writing desk.
Three oil lamps painted the room in warm gold. The curtains stood open. A sheet of paper lay in front of him. His brush moved in precise strokes.
He looked over his shoulder.
Those sharp dark eyes found me instantly.
"You came quickly."
My throat closed.
All the words I had rehearsed on the way here tangled into useless noise. The memory of his hands on my ass. The way he had told me he could smell how badly I needed to come. Heat flooded my face all over again.
I stepped inside and shut the door behind me with shaking fingers.
"Y-Young Master… the banquet… what you said…"
My voice cracked. I twisted my hands in front of my skirt.
"How… how are you going to face Young Master Seojun? You have never… you don't…"
He set the brush down with a soft click.
"I have a plan."
Three simple words.
I stared at him.
"A plan?" My voice rose despite myself. "Young Master, this is not one of your strategy games with ink and paper. Seojun has been cultivating for years. He will hurt you. He might—"
"I know exactly what he can do."
Jinhae turned fully on the cushion. The cane rested against the side of the desk within easy reach. His left leg stretched out carefully.
"And yes," he said. "I am really going to fight him."
I took a step closer. Then another. The scent of ink and lamp oil filled my nose.
"Is it a true plan?" I whispered. "Not just… not just pride? Please. Tell me you are not throwing your life away because of one cruel meal."
His mouth curved.
"It is a true plan, Ahyun. I am going to win that Academy slot. But right now I need your help."
"My help?"
"Not for fighting. Not for training." He tapped the paper on the desk with two fingers. "I need you to buy ingredients."
I moved to his side before I could stop myself. My heavy breasts brushed his shoulder as I leaned in to look. The list was written in his perfect calligraphy.
Black antler marrow.
Silverneedle mushroom.
Red sand ginger.
Three-leaf serpent orchid.
I read the names twice. My eyes widened.
"Young Master… these are extremely expensive." My voice dropped. "Not legendary, but rare. The marrow alone costs more than half a year of my wages. The orchid only grows in the northern wetlands after the first frost. And Silverneedle mushrooms—"
"I know what they cost."
"Then why—?"
"They are essential." His tone left no room for argument. "Without them the plan fails before it begins. At the bottom I wrote a name. Master Gwon Ilseok. The city alchemist. He will have what I need."
I swallowed.
The paper trembled slightly in the lamplight. Or maybe my hands were the ones shaking.
"You want me to go into the city. Tonight?"
"Now."
I looked at him.
The same elegant face. The same long black hair gathered with the jade crane pin. The same slender hands that had never held a sword. But the eyes were different. Burning. Focused.
"Young Master," I whispered, "if the Patriarch finds out you are spending family silver on alchemical ingredients—"
"He won't find out."
Jinhae reached into his sleeve and produced a small silk pouch. It landed on the desk with a heavy clink of gold and silver taels.
"Use this. Do not haggle too openly. Don't give your name if you can avoid it. Buy exactly what is on that list. Then bring everything straight back to me."
I stared at the pouch.
Then at the list.
Then at him.
"You really mean to do this," I said.
"I do."
My heart twisted — painful, sweet.
He trusted me with this. With the first real act of rebellion he had ever shown in front of the entire family.
I reached for the list.
His hand moved faster.
Fingers closed around my wrist. He tugged me forward with surprising strength. I stumbled half a step and ended up bent over the edge of the desk, my free hand bracing against the wood. My azure hair spilled forward. My heavy breasts hung and strained against the front of my hanfu.
"One more thing," he said quietly behind me.
The air shifted.
Then his palm cracked across my ass.
Lighter than the first time. Still sharp enough to make the fat of my cheek bounce and jiggle. Still loud enough to echo off the chamber walls. Heat bloomed instantly across the flesh he had already marked earlier.
"Ah—!"
The sound tore out of me before I could stop it. My pussy clenched hard. A fresh gush of slick soaked the clean undergarments I had just put on. My nipples went diamond-hard against the cotton.
He left his hand there.
Fingers spread wide over the stinging cheek.
"Go now, Ahyun." His voice was calm. Almost gentle. "I want those ingredients on this desk before the night is over."
I could barely breathe.
"Y-yes, Young Master."
"Good girl."