“No, General.” Jihun lifts his chin. “I am fully aware of my responsibilities.”
“Responsibilities to whom, I wonder?” the general muses. “I hope you do not forget where your true loyalties lie.”
“Never.” Jihun stands impossibly straight. “It is my true loyalties that prompt me to protect her.”
“Are you two done talking about me?” I snap. “Because I’m standing right here.”
“I know we have much to discuss, Lady Mihwa,” Jihun interjects smoothly. “Once you have rested, I will present you to the Council of the Suhoshin. Until then ...”
Keep your mouth shut and play along.I hear the rest of his sentence as clearly as if he’d spoken it out loud.
“Of course,CaptainSong,” I concede, coming to a decision.
A gumiho’s greatest strength is her cunning. Giving in to my emotions will only cloud my judgment. I’ll comply for now while I devise a plan to find the answers I need and save Ethan from his stupid self. Does he really think he can take Daeseong by himself? I swallow my worry and impatience.
Jihun nods, even as his eyes narrow in suspicion. But what is he going to do? Tell me not to agree with him?
“I trust your judgment, Captain, but tread lightly with the council on this one.” The general claps him on the shoulder. “It’s good to have you home, son.”
“Yes, General.” The captain’s expression softens. “Good to be back, sir.”
My brows furrow when the general remounts his horse and trots down the street with his soldiers in tow. “Where is he going? Isn’t this his house?”
Jihun arches an eyebrow at me. “This is my home.”
“Yours?” I blink in surprise. Do all the Suhoshin live this large? Or did Jihun inherit his wealth through a noble birth?
“Yes.” Of course he doesn’t elaborate.
I clench my teeth at his taciturn response and follow him into the estate. Then it’s all I can do to keep my mouth from falling open. The outdoor courtyard is massive, surrounded on all sides by hanok structures with slanted gold-tiled roofs and their sweeping eaves. At least a dozen latticed hanji doors and windows face the courtyard, with a semi-open sitting room in the middle of the central building.
Four indigo floor cushions made of shimmering silk—fabric that commoners like me never even dream ofwearing—surround a low table in the sitting room. It’s the perfect spot to have tea and admire the stunning trees with gold branches and jade leaves that stand in clusters around the yard. Two archways to my left and right show that this is just one wing of the estate.
Jihun has a muted conversation with a young male, who is wearing a long white robe and a gat, a wide-brimmed hat made of black mesh. He’s not dressed like a commoner, but he holds himself slightly stooped in deference to the captain.
When our eyes meet briefly, Jihun offers me a curt nod and heads toward the archway on the right without another word. I scoff in outrage and take a step to follow him, but a soft cough halts me in my tracks.
“My lady, allow me to escort you to the guest quarters,” the male in white says, focusing his gaze somewhere toward my left ear.
“But ...” I sigh. Maybe it’ll be best to have this conversation with Jihun when I’m fully clothed. Ethan will be okay for a little while longer. I believe in the nasty golem’s spite. I take a calming breath and force a polite smile. “Please lead the way.”
Beyond the left arch, there is an open grassy yard with a walkway that leads to a detached hanok a quarter mile away. My breath hitches at the picturesque sight. The building, which I assume houses the guest quarters, is backed by a stand of bejeweled trees, while the front looks onto a rectangular lily pond surrounded by a bramble of flowers in every shade of pink.
The male stops just short of the three-tiered stone steps that lead up to the sitting area. I notice that the silk cushions here are in a shade of burnt orange. A pretty young female in a white jeogori and a light-blue skirt stands at the top of the steps, with her hands loosely clasped at her front. When her eyes alight on me, I expect to see judgment on her face for my altogether inappropriate attire, but only a soft smile curves her lips.
“Welcome to the Sunset Pavilion,” she says, bowing at her waist.
When I start to bow back to her, the female startles and waves her hands in front of her. “Please, my lady. I am only a handmaiden.”
When I halt midbow and straighten, she offers me a warm smile tinged with relief. Even so, I insist, “I’m not a lady.”
“But you are a guest of the captain, my lady,” she corrects me in a tone that brooks no argument. The female has backbone.
She glances past my shoulders and nods at the male in white. When he bows and takes his leave, she waits patiently for me to take my shoes off and join her in the sitting area. But my Converse remind me of Ethan, and I freeze on the stone steps, filled with that mix of helpless anger and worry. A soft cough snaps me out of my torment, and I finally walk up the steps.
The female leads me through sliding doors to reach the interior of the Sunset Pavilion. After a short walk down a hallway, she draws open another set of doors, leading me deeper into the building. Two younger females in matching white-and-gray hanboks stand on either side of a high wooden tub filled with steaming water.
“These two will assist you with your bath. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call for me. My name is Miok.”
