Secrets

Chapter 16: Last night

Il Jung's POV

I blink. One second, then another blink. I'm beginning to wonder whether I got the address wrong. I look at the text on my phone. Nope, this is the one.

This is what she calls a simple ranch? I'd like to know a mansion then. I stare at the enormous building. It's about thrice the size of my house, and my house is huge. I notice the intercom at the gate and press the button.

"Hello? Nuguseyo(1)? ", a cheery voice answers.

" Umm........ Annyeonghaseyo(2), I'm looking for a Cha Hwa Sung", still unable to believe I'm at the right house.

"Oh, you must be the Young Mistress's chingu(3). Come in"

Young Mistress? Are we in Joseon(4)?

The gate opened automatically. My jaw dropped as I took in the sight. It was really like a very busy ranch on the inside. There were horses galloping around freely, some drinking water and others being groomed, not restrained at all. When I stepped in, they simultaneously looked at me, but only for a second. They ignored me and acted like I didn't exist. I look around. There were a lot of potted plants everywhere.

Aren't they worried the horses would destroy the plants?

Then again, they did look tame. I wonder if she'll let me ride one. As I look around, a middle aged woman walked up to me.

"The Young Miss is up in her study. I'll take you to the living room"

"Kamsamnida( Thank you) ", I say to show my thanks.

The house was as big on the inside as it was on the outside, but it did have a bit of a homey feel to it. The woman led me to a large room with an adjoining kitchen and left. I began to observe the room. It was pretty comfortable with many couches around and a fireplace. The large TV was set above the fireplace. There were also bookshelves on either side of the fireplace. I never doubted Hwa Sung's love for books. I walk to the bookshelves and noticed a few picture frames. I reach for one to look at it. It was a heartwarming picture of an 8 year old Hwa Sung on a little horse, a little boy behind her. She had a huge smile plastered on her face and her eyes twinkling. Now that I think about it, I've never seen her so happy. Whenever she smiles, I could always see her smiles hide something though I couldn't tell what it was. I gently caress her cheeks where there was a mud stain.

" You're here? ", I dropped the photo from shock at the sound of her voice.

" Ommo, mianhamnida( Oh my God, I'm sorry) ", I bend down to pick up the broken pieces, foolishly, I might add, for I pricked my finger in my rush.

" Ani(5), it's alright ", she walks to me, holding a first aid kit she definitely wasn't holding before. She bends down on one knee and lifts my finger. I wince as she wipes the blood off with alcohol based wipes. Through the pain, I smile.

At least she's taking care of me.

After my finger is well taken care of, she looks up at me.

" How could you be so clumsy? I'll get someone to clean the mess"

"B-b-but the pic............. ", I stutter like a fool.

" Don't worry. It can always be framed again"

"Fine", I say guiltily.

" Come on, let's go ", she links her arm into mine.

As we walk to what I presume is her study, we pass by many other pictures. Hwa Sung's family seems to like pictures a lot because there were a lot lining up on the walls. I even find some ancient paintings of what seems to be ancestors. One thing I noticed, though, is that, the pictures are of her and some children. No adults or parents. I begin to wonder: Where are Hwa Sung's parents?

I pause in front of one particular painting, my face scrunching up a bit. The painting before me looks exactly like Hwa Sung. In it, she was wearing a hanbok and had a happy expression on her face. In fact, I would have believed it was Hwa Sung if not for the paper looking like it would crumble upon a touch. I tilt my head to study it a bit. Hwa Sung seems to have noticed my footsteps stopped. She turns around, her eyes trailing to what held my gaze. I heard a sigh, then footsteps towards me.

" This, huh? "

" Nuguseyo (Who is this)? "

" Her name was Cha Hwa Sung". I look at her, surprised.

" Yeah, I know. Same name, same face, what else is new? ", she scoffs, " It's more than a coincidence, you could say". She looks a bit sad.

"Wanna tell me a bit? "

"Sure, why not", she continues after taking a breath, " She's one of my ancestors. They say she was a concubine to King Huijong. She was from the Cha family, but later left and moved to Gwanghae, where our family lives now. It's strange how I look so much like her, isn't it? "

"It's uncanny", I say, a bit out of breath.

" I even have her birthmark. Do you know what made her so special?", I shake my head, " She liked to learn and was literate. She bought new things from other countries. Her friends called her strange. To be honest, her number of friends were almost non-existent, but those she had teased her. It was said that the only reason the king married her was because she was interesting. Everyone wanted to know, ' Why would the king marry her?' It was strange", she then chuckles. It didn't seem like she was telling a tale. It was almost as if she were narrating her own life story.

" They said she loved to sing and play the gayageum. Not weird at all, right? ", she tilts her head towards me, " She knew a lot about herbs and because of that, they called her a witch, a seductress", her eyes turn glossy, almost sad, "She also loved animals and kept lots of pets. It was said her favourite was a white fox. She also loved to go horse riding. They even said she learned martial arts, along with archery and swordsmanship. A female swordsman, what a joke. Too bad she ran away with her lover. I wonder why"

"B-b-but, how do you know all this? "

She points to an object I hadn't noticed before, " Our family journal. She kept tabs on it and passed it on. Every ancestor has written in it. It has all our family secrets. Soon, it'll be my turn. I hope you won't tell "

" I won't "

"Good. Now forget about all this and let's get going", she dragged me with her.

###############################

Presently, I'm lying on Hwa Sung's bed, looking at the midnight blue ceiling. Hwa Sung is sitting on her desk scribbling on some papers. I want to go over and check what she's doing, but I don't know how she'll react. Maybe she likes her privacy. I Suddenly, she looked in my direction.

" You must be bored, watching me, right? ". I nod when in truth, I wasn't. I like watching her facial expressions. She looked so serious earlier, frowning then pouting. If only I could kiss her pout away.

She walks to me.

"Mianhamnida( Sorry), but I've got to go. Can you stay here alone for a while? " She's leaving?

"I'll be back soon, I promise. Now, let's go down to the lounge"

I look at the pictures once again as we go down.

"Stay here and watch TV. If there's anything you want, ask Mo-na-sshi, arasseo(alright) ? "

"Arasseo(okay) "

"Take care, an(6)", she then pecked me on the cheek and left.

She kissed me. I can't believe she kissed me.

It was only on the cheek.

It's still a kiss. I still can't believe it. I was over the moon about the kiss.

When I finally decide to find a movie to watch, I see a drama in the favourite list titled " Gu Family Book" and it was under supernatural, so I click to watch it. After an episode into the drama, I suddenly feel thirsty, so I walk to the attached kitchen and open the refrigerator. My eyes widen. This isn't a fridge. It's a cold room. I walk in and find different drinks. Apple juice was the dominant beverage.

No wonder she smells like apples.

I take some orange juice and walk out. I notice a cupboard with transparent glass containing wine glasses. I select one and serve myself. I also take two chocolate chip cookies from a cookie jar I found and put them in a plate. I walk back to the couch I was previously sitting on and plop down. I resume the drama. Two hours later and Hwa Sung hasn't arrived yet. I begin to feel a bit worried. I pace about in the room, when suddenly, I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. I crank my head to see who it was, when I was met with a pair of maroon eyes. They were so dark they almost looked pitch black. I could only tell the true colour, due to the lighting. Time seems to have stopped for a few seconds. We open our mouths and in unplanned unison, inquire,

"Nuguseyo (Who are you?) "

"I'm so sorry I kept you waiting. I just had.............. ", she pauses. We both look at her for an explanation.

" Ah, I see you two have met. Soo-ahh oppa(7), this is Baek Il Jung, nae chingu(my friend) from school ". She called him oppa, what is their relationship? I look at him again. He's wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. She walks up to him and kisses him on his cheek. I felt sad though I don't know why. She looks at me with her arms wrapped around his waist.

" Il Jung-sshi, this is nae namdongsaeng( my younger twin brother)". I suddenly feel like I could breathe properly. I look at the two of them and noticed a few similarities.

One, they're both hot.

I roll my eyes at this one. They have similar facial structure. Same shape of nose, eyes and mouth, same curly hair, though they had different eye and hair colour. The biggest difference is their skin, while Hwa Sung had extremely pale skin, he had olive skin, almost tan. He looks mixed breed. I look at both of them, skeptical.

"Are you.........sure? "

"Yeah. People don't usually believe us, but it's true, though we look very different"

"You look mixed breed", my question directed to the boy.

"Ne, we're part Italian, part Korean. I took Dad's side, he took Mom's", but Hwa Sung answers it.

" So umm.....you, go change. I'll go check some things and be back", and with that, she was gone.

Chul-Soo also leaves. I continue watching the drama and hardly five minutes later, Chul-Soo comes back, wearing a shirt and some pants.

"What're you watching? ", he says as he removes a drink from the refrigerator.

" Gu Family Book", I respond.

"Cool", he sits beside and we watch it.

After about two episodes later, he turns to me.

" How about we play some games in the game room instead "

I smirk, " Why not? "

###############################

"Its a full moon tonight", I look at the bridge.

"Ne(8)"

" Do you want to play in the water? "

"Ne"

"Or d'you want to walk around? "

"Ne"

"Can you say something apart from 'Ne'? It's annoying me"

"Ne"

"Okay, are you trying to p*ss me off? "

"Ne"

"That's it. I'm throwing you into the water", I say as I grab her by her waist.

"Ani(9), I'll stop, I promise"

I let go of her, " It's nice here, isn't it? "

"Ne"

"I wish I could stay here"

"Ne"

I glare at her and start to stalk towards her.

"Wh-What are you doing? "

I pounce on her, rubbing my fingers on her sides.

"Andwae(10), andwae, I-I won't d-do it again, j-just s-stop, please? "

"Really? "

"Uh huh, I won't"

"Fine". I stop tickling her and look at her face, just realizing how close it is. Just a little bit more......

" Aagh, my eyes, my eyes ", I feel soft hands push me to the ground. A little while later, after rubbing my eyes, I see Hwa Sung a distance away from me.

Yeah, you better run.

" I'm going to catch you", I chase her all the way to Gwangangdaegyo. The amkae was waiting for me at the top of the bridge, laughing her head off.

"Do you it's funny to throw sand in my eyes? "

"Uh huh".

" Come here you ", I reach out to her and pull her in for a hug. Making sure my lips are close to her ears, I whisper, " Well, you better watch your back ". I feel her breath labouring. I ignore that and hold her a bit tighter. We stay in this position for a while. I felt it warm, comforting and nice. When the place was very dark, we both open our eyes to watch the light show.

" It's beautiful, isn't it? "

"Yes, yes it is"

"You know even though I've been here a lot of times, ", she wriggles out of my grip, " I've really never been here "

"And why is that? "

She turns to face me, " Maybe because I never found the right person to go with ". The next thing I know, soft lips are on mine. I feel paralyzed from shock.They feel warm and nice against mine. I start to move my lips slowly against hers. The kiss was gentle and she tasted like apples. We part after some time.

" But it seems that has been well taken care of"

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Footnotes:

1: means 'who I it?'

2: means 'hello'

3: means 'friend'

4: ancient Korean era

5: means 'no'

6: means 'bye'

7: means 'older brother/ used to address boyfriend/ boy friend' depending on the context. Il Jung thought she meant boyfriend at first. They are twins so she sometimes calls him oppa(older brother) instead of dongsaeng (younger brother).

8: means 'yes'

9: means 'no'

10: means 'no, don't do that'

11: means 'b***h'

A/N: The story was made up. Don't hate me.

Also, what do you think about the introduction of Hwa Sung's brother?

Also, some of the chapters cane with pictures but the app doesn't allow them. So the pics are in w*****d where my original is, but the w*****d version hasn't been edited and has more mistakes. Thank you!