Jimin was tired. Il Woo was a nuisance, the stone in her pocket was awkward and heavy, and she did not know what had happened to Young Min after the magistrate and his men had gone to arrest him. No longer in the mood to buy anything from the fabric store, she and Sujin slowly made their way back to the Oh household.

Seok Ji Hoon, who in Jimin's opinion had quite overstayed his welcome, was pacing in the front yard when they arrived. The fact that the ceramics master had once served the king, or that he was currently involved in a great mysterious scandal no longer seemed important or particularly exciting to Jimin, and so she walked past him wordlessly. It was only once they were inside the house and Sujin had shut the door behind them that Jimin let her façade drop.

"Can you believe the nerve of him!" Jimin exclaimed, collapsing onto the cushions in her room.

"It was very wrong of Gong Il Woo to accuse you of lying," her maid said softly. "And it was not his place to suggest indecent things about your character."

"That's right!" Jimin exclaimed. "Besides, I only made up that one story, and only for some harmless entertainment! Il Woo's the one who makes vicious lies to intentionally hurt people."

"True, milady," Sujin said. "But perhaps it is best to be more cautious in the future. After all, your story was the foundation for Il Woo's misdeeds. Some things can manifest themselves as more hurtful than they were originally intended."

Jimin opened her mouth to protest, and Sujin cringed. But after carrying around that bothersome stone all day, Jimin wasn't in the mood to scold, and besides, she realized, her servant had a point.

"I suppose I should be a bit more careful with what I say," Jimin admitted.

Sujin slowly raised her gaze. "Pardon?" She seemed a bit stunned that there hadn't been more to the reply. Jimin paid no mind, however, and launched into another tirade against the general's son.

"And how dare he insinuate that I am a loose woman, simply because of my ties with Young Min!" Jimin slammed a fist down on the table before her, only to draw it back with a pained hiss. "Ow."

"Milady!" Sujin rushed forward.

"I'm fine." Jimin sighed. "Go fetch some tea, or something. I need a moment alone."

"Of course, milady." Sujin gave a hurried bow and rushed out of the room.

Jimin sighed again as the door clacked shut behind her maid. Though it was tempting to wallow in self-pity in the ensuing silence, Jimin decided on a more productive use of her time.

Jimin took the stone out of her pocket and set it on the table before her. Though her mother often told her it was unladylike to do so, Jimin set her elbows on the table and leaned forward, frowning at the bothersome product of her attempted revenge. The longer she stared at the smooth black surface of the stone, the more Jimin regretted having ever met that old shaman who had given it to her.

"How do I get rid of you?" she mused aloud, glaring intently at the cumbersome rock. It was impossible to crush to pieces—she and Sujin had tried several times already. Burying it or throwing it off cliffs or into ponds didn't seem to have any effect either—Jimin would always turn around to find it sitting at her feet, as if nothing had happened. Running away had the same result—Jimin would turn, and the stone would always be sitting just a few paces behind her, no matter how far or fast she ran.

"Bothersome woman!" Jimin grumbled. "I tell her to curse Young Min, and she curses me with this abomination instead! No wonder she offered a discount. She must have known she had messed something up!"

"Milday!"

Before Jimin could utter another string of bad words about the terrible shaman and the bothersome rock, Sujin came bursting into her mistress's room, sans tea tray.

Jimin jumped to her feet, startled. "What is it, Sujin?" she demanded.

"Someone...someone's in the yard to see you, miss," Sujin said, gasping for air.

"Oh, well, then." Jimin smoothed down her hanbok and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "There's no need for such alarm."

"But milady, it's...it's Park Young Min!"

"It's who?" Jimin rushed to the window and leaned out, trying to get a good view of the main yard. Sure enough, the unmistakable figure of her almost-betrothed was standing with his back to them. Jimin ducked back inside.

"What is he doing here?" she hissed to her maid.

Sujin shrugged. "Master Seok Ji Hoon went off to talk with a group of men a few minutes ago—it seems Park Young Min might be involved somehow. He wanted to know where they went, and I told him they'd just left. But then he asked to see you!"

Jimin frowned. "The only thing Seok Ji Hoon cares about is catching that thief of his. Young Min couldn't possibly have anything to say to him."

"Well, milady, he was just accused of—"

"He's not actually the thief, Sujin," Jimin growled.

"I know milady, but—"

"Oh, I might as well just get this over with."

Jimin huffed impatiently and turned away from her maid, snatching up the stone and shoving it in her pocket as she made towards the door. Yes, it was better to confront Young Min at once and not have him standing around for longer than necessary, Jimin decided.

The sunlight seemed brighter than when Jimin had been outside earlier, and she squinted in the direction of the main yard as she let her eyes adjust. When she could finally see clearly, she found Young Min standing facing her, face perfectly expressionless.

The sight of Young Min sent a flutter through Jimin's chest. Although it had only been a little over two weeks, Jimin felt as though she hadn't seen him in years. His eyes, usually bright and smiling, were now dull and tired. There was a shallow cut across his left cheek and his face seemed thinner. His lips, usually turned up at the corners in amusement, were flat and drawn, and there was a hint of stubble on his chin.

His clothes were in much the same sorry state. They were wrinkled, dirty, and, Jimin suspected, probably did not smell too good, either. She decided she would not get close enough to find out.

"Park Young Min," Jimin said stiffly, stopping an arm's length away. "How good to see you."

Young Min bowed. "It's good to see you too, Jimin," he said, and she was surprised to hear that even his voice seemed changed—tired and a bit hoarse. He coughed and cleared his throat. "I hope you've been well."

Jimin crossed her arms. "Where have you been?" Secretly, she studied him. Aside from looking as though he'd been travelling with no shelter or sleep, he didn't seem to be afflicted by some curse that would make him regret his wayward ways, as the shaman had promised.

Then he moved.

"Jimin," Young Min said, stepping forward. "I—" he broke off with a pained hiss, a hand instinctively going to his leg as it buckled beneath him. For a moment, it looked as though he would fall, but he caught himself in time.

A shock of panic coursed through the young noblewoman. Had the curse caused that?

"What's wrong?"

Young Min straightened, slowly. "Nothing. I'm fine." His jaw was tense, implying otherwise.

Jimin crossed her arms. "Why are you here?"

Surprise briefly flitted across the nobleman's face at Jimin's hostility. "I didn't realize I needed a reason to visit you," he said. Then understanding dawned. "You heard the rumor."

"Oh yes, I heard about you visiting Lotus House," Jimin replied. "Do you deny it? I went to your home as soon as I heard, hoping it was some misunderstanding, but your servants wouldn't even let me inside! As if I was a stranger!"

"Jimin, I—" he reached for her hand, but she snatched it away.

"I saw you!" Jimin's voice rose, and she hated how it trembled. "I saw you slinking around the marketplace when you were supposed to be at home. And then the very next day you were gone, without so much as a goodbye."

The pained expression on Young Min's face seemed more as a result of her words than his injured leg. Finally, he spoke.

"Do you have so little faith in me?" Young Min asked, slowly. Jimin wished she couldn't detect the hurt in his voice, or at least wished she was immune to it, but regret shot through her all the same.

"If it wasn't true, why would you run and hide?" Jimin countered. She stuck out her chin and looked him directly in the eyes, pushing aside all doubts. He had lied. She was sure of it. Young Min was no different from Il Woo—it was just a shame it had taken her so long to realize it.

"It is not true," Young Min said simply. Jimin scoffed.

"Convince me," she said. "Where's the proof?"

Young Min closed his eyes for a brief moment. "I have none."

"Do you not even have a witness?"

"I do not."

Jimin gave a short, humorless laugh and looked away. "Then you are lying."

But Young Min was not finished.

"Then where is your proof?" he said. Jimin turned back to him.

"Pardon?"

"Your proof that I am lying? Evidence that I have, in fact, visited Lotus House, and risked bringing shame to your name by association."

"Proof?" Jimin took a step forward. "Everyone knows about it. What more proof do I need?"

"That is no proof," Young Min said, shaking his head. "You know as well as I how tales are invented in this town. The people here spin lies as easily as yarn."

"Don't try to make excuses!" Jimin snapped. "Admit it: you were caught, and now you're just trying to cover it up with lies."

"You're blinded by your anger and fear," Young Min said, sighing in frustration. "Do you truly feel so threatened by this rumor that you refuse to listen to my defense?"

"Stop calling it that!" Jimin yelled. "It's no rumor. Your actions tell me quite plainly what you've done."

Young Min grew dangerously silent at this, and Jimin could tell by the hard set of his jaw as he bit back a retort.

"So what now, then?" Young Min finally asked. "I can see I have quite wasted these past few minutes with meaningless words, and for that I sincerely apologize. I'll understand if you wish to not see me again.

"I'd rather not," Jimin sniffed, putting more bite into her words to hide the ache she felt in her chest. It was not due to any love she felt towards him, she reasoned, but more a result of the stress he was putting her through.

"Very well," Young Min said. His face, which had been so expressive during their argument, was now closed off and unreadable. Jimin felt rather as if it was she who was being kicked out, rather than the other way around.

Jimin watched as Young Min slowly turned to leave, limping a bit at each step. She bit her lip, suddenly feeling guilty. Again, she wondered, was this the crippling pain from the curse that the shaman had described? Had she caused this?

"You never did answer my question, earlier," she suddenly called out. Young Min stopped and looked back at her. "About where you've been." She knew it was selfish to ask for his whereabouts after she had so abruptly cut ties with him, but she couldn't ignore her curiosity.

"I've been traveling in the mountains," he answered flatly.

"Mountains?" Jimin latched onto the word, recalling the shaman having mentioned something about that too. "So...why did you come back?"

Young Min's brows furrowed, a bit sadly. "I came back for someone," he said, "but I haven't found her yet."

With that, he turned away, and Jimin could only watch, stunned, as his figure receded into the distance. The sinking feeling in her stomach almost made the stone in her pocket feel light.

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Well, there you have it. Love is complicated, even without the added help of love curses. This is why I prefer to stay out of matters like this. Dealing with criminals on my mountain is bad enough—but at least they've made up their mind to steal and kill. I like that sort of reliability. When it comes to love though, everything's unpredictable and confusing. You understand, don't you? One minute there's hate, the next there's love—someone says one thing, but really means something completely different.

For all their simple-mindedness, humans certainly can make matters into a complex mess at times.

Dedication to linahanson--if you like Egyptian mythology, magic, and humor, check out her Cursed Times books!  Thanks for your support!  Also, thank you everyone for putting up with my terrible musical puns.  XD  Anyway, next chapter coming soon!  Thanks for reading!