Young Min slid off his horse, biting back a hiss of pain as his feet hit the ground.  If the vagabond girl noticed his discomfort, she gave no indication of it, and he was thankful.  No doubt it would send Won Soo into a panic upon discovering that his master was unwell.

And it was only getting worse.

Fighting against the ache in his legs, Young Min offered a hand to help Mi Nam—or whatever her real name was—down from the horse.  Young Min felt that if he were accusing the girl of thievery, the least he could do was keep her gender a secret as she wished.  So although Won Soo had protested, Young Min had insisted that she ride with him instead of his servant.  Won Soo might have been clueless at times, but he was bound to notice something off if they shared a horse for several hours.

Besides, the girl had been fairly well behaved thus far.  Although she still protested that she was not a thief, Young Min couldn’t shake the suspicion that something was off about her.

Aside from the fact that she was disguised as a man, of course.

Hesitantly, Mi Nam took Young Min’s hand and began to edge off the horse, only to lose her balance and topple forward, sending both her and Young Min crashing to the ground.

“Young master!”  Predictably, Won Soo was suddenly at his side, rushing to help him up.

“I’m so sorry!” Mi Nam said, scrambling to her feet.

“Why I oughta—” Won Soo muttered, faking a punch in the girl’s direction.

“That’s enough, Won Soo,” Young Min reprimanded.  Thief or not, he wouldn’t have his servant hitting anyone.

“I wasn’t really going to hit him, young master,” Won Soo muttered, stepping back and taking the horse’s reins.  “Rest here, I’ll tie up the horses and set up a fire in a bit.”

Wincing, Young Min headed to the base of a large pine and sat down.  It had been several hours since the encounter with the bandits, and nightfall was rapidly approaching.  Judging by their altitude, he guessed that they would reach the top of the mountain by the following evening, and the small town that was built there.  Then he would be able to hand the mysterious girl over to the magistrate, who would be able to determine whether she was a thief or not, and he and Won Soo could continue down the other side of the mountain, to Miryang.

Having nowhere else to go, Mi Nam followed after the young noble and sat down under a neighboring tree.  Young Min noted with a bit of amusement the leaves stuck in her hair from the tumble off his horse.

“What?” the girl scowled, catching his gaze.

Young Min raised his hands innocently.  “It’s nothing.”

“You were staring at me.”

“Just wondering if you were okay after the fall.”

The girl snorted in a very unladylike way.  “Thanks for asking.  I’m not okay, but it’s because I’ve been wrongfully arrested, not because I fell off a horse.”  For a moment, she glanced up.  “Sorry about that, by the way.  But my hands are tied, so it was a bit difficult.”

“It’s all right,” Young Min said.  “But you understand I can’t just let you go.  Your whole situation is very suspicious.  A girl traveling alone, dressed as a man, spying on a robbery?  And you refuse to give any answers.  Can you really blame me for wanting to bring you in to the magistrate?”

“I…”  The girl frowned, thinking over his argument.  “I guess not,” she finally sighed, surprising Young Min.  “Thanks for not telling your servant that I’m a girl, at least.”

Young Min closed his eyes and leaned back against his tree, thinking the conversation to be over.

“But Mi Nam?  Jongmal?”  Young Min opened his eyes and looked back at the girl.

“Yes, really,” he said, copying her tone.  “Even if you had told me your real name, it would not pass for a boy’s name, and you certainly didn’t seem to be able come up with anything.”

“Yes, but…Mi Nam?” the girl repeated.  “It’s so…ridiculous!”

“You’ll get used to it,” Young Min replied, closing his eyes and leaning back against the tree again, trying to ignore the pain in his limbs.  Fighting the robbers earlier had been more taxing than he’d realized.  Normally he could have defeated them easily, thanks to the training that every nobleman was familiar with, but now it seemed like the more he exerted himself, the faster he became unwell.  His legs were stiff and every move was becoming a conscious effort.  At this rate, would he even make it to his uncle’s house in Miryang?

“Kim Nara.”

Young Min looked up.  “What?”

“My name.  It’s Kim Nara.”

Mi Nam—or rather, Nara—looked away as soon as they made eye contact, picking at a twig on the ground.  Young Min opened his mouth to reply, but Won Soo came crashing back into their makeshift camp at that moment, saddlebags slung over his shoulder and a bundle of sticks in his arms.

“Aigoo!” Won Soo exclaimed, dropping the bags and kindling to the ground with a relieved sigh.  “I’m ready to eat!”  He cast a dark glance at Nara before opening the nearest bag.  “Although I suppose we’ll have to share our supplies with that lowlife…”

He began whistling a cheery tune as he took out some foodstuffs and began constructing the fire, only to suddenly pause.

“Oh!  Young master!”

Young Min shifted to face his servant, wincing as a sharp pain shot up his legs.  Hopefully it was too dark for Won Soo to have noticed.  “Yes?”

There was only a slight hesitation before Won Soo replied.  “Did you know there’s a band of street performers who’ve set up camp just a bit further down the road?  I saw them when I was out collecting firewood.  Perhaps tomorrow morning we could just ask them to turn in this criminal once they reach the town, and we could continue to Miryang unhindered?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Young Min saw Nara stiffen.  “That won’t be necessary, Won Soo,” he replied calmly.  “The magistrate is hardly out of our way.”

“But even so, young master—”

“That’s enough,” Young Min interrupted.  Sighing, he began to stand up to move closer to the fire, only for his right knee to give out and send him crashing painfully to the ground.

“Young master!”  Won Soo was at his side in an instant.

“I’m fine,” Young Min assured his servant through gritted teeth, though he didn’t protest at being helped up.  “Just tired, is all.”

Won Soo looked grim, but merely nodded.  “I’ll have dinner ready soon and then we can rest.”

Young Min looked over to Nara, who was still sitting by her tree, hands tied before her with the coarse rope supplied by the merchants.  After a moment of thought, he made his way over to her, trying his best not to limp.

Nara looked up in alarm as Young Min knelt before her and began working at the rope binding her.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I suspect your wrists are a bit sore,” Young Min answered, loosening the knots.  “And I don’t think you’ll try to run now that it’s dark.  You won’t be able to get very far, and you could end up at the bottom of a cliff with one misstep.”

“So you’re suddenly trusting me?” Nara asked.

Young Min gave a little laugh.  “Everything about you seems to warn of trouble,” he replied.  “So rest assured, the rope goes back on before sunrise.  But I think you’d much prefer to at least eat dinner with your hands free.”

The girl frowned as the last of the rope was removed, revealing red, swollen lines on her pale skin.  “Okay.  Thank you.”

Dinner was small and simple, and afterwards Young Min found his eyes fighting to stay open, lulled by the warmth and safety of the fire.  At some point he must have dozed off, however, because a loud noise suddenly had him on his feet in an instant, sword unsheathed to confront the danger.  The fire had dimmed down to a few flickering embers, and the ring of light around their campsite was severely diminished, making it hard to see by.

“Ow!”

“Get off me!”

“No!  Ow!  Stop kicking me, you little—”

“Won Soo!” Young Min scolded.  “What on earth are you doing?”

The servant scrambled to his feet, pulling Nara up with him by the scruff of her neck.  “The thief was trying to escape, young master,” he said.

“I wasn’t,” Nara countered, trying to squirm out of the firm grip.  “I…have to relieve myself.”

“Well, then, I suppose you won’t mind if I just go with you,” Won Soo replied matter-of-factly.

“No!”  Both Young Min and Nara replied, and Won Soo looked a bit startled at the unanimous outburst.

“What?” the servant said, glancing between Nara and Young Min in bewilderment.

Now that his adrenaline had worn off, the pain was beginning to seep back into Young Min’s body, causing him to sway on his feet unsteadily.  Gritting his teeth, he sunk his blade into the ground before him.  “It’s all right, Won Soo.  I’ll go with him,” Young Min said.  “I have to go too.”

“But—”

“Stay here and watch the horses,” Young Min interrupted.  “We’ll be back shortly.”  He turned to Nara and motioned with a jerk of his head for her to follow as he headed further into the trees.

“I really wasn’t trying to run,” Nara began to explain once they were out of earshot of Won Soo.

“It doesn’t matter,” Young Min replied tiredly, suddenly stopping.  “Go over there a bit more and meet me back by that rock we just passed when you’re finished.”

“Okay.  Thanks for, um…not sending Won Soo with me,” Nara said.  “He would’ve watched me like a hawk.”

“Hurry up,” Young Min said, waving her away.  “It’s late, and we’ve got an early start tomorrow morning.”  He didn’t mean to be so gruff, but the pain shooting up his legs was even worse than before, and he was looking forward to the blissful oblivion that sleep would bring to free him from the discomfort.  Though he hadn’t wanted to admit it at first, the ache was only getting worse.  At least now he was away from his family and Jimin, and would be able to recover at his uncle’s house in Miryang without worrying everyone.  It wouldn’t do to have his father—or even Il Woo—find out about his weakness.  Minister Park would disregard the king and leave the palace for home, and Il Woo, well…nothing good could ever come from him knowing.

 Young Min leaned against a nearby tree as another stab of pain shot through his body, gasping at the sensation.  Hopefully, though, this mysterious ailment could be cured.

========================================================

Jongmal, I hope you were able to infer, means “seriously,” or “really.”  As in, are you finally finished eating your meal?  Can we leave now?  Jongmal?

 Good.  Korean Barbeque is delicious, but I think we’ve stayed long enough.  How about we go get some tea next?

~*~*~*~*~

Dedicated to winterstar5--who also has a gumiho story, if anyone likes the theme and wants to check it out!  Thank you for your comments and adding this story to your blog!  This chapter's for you.  :)