(READ THIS AFTER SOF CHAPTER 31 AND 32 STARTING FROM CHAPTER 12)

Aaya was escorted with four maids to the house next to hers in the compound of Hoseok's mansion. The maids led her through the house to enter the room where Hoseok stood tall, his long hair tied up carelessly, the long strands giving him a mysterious dignity. Clothed in dark blue robe with black hanbok inside, he looked as intimidating as he appeared elegant.

Once he saw her enter, he immediately dismissed all the maids, walking forward to greet her, "Good evening."

Aaya glanced around the room to find them alone, "Who will serve us?"

"I will." Saying so, the General had her seated, then sat down opposite to her. He took his time opening the dishes placed on the table, selecting the ones he thought were the most appetising and then serving the food on her plate.

"General?"

"May I request something?" Hoseok asked while serving water, his concentration on the task.

"It is improper for a lady to call a man's name." Aaya replied watching him with amused eyes as Hoseok glanced up at her, "That was your request, I believe?" She asked playfully.

Seeing her twinkling eyes, the General paused. Then simply sat back on his seat and kept gazing at her.

"You have no idea how much I love your smile." He whispered quietly.

Aaya had decided in the month that she had stayed here, that she would treat everything with a normalcy that might be false, but would appear to be sincere. Because she had observed, Hoseok tended to clam up if he saw her surprised or even moved.

His emotions always swayed from extreme to extreme for her, greatly touching her to heart stoppingly horrifying her. Not reacting, not showing her true emotions was what would be needed to deal with him.

So now, she simply helped herself to the cold broth noodles, speaking conversationally "Why do you have longing in your voice General? My smiles are not hard to witness."

A low chuckle came from the man, "I live in the fear of dimming them forever Aaya. I truly fear it."

"Why?" Aaya looked at him and shrugged, "I am still sitting across you after what has transpired. Can you do anything more terrifying than that?" she asked lightly, trying to cajole him to lighten up.

But instead, she felt a sliver of unease when Hoseok replied,

"Yes. I can."

Stirring the noodles methodically, Aaya strived to make sure her voice was still the same light tone, "What action can evoke a fear parallel to the past? I am used to your personality General."

"I can choose to stop fighting myself." He replied gravely, "I can give in to my true self Aaya. If I do that, I will lose your smile forever."

Aaya did not reply. She used her chopsticks to stir and the lift the noodles, chewing on it carefully. Hoseok followed her actions to have his meal, both of them not talking for a brief while.

"Why?" she asked a little later.

The glow from the lamps bathed his olive skin with a vitality which burned in his eyes. His inner top loosened, showing his collarbones and a glimpse of his smooth chest. Hoseok focused on her and said,

"My love for you is not as pure as others. The passion of my love for you equals the fervour in my blood to make you mine. The fever in me burns me to have you in my arms, entangled together with your cries ringing in my ears throughout the night. I need to see my marks on you Aaya, I need, I want to physically take you so hard that you will wilt in my embrace."

His gaze blazed with need, "And I do not care if my possession of you is violent. I crave it to be so."

Aaya lowered her eyes, not daring to see his naked desire, "You want me to be hurt?"

She heard Hoseok inhale loudly, trying to calm himself. It took a while for him to answer, "No." he replied quietly.

"Both sides of my want for you clashes hard." He continued in a cold voice. Aaya understood then, that it was his way of forcefully supressing his need, "I want a reality where you accept me completely. Me with my consuming love and the me with my relentless hunger for you. But I know it is an impossibility."

A dry laugh greeted her ears, "Which is why I still keep my distance from you."

Aaya calmly wanted to continue the act of having her dinner, but she found her shaking hands not cooperative of keeping up with the act. And it was of paramount importance for Hoseok to not know of her fear, for if he did, in the future, he would never be this open with her again.

Folding her hands in front of her, she asked, "Suppressing it, keeping away, do you think it will become better? Will I be spared?" she still did not look at him.

A hoarse voice asked her in turn, "What would you have me do then?"

Aaya had no answer for it.

She heard Hoseok standing up and walking towards her. She kept still when she felt his warmth settling down beside her. With her gaze still on the table, she saw his sturdy hands lift her chopsticks, then reach for her food.

Lifting it up to her lips, he waited for her to accept it.

The General sat with her, feeding her carefully, enjoying her acceptance, his quite happiness at such a small gesture at odds with the desire he craved.

He fed her attentively, his action gentle, his affection transparent. Aaya, did not protest.

"I am not a good man Aaya." Hoseok whispered, "But you made me realize, that I am not completely bad either" Hoseok slowly rested his forehead on her shoulder, "You know about my feelings more than I do, you understand people before they themselves can. So tell me, will I be able to keep you being who I am?"

For all her emotions spinning inside, she only knew one in that instant. Happiness.

Happiness for the way they sat together. A simple action, elated her.

"Yes." She promised, "You will."

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Hoseok had retreated after that. Not wanting to part just yet, Aaya had wanted to stay, but the twitching in his hands, his half leashed fervent gaze told its own story. When he had suggested that she retire for the night, Aaya had bid him goodnight.

She had then spent a considerable amount of time in Nana and Tang's house, a little further away from hers. Nana had complained of a small fever she had been suffering which drained her and recounted all that she had heard in the town.

Hoseok had been meeting the folks of this town everyday that he went out. Along with the influential land owners, Hoseok also had been going to private invitations of the officials who were invited to the village next of their town.

He had been fostering a rare goodwill, with his attendance, giving face and prestige to many officials who were both stunned and thankful for his visits, elevating their status by association.

As for the people of their own town, Nana had reported, they had developed a peculiar sense of protective instincts over Aaya. She wasn't sure what Hoseok had spread, but the townsfolk took her privacy and her being present in their town seriously.

No mentions of her was allowed to leave the gates of the town, no one ever gossiped with the outsiders about her. She, had slowly become a precious secret for them to guard.

Shocked at the extent Hoseok had gone to give her freedom to walk freely around, it had taken some time for her to leave Nana's house. Only when Tang kicked her out did she leave to go back to her own home.

Once she reached her door, she spotted Hoon Chul waiting for her.

Both Hoon Chul and Ha-Ru were Hoseok's cousins. Hoon Chul a few years older than Hoseok while Ha-Ru being a few years younger. Both had been with him since the night the Commander had taken him in the night his family had been slaughtered. Through every battle, every dire situation, both had loyally followed Hoseok staunchly.

Yet, Hoseok curiously had been negligent in their introduction to her. When asked, he had replied, "Until our marriage, I simply don't wish for you to cultivate any friendships with other men. Both of them are good men with a pleasant personality and I am afraid you will like them if you speak to them. Pardon me, but that makes me reluctant, even if they are my men."

The last part had traces of a sulky tone which Aaya had found amusing.

To rest his mind, Aaya planned to not be familiar with the men until after her marriage.

"May I help you?" she asked politely, but distantly. Hoon Chul stared at her, his gaze curious, for a few seconds, before turning a little apologetic, "I apologise for disturbing you in this hour My Lady, but the General has retreated in his house and asked us to not disturb him unless an emergency. As such, I directly came to you."

Her interest piqued, Aaya had invited him in her house before asking, "What may I help you with."

At once serious, Hoon Chul had replied in details, "A year ago, due to the famine, a disease broke out which was highly contagious and killed most who contracted it. Only your region was spared due to the medicine you made."

Aaya cautiously nodded.

Hoon Chul continued, "The village next to ours in currently hosting a prestigious festival. It Is usually attended by the rich for continued blessings. There is an orphanage in the village, the older children work to make money. A few of those children have contracted the same illness, the symptoms are identical. I was wondering if you could make the medicine needed and instruct me on how to deliver it so that I may cure them. Not only for the sake of the children, but if the disease spreads over to this town, then talks of its cure will reach the Palace since your medicine was never taught to the Imperial doctors. If you treat the townsfolk here, suspicions will arise-"

"Stop!" Aaya spoke urgently, "The children, how old are they?"

Hoon Chul did not hesitate, "The oldest affected is 14. The youngest, 6."

"They are too young." Aaya whispered worriedly as she swiftly went to her study, opening her drawers to check for the herbs she kept there, "How long have they been affected?"

Hoon Chul did not step inside her sanctum, staying in the receiving area, "It has been 3 days. They have been isolated."

Aaya heard the answer as she searched, feeling relived at finding all the necessary ingredients, Aaya spoke as she gathered the equipments needed to make the medicine, "You will not know how to administer the medicine, I will have to go. Please inform your General that-"

"General will refuse. So should I, My Lady. Your safety is of utmost-"

"Over the lives of children?" Aaya asked.

Hoon Chul's jaw ticked, showing his own reluctance at endangering the children. He looked at Aaya frantically making the medicine for some time, then said, "Its quite late at night, if we move quietly, we wont be detected. Let me alert Ha-Ru and prepare a small unit of men. Then I'll inform the Lord and accompany you. Please wait for a bit till I make the arrangements."

When Aaya nodded, the man left.

Half an hour later, Ha-Ru and Hoon Chul guided her on a horse with no other men.

Aaya asked, "What of the rest?"

"We will cross the border at an Inn and will be waiting for the men and the General. After dinner, My Lord indulged a bit too much in alcohol, hence the hold up. By then the children will have been brought to the Inn." Ha-Ru replied.

Aaya had not questioned any further, riding with them though the dark night to reach the small Inn at the boundary of their town in a short while. Her face hidden in her robes, she had been safely escorted to an empty room where she waited with both the men guarding the door, until she received the ill children.

They were unconscious. Swiftly assessing them, Aaya checked the diagnosis and then administered the treatment. All of it had been carried out rather quickly. Once she was satisfied with the state the children were in, she thought to lie to the proprietress about it being a different disease, when she saw Ha-Ru nudging her away to the side and then calling the owner of the orphanage in, acting like he had been the one to treat the children.

Aaya nodded and quickly left the room. She looked around the main hall to see more of Hoseok's men sitting around, disguised, who quickly gave her a subtle nod and mingled with the rest of the crowd.

Aaya wanted to approach one to ask about Hoseok's whereabouts but none seemed to be alone, chatting with the other locals. They were spread everywhere, but acted like strangers.

Reasoning the General to be outside, she stepped out of the Inn, walking a little further towards the Stable when she heard an unmistakable voice.

Freezing on spot, she listened to the voice speaking to someone else, a little further away. Curiosity over her guess being accurate or not burning in her stomach, she stealthily walked forward and hid behind a wall to glance at 2 men talking together at a distance, in front of the Inn.

One of them, was the 4th Prince.

At once, Aaya knew, she needed to withdraw. Not just that, but she needed to be gone from this place. Not waiting on Hoseok would be more prudent.

Before her, the 4th Prince concluded his conversation with the man he was speaking to, who bowed low and turned away to go. Aaya too straightened up a little to back away, when a dangerously low voice whispered in her ear,

"Did you hope to meet him here?"

It was Hoseok.

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