The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 138: Jae-ha's Chains

Jae-ha walked around aimlessly through the vacant roads of Shisen. Rain poured down on him but he could no longer feel the cold seeping into his skin. He had lost all touch with reality.

His eyebrows drew together as he vaguely registered something strange about this town drained of life but he couldn't put his finger on it. After dusk along with the rain, it had all muddled his mind echoing with various parts of his past.

"My my, you'll get drenched." A feminine voice called and he looked up to see a rather showy woman waving at him from a building. "Why don't you come in here?"

Five minutes after he was welcomed inside, notes of a beautiful melody he played from his flute filled the quiet. There were two women in the room with him.

The dark-haired woman who had called out to him earlier had her hair swept off the nape of her neck, pinned in place with an extravagant flower clip. Her silk kimono was embroidered with butterflies in golden floss, the gradient of grey fabric fading to white the further up it went.

The other girl was shy in comparison. Her long blonde hair framed her sweet face. She was dressed up just as fancy, but considerably more uncomfortable than the other woman.

No one that beautiful should look that sad, it wasn't right.

The room was lined with botanical potted plants and intricately painted scrolls hung on the walls. A pitcher of alcohol sat on a nearby table, low to the ground so that it was easy to reach.

"How splendid." The dark-haired beauty said, leaning forward as he finished playing the piece. "Are you a traveler? Where did you come from?"

Jae-ha smiled mysteriously as he tucked away his flute for now. "That's a secret."

Sighing wistfully, he reminisced the days he used to play his erhu for Captain Gi-gan. Unfortunately, he was forced to leave it behind when he left Awa, but he entrusted the prized possession to her. She would take good care of it until he returned to visit.

Hopefully by then, Yona would have reclaimed her rightful place on the throne.

Actually, I've never heard her say that's what she wants...

His eyes narrowed for a split second at the break in his thoughts and his gaze flickered to the small object in the corner.

"That incense has a sweet scent." He noted with a wry smile.

The woman nodded along, not taking her eyes off of him. "It's a popular incense in Shisen, it works against fatigue."

"I see..." He murmured, forcing himself to relax.

Jae-ha's violet eyes widened a fraction when he caught the more timid of the two shuffling out of the corner of his eye. His gaze honed in on her fingernails and his heart rate sped up.

She desperately tried to cover it with her sleeve before he saw but it was too late for that. Yelping as he pulled her wrist toward him, she was left stunned as he selected a file and cuticle cream from the table, using it on her rather than himself.

The tools were made available for the guests and to see him using to pamper her was a shocker.

She let out a confused squeak as he continued to take care of her dirtied and chipped nails, looking away when she saw him staring at them so intensely. They were so unsightly, she couldn't bear the shame.

The woman hid her smile behind her sleeve. "Oh, the girl's nails are so worn and ugly-looking, aren't they?"

Blinking to hold back the tears she wasn't allowed to let fall, the girl's eyes saddened and her lower lip wobbled at her taunts.