1865 ; jungwon

CHAPTER 22

"But I wanted to see you. " she mumbled.

Jungwon pursed his lips to prevent himself from smiling. He cleared his throat.

Jiyeon stuffed more bread in her mouth, now feeling sad that Jungwon doesn't appreciate her going for a long walk just to see him.

After a few minutes of her eating so slowly and Jungwon waiting patiently for her to finish her food, they decided to leave the place. Or more like Jungwon deciding for them to leave his tenement since Jiyeon doesn't want to.

And now they are walking alone at the street. With the posts being their only source of lights as Jungwon left his lamp in his place.

"Don't do this again. " he spoke, breaking the silence between them. "Don't go out alone in the middle of the night. "

Jiyeon glanced at him then shook her head. "I don't want to. "

"It's dangerous. "

"Still! "

He looked at her in disbelief. "Are you hearing yourself, lady Min? "

"Yes, I'm hearing myself very much. Thank you for asking. "

This girl is really testing his patience, Jungwon can tell. She's so hard headed and it is making him lose his mind.

Why is she so persistent?

"Why? "

Jiyeon looked at him in confusion. "Huh? "

Jungwon stopped on walking as he stared at the girl next to her. "Why are you doing this, lady Min? " he asked with serious tone. "If you think I won't notice what you're doing, you're wrong. So tell me, why are you doing this? "

Despite how serious the other is, Jiyeon smiled and swayed her hands. "I did tell you the reason before, at the ball. But if you're referring why I went in your place tonight and still wanting to come back tomorrow, that's because that's the only way I can see you. "

Jiyeon could be the bravest woman standing from what she confessed. She didn't stutter nor paused to contemplate what she will say, and Jungwon did not know how to react to that.

Again, he is expecting her to say something like that but what he did not expect was the last sentence the other had stated.

"What about you, Won? "

Jungwon blinked at the nickname. "What? "

"Why do you keep on letting me come to you when you can just easily ignore me and not entertain me just like what you're doing with the other women? "

That's..... That us something Jungwon doesn't want to answer.

So instead of talking and admitting something that can risk everything he has, he turned his body ahead of them and started walking.

"Keep walking, lady Min. "

But Jiyeon didn't budge. She kept standing on the same spot, eyes not leaving the other's form.

She's having an inner battle. She wanted to tell what she felt to the other but a little part of her doesn't want to. And that's because she's afraid of rejection.

What if this is not the right time to confess and Jungwon reject her right here and then? What if he will avoid her after this?

But the history...

"Lady Min? "

Jiyeon took a deep breath before started walking towards Jungwon who is waiting for her, a few feet away. Her heart is starting to beat faster than it normally does.

"You didn't answer. " that's not a question, but a statement.

"Because there is nothing to answer there, lady Min. "

Jiyeon stopped walking which made Jungwon stopped too.

"But I love you, don't you feel the same way? "

Once those words left Jiyeon's lips, she immediately regretted it. And now, she wanted the ground to swallow her whole right there and then. But despite of that, she stood on her ground and bravely look at him in the eyes.

Silence engulfed them as no one talked after that. And Jiyeon is slowly losing those confidence she had earlier.

"I can't love you, lady Min. You're from the upper class and I'm not, we're living in a different status. "

Jungwon turned his back and began walking once again. And this time, Jiyeon followed.

"It's just a yes or no, Jungwon. A mere yes or no. "

"I'm not allowed to have feelings with you, lady Min. "

Instead of feeling upset at the other's answer, Jiyeon felt the opposite. Her heart started thumping inside her chest bringing euphoria in her body.

He didn't deny nor admitted it. And that made Jiyeon want to confirm it in her own way.

"So you do. " that's not a question, but Jungwon can answer that with a simple no. He can simply deny it.

Yet he didn't.

And that made Jiyeon smile widely. She wanted to jump and scream as she felt ecstatic at the moment. Her heart is beating so loud and so fast that it is so close to jump out of her chest and start dancing in the middle of the road. She could not believe it.

"You do! " she confirmed once again, waiting for the other to deny it.

"Keep walking, lady Min. "

But he didn't.