Under a Dark Moon [Oneus AU]

Dirty Little Secret

Youngjo found himself waiting around in Luella's room while she cleaned up in the adjacent bathing room. He wasn't allowed in there, even though he had seen her completely bare before, so he patiently and protectively waited outside in her bedroom until she was finished.

It wasn't long into his wait before he grew bored, however, and he began pacing the room. He stopped by the window to look out at the crescent moon, then wandered to the cracked mirror on the cabinet door of her wardrobe.

The room was too quiet. It made it hard not to listen in on her soft breaths and the constant thumping of her heart. He needed something to distract himself, so he walked over to her desk to take a peek at what she left atop it. That was when he saw a letter addressed to Nellie, one that Luella never got a chance to send.

It was the mention of William that drew his eye to it initially. Youngjo knew it was a bit of an invasion of her privacy to read a personal letter, but he was curious. He wanted to know just went on in that innocent, naive little head of hers.

A mention of butterflies drew his eyes to the bottom of the letter. Youngjo felt simultaneously excited and disappointed as he read the last part of her letter to Nellie.

She admitted to feeling butterflies in her stomach, but that it happened twice because of two different men. She didn't mention William's name again, so he decided she wasn't talking about him.

Two of these men have made my stomach and heart flutter like the wings of a bird. What should I do about such a thing? I know not if they even mean to do such things.

Youngjo wondered if he was one of the men she mentioned. He had to be, considering the night he kissed her was the night before the letter was dated. If he was, then who was the other?

Knowing what he knew about the mark that stained her neck for days after William left, Youngjo had to assume she was writing about Seoho. If that was the case, Youngjo wasn't quite sure how to feel about Luella's heart being torn between him and Seoho both.

Could he win her over completely? Did she want him to court her properly? Was she what he truly wanted?

There were too many questions that Youngjo didn't have the answer to. He had no idea what would happen in the coming days. Bringing Luella to Bahlee was their only choice, it seemed, but he knew nothing of the life they would have there.

Their kind didn't marry, especially not to a mortal. He could never make her a wife, though he knew she longed to be one. She was raised in a wealthy household and taught that her worth was determined by her marriagability. They could offer her no such thing.

Gunhak was right in that it would be complicated to bring Luella into their lives permanently. Maybe it was the wrong choice, but it had become their only choice. Her father was gone, and her only other living family couldn't afford to feed her with her own children to look after. Luella was truly alone without them.

Most importantly, he decided, Youngjo needed to decipher his own feelings, and they had only grown more complicated every day he remained in Shaw Manor.

"Hyung," Dongju's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Everything is almost ready for tomorrow. Is Luella ready?"

"I hope so," he sighed, wondering if any of them would make it out alive. "I'm worried about how she'll manage on a horse alone."

"Gunhak hyung mentioned a change in the plan," Dongju told him. "He thinks that Seoho hyung should be on the horse with her. He would be able to hold the reigns easier if the horse becomes spooked and out of control. He's worried that her injuries are going to make it too difficult for her to hang on. Do you agree?"