You're doing it all wrong!"
"No, I'm not," Chi protested, his face flushed.
"Yes, you are," I corrected, trying to hide my laughter at the rosy glow in his cheeks. "Here, let me help you." Stepping in-line beside him, I gently shoved him over, gripping the Goryeo version of a tiller and giving it a firm push. "You need to angle it correctly. If you dig in too much, then it makes it hard to push, but if you hold it too straight-up, then it doesn't make contact with the ground."
Chi laughed. "Goodness. I knew I made the right choice when I asked you to come."
It was my turn to blush. "I'm taking over, aren't I?"
"Please keep taking over." Chi laughed again. "You're much better at this than I am. You make it much more entertaining, as well."
I didn't know how to reply to the compliment, so I returned his laugh with a shaky one of my own. I'd always liked to just do my work without many compliments or critiques. It was impossible, of course, when I was in academic studies. But I liked getting the chance to do what I loved and be a bit of an expert. Maybe it was wrong, but it felt good. "Here," I moved aside, gesturing Chi to come beside me. "I'll show you how to do it properly."
"Of course…Your Highness." Chi shot me a dry smile as I blushed harder. I didn't know why Ha-Na's old sassiness made me feel personally responsible, but somehow, it did.
"Come now, don't be shy Prince Chi," I shot back, which only seemed to make Chi grin harder. "One hand here, the other here. Now try to hold it midway and push gently. I'll help you for now." We pushed the cart together for a few paces and right away, I could feel that Chi was already getting better at it. As his grip became firmer and more assured, his thumb accidently brushed against mine. Even though it was unintentional, I knew I should let go. "Good job, Chi." I spoke softly, not wanting the village men close by to hear me call Chi by his given name.
"The 'good job' goes to you. Thank you, Ha-Na."
"Don't mention it. Well, now that you're good, I think some of those men over there need my help." I scooted off, trying to avoid looking back at Chi. Well, resisting the temptation to look at him might have been a more accurate description. Although I was headed for a group of men several meters away, by avoiding Chi, I smacked straight into… "Seung-Ro!" My cheeks burned. "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't hit you too hard."
"Not at all, my dear. Although, I would advise you to keep your eyes on the path in front of you."
Seung-Ro patted my hand as he spoke. Although I was sure it was meant to be a comforting gesture, I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized that he was patting directly on the section of my thumb that Chi had brushed against on moments before. "Does nothing get past this guy?" I wondered, though the piecing stare he was giving me could definitely be interpreted as a "no."
"Noted." I snatched my own stare away from his, pulling my hand away, as well.
"Miss Ha-Na," Seung-Ro called, as I walked away. I paused, really wanting to just keep going. "If I don't turn around, he'll just make a big fuss," I reasoned. "You don't want him making issues and drawing excessive attention to yourself," I thought. I turned back. "Yes?"
"Please do not be offended by what I said. It's not meant that way." He smiled, kindly, at me, and I found myself relenting, just a bit. I didn't really believe that Seung-Ro wanted to hurt me in any way; it was just that he confused me, with his odd statements, and the vibe he gave off; of knowing things that he shouldn't—or even, maybe, couldn't—know. Those things made me feel insecure. And being insecure had always been my worst fear.
"Of course. As you said; not at all."
I was about to turn my back on him, when he called me again. "Ha-Na?"
I hesitated. "Yes, Seung-Ro?"
"Remember, still; you have a job to do here."
I froze for a moment. "Does he mean my literal job, or some other divine task that I don't know about?" I wondered. Either way, it gave me the chills. Since I couldn't decipher which one it was, I made a split-second decision to go for the former. "Of course," I said, brightly. "That's why I'm here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I should go help those men over there." Without elaborating, I spun around and walked (make that, sprinted) away from Seung-Ro.
"It looks like you could use some help." I avoided looking back at Seung-Ro as I spoke to the workers. "No offense," I added, hastily.
One man laughed, a hearty rumble. "If it wouldn't trouble you," he said, his smile warm. "I hope you won't be offended, Young Miss, but when we first saw you, we weren't sure that you'd be able to help us with the work, with a small stature like yours. Then we saw you with the young master." He tilted his chin towards Chi, who caught our glances and waved back.
"You'll have to accept our apologies for misjudging you, Miss," said the other man. His voice was softer and less booming than the other one, but both voices held sincerity—something that I felt Seung-Ro could use a lesson in.
"Of course." I returned their smiles. "Please call me Ha-Na. If we're going to work together, I don't like honorifics."
"I'm Kim Jin-Jae," said the younger, quieter man.
"And I'm Nam Ju-Yeong," said the older man, chuckling as he spoke. He clapped Jin-Jae's shoulder with a jolly laugh. "I'm his father-in-law!"
"Well, it's lovely to meet both of you. Now, how are you finding pushing the tiller?"
"It's simple enough, but it's hard to see a result," admitted Ju-Yeong, his kind facing breaking into a worried expression. I didn't blame him. It could be easy for someone as large and strong-looking as him to admit that a physical endeavor wasn't working.
"That's no worry. His Highness couldn't do it, either." I'd wondered if it was maybe a little disloyal to say so, but Ju-Yeong only broke into a broad grin.
"Prince Chi is the very best prince! You won't see many others that are as kind as he is, or who work as hard as he does. Although," he added, quickly. "The king is also a fine man."
"I haven't met the king yet, but Ch—Prince Chi seems to like him, and I'm sure that anyone he likes is a good person." A smile crossed Jin-Jae's face and Ju-Yeong chuckled harder—though not in quite the same timbre as his previous, good-natured chortling. "What's so funny?" I demanded.
"Sorry, Young Miss." Ju-Yeong's red-yet-tanned face beamed. "It's only that seeing you look at the prince is like seeing how our Jin-Jae used to look at my daughter before they were married."
I took a moment to compose myself, while Jin-Jae protested. "Father-in-law! I still look at…I mean, I still…"
"I know you do, Son-in-law." Ju-Yeong patted a flustered Jin-Jae's shoulder. "No worries about that. But love shows itself in different ways, over time. The way Young Miss Ha-Na looks at her 'Chi…'" I blushed even more scarlet as he shot me a devilishly gleeful look. "It's the look of young love!"
"Shhh!" Both Jin-Jae and I shushed at Ju-Yeong, and I nervously looked over Chi. I was relieved when I saw him happily working; it didn't seem like he's heard anything.
Ju-Yeong's laughter rumbled deeply, as Jin-Jae shook his head. "Father-in-Law, you should be more careful. The Prince might think you ungrateful and irreverent. And besides," He shot me an apologetic smile. "You might embarrass Miss Ha-Na."
"My apologies, Miss." Ju-Yeong bowed in my direction. "Although I don't think that we need worry that Prince Chi heard anything. He'll be slow to see things at first, but I'm sure he'll come to, in time."
While Jin-Jae continued to look nervous and shake his head behind his father-in-law's back, I tried to move on as quickly as possible by motioning Ju-Yeong over to the tiller. "Here, I'll show you how this works."