Sleep comes in unrelenting ripples, Seol blinks drowsily and frowns at Seo, who continues to read as monotonously as before. She reaches out and snatches the bounded volume from his hands, shutting it with a snap.
"Heavens," she says, sighing - drained of energy after fighting sleep for so long. "Poetry of Yi Jian has suffered enough torture for the day."
Seo gives her a look of pure annoyance. On closer inspection she could see the shadows beneath his eyes, the weariness in his expression. It tugs at her heart to think that he might have spent the days worried over her, perhaps with little sleep to spare. Seol decides to spare him.
"It's gibberish," he says in reply. "I cannot think what made you collect all these flowery empty lines, mama. They make no sense whatsoever."
"Tell that to the countless young masters who copy these lines and send them to their ladies," Seol says snappishly. "Only a man with a heart would appreciate the beauty of sentimentality General Kang."
