"Why must you send me to Silla then?" Seol can't help but ask. Her words make him pause. He would surely speak any moment, keep her from baring her heart. Seol continues quickly, not wanting to provide him with that opportunity. "I do not wish to be taken from you; Kang Seo."
He is close enough for her to hear his breath hitching. It gives her courage to know he is not entirely as unaffected as he pretends towards her.
"I don't deserve you mama." His voice is small and tormented. His words are the same as the ones he had offered her in the forgotten shrine yard of the traitor's abandoned house. Her heart aches for him, for herself and all the missed opportunities lying shattered between them.
Seol reaches to cup his face between her hands, his stubble pricks against her palms.
