It was a pleasant, warm morning in the capital city of Hanyang. A brilliant mid summer sun burned bright in the sky casting glorifying lights on the rich green fields, over the tall mountains and on the roofs of the houses. It was a fine day in the city and activities were already in full swing, with the people moving up and down, getting about with their day.
In Master Kim Soo Ro's yard, lady Jin scurried across the yard, tension in her gait and haste in her feet. Her steps were heavy, brisk and impatient, barely making any contact with the stone floor as she crossed the yard. She held the hems of her hanbok pleats up with her hands so that she could move freely and her chest rose and fell rapidly through her jeogori as she panted. The skin of her forehead glistened with sweat and perspiration, caused partly by the humidity of the morning, but mostly by the dread in her heart at what she might find when she got to the little mistress's bed chambers. She knew what she expected, in fact she was almost sure of what she was to find when she got there. But then, she hoped beyond hope that she was wrong.
Lady Jin's heartbeat raced and her pace increased as she drew closer to the master's hanok. She went around the house to the young mistress's room and when she was at the entrance, she paused briefly to announce her presence.
"Good morning my lady. It is I, lady Jin. Are you awake?" She called out. A brief moment passed but there was no response. Lady Jin swore under her breath as she heaved a big sigh before she called again. This time, louder than the first. "My lady, are you awake?" Another moment passed and lady Jin's tension heightened. "My lady, I will be coming in now." Lady Jin announced as she began to open the door.
"Don't come in! Do not enter!" A muffled voice yelled from within the tent. "Don't come in lady Jin. I am awake now." The voice said.
The muffle in the voice told lady Jin everything she needed to know, as it confirmed all her fears and only made her more furious than frustrated. She rolled her eyes and gave another big sigh before she pushed the door and walked into the room.
As she entered the room, the young woman who laid on the mattress quickly turned her face to the wall and pulled the blanket up, all the way over her head.
"I said not to come in lady Jin!" The young woman cried in horror. Lady Jin adjusted the skirt of her hanbok, smoothing it out in an attempt to buy time and contain her annoyance before she spoke again. Seeing that lady Jin would not respond, the young woman went on talking.
"Tell my mother that I can not come with her today, she must go alone. I am sick, I think I caught the flu. I'm so cold!" She said, adjusting the blanket tighter around herself.
"It is a warm day out there, I can almost feel my skin melting off." Lady Jin said in an ice cold tone as she continued adjusting her skirt.
"But I feel cold! I think I have a fever." The young woman cried. Lady Jin's patience had grown thin at this point.
"Look here! Did the young mistress tell you to say all this or are you going to keep making it all up by yourself?" Lady Jin asked, tilting her head to one side as she glared down at the lady through the blanket.
"What are you talking about lady Jin?" The young woman said. "I am telling you that I am sick, you should not be in here. You could get the cold too."
"What are you down with? A plague?" Lady Jin asked.
"Could be." The young woman shrugged through the blanket and feigned a cough.
"Ya! Dam. I know it's you. Get out of that mattress now before I get my hands on you!" Lady Jin threatened as she lost her cool again. She pulled up the sleeves of her hanbok and placed her hands on her hips.
"I'm not Dam! It's me, young lady Soo He..." The young woman began to say but lady Jin interrupted her impatiently.
"If you are the young lady, then where is your maid So Dam?" Lady Jin asked.
"I sent Dam on an errand. She will be back soo..." Once again, she was interrupted, this time, by an enraged lady Jin.
"Ya! So Dam! Do not test my patience! Get out of that mattress now before I descend on you!" She yelled.
The young woman sensed the danger in lady Jin's voice and she quickly sat up and pulled down the blankets. She turned to lady Jin with a nervous smile. Her small eyes were the shape of a half moon and her lips, the shade of blooming rose. Her jet black hair was roughly plaited behind her neck, and loose strands plastered to her face with perspiration from having covered herself with the thick blankets for so long in the heat. Her porcelain white skin was a rosy blush as perspiration daunted her garment. Her pure white teeth showed in the forced smile, but her eyes showed weariness and tension.
"Hello, lady Jin." She said in a tight small voice, waving nervously at the older lady.
"She's gone again?" Lady Jin said. The answer to her question was evident, but she still wanted to hear So Dam say it out loud. Hopefully, she would be wrong.
"Yes." So Dam nodded cautiously.
"And you let her go?" Lady Jin said as she began to slowly approach So Dam where she still sat on the mattress. The latter quickly scurried up to her feet and began to back away from the older lady, but lady Jin would not relent. She followed So Dam as she spoke, so that they began to go round in circles around the room, with So Dam backing away, her eyes trained on Lady Jin, who kept following after her.
"And you are in her dress again." Lady Jin noted. "You know how important today is. You were supposed to keep her in check, and yet you let her go." The older lady said.
"She promised me she would be back in time. I had no choice. You know how the lady can get." So Dam pleaded frantically.
"On top of that you tried to deceive me? How many times would we be through this? Haven't I warned you severally not to ever try to deceive me?" Lady Jin said as she picked up a shoe from the shoe collection, and their movement turned into a full blown chase, with So Dam trying to dodge lady Jin's weapon as the latter swung at her with the shoe.
"I swear, I don't do it on purpose. You know I would never do it on purpose." So Dam pleaded.
Lady Jin paused to take a breath, and panting hard from the chase, she demanded.
"So, if you are really sorry, tell me her hideout. Tell me the secret hideout of your mistress!"
So Dam's face dropped as if lady Jin had just demanded for something impossible.
"As much as I am sorry ma'am, I can not tell you about my lady's hideout. I will not lie to you and say that I do not know where she is this time, I do. But I must be loyal to my lady first. I can not break her trust." So Dam replied, panting heavily too.
"Good! Very good then!! For your loyalty, take this!" Lady Jin said as she took another swing at So Dam with the shoe, but the latter got away, and the chase continued.
Just when lady Jin finally caught up with So Dam and was going to whip her with the shoe, the door of the bed chambers opened up. The two women looked up from their scuffle to find lady Kim, fully dressed and ready to go out, standing in the doorway, both her hands folded gracefully behind the jeogori of her hanbok. Lady Jin and So Dam quickly stood to their feet and bowed in embarrassment, straightening out their skirts.
Lady Kim took one look at them, then she walked past them to the empty mattress. Her eyes scanned the entire sleeping area, then it returned back to the two maids.
"She's not here." She said.
"Yes my lady." So Dam replied reluctantly. Her eyes remained fixed to the ground and she nervously bit on the side of her lips. Lady Kim gave a big sigh before she asked again.
"Did she at least spend the night here this time?"
"Yes my lady!" So Dam replied quickly, looking up. But when she met lady Kim's unimpressed look, she quickly looked down again. "She was here all night, I promise. She only left in the early hours of the morning. She said she had to do something quickly." She explained.
Lady Kim remained silent for a moment, as she stood in the middle of her daughter's bed chamber. This was not the first time that her daughter Kim Soo Hee, was pulling such a trick. It was in habit for the young lady to vanish from the house at any point in time. Sometimes she would drag her maidservant, So Dam, along with her on her secret adventures. But most times she would leave the poor maid behind to fill up her place and buy her enough time to get away, especially when she had to escape on important days like this one, when she was supposed to be visiting the grandmother of a prospective spouse. Somehow, Soo Hee always managed to have her way.
Lady Kim could not even be mad at So Dam. It wasn't exactly the young maid's fault, and she knew how persuasive her daughter could be when she had her mind set. So Dam's only crime was being loyal to her mistress to a fault. The young maidservant always knew the destination of her mistress whenever Soo Hee went off, but no matter the pressure she was put under, So Dam would never reveal her mistress's location. Lady Kim appreciated the level of loyalty and commitment, but on days like this, she hated So-Dam for it.
Lady Kim looked at the bowed head of the young maid, she knew it was no use trying to get any information out of the girl. It was obvious that it would be a loosing fight, so she asked.
"Do you at least know where she might be this time?" So Dam hesitated. "I will not ask you to reveal the location. I just want to know if you know where she is for certain." Lady Kim urged the girl.
"Yes my lady." So Dam nodded.
Lady Kim moved to her side, and freeing her hands from behind her jeogori, she took So Dam's hands.
"Do me this favor. If you will not tell me where she is, go at once and fetch her for me. Bring her here as soon as possible, please. You know how important today is. We cannot afford to miss this visit to lady In Seo Wul. We simply can't." Lady Kim pleaded.
"My lady." So Dam cried in discomfort. She tried to free her hands from her mistress's grip and fall to her knees, but lady Kim held her up.
"Do you not wish to see your mistress get married? This could be our last chance!" She said.
"My lady, I will go and get her. I will do my best to bring her here in time, please do not beg me. I do not deserve your mercy." So Dam cried as she finally freed her hands and fell face down to the floor in front of her mistress. Lady Kim bent over So Dam and gathered her into her arms.
"There is no need for that." She consoled the girl. "Go now. Go and get Soo Hee as you have promised." She instructed, then she lifted So Dam up to her feet. The girl bowed her head in obedience before she quickly left the room and set course to retrieve her mistress.
Lady Kim put a finger to her temple, just above her brows to calm a throbbing nerve that was causing an ache in her head. Lady Jin rushed to her side when she saw her swoon slightly.
"My lady, are you okay?" She asked.
"I am not! I am not okay lady Jin!" Lady Kim cried. "This girl will be the death of me."
"My lady, please take it easy on yourself. You should rest." Lady Jin advised.
"How can I rest now lady Jin? We are supposed to be on our way there now. How can I possibly relax?" Lady Kim cried. "I have already had this visit rescheduled twice before. If I do again, lady In Seo Wul would think that we are taking her for a joke." She lamented. Lady Jin was not paying any attention to her mistress, instead, she fetched a stool from the side of the room and tried to get lady Kim settled on it, but the latter resisted.
"You must sit my lady. At this rate, you might collapse." Lady Jin pleaded, but lady Kim would not listen. She turned to the maid servant suddenly, and taking her hands, she said.
"Quick, lady Jin. Quick, go after So Dam! I know Soo Hee would not listen to her and So Dam is too loyal to her to do much. Go after her! Drag that revolting daughter of mine here if you must!" She ordered.
Lady Jin's face creased with concern.
"My lady. We may not care about her wrath, but the young mistress will never forgive So Dam for revealing her secret hideout. She will never believe that we secretly followed the girl there without her consent or knowledge, and she would believe that So Dam set her up. It may not affect us much, but the trust between those two will be jeopardized." She said.
Lady Kim sighed in defeat as she finally sat on the stool, her shoulders slouched.
"Poor child!" She said. "That poor girl must suffer for her big headed mistress's carelessness all the time! If she has no remorse, she should at least pity her loyal maid who must suffer everytime she causes trouble. But then, that is just who Soo Hee is. Always thinking only for herself!" She lamented, then she put her hands to her head again. "Oh my! My head." She cried.
"Rest my lady, you must calm down." Lady Jin advised again.
"Should I just tell her father about it?" Lady Kim wondered aloud.
"Maybe you should, but then, you already know how things might play out. He will be very angry to know that the young lady still sneaks out of the house. He might act out in the way you have feared. But he would not do much about the failed visit." Lady Jin replied. "Remember, he wasn't in support of the matchmaking."
"My lord is the reason why Soo Hee would not take me seriously. He doesn't care if she gets married or not, what does he know? He always lets her get away with everything. He is the reason why she got so spoilt." Lady Kim cried.
"My lady, you also protect her by hiding the fact that she has been sneaking off more often recently, from my lord." Lady Jin reminded her gently. Lady Kim glared at the old maid for a moment, then her shoulders dropped in defeat.
"You are right lady Jin." She sighed. "I guess I didn't do much to raise her well after all."
"My lady, do not be hard on yourself." Lady Jin pleaded.
"No! It is my fault. I should have known from the start. I should have known that bright glow in her eyes that I saw in her childhood, I should not have let it burn brighter. We should not have let her dream so much. But we let her nurture that dream, and now we must bear the brunt." She sighed. Then she looked towards the path that So Dam had taken. "Poor child." She whispered.