"Thank you for the recommendation, Dan-ssi. I don't know many people around here, so it really helps," said Uk.
"Nah... It's fine. It's just a coincidence that I have a few friends I can count on," Dan replied with a bright smile.
Both men were on their way to meet someone important at the town market. Ever since Uk learned about the intruders at the Red Ruby, he hadn't stopped searching for the shaman's dancer group.
"When you expect them to be found in a place like The Concubine Lane, only to end up meeting at a normal place like this..." Dan kept scanning the area with a calm expression. "It's quite a surprise, actually."
"They're shamans, not showmen..."
"I don't know if you still remember the dance..." Dan rolled his eyes up. "It was far from innocent..."
"I wasn't paying attention at all. My mind wandered a bit."
"Ah... You must have been thinking about your beloved daegun..."
Uk gave Dan a sharp gaze, and the man snickered a bit.
"Min Jun daegun never keeps anything from me. If he did, I'd know right away. We're practically twins. My mother and wangbi mama got pregnant at the same time," Dan explained.
"Who else knows about daegun..."
"About what? Him liking men?" Dan shot Uk a daring inquiry. Uk stopped for a moment, facing Dan in the middle of the road. Luckily for them, the road wasn't that busy since it was still early.
"I'm the only one who knows about that. No one in the royal family knows. To be honest, I never really cared. Daegun deserves all the love in this world because, since he was a child, he never got any of it. If someone can fill him with love, whether it's a man or a lady, for me, that's more than enough, as long as they are sincere," Dan explained, his eyes piercing straight into Uk's, trying to send a subtle signal to the older man.
"Since when did he know he liked men?"
"He never said anything about it. We just unconsciously found out. Maybe because his first love was a man. An unexpected start to his love life," Dan replied to Uk calmly.
"Has he ever dated a lady?" Uk asked.
"So far... No. I've seen him flirting with them, but he's never been in a relationship with one," Dan replied to Uk again in his calm tone. "How about you, Uk-ssi? Have you ever dated a lady?" the prince's cousin asked.
"My first love was a lady. But... I think she wasn't the one I wanted..." Uk uttered, looking up at the sky.
"You dated her as a cover-up?" Dan's question made Uk taken aback. That thought had never crossed his mind.
"I don't know. I dated her because I liked her. Or maybe, she was the only one who paid attention to me. As a young man, who doesn't like that kind of care and attention? I lost my parents when I was young. So, maybe the feeling of closeness was a factor in my decision to date her," Uk explained his point of view.
"But, it didn't work out, did it?" Dan asked. Uk chuckled as he slowly nodded.
"Daegun used to mess around with ladies, maybe because he wanted to hide the truth. You can judge him as you please, but if you walked in his shoes, you'd understand his actions. To live as a prince, if you're different, you're a freak," Dan shook his head faintly, thinking about Min Jun. "Or maybe even worse than a freak..." he rolled his eyes.
Uk felt the emotion stirring inside his heart. At first, he too was confused by his feelings. They were different from the norm. Living in a society where people stick their noses into everything made him feel insecure. So, when he realized he had feelings for Min Jun, the terror consumed him. But now that he had accepted it, he felt much better.
Love is love, anyway.
"Here we are..." Dan's voice awakened him from his deep thoughts. They were standing in front of a tea shop. It was a wooden building, very open, and busy.
"Let's find out..." Dan led Uk inside.
---
Who would have thought a busy tea shop could be a secret meeting place? Perhaps the idea of hiding among the crowd is real! It's the best choice for a subtle meeting without suspicion.
"This way," the waiter ushered both men to the deepest corner of the tea house. There was a table, and someone was waiting for them.
"As usual, you still have style even when mingling among commoners, Sunhwa agassi..."
The head lifted up, revealing a pair of unique eyes looking at Dan. The right eye was hazel, and the left was icy blue.
"Talk about yourself, Dan-ssi. Your clothes don't even fit the atmosphere..." Sunhwa glanced at Dan from head to toe. The man was indeed wearing something fancy for a humble tea shop: a Kashmir fur jacket, a silk hanbok top in soft yellow, blue pants, and black leather boots.
"I should just steal my steward's clothes next time!" Dan muttered to himself in an inaudible, uncertain voice. His response made Sunhwa and Uk feel amused.
The men took a seat facing Sunhwa. The lady waited for the atmosphere to settle a bit before calling a waiter to order another pot of tea. As her eyes followed the waiter who walked away after taking the order, she was ready to spill everything.
"I was told you've been looking for the shaman's dancers, Uk-ssi?"
Uk nodded, looking at Sunhwa with hope.
"Why?" the lady asked.
"I have some unfinished business with them," Uk said. He went straight to his intention but still hid behind a shadow. It's best not to expose everything, he thought. Trusting a stranger at the first meeting is a wrong move.
"That's not convincing enough... Not enough to make me eager to help you," Sunhwa batted her eyelashes while tilting her head, staring at Uk.
"Some matters should be kept hush, Sunhwa-ssi. No one is stupid enough to turn their back during a sword fight," Uk replied to her in a serious tone. From Sunhwa's actions, Uk concluded that this lady wasn't an easy informer.
"Uk-ssi, I help people in need. Those dealing with life-and-death situations. Not just a boy who got pissed off because some dancers rejected him..."
"I never saw them that way. No way..." Uk quickly denied the accusation. Dan sneered next to him, amused by Uk and Sunhwa's conversation. Both were stubborn and sarcastic.
A nice back-and-forth game!
"There are hundreds of men who meet me almost every day, begging to see those shaman's dancers with a hundred reasons, which I can eventually conclude as one: they're obsessed with those beauties that move like elegant snakes. If you're one of them, then I have to apologize," Sunhwa placed her teacup on the table elegantly.
Uk was gazing at Sunhwa when Dan let out a huge sigh. As expected from someone who knew the dark shadow business inside the kingdom. The one who held almost all the dark secrets hidden behind the glamorous world from the public eye.
"Uk-ssi is not that kind of man. As you can see, he's... not interested in those... dancers..." Dan finally spoke up to help Uk.
"So they said that as well, Dan-ssi..."
"Agassi, how long have we known each other? And how many times have you seen me helping anyone? Almost none. Except for him. Right?" Dan spoke to Sunhwa with a soft but convincing tone. The lady gave Dan a sharp glare. Her lips pressed together in frustration.
She knew she couldn't say no to Dan.
"So, will you lend a hand, Sunhwa-ssi?" Uk asked.
"I just want to know... Why?" Sunhwa pulled her final string. She was determined not to give up until she found a reason to help this unknown man.
"Fine. If you insist..." Uk finally gave in. He took a sip of tea and carefully placed the cup on the table. "A week ago, there was an attack at my... house. It's situated just a mile away from the border. At first, we thought it was a group of bandits, you know, coming to rob us! But..."
"But?" Sunhwa's curiosity slowly peaked.
"My... partner... almost got killed. The bandit was attacking my partner. When we held an unofficial investigation, we found a piece of evidence—a fragment of a clay mask with a shimmer of gold dust on the surface," Uk continued. Dan, who sat next to him, raised his eyebrows as he listened to Uk describe Min Jun as his partner.
"What makes you think it was the shaman's dancers?"
"I attended a party where they were invited as one of the performers. One of the dancers blew something on my face. When I cleaned up the residue, I found out it was a trace of gold dust," Uk's story caused shock to spread across Sunhwa's face.
"Did you feel ill after that?!"
Instead of answering with words, Uk shook his head.
"You're one hell of a heaven's son!" Sunhwa gasped. She blinked her eyes in disbelief.
"What's with the gold dust?" Dan asked Sunhwa, his curiosity piqued by her intense reaction to Uk's story.
"That gold dust... they use it to poison people. It contains gold glitter mixed with some poisonous pollen from a black flower and spores from what they call magic mushrooms. The victim will fall ill, have delusions, sometimes act violently, and gradually die from the side effects," Sunhwa quickly explained what the deadly mix could do to a person.
"I think I did have some delusional thoughts... Ah... Yes... I did... But, the violence..." Uk frowned as he tried to recall the side effects he had experienced.
"I think you did have some... rough activity that night..." Dan whispered to Uk, making the man look shocked.
"How did—"
"Let's talk about it later..." Dan tapped Uk's thigh and grinned. The older man gave him a sharp gaze.
"How did you survive? What did you do?" Sunhwa asked Uk again.
"I don't know. I just cleaned my face with some water," Uk replied.
"Did you drink anything that night? Wine?"
"No. I was on duty. And, I usually don't drink," Uk replied to Sunhwa earnestly.
"Ah... That explains it!"
Both men looked at her with curiosity.
"The poison reacts differently depending on the victim's condition. If your body had some alcohol in it, it would have killed you instantly," Sunhwa explained.
"Well, another reason to stop drinking, I think!" Dan gasped, gulping nervously.
"It's strange to think why they targeted you, especially since you knew nothing about them..." Sunhwa crinkled her nose, frowning as she tried to piece things together.
"I don't think they were targeting him. I think they were after someone else," Dan suddenly remarked, bringing up something that neither Uk nor Sunhwa had considered.
"Who? And why?" Sunhwa asked.
"I think Uk-ssi knows who the real target was," Dan leaned closer to them. "He was wearing something that didn't belong to him that night. They were after the owner of that item," Dan's words caused a stir in Uk.
Now, the theory made sense! They were after Min Jun!
"I believe we've already concluded the reason why we need to meet them. If they are indeed planning to kill someone, we have to stop them before it's too late," Uk said. "And I hope you can help us, Sunhwa-ssi..." he continued, pulling the last string of hope.
Sunhwa sighed. She knew those dancers wouldn't do such a thing. Killing people wasn't their job.
"Fine. I'll let you meet them, just because I believe there's no way they would kill someone. If they are planning a murder, someone must be behind it, and we need to find out who!" Sunhwa gritted her teeth, suppressing her anger. She took something from her pocket and handed it to Uk.
"You'll find them here in two days. Remember, just keep calm and be yourself around them. They're dancers, so dance according to the tune," Sunhwa gave Uk a clue on how to deal with the dancers.
"Thank you, Sunhwa... We owe you so much..." Uk said gratefully.
"May your mission succeed..."
With that, Sunhwa rose from her chair and left the tea shop. Dan and Uk shared a glance, looking at the card.
"So, Dan-ssi... How much did you know about that night?" Uk suddenly asked, sending a cold shiver down Dan's spine.
"Well..."