Secret of the Red Lotus Flower (빨간 연꽃의 비밀)

Chapter 34

"Are you certain we are in the right place?"

"I think so," Soo-yun hesitantly said, looking away from the towering wall of trees and back at Yeong-ja and Dr. Yun. The two of them looked anxious as they waited for her to find the path back to the potter's hut to save the Crown Prince. However, she had been more focused on fleeing the bandits and making it back to the capital than paying attention to where she exited.

The idea that Ha-neul could die because she couldn't lead the doctor back terrified her. After everything they had endured, she didn't know how she would be able to live with herself if she failed at this point merely because she had been too scared to double-check the location of the path entrance. She felt her breath quicken and her heart race as the familiar feeling of an anxiety attack surged within her. She knew that she couldn't lose control now with Ha-neul waiting for her. He- She- Her husband needed her.

There was a degree of rightness in thinking of Ha-neul as 'her husband' despite the gender difference. She had been engaged to the Crown Prince. The seed of her confused emotions had been planted when she met that mysterious person at the archery field. The priest had even declared them 'husband and wife'. Soo-yun knew that it was just a hollow title, but it provided a feeling of comfort to her. Ha-neul was her husband, although she still didn't know what that exactly entailed now.

Closing her eyes, Soo-yun focused on Ha-neul. She thought about the smiles, especially the recent ones that she knew were genuine versus the deceptive ones at the archery field. She fixated on the compliments given to her, not for her appearance but for her intelligence. Finally, she concentrated on the feeling of trust Ha-neul had invoked when claiming to be able to save them when the bandits attacked. As the smell of sandalwood cologne washed over her, she felt the panic attack receding.

Soo-yun opened her eyes to look at the forest again. She noticed a small scrap of brown cloth caught on a branch and flapping in the wind about fifty feet away. Walking over to it, she realized that it belonged to her borrowed skirt. She looked closer at the brush nearby and saw a trail of crushed foliage leading deeper into the woods. The torn cloth must have snagged on the branch during the final dash out of the forest and she hadn't even noticed.

"Over here!" she shouted. Yeong-ja and the doctor rushed over to where Soo-yun was standing and she pointed to the fluttering fabric. "I found the path!"

"Great," said Yeong-ja. "How far did you say it was to the hut?"

"It would several li through the forest. We should be there in a couple of hours," Soo-yun replied. Looked up at the sun that was slowly descending in the sky, she hoped they could make it there before the sunset because she was not certain she could find the place in the dark. Soo-yun quickly pocketed the fabric just in case anyone else might try to follow them.

The trio entered the forest and walked in silence as Soo-yun focused on the trail and did her best to keep them from getting lost. After a while, she felt confident enough about the path that they were one to finally approach the doctor. While she had seen him around the palace, they had never actually interacted. Soo-yun assumed he was a very competent physician, but she also was aware of the uniqueness of the situation. Yeong-ja seemed to trust him, however, Soo-yun wanted to know more about the hands of the person that her husband's life rested in.

"Have you served the Crown Prince long?" Soo-yun asked.

"All of His Royal Highness's life," Dr. Yun replied as he pulled a branch out of Soo-yun's way. "I actually helped deliver him."

"Oh! So, you know all about his- his-" Soo-yun struggled to finish the sentence. While she had made peace with the concept of Ha-neul as her 'husband', her mind still had trouble embracing the rest of what she had discovered. Soo-yun was envious of the ease at which the doctor and Yeong-ja were able to refer to Ha-neul as male.