Heart of Ice

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The following morning, she went to visit Wonwoo before breakfast. He was not in his room, which was a good sign for Yewon because it meant he felt well enough to get up.

She guessed that he was in the library, as usual, and that guess was confirmed later during breakfast, when Yulhee was going on her daily rant. She was complaining about how tired she was, because she apparently didn't sleep for very long. Last night, Wonwoo had been making her re-shelve books as he couldn't raise his arm from the wound on his shoulder.

Yulhee said he was restlessly doing what he called "important research" that could not wait another day, and he spent the entire night scanning spines and flipping through books.

"What kind of research is he doing that can't wait until after he recovers?" the King asked with a frown on his face.

"I don't know," Yulhee answered. "He wouldn't tell me; he said it was a secret."

That did not surprise Yewon; Wonwoo had always been a very secretive person.

-

Yewon met with Wonwoo that night. He was back in his room finishing his recovery. She saw that the wound in his shoulder looked worse than before with fresh blood on the bandages, and he looked more tired than usual. She figured it was because of the "research that could not wait."

When she entered the room, his face brightened slightly. "How can looking at you make me feel better than any medicine they give me," Wonwoo mouthed tiredly when she came in.

"What did you do to yourself?" Yewon asked with a pout when she came closer and saw that he seemed so much worse than before.

He didn't answer the question, but instead he asked her to take off her shawl. She had started to wear it every time she went out of her room, ever since she felt self-conscious of her hair. She was convinced that she was ugly, and that a shawl made her look a million times more presentable. No one said anything about that decision but Wonwoo.

She took it off like he asked, and he gave her a look that made her feel warm. It was a look of endearment, which she realized she only ever got from him these days.

"My beautiful Goddess," Wonwoo said reaching out and holding her hand. But when he did he let out a soft cry of pain, probably from the wound on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"I'm fine," Wonwoo voiced tiredly. "But it's hard to move without my body aching. So can I ask you to reach under my pillow and take the book that's there?"

Yewon did as he asked. She read the title: 'Siberian Myths and Religion.'

"This is the book I read about Hita," Wonwoo told her. "I marked the pages that talk about the Goddess. And there's a drawing somewhere too."

As Yewon looked at the book, she remembered what Yulhee had said that morning about Wonwoo doing research all night long. Was this the "research" for which he compromised his health and over which he tired his body?

"How long did it take you to find this book?" Yewon asked him with a frown.

"Just a few minutes."

"Are you lying to me again?"

Wonwoo opened his mouth to reply but then closed it. He hesitated before replying: "Did Yulhee tell you?"

"She told me you were out doing research all night. You were just looking for this book though, weren't you?"

"I..." Wonwoo hesitated, but Yewon could tell that was it. If he had actually been doing "research," he would have had piles of books around him by now. But no, he only had that one book about Siberian religions under his pillow. He was not doing research; he was looking for that book about Hita.