Chapter 7
He commanded. On the landing, he turned right, stalked into a room, and headed straight for a huge bed surrounded by blue and silver curtains, carved wood frame and gathered back corners with silver velvet ropes. Without a word, he dumped him unceremoniously on to the blue silk coverlet and shoved his shoulders back down when Tee tried to sit up.
older Jeon servant
The butler rushed into the room, "Here, your grace – inhalant " he panted.
The guy snatched the small bottle from the servant's hand and rammed it toward Tae's nostrils.
Tae cried, trying to twist his head away from the terrible ammoniac odor, but the older guy's hand persistently followed his face. In sheer desperation, he grasped his wrist, trying to hold it away while the forbidding man continued to force it toward the younger.
Taehyung
What are you trying to do?
Jeon Jungkook
What a wonderful idea
The older guy replied grimly, but the pressure on his restraining hand relaxed and he moved the bottle a few inches away from his nose. Exhausted and humiliated, Tae turned his head aside closed his eyes, and swallowed audibly as he fought back the embarrassment congealing in his throat. He swallowed again.
Jeon Jungkook
I sincerely hope
The tall man drawled nastily
Jeon Jungkook
That you are not considering getting sick on this bed because I'm warning you that you will be the one to clean it ip
Kim 'tae' Taehyung – the product of twenty years of careful upbringing that had, until now, produced a sweet-tempered, charming young gentleman – slowly turned his head on the pillow and regard the older guy with scathing animosity.
Taehyung
"Are you honorable Jeon Seojoon?"
Taehyung
"In that case, kindly get off this bed or allow me to do so!"
Jungkook's brows snapped together as he stared down at the rebellious thing who was glaring at him with murder in his brilliant black eyes. His hair spilled over the pillows like silk threads, framing his face that looked as if it had been sculpted in porcelain by a master. His eyelashes were incredibly long, his lips as pink and soft as –
Abruptly, the man lunged to his feet and stalked out of the room, followed by the butler. The door closed behind them, leaving Tae in a deafening silence.
Slowly he sat up and put his legs over the side of the bed, then eased himself to his feet, afraid the dizziness would return. Numb despair made him feel cold all over, but his legs were steady as he gazed about him. On his left, light blue draperies heavily embellished with silver threads were pulled back, framing an entire wall of mullioned windows; at the far end of the room, a pair of blue-and-silver-striped settees were placed at right angles to an ornate fireplace. The phrase "decadent splendor" drifted through his mind as he dusted off his pants, cast one more look about the room, and then gingerly sat back down on the blue silk coverlet.
An awful lump of desolation swelled in his throat as he folded his hands in his lap and tried to think what to do next. Evidently, he was to be sent back to Daegu like unwanted baggage. Why then had his mother's cousin brought him here in the first place? Where was he? Who was he?
He couldn't go to Sunoo and his great-grandmother, because the noble lady had written Dr. Lee a note that made it clear that Sunoo, and Sunoo alone, was welcome in her home. Tae frowned, his smooth brow furrowing in confusion. Since the tall dark man had been the one to carry him upstairs, perhaps he was the servant? And the stout, white-haired man who'd opened the door was the Honorable? At first glance, he'd assumed that the old man was a ranking servant, like Lian shi, the housekeeper who always greeted callers at Bogum hyung house.
Someone knocked at the door of the room, and Tae guiltily jumped off the bed and carefully smoothed the coverlet before calling
A footman in a starched black uniform entered, a silver tray in his hands. Two more servants in identical black uniforms marched in, one carrying his trunk and the other some towels and other supplies.
The first servant put the tray on the table between the settees, while the other maid disappeared into an adjoining room which he assumed is the bathroom.
footman
"Here's a bite for you to eat Sir," he said when he came back, his face carefully expressionless, but his voice was shyly pleasant. "His lordship said you were to have a bath," the servant said.
Tae paused, the cup of hot chocolate partway to his lips
Taehyung
"His lordship?" he repeated.
Taehyung
"Would that be the... gentleman ... I saw at the front door? A stout man with white hair?"
footman
"Good heavens, no!" the servant replied, looking at Tae in a strange way. "That would be Pawat shi, the butler."
Taeh's relief was short-lived as the servant hesitantly added
footman
His Lordship is the tall man with black hair
Taehyung
And he said I should have a bath?
Taehyung
Well I do need one
Tae conceded reluctantly. He ate the toast and finished the chocolate, then wandered into the adjoining room where the maid poured perfumed bath salts into the steaming water. Slowly removing his travel-stained clothes, Tae thought of the short note your grace Seojoon had sent him, inviting him to come to Seoul. The older man had seemed so anxious to have him here.
footman
"Come at once, my dear," he had written. "You are more than welcome here – you are eagerly awaited." Perhaps he wasn't to be sent away after all. Perhaps "his lordship" had mistaken the matter.
The servant helped him prepare the clothes he will wear and his put away the clothes from his luggage. Tae smiled at him and asked his name.
footman
"My name?" the man repeated blushing, as if stunned that Tae should care to ask. "Why, it's – its Shone."
Taehyung
"Thank you very much, Shone shi," Tae said, "for putting away my clothes, I mean."
A deep flush of red colored the footman's freckled face as he bobbed his head deeply and started for the door.
footman
"Supper is at eight," Shone informed him. "His lordship rarely keeps country hours here at Busan."
Taeh said awkwardly as the guy started to leave
Taehyung
'are there two... ah.. 'lordship' here? That is, I was wondering about Jeon Seojoon – "
footman
"Oh, you're referring to his grace!" Shone glanced over his shoulder as if he was fearful of being overheard before he confided, "He hasn't arrived yet, but we're expecting him sometime tonight. I heard his lordship tell pawat shi to send word to his grace that you've arrived."
Taehyung
"What is his – ah – grace like?" Tae asked, feeling foolish using these odd titles.
Shone looked as if he was about to describe him; then he changed his mind.
footman
"I'm sorry, Sir, but his lordship doesn't permit his servants to gossip. Nor are we allowed to be familiar-like with the guests." He bowed and scurried out in a rustle of starched black skirts.
Tae was startled by the knowledge that two human beings were not permitted to converse together in this house, simply because one was a servant and the other a guest, but considering his brief acquaintance with "his lordship," he could fully imagine him issuing such an inhuman edict.
Tae took his pajamas from the wardrobe, pulled it over his head, and climbed into bed, sliding between the sheets. Luxurious silk caressed the bare skin of his arms and face as he uttered a weary prayer that Jeon Seojoon would prove to be a warmer, kindlier man than his other lordship. His long dark lashes fluttered down, lying like curly fans against his cheeks, and he fell asleep.
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