Page 50 of Gumiho Kiss
Not that Chin Sun needed him to.The only person Min Joon could be referring to was his betrothed, who had died in a terrible accident shortly after he’d returned from Ming.He didn’t usually talk about her, preferring to bury his pain behind a quick smile, but occasionally his shattered pieces would rise to the surface and remind Chin Sun that she wasn’t the only one scarred by grief.
But she didn’t need her powers for this.She’d handled herself just fine swordfighting against Mr.Park the other day, and he was the best opponent she’d ever faced.
That wasn’t what Min Joon wanted to hear though, and she had no desire to fight with him, so she gave his hands a comforting squeeze.“I understand.You don’t have to worry about me doing anything unwise.”She shooed him away.“Now, go on.I don’t actually need an escort home, and your men may need backup.”
Min Joon smiled and bowed before following his subordinates’ path.
Once he was gone, Chin Sun wasted no time in returning home and donning her black hanbok and mask.She just wanted to make sure Min Joon and his men could handle themselves on their own.She’d keep to the shadows and not get involved unless strictly necessary.
She wouldn’t do anything stupid, so she wasn’ttechnicallybreaking her word—even though Min Joon wouldn’t see it that way if he spotted her.
But he wasn’t the only one who worried.
If Chin Sun’s hunch was right, the criminals’ target was a small neighborhood housing several of the city’s wealthiest merchants.Their homes weren’t as impressive as the yangban manors, but they boasted plenty of furnishings that would fetch a good price on the black market.And the neighborhood was set far enough from police headquarters that the thieves likely thought they could get away with it.
When she reached her destination, a series of shouts and clanging metal told her she’d been right.She followed the noise to a large gated house and surveyed the area.Smoke rose from one of the outlying pavilions, and the household help ran amok as they tried to douse the flames.Kim Min Joon and his officers engaged a large group of intruders near the courtyard entrance, and a second pair of men battled atop the steps to the main building.
Chin Sun tried to make out the figures on the stairs.Both were dressed in black, and one had a facecloth over his mouth.Had the house’s owner gotten involved?She drew closer, then gasped as one man’s face became clear.
Mr.Park.He’d joined the fight, after all.Warmth surged through her veins.She’d thought he didn’t care, but clearly she’d been wrong.She watched as he skillfully disarmed his opponent, then leveled his hwando at the man’s neck.
The man raised his hands in surrender, and Mr.Park’s gaze flicked toward the others fighting in the courtyard.
That was when another masked man came up behind him.
Chin Sun flung herself across the courtyard and shoved Mr.Park out of the way.She met the attacker’s sword as it plunged down, deflecting the blow meant for her bodyguard’s back.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, the man’s strength more than she’d anticipated.Mr.Park materialized on her right side, his features more shocked than she’d ever seen.
She dodged her opponent’s next move, then knocked the hwando from his hand and struck him on the head.Once he fell unconscious, she turned to her slack-jawed bodyguard, glad her mask hid her smile.
“G-Gwishin?”
She chuckled.His confusion was understandable.With so many masked fighters, any one of them could have been the elusive vigilante.
“What’s the matter?Afraid you’ve seen a ghost?”Part of her knew engaging with him wasn’t the wisest move; at any moment, she might slip up and say something that gave away her identity.
But he was simply too fun to tease.
“You ...saved me,” he said incredulously.
“So I did.And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t stab me again if you can help it.”She winked, then lifted her eyebrows at his sword, which had clattered to the ground when she’d pushed him to safety.
He blinked a few times, still looking a bit dazed, then bent to retrieve his weapon.
Chin Sun bolted behind a pavilion while he was distracted.After a few seconds, she peeked out to check how everyone else was faring.Min Joon had managed to fend off his attackers, but two of his men had fallen in the process.Only a few bandits remained, but they didn’t appear to be in any hurry to leave.They moved across the courtyard with purpose, heads sliding from side to side, as if they were looking for something.
A new thug surged toward her, brandishing a long sword.She leaped aside, and the blade cut through the air an inch away from her.She moved into a defensive position.Her opponent was tall and broad-chested with sharp, fearless eyes.
Chin Sun blocked his blows over and over, but each time their swords met, her arms trembled from the sheer force of his attacks.How she missed her gumiho strength.
Another thug approached on her left, shorter than the first, laughter rumbling in his throat.“Finally.We weren’t sure you’d show up.”He swung at her, and she dove into a roll before springing back to her feet.
She spun around, eying the two men as they fanned out on either side of her.“Show up?What are you talking about?”
The broad-chested man grumbled something to his associate.His voice was so low it took Chin Sun a moment to make sense of his warning to be silent.She’d assumed these were ordinary thieves, but what she’d just heard wasn’t Korean.It was Japanese.
She gaped.But that meant?—
