The Brothers Kim

Chapter 5- Buckets of Water

"Ow, ow, ow!" Gyuri howled. "Please, Madam Zhou, this is torture!"

Madam Zhou rapped a narrow stick on Gyuri's slackening arms, forcing her to straighten them up again. Gyuri bit her lip as she tried to keep the buckets of water from touching the floor.

"You are not leaving until the two hours has passed, Gyuri," she told her sharply.

"But why?" she whined for the tenth time. "Why am I being punished? I didn't do anything wrong!"

Madam Zhou rapped Gyuri's arms again, with broader strokes this time as the buckets of water nearly reached the floor. Gyuri could only whimper in pain.

"The fact that you have not realised what you have done wrong is precisely why you are being punished," she told her sternly. "It shows that you feel no remorse."

"Madam Zhou, I can't feel remorse if I have no idea what it is I should be remorseful for!" Gyuri retorted as she struggled to keep her arms perpendicular to her body. "Please, can you just tell me what it is?"

Madam Zhou sighed, "You are being punished for misbehaving in front of the Young Master."

Gyuri's eyes widened. "Seriously? You're making me carry these buckets of water for the next two hours because of that little perv walking in on me?"

Gyuri felt another sharp tap on her arms as Madam Zhou struck her. She cried out in pain.

"That is not how you address the Young Master" Madam Zhou pointed out. "And it will do you no good to keep behaving in this manner. The Kims are your masters now and you will do well to remember that."

Gyuri watched as Madam Zhou started walking away, leaving her alone outside of the maids' quarters, carrying a bucket of water in each hand. "Wait, are you just gonna leave me here?" she shouted after her.

Madam Zhou looked over her shoulder. "Yes. Once you are done with your punishment, I will come and start your training." She narrowed her eyes, "And do not even think about putting down those buckets of water even for a second" she warned. "I will be watching you."

With graceful steps, Madam Zhou disappeared inside the maids' quarters. Gyuri craned her neck behind her just to make sure that Madam Zhou was indeed gone. Cautiously, she started relaxing her arms.

"I would not do that if I were you."

Gyuri jumped in surprise at the sudden sound of someone's voice. She turned to find the source of the voice and she scowled when she saw who it was. "Ugh, why do you always pop up at the wrong time?"

Taehyung strolled over from the other side of the courtyard with the same impish smile. He was wearing vibrant robes, a stark contrast to what Gyuri saw him wearing earlier. His long hair was fashioned into a bun and only then did Gyuri notice that Taehyung walked in the same gallant manner as his brother and cousin.

He grinned at her, his large almond-shaped eyes twinkling with mischief. "I see that Madam Zhou has taken the liberty to discipline you." He smirked while gesturing at the wooden buckets in Gyuri's hands.

Gyuri huffed. "It's your fault I'm doing this right now" she complained.

"I beg to differ" he replied. "You should not have thrown that pillow at me." He drew closer to her and Gyuri took note of his cocky attitude. Something about the way he was acting irked her, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. Taehyung continued, "For a peasant, you really are quite dumb."

"I am not dumb" she responded hotly.

He smirked. "You clearly are." He peered at her face as if inspecting her. "And now that you are all clean, I see that you are quite ugly too..."