Maybe It's You (It's You Series #1)

3 ✽ The Encounter

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Eun-bi loved being with nature.

Her majestic stallion galloped across the vast grasslands that stretched on endlessly beneath the Joseon blue sky. She absolutely loved the thrill of the ride and how the wind would ruffle her long hair, leaving a tingling sensation on her face. Throwing her head back, she allowed herself to bask in the mellow sunshine and a contented sigh escaped from her lips.

Being wild and free was exhilarating.

She rode on at a fearless speed, believing that people would hardly roam around these areas. This was her territory for years now and if anybody threatened to take what was hers, they would have to suffer her wrath.

Of course, of all days, someone had decided to challenge her grounds today. If it wasn't for the speck of blue she spotted in the distance, she would have almost missed a figure lying in the middle of the grass field, coincidentally right on the path she was headed towards.

Her voice came out in a loud, panicking shriek.

"Bo-mi, stop!"

As she struggled with her horse, the sudden halt threw her off her saddle and she pitched forward, letting go of her reins. The fall had her landing on her side, ripping a painful cry from her throat. For a couple of seconds, she laid there motionless, waiting for the pain to subside. When it finally did, she sat up slowly with a bemoaning groan, pulled up her sleeves and inspected the angry scratches on her elbows. Even her ribs were throbbing a little.

Her head snapped up, shooting a dark scowl at the obstacle that had stood in her way. She wanted to castigate the person with several colourful words that wouldn't befit coming from a woman's mouth, but the sight she saw next immediately snatched her breath right away.

It was a young, beautiful man sleeping on the ground.

Her curious eyes raked over him, awing at how his flawless skin glowed with radiance and his eyelashes were ridiculously long. His jawline was well-defined. Judging from the expensive silk clothes that he was wearing; he was quite possibly from a wealthy family.

This left Eun-bi with a conclusion that whoever this man was, he – without a doubt – would be highly sought after by ladies.

But none of these things mattered. What she found unbelievable, was the fact that he had the audacity to remain asleep after all the ruckus she had made...

...unless she had accidentally killed him.

It couldn't be, right?

Panic started bubbling in her chest. With a loud, nervous gulp, she reached her hand out towards the motionless man and poked his arm. Hoping that he would respond to her.

Poked, poked and poked again.

However, he remained perfectly still. So still in fact that she couldn't even tell if he was breathing or not.

She buried her face in her hands and groaned out loud. "Oh no, Bo-mi. I-I think we might have run over this poor gentleman and killed him. What do we do? He's not moving at all."

How was she going to deal with this matter? Bring back the body and turn herself in at the magistrate office? She could totally foresee herself dying in her mother's hands first before the soldiers would get to her.

"Bo-mi." She glanced up at her horse with a deadpan look. "Eat him up please. He's tasty enough for you – but wait, I forget you're a vegetarian! Ugh! Okay, we have to think of something else! Maybe we should bury him secretly instead, but where?!"

In between her hysterical rambles, she was oblivious to a movement right next to her. The mysterious man's eyes suddenly fluttered open and their gazes instantly connected. Startled, Eun-bi found her breath hitched in her throat as he studied her shocked expression quietly.

Seconds passed, but he made no move. Her anxiety was soon replaced with anger and she broke the silence first.

"You scared the living hell out of me. For heaven's sake, couldn't you have said something earlier? I thought you were dead!"

But the man simply stared at her with an unreadable expression, as if he didn't take her words seriously. He blinked once before rolling to his feet at an excruciatingly slow pace and started dusting off the dirt on his clothes.

Without giving her a second glance, he stalked off coolly. His aloof behaviour infuriated Eun-bi and she staggered after him.

"Hey, wait!" She called out and immediately regretted it as she winced at her sore ribs. "Are you not going to help a lady when she's hurt? Or perhaps, are you going to come up with an excuse saying that this is how you would usually sleepwalk?"

His steps never once faltered when she spoke to him and began giving chase. It was only when she tripped on her own feet, did she finally catch his attention.

Acting on instinct, he swivelled around to catch her falling body. Landing in his arms in a somewhat awkward position, she glanced up at him with wide, astonished eyes. Never had she been held by a man before and while others may swoon at this moment, Eun-bi found it way too cringeworthy.

They exchanged surprised expressions, her hands still clutching at his long-sleeved cladded arms. He was just a breath away from her face, and in response to this, she could feel her cheeks flushing in utter mortification.

Similarly, the strange nobleman didn't seem to take this well either. His body stiffened, and as if realising that he was standing far too close with a woman, he dropped her without any word of warning.

She yelped when she landed on her bottom. "Hey," she snapped at him, watching as he walked away. "That was rude!"

He paid her no attention, his figure seemingly growing smaller until he disappeared from her sight. Cursing at his back for his lack of manners, she tried to pick herself up from the ground, but in between her awkward fumbles at picking her skirt, her hand grasped something cold on the ground.

It was a beautiful jade charm – one that usually hung from the outer tie of a coat. But Eun-bi definitely didn't recognise it at all.

If it wasn't hers, it could only belong to the nobleman from earlier.

"Oops."