The Rising Sun & The Morning Calm Ch. 01

Pusan, 1587

Chosun Dynasty of Modern Day Korea

The storm that raged along the shores of Pusan was unusual for this time of year. The rainy season was not due for another few months but almost out of nowhere the sky blackened as the heavens unleashed their fury on the inhabitants of the coastal town. Fighting her way back to her home, Ji Eun cursed herself for not leaving sooner. She'd had a particularly good run of fishing and was trying to hold out until the last possible minute. Now, battered by the harsh rain, her jacket over her head, she was paying the price. Her rubber shoes sank into the wet sand, slowing her progress when she suddenly tripped over something in the sand. Pushing her wet hair off her face, it was so dark she could barely see ahead of her, the only light the illumination from the fierce lightning that tore across the sky. In the brief reprieve from the darkness, she was barely able to make out some pieces of driftwood lodged in the sand and next to them, a mass that looked like a person. Feeling pity for the hapless fisherman who had run ashore, she left her catch on the beach and began dragging the person back to her home.

After five minutes, she began to become extremely tired. If he was a fisherman, he was extremely heavy and had she not been spurred along against her will by the storm, she would have stopped to rest, frequently. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally managed to get him inside her modest house. Sliding the wooden door closed with a sigh of relief, she fumbled around to light a candle. When she could finally see somewhat properly, she nearly dropped the candle in her attempt to stifle a scream. Lying on the floor in front of her was a man. Still unconscious, he was heavily suited in a strange kind of armor that she had never seen before on a soldier of the Chosun army. Unable to reign in her curiosity, she inched forward to get a better look at him.

Raising the candle to his face, she saw that he was not that old, late twenties at most. Figuring that she should get him out of his wet clothes, she set down her light and pondered how to remove his armor. Clumsily tugging at the various lacquered plates, she finally hefted off the last of his vestments when she felt how hot his skin was. He was burning with fever. Her modesty forgotten, she stripped him to the skin and dried him as quickly as she could and dragged him to her bed. After covering him with what few blankets she had, she reached into a small dresser drawer and pulled out some dried plants. When she'd ground them into a fine powder, she poured them over a cloth and steeped it in some hot water. A foul smell soon filled the room.

Scurrying to the stranger's side, she cradled his head in her lap and slapped his face, trying to rouse him. When his eyes finally opened a crack, she held the bowl to his lips and felt him try to fight when he smelled its contents. "No arguments," she snapped, not even sure if he understood her. "Drink it." As if understanding her, he downed the concoction and fell back, exhausted from the effort.

Figuring they would both need to eat, she ran back to where she had left her fish and hurried back inside, shaking the water from her as she entered. After cooking the fish, she boiled a simple gruel of millet and changed into some dry clothes before sitting next to her guest. This time when she tried to slap him awake, he didn't move. His fever was breaking and a cold sweat had sprung all over his body. From where she sat, she could see him visibly shivering. Eating a little herself, she looked at his armor curiously and examined his sword. Pulling it out of its sheath, she marveled at the workmanship in the slender blade. It was a beautiful weapon. Setting it back down next to his discarded clothing, she pillowed her head on her hands and studied his face in the dim light before falling asleep.

Noboru awoke groggy and disoriented. When he tried to sit up, he found he was so weak that he could barely lift his head off the pillow. Pillow? Where was he? As his vision came into focus, he turned his head to see a young woman sleeping, curled up in a ball. I must be in her bed, he thought. Disconcerted by his surroundings, he tried to remember what happened before he passed out. The last thing he recalled was his scout ship being pulled into the ocean only minutes after the tempest had hit. He could only surmise that he had washed up ashore and discovered by the girl next to him. Every part of him ached and he suddenly realized that his clothes were gone. Thankfully he was more than adequately covered, but it was a bit unnerving to say the least after everything he had just been through. Seeing how she was dressed, he knew was in Chosun. His thoughts were abruptly cut short when she opened her eyes.

It was strange. She said nothing, remained motionless and simply observed him in silence for a few minutes, looking into his eyes. Not sure what to do, he blankly stared back. She looked to be in her late teens, if not her early twenties and he was somewhat astonished to see that she had freckles. When she opened her mouth to finally speak, he didn't understand a word of what was said. His host must have deduced his confusion from the quizzical look on his face and pointed to herself. "Ji Eun." She patted her chest a few more times indicating herself and repeated, "Ji Eun."

Swallowing dryly, he managed to croak, "Noboru." Nodding approvingly, she shuffled away and rummaged around in the far corner of the room and brought back some paper and an inkstone. What struck him was the obvious high quality of the paper and expensive look of the stone as she ground a stick of ink and added some water. Taking a brush in hand, he saw her write something and was shocked to recognize it as a Chinese character. In elegant calligraphy, she had written the word "big" and looked at him expectantly. Not sure what he was supposed to do, Noboru spread his hands wide to indicate something of great size and she nodded excitedly again. Again she wrote, this time the word "storm". Reading the paper, he pointed outside, and she laughed delightedly. He couldn't say why, but the sound pleased him and he felt himself smile in return. Bowing his head a little, he indicated the brush and after understanding what he was asking, she handed it to him and watched him write the word "country".

"You want to know what country this is," she guess aloud, looking at his face. Taking the brush, she wrote the symbols for "high" and "kingdom", the two characters that indicated Chosun. She saw him nod his comprehension. Glad to have found a way to communicate with him, she began to worry when she saw that they would soon run out of paper. As if sensing her concern, he appeared lost in thought for a moment, then beckoned for her to pass him his clothes. Sliding his pants over his hips, he tentatively stood up.

Noboru felt like he would pass out at any moment, and Ji Eun immediately got up to assist him, but he shook his head and motioned for her to stay where she was. Sliding the door open, he staggered onto the beach and looked around until he spotted a large flat rock. Bringing it inside, he gestured to her for something to drink and he took the bowl of water she gave him and dipped a second brush into it and wrote on the stone. The water darkened the surface long enough for a character to be read, and then as it dried the writing vanished. She was able to make out "stone" before the water evaporated and she smiled at her clever visitor, warming him.

Now unconcerned with running out of paper, the two began a long unspoken conversation. He explained to her that he had come from across the seas and was shipwrecked during the storm. She explained that she had lost her parents to a plague in the capital of Chosun and had been living with her uncle until he had passed away a few years ago, leaving her alone. He asked her how she knew Chinese characters and she answered that because her father had been a high ranking official in the court, he had seen to her education. That would explain the expensive inkstone, he mused silently. His heart filled with pity for the girl, alone and impoverished. Remembering that he had not properly thanked her for saving his life, he wrote his thanks on the stone and bowed to her in gratitude. She smiled and bowed in return. When she asked him what he was doing in the area, he suddenly felt guilt descend upon him.

There was no possible way that he could tell her that his shogun was planning the invasion of her country in preparation for his conquest of the Ming Empire. He knew nothing about the people of Chosun, and he didn't particularly care for war, but when his younger brother had been assigned on a mission to scout the coastline of the small country, his protective nature made it impossible for him to allow Saburo to go on his own. Now, after his life had been saved by one of their inhabitants, he felt a great pang of remorse and found it difficult to look in her face.

Sensing his discomfort, she gestured for him to forget the question and set the stone aside so that they could eat. As they shared the simple fare, she noticed how he held the bowl to his mouth and pushed the rice in with his chopsticks and he also noticed that she left her bowl on the table rather than holding it to her. He also noticed that she was in fact quite pretty and dignified looking in spite of her obvious poverty.

Refilling his bowl, she watched him eat and looked more closely at his face. He was clean shaven, and his hair was tied in a knot above his head. Though he looked similar to the men in Chosun, she could see subtle differences in his features. Sensing her gaze on him, he looked up and she felt her face burn as she averted her eyes. Peeking out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he was actually smiling and she gave an embarrassed laugh that caused his smile to broaden.

When they had finished eating, she motioned for him to lay back down. Feeling that he had imposed upon her enough, he tried to refuse. Annoyed, she grabbed the stone and wrote that as he was sick, he had to lie there. He wrote back that he would not force her to sleep on the floor. Staring dubiously at each other across the stone, finally he wrote the character "together". He tried not to laugh when her eyebrows practically jumped off her forehead. Smothering his mirth, he wrote "honor" and "safe" next to each other and was rewarded with a skeptical look. Not about to be told what to do, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited.

Ji Eun couldn't believe that she was actually considering sharing a bed with this strange man, but something about his demeanor was so kind that she believed him when he told her that he posed no danger to her honor. Giving him one more wary glance, she slid onto the blanket and turned to the wall. When he had settled in next to her, she blew out the candle and the room was filled with moonlight that filtered through the slight opening of the door. Ji Eun tried not to think about how many breaches of etiquette she was committing by simply lying next to Noboru, but having him in her bed made her nervous nonetheless.

Noboru had no doubts that his host was uncomfortable, as she kept fidgeting next to him. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he grabbed her arm firmly with his as if to say stop it. He felt her freeze under his touch and quickly withdrew his hand as she shot him a dirty look over her shoulder. He put both his palms in the air as a show of his lack of intentions and was relieved to see her face soften. Something must have struck her as funny because she began to giggle, causing him to smile in spite of himself, and pretty soon, the two were laughing uncontrollably. When they had finally calmed down, he looked at her face and said, "Ji Eun."

Smiling, she said his name. "Noboru."

"Ji Eun."

"Noboru."

It was odd to be in such close company with a total stranger, and one who he couldn't even speak to for that matter, but the exchange of their names made the situation feel less strange, and he was puzzled at how comfortable be felt with her. She must have been experiencing a similar feeling, as she didn't recoil when he smoothed an errant strand of hair off her forehead. "Ji Eun."

His voice was different this time. Lower. The way he looked at her had also changed and she felt herself blush under his gaze. "Noboru," she answered back shyly.

Before even realizing what he had done, he found that he had leaned closer to her to gently press his lips against hers. His shock was almost as great as hers and he felt her tense under him, but she didn't pull away. She smelled like the sea, clean and salty. Again he began to kiss her and felt her tentatively return his advances. Emboldened, he slid his hand under the hair over her neck and pulled her closer. She gave a little squeak as she felt his erection press into her.

I'm in bed with a man who I can't even talk to and I'm being absurdly lewd, she thought in a strangely detached manner. The whole situation felt so surreal, but she felt drawn to the man she had rescued and allowed his hands to explore her body as he continued to kiss her. Her curiosity again getting the better of her, she led her hand slip down between his legs and closed her fingers around his shaft, eliciting a small groan of appreciation from him.

Dazed, he untied the bow that held the cropped jacket she wore in place exposing her breasts. Instinctively, she tried to cover them, but he stopped her and continued to peel away her clothing until finally, she lay naked next to him. Not wanting to take her against her will, he looked searchingly at her, silently asking her permission and she nodded quietly. Shedding his own clothes, he climbed on top of her and continued to kiss her and felt himself harden further when she began to voice her pleasure. Licking a path down to her belly, he spread her legs and began to lap up the evidence of her arousal that had pooled there.

When she felt his tongue on her, she arched her back and grabbed the blanket underneath her in her fists. Snaking his arms under her hips, he brought her closer to his face and mouthed her flesh, dizzy from the taste of her. Feeling her fingers on his scalp, he probed her with his tongue until he felt her tremble and then finally convulse as she climaxed.

Ji Eun attempted to collect her thoughts as her mind came out of a euphoric haze. Her lips were still sensitive when she felt something soft brush against them, causing her to shiver. Reaching down, she felt Noboru's arousal at her opening and he regarded her with uncertainty even as she could feel his pulse through the veins in his penis. Smiling at him, she indicated her consent and felt him grasp her hips.

Unable to wait a moment longer, Noboru wasted no time in plunging his entire length deep inside of her. When she cried out in pain, he berated himself for not deducing that she was still a virgin and he attempted to move more slowly despite the ache in his testicles. Allowing her to adjust to him, he resumed his thrusts and enjoyed how tightly she encased him. Lost to his pleasure, he ground his hips into hers and when he felt her grip on him tighten, he erupted inside her as she came. Gasping for breath, the pair clung to each other and fell into a satisfied, dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Noboru was mortified at how much blood there was on her bedding. He also felt a growing sense of panic as he considered the very serious possibility that she would regret having allowed him to take her virginity. Unsure what to do, he waited anxiously until she awoke.

When she blinked open her eyes, Ji Eun turned to see Noboru staring at her with a look of concern. Allowing her eyes to travel down the bed, she saw the evidence that she was no longer a virgin and looked back to Noboru to see him wince ever so slightly. Smiling at his nervous expression, she kissed him lightly and settled back on her pillow.

Relieved beyond measure that she apparently had no regrets about the events of the previous night, he hugged her to him and smiled contentedly as she snuggled further into his arms. It wasn't normal to feel this good, but he thought that perhaps everything that had happened was an act of fate to bring them together. Later, when they had eaten a simple breakfast, he pulled the stone out and wrote that he wished for her to return with him to his home country. Ji Eun read the characters with wonder and saw Noboru looking at her with an almost boyish hopefulness all over his face. Though her mind told her this was the most reckless thing she could possibly do, she nodded and was immediately encased in his arms. She laughed as he very nearly crushed the air out of her lungs when she heard voices outside speaking words she couldn't understand. Her lover apparently understood them and she wondered why all of a sudden he looked so horrified. Releasing her, he quickly scrawled something onto the stone and ran outside, sliding the door shut behind him. Peering at the character, she read the words "remain inside" before they vanished.