Ice Island Palace Chapter 16

"Koko....!"

Kim Hwa gasped, screaming and whimpering—whimpers of happiness that Suma Hoat would never forget for the rest of his life. With deep affection, with passion controlled by pure love, with eyes full of awe and respect, founded on the desire to mutually please the one they loved, the two young people indulged in romance, swimming in the intoxicating sea of love, lulled and played by the waves of heart tremors and feelings. For a day and a night, they forgot themselves; the only thing they remembered was the person they loved, never separated for even a blink of an eye, pouring out their feelings of affection as intimately as possible, and in that state, for the two of them, there was only the love between them.

If they already loved each other, if the world felt empty and only the two of them existed, if for them there was no other business in this world except the outpouring of romance, what else could they remember? These two young people were truly pitiable. Since childhood, Suma Hoat had seen how his father collected beautiful women, how his father always chased pleasure with his young and beautiful concubines; often, he even accidentally witnessed his father being intimate with several concubines in the garden or in the room. His father's nature, madly in love with young concubines, unknowingly shaped the character within his soul—the character of a man thirsty for love.

As a handsome and wealthy noble son, many women tempted him, and since the age of sixteen, Suma Hoat had been searching for and chasing love. However, what did he find in the bodies and hearts of the beautiful women who passionately crept into his embrace? Only false love! Love for wealth and love for lust. Those women no longer knew pure love—the love that makes someone never want to part, wanting to live together forever, facing life as a pair, sharing joy, enduring sorrow together! Now, meeting Kim Hwa, he found pure affection. Thus, it was not surprising that he was mesmerized and forgot himself, forgot everything! The only thing he remembered was that the maiden who surrendered her body and soul so sincerely and intimately was the woman he must cherish, respect, and defend until death!

As for Kim Hwa, she was a maiden who had never known love in her life, never been close to a man except her father. However, as an educated maiden, she understood what it meant to be betrothed to a rich, old widower. She felt as if she were being sold like a cat or a dog, an expensive object. She understood that she would sacrifice her feelings for the rest of her life, a matter that made her grieve and despair. If not for her parents, she would rather kill herself than constantly suffer internally, having to obey and submit herself to be the plaything of a man she did not love at all.

Now, meeting Suma Hoat, who saved her life, who immediately captured her heart, who aroused her pure affection, and then driven by circumstances that ignited the impulse and stimulation of lust, stirring young blood, it was not surprising that she surrendered herself completely, full of willingness and intimacy arising from the despair of being married to an old man she did not love! They were indeed pitiable. In the raging storm of romance, which possesses unmatched power throughout the universe, both completely forgot that human life was no longer free, resulting in love itself no longer being free! Humans have created laws so that human life seems shrouded by all kinds of regulations. Great shackles bind the hands and feet of human life in the form of culture, morality (*kesusilaan*), and others.

Whoever violates them will certainly clash with these laws and face unpleasant consequences. Humans cannot move freely according to their feelings; they must first look ahead, considering whether the execution of their heartfelt feelings will conflict with and violate the law! The same applies to love! The journey of love is full of twists and turns, full of obstacles in the form of law, morality, culture, religion, and tradition. Humans in this era cannot live according to love and its execution without caring about all of that. They will clash and.... fail! In all matters, including love, humans must use calculation—not calculating profit and loss, but calculating good and bad, especially looking toward the future.

Therefore, once again, Suma Hoat and Kim Hwa were pitiable, opening their minds and hearts, plunging and enjoying themselves together in the intoxicating sea of romance, so that for a day and a night, these two humans never left that patch of earth with a grass mattress, where they endlessly poured out their feelings of love for each other. Only the next day did the two of them ride the white horse, continuing their journey to the capital city. The horse was ridden slowly, allowed to walk on its own without reins. Kim Hwa sat on Suma Hoat's lap. They were still drunk and dazed, still half-drugged by intimacy. Kim Hwa hid her face on her lover's chest, and Suma Hoat wrapped his left arm around the beauty's neck, his right hand stroking her hair, wiping her neck and cheek.

"Koko...."

Kim Hwa's soft voice was heard, containing a sweetness that sounded extremely lovely to their ears.

"Hemmm....?"

This reply contained affection, full of the feeling of wanting to cherish and be cherished. Indeed, pure affection creates an unquenchable desire—the desire to possess and be possessed, to cherish and be cherished, to give one's entire heart and body, besides wanting to ask for everything! It creates the desire to unite, to become one body and heart, one fate, one life, one feeling!

"Suma-koko, I love you with all my heart and soul."

Suma Hoat kissed the mouth that uttered those intimate words, then smiled.

"I love you too, Hwa-moi. I don't know how many hundreds of times this phrase has come from your sweet mouth, yet I never feel bored; in fact, every time you say it, the happiness in my heart grows greater."

Silence fell for a moment; both enjoyed the warmth of the embrace.

"Koko, I.... I'm afraid...."

Great anxiety was contained in those words, and her body trembled slightly.

"Don't be afraid, Moi-moi, I am by your side. What are you afraid of?"

Suma Hoat tightened his embrace.

"When we reach the capital city, I.... ah, I will certainly be married off...."

"No! I have told you that I will protect you with all my heart and soul! I will ask for help from my influential father to propose to you and to subdue the Thio family. Don't worry, you will certainly become my wife, darling, my beloved wife!"

Kim Hwa hugged him, and now she was the one who kissed the young man's lips.

"Koko, I have become your wife and will be your wife forever, no matter what happens, in this world or the afterlife! I would rather die than have another man touch my body, which has become yours."

Suma Hoat's heart became extremely joyful, and he wanted to reach the capital city quickly so that this matter could be resolved immediately, so that he could quickly become husband and wife with Kim Hwa and never be separated again forever. So, he spurred his horse toward the capital city! When Suma Hoat finally dropped Kim Hwa off in front of the Thio family mansion and was greeted by the nobleman and Ciok Khun, who had somewhat recovered, their hearts felt displeased. However, the Thio family naturally did not dare to reprimand the son of Suma-ciangkun, and Ciok Khun, who had been helped, also did not dare to say anything, even though this father felt uneasy because his daughter followed so late. What had happened during that day and night with his daughter? After handing over Kim Hwa, Suma Hoat then galloped his horse back to his parents' house.

"Taijin, please be willing to help your servant....!"

The Nobleman Thio was half-crying when he faced Minister Kam Liong, then reported the incident that had befallen his family and threatened to tarnish his family's name. His younger brother, a widower, was about to marry the daughter of the Ciok family, but when the family departed for the capital city, they were harassed by robbers on the way and rescued by Suma-kongcu.

"Now, suddenly Suma-ciangkun has submitted a proposal to Ciok Khun, proposing his daughter for Suma-kongcu! Yet, that maiden was already the prospective wife of my younger brother, Taijin. If it is canceled, what will people think of my family's good name?"

Minister Kam Liong furrowed his brows. He knew his cousin, Suma Kiat or Suma-ciangkun, well—a man who collected many young, beautiful concubines by any means necessary, even violence. He had also heard about the character of Suma Hoat, the only son of his cousin, who was known as a womanizer and habitually frequented brothels. Now, facing this incident, he naturally became angry and felt that the Suma family was improper, trying to snatch someone else's prospective wife!

"Hmm, that action is truly wrong! Don't worry, right now I will write a letter to Suma-ciangkun asking him to withdraw his proposal and apologize to Ciok Khun!"

Nobleman Thio suddenly dropped to his knees.

"Thank you for your help, Taijin, but.... uhhh...."

"What else?"

Minister Kam Liong snapped because he was annoyed hearing about this unpleasant matter.

"Regarding the proposal, if Taijin intervenes, it will certainly be resolved, and I am extremely grateful. However, my family and I are truly confused about how to deal with Suma-kongcu...."

"What about him?"

Minister Kam Liong furrowed his brows.

"He.... every night.... visits Ciok Kim Hwa in her room.... my family and I dare not disturb him?"

"What....!"

The Minister slammed the table and stood up.

"Insolent brat! I myself will confront him after the letter is sent and the proposal is withdrawn. If he still dares to cause trouble, I will personally beat him. Go!"

Nobleman Thio retreated in fear, seeing the minister's rage. Minister Kam Liong then wrote the letter after drinking his wine to dispel the anger in his heart. He sighed repeatedly, remembering the improper behavior of the Suma family ancestors. When he received the letter from his cousin, Commander Suma Kiat clenched his fists, his heart confused. Suma Hoat had cried to him, forcing him to propose to Ciok Kim Hwa, and he had done so. Who would have thought that Minister Kam Liong was now interfering, and naturally, he dared not object.

He immediately sent an envoy to the Ciok family, who were staying at the mansion of Nobleman Thio, canceling the proposal. This news was received with great joy by Ciok Khun and the Thio family. However, it was received with wailing and tears by Kim Hwa in her room, who locked the door and refused to eat, only crying inside the closed room. When Suma Hoat returned home, he was greeted by the curses of his angry father, who considered his son a source of shame. At first, Suma Hoat was surprised and confused, but when he heard that his father was forced to cancel the proposal to Kim Hwa due to Minister Kam Liong's reprimand, the young man nearly fainted and ran to his room, crying and punching the mattress. His face turned extremely pale, and his heart was shattered.

"I will run away with her!"

He said to himself, his eyes turning red and wild.