The next day, a new guard greeted him. He stood outside Min-jun’s door, his posture rigid and his eyes focused straight ahead. When Min-jun made his presence known, the guard bent into an equally stiff bow, his plain facial features seeming to be carved from stone that even the sunlight streaming in through the windows couldn’t bring warmth to. The guard spoke in a low tone that expressed neither excitement nor boredom, or any emotion, frankly. Min-jun did not bother learning his name, as he would be gone by the time dawn broke the next day. The guard greeted him with all the respect one was expected to pay to a King’s consort. It didn’t take long for Min-jun to realize the guard had none of the vigilance of Sun. But, going by the guard’s stature, he could hold his own in a fight at least.
Are you telling me to behave myself, Your Majesty? Fine, Min-jun would stay put this time. He didn’t want the guard’s head to roll any more than the guard did.
“Mai,” he called her at the door. “Are you ready?”
“Just a minute!” she replied. When she walked through the door, she had her arms full of medical books. It would appear little Mai had taken a shine to the art of healing. Oh, Min-jun still needed to get the sample of mother’s tea to Doctor Myeong-suk. Perhaps, he’d take her along on that trip as well.
“How about we get you something to carry your books in?” Min-jun offered. Mai nodded, keeping her movements at a minimum for fear of letting the books fall to the floor. Mai had become more mellow in the past few days. It was hard to believe that a few weeks ago she’d still been planning to kill him.
Good. There was no reason for a young girl like her to hold onto such a grudge. Young? Like you had been?
Not paying any mind to the voices inside his head, Min-jun ordered one of the court ladies to bring Mai something to carry her books in. They did so, and shortly after, they bid goodbye to a forlorn Chuchu.
“Behave yourself,” Min-jun warned, all the while scratching behind the puppy’s ears. The puppy whined a bit, and Min-jun’s heart squeezed a little. He hated to leave him behind like this every day.
“Let’s go,” Min-jun said. He steeled himself for the inevitable disappointment of the day. At least, the rain had stopped. It left only the lingering humidity in the air. The way the sun shone down on them made Min-jun’s mood lighten, despite his best efforts. Although it would appear, much of the flowering plants around the villa had withered away overnight.
‘Shall I abandon you, my love?’ Something cold sank into his bones then. It meant nothing, he tried to convince himself. The King would come that evening, as he always did. And if not in the evening, then tomorrow, or the day after, but he would return to him, of that much Min-jun had to be certain.
. . .
“The chief tell you to wait again?” Ha-jun asked, sitting down across from Min-jun, who was currently poring over yet another mystery book. Unhurried, Min-jun turned the page. It was always good to keep his mind in motion, even when he was confined to this office for the time being. He’d been to one of the morning classes at least. Found them quite boring. No wonder the students were all falling asleep. The curriculum was lackluster, to put it bluntly.
“I suspect he will do so until the last moment,” Min-jun replied. Sunlight streamed in through the window, a light breeze carrying the scent of damp fallen leaves. The topic of the King, as usual, entered his thoughts unannounced and unwelcome. He was likely still in court, or otherwise, perhaps he was spending his time with that woman. Min-jun’s hands tightened on the book, and the pages creased beneath his grip. Surely not. But who knew? Perhaps the King was making plans to replace Min-jun right now. At any moment, there could be a pair of royal guards arriving to drag him out of the Palace and the capital. Exiled. Killed, perhaps.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Vb, ktja’gf sbe ublcu ab vb?” Lj-pec jrxfv.
“Qtja firf?” Zlc-pec aegcfv atf qjuf, atbeut tf obecv tf tjv tjgvis qgbmfrrfv ktja tjv yffc bc atf ijra bcf. “P’w ublcu ab lucbgf tlw.”
Lj-pec yegra lcab j ola bo ijeutafg, jcv Zlc-pec kjr ecmfgfwbclberis vgjuufv jkjs ogbw tlr frmjijalcu qjclm. Lj-pec mbcalcefv ab mjmxif. Cr atf vjsr tjv vgjkc bc, Zlc-pec tjv ugbkc lcmgfjrlcuis mbcmfgcfv obg Lj-pec’r rjclas. Llr ijeutr ajqfglcu boo, Lj-pec klqfv ja j afjg atja tjv obgwfv lc atf mbgcfg bo tlr fsf.
“I see that, for you, asking permission is simply a formality.”
“Under certain circumstances.”
“Is that how you deal with the King as well?”
“A scholar should not concern himself with such things.”
Ha-jun propped his elbow up on Min-jun’s desk. “You know I’m not a very good scholar.”
Usually, Sun would’ve cast Ha-jun a disapproving glare by now, discouraging the scholar. But Sun was not here, and Min-jun’s current guard did not seem bothered by Ha-jun’s proximity to the King’s favorite consort.
Well, Min-jun was bothered by it.
Without a second thought, he shoved Ha-jun’s arm off the table with his fan. The man fell forward, catching himself before he could land face down on the hard surface of the desk.
“If you’ve time to talk, you have time to bring me the second book in this series,” Min-jun said. He placed the novel down on the table and slid it over to Ha-jun’s side.
“We don’t have such things in the Academy,” Ha-jun said.
“Precisely.”
He needed a moment of silence. If Ha-jun was his Ha-jun, he’d become quite the chatterbox. The Ha-jun from his childhood had been reserved and gentle, an intelligent listener, with a wit to match Min-jun’s. It seemed that scholar Ha-jun, indeed, was a separate person. Good. That made things far less complicated. Even so, a part of Min-jun wished he could cross paths with a familiar face. He wished to see someone who had known him before he’d lost his parents. Perhaps then, Min-jun himself would better remember those days before his parents’ execution.
Mai glanced up from her medical books. “If you asked the King, he could probably force them to let you have your class. Isn’t this intentional sabotage? He told them not to do that.”
It was true. Min-jun could ask the King for help, but doing so felt like admitting defeat. It was all well and good for the King to help from the shadows, but for Min-jun to beg him . . . his pride couldn’t take it. He’d already resolved to do this on his own, anyhow.
“I do not need his help, Mai,” he told her. She kept his gaze for a moment, and then glanced down, likely entertaining colorful insults in the safety of her own mind.
“Your Highness!” The doors slammed open once more. Ha-jun stood there with a book in hand and a triumphant expression on his face. “I’ve found you a way in.”
“A way in?” Min-jun repeated, dubiously.
“Well, you see.” Ha-jun began to pace in front of Min-jun’s desk. “One day a week we scholars take the night off all duties and spend the night in town. Drinking, eating, singing rather badly, you know the drill, surely.”
“Get to the point.”
Ha-jun came to a stop and sank to the floor. With one slender finger pointed at Min-jun, he said, “You’re invited.”
Well. That was probably a bad idea.
“When do you leave?”
Ha-jun grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief, as he spilled detail after detail. Yes. Definitely a bad idea. But, when better to bond than over a few drinks? A few cups of soju wouldn’t hurt. Heavens knew he needed it.
From behind Ha-jun, Min-jun caught Mai glaring at him. It’ll be fine. He tried to reassure her with a smile, which only seemed to make her angrier. Oh relax. He wasn’t going through with this without a few precautions.
“If you intend to make a fool of me –”
“The King will have all our heads, we know.”
Min-jun locked eyes with him. He could detect no ill will, no deception, only something slightly playful, almost like excitement. Min-jun rested his chin on his hand.
“And what of the King’s order to keep their distance?”
“They’ll warm up to you as the night goes on,” Ha-jun said. “Besides, seeing as I’m still walking on two legs, they’re starting to realize they’ve taken all this a little too far.”
Min-jun considered. These last few days, he’d been itching to make some sort of progress in his quest. Why not take Ha-jun and his friends up on their offer? After all, his guard would be there to ward off any potential threats. It was better than sitting around doing nothing but lamenting the King’s sudden shift.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
A/N: Let us all collectively facepalm as Min-jun once again acknowledges something is bad for him and does it anyway. Thank you so much for reading! Not much happened this chapter, but next chapter will be more eventful, promise. Also, thank you everyone for all your comments. I know I’m terrible at responding in a timely manner, but I read and cherish each of them. I’m so grateful to be able to share this story with you!
Thanks for the chapter ♥️♥️
This gathering is bad news i tell you 🧐
*takes a deep breath * trap trap trap trap trap
Well didn’t Min-Jun just become more relatable 😄Mai is probably going to get tired of being the practical one.