The King gently laid Min-jun down on the bed, their lips so close that all Min-jun would have to do was lean in and kiss him. Instead, the King moved away to inspect Min-jun’s injured ankle. He rolled up his pant leg a bit, his fingers cool against Min-jun’s skin. A hiss of pain caught in Min-jun’s throat, and the King paused for a moment.
“You insist on driving me mad, my love,” the King said, gingerly prodding at the swollen flesh. “First you give away my precious gifts as if they were mere trinkets. Then, you stay out all night and get drunk outside of the Palace, forcing me to look after you during an important mission. And now, you’ve exacerbated your injury by moving about when I told you to rest.”
“If you paid less attention, you wouldn’t be in such disarray.” Min-jun slipped away from the King’s grip. “I will rest now so Your Majesty can return to your work.”
“Trying to get rid of me so soon, my love? I will see you treated before I have any thoughts of leaving,” the King said. A moment later, Jeong-eun announced that Min-jun’s medicine had been delivered. She and Chae-won carried two trays of various jars and bowls, and Min-jun wondered why he needed so much medicine for a simple ankle sprain. The King was acting like he’d just come down with some terrible plague.
“I am not so ill,” he told him. “A little rest and I will be better.”
The King had already taken hold of Min-jun’s ankle, his other hand reaching for one of the jars of salves. “I do not like seeing you in pain, my love. Allow me to help you heal faster if nothing else.”
A memory re-emerged, and Min-jun could not stop it in time. The balmy scent of the river in summer, sunlight dappling the forest floor, Min-jun’s world painted in shades of vibrant green. A patch of yellow forsythia bushes bloomed nearby.
“It’s just a scratch, Ha-jun,” he’d murmured, as the other boy applied a stinging balm to Min-jun’s scraped knee.
“It hurts, doesn’t it?”
Min-jun shrugged. “A little bit.”
“Then it’s not ‘just a scratch’.”
Stubborn through and through. The more time Min-jun spent with the King, the more evident their similarities became. He hated to admit again and again that the boy he’d loved had not disappeared entirely, and that he could not simply treat them as separate entities. Min-jun could usually deny himself anything. But not this. Did the King remember him? Surely, if he had, he would’ve recognized his parents and let them live for Min-jun’s sake. ‘You give him too much credit.’ How well had he even known that boy? Not even his real name. Why must he cling to this memory?
“Has Your Majesty ever been in love?” The question left him before he could hold his tongue. Foolish boy. What did it matter if the King remembered? Min-jun should be focusing on how to forget again.
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.
The King’s hands had paused in their work wrapping the bandage around his ankle. It didn’t take long for the King to continue, as if the question had meant nothing to him. “I have. Why do you ask?”
“P mjc afii ktfc j wjc’r yffc lc ibnf. Tbe’gf abb ubbv ja ojxlcu la ab tjnf cfnfg fzqfglfcmfv la. Jjii la j wbgylv meglbrlas bc ws qjga.”
“Mjxlcu la?” Ktf Blcu rwlifv ja atja, j rboa, rbwyfg atlcu. “Zs olgra ibnf kjr j ybs ogbw atf glnfg abkcr. Yg rb P’w abiv. Zs bkc wfwbgs bo atf ktbif joojlg lr ijmxlcu.”
“Lacking? But they were your first love.” He was his first love. Min-jun! How dare he forget about him. Did he not know how many nights Min-jun had cried for him? Did he not care?
“I only remember that I loved him a great deal and I hated to leave him,” the King continued. Their eyes met, the King’s expression full of tenderness. “Do not tell me you’re jealous, my love? You are the only one in my heart now.”
“Says the man with four other wives. I have no interest in your heart.” Min-jun snorted, lying down in bed. “I won’t be going anywhere, so you can go back now, Your Majesty.”
The King did not go back. He sat there, watching him with inexplicable expression. The feeling of being scrutinized made Min-jun wrap himself up in the pink and gold comforter, half his face buried in the material.
“It suits you,” the King said, though from his tone, Min-jun could tell he wasn’t expecting an answer. “Teaching, that is. You’d do well in the Academy.”
Ha! Min-jun teaching alongside those men? Never mind that royal consorts had no place outside of the Inner Court. When these two weeks were over, Min-jun would return to his captivity until he managed to kill the King. “How could a former kisaeng ever become a scholar?”
“Is that what you’re concerned about?” the King asked. “You have me. If you wish to study and teach, I will grant you your wish.”
A brief moment of uncertainty fluttered in his heart. Min-jun wasn’t even sure he would enjoy something like that. He’d only ever been a kisaeng or an investigator. And why would he even consider it? Once the King was dead, everything he’d given Min-jun would die with him. “Do not concern yourself with such things, Your Majesty.”
“I want you to be happy. That is my concern. And none of that ‘your death would make me happy’ nonsense. It’s quite tiresome.”
“If you find me so tiresome, perhaps you should divorce me.”
“Now, love,” the King teased, settling down next to him. “Let’s not say things we don’t mean. We both know you don’t want me to take you up on that offer.”
Ah, this damned body. Just having the King so close to him made Min-jun wish to sink into his embrace.
A knock came at the door. They both sat up, and the King ordered the person who interrupted them to enter. Hye-jin opened the door, and by the King’s expression, he had expected her.
“Your Majesty,” she said. “The sun is almost down.”
“So it is,” the King said. Then, he turned to Min-jun, looking apologetic. “You’ll have to excuse me, my love.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” Min-jun told him. The King walked out of the room, but Hye-jin lingered in the doorway. The two of them had hardly interacted before, so what reason could she have for staying behind?
Hye-jin looked at him, her expression neutral. “His Majesty has a meeting with Lady Ok-jeong this evening. It is of utmost importance that he does not miss it.” She bowed. “Have a good rest, Your Highness.”
Min-jun just stared for a moment, and then he let out a light snort. So, they were still seeing each other. All that talk of affection while the King was philandering about with Min-jun’s rival, a woman who could take his place in the Palace. Min-jun should be relieved. It would not be cruel of him to kill a man who had no love for him.
‘Well then, my dear, perhaps it is time to make your move?’ Mother’s voice echoed. In the event that Lady Ok-jeong did capture the King’s interest, Min-jun would not last much longer in the Palace. Min-jun had many poisons hidden in this very room, so all it took was the right opportunity.
But the King was not a regular man. Would poison even work on him? Perhaps in large doses, but that would be too easy to detect. Min-jun wanted to live through all of this, after all. He wanted to return to Su-jin.
It would be best to wait for now. An attempted assassination would only end in Min-jun’s own head on the chopping block. What Min-jun needed was an opening. Perhaps he could ask the King to go on a trip with him again, or would that be too suspicious?
‘Excuses,’ Mother chided again.
. . .
“Done antagonizing my consort already, Hye-jin?” Cheol teased, as Hye-jin stepped out of the suite.
“It’s your own fault, Your Majesty.” Hye-jin crossed her arms, unyielding. Had they not been at odds with each other, Cheol was certain she and Min-jun would get along. “You’re the one who continues to neglect your duties in favor of a pair of pretty brown eyes.”
“I’m not so neglectful,” Cheol said. “Aren’t I, Sun?”
The three of them walked together through the Villa, passing shocked servants and polished hallways. After an awkward pause, Sun gave his answer. “Well, Your Majesty, you never delayed a meeting before His Highness came along.”
The betrayal truly cut him to the core. Cheol gestured between the two of them. “Sun! You of all people should be taking my side.”
“I did not say it was a bad thing,” Sun quickly amended. “Your Majesty has certainly been growing less concerned with your royal duties, and as a statesman, I suppose I should be concerned.” Sun crossed his arms, much like Hye-jin had moments ago, but his expression was far different as he considered his options. Sun always chose his words carefully. “But as your friend, I find I don’t mind it as much.”
“Sun!” Hye-jin protested.
“It’s true,” Sun replied, undaunted. “Your Majesty has not been this happy since the day you left His Highness in the river towns.” He nodded to himself. “Love is truly a powerful emotion.”
Cheol frowned, rolling his eyes. “I keep telling you all that I am not in love with him.”
Neither could meet his eyes then. They did not see the extent of Cheol’s manipulation. Good. If his best friends could not see through it, perhaps Min-jun wouldn’t either.
“Speaking of which,” Cheol said. “I need you to find something for me.” Now that Min-jun seemed to be gaining his memory back, Cheol needed to gather his evidence.
“Find what?” Sun asked.
“Do you remember the binyeo I bought for Min-jun in the river towns?” Cheol did not wait for an answer. “I need it back.”
A/N: Cheol, buying Min-jun gifts, spending every moment he can with Min-jun, talking about Min-jun fondly, making plans to make Min-jun happy. Also Cheol: I’m sooooo not in love with him.
I’ve written two clowns into existence tsk. I hope you enjoyed yet another chapter of clownery and denial. Let’s see how long it lasts now that both of them are getting closer to their pasts. Thank you for reading! If you liked this chapter, please leave a comment down below.
I’m starting to think Min-jun needs someone besides Mai to confide in. Cheol has his, although I guess it doesn’t always work in his favor huh? Hye-jin almost got him poisoned 😄. Sun is pretty cool though.
Min-jun needs real friends stat. Thank you for commenting!
Can’t wait for the day they finally accept it…
. . . that might take a while. but i believe in them.
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Thanks for the chapter ♥️♥️
Thank you for commenting!
Honestly, I think his friends are overestimating Cheol by assuming that Cheol has such a big and deep scheme that there is no way to find out the truth instead of realizing that Cheo is being dumb and is in stupid denial lol.
And the bad thing about being in denial is that you don’t realize your foolishness until you lose it.
both hye-jin and sun are suspicious of cheol’s plan, but cheol is digging in his heels lol. and not realizing he is already in love.
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Gah they’re both so dense! Does min-jun seriously not realize that he was the river town boy? And I thought that was a straight up confession.
Min-jun does know he is the river town boy, but he doesn’t like it lol. Thank you for commenting!