Min-jun sat at his desk later in the evening, browsing the Investigation Bureau’s past rosters. So, the old man who had been the Investigation Bureau’s chief all those years ago had retired. Where could he be now? No one seemed to know, but surely, surely he was the key to all of this.
Min-jun brought his thumb to his lips, thinking.
“Sun,” he called.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Do you know where the Investigation Bureau’s previous chief has retired?”
A pause. “No, Your Highness.” But? “But I know someone who does.”
Min-jun perked up. “And who might that be?”
“You’re married to him.”
. . . Oh.
“I think I’ll pass,” Min-jun said. The King liked to intervene at every turn, and while some part of Min-jun was grateful for having someone to rely on after all these years, he could not bear the feeling of being coddled so.
“Your Highness, isn’t justice for your parents more important than your own feelings concerning the King?”
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.
Bold words, considering those feelings were the only thing stopping him from committing to the idea that the King was guilty. And if that happened, one of them would have to die. Min-jun didn’t think the King had it in him to kill off his first love, but Min-jun still might. For now.
“P klii ub ab atf Blcu’r dejgafgr atfc.” Zlc-pec gbrf ab tlr offa. Ktf Blcu rtbeiv yf yjmx ogbw mtfmxlcu atf cluta uejgv ys cbk.
. . .
Ktf Blcu tjv cba gfaegcfv ab tlr dejgafgr sfa, yea klat j ofk nflifv atgfjar, Zlc-pec wjcjufv ab ufa qjra atf uejgvr jcv rfgnjcar. Ofoa ab tlr bkc vfnlmfr jr tf kjlafv obg atf Blcu, Zlc-pec’r fsfr kjcvfgfv ab atf ugjcv vfrx, ktfgf rajmxr bo qjqfg kfgf ifoa rmjaafgfv klat cb gtswf bg gfjrbc. Lf ifjcfv bnfg atf rajmxr, alialcu tlr tfjv ab atf rlvf. Vifcvfg olcufgr kgjqqfv jgbecv bcf bo atf rtffar bo qjgmtwfca, jcv Zlc-pec mbeiv cba rabq atf ygfjat bo ijeutafg atja frmjqfv tlw. Ktf Blcu tjv ubaafc ijhs klat tlr mjiilugjqts.
Min-jun sat down behind the desk, where the King would usually sit. The room was quiet, peaceful almost, and still as the night. Without thinking, Min-jun reached for the handle of one of the desk drawers. He pulled on it.
No, this is just foolish thinking. The King wouldn’t be keeping something from him. And yet, in the back of his mind, uncertainty tightened its grip. If you’re so sure, then take a closer look, boy.
He exhaled. Nothing out of the ordinary. A few sheets of expensive paper, a beautiful bound journal, a pair of rings, and a spare ink stone. He’d been wrong then. It had just been Mother’s voice conjuring up these doubts.
That was what he’d decided, but just as he was about to close the drawer for good, he noticed that the bottom of it seemed too shallow compared to the outside. He pressed down on it and felt the wood shift a bit beneath his fingertips.
There’s something underneath it!
Carefully, he took out the contents of the drawer and placed them on the desk. His fingers brushed over the surface of the drawer, looking for a way to remove the fake bottom. His nail latched onto a small loop at the edge of one of the corners, one that could easily be missed if one wasn’t looking for it. Min-jun glanced up at the door one last time. Deep down, his heart screamed at him, warning him that this wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be going through the King’s personal possessions. Please, when had he gotten so soft, especially where the King was concerned? Ridiculous. He wasn’t supposed to fall in love until after they’d confirmed the King’s innocence.
Min-jun lifts the wooden board up and finds two old records hiding beneath it. His heart thundered in his ears, as his stomach twisted uncomfortably.
Impossible.
With a growing sense of dread, Min-jun flipped to the first page of the record and began to read. He brushed past names of people he didn’t know, each of them accused of arson, treason, theft, among other things. Each of them with the same short sentence at the end of their entry.
Sentenced to death at the King’s command.
Min-jun checked the dates, the times, and the places, and realized that the report had been written around the same time as his sixteenth birthday. Around the same time, his parents had gone missing. The pages began to tear from how tightly he held onto the record.
No matter. Perhaps it’s nothing. Maybe their names won’t be here at all.
After days and days of searching, Min-jun found himself not wanting to find his answers after all. Things had been going so well between them and . . .
Hae Seo-a and Hae Yeong-su. A long list of accusations followed. Min-jun felt sick to his stomach just reading them as if his mind and body rejected the very thought of his parents being criminals. They were noble people, driven by the same justice they’d instilled in Min-jun. None of this could be true. How dare they accuse his parents of such crimes!
He read the sentencing. He did not believe a word of any of it. Only one thing rang true in his mind.
He lied to me.
All he could do was stare. Did . . . did the King think Min-jun would simply take the word of a report that could’ve been so easily altered? Did he take him for a fool? Of course he did. That much had been obvious from the start. The King had never taken him for a serious threat. Why would he take him for an equal partner now? The coiling betrayal inside of Min-jun quickly turned to anger, as the familiar footsteps of the King echoed in the hallway.
Without a second thought, he sent the record flying across the room as the King entered his chambers, dressed in crimson robes. The King dodged it easily, but the surprise on his face was clear, taking place of the small smile he’d worn before.
“Min-jun?”
“You seem surprised,” Min-jun said. As he stood, his body trembled. He couldn’t keep the fury out of his voice. “Were you planning on keeping it a secret forever?”
The realization dawned on the King, violet eyes widening. He stepped forward. “No . . . Min-jun, I –”
It was Min-jun who closed the gap between them. “What? Did you think I would turn my back on you? Did you think I’d just take things at face value? Cheol, I’ve been investigating since before I could talk! This is child’s play for me.”
“Min-jun –”
“Why can’t you just trust me?” Min-jun asked, voice cracking. Damn. Damn the King and all his manipulations. “Tell me why.”
The King could not answer. He wouldn’t even give Min-jun the dignity of a reply. What must he do to at least get that much respect from him? From anyone, for that matter. Even the servants watched him with scorn.
He moved past the King, heading for the doors, only to have the King snatch his arm back. The force of the movement had Min-jun tripping back into the King’s embrace. It had been unintentional, Min-jun knew that much by the way the King had scrambled to catch his fall, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. For a moment, they stayed there, Min-jun’s cheek pressed to the King’s chest, the King’s arms around his shoulders and his waist. Still, the action felt stifling, and Min-jun’s surprise soon turned to fear.
“Just hear me out, love,” the King whispered. It was a gentle, soothing tone, but Min-jun couldn’t hear it anymore. He felt confined, and helpless, as memories returned of being pulled into rooms in the dead of night in exchange for the precious money that kept Su-jin alive. And it was these memories that had him pushing the King away with all the strength he had in him. Min-jun raised his arm to slap him . . . hit him, who knew? But just as quickly as the violence rose in him, it vanished. He could not lay a hand on the King anymore.
The King reached for him again, and Min-jun yelled out. “Don’t touch me!” He brought his hands to claw at his hair. “I can’t stand it!” That wasn’t true. He always craved the King’s touch, but now the King’s hands felt too much like any other man’s.
The King did not try to come near him now, arms hanging at his sides. “I’m sorry.”
Apologies. If only they could learn from their mistakes. Min-jun felt what little trust he had in the King shrivel up. It hurt. It hurt far more than he’d expected because his heart had been so ready to let down its walls at long last.
“As am I.” For putting so much faith in you. But at the end of the day, the King was the King. He was not the boy Min-jun had once fallen in love with. He was a man who got what he wanted through means such as these, and Min-jun was not the exception he’d thought he was. Am I just another you want for, Your Majesty? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to keep me by your side, even if it means that you will lie, and cheat, and steal?
A/N: I’m back. That was a crazy month, haha, but I felt like it’s finally time to check in with my boys. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please leave a comment down below.
You’re back and with a delivery of pain at that too!! Hope everything went well during your break 👍
We all love some pain in our stories, don’t we?
Cheol you should have trusted Min Jun. To gain trust again is hard. Good luck Cheol
Thank you for update. Glad your sense of humor has been refreshed ‘enjoy this chapter’ lol
It’ll be an uphill battle for Cheol but he is used to that by now lolol. Let’s hope their relationship has a speedy recovery. Thanks for commenting.
It looks to me like Min-jun’s reactions are tainted again. Thinking that Cheol doesn’t take him seriously and that the servants are looking at him with scorn are not even close to what he thinks when he’s not shaken. Sun egging him on in the beginning is kind of funny, like is he still one the king’s closest friends or not 😂.
Min-jun’s perception of the world around him gets twisted so quickly. My boy really needs to see a cognitive behavioral therapist to get him through these thought patterns smh. he’s really a world-class athlete doing all these mental gymnastics.
THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE OMG I LOVE THIS NOVEL SO SO MUCH 🥰🥰🥰
Thank you so much for commenting. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Welcome back! Oof Cheol got found out super fast didn’t he? He might as well have just left the papers on his desk….
he needs to stop thinking he can hide stuff from his detective bf smh