How To Kill A KingCh145 - Two Kings

Trigger Warning: SA, trauma related to SA

Min-jun sat alone on the steps of a small Inn, reading one of his mystery novels to pass the time, leaning against one of the red stone pillars that supported the building. Although he seemed to be doing an idle task, his mind raced as it analyzed every scenario that could possibly arise from his separation from the King, who had disappeared into the crowd a few minutes ago. What if the stalker had gone after the King after all? What if they were more powerful than either of them had anticipated? They had hidden their presence so well, after all. c USoL

Ah, Min-jun would’ve never expected to be so concerned about the King’s safety. He should be worrying about himself now. Even so, he didn’t want the last words they exchanged to be a simple “stay safe”, not when there was so much he needed to tell him still.

He was catastrophizing now. The King could not be killed so easily. The earth itself was on his side. He was as close to immortal as a human could get. 

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Min-jun sighed, shutting his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on. 

“Min-jun.” It was the King’s voice that drew his attention, forcing him to look up from the pages of the book. There was a smile on his face and a sparkle in his violet eyes, and the tone of his voice was cheerful, laidback almost.  lHYIXa

“What are you doing here? I thought we agreed to split up,” Min-jun said. His eyes zeroed in on a cut on the King’s cheek, the blood dripping down to his chin. Min-jun reached into his robes and pulled out a silk handkerchief, dabbing at the blood. “Who did this to you?”

The King took his wrists and pulled him closer. “Look at you, fussing over me.” A kiss pressed to Min-jun’s forehead, and a hand loosened from around his wrist to run his knuckles along the length of Min-jun’s cheekbone. “Are you alright, Min-jun?”

“I’m fine,” he said, wondering why his body seemed so intent on pulling away from the King now. 

A hand took hold of his and the King brought it up to his lips, kissing it. “I’m glad.” He met his gaze again. “We found the one who had been following us. A young man. He’d been sent by one of the opposing families to keep an eye on us.”

ZzAdDC

“I see.” Just like that? Min-jun didn’t want to admit it but he felt rather disappointed. It had been too long since his last real case, and he had been vying to get out into the field again. But he supposed with the King around that simply wasn’t a possibility. He’d put Min-jun’s safety above everything else.

“Let us not let him spoil the mood,” the King said. “I have something I’ve been dying to show you.”

“Oh?” 

The King dragged him along the dirt path, weaving through the crowd which had only gotten bigger since they’d reunited. Min-jun had expected a crowded restaurant or bar if it was for investigation purposes. Otherwise, the King’s penchant for nature would’ve led them on a path to the outskirts of the city for a romantic rendezvous or some nonsense along those lines. Instead, the King led him to a small, warmly lit shop. It was warm. There were no other people inside, but it seemed to be a clothing store of some sort, with beautiful fabrics lining the walls on wooden shelves.  lpXHcd

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.

Zjsyf tf kjcafv ab yes tlw rbwfatlcu? Zlc-pec mfgajlcis kbeivc’a yf bqqbrfv ab atja. 

Ktf Blcu rabif Zlc-pec’r tja ogbw tlw, wjxlcu Zlc-pec ktlgi jgbecv ab ojmf tlw. “Xlnf la yjmx!” 

“P’v gjatfg cba,” atf Blcu rjlv, yjmxlcu jkjs jr Zlc-pec abbx rafqr obgkjgv. “P delaf ilxf sbe atlr kjs.”

“Stop with this nonsense.” Min-jun stood up on his toes, reaching past the King’s shoulders to take the hat from him. Instead, an arm wrapped around his waist, tighter than usual. Another hand took the pin from Min-jun’s hair, letting it unravel into dark waves down his back. iHO2me

“You’re so beautiful,” the King said, stroking Min-jun’s cheek. Alarm took Min-jun’s breath away. He couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong, but his body sensed it. Something was off. Min-jun tried to squirm out of the King’s grasp, but he held fast. “I love you so, my darling.” 

Darling! He hardly ever called him that. It was always always “my love”, said in that stupid sing-songy cadence. It’s not him. 

“Let me go,” Min-jun said, quietly. Everything seemed so unsettling now. The King’s eyes were the wrong shade of violet, his lips did not quirk up in the same smile Min-jun had seen on his face so many times before, and his hands . . . they made Min-jun want to hide away from his touch forever. 

“Don’t touch me –”  HyE9p2

The King, no, whoever this man was, did not listen to his pleads. A tongue was slipping into his mouth, a familiar feeling of being invaded against his will. The man pushed him onto the table near the window, so he was pinned there, unable to move. Although it was more accurate to say that Min-jun was completely frozen. That was what they’d taught him in the brothel. Be silent, put your arms down, stay still, and it’ll be over soon –

“Huh,” the man said, lips trailing along Min-jun’s neck and jaw like a snake. “I suppose even with a title, you’re still just another whore at the end of the day.” His lips were so close to his ear now that they made him shiver, a wave of nausea rising in him. Min-jun wouldn’t mind vomiting on the man if that would get him off of him, but nausea stayed as only a feeling. 

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

The man began to undo Min-jun’s jeogori, the ribbon easily unraveling in his hands. Stop. Stop, please. 

“Stop.”  KD4kCq

“Now, now.” The man laughed. “It wouldn’t do to deny your husband, would it?”

It was a split second that Min-jun managed to find some semblance of courage in him. Something that usually came easily to him had been quenched so quickly. But this man had taken the King’s appearance and his voice and deceived Min-jun and Min-jun’s tongue untied to speak a few words, as one hand reached out to push him away. “You’re not him.” 

A slap followed, so forceful that Min-jun could swear it shook his skull.

“Very good,” the man mocked him. Mocked him in the King’s gentle voice. “You’re not as stupid as you look, after all. Oh, don’t give me that look now. I’ll treat you well until the others arrive.” pSa2rG

Others? 

“What others?”

“That is none of your concern.” The man slipped his undershirt off his shoulders, leaving Min-jun bare and cold and . . . and scared. Scared because the look in the man’s eyes was so familiar, and the touch of his hands was rough and callous and promising violence if he resisted, and all the while he looked like the gentlest man Min-jun had ever met. “It’s all your fault really, sweetheart. You made yourself quite the target, parading as the King’s Consort. There are many who would like to see you fall from such a high position.”

Cheol. Cheol, please. Even in his mind he could not call for his help.  WUDntc

‘Shut your eyes if you have to,’ came the Madam’s voice. ‘It helps.’ 

No one was coming to save him. There always came a point where he realized this. This was no different. Even as the King’s consort, he could not escape this hell. Even when he was loved by a man so powerful the earth bent to his will. That power was not his. And so he must endure – 

‘Love,’ the King’s voice was so clear in his head. ‘Aren’t you forgetting something?’ 

The blade. Hidden in his layers of clothing. The beautiful weapon the King had gifted him so long ago.  pvKfs4

Calming himself long enough to consider his options, Min-jun unclenched his fist and slipped his fingers into the fabric which pooled around him. The man did not notice. He was too busy sticking his hand down Min-jun’s pants. And just as he was getting ready to pull away the last bit of fabric between them, Min-jun raised his dagger in the air and brought it down between the man’s shoulder blades. 

“You little bastard,” the man screeched. Hmph, the King didn’t screech. In fact, this whole thing was as much an insult to Min-jun as it was to the King! 

“You people always seem to forget how to keep your hands to yourselves.” Min-jun pushed him away with enough force to have him topple onto the ground. He jumped off the table and circled around him. He pushed him flat onto his stomach, one foot near his blade and the gaping wound in the man’s back. Well, I suppose I don’t have to wonder what the King would look like with a blade through his back. 

“You know, in addition to being a whore, which contrary to what you seem to believe, does not mean I want to fuck every man that passes by, I am also quite an avid investigator.” Min-jun twisted the blade in the man’s back. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you until your friends arrive.”  eBdzIx

. . .

Min-jun ran back out into the streets, toward the place the King had agreed to meet him. Now that the initial adrenaline rush had passed, he was left with painful hickeys and dried saliva and a sense of disgust. One thing was clear. There were more of them out and about. Min-jun had only been able to overpower the impersonator thanks to the element of surprise. He doubted that would work on all of them at once. 

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He wrapped his arms around himself. Don’t dwell on it anymore. Let it pass as you had before. But the image of the King’s face overcome with greed would not leave him. What am I supposed to tell the real King when I see him again? How was he to explain away the hickeys and the bruising? The mark from the slap the man had landed on him? Would the King tell him he’d been stupid, reckless, and that the King had been right all along? It’s my fault again, isn’t it, Mother?

He’s never going to let me leave the Palace again. Perhaps it was better that way. If it meant he could be free of whatever curse was following him that made all these men choose him as their target. Let him stay in that gilded cage, loved by a King until his death, pampered and spoiled. Maybe then, the scars would heal.    ulvsGd

“Love?” the voice sounded uncertain. “What happened to your hat.” 

The King walked around to face him when Min-jun could not bring himself to turn around. Truthfully, he was frightened that when he turned to look at him, it would be the fake King he’d see. Even so, he gathered his courage again and slowly raised his gaze. The tension left his shoulders.

The King’s expression was predictably concerned, pained, and finally, infuriated. It was him, alright. His lower lip was bleeding, and his hanbok’s sleeve had a large gash in it, but it was certainly the King. Positively unnatural, and a brilliant rose hanging loosely in his other hand. Who else, other than Min-jun’s King, could find roses like that on the brink of winter.

“Who did this to you?”  9WQKJx

What a simple phrase. Who did this to you? Not “what did you do to make them act like this”. Not “well, what did you expect being a filthy prostitute?” 

It wasn’t your fault. 

Min-jun’s throat closed up, his lip trembled. Tears filled his eyes. And for the first time in, oh, almost a decade now, he let them fall. His hand went up instinctively to cover his sobs as he sank down to the dirt road. 

“Oh, love.” Now the King was the one who sounded close to tears. It didn’t take long for him to also kneel down on the road. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether or not he should touch Min-jun. As if to answer him, Min-jun leaned forward into the King’s embrace. The King wrapped his arms around Min-jun, propping his chin on the top of his head. “It’s alright. You can tell me later, or not at all. Let’s just get you out of this cold for now.”  ivBNEb

But Min-jun would not let go of him, and so they remained standing in the cold, and Min-jun could hardly feel it with the King’s arms wrapped around him like this. 

A/N: Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a comment down below. This one got pretty heavy but I hope I managed to juggle this sensitive topic quite well. Min-jun trauma is definitely one of the most difficult things to write in this story.