It did not take long for them to hear the thumping sound of men dropping to the ground above them. Down, they go.
“You’d better be right about this,” Minho said, eyes shining as she watched Min-jun pick the lock again.
“I wouldn’t stake our lives on something I wasn’t sure about,” Min-jun said. She fixed him with a doubtful look. He cleared his throat. “Well, we should stay together and look for supplies in the meantime. Flares, food, weapons.”
“That would require the presence of another person out at sea,” Minho said. “You think he’s out there?”
“I do.” The lock clicked again and Min-jun pushed the door open. “The poison should keep them knocked out for a few hours at least, but you never can be certain with these types. It’s best to be prepared.”
“I thought you said you were sure about this,” Minho said.
“I am.” Min-jun opened the door and took a step outside. The women followed him cautiously. “By the way. Would any of you happen to know how to use a flare?”
One of the women perked up. “I do! My father was a . . . a sailor for many years. He taught me all there is to know about ships. I could even steer us home.”
“That won’t be necessary,” said Min-jun, opening a door to a storage room he’d noticed before. “I’d rather get these men off our hands as quickly as possible. I’m sure the King feels similarly.”
The sailor woman was the first to spot the flares in the corner of the room.
“Now all that’s left to do is go up,” said Minho. “And hope those men are actually asleep.”
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.
“Oh!” one of the women said, sounding delighted as she opened a crate holding all manner of weapons. “Girls, grab a sword!”
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They stood staring up at the deck. One of them had to ascend the stairs. Min-jun, used to having at least a dozen servants and a royal guard ready to put themselves in harm’s way for him, did not volunteer his own safety. It was only after a few of the women gave him cold, stern looks that he realized that they expected him to go up first.
“Ah, of course. I was the one who said they’d be out cold, after all,” Min-jun said, laughing lightly. They should be out cold, but again, sleeping poisons had a tendency to be finicky. He walked up the steps and opened the small trap door that led to the outside. He could smell the salt in the air as he walked out into the cold wintry night. None of them had dressed for the weather, and with the wind whipping the ship, it was even colder out in the open. Min-jun rubbed his arms as the chill ran up and down his spine and he shivered.
Thirty or so men lay on the ground, unresponsive. Three women dressed as Kisaeng stood over the bodies of two of the men, who were bleeding from wounds on the back of their heads. They held large sticks in their hands.
“Chae-yeong!” Minho said, running toward the women. “Are you alright? Did they hurt you?”
“I’m alright,” said Chae-yeong. She took hold of Minho’s hands. “I should be asking you the same question. What happened to your wrists?”
Min-jun glanced at the other women, wondering if they knew how the two of them were related. They all shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads.
“Look at your face,” Minho cried, hand hovering over Chae-yeong’s cheek. Indeed, even Min-jun could make out the ugly purple bruises on the woman’s face. “They hit you. Those bastards.”
“Don’t cry,” Chae-yeong whispered, wiping Minho’s tears. “I’m really alright. I’m with you, after all. I was worried about you.”
“How could you do something so dangerous?” Minho said as Chae-yeong kissed her hand. It sounded like her heart had barely survived something horrible. They were lovers, clearly.
Why did the pang in Min-jun’s heart feel so much like guilt?
“Can you light the flare now?” he asked the sailor woman, as he walked over to the ledge of the boat, looking out over the horizon. He couldn’t see anything. There was no moon, no stars, not even the lantern of a fisherman’s boat. Are you there?
He heard the sound of the flare exploding midair and saw its orange light illuminate the ocean. You must be angry with me.
“Looks like they’re here,” he murmured, as the lantern lights appeared, flickering in the wind.
The sailor woman appeared beside him with a telescope in her hand. She lifted it to her eye.
“That’s the navy alright. Ooh, those flags still send shivers down my spine whenever I see them.”
Min-jun paused, frowning. “Why?”
The sailor woman looked askance, licking her lips nervously. “Oh, it’s nothing. You know, the King is known for being harsh and cruel.” She cleared her throat, remembering who she was talking to. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Min-jun said. He’d called the King worse things before.
“Min-jun, watch out!” It was Minho’s voice that finally reached him. Min-jun’s gaze shifted just fast enough to register one of the men running toward him, a blade flickering in his hand like a silver flame. And in a moment where he really should have focused on getting himself out of danger, he pushed the sailor woman out of the way instead, far out of danger, into the arms of the women who had tried to run to their rescue.
He wasn’t sure which came first. The sting in the left side of his abdomen, or the pulsating pain of getting slammed into the floor. His head hit the wooden planks hard enough that it felt like his entire skull shook with the impact. The blade, he realized, was in his stomach now. He could feel it twist with every move he made and his hand moved on instinct to try to remove it. A fist swung down on his face, splitting his lip. He heard a strange cracking sound. The only thought on his mind was why am I the one always getting attacked! Really. There were so many other people on the ship and he’d run straight for Min-jun. Tch.
Min-jun kneed the man in the stomach with every intention of running away.
“You little bitch,” the man screamed. Min-jun recognized the voice now. It was the Minister of Personnel, the wretched man. The King had been trying to get rid of him for months now. So this was what he’d been up to.
Blood dripped from the wound in his abdomen, and as he attempted to crawl out from under the Minister, he was pinned down again. Min-jun aimed his own dagger at the Minister’s face, slashing his eye open. The Minister screamed, clutching the right half of his face as blood pooled in his hand.
Min-jun only had so much strength left in him, and with his wound steadily bleeding him dry and the beating from earlier, the Minister, with all his rage, easily overpowered him. He shoved Min-jun onto his stomach, pulling his arm back painfully, twisting the knife out of it.
Min-jun heard the sound of metal scraping through flesh and bone. It was not his flesh, however. The Minister’s blade clattered on the floor beside Min-jun, a single drop of blood on its sharp tip.
The weight lifted off of Min-jun’s back. There was no one holding his arm back far enough to dislocate his shoulder, no one keeping him pinned to the floor, no one holding a dagger to his throat. The Minister was forced off of him with one firm kick in the chest, coughing up blood as he lay bleeding out on the floor of the ship. Min-jun did not get to admire the view for long, as his savior came to kneel beside him, obscuring the wounded Minister.
The King stared down at him, any anger he might’ve felt was washed away, replaced with a concern that would tug on anyone’s heartstrings.
“Your Majesty,” Min-jun murmured.
“You are in a great deal of trouble,” the King warned, as he slid an arm under Min-jun’s shoulders, lifting him up. Min-jun laid his head on the King’s chest. There was blood on Min-jun’s fingertips and it left bloody fingerprints on the King’s robes. He did not seem to mind.
“I’m cold,” Min-jun murmured. Cold like when he’d been under the Snow Peony’s poison, except now he was wounded on top of that.
“I know,” the King said, voice shaking slightly. He lifted Min-jun off the floor. “You’ll be alright, my love.”
“I’m with you,” Min-jun murmured. How could I ever be alright with you around?
A/N: Part Two! They’re back together now. Who’s ready for angry Cheol next chapter?
ME I’M READY PLEASE SCOLD THAT LITTLE IDIOT TO HEAVEN 😭
BRO IM SO READY FOR THE NEXT CHPTWR AHEIFHEFIFHWHKEHFIHHH
Sorry Ok-jeong, but the king is going to be very busy and preoccupied for a few weeks – watching that wound heal until it’s safe for Min-jun to have sex again. Ok, here’s my idea – take these amazing ladies, have them join Min-jun’s training, put them to work as the queen’s guard. She will feel so safe knowing that her personal guards owe Min-jun their lives 😏.
Readyy… And he really should teach min jun some lesson….. Of course that is after he recovers from the wound
Thanks for the chapter ♥️♥️
😳❤️❤️❤️
Wow I’m so excited !! Thank you so much 💞💞💞💞