#Tae-eul brain fog

[coreastories]

Royal Panic: The Queen was lost--and found-- in Seoul

With the preparations for Queens Day at peak, it’s no wonder the queen might want to get away. And that apparently included her Unbreakable Sword and her team. Poor Mr Jang. 

Or did she miss the king, who had gone to Seoul for the day for the opening of parliament? 

The queen wasn’t completely alone-- she was accompanied by Myeong Seung-ah, of the Royal Public Affairs Office

Ms Myeong is the one who finally tipped the Royal Guard about the queen’s whereabouts

This author will bet gold bullion she gave the tip to Jo Yeong, the king’s Unbreakable Sword, captain of the Royal Guard and Ms Myeong’s reported flame 

At around 10pm last night, the Seoul skyline was cut by three very official looking helicopters flying side by side. A few minutes later, a horde of assault vehicles thundered past in the almost-empty streets, and military armored SUVs and vans also rolled to or from somewhere. 

A few minutes after that, there was a whine of a jet engine overhead and we were stunned in our beds by the whistle and pop of warning shots. Harmless but still menacing. 

Of course, I was immediately curious, but when I called them, our press office thought it was perhaps part of the security starting to manifest for Queens Day 

(No matter, dear reader, I didn’t accept that answer, so I have the juicy scoop for you!). 

Now we know these were actually the Corean Armed Forces making their presence felt in all its might so that anyone stupid enough to have done the unthinkable would piss themselves in fear and surrender. 

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, according to the Royal Public Affairs Office, the Royal Guard and the Corean Armed Forces have a protocol in place that should any of the royal family go missing, all forces are mobilized immediately, whether or not a threat was confirmed. 

We have reports from other cities that they all experienced the same demonstration from the Armed Forces, with confirmed reports of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines lighting up the coast. 

Oh, my heart is all aflutter. This country is too wealthy and too dramatic sometimes. 

The queen is safe

From the packet of the Royal Public Affairs Office, the queen had complained of a headache and retired to her room in the afternoon. She was undisturbed until palace staff checked on her to ask if she wouldn’t have dinner. The king wasn’t home, and the queen hadn’t gone to their kitchen to fix herself anything. 

When she was nowhere to be found in the palace and the grounds, and unreachable with her phone left behind in her bed, well, this author can only imagine the two Unbreakable Swords breaking sweat and summoning the armed forces of Corea for backup. 

The king found the queen

After getting the location from Ms Myeong, it was also relayed to the king, who beat everyone else in getting to the queen. 

Here’s an exclusive account from the chicken place owner (because we also beat everyone else in getting to him), who asked that we not mention his name and his business, even though this would have shot his sales to the stratosphere. 

Asked to tell us what happened from the queen’s arrival to the king’s subsequent arrival, our source said:

“I didn’t know it was the queen. I should have known. But it was very late-- why would I expect the queen to come for chicken at that time of night? Her Majesty ordered banban. The queen and that other woman ate. Then sometime after that, His Majesty arrived and he looked like he ran out of his hotel-- His Majesty didn’t even have a coat on. That’s when it clicked that that was the queen I just served. Because His Majesty looked at her like he-- uh--wanted to kiss her and uh--lock her up.” 

Awww, soyuja-nim is a romantic. 

The reunion between king and queen was private, unfortunately. According to the chicken place owner, he can’t tell us anything more. The king and queen soon left, but he saw them spend a bit of time by the water.

That’s Misa Lake Park. 

As you can clearly see here in the photo released by the Royal Public Affairs Office. 

These two are so adorable. Seeing those smiles, you wouldn’t think they’d just mobilized the Corean Armed Forces. The king does look less happy.  

We do wonder what happened. Surely the palace can serve banban!

Stay tuned, darlings.

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Here’s the chicken place idea from anon lol 😂🍗

This is my headcanon for Lee Gon riding in with the armed forces and an actual honest-to-goodness cavalry on Episode 11-12. Not that he can’t command them to come, I made it actual protocol. After all, that was the future Queen of Corea. Swoon.

Btw, the cavalry unit is part of the Royal Guard. As much as I wanted a repeat of the cavalry riding, they did get the confirmation from Seung-ah, so they didn't actually have to get mounted this time. 😂

Companion fic to follow. 

[coreastories]

Three Hours For Chicken

Companion to Corea News: Royal Panic! The queen was lost--and found-- in Seoul 

The queen of Corea wants chicken, and she goes after what she wants, even if the chicken is in Seoul and she lives in Busan. 

“Not arrive together anywhere?”

“Queens Day is for the queen. The focus is on her. The king can watch and visit, but everyone is supposed to see the queen, not the king.” 

Seung-ah made notes. Separate cars. No. Separate times of arrival. This wouldn’t be too difficult, just complicated. She had to prepare for two scenarios: if the king followed tradition, and if he dismissed it and escorted the queen everywhere. 

Lady Noh was saying, “Ah my head,” so perhaps the old woman was also thinking the same thing. Their king and queen were the opposite of predictable. 

Seung-ah could soon hand this over to the Royal Household and the logistics would be their problem. She just had to sign off on everything first, with Lady Noh’s advice and approval, because everything about the Queens Day was under the domain of Public Affairs. 

Her note-taking was interrupted by a text message. Only four people were set to come up on her screen with a pop-up.  

Hey Seung-ah. Can you come to the study, please? Conf. 

Tae-eul. The queen. “Conf.” stood for confidential, which meant not to say anything if Seung-ah was with anyone. So she pretended to be preoccupied with the arrangements and bowed to leave Lady Noh. 

It was 7pm. Tae-eul probably wanted to eat together. And probably didn’t want Lady Noh’s currently overzealous guarding of what Tae-eul ate. 

When she arrived at the king’s private study, she found Tae-eul pacing on the rug. 

“Ma-- Tae-eul, what is it?” Seung-ah was still learning to use the queen’s name when they were alone as the queen requested. It helped that Seung-ah now used it in her head when she thought of Tae-eul. “Did you ask for dinner already?” 

“Can we take your car?” 

“What?” 

“I want to eat banban.” 

“Banban?”

“It’s chicken. Half plain. Half seasoned. And a hundred percent making my mouth water.” 

“All right, I’ll ask for--”

“No, we’ll take your car.” 

“Mwo?”

Tae-eul sighed. “I already told Jangmi. Just get your car over here.” Tae-eul pointed outside the French windows. “But don’t say anything. Even to Jangmi if you see him when you get your car.” Tae-eul tapped her ear. 

Mollified that Jangmi knew even if the rest of the Royal Guard wasn’t supposed to, Seung-ah did as she was asked. Then she got a funny feeling in her stomach when the queen came out of the French windows and went to the car at what seemed like a very specific angle from the wall, got in, and promptly laid down in the backseat. 

“What-- what are you doing? Are you feeling ill?”

“Yep. But I’m fine. Just don’t say anything. Jangmi is meeting us there.” 

“Meeting us where?” 

Tae-eul didn’t answer. 

The palace gate staff knew Seung-ah’s cars, knew her face, and let her pass through without inspection. About a hundred meters from the gate, Tae-eul popped up in the backseat like a rabbit nosing the air. 

Seung-ah’s stomach roiled. It was no longer a funny feeling. It was more of a realization now. 

“Tae-eul. Did you use me to sneak out of the palace?” 

“Yes.” 

“Is Jangmi really meeting us?” 

“No.” 

“Does Jangmi really know?”

“No.”

“I’m turning the car.” 

“Oh no, please,” Tae-eul rubbed her hands together in apology and pleading. “I just need some time away. Please? I would have gone with the king, but he’s in Seoul. That’s it. I can meet him there. No harm done.”  

“WHAT?!” Seung-ah shrieked. “We’re going to Seoul?!”  

“Yes.” 

“It’s three hours away by train!”

There was a pause in which Seung-ah’s hope that they weren’t really going to Seoul soared. Then the queen grabbed that hope and tossed it to the ground. “Oh. Right.” 

“What do you mean oh right?! Did you forget the distance to Seoul?!” 

“Calm down. It’s only three hours.” 

Only three hours! Seung-ah wasn’t religious but called out to God just then. She swallowed. Her mouth was dry. She supposed she could clutch at the reasoning that the queen wanted to go to the king.  

“Let me tell Jo Yeo--”

“Later. We’ll tell him later when we get there.” 

“Are you trying to get me killed?”

Tae-eul snickered. “Yeong won’t kill you. He loves you.”

“Stop that! What about the king?” 

“Don’t worry about him.” 

Seung-ah snorted. “At least tell Jangmi then. Have mercy on Jangmi.” 

“He’s fine. He’s asleep. He took medicine for his toothache.” 

Seung-ah groaned. 

“I’m sorry. I just… I need to go to Seoul. The chicken place at Misa Lake Park.” 

Seung-ah groaned again. All right. She would tell Yeong when they arrived in Seoul or way sooner than that. Hopefully, the king and queen’s room remained undisturbed by palace staff or Jangmi stayed asleep, whichever would get them past this with the least fuss. 

She looked at Tae-eul through the rearview mirror. The queen wore a Nova Shirt, a Cabello pullover, and a Harris Tweed wool blazer Seung-ah loved. The total cost of the ensemble was over a million won, not counting the jeans and shoes. Not the cheapest in the queen’s wardrobe, but not that expensive either. Not by Seung-ah’s standards. And the queen looked deceptively casual, so they could probably get on the train without attracting attention. 

Tae-eul chose that moment to squeeze her way to the passenger seat through the center console and Seung-ah concentrated on not killing them both and not cursing out her queen. Seriously. 

Tae-eul settled in with her seatbelt on and Seung-ah took deep breaths. 

Then Tae-eul turned to her and said, “So what are we talking about on the three hours on the train? Did you and Yeong go past any bases yet?”

Seung-ah stopped breathing. She felt her face go searing hot. “Stop that. Let me drive. Maybe you should get back to the back seat. But I’ll stop the car so you can get in there using the door like a normal person.” 

Tae-eul just flapped her hand in dismissal. “Do you know Yeong is ticklish in his ankles?” 

“Mwo?” She was saying that so much tonight. 

Tae-eul laughed. “Yeah. I saw it at the gym. They were doing judo and Jangmi was about to grab Yeong’s ankles but Yeong dodged--danced away, really. That was weird. So I whispered to Jangmi to keep going for Yeong’s ankles, and I told him to touch it, not grab it.” Tae-eul curled in on herself, giggling. “I’ll show you the video later. I think getting kicked in the face is why Jangmi has a toothache.” 

Seung-ah laughed despite her nerves at this insanity she was currently dragged into. The queen’s laughter was infectious like that. Yeong was ticklish in the ankle. Hmmm. But poor Jangmi was kicked in the face. “Poor Jangmi.”

“I know, I’ll make it up to him.” 

To Seung-ah’s horror, tears spilled from Tae-eul’s eyes. 

Shit. What the hell. So she said, “Yeong likes to be kissed on the neck.” 

Tae-eul wiped her eyes and perked up. “Really?” 

Seung-ah was relieved. She grinned. “Yeah. He sorta shivers and goes soft in my arms when I do that.” 

“Awwww.” 

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“Status.” 

“Good and quiet here, Captain.” 

“You sure?” 

“Her Majesty is in her bedroom. Lady Noh is in hers. Time is 2100. I’ll update you again at 2200.” 

“All right.” 

Captain Jo hung up and Jangmi sighed in relief. But his cheek felt like it still had a phone against it. Oh man, it was swollen. Wasn’t the medicine supposed to be anti-inflammatory? 

He rooted through his medicine bag for other meds. What he took earlier had stopped the pain and knocked him out but apparently wasn’t good for much else. 

When he turned back around to face his bedroom’s bank of monitors that came with being Unbreakable Sword to the queen, a court maid was waving to the camera. 

Jangmi swallowed his new pill dry and flew out of his room. 

He got there in under a minute but the court maid had already multiplied into three and Lady Noh was there. 

“What is it?” Without waiting for an answer, he entered the king and queen’s chamber. No queen. Ahhh shit fuck balls. 

“Is the queen in the kitchen?” he asked the maids. They shook their heads. 

Lady Noh said, “I already called the Control Tower. Her Majesty isn’t in the palace and the grounds. She was seen going to the study a little before seven, and then Seung-ah went there as well. Could they have been together? But Seung-ah was seen going home alone.” 

He dialed Seung-ah’s number. She didn’t answer. Probably asleep. Shit. He called another number. “Go to Myeong Seung-ah’s house then call me when you have her.” 

With a cold pit in his stomach, he called the captain next. 

“Captain. I don’t have the queen. We haven’t had eyes on her since seven. We’re retrieving Myeong Seung-ah. She’s the last to have seen her.” 

The captain was quiet for three seconds. Jangmi didn’t breathe. Then Captain Jo Yeong spoke in his quietest, sternest voice. “I’ll try to get Seung-ah on the phone and let you know. Do your job. There’s protocol.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Jangmi made a gesture for the maids to leave, and Lady Noh swept them away. Jangmi dialed 8877. The voice on the line only said, “Yes?” 

“Crimson Pheasant. Two hours. Myeong Seung-ah, Royal Public Affairs Office.” 

“Confirming receipt.” The line went dead. 

He hoped Seung-ah wasn’t in the bath or anything, because as the last person to have seen the queen, the Royal Guard and the Corean Armed Forces were about to break down her door. 

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“I should tell Yeong now. Look, Jangmi and Yeong both called and you didn’t let me answer it.”

“Sure, go ahead. I don’t want them to worry.” 

Seung-ah stared at Tae-eul. “I know you’re my queen but you’re an idiot right now. If you didn’t want them to worry, you shouldn’t have gone to Seoul in the first place.” 

Tae-eul didn’t reply. The server had arrived just then, so Tae-eul only probably heard, “Here’s your chicken.” Seung-ah rolled her eyes and sent a quick text to Yeong. 

And then, because Seung-ah had been hungry for dinner since six pm, and the chicken was right there all beautifully golden, she also ate her share of the fricken chicken. Could be her fricken last meal, anyway. 

There was a loud hum outside, overhead, and then a whoosh and thunderclap that had nothing to do with the clear skies. She had an idea what that was. Yep. Probably her last meal. 

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Gon was a little surprised that he actually managed not to panic. He was getting better. His life with Tae-eul wouldn’t be quiet, but it wouldn’t be doomed either. He had an assurance about that, and he was getting better in his faith and trust in that assurance.  

Jangmi had arrived by chopper, and he hadn’t straightened since. He was still bent at the waist, reporting to Gon. 

“Her Majesty had a headache so she went to bed around three pm. We didn’t disturb her. She hadn’t come out until 6:42pm when she was seen going to the study. We can’t reach her because she left her phone on her bed. We couldn’t reach Myeong Seung-ah either and she’s not home.” 

“Jangmi, please straighten up. I’m not blaming you. She probably went somewhere with Seung-ah. You need to add another camera in the patio of my study. There’s a blind spot.” 

Yeong looked at him. Yeong knew Gon had used that blind spot before. Before Gon could call out Yeong for glaring at him, Jangmi straightened and Gon recoiled at the sight of his face. “What happened to you? Did the queen do that to you?” 

At the same time, Yeong said, “Did I do that to you?”

“No, no, Captain, you kicked me here.” Jangmi touched the opposite cheek. The one that wasn’t twice its size. Then he touched the swollen cheek gingerly. “This is a toothache.” 

Gon was torn between amusement and sympathy. He turned his snort of laughter into a grimace. He was about to ask if Jangmi had taken medicine when Yeong made one of those showy, smooth movements, taking his phone out of his coat pocket and checking it. 

“Pyeha. We have the queen. She’s with Seung-ah. They’re at Chika Chika by Misa Lake Park. The car is ready.”

Gon sighed in relief and exasperation. Chika Chika. As in chicken. Misa Lake Park, as in Hanam-si. Tae-eul went to Seoul for chicken? “You two. With me. Now. The others can follow.” 

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Chika Chika was deserted, thankfully. Not that Gon wouldn’t have gone in even if it was full of customers. He saw Tae-eul from the tall windows, and saw her see him and her face soften in greeting and happiness at seeing him. 

He would never get tired of that. If he had felt any anger at all, which he hadn’t--not really-- it would have evaporated right then. He was standing by her table in a few strides. Seung-ah looked at him pleadingly, so he smiled at her in assurance. The poor woman sagged in relief. She deserved a raise. 

“Are you done eating?” he asked Tae-eul. 

Tae-eul wiped her mouth, drank water, and then got up in a too-bouncy way that made him wince. But she was fine. She was fine. He took her hand and he let her pull him to the railing by the lakeside. He saw Yeong and Jangmi on their phones coordinating with everyone. 

They deserved a raise, too. Though he had made certain years ago that the Royal Guard would be rolling in money so they couldn’t be bought. Maybe he could give them something else. 

They arrived at the railing and he watched Tae-eul take deep breaths of the night air. 

“Pyeha. Mama.” 

They turned to Seung-ah. She was holding her phone up. “Let’s do this. For something sweet in the morning. People were asleep in their beds, you know.” 

He saw Tae-eul smile so he smiled and that was the photo done. Seung-ah left them alone. He put his arm around Tae-eul and felt his smile grow when she leaned into his side. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“You don’t look that much sorry.”

She smiled wider. “The banban was really good.”

“Yeah? You didn’t even get me takeaway.” 

“I forgot, I’m sorry.” 

“Did you really forget the distance between Busan and Seoul?” 

“Did the air force really fire warning shots?”

He pressed his lips together and looked at her as sternly as he could, when he knew his eyes were soft for her, this side of her he was seeing for the first time. 

She laughingly sighed. “I knew I was in Busan but I also thought I was in Seoul, that driving here would only take about 10 to 20 minutes. Can you believe it?” 

“I can believe it. They say that happens.” 

“It’s crazy. You should have seen Seung-ah’s face.” Tae-eul laughed. Gon couldn’t help grinning back. He loved that she was happy. She looked so beautiful when she laughed or smiled this way. 

He tightened his arm around her. “I was already on my way back to you. You just beat me here.” 

“I didn’t come for you. I came for the chicken.” 

They laughed. 

“You’re insane. Are you all right now?” 

She snuggled against him, nodded, and squeezed his waist. “Let’s go home. I want to go to bed.” 

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“Crimson Pheasant Code Green. 2300. Pheasant and Dragon taking off for Busan 2300.”

Jangmi hung up with the Royal Armed Forces palace switchboard and nodded at Yeong. That was the end of it. Yeong nodded back. “You need to get to a dentist, hoobae.” 

“They can’t do anything until that swelling goes down anyway,” said Seung-ah, joining them on the bench. “Try this, Jangmi.” She rummaged in her purse and gave Jangmi a whole bottle of pills. 

“You have that in your purse?” Yeong asked dubiously. 

“Of course.” 

“You all right?”

“Yeah. I’ve had time to recover. The worst was when I realized the queen intended to go to Seoul and we were already outside the palace.” 

“I think we need to get more of that chicken,” Jangmi said. 

“What’s the difference between that chicken and the chicken in Busan and in the palace?” Yeong asked, truly mystified. 

Seung-ah tilted her head in that way she did when she was thinking or about to make an observation. She had no idea Yeong tilted her head that exact same way when he kissed her. 

“I think there’s a hint of some sort of caramel in the coating. Then it opens up to this--” 

“OH!”  

Yeong and Seung-ah both jumped at Jangmi’s exclamation. 

“Oh no. Noona. They probably broke down your door.”

“MWO?!”

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