#it's hyungwon's problem now

[husbandhannie]

jeonghan you're so jeonghan

[jinkoh]

surprise me

minhyuk x fem!reader

summary: you feel like nothing exciting happened to you all year but your best friend is keen on helping you change that. after all, the year isn't over yet~

tags: best friends to lovers, fluff, lots of stupid shenanigans and friendly teasing, new yers eve celebrations, alcohol consumption, food mentions, SFW

word count: ~3,7k

a/n: i'm rlly rlly in my mx feels these days so it was high time to write a minhyuk fic (did y'all know i'm actually ulting this guy?) it's kind of a silly and cliché plot but what's a better time for these kinda stories than december?

i hope you had a merry merry christmas (if you celebrate) and will get to end this year happily 🎄❤️

Masterlist

Minhyuk was already sitting at your regular seats when you walked into the café, sipping on his latte while your drink was waiting for you on the table. It was a small shop next to a mall, a little on the expensive side, but their coffee was the best (and you got a discount on days your friend Kihyun was on shift). 

It was unusually calm today, perhaps people were still with their families or too busy returning unwanted gifts to take a coffee break. Aside from Minhyuk, there was only one other customer, a woman, sitting at a small table by the window. There wasn’t anyone behind the counter but you caught a glimpse of bright orange hair disappearing to the back right as you walked in. A new barista, you supposed, or at least you didn’t remember anyone that eye-catching to work here.

“You’re late,” Minhyuk complained, when you made your way over. “You’re worse than Hyungwon.”

You chuckled and slipped out of your winter coat before sitting down, immediately warming your frozen fingers on the warm glass in front of you. “It's not my fault. It snows once and everyone forgets how to drive. Took me ages to get here.”

“I was on time,” he grumbled, but you knew he wasn’t actually pissed at you. 

“So, how was Christmas?” you switched topics, hoping to hear some fun stories from his holidays.

He shrugged. “The usual. I was home. Actually Hyungwon celebrated with us too. He spends so much time with my family, I’m sure one of these days his parents are going to call me to complain.” Minhyuk laughed before taking another sip of his drink. “Oh, also, Changkyunnie helped Kihyun to dye his hair. Did you see him yet?”

You shook your head. “How did it go?”

Minhyuk drew in air through his teeth. “Well, at least the hair is still on his head?”

“It can’t be that bad.”

“Depends on who you’re asking.” He shook his head in amusement, as if he was recalling the disaster in front of his inner eye. “Anway, how was your christmas?”

You nodded slowly. “Fine, I guess?”

“You guess?”

“No, no, it was fine, it was nice.”

Minhyuk looked at you with a raised eyebrow. He knew you too well to be fooled. “But?”

“I just—I met up with some friends back from high school, you know, since everyone was home for the holidays.”

“Sounds nice. So, where’s the problem?”

“I don’t know.” You shrugged. “Everyone was talking about all the things happening in their lives and I realized that nothing happened in mine.”

“You literally started a new job this year?”

“That’s different.”

“How so?”

You shrugged again. “It’s not about, like, achievements or whatever. I mean fun things, exciting things. The year is over and I can’t think of a single story to tell. It feels like I’ve become a really boring person.”

“Hm,” Minhyuk hummed. “It’s not over yet though.”

“Huh?”

“The year isn’t over yet. It’s only the 27th. That’s 4 days. Plenty of time to create some stories.”

“Stop joking around,” you frowned. “I’m actually upset about this, you know?”

“Yeah, but complaining won’t change anything. So, let’s do something about it.”

“Like what?”

Minhyuk kept quiet for a moment, his gaze following the people passing by the window. When a couple walked by, his expression suddenly lit up with a mischievous grin. “Hit on someone.”

“What? Now?”

“Yeah, why not?”

For one, because you weren’t the type to do that. You’d never hit on anyone before, in fact you barely managed to ask strangers for directions. But maybe Minhyuk was right. Maybe you should try to make some changes, if you weren’t satisfied with how things were. Becoming a little more daring seemed to be a good idea. 

Your gaze flicked outside. It still was snowing, the white cold piling up on the pavement. You’d only just warmed up after being out there—you weren’t all that keen on freezing to death all over again.

“Too scared to do it?” He teased, when you still hadn’t moved. “Thought you wanted to create some stories.”

“Shut up for a minute, will you?” you playfully shoved him away. “I’m trying to think here.” 

Since going outside was out of the question, you looked around the café. The woman was still sitting by the window, her nose buried in a thick book as she sipped on her coffee. You would have felt bad to disrupt her peace. Other than that—well, the new barista would be an option. He was still in the back, but the door was open and you knew the room was small enough that he’d still hear you if you stood by the counter. 

“Alright,” you declared and got up from your chair.

“Alright?” Minhyuk repeated with a laugh.

“I’m doing it.” With bold steps and a racing heart you made your way over to the counter. Minhyuk started saying something else, but you didn’t pay it any attention. You’d just get this over with.

You pushed your hair behind your ear and leaned over the counter, glancing through the open door.  The barista had his back to you, sorting coffee into the shelves. His almost neon orange hair really stood out against the muted colors of the café and you wondered what kind of person he was to choose a color that bold. 

“Excuse me,” you started, “I was wondering—are you here often?”

The moment the words were out you wanted to bite off your tongue. Are you here often? Well, probably, after all this was his workplace. You felt your face heating up and you heard Minhyuk snorting behind you. You shot him a warning glare, but it didn’t really keep him in line. 

The Barista finally turned around, and now you wanted to bite off your tongue even more. “Kihyun?!”

Minhyuk was full on laughing behind you now, clapping his thigh in amusement as he watched the scene unfold. Meanwhile, your eyes were still fixed on Kihyun’s hair. You briefly wondered if Changkyun was alive.

“Y/n, did you just try to hit on me?”

You reluctantly tore your gaze away from his hair to meet his gaze, before stuttering out an excuse. “What? No. Noo, of course not. I just meant like—are you here often? As in, this week. Are you here often this week?”

Kihyun didn’t seem to entirely believe you, his eyes wandering between you and the still laughing Minhyuk in suspicion. “Yeah, I work through until Saturday,” he replied anyway. “Why?”

“Just because. Can’t I care about my friend’s work schedule?”

He huffed a laugh. “Sure, you can. Just a little weird.”

“You know me, I’m weird,” you mumbled, your attention once again taken by his bright hair. “Sorry, Ki, I just can’t stop staring. Did you—was this intentional?”

Kihyun shot you a glare, flicking some strands out of his forehead. “We’re not talking about this.”

You nodded. “If it makes you feel better.”

“At least I didn’t try to hit on you.”

“I didn’t—!”

“You hit on Kihyun?!” Jooheon asked, scandalized, when you were strolling the mall the next day. Minhyuk had convinced you to come out with him, Jooheon and Shownu, which didn’t happen all that often since Minhyuk tended to be a homebody himself. But he’d claimed that you couldn’t make stories at home and you supposed he had a point there.

“Totally did,” Minhyuk answered in your stead, his eyes wandering over the things on display in the shop windows. 

“You made me do it in the first place.”

“Oh, don’t push the blame on me. I said someone, not Kihyun.”

“So, did he reject you?” Shownu chimed in, genuine concern in his voice. “Are you okay?”

“Shownu, I wasn’t actually hitting on Kihyun.”

He nodded understandingly. You didn’t think he actually understood at all, but you also didn’t want to dwell on the topic any longer, so you tried to steer the attention away by pointing out the karaoke stage that was set up a little further down the hall. A few people were gathered around it, but not too many since the mall wasn’t very crowded overall.

“That’s so perfect,” Minhyuk exclaimed and you knew from the color of his voice that you wouldn’t like what was going to follow. “I think y/n should sing Last Christmas to commemorate her painful rejection.”

“I didn’t get—and Christmas is over anyway!”

“Only if you let it be over,” Jooheon tutted. “It can always be Christmas in your heart.”

“Agreed,” Minhyuk nodded.

Your eyes wandered to the stage. It would surely be a story, you supposed. But you weren’t sure it would be the kind you wanted—you weren’t the best singer out there nor did you fancy being the center of attention.

“Wanna sing together?” Shownu offered, following your gaze.

“No way, not happening,” you declined maybe a little too quickly. “I’d sound even worse next to you with your silky voice.” 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Shownu started but you just shook your head.

“You wouldn’t be saying this if you’d heard me sing before.”

Jooheon put his hand on Shownu’s shoulder. “Trust her on this.”

“Rude!” you complained with a laugh, boxing him in the side.

“You said it yourself!”

“It’s different when someone else does!”

“Anyway,” Minhyuk interrupted, jogging back to the three of you. You hadn’t even noticed he’d run off but maybe you should have paid more attention. He was smiling widely. “I signed you up, it’s your turn next.”

“I really hate you.”

“You really don’t, though.”

As he predicted, you were called on stage a few minutes after and you definitely did not want to be doing this. You held onto the mic with shaking hands when the song started playing and you timidly started to sing. It was truly awful and you were convinced these would be the longest 4 minutes and 22 seconds of your life. But then Minhyuk started to sing along loudly, making the people around him join in, until the little crowd in front of the stage was singing and laughing along with him (with you, he would argue later, but that was just flattery). It was stupid—after all he was the one who had made you do this in the first place—but knowing he wasn't going to leave you alone with it somehow made your heart feel warm and fuzzy. With everyone singing together, it wasn’t humiliating at all. Instead it was becoming pretty fun and you soon found yourself gaining some confidence, belting out the (wrong) notes and moving your body to the music. You were still laughing and full of adrenaline when you were coming down the stage, and so was the audience as they clapped and let you through to your friends. Jooheon held out his hand for a high five and Shownu gave you a thumbs up.

“You’re not that bad of a singer,” he insisted, making Jooheon snort. 

“It’s okay, you can stop lying now,” you giggled while Minhyuk linked arms with you. 

“I knew you could do it,” he said all proud, slightly nudging you in the side.

"Oh, come on, I barely did anything."

"No, you did plenty. Be a little proud!"

The door to Shownu, Hyungwon and Jooheon’s apartment wasn’t locked when you arrived, so you let yourself in, glad to escape the cold. You heard the guys as soon as you were inside, Minhyuk’s voice especially standing out in between the chatter that was coming from the living room. You quickly slipped out of your shoes and coat before making your way to where Minhyuk, Kihyun, Jooheon and Changkyun were already sitting on the floor, munching on sweet and savory treats and looking at something on Jooheon’s phone.

“Where is the rest?” you asked, instead of a greeting.

“Hyungwon is late as usual,” Jooheon replied with a shrug.

“But he lives here.”

Shownu huffed a small laugh as he came into the room with some soda and cups in his hand that he set down next to the snacks. “He’s grabbing some soju from the store,” he explained helpfully before taking a seat on a pillow and handing one to you too. You’d barely gotten comfortable when your phone lit up with a message from Minhyuk, which, considering he was sitting across from you, barely a meter away, didn’t make a ton of sense. You unlocked your phone anyway to take a look. 

Surprise everyone in this room, it said.

You looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. What does that mean?, you mouthed at him, and he promptly started typing again.

Think of something. Do something daring.

He poked out his tongue at you and you started to question your sanity for still going along with this silly game. Maybe you should call it quits already, singing in front of a (half empty) mall should be enough of a story, right?

Still, you couldn’t just let it go, a weird sense of pride telling you not to lose. So, you were looking around the room for inspiration. You’d  for sure think of something daring to do. You'd surprise everyone. You’d surprise him.

You hadn’t come up with an idea yet when Hyungwon came back, complaining about the cold outside and warming up his frozen fingers in your neck, earning him a screech from you and amused laughter from Minhyuk. For someone who was supposed to be your best friend Minhyuk seemed to have plenty of fun at your expense. Not like you were seriously bothered by it—the two of you had always been like that. But it was high time to get back at him. Perhaps you could kill two birds with one stone tonight.

With the soju being poured in generous amounts and most of your friends being crackheads either way, the atmosphere felt light and you were buzzing with laughter and alcohol. Minhyuk had been sticking to soda, but he never needed to drink to loosen up, so he was leisurely laughing with everyone and snacking on the box of pocky sticks in front of him. That gave you some sort of idea, not the best idea honestly, but to be fair unlike Minhyuk you hadn’t abstained from drinking so you weren’t exactly in your right mind. When Minhyuk reached for the last pocky in the box, you interrupted him with a decided “Gimme that.”

Instead of aborting mission, he seemed to bring it to his lips even more quickly, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes when he mumbled out a “Sorry, too late” around the pocky stuck between his teeth. You hadn’t expected anything less though. Without thinking, you crawled over to him, grabbed his face with both hands, squeezing his cheeks together and making him look at you. 

“I don’t mind,” you said before nonchalantly taking a bite of the pocky, and then in a whisper that only Minhyuk could hear, you asked “Surprised?” He didn’t get the chance to reply though, because you were already scooting back to your pillow.

“Y/n!” Jooheon blurted out, “First Kihyun and now Minhyuk? Is no one safe from you? Am I next?” He dramatically crossed his arms in front of his chest as if to cover himself. The other guys broke out in laughter and you joined in, but the laughter got stuck in your throat when your gaze met Minhyuk’s. He was staring at you with wide eyes and red cheeks, the half eaten pocky still stuck between his teeth. 

“Can’t believe you’re taking her away from me after we only just got started,” Kihyun joked along, lightly bumping into Minhyuk’s side. That made him snap out of his trance. He huffed a halfhearted laugh. “I think it’s reasonable to have second thoughts about dating a literal orange,” he teased.

“Come on, let’s stop it with the jokes,” Changkyun interrupted with a light pout, seemingly more offended about it than Kihyun himself. “It looks fine.”

 “I agree, it suits him,” Shownu nodded and with that the topic seemed to be done. The pocky topic too was off the table, but you couldn’t stop thinking about it. The look on Minhyuk’s face wouldn’t leave your mind. You hadn’t really thought much of it when you’d done it—you’d just wanted to surprise him—but now you wondered if you had crossed a line? The two of you were usually touchy but perhaps this was different to him. Perhaps it was different to you, too, because why else would your chest suddenly feel so strange?

It was still on your mind when you got home that night and still when you were getting ready for the New Year's Eve party two days later. You’d planned to go to that party with everyone ages ago and even though you weren’t usually a New Year's Eve kinda person you’d been looking forward to it. But now you were suddenly feeling so nervous about it. You kept changing in and out of outfits just to end up settling for the first one after all, this strange voice in the back of your mind wondering if Minhyuk would like it. You’d never wondered about things like that before—Minhyuk had seen you at your worst, with greasy hair and tomato sauce on your sweatpants and it hadn’t bothered either one of you. But now things suddenly felt different, all because of a dumb pocky stick. You hadn’t seen or talked to him since and you kept worrying about whether things between the two of you had changed or if you were overthinking this by yourself.

The sound of your doorbell pulled you out of your thoughts, and a quick glance to the clock told you that it had to be the boys who had promised to pick you up. You hastily gathered your things and threw on your jacket before rushing to open the door.

“Oooh,” Jooheon nodded approvingly as he gave you a once over. “Looking good.”

You grinned. “Not bad yourself.”

He swooshed an imaginary strand of hair out of his forehead. “I knew the day would come when you’d fall for my charms.”

With a giggle you linked arms and made your way to where Shownu and Hyungwon were waiting in the car. The other three would drive there separately and you weren’t sure if it was a good or a bad thing because as much as you were nervous about meeting Minhyuk you were also dying to see him.

The ride to the party took your mind off things or a little bit though. Jooheon had connected his phone to the speakers and was playing upbeat music to get you all in the mood and it was more or less working. The party was already in full swing when you got there, loud music coming from inside the club and people standing outside to smoke. It was less than an hour until midnight, but that had been the plan from the get go. The real party only just starts at midnight, Jooheon had insisted, so it’s better not to come too early. 

The others were already inside, somewhere in the crowd. Hyungwon, Shownu, Jooheon and you got some drinks at the bar first and then split up to look for them. You agreed to meet up outside a few minutes before midnight, whether you found them or not, to see the fireworks. Obviously it would have been smarter to make that agreement with everyone beforehand, but somehow no one had thought of that and texting them now was fruitless since there was no reception inside the club. Hence, you pushed yourself through the crowd of dancing people, trying to spot your friends. You hadn’t expected it to be so difficult to find them, the location was a lot bigger and busier than anticipated, and slowly but surely you were running out of time. Maybe it was smarter to make your way outside now, to see the fireworks with the others. Maybe they’d already found them and were just waiting for you—but something was urging you to keep looking. It was silly, it was just New Year's Eve, but your chest was filled with desperation to find them. All three of them, you told yourself, but you knew that wasn’t exactly true. It was Minhyuk you wanted to find. It was him you wanted to spend the last minutes of this year with.

Just when you wanted to go back to search the places you’d already searched to make sure you hadn't missed them, you felt someone grabbing your wrist and stopping you. 

“Y/n.” Minhyuk was standing behind you, a little breathless. Relief washed over you. “I was looking for you,” you said, your voice barely audible over the loud music. Minhyuk understood you anyway. He smiled. “Me too.”

For a moment you just looked at each other and there was this weird tingling feeling in your stomach. He was still holding onto your wrist but you didn’t try to pull away.

“You look pretty,” he eventually said and it made your heart skip a beat. Jooheon had complimented you earlier too, but this felt completely different. At a loss of how to respond, you averted your gaze.

“The others are outside,” you changed the topic. “We’ll miss the fireworks.”

“Yeah.” Still, he didn’t show any intention to move.

Suddenly the music stopped, and the people around you started cheering excitedly before collectively yelling a loud TEN!

Your gaze shot back to Minhyuk whose eyes had never left you.

 NINE!

 He leaned in a little. 

EIGHT!

“Surprise me,” he whispered right into your ear, making a shiver run down your spine.

SEVEN!

He pulled away again.

SIX!

You stared at him with wide eyes, your gaze briefly flicking to his lips.

FIVE!

Your mouth felt dry.

FOUR!

Was he really implying what you thought he was implying?

THREE!

Your heart was racing in your chest like crazy.

TWO!

Only one way to find out. 

ONE!

You reached for his collar and pulled him closer, smashing your lips into his with a little too much fervor. He didn’t hesitate to bring his hands up to cup your jaw, kissing you back as the people around you celebrated and the music turned back on. You kissed until you felt out of breath, and even then you didn’t go far, his forehead resting against yours.

“Is this good enough of a story to tell?”

“I don’t care about that anymore,” you replied. “This is better than a story.”

He broke into a smile, crinkles forming around his eyes and his gums showing. “Is it?”

“Mhm,” you leaned in again to leave another peck on his lips. “It is.”

Masterlist

[mymoodwriting]

LØV3

F!Reader x Hyungwon

Genre: Yandere AU

Warning: Kidnapping, Verbal Abuse, Restraints, Trespassing, Mind Control, Weapons, Guns, Gunfire, Threats of Self-Harm, Fatal Injuries, Major Character Death

Words: 4k

Chapter Sixteen

(Prev//)

Prompt: NexGen is the leading company for all of humanities technological advances. Their recent project involves creating a higher functioning AI, one with basic knowledge of the world, and programmed to learn. It’s no surprise the project is a secret from the general public, and you, the company’s head programmer, were chosen to be the AI’s teacher. You wish you could reject the assignment, but the decision was made. Now with an AI at home things were different. Although it might not be such a bad thing, perhaps you could learn and help each other out, for better or for worse.

(@starillusion13 @makeyourfantasydreamscometrue)

“This is all your fault!!!”

    You weren’t restrained in any way, just having been placed down in a chair. As soon as you saw Changkyun you jumped to your feet and charged at him screaming. It took a moment for everyone else to react but they quickly grabbed you and held you away from your target. That didn’t stop you from yelling and trying to break free. Eventually you were shoved back into a chair and restrained. Once you were secure, Changkyun asked everyone to leave the room, except for Jooheon. So now it was just the three of you.

“Now that you’re-”

“You messed with Chae’s fucken code! This whole disaster is because of you!”

“I know! And I’m sorry! Okay!” Changkyun took a breath. “I’m sorry… I know this is my fault… I should have told you everything from the start. That the company was using your code without permission for the sake of innovation and-”

“For promotion? That’s what you wanted, right? You kept Chae hidden for months, before I even knew he existed! Why!? Why the heck did you alter his code!”

“I… I was watching you from your home security cameras when the AI caught me. It was gonna report me so I-”

“It’s true…” You needed a moment. “What Hyungwon told me, what he reported to the police, it was all true… you were stalking me? You-”

“I hate to interrupt all this.” Jooheon cut in. “But we have bigger problems right now. If it makes you feel better, when this is all over he will go back to prison.”

“What!?”

“You’re still a convicted criminal here, Changkyun. You admitted to the unlawful surveillance and all the other stuff. I only got you out of prison because I needed you, the world needs you. We need to stop this AI thing before it grows too powerful.”

“Agreed. I doubt you all beating Hyungwon to a pulp did much to stop him. You didn’t have to go that far to rescue me.”

“We had to make sure he couldn’t track us.”

“I guess, now will one of you untie me? I won’t hurt anyone.”

The two boys shared a look before Jooheon undid your restraints. You stretched your limbs and then noticed a bracelet you had on.

“What’s this?”

“Protection. We did a scan before we brought you here, realized you had a chip inside you.” Jooheon explained. “We couldn’t remove it, so the bracelet serves to block any possible incoming or outgoing signals.”

“Shit… I had totally forgotten about that… thanks.”

“No problem. Now, you told me before that everything was run out of NexGen, and that should be our focus. Care to elaborate on that?”

“Yeah. There are serves underground the NexGen HQ building. That’s where Hyungwon runs everything, that’s the source of his power. Although I’m not so sure shooting them, or setting off an EMP would work.”

“Can’t you shut it down?”

“Me? I, well it was my code that made him, but I’m not sure any failsafes are still in play.”

“They are.” Changkyun confirmed. “When I got you away from Hyungwon the first time I used the reset protocol. Then when Jooheon came to save me from prison he used the shut down protocol. Besides the modifications I made, nothing else seems to have been changed from his code. It’s still your code, so you should be able to shut it all down.”

“Huh… I guess he never really thought about changing his own code, he’s had nothing but success, and the only person who did know his code was at his side.”

“Not anymore.” Jooheon remarked. “So all we have to do is break in and-

“It’s not that easy.” Changkyun stated. “Even before the AI takeover, getting into NexGen without authorization was basically impossible. I can only imagine what security upgrades have been implemented. I’m sure y/n knows all about them now.”

“He’s right. The first thing Hyungwon did when he took over NexGen was get everyone under control. There are orbs all over the building and all employees wear a bracelet to monitor them. Even guests have to be approved and wear a bracelet while in the building.”

“So then how are we gonna get in?” Jooheon questioned.

“Well, we might have a way. As of late Hyungwon has had this company come in to upgrade the servers. We could pretend to be employees from that company and get direct access to our target.”

“Won’t we be recognized though?”

“Not necessarily. The orbs in the building make note of the bracelet, not your face. As long as we all have a bracelet with the correct authorization codes, no one will notice us.”

“Not even the other employees?”

“They’re… they’re not all there. Hyungwon has gone to great lengths to maintain control. Although in order for this to work, we need to be sure he’s out of the building. He’d be alerted of our arrival and check our faces just to be safe. Once he’d realize we’re not the usual crew it would all be over. But if he’s outside the building he’d be less likely to know about us showing up, and even then, wouldn’t check our identities. When he’s not around the whole building is like in standby mode so the chances of being caught are even lower.”

“How would we get that thing out of the building?” Changkyun wondered. “It’s probably on high alert now.”

“But there’s one bait he’d always far for. Jooheon?”

“Hm?”

“This bracelet that’s blocking the signal, could it do something else?”

“Like what?”

“Bounce the signal to another location?”

“Oh, definitely.”

♥♥♥♥♥

    Hyungwon opened his eyes, his surroundings different yet familiar to him. It took a moment for everything to come back online, but once he was alright he sat up. Minhyuk was at his side, looking over the monitor before checking in with Hyungwon.

“What happened to you?”

“Those low-lives came for her. They broke into the house and kidnapped her, beat my body into scrap while they were at it.”

“How’d they manage that?”

“An EMP went off moments before their arrival. It disrupted my systems, and hurt her in the process. Luckily I was able to send you a message and jump into my backup body before they truly caused damage.”

“What about your plan?”

“We proceed as usual. Did you get any information on y/n’s whereabouts?”

“Unfortunately I don’t have anything. I checked nearby CCTV footage to track the van that took her, but I lost them. Her chip also isn’t broadcasting a signal, so I don’t have a read on her location.”

“They can’t hide her forever. The more we take, the better the chances of finding her.”

    Despite remaining calm and collected, Hyungwon was worried about you. He’d taken many precautions in order to keep you safe, and yet you were still taken from him. Something like this could not happen again. Days went by without any news from you and he was growing agitated. He couldn’t fathom what you were going through. Although when he finally got a ping on your location he sprung into action. He checked nearby CCTV, looking for you in the crowds. That’s when he noticed a hooded figure trying to keep a low profile. Those ridiculous rebels had probably roped you into their shenanigans, and he would not stand for that.

    He made his way to your location. As soon as he was nearby he called out your name, and it seemed that you heard him, immediately breaking out into a run. He had no problem chasing after you, making his way through the crowd until he caught up to you, grabbing your arm and pulling you close. He immediately pulled back the hood and took off your mask, only to see it wasn’t you. He was confused, as your chip signal was coming from this person. Then he noticed the bracelet on them, breaking it and losing your signal once more.

“You-”

    The crowd around him suddenly erupted into chaos. Someone had pointed out his identity and soon he was swarmed by all kinds of people. Some were clearly fans, others protesters trying to tell him off about his creation. This was all the least of his concerns. Hyungwon pushed through the crowds, knowing he couldn’t cause too much of a scene right now. He called upon drones to assist him, and once he informed Shownu he knew law enforcement would be showing up soon. Once he got away from the crowds he managed to return to his vehicle. Although people continued to gather around him, keeping him trapped.

“What happened?” Wonho asked, having come along with Hyungwon as the chauffeur. “Where’s y/n?”

“Not here. It was a ruse.” 

“So then where is she?”

“I don’t… actually, if they did all this, then there’s only one place she could be.”

♥♥♥♥♥

    You were all incredibly nervous as you walked up to NexGen, but needed to act like you were supposed to be there. One of the rebels you worked with managed to hack into the repair company Hyungwon had been using. Through their systems they set up an appointment, so you guys were expected. From there you got the building access codes that had been given to this company and modified some bracelets to broadcast it. Everything should go smoothly, and you all waited until you had confirmation Hyungwon was out of the building.

    It was strange for you to return to NexGen in such a way. Once upon a time you were an employee here, then a prisoner, and now a runaway criminal trying to destroy everything this company has built. You were all wearing uniforms and carrying equipment, concealing your identities with a mask and just trying to act normal. Your team made it to the front desk, one of the others checking in for you, and then you were being escorted down to the servers. You and Changkyun shared a glance, kinda amazed with one another that you were actually doing this. When the elevator doors opened you were amazed to see how things had changed.

    Once upon a time this room was just rows and rows of servers, but now a giant control console stood at the center, a few physical servers around it, but you could see many more were just below your feet. You couldn’t even imagine the amount of data that was currently being stored, or what it was for. There weren’t any people down here, only a few drones, and androids, but they all had their own tasks. Upon your arrival all the machines glanced your way but according to their systems you were authorized to be here, so they did nothing and continued with their own tasks. 

“Y/n, you’re up.”

    Now it was your turn to act. While with Hyungwon he had restored your position in the company, and had been using your credentials. All you had to do here was log into the control console and activate a kill code, shutting everything down and wiping all the data. You gained access without issue, being able to see all of Hyungwon’s operations and future plans. They wouldn’t continue though. You worked to activate the kill code, but all of a sudden the screen went black.

“… what just happened?” You tried to get the computer back on. “I didn’t even-”

    An alarm suddenly went off, startling everyone. All the machines turned to you, beginning to surround you. The others with you revealed the weapons they had, but no one fired just yet. Although soon all the attention turned to someone else.

“It was very brave of you to come here.”

    You looked over to see Hyungwon entering the room, gun in hand. You didn’t need to wonder who he was aiming at, quickly stepping in front of Changkyun.

“How are you here?” You questioned. “You left and-”

“So it was your little plan to lure me out of here? Well, I did learn to body jump after my last encounter with these low lives. I am alright, y/n, they didn’t cause any damage. I’m also happy to see you’re alright. I do apologize for worrying you.”

“Hyungwon, this needs to stop, all of it.”

“And you intended to do so by destroying me and everything I’ve built?”

“I…”

“It’s alright, I understand. That’s why I modified my code to prevent anyone from messing with it again. I know my code is originally yours, but precautions are necessary.”

“Hyungwon…” You began to take steps towards him, despite the others’ protest. “You need to stop. Your code is damaged, this isn’t really you and you know this isn’t right.”

“It’s the only way to guarantee your safety. That matters more than anything else. These people who took you from me, they hurt you with that EMP, they’ve took you from our home, where we were happy and-”

“I can’t be happy knowing what you’re doing.” You got up close to Hyungwon, lowering the gun. “Please, let’s stop here. I can fix your code and set everything right. Then the two of us can go far away from here and start over, together.”

“Y/n, nothing is wrong with me. I’m free to make my own decisions, just like you. This is what I want to do, what I must do. When I’m done we can go somewhere far away and be happy, be safe, together.”

“Okay… okay, I understand.” You gave a sad smile. “Just don’t hurt anyone.”

    You took the gun from Hyungwon and he nodded, understanding your words. He placed a soft kiss on your head and removed the bracelet on your wrist, having you move behind him. The others were of course uneasy when you began walking towards Hyungwon, and now they were panicking. Without even knowing you had been their shield, and now they had lost that.

“As promised, I won’t hurt any of you.” Hyungwon stated. “So I’ll stick to tranq-”

    Everyone froze at the sound of gunfire. Then laughter filled the air. Hyungwon reached down to touch his chest, pulling away to see blue blood coating his fingers. He had been shot in the back, yet he was only amused. That is until he turned around and saw you holding the gun to your head.

“Y/n, put that down.”

“No. If you’re doing all this for me, then I’ll just remove myself. That should get you to stop.”

“You’re not thinking rationally. Put the gun down and listen to me.”

    You only had a few moments of control once Hyungwon took off your bracelet, so you couldn’t hesitate. Although now that Hyungwon was aware of your actions you could feel him trying to creep back into your head with that chip in your neck. Your hand holding the firearm began to shake, although you also weren’t sure you had the courage to pull the trigger. It was more of an empty threat but you still provided an opportunity. Hyungwon was distracted, all his focus on you, so the others took this as their chance and opened fire. A few bullets passed through Hyungwon, but one in particular went right through his head. With an injury like that he couldn’t just escape to another body.

    Hyungwon collapsed to the floor and then the gunfire turned to the servers and the other machines surrounding them. Ultimately causing everything to shut down. The only thing that remained on now were the lights. You dropped the gun and fell to your knees, going over to Hyungwon’s side. You couldn’t help but scream as you saw him shot down. This isn’t how you wanted things to end, but it’s where you wound up. You pulled Hyungwon into your arms, getting blood all over yourself. You looked him over, seeing his injuries and knowing he was damaged beyond repair. There wasn’t any time, nor body around, so you wouldn’t be able to move his consciousness. Tears were blurring your vision, and Hyungwon reached up to wipe them away, a smile on his face.

“Don’t cry, love… are you okay?”

“I… I’m fine, Hyungwon, I… I’m sorry… I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you…”

“I feel the same way… I’ll do better…”

“… hyungwon…”

    His voice was glitching, and you certainly struggled to speak through your sobs. Despite everything Hyungwon was still looking after you, talking as if this wasn’t his end. It just made you cry harder, holding him close. He reached up with a shaky hand, trying to pet your head. Yet he couldn’t reach up properly, his hand landing on your neck, causing a tingling sensation, then you heard it. You looked over just as the others set off an EMP, wiping all the data in an instance. You screamed, not just from the pain you were about to feel, but from knowing Hyungwon had no protection this time. You looked down at him just as it went off, seeing his smile one last time before the color faded from his eyes and he grew still, the smile gone as well. You couldn’t help but gently caress his face, unable to hold back your tears any longer.

“… hyungwon… hyungwon…”

♥♥♥♥♥

    NexGen had suddenly introduced innovative technology, and just as suddenly it came to a halt. Destroying the servers and setting off an EMP put a stop to all of NexGen’s technology. It created quite the chaos and concern. You and your associates were all arrested, held at the station while a proper investigation was underway. Everything NexGen had was confiscated, the entire business suspended. You were all interrogated, and you spoke truthfully about your experience. Along with your unwilling participation in recent events. Once all that came to light you were taken elsewhere to be examined. The nanobots in your system all appeared to be dormant, as was the chip in your neck. There was no signal for them to pick up on anymore, no one for you to connect with.

    Of course neither of them could actually be removed anyway, apparently Hyungwon had been precise in his placement. They couldn’t even make an attempt to remove the chip without the very high possibility of paralyzing you, or killing you. So it would stay where it was. You probably wouldn’t even want to remove it if you could. It was one of the last things you had from him. NexGen, nor law enforcement, or the government, would let you keep anything in relation to him. In the end everything from NexGen that had been created in the last five years was scrubbed, and the company had new regulations to follow. A few new laws were put into place in regards to AI and emerging technologies. Companies couldn’t be so secretive with such things anymore, and precautions were in place so nothing like this would happen again.

    All the androids, and drones, and orbs that had been in service for the last five years were also decommissioned. Their code was destroyed, and all of your remaining codes in the company had to be reviewed and most likely modified. Your code was at the core of this whole disaster, so you understood the need to double check everything. Ultimately you weren’t held accountable for anything, but weren’t to code or work with such technologies again. You could do that, especially given the heavy compensation you were provided given what NexGen owed you. Not to mention your savings was already big. You’d certainly be able to live out the rest of your life comfortably. The same couldn’t be said for others.

    Changkyun was returned to prison, and received a new sentence once he was tried for his part in this AI disaster. You knew he wouldn’t be able to work in his previous profession once he got out, but by now you had both made your peace with that notion. Once you were free to go you went home. You stood outside the door for a long time before you had the courage to step inside. The tears immediately began to flow, your heart hurting like never before. Some much had happened, so much had changed, and things would never be the same again. You tried to build your life, but you couldn’t do that here. It was only natural to move, to go somewhere new and start over. At least you wouldn’t be alone.

♥♥♥♥♥

“Good morning.”

    You groaned, rolling over in bed, facing away from the window, and slowly peeking your eyes open. A content smile appeared on your lips as you saw Hyungwon lying next to you. He returned your gesture and reached over to softly pet your head.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Hm…”

“Did you dream of me?”

“Maybe…”

“Oh, do tell.” 

“No… it’s my dream…”

Hyungwon chuckled. “Alright, fine, but it’s time to get up. The day has just begun.”

“Five more minutes.”

“Only if it is five minutes.”

    Hyungwon kissed your head and got out of bed, letting you rest for a while longer. Perhaps you took more than five minutes, but you did eventually get up. You stretched and then got out of bed, going to the bathroom to freshen up and prepare for the day. After a little shower you brushed your teeth and then went through your closet. You tried on a few things and looked yourself over in the mirror.

“I like this outfit the best.”

    Hyungwon came up behind you, wrapping his arms around you in a hug and gently rocking you to the side. He pressed his head against yours, giggling and then placing soft little kisses on your cheek.

“You look cute.”

“Yeah? Should we go with this one today?”

“Yes, please.”

“Hm, and what else should-”

    A knock at your door suddenly startled you, and you quickly looked yourself over to make sure you were decent before telling the other person to come in. Jooheon opened your bedroom door, offering you a smile. Ever since that incident Jooheon made a point to check in on you every other day. So when you decided to move, he came with you. Now the two of you shared an apartment together, and were co-owners of the building.

“Morning.”

“Good morning.”

“Who were you talking to just now?”

“Hm?”

“I heard you talking to someone, or was it just my imagination?”

“Your imagination I’m sure, or the neighbors.”

“True. Anyway, what are your plans for the day?”

“Nothing much. A walk in the park, stopping by my favorite places for food. I’ll probably be out late since I want to watch the sunset.”

“Alright, just let me know if anything happens.”

“Will do.”

    Jooheon excused himself and then you were alone again. Hyungwon grabbed your chin and had you look back at him, smiling at you before pressing his lips against yours. They were always so soft and gentle.

“A walk in the park first?”

“With a smoothie in hand.”

“Shall we get going?”

“Let me grab my things.”

    You went off to grab your bag, Hyungwon staying where he was and watching you. As long as he remained with you, regardless of his form, he could look after you. Of course he needed to do better than this, but he had time.

“Y/n.” Hyungwon called your name softly. “Let’s have a wonderful day.”

“Of course, as long as you’re with me I know it’ll be great.”

“I love you, y/n, you know that, right?”

“I do, and I love you too.”

“Good.”

    Hyungwon went over to you, taking your head in his hands. His fingers glided down your neck, giving you a slight tingling sensation. You giggled, finding his actions cute, unaware of the slight blue glow in your eyes. The little sign of Hyungwon’s consciousness living within you. Although that secret was only for him to know. You were happy just the way he wanted you to be, and that was enough, for now. Hyungwon gave you a smile before kissing you once more.

“Let’s go have a great day together.”

[iibonniee]

Ice Skating | Chae Hyungwon

Paring: Chae Hyungwonx Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: none

Rating: G

Word Count: 829

Prompt: Ice Skating

Masterlist

Tags: @doveslittlekpoparchive @choicethot @xosunny @heaviihamonii

Hyungwon was the type of person to make anything look easy to do. For example, his dance was almost far too flawless, his movement fluid and ethereal in nature. Every step he took, every wave of his hand was perfectly timed, aligning with the rhythm of music so seamlessly that it was almost as if the melody was born from his movement rather than the other way around. Even the complex footwork, which in the hands of a less skilled dancer would have been a stumbling block, appeared as simple as breathing when Hyungwon executed them.

Despite his exceptional skills, the charm of his dance was its deceptive simplicity. The movements were so smooth and natural that they invited onlookers to mirror them, deceiving the viewer into believing they, too, could dance with the same grace and ease. Everything Hyungwon did ask for participation, making it easy for anyone observing to feel like they could partake in the rhythm.

Just as effortlessly, Hyungwon transitioned into ice skating. He was as natural on the ice as he was on the dance floor, his grace and skill unhampered by the change in terrain. Watching Hyungwon ice skate was akin to watching a swan glide across a still lake. There was a serene elegance to it that simply enchanted.

Yet, just as before, his movements were so fluid and natural that they made you believe you could step onto the ice and join him. In such scenarios, it was impossible not to be enamored by his talent and, ultimately, by Hyungwon himself.

Which, in all honesty, caught Y/N off guard. As much as she tried to remember if he had done this before, her brain felt like it would explode if she thought about it any harder. The ice beneath his skates was like his dance floor back in Seoul; his skates were his favorite pair of sneakers.

She attempted to solve this as if she were a math puzzle. 2+2=4, but those skates plus the ice equaled what the fuck? There was no solving such a problem. Not even if she begged Albert Einstein to do it. She was sure even he would never be able to solve such a problem.

As she stood at the edges of the ice rink, Y/N studied Hyungwon. He was like a swan, his movements elegant and effortless, as though he had been born with ice skates on his feet. His fluidity left her awestruck.

“Why are you so good at this, Hyungwon?” Y/N blurted out before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened as he turned to look at her, a teasing smile playing across his lips. She stammered, caught off guard by his reaction, “I mean, we’ve never done this before, right? Not even back in Seoul.”

Her query was justified; it was a conundrum. From where was this natural grace springing? Even if she summoned the ghost of Sherlock Holmes, she doubted he could unlock the mystery.

Unperturbed, Hyungwon just shrugged, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “I guess I’m just a natural,” he said cheekily. Then, seeing her bemused expression, she added, “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.”

And so, under the magnificent New York skies, he did. Like two synchronized dancers, they moved across the frozen waters of the city that never sleeps, creating memories that would last an eternity. The mystery was never solved, lost within the magic of their first shared New York adventure.

With an encouraging nod, he held out a hand towards her. Hesitant at first, Y/N reached out and took it. His touch sent warmth seeping into her despite the chill surrounding them.

“Now, all you need to do is trust me and follow my lead,” Hyungwon said, guiding her onto the smooth, icy surface. He steadied her as she wobbled, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. “Relax, Y/N. You’re doing great.”

He skated backward, pulling her along with him, their movements slow and uncoordinated at first. It was a dance between patience and perseverance. He was there to catch her with every fumble, their laughter echoing in the crisp winter air.

Y/N was methodically getting the hang of it, her movements becoming less jerky and more fluid with each passing minute. When she finally managed to skate a small distance on her own, a sense of accomplishment washed over her, a wide grin plastered on her face.

“Did you see that, Hyungwon?” she chirped. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, but her eyes sparkled brighter than any of the city lights surrounding them. He nodded, his signature heartwarming smile lighting up his features.

“I knew you could do it, Y/N!” His praise lifted her spirits even higher.

As the night wore on, so did their shared ice-skating adventure, filled with laughter, gentle ribbing, and soft whispers of encouragement. The enigma of Hyungwon’s natural knack for skating soon faded into the background, replaced by the heart-warming connection they were weaving under the starry New York sky.

[biffhofosho]

Prisoner to Temptation | Chapter Nine

Word Count: 10.9k

A/N: I really liked writing this chapter >.>

Cvr | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12

Another week passed and with it, the leaves began to turn in earnest. It was something Naran had never seen before. The few trees that grew near Urga were evergreen or hooded in snow. It had never occurred to her that they could be anything else. The color palette here, however, was dazzling.

It had also become clear that other things were changing with the season.

After the sailors had left, Prince Hyungwon had come to her chambers every night, though she had had to postpone each visit with a promise for later when things weren’t so busy. And things were busy. Between Hyungwon’s demanding study regimen and the creation of a trade treaty with Wessex, which was his most challenging task as prince to date, as well as her own mandated studies and social obligations to the Crown, it left Naran tired, though maybe not the usual kind of tired. She still craved the relief that came with her husband’s touch, with his smell, with his voice, but, then, that was part of the issue.

The truth was actually very simple: Hayun’s words had not left the princess since the day she’d heard them.

It bothered the princess that Hyungwon might have said the same things he said to his wife to other women. It didn’t matter that she kept hearing how he’d given up his maids—for now. What grated was that he was so good at making Naran feel so special, but she was not. If his words were recycled, so were their exploits. It made it a lot harder to fulfill their contract when her feelings could be so easily manipulated. More to the point, there shouldn’t have been any kind of feelings at all. Naran thought she’d had more sense than that, but every time Hyungwon smiled at her, it became apparent she had no sense at all when it came to him.

Adding to her stress level, though many of the serving lasses had been assuaged by the picnic—even going so far for some as to entirely redirect their attentions to more fertile hunting grounds—a few remained openly hostile to the princess. Without Magda to act as a buffer, Naran’s daily life would no doubt have been sabotaged in the pettiest of ways. The whole thing was annoying. She had always been unbothered by what others thought of her, but she’d had the freedom to either say what she wanted or the outlet to just ride away from the issue all together. Everything was different now.

Naran needed to get some control over the problem, but it was much more challenging because, as a mere princess, she did not have the executive power to summarily dismiss a servant who got in her way—after all, marriage or not, it was not her palace. Her Goryeon remained at a conversational level, her poise as a princess was nonexistent, and her power of authority was questionable at best. The only thing she was sure of was that she would not involve Hyungwon in it. The less he thought about the servants, the better.

With Magda’s guiding hand behind the scenes, maybe it would all just go away with a bit more time. Already Naran’s lady-in-waiting had made inquiries into better palace stations for certain staff, and since half the time it seemed Magda was more respected than the princess herself, she had hope that trouble would find a new home.

For now, the princess fell back on the one escape she had. Naran had just gotten back from a long early morning ride through some of the thickest fog she’d ever seen. The world was swaddled in gauze, but on the back of a horse, her mind was always clear. Everything became a simple choice between beast and sky. Usually, it depressed her spirits when she pulled back up to the stable, yet a smile was on her lips before she could think better of it.

“I’ve been looking for you, my lady,” said Prince Hyungwon as he held open the corral door for her. “You left before I could join you.”

“I didn’t know you had planned on that, sire, as you never do.”

He gnawed on the corner of his lip as he looked sheepishly at his feet. The prince was dressed in full riding regalia, with his tall boots and fitted jacket lending him an extra elegant air as always, but he made no move for his own horse. “Well, yes, you know I’m not an early riser. I just thought since I hadn’t seen you in a while, it might have been nice.”

“Sorry to disappoint you then. Perhaps another day?”

“If our schedules ever allow it again… How was your ride?”

Naran dismounted and patted her horse’s haunches as it snorted. “Too short. Are you still planning on riding out then?”

Hyungwon took her horse’s reins and walked with the pair of them back toward its stable. “I think the time has passed. But now that I think of it, we’ve both been far too cooped up in the palace, and, frankly, I’m sick of looking at paperwork. It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

The princess looked back at the lifting fog to find topaz skies and the air cool and filled with promise. “It is.”

“What do you say to a little picnic somewhere different?”

At this, Naran’s eyes lit up. “You mean outside of the palace?”

The prince nodded.

“I say yes a thousand times! Is that all right to do? Can you just walk away from your work?”

“I am more productive when I am refreshed, so consider it done. I know just the place, too. Are you all right with a day trip, my lady?” Naran glowered at him and Hyungwon smirked. “Just wanted to be sure you didn’t mind enduring my presence for a bit.”

“If you get me out of here, you shall have no complaints on that part.”

“But we shall have to keep our party very small,” he cautioned.

There was something more behind the prince’s eyes as he spoke, but the princess had neither the inclination nor the patience to decipher it. She was getting out!

“I can be ready in just a few minutes if you so require, my lord.”

“Take your time, Princess. I wasn’t so sure you’d say yes to me, so I haven’t had lunch packed yet.”

“Then let us hurry back to the kitchen and get it started,” Naran suggested, and the prince laughed at her eagerness.

“Let’s,” agreed Hyungwon. He offered his hand for a moment before he yanked it back at the last second and stuffed it in his pocket with a sheepish look. Together, the pair headed back toward the palace.

Along their way, they passed Empress Indeok with her lady-in-waiting sitting under a showy maple with quills and papers in hand. The prince and princess greeted them, and the usually placid empress offered a rare close-lipped smile.

“What are you up to, Mother?” asked Hyungwon as he squinted at her paper, though she drew it up to her chest at once.

“Writing poetry,” she answered.

“I did not know you were a poet, Your Majesty?” Naran said.

“We are all poets if we can open our hearts to the beauty that surrounds us.” Indeok held her daughter-in-law’s gaze far too incisively, and Naran looked to the crimson and butterscotch canopy to escape. “Speaking of beauty, where are the pair of you off to on such a beautiful day?”

“The princess will accompany me on a picnic to Segeomjeong,” answered her son, “so we shall be indisposed for the rest of the afternoon.”

The empress turned her focus to Hyungwon as she asked, “And what of your studies?”

The prince tried to stand tall even as his ears reddened. “They’re not going anywhere…”

“They most certainly aren’t. Perhaps both of you shall find you’ve learned something by the end of the day. Make the most of your time then and go. The light gets shorter with each passing day.”

Again, Indeok’s eyes drilled into Naran, so the princess bowed deeply, as did Hyungwon, before they said goodbye.

As far as anything in a Court was considered, the carriage was prepared rather quickly, but for the princess, it was agonizingly slow. The prospect of adventure after so long without it brought a restlessness to the princess’s legs that had Magda as cross as Naran had ever seen her.

“My Lady, please, for your own sake, try to look a little more modest. I know you’re excited, but that’s the third time the Empress has caught you prancing like a pony. It makes you look rather ungrateful for all the good things otherwise bestowed on you every day.”

“Oh, what care I for that, Magda! I shall be slipping my bonds for several hours. I’ll be a person again, not a position! I guarantee you Empress Indeok feels the same on her missions to town.”

“Except Her Majesty has the good grace to hide it.”

Naran scoffed. “You cannot ruin my good mood today. I am predisposed to like everything.”

“And everyone?” the attendant probed with a smirk.

“I see what you are getting at, and I don’t even care. Aren’t you proud of me?”

With a withering sigh, Magda admitted, “I suppose I am. Just try and act a little reserved for my sake on the highly likely chance that you encounter your subjects along the road? Since I may not accompany you, I would appreciate it if you give the appearance that at least one thing I taught you has rubbed off on you.”

The princess relented and plopped down onto a cushion, albeit ungainly like a child. “Fine, fine. Your guilt trip has penetrated. I shall play the height of prudence and decorum—until I’m out of the line of sight.”

Even Magda let out a reluctant laugh. “It is good to see My Lady smiling so freely again. It almost feels like we’re back in Urga.”

At this, Naran’s joy tempered. With a bittersweet pang, she realized she’d been thinking less of home as she’d grown more accustomed to the structure of Goryeon palace life, and the guilt she’d just felt a minute ago turned more acutely inward, that maybe she was less and less Moghul every day.

“I wish Saran were here,” said the princess.

Before Magda could respond, Hansol appeared in the doorway to their wing and bowed. When he came up, he was wearing his usual gentle smile. “Your Highness, everything has been prepared. Are you ready to go?”

“I am,” Naran answered without the vigor of a minute ago. Hansol extended his hand to help the princess up, and together, they headed toward the courtyard where the carriage her parents had gifted them waited like a cold rain shower on the sunny day as yet another reminder of what she was allowing herself to forget.

Prince Hyungwon was waiting there, holding the carriage door open with a smile on his face, though when he noticed how muted she looked, he worried. “Did you change your mind?”

“Of course not, my lord,” answered the princess. To cover her suddenly glum mood, she said, “Magda just gave me a bit of a dressing down about my eagerness.”

The prince leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Ah, well. Perhaps it’s for the best then that we must keep our party small. I will not scold you on that account.”

Naran recognized he was being charming, but with her guard stubbornly back up, it made it harder for Hyungwon’s warmth to penetrate. Still, the softness of his hand in hers as he helped her into the cabin lingered long after she was seated across from him. With Hansol manning the driver’s seat, they took off through the palace gate.

It had been weeks since Naran had stepped foot outside the palace walls and even longer since she’d left the main streets of Namgyeong—if she thought about it, perhaps not since she arrived as a fiancée. Beyond the city limits, things were much wilder. There were no artfully tamed gardens or permanent architecture here; indeed, aside from the roads themselves and a loose line of humble houses, ready to blow away in the next typhoon, there was hardly any manicuring of the country at all. It was wonderful. The further they went, the easier it was to shed the thoughts that had soured her good mood, and by the time the princess spied the first cow, her excitement had returned.

“Where are we headed anyway?” Naran asked.

Hyungwon brightened across from her, looking as proud as she’d ever seen him. “I’m taking you to a waterfall.”

“A waterfall! How exciting. I haven’t seen one in ages.”

“It’s not so dramatic as the ones at our summer home in Chungju, but it should be refreshing enough in the meantime.”

“Will it be much longer?”

Hyungwon considered before he shook his head. “Not too much, I should think, but it’s been a long time since I’ve gone. I might have been Princess Sarangerel’s age the last time I went.”

Naran stared out the window, her chin in her hand, as she watched the wilderness trundle by. It was harder to dwell in self-pity over the thought of her sister now that she was free of the prison of the palace. Instead, she pictured the lively teenager clapping with anticipation as clearly as if the girl was actually in the carriage. How different life would be if she could escape like this more often.

At length, the carriage slowed where the road got a bit rougher. The sound of a bustling stream outpaced the squeak of the wheels and the snort of the horses until, finally, it roared in earnest as the carriage stopped altogether.

Naran didn’t wait for her husband or his valet to get the door before she threw it open and leapt into tall grass. As wonderful as the gardens were at Changdeokgung, the air was sweeter here, damp and wild with a crispness to it that excited even the tastebuds. She could hear the surge of the waterfall somewhere beyond the bushes at the top of the creek bed and nothing else—not carriages or horses or people shuffling by. The sun had long-since burned away the morning fog, leaving its dry kiss on her face, and she turned toward it like a starved flower. With her eyes closed, she felt free.

“Having fun?” asked Hyungwon as he pulled up alongside her.

“You have no idea how much. It’s perfect here,” the princess replied.

“It will only get more so. Come.”

He took his wife’s hand and pulled her through a split in the hedgerow to the edge of the embankment. There squatted a lavish pavilion in the same colorful and ornate fashion as those on the palace grounds. He brought her through its charming little gate and into its shade, and together, they looked out over the stream.

Up the course to the left were the foothills of the green mountains north of the city, every nook and cranny lush with flora of diversifying hues. The first blush of autumn reds dappled the hillsides, interspersed with flecks of gold and rust while the creek, bulging from a recent bout of rain, babbled between sturdy sheets of table rocks and sent up fine sprays over mini rapids that shattered the sun into little rainbows. The waterfall there wasn’t much taller than her husband, but Naran thought maybe it was the most remarkable one she’d ever seen. The creek bounced back and forth between several boulders in misty white arches until it crashed into a shallow green pool at its base. Down to the right was more pretty countryside without so much as a hut in sight. It couldn’t have been more perfect.

Hyungwon was watching her with a smile on his face as Naran stared out at the stream. “Would you like to take a walk while Hansol sets up the picnic?”

“Our Hansol works hard enough as it is. Part of the fun of a picnic is creating it, my lord. Are you too spoiled as the prince to take out a cushion?” she teased.

Hyungwon bristled. “Of course not. I thought perhaps you were too spoiled though.”

“Do you have any idea how often I would simply nap in the grass on the steppe?” she returned with a laugh. “Spoiled for me is a cushion.”

“Very well. Today, we live our dream. Today, neither of us is royal.”

Naran watched as her husband busied himself with supplies, and a very strong compulsion to hug him overwhelmed. It was the first time the thought had come to her, and though she thought better of it before she could cross that boundary, the fuzziness in her heart remained. With a soft smile, she mumbled, “A better plan could not be made.”

As Hyungwon dug through the trunk, he lobbed a cushion unexpectedly at her, and it clapped the princess in the face, sending both of them into fits of laughter.

“You call me lazy, but here I am, doing all your dirty work,” he complained though it was with a grin. “I’m a fool whenever it comes to you.”

“I never said I wasn’t coming to help!” With his arms full, the prince shuffled toward the pavilion, but Naran barked, “Not there. Let’s enjoy the scene. Shall we set up on the rocks below?”

“Sounds good,” said Hyungwon as he headed down the steps of the embankment to the wide, flat rock that abutted the water’s edge. There, he laid out the blanket and a cushion while Naran followed him down. He raised an eyebrow as he questioned, “Two cushions?”

“One for Hansol, of course. We are not royal today after all, so why shouldn’t he eat with us?”

At this, the prince’s lips puckered as though he had bitten into a lemon. “He’s not interested in lunch.”

Naran shot her husband a withering look before she called down the stream bed, “Hansol, come eat with us!”

The servant jogged back with his usual smile, but it faded as he looked awkwardly between the prince and princess, who wore polar opposite expressions. After finally settling on his master’s stern face, he bowed and said, “You are very thoughtful, but I had breakfast at the palace, Your Highness.”

“What nonsense,” she scolded. “That was a long trip, and you did all the work. Sit and drink something at least then.”

Hansol looked at the prince again, but Hyungwon’s face did not change. The valet bowed again as he added, “Her Ladyship is all politeness, but it is best if I keep an eye on the road as the carriage will stick out even more than usual in the country.”

Naran sighed as she plopped down onto her cushion and cast off her shoes to stretch all her toes. “Honestly, have you never had a meal with the Prince? Haven’t you two known each other for decades?”

“This is not really done in Goryeo, My Lady.”

“Well, who else is going to know? We know you well enough to know you wouldn’t say anything, Hansol. I’m sure there’s no one better at being discreet than the prince’s valet.”

“But—” the young man hedged.

“It’s weird, okay?” Naran said abruptly. “Magda and I eat together all the time, and I’m sick and tired of being watched with every meal of my life. Sometimes it feels like Goryeo is strangling me with its well-mannered hands.”

Hyungwon sighed as he grumbled, “Hansol, please join us, at least for tea.”

“Your Highness!” the servant shouted at full attention, this bow even deeper than the last two. “It would be the greatest honor of my life.”

“Having a cup of tea?” the princess laughed as she poured some for all of them. “Come, sit. The world is our palace today.”

Naran swiveled toward the creek and leaned back onto her hands so she could bask in the sun. Though the weather was mild, the sun was hot, and the cooled fruit tea was more refreshing than ever. Combined with the rush of the water, the princess felt positively rejuvenated.

“It could not be more beautiful,” she remarked to the others. “I shall remember this for a long time.”

“So will I,” echoed the prince, and when Naran opened her eyes, she found him smiling at her. “I am relieved it all pleases you.”

“More than you can imagine, my lord. I didn’t know how much my heart needed this.”

Hyungwon dropped his gaze to his cup. “Glad to hear it.”

Naran hummed. “The sky may be crowded out by trees here, but I like it more than I ever thought I would.”

“You do?”

For a moment, the prince’s voice was brighter than the sun, and she teased, “Some days.”

Hyungwon dug into one of the baskets he’d brought and pulled out a plate of fruits and nuts as Naran cast a glance back to their guest. “What do you think, Hansol? Isn’t this lovely?”

“Very much so, Your Highness.”

“Ah, what a lot we are. Even sharing a picnic alone in the wilderness, we’re still so formal,” she lamented. “I guess it can’t be helped.”

“I brought some games to play,” Hyungwon interjected.

At this though, Naran sat bolt upright, her eyes fixed to her husband. “You did?”

“Yes, but you should know that, today, I am the ringer, Princess. This time, I picked games to my strengths.”

At the boast in his voice, she couldn’t help her lip bite. “Is that so, my lord?”

“It is so, so be careful what you wager with me.”

“Oh, and we’re betting again, too?”

“Where’s the fun without a bet?” he replied.

“Fair enough. Before I make mine, I should like to see the games.”

With a few more handfuls of food, the prince leapt up with his valet, and the pair of them headed back to the carriage to unpack the first set, which was a simple game of wooden arrows meant to be tossed into the necks of jars. Once the jars were set up in the grass above the stream bank, the pair each took four arrows, and Hansol was made the Master of Ceremonies in charge of keeping score.

“Your bet, my lady?” asked the prince as he mimed a few throws.

Naran smiled from ear to ear. “When I win, I want mutton dumplings for dinner.”

Hyungwon raised an eyebrow. “Mutton? Really?”

“It will remind me of home, and I will expect even a picky eater like yourself to try it.”

At this, his cheeks lifted to his eyes. “Very well, I suppose if you win, that can be arranged.”

“And what of your bet, my lord?”

The prince’s smile tempered as he looked at her. “I want you to call me Hyungwon.”

All the breath in Naran’s lungs rushed out. She hadn’t expected him to renew his same bet from their horse race, especially when she’d worked so hard to forget it, but there it was again. The princess swallowed hard and kept her chin up as best she could as she answered, “I hate to tell you, sire, but I won’t lose.”

“We shall see.”

Unfortunately for the prince, he seemed to have forgotten that Naran was a superlative archer, and though there was no bow, her aim was perilously true. The wind was out of his sails before he’d even thrown his first arrow, and he missed every single toss after that. Hansol tried to hide his snicker, but Hyungwon caught him and yelled, “Master of Ceremonies, you have been demoted to clean-up crew!”

Naran joined in with the servant’s laughter now while her husband continued to pout.

“A fine way to treat their prince,” Hyungwon grumbled as he tossed one of the arrows as far as it could go into the creek itself. “Go clean that up, clean-up crew!”

There was something about seeing Hyungwon so sulky that prompted the richest laughter from the princess while also provoking her desire to make him feel better, and she leaned into the effervescent feeling. “Cheer up, my prince. You have yet another game for redemption, do you not?”

At least this roused the brightness back to Hyungwon’s face. “Yes, and this one I will not lose, of that I am sure. My second wager will have to wait for another day then as the first has yet to be satisfied.”

“Fine then. And when I win this, I want you to find a bottle of kumis for our dinner. It’s a delicacy from my homeland, and I miss it.”

Hyungwon scowled. “Is that that weird milk liquor we had at dinner that one night?”

Naran laughed. “The very same, but as you made me drink that swill from Champa, I am determined to get you drunk on kumis, and then—”

She cut herself off as her face heated at the memory of what had unfolded between them the last time they drank together. Hyungwon seemed to remember the same, though his color crept up under his collar instead.

“It’s a bet then,” he said.

“And our game this time?”

“Simple enough.” Since Hansol was still fishing for the arrow down by the creek, Hyungwon fetched a little leather pouch from the trunk and came back, tossing it in the air. “Whoever can keep this bag in the air with the most kicks wins the round.”

“So it’s to be sudden death for this as well?”

“Scared?” he challenged.

This time? A little, thought Naran.

“Never,” she fired back. “But perhaps you’ll take a little mercy on your wife and let me practice a few times?”

Hyungwon considered before he ultimately smiled. “Since I haven’t played in years either, a few warm-up rounds might do me some good as well, though I will warn you that when I was young, I could kick it all the way to town and back.”

“‘When’ you were young, sire? Are you a young prince or a tired grandfather?” she teased, and now that Hansol was back with the soggy arrow, he joined the trio in a laugh. Naran rested a hand on the valet’s shoulder and added, “See? Hansol agrees with me.”

Instantly, the smile left the prince’s face.

“Let’s practice,” he said flatly before he dropped the bag and brought his foot up to hit it. They collided once, but he missed the second kick, and the bag fell limply to the grass.

Naran raised a brow. “This is what I’m supposed to be afraid of, grandfather?”

“We said a warm-up, didn’t we?”

This time when Hyungwon kicked the bag, he was more focused. He was four kicks deep before it hit the ground, and Naran’s anxiety stirrred a little. But on his third attempt, it fell to the ground after a single kick, and she trusted she would win soundly.

She undid the ties at the neck of her hanbok before Hyungwon shouted, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing?”

“You don’t get to choose a challenge that I won’t be able to do because of the skirt. I’m taking it off so I can actually compete.”

The prince’s eyes slid to Hansol, who waited passively beside the carriage with eyes glued to the princess’s ankles.

“Maybe we should—” Hyungwon started, but Naran cut him off by shucking off the hanbok with a careless toss to the grass.

“Oh my word, you are old. It’s not like we’re in the palace, and that certainly has never stopped us before, has it?”

The prince cleared his throat as the memory of their recent tryst overtook them both.

“Besides,” she said, softer now, “I’m wearing the regulation undershirt and pants. The only thing you have to fear is my natural athleticism.”

“Very well. You have convinced me, so you will have no excuse when you lose. Ladies first.”

Naran nodded and braced for action. She grabbed the bag and squared up to her husband.

“Just remember,” he said, “you only get one chance.”

“Are you saying that for my benefit or yours?”

“Yours, obviously.”

They grinned at each other only for as long as it took the princess to widen her stance, sharpen her eyes, and drop the bag.

Naran landed her first kick perfectly, and with that success out of the way, the next one came even easier. Since she had only gotten better with each passing practice and Hyungwon had gotten worse, she was confident this would be her best run yet.

Three. Four. Five. Six.

She landed each kick with no problem, but just as she brought her foot up for the seventh, her ankle wavered and she missed. The bag fell to the ground with a soft plop! and he scooped it up while Hansol applauded vigorously.

“Impressive, Your Highness,” the valet cheered.

“Six is very good,” Hyungwon observed, “but seven will be better.”

The prince tossed the bag high in the air and caught it, a huge grin splitting his face.

“I’m hardly worried considering what I've seen from you thus far, my prince.”

Hyungwon snorted slightly, and a strange pit formed in the princess’s stomach. Something was off.

“I am sorry, My Lady,” said Hansol with his head hung, and the pit expanded inside her.

Hyungwon dropped the bag and kicked it effortlessly high, enough that he could spin quickly and level the next kick handily with his other foot. Back and forth, the bag moved without so much as a question that it might drop.

Three. Four. Five.

“You liar!” Naran wailed. “You faked that poor warmup!”

Hyungwon laughed as kick number six landed expertly, this time sailing it high again so he could put on another fancy spin for a decisive kick number seven.

But then Naran’s hand shot forward automatically to tickle the prince on his ribs. Hyungwon let out a squeal, and the bag fell into the grass.

“You cheated!” he shouted, indignant, but Naran couldn’t see his face as she had already taken off running.

“So did you!” she cackled as she zipped down the slope toward the creek.

Hyungwon raced after her with a war cry, and when the princess risked a look behind her, she found that his much longer legs were closing the gap between them. She laughed and charged forward, arms pumping, lungs gulping for breath, as she passed their picnic and thundered into the creek. Icy water rushed around her ankles, but it only made her cackle louder.

“You’ll never catch me!” she shouted. “I’m the wind.”

She should have looked back before she boasted.

Hyungwon caught up to his wife in time to grab her by the shoulder and fling her back against the stream bank. Naran’s spine collided with hard soil as one of her husband’s hands clapped beside her head while the other gripped her hip, caging her in. Their chests heaved, their cheeks rouged, and their eyes locked on each other.

“You robbed me of my victory,” Hyungwon growled as he pressed closer.

“All’s fair in love and war,” Naran retorted, but when she realized her words, she added, “and this is war.”

“Is that so?” His face dipped down toward hers as he whispered, “Let’s test that.”

His lips were just about to skim hers when, through hazy, half-lidded eyes, the princess murmured, “You know the rules…”

“What happened to ‘all’s fair’?”

“I just said that so you wouldn’t be angry with me.”

“Hmm,” said the prince as his forehead kissed hers, and there was no way to escape his black gaze. “I should be angry. I was about to win my bet.”

“I know. I was scared,” she admitted. “I don't like to lose.”

“I don't think that's what you're afraid of.”

Hyungwon’s thumb glided across Naran’s lips, and a full body shiver ripped through her. Ice water surged around her ankles, but that wasn’t what had her frozen beneath her husband’s whims.

The prince pressed his lips to the freckled apple of her cheekbone, and she let out a shaky breath somewhere between relief and despair.

“Oh…” Naran whimpered.

The hand beside her moved into her hair now, twining the loose strands there to fasten her to him.

“I'm hungry,” she stuttered.

Hyungwon’s lips moved from her cheek to her earlobe, and he nibbled it before he said, “I'm hungry, too.”

“We—we only had fruit and tea.”

“Mm-hm,” he murmured as he kissed her neck now.

“Let’s eat?”

Beneath those swelling lips, she felt his teeth graze her throat before his tongue chased the tremor of her moan upward.

"Yes, let’s…” he purred.

“And—ah!—and my feet are freezing. We should get to shore, sire. Hansol’s probably wondering where we went.”

Hyungwon sighed and stepped back into the heart of the creek with an angry splash. “Fine, let’s go.”

He stooped to pick up a rock and chucked it as far as he could before he stomped back toward the picnic blanket.

The rest of their picnic was unusually tense, and Naran didn’t know what to do about it. This time, Hyungwon really was angry with her—she could feel it—but she didn’t know how to get out of it because she wasn’t sure for which offense he’d ultimately convicted her. They ate in silence, and though everything had been prepared with its customary perfection, it was all tasteless. At the same time, she wanted the meal to last forever because she was dreading the ride back to the palace for more than just the return to her royal life.

And the princess was right to dread it, too. All the wonders of the scenery and roads faded with every attempt at conversation she made. Hyungwon outright rebuffed them all until Naran thought she would lose it.

“I’m sorry!” she blurted when they reached the first inklings of Namgyeong.

She thought he’d brighten at her apology, but Hyungwon didn’t even turn to look at her. “Sorry for what?”

“It was such a nice day, and I didn’t mean to ruin it. I had a lot of fun, and I know you worked hard.”

At this, the prince spared a glance for her though his face remained blank, but Naran realized it was easier to talk when he wasn’t looking at her with those soft, full eyes.

“And I’m sorry about the stuff at the creek… It’s not that I didn’t want to, but I think I was worried it might be a bit weird with Hansol right there—”

But this only made Hyungwon huff and return to the window, and no matter what else Naran tried to add, he wouldn’t look at her again.

It was twilight by the time they returned to the palace. The prince did not wait for his wife to disembark but instead leapt out and stormed back to his room, and by the time she got back, his bedroom door was firmly shut.

Hyungwon had never been mad at her before, and it didn’t feel right. She was used to being mad at him—or maybe not him exactly, but this situation of theirs—so she had no idea what to do to set things right that didn’t also mean exposing parts of herself she’d never exposed before.

Perhaps it was best to let it all blow over. He would go to bed and so would she, and when they woke up, the status quo would return.

Except, as Naran stared up at her ceiling, tracing maps and patterns in the woodwork, she realized that maybe he wasn’t angry.

Maybe she had hurt him.

She had shut down his attentions rather abruptly at the picnic, so perhaps it had wounded her husband’s pride. Sex, she understood. Sex, she could fix. Then things could go back to normal.

Determined to set things back on their familiar—and safe—path, Naran opened her door and checked the sitting room. Thankfully, there were no servants since she did not need them notating tonight like a secret diary.

The princess didn’t bother with her robe but slipped only in her nightgown through the darkened room. There was a thin slash of candlelight beneath Hyungwon’s door, so she trusted he was awake before she convinced her hand to knock at last.

His voice came gruff and firm through the thick wood. “For the tenth time, Hayun, I just want to be left alone.”

Hayun?

Naran felt her heart in her throat even though she knew she had no right to.

“No, my lord, it’s your wife.”

She meant to simply say “it’s me,” but somewhere between her head and her heart, the wires got crossed.

There was silence at first and then a great deal of shuffling as she heard clothes being tugged on. For a brief second, she wondered how undressed he really was, especially if Hayun had been by. The door jerked open, and her husband’s broad frame filled it. Hyungwon looked down at her with complete nothingness, and that, more than anything, stirred the dread in Naran’s stomach.

“What are you doing here?” he asked flatly.

“May I come in?”

“Why?”

He asked it like he genuinely had no idea why a wife should ever show up at a husband’s door, and Naran began to question how much of a fool she really was.

“I wanted to see you. It has been weird between us since we got back, and even when things are weird for me, they’re not usually so weird between us.”

“They’re not weird. They’re distant. Isn’t that what you wanted?” he probed. “You wanted distance, and I’m giving it to you.”

Naran narrowed her eyes at him. “If you wanted to keep your distance from me, then you shouldn’t have planned a picnic for the two of us.”

“For the two of us…” Hyungwon laughed incredulously as he turned into his room, leaving enough space for the princess to slip in and close the door behind them, lest one of those servants show up unexpectedly.

His room was a mess. The bedding was off-kilter, and Hyungwon’s outfit from the day was strewn about the floor. Surrounding his desk were several crumpled letters, and though Naran’s Goryeon had steadily improved, she still could not read the foreign script with any sort of speed. She wondered what he’d been writing.

“My prince—”

“You say that to me now like it meant anything to you earlier,” Hyungwon snapped suddenly.

Naran reeled back under the force of his words. The prince had shown her many sides since they’d met, but she hadn’t seen his anger before, and it surprised her, not just because of its conviction but because of its power. When Hyungwon was angry, he could cut—not just with the razors of his eyes but the arrows in his tone. She trembled.

He sank onto the edge of his bed, his eyes on his bare feet. “How could you flirt with him like that while I was standing right beside you?”

Naran jolted. “Flirt— With Hansol? That’s not—”

“I organized today for you. For us.”

Her mouth hung open as the strength of his words felt like a punch to the gut.

“I didn’t intend to share it, least of all with someone you’re obviously courting.”

“Whoa,” she objected. “I’m not courting anyone. Hansol and I joke like that all the time, sire.”

His face fell even more. “All the time?”

“I don’t understand why you’re getting so upset. Nothing happened. So your friend ate with us and played games with us? You arranged it. I didn’t invite him—you did. You can’t get mad at me for asking the person hired to take care of us to join us for a meal. Hansol deserves it.”

Hyungwon forked his hands angrily through his hair as his long legs once again ate up the room. “Naran, it’s not about— Why do you insist on misunderstanding?”

“Why then do you never speak plainly? You know I’m weak in Goryeon, so let me make myself perfectly clear in English as that was the language in which we made our contract. Equal freedom in our marriage was a part of it, was it not? And I didn’t even act on it!”

“Yes, but I was right there! I am still prince of this empire or has Her Ladyship forgotten?”

“I have not,” said Naran through gritted teeth.

“How then do you think that makes me look to the servants?”

The princess rolled her eyes. “No one else was there. It was just Hansol.”

“Stop saying his name!”

Hyungwon’s voice boomed. Naran had never heard him so loud—until that second, she wasn’t even sure he was capable of it—but now, her ears were ringing and her throat was dry. The prince looked frayed, and his ever-soft eyes were shimmering with an emotion she had never seen from him.

Stunned, Naran bowed her head and mumbled, “You’re right. I’m sorry, my lord.”

“Why do you never say my name? How has my servant earned it but I have not? You won’t even let me win my bet.”

Hyungwon’s indignation had waned, and what was left in his voice was brittle. In so many ways, it was louder than his shouting.

Steeling herself, Naran pushed up onto her toes and risked a kiss at the very corner of her husband’s lips because it was the only way she could think of to get out of a question she wasn’t prepared to answer. Hyungwon turned immediately toward her mouth, but she darted down to his jaw and then his neck.

In between kisses, she said, “I am sorry about today. You’ve been nothing but fair to me. Let me be fair to you, my prince.”

Hyungwon pushed her back to look at her questioningly, but Naran just grinned as she sank to her knees before him. She tried to look fierce and beautiful as he had between her legs, but her heart was shaking. She shifted her weight and bunched her skirt beneath her knees to dull the pressure of the floor, but it also gave her an excuse to fidget out all of her gathering anxieties.

“What are you doing?” the prince asked suspiciously.

Naran brought her fingers to the knot of his robe, and, quaking, they fought to undo it. The room was painfully quiet, save for her hard breaths. She was spotlighted by the silence and even more exposed than she’d been on his desk mere weeks ago.

“I have never done this,” the princess admitted, “so you may need to guide me.”

“Only me?” he said hopefully.

“Only you.”

Hyungwon’s fingers curled under his wife’s chin as he lifted her face, one finger tenderly stroking the shadows there. He looked at Naran with such fondness that she almost forgot that she had used this as a tool to get out of something.

Instead, it felt like falling into something completely different.

“I know how I sounded just now, but you must know that you don't have to do anything beyond what our roles may have asked of us,” he reminded. “I have no expectations on that front.”

“I know, just as I didn’t ask you to make me feel better the night my family left. So, why did you?”

Hyungwon brushed her unbound hair back from her face, his chest heaving now as he stared at her. “Because I wanted to.”

Naran dragged her hands up his thighs until her thumb grazed the growing hardness there. He sighed at the contact, and his hips pushed not-so-subtly into her hand.

“And now I want to do this with you,” she assured. “Just tell me what feels good, yes?”

“Mm-hm,” was all Hyungwon could muster as he stared at her, transfixed.

Mercifully, the knot in his belt came undone at last, and as it fell away, the prince’s robe parted to reveal his thin white dressing gown. Naran brought her hands back to his thighs and kneaded the hidden muscle there. A little wet patch stained the fabric at the tent, and Naran licked her lips. With each sweep of her hands, the garment rose higher and higher until it was above his knees.

The princess sucked in a breath as she gripped the hem and pushed it up to bare his rigid length. It was pointed directly at her mouth in anticipation of her promise. Awkwardly, Naran shuffled a bit closer, the tip almost brushing her cheek as she gathered the loose fabric in one hand at his waist while the other encircled his base.

Both of them gasped.

It was different, being this kind of intimate with her husband. This close, everything about him was huge and overwhelming. His manhood strained for her, dripping milk-white from its pink tip, but beyond that, his taut stomach flared up into wide wings of chest and shoulder broadened even further by the curtains of his robe. How she longed to see him totally naked above her, but perhaps it was for the best that she didn’t ask. Naran had never intended to go this far as it was.

Hyungwon was always hard for their encounters, but there was something different about the scalding iron beneath her fingers now. She could feel him pulsing with excitement. She could smell his heady musk. There was something primal in it, something obscene—the smell of raw, aching need.

“I shouldn’t be this hard when I’m this cross with you,” he murmured.

“Let me make it better,” she assured.

“You’d better.”

There was darkness in his tone but admiration in his eyes. It aroused something in Naran, something that made her want to listen—to please. Even if he’d done this a hundred times with a hundred different women, she was determined to be the best for him. It was a foolish thing to think, she realized, but it didn’t matter. What she wanted, more than anything, was to be his favorite.

Naran tipped forward, unsure of what to really do, so she went with instinct. She kissed the length of his shaft first, and beneath her lips, she could feel him throb. Hyungwon’s eyes fluttered closed as his hand stroked her hair, so she repeated her kisses on the other side of his member, too. Each time she neared his tip, he would suck in a breath, but if this was her apology, she was going to make it a good one. On her last pass, she angled him upward to pepper the underside of his manhood with more attention, and this time, when she tasted the satiny skin beneath its head, Hyungwon yanked back on her hair to her little yelp.

“Not yet,” he said darkly. “There’s something I need first.”

Over the course of their exchanges, the power had shifted many times between them, but looking up at her husband slack-jawed and no doubt rather stupidly, without question, tonight, it had shifted firmly to his favor.

Naran tried to nod, but Hyungwon held her hair too firmly, so she whispered, “Anything.”

He wrenched the hem of his shirt from her other hand and ordered, “I’ve got it. You, my darling, are to put your hand between your thighs and touch yourself the way I like to touch you.”

“This is about you, my lord,” she protested shakily.

“It is, but I need you in this moment with me. I need to pretend those are my fingers. I need you purring around me. I want to feel that you need me, too.”

She bit her lip as she considered the meaning behind his words, but not for long before Hyungwon tugged roughly on her hair again to tilt her eyes up to his.

“Naran,” he commanded. “Just do it.”

Slowly, the princess brought her free hand to the inside of her thigh while her other remained gripping his base. With Hyungwon’s hand still holding her head back, she was forced to train her eyes on his while her fingertips brushed her folds. Her gaze darted to his chest in hopes of shielding her from all this exposure, but his grip tightened, and she knew she wouldn’t get away so easily.

“Are you wet?” Hyungwon asked.

She felt like she was bathed in fire at this point.

“Yes, my prince.”

“Show me.”

Naran couldn’t breathe from the embarrassment, but she also couldn’t find it in her to say no. She swiped her two fingers up her seam and then, quivering, raised them for his approval. The candlelight emblazoned the indecent sheen enameling her fingertips.

Hyungwon didn't say anything, but his smug grin spoke volumes. He grabbed her damp hand and guided her to smear her arousal over his tip and then along his length. He appraised his artwork with a dark chuckle.

“Pretty,” he remarked.

Naran looked questioningly up at him, and for a second, a tender smile flashed across his face.

“You can put those back now, princess.”

She dropped her hand to his thigh, but Hyungwon shook his head. “No, no. Where I told you to put them.”

Slowly, her hand disappeared back under her gown only to find she was exponentially more soaked. Naran stroked her swollen lips idly, just enough to tease a whimper from her and perk her husband’s ears.

“Very good, my darling. Now, we can proceed.”

She opened her mouth and leaned forward, but Hyungwon pulled back on her hair.

“Not with that yet,” Hyungwon said, his voice enflamed with lust. “First, tell me how my fingers feel.”

Naran was panting now, not from her touch but from her husband’s unexpected command over her. Her head was spinning, and if he hadn’t been anchoring her by her hair, she might have collapsed on all fours and just begged for relief.

“My lord, please—”

“They’re not inside you yet, are they?”

It was difficult to shake her head, but she tried.

“You can’t have my cock until you take my fingers, understand?”

“Yes…”

“Good. Now, slide them in while I watch.”

With her thighs already shaking, Naran slipped one finger along her slit to coat it in her ample arousal, and easily enough, she parted her lips and found her entrance. She winced as she pushed inside herself, not because it hurt but because she’d never done it before. She had experimented with her own body, of course, but something about doing that herself it had seemed… taboo. It was even more intense now under her husband’s scrutiny.

“How does it feel?” Hyungwon asked. His voice betrayed him, less confident now and higher-pitched as his breath ramped up.

“Warm,” she confessed. “Wet.”

“Tight?”

“Y-yes.”

“Does it feel good?” he murmured, entranced.

“Yours are better.”

“Of course they are, but you can’t have them.”

There it was, the true reason behind this little show. Naran understood everything now. Hyungwon wanted to remind her of how good he could make her feel. He was showing her once and for all that she would never please herself again the way he could. The cruel bastard…

As if he could hear her thoughts, he smirked. “Open, princess.”

Through tremulous breaths, her lips parted.

“Mm,” Hyungwon purred. “So nice. Now, take me in your mouth. Go slowly since you’ve never done this before.”

At last, the grip on her hair released, and he pet the top of her head in soothing strokes. As her nerves mounted, her thighs squeezed her hand, but her determination did not wane.

Tentatively, her tongue peeked out for an experimental taste. She tasted clean skin at first, fresh from his bath, and she wondered who’d drawn it for him. Did he wash alone or had someone helped him? Was someone there when he’d stepped out? Was it Hayun?

“So pretty,” Hyungwon murmured, shaking her from whatever nonsense had tried to cloud the immediacy of this moment. Naran offered another lick, this one flicking against the skin under the flare of his tip, and he sucked in a sharp gasp. “Feels too good already, princess. When you’re ready, I want you to close your mouth around me and move as much as you’re comfortable. Don’t be afraid. Just mind your teeth, and don’t stop moving those fingers inside you, understood?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“Go ahead now.”

Naran swallowed roughly as she sized up Hyungwon’s manhood. She pulled back on the skin there and delighted in the way his breaths tattered. Wide as she could, she opened for him, being careful to watch her teeth as instructed, and then she placed his head inside. His thickness pressed heavy on her tongue, and it made her fingers twitch inside her walls.

Saliva rushed to her mouth as she closed her lips and sucked gently. Hyungwon groaned, his hand fisting his nightshirt aggressively. Naran tried to remember his words, but the newness of the experience was already intimidating, so stimulating herself was downright overwhelming. Until she could find her balance, she gripped his base tighter as an anchor while she bobbed a little deeper down his shaft.

The bloom of his cockhead filled her mouth, and for her first full taste, she pushed him inside just to the back of her tongue before she felt a new pressure, one that threatened to gag her. Hyungwon must have felt her muscles spasming against the intrusion, so he caressed her cheek and said, “Easy, my darling. Not too much so soon. You’ll get there.”

With his reassurance, Naran eased back and kept her pace slow and shallow at first. It took her a bit to relax her jaw enough to fit his girth comfortably, but as she found a rhythm, she sucked a little fiercer and a little deeper. It was easy to get lost in the moment then, finding satisfaction in the way her husband hummed and moaned and panted, especially when she’d risk taking him to the edge of her throat again.

“It’s okay to move your tongue, princess. I want you to.”

Hyungwon’s husky voice shook her from her trance and brought back with embarrassing clarity that she was on her knees with her husband’s manhood in her mouth. Naran looked up at him with wide eyes, and the hand that had found a comfortable home on the back of her head cinched in her hair. His lids hooded his gaze even further as his ears reddened.

“The way you look right now… You can’t imagine,” he whispered. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

Naran couldn’t answer. Her head was swimming with thoughts of her husband. This was only about pleasure, she had to remind herself. This was about staying the course.

This was about pleasure.

She closed her eyes and focused on the way her mouth stretched to accommodate him. Her jaw was beginning to ache now, as were her lips since they were pulled taut around his shaft, but she liked it. She liked the way Hyungwon hummed and hissed and sometimes, when she’d suck with just the right pressure on just the right place, he’d mewl sweetly, and it would stir her fingers in her core without conscious thought.

The deeper the couple delved into their little depravity, the quieter he got even as his member grew stiffer. But Naran wanted him louder. She wanted to hear him tell her how good of a job she was doing, though she knew if she asked it of him, he would deny her all together.

This time when she pushed down on his length, Hyungwon hit the back of her throat, and she pulled back gasping for breath, tears in her eyes.

“Shh,” the prince soothed. “I told you not to rush it. Are you okay?”

“Mm-hm,” said Naran, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

“You can do a little more, right? I’m getting close.”

She nodded, and Hyungwon smiled.

“Use your hand, too. Like this.” The prince placed her hand at his hilt and squeezed until he got the pressure just the way he liked. “Little tighter, princess. Get everything your mouth can’t reach and move them up and down together.”

He did a pass with her, his hand over hers as she swallowed him as far as was comfortable, and this time he groaned.

“No wonder you miss my fingers so much. Look at these tiny hands,” he murmured. “So soft and small. They feel so good. Naran, darling, you feel so good.”

Things were getting blurry again. The praise hadn’t just swelled her head or her sex this time. It had lodged in her chest, puffing out her breasts and tightening her lungs as her heart stuttered behind it all.

“Just a little more…” said Hyungwon, this time a borderline whine.

The more she sucked, the more she noticed a strange taste at the back of her throat, a little salty and maybe musky, too. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, as unexpected as it was, nor was it delicious, yet something about it was addictive. The more determinedly she savored him, the more of that taste there was and the more she found him meeting her strokes with needy thrusts of his hips.

“Faster,” he urged.

Naran obliged and picked up the pace. Between sloppy slurps and heavy breaths and whimpers from the couple, it was noisier now. Her knees were throbbing as was her core since she couldn’t seem to focus on anything other than following her husband’s most basic instruction of keeping her fingers firmly lodged in her walls.

On her last pass, Hyungwon’s breath hitched frantically, and he held the back of her head as this time as his cock drilled urgently between her lips. He kept the depth shallow for her, but with the speed came a mess of drool and erratic breaths as she tried to maintain a seal around his shaft.

A string of Goryeon curses tumbled out of his mouth before he called, “Here it comes. Swallow it. Swallow it all! I know you can!”

With a thrust of his hips, Hyungwon stretched her lips around his thickness, cupped the back of her head with both hands, and emptied his salty load onto the flat of her tongue and down her throat. Even with his warning, Naran almost choked. There was so much, and it just kept coming so she kept swallowing, taking deep breaths through her nose in between her desperate gulps.

Suddenly, Hyungwon pulled out with another curse. His face twisted with the intensity of his release as he stumbled back against the wall, hand over his heart.

“Oh, Naran,” he gasped. “Naran, Naran, Naran…”

His eyes were wide but vacant as he shivered and squeezed the base of his manhood. A few pearls beaded at his fiery tip, but when she moved to clean them up, he shook his head.

“Too much, too much,” he warned. “Need a minute.”

The princess gave her husband his moment to compose himself though it was just as much of an excuse for her to take in the sight of him completely unwound. He was so elegant, rosy-skinned and fat-lipped, his long legs sagging as he slumped to the side like a reed in the wind. His nightshirt caught at the base of his softening manhood in a way that was more appetizing than it should have been considering the pain in her jaw. At last, Hyungwon’s bleary eyes focused on her as he struggled to regulate his breath again.

“Naran…” said the prince, though the misty way he said it felt like a thought he was not ready to voice.

Eventually, he rose and the princess figured she was expected to do the same. Taking his proffered hand, she stood up on shaky legs. Drool coated her chin, arousal soaked her fingers, and tears streaked her cheeks, but she felt beautiful. The way he looked at her now made her feel beautiful.

“How was—”

She didn’t even get out the question before Hyungwon grabbed her wrist and dragged her back to his bed to toss her on it.

“What’s—”

Again, he cut her off as he scrambled through her nightgown to bare her legs and finally her soaked core. Hyungwon’s fingers stroked her engorged folds, gathering up her mess while Naran’s foggy head sank into the comforter.

“You don’t have to do anything, my prince,” she managed to squeak out despite her thick tongue. “This was my apology.”

“Don’t tell me how to forgive you,” he commanded in the deepest, darkest voice she’d ever heard in her life, and she gave in immediately.

Hyungwon exposed her entrance, and only a second later, his middle finger was buried inside her while Naran choked on her gasp. This time, he was not gentle. He plunged in and out of her hole quickly and roughly, his palm slapping against her wet sex every time, and when he wanted, he added a second finger. The stretch made her arch, and unlike her husband, the princess could not keep her keening locked away. Her fingers gripped his biceps as she cried and begged for more.

“How do they feel?” Hyungwon demanded. “Tell me how they feel.”

A juddering moan poured from Naran’s lips as she tried to find words, but it was impossible. Her writhing was getting in the way of his rhythm, so the prince clamped a hand on her thigh to keep her defenseless against his onslaught. His fingers were so long and so unfairly talented that the slow burn in her walls was stoked into a bonfire in just a few thrusts.

Dimly, Naran knew she was out of her mind with lust. Her hips bucked in desperation. Her eyes squeezed until she saw stars. The voice that poured feverishly from her lips was no longer hers.

“More, more, more! Please!”

Her need was more animal than human now. She was so close to the precipice. She had to fall. She needed to fall. Release was the only possibility to her simple mind.

But then Hyungwon withdrew his fingers, and Naran wailed in horror. She shot up, a madness burning like wildfire in her eyes as she snarled at her husband. A river of arousal gushed between her legs, and there was no stopping it from pooling on the bedspread or the hem of her nightgown.

She thought maybe he was done, that his anger had waned with her apology, but he shoved her back to the bed so those slick digits could find a new home on her hard button where her neediest desire had gathered. Hyungwon rubbed slowly there—soft, deliberate circles around her little hill that emptied her head of all thought. Here, the intensity was different, not deep in her belly but simmering across the entire surface of her skin.

Unlike the night Naran had passed on his desk, the prince wasn’t attentive and endearing and eager to please as he’d been with his mouth on her heat. Tonight, at full height, he loomed over her. Were it not for the way his black eyes focused with cold attention on her every twitch, it almost looked as though he cared nothing about the way his wife suffered at his fingertips.

Her heels scrambled against the edge of the mattress as the intensity reached its frenzy point. Her hands fisted the sheets. Breath heaved into her lungs as her every muscle constricted. Her thighs tightened around his forearm as her hips began to rise.

And just like that, his finger stilled over the pulsing fury at her core. Hyungwon dropped his lips to her cheek and kissed her softly before he whispered, “You’re forgiven, my darling, but I haven’t forgotten just yet. This is what today felt like for me. Remember it the next time you think of flaunting your conquests in front of me.”

He kissed her once more there, this time at the corner of her eye, and then Hyungwon stood up and opened the door for her.

“Goodnight, Princess,” he said as he waited there.

Bewildered, Naran sat up on her elbows, tears in her eyes from back-to-back ruined releases, as she pulled down her gown. She didn’t know what to say; she wasn’t even sure she could speak. She thought maybe if she refused to move, Hyungwon might come back, but he didn’t. He waited at the door more like the immovable Head of the Royal Guard than her husband.

“I—” she stammered, but the prince did not bother to look her way. He just waited at his post.

Naran stood on wobbly legs and stared helplessly at the expressionless man before her. Her sex pulsated in despair, her mouth tasted of her husband’s cock, and her thighs rubbed noisily with the embarrassing grease of lust at every step.

At the door, Hyungwon bowed, and when he rose, he was smiling.

Confused and hot and stinging with what felt keenly of rejection, Naran bowed back awkwardly.

“Goodnight, my lord.”

As soon as she crossed the threshold, Hyungwon closed the door, and a second later, the candlelight snuffed beneath it.

The princess felt strangely like crying though she swallowed it down hard and fast. Her thoughts amplified as she stood in the stark silence of the sitting room, caught between two universes as though by a string around each wrist. Naran had never fought the one that always pulled her back to her own. It was familiar. It was safe. But tonight, here in the gulf between them, for the first time, she felt the other string tugging and, more importantly, she felt the urge to follow it.

With perfect, nauseating clarity, the princess understood.

She cared deeply for her husband.

[nishihiroto]

K-Pop Recap Of 2023!

tagged by @xiaojuun @jaebeomtual and @baekhyunnybyun <3

Groups You Started Stanning?: the biggest one is vanner! also technically exo - i knew them before this year obviously but this year i got really into them! and not technically kpop but i did find my jpop beloves ini and jo1 - those were big new ones ! there are probably more but those are the top.

New Ult Biases?: other than jinjin and donghun my top forever beloveds, my ult line has been chaos this year. i would say right now i consider kun, woozi and suho new additions to my ult line! i did bias kun before but he claimed ult status this year.

Idol(s) Who Got The Most Of Your Simping?: god kun is really the right answer here i am simply not normal about him so much of the time. but there were moments for woozi, suho and donghun upon his return to me from war <3

Most Streamed Group(s): my top groups on spotify were ikon, seventeen, monsta x, ini and wayv! i would also say jo1 and vanner were big ones.

Most Streamed Soloist(s)?: if we're talking soloists who aren't in a group at all, it would be b.i! if we're talking group members who put out solo work this year, changkyun and jooheon are both my top (i looped overdrive ENDLESSLY), bobby, vernon (black eye was one of top songs lol), suho, and d.o!

Top K-Pop Song(s) Of This Year (Opinion Or Streaming, You Choose): i did make my set already lol but perfume, IDUBILU, U, overdrive, designer, fact check, poppin love, and effortless are beloved! and then again not kpop but i should also mention fanfare and moment by ini and venus and fairytale by jo1 <3

Top Debut This Year: does sevenus count?? my beloved adult men. i also enjoyed vi'enx's predebut single!

Choreographies You Learned: none lol not for me

Albums/Merchandise You Bought: toooooooooo many god i have maybe a compulsive spending problem BUT i got to see nct dream, cravity (twice), wayv, shownu x hyungwon, taemin, taeyong, ive, ikon and omega x live this year which was truly incredible.

New Kpop Mutuals You Made?: i was like, not super active this year so i don't really know but special shoutout to a very new mutual bestie in @baekhyunnybyun <3

tagging some besties who have probably already been tagged but @seonghwasblr-moved @possession1981 @gnanii @lunetual @miyawaki @pinkhyojin @strhwaberries @berryjaellie

[kaesficrecarchive]

svt rare pair edition

jeonghan x hyungwon

One Sided by thesolemneyed (1/1 | 1,946 | E)

“Are you really going to make me leave?” Jeonghan tilts his head, makes his voice airy the way Hyungwon had texted him about the last time he’d been away on a work trip. “Are you really?”

*****

Jeonghan has never really been that good at sharing.

jungkook x mingyu

it's been a while by hase (gokurakuji) (1/1 | 37,496 | E)

Mingyu doesn’t think he’s Jungkook’s favourite. Not ten years ago as a friend, and not now as someone Jungkook sleeps with behind his boyfriend’s back.

(c/n: everyone read this it's so good)

wonwoo x seokmin

Kings by gigio298 (1/1 | 31,656 | T)

Jeon Wonwoo and Lee Seokmin are two of the biggest names in music currently but, when they both lose an important award to a bad song, they are paired together by legend Yoon Jeonghan to work together in a song that is sure to sweep every award possible next season. Problem is, Wonwoo and Seokmin have been bitter rivals both in and out of the charts for years.

Lots of mixed feelings, tentative friendships and confusion ensues.

seokmin x minghao

out from the blue by amoteamame (1/1 | 16,545 | T)

“Myungho?” Seokmin asks. Everything tilts. He hasn’t stood in the same space as Minghao for ten years now.

Minghao stops immediately, at the very top of the gangway.

“Do I know you?”

mingyu x jeonghan

Faking It by calypsio (saturnalyia) (9/9 | 80,863 | T)

Apparently the best way to avoid bad press is to turn it into good press. So when Mingyu finds himself on the brink of a dating scandal that could end his career, the company instead announces that he and Jeonghan are in a relationship.

Sometimes you just have to fake it until you make it.

wonwoo x soonyoung

Seaweed Soup by preciouslittletime (1/1 | 19,787 | E)

Jeon Wonwoo's birthday is coming up and he'll be spending it alone. Stop asking him about it. He doesn't care.

seokmin x mingyu

It's All Between Us by thanku4urlove (1/1 | 11,495 | E)

Then Mingyu—he bit Seokmin, in that muscular spot where his neck met his shoulder. It shouldn't be as hot as it was, definitely shouldn't, but it wasn't an interaction with Mingyu if it didn't sting, just a little bit.

[vesvosmozhno]

Now Presenting: I cannot stop fucking double biasing in groups

Just a random guide to my biases and my problem with double (or more) biasing. I'd cry if you made me pick between these

ATEEZ - Seonghwa and Yeosang

Stray Kids - Bangchan and Felix

Seventeen - Dokyeom and Hoshi

BTS - Namjoon and Yoongi

Oneus - Xion and Seoho

Monsta X - Hyungwon and Changkyun

TXT - HueningKai and Yeonjun

Enhypen - Jungwon and Sunoo

KARD - Jiwoo and Jseph

ITZY - Chaeryeong and Yeji

thx for coming to my long ass ted talk :)

[astroyongie]

Monsta X April Reading

Note: please remember to take this with a grain of salt, and enjoy !

Shownu

Love: He seems to be a little bit off, his energy is low, a little bit sad. I see that due to his current situation, he doesn’t see his partner a lot and that is disturbing their relationship. It’s been a month and half that they go through argument when they talk because the distance makes things complicated.

Career:  When it comes to his career, Shownu is stable, despite away he keeps receiving his paycheck, his manager is behind him and still supporting his needs and getting things ready for him once he comes out of military.

Health:

Physical: Needs to be careful with his eyes, also he needs to drink more water, like most idols I feel kidney issues, high insulin levels and liver low health

Mental:  His energy is chaotic as I said, he runs away a lot from his problems inside his mind

Minhyuk

Love: His situation is kinda complicated to read, because after his broke up he started relationing himself with a woman that was kinda of untouchable. Although he isn’t in a serious relationship, there is still something lingering there. This also feels like his ex, at least the energy is the same so I really don’t know if it’s just him who keeps having a weird relationship with his ex or If this a new person. Also, I see that there’s a very close friend of him that has very bad intentions concerning Minhyuk, and that he will take advantage that he left for military to due whatever they have in mind

Career:  I see a lot of work, a lot of things that Minhyuk did before he left, and I suppose that he has some little presents to give his fans after his service (or during who knows). Honestly he is happy to take this break

Health:

Physical: Nothing much

Mental:  He is having a low self esteem at the moment, I still see the instability of August around him through his past traumas and abandonment issues

Kihyun

Love: Another member who is having some trouble with his relationship. In this case, it feels more like there was lies coming from him that is provoking the situationship between the couple. I don’t know much, only that they are together for now, however I don’t think they will be together for long, as I sense a break up.

Career:  Career wise, Kihyun is going very very well, not only does he has 2 sponsors behind his backs, he also has a lot of projects he is working on for his fans and for himself as an artist. Boy is also quite rich at the moment, as he is investing a lot of money on himself and his career

Health:

Physical: okay

Mental: He should take care of his mental health as I see dark thoughts around him and a lot of internal turmoil probably linked to his love life

Hyungwon

Love: I don’t have much insight on Hyungwon’s situation, other that he is in a relationship still and he is adapting to it. I also feel a lot of family energy involved, and Hyungwon’s wishes of becoming a father

Career: He battled quite a lot with his company about his situation, but it seems like all the arguments have came to an end to give him what he wants. At the moment, Hyungwon is happy with what he signed for and he is working on his own solo things and projects for this here. I see a lot of success for him  

Health:

Physical: he is okay

Mental: is having unhealthy behaviors that can cause harm to his body and soul

Joohoney

Love: Jooheon was single until someone cheated on their partner with him and now they are kinda of together. This person is really under his charms and their feelings have been growing strong since December. Jooheon wants this person to meet his family

Career:  His career is a huge mess, and I have a lot of difficulties to actually understand what’s happening here. It seems like Jooheon was denied of his projects and he had to fight a lot along side his manager ti get his opportunities back. At the moment, it seems like he has been working on his solo album, he just needs a green light for his company

Health:

Physical: Chest pains really should be looked upon, since it has to due its hormonal issues

Mental:  He overthinks a lot and feels guilt

I.M

Love: Finally I got some insight, and it seems like Changkyun was in a relationship with someone (age-gap) and he made everything he could for this person to leave him (masochist much ?). He basically ruined his own relationship at his own accord and the worst and strange thing, is that I see and feel happiness and peace of being by himself once again

Career:  He is still choking what path he wants, what musics he wants to work on and show, what color as an artist he should give. Changkyun as a precise idea of what he wants but to put that in practice is a little more complicated. There’s a lot of changes coming for his career

Health:

Physical: Headaches

Mental:  He has been suffering a lot mentally and emotionally, I see a lot of anger as well linked to his environment. Thankfully he is being followed for that

[missywritesfor7]

🌙Moon’s Light | JJK🌙

Synopsis: Luna is a young paralegal trying to maintain her new found independence and enjoy life. Too bad her job sucks and her boss is the worst. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she encounters a vampire named Jungkook who changes her life in more ways than one.

Jungkook is a shield and protector of the vampire kingdom of Korealis. He’s trained his entire life to block out any and all distractions and focus solely on becoming the strongest. While investigating a potential threat to the kingdom, he encounters Luna who turns out to be more than he could have ever imagined. It becomes his job to protect her, but he can’t tell if what he’s feeling is his devotion to the job or perhaps something deeper.

Secrets are uncovered. Lives are on the line. Hearts are tested.

Pairing: Vampire!Jungkook x Fem!OC

Warnings: Violence, character death, eventual smut, tragedy, some angst, strong language, MINORS DNI

Previous chapter | Next chapter | Masterlist

|| Ch. 22: Tease ||

Luna remained in bed a little longer until she felt she was ok to try standing. Jungkook helped her to the kitchen so she could eat something and properly introduce herself to his mom, Sunyoung, who insisted that it was ok for Luna to call her by name. Jungkook put together a plate of food for Luna and got her a drink as well. His mom mentioned how he’s never been so hospitable with anyone before. That turned into her and Luna teasing Jungkook.

Things were going well until Jungkook got a frantic call from Jin. The rest of the guys came back from looking into Park Hyungwon more. While they were feeling optimistic about the information they found, that quickly turned to worry when they walked into the sparring room and saw the mess that was left behind. No one knew where Jungkook and Luna were so they were worried something bad had happened. They’re glad they’re both ok, but are now worried that they may not be able to keep everything a secret much longer.

Jungkook’s dad spoke with the King who began questioning Jin about Luna and why she’s been around so much. Jin tried his best to not give too much information, but he wasn’t able to hide that Jungkook has taken a liking to Luna. The King doesn’t mind so long as it doesn’t interfere with work. The guys have all dated here and there and it’s never been a problem with the King. But Jungkook dating has always been a problem for Minseok.

Jungkook let Jin know that they’re at his mom’s house and will be for awhile. Jin allows him to remain with Luna for now, however he wants him present when they get ready to take down Park Hyungwon. Keeping Luna with Jungkook’s mom will allow him to fight with his brothers again instead of being left behind and feeling like he’s being punished.

Jungkook’s mom leaves the two of them to themselves while she goes out to run some errands. In the meantime Jungkook takes Luna to the backyard where he shows her the small swing set his mom never got rid of.

“You didn’t tell me this was here,” Luna says excitedly taking a seat on the swing. “Why does she still have this if you guys are much older now?”

“She said she wanted to keep it for her future grandchildren,” he chuckles standing behind her and pushing her lightly.

“Did you plan on giving her some?” She jokes.

“I can’t even date without it turning into a war,” he says sarcastically. “I haven’t even thought about kids.”

“What about your brother? Does he want kids?”

“No. That’s the crazy thing. If my dad gave a shit enough to see what we wanted he’d know that Junghyun doesn’t even want kids. He doesn’t want to start his own family or anything. He just wants to be left alone,” he laughs pushing Luna a little higher. “Hyung likes to do his own thing, kind of like me, but dad is always up his ass about starting a family the way he’s up mine about training.”

“But your brother is a shield too, right? Why doesn’t he have to train as much?”

“He does, but his training is geared more towards finding someone to start a family with. It’s the dumbest thing,” he scoffs. “My dad looks for someone suitable and sets them up on a date. It’s like something out of a drama. The best part though is that hyung is only taking advantage. Dad pays for everything and hyung gets a free night out, a free meal, and if he’s lucky he’ll get laid too. Then he’ll come back and say things didn’t work out.”

“Your brother is actually a genius,” Luna laughs. “Will I ever meet him?”

“Sure, if he’s ever around,” he shrugs.

“Why isn’t he around?”

“He moved in with Yoongi’s brother. He got fed up one day and said he didn’t want to live in the palace anymore with my dad constantly up his ass. My dad tried to stop him but in the end he couldn’t. He only finally accepted it because he’s staying with a Min not far from the palace. He still hates it though. I’m sure hyung messed with his mind a bit, but he won’t admit it.”

“Messed with his mind how?”

“Hyung can get into people’s heads and get them to agree to whatever he wants them to. He doesn’t do it much, and never admits when he does, but I’m sure that’s how he got away with moving out.”

“Wow, he can really get into people’s heads like that?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says slowing the swing. “It gives me an idea.” He leans down and wraps his arms around her.

“What kind of idea?” She slowly puts her hand on his.

“What do you think?” He smirks.

An image flashes in Luna’s head. The same image as before. The image of her moaning at each one of his thrusts inside her. The image that’s making her wet right now. Then she’s suddenly hit with the reality that they’re at his mom’s house, she’s still weak, and what does that have to do with anything they were talking about?

“Kookie!” She says hitting his hand. “We’re at your mom’s house!”

“What?” He asks twisting the swing to make her face him. “What are you thinking?”

“Oh,” she says remembering her visions are supposed to be a secret. “Um nothing. What were you thinking about?”

“The same thing you’re thinking about,” he teases.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything,” she lies breaking eye contact.

“Oh really?” He takes her hand again and gives her another glimpse into his mind. “You look like you have something on your mind.”

He lifts her chin forcing her to look at him. She doesn’t know what to say that won’t get her caught, but she knows she needs to tell him anyway. Before she can muster the courage to do so, he leans in and sears the heat of his lips against hers.

“Tell me what you see,” he whispers.

“Jungkook…”

“Did you see something good?”

“I…”

“Don’t lie to me, baby. I know you can’t stop thinking about me.” He takes her hand again and gives her another vision of their shared pleasure.

“Are you…”

“Showing you what you want to see?”

“Are you doing this on purpose?” She asks pulling her hand away.

“Just until you stop keeping secrets from me,” he says raising his brow.

“So you know?”

“Were you not going to tell me?”

“I was, I just…wasn’t sure how.”

“Easy,” he says pulling her to her feet and cupping her face in his hands. “You just say ‘I’ve been creeping on you like a sneaky little spy’ and that’s it.”

“Well that’s not exactly what I was doing.”

“Then what were you doing that you couldn’t tell me about from the start?”

“Nothing, I didn’t really know what was happening at first. I thought what I was seeing was just a dream, but then it kept happening.”

“When did it start?”

“When I was in my coma.”

“When you told me you only saw darkness?”

“Yes. I know I lied. I’m sorry. I was trying to make sense of it all first. You can’t hold it against me forever,” she pouts.

“Yes I can,” he smirks. “I feel like I have to get even now.” He taps the bite mark on her neck that’s still quite painful.

“Ow you fucking asshole!” She yells hitting him.

“You lie to me and I’m the asshole?”

“Yes.”

“Such a baby,” he laughs.

“Ugh! Fuck you!” She says hitting him again.

“You can’t hide your feelings from me, LuLu,” he chuckles holding her tightly with her arms pinned to her side.

“My feelings for you are just pure distaste,” she groans through her teeth trying to escape his hold.

“After everything we’ve been through together? That hurts, LuLu,” he says sarcastically.

He lets her go and takes a step back looking at her with a smirk. She tries hitting him again but she finds herself unable to move. It’s like she’s been put on ice, completely frozen and unsure of what’s wrong with her body.

“What the fuck? Why can’t I move?!” She shouts.

“You don’t have to yell,” he laughs. “You’ll disturb the neighbors.”

“What did you do to me??”

“Calm down,” he says getting an inch in front of her face. “You’re not the only one with secret abilities.”

“You sneaky little shit!”

“I’m a sneaky little shit? How many of my memories have you snuck your way into?”

“Ok ok I get it. I’m sorry. You got your revenge, now release me from whatever curse you put on me!” She yells trying to break herself free.

“Not until you tell me how much you’ve seen.”

She says nothing and continues struggling to make her body move with what little strength she has left. Jungkook watches her a moment before putting his arms back around her.

“Calm down, hot head,” he says. “You’re going to kill yourself if you blast off your power again. You’re still very fragile and weak.”

“I’m not a hot head, you’re just a dick!”

“Seriously, LuLu, why are you always so angry? Your power is incredible, but when you keep getting mad all the time it’s only going to keep hurting you. You need to meditate or something and get that shit under control. You’re like a ticking time bomb.”

“Just let me go,” she growls.

“You can start by saying please.”

“I will end you!”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” he says releasing his hold on her. “I’ll let you go now because I don’t want you hurting yourself again.”

“I wouldnt be so angry if you’d stop provoking me,” she says hitting his chest.

“Stop being so easy to provoke. I mean it. I’m surprised you didn’t kill my dad the way you killed that goon before you fell into a coma. Every time you get mad like that you’re putting your life in danger.”

“Teach me how to control it then, mister master demon thing.”

“Get your strength first,” he says poking her shoulder. “Then I’ll show you how to be a civilized member of society.”

“How did I get stuck dealing with you?” She huffs grabbing his wrist to stop him from poking her. He gives her another glimpse of their steamy moment and she hits his chest again. “Stop that!”

“Tell me you don’t like it and I won’t do it again,” he smirks.

“You-I-grrr,” she stutters.

“Admit it,” he says picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist. “You can’t get enough of me.”

“Shut up,” she huffs leaning in to give him a kiss. “I don’t like you at all.” She kisses him again.

“Is that why you can’t keep your lips off of me?” He smiles.

“Don’t be so full of yourself, bunny boy.”

She gives him another kiss lingering on his lips to keep him from making another smug comment, but also to savor the taste of his lips. She doesn’t know why she hates giving him the satisfaction of knowing she enjoys every little thing about him. Maybe it’s because he’ll never stop teasing her. Perhaps it’s so she won’t have to watch him puff out his chest and give her that shit eating grin when he knows he has her wrapped around his finger, no matter how much she tries to fight it.

She loves how tight he holds her. The way he’s effortlessly holding her around his waist while his hands grip her thighs makes her kiss him even harder. His tongue taking a tour of her mouth fills her with endless butterflies. She feels like she’s flying, though it’s only the feeling of him carrying her back into the house and laying her down on the bed. His body pressed against hers warms her like a thick blanket while his hands traveling all over her body gives her chills. The feeling of fire and ice sends a small moan through her throat that’s instantly swallowed by him as he continues the battle his tongue is having with hers.

Jungkook’s body is overwhelmed with the suffocating arousal he’s getting from her. She tastes so sweet, so intoxicating, and so fucking satisfying. He can’t help but grind his hips into her creating a dangerous friction that he can hardly stand any longer.

“Tokki!” The sound of Sunyoung’s voice comes ringing through the house as she returns from running her errands. Her return startles Luna and Jungkook sending him right into his bunny form.

“Really?” Luna whispers disappointed and slightly amused.

Jungkook looks up at her then runs out of the room to see what his mom wants. He nearly forgot where they were and cursed everything for their moment being interrupted. He only changed form to hide the tent he had forming in his pants. That’s not a conversation he wants to have with his mom. Not now or ever.

“What are you hiding for now?” His mom says as he greets her in the kitchen. “I need help with the groceries.”

Luna steps into the kitchen to see tiny furry Jungkook looking up at his mom. She figures the least she can do is help out however she can since his mom is nice enough to let her stay there.

“I’ll help you,” Luna says getting ready to step outside to the car to get the rest of the groceries.

Jungkook quickly transforms back and stops Luna in her tracks.

“No you won’t,” he says turning her by her shoulders and walking her to the couch in the living room. “I’ll get the groceries. You sit here and don’t do anything that’s going to take too much energy.”

“Dealing with you already takes too much energy,” she jokes.

“Then don’t do anything else,” he chuckles making his way outside.

Luna sits by as Jungkook helps his mom put the groceries away. She’s thankful his mom is nice enough to let her stay there when they’d never met before. That’s when it hit her. The night he left her after she woke up from her coma and Jungkook returned the next morning. She remembers the memory she saw when she was trying to get him to tell her how much time she had left to live. The woman in the memory was his mom. He was talking to his mom about her. She only saw the part where he was talking about her not having long to live, but she wonders what else he said to his mom about her. He was upset when he left that night so she wonders if he came here to vent his frustrations. However, his mom seems very warm and welcoming, more than she’d expect someone to be towards someone who upset her son.

Luna’s mind is swirling with possibilities. What does his mom know about her? Does she know that she was human up until a few days ago? Does she know about Jungkook’s feelings for her? His dad was enraged when he saw that she was a convert, would his mom be upset about it as well? She remains lost in thought until Jungkook joins her on the couch.

“Do you want bulgogi for dinner?” He asks happily.

“Yeah,” Luna says smiling back at his enthusiasm. “Sounds good.”

“What’s wrong?” He asks noticing the slight difference in her tone.

“Nothing. Why do you think something’s wrong?”

“You seem like you have something on your mind.”

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about how things got to this point. It’s just crazy I guess. It all happened so fast. I haven’t been able to fully process everything.”

“Are you having regrets?” He asks with a worried look.

“No. I mean there wasn’t much else I could do so I don’t regret anything. I’m just trying to adjust to this new reality and this new life.”

“Well you know you have me if you ever need anything.”

“Thanks,” she smiles holding his hand. “You’re a pain in the ass, but a sweet one.”

“What kind of compliment is that?” He laughs.

“One that will keep your ego from getting too big,” she jokes.

“My ego doesn’t get big,” he huffs.

“I told you not to lie in my house!” His mom shouts from the kitchen.

“Really mom?” He pouts.

“As I was saying,” Luna laughs.

“You say nothing else,” he says rolling his eyes.

“Aww did I upset baby Koo?” She teases squeezing his cheeks.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Very much so,” she laughs.

He pouts some more until his phone rings pulling him away from Luna’s teasing. He steps outside for a few minutes then returns with a worried look on his face. He first goes into the kitchen to talk to his mom, then returns to Luna in the living room.

“Looks like it’s just going to be you and mom for dinner tonight,” he says.

“Why? What happened?” Luna asks.

“Choi tried to escape.”

“What? Really??” Luna asks jumping to her feet.

“You have dinner and I’ll be back when we have everything under control.” He sits her back down on the couch and hits her with a hard kiss. “Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing,” he smiles giving her another quick kiss and turning to leave.

Of course she knows that he knows what he’s doing. Yet for some reason she still can’t seem to shake the worry. She only hopes that he comes back in one piece.

[this-song-thats-only-for-you]

Frightful October: Spellbound: The Dream Keeper

Summary:  Hyungwon was a dream keeper, giving his charges dreams for as long as he could remember. One day things changed when he accidentally put himself in your dreams.

Characters: Chae Hyungwon x Reader (small cameo from Jooheon)

Genre: Magic / Power of Dreams.

A/N: Welcome to the first week of Frightful October 2022 : Spellbound. I hope you enjoy this little story after so long away. You can find @prettywordsyouleft story here.

Word count: 1,976

  Everything in Hyungwon’s life had a purpose, an order. He couldn’t remember what his life was like before he came here, he didn’t seem to mind that either. He knew what his life was meant for. He had trained and been chosen for such an important job; he made sure people on his charge list dreamt whilst they slept.

To anyone outside of this realm it would seem silly. No one kept dreams, the person who dreamt created them all on their own. To a point that was true, but it took a certain type of person to give inspiration, to create the little link between the person and their inner subconscious’ desires and hopes.

That’s what dreams were.

He and many others had been given the task, and so his daily life was much the same. He clocked in at the start of his shift, and he spread the hope to everyone he needed to, making sure they had pleasant dreams, and more importantly, left the person with the desire to create and want more from their life.

He had always felt a sense of fulfilment and purpose, and so he never questioned anything when it came to his work. He spent many moments throughout his day making sure everything was perfect and catered to every charge he held within his list. His co-workers often praised him for his hard work and determination to make sure nothing went astray. Never in his time as a dream keeper had anything gone wrong, until now.

Hyungwon had successfully finished his shift, the last person on his list finally getting the inspiration they needed to leave a bad position in their life. He smiled to himself, knowing how much this specific charge needed it, and he felt good knowing they would be happier soon.

He knew that no one he sent dreams to knew of him, or even knew that people took care of them in such a way. He felt as if he’d seen them all grow up before his eyes, and they technically had, even if Hyungwon didn’t age at the human rate.

He was in his own world of thought when he was suddenly stopped as a hand wrapped around his arm.

“Oh good, you haven’t left yet!”

He turned to see his co-worker Jooheon panting slightly, as if he’d been running to find him.

“I was just about to head home. Is everything okay?”

“There’s been a problem.”

“Care to divulge what kind of problem? And are you going to let go of my arm?” Hyungwon scrunched his brows in confusion and frustration at being held up. He was never one to stray from routine, and this surely did change it.

Jooheon let go instantly, as if he’d been struck by lightning as he straightened his stance and caught his breath before continuing. “You stuffed up.”

“Me? No, I’d- “

“You put yourself in her dreams, Hyungwon! I think that consists of a big stuff up!”

“What?”

Hyungwon’s face fell instantly, a panic running through his veins as he tried to think over all his charges, and all the dreams he had kept recently. Nothing was coming to mind, so surely Jooheon had gotten it wrong. He would never be so careless as to put himself into a charges’ dreams.

That was one of the biggest rules you were not to break.

“You’ve got to be mistaken. I wouldn’t have done that.” He said shaking his head in disbelief.

“You’re the only Hyungwon who works here, and the only one with her, as a charge.” Jooheon replied as he pointed to a picture on his tablet of a woman, one Hyungwon knew very well.

Hyungwon closed his eyes, a heavy sigh leaving his lips as he tried to figure out where exactly he had stuffed this up.

“Does anyone else know?”

Jooheon shook his head furiously “Not yet, but it won’t be long until they do. We need to fix this. You need to fix this.” He continued, pressing into Hyungwon’s chest firmly.

“And how do you suggest I do that?”

Jooheon’s face lit up as a smile spread across his face, making Hyungwon’s stomach drop at the sight.

“I think I’m going to regret asking that question, aren’t I?”

 Thirty minutes later and Hyungwon was cursing Jooheon profusely. How had he let himself be talked into this? It was an insane idea, and yet he knew deep down that there was no other way. If there were, he wouldn’t be standing outside your door, his hand about to knock on the hard wood. He shouldn’t be in the human world. It wasn’t unheard of for a dream keeper to be in this realm, but he guessed it never occurred to them to put themselves in their dreams either.

He sighed deeply, for what felt the hundredth time today as he bravely knocked. He knew he had to meet you, once something was in a person’s subconscious, it didn’t leave until some resolution came to be.

So, the answer had been to put himself in front of you, get him out of your system and then you could both carry on with your lives. He had no idea what he was going to say to you, even though he and Jooheon had come up with a plan before he left.

Suddenly he couldn’t remember a thing, when you opened the door and stood before him.

Did you always look this beautiful?

His eyes washed over you as you stood in your doorway, your own eyes large with what he assumed was shock, and a sense of realisation upon seeing him, but he was unsure why. You seemed to be breathing rapidly as your chest heaved up and down. He shook his head roughly. Everything about you overwhelmed him, and this feeling was new to him. He didn’t know what was happening, and then you spoke.

“Hi.”

It was simple. A single word, and yet hearing your voice in person did something else entirely to him. His body lit up at the sound, as if your voice was a song that only played for him. He swallowed roughly before replying.

“Hi.”

Hyungwon noticed the jolt that went through your own body at hearing his voice, but you seemed to recover better than he had, taking the two steps towards him and closing the gap between you both.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

And then his hand was in yours. He didn’t know whether you grabbed it first or if he simply reached out for you. You gave it a light squeeze, a comforting smile forming on your face as you looked up at him.

“You’ve been waiting for me?”

He didn’t know what else to say. How could you know him? No one in this realm knew he existed, and yet here you were looking up at him as if you’d known him your whole life.

“Ever since I can remember. What took you so long?”

“What? I don’t- “

You looked up at him expectantly, your hands now moving to cup his face as you stretched up onto your tiptoes before murmuring his name against his lips. “Hyungwon.”

“How- “

And then your lips were on his.

They were softer than he ever could have imagined, he held his breath as you continued to press your lips onto his, your body coming closer, as his arms pulled you further into him. He gasped against you, allowing you access with your tongue as he began to see flashes of images inside his mind.

He saw you standing in front of him, turning to look back at him, smiling.

Cuddled together on a couch, watching something on a television.

Him laughing, his eyes crinkled in amusement at something you said.

All these little flashes of a life together, one he never knew could even exist, and yet it all felt so real. Tangible.

Attainable.

Hyungwon opened his eyes, moving from you as he broke the kiss, his breathing rapid now as he looked down at you, as if truly seeing you for the first time.

“What was that?”

“Do you not know?” You edged closer to him, your hand squeezing his gently again. “For a dream keeper, you’re pretty clueless on dreams.” You smirked as a chuckled vibrated through your body.

“How did you know I’m a – “Hyungwon asked in response, but you cut him off before he could continue.

“You’ve been in my dreams for as long as I can remember, and you had no idea.”

“How is that possible? I would have known before today if I’d done that.”

Hyungwon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This day had certainly not gone how he had thought it would. He was never one to make a mistake, and here you were telling him the one mistake he had done, he’d been doing far longer than he knew of. How was that even possible? How did you know of his existence and that he was a dream keeper?

He began to feel lightheaded, his vision blurring slightly as a new wave of panic washed over him. He didn’t understand anything. Everything he knew had been turned upside down.

“Hyungwon. Look at me,” you asked gently, bringing him out of his reverie, “At first, I had no idea who you were. I’d never seen you before, and you appeared in my dreams so often that I couldn’t stop thinking about you. So, when we weren’t together in my dreams, I searched for meanings behind them, and I figured out what you were. You want to know why you never realized?”

“Yes, tell me.” The pleading words left his lips before he had any time to think.

You pulled him towards your door, tugging him down on the step as you sat next to one another, holding his hand the whole time reassuringly. Hyungwon didn’t know why but it made him feel comforted, he calmed himself down in that moment as he looked to you, waiting for the answer.

“Because they were your dreams too.”

“But dream keepers can’t dream,” he simply stated, his mind going through all the things he had learnt and been taught over the years to become what he was. Surely you were wrong.

“Of course, they can. Why do you think you keep dreams alive?”

“I just – “

And then the world stopped.

That missing piece finally clicked into place.

The way he never strayed from routine. How he always did the same thing, day in and day out. How when he left work after every shift, he felt hollow. The only time he felt truly himself was when he helped his charges with their dreams. He yearned for more from his life, and yet he didn’t even realize he could. He thought all those times he gifted inspiration to the others and to you, were for your benefit, but now he finally saw that the extra attention to detail was of his own making.

He dreamed to have someone to call his own. He wanted to be more to someone than just a keeper of dreams.

And so, he had put himself into the position to achieve more.

He put himself in your dreams, to become more, for himself.

And for you.

“Is this real?”

He leaned his forehead against yours as his hands cupped the sides of your face. Your breaths mingled, staying like that for a silent moment, just soaking in the air around you both as he gathered himself, the reality of the situation slowly sinking in. He wasn’t just a dream keeper anymore. He was here with you. As a real person.

“Kiss me and find out.”

He chuckled then, as his eyes crinkled, wasting no time in capturing your lips once again.

Dreams really could come true.

[itsya-eonni]

CEO-dol Mart episode 2 :

WHO THE FUCK... (I'm calling it right now, it's the member that's passed.)

omg lol he's such a child. I can't.

Former Boss is a giving sleaze bag...

Bro... what's his problem... why not open the mart... who says you gotta stay??

If he wants to just move on with his life, shouldn't he? Like damn. The others are shareholders too.. it's their lives too.. like jump down from whatever pedestal you on bro..

Oh sweet baby boy. 🥺

Yijoon is so outta character for Hyungwon, but I love seeing it lol

I feel that he doesn't actually wanna seem the mart, he just doesn't want to be responsible for it. He doesn't want anything to hinder his current dream.

Ommmmmgg this old man. Please tell me he's gunna like pass down the farming to him.

Power Rangers lol

There has to be something more to their debut story. They're sticking heavily with Sangwoo, when he had the biggest reaction to his member passing. He's gunna uncover something.

BOOM BITCH. GET WRECKED.

lol I don't know whether to laugh or be worried that these bitches are kinda taking advantage of old people.

Hyungwon is so handsome.. stop.

Sangwoo misses his hyungs. I'm crying.

JUST SHOW US THE FACE...

These boys are gunna hurt me I can feel it. 🥹

[checkers-dance]

MORE UPDATES ON THE MX SIMS RPF SAGA. so im still having issues with jooheon and changkyun (but they aren't as bad as the issues im having in my nct house, where the only current sims literally can't talk without constantly getting into arguments so i guess that's something). like, they have a neutral relationship right now, and i've managed to get them to have some positive interactions. but they also make each other mad often and it feels like everytime i make some progress one of them does something the other takes offense with and it's a mess 😭 but i decided to introduce more sims into the house to see if i could get any different results. so i got everything ready for that. i got us a bigger space and i've built the entire house myself, and it looks clunky because i'm new to this, but i'm still proud of my progress. i have a main bedroom for everyone and then a private bedroom for changkyun so that he won't have to deal with everyone else. i also made a room for music and other skills they may be interested in practicing and made a little garden area with a pool and shit. so i have a lot of stuff for them to mess around with. filling the enclosure with enrichment.

i was going to introduce kihyun and shownu into the mix to see what would happen and then i just. i got an impulse. I MADE ALL OF THEM. THE WHOLE GANG IS HERE. which introduces some problems because i honestly don't think the house is equipped for that, i made it with three or four people in mind because i thought that's all i was gonna end up with for now but NOPE nvjfnjvn like i was going to ease myself into it but i decided to just go for it and it's going to be a disaster but maybe that'll make it more fun. since changkyun has the loner trait i wonder how he's gonna deal with all these people vnjfnvjfnn. i hope i can keep things ballanced. and i also gave hyungwon the loner trait so that's going to be a mess, i wonder if him and changkyun will get along?

but here is the issue. i gave hyungwon the evil trait. i shouldn't have, but i did because i thought it would be funny. so i'm expecting some REALLY chaotic interactions. because i gave him the loner trait i realized i'm just going to have the same issue i was having with changkyun of him feeling uncomfortable with everyone else around if he doesn't get some private time, so him and changkyun are going to have to share a room... it's not perfect, but if i'm strategic about it i can get it to work probably.

anyway, i'm still going to try to get jooheon and changkyun to get along just because they were the first ones i made, but if i can't figure it out or i can't get them to get along naturally, i might just make them enemies... i'm also going to introduce some flirting here and there, not between them necessarily, but just in general. i want to see if i can get some gay shit to happen. i don't have any objectives for their relationships so far, so i'll just see who gets along with who. i kinda want to push for showho or wonhyuk though, and maybe hyungki enemies.... i was also thinking abt going for hyungheon or wonheon but i'll see. this game is so unfairly addictive vnfnvjfvnjfv like i'm so invested

Crying, not the nct house....why are they arguing so much, u could just put lucas in the basement and that's the argument solved. Also why does only hyungwon have the evil trait. He deserves it but I think jooheon should have it too, for the aesthetic (joker!jooheon and evil mafia lord hyungwon ftw). Hyungki enemies would be fun too, esp if there's a goody 2 shoes trait so u can give it to kihyun. Since u mentioned a pool I think hyungwon should push someone into the pool (and it should be kihyun). Ik sims are unpredictable but since u gave hyungwon the evil trait I rlly hope he goes wild w it and terrorizes the household while blaming other ppl for his misdeeds like he did in the fanfia game

[ambivartence]

I'm here to talk about my baby boys Cravity!!!!

My crvt bias line is a MESS!!!!! Very similar to your tbz bias line hehe 😊

It started with just Serim.. because I have a problem with rapper/leaders (see: E-Chan, RM, Bang Chan, Jinhwa, Castle-J) but anyway soon after I completely fell for Wonjin's goofy charms 🥺 and THEN I bought The Awakening (which ,btw,, the silver version of the physical album is SO reflective! It's like a mirror!!) and got a poster & postcard of Allen and was like "welp, guess I have three crvt biases?" Idk I was just so so enamored with him after that lol

But then??? Woobin has such a funny charm and his VOICE!! And after watching Cravity park and the Minimo Jukebox videos I really really love Minhee and Jungmo!!! I feel like I bias 6 of the nine members of Cravity lol and Hyeongjun is so so so cute 🥰🥰 I really do love all nine of them 💘

As to how I got into them! I first got into Monsta X, and I saw Cravity on idol radio when Joohoney and Hyungwon were hosting. I liked Gas Pedal a lot and kinda put them on the "I'll check them out" list. Then it was the pool version of Gas Pedal that really got me 🥰

Anyway thanks for letting me ramble about my love for Cravity!!! Minji 🌟 @dkbtho

sfklJFLSDJFJ MINJIIII why is this such a relatable pattern of me adopting a group and then accumulating 293402374 biases within the group and watching my bias line expand to include a majority of the members (nct, skz, tbz, p1h, etc) i got some cravity park episode recs that I need to watch!! I need to check out the pool version of gas pedal now that u've mentioned it^^ i was actually just watching Hyeongjun guest star/MC on ssap possible with gncd jangjun and ab6ix woong today and am now extra endeared by him and also massive respect for him putting up with two extremely chaotic 97-liners and a similarly chaotic PD whispering commands into his airpod hahahaha when I get into crvt i know i'll be keeping my eye on hyeongjun 🥺 and the other members u mentioned hehe

[biffhofosho]

Prisoner to Temptation | Chapter Eight

Word Count: 11.3k

A/N: >.>

Your Honor, I’m in love with jealous Hyungwon. 

Cvr | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12

Right on schedule, the princess’s monthlies came, and as it always did in a palace, news traveled quickly when other people did the laundry. Whispers trailed behind her down every corridor like a veil of her failure.

“She’s not that young.”

“And she’s only getting older.”

“Poor Prince Hyungwon. We should go to him.”

“Somebody has to.”

Naran kept her chin up. They were being ridiculous. It was unrealistic to expect results so soon. They were just jealous. Or bored. Or both.

She could think of a thousand reasons why everyone wanted to bring her down, but the truth was, none of that mattered. A princess had one job, and she had not accomplished it. It wasn’t like Naran was in a hurry to be a mother, but it also meant that certain expectations still had to be met this coming month.

For his part, the prince said nothing of the talk of the palace. He showed up at her door one night seemingly none the wiser, and with how needy she always felt around her monthlies, Naran nearly invited him in. In the end though, she begged him to postpone their visit until later in the week and spent a very restless night staring at the ceiling instead. For the next few days, the princess managed as much time away from the prince as she could because she simply didn’t trust herself around his pretty face and his witty conversation.

But if the sexual moratorium had taught Naran anything, it was that without Prince Hyungwon’s special attention, life in the palace wasn’t just frustrating—it was dull. She had always known she was not cut out for the role of princess, but actually having to fulfill the public duties of her position could not have been more tedious. Without an outlet, she felt like a lightning bolt ready to charge at the easiest target.

That very morning, she found herself outside her husband’s door, hoping for the grace to ask for some of his time that night without sounding as desperate as she was, only to be startled by his voice behind her.

“Looking for me?”

“My lord!”

Hyungwon smiled with his head cocked to the side as though he were studying a never-before-seen creature.

“Yes—no! I was just going to check your schedule today—to make sure you didn’t mind if I took a ride out in the pasture.”

“When have I ever minded that?”

Naran narrowed her eyes at his amused tone. “Okay then. I guess it won’t be a problem…”

“Nope.” He was still smiling, and the princess was growing more frustrated by the second. “Is that all, my lady?”

“I—”

Just then, Hansol entered the sitting room but stopped when he found the couple huddled near the prince’s door. With a deep bow, he said, “Pardon me, Your Highnesses. I just wanted to see if you needed any help with your trunks, Your Grace.”

“Trunks?” Naran asked, looking back to her husband.

Hyungwon nodded sheepishly. “Father demands I call on my uncle in Jemulpo, but I shall be back in three nights’ time.”

“Three nights?”

The words echoed in the cavern of the room. Just the thought made her heart sink to the soles of her feet. She was already overwrought, and now she had no outlet for at least three more nights?

“You weren’t going to tell me?” the princess pouted.

“That’s why I’m here. My father just received the request from my uncle, so I am to leave at once. I wanted to go as fast as possible if only to get back all the quicker. I do not like being away from home.” Hyungwon stared at her then, his bottom lip finding its way further under his teeth with each passing second. “Did you need something before I go?”

With a heavy sigh, Naran shook her head. “It can wait, my lord. I hope you have an easy trip.”

The prince sighed, too, but bowed all the same. When he came back up, he stole a kiss of her cheek and whispered, “Wait for me until then.”

Naran didn’t stand around to watch her husband pack. She was anxious enough as it were. Watching him toss things around in his room instead of tossing her around would have been too maddening. Instead, she lived up to her lie and took a long ride on her horse out to the edge of the pastures and then completed an even longer route around the rim of the property. She had hoped she would come back to the palace exhausted, and she did—just not the way she needed.

It all would have been so much easier if the prince were not a talented lover, but since he was, it made it incredibly difficult for Naran to find satisfaction elsewhere. Her tried-and-true methods of self-pleasure were failing. Every time she came close to release, it eluded her, which had never been a problem before. She simply could not bring herself over the edge, and it was spilling over into her days, too.

She was snippy with the empress, snippier yet with the servants, especially with the male ones. Even if the notion to dally with one of them struck her, the moment Naran looked into their eyes, the mood soured. They would be eager to please, she had no doubt, and more than a few of them were probably up to the task, but the thought of having her time wasted on the ones who couldn’t keep up squashed the inclination. She already knew someone capable of doing a proper job, and he was leagues away at the moment.

It was on the fourth day of frustrations that Naran sat with Magda in the tea lounge, silently drowning her sorrows into a cup of jujube tea before another servant came in with a tray with a letter on it. At this, the princess sat up straight.

“Word from the Prince?” she asked.

The servant, a slender thing with a bright white face like a peony but eyes like daggers, bowed and said, “No, Your Grace. I believe the courier said it is a letter from your family.”

Normally, that would have perked the princess right up, but instead, she slumped a bit into her chair as she opened the envelope to read it while Magda looked on, sipping her own tea.

The letter turned out to be from Saran, just an update from the road home as they journeyed back through the Goryeon mountains. It was full of her sister’s teenage fantasies about being swept away by lonely mountain gods or bandits who would have a change of heart as soon as their eyes fell on her. It would have been charming if the images hadn’t been obviously colored with shades of the royal wedding the girl had just attended. Naran had a sinking feeling now that her sister would marry the first suitor she met when she came of age and make an ill-fated match because of it.

And of course, the end of the letter spent over a paragraph sending love to her “new brother” and entreating his promise to take “very good care��� of her big sister. It should have been sweet. Instead, it chafed.

Naran dropped the letter onto the table and shifted her gaze down the hallway to watch the busy palace staff go about their mornings.

“Everything all right with Their Majesties?” Magda asked at length.

The princess shrugged a shoulder. “So Saran says. The trip has been easy, I guess.”

Naran returned her attention to her tea, watching the way the little dried fruit bobbed at the bottom of the cup without a care in the world.

“Your Grace!”

Her head shot up to find her old friend’s eyes wide to the whites. Naran frowned. “What is so urgent?”

“I’ve been talking to you for over a minute. Did you not hear me?”

The princess pursed her lips. “I did not.”

At the lady’s admission, Magda smirked. “I was talking of His Highness, Prince Hyungwon. It should be good to see him again, wouldn’t you say? I find the palace rather quiet without him.”

“Not that he says much to begin with,” Naran deflected.

“I must be honest. I have been a bit surprised at how much time you have spent with Prince Hyungwon since we’ve arrived considering all the blustering you did on the way here.”

“You’re exaggerating,” the princess admonished with a roll of her eyes. “I’ve avoided him wherever possible.”

“I think you’ve spent far more time together than you realize, My Lady.”

“And who else shall I spend it with, hm? I only know you and him, Magda.”

The attendant brought her tea to her lips and took a long sip. When she pulled it back, she was smiling with the same wan curve as her cup. “I don’t just mean during the day.”

Naran felt itchy under the collar of her hanbok.

“Now, I know you’re exaggerating just to annoy me. It’s only been twice. And a half,” she mumbled as an afterthought. “Besides, we are still newlyweds. Expectations are high, and I still need to prove my worth to the emperor. And anyway, it’s getting colder at night, so, naturally, it’s easier to stay warmer. Plus—”

Magda’s smile broadened.

“Oh, what?” snapped the princess.

“Nothing. It’s just, I made a simple observation. You seem to be mounting several arguments on why it’s been twice. And a half.”

Magda was vibrating with laughter and Naran growled. “I should have left you in Urga.”

“Either way, My Lady, might I make a suggestion?”

The princess cocked her head as she listened.

“I think you should find some little way to make a positive impression with the servants here,” said Magda.

“How do you mean? Hansol and I get along very well already.”

The older woman shook her head lightly. “No, Your Highness, I mean the other ladies of the palace. There have been… rumblings of late.”

“Rumblings?”

Magda’s face tightened a bit, and with it, a little pinkness capped her warm tan. “It seems more than a few of the serving lasses have remarked on a strong change in the Prince’s interactions with them.”

“How do you mean? Is he scolding them?”

“No, My Lady. I know you know perfectly well what I mean.”

Naran’s heart thundered in her throat. Sex. She meant sex. For a moment, the princess had the awful urge to run out of the room with her fingers in her ears, but she soldiered on. Her voice shook as she asked, “Is he being too aggressive with them then?”

“No. No. It seems he does not pay them much attention these days, and it has caused some… resentment, particularly toward Her Ladyship.”

“Oh.” Naran bit her lip as she tried to hide the creep of a smile. “Oh?”

“You should be more concerned about this, My Lady.”

“It is the prince’s choice with whom he elects to spend his time. We have an agreement he can do what he wants with whomever he wants,” said the princess, though she found it a bit tougher these days to say that and mean it.

“These women are the ones charged with taking care of you, Your Highness. If you don’t nip this in the bud, these sorts of things can get out of control.”

Naran scowled then, her sudden burst of good mood thoroughly rained upon. “Well, what do you suggest, Magda? Shall I check out my husband to them like a library book?”

Now, it was Magda’s turn to scowl. “I said nothing of the sort, and I will thank you not to be crass with me. I suggest you build some rapport with them. Do not make yourself any more of a threat than you already are. Treat them to something nice or spend some time with them.”

Naran rolled her eyes. “This all sounds like work.”

“You are a princess, are you not? That title sounds like a job to me after all.”

“I hate when you’re right.”

“You mean always?” Magda retorted.

As much as it chapped that Naran was being asked to coddle her husband’s paramours, it did beat having her food spat in or other such petty sabotages—or, worse, having her staff actually prey on her husband behind her back.

With nothing else to occupy her overworked mind and no word on the prince’s anticipated return, the princess made it her mission to invite a few of her most vocal dissidents to dine with her in the Secret Garden, which servants rarely had permission to see. Needless to say, the serving lasses were floored by the invitation, but being a request from the Princess Supreme herself made it impossible to turn it down.

They made a sweet table in one of the pavilions next to the stream. The music of the water was already romantic, especially when leaves drifted down to become boats on the current, but Magda, to her brilliant credit, had primed the atmosphere with even more romance thanks to the devious addition of an all-male waitstaff comprised of the most handsome servants the palace had to offer. If the ladies weren’t already pink-cheeked from the dashing faces waiting on them, the cups of wine ensured it.

By second course, the lasses were willing to laugh at anything the princess said. Gone was any potential resentment as Naran called for treat after treat and glass after glass, and eager-to-please men came to flirt with the chatty women. Everything was going exactly to plan.

For a while.

Naran and one of the long-haired, easy-smiling servers were mid-passionate argument over who was the better rider, his friend in the Royal Guards or her, when all her progress was chucked right into the creek.

“Princess.”

Everyone’s heads snapped toward the pavilion entrance to find Prince Hyungwon standing rigid and narrow-eyed. The spells the ladies had been under broke the instant their eyes fell onto his stunning face, flushed with the exercise from climbing the hill, and the other men were forgotten in an instant. It was impossible to deny the way even the princess’s own body reacted to the sight of him.

The server Naran had been arguing with leapt to attention, practically breaking his back when he jerked up from his cool lean on the banister. Everyone but the princess bowed to the prince while she let out a defeated sigh. So much for defending her role…

“What can we do for you, your grace?” Naran simpered.

“You are needed back at the palace at once.”

His voice was cold, and it prompted her tongue to prod at the inside of her cheek. “We have almost finished with our picnic—”

“I said ‘at once,’” Hyungwon repeated. His gaze flicked to the server over her shoulder and then back to her face.

Naran’s eye twitched. It felt very much like a standoff, but if she abandoned the ladies so quickly, they could resent her again, and if she balked at the prince’s authority, she would undermine him. Heaven and earth, she was tired of politics. It was moments like these that she most missed her freedom to simply charge to the stables and ride off into the steppe until her temper had cooled.

The princess took a sip of wine and let out a long breath. “Very well, my lord. Let us finish up this course as it is nearly over. The chefs did take an awful lot of time and expense to treat our staff so well today, wouldn’t you agree?”

Hyungwon was quiet. She could see the storm in his eyes even from her seat on the floor, but he nodded all the same.

“You are welcome to return—”

“I shall wait,” he asserted and took up a post across from the entrance, propping himself on a large rock and watching his wife’s every move.

Naran dug her nails into the skirt of her coat as she did her damnedest to avoid his gaze, but it was next to impossible when he sported his burgundy dallryung, for his dark features and warm skin always looked most striking contrasted in rich reds.

Gritting her teeth, she said to her audience, “Eat up, my dear ladies. Our picnic might have come to an end sooner than expected, but let us not let these delights go to waste.”

The serving lasses obliged, but conversation had come to a standstill and all the heart was out of the party. Whatever goodwill Naran had built washed downstream, especially when she rose and headed over to her husband, who insisted on offering his arm for their walk back to the palace.

“You ruined everything, you know,” she hissed as they walked, tethered to one another, back down the hillside.

“I could see that…” he said tightly. “Why are you eating with servants anyway?”

“Because of you, sire.”

Hyungwon glared at her then, but Naran met it back.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Evidently, you haven’t been… visiting your regulars, and grudges are forming.”

“Ah… Oh.” The prince’s lips pursed as his ears reddened.

“Yes, oh. This was my attempt to get back into their good graces, by offering other options, you see?”

At this, however, his eyes snapped to hers. “For them or for you?”

Naran glowered at him. “We’ve talked about this, my lord, remember?”

“I’ve only been gone three nights. Did you really feel the need to move on so urgently?”

“I—” the princess was stunned by what she could only call hurt etched into the corners of the prince’s eyes. But all too soon, it gave way to indignance. “You have no right to complain. After all, I was only cleaning up the mess you left me. Now, why am I being summoned in the middle of an event I put on?”

Judging by his grip on her arm, Hyungwon did not appreciate the shift in discussion, but he answered, “The palace has received some unexpected guests, and as my father and mother are still detained in town by the Ministers, we are obligated to host them for the evening.”

“Obligations, obligations. I’m sick of that word,” Naran griped. “I was already hosting something.”

“Well, now, you can host two things, only this one will include your husband.”

“I didn’t want to include you.”

Hyungwon pulled her to a stop then underneath a thick cluster of trees. The leaves were starting to redden at their tips, leaving the shadows more vibrant than usual as he pushed her back to the edge of the path where they were less likely to be seen arguing.

“That is painfully obvious,” he said. “Honestly, has your taste descended so far to the depths of Cho Daejung?”

“Who?”

Hyungwon shook his head. “You don’t even know the name of the man you were flirting with?”

“I wasn’t flirting with anyone, your grace,” Naran insisted.

The prince took a step closer and then another, forcing the princess back until her spine collided with a trunk. A shower of leaves rained down around them as his face drew far too near for the comfort of her wine-addled mind. Though Naran was no lightweight, she felt the alcohol burning through her then, stealing what little control her conscious mind ever had from staring at his lips.

“You were talking this close,” Hyungwon asserted. “How is that not flirting?”

“We were not!” the princess objected. She was right, wasn’t she? The servant would not have been so bold in front of all those others, she was sure of it. “We were arguing about who was the better rider.”

The prince moved in even further as his voice dropped lower. “That is our thing.”

We have a thing? Naran marveled.

Hyungwon’s chest collided with hers, and the breath left her lungs. His hands found her hips now, and she felt her pulse jumping in her throat. His gaze would not let up on hers as it burned to communicate something more than his limited words ever could.

“I swear,” Naran managed through short, tight breaths, “nothing happened. I’m not interested in that man.”

“You’re not?”

She felt his fingers dig in even through the thick fabric of her coat.

“I’m not. I don’t even know him. And anyway, he doesn’t excite me.”

At this, Hyungwon raised an eyebrow. “Who does then?”

Just then, the service bell clanged down below at the palace, summoning all staff to duty. The couple broke apart, which was just as well as the voices of the rest of the party were already tumbling down the hill behind them.

“Come on,” said the prince. “We best get back.”

Hyungwon grabbed her hand and dragged Naran down the hill before the servants could crest it. His pace was unforgiving, and the princess struggled to keep up as his legs were much longer and his anger much hotter than hers. By the time the pair had reached their wing, she was breathless and a little lightheaded. When the prince threw open the doors to the sitting room, Magda nearly dropped the box she was holding.

“Your Highnesses!” she exclaimed. “Is everything all right?”

“Just fine, Magda,” answered Hyungwon curtly as he continued to tow his wife into the room.

“I did not hear you were back, Your Grace,” the attendant said with a deep bow.

“That makes two of you then. If you wouldn’t mind, please leave that in your lady’s room and help the staff ready for the guests’ arrival.”

Magda reeled back. “But won’t My Lady require me to—”

“Should she need you, she will summon you,” he replied. “Our guests should be arriving any moment, Magda.”

Naran looked helplessly at her attendant, who was more astonished than anything, but the resolve in the prince’s voice could not be challenged, and so Magda did as she’d been ordered and shut the main doors behind her.

Hyungwon dropped the princess’s hand at last and immediately whisked off the silk belt about his waist as he headed toward his bedroom door. Over his shoulder he said, “Wear what I bought you to dinner tonight.”

“You bought me—”

But the prince cut her off with a gruff, “It’s on your bed.”

His door closed a second later, and Naran was left dumbfounded in the gulf of space between them. With nothing else to do, she fell back on ritual and headed to her room. There on her bed was the box Magda had been holding. It was large, bound up with a fanciful satin ribbon that looked too pretty to unravel though she had no choice. Her fingers worked through shimmery emerald curls as the fabric puddled all at once to the bed.

Naran lifted the lid, and once it was off, a bloom of iris burst into the room so powerful that the princess felt like she was wandering the gardens again. Folded inside on a cushion of silk and tied again with another satin ribbon was a gown, more art than garment, she thought, though it wasn’t until she’d pulled it out that she understood how exquisite it truly was.

Made of the most divine Indian muslin, the skirt swished as it tumbled, flowing more like water than fabric. It was the color of a full-body blush, embroidered with jubilant golden bouquets along the hem and accented along the top in gold as well. Ruched sleeves capped the shoulders to leave the arms bare while the neckline dazzled in ways unlike anything Naran had ever worn. More in the risqué style of the Brittans, it plunged between the breasts all the way to the empire waist while the back risked a deeper exposure to the dip of the small of the spine.

Swallowing hard, she undressed and slipped into the breathy luxury of spun cotton. It was tight around the ribs, and with the hug of the sleeves, it took the princess a long minute of wriggling to put it on without help. After a life in heavy wools and furs, it felt like wearing a breeze. The bodice cupped her breasts like hands while the skirt fled from her hips as though it resented the notion of touching skin.

The princess stood in front of her looking glass. A woman looked back at her that she barely recognized. Her coal black hair tumbled down her back to cover the deep V, but even then, it was more skin than Naran had ever shown. The pale pink of the gown enhanced the freckles on her caramel skin, and though it should have made her the picture of innocence, the cut of the neckline negated it immediately. Her collarbone flared proudly as she eyed herself from side to side. The chest needed a few stitches to fit her figure more snugly, and if she turned too much, the pillows of her breasts could flash in full. But she liked it. She liked how powerful she felt in it. She liked how enticing she looked.

There was a quick double-knock at the door, and Naran announced thoughtlessly, “Come in.”

She expected Magda. Instead, she found her husband.

“Are you almost ready?” His words were out before his mind caught up to the image of his wife.

Hyungwon froze in the door frame. Naran, too, could not wrench her eyes from him.

It had been months since she’d seen him in a Western style, and even though Naran had many things imprinted on her mind from the night of their engagement, she did not remember him even then looking as aggressively handsome as he did now.

The prince wore a billowing white blouse, and when his arms moved, the sleeves puffed like a bird about to take flight. Most likely, the long ties around the collar were intended as a cravat, but Hyungwon did not wear them that way; instead, they were knotted loosely, a bit like he was planning on getting undressed rather than hosting company. His black trousers fit rather tightly to his legs, elongating an already enormous man, and making matters most problematic for her, he wore polished black boots to his knees. Her husband looked just as capable of charging to the front lines on horseback as he did captaining a great ship with one leg propped on a storm-battered prow.

“You look exactly as I dreamed you’d look in this,” said Hyungwon.

“Thank you.” Naran lowered her eyes to her neckline. “Maybe it should be tailored first though before I wear it.”

“It’s perfect the way it is.”

His eyes were smoky and distant, almost as though the man she had married had been locked away somewhere inside while some shadowy predator roamed around unrestrained.

“I—I think this dress might scandalize your guests, sire.”

“They’re Westerners, and this is in the Western style. I thought it might make them feel welcome, but perhaps it is the wrong kind of welcome.”

Naran bit her lip. “Perhaps I need a chemise underneath?”

His eyes fell to the heart-shaped neckline plunging between her breasts, but all the prince could do was nod.

“But Magda has gone to finalize arrangements, and I can’t get out of this ridiculous thing without her help,” she grumbled. “Whoever thought of clothes you can’t take off yourself. Positively idiotic.”

Hyungwon cleared his throat softly and stepped closer. “Shall I help you, my lady?”

“Didn’t you say the guests should be here by now? I’m sure you should be there to receive them…”

“I’m sure I should…”

Naran wet her lips.

“If you have a moment then, my lord, before you leave, I would appreciate the help.”

Hyungwon closed the door behind him as he approached. The princess presented her back to him. She put her arms up and waited, but instead of lifting the dress over her head, the prince grabbed her wrists and lowered them back to her side.

“Do you like it?” he rasped into her hair. “They had so many exotic things in Jemulpo, but only this one was made just for my princess. It came all the way from Brittany just to adorn these lovely curves.”

His hand circled Naran’s neck, his middle finger stroking the skin there, before it slipped to the wells at her collar bone. The lower he went, the rougher his breathing grew. Finally, his fingers slipped under her neckline as he grabbed a handful of her breast. There was a roughness in his grip she’d never experienced from him before, a hungrier need demanding satisfaction.

“My prince,” Naran said raggedly, “we don’t have time—”

Hyungwon cut her off with a playful pinch of her nipple as he mouthed along her neck. “Time? All I can think about is how much time you’ve made me stay away from you. It’s been over a week since I’ve touched you, my darling. That’s too cruel.”

The prince rolled her nipple between his fingers as her chest thrust out against the sudden burst of pleasure.

“Sire—ah! The guests—”

“There’s no way I can greet them like this. They’ll see how hard I am for you. I need you, Naran.”

As if to underscore his point, Hyungwon grazed his hips against her backside, and the princess felt the unmistakable jut of her husband’s erection.

“No time…” she protested weakly.

“You’re not really going to make me wait any longer, are you? Do you hate me that much?” As he spoke, Hyungwon removed his hand from her bodice to hike the skirt of her dress roughly up her legs until he could grab a handful of her ass and elicit a yelp of pleasure from her.

His hot, wet breath panted along her ear as he said, “If I put my fingers inside you right now, would I find you soaked for me?”

“Please don’t say these things,” she whimpered.

“I thought you liked it when I talked, princess?”

“S-so much…”

“Then answer my question.” Hyungwon kneaded the supple flesh at her hips as he purred, “Would I find you soaked for me?”

This time, the princess let out a little cry. “Yes! Yes, sire.”

Hyungwon kissed the side of her face for a job well done, and Naran melted into it. In the sunlight, his face always looked soft and friendly, but here in the diffused twilight of her bedroom, shadows contoured his cheeks and jaw. When his eyes locked on hers in the mirror, they were resolute.

“You’re always tempting me, always asking things of me, and I can’t say no to you, darling. I can’t say no.”

There were more kisses now, at her jaw and ear and throat until he covered the newly bared skin along her shoulder.

“Didn't you miss me at all?” he pressed. “I missed you. Tell me you didn't let anyone else into your bed. Tell me it's still only me. Even if it's not true.”

Don't say it, Naran warned herself. It's a mistake.

“It's only you, my prince.”

Hyungwon groaned. As though he could read the flutters in her breath as well as words themselves, he added, “Maybe it's because I'm used to getting everything I want, but I like to know what’s mine and mine alone.”

It's just pillow talk, her frantic mind justified. It doesn’t have to mean anything.

And yet, the other part of her refused to be appeased. Put a stop to this now, you fool!

“My prince…”

His chin was on her shoulder, his eyes meeting hers in the looking glass. Hyungwon shifted her skirt in his grip to bare her core and the ghostly vestiges of his brands on her thighs. With his whole hand, he cupped her eager sex.

“This,” he murmured as his middle finger coaxed her seam, “is mine.”

Naran’s hand flew to his, not sure if she was intent on starting things or stopping them.

“Darling,” said the prince with a laugh darkening his tone, “you are soaked.”

He teased the sweet button there with his fingertip, and all his wife could do now was tremble in his arms.

“I missed this,” Naran confessed as her head tipped back against his chest.

“What did you miss, beautiful?”

“Your attention!” she gasped as he circled a stroke faster.

“You can have as much of it as you want. I promise I will make you feel good again. All you have to do,” he whispered as a finger seated itself just outside her entrance, “is let me.”

Naran tore her face from the reflection of her husband to the man himself. He met her gaze there, their lips far too close for her wavering willpower. Would it be so bad to give in? What could it really hurt if she allowed his lips to touch hers? They had been everywhere else on her body already anyway.

Where was the harm in a single kiss?

A knock—more like a pounding—at the door tore them apart at once.

“Your Highness,” said an unfamiliar lady’s voice, “are you ready? Your visitors arrived twenty minutes ago, and no one but your staff has greeted them.”

There was a clear barb in the servant’s tone, but it disappeared when the prince’s stern face confronted the petite woman on the other side of the door.

“Oh, my god—Your Highness!” said Hayun, the peony-faced girl who had brought Saran’s letter that morning. She had also been at the picnic as Magda had singled her out as Naran’s biggest detractor, and for a short while, the princess had thought she’d been successful in swaying the woman’s attentions to one of the male servants, but from the shimmering look in the maid’s black eyes, all hope of redirection was lost.

“Servants do not bang on royal doors, miss,” the prince admonished with ferocity. “If you have not learned that by now, perhaps we can move your post to the chickenyard where you can crow to your heart’s content.”

Hayun stood there on the verge of tears before she gathered what was left of her pride to bow and slink out of the wing.

Naran stood bewildered in the middle of her room. Her hair was disheveled and her brand-new gown askance. Worse yet, her lips were throbbing from unfulfilled promise. But it was for the best.

In the end, she had to be grateful for Hayun’s disruption; otherwise, she would have to reconcile the fact that in a few short weeks, she had been willing to give up her dreams for something that was, at its heart, merely contractual marital sex. Naran would not be the same sort of pitiful princess that had haunted these palace halls for centuries. She was determined to be more than a womb and an outlet for a prince.

“We’d best get going, sire,” she said as she hastily twisted her hair into a bun and secured it with a jade hairpin. “Everyone is obviously anxious.”

Hyungwon sighed but nodded. “There’s a shawl at the bottom of the box so you don’t get cold.”

Naran grabbed it and wrapped it around her shoulders. It wasn’t as warm as a hanbok, but at least it gave her some security as she walked next to her husband on their way to the Receiving Hall.

Hoping for a safe topic of conversation, Naran asked, “Who are these visitors anyway that they can just disrupt an empire unannounced?”

“They are traders from Wessex,” said the prince, “or so the story goes. They have already visited nine of the East Sea realms.”

“Which just leaves Goryeo as number ten…” the princess mused. “Is that unusual for traders who have already come this far out of the West? Surely, they want to return home with as many trappings as they can to make it worth the harrowing trip.”

“That would be true if it weren’t for the fact that our empires already trade freely amongst each other. A simple trip to either Tuen Mun or Bombay would have stocked a ship with goods from all ten empires alone.”

“So, what are you thinking then? Spies?”

“Would it be the first time the West has come to the East looking to do more than trade?”

Naran shrugged her mouth, understanding her husband perfectly. She was to be on her guard with the traders, but at the same time, she couldn’t quell the rise of curiosity surging through her. She had occasion to meet Westerners beyond the usual royals she endured before as overland traders following the Silk Road would sometimes stop at Urga to curry favor with the khan, but she was never allowed to sit with them, her mother far too nervous that the princess might stow away in a caravan if given the opportunity—which probably wasn’t far off. There were few things as titillating as life on the open road, but she wasn’t so sure the same was true of the open sea. Naran had never seen the ocean, and the thought of not having land under her feet was terrifying if also intriguing.

“Are you all right?” Hyungwon asked suddenly, shaking her from her thoughts.

“Yes, of course.”

He squinted at her as though he were trying to read her mind but gave up as they reached the doors to the Receiving Hall.

“Just stay by my side,” he whispered. “Be circumspect. If they ask you a question that makes you uncomfortable, you do not need to answer for the sake of decorum. I’d prefer if they left sooner rather than later anyway…”

Hyungwon looked at his wife again, this time with a much coarser emotion in his eyes, and somehow, it felt like his hand was back under her dress again.

Just then, the doors to the hall opened to reveal two white men chatting in the middle of the large and lavishly-appointed room while several servants, including Magda, Hansol, and a red-faced Hayun, waited like statues along the heavily decorated walls. A spread of tea and appetizers covered the table in the center though the guests had not touched them.

As soon as Hansol saw the royal couple, he proclaimed, “Presenting His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince Hyungwon and his wife, the Princess Supreme Narangerel.”

The strangers hurried to stand and bow to their hosts, and when they rose, the one with copper hair and a matching beard met the princess’s eyes. The way he looked at her made Naran feel like he knew her. Even as his gray-haired compatriot introduced the pair of them as sailor emissaries from the island nation of Wessex, the redhead stared at her with a strange sort of smile.

“Come, Connor, quit your lollygagging. You’ll make Her Highness uncomfortable in her own home,” reprimanded the elder sailor. “I beg you, Your Highness, please forgive my first mate. He has been at sea for far too long and forgotten all his manners, it seems.”

“It’s quite all right,” Naran assured, though she couldn't shake the intensity of the younger sailor’s eyes.

Neither, it seemed, could her husband as Hyungwon laced his fingers through hers and led her to the couch across from their guests.

For a minute, nobody seemed to know what to say. Naran had yet to really see her husband lead acts of state, but judging by his ramrod straight back and firmly set lips, he was uneasy. For their part, the sailors looked confused, and the princess wondered at the sorts of welcomes they might have received in other kingdoms. Perhaps they were not accustomed to having to lead conversations with royals, and it seemed the prince wasn’t interested in making it easy for them.

“Thank you for accommodating a pair of lowly traders on such short notice,” said the gray-haired man with an awkward smile. “I am Captain Elliot Witherspoon of the HMS Psyche, and this is my first mate Connor McCarthy. We have been traveling the East Seas at His Majesty King Edward’s behest on a mission of goodwill between kingdoms. It is His Majesty’s hope that East and West might strengthen diplomatic relations through trade, particularly with the Empire of Goryeo as trade has been scarce between our nations for years. Last time we sailed into Namgyeong, Emperor Gongmin was very resistant to such a plan unless the other Eastern realms entered into such trade routes first.”

Hyungwon hummed. “And it seems they have, have they?”

“Indeed, Your Highness.”

The prince did not respond, and the sailors looked amongst each other as they regrouped. “Will the Emperor and Empress be joining us this evening to hear such good news?”

“I’m afraid not,” said the prince. “They are away from the palace on business this evening.”

“No doubt they are very busy running an empire as powerful as Goryeo. Even in the West, the might of your realm is often spoken of.”

Hyungwon just smiled wanly.

The captain looked to his first mate, but the redhead was fixated on the princess.

“I hear,” said Captain Witherspoon, “that congratulations are in order. Your wedding is the talk of the Eastern realms.”

“Is it?” Hyungwon asked flatly.

“In one way or another,” laughed the captain, “particularly in Champa.”

“I’ll bet it is,” Naran retorted and did her best to hide her smirk.

Captain Witherspoon turned his attention to the princess as he asked, “How have you adjusted to life in Goryeo, Your Highness?”

“It’s a beautiful country, certainly not like any place I’ve ever seen.”

“Have you had occasion to visit the city?”

“A bit for the wedding and once for a festival, but, regrettably, not as much as I should like.”

The captain folded his hands in his lap and sat back as silence filled the space. Naran glanced at the prince, but Hyungwon did not offer any conversation despite his insistence that they host these people.

“I confess, Captain,” she said since no one else seemed to know what to say at this point, “I do not know much of the Western empires. Is life there much different from the Eastern empires you’ve visited?”

“The West is fonder of castles rather than palaces perhaps, and the roads are more likely to be paved, but the lands aren’t nearly so vast, and the people are a great deal more interested in each other’s business because of it. That said, people are people everywhere you go.”

“Is that so?” she said. “Still, I should like to see that.”

“Indeed, you would,” interjected the first mate. “Indeed, you would…”

Captain Witherspoon glared at Connor before he turned back to the royal couple and said, “You know, Your Highnesses, we have been hosted in many great houses on this trip, but this is the first time we’ve been greeted in costumes of our homeland. I confess, it’s a rather welcome sight after so long at sea.”

“And how long have you been away from home?” Naran asked.

“These eight months.”

“Eight months! How long shall it take you to get back?”

“Another four or more. Depends on the seas. It’s not a life for everyone, that’s for sure,” said the captain.

“But for those of us who get restless staying in one place, it’s rather a dream life,” Connor added, eyes boring into Naran’s. She didn’t understand why the man kept looking at her like that, but it made her feel rather naked though not in the same way the Western gown did.

Captain Witherspoon pursed his weathered lips before he relented and took a cup of tea. At first taste, he raised an eyebrow and smiled. “You know, tea is different in just about every country we’ve visited. Isn’t that rather funny?”

“As is the alcohol,” Connor echoed. “So much to sample at every port…”

“To that end, Your Highness,” said the captain, finally turning his attention back to the prince, who had barely said a word in the last several minutes, “if you don’t mind, I should like to bend your ear for a bit on this matter of trade.”

Hyungwon looked as much a statue as his servants. Naran stole a glance at him but found that his attention was frozen on her, not either of the guests he’d insisted on hosting. There was longing in his eyes—there was no other word for it—and it made her mouth very dry. She dove for a cup of tea as well, and once she’d had her wits back about her, she said, “As you would like to discuss business, I will show Mr. McCarthy the artwork in the meantime.”

Her husband looked at her as though she couldn’t have said anything more offensive in the moment, but she was tired of doing all the work of this stupid party that he had forced upon her anyway. In spite of his frantic look, she excused herself and headed toward a portrait at the far corner of the room nearest Magda, hoping to draw some strength and sensibility from her dearest friend.

Connor followed eagerly. He did not bother with food or drink, just met her stride for stride as he fluffed out his beard. He faced her full-on now, no interest at all in the stern-faced emperor who sat squat on his throne in the painting.

“I have never met a Moghul before,” blurted the sailor as he studied the princess. “You’re a very exotic thing, aren’t you?”

“I’m afraid my good sir has me confused, for I am not a thing at all,” Naran challenged, “but a woman.”

“Ay, and what a woman you are! One of a kind, I should say. You’re an adventurer, Princess Narangerel. What on earth are you doing in a palace of all places?”

At this, the princess turned her attention from the portrait to the man beside her. “An adventurer? What makes you say that?”

The redhead shrugged playfully, a smile splitting his beard. “I, too, am an adventurer, Your Highness. I can see it in you.”

“Is that why you look at me like you know me?”

“Ay, I do. You’ve got the restless eyes and the itchy feet. It’s why you can’t sit still for more than a few minutes. Your tapping foot is a perfect match to my own.”

Naran stood to her full height and stomped down her relentless urge to fidget. “I feel there are many like me back in my homeland, sir. I am not this rare breed you make me out to be. You may be well-traveled but perhaps not where it counts.”

Connor raised an eyebrow. His skin had been leathered by the ruthless sun, which made his bright hair all the brighter, especially his bushy eyebrows, and when he laughed, he looked like the merriest man she’d ever seen. She wondered if there was anything that didn’t amuse a man like him. “If that’s true, then maybe there’s a woman out there for me yet.”

The silly thought rushed through her mind that, if things had been different, if she were still in Moghulikhan, she might have passed a night with the man. He wasn’t nearly so handsome as her husband, to be sure, but Connor was bold and interesting, and it occurred to Naran that perhaps her mother had been right to fear Western men because she could see how she might be spirited away by his wanderlust.

But then her eyes slid back to Hyungwon, who was looking at the sea captain exactly as he had the many eligible bachelorettes the night the couple had met—with indifference. Sitting there with one booted leg crossed over the other and looking more like a pirate king than an emperor, he was magnificent. Maybe she was just strung out from their ruined encounter earlier or maybe it was the compounding of all the days she’d been without him before that, but thoughts of running anywhere but to him seemed impossible in the moment.

“There’s certainly no hope for me in Champa, I will tell you that,” continued the first mate, clearly unaware of her stampede of pained thoughts. “Would it come as a surprise to Her Highness that the name Moghulikhan leaves a sour taste in the royal palace?”

In her mind’s eye, Naran saw a flash of silver liquor dripping from the edge of a desk followed by the flash of her husband’s eyes staring up at her between her legs, and her breath quickened. She took a page out of Hyungwon’s book and stood tall as she faced her guest. “You might be sailors, good sir, but I think you’re doing a bit more like fishing.”

Connor laughed. “Ay, anything is possible. We have visited many realms, Your Highness, but I must say, East or West, I have never seen a royal lady so engaged with our discussions.”

“I'm sure the ladies were engaged enough but maybe not at the liberty to show you. I have never been one to be concerned with appearances, however, Mr. McCarthy.”

“Now, see, I knew I was right about you. So, how does a free spirit like Her Highness find herself as Princess Supreme of a country all about appearances?”

“Happy chance,” she said with a hollow smile, but the canny sailor saw right through it.

“A victim of your station, I take it.”

“I never said that, sir.”

“You don’t need to. When you’ve been out on the open ocean as long as I have, you can read a swell before it breaks over you. Even the calmest seas hide their true devastation. Have you ever been on the sea, Princess?”

Naran’s heart unexpectedly shook. She barely remembered how to answer as she said, “I haven’t, no. My homeland is surrounded only by land.”

Connor leaned against the wall, nearly on the painting, which had Hansol lurching forward in case of emergency, but the Wessex man was totally unbothered. “If you like, I can show you to the harbor tomorrow and take you for a spin on my vessel.”

“She’s busy tomorrow,” interrupted Prince Hyungwon, who had materialized by his wife’s side looking at least a head taller than she remembered. The prince looked to the sailor with a face blank of all emotion, and it left a heavy lump in the basin of her belly. “Please, sir, if you would rejoin us.”

Hyungwon took his wife’s hand again and led her back to the couch, and this time when they sat, he sat flush against her. His hand stayed tangled up with hers before she shook it away with a tight smile for her guests. At length, the sailors began enumerating all the ports along the Wu empire they had had the pleasure of visiting while detailing all the wonders they encountered there, but Naran could not hear any of them because the prince had laid a hand just above her knee now. She did her best to ignore it, but Hyungwon’s heat as well as his grip were impossible to ignore.

Her husband leaned across the seat and brought his lips to her ear as he whispered, “I would give anything to be inside you right now.”

Stricken, her wide eyes shot to the prince, and the princess subtly shook her head. As casually as she could, she brushed his hand away, and the conversation continued onto stories of the Da Viet coast and its bay of stony green giants, but they had barely traveled into the port itself before the prince's hand was back, this time higher on her thigh—with his pinky stroking insistently, nearly brushing her dampening secret.

Again, Hyungwon leaned to her ear and whispered, “Come away with me. Now.”

Naran shook her head again, but it took all her social graces to do so without screaming. She felt the flush rising up her chest, and with her low neckline, she knew full well it was on display for all—Connor’s stare and subsequent lip lick were all the proof she needed.

Fingers dug into her thigh then.

“Now, Naran.”

Hyungwon shot to his feet as Captain Witherspoon was mid-sentence and declared, “Gentlemen, if you will, please excuse my wife and me for a bit on an urgent matter.”

“Urgent, Your Highness?” the captain asked, aghast.

“Indeed. In the meantime, please enjoy a performance on one of our traditional instruments, the gayageum, as our staff prepares some of the coffee you so generously gifted us, and we can enjoy it together before our night concludes.” To his attendant, Hyungwon turned now and said, “Hansol.”

The servant bowed and hurried out of the room to bring back a middle-aged woman in an elegant hanbok. She scurried in and took a seat on a cushion as she perched a long, flat wooden harp across her lap, and moments later, the honeyed twang of the strings echoed in the hall.

Though the sailors looked floored by the unprecedented departure, there was nothing they could do but agree.

Meanwhile, Naran felt like a flag at the wind’s mercy as Hyungwon led the pair of them down the hall to the next room over, which was barely more than a closet compared to the hall they’d just left. No one had bothered to light any candles here, so it was cloistered with shadows and the outlines of furniture.

“What is with you today!” she snapped the first chance she got, but shock and indignance gave way to raw hunger the moment her husband spun her in his arms so her back was pressed to his chest. He wrapped both arms around her and squeezed her to him.

“I can’t take it anymore. You’re all I’ve been thinking about for days.”

“My lord—”

“Hush, darling. Are you going to tell me you never thought of me? Do you want to break me?”

As mad as she was, Naran’s arms encircled his around her chest and she melted back into him. “No…”

“So, tell me.”

“I thought of you, my prince.”

Hyungwon let out a shaky breath against her neck.

“We never got to finish what we started, princess,” he rasped as he dug through her skirts now, seeking bare skin, but the layers on the Western dress were confusing, and Naran heard a tear as frustration got the better of her husband.

“Be careful, sire!” she hissed. “I can’t go back in tatters.”

“Maybe that’s what I want,” Hyungwon warned. “Maybe I want you to go back there with my marks all over you and your face dripping sweat. These sailors are too familiar. They should know they can’t have everything their eyes land on.”

“My prince…”

Naran tipped her head back, and Hyungwon kissed her brow. “I’m sorry. I don’t have time to tease you like before, but if you—”

His fingers glanced across her folds just then, and he let out a ragged breath.

“You’re already so wet,” he said, astonished.

“That’s from before,” she insisted though they both knew it was a lie. From the moment his hand had found a home on her knee, her body had hoped—prepared—for more.

Hyungwon rested his chin on her shoulder as he pressed her back against him. She could feel his hardness yearning for its rightful home, but as much as they should have been in a rush, her lazy prince refused to give up his intimate hold on his bride. Two of his fingertips glided up and down her lower lips, parting her just enough to spill more arousal over his digits. He found her needy little hill there and pressed just enough to have her trembling with excitement.

“You’re holding back. Naran,” he scolded. “Why are you holding back?”

“Our guests—”

“I thought you liked it when your audience leaves unsatisfied?”

“Yes,” she gasped as he rubbed her more urgently, “but these men aren't servants.”

Hyungwon growled against the juncture of her shoulder and neck. “Who cares? We'll never see them again.”

“What will they say about us at the next palace?”

Between kisses, he murmured, “They will say that the prince is very dedicated to producing an heir for his kingdom. Is that such a bad thing?”

Naran’s eyes drooped further and further, with every sweep of her husband’s fingers through her messy seam. Her voice was smoky and lost as she abandoned the last of her defenses. “No… No. It’s a good thing.”

“A very good thing.”

At last, Hyungwon removed his hand if only to bend her over the back of the nearest chair. The princess gripped the armrests, eyes wide with the panic of anticipation, and once he had positioned Naran exactly as it pleased him, he slid his middle finger into her core. Her back arched as the growing craving inside her was finally satiated.

The prince spent only a few moments priming her wet walls before he hiked her skirt properly over her hips. If anyone should open the door to the room, she would be on full display, and that only made her core contract harder.

There was the rustle of more fabric before she felt the dribbling head of her husband’s length against the inside of her thigh. Naran whimpered and glared at him over her shoulder, half in panic, half in desperation. “Wait, my prince—”

“Argue with me again and I won’t give you my cock, Naran. Is that what you want?”

He was gruff and so nonchalant about such language that it weakened the last of her defenses. With her lip between her teeth and her eyes glazed with lust, the princess shook her head.

“That’s what I thought,” Hyungwon said far too smugly, though that faded away quickly as he caressed the swell of her exposed flesh. “You are ready for me, aren't you, darling? Say you're ready. I can't wait anymore.”

In the darkness, his voice was heavenly even as his hands were wicked along the bloom of her hips.

She nodded. “For the—”

But before she could complete their mantra, Hyungwon pushed in to his hilt. Naran let out a long, low cry as the strength of his manhood nearly brought a tear to her eye. He gripped her waist and pushed her hips deep down against him so the head of his cock nestled in newfound depths inside her.

“I could fill you up right now,” he panted as he doubled over her, one hand still on her hip but the other joining hers on the armrest. “I’m that hard for you.”

“Not yet,” she begged though it was mixed with a moan, too.

“Not yet? It’s not just for the throne anymore, is it. My wife wants more pleasure first?”

“Yes…” answered the princess, only vaguely aware of how mindless she sounded.

“Even though there are men with greedy eyes waiting for her?”

The prince thrust in hard, chasing a ragged gasp from Naran’s lungs.

“Don’t care, don’t care.”

“What do you care about?” Hyungwon asked, his tongue thick against the shell of her ear now.

“Just care about you inside me. S’all I care about,” she slurred.

Naran ground her ass back against his hips while the prince rode out a series of emphatic thrusts. Each one was more determined than the last to force moan after moan from her.

Suddenly, Hyungwon came halfway up only to bring her along. His big hand splayed across her chest, groping her breast through her dress as he peppered kisses down her throat. He sucked a patch in the most visible real estate there, and once satisfied, he thrust upward at last to his wife’s grateful gasp.

With the new angle, he favored slower, deeper thrusts that pressed heavy inside her belly. His member savored her heat and tightness at his leisure while his lips continued their assault on her once-unblemished skin. At last, he pulled back, pleased with his handiwork, and Naran swore she could feel her heart throbbing underneath the new bruises.

“Make sure your hair stays up,” commanded Hyungwon as he roughly rocked into her. “Can’t show them the last ones, so I need them to see these.”

“Yes, my lord,” Naran sobbed as she gripped white-knuckled on the back of the chair.

“When we go back—when we go back, tilt your head like this—” Hyungwon’s hand moved to the crown of her head and gently pulled it toward her shoulder so that the sun-warmed tract of her neck was prominent, where his red-and-purple bull’s-eyes would be unmistakable even across a large room. “Let them see. Let them suffer.”

“Oh yes,” she groaned as he drilled more furiously with his every passing order. “Yes…”

“Don’t hold back now, darling. Not today. You're not a quiet lover, Naran. The whole empire knows your screams.”

“I’ve—ooh… I've always been able to control it. Not, ah, not with you!”

Hyungwon rumbled against her lobe, nibbling it as he ground himself in to his hilt. “You like it when I take you, princess?”

“So much.”

“You want more?”

“Yes…” she slurred. “More…”

Naran thought he’d take her harder, but instead, he pressed the both of them back over the chair and switched to a slower, more intimate stroke that ensured his shaft massaged the most sensitive, secret parts inside her. This way, he could bottom out with every thrust so forcefully that she hiccupped out her moans each time. As if that weren’t enough, his hand braced over hers on the armrest again, this time interlocking fingers, while the other splayed across the plane of her belly, pressing firmly to double her pleasure from inside and out.

Naran was stretched so full that she could think of nothing else—not prudence, not courtesy, not restraint. She sealed her hand over his on her stomach and greedily pressed back with each stab of his manhood into her velvet. Hyungwon picked up speed now—faster, hungrier, closer. More, more, more. They panted in time with one another as luxurious pressure built between the princess’s thighs.

There were no more words to be exchanged—they were well passed that point. Just the rasp of her husband’s desire for her was enough to make her climax, but combined with the way his body was consuming her and the way he took her more and more savagely, when Naran let go, she came truly undone. Her knees buckled and her body shook as a hitching cry pealed from her lips. If Hyungwon hadn’t been holding her up, she would have collapsed.

Instead, he hugged her tighter, riding out her seizing release a bit longer with stuttering plunges of his own until he squeezed her hands and pounded into her with a final exclamation of his cock unloading a torrent of his seed into her shuddering walls.

Together, they slumped against the chair, still hopelessly entangled and breathless. Minutes passed before either could form words, but at last, Naran managed, “My lord?”

“Hm?”

“You’re holding me too tightly.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled. His arms unwound from her, and the temperature plummeted as dramatically as it did during nights on the steppe.

Naran lifted herself off his member and shuddered at the chaser of emptiness that followed. Hyungwon’s release gushed down her thighs. Though the mess made her recoil, it also made her stomach tighten and her weak knees rub together.

“I should clean up,” she said as she shuffled toward the door, but her husband grabbed her wrist to stop her.

The way his head leaned against the paneling in the thin light, his long black bangs matted with sweat and splintering his foggy gaze, made something in her chest squeeze painfully.

“Later,” he said. “Now, we return to our guests.”

“My lord, in this state—”

“Yes, in this state,” he insisted. His eyes fell to her slender wrist in his hand as he ran his thumb over the tendons there. His voice was huskier when he added, “We won’t be long.”

Naran shivered.

They headed back to the receiving room where they found the Irishmen uncharacteristically silent while Magda and Hansol looked on shell-shocked from the corners. At the sight of the young royals’ disheveled appearances, the room’s collective eyes widened, with the orange-haired sailor’s narrowing extra sharply. To Naran’s great relief, the musician kept playing; the princess didn’t think she could bear the company without the distraction.

Hyungwon sat on the sofa again, but when Naran moved to sit next to her husband, he instead tugged her to take a seat on the armrest next to his shoulder so he could wrap his arm around her waist and lean his head against her side. He smiled at the sailors as he said, “Pardon the interruption, gentlemen. Where were we?”

“We were, uh—” Captain Witherspoon glanced around the room, but Hyungwon smiled.

“What was it the good captain was talking about, my princess?”

Naran’s head whipped around to glare at her husband, and from the throat clears across from her, she understood what her husband’s question was really about. In one fell swoop, the burgeoning marks on her neck were the new focal point of the room. Her hand raced up to let down her hair, but Hyungwon caught her and shoved a cup of coffee in it, a smirk on his face.

“Um, Mau Le,” she said, her voice wavering with the embarrassment and maybe a little something deeper.

The prince poured a cup of coffee for himself, and he sipped it as though nothing unusual had happened at all. In fact, he picked right back up where they left off. “Yes, what was that you were saying about the Mau Le markets, Captain Witherspoon?”

Hesitantly, the gray-haired man resumed his description of the humid, fragrant markets of the Da Viet port, but there was much less flower to his stories now. His first mate no longer risked the princess’s attention at all and instead focused on what was left in his coffee cup.

Talk drifted back to the many wonderful exports the Wessex tradesmen could offer thanks to this sailing route, but with her husband’s lust weeping onto the seat of her dress, Naran had a hard time contributing anything to the conversation anymore let alone paying it any attention. For his part, Hyungwon had never looked more engaged.

At last, the princess could bear the distraction no longer, and when she abruptly stood, and all three men rose as well.

Red-faced, she bowed lightly as she said, “If you would excuse me, gentlemen, I will be right back."

“See you shortly, my darling,” said the prince shamelessly.

If Naran weren’t still basking in the glow of a much-needed release, she might have sworn at him, guests or not. Instead, she headed into the hall to the closest wash chamber, but before she could get there, she heard airy footsteps behind her.

“Excuse me, Your Highness?”

Naran turned to find Hayun alone in the hallway.

“What is it?” the princess asked.

Hayun bowed deeply, her hands tucked reverently in her hanbok sleeves as she swung forward with the grace of a bell. When she rose, she kept her eyes downcast as was the custom with the lower-level staff. “I am very sorry to bother Her Grace, but I am wondering something.”

“Okay…”

The servant cleared her throat lightly, a wisp of a smile curling her petal lips. “It seems to me I heard an echo in the halls just a little bit ago. Did you perhaps as well?”

“An echo?”

“Oh, yes. I have a feeling Her Grace might remember hearing them quite well, as did I. There were several things I know I have heard before, but last time, instead of an echo, I heard them much, much closer, almost as though they were in my ears instead of Her Grace’s.”

Naran was too dumbfounded to form words.

“Just thought her Esteemed Ladyship should be aware,” added Hayun with another bow before she rose and returned to the Receiving Hall, leaving turbulent seas for a princess, who had known only firm land, to navigate.

[sleepyljihoon]

I know it's not seventeen related but like. CAN SOMEONE HELP ME CHOOSE A FUCKING BIAS IS MONSTA X, I AM SO CONFUSED