#these are all period accurate clothes right down to the shoes and I’m so proof of myself

[thefanciestborrower]

Sometimes being the resident pred just means you have to put up with your buddies using you as a tent every winter

Davey likes to complain about it, but truth be told he doesn’t mind all that much. At least it means he’s full right?

[little-dragon-stories]

King chap 17 & 18

Your life changed completely when from a slave, you became a spy for the king. Will you be able to help him in his fight against slavery before it’s too late and the threat hanging over him comes true?

In this society where love comes after fortune, will your mutual affection be able to flourish?  

Royal au fic pairing female reader and Kwon JiYong

Feat: YoungBae, TaeHyung, MinHo and SeoJoon (just because  I had their face in mind when I pictured their character)

W.C: 5786

Warnings: no specific warning... Is there any? 

Disclaimer: Everything in this story is fictional. There is no research to be politically  accurate or to fit a certain period of time or place. In one word, it’s all invented.

Special thanks to my loyal and loving friend, that I love with all my heart. Princess @aspaceformyself​ I often tell you this but you are my safety net in that fic. Knowing you were reading me, made me explore a new way of writing. I wasn’t scared to make a mistake, I knew you would tell me id I did. And you did. When I was having a hard time, you were there to ask me the good questions. “Do you think yn would do it? Does it fit her personality? Isn’t she overreacting there? How is that possible”. Not because you told me I was bad or didn’t make sense. Juste because you made me reflect on my characters and plot. I am already overthinking. With you, I experienced overthinking x1000 :) But in a really good way. I think that my writing improved a lot and it’s a lot because of you.  

Also, in chapter 18, my princess wrote a part. Like 2 or 3 paragraphs. Will you notice the difference in our writing??? :) I was imagining a scene in my head. I explained her and she said “hold on, can I give it a try?” And she did. It’s so perfectly written :) I love you, my sweet princess. You mean a lot to me.

Chapter 17 

“The prince is coming, Cheon Ha, should I let him in as soon as he arrives?” the servant asked after he put your breakfast on the low table next to JiYong’s bed. Your bed. 

JiYong wanted the moving to be done fast, he had sent his maids in your little room to pack and bring your few belongings. The night before yesterday, as soon as you arrived, JiYong had made you visit every little spot of his quarters as if it was the first time.  “Here’s our bookshelf. Here’s our dresser you can... oops we’ll have to get another one, this one is full! Here’s our backyard, here’s our fountain.” He had dragged you in every room of his quarters and made sure you would have your little spot in each. “If you want to rearrange anything, just do it. We can change the furniture, we can change the tapestry, whatever you want to, we’ll do it”. Of course, there was nothing you wanted to change. You were used to sleeping in a stable, outside or in a little ‘room’ made with mug and hay. There is nothing in JiYong’s room that wasn’t already perfect.

The servants bowed at both of you, still in bed. But you couldn’t get used to it, so you hide under the duvet. 

“Yes, let him in, thank you” he answered his servant. The morning had been lazy, you had expanded the night a little longer than the king used to do. The servants left the room and JiYong covered you both with the blanket.

“Shhh, let’s pretend we are sleeping, let’s see what he will do” JiYong said, smiling.

Both of you hid your face from the door and kept your ears open. You were trying to figure where Channie’s little feet would bring him. It didn’t take long before you felt the little boy jump on the bed and crawled between you and JiYong, making himself enough place between your intertwined bodies. He laid down heavily on the blanket and stopped moving. After a moment, you cracked an eyelid, curious to see what he was doing.  His little fingers were toying his father’s hair as he’s other hand was reaching out towards you. JiYong had a content smile on his face. You couldn’t help but open your eyes wide and hold the little hand that was looking for yours. 

“Father is sleeping, we have to stay quiet”.

“Ok, Channie” you whispered tenderly. Wanting a hug, he drew you to him with all his strength while he was still stroking his father’s hair. You could not have found the words to express your happiness at this precise moment.  Your heart was swelling.

“Do you love my father, Y/n?”

“Yes, Channie, I love him very much”.

“I love him too,” he stated, serious.

Yesterday, JiYong had a diner with him, the queen and you. He explained that from now on, you’d be living together. Channie had clapped his little hands and hugged you both, happy. He accepted you in his life as easily as that. His mother had congratulated you but she stayed quiet, thinking.

“Do you think that your father loves me too?” you asked with a low voice, curious to hear what the little man would say.

“Yes, I believe he does”

“What makes you believe it?”

He thought of it, for an instant.

“When he looks at you, his eyes sparkles just like when he looks at his pork chops”

“Yaaaah! Channie” JiYong burst into laughter! “I love her more than food, what are you talking about?” he was unable to stop laughing. 

“Oh! Lord! Your child is amazing JiYong!” you couldn’t stop laughing either. 

Pretending to be upset, he started a tickling battle with Channie. They laughed and squirmed for a while, lost in their own little world. You felt privileged to be witnessing such an intimate moment between father and son. When you saw them complot something, you tried to snake out of the bed but you couldn’t. You found yourself the victim of the king and the prince’s tickling assault. 

“Stooooop! please! I surrender”

“She surrenders too fast abeoji, we have to make her more endurant” 

“I agree Channie! We’re doing it for her own good after all”

Their fingers were running on your sides, making you cry and scream in laughter. 

“You guys are the worst” you managed to say, between 2 breathes. Trying to balance the forces, you decided to use an arm against them. The tickling battle became a pillow fight that stopped only when you got interrupted by YoungBae, smiling under a rain of dancing feathers.

“Cheon Ha, we have to go, everybody is waiting for you”  He was very pleased to witness that domestic scene. Resigning himself to having to work, JiYong rose from the bed and kissed you both on the forehead before he quickly got dressed with the help of his maids. He left, escorted by YoungBae. Deprived of his laughter, his voice and his secure arms, you already missed him. Turning around to face the prince, you pat his hair.

“Let’s eat our breakfast, Channie”

“Not before I win the battle” He said right before he threw a pillow right in your face, giggling.

“Channie…” you took your serious tone “No my love, we have to hurry. Mr Kim will be coming soon. You’ll have your classes in the garden this time. Don’t think that I haven’t noticed Mr Kim was alone last time I sneaked in your apartments”.

“Oooh! Yes! I saw you! I was there… somewhere” he said, serious.

“Channie, it’s not the good time to escape. Please, promise me that you will listen to Mr Kim and stay by his side? Will you?”

“I’ll try my best, Y/n. I promise you I’ll try”.

“Oh! Lord! Like father, like son! What am I gonna do, with the both of you?” 

“You’ll be just fine, you love us”, Channie answered, flashing his teeth.

“Aaaaw! I guess you’re right”!

+++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++

By the end of the morning, you have received an invitation to meet the queen. Walking with your escort along the beautiful path, you couldn’t be happier.  It was a humid and cool day. There were dark grey clouds in the sky and the wind was blowing so furiously, it looked like it wanted to chase the summer and bring the fall in his furrow. It will be raining later, for sure. Most of the people you know would have qualified today’s temperature as dull. This dark atmosphere was poetry for you. It seemed like the seasons had agreed to change at the same time that your life took a completely new turn. Living with the king, your love, was definitely the biggest change you faced so far. The most beautiful one as well. And that your new position in JiYong’s life was accepted so easily by his son, lighten your heart. 

There were only three problems that needed to be solved. MinHo. SoYoung. MiNa and HyunSa. When everything related to them will be solved, you’ll be completely happy.

You were welcomed by the queen’s servants and sewers from the village. They came to present to you, in secret, beautiful dresses, shoes, jewelry and hanbok. The queen said it was her welcome gift for you. She was happy that you were sharing JiYong’s life. She could have been jealous and tried to chase you away from him but she was genuinely happy for her friend. Even if the latter was her husband.

“Y/n, I was honest when I told you I want to know you better. To befriend you. Please accept it as a proof of my good intentions. I’ve never seen JiYong this happy, he smiles a lot now. He was not used to smiling. You make my friend a happy man and I cannot be more grateful for that’.

“This is a little strange, Mama. I’m not gonna lie. But, I’ll get used to it”.

“Thank you Y/n. Now, I have something really special for you. I want you to look at it”

Were spread out on her bed, 3 magnificent pieces of clothing in white silk, lace and satin that you had never seen before. It was so short and delicate, you couldn't imagine that someone could wear such things.

“What’s this?” you asked, dumbfounded.

“This, my dear, are 3 beautiful nightdresses that I may have made sew for you only. Nobody else in the kingdom has those pieces of clothing”

“But, it’s so small… it doesn’t cover anything and I’m sure we can see through it”

She laughed, genuinely amused by your naivety.

“Yes, it’s exactly the point! The only purpose of these is to please your man’s eyes. You wear it under your handbok and he’ll have a beautiful surprise when he discovers it on you. Or, if you’re willing, you wear it alone and surprise him wearing only that”

“You wear clothes like that?”

“Oh! Yes! Believe me, it pleased SoYoung eyes a lot” she was sad when she mentioned it but she collected herself. “It’s also common for the honeymoon night among nobles”. 

“But do you think JiYong will love it? Isn't it vulgar?”

“It would please every man in this world. JiYong included. Well, maybe not every one of them, cause we all have our thing, right?!”

“I’m not sure Mama, I don’t want to be indecent”

“Take it with you, you can show it to him first, if you’re not sure. JiYong is open minded. Trust me!”

“I don’t know if I have the confidence to wear such a nightdress. I feel like I would ruin the expected effect” you said, caressing the soft fabric.

“Y/n, you are so beautiful, please don’t say that. Look at you! How can you not be proud of this pretty face? Of that body shape? It’s a shame. Plus, I noticed how our majesty looks at you… There is no doubt he found you beautiful as well”.

“Thank you Mama”.

“HyeJin, please. Call me HyeJin”.

The maids laid the new garments in silk paper and placed them in beautiful boxes. You let them bring your new things to your new room. You weren’t used to receiving gifts or even less being served. You took the time to thank everyone, including the Queen for this magnificent gift. She seemed trustful, after all.

You carefully unboxed everything yourself and placed it in the cupboard JiYong had liberated for you. You’ll think about the nightdress, you were not so sure about it. But you loved the affection mark HyeJin had for you. 

During the afternoon, JiYong called you out in the executive room.  He wanted you to be there, when he would declare his new law valid. He wanted you to be by his side when he was giving the orders to his ministers. The moment was solem and touching. It was meaningful for you and you wished your friends would have been here to celebrate the official end of slavery with you.

The king had taken all the precautions to make sure the owners of the slaves would free them or send them to the palace. Not a single slave should be killed unless their masters want to receive the same treatment. He made sure to send a messenger on every single property that has slaves. Making sure each and every one of them would receive the good information. 

“I’m so proud of you. So, so proud” you told him as soon as everybody had left the room. He was sitting on his throne while you were standing in front of him.  He reached out and drew you to him, his arms encircling your waist and his nose nuzzling your stomach while you played with his hair.

“Thank you my love. I couldn’t have done it without you. Without your work, the japanese emperor would be still receiving the wrong documents and not only there would have been even more slaves but we could have been in war, too. I’m grateful for your help and I’m grateful to have you in my life”

“I’m happy I helped Ji. Working with you on those documents was fun. I could work like that every single day of my life”.

“Actually, I might take your words. Would you like to be our official translator? You could translate the stories written by the authors. Like, people cannot read the japanese authors, right? You could translate in korean for them.  Countries have so much to learn from each other’

“Aaaw! This is such a good idea. Yes! I want to do it. I love to write, I love to use feathers and ink and parchment. And we could work side by side, when you are doing paperwork. I’m so happy! Mama was right, you really are open mind” You gently guided his chin up to kiss him. 

“Oooh, you saw HyeJin? How is she? Still crying over the traitor?” he asked, half serious.

“She’ll be over him, hopefully. We should introduce her to TaeHyung. I’m sure they would be a perfect fit”.  

“Yah! My woman is really clever! What a good idea”

 You kissed him again as the thunder was heard, growling loud and long. The rain was about to fall. You had a thought for your friends, out on a mission to track down SoYoung. You hoped they were protected from the storm. The front door opened suddenly, making you jump even stronger than the storm. It was YoungBae, breathless. It’s your name that he called.

“Y/n! Y/n! You have to come here, please. Come fast. Run! You too, Cheon Ha!”

Trusting your man’s first counselor and principal guard, you obeyed without further ado. When you walked towards him, he bowed at you with his most genuine smile.

“Look” he said, he said, pointing in a direction.

Tae, Seo and the guards who had left for the mission arrived in the public square of the palace. All of them on their horses, their chin up in the air on their mounts.  It took you a few seconds to realise that on the horse next to Seo, was a tinier person holding a baby against her chest, held by a piece of cloth tied around her. HyunSa and MiNa were here.

“Oh lord! Oh Lord! Is this true?”.

You didn’t lose time and you ran towards them, followed by YoungBae. JiYong stayed behind, smiling tenderly at the scene. Not aware that the king was supposed to be the one welcoming the soldiers coming back from a mission, you exclaimed:

“HyunSa! MiNa! I can’t believe that you are here! Thank you! Oh lord! Thank you!” YoungBae helped her get down from the horse. You couldn’t hold your tears as you were hugging your friend carefully taking care not to crush MiNa.

“She is not even a bit happy to see us back” you heard Tae joke from behind her.

“Take MiNa out of that thing! I want to hold her too. Oh! My! God! Thank you” you cried with baby MiNa against your heart, big fat happy tears running down your cheeks. You patted her little back and kissed her cheeks while telling her how beautiful she was.

“She’s older now, but she didn’t gain a lot of weight, we’ll have to feed her. I’m so relieved that she’s here” not all the children born on the plantation survived those conditions. The majority died after their first months. 

“It’s over now, it’s all behind us SaSa. You’ll see, we’re really happy here” you wanted to chase that sad look HyunSa had on her face. Now that you know MinHo wanted you back, you’re sure he took his revenge on the other slaves when you left. 

“I know, Seo told me so many good things, about life on the palace. About the people here and in the villages around” she answered with a weak voice. She seemed tired and she had lost weight. A lot of weight. “By the way, as soon as I have the chance, I would like to ask an audience with the king. I want to give him my gratitude. I hope he will accept to meet me.” she didn’t notice JiYong’s presence although he was austentatory wearing his royal robe, his crown and his jewels. There was no doubt he was the king. He walked towards you but kept a certain distance. 

“You don’t need to thank me HyunSa. It’s my duty as the King to take care of the people in my kingdom. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you here sooner and that you had to suffer longer than your friends.” he exclaimed in a calm and assured voice, lowering his head in her direction. HyunSa’s jaw dropped open. She could never have imagined that the king himself would mingle with the people. Or even less that he could bow at her.

“SeoJoon, TaeHyung! Welcome back! I’m glad to see you again. I know a woman that will be relieved, now that her friends are reunited”. He smiled, looking in your direction.

Shocked, HyunSa looked at you. You smiled brightly at her. You were always a little surprised when you noticed the way people reacted to JiYong. But to see your friend, made you realise even more that indeed, it was the king that was sharing your life now. With his responsibility and his status. With the effect he has on people.

“Cheon Ha? Are you really the king? Please don’t look at me, I’m not presentable right now, I am covered in dust and mug” she said before she knelt down before him. 

“It’s normal, considering you’ve been riding for a while. May I have a look on that little girl I have heard a lot of? She looks like you, SeoJoon, she has your dimples. What a beautiful baby!” He said, smiling brightly at MiNa.The affection oozing out of his eyes is making your heart melt.

There was a tradition in the kingdom that when the king holds a baby, the latter will be fortunate and live happily ever after. HyunSa knew it and she took MiNa from your arms and placed her directly in JiYong’s. Laughing, he welcomed the little girl and caressed her little hair tenderly. Your heartbeat fastened at the view, he must have been such a wonderful father when Chan was a baby. 

“Welcome to the palace little MiNa. I wish you’ll have a happy and healthy life among us. I have the strange intuition that I will see you very often” he said, smiling in your direction.

HyunSa was crying happy tears, happy that her girl had received the king’s blessing. She also seemed confused about what was going on between you and JiYong. She had the feeling that it was more than an official relation. Damn Seo! He didn’t tell her while they were riding.

SeoJoon came by your side. He pushed TaeHyung who was hugging you, kissed your cheek and bowed at the king. 

“Y/n, you look even more happy than when I left. I can’t wait for you to tell me what happened while I was away” He turned towards JiYong. “Majesty, we have to discuss as soon as possible. Jang MinHo is following us. He’s probably 4 or 5 hours behind. He didn’t like the way I took my wife back. You might receive his complaint.” He said, proudly encircling his wife’s waist. “We learned that your brother and chancellor Kyo had escaped in Japan. I’m sorry we couldn’t catch them”

“No worry about MinHo, the palace is already on high alert. You’ll tell me more about it later.  Go freshen up and eat in your old room for now. I’ll ask the maids to prepare a little house for you and your family. Would you prefer in the village or inside the palace border?”

“The closest I can be to my friend” HyunSa answered “Thank you Cheon Ha, we’ll be working hard to repay for all of this. Thank you so much”

“Love” he surprisingly called you, in front of Tae, Seo, HyunSa and YoungBae. Tae was lifting you in his arms again, turning around from happiness.

“Tae, our king is calling me” you said, tapping on his shoulder to have his attention.

“Nah, he’s talking to the queen. Ooooh…. Sorry, Cheon Ha” His eyebrows shoot up in surprise at the endearing way the king called you. But no sooner than that, it morphed into genuine happiness. Like it suddenly clicked into place and everything made sense. His boxy grin rapidly spread across his face as he dropped you back on the ground.

“Love, can you go with HyunSa? Mrs Lin will assign them a house. Can you help them with all they might need? You’ll be escorted, please don’t go anywhere without your guards”. 

“Yes, I can do, of course” you shyly bowed at him. It was strange to be ceremonial with the man you share your bed with. But it was a little funny at the same time. He came over and whispered in your ear, so that no one could hear.

“I’ll come back later. Please stay safe, meanwhile. I love you”. 

Closing your eyes in contentment when you heard those words, you told him you love him back. “so much…” You were trying the best you could to keep a poker face but every one that knows you could tell, the king had told you something that made you melt like jelly. As soon as his face moved away from yours, he was no longer your lover. He had become the king again, authoritarian, cold and serious. He left the public square place, escorted by Young Bae and his guards. The men needed to talk about the mission, about his brother and about MinHo. HyunSa came closer and poked your side.

“What’s going on between you and our majesty? How can he talk to you in your ear and you’re still alive? I would have died! He’s the king Y/n… This is amazing. And he’s so handsome, I never saw such a perfect face before, it’s almost like he has been drawn by the gods themselves!!” 

“He’s handsome, indeed. Have you seen his piercing and intelligent eyes? And his cute smile? Aaaaw! It makes me feel warm, just thinking of it” you said, dreamily. “I know, he’s the king but... I was working with him, in secret. It's a long story that I will tell you later. But we were alone together for many days, working in his office. I got to know him, the real him. Slowly, something strong built between us and we fell in love with each other. To me, he’s just JiYong and we live together, now”.

“You call him by his name? Have you lost your mind? WHAT? You what?” she was shocked at your revelations, not processing any of it, yet. “I thought he was married already? Is the queen alive? What’s going on?” she asked, question marks all over her face. 

“I’ll explain everything my lovely Sasa. Now, let’s go to your new house. I’m so glad that you are here. We’ll chat like we used to. Give me my little girl. I missed her so much”

“Is that really true, Y/n? Is this over for real?” HyunSa asked.

“You probably don’t know yet, it just happened. The king had sent messages all over the country. All the slaves will be free from now on. You are not a slave anymore, HyunSa. And your daughter will never be one, either”. 

“Woah!  Can it be really the truth? What does it mean, exactly? How am I gonna live?”

“It means that from now on, you’ll be paid for your work, if you decide to have a job. Seo earns enough money for the three of you, you can rest as much as you want. It means that from now on, you have civil rights and the laws will apply for you too. I know, it may sound surreal, I couldn’t believe it either. But trust me, it’s all true. Our king is the greatest man I know.”

“I can tell… But it’s still hard to believe” 

“You’ll get used to it, little by little. Come, you need to rest”

You followed Mrs Lin in the new house your friends will inhabit. The rain was flooding you but none of you noticed. The most important thing is that you were reunited, finally. And that slavery was forbidden from now on. Jang MinHo will never have any power on you, your friends or anyone. It was over. 

Chapter 18

You have spent the rest of the afternoon at HyunSa’s house. When you arrived, you hid from Mrs Lin in a little spot in the house and told your friend everything between you and JiYong. She couldn't believe it! She was shocked. You held MiNa on you the whole time, it was almost as if the baby recognised you, which was impossible because she was so small when you left the plantation. But she felt safe in your arms and she smiled a lot, trying to grab your hair or your mouth with her little fingers while she was babbling.

EunMin, the official cook for the royal family, had come and brought something for MiNa. She had come by herself, which was surprising but in a good way.

“Duljjae mama (second mama, second queen), my husband has told me that there was a baby that needed to be fed. I personally prepared vegetable purees mixed with oat or barley.  You have variety so, depending on the baby’s preferences, you can choose. Tell me when you need more or if you have a special demand”. 

“Duljjae mama? Why are you calling me like that?” you were shocked.

“We all call you like that since you live with our majesty, duljjae mama”.

“Oooh! I see. But there is no need to be official with me, I’m just Y/n. Ok? Please? I don’t want to be a queen!”

“I will try”.

“Come and sit with me would you? You’re YoungBae’s wife, right? I love him. He’s a genuine man. He’s protective of JiYong, sorry… of our majesty and me. You’re lucky to have him in your life”.

“He only has good words for you too, duljjae mama. He said you were bringing joy inside the king’s heart. If you have any special demand for your meals, please just let me know. I would like to add dishes that you like on the menu”.

“I’m sure that our little prince keeps you busy enough, already” you laughed. “But I’d like to share a cup of tea with you sometimes, if you want of course”.

“Ooooh! It would be my honour”.

You have given MiNa all the food she wanted, you let her drink as much milk as she needed. You wanted her to gain weight, she was so petite and delicate. You didn’t tell your friend who was mostly sleeping today but MiNa looked pale and sick. It concerned you.

“Mrs Lin, is there a way to bring the doctor here? I would like him to auscultate my friends, just to make sure everyone is completely fine”.

‘It’s not for you to ask, miss. It’s an order the king, the queen or the prince have to give”.

“Hum Hum,” Jiyong cleared his throat from behind you. You turn around with a surprise to see Jiyong arrive with Seojoon at his heels as people shuffled around and scattered about the room to make room for the king. Upon arrival, Jiyong’s eyes scanned the room as they automatically settle on you. A tender smile gracing his lips. Almost like, everyone else in that room was insignificant compared to your presence. 

“From now on, you will be taking orders from Miss Y/n too, Mrs. Lin,” He stated, a firm stance in his voice, his gaze was not directed at her, but his tone proved his authority, “She is someone important to me, the woman I’m sharing my life with. Therefore, I would like it if you obey her as well. I’m sure she will have reasonable demands.”

You shyly looked up at Jiyong at the overwhelming love and consideration he showed towards you. This was probably the first time he acknowledged your relationship among people who aren’t you, the queen or the little prince. It made your heart flutter and you couldn’t tear your eyes away from his. If you weren’t surrounded by so many people or if you were in the privacy of your quarters, you were pretty sure, you’d probably just jump him and kiss him stupid. 

Out of the corner of your eyes, you were sure SeoJoon being the protective older brother he was, was sending the King, “You better take care of my sister or I’ll kill you”, glances. To which Jiyong just sent him another reassuring smile. The whole thing was so adorable, you weren’t sure if your heart could take more of it in the time span of one single day.

“Yes, CheonHa” Mrs Lin said, bowing as she left the room backwards. EunMin left with her, with the promise to come back tomorrow to check on the baby’s eating and health evolution. She kept you company today and she was adorable, you were happy that you got to know her. JiYong came closer and whispered in your ear so only you can hear: “Mrs Lin is the mother of one of my ex-courtesan. I guess she has a little something against me. Don’t take it personal, love”.

It was already the evening, the day went so fast! SeoJoon stood in front of you and reached his arms to have his daughter.

“Thank you, Y/n, thank you CheonHa. I too, would like to know if everything is fine with my girls”.

HyunSa, who had slept ever since she arrived, came by her man’s side. He drew her to him with one arm and placed his hand around her waist. You were never used to seeing any affection marks between them, Seo being private most of the time. But he missed her so much, he probably couldn’t help himself.

“Do you think you’ll have one baby on your own?” he teased you and JiYong. The comment made you sad. Considering your life on the plantation, you had come to the conclusion that you couldn’t get pregnant.

“I don’t know… Seo, don’t talk about it” you shyly said, uncomfortable.

“Love, I don’t have to hide my feelings here, right? So let me kiss you. I’ve missed you so much the 3 hours we were apart” He said in front of still under shock HyunSa. He drew you to him and kissed you, his arms encircling your waist. You tenderly combed his hair with your fingers. You couldn’t resist their softness. You hid your nose in the crook of his neck as soon as your lips parted.  SeoJoon couldn’t contain his joy.

“Yes, they will certainly have little babies real soon”. he joked.

“That would make me very happy,” the king said, smiling at you.

Three little knocks were heard. YoungBae and TaeHyung came in, agitated. Even if the situation was serious, Tae took one second to kiss MiNa’s head and pat her little back.

“CheonHa, MinHo had killed a guard in the woods. He stripped him of his clothes. We think he stole his uniform to get closer to the palace without making waves.  HaeChoo was making a round in the woods, he found the guard, he died in his arms”. Curiously, it’s Tae that delivered the message to the king. Not YoungBae.

JiYong was furious. He should have never let him go. But he had nothing that justified his detention and he didn’t want to become this kind of king. The ones who let his hatred rule the kingdom. But he regretted his decision. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes.

“Who’s dead? he wanted to know.

“EunMin’s brother” YoungBae answered.

“Oh, noooo!” you exclaimed. “Your wife’s brother?”

“Yes, duljjae mama. She doesn’t know yet, I’ll tell her as soon as I have the permission to leave”

The name surprised the king, Seo and Tae but none of them said anything about it.

“I’m sorry for your loss, YoungBae. He was a brave soldier, as far as I know. Too young to die…” Jiyong said.

“I guess, you’ll have another meeting tonight? I think I will go visit your wife after she knows, if you don’t mind YoungBae. I don’t want her to be alone in times like this”.

“No, no, no! There is nothing we can do for tonight. YoungBae, we’ll meet at the first hour tomorrow morning. You go and take care of her, we’ll handle the rest for now. Tae, you’ll be in charge of the operations for the night.  I want the soldiers to do their rounds in groups of three or four. They also have to stay close to the border. Seo, Tae, I want you to assist tomorrow. We’ll be discussing military strategy. I count on you”.

“Yes, CheonHa” they answered in one voice.

“Good. Now, everybody else but Tae, you take the rest of the night, it’s an order. We all need to rest, the last couple of days were hectics”.

‘Yes, CheonHa”

You called YoungBae before he left:

“I met EunMin today, she’s a lovely person. If I can do anything for you and for her, please don’t be shy to ask me. I’m really sad for you, I know what it is to lose his family”.

“Thank you, I appreciate it. I will be going, if you don’t mind. It will be a tough night”.

Tae left along with YoungBae. He was clinging to his arm, like if he wanted to comfort him. You heard them exchange some words before they left in different directions. Turning to your man, you took his hand in yours and spontaneously kissed his palm, something you never did before.

“You’ll rest too, Ji. You need to sleep as well”.

“Yes, love! I’ll obey you” he joked.

He kissed your temple under the ‘whews’ and the ‘oooh’ of Seo. 

  “Are you sure, their arrival is a good thing” JiYong asked, forcing himself not to laugh when he noticed their stunned faces “I have the feeling that they will be teasing us way too much for my liking”.

“Yeah, give them a mission far far away from here’ you add, playing along with your man.

“Good idea! Come home my love. Let’s plot something as we go home” he joked and you left, your arm under his.