takeurexam

[takeurexam]

I FORGOT TO PUT TAGS LMAO 😭

dynasty || XVIII

genre:

non idol au, time travel, romance, rivals to allies to friends to lovers, crown prince to emperor taehyun, reader gets appointed as a concubine

pairing(s):

non!idol taehyun x reader

(warning, this does not reflect the REAL idols personality, and no smut will be written to respect the idol, and i am not comfortable as well, and the taehyun in this ff is not the actual taehyun)

story:

in which you, an excellent law student about to graduate collage suddenly gets dragged into the past, meeting the famous-fawned over emperor of the kang's dynansty. but you getting dragged into this mess was beyond a mystery, and it seems like you have something deep to discover. meddling with the past is a risky decision after all.

▪︎ dynasty masterlist

18. Spring Festival

"Spring in the capital has always arrived early, and has been exceptionally sassy." A few older women gathered together, their bond shared through the season and by washing laundry.

Your ears perked up to the sound of spring, one thing you've been waiting for your whole time travel frenzy. You had arrived at Daedo during fall, and now spring had come. It was a nice experiance especially during the historical times- it was fresh.

"Reminds me, Taehyun did mention something like the spring festival just two days ago." You whisper to yourself, walking around with such thoughts. Your sandals click around the stone path, as you pass around people around the palace.

And with a lot of observation, spring had become the hot topic of the palace. Every person you had passed, majority women- had been talking about the upcoming spring festival.

Spring just didn't mean the season, the season of blooming of flowers, or the warmth. Love lingers around the air of spring, and thats a big reason why women talk about it a lot.

Now based on your conclusions, the spring festival was something held around this time of spring. It had arrived early, and wrapped the people in its season.

"Oh, hello!" A boy about your age bows infront of you once you both crossed paths. He seemed to be a merchant, not familliar with his way in the palace. His clothing had looked like someone from overseas, and his sweating face tells a lot that he was running around.

"Hey...?" Your lips close, feeling awkward.

"I was sent by General Beomgyu to call for you." The boy smiled, panting and catching his breath. You shrug, seeing nothing wrong in his words. But if you were to be kidnapped, then you'll blame the universe for it. "Okay. I'll follow."

You both had arrived at his office, the warriors training infront gave off "dedicated general" vibes, to where he had pushed the warriors to their limits, which oddly enough made you feel a lot more responsible.

The boy, who's name you still didn't know, announces your arrival, which silence arrives, but you dont care and just bid farewell to the escort.

"Ehem, he said that her grace has arrived." You barge in the door, welcomed by the wooden and dark office, filled with books and swords in display. This multiplied the "I feel responsible" effect up to ten times more.

"Ew." You catch sight of Kang Taehyun, to he replies with an eye roll, and there stands the General who had called for you. "So, whats up again? Are you here to tell me how spring has bloomed and I'm required to unfortunately go to the festival?" You say, rambling on with your head.

The whole room goes silent.

"I'm right, aren't I...?" You sigh, as your voice fades over time.

"Yeah." General Beomgyu replies, as the Crown Prince laughs with his hearts content, holding the table to prevent him from falling. He laughs as if the world were to collapse, or he was infected by a laughing plague.

You clear your throat, annoyed by his burst of emotion. "Funny? Ha. Ha. Funny." You sarcastically laugh, crossing your arms after rolling your eyes at him. Taehyun laughed harder, as your annoyance added fuel to his amusement.

General Beomgyu wishes his leave lasted a lot longer, which he feels himself wish for another one. He clears his throat at the both of you, slamming the scroll down at the table, which makes the room silent.

"This scroll was sent to one of my guards, without approval and with secrecy. Good enough, my guard showed me the content, and asked if I was aware- which I was not. They even included a meet up place and specifics." He discussed the matters with you, and probably was reporting another stir around the palace.

"It was a letter signed by the Cheol family, and was discussing about the upcoming Spring Festival, to which a national treasure was to be kept safe by the guards and to await their arrival," He opens the letter, and points towards a paragraph. "To where they will steal it without permission, to where it 'really' belonged."

You nodded, grasping the situation. "What exactly is this national treasure they want?"

"It's something the Cheol family used to own, when my great great grandfather had the throne." Prince Taehyun answers, seeming to know the answer.

After all, he was royalty. "The head of the Cheol family owned a sword which played part in a war they fought in. They brought home victory, making the sword a family heirloom."

"The Cheol family's head decided to make it a national treasure, removing it from their hands and instead giving it to the kingdom, to be shown and adored during around the spring festival- where they took home victory from the war." He finished narrating such a story.

You felt surprised, that the Kang dynasty had a lot more depth in history than you knew. "Well, by attending, what's our agenda?"

General Beomgyu answers, "We'll be going in disguise."

The day of the festival had come, where the flowers bloom and bustling streets erupt, spring it was. Everything felt warm and fresh, as the beautiful breeze crawled up to your skin- you watched as everyone had felt the same as you, wearing their best, running around children, and the merchants selling products in season.

And by disguise, you never accepted to look bad. You wore a beautiful piece that reflected "spring" by cloth, and by design, it was the flowers that bloomed during the season, it's colors representing them.

The only thing you hated that it was the dress that Kang Taehyun had unfortunately, gotten you. A beautiful piece can be so beautiful, yet the intention behind it makes your blood boil.

"You really did not accept to be unsatisfying with your disguise." General Beomgyu walks up behind you, he wore something out of his usual armor. He seemed like a nobleman, someone out to do business rather than fighting.

"You look good too yourself. But won't your disguise be recognized due to your famous or infamous face?" You tilt your head, observing how much his disguise covered him.

He chuckles, "I am barely recognized unless I am seen face to face in the prison. And if I am- I have a hat to cover." He tilts his hat, showcading his so called disguise. You laugh, finding him appealing somehow with his outfit.

"General!" Your heart jumps, startled by the sudden greeting. A boy bowed at Beomgyu, and was most likely someone who served him. His face was covered, making you crouch a little to try and peek at his face.

The boy lifts his face up, revealing he was the escort who brought you to the General's office two days ago.

"Oh! My Grace!" He bows once again.

"Long time no see!" You smile, bowing a little at him. He then lifts his head up, revealing the boy smiling sweetly. "I'm Huening Kai, I serve General Beomgyu as a personal assitant and a guard at the royal palace." He introduces himself, bowing again.

You clap, "Woah, it looks like General Beomgyu has good eyes for help. Do you both work for the palace and the Choi household?" You tilt your head, curious.

"Something like that." Kai replies, smiling at you once again.

"Ack! He's sweet as hell, General, when must you learn from this educated boy?" You tease Beomgyu, pushing your arm onto his, which he reacts dramatically to. He pulls away and shrugs, yet his face is clearly offended.

You laugh, absolutely forgetting you lacked one more member in the disguise team.

"Spring arrived so early, and has been exceptionally sassy." A man beside you spoke, making you jump once again, your heart startled that it threathened to leap out. "What is up with people surprising me today?" You scoff.

You eye him up and down, preparing to share your remark. "And what is up with that "exceptionally sassy" line? I've heard it atleast so many times." You shout at the boy, tired of hearing the same line over and over again. It's as if originality never ceased to exist.

"Whats your problem?" The blurred man from your vision turned out to be the missing diguise member, Prince Taehyun, scoffed at you. "It's a famous line from a famous poet. You're outdated, you don't even know the great poet Ae-sun."

"You're dramatic." You snort, holding back laughter. You return your gaze back at spring's ray on the kingdom, admiring the well decorated flowers and the touch of humanity to add to that beauty.

After officially two days from your meeting at General Beomgyu's office, you four had officially initiated the plan of preventing the nations treasure to be placed in the wrong hands.

It was discussed that they would use the main center event of the festival, exactly happening today. A distraction amongst the people as they work behind the scenes.

You sighed, and thought to yourself. "I'm thinking that the Cheol family muat be plotting something else that meets the eye. Regaining the sword does nothing, yet the intention behind it holds deep meaning."

"It must be something related to the politics of the country. Is to regain the glory of their family once again to try and aim for the throne?" You nod to yourself, thinking the possibility was high.

Taehyun drifts his gaze to you, noticing your mind wandering to somewhere else. He smirks, turning his body towards yours. "Mind floating? Where are we supposed to be then?"

You snap out of it, noticing the teasing man beside you. "Right here." Your fingers fly around imitating an airplane, then you suddenly flick his forehead. He winces, holding his forehead as if he was stabbed.

Cackling, the two other men stare at you as if you just cursed someone, General Beomgyu sighing, and Kai holding back a snort, in fear of being drifted out the palace.

"Okay, the sun is about to set, so we should get going!" Kai smiles, pointing towards the road ahead. You two stop bickering, both nodding in unison forgetting the limited time ahead.

As you four walked through out the busy spring festival, where stalls stand, full of games, food and accesories, and more shows where beautiful dancers sway along with the wind. Spring was beautiful, full of life and beauty.

"General, are you here to find- OW!" Kai nudges his arm, teasing about finding a spring date for tonight. It seemed that General Beomgyu wasn't ready to open his heart, yet.

"Shoo! Let him open his heart at the right moment, maybe he'll bring her to the next festival." You giggle, nudging Beomgyu's other arm. You and Kai looked like worms snuggling into Beomgyu, teasing him about a spring date.

Beomgyu scoffs, annoyed at you pests. "You ask him." He looks at the Crown Prince, "He'll need to find a Crown Princess to bring here before he becomes Emperor."

You raise a brow, suddenly having a realization. "In history, as I remember a litte too well, Kang Taehyun never had a wife. Wonder how this turns out after a little altering?"

"You're rushing me too much, Beomgyu." Taehyun chuckles, "And besides, we'll need to succeed in this mission before I can still get my throne." He crosses his arms, seeming to enjoy the warm and playful atmosphere.

"So we have the same theory?" You think as you look at him, catching eye contact with him. He continues, not daring to break the contact between your eyes. He saw the lit up lanterns with flowers in the reflection of your eyes along with his figure.

You notice too, how his eyes drifted onto nowhere else but your figure. It's as if he blurred the things behind you, and had highlighted you.

Feeling awkward, you cough to break eye contact with him. Once you do, he follows, feeling the same awkwardness as you felt.

"Okay, here we are." Kai calls out, as the squad stops infront of a building which seemed to look like a normal fancy shop, where fancy stuff like gold toads, decor, and the building full of marble.

"Wait." You halt, stopping all of them in their tracks. You clear your throat, as if you were to announce such an important thing. "We need a squad name." Which was really far from that.

They all give you a blank stare, confused onto why you needed one. "Why?" General Beomgyu was the first to reply.

Kai on the hand nods, "I think it would be nice."

And Taehyun surprisingly was the last to reply. "That's-" He felt like he didn't need to continue any further.

"Well, you know- to refer to our selves instead of saying "we're actually spies from the palace" which would be awkward." You answer. "I say we should be named "Kang Possible," it sounds nice. It makes us believe that giving Taehyun the throne is possible. Pretty good, huh?"

They blink at you, concerned whether you were sick in the head or just really serious. "Kang Possible~" Kai sings, giving off that old disney series vibe. "See? Kai got it." You clap.

"Let's just go in." Beomgyu sighs, stepping forward and leaving you three behind. You trail behind him, stepping into a leap of danger.

"Excuse me, I'm here for this." Kai changes his tone into something serious, like a true guard. He shows the letter to the saleslady, in which the girl nods, pointing towards a basement level in the building. "Please go down there, then someone will meet you."

"Thank you. I've brought backup." You all bow at her, going down to the ground level she had pointed. Who knew such a building would contain the national treasure, and to find it's way all the way down there.

The four of you head down, going through a series of stone walls with torches attatched over the sides. It seemed like a typical dungeon of all sorts, but it looked fitting for something to hide the sword.

"Wait, once we've reached the sword, what are we supposed to do then?" You ask, remembering nothing about the plan for escaping nor what to do with the sword itself.

"..." No one answers.

"You guys haven't planned this?!"

You raise your hand up towards them. "I'm about to slap you all!" They flinch, backing up far away from you to avoid your rage. "Even you, Beomgyu?!" You point at him, feeling the most annoyed with him.

"I had nothing to do with this." He crosses his arms, seeming to avoid the topic. You then turn your head to the other two, who also turn their head away from you.

"So we stepped here, with no plan?" You cross your arms, all of you stopping your tracks somewhere in the middle of heading down.

"I'm joking. The sword will be transfered to safety by Huening Kai, and will be guarded in one of the palace safes." General Beomgyu chuckles, holding your shoulder to pat you to calm down. You manage to, sighing a breath of relief. "We've placed guards outside to transfer it instead of us, which would be a risky move. Then, Taehyun will make an appearance infront of the palace with me to officially welcome the festival- a perfect cover up."

You smile, "You three almost made me kill you all."

They gulp.

"Finally." You huff, "Those stairs made me lose five pounds of weight." The four of you made it to the room where the sword lays, hanged over the wall with ornaments decorated to avoid such an empty room.

The sword was beautifully made, it's handle perfect for people fighting for the victory of the country, it's brown sharpened hold adds a nice touch of bravery to the vibe, and its golden gem placed to represent the shining aura of the country.

"Okay, Kai, take the sword." Taehyun commands, holding out the scabbard. Kai places the sword into Taehyun's scabbard, as he closes it and places it down to his belt.

Beomgyu checks the area for one more time, analyzing it carefully for anything wrong. He sees nothing and nods at the rest of you. You all escalate to the floor, preparing the last stages of execution of your plan.

"Oh, why did you four go up?" The saleslady hears the footsteps from the stairs, as she goes to check the noise.

The three boys carry your body like a piece of wood as they shout, "She couldn't handle the stairs! She fainted!" They march towards the exit, ignoring the saleslady further to avoid more drama which could lead to confession. You laid against their palms as they carry you up high, tongue out pretending to faint.

The sword was hidden inside your body, somewhere not seen due to you being carried.

Second to the last execution plan complete then.

>next chapter

<previous chapter

authors note:

if being a spy is mentioned, my head will always think kim possible LOL anyways thanks for readingg ♡

taglist(open):

@stormy1408 @eclipse777 @yeovnjin

♡

[takeurexam]

dynasty || XVIII

genre:

non idol au, time travel, romance, rivals to allies to friends to lovers, crown prince to emperor taehyun, reader gets appointed as a concubine

pairing(s):

non!idol taehyun x reader

(warning, this does not reflect the REAL idols personality, and no smut will be written to respect the idol, and i am not comfortable as well, and the taehyun in this ff is not the actual taehyun)

story:

in which you, an excellent law student about to graduate collage suddenly gets dragged into the past, meeting the famous-fawned over emperor of the kang's dynansty. but you getting dragged into this mess was beyond a mystery, and it seems like you have something deep to discover. meddling with the past is a risky decision after all.

▪︎ dynasty masterlist

18. Spring Festival

"Spring in the capital has always arrived early, and has been exceptionally sassy." A few older women gathered together, their bond shared through the season and by washing laundry.

Your ears perked up to the sound of spring, one thing you've been waiting for your whole time travel frenzy. You had arrived at Daedo during fall, and now spring had come. It was a nice experiance especially during the historical times- it was fresh.

"Reminds me, Taehyun did mention something like the spring festival just two days ago." You whisper to yourself, walking around with such thoughts. Your sandals click around the stone path, as you pass around people around the palace.

And with a lot of observation, spring had become the hot topic of the palace. Every person you had passed, majority women- had been talking about the upcoming spring festival.

Spring just didn't mean the season, the season of blooming of flowers, or the warmth. Love lingers around the air of spring, and thats a big reason why women talk about it a lot.

Now based on your conclusions, the spring festival was something held around this time of spring. It had arrived early, and wrapped the people in its season.

"Oh, hello!" A boy about your age bows infront of you once you both crossed paths. He seemed to be a merchant, not familliar with his way in the palace. His clothing had looked like someone from overseas, and his sweating face tells a lot that he was running around.

"Hey...?" Your lips close, feeling awkward.

"I was sent by General Beomgyu to call for you." The boy smiled, panting and catching his breath. You shrug, seeing nothing wrong in his words. But if you were to be kidnapped, then you'll blame the universe for it. "Okay. I'll follow."

You both had arrived at his office, the warriors training infront gave off "dedicated general" vibes, to where he had pushed the warriors to their limits, which oddly enough made you feel a lot more responsible.

The boy, who's name you still didn't know, announces your arrival, which silence arrives, but you dont care and just bid farewell to the escort.

"Ehem, he said that her grace has arrived." You barge in the door, welcomed by the wooden and dark office, filled with books and swords in display. This multiplied the "I feel responsible" effect up to ten times more.

"Ew." You catch sight of Kang Taehyun, to he replies with an eye roll, and there stands the General who had called for you. "So, whats up again? Are you here to tell me how spring has bloomed and I'm required to unfortunately go to the festival?" You say, rambling on with your head.

The whole room goes silent.

"I'm right, aren't I...?" You sigh, as your voice fades over time.

"Yeah." General Beomgyu replies, as the Crown Prince laughs with his hearts content, holding the table to prevent him from falling. He laughs as if the world were to collapse, or he was infected by a laughing plague.

You clear your throat, annoyed by his burst of emotion. "Funny? Ha. Ha. Funny." You sarcastically laugh, crossing your arms after rolling your eyes at him. Taehyun laughed harder, as your annoyance added fuel to his amusement.

General Beomgyu wishes his leave lasted a lot longer, which he feels himself wish for another one. He clears his throat at the both of you, slamming the scroll down at the table, which makes the room silent.

"This scroll was sent to one of my guards, without approval and with secrecy. Good enough, my guard showed me the content, and asked if I was aware- which I was not. They even included a meet up place and specifics." He discussed the matters with you, and probably was reporting another stir around the palace.

"It was a letter signed by the Cheol family, and was discussing about the upcoming Spring Festival, to which a national treasure was to be kept safe by the guards and to await their arrival," He opens the letter, and points towards a paragraph. "To where they will steal it without permission, to where it 'really' belonged."

You nodded, grasping the situation. "What exactly is this national treasure they want?"

"It's something the Cheol family used to own, when my great great grandfather had the throne." Prince Taehyun answers, seeming to know the answer.

After all, he was royalty. "The head of the Cheol family owned a sword which played part in a war they fought in. They brought home victory, making the sword a family heirloom."

"The Cheol family's head decided to make it a national treasure, removing it from their hands and instead giving it to the kingdom, to be shown and adored during around the spring festival- where they took home victory from the war." He finished narrating such a story.

You felt surprised, that the Kang dynasty had a lot more depth in history than you knew. "Well, by attending, what's our agenda?"

General Beomgyu answers, "We'll be going in disguise."

The day of the festival had come, where the flowers bloom and bustling streets erupt, spring it was. Everything felt warm and fresh, as the beautiful breeze crawled up to your skin- you watched as everyone had felt the same as you, wearing their best, running around children, and the merchants selling products in season.

And by disguise, you never accepted to look bad. You wore a beautiful piece that reflected "spring" by cloth, and by design, it was the flowers that bloomed during the season, it's colors representing them.

The only thing you hated that it was the dress that Kang Taehyun had unfortunately, gotten you. A beautiful piece can be so beautiful, yet the intention behind it makes your blood boil.

"You really did not accept to be unsatisfying with your disguise." General Beomgyu walks up behind you, he wore something out of his usual armor. He seemed like a nobleman, someone out to do business rather than fighting.

"You look good too yourself. But won't your disguise be recognized due to your famous or infamous face?" You tilt your head, observing how much his disguise covered him.

He chuckles, "I am barely recognized unless I am seen face to face in the prison. And if I am- I have a hat to cover." He tilts his hat, showcading his so called disguise. You laugh, finding him appealing somehow with his outfit.

"General!" Your heart jumps, startled by the sudden greeting. A boy bowed at Beomgyu, and was most likely someone who served him. His face was covered, making you crouch a little to try and peek at his face.

The boy lifts his face up, revealing he was the escort who brought you to the General's office two days ago.

"Oh! My Grace!" He bows once again.

"Long time no see!" You smile, bowing a little at him. He then lifts his head up, revealing the boy smiling sweetly. "I'm Huening Kai, I serve General Beomgyu as a personal assitant and a guard at the royal palace." He introduces himself, bowing again.

You clap, "Woah, it looks like General Beomgyu has good eyes for help. Do you both work for the palace and the Choi household?" You tilt your head, curious.

"Something like that." Kai replies, smiling at you once again.

"Ack! He's sweet as hell, General, when must you learn from this educated boy?" You tease Beomgyu, pushing your arm onto his, which he reacts dramatically to. He pulls away and shrugs, yet his face is clearly offended.

You laugh, absolutely forgetting you lacked one more member in the disguise team.

"Spring arrived so early, and has been exceptionally sassy." A man beside you spoke, making you jump once again, your heart startled that it threathened to leap out. "What is up with people surprising me today?" You scoff.

You eye him up and down, preparing to share your remark. "And what is up with that "exceptionally sassy" line? I've heard it atleast so many times." You shout at the boy, tired of hearing the same line over and over again. It's as if originality never ceased to exist.

"Whats your problem?" The blurred man from your vision turned out to be the missing diguise member, Prince Taehyun, scoffed at you. "It's a famous line from a famous poet. You're outdated, you don't even know the great poet Ae-sun."

"You're dramatic." You snort, holding back laughter. You return your gaze back at spring's ray on the kingdom, admiring the well decorated flowers and the touch of humanity to add to that beauty.

After officially two days from your meeting at General Beomgyu's office, you four had officially initiated the plan of preventing the nations treasure to be placed in the wrong hands.

It was discussed that they would use the main center event of the festival, exactly happening today. A distraction amongst the people as they work behind the scenes.

You sighed, and thought to yourself. "I'm thinking that the Cheol family muat be plotting something else that meets the eye. Regaining the sword does nothing, yet the intention behind it holds deep meaning."

"It must be something related to the politics of the country. Is to regain the glory of their family once again to try and aim for the throne?" You nod to yourself, thinking the possibility was high.

Taehyun drifts his gaze to you, noticing your mind wandering to somewhere else. He smirks, turning his body towards yours. "Mind floating? Where are we supposed to be then?"

You snap out of it, noticing the teasing man beside you. "Right here." Your fingers fly around imitating an airplane, then you suddenly flick his forehead. He winces, holding his forehead as if he was stabbed.

Cackling, the two other men stare at you as if you just cursed someone, General Beomgyu sighing, and Kai holding back a snort, in fear of being drifted out the palace.

"Okay, the sun is about to set, so we should get going!" Kai smiles, pointing towards the road ahead. You two stop bickering, both nodding in unison forgetting the limited time ahead.

As you four walked through out the busy spring festival, where stalls stand, full of games, food and accesories, and more shows where beautiful dancers sway along with the wind. Spring was beautiful, full of life and beauty.

"General, are you here to find- OW!" Kai nudges his arm, teasing about finding a spring date for tonight. It seemed that General Beomgyu wasn't ready to open his heart, yet.

"Shoo! Let him open his heart at the right moment, maybe he'll bring her to the next festival." You giggle, nudging Beomgyu's other arm. You and Kai looked like worms snuggling into Beomgyu, teasing him about a spring date.

Beomgyu scoffs, annoyed at you pests. "You ask him." He looks at the Crown Prince, "He'll need to find a Crown Princess to bring here before he becomes Emperor."

You raise a brow, suddenly having a realization. "In history, as I remember a litte too well, Kang Taehyun never had a wife. Wonder how this turns out after a little altering?"

"You're rushing me too much, Beomgyu." Taehyun chuckles, "And besides, we'll need to succeed in this mission before I can still get my throne." He crosses his arms, seeming to enjoy the warm and playful atmosphere.

"So we have the same theory?" You think as you look at him, catching eye contact with him. He continues, not daring to break the contact between your eyes. He saw the lit up lanterns with flowers in the reflection of your eyes along with his figure.

You notice too, how his eyes drifted onto nowhere else but your figure. It's as if he blurred the things behind you, and had highlighted you.

Feeling awkward, you cough to break eye contact with him. Once you do, he follows, feeling the same awkwardness as you felt.

"Okay, here we are." Kai calls out, as the squad stops infront of a building which seemed to look like a normal fancy shop, where fancy stuff like gold toads, decor, and the building full of marble.

"Wait." You halt, stopping all of them in their tracks. You clear your throat, as if you were to announce such an important thing. "We need a squad name." Which was really far from that.

They all give you a blank stare, confused onto why you needed one. "Why?" General Beomgyu was the first to reply.

Kai on the hand nods, "I think it would be nice."

And Taehyun surprisingly was the last to reply. "That's-" He felt like he didn't need to continue any further.

"Well, you know- to refer to our selves instead of saying "we're actually spies from the palace" which would be awkward." You answer. "I say we should be named-" As you were about to announce the new name, Taehyun hurried to cut you off.

"No squad names. Never." He coughs, shaking his head to this nonsense.

They blink at you, concerned whether you were sick in the head or just really serious. "That's sad." Kai pouts, actually interested in the idea. "See? Kai got it." You clap.

"Let's just go in." Beomgyu sighs, stepping forward and leaving you three behind. You trail behind him, stepping into a leap of danger.

"Excuse me, I'm here for this." Kai changes his tone into something serious, like a true guard. He shows the letter to the saleslady, in which the girl nods, pointing towards a basement level in the building. "Please go down there, then someone will meet you."

"Thank you. I've brought backup." You all bow at her, going down to the ground level she had pointed. Who knew such a building would contain the national treasure, and to find it's way all the way down there.

The four of you head down, going through a series of stone walls with torches attatched over the sides. It seemed like a typical dungeon of all sorts, but it looked fitting for something to hide the sword.

"Wait, once we've reached the sword, what are we supposed to do then?" You ask, remembering nothing about the plan for escaping nor what to do with the sword itself.

"..." No one answers.

"You guys haven't planned this?!"

You raise your hand up towards them. "I'm about to slap you all!" They flinch, backing up far away from you to avoid your rage. "Even you, Beomgyu?!" You point at him, feeling the most annoyed with him.

"I had nothing to do with this." He crosses his arms, seeming to avoid the topic. You then turn your head to the other two, who also turn their head away from you.

"So we stepped here, with no plan?" You cross your arms, all of you stopping your tracks somewhere in the middle of heading down.

"I'm joking. The sword will be transfered to safety by Huening Kai, and will be guarded in one of the palace safes." General Beomgyu chuckles, holding your shoulder to pat you to calm down. You manage to, sighing a breath of relief. "We've placed guards outside to transfer it instead of us, which would be a risky move. Then, Taehyun will make an appearance infront of the palace with me to officially welcome the festival- a perfect cover up."

You smile, "You three almost made me kill you all."

They gulp.

"Finally." You huff, "Those stairs made me lose five pounds of weight." The four of you made it to the room where the sword lays, hanged over the wall with ornaments decorated to avoid such an empty room.

The sword was beautifully made, it's handle perfect for people fighting for the victory of the country, it's brown sharpened hold adds a nice touch of bravery to the vibe, and its golden gem placed to represent the shining aura of the country.

"Okay, Kai, take the sword." Taehyun commands, holding out the scabbard. Kai places the sword into Taehyun's scabbard, as he closes it and places it down to his belt.

Beomgyu checks the area for one more time, analyzing it carefully for anything wrong. He sees nothing and nods at the rest of you. You all escalate to the floor, preparing the last stages of execution of your plan.

"Oh, why did you four go up?" The saleslady hears the footsteps from the stairs, as she goes to check the noise.

The three boys carry your body like a piece of wood as they shout, "She couldn't handle the stairs! She fainted!" They march towards the exit, ignoring the saleslady further to avoid more drama which could lead to confession. You laid against their palms as they carry you up high, tongue out pretending to faint.

The sword was hidden inside your body, somewhere not seen due to you being carried.

Second to the last execution plan complete then.

>next chapter

<previous chapter

authors note:

ty for reading yall 🥳

taglist(open):

@stormy1408 @eclipse777 @yeovnjin

♡

[takeurexam]

guys sylus fanfic coming soon once again bc he's so appealing to my eyes lately 🥰 !! still thinking abt the concept tho

[takeurexam]

MULTO - caleb x reader

- "My feelings are haunting me."

(Minumulto na ako ng damdamin ko)

- Multo - Cup of Joe

- Multo, which means "ghost," haunts Caleb every night. A breath for air fuels, yet the love that isn't present lingers around his feelings, making it harder to let go of the past he had left. It reflects how his love never left, and constant memories haunt him every night, morning, and day. Your love's shadow holds him even in the light.

- angst, no comfort like just caleb reminiscing, multo is ghost in filipino, i believe in caleb relapsing, it hurts, reader can or can not be mc, but follows the mc and caleb lore but its not specifically for mc, may contain minor spoilers!

His eyes widen, vision tumbling around the room as he breathily awakes, drenched in sweat and his heart pounding. He groans, sitting up against the once comfortable couch he just slept in, taking in the scene.

He takes a breath, holding the silver necklace wrapped around his neck with his hand, and looks at it sitting in his palm- holding it as if it weighs a million in value, yet even a million could not compare to it's value in Caleb's eyes, for it holds his world, his past, his love, and what he felt.

He holds it close to his lips, tightening his grip on the silver chains, afraid to ever let go.

He closed his eyes, reflecting about his dream. He heard a voice, calling out to him, reaching out, and he wanted to reach out- he felt that voice. He knew who it was, and he wanted to be with you once again. But the cruel shackles held him rigidly; even when he dreams, he can't reach you- the purest strings of the intstrument of his life.

He'd been alone for as long as he knew. Yet he always felt your shadow holding into his hands, the rough surface of his palms holding onto nothing. He had accepted that no one was with him, but a mere shadow of his feelings forming around his heart.

The mirror reflected not Caleb, but a captain. Someone who he dreamed of. He felt his heart swell, staring at the mirror with his dead eyes. Who was he, what was he, and why was he doing this?

Captain Caleb brushed the feeling off, as a mere scar bandaged and healing, which took time, yet clears off. He thought no more of it, it was covered, and to be left behind.

Yet Caleb questions himself. It was still there, bandaged yet left a mark. He didn't know why, he didn't understand.

He wishes that the feeling could stop. He prays, he hopes, but a little peace of him wishes to go back with a cost, and he would do anything to pay it. He puts his faith that it stops, not on himself, but the world itself. He trusts, yet wants it to lie.

Because at every look, he sees your face.

Everywhere he goes, you were there. He felt the shadow hold him again, you had implanted feelings into him, and it haunts him. It hurts him, why he couldn't grasp it back, and why it only haunted him, why didn't it touch him? He couldn't really see, feel, and hear you. You were a ghost, a shadow.

He wanted to be burried alive. Not a fake tomb, but he did, he really did.

"I can't be free, huh?" Caleb drinks a sip of his cup, staring right at the large window in his room, watching the night sky wander around. He can never be free from you, you were the blueprint of his life, someone who he cared for, someone he could never forget.

You always had dwelt his mind and dreams every night. It was never stopping. A dream with you is like a nightmare, because it scared him. He was haunted by dreams, yet he couldn't wake up from it. It had your image, it was his last hope of your face fighting against that chip.

You held him in the darkness, your touch warming the dark. He would laugh at himself for missing you, yet he sees it as something to cope with.

He wants you to lit up the light, because his feeling has been haunting him every night, at the dark. You were the candle to the dimly light room, and you'll make him see. He'll see, he'll hear, and he will care.

"Won't you let me go?" Caleb talks to himself, talking to the ghost of his feelings that kept haunting him every night. He struggled enough, he yearned enough, and he couldn't handle the swelling in his heart anymore.

"Was my suffering not enough for you?" He clutches his fist, and he wishes for it to stay like that forever. He wishes to close the hands that always reached out for you in every dream, vision, and prayer.

He could not be in peace. The constant ringing of you, the past, his nature- everything had disrupted his mind. He was visited by memories, feelings, emotions, and it was affecting him hardly.

"You can't let go." You mumble, staring at right at the boy who yearned for you. Who was haunted by your beauty, who was constantly being reminded of you, which dried his eyes out, and the life inside of it.

"You visit me every night." Caleb replies, his voice hoarse and hurting. "I can see and feel you still." His voice cracks, holding himself back to reach out.

"I feel every version, trait, and emotion of you." It was his last time to reach out.

He had grown accustomed to the hauntings, it was what made him. It made him feel connected to himself, where he wasn't just the cold colonel captain among these walls, but he felt that he belonged somewhere, he was loved and cared for.

Even if that love wasn't present with him right now, it makes him feel you somehow. You were there, but only staying around as a shadow to his hands, who held him along his journey.

He can't be free, you won't let him go.

He was haunted by you every night, and suffered.

He can't see you, really. But all he wanted was you to be at peace.

authors note:

0 proofread, just an idea dump

yes to caleb yearning

multo is all over my fyp, and i thought maybe why not try it with caleb <3 guys i swear multo is so good 👌 but here, thanks for reading <3 at syempre, hanggang dito aabot guys HHAHAHHWS

[takeurexam]

dynasty || XVII

genre:

non idol au, time travel, romance, rivals to allies to friends to lovers, crown prince to emperor taehyun, reader gets appointed as a concubine

pairing(s):

non!idol taehyun x reader

(warning, this does not reflect the REAL idols personality, and no smut will be written to respect the idol, and i am not comfortable as well, and the taehyun in this ff is not the actual taehyun)

story:

in which you, an excellent law student about to graduate collage suddenly gets dragged into the past, meeting the famous-fawned over emperor of the kang's dynansty. but you getting dragged into this mess was beyond a mystery, and it seems like you have something deep to discover. meddling with the past is a risky decision after all.

▪︎ dynasty masterlist

17. Factuality

The once bustling street market fades along with the sun as the night approaches, every merchant's end of the day comes with it. A market so alive in the day can be so dead in the night. As it unfolds, the soft and warm night breeze brushes by, making itself known to the capital.

The silhouette of a pair walks down the brick path, watching the people call the curtains on their stores, their every last bit of stock is hidden into a box, and maybe will make use someday. The people gossiping together makes the approaching night more alive- and their voices fade into the backround.

Another set of night merchants approach, those who make the night a little alive and lit, their lanterns in hand as they prepare for a new day.

"If we go back and the Emperor is there with a belt in his hand, I'm stepping you up immediately." You grit your teeth, bothered by how will the Emperor react, which makes you shake up a little, slowly regretting your decision to go out.

Yet even the great regards of regret cannot last. The beautiful sight of the sunset faces the two of you, the castle providing shade yet another decoration for the sun's stage. You can't help but recognize its remarkable beauty.

"Whats wrong with a belt?" Taehyun raises a brow, turning his head towards you for a short moment, since your words lack context for him. You suddenly realize your mistake, yet you replace it for a sheepish smile. "Nothing." He shrugs anyway, looking back right at the road.

"Anyway," you kick a little stone in the way, smacking your lips with a sigh. "Aren't you worried about being scolded for leaving your duties behind?" You cross your arms, looking right at him; your tone shows a confused rather than a worried one. He seems to notice, yet he dosen't take it for granted.

He shrugged, placing his arms by his back. "It's nice to have rest once in a while." He replied, and by the sound of it, he did sound awfully relaxed. His smug expression wasn't that forced or required to show, but merely just naturally showing. Maybe it was his true nature.

He grabbed a leaf passing by in the wind, observing it's condition and color. He then lets it go, returning it to the wind's flow. "It's almost time for the spring festival." You both stop, the wind giving you both a moment of silence.

"You're weird." You scrunch your face, cringing at his actions. He looked at you as if you murdered someone, his eyes widening. "And what did I even do?" His voice cracked, offended by your comment.

"Who even grabs a leaf passing by in the wind? Pfft!" You continue walking, leaving the Crown Prince stunned there. You laugh by yourself hysterically which echoes through the palace gates, as the prince runs towards you while cursing you out.

The warm night lingered amongst the sky, the bright moon allocating light into the lands and waters. Along with the lanterns, the little fireflies wavering and the stick-lantern he held at the moment.

His armor remained intact, it's black color still standing out in the dark; his sword in his belt waiting to be held out by it's owner. He gazed at the moon, it's beauty enamored by him.

"General Beomgyu, we've held the man captive." One of his soldiers report, bowing his head with respect. The soldier continues, "He said he wouldn't speak unless you came yourself, General."

The General scoffs, spitting out his last pill of pity. "What is he so desprate for?" Yet his legs betray him, discarding his admiration for the moon for trivial affairs. His boots clang against the floors of the palace- the stains of dirt getting all over the floor. He'd leave the matter to the servants anyway.

He finally arrives, the quiet and unsettling ambience of the jail room full of blood-curdling and spine chilling people stand by the corners of their cells; one of the newly captured ones was the one he was forced to meet.

The General pans his gaze over, looking at the misrable criminal right infront of him. It was a sight he was used to seeing- it was a daily basis in his life. He didn't feel a shiver of fear, or a strand of guilt's stings break once again.

"Speak." He clutches his fists, preparing for any unecessary disturbance ahead.

"Your Crown Prince is so petty that even his father-" General Beomgyu didn't need to listen a word further before pointing his sword at him. The criminal laughed hard, tugging on his strings.

He points the sword, eyes cold and stern. "You're petty yourself. You speak about the Crown Prince with your own status? I'd believe you if you were a high ranked official." He scoffs, then pulls back his sword to it's place.

"You're loyal." The criminal chuckles with amusement. "You dare defend one's name who-" He didn't get to speak further, before being pushed to the floor and shut by the lurking guards.

Beomgyu feels his mouth dry, unable to progress into the conversation any further. He sighs, turning his head to walk out, yet he stops in his tracks, hesitating. But he left on his own initiative, leaving the criminal laughing like a maniac, satisfied with the General's reaction.

He grits his teeth, annoyed by the criminal. "He's the reported assassin from that day?" He looks at the soldier beside him, who nods. "Yes, General. It was discovered due to a match in clothing and the exactly same weapon."

He thinks a little, before stepping forward. "I'll report this to Concubine L/N and the Crown Prince in the morning." The commanded soldier nods, running off to another direction.

"Here we go again." Your conciousness slowly builds up, hearing two people bickering against your ear.

"Is she always this hard to wake up? She sleeps like a log..." And you can tell that the squeaky voice came from your servant, Hong-Yeon.

You can assume clearly enough that these two are your two maids, waking you up. Their bickering made your eardrums somehow soundproof, as you ignore them and continue your well-earned sleep.

"Look, she fell asleep again!" Court Lady Choi scolds the younger maid, hitting her back, yet not enough to give her a serious injury. Hong-Yeon squeals, and the two have a fist about how you wouldn't wake up because of the other.

"Okay, shut up." You sit up, startling the two maids. You rub your eyes, shooting up a glare at them. "Just stop bickering and do the usual routine. I've had a long... ass day." You groggily scold them.

The two look at each other, as if they just witnessed the first infected zombie of the Kang dynasty. They quietly back away, preparing the usual morning routine concubines did.

"I hope Kang Taehyun falls down a well today." You pull the blankets over your head, closing your eyes to get some beauty rest.

As you were about to doze off once again, and get back that sweet sleep you craved for since last night- a knock at the door disturbs you, once again, you cannot get a single second of peace and sleep.

"Come in!" You lazily shout, turning your head to the door, your body slouching and almost falling down the matress. The door opens, revealing someone who seemed like a souldier in your blurry eyes.

"My Grace-"

"One second. Let me just..." You rub your eyes again finally getting a clear view of the room and the person. "Oh, General, what brings you here?" You yawn, your hair getting on your mouth.

General Beomgyu looks at you from head to toe, seeing you in such an ugly state. Your head was absolutely looking like a birds nest, while your eyes were with dark circles underneath, with your nightgown all messed up.

"Why do you have pants for your nightgown...?" He raises a brow.

"It's cold." You roll your eyes.

He blinks a lot more than usual, then clears his throat. "Well, My Grace, we've captured the unknown assassin who attacked the Prince and you during the stay at Daedo." Your face twitches.

"Seriously?" You lean up against one arm, lifting up your shoulder and head, which fails, leading you to fall off the matress.

"Seriously." He sighed, for the millionth time.

After dressing up and getting your hair tangled for a hundred times, you and General Beomgyu had set out to meet up with the Crown Prince to gather and confront the found criminal.

"You know, I heard from a fellow soldier that it was your birthday just two days ago." You wiggle your eyebrows at him, putting your index and thumb finger at your chin, smiling at him. "Happy birthday, General~ Happy birthday, happy-" You sing out loud, gaining stares from the other people walking.

"You really do have a motor mouth." The General sighs, wondering how much he had to hold on longer. You giggle at him, continuing to pester him on the journey.

As you pester the General, someone clears their throat behind you, catching both of your attention. The Crown Prince stood there by himself, crossed arms wearing training robe.

"Your Highness." General Beomgyu bows, as you eye the man beside you, rolling your eyes upon encountering the man you wished to fall down a lake earlier.

"Oh-ho, look who it is." The Crown Prince- Taehyun smirks, chuckling at your fuming expression. "Well, shall we head over to the prison?"

General Beomgyu nods, following after the annoying prince. You scoff, mocking his talking along with your hands as puppets, as the three of you walk over to the designated area.

"It's dark in here." You comment, swooping over against the building.

"It's lit up with torches?" The Crown Prince replies, scrunching his face at you. Which indeed you notice, as you stuck out a tongue at him.

"I meant as in dark for eerie and deadly. You can't take a metaphor." You walk against the crispy hay floor, going through several criminals sleeping or just sitting down thinking about life.

The three of you arrive, opening a hidden shed which contained the assassin from that night where you first met the Crown Prince in Daedo, where the mysterious attack occured.

There sat a tied up bald man, sitting down there as if you were about to meet a mafia boss and make a deal as you were just kidnapped like in the books.

"I like your hair." Taehyun hits you in the arm, warning you not to make any mess between you and the guy. General Beomgyu pinches the bridge of his nose, tired with your crap.

The General crosses his arms, looking at the assassin. "Speak."

"You really had to bring the Crown Prince himself, and this little lady who has no business of judging heads." The bald man shot a glare at all of you, his intimidating stare making you almost snort out.

"Fine, since theres no point anymore. I tried to kill the Crown Prince because he's a hyprocite, a snake and someone who dosen't care for the people of his kingdom." He spat out like bars, almost as if he had it in his mind all along. He probably held a lifetime grudge on the prince.

You whistle, "Damn."

The bald guy continues, "The palace killed my brother, you killed my brother," he looked at the prince, "-and all of you palace people did."

"Who's your brother?" You ask, a finally useful thing leaving your mouth.

"He used to be the Royal Tutor of the Crown Prince, but that Emperor had to ruin it by wrongly accusing him of treason, executing him right infront of our eyes." The backstory starts.

"Royal Tutor Han." The Crown Prince mumurs, staring up into space. "I guess this is a political issue within the Kangs." You thought, looking at everyones faces.

Everyone goes silent, as they remember the tragedy that occured during the prince's childhood, as your thoughts ran loudly. "Royal Tutor Han was the one I saw who wrote the book of records of the Crown Prince's life. Didn't know he died already." You press your lips together.

"I'm assuming this is something that had to do with the Cheol family." General Beomgyu was the first to break the silence within the room, which he gains the look of everyone in the shed, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Well, it doeees make sense." You support his claim, as they turn their heads towards you. "The Emperor had been awfully controlled by the Cheol family, especially during the time the Crown Prince was young."

Beomgyu nods, "Correct. We cant confirm for sure, but all we know that the Crown Prince has nothing to do with this."

The bald guy scoffs, "He looks like his father a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if they acted the same too."

"Do I really look like him?" Taehyun looked offended, as he had his face twitching and annoyed. "I do not look like him, seriously. Even she has better eyesight than you." He points towards you, snorting to himself.

"I can see why he looks like you, dork." You spat at him, getting pissed off. "I can even say you're identical, and I even can't tell a difference between you two!"

The two of you start bickering, as the General and the criminal just share a glance at each other, before shrugging at watching you two fight.

"It's quite sad that the bald man had to end up like this. He's someone I can actually bond with." You kick a rock as the three of you headed back, the rock brick path bumping the moving rock.

"You'll probably be bald as him soon." Taehyun chuckles, putting his hands on the pocket of his robe. "Get your mouth sewn shut, maybe the palace can finally have a moment of peace."

"I know what can make you two shut up, which is by sending you both back to your chambers."

General Beomgyu might have to file a leave soon, a well deserved and needed one.

>next chapter

<previous chapter

authors note:

i had finished this a little earlier, but wanted to post it at exactly march 15 (which might be posted at march 14 but whatever) to match the beomgyu part since it's his birthday :)

#justiceforgeneralbeomgyu

taglist:

@stormy1408 @eclipse777 @yeovnjin

[takeurexam]

caleb fic ideas but i cant pick 😌🙏

[takeurexam]

still into you - choi beomgyu

- "after all this time, i'm still into you."

: since children, you and beomgyu have been best friends. oh how much years has it been, and you've still got that lingering attraction and love for him. and when the opportunity arrives, at his birthday, maybe all the moments together finally build up and release.

: please note that this is purely fictional! not associated with their private lives :]

-birthday special ♡

You can't count the years together with your dear friend. Well, you can even joke around that you've been with him even when you were both little, which isn't exactly true; the age gap to being a baby and to when you two met wasn't too far.

As a child, you only understood limited things about having friends- they were nice to be with, and they gave you that happy feeling. Maybe even good friends brought you warmth.

But the case for Beomgyu was strange, in a child's mind, of course. You would ask yourself- why did your heart feel like exploding, and why would you felt your ears heat up. It was freezing out.

Once you grow up, you learn a lot more regards to that topic. You start to understand that Beomgyu was a "special friend," in child terms. He somehow had a multiplier effect to your normal friendly feeling, and it made you wonder why he had one as a kid.

Maybe he was friendly? Maybe he was sweet, or you just lacked boys to play or talk to with in life, and your heart decides, "Oh, boy, love."

Being a kid made love less complicated, your brain being exactly dead when moments like walking in the park with one hand holding your dear ice cream, and the other busy holding his. Romance has more progress when you're young.

One hand felt like holding the times together, and the other held his hand. You concluded if you think about it now and then.

It was a cold day. Winter came dramatically, with all the peace you've had lately with summer and the daily long baths were no longer long. Maybe it was because of the sudden changes in the planet, or the sudden changes in the cogs of your brain.

But even the newly fixed cogs in your brain couldn't function why you had just gotten ice cream at icy cold weather with your special friend, hand in hand.

"It's cold, but ice cream can never be a miss!" The boy, Beomgyu- exclaims beside you, his hand providing warmth through the contact of your mittens made by your mothers. He smiled, licking his ice cream as if it wasn't shivering cold.

You looked at your ice cream, trying to process why you had just bought a cold dessert. It wasn't that you were forced, but you wanted it. It felt deserving somehow, or it felt naturally sweet even without the ice cream. Oh, you were looking at his hand.

"Aren't you freezing?" You mutter, looking right up at him to see a sight of him licking his ice cream, the cold snack spread all over his lips. You hold a chuckle, not wanting to remove the sight of your friend's face being adorably messy.

"I am, but so what? Your hand is warm enough, anyway." He shrugs, swinging your two entwined hands together, as you walk together with ice creams at freezing point weather, yet even the coldness couldn't fight the warmth of your self-knitted mittens, and the fluttering butterflies in your stomsch.

He was loud, yet quiet at times. But some days, he was greatly balanced between. He was loud, yet soft. He was soft, yet loud. If you get it.

Like a flower, blossoming is a big part of life. Only the color of that flower is what remains before blooming beautifully. It's the national treasure flowers keep in order to bloom appealingly.

And being a child was yet but a far distant memory only remaining inside your mind. You had blossomed like normal; you think so.

As a child you would be asked, "Red or blue?" And you would answer, "Why not both?" Which obviously wasn't a furfilling and standard answer for such a young age. You were just lazy to think about it on a deeper level as a kid.

You somehow brought up the topic to your friend, who seemed to enter that deeper area of the question. Too deep, you think. Beomgyu remained looking at the floor as he did a while ago, thinking about it.

He had a quite interesting answer. He looked at you with that big smile, his eyes squinting along with his grin. "I'd say red, since it's near to pink. And you should choose blue, because I noticed you always chose the blue candies whenever I made you pick." He surpsingly noticed your quiet favoritism.

"Plus, we'd match as red and blue!" He smiles, and you swore since that day to openly answer blue over red, because red clearly belonged to him.

"Happy birthday!" It were the words that lingered against everyone's mouths today. He heard it thousands of times already, and probably will hear it more later.

He sat there, smiling to himself while having a birthday hat sitting on top of his head. The cake all mushed over his face as he laughed, slicing the sweet cake right infront of him.

It was now that you've realized how much you've grown up; reality hitting you like a truck in those dramas. Funny enough.

The birthday wasn't all fancy, but all traces of Beomgyu was evident around. It screamed him all over the place, and it was nice seeing him enjoy it with his preferences.

The place then calmed down a little, where everyone ate in peace and shared memories with each other. You had chimed in, not forgetting you were also a known friend of the people in the party.

But you then focused on the cake, taking in it's sweet flavor then realizing it was also up to Beomgyu's preferences, and not something for the eye only.

"So, you're the only one who hasn't given your gift." He chuckles, taking a bite from the cake on your plate. Weirdly, he had a fork in hand all the time. Was he there to just eat the cake?

"Later." You laugh, taking your turn to eat the cake. You munch on it, enjoying the flavor. He stares right at you, smiling to himself. "You're really enjoying that cake, aren't you?" He laughs.

You nod at him, getting frosting on the corner of your lips. "It's good, I don't usually enjoy a good cake in my life." You grin.

"But shouldn't I get my gift by now?" He had grown a little impatient, fiddling with himself as he waited for the surprise you had set for him. It was a special gift for him, especially it came from you.

"Uh-uh." You shake your head, "I like suspense."

He pouts at you, trying to guilt you. "C'mon, a gift can't be this special, can't it?"

"It is." You smile.

Everyone was scattering to go home, as the once lively party had ended, and the time to go had come. You of course, stayed to help clean up and give your gift.

"Now that we're clear, why don't you finally reveal that gift of yours?" Beomgyu grabs a chair, then drags it over the grass and sits down. The little lightbulbs had lit up, and the warm night breeze had hit the both of you.

The chairs were still everywhere, still waiting to be returned to the one who rented it to them. The fabrics for design were still all over, and the sweet feeling still lingered around.

"Here." You grab the box hiding under one of the tables all along, revealing a big box right about the height of your half body.

"Thats huge." He laughs, yet a warm smile spread against his face. "I'm pretty excited about opening this."

And he does, grabbing the box and opens it with a cutter discarded somewhere against the tables a while ago, as it reveals a guitar case. His eyes widen, looking right immediately at you. "You're serious?"

"Open it, and you'll know." You couldn't stop smiling.

It reveals a beautiful brown guitar, something you both already saw before; he realized, looking at it in disbelief. It was a guitar he had wished when you both were kids, when you had both talked about things you liked.

"I didn't think you remembered it." He smiled, grabbing the guitar and feeling the texture against the brush of his fingertips. "It's amazing. Thank you!" His smile grows even larger. You felt your heart swell with happiness, seeing his face lit up with excitement and gratefulness.

You both had switched to the grass, lying down against your arms as you both gazed upon the night sky, the warm feeling brushing against your figures.

You both had done this as kids, having deep late night talks while staring at the skies was an occasion you both had regularly done in your youth.

"Beomgyu," you take a deep breath, feeling your breath shake against your face. "You know, since children, I've always thought about the time when you used to buy me ice cream at freezing temperature."

"I absolutely remember." He laughs, shifting his laying postion. "I adored those cold ice creams, and even if it felt cold, I felt warm because you were there sharing that bond with me." He smiled.

"Well, despite those cold ice creams, you've always choosed red over blue because you thought it was the color that was always for me; our matching color." You pause, taking a deep breath. "I've always thought about it, and it's so special to me."

You look at the sky, sacrificing the tiny bit of anxiety stored in your mind. "I've always kept them in my heart, because your special to me, and I always want to know that you're loved."

"In simple terms, I've always seen you as more than a best friend." You exhale, closing your eyes to wait for any violent reaction.

After waiting yet left with silence, you open one eye, only to see him sat up, eyes widened staring at you. He holds you up, shaking your arms. "You're being real?"

"Yeah-?" He cuts you off by hugging you tightly, as if he was about to lose his whole world. He deepens the hug, savoring the moment.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"Happy birthday." You smiled.

authors note:

happy bday to my #1 bias 🫶

also no proofread and was rushing this

[takeurexam]

Hello, wonderful souls! 🤍🌍 I hope you're doing well. 🌿 Could you help me amplify my family's story and bring awareness to our struggle? 🙏🏻 💬 Please reblog my pinned post or consider donating just $5—your support could truly make a difference in saving lives amidst war and hardship. Your kindness and voice matter more than you know. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! 🤍🌿 🕊️ @mosabsdr | Every share counts. 💫

🫶

[takeurexam]

dynasty || XVI

genre:

non idol au, time travel, romance, rivals to allies to friends to lovers, crown prince to emperor taehyun, reader gets appointed as a concubine

pairing(s):

non! idol taehyun x reader

(warning, this does not reflect the REAL idols personality, and no smut will be written to respect the idol, and i am not comfortable as well, and the taehyun in this ff is not the actual taehyun)

story:

in which you, an excellent law student about to graduate collage suddenly gets dragged into the past, meeting the famous-fawned over emperor of the kang's dynansty. but you getting dragged into this mess was beyond a mystery, and it seems like you have something deep to discover. meddling with the past is a risky decision after all.

▪︎ dynasty masterlist

16. A newfound bond

The room was full of unspoken tension, the awkwardness and strict atmosphere had roamed the room, the shadows felt a lot bigger to the Crown Prince's eyes.

"You must be aware that I have to spend a night with her, Taehyun." The Emperor eyes him, then looking right at the fine teacup that he was sipping on. He didn't bother to dwell on his son's face, even if he sat infront of him.

The Crown Prince would usually not bother thinking about it, ignoring his father's own duties and focus on his own- yet when your name was mentioned, he felt himself wanting to take responsibility. He wanted to be involved somehow.

It was like how he teased you. He would push to get you irritated, and he pulled some strings to involve himself in your business to make you annoyed.

But this was a different and serious matter, yet he still felt a smirk coming to curl his lips, even when the nation's Emperor sat right infront of him. How funny that he would be scolded if his servants were here.

It was yet another perfect opportunity to tug on your strings, seeing the expression of yours annoyed as you see him involved somehow in the matter, and how you couldn't escape his teasing.

It was immature of him, yet he was helping you in a way where he could benefit from it. Besides, he wouldn't do anything horrible to you. He has his boundaries.

"Your Majesty," Taehyun quietly spoke, feeling his entire wellbeing as the Crown Prince leave him, but yet another son kneeling right as his father, begging for something.

The Emperor was about to set his teacup down into the table, yet he stopped. His eyes finally falls on his son kneeling down before him as letting out a hum. "Speak." He sternly replied.

Taehyun adjusts his throat, preventing a stutter to release at his words. "I would like to take your place, and to be the one to visit her tonight." The words slip out of his mouth naturally, as if he was so desprate to. He felt his face scrunch at the idea, not so interested with the thought of doing something like that.

"I wish to replace you to protect your image as the Emperor and make sure nothing goes wrong." The Crown Prince feels his voice fade over time, yet he continues, the last string of pride strummed by his mind. He didn't feel genuine- he just wanted to be as convincing as ever.

"It's not her time yet. Give her time to prepare." He bows his head, his eyes avoiding the man sat upon him. He could not predict his father's reaction, action and words. All he could do was kneel before him. "I vow to you, nothing will happen."

Silence eats up the atmosphere, as the Crown Prince sits with anticipation all over his mind, awaiting what fate has set for this moment. He had never seen himself being this involved in his father's business, but something about annoying you had sparked the faltering flame inside him.

The Emperor sighs.

"I approve of this... request."

So here he is, standing right infront of you. His arms sit right on his back while he leans over closer to you, that displeasing smirk almost makes you punch him.

"What are you doing here?" You raise a brow, crossing your arms investigating him from head to toe, absolutely baffled why he was here. "Ah, you're probably a part of an opening ceremony for this, well, just do it. Get me out of this as quick as possible." You make a made-up conclusion instead, trying to cope the depression from consuming you.

"Opening ceremony? How small." He chuckles, sitting right infront of you. "I am the ceremony, the one you'll be sharing the night with."

You hold your hand to your mouth, gagging to the side and resisting the urge to puke right at the moment. "Gross, get out of here!" You signal your free hand to shoo him away, while gagging with the other hand. You hear him laugh, and with the sound of metal moving which you assume he's drinking with the metal cup.

"I'm just being humorous. I've decided to take the Emperor's place. I won't do anything to you." He laughed your concerns off, taking a sip of the wine placed right on the table above your sitting level.

"Wait, did the Emperor die or something...?" You widen your eyes, looking back at Taehyun in a swift motion as if you found out your favorite celebrity just died.

The Crown Prince sighs, shaking his head at your stupidity. "I'm only being "humorous," I know he's well and alive." You roll your eyes, taking your revenge on his stupid trick.

He scoffs, feeling offended by your comeback. "You can't use the same tactic the enemy has used against you, unless it's that good. I admit, it's terrible."

"See, you're terrible." You smile, finally getting to tease back the annoying Crown Prince who's been bothering you for ages.

Your bantering session gets cut off by a knock from the door, a mention about the food to be served. "Let them in." Taehyun's voice echoes from the room, as the wooden doors slide open revealing the court maids holding a bunch of dishes and drinks for the "special" night.

"Thank you." You bow, as the court maids finish serving the food and closing the wooden doors once again for your privacy.

You gaze into the food, the flavorful spices and smell of the broth, the tasty side dishes, and the other food made you have hope that the night will be better somehow.

"You first." You quiver your lips to the direction of the meals, while holding eye contact with the Crown Prince. He smirks, taking his utensils and picking up some food of his own.

Once he finished, you finally dug into the food and placing some side dishes and main course meals into your platter, making you lick your lips- delighted by the sight.

"You must be so hungry then." He grins, taking a sip of the warm broth provided on his plate. He slurps quietly and decently like a true prince, like he was expected to be. It was honestly suprising that he wasn't some spoiled unmannered brat that lived during the era.

"I almost lost the appetite to eat for tonight because of the Emperor." You admit, while grinning sheepishly. You slurp the soup quietly, still keeping your manners infront of the annoying prince.

He laughs it off, as if you weren't talking bad about his father. You shrug your shoulders anyway, ignoring the unbothered remark from the Emperor's son.

After a while and a lot of food consumed, you decide to keep the relaxed atmosphere going by offering him a drink. "Hey," you call out, getting his attention back to your focus. "Offer me a drink, then."

He raises a brow, confused by the sudden action he had not expected from the current atmosphere. Yet he obliges, deciding to lighten up the mood a little more.

"Drink up." He offers, as you hold two hands into the metalic cup as he pours. He fills up the cup- you turn away and chug the cup as you let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, you know about something?" You whisper to him, barely audiable to his ears. He had a hard time confirming your words, yet he still hummed. You look around the room, as if someone were to overhear even if it was just the two of you.

You lean in over to the prince, like he wasn't a high ranking royalty. You cover the side of your mouth with your hand, then whispering into his direction. He seems to notice, and adjusts to your position as he leans his ear towards your whispering.

"Theres this rumor about a ghost that roams the library at night and is said to read romance novels. The court maids are absolutely freaked out- but I found it absolutely amusing as to why it's reading romance novels." You giggle a bit, pulling away from the close distance between you two.

Taehyun raises a brow, either confused or familiar with the rumor you had just shared with him. Then he remembers something quite related.

"Your Highness, some books from the library have been going missing lately. It's not clarified what kind of books they are, but a eunuch is most likely the one who takes them." Taehyun's eunuch in charge whispers to him as he reads peacefully in the library, waiting for some servants to bring the books to him.

He was a little confused, yet didn't make a big deal out of it.

He just chuckles, deciding not to tell you about the theory he had in mind, as it wasn't confirmed to be the case, yet would most likely be. He didn't want your motor mouth to go around and light up the flames about to die down again.

"It's so weird yet entertaining. I even went there myself out of pure curiosity and boredom but no one was even there. Well- a rumor is a rumor." You chew on your food whilist speaking to the prince infront of you.

His face scrunches a little at the pure mention of your scanning of the library, yet he merely ignores it as a feeling of bother and annoyance towards your actions.

He shrugged, and continued eating his food as per usual.

You two stand infront of the bed, staring at it as if it murdered someone right infront of you. You both turn your gazes to each other, as if thinking of the same thing. His lips curl into a smirk, crossing his hands while staring at you.

"Ow, your back hit me." You hiss, scooching away farther from the prince. He laughs, amused by your annoyed reaction. "Maybe you did." He laughs.

You two lay down in complete loud silence, yet the irritation between the two of you couldn't give you a good night's sleep.

You look around, searching for a solution to get a good night's sleep even with the annoying crown prince right beside you. Then it clicks as you see the pillow you were currently laying on.

"Let's make a pillow border." You cover up your pillow over to your side, covering the prince's sign of apperance or body by your plain view. You sigh in relief, feeling the waves of irritation wash away.

"A what?" He lifts up the pillow, revealing his face once again looking back at you. You scrunch your face, disatisfied with the view right infront of you. He laughs at your initial reaction, removing the closed pillow border between you two.

You roll your eyes, grabbing back the pillow and placing back into the back of your head. You change your position, finally facing the celing instead of your sides.

"You didn't answer my question." He lied down, yet lifted himself a little to relax on his elbow. He stares at you, awaiting a response from you. "What is a pillow border? A new line of defense?"

You laugh, finding the conversation funny coming from someone from the future explaining the concept of a "pillow border" to someone from the past, the Crown Prince too.

"You're right. It's like a border from the country, but instead the field is a bed." You shake your head, chuckling to yourself- yet you continue. "From the sound of it, It's a border made from pillows to protect yourself from someone or something- or just something to make you comfortable."

"Am I really a threat?" He chuckles breathily, due to him lying down on his arm. You side-eye him, observing how he looked right now. He somewhat looked normal, the title of being the Crown Prince didn't appeal that much if he looked this casual.

The past really was interesting compared to the present, everything almost worked differently, yet so similar in a way. It felt like a breather or somehow, a reward from graduating from collage, where you felt the life of someone who could escape studying and could get comfortable without working as hard.

You would wonder what would happen if you ever did return.

"We'll be going out today. Make sure he dosen't find out." Your conciousness slowly makes itself alive as a voice echoes across the room you slept in, quite confused.

You open your eyes a little, making sure to turn to the side where the voice felt away from. You opened your eyes, seeing your room. The memories from last night replayed like a movie, the conversations and moments all processing inside your brain.

Sudden footsteps jolt you back to close your eyes, not wanting to make yourself known to be awake to whoever was inside the room. Common case scenario, it would be the man who you slept beside with last night.

You hear the footsteps halt, stopping somewhere you felt was rather infront of you or by your side yet a similar angle to upfront. After a few seconds, the person leaves, mumbling something from outside the door that you couldn't comprehend.

Finally opening your eyes completely, you notice the man you slept beside with was indeed not beside you. He was most likely to be the one who you heard and his footsteps that echoed across the room.

"Who was he even talking to?" You rub your eyes, yawning while grumbling to yourself, the effect of just recently waking up wearing over you. "Well, It's nice that I wont be seeing him for today." You recall the words he mentioned, feeling relaxed as you didn't have to deal with the pest.

As if the universe didn't love you enough, you heard a Hong-Yeon's voice echo from your door, waking you up for your duties. You groan, replying. "What duties do I have to do?"

"You have to acompany the Crown Prince for today, My Grace." Hong-Yeon replies, her squeaky voice delivers itself to your ears coming from the door.

"So tell me, I had to accompany you because you escaped the Emperor's angry remarks because you had "manipulated" him into replacing his place?" You cross your arms, raising a brow at the Crown Prince standing right beside you, his attire like an aristrocat.

"You're good at summarizing." He laughs, placing his arms behind his back as he walks through the market with his head high. You groan, wondering how you had to be somehow involved in his doings.

The marketplace was a busy street, similar to the time you had first visited the capital. The bustling streets of vendors and merchants flooded the place, and the consumers coming to buy.

"Fresh fruits here!"

"Jewelry at low prices!"

Some people yelled across the street, trying to make a living to survive. You really do thank yourself for being in the palace, living a little better than outside of it, but luxury has a price to pay.

You wore a normal outfit like noble ladies would wear, a normal diguise who fits alongside with Taehyun's aristrocat style. Your identities reside inside the palace, and a mere aristrocat and noble woman when outside.

"Here we are." Taehyun stops in his tracks, the building infront of him overshadows his figure. You look around the building, wondering what it was. It was quite old, well of course due to you being from the future- yet it felt warm and somewhat was like a cottage.

The two of you stepped in, the once warm vibe covered by the scent of florals as you step in to the room full of dresses hanged everywhere, fabric rolled up and accesories plastered across. You had just realized that this was a dress store made for noble ladies, especially concubines and empresses.

"Oh, Your Highness!" The lady in the desk bowed, her magnificent and probably self-made dress made her look astonishing, and enough to make you stare. She probably was a really good designer.

"I have received your letter a few days ago, I have prepared my best fabrics to present, and best designs I can offer." She smiles, seeming to notice you. She stands up, stepping back a little to wait for the Crown Prince's response.

The Prince looks at you, his eyes looking at you up and down. "Are you checking me out?" You cross your arms, one of your eyebrows raised at him. He laughed, looking back at the lady. "Show us to it then."

The lady smiles, backing up into the back of shop to present the cloth the prince had requested. You had quietly thanked her at the back of your mind, as you were itching to ask Taehyun about why he was shopping out for dresses, and even sent a letter a few days prior.

Then it clicked.

"Are you... cross dressing?" You slowly tilted your head towards him, your eyes widened staring right at his eyes. His mouth slips into an 'o', surprised by your sudden remark. He looked away, coughing violently as his curled hands covered his erupting mouth.

"Okay, okay- you aren't." You curse under your breath, scolding yourself for slipping your edge infront of the Crown Prince. He finally stopped coughing, as you look down in misery.

He finally clears his throat, clear enough to speak up from his fists of coughs. "It's my fault. I wasn't really clear with my intentions." He tries to force a smile, which horribly fails from how surprised he is.

"I wanted to buy you some dresses for your daily wear, as I seemed to noticed that you had no personal clothing rather than something from the palace or the Choi's." His lips turn into a line, awkwardly admitting something that he meant to hide from you.

Your shoulders fall, feeling yourself let your guard down. It was also your turn to experiance the surprise, clearly not thinking that it was for you. "Well, uh- thank you."

The lady came back with some fabrics scooped up on her arms, setting them down on a table with some smooth cloth to present them. There were five fabrics rolled up into the table, each with a delicate color of its own. Well, it didn't really matter, yet the touch of each color made each fabric different to the eye rather than to the touch.

"Here is the first fabric," she puts her palm into it, feeling the texture of it, as if trying to encourage you to do so too. Well, it actually works. Your hand reaches out to the fabric, feeling its texture in your fingers.

And so on and so did you try to feel the other fabrics, and you ended up liking all of them. Taehyun had to make the decision to just buy five dresses with all the other fabrics, as you looked at him with a smug grin on your face.

The two of you walked out of the shop, with five dresses commissioned at the store. The sun had set, and all the busy merchants from earlier was preparing to leave for the day, a time for rest. Torches were being lit up by guards, welcoming the night.

The ray of the sun seemed to shine upon the two of you, walking together as you both return to the palace.

>next chapter

<previous chapter

authors note:

i would like to apologize for the very late release and many broken scheduled releases for this chapter. life has been really stacked lately, and finding the motivation and time to write has been hard lately and i couldn't just handle the workload 😭 i'm so sorry once again and i will be returning with hopefully clearer schedules

taglist(open):

@stormy1408 @eclipse777 @yeovnjin

[takeurexam]

dynasty || XVI

genre:

non idol au, time travel, romance, rivals to allies to friends to lovers, crown prince to emperor taehyun, reader gets appointed as a concubine

pairing(s):

non! idol taehyun x reader

(warning, this does not reflect the REAL idols personality, and no smut will be written to respect the idol, and i am not comfortable as well, and the taehyun in this ff is not the actual taehyun)

story:

in which you, an excellent law student about to graduate collage suddenly gets dragged into the past, meeting the famous-fawned over emperor of the kang's dynansty. but you getting dragged into this mess was beyond a mystery, and it seems like you have something deep to discover. meddling with the past is a risky decision after all.

▪︎ dynasty masterlist

16. A newfound bond

The room was full of unspoken tension, the awkwardness and strict atmosphere had roamed the room, the shadows felt a lot bigger to the Crown Prince's eyes.

"You must be aware that I have to spend a night with her, Taehyun." The Emperor eyes him, then looking right at the fine teacup that he was sipping on. He didn't bother to dwell on his son's face, even if he sat infront of him.

The Crown Prince would usually not bother thinking about it, ignoring his father's own duties and focus on his own- yet when your name was mentioned, he felt himself wanting to take responsibility. He wanted to be involved somehow.

It was like how he teased you. He would push to get you irritated, and he pulled some strings to involve himself in your business to make you annoyed.

But this was a different and serious matter, yet he still felt a smirk coming to curl his lips, even when the nation's Emperor sat right infront of him. How funny that he would be scolded if his servants were here.

It was yet another perfect opportunity to tug on your strings, seeing the expression of yours annoyed as you see him involved somehow in the matter, and how you couldn't escape his teasing.

It was immature of him, yet he was helping you in a way where he could benefit from it. Besides, he wouldn't do anything horrible to you. He has his boundaries.

"Your Majesty," Taehyun quietly spoke, feeling his entire wellbeing as the Crown Prince leave him, but yet another son kneeling right as his father, begging for something.

The Emperor was about to set his teacup down into the table, yet he stopped. His eyes finally falls on his son kneeling down before him as letting out a hum. "Speak." He sternly replied.

Taehyun adjusts his throat, preventing a stutter to release at his words. "I would like to take your place, and to be the one to visit her tonight." The words slip out of his mouth naturally, as if he was so desprate to. He felt his face scrunch at the idea, not so interested with the thought of doing something like that.

"I wish to replace you to protect your image as the Emperor and make sure nothing goes wrong." The Crown Prince feels his voice fade over time, yet he continues, the last string of pride strummed by his mind. He didn't feel genuine- he just wanted to be as convincing as ever.

"It's not her time yet. Give her time to prepare." He bows his head, his eyes avoiding the man sat upon him. He could not predict his father's reaction, action and words. All he could do was kneel before him. "I vow to you, nothing will happen."

Silence eats up the atmosphere, as the Crown Prince sits with anticipation all over his mind, awaiting what fate has set for this moment. He had never seen himself being this involved in his father's business, but something about annoying you had sparked the faltering flame inside him.

The Emperor sighs.

"I approve of this... request."

So here he is, standing right infront of you. His arms sit right on his back while he leans over closer to you, that displeasing smirk almost makes you punch him.

"What are you doing here?" You raise a brow, crossing your arms investigating him from head to toe, absolutely baffled why he was here. "Ah, you're probably a part of an opening ceremony for this, well, just do it. Get me out of this as quick as possible." You make a made-up conclusion instead, trying to cope the depression from consuming you.

"Opening ceremony? How small." He chuckles, sitting right infront of you. "I am the ceremony, the one you'll be sharing the night with."

You hold your hand to your mouth, gagging to the side and resisting the urge to puke right at the moment. "Gross, get out of here!" You signal your free hand to shoo him away, while gagging with the other hand. You hear him laugh, and with the sound of metal moving which you assume he's drinking with the metal cup.

"I'm just being humorous. I've decided to take the Emperor's place. I won't do anything to you." He laughed your concerns off, taking a sip of the wine placed right on the table above your sitting level.

"Wait, did the Emperor die or something...?" You widen your eyes, looking back at Taehyun in a swift motion as if you found out your favorite celebrity just died.

The Crown Prince sighs, shaking his head at your stupidity. "I'm only being "humorous," I know he's well and alive." You roll your eyes, taking your revenge on his stupid trick.

He scoffs, feeling offended by your comeback. "You can't use the same tactic the enemy has used against you, unless it's that good. I admit, it's terrible."

"See, you're terrible." You smile, finally getting to tease back the annoying Crown Prince who's been bothering you for ages.

Your bantering session gets cut off by a knock from the door, a mention about the food to be served. "Let them in." Taehyun's voice echoes from the room, as the wooden doors slide open revealing the court maids holding a bunch of dishes and drinks for the "special" night.

"Thank you." You bow, as the court maids finish serving the food and closing the wooden doors once again for your privacy.

You gaze into the food, the flavorful spices and smell of the broth, the tasty side dishes, and the other food made you have hope that the night will be better somehow.

"You first." You quiver your lips to the direction of the meals, while holding eye contact with the Crown Prince. He smirks, taking his utensils and picking up some food of his own.

Once he finished, you finally dug into the food and placing some side dishes and main course meals into your platter, making you lick your lips- delighted by the sight.

"You must be so hungry then." He grins, taking a sip of the warm broth provided on his plate. He slurps quietly and decently like a true prince, like he was expected to be. It was honestly suprising that he wasn't some spoiled unmannered brat that lived during the era.

"I almost lost the appetite to eat for tonight because of the Emperor." You admit, while grinning sheepishly. You slurp the soup quietly, still keeping your manners infront of the annoying prince.

He laughs it off, as if you weren't talking bad about his father. You shrug your shoulders anyway, ignoring the unbothered remark from the Emperor's son.

After a while and a lot of food consumed, you decide to keep the relaxed atmosphere going by offering him a drink. "Hey," you call out, getting his attention back to your focus. "Offer me a drink, then."

He raises a brow, confused by the sudden action he had not expected from the current atmosphere. Yet he obliges, deciding to lighten up the mood a little more.

"Drink up." He offers, as you hold two hands into the metalic cup as he pours. He fills up the cup- you turn away and chug the cup as you let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, you know about something?" You whisper to him, barely audiable to his ears. He had a hard time confirming your words, yet he still hummed. You look around the room, as if someone were to overhear even if it was just the two of you.

You lean in over to the prince, like he wasn't a high ranking royalty. You cover the side of your mouth with your hand, then whispering into his direction. He seems to notice, and adjusts to your position as he leans his ear towards your whispering.

"Theres this rumor about a ghost that roams the library at night and is said to read romance novels. The court maids are absolutely freaked out- but I found it absolutely amusing as to why it's reading romance novels." You giggle a bit, pulling away from the close distance between you two.

Taehyun raises a brow, either confused or familiar with the rumor you had just shared with him. Then he remembers something quite related.

"Your Highness, some books from the library have been going missing lately. It's not clarified what kind of books they are, but a eunuch is most likely the one who takes them." Taehyun's eunuch in charge whispers to him as he reads peacefully in the library, waiting for some servants to bring the books to him.

He was a little confused, yet didn't make a big deal out of it.

He just chuckles, deciding not to tell you about the theory he had in mind, as it wasn't confirmed to be the case, yet would most likely be. He didn't want your motor mouth to go around and light up the flames about to die down again.

"It's so weird yet entertaining. I even went there myself out of pure curiosity and boredom but no one was even there. Well- a rumor is a rumor." You chew on your food whilist speaking to the prince infront of you.

His face scrunches a little at the pure mention of your scanning of the library, yet he merely ignores it as a feeling of bother and annoyance towards your actions.

He shrugged, and continued eating his food as per usual.

You two stand infront of the bed, staring at it as if it murdered someone right infront of you. You both turn your gazes to each other, as if thinking of the same thing. His lips curl into a smirk, crossing his hands while staring at you.

"Ow, your back hit me." You hiss, scooching away farther from the prince. He laughs, amused by your annoyed reaction. "Maybe you did." He laughs.

You two lay down in complete loud silence, yet the irritation between the two of you couldn't give you a good night's sleep.

You look around, searching for a solution to get a good night's sleep even with the annoying crown prince right beside you. Then it clicks as you see the pillow you were currently laying on.

"Let's make a pillow border." You cover up your pillow over to your side, covering the prince's sign of apperance or body by your plain view. You sigh in relief, feeling the waves of irritation wash away.

"A what?" He lifts up the pillow, revealing his face once again looking back at you. You scrunch your face, disatisfied with the view right infront of you. He laughs at your initial reaction, removing the closed pillow border between you two.

You roll your eyes, grabbing back the pillow and placing back into the back of your head. You change your position, finally facing the celing instead of your sides.

"You didn't answer my question." He lied down, yet lifted himself a little to relax on his elbow. He stares at you, awaiting a response from you. "What is a pillow border? A new line of defense?"

You laugh, finding the conversation funny coming from someone from the future explaining the concept of a "pillow border" to someone from the past, the Crown Prince too.

"You're right. It's like a border from the country, but instead the field is a bed." You shake your head, chuckling to yourself- yet you continue. "From the sound of it, It's a border made from pillows to protect yourself from someone or something- or just something to make you comfortable."

"Am I really a threat?" He chuckles breathily, due to him lying down on his arm. You side-eye him, observing how he looked right now. He somewhat looked normal, the title of being the Crown Prince didn't appeal that much if he looked this casual.

The past really was interesting compared to the present, everything almost worked differently, yet so similar in a way. It felt like a breather or somehow, a reward from graduating from collage, where you felt the life of someone who could escape studying and could get comfortable without working as hard.

You would wonder what would happen if you ever did return.

"We'll be going out today. Make sure he dosen't find out." Your conciousness slowly makes itself alive as a voice echoes across the room you slept in, quite confused.

You open your eyes a little, making sure to turn to the side where the voice felt away from. You opened your eyes, seeing your room. The memories from last night replayed like a movie, the conversations and moments all processing inside your brain.

Sudden footsteps jolt you back to close your eyes, not wanting to make yourself known to be awake to whoever was inside the room. Common case scenario, it would be the man who you slept beside with last night.

You hear the footsteps halt, stopping somewhere you felt was rather infront of you or by your side yet a similar angle to upfront. After a few seconds, the person leaves, mumbling something from outside the door that you couldn't comprehend.

Finally opening your eyes completely, you notice the man you slept beside with was indeed not beside you. He was most likely to be the one who you heard and his footsteps that echoed across the room.

"Who was he even talking to?" You rub your eyes, yawning while grumbling to yourself, the effect of just recently waking up wearing over you. "Well, It's nice that I wont be seeing him for today." You recall the words he mentioned, feeling relaxed as you didn't have to deal with the pest.

As if the universe didn't love you enough, you heard a Hong-Yeon's voice echo from your door, waking you up for your duties. You groan, replying. "What duties do I have to do?"

"You have to acompany the Crown Prince for today, My Grace." Hong-Yeon replies, her squeaky voice delivers itself to your ears coming from the door.

"So tell me, I had to accompany you because you escaped the Emperor's angry remarks because you had "manipulated" him into replacing his place?" You cross your arms, raising a brow at the Crown Prince standing right beside you, his attire like an aristrocat.

"You're good at summarizing." He laughs, placing his arms behind his back as he walks through the market with his head high. You groan, wondering how you had to be somehow involved in his doings.

The marketplace was a busy street, similar to the time you had first visited the capital. The bustling streets of vendors and merchants flooded the place, and the consumers coming to buy.

"Fresh fruits here!"

"Jewelry at low prices!"

Some people yelled across the street, trying to make a living to survive. You really do thank yourself for being in the palace, living a little better than outside of it, but luxury has a price to pay.

You wore a normal outfit like noble ladies would wear, a normal diguise who fits alongside with Taehyun's aristrocat style. Your identities reside inside the palace, and a mere aristrocat and noble woman when outside.

"Here we are." Taehyun stops in his tracks, the building infront of him overshadows his figure. You look around the building, wondering what it was. It was quite old, well of course due to you being from the future- yet it felt warm and somewhat was like a cottage.

The two of you stepped in, the once warm vibe covered by the scent of florals as you step in to the room full of dresses hanged everywhere, fabric rolled up and accesories plastered across. You had just realized that this was a dress store made for noble ladies, especially concubines and empresses.

"Oh, Your Highness!" The lady in the desk bowed, her magnificent and probably self-made dress made her look astonishing, and enough to make you stare. She probably was a really good designer.

"I have received your letter a few days ago, I have prepared my best fabrics to present, and best designs I can offer." She smiles, seeming to notice you. She stands up, stepping back a little to wait for the Crown Prince's response.

The Prince looks at you, his eyes looking at you up and down. "Are you checking me out?" You cross your arms, one of your eyebrows raised at him. He laughed, looking back at the lady. "Show us to it then."

The lady smiles, backing up into the back of shop to present the cloth the prince had requested. You had quietly thanked her at the back of your mind, as you were itching to ask Taehyun about why he was shopping out for dresses, and even sent a letter a few days prior.

Then it clicked.

"Are you... cross dressing?" You slowly tilted your head towards him, your eyes widened staring right at his eyes. His mouth slips into an 'o', surprised by your sudden remark. He looked away, coughing violently as his curled hands covered his erupting mouth.

"Okay, okay- you aren't." You curse under your breath, scolding yourself for slipping your edge infront of the Crown Prince. He finally stopped coughing, as you look down in misery.

He finally clears his throat, clear enough to speak up from his fists of coughs. "It's my fault. I wasn't really clear with my intentions." He tries to force a smile, which horribly fails from how surprised he is.

"I wanted to buy you some dresses for your daily wear, as I seemed to noticed that you had no personal clothing rather than something from the palace or the Choi's." His lips turn into a line, awkwardly admitting something that he meant to hide from you.

Your shoulders fall, feeling yourself let your guard down. It was also your turn to experiance the surprise, clearly not thinking that it was for you. "Well, uh- thank you."

The lady came back with some fabrics scooped up on her arms, setting them down on a table with some smooth cloth to present them. There were five fabrics rolled up into the table, each with a delicate color of its own. Well, it didn't really matter, yet the touch of each color made each fabric different to the eye rather than to the touch.

"Here is the first fabric," she puts her palm into it, feeling the texture of it, as if trying to encourage you to do so too. Well, it actually works. Your hand reaches out to the fabric, feeling its texture in your fingers.

And so on and so did you try to feel the other fabrics, and you ended up liking all of them. Taehyun had to make the decision to just buy five dresses with all the other fabrics, as you looked at him with a smug grin on your face.

The two of you walked out of the shop, with five dresses commissioned at the store. The sun had set, and all the busy merchants from earlier was preparing to leave for the day, a time for rest. Torches were being lit up by guards, welcoming the night.

The ray of the sun seemed to shine upon the two of you, walking together as you both return to the palace.

>next chapter

<previous chapter

authors note:

i would like to apologize for the very late release and many broken scheduled releases for this chapter. life has been really stacked lately, and finding the motivation and time to write has been hard lately and i couldn't just handle the workload 😭 i'm so sorry once again and i will be returning with hopefully clearer schedules

taglist(open):

@stormy1408 @eclipse777 @yeovnjin

[takeurexam]

okay, discard this because this might actually take a lot longer than i expected lol i'm just really packed right now and the only time i have to write is at night and i always feel tired which ends up to just little changes 😭 okay, but i assume it'll be finished within february and i'll try to make the next chap earlier as compinsation 🫶 im so sorry again 😭🫶

when is the next chapter of dynasty coming ?

it's rotting inside my drafts unfinished 😔 my schedule hasn't been so clear lately leaving me almost no time to write 😭 but i'll try to do it within the end of the month or the start of feb 🫶

[takeurexam]

happy birthday taehyun 🫶

terry the platypus day guys omg

[takeurexam]

Humanitarian Appeal

‼️She will die at any time‼️😭

"One moment can change everything

My daughter suffers from kidney failure and autism

due to the devastating consequences of war and malnutrition. He urgently needs donations for his ongoing treatment and a life-saving kidney transplant help to cover the high costs of his medical care and surgery, which could save his life and improve his health.

We kindly appeal to compassionate individuals to donate and support us during this difficult time.

Thank you for your cooperation and generosity.

I am asking for $25 or 50$ , which will make a significant difference in my life and my family’s🙏🏻💔🙏🏻

https://gofund.me/8dce001c

🙏

[takeurexam]

when is the next chapter of dynasty coming ?

it's rotting inside my drafts unfinished 😔 my schedule hasn't been so clear lately leaving me almost no time to write 😭 but i'll try to do it within the end of the month or the start of feb 🫶

[takeurexam]

📌Hello, I am Samiha and I have a daughter named Almas 🫂And now I live in hell and the devastating war in Gaza🍉. We also live after my house was bombed in a small tent that does not protect us from the winter. I hope everyone shares the post 💔 or donates. Thank you all.💌 https://gofund.me/f13e5bbd

❤️

[takeurexam]

Hi friend

I hope you can help me, even with a small, symbolic amount, so that I can buy food and drink and to evecuate the dangerous area so I can continue my University studies 😔. We have lost everything because of the war, and I am no longer able to continue living because of the lack of resources🥺.

Please, friends, your donation, even if it is small, makes a big difference💔😔

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-belal-escape-gaza?utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

❤️

[takeurexam]

Can I be added to dynasty’s taglist 🥹🙏

omg ofc!! 🫶